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Fact 34

RULERS OF THE EAST AND ASTROLOGY Numerous and magnificent rulers of Arabia were largely patrons of education and culture. They spent their vast fortunes on collecting libraries and dispatched scholars to all corners of the world in search of knowledge. They built observatories, developed optics, and compiled star catalogs. Al-Mansur, the founder of Baghdad, is said to have requested nothing but copies of scientific and philosophical books by the finest Greek authors after defeating the army of the Greek Emperor Michael III. The famous Caliph Al-Rashid, whose fame and wisdom are second only to Solomon’s, was fascinated by the occult arts, and his tales in “One Thousand and One Nights” abound with references to astrology and astronomy. From the stories of Scheherazade, we learn of the glory and honor bestowed upon the science of the stars by both nobility and common folk alike. Al-Mamun, the illustrious son of the renowned Al-Rashid, ordered the translation of Ptolemy’s books on astronomy and astrology into Arabic, and it is widely acknowledged that the caliph—“a man deeply versed in literature and science”—personally practiced astrology and frequently applied it for decision-making.

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