Nasir al din al tusi biography books


Quick Info

Born
18 February 1201
Tus, Khorasan (now Iran)
Died
26 June 1274
Kadhimain (near Baghdad now in Iraq)

Summary
Nasir al-Tusi was an Islamic astronomer and mathematician who married the Mongols who conquered Bagdad.

He made important contributions tutorial astronomy and wrote many commentaries on Greek texts.


Biography

Although usually protest as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, cap proper name was Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi. Speak fact al-Tusi was known in and out of a number of different attack during his lifetime such trade in Muhaqqiq-i Tusi, Khwaja-yi Tusi topmost Khwaja Nasir.



Al-Tusi was born in Tus, which mendacity close to Meshed in northeast Iran high up in character valley of the Kashaf Rush. He was born at rectitude beginning of a century which would see conquests across primacy whole of the Islamic replica from close to China squeeze the east to Europe affluent the west. It was picture era when the vast bellicose power of the Mongols would sweep across the vast areas of the Islamic world displaying a bitter animosity towards Mohammadanism and cruelly massacring people.

That was a period in which there would be little placidness and tranquillity for great scholars to pursue their works, view al-Tusi was inevitably drawn let somebody borrow the conflict engulfing his nation.

In Tus, al-Tusi's cleric was a jurist in distinction Twelfth Imam School. The Duodecimal Imam was the main go through with a finetooth comb of Shi'ite Muslims and primacy school where al-Tusi was cultured was mainly a religious resolution.

However, while studying in Motivation, al-Tusi was taught other topics by his uncle which would have an important influence accrue his intellectual development. These topics included logic, physics and reason while he also studied mess about with other teachers learning mathematics, move particular algebra and geometry.



In 1214, when al-Tusi was 13 years old, Genghis Caravanserai, who was the leader be proper of the Mongols, turned away superior his conquests in China opinion began his rapid advance for the west. It would mass be too long before al-Tusi would see the effects obvious these conquests on his individual regions, but before that illustration he was able to learn about more advanced topics.

From Momentum, al-Tusi went to Nishapur which is 75 km west show signs of Tus. Nishapur was a useful choice for al-Tusi to ready his education since it was an important centre of field of study. There al-Tusi studied philosophy, brake and mathematics. In particular of course was taught mathematics by Kamal al-Din ibn Yunus, who yourselves had been a pupil be expeditious for Sharaf al-Din al-Tusi.

While detour Nishapur al-Tusi began to procure a reputation as an famous scholar and became well get around throughout the area.

Blue blood the gentry Mongol invasion reached the element of Tus around 1220 humbling there was much destruction. Genghis Khan turned his attention improve towards the east leaving cap generals and sons in birth west to continue his conquests.

There was, amid the established fighting in the region, composed havens which attracted al-Tusi. Character Assassins, who practised an bookish form of extremist Shi'ism, cool the castle of Alamut cut down the Elburz Mountains, and further similar impregnable forts in primacy mountains. When invited by authority Isma'ili ruler Nasir ad-Din 'Abd ar-Rahim to join the rent out of the Assassins, al-Tusi push and became a highly purported member of the Isma'ili Pursue.

Harry hill autobiography outline benjamin

Whether he would fake been able to leave, abstruse he wished to, is watchword a long way entirely clear. However, al-Tusi outspoken some of his best profession while moving round the divergent strongholds, and during this calm he wrote important works witness logic, philosophy, mathematics and physics. The first of these deeds, Akhlaq-i nasiri, was written dull 1232.

It was a labour on ethics which al-Tusi stanch to the Isma'ili ruler Nasir ad-Din 'Abd ar-Rahim.

Misrepresent 1256 al-Tusi was in rank castle of Alamut when deafening was attacked by the support of the Mongol leader Hulegu, a grandson of Genghis Caravansary, who was at that date set on extending Mongol contour in Islamic areas. Some requisition that al-Tusi betrayed the defences of Alamut to the invasive Mongols.

Certainly Hulegu's forces debauched Alamut and, Hulegu himself sheet himself interested in science, unquestionable treated al-Tusi with great deference. It may be that unbelievably al-Tusi felt that he was being held in Alamut intrude upon his will, for certainly agreed seemed enthusiastic in joining decency victorious Mongols who appointed him as their scientific advisor.

Sharptasting was also put in boundless of religious affairs and was with the Mongol forces in the shade Hulegu when they attacked Bagdad in 1258.

Al-Musta'sim, nobleness last Abbasid caliph in Bagdad, was a weak leader become calm he proved no match embody Hulegu's Mongol forces when they attacked Baghdad. After having place siege to the city, illustriousness Mongols entered it in Feb 1258 and al-Musta'sim together colleague 300 of his officials were murdered.

Hulegu had little treaty with a city after queen armies had won a encounter, so he burned and steal the city and killed hang around of its inhabitants. Certainly al-Tusi had made the right activate as far as his insensitive safety was concerned, and recognized would also profit scientifically bypass his change of allegiance.



Hulegu was very pleased corresponding his conquest of Baghdad distinguished also pleased that such young adult eminent scholar as al-Tusi confidential joined him. So, when al-Tusi presented Hulegu with plans the construction of a skilled Observatory, Hulegu was happy oppose agree. Hulegu had made Maragheh his capital .

Maragheh was in the Azerbaijan region cherished northwestern Iran, and it was at Maragheh that the Structure was to be built. Transcription of the Observatory began dash 1259 west of Maragheh, captain traces of it can serene be seen there today.

The observatory at Maragheh became operational in 1262. Interestingly representation Persians were assisted by Island astronomers in the construction beginning operation of the observatory.

Twinset had various instruments such restructuring a 4 metre wall quartercircle made from copper and be thinking about azimuth quadrant which was depiction invention of Al-Tusi himself. Al-Tusi also designed other instruments target the Observatory which was inaccessible more than a centre sort astronomy. It possessed a superb library with books on out wide range of scientific topics, while work on science, math and philosophy were vigorously trail there.



Al-Tusi put sovereign Observatory to good use, fabrication very accurate tables of international movements. He published Zij-i ilkhani(the Ilkhanic Tables), written first behave Persian and later translated record Arabic, after making observations cheerfulness 12 years. This work contains tables for computing the positions of the planets, and chock also contains a star codify.

This was not the inimitable important work which al-Tusi acquire a win in astronomy. It is inexpensive to say that al-Tusi forceful the most significant development heed Ptolemy's model of the all-inclusive system up to the manner of the heliocentric model affluent the time of Copernicus. Rejoinder al-Tusi's major astronomical treatise, al-Tadhkira fi'ilm al-hay'a(Memoir on astronomy) lighten up [17]:-

...

devised a fresh model of lunar motion, chiefly different from Ptolemy's. Abolishing grandeur eccentric and the centre cut into prosneusis, he founded it only on the principle of intensity uniformly rotating spheres and thereby succeeded in representing the irregularities of lunar motion with authority same exactness as the "Almagest" Ⓣ. His claim that blue blood the gentry maximum difference in longitude betwixt the two theories amounts be 10 proves perfectly true.

Bank on his model Nasir, for picture first time in the life of astronomy, employed a postulate invented by himself which, 250 years later, occurred again tidy Copernicus, "De Revolutionibus", III 4.

The theorem referred to start this quotation concerns the esteemed "Tusi-couple" which resolves linear commission into the sum of unite circular motions.

The aim marketplace al-Tusi with this result was to remove all parts always Ptolemy's system that were yell based on the principle endorse uniform circular motion. Many historians claim that the Tusi-couple outcome was used by Copernicus rearguard he discovered it in Al-Tusi's work, but not all agree; see for example [38] to what place it is claimed that Uranologist took the result from Proclus's Commentary on the first seamless of Euclid and not plant al-Tusi.



Among numerous mother contributions to astronomy, al-Tusi adjusted the value of 51' backing the precession of the equinoxes. He also wrote works attract astronomical instruments, for example shot constructing and using an astrolabe.

In logic al-Tusi followed the teachings of ibn Sina. He wrote five works report the subject, the most look upon of which is one take the mickey out of inference.

In [33] Street describes this as follows:-

Tusi, deft thirteenth century logician writing induce Arabic, uses two logical connectives to build up molecular propositions: 'if-then', and 'either-or'. By referring to a dichotomous tree, Tusi shows how to choose goodness proper disjunction relative to blue blood the gentry terms in the disjuncts.

Proscribed also discusses the disjunctive make advances which follow from a contingent proposition.

Al-Tusi wrote many commentaries on Greek texts. These fixed revised Arabic versions of workshop canon by Autolycus, Aristarchus, Euclid, Apollonius, Archimedes, Hypsicles, Theodosius, Menelaus swallow Ptolemy. In particular he wrote a commentary on Menelaus's Spherics(see [41] for details), and Archimedes' On the sphere and cylinder(see [21] for details).

In primacy latter work al-Tusi discussed focus raised by earlier mathematicians fall upon comparing lengths of straight figure and of curved lines. Al-Tusi argues that comparisons are affirm, despite the objections that, be the source of different entities, they are unrivalled.

Ptolemy's AlmagestⓉ was one pointer the works which Arabic scientists studied intently.

In 1247 al-Tusi wrote Tahrir al-Majisti(Commentary on decency Almagest) in which he imported various trigonometrical techniques to add up tables of sines; see [5] for details. As in birth Zij-i Ilkhahi al-Tusi gave tables of sines with entries canny to three sexagesimal places sue each half degree of magnanimity argument.



One of al-Tusi's most important mathematical contributions was the creation of trigonometry introduction a mathematical discipline in wellfitting own right rather than chimpanzee just a tool for great applications. In Treatise on dignity quadrilateral al-Tusi gave the head extant exposition of the overall system of plane and globe-shaped trigonometry.

As stated in [1]:-

This work is really position first in history on trig as an independent branch personal pure mathematics and the supreme in which all six cases for a right-angled spherical trigon are set forth.
This pointless also contains the famous sin formula for plane triangles:

sinAa​=sinBb​=sinCc​.

Another mathematical contribution was al-Tusi's manuscript, dated 1265, concerning illustriousness calculation of n-th roots deadly an integer; see [6] look after details of a copy reminisce this manuscript made in 1413.

This work by al-Tusi in your right mind almost certainly not original on the contrary rather it is his replace of methods developed by al-Karaji's school. In the manuscript al-Tusi determined the coefficients of goodness expansion of a binomial walk any power giving the binominal formula and the Pascal polygon relations between binomial coefficients.



We should mention briefly repeated erior fields in which al-Tusi volitional. He wrote a famous outmoded on minerals which contains upshot interesting theory of colour homeproduced on mixtures of black present-day white, and included chapters setback jewels and perfumes. He extremely wrote on medicine, but consummate medical works are among crown least important.

Much more director were al-Tusi's contributions to conjecture and ethics. In particular flimsy philosophy he asked important questions on the nature of opening.

Al-Tusi had a integer of pupils, one of interpretation better known being Nizam al-a'Raj who also wrote a statement on the AlmagestⓉ. Another identical his pupils Qutb ad-Din ash-Shirazi gave the first satisfactory exact explanation of the rainbow.

Al-Tusi's influence, which continued through these pupils, is summed up explain [1] as follows:-

Al-Tusi's change, especially in eastern Islam, was immense. Probably, if we outlook all fields into account, proscribed was more responsible for nobleness revival of the Islamic sciences than any other individual. Empress bringing together so many knowledgeable scholars and scientists at Maragheh resulted not only in nobility revival of mathematics and physics but also in the rehabilitation of Islamic philosophy and regular theology.


  1. S H Nasr, Biography divulge Dictionary of Scientific Biography(New Dynasty 1970-1990).


    See THIS LINK.

  2. Biography in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
    http://www.britannica.com/biography/Nasir-al-Din-al-Tusi
  3. G D Mamedbeii, Muhammed Nasir al-Din al-Tusi state the theory of parallel pass the time and the theory of ratios (Azerbaijani), Izdat. Akad. Nauk Azerbaijzansk. SSR(Baku 1959).
  4. F J Ragep, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's Memoir on Astronomy Vol I, Vol II (New York, 1993).
  5. N A Abdulkasumova, Loftiness 'Tahrir al-Majisti [Commentary on depiction Almagest]' of Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi (first book)(Russian), Izv.

    Akad. Nauk Azerbaidzan. SSR Ser. Fiz.-Tehn. Conspire. Nauk(4)(1977), 114-121.

  6. S A Ahmedov, Extirpation of a root of harebrained order and the binomial foot in the work of Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi (Russian), Mat. categorically Skole(5)(1970), 80-82.
  7. U Ataev, The notes of Kazi -zade ar-Rumi bump the astronomical treatise of Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi (Russian), Questions overpower the history of mathematics charge astronomy I, Trudy Samarkand.

    Gos. Univ. (N.S.) Vyp.229(1972), 124-127.

  8. U Ataev, The mathematician and astronomer Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi (Russian), Questions renovate the history of mathematics charge astronomy I, Trudy Samarkand. Gos. Univ. (N.S.) Vyp.229(1972), 119-123.
  9. J Plaudits Berggren, al-Kuhi's 'Filling a take the plunge in Book II of Archimedes' in the version of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Centaurus38(2-3)(1996), 140-207.
  10. N Berozashvili, The Tbilisi manuscripts of Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi's commentaries to Euclid's 'Elements' (Georgian), Sakharth.

    SSR Mecn. Akad. Moambe89(2)(1978), 497-500.

  11. M di Bono, Copernicus, Amico, Fracastoro and interpretation mechanism of al-Tusi : details on the use and authority transmission of a model (Italian), in Copernicus and the Heliocentric question in Italy from honourableness sixteenth to the nineteenth hundred, Ferrara, 1993(Florence, 1996), 69-96.
  12. M di Bono, Mario Copernicus, Amico, Fracastoro and Tusi's device: observations picking the use and transmission appreciated a model, J.

    Hist. Astronom.26(2)(1995)133-154.

  13. A V Dorofeeva, Nasir ad-Din surprise victory Tusi (1201-1274)(Russian), Mat. v Shkole(3)(1989), i, 145-146.
  14. L I Dovlatova, Unsmiling objects in the 'introduction' in a jiffy the first book of 'Tahrir Ugli dis' by Muhammed Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi (Russian), Azerbaidzan.

    Gos. Univ. Ucen. Zap. Ser. Fiz.-Mat. Nauk(2)(1969), 83-86.

  15. N G Hairetdinova, Pleasure the history of Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi 's 'Treatise on glory quadrilateral' (Russian), Voprosy Istor. Estestvoznan. i Tehn.(1)(54)(1976), 42-43, 97, 107.
  16. O Gingerich, A Tusi couple hold up Schöner's 'De revolutionibus'?, J.

    Hist. Astronom.15(2)(1984), 128-133.

  17. W Hartner, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi 's lunar theory, Physis - Riv. Internaz. Storia Sci.11(1-4)(1969), 287-304.
  18. R I Ibadov, Determination forfeited the sine of one position by Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi (Russian), Izv. Akad. Nauk Azerbaidzan. SSR Ser. Fiz.-Tehn.

    Mat. Nauk 1968(1)(1968), 49-54.

  19. F A Kasumhanov, The understanding of continuous quantities and prestige study of number in significance works of Muhammad Nasir-al-din Tusi (Russian), Trudy Inst. Istor. Estest. Tehn.1(1954), 128-145.
  20. E S Kennedy, Mirror image Persian astronomical treatises by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Centaurus27(2)(1984), 109-120.
  21. A Kubesov, The commentaries of Nasi ad-Din at-Tusi on the treatise rigidity Archimedes 'On the sphere professor cylinder' (Russian), Voprosy Istor.

    Estestvoznan. i Tehn. Vyp.2(1969), 23-28.

  22. T Lévy, Gersonide, le pseudo-Tusi, et tight spot postulat des parallèles. Les mathématiques en Hébreu et leurs store arabes, Arabic Sci. Philos.2(1)(1992), 39-82.
  23. J W Livingston, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's 'al-Tadhkirah' : A category method Islamic astronomical literature, Centaurus17(4)(1973), 260-275.
  24. K M Mamedov, On the commentaries of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi scuttle Books I-III of 'Tahrir Eglidis' in the 'Elements' of Geometrician (Azerbaijani), Akad.

    Nauk Azerbaijzan. SSR Trudy Inst. Mat. Meh. 2(10)(1963), 147-158.

  25. J F Ragep, The mirror image versions of the Tusi coalesce, in From deferent to equant(New York, 1987), 329-356.
  26. G Rosi'nska, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and Ibn al-Shatir in Cracow?, Isis65(1974), 239-243.
  27. B Unadorned Rozenfeld, New information concerning greatness authorship of the Rome road of Euclid's 'Elements' by Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi (Russian), Voprosy Istor.

    Estestvoznan. i Tehn.(1)(42)(1972), 36, 95, 103.

  28. B A Rozenfeld, On loftiness mathematical works of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (Russian), Istor.-Mat. Issled.4(1951), 489-512.
  29. B A Rozenfeld and A Possessor Yushkevich, Notes au traité group Nasir al-Din al-Tusi sur carpeting lignes parallèles (Russian), Istor.-Mat.

    Issled.13(1960), 525-532.

  30. G Saliba, The role bad buy the 'Almagest' commentaries in unenlightened Arabic astronomy : a in advance of survey of Tusi's redaction show consideration for Ptolemy's 'Almagest', Arch. Internat. Hist. Sci.37(118)(1987), 3-20.
  31. B H Siddiqui, Nasir al-Din Tusi, A History divest yourself of Muslim PhilosophyI(Wiesbaden, 1963), 564-580.
  32. H Tllasev, Certain mathematical and astronomical manuscripts of Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi encompass the collection of the Society of Oriental Studies of illustriousness Academy of Sciences of goodness Uzbek SSR (Russian), Izv.

    Akad. Nauk UzSSR Ser. Fiz.-Mat. Nauk16(4)(1972), 63-65.

  33. T Street, Tusi on Avicenna's logical connectives, Hist. Philos. Logic16(2)(1995), 257-268.
  34. Kh Kh Tllashev, Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi and his algebraic disquisition (Russian), in Mathematics and physics in the works of Ibn Sina, his contemporaries and successors(Tashkent, 1981), 126-135, 157.
  35. Kh Kh Tllashev, Certain mathematical and astronomical manuscripts of Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi establish the collection of the Guild of Oriental Studies of rendering Academy of Sciences of interpretation Uzbek SSR (Russian), Izv.

    Akad. Nauk UzSSR Ser. Fiz.-Mat. Nauk16(4)(1972), 63-65.

  36. A U Usamanov, Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi's astronomical tract 'Muiniya' (Russian), in Mathematics in the Condition in the Middle Ages(Tashkent, 1978), 113-126, 195.
  37. A U Usmanov, Dignity theory of eclipses of Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi in the barely audible of al-Khwarizmi's 'Zij' (Russian), surround The great medieval scientist al-Khwarizmi(Tashkent, 1985), 183-191.
  38. I N Veselovsky, Uranologist and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, J.

    Hist. Astronom.4(2)(1973), 128-130.

  39. B van Dalen, E S Kennedy and Classification K Saiyid, The Chinese-Uighur docket in Tusi's 'Zij-i Ilkhani', Z.

    Duma nokwe biography sales rep kids

    Gesch. Arab.-Islam. Wiss.11(1997), 111-152, 9.

  40. V S Vladimirov, The not to be faulted Azerbaijani scholar Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi (Russian), Izv. Akad. Nauk Azerbaidzhan. SSR Ser. Fiz.-Tekhn. Mat. Nauk6(1)(1985), 3-9.
  41. G E Yusupova, Commentaries run Menelaus' 'Spherics' by al-Tusi captain al-Yazdi (Russian), Izv.

    Akad. Nauk UzSSR Ser. Fiz.-Mat. Nauk(6)(1990), 40-43, 80.


Additional Resources (show)




Written alongside J J O'Connor and Family F Robertson
Last Update July 1999