Article ID: CBB034922775

The Astronomical Tables of Isaac ben Joseph Israeli of Toledo (2017)

unapi

Isaac Israeli (early fourteenth century) is best known for Yesod ʿolam (Berlin, 1846–1848), a treatise on astronomy and chronology. Here our focus is on his astronomical tables, mainly those in his unpublished Šaʿar ha-šamayim, which have not been studied previously. We present an analysis of some of these tables, preserved in various manuscripts, and find that they are largely dependent on similar sets of tables available at the time in Spain. Of special interest is that in the headings of a few of his tables he introduces an unusual term for “table,” ʿarugah, whereas in others we find the usual luaḥ. Moreover, he uses ḥalaqim or “parts” (that is, 1/1080 of an hour) in astronomical and geographical contexts having nothing to do with the treatment of the Hebrew calendar where they commonly occur. In Yesod ʿolam Isaac mentions Isaac ben Sid, an astronomer who worked under the patronage of Alfonso X of Castile (d. 1284) and one of the authors of the Castilian Alfonsine Tables (of which only the canons or instructions survive). Unfortunately, we have not found any trace of those tables in Isaac's tables. On the other hand, we have found evidence that, for the compilation of some of his tables, Isaac used the Toledan Tables (arranged for the Hijra calendar).

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB034922775/

Similar Citations

Article Goldstein, Bernard R.; (2013)
Preliminary Remarks on the Astronomical Tables of Solomon Franco (/isis/citation/CBB001213458/)

Article Chabás, José; (2012)
The Toledan Tables in Castilian: Excerpts of the Planetary Equations (/isis/citation/CBB001421122/)

Book Josep Chabàs; (2019)
Computational Astronomy in the Middle Ages: Sets of Astronomical Tables in Latin (/isis/citation/CBB222038517/)

Article Ilana Wartenberg; (2020)
A Non-Linear Transmission of Euclid's Elements in a Medieval Hebrew Calendrical Treatise (/isis/citation/CBB438271084/)

Article Chabás, José; Goldstein, Bernard R.; (2012)
John of Murs Revisited: The Kalendarium Solis et Lune for 1321 (/isis/citation/CBB001250818/)

Article Chabás, José; Goldstein, Bernard R.; (2004)
Early Alfonsine Astronomy in Paris: The Tables of John Vimond (1320) (/isis/citation/CBB000931711/)

Article Chabás, José; (2003)
Were the Alfonsine Tables of Toledo First Used by Their Authors? (/isis/citation/CBB000470452/)

Chapter Comes, Mercè; (2007)
La trépidation dans les tables astronomiques d'al-Andalus et d'Afrique du Nord (/isis/citation/CBB001024049/)

Article Chabás, José; Goldstein, Bernard R.; (2013)
Computing Planetary Positions: User-friendliness and the Alfonsine Corpus (/isis/citation/CBB001200861/)

Article José Chabás; (2017)
An Early Witness of Alfonsine Astronomy: The London Tables for 1336 (/isis/citation/CBB934319339/)

Article Goldstein, Bernard R.; Chabás, José; (2006)
Isaac ibn al-Ḥadib and Flavius Mithridates: The Diffusion of an Iberian Astronomical Tradition in the Late Middle Ages (/isis/citation/CBB000670080/)

Book Chabás, José; Goldstein, Bernard R.; (2003)
Alfonsine Tables of Toledo (/isis/citation/CBB000330984/)

Chapter King, David; (2000)
The Stars-Names on Three 14th-Century Astrolabes from Spain, France and Italy (/isis/citation/CBB000101999/)

Article Miquel Forcada; (2017)
Saphaeae and Hayʾāt: The Debate between Instrumentalism and Realism in Al-Andalus (/isis/citation/CBB040310171/)

Article Xavier Jufre, Garcia; (2009)
L'Astrari de Giovanni di Dondi (1380) (/isis/citation/CBB001021894/)

Book José Martínez Gázquez; (2016)
The Attitude of the Medieval Latin Translators Towards the Arabic Sciences (/isis/citation/CBB416590324/)

Article Shi, Yunli; (2003)
The Korean Adaptation of the Chinese-Islamic Astronomical Tables (/isis/citation/CBB000300434/)

Authors & Contributors
Chabás, José
Goldstein, Bernard R.
King, David A.
Violet Moller
Jufre García, Francesc Xavier
Wartenberg, Ilana
Concepts
Astronomy
Tables; catalogs; lists
Transmission of texts
Arab/Islamic world, civilization and culture
Translations
Alphonsine Tables
Time Periods
Medieval
14th century
Renaissance
Early modern
15th century
13th century
Places
Spain
Toledo (Spain)
Paris (France)
Andalusia (Spain)
Castille (Spain)
Salerno (Italy)
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment