az-Zarqali
az-Zarqali , completely Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Yahya an-Naqqasch az-Zarqali ( Arabic أبو إسحاق إبراهيم بن يحيى النقاش الزرقالي, DMG Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm bin Yaḥyā an-Naqqāš az-Zarqālī ; often transcribed as an-Naqqash or an-Naqqash or al-Zarqali ), in Latin- speaking Europe Arzachel and in Spanish and Italian Azarquiel (* 1029 in Toledo ; † 1087 in Seville ), was a leading Arabic mathematician and the most outstanding Astronomer of his time.
He worked in Toledo , which experienced its heyday under the Moors as Tolaitola , as well as during the Caliphate of Córdoba and as the capital of the Taifa of the Dhun-Nunids until the Christian conquest by Alfonso VI. on May 25, 1085. After this Reconquista , az-Zarqali emigrated to Seville, where he also died.
az-Zarqali combined theoretical knowledge with technical ability and created astronomical precision instruments . Among other things, he constructed a flat astrolabe that could be used at any degree of latitude , and a water clock that could show the day and night hours and the day of the lunar month .
With this he was able to correct the geographical data of Ptolemy , in particular the extent of the Mediterranean . az-Zarqali was also the first to document the movement of the apse (the two main vertices of an approximately elliptical orbit of a planet) relative to the fixed stars behind with numbers on the earth's orbit (?) . His calculation of the turn of the vestibule came remarkably close to today's exact value.
az-Zarqali also made a significant contribution to the well-known Toledan tables , a compilation of astronomical data of previously unknown accuracy. His own " Almanac " was also well known and enabled him to determine the day on which the Coptic , Roman , Persian or the "actual" lunar month begins. His tables for predicting the solar and lunar ecliptic and calculating latitude and longitude were of great importance, especially for ocean shipping that came later .
Az-Zarqali's work was translated into Latin by Gerhard von Cremona (1114–1187), who came to Toledo for this purpose , and was thus known throughout Europe . This contributed significantly to the rebirth of scientific , mathematics- based astronomy in the Christian West of the 12th century . Due to the many different languages ( high-level languages such as Standard Arabic , Hebrew , Latin and popular languages such as Arabic - Andalusian , Romansh - Castilian ) Toledo became an important center for the translation of Arabic scripts into Latin and Romansh in the 12th and 13th centuries . Four centuries later, Nicolaus Copernicus emphasized how much he owed áz-Zarqali for his work and quoted him in the pioneering work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium .
The crater Arzachel on the moon was named after az-Zarqali, which is located near the center of the moon and has a diameter of 96 km - see list of lunar craters .
literature
- José M. Millás Vallicrosa Estudios sobre Azarquiel , Madrid 1960
See also
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zarqali, az- |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zarqali, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Yahya an-Naqqash az-; Arzachel; Azarquiel |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Arabic mathematician and astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1029 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Toledo |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1087 |
| Place of death | Seville |