The museum of the Center of Islamic Civilization in Tashkent will present the oldest known star charts, the "Book of Fixed Stars", created by astronomer Abd ar-Rahman al-Sufi in 960.
The exhibit will be shown as a facsimile, as the original has not been preserved, Ferghana reports.
The manuscript was repeatedly copied and illustrated in the following centuries. Today, copies of it are kept in the largest collections in the world – In the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the British Library in London and the National Library of France, where the version commissioned by Mirzo Ulugbek in the XV century is kept.
According to experts, as-Sufi's work reflects the high level of medieval astronomy, on the basis of which calendars, navigation tools and scientific approaches developed, which became the foundation for modern technologies – from the sextant to GPS.
In Tashkent, the map will become part of a multimedia installation that complements the exhibition with artifacts and interactive materials telling about the history of astronomy — from Beruni to modern astrophysical models.
The Center for Islamic Civilization was established on the initiative of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to promote the ideas of enlightened Islam as a religion of goodness, peace and tolerance.
