Draft:Fethullah Eş-Şirvani

Fathullah Ash-Shirvani 14-15. Muslim-Turkish mathematician, astronomer, physicist, theologian, fiqh scholar, mystic and scholar who lived in Anatolia for centuries and taught in madrasas. He was an important and respected scientist in the founding years of the Ottoman Empire.

Fathullah Ash-Shirvani
Born	1417, Shirvan, Timurid empire
Nationality	Turks
Citizenship	Ottoman empire
Scientific career
Doctoral advisor	Qāḍī Zāda al-Rūmī, Ali Qushji
Doctoral students	Mirim Çelebi, Matrakçı Nasuh

He was one of the leading scholars of the period and became famous especially for the methods he discovered in the field of mathematics and his observations in astronomy. However, most of these works are not known today.

Life and Work

One of the two most important scholars who initiated the teaching of mathematics, astronomy and geography in Anatolia during the 15th century Ottoman Period was Fethullah Şirvanî. Fethullah Şirvanî's grave is in Ayvat village, Şirvan neighborhood on Evrenye (Gemiciler). It is rumored that the neighborhood took its name from this person.

Fethullah Şirvani, who learned basic religious knowledge in Anatolia and was well-versed in other sciences, went to Shiraz and learned science from Seyyid Şerif Cürcani. He educated himself in religious and scientific knowledge. He became a scholar in the sciences of kalam and fiqh. He went to Samarkand and studied at the famous madrasah built by Ulugh Beg, one of Timur Khan's grandchildren. He learned the most extensive knowledge of Astronomy and Mathematics from Kadızade-i Rumi.

In Samarkand, he was inspired by the elders of the time and trained in Sufism. He came to Kastamonu to serve Islam in Anatolia. There, he received the respect and favor of Candaroğlu İsmail Bey and taught science by giving lessons to (Sultan) İsmail Bey himself. He settled there. Muhyiddin Mehmet Bin İbrahim from Niksar was also one of the famous students.

İsmail Bey had the İsmailbey Madrasa built in Kastamonu for Niksarlı Muhyiddin Mehmet. He helped spread knowledge and learn Islam in the country. With Fethullah Şirvani, the advanced mathematical knowledge in the eastern Islamic world was moved to Anatolia. He reached maturity with Ali Kuşçu... Ali Kuşçu, like Fethullah Şirvani, was a student of Kadizade-i Rumi. Like the author of many works, Fethullah Şirvani, like every Islamic scholar, worked constantly to gain the consent of Allah. He educated many students and wrote valuable works.

As a representative of the Samarkand mathematics-astronomy school, astronomer, mathematician and professor Fethullah b. continued his studies in the field of theoretical astronomy with the works he wrote. Abi Yazid b. 'Abdulaziz b. İbrahim el-Şaberani el-Şirvanî el-Şemahî is a scholar who popularized mathematical sciences in the Ottoman country, especially in Anatolia, along the lines of the Samarkand school and educated many students.

He was born in the town of Shemahi in Shirvan, which is within the borders of Azerbaijan today. He received his primary education from his father; He subsequently continued his education in Serahs and Tus. In Tus, he read Seyyid Şerif el-Curcanî's work titled Şerh el-Tezkire fî 'İlm el-Hey'e from the Shi'ite scholar Seyyid Ebu Talib. He went to Samarkand in the middle of 1435 and studied mathematics, astronomy, theology and linguistics from Musa Kadi-zade at the Samarkand Madrasa and received his license on September 13, 1440. During his education at the Madrasa, he must have participated in astronomical activities, especially observations, at the Samarkand observatory. Nizamuddin el-Nisaburî's Şerh el-Tezkire fî 'İlm el-Hey'e, which is among the works he read from Qadi-zade, shows that al-Tazkira occupied an important place both in the Samarkand madrasa and in al-Shirvani's education. shows. While he was in Samarkand, he also studied Shafi'i jurisprudence with Jamaluddin Yusuf b. He annotated İbrahim el-Erdebilî's work titled el-Envar li-a'mal el-ebrar and presented it to Ulugh Beg.

After five years of education in Samarkand, he returned to Shirvan (1440). After teaching in the madrasahs here for a while, he followed the advice of his teacher Kadi-zade and went to Sultan II. He came to Anatolia at the end of the Murad period (1421-1451). Since he received compliments from Çandaroğlu İsmail Bey in Kastamonu, he started teaching in the madrasahs in this city. He especially made his students read the mathematics and astronomy works of his teacher Kadî-zade and al-Tazkira. Muhyîddin Mehmed b. İbrahim el-Niksari and Kemaleddin Mes'ud b. Husayn al-Shirvani is the leading one of these students.

Şirvanî came to Bursa in January-February 1453 and dedicated a work on tafsir to the Ottoman grand vizier Çandarlı Halil Pasha. Also around this time, he presented his work Mecelle fî el-musikî to Fatih Sultan Mehmed. However, when Halil Pasha was executed in the changing political atmosphere after the conquest of Istanbul, Şirvani, who lost his patron, returned to Kastamonu. After this incident, Şirvani wanted to get closer to the Ottoman palace by writing an annotation called el-Ferai'd and el-Fevai'd in Kadi-zade's Şerh el-Mulahhas fî 'İlm el-Hey'e and presenting it to Fatih Sultan Mehmed, but he could not succeed. .

He set out for Hajj in 1465; He stopped by Iraq; He gave lectures in madrasahs in this region. After completing the pilgrimage, he stayed in Mecca (1467) and gave lectures. He stopped by Cairo on his way back. After his scientific activities here, he came to Istanbul. He was mostly involved in writing and education in Istanbul. Unable to find the attention he hoped for in Istanbul, Şirvani returned to his hometown, Şirvan, in 1478. He died in Şemahî in February 1486.

Shirvani, who was an expert and produced works in literature and linguistics as well as religious and rational sciences, used the knowledge of the Samarkand school, especially in the fields of mathematics and astronomy. He is a scholar who, together with Alî Kuşçu, transferred and spread the knowledge to Anatolia and Istanbul. Some of his works were written by Fatih Sultan Mehmed and Sultan II. He presented it to sultans like Bayezid or Çandarlı Halil Pasha to prominent Ottoman statesmen. Shirvani wrote six works in the fields of language, literature, exegesis, and usul-i fiqh. In the field of Kalam, he wrote three separate studies on al-Mevakıf fî ?İlm el-Kelam, which he had previously studied from his teacher Kadi-zade; Particularly noteworthy is the voluminous Annotation to this work's Commentary by Seyyid Şerif el-Curcanî. The Commentary he wrote to Mesud al-Teftazani's work Tehzib el-Mantık ve el-Kelam shows that his interest in both logic, the scientific language of the period, and theological problems continues. Considering that these works include subjects such as metaphysics, mathematics, astronomy and physics, it can be said that they are important in determining Shirvani's theoretical and metaphysical understanding on these subjects.

He wrote an important work called Mecelle fî el-musikî in the field of music, which was considered a sub-branch of mathematical sciences during the Shirvani period, and dedicated it to Fatih Sultan Mehmed. The work includes the ideas of Greek philosophers on the subject, as well as the famous Islamic music theorists Safiyyuddin al-Urmevi and ? It was written in a broad historical perspective, making use of the thoughts of philosophers such as Abdulkadir el-Merağı, Ibn Sina and Nasiruddin el-Tusi. It was published in a facsimile edition by Fuat Sezgin (Frankfurt 1986).

Another work of Şirvanî is in the field of geometry. He wrote an annotation to the commentary written by his teacher Kadî-zade on Şemseddin el-Samarkandî's Eşkal el-Te'sis. This annotation probably also included the oral information that Kadi-zade gave in his lectures. However, since no copy has survived to our time, it is not possible to say anything definitive about the content of the work.

Şirvanî's first important work on theoretical astronomy was again his teacher Kadî-zade's work on Mahmud el-Çağminî's el-Mulahhas fî ? It is a voluminous and important annotation that he wrote to the Commentary he wrote to his work titled İlm el-Hey'e el-Basita. The correct and full name of this annotation, which is recorded under different names in sources and catalogues, is el-Ferai'd ve el-Fevai'd fî Tavzih Şerh el-Mulahhas. This work of Shirvani is extremely important for the history of Islamic astronomy. Because, in order to explain the difficult parts of the commentary, the author both benefited from other commentaries and benefited from the lecture notes he listened to from Kadi-zade on the subject in the Samarkand madrasah. As a matter of fact, in the preface of el-Ferai'd, the author himself states that he started taking the first notes for his work while he was in Samarkand, that he set out for Anatolia while he was in the process of completing his work, and that he compiled his drafts into a book in 1473 and presented it to Fatih Sultan Mehmed in Istanbul. The work, which has not yet been examined, deals with the basic problems of ilm el-hey'e from the perspective of Samarkand school, especially Kadi-zade (Topkapi Palace Museum Library, III. Ahmed no. 3294).

Shirvani's most notable work on theoretical astronomy is undoubtedly his Commentary on Nasiruddin al-Tusi's important work called al-Tazkire fî 'Ilm al-Hey'e. Shirvani, who read al-Curjani's Commentary on this work in Tus in the early years of his student years and listened to al-Nisaburi's Commentary from his teacher Qadi-zade in Samarkand, gave this work an important place both in his student life and teaching. gave. As a matter of fact, in the preface of his Commentary on the work, he points out the place and importance of the work in his life. He particularly emphasizes that he wrote such a Commentary by taking into account the needs of the advanced students he teaches in the field of astronomy. In his work, which he completed on January 11, 1475, he benefited from the lecture notes of his teacher Kadi-zade and his own experiences, as well as from the commentaries before him (Topkapi Palace Museum Library, Ahmed III no. 3314).

In this work, Şirvani gives important information about the discussions about a theorem of Euclid's Elements between his teacher Kadi-zade, Uluğ Bey and the students, especially himself, in the Samarkand madrasah. He also records a copy of the permission he received from Kadi-zade. The work focuses extensively on geometry and optics as auxiliary branches of astronomy. Especially in the physics section, he deals with the subject of ilm-i menazir in detail and gives it. (Kitabhane-i Merkez-i Danişgah-ı Tehran, Kitabhane-i Mişkat, nr. 493). indicates that the information can be considered in the form of a treatise (leaves 23a-42a). In his review, he makes references to almost all the accumulation of science in the Islamic Civilization, such as Ibn Haytham and Kemaleddin Farisi, Nazzam, Ibn Sina, Kutbuddin Shirazî, Seyyid Şerif el-Curcanî, Işrakî school, by mentioning the names of works and authors, and also Ptolemy. He refers to and mentions his own opinions when appropriate (leaf 28b, 29a). Şirvanî's text, which deals extensively with the views of physicists, mathematicians and ilm-i manâzir scholars (nazirin), is the text of Ibn Haytham-Kemaleddin Farisi's ilm-i manâzir line, VIII/XIV. After the 11th century, it showed that it completely dominated the Islamic world, especially the Ottoman Geography, through the Samarkand mathematics-astronomy school. This also means that this line is fully applied to astronomy. Shirvani's style in the text, which has not yet been analyzed technically, shows that he was aware of the revolution that Ibn Haytham and his follower Kemaleddin Farisi made in the history of science by combining physics and geometric approaches; It also shows that this revolution was the subject of intense discussions in the Samarkand mathematics-astronomy school (For other copies of the work, see Damat İbrahim, no. 847; III. Ahmed no. 3314).

In his commentary on Shirvani, he discusses in detail the ilm al-hey'e system put forward by Nasiruddin al-Tusî, provides its geometric foundations, and gives extensive information about old calendar systems, especially the Turkish calendar. While giving this information, he both benefits from the previous commentaries of the work and reveals the approach of the Samarkand school on this subject by combining it with his own views. He carries out his understanding of ilm al-hay'ah largely within the system of Ibn Haytham, where the mathematical and natural lines are considered together; his contemporary and who, like him, grew up in Samarkand? Like Alî Kuşçu, he does not try to purge Aristotelian physics and metaphysical principles from the science of astronomy.

Shirvani continued the theoretical astronomy studies represented by the Samarkand school within the framework of the school's methods and problems; He made detailed contributions to the subjects and disseminated the mentality he represented through education and works in various parts of the Ottoman country, especially in Anatolia. Shirvani's technical contributions to the astronomy of the Samarkand school are among the topics awaiting research.

Books

• el-Ferâ'id ve'l-Fevâid fî Tavzîhi Şerhi'l-Mülahhas: Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Ktp., III. Ahmed, nr. 3294.
• Şerhu Tehzîbi'l-Mantık ve'l-Kelâm
• Tefsîru Âyeti'l-Kürsî: Süleymaniye Ktp., Fatih, nr. 167.
• Şerhu'l-Envâr li-Ameli'l-Ebrâr: Kitabhane-i Merkezi-i Danişgah-ı Tahran. nr. 2991