Images

Persian miniature painting on a tile, earthenware under coloured glazes, probably from Isfahan, 17th century CE. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The so-called 'garden scenes' are among the most typical settings in the Persian literary...

Part of the eastern wharf of the inner harbor, Caesarea Maritima, Israel.

A Persian planispheric astrolabe showing the various component parts, including multiple inserts (known as climates). Made by Jamal al-Din ibn Muquin, at Lahore, Pakistan, in 1077. Diameter: 25 cm. The astrolabe was a device used to measure...

A European brass planispheric astrolabe, made in Italy c. 1500. The astrolabe was a device used to measure the position of stars, time, and as a surveying tool. (Science Museum, London)

A brass planispheric astrolabe engraved with Arabic script. Probably Persian and dating to c. 1650. The astrolabe was a device used to measure the position of stars, time, and as a surveying tool. (Science Museum, London)

A map illustrating the earliest stages of human civilization spanning from c. 8000 BCE to 2000 BCE. It showcases the emergence of organized societies, agricultural practices, and the origins of urbanization.

Tower of Civitate, San Paolo di Civitate's countryside, Italy. It is one of the few ruins still visible of the medieval city where the Battle of Civitate took place on 18 June 1053.

A 19th-century engraving of the astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) by Frederick Mackenzie. (Smithsonian Libraries)

A modern statue of the astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) in Linz, Austria.

A diagram showing the idea of Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) that the planets of the universe were made up of Platonic solids set within each other. From Kepler's Mysterium Cosmographicum (1596)