Ascension 139

The image on the stamp shows Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf al Shemi al-Asadi and his colleagues at the observatory of Taqf ad-Din in Istanbul in 1577 (A.H. 985). The original painting is from the first volume of Shahinshah-nama (History of the King of Kings), by ’Ala ad-Din Mansur-Shirazi, published in 1581 in honor of Sultan Murad III.
     Taqi al-Din Muhammad is sitting on the right in front of his library in a discussion of an astrolabe held up by an assistant. Some astromomers work with scientific equipment, others keep records or consult manuscripts or globes.  In the center of the foreground is a circular map. The original shows the continent of Africa, but the map on the stamp is mis-drawn.