Mirza Ulugbek and his academy

The 14th–15th centuries are regarded as a golden age for learning and culture in our land. Mirza Ulugbek was born in 1394; his father was Temur’s son Shahrukh and his grandfather was Amir Temur. He governed Movarounnahr from 1409 to 1449, almost 40 years. Among his teachers were scholars such as Qozizoda Rumi. Besides governing, Ulugbek worked in science and became world famous as an astronomer. In Samarkand he built an observatory (1420s); with a huge measuring instrument (a sextant) there the movements of the heavenly bodies were observed. The results were gathered in the “Ulugbek Zij” (table of stars), which gives the positions of 1,018 stars. He is also considered the author of a history work, “History of the Four Ulus”. Ulugbek built madrasas in Bukhara, Samarkand and Gijduvan, and taught at the Samarkand one himself. Scholars such as Qozizoda Rumi, Ghiyath al-Din Jamshid al-Kashi and Ali Qushchi gathered around him, which is why this scientific circle is called the “Ulugbek Academy”. Ulugbek was killed in 1449; later the observatory too was destroyed, and archaeologists found its foundation in the 20th century. In 1994 his 600th anniversary was celebrated.