The Prince of Stars

Ulugh Beg's Quest to Map

the Stars and Seasons

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Harper Collins

pub. 9.30.2025

40 pages

Ages 4 - 8

Author: M. O. Yuksel

   Illustrator: Zelma Firdauzia

Character: Ulugh Beg

Overview:

"Ulugh Beg’s curiosity burned as bright as the stars. He yearned to count every star in the sky, every day in a year, and to know why the seasons change. Fueled by his deep faith, Ulugh Beg’s quest for knowledge led to the creation of new schools, the world’s largest observatory and star catalog, and innovative tools to better chart the secrets of the skies. Although some doubted him, he never stopped searching for answers. And because of his determination, our understanding of the world has changed—forever.

Tantalizing taste:

"Many moons ago, in the fifteenth century, far away in the Timurid Empire, a young prince named Ulugh Beg gazed at the twinkling skies over Samarkand.

Curiosity filled his mind, and ideas soared inside him like shooting stars.

He questioned everything and wondered, How many stars are there?"

And something more: "For seventeen years, Ulugh Beg and his team carefully observed the night sky and prepared the greatest star catalog in history, called Zij-i Sultani, which lists 1,000 stars, with precise details about their positions... Ulugh Beg's star catalog is still used in modern times to date historical events, to observe the proper motion of the stars, and to study how the Earth's rotation is always changing...

Ulugh Beg was challenged by conservative religious leaders. In his time, astronomy (the study of stars) and astrology (fortune-telling) were considered the same science. Some religious leaders disagreed with is work, and political instability in his empire made things even harder for him.

After Ulugh Beg's death, his observatory was destroyed, but portions of it remain in Saarkand, Uzbekistan, as a museum."