Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī's Memoir on astronomy : al-tadhkira fī ʿilm al-hayʾa

Author(s)

• Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī
• Ragep, F. J

Bibliographic Information

Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī's Memoir on astronomy : al-tadhkira fī ʿilm al-hayʾa

[commentary by] F.J. Ragep

（Sources in the history of mathematics and physical sciences, 12）

Springer-Verlag, c1993

• v. 1 : us
• v. 1 : gw
• v. 2 : us
• v. 2 : gw

Other Title

Tadhkirah fī ʿilm al-hayʾah

Tadhkira fī ʿilm al-hayʾa

Tūsī's Memoir on astronomy

Note

v. 1. Introduction, edition, and translation with 96 illustrations

v. 2. Commentary and apparatus

English and Arabic on opposite pages

Title on spine: Tūsī's Memoir on astronomy

Includes bibliographical references (p. [615]-635) and indexes

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

v. 2 : us ISBN 9780387940519

Description

I was introduced to Tiisi: and his Tadhkira some 19 years ago. That first meeting was neither happy nor auspicious. My graduate student notes from the time indicate a certain level of confusion and frustration; I seem to have had trouble with such words as tadwlr (epicycle), which was not to be found in my standard dictionary, and with the concept of solid-sphere astronomy, which, when found, was pooh-poohed in the standard sources. I had another, even more decisive reaction: boredom. Only the end of the term brought relief, and I was grateful to be on to other, more exciting aspects of the history of science. A few years later, I found myself, thanks to fellowships from Fulbright-Hays and the American Research Center in Egypt, happily immersed in the manu script collections of Damascus, Aleppo, and Cairo. Though I had intended to work on a topic in the history of mathematics, I was drawn, perhaps inevitably, to a certain type of astronomical writing falling under the rubric of hay' a. At first this fascination was based on sheer numbers; that so many medieval scientists could have written on such a subject must mean something, I told myself. (I was in a sociological mode at the time."

Volume

v. 2 : gw ISBN 9783540940517

Description

Tusi (1201-1274 a.d.) was an Arabic scholar whose writings became the standard texts in several disciplines for several centuries. They include editions of Euclid's Elements and Ptolemy's Almagest, as well as other books on mathematics and astronomy, and books on logic, ethics, religion. He wrote the Tadhkira, to be "a summary account of 'astronomy' presented in narrative form. The details are expounded and proofs of the validity are furnished in the Almagest. Indeed, ours would not be a complete science if taken in isolation from the Almagest for it is a report of what is established therein." It is thus not only a sort of running commentary on the Almagest, but also an account of medieval Arabic cosmology. Jamil Ragep has not only translated the text of the Tadhkira, but has also provided a lengthy introduction with a biography of Tusi and a discussion of the context in which the Tadhkira was written and its influence, as well as a detailed and thorough commentary on each section of the text.

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

• NCID: BA2078916X
• ISBN:
  • 0387940510
  • 3540940510
  • 0387940510
  • 3540940510
• LCCN: 93010445
• Country Code: us
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Original Language Code: ara
• Place of Publication: New York
• Pages/Volumes: 2 v. (xiii, 656 p.)
• Size: 24 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : QB23
  • DC20 : 520
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Astronomy, Arab -- Early works to 1800
  • LCSH : Ṭūsī, Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, 1201-1274
  • LCSH : Astronomers -- Iran -- Biography
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA00310067