A ' () is an
Islamic astronomical book that tabulates
parameters used for
astronomical
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...
calculations of the
positions of the sun, moon, stars, and planets.
Etymology
The name ''zīj'' is derived from the
Middle Persian
Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...
term ' or ' "cord". The term is believed to refer to the arrangement of threads in weaving, which was transferred to the arrangement of rows and columns in tabulated data. Some such books were referred to as ', derived from the equivalent Greek word, .
Historically significant zījes
The ''
Zij-i Sultani
''Zīj-i Sulṭānī'' () is a Zij astronomical table and star catalogue that was published by Ulugh Beg in 1438–1439. It was the joint product of the work of a group of Muslim astronomers working under the patronage of Ulugh Beg at Samarka ...
'', published by the astronomer and
sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
Ulugh Beg
Mīrzā Muhammad Tarāghāy bin Shāhrukh (; ), better known as Ulugh Beg (; 22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449), was a Timurid sultan, as well as an astronomer and mathematician.
Ulugh Beg was notable for his work in astronomy-related ma ...
in 1438/9, was used as a reference ' throughout Islam during the
early modern era
The early modern period is a historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There is no exact date ...
.
Omar Khayyam
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...
's ''
Zij-i Malik Shahi'' was updated throughout the modern era under various sultanates.
' were updated by different empires to suit their various interests, such as the simplified version of ' by the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...
.
History
Some of the early ''zīj''es tabulated data from
Indian planetary theory (known as the Sindhind) and from pre-Islamic
Sasanian
The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...
models, but most ''zīj''es presented data based on the
Ptolemaic model. A small number of the ''zīj''es adopted their computations reflecting original observations but most only adopted their tables to reflect the use of a different calendar or geographic longitude as the basis for computations. Since most ''zīj''es generally followed earlier theory, their principal contributions reflected improved trigonometrical, computational and observational techniques.
The content of ''zīj''es were initially based on that of the "Handy Tables" by
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
, known in Arabic as ''al-Qānūn'', the ''Zīj-i Shāh'' compiled in Sasanian Persia, and the Indian
siddhantas by
Āryabhaṭa
Aryabhata ( ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was the first of the major mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. His works include the '' Āryabhaṭīya'' (which mentions that in 3600 ' ...
and
Brahmagupta
Brahmagupta ( – ) was an Indian Indian mathematics, mathematician and Indian astronomy, astronomer. He is the author of two early works on mathematics and astronomy: the ''Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta'' (BSS, "correctly established Siddhanta, do ...
. Muslim ''zīj''es, however, were more extensive, and typically included materials on
chronology
Chronology (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , , ; and , ''wikt:-logia, -logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the deter ...
, geographical
latitude
In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...
s and
longitude
Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...
s,
star
A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...
tables,
trigonometrical functions, functions in
spherical astronomy
Spherical astronomy, or positional astronomy, is a branch of observational astronomy used to locate astronomical objects on the celestial sphere, as seen at a particular date, time, and location on Earth. It relies on the mathematical methods of ...
, the
equation of time
The equation of time describes the discrepancy between two kinds of solar time. The two times that differ are the apparent solar time, which directly tracks the diurnal motion of the Sun, and mean solar time, which tracks a theoretical mean Sun ...
, planetary motions, computation of
eclipses
An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...
, tables for first visibility of the
lunar crescent, astronomical and/or
astrological computations, and instructions for astronomical calculations using
epicyclic geocentric
In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, often exemplified specifically by the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the Universe with Earth at the center. Under most geocentric models, the Sun, Moon, stars, an ...
models.
Some ''zīj''es go beyond this traditional content to explain or prove the theory or report the observations from which the tables were computed.
Due to religious conflicts with astrology, many astronomers attempted to separate themselves from astrology, specifically intending for their ''zīj''es not to be used for astrological computations. However, many ''zīj''es were used this way regardless, such as
ibn al-Shatir
ʿAbu al-Ḥasan Alāʾ al‐Dīn bin Alī bin Ibrāhīm bin Muhammad bin al-Matam al-Ansari, known as Ibn al-Shatir or Ibn ash-Shatir (; 1304–1375) was an Arab astronomer, mathematician and engineer. He worked as '' muwaqqit'' (موقت, timek ...
's ''al-Zij al-jadīd''.
Over 200 different ''zīj''es have been identified that were produced by
Islamic astronomers during the period from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries. The greatest centers of production of ''zīj''es were
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
under the
Abbasid caliphs
The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib.
The family came ...
in the ninth century,
the
Maragheh observatory
The Maragheh observatory (Persian language, Persian: رصدخانه مراغه), also spelled Maragha, Maragah, Marageh, and Maraga, was an astronomical observatory established in the mid 13th century under the patronage of the Ilkhanid Hulagu and ...
in the 13th century, the
Samarkand
Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
observatory in the 15th century, and the
Constantinople observatory of Taqi ad-Din in the 16th century. Nearly 100 more ''zīj''es were also produced in India between the 16th and 18th centuries. One of the most famous Indian ''zīj''es was the ''Zīj-i Muhammad Shāhī'', compiled at
Sawai Jai Singh's
Jantar Mantar observatories in the
Kingdom of Amber
The Kingdom of Amber, later the Kingdom of Jaipur or the Jaipur State, was located in the north-eastern historic Dhundhar region of Rajputana and was ruled by the Kachhwaha, Kachwaha Rajput dynasty. The kingdom was established by Dulha Rai, po ...
. It is notable for employing the use of
telescopic observations. The last known ''zīj'' treatise was the ''Zīj-i Bahadurkhani'', written in 1838 by the Indian astronomer Ghulam Hussain Jaunpuri (1760–1862) and printed in 1855, dedicated to
Bahadur Khan. The treatise incorporated the
heliocentric
Heliocentrism (also known as the heliocentric model) is a Superseded theories in science#Astronomy and cosmology, superseded astronomical model in which the Earth and Solar System, planets orbit around the Sun at the center of the universe. His ...
system into the ''zīj'' tradition.
List
* ''Az-Zīj ‛alā Sinī al-‛Arab'' — by
Ibrahim al-Fazari (d. 777) and
Muhammad al-Fazari (d. 796/806)
* ''Az-Zīj al-Mahlul min as-Sindhind li-Darajat Daraja'' — by
Yaʿqūb ibn Ṭāriq
Yaqub ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Azar ( , ), later given the name Israil (, ), is recognized by Muslims as an Islamic prophet. He is held to have preached the same monotheism as his forefathers: Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac.
Jacob is mentioned ...
(d. 796)
* ''
Zij as-Sindhind'' — by
al-Khwarizmi
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi , or simply al-Khwarizmi, was a mathematician active during the Islamic Golden Age, who produced Arabic-language works in mathematics, astronomy, and geography. Around 820, he worked at the House of Wisdom in B ...
(c. 780–850)
* ''
Az-Zij as-Sabi'' — by
Muhammad ibn Jābir al-Harrānī al-Battānī (Albatenius) (853–929)
* ''
Zīj al-Safa'ih'' (''Tables of the disks of the
astrolabe
An astrolabe (; ; ) is an astronomy, astronomical list of astronomical instruments, instrument dating to ancient times. It serves as a star chart and Model#Physical model, physical model of the visible celestial sphere, half-dome of the sky. It ...
'') — by
Abū Ja'far al-Khāzin
Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Husayn Khazin (; 900–971), also called Al-Khazin, was an Iranian peoples, Iranian Muslim astronomer and mathematician from greater Khorasan, Khorasan. He worked on both astronomy and number theory.
Al-Khazin was one of ...
(900–971)
* ''
Zīj al-Kabir al-Hakimi'' — by
Ibn Yunus
Abu al-Hasan 'Ali ibn Abi al-Said 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Yunus ibn Abd al-'Ala al-Sadafi al-Misri (Egyptian Arabic: ابن يونس; c. 950 – 1009) was an important Arabs, Arab Egyptians, Egyptian astronomer and Islamic mathematics, math ...
(c. 950–1009)
* ''
Az-Zīj al-Jamī wal-Baligh'' (''The Comprehensive and Mature Tables'') — by
Kushyar ibn Labban (971–1029)
* ''Zīj-i Malik-Shāhī (Astronomical Handbook with Tables for Malikshah)'' (1079) ''—'' by
Omar Khayyam
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...
(1048–1141)
* ''
Almanac of Azarqueil'' (1088) — by
Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī (Azarqueil) (1028–1087)
* ''
Tables of Toledo
The ''Toledan Tables'', or ''Tables of Toledo'', were astronomical tables which were used to predict the movements of the Sun, Moon and planets relative to the fixed stars. They were a collection of mathematical tables that describe different asp ...
'' — based on
Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī (Azarqueil) (1028–1087)
* ''Az-Zīj As-Sanjarī'' (''Sinjaric Tables'') — by
al-Khazini
Abū al-Fath Abd al-Rahman Mansūr al-Khāzini or simply al-Khāzini (, flourished 1115–1130) was an Iranian astronomer, mechanician and physicist of Byzantine Greek origin who lived during the Seljuk Empire. His astronomical tables, written ...
(
fl.
''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...
1115–1130)
* ''
Zij-i Ilkhani
''Zīj-i Īlkhānī'' () or ''Ilkhanic Tables'' (literal translation: "The Ilkhan Stars", after ilkhan Hulagu, who was the patron of the author at that time) is a ''Zij'' book with Ephemeris, astronomical tables of planetary movements. It was com ...
'' — by
Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī
Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī (1201 – 1274), also known as Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī (; ) or simply as (al-)Tusi, was a Persian polymath, architect, philosopher, physician, scientist, and theologian. Nasir al-Din al-Tu ...
(1201–1274)
* ''al-Zij al-jadīd —'' by Ibn al-Shāṭir (1304–1375)
* ''
Huihui Lifa'' (''Muslim System of Calendrical Astronomy'') — published in China a number of times until the early 18th century,
* ''Khaqani Zij'' — by
Jamshīd al-Kāshī
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Jamshīd Masʿūd al-Kāshī (or al-Kāshānī) ( ''Ghiyās-ud-dīn Jamshīd Kāshānī'') (c. 1380 Kashan, Iran – 22 June 1429 Samarkand, Transoxiana) was a Persian astronomer and mathematician during the reign of Tamerlane.
...
(1380–1429)
* ''
Zij-i-Sultani
''Zīj-i Sulṭānī'' () is a Zij astronomical table and star catalogue that was published by Ulugh Beg in 1438–1439. It was the joint product of the work of a group of Muslim astronomers working under the patronage of Ulugh Beg at Samarkand ...
'' (1437) — by
Ulugh Beg
Mīrzā Muhammad Tarāghāy bin Shāhrukh (; ), better known as Ulugh Beg (; 22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449), was a Timurid sultan, as well as an astronomer and mathematician.
Ulugh Beg was notable for his work in astronomy-related ma ...
(1393–1449)
* ''Unbored Pearl'' (1579–1580) — by
Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf
Taqi ad-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf ash-Shami al-Asadi (; ; 1526–1585) was an Ottoman polymath active in Cairo and Istanbul. He was the author of more than ninety books on a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy, clocks, engineering ...
(1526–1585)
* ''Zīj-i Muhammad Shahi'' — by
Jai Singh II of Amber (1688–1743)
* ''Zīj-i Bahadurkhani'' (1838) — by Ghulam Hussain Jaunpuri (1760–1862)
See also
*
Astrometry
Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, th ...
*
Epoch (astronomy)
In astronomy, an epoch or reference epoch is a instant, moment in time used as a reference point for some time-varying astronomical quantity. It is useful for the celestial coordinates or orbital elements of a Astronomical object, celestial body, ...
*
Ephemeris
In astronomy and celestial navigation, an ephemeris (; ; , ) is a book with tables that gives the trajectory of naturally occurring astronomical objects and artificial satellites in the sky, i.e., the position (and possibly velocity) over tim ...
*
Star catalogue
A star catalogue is an astronomical catalogue that lists stars. In astronomy, many stars are referred to simply by catalogue numbers. There are a great many different star catalogues which have been produced for different purposes over the year ...
Notes
References
* E. S. Kennedy. "A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables". ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'', New Series, 46, 2. Philadelphia, 1956. (A revised version in preparation b
Benno van Dalenwill include over 200 zijes).
Further reading
Islam, Quran and Science: A List of Islamic Astronomical Tablesby Zakaria Virk
{{histOfScience
Astronomical works of the medieval Islamic world
Astrological works of the medieval Islamic world
Astronomical tables
Persian words and phrases