Turkey’s largest satellite, FGN-100-d1, developed nationally by Fergani Space and produced by a private company, successfully entered its orbit after being launched into space. Following the news, research on Fergani started. So, who is Fergani, who gave his name to the national satellite?
Ferghani or Fergani, in full Ahmed el-Fergani, was an important medieval Islamic astronomer, mathematician and geographer who lived in the 9th century. Also known as Alfraganus in the West. Ferghani, who is thought to have been born in the Ferghana Valley, made important studies in Baghdad during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Ma’mun. He received his education in Ferghana, the cultural center of the time. Then, he went to Baghdad. Ferghani, who made himself known in a short time, gained acceptance in the fields of astronomy and mathematics. He made important scientific researches and wrote many works during the reigns of the Abbasid Caliphs Ma’mun, Mutasim, al-Wasiq and al-Mutawakkil. Caliph Mutawakkil sent Ferghani, who was an authority on the subject, to Egypt in 861 to manage the construction of the nilometer on the island of Rawda and to supervise the measurement works carried out in order to be able to make measurements on the banks of the Nile. Ferghani also worked in the fields of physics and mechanics. He made a device called Mikyas al-Jadid, the drawing of which he prepared and whose construction he supervised, to measure the speed and level of the waters of the Nile River.
