Al-Jaghmını’s Short Tract on the Volumes of the Planetary and Stellar Bodies: Editio princeps and Translation

This article examines and provides an Arabic critical edition and English translation of the short tract attributed to Mahmūd al-Jaghmīnī (fl. 600/1200) that deals with the volumes of the celestial bodies and that may have been intended as a supplement to al-Mulakhkhas, his introduction to Ptolemaic...

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Main Author: Sally P. Ragep
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: İstanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi Bilim Tarihi Enstitüsü 2023-11-01
Series:Nazariyat: Journal for the History of Islamic Philosophy and Sciences
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Online Access:https://nazariyat.org/content/5-sayilar/19-cilt-9-sayi-2/4-sally-p-ragep/4_sally_ragep_en.pdf
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author Sally P. Ragep
author_facet Sally P. Ragep
author_sort Sally P. Ragep
collection DOAJ
description This article examines and provides an Arabic critical edition and English translation of the short tract attributed to Mahmūd al-Jaghmīnī (fl. 600/1200) that deals with the volumes of the celestial bodies and that may have been intended as a supplement to al-Mulakhkhas, his introduction to Ptolemaic theoretical astronomy. The work focuses on the sizes of the planetary bodies without addressing distances. The reader is provided with various lists such as which planetary bodies are above and below the Sun, the rounded volumes of bodies compared to the Earth, their sizes in descending order according to these volumes, and the body size of each measured in cubic parasangs (this being a mathematical calculation based on a derived parasang value for the Earth’s volume and the stated relative volume for each body). No sources are mentioned in the witnesses; however, Jaghmīnī evidently chose modified Ptolemaic values, despite the availability of both the Almagest and Planetary Hypotheses in the 13th century. Whether Jaghmīnī considered intermediary sources to be authentic Ptolemaic values or not is unclear. Three of the four manuscript witnesses used for the edition also include a brief additional section on measurement, which is an excerpt from Sinān Pāshā’s 15th-century gloss on Qāḍīzāde’s commentary on al-Mulakhkhas.
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publisher İstanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi Bilim Tarihi Enstitüsü
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series Nazariyat: Journal for the History of Islamic Philosophy and Sciences
spelling doaj-art-07d794a2b30c41f793ba85588e8aa99c2025-08-20T03:17:23Zengİstanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi Bilim Tarihi EnstitüsüNazariyat: Journal for the History of Islamic Philosophy and Sciences2547-94152023-11-019211314510.12658/Nazariyat.9.2.M0191enAl-Jaghmını’s Short Tract on the Volumes of the Planetary and Stellar Bodies: Editio princeps and TranslationSally P. Ragep0McGill UniversityThis article examines and provides an Arabic critical edition and English translation of the short tract attributed to Mahmūd al-Jaghmīnī (fl. 600/1200) that deals with the volumes of the celestial bodies and that may have been intended as a supplement to al-Mulakhkhas, his introduction to Ptolemaic theoretical astronomy. The work focuses on the sizes of the planetary bodies without addressing distances. The reader is provided with various lists such as which planetary bodies are above and below the Sun, the rounded volumes of bodies compared to the Earth, their sizes in descending order according to these volumes, and the body size of each measured in cubic parasangs (this being a mathematical calculation based on a derived parasang value for the Earth’s volume and the stated relative volume for each body). No sources are mentioned in the witnesses; however, Jaghmīnī evidently chose modified Ptolemaic values, despite the availability of both the Almagest and Planetary Hypotheses in the 13th century. Whether Jaghmīnī considered intermediary sources to be authentic Ptolemaic values or not is unclear. Three of the four manuscript witnesses used for the edition also include a brief additional section on measurement, which is an excerpt from Sinān Pāshā’s 15th-century gloss on Qāḍīzāde’s commentary on al-Mulakhkhas.https://nazariyat.org/content/5-sayilar/19-cilt-9-sayi-2/4-sally-p-ragep/4_sally_ragep_en.pdfjaghmīnīislamic astronomydistances and sizes of the celestial bodiesplanetary volumesptolemaic astronomyplanetary hypothesesalmagestmeasurementqāḍīzādesinān pāshā
spellingShingle Sally P. Ragep
Al-Jaghmını’s Short Tract on the Volumes of the Planetary and Stellar Bodies: Editio princeps and Translation
Nazariyat: Journal for the History of Islamic Philosophy and Sciences
jaghmīnī
islamic astronomy
distances and sizes of the celestial bodies
planetary volumes
ptolemaic astronomy
planetary hypotheses
almagest
measurement
qāḍīzāde
sinān pāshā
title Al-Jaghmını’s Short Tract on the Volumes of the Planetary and Stellar Bodies: Editio princeps and Translation
title_full Al-Jaghmını’s Short Tract on the Volumes of the Planetary and Stellar Bodies: Editio princeps and Translation
title_fullStr Al-Jaghmını’s Short Tract on the Volumes of the Planetary and Stellar Bodies: Editio princeps and Translation
title_full_unstemmed Al-Jaghmını’s Short Tract on the Volumes of the Planetary and Stellar Bodies: Editio princeps and Translation
title_short Al-Jaghmını’s Short Tract on the Volumes of the Planetary and Stellar Bodies: Editio princeps and Translation
title_sort al jaghmini s short tract on the volumes of the planetary and stellar bodies editio princeps and translation
topic jaghmīnī
islamic astronomy
distances and sizes of the celestial bodies
planetary volumes
ptolemaic astronomy
planetary hypotheses
almagest
measurement
qāḍīzāde
sinān pāshā
url https://nazariyat.org/content/5-sayilar/19-cilt-9-sayi-2/4-sally-p-ragep/4_sally_ragep_en.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT sallypragep aljaghmınısshorttractonthevolumesoftheplanetaryandstellarbodieseditioprincepsandtranslation