Avicenna's Addendum to His Recension of Ptolemy's "Almagest" / Sajjad Nikfahm-Khubravan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nikfahm-Khubravan, Sajjad, author.

Series:

Scientia Graeco-Arabica Series

Scientia Graeco-Arabica Series ; v.41

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ptolemy, active 2nd century. Almagest.

Ptolemy.

Astronomy--History.

Astronomy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (188 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Berlin, Germany : Walter de Gruyter GmbH, [2025]

Language Note:

Original Arabic text with English translation.

Summary:

The Islamic astronomical tradition greatly benefited from the many works produced in different ancient cultures, as well as the new empirical and theoretical approaches that led to advancements in various aspects of astronomy. Nevertheless, a significant portion of the history of this tradition, especially its formative period, was lost or remains undiscovered. Avicenna’s addendum to his recension of Ptolemy’s Almagest, which he incorporated into his main philosophical summa, Kitāb al-Shifāʾ, helps recover parts of this otherwise lost history. In the addendum, Avicenna took a historiographical approach and reported the developments in the science of astronomy that occurred from Ptolemy’s time until his own. As such, the treatise also sheds light on the sources that were possibly available to Avicenna. However, because Avicenna did not explicitly indicate his sources, and because the text’s structure is complex and language condensed, analyzing the treatise is a rather challenging task. The present monograph offers a critical edition of Avicenna’s addendum, complete with an English translation and commentary, to assist readers in better understanding and appreciating this valuable contribution to the history of Islamic astronomy.

Contents:

Intro

Preface

Acknowledgements

List of Key Figures

Contents

List of Tables

List of Figures

Introduction

1 Avicenna's Addendum in Context

From Ptolemy to Avicenna

2 The Dynamics of Heavenly Motion

3 Ibn Sinān's Hypothesis for the Variable Obliquity of the Ecliptic

4 Variable Obliquity or Variable Solar Latitude?

5 The Sine Theorem

6 The Solar Year and the Motion of Solar Apogee

7 The Size of the Sun

8 al-Nayrīzī and Ptolemy's Planetary Hypotheses

9 The Oscillating Eccentrics of the Lower Planets

10 The Oscillating Epicycles

11 Ptolemaic Planetary Parameters and New Observations

al-Maqāla al-muḍāfa

12 Introduction to the Critical Edition

13 Text and Translation

Glossary

Bibliographical References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9783111332970

3111332977