Safekeeping Ancient Knowledge: The Life Journey of a Medieval Mathematical Manuscript from Ilkhanid Maragha to Safavid Iran
Online ZOOM lecture by Mahdieh Tavakol | Freie Universität Berlin
Abstract This lecture focuses on a mathematical multiple-text manuscript (MS Mashhad, Āstān-i Quds Library 5232) produced in the Ilkhanid period around the Maragha Observatory. The presentation follows the copy’s life trajectory from Ilkhanid Maragha to Mamluk Egypt, Safavid Isfahan, and eventually the shrine of ʿAlī ibn Mūsá al-Riḍā (d. 202/818) in Mashhad. Having passed through the libraries of prominent scholars of different periods such as Gregorius Barhebraeus (d. 685/1286) and Bahāʾ al-Dīn al-ʿĀmilī (d. 1030/1621), the manuscript represents the persistence of a similar tradition of mathematical scholarship in Islamdom.
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Poster (PDF)
This is the 2nd lecture in the webinar series for the academic year 2024-25 - organised by the NoMansLand research project (FWF Y 1232) dedicated to the study of Islamic manuscripts in pre-modern Iran and Central Asia.
Convenor: Project team "Nomads' Manuscripts Landscape"
Visit our YouTube channel to watch recordings of past lectures:
https://www.youtube.com/@IFI_Media
For a list of upcoming lectures in the webinar series, please see Webinar series "Pre-modern Islamic manuscripts"