| From: Thomas Hockey et al. (eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, Springer Reference. New York: Springer, 2007, p. 1129 |
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Courtesy of 
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Tezkireci Köse
Ibrāhīm
Mustafa Kaçar
Flourished Szigetvár, (Hungary),
17th century
Tezkireci,
an Ottoman astronomer and bureaucrat who settled in Istanbul, is known for
having translated the French astronomer Noel Durret's (died: circa
1650) work entitled Nouvelle théorie des planètes from French into
Arabic; this was the first book in Ottoman scientific literature to have been
translated from a European language. The work, which was printed in Paris
in 1635, was translated sometime between 1660 and 1664 and appeared under
the title Sajanjal al‐aflāk fī ghāyat al‐idrāk
(The mirror of the orbs with the utmost perception). In addition to containing
astronomical tables, it was the first work in the Ottoman world to discuss
the Copernican system and Tycho
Brahe's model of the Universe.
The book also included the first diagrams illustrating those systems.
A
bureaucrat charged with writing official memoranda, Tezkireci found the time
to occupy himself with astronomy. There is little other information about
his life except what we can discern from his translated book. In the introduction,
Tezkireci reports that when he first showed the translated work to the chief
astronomer (başmüneccim) Müneccimek Şekîbî Mehmed Çelebi
(died: 1667) in Istanbul, Müneccimek at first disapproved saying that “Europeans
have many vanities similar to this one.” But eventually Müneccimek came to
appreciate the work after Tezkireci Köse prepared an ephemeris based on the
French tables, and Müneccimek saw that it was in conformity with Ulugh
Beg's Zīj (astronomical
handbook with tables). Müneccimek copied the work for himself and bestowed
upon the translator a benefaction, saying, “You saved me from suspicion. Now
I have full confidence in our zījes.”
In
1663 Tezkireci Köse again worked on the translation during his time with the
Ottoman army at the winter quarters in Belgrade, this time with the encouragement
of the Kâdîasker (chief judge) Ünsî Efendi (died: 1664). Tezkireci
recalculated all the solar, lunar, and planetary mean motions of the zīj
(originally compiled according to the meridian of Paris) and used the sexagesimal
system; Tezkireci further abbreviated the tables and arranged them according
to the signs of the zodiac (abrāj). He presented a copy of the
work to Kâdîasker Ünsî Efendi.
Later,
Tezkireci Köse would translate most of the introduction of the work from Arabic
into Turkish, leaving a few explanations in Arabic. This became the final
form of the work. In the introduction, after a brief account of the history
of astronomy, Tezkireci presents explanations, arranged in 24 subchapters
(taʿlīm),
which are followed by tables. In 1683, Cezmî Efendi (died: 1692), a judge
in Belgrade, found a copy of the Sajanjal that had probably been given
to Ünsî Efendi, and prepared another edition of the work.
From the
introduction to the Sajanjal, we learn from Tezkireci that he had written
another work about which he states: “For the proofs I compiled a different
and new treatise (risāla), containing all operations that are
easier [to use] than the Almagest, as well as compiled a work for ephemerides
that are used internationally and that are more graceful and succinct than
all [others]” (Istanbul, Kandilli Observatory Library, MS 403, fol. 2a).
Selected References
İhsanoğlu,
Ekmeleddin (1992). “The Introduction of Western Science to the Ottoman World:
A Case Study of Modern Astronomy (1660–1860).” In Transfer of Modern Science
and Technology to the Muslim World, edited by Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu,
pp. 67–120, esp. 69–76. Istanbul: IRCICA. (Reprinted in İhsanoğlu,
Science, Technology and Learning in the Ottoman Empire Aldershot: Ashgate,
2004, article II.)
İhsanoğlu,
Ekmeleddin et al. (1997). Osmanlı Astronomi Literatürü Tarihi
(OALT) (History of astronomy literature during the Ottoman period).
2 Vols. Istanbul: IRCICA.