The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c5.s5.6

c5.s5.6

Astrology and astronomy are closely interlinked. In medieval times astronomy was also considered a branch of psychology and medicine. Astronomy has an undoubtedly high antiquity in India. The Arabs began to make scientific astronomical observations about the middle of the eighth century, and for 400 years they prosecuted the science of *najum* with assiduity. The Muslims looked upon astronomy as the noblest and most exalted of sciences, for the study of stars was an indispensable aid to religious observances, determining for instance the month of Ramzan and the hours of prayers. Halaku Khan (Buddhist) founded the great Margha observatory at Azerbaijain. One at Jundishapur existed in Iran. In the fifteenth century Ulugh Beg, grandson of Amir Timur (Tamerlane), built an observatory at Samarqand. In Europe Copernicus in the fifteenth and Galileo and Newton in the seventeenth century did valuable work in the field of astronomy. In medieval India many Muslim chroniclers wrote about the movements of planets and stars,⁵⁸ but the name of Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur has become famous for his contribution to the science of astronomy. He built observatories or *Jantar-Mantars* at many places in the country for the study of the movements of stars and planets. A reputed geometer and scholar, Sawai Jai Singh II built the Delhi Jantar-Mantar in C.E. 1710 at the request of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah. The observatory was used for naked-eye sighting, continuously monitoring the position of the sun, moon and planets in relation to background stars in the belt of the Zodiac. His aim was basically to make accurate predictions of eclipses and position of planets. He devised instruments of his own invention - the Samrat Yantra, the Jai Prakash, and the Ram Yantra. The Misr Yantra was added later by Jai Singhs son Madho Singh. The Samrat Yantra is an equinoctial dial. The Yantra measures the time of the day, correct to half a second; and the declination of the sun and other heavenly bodies. Other Jantar-Mantars of Jai Singh were built at Ujjain, Mathura, Banaras and Jaipur.⁵⁹