Mīrzā Muhammad Tarāghāy bin Shāhrukh (Chagatay:میرزا محمد تراغای بن شاهرخ;Persian:میرزا محمد طارق بن شاهرخ), better known asUlugh Beg (Persian:الغبیک; 22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449),[a] was aTimuridsultan, as well as anastronomer andmathematician.
He built the great Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand between 1424 and 1429. It was considered by scholars to have been one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world at the time and the largest in Central Asia.[1] Ulugh Beg was subsequently recognized as the most important observational astronomer from the 15th century by many scholars.[6] He also built the Ulugh Beg Madrasah (1417–1420) in Samarkand and Bukhara, transforming the cities into cultural centers of learning inCentral Asia.[7]
However, Ulugh Beg's scientific expertise was not matched by his skills in governance. During his short reign, he failed to establish his power and authority. As a result, other rulers, including his family, took advantage of his lack of control, and he was subsequently overthrown and assassinated.[8]
He was a grandson of the great conqueror and king,Timur (Tamerlane) (1336–1405), and the oldest son ofShah Rukh, both of whom came from the Turkicized MongolBarlas tribe ofTransoxiana (nowUzbekistan).[9] His mother was a noblewoman namedGawhar Shad, daughter of a member of the representative Turkic[10][11] tribal aristocracy, Ghiyasuddin Tarkhan.
Ulugh Beg was born inSultaniyeh during his grandfather's invasion ofPersia. He was given the nameMīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay. Ulugh Beg, the name he was most commonly known by, was not truly a personal name, but rather amoniker, which can be loosely translated as "Great Ruler" (compare modern Turkishulu, "great", andbey, "chief") and is theTurkic equivalent ofTimur's Perso-Arabic titleAmīr-e Kabīr.[12]
As a child he wandered through a substantial part of the Middle East andIndia as his grandfather expanded his conquests in those areas. After Timur's death, Shah Rukh moved the empire's capital toHerat (in modernAfghanistan). Sixteen-year-old Ulugh Beg subsequently became the governor of the former capital of Samarkand in 1409. In 1411, he was named the sovereign ruler of the whole ofMavarannahr.
The young ruler set out to turn the city into an intellectual center for the empire. Between 1417 and 1420, he built amadrasa ("university" or "institute") onRegistan Square in Samarkand (currently inUzbekistan), and he invited numerousIslamic astronomers andmathematicians to study there. Themadrasa building still survives. Ulugh Beg's most famous pupil inastronomy wasAli Qushchi (died in 1474).Qadi Zada al-Rumi was the most notable teacher at Ulugh Beg's madrasa andJamshid al-Kashi, an astronomer, later came to join the staff.[3]
A model of Ulug Beg observatory in the Uzbek National Muzeum - the central partition hosted the hugesextant.
Astronomy piqued Ulugh Beg's interest when he visited theMaragheh Observatory at a young age. This observatory, located inMaragheh, Iran, is where the well-known astronomerNasir al-Din al-Tusi practised.[6]
In 1428, Ulugh Beg built an enormousobservatory, similar toTycho Brahe's laterUraniborg as well asTaqi al-Din'sobservatory in Constantinople. Lackingtelescopes to work with, he increased his accuracy by increasing the length of hissextant; the so-calledFakhrisextant had a radius of about 36 meters (118 feet) and theoptical separability of 180" (seconds of arc). TheFakhri sextant was the largest instrument at the observatory in Samarkand (an image of the sextant is on the side of this article). There were many other astronomical instruments located at the observatory, but the Fakhri sextant is the most well-known instrument there. The purpose of the Fakhri sextant was to measure the transit altitudes of the stars. This was a measurement of the maximum altitude above the horizon of the stars. It was only possible to use this device to measure the declination of celestial objects.[13] The image, which can be found in this article, shows the remaining portion of the instrument, which consists of the underground, lower portion of the instrument that was not destroyed. The observatory built by Ulugh Beg was the most pervasive and well-known observatory throughout the Islamic world.[3]
With the instruments located in the observatory in Samarkand, Ulugh Beg composed a star catalogue consisting of 1018 stars, which is eleven fewer stars than are present in the star catalogue ofPtolemy. Ulugh Beg utilized dimensions fromal-Sufi and based his star catalogue on a new analysis that was autonomous from the data used by Ptolemy.[14] Throughout his life as an astronomer, Ulugh Beg came to realize that there were multiple mistakes in the work and subsequent data of Ptolemy that had been in use for many years.[2]
Using it, he compiled the 1437Zij-i-Sultani of 994stars, generally considered the greateststar catalogue between those ofPtolemy andTycho Brahe, a work that stands alongsideAbd al-Rahman al-Sufi'sBook of Fixed Stars.[15][16] The serious errors which he found in previous Arabian star catalogues (many of which had simply updated Ptolemy's work, adding the effect ofprecession to the longitudes) induced him to redetermine the positions of 992 fixed stars, to which he added 27 stars fromAbd al-Rahman al-Sufi's catalogueBook of Fixed Stars from the year 964, which were too far south for observation from Samarkand. This catalogue, one of the most original of the Middle Ages, was first edited byThomas Hyde at Oxford in 1665 under the titleJadāvil-i Mavāzi' S̱avābit,sive, Tabulae Long. ac Lat. Stellarum Fixarum ex Observatione Ulugh Beighi and reprinted in 1767 byG. Sharpe. More recent editions are those byFrancis Baily in 1843 in Vol. XIII of theMemoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, and byEdward Ball Knobel inUlugh Beg's Catalogue of Stars, Revised from all Persian Manuscripts Existing in Great Britain, with a Vocabulary of Persian and Arabic Words (1917).
In 1437, Ulugh Beg determined the length of thesidereal year as 365.2570370...d = 365d 6h 10m 8s (an error of +58 seconds). In his measurements over the course of many years he used a 50 m highgnomon. This value was improved by 28 seconds in 1525 byNicolaus Copernicus, who appealed to the estimation ofThabit ibn Qurra (826–901), which had an error of +2 seconds. However, Ulugh Beg later measured another more precise value of thetropical year as 365d 5h 49m 15s, which has an error of +25 seconds, making it more accurate than Copernicus's estimate which had an error of +30 seconds. Ulugh Beg also determined the Earth'saxial tilt as 23°30'17" in thesexagesimal system of degrees, minutes and seconds of arc, which in decimal notation converts to 23.5047°.[17]
Once Ulugh Beg became governor ofSamarqand, he fostered diplomatic relations with theYongle emperor of theMing dynasty.[19] In 1416, Ming envoysChen Cheng and Lu An presentedsilk and silver stuffs to Ulugh Beg on behalf of the Yongle emperor.[19] In 1419, The Timurid sent his own emissaries, Sultan-Shah and Muhammad Bakhshi, to the Ming court.[20] Ulugh Beg's emissaries came acrossGhiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh and other envoys representing Shah Rukh,Prince Baysunghur, and other Timurid authorities in Beijing; however, they stayed at separate hostelries.[21] Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh even saw the Yongle emperor riding a blackhorse with white feet which had been gifted by Ulugh Beg.[22]
Coinage of Ulugh Beg, dated AH 852 (1448–49).Herat mint.
Ulugh Beg led two major campaigns against his neighbours. This first one took place in 1425 and was directed againstMoghulistan and its rulerShir Muhammad. He was victorious but the impact of the campaign was limited and Shir Muhammad remained in power. A year later,Baraq, Khan of theGolden Horde and former protégé of Ulugh Beg, laid claim to Timurid possessions around the Syr Darya, including the town ofSighnaq. In response to that, in 1427 Ulugh Beg, accompanied by his brotherMuhummad Juki, marched against Baraq. In a hill close to Sighnaq the Timurid army was surprised by a smaller enemy force but was soundly defeated. The humiliation suffered at the hands of Baraq was to have a lasting effect on Ulugh Beg. His campaign against the Golden Horde would be the last he would undertake against a neighbouring power. The armies he later sent against them would not win any resounding victories and by the end of his reign his territories would be raided by his northern and easterly foes.[23]
In 1439, theZhengtong emperor ordered an artist to produce a painting of a black horse with white feet and a white forehead that had been sent by Ulugh Beg.[24] Six years later, the Ming emperor sent a letter to Ulugh Beg in order to express his gratitude for all the "tribute" from Samarqand.[24] The emperor sent "vessels made of gold and jade, a spear with adragon's head, a fine horse with saddle, and variegated gold-embroidered silk stuffs" to Ulugh Beg, as well as silk stuffs and garments for the Timurid prince's family.[24]
Ulugh Beg's headstone at the foot of Timur's in theGur-e-Amir
In 1447, upon learning of the death of his fatherShah Rukh, Ulugh Beg went toBalkh. Here, he heard thatAla al-Dawla, the son of his late brotherBaysunghur, had claimed the rulership of theTimurid Empire inHerat. Consequently, Ulugh Beg marched against Ala al-Dawla and met him in battle atMurghab. He defeated his nephew and advanced toward Herat, massacring its people in 1448. However,Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza, Ala al-Dawla's brother, came to the latter's aid and defeated Ulugh Beg.[13]
Ulugh Beg retreated to Balkh where he found that its governor, his oldest sonAbdal-Latif Mirza, hadrebelled against him. Another civil war ensued.[13] Abdal-Latif recruited troops to meet his father's army on the banks of theAmu Darya river. However, Ulugh Beg was forced to retreat to Samarkand before any fighting took place, having heard news of turmoil in the city. Abdal-Latif soon reached Samarkand and Ulugh Beg involuntarily surrendered to his son. Abd-al-Latif released his father from custody, allowing him to makepilgrimage toMecca. However, he ensured Ulugh Beg never reached his destination, having him, as well as his brother Abdal-Aziz assassinated in 1449.[25][26][27]
Eventually, Ulugh Beg's reputation was rehabilitated by his nephew,Abdallah Mirza (1450–1451), who placed his remains at Timur's feet in theGur-e-Amir in Samarkand,[28] where they were found bySoviet archaeologists in 1941.
Aka Begi, daughter ofMuhammad Sultan Mirza binJahangir Mirza and Khan Sultan Khanika, mother of Habiba Sultan known as Khanzada Begum and another Khanzada Begum;
Ulugh Beg and his astronomical observatory scheme, depicted on the 1987 USSR stamp. He was one of Islam's greatest astronomers during the Middle Ages. The stamp says "Uzbek astronomer and mathematician Ulugbek" in Russian.TheUlugh Beigh crater on the Moon, named for Ulugh Beg.[30]
Soviet anthropologistMikhail M. Gerasimov reconstructed the face of Ulugh Beg. Like his grandfather Timurlane, Ulugh Beg is close to the Mongoloid type with slightly Europoid features.[34][35] His father Shah Rukh had predominantly Caucasoid features, with no obvious Mongoloid feature.[36][37]
^abScience in Islamic civilisation: proceedings of the international symposia: "Science institutions in Islamic civilisation", & "Science and technology in the Turkish and Islamic world"[1]
^The global built environment as a representation of realities: By author:A.J.J. Mekking[2]
^"Ulugh Beg".The University of Oklahoma Libraries. Britannica Academic. Archived fromthe original on September 19, 2019. RetrievedDecember 4, 2018.
^Encyclopædia Britannica, "Timur", Online Academic Edition, 2007. Quotation: "Timur was a member of the Turkicized Barlas tribe, a Mongol subgroup that had settled in Transoxania..."
^V. V. Bartold.Улугбек и его время [Ulug Beg and his time].St Petersburg (1918). p. 37.
^abcKrisciunas, Kevin (1992)."The Legacy of Ulugh Beg". In Paksoy, Hasan Bulent (ed.).Central Asian Monuments. Istanbul: Isis Press. Archived fromthe original on May 19, 2019. RetrievedJune 27, 2006 – via Carrie Books.
^abBretschneider, Emil (1910).Mediæval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources. Vol. 2. London, UK: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & co., ltd. p. 262.
^Naqqash, Ghiyathuddin (1989).'Report to Mirza Baysunghur on the Timurid Legation to the Ming Court at Peking' in A Century of Princes: Sources on Timurid History and Art. Translated by Thackston, W. M. Massachusetts: Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture. p. 280.
^Maitra, K. M. (1934).A Persian Embassy to China, Being an Extract from Zubdatu't Tawarikh of Hafiz Abru. Lahore, Pakistan. pp. 63–64.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Naqqash, Ghiyathuddin (1989).Report to Mirza Baysunghur on the Timurid Legation to the Ming Court at Peking in A Century of Princes: Sources on Timurid History and Art. Massachusetts: Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture. p. 295.
^The history of Persia. Containing, the lives and memorable actions of its kings from the first erecting of that monarchy to this time; an exact Description of all its Dominions; a curious Account of India, China, Tartary, Kermon, Arabia, Nixabur, and the Islands of Ceylon and Timor; as also of all Cities occasionally mention'd, as Schiras, Samarkand, Bokara, &c. Manners and Customs of those People, Persian Worshippers of Fire; Plants, Beasts, Product, and Trade. With many instructive and pleasant digressions, being remarkable Stories or Passages, occasionally occurring, as Strange Burials; Burning of the Dead; Liquors of several Countries; Hunting; Fishing; Practice of Physick; famous Physicians in the East; Actions of Tamerlan, &c. To which is added, an abridgment of the lives of the kings of Harmuz, or Ormuz. The Persian history written in Arabick, by Mirkond, a famous Eastern Author that of Ormuz, by Torunxa, King of that Island, both of them translated into Spanish, by Antony Teixeira, who liv'd several Years in Persia and India; and now render'd into English.
^Jonathan L. Lee,The "Ancient Supremacy": Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731 (1996), p. 21
^Ahmad Hasan Dani, Akhmadali Askarovich Askarov, Sergeĭ Pavlovich Gubin,Rediscovery of the civilization of Central Asia: integral study of silk roads, roads of dialogue, steppe route expedition in USSR (1991), p. 82
^Woods (1990, pp. 43–45) harvtxt error: no target: CITEREFWoods1990 (help)
1839. L. P. E. A. Sedillot (1808–1875). Tables astronomiques d’Oloug Beg, commentees et publiees avec le texte en regard, Tome I, 1 fascicule, Paris. A very rare work, but referenced in the Bibliographie generale de l’astronomie jusqu’en 1880, by J.
1847. L. P. E. A. Sedillot (1808–1875). Prolegomenes des Tables astronomiques d’Oloug Beg, publiees avec Notes et Variantes, et precedes d’une Introduction. Paris: F. Didot.
1853. L. P. E. A. Sedillot (1808–1875). Prolegomenes des Tables astronomiques d’Oloug Beg, traduction et commentaire. Paris.
Le Prince Savant annexe les étoiles, Frédérique Beaupertuis-Bressand, in Samarcande 1400–1500, La cité-oasis de Tamerlan : coeur d'un Empire et d'une Renaissance, book directed by Vincent Fourniau, éditions Autrement, 1995,ISSN1157-4488.
L'âge d'or de l'astronomie ottomane, Antoine Gautier, in L'Astronomie, (Monthly magazine created byCamille Flammarion in 1882), December 2005, volume 119.
L'observatoire du prince Ulugh Beg, Antoine Gautier, inL'Astronomie, (Monthly magazine created byCamille Flammarion in 1882), October 2008, volume 122.
Le recueil de calendriers du prince timouride Ulug Beg (1394–1449), Antoine Gautier, inLe Bulletin, n° spécial Les calendriers, Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, juin 2007, pp. 117–123. d
Jean-Marie Thiébaud,Personnages marquants d'Asie centrale, du Turkestan et de l'Ouzbékistan, Paris, éditions L'Harmattan, 2004.ISBN2-7475-7017-7.
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