Exhibition: The Astrolabe, East and West

From eleventh-century Spain

This is one of the earliest instruments to survive from Muslim Spain. Its maker was born in Zaragosa but studied in Egypt. Two of his instruments are known to have survived. Places mentioned where the latitude plates can be used include Mecca, Cairo, Medina, Alexandria, Basra, Baghdad, Fez, Damascus, Tunis, Tarsus, Granada, Málaga, Sardinia, Azerbaijan, Cordova, Seville, Valencia, Toledo, Zaragosa and Rome.