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Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sufi and His Book of the Fixed Stars: a Journey of Re-Discovery

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Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sufi and His Book of the Fixed Stars: a Journey of Re-Discovery ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following reference: Hafez, Ihsan (2010) Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi and his book of the fixed stars: a journey of re-discovery. PhD thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/28854/ The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owner of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please contact [email protected] and quote http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/28854/ ′Abd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣūfī and His Book of the Fixed Stars: A Journey of Re-discovery Thesis submitted by Ihsan Hafez In October 2010 For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences James Cook University STATEMENT OF ACCESS I, the undersigned, author of this work, understand that James Cook University will make this thesis available for use within the University Library and, via the Australian Digital Theses network, for use elsewhere. I understand that, as an unpublished work, a thesis has significant protection under the Copyright Act and; I do not wish to place any further restriction on access to this work. Signature: Date: I STATEMENT OF SOURCES DECLARATION I declare that this thesis is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any university or other institution of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given. Signature: Date: II STATEMENT ON THE CONTRIBUTION OF OTHERS Nature of Assistance Contribution Names Titles Affiliations Intellectual Support Proposal writing Dr F Richard Stephenson Emeritus Professor Physics Department University of Durham Dr Wayne Orchiston Associate Professor of Astronomy James Cook University Data Analysis Not applicable Editorial assistance Dr F Richard Stephenson Dr Wayne Orchiston Financial Support Field research Not Applicable Stipend Not Applicable Write-up Grant Not Applicable Data Collection Research assistance Librarians in below institutes: Bodleian Library, Oxford Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris British Library, London American University of Beirut Signature: Date: III ELECTRONIC COPY DECLARATION l, the undersigned, the author of this work, declare that the electronic copy of this thesis provided to the James Cook University Library is an accurate copy of the print thesis submitted, within the limits of the technology available. Signature: Date: IV Acknowledgments First I would like to thank my principle supervisor Professor Richard Stephenson and co- supervisor Associate Professor Wayne Orchiston for their immense efforts and help in guiding me to finalize this study. I would also like to thank Dr Graeme White (formally of JCU) whose original ideas steered me to identify my present research topic. Grateful acknowledgment is also made to all the libraries and museums for kindly permitting the study, reproduction and use of the manuscripts in their collections for research purposes, but especially the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris, the British Library in London and the library of the American University of Beirut. Finally I would like to thank all people and especially my family for their help, support and patience during the time I spent working on this project. V Abstract Al-Ṣūfī’s Book of the Fixed Stars, dating from around AD 964, is one of the most important medieval Arabic treatises on astronomy. This major work contains an extensive star catalog, which lists star co-ordinates and magnitude estimates, as well as detailed star charts. Other topics include descriptions of nebulae, colors of stars and Arabic folk astronomy. Al-Ṣūfī’s book was based on Ptolemy's classical work called the Almagest which was written around A.D. 137. Al-Ṣūfī updated Ptolemy's stellar longitudes from A.D. 137 to 964 by adding 12 degrees and 42 minutes on Ptolemy’s longitude values to allow for precession. However, it is surprising that at present no English translation of al-Ṣūfī’s treatise exists. Therefore this is a Doctorate thesis which includes for the first time a complete English translation of the main parts of al-Ṣūfī's work as well as a detailed study of this important book. The main topics which have been discussed in this study include a brief biography on al-Ṣūfī, the extant manuscripts of al-Ṣūfī’s treatise, the structure of the book and star catalogue, and the star maps and charts. One of al-Ṣūfī's innovations in charting the stars was the production of dual illustrations for each of Ptolemy’s constellations. One illustration was as portrayed on a celestial globe. The other illustration was as viewed directly in the night sky. Al-Ṣūfī’s contribution to astronomy was not only limited to writing this book but he was also instrumental in developing the science of astronomy for a very long time. He also contributed to the building of an important observatory in the city of Shiraz as well as constructing many astronomical instruments such as astrolabes and celestial globes. His influence reverberated throughout history reaching as far as the end of the 19th century. This study also includes a major finding which is al-Ṣūfī’s magnitude unique 3-step intermediate magnitude system. Al-Ṣūfī identified more than one hundred new stars which he mentioned in his commentaries on the constellation but they were not included in the tables nor were they mentioned in the Almagest or any other ancient star catalogs. VI Table of Contents Pages 1. INTRODUCTION 1-5 2. KEY ELEMENTS OF ARABIC AND ISLAMIC ASTRONOMY 2.1- A Short History of Arabic and Islamic Astronomy 6-17 2.2- Characteristics of Arabic and Islamic Astronomy 18-30 2.3- Old Arabic Astronomical Tradition and Star Mansions 31-39 2.4- The Almagest from Ptolemy to al-Ṣūfī 40-45 3. Al-ṢŪFĪ’S BIOGRAPHY 3.1- A Short Biography 46-52 3.2- Al-Ṣūfī’s Contemporaries 53-58 3.3- All of the Main Works by al-Ṣūfī 59-62 3.4- Al-Ṣūfī’s Observatory 63-65 3.5- The Importance of al-Ṣūfī in the History of Astronomy 66-75 3.6- A Crater on the Moon Named Azophi 76-77 4. TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK OF THE FIXED STARS 4.1- Al-Ṣūfī’s Introductory Chapter 78-110 4.2.1- Ursa Minor 111-116 4.2.2- Ursa Major 117-128 4.2.3- Draco 129-130 4.2.4- Cepheus 131 4.2.5- Bootes 132 4.2.6- Corona Borealis 133 4.2.7- Hercules 134-135 4.2.8- Lyra 136 4.2.9- Cygnus 137 4.2.10- Cassiopeia 138 4.2.11- Perseus 139-140 4.2.12- Auriga 141 4.2.13- Ophiuchus 142-143 4.2.14- Serpens 144 4.2.15- Sagitta 145 4.2.16- Aquila 146-147 4.2.17- Delphinus 148 4.2.18- Equuleus 149 4.2.19- Pegasus 150 4.2.20- Andromeda 151 4.2.21- Triangulum 152 4.3.1- Aries 153 4.3.2- Taurus 154-170 4.3.3- Gemini 171-172 4.3.4- Cancer 173-174 4.3.5- Leo 175-176 4.3.6- Virgo 177-178 4.3.7- Libra 179 4.3.8- Scorpio 180-187 4.3.9- Sagittarius 188-189 4.3.10- Capricorn 190-191 4.3.11- Aquarius 192-193 VII 4.3.12- Pisces 194-195 4.4.1- Cetus 196-197 4.4.2- Orion 198-208 4.4.3- Eridanus 209-210 4.4.4- Lepus 211 4.4.5- Canis Major 212-213 4.4.6- Canis Minor 214 4.4.7- Argo Navis 215-216 4.4.8- Hydra 217-218 4.4.9- Crater 219 4.4.10- Corvus 220 4.4.11- Centaurus 221-232 4.4.12- Lupus 233 4.4.13- Ara 234 4.4.14- Corona Australis 235 4.4.15- Piscis Austrinus 236 5. DISCUSSION AND COMMENTS 5.1- Extant Manuscripts of al-Ṣūfī’s Book 237-248 5.2- The Structure of al-Ṣūfī’s Book and Star Catalogue 249-253 5.3- The Maps in al-Ṣūfī’s Catalogue 254-260 5.4- Al-Ṣūfī’s Data Analysis and the 3-step Magnitude System 261-266 5.5- Stars Mentioned by al-Ṣūfī and not in the Almagest 267-274 5.6- Color of Stars in al-Ṣūfī’s Book 275-280 5.7- Stars Used on the Astrolabes in al-Ṣūfī’s Book 281-293 5.8- Double Stars in al-Ṣūfī’s Book 294-301 5.9- The Nebulae in al-Ṣūfī’s Book 302-312 5.10- Old Arabic Astronomical Traditions in al-Ṣūfī’s Work 313-319 5.11- Comments on Constellation Chapter Ursa Minor 320-323 5.12- Comments on Constellation Chapter Ursa Major 324-327 5.13- Comments on Constellation Chapter Taurus 328-333 5.14- Comments on Constellation Chapter Scorpio 334-336 5.15- Comments on Constellation Chapter Orion 337-339 5.16- Comments on Constellation Chapter Centaurus 340-342 6. CONCLUSION 343-353 7. BIBLIOGRAPHY 354-366 8. APPENDICES 8.1- Table of Magnitude Analysis 367-390 8.2- Excerpts from the Translation of a Poem by al-Ṣūfī’s Son 391-392 8.3- Transliteration and Dates 393 VIII List of Tables Pages Table 1 - Arabic Alphanumerical Notation and their Corresponding Numeric Values. 24 Table 2 –Summary of the Lunar Mansions According to Arabic Tradition. 35 Table 3 - List of the Manuscripts and Identification Criteria.
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