Astronomical chronology

Written records of historical events that include descriptions of astronomical phenomena have done much to clarify the chronology of the Ancient Near East; works of art which depict the configuration of the stars and planets and buildings which are oriented to the rising and setting of celestial bodies at a particular time have all been dated through astronomical calculations.

[3] Babylonian astronomical diaries provide detailed and unambiguous accounts of the positions of all the visible planets, often in relation to specific stars, that have been used to provide precise dates of events like the defeat of Darius III by Alexander the Great at the Battle of Gaugamela on 1 October 331 BCE and of Alexander's subsequent death on 11 June 323.

[4] Since the success of this method depends on the reliability of the written sources and the precision of their accounts of astronomical phenomena, attempts to date literary texts which may describe astronomical events loosely or even as metaphors have led researchers to conclusions that appear precise, but rely on invalid assumptions and are consequently less widely accepted.

Since the motions of the celestial bodies are all at different periods, it takes many centuries for all the planets plus the Sun and the Moon, to reach the same positions in the signs of the Zodiac.

The archaeologist F. C. Penrose applied a similar method to ancient Greek Temples, attempting to establish their dates by relating their orientation to the appearance of stars on the horizon, the position of which changes slowly due to the precession of the equinoxes.