Indian astrology is Vedic in origin and has been part of Hindu teachings for thousands of years and that dates back to 1st and 2nd century BCE.[1] The religious compilations known as Vedas have six supplementary appendixes known as the Vedangas, limbs of the Vedas. Of these the Jyotish Vedanga forms the foundations of Indian Astrology. From India, Vedic astrology spread westward to the Persians and the Babylonians, and from them to the Greeks and Romans [2] . As a result of the Islamic conquest Arabs gained access to astrology from both the Greek Hellenistic astrologers on one side (the West) and Vedic astrology from India on the other side (the East).
Astrology in Europe and the Middle East
The history of astrology in Europe and the Middle East are inextricably linked, with each region contributing to astrologial theories and continually influencing each other over time. Bouché-Leclercq, Cumont and Boll hold that the middle of the 4th century B.C. is when Babylonian astrology began to firmly enter western culture.
This spread of astrology was concomitant with the rise of a genuine scientific phase of astronomy in Babylonia itself. This may have weakened to some extent the hold that astrology had on the priests and the people. Another factor leading to the decline of the old faith in the Euphrates Valley may have been the advent of the Persians, who brought with them a religion which differed markedly from the Babylonian-Assyrian polytheism (see Zoroastrianism).
The spread of astrology beyond Babylonia is thus concomitant with the rise of a truly scientific astronomy in Babylonia itself, which in turn is due to the intellectual impulse afforded by the contact with new forms of culture from both the East and the West. In the hands of the Greeks and of the Egyptians both astrology and astronomy were carried far beyond the limits attained by the Babylonians
Astrology in Europe and the Middle East
The history of astrology in Europe and the Middle East are inextricably linked, with each region contributing to astrologial theories and continually influencing each other over time. Bouché-Leclercq, Cumont and Boll hold that the middle of the 4th century B.C. is when Babylonian astrology began to firmly enter western culture.
This spread of astrology was concomitant with the rise of a genuine scientific phase of astronomy in Babylonia itself. This may have weakened to some extent the hold that astrology had on the priests and the people. Another factor leading to the decline of the old faith in the Euphrates Valley may have been the advent of the Persians, who brought with them a religion which differed markedly from the Babylonian-Assyrian polytheism (see Zoroastrianism).
The spread of astrology beyond Babylonia is thus concomitant with the rise of a truly scientific astronomy in Babylonia itself, which in turn is due to the intellectual impulse afforded by the contact with new forms of culture from both the East and the West. In the hands of the Greeks and of the Egyptians both astrology and astronomy were carried far beyond the limits attained by the Babylonians
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