Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient

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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
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Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient

Journal d'Histoire Economique et Sociale de l'Orient

Edited by Maurits van den Boogert

Journals


ISSN:	0022-4995
E-ISSN:	1568-5209

Current:	Volume 52 (2009)
Number of Issues:	5
List price Individuals:	€ 77.00 / US$ 113.00
List price Institutions:	€ 445.00 / US$ 654.00
List price institutions online only:	€ 401.00 / US$ 589.00

Editorial Board

MAAIKE VAN BERKEL (Universiteit van Amsterdam) - JAN GERRIT DERKSEN (Leiden University) - KENNETH HALL (Ball State University) - DAVID HENLEY (Royal Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies) -GAKUSHO NAKAJIMA (Kyushu University, Fukuoka City) - WILLIAM R. PINCH (Wesleyan University) - ROBERT ROSS (Leiden University) - IVO SMITS (Leiden University) - BAKI TEZCAN (University of California Davis) - MATHIEU TILLIER (University of Oxford) - DAVID WASHBROOK (University of Oxford) - NORMAN YOFFEE (University of Michigan) - HARRIET ZURNDORFER (Leiden University)

Abstracting & Indexing

America: History & Life Arts and Humanities Citation Index Bibliographic Index Bibliography of Asian Studies Dietrich's Index Philosophicus Exerpta Indonesica Fanatic Reader Historical Abstracts (Part A & B) Index Islamicus International Bibliography of Book Reviews of Scholarly Literature International Bibliography of the Social Sciences Internationale Bibliographie der Zeitschriftenliteratur aus allen Gebieten des Wissens / International Bibliography of Periodicals from all Fields of Knowledge Journal Citation Reports/Social Sciences Edition Linguistic Bibliography Middle East: Abstracts & Index Numismatic Literature Periodica Islamica Periodicals Contents Index Political Science Abstracts Religion Index One: Periodicals Religion Index Two: Multi Author Works Russian Academy of Sciences Bibliographies Social Sciences Citation Index Social Scisearch Social Services Abstracts Sociological Abstracts

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Back Volumes

Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Volume 50 (2007)

Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Volume 51 (2008)

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The Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (JESHO) contains studies extending our knowledge of the economic and social history of what was once labeled as the Orient: the Ancient Near East, the World of Islam, and South, Southeast, and East Asia. Apart from in-depth regional studies, the Journal stimulates comparisons and connections across these regions and across the various “mediterranean” world-economies of the Indian Ocean area at large. Chronologically, the journal extends over the period from ancient times until the beginning of the nineteenth century. However, the journal also encourages contributions that investigate longer-term historical developments that originate earlier but flow into the twentieth century and/or into the present. The journal seeks contributions by economic and social historians, historians of law and administration, philologists, geographers, anthropologists, archaeologists, theoretical sociologists, and other social scientists. In addition, it challenges scholars to (re)connect cultural and literary history, the history of ideas, mentalities and gender to economic and social history analysis. JESHO encourages source-oriented research that combines linguistic expertise with a renewed sensitivity for aspects of agency, discourse and texture. Published since 1958, the Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient is the oldest and most respected journal in its field. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Journal of the Social and Economic History of the Orient this year, a conference has been held in Leiden, from 29-30 August 2008. The theme of the conference will be “Empires and Emporia: The Orient in World-Historical Space and Time”. For more information please visit www.arts.leidenuniv.nl/history/empiresandemporia/announcement.jsp . A special jubilee volume has been published for the occasion. More details can be found at www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=210&pid=31148. On books for review, please contact Dr. Markus Vink (Markus.Vink@fredonia.edu; for publishers in the Americas) or Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya (likhon26@rediffmail.com; for publishers in the rest of the world). For back volumes or issues older than 2 years, please contact Periodicals Service Company, 11 Main Street, Germantown, NY 12526, USA psc@periodicals.com / www.periodicals.com/brill.html

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