Quṭb al-Dīn Shīrāzī and His Observations on Ptolemy’s Lunar Model

Quṭb al-Dīn Shīrāzī (d. 1311 CE) completed his astronomical text Ikhtiyārāt-i muẓaffarī in 1282 CE. A richly detailed work composed in Persian, the Ikhtiyārāt covers much of the material appearing in his Arabic text Nihāyat al-idrāk fī dirāyat al-aflāk (completed in 1281 CE.). Intriguingly, Shīrāzī did include in the Ikhtiyārāt material that is missing from its companion. One such passage treats the concept of the prosneusis point as defined for the Ptolemaic lunar model in the Almagest. An examination of Shīrāzī’s discussion of the prosneusis point, both in comparison to related discussions on the physics of planetary orbs, and in the context of Shīrāzī’s more general cosmological discussions in other parts of the Ikhtiyārāt, offers a window to Shīrāzī’s approach to theoretical astronomy, while highlighting, as well, his approach to the authoring of technical texts for astronomy students.

Kaveh Niazi studied electrical engineering and physics at the University of California, where he received his Ph.D. After a decade as a technologist in Silicon Valley, he attended Columbia University, where he received a Ph.D. in the history of science, in 2011.  He has published his research on the astronomy of the Islamic world under the title “Qutb al-Din Shirazi and the Configuration of the Heavens” and “A Princely Pandect on Astronomy.” Since graduating from Columbia University, he has taught Arabic, Persian, and math. He teaches math, physics, and Arabic at Stanford Online High School.

This event is co-sponsored by The Open Cultural Astronomy Forum and the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies at Stanford University.

The Open Cultural Astronomy Forum (OCAF) is an international initiative embracing cultural diversity in astronomy. The OCAF seminar series covers a variety of topics, including pre-modern astronomy knowledge from diverse societies. Seminars are typically held on the first Thursday of each month, with varying frequency. More information can be found at https://openculturalastronomyforum.github.io/.

If you need a disability-related accommodation for this event, please contact us at iranianstudies [at] stanford.edu (iranianstudies[at]stanford[dot]edu).  Requests should be made by March 6, 2024.