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Book/Printed Material Collection of the Principles and Objectives in the Science of Timekeeping.

About this Item

Title

  • Collection of the Principles and Objectives in the Science of Timekeeping.

Summary

  • Abu al-Hasan ʻAli al-Marrakushi was a 13th-century mathematician, geographer, astronomer, and timekeeper. He was born in Marrakesh, in present-day Morocco, but immigrated to Mamluk Egypt, apparently fleeing the upheaval in Arab Spain and the Maghreb under the Almohads. He worked as a muwaqqit (timekeeper) in Cairo, where he wrote his major work, Jāmiʻ al-mabādiʼ wa al-ghāyāt fī ʻilm al-mīqāt (Collection of the principles and objectives in the science of timekeeping), an encyclopedia of practical astronomy preserved in this manuscript. The work, written between 1276 and 1282, is considered "the single most important source for the history of astronomical instrumentation in Islam." It is divided into four books, called funun (arts), which are further divided into chapters. In the first book, comprising 67 chapters, al-Marrakushi discusses calculations on a range of issues, including trigonometry, geography, solar motion, prayer times, and the fixed stars. The second book, consisting of seven chapters, deals with the construction of such instruments as spherical astrolabes, sundials, al-rubʻ al-mujayyab (the trigonometric grid), as well as different types of quadrants. The third book comprises 14 chapters, and covers the use of specific instruments; and the fourth is a quiz in four chapters intended to train students. The manuscript is rich in illustrations, especially of astronomical instruments. It also contains tables in black and red ink along the text. Al-Marrakushi's work influenced astronomers and timekeepers for centuries. A French translation of the work by astronomer and orientalist J.J. Sédillot was published posthumously by his son Louis-Amélie Sédillot in 1834. The manuscript copy presented here was written in nastaʻliq script by an unknown scribe and has widespread water damage. It was produced in 1586, possibly in Turkey, Egypt, or Syria.

Names

  • Marrākushī, Abū al-Ḥasan ʻAlī, active 13th century Author.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1586.

Headings

  • -  Egypt
  • -  1276 to 1282
  • -  Arabic manuscripts
  • -  Astronomical instruments
  • -  Astronomy
  • -  Astronomy, Arab
  • -  Mathematics, Arab
  • -  Timekeeping

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 306 folios : 14 x 22.5 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Qatar National Library.
  • -  Content in Arabic.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021667382

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Marrākushī, Abū Al-Ḥasan ʻAlī, Active 13Th Century Author. Collection of the Principles and Objectives in the Science of Timekeeping. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, 1586] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667382/.

APA citation style:

Marrākushī, A. A. ʻ. (1586) Collection of the Principles and Objectives in the Science of Timekeeping. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667382/.

MLA citation style:

Marrākushī, Abū Al-Ḥasan ʻAlī, Active 13Th Century Author. Collection of the Principles and Objectives in the Science of Timekeeping. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, 1586] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667382/>.