Al-Zarqali

Timeline

1. c. 1029–1050Toledo · ToledoBorn in Toledo to a family linked to metalwork (naqqāsh, engraver). In his youth he studied astrolabes, armillary spheres, and brass working in taifa courts and artisan workshops, preparing for later improvements to observational instruments.
2. c. 1050–1070Toledo · ToledoEntered the circle of scholars organized by al-Sa'idi al-Andalusi in Toledo, responsible for making and calibrating instruments, and began independently recording data such as the precession of the solar apogee, correcting Ptolemaic parameters.
3. 1070–1085Toledo · ToledoLed or deeply participated in the Toledo Tables, widely adopted in the Latin world. Invented the ṣafīḥa (Latin saphea Arzachelis), a universal astrolabe plate adaptable to different latitudes, and argued for the slow motion of the solar apogee.
4. 1085–1100Córdoba · CórdobaAfter Alfonso VI captured Toledo, al-Zarqali moved to Córdoba to continue his work. Died c.1100. His tables and instruments entered Latin astronomy through the Toledo translation movement; Copernicus and others still cited the name Arzachel.