Reflections on Observational Astronomy in the Medieval Islamic Period

Reflections on Observational Astronomy in the Medieval Islamic Period
Author: S. Mohammad Mozaffari
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2024-12-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1040228429

This volume presents comprehensive investigations into various facets of observational astronomy during the medieval Islamic period, spanning from the ninth to the seventeenth centuries. The chapters compiled here, originally published between 2012 and 2018, have undergone significant revisions to enhance their accuracy and explore a broad spectrum of topics organized into five main sections. Reflections on Observational Astronomy in the Medieval Islamic Period begins with solar astronomy, providing a detailed evaluation of Islamic astronomers’ determinations of fundamental solar parameters. In the realm of lunar astronomy, it examines the gradual endorsement and rationalization of annular solar eclipses, along with an exclusive historical account of predicting and observing such an event in 1283 CE. The section on planetary astronomy scrutinizes empirical discoveries that distinguish between the precession of equinoxes and the motion of apogees, as well as significant enhancements to Ptolemy’s parameters for planetary latitudes. Stellar astronomy is explored through a non-Ptolemaic star table that encompasses observations from ninth-century Baghdad to thirteenth-century Marāgha. The final section examines observational instruments, focusing on those constructed during the second period of activities at the Marāgha observatory. A critical analysis of astronomical observations conducted at the Marāgha and Istanbul observatories is a key focus of this work. This book will be invaluable to those interested in the historical progression of exact sciences; the scope, distinctive aspects, and caliber of experimental activities in medieval times; and the interplay between theory and observation throughout history. It is intended for historians, scientists (including astronomers and physicists), and particularly, historians of astronomy.

Reflections on Observational Astronomy in the Medieval Islamic Period

Reflections on Observational Astronomy in the Medieval Islamic Period
Author: S. Mohammad Mozaffari
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2024-12-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781032772349

This volume presents comprehensive investigations into various facets of observational astronomy during the medieval Islamic period, spanning from the ninth to the seventeenth centuries. The articles compiled here, originally published between 2012 and 2018, have undergone significant revisions to enhance their accuracy and explore a broad spectrum of topics organized into five main sections. Reflections on Observational Astronomy in the Medieval Islamic Period begins with solar astronomy, providing a detailed evaluation of Islamic astronomers' determinations of fundamental solar parameters. In the realm of lunar astronomy, it examines the gradual endorsement and rationalization of annular solar eclipses, along with an exclusive historical account of predicting and observing such an event in 1283 CE. The section on planetary astronomy scrutinizes empirical discoveries that distinguish between the precession of equinoxes and the motion of apogees, as well as significant enhancements to Ptolemy's parameters for planetary latitudes. Stellar astronomy is explored through a non-Ptolemaic star table that encompasses observations from ninth-century Baghdad to thirteenth-century Maragha. The final section examines observational instruments, focusing on those constructed during the second period of activities at the Maragha observatory. A critical analysis of astronomical observations conducted at the Maragha and Istanbul observatories is a key focus of this work. This book will be invaluable to those interested in the historical progression of exact sciences, the scope, distinctive aspects, and caliber of experimental activities in medieval times, and the interplay between theory and observation throughout history. It is intended for historians, scientists (including astronomers and physicists), and particularly historians of astronomy.

A Brief Introduction to Astronomy in the Middle East

A Brief Introduction to Astronomy in the Middle East
Author: John M. Steele
Publisher: Saqi
Total Pages: 115
Release: 2012-03-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0863568963

The Middle East is the birthplace of astronomy and the centre for its development during the medieval period. In this brief introduction John Steele offers an intriguing insight into Middle Eastern achievements in astronomy and their profound influence on the rest of the world. Amongst other things, the book traces the Late Babylonians' ingenious schemes for modelling planetary motion. It also reveals how medieval Islamic advances in the study of the heavens, and the design of precise astronomical instruments, led to breakthroughs by Renaissance practitioners such as Copernicus and Kepler. An invaluable introduction to one of the oldest sciences in the world.

Translation Movement and Acculturation in the Medieval Islamic World

Translation Movement and Acculturation in the Medieval Islamic World
Author: Labeeb Ahmed Bsoul
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2019-09-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3030217035

This book investigates the transmission of knowledge in the Arab and Islamic world, with particular attention to the translation of material from Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit into Arabic, and then from Arabic into Latin in medieval Western Europe. While most modern scholarly works have addressed contributions of Muslim scholars to the modern development of translation, Labeeb Ahmed Bsoul bases his study on Arabic classical literature and its impact upon modern translation. He focuses on the contributions made by prominent classical Christian and Muslim scholars, showcasing how their works and contributions to the field of knowledge are still relevant today.

Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance

Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance
Author: George Saliba
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2011-01-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262516152

The rise and fall of the Islamic scientific tradition, and the relationship of Islamic science to European science during the Renaissance. The Islamic scientific tradition has been described many times in accounts of Islamic civilization and general histories of science, with most authors tracing its beginnings to the appropriation of ideas from other ancient civilizations—the Greeks in particular. In this thought-provoking and original book, George Saliba argues that, contrary to the generally accepted view, the foundations of Islamic scientific thought were laid well before Greek sources were formally translated into Arabic in the ninth century. Drawing on an account by the tenth-century intellectual historian Ibn al-Naidm that is ignored by most modern scholars, Saliba suggests that early translations from mainly Persian and Greek sources outlining elementary scientific ideas for the use of government departments were the impetus for the development of the Islamic scientific tradition. He argues further that there was an organic relationship between the Islamic scientific thought that developed in the later centuries and the science that came into being in Europe during the Renaissance. Saliba outlines the conventional accounts of Islamic science, then discusses their shortcomings and proposes an alternate narrative. Using astronomy as a template for tracing the progress of science in Islamic civilization, Saliba demonstrates the originality of Islamic scientific thought. He details the innovations (including new mathematical tools) made by the Islamic astronomers from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries, and offers evidence that Copernicus could have known of and drawn on their work. Rather than viewing the rise and fall of Islamic science from the often-narrated perspectives of politics and religion, Saliba focuses on the scientific production itself and the complex social, economic, and intellectual conditions that made it possible.

Medieval Textual Cultures

Medieval Textual Cultures
Author: Faith Wallis
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2016-08-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3110467305

Understanding how medieval textual cultures engaged with the heritage of antiquity (transmission and translation) depends on recognizing that reception is a creative cultural act (transformation). These essays focus on the people, societies and institutions who were doing the transmitting, translating, and transforming -- the "agents". The subject matter ranges from medicine to astronomy, literature to magic, while the cultural context encompasses Islamic and Jewish societies, as well as Byzantium and the Latin West. What unites these studies is their attention to the methodological and conceptual challenges of thinking about agency. Not every agent acted with an agenda, and agenda were sometimes driven by immediate needs or religious considerations that while compelling to the actors, are more opaque to us. What does it mean to say that a text becomes “available” for transmission or translation? And why do some texts, once transmitted, fail to thrive in their new milieu? This collection thus points toward a more sophisticated “ecology” of transmission, where not only individuals and teams of individuals, but also social spaces and local cultures, act as the agents of cultural creativity.

Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine

Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine
Author: Thomas F. Glick
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 632
Release: 2014-01-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 1135459398

Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine details the whole scope of scientific knowledge in the medieval period in more than 300 A to Z entries. This resource discusses the research, application of knowledge, cultural and technology exchanges, experimentation, and achievements in the many disciplines related to science and technology. Coverage includes inventions, discoveries, concepts, places and fields of study, regions, and significant contributors to various fields of science. There are also entries on South-Central and East Asian science. This reference work provides an examination of medieval scientific tradition as well as an appreciation for the relationship between medieval science and the traditions it supplanted and those that replaced it. For a full list of entries, contributors, and more, visit the Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages website.

Astronomy in the Ancient World

Astronomy in the Ancient World
Author: Alexus McLeod
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2016-06-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319236008

Alexus McLeod explores every aspect of the lesser-known history of astronomy in the Americas (Mesoamerica and North America), China and India, each through the frame of a particular astronomical phenomena. Part One considers the development of astronomy in the Americas as a response, in part, to the Supernova of 1054, which may have led to a cultural renaissance in astronomy. He then goes on to explore the contemporary understanding of supernovae, contrasting it with that of the ancient Americas. Part Two is framed through the appearances of great comets, which had major divinatory significance in early China. The author discusses the advancement of observational astronomy in China, its influence on politics and its role in the survival or failure of empires. Furthermore, the contemporary understanding of comets is also discussed for comparison. Part Three, on India, considers the magnificent observatories of the Rajput king Jai Singh II, and the question of their purpose. The origins of Indian astronomy are examined in Vedic thought and its development is followed through the period of Jai Singh, including the role played by solar eclipses. The author also includes a modern explanation of our understanding of eclipses to date. In the final section of the book, McLeod discusses how ancient traditions might help modern civilization better understand Earth’s place in the cosmos.

Science and Medicine: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide

Science and Medicine: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide
Author: Oxford University Press
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 41
Release: 2010-05-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0199804230

This ebook is a selective guide designed to help scholars and students of Islamic studies find reliable sources of information by directing them to the best available scholarly materials in whatever form or format they appear from books, chapters, and journal articles to online archives, electronic data sets, and blogs. Written by a leading international authority on the subject, the ebook provides bibliographic information supported by direct recommendations about which sources to consult and editorial commentary to make it clear how the cited sources are interrelated related. A reader will discover, for instance, the most reliable introductions and overviews to the topic, and the most important publications on various areas of scholarly interest within this topic. In Islamic studies, as in other disciplines, researchers at all levels are drowning in potentially useful scholarly information, and this guide has been created as a tool for cutting through that material to find the exact source you need. This ebook is a static version of an article from Oxford Bibliographies Online: Islamic Studies, a dynamic, continuously updated, online resource designed to provide authoritative guidance through scholarship and other materials relevant to the study of the Islamic religion and Muslim cultures. Oxford Bibliographies Online covers most subject disciplines within the social science and humanities, for more information visit www.aboutobo.com.