Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Fazārī
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Habib ibn Sulayman ibn Samra ibn Jundab[1] al-Fazari (Arabic: محمد بن إبراهيم بن حبيب بن سليمان بن سمرة بن جندب الفزاري) (died 796 or 806) was a Muslim Arab philosopher, mathematician and astronomer.[2][3][4]
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Fazari | |
|---|---|
| Died | 796 or 806 possibly Baghdad |
| Occupation(s) | Philosopher, mathematician, astronomer |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
Biography
Al-Fazārī translated many scientific books into Arabic and Persian. He is credited to have built the first astrolabe in the Islamic world.[5] He died in 796 or 806, possibly in Baghdad.[6]
At the end of the 8th century, whilst at the court of the Abbasid Caliphate, al-Fazārī mentioned Ghana, "the land of gold."[7]
Works
Along with Yaʿqūb ibn Ṭāriq, al-Fazārī helped translate the 7th century Indian astronomical text by Brahmagupta, the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta, into Arabic as 'Az-Zīj ‛alā Sinī al-‛Arab,[8] or the Sindhind. This translation was possibly the vehicle by means of which the mathematical methods of Indian astronomers were transmitted to Islam.[9]
The caliph ordered al-Fazārī to translate the Indian astronomical text, The Sindhind, along with Yaʿqūb ibn Ṭāriq, which was completed in Baghdad about 750, and entitled Az-Zīj ‛alā Sinī al-‛Arab. This translation was possibly the vehicle by means of which the Hindu numeral system (the modern number notation) was transmitted from India to Iran.
Al-Fazari composed various astronomical writings ("On the astrolabe", "On the armillary spheres", "on the calendar").
References
- Samsó 2016.
- Suter 1900, p. 4.
- Sarton 1962, p. 524.
- Montgomery 2000, p. 81.
- Frye 2000, p. 163.
- Plofker, Kim. "Fazārī: Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al‐Fazārī". Islamic Scientific Manuscripts Initiative. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- Levtzion 1973, p. 3.
- Kennedy 1956, pp. 2, 7, 12.
- van Bladel 2015, p. 261.
Sources
- van Bladel (2015). "Eighth-Century Indian Astronomy in the Two Cities of Peace". In Sadeghi, Behnam; Ahmed, Asad Q.; Silverstein, Adam J.; Hoyland, Robert G. (eds.). Islamic Cultures, Islamic Contexts Essays In Honor Of Professor Patricia Crone. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90042-5-201-1.
- Frye, Richard N. (2000). The Golden Age of Persia. London: Phoenix Press. ISBN 1842120115.
- Kennedy, Edward Stewart (1956). "A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. New Series. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: American Philosophical Society. 46 (2): 123–177. doi:10.2307/1005726. hdl:2027/mdp.39076006359272. ISSN 0065-9746. JSTOR 1005726.
- Levtzion, Nehemia (1973). Ancient Ghana and Mali. New York: Methuen & Co Ltd. ISBN 0841904316.
- Montgomery, Scott L. (2000). Science in Translation: Movements of Knowledge through Cultures and Time. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-02265-3-481-7.
- Samsó, Julio (2016). "al-Fazārī". Encyclopedia of Islam (3rd ed.). pp. 91–93 – via Academia.
- Sarton, George (1962). Introduction to the History of Science. Vol. 1. Baltimore, Maryland: Published for the Carnegie Institution of Washington, by the Williams & Wilkins Co. OCLC 1157182492.
- Suter, Heinrich (1900). Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke (in German). Leipzig: Teubner. OCLC 230703086.
Further reading
- Cantor, Moritz (1880). Vorlesungen über Geschichte der Mathematik. Vol. 1. Leipzig: B.G. Teubner. pp. 597–598. OCLC 1348147344.
- Plofker, Kim (2007). "Fazārī: Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al‐Fazārī". In Thomas Hockey; et al. (eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer. pp. 362–3. ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0. (PDF version)
- Pingree, David (1970). "The Fragments of the Works of Al-Fazari". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 29 (2): 103–123. doi:10.1086/372055. JSTOR 543820. S2CID 68991124 – via JSTOR.
- Pingree, David (1981). "Al-Fazārī, Muḥammad Ibn Ibrāhīm". In Gillispie, Charles Coulston; Holmes, Frederic Lawrence (eds.). Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 4. New York: Scribner. OCLC 755137603.