Latest / Tamerlane: The Conqueror Who Tried to Rebuild the Mongol Legacy — Fexingo History
Tamerlane's Captive Astronomers and the Samarkand Observatory
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a lesser-known aspect of Tamerlane's legacy: his systematic capture of astronomers and mathematicians during his campaigns, who were then brought to Samarkand to build a scientific tradition. They focus on the figure of Jamal al-Din, a Persian astronomer who developed the astronomical tables known as the Zij-i Sultani, and how his work laid the groundwork for Ulugh Beg's later observatory. The conversation covers the destruction of the Maragha observatory, the transfer of scholars from Damascus and Tabriz, and the tension between…
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