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An unusual qibla-indicator by the master craftsman of late 17th-century Isfahan, ‘Abd al-A’imma
描述
拍品資料及來源
International Instrument Checklist number: #8201
‘Abd al-A’imma was one of the most prolific instrument-makers of late-17th-century Isfahan. [See Mayer, Islamic Astrolabists, pp. 23-26.] He is known by over thirty astrolabes and at least two other qibla-indicators, both of which are rectangular and incorporate sundials and information on the times of prayer. His work is characterized by its elegance and its technical accuracy. He used an elegant ornamental naskhî script for his principal engraving. Nothing of consequence is known of his life, save that he was a Shi‘ite, his name signifying “Slave of the (twelve Shi‘ite) Imâms”, in the same way that little is known about the milieu in which he worked. [See King, World-Maps, pp. 262-269]
The two other qibla-indicators by ‘Abd al-A’imma are as follows. Abbreviations used here are: MHS for Museum of the History of Science, Oxford; PLU for “present location unknown”; and TM for the former collection of the Time Museum in Rockford, Illinois. Neither of these is published in detail.
1 Oxford MHS #8042 unsigned
2 PLU #8041 signed
Notes:
1 Both sides are illustrated in King, World-Maps, pp. 120-121. The information on the qibla is analyzed ibid., pp. 518-519 and 545.
2 Both sides are illustrated in King, World-Maps, pp. 119. The information on the qibla is analyzed ibid., pp. 518-519.
We shall have occasion to mention a contemporaneous circular qibla-indicator by Muhammad Tâhir [Mayer, Islamic Astrolabists, p. 78]:
3 Potsdam #8050 signed
Notes:
3 This is discussed ibid., pp. 118 and 120 (with references to an earlier publication by Körber), with the qibla-data analyzed ibid., pp. 520-521 and 545.
The topic of the qibla, or sacred direction towards the Kaaba in Mecca, is of concern to all Muslims, but was of particular concern in Safavid Iran, especially the 16th and early 17th cenuries. More treatises on the determination of the qibla were compiled and more instruments for finding the qibla were constructed than in any period of Muslim history. These treatises and instruments had a distinct Shi‘ite flavour, and the sacred geography of the time laid emphasis not only on Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, but also on specifically Shi‘ite centres such as Kerbela, Najaf, and Kazimiyya in Baghdad, all in the then Safavid province of al-‘Irâq. [See King, World-Maps, passim, esp. pp. 134-138 and 545.] Part of the inspiration for this activity was a geographical table compiled in Kish near Samarqand in the early 15th century in which, in addition to longitudes and latitudes, the direction of Mecca to the nearest minute and the great-circle distances equivalent to the nearest mile, were given – with remarkable accuracy – for some 275 localities from al-Andalus to China. [Ibid., pp. 149-168.]
Whilst some highly-sophisticated instruments – such as world-maps centred on Mecca and fitted with grids preserving direction and distance to the centre – were made in Safavid Iran (the inspiration was a good five centuries older), simpler instruments showing the qibla for specific localities were also popular and much more widespread.
This qibla-indicator is different in conception from the other two known by Shi‘ite ‘Abd al-A’imma but similar to that of Muhammad Tâhir. It consists of a magnetic compass with a 360°-division scale marked with the qiblas or direction of Mecca of some 30-odd localities mainly in Greater Iran. Such compasses with a few such directions are known, but ‘Abd al-A’imma has filled a complete quadrant with directions for each 5°. On the front and back are the standard lists of cities with their qibla values, so that the instrument could be used anywhere in Greater Iran and in a few other locations in Syria, Palestine, Egypt and the Maghrib.
The compass needle is hammer-shaped at each end, rather than havinf the more usual blue bird-shaped pointer to indicate south. The circular glass cover is kept in place by means of a “square” four-leafed frame. There are two movable pointers, one to be aligned in the meridian, the other in the qibla of the locality in question. [On compasses on Islamic instruments see King, World-Maps, pp. 98-101, 107-124, 282-284.]
On the bottom is the inscription:
sana‘ahu al-faqîr al-haqîr ‘Abd al-A’imma
“Made by the one who is in need (of God’s mercy) and the wretched one, ‘Abd al-A’imma.”
On the top is the inscription:
suni‘a li-l-sayyid al-ajall al-a‘zam Mîrzâ Sayyid ‘Alî
“Made for the most excellent nobleman Mîrzâ Sayyid ‘Alî.”
This individual has not been identified. The letters d-m and z-l-h are visible below the inscription in a smaller script, and whilst they make no sense together, they recall invocations about God lengthening the shadow of a person (zilluhu).
In the following list of the data on this instrument, references are given to the lists on two other qibla-indicators cum sundials by ‘Abd al-A’imma (AIM – see King, World-Maps, pp. 518-519), as well as to a circular qibla-indicator by the contemporaneous Muhammad Tâhir (T=THR – ibid., pp. 520-521) now in Potsdam, as well as to the early-15th-century Timurid geographical table (TMR – ibid., pp. 456-477). The values given on this instrument do not always accord with those on the other instruments or with the accurate values as given in the Timurid table. Generally the rule seems to be: if the Persian instrument-makers could make a mistake, they would. This is particularly the case when a dot here or there could alter the reading, or a dot left out could change a number drastically (thus, for example, 54 becomes 14). An asterisk indicates a reference to the notes that follow the table.
Localities Qibla AIM/THR TMR
TOP / OUTER RING
1 Medina 37°10¢ SE 1 22
2 Najaf-i ashraf 12 34 SW 9 102
3 Baghdad 12 45 SW 13 104
4 Samarra 7 56 12 101
5 Erzerum 0 39 56 55
6 Kufa 12 Æ 102
7 Basra 36 5 4 106
8 Sustar 35 27 6 110
9 Dawraq 37 20 Æ/T62 Æ
10 Ahwaz 40 30 Æ/T65 112
11 Sultaniyya 27 40 Æ/TÆ 267
12 Aleppo 18 29 57 43
13 Hilla 12 0 11 Æ
14 Gulpayagan 18 0 Æ/T8 136
15 Kankawar 30 30 16 Æ
16 Nahrawan 14 36 Æ/TÆ Æ
17 Burujird 34 30 19 Æ
18 Kirmanshah 24 9 14 125
19 Isfahan 40 29 21 138
20 Kashan 34 31 45 139
21 Qum 31 54 44 140
22 Sawa 29 36 Æ/T17 133
23 Hamadhan 22 16 15 131
INNER RING
24 Qazwin 26 34 SW 46 134
25 Damawand 32 44 Æ/T24 147
26 Amul 35 0 41 148
27 Sari 34 14 40 149
28 Astarabad 34 14 39 150
29 Rayy 36 26 43 141
30 Simnan 36 17 38 153
31 Damghan 38 0 36 154
32 Sabzawar 44 12 35 159
33 Bistam 39 13 37 155
34 Meshed 45 6 25 161
TOP / OUTER RING
35 Yazd 48 39 SW 23 122
36 Shiraz 43 18 7 120
37 Istakhr 43 48 Æ/TÆ 121
38 Kazarun 51 7 8 116
39 Abarquh 45 0 22 258
40 Junabid 12 15 Æ Æ*
41 Talaqan 29 33 47 144
42 Bahrein 57 23 Æ/T69 26
43 Lahsa 69 30 5 27
44 Marw 40 30 30 173
45 Herat 54 8 26 169
46 Tun 50 20 33 164
47 Qayin 54 1 32 165
48 Mazinan 32 14 Æ/T34 158
49 Kirman 63 5 28 218
50 Qandahar 75 5 29 239
51 Nahawand 24 0 Æ/TÆ 128
52 Barfurush 22 0 Æ/TÆ 271
53 Kajur 26 37 42 42
54 Jarâr (??) 29 50 Æ/TÆ ?*
55 Lahijan 29 20 Æ/TÆ 268
56 Sumayram 38 0 24 137
57 Isfarayin 48 20 Æ/TÆ 270
INNER CIRCLE
58 Kashghar 58 36 SW Æ/TÆ 205
59 Tabas Gilaki 12 15 Æ/TÆ 163
60 Tabriz 15 40 Æ/T48 83
61 Maragha 16 17 52 82
62 Ardabil 17 53 48 84
63 Kanja 14 49 51 85
64 Bardaa 16 37 Æ/T56 87
65 Shirwan 20 9 54 Æ
66 Nakhchevan 12 15 53 81
67 Shamakha 20 0 54+ 97
68 Shahrazur 13 4 Æ/TÆ 123
Notes: 40 (Junabid) - see the text below; 54 - the name could be read Harrân, but TMR61 gives the qibla of that city as 14°42¢ W of S.
All of the data is taken from lists of longitudes, latitudes and qiblas that were in circulation, not all, however, from the superior list TMR. The volatility of this data is well illustrated by entry 40: Junabid (Gonabid): it is not in TMR, but, no doubt because it was the hometown of some of the Isfahan astrolabists, its qibla was calculated as 52°35¢: it appears here as 12°15¢, as the result of copyists’ errors in both numbers. [On Junabid see King, World-Maps, pp. 178, 272, and entry 42 on p. 489.]
The directions around the compass are shown in the following list. Entries in italics are rounded from the values in the table above (A); other entries are compared with the values in the Timurid table mentioned above (TMR):
Localitiy Qibla A/TMR
SOUTH 0
1 Damdam 10° W of N TMR79: 9°1¢
2 Tabriz 15 A60: 15 40
3 Shamakha 20 A67: 20 0
4 Bulghar 25 TMR99: 24 41
5 Talaqan 30 A41: 29 33
6 Kashan 35 A20: 34 31
7 Isfahan 40 A19: 40 29
8 Meshed 45 A34: 45 6
9 Tun 50 A46: 50 20
10 Marw-i Rudh 55 TMR172: 54 42*
11 Khabis 60 TMR222: 60 24
12 Andarab 65 TMR183: 65 28
13 Bam 70 TMR220: 69 37
14 Qandahar 75 A50: 75 5
15 Multan 80 TMR238: 80 48
WEST 90
16 Bandar Surat 85° W of S TMR249: 83 42*
17 Surat 75 see 16
18 Sri Lanka 70 TMR243: 70 12
19 Sohar 41 TMR21: 40°32¢30¢¢*
NORTH 0
20 Aden 7°30¢ E of N TMR18: 5 50
21 Zabid 21 30 TMR20: 21 25
22 Beja 55 TMR10: 54 45
23 Dongola 69 TMR12: 68 45
24 Ethiopia 81 TMRÆ
EAST 90
25 Fez 78 TMR2: 78 24
26 Cairo 60 TMR15: 58 38
27 Jerusalem 45 TMR29: 45 43
28 Sidon 39 TMR35: 36 50
29 Damascus 32 TMR38: 30 31
30 Medina 26 A1: 37 10*
31 Aleppo 20 A: 18 29
32 Amid 10 TMR72: 11 29
Notes: 10 – name written Mârûkhân; 16-17 – Bandar Surat is in order; Surat in 17 has been repeated by mistake; 19 – occasionally qibla values in TMR are given to the nearest 30¢¢; 30 – the qibla is some 11° off.
Clearly, ‘Abd al-A’imma has favoured localities whose qiblas round to multiples of 5°. A very few mistakes have occurred, such as confusion between Bandar Surat and Surat (15-16) in India, and, more notably, the qibla of Medina (no. 30) being over 10° off the accurate value.
Around the rim is engraved the nada ‘Ali quatrain in Arabic:
“Call upon ‘Alî, who wonder reveals.
You will find him to be a help in misfortunes.
All anguish, all sorrow will disappear
Through your friendship (with God), O ‘Alî ! O ‘Alî ! O ‘Alî !'
The engraving is within extended quatrefoil frames separated by quatrefoils. [On quatrefoil decoration on Islamic instruments see King, Synchrony, II, pp. 963-991.]