Abstract provided by Yusuf Tayara:
"My thesis centres on the astronomical activities of three timekeepers working in the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus during the fourteenth century. I examine how the wider intellectual context of the most famous of these astronomers, Ibn al-Shatir of Damascus (d. AD 1375/AH 777), influenced his models. Ibn al-Shatir’s astronomical writing was framed explicitly in terms of meeting higher “observational” standards, as noted by historian George Saliba. That is, Ibn al-Shatir was rare among the astronomers of the Islamicate in for emphasising observation, and not the principles of Aristotelian physics. I explore why, concluding that it is likely the product of contentious debates between the mosque's most celebrated theologians on the permissibility of using calculation instead of eyesight observation to begin the holy months. My thesis details the social network in which this discourse is embedded, shedding light on the rich social, intellectual, and religious currents of the period, and their interactions with the social and mathematical sciences."
Bio
Yusuf is a doctoral candidate in the history of science and a member of Wolfson College, Oxford. His current project is a social and intellectual history of Mamluk timekeeping and astronomy, focusing on Ibn al-Shāṭir and his fellow timekeepers in the Umayyad Mosque, contextualising his apparent emphasis on observation with respect to contemporary theological debates and the wider scholarly trends of the time and place. Prior to Oxford, Yusuf completed an MPhil in the History and Philosophy of Science at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and a BSc in Philosophy, Logic, and Scientific Method from LSE. He completed most of his secondary education in Syria, and between degrees has spent some time working in the anti-bribery and corruption due diligence sector, as well as in human right advocacy