A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c17.s1.43

c17.s1.43

The moment of the occurrence of new moon in May 1520 was 2.27 A.M. on the morning of Thursday, May 17. We do not know whether Nuniz ascertained his facts from native almanacks or the calculations of the astrologers, or whether he spoke from observations made by himself or by some one who was present; but Nuniz was an ordinary person, not a skilled astronomer, so far as we can tell, and he may well have called the day on which the crescent of the new moon first made its appearance just after sunset the "new moon day." This first appearance actually took place on the Saturday following. The first day of the Muhammadan month Jamâda' l âkhir, corresponding to the heliacal rising of the moon on that occasion, was Saturday, May 19.