ONCE the Arabs after their 7th century religious `awakening` spread in every direction, it was interesting to note that the highlyeducatedmostly moved eastwards. From there they took our finest findings and headed westwards. This is my second piece on the subject.

Along the way a number of discoveries have a Lahore base, let alone a Punjab origin.

Initially it was mapping the geography of our land. Among the very first was Ibn Hawgal, a 10th century Arab geographer and chronicler, who is known for his detailed account of various regions, including his description of Lahore.

His book `Sura`at al Ard` (The Face of the Earth), includes a reasonable description of Lahore, though it is important to note that his focus was on the city`s geographicallocation andits strategic importance as a trade centre. The importance of the trade centre was because of the important role played by the Khizri Darwaza port on the River Ravi.

Ibn Hawgal`s description of Lahore places it within the broader Indus Valley region, noting its position along major trade routes. He described Lahore`s role as a significant trading centre, connecting itto other parts of the Islamic world and beyond. Ibn Hawgal`s broader contribution was as a traveller who explored and documented various regions, including parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. His work included detailed maps, contributing to the field of cartography in the Islamic world.

The other Arab scholar and traveller was Abu Mashar alBalkhi, the famed astronomer.

His book on the variations of astronomical tables is the starting point of what even today are the basics of astronomy. Amir Khusrau, the poet, described in detail how Abu Mashar came to the Punjab, stayed in Lahore where he was amazed at the knowledge level in astronomy of the `hakeems` of the city. He eventually moved on to Benaras to learn the immense amount of knowledge of his science.

In an earlier piece I had mentioned that during a visit to Spain, in the Madrid Museum I saw an astrolabe made by Al-Zargoli of Cordova (1029-1087), with the label mentioning that this great man had been to Lahore to learn the craft of metallurgy.

The exhibited astrolabe was `Made in Lahore`. If you read a book titled `Crafts of Lahore` there is a chapter on the astrolabes of Lahore.

This set me off on a search for the `astrolabe makers of Lahore`. I remember search-ing for a brass craftsman in Kot Abdul Malik to get a brass machinery part made a few years ago and spent two hours talking to Hafiz Majeed. It was there that he told me that he was the last of the `astrolabe` makers of Lahore. Luckily he has a few `shagirds` (pupils) who still carry on the ancient tradition of Lahore.

Let me start this piece with the reason Lahore has always been known, even in preMughal times, as the city of learning, of poets and of gardens. The basis of all knowledge is to have a logical mind, and with the ability to communicate. For logic we need mathematics and for communication we need languages. Old village schools only taught these two subjects. Both are critical. In our youth we were forced to rote mathematical tables sitting on a mat under a tree in the Thal desert. My father had learnt Urdu, English, Punjabi, Persian and Arabic, plus he could, in a flash, tell me what 2.5 multiplied by 7.5 added up to. This is a great tradition we now ignore.

If you understand the way in which `mohallahs` are named in the old walled city, you will come across names like Kucha Musauwaran, Kucha Rangrezan, Kucha Kamangaram, not to forget Baithak Katiban. There is a Mohallah Kaftgar, where steel,gold or silver metallurgists lived and excelled in producing leavened metals.

The science of metallurgy was well and alive in Lahore almost a thousand years ago. I was going through the website of the magazine `Science Today` and an article by Mendenhallon`Understanding Copper Alloys` pointed out to the amazing high-zine brass that was produced in Lahore in the 15th century. Europe was then in the `dark ages`. He reproduced a table from that age that amazed me, and I must reproduce its contents before I continue my story.

In the manufacture of `astrolabes` a high-zine brass is needed. By the early 16th century a table on how to achieve this metallurgy was written in Lahore by Sheikh Allahdad Langas, who put down on paper, using a diagram using the Euclidian plain, the manner in which brass was to be heated till 1083 degrees and then he came up with what is today known as the Cu-Zu Phase Diagram. At 900 degrees the weight drops by 32 per cent and then the beta aspectis calculated.The exact crystal structure of the alloy and its composition are given.

It was no wonder, given the high intellectual skill of our metallurgists in those days, that Al-Zargoli of Cordova wanted to come to Lahore.

The manufacture of thesemedieval astronomical instruments in Lahore was known the world over even in the 16th century. I was looking up material to locate ancient Lahore astrolabes only to find that a Spanish Muslim had used `planispheric astrolabes` from Lahore to guide the discoverer Columbus. But that is another subject, for a Muslim Chinese had landed in America 80 years before him.

What is an astrolabe? It is a two-dimensional instrument to measure the zodiac circle.

With the use of analytical geometry and centring a map of the equator and with a measure of the horizon, one can measure distances. There are two types of astrolabes: a planispheric and a celestial.

For celestial measurements the use of spherical geometry is used. The Al-Zargoli `arzachel` in Madrid is a horizontal projector.

My searches set me going to consult a book considered an authority on astrolabes. It is R.T Gunther`s book: `The Astrolabes of the World`. In this detailed compilation every astrolabe that exists in the world has been traced. His view is that almost 55 per cent of all astrolabes that exist in various museums and known private collections have been manufactured in Lahore.

This set me on the track of the famous family that madethem, and traces of whom I have not been able to establish. In Mohallah Langar Khaini inside Lohari Gate once lived the family of Sheikh Allahdad Asturlabi Humayuni Lahori. An effort a few years ago failed, though some traces of the family I did manage to find. Their old workshop still existsinMohallahKaftgar just near Kucha Kamangaran inside Mochi Gate. As the old city walls moved in Akbar`s days, my view was then that the family had moved away.

In August 2025, I will spend a day tracking down this famous family. I do know about five generations, they are Ziauddin Muhammad Astralabi, who was the son of Qayyum Astralabi. His father was the truly great Mulla Isa Muhammad Astralabi, whose works can be seen in the museums of Berlin and in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

The works of Sheikh Allahdad can be seen in many private collections.

The Lahore Museum has a collection of some excellent `astrolabes`, naturally those belonging to the famous family of Lahore that made them.

The mathematical precision needed to determine exact astronomical and topographical relationships call for a high degree of theoretical knowledge, what to speak of mathematical excellence. Lahore had all of these qualities.