Ancient Babylonian Cuneiform Tablets Reveal Predictions of the Future

Deciphered Texts Shed Light on Astrological Beliefs

Scholars have deciphered four 4,000-year-old Babylonian cuneiform tablets that contain predictions about the future based on the movements of the moon.

The tablets were discovered over a century ago in what is now Iraq, but scholars have only recently been able to decipher their complex script. The texts describe how lunar eclipses and other celestial events were seen as omens by the ancient Babylonians.

For example, one tablet states that a lunar eclipse that occurs in the month of Nisan (March-April) will bring "great bloodshed." Another tablet predicts that an eclipse in the month of Tishrei (September-October) will "cause the overthrow of a king."

These predictions show that the ancient Babylonians believed that the movements of the moon could influence human affairs. They used lunar eclipses and other celestial events as a way of divining the future and making predictions about the outcome of important events.