Ibn al-Shatir builds Damascus astronomical clock

1340

The Damascene astronomer and timekeeper of the Umayyad Mosque constructed a sophisticated mechanical astrolabe and developed planetary models that eliminated the Ptolemaic equant, producing geometrically elegant alternatives that better predicted celestial positions. Copernicus's later lunar model is nearly identical to Ibn al-Shatir's, raising persistent questions about the transmission of Arabic astronomical theory to Renaissance Europe through Byzantium or Spain.