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Why is Ptolemy’s astronomical book called the Almagest?
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Ptolemy
Ptolemy's theory of the solar system.
Ptolemy originally titled his astronomical treatise Hē mathēmatikē syntaxis (or Mathematike Syntaxis), which translates to "The Mathematical Collection" or "The Mathematical Arrangement," as he intended to explain the motions of heavenly bodies through mathematical terms.12
The name Almagest is a later derivation that arose as an Arabic corruption of the Greek word megistē, meaning "greatest". This term was combined with the Arabic article al- to form al-majusti, reflecting the work's status as the "greatest composition" or "greatest" treatise on the subject. The title became standard after the work was translated into Arabic in the 8th and 9th centuries and subsequently into Latin in the 12th century.321