, and darken the Earth in broad daylight'." (Amos 8:9) That day was June 15, 763 B.C. and the date of the eclipse if confirmed by an Assyrian historical record known as the Eponym Canon. In Assyria the year was named after a different ruling official and the events of the year were recorded under that name in the Canon. Under the year corresponding to 763 B.C. a scribe at Nineveh recorded this eclipse and highlighted the day by drawing a line across the tablet. These ancient records have allowed historians through the knowledge of eclipse data to improve the chronology of early Biblical times.
One of the most famous eclipses of ancient times ended a five-year war between the Lydians and Medes. These armies had been locked in battle when day turned into night and the total solar eclipse of May 28, 585 B.C. was enough to stop the fighting, a treaty was made and bonded by a double marriage.
There are many instances in history where an eclipse had an affect on the outcome of an event. Sometimes it was seen as an celestial omen and soldiers were reluctant to obey. Charlemagne's son, Emperor Louis was reported as so perplexed by the five minutes of totality he witnessed May 5, 840, that he died shortly after of fright.
Another condition that seems present with eclipses is earthquakes. There is a compelling number of literary and historical connections between eclipses and earthquakes. Even as recent as September 16, 1978 in Iran, and earthquake that killed more than 25,000 people occurred just 3-1/2 hours before a total lunar eclipse was visible there.
There have also been records of abuse of the knowledge of eclipses to gain God-like status or to use an eclipse as a sign from God. Christopher Columbus while stranded on the island of Jamaica with damaged ships and low provisions resorted to his knowledge of a total eclipse of the Moon on February 29, 1504 to obtain supplies from the natives. They had not wanted to trade for baubles and trinkets and the Spanish would have faced starvation. However Columbus arranged a meeting that night with the natives, announcing God did not approved of the way the natives were treating him and his crew and that the Almighty had decided to remove the Moon as a sign of his displeasure. The timing was perfect and the natives were terrified as the light of the Moon faded they offered him all the food and water he wanted if he would restore the Moon. Columbus playing the role of a servant of God pleaded their case and appeared to convince God to restore the Moon.
What of the future eclipses in the decade to come there are some that will be relatively easy to view and others less accessible.
2000 January 21 -- A total lunar eclipse will be visible from all of North and South America and Europe, lasting for 1 hour and 18 minutes.
2000 July 16 -- Another total lunar eclipse six months later will give early risers on the west coast of North America a chance to see the eclipsed full Moon set in the west at sunrise.
2000 December 25 -- A partial solar eclipse , visible during mid-day from the entire 48 states of the U.S., graces the final Christmas Day of the Second Millennium.
2001 June 21 and 2002 December 4 -- A forty-mile stretch of the Atlantic coast of Africa, just north of Lobito, Angola, experiences totality twice in 18 months. The June 21st eclipse occurs just 4.5 hours after the solstice (winter in the Southern Hemisphere). The December 4th eclipse track passes 50 miles south of Victoria Falls in Africa, ending at sunset on the southern coast of Australia on the shoreline of the Great Australian Bight, near the Yalata Aboriginal Reserve.
2003 May 31 and 2003 November 23 -- Two opposite polar eclipses in the same year -- a double "polar solar" -- and each in the corresponding warmer half of the year. The May 31st event is an annular solar eclipse that starts at the northern tip of Scotland and actually moves westward across Iceland and southern Greenland. The November 23rd eclipse is total, lasting up to 1 minute 57 seconds as it sweeps across Antarctica near the Amery Ice Shelf. Partial phases