Two Latin sources from the years around 1300 (John of Sicily’s commentary on the canons to the Toledan tables and a parchment slip documenting the astronomical activities and observations of Alard of Diest) contain brief references suggesting that Parisian scholars of this period had access to a set of astronomical tables for Tunis known as tabulae Benesac. According to the argument developed in this article, the tables in question probably corresponded to a Maghribī zīj originally created by Ibn Isḥāq al-Tūnisī in c.1222. The article goes on to discuss the possible channels of transmission that could have brought these tables to Paris as well as the potential implications of this finding for the history of Latin astronomy in the late 13th and early 14th century. Attention is also drawn to the presence of eclipse-related material from the Muqtabas zīj by Ibn al-Kammād in a Northern French manuscript of the second half of the 13th century, which was independently translated from the Arabic and accordingly does not derive from the well-known translation by John of Dumpno (Palermo, 1260).

C. Philipp E. Nothaft

Journal for the History of Astronomy

Science History Publications Ltd is an academic publishing company established in 1971 and based in Cambridge, England. We specialize in journals in history of science and in particular history of astronomy.

The Journal for the History of Astronomy is an academic journal published by Science History Publications Ltd. Established in 1971 and based in Cambridge, England, the company specializes in the history of science, with a particular focus on the history of astronomy.

《Journal for the History of Astronomy》是由Science History Publications Ltd出版的一本学术期刊。该公司成立于1971年，总部位于英国剑桥，专注于科学史，尤其是天文学史的研究。

Category	Quartile
哲学	3
哲学, 科学史与科学哲学	3

Were the tables of Ibn Isḥāq al-Tūnisī known in Paris c.1300?

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Category	Quartile
HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE	3