Al Faras

Al Faras الفرس is Arabic for The Horse.

Etymology and History

al-Faras in Adams (2018), pp. xx-xx.

Adams interprets the term الفرس, al-Faras, in al-Qutayba as a constellation that differs from the (later) Arabic translations of the Greek term and identifies a smaller figure northwest of the Ίππος (The Horse in Pegasus).

al-Faras per Khalid AlAjaji

The only mention of al-Faras, that I am aware of, is by al-Ṣufī in his discussion of Andromeda. He described a complete horse figure detailing the member stars. Al-Ṣufī did not indicate any connection of this figure to the Arabs. His description followed the section on the stars of the Arabs in the Greek constellation and after the table of those stars. Before outlining al-Faras, he also detailed another figure of a fish at the foot of Andromeda. Both figures were imagined by al-Ṣufī. He sometimes takes the liberty to imagine figures that he believes deserve mention, such as the Bowl between Lyra and Cygnus and the Crater between Cygnus and Aquila.

This is a translation of al- Ṣufī description of the Complete Horse:

The 23rd star, which precedes the three stars located in the right hand (part of the She-Camel's head), is situated in the lip of another Horse that resembles a horse more than al-Faras al-ʾʿẓam. Near this 23rd star, there is a small star that makes it appear double. From this small star, a series of stars accumulate in the face and head, forming a head shape. This series continues along the crest in an arc, resembling a horse's neck, and connects with a star on the back, which is the 18th star of al-Faras al-ʾʿẓam, located at the end of the right front leg. The series then passes through two stars in the rump, a star at the joint of the tail (the 20th star at the end of the left front leg of al-Faras al-ʾʿẓam), and finally two stars, one in the middle of the tail and the other at the end of the tail, behind the Dolphin.

Another series emerges from the 23rd star on the lip, passing through the throat latch and upper neck, completing a head shape. It then turns and follows the neck towards the chest, reaching a star on the shoulder (the 7th star, the northern of the two stars of the right knee of al-Faras al-ʾʿẓam). From this star, it passes a star in the belly, leaning towards the south, and finally reaches a star in the testicle (the 19th star on the left knee of al-Faras al-ʾʿẓam). The northern star of al-Farġ al-Awwal, located on the shoulder of al-Faras al-ʾʿẓam, is in one of its front legs, while the two stars in the chest of al-Faras al-ʾʿẓam are in the other leg. The back legs are represented by two contiguous and obscure stars between the bright star on the lip of al-Faras al-ʾʿẓam and the star at the joint of the tail, which is located at the extremity of the left front leg of al-Faras al-ʾʿẓam.

al-Faras in Laffitte (2012, 2025).

Laffitte collated all Arabic translations from the Greek. The original constellation in Greek was named The Horse (Ίππος), and only some of the cases are interpreted with wings (Pegasus).

al-faras, The Horse, is an Indigenous Arabian constellation (drawing Laffitte 2012). Names in contemporary catalogs (Ίππος > al-Faras, ap. ms. de St-Pétersbourg)

Reading Variants B19.

• Ίππος / / al-Faras al-Ṯānī, « le Second Cheval » (Ḥağğāğ)
• al-Faras, « le Cheval » (Isḥāq, Battānī)
• al-Faras al-A^cẓam, « le Grand Cheval » (Isḥāq, Ṣūfī)
• al-Faras al-Muğannaḥ, « le Cheval ailé » (Bīrūnī)
• Buruṭūs ( ?) (Battānī)

Individual Star Names

Arabic (original)	Arabic transliteration	French (Laffitte 2025)	English	Author	identified star
	Ğanb al-Faras	le Flanc du Cheval	The Flank of the Horse	Battānī	α Peg
	Kitf al-Faras	l’Épaule du Cheval	The Shoulder? of the Horse	Bīrūnī	α Peg
	Mankib al-Faras	l’Épaule du Cheval	The Shoulder? of the Horse	Battānī	β Peg
	Ẓahr al-Faras	le Dos du Cheval	The Back of the Horse	Battānī	γ Peg
	al-Matan	le Paleron	The Shoulder Blade	Bīrūnī	γ Peg
	Matan al-Faras	le Paleron du Cheval	The Shoulder Blade of the Horse	Marrākušī	γ Peg
	Ṭaraf al-Ğanāḥ	le Bout de l’Aile	the tip? of the wing	Bīrūnī	γ Peg
	Ğanāḥ al-Faras	l’Aile du Cheval	The Wing of the Horse	Battānī	γ Peg
	Ğanāḥ	Aile	The Wing	Miṣrī	γ Peg
	Mankib al-Faras	l’Épaule du Cheval	The Shoulder of the Horse	Battānī	δ Peg
	al-Nayra	la Brillante	The Bright One	Bīrūnī	= α And
	Surrat al-Faras wa-ḥuwwa	l’Ombilic du Cheval	The Navel of the Horse	Marrākušī	= α And
	Ğaḥlafat al-Faras	la Lippe du Cheval	The Lip of the Horse	Battānī	ε Peg
	Fum al-Faras	la Gueule du Cheval	The Snout of the Horse	Marrākušī	ε Peg

Names in contemporary catalogs

Arabic (original)	Arabic transliteration	French (Laffitte 2025)	English	Author	identified stars
	ᶜUnuq al-Faras	le Cou du Cheval	The Neck of the Horse	Marrākušī	ζ Peg
	Rukbat al-Faras	le Genou du Cheval	The Knee of the Horse	Marrākušī	η Peg
	Ra’s al-Faras	la Tête du Cheval	The Head of the Horse	Marrākušī	θ Peg
	al-Kaᶜb al-Ayman	la Cheville droite	The Right Ankle	Bīrūnī	ι Peg
	Rukbat al-Faras	Le Genou du Cheval	The Knee of the Horse	Miṣrī	ι Peg
	al-Kaᶜb al-aysar	la Cheville gauche	The Left Ankle	Bīrūnī	κ Peg
	al-Kaᶜb al-aysar min al-Faras	la Cheville gauche du Cheval	The Left Ankle of the Horse	Marrākušī	κ Peg
	Ṣadr al-Faras	la Poitrine du Cheval	The Breast of the Horse	Marrākušī	λ Peg
	al-Rukbat al-aysar	le Genou gauche	The Left Knee	Bīrūnī	π Peg

Discussion

I couldn't find any mention of al-Faras in ibn Qutayba book. If there is any, could it pointed out.

The caption in Mr. Laffitte section states that: "al-faras, The Horse, is an Indigenous Arabian constellation (drawing Laffitte 2012).", but the image is of the Greek constellation.

Reference

Kunitzsch, Paul. 1961. Untersuchungen zur Sternnomenklatur der Araber. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.

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.