The observatory founded in 16th century Istanbul by Takiyeddin (Taqî
al-Dîn), the greatest Ottoman astronomer, can vie with its counterparts
around the world...
The celestial bodies have been a focus of human interest since time
immemorial. Especially the comets... Some have regarded them as
harbingers of disaster; others have dreamed dreams about them and
penned books and plays. Still others, such as astronomers, have
dedicated their lives to studying them. Takiyeddin, who set up an
observatory in Istanbul in 1575, was one of the most important Ottoman
astronomers. And our subject here is the intimate and fascinating
relationship between the observatory founded in Denmark by Tycho Brahe
and the observatory founded on the slopes of Tophane by Takiyeddin and
a comet that glided through the Istanbul sky.
TAKIYEDDIN'S GREAT CONTRIBUTION
Astronomy was an advanced branch of science in the Islamic world, in
which major observatories were founded.
One of them was that set up in the 13th century by the astronomer
Nasirüddin Tûsî in Meraga in Iran, which operated for 12 years; another
was the one founded at Samarkand by Ulug Bey, the grandson of Timur, in
the 15th century where the renowned astronomer Ali Kusçu carried out
his studies. A third observatory, and the one that forms the focus of
this article, was built in Istanbul during the reign of Sultan Murad
III. It was the 16th century. The astronomer Takiyeddin bin Muhammed
bin El-Maruf, who is thought to have been of Turkish origin, had
completed his studies in Egypt and was appointed chief astronomer by
Murad III. Takiyeddin had always dreamed of founding an observatory. So
he wrote a letter to Saadeddin Efendi, an historian who wielded great
influence with the sultan, emphasizing the need for an observatory for
making actual observations rather than merely doing calculations on
paper. Grasping the importance of the subject, Saadeddin Efendi
obtained permission from the sultan for the founding of an observatory,
which went into operation at Tophane in 1575.
OBSERVATION BY INSTRUMENTS
We come across the observatory at Istanbul in an illustrated manuscript
found in the Istanbul University Library describing events in the
period of Murad III. In the first miniature we see astronomers working
together as a group. Lying before them and in their hands are the
instruments that were used for taking measurements. Sevim Tekeli, a
professor of the history of science who has done important research on
the observatory and Takiyeddin, has established through a detailed
analysis of the instruments that his drawings were largely accurate.
The instruments that were built at the Istanbul observatory bear great
similarity to those used at the observatory founded in 1576 at the
behest of the Danish King Frederick II by the famous astronomer Tycho
Brahe (1546-1601).There were two kinds of instruments at Takiyeddin's
observatory, fixed and portable, as well as an 'observation pit' 27.28
meters deep in which several large instruments were placed. The
instruments were large so as to reduce the effect of the wind and
ensure that the measurements yielded sound results.
Among the fixed instruments the largest was the armillary sphere, which
was used to find the latitude and longitude of the celestial bodies.A
scientific drawing of this instrument can be seen in one of the
miniatures shown here. You can appreciate the size of the sphere by
comparing it with the height of the workers. Another large instrument
was the mural quadrant, which Takiyeddin called a 'libne'. This
instrument, which was six meters in diameter and showed the stars
crossing the meridian, was fixed to a wall parallel to the meridian.
Tycho Brahe was the first Westerner to use the libne, which he again
called by his own name, the 'Tychonicus'. Among the other astronomical
instruments seen in the miniature are a sextant for measuring the
distances between the stars, a wooden quadrant., an instrument with two
apertures, an 'azimuth hemisphere' for determining the positions of the
celestial bodies, a triquetrum, a mechanical clock, an hourglass, an
astrolabe and spheres representing the sky and the earth.
SHARING A SIMILAR FATE
In 1577, two years following the founding of the observatory, a comet
was observed in the skies of Istanbul. This comet had first been
observed by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe in 1572. Publishing a
report about it a year later, he had given it his own name. Exactly
five years from the initial observation of the comet by Brahe, it was
also seen in Istanbul and in the rest of the world. By coincidence a
year after the comet passed by the earth, a plague epidemic broke out
in Istanbul claiming the lives of many people. In palace circles it was
concluded that this 'inauspicious' incident had originated with the
observatory. So the terrified sultan ordered his Chief Admiral Kilic
Ali Pasa to destroy the observatory together with its instruments in
1580. Brahe in Denmark had established his observatory on the island of
Hveen with a grant from the king. But the king had died and his son
Christian IV had succeeded him. The relationship between the astronomer
and the tripartite alliance of king, church and aristocracy soured, and
the new king cut off Brahe's funds. Forced to leave the island, the
astronomer continued his studies at Prague.
THE COMET IN ISTANBUL
Let us take a look now at the miniatures of the comet known as Tycho
Brahe. A miniature taken from the Topkapi Palace Library shows the
comet amidst the stars and the moon. Here the comet is passing over the
Hagia Sophia, which had two minarets in that period. And on the right
an astronomer is taking measurements with a quadrant. Another extremely
interesting miniature is from the Istanbul University Library. The
comet is passing over Istanbul, which is depicted in a bird's eye view.
In this miniature we can see the city's major buildings and monuments:
at the top, two of the islands; on the left, the Valide Mosque at
Üsküdar, the Maiden's Tower, and Üsküdar Palace; at the top right, the
Istanbul city walls, Topkapi Palace, the Hagia Sophia, the Hippodrome
and other important buildings; and at the bottom right, the quarter of
Galata...
Ottoman astronomy also boosts lovely miniatures of the celestial
bodies. The planets, signs of the zodiac, and other constellations were
usually symbolized by human figures, superimposed over which the stars
that constituted the zodiac signs and other constellations were
depicted one by one. Another comet observed in the skies of Istanbul
was Halley's, which first passed by the earth in 240 B.C. Visiting our
planet again in 1910, Halley's comet aroused great excitement among the
populace just as the comet of 1577 had. But this time there were no
malign influences; quite the contrary the comet found great resonance
in art and literature. In the same year, for example, a two-act musical
comedy called 'Halley-Pera', depicting how the comet was viewed by
various circles in Beyoglu, was written and staged at a cabaret theater
called the Catacloum on Hamalbasi Street opposite Galatasaray Lycée. In
the wake of the event, the well-known novelist HUseyin Rahmi GUrpinar
also wrote a humorous novel called 'Marriage under the Comet'.
In the light of centuries of knowledge and know-how and the newly
developing technologies, man in the past century even set foot on the
moon, where it was always said that he could never go. Astronauts can
travel with ease into the depths of outer space, and very soon it's
going to become clear whether or not there is life on Mars... Are we
'worldlings' going to unravel all the mysteries of the cosmos? Only
time will tell...
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