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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
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.

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Lusotopie

Journals


ISSN:	1257-0273
E-ISSN:	1768-3084

Current:	Volume 16 (2009)
Number of Issues:	2
List price Individuals:	€ 43.00 / US$ 63.00
List price Institutions:	€ 189.00 / US$ 278.00
List price institutions online only:	€ 170.00 / US$ 250.00

Editorial Board

Comité de Rédaction / Editorial Board: Camille Goirand (Institut d’études politiques de Lille) Colette Callier-Boisvert (Groupe d’anthropologie du Portugal) Éric Morier-Genoud (State University of New York at Binghamton) Victor Pereira (Institut d’études politiques de Paris) Anne Pitcher (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington DC) Michel Cahen (Centre d’étude d’Afrique noire de l’Institut d’études politiques de Bordeaux) Christine Messiant (Centre d’études africaines de l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales) José Fernando Florêncio (Universidade de Coimbra) Rédacteurs associés étrangers : David Birmingham (University of Kent at Canterbury) Patrick Chabal (King’s College, London) Manuela Cook (ACIS, Solihull, W. Midlands) M. de Moraes Ferreira (CPDOC-FGV, Universidade federal de Rio de Janeiro) Lorenzo Macagno (Centro brasileiro de análise e planejamento/Cebrap, São Paulo) Conseil scientifique/ Scientific Committee : Coordinateurs : Michel Lesourd (Département de géographie, Université de Rouen) Déjanirah Couto (École pratique des hautes études, Sorbonne, Paris) Membres : Michel Agier (Centre d’études africaines de l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales, CNRS, Paris) Jean-Pierre Bastian Centre de Sociologie Comparée des Religions, Université des Sciences Humaines de Strasbourg Francisco Bethencourt (Centre Culturel Calouste Gulbenkian, Paris, et Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbonne) Patricia Birman (École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris et Rio de Janeiro) Emilio Bonvini (CNRS, Langues O, Villejuif) Bernard Lavallé (Université de Paris 3, Institut d’études ibériques) Joana Pereira Leite (Instituto superior de economia e gestão, CesA, Lisbonne) Bérangère Marques-Pereira (Centre de Sociologie Politique/Groupe d'Etudes Latino-Américaines, Institut de Sociologie, Université Libre de Bruxelles) Christine Messiant (Centre d’études africaines de l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales) Stéphane Monclaire (Département de sciences politiques, Université de Paris 1) Alain Morice (CNRS, Université de Paris 7) Joaquim Ramos Silva (ISEG/Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Lisbonne) António Manuel de Almeida Serra (CesA, ISEG/Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Lisbonne)

Abstracting & Indexing

America: History & Life Fanatic Reader Historical Abstracts (Part A & B) International Political Science Abstracts Linguistics and Language Behaviour Abstracts Political Science Abstracts Sociological Abstracts

Table of contents

To see a copy of the table of contents and for more information about the Association for Researchers of Lusophone studies please go to www.lusotopie.sciencespobordeaux.fr

Back Volumes

Lusotopie, Volume 14 (2007)

Lusotopie, Volume 15 (2008)

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Lusotopie is an international comparatist specialized journal devoted to political analysis of present-day spaces stemming from Portuguese history and colonization. It deals with general issues in political analysis (nationalism, ethnicity, neo-liberalism, State reform, federalism, gender, civil war, media, civil society, election; etc.): it provides an original approach within this heterogeneous postcolonial space on the four continents and in numerous diasporas. Founded in 1994, Lusotopie has published a diverse range of contributions from researchers of over 30 different nationalities, often from Southern countries. It has brought up an egalitarian dialogue space due to systematic use of three international languages (French, Portuguese and English). Lusotopie est une revue comparatiste internationale, dont le but est le développement de la recherche politique sur les espaces contemporains issus de l’histoire et de la colonisation, portugaises. Elle entend poser tous les problèmes généraux de l’analyse politique (nationalisme, ethnicité, néolibéralisme, réforme de l’État, fédéralisme, relations de genre, guerres civiles, médias, société civile, élections, etc.) : son originalité est de les “traiter” au sein de cet espace postcolonial et composite, présent sur quatre continent s et dans de nombreuses diasporas. Paraissant depuis 1994, Lusotopie a publié des travaux d’auteurs de plus de trente nationalités, souvent originaires de pays du Sud et institué un espace de dialogue égalitaire grâce à son usage systématique de trois langues internationales (français, portugais et anglais. Lusotopie é uma revista comparatista internacional cujo objectivo é o desenvolvimento da inves t igação polít ica sobre os espaços contemporâneos provenientes da história e da colonização, portuguesas. Propõe-se abordar os problemas gerais da análise política (nacionalismo, etnicidade, neoliberalismo, reforma do Estado, federalismo, relações de género, guerras civis, media, eleições, etc.): a originalidade da revista é a de tratar aqueles problemas no seio do espaço post-colonial e plural, presente em quatro continentes e em numerosas diásporas. Saindo desde 1994 Lusotopie publicou trabalhos de autores de mais de trinta nacionalidades, muitos dos quais naturais de países do Sul, e instituiu um espaço de diálogo egalitário graças ao uso sistemático de três línguas internacionais (francês, inglês e português).

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