Physical earth and its sciences in Istanbul: a journey from pre-modern (Islamic) to modern times

Abstract

Researching, compiling and analysing geophysical ideas and measurements in historical periods will contribute to the historical development of earth science. Also, this is important for geophysicists working on time-dependent (historical) data and revealing the physical properties of the earth. This paper is focused on the earth and its sciences (with concepts, ideas and measurements) in classical Islamic science in the Ottoman Empire and the evolution of these thoughts and concepts in the context of the transition to modern science. The pre-modern period of science in Islamic geographies is represented by Aristotelian science and some original contributions. In the geophysical sciences of the Ottoman Empire, earthquakes and weather events are explained by his views and ideas. Modern concepts and scientific measurements of geophysical events such as magnetic, seismologic and meteorologic events were systematically begun by observatories. Before this, there are some individual measurements.