From: Thomas Hockey et al. (eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, Springer Reference. New York: Springer, 2007, pp. 822-823 |
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Nasṭūlus: Muḥammad
ibn ʿAbd Allāh
Mňnica Rius
Alternate
name
Basṭūlus
Nasṭūlus
is credited with constructing two astrolabes. The first, dated 927/928, is
considered the oldest surviving astrolabe (though not the first ever constructed).
This elegant instrument is preserved in the Kuwait Museum of Islamic Art.
It has a single plate (for latitudes 33° and 36°) on the back of which are
four quadrant scales and a shadow scale. The throne bears the inscription,
“Made by Nasṭūlus (or Basṭūlus) in the year 315.”
The second astrolabe, of which only the mater is still extant, bears
no date but was probably constructed around 312 hijra (925). It is preserved
in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo; the inscription “Made by Nasṭūlus” appears on the throne.
It contains the earliest and only geographical list to appear on an instrument
before circa 1100. The purpose of the gazetteer on the mater
is evidently to show which plates should be used in different cities. Most
of the latitudes included are derived from Khwārizmī's
geographical table, although the remainder may have been taken from other
early sources such as Battānī
(circa 910). Although no original plate has survived, the instrument
has various Mamluk additions, dated 1314.
We know almost nothing about this astronomer, and even his name remains
in doubt. Some historians have interpreted the manuscripts to refer to someone
with a Greek name, perhaps Bατύλoς/βαθύλoς or Aπóστoλoς.
However, it is unclear whether he is a Muslim or Christian. King claims that
he was a Muslim based on the testimony of the 10th‐century astronomer
Sijzī, who states that a certain Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh (clearly
a Muslim name), known as Nasṭūlus, was the first person to design the astrolabe
with a crab‐shaped rete. Sijzī adds that Nasṭūlus also invented the
hours drawn on the face of the alidade and the operation with the azimuth
on the back of the astrolabe. This statement was later repeated by Bīrūnī
in his Istīʿāb,
in which he adds that Nasṭūlus was one of the people who worked on instruments
for determining eclipses. On the other hand, M. Hinds suggests Nasṭūlus
might refer to the Christian sect of the Nestorians, and Kunitzsch points
out that the form Nasṭūrus was attested in 10th‐century Egypt, and
was used by Christian men. Nasṭūlus would then be just another form of Nasṭūrus.
Ibn
al‐Nadīm (1970). The Fihrist of al‐Nadīm: A Tenth‐Century
Survey of Muslim Culture, edited and translated by Bayard Dodge. 2 Vols.
New York: Columbia University Press, Vol. 2, p. 671.
King, David A. (1978).
“A Note on the Astrolabist Nasṭūlus/Basṭūlus.” Archives internationales d'histoire des sciences 28: 117–120. (Reprinted in King, Islamic Astronomical
Instruments, IV. London: Variorum Reprints,
1987.)
——— (1990). The
Earliest Islamic Astrolabes (Tenth to Eleventh Centuries). Preprint, pp.
16–22.
——— (1995). “Early
Islamic Astronomical Instruments in Kuwaiti Collections.” In Kuwait
– Arts and Architecture—A Collection of Essays, edited by Arlene
Fullerton and Géza Fehérvári, pp. 76–96. Kuwait. Oriental press, UAE.
——— (1999). “Bringing
Astronomical Instruments Back to Earth: The Geographical Data on Medieval
Astrolabes (to ca. 1100).” In Between Demonstration and Imagination: Essays
in the History of Science and Philosophy presented to John D. North, edited
by Lodi Nauta and Arjo Vanderjagt, pp. 3–53, esp. pp. 9, 10, 11, 22, 29, 35,
39. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
King, David A. and Paul Kunitzsch (1983). “Nasṭūlus
the Astrolabist Once Again.” Archives internationales d'histoire des sciences
33: 342–343. (Reprinted in King, Islamic Astronomical Instruments,
V. London: Variorum Reprints, 1987.)
Maddison, Francis and Alain Brieux (1974). “Basṭūlus
or Nasṭūlus? A Note on the Name of an Early Islamic Astrolabist.”
Archives internationales d'histoire des sciences 24: 157–160.
Sezgin,
Fuat (1978). Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums. Vol. 6, Astronomie, pp. 178–179. Leiden: E. J. Brill.