The source below provides the only reference to Mariam al-Ijli al-Asturlabi. She appears in the Fihrist (translated as ‘Index’), a catalogue compiled in the late tenth century by the Baghdadi courtier, al-Nadim (born c. 935 CE). The Fihrist has been described as 'an encyclopaedia of medieval Islamic culture'. Al-Nadim catalogues the names, lives and books written in Arabic by 'all peoples, Arab and foreign' from the early Islamic period through to the tenth century. Two versions of the Fihrist exist. The extract below is taken from the fullest version, which was composed of 10 books and categorised by subject: religious scriptures (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism), grammar, history and kingship, poets, theology including ascetics and Sufis, law, philosophy and science, storytellers, non-monotheistic religions and alchemy.
Mariam al-Ijli al-Asturlabi appears in Book Seven, a volume dedicated to ‘Philosophy and the Ancient Sciences’, which catalogued natural philosophers, logicians, mathematicians, musicians, astronomers, physicians and ‘makers of instruments’. The extract below describes the astrolabe, an instrument used for astronomical calculations, and a list of the craftsmen, their apprentices and patrons who produced the instrument. This includes Mariam al-Ijli al-Asturlabi, a woman identified as al-Ijiliyah, the daughter of an astrolabe artisan. [Reproduced from the chapter page on the JSTOR website: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2w61bc7.17]