Samarkand

General view of Ulug Beg Observatory, 1420s, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, pictured on July 17, 2010, in the afternoon. Ulugh Beg built this observatory to advance astronomical study at his Madrasah and appointed Ali Qushji to direct it. Other astronomers associated with the observatory included Qadizada al-Rumi and Jamshid Kashani. Destroyed by religious fanatics in 1449 the observatory was re-discovered in 1908, by V L Vyatkin. One of his most exciting discoveries was the Fakhri sextant, a large arch used for the observation of the Sun, Moon and other celestial bodies, and to determine midday, which was placed in a trench dug into a hill along the line of the Meridian. Samarkand, a city on the Silk Road, founded as Afrosiab in the 7th century BC, is a meeting point for the world's cultures. Its most important development was in the Timurid period, 14th to 15th centuries. Picture by Manuel Cohen

Picture No

13425338

Media ID

45092287

Size

5616px x 3744px (5.4MB)

Credit

Manuel Cohen / Mary Evans

Source

Photograph by Manuel Cohen