A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories During the Golden Age of Islam

by George Saliba

A History of Arabic Astronomy is a comprehensive survey of Arabic planetary theories from the eleventh century to the fifteenth century based on recent manuscript discoveries. George Saliba argues that the medieval period, often called a period of decline in Islamic intellectual history, was scientifically speaking, a very productive period in which astronomical theories of the highest order were produced.
Based on the most recent manuscript discoveries, this book broadly surveys developments in Arabic planetary theories from the eleventh century to the fifteenth. Taken together, the primary texts and essays assembled in this book reverse traditional beliefs about the rise and fall of Arabic science, demonstrating how the traditional “age of decline” in Arabic science was indeed a “Golden Age” as far as astronomy was concerned.
Some of the techniques and mathematical theorems developed during this period were identical to those which were employed by Copernicus in developing his own non-Ptolemaic astronomy. Significantly, this volume will shed much-needed light on the conditions under which such theories were developed in medieval Islam. It clearly demonstrates the distinction that was drawn between astronomical activities and astrological ones, and reveals, contrary to common perceptions about medieval Islam, the accommodation that was obviously reached between religion and astronomy, and the degree to which astronomical planetary theories were supported, and at times even financed, by the religious community itself. This in stark contrast to the systematic attacks leveled by the same religious community against astrology.
To students of European intellectual history, the book reveals the technical relationship between the astronomy of the Arabs and that of Copernicus. Saliba’s definitive work will be of particular interest to historians of Arabic science as well as to historians of medieval and Renaissance European science.

Genres: History, Science, Islam, History Of Science, Middle East, Astronomy

352 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1994

About the author

George Saliba is a Professor of Arabic and Islamic Science at the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University, New York, United States, where he has been working since 1979.

Saliba received his Bachelor of Science (1963) in mathematics and a Master of Arts (1965) from the American University of Beirut; he earned a Master of Science degree in Semitic languages and a doctorate in Islamic sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. He has received a number of awards and honors, including the History of Science Prize given by the Third World Academy of Science in 1993, and the History of Astronomy Prize in 1996 from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science.

In his website he writes about himself: "I study the development of scientific ideas from late antiquity till early modern times, with a special focus on the various planetary theories that were developed within the Islamic civilization and the impact of such theories on early European astronomy."

Saliba has been doing research about possible transfer of mathematical and astronomical knowledge from the Islamic world to Europe during the 15-16th centuries.

In a documentary Columbia Unbecoming he, together with some other Columbia professors, including Joseph Massad, was accused of presenting anti-Israel viewpoints in their classes and stifling the dissenting opinions.[1] Saliba rejected the accusation and published a rebuttal in Columbia Spectator (November 3, 2004) to that effect

Reviews

[AC · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine scholar, a student of Neugebauer.