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MAḤMŪD IBN MUḤAMMAD IBN ʿUMAR AL-
JAGHMĪNĪ – THE PHILOSOPHER AND FOLLOWER OF CLAUDIUS
PTOLOMY FROM TRANSOXIANA
Kholboeva Raykhona Abdulazisovna
Doctoral student of Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies
e-mail:rayxona12mim@gmail.com
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14524887
Annotation:
This article discusses the influence of the scientific legacy of
the ancient philosopher Claudius Ptolemy on the astronomical views of the
natural scientist and philosopher Maḥmūd ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar al-
Jaghmīnī from Transoxiana.
Keywords:
Universe, cosmos, celestial div, theoretical astronomy,
“Almagest”, “Mulahhas fi-al hay’a”.
Annotatsiya: Ushbu maqola movaraunnahrlik tabiatshunos faylasuf Al
Chagminiy astronomik qarashlariga antik davr mutafakkiri Ptolemey ilmiy
merosini ta’siri o‘rganiladi.
Kalit so‘zlar:
Koinot, fazo, samoviy suv, nazariy astronomlar, “Almagest”,
“Mulahhas fi-al hai’a”.
Аннотация:
В данной статье рассматривается влияние научного
наследия Птолемея на астрономические взгляды Аль Чагмини,
натуралиста и философа из Моварауннахара.
Ключевые слова: Вселенная, космос, небесное тело, теоретическая
астрономия, “Альмагест”, “Мулаххас фи-аль хая”.
Maḥmūd ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar al-Jaghmīnī was an esteemed scholar of the
12th–13th centuries who lived and worked in Mavarannahr. According to
sources, the village of Chaghmin in Khwārizm is indicated as the place of birth a
natural philosopher and follower of prominent figures such as Abu Rayhan
Beruni, Muhammad al-Khwarizmi, and al-Farghani, he contributed significantly
to the development of science in the Islamic world. Sources identify his
birthplace as the village of Jaghmīnī in Khwārizm in Central Asia.His renowned
work, Al-Mulakhkhas fi-al-hay’a, is dated 618 H/1221 CE according to a
manuscript preserved in the Leiden Library [1].
Al-Jaghmīnī's lifetime coincided with the final phase of the political, economic,
and intellectual prosperity of the Khwārizm Shāhs dynasty under the
Anushteginids (470-628 H [1077-1231 CE]). He is known to have taught the
exact sciences at madrasas in Gurganj, the capital of the Khwrāzm Shāh state [2].
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His prolific writings include works such as “Fi Quwa al-Qawakib wa-Ha'afiha”
(On the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Planets), a concise treatise on
astrology; “al-Mulakhkhaṣ fī al-hayʾa al-basīṭa” (
صخلملا
يف
ةئيهلا
); “Election A
Treatise on the Role of the Number Nine in Mathematics” (
ةلاسر
باسحلا
عستلا
),
“Commentary on Mathematical Methods in Matters of Inheritance Division” (
حرش
قيرت
باسحلا
يف
لئاسم
ةيصولا
) and “Talhis Kitabi Uqlidis” (A Summary of Euclid’s
Book).
The scientist's contribution to science is first of all measured by his discoveries
in the field of astronomy. Among his works that have come down to us, his
greatest work is the treatise "al-Mulakhkhas fi-al hay'a" (
شخلملا
يف
ةثيهلا
) on
astronomy , which is translated into Uzbek as "A short collection of
astronomy".The “al- Mulakhkhaṣ fī al-hayʾa was an extremely popular
astronomical textbook that
played a critical role in the teaching, dissemination, and institutional instruction
of Islamic theoretical astronomy. The treatise was written in 1206 AD/603 AH,
during the period when economic, political, and spiritual life of the Khwrāzm
Shāh kingdom flourished. This treatise is a simple and concise summary of the
science of astronomy in medieval Muslim science, and also provides extensive
information about the general conclusions of geography and other natural
sciences. He drew new conclusions from the natural sciences by widely
involving the scientific works of Central Asian thinkers. In this work of Jaghmīnī,
the general structure of the world surrounding man, celestial lights, circles, the
position of the planets, the sun, the moon's eclipse, the length of the solar year,
night, day and other important issues have been reworked. The Mulakhkhaṣ was
also translated from its original Arabic into Persian, Turkish, and Hebrew, and
continued tobe taught in earnest well into the nineteenth century [3].
We mentioned above the influence of Greek thinkers in the formation of Umar
al- Jaghmīnī 's cosmological and ontological worldview. Translations of Greek
natural science and philosophical sources into Arabic are important in the
formation of аlloma's natural-philosophical worldview. Translation in the
Muslim East processes continued from the 8th century to the 10th century, in
which mainly Greek scientific and philosophical sources, partially ancient
Persian, Indian, Syriac and Jewish (Hebrew) sources were translated into Arabic.
Middle The famous fixrist An-Nadim, who lived and created in the early Middle
Ages, gave information about 65 famous translators of the early Middle Ages.
Among them, Hunayn ibn Ishaq (d. 877), his son Ishaq ibn Hunayn (died in 911),
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Qusto ibn Luqqa (died in 900) were the most famous [4], and besides them there
were many unknown translators and commentators.
Jaghmīnī 's natural philosophical views were greatly influenced by the
philosophical and rational views of Greek scholars Aristotle and Ptolemy on the
existence and structure of the cosmos.
The greatest work of Ptolemy, which influenced Umar al- Jaghmīnī's views on
astronomy, is the "Mathematical System" * known as "Almagest" (Al-Majist),
which describes a unique new system of cosmology was covered in his work,
which included much of the traditional knowledge of Greek mathematical
astronomy. The consistent and perfect description of the work served as a guide
for the next generations. The work soon gained great fame among
representatives of science in Alexandria, Athens and Antioch. The work consists
of thirteen parts, which include a simple interpretation of geometric models,
quantitative parameters of the celestial shells, some celestial bodies and their
movements, the Moon and the Sun the general description of the planet, the
theories about the upper and lower planets, and the fixed stars.Jaghmīnī 's work
"al-mulakhkhas fi-al hay'a" shows the influence of Ptolemy's views on
geocentric, climatology and geography. The division of the work "al-mulakhkhas
fi-al hay'a" into special sections, the geocentric analysis in it, the division of
existence into two types - the lower world - the Earth and the upper world -
heavenly bodies, their location and movement at certain distances are related to
his "Almagest" in the Middle Ages shows it as a work described in its own way,
created from the fusion of Arab-Muslim natural sciences. Chapter I of the second
part of the treatise "al-mulakhkhas fi-al-hay'a" Earning population lives part,
their breadth and lengths are dedicated to their division into climates. The
division of the Earth into seven climates in this section is similar to the
information in Ptolemy's "Geography".
The treatise "al-mulakhkhas fi-al-hay'a" was one of the works of the Islamic
Middle East it is clear that he wrote with extensive use of Greek science
although, however in itself only the ancient Greek scholar Claudius Ptolemy's
name is mentioned twice. His works "Almagest" and "Geography" which are the
famous disaster encyclopedias in science are only mentioned [5].
However, in contrast to "Almagest", " al-mulakhkhaṣ fī al-hayʾa" does not
provide information about the sizes and distances of the planets. If the planets in
"Mulakhkhas" if theories about dimensions and distances were given, this
method could complicate the work and damage its reputation as a primary
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textbook on astronomy. Qāḍīzāde al-Rūmī, the most famous columnist of
"Mulakhkhas", noted the representative of his school.
So, Umar al-Chag'mini was a follower of Claudius Ptolemy who lived and
worked in Movarounnahr in the 12th-13th centuries, and the scholar served as a
unique bridge in the spread and development of ancient Greek natural sciences
and astrophysics in the medieval arab Muslim world.
References:
1.
Руми Кaзи-Зaдe. Кoммeнтaрий нa «Кoмпeндий Aстрoнoмии»
Чaгмини. Прeдислoвиe, пeрeвoд с aрaбскoгo языкa, П.Г.Булгaкoвa. –
Тaшкeнт: Фaн, 1993. - С.8
2.
Bo’riev O., Toshev N. Jalоliddin Manguberdi.(Davri.Sarkardalik
faoliyati.Manbalar.)- Toshkent: Fan, 1999.-36 bet
3.
Régis Morelon , "Eastern Arabic Astronomy between th e Eighth and the
Eleventh centuries," in Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science , ed. Roshdi
Rashed ( London: Routledge , 1996), vol. 1: Astronomy—Theoretical and
Applied, р.21
4.
Ibn al- Nadīm , Kitāb al- Fihrist , ed. Riḍā Tajaddud (Beirut: Dār al- Masīra ,
1988), trans. Ace The Fihrist of al- Nadīm : A Tenth-Century Survey of Muslim
Culture by Bayard Dodge (New York: Columbia University Press, 1970), vol.2,
pp.586-90
