La Table des rois

How could ancient astronomers accurately calculate celestial phenomena on the scale of several centuries? The Table of Kings is a simple list of rulers with the duration of their reigns, which allowed Ptolemy, an Alexandrian astronomer, to have a count of the years that had passed since the Babylonian king Nabonassar (8th century BC). Initially used for astronomy, this table captivated historians and chronology specialists from Antiquity. Rediscovered in Europe in the modern era, it is a crucial