History

Of

Mathematics
And

Astronomy
In

Islamic World

Edited By
Musa Akrami
Institute of History of Science University Tehran

___________
1387-88 / 2008

History of Mathematics and Astronomy in Islamic World

Musa Akrami (ed.)

Table of Contents
Preface History of astronomy

1 Early history 2 Mesopotamia 3 China 4 Greece and Hellenistic world 5 India 6 Mesoamerica 7 Islamic astronomy 8 Medieval Western Europe 9 Copernican revolution 10 Uniting physics and astronomy 11 Modern astronomy 12 Cosmology and the expansion of the universe 13 New windows into the Cosmos open 14 Notes 15 Historians of astronomy 16 References 17 Refereed Journals

Greek astronomy

1 Archaic Greek astronomy o 1.1 The planets in early Greek astronomy 2 Calendars 3 Eudoxan astronomy 4 Hellenistic astronomy o 4.1 Planetary models and observational astronomy o 4.2 Heliocentrism and cosmic scales 5 Astronomy in the Greco-Roman and Late Antique eras o 5.1 Ptolemaic astronomy 6 Interactions with Indian astronomy 7 Sources for Greek astronomy 8 Famous astronomers of antiquity 9 Notes 10 References

Ptolemy

1 Name and origins 2 Astronomy 3 Geography 4 Astrology 5 Music 6 Other works

History of Mathematics and Astronomy in Islamic World

Musa Akrami (ed.)

7 Named after Ptolemy 8 Footnotes 9 References o 9.1 Texts and translations o 9.2 Other references

Almagest

1 Dating the Almagest 2 Contents o 2.1 Ptolemy's Cosmos o 2.2 Ptolemaic Planetary Models 3 Impact o 3.1 In the Middle Ages and Renaissance 4 Modern editions 5 Footnotes 6 References

Science in medieval Islam

1 Overview o 1.1 Rise o 1.2 Scientific institutions o 1.3 Decline o 1.4 Influence on European science 2 Scientific method o 2.1 Peer review 3 Applied sciences o 3.1 Agricultural sciences o 3.2 Medicine 4 Formal sciences o 4.1 Logic o 4.2 Mathematics 5 Natural sciences o 5.1 Astrology o 5.2 Astronomy o 5.3 Chemistry o 5.4 Earth sciences o 5.5 Physics o 5.6 Zoology 6 Social sciences o 6.1 Sociology and Antropology o 6.2 Psychology 7 Historiography of Islamic science 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References

History of Mathematics and Astronomy in Islamic World

Musa Akrami (ed.)

11 Further reading Mathematics in medieval Islam

1 Origins and influences 2 Importance 3 Biographies 4 Fields o 4.1 Algebra o 4.2 Applied mathematics o 4.3 Arithmetic o 4.4 Calculus o 4.5 Cryptography o 4.6 Geometry o 4.7 Mathematical induction o 4.8 Number theory o 4.9 Numerical analysis o 4.10 Recreational mathematics o 4.11 Trigonometry 5 Notes

6 Further reading Astronomy in medieval Islam

1 Islam and astronomy o 1.1 Background o 1.2 Islamic attitude towards astronomy o 1.3 Islamic rules o 1.4 Necessity of spherical geometry 2 History o 2.1 610-700 o 2.2 700-825 o 2.3 825-1025 o 2.4 1025-1450 o 2.5 1450-1900 o 2.6 1900-present 3 Observatories o 3.1 Early observatories o 3.2 Late medieval observatories o 3.3 Modern observatories 4 Instruments o 4.1 Astrolabes o 4.2 Analog computers o 4.3 Astronomical clocks o 4.4 Dials o 4.5 Globes o 4.6 Mural instruments

History of Mathematics and Astronomy in Islamic World

Musa Akrami (ed.)

4.7 Optical instruments 4.8 Other instruments 5 List of notable treatises o 5.1 Zij treatises o 5.2 Almanacs o 5.3 Treatises on instruments o 5.4 Other works 6 Notes 7 References
o o

Maragheh observatory

1 Description 2 History 3 Maragha Revolution 4 Current status 5 Notes 6 References

List of Arabic star names Mural instrument

1 Construction 2 Usage 3 Famous mural instruments 4 References

Quadrant (instrument)

1 Types of quadrants 2 The Geometric Quadrant o 2.1 Solar observations o 2.2 Back observation quadrant 3 Framed quadrant 4References

Sextant (astronomical)

1 Mural Sextants 2 Framed sextants o 2.1 Construction o 2.2 Usage o 2.3 Well-known framed sextants 3 References

Alidade

History of Mathematics and Astronomy in Islamic World

Musa Akrami (ed.)

1 Origins 2 Examples of old alidade types 3 Modern alidade types 4 References

Astrolabe

1 A Brief History o 1.1 Astrolabes and clocks 2 Construction 3 Notes 4 References

Armillary sphere

1 Description and use of the armillary sphere 2 History o 2.1 Greece o 2.2 Medieval Islamic world and Renaissance Europe o 2.3 Development in East Asia o 2.4 Seamless celestial globe 3 Notes

Zij

1. 2. 3. 4.

History List of zijes References Notes

List of Muslim astronomers Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm

1 Etymology 2 Life 3 Contributions o 3.1 Algebra o 3.2 Arithmetic o 3.3 Astronomy o 3.4 Geography o 3.5 Jewish calendar o 3.6 Other works 4 Notes 5 References 6 Further reading

History of Mathematics and Astronomy in Islamic World

Musa Akrami (ed.)

Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi

1 Astrology and natural philosophy 2 Astronomy 3 Works 4 References 5 Further reading

Thbit ibn Qurra

1 Biography 2 Works 3 Notes 4 References

Muhammad ibn Jbir al-Harrn al-Battn

1 Astronomy 2 Mathematics 3 Honors 4Notes

Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi

1 Biography 2 Astronomy 3 References

Ibn Yunus

o o

1 Life 2 Works o 2.1 Astrology o 2.2 Astronomy o 2.3 Mathematics o 2.4 Poetry 2.5 Other works 3 References

Ibn al-Haytham

1 Overview o 1.1 Biography o 1.2 Legacy 2 Book of Optics o 2.1 Optics o 2.2 Scientific method o 2.3 Alhazen's problem

History of Mathematics and Astronomy in Islamic World

Musa Akrami (ed.)

2.4 Hockney-Falco thesis 2.5 Other contributions 3 Other works on physics o 3.1 Optical treatises o 3.2 Astrophysics o 3.3 Mechanics 4 Astronomical works o 4.1 Doubts Concerning Ptolemy o 4.2 On the Configuration of the World o 4.3 The Model of the Motions o 4.4 Other astronomical works 5 Mathematical works o 5.1 Geometry o 5.2 Number theory 6 Other works o 6.1 Engineering o 6.2 Philosophy o 6.3 Theology 7 List of works 8 Notes 9 References
o o

Ab Rayhn Brn

1 Biography 2 Works 3 Astronomy o 3.1 Experimental observations o 3.2 Instruments o 3.3 Theories o 3.4 Refutation of astrology 4 Earth sciences o 4.1 Cartography o 4.2 Geodesy and geography o 4.3 Geology o 4.4 Mineralogy 5 Philosophy of science o 5.1 Scientific method o 5.2 Natural philosophy 6 Physics o 6.1 Astrophysics o 6.2 Experimental mechanics o 6.3 Optics 7 Social sciences o 7.1 Anthropology o 7.2 Experimental psychology o 7.3 History o 7.4 Indology

History of Mathematics and Astronomy in Islamic World

Musa Akrami (ed.)

8 Theology o 8.1 Islamic theology o 8.2 Comparative religion 9 Other contributions o 9.1 Biomedical sciences o 9.2 Chemistry o 9.3 Law o 9.4 Linguistics o 9.5 Mathematics 10 Notes 11 Further reading 12 Works online

Al-Khazini

1 Biography 2 Works o 2.1 Sinjaric Tables o 2.2 The Book of the Balance of Wisdom o 2.3 Treatise on Instruments o 2.4 Alchemy and biology 3 Notes 4 References 4.1 Primary sources

Nasr al-Dn al-Ts

1 Biography 2 Works 3 Achievements o 3.1 Astronomy o 3.2 Biology o 3.3 Chemistry and Physics o 3.4 Mathematics 4 References 5Further reading

Ibn al-Shatir

1 Astronomy o 1.1 Theory o 1.2 Testing o 1.3 Influence 2 Engineering o 2.1 Astrolabic clock o 2.2 Sundial o 2.3 Compass dial

History of Mathematics and Astronomy in Islamic World

Musa Akrami (ed.)

2.4 Compendium 2.5 Universal instrument 3 Notes 4 References

o o

Jamshd al-Ksh

1 Biography 2 Law of cosines 3 Khaqani Zij 4 The Treatise on the Chord and Sine 5 The Key to Arithmetic o 5.1 Computation of o 5.2 Decimal fractions o 5.3 Khayyam's triangle 6 Notes 7 References

Ulugh Beg

1 Early life 2 Science o 2.1 Astronomy o 2.2 Mathematics 3 Death 4 Notes 5 References

Arab and Persian astrology

1 Arabic Astronomy 2 Arabic Astrology o 2.1 Arab Astrology and Herbalism o 2.2 Arabic Parts 3 Iranian Astrologers 4 Medieval refutations 5 Modern Developments 6 Prominent Arab, Jewish, Muslim, and Persian Astrologers 7 References

History of Mathematics and Astronomy in Islamic World

Musa Akrami (ed.)

Preface Unfortunately, I haven't found any appropriate text for the courses "History of Islamic Astronomy" and "History of Islamic Mathematics" (or [History of] Astronomy and Mathematics in Islamic World) and as I have in mind to cover the most important topics of the subject as a general overview. So, with the intention of having both a relatively good guide to history of Islamic astronomy (and Mathematics) and an English text having the astronomical and mathematical terms as well as astronomical names (i.e. the names of the scientists, astronomical books, astronomical objects, and astronomical instruments), I decided to gather some appropriate articles form Wikipedia and some other sources. I hope that this collection of articles is a good guide for both the students of "History of Science", particularly those interested in the history of astronomy and the history of mathematics. Finally, the editor asks to be excused from obtaining written permission of the authors for making use of their articles.

Musa Akrami

Faculty of Theology and Philosophy Department of Philosophy of Science, IAU (Science and Research Branch) Tehran, IRAN
Shahrivar 1387/Sep. 2008