مجله تاریخ علم
سال پانزدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 22، بهار و تابستان 1396)

Modern physics for the first time was introduced to Iran in the 19th century. August Karl Krziž’s Jarr al-Thaqīl as the first modern physics textbook in Iran was a translation of Krziž’s oral teachings in Dār al-Funūn by his assistance, Mīrzā Zakī Māzandarānī, published in 1857. Following this translation, among other similar translations of western textbooks, some of the west educated Iranian students came back to Iran and started teaching in Dār al-Funūn and writing textbooks. Nāẓim al-ʿUlūm’s Ḥikmat Tabīʿī Usūl ʿIlm Fīzīk (1876) is the first physics textbook written by an Iranian. Although this textbook was not without errors and was in fact a compilation of western textbooks, it was a turning point in pedagogy of physics in Iran. A comparison between Krziž’s and Nāẓim al-ʿUlūm’s books shows two forms of physics textbooks with two approaches. The first one is a textbook concentrating on mathematical formulas of physics and their solutions, while the second teaches physics through examples of experiments and industrial instruments, deepening the understanding of the physical concepts in simple words. Nāẓim al-ʿUlūm applies four French sources which will be compared with some phrases of the text.

During the Qajar period, there were events in Iran that were new for the society, one of them was the beginning of a scientific and modern mapping by Iranians themselves. Prior to this event in the Iranian community, a descriptive text was set up in the form of document named the letter concerning property limits (ḥadnāma). This text was compiled by a number of trusted experts familiar with the property limit and its local geographic environment. Although the modern mapping in Iran began later than France, in a short time some surveyors, including Mīrza ‘Abd al-Razzāq, Brigadier Bughāyirī, succeeded in drawing up maps of the border areas as well as urban and rural areas. In addition, by request of the state and some property owners, he provided maps on different scale. This event can be interpreted as the transformation of the Iranian mind and a forward movement.

Despite the first impression, there are not many modern philosophical texts written or translated by Iranians in the Qajar era. Among these texts, the only known philosophical textbook is entitled Dawri-yi Usūl-i Ḥikmat-i Falsafi, translated from French by Najm al-Dawla, graduated from Dār al-Funūn. The French book is a relatively voluminous philosophical textbook for the last year of high school, including an introduction and five chapters. Najm al-Dawla translated the first two chapters. We present in this article the translation by Najm al-Dawla and briefly study his point of view by referring to the Persian manuscript and comparing it to the original French text

Najm al-Dawla in his Usūl Awāʾil Hindisa wa ʿAmalīyāt Ān (Principles of Elementary Geometry and its Operation), Chapter Three, has divided a circle into a number of unproven issues and has come up with simple and innovative ways to draw them. In this paper, the problems are proven and their application in tile and architecture was explained. 1. Divide circle environment into 7, 14 and 15 equal parts; 2. Divide the circle into 5, 8, 10, 11 and 16 equal parts; 3. Divide circle environment into 9, 13 and 19 equal parts; 4. Divide circle environment into 17 equal parts; 5. Divide the circle into n equal parts; 6. Calculate the area of a lagoon, which there is no accessible to its inside; 7. Drawing an egg

Regarding the interactions of philosophical society and important political and cultural changes which occurred in Qajar period, two points about the neglecting to the translation of philosophical books are implied. First, there was no feeling of necessity in the traditional philosophical society of Qajar period to introduction of the doctrines of western philosophers and so they did not try to translate western philosophical books. Second, Iranian political men and intellectuals, except Jamāl Al-Dīn al-Afghānī, did not realize the importance of the learning and teaching of the western philosophy; neither in form of sending students to European countries, nor in form of establishing the philosophy field in new colleges, especially in Dār-al Funūn. In the second half of this paper, it is demonstrated that Iranians were introduced with Descartes’s Discours de la méthode before the period of Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh and Arthur de Gobineau’s travelto Iran. Finally, a list of western philosophical books is presented which were translated to Persian in Qajar period and then it is confirmed that Foroughi’s translation titled Socrates’s Wisdom established a new path for acquaintanceship with western philosophy

Although manuscripts and lithographs of calendars are rare today and astronomical announces published and distributed during the Qajar period and remained safe and received by the researchers, are very rare, nevertheless fortunately an example of a prediction of the end of the First World War In 1296 AS/June 1917 AD is available to us. This undated announcement was published in the style of lithography and on brown paper with the fonts of Nastaliq and Nasakh scripts, and was foretold by a person named ʿAbd al-ʿAlī Najm al-Dawla Tihrānī in late autumn 1295 AS/December 1916 AD (About two years before the end of the WWI). Although this prediction is not correct, but this document leads to identify one of the most important families of astronomers, in the Qajar period, as well as ʿAbd al-ʿAlī Najm al-Dawla Tabrīzī (formerly: Najm al-Mamālik).

Geography is one of the sciences that was considered by the intellectuals and the scholars of the Iranian society during the reign of Qajar, and as one of the sub-courses in some of the schools of this period, such as Dār al-Funūn, by teachers of modern mathematics and engineering. It was taught through an applied approach. The work of Najm al-Dawlah in this science played a very influential role in the transition from the traditional to its modern form, which is one of the main features of the science of this period. Before him, of course, several books in India and Iran in this field have been published mainly in the form of translations from other languages into Persian and in lithographic printing. It could develope the modern science in Iran. But Najm al-Dawla’s writings brought more attention to this science in its modern form. The purpose of this study is to study the science of geography during the Qajar period and the role of Najm al-Dawla’s geographical compilations in establishing a modern geography in Iran during the Qajar period.