Al-Zarqali
Muslim instrument maker, astrologer, and astronomer
Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm ibn Yaḥyā al-Naqqāsh al-Zarqālī al-Tujibi (Arabic: إبراهيم بن يحيى الزرقالي); also known as Al-Zarkali or Ibn Zarqala (1029–1100), was an Arab maker of astronomical instruments and an astrologer from the western part of the Islamic world.
Although his name is conventionally given as al-Zarqālī, it is probable that the correct form was al-Zarqālluh. In Latin he was referred to as Arzachel or Arsechieles, a modified form of Arzachel, meaning 'the engraver'. He lived in Toledo, Al-Andalus before moving to Córdoba later in his life. His works inspired a generation of Islamic astronomers in Al-Andalus, and later, after being translated, were very influential in Europe. His invention of the Saphaea (a perfected astrolabe) proved very popular and was widely used by navigators until the 16th century.
The crater Arzachel on the Moon is named after him.
Life
Al-Zarqālī, of Arab origin, was born in a village near the outskirts of Toledo, the then capital of the newly established Taifa of Toledo. He started work after 1048 under Said al-Andalusi for the Emir Al-Mamun of Toledo and also under Al-Mu'tamid of the Taifa of Seville. Assuming a leading position under Said, Al-Zarqālī conducted solar observations for 25 years from 1050.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11133. VIAF identifies the subject as 79050497. The Library of Congress control number is n88106171. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1029, 1100, 1048 and 1050.
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This entry incorporates text from “Al-Zarqali” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.