Qusta ibn Luqa
Encyclopedia
Qusta ibn Luqa (Costa ben Luca, Constabulus) was a Melkite
physician, scientist and translator, of Byzantine Greek
extraction. He was born in Baalbek
. Travelling to parts of the Byzantine Empire
, he brought back Greek
texts and translated them into Arabic
.
Translations of Diophantos, Theodosius of Bithynia
's Sphaerica, Autolycus
, Hypsicles
, Aristarchus
, Theophrastus
’ Meteora, Galen
’s catalogue of his books, Hero of Alexandria
's (Heron's) Mechanics, and John Philoponus
were made or revised by him, or made under his direction. He wrote commentaries on Euclid
and a treatise on the Armillary sphere. He was a prominent figure in the Graeco-Arabic translation movement that reached its peak in the 9th century. At the request of wealthy and influential commissioners, Qusta translated Greek works on astronomy, mathematics, mechanics and natural science into Arabic. He also produced works of his own: more than sixty treatises are attributed to him. He wrote mainly on medical subjects, but also on mathematics and astronomy. Only a small part of his production has so far been edited. The extant editions of Qusta’s medical works show that he was thoroughly acquainted with Hippocratic-Galenic humoral medicine– the theoretical system that constituted the basis of formal medicine in Islam
.
His original works, many listed in the Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim
, dealt with contemporary science, medicine, astronomy and philosophy. A Latin
translation of his work ‘On the Difference between the Spirit and the Soul’ (De Differentia Spiritus et Animae) was one of the few works not attributed to Aristotle that was included in a list of ‘books to be 'read,' or lectured on, by the Masters of the Faculty of Arts, at Paris in 1254, as part of their study of Natural Philosophy. This translation was made by Joannes Hispalensis, (John of Seville
, fl. 1140). He also wrote a treatise on Nabidh
.
Of him Ibn al-Nadim
says: "He is an excellent translator; he knew well Greek
, Syriac, and Arabic; he translated texts and corrected many translations. Many are his medical writings." Qusta was with Hunayn Ibn Ishaq
the author who best served Greek culture in the Arab civilization.
He was also involved, with his fellow-Christian Hunayn ibn Ishaq
, in an epistolary exchange with the Muslim astronomer, Abu Isa Yahya ibn al-Munajjim, who had invited them to embrace Islam. Both refused, and provided their reasons for rejecting al-Munajjim's Islamic faith.
He died in Armenia
in A.D. 912.
Melkite
The term Melkite, also written Melchite, refers to various Byzantine Rite Christian churches and their members originating in the Middle East. The word comes from the Syriac word malkāyā , and the Arabic word Malakī...
physician, scientist and translator, of Byzantine Greek
Byzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
extraction. He was born in Baalbek
Baalbek
Baalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude , situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire...
. Travelling to parts of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, he brought back Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
texts and translated them into Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
.
Biography
Qusta ibn Luqa al-BaBa'albakki, i. e. from Baalbek or Heliopolis, Lebanon, a Melkite Christian of Greek origin, was born in 860 and flourished in Baghdad. He was a philosopher, physician, mathematician and astronomer.Translations of Diophantos, Theodosius of Bithynia
Theodosius of Bithynia
Theodosius of Bithynia was a Greek astronomer and mathematician who wrote the Sphaerics, a book on the geometry of the sphere. Born in Tripolis, in Bithynia, Theodosius is cited by Vitruvius as having invented a sundial suitable for any place on Earth...
's Sphaerica, Autolycus
Autolycus of Pitane
Autolycus of Pitane was a Greek astronomer, mathematician, and geographer. The lunar crater Autolycus was named in his honour.- Life and work :Autolycus was born in Pitane, a town of Aeolis within Western Anatolia...
, Hypsicles
Hypsicles
This article is about Hypsicles of Alexandria. For the historian, see Hyspicrates .Hypsicles was an ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer known for authoring On Ascensions and the spurious Book XIV of Euclid's Elements.- Life and work :Although little is known about the life of Hypsicles,...
, Aristarchus
Aristarchus of Samos
Aristarchus, or more correctly Aristarchos , was a Greek astronomer and mathematician, born on the island of Samos, in Greece. He presented the first known heliocentric model of the solar system, placing the Sun, not the Earth, at the center of the known universe...
, Theophrastus
Theophrastus
Theophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
’ Meteora, Galen
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
’s catalogue of his books, Hero of Alexandria
Hero of Alexandria
Hero of Alexandria was an ancient Greek mathematician and engineerEnc. Britannica 2007, "Heron of Alexandria" who was active in his native city of Alexandria, Roman Egypt...
's (Heron's) Mechanics, and John Philoponus
John Philoponus
John Philoponus , also known as John the Grammarian or John of Alexandria, was a Christian and Aristotelian commentator and the author of a considerable number of philosophical treatises and theological works...
were made or revised by him, or made under his direction. He wrote commentaries on Euclid
Euclid
Euclid , fl. 300 BC, also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "Father of Geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I...
and a treatise on the Armillary sphere. He was a prominent figure in the Graeco-Arabic translation movement that reached its peak in the 9th century. At the request of wealthy and influential commissioners, Qusta translated Greek works on astronomy, mathematics, mechanics and natural science into Arabic. He also produced works of his own: more than sixty treatises are attributed to him. He wrote mainly on medical subjects, but also on mathematics and astronomy. Only a small part of his production has so far been edited. The extant editions of Qusta’s medical works show that he was thoroughly acquainted with Hippocratic-Galenic humoral medicine– the theoretical system that constituted the basis of formal medicine in Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
His original works, many listed in the Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim
Ibn al-Nadim
Abu'l-Faraj Muhammad bin Is'hāq al-Nadim , whose father was known as al-Warrāq was a Shia Muslim scholar and bibliographer. Some scholars regard him as a Persian, but this is not certain. He is famous as the author of the Kitāb al-Fihrist...
, dealt with contemporary science, medicine, astronomy and philosophy. A Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
translation of his work ‘On the Difference between the Spirit and the Soul’ (De Differentia Spiritus et Animae) was one of the few works not attributed to Aristotle that was included in a list of ‘books to be 'read,' or lectured on, by the Masters of the Faculty of Arts, at Paris in 1254, as part of their study of Natural Philosophy. This translation was made by Joannes Hispalensis, (John of Seville
John of Seville
John of Seville was the main translator from Arabic into Castilian together with Dominicus Gundissalinus during the early days of the Toledo School of Translators....
, fl. 1140). He also wrote a treatise on Nabidh
Nabidh
Nabidh is a drink traditionally made from fruits such as raisins/grapes or dates. Nabidh may be non intoxicating, mildy intoxicating, or heavily intoxicating depending on the level of fermentation.Abu Hurayrah says of the drink:...
.
Of him Ibn al-Nadim
Ibn al-Nadim
Abu'l-Faraj Muhammad bin Is'hāq al-Nadim , whose father was known as al-Warrāq was a Shia Muslim scholar and bibliographer. Some scholars regard him as a Persian, but this is not certain. He is famous as the author of the Kitāb al-Fihrist...
says: "He is an excellent translator; he knew well Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Syriac, and Arabic; he translated texts and corrected many translations. Many are his medical writings." Qusta was with Hunayn Ibn Ishaq
Hunayn ibn Ishaq
Hunayn ibn Ishaq was a famous and influential Assyrian Nestorian Christian scholar, physician, and scientist, known for his work in translating Greek scientific and medical works into Arabic and Syriac during the heyday of the Islamic Abbasid Caliphate.Ḥunayn ibn Isḥaq was the most productive...
the author who best served Greek culture in the Arab civilization.
He was also involved, with his fellow-Christian Hunayn ibn Ishaq
Hunayn ibn Ishaq
Hunayn ibn Ishaq was a famous and influential Assyrian Nestorian Christian scholar, physician, and scientist, known for his work in translating Greek scientific and medical works into Arabic and Syriac during the heyday of the Islamic Abbasid Caliphate.Ḥunayn ibn Isḥaq was the most productive...
, in an epistolary exchange with the Muslim astronomer, Abu Isa Yahya ibn al-Munajjim, who had invited them to embrace Islam. Both refused, and provided their reasons for rejecting al-Munajjim's Islamic faith.
He died in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
in A.D. 912.
Writings
- Risalah fī Auja Al Niqris by Qusta Ibn Luqa. Edited with translation and commentary by Hakim Syed Zillur RahmanHakim Syed Zillur RahmanHakim Syed Zillur Rahman , is well known for his contribution to Unani medicine. He founded Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences in 2000...
, Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and SciencesIbn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and SciencesIbn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences is one of the Indian NGOs, which is registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. Mohammad Hamid Ansari, former vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, formally inaugurated it on April 21, 2001...
, Aligarh, 2007 (ISBN 978-81-901362-8-0).
- Rislah fī al Nabidh (Arabic translation of Qusta ibn Luqa by Rufus. Edited with translation and commentary by Hakim Syed Zillur RahmanHakim Syed Zillur RahmanHakim Syed Zillur Rahman , is well known for his contribution to Unani medicine. He founded Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences in 2000...
, Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and SciencesIbn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and SciencesIbn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences is one of the Indian NGOs, which is registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. Mohammad Hamid Ansari, former vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, formally inaugurated it on April 21, 2001...
, Aligarh, 2007 (ISBN 978-81-901362-7-3).
- Rîsâlah-i Nabîdh of Qustâ bin Lûqâ by Hakim Syed Zillur RahmanHakim Syed Zillur RahmanHakim Syed Zillur Rahman , is well known for his contribution to Unani medicine. He founded Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences in 2000...
, Supplement to 'Studies in the History of Medicine and Science' (SHMS), Jamia HamdardJamia HamdardJamia Hamdard is a university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1989.Our Revered Founder Janab Hakeem Abdul Hameed Saheb, a true Gandhian in spirit and simplicity was born in Delhi on September 14, 1908. No account of Hakeem Saheb can be complete without the mention of his...
, Vol. IX(1985), pp. 185–201.
- Kitāb fī al‐ʿamal bi‐ʾl–kura al‐nujūmiyya (On the use of the celestial globe; with some variations as to title), which contains 65 chapters and was widely disseminated through at least two Arabic recensions as well as Latin, Hebrew, Spanish, and Italian translations
- the extant astronomical work, Hayʾat al‐aflāk (On the configuration of celestial bodies; Bodleian Library MS Arabic 879, Uri, p. 190), which is one of the earliest compositions in theoretical (hayʾa) astronomy
- Kitāb al‐Madkhal ilā ʿilm al‐nujūm (Introduction to the science of astronomy – astrology)
- Kitāb al‐Madkhal ilā al‐hayʾa wa‐ḥarakāt al‐aflāk wa‐ʾl‐kawākib (Introduction to the configuration and movements of celestial bodies and stars)
- Kitāb fī al‐ʿamal bi‐ʾl‐asṭurlāb al‐kurī (On the use of the spherical astrolabe; Leiden University Library MS Or. 51.2: Handlist, p. 12)
- Kitāb fī al‐ʿamal bi‐ʾl‐kura dhāt al‐kursī (On the use of the mounted celestial sphere).