Revision as of 09:45, 30 January 2010 editJagged 85 (talk | contribs)87,237 editsmNo edit summary← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 07:51, 24 December 2024 edit undoJJMC89 bot III (talk | contribs)Bots, Administrators3,677,603 editsm Moving Category:Persian physicists to Category:Medieval Iranian physicists per Misplaced Pages:Categories for discussion/Log/2024 December 13#Category:Persian physicists | ||
(189 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{ |
{{Short description|Persian astronomer and mechanician (1100–1200)}} | ||
{{About|the 12th century scientist|the 10th century astronomer and physician|Abū Ja'far al-Khāzin}} | |||
{{Infobox_Muslim scholars | |||
{{Infobox scientist | |||
<!-- Scroll down to edit this page --> | |||
| |
| occupation = ] | ||
| |
| era = | ||
| |
| image = | ||
| |
| caption = | ||
| name = '''al-Khazini''' | |||
| image_caption = | |||
| birth_date = 11th century | |||
| title = '''Al-Khazini''' | |||
| death_date = 12th century | |||
| name = '''Abd al-Rahman al-Khazini''' | |||
| birth_place = ] | |||
| birth = 11th century | |||
| fields = ], ] | |||
| death = 12th century | |||
| notable_ideas = | |||
| Ethnicity = ] | |||
| school tradition = ], ], ] | |||
| main_interests = ], ], ], ], ], ], ] | |||
| influences = ], ], ], ], ], ] | |||
| influenced = ], ], ] | |||
| notable idea = ]al ] in ]; ]; ] ]; distinction between ], ] and ] | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Abd al-Rahman al-Khazini''' ({{lang-ar|'''عبدالرحمن الخزيني'''}}) (flourished 1115–1130) was ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] from ], then in the ] province of ] but now in ], who made important contributions to ] and ].<ref>, ''Science and Its Times'' (2006). ].</ref> He is considered the greatest scholar from Merv.<ref name=Zaimeche5>Zaimeche, p. 5.</ref> | |||
'''Abū al-Fath Abd al-Rahman Mansūr al-Khāzini''' or simply '''al-Khāzini''' ({{native name|fa|أبوالفتح عبدالرحمن منصور الخازنی}}, flourished 1115–1130) was an ] ] of ] origin who lived during the ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Vernet|first=J.|date=2012-04-24|title=al-K̲h̲āzinī|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/al-khazini-SIM_4271?lang=fr|journal=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-iran/persian-science-in-safavid-times/6044DA0EA53369B4E2AD7835D6BB6486|title=PERSIAN SCIENCE IN SAFAVID TIMES|last=Winter|first=H. J. J.|date=February 1986|website=The Cambridge History of Iran|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ghiasabadi.com/khazeni.html|title=پژوهشهای ایرانی {{!}} سرنوشت خازنی: داستان غم انگیز دانشمندان ایران|language=fa-IR|access-date=2020-04-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Durant|first1=Will|author-link1=Will Durant|last2=Durant|first2=Ariel|author-link2=Ariel Durant|title=The Story of Civilization: The Age of Faith|year=2011|orig-year=1950|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cusRoE1OJvEC&pg=PP352|publisher=]|isbn=9781451647617|page=352}}</ref> His ]s written under the patronage of ] (''{{lang|ar|Zīj al-Sanjarī}}'', 1115) is considered to be one of the major works in ] of the medieval period.<ref name = "Montelle">] (2011). The ‘Well-Known Calendars’: Al-Khāzinī’s Description of Significant Chronological Systems for Medieval Mathematical Astronomy in Arabic. In Steele J. (Ed.), Calendars and Years II: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World (pp. 107-126). Oxford; Oakville: Oxbow Books.</ref>{{rp|107}} He provided the positions of fixed stars, and for oblique ascensions and time-equations for the latitude of ] in which he was based.<ref name = "Meyerhof">Meyerhof, M. (1948). 'Alī al-Bayhaqī's Tatimmat Siwān al-Hikma: A Biographical Work on Learned Men of the Islam. Osiris, 8, 122-217.</ref>{{rp|197}} He also wrote extensively on various calendrical systems and on the various manipulations of the calendars.<ref name="Montelle"/> Al-Khazini was the author of an encyclopedia on ] and ] called ''The Book of the Balance of Wisdom'' (''{{lang|ar|Kitab Mizan al-Hikmah, 1121}}''), which explored theories of density, specific gravities of metals, precious stones, and liquids, as well as principles of equilibrium.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī">{{citation|title=Al-Khāzinī, Abu'l-Fath 'Abd Al-Raḥmān .|date=2008|publisher=Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography.|pages=335–351}}</ref><ref>Khanikoff, N. “Analysis and Extracts of كتاب ميزان الحكمة Book of the Balance of Wisdom, An Arabic Work on the Water-Balance, Written by ’Al-Khâzinî in the Twelfth Century.” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 6, 1858, pp. 1–128. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/592172. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.</ref> | |||
Robert E. Hall wrote the following on al-Khazini: | |||
==Life== | |||
{{quote|"His ] can leave no doubt that as a maker of ]s he is among the greatest of any time."<ref>Robert E. Hall (1973). "Al-Khazini", ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'', Vol. VII, p. 336.</ref>}} | |||
Al-Khazini was an emancipated slave in Marv,<ref name="Meyerhof"/>{{rp|197}}<ref name=Rosenfeld>{{citation|last=Rosenfeld|first=B.|title=Book reviews: Middle ages & renaissance.|date=1994|publisher= Journal of the History of Science in Society|pages= 85(4), 686}}</ref> which was then one of the most important cities of ]. He got his name from his master ({{lang|ar|Abu‘l Husayn ‘Alī ibn Muhammad al-Khāzin al-Marwazī}}) who was the treasurer of Marv.<ref name="Montelle"/>{{rp|107}} The term ''khāzin'' was simply the title of the royal treasurer since the early Islamic period.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Floor|first1=Willem|title=kazinadar|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kazinadar|website=Encyclopædia Iranica|access-date=4 December 2017}}</ref> His master made provisions so that al-Khazini could obtain a first-class education.<ref name="Montelle"/> Some believe that al-Khazini was a pupil of ].<ref name="Rosenfeld"/> While this is not known, he wrote about Khayyam, in particular, he gave a description of the water-balance invented by him (and improved upon by ]).<ref name="Meyerhof"/>{{rp|176}} And according to some sources, he collaborated with him on the ] in 1079.<ref name="The Wine of Wisdom">Mehdi Aminrazavi, ''The Wine of Wisdom: The Life, Poetry and Philosophy of Omar Khayyam'', ] (2007)</ref>{{rp|199}} | |||
Al-Khazini was known for being a humble man. He refused thousands of ] for his works, saying he did not need much to live on because it was only his cat and himself in his household.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> Al-Khazini was one of only about twenty astronomers of the Islamic era who performed original observations.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> His works reached Byzantium in the 14th century, in particular, they were studied by George Chrysococces and later by ].<ref name="Montelle"/>{{rp|107}} | |||
==Biography== | |||
Al-Khazini was a ]<ref>Kennedy, ''Islamic Astronomical Tables,'' p. 7.</ref> ] of the ], who at a young age was taken to ] after the Seljuq victory over the ] Emperor ].<ref>Klotz, "Multicultural Perspectives in Science Education: One Prescription for Failure". | |||
{{quote|"Al-Khazini (who lived in the 12th century), a slave of the Seljuk Turks, but of ] origin, probably one of the spoils of the victory of the Seljuks over the Christian emperor of Constantinople, Romanus IV Diogenes."}}</ref> His master, al-Khazin, gave him the best possible education in mathematical and ]. Al-Khazini was also a pupil of the famous ], mathematician, astronomer and philosopher ] (1048-1131), who was living in Merv at the time.<ref>Rosenfeld, p. 686-688.</ref> | |||
==Achievements== | |||
Al-Khazini later became a mathematical practitioner under the patronage of the Seljuk court, under Sultan ]. Little else is known about his life, but it is known that he refused rewards and handed back 1000 ]s sent to him by the wife of an ], and that he usually lived on 3 dinars a year.<ref name=Zaimeche5/> | |||
Al Khazini seems to have been a high government official under Sanjar ibn Malikshah and the sultan of the ]. He did most of his work in Merv, where they are known for their libraries.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> His best-known works are "The Book of the Balance of Wisdom", "Treatise on Astronomical Wisdom", and "The Astronomical Tables for Sanjar".<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> | |||
"The Book of the Balance of Wisdom" is an encyclopedia of medieval mechanics and hydrostatics composed of eight books with fifty chapters.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> It is a study of the hydrostatic balance and the ideas behind statics and hydrostatics, it also covers other unrelated topics.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> There are four different manuscripts of "The Book of the Balance of Wisdom" that have survived.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> The balance al-Khazini built for Sanjar's treasury was modeled after the balance al-Asfizari, who was a generation older than al-Khazini, built.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> Sanjar's treasurer out of fear destroyed al-Asfizari's balance; he was filled with grief when he heard the news.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> Al-Khazini called his balance "combined balance" to show honor towards Al-Asfizari.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> The meaning of the balance was a "balance of true judgment".<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> The job of this balance was to help the treasury see what metals were precious and which gems were real or fake.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> In "The Book of the Balance of Wisdom" al-Khazini states many different examples from the Koran ways that his balance fits into religion.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> When al-Khazini explains the advantages of his balance he says that it "performs the functions of skilled craftsmen", its benefits are theoretical and practical precision.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> | |||
==Works== | |||
===''Sinjaric Tables''=== | |||
Included in his ] treatise ''az-] as-Sanjarī'' or ''Sinjaric Tables'', Al-Khazini gave a description of his construction of a 24 hour ] designed for astronomical purposes, an early example of an ], and the positions of 46 stars computed from the date given in the '']'' for the year 500 AH (1115-1116 CE). He also computed tables for the observation of celestial bodies at the ] of Merv.<ref name=Zaimeche5/><ref>], p. 565.</ref><ref>Kennedy, ''Islamic Astronomical Tables'', pp. 7, 37-39</ref> | |||
The "Treatise on Astronomical Wisdom" is a relatively short work.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> It has seven parts and each part is assigned to a different scientific instrument.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> The seven instruments include: a triquetrum, a dioptra, a "triangular instrument," a quadrant, devices involving reflection, an astrolabe, and simple tips for viewing things with the naked eye.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> The treatise describes each instrument and its uses.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> | |||
Al-Khazini's ''Zij as-Sanjarī'' was later translated into ] by ] in the 13th century and was studied in the ].<ref>David Pingree (1964), "Gregory Chioniades and Palaeologan Astronomy", ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'' '''18''', p. 135-160.</ref> | |||
"The Astronomical Tables for Sanjar" is said to have been composed for Sultan Sanjar, the ruler of Merv and his balance was made for Sanjar's treasury.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> The tables in "The Astronomical Tables for Sanjar" are tables of holidays, fasts, etc.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> The tables are said to have the latitudes and longitudes of forty-three different stars, along with their magnitudes and (astrological) temperaments.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> It is said that al-Khazini's observations for this work were probably done in Merv in various observatories with high quality instruments.<ref name="Al-Khāzinī"/> | |||
===''The Book of the Balance of Wisdom''=== | |||
Al-Khazini is better known for his contributions to ] in his treatise ''The Book of the Balance of Wisdom'', completed in 1121, which remained an important part of ]. The book contains studies of the ], its construction and uses, and the theories of ] and ] that lie behind it, as developed by his predecessors, his contemporaries, and himself.<ref>Mariam Rozhanskaya, "On a Mathematical Problem in al-Khazini's ''Book of the Balance of Wisdom''", in David A. King and George Saliba, ed., ''From Deferent to Equant: A Volume of Studies in the History of Science in the Ancient and Medieval Near East in Honor of E. S. Kennedy'', Annals of the New York Academy of Science, vol. 500 (1987), p. 427</ref> It also contains descriptions on the instruments of his predecessors, including the araeometer of ] and the ] ] of ], as well as his own hydrostatic balance and specialized ]s and ]s.<ref>Robert E. Hall (1973). "Al-Khazini", ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'', Vol. VII, p. 346.</ref> | |||
] and al-Khazini were the first to apply ]al ]s to the fields of ] and ], particularly for determining ]s, such as those based on the theory of ]s and ]. He and his Muslim predecessors unified statics and dynamics into the science of mechanics, and they combined the fields of ] with dynamics to give birth to ]. They applied the mathematical theories of ]s and ] techniques, and introduced ]ic and fine ] techniques into the field of statics. They were also the first to generalize the theory of the ] and the first to apply it to ] bodies. They also founded the theory of the ] ] and created the "science of ]" which was later further developed in medieval Europe. The contributions of al-Khazini and his Muslim predecessors to mechanics laid the foundations for the later development of ] in Renaissance Europe.<ref>Rozhanskaya and Levinova (1996), p. 642: {{quote|"Numerous fine experimental methods were developed for determining the specific weight, which were based, in particular, on the theory of balances and weighing. The classical works of al-Biruni and al-Khazini can by right be considered as the beginning of the application of experimental methods in ]."}}</ref> | |||
The first of the book's eight chapters deals with his predecessors' theories on the ], including ] (]ized as ''Rhazes''), ], and ]. He also draws attention to the failure of the ] to clearly differentiate between ], ], and ], and he goes on to show awareness of the weight of the air, and of its decrease in ] with ].<ref name=Hill61>], p. 61. (] Zaimeche, p. 5.)</ref> The strict definition for a specific weight is given by Al-Khazini in ''The Book of the Balance of Wisdom'':<ref name=Hill61/> | |||
{{quote|"The magnitude of weight of a small body of any substance is in the same ratio to its volume as the magnitude of weight of a larger body (of the same substance) to its volume."}} | |||
After extensive ]ation, Al-Khazini records the ] of fifty substances, including various stones, metals, liquids, salts, amber, and clay. The accuracy of his measures were impressive and comparable to modern values. In another experiment, Al-Khazini discovered that there was greater density of water when nearer to the Earth's centre, which was later proven by ] in the 13th century.<ref>Max Meyerhof (1931), "Science and Medicine", in Sir T. Arnold and A. Guillaume, ''Legacy of Islam'', p. 342, ]. (] Zaimeche, p. 7)</ref> | |||
Al-Khazini defines heaviness in traditional ] terms as an inherent property of heavy bodies: | |||
{{quote|"A heavy body is one which is moved by an inherent force, constantly, towards the centre of the world. Suffice it to say, I mean that a heavy body is one which has a force moving it towards the central point, and constantly in the direction of the centre, without being moved by that force in any different direction; and that the force referred to is inherent in the body, not derived from without, nor separated from it-."<ref>N. Khanikoff, ed. and trans., "Analysis and Extracts of ... Book of the Balance of Wisdom, An Arabic Work on the Water-Balance, Written by 'Al-Khâzinî in the Twelfth Century", chap. 1, sect. 1.2, ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', 6. (1858 - 1860): 1-128, at p. 26.</ref>}} | |||
On the basis that there is ] when nearer to the centre of the ] (derived from the ]),<ref>Marshall Clagett, ''The Science of Mechanics in the Middle Ages'', (Madison, Univ. of Wisconsin Pr., 1961), pp. 65-68</ref> and that the ] of heavy bodies increase as they are farther from the centre of the Earth (derived from ] and ]'s theories that weight varies with the distance from the centre of the Earth), al-Khazini postulated that the ] of a body ] from the centre of the ]:<ref name=Abattouy>Professor Mohammed Abattouy (2002), "The Arabic Science of weights: A Report on an Ongoing Research Project", ''The Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies'' '''4''', p. 109-130: | |||
{{quote|"For their parts, al-Quhi and Ibn al-Haytham had the priority in formulating the hypothesis that the heaviness of bodies vary with their distance from a specific point, the center of the earth. In his rescensions of the works of his predecessors, al-Khazini pushed forward this idea and drew from it a spectacular conclusion regarding the variation of gravity with the distance from the centre of the world. All this work represented strong antecedents to the concept of positional weight (''gravitas secundum sitam'') formulated by Jordanus in the 13th century."}}</ref> | |||
{{quote|"For each heavy body of a known weight positioned at a certain distance from the centre of the universe, its gravity depends on the remoteness from the centre of the universe. For that reason, the gravities of bodies relate as their distances from the centre of the universe. The farther is a body from the centre of the Universe, the heavier it is; the closer to the centre, the lighter it is. For that reason, the gravities of bodies relate as their distances from the centre of the Universe."<ref>Rozhanskaya and Levinova (1996), p. 621-2 (] partial quotation at Zaimeche, p. 7).</ref><ref>Earlier translation, N. Khanikoff, ed. and trans., "Analysis and Extracts of ... Book of the Balance of Wisdom, An Arabic Work on the Water-Balance, Written by 'Al-Khâzinî in the Twelfth Century", chap. 5, sect. 3.1, ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', 6. (1858 - 1860): 1-128, at p. 36: | |||
{{quote|"The weight of any heavy body, of known weight at a particular distance from the centre of the world, varies according to the variation of its distance therefrom; so that, as often as it is removed from the centre, it becomes heavier, and when brought nearer to it, is lighter. On this account, the relation of gravity to gravity is as the relation of distance to distance from the centre."}}</ref>}} | |||
It appears that what al-Khazini meant by "gravity" ("''thiql''" in Arabic) is both an idea similar to the modern concept of ],<ref>Rozhanskaya and Levinova (1996), p. 621: | |||
{{quote|"According to al-Khazini, this variation of the gravity of a body with its distance from the 'centre of the universe' is associated with variations of density of the 'cosmos', i.e. the medium surrounding the Earth from the maximum at the Earth's surface to zero at the 'periphery' of the cosmos and vice versa. The 'gravity' of a body is understood here as a category similar to the modern concept of potential energy."}} | |||
</ref> | |||
and the ] of a force relative to a point (both meanings were derived from ] and ]).<ref name=Rozhanskaya622>Rozhanskaya and Levinova (1996), p. 622.</ref> In either case, al-Khazini appears to have been the first to propose that the gravity of a body varies with its distance from the centre of the Earth.<ref>Rozhanskaya and Levinova (1996), p. 622: | |||
{{quote|"Thus, the author of ''Kitab mizan al-hikma'' was the first in the history of mechanics to propose the hypothesis that the gravities of bodies vary depending on their distances from the centre of the Earth. Neither of the medieval treatises known at present considered the problem."}} | |||
</ref> In his first sense of the word "gravity", the concept was not considered again until the 18th century, following ],<ref>Rozhanskaya and Levinova (1996), p. 622: | |||
{{quote|"The phenomenon of variation of the gravity of bodies with variations of their distances from the centre of the Earth was discovered only in the eighteenth century after a certain development in the theory of gravitation.}}</ref><ref>Zaimeche, p. 7.</ref> but in his second sense of the word, the concept was considered again by ] in the 13th century.<ref name=Abattouy/><ref name=Rozhanskaya622/> | |||
N. Khanikoff, an early translator and commentator of al-Khazini's work, summarized his ideas regarding gravity as follows: | |||
{{quote|"But the ideas of the ] with regard to ] are, in my opinion, much more remarkable; I will not call it ], for our author expressly exempts the heavenly bodies from the influence of this force, but terrestrial gravitation. That this great law of ] did not present itself to their minds in the form of a mutual ] of all existing bodies, as ] enunciated it five centuries later, is quite natural, for at the time when the principles exhibited by our author were brought forward, the earth was still regarded as fixed immovably in the ], and even the ] had not yet been discovered. But what is more astonishing is the fact that, having inherited from the Greeks the doctrine that all bodies are attracted toward the centre of the earth, and that this attraction acts in the direct ratio of the ], having moreover not failed to perceive that attraction is a function of the distance of the bodies attracted from the ], and having even been aware that, if the centre of the earth were surrounded by ] ]s, all bodies of equal mass placed upon those spherical surfaces would press equally upon the same surfaces, and differently upon each sphere – that, in spite of all this, they held that ] was directly as the mass and the distance from the centre of the earth, without even suspecting, so far as it appears, that this attraction might be mutual between the body attracting and the bodies attracted, and that the law as enunciated by them was inconsistent with the principle which they admitted, that the containing surface of a ] is a spherical surface."<ref>N. Khanikoff (1858-1860), ed. and trans., "Analysis and Extracts of ... Book of the Balance of Wisdom, An Arabic Work on the Water-Balance, Written by 'Al-Khâzinî in the Twelfth Century", ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' '''6''': 1-128, at p. 39.</ref>}} | |||
===''Treatise on Instruments''=== | |||
His ''Risala fi'l-alat'' (''Treatise on Instruments'') has seven parts describing different ]: the ], ], a ] instrument he invented, the ] and ], the ], and original instruments involving ].<ref>Robert E. Hall (1973). "Al-Biruni", ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'', Vol. VII, p. 338.</ref> | |||
===Alchemy and biology=== | |||
Al-Khazini wrote the following on ] in ] and ], comparing the ] with the ], and how they were perceived by ] and common ] in the ] at the time: | |||
{{quote|"When common people hear from natural philosophers that ] is a body which has attained to perfection of maturity, to the goal of completeness, they firmly believe that it is something which has gradually come to that perfection by passing through the forms of all other metallic bodies, so that its gold nature was originally ], afterward it became ], then ], then ], and finally reached the development of ]; not knowing that the ] mean, in saying this, only something like what they mean when they speak of ], and attribute to him a completeness and equilibrium in nature and constitution - not that man was once a ], and was changed into an ], and afterward into a ], and after that into an ], and finally became a man."<ref>] (1878). ''History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science'', p. 237. ISBN 1603030964.</ref>}} | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* A Wikimedia pdf of the English translation by Khanikoff and the editors of the ''Journal of the Oriental Society'' in 1859 from a single Arabic manuscript which is also reproduced. In 2015, the only available English translation. | |||
*] | |||
* (English). A link to the same at the Internet Archive (see page 1 following). | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
==Notes== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | |||
*Robert E. Hall (1973). "Al-Khazini", ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'', Vol. VII, p. 335-351* | |||
{{People of Khorasan}} | |||
*] (1993). ''Islamic Science and Engineering''. ]. | |||
*E. S. Kennedy (1956). "A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables", ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'', New Series, '''46''' (2), Philadelphia. | |||
*Irving M. Klotz (1993). "Multicultural Perspectives in Science Education: One Prescription for Failure", '']'' '''75'''. | |||
*Mariam Rozhanskaya and I. S. Levinova (1996), "Statics", in Roshdi Rashed, ed., '']'', Vol. 2, p. 614-642. ], London and New York. | |||
*Boris Rosenfeld (1994), "''Abu'l-Fath Abd al-Rahman al-Khazini (XII Century)'' by Mariam Mikhailovna Rozhanskaya", '']'' '''85''' (4), p. 686-688. | |||
*] (1927), ''Introduction to the History of Science'', Vol. I, The Carnegie Institution, ]. | |||
*Salah Zaimeche PhD (2005). , Foundation for Science Technology and Civilization. | |||
{{Islamic astronomy}} | {{Islamic astronomy}} | ||
{{Islamic alchemy and chemistry}} | |||
{{Authority control}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khazini}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Khazini}} | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 07:51, 24 December 2024
Persian astronomer and mechanician (1100–1200) This article is about the 12th century scientist. For the 10th century astronomer and physician, see Abū Ja'far al-Khāzin.al-Khazini | |
---|---|
Born | 11th century Seljuk Empire |
Died | 12th century |
Occupation | Scientist |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astronomy, Mathematics |
Abū al-Fath Abd al-Rahman Mansūr al-Khāzini or simply al-Khāzini (أبوالفتح عبدالرحمن منصور الخازنی (Persian), flourished 1115–1130) was an Iranian astronomer of Byzantine origin who lived during the Seljuk Empire. His astronomical tables written under the patronage of Sultan Sanjar (Zīj al-Sanjarī, 1115) is considered to be one of the major works in mathematical astronomy of the medieval period. He provided the positions of fixed stars, and for oblique ascensions and time-equations for the latitude of Marv in which he was based. He also wrote extensively on various calendrical systems and on the various manipulations of the calendars. Al-Khazini was the author of an encyclopedia on scales and water-balances called The Book of the Balance of Wisdom (Kitab Mizan al-Hikmah, 1121), which explored theories of density, specific gravities of metals, precious stones, and liquids, as well as principles of equilibrium.
Life
Al-Khazini was an emancipated slave in Marv, which was then one of the most important cities of Khorasan. He got his name from his master (Abu‘l Husayn ‘Alī ibn Muhammad al-Khāzin al-Marwazī) who was the treasurer of Marv. The term khāzin was simply the title of the royal treasurer since the early Islamic period. His master made provisions so that al-Khazini could obtain a first-class education. Some believe that al-Khazini was a pupil of Omar Khayyam. While this is not known, he wrote about Khayyam, in particular, he gave a description of the water-balance invented by him (and improved upon by Al-Isfizari). And according to some sources, he collaborated with him on the reformation of the Persian calendar in 1079.
Al-Khazini was known for being a humble man. He refused thousands of Dinar for his works, saying he did not need much to live on because it was only his cat and himself in his household. Al-Khazini was one of only about twenty astronomers of the Islamic era who performed original observations. His works reached Byzantium in the 14th century, in particular, they were studied by George Chrysococces and later by Theodore Meliteniotes.
Achievements
Al Khazini seems to have been a high government official under Sanjar ibn Malikshah and the sultan of the Seljuk Empire. He did most of his work in Merv, where they are known for their libraries. His best-known works are "The Book of the Balance of Wisdom", "Treatise on Astronomical Wisdom", and "The Astronomical Tables for Sanjar".
"The Book of the Balance of Wisdom" is an encyclopedia of medieval mechanics and hydrostatics composed of eight books with fifty chapters. It is a study of the hydrostatic balance and the ideas behind statics and hydrostatics, it also covers other unrelated topics. There are four different manuscripts of "The Book of the Balance of Wisdom" that have survived. The balance al-Khazini built for Sanjar's treasury was modeled after the balance al-Asfizari, who was a generation older than al-Khazini, built. Sanjar's treasurer out of fear destroyed al-Asfizari's balance; he was filled with grief when he heard the news. Al-Khazini called his balance "combined balance" to show honor towards Al-Asfizari. The meaning of the balance was a "balance of true judgment". The job of this balance was to help the treasury see what metals were precious and which gems were real or fake. In "The Book of the Balance of Wisdom" al-Khazini states many different examples from the Koran ways that his balance fits into religion. When al-Khazini explains the advantages of his balance he says that it "performs the functions of skilled craftsmen", its benefits are theoretical and practical precision.
The "Treatise on Astronomical Wisdom" is a relatively short work. It has seven parts and each part is assigned to a different scientific instrument. The seven instruments include: a triquetrum, a dioptra, a "triangular instrument," a quadrant, devices involving reflection, an astrolabe, and simple tips for viewing things with the naked eye. The treatise describes each instrument and its uses.
"The Astronomical Tables for Sanjar" is said to have been composed for Sultan Sanjar, the ruler of Merv and his balance was made for Sanjar's treasury. The tables in "The Astronomical Tables for Sanjar" are tables of holidays, fasts, etc. The tables are said to have the latitudes and longitudes of forty-three different stars, along with their magnitudes and (astrological) temperaments. It is said that al-Khazini's observations for this work were probably done in Merv in various observatories with high quality instruments.
See also
- Al-Khazini, Book of the Balance of Wisdom (Eng). A Wikimedia pdf of the English translation by Khanikoff and the editors of the Journal of the Oriental Society in 1859 from a single Arabic manuscript which is also reproduced. In 2015, the only available English translation.
- Al-Khazini, Book of the Balance of Wisdom (English). A link to the same at the Internet Archive (see page 1 following).
References
- Vernet, J. (2012-04-24). "al-K̲h̲āzinī". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition.
- Winter, H. J. J. (February 1986). "PERSIAN SCIENCE IN SAFAVID TIMES". The Cambridge History of Iran.
- "پژوهشهای ایرانی | سرنوشت خازنی: داستان غم انگیز دانشمندان ایران" (in Persian). Retrieved 2020-04-08.
- Durant, Will; Durant, Ariel (2011) . The Story of Civilization: The Age of Faith. Simon & Schuster. p. 352. ISBN 9781451647617.
- ^ Montelle, C. (2011). The ‘Well-Known Calendars’: Al-Khāzinī’s Description of Significant Chronological Systems for Medieval Mathematical Astronomy in Arabic. In Steele J. (Ed.), Calendars and Years II: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World (pp. 107-126). Oxford; Oakville: Oxbow Books.
- ^ Meyerhof, M. (1948). 'Alī al-Bayhaqī's Tatimmat Siwān al-Hikma: A Biographical Work on Learned Men of the Islam. Osiris, 8, 122-217.
- ^ Al-Khāzinī, Abu'l-Fath 'Abd Al-Raḥmān ., Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography., 2008, pp. 335–351
- Khanikoff, N. “Analysis and Extracts of كتاب ميزان الحكمة Book of the Balance of Wisdom, An Arabic Work on the Water-Balance, Written by ’Al-Khâzinî in the Twelfth Century.” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 6, 1858, pp. 1–128. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/592172. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
- ^ Rosenfeld, B. (1994), Book reviews: Middle ages & renaissance., Journal of the History of Science in Society, pp. 85(4), 686
- Floor, Willem. "kazinadar". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- Mehdi Aminrazavi, The Wine of Wisdom: The Life, Poetry and Philosophy of Omar Khayyam, Oneworld Publications (2007)
Alchemy in the medieval Islamic world | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alchemists |
| ||||||||||||||
Concepts | |||||||||||||||
Works |
|
- 12th-century alchemists
- 12th-century Iranian astronomers
- Astronomers of the medieval Islamic world
- 12th-century Iranian mathematicians
- Islamic philosophers
- Alchemists of the medieval Islamic world
- Greek Muslims
- Medieval physicists
- Iranian alchemists
- Medieval Iranian physicists
- Iranian slaves
- Iranian people of Greek descent
- Scholars from the Seljuk Empire
- Iranian chemists
- 12th-century deaths
- 11th-century births
- 12th-century slaves