Anania of Shirak's Cosmography
Cosmografía de Anania de Shirak
- Date
- c. 650 · confidence medium
- Place
- Shirak, Armenia
- Credited to
- Anania of Shirak (Ananias Shirakatsi)
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
An astronomical treatise in which the Armenian scholar holds that the Earth is spherical, that the Moon shines by reflected sunlight and that the Milky Way is a mass of stars. He also wrote an arithmetic manual and calendar texts.
The dates of his life (c. 610-685) and authorship of the Armenian Geography (Ashkharhatsuyts) attributed to him are debated.
What it led to
- the first body of scientific knowledge in Armenian
- his proposed reform of the Armenian calendar
- an example of the transmission of Greek and Syriac science to the Caucasus