The maps in surviving manuscripts of Ptolemy's Geography, however, only date from about 1300, after the text was rediscovered by Maximus Planudes. The loss of revenues from outside possessions led to an increase in the tax burden. Ptolemy III Euergetes (”Benefactor”) ruled from 246 to 221 B.C. [34] This means that information contained in different parts of the Geography is likely to be of different dates. Claudius Ptolemy wrote the Almagest, the work that defined astronomy for over 1,000 years. In addition, even from the founding of Alexandria, small numbers of Egyptians were admitted to the privileged classes in the city to fulfill numerous civic roles. There were also accusations of plagiarism, that Ptolemy copied earlier works by Hipparchus and other mathematicians. Ptolemy VI Philometor (”Mother-loving”) ruled from 180 to 145 B.C. The scarcity of reliable empirical data in those times helped to justify the errors, but doubt had begun to be cast on Ptolemy’s works. In the second part of the Geography, he provided the necessary topographic lists, and captions for the maps. Ptolemy’s other works are of less interest. : Hall, 255], captain of Jericho invites Simon Maccabeus and his sons to a banquet and then slays them. [citation needed] He also acknowledged ancient astronomer Hipparchus for having provided the elevation of the north celestial pole[31] for a few cities.[32]. Size and shape were determined by the visual angle subtended at the eye combined with perceived distance and orientation. The identity and date of the actual author of the work, referred to now as Pseudo-Ptolemy, remains the subject of conjecture. The work is a significant part of the early history of optics[44] The most interesting features of the work are Ptolemy’s theory of mirrors, tables of the angles of refraction of a light ray passing from the air into water and glass, and his theory and table for the refraction undergone in the earth’s atmosphere by light from heavenly bodies. Stückelberger, Alfred, and Gerd Graßhoff (eds). [11], The 9th century Persian astronomer Abu Maʻshar presents Ptolemy as a member of Egypt's royal lineage, stating that the descendants of the Alexandrine general and Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter, were wise "and included Ptolemy the Wise, who composed the book of the Almagest". Ptolemy's astrological outlook was quite practical: he thought that astrology was like medicine, that is conjectural, because of the many variable factors to be taken into account: the race, country, and upbringing of a person affects an individual's personality as much as, if not more than, the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets at the precise moment of their birth, so Ptolemy saw astrology as something to be used in life but in no way relied on entirely. He presented the so-called geocentric theory, which stated that the earth was the center of the solar system, and that the other planets and the sun revolved around it. [42] After criticizing the approaches of his predecessors, Ptolemy argued for basing musical intervals on mathematical ratios (in contrast to the followers of Aristoxenus and in agreement with the followers of Pythagoras), backed up by empirical observation (in contrast to the overly theoretical approach of the Pythagoreans). [8][citation needed], The name Claudius is a Roman name, belonging to the gens Claudia; the peculiar multipart form of the whole name Claudius Ptolemaeus is a Roman custom, characteristic of Roman citizens. He was born in Egypt, and he died there too. This compilation was considered very important and influential to other mathematicians and scientists in those early times. It is highly probable that these were the same stadion, since Ptolemy switched from the former scale to the latter between the Syntaxis and the Geography, and severely readjusted longitude degrees accordingly. (Until Stückelberger (2006), this was the most recent edition of the complete Greek text. Ptolemy I Soter (”Savior”), founder of the dynasty, was one of Alexander the Great’s military commanders. (also Lagid), a royal dynasty that reigned in Hellenistic Egypt from 305 B.C. ", A. I. Sabra, "Psychology Versus Mathematics: Ptolemy and Alhazen on the Moon Illusion", in E. Grant & J. E. Murdoch (eds. Given that the Alexandrian mathematicians mentioned here were active several hundred years after the founding of the city, it would seem at least equally possible that they were ethnically Egyptian as that they remained ethnically Greek. Claudius Ptolemy Lived c. 100 – c. 170. The struggle among the elite intensified. It is now believed to be a much later pseudepigraphical composition. Magnitude 4.4 Richter. • Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos at LacusCurtius (Transcription of the Loeb Classical Library's English translation) Ptolemy also devised and provided instructions on how to create maps both of the whole inhabited world (oikoumenè) and of the Roman provinces. Because of its reputation, it was widely sought and was translated twice into Latin in the 12th century, once in Sicily and again in Spain. The incursion of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV into Egypt in 170–168 B.C further aggravated the country’s economic situation, leading to the mass flight (anachoresis) of farmers from the villages. We can evidence historical confusion on this point from Abu Maʿshar's subsequent remark: "It is sometimes said that the very learned man who wrote the book of astrology also wrote the book of the Almagest. 2d cent. Ptolemy lived in the city of Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt under the rule of the Roman Empire,[3] had a Latin name (which several historians have taken to imply he was also a Roman citizen),[4] cited Greek philosophers, and used Babylonian observations and Babylonian lunar theory. All subsequent pharaohs of Egypt until Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC, ending the Macedonian family's rule, were also Ptolemies. and ed.). [46] Ptolemy offered explanations for many phenomena concerning illumination and colour, size, shape, movement and binocular vision. [dubious – discuss], Despite Ptolemy's prominence as a philosopher, the Dutch historian of science Eduard Jan Dijksterhuis criticizes the Tetrabiblos, stating that "it only remain puzzling that the very writer of the Almagest, who had taught how to develop astronomy from accurate observations and mathematical constructions, could put together such a system of superficial analogies and unfounded assertions."[41].