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Biography

Al-Fazārī translated many scientific books into Arabic and Persian. He is credited to have built the first astrolabe in the Islamic world.⁵ He died in 796 or 806, possibly in Baghdad.⁶

At the end of the 8th century, whilst at the court of the Abbasid Caliphate, al-Fazārī mentioned Ghana, "the land of gold."⁷

Works

Along with Yaʿqūb ibn Ṭāriq, al-Fazārī helped translate the 7th century Indian astronomical text by Brahmagupta, the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta, into Arabic as 'Zij as-SindhindAz-Zīj ‛alā Sinī al-‛Arab,⁸ or the Sindhind. This translation was possibly the vehicle by means of which the mathematical methods of Indian astronomers were transmitted to Islam.⁹

The caliph[which?] ordered al-Fazārī to translate the Indian astronomical text, The Sindhind, along with Yaʿqūb ibn Ṭāriq, which was completed in Baghdad about 750, and entitled Az-Zīj ‛alā Sinī al-‛Arab. This translation was possibly the vehicle by means of which the Hindu numeral system (the modern number notation) was transmitted from India to Iran.

Al-Fazari composed various astronomical writings ("On the astrolabe", "On the armillary spheres", "on the calendar").

See also

• Hindu and Buddhist contribution to science in medieval Islam

Sources

• van Bladel, Kevin (2015). "Eighth-Century Indian Astronomy in the Two Cities of Peace". In Sadeghi, Behnam; Ahmed, Asad Q.; Silverstein, Adam J.; Hoyland, Robert G. (eds.). Islamic Cultures, Islamic Contexts Essays In Honor Of Professor Patricia Crone. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90042-5-201-1.
• Frye, Richard N. (2000). The Golden Age of Persia. London: Phoenix Press. ISBN 1842120115.
• Kennedy, Edward Stewart (1956). "A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. New Series. 46 (2). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society: 123–177. doi:10.2307/1005726. hdl:2027/mdp.39076006359272. ISSN 0065-9746. JSTOR 1005726.
• Levtzion, Nehemia (1973). Ancient Ghana and Mali. New York: Methuen & Co Ltd. ISBN 0841904316.
• Montgomery, Scott L. (2000). Science in Translation: Movements of Knowledge through Cultures and Time. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-02265-3-481-7.
• Samsó, Julio (2016). "al-Fazārī". Encyclopedia of Islam (3rd ed.). pp. 91–93 – via Academia.
• Sarton, George (1962). Introduction to the History of Science. Vol. 1. Baltimore, Maryland: Published for the Carnegie Institution of Washington, by the Williams & Wilkins Co. OCLC 1157182492.
• Suter, Heinrich (1900). Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke (in German). Leipzig: Teubner. OCLC 230703086.

Further reading

• Cantor, Moritz (1880). Vorlesungen über Geschichte der Mathematik. Vol. 1. Leipzig: B.G. Teubner. pp. 597–598. OCLC 1348147344.
• Plofker, Kim (2007). "Fazārī: Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Fazārī". In Thomas Hockey; et al. (eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer. pp. 362–363. ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0. (PDF version)
• Pingree, David (1970). "The Fragments of the Works of Al-Fazari". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 29 (2). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press: 103–123. doi:10.1086/372055. JSTOR 543820. S2CID 68991124.
• Pingree, David; Gillispie, Charles Coulston (1981). "Al-Fazārī, Muḥammad Ibn Ibrāhīm". In Holmes, Frederick Lawrence (ed.). Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 4. New York: Scribner's. OCLC 755137603.

References

1. Samsó 2016. - Samsó, Julio (2016). "al-Fazārī". Encyclopedia of Islam (3rd ed.). pp. 91–93 – via Academia. https://www.academia.edu/25088403 ↩

2. Suter 1900, p. 4. - Suter, Heinrich (1900). Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke (in German). Leipzig: Teubner. OCLC 230703086. https://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/publicdomain/content/titleinfo/1118377 ↩

3. Sarton 1962, p. 524. - Sarton, George (1962). Introduction to the History of Science. Vol. 1. Baltimore, Maryland: Published for the Carnegie Institution of Washington, by the Williams & Wilkins Co. OCLC 1157182492. https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi01sart/page/n7/mode/2up ↩

4. Montgomery 2000, p. 81. - Montgomery, Scott L. (2000). Science in Translation: Movements of Knowledge through Cultures and Time. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-02265-3-481-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=4_IIxJ68CMcC ↩

5. Frye 2000, p. 163. - Frye, Richard N. (2000). The Golden Age of Persia. London: Phoenix Press. ISBN 1842120115. https://archive.org/details/goldenageofpersi0000frye/page/n3/mode/2up ↩

6. Plofker, Kim (2007). "Fazārī: Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Fazārī". Islamic Scientific Manuscripts Initiative. Retrieved 5 May 2023. https://ismi.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/biography/Fazari_BEA.htm ↩

7. Levtzion 1973, p. 3. - Levtzion, Nehemia (1973). Ancient Ghana and Mali. New York: Methuen & Co Ltd. ISBN 0841904316. ↩

8. Kennedy 1956, pp. 2, 7, 12. - Kennedy, Edward Stewart (1956). "A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. New Series. 46 (2). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society: 123–177. doi:10.2307/1005726. hdl:2027/mdp.39076006359272. ISSN 0065-9746. JSTOR 1005726. https://books.google.com/books?id=EywLAAAAIAAJ ↩

9. van Bladel 2015, p. 261. - van Bladel, Kevin (2015). "Eighth-Century Indian Astronomy in the Two Cities of Peace". In Sadeghi, Behnam; Ahmed, Asad Q.; Silverstein, Adam J.; Hoyland, Robert G. (eds.). Islamic Cultures, Islamic Contexts Essays In Honor Of Professor Patricia Crone. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90042-5-201-1. https://archive.org/details/islamic-cultures-islamic-contexts-essays-in-honor-of-professor-patricia-crone-be/page/257/mode/1up ↩