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Location
The Observatory at Isfahan, also known as the Malikshah Observatory, is located near the center of modern-day Iran. At the time of the founding of the observatory, Isfahan was the capital of the Great Seljuk rulers and enjoyed great prosperity and renown as a result of its favorable geographic position and climate.

Founding
The observatory was commissioned by the Sultan Malik-Shah in 1074. The primary reason for the creation of the observatory was to revise and improve the Persian calendar. Sultan Malik-Shah chose Omar Khayyam, a renowned poet, mathematician, and astronomer, to build and lead the observatory in accomplishing this goal.

Achievements
Under the direction of Omar Khayyam, the observatory at Isfahan made many remarkable advances. The calendar that was developed, known as the Maliki or Jamili calendar in honor of Sultan Malik-Shah, was incredibly accurate. It calculated the length of a year with such precision that it had an error rate of one day’s error per five thousand years. This calendar was even more accurate than the Gregorian calendar, which was developed nearly half a century later and is still in modern use. Another accomplishment of the observatory at Isfahan is the creation of the Maliki Zij, a set of astronomical tables that are used to calculate the position of various astronomical bodies. Again, the Zij created at Isfahan were incredibly accurate given the available technology they were working with. One notable omission from the work at the Malikshah observatory was astrology. One of Khayyam’s students related that Khayyam had never expressed any beliefs in using the stars for prophecy or prediction, so his observatory focused on the physical and mathematical construction of the universe.

Sultan Malik-Shah
Sultan Malik-Shah was the Seljuk leader who commissioned and funded the creation of the observatory.

Omar Khayyam
Omar Khayyam was a polymath who headed the operations at the Malikshah observatory. Khayyam and eight astronomers who worked under his direction were responsible for the astronomical advancements made at the observatory.

Decline
Sultan Malik-Shah died in 1092. With his death, and given that the main objective of the observatory (modernizing the Persian calendar) had been accomplished, financial support for the observatory dried up and it quickly fell into disuse.