Arabic astrolabe

Timeline

1. c. 900–1000Baghdad · IraqScholars of the House of Wisdom systematically organized Ptolemaic astronomy; astrolabe scales, projection methods, and star catalogs were perfected, making it a foundational tool of astronomical education in the Islamic world.
2. c. 1150–1185Toledo · SpainCraftsmen in Toledo and elsewhere cast astrolabes in brass with gold and silver inlay, achieving precision sufficient for determining the qibla and observing latitude, and influenced Christian Europe through the translation movement.
3. c. 1186–1190Cairo · EgyptThe Cairo observatory and mosques continued to use astrolabes for timekeeping and calendar calculation; surviving astrolabes of this period commonly bear the maker's signature and Hijri date, reflecting the peak of Islamic metalwork.