Abdoljabbār al-Kharaqi and His Works on Astrology

Traditional books on astrology (heiat) are among the most important astronomical works in the Islamic era. Topical similarities between such works make it possible to distinguish them from other astronomical works by placing them in a particular writing tradition. It is hardly possible to say exactly from what time Muslim scholars began writing on heiat. However, based on two invaluable works, Qattān Marvazi's Geyhān shenākht (cosmology) – possibly written in 498 AH /1105 – and Abdoljabbār Kharaqi's Montah-al-edrāk fi taqāsim-al-aflāk – composed within the years 526-527 AH /1132- 1133-, one can maintain that the writing of comprehensive books on heiat began around this very same time. Of the two afore-mentioned books, Kharaqi's exemplifies a full-fledged work on heiat, about which no detailed research has thus far been made. Scholars have even gone wrong regarding its author's name and ancestral linage. In this article attempts are made to produce a systematic biography of the book's author grounded on his contemporary sources or those close to his time and his own works on heiat.