Uzbekistan museum to showcase rare facsimile of 10th-century star map
Tashkent’s Center for Islamic Civilization to display facsimile of al-Sufi’s Book of Fixed Stars, linking medieval science to modern astronomy
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (MNTV) — The Center for Islamic Civilization’s museum in Tashkent will display a high-quality facsimile of the Book of Fixed Stars, the star atlas compiled in 960 by Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi. The original manuscript has not survived, but the work was copied and illustrated over centuries and is preserved in leading collections worldwide.
Among the best-known copies are manuscripts kept by the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and the British Library in London. A particularly notable version in the National Library of France in Paris was commissioned in the 15th century by Timurid ruler and astronomer Mirzo Ulugh Beg; marginal notes in his hand survive in that copy.
In 2022, a facsimile edition of the Paris manuscript was produced at the request of the World Society for the Study, Preservation, and Popularization of Uzbekistan’s Cultural Heritage, the Center’s press office said in a statement.
Scholars say the Book of Fixed Stars captures the sophistication of astronomy in the medieval Islamic world. Building on Greek foundations and their own observations, scholars mapped constellations, predicted the motions of celestial bodies, calculated time, and refined calendars.
That corpus helped shape tools for navigation and measurement that later spread widely—from instruments such as the astrolabe and sextant to concepts that underpin modern positioning systems like GPS.
Curators said the facsimile will anchor a multimedia installation that traces the arc of astronomy across centuries. The display will combine objects from different eras with interactive materials to show how knowledge evolved from classical texts and the works of polymaths such as al-Biruni to contemporary astrophysical models used in research and education.
The Center for Islamic Civilization is a national project initiated by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to present Uzbekistan’s scientific and cultural heritage and to promote an understanding of Islam as a faith linked with knowledge, peace, and tolerance.
The museum’s managers said the installation aims to situate Central Asia’s scientific traditions—exemplified by figures like Ulugh Beg—within a global story of exploration that continues to shape how people measure the skies and navigate the world today.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
