Constellations Thesis Book by Nesrin Zidan

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2.6. Islamic Astronomy
By the ninth century, Islam had spread into areas where astronomical
knowledge, of the stars and their patterns, had long been useful for timekeeping, forecasting
weather and river floods (Ancient Egypt), and navigating through deserts devoid
of tracks. Under the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties, the first Islamic dynasties in
power during the eighth and ninth centuries, scientists expanded on this knowledge to
innovate new ideas and tools. In addition, astronomical writings from Greek, Sanskrit,
and Pahlavi (early Persian) were intensively translated into Arabic under the patronage
of the court, conserving this significant body of knowledge, and attempting to build on
it (Astronomy, 2019).