II.

Babylonian Civilization

A. Location, Area and Old Map

Babylon is an ancient cultural region

occupying southeastern Mesopotamia

between the two great rivers, Tigris and

Euphrates (Saggs, n.d.). It was one of the most

famous cities of antiquity. The town of

Ancient Babylon was located along the

Euphrates River in the present-day Iraq, about

50 miles south of the present-day Baghdad

(Augustyn, n.d.). The Babylonians were Figure 1. Old Map of Mesopotamia where Babylon belongs.

Semitic people who invaded Mesopotamia and defeating the Sumerians and by about 1900 BC

establishing their capital at Babylon (ibid.). Today, little is known of the city’s actual origins and

the scope of its empire.

The city of Babylon rose to prominence in the 18th century B.C. when, through a

combination of political alliances and military

campaigns, their leader Hammurabi was able to

unite a large state under his rule (Saggs, n.d) . After

Hammurabi conquered neighboring city-states, he

brought much southern and central Mesopotamia

under unified Babylonian rule, creating an empire

Babylonia. Hammurabi turned Babylon into a

Figure 2. Map showing the city of Babylon
powerful and influential city. He created one of the world’s most complete and earliest written

legal code known as the Code of Hammurabi which helped Babylon surpassed other nearby city

states in the region (Saggs, n.d).

Babylonia, however, was short-lived. The empire fell apart after Hammurabi’s death and

reverted back to a small kingdom for several centuries. Despite of the short-lived glory of the

Babylonian civilization, it has nevertheless made substantial contributions in the various fields of

history, engineering, writing, arts, trade and crafts and most importantly in the field of mathematics

which is the focus of this

paper. It is important to

delve into the history of the

Babylonian civilization that

led to the formulation and of

their writing and counting

system that helped mold our

Figure 3. Present-day Babylon (Baghdad, Iraq)
present-day Mathematics.

The information we have regarding Babylonian mathematics comes from clay tablets.

Although approximately half a million of these tablets have been discovered since the beginning

of the 1800s, fewer than five hundred are mathematical in nature (Teresi, 2002). The majority of

these five hundred tablets are dated between the years 1800 and 1600 B.C. It was not until the end

of the 19th century, however, that numerous Sumerian and Babylonian measurement texts were
translated (Teresi,2002). The script that was used on the clay

tablets is called cuneiform script and the texts were written in

the Babylonian language, which is a dialect from the Akkadian

that is Semitic in nature and is closely related to the classical

Arabic and Hebrew languages. The secret for the great

preservation of these Babylonian tablets lies in the manner in

which the information was written. The scripts were written

on moist clay tablets using a stylus, which is a blunt reed. The

clay was then baked, either by the sun or in an actual oven.

The impressions that remained were wedge-shaped, which is the Figure 4. Stone Tablet

reason for the name of these scripts—“cuneiform,” which literally translates “wedge shaped.”

Among the various Mesopotamian civilizations, the Sumerians were the first to establish a system

of writing using this cuneiform method, primarily for bureaucratic purposes. Despite the benefit

of the great preservation of these scripts due to this method of inscription, many tablets contain

several errors since the scribes had to write on the moist clay very quickly before the clay dried

(Teresi, 2002).

It is from these well-preserved tablets that we gain our understanding of the number system the

Babylonians had in place, their dealings

with “Pythagorean” mathematics and

equations, possible ways they determined

the value of the square root of 2, and some

other mathematical topics (Zara, 2008 ).

Figure 5. Stone tablets

To begin our brief review on some of the Babylonian mathematics, we are going to look at the

Babylonian number system.

B. Numeration System

Currently, we are most familiar with the decimal place value system adopted from Hindu-

Arabic influence with numeral 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 9 being used. The positions of these numbers

usually affect its value. For example, the figures 9, 90 and 900---- the number 9 is situated in three

different places. With the first number, 9 is located in the units place with the smallest value 9 x

100 . The second number is with 9 located in the tens place with the value of 9 x 101. The third

number with 9 in the hundreds place with the biggest value 9 x 102.

On the other hand, the Babylonians used a numeric system that is sexagesimal in nature,

which means that instead of having the base of 10 as shown above, they used the base of 60

(Hodgkin, 2005). This numeric system of using the base of 60 still remains in some of our modern

day usage. For example, when we count the number of seconds in one minute (1min= 60 seconds),

the number of minutes in an hour (1 hr = 60 mins) or even geographic coordinates 40 1’12’’ can be

translated as 4 + (1/60) +(12/602) (Zara, 2008). However, the Babylonians did not purely use 60-

base system, since they did not use 60 as an individual digit rather they counted by both 10s and

60s. Thus, in reality the Babylonian notation system is both decimal and sexagesimal in nature

(Teresi, 2002).

The Sumerians had largely influenced the sexagesimal notation of Babylonia. But when

the the Sumerians first used this system, it was incomplete such that they used positional notational
based on 60 as per shown in the illustration below. These symbols below were used by the

Sumerians prior to 2000 B.C. (Teresi , 2002).

Figure 6. Sumerian Notation System

However, after 2000 B.C., the Babylonians devised a simpler number system based from

this Sumerian influence. The Babylonians only used two symbols: a pin shape that represented

the value of 1 and a wing shape that represented the value of 10 (Teresi, 2002). The following

table shows the symbols for numbers 1 until 59 as used by the Babylonians.

Table 1. Numbers 1 to 59 written in Cuneiform Script ( O’Connor & Robertson, 2000)

From about 2500 B.C. on, the Babylonians’ number system drastically improved when

they realized that the pin- and wing-shaped symbols could represent various values based on their
position in relation to each other. In this place-value system, the manner in which values were

represented was by placing the signs side by side. Also, the Babylonian number system is read

from left to right (Teresi, 2002). In the example laid out by Teresi (2002), the number 95 would

be written as follows:

This first pin shape represents a value of 60, the three wings are each worth 10 (3 X 10 =

30), and the final five pins are each worth one (5 X 1 = 5), which results in a total of 95 (Teresi,

2002). Even though this number system made use of the positions of the symbols to change their

values, it also admits certain limitations. For example, instead of using a zero as a placeholder to

represent an “empty column” between two numbers, the Babylonians’ “placeholder” was simply

leaving extra space between their number symbols. Additionally, Teresi (2002) further explained

that what adds to the complexity of this number system is the size of the symbols used. The the

value of a symbol differed based on its size. So, a symbol written slightly smaller than whatever

was considered “standard” at the time would have a different value than a larger variation.

Consequently, a reader’s misinterpretation of the writer’s size of symbols or spacing between

symbols could easily lead to mistakes regarding the symbols’ value and even whether the symbol

represented a fraction or a whole number (Zara, n.d).

In order to better understand the value of these symbols, editors usually transliterate the

value and add commas or semicolons to signify and distinguish between whole numbers and

decimals, respectively.

This practice began with the pioneer scholar Otto Neugebauer in the 1930s (Teresi, 2002).

Hodgkin (2005) explained in transliteration which commas are used, the transliterated value can
be turned into a decimal value by multiplying the number on the far right by 600, the number

immediately to its left by 601, the number immediately to the left of the previous number by 602,

etc., and then taking the sum of these values. For example, the decimal value equivalent of the

transliteration ‘1, 15’ is 15 X 600 + 1 X 601 = 75. Another example is the case of ‘40, 26, 40’

which can be transliterated with a value of 40 X 600 + 26 X 601 + 44 X 602= 40 + 1560 + 158,400

= 160,000.

The commas used signify that preceding numbers must be multiplied with the number next

to it. It should be read from left to right, wherein numbers occurring from left has to be

multiplied with 600 , the next number will be multiplied with 601 and so on to arrive at the

proper value of the symbols used (Zara, 2008).

On one hand, semicolons are used in the transliteration of decimal fractions even though it

is unknown whether the Babylonians truly has a symbol for this. The use of semicolons were

adopted by scholars to better understand the clay tablets (Zara, 2008). The transliteration of a

number in which semicolons are used can be turned into a decimal value by dividing the first

number to the right of the semicolon by 601, the number immediately to the right of the

previous number by 602, the number immediately to the right of the previous number by 603

and so on, and then taking the sum of these values. For example, ‘1; 20’ is calculated as 1 +

(20/60) = 4/3; or 0; 30 would be equivalent to 0 + (30/60) = 0.5 = 1/2.

Essentially, the semi colon is used to signify division. It means that the number following

the semi colon must be divided with 600 if is located in the left most part, the following number

must be divided with 601 and so on. The transliterations of Babylonian symbols by editors have

helped readers to better understand the values of the symbols written in cuneiform script. The table
below provides examples of the transliterations and the decimal value equivalents for some larger

cuneiform numbers.

Table 2. Transliteration of some large Cuneiform numbers, (Hodgkin 2005)

Somewhere between the years of 700 and 300 B.C., the Babylonians made an improvement

in their number system by implementing a symbol that would mean “nothing in this column”

(Teresi, 2002). This development was a step toward the modern usage of zero as a placeholder.

However, in this particular model the Babylonians used a symbol of two little triangles arranged

in a column to represent the placeholder between two other symbols (Teresi, 2002). This new

symbol helped eliminate some of the ambiguity that existed in their previous form of the number

system. For example, the number 7,240 could now be written as follows:

Consider this, without the placeholder symbol, such a number could be calculated as 160—

2 pin shapes, each of which have a value of 60 (2 X 60 = 120) plus 4 wing shapes, each of which

have a value of 10 (4 X 10 = 40) for a total of 160 (120 + 40 = 160).

According to Teresi (2002), since the placeholder symbol is in the 60s column, the pin

shapes becomes worth 602 each instead of just 601. The wings still have a value of 10 each, which

implies that the value is (2 X 602) + (4 X 10), which results in a sum of 7,240 (Teresi, 2002).
 Since the placeholder symbol was never placed at the end of numbers, but rather was used

only in the middle of numbers, it appears that the placeholder symbol never evolved into an actual

symbol for zero. However, the Babylonians’ use of this placeholder symbol has still proven to be

helpful for editors in translating symbols (Teresi, 2002).

C. Contribution to Mathematics

The Babylonian civilization might be short-lived but its contributions form a lasting and

significant influence in our lives, as well as to the modern-day Mathematics. Among these

important contributions are as follows:

Firstly, the Babylonians adopted the base-60 system from the Sumerians. In Babylonian

astronomy, a year is 360 days, which is divided into 12 months of 30 days each. By 2000 B.C. the

base-60 system had largely disappeared from common use, but it survives in our today’s measures

of months, days, hours, minutes and seconds, so

called because they are the second division of 60

from the hour. Another vestige of Babylonian

mathematics endures in the 360-degree circle.

Secondly, the Babylonians developed another

revolutionary mathematical concept which other

civilizations like the Egyptians, Greeks and

Romans did not have. They conceptualize the

concept of a zero, although its symbol was really Figure 7. Babylonian Pictographs

still more of a placeholder than a number in its own right. Many scholars argued that the

Babylonian civilization did not use zero, however their stone tablets would show characters, more
of a placeholder that separates a number from the other. Such placeholder is essential in

determining the value of a symbols used. It has served as the precursor of the current-day zero.

Thirdly, Babylonian tablets dating from about 1800 to 1600 BCE were unearthed and

found to cover topics as varied as fractions, algebra, methods for solving linear, quadratic and

even some cubic equations, and the calculation of regular reciprocal pairs (pairs of number which

multiply together to give 60). One Babylonian tablet gives an approximation to √2 accurate to an

astonishing five decimal places. Others list the squares of numbers up to 59, the cubes of numbers

up to 32 as well as tables of compound interest. Yet another gives an estimate for π of 3 1⁄8 (3.125,

a reasonable approximation of the real value of 3.1416).

Next, is the idea of square numbers and quadratic equations (where the unknown quantity

is multiplied by itself, e.g. x2) naturally arose in the context of the measurement of land and

Babylonian mathematical tablets give us the first ever evidence of the solution of quadratic

equations. The Babylonian approach to solving them usually revolved around a kind of geometric

game of slicing up and rearranging shapes, although the use of algebra and quadratic equations

also appears. At least some of the examples we have appear

to indicate problem-solving for its own sake rather than in

order to resolve a concrete practical problem. Lastly, the

famous and controversial Plimpton 322 clay tablet, believed

to date from around 1800 BCE, suggests that the

Babylonians may well have known the secret of right-angled

triangles (that the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum

of the square of the other two sides) many centuries before

the Greek Pythagoras. The tablet appears to list 15 perfect

Figure 8. Numeration system in clay tablet
Pythagorean triangles with whole number sides, although some claim that they were merely

academic exercises, and not deliberate manifestations of Pythagorean triples.

D. Mathematicians

The advanced artifacts of unearthed only imply strong mathematical skill among the

civilizations formed in Mesopotamia, but the first written evidence of advanced arithmetic dates

from Sumeria, where 4500-year old clay tablets show multiplication and division problems; the

first abacus may be about this old. By 3600 years ago, Mesopotamian tablets show tables of

squares, cubes, reciprocals, and even logarithms and trig functions, using a primitive place-value

system (in base 60, not 10). However, Babylonians were familiar with the Pythagorean Theorem,

solutions to quadratic equations, even cubic equations and eventually even developed methods to

estimate terms for compound interest. The Greeks borrowed from Babylonian mathematics, which

was the most advanced of any before the Greeks; but there is no ancient Babylonian

mathematician whose name is known.

Nabu-rimanni or Naburimannu, (flourished c. 491 bc, Babylonia), the earliest

Babylonian astronomer known by name, who devised the so-called System A, a group of

ephemerides, or tables, giving the positions of the Moon, Sun, and planets at any given moment

(“Nabu-rimanni”,n.d.). Based on centuries of observation, these tables were nonetheless somewhat

crude and were superseded about a century later by Kidinnu’s System B, a refined mathematical

method for finding celestial positions more accurately. Both systems were in use simultaneously

between 250 and 50 bc. Nabu-rimanni also calculated the length of the synodic month (from New

Moon to New Moon) to be 29.530614 days, as compared with the modern value of 29.530596

days (“Nabu-rimanni”, n.d.). Unfortunately, there is no available photo of the said astronomer.
 Kidinnu, also spelled Kidin, (flourished 4th or early 3rd century BCE), Babylonian

astronomer who may have been responsible for what modern scholars call System B (Evans, n.d.)..

It is a Babylonian theory that described the speed of the Moon’s motion around the zodiac as

increasing gradually and then decreasing gradually in the course of a month, following a regular

sawtooth pattern. The Babylonian lunar theory included a scheme for the motion of the Sun, since

the Sun figures in the prediction of lunar phenomena such as phases and eclipses (Evans, n.d.).

The name Kidinnu or Kidin was deciphered on Babylonian cuneiform clay tablets carrying

computations of lunar phenomena in System B. One such tablet bears the inscription “tersitu of

Kidinnu,” where tersitu can mean “apparatus” or “preparation” or perhaps in this case simply

“computed table”, (Evans, n.d.). In both systems, arithmetical rules were applied to the variations

in the speed of the Sun and the Moon around the zodiac that allowed Babylonian scribes to work

out predictions of lunar phenomena, including dates of new and full moons, as well as those of

eclipses. The theory was reasonably accurate and was far better than anything that Greek

astronomers were capable of before Hipparchus’s lunar theory (Evans, n.d.).

E. Important Events

Hodgkin (2005) argues that our

evidences about early mathematics are entirely

archaeological—the artefacts and records

which they left, and which have been

excavated and studied by scholars.

Furthermore, he claimed that it is important to

look at key periods from which our information Figure 9. Wedge shaped tablets
on mathematics derives. Hodgkin (2005) claimed that through these important events, we can see

in a bigger context how Mathematics, as a field of knowledge started out. A rough guide will

show the periods from which our main information on mathematics derives:

2500 BCE - ‘Fara period’: The earliest (Sumerian) school texts, from Fara near Uruk; beginning

of phonetic writing.

2340 BCE- ‘Akkadian dynasty’: Unification of

all Mesopotamia under Sargon (an Akkadian).

Cuneiform is adapted to write in Akkadian; number

system further developed.

2100 BCE- ‘Ur III’: Re-establishment of Ur, an

ancient Sumerian city, as capital. Population now

mixed, with Akkadians in the majority. High point

of bureaucracy under King Šulgi.

Figure 10. Depiction of Ancient Wars 1800 BCE- Old Babylonian’, or OB: Supremacy

of the northern city of Babylon under (Akkadian) Hammurapi and his dynasty. The most

sophisticated mathematical texts.

Each dynasty lasted roughly a hundred years and was overthrown by outsiders, following

a common pattern. However, there was a basic continuity to life in southern Mesopotamia (now
 Iraq) with agriculture and its bureaucratic-priestly

control probably continuing without much change

throughout the period.

It is advanced by the author that that

mathematics was born out of the need of the

ancient Oriental states of Egypt and Iraq to

control their irrigation. These agrarian projects

were responsible for the whole of culture from the

formation of the state to the invention of writing

(Hodgkin 2005). Another thesis was put forward which claims that the ancient states of Egypt and

Iraq had a broadly similar priestly bureaucratic structure, and evolved both writing and

mathematics very early to serve bureaucratic ends. Indeed, as far as our evidence goes,

‘mathematics’ precedes writing, in that the earliest documents are inventories of goods (Hodgkin

2005). The development of

counting-symbols seems to

take place at a time when the

things counted are described Figure 11. Babylonia as Agricultural Community

by pictures rather than any

phonetic system of writing. He

argued that the bureaucracy

needed accountancy, thus it

paved way for the invention

and development Early Babylonian mathematics (ibid.).

 Another important

event that occurred to

better understand early

mathematics of Babylon is

the unearthing of

Plimpton 322 Clay Tablet.

The clay tablet with the

catalog number 322 in the

G. A. Plimpton Collection

at Columbia University

(Plimpton 322 Clay tablet) Figure 12. Plimpton 322 clay tablet

may be the most well-known mathematical tablet, certainly the most photographed one (Chang,

2017). It was scribed in the Old Babylonian period at around 1800 BCE and shows the most

advanced mathematics before the development of Greek Mathematics. The Clay tablet was first

discovered in Iraq in the early 1900s by Edgar Banks and it was later bought by George Arthur

Plimpton in 1922 and has been called the Plimpton tablet ever since (Chang,2017). It was said that

the most important finding from the tablet is the evidence of Pythagorean triples, indicating that

Babylonians were seemingly aware of the Pythagorean theorem, long before Pythagoras (ibid.).
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Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed July 2019 on
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kidinnu

Hodgkin, L. H. (2005). A history of mathematics: From Mesopotamia to modernity.

Oxford: Oxford University Pres.

Nabu-rimanni (no date). Encyclopedia Britannica.

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O’Connor, J.J., & Robertson, E.F. (2019). “Pythagoras’s theorem in Babylonian mathematics.
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