Thimpressive ancienet Wester durationn astronomica. I t begin s witl traditioh recordns i osf on planee o tf observation grea t richness mads an deby the Babylonians in the second millenniu m B.C . It includes the developmen tof an astronom y base d o n geometrica l method s an d philosophica l principle sby th e Greek s betwee n th e tim e o f Aristotl e (fourt h centur y B.C. ) and th etime o f Ptolem y (secon d centur y A.D.) . Afte r a perio d o f decline , o r a t leas tof quiescence, astronom y underwen t a renaissance in the Islami c Middle Eastin th e nint h centur y A.D . For th e nex t severa l centurie s th e languag e o fastronomical learnin g was Arabic, as Greek had bee n before , an d a s Akkadianhad bee n befor e that . This astronomical traditio n culminate d with th e astro nomical revolutio n o f th e sixteent h centur y i n centra l Europe , where Latinwas th e languag e o f scientifi c discourse . This history of nearly 3,000 yearstherefore involve s contributions b y the Babylonian, Greek , Arabic, and medi eval Latin cultures. But it was the Greek period that determined th e fundamental character of this endeavor .
