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Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn
al-Hasan Nasir al-Din al-Tusi is an
Iranian Muslim, and was one of the
greatest scientists, philosophers,
mathematicians, astronomers, theologians
and physicians of the 7th/13th century
Islamic lands and he was also a prolific
writer. He was born in Tus (Khurasan) in
597/1201 C.E. He learnt sciences and
philosophy from Kamal al-Din Ibn Yunus
and others. He died in Baghdad in
672/1274.
His father was a jurist in the Twelfth
Imam School. The school where al-Tusi
was educated was mainly a religious
establishment. However, while studying
in Tus, he was taught other topics by
his uncle, which had an important
influence on his intellectual
development. These topics included
logic, physics and metaphysics. He also
studied mathematics with other teachers,
in particular algebra and geometry.
His ability and talent in learning
enabled him to master a number of
disciplines in a relatively short
period, and he showed a great interest
for mathematics, astronomy and the
intellectual sciences at a very young
age.
At the age of twenty-two or a while
later, Tusi joined the court of Nasir
al-Din Muhtashim, the Muslim governor of
Quhistan, Northeast Iran, where he was
accepted into the Islamic community as a
novice (mustajib).
A sign of close personal relationship
with Muhtashim’s family is to be seen
in the dedication of a number of his
scholarly works such as Akhlaq-i Nasiri
and Akhlaq-i Muhtashimi to Nasir al-Din
himself and Risala-yi Mu‘iniyya to his
son Mu‘in al-Din.
In 1256 when the Mongols conquered Almut,
Nasir al-Din joined Hulegu's service.
Hulegu being himself interested in
science, treated al-Tusi with great
respect and he was deeply impressed by
his knowledge, including his
astrological competency; appointed him
as one of his ministers, and, later on,
as administrator of Auqaf. He was
instrumental in the establishment and
progress of the observatory at Maragha.
He made significant contributions in a
large number of subjects, and it is
indeed difficult to present his work in
a few words. He wrote one or several
treatises on different sciences and
subjects including those on geometry,
algebra, arithmetic, trigonometry,
medicine, metaphysics, logic, ethics and
theology. In addition he wrote poetry in
Persian.
Being the chief scientist and the
supervisor at the observatory
established at Maragha, he made
significant contributions to astronomy.
The observatory was equipped with the
best possible equipments, including
those collected by the Mongol armies
from Baghdad and other Islamic centers.
The instruments included astrolabes,
representations of constellations,
epicycles, shapes of spheres, etc.
He himself invented an instrument 'turquet'
that contained two planes. After the
devoted work of 12 years at the
observatory and with the assistance of
his group, he produced new astronomical
tables called Al-Zij-Ilkhani dedicated
to Ilkhan (Hulegu Khan). Although Tusi
had contemplated completing the tables
in 30 years, the time required for the
completion of planetary cycles, but he
had to complete them in 12 years on
orders from Hulegu Khan. The tables were
largely based on original observations,
but also drew upon the then existing
knowledge on the subject. The
Zij-Ilkhani became the most popular
tables among astronomers and remained so
till the 15th century.
Nasir al-Din pointed out several serious
shortcomings in Ptolemy's astronomy and
foreshadowed the later dissatisfaction
with the system that culminated in the
Copernican reforms.
In mathematics, his major contribution
would seem to be in trigonometry, which
was compiled by him as a new subject in
its own right for the first time. Also
he developed the subject of spherical
trigonometry, including six fundamental
formulas for the solution of spherical
right-angled triangles.
In philosophy, his work on ethics
entitled Akhlaq-i-Nasri became the most
important book on the subject, and
remained popular for centuries. His book
Tajrid-al-'Aqaid was a major work on al-Kalam
(Islamic Scholastic Philosophy) and
enjoyed widespread popularity. Several
commentaries were written on this book.
In logic al-Tusi followed the teachings
of ibn Sina (Avicenna). He wrote five
works on the subject, the most important
of which is one on inference.
He wrote a famous work on minerals,
which contains an interesting theory of
colors based on mixtures of black and
white, and included chapters on jewels
and perfumes. He also wrote on medicine,
but his medical works are among his
least important.
The list of his known treatises is
exhaustive; Brockelmann lists 56 and
Sarton 64. About one-fourth of these
concern mathematics, another fourth
astronomy, another fourth philosophy and
religion, and the remainder other
subjects.
The books, though originally written in
Arabic and Persian, were translated into
Latin and other European languages in
the Middle Ages and several of these
have been printed.
Tusi's influence has been significant in
the development of science, notably in
mathematics and astronomy. His books
were widely consulted for centuries and
he has been held in high repute for his
rich contributions. Tusi’s fame in his
own lifetime guaranteed the survival of
almost all of his scholarly output.
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