The book was written in arabic, although the author himself was persian. Alsufi called it little cloud alternatively translated as a small cloudy patch and provided a representative image of it a girl standing in front of a fish, representing andromedas placement in front of the arabian constellation of the big fish. It was an attempt to create a synthesis of the most popular classical work of astronomy ptolemys almagest with the indigenous arabic. The second is a 17thcentury ottoman turkish translation of the first part on the supraterrestrial creatures of kitab ajaib almakhluqat wagharaib almawjudat the wonders of creation. And while the noted greek astronomer ptolemy noted it as a haze, it was abd alrahman alsufi who first distinctly recorded in his kitab.
Alsufis book of the images of the fixed stars and its. Kawakib althabitah book of the images of the fixed stars which he completed in shiraz around 964. The second is a 17thcentury ottoman turkish translation of the first part on the supraterrestrial creatures of kitab ajaib almakhluqat wagharaib almawjudat the wonders. He was persian and wrote a book that listed brightness and position of 1,000 stars and constellations. Alsufis book of the constellations of the fixed stars, followed by maxims, and alqazwinis the wonders of creation. Abd alrahman alsufi and his book of the fixed stars. The manuscript contains an illustrated description by abd alra.
Influence on islamic and western celestial cartography. The book of the fixed stars was written by the persian astronomer abdulrahman alsufi around ad 964, and is one of the most important medieval arabic treatises on astronomy. The principal source for this star name literature is the book of constellations of the fixed stars by the persian astronomer omar alsufi c. Originally written in arabic, it was later translated into persian and also into latin. As when the seaman sees the hyades gather an army of cimmerian clouds. This book, based on the almagest of the greek astronomer ptolemy, concerns the forty. It was an attempt to create a synthesis of the comprehensive star catalogu e in ptolemy s. Fixed stars archives and manuscripts at the bodleian library. Pdf abdulrahman alsufi and his book of the fixed stars. This major work contains an extensive star catalog, which lists star coordinates and magnitude estimates, as well as detailed star charts.
Alsufis book of the images of the fixed stars and its influence on islamic and european celestial cartography robert h. However, when it comes to the fixed stars, agrippa uses fixed star images and. Alsufi published kitab alkawatib althabit almusawwar also commonly known as the book of fixed stars in ad 964 and dedicated it to adud aldawla, the current ruler of buwayhid at the time. The book was written in arabic, although the author. See more ideas about capricorn, zodiac capricorn and capricorn art. Alsufis book of the constellations of the fixed stars. It is a historical tale that takes place in the year 572, but best read when the readers gets to know luidaegs character better. The book of fixed stars is an astronomical text written by abd alrahman alsufi azophi around 964. This appeared in or shortly after ad 964, some eight hundred years after the original almagest was written. Then i had to identify the criteria with which to choose the manuscripts which were used as the bases for the translation and discussions.
Book of the constellations of the fixed stars the british library. Doc table of 15 behenian fixed stars cornelius agrippa. The book of fixed stars by abd alrahman alsufi all astronomers know the names of ptolemy, tycho brahe and johannes hevelius, three landmark characters who catalogued the stars with everincreasing accuracy between the second and seventeenth centuries. Alsufis book of the images of the fixed stars and its influence on. This book describes fortyeight constellations and the stars that they are composed of. Like all books in the days before printing, the book of the fixed stars was. This is attested to by a gilded dedication panel on folio 1r. Alsufis book of the constellations of the fixed stars, followed by. The boo k was written in arabic, although the author himself was persian. He also wrote a comprehensive treatise on the astrolabe in 1760 chapters which only survives in a shortened version in 170 chapters.
1333 1408 1183 1481 1495 298 265 40 1069 1578 27 1145 1517 715 605 1391 962 1556 1154 69 1271 483 1309 148 653 1331 359 444 69 1102 1053 1531 1579 1357 2 1476 825 890 71 478 766 1103 261 602 1046 1068 985 848 155 892