From the West to the East, from the Sky to the Earth: A Biography of Jamāl al-Dīn

Abstract

Abstract Jamāl al-Dīn (Zhamaluding 札馬魯丁 d. ca.1289) is probably the most successful and best-documented Muslim astronomer who was active in the Mongol Yuan court. He migrated from Central or West Asia to China and introduced Islamic astronomical, geographical and cartographic knowledge into China. In spite of his high official position and the honorable titles that were granted to him, his biographic information in Chinese sources is scattered, and there is uncertainty in identifying him in non-Chinese sources. This paper attempts to reconstruct Jamāl al-Dīn’s life and activities by an in-depth reading and interpretation of the biographic information, supplementing and enriching it with biographies of Jamāl al-Dīn’s contemporary astronomers in the Mongol Empire. This article argues that Jamāl al-Dīn achieved success and honor due to his knowledge in various fields that interested the Mongols, his correct reading of the imperial ideology and the political map, and the extensive social networks he built for himself during the decades he lived in China.