Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Jabir al-Battani was born near Harran around 858 CE, growing up in the scientific milieu of the Jazira region before moving to al-Raqqa, where he set up his observatory and conducted precise astronomical observations beginning in 877 CE.
Al-Battani corrected many of Ptolemy's astronomical calculations, determining the length of the solar year with a precision approaching modern figures, observing the inclination of the ecliptic and the movement of the equinoxes, and replacing geometric methods with trigonometric calculation in astronomy.
Legacy
He authored 'al-Zij al-Sabi'', which was translated into Latin in the Middle Ages and became a standard reference for European astronomers such as Copernicus, who cited his work in his later astronomical writings.
