At a glance
- Roles
- Scholar · Historian
- Era
- Abbasid Fragmentation
- Region
- Levant & Iraq
Life in time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Astronomy and timekeepingHistory-writing and social thought
Summary
Abu al-Fadl Ja'far ibn al-Muktafi was a son of the Abbasid caliph al-Muktafi bi-llah, who reigned from 289 to 295 AH, and was well versed in many sciences and in the history of earlier and later sages. 1 He was born in 294 AH and died in Safar 377, so he was still a young man when he questioned al-Battani. 1
His report from al-Battani
On Ja'far's authority Ibn al-Nadim and al-Qifti relate that al-Battani began observing in 264 AH and continued to 306, and that he fixed the stars in his Zij for 299 — information Ja'far had from al-Battani himself. 1 Nallino counts these conversations among the signs of the esteem in which the scholars of the age held al-Battani. 2
As a source
Ja'far was one of the sources Ibn al-Nadim used in the Fihrist; Nallino cites him together with his notices in al-Qifti and Bar Hebraeus. 1
Connections
- Lived in
- Al-Fathel
- Child of
- al-Muktafi bi-Allah
People and things also explored
Al-Farabi moves to Baghdad· Battle of Fahs al-Riyah· Battle of Hama· Prisoner exchange between Muslims and Byzantines, 292 AH· Chess match of al-Suli and al-Mawardi before al-Muktafi· The Rising of the Brother of Sahib al-Shama and the Battle of Tiberias· Fall of the Tulunid state and burning of al-Qata'i' (292 AH)· The ransom exchange between Muslims and Byzantines, 295
Sources
- al-Battani sive Albatenii Opus astronomicum, ed. and Latin tr. Carlo Alfonso Nallino, Parts I–III (Milan: Hoepli, 1899–1907) , p. 17
- al-Battani sive Albatenii Opus astronomicum, ed. and Latin tr. Carlo Alfonso Nallino, Parts I–III (Milan: Hoepli, 1899–1907) , p. 26
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Ja'far ibn al-Muktafi”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/jafar-ibn-al-muktafi/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-09.
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