ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Inheritance and Innovation in Mughal Astronomy: A Critical Comparison of the Zīj-i Šāh Jahānī Tables with the Zīj-i Sulṭānī of Ulugh Beg

• In Event: Tabular Practices and the Cross-cultural Exchange of Knowledge in Ancient in Medieval Astronomy 1

English Abstract

The Zīj-i Šāh Jahānī (Astronomical Handbook of Šāh Jahān), compiled by Mullā Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd Dihlavī in ca. 1629/30, marks a key moment in the history of Indo-Persian astronomy, integrating centuries of Islamic astronomical knowledge into the Mughal scientific tradition. This paper undertakes a critical study of select mean and true motion tables from the Zīj, focusing on the computational methods and astronomical parameters utilized for deriving the planets' positions. The core objective is to determine the precise relationship between these tables and the preceding Zīj-i Sulṭānī of Ulugh Beg, a foundational text from the Samarqand school. This is achieved by directly comparing the underlying parameters of the selected tables to those presented in Ulugh Beg's work, a relationship study that brings to the fore the enduring legacy of Samarqandī astronomy in India.

Author

• Anuj Misra, MPIWG Berlin