• The Crossing Paths of Greek and Persian Knowledge in the 9th-century Arabic 'Book of Degrees'

    Author(s):
    Alexandre Roberts (see profile)
    Date:
    2013
    Group(s):
    History, Islamicate Studies
    Subject(s):
    Middle Ages, Arabs--Social life and customs, Science, History, Islam--Study and teaching
    Item Type:
    Book chapter
    Tag(s):
    astrology, Galen, Banu Musa, Graeco-Arabic, 6th to 10th century, Arabic culture, History of science, Islamic studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M69R5D
    Abstract:
    This paper examines a 9th-century Arabic text of genethlialogical astrology, arguing that while it presents itself as heir to a Greek science deriving from India, it is also a testament to the pervasive role played by Sasanian intellectual culture in the 8th- to 10th-century Greek-Arabic translation movement. After a description of the astrological text and its manuscripts, I turn to its technical vocabulary, focusing in particular on what its use of a Middle Persian technical term betrays about the text's origins and the intellectual tradition in which it is to be situated. Finally, I argue that the tension between the text's self-presentation as part of the ancient Greek astrological tradition and its Persian vocabulary can be resolved by considering how the text promotes itself: as a gateway to true knowledge through ancient science.
    Metadata:
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    Published as:
    Book chapter     Show details
    Publisher:
    Pontificio Istituto Orientale
    Pub. Date:
    2013
    Book Title:
    Le vie del sapere in ambito siro-mesopotamico dal III al IX secolo: atti del convegno internazionale tenuto a Roma nei giorni 12-13 maggio 2011
    Author/Editor:
    Carla Noce, Massimo Pampaloni, and Claudia Tavolieri
    Page Range:
    279 - 303
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    6 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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