Eclipses y cometas en el Rawḍ al-qirṭās

Abstract

The historical sources offer far from negligible material on meteorological and astronomical phenomena and the Rawḍ al-qirṭās of Ibn Abī Zar‛ (14^th C.) is a good example of it. In this article I transcribe the Arabic text according to the Rabat edition, 1976; next I offer the Spanish translation of Huici Miranda and, finally, I comment upon the phenomenon. Once verified (with the aid of computer astronomical programs) the data on eclipses and comets that the work contributes, two phenomena stand out: the first and more significant is the observation of the supernova (classified as a comet) of the year 1006 AD. This text has the interest of ascribing a cyclical character to the motion of comets, an idea which the author relates to the observations of the Ancients. The second event is the northern aurora observed, possibly in Cordoba, in the 9^th century. Finally, the exact date of the eclipses allows us to correct some erroneous dates of the Arabic text (whose manuscripts show important differences).