life and work of abumashar

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Life and Work of Abu Ma’shar

beyondtheheaven.wordpress.com/2012/10/14/life-and-work-of-abu-mashar/

beyondtheheaven

The Persian astrologer Abu Ma’shar (787-886 AD) had a profound

effect on Western astrology and the modern-day student of the

Western Predictive Tradition will be well rewarded by close study of

his works and their influence.1

With these words Robert Zoller begins his treatise dedicated on the life and work of the wonderful

astrologer by name Abu Ma’shar.

In my study of traditional astrology so far, there are few astrologers who were able to take my attentionfor a closer study and Abu Ma’shar is one of them. His astrology is very insightful, concrete and

rational. Once you try to incorporate it in your astrological practice tools, it is hard to forget about it, jut

because it is so natural and fluent.

This will be the first of the series I’m planning to write on Abu Ma’shar’s approach to astrology.

In this article I will try to give a broader scope of his life and works, his influences and influences on

him, and in the later series I will give practical examples of his delineation style and approach.

His Life

The full name of Abu Ma’shar is Abu Ma’shar Ja’far ben Muhammad al-Balkhi , was born 10 th of august

in year 787 in town Balkh, an ancient city on the territory of today’s Afghanistan. Today it is a small city

in the province of Bakhl, which is one of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan. But once it was a great city in

the then famous Khorasan. Marco Polo says that Balkh was “noble and great city” . Khorasan was a

name of territories during the caliphate in 750 AD. It was part of Persia, and bordered with Hind (Sind,

which was culturally connected mostly to India [Hindustan]) on north-east. Hence the influence in Abu

Ma’shar’s mundane (and natal) works from the Hindu’s Siddhantas in which the entire system of

Hindu’s chronology was preserved. Abu Ma’shar used this chronology in his mundane calculations,

but I will speak more on this in the future series.

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Abu Ma’shar entered into the world of

Astrology in his late years (around 47).

He was at first criticizer of the subject but

his teacher – the great polymath Al Kindi

– told him that a wise man should not

criticize any subject before studying it.

It was this decisive moment when Abu

Ma’shar decided to study Astrology and

become his life since.

One of his students wrote about his

master depicts him as an “omniscient

wise men”.

There is an interesting anecdote written

in the medieval treatise “Albumasar in

Sadan”:

“Abu Ma’shar said that when a native’s 2nd house is impeded at birth

and its ruler also unfortunate, the native never prospers. When asked

why he never mentioned this in his writings, he said: “The sage who

writes down all he knows is like an empty vessel. Nobody needs him

and his reputation declines. He should keep some secrets to himself

and communicate them only to his closest friends.” 2

Abu Ma’shar died on 9 March 886 in Wasit , Iraq.

Abu Mashar’s works

1. The Greater Introduction to Astrology (as I’m aware, no full translation of this work is made in

English)

2. The Flores Astrologicae (translated in English by Benjamin Dykes)

3. On the Great Conjunctions and on the revolutions of the world (translated in English by Keiji

Yamamoto and Charles Burnett)

4. On the Revolutions of Nativities (translated in English by Benjamin Dykes as the third of the

series of Persian Nativities).

5. Thousands (translated in English by David Pingree)

6. The Abbreviation of the Introduction to Astrology (there exist two translations, one made by

Burnett,Yamamoto and Yano, and the newer made by Benjamin Dykes compiled together with

Al-Qabisi)

Abu Ma’shar’s works served for a greater part of the Guido Bonatti’s monumental work Liber

Astronomiae. He often quotes him using his Latinized name Albumasar .

In 1489 at Augsburg, Erhard Ratdolt published three of his works, the Greater Introduction to

Astronomy in eight books, the Flowers and 8 books concerning great conjunctions and revolutions of

the years.

John of Spain and Hermann of Dalmatia translated the Introduction and the French translation of

Hagins the Jew made in 1273 (from which Peter of Abano translate portions for his compilation): “Le

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livre des revolutions desiecle”.

Another work cited by Peter of Abano and other medieval authors is “Albumasar in Sadan” , also called

“Excerpts from the Secrets of Albumasar” . The famous orientalist and biographer Moritz Steinschneider

is of opinion that the Latin translation of this work is a shortened or incomplete version of an Arabic

original entitled al-Mudsakaret , or Memorabilia by Abu Sa’id Schadsan ( corrupted into ‘Sadan’) who

wrote down the answers of his teacher to his question. (Lynn Thorndike p.651).

There is also a work called Mysteries, in Greek “Musteria”, also preserved in Byzantine versions of Shadhan’s Mudhakarat and of Abu Ma’shar’s Kitab al-madkhai al-kabir .

Giuseppe Bezza has Italian translation of fragments of this work preserved in the Angelicus Graecus

29. The translation into English by Daria Dudziak can be found here:

http://www.cieloeterra.it/eng/eng.testi.metafore/eng.metafore.html

(Albumazar: woodcut from his ‘Introductorium in Astronomiam’, Venice, 1506.)

Indian influence on Abu Ma’shar

The Art historian Aby Warbug gave a lecture dating in year 1922 on a congress in Rome on the study

he had made on the eerie frescoes in the Palazzo Schifanoja of Ferrare.

In that lecture he claims that the key to ‘read’ these images is astrology!

Abu Ma’shar was mentioned in this work of Amy Warburg as a “principle authority of medieval

astrology”, whose work “Introductorium majus” (The Great Introduction) served to the compilation of

Peter of Abano by name “Astrolabium magnum”.

In the lecture Amy Warburg is tracing the chronology of migration of the Sphaera Barbarica, and states

that it was Abu Ma’shar’s work which is deserving praises for surviving of the decanic images which

later on served to the mentioned compilation of Peter of Abano.

Amy suggests that the Sphaera was traveling from Asia Minor by way of Egypt to India, and found its

way to Persia through the work of Abu Ma’shar (Great introduction).

This text was then translated by a Spanish Jew by name Ibn Ezra (supposedly John of Spain?). Then,

his translation was translated into French by a person named Hagins, a Jewish Scholar, and Amy

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suggests that this French translation served as a basis for the Latin translation made by Peter of Abano

in 1293.

In investigating the source of the decanic images, Amy is of opinion that Abu Ma’shar had an

‘unacknowledged’ Hindu source. This is the sixth century Indian author by name Varahamihira “whose

Brihat jataka was Abu Ma’shar’s unacknowledged source”:

“The first Drekkana of sign Aries is a man with a white cloth tied around his loins, black, facing a person as if able to protect him, of a

fearful appearance and of red eyes and holding an ax in his hand. This

Drekkana is of the shape of a man and is armed. Mars (Bhauma) is its

llord”.

Abu Ma’shar (Boll, Sphaera 497) writes:

“ The Indians say that in this decan a black man arises with red eyes,a man of powerful stature, courage, and greatness of mind; he wears a

voluminous white garment, tied around his midriff with a cord; he is

wrathful, stands erect, guards, and observes”.

(German Essays on Art History, Amy Warburg: Italian Art and

International Astrology in the Palazzo Schifanoia Ferrara, Continuum

International Publishing Group, Jun 1, 1988 edited by Gert Schiff

p.242)

(Decans of Aries from Astrolabium Magnum)


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Lynn Thorndike in his “A history of magic and experimental science” says that although he was the

most celebrated astrologer of 9th century Bagdad astrologers, he was also accused for plagiarism

(p.649).

Some things never change?!

David Pingree, in his article published in Viator Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Volume 1, by

name “The Indean and Pseudo-Indian Passages in Greek and Latin Astronomical and Astrological

texts” compares texts in Abu Ma’shar’s “On Solar Revolutions” in the section dedicated to the

Novenaria with that of the Hindu “Navamsas” as explained in III.9 of this book. I here refer to thetranslation by Benjamin Dykes in his series of Persian Nativities, but Pingree discusses the Arabian

original by name “Kitab ahkam tahawil sini al-mawalid”.

Abu Ma’shar in that particular chapter tells us that in determining the ruler of the year, the Indian

astrologers used the lord of the first navamsa in the sign in which the revolution of the years of the

nativity has reached.

Pingree says: “Abu Ma’shar frequently in his other works in Arabic refers to Indian theories of one sort

or another, but little of this material was translated into either Greek or Latin” . (p.173)

Pingree argues that Abu Ma’shar was one of the most important transmitters of a knowledge of Indian

astrology among the Arabs. His pupil Shadhan says that his teacher had some direct contact with

India.

Conclusion

Abu Ma’shar was highly influential in the years to come after his death.

He influenced as we said, Bonatti’s monumental work Liber Astronomiae, but he also influenced Morin

even though Morin was probably not aware of the fact that he is reading and quoting an Arabian

astrologer.

In quoting him in his Astrologia Gallica nr.23 dedicated to the Solar Revolutions, Morin thinks that he

quotes some person by name (or pseudo-name) “Hermes the Philosopher”. At this moment I’m not

sure whether Morin knew who the author was but decided not to quote the name due to his despise of Arabs (political reasons), or he truly didn’t knew about the fact that he is quoting the famous Abu

Ma’shar.

Morin’s delineation style of the Solar Revolutions depends a lot on this treatise of Abu Mashar.

We saw also how Abu Ma’shar’s works was important for the persevering the ancient decanic images,

which he probably took from Indians through some corrupted version of the original Greek or

Babylonian sources. He has tremendous importance for the preservation of the knowledge of mundane

astrology practiced in Perso-Arabian times, and has great value for us today.

It is important to note though that Abu Ma’shar preserved the ancient tradition of Hellenistic Astrology

migrated through the Sassanian sources. Abu Ma’shar got his basics in astrology from Valens:

And when Abu Ma’shār transferred to the Great Introduction the elements (of astrology)

from al-Bizīdhaj (The Anthology), he mentioned that the Persians called the first type

which is equipollent (lit. corresponding in strength) potent, and the type which is

corresponding in ascension he called corresponding in course, and he left the third type

as it is. And when Abū Muḫammad al-Saifī has mentioned it and called the first type

equipollent and he called it also corresponding in course. And he judged Abu Ma’shār

(adversely) for calling the second type the ones corresponding in course, and he

ascribed it to ignorance of the heavens. And in spite of his (Abu Ma’shār’s) telling the

truth, he (Abū Muḫammad) still degrades Abu Ma’shār, and he does not give him his due

esteem. For after all Abu Ma’shār does not deserve all this attribution of ignorance,

even though he erred in his nomenclature here and followed partially the author of al-

Bizīdhaj. (Valens)


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This is documented in Al Biruni’s On Transits; but this can be observed as correct by knowing the

similar approach to certain techniques Abu Ma’shar had with that of Valens. For example, taking into

consideration the planet present into the sign in which the annual profections (or Solar Return

Ascendant) came as a Lord of the Year, instead of the Ruler of the Sign. There exist other similarities of

which I will talk in the next series dedicated on Abu Ma’shar.

If we trace this thread of influences, we can draw an interesting line between Valens, Abu Ma’shar and

Morinus, who even though didn’t incorporated the “non-natural” segments of the astrological tools

(such as the lots for example, which are numerical fractions and not real astronomical phenomena) into

his Astrology, it is obvious that the approach in delineating is very similar.

I hope I was able to spark your curiosity for this very important astrologer, and your impatience to read

some of my further articles on this subjects :)

Footnotes:

1.Robert Zoller – Abu Ma’shar: Prince of Astrologers, p.4.

2.Thanks to Steven E. Birchfield for pointing me out this and the quote from Al-Biruni [later in the text].

Sources

– Robert Zoller – Abu Ma’shar: Prince of Astrologers ( A New Library Publication, electronic edition

2002 ) – German Essays on Art History, Amy Warburg: Italian Art and International Astrology in the Palazzo

Schifanoia Ferrara, Continuum International Publishing Group, Jun 1, 1988 edited by Gert Schiff.

– Lynn Thorndike – “A history of magic and experimental science”. (Volume II, Columbia University

Press,1923).

– David Pingree – “The Indean and Pseudo-Indian Passages in Greek and Latin Astronomical and

Astrological texts”, published in Viator Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Volume 1.

– Abu Mashar – “On Solar Revolutions”, translated by Benjamin N. Dykes PhD, Persian Nativities III

(The Cazimi Press 2010 )

– Al-Bīrūnī on Transits – A study of an Arabic Treatise entitled Tamhīd al-mustaqarr li-taḫqīq ma´nā al-

mamar (5:10-19 p6.), By Abū l-Rayḫān al-Bīrūnī Translated by Mohammad Saffouri & Adnan Ifram Withcommentary by Edward S. Kennedy, Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science, At the Johann

Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Islamic Mathematics and Astronomy Volume

33 ©1998

© Beyond The Heaven, Oct. 2012

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