Nastulus

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh Nasṭūlus
Scientific career
Influences al-Khwarizmi, al-Battani
Influenced Mariam al-Asturlabi

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh Nasṭūlus (or Basṭūlus) was a notable 10th-century astronomer and astrolabist. He is known for making the oldest surviving astrolabe, dated 927/928 AD.[1] Another partially preserved astrolabe that bears his signature, "Made by Nasṭūlus in the year 315" of hijra (925 AD), contains the earliest known geographical list on an instrument.[1][2]

Very little is known about his life. His full name, based on a testimony given by a contemporary astronomer Abu Sa'id al-Sijzi, indicates that he was a Muslim.[1] But some modern historians have suggested that his foreign last name may indicate that he was Greek or Nestorian.[1]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rius 2007.
  2. ↑ King, David A. (1999). World Maps for Finding the Direction and Distance of Mecca: Examples of Innovation and Tradition in Islamic Science. BRILL. p. 87. ISBN 978-90-04-11367-1.

References

  • Rius, Mònica (2007). "Nasṭūlus: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh". In Thomas Hockey; et al. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer. pp. 822–3. ISBN 9780387310220. (PDF version)


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