Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf

Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf (1526–1585), born in Damascus, was an Ottoman astronomer and polymath. After studying theology and the rational sciences in Damascus and Cairo, he held teaching and judicial posts; in 1551 he described a steam-driven device for turning a roasting spit. He later settled in Constantinople, becoming the sultan's chief astronomer in 1571.

Under Murad III he built the Constantinople observatory, using instruments including mechanical clocks to observe the great comet of 1577. Completed in 1579, it was demolished only months later. He wrote more than ninety works on astronomy, optics, clocks and mechanics and died in 1585.