Exploring astronomy and astrology under Delhi sultans: Knowledge, culture and practice
摘要
This study examines the evolution of astronomy under the Delhi Sultans through cross-cultural exchanges, translations, and intellectual patronage, highlighting the synthesis of Greco-Arabic, Persian, and Indian traditions within a uniquely Indo-Islamic intellectual context. Drawing on a range of sources, textual, biographical, and instrumental, it examines how translation, patronage, and cultural interaction facilitated the assimilation and transformation of astronomical knowledge. Figures such as Amir Khusrau, Thakkura Pherū, Mahendra Suri, and Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq exemplify the interweaving of literary, scientific, and religious traditions. By analysing the zīj literature, astrolabe treatises, and cross-cultural translations, the paper argues that the Delhi Sultanate was not a mere conduit but an active site of innovation, adaptation, and intellectual exchange in the history of astronomy in South Asia.