Manuscript Jaipur 20 and the Arabic Translation of Ptolemy’s Almagest by Thābit ibn Qurra

The existence of an Arabic translation of Ptolemy’s Almagest by the polymath and translator Thābit ibn Qurra (d. 901) was long denied and widely not considered as a possibility by historians of Islamic science. In 2012, I was able to correct the established view, proving that Thābit ibn Qurra produced his own version of the Almagest, and show that a Latin fragment in Dresden was translated from Thābit’s unknown Arabic text. The fragment also revealed that Thābit ibn Qurra made systematic changes to the content and the format of Ptolemy’s arguments. Since my discovery of this unknown Arabic tradition of Ptolemy, it has been possible to associate with it the works of prominent Islamic astronomers – among them Avicenna and al-Ṭūsī – due to their adoption of Thābit’s changes to Ptolemy’s original work. However, whereas the primary transmission of Thābit’s translation seemed lost, Arabic-speaking authors who used Thābit’s work not only differ but also contradict each other in what they suggest to be original elements of the text. This paper discusses selected features of Thābit ibn Qurra’s translation of the Almagest and their inconsistent transmission in the sources in view of the Arabic text in MS Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, 20. It is based on my attribution of the Jaipur text to the Thābit tradition in 2015 as well as a recent thorough inspection of the manuscript in Jaipur.

Keywords: Ptolemy’s almagest, thābit ibn qurra, jaipur

DOI :10.26650/PB/AA08.2020.001.013 IUP :10.26650/PB/AA08.2020.001.013 Full Text (PDF)

Jaypur 20 Elyazması ve Batlamyus’un Almagest’inin Sabit b. Kurra tarafından yapılan Arapça Tercümesi

Dirk Grupe

Batlamyus’un Almagest’inin hezarfen ve mütercim Sâbit b. Kurra (ölm.901) tarafından yapılmış olan Arapça tercümesinin varlığı uzun zamandır İslam bilim tarihçileri tarafından inkâr edilen ve ihtimali dahi göz önünde tutulmayan bir husustu. 2012 yılında, Sâbit b. Kurra’nın Almagest’in tercümesini yaptığını kanıtlayarak ve Sabit’in bilinmeyen bir Arapça metninden yapılmış olan bir çeviriyi ihtiva eden bir Latince fragmanın mevcudiyetini göstererek yerleşmiş olan bu görüşü düzeltme imkanına sahip oldum. İlgili bölüm aynı zamanda Sâbit b. Kurra’nın Batlamyus’un eserindeki içerik ve formata ilişkin sistematik değişiklikler yaptığını ortaya koymaktadır. Batlamyus’un bilinmeyen Arapça geleneğine yönelik yapmış olduğum bu keşif, İbn Sina ve el-Tusi’nin de aralarında sayılabileceği meşhur İslam astronomların Batlamyus’un orijinal eserine Sâbit’in yaptığı değişimleri adapte ettikleri önemli çalışmaları ile bu eser arasında ilişkilerin kurulabilmesini sağladı. Bununla beraber, Sâbit’in tercümesi erken dönem aktarımları kaybolduğundan ötürü, Sâbit’in eserini kullanan Arapça konuşan müelliflerin metnin özgün unsurlarına ilişkin olarak sadece birbirlerinden farklılaşmadıkları aynı zamanda da birbirleriyle tezat içerisinde bulundukları da anlaşılmaktadır. Bu çalışma, Sâbit b. Kurra’nın Almagest tercümesinden seçilen bölümleri ele alırken bu bölümlerin Jaybur, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Müzesi 20 numarada bulunan Arapça elyazmasından hareketle kaynaklarına ilişkin tutarsızlık gösteren aktarımlarını tartışmaktadır. Çalışma içerisinde ortaya koyulan görüşler, Jaypur metnini Sâbit geleneğine atfetmeye yönelik 2015 yılında ve sonrasında Jaypur metnine ilişkin yaptığım incelemelerden hareketle ortaya koyulmaktadır.

Keywords: Batlamyus’un almagest’i, sabit b. kurra, jaypur

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The 1st International Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Symposium on History Of Science in Islam Proceedings Book

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Manuscript Jaipur 20 and the Arabic Translation of Ptolemy’s Almagest by Thābit ibn Qurra

Jaypur 20 Elyazması ve Batlamyus’un Almagest’inin Sabit b. Kurra tarafından yapılan Arapça Tercümesi

References

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