The history of science is a fundamental element in constructing a full understanding of the history of society. Furthermore, we must keep in mind that the globalization of ideas has occurred since ancient times, such…
Uzbekistan has embarked on a journey to identify, catalogue and showcase all art objects reflecting the country's cultural heritage that are scattered around the world. Once at the centre of the Great Silk Road, Uzbekistan…
In Islam, as in no other religion in human history, the performance of various aspects of religious ritual has been assisted by scientific procedures. The organization of the lunar calendar, the regulation of the astronomically…
The orbital elements of each planet are the eccentricity and the direction of the apsidal line of its orbit defined by the ecliptic longitude of either of its apses, i.e., the two points on its…
The present paper introduces, investigates, analyses, and comments on an anonymous treatise in Persian named al-Risāla al-Ghāzāniyya fi ’l-ālāt al-raṣadiyya, “Ghāzān’s (or Ghāzānid) treatise on the observational instruments”, which describes the structure, construction, and functions…
This paper deals with an optical aid named barbakh that Abū al-Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī (973–1048 CE) proposes for facilitating the observation of the lunar crescent in his al-Qānūn al-Mas‘ūdī VIII.14. The device consists of a long…
Dan Gibson, a Canadian amateur archaeologist, is the latest of a number of revisionist historians of early Islam who are desperate to show that Islam did not start in Mecca, and hence that early Islamic…
This short article was written by Professor Rudiger Lohlker in response to our invitation to summarise and bring attention to his paper “Global History: Understanding Islamic Astronomy” published in ACTA VIA SERICA, Vol. 4, No.…
15-16th Century Italian-Islamic Exchanges of the Astrolabe and Effects on Visual Culture
A survey of the historical sources with an appendix on some recent fallacies about mosque orientations
The Revival of Classical Antiquity in Cordoba in the 10th century:
Some people, unaware of what was accomplished during Muslim civilisation, believe that astronomy died with the Greeks, and was brought to life again by Nicolas Copernicus, the 15th-century Polish astronomer who is famous for introducing…
This paper reviews manifestations of racism in European and American histories of Arab and Persian astronomy from the eighteenth century to the present day. Its first section discusses the representation of Islamic astronomy from Adam…
The scientific cooperation between India and the Arabs dates back to the time of Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad when a number of books on astronomy, mathematics, and medicine were translated from Sanskrit into Arabic. From…
Generally, it is possible to study the development of astronomy in the Ottomans in three periods; The astronomy from the establishment of Ottomans to Ali Qushji’s arrival in the Ottomans (1299-1472); The astronomy from Ali…
Al-Biruni was so far ahead of his time that his most brilliant discoveries seemed incomprehensible to most of the scholars of his days...
I used the discipline of astronomy as a template to record the transmitted ideas and hoped that other people, who work on other disciplines, would do the same, all in an effort to paint a…
Drawing on Harold Bloom’s model of poetic influence and supersession in his famous book, “The Anxiety of Influence,” and considering several historical cases of cross-cultural reception of the natural sciences from the Middle Ages that…
This article is a paper submitted to and presented at WISE 2018: World Muslim Women's Summit & Exhibition, organised by TASAM, Istanbul, Turkey, from 28th Feb - 4th March 2018.
The Oxford Museum of the History of Science launched an online Al-Mizan Exhibition, this exhibition explores the connections between the sciences and arts in societies from Muslim Civilisation.
Professor Glen Cooper discusses the Golden Age of Muslim Civilisation. During the European Dark Ages, when science, art and literature seemed to flounder for centuries, there actually was a lot of discover in places like…
This article was originally published as: “Islamic Astronomy”, in Christopher Walker, ed., Astronomy before the Telescope, London: British Museum Press, 1996, pp. 143-174.
Syria in the 14th century was the scene of the most sophisticated developments in astronomy anywhere in the world. Shams al-Din al-Khalili was a muwaqqit, or mosque astronomer, in Damascus in the middle of that…
This year has been chosen as "International Year of Light (IYL2015)" by UNESCO, what a perfect time to remember these words: “If the first light of the new year doesn’t shine upon my mentor, then…
Amazing snapshots from Khiva (formally known as Khawarizm) in Uzbekistan. The birth place of the famous mathematician Al-Khawarizmi (780 – 850 CE). A prosperous centre of learning during the Golden Age of Muslim Civilisation. (Source…
The Suhayl 2014 Vol 13 - International Journal for the History of the Exact and Natural Sciences in Islamic Civilisation FSTC is pleased to bring to the attention of readers the availability online of the…
[Note of the editor] This article was published in 2003 as: David A. King, "The renaissance of astronomy in Baghdad in the ninth and tenth centuries: A list of publications, mainly from the last 50…
FSTC and CE4tF are very pleased to have participated in the Second International Conference on Arabs’ and Muslims’ History of Science and the eleventh Conference on the Space Sciences and Astronomy. The conference was organised…
With all the weight of his knowledge, Qutub al-Din preferred to be a man of lively temperament who would engage in jests, play chess and also music on the rehab. He was a highly knowledgeable…
This is a presentation about Al-Sufi and his contribution to the Universe Model...
Muḥammad Abūʾl-Wafāʾ al-Būzjānī (10 June 940–997 or 998) was a distinguished Muslim astronomer and mathematician, who made important contributions to the development of trigonometry. He worked in a private observatory in Baghdad, where he made…
Ulugh Beg was a Timurid ruler as well as an astronomer, mathematician. His primary interest was in the sciences and intellectual matters. He built an observatory at Samarkand. In his observations he discovered a number…
Shihab al-Din Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad Ibn al-Majdi (1359–1447 CE) was an Egyptian mathematician and astronomer. We publish this short article to celebrate the memory of his passing away in Cairo on 27/28 January 1447.
Ali Al-Qushji was one of the most noteworthy and important scientists in the Islamic world. He wrote valuable works especially on astronomy and mathematics. He was a student and co-worker of the famous statesman and…
In the following well documented article Dr Muhammad Abdul Jabbar Beg surveys the origins of Islamic science, with a special focus on its interaction with the previous intellectual traditions of the ancient world as well…
Professor Hamid M. K. Al-Naimy [Proceedings of the conference 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World organised by FSTC, London, 25-26 May 2010]. The aim of this paper is to introduce the status of research…
[Proceedings of the conference 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World organised by FSTC, London, 25-26 May 2010]. The Islamic realms served as a crucible for scientific learning from the ancient Greek world in the…
Proceedings of the conference 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World organised by FSTC, London, 25-26 May 2010]. In this short note, Dr Zohor Idrisi, an expert on the history of Islamic agriculture, explores the…
The Ottoman contribution to science and technology during their six hundred year rule is beyond measure. This article is a brief outline of just some of the Ottoman scientific activities and related institutions that brought…
In this article, some aspects of Kitab Nūr hadaqat al-ibsār wa-nūr haqīqat al-anzār (Book of the Light of the Pupil of Vision and the Light of the Truth of the Sights) of the renowned Ottoman…
Being in form a bio-bibliographical essay on the life and works of Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Ma'rūf, a well known scholar of 16th-century Istanbul, this article presents the contents of his books and compares his scientific…
This article is a bio-bibliographical essay on the life and works of Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Ma'ruf, a scholar of 16th-century Istanbul, one of the most prolific and original scientists of the Ottoman period of Islamic…
In his book The Brightest Stars for the Construction of Mechanical Clocks (Al-Kawakib al-durriyya fi wadh' al-bankamat al-dawriyya), Taqi al-Din Ibn Ma'ruf analyses the four main types of time keeping devices known in the 16th…
In this article, Professor Sevim Tekeli, an outstanding scholar in the history of Ottoman science, describes the instruments built by Taqî al-Dîn Ibn Ma'ruf and his team at the Istanbul observatory (was in activity between…
Observation wells received much historical interest relating to observatories. In this article Prof. Aydin Sayili describes the history of "observation wells" both in Islamic and European worlds.
Muslim astronomers and engineers invented a variety of dials for timekeeping and for determining the times of the five daily prayers. In this thorough and technical study, Professor Attila Bir analyses the principle and use…
In Arabic culture, as in other civilisations, the cultural dimension of the history of astronomy appears in part in the meanings and origins of star and constellation names. This nomenclature was shaped by cultural symbols…
A total eclipse of the Moon occurs during the night of Wednesday, February 20/21, 2008. The entire event is visible from large parts of our globe. On this occasion, we attract the attention of our…
The armillary sphere is an ancient astronomical instrument reproducing a model of the celestial sphere. In its simplest form, it was known since the antiquity. The article presents the principle of its drawing and use,…
Najma Kazi reviews some salient aspects of Emilie Savage-Smith's work. Emilie Savage-Smith, who is a Professor of History of Science at the Oriental Institute (Oxford University), is an internationally recognised authority on the History of…
Many of the prominent stars known today are of Arabic origin as they bear names given to them during the golden age of Islamic astronomy. A major contribution in this field is that of al-Sufi…
1001 years ago, an extraordinary astronomical event occurred in the sky: the most intense supernova ever witnessed and recorded by human beings appeared in the Earth's sky in the year 1006 CE. The blast was…
This is a review of a book bringing to light a collection of about 1300 Islamic scientific manuscripts on astronomy and various scientific topics in three languages (Turkish, Arabic and Persian). These manuscripts are held…
24 craters of the Moon bear names of Arabic and Islamic origin. In majority, these names are those of famous scholars of Islamic civilisation. We present below a list of those crater-names on the Moon,…
On the occasion of the lunar eclipse that occurs on 28 August 2007, we produce a short survey of some records of lunar and solar eclipses reported on in Muslim heritage, drawn from various sources,…
On the occasion of the lunar eclipse that occurs on 28 August 2007, we produce a short survey of some records of lunar and solar eclipses reported on in Muslim heritage, drawn from various sources,…
Some 800 years in the past, in 1206, a brilliant Muslim scholar died : Badi' al-Zaman Abu al-‘Izz ibn Ismail ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari. He was one of the most important inventors and mechanical engineers in…
Ya'qub b. Ishaq al-Kindi was an early Arab scholar of the 9th century, one of the first great scientists that set the stage for the brilliant Islamic tradition of learning. His works in philosophy, cosmology,…
From the beginning of the Islamic history, the scholars developed the Islamic hijri calendar as a lunar calendar designed to organize timekeeping for religious and social needs. The development of the Islamic calendar and the…
Mathematics has long been an area of expertise amongst Muslim mathematicians. This article considers the contributions of Al-Tusi and Al-Battani and others in trigonometry, focusing upon the progress their discoveries represented in comparison with the…
Astronomy has for a long time been of keen interest of Muslims throughout centuries. This article by Professor Sevim Tekeli highlights the quality and precision of observations made by al-Urdi.
Al-Farghânî, known in the West as Alfraganus , was one of the most famous astronomers of the 9th century. His book, Elements of Astronomy, written in 833 CE remained as the most popular text book…
For more than a thousand years the Muslim East and the Christian West, notwithstanding the differences in matters of creed, ideology and social traditions and the intervening opposition of defenders of orthodoxy on both sides,…
Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi is one of the greatest scientific minds of the medieval period and a most important Muslim mathematician who was justly called the 'father of algebra'. Besides his founding the science of…
In Seville, scholars led the science of astronomy, criticising earlier works on the basis of new observations and poetry was used to help people memorise the principles of algebra.
The history of the astrolabe begins more than two thousand years ago, but it is in the Islamic classical world that the astrolabe was highly developed and its uses widely multiplied. Introduced to Europe from…
Tycho Brahe "was a brilliant astronomer and scientist of his time, and has had a big significance on the development of astronomy, science in general, and our view of the world" has been influenced by…
The observatory as an organised and state sponsored activity began with in the Islamic world. Much progress was made in this area, particularly in eastern parts of the Islamic world.
Samarkand contributed in particular to the progress of science in astronomy through its observatory. Some of its directors and their achievements are highlighted here.
Harran is a very old town situated in the Jazira province of modern Turkey near the sources of the Balkh River. Badly effected by the Crusades, it nevertheless had its production of scientists that are…
Turks have played an active part in the pursuit of science and learning in the Islamic World throughout its history. This activity is outlind here from the very formative stages of the islamic civilization down…
The measurement of the positions of the stars was developed and refined by scientists of the Muslim world and many kinds of Models were developed. These are described within this article.
Abul-Hasan Alí Ibn Nafí, nicknamed Ziryab, was Chief Entertainer of the Court of Cordoba in 822AD. He revolutionised medieval music, lifestyle, fashion, hairstyles, furniture and even tableware. He transformed the way people ate, socialised, and…
The observatory of Samarqand dates from 1424AD and was a `monumental' building equipped with a huge meridian, made of masonry, a ‘Fakhri sextant’, of a radius of 40.4 metres. It was built By Uluh Beg…
Kevin Krisciunas writes on The Legacy of Ulugh Beg. Although he recognising the crucial role of Islamic observation, he still finds sources of disagreement with the notion that the Samarqand observatory exerted decisive influence on…
Al-Battani used the widest variety of instruments: astrolabes, tubes, a gnomon divided into twelve parts, a celestial globe with five armillaries, parallax rules, a mural quadrant, sundials, vertical as well as horizontal.
Most eminent Muslim astronomers include Al-Battani, al-Sufi, al-Biruni, and Ibn Yunus. They recorded the position of the sun, moon and the stars.
The modern astronomical observatory as a research institute (as opposed to a private observation post as was the case in ancient times) is a creation of the Islamic scientific tradition. Since the early 9th century,…
Al-Battani discovered the notions of trigonometrical ratios used today. Al-Biruni claimed the earth rotated around its own axis. Jabir Ibn Aflah made the first portable celestial sphere to measure and explain the movements of celestial…
It was in Muslim Toledo, Spain, where flocked in the 12th century, in particular, scholars from all Christian lands to translate Muslim science, and start the scientific awakening of Europe.
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