Ulugh Beg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ulugh Beg |
|
|---|---|
| Mirza (royal rank) | |
Ulugh Beg's Statue in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
|
|
| Reign | 1447–1449 |
| Predecessor | Shahrukh Mirza |
| Successor | Abdal-Latif Mirza |
| Born | Mirza Muhammad Taraghay 22 March 1394 Sultaniyeh, Timurid Empire, Persia, now Zanjan Province, Iran |
| Died | 27 October 1449 (aged 55) Samarkand, Timurid Empire, now Samarqand Region, Uzbekistan |
| Burial | Gur-e-Amir Samarkand in the Mausoleum of Timur |
| Spouse | Aka Begi Begum Sultan Badi al-mulk Begum Aqi Sultan Khanika Husn Nigar Khanika Shukur Bi Khanika Rukaiya Sultan Agha Mihr Sultan Agha Sa'adat Bakht Agha Daulat Sultan Agha Bakhti Bi Agha Daulat Bakht Agha Sultanim Agha Sultan Malik Agha |
| Issue | Abdal-Latif Mirza |
| Father | Shahrukh Mirza |
| Mother | Goharshad Begum |
| Religion | Islam |
| Occupation | astronomer, mathematician and sultan |
Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay bin Shāhrukh (born March 22, 1394, in Sultaniyeh, Persia – died October 27, 1449, Samarkand, Uzbekistan) was a Timurid ruler. He was also a very famous astronomer and mathematician.
Ulugh Beg was well-known for his advanced work in math related to astronomy. This included trigonometry and spherical geometry. He also loved arts and learning. People believe he spoke five languages: Arabic, Persian, Turkic, Mongolian, and a little Chinese.
During his time as a ruler, the Timurid Empire became a center of culture. This was thanks to Ulugh Beg's support for learning and arts. His father, Shah Rukh, gave him control of Samarkand. This city then became a major hub for Muslim culture and education.
Between 1424 and 1429, he built the amazing Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand. Experts thought it was one of the best observatories in the Islamic world. It was also the largest in Central Asia. Because of this, many scholars see Ulugh Beg as the most important astronomer of the 15th century. He also built the Ulugh Beg Madrasah (a type of school) in Samarkand and Bukhara between 1417 and 1420. This helped turn these cities into important learning centers.
However, Ulugh Beg was not as good at ruling as he was at science. He found it hard to keep control during his short time as sultan. Other rulers, even his own family, took advantage of this. Sadly, he was later overthrown and killed.
Contents
Early Life and Royal Family
Ulugh Beg was the grandson of the great conqueror, Timur (1336–1405). He was also the oldest son of Shah Rukh. Both his father and grandfather came from the Barlas tribe, which was Turkicized, from Transoxiana (now Uzbekistan). His mother was a noblewoman named Goharshad. She was the daughter of a leader from the Turkic tribal aristocracy.
Ulugh Beg was born in Sultaniyeh in Persia during one of Timur's military campaigns. His birth name was Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay. The name "Ulugh Beg," which he is best known by, was not his real name. It was a nickname that means "Great Ruler." It is similar to the modern Turkish words ulu (great) and bey (chief).
As a child, he traveled a lot across the Middle East and India. This was because his grandfather was expanding his empire in those areas. After Timur died, Shah Rukh moved the empire's capital to Herat (in modern Afghanistan). In 1409, when he was sixteen, Ulugh Beg became the governor of Samarkand, which used to be the capital. By 1411, he was made the main ruler of all of Mavarannahr.
Ulugh Beg's Scientific Discoveries
Ulugh Beg was also interested in medicine and poetry. He enjoyed debating with other poets about important topics of his time. He liked to debate in a poetic style called "Bahribayt."
According to a Russian medical book, Ulugh Beg found a way to mix alcohol with garlic. This mixture was used to help treat problems like diarrhea, headaches, and stomach issues. He also gave advice to newly married couples. This advice included recipes with nuts, dried apricots, and dried grapes. He believed these foods could help men's health. This type of recipe was also found in the books of Ibn Sina.
Astronomy: Studying the Stars
From a young age, Ulugh Beg was fascinated by astronomy. He visited what was left of the Maragheh observatory in Maragheh, Iran. This was where the famous astronomer Nasir al-Din al-Tusi had worked.
In 1428, Ulugh Beg built a huge observatory called the Gurkhani Zij. This was a very important project for him.
Since there were no telescopes back then, he made his tools bigger to get more accurate results. His main tool was a giant sextant called the Fakhri sextant. It had a radius of about 36 meters (118 feet). This huge size allowed it to measure angles with great precision. The Fakhri sextant was the largest tool at the Samarkand observatory.
The main purpose of the Fakhri sextant was to measure the highest point stars reached in the sky. This helped astronomers figure out the exact positions of objects in space.
Using the tools at his observatory, Ulugh Beg created a star catalog. This catalog listed 1018 stars. This was only eleven fewer stars than the famous catalog made by Ptolemy many centuries before.
In 1437, Ulugh Beg calculated the length of a sidereal year (the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun once, relative to the stars). He found it to be 365 days, 6 hours, 10 minutes, and 8 seconds. This was very close to the actual time, with only a 58-second difference. He used a 50-meter-high gnomon (a device that tells time by the shadow of the sun) for his measurements.
Later, he made an even more precise calculation for the tropical year (the time from one spring equinox to the next). He found it to be 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 15 seconds. This was only 25 seconds off, making it more accurate than the calculation made by Nicolaus Copernicus much later.
Ulugh Beg also figured out the Earth's axial tilt. This is the angle at which the Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbit around the Sun. He calculated it as 23 degrees, 30 minutes, and 17 seconds. In decimal form, this is 23.5047 degrees.
Mathematics: Precise Calculations
In mathematics, Ulugh Beg created very accurate trigonometric tables. These tables listed the values for sine and tangent. His calculations were correct to at least eight decimal places. This showed his amazing skill in mathematics.
Overthrow and Death
In 1447, Ulugh Beg learned that his father, Shah Rukh, had died. He traveled to Balkh. There, he heard that his nephew, Ala-ud-Daulah Mirza, was claiming to be the new ruler of the Timurid Empire in Herat.
Ulugh Beg marched his army against Ala-ud-Daulah and defeated him in battle. He then moved towards Herat. However, Ala-ud-Daulah's brother, Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza, came to help him. Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza then defeated Ulugh Beg.
Ulugh Beg went back to Balkh. There, he found that his oldest son, Abdal-Latif Mirza, had rebelled against him. Another conflict began. Abdal-Latif gathered his own army to face his father. But Ulugh Beg had to retreat to Samarkand because of problems in the city.
Abdal-Latif soon reached Samarkand, and Ulugh Beg had to surrender to his son. Abdal-Latif released his father, saying he could go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. However, Ulugh Beg never reached his destination. He and his brother Abdal-Aziz were killed in 1449.
Later, Ulugh Beg's good name was restored by his nephew, Abdallah Mirza (who ruled from 1450–1451). Abdallah Mirza had Ulugh Beg's remains placed in the mausoleum of Timur in Samarkand. His remains were found there by archaeologists from the Soviet Union in 1941.
Legacy and Recognition
- A crater on the Moon is named Ulugh Beigh after him. The German astronomer Johann Heinrich von Mädler named it in 1830.
- 2439 Ulugbek, an asteroid found in 1977, was also named in his honor.
Images for kids
-
Ulugh Beg and his astronomical observatory scheme, depicted on the 1987 USSR stamp. He was one of Islam's greatest astronomers during the Middle Ages. The stamp says "Uzbek astronomer and mathematician Ulugbek" in Russian.
-
This is the observatory built by Ulugh Beg in the 1420s. The site was later rediscovered by Russian archaeologists in 1908.
See also
In Spanish: Ulugh Beg para niños
