Kitāb fī al-qarasṭūn كتاب في القرسطون Thābit ibn Qurrah al-Ḥarrānī ثابت بن قرّة الحراني

IO Islamic 461, ff 198v-207r

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The record is made up of Ff. 198v-207r. 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

Treatise on the static and mechanic theories underpinning the use of a kind of balance by Abū al-Ḥasan Thābit ibn Qurrah al-Ḥarrānī (أبو الحسن ثابت بن قرّة الحرّاني; d. 901). The treatise begins with postulates taken from the Kitāb fī al-thiqal wa-al-khiffah wa-qiyās al-ajrām ba‘ḍihā ilá ba‘ḍ (كتاب في الثقل والخفة وقياس الأجرام بعضها إلى بعض; see IO Islamic 923, ff 98v-101r), attributed to Euclid of Alexandria (Εὐκλείδης; أقليدس; fl. 300 BC).

The text contains seven diagrams, which are collected on a fold out (f. 208r) at the end of the text.

The mediaeval Latin version of this treatise, known as Liber karastonis , is probably the work of Gerard of Cremona (d. 1187; see edition and translation in Clagett and Moody, The Medieval Science of Weights [Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1952], pp. 79-117).

Contents:

Begins (f. 198v, lines 2-5):

كل خط نقسم قسمين مختلفين وثبت منه النقطة القائمة وتحرك بسره حركة

لا يعود بها إلى موضعه فإنّه يحدث قطاعين متشاهبين من دائرتين

نصف قطر إحديهما القسم الأطول من قسمي الخط ونصف قطر الأخرى

القسم الآخر ...

Ends (f. 207r, lines 7-10):

... وبين قطعة ج د أيضًا

من العمود يقاوم قطعة ا ج منه لأنّهما متساويتا الطول والغلظ والجوهر و

بالجملة متساويتا الوزن فجميع قسمة ج ب من العمود حينئذ تقاوم قسم ا ج

مع ثقل ج فيصير وزن عمود ا ب على موازاة الأفق وذلك ما أردنا أن نبين

Colophon Section at the end of a manuscript text. (f. 207r, line 11):

هذا آخر ما أملأه أبو الحسن ثابت بن قرة في تبيين أمر القرسطون

Extent and format
Ff. 198v-207r
It is part of
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 198v-207r

History of this record

Date(s)
1198 (AH, Hijri qamari)

Related material

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Edition (based on the text of IO Islamic 461), translation and study:

  • Jaouiche, Khalil, Le livre du Qarasṭūn de Ṯābit ibn Qurra: étude sur l'origine de la notion de travail et du calcul du moment statique d'une barre homogène (Leiden : E. J. Brill, 1976)

Study and German translation:

  • Wiedemann, Eilhard, 'Die Schrift über den Qarasṭūn', in Bibliotheca Mathematica , 12 (1911-12), pp. 21-39

Edition, translation and study of Latin version:

  • Clagett, Marshall and Ernest A. Moody, The Medieval Science of Weights (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1952), pp. 79-117

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Kitāb fī al-qarasṭūn كتاب في القرسطون Thābit ibn Qurrah al-Ḥarrānī ثابت بن قرّة الحراني, British Library: Oriental Manuscripts, IO Islamic 461, ff 198v-207r, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025776458.0x000007> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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