The Moon and the Seasons in the Islamic Calendar

It is likely that the predecessors of the Babylonians, along with the other civilizations in Mesopotamia like the ancient Israelites, began tracking the motion of the moon prior to the Hellyical Risings. We believe this because various religious festivals correspond to dates in certain lunar months, not dates for agricultural activities. The Islamic calendars appear to be the lunar calendar and consequently cycles through the solar calendar.