Preparation for Astronomy: ‘Alī Qushjī’s Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i Ḥisāb

Alī Qūshjī (d. 879/1474), a fifteenth-century astronomer, mathematician, theologian, and linguist, played a key role in the formation of Ottoman scientific life. This role has been analyzed in the history of science and in the history of thought more broadly. Upon Sultan Mehmed II’s invitation, he c...

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Main Author: Zehra Bilgin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: İstanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi Bilim Tarihi Enstitüsü 2025-05-01
Series:Nazariyat: Journal for the History of Islamic Philosophy and Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://nazariyat.org/content/5-sayilar/22-cilt-11-sayi-1/3-heyet-i-lmine-hazirlik-ali-kuscu-nun-risale-der-i-lm-i-hisab-eseri/3_zehra_bilgin_en.pdf
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author Zehra Bilgin
author_facet Zehra Bilgin
author_sort Zehra Bilgin
collection DOAJ
description Alī Qūshjī (d. 879/1474), a fifteenth-century astronomer, mathematician, theologian, and linguist, played a key role in the formation of Ottoman scientific life. This role has been analyzed in the history of science and in the history of thought more broadly. Upon Sultan Mehmed II’s invitation, he contributed to the formation of the Fatih Semâniye and Ayasofya Madrasas by transferring the scholarly accumulation of the Samarkand mathematics- astronomy school to Istanbul, and his works were widely used in Ottoman intellectual circles for centuries. Risāla dar ʻIlm-i Hisāb, which is the first of two mathematical works by Alī Qūshjī, was written in Persian, probably in Samarkand, sometime before 861/1456. This work has a remarkable place in the Islamic mathematical tradition given its numerous copies, its widespread distribution in Iran and Anatolia, and its being used as a textbook for centuries. In this work, an analysis based on several copies of the work will be shared, correcting outdated information in the literature and clarifying the place and value of Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i Hisāb in terms of the history of science. As an example of the work’s content, the method of finding the quadratic root of integers will be examined and the proof of the method will be given.
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spelling doaj-art-241e69ca5a5f40c690f8e899077503db2025-08-20T02:01:29Zengİstanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi Bilim Tarihi EnstitüsüNazariyat: Journal for the History of Islamic Philosophy and Sciences2547-94152025-05-011116510010.12658/Nazariyat.11.1.M0249enPreparation for Astronomy: ‘Alī Qushjī’s Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i ḤisābZehra Bilgin0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6147-3018İstanbul Medeniyet UnviersityAlī Qūshjī (d. 879/1474), a fifteenth-century astronomer, mathematician, theologian, and linguist, played a key role in the formation of Ottoman scientific life. This role has been analyzed in the history of science and in the history of thought more broadly. Upon Sultan Mehmed II’s invitation, he contributed to the formation of the Fatih Semâniye and Ayasofya Madrasas by transferring the scholarly accumulation of the Samarkand mathematics- astronomy school to Istanbul, and his works were widely used in Ottoman intellectual circles for centuries. Risāla dar ʻIlm-i Hisāb, which is the first of two mathematical works by Alī Qūshjī, was written in Persian, probably in Samarkand, sometime before 861/1456. This work has a remarkable place in the Islamic mathematical tradition given its numerous copies, its widespread distribution in Iran and Anatolia, and its being used as a textbook for centuries. In this work, an analysis based on several copies of the work will be shared, correcting outdated information in the literature and clarifying the place and value of Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i Hisāb in terms of the history of science. As an example of the work’s content, the method of finding the quadratic root of integers will be examined and the proof of the method will be given.https://nazariyat.org/content/5-sayilar/22-cilt-11-sayi-1/3-heyet-i-lmine-hazirlik-ali-kuscu-nun-risale-der-i-lm-i-hisab-eseri/3_zehra_bilgin_en.pdfalī qūshjīhistory of mathematicsottomansarithmeticrisāla dar ‘ilm-i hisāb
spellingShingle Zehra Bilgin
Preparation for Astronomy: ‘Alī Qushjī’s Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i Ḥisāb
Nazariyat: Journal for the History of Islamic Philosophy and Sciences
alī qūshjī
history of mathematics
ottomans
arithmetic
risāla dar ‘ilm-i hisāb
title Preparation for Astronomy: ‘Alī Qushjī’s Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i Ḥisāb
title_full Preparation for Astronomy: ‘Alī Qushjī’s Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i Ḥisāb
title_fullStr Preparation for Astronomy: ‘Alī Qushjī’s Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i Ḥisāb
title_full_unstemmed Preparation for Astronomy: ‘Alī Qushjī’s Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i Ḥisāb
title_short Preparation for Astronomy: ‘Alī Qushjī’s Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i Ḥisāb
title_sort preparation for astronomy ali qushji s risala dar ilm i hisab
topic alī qūshjī
history of mathematics
ottomans
arithmetic
risāla dar ‘ilm-i hisāb
url https://nazariyat.org/content/5-sayilar/22-cilt-11-sayi-1/3-heyet-i-lmine-hazirlik-ali-kuscu-nun-risale-der-i-lm-i-hisab-eseri/3_zehra_bilgin_en.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT zehrabilgin preparationforastronomyaliqushjisrisaladarilmihisab