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56-665: Ulugh Beg , the son of Shah Rukh and grandson of Sultan Timur , became the ruler of Samarkand in the 15th century AD. Ulugh Beg was very skilled in mathematics and astronomy. He taught many important astronomers, including Ali Qushji . Many historians have tried to accurately identify the dates of the events that occurred during the Samarkand or Ulugh Beg Observatory. The differences in interpreting dates and citations of historical sources have caused inaccuracies and neglection of some events during this time. In Jamshid al-Kashi 's letters to Ulugh Beg's father, you can see Ulugh Beg's visit to

112-500: A 15th-century astronomer and mathematician, is known to have relocated to Samarkand to interact with the scientific processes taking place there. Having received an invitation from Ulugh Beg, Al-Kashi left his native land of Kashan in north central Iran and went to Samarkand. A letter that Al-Kashi wrote to his father during his stay in Samarkand has been translated by Kennedy (1960) and Sayılı (1960). This letter, written in Persian, has shaped

168-422: A 50 m high gnomon . This value was improved by 28 , 88 years later in 1525 by Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), who appealed to the estimation of Thābit ibn Qurra (826–901), which was accurate to +2 . However, Ulugh Beg later measured another more precise value as 365 6 9 35 , which has an error of +25 , making it more accurate than Copernicus' estimate which had an error of +30 . Ulugh Beg also determined

224-467: A 50 m high gnomon . This value was improved by 28 seconds in 1525 by Nicolaus Copernicus , who appealed to the estimation of Thabit ibn Qurra (826–901), which had an error of +2 seconds. However, Ulugh Beg later measured another more precise value of the tropical year as 365 5 49 15 , which has an error of +25 seconds, making it more accurate than Copernicus's estimate which had an error of +30 seconds. Ulugh Beg also determined

280-467: A governor, then outright) the  Timurid Empire  achieved the cultural peak of the Timurid Renaissance through his attention and patronage.  Samarkand was captured and given to Ulugh Beg by his father  Shah Rukh . He built the great  Ulugh Beg Observatory  in Samarkand between 1424 and 1429. It was considered by scholars to have been one of the finest observatories in

336-409: A new analysis that was autonomous from the data used by Ptolemy. Throughout his life as an astronomer, Ulugh Beg came to realize that there were multiple mistakes in the work and subsequent data of Ptolemy that had been in use for many years. Using it, he compiled the 1437 Zij-i-Sultani of 994 stars , generally considered the greatest star catalogue between those of Ptolemy and Tycho Brahe ,

392-808: A spear with a dragon 's head, a fine horse with saddle, and variegated gold-embroidered silk stuffs" to Ulugh Beg, as well as silk stuffs and garments for the Timurid prince's family. In 1447, upon learning of the death of his father Shah Rukh , Ulugh Beg went to Balkh . Here, he heard that Ala al-Dawla , the son of his late brother Baysunghur , had claimed the rulership of the Timurid Empire in Herat . Consequently, Ulugh Beg marched against Ala al-Dawla and met him in battle at Murghab . He defeated his nephew and advanced toward Herat, massacring its people in 1448. However, Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza , Ala al-Dawla's brother, came to

448-412: A work that stands alongside Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi 's Book of Fixed Stars . The serious errors which he found in previous Arabian star catalogues (many of which had simply updated Ptolemy's work, adding the effect of precession to the longitudes) induced him to redetermine the positions of 992 fixed stars, to which he added 27 stars from Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi 's catalogue Book of Fixed Stars from

504-439: Is a Zij astronomical table and star catalogue that was published by Ulugh Beg in 1438–1439. It was the joint product of the work of a group of Muslim astronomers working under the patronage of Ulugh Beg at Samarkand 's Ulugh Beg Observatory . These astronomers included Jamshid al-Kashi and Ali Qushji , among others. The Zij-i-Sultani was not surpassed in accuracy until the work of Taqi ad-Din and Tycho Brahe in

560-469: Is primarily for aesthetic reasons and is not to improve the observatory's accuracy. Zīj-i Sultānī ( Persian : زیجِ سلطانی ) is a Zij astronomical table and star catalogue that was published by Ulugh Beg in 1437. A Zij is an astronomical table that is made up of numerical tables and explanations that allow astronomers to compute any problems they encounter. It should provide enough information that they can understand how to measure time and how to compute

616-627: Is thought that he may have been influenced to create his Zij by Nasir al-Din Tusi , who had written 150 books. Ulugh Beg's star catalog was the first to have been published since the Almagest written by Ptolemy . The Zij-I Sultani includes the stars explained in the Almagest, but has more accurate numbers accompanying them. The primary instrument used to obtain the information in the Zij-I Sultani came from Ulugh Beg's observatory quadrant. He did not work alone, he

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672-586: The Gur-e-Amir in Samarkand, where they were found by Soviet archaeologists in 1941. Ulugh Beg had thirteen wives: Soviet anthropologist Mikhail M. Gerasimov reconstructed the face of Ulugh Beg. Like his grandfather Timurlane, Ulugh Beg is close to the Mongoloid type with slightly Europoid features. His father Shah Rukh had predominantly Caucasoid features, with no obvious Mongoloid feature. Zij-i Sultani Zīj-i Sulṭānī ( Persian : زیجِ سلطانی )

728-581: The Maragha Observatory had an effect on Ulugh Beg. This could have affected Ulugh Beg's reason for his transformation of the city of Samarkand and his mathematical orientation. Other matters such as, political, economic, military, social, and even commercial reasons could have played a role in the building of Ulugh Beg's observatory. Another reason of starting his own observatory could have been because of Ulugh Beg's differences in observations of those with al-Sūfī . The foundation for Ulugh Beg Observatory

784-648: The Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society , and by Edward Ball Knobel in Ulugh Beg's Catalogue of Stars, Revised from all Persian Manuscripts Existing in Great Britain, with a Vocabulary of Persian and Arabic Words (1917). In 1437, Ulugh Beg determined the length of the sidereal year as 365.2570370... = 365 6 10 8 (an error of +58 seconds). In his measurements over the course of many years he used

840-680: The Ming dynasty . In 1416, Ming envoys Chen Cheng and Lu An presented silk and silver stuffs to Ulugh Beg on behalf of the Yongle emperor. In 1419, The Timurid sent his own emissaries, Sultan-Shah and Muhammad Bakhshi, to the Ming court. Ulugh Beg's emissaries came across Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh and other envoys representing Shah Rukh, Prince Baysunghur , and other Timurid authorities in Beijing; however, they stayed at separate hostelries. Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh even saw

896-466: The tropical year as 365 5 49 15, which has an error of +25, making it more accurate than Nicolaus Copernicus ' estimate which had an error of +30. Ulugh Beg also determined the Earth's axial tilt as 23;30,17 degrees in sexagesimal notation, which in decimal notation converts to 23.5047 degrees. The Ulug Beg Observatory Museum was built in 1970 to commemorate Ulugh Beg. The museum contains reproductions of

952-424: The 16th century. The serious errors which Ulugh Beg found in previous Zij star catalogues (many of the earlier ones were simply updates on Ptolemy's work, adding the effect of precession to the longitudes) induced him to redetermine the positions of 992 fixed stars, to which he added 27 stars from al-Sufi's Book of Fixed Stars (964), which were too far south for observation from Samarkand. This catalogue, one of

1008-745: The Arabic manuscripts Ulug Beg's star charts, the Zij-i Sultani , and of important European printed editions of Ulugh Beg's work. It also contains astrolabes and other instruments as well as a miniature reconstruction of the observatory itself. 39°40′30″N 67°0′18″E  /  39.67500°N 67.00500°E  / 39.67500; 67.00500 Ulugh Beg Mīrzā Muhammad Tarāghāy bin Shāhrukh ( Chagatay : میرزا محمد تراغای بن شاهرخ ; Persian : میرزا محمد طارق بن شاهرخ ), better known as Ulugh Beg ( Persian : الغ‌بیک ; 22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449),

1064-455: The Earth's axial tilt as 23°30'17" in the sexagesimal system of degrees, minutes and seconds of arc, which in decimal notation converts to 23.5047°. In mathematics , Ulugh Beg wrote accurate trigonometric tables of sine and tangent values correct to at least eight decimal places. Once Ulugh Beg became governor of Samarqand , he fostered diplomatic relations with the Yongle emperor of

1120-521: The Islamic world at the time and the largest in  Central Asia . Ulugh Beg was subsequently recognized as the most important observational astronomer from the 15th century by many scholars.  He also built the  Ulugh Beg Madrasah  (1417–1420) in Samarkand and  Bukhara , transforming the cities into cultural centers of learning in Central Asia . However, Ulugh Beg's scientific expertise

1176-572: The Turkicized Mongol Barlas tribe of Transoxiana (now Uzbekistan ). His mother was a noblewoman named Gawhar Shad , daughter of a member of the representative Turkic tribal aristocracy, Ghiyasuddin Tarkhan. Ulugh Beg was born in Sultaniyeh during his grandfather's invasion of Persia . He was given the name Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay . Ulugh Beg, the name he was most commonly known by,

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1232-490: The Yongle emperor riding a black horse with feet which had been gifted by Ulugh Beg. In 1439, the Zhengtong emperor ordered an artist to produce a painting of a black horse with white feet and a white forehead that had been sent by Ulugh Beg. Six years later, the Ming emperor sent a letter to Ulugh Beg in order to express his gratitude for all the " tribute " from Samarqand. The emperor sent "vessels made of gold and jade,

1288-474: The altitude of a star and other planets. The duration of the year, period of planets, and eclipses were measured by this device. Ulugh Beg's measurements of planets closely relate to today's measurement, showing us the phenomenal accuracy of the device. Today, the foundations and the buried part of the marble quadrant are all that are visible of the original vestiges of the Ulugh Beg Observatory. Much of

1344-484: The best astronomers of the time, and they all observed and calculated the positions of thousands of stars. Ulugh Beg's main work was the Zij-i Sultani . Written in 1437, this work was in Persian, and it was also greatly influenced by Nasir al-Din Tusi . One of the scientists with whom Jamshid al-Kashi would study was Yusuf H. allaj, who had prior experiences in Herat, Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, and adjacent regions. Yusuf H. allaj

1400-408: The calculations found today. The observatory was made up of three stories, the first story was for the staff to live in. All observations were made from the second and third stories, which had many arches to look through. The roof of the observatory was flat, allowing instruments to be utilized on top of the building. The entrance of the observatory has been modified several times in recent years. This

1456-464: The city. Abdal-Latif soon reached Samarkand and Ulugh Beg involuntarily surrendered to his son. Abd-al-Latif released his father from custody, allowing him to make pilgrimage to Mecca . However, he ensured Ulugh Beg never reached his destination, having him, as well as his brother Abdal-Aziz assassinated in 1449. Eventually, Ulugh Beg's reputation was rehabilitated by his nephew, Abdallah Mirza (1450–1451), who placed his remains at Timur's feet in

1512-417: The construction of the observatory. Ulugh Beg's observatory was built on a hill 21 meters above the ground. The observatory has a cylindrical-shaped building with a diameter of 46 meters and a height of 30 to 33 meters, the sextant was in the middle of this cylinder. The building was made of brick, which was readily available but not particularly stable. The radius of the sextant was 40.04 meters, which made it

1568-449: The decline of the observatory has been attributed to Ulugh Beg's assassination by his son, Abd al Latif, around 1449 (852 AH). Ulugh Beg's death caused chaos within the observatory. The observatory was destroyed and dozens of talented astronomers and mathematicians were driven away. In 1908, the Russian archaeologist Vassily Vyatkin uncovered the remains of the observatory. Jamshid Al-Kashi ,

1624-681: The empire's capital to Herat (in modern Afghanistan ). Sixteen-year-old Ulugh Beg subsequently became the governor of the former capital of Samarkand in 1409. In 1411, he was named the sovereign ruler of the whole of Mavarannahr . The teenage ruler set out to turn the city into an intellectual center for the empire. Between 1417 and 1420, he built a madrasa ("university" or "institute") on Registan Square in Samarkand (currently in Uzbekistan ), and he invited numerous Islamic astronomers and mathematicians to study there. The madrasa building still survives. Ulugh Beg's most famous pupil in astronomy

1680-450: The first letter by virtue of their overlapping parts. In the letter, Al-Kashi describes a problem about astrology that he discussed with his colleagues. The translation, ‘‘[Let us suppose that] the Sun is, e.g., in 10 degrees of Aquarius, with a certain altitude, and the ascendent of time is a certain degree [of the ecliptic]; then [the ascendent of the time when] its [i.e., the Sun's] altitude [is

1736-669: The largest astronomical instrument in the world at the time. With this radius, the height of the building would have to have been so large that it could have caused it to be too tall, potentially falling in on itself. This problem was solved by constructing part of the sextant underground, in a ditch roughly 2 meters wide. This allowed the size of the sextant to be maintained without the height being dangerously tall. The Fakhrı sextant had 70.2 cm divisions which represented one degree. There were also marks every 11.7mm to show one minute and 1mm marks that represented five seconds. These markings turned out to be extremely accurate, matching up closely to

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1792-460: The latter's aid and defeated Ulugh Beg. Ulugh Beg retreated to Balkh where he found that its governor, his oldest son Abdal-Latif Mirza , had rebelled against him . Another civil war ensued. Abdal-Latif recruited troops to meet his father's army on the banks of the Amu Darya river. However, Ulugh Beg was forced to retreat to Samarkand before any fighting took place, having heard news of turmoil in

1848-449: The length of his sextant ; the so-called Fakhri sextant had a radius of about 36 meters (118 feet) and the optical separability of 180" (seconds of arc). The Fakhri sextant was the largest instrument at the observatory in Samarkand (an image of the sextant is on the side of this article). There were many other astronomical instruments located at the observatory, but the Fakhri sextant is

1904-480: The maximum altitude of the ecliptic at that moment] is a quadrant [in advance of the Sun's position], i.e., in 10 degrees (20) of Taurus", reveals that perhaps Samarkand's scientific atmosphere was more geared towards astrology than previously believed given Krisciunas's paper on the “Legacy of Ulugh Beg” where astrology has an extremely limited discussion. Astrology, only mentioned once in passing in Krisciunas's paper on

1960-451: The modern view of Samarkand activities substantially despite its lack of information about scientific activities that were taking place at the observatory. However, a new letter written by Al-Kashi to his father has been found in Iran, and the translation of this letter by Bagheri sheds more light on the scientific atmosphere of Samarkand in particular and reduces the ambiguity of certain elements in

2016-596: The most original of the Middle Ages, was edited by Thomas Hyde at Oxford in 1665 under the title Jadāvil-i Mavāzi' S̱avābit, sive, Tabulae Long. ac Lat. Stellarum Fixarum ex Observatione Ulugh Beighi , by Gregory Sharpe in 1767, and in 1843 by Francis Baily in Vol. XIII of the Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society . In 1437, Ulugh Beg determined the length of the sidereal year as 365.2570370... = 365 6 10 8 (an error of +58 ). In his measurements over many years he used

2072-403: The most well-known instrument there. The purpose of the Fakhri sextant was to measure the transit altitudes of the stars. This was a measurement of the maximum altitude above the horizon of the stars. It was only possible to use this device to measure the declination of celestial objects. The image, which can be found in this article, shows the remaining portion of the instrument, which consists of

2128-419: The observatory. Jamshīd al-Kāshī was appointed as the first director of the observatory. After al-Kashi's death Qadi Zada became the director of the observatory. After the death of Qadi Zada, Qushji led the observatory as the last and final director. The Samarkand Observatory was a place for astronomers and mathematician to work together in finding new discoveries. Ulugh Beg's observatory was built according to

2184-661: The observatory. An evaluation of the errors made in Ptolemy at Samarkand by Shevchenko further confirms the effects of Samarkand's initial isolated nature. According to Bageri's translation of Al-Kashi's letter, a lot of teaching was going on there strictly from memory by teachers who had learned from astronomers in Herat. Moreover, at the time Al-Kashi wrote the letter, three of the teachers were well versed in Islamic jurisprudence: Qazızada, Maulana Muhammad Khanı, and Maulana Abu’l-Fath. The letter also states that Ulugh Beg did not show up to teach class often. Maulana Abu’l-Fath stated that he

2240-449: The plans of the Maragha observatory, which was designed by Nasir al-din al-Tusi. Ulugh Beg's observatory included the largest quadrant principle device. The building was not tall but was allowed a maximal size for the arc of the circle. This device was carefully oriented, and the arc was scaled very accurately. This device was very versatile. It could accurately measure the sun from the horizon,

2296-400: The positions of planets and stars. The Zij may also contain the proof for the math and theories contained in the tables. Ulugh Beg's Zij-I Sultani was published in 1437, it was written in Persian, and listed around 1,000 stars. It follows Ptolemaic work and does not suggest any changes in the planetary model. It has also been called Zij-I Ulugh Beg, Zij-I Jadid-I Sultani, and Zaij-I Gurgani. It

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2352-444: The scientific atmosphere of Ulugh Beg, was perhaps a more integrated element of the scientific discourse in the Samarkand world given the new, aforementioned letter. Per the letter of Al-Kashi to his father, an innovation was created with Ulugh Beg. The Fakhrı sextant, stood on top of a rock into which some of it was carved, so the edifice would not be tall given the soft bricks of the area. Al-Kashi compares this to Maragha, saying that

2408-415: The sextant is positioned higher there but also notes the flat roof present in Samarkand should facilitate scientific improvement given the fact that “instruments may be placed on it”. This information, about the sextants in Maragha is contradictory to other sources that state there were no sextants at Maragha. This contradiction was revealed by the translation. Moreover, the scientific atmosphere of Samarkand

2464-472: The underground, lower portion of the instrument that was not destroyed. The observatory built by Ulugh Beg was the most pervasive and well-known observatory throughout the Islamic world. With the instruments located in the observatory in Samarkand, Ulugh Beg composed a star catalogue consisting of 1018 stars, which is eleven fewer stars than are present in the star catalogue of Ptolemy . Ulugh Beg utilized dimensions from al-Sufi and based his star catalogue on

2520-408: The value of sine to 11 decimal places from 87 to 90 degrees. The Zij was influential and was continuously used until the 19th century and hundreds of copies of the original Persian manuscript exist around the world. It has also been translated into many languages including Arabic, Turkish, and Hebrew. Commentaries by known astronomers like Quishji have also been made. Ulugh Beg determined the length of

2576-421: The year 964, which were too far south for observation from Samarkand. This catalogue, one of the most original of the Middle Ages, was first edited by Thomas Hyde at Oxford in 1665 under the title Jadāvil-i Mavāzi' S̱avābit , sive, Tabulae Long. ac Lat. Stellarum Fixarum ex Observatione Ulugh Beighi and reprinted in 1767 by G. Sharpe . More recent editions are those by Francis Baily in 1843 in Vol. XIII of

2632-796: Was Ali Qushchi (died in 1474). Qadi Zada al-Rumi was the most notable teacher at Ulugh Beg's madrasa and Jamshid al-Kashi , an astronomer, later came to join the staff. Astronomy piqued Ulugh Beg's interest when he visited the Maragheh Observatory at a young age. This observatory, located in Maragheh , Iran, is where the well-known astronomer Nasir al-Din al-Tusi practised. In 1428, Ulugh Beg built an enormous observatory , similar to Tycho Brahe 's later Uraniborg as well as Taqi al-Din 's observatory in Constantinople . Lacking telescopes to work with, he increased his accuracy by increasing

2688-454: Was a Timurid sultan , as well as an astronomer and mathematician . Ulugh Beg was notable for his work in astronomy-related mathematics, such as  trigonometry and spherical geometry , as well as his general interests in the arts and intellectual activities.  It is thought that he spoke five languages: Arabic ,  Persian ,  Chaghatai Turkic , Mongolian , and a small amount of  Chinese . During his rule (first as

2744-440: Was assisted by his students and other Muslim astronomers including Jamshid al-Kashi and Ali Qushji . It took 17 years to compile the full list of stars, they began in 1420 when Ulugh Beg was 26 years old and they finished in 1437. One of the most significant parts of the Zij-I Sultani is Ulugh Beg's sine table. The table is 18 pages long and has values of sine to nine decimal places for every degree from zero to 87, it also contains

2800-460: Was intellectually underneath Maulana Muhammad Khanı, who was only occasionally present in the court meetings or observatory meetings, and Qazızada, who was always practicing his craft. "To do them justice, [I must admit that] (30) when there is a discussion in their meeting, I dare not intervene, all the more so because His Majesty knows this art well and [therefore] one cannot impudently claim competence." Ulugh Beg fostered an environment with some of

2856-658: Was laid in the earlier half of the 1420s (823 AH). Although the year of its completion is still debated, the observatory was completed around 1428 AD (831 AH). Many Old Persian texts reference the Samarkand Observatory and Ulugh Beg. He invited skillful mathematicians and astronomers to help build this observatory and also a madrassa in Samarkand. Among those he invited were Ghīyāth al-Dīn Jamshid al-Kashi, Mu’in al-Din al-Kashi, Salah al-Din Qadi Zada Rumi, and Ali Qushiji. Over 60 mathematicians and astronomers were invited to

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2912-402: Was not matched by his skills in governance. During his short reign, he failed to establish his power and authority. As a result, other rulers, including his family, took advantage of his lack of control, and he was subsequently overthrown and assassinated. He was a grandson of the great conqueror and king, Timur (Tamerlane) (1336–1405), and the oldest son of Shah Rukh , both of whom came from

2968-528: Was not truly a personal name, but rather a moniker , which can be loosely translated as "Great Ruler" (compare modern Turkish ulu , "great", and bey , "chief") and is the Turkic equivalent of Timur 's Perso-Arabic title Amīr-e Kabīr . As a child he wandered through a substantial part of the Middle East and India as his grandfather expanded his conquests in those areas. After Timur's death, Shah Rukh moved

3024-437: Was one of general isolation because Al-Kashi describes the stout adherence to Ptolemy's methodologies and lack of awareness for happenings of the Maragha observatory. The lack of awareness and strict adherence to prior methods by Ulugh Beg himself reveals the perhaps provincial nature of their studies. However, this perceived closed-mindedness was alleviated by the increasing diversity of scientists and students that were invited to

3080-453: Was the son of Maulana H. allaj’, who also resided in Samarkand at the same time Al-Kashi was there. Ulugh Beg was surrounded with other Islamic astronomers such as Ali Qushji . It is also noted that music was studied and taught at the observatory. Prosody, music and mathematics seemed to foster the curiosities of the scientists there at the time. However, in the letter by Al-Kashi, he noted that despite his curiosity about music and math, he

3136-504: Was urged to focus on his tasks at hand. The architecture of Ulugh Beg's observatory was different from the others built around that time. Ulugh Beg needed a skilled architect to help him, so he contacted Qazizada-I Rumi and asked him to find an experienced and skilled architects. Qazizada-I Rumi recommended Kashani, a mathematician and architect. The observatory was modeled after the Maragheh observatory which thought of by Hulagu Khan and Mangu Khan, they hired Nasir al-Din al-Tusi so head

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