A presentation of a pilot issue of a facsimile edition of a rare ancient manuscript “The Book of Fixed Stars” will be held within the framework of the 5th International Congress “Cultural heritage of Uzbekistan – the foundation of the new Renaissance”.

“The Book of Fixed Stars” is an astronomical text written by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi around 964.

The facsimile of the manuscript was made by the Austrian publishing house Mueller & Shindler in cooperation with the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan within the framework of the project “Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan in the World Collections”. The manuscript contains a miniature depicting Mirzo Ulugbek in the form of the constellation Cepheus. It is made using symbols that indicate belonging to the scientist’s library.

In medieval astronomy, “The Book of Fixed Stars” became a truly epoch-making work and, of course, helped Mirzo Ulugbek, who worked on the creation of his own astronomical tables. The manuscript belonged personally to Mirzo Ulugbek and contains notes made by him. The manuscript is in the collection of the National Library of France.

Nazokat Usmanova, UzA