MIRZO ULUGBEK AS SCHOLAR AND RULER: HIS SCIENTIFIC LEGACY AND INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER IN CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The Timurid prince and astronomer Mirzo Ulugbek (Muhammad Taraghay 
Kuragan, 1394–1449) stands among the most distinguished polymath scholars produced 
by the medieval Islamic world. This article re-examines Ulugbek’s intellectual legacy 
and personal character through three principal lenses: the legislative and institutional 
framework through which Uzbekistan and the international community have recognised his 
contribution; the primary-source testimony preserved in a letter written by mathematician 
Ghiyasuddin Jamshid al-Kashi to his father around 1420–1421; and the broader tradition 
of Samarkand astronomy culminating in the Zij-i Jadid-i Guragan. The al-Kashi letter 
preserved in the Sipahsalar Library, Tehran, and translated into numerous languages 
provides uniquely intimate evidence of Ulugbek’s memorisation of the Quran and its 
commentaries, his mastery of Arabic grammar, his exceptional command of mathematics 
and observational astronomy, and his active participation in scholarly disputations at 
the madrasa and court. The article argues that recovering this multidimensional portrait 
of Ulugbek as jurist, linguist, mathematician, and ruler is essential both for accurate 
historiography and for the transmission of intellectual and moral heritage to younger 
generations.