Fun facts about al-battani

Biography

Al-Battani is sometimes known by a latinised version of his name, variants being Albategnius, Albategni or Albatenius. His full name was Abu Abdallah Mohammad ibn Jabir ibn Sinan al-Raqqi al-Harrani al-Sabi al-Battani.

Al-Battani was born in Harran, called Carrhae in earlier times by the Romans, which lies on the Balikh River, 38 km southeast of Urfa. His family had been members of the Sabian sect, a religious sect of star worshippers from Harran.

Being worshipers of the stars meant that the Sabians had a strong motivation for the study of astronomy and they produced many outstanding astronomers and mathematicians such as Thabit ibn Qurra.

Al-battani books

In fact Thabit was also born in Harran and would have still have been living there at the time that al-Battani was born. Al-Battani, unlike Thabit, was not a believer in the Sabian religion, however, for "Abu Abdallah Mohammad" indicates that he was certainly a Muslim.

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