4 ms·

What alphabet is used for the letters in the diagrams[0]? It's not Arabic, and it looks sort of like Greek (or maybe Phoenician), but different. 0. Such as thi

What alphabet is used for the letters in the diagrams[0]? It's not Arabic, and it looks sort of like Greek (or maybe Phoenician), but different. 0. Such as this one: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Al-jazari_water_device.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Al-jazari...

MaysonL 12y ago
Seems like an alchemical alphabet such as: http://www.925-1000.com/alchemy.html http://www.925-1000.com/alchemy.html http://alchemylab.com/download_fonts.htm http://alchemylab.com/download_fonts.htm
amiraliakbari 12y ago
It is Arabic, for example "من بین الحوضین" on the beginning of the first line means "between the two tanks".
- w1ntermute 12y ago
  I don't mean the caption at the top. I'm referring to the letters on the diagram itself: http://i.imgur.com/Bj31AxJ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Bj31AxJ.jpg
  - KhalilK 12y ago
    aha, well it does look like Old Turkic Alphabet[0], I am not sure. 0.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Turkic_alphabet#Table_of_characters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Turkic_alphabet#Table_of_ch... Edit: Some characters don't seem to render properly, an Image seems more practical. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Turkic_alphabet#mediaviewer/File:Thomsen_Orkhon_table_1893.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Turkic_alphabet#mediaviewer...
    - w1ntermute 12y ago
      Do you know why he didn't just use Arabic characters? Based on a brief survey of the Arabic Wikipedia, it looks like Latin letters are standard for variables in math these days, but what was the reason for using non-Arabic characters back then?
      - KhalilK 12y ago
        It is odd, given that other scientists did use Arabic characters to notate their diagrams (notably, Al-khwarizmi and Ibn Al-Haytham). Perhaps it's because of his roots.
KhalilK 12y ago
It is Arabic, Islamic calligraphy[0] can be confusing, I'll reckon that. 0. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calligraphy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calligraphy
- peteretep 12y ago
  He's asking about the symbols against the diagram itself, not the preface.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
DanBC 12y ago
I have no idea. While searching for an answer I found this which is too interesting to not post. Especially the "table of alphabets". Perhaps some of the "old Hebrew" characters fit? http://www.gentlewisdom.org/qaya/academic/hebrew/Phoenician.html http://www.gentlewisdom.org/qaya/academic/hebrew/Phoenician....
nimir 12y ago
I think they are numbers, more specifically showing device dimensions & others may refer to some formulas . The Arabic notation for numbers as we know it now (1,2,3 ..etc) wasn't yet formed! i suppose!! You will find most of the mentioned symbols in this image showing the developing of numbers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numerals#mediaviewer/File:EuropeanFormOfArabianDigits.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numerals#mediaviewer/Fil... Note: (in the image the development in vertical, first line lists numbers from 1 to 10)

MaysonL 12y ago

Seems like an alchemical alphabet such as: http://www.925-1000.com/alchemy.html http://www.925-1000.com/alchemy.html http://alchemylab.com/download_fonts.htm http://alchemylab.com/download_fonts.htm

amiraliakbari 12y ago

It is Arabic, for example "من بین الحوضین" on the beginning of the first line means "between the two tanks".

w1ntermute 12y ago
I don't mean the caption at the top. I'm referring to the letters on the diagram itself: http://i.imgur.com/Bj31AxJ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Bj31AxJ.jpg
- KhalilK 12y ago
  aha, well it does look like Old Turkic Alphabet[0], I am not sure. 0.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Turkic_alphabet#Table_of_characters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Turkic_alphabet#Table_of_ch... Edit: Some characters don't seem to render properly, an Image seems more practical. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Turkic_alphabet#mediaviewer/File:Thomsen_Orkhon_table_1893.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Turkic_alphabet#mediaviewer...
  - w1ntermute 12y ago
    Do you know why he didn't just use Arabic characters? Based on a brief survey of the Arabic Wikipedia, it looks like Latin letters are standard for variables in math these days, but what was the reason for using non-Arabic characters back then?
    - KhalilK 12y ago
      It is odd, given that other scientists did use Arabic characters to notate their diagrams (notably, Al-khwarizmi and Ibn Al-Haytham). Perhaps it's because of his roots.

KhalilK 12y ago

It is Arabic, Islamic calligraphy[0] can be confusing, I'll reckon that. 0. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calligraphy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calligraphy

peteretep 12y ago
He's asking about the symbols against the diagram itself, not the preface.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

DanBC 12y ago

I have no idea. While searching for an answer I found this which is too interesting to not post. Especially the "table of alphabets". Perhaps some of the "old Hebrew" characters fit? http://www.gentlewisdom.org/qaya/academic/hebrew/Phoenician.html http://www.gentlewisdom.org/qaya/academic/hebrew/Phoenician....

nimir 12y ago

I think they are numbers, more specifically showing device dimensions & others may refer to some formulas . The Arabic notation for numbers as we know it now (1,2,3 ..etc) wasn't yet formed! i suppose!! You will find most of the mentioned symbols in this image showing the developing of numbers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numerals#mediaviewer/File:EuropeanFormOfArabianDigits.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numerals#mediaviewer/Fil... Note: (in the image the development in vertical, first line lists numbers from 1 to 10)