Banu Musa

Muhammad, Ahmad and al-Hasan, the sons of Musa ibn Shakir. Ibn al-Nadim describes them as among those who pursued the ancient sciences to the utmost. ²

They spent generously on it and exhausted themselves in it. They sent to the land of the Romans for someone to bring them books, and brought copyists from distant regions with generous pay. The sciences that dominated them were geometry, mechanical devices, motion, music and astronomy. ²

Muhammad ibn Musa died in Rabi' al-Awwal of the year 259 AH. Ahmad had a son called Mutahhar, who joined the boon companions of al-Mu'tadid. ²

Among their books are "The Book of the Sons of Musa on the Pneumatics", and "Mechanical Devices" by Ahmad, "The Elongated Round Figure" by al-Hasan, "The Motion of the First Sphere" by Muhammad, and "Conic Sections". ²