Maragheh observatory

The Maragheh observatory (Persian: رصدخانه مراغه), also spelled Maragha, Maragah, Marageh, and Maraga, was an astronomical observatory established in the mid 13th century under the patronage of the Ilkhanid Hulagu and the directorship of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, a Persian scientist and astronomer. The observatory is located on the west side of Maragheh, which is situated in today's East Azerbaijan Province of Iran. It was considered one of the most advanced scientific institutions in Eurasia because it was a center for many groundbreaking calculations in mathematics and astronomy. It housed a large collection of astronomical instruments and books and it served as an educational institution. It was also used as a model for the later Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand, the Taqi al-Din observatory in Constantinople, and Jai Singh observatory in Jaipur. The region of Alamut was previously held by the Nizaris, a sect of Shia Islam also referred to as the Assassins or Hashashins. Mongol campaign against the Nizaris Hulagu Khan was a Mongol ruler and the grandson of Genghis Khan. As the Mongols expanded their territory Hulagu was put it charge of conquering Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Syria, and the Abbasid Caliphate, the territory that would become the Ilkhanate. From 1253 to 1256, Hulagu and his army were waging a campaign of conquest against the Nizaris in the Iranian region of Alamut. In 1256, the Mongols took the Alamut castle, where al-Tusi and several other scholars had taken refuge to continue their studies. However, there is dispute over whether or not al-Tusi was held by the Nizaris against his will, or even assisted the Mongols in their attack. Hulagu respected al-Tusi for his scholarship in science and decided to appoint him as a wazir (vizier). Hulagu and his men took al-Tusi with them as they then went to sack Baghdad. In the newly formed Ilkhanate, al-Tusi was placed in charge of waqfs, a type of religious endowments, which Hulagu would later order him to use to build and fund the observatory.