ألوغ بك

ألوغ بك

Ulugh Beg, son of Shah Rukh and grandson of Timur, sovereign of Samarqand for over thirty years — unique in his age in the rational sciences, astronomy and geometry, yet fully versed in Hanafi fiqh, usul, Arabic, history and the days of men. He built the great Samarqand observatory, drawing astronomers from every quarter on lavish stipends; told that the people said he had not memorised the Qur'an, he memorised it in under six months. His son Abd al-Latif rebelled, broke him, took Samarqand, then slew his brother Abd al-Aziz in cold blood before his father's eyes ¹.