Archaeoastronomy in Armenia and Iran

Armenia and Iran are also among the richest countries for archaeoastronomical sites (Iranian medieval Maragheh Observatory, similar to Stonehenge Armenian Zorats Karer, which is condsidered even more ancient), other astronomical heritage, as well as astronomical issues in culture. Among Armenian archaeoastronomy heritage, there are Metzamor and Zorats Karer observatories, ancient rock art with astronomical signs, the Armenian ancient calendar, Anania Shirakatsi’s heritage, medieval sky charts, etc. Astronomy in Iran routes back to many thousands years ago. When Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire, captured Babylon in 539 B.C., magi who migrated there transformed Babylonian astronomy. They were the first to record planetary motion through constellations. In turn magi learned from the Babylonian astronomers as well and translated Babylonian books into the early Persian language. Andromeda galaxy was first identified by a Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi calling it a little cloud in his book of fixed stars around 964. In 13^th century, Maragheh Observatory with a unique place in the history of medieval astronomy, was established, representing a new wave of scientific activities in the Islamic world. It had a key role in the development of sophisticated pre-Copernican non-Ptolemaic systems for explaining the planetary motions, and it was the model for several observatories that were built in Persia, Transoxiana, and Asia Minor up to the 17^th century.