{"product_id":"islamic-astronomy-instruments-a-manual-for-horizontal-sundials-ال-بسیطه‌سی-رساله‌سی-el-basitesi-risalesi-i-e-treatise-on-the-hand-basitas-horizantal-sundials","title":"[ISLAMIC ASTRONOMY \/ INSTRUMENTS \/ A MANUAL FOR HORIZONTAL SUNDIALS] ال بسیطه‌سی رساله‌سی \/ El basîtesi risâlesi [i.e., Treatise on the hand basîtas -horizantal sundials-]","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eGÂZI AHMED MUHTAR PASHA (1839-1919).\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eMatbaa-yi Jirayr Keteon, Dersaadet, Istanbul, AH 1327 [CE 1909]. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eOriginal stitched white wrappers. 12mo. (17 × 12.5 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish in Arabic script). 13 p., [3 blank pages]. Manuscript notes in pen on the last three blank pages; slight foxing to the cover. Overall, a very good copy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe rare second edition in book form of this pamphlet, which serves as a practical manual for the use of the horizontal sundial (basîta), an instrument employed in the Islamic world from the Middle Ages until the nineteenth century to measure time. The work contains the description and instructions for a portable sundial that could be used both for time correction and as a calendar in locations situated at 41 degrees north latitude. This rare booklet was printed in an Armenian printing house established in Istanbul after the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Era, which operated for only a very short period. It also demonstrates that this astronomical instrument was still in use in Istanbul in the twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eHorizontal sundials, generally referred to as basîta in the Islamic world, are instruments used to determine time and the direction of the qibla by measuring the sun’s altitude. Portable examples are known as hand basîtas. Although sundials largely lost their importance with the spread of mechanical clocks from the seventeenth century onward, their use nevertheless continued.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eAhmed Muhtar Pasha may have developed his interest in sundials during, or even prior to, his tenure teaching astronomy at the Military Academy (Mekteb-i Harbiye), from which he had graduated. He produced his first publications on the subject in 1867. In that year, his study entitled Fenn-i Basîta began to appear in serial form in the journal Mebahis-i İlmiye, of which he was both founder and contributor. In this work, he explains the mathematical construction of the instrument, the principles to be observed in its manufacture, and its practical use. The first edition of the work in book form was also published in 1867. During his years in Egypt (1885-1908), Ahmed Muhtar Pasha further discussed sundials, alongside other astronomical instruments, in his well-known work Riyâz al-Muhtâr (Bulaq, 1886) and its supplement Mecmû'at al-Ashkâl (1885-86), where he also provided their diagrams.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eÖzege 4704., TBTK 1884., Not in Ihsanoglu., As of March 2026, in OCLC, we couldn’t trace any copies worldwide.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Khalkedon Rare Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46927634727043,"sku":null,"price":600.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0390\/3294\/6819\/files\/33_sml-Kopya.jpg?v=1775502292","url":"https:\/\/khalkedonrarebooks.com\/products\/islamic-astronomy-instruments-a-manual-for-horizontal-sundials-%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a8%d8%b3%db%8c%d8%b7%d9%87%e2%80%8c%d8%b3%db%8c-%d8%b1%d8%b3%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%87%e2%80%8c%d8%b3%db%8c-el-basitesi-risalesi-i-e-treatise-on-the-hand-basitas-horizantal-sundials","provider":"Khalkedon Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}