The development of Roman astronomy evolved over the centuries, embracing the ideas of many cultures as the Romans conquered much of the known world, soaking up knowledge from Asia, Europe, and Africa. Each civilization brought distinct traditions and scientific understanding, and Rome was a bridge, preserving and spreading the concepts and technologies of its conquered lands, including astronomy. For example, After Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BCE, he appointed Chaldean astronomers to his Persian court and safeguarded the detailed Babylonian star charts. The skill of predicting eclipses using these historical charts and mathematics passed from the Persians to the Greeks, and finally to the Romans.
Roman astronomy had practical purposes, like timekeeping, and Roman ships used the stars for navigation. The Romans oriented monuments, temples, tombs, and cities with specific constellations, and like most ancient people, the Romans believed in astrology. They thought the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars influenced human lives and earthly events, and most Romans viewed astrology as a natural extension of astronomy. They gave the names of their deities to the planets and stars, and they thought the stars, moon, and planets had mystical power and represented the deities. Thus, they studied the movements of the stars and planets to discern their personal fortunes and the will of their gods. The five planets that can be seen with the naked eye still have the names of Roman gods: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, and modern astronomers use Roman records of solar storms, comets, and eclipses, along with consulting ancient Roman data to analyze Earth’s climate history, orbital mechanics, and long-term patterns for the 11-year solar cycle.
