Ali Qushji, or by his real name Ali ibn Muhammad (1403, Samarkand – 16 December 1474, Istanbul), was an astronomer, mathematician, physicist, philosopher, and linguist who lived in the Timurid Empire and the Ottoman Empire.
Life and scientific work
Ali Qushji, an astronomer, mathematician, and scholar of kalam (theology), was born in 1403 in Samarkand, on the lands of the Timurid Empire. Because his father Muhammad was the falconer (kuşçu) of Ulugh Beg — the ruler and astronomer of the Timurid Empire and also a grandson of Timur — his family became famous by the nickname "Kuşçu" (falconer). Deeply interested in mathematics and astronomy from an early age, Ali Qushji took lessons in these fields from figures such as Qadi Zada al-Rumi of Bursa, Ghiyath al-Din Jamshid, and Mu'in al-Din al-Kashi. He then went to Kirman to increase his knowledge. There he wrote the treatise Hall-i Ashkal-i Qamar (The Explanation of the Phases of the Moon) and his work Sharh-i Tajrid. After completing his education in Samarkand and Kirman, Ali Qushji became Ulugh Beg's assistant and the director of his observatory.
It is known that he was sent to China by Ulugh Beg and that, on his return, he calculated the surface area of the Earth and the ecliptic as 24 degrees.
In 1449 he wished to go on the hajj. In Tabriz the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan showed him great respect and asked for his help in the peace negotiations with the Ottoman State. Upon this, Ali Qushji acted for a time as Uzun Hasan's spokesman. Then, at the invitation of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, he went to Istanbul.
Welcomed with a great ceremony on the Ottoman–Aq Qoyunlu border by order of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, Ali Qushji was appointed by the Conqueror to begin his duties as a müderris (professor) at the Sahn-ı Seman Madrasa.
Here he both trained students and wrote scientific works by researching the celestial bodies. He invented sundials and calculated the latitude and longitude of Istanbul in exact agreement with today's values.
Ali Qushji died on 16 December 1474 in Istanbul at the age of 71. His tomb, characteristic of the 15th century, is in the cemetery around the Eyüp Sultan Tomb in Istanbul. Shortly after the Ottoman Sultan Selim I (Yavuz) conquered Maraş, as a result of the resurgence of the Shia sect in that region, some of Ali Qushji's descendants were sent to Maraş by imperial decree. His remaining descendants later migrated to Düzce of their own accord. Part of the family in Maraş also settled in Bursa after the proclamation of the Republic. The Fuat Kuşçuoğlu Avenue in Bursa also takes its name from Fuat Bey, one of Ali Qushji's descendants. His lineage continues in Kahramanmaraş, Düzce, and Bursa under the surname Kuşçuoğlu.
Works
Risāla fī Halle Eshkale Moadeleye Ghamar lil-Masir
Risāla fī aṣl al-Hâric yumkin fī al-sufliyyeyn
Sharḥ ʿalā al-tuḥfat al-shāhiyya fī al-hayāt
Al-Fatḥīya fī ʿilm al-hayʾa
Risāla fi Hall-e Eshkal-i Ghammar
Risāla al-muḥhammadiyya fi-ḥisāb
Risāla dār ʿilm al-ḥisāb: Suleymaniye
Sharh e Jadid ale't-Tejrîd
Unkud-üz-Zevahir fi Nazm-al-Javaher
Tazkare fi Âlâti'r-Ruhâniyye
El-Unkûdu'z-Zevâhir fî Nazmi'l-Javâher
Resale fî Beyâni Vadi'l-Mufredât
Fâ'ide li-Tahkîki Lâmi't-Ta'rîf
Resale fî'l-Fenni's-Sânî min Ilmihal-Beyân
Tafsir e-Bakara ve Âli Imrân
Mahbub-al-Hamail fi kashf-al-mesail
Sources
- Turkish Wikipedia: tr.wikipedia.org
- English Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org