On Both Sides of the Strait of Gibraltar

Studies in the History of Medieval Astronomy in the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghrib
Erscheinungsjahr 2020
ISBN: 978-90-04-43656-5
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 144, 1006 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 2012 g

Reihe: Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1 The Near and Middle East

In On Both Sides of the Strait of Gibraltar Julio Samsó studies the history of medieval astronomy in al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), the Maghrib and the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. He proves that the Arabic, Latin, Hebrew, Castilian and Catalan sources belong to the same tradition whose origin can be dated in the 11th century due to the changes in Ptolemy’s astronomical theory introduced by the Toledan astronomer Ibn al-Zarqalluh/Azarquiel.

The book also analyses the role of al-Andalus and the Iberian Peninsula in the transmission of Islamic astronomy to Europe and justifies the fact that Eastern Islamic works published after ca. 950 CE were not accessible to medieval European scholars because they had not reached al-Andalus.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Samsó, Julio

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Enzyklopädien, Nachschlagewerke, Wörterbücher

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface

List of Figures

1 Historical Outline

A Brief Chronological Survey

1.0 Foreword

1.1 Al-Andalus (711–1085)

1.2 The Maghrib (700–1050)

1.3 Almoravids (ca. 1050–ca. 1147) and Almohads (ca. 1147–1276)

1.4 Al-Maghrib and al-Andalus between the Thirteenth and the Fifteenth Centuries

1.5 Astronomy in the Christian Kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula

1.6 A Brief Conclusion

2 Miqat: Timekeeping and Qibla

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Calendars and Years

2.2 Eras

2.3 The Beginning of the Lunar Month

2.4 The Hour

2.5 The qibla

3 Astrology

3.0 Introduction

3.1 Patronage and the Practice of Astrology

3.2 Thematic Surveys

4 Astronomical Instruments

4.0 Introduction

4.1 Spherical Instruments

4.2 The Astrolabe

4.3 Universal Astrolabes

4.4 Quadrants

4.5 Equatoria

4.6 Jabir ibn Aflah’s Observational Instrument

5 Hay'a (Cosmology)

5.1 Introduction: on the Meaning of Hay'a in Western Islam

5.2 The Treatises on hay'a by Dunash ibn Tamim, Qasim ibn Mutarrif and an Anonymous Eleventh-Century Toledan Astronomer

5.3 Jabir ibn Aflah’s Mathematical Criticism of the Almagest

5.4 The Twelfth-Century Andalusi Revolt against Ptolemy

5.5 Hay'a in Castile during the Reign of Alfonso X (1252–1284)

5.6 Other hay'a Sources between the Twelfth and the Fifteenth Centuries

5.7 Conclusions

6 Astronomical Theory

6.1 Introduction

6.2 The Motion of Accession and Recession of the Equinoctial Points (al-iqbal wa l-idbar, Trepidation Theory)

6.3 Ibn al-Zarqalluh’s Solar Model

6.4 The Lunar Model

6.5 Conclusions

7 Astronomical Tables (zijes)

7.1 Introduction: the Eastern Input in al-Andalus

7.2 A General Survey of Andalusi and Maghribi zijes

7.3 Maghribi zijes: the School of Ibn Ishaq

7.4 Other Maghribi zijes

7.5 The Introduction of Eastern zijes in the Maghrib

7.6 Zijes in the Christian Kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula

7.7 Almanacs and Ephemerides

7.8 Conclusions

Bibliography

Index of Parameters and Numerical Values

Index of Names and Subjects

Über Autor(innen)

Julio Samsó, Ph.D. (1966), University of Barcelona, is Emeritus Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at that university. He has published books and many articles on the history of medieval astronomy in al-Andalus and the Maghrib, including Las ciencias de los antiguos en al-Andalus (2nd edition, Fundación Ibn Tufayl, 2011), Islamic Astronomy and Medieval Spain (Variorum. Aldershot, 1994), Astronomy and Astrology in al-Andalus and the Maghrib (Ashgate Variorum. Aldershot, 2007).