Skip to item: of 86
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

Elements of Geometry ‎[F-1-38] (38/86)

This item is part of

The record is made up of 86 items. It was created in 1854. It was written in Arabic. The original is part of the Qatar National Library.

About this item

Content

This copy of Mabādi' al-handasa (Elements of geometry) is a second edition of a work by Rifā‘ah Rāfi‘ al-Ṭahṭāwī (1801−73), a leading intellectual and a pioneer of the 19th century Egyptian enlightenment. In his introduction, the author refers to an edition of 1842−43, written for students at the Madrasa al-Ṭubjīa, the military school founded by Muḥammad ʻAlī Bāshā (1769−1849) in Ṭura, Egypt. He also mentions the celebrated 1794 geometry textbook by A.M. Legendre, Eléments de géométrie (Elements of geometry). Al-Ṭahṭāwī says that this new 1854 edition was made with the help of scholars at the Muhandis-khāna school (founded in 1816 by Muḥammad ʻAlī) who "corrected errors [and] changed unsuitable expressions." Although al-Ṭahṭāwī's work may have drawn in part on Legendre’s book, it also contains much new material, mostly in the last section of the book on applied geometry and surveying techniques. The work commences with a glossary of terms and a table of contents. A list of figures is in the appendix. 1854 was a fateful year for al-Ṭahṭāwī, marking his return to Cairo after four years in de facto exile in Khartoum, ordered by the Ottoman viceroy, ʻAbbās Ḥilmī I, grandson of Muḥammad ʻAlī, who may have been less than enthusiastic about al-Ṭahṭāwī's progressive ideas on governance and rulers. In the introduction, al-Ṭahṭāwī mentions ʻAbbās as a benevolent ruler, with a "strong desire for civilizing the Egyptian province." As it happened, ʻAbbās was assassinated on July 13, 1854, just a few days after the publication of the second edition of al-Ṭahṭāwī's Elements of Geometry.

Extent and format
86 items
Physical characteristics

130 pages ; 24 centimeters

Written in
Arabic in Arabic script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

Elements of Geometry ‎[F-1-38] (38/86), Qatar National Library, 12912, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/qnlhc/12912.38> [accessed 28 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/qnlhc/12912.38">Elements of Geometry <span dir="ltr">‎[F-1-38] (38/86)</span></a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/qnlhc/12912.38">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/qnlhc/12912/1047550075-0074.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/qnlhc/12912/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image