A Princely Pandect on Astronomy, 1st ed. 2022 Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī's Muʿīnīya Epistle and its Appendix Archimedes Series, Vol. 58

This book presents an English-language translation of Ris?l?-yi Mu??n?ya, or the Mu??n?ya Epistle. Ris?l?-yi Mu??n?ya is one of the earliest known works of Na??r al-D?n ??s? (1201?1274), an intellectual luminary of the 13th century CE. The work is notable for the choice of T?u?s??s native Persian as the language of the text. In addition, T?u?s? organized his volume into a four-part structure, which went on to become a popular template for the Islamic astronomers who succeeded him.  

This book helped ensure the patronage of T?u?s?'s courtly patrons during his decades-long stay with the Isma??l?s, as well as the continuation of his remarkable career under the first Ilkhanid rulers of Persia. This translation helps make this notable treatise accessible to English language readers. It is among a handful of English translations of major astronomical works dealing with hay?a/cosmography in the Islamic world. 

Subsequently T?u?s? was to pen hisown commentary on the work (the ?all-i Mushkil?t-i Mu??n?ya, or A solution to the difficulties of the Mu??n?ya) and he used this occasion to discuss his celebrated mathematical formulation ?the T?u?s? Couple? (a concept that he merely hinted at in the Ris?l?-yi Mu??n?ya). 

Preface.- Part I. Introduction.- Chapter 1 Ṭūsī’s hayʾa.- Chapter 2 Ṭūsī as a Young Scholar.- Chapter 3 On the Structure and Contents of Risāla-yi Muʿīnīya.- Part II. Edition and Translation of Risāla-yi Muʿīnīya.- Chapter 4 Book One: On the Introduction to this Science.- Chapter 5 Two: On the Configuration of the Celestial Bodies.- Chapter 6 Book Three: On the Configuration of the Earth and the Difference in the State of its Regions Due to the Difference in the State of the Celestial Bodies.- Chapter 7 Book Four: On the Distances and Bodies.- Part III. Ṭūsī’s Commentary on Risāla-yi Muʿīnīya.- Chapter 8 The Chapters. Appendices.- Glossary.- Bibliography.- Index.

Kaveh Niazi received a Ph.D in applied physics from the University of California, Berkeley (1995) as well as a Ph.D in the history of science from Columbia University, New York, in 2011. He is the author of "Quṭb al-Dīn Shīrāzī and the Configuration of the Heavens" (Springer, 2014). His research interests include the history of astronomy, geology, and engineering in the Islamic era.