Irak
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Al-Farghani
Fergana Valley, Irak
Archival Overview
Abbasid astronomer known as Alfraganus, author of 'Elements of Astronomy', whose measurements of the Earth's circumference influenced Christopher Columbus, and who engineered the iconic Nilometer on Roda Island in Cairo.
Biographical Record
Al-Farghani (c. 800–861) was a member of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad under Caliph Al-Ma'mun, participating in the imperial expedition to measure one degree of terrestrial meridian in the desert of Sinjar to determine the size of the Earth.
His textbook 'Compendium of the Science of the Stars' was translated into Latin in the 12th century by John of Seville and Gerard of Cremona, serving as the standard European astronomy textbook until Regiomontanus. In 861, Caliph Al-Mutawakkil commissioned him to build the new Nilometer in Cairo, an architectural and hydraulic marvel that functioned for over a millennium.
Key Life Milestones
Publication of the Elements of Astronomy
Penned the standard introductory treatise on Ptolemaic and Islamic astronomy translated across Europe.
Construction of the Cairo Nilometer
Engineered the historic marble octagonal column Nilometer on Roda Island to calculate annual Nile floods.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialCairo, Egypt