This study day will explore Islamic scientific and astronomical discoveries, and discuss how these achievements spread and influenced the West.

From 8th–17th centuries most astronomical advances were achieved in the Middle East, North Africa and Moorish Spain. While Europe languished in the Dark Ages, Islamic scholars consulted Greek scientific texts including Ptolemy’s Syntaxis, the classic of ancient astronomy, and used mathematics developed from Indian sources to determine Islamic religious observance, mostly related to timekeeping. In so doing Islamic scholars went far beyond the Greek mathematical methods. These developments provided the essential tools for the creation of Western Renaissance astronomy.

With:
> Dr Emilie Savage-Smith Professor of the History of Islamic Science, University of
Oxford
> Professor Charles Burnett Professor of the History of Islamic Influences in Europe,
Warburg Institute
> Dr Rim Turkmani Imperial College.

Registration required:

Yes

Free:

No