Abū Ḥātim al-Muẓaffar al-Isfazārī (; fl. late 11th or early 12th century) was an Islamic

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and engineer from

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

. According to the historian and geographer Ibn al-Athir and the

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, he worked in the Seljuq observatory of

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

. The Persian writer Nezami Aruzi met him in Balkh in (in present-day Afghanistan) in 1112 or 1113. Al-Isfazārī was a contemporary of the Persian

Umar al-Khayyam and the Persian astronomer

Al-Khazini Abū al-Fath Abd al-Rahman Mansūr al-Khāzini or simply al-Khāzini (, flourished 1115–1130) was an Iranian astronomer, mechanician and physicist of Byzantine Greek origin who lived during the Seljuk Empire. His astronomical tables, written ...

. Al-Isfazārī's main surviving work, (''Guiding the Possessors of Learning in the Art of the Steelyard''), sets out the theory of the steelyard balance with unequal arms. His other surviving works include a summary of Euclid's ''Elements'', a text on geometrical measurements, and a treatise in Persian on

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

. Al-Isfazārī's corpus of

mechanics Mechanics () is the area of physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among Physical object, physical objects. Forces applied to objects may result in Displacement (vector), displacements, which are changes of ...

is composed of two sets of texts, which have been published as (Text of Al-Muzaffar Al-Isfazar in the words Al-Taql and Al-Hail) by the Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation.

References

11th-century Iranian astronomers Astronomers of the medieval Islamic world 12th-century Iranian astronomers 12th-century Iranian mathematicians Year of birth missing Scientists from Isfahan People from Khorasan Scholars from the Seljuk Empire {{Iran-mathematician-stub