Dr. Moudhy Al-Rashid

I think yes and no. A lot of these texts exhort secrecy, so you must not share this with the uninitiated, for example, and there's a bit of gatekeeping there. So in that sense, there's a kind of prestige to it and a guardedness to this type of knowledge that requires quite a lot of training to be able to do it correctly, which makes perfect sense.

I think yes and no. A lot of these texts exhort secrecy, so you must not share this with the uninitiated, for example, and there's a bit of gatekeeping there. So in that sense, there's a kind of prestige to it and a guardedness to this type of knowledge that requires quite a lot of training to be able to do it correctly, which makes perfect sense.

I think yes and no. A lot of these texts exhort secrecy, so you must not share this with the uninitiated, for example, and there's a bit of gatekeeping there. So in that sense, there's a kind of prestige to it and a guardedness to this type of knowledge that requires quite a lot of training to be able to do it correctly, which makes perfect sense.

It's not straightforward to observe planetary motion and predict it and memorize a lot of these omens associated with those and know how to communicate with the king as well. But there's also evidence that some of them weren't treated particularly well.

It's not straightforward to observe planetary motion and predict it and memorize a lot of these omens associated with those and know how to communicate with the king as well. But there's also evidence that some of them weren't treated particularly well.

It's not straightforward to observe planetary motion and predict it and memorize a lot of these omens associated with those and know how to communicate with the king as well. But there's also evidence that some of them weren't treated particularly well.

For example, there are some letters in which astronomers are writing to the king saying, like, why am I doing this manual labor, which I'm supposed to do instead of paying tax? It means I can't teach the next generation of astronomers. I'm so busy doing all this stuff that I don't have time to do my thing, my astronomy stuff. You know, there are other letters from court scholars.

For example, there are some letters in which astronomers are writing to the king saying, like, why am I doing this manual labor, which I'm supposed to do instead of paying tax? It means I can't teach the next generation of astronomers. I'm so busy doing all this stuff that I don't have time to do my thing, my astronomy stuff. You know, there are other letters from court scholars.

For example, there are some letters in which astronomers are writing to the king saying, like, why am I doing this manual labor, which I'm supposed to do instead of paying tax? It means I can't teach the next generation of astronomers. I'm so busy doing all this stuff that I don't have time to do my thing, my astronomy stuff. You know, there are other letters from court scholars.

There's one named Urad Gula. He's a physician, so it's a slightly off topic, in which whatever he did, he fell out of favor with the king. And he and his father write multiple letters begging that he be reinstated because he can no longer afford to live and he's not being paid, you know, the way his father had been paid. In one of them, he writes that he's dying of a broken heart.

There's one named Urad Gula. He's a physician, so it's a slightly off topic, in which whatever he did, he fell out of favor with the king. And he and his father write multiple letters begging that he be reinstated because he can no longer afford to live and he's not being paid, you know, the way his father had been paid. In one of them, he writes that he's dying of a broken heart.

There's one named Urad Gula. He's a physician, so it's a slightly off topic, in which whatever he did, he fell out of favor with the king. And he and his father write multiple letters begging that he be reinstated because he can no longer afford to live and he's not being paid, you know, the way his father had been paid. In one of them, he writes that he's dying of a broken heart.

So you can kind of feel the precariousness of it. You know, yes, what they're doing is uber important to royal decision-making. It takes many years of training to achieve, but it doesn't always match up to the way they get treated in the texts.

So you can kind of feel the precariousness of it. You know, yes, what they're doing is uber important to royal decision-making. It takes many years of training to achieve, but it doesn't always match up to the way they get treated in the texts.

So you can kind of feel the precariousness of it. You know, yes, what they're doing is uber important to royal decision-making. It takes many years of training to achieve, but it doesn't always match up to the way they get treated in the texts.

Absolutely. And you also get a sense of it wasn't always sunshine and roses between the astronomers themselves. So there's an interesting letter from an astronomer named Balasi in which he's responding to a concern of the king. So the king wrote these letters to the scholars saying, so-and-so said that Mars is visible, like what's your take on it effectively or that sort of thing.

Absolutely. And you also get a sense of it wasn't always sunshine and roses between the astronomers themselves. So there's an interesting letter from an astronomer named Balasi in which he's responding to a concern of the king. So the king wrote these letters to the scholars saying, so-and-so said that Mars is visible, like what's your take on it effectively or that sort of thing.

Absolutely. And you also get a sense of it wasn't always sunshine and roses between the astronomers themselves. So there's an interesting letter from an astronomer named Balasi in which he's responding to a concern of the king. So the king wrote these letters to the scholars saying, so-and-so said that Mars is visible, like what's your take on it effectively or that sort of thing.

And there's one in which the king has obviously written and said, Venus is apparently visible, and that's a problem, so can you just talk me through what's happened? We don't have the original letter, but we have Bellassi's response, which is basically something along the lines of, the guy who told you that Venus is visible is an idiot. It's actually Mercury. I think he calls him an ignoramus.

And there's one in which the king has obviously written and said, Venus is apparently visible, and that's a problem, so can you just talk me through what's happened? We don't have the original letter, but we have Bellassi's response, which is basically something along the lines of, the guy who told you that Venus is visible is an idiot. It's actually Mercury. I think he calls him an ignoramus.