![Note of Postel on an Arabic astronomical manuscript in 1436 in Constantinople](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Note_of_Postel_on_an_Arabic_astronomical_manuscript_in_1436_in_Constantinople.jpg)
Abū Muḥammad 'Abd al-Jabbār al-Kharaqī, also Al-Kharaqī (1084-1158
) was a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
astronomer and mathematician of the 12th century, born in Kharaq near
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
.
[''Encyclopaedia of the history of science, technology, and medicine'', ed. Helaine Selin]
p.478
/ref> He was in the service of Sultan Sanjar
Senjer ( fa, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (''b''. 1085 – ''d''. 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until in 1118,[Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...]
in the ''Almagest
The ''Almagest'' is a 2nd-century Greek-language mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Claudius Ptolemy ( ). One of the most influential scientific texts in history, it canoni ...
'', and established an alternative theory of the spheres, imagining huge material spheres in which the planets moved inside tubes.
During his travels to the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in 1536, Guillaume Postel
Guillaume Postel (25 March 1510 – 6 September 1581) was a French people, French linguist, astronomer, Christian Kabbalah, Christian Kabbalist, diplomat, polyglot, professor, Religious universalism, religious universalist, and writer.
Born in ...
acquired an astronomical work by al-Kharaqī, ''Muntahā al-idrāk fī taqāsīm al-aflāk'' ("The Ultimate Grassp of the Divisions of Spheres"), annotated it, and brought it back to Europe.[''Islamic science and the making of European Renaissance'', by George Saliba, p.218 ]
Al-Kharaqī also wrote mathematical treatises, now lost, ''Al-Risala al-Shāmila'' ("Comprehensive Treatise") and ''Al-Risala al-Maghribiyya'' ("The North African Treatise", related to the calculus
Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...
of dirham
The dirham, dirhem or dirhm ( ar, درهم) is a silver unit of currency historically and currently used by several Arab and Arab influenced states. The term has also been used as a related unit of mass.
Unit of mass
The dirham was a un ...
and dinar
The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread.
The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
).
Works
* ''Muntahā al-idrāk fī taqāsīm al-aflāk'' ("The Ultimate Grassp of the Divisions of Spheres") 1138/9
* ''Al-Risala al-Shāmila'' ("Comprehensive Treatise")
* ''Al-Risala al-Maghribiyya'' ("The North African Treatise")
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Kharaqi
12th-century Iranian mathematicians
12th-century Iranian astronomers
Astronomers of the medieval Islamic world
Scholars from the Seljuk Empire
People from Merv