Robert Morrison (Bowdoin College) Scientific Exchange Between the Ilkhanids and the Byzantine Empire the Ilkhanids Have a Well-D

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Robert Morrison (Bowdoin College) Scientific Exchange Between the Ilkhanids and the Byzantine Empire The Ilkhanids have a well-deserved reputation for innovation in the natural sciences. The achievements of the scholars associated with the Marāgha Observatory shaped the history of science in Islamic societies in general as well as the scientific culture of their rivals, the Mamlūks. More important, for this paper, the astronomy of the Ilkhanids reached the Byzantine Empire in a couple of ways. First, the scholar Gregory Chioniades traveled to Marāgha in the late 13th century and received information on both theoretical and mathematical astronomy. The information about mathematical astronomy was the basis for a few zījes (handbooks of astronomy with tables) that Chioniades produced in Greek. Chioniades also learned about some of the developments in theoretical astronomy due to scholars associated with the Marāgha observatory. Scholars have understood this exchange of information about theoretical astronomy to be most significant for investigations about the background of European Renaissance astronomy. Second, another Byzantine scholar, George Chrysococcès, traveled to Trebizond in 1347 to learn about Persian astronomy, i.e. the astronomy of Marā gha. He produced a text, the Persian Syntaxis (which somehow drew on Chioniades’ work), that was translated into Hebrew. A Jewish scholar from Constantinople, Mordechai Khumtianọ (d. 1485-90) authored a Hebrew text entitled Peirush luhoṭ Paras (Commentary on the Persian Tables), a defense of astronomical tables based on those produced under the Ilkhanids at Marāgha and Tabriz. This presentation’s focus will be on how Khumtianọ defended the methods of the Persians (i.e. from Marā gha) against those of Ptolemy, who was favored by Byzantine scholars such as Isaac Argyros. There is no doubt that material from Ilkhanid zījes played a role in the scientific culture of Romaniot Jews and Byzantine Christian scholars. I will also examine an Almagest commentary due to Khumtianọ and his studied Elijah Mizrahị for any trace of theoretical astronomy from Marā gha. .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Scandinavian Journal Byzantine Modern Greek
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF BYZANTINE AND MODERN GREEK STUDIES 4 • 2018 JOURNAL OF BYZANTINE SCANDINAVIAN BYZANTINE AND MODERN GREEK STUDIES Barbara Crostini 9 Greek Astronomical Manuscripts: New Perspectives from Swedish Collections Filippo Ronconi 19 Manuscripts as Stratified Social Objects Anne Weddigen 41 Cataloguing Scientific Miscellanies: the Case of Parisinus Graecus 2494 Alberto Bardi 65 Persian Astronomy in the Greek Manuscript Linköping kl. f. 10 Dmitry Afinogenov 89 Hellenistic Jewish texts in George the Monk: Slavonic Testimonies Alexandra Fiotaki & Marika Lekakou 99 The perfective non-past in Modern Greek: a corpus study Yannis Smarnakis 119 Thessaloniki during the Zealots’ Revolt (1342-1350): Power, Political Violence and the Transformation of the Urban Space David Wills 149 “The nobility of the sea and landscape”: John Craxton and Greece 175 Book Reviews ISSN 2002-0007 No 4 • 2018 Persian Astronomy in the Greek Manuscript Linköping kl. f. 10* Alberto Bardi his paper is a study of an astronomical text redacted in Greek, contained in the fifteenth-century manuscript Linköping kl. f. 10 T(henceforth F). This text consists of a coherent group of instruc- tions on how to use a structured set of astronomical tables stemming from Islamic tradition, redacted primarily in Persian in the thirteenth century, then translated by Byzantine scholars into Greek, and spread among Byzantine scholars from the beginning of the fourteenth century.1 2. Astronomical texts and tables between the Il-khanate and Byzantium In the thirteenth century, astronomical tables stemming from Persia were mostly produced by Islamic scholars. The area, stretched out today between Iran and Azerbaijan, was ruled by the Mongols of the Il-Kha- nids dynasty.
[Show full text]
An Unpublished Translator's Preface to a Brontologion (Petrop.Bibl.Publ
Natural Omens in Byzantine Literature: An Unpublished Translator’s Preface to a Brontologion (Petrop.Bibl.Publ. 575) Elizabeth A. Fisher YZANTINE AUTHORS reflect the popular belief that God communicated with man through natural events, if only B human understanding could discern the message. Several writers of the tenth century illustrate this attitude by presenting unusual natural events as a metaphor or as a predictive indicator of human events. Theophanes Continuatus, for example, de- scribes the appearance of a remarkable star or comet at the birth and death of Constantine the Porphyrogennetos.1 Similarly, at the beginning of his History Leo the Deacon notes the coinci- dence of disruptive events in both the natural and the political spheres. Astral portents, earthquakes, lightning, and torrential rain simultaneous with many wars and the abandonment of cities and whole regions motivated the popular inference that the Second Coming was imminent.2 In the Life of St. Basil the Younger, the narrator Gregory notes that the sun appeared to drip blood when the rebel followers of Constantine Doukas (d. 913) entered Constantinople, predicting great slaughter.3 Although Christian Byzantium scorned pagan superstition 1 Theoph. Cont. 6.48, in D. Sullivan, The Rise and Fall of Nikephoros II Phokas: Five Contemporary Texts in Annotated Translations (Leiden 2019) 49–51. I am grateful to Prof. Sullivan for this reference. 2 A.-M. Talbot and D. Sullivan with G. Dennis and S. McGrath, The His- tory of Leo the Deacon: Byzantine Military Expansion in the Tenth Century (Washington 2005) 55–56. Cf. Matt 4:6–8, Mk 13:7–8, Lk 21:10–11, and Acts 2:19–20.
[Show full text]
Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 2 • 2016 Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF BYZANTINE AND MODERN GREEK STUDIES 2 • 2016 JOURNAL OF BYZANTINE SCANDINAVIAN BYZANTINE AND MODERN GREEK STUDIES Albrecht Berger 9 Magical Constantinople: statues, legends, and the end of time Paolo Cesaretti 31 The Life of St Andrew the Fool by Lennart Rydén: vingt ans après Hedvig von Ehrenheim 53 Pilgrimage for dreams in Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium: continuity of the pagan ritual or development within Christian miracle tradition? Isabel Kimmelfield 97 Defining Constantinople’s Suburbs through Travel and Geography Paul Magdalino 115 The Apostolic Tradition in Constantinople Myrto Veikou 143 Space in Texts and Space as Text: A new approach to Byzantine spatial notions AnnaLinden Weller 177 Marrying the Mongol Khans: Byzantine Imperial Women and the Diplomacy of Religious Conversion in the 13th and 14th Centuries 201 Book Reviews ISSN 2002-0007 No 2 • 2016 Instructions for contributors to SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF BYZANTINE AND MODERN GREEK STUDIES SJBMGS encourages scholarly contributions within Byzantine and Mod- ern Greek philology and history. Manuscripts of articles to be considered for publication should be sent to [email protected] or Marianna Smaragdi, Centre for Lan- guages and Literature, Lund University, Box 201, 22100 Lund, Sweden. Your article will be refereed. If it is accepted for publication, you will be asked to supply a final version on e-mail. Authors will receive five copies of the journal volume. The SJBMGS is a nonprofit venture to be distributed on
[Show full text]
The Observational Instruments at the Maragha Observatory After AD 1300*
The Observational Instruments at the Maragha Observatory after AD 1300* S. Mohammad Mozaffari, Georg Zotti Keywords: Medieval Islamic astronomy, Maragha Observatory, Observational Instruments, Almagest, Ghāzān Khān, Īlkhānīd Period, Ghāzān’s or Ghāzānīd treatise, al-Risāla al-Ghāzāniyya, Shams al-Dīn Mu¬ammad al-Wābkanawī, Mu¬yī al-Dīn al-Maghribī, Na½īr al-Dīn al-Æūsī, QuÐb al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī, Rukn al-Dīn al-Āmulī, Classic Astronomical Instruments, Parallactic Instrument, Armillary Sphere, Equinoctial Rule, Square Instrument, Triangle Instrument, Pinhole Image Device, Dioptra Abstract The present paper introduces, investigates, analyses, and comments on an anonymous treatise in Persian named al-Risāla al-Ghāzāniyya fi ’l-ālāt al- ra½×diyya, “Ghāzān’s (or Ghāzānid) treatise on the observational instruments”, which describes the structure, construction, and functions of twelve “new” observational instruments in the medieval period that appear to have been proposed and invented during the reign of Ghāzān Khān, the seventh Ilkhan of the Ilkhanid dynasty of Iran (21 October 1295–17 May 1304). In the sections below we consider the treatise in the light of two issues: (1) the assumption that the primary historical sources may contain interesting notes and claims concerning Ghāzān Khān’s astronomical * This is an enlarged version of the paper already published in Journal of American Oriental Society: Mozaffari, S. M. and Zotti, G., “Ghāzān Khān’s Astronomical Innovations at Marāgha Observatory”, JAOS, 132 (2012), pp. 395–425. Suhayl 12 (2013) pp. 45-179 46 S. Mohammad Mozaffari, Georg Zotti activities and especially the new observatory that he founded in Tabriz, and (2) the fact that at present there are hardly any sound and historically reliable accounts of the activities of the Maragha Observatory from around 1280 onwards.
[Show full text]
Chioniades, Gregor [George]
From: Thomas Hockey et al. (eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, Springer Reference. New York: Springer, 2007, p. 229 Courtesy of http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_275 Chioniades, Gregor [George] Katherine Haramundanis Born Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey), circa 1240 Died Trebizond (Trabzon, Turkey), circa 1320 Born in Constantinople and christened George, Chioniades became a physician. Greatly attracted to mathematics, astronomy, and medical astrology, he chose to travel to Persia to further his studies. Early in 1295, he went to Trebizond (Trapezus) where he found favor with the emperor of Trebizond John II Komnenos (reigned: 1280–1297), who supported his travel and study in Persia. Between November 1295 and November 1296 he was received at the court of the Mongol Īlkhāns at Tabrīz where he studied astronomy and astrology with Shams al‐Dīn al‐Bukhārī, an astronomer and teacher from Bukhārā in Central Asia. Shams al‐Dīn was the author of a Persian treatise on the astrolabe that Chioniades later translated into Greek. During his stay in Tabrīz, Chioniades amassed an important collection of astronomical works in Persian and Arabic that he took with him on his return to Trebizond and later to Constantinople. Some of these works he translated into Greek, adding commentaries and incorporating his own notes written in Greek, Persian, and Arabic from his studies with Shams al‐Dīn. Chioniades founded schools for the study of astronomy and medical astrology in both Trebizond and Constantinople. By September 1301 Chioniades had returned to Trebizond, and by April 1302 he was in Constantinople. He translated into Greek a set of recipes for antidotes and wrote a confession of faith to refute suspicions of heresy based on his work in astrology and his sojourn with the Persians.
[Show full text]
The Twists and Turns of the Ṭūsī-Couple F
MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE Max Planck Institute for the History of Science 2014 PREPRINT 457 F. Jamil Ragep From Tū n to Turun: The Twists and Turns of the Ṭūs ī-Couple From Tūn to Turun: The Twists and Turns of the Ṭūsī-Couple F. Jamil Ragep McGill University In discussions of the possible connections between Copernicus and his Islamic predecessors, the Ṭūsī-couple has often been invoked by both supporters and detractors of the actuality of this transmission. But as I maintained in an earlier article, the Ṭūsī-couple, as well as other mathematical devices invented by Islamic astronomers to deal with irregular celestial motions in Ptolemaic astronomy, may be of secondary importance when considering the overall significance of Islamic astronomy and natural philosophy in the bringing forth of Copernican heliocentrism.1 Nevertheless, the development and use of Ṭūsī’s astronomical devices does provide us with important evidence regarding the transmission of astronomical models and lessons about intercultural scientific transmission. So in this article, I will attempt to summarize what we know about that transmission, beginning with the first diffusion from Azerbaijan in Iran to Byzantium and continuing to the sixteenth century. Though there are still many gaps in our knowledge, I will maintain, based on the evidence, that intercultural transmission is more compelling as an explanation than an assumption of independent and parallel discovery. It will be helpful if we first analyze what exactly is meant by the “Ṭūsī-couple.” The first thing to notice is that the term “Ṭūsī-couple” does not refer to a single device or model but actually encompasses several different mathematical devices that were used for different purposes (see Table 1).
[Show full text]
The Islamic Side of Σàμψ Πουχáρησ F. Jamil Ragep I. Introduction in 1295, a Certain Gregory Ch
NEW LIGHT ON SHAMS: THE ISLAMIC SIDE OF ΣÀμψ ΠουχÁρηΣ F. Jamil Ragep I. Introduction In 1295, a certain Gregory Chioniades1 of Constantinople traveled to the kingdom of Trebizond, ruled at that time by its emperor John II Komnenos (reigned 1280–1297), from where he would embark upon a momentous journey to the land of the Persians. Chioniades seems to have had a way with rulers, for having found favor with Komnenos, he then traveled to Persia, most likely just after the accession to the Ilkhan throne by Ghazan Khan, who had recently converted to Islam. A generation later, George Chrysococces (fl. 1350), who had also traveled to Trebizond in hopes of learning the astronomy of the Persians, was told the following story by his teacher Manuel: . in a short while he [i.e. Chioniades] was taught by the Persians, having both consorted with the King, and met with consideration from him. Then he desired to study astronomical matters, but found that they were not taught. For it was the rule with the Persians that all subjects were available to those who wished to study, except astronomy, which was for Persians only. He searched for the cause, which was that a certain ancient opinion prevailed among them, concerning the mathematical sciences, namely, that their king will be overthrown by the Romans, after consulting the practice of astronomy, whose foundation would first be taken from the Persians. He was at a loss as to how he might come to share this wonderful thing. In spite of being wearied, and having much served the Persian king, he had scarcely achieved his objective; when, by Royal command, the teachers were gathered.
[Show full text]
Iranian Studies: Exploring the Iranian ‘Otherness’
Vol. 1 — No. 2 — Summer 20102 Iranian Studies: Exploring the Iranian ‘Otherness’ Evangelos Venetis rs i a ff Evangelos Venetis, a Greek national, holds PhD in Islamic and Iranian Studies from the A Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK (2006). He n g is the founder and director of the Society for Hellenic-Iranian Studies and is currently a Senior i Research Associate in Islamic and Iranian Studies at the School of Asian, African and e r Amerindian Studies, University of Leiden, the Netherlands. Dr. Venetis has published o various articles in scientific journals and he is the co-author of the Bibliographika Sasanika, F vol. 1 (Costa Mesa – CA, 2007). His book entitled The Iskandarnama (Book of Alexander): An f o analysis of an anonymous Persian prose romance will be published soon. His research interests cover classical Persian literature, history and Sassanid Iran while his special research area is EW I V focused on Greco-Iranian Studies. This research has been carried out in the context of the E R Persian Epic Cycle Project funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research N A (NWO). I N A IR Iranian Studies: Exploring the... Abstract The field of Iranian Studies was developed in the West as a means of exploring the unknown civilization of Iran in the aftermath of the Renaissance and during the political expansion of some Western countries towards East, starting from the 16th century. The establishment of Iranian Studies as a sub-field of Middle Eastern and Asian Studies resulted from practical necessities which Western nations faced in their efforts to understand the Iranian world and civilization at a time of their political advancement in the region.
[Show full text]
Περίληψη : Gregory Chioniades Was One of the Most Important Figures in Mathematics and Sciences in the Late Byzantine Period
IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Βενέτης Ευάγγελος Μετάφραση : Βελέντζας Γεώργιος (9/12/2005) Για παραπομπή : Βενέτης Ευάγγελος , "Gregory Chioniades", 2005, Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=6937> Περίληψη : Gregory Chioniades was one of the most important figures in mathematics and sciences in the Late Byzantine period. His decision to travel to Tabriz of Persia in the years of the Il-Khanid dynasty of Mongolia and sit at the feet of the Persian Shams al-Dīn Bukhārī, a famous figure in the field of astronomy at the time, proves his studious bent and wish to keep up with the most modern theories and discoveries in astronomy of the then known world. He learnt the Persian language and could translate various astronomical and medical works to Greek. Άλλα Ονόματα Georgios Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης 1240-1250, Constantinople Τόπος και Χρόνος Θανάτου approximately 1320, Trebizond Κύρια Ιδιότητα astronomer, physician, teacher and bishop 1. The Early Years and his Move to Trebizond Gregory Chioniades was born in Constantinople between 1240 and 1250.1 His secular name was Georgios. After he was tonsured as a monk in Constantinople, Chioniades moved to Trebizond of Pontos. The city had a long spiritual and intellectual tradition and was an important entrepot along the route connecting the West with Persia at the time. As a result, prosperity and tradition had turned the city into a centre of increased intellectual activity. The Grand Komnenoi of Trebizond supported the notable school of the city. The political, economic and cultural relations between Byzantium and Trebizond remained strong in the late 13th and the early 14th century as well.2 The move of Chioniades to Trebizond and his research activity should be interpreted within this context.
[Show full text]
Περίληψη : Member of the Dynasty of the Grand Komnenoi and Emperor of Trebizond
IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη Μετάφραση : Ανδριοπούλου Βέρα Για παραπομπή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη , "Alexios II Grand Komnenos", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=7171> Περίληψη : Member of the dynasty of the Grand Komnenoi and emperor of Trebizond. Born in 1283. In 1297 he succeeded his father John II to the throne of Trebizond and remained emperor until his death (1330). He is also known as Alexios Palaiologos and Alexios Komnenos. Άλλα Ονόματα Alexios Palaiologos, Alexios Komnenos Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης 1283, Trebizond Τόπος και Χρόνος Θανάτου May 3, 1330, Trebizond Κύρια Ιδιότητα Emperor of Trebizond (1297-1330) 1. Biography Alexios II Grand Komnenos was born in Trebizond in 1283. He was the son of the emperor of Trebizond, John II Grand Komnenos (1280-1285/1287-1297) and Eudokia Palaiologina, daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (1261-1282); he was also brother of the future emperor of Trebizond, Michael Grand Komnenos (1344-1349). In 13011 he married Pekai, daughter of Bekha Jaqeli, ruler of Samtskhe, a subject of the king of Iberia (Georgia), and had three children, Eudokia Grand Komnene and the future Emperors Andronikos III Grand Komnenos (1330-1332) and Basil Grand Komnenos (1332-1340). He also had two children, Michael and the future empress, Anna Anachoutlou (1341-1342), from his second marriage to the daughter of Anachoutlou, ruler of the Laz. Finally, from his third marriage with the otherwise unknown Sargale he had one son, George Achpougas. In 1297 he succeeded his father John II to the throne of Trebizond.
[Show full text]
Cambridge Medieval History
THE CAMBRIDGE MEDIEVAL HISTORY VOLUME IV THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE PART II GOVERNMENT, CHURCH AND CIVILISATION EDITED BY J .M.HUSSEY WIT H THE ED ITORIAL A SS I STANCE OF D.M.NICOL AND G . COWAN CAMBRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS - 264 CHAPTER XXVIII BYZANTINE SCIENCE When t he COlU'se of Byzantine history is surveyed as a whole, it will be seen that long periods of partial 01' complete neglect of the sciences alternated with periods of intensive activity. Thus, the sciences flour ished under Justinian I, then again under Theophilus and Michael UI, under Constantine VU PorphYTogenitus and Constantine IX Mono machus and finally under several of the Emperors of Nicaea and the house of Palaeologus, whose members, despite their political pre occupations, did not confine their patronage merely to those practical branches of science indispensable to the health of the national and pri vate economy. Byzantium is important in the history of science, and especially that of mathematics and astronomy (the two subjects about which there is more information, though the sit uation is similar for the other sciences), not because any appreciable additions were made to the knowledge already attained by the Greeks of the Hellenistic era, but because the Byzantines preserved the solid fotUldations laid in an tiquity until such time as the Westerners had at their disposal other means of recovering this knowledge. It must be admitted, however, that the theoretical discoveries of the great figures of clussical mat he matics (Archimedes, Apollonius, Diophantus) were only understood by a few, whereas calcnlations and lllcasurements with a practical bearing (as in logistics and geodesy), and the subjects of the Quad rivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music), found their way into educational curricula, both because of their practical im portance in ordinary life and also as a preparation for courses in philosophy; both geometry aud logic start with defi nitions, postulates and axioms.
[Show full text]
Exploring Greek Manuscripts in the Library at Wellcome Collection In
5 Jewish astronomy in Byzantium* The case of Wellcomensis MS.498 Anne Tihon 1 The codex Wellcomensis MS.498 (AD 1492) contains an astronomical trea- tise by Michael Chrysokokkes (ff.32–68r) entitled: Μιχαὴλ νοταρίου τῆς μεγαλῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Χρυσοκόκκη, ἔκδοσις γεγονυῖα εἰςτὸἰουδαϊκὸν ἑξαπτέρυγον κατὰ τὸ ͵ςϡμγ´ἔτος ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆςτοῦ παντός. Exposition concerning the Jewish Hexapterygon for the year 6943 from the beginning of the world by Michael Chrysokokkes, notarios of the Great Church. This treatise is a Byzantine adaptation of the Jewish astronomical treatise called Shesh Kenaphayim, the Six Wings, composed by Immanuel Bonfils for the town of Tarascon (Southern France) around 1350. It offers me an opportunity to present an important scientific trend at the end of the Palaiologan period in the fifteenth century: the introduction of Jewish astronomy into the Byzantine world. Michael Chrysokokkes’ treatise, writ- ten in 1435, is the first example of the fashion for Jewish astronomical tables in Byzantium; it was followed by the adaptation of the Cycles of Bonjorn (written in Perpignan in 1361) by Mark Eugenikos, Matthew Kamariotes’ adaptation of the Paved Way (Orah Sellulah) of Alhadib, and several anonymous treatises inspired by these works. It might be useful at this point to offer a brief reminder of the history of astronomy in the Byzantine world.2 During the Palaiologan period (from the end of the thirteenth century until the fall of Constantinople in 1453), there are two main trends in Byzantine astronomy. First, the restoration and continuation of Ptolemy’s astronomy, involving eminent scholars such as Theodore Metochites, Nikephoros Gregoras, Barlaam of Seminara, Isaac * I would like to thank Petros Bouras-Vallianatos for his helpful comments.
[Show full text]