Ali Qushji

                                                  

Born: 1403(Samarkand)

Died: 14 December 1474

Fields of specialty: astronomer,physicist,scientist,mathematician and mutakallim
Early life and works:          Ali Qushji was born in 1403 in the city of Samarkand, in present-day Uzbekistan. His full name at birth was Ala al-Dīn Ali ibn Muhammed al-Qushji. The last name Qushji derived from the Turkish term kuşçu - the falconer- due to the fact that Ali's father Muhammad was the royal falconer of Ulugh Beg.Sources consider him Turkic or Persian.Ulugh Beg Observatory - Landmark of Ali Qushji's career.

He attended the courses of Qazi zadeh Rumi, Ghiyāth al-Dīn Jamshīd Kāshānī and Muin al-Dīn Kashi. He moved to Kerman, Iran (Persia) and there he conducted some researches on the storms of Oman sea. He completed Hall-e Eshkal-i Ghammar (Explanations of the Periods of the Moon) and Sharh-e Tajrid in Kirman. He moved to Herat and taught Molla Cami about astronomy (1423). After professing in Herat for a while he went back to Samarkand and herald his works about moon to Ulugh Beg. Ulugh Beg was fascinated with the works and read the entire work while standing up. Ulugh Beg assigned him to Ulugh Beg Observatory which was called "Samarkand Observatory" at that time. He worked there till Ulugh Beg was assassinated. After Ulugh Beg's death, Ali Qushji went to Herat, Tashkent and finally Tabriz, where around 1470, the Ak Koyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan sent him as a delegate to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. At that time Husayn Bayqarah had come to reign in Herat but Qushji preferred Constantinople rather than Herat because of Sultan Mehmed's attitude toward scientists and intellectuals.

His works
Astronomy:    1. Sharh e Zîj e Ulugh Beg (In Persian)    2. Resale fi Halle Eshkale Moadeleye Ghamar lil-Masir (Faide fi Eshkâli Utared)    3. Resale fi Asli'l-HâricYumkin fi's-Sufliyyeyn    4.Sharh 'ale't-Tuhfeti'sh-Shâhiyye fi al-Heyat    5.Resale dar elm-i Heyat (In Persian)    6.el-Fathiyye fî elm al-Heyat (In Arabic)    7.Resale fi Hall-e Eshkal-i Ghammar (In Persian)    8.Concerning the Supposed Dependence of Astronomy upon Philosophy Mathematics   1.Resaletu'l-Muhammediyye fi-Hesab (In Persian) 2.Resale dar elm-e Hesab: Suleymaniye 3.Kalam and Fiqh 4.Sharh e Jadid ale't-Tejrîd 5.Hashiye ale't-Telvîh 6.Unkud-üz-Zevahir fi Nazm-al-Javaher Mechanics:  Tazkare fi Âlâti'r-Ruhâniyye  Linguistics  Sharh Risâleti'l-Vadiyye  El-Ifsâh  El-Unkûdu'z-Zevâhir fî Nazmi'l-Javâher  Sharh e'Sh-Shâfiye  Resale fî Beyâni Vadi'l-Mufredât  Fâ'ide li-Tahkîki Lâmi't-Ta'rîf  Resale mâ Ene Kultu  Resale fî'l-Hamd  Resale fî Ilmi'l-Me'ânî  Resale fî Bahsi'l-Mufred  Resale fî'l-Fenni's-Sânî min Ilmihal-Beyân  Tafsir e-Bakara ve Âli Imrân  Risâle fî'l-İstişâre  Mahbub-al-Hamail fi kashf-al-mesail  Tajrid-al-Kalam