Skip to main content
Book cover

From Alexandria, Through Baghdad pp 239–253Cite as

Archimedes Among the Ottomans: An Updated Survey

Abstract

This paper provides a survey of Archimedean material that was produced and disseminated during the Ottoman period, mainly in the city of Istanbul. Moving from the founding figures of Ottoman science such as Dāwūd al-Qayṣarī and Muḥlammad al-Fanā in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries to Muṣṭafā Ṣidqī in the eighteenth-century, the article discusses Ottoman work in several areas of Archimedean mathematics and science: 1) the number Pi; 2) Hydrostatics and Specific Gravity of Elements, for which an edition of a unique manuscript by Taqī al-Dīn al-Rāṣid is given in an appendix; 3) Geometry (e.g. the sphere and cylinder, squaring the circle, trisecting an acute angle, heptasecting a circle, and spiral lines). From an examination of the content of texts and extant manuscript witnesses, it is clear that Ottoman work on the Archimedean corpus owed a great debt to émigreé scholars and was closely connected with major Islamic centers oflearning such as the Marāgha Observatory and the Samarqand School; at the same time Ottoman scholars themselves made numerous contributions to the Archimedean heritage.

Keywords

  • Specific Gravity
  • Acute Angle
  • Geometrical Algebra
  • Fifteenth Century
  • Mathematical Work

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-36736-6_12
  • Chapter length: 15 pages
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
eBook
USD   109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-3-642-36736-6
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book
USD   139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • ͑Abd al-Latīf, ͑Alī Ishāq, 1993. Ibn al-Haytham: ͑ālim al-handasa al-riyādiyya: dirāsa tahlīliyya wa-tahqīq. al-Jāmi͑a al-Urduniyyah, Amman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adivar, A., 1943. Osmanh Türklerinde İlim. Maarif matbaasi, Istanbul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berggren, J.L., 1986. Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam. Springer-Verlag, New York.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • ——— 1987. Archimedes among the Ottomans. In: Berggren, J.L., Goldstein, B.R. (eds.), From Ancient Omens to Statistical Mechanics: Essays on the Exact Sciences. Acta Historica Scientiarum Naturalium et Medicinalium, vol. 39. University Library, Copenhagen, pp. 101–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bir, A., Kaçar, M., 2003. Bedrettin Muhammed el-İstanbuli’nin Teslis-i Zaviye (Trisecting the angle) ve Tesbi’-i Da’ire (Heptagoning the circle) Risaleleri. Osmanh Bilimi Arastirmalari 4/2, 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Djebbar, A., 1997. La rédaction de L’istikmāl d’al-Mu͑taman (XIe s.) par Ibn Sartāq, un mathématicien des XIIIe-XIVe siècles. Historia Mathematica 24, 185–192.

    MathSciNet  CrossRef  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Fazlioğlu, I., 1996. İlk Dönem Osmanh İlim ve Küultür Hayatinda İhvânu’s-Safâ ve Abdurrahman Bistâmî. Dîvân İlmî Arastirmalar Dergisi 2, 229–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • ——— 1998. Osmanh Coğrafyasinda İlmî Hayatin Tesekkülü ve Davud el-Kayserî. In: Koç, T. (ed.), Uluslararasi XIII. ve XIV. Yüzyillarda Anadolu’da Islam Düşüncesi ve Davud el-Kayserî Sempozyumu. Kayseri Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kültür Müdürlüğü, Kayseri, pp. 25–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • ——— 2004. Uygulamah Geometrinin Tarihine Giriş: el-İIkna fi ilmi’l-misaha. Dergah Yayinlari, Istanbul.

    Google Scholar 

  • ——— 2006. Mustafa Sidki. In: Giiran, K. (ed.), Türkiye Diyanet Vakfi İslam Ansiklopedisi, vol. 31. Türkiye Diyanet Vakfi, Istanbul, pp. 356–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • ——— 2008a. Altin-Orda Ülkesi’nde İlk Matematik Kitabi: Hesap Biliminde Şaheser [et-Tuhfe fî ilmi’l-hisâb]. In: Çakmak, C. (ed.), Teoman Durah’ya Armağan: Bir Felsefe-Bilim Çağrisi. Dergâh Yayinlari, Istanbul, pp. 224–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • ——— 2008b. The Samarqand mathematical-astronomical school: A basis for Ottoman philosophy and science. Journal for the History of Arabic Science 14, 3–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • ——— 2010. İthâf’tan Enmûzec’e Fetihten Önce Osmanh Ülkesi’nde Matematik Bilimler. In: Yüce-doğru, T., Kologlu, O., Kilavuz, U.M., Gömbeyaz, Κ. (eds.), Uluslararasi Molla Fenârî Sempozyumu (4–6 Aralik 2009 Bursa) (International symposium on Molla Fanārī, 4–6 December 2009 Bursa). Bursa Büyüksehir Belediyesi, Bursa, pp. 131–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • ——— 2012. İbn Sertâk [Muhammed Sertakoğlu]. http://www.ihsanfazlioglu.net/yayinlar/makaleler/l.php?id=166 (accessed 6 October 2012).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogendijk, J.P., 1984. Greek and Arabic constructions of the regular heptagon. Archive for History of Exact Sciences 30, 197–330.

    MathSciNet  CrossRef  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • ——— 2008/2009. Al-Kāshī’s determination of π to 16 decimals in an old manuscript. Zeitschrift für Geschichte der arabisch-islamischen Wissenschaften 18, 73–153.

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • İhsanoğlu, E. et al. (eds.), 1997. Osmanh Astronomi Literatürü Tarihi (History of Astronomy Literature During the Ottoman Period). 2 vols. IRCICA, Istanbul.

    Google Scholar 

  • ——— 1999. Osmanli Matematik Literatürü Tarihi (History of Mathematical Literature During the Ottoman Period). 2 vols. IRCICA, Istanbul.

    Google Scholar 

  • ——— 2006. Osmanli Tabii ve Tatbiki İlimler Literatürü Tarihi (History of the Literature of Natural and Applied Sciences During The Ottoman Period). 2 vols. IRCICA, Istanbul.

    Google Scholar 

  • İzgi, C, 1997. Osmanli Medreselerinde İlim. 2 vols. İz, Istanbul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knorr, W.R., 1989. On Archimedes’ construction of the regular heptagon. Centaurus 32, 257–271.

    MathSciNet  CrossRef  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Lutfallāh al-Tūqātī (Molla Lutfī), 1940. La duplication de l’autel (Platon et le problème de Délos), texte arabe publié par Serefettin Yaltkaya, traduction française et introd. par Abdülhak Adnan Adivar et Henry Corbin. E. de Boccard, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mawaldi, M., 1994. Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī’s Asās al-qawā’id fî usül al-fawā͑id. Institute of Arabie Manuscripts, Cairo.

    Google Scholar 

  • OMALT = İhsanoğlu, ?. et al. (eds.), 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ragep, EJ., 2010. Astronomy in the Fanārī-Circle: The critical background for Qādīzāde al-Rūmī and the Samarqand school. In: Yücedoğru, T., Koloğlu, O., Kilavuz, U.M., Gömbeyaz, Κ. (eds.), Uluslararasi Molla Fenârî Sempozyumu (4–6 Aralik 2009 Bursa) (International symposium on Molla Fanārī, 4–6 December 2009 Bursa). Bursa Büyükşehir Belediyesi, Bursa, pp. 165–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenfeld, B.A., İhsanoğlu, E. (eds.), 2003. Mathematicians, Astronomers & Other Scholars of Islamic Civilisation and Their Works (7th-19th c). IRCICA, Istanbul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rozhanskaya, M. (in collaboration with Levinova, I.S.), 1996. Statics. In: Rashed, R., Morelon, R. (eds.), Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science. 3 vols. Routledge, London and New York, vol. 2, pp. 614–642.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salim, M.E., 1315 H. Tezkire-i Salim, Edited by Paşa Ahmet Cevdet. İIkdam Matbaasi, Der Saadet. Şeşen, R., 1997. Mukhtārāt min al-makhtūtāt al-͑Arabiyya al-nādira fī maktabāt Turkiyya. Waqf al-abhāth li-͑l-tārīkh wa-͑l-funūn wa-͑l-thaqāfa al-islāmiyya (ĪSĀR), Istanbul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiedemann, ?., 1970. Über Bestimmung der spezifischen Gewichte (=Beiträge zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften. VIII.). In: Wiedemann, ?., Aufsätze zur arabischen Wissenschaftsgeschichte, 2 vols. Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim and New York, vol. 1, pp. 240–257 (pp. 163–180 in the original pagination).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istanbul, Turkey

    İhsan Fazlıoğlu

  2. Montreal, Canada

    F. Jamil Ragep

Authors
  1. İhsan Fazlıoğlu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. F. Jamil Ragep
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School for International Liberal Studies, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan

    Nathan Sidoli

  2. Quest University, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada

    Glen Van Brummelen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Fazlıoğlu, İ., Ragep, F.J. (2014). Archimedes Among the Ottomans: An Updated Survey. In: Sidoli, N., Van Brummelen, G. (eds) From Alexandria, Through Baghdad. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36736-6_12

Download citation