A Concise Encyclopedia of the United Nations

(0)

[i]

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
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

Close

Publications & Services> Reference Works> Reference work> A Concise Encyclopedia of the United Nations

A Concise Encyclopedia of the United Nations

Second Revised Edition

Reference Works

Available
Publication year: 2010


ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 04 18004 8
ISBN-10:	90 04 18004 4

Cover:	Hardback
Number of pages:	xviii, 962 pp.
Google Book Search:	View this book at Google Book Search

List price:	€ 245.00 / US$ 363.00

Table of contents

Contents
Introduction
How to use this book
Abbreviations
Africa as Topic in the UN (Konrad Melchers)
Addendum (Helmut Volger)
Agenda for Development (Klaus Hüfner)
Agenda for Peace (Erwin A. Schmidl)
Aggression, Definition of (Ulrich Fastenrath)
Budget (Klaus Hüfner)
Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States (Mir A. Ferdowsi)
Addendum ( Antje Hennings)
Charter of the UN (Manfred Knapp)
Collective Security (Peter J. Opitz)
Addendum (Irene Weinz)
Committees, System of (Helmut Volger)
Common Heritage of Mankind (Gregor Kolk)
Addendum (Christian J. Tams)
Control Mechanisms in the UN, External and Internal (Klaus Hüfner)
Coordination in the UN System (Dieter Göthel)
CSD – Commission on Sustainable Development (Jürgen Maier)
Decolonization (Heike Henn)
Addendum (Sally Morphet)
Democratization and the UN (Jens Naumann)
Addendum (Helmut Volger)
Depository Libraries (Ramona Kohrs)
Deutscher Bundestag (German Federal Parliament), Positions of the
German Parties towards the UN (Wolfgang Ehrhart)
Addendum (Helmut Volger)
Deutscher Bundestag (German Federal Parliament), Subcommittee on the
United Nations (Eberhard Brecht / Wolfgang Ehrhart)
Addendum (Helmut Volger)
Development Concepts, Development Research (Inge Kaul)
Development Cooperation of the UN System (Inge Kaul)
Disarmament (Hans Günter Brauch)
Documentation System (Ramona Kohrs)
Economic Commissions, Regional (Peter Tobias Stoll)
ECOSOC – Economic and Social Council (Wolfgang Spröte)
Addendum (Helmut Volger)
Electoral Assistance (Simone Schwanitz)
Addendum (Helmut Volger)
Enemy State Clauses (Jörn Axel Kämmerer)
Environmental Law, International (Ulrich Beyerlin / Jenny Grote)
Environmental Protection (Jürgen Maier)
European Union, Common Foreign and Security Policy at the UN
(Hans Arnold)
Addendum (Frank Hoffmeister)
FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization (Barbara Hofner)
Addendum (Friederike Hoffmann)
Financial Crises (Klaus Hüfner)
General Assembly (Jürgen Heideking †)
Addendum (Reinhard Wesel)
Geneva Group (Günther Altenburg)
Addendum (Helmut Volger)
German Translation Section (Ruprecht Paqué)
Globalization (Sabine von Schorlemer)
Addendum (Thomas Fues)
Group of 77 and the UN (Mir A. Ferdowsi)
Addendum (Sally Morphet)
Groups and Groupings in the UN (Ingo Winkelmann)
History of the Foundation of the UN (Helmut Volger)
History of the UN (Helmut Volger)
Host State Agreements (Hans-Joachim Heintze)
Human Development Reports (Stephan Klingebiel / Marius Hildebrand)
Human Rights (Norman Weiß)
Human Rights, Protection of (Theo van Boven)
Human Rights, United Nations High Commissioner for (Alfred de Zayas)
Human Rights, Universal Declaration of (Peter J. Opitz)
Addendum (Norman Weiß)
Human Rights Committee (Eckart Klein)
Human Rights Conventions and their Measures of Implementation
(Martina Haedrich)
Human Rights Conventions, CAT – Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(Martina Haedrich)
Human Rights Conventions, CCPR – International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (Eckart Klein)
Human Rights Conventions, CEDAW – Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(Hanna Beate Schöpp-Schilling)
Human Rights Convention, CERD – International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Martina Haedrich)
Human Rights Conventions, CESCR – International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Eckart Klein)
Human Rights Conventions, Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Martina Haedrich)
Human Rights Conventions, CRC –

Readership

scholars and students of international law, international economics and political sciences, UN officials and members of permanent missions to the UN, politicians in the parliaments of the UN member states, teachers, journalists, academic libraries.

About the author(s)

Dr. Helmut Volger (Dr. phil. 1987 in Political Sciences, Free University Berlin) has written, co-edited and edited numerous books and encyclopedias on the United Nations.

How can we approach the complex United Nations system, a ‘family’of principal organs, subsidiary organs and specialized agencies? Where do we get summarizing information on the large number of reform concepts developed and implemented since the late 1990s, in particular in connection with the UN World Summit 2005?
The present book provides orientation and information: It is the second updated English edition of the German 'Lexikon der Vereinten Nationen'. The book provides in addition to concise and comprehensive information on the UN system insight into recent UN developments and reform efforts in the face of global opportunities and challenges, such as the Millennium Summit 2000 and World Summit 2005, and the establishment of important new UN organs, the Human Rights Council and the Peacebuilding Commission, in 2006.
The contributing authors are academic scholars of international law, economics and political sciences; active and former diplomats and UN officials; journalists and members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and offer a variety of interesting perspectives.
The entries are provided with bibliographies and with Internet addresses for further information and are supplemented in the annex by an informative text on the UN document numbering system and by a list of information facilities concerning the UN.

	Print Version
	Recommendation