Sanad ibn ^ҁAlī: Abū al-Ṭayyib Sanad ibn ^ҁAlī al-Yahūdī

Flourished Baghdad, (Iraq), ninth century

Sanad ibn ^ҁAlī was an active mathematician and astronomer in Baghdad during the ninth century and worked as an astrologer for Caliph Ma’mūn . Sanad was the son of a Jewish astrologer who worked in Baghdad and counted among his clients people from the ^ҁAbbāsid court. Sanad converted to Islam responding to the lure exercised by the caliph.

In his youth, Sanad studied by himself several scientific books, among them the Almagest. He tried to gain access to the illustrious circle of scholars around ^ҁ Abbās ibn Sa ^ҁ īd al-Jawharī (first half of the ninth century), who regularly met in his house to discuss the latest scholarly and social news. But being merely 20 years old at this time proved to be an obstacle. According to a story told by Aḥmad ibn Yūsuf ibn al-Dāya (died: circa 952) on the authority of Abū Kāmil Shujā^ҁ ibn Aslam (circa 850-circa 930), Sanad convinced Jawharī of his superior knowledge of the Almagest. As a result, Sanad was not only...