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How did Arabic and Syriac translations revive astrology in Byzantium?
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astrology
Zodiac wheel showing the 12 astrological constellations or signs from an illumination of the poem Breviari d'Amour, Catalan (Spain), late 14th century; in the collection of the British Library.
By the end of the 6th century, astrology had been virtually obliterated in Byzantium due to a decline in intellectual life and strong opposition from Christianity.
The discipline was revived in the late 8th and 9th centuries specifically through the impact of translations from Syriac and Arabic. These translations reintroduced astrological knowledge that had been preserved and developed elsewhere, allowing for a period of renewed interest in the field between approximately 800 and 1200 CE. While this revival fostered a more favorable environment for the practice, it did not lead to significant additions to existing astrological theories or techniques.1