Al-Battani
Al-Battānī (other names include Albategnius, Albategni and Albatenius; born about 858 – died 929) was an Arab astronomer, astrologer and mathematician. He is considered an important astronomer and mathematician of the Islamic Golden Age. His discoveries about trigonometry were often quoted by medieval European astronomers; including by Copernicus.[1] He was from Harran. His full name was Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Jābir ibn Sinān al-Raqqī al-Ḥarrānī al-Ṣābiʾ al-Battānī.
Al-Battānī | |
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![]() A modern drawing of al-Battānī holding an astrolabe | |
Born | c. 858 CE |
Died | 929 CE Qasr al-Jiss (near Samarra) |
Notable work | Kitāb az-Zīj |
Career
changeAl-Battani helped to calculate the distance between the Earth and the Sun, before the telescopes. This allowed him to refine existing values for the length of the year.
Works
changeHe is most famous for his book the Kitāb az-Zīj (or the Zij). The Zij was a book with 57 chapters dedicated to astronomy. He influenced the works of Copernicus, Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe, who were famous astronomers of later times. The book was translated many times into many different languages. Inside the Zij, Al-Battani made a map of the stars, naming a few of them.
Al-Battani died of old age in the year 929. He had been protesting against the taxes in Baghdad, and died on the way home.[2][3]
Related pages
changeReferences
change- ↑ Hartner, Willy (1970–80). "Al-Battānī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad Ibn Jābir Ibn Sinān al-Raqqī al-Ḥarrānī al–Ṣābi". Dictionary of Scientific Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 0-684-10114-9.
- ↑ "Al-Battani". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Vol. 25. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Biography in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
- ↑ "al- Battani". Notable Mathematicians. Gale, 2008. Biography in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Other websites
change- Texts on Wikisource:
- Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "al-Battani, Mohammed ibn Jabir ibn Sinan". New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
- "Albategnius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 491.
- "al-Battani". New International Encyclopedia. 1920.