![]() Texts written by astrologers like Abu Ma’shar took what had once been the preserve of the priestly and elite classes, in the Hellenic world, and opened its secrets to other literate classes. This popularity evinces the widespread acceptance of this ancient science and the productivity of astrological writers during this period, but it also-and equally significantly-demonstrates the accessibility of astrology. Ibn al-Nadim, the famed bibliographer and bookseller, attests to the popularity of such instruction manuals. One widely read text warns its readers to avoid such activities when the moon is in Scorpio. Medieval Muslims were deeply drawn to this style of astrology, so much so that they scheduled many of their ordinary activities-from haircuts to sex-based on astrological timing. ![]() Together, Nawbakht and Mash’allah employed a branch of the science known as “electional astrology,” in which the practitioner would “elect” an auspicious moment, based on the placement of the planets, to begin an endeavor. Both were experts in the style of astrology popularized by Hellenistic writers like Ptolemy, Valens, and Dorotheus of Sidon. Mash’allah was of Persian Jewish descent. Nawbakht was of Persian descent, claiming lineage to the dynasties of the old Persian empires. Theirs was a city plan that enshrined divine intent. To ensure the glory of the new capital, al-Mansur enlisted the aid of astrologers versed in the venerable science of the stars: Nawbakht and Mash’allah ibn Athari would work to bring their caliph’s vision to light. The location signaled to the world not only the birth of a new empire, but one forged from the fragments of antiquity. He settled on ancient Mesopotamia, selecting land near Ctesiphon, the capital of Persia’s Parthian and Sasanian empires, to house his new city. Consequently, an understanding of this tradition is essential for mapping the beliefs, decisions, motivations, and dimensions of the Islamic world.įigure 1: Map of the Early Islamic world via the al-Ṯurayyā Project. And yet, the importance of astrology to medieval and early modern Muslim empires is beyond doubt. Today, in the United States and Europe, astrology is often dismissed as a pseudoscience, rather than recognized as a field with a deep history and broad application. To fashion a capital whose greatness would be etched among the stars, he turned to astrologers versed in the ancient science. In 762 CE, al-Mansur-the new caliph of lands stretching from Tunisia to northern India-would found Baghdad, the City of Peace. ![]() Knowing that the defeated Umayyads had established Damascus as their center of power, the newly crowned Abbasids set about building a new capital city. The Muslim world was under a new authority. In 750 CE, the Abbasid dynasty overthrew the Umayyads, wresting control of the caliphate from the family that had held it for nearly a century. Islamic empires, like others, looked to the stars to imbue their capitals with meaning and purpose. In misunderstanding the city, then, one runs the risk of misunderstanding the imperial project as a whole. They often present a microcosm of a leader’s intended cosmos. Capital cities are etched with the ideologies of the empires that design them.
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