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Pre-Islamic Arabian Calendar
Several calendars have been used in pre-Islamic Arabia. These calendars are known from pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions. Inscriptions of the ancient South Arabian calendars reveal the use of a number of local calendars, as do Safaitic inscriptions from the Harran desert in Syria and Jordan. At least some of the South Arabian calendars followed the lunisolar system, while the Safaitic calendar had fixed months and seasons and, very importantly, a seasonal star calendar strongly connected to the Zodiac and the position of the ''ʔanwāʔ''. The ''ʔanwāʔ'', a series of asterisms on or near the zodiac belt were the most important element in pre-Islamic astronomy. These stars were connected to the season, and they were used to forecast various phenomena such as rain, temperature, wind. Before the rise of Islam, diviners invoked these stars in rainmaking rituals called ''istisqāʔ''. Rituals took place during specific times, when the sun was in one or the other of these ''ʔanwāʔ'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia is the Arabian Peninsula and its northern extension in the Syrian Desert before the rise of Islam. This is consistent with how contemporaries used the term ''Arabia'' or where they said Arabs lived, which was not limited to the peninsula. Pre-Islamic Arabia included both nomadic and settled populations. Several settled populations developed distinctive civilizations. From around the second half of the 2nd millennium BCE, South Arabia, Southern Arabia was the home to a number of kingdoms, such as the Sabaeans and the Minaeans, and Eastern Arabia was inhabited by Semitic-speaking peoples who presumably migrated from the southwest, such as the so-called Samad Late Iron Age, Samad population.Kenneth A. Kitchen The World of "Ancient Arabia" Series. Documentation for Ancient Arabia. Part I. Chronological Framework and Historical Sources p.110 From 106 CE to 630 CE, Arabia's most northwestern areas were controlled by the Roman Empire, which governed it as Arabia Petrae ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gemini (astrology)
Gemini (; , Latin for "twins") is the third astrological sign in the zodiac. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this sign between about May 21 to June 20. Gemini is represented by the twins, Castor and Pollux, known as the Dioscuri in Greek mythology. It is known as a positive, mutable sign. Mythology In Babylonian astronomy, the stars Pollux and Castor were known as the Great Twins. Their names were Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea, meaning "The Mighty King" and "The One who has arisen from the Underworld". Both names are titles of Nergal. Also could be referencing Zeus and Hades. In Greek mythology, Gemini is associated with the myth of Castor and Pollux, a pair of twins conceived by different fathers. Zeus, who seduced Leda and conceived Pollux while Tyndareus, the king of Sparta and Leda's husband, conceived Castor. When Castor died, because he was a mortal, Pollux begged his father Zeus to give Castor immortality, which was done through uniting them togethe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rabi' Al-Awwal
Rabiʽ al-Awwal (, also known as Rabi' al-Ula (), or Rabi' I) is the third month of the Islamic calendar. The name ''Rabī‘ al-awwal'' means "''the first month'' or ''beginning of Spring (season), spring''", referring to its position in the pre-Islamic Arabian calendar. Meaning The word "Rabi" means "Spring (season), spring" and Al-awwal means "the first" in the Arabic language, so "Rabi' al-awwal" means "the first spring" in Arabic. The name seems to have to do with the celebratory events in the month, as spring marks the end of winter (a symbol of sadness) and consequently the start of happiness. As the Islamic calendar is a purely lunar calendar, the month naturally rotates over solar years, so Rabīʽ al-awwal can fall in spring or any other season. Therefore, the month cannot be related to the actual season of spring. And it's mentioned in the Arabic lexicons that Arabs add the word "month" to Rabi' al-Awwal, Rabi' al-Thani, Rabi' al-Akhir and Ramadan months only, and m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Mas'udi
al-Masʿūdī (full name , ), –956, was a historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus of the Arabs". A polymath and prolific author of over twenty works on theology, history (Islamic and universal), geography, natural science and philosophy, his celebrated magnum opus ''The Meadows of Gold'' () combines universal history with scientific geography, social commentary and biography. Birth, travels and literary output Apart from what al-Mas'udi writes of himself little is known. Born in Baghdad, he was descended from Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, a companion of Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is believed that he was a member of Banu Hudhayl tribe of Arabs. Al-Masudi mentions a number of scholar associates he encountered during his journeys: Al-Masʿudi may have reached Sri Lanka and China although he is known to have met Abu Zayd al-Sirafi on the coast of the Persian Gulf and received information on China from him.[Mas‘udi. ''The Meadows of G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Biruni
Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern geodesy", Founder of Indology and the first anthropologist. Al-Biruni was well versed in physics, mathematics, astronomy, and natural sciences, and also distinguished himself as a historian, chronologist, and linguist. He studied almost all the sciences of his day and was rewarded abundantly for his tireless research in many fields of knowledge. Royalty and other powerful elements in society funded al-Biruni's research and sought him out with specific projects in mind. Influential in his own right, al-Biruni was himself influenced by the scholars of other nations, such as the Greeks, from whom he took inspiration when he turned to the study of philosophy. A gifted linguist, he was conversant in Khwarezmian, Persian, Arabic, and Sanskri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lisān Al-ʿArab
''Lisān al-ʿArab'' () is a dictionary of Arabic completed by Ibn Manzur in 1290. History Ibn Manzur's objective in this project was to reïndex and reproduce the contents of previous works to facilitate readers' use of and access to them. In his introduction to the book, he writes: Occupying 20 printed book volumes (in the most frequently cited edition), it is the best known dictionary of the Arabic language, as well as one of the most comprehensive. Ibn Manzur compiled it from other sources to a large degree. The most important sources for it were the of Abu Mansur al-Azhari, Azharī, ''Al-Muḥkam wa-al-muḥīt al-aʻẓam, Al-Muḥkam'' of Ibn Sidah, ''Al-Nihāya'' of Majd ad-Dīn Ibn Athir, Ibn Athīr and Jauhari's ''Ṣiḥāḥ'', as well as the ''ḥawāshī'' (glosses) of the latter (''Kitāb at-Tanbīh wa-l-Īḍāḥ'') by Ibn Barrī. It follows the ''Ṣiḥāḥ'' in the arrangement of the Semitic root, roots: The headwords are not arranged by the alphabetica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pisces (astronomy)
Pisces is a constellation of the zodiac. Its vast bulk – and main asterism viewed in most European cultures per Greco-Roman antiquity as a distant pair of fishes connected by one cord each that join at an apex – are in the Northern celestial hemisphere. Its old astronomical symbol is (♓︎). Its name is Latin for "fishes". It is between Aquarius, of similar size, to the southwest and Aries, which is smaller, to the east. The ecliptic and the celestial equator intersect within this constellation and in Virgo. The Sun passes directly overhead of the equator, on average, at approximately this point in the sky, at the March equinox. The right ascension/declination 00 is located within the boundaries of Pisces. Features The March equinox is currently located in Pisces, due south of Psc, and, due to precession, slowly drifting due west, just below the western fish towards Aquarius. Stars Although Pisces is a large constellation, there are only two stars brig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aquarius (astrology)
Aquarius (; , Latin for "water-bearer") is the eleventh astrological sign in the zodiac, originating from the constellation Aquarius. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun is in the Aquarius sign between about January 20 and February 18. Aquarius is one of the three air signs, alongside Gemini and Libra. The ruling planets of Aquarius are Saturn (in traditional astrology alongside Capricorn), and Uranus (in modern astrology). It is a fixed air sign. The opposite sign of Aquarius is Leo. Myth The water carrier represented by the constellation Aquarius was originally Enki (or Ea) to the ancient Sumerians and Babylonia. In Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ..., this figure was interpreted as Ganymede, a beautiful Phrygian youth. Ganymede ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capricorn (astrology)
Capricorn (; , Latin for "horned goat") is the tenth astrological sign in the zodiac out of twelve total zodiac signs, originating from the constellation of Capricornus, the goat. It spans the 270–300th degree of the zodiac, corresponding to celestial longitude. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this area from around December 22 to January 19. Capricorn is one of the three earth signs, alongside Virgo and Taurus, a negative sign, and one of the four cardinal signs. Capricorn is ruled by the planet Saturn and its opposite sign is Cancer. Cultural significance In India, the zodiac sign of Capricorn is celebrated as the Makara Sankranti festival, also known in Nepal as Maghe Sankranti. The Indian astronomical calendar is not based on the western Gregorian or Julian date keeping system. The Gregorian calendar has fixed days in a year and does not accommodate difference in the actual solar year. Therefore, the festival is celebrated on either of January 13, 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sagittarius (astrology)
Sagittarius (; , Latin for "archer") is the ninth astrological sign, which is associated with the constellation Sagittarius (constellation), Sagittarius and spans 240–270th degrees of the zodiac. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this sign between approximately November 22 and December 21. Greek mythology associates Sagittarius with the centaur Chiron, who mentored Achilles, a Ancient Greece Mythology, Greek hero of the Trojan War, in archery. Sagittarius, the half human and half horse, is the centaur of mythology, the learned healer whose higher intelligence forms a bridge between Earth and Heaven. Also known as the Archer, Sagittarius is represented by the symbol of a bow and arrow. Astrology Along with Aries and Leo, Sagittarius is a part of the Fire Trigon as well as the last of the reproductive trinity. It also follows Gemini and Virgo as third of the mutable signs, which are the signs that feature changeable quality. When Sagittarius is depicted as an archer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scorpio (astrology)
Scorpio (; , Latin for " scorpion") is the eighth astrological sign in the zodiac, originating from the constellation of Scorpius. It spans 210–240° ecliptic longitude. Under the tropical zodiac (most commonly used in Western astrology), the Sun transits this sign on average from October 23 to November 21. Depending on which zodiac system one uses, someone born under the influence of Scorpio may be called a ''Scorpio'' or ''Scorpionic''. Associations Scorpio is one of the water signs, the others being Cancer and Pisces. It is a fixed, negative sign. According to ''The Astrology Bible'', Scorpio's colors are deep red, maroon, black, and brown. Myth According to Greek mythology, its representation as a scorpion is related to the Greek legend of Orion and how a scorpion stung him to death (said to be why Orion sets as Scorpius rises in the sky). Another Greek myth recounts how a scorpion caused the horses of the Sun to bolt, when they were being driven by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
