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Manuscript/Mixed Material Ṣuwar al-kawākib صور الكواكب / سور الكواكب

About this Item

Title

  • Ṣuwar al-kawākib

Other Title

  • صور الكواكب
  • سور الكواكب

Summary

  • Text is an excellent authority on Arabic names for the stars and constellations; includes depictions of celestial constellations. Persian note before beginning of text claims that this book written in 820 H [1417], but the note probably dates from the 18th century when the book was rebound.
  • The astronomer 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Umar al-Sufi, commonly known as al-Sufi, was born in Persia (present-day Iran) in 903 A.D. and died in 986. He worked in Isfahan and in Baghdad, and is known for his translation from Greek into Arabic of the Almagest by the ancient astronomer Ptolemy. Al-Sufi's most famous work is Kitab suwar al-kawakib (Book of the constellations of the fixed stars), which he published around 964. In this work, al-Sufi describes the 48 constellations that were established by Ptolemy and adds criticisms and corrections of his own. For each of the constellations, he provides the indigenous Arab names for their stars, drawings of the constellations, and a table of stars showing their locations and magnitude. Al-Sufi's book spurred further work on astronomy in the Arabic and Islamic worlds, and exercised a huge influence on the development of science in Europe. The work was frequently copied and translated. This copy, from the collections of the Library of Congress, was produced somewhere in south or central Asia, circa 1730, and is an exact copy of a manuscript, now lost, prepared for Ulug Beg of Samarkand (present-day Uzbekistan) in 1417 [820 A.H.]. The Bibliothèque nationale de France has a manuscript of the Kitab suwar al-kawakib that was prepared for Ulug Beg in 1436. World Digital Library.

Names

  • Ṣūfī, ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʻUmar, 903-986

Created / Published

  • 1 Muḥarram 820 H [18 February 1417].

Headings

  • -  Astronomy, Arab--Early works to 1800
  • -  Constellations--Early works to 1800
  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Stars--Names--Early works to 1800

Notes

  • -  Fol. 1b-173a.
  • -  Illustrations (some colored) and tables.
  • -  Library of Congress. Arabic manuscript, SM16.
  • -  Ms.
  • -  Naskhi script; 19 lines in written area, 16 x 9 cm.
  • -  Paper: yellowed cream, watermarks, first two and last leaves repaired, dark stains on fol. 1a; traces of humidity on edges of paper. Text in black, with rubricated headings and captions. Illustrations of constellations have colored ink and gold-colored pigment. Catchwords on rectos. Some diacritical marks.
  • -  Persian inscriptions of former owners on fol. 175b dated 1174 H [1760], 1202 H [1787], 1204 H [1789], and 1205 H [1790].
  • -  Precious old binding. Cover and pastedowns decorated and gilded.
  • -  Title from container.
  • -  Fihris al-makhṭūṭāt al-ʻArabīyah fi Maktabat al-Kūnghris, 16-17.
  • -  Also available in digital form.
  • -  Arabic; Persian verses on fol. 175b and Persian text on leaf inserted before beginning of text.
  • -  ‏Incipit: الحمد لله الواحد العدل قال عبد الرحمن بن عمر المعروف بأبي الحسين الصوفي ....

Medium

  • 176 leaves (19 lines), bound : paper, col. ill. ; 25 x 15 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • QB23 .S84 1417

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2008401028

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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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:

Ṣūfī, ʻAbd Al-Raḥmān Ibn ʻUmar, 903-986. Ṣuwar Al-Kawākib. [1 Muḥarram 820 H 18 February, 1417] Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2008401028/.

APA citation style:

Ṣūfī, ʻ. A. I. ʻ. (1417) Ṣuwar Al-Kawākib. [1 Muḥarram 820 H 18 February] [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2008401028/.

MLA citation style:

Ṣūfī, ʻAbd Al-Raḥmān Ibn ʻUmar, 903-986. Ṣuwar Al-Kawākib. [1 Muḥarram 820 H 18 February, 1417] Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2008401028/>.