Razieh-Sadat Mousavi

Razieh S. Mousavi studied mathematics and the history of science in Tehran. She completed her Master’s thesis on the history of mathematical methods for determining the direction to Mecca within Islamic societies, focusing on the complex relationship between science, religion, and power during the Safavid dynasty in Iran (1502–1722). After winning a scholarship at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, she earned her PhD at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin with a dissertation on a ninth-century Arabic astronomical treatise. The primary objective of this work was to foster dialogue between historical studies in the fields of science, literature, and socio-cultural elements in the context of the Islamic world.

In 2023, Razieh joined the SFB 980 project “Episteme in Bewegung: Wissenstransfer von der Alten Welt bis in die Frühe Neuzeit.” In January 2024, she joins the ERC project “Science, Society and Environmental Change in the First Millennium CE,” where she will research water engineering and culture in the premodern Islamic Mediterranean. Razieh is also currently preparing a book for publication with Brill: “Al-Farghānī’s Elements of Astronomy: An Interplay of Meaning and Form at the Intersection of Astronomical and Medical Traditions.”

At the MPIWG, she is a visiting fellow of the Max Planck Research Group “Experience in the Premodern Sciences of Soul and Body ca. 800–1650.”