Maslama al-Majriti

Maslama al-Majriti
Maslama al-Majriti
Born	950; Madrid,Al-Andalus,nowSpain
Died	1007 (aged 57); Córdoba,Caliphate of Córdoba(nowCórdoba, Andalusia,Spain)
Occupation(s)	MuslimAstronomer,Alchemist,Mathematician,Scholar,Economist

Abu al-Qasim Maslama ibn Ahmad al-Majriti(Arabic:أبو القاسم مسلمة بن أحمد المجريطي:c. 950–1007), known or Latin asMethilem,was a MuslimArab^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]astronomer,alchemist,mathematician,economistandScholarinIslamic Spain,active during the reign ofAl-Hakam II.His full name is Abu 'l-Qāsim Maslama ibn Aḥmad al-Faraḍī al-Ḥāsib al-Maj̲rīṭī al-Qurṭubī al-Andalusī.^[5]

Achievements

Al-Majrīṭī took part in the translation ofPtolemy'sPlanisphaerium,improved existing translations of theAlmagest,introduced and improved the astronomical tables ofMuhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi,aided historians by working out tables to convert Persian dates toHijri years,and introduced the techniques ofsurveyingandtriangulation.^[6]

Al-Majrīṭī was one of the earliest alchemists to record the usage and experimentation ofmercury(II) oxide.

According toSaid al-Andalusi,he was the best mathematician and astronomer of his time inal-Andalus.^[7]^: 64He also introduced new surveying methods by working closely with his colleagueibn al-Saffar.He also wrote a book on taxation and the economy ofal-Andalus.^[6]

He edited and made changes to the parts of theEncyclopedia of the Brethren of Puritywhen it arrived in al-Andalus.^[8]^[9]

Al-Majrīṭī also predicted a futuristic process of scientific interchange and the advent of networks for scientific communication. He built a school of Astronomy and Mathematics and marked the beginning of organized scientific research in al-Andalus. Among his students wereIbn al-Saffar,Abu al-Saltandat-Turtushi.^[7]^: 64

Pseudo-Majrīṭī

From his date of death, inconsistencies result in the dating of two influential works in alchemy attributed to him,^[10]^[6]as either they were published long after his death, or they were the work of someone else claiming some of his glory: the latter is the current general belief.^[7]

The two works are the "Sage's Step/The Rank of the Wise" (Rutbat al-hakim,?1009) and thePicatrix.Both were translated into Latin, in a version somewhat bowdlerised by Christian dogma, in 1252 on the orders of KingAlfonso X of Castile;the original Arabic text dates probably from the middle of the eleventh century.

TheRutbatincludes alchemical formulae and instructions for purification of precious metals, and was also the first to note the principle ofconservation of mass,which he did in the course of his pathbreaking experiment onmercury(II) oxide:

I took natural quivering mercury, free from impurity, and placed it in a glass vessel shaped like an egg. This I put inside another vessel like a cooking pot, and set the whole apparatus over an extremely gentle fire. The outer pot was then in such a degree of heat that I could bear my hand upon it. I heated the apparatus day and night for forty days, after which I opened it. I found that the mercury (the original weight of which was a quarter of a pound) had been completely converted into red powder, soft to touch, the weight remaining as it was originally.^[11]

ThePicatrixis more concerned with advanced esotericism, principally astrology and talismanic magic, although he also goes into prophecy. The author considers this the advanced level of work, occasionally referring to theRutbatas the foundation text.

Supposed daughter

Several modern sources state that al-Majriti had a daughter,Fátima de Madrid,who was also an astronomer. However, the earliest known mention of her is a short biographical article on her in theEnciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana,published in the 1920s.^[12]

References

^Selin, Helaine (2008).Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures.Springer Science & Business Media.ISBN 978-1-4020-4559-2.
^Dodds, Jerrilynn Denise(1992).Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain.Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 15.ISBN 978-0-87099-637-5.
^King, David A.(1995).Islamic Mathematical Astronomy.Edinburgh University Press. p. 132.ISBN 978-1-85043-740-6.
^Goodman, Lenn E.(2009).Ibn Ṭufayl's Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān: a philosophical tale.University of Chicago Press. p. 17.ISBN 978-0-226-30310-9.
^Wiedemann, E. (1993) [1927]."al- Mad̲j̲rīṭī".In Houtsma, M. Th.; Arnold, T.W.; Basset, R.; Hartmann, R. (eds.).Encyclopaedia of Islam(1st ed.). Brill Publishers. p. 96.
^^a ^b ^cSarton, George(1927).Introduction to the History of Science.Vol. 1.Carnegie Institution for Science.pp. 668–9.
^^a ^b ^cAndalusī, Ṣāʻid ibn Aḥmad; Salem, Semaʻan I.; Kumar, Alok (1991).Science in the medieval world: book of the Categories of nations.University of Texas Press.p. 100.ISBN 978-0-292-71139-6.Retrieved25 May2013.
^H. Kahane et al. 'Picatrix and the talismans', inRomance Philology,xix, 1966, p 575; E.J. Holmyard, 'Maslama al-Majriti and the Rutba 'l-Hakim', inIsis,vi, 1924, p 294.
^One recent study suggests that the authorship of this work should be attributed to Maslama b. Qasim al-Qurtubi (d. 353/964). SeeMaribel Fierro,'Bāṭinism in Al-Andalus. Maslama b. Qāsim al-Qurṭubī (d. 353/964), Author of the "Rutbat al- Ḥakīm" and the "Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm (Picatrix)" ', inStudia Islamica,No. 84, (1996), pp. 87-112
^Holmyard, E.J. (1924). "Maslama al-Majriti and the Rutbatu'l-Hakim".Isis.6(3): 293–305.doi:10.1086/358238.S2CID 144175388.
^(Holmyard, 1924), p. 302.
^Marín, Manuela (2011). "Arabismo en Madrid". In Gil Flores, Daniel (ed.).De Maŷrit a Madrid. Madrid y los árabes, del siglo IX al siglo XXI.Madrid/Barcelona: Casa Árabe/Lunwerg. p. 191.ISBN 978-84-9785-707-9.

External links

Vernet, Juan (2008) [1970-80]."Al-Majrītī Abu 'L-Qāsim Maslama Ibn Aḥmad Al-Faraḍī".Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography.Encyclopedia.com.
Casulleras, Josep (2007)."Majrīṭī: Abū al-Qāsim Maslama ibn Aḥmad al-Ḥāsib al-Faraḍī al-Majrīṭī".In Thomas Hockey; et al. (eds.).The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers.New York: Springer. pp. 727–8.ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0.(PDF version)

[1] Selin, Helaine (2008).Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures.Springer Science & Business Media.ISBN 978-1-4020-4559-2.

[2] Dodds, Jerrilynn Denise(1992).Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain.Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 15.ISBN 978-0-87099-637-5.

[3] King, David A.(1995).Islamic Mathematical Astronomy.Edinburgh University Press. p. 132.ISBN 978-1-85043-740-6.

[4] Goodman, Lenn E.(2009).Ibn Ṭufayl's Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān: a philosophical tale.University of Chicago Press. p. 17.ISBN 978-0-226-30310-9.

[5] Wiedemann, E. (1993) [1927]."al- Mad̲j̲rīṭī".In Houtsma, M. Th.; Arnold, T.W.; Basset, R.; Hartmann, R. (eds.).Encyclopaedia of Islam(1st ed.). Brill Publishers. p. 96.

[sarton-6] Sarton, George(1927).Introduction to the History of Science.Vol. 1.Carnegie Institution for Science.pp. 668–9.

[AndalusīSalem1991-7] Andalusī, Ṣāʻid ibn Aḥmad; Salem, Semaʻan I.; Kumar, Alok (1991).Science in the medieval world: book of the Categories of nations.University of Texas Press.p. 100.ISBN 978-0-292-71139-6.Retrieved25 May2013.

[8] H. Kahane et al. 'Picatrix and the talismans', inRomance Philology,xix, 1966, p 575; E.J. Holmyard, 'Maslama al-Majriti and the Rutba 'l-Hakim', inIsis,vi, 1924, p 294.

[9] One recent study suggests that the authorship of this work should be attributed to Maslama b. Qasim al-Qurtubi (d. 353/964). SeeMaribel Fierro,'Bāṭinism in Al-Andalus. Maslama b. Qāsim al-Qurṭubī (d. 353/964), Author of the "Rutbat al- Ḥakīm" and the "Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm (Picatrix)" ', inStudia Islamica,No. 84, (1996), pp. 87-112

[10] Holmyard, E.J. (1924). "Maslama al-Majriti and the Rutbatu'l-Hakim".Isis.6(3): 293–305.doi:10.1086/358238.S2CID 144175388.

[11] (Holmyard, 1924), p. 302.

[12] Marín, Manuela (2011). "Arabismo en Madrid". In Gil Flores, Daniel (ed.).De Maŷrit a Madrid. Madrid y los árabes, del siglo IX al siglo XXI.Madrid/Barcelona: Casa Árabe/Lunwerg. p. 191.ISBN 978-84-9785-707-9.

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Authority control databases
International	FAST ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	Spain France BnF data Catalonia Germany Israel United States Sweden Czech Republic Netherlands Poland
People	Deutsche Biographie
Other	IdRef İslâm Ansiklopedisi

Achievements

Pseudo-Majrīṭī

Supposed daughter

See also

References

External links