Modern Astronomy in the 19th Century in the Ottoman Empire: On the Works of Quyujaqli and Qunawi

Abstract

The introduction of the telescope into the service of astronomy as an observation tool in the early 17th century radically changed the perception of the universe. Since the 18th century, with the increase of technical possibilities in the West, significant progress has been made in telescope and related observation methods. As a result, by the mid-19th century two new planets, around a dozen asteroids and dozens of satellites were added to the five planets observed by the naked eye and known since the ancient times. It is unthinkable that the Ottomans, who are in close relation with the West due to their location, remained indifferent to these developments in science. The generally accepted view of the period in question is that transfer of information was mainly carried out by modern educational institutions and that this did not happen very quickly. In the case of classical educational institutions, the prevailing opinion is that the speed of transfer of information was even slower. It is stated in the literature that the first book about the planets Uranus and Neptune written by the madrasah in the Ottoman period was Tanqih al-ashkal which was written by Qunawi at a date after 1857. However, the first work that mentions Uranus is the work called Teshil ul-idrak written by Quyujaqli in 1831. Based on the works in question, this study examines how much of current scientific knowledge was obtained by Ottoman scholars, even if there was a delay in its being transferred. In addition, knowledge of modern cosmology in these two works is compared with western sources of the period in terms of their modern cosmology knowledge.