Anonymous treatise on the linear astrolabe

IO Islamic 461, ff 2v-7v

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The record is made up of Ff. 2v-7v. It was created in 1198. It was written in Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: Oriental Manuscripts.

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Content

Anonymous treatise on the construction and use of the linear astrolabe Ancient instrument for astronomical observations. (أسطرلاب خطّي), an instrument also known as 'al-Ṭūsī's Rod' (عصا الطوسي), named after its inventor Sharaf al-Dīn al-Muẓaffar ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī (شرف الدين المظفر بن محمد الطوسي; d. 1213).

The Persian table of contents (f. 1r) calls the treatise Risālah-ye dar ‘amal-i asṭurlāb khaṭṭī az khavājah Naṣīr (رساله در عمل اسطرلاب خطي از نصير), mistakenly attributing the text to the later astronomer and mathematician Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī (نصير الدين محمد بن محمد الطوسي; d. 1274).

The comprehensive guide to practical astronomy and astronomical instruments J āmiʿ al-mabādiʾ wa-al-ghāyāt fī ʿilm al-mīqāt by Sharaf al-Dīn Abū ‘Alī al-Ḥasan ibn ‘Alī ibn ʿUmar al-Marrākushī (fl. second half of the 13th century) devotes two chapters to the linear astrolabe Ancient instrument for astronomical observations. (ed. Carra de Vaux, 'L' astrolabe Ancient instrument for astronomical observations. linéaire ou bâton d'al-Tousi', Journal asiatique [1895]). The treatise preserved in this manuscript is very similar to, but not identical with al-Marrākushī's discussion of this instrument.

A collation note at the end of this text (f. 7v) is dated 14 Shawwāl 1198/31 August 1784

Contents:

Begins (f. 2v, ll. 1-2):

الأوّل في تسمية أجزائها خط الأصل هو المقسوم بمائة وخمسين قسمًا والنقط السود

التي عليها تقوم مقام أجزاء دائرة متعدل النهار ...

Ends (f. 7v, ll. 9-10):

فما كان فانقصه من قوس نهار نظير درجة الشمس فما بقي فهو زمان ما بين طلوع الفجر

وطلوع الشمس

Extent and format

Ff. 2v-7v

It is part of

Seven treatises on mathematics, astronomy and statics

428 images

Ref: IO Islamic 461

Written in

Arabic in Arabic script

Type

Manuscript item

Archive information for this record

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: Oriental Manuscripts

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IO Islamic 461, ff 2v-7v

History of this record

Date(s)

1198 (AH, Hijri qamari)

Related material

Select Bibliography

Studies:

van Brummelen, Glen, 'Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī' in The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers , Thomas Hockey et al., eds., (New York: Springer, 2007), p. 1051.
Carra de Vaux, R., 'L' astrolabe Ancient instrument for astronomical observations. linéaire ou bâton d'al-Tousi', Journal asiatique , 9th ser., 5 (1895), pp. 464–516.
Charette, François, 'Marrākushī: Sharaf al-Dīn Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿUmar al-Marrākushī', in The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers , Thomas Hockey et al., eds., (New York: Springer, 2007), pp. 739-40.
Michel, Henri, 'L' astrolabe Ancient instrument for astronomical observations. linéaire d'al-Tusi', Ciel et terre , 59 (1943), pp. 101–107.
Michel, Henri, Traité de l' astrolabe Ancient instrument for astronomical observations. (Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1947), pp. 21-2 and 115-22
Ragep, F. Jamil, 'Ṭūsī: Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī',in The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers , Thomas Hockey et al., eds., (New York: Springer, 2007) pp. 1153-55.

Subjects: Astrolabes--Early works to 1800Astronomy--Early works to 1800
People & organisations: al-Muẓaffar ibn Muḥammad Ṭūsī

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Anonymous treatise on the linear astrolabe, British Library: Oriental Manuscripts, IO Islamic 461, ff 2v-7v, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025776458.0x000001> [accessed 5 October 2024]

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