Al-ʻIjliyyah bint al-ʻIjliyy (Arabic: العجلية بنت العجلي) was a 10th-century maker of astrolabes active in Aleppo, in what is now northern Syria. She is sometimes known in modern popular literature as Mariam al-Asṭurlābiyya (Arabic: مريم الأسطرلابية) but her supposed first name 'Mariam' is not mentioned in the only known source about her life.
Life According to ibn al-Nadim, she was the daughter of another astrolabe maker known as al-ʻIjliyy; she and her father were apprentices (tilmīthah) of an astrolabe maker from Baghdad, Nasṭūlus. Al-ʻIjliyyah manufactured astrolabes, an astronomical instrument, during the 10th century; she was employed by the first Emir of Aleppo, Sayf al-Dawla, who reigned from 944 to 967. Beyond that information, nothing is known about her. Her supposed name, "Mariam", is not supported by sources from her time, and the phrase "al-Asturlabiyy" in the names by which she and her father are known simply means "the astrolabist", and indicates their profession; astrolabes were long known by her time.
Legacy The main-belt asteroid 7060 Al-ʻIjliya, discovered by Henry E. Holt at Palomar Observatory in 1990, was named in her honor. The naming citation was published on 14 November 2016 (M.P.C. 102252). She inspired a character in the 2015 award-winning book Binti and Netflix series Vikings: Valhalla. She was named an extraordinary woman from the Islamic Golden Age by 1001 Inventions.
See also Astronomy in the medieval Islamic world List of Muslim astronomers List of women astronomers Timeline of women in science
References
External links Astrolabe: the 13th Century iPhone – Daily Sabah GPS and its Islamic origins, The Star Online, 3 October 2013