الأسطرلاب astrolabe

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Etymology of Arabic words: the word الأسطرلاب

means astrolabe (An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers,navigators, and astrologers) which derives from the greek word αστρολάβος which is composed from the word άστρον meaning star and the verb λαμβάνω meaning to receive /to take. In Turkish is usturlap.

P.S. An early astrolabe was invented in the Hellenistic world in 150 BC and is often attributed to Greek astronomer, geographer, and mathematician (Ἵππαρχος) Hipparchus.

Astrolabes continued in use in the Greek-speaking world throughout the Byzantine period.

Astrolabes in Islamic world

Brass astrolabes were developed in much of the Islamic world, chiefly as an aid to finding the qibla. The earliest known example is dated 315 (in the Islamic calendar, corresponding to 927-8).

The first person credited for building the Astrolabe in the Islamic world is reportedly Fazari (Richard Nelson Frye: Golden Age of Persia. p163).

He only improved it though, the Greeks had already invented astrolabes to chart the stars.

The Arabs then took it during the Abbasid Dynasty and perfected it to be used to find the beginning of Ramadan, the hours of prayer, and the direction of Mecca.

The instruments were used to read the rise of the time of rise of the Sun and fixed stars. al-Zarqali of Andalusia constructed one such instrument in which, unlike its predecessors, did not depend on the latitude of the observer, and could be used anywhere. This instrument became known in Europe as the Saphea.