A previously-unknown Iranian treatise on a terrestrial globe

This paper introduces an unusual text from 17th century Iran: Āqā Raḍī's work, Qiblat al-āfāq. The treatise offers an insight into the making and use of terrestrial globes. The most interesting section of the text is a series of instructions for making terrestrial globes. The fact that no such instrument from the Ṣafavid period or earlier has survived adds to the text's significance. Another notable aspect of the text is that, unlike with other texts from earlier periods, which usually can be interpreted as depicting round or planar maps rather than globes, the Qiblat al-āfāq definitely describes a terrestrial globe, with clear instructions on its making and use. In this paper, I begin by reviewing the literature on early terrestrial globes known to the historians of Islamic cartography. I then introduce the author of the treatise, as he is described by his contemporary biographers. The treatise's structure is discussed afterwards, and I will present a visual reconstruction of the globe, step-by-step, using the instructions in the text. I elaborate on the purposes of the globe, and on the way in which the astronomer was expected to use it. Finally, I will trace the numerical data used in making the instrument. Furthermore this paper shows how the treatise develops our understanding of Ṣafavid maps and the instrument makers behind them.