Overview
Nasīr al-Dīn Tūsī (d. 1274) was a Persian scholar of mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and theology; he was considered by many “the Third Teacher” after Aristotle and al-Farabi (d. 950). Tūsī’s most renowned activities took place in the Maragha Observatory in what is now Iran, where he led a group of scholars including Chinese astronomers in different investigations and activities. It has been suggested that Tūsī’s criticisms of Ptolemaic astronomy influenced Copernicus’ rejection of equants in his De Revolutionibus (1543).
Tūsī studied mathematics, medicine, and Avicennan philosophy at Nishapur, then jurisprudence, mathematics, and astronomy in Iraq. In 1233, he entered the service of the Shiite Ismaili emir, Ibn Abī Manṣūr, for whom he dedicated his work on ethics (Akhlaqi Naṣiri). He spent time in the Nizari strongholds of Alamut and Maymundiz, where he had access to their libraries and produced a number of his known works. In 1255, he was sent by the lord of Alamut to...
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References and Further Reading
Dabashi H (1996) The philosopher/vizier: Khwaja Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi and the Isma’ilis. Mediaeval Isma’ili history and thought. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 231–245
Langermann YT (1997) Arabic cosmology. Early Sci Med 2:185–213
Ragep FJ (1987) The two versions of the Tusi couple. In: King D, Saliba G (eds) From deferent to equant: a volume of studies in the history of science in ancient and medieval near east in honor of E. S. Kennedy, vol 500, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. New York Academy of Sciences, New York
Ragep FJ (2007) Copernicus and his Islamic predecessors: some historical remarks. Hist Sci 45:65–81
Saliba G (1986) The determination of new planetary parameters at the Maragha observatory. Centaurus 29(4):249–271
Saliba G (1995a) A history of Arabic astronomy: planetary theories during the golden age of Islam. New York University Press, New York
Saliba G (1995b) The original source of Qutb Al-Din Al-Shirazi’s planetary model. In: A history of Arabic astronomy: planetary theories during the golden age of Islam, vol 19. New York University Press, New York, p 119
Ṭūsi Muḥammad Ibn Muḥammad Naṣīr Al-Dīn, Ragep FJ (1993) Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi’s Memoir on Astronomy: Al-Tadhkira Fīílm Al-Hay’a. Springer, New York/Berlin/Paris
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Ragab, A., Metzger, A. (2015). al-Tūsī, Nasir al-Dīn. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_5192
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