Iranian Researchers Study Unknown Aspects of Connection between Optics, Astronomy

Arezou Aqarlou, a master's student at the Institute of the History of Science at the University of Tehran, in a study conducted in the form of a thesis titled ‘The Science of Landscapes in the Commentary on the Tazkirat al-Nasiriyeh by Fathollah Shervani; Correction, Translation, and Research’ under the guidance of Hanif Qalandari showed that, contrary to popular belief, attention to the works of Ibn al-Haytham, the great scientist of the fifth century AH/eleventh century AD, did not diminish in the late Islamic era, and there was evidence of careful reading and use of his works.

“Shervani's innovation was to systematically collect these topics and examine various arguments in an independent chapter, criticize them, and reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each. This thesis also makes it clear that Shervani was in a scientific tradition that tried to bring the boundary between the field of vision and optics closer together and consider them as complementary sciences,” Qalandari said.

“This research also shows that Shervani has chosen a broader and more coherent approach. He not only examined the issue of the larger appearance of objects on the horizon, but also analyzed other optical topics related to the field of vision. Therefore, his treatise can be considered the most detailed commentary on optics,” he added.

In conclusion, Qalandari considered this thesis important from the point of view of the history of science, and said, “Reconstructing the true position of Ibn al-Haytham in the late Islamic scientific tradition; revealing the role of Iranian-Islamic scholars such as Shervani in the transmission and development of optical topics; A detailed analysis of a manuscript text that has been fully examined for the first time; Discovering the connection between the works of scientists from different centuries (fifth, eighth, and ninth centuries AH), demonstrating the connection between optics and astronomy, and finally paying attention to the connection between different branches of science in a period when the division of sciences was still flexible, are some of the basic points addressed in this research.”

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