, title assumed by Muhammad Taragi (1394–1449) Persian astronomer
The title Ulugh Beg, assumed by Muhammad Taragi, was a grandson of Tamerlane. He was born at Soltaniyeh (now in Iran) and succeeded to the throne in 1447 but was killed by his rebellious son two years later. He began building an observatory at Samarkand in 1420. He was himself an observer and published planetary tables and a catalog of stars in 1437. They were published in Europe in 1665. The observatory was said to have had a gnomon for measuring the elevation of the Sun as high as the dome of St. Sophia in Byzantium (180 feet).