Astronomy & Astrology

For a general overview of ‘Abbasid-era astronomy and astrology, see this post.

A 9th-century Description

This manuscript is from 12th-century Iraq, but it preserves a 9th-century text by ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi. Sufi relied in part on Ptolemy. The left hand page describes the Northern Crown, while the right hand page tabulates the stars in the preceding constellation The Herdsman.

This image is from a 12th-century manuscript of the same text, showing the constellation Andromeda:

This is a 15th-century manuscript of the same text, available online so you can see all of the constellations like this one:

A 12th-century Description

This passage was written by Abraham ben Ezra, a 12th-century Jew living in Spain.