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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Al-Rumḥ (الرُمْح)}}

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----[[File:Al-Rumḥ figure.png|thumb|320x320px|Star chart of the Arabian asterism al-Rumh (الرُّمْح) as defined by al-Ṣūfī in the area of Boötis constellation including the figure as described by al-Ṣūfī. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).]]Al-Rumḥ (الرُّمْح) is an asterism in the Arabian constellation [[Al-Simakan|al-Simākān]] in [[Bootes]].<ref>Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī, Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdallah b. Muslim. 1956. ''Kitāb al-anwāʾ (fī mawāsim al-ʿArab)''. Hyderabad: Maṭbaʿat Majlis Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif al-ʿUthmāniyya.</ref><ref>Kunitzsch, Paul. 1961. ''Untersuchungen zur Sternnomenklatur der Araber.'' Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.</ref><ref>al-Ṣūfī, Abū al-Ḥusayn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿUmar. 1981. ''Kitāb ṣuwar al-kawākib al-thamāniya wa al-arbaʿīn.'' Beirut: Dār al-Āfāq al-Jadīda.</ref>

==Concordance, Etymology, History==
'''Headword (Arabic):''' الرُّمْح

'''Transliteration:''' al-Rumḥ

'''IPA:''' ar.rumħ

Adams (2018),<ref>Danielle Adams, ''Rain Stars Set, Lunar Stations Rise'', 2018</ref> pp. xx-xx. 

=== Khalid AlAjaji ===
<blockquote>
[[File:Al-Rumh.png|thumb|Star chart of the Arabian asterism al-Rumh (الرُّمْح) as defined by al-Ṣūfī in the area of Boötis constellation. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).]]
==== ''Al-Rumḥ'' (The Spear) ====
In classical Arabic astronomy, '''''al-Rumḥ''''' (الرمح, "the lance" or "the spear") refers to an asterism associated with the star '''Arcturus''' (α Boötis). Historical interpretations of its composition and nomenclature vary between the philological ''Anwāʾ'' tradition and the astronomical tradition.
==== Overview and Etymology ====
The presence of this asterism is the defining factor in the naming of Arcturus as '''al-Simāk al-Rāmiḥ''' (السماك الرامح, "The Uplifted One Armed with a Spear"). This designation serves to distinguish it from the star Spica (α Virginis), known as '''al-Simāk al-A‘zal''' (السماك الأعزل, "The Unarmed Uplifted One"), so named because it lacks an associated weaponized asterism. 

The term ''Simāk'' (from the root ''s-m-k'', "to elevate") refers to the high meridian altitude these stars reach in the northern sky.</blockquote><blockquote>
==== Historical Traditions ====
</blockquote><blockquote>
===== The ''Anwāʾ'' Tradition: ''Rāyat al-Simāk'' =====
</blockquote><blockquote>
Philologists and ''Anwāʾ'' authors, such as Ibn Qutaybah and al-Marzūqī, identified the "weapon" of the Lancer primarily as a single star, which they termed '''Rāyat al-Simāk''' ("The Banner of the Simāk").

'''Ibn Qutaybah''' accounts for the naming of the "Lancer" by identifying a small star situated near Arcturus:
<blockquote>"It was named 'The Lancer' because of a small star positioned near it called ''Rāyat al-Simāk'' (The Banner of the Simāk). Thus, it became 'The Lancer' by virtue of [the banner], while the other became 'The Unarmed' (''al-A‘zal'') because there is nothing before it." <ref>Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī, Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdallah b. Muslim. 1956. ''Kitāb al-anwāʾ (fī mawāsim al-ʿArab)''. Hyderabad: Maṭbaʿat Majlis Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif al-ʿUthmāniyya, p. 62.</ref></blockquote>

'''Al-Marzūqī''' provides a more specific spatial orientation, placing this star in relation to the constellation Corona Borealis ''al-Fakkah'':
<blockquote>"When ''al-Fakkah'' reaches the meridian, or nears it... you will see ''al-Simāk al-Rāmiḥ'' (Arcturus) positioned before it. You will also see ''Rāyat al-Simāk'' [ε Boötis] behind it, situated between [Arcturus] and ''al-Fakkah''. This is a star set apart from it, joined by another nearby star that resembles a streamer (''‘adhabah'') on a lance. For this reason, it is called 'The Lancer' (''al-Rāmiḥ'') and 'The Possessor of the Weapon' (''Dhū al-Silāḥ''), while the other Simāk is called 'The Unarmed' (''al-A‘zal'')." <ref>Al-Marzūqī, Abū ʿAli Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥassan (d. 1030). 2002. ''Al-Azminah wa al-amkinah'' (Times and Places). Critical edition by Dr. Mohammad Nayef al-Dulaymi. Beirut: World of Books, vol. 2, p. 343.</ref></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>
===== Al-Ṣūfī’s Synthesis: ''Al-Rumḥ'' and ''Al-Silāḥ'' (The Weapon) =====
</blockquote><blockquote>
In his astronomical book ''Kitāb al-Kawākib'', |al-Ṣūfī provides a more detailed celestial map, describing ''al-Rumḥ'' as a complex configuration of stars marking the head and the foot of the lance. He distinguishes the "Lancer" (Arcturus) from its armament (''al-Silāḥ''):

<blockquote>[[File:Al-Rumḥ figure.png|thumb|320x320px|Star chart of the Arabian asterism al-Rumh (الرُّمْح) as defined by al-Ṣūfī in the area of Boötis constellation including the figure as described by al-Ṣūfī. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).]]"As for the single [star] outside the figure [of Boötes], it is the bright red one located between its thighs... it is this which is called '''al-Simāk al-Rāmiḥ''' [α Boo]. The Arabs... called it ''Rāmiḥ'' (The Lancer) because they likened the sixteenth star on its thigh [ε Boo] and the twentieth star on its left leg [η Boo] to a '''lance''' (''rumḥ'') belonging to it. They likened the two close stars on the waist—the seventeenth and eighteenth [σ and ρ Boo]—to a '''streamer''' (''‘adhabah'') for the end of the lance where the sixteenth star is located; and they likened the twenty-first and twenty-second stars [τ and υ Boo] to a streamer for the end where the twentieth star is located." <ref name=":0">Ibn al-Ṣūfī, Abū ʿali al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. 2021. ''Urjuzat al-kawākib'' (The Poem of the Stars). Critical edition with commentary by Khalid al-Ajaji, digital edition. [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s6JXzftwjMQ5rgZoGE3718EtBLBZtjzr (online)], p 232.</ref></blockquote>
Al-Ṣūfī also identifies a broader group of faint stars not described by Ptolemy:
<blockquote>"The stars surrounding the Simāk among these stars [ζ, ο, ξ, and π Boo] are called by the Arabs al-Silāḥ (The Weapon). Sometimes the twentieth star on the left leg [η Boo] is specifically called al-Rumḥ (The Lance) on its own, while the two stars with it are called al-Silāḥ." <ref name=":0" /></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>
==== Summary of Star Identifications ====
</blockquote><blockquote>
{| class="wikitable"
! Classical Arabic Name !! Modern Designation !! Role in the Asterism
|-
| '''Al-Simāk al-Rāmiḥ''' || α Boötis ([[Arcturus]]) || The Lancer
|-
| '''Rāyat al-Simāk''' || ε Boötis ([[Izar]]) || The Banner / Head of the Spear
|-
| '''Al-Rumḥ''' (per al-Ṣūfī) || ε and η Boötis ([[Muphrid]]) || The shaft and points of the Spear
|-
| '''‘Adhabah''' || σ, ρ and τ, υ Boötis || The streamers or pennants
|-
| '''Al-Silāḥ''' || ζ, ο, ξ, and π Boötis || The "Weapon" or equipment
|}


</blockquote>

=== Roland Laffitte ===
[[File:Rumh of Simakan RL map+draw.png|thumb|Arabian constellation al-Simak with Lances and Armes (CC BY Roland Laffitte 2025).]]
Laffitte (2012<ref>Roland Laffitte, ''Le ciel des Arabes'', 2012</ref>, 2025<ref>Roland Laffitte, ''Nommer les étoile: 500 noms hérités des Arabes - Apport de l'uranographie arabe'', Orient des Mots, 2025 ([https://uranos.fr/500-noms-herites-des-arabes/ online])</ref>) treats Al-Rumh as an alternative name for [[Muphrid]] (η Boo) in the constellation [[Al-Simakan|al-Simākān]], The Two Supporters, one armed, one disarmed:  

* '''''Rumh''.''' Ar. الرمح ''al-Rumḥ'', ‘the Spear’, al-Ṣūfī > Lat. ''Alromh'', Yehūda b. Mošè, ''Lancea'', Apian. Later, ''al-Rumḥ'', al-Qazwīnī, not transcribed by Ideler, who gives ''Rumḥ'' ''al-Rāmiḥ'' according to al-Tīzīnī > ''‘Rumh el-râmih’''. Hence ''Ruma'' c/ Buttmann, ‘''Al-Rumḥ’'' p/ Allen, Nit. 02.  ''Rumh al Ramih, Wiki''/en
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="6" valign="top" |Adjacent Star Names of al-Simākān
|-
! valign="top" |Name
(orig.)
! valign="top" |Name
! valign="top" |translation
! valign="top" |identification
(RL)
! valign="top" |author
! valign="top" |note
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" |''al-Rumḥ''
| valign="top" |la  Lance
| valign="top" |''η Boo''
| valign="top" |Ṣūfī
|
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" |''Mirzam al-Simāk''
| valign="top" |the Predecessor of Simak
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" |Marzūqī
|
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" |''Mufrad al-Rāmiḥ''
| valign="top" |The Isolated One of Alramech
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" |Tīzīnī
|
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" |''Rāyat al-Simāk''
| valign="top" |the Standard of Simak
| valign="top" |''ε Boo''
| valign="top" |Qutayba
|
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" |''Tābiᶜ al-Simāk''
| valign="top" |the Follower of Simak
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" |Ṣūfī
|
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" |''al-ᶜAḍaba''
| valign="top" |the Belt
| valign="top" |''ρσ Boo''
| valign="top" |Ṣūfī
|
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" |''al-Silāḥ''
| valign="top" |the Arms
| valign="top" |''τυ Boo''
| valign="top" |Ṣūfī
|
|}

=== Discussion ===

==IAU Working Group Star Names==

== Weblinks ==

* 

== Reference ==


 
[[Category:Eurasia]]
[[Category:Arabic]]
[[Category:Constellation]]
[[Category:Star Name]]
[[Category:Asterism]]