Nasir al-Din al-Tusi

18 February 1201 – 26 June 1274

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi was a Persian polymath — astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, and theologian — often called the father of trigonometry as an independent discipline. He founded the great observatory at Maragheh under Mongol patronage, and his 'Tusi couple' planetary model influenced later astronomy, possibly including Copernicus.

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Life events

Born in Tus, Khorasan
18 February 1201

Al-Tusi was born in the city of Tus in northeastern Persia into a family of Twelver Shia scholars.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Studied the sciences in Nishapur
c. 1213

As a young man he moved to Nishapur to study philosophy, medicine, and mathematics, gaining a reputation as an exceptional scholar.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Entered the service of the Ismaili strongholds
c. 1227 – 1256

Fleeing the chaos of the Mongol invasions, al-Tusi took refuge with the Nizari Ismailis, working at Quhistan and later at the fortress of Alamut, where he wrote prolifically.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Wrote the Akhlaq-i Nasiri (Nasirean Ethics)
c. 1235

While in Ismaili service he composed his celebrated Persian treatise on ethics, economics, and politics.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Devised the Tusi couple and reformed Ptolemaic astronomy
c. 1247

In his astronomical works al-Tusi introduced the Tusi couple, a geometrical device producing linear motion from circular motions, to resolve problems in Ptolemy's models.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Joined Hulagu Khan after the fall of Alamut
1256

When the Mongols under Hulagu Khan captured Alamut in 1256, al-Tusi entered Hulagu's service as a trusted scientific adviser.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Founded the Maragheh observatory
1259

With Hulagu's patronage, al-Tusi established the great observatory at Maragheh, assembling an international team of astronomers and a major library.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Completed the Zij-i Ilkhani astronomical tables
c. 1272

The observatory's observations were compiled under al-Tusi's direction into the Zij-i Ilkhani, a set of astronomical tables dedicated to the Ilkhan.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Baghdad
26 June 1274

Al-Tusi died in Baghdad and was buried near the shrine of the seventh Shia Imam, Musa al-Kadhim, in Kadhimiya.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓