page_title: Maragheh
section_title: Maragha observatory
hierarchical_section_title: Maragheh / Maragha observatory
caption_attribution_description: This picture was taken during the Venus Transit of 2004, at the top of the Observatory Hill in the city of Maragheh, Iran.
context_page_description: Maragheh, also Romanized as Marāgheh; also known as Marāgha, is an ancient city and capital of Maragheh County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran.
  Maragheh is on the bank of the river Sufi Chay. The population consists mostly of Iranian Azerbaijanis who speak the Azerbaijani language. It is 130 kilometres from Tabriz, the largest city in northwestern Iran.
context_section_description: On a hill west of the town are the remains of the famous Maragheh observatory called Rasad Khaneh, constructed under the direction the Ilkhanid king, Hülagü Khan for Nasir al-Din al-Tusi. The building, which no doubt served as a citadel as well, enclosed a space of 340 by 135 meters, and the foundations of the walls were 13 to 2 meters in thickness. The observatory was constructed in the thirteenth century and was said to house a staff of at least ten astronomers and a librarian who was in charge of the library which allegedly contained over 40,000 books. This observatory was one of the most prestigious during the medieval times in the Islamic Empire during the golden age of Islamic science. The famous astronomer Ibn al-Shatir did much of his work in this observatory.
caption: Venus transit 2004 at the site of observatory
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