Details
An astronomical quadrant of the standard Ottoman type, signed by Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Awfi al Khalwati, Istanbul, dated 1325 [Hijra] = 1907/08
2in. (7cm.) radius with astrolabic markings for latitude 41 (Istanbul) on one side and a trigonometric quadrant on the other, together with a calendar scale relating the date to the solar longitude. There is a handle at the middle of the circumfrential scale for holding the device when aligning the sights with the sun that are fitted on the radius serving as the meridian; this is unusual but is a sensible sddition. The maker is identified as Hasan in the corner of the universal horary quadrant on the front, but his full name is given in a curious two-line inscription just to the left, which begins (in incorrect Arabic) executed by the pen of the needy... [harraruhu bi-qalam al-faqir...]. The basic name is al-Hafiz al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Maqidranasi al-Khalwati al-Awfi but there are parts of the inscription which are unintelligible: it ends with the words known as.. but no nickname follows. On the back, he is named as Hasan Hafiz al-Maqidranasi al-Awfi. The significance of the curious name al-Maqidranasi is not known. The honorific title al-Hafiz indicates that he had memorized the entire Quran; the epithet al-Khalwati that he was a member of the widespread mystic (Sufi) Khalwati order; and al-Awfi that his nfamily hailed from the Anatolian town now named Of, to the east of Trabzon on the Black Sea coast. The date of construction is given on the front as 1325 Rumi [Byzantine (calendar)], that is, in the Seleucid calendar falsely associated with Alexander the Great; this is equivalent to 1013/14 A.D., which is impossible. It seems more likely that it should be 1325 Hijra, that is 1907/08 A.D. On the back the date is given simply 1327
See Colour Illustration
2in. (7cm.) radius with astrolabic markings for latitude 41 (Istanbul) on one side and a trigonometric quadrant on the other, together with a calendar scale relating the date to the solar longitude. There is a handle at the middle of the circumfrential scale for holding the device when aligning the sights with the sun that are fitted on the radius serving as the meridian; this is unusual but is a sensible sddition. The maker is identified as Hasan in the corner of the universal horary quadrant on the front, but his full name is given in a curious two-line inscription just to the left, which begins (in incorrect Arabic) executed by the pen of the needy... [harraruhu bi-qalam al-faqir...]. The basic name is al-Hafiz al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Maqidranasi al-Khalwati al-Awfi but there are parts of the inscription which are unintelligible: it ends with the words known as.. but no nickname follows. On the back, he is named as Hasan Hafiz al-Maqidranasi al-Awfi. The significance of the curious name al-Maqidranasi is not known. The honorific title al-Hafiz indicates that he had memorized the entire Quran; the epithet al-Khalwati that he was a member of the widespread mystic (Sufi) Khalwati order; and al-Awfi that his nfamily hailed from the Anatolian town now named Of, to the east of Trabzon on the Black Sea coast. The date of construction is given on the front as 1325 Rumi [Byzantine (calendar)], that is, in the Seleucid calendar falsely associated with Alexander the Great; this is equivalent to 1013/14 A.D., which is impossible. It seems more likely that it should be 1325 Hijra, that is 1907/08 A.D. On the back the date is given simply 1327
See Colour Illustration