Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ (كرسي الجوزاء)

Authors: Khalid Al-Ajaji

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The two Arabic asterisms called Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ (كُرْسِيُّ الجَوْزَاء), as described by al-Ṣūfī and al-Marzūqī. CC BY, Khalid Al-Ajaji, 2026.

Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ (كُرْسِيُّ الجَوْزَاء), “the Chair of al-Ǧawzāʾ”, is a name applied to each of two quadrilateral asterisms near al-Ǧawzāʾ.

The first lies near Rigel, at al-Ǧawzāʾ’s left foot. The second lies in Lepus, beneath the right foot, and rises about an hour later. The second is brighter and forms a less regular quadrilateral.

Concordance, Etymology, History

Variants (Arabic, names of the first asterism)

• Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ (كُرْسِيُّ الجَوْزَاء), “The Chair of al-Ǧawzāʾ” — unqualified, attested in ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī (d. 403 AH / 1013 CE), ed. al-Qaysī and al-Dulaymī (1996) (p. 90); and al-Marzūqī (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE), ed. al-Dulaymī (2002) (vol. 2, p. 346).
• Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ al-Muqaddam (كرسي الجوزاء المقدَّم) “The Fore Chair of al-Ǧawzāʾ” — al-Ṣūfī (d. 376 AH / 986 CE), ed. al-Ajaji (2021) (al-Nahr).

Variants (Arabic, names of the second asterism)

• Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ (كُرْسِيُّ الجَوْزَاء), “The Chair of al-Ǧawzāʾ” — unqualified, in the anwāʾ literature: Ibn Qutayba (d. 276 AH / 889 CE), Hyderabad edition (1956) (p. 48); ibn ʿĀṣim al-Ṯaqafī (d. 403 AH / 1013 CE), ed. al-Qaysī and al-Dulaymī (1996) (p. 90); and al-Marzūqī (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE), ed. al-Dulaymī (2002) (vol. 2, p. 346).

• Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ al-Muʾaḫḫar (كرسي الجوزاء المؤخَّر), “The Rear Chair of al-Ǧawzāʾ” — al-Ṣūfī (d. 376 AH / 986 CE), ed. al-Ajaji (2021) (al-Arnab).

• ʿArš al-Ǧawzāʾ (عرش الجوزاء), “The Throne of al-Ǧawzāʾ” — al-Ṣūfī (d. 376 AH / 986 CE), ed. al-Ajaji (2021) (al-Arnab).

• al-Nihāl (النِّهال), “The Camels That Have Drunk”, referring to camels that have taken their first drink at a watering place; the word can also denote thirsty camels — al-Ṣūfī (d. 376 AH / 986 CE), ed. al-Ajaji (2021) (al-Arnab).

• ʿArš al-Ǧabbār (عرش الجبَّار), “The Throne of the King” — ibn al-Ṣūfī (d. after 400 AH / 1010 CE), ed. al-Ajaji (2021).

• al-Maḫāyil (المخايل), “The Clouds” — attested only in the second recension of the Urjūza, by Ibn al-Ṣūfī (d. after 400 AH / 1010 CE), ed. al-Ajaji (2021).

• al-Nahal or al-Nuhul (النَّهَل أو النُّهُل), “The Camels That Have Drunk”, referring to camels that have taken their first drink at a watering place; the word can also denote thirsty camels — al-Marzūqī (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE), ed. al-Dulaymī (2002) (vol. 2, p. 346).

Variants Latin / European:

• Cúrsa AlGjauza AlMutakáddem, Cúrsa AlGjauza AlMuvcchera, Arsh AlGjauza, AlNihâl. Hyde (1665) (pp. 48, 49).
• Khursi el-dschauzâ, [Khursi el-dschauzâ] el-mutakaddem, [Khursi el-dschauzâ] el-muccherâ, El-nihâl. Ideler (1809) (pp. 228, 236, 237).
• kursî al-djauzâ al-mukaddam, kursî al-djauzâ al-muchchar, arsch al-djauzâ, al-nihâl. Schjellerup (1874) (pp. 213, 216).
• Al Kursiyy al Jauzah, Al Kursiyy al Jabbār, Al ʽArsh al Jauzah, Al Nihāl. Allen (1963) (pp. 218, 265).
• kursī al-ğawzāʾ, kursī al-ğawzāʾ al-muqaddam, kursī al-ğawzāʾ al-muʾaḫḫar, ʿarš al-ğawzāʾ, an-nihāl, an-nuhul. Kunitzsch (1961) (entries 148a, 149, 148b, 39, 203, pp. 75, 44, 89).

Etymology

Variant	English	Arabic
Kursī	Under the root k-r-s, Lisān al-ʿArab gives the lexical meaning of kursī: “The kursī is well known; it is the singular of karāsī.” Ibn Manẓūr quotes al-Zağğāğ as saying: “What we know as a kursī in the language is something that one rests upon and sits upon.” He also cites Abū ʿAmr, reporting from Thaʿlab: “The kursī is what the Arabs recognize as the thrones of kings.”	جاء في «لسان العرب»، مادة «كرس»، في بيان المعنى اللغوي للكُرسي: «والكُرْسِيّ: معروف، واحد الكراسي». وينقل ابن منظور عن الزجاج قوله: «الذي نعرفه من الكرسي في اللغة الشيء الذي يُعتمد عليه ويُجلس عليه»، كما يورد عن أبي عمرو، عن ثعلب: «الكرسيّ ما تعرفه العرب من كراسيّ الملوك».
ʿArš	Under the root ʿ-r-š, Lisān al-ʿArab states: “The ʿarš is the king’s throne.”	جاء في «لسان العرب»، مادة «عرش»: «العَرْش: سَرِيرُ المَلِك».
al-Nahal, al-Nuhul, al-Nihāl	Under the root n-h-l, Lisān al-ʿArab records nuhul and nahal as plurals of nāhil, and nihāl as a plural of nahal. It says: “Nuhul means those entering the water to drink; it is the plural of nāhil.” It also states: “The plural of nāhil is nahal, like ṭālib and ṭalab, and the plural of nahal is nihāl.” It further explains: “Nahl is the first drinking. You say anhaltu al-ibila (‘I gave the camels their first drink’), referring to their first watering, and nahilat is said of the camels when they drink on first arriving at the watering place.”	جاء في اللسان مادة (نهل) أن النُّهُل والنَّهَل والنِّهال جمع ناهل. قال: النُّهُل الشُّروع ؛ هُوَ جَمْعُ نَاهِل وقال: وَجَمْعُ النَّاهِل نَهَلٌ مِثْلُ طالِب وطَلَب، وَجَمْعُ النَّهَل نِهَال، وقال: النَّهْل: أَوَّل الشُّرْب؛ تَقُولُ: أَنهَلْتُ الإِبلَ وَهُوَ أَول سَقْيِهَا، ونَهِلَتْ هِيَ إِذا شَرِبَتْ فِي أَوَّل الوِرْد.
al-Maḫāyil	Under the root ḫ-y-l, Lisān al-ʿArab states: “Maḫīla means a cloud; its plural is maḫāyil.” Ibn Manẓūr explains that it is so called when rain is expected from it: “A cloud is said to have aḫālat, aḫyalat, or ḫāyalat when it is expected to bring rain.”	جاء في اللسان مادة (خيل): المَخِيلَة، بِفَتْحِ الْمِيمِ، السَّحَابَةُ، وَجَمْعُهَا مَخَايِل. وأوضح ابن منظور أنها تسمّى كذلك إذا كانت ترجى للمطر، قال: قَدْ أَخَالَتِ السحابةُ وأَخْيَلَتْ وخَايَلَتْ إِذا كَانَتْ تُرْجى لِلْمَطَرِ.

Sources and Identification

Ibn Qutayba

Ibn Qutayba (d. 276 AH / 889 CE), Hyderabad edition (1956), places Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ below al-Ǧawzāʾ and describes it as four stars forming an irregular quadrilateral (pp. 45, 48):

English	Arabic
“Al-Ǧawzāʾ is counted among the southern stars and is also called al-Ǧabbār, likening it to a king, because it has the form of a man seated on a chair and wearing a crown.” “Next is Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ, a group of four stars forming an irregular quadrilateral below al-Ǧawzāʾ.”	«والجوزاء تعدّ في الكواكب اليمانية، وهي تسمّى: الجبّار، تشبيهًا لها بالملك، لأنها في صورة رجل على كرسي عليه تاج.» «ثم كرسي الجوزاء، وهي أربعة كواكب غير مستوية التربيع، أسفل الجوزاء.»

Ibn Qutayba describes only one Kursī. His description of an irregular quadrilateral may refer to α, β, ε, and μ Leporis. The lengths of its sides, measured around the figure, are (α-β) 3.11°, (β-ε) 5.54°, (ε-μ)6.42°, and (μ-α) 5.0°, giving it a trapezoidal outline. Its upper side, μ–α Leporis, runs approximately parallel to the line joining β and κ Orionis, which mark al-Ǧawzāʾ’s two feet. Another possibility is α, β, γ, and δ Leporis, but the former group is brighter.

The Arabic asterism called Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ (كُرْسِيُّ الجَوْزَاء), as described by ibn Qutayba. CC BY, Khalid Al-Ajaji, 2026.

Al-Ṣūfī

Al-Ṣūfī (d. 376 AH / 986 CE), ed. al-Ajaji (2021), records the names and positions of the two asterisms in his accounts of al-Ǧawzāʾ, al-Nahr, and al-Arnab (Orion, Eridanus, and Lepus):

English

Arabic

Al-Ṣūfī's description of the figure of Orion: “It represents a man standing to the south of the Sun’s path, closely resembling the human form, with a head, two shoulders, and two legs. It is called al-Ǧabbār because he stands on two chairs, holds a staff in his hand, and wears a sword at his waist.” Al-Ṣūfī's description of the square near Orion in Eridanus: “The Arabs call its first, second, and third stars [of Eridanus], together with the thirty-sixth star of the constellation al-Ǧawzāʾ—the one above the ankle of its left leg—Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ al-Muqaddam (‘the Fore Chair of al-Ǧawzāʾ’), because they form a quadrilateral resembling a chair. The bright thirty-fifth star, on al-Ǧawzāʾ’s left leg, lies along one side of the quadrilateral, resembling a foot resting on a chair.” Al-Ṣūfī's description of the square in Lepus: “The Arabs call the four stars on its body—its seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth stars—Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ al-Muʾaḫḫar (‘the Rear Chair of al-Ǧawzāʾ’), and also ʿArš al-Ǧawzāʾ (‘the Throne of al-Ǧawzāʾ’), because they lie between the two legs, in the position of the throne. I have read in some books on the anwāʾ that they are called al-Nihāl.”

«وهو صورة رجل قائم في ناحية الجنوب عن طريقة الشمس، أشبه شيء بصورة الإنسان، له رأس ومنكبان ورجلان، وسُمِّيَ: الجَبَّارَ لأنه على كرسيين وبيده عصا وعلى وسطه سيف.» «والعرب تُسَمِّي الأول والثاني والثالث من كواكبه مع السادس والثلاثين من كوكبة الجوزاء وهو الذي فوق الكعب من رجله اليسرى: كُرْسِيَّ الجَوْزَاءِ المُقَدَّمَ؛ لأنها قد صارت على مربع شبيه بالكرسي، والخامس والثلاثون النيِّر الذي على رجل الجوزاء اليسرى قد صار على ضلع المربع شبيه برِجْلٍ على كرسي.» «والعرب تسمي الأربعة التي على بدنه وهي السابع والثامن والتاسع والعاشر من كواكبه: كُرْسِيَّ الجَوْزَاءِ المُؤَخَّرَ، وعَرْشَ الجَوْزَاءِ أيضًا؛ لأنها فيما بين الرجلين في موضع العَرْشِ، وقرأت في بعض كتب الأنواء أنها تُسَمَّى: النِّهَالَ.»

Al-Ṣūfī’s descriptions identify Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ al-Muqaddam with λ, β, and ψ Eridani together with τ Orionis, and Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ al-Muʾaḫḫar with α, β, γ, and δ Leporis.

The two Arabic asterisms called Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ (كُرْسِيُّ الجَوْزَاء), as described by al-Ṣūfī and al-Marzūqī. CC BY, Khalid Al-Ajaji, 2026.

Ibn al-Ṣūfī

Ibn al-Ṣūfī (d. after 400 AH / 1010 CE), ed. al-Ajaji (al-Urjūza 2021), records, across the two recensions of the Urjūza (“Poem of the Stars”), three names for the second asterism (al-Arnab, “Lepus”):

English

Arabic

Next comes the Hare, whose stars are small, And dim the greater number of them all. When viewed, they lie just below The feet of the figure of al-Ǧabbār. “The Throne of al-Ǧabbār,” the Arabs named them; So the transmitters of traditional accounts relate. The Arabs also call them al-Nihāl; The books report this name for them as well. Sometimes they are called al-Maḫāyil; So we are told on the authority of earlier writers.

وَبَعْدَهُ الأَرْنَبُ وَهْوَ أَنْجُمُ … صَغِيرَةٌ أَكْثَرُهُنَّ مُظْلِمُ هُنَّ إِذَا رُمِينَ بِالأَبْصَارِ … دُوَيْنَ رِجْلَيْ صُورَةِ الجَبَّارِ لَقَّبَهَا العُرْبُ بِعَرْشِ الجَبَّارْ … كَذَلِكُمْ يَذْكُرُ أَهْلُ الأَخْبَار وَقَدْ تُسَمِّيهَا النِّهَالَ العَرَبُ … بِذَلِكُمْ تُخْبِرُ عَنْهَا الكُتُبُ وَرُبَّمَا سُمِّينَ بِالمَخَايِلِ … كَذَاكَ نُبِّئْنَا عَنِ الأَوَائِلِ

Al-Marzūqī

Al-Marzūqī (d. 421 AH / 1030 CE), ed. al-Dulaymī (2002), describes the two asterisms as follows (vol. 2, p. 346):

English	Arabic
“Beneath each of al-Ǧawzāʾ’s two feet are four stars called Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ (‘the Chair of al-Ǧawzāʾ’). One of the two chairs is more conspicuous than the other. Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ is also called [either al-Nahal or al-Nuhul].”	«وتحت كلِّ واحدة من رجلي الجَوْزَاءِ، كواكب أربعة، تُسَمَّى: كُرْسِيَّ الجَوْزَاءِ، وأحد الكرسيين أبين من الآخر، ويُسَمَّى كُرْسِيُّ الجَوْزَاءِ: النهل [النَّهَلُ أو النُّهُلُ].»

Al-Marzūqī is the only source cited here that records the name النهل, which appears without vowel marks in the editions consulted. It can be read as al-Nahal or al-Nuhul. Both are plural forms of nāhil, denoting a camel that has taken its first drink, or a thirsty camel.

Al-Marzūqī’s description agrees more closely with al-Ṣūfī’s account, since he places a group of four stars beneath each of al-Ǧawzāʾ’s feet.

Discussion

Two chairs, one under each foot

The qualifiers al-Muqaddam (“Fore”) and al-Muʾaḫḫar (“Rear”) appear to refer to the order in which the two asterisms rise. Al-Marzūqī’s “more conspicuous” Kursī is the Lepus group, whose constituent stars are generally brighter than those of the Eridanus–Orion group. Ibn Qutayba’s single Kursī, described as an irregular quadrilateral below al-Ǧawzāʾ, likewise appears to refer to a group in Lepus, rather than the more nearly regular quadrilateral in Eridanus. In the anwāʾ sources discussed here, the unqualified name Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ appears to denote the Lepus group. Among these sources, only al-Ṣūfī explicitly records the qualifiers al-Muqaddam and al-Muʾaḫḫar.

The Milky Way and the name al-Nihāl

Al-Nihāl denotes camels that have taken their first drink at a watering place; it can also denote thirsty camels. One possible explanation of the name is the proximity of the four stars to the Milky Way: the group lies approximately 15° from its visible edge near Sirius.

Another possible explanation relates the name to the seasonal context of the anwāʾ. The group’s heliacal rising coincides with that of al-Hanʿa. Ibn Qutayba associates this season with people returning to their watering places and explains that the morning rising of al-Ǧawzāʾ—by which he means al-Haqʿa and al-Hanʿa—occurs during the most intense heat. (pp. 41–44). This seasonal association with heat and watering may help explain the name, although the proposed connection remains hypothetical.

IAU Working Group Star Names

n 2026, the names Kursiljawza and Arshuljawza were suggested as star names being member stars of the Kursī al-Ǧawzāʾ/ʿArš al-Ǧawzāʾ historical asterism. It is suggested to be used for δ and γ Leporis.

WGSN decided in ... 202x to name ... ...