Karīmī Annular Astrolabe

Muḥammad Karīm Khān Kermānī (1810-1871) was a Shaykhite religious leader who was also educated and had a good command of mathematical sciences. He invented an annulus shaped astrolabe which was named as Ḥalqe-ye Karīmī (Karīmī ring) after his name (Karīm). Two examples of this instrument are extant in Adler Planetarium (Chicago) and the Holy Shrine Museum (Mashhad, Iran). A replica has also been made in Kashan (Iran) recently. An edition of Muḥammad Karīm Khān’s Persian treatise on this instrument with an introduction on his life and works are provided here.