Tashrih al-Aflak: 17th Century Arabic Astronomy Manuscript from Qatar National Library

A 893.7 MB high-resolution digital copy of manuscript HC.MS.00346 from the Qatar National Library Heritage Collection. The manuscript, titled 'Tashrih al-Aflak' (The Anatomy of the Heavens), was authored by Muhammad ibn Husayn ibn 'Abd al-Samad al-Harithi al-'Amili (1547-1621). It is available under a CC0 1.0 public domain dedication and was last updated on the platform in June 2026.

Use Cases

• Train Optical Character Recognition (OCR) models for classical Arabic script based on high-resolution manuscript images.
• Analyze the structure and content of pre-modern astronomical texts based on the manuscript's described subject.
• Conduct digital paleography studies on 17th-century Arabic handwriting styles.
• Build a digital corpus of historical scientific works from the Islamic world.

Strengths

• High-resolution digital master copy, suggesting detailed visual fidelity.
• Clear provenance from the Qatar National Library Heritage Collection.
• Released under a permissive CC0 1.0 public domain license.
• File size of 893.7 MB indicates a substantial, likely detailed, digital asset.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation and sample data are unavailable, requiring manual inspection after download.
• The specific number of pages or images within the 893.7 MB ZIP file is unknown.
• Data may reflect the geographic and cultural focus inherent to its source institution.

Provenance

Source

Qatar National Library, from its Heritage Collection (manuscript HC.MS.00346).

Collection Method

Digitization of a physical manuscript.

Time Range

Manuscript authored in the 17th century (author lived 1547-1621).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-03 08:14:16; freshness should be verified.