The Stars of Samarkand - Ulugh Beg’s Book of the Fixed Stars by Al-Sufi
Exhibitor
Verlag Müller & Schindler
The skies and their empirical observation have fascinated people worldwide – and this manuscript gives us a glimpse of fabled Samarkand, mythical center of the Silk Road in the 15th century and synonymous with oriental splendour under the Timurids. Ulugh Beg, a scientist on a ruler’s throne, had the famous 10th-century text of Al-Sufi calligraphed and painted as a magnificent manuscript for his library, depicting star constellations in 72 unique miniatures.
Fol. 38: Cepheus; The bearded face is a portrait of Ulugh Beg, who was made to appear in the night sky with this honourable tribute.
Fol. 136: Leo. Leo is a prominent constellation located between Cancer and Virgo, and easily recognisable in the spring sky. It has many bright stars and a distinctive shape that recalls a crouching lion. The mane and shoulders of the lion also form an asterism known as the „Sickle“, which may look like an inverted question mark to modern observers.
