Born : 950, Madrid, Al-Andalus, now Spain
Died : 1007 (aged 57), Córdoba, Caliphate of Córdoba,now Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain
Occupation
: Muslim Astronomer, Chemist, Mathematician, Scholar, Economist.
Maslama al-Majriti or Abu
al-Qasim al-Qurtubi al-Majriti (full name: Abu ’l-Qāsim Maslama ibn
Aḥmad al-Faraḍī al-Ḥāsib al-Maj̲rīṭī al-Qurṭubī al-Andalusī; Arabic: أبو القاسم مسلمة بن
أحمد المجريطي, Latin: Methilem) (c. 950 in Madrid – 1007 in Córdoba) was
an Arab Muslim
astronomer, chemist, mathematician, economist and Scholar in Islamic
Spain, active during the reign of Al-Hakam II.
Achievements
Al-Majrīṭī took part in the translation of Ptolemy's Planisphaerium,
improved existing translations of the Almagest, introduced and
improved the astronomical tables of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, aided
historians by working out tables to convert Persian dates to Hijri years,
and introduced the techniques of surveying and triangulation.
Al-Majrīṭī was one of
the earliest alchemists to record
the usage and
experimentation of mercury(II) oxide.
According to Said al-Andalusi, he was the best mathematician and
astronomer of his time in al-Andalus. He also introduced new
surveying methods by working closely with his colleague ibn al-Saffar. He
also wrote a book on taxation and the economy of al-Andalus.
He edited and made changes to the parts of the Encyclopedia of the
Brethren of Purity when it arrived in al-Andalus.
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 were ibn al-Saffar, Abu
al-Salt and at-Turtushi.
Pseudo-Majrīṭī
From his date of death, inconsistencies result in the dating of two
influential works in early chemistry attributed to him, 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.
The two works are the "Sage's Step/The Rank of the Wise" (Rutbat
al-hakim, ?1009) and the Picatrix. Both were translated into
Latin, in a version somewhat bowdlerised by Christian dogma, in 1252 on the
orders of King Alfonso X of Castile; the original Arabic text dates
probably from the middle of the eleventh century.
The Rutbat includes alchemical formulae and instructions
for purification of precious metals, and was also the first to note the
principle of conservation of mass, which he did in the course of his
pathbreaking experiment on mercury(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.
The Picatrix is 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 the Rutbat
as the foundation text.
Supposed daughter
Several modern sources state that al-Majriti had a daughter, Fatima of
Madrid, who was also an astronomer. However, the earliest known mention of her
is a short biographical article on her in the Enciclopedia universal ilustrada
europeo-americana, published in the 1920s.
Sumber
Labels:
Mathematician
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