Samarqand UZ - Ulugh Beg Observatory 02
The Ulugh Beg Observatory is an observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Built in the 1420s by the Timurid astronomer Ulugh Beg, it is considered by scholars to have been one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world. Some of the famous Islamic astronomers who worked at the observatory include Al-Kashi, Ali Qushji, and Ulugh Beg himself. The observatory was destroyed in 1449 and rediscovered in 1908.
In 1420, the great astronomer Ulugh Beg built a madrasah in Samarkand, named the Ulugh Beg Madrasah. It became an important center for astronomical study and only invited scholars to study at the university whom he personally approved of and respected academically and at its peak had between 60 and 70 astronomers working there. In 1424, he began building the observatory to support the astronomical study at the madrasah and it was completed five years later in 1429. Beg assigned his assistant and scholar Ali Qushji to take charge of the Ulugh Beg Observatory which was called Samarkand Observatory at that time. He worked there till Ulugh Beg was assassinated. Other notable astronomers made observations of celestial movements at the observatory, including Qāḍīzāda al-Rūmī and Jamshid Kashani.
However, the observatory was destroyed by religious fanatics in 1449 and was only re-discovered in 1908, by an Uzbek-Russian archaeologist from Samarkand named V. L. Vyatkin, who discovered an endowment document that stated the observatory's exact location.
The Ulug Beg Observatory Museum was built in 1970 to commemorate Ulug Begh. Ulug Beg's Star Charts, the Zij-i Sultani are kept in the museum although they are copies; the original drawings were stolen from Uzbekistan by the British and are in Oxford, England.
Samarqand UZ - Ulugh Beg Observatory 02
The Ulugh Beg Observatory is an observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Built in the 1420s by the Timurid astronomer Ulugh Beg, it is considered by scholars to have been one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world. Some of the famous Islamic astronomers who worked at the observatory include Al-Kashi, Ali Qushji, and Ulugh Beg himself. The observatory was destroyed in 1449 and rediscovered in 1908.
In 1420, the great astronomer Ulugh Beg built a madrasah in Samarkand, named the Ulugh Beg Madrasah. It became an important center for astronomical study and only invited scholars to study at the university whom he personally approved of and respected academically and at its peak had between 60 and 70 astronomers working there. In 1424, he began building the observatory to support the astronomical study at the madrasah and it was completed five years later in 1429. Beg assigned his assistant and scholar Ali Qushji to take charge of the Ulugh Beg Observatory which was called Samarkand Observatory at that time. He worked there till Ulugh Beg was assassinated. Other notable astronomers made observations of celestial movements at the observatory, including Qāḍīzāda al-Rūmī and Jamshid Kashani.
However, the observatory was destroyed by religious fanatics in 1449 and was only re-discovered in 1908, by an Uzbek-Russian archaeologist from Samarkand named V. L. Vyatkin, who discovered an endowment document that stated the observatory's exact location.
The Ulug Beg Observatory Museum was built in 1970 to commemorate Ulug Begh. Ulug Beg's Star Charts, the Zij-i Sultani are kept in the museum although they are copies; the original drawings were stolen from Uzbekistan by the British and are in Oxford, England.