Islamic Astronomy and Medieval Spain

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Author :
Publisher : Variorum Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 364 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Islamic Astronomy and Medieval Spain by : Julio Samsó

Download or read book Islamic Astronomy and Medieval Spain written by Julio Samsó and published by Variorum Publishing. This book was released on 1994 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume focuses on the development of astronomy in al-Andalus, Islamic Spain, relating it to the astronomical science of the Latin West. Both Islamic and European science survived the Latin astronomical tradition after the Arab conquest of 711 and then the influence of Arabic science in Christian Spain.

Astronomy and Astrology in the Medieval Islamic World

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Astronomy and Astrology in the Medieval Islamic World by : Edward S. Kennedy

Download or read book Astronomy and Astrology in the Medieval Islamic World written by Edward S. Kennedy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 1998 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of studies by Edward Kennedy looks first at questions of spherical astronomy, celestial mapping and planetary models, and then deals with astrological calculations. Throughout the author emphasises the importance of advances in mathematics for understanding the development of medieval Arabic sciences. This collection of studies based on previously unexploited manuscript sources in Arabic and Persian. They were written by authors from the 9th through the 15th centuries, whose locations reached from south China in the east through Central Asia, the Middle and Near East, and North Africa, to Spain in the west. The topics are predominately astronomical rather than astrological. The former include eclipse predictions, problems in spherical astronomy, non-ptolemaic planetary theory, and the achievements of Ulugh Beg and his observatory. Astrological subjects treated are the method of calculating the ascendant, and how to determine astrological houses and lots. An astrological history of the career of Genghis Khan is also described.

On Both Sides of the Strait of Gibraltar

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Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004436588
Total Pages : 1027 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (44 download)

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Book Synopsis On Both Sides of the Strait of Gibraltar by : Julio Samsó

Download or read book On Both Sides of the Strait of Gibraltar written by Julio Samsó and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-09-25 with total page 1027 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In On Both Sides of the Strait of Gibraltar Julio Samsó shows that astronomical sources, written in al-Andalus, the Maghrib and the Iberian Peninsula, belong to the same tradition and emphasizes the role of al-Andalus and the Iberian Peninsula in the transmission of Islamic astronomy to medieval Europe.

Islamic Astronomy and Geography

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Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000585018
Total Pages : 421 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis Islamic Astronomy and Geography by : David A. King

Download or read book Islamic Astronomy and Geography written by David A. King and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-02-13 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume of 12 studies, mainly published during the past 15 years, begins with an overview of the Islamic astronomy covering not only sophisticated mathematical astronomy and instrumentation but also simple folk astronomy, and the ways in which astronomy was used in the service of religion. It continues with discussions of the importance of Islamic instruments and scientific manuscript illustrations. Three studies deal with the regional schools that developed in Islamic astronomy, in this case, Egypt and the Maghrib. Another focuses on a curious astrological table for calculating the length of life of any individual. The notion of the world centred on the sacred Kaaba in Mecca inspired both astronomers and proponents of folk astronomy to propose methods for finding the qibla, or sacred direction towards the Kaaba; their activities are surveyed here. The interaction between the mathematical and folk traditions in astronomy is then illustrated by an 11th-century text on the qibla in Transoxania. The last three studies deal with an account of the geodetic measurements sponsored by the Caliph al-Ma'mûn in the 9th century; a world-map in the tradition of the 11th-century polymath al-Bîrûnî, alas corrupted by careless copying; and a table of geographical coordinates from 15th-century Egypt.

Astronomy and Astrology in the Islamic World

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Author :
Publisher : Edinburgh University Press
ISBN 13 : 0748649115
Total Pages : 184 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (486 download)

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Book Synopsis Astronomy and Astrology in the Islamic World by : Stephen P. Blake

Download or read book Astronomy and Astrology in the Islamic World written by Stephen P. Blake and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was the astronomers and mathematicians of the Islamic world who provided the theories and concepts that paved the way from the geocentric theories of Claudius Ptolemy in the second century AD to the heliocentric breakthroughs of Nicholas Copernicus and Johannes Kepler in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Algebra, the Arabic numeral system, and trigonometry: all these and more originated in the Muslim East and undergirded an increasingly accurate and sophisticated understanding of the movements of the Sun, Moon, and planets. This nontechnical overview of the Islamic advances in the heavenly sciences allows the general reader to appreciate (for the first time) the absolutely crucial role that Muslim scientists played in the overall development of astronomy and astrology in the Eurasian world.

A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables

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Author :
Publisher : American Philosophical Society
ISBN 13 : 9780871694621
Total Pages : 82 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (946 download)

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Book Synopsis A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables by : Edward Stewart Kennedy

Download or read book A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables written by Edward Stewart Kennedy and published by American Philosophical Society. This book was released on 1956 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The source material for the study of medieval oriental astronomy consists of Byzantine Greek, Sanscrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, and Turkish astronomical and astrological manuscripts. If one desires to build up a detailed picture of Islamic astronomy, one can choose material from these available manuscripts. Of these manuscripts it is possible to isolate a group of works, the "zijes". A "zij" consists of the numerical tables and accompanying explanation sufficient to measure time and to compute planetary and stellar positions, appearance, and eclipses. This paper is a survey of the number, distribution, contents, and relations between "zijes" written in Arabic or Persian during the period from the 8th through the 15th centuries. Illustrations. Oversize.

Reflections on Observational Astronomy in the Medieval Islamic Period

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Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1040228429
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis Reflections on Observational Astronomy in the Medieval Islamic Period by : S. Mohammad Mozaffari

Download or read book Reflections on Observational Astronomy in the Medieval Islamic Period written by S. Mohammad Mozaffari and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-12-13 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents comprehensive investigations into various facets of observational astronomy during the medieval Islamic period, spanning from the ninth to the seventeenth centuries. The chapters compiled here, originally published between 2012 and 2018, have undergone significant revisions to enhance their accuracy and explore a broad spectrum of topics organized into five main sections. Reflections on Observational Astronomy in the Medieval Islamic Period begins with solar astronomy, providing a detailed evaluation of Islamic astronomers’ determinations of fundamental solar parameters. In the realm of lunar astronomy, it examines the gradual endorsement and rationalization of annular solar eclipses, along with an exclusive historical account of predicting and observing such an event in 1283 CE. The section on planetary astronomy scrutinizes empirical discoveries that distinguish between the precession of equinoxes and the motion of apogees, as well as significant enhancements to Ptolemy’s parameters for planetary latitudes. Stellar astronomy is explored through a non-Ptolemaic star table that encompasses observations from ninth-century Baghdad to thirteenth-century Marāgha. The final section examines observational instruments, focusing on those constructed during the second period of activities at the Marāgha observatory. A critical analysis of astronomical observations conducted at the Marāgha and Istanbul observatories is a key focus of this work. This book will be invaluable to those interested in the historical progression of exact sciences; the scope, distinctive aspects, and caliber of experimental activities in medieval times; and the interplay between theory and observation throughout history. It is intended for historians, scientists (including astronomers and physicists), and particularly, historians of astronomy.

The Wise King

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Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 0465073913
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (65 download)

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Book Synopsis The Wise King by : Simon R. Doubleday

Download or read book The Wise King written by Simon R. Doubleday and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2015-12-01 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illuminating biography of Alfonso X, the 13th-century philosopher-king whose affinity for Islamic culture left an indelible mark on Western civilization "If I had been present at the Creation," the thirteenth-century Spanish philosopher-king Alfonso X is said to have stated, "Many faults in the universe would have been avoided." Known as El Sabio, "the Wise," Alfonso was renowned by friends and enemies alike for his sparkling intellect and extraordinary cultural achievements. In The Wise King, celebrated historian Simon R. Doubleday traces the story of the king's life and times, leading us deep into his emotional world and showing how his intense admiration for Spain's rich Islamic culture paved the way for the European Renaissance. In 1252, when Alfonso replaced his more militaristic father on the throne of Castile and Leóthe battle to reconquer Muslim territory on the Iberian Peninsula was raging fiercely. But even as he led his Christian soldiers onto the battlefield, Alfonso was seduced by the glories of Muslim Spain. His engagement with the Arabic-speaking culture of the South shaped his pursuit of astronomy, for which he was famed for centuries, and his profoundly humane vision of the world, which Dante, Petrarch, and later Italian humanists would inherit. A composer of lyric verses, and patron of works on board games, hunting, and the properties of stones, Alfonso is best known today for his Cantigas de Santa Marí/i> (Songs of Holy Mary), which offer a remarkable window onto his world. His ongoing struggles as a king and as a man were distilled-in art, music, literature, and architecture-into something sublime that speaks to us powerfully across the centuries. An intimate biography of the Spanish ruler in whom two cultures converged, The Wise King introduces readers to a Renaissance man before his time, whose creative energy in the face of personal turmoil and existential threats to his kingdom would transform the course of Western history.

Al-Andalus, Sepharad and Medieval Iberia

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Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9047441540
Total Pages : 296 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (474 download)

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Book Synopsis Al-Andalus, Sepharad and Medieval Iberia by : Ivy Corfis

Download or read book Al-Andalus, Sepharad and Medieval Iberia written by Ivy Corfis and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2010-01-11 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 12 articles of this volume show the many facets of contact in al-Andalus and Medieval Iberia, reminding us of how contact influenced art and learning in a wide range of fields: politics, science, philosophy, music and religion; offering views of how contact between societies affects both language, stereotype and assimilation; examining how war and conflict (re)define the representation of ideas, places and people; and demonstrating how representations changed over time through contact and conflict. Lessons of the past apply today as al-Andalus captures the modern imagination and cultures continue to come into contact across borders which either allow fluid diffusion of ideas or block passage.

The Ornament of the World

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Publisher : Back Bay Books
ISBN 13 : 0316092797
Total Pages : 265 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (16 download)

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Book Synopsis The Ornament of the World by : Maria Rosa Menocal

Download or read book The Ornament of the World written by Maria Rosa Menocal and published by Back Bay Books. This book was released on 2009-11-29 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This classic bestseller — the inspiration for the PBS series — is an "illuminating and even inspiring" portrait of medieval Spain that explores the golden age when Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance (Los Angeles Times). This enthralling history, widely hailed as a revelation of a "lost" golden age, brings to vivid life the rich and thriving culture of medieval Spain, where for more than seven centuries Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance, and where literature, science, and the arts flourished. "It is no exaggeration to say that what we presumptuously call 'Western' culture is owed in large measure to the Andalusian enlightenment...This book partly restores a world we have lost." —Christopher Hitchens, The Nation

Stars and Numbers

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Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000585123
Total Pages : 356 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis Stars and Numbers by : Paul Kunitzsch

Download or read book Stars and Numbers written by Paul Kunitzsch and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-04-19 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The studies brought together in this second collection of articles by Paul Kunitzsch continue the lines of research evident in his previous volume (The Arabs and the Stars). The Arabic materials discussed stem mostly from the early period of the development of Arabic-Islamic astronomy up to about 1000AD, while the Latin materials belong to the first stage of Western contact with Arabic science at the end of the 10th century, and to the peak of Arabic-Latin translation activity in 12th century Spain. The first set of articles focuses upon Ptolemy in the Arabic-Latin tradition, followed by further ones on Arabic astronomy and its reception in the West; the final group looks at details of the transmission of Euclid's Elements.

Andalus and Sefarad

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691176434
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis Andalus and Sefarad by : Sarah Stroumsa

Download or read book Andalus and Sefarad written by Sarah Stroumsa and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An integrative approach to Jewish and Muslim philosophy in al-Andalus Al-Andalus, the Iberian territory ruled by Islam from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries, was home to a flourishing philosophical culture among Muslims and the Jews who lived in their midst. Andalusians spoke proudly of the region's excellence, and indeed it engendered celebrated thinkers such as Maimonides and Averroes. Sarah Stroumsa offers an integrative new approach to Jewish and Muslim philosophy in al-Andalus, where the cultural commonality of the Islamicate world allowed scholars from diverse religious backgrounds to engage in the same philosophical pursuits. Stroumsa traces the development of philosophy in Muslim Iberia from its introduction to the region to the diverse forms it took over time, from Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism to rational theology and mystical philosophy. She sheds light on the way the politics of the day, including the struggles with the Christians to the north of the peninsula and the Fāṭimids in North Africa, influenced philosophy in al-Andalus yet affected its development among the two religious communities in different ways. While acknowledging the dissimilar social status of Muslims and members of the religious minorities, Andalus and Sefarad highlights the common ground that united philosophers, providing new perspective on the development of philosophy in Islamic Spain.

Astronomy and Astrology in al-Andalus and the Maghrib

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Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000946592
Total Pages : 381 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis Astronomy and Astrology in al-Andalus and the Maghrib by : Julio Samsó

Download or read book Astronomy and Astrology in al-Andalus and the Maghrib written by Julio Samsó and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-05-31 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new volume of papers by Julio Samsó deals with the development of astronomy and astrology in al-Andalus and the Maghrib between the 10th and the 19th centuries. Opening with a survey of the social history of the exact sciences in al-Andalus, the book then looks at astronomical tables: the first stages of the introduction of al-Khwarizmi's and al-Battani's tables through the school of Maslama al-Majriti, the development of Ibn al-Zarqalluh/ Azarquiel's theories in Maghribi zijes (Ibn al-Banna' and Ibn Azzuz) and the abandonment of this tradition towards the end of the 14th century. From this period onwards new Eastern zijes (Muhyi al-Din al-Maghribi, Ibn al-Shatir, Ulugh Beg) are introduced in the Maghrib and, towards the beginning of the 17th century, a translation of Abraham Zacut and José Vizinho's Almanach Perpetuum (end of the 15th century) becomes well known in the whole Islamic world, from Morocco to the Yemen. As well as zijes themselves, the author also deals with theoretical astronomy (the use of an elliptical deferent for Mercury in Ibn al-Zarqalluh's equatorium and the criticisms of Ibn al-Haytham and Jabir b. Aflah on Ptolemy's determination of the parameters of the same planet), and with the use of zijes for the calculation of horoscopes, and an experimental astrological method for the correction of mean motion planetary tables (Ibn Azzuz).

Astrolabes in Medieval Cultures

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Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004387862
Total Pages : 516 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (43 download)

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Book Synopsis Astrolabes in Medieval Cultures by :

Download or read book Astrolabes in Medieval Cultures written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2019-01-28 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published as a special issue of the journal Medieval Encounters (vol. 23, 2017), this volume, edited by Josefina Rodríguez-Arribas, Charles Burnett, Silke Ackermann, and Ryan Szpiech, brings together fifteen studies on various aspects of the astrolabe in medieval cultures. The astrolabe, developed in antiquity and elaborated throughout the Middle Ages, was used for calculation, teaching, and observation, and also served astrological and medical purposes. It was the most popular and prestigious of the mathematical instruments, and was found equally among practitioners of various sciences and arts as among princes in royal courts. By considering sources and instruments from Muslim, Christian, and Jewish contexts, this volume provides state-of-the-art research on the history and use of the astrolabe throughout the Middle Ages. Contributors are Silke Ackermann, Emilia Calvo, John Davis, Laura Fernández Fernández, Miquel Forcada, Azucena Hernández, David A. King, Taro Mimura, Günther Oestmann, Josefina Rodríguez-Arribas, Sreeramula Rajeswara Sarma, Petra G. Schmidl, Giorgio Strano, Flora Vafea, and Johannes Thomann.

Science in Medieval Islam

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Author :
Publisher : University of Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 0292785410
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (927 download)

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Book Synopsis Science in Medieval Islam by : Howard R. Turner

Download or read book Science in Medieval Islam written by Howard R. Turner and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2010-07-28 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “well-organized and interesting” overview of science in the Muslim world in the seventh through seventeenth centuries, with over 100 illustrations (The Middle East Journal). During the Golden Age of Islam, in the seventh through seventeenth centuries A. D., Muslim philosophers and poets, artists and scientists, princes and laborers created a unique culture that has influenced societies on every continent. This book offers a fully illustrated, highly accessible introduction to an important aspect of that culture: the scientific achievements of medieval Islam. Howard Turner, who curated the subject for a major traveling exhibition, opens with a historical overview of the spread of Islamic civilization from the Arabian peninsula eastward to India and westward across northern Africa into Spain. He describes how a passion for knowledge led the Muslims during their centuries of empire-building to assimilate and expand the scientific knowledge of older cultures, including those of Greece, India, and China. He explores medieval Islamic accomplishments in cosmology, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, geography, medicine, natural sciences, alchemy, and optics. He also indicates the ways in which Muslim scientific achievement influenced the advance of science in the Western world from the Renaissance to the modern era. This survey of historic Muslim scientific achievements offers students and other readers a window into one of the world’s great cultures, one which is experiencing a remarkable resurgence as a religious, political, and social force in our own time.

A History of Arabic Astronomy

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Author :
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 0814738893
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (147 download)

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Book Synopsis A History of Arabic Astronomy by : George Saliba

Download or read book A History of Arabic Astronomy written by George Saliba and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 1995-07-01 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A History of Arabic Astronomy is a comprehensive survey of Arabic planetary theories from the eleventh century to the fifteenth century based on recent manuscript discoveries. George Saliba argues that the medieval period, often called a period of decline in Islamic intellectual history, was scientifically speaking, a very productive period in which astronomical theories of the highest order were produced. Based on the most recent manuscript discoveries, this book broadly surveys developments in Arabic planetary theories from the eleventh century to the fifteenth. Taken together, the primary texts and essays assembled in this book reverse traditional beliefs about the rise and fall of Arabic science, demonstrating how the traditional “age of decline” in Arabic science was indeed a “Golden Age” as far as astronomy was concerned. Some of the techniques and mathematical theorems developed during this period were identical to those which were employed by Copernicus in developing his own non-Ptolemaic astronomy. Significantly, this volume will shed much-needed light on the conditions under which such theories were developed in medieval Islam. It clearly demonstrates the distinction that was drawn between astronomical activities and astrological ones, and reveals, contrary to common perceptions about medieval Islam, the accommodation that was obviously reached between religion and astronomy, and the degree to which astronomical planetary theories were supported, and at times even financed, by the religious community itself. This in stark contrast to the systematic attacks leveled by the same religious community against astrology. To students of European intellectual history, the book reveals the technical relationship between the astronomy of the Arabs and that of Copernicus. Saliba’s definitive work will be of particular interest to historians of Arabic science as well as to historians of medieval and Renaissance European science.

Science in the Medieval World

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Publisher : University of Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 029279231X
Total Pages : 152 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (927 download)

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Book Synopsis Science in the Medieval World by : Sa`id al-Andalusi

Download or read book Science in the Medieval World written by Sa`id al-Andalusi and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2010-06-04 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Middle Ages, a thriving center for learning and research was Muslim Spain, where students gathered to consult Arabic manuscripts of earlier scientific works and study with famous teachers. One of these teachers was Sa'id al-Andalusi, who in 1068 wrote Kitab Tabaqat al-'Umam, or "Book of the Categories of Nations," which recorded the contributions to science of all known nations. Today, it is one of few surviving medieval Spanish Muslim texts, and this is its first English translation. Science ('ulum), as used by Sa'id and other scholars of that period, is a broad term covering virtually all aspects of human knowledge. After initial discussions of the categories of nations that did or did not cultivate science, Sa'id details the specific contribution of nine nations or peoples-India, Persia, Chaldea, Greece, Rome, Egypt, the Arab Orient, al-Andalus, and the Hebrews. He includes the names of many individual scientists and scholars and describes their various contributions to knowledge, making his book a significant work of reference as well as history.