When and where was Ulugh Beg born?
Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay entered the world on the 22nd of March 1394 within the city of Sultaniyeh. His birth occurred during a massive military campaign led by his grandfather Timur, also known as Tamerlane.
Questions about Ulugh Beg
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What major astronomical instruments did Ulugh Beg construct in Samarkand?
In 1428 Ulugh Beg built an enormous observatory similar to Tycho Brahe's later Uraniborg that included the Fakhri sextant with a radius allowing optical separability of 180 seconds of arc. This instrument measured transit altitudes of stars above the horizon and could only measure the declination of celestial objects.
How accurate were Ulugh Beg's measurements of the sidereal year compared to modern values?
Using a 50 meter high gnomon over many years he determined the sidereal year as 365 days 6 hours 10 minutes 8 seconds which carried an error of plus 58 seconds compared to modern values. Nicolaus Copernicus improved this value by 28 seconds in 1525.
Who were the notable astronomers who studied at Ulugh Beg's madrasa university?
Ali Qushchi emerged as his most famous pupil in astronomy before dying in 1474 while Qadi Zada al-Rumi served as the most notable teacher at the institution. Jamshid al-Kashi later joined the staff as another prominent astronomer.
What diplomatic exchanges occurred between Ulugh Beg and the Ming dynasty?
In 1416 Ming envoys Chen Cheng and Lu An presented silk and silver stuffs to Ulugh Beg on behalf of the emperor. The Timurid sent their own emissaries Sultan-Shah and Muhammad Bakhshi to the Ming court in 1419 and exchanged fine horses with saddles and variegated gold-embroidered silk stuffs.