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[[File:Ybc7289-bw.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Babylonian clay tablet YBC 7289 with annotations. The diagonal displays an approximation of the [[square root of 2]] in four [[sexagesimal]] figures, 1 24 51 10, which is good to about six [[decimal]] digits. 1 + 24/60 + 51/602 + 10/603 = 1.41421296... The tablet also gives an example where one side of the square is 30, and the resulting diagonal is 42 25 35 or 42.4263888...]]
'''Babylonian mathematics''' (also known as ''Assyro-Babylonian mathematics''<ref>Lewy, H. (1949). 'Studies in Assyro-Babylonian mathematics and metrology'. Orientalia (NS) 18, 40–67; 137–170.</ref><ref>Lewy, H. (1951). 'Studies in Assyro-Babylonian mathematics and metrology'. Orientalia (NS) 20, 1–12.</ref><ref>Bruins, E.M. (1953). 'La classification des nombres dans les mathématiques babyloniennes. Revue d'Assyriologie 47, 185–188.</ref><ref>Cazalas, (1932). 'Le calcul de la table mathématique AO 6456'. Revue d'Assyriologie 29, 183–188.</ref><ref>Langdon, S. (1918). 'Assyriological notes: Mathematical observations on the Scheil-Esagila tablet'. Revue d'Assyriologie 15, 110–112.</ref><ref>Robson, E. (2002). 'Guaranteed genuine originals: The Plimpton Collection and the early history of mathematical Assyriology'. In Mining the archives: Festschrift for Chrisopher Walker on the occasion of his 60th birthday (ed. C. Wunsch). ISLET, Dresden, 245–292.</ref>) was any mathematics developed or practiced by the people of [[Mesopotamia]], from the days of the early [[Sumer]]ians to the fall of [[Babylon]] in 539 BC. Babylonian mathematical texts are plentiful and well edited.<ref name="Aaboe, Asger">Aaboe, Asger. "The culture of Babylonia: Babylonian mathematics, astrology, and astronomy." The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries B.C. Eds. John Boardman, I. E. S. Edwards, N. G. L. Hammond, E. Sollberger and C. B. F. Walker. Cambridge University Press, (1991)</ref> In respect of time they fall in two distinct groups: one from the [[First Babylonian Dynasty|Old Babylonian]] period (1830-1531 BC), the other mainly [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] from the last three or four centuries BC. In respect of content there is scarcely any difference between the two groups of texts. Thus Babylonian mathematics remained constant, in character and content, for nearly two millennia.<ref name="Aaboe, Asger" />

In contrast to the scarcity of sources in [[Egyptian mathematics]], our knowledge of [[Babylonia]]n mathematics is derived from some 400 clay tablets unearthed since the 1850s. Written in [[Cuneiform script]], tablets were inscribed while the clay was moist, and baked hard in an oven or by the heat of the sun. The majority of recovered clay tablets date from 1800 to 1600 BCE, and cover topics that include [[Fraction (mathematics)|fractions]], [[algebra]], [[quadratic equation|quadratic]] and [[cubic equation]]s and the [[Pythagorean theorem]]. The Babylonian tablet YBC 7289 gives an approximation to <math>\sqrt{2}</math> accurate to three sexagesimal places (seven significant digits).

==Origins of Babylonian mathematics==
Babylonian mathematics is a range of numeric and more advanced mathematical practices in the [[ancient Near East]], written in [[cuneiform script]]. Study has historically focused on the [[First Babylonian Dynasty|Old Babylonian period]] in the early second millennium BC due to the wealth of data available. There has been debate over the earliest appearance of Babylonian mathematics, with historians suggesting a range of dates between the 5th and 3rd millennia BC.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} Babylonian mathematics was primarily written on clay tablets in cuneiform script in the [[Akkadian]] or [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] languages.

"Babylonian mathematics" is perhaps an unhelpful term since the earliest suggested origins date to the use of accounting devices, such as [[Bulla (seal)|bullae]] and [[History of writing ancient numbers#Clay tokens|tokens]], in the 5th millennium BC.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}

==Babylonian numerals==
{{Main|Babylonian numerals}}

The Babylonian system of mathematics was [[sexagesimal]] (base 60) [[numeral system]]. From this we derive the modern day usage of 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 360 degrees in a circle.{{Citation needed|date=September 2013}} The Babylonians were able to make great advances in mathematics for two reasons. Firstly, the number 60 is a [[superior highly composite number|superior]] [[highly composite number]], having factors of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60 (including those that are themselves composite), facilitating calculations with [[Fraction (mathematics)|fractions]]. Additionally, unlike the Egyptians and Romans, the Babylonians had a true [[positional notation|place-value]] system, where digits written in the left column represented larger values (much as in our base ten system: 734 = 7×100 + 3×10 + 4×1). The Sumerians and Babylonians were pioneers in this respect.

==Sumerian mathematics (2300 — 2000 BC)==
The ancient [[Sumer]]ians of [[Mesopotamia]] developed a complex system of [[metrology]] from 3000 BC. From 2600 BC onwards, the Sumerians wrote [[multiplication table]]s on clay tablets and dealt with [[geometry|geometrical]] exercises and [[Division (mathematics)|division]] problems. The earliest traces of the Babylonian numerals also date back to this period.<ref>Duncan J. Melville (2003). [http://it.stlawu.edu/~dmelvill/mesomath/3Mill/chronology.html Third Millennium Chronology], ''Third Millennium Mathematics''. [[St. Lawrence University]].</ref>

==Old Babylonian mathematics (2000–1600 BC)==
Most clay tablets that describe Babylonian mathematics belong to the [[First Babylonian Dynasty|Old Babylonian]], which is why the mathematics of Mesopotamia is commonly known as Babylonian mathematics. Some clay tablets contain mathematical lists and tables, others contain problems and worked solutions.

===Arithmetic===
The Babylonians used pre-calculated tables to assist with [[arithmetic]]. For example, two tablets found at Senkerah on the [[Euphrates]] in 1854, dating from 2000 BC, give lists of the [[square number|squares]] of numbers up to 59 and the [[cube (arithmetic)|cubes]] of numbers up to 32. The Babylonians used the lists of squares together with the formulas

:<math>ab = \frac{(a + b)^2 - a^2 - b^2}{2}</math>
:<math>ab = \frac{(a + b)^2 - (a - b)^2}{4}</math>

to simplify multiplication.

The Babylonians did not have an algorithm for [[long division]]. Instead they based their method on the fact that

:<math>\frac{a}{b} = a \times \frac{1}{b}</math>

together with a table of [[multiplicative inverse|reciprocals]]. Numbers whose only [[prime factor]]s are 2, 3 or 5 (known as 5-[[smooth numbers|smooth]] or [[regular numbers]]) have finite [[reciprocal (mathematics)|reciprocal]]s in sexagesimal notation, and tables with extensive lists of these reciprocals have been found.

Reciprocals such as 1/7, 1/11, 1/13, etc. do not have finite representations in sexagesimal notation. To compute 1/13 or to divide a number by 13 the Babylonians would use an approximation such as

:<math>\frac{1}{13} = \frac{7}{91} = 7 \times \frac {1}{91} \approx 7 \times \frac{1}{90}=7 \times \frac{40}{3600} = \frac{280}{3600} = \frac{4}{60} + \frac{40}{3600}.</math>

===Algebra===
As well as arithmetical calculations, Babylonian mathematicians also developed [[elementary algebra|algebraic]] methods of solving [[equation]]s. Once again, these were based on pre-calculated tables.

To solve a [[quadratic equation]], the Babylonians essentially used the standard [[quadratic formula]]. They considered quadratic equations of the form

:<math>\ x^2 + bx = c</math>

where here ''b'' and ''c'' were not necessarily integers, but ''c'' was always positive. They knew that a solution to this form of equation is{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}}

:<math>x = - \frac{b}{2} + \sqrt{ \left ( \frac{b}{2} \right )^2 + c}</math>

and they would use their tables of squares in reverse to find square roots. They always used the positive root because this made sense when solving "real" problems. Problems of this type included finding the dimensions of a rectangle given its area and the amount by which the length exceeds the width.

Tables of values of ''n''3 + ''n''2 were used to solve certain [[cubic equation]]s. For example, consider the equation

:<math>\ ax^3 + bx^2 = c.</math>

<nowiki>Multiplying the equation by</nowiki> ''a''2 and dividing by ''b''3 gives

:<math>\left ( \frac{ax}{b} \right )^3 + \left ( \frac {ax}{b} \right )^2 = \frac {ca^2}{b^3}.</math>

Substituting ''y'' = ''ax''/''b'' gives

:<math>y^3 + y^2 = \frac {ca^2}{b^3}</math>

which could now be solved by looking up the ''n''3 + ''n''2 table to find the value closest to the right hand side. The Babylonians accomplished this without algebraic notation, showing a remarkable depth of understanding. However, they did not have a method for solving the general cubic equation.

=== Growth ===
Babylonians modeled exponential growth, constrained growth (via a form of [[sigmoid function]]s), and [[doubling time]], the latter in the context of interest on loans.

Clay tablets from c. 2000 BCE include the exercise "Given an interest rate of 1/60 per month (no compounding), compute the doubling time." This yields an annual interest rate of 12/60 = 20%, and hence a doubling time of 100% growth/20% growth per year = 5 years.<ref name="hudson">[http://michael-hudson.com/2007/08/why-the-%E2%80%9Cmiracle-of-compound-interest%E2%80%9D-leads-to-financial-crises/ Why the “Miracle of Compound Interest” leads to Financial Crises], by Michael Hudson</ref><ref>[http://plus.maths.org/issue11/features/compound/ Have we caught your interest?] by John H. Webb</ref>

===Plimpton 322===
The [[Plimpton 322]] tablet contains a list of "[[Pythagorean triples]]", i.e., integers
<math>\scriptstyle (a,b,c)</math> such that <math>\scriptstyle a^2+b^2=c^2</math>.
The triples are too many and too large to have been obtained by brute force.

Much has been written on the subject, including some speculation (perhaps anachronistic) as to whether the tablet could have served as an early trigonometrical table. Care must be exercised to see the tablet in terms of methods familiar or accessible to scribes at the time.
<blockquote>
[...] the question “how was the tablet calculated?” does not have to have the
same answer as the question “what problems does the tablet set?” The first can be answered
most satisfactorily by reciprocal pairs, as first suggested half a century ago, and the second
by some sort of right-triangle problems.
</blockquote>
(E. Robson, "Neither Sherlock Holmes nor Babylon: a reassessment of Plimpton 322", ''Historia Math.'' '''28''' (3), p. 202).

===Geometry===
Babylonians knew the common rules for measuring volumes and areas. They measured the circumference of a circle as three times the diameter and the area as one-twelfth the square of the circumference, which would be correct if ''[[π]]'' is estimated as 3. The volume of a cylinder was taken as the product of the base and the height, however, the volume of the frustum of a cone or a square pyramid was incorrectly taken as the product of the height and half the sum of the bases. The [[Pythagorean theorem]] was also known to the Babylonians. Also, there was a recent discovery in which a tablet used ''π'' as 3 and 1/8. The Babylonians are also known for the Babylonian mile, which was a measure of distance equal to about seven miles (or 11.3 kilometers) today. This measurement for distances eventually was converted to a time-mile used for measuring the travel of the Sun, therefore, representing time.<ref>Eves, Chapter 2.</ref>

The ancient Babylonians had known of theorems on the ratios of the sides of similar triangles for many centuries, but they lacked the concept of an angle measure and consequently, studied the sides of triangles instead.<ref name="Boyer Early Trigonometry">{{cite book|last=Boyer|authorlink=Carl Benjamin Boyer|title=|year=1991|chapter=Greek Trigonometry and Mensuration|pages=158–159}}</ref>

The [[Babylonian astronomy|Babylonian astronomers]] kept detailed records on the rising and setting of [[star]]s, the motion of the [[planet]]s, and the solar and lunar [[eclipse]]s, all of which required familiarity with [[Angle|angular]] distances measured on the [[celestial sphere]].<ref name=Maor-20>{{Cite book|title=Trigonometric Delights|first=Eli|last=Maor|year=1998|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=0-691-09541-8|page=20|postscript=}}</ref>

They also used a form of [[Fourier analysis]] to compute [[ephemeris]] (tables of astronomical positions), which was discovered in the 1950s by [[Otto Neugebauer]].<ref>{{Cite book
|title=The evolution of applied harmonic analysis: models of the real world
|first=Elena
|last=Prestini
|url=http://books.google.com/?id=fye--TBu4T0C
|publisher=Birkhäuser
|year=2004
|isbn=978-0-8176-4125-2
|postscript=
}}, [http://books.google.com/books?id=fye--TBu4T0C&pg=PA62 p. 62]</ref><ref>{{Cite book
|url=http://books.google.com/?id=H5smrEExNFUC
|title=Indiscrete thoughts
|first1=Gian-Carlo
|last1=Rota
|first2=Fabrizio
|last2=Palombi
|authorlink=Gian-Carlo Rota
|publisher=Birkhäuser
|year=1997
|isbn=978-0-8176-3866-5
|postscript=
}}, [http://books.google.com/books?id=H5smrEExNFUC&pg=PA11 p. 11]</ref><ref>{{Cite book | edition = 2 | publisher = [[Dover Publications]] | last = Neugebauer | first = Otto | author-link = Otto E. Neugebauer | title = The Exact Sciences in Antiquity | origyear = 1957 | year = 1969 | isbn = 978-0-486-22332-2 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=JVhTtVA2zr8C}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
|arxiv=physics/0310126
|title=Analyzing shell structure from Babylonian and modern times
|first1=Lis
|last1=Brack-Bernsen
|first2=Matthias
|last2=Brack
}}</ref>

==Influence==

Since the rediscovery of the Babylonian civilization, it has become apparent that [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Hellenistic]] mathematicians and astronomers, and in particular [[Hipparchus]], borrowed greatly from the [[Babylonia]]ns.

[[Franz Xaver Kugler]] demonstrated in his book ''Die Babylonische Mondrechnung'' ("''The Babylonian lunar computation''", Freiburg im Breisgau, 1900) the following: Ptolemy had stated in his ''Almagest'' IV.2 that Hipparchus improved the values for the Moon's periods known to him from "even more ancient astronomers" by comparing eclipse observations made earlier by "the Chaldeans", and by himself. However Kugler found that the periods that Ptolemy attributes to Hipparchus had already been used in Babylonian [[ephemerides]], specifically the collection of texts nowadays called "System B" (sometimes attributed to [[Kidinnu]]). Apparently Hipparchus only confirmed the validity of the periods he learned from the Chaldeans by his newer observations.

It is clear that Hipparchus (and Ptolemy after him) had an essentially complete list of eclipse observations covering many centuries. Most likely these had been compiled from the "diary" tablets: these are clay tablets recording all relevant observations that the Chaldeans routinely made. Preserved examples date from 652 BC to AD 130, but probably the records went back as far as the reign of the Babylonian king [[Nabonassar]]: Ptolemy starts his chronology with the first day in the Egyptian calendar of the first year of Nabonassar, i.e., 26 February 747 BC.

This raw material by itself must have been hard to use, and no doubt the Chaldeans themselves compiled extracts of e.g., all observed eclipses (some tablets with a list of all eclipses in a period of time covering a [[Saros cycle|saros]] have been found). This allowed them to recognise periodic recurrences of events. Among others they used in System B (cf. ''Almagest'' IV.2):

* 223 [[synodic month]]s = 239 returns in anomaly ([[anomalistic month]]) = 242 returns in latitude ([[draconic month]]). This is now known as the [[Saros cycle|saros]] period, which is useful for predicting [[eclipse]]s.
* 251 (synodic) months = 269 returns in anomaly
* 5458 (synodic) months = 5923 returns in latitude
* 1 [[Synodic month#Synodic month|synodic month]] = 29;31:50:08:20 days (sexagesimal; 29.53059413… days in decimals = 29 days 12 hours 44 min 3⅓ s, P.S. real time is 2.9 s, so 0.43 seconds off)

The Babylonians expressed all periods in synodic [[month]]s, probably because they used a [[lunisolar calendar]]. Various relations with yearly phenomena led to different values for the length of the year.

Similarly various relations between the periods of the [[planet]]s were known. The relations that Ptolemy attributes to Hipparchus in ''Almagest'' IX.3 had all already been used in predictions found on Babylonian clay tablets.

All this knowledge was transferred to the [[Greeks]] probably shortly after the conquest by [[Alexander the Great]] (331 BC). According to the late classical philosopher [[Simplicius of Cilicia|Simplicius]] (early 6th century AD), Alexander ordered the translation of the historical astronomical records under supervision of his chronicler [[Callisthenes|Callisthenes of Olynthus]], who sent it to his uncle [[Aristotle]]. Although Simplicius is a very late source, his account may be reliable. He spent some time in exile at the [[Sassanid]] (Persian) court, and may have accessed sources otherwise lost in the West. It is striking that he mentions the title ''tèresis'' (Greek: guard), which is an odd name for a historical work, but is an adequate translation of the Babylonian title ''massartu'' meaning ''guarding,'' but also ''observing.'' Anyway, Aristotle's pupil [[Callippus|Callippus of Cyzicus]] introduced his 76-year cycle, which improved on the 19-year [[Metonic cycle]], about that time. He had the first year of his first cycle start at the summer solstice of 28 June 330 BC ([[Proleptic Julian calendar]] date), but later he seems to have counted lunar months from the first month after Alexander's decisive battle at [[Gaugamela]] in fall 331 BC. So Callippus may have obtained his data from Babylonian sources and his calendar may have been anticipated by Kidinnu. Also it is known that the Babylonian priest known as [[Berossus]] wrote around 281 BC a book in Greek on the (rather mythological) history of Babylonia, the ''[[Babyloniaca]]'', for the new ruler [[Antiochus I]]; it is said that later he founded a school of [[astrology]] on the Greek island of [[Kos]]. Another candidate for teaching the Greeks about Babylonian [[astronomy]]/[[astrology]] was [[Sudines]] who was at the court of [[Attalus I|Attalus I Soter]] late in the 3rd century BC.

In any case, the translation of the astronomical records required profound knowledge of the [[cuneiform script]], the language, and the procedures, so it seems likely that it was done by some unidentified Chaldeans. Now, the Babylonians dated their observations in their lunisolar calendar, in which months and years have varying lengths (29 or 30 days; 12 or 13 months respectively). At the time they did not use a regular calendar (such as based on the [[Metonic cycle]] like they did later), but started a new month based on observations of the [[New Moon]]. This made it very tedious to compute the time interval between events.

What Hipparchus may have done is transform these records to the [[Egyptian calendar]], which uses a fixed year of always 365 days (consisting of 12 months of 30 days and 5 extra days): this makes computing time intervals much easier. Ptolemy dated all observations in this calendar. He also writes that "All that he (=Hipparchus) did was to make a compilation of the planetary observations arranged in a more useful way" (''Almagest'' IX.2). Pliny states (''Naturalis Historia'' II.IX(53)) on eclipse predictions: "After their time (=[[Thales]]) the courses of both stars (=Sun and Moon) for 600 years were prophesied by Hipparchus, …". This seems to imply that Hipparchus predicted eclipses for a period of 600 years, but considering the enormous amount of computation required, this is very unlikely. Rather, Hipparchus would have made a list of all eclipses from Nabonasser's time to his own.

Other traces of Babylonian practice in Hipparchus' work are:
* first known Greek use of the division the circle in 360 [[degree (angle)|degrees]] of 60 [[arc minute]]s.
* first consistent use of the [[sexagesimal]] number system.
* the use of the unit ''pechus'' ("cubit") of about 2° or 2½°.
* use of a short period of 248 days = 9 anomalistic months.

==See also==
{{portal|Mathematics|Ancient Near East}}
* [[Babylonia]]
* [[Babylonian astronomy]]
* [[History of mathematics]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* Berriman, A. E., ''The Babylonian quadratic equation'' (1956).
* Boyer, C. B., ''A History of Mathematics'', 2nd ed. rev. by Uta C. Merzbach. New York: Wiley, (1989) ISBN 0-471-09763-2 (1991 pbk ed. ISBN 0-471-54397-7).
* Joseph, G. G., ''The Crest of the Peacock'', Princeton University Press (October 15, 2000), ISBN 0-691-00659-8.
*{{cite journal
| url = http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhist/plimpnote.html
| title = Plimpton 322
| author = Joyce, David E.
| year = 1995
}}
*{{Cite book | edition = 2 | publisher = [[Dover Publications]] | last = Neugebauer | first = Otto | author-link = Otto E. Neugebauer | title = The Exact Sciences in Antiquity | origyear = 1957 | year = 1969 | isbn = 978-0-486-22332-2 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=JVhTtVA2zr8C}}
* O'Connor, J. J. and Robertson, E. F., [http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/Babylonian_mathematics.html "An overview of Babylonian mathematics"], MacTutor History of Mathematics, (December 2000).
*{{cite journal
| author = Robson, Eleanor | authorlink = Eleanor Robson
| title = Neither Sherlock Holmes nor Babylon: a reassessment of Plimpton 322
| year = 2001
| journal = Historia Math.
| volume = 28
| issue = 3
| pages = 167–206
| doi = 10.1006/hmat.2001.2317
| mr = 1849797
}}
* [[Eleanor Robson|Robson, E.]], Words and pictures: New light on Plimpton 322, The American Mathematical Monthly. Washington: Feb 2002. Vol. 109, Iss. 2; pg. 105
* [[Eleanor Robson|Robson, E.]] ''Mathematics in Ancient Iraq: A Social History.'' Princeton University Press (2008)
* [[G. J. Toomer|Toomer, G. J.]], ''Hipparchus and Babylonian Astronomy'', (1981).

==External links==

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babylonian Mathematics}}
[[Category:Babylonian mathematics]]

Indicator value - Revision history

en>Moreau1: Reverted 1 edit by 121.54.22.110 (talk) to last revision by Addbot. (TW)