The Almagest<\/em> of Ptolemy was authoritative in astronomy for centuries. Numerous manuscripts of the Occident bear witness to this. However, the heavens and their empirical observation have fascinated people worldwide\u00a0\u2013 and this manuscript gives us a glimpse of fabled Samarkand<\/strong>, mythical center of the Silk Road in the 15th century and synonymous with oriental splendour under the Timurids<\/strong>. Ulugh Beg, a scientist on a ruler\u2019s throne<\/strong>, had the famous 10th-century text of Al-Sufi calligraphed and painted as a magnificent manuscript for his library.<\/p>\n One of the earliest known writers on astronomy\u00a0is Ptolemy (100\u2013160)<\/strong>, the ancient philosopher,\u00a0mathematician and astronomer from\u00a0Alexandria, whose writings were regarded as the\u00a0standard scientific work on celestial science up\u00a0to the early modern age. His Almagest is a\u00a0systematic guide to mathematical astronomy,\u00a0the contents of which would remain definitive\u00a0for centuries to come. In his text, Al-Sufi corrects numerous statements by Ptolemy and supplements them with his own empirical observations. He merges all\u00a0the star names mentioned in Arabic literature<\/strong>\u00a0with Ptolemy\u2018s catalogue of stars and quotes\u00a0their ecliptic coordinates and magnitudes. In\u00a0his observations he even describes the Large\u00a0Magellanic Cloud (which he names al-Bakr)\u00a0and the Andromeda Galaxy.\u00a0All the mythological figures of the constellations\u00a0are depicted twice, once as an image as seen in\u00a0the sky and once projected onto a sphere. The manuscript from Paris, reproducing the\u00a0text of the Book of the Fixed Stars<\/strong>, captivates with its magnificent illustrations, meticulously\u00a0executed, detailed depictions<\/strong> of the constellations and celestial bodies described in the text.\u00a0With 74 large-format miniatures, the codex is\u00a0undoubtedly one of the richest and most beautifully decorated versions of Al-Sufi\u2018s famous astronomical text. Ulugh Beg<\/strong> (1394\u20131449) is still known today for\u00a0his achievements in the fields of art, education\u00a0and science. He was a grandson of the\u00a0conqueror Timur Leng (Tamerlane).<\/strong> Appointed\u00a0governor of Samarkand at the age of 15 by his\u00a0father, the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh, Ulugh\u00a0Beg immediately began to transform the city\u00a0into a centre of Islamic culture<\/strong>. He was\u00a0responsible for the construction of the famous\u00a0Ulugh Beg madrasa on the Registan in\u00a0Samarkand (around 1417), and of an\u00a0astonishing observatory (1424 onwards), which\u00a0was not discovered and excavated until 1908.<\/p>\n Even today, we are impressed by the precision of\u00a0the measurements made at the observatory in\u00a0Samarkand, on the basis of ancient texts and\u00a0empirical observations. This precision made it\u00a0possible to measure the stars exactly and to\u00a0define their luminous intensity. Ulugh Beg was\u00a0even able to calculate the sidereal year to an\u00a0accuracy of 58 seconds, and his manual of\u00a0astronomical tables \u2013 the star catalogue Zij-i-Sultani<\/em><\/strong>, giving the positions of 1018 stars,\u00a0created between 1420 and 1437 \u2013 was unsurpassed in accuracy until Tycho Brahe\u2019s time.<\/p>\n Authentic facsimile edition<\/strong> of the\u00a0Codex Arabe 5036 in the Biblioth\u00e8que\u00a0nationale<\/a>, Paris. 74 finely executed\u00a0miniatures of constellations as well as numerous golden headings illustrate\u00a0the text of Al-Sufi on 247 leaves in the\u00a0format 24.5 x 18.5 cm. The binding\u00a0of the original is also faithfully reproduced: it consists of a gold-embroidered cloth and gold-stamped leather\u00a0binding with a flap. The valuable facsimile is protected by a magnificent\u00a0case.<\/p>\n The commentary volume<\/strong> accompanying the manuscript illuminates all\u00a0of its aspects, describing how it came\u00a0into being as well as the context in\u00a0which it was produced, and explaining all of the miniatures in detail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A masterpiece of Central Asian art, one of the most important and at the same time most beautiful treatises on the starry\u00a0sky, created for the greatest scientist on a ruler\u2018s throne, a symbol of the flourishing of the legendary city of Samarkand in\u00a0the Middle Ages: this incredible manuscript is now being published for the first time ever as a complete, true-to-the-original facsimile edition.<\/p>\n It goes without saying that the original\u00a0facsimile leaves of the documentation\u00a0are of the usual perfect quality \u2013 see\u00a0for yourself and order your documentation today! A total of four original facsimile leaves accompanied by detailed\u00a0descriptions give you a closer insight\u00a0into this masterpiece of book illumination from Samarkand<\/strong> \u2013 the finest calligraphy and fascinatingly precise astronomical depictions offer a glimpse of\u00a0the impressive art and advanced science\u00a0that flourished in medieval Central Asia.<\/p>\n For the first time ever, this documentation opens up completely new dimensions in the world of medieval book art. With our brand new Living Manuscripts app<\/a>, you can bring Ulugh Beg’s Book of Fixed Stars to life – simply download the app for free and scan Folio 93v (Pegasus) – included in the documentation. Learn more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14434,"template":"","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":""},"product_cat":[1906,1835,508,502,609,617],"product_tag":[],"yoast_head":"\nAntiquity and the Arabic Tradition of Astronomy<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nThe Almagest is also the basis for Al-Sufi\u2018s\u00a010th-century work on the fixed stars. The Persian\u00a0astronomer Abd al-Rahman Al-Sufi (903\u2013986)<\/strong>\u00a0studied Ptolemy\u2018s work in detail and combined it\u00a0with the scientific Arab tradition and the\u00a0empirical observations of pre-Islamic cultures\u00a0such as the Bedouins.<\/p>\n
\nThanks to this, his impressive work served for\u00a0many centuries as a model for numerous\u00a0celestial globes.\u00a0Over a long period of time, Al-Sufi\u2019s text was the\u00a0most important guide to the stars<\/strong> not only in the\u00a0Islamic, but also in the Christian world.<\/p>\nThe Manuscript of a Prince<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nIn addition, the codex is of outstanding historical importance: the manuscript was created at\u00a0the court of the Timurid ruler Ulugh Beg<\/strong> \u2013 a\u00a0scholar on a prince\u2019s throne, famous for his\u00a0great cultural and scientific activities and\u00a0achievements.<\/p>\nA Scientist in the Seat of Power<\/strong><\/h2>\n
A definitive Work for Centuries<\/strong><\/h2>\n
74 fascinating Miniatures of Constellations executed in the finest Technique<\/strong><\/h2>\n