Ibn al-Saffar
Encyclopedia
Abu al‐Qasim Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar al‐Ghafiqī ibn al-Saffar al‐Andalusi (Born in Cordoba
, died in the year 1035 at Denia
), Ibn al-Saffar (literally: son of the coppersmith
). He was a close colleague and astronomer at the school founded by Al-Majriti in Cordoba
. His most well known work was a treatise on the Astrolabe
, the work was still published until the 15th century and influenced the work of Kepler, he also writes a commentary on the Zij al-Sindhind
, and measured the coordinates to Mecca
.
David A. King, historian of Islamic instrumentation, describes the universal astrolobe desgined by Ibn al-Sarraj in the early 14th-century as "the most sophisticated astronomical instrument from the entire medieval and Renaissance periods".
He later influenced the works of Abu al-Salt
.
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, died in the year 1035 at Denia
Dénia
Dénia is a city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, the judicial seat of the comarca of Marina Alta...
), Ibn al-Saffar (literally: son of the coppersmith
Coppersmith
A coppersmith, also known as a redsmith, is a person who makes artifacts from copper. The term redsmith comes from the colour of copper....
). He was a close colleague and astronomer at the school founded by Al-Majriti in Cordoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
. His most well known work was a treatise on the Astrolabe
Astrolabe
An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and longitude, surveying, triangulation, and to...
, the work was still published until the 15th century and influenced the work of Kepler, he also writes a commentary on the Zij al-Sindhind
Zij al-Sindhind
Zīj al-Sindhind is a work consisting of approximately 37 chapters on calendar and astronomical calculations and 116 tables with calendar, astronomical and astrological data, as well as a table of sine values. This is the first of many Arabic Zij's based on the Indian astronomical methods known as...
, and measured the coordinates to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
.
David A. King, historian of Islamic instrumentation, describes the universal astrolobe desgined by Ibn al-Sarraj in the early 14th-century as "the most sophisticated astronomical instrument from the entire medieval and Renaissance periods".
He later influenced the works of Abu al-Salt
Abu al-Salt
Abū al‐Ṣalt, Umayya ibn ʿAbd al‐ʿAzīz ibn Abī al‐Ṣalt al‐Dānī al‐Andalusī was an Andalusian polymath whose works on astronomical instruments were read both in the Islamic world and Europe. He also worked as a physician, a teacher of alchemy, and wrote treatises on medicine, philosophy, music, and...
.