Читать книгу Memory of the World: The treasures that record our history from 1700 BC to the present day - UNESCO - Страница 32

Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute manuscripts

Inscribed 2001

What are they

Manuscripts on Islamic astronomy, mathematics and astrology and other subjects from the 11th century up to the 20th century.

Why were they inscribed

Astronomy, astrology, mathematics and medicine were core disciplines of Islamic science in the Ottoman Empire and this is one of the finest collections of manuscripts on these subjects in the world.

Where are they

Library of the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, Bogaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey

Medicine, mathematics and astronomy were the core disciplines of Islamic science in the Ottoman Empire and there were many works written on these subjects in Turkish, Arabic and Persian. The Library of the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute contains astronomical, astrological, mathematical, geographical and miscellaneous works dating from the 11th century to the early 20th century. This collection of 1339 works contains a number of unique and rare manuscripts and occupies an important place among other related manuscript collections in the world, especially as its works on astronomy and astrology are crucial not only to scholars of the Ottoman Empire and the Islamic world, but also to Western scholars in the field. The manuscripts in the library were donated to the Institute by the founder and the first director of the observatory, Fatin Gökmen (also known as Fatin Hoca), who oversaw the start of operations in July 1911. The Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute was under the responsibility of the Turkish Ministry of Education until 1982, when it came under Bogaziçi University, Istanbul.

A manuscript from the collection

Treasures from the Kandilli collection

Among the treasures in the Kandilli collection is a calendar in Persian prepared in 1489–90 and presented to Sultan Beyazit whose personal seals are found at the beginning and end of this calendar. Other calendar scrolls are designed by month of the year, with details of the partial and total eclipses of both the sun and moon, and have gilded decorations and calligraphy of great artistic merit. The rûznâmes (daily calendars) show the religious festivals and prayer times in the Islamic world. Other significant items in the collection include astronomical tables prepared through the use of Takiyeddîn’s works, the translations of Ali Kuscu’s Hulâsatu’l-hey’e and Mirkatu’s-semâ and Ulugh Bey’s astronomical tables, which overall reflect the cultural and scientific achievements of the Ottoman Empire.