AtTaqi

AtTaqi (Arabic: أتّقى‎; also rendered Ashtaqi or et Taqqi) was a prominent Andalusian scholar and astronomer of the late 8th and early ninth centuries CE. Little is known about his early life, but surviving biographical fragments suggest that he was born into a family of scholars in Cordoba, the intellectual heart of Al-Andalus. He is believed to have studied at the renowned Muslim schools of the city, where he received instruction in the quadrivium, particularly in astronomy, geometry, and arithmetic.

AtTaqi entered the service of the court of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba, and his work was instrumental in the reform of the astronomical calendar used throughout the Iberian Peninsula. His most celebrated treatise, “Al‑Khaznat Al‑Taqyya” (The Treasury of Righteousness), is a systematic compilation of celestial tables and was widely disseminated in both Arabic and Latin manuscripts. The work contains a detailed list of planetary motions and a corrected algorithm for calculating the Gregorian calendar, which was later adapted by Christian scholars in Europe. Although many of his original manuscripts have been lost over time, quotations in later medieval texts demonstrate that his methodology was highly regarded by subsequent astronomers.

In addition to his astronomical achievements, AtTaqi was credited with important advances in the protection of public fountains and irrigation channels. Contemporary chroniclers praised his efforts to ensure the water supply for the growing urban population of Cordoba. His contributions are often viewed as an early form of public infrastructure engineering in the medieval Islamic world.

AtTaqi's legacy is preserved mainly through mentions in the works of later scholars such as Al-Zarqali and Al-Biruni. His life exemplifies the vibrant intellectual cross‑cultural exchanges that characterized Al-Andalus during the period between the 8th and 10th centuries.