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Islamic Astrolabe

Type Object Region Islamic world Time c. 750

The Islamic astrolabe was an astronomical observation and calculation instrument that matured in the Islamic world during the 8th–11th centuries, inh…

Timeline

  1. c. 750–850Baghdad · BaghdadThe Abbasid House of Wisdom promoted the study of translated Greek astronomical texts; scholars such as al-Fazari improved the planispheric astrolabe, introducing Arabic scales and star catalogs and laying the foundation of Islamic astrolabe technology.
  2. 1000–1020Isfahan · IsfahanIn the early 11th century, craftsmen in Persia and al-Andalus produced highly refined brass astrolabes, while scholars such as al-Biruni deepened astronomical theory in the same period; between 1011 and 1020 astrolabes circulated widely among major academies and courts of the Islamic world.
  3. 1100–1600Mediterranean world · Iberian PeninsulaThe Islamic astrolabe reached Latin Europe through translation and trade, advancing medieval European astronomy and navigational instruments, and remained an important observational tool until the age of the telescope.

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