Editing Almagest (section)

== Influence ==
[[File:Ptolemy 16century.jpg|thumb|Ptolemy's ''Almagest'' became an authoritative work for many centuries.]]
[[File:Almagest 1.jpeg|thumb|Picture of [[George of Trebizond]]'s Latin translation of the ''Syntaxis Mathematica'' or ''Almagest'']]

Ptolemy's comprehensive treatise of mathematical astronomy superseded most older texts of Greek astronomy. Much of what we know about the work of astronomers like Hipparchus comes from references in the ''Syntaxis''.

The book was circulated among astronomers,  and also among philosophers who are interested in astronomy. The Almagest, however, was not translated into Latin in ancient times and had little influence on popular literature.

The first translations into Arabic were made in the 9th century, with two separate efforts, one sponsored by the [[caliph]] [[Al-Ma'mun]], who received a copy as a condition of peace with the Byzantine emperor.{{sfn|Angelo|2006|p=78}} [[Sahl ibn Bishr]] is thought to be the first Arabic translator.

No Latin translation was made before the 12th century. [[Henry Aristippus]] made the first Latin translation directly from a Greek copy, but it was not as influential as a later translation into Latin made in [[Spain]] by the Italian scholar [[Gerard of Cremona]] from the Arabic (finished in 1175).{{sfn|Toomer|1984|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6tNFAQAAIAAJ&q=Gerard+of+Cremona 3]}}{{sfn|Kunitzsch|1986|p=89}} Gerard translated the Arabic text while working at the [[Toledo School of Translators]], although he was unable to translate many technical terms such as the Arabic ''Abrachir'' for Hipparchus. In the 13th century a Spanish version was produced, which was later translated under the patronage of [[Alfonso X]].

In the 15th century, a Greek version appeared in Western Europe. The German astronomer Johannes Müller (known as [[Regiomontanus]], after his birthplace of [[Königsberg, Bavaria|Königsberg]] in Lower Frankonia)  made an abridged Latin version at the instigation of the Greek churchman [[Bessarion|Cardinal Bessarion]]. Around the same time, [[George of Trebizond]] made a full translation accompanied by a commentary that was as long as the original text. George's translation, done under the patronage of [[Pope Nicholas V]], was intended to supplant the old translation. The new translation was a great improvement; the new commentary was not, and aroused criticism.{{sfn|Shank|2020|pp=305–307}} The Pope declined the dedication of George's work,{{sfn|Shank|2020|pp=305–307}} and Regiomontanus's translation had the upper hand for over 100 years.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

During the 16th century, [[Guillaume Postel]], who had been on an embassy to the [[Ottoman Empire]], brought back Arabic disputations of the ''Almagest'', such as the works of [[al-Kharaqī]], {{lang|ar-Latn|Muntahā al-idrāk fī taqāsīm al-aflāk}} ("The Ultimate Grasp of the Divisions of Spheres", 1138–39).{{sfn|Saliba|2011|pp=217–221}}

Commentaries on the ''Syntaxis'' were written by [[Theon of Alexandria]] (extant), [[Pappus of Alexandria]] (only fragments survive), and [[Ammonius Hermiae]] (lost).