Jaghmīnī's Mulakhkhaṣ: An Islamic Introduction to Ptolemaic Astronomy

This book provides theonly critical edition and English translation of Maa mA d al-JaghmA nA 's al-Mulakhkhaa fA al-hayE a al-basA a a, the most widely circulated Arabictreatise on Ptolemaic astronomy ever written. Composed in the early 13th century, this introductory textbook played a crucial role in theteaching, dissemination, and institutional instruction of Islamic astronomywell into the 19th century (and beyond). Establishing the base textis a fundamental prerequisite for gaining insights into what was considered an elementaryastronomical textbook in Islam and also for understanding the extensivecommentary tradition that built upon it. Within this volume, the Mulakhkhaa issituated within the broader context of the genre of literature termed E ilmal-hayE a, which has become the subject of intensive research over the past25 years. In so doing, it provides a survey of summary accounts oftheoretical astronomy of JaghmA nA 's predecessors, both Ancient and Islamic,which could have served as potential sources for the Mulakhkhaa . JaghmA nA 's dates (which until now remained unsettled) are established, and itis definitively shown that he composed not only the Mulakhkhaa butalso other scientific treatises, including the popular medical treatise al-QA nA nA a, during a period that has been deemed one ofscientific decline and stagnation in Islamic lands. The book will be ofparticular interest to scholars engaged in the study of Islamic theoreticalastronomy, but is accessible to a general readership interested in learningwhat constituted an introduction to Ptolemaic astronomy in Islamic lands.