Domain XVIII · SCIENCE & MEDICINE

Science & Medicine

حکمت

Observation is devotion · The astrolabe, unani tibb

Rootsthe tradition

The planispheric astrolabe with its pierced rete and stacked latitude plates, the mizan of unani tibb, pulse-reading, star tables, the qibla dial.

The ideawhat it values

Instruments were built to be handled rather than admired: a plate of brass engraved with the sky as it stands over a given latitude, turned until it agrees with the night. Medicine proceeded the same way, by temperament and balance, patient by patient. Neither field drew a line between what was measured and what was owed.

Astrolabe.
حکمت
SCIENCE & MEDICINE · THE ASTROLABE, UNANI TIBB

Plateswhat the record looks like

Metal astrolabe displayed in a case at the National Museum
Metal astrolabe displayed in a case at the National MuseumRohini · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
Indo-Persian celestial globe engraved with constellations, on stand
Indo-Persian celestial globe engraved with constellations, on standMike Peel · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
Displayed Persian Unani medicine manuscripts in a library exhibit case
Displayed Persian Unani medicine manuscripts in a library exhibit caseInfo-farmer · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

The groundin the Atlas

The tree names 74 topics here, under Sciences & Technology and Education & Scholarship. A branch carries more than one domain, so read it as the ground rather than the boundary.

Writtenwhere the archive stands

Next domainXIX. DanceThe body keeps time