Ulugh Beg

Muhammad Taraghay ibn Shahrukh, known as Ulugh Beg (1394-1449 CE / 796-853H), was the grandson of Tamerlane and ruler of Samarkand. More significant for science than for politics, he built the famous Samarkand Observatory (1428-1429) — the largest and most advanced of its era — where he and his team of astronomers compiled a star catalog (Zij-i Sultani) measuring the positions of over 1,000 stars with unprecedented precision. His catalog remained the most accurate available until Tycho Brahe's work in the 16th century. He also taught mathematics and astronomy at the Ulugh Beg Madrasa he built. He was assassinated in 1449.