Mohammed al-Rudani

Who was Mohammed al-Rudani?

Mohammed al-Rudani was an astronomer born in Taroudant, Morocco.

Al-Rudani spent most of his life in Ottoman territories. He is especially well known for the invention of a spherical device into which another sphere with a different axis was placed. This second sphere was divided into two parts in which the zodiacal signs with their sections and regions were drawn. Al-Rudānī wrote a book describing it, Al Nāfia fī amal al jāmia. Rudānī's best known work is Bahja al ullāb fī al amal bi l as urlāb, a book on how to make and use an astrolabe.