Seeing Stars: Ulugh Beg’s Observatory, Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Now and then history turns up a prince who is not a complete dullard; one who does something other than wage war, gather lots of money and property through conquest, bullying, and taxation, and sit around shouting orders whilst trying to look important. One such gentleman, who lived in the first half of the fifteenth century, was Ulugh Beg. He was the grandson of Emir Timur, known more widely as Tamerlane, who frankly was a bit of a conqueror type but also regarded as one of the greatest military leaders in history. He was descended from Genghis Khan, so none of this should be particularly surprising. However, Timur did hang out with some scholarly types, like the Persian poet Hafez (everyone needs some leisure time), and it would appear that his grandson continued the tendency towards intellectual pursuits.

above: Ulugh Beg, prince and astronomer.

Ulugh Beg means something like ‘great ruler’, and he was actually born Mirza Muhammad Taraghay in 1394 in Soltaniyeh, Iran. Ulugh Beg rather liked maths (not too sure I approve of this, but I suppose someone has to) and astronomy. In fact, he was rather better at these things than ruling his empire, more of which later. As well as a madrassah (Islamic school) in Bukhara (an inscription above its portal reads ‘aspiration for knowledge is the sacred duty of all Muslims, men and women’), he built another in Samarkand, where he also built a huge observatory which came to be regarded as one of the finest of the medieval era. In an age before telescopes, a sextant with a 40-metre radius was used by the eminent astronomers working at the observatory to measure the angle of elevation of bright celestial objects. 1018 stars were catalogued at the observatory, and these findings were published in the Zij-i-Sultani in 1438-1439. This work was translated into various languages and found its way into libraries all over the world.

Unfortunately, though undoubtedly gifted in matters scientific, Ulugh Beg could not live up to his moniker of ‘great ruler’. He was on the throne for just two years before being assassinated by a hitman hired by his son. It seems that having his father murdered wasn’t sufficient for Ulugh Beg’s rebellious and power-hungry son, so he had the observatory and its library of thousands of books destroyed. What an absolute plank he must have been. Still, he only lasted six months as ruler before he too was killed, so he got his comeuppance. The marble base of the sextant is all that now remains of Ulugh Beg’s observatory, rediscovered in 1908 after an archaeologist, Vasily Vyatkin, found a document mentioning its location. Models have been made based on descriptions of the three-storey building in documents, since it was basically flattened after Ulugh Beg’s death. The remains of the observatory now form part of the Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures UNESCO World Heritage Site, which incorporates other monuments such as the Gur Emir complex, where the Timurid rulers, including Ulugh Beg, are buried.

above and below: Models constructed to show how Ulugh Beg's observatory might have looked.

above: The remains of the sextant used in the observatory.

above: Model of quadrant used in Ulugh Beg's observatory.

above: Model of armillary sphere used in Ulugh Beg's observatory.

above: Depiction of life at the Ulugh Beg observatory during the 15th century. 

Mirza Muhammad Taraghay may not have been a ‘great ruler’ but, in looking beyond an earthly realm, he left a legacy that was out of this world and a launch pad for those who came after, enabling humankind to continue reaching for the stars.

For more information: UNESCO Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy - Show entity (astronomicalheritage.net)