Question

questions 10 through 12 refer to the following. on several occasions, ghazan khan went to the observatory at maragha and watched the operations and instruments, studied them, and asked about their procedures, which he understood in spite of their difficulty. he also ordered the construction of a dome in order to investigate the suns motion and he spoke out with his astronomers about it. all of them said that although they had never seen such an instrument, it was reasonable and sensible. he gave orders for the construction of an observatory next to his tomb in tabriz in persia. he explained how to construct the observatory with such clarity that local wise men marveled at his intelligence, because such work had not been done in any era. those wise men said that constructing the observatory would be extremely difficult. he guided them, whereupon they commenced building it and they finished it following his instructions. those wise men and all the engineers agreed that nobody had done such a thing before nor had imagined doing it. ruler of the mongol ilkhanate, whose territories included most of the muslim middle east, reigned 1295 - 1304 *an astronomical observatory in present - day azerbaijan, established by a grant from the first ilkhanid ruler in the mid - thirteenth century rashid al - din hamdani, persian muslim historian and government minister in ghazan khans court, excerpt from a universal history commissioned by ghazan khan, completed circa 1316 10 mark for review which of the following best describes the authors purpose in the passage? a to provide detailed descriptions of the instruments used at the maragha and tabriz observatories b to evaluate the importance of the astronomical discoveries made by ilkhanid scientists c to portray his patron as a generous supporter of the sciences and a man of unusual intelligence d to criticize ghazan for his vanity and spiritual pursuits

Explanation:

The passage focuses on Ghazan Khan's role in the construction of the Maragha observatory, his interactions with scientists and engineers, and his guidance in the process. It portrays him as a patron who supported the sciences. There is no criticism of Ghazan Khan for vanity or spiritual pursuits, no evaluation of the importance of astronomical discoveries, and no detailed descriptions of instruments at Tabriz observatories.

Answer:

C. To portray his patron as a generous supporter of the sciences and a man of unusual intelligence