Author
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Farghānī
Publication Date
13th century (CE, Gregorian)
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Pages Count
1
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
Or 5479, ff 37v-85r
Record ID
vdc_100030447153.0x000004
Library Location
British Library: Oriental Manuscripts
Date
13th century (CE, Gregorian)
Notes
Earliest known Arabic treatise on the construction of the
astrolabe
Ancient instrument for astronomical observations.
, by Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Farghānī (أحمد بن محمد الفرغاني; fl. ca 820-860). This manuscript was erroneously dated to the 12th/19th century by Lorch (
Al-Farghānī On the
Astrolabe
Ancient instrument for astronomical observations.
[Munich: Franz Steiner, 2005], p. 17) perhaps on the basis of the first two leaves of the text (ff. 37 and 38), which are nineteenth-century replacements of lost leaves.
The text contains sixty-two diagrams and tables:
Geometric diagrams (ff. 39r, 40r, 41r, 42r, 42v, 44r, 45r, 45v, 47r, 47v, 49r, 50v, 52v, 53r and 55r);
Twenty-five tables for the construction of an
astrolabe
Ancient instrument for astronomical observations.
(ff. 56r-68r);
Rule (مسطرة) of
astrolabe
Ancient instrument for astronomical observations.
(f. 71v);
Rete (شبكة) of
astrolabe
Ancient instrument for astronomical observations.
(f. 71v, 77r);
Plate (صفيحة) of
astrolabe
Ancient instrument for astronomical observations.
(f. 73r, 74r and 74v);
Location of diagram missing from exemplar noted (f. 80v);
Mater (أم) of
astrolabe
Ancient instrument for astronomical observations.
(f. 76r and 76v, 79r and 81v, 83r and 84r).
Begins (f. 37v, lines 2-4):
قال أحمد بن محمد الفرغاني إن المتقدمّين من العلماء الحساب والنجوم
إنّما أدركوا علم حركات الفلك وما يعرض فيه بالمواظبة على النظر والقياس
وكان أكثر ما استدلوا به من آلات المقاييس الآلة التي تسمّى ذات الحلق
Ends (ff. 84v, line 20-85r, line 2):
... وذلك ما لا يحتاج إلى أكثر منه وإن أحدًا إذا أراد
أن يعمل الأسطرلاب لموضع من الأرض مما يجوز عرضه خمسين جزءًا إلى تسعين جزءًا
ففيما وصفنا لاسخراج ذلك من الجدول المفرد بهذا الباب
ما يستدل به على كل ذلك بإذن الله تعالى
Colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
(f. 85r, lines 3-6):
تم الكتاب بحمد الله وحسن التوفيق وصلاته على
جميع أنبيائه الكرام والحمد لله
وحده عل نعمائه
Erişim Koşulları
Unrestricted
Seçilmiş kaynakça
Edition/translation:
Al-Farghānī On the
Astrolabe
Ancient instrument for astronomical observations.
, Richard Lorch ed. and trans. (Munich: Franz Steiner, 2005)
Study:
DeYoung, Gregg, 'Farghānī: Abū al-‘Abbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī' in
The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers
, Thomas Hockey et al., eds., (New York: Springer, 2007) p. 357
