The Astronomical Tables of Moses Farissol Botarel

Moses Farissol Botarel (Avignon, late fifteenth century) was an astronomer who wrote in Hebrew and continued various traditions that depended on astronomy in al-Andalus which, in turn, derived in large part from the zij of al-Battānī (Raqqa, d. 929). His astronomical tables are unusual in that they combine elements from the Parisian Alfonsine Tables with elements from the tables of Levi ben Gerson (Orange, France, d. 1344), Immanuel ben Jacob Bonfils (Tarascon, France, fl. 1350), and Jacob ben David Bonjorn (Perpignan, fl. 1360). We offer an analysis of all his tables, which are restricted to the Sun and the Moon. Of particular interest is his effort to make his tables more “userfriendly”, a common trend in the late Middle Ages, while maintaining the models and parameters of his predecessors.