Jaghmīnī’s Mulakhkhaṣ

Synopsis

This book provides theonly critical edition and English translation of Maḥmūd al-Jaghmīnī's al-Mulakhkhaṣ fī al-hayʾa al-basīṭa, the most widely circulated Arabictreatise on Ptolemaic astronomy ever written. Composed in the early 13th century, this introductory textbook played a crucial role in theteaching, dissemination, and institutional instruction of Islamic astronomywell into the 19th century (and beyond). Establishing the base textis a fundamental prerequisite for gaining insights into what was considered an elementaryastronomical textbook in Islam and also for understanding the extensivecommentary tradition that built upon it. Within this volume, the Mulakhkhaṣ issituated within the broader context of the genre of literature termed ʿilmal-hayʾa, which has become the subject of intensive research over the past25 years. In so doing, it provides a survey of summary accounts oftheoretical astronomy of Jaghmīnī's predecessors, both Ancient and Islamic,which could have served as potential sources for the Mulakhkhaṣ. Jaghmīnī's dates (which until now remained unsettled) are established, and itis definitively shown that he composed not only the Mulakhkhaṣ butalso other scientific treatises, including the popular medical treatise al-Qānūnča, during a period that has been deemed one ofscientific decline and stagnation in Islamic lands. The book will be ofparticular interest to scholars engaged in the study of Islamic theoreticalastronomy, but is accessible to a general readership interested in learningwhat constituted an introduction to Ptolemaic astronomy in Islamic lands.

Copyright:

2016

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9783319319933

Publisher:

Springer International Publishing, Cham

Date of Addition:

03/22/17

Copyrighted By:

Springer

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Science

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.