Programme

Celestial Crossroads: Encounters, Intersections and Influences

Istanbul, Turkey 27-29 April 2026

The programme will be subject to change

Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Venue: Yıldız Technical University

MONDAY 27 APRIL - Meetings

09.00 - 09.30

Conference registration

Session 1

09.30 - 09.50

Conference Introduction: At the Crossroads
Dr. Nicholas Campion (Sophia Centre UWTSD)

09.50 - 10.10

Greetings
Yıldız Technical University

10.10 - 10.55

What is in a Name? Munajjims as Astral Experts
A. Tunç Şen

10.55 - 11.15

Coffee break

11.15 - 11.45

Astronomy in the Ottoman Hijaz: Texts, Figures, and Practices
Naser Dumairieh, Hasan Umut

11.45 - 12.15

Astrology as an institutionalized science at the Ottoman Court:
Musazâde Mehmed Ubeydullah Efendi and the Horoscope of an Ottoman Prince
R. Hakan Kırkoğlu

12.15 - 12.35

Astronomy, astrology and observatory as a tool of power and politics: from Maraghe to Istanbul
Seyyed Hadi Tabatabaei

12.35 - 12.45

Q&A

12.45 - 13.45

Lunch, group photo

Session 2

13.45 - 14.05

Between Tables, Maps, and Diagrams: An Ottoman Manuscript of Time, the Heavens, and the World
Gaye Danışan

14.05 - 14.25

The concept of time in ancient nations
Hoda Ata

14.25 - 14.55

From visionary mage to philosopher astrologer: the evolution of the figure of Jāmāsp from ancient Iran to the Ottoman court
Florence Somer

14.55 - 15.15

Reciprocity without Consensus: Astronomy and the Question of Autonomy in Constantinople–Istanbul
Alberto Bardi

15.15 - 15.25

Q&A

15.25 - 15.40

Coffee break

Session 3

15.40 - 16.00

Star and Constellation Myths as Symbolic Stories in Celestial Patterns in Medieval Sacred Spaces: Church/Mosque/Temple
Hee Sook Lee-Niinioja

16.00 - 16.20

The Narthex of the Lesnovo Monastery: Rulership, Dress, and Celestial Imagery
Dragana Van de Moortel-Ilić

16.20 - 16.50

At a crossroads in space and time: the archaeoastronomy of the Upper Iron Gates
Fabio Silva

16.50 - 17.00

Q&A

18.00 - 19.00

Sufi Dancing performance

TUESDAY 28 APRIL – Influences and Translation

Session 1

09.30 - 10.15

The Astral Sciences under the Achaemenid Persian Empire
John Steele

10.15 - 10.35

Why the Moon and Sun Appear Larger on the Horizon? An Argument Based on Optics in the Commentary on the Tadhkirah by Fatḥ Allāh Shirwānī
Arezoo Egherlou

10.35 - 10.55

Astronomers and Astrologers in the Caliph’s Court: Mathematical developments in tenth-century al-Andalus
Dallin Evans

10.55 - 11.15

Q&A

11.05 - 11.20

Coffee Break

Session 2

11.20 - 11.50

The Reception of Mesopotamian Astrology in Hattusas
Ulla Koch

11.50 - 12.10

Calculation in Mesopotamian Astronomy: Analysis of System B for Jupiter
Orhan Güneş

12.10 - 12.40

Edessa and Astrology: The Approaches of Bardaișan and Theophilus
Dorian Greenbaum

12.40 - 12.50

Q&A

12.50 - 13.20

Lunch. Guided tour of the historic sites at Yıldiz Technical University (Group A, 40 mins)

Session 3

13.20 - 13.40

The Prostration of the Shadow: Cosmology, Consciousness, and the Semantics of Zill in Qur’an Raʿd
Ozan Şanlı Şentürk

13.40 - 14.00

Perspectives on Sufi Cosmology in the Rasāʾil of the Ikhwan al-Safa
Meltem Ersoy

14.00 - 14.10

Q&A

14.10 - 14.25

Coffee break

Session 4

14.25 - 16.45

MOSAIC group panel discussion

MOSAIC group introduction
Godefroid de Callataÿ

Making Worlds in Islam: the Horoscope of Baghdad in Context
Godefroid de Callataÿ

Apollonius of Tyana’s Hermetic Astral Doctrine in the Syriac Tradition
Matteo Martelli

Prognostic Handbooks
Petra Schmidl

Heavenly Signs and Intermediary Beings in the Persian Reception of the Brethren of Purity. Reading the Būstān al-ʿUqūl and the Mujmal al-ḥikma
Laura Tribuzio

From Semiotics to Prognostics: Astral Knowledge in Ibn Duraid’sBook of Rain
Razieh S. Mousavi

Mind Over Matter: Theorizing Mind Control in the First Safavid Century
Dominique Sirgy

16.45 - 17.00

Q&A

WEDNESDAY 29 APRIL - Transmission

09.00 - 09.30

Conference registration

Session 1

09.30 - 10.15

Averroes, Astronomy and Astrology in Istanbul and Italy
Robert Morrison

10.15 - 10.45

Comparing astrological practices: between Persia and Europe
Luis Robeiro

10.45 - 11.05

Beyond Samarqand’s Observatory: Muʿīn al-Dīn al-Kāshī’s Nativity Book for Ulugh Beg’s Son
Hamid Bohloul

11.05 - 11.15

Q&A

11.15 - 11.30

Coffee Break

Session 2

11.30 - 11.50

Concerning the Origin of the Middle-Eastern Terms “Chaldean” and “Egyptian” in Greco-Roman Planetary Orders
James Brannon

11.50 - 12.10

From Babylon to al-Andalus: The Transmission of Astral Sciences between Civilizations and Their Impact on Islamic and Latin Thought in the Middle Ages
Khasawneh Awni

12.10 - 12.30

From the prophetic Arab-Persian cosmic cycles to Johannes Kepler's ‘Harmony of the World’
Karine Dilanian

12.30 - 12.40

Q&A

12.40 - 14.00

Lunch. Guided tour of the historic sites at Yıldiz Technical University (Group B, 40 mins)

Session 3

14.00 - 14.20

“From Bhārata to Baghdad to Byzantium”: Interactions and Interconnections of Jyotiḥśāstra among Indian, Islamic, and European Astrologers
Anupam Suman

14.20 - 14.40

The Indian science of auspicious hours in Persianate astrology
Jean Arzuomanov

14.40 - 15.00

The Sacred «Book» of the Cosmos as a Subject of Timurid Empire and
Alexey Arapov

15.00 - 15.10

Q&A

15.10 - 15.25

Coffee break

Session 4

15.25 - 15.55

Creating an Image Database of al-Sufi’s Book of the Images of the Fixed Stars and Exploring Cross-Cultural Influences
Rana Brentjes

15.55 - 16.15

The Chinese-Islamic Observatory in Beijing: An Overlooked Center for Islamic Astronomy in East Asia
Yunli Shi

16.15 - 16.35

The relationship between astronomy and motifs in Ilkhanid tiles (14th century), drawing on the era’s scientific advancements and artistic expressions.
Sediqeh Pourmohtar

16.35 - 16.45

Q&A

16.45 - 17.00

Conference closing
Nick Campion

Start for a Cruise: 17.00.
Expected arrival at cruise site: 18.00-18.30.
Expected return: 22.00-22.30.