What is it about?
A Greek copy of Ptolemy’s Handy Tables and an Arabic translation of Theon’s Short Commentary on them survive as undertexts in the palimpsest manuscript Vat. sir. 623. pt. 2. The parchment leaves containing these texts were recycled into a new codex at the Monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai in the late ninth century, but they belonged to the same original manuscript and are considered the only surviving witnesses to the project of translating Greek thought into Arabic at the so-called “House of Wisdom” in Baghdad during the second half of the eighth century. In order to show the importance of this startling discovery made in the Vatican Library, the article not only includes an historical, codicological, and paleographical examination of the erased texts and repurposed folios, but also presents an astronomical explanation of the theories and calculations they contain. The article highlights the list of Greek-Arabic winds and its link to Ptolemy’s Horizon Diagram, as well as stresses the continued applicability of Ptolemy and Theon’s presentations. It further argues for a reconsideration of the meaning of an ancient theory of the “inclinations” that the Sun and the Moon (or the Moon and the Earth’s shadow) create during eclipses, the phenomenon which is called prosneusis.
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Why is it important?
This palimpsest Greek-Arabic manuscript was produced in Baghdad between 750 and 800 by an anonymous forerunner of the golden age of translations. The palimpsest perhaps not only illuminates the birth of Arabian astronomy, but also preserves the last attempt of saving an ancient theory of weather forecasting now lost and forgotten.
Perspectives
I really enjoyed writing this article with my esteemed colleagues Nemeth and Proverbio, it clearly shows the importance of a multidisciplinary approach on the analysis of ancient documents.
giuliano giuffrida
Vatican Apostolic Library
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: An Arabic-Greek Codex of Ptolemy’s Handy Tables from the Eighth Century, The Vatican Library Review, June 2023, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/27728641-00201006.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Connecting mind, creating the future. From the Bayt al-Ḥikma to digitization
An Exhibition set up by the Vatican Library at the Holy See Pavilion in Dubai, Expo 2020. Cultural exchange boosts innovation. This appears from a unique document, which now leaves the Vatican Library for the first time and is an example of the cultural transfer from Greek into Arabic. This document comes from the so called “House of Wisdom” in Baghdad, which, starting from the second century of the Hijra, became a pivotal center of translation. It conveyed the Ancient Wisdom of Greek and Indian philosophers, physicians, mathematicians and astronomers into the main stream of Islamic culture. And from India came the Nagari numerals, later called in Late Medieval West “Arabic numerals” (the numeral system nowadays widespread all over the world), another example of cultural transfer that proved to be revolutionary.
The birth of Arabic Astronomy and the prosneusis in ancient astronomy - XXI Congresso Società Italiana di Archeoastronomia
On this talk I will concentrate on the Horizon Diagram, also known as “Ortive Amplitude” diagram visible on Vat.sir.623, folia 133r+136v and 134r+135v. The diagram itself is well-known, being present in many other manuscripts of the Handy Tables or the Almagest, but this specimen is quite unique: dated between the end of the VIII century and the beginning of the IX, it is certainly one of the oldest copy available, and it presents Arabic text mixed with ancient Greek, which is its most interesting feature. In fact, on the bottom of the diagram, there is a table with the twelve zodiacal constellations and the twelve winds in ancient Greek, along with their tentative translation in Arabic. Why the scribe decided to ‘translate’ the wind names and not, for example, the constellation names or the seven climata? What was the role of the winds in ancient astronomy? I will describe the importance of this palimpsest, unique witness of the birth of Arabic Astronomy, and discuss the deep bound between winds, astronomy and meteorology in antiquity. Finally, I will show how this palimpsest could represent the last attempt of saving a quite ancient theory of weather forecasting now lost and forgotten.
Contributors
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