page_title: Ulugh Beg Observatory
section_title: Scientific atmosphere
hierarchical_section_title: Ulugh Beg Observatory / History / Scientific atmosphere
caption_attribution_description: English: Stork nests on unidentified religious building, probably a mosque in Bukhara. Early color photograph from Russia, created by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii as part of his work to document the Russian Empire from 1904 to 1916. Français&#160;: Monument religieux, probablement une mosquée à Boukhara. Photographie de Sergueï Prokoudine-Gorski, vers 1911.
context_page_description: The Ulugh Beg Observatory is an observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Built in the 1420s by the Timurid astronomer Ulugh Beg, it is considered by scholars to have been one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world. Islamic astronomers who worked at the observatory include Al-Kashi, Ali Qushji, and Ulugh Beg himself. The observatory was destroyed in 1449 and rediscovered in 1908.
context_section_description: Jamshid Al-Kashi, a 15th century astronomer and mathematician, is known to have relocated to Samarkand to interact with the scientific processes taking place there. Having received an invitation from Ulugh Beg, Al-Kashi left his native land of Kashan in north central Iran and went to Samarkand. A letter that Al-Kashi wrote to his father during his stay in Samarkand has been translated by Kennedy (1960) and Sayılı (1960). This letter, written in Persian, has shaped the modern view of Samarkand activities substantially despite its lack of information about scientific activities that were taking place at the observatory. However, a new letter written by Al-Kashi to his father has been found in Iran, and the translation of this letter by Bagheri sheds more light on the scientific atmosphere of Samarkand in particular and reduces the ambiguity of certain elements in the first letter by virtue of their overlapping parts.
  In the letter, Al-Kashi describes a problem about astrology that he discussed with his colleagues. The translation, ‘‘[Let us suppose that] the Sun is, e.g., in 10 degrees of Aquarius, with a certain altitude, and the ascendent of time is a certain degree [of the ecliptic]; then [the ascendent of the time when] its [i.e., the Sun’s] altitude [is the maximum altitude of the ecliptic at that moment] is a quadrant [in advance of the Sun’s position], i.e., in 10 degrees (20) of Taurus", reveals that perhaps Samarkand’s scientific atmosphere was more geared towards astrology than previously believed given Krisciunas’s paper on the “Legacy of Ulugh Beg” where astrology has an extremely limited discussion. Astrology, only mentioned once in passing in Krisciunas’s paper on the scientific atmosphere of Ulugh Beg, was perhaps a more integrated element of the scientific discourse in the Samarkand world given the new, aforementioned letter.
  Per the letter of Al-Kashi to his father, an innovation was created with Ulugh Beg. The Fakhrı sextant, stood on top of a rock into which some of it was carved, so the edifice would not be tall given the soft bricks of the area. Al-Kashi compares this to Maragha, saying that the sextant is positioned higher there but also notes the flat roof present in Samarkand should facilitate scientific improvement given the fact that “instruments may be placed on it”. This information, about the sextants in Maragha is contradictory to other sources that state there were no sextants at Maragha. This contradiction was revealed by the translation.
  Moreover, the scientific atmosphere of Samarkand was one of general isolation because Al-Kashi describes the stout adherence to Ptolemy’s methodologies and lack of awareness for happenings of the Maragha observatory. The lack of awareness and strict adherence to prior methods by Ulugh Beg himself reveals the perhaps provincial nature of their studies. However, this perceived closed-mindedness was alleviated by the increasing diversity of scientists and students that were invited to the observatory. An evaluation of the errors made in Ptolemy at Samarkand by Shevchenko further confirms the effects of Samarkand’s initial isolated nature.
  According to Bageri’s translation of Al-Kashi’s letter, a lot of teaching was going on there strictly from memory by teachers who had learned from astronomers in Herat. Moreover, at the time Al-Kashi wrote the letter, three of the teachers were well versed in Islamic jurisprudence: Qazızada, Maulana Muhammad Khanı, and Maulana Abu’l-Fath. The letter also states that Ulugh Beg did not show up to teach class often.
  Maulana Abu’l-Fath stated that he was intellectually underneath Maulana Muhammad Khanı, who was only occasionally present in the court meetings or observatory meetings, and Qazızada, who was always practicing his craft. "To do them justice, [I must admit that] (30) when there is a discussion in their meeting, I dare not intervene, all the more so because His Majesty knows this art well and [therefore] one cannot impudently claim competence."
  Ulugh Beg fostered an environment consisting of the some of the best astrono
caption: Ulugh Beg Madrasah was an important centre of astronomical study in Central Asia
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