Nobakht Ahvazi (), also spelled Naubakht Ahvaz and Naubakht, along with his sons were astrologers from Ahvaz (in the present-day Khuzestan province, Iran) who lived in the 8th and 9th centuries AD.
Nobakht was particularly famous for having led a group of astrologers who picked an auspicious electional chart for the founding of Baghdad. His family also helped design the city. Originally Zoroastrians, Nobakht and his sons converted to Islam and were employed as Pahlavi translators of the Abbasid court.
Life as a court astrologer
Nawbakht was the most prominent among 'Abbasid caliph al-Mansur's court astrologers. He rose to this position after having successfully predicted al-Mansur's rise to power as a caliph. There were other astrologers retained at the court, including Mashallah (d. ca. 199/815 or 204/820) who aided Nawbakht in his analysis of the stars in determining ”the most auspicious date and time for the foundation of the new capital, the round city of Madīnat al-Salām ("The City of Peace")”, historically known as Baghdad. In addition to al-Mansur’s victory, Nawbakht predicted the death of Ibrahim as well. Reportedly, Nawbakht was so confident in the accuracy of his calculations that he volunteered to be imprisoned until the outcome of the encounter between Ibrahim and the 'Abbasid army was reported, and agreed to being executed should he had been mistaken.