Bar Ḥiyya: Abraham Bar Ḥiyya Savasorda

Langermann, Y. Tzvi

doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_109

Y. Tzvi Langermann⁹

42 Accesses

BornBarcelona, (Spain), 1070

Died 1136

Bar Ḥiyya is credited with writing the first works in Hebrew on astronomy and mathematics. He held several official positions in Barcelona, although that city was under Christian control. Bar Ḥiyya was fluent in Arabic, the leading language of science at the time. In response to requests from his Jewish coreligionists in Provence, Bar Ḥiyya produced a series of Hebrew texts in astronomy and mathematics, the first of their kind to be written in that language. He also created an entirely new Hebrew technical terminology. His Ṣurat ha-Aretz (Form of the earth) is a representative of a nontechnical exposition of astronomy genre that was immensely popular in the medieval period, especially among the Hebrew reading public. Bar Ḥiyya also compiled a set of tables, known as Luḥot ha-Nasi (Nasi being one of the titles borne by Bar Ḥiyya) or the Jerusalem Tables. These tables are for the most part based upon the tables of Battānī . However, some manuscripts...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Chapter: USD 29.95; Price excludes VAT (USA)

eBook: USD 1,099.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Hardcover Book: USD 549.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Selected References

Goldstein, Bernard R. (1980). “Star Lists in Hebrew.” Centaurus 28: 185–208. (Publishes lists of astrolabe stars from Bar Hiyya’s tables.)
Google Scholar
Langermann, Y. Tzvi (1999). “Science in the Jewish Communities of the Iberian Peninsula.” In The Jews and the Sciences in the Middle Ages. Aldershot: Ashgate. (General assessment of Bar Ḥiyya’s work and impact, with full references to publications of his texts in Spanish or Catalan by J. M. Millás-Vallicrosa.)
Google Scholar
— (2000). “Hebrew Astronomy: Deep Soundings from a Rich Tradition.” In Astronomy Across Cultures, edited by Helaine Selin, pp. 555–584. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. (Discussion of utilization of Bar Ḥiyya’s tables by Ibn ^ҁEzra and his students.)
Google Scholar

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Y. Tzvi Langermann

Authors

Y. Tzvi Langermann
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Y. Tzvi Langermann .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Department of Earth Science, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, USA
Thomas Hockey
University of California, Irvine School of Physical Sciences, Irvine, CA, USA
Virginia Trimble
Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
Thomas R. Williams
Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, USA
Katherine Bracher
York Univesity, Toronto, ON, Canada
Richard A. Jarrell
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
Jordan D. Marché II
University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
JoAnn Palmeri
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Daniel W. E. Green

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

About this entry

Cite this entry

Langermann, Y.T. (2014). Bar Ḥiyya: Abraham Bar Ḥiyya Savasorda. In: Hockey, T., et al. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_109

Download citation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_109
Published: 24 December 2016
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-9916-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-9917-7
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

Publish with us

Policies and ethics