Throughout history astrologers advised kings and queens, guided battles, and determined the fate of kingdoms.

But sometimes, astrologers were kings, queens, and rulers themselves!

A thread-

The first is the iconic 9th century Queen Bawran, a true astrologer queen.

When her husband passed, she took to checking the horoscope of his successor Al Mu’tasim. She would cast the horoscope daily, examining what the stars held.

One day she noticed a qat, a “cutting off” understood in medieval Islamicate astrology to warn of impending doom.

She quickly called for her father, Hasan ibn Sahl and told him the caliph was in danger from a wooden object.

At the appointed time, her father noticed a servant handing the caliph a toothpick and comb. Intervening, he demanded the servant first use the items.

The poor man dared not disobey.

Using the toothpick and comb, the servants head suddenly swelled up and he died.

They were poisoned.

So impressed was Al Mu’tasim he rewarded Bawran and her father handsomely.

Bawran had learned her craft from her family, for she was a descendent of Nawbakht, the legendary astrologer who along with Mashallah cast the foundation chart for Baghdad itself.

A century later, Al Biruni would compose his famous astrological treatise, Kitab al-tafhim li-awa’il sina‘at al-tanjim for the princess, Rayhana.

Translators and scholars have remarked on the clarity and didactic skill Biruni demonstrates in his book, but what’s often left out is the questions and answers he writes specifically for Rayhana.

She ends up missing in the translations.

Yet from the questions we can see Rayhana was a brilliant astrologer with a keen mind.

She was his pupil and muse.

The North African Zulema was said to have been skilled in the art of astrology too.

Likely of Berber or Amazigh origin, she used astrology to predict the King of Aragon’s conquest of Mallorca.

She and her family remained on the island and she was said to have built a tower from which she could observe the stars.

We often have scant information about women astrologers and scientists.

Each of these were elite women and so their names were recorded, but for others we don’t even have names.

Historian Saliba notes there was at least one woman who served as battle astrologer.

She would predict the movement of troops through her craft, but she is unnamed

In crusader literature the mother of Kerbogha the atabeg of Mosul is a gifted astrologer. She counsels and advises her son during the first crusade.

She warns him of his impending loss at the hands of the Franks.

He does not listen and loses the battle.

Kings were also astrologers.

Caliph Ma’mun surrounded himself with astrologers, but he himself was learned in the craft too.

During the civil war with his brother he noted the Moon in Scorpio as an inauspicious sign, an omen his brother ignored and thus lost the war.

Ma’mun waited until an eclipse before overthrowing his brother and conquering Baghdad.

But Ma’mun wasn’t the only caliph skilled in astrology. While the majority of caliphs had astrologers, the Ummayd, Khalid ibn Yazid was said to have studied it for himself.

While more commonly known for his connection to alchemy, particularly through works contestably attributed to him as Calid, he was said to have begun the translation project of bringing astrology into Arabic world.

Of course, my favorite was the emir, Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir, of the Tahirid dynasty.

A skilled astrologer he would cast regular horoscopes.

According to Kathir, he foresaw a coming eclipse in Cancer the sign of his nativity and predicted his own demise.

So in true dramatic fashion, he wrapped himself in a burial shroud and waited for his death.

There were also many legends about astrologer rulers.

The oldest of which connected the Prophet Idris to Hermes Trismegistus. People like Abu Ma’shar would treat Prophet Idris as the first astrologer in the world, having learn the secrets of the stars and divination from angels

In the Arabic Hermetic lore, there is also mention of a legendary Yemeni king, Shaddan ibn ‘Ad who was so skilled in astrology he predicted the coming Flood.

Fearing the danger it posed to knowledge, he built the Great Pyramids to preserve the wisdom of the ages.

Interestingly, the hadith also make reference to an astrologer king.

In a narration by Abdullah bin Abbas, Heraclius the Byzantine emperor is also an astrologer.

One day his courtiers asked why Heraclius was troubled, the emperor responded he has studied the starts and they foretold the coming of a prophet and his nation.

All of these people are important in their own right.

Narrations about Heraclius tell us how astrology was used as a way of legitimizing the rise of Islam while the legends of Hermes Islamize universal histories and lore.

Hermes becomes Idris and astrology becomes a sacred science.

Caliphs and emirs practicing astrology tell us of the way in which astrology was deeply interwoven into the fabric of medieval Islamicate society.

And story of Bawran and the astrologer queens show us the role of women in the study of astrology.

Note how few references we have by names-- this is the ongoing struggle of histories of science: the silencing of women.

Many are unnamed, it takes nobility of birth to even have your name recorded.

But we can surmise how prevalent astrology was and that it may have been a means by which ordinary women could climb the social ladder.

We know women practiced astrology, but we also know they were translators working often behind the scenes to copy, translate, and edit the texts of astrology we have today.

From Bawran we can see how that knowledge was passed down.

She was the descendent of a famous astrologer and so astrological knowledge was passed down through family lines.

Whole tribes of astrologers existed.

But they also likely learned in formal settings.

The technique of identifying a qat was likely something Bawran learned formally from a teacher.

Reconizing some of the legendary names and faces humanizes the history.

Too often the history of science is shaped by a Eurocentric lens while the history of astrology is a collection of techniques to be mined.

But through these figures we can provincialize Europe and see a history of astrology which includes women but also broadens the scope to see Amazigh and North African people, and a truly global tradition.

If you are interested in learning more, I’ve released a podcast episode on Abu Ma’shar and am covering his theories and techniques on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonhistory 

We'll continue to explore astrology in the Islamic world in future threads