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Islamic Astrolabe Craftsmanship

Type Object Region West Asia Time 800–1700

Islamic astrolabe craftsmanship was the product of Islamic astronomy and precision metalworking, centered on brass casting, scale engraving, and asse…

Timeline

  1. 1431–1435Bursa · Ottoman EmpireCraftsmen in the Bursa and Edirne regions of the Ottoman Empire continued the Islamic astrolabe-making tradition, producing portable astrolabes by hammering brass plates, engraving graduated scales, and assembling pivots for scholars and court observatories.
  2. 1436–1440Samarra · MesopotamiaAstrolabe workshops in Mesopotamia and Persia were still actively producing in the 1430s; the craft encompassed calibrating angular scales and making zodiac and horizon coordinate plates, with the technology spreading across the Islamic world through artisan guilds and scholarly writings.

Sources