Islamic Astrolabe

Timeline

1. c. 701–720Syria–Iraq · Middle EastArabic scholars came into contact with the Ptolemaic tradition and Hellenistic astrolabe designs through Syria and elsewhere, and began using the planar astrolabe for astronomical observation and calendar computation.
2. c. 720–750Damascus · SyriaDamascus, the Umayyad capital, became one of the centers of astrolabe manufacture and use; the instrument was employed to determine prayer times and for astronomical teaching.
3. c. 750–800Baghdad · IraqAfter the Abbasid dynasty established its capital at Baghdad, the astrolabe received systematic improvements in scales and projection methods within the scholarly environment of the House of Wisdom, and spread through trade to the wider Islamic world.