The discovery of an “exceptional” astrolabe reflects the fusion of Islamic, Jewish and Christian sciences in the Middle Ages

An “extraordinary” ancient astrolabe in the Verona Museum in Italy was recently revealed, revealing scientific cooperation between Muslim, Jewish and Christian scholars during the Middle Ages.

This artifact, dating back to the eleventh century and discovered by Dr. Federica Gigante, bears inscriptions in Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin, symbolizing the meeting of cultures and knowledge.

A researcher at the University of Cambridge's School of History, Dr. Federica Gigante, accidentally found the astrolabe, an instrument used to map the stars and tell time. It was considered an unusual instrument at the time.

Gigante had a photo of the 11th-century artifact on the website of a museum in Verona, Italy, when she found the astrolabe. She approached the Fondazione Museo Miniscalchi-Erizzo in Verona because of her interest in it, but the staff had no idea of ​​the importance of the piece.

The astrolabe is often described as a "smartphone" due to its multi-functional use in astronomy and navigation.

Gigante, who is also a former curator of Islamic scientific instruments at the Museum of the History of Science at Oxford University, traveled to Verona to conduct research on the artifact, and when light filtered from one of the museum’s windows onto the astrolabe, a group of scratches appeared, which prompted her to conduct an in-depth investigation, the results of which revealed that the astrolabe had Inscriptions in Arabic and Hebrew, and it also bore inscriptions of an Italian-Latin speaker, indicating his passage through diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

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The astrolabe's inscriptions and intricate design point to its origins dating back to Muslim-ruled Spain, with it participating in subsequent voyages across North Africa before finally arriving in Italy. This track highlights the role of the tool in scientific exchange between Muslims, Jews, and Christians across continents.

Its inscriptions, written first in Arabic, then in Hebrew, tell the story of how knowledge was created, shared and developed by Muslim and Jewish scholars living and working side by side in Al-Andalus, the Muslim-ruled region of the Iberian Peninsula.

Islamic art is Gigante's forte, but she knew enough of the Hebrew alphabet to discover that someone had translated the original Arabic names of the astrological signs on the astrolabe into Hebrew. Then I noticed that one of the panels of the machine bore the sign of Toledo on one side and Cordoba on the other.

The positions of the stars on the instrument matched those on astrolabes made in the 1960s and 1970s, while another of his paintings is engraved with the latitudes of North Africa, indicating that whoever had the device at the time lived in or traveled there frequently. .

“It's a bit like adding an app to a smartphone or running an update,” Gigante commented.

The exact chronology of the Verona astrolabe's voyages is difficult to determine, but Gigante believes it was made in Andalusia and transported to North Africa, possibly Morocco, before coming into the possession of a Jewish owner.

Although it was most likely in the hands of some Jews, Arabic was a lingua franca and was used by Jews as much as Muslims and Christians.

The last group of inscriptions, with Western numbers, appears to have been executed by an Italian or Latin speaker.

Gigante says that the discovery of the Verona astrolabe not only sheds light on the technological development of past civilizations, but also demonstrates the rich tapestry of scientific exchange that transcended religious and cultural boundaries. Pointing out that these results confirm the spirit of cooperation that led scientific progress during the medieval period, which challenges contemporary narratives about isolation and division between different religious communities.