Life and Work of Abu Mashar

beyondtheheaven.wordpress.com /2012/10/14/life-and-work-of-abu-mashar/
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The Persian astrologer Abu Mashar (787-886 AD) had a profound

effect on Western astrology and the modern-day student of the
Western Predictive Tradition will be well rewarded by close study of
his works and their influence.1
With these words Robert Zoller begins his treatise dedicated on the life and work of the wonderful
astrologer by name Abu Mashar.
In my study of traditional astrology so far, there are few astrologers who were able to take my attention
for a closer study and Abu Mashar is one of them. His astrology is very insightful, concrete and
rational. Once you try to incorporate it in your astrological practice tools, it is hard to forget about it, jut
because it is so natural and fluent.
This will be the first of the series Im planning to write on Abu Mashars approach to astrology.
In this article I will try to give a broader scope of his life and works, his influences and influences on
him, and in the later series I will give practical examples of his delineation style and approach.

His Life
The full name of Abu Mashar is Abu Mashar Jafar ben Muhammad al-Balkhi, was born 10 th of august
in year 787 in town Balkh, an ancient city on the territory of todays Afghanistan. Today it is a small city
in the province of Bakhl, which is one of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan. But once it was a great city in
the then famous Khorasan. Marco Polo says that Balkh was noble and great city. Khorasan was a
name of territories during the caliphate in 750 AD. It was part of Persia, and bordered with Hind (Sind,
which was culturally connected mostly to India [Hindustan]) on north-east. Hence the influence in Abu
Mashars mundane (and natal) works from the Hindus Siddhantas in which the entire system of
Hindus chronology was preserved. Abu Mashar used this chronology in his mundane calculations,
but I will speak more on this in the future series.

Abu Mashar entered into the world of

Astrology in his late years (around 47).
He was at first criticizer of the subject but
his teacher the great polymath Al Kindi
told him that a wise man should not
criticize any subject before studying it.
It was this decisive moment when Abu
Mashar decided to study Astrology and
become his life since.
One of his students wrote about his
master depicts him as an omniscient
wise men.
There is an interesting anecdote written
in the medieval treatise Albumasar in
Sadan:

Abu Mashar said that when a natives 2nd house is impeded at birth
and its ruler also unfortunate, the native never prospers. When asked
why he never mentioned this in his writings, he said: The sage who
writes down all he knows is like an empty vessel. Nobody needs him
and his reputation declines. He should keep some secrets to himself
and communicate them only to his closest friends.2
Abu Mashar died on 9 March 886 in Wasit, Iraq.

Abu Mashars works

1. The Greater Introduction to Astrology (as Im aware, no full translation of this work is made in
English)
2. The Flores Astrologicae (translated in English by Benjamin Dykes)
3. On the Great Conjunctions and on the revolutions of the world (translated in English by Keiji
Yamamoto and Charles Burnett)
4. On the Revolutions of Nativities (translated in English by Benjamin Dykes as the third of the
series of Persian Nativities).
5. Thousands (translated in English by David Pingree)
6. The Abbreviation of the Introduction to Astrology (there exist two translations, one made by
Burnett,Yamamoto and Yano, and the newer made by Benjamin Dykes compiled together with
Al-Qabisi)
Abu Mashars works served for a greater part of the Guido Bonattis monumental work Liber
Astronomiae. He often quotes him using his Latinized name Albumasar.
In 1489 at Augsburg, Erhard Ratdolt published three of his works, the Greater Introduction to
Astronomy in eight books, the Flowers and 8 books concerning great conjunctions and revolutions of
the years.
John of Spain and Hermann of Dalmatia translated the Introduction and the French translation of
Hagins the Jew made in 1273 (from which Peter of Abano translate portions for his compilation): Le

livre des revolutions desiecle.

Another work cited by Peter of Abano and other medieval authors is Albumasar in Sadan, also called
Excerpts from the Secrets of Albumasar . The famous orientalist and biographer Moritz Steinschneider
is of opinion that the Latin translation of this work is a shortened or incomplete version of an Arabic
original entitled al-Mudsakaret, or Memorabilia by Abu Said Schadsan (corrupted into Sadan) who
wrote down the answers of his teacher to his question. (Lynn Thorndike p.651).
There is also a work called Mysteries, in Greek Musteria, also preserved in Byzantine versions of
Shadhans Mudhakarat and of Abu Mashars Kitab al-madkhai al-kabir.
Giuseppe Bezza has Italian translation of fragments of this work preserved in the Angelicus Graecus
29. The translation into English by Daria Dudziak can be found here:
http://www.cieloeterra.it/eng/eng.testi.metafore/eng.metafore.html

(Albumazar: woodcut from his Introductorium in Astronomiam, Venice, 1506.)

Indian influence on Abu Mashar

The Art historian Aby Warbug gave a lecture dating in year 1922 on a congress in Rome on the study
he had made on the eerie frescoes in the Palazzo Schifanoja of Ferrare.
In that lecture he claims that the key to read these images is astrology!
Abu Mashar was mentioned in this work of Amy Warburg as a principle authority of medieval
astrology, whose work Introductorium majus (The Great Introduction) served to the compilation of
Peter of Abano by name Astrolabium magnum.
In the lecture Amy Warburg is tracing the chronology of migration of the Sphaera Barbarica, and states
that it was Abu Mashars work which is deserving praises for surviving of the decanic images which
later on served to the mentioned compilation of Peter of Abano.
Amy suggests that the Sphaera was traveling from Asia Minor by way of Egypt to India, and found its
way to Persia through the work of Abu Mashar (Great introduction).
This text was then translated by a Spanish Jew by name Ibn Ezra (supposedly John of Spain?). Then,
his translation was translated into French by a person named Hagins, a Jewish Scholar, and Amy

suggests that this French translation served as a basis for the Latin translation made by Peter of Abano
in 1293.
In investigating the source of the decanic images, Amy is of opinion that Abu Mashar had an
unacknowledged Hindu source. This is the sixth century Indian author by name Varahamihira whose
Brihat jataka was Abu Mashars unacknowledged source:

The first Drekkana of sign Aries is a man with a white cloth tied
around his loins, black, facing a person as if able to protect him, of a
fearful appearance and of red eyes and holding an ax in his hand. This
Drekkana is of the shape of a man and is armed. Mars (Bhauma) is its
llord.
Abu Mashar (Boll, Sphaera 497) writes:

The Indians say that in this decan a black man arises with red eyes,
a man of powerful stature, courage, and greatness of mind; he wears a
voluminous white garment, tied around his midriff with a cord; he is
wrathful, stands erect, guards, and observes.
(German Essays on Art History, Amy Warburg: Italian Art and
International Astrology in the Palazzo Schifanoia Ferrara, Continuum
International Publishing Group, Jun 1, 1988 edited by Gert Schiff
p.242)

(Decans of Aries from Astrolabium Magnum)

Lynn Thorndike in his A history of magic and experimental science says that although he was the
most celebrated astrologer of 9th century Bagdad astrologers, he was also accused for plagiarism
(p.649).
Some things never change?!
David Pingree, in his article published in Viator Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Volume 1, by
name The Indean and Pseudo-Indian Passages in Greek and Latin Astronomical and Astrological
texts compares texts in Abu Mashars On Solar Revolutions in the section dedicated to the
Novenaria with that of the Hindu Navamsas as explained in III.9 of this book. I here refer to the
translation by Benjamin Dykes in his series of Persian Nativities, but Pingree discusses the Arabian
original by name Kitab ahkam tahawil sini al-mawalid.
Abu Mashar in that particular chapter tells us that in determining the ruler of the year, the Indian
astrologers used the lord of the first navamsa in the sign in which the revolution of the years of the
nativity has reached.
Pingree says: Abu Mashar frequently in his other works in Arabic refers to Indian theories of one sort
or another, but little of this material was translated into either Greek or Latin. (p.173)
Pingree argues that Abu Mashar was one of the most important transmitters of a knowledge of Indian
astrology among the Arabs. His pupil Shadhan says that his teacher had some direct contact with
India.
Conclusion
Abu Mashar was highly influential in the years to come after his death.
He influenced as we said, Bonattis monumental work Liber Astronomiae, but he also influenced Morin
even though Morin was probably not aware of the fact that he is reading and quoting an Arabian
astrologer.
In quoting him in his Astrologia Gallica nr.23 dedicated to the Solar Revolutions, Morin thinks that he
quotes some person by name (or pseudo-name) Hermes the Philosopher. At this moment Im not
sure whether Morin knew who the author was but decided not to quote the name due to his despise of
Arabs (political reasons), or he truly didnt knew about the fact that he is quoting the famous Abu
Mashar.
Morins delineation style of the Solar Revolutions depends a lot on this treatise of Abu Mashar.
We saw also how Abu Mashars works was important for the persevering the ancient decanic images,
which he probably took from Indians through some corrupted version of the original Greek or
Babylonian sources. He has tremendous importance for the preservation of the knowledge of mundane
astrology practiced in Perso-Arabian times, and has great value for us today.
It is important to note though that Abu Mashar preserved the ancient tradition of Hellenistic Astrology
migrated through the Sassanian sources. Abu Mashar got his basics in astrology from Valens:

And when Abu Mashr transferred to the Great Introduction the elements (of astrology)
from al-Bizdhaj (The Anthology), he mentioned that the Persians called the first type
which is equipollent (lit. corresponding in strength) potent, and the type which is
corresponding in ascension he called corresponding in course, and he left the third type
as it is. And when Ab Muammad al-Saif has mentioned it and called the first type
equipollent and he called it also corresponding in course. And he judged Abu Mashr
(adversely) for calling the second type the ones corresponding in course, and he
ascribed it to ignorance of the heavens. And in spite of his (Abu Mashrs) telling the
truth, he (Ab Muammad) still degrades Abu Mashr, and he does not give him his due
esteem. For after all Abu Mashr does not deserve all this attribution of ignorance,
even though he erred in his nomenclature here and followed partially the author of alBizdhaj. (Valens)

This is documented in Al Birunis On Transits; but this can be observed as correct by knowing the
similar approach to certain techniques Abu Mashar had with that of Valens. For example, taking into
consideration the planet present into the sign in which the annual profections (or Solar Return
Ascendant) came as a Lord of the Year, instead of the Ruler of the Sign. There exist other similarities of
which I will talk in the next series dedicated on Abu Mashar.
If we trace this thread of influences, we can draw an interesting line between Valens, Abu Mashar and
Morinus, who even though didnt incorporated the non-natural segments of the astrological tools
(such as the lots for example, which are numerical fractions and not real astronomical phenomena) into
his Astrology, it is obvious that the approach in delineating is very similar.
I hope I was able to spark your curiosity for this very important astrologer, and your impatience to read
some of my further articles on this subjects :)
Footnotes:
1.Robert Zoller Abu Mashar: Prince of Astrologers, p.4.
2.Thanks to Steven E. Birchfield for pointing me out this and the quote from Al-Biruni [later in the text].

Sources
Robert Zoller Abu Mashar: Prince of Astrologers ( A New Library Publication, electronic edition
2002)
German Essays on Art History, Amy Warburg: Italian Art and International Astrology in the Palazzo
Schifanoia Ferrara, Continuum International Publishing Group, Jun 1, 1988 edited by Gert Schiff.
Lynn Thorndike A history of magic and experimental science. (Volume II, Columbia University
Press,1923).
David Pingree The Indean and Pseudo-Indian Passages in Greek and Latin Astronomical and
Astrological texts, published in Viator Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Volume 1.
Abu Mashar On Solar Revolutions, translated by Benjamin N. Dykes PhD, Persian Nativities III
(The Cazimi Press 2010)
Al-Brn on Transits A study of an Arabic Treatise entitled Tamhd al-mustaqarr li-taqq man almamar (5:10-19 p6.), By Ab l-Rayn al-Brn Translated by Mohammad Saffouri & Adnan Ifram With
commentary by Edward S. Kennedy, Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science, At the Johann
Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Islamic Mathematics and Astronomy Volume
33 1998
Beyond The Heaven, Oct. 2012