The Chaldeans were part of an ancient civilization that included at various times the Babylonians, the Mesopotamians (of which Babylon was the center) and some later Sumerians. Eventually the name became synonymous with "astronomer" because of the presence of court astronomers in Babylon and their fascination with the study of the heavens. The Chaldeans experienced a golden age under King Nebuchadnezzer, though his expansionist choices eventually led to the destruction of the Chaldean empire in 539 B.C. During this golden age, however, the Chaldeans developed technology that would later be expanded upon in Greece and Rome.
Seven-Day Calendar
It is difficult to pinpoint just when the seven-day calendar came about, but the Chaldeans tend to get the credit, partly because their rather primitive astronomical studies did succeed in predicting the speed at which planets and the moon moved through the sky. These astronomical studies led them to create a lunar calendar based on those movements. This was one of the earliest recorded seven-day calendars based on how the planets moved.
The Hanging Gardens
The Chaldeans are also credited with creating one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar, a Chaldean monarch, ordered that the gardens be built on multiple terraces so that his wife would no longer feel homesick for her lush homelands. Babylon was a rather arid place and the Chaldeans had to invent a chain pump to transport water from the Euphrates to the top of the Hanging Gardens. The water then cascaded through the terraces along channels that formed artificial streams.
Seeder Plow
The Chaldean astronomers of Mesopotamia also made their contribution to the craft of farming, and in so doing made agriculture a more viable, sustainable option than ever before. The astronomers watched the skies to determine measure time and then used that knowledge to determine when to plant. It was also believed that the constellations provided inspiration for the seeder plow, which allowed farmers to seed and plough at the same time, cutting farming time in half.
Sundial
The Chaldean astronomer Berosus is generally given credit with inventing the first hemicyclium sundial. This early sundial was in the shape of a cube with a hemispherical opening, which gives it its name. It divided the day into 12 "temporary" hours that varied with the seasons. This Chaldean invention is known to have had widespread use throughout the Greek and Roman empires and was also found throughout the Muslim world centuries later.
Math Theory and Practical Applications
While the Chaldeans didn't invent math, they did make several important contributions to it. It was in Mesopotamia that the wheel made its first appearance along with the mathematical concept of a circle. The Mesopotamians were the first to conceive of the number zero. It is believed that Pythagoras based the development of the Pythagorean theorem on Chaldean numerology. Their mathematical and astronomical studies also led to architectural discoveries such as the arch, columns and the dome.
Tags: astronomical studies, Hanging Gardens, believed that
