JUL 11, 2005 - Kidinnu, the Chaldeans, & Babylonian Astronomy is an excellent astrological history primer, organized around the most famous Chaldean of them all, old Kidinnu himself. Author Jona Lendering describes ancient astrology as an empirical, observational discipline, and the astrologers who practiced it as "the fathers of science: They observed the skies, collected data, discovered regularities, and warned the authorities when they knew something bad was about to happen." Stretching from about 650 BCE to around 60 BCE, the observational records of the Chaldeans "are probably the longest research program ever." Some portions of those old observations have been incoporated into present astrological practice, which means the research goes on.
