| From: Thomas Hockey et al. (eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, Springer Reference. New York: Springer, 2007, pp. 33-34 |
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ʿAlī al‐Muwaqqit:
Muṣliḥ al‐Dīn Muṣṭafā ibn ʿAlī al‐Qusṭanṭīnī al‐Rūmī
al‐Ḥanafī al‐Muwaqqit
İhsan Fazlıoğlu
Born probably Istanbul,
(Turkey)
Died Istanbul, (Turkey),
1571
Muṣṭafā
ibn ʿAlī was one of the
most important figures of 16th‐century Ottoman astronomy. He was nicknamed
al‐muwaqqit (the timekeeper) because of his theoretical and practical
studies of astronomical timekeeping (ʿilm
al‐mīqāt) and work on astronomical instruments,
and is considered to be the founder of the Ottoman tradition of ʿilm al‐mīqāt and practical astronomy. To a great
extent Muṣṭafā
ibn ʿAlī continued the movement of the Turcification of Graeco–Hellenic
and classical Islamic astronomy literature that was started by Muḥammad
al‐Qunawī.
He also wrote books in the field of mathematical geography.
Born in Istanbul in the early 16th century, Muṣṭafā ibn ʿAlī was educated
in the wake of the reigns of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror and Sultan Bāyazīd
II (reigned: 1481–1512), during which time the sciences were nurtured. He
took courses from the leading scholars of the time, including Mīram
Čelebī who continued the tradition of astronomy established
by his great grandfather ʿAlī
Qūshjī, his friends, and students.
In addition, Muṣṭafā ibn ʿAlī inherited the
previous achievements of ʿilm al‐mīqāt (timekeeping) from Muḥammad
al‐Qunawī, who had relied upon the work of Khalīlī,
and Ibn al‐Shāṭir before him. As the
muwaqqit (timekeeper) of the Sultan Selīm I Mosque in Istanbul,
Muṣṭafā ibn ʿAlī came to be known as the Koca Saatçi (grand timekeeper).
His precise calculations for determining time were accepted as a primary source
not only within the Ottoman State but also, according to Ewliyā čelebi,
in Western Europe. After 1560, he was appointed Müneccimbası (head
astronomer), replacing Yusūf ibn ʿUmar, and thus became well known as “Müneccimbası Muṣṭafā čelebi.”
Upon his death in 1571, Muṣṭafā ibn ʿAlī was replaced by Taqī
al‐Dīn.
It is evident
from the prefaces of his books that Muṣṭafā ibn ʿAlī began writing
at a rather early age during his tenure as timekeeper of the Yavuz Sultan
Selīm Mosque. One of his early works was Iʿlām
al‐ʿibād
fī aʿlām
al‐bilād (in Turkish) on mathematical geography.
Written in 1525, it was presented to Sultan Süleymān I and included astronomical
and geographical information such as the distances to Istanbul (as the crow
flies) of 100 major cities stretching from China to Morocco, their longitudes
and latitudes, their qiblas (directions toward Mecca), and their shortest
and longest days. It is clear from the introduction that the author regarded
Istanbul as the center of the world, and that he chose cities that were along
the lines of the Ottoman army conquest from Istanbul. Given that the book
was presented to Sultan Süleymān, it could well be that it was produced
for practical needs of the state. There are over 30 copies of the work in
the Istanbul manuscript libraries, so it must have been widely read. (Süleymaniye
Library, Hacı Mahmud MS 5633 is the author's copy.)
Muṣṭafā
ibn ʿAlī's second work
on geography, entitled Tuḥfat al‐zamān wa‐kharīdat al‐awān
(in Turkish), deals with cosmography, astronomy, and geography; a distinguishing
feature of the work is its extensive application of mathematics to geography.
Also written in 1525, it is clearly meant to complement his Iʿlām
al‐ʿibād
fī aʿlām
al‐bilād. The Introduction provides general
information about the science of geography and its sources. Chapter One offers
detailed information about planetary orbs ( falaks),
planets, and stars; Chapter Two deals with the Earth, seas, islands, rivers,
and mountains; Chapter Three takes up the seven climes as well as distances,
longitudes, and latitudes of 150 cities within these seven climes; and Chapter
Four discusses zawāl time. Muṣṭafā
ibn ʿAlī relied on earlier Islamic works, namely Jaghmīnī's
al‐Mulakhkhaṣ
fī ʿilm
al‐hayʾa al‐basīṭa (An introduction to astronomy),
Qāḍīzāde al‐Rūmī's
commentary on Jaghmīnī's work, Damīrī's (died: 1405) para‐zoological
encyclopedia Ḥayāt
al‐ḥayawān, and Qazwīnī's
(died: 1283) cosmological work ʿAjāʾib al‐makhlūqāt.
The fact
that Muṣṭafā
ibn ʿAlī
dedicated most of his important books to Sultan Süleymān and his grand
viziers, and that he wrote almost all his works on astronomy and geography
in Turkish rather than Arabic, indicate that he took the needs of the Ottoman
state bureaucracy and society into account. A vast amount of the Graeco–Hellenic
and Islamic astronomical corpus was transferred into Turkish. Indeed, Muṣṭafā ibn ʿAlī
made a conscious effort to transform Turkish into a language of science. Out
of his 24 astronomical works, 21 are in Turkish and the other three in Arabic.
(See OALT, Vol. 1, pp. 177–179.) By writing in Turkish he was able
to reach a greater audience (i. e., beginning students of astronomy
and timekeepers) as indicated by the number of extant manuscripts and late
copies. Using Turkish was also an advantage when referring to Ottoman geographical
locations, especially in Istanbul, the Balkans, and Anatolia.
Many of Muṣṭafā
ibn ʿAlī's books deal with astronomical instruments. His Faraḥ Fazā, dedicated to
Sultan Süleymān's Grand Vizier Ibrāhīm Pasha, examines the
construction and use of the horary quadrant (al‐rubʿal‐āfāqī)
that he claims as his invention (Veliyüddîn Efendi MS 2282/3). Muṣṭafā ibn ʿAlī's Kifāyat al‐qanūʿ
fī
al‐ʿamal bi‐ʾl‐rubʿ al‐maqṭūʿ (On the quadrant, in Arabic) clarifies and makes accessible
the Iẓhār al‐sirr al‐mawḍūʿ by the famous astronomer‐muwaqqit Sibṭ
al‐Maridīnī (died: 1506) who incorporated the traditions
of Khalīlī and Ibn al‐Shāṭir.
In 1529, Muṣṭafā
ibn ʿAlī wrote Kifāyat al‐waqt li‐maʿrifat
al‐dāʾir wa‐ faḍlihi
wa‐ʾl‐samt (in Turkish). Some 120 copies of the work,
also known as Risāla fī al‐muqanṭarāt, are extant; it
deals with various aspects of geometry, trigonometry, and astronomy and also
mentions an astronomical instrument called rubʿ al‐muqanṭarāt (astrolabic quadrant).
Muṣṭafā
ibn ʿAlī's Tashīl al‐mīqāt, written in
1529, discusses mathematical and astronomical features of timekeeping and
specifically the usage of the astronomical instrument al‐rubʿ al‐mujayyab (sine quadrant). The
book has five separate versions indicating that this work was updated. If
we consider all five redactions as one work, there are presently about 100
copies that were widely used.
Another
work written in 1529 is Muṣṭafā
ibn ʿAlī's
Risālah‐i jayb‐i āfāqī (in Turkish)
in which he mentions the construction, usage, and mathematical properties
of an astronomical instrument called al‐mujayyab al‐āfāqi.
There are currently 50 known copies. His Ḥall dāʾirat
muʿaddil
al‐nahār (in Turkish), written in 1531 at
the request of Grand Vizier Ayās Pasha, shows how to use this instrument
according to the latitude of Istanbul (Nuruosmaniye MS 4891/4, author's copy).
The Risālat al‐asṭurlāb al‐Selīmī
(in Turkish), his most voluminous work, was written in 1544 and was based
on the Zīj (astronomical handbook) of Ulugh Beg. In it,
Muṣṭafā
ibn ʿAlī
examines the construction, mathematical properties, and usage of the astrolabe.
His other works deal with various other instruments and aspects of timekeeping.
In his
astronomical corpus, Muṣṭafā
ibn ʿAlī
al‐Muwaqqit utilized a high level of geometry, trigonometry (especially
spherical trigonometry), and numerical analysis; however, he writes in a simple
language and presents easy and practical solutions. These features were instrumental
in his textbooks and handbooks being used over many years in Muwaqqithânes
(timekeeping institutions attached to mosques) and madrasas (schools)
throughout a wide geographical area.
Selected References
Atāî, Nevi‐zāde (1989). Hadāʾik
al‐hakāʾik. Istanbul, p. 286. Gag‐ ri Yayinlari.
Bağdadlı, İsmail, Pasa (1945). Īḍāḥ
al‐maknūn. Vol. 1. Istanbul: Milli Eg‐itim Bakanlig‐i
Yayinlari, pp. 103, 203.
——— (1955). Hadiyyat al‐ʿārifīn.
Vol. 2. Istanbul: Milli Eg‐itim Bakanlig‐i Yayinlari, p. 435.
Brockelmann, Carl. Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur.
2nd ed. Vol. 2 (1949): 217; Suppl. 2 (1938): 216. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Bursalı, Mehmed, Tahir (1923). Osmanlı Müellifleri.
Vol. 3. Istanbul, 1342 H, pp. 300–301
İhsanoğlu, Ekmeleddin, et al. (1997). Osmanlı
Astronomi Literatürü Tarihi (OALT) (History of astronomy literature
during the Ottoman period). Vol. 1 (no. 82). Istanbul: IRCICA, pp.
161–179.
——— (2000). Osmanlı
Coğrafya Literatürü Tarihi (OCLT) (History of geographical literature
during the Ottoman period). Vol. 1. Istanbul: IRCICA, pp. 49–52.
Kātib Čelebī, Kashf al‐ẓunūn ʿan asāmī al‐kutub
wa‐ʾl‐funūn. Vol.
1 (1941), cols. 118, 366, 407, 519; Vol. 2 (1943), col. 1501. Istanbul: Milli
Eg‐itim Bakanlig‐i Yayinlari.
King, David A (1995). “Rubʿ” (quadrant).
In Encyclopaedia of Islam. 2nd ed. Vol. 8, pp. 574–575. Leiden: E.J.Brill.
Taeschner,
Franz (1923). “Die geographische Literatur der Osmanen.” Zeitschrift
der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft N. F. 2, 77: 31–80,
esp. 46.
Toderini,
Giambatista (1789). De la littérature des Turcs. Translated
into French from the Italian by l'abbé de Cournand. 3 Vols. Paris, Vol. 1,
145–146, 153. (Originally published as Letteratura turchesca. Venice,
1787.)