Shabtai Ambron (; ) was an

Italian Jewish Italian Jews ( it, Ebrei Italiani, he, יהודים איטלקים ''Yehudim Italkim'') or Roman Jews ( it, Ebrei Romani, he, יהודים רומים ''Yehudim Romim'') can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in I ...

philosopher and astronomer. He lived in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in the first half of the eighteenth century. Ambron's life-work was a book on the universe, entitled ''Pancosmosophia'', in which he made a systematic attempt to refute the astronomical views of

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 ...

Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulated ...

, and Tycho Brahe, and to set up a

cosmogony Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe. Overview Scientific theories In astronomy, cosmogony refers to the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used i ...

, the underlying principle of which was that the earth was flat. He attempted to support his views by an appeal to Jewish tradition and

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

. The author had already prepared some hundred copperplates to illustrate his theories, when the Roman Inquisition prohibited the printing of the work. Ambron sent his manuscripts to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, but here also his efforts were frustrated by the papal

nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international or ...

, Mattei. On learning that German scholars were interested in his work, he sent it with the plates to the publisher of the ''Neuer Bücher-Saalder Gelehrten-Welt'' in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, but it does not appear to have been printed. Ambron also devoted considerable work to a projected ''Bibliotheca Rabbinica'', with the intention of correcting Bartolocci's errors and misconceptions. This manuscript shared the fate of the foregoing. In 1721 he was a member of the ''Congrega'', the representative body of the Jewish community in Rome.

References

Flat Earth proponents Natural philosophers 18th-century Italian astronomers Jewish astronomers 18th-century Italian Jews Jewish Italian scientists {{Italy-astronomer-stub