Levant World

Islam and Rationality: the Impact of al-Ghazālī

2011-09-22T18:17:00.000+08:00

Islam and Rationality: the Impact of al-Ghazālī

An International & Interdisciplinary Conference at the Ohio State University, November 10-12, 2011

Abu Hāmid al-Ghazālī (1058-1111) is a central figure in the history of Islamic theology, jurisprudence, philosophy and Sufism. Of Persian origin, he lived and worked in Baghdad and in other intellectual centers of the Muslim world of the 11th and 12th century.

Besides his teaching activity in Baghdad and Tus (in Iran), al-Ghazālī wrote in Arabic and Persian on an enormous variety of subjects, which primarily include theology, Islamic law, logic, philosophy, mysticism, and epistemology. A major concern in his works involves the development of an approach to God which is both Islamic and rational; he also strove to integrate religious rationality in the worship of God and in spiritual life. His eminent works on this topic have been widely influential. Indeed, in general, the discourse on rationality, as accepted by orthodox Islam, was largely established, articulated, and solidified by al-Ghazālī. Al-Ghazālī's influence was so widespread that he earned, in the medieval period, the unique title “The Proof of Islam” (Hujjat al-Islām); this honorific, merited by his preeminent scholarship, acknowledged the illustrious way in which he combined logic and ethics, knowledge and action, rationality and spirituality, orthodoxy and renewal of religious thought.

About FSTC

2011-03-13T19:41:00.000+08:00

The Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation (FSTC) is a United Kingdom based educational entity which was formed to popularise, disseminate and promote an accurate account of Muslim Heritage and its contribution to present day science, technology and civilisation.

As well as owning, developing and maintaining MuslimHeritage.com, FSTC has produced publications, conferences and teacher training seminars on the subject.
E-mail: info@fstc.org.uk

by: FSTC Limited, Mon 24 November, 2008

The Dark Age Myth

2010-08-06T21:47:00.000+08:00

If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilisation owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure which stems, I think, from the strait-jacket of history which we have inherited.

HRH Prince Charles in a speech at Oxford University, 27 October 1993

In 410 CE, Alaric, the Germanic king of the Visigoths, swept into Rome and sacked the great city in a three-day rampage. Sixty-six years later, Romulus Augustus, the last Roman emperor of the West, was deposed, and the regalia of empire was rudely despatched to Constantinople. With that, the lights went out on civilisation, and the Western world was plunged into an age of darkness – a night in which there was no scholarship, literacy or even civilised life. Only 1,000 years later did the world finally rediscover classical learning and bring the world’s night of darkness to an end with the bright new dawn of the Renaissance. Or so the story goes.

This is the myth of the Dark Ages, the idea that history and progress pretty much stopped for a millennium after the fall of Rome. The trouble is that the myth is just that, a myth. But it has been a myth so potent that it has thoroughly distorted our understanding of how civilisations emerge and how science and learning progress. Advances in our understanding of the natural world happen when scientists absorb the latest knowledge in fields such as physics or biology, and then modify or improve it. They work rather like runners in a relay race, passing the baton of learning from one scientist to the next. Modern science, regarded as a hallmark of modern Western civilisation, achieved its place through the passing of many successive batons, which were handed to the scientists of Europe from those of the world’s non- Western cultures. These included those who lived in the cultures of Islam over a period of some 800 years from the 8th to the 16th centuries.

The fact that we know little of this is what Michael Hamilton Morgan of the New Foundation for Peace speaks of as ‘lost history’. The historian Jack Goody goes further and calls it ‘the theft of history’. It is as if the memory of an entire civilisation and its contribution to the sum of knowledge has been virtually wiped from human consciousness. Not simply in the West but in the Islamic world too, the achievements of Islamic scientists were, until recently, largely forgotten or at least neglected, except by a few diligent specialists such as Harvard University’s Abelhamid Sabra, David King, Jamil Ragep and George Saliba.
In mainstream science education in Britain – until very recently – the history of scientific progress has tended to leapfrog from the classical era of Euclid, Aristotle and Archimedes straight to the birth of the Age of Science in 16th- and 17th-century Europe, with only a cursory mention, if any, of the great swathe of Islamic science in between. In some versions of history, the ‘dark age’ only really ends, and the progress of science only really begins, with the famous conflict in the early 17th century in which Galileo confronts the Catholic Church with the assertion that the earth moves around the sun. As the world eventually acknowledges that Galileo is right, this is presented as the world-changing triumph of the light of reason over superstition. Thereafter, from the 17th century onwards, Western Europe’s scientists are set free to unlock the world’s secrets – William Harvey discovers blood circulation, Isaac Newton launches the study of physics, Robert Boyle pioneers the study of chemistry, Michael Faraday, electricity, and so on. And so we move forward into the Age of Reason and the dramatic progress of modern science.

Filling the gap
In reality, though, scientific inquiry did not simply stop with the fall of Rome, only to get going again in the 17th century. In fact, as this book will show, recent research is beginning to reveal just how thoroughly the 800-year gap was filled by a wealth of scientific exploration in medieval Islam, and how it fed directly into the first stirrings of Western science.

The Cairo-based physician ibn al-Nafis, for example, discovered pulmonary circulation, the circulation of blood through the lungs, in the 13th century. Andalusian engineer Abbas ibn-Firnas worked out theories of flight, and is believed to have carried out a successful practical experiment six centuries before Leonardo drew his famous ornithopters. And in Kufa in Iraq, Jabir ibn- Hayyan (translated by Latin scholars as Geber) was among those laying the foundations of chemistry around 900 years before Boyle.

Moreover, some researchers are now showing that some of the great pioneers of modern science were building directly on the work of scientists from Islamic times. George Saliba of Columbia University, for instance, demonstrates in his book Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance how the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus drew on the work of Islamic astronomers for the groundwork to his breakthrough claim in 1514 that the earth moved round the sun.

Historians of mathematics have also shown how algebra, a branch of maths that allows scientists to work out unknown quantities, was developed in 9th-century Baghdad by Musa al-Khwarizmi, building on work that he had discovered from mathematicians in India. Historians think that al-Khwarizmi would have had access to manuscripts through Islam’s first encounter with India, which happened a century earlier. Modern science depends, too, on the solutions to complex quadratic equations devised by the poet and scientist Omar Khayyam. And much of our understanding of optics and light is built on the pioneering work of Hassan ibn al-Haitham (translated in Latin as Alhazen) in 11thcenturyCairo.

Ottoman Expansion

2010-07-28T21:40:00.005+08:00

Barbarossa's fleet wintering in the French harbour of Toulon, 1543.

Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent had the good fortune of succeeding Selim I (1512–1520). In his short reign, Selim had thoroughly beaten a newly emergent foe, the Safevid state on the battlefield of C¸ aldýran in 1514. (The Safevids, a Turkish-speaking dynasty who had acquired an Islamic and Persian identity, became the major opponent on the Ottoman eastern frontiers during the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries.) Selim then (1516–1517) conquered the Arab lands of the Mamluk sultanate based in Cairo, filling the treasury and bringing the Muslim Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina under the Ottoman rulers’ dominion. During the long reign of Süleyman the Magnificent (1520–1566) the Ottomans enjoyed considerable power and wealth. Under Süleyman’s leadership, the Ottomans fought a sixteenth-century world war. Sultan Süleyman supported Dutch rebels against their Spanish overlords while his navy battled in the western Mediterranean against the Spanish Habsburgs. At one point, Ottoman troops wintered on the modern-day Riviera at Toulon, by courtesy of King Francis I of France who also was fighting against the Habsburgs. On the other side of their world, Ottoman navies warred in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, as far east as modern-day Indonesia. There they fought because the global balance of power and wealth had been overturned by the Portuguese voyages of discovery around Africa, that opened all-water routes between India and south and southeast Asia. These new passages threatened to destroy a transit trade that Middle Eastern regimes for many centuries had dominated and profited from. To loosen the mounting Portuguese (and later Dutch and English) chokehold on this trade and break its growing dominance of the all-water routes, the Ottomans launched a series of offensives in the eastern seas. For example, they aided local rulers on the India coast who were fighting the Portuguese and sent fleets to aid the Moluccans (near modern Singapore) who were struggling to break mounting European maritime domination. On the Balkan fronts, Sultan Süleyman’s forces similarly moved to impose Ottoman domination over trade routes, rich mines and other economic resources. In an important series of victories, the Ottomans seized Belgrade in 1521, crushed the Hungarian state at the battle of Mohács in 1526 and later (in 1544) annexed part of it. In 1529, Ottoman troops stood outside the walls of Habsburg Vienna, which neither they nor their successors in 1683 were able effectively to breach. By this date the Istanbul-based state stood astride the rich trade routes linking the Aegean and Mediterranean seas to east and central Europe. Thus both Venice and Genoa suffered grievous blows, losing the wealth and power that the trade routes and colonies of these regions had brought them.

If the phrase “expansion” aptly depicts the overall Ottoman military and political experiences until the later sixteenth century, then “consolidation” likely best summarizes the situation during the subsequent century or so. Following Süleyman’s death, Ottoman victories continued but less frequently than before. The great island of Cyprus with its fertile lands became an Ottoman possession in 1571, bolstering Istanbul’s dominance over the sea routes of the eastern Mediterranean. The Europeans’ naval victory at Lepanto in 1571 and utter destruction of the Ottoman navy, one of the greatest in the Mediterranean at the time, proved ephemeral. The next year a new fleet re-established Ottoman dominion in the eastern Mediterranean, the locale of their recent defeat. On land, Ottoman armies captured Azerbaijan between 1578 and 1590 and regained Baghdad in 1638. Crete, the largest of the eastern Mediterranean islands after Cyprus, was incorporated into the state in 1669, followed by Podolia in 1676.

Islamic Conquest - The war at sea

2010-07-28T21:40:00.002+08:00

For centuries, power in the Mediterranean had depended on naval might. At the end of the 6th century the Byzantine Empire dominated both the Mediterranean and the Black Seas with naval bases at Carthage, Alexandria, Acre and Constantinople. Yet the number of Byzantine warships remained few, because the Empire faced no serious maritime rivals until the Sassanian occupation of Egypt and Syria. Even more threatening were the subsequent Muslim conquests of these areas, as well as North Africa and, eventually, the Iberian peninsula.

In the Islamic forces' first major naval operation in the Mediterranean, they temporarily occupied the island of Cyprus after having driven off a Byzantine fleet near Alexandria in 652 - their first naval victory. Then, in 655, the Islamic fleet won a convincing victory over the Byzantine navy off the south-western coast of what is now Turkey. For nigh on a thousand years Greeks and then Romans had dominated the Mediterranean Sea. Now, in the first major Mediterranean sea battle for centuries, an Arab fleet had successfully challenged the Byzantines in their home waters.

Surprisingly, given the relative inexperience of the Muslim fleet, this battle saw the Byzantines defeated both at sea and in a skirmish on shore at the same time. This clash in 655 near Cape Chelidonia, off the Lycian coast, came to be known as the 'Battle of the Masts' because the Muslims had landed to cut tall trees for the masts and yards of their new fleets, based in Egypt and Syria. A lack of suitable large timber would in fact hamper Muslim naval development throughout the medieval period, though it did encourage technological innovation in Islamic naval architecture. During this encounter the Byzantine ships seem either to have been moored in close formation or to have been tied together. As a result the Muslims were able to win because of their superior boarding and close-combat tactics.

The possible importance of the Sassanian influence on naval developments in the Middle East has only recently been considered. During their brief occupation of much of the eastern Mediterranean littoral, they had extended as far as to occupy the Greek island of Rhodes, plus some Anatolian coastal towns, though they almost certainly used captured Syrian, Cilician, Egyptian or Greek ships to do so.

The subsequent Muslim conquest of many of the same regions brought the Arabs to the shores of the Mediterranean for the first time as a great military power and as the inheritors of Sassanian naval traditions. On the other hand the Arabian peoples had a far more active naval heritage than their initially cautious attitude to the Mediterranean might suggest. The pre-Islamic Yemenis and perhaps Omanis had, for example, been raiding Sassanian territory by sea since at least the 4th century AD while various other tribes from both the Gulf and Red Sea coastal regions of Arabia had similar maritime traditions. Here it is worth noting that, following the first wave of Islamic conquest, these same Yemeni and other coastal Arab tribes were often selected as garrison troops for strategic coastal bases including Alexandria.

In response to the challenge by new Arab-Islamic fleets, a more powerful Romano-Byzantine navy would emerge in the late 7th century. The 'Battle of the Masts' would not be the last naval encounter between these two rivals. Indeed, later Byzantine attempts to retake Egypt would convince Mu'awiya, the governor of Syria and subsequently the first Umayyad Caliph, of the need for a full Islamic navy in the Mediterranean.

The first such fleet was built in Egypt, where all qualified sailors were registered for naval service. Although many of these sailors were in fact Christians, the bulk were Yemeni in origin and Muslim in religion. The new fleet used Tyre and Acre as forward bases while Iranian and Iraqi shipwrights were brought from the Gulf to build and man the new or restored shipyards at Acre, Tyre and Beirut.

Other naval bases and fleets were established in newly conquered Tunisia and rather later in Libya; the resources of wood, iron and tar essential for medieval naval warfare all being available in North Africa. From the early 8th century onwards these new Islamic fleets undertook almost annual raids against Byzantine territory and islands in the western Mediterranean, mirroring the annual raids undertaken on land.

If there were any real differences between Byzantine and early Islamic warships, it would seem to have been in the increased height of the forecastle of the latter. This was soon being used to mount stone-throwing engines and to provide an advantage when boarding enemy vessels. The main fighting ship was a galley called a shini which, like the Byzantine galleys of the day, had between 140 and 180 oarsmen. It is also important to note that, with very few exceptions, the oarsmen in medieval galleys, be they Christian or Muslim, were paid volunteers not slaves.

By the mid-8th century such galleys defended themselves against the terrifying Byzantine incendiary weapon known as 'Greek fire' using various systems of water-soaked cotton, and would shortly use Greek fire themselves. However, the vessels of the rival naval powers remained remarkably similar, as there was an exchange of both technology and terminology between them.

The main difficulty facing any Islamic fleet continued to be a lack of timber. Indeed, this lack of resources may have stimulated the construction of larger ships, which were better able to defend themselves and were no longer regarded as expendable assets. Certainly, there was also a change from the hull- or skin-first method of construction to the more economical frame-first method, although this change would not be truly complete until the 11th century.

Early Arab Warships

2010-07-28T21:39:00.002+08:00

Frederick M Hocker’s hypothetical reconstruction of a tenth-century bireme dromōn, based on the few contemporary documentary sources. An Arab heavy warship would have looked similar in many respects.

Arab ships were similar enough to Byzantine warships that they were often referred to as dromōns as well, in both Greek and Arab sources, and the Greek terms chelandion, galea, and dromonarion also found their way into Arabic naval terminology, with shalandi one of the most common Arabic terms for large, dromōn-like ships. The main Arab ships were considered to be larger, heavier and slower than their Byzantine opponents. Arab types that do appear to be more specific include shalandi, shīnī and ghurāb for galleys and musattah for a large, decked galley common in later periods, especially in the Crusades. Another Arabic type of note is the harrāqa, or ‘fire ship’, which is the type most often equipped with Greek fire.

Women's Contribution to Classical Islamic Civilisation: Science, Medicine and Politics

2010-07-08T10:39:00.000+08:00

Women's Contribution to Classical Islamic Civilisation: Science, Medicine and Politics

Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani*
Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Women in the historiography: A problem of methodology
3. Recent scholarship: 3.1. The Muhaddithat project; 3.2. Dictionary of women
4. General overview
5. Medical care: 5.1. Rufayda al-Aslamiyyah; 5.2. Al-Shifa bint Abduallah; 5.3. Nusayba bint Harith al-Ansari; 5.4. Women surgeons in 15^th-century Turkey
6. Mathematics: 6.1. Sutayta Al-Mahamali; 6.2. Labana of Cordoba
7. Making of astronomical instruments
8. Patronage: 8.1. Zubayda bint Abu Ja'far al-Mansur; 8.2. Fatima al-Fehri; 8.3. Dhayfa Khatun; 8.4. Hürrem Sultan
9. Rulers and political leaders: 9.1. Sitt al-Mulk; 9.2. Shajarat al-Durr; 9.3. Sultana Raziya; 9.4. Amina of Zaria; 9.5. Ottoman women
10. Miscellania
11. By way of a conclusion
12. Acknowledgement
13. References

***1. Introduction
While several studies have investigated the contribution of Muslim women in various fields of the classical civilisation of Islam, such as in hadith transmission, jurisprudence (fiqh), literature, and education, until now few sources mention the role of women in the development of science, technology, and medicine in the Islamic tradition.
In scholarship, there are isolated and scattered references to the famous women who had a role in advancing science and who established charitable, educational and religious institutions. Some examples are Zubayda bint Ja'far al-Mansur who pioneered a most ambitious project of digging wells and building service stations all along the pilgrimage route from Baghdad to Mecca, Sutayta who was a mathematician and an expert witness in the courts, Dhayfa Khatun who excelled in management and statesmanship, Fatima al-Fehri who founded the Qarawiyin mosque in Fez, Morocco, which became the first university in the world, and the engineer Al-'Ijlia who made astrolabes in Aleppo.

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Figure 1: A famous signed sketch of Hypatia, included as an insert in Elbert Hubbard's pamphlet Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Teachers, vol. 23, no 4, 1908.

In view of the scant information on such women and the growing importance of the subject of gender and women in society, this report presents what is currently known about their lives and works. Our aim is twofold: to present the available information and to initiate a process of investigation to unearth what could be a most significant find about the roles played by hundreds of women in various fields and in the different periods of Islamic history.
2. Women in the historiography: A problem of methodology
Over thousands of years, many women have left a mark on their societies, changing the course of history at times and influencing small but significant spheres of life at others. Since ancient times, women have excelled in the areas of poetry, literature, medicine, philosophy and mathematics. A famous example is Hypatia (ca. 370-415), a philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, and teacher who lived in Alexandria, in Hellenistic Egypt, and who participated in that city's educational community [1].
In the same vein, it is interesting to note the Islamic view of Cleopatra of Egypt (b. 69 BCE). Arabic sources referred to her as a strong and able monarch who was very protective of Egypt. These sources focused on her talents but made no reference to her morals or seductive power. They focused instead on her learning and talents in management. This Arabic image of Cleopatra is in direct contrast to that presented by the Greco-Roman sources which presented her as a hedonist and seductive woman [2].
From the early years of Islam, women had crucial roles in their society. They contributed substantially to the prominence of Islamic civilization. For example, Aisha bint Abu Bakr, wife of the Prophet Muhammad, had special skills in administration. She became a scholar in hadith, jurisprudence, an educator, and an orator [3]. There are also many references which point to Muslim women who excelled in areas such as medicine, literature, and jurisprudence. This long tradition found its counterpart in modern times. For example, in a more recent and unusual role, Sabiha Gökçen (1913-2001) was the first female combat pilot in the world. She was appointed as chief trainer at the Turkish Aviation Institution [4].
In contrast, we find little information on Muslim women's contributions in the classical books of history. New light might arise from the study of not yet edited manuscripts. There are about 5 million manuscripts in archives around the world. Only about 50,000 of them are edited and most of these are not about science [5]. This points to the challenging task lying ahead for researchers into the subject.

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Figure 2: A Turkish banknote dated 30 August 1995 to celebrate Sabiha Gökçen (1913-2001), the first female combat pilot in the world and the first Turkish aviatrix: (Source). (Source).

3. Recent scholarship
However, this traditional tendency is changing in recent scholarship. Some recent works endeavour to rehabilitate the role of women in Islamic history. Two examples of such works are presented below.
3.1. The Muhaddithat project
For several years, Dr Mohammed Akram Nadwi conducted a long term and large scale project to unearth the biographies of thousands of women who participated in the hadith tradition throughout Islamic history. In Al-Muhaddithat: The Women Scholars in Islam [6], Dr Nadwi summarized his 40-volume biographical dictionary (in Arabic) of the Muslim women who studied and taught hadith. Even in this short text, he demonstrates the central role women had in preserving the Prophet's teaching, which remains the master-guide to understanding the Qur'an as rules and norms for life. Within the bounds of modesty in dress and manners, women routinely attended and gave classes in the major mosques and madrasas, travelled intensively for ‘the knowledge', transmitted and critiqued hadith, issued fatwas, and so on. Some of the most renowned male scholars have depended on, and praised, the scholarship of their female teachers. The women scholars enjoyed considerable public authority in society, not as the exception, but as the norm.
The huge body of information reviewed in Al-Muhaddithat is essential to understanding the role of women in Islamic society, their past achievement and future potential. Hitherto it has been so dispersed as to be ‘hidden'. The information in Dr Nadwi's dictionary will greatly facilitate further study, contextualization and analysis [7].

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Figure 3: From an adjacent room, women attend the preaching of Shaykh Baha'al-Din Veled in Balkh, Afghanistan. Miniature in Jami' al-Siyar, 1600. MS Hazine 1230, folio 112a, Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul. (Source).

3.2. Dictionary of women
Expanding on her work, Islam: The Empowering of Women, Aisha Abdurrahman Bewley published Muslim Women: A Biographical Dictionary. This most timely work in dictionary form is a comprehensive reference source of Muslim women throughout Islamic history from the first century AH to roughly the middle of the 13th century AH. A perusal of the entries shows that Muslim women have been successful, for example, as scholars and businesswomen as well as fulfilling their roles as wives and mothers for the past fourteen centuries [8].
The author wrote that her book originally came about as a response to frequent requests to provide some sources about women scholars:
"When I went through my biographical references, I was surprised by the number of references to women, and the great number of women represented in all areas of life, from scholars to rulers, whether regents or women who ruled in their own right, or women who wielded substantial political influence. This led to the decision to compile a larger source of reference of Muslim women, and, given modern views of women in Islam, it gives us a surprising picture of just how active women have been in the history of Islam from the very beginning up until the present time.
"The dictionary covers the period from the time of the Prophet to roughly the middle of the 13^th-19^th century. (…) As we can see by a perusal of the entries, the role of Muslim women was by no means confined to house and home. They were active in many fields. This is not a question of either/or. It is a question of many roles, all intermeshed and interlocking, rather than separate categories. A business woman is still a mother and a scholar is still a wife. Women simply learn to juggle things more, but that is something women are very good at doing, as can be seen by the entries.
The entries are compiled from a number of sources. Many of the biographical collections devote a section to women, like volume eight of the Tabaqat of Ibn Sa'd and al-Sakhawi's Kitab an-Nisa'. Sometimes references are found within biographies of other references. A number of notable scholars mention their teachers, who included a number of women. Ibn Hajar studied with 53 women, as-Sakhawi had ijazas from 68 women, and as-Suyuti studied with 33 women – a quarter of his shaykhs. Al-Aghani by Abu'l-Faraj al-Isbahani is the major source for singers. An excellent modern source is A'lam an-Nisa' by ‘Umar Rida Kahhala, which consists of five volumes dealing with notable women, and is by no means inclusive" [9].


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Figure 4a-b: Two views of the Firdaws Mosque and Madrasa in Aleppo built by Dayfa Khatun in 1235-36 CE. (Source).

4. General overview
The eminence attained by many women in Islamic culture begins to be unveiled in recent scholarship. The female relatives of the Caliphs and courtiers vied with each other in the patronage and cultivation of letters. Ayesha, the daughter of Prince Ahmed in the Andalus, excelled in rhyme and oratory; her speeches aroused the tumultuous enthusiasm of the grave philosophers of Cordoba; and her library was one of the finest and most complete in the kingdom.
Wallada (known as Valada in Western scholarship), a princess of the Almohads, whose personal charms were not inferior to her talents, was renowned for her knowledge of poetry and rhetoric; her conversation was remarkable for its depth and brilliancy; and, in the academic contests of Cordoba, the capital which attracted the learned and the eloquent from every quarter of the Iberian Peninsula, she never failed, whether in prose or in poetical composition, to out-distance all competitors.
Al-Ghassania and Safia, both of Seville, were also distinguished for poetical and oratorical genius; the latter was unsurpassed for the beauty and perfection of her calligraphy; the splendid illuminations of her manuscripts were the despair of the most accomplished artists of the age. The literary attainments of Miriam, the gifted daughter of Al-Faisuli, were famous throughout the Andalus, the caustic wit and satire of her epigrams were said to have been unrivalled.
Umm al-Sa'd was famous for her familiarity with Muslim tradition. Labana of Cordoba was thoroughly versed in the exact sciences; her talents were equal to the solution of the most complex geometrical and algebraic problems, and her vast acquaintance with general literature obtained her the important employment of private secretary to the Caliph Al-Hakam II.
In AI-Fihrist, Ibn al-Nadim names women with a varied range of skills. Two are grammarians — a much respected branch of knowledge, related to the use of the full range of excellence of the Arabic language. There was a woman scholar of Arab dialects, "whose origin was among the tribes", and another "acquainted with tribal legends and colloquialisms". A third wrote a book entitled "Rare forms and sources of verbal nouns". Aspiring poets, like Abu Nuwas, used to spend time with the desert tribes to perfect their knowledge of pure Arabic. In a different field, Arwa, "a woman known for her wise sayings", wrote a book about "sermons, morals and wisdom".
An Indian woman, Rasa, was the author of a book on the medical treatment of women, listed among Indian works on medicine available in Arabic. Maryah al-Qibtiyyah, an Egyptian woman of the first century CE, wrote on alchemy, and finds her place among books by savants of antiquity that were studied by the scholars of the Islamic world. One female authority on the traditions of the Prophet is noted: Fatima bint al-Mundhir, who lived in Medina and died about 145 H/763 CE. She was the wife of Hisham, son of ‘Urwah who gathered so many traditions from his aunt ‘A'ishah.

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Figure 5: Anonymous oil painting portrait, now located at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, of Hürrem Sultan or Roxelana (c. 1510 - April 18, 1558), the wife of Süleyman the Magnificent, known for her charities and engagement in several major works of public building, from Mecca to Jerusalem and in Istanbul. (Source).

The making of astrolabes, a branch of applied science of great status, was practiced by one woman, Al-'Ijliyah bint al-'Ijli al-Asturlabi, who followed her father's profession in Aleppo and was employed at the court of Sayf al-Dawlah (333 H/944 CE-357/967), one of the powerful Hamdanid rulers in northern Syria who guarded the frontier with the Byzantine empire in the tenth century CE.
In the development of the art of calligraphy, one woman at least took part. Thana' was a slave in the household of the tutor to one of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur's sons. This tutor, Ibn Qayyuma, seems to have been a dedicated teacher, for the young slaves in his household benefited as well as his royal pupil. Of the two whom he sent to be trained by the leading calligraphist of the day, Ishaq ibn Hammad, one was the girl Thana'. His pupils, says Ibn al-Nadim, "wrote the original measured scripts never since equaled [10]."
We now present brief information on women who excelled in medicine, mathematics, astronomy, instrument making and patronage, as examples for future research and further investigation.
5. Medical care
Throughout history and even as early as the time of Prophet Muhammad, there are examples of Muslim women making significant contributions to the improvement of the quality of the social and economic life of their societies. They actively participated in management, education, religious jurisprudence, medicine and health as they were motivated by their concern for the affairs of the people. The Sharia (Islamic law) requires Muslims to have great concern for society in all spheres of life. Thus, throughout Islamic history the search for scientific knowledge was considered as an act of worship. With the arrival of Islam women were able to practice as physicians and treat both women and men particularly on the battlefields. However, the strict segregation between men and women meant that women had little or no contact with men outside their immediate family. So the healthcare of Muslim women was mainly handled by other women, especially as it was socially improper for a man to attend a woman regarding matters of her health. The following are some examples of some of Muslim women who contributed to the advancement of medicine.
The title of the first nurse of Islam is credited to Koaiba Bint Saad Al Aslamiyya. But names of other women were recorded as nurses and practitioners of medicine in early Islam: Nusayba Bint Kaab Al-Mazeneya, one of the Muslim women who provided nursing services to warriors at the battle of Uhud (625 H), Umm Sinan Al-Islami (known also as Umm Imara), who became a Muslim and asked permission of the Prophet Muhammad to go out with the warriors to nurse the injured and provide water to the thirsty, Umm Matawe' Al-Aslamiyya, who volunteered to be a nurse in the army after the opening of Khaybar, Umm Waraqa Bint Hareth, who participated in gathering the Quran and providing her nursing services to the warriors at the battle of Badr.
5.1. Rufayda al-Aslamiyyah
Rufayda bint Sa'ad, also known as Rufayda al-Aslamiyyah, considered the first nurse in Islamic history, lived at the time of the Prophet Muhammad. She nursed the wounded and dying in the wars with the Prophet Muhammed in the battle of Badr on 13 March 624 H.
Rufayda learnt most of her medical knowledge by assisting her father, Saad Al Aslamy, who was a physician. Rufayda devoted herself to nursing and taking care of sick people and she became an expert healer. She practiced her skills in field hospitals in her tent during many battles as the Prophet used to order all casualties to be carried to her tent so that she might treat them with her medical expertise.

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Figure 6: Two Andalusian Arab women playing chess, with a girl playing lute (Chess Problem #19, F18R) , from Alphonso X's Book of Games (Libro de los Juegos). The book was commissioned between 1251 and 1282 CE by Alphonso X, King of Leon and Castile. It reflects the presence of the Islamic legacy in Christian Spain. It is now housed at the monastery library of St. Lorenze del Escorial. (Source).

Rufayda is depicted as a kind, empathetic nurse and a good organizer. With her clinical skills, she trained other women to be nurses and to work in the area of health care. She also worked as a social worker, helping to solve social problems associated with disease. In addition, she helped children in need and took care of orphans, handicapped and the poor [11].
5.2. Al-Shifa bint Abduallah
The companion Al-Shifa bint Abduallah al Qurashiyah al-'Adawiyah had a strong presence in early Muslim history as she was one of the wise women of that time. She was literate at a time of illiteracy. She was involved in public administration and skilled in medicine. Her real name was Laila, however "al-Shifa", which means "the healing", is partly derived from her profession as a nurse and medical practitioner. Al-Shifa used to use a preventative treatment against ant bites and the Prophet approved of her method and requested her to train other Muslim women [12].
5.3. Nusayba bint Harith al-Ansari
Nusayba bint Harith al-Ansari, also called Umm ‘Atia, took care of casualties on the battlefields and provided them with water, food and first aid. In addition, she performed circumcisions [13].
5.4. Women surgeons in 15^th-century Turkey
Between those first names of early Islamic history other women practiced medicine and nursery. Few of them were recorded. However, a serious investigation in books of history, of medicine and literature writings will certainly provide precise data about their lives and achievements.
In the 15^th century, a Turkish surgeon, Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu (1385-1468), author of the famous manual of surgery Cerrahiyyetu'l-Haniyye, did not hesitate to illustrate the details of obstetric and gynaecologic procedures or to depict women treating and performing procedures on female patients. He also worked with female surgeons, while his male colleaques in the West reported against the female healers.
Female surgeons in Anatolia, generally performed some gynaecological procedures like surgical managements of fleshy grows of the clitoris in the female genitalia, imperforated female pudenda, warts and red pustules arising in the female pudenda, perforations and eruptions of the uterus, abnormal labours, and extractions of the abnormal foetus or placenta. Interestingly in the Cerrahiyyetu'l-Haniyye, we find illustrations in the forms of miniatures indicating female surgeons. It can therefore be speculated that they reflect the early recognition (15th century) of female surgeons with paediatric neurosurgical diseases like foetal hydrocephalus and macrocephalus.
The attitudes towards women in the history of medicine reflect the general view that society held of women during the period. It is interesting that in the treatise of Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu we find an open minded view of women, including female practitioners in the complex field of surgery [14].
6. Mathematics
In the field of mathematics, names of female scholars featured in Islamic history such as Amat-Al-Wahid Sutaita Al-Mahamli from Baghdad and Lobana of Cordoba, both from the 10^th century. Systematic investigation, with the methodology of history of science, will certainly yield more information on other women scholars who practiced mathematics in Islamic history. We know of many women who practiced fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Now, calculations and arithmetic were intertwined with successoral calculations (fara'idh and mawarith), a branch of applied mathematics devoted to performing calculatations of inheritance according to the rules of Islamic law.
6.1. Sutayta Al-Mahamali
Sutayta, who lived in the second half of the 10^th century, came from an educated family from Baghdad. Her father was the judge Abu Abdallah al-Hussein, author of several books including Kitab fi al-fiqh, Salat al-'idayn [15]. Her uncle was a Hadith scholar and her son was the judge Abu-Hussein Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Ismail al-Mahamli who was known for his judgements and his talents.

Large image

Figure 7: View into the courtyard towards the prayer hall of the Qarawiyyin mosque and university in Fez (photograph date 1990, copyright Aga Khan Visual Archive, MIT). (Source).

Sutaita was taught and guided by several scholars including her father. Other scholars who taught her were Abu Hamza b. Qasim, Omar b. Abdul-'Aziz al-Hashimi, Ismail b. Al-Abbas al-Warraq and Abdul-Alghafir b. Salamah al-Homsi. Sutayta was known for her good reputation, morality and modesty. She was praised by historians such as Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn al-Khatib Baghdadi and Ibn Kathir [16]. She died in the year 377H/987CE.
Sutayta did not specialize in just one subject but excelled in many fields such as Arabic literature, hadith, and jurisprudence as well as mathematics. It is said that she was an expert in hisab (arithmetics) and fara'idh (successoral calculations), both being practical branches of mathematics which were well developed in her time. It is said also that she invented solutions to equations which have been cited by other mathematicians, which denote aptitude in algebra. Although these equations were few, they demonstrated that her skills in mathematics went beyond a simple aptitude to perform calculations.
6.2. Labana of Cordoba
Labana of Cordoba (Spain, ca. 10th century) was one of the few Islamic female mathematicians known by name. She was said to be well-versed in the exact sciences, and could solve the most complex geometrical and algebraic problems known in her time.
Her vast acquaintance with general literature obtained her the important employment of private secretary to the Umayyad Caliph of Islamic Spain, al-Hakam II. [17].
Footnotes
[1] See Michael A. B. Deakin, "Hypatia and Her Mathematics", The American Mathematical Monthly, March 1994, vol. 101, No. 3, pp. 234-243; L. Cameron, "Isidore of Miletus and Hypatia of Alexandria: On the Editing of Mathematical Texts", Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies vol. 31 (1990), pp. 103-127; I. Mueller, "Hypatia (370?-415)", in L. S. Grinstein and P. J. Campbell (eds.), Women of Mathematics (Westport, Conn., 1987), pp. 74-79; Bryan J. Whitfield, The Beauty of Reasoning: A Reexamination of Hypatia of Alexandra; O'Connor, John J. & Robertson, Edmund F., "Hypatia of Alexandria", from MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive; Hypatia of Alexandria: A woman before her time, The Woman Astronomer, 11 November 2007 (accessed 12.05.2008); "Hypatia of Alexandria" (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Resources on Hypatia (booklist and classroom activities).
[2] Okasha El-Daly, Egyptology: the Missing Millennium. Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings. London: UCL Press, 2005.
[3] See the biography of Aishah bint Abi Bakr (University of Southern California: USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts); Montgomery Watt, "A'isha Bint Abi Bakr", Encyclopedia of Islam, Brill, vol. 1, p. 307; Amira Sonbol, "Period 500-800, Women, Gender and Islamic Cultures (6th-9th Centuries)", in Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures, General Editor: Suad Joseph, 6 vols. Leiden-Boston: E. J. Brill, 6 vols., 2003. See an online preview here.
[4] Sabiha Gökçen, Atatürk'le Bir Ömür (A Life with Atatürk) (in Turkish), Istanbul: Altin Kitaplar, 2000. See also Sabiha Gokcen (1913-2001), Pioneer Aviatrix.
[5] Private communications with Qassim Al-Samarrai, Professor of Palaeography, Leiden, Holland.
[6] Oxford: Interface Publications, 2007 (hardcover and paperback).
[7] Over the last few years Dr. Nadwi has, on several occasions and in different cities, given an introductory talk on the public authority and achievements of the women scholars of hadîth. One of those talks was given in New York. Carla Power, a London-based journalist attended that occasion, and has since reflected upon Akram Nadwi's work in a magazine article published by the New York Times (25 February 2007): see A Secret History. A follow-up article, done after an interview with the author in Oxford, was published in the London Times, 14 April 2007. For another article, also after an interview with Akram Nadwi, this one in Arabic, go here. Read also a PDF file (17 pp.) of Akram Nadwi's introductory talk on the women scholars in Islam, click here.
[8] Aisha Abdurrahman Bewley, Muslim Women: A Biographical Dictionary, Ta-Ha Publishers, 2004.
[9] Ibid, introduction.
[10] Waddy Charis, Women in Muslim History, London and New York: Longman Group, 1980, p. 72.
[11] R. Jan, "Rufaida Al-Asalmiy, The first Muslim nurse", Image: The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 1996 28(3), 267-268; G. Hussein Rassool, "The Crescent and Islam: Healing, Nursing and the Spiritual Dimension. Some Considerations towards an Understanding of the Islamic Perspectives on Caring", Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2000, 32 (6), 1476-84; Omar Hasan Kasule, "Rufaidah bint Sa'ad: Historical Roots of the Nursing Profession in Islam; History of Nursing in Islam (compiled by Sarah Miller); Rufaidah bint Sa'ad Founder of the Nursing Profession in Islam.
[12] See the articles Muslim Women in History and Al-Shifaa bint Abdullah al Qurashiyah al Adawiyah.
[13] Abdel-Hamid ‘Abd Rahman Al-Sahibani, Suwar min Siyar al-Sahabiyat, Riyadh: Dar Ibn Khazima, 1414 H, p. 211; ‘Umar Kahala, A'lam al-nisa', Damascus, 1959, vol. 5, p. 171.
[14] G. Bademci Gulsah, "First illustrations of female "Neurosurgeons" in the fifteenth century by Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu, Neurocirugía (Sociedad Española de Neurocirugía, Murcia, Spain), April 2006, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 162-165. The book was edited several times, see Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu, Kitabul Cerrahiyei Ilhaniye, Istanbul, Kenan Basimevi, 1992, and Ankara, Turk Tarih Kurumu Yayinlari, 1992.
[15] Al-Khatib Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, Cairo: Happiness Press, 1931, vol. 6, p. 370. To read this section online: click here.
[16] Abu ‘l-Faraj Abdurahman b. Ali ibn al-Jawzi, Al-muntazam fi ‘l-tarikh, Haydarabad: Da'irat al-ma'arif al-uthmaniya, 1359, vol. 14, pp. 161-202; this section is online at: click here; Haji Khalifa, Kashf al-Zunun an ‘Asami al-Kutub wa al-Funun, Istanbul: al-Ma'aref, 1941.
[17] Samuel P. Scott, The History of the Moorish Empire in Europe, Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1904, vol. 3, p.447; quoted in [FSTC], Women and learning in Islam.
*Emeritus Professor at the University of Manchester and Chairman of the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), Manchester, UK.
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Algebra

2010-06-21T15:50:00.000+08:00

Thanks to the learning of the Islamic people in the East, the world received its first book on algebra. The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing was written by Al-Khwārizmī (790-840) and the Arabic title of the book gave us the word “algebra”. The word algorithm comes from al-Khwārizmī’s name. This book gave us the first systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations. Later translations of his books also gave us the decimal positional number system we use today. Al-Khwārizmī, along with Diophantas, is considered the Father of algebra.

ISLAMIC BAGHDAD

2010-05-28T11:50:00.001+08:00

The origin of the name Baghdad, clearly pre-Islamic, is undetermined. Few physical traces remain of the original Arab–Islamic site founded (c. 762 CE) by the ‘Abbasid caliph Abu Ja‘far al-Mansur (r. 754–775). The written accounts by geographers and historians— these include al-Ya‘qubi, al-Tabari, al-Muqaddasi, and al-Khatib al-Baghdadi—are thus essential to any reconstruction of the city’s early history. Designated officially Madinat al-Salam (‘‘the City of Peace’’), al-Mansur’s project was built in the round, hence its nickname al-Mudawwara (‘‘the Round City’’). Completed (c. 777) at great expense, it surrounded the caliph’s massive domed residence and a congregational mosque. The Khurasani regiments— the forces that had brought the ‘Abbasids to power— were quartered in al-Harbiyya to the northwest.

Designed initially as an administrative center—it became, in this sense, the prototype for later Near Eastern dynasts—it was soon transformed, through population growth, private construction initiatives, and other factors, into a dynamic and sprawling urban hub. By the mid-tenth century, the markets and residential neighborhoods of Baghdad were vast, both in number and in variety of population. Security demands played no less a part. Al-Mansur and his immediate successors, faced with threats in outlying districts, particularly from Shi‘i and Khariji opponents, along with restive elements within Baghdad itself, completed large-scale projects, including the palace complexes of al-Khuld and al-Rusafa in the 770s. The Round City ceased to function as the official caliphal residence by the early ninth century. Its large mosque retained its congregational function into the pre-modern period.

The city’s subsequent political history was often troubled. A civil war (809–819) between the designated heirs of Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809)—his sons Muhammad al-Amin and ‘Abd Allah al-Ma’mun— led to years of war in and around Baghdad, a collapse of central authority in most provinces, and the demise of the Khurasani army as the imperial mainstay. Al- Ma’mun, as governor of Khurasan, waged a successful campaign against al-Amin (r. 809–813). Only partly through his own reign (813–833) did al-Ma’mun take up residence in Baghdad (819). His brother and successor, Abu Ishaq al-Mu‘tasim (r. 833–842), largely in an effort to accommodate a complex Turkish, Iranian, and Central Asian military, created a new center at Samarra, located north on the Tigris River. Samarra replaced Baghdad as the imperial hub for some sixty years (836–892). Developments in Samarra over ensuing decades, particularly the political interference of the Turkish high command, exacted a grim toll upon the caliphate. In Baghdad, the Tahirid family wielded considerable influence, highlighted during a brief but costly siege by Samarran forces in 865–866. The return of the ‘Abbasids to Baghdad in the 890s did little to restore their early authority.

Entry into Baghdad by Ahmad ibn Buya, who reigned as Mu‘izz al-Dawla (945–967), initiated roughly a century-long period of Buyid suzerainty over the city and the Iraqi hinterlands. The Buyids, a north Iranian clan, established a base of power in Fars, from which they controlled Iraq into the mid-eleventh century. The city’s fortunes in the tenth century were mixed. The flow of tax revenue slowed markedly due to the degradation of the Iraqi agrarian infrastructure; the autonomy of most provinces, notably Egypt and Khurasan; and the shift of much political and economic energy to Fars. Ordinary crime increased, as did religious and military factional violence. In addition, by the end of the century, the new Fatimid capital of Cairo began to overshadow Baghdad on the political and economic fronts. The Buyids, however, devoted themselves to urban renovation and large-scale construction (palaces, congregational mosques, and markets). Baghdad retained its highly ‘‘decentered’’ character in this period: It remained a city of disparate quarters and neighborhoods with little municipal integration or centralized authority. Patterns of sectarian and social tension from the ninth century on are understood largely in these terms.

The city’s internal sociopolitical and physical divisions sharpened with the arrival of the Seljuks in the mid-eleventh century. A Turkish clan of the Oghuz (or Ghuzz) people, the Seljuks had overrun the Ghaznavids and thus established authority over Khurasan and Iran before seizing Baghdad from the Buyids. The Seljuk leader Toghril Beg (d. 1063) formed diplomatic ties with the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Qa’im (r. 1031–1075) in 1050. He led forces into Baghdad, initially in 1055, then again in 1058, at which point the caliph granted permission for his use of the title ‘‘Sultan.’’ The Seljuks spent relatively little time in Baghdad, preferring to govern from afar through local officials. Relations with the Abbasid caliphate remained uneasy throughout.

However, their deep impact on the history of Baghdad had much to do with their promotion of Sunni Islam, a position the Seljuks largely defined in terms of anti-Shi‘ism. In this sense they found a willing ally in the ‘Abbasids, already engaged against their various Shi‘i detractors. For both the Seljuks and the ‘Abbasids, it was especially important to resist the authority and military ambitions of the Fatimid/Isma‘ili caliphate in Egypt. Baghdad’s significance in Islamic history as a nexus of intellectual and religious activity is difficult to exaggerate. Scholarship (literary, religious, and scientific) was tied, though by no means exclusively, to shifting political currents. Due in part to ‘Abbasid patronage, particularly that of a dynamic administrative elite (the kuttab), ninth-century Baghdadi literary culture flourished. ‘Amr ibn Bahr al-Jahiz (d. 869), a towering figure, contributed key works of adab (belles-lettres) and Mu‘tazili theology. Ninth-century religious scholarship, including Qur’anic exegesis, hadith, law, and theology, was no less dynamic, as shown by the work of Abu Ja‘far al-Tabari (d. 923). The work of Arab/Muslim scientists benefited considerably from the translation movement of works from Persian, Greek, Syriac, and Sanskrit into Arabic, which began under al-Mansur and then flourished under al-Ma’mun.

Subsequent developments in the city’s religio-political history proved critical to the formation of the two foremost branches of Islam. The maturation of ‘‘Twelver’’ (Imami) (see Shi‘ism) scholarship and devotional life is dated to the Buyid period. Due in part to the foundational work of such scholars as al- Kulayni (d. 941) and al-Shaykh al-Mufid (d. 1022), and in part the patronage of the Buyid court, Twelver doctrines on the occultation of the Imam and related ideas emerged. So too did Twelver ritual, notably that associated with Ghadir Khumm and mourning rites for al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali. It is also to the Buyid period that one must date the crystallization of Sunnism, this in good measure a response to the assertion of Shi‘- ism. A hardening of Sunni-Shi‘i loyalties, often played out violently over subsequent centuries, divided the city physically as well. The Seljuk period, as previously noted, was critical to Sunni history. Of particular note were the careers of Nizam al-Mulk (d. 1092), chief vizier and Seljuk regent, and Abu Hamid al- Ghazali (d. 1111), theologian, jurist, and Sufi (see Sufis and Sufism); both men associated with the Nizamiyya madrasa in Baghdad. This was among the first such institutions founded in Iraq and a significant facet in the spread of Sunni thought and practice.

Baghdad’s history as a commercial hub was no less significant. As a critical link in a complex trade network connecting the Indian Ocean, eastern Europe, the Asian steppe, and the Mediterranean, the city housed a large multiethnic and religious merchant community. Evidence for the tenth century indicates important strides in the development of banking and related areas within the city. In good part, the activity of Baghdadi merchants was driven by the needs of the court and elite society. The caliphs and, in time, Buwayhid and Seljuk interlocutors, after all, required all appropriate displays of luxury. Written sources indicate the availability of fabrics (silks, brocades, linens); jewelry of gold, silver, and gems; carpets; intricate metalwork; weaponry; fine musical instruments; and an array of exotic foodstuffs. Baghdad was also home to a busy commerce in slave trade.

The wealth of the Iraqi merchant class was tied as well to trade in manufactured goods, such as textiles and paper. Papermaking had spread into the Islamic world, from China through Central Asia, in the eighth century and rapidly became an important industry. The Suq al-Warraqin (‘‘the Stationer’s Market’’) is said to have included, at its height, more than one hundred shops. Trade in more ordinary goods flourished as well. To feed a large population, Baghdad drew on the agricultural production of the Sawad, the highly fertile lands located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, as well as regions farther afield that produced rice and sugar, among other widely consumed products. New types of fruits and vegetables, produced in the Near East from at least the early Islamic period on, also came available in the markets of Baghdad. It follows, of course, that the relationship between the large urban centers and the countryside was crucial to the ‘Abbasid economy. The ‘Abbasids, like the Umayyads before them, were fortunate in having inherited from the Sasanians a long-established and well-functioning irrigation system. High levels of agricultural production were maintained in the early ‘Abbasid period. As ‘Abbasid authority waned (by the late ninth century), however, maintenance of the agricultural infrastructure suffered as well.

Further Reading Duri, A.A. ‘‘Baghdad.’’ The Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition. Kennedy, Hugh. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson Education Ltd., 2004. Kraemer, Joel L. Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1992. Lassner, Jacob. The Topography of Baghdad in the Early Middle Ages. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1970. al-Muqaddasi. The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions. Edited and translated by Basil Collins. Reading, U.K.: Garnet Publishing, 2001. Wheatley, Paul. The Places Where Men Pray Together: Cities in Islamic Lands, Seventh through the Tenth Centuries. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2001.

Women's Contribution to Classical Islamic Civilisation: Science, Medicine and Politics

2010-04-25T21:38:00.000+08:00

Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani

***
1. Introduction
While several studies have investigated the contribution of Muslim women in various fields of the classical civilisation of Islam, such as in hadith transmission, jurisprudence (fiqh), literature, and education, until now few sources mention the role of women in the development of science, technology, and medicine in the Islamic tradition.
In scholarship, there are isolated and scattered references to the famous women who had a role in advancing science and who established charitable, educational and religious institutions. Some examples are Zubayda bint Ja'far al-Mansur who pioneered a most ambitious project of digging wells and building service stations all along the pilgrimage route from Baghdad to Mecca, Sutayta who was a mathematician and an expert witness in the courts, Dhayfa Khatun who excelled in management and statesmanship, Fatima al-Fehri who founded the Qarawiyin mosque in Fez, Morocco, which became the first university in the world, and the engineer Al-'Ijlia who made astrolabes in Aleppo.

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Figure 1: A famous signed sketch of Hypatia, included as an insert in Elbert Hubbard's pamphlet Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Teachers, vol. 23, no 4, 1908.

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Figure 2: A Turkish banknote dated 30 August 1995 to celebrate Sabiha Gökçen (1913-2001), the first female combat pilot in the world and the first Turkish aviatrix: (Source). (Source).

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Figure 4a-b: Two views of the Firdaws Mosque and Madrasa in Aleppo built by Dayfa Khatun in 1235-36 CE. (Source).

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Rufayda is depicted as a kind, empathetic nurse and a good organizer. With her clinical skills, she trained other women to be nurses and to work in the area of health care. She also worked as a social worker, helping to solve social problems associated with disease. In addition, she helped children in need and took care of orphans, handicapped and the poor [11].
5.2. Al-Shifa bint Abduallah
The companion Al-Shifa bint Abduallah al Qurashiyah al-'Adawiyah had a strong presence in early Muslim history as she was one of the wise women of that time. She was literate at a time of illiteracy. She was involved in public administration and skilled in medicine. Her real name was Laila, however "al-Shifa", which means "the healing", is partly derived from her profession as a nurse and medical practitioner. Al-Shifa used to use a preventative treatment against ant bites and the Prophet approved of her method and requested her to train other Muslim women [12].
5.3. Nusayba bint Harith al-Ansari
Nusayba bint Harith al-Ansari, also called Umm ‘Atia, took care of casualties on the battlefields and provided them with water, food and first aid. In addition, she performed circumcisions [13].
5.4. Women surgeons in 15^th-century Turkey
Between those first names of early Islamic history other women practiced medicine and nursery. Few of them were recorded. However, a serious investigation in books of history, of medicine and literature writings will certainly provide precise data about their lives and achievements.
In the 15^th century, a Turkish surgeon, Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu (1385-1468), author of the famous manual of surgery Cerrahiyyetu'l-Haniyye, did not hesitate to illustrate the details of obstetric and gynaecologic procedures or to depict women treating and performing procedures on female patients. He also worked with female surgeons, while his male colleaques in the West reported against the female healers.
Female surgeons in Anatolia, generally performed some gynaecological procedures like surgical managements of fleshy grows of the clitoris in the female genitalia, imperforated female pudenda, warts and red pustules arising in the female pudenda, perforations and eruptions of the uterus, abnormal labours, and extractions of the abnormal foetus or placenta. Interestingly in the Cerrahiyyetu'l-Haniyye, we find illustrations in the forms of miniatures indicating female surgeons. It can therefore be speculated that they reflect the early recognition (15th century) of female surgeons with paediatric neurosurgical diseases like foetal hydrocephalus and macrocephalus.
The attitudes towards women in the history of medicine reflect the general view that society held of women during the period. It is interesting that in the treatise of Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu we find an open minded view of women, including female practitioners in the complex field of surgery [14].
6. Mathematics
In the field of mathematics, names of female scholars featured in Islamic history such as Amat-Al-Wahid Sutaita Al-Mahamli from Baghdad and Lobana of Cordoba, both from the 10^th century. Systematic investigation, with the methodology of history of science, will certainly yield more information on other women scholars who practiced mathematics in Islamic history. We know of many women who practiced fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Now, calculations and arithmetic were intertwined with successoral calculations (fara'idh and mawarith), a branch of applied mathematics devoted to performing calculatations of inheritance according to the rules of Islamic law.
6.1. Sutayta Al-Mahāmali
Sutayta, who lived in the second half of the 10^th century, came from an educated family from Baghdad. Her father was the judge Abu Abdallah al-Hussein, author of several books including Kitab fi al-fiqh, Salat al-'idayn [15]. Her uncle was a Hadith scholar and her son was the judge Abu-Hussein Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Ismail al-Mahamli who was known for his judgements and his talents.

Large image

Figure 7: View into the courtyard towards the prayer hall of the Qarawiyyin mosque and university in Fez (photograph date 1990, copyright Aga Khan Visual Archive, MIT). (Source).

Sutaita was taught and guided by several scholars including her father. Other scholars who taught her were Abu Hamza b. Qasim, Omar b. Abdul-'Aziz al-Hashimi, Ismail b. Al-Abbas al-Warraq and Abdul-Alghafir b. Salamah al-Homsi. Sutayta was known for her good reputation, morality and modesty. She was praised by historians such as Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn al-Khatib Baghdadi and Ibn Kathīr [16]. She died in the year 377H/987CE.
Sutayta did not specialize in just one subject but excelled in many fields such as Arabic literature, hadith, and jurisprudence as well as mathematics. It is said that she was an expert in hisab (arithmetics) and fara'idh (successoral calculations), both being practical branches of mathematics which were well developed in her time. It is said also that she invented solutions to equations which have been cited by other mathematicians, which denote aptitude in algebra. Although these equations were few, they demonstrated that her skills in mathematics went beyond a simple aptitude to perform calculations.
6.2. Labana of Cordoba
Labana of Cordoba (Spain, ca. 10th century) was one of the few Islamic female mathematicians known by name. She was said to be well-versed in the exact sciences, and could solve the most complex geometrical and algebraic problems known in her time.
Her vast acquaintance with general literature obtained her the important employment of private secretary to the Umayyad Caliph of Islamic Spain, al-Hakam II. [17].
Footnotes
[1] See Michael A. B. Deakin, "Hypatia and Her Mathematics", The American Mathematical Monthly, March 1994, vol. 101, No. 3, pp. 234-243; L. Cameron, "Isidore of Miletus and Hypatia of Alexandria: On the Editing of Mathematical Texts", Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies vol. 31 (1990), pp. 103-127; I. Mueller, "Hypatia (370?-415)", in L. S. Grinstein and P. J. Campbell (eds.), Women of Mathematics (Westport, Conn., 1987), pp. 74-79; Bryan J. Whitfield, The Beauty of Reasoning: A Reexamination of Hypatia of Alexandra; O'Connor, John J. & Robertson, Edmund F., "Hypatia of Alexandria", from MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive; Hypatia of Alexandria: A woman before her time, The Woman Astronomer, 11 November 2007 (accessed 12.05.2008); "Hypatia of Alexandria" (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Resources on Hypatia (booklist and classroom activities).
[2] Okasha El-Daly, Egyptology: the Missing Millennium. Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings. London: UCL Press, 2005.
[3] See the biography of Aishah bint Abi Bakr (University of Southern California: USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts); Montgomery Watt, "Ā'isha Bint Abī Bakr", Encyclopedia of Islam, Brill, vol. 1, p. 307; Amira Sonbol, "Period 500-800, Women, Gender and Islamic Cultures (6th-9th Centuries)", in Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures, General Editor: Suad Joseph, 6 vols. Leiden-Boston: E. J. Brill, 6 vols., 2003. See an online preview here.
[4] Sabiha Gökçen, Atatürk'le Bir Ömür (A Life with Atatürk) (in Turkish), Istanbul: Altin Kitaplar, 2000. See also Sabiha Gokcen (1913-2001), Pioneer Aviatrix.
[5] Private communications with Qassim Al-Samarrai, Professor of Palaeography, Leiden, Holland.
[6] Oxford: Interface Publications, 2007 (hardcover and paperback).
[7] Over the last few years Dr. Nadwi has, on several occasions and in different cities, given an introductory talk on the public authority and achievements of the women scholars of hadîth. One of those talks was given in New York. Carla Power, a London-based journalist attended that occasion, and has since reflected upon Akram Nadwi's work in a magazine article published by the New York Times (25 February 2007): see A Secret History. A follow-up article, done after an interview with the author in Oxford, was published in the London Times, 14 April 2007. For another article, also after an interview with Akram Nadwi, this one in Arabic, go here. Read also a PDF file (17 pp.) of Akram Nadwi's introductory talk on the women scholars in Islam, click here.
[8] Aisha Abdurrahman Bewley, Muslim Women: A Biographical Dictionary, Ta-Ha Publishers, 2004.
[9] Ibid, introduction.
[10] Waddy Charis, Women in Muslim History, London and New York: Longman Group, 1980, p. 72.
[11] R. Jan, "Rufaida Al-Asalmiy, The first Muslim nurse", Image: The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 1996 28(3), 267-268; G. Hussein Rassool, "The Crescent and Islam: Healing, Nursing and the Spiritual Dimension. Some Considerations towards an Understanding of the Islamic Perspectives on Caring", Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2000, 32 (6), 1476-84; Omar Hasan Kasule, "Rufaidah bint Sa'ad: Historical Roots of the Nursing Profession in Islam; History of Nursing in Islam (compiled by Sarah Miller); Rufaidah bint Sa'ad Founder of the Nursing Profession in Islam.
[12] See the articles Muslim Women in History and Al-Shifaa bint Abdullah al Qurashiyah al Adawiyah.
[13] Abdel-Hamid ‘Abd Rahman Al-Sahibani, Suwar min Siyar al-Sahābiyāt, Riyadh: Dar Ibn Khazima, 1414 H, p. 211; ‘Umar Kahala, A'lam al-nisa', Damascus, 1959, vol. 5, p. 171.
[14] G. Bademci Gulsah, "First illustrations of female "Neurosurgeons" in the fifteenth century by Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu, Neurocirugía (Sociedad Española de Neurocirugía, Murcia, Spain), April 2006, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 162-165. The book was edited several times, see Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu, Kitabul Cerrahiyei Ilhaniye, Istanbul, Kenan Basimevi, 1992, and Ankara, Turk Tarih Kurumu Yayinlari, 1992.
[15] Al-Khatib Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, Cairo: Happiness Press, 1931, vol. 6, p. 370. To read this section online: click here.
[16] Abu ‘l-Faraj Abdurahman b. Ali ibn al-Jawzi, Al-muntazam fi ‘l-tarikh, Haydarabad: Da'irat al-ma'arif al-uthmaniya, 1359, vol. 14, pp. 161-202; this section is online at: click here; Haji Khalifa, Kashf al-Zunun an ‘Asami al-Kutub wa al-Funun, Istanbul: al-Ma'aref, 1941.
[17] Samuel P. Scott, The History of the Moorish Empire in Europe, Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1904, vol. 3, p.447; quoted in [FSTC], Women and learning in Islam.
*Emeritus Professor at the University of Manchester and Chairman of the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), Manchester, UK.

by: FSTC Limited, Wed 14 April, 2010

FROM ARAB EXCLUSIVISM TO ISLAMIC UNIVERSALISM: THE UMAYYAD AND ABBASID EMPIRES

2010-03-16T16:06:00.000+08:00

Ali’s passing marked the end of the first phase in the development of the Islamic community and the beginning of a new period of imperial expansion and consolidation. Mu ‘awiyah was recognized as caliph throughout the empire and became the founder of the Umayyad dynasty (661–750). He was a pragmatic ruler whose principal concerns were continued expansion of Islam, management of the state’s resources, and consolidation of his dynasty. During his caliphate, the political center of the empire was transferred from Mecca, the small caravan city of its origins, to the ancient city of Damascus, with all its Byzantine associations. Mu ‘awiyah adopted certain Byzantine administrative practices and employed former Byzantine officials and craftsmen, initiating the transformation of the Arab empire into a Byzantine successor state and surrounding the caliphate with the trappings of monarchy.

Although the conquests continued to bring material wealth to Damascus under Mu ‘awiyah’s successors, the Umayyad Empire was troubled by internal dissension. Part of the dissent was caused by the policy of Arab exclusivism adopted by the Umayyad ruling elite. They continued to equate Islam with Arab descent and to administer the empire’s fiscal and social affairs in such a way as to favor the Arabs and to discriminate against the growing number of non-Arab converts to Islam. The discontent culminated in a revolution that overthrew the Umayyad house in 750 and brought to power a new dynasty, that of the Abbasids.

The office of the caliphate remained with the Abbasids from 750 to 1258. Under the Abbasids, the heroic age of the conquests gave way to the development of administrative institutions, commercial enterprises, and a legal system. The bureaucrat, the urban merchant, and the learned judge replaced the Arab warrior as the favored element in society. The consolidation of the conquests in the geographical center of a centuries-old admixture of cultural and religious traditions resulted in a complex interaction between the existing cultures and religions of the Middle East and the dynamic infusion of energy from Arabia. The new and vibrant Islamic civilization that arose found its first, but by no means its last, expression in the period of the high caliphate (750–945) of the Abbasid Empire.

The first 150 years of the Abbasid Empire, represented by such caliphs as al- Mansur (754–775), Harun al-Rashid (786–809), and al-Ma ‘mun (813–833), were a period of relative political stability, immense economic prosperity, and increasing universalism within the central Islamic domains. These conditions, in turn, created the possibilities for the flowering of a rich and diverse civilization. The Abbasids abandoned the Arab exclusiveness that had generated so much discontent under the Umayyads. In its place, they adopted a universalist policy accepting the equality of all Muslims, regardless of their ethnic origins. This attitude, coupled with the revitalization of urban life and the expansion of commercial activity, led to a growing cosmopolitanism within the empire as converts from among the conquered peoples participated fully in the economic and political life of the state.

The universalism of the Abbasids was symbolized by yet another transfer of the imperial capital, this time from the predominantly Arab city of Damascus eastward to a newly created city, Baghdad, which the caliph al-Mansur established on the west bank of the Tigris. The change of location brought the Islamic political center into more direct contact with Iranian imperial traditions, with their emphasis on royal absolutism and bureaucratic specialization, and added yet another layer of influences to the Arab and Byzantine experiences of the Islamic state. Abbasid administration was modeled on Sasanian government and employed large numbers of converted Iranians in its increasingly elaborate bureaucratic structure. Sasanian practices also had an impact on the office of the caliphate. During the era of the Rashidun, the caliphs functioned as first among equals and lived modestly on the model established by Muhammad. This emphasis on simplicity changed under the later Umayyads, who distanced themselves from the population, took pleasure from the riches that flowed into the treasury at Damascus, and became less consultative and more authoritarian. The Abbasid rulers, with their more direct exposure to the Iranian idea of an absolute king of kings, carried the evolution of the caliphate to absolutist monarchy further than any of their predecessors. The Abbasid caliphs lived in luxurious palaces, isolated from all but their most trusted inner circle of courtiers and advisers. They came to identify themselves not simply as successors to the Prophet but as “shadows of God on earth,” and they exercised vast powers over their subjects. Thus the Abbasid solution to the problem of political authority was to centralize it and to place it in the hands of an absolute monarch who exercised the powers of both secular king and spiritual head of the Islamic ummah. For nearly two centuries following the revolution of 750, this Abbasid formula worked reasonably well and brought to the empire unprecedented prosperity, dazzling intellectual achievement, and general political stability based on the widespread acceptance of the benefits of caliphal absolutism.

But no monarch could maintain absolute control of an empire that stretched from Morocco to India. In the late eighth century, North Africa slipped away from Baghdad’s authority and became a region of autonomous Islamic states. During the ninth century, independent and often short-lived dynasties rose and fell in various parts of Iran. Yet despite the emergence of new centers of power, the Abbasid caliphs remained the dominant rulers of the Middle East until the tenth century, and the imperial court at Baghdad set a style of royal behavior that was imitated in provincial capitals and breakaway dynasties throughout the vast territories in which Islam had become established.

In the historically short span of time from the Prophet Muhammad’s death in 632 to the transfer of the imperial capital from Damascus to Baghdad in the 750s, the Islamic ummah had expanded from its Arab origins to embrace a universal world empire. The epoch of the Arab conquests constitutes a decisive period in world history, one that transformed a nomadic desert population organized along tribal lines into the ruling elite of an imperial structure concentrated in the heartlands of classical antiquity. Arabic replaced Greek, Persian, Aramaic, and other established literary traditions as the language of administration and high culture; Islam replaced, though it did not eliminate, Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and paganism as the dominant religion in the Middle East. This process of replacement raises important questions. In its interaction with the existing literary, religious, and administrative traditions of Byzantium and Iran, how could the Islam of the revelations, the Islam of the Prophet’s caravan city of Mecca, survive as a guide to administrative, economic, and social practices? How could the peoples living within the territories of the extensive Arab conquests, with their long-established traditions, be organized to obey the commands on proper human behavior that God revealed to a Meccan merchant in seventh-century Arabia? In developing answers to these questions, or simply in developing certain patterns of living and worship, Muslims affirmed their belief in the validity of Muhammad’s mission by creating a civilization centered on the revelations contained in the Quran.

THE FIRST CIVIL WAR AND THE END OF THE RASHIDUN CALI PHATE

2010-03-16T16:03:00.003+08:00

The question of the succession to the caliphate had been largely ignored in the rush of the early conquests. But when the caliph Uthman was murdered by mutinous Arab tribesmen in 656, the succession issue reemerged. It was resolved only after a civil war that left an enduring schism within the Islamic ummah. Ali was chosen to succeed the murdered Uthman. Next to the Prophet himself, Ali is the most revered of the founders of Islam: He was the Prophet’s cousin, the husband of the Prophet’s daughter Fatima, and one of the most dedicated of the early converts to Islam. Indeed, in some quarters of the ummah, the belief existed that Muhammad had intended for Ali to be his immediate successor. By the time he was finally selected as caliph, Ali represented a broad coalition of interests calling for greater equality among all Muslims, both Arab and non-Arab, and for the restoration of the leadership of the community to the house of Muhammad. But Ali’s right to the caliphate was contested by Mu ' awiyah, the powerful governor of Muslim Syria.

The forces of the two claimants to the leadership met at the battle of Siffin in 657. The results of the encounter were inconclusive, leaving both Ali and Mu ' awiyah in the same positions they had held before the fighting began. In the aftermath of the battle, a substantial portion of Ali’s forces withdrew their support, allowing Mu ' awiyah to expand his power in Syria and Egypt and preventing Ali from establishing his uncontested right to the caliphate. Though Ali set up a capital in Kufa, one of the Arab garrison cities in lower Iraq, his position continued to deteriorate, and he was murdered in 661. Ali’s caliphate was short and divisive but far from inconsequential. It came to represent the validity of the legitimist position of authority within the Islamic ummah and, as we will see in later chapters, stood as an enduring symbol of the desire of a substantial minority of Muslims to embrace a communal leader directly descended from the family of the Prophet. Indeed, attachment to the memory of Ali and his family and the tragedy associated with them was infused with such great passion and vitality that it gave rise to a permanent schism within the Islamic community.

THE ARAB CONQUESTS AND THE FIRST EMPIRE

2010-03-16T16:02:00.001+08:00

When Muhammad died in 632, it would not have contradicted historical patterns if Arabia had rejected the Prophet’s summons and taken up the old ways again. Instead, Muslim factions in Mecca and Medina resolved to continue the development of the new religious community and competed with one another to assert their control over it. Because Muhammad had no sons and because the Quran contained no clear instructions on how a successor should be chosen, the question of the leadership of the community was open to different interpretations. The early converts to Islam who had suffered with Muhammad in Mecca and participated in the hijrah to Medina preempted all other claimants by naming one of their own, Abu Bakr, as the new head of the community. The other factions accepted Abu Bakr’s leadership, but the dispute over the first succession sowed seeds of conflict that have affected Islam throughout its history.

Abu Bakr (632–634) was simply called the successor—khalif—anglicized as caliph. Eventually the term caliph came to designate the religious and political leader of the Islamic community, and the office became known as the caliphate. Abu Bakr and his three successors, Umar (634–644), Uthman (644–656), and Ali (656–661), are known in Islamic history as the Rashidun (rightly guided) caliphs in recognition of their personal closeness to the Prophet and their presumed adherence to Quranic regulations. Although two of them were assassinated and their reigns were filled with political and social turmoil, Muslims of later and even more troubled times looked back with nostalgia on the era when the four companions of the Prophet launched the movement that thrust the Arabs out of the peninsula and into world history.

The second caliph, Umar, recognized the need to direct the raiding instincts of the tribes away from intercommunal conflict and authorized attacks against the southern flanks of Byzantium and Sasanian Iran. Thus began the epoch of the Arab conquests and the building of an Islamic empire.

The speed and extent of the Arab conquests were remarkable. In 637 the Arab forces defeated the imperial Sasanian army at the battle of Qadisiyya, an encounter that was quickly followed by the capture of Ctesiphon and the beginning of the difficult Arab campaign across the Iranian plateau toward the Indian subcontinent. Success against Byzantium was equally swift. The Arabs captured Damascus in 635, and in 641 they occupied parts of the rich agricultural province of Egypt. By 670 the western campaign against Byzantine and Berber resistance had reached present-day Tunisia, and in 680 the daring Arab commander Uqba ibn Nafi led a small force from Tunisia through Algeria and Morocco to the Atlantic Ocean. The westward expansion of the Arabs culminated in the conquest of Spain in the first half of the eighth century. Within 100 years of the Prophet’s death, Arab forces had reached the Indian subcontinent in the east, and in the west they had occupied Spain and crossed the Pyrenees into France before they were finally halted by the forces of Charles Martel at the battle of Poitiers in 732. In this first wave of conquests, the Sasanian Empire was completely destroyed and its territory absorbed within an Arab-Muslim administration. Byzantium, although it suffered the loss of its core Middle Eastern and North African provinces, retained control of Anatolia and the Balkans and presented a formidable barrier to Muslim expansion until it was overcome by the Ottomans in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

Even more stunning than the speed and extent of the conquests was their durability: With the exception of Spain, which retained an Arab-Islamic presence until the fifteenth century, the areas occupied during the first century of expansion have remained Islamic, if not Arabic, to the present day. In North Africa, as in Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean—the heartlands of Hellenism and early Christianity—and in the long-settled region of Iraq, the Arabic language and the Islamic faith became dominant. Persian language and culture eventually reasserted themselves in Iran, but they were expressed in an Islamic idiom.

The conquests would not have been so swift or so durable without the existence of a combination of social, economic, and religious factors that facilitated the local population’s acceptance of the new Arab rulers. First, as we have discussed earlier, monotheistic religions were widely practiced among the peoples in the conquered territories, and the Islamic assertion of monotheism placed it within the existing religious traditions. Second, Islam manifested considerable tolerance toward non-Muslims. The Quran commanded Muslims to protect “people of the Book”—that is, Jews and Christians who possessed a revealed scripture. In practice, this toleration was extended to the Zoroastrians of Iran and the Hindus of the Indian subcontinent. Forced conversions played only a small part in the Arab conquests, and for at least two centuries the majority of the inhabitants of the Islamic empire were non- Muslims. They were known as dhimmis, a term meaning followers of the religions tolerated by law. Dhimmis were allowed the freedom to practice their religion and to manage their internal affairs through their own religious officials. However, dhimmis were not regarded as the equals of Muslims and were required to pay a special poll tax (jizyah); they were prohibited from serving in the military and from wearing certain colors, and their residences and places of worship could not be as large as those of Muslims. Although these and other restrictions constituted a form of discrimination, they represented an unusually tolerant attitude for the era and stood in marked contrast to the practices of the Byzantine Empire.

The taxes imposed by the Arab-Islamic state were less burdensome than those levied by the Byzantine and Sasanian empires. Moreover, the Arab rulers tended to leave existing administrative practices undisturbed and did not interfere with local customs. Although some of the conquered peoples adopted Islam, the Arabs did not encourage conversions during the first century of their rule. This was partly because the jizyah constituted an important source of state revenue and partly because the Arabs, at this early stage in the development of Islam, regarded it as an exclusively Arab religion.

The Development of Islamic Civilization

2010-03-16T16:00:00.002+08:00

The religion of Islam is often viewed solely in terms of its origins in the barren, sparsely settled Arabian Peninsula. To be sure, it was in the Arabian city of Mecca that Islam was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in the years AD 610 to AD 632. However, during the century following Muhammad’s death, the Arabs expanded out of the peninsula and conquered a world empire stretching from Spain to present-day Pakistan. The great capital cities of the first Arab- Islamic empires, Damascus and Baghdad, were located not in Arabia but in the long-settled lands of antiquity. To understand the development of Islam and Islamic civilization, we must recognize that the Middle East region into which Islam expanded was a rich repository of centuries of accumulated intellectual exchanges, religious experiences, and administrative practices. Islamic society built upon these existing foundations and was shaped by them. As Ira Lapidus has written, “The civilization of Islam, though born in Mecca, also had its progenitors in Palestine, Babylon, and Persepolis.”

Ancient Near Eastern civilization began to develop within the city-states that first appeared in lower Iraq around 3500 BC. These settled communities developed written alphabets, governing institutions, and elaborate religious rituals. By about 2400 BC, larger political entities began to emerge in the form of regional empires in which several cities were incorporated into a single state ruled by a dominant monarch. The growth of ever-larger regional empires acted as an integrative force by unifying greater numbers of people under common legal systems and exposing them to shared cultural and religious experiences. Over the course of centuries, improvements in agricultural and military technology, in transportation and communications, and in social and administrative organization enabled empires to dominate increasingly extensive territories. This process reached its first culmination in Egypt’s Nile Valley, where an advanced civilization took shape under the rule of the pharaohs. The monuments to gods and kings that line the banks of the Nile testify to the shared religious and dynastic traditions of the ancient Egyptians. A similar unifying effect was achieved by the Iranian-based Acheminid Empire (550 BC–331 BC), which brought all the Middle Eastern lands from Egypt to the Oxus River into a single imperial framework.

In the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC, the Middle Eastern lands lying between Iran and the Mediterranean Sea absorbed yet another layer of tradition as Greek was implanted as the language of administration and high culture. Alexandria and Antioch developed into centers of Greek learning, and Greek became the dominant language of discourse among the urban elite from Egypt to Anatolia.

The absorption of new ideas and techniques continued with the Roman conquest and the consolidation of Rome’s efficient administrative practices in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Anatolia during the first century BC. Yet although the Mediterranean lands of the Middle East were administered as provinces of the Roman Empire, their high culture remained more Hellenic than Latin. With the transfer of the imperial Roman capital to Constantinople in AD 330 and the fall of western Rome a century later, the eastern identity of the empire was solidified. That identity was represented by the Byzantine Empire, which preserved the administrative practices of Rome within the context of Hellenic civilization.

Formative Islam interacted not only with the existing material cultures outlined above but also with established religious beliefs and practices. At the time of the rise of Islam, local and regional cults, though still in existence, had largely been subsumed by the official religions of the dominant Byzantine and Sasanian empires. It was only natural that the formation of empires contributed to religious uniformity. Subject peoples were expected to abandon their local gods and goddesses and adhere to the officially sanctioned imperial religion. Thus the process of imperial consolidation led also to religious consolidation and to the emergence of monotheism, the belief in the supremacy of one god. By the time of the Arab-Islamic conquests, most of the inhabitants of the Middle East belonged to one of three monotheistic faiths.

Monotheism was first preached by the prophets of ancient Israel and is one of the most significant and enduring legacies of the Jewish faith. Although the Jews had been dispersed from Palestine by the Romans in the first and second centuries AD, Jewish communities continued to flourish in the Middle East on the eve of the rise of Islam. Other forms of monotheism were also present in the region. In the seventh century BC, the Iranian prophet Zoroaster preached a doctrine that upheld the existence of a supreme God pitted in a constant struggle against the forces of evil. Zoroastrianism was revived by the rulers of the Iranian-based Sasanian Empire (AD 234–AD 634) and was adopted as the official religion of their state.

A third monotheistic faith, Christianity, grew rapidly from Roman times onward and was proclaimed the state religion of the Byzantine Empire in the late fourth century. However, differing interpretations over the nature of Christ created divisions among the adherents of the faith and led to the growth of separate churches, each jealously guarding its version of the truth. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the main body of the church defined Christ as having two natures, divine and human. But other Christian communities, known as Monophysites, believed that Christ had only a single nature. The Monophysite doctrine was institutionalized in the Coptic church of Egypt, which had its own religious hierarchy and conducted its ritual in the native Egyptian Coptic language. The Armenian church in Anatolia also held to the Monophysite interpretation, as did certain groups in Syria. At the time of the rise of Islam, these regional Monophysite churches, with their vernacular liturgies, were under attack from the Byzantine authorities, who sought to impose the official Greek Orthodox version of Christianity on all the subjects of the empire. Islam unified the Greco-Christian territories of Byzantium and the lands of Iranian-Zoroastrianism into a single religiously based universal empire.

The encounter between the new faith of Islam and the established traditions of the Middle East led to the creation of a new civilization that was profoundly and unmistakably Islamic yet also bore evidence of the centuries of accumulated practices that had preceded it.

Al-Muqaddasi and Human Geography: An Early Contribution to Social Sciences

2010-02-23T12:07:00.000+08:00

by FSTC Research Team*

***

Note of the editor
This article was published on MuslimHeritage.com in August 2002. It is republished with revisions and new illustrations. Copyright: © FSTC Limited, 2002-2010.^[1]

***

1. Seeds of Social Sciences

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Figure 1: Panel tile representing the Masjid al-Haram (Sacred Mosque) in Mecca. Earthenware with painted decoration under transparent glaze, made in Iznikz (Turkey), 18th century. Department of Islamic Art, Louvre Museum, Paris. (Source).

Recent scholarly interest in the genesis of social sciences in Islamic culture is a noteworthy shift. Until recent times, the development of these fields was credited exclusively to the modern Western tradition, especially to the 19th century birth of human sciences, such as sociology, psychology and later on ethnology and anthropology.
But modern commentators showed that amongst items to be included under the banner of social thought must be included early contributions by the scholars of the Islamic world. Master of the discipline is, of course, Ibn Khaldun. Nothing, indeed, in the annals of history precedes the quality of his work. He shaped the whole subject, setting up foundations upon which his successors built, not just in terms of methodology and contents, but also structure and approach. Before Ibn Khaldun, however, other Muslim scholars raised matters of social interest, which Ibn Khaldun corrected, improved, and developed.
The following article will consider one of the earliest Arabic contributions in this field by Al-Muqaddasi, the 10th century Palestinian geographer who touched on various subjects that will be later integrated into the field of social sciences.
The investigation of the roots of social sciences in Islamic culture looks to the aspects of daily life that shaped the living Islam, the every day practicalities rather than the principles of the Muslim faith. It is a very rich field, with chapters on daily life, customs, social structure, institutions, politics, economics, the role of women, the cultural dimension in its connection with social structures, and the role of the individual in the Muslim community. Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) is studied in its attempt to achieve the goals of rationality, universality and equality set out in the Quran. The dynamics of Islamic society sought to reflect these ideals, with individuals trying to satisfy the religious commands by going beyond worship and ritual. Recent studies show the adaptability of Islam and its ability to take into account local traditions, which has allowed the faith to spread far afield to large parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. They also describe how, more recently, education has begun to take an increasingly important role in guiding Muslims, giving them confidence in their own values, and imbuing them with their faith.^[2]
Among the social sciences, anthropology is a recent field. It studies human beings in their living and under all aspects, physical (anatomy, physiology, pathology, evolution) and cultural (social, psychological and geographical). One of its favourite methodological tools is the comparison of cultures and societies separated by large geographical boundaries, in order to grasp the differences and distinctive traits in social organisation, cultural dimensions and beliefs, historical roots, etc.
In his history of anthropology, Marvin Harris indicates two major frameworks within which empirical anthropology has arisen: interest in comparisons of people over space and interest in longterm human processes or humans as viewed through time. Harris dates both to classical Greece and classical Rome, specifically Herodotus, often called the "father of history" who first formulated some of the persisting problems of anthropology, and the Roman historian Tacitus, who wrote many of our only surviving contemporary accounts of several ancient Celtic and Germanic peoples.^[3]
Medieval scholars may be considered forerunners of modern anthropology as well, insofar as they conducted detailed studies of the customs of peoples considered "different" from themselves in terms of geography. The Italian traveller Giovanni da Pian del Carpine (d. 1252) was one of the first Europeans to enter the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and author of the earliest important Western account of northern and central Asia that he wrote as an account of his stay among the Mongols. His report was unusual in its detailed depiction of a non-European culture.^[4]
Marco Polo's systematic observations of nature, anthropology, and geography are another example of studying human variation across space. Polo's travels took him across such a diverse human landscape and his accounts of the peoples he met as he journeyed were so detailed that they earned him fame as an early forerunner of modern anthropology.^[5]

Several Islamic scholars showed clear anthropological insights in their works. One of the first to carry out comparative ethnographic-type studies was the scientist Abu Rayhan al-Biruni in the 11th century, who wrote about the people, customs, and religions of the Indian subcontinent. Like modern anthropologists, he engaged in extensive participant observation with a given group of people, learnt their language and studied their primary texts, and presented his findings with objectivity and neutrality using cross-cultural comparisons. He wrote detailed comparative studies on the religions and cultures in the Middle East, Mediterranean and especially South Asia.^[6]Biruni's tradition of comparative cross-cultural study continued in the Muslim world through to Ibn Khaldun's work in the 14th century.^[7]

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Figure 2: View of the Palestinian market in Jerusalem. Al-Quds was the home town of Al-Muqaddasi who was born there sometime around 930-935 CE. (Source). See Muqaddasi: A Muslim Native of Jerusalem (extracted from F. E. Peters , Jerusalem, Princeton University Press, 1995) and Zakariyeh Mohammed, Maqdisi: An 11th Century Palestinian Consciousness.

The investigation of "the anthropological matter" in the texts of Islamic culture highlights the precious contribution of the Arab and Muslim scholars in its pre-modern history. Through the rehabilitation of this ancient legacy of anthropological heritage written in Arabic, a link is thus established between the past and the present. In this connection, emphasis is placed on the anthropological dimension in the corpus of Ibn Khaldun, especially in Al-Muqaddima, on the ties between Al-Jahiz and the anthropological sciences, and the place reserved for human sciences in two key books of Al-Raghib al-Isfahani, Al-Dharia'a ila makarim al-sharia'a and Kitab Tafsil al-nash'atayn wa-tahsil al-sa'adadatayn.^[8]
Abu 'l-Qasim al-Husayn b. Muhammad b. al-Mufadhdhal al-Raghib al-Isfahani was a religious and literary scholar. Information about his life is extremely scanty, but according to al-Suyuti's statement in the Bughya, he died in the early 5th H/11th CE. His works, of which at least a dozen are extant, enjoyed a considerable popularity, and they exerted a recognizable influence on Al-Ghazali and other later figures.
The best-known works of Al-Raghib are of literary scope, such as Muhadhrat al- udaba' wa-muhawarat al-shu'ara' wa 'l-bulagha' and Majma' al- balagha. Al-Raghib's predilection for subtle semantic analysis is apparent in his works on the semantics and exegesis of the Quran, the Mufradat alfaz al-Qur'an, Durrat al- ta'wil fi mutashabih al-tanzil, and his Tafsir.
The anthropological scope of Al-Raghib's work appears in his best-known ethical work Al-Dhari'a ila makarim al-shari'a (The Book of Means to the Noble Qualities of the Law), where he combined religious scholarship and philosophy.^[9] This work is structured in terms of a Platonic-Aristotelian psychology, with separate chapters on man's faculties in general, his intellect, the concupiscent and irascible faculties, justice, labour and money, and human acts. The pervasive philosophical influence is highly reminiscent of Miskawayh (died in 421/1030). Al-Raghib's general perspective is, however, considerably more Islamicised than Miskawayh's, with virtually every assertion being backed up by appropriate citations from the Quran and hadith. The work's ultimate influence was considerable, as it was Al-Ghazali's direct source for a good half of his Mizan al-'amal , as well as for significant sections of his Ihya' 'ulum al-din and Ma'arij al-Quds. Al-Raghib also wrote a companion piece to the Dhari'a, the Tafsil al-nash'atayn wa-tahsil al-sa'adatayn, which presents many of the same ideas but stresses even more explicitly the complementarity of reason and religion.
Other works of Al-Raghib al-Isfahani, in the form of brief epistles, were found recently in an Istanbul manuscript (Esad Efendi 3645). They deal with education, classification of sciences and relationships in society. Their titles are: Risala fi anna fadhilat al-insan bi 'l-'ulum, Risala fi dhikr al-wahid wa-'l-ahad, Risala fi adab mukhalatat al-nas, and Risala fi maratib al-'ulum.^[10]
2. Al-Muqaddasi: Short Biography
The full name of our scholar is Shams al-Din Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Abi Bakr al-Banna' al-Shami al-Muqaddasi. His name Al-Muqaddasi is also transliterated as Al-Maqdisi and al-Mukaddasi. He is the best representative of Arabic geography in the second half of the 4th/10th century.
The events of his life story, which are not well known, are only available to us through his main book, the famous Ahsan at-taqasim fi ma'rifat al-aqalim (The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions). He lived in the 10th century (around 930-935 and 1000 CE).^[11] Very much attached to the Palestine of his birth and to the town whose name he bears (Muqaddasi or Maqdisi, from Al-Quds or Bayt al-Maqdis, Jerusalem), he probably belonged to a middle-class family. His paternal grandfather, Abu Bakr, an architect and/or builder, has his claim to fame for having built, on the orders of Ibn Tulun, the maritime defences of Acre. His mother's family came originally from Biyar, a small town of Khurasan. The author's maternal grandfather, being himself an expert in the art of construction, emigrated to Jerusalem.^[12]
From certain events reported in his own work, it can be inferred that he lived at least until about 380 H/990 CE.^[13] A few dates only mark out his life: two pilgrimages to Mecca in 356/967 and 367 H/978 CE, a journey to Aleppo, perhaps, around the years 354-64 H/965-75 CE, a visit to Khurasan in 374 H/984 CE, and the decision to compose the work, taken in Shiraz, in 375 H/985 CE, at a time when Al-Muqaddasi tells us that he had passed the age of forty. ^[14]

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Figure 3: Photo of Mekka in 1850. Al-Muqaddasi performed two pilgrimages to the holy shrines in Mecca and Madina in 356 H/967 CE and 367 H/978 CE. (Source)

It can reasonably be supposed that he received the education that his social origins merited; the use, in his work, here and there, of rhymed prose, and even poetry, bear witness to a classical training in grammar and literature, while the arguments on a basis of the Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh)and the discussions of the various theological and juridical schools provide evidence of a marked interest in these fundamental disciplines, an interest gained certainly at an early stage in an educational process. But these displays of a culture that could be termed classical, as well as the other traces of different fields of learning, history, philology and theology, are kept in the background to the benefit of the work itself, which brings them together in a project of singular unity.^[15]
Al-Muqaddasi's intellectual life began early, around his twentieth year, when he performed the pilgrimage to Mecca. He determined then to devote himself to the study of geography. For the purpose of acquiring the necessary information, he undertook a series of journeys which lasted over a score of years, and carried him in turn through all the countries of Islam. In 985 CE that he set out to write his book Ahsan at-taqasim fi ma'arifat al-aqalim, which gives us a systematic account of all the places and regions he visited. The book was translated into several languages.^[16] A good summary of it is given by Kramers,^[17] and extracts can be found in Dunlop's classicl book.^[18]
Ahsan a-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim is the outcome of the journeys undertaken by the author over two decades, and which took him in turn through all the countries of Islam. The book came out as a detailed report and a systematic account of all the places and regions he had visited. Setting out from Jerusalem, Al-Muqaddasi visited nearly every part of the Muslim world.
The book is an epic geographical treatise and also a great work of literature, based on some twenty years of personal experiences and observations noted in his survey of the realm of Islam, from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. Early in the second half of the 19th century the German orientalist Aloys Sprenger, brought to the attention of the West, a manuscript of Al-Muqaddasi's work. Sprenger's enthusiasm over the content of the manuscript is reflected in his judgment that its author is the greatest geographer of all time; this view is shared by many scholars. A good description of Al-Muqaddasi's treatise is provided by J. H. Kramers who concludes that "there is ... no subject of interest to modern geography which is not treated by Al-Muqaddasi". ^[19] From his part, André Miquel, the French specialist of Islamic geography, calls the book as one of "total geographical science".^[20]
Le Strange comments on Al-Mukaddassi's work by saying: "His description of Palestine, and especially of Jerusalem, his native city, is one of the best parts of the work. All he wrote is the fruit of his own observation, and his descriptions of the manners and customs of the various countries, bear the stamp of a shrewd and observant mind, fortified by profound knowledge of both books and men."^[21]
3. Ahsan a-Taqasim and its Scope
In Ahsan al-taqasim, Al-Muqaddasi gives an overall view of the lands he visited, and gives the approximate distances from one frontier to the other. Al-Muqaddasi divides the Islamic world in 14 "Iqlim-s" (climes or regions) ^[22]; then, he deals with each region separately. The book is divided in two parts. The first enumerates localities and provides adequate descriptions of each, especially the main urban centres. He then proceeds, in the second part, to other subjects: population, its ethnic diversity, social groups, commerce, natural and mineral resources, archaeological monuments, currencies, markets and weights, and the political situation. This approach is in contrast to that of his predecessors, whose focus was much narrower, whilst Al-Muqaddasi wanted to encompass aspects of interest to merchants, travellers, and people of culture.^[23] Thus, departing from the usual traditional geography', Al-Muqaddasi's approach seeks to understand and explain the foundations of Islamic society and its very functioning. Out of this, excellent information may be gleaned, regarding many subjects such as water management, fiscal issues and finance, weights and measures, and city and urban developments.


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Figure 4a: Several recent editions of Al-Muqaddasi's book: Ahsan at-Taqasim fi ma'rifat al-aqalim, La meilleure répartition pour la connaissance des provinces, partial French translation by André Miquel (Damascus, 1963); Figure 4b:Un Palestinien sur la route: le monde musulman vers l'an mille by André Miquel (Paris, 2008); Figure 4c:The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions, English translation by Basil Collins (Reading, 1994).

Technically, the most important distinction of Ahsan at-taqasim is that it was the first Arabic work of geography ever to providee maps in natural colors, which is the usual practice today. The Ahsan at-Taqasim is marked by a narrative style organised like a modern ethnographic essay. In this sense, the book is a real social, urban and geographical account of the realm of Islam in the late 10th century. During his travels, the author noted his observations on the region's topography, climate, hydrology, vegetation, development, architecture, language, religion and culture. This work speaks of an interested and interesting man, seeing his world through a frame of reference derived from his deeply held religious belief, striving scrupulously to get at the truth of the matter as a true scientist.
Following a tight methodology of observation, he brought to geography actual ethnographic experiences of having been to at least most of the places he describes. In this way he is attempting to be far more scientific and systematic in his approach, hence the kinds of typologies that he offers. It is this penchant for classification that makes him such a favourite source for historians of economic history, archaeologists and other contemporary scholars in the field of Islamic studies.
In Ahsan at-Taqasim, Al-Muqaddasi shows himself to be a hardy, intelligent, versatile, resourceful and well-informed man. He designed his book to appeal to a variety of interests, and even to entertain. Yet, quite strikingly, his perspective on aspects of the geographical method touches on concerns which have received greater attention only in more recent times. For example, his ranking of settlements according to their functions is quite prescient, his use of maps in accord with modern practice, and his excursion into determinism based on toponymy is, to say the least, unusual.^[24]
4. The Originlity of Al-Muqaddasi's Approach
In modern terms, large parts of Al-Muqaddasi's work Ahsan al-taqasim would be qualified as an anthropological approach. His human geography marked by sensitivity to economic and social issues, his tight observations of habits and customs, his linkage between culture and social phenomena, lies indeed within the scope of social sciences.
He was probably the first, as he explains in the preface of his book, to have desired and conceived an original science, inspired perhaps by his predecessors, but surpassing them all to the advantage of what should certainly be called a true geography. Far removed from the "science of countries" ('ilm al-buldan) inaugurated by al-Jahiz and systematised by Ibn al-Faqih, but also from the descriptive cosmography and the purely descriptive genre of his predecessors focussing on routes and kingdoms, al-Muqaddasi belongs to the school called the "atlas of Islam", founded by al-Balkhi, continued by Al-Istakhri, and himself relayed by Ibn Hawqal, who was his contemporary.

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Figure 5: Front cover of Traveling Through Egypt: From 450 B.C. to the Twentieth Century, edited by Deborah Manley and Sahar Abdel-Hakim (The American University in Cairo Press, 2004). The book is an anthology compiled from selected records of travellers through Egypt from many countries and cultures over the centuries. We read in Al-Muqaddasi's description of Cairo (p. 43): "Al-Fustat [old Cairo] is a metropolis in every sense of the word; here are together all the departments of the governement's administration, and moreover, it is the seat of the Commander of the Faithful. It sets apart the Occident from the domain of the Arabs, is of wide extent, its inhabitants many. The region around is well cultivated. Its name is renowned, its glory increased; for truly it is the capital of Egypt".).

In this context, al-Muqaddasi stands out as a pioneer. Without doubt he draws on his heritage, the innovation introduced by Al-Balkhi and consisting of describing the world of Islam, giving it priority and even exclusivity. But it is the systematisation of the subject matter and method which makes al-Muqaddasi the finest representative of the human geography of Islam in the 4th/10th century. Adopting a systematic approach in ordering and content, he created a useful science, notably for merchants and the cultivated man. This last point is particularly important; by invoking authorities, one should say challenging them, by injecting, when necessary, a noble tone aided by rhymed prose and poetry, the new discipline was to be given its letters-patent of nobility in the field of literature as well as in that of strict learning. As for ambition in content, the programme that the author assigns, from as early as the preface to the science that he intends to found, it covers all the fields that it is agreed upon to call geography today: physical, economic, political and human.^[25]
That study is devoted to the world of Islam, and to it alone, apart from some very rare excursions into foreign lands and recollections of the universal cosmography outlined in the introduction to the work. This world, which is made up of two parts, mamlakat al-'Arab (the kingdom of the Arabs)and mamlakat al-'Ajam (kingdom of the Persians), Al-Muqaddasi joins together in a unique concept, that of mamlakat al-Islam: the Domain of Islam. Within this whole, as soon as unity has been reconstituted and established in principle, there reappears the distinction between Arabs and non-Arabs. On the one hand, six Arab provinces, namely the Maghrib, Egypt, Arabia, Sham, Iraq and Aqur (Jazira, Upper Mesopotamia); on the other, eight non-Arab provinces: Rihab (Armenia-Arran-Asharbayjan), Daylam, Jibal, Khuzistan, Fars, Kirman, Sind and the Mashriq, the latter term covering all the lands coming, more or less directly, under the authority of the Samanids, that is Sijistan, Afghanistan, Khurasan and Transoxiana (ma wara' al-nahr). In order to assert the unity of the whole, beyond this major division into two blocs, a rigorous parallelism allocates to each of them a sea (Mediterranean and "Sea of the East" assigned respectively to the kingdom of the Arabs and to the kingdom of non-Arabs); a desert (Badiyat al-Arab and Mafazat Khurasan); and two double provinces with two capitals: Andalus (with Cordova as capital), and the Maghrib (with Kairouan as capital), a land to the south andto the north of the Oxus for the Mashriq, with two respective capitals, Nisabur and Samarkand. Another way of asserting the unity is the conception of the heart of Islam, Arabia, being also itself a province with two capitals, Mecca and Zabid.
The definition of the province is no less remarkable: the iqlim is seen as a geographic whole, strongly individualised through its physical characteristics and ready, in consequence of this very situation, at a given moment in history, to transform this individuality into a more or less asserted autonomy. At the head of the province is the misr, metropolis, ruling several surrounding districts (kura), themselves containing main towns (madina ) around a qasaba (or fort). Thus in the most minute detail, he concludes this ordered presentation of the mamlakat al-Islam, a new geography to which Al-Muqaddasi also wanted to give a new name, Ahsan al-taqasim fi ma'rifat al-aqalim, "the best division for the knowledge of the provinces."
This science required a specialised vocabulary. Apart from the words cited, the author uses the distinguishing words nahiya and rustaq. The Rustaq is too small to constitute a district, but the nahiya, benefiting from a separate status within a fixed kura, occupies a situation of the same order, but in relation, especially, to the iqlim, taking account of its superior status as against the rustaq. Other specific terms touch on current vocabulary, of which certain specialised words relate for example to the scale of values for products. Finally, others appear in the form of tables or are designed, according to the different countries visited, as the terms of crafts, water transport, tools, weights and measures, and money.
The global presentation is clothed in the same rigour. The description of each province, after a general presentation which aims at a more elevated tone, opens into the division of the kura s and their towns followed by the description of them. After this, a general chapter of the province presents, in an order which may be varied and not always complete, the following information: climate, products and specialities, waters, mines, mountains, holy places, money, taxes, weights and measures, customs, marvels, calendar, political power, factions, schools and Quranic readings, marvels and -always present and ending the list- routes.
The work is also of value as a whole, due less perhaps to its gross data as than to its plan. The project, in the very size of its scale, is ultimately more of a dream than a reality. The superb construction of the mamlakat al-Islam was already condemned by history -the following centuries would see the political reality, the concept and even the expression disappear. Although with others he continues the eulogy of Baghdad, presented as the living and unifying symbol of this world, Al-Muqaddasi cannot fail to stress its decline, as against the two powers which were challenging it, Cordova and especially Fatimid Egypt, which he acknowledges is quite ready to take over from its rival. The work itself bears witness to these tensions, even in its composition: the two manuscripts of Berlin and Constantinople differ not only in variations of date, content and title^[26], but also in the references made to the two powers of the Muslim East at the end of the 4th/10th century, the Fatimids and Samanids.^[27]
5. Water as a Social Indicator On water management and hydraulic technology, much can be learnt from Al-Muqaddasi's treatise. In Egypt, it is the description of the Nilometer, which attracts attention most. Al-Muqaddasi wrote:^[28]
"It is a pond in the middle of which is a tall column whereon are the marks in cubits and fingers; in charge of it is a superintendent, and around it are doors that fit together tightly. A report is presented to the ruler every day of the amount the water has risen, whereupon the herald proclaims, `God hath augmented today the blessed Nile by so much; its increase last year on this day was so much; and may God bring it to completeness!" The rise is not proclaimed until after it has reached twelve cubits, it is announced to the ruler only, for at twelve cubits the water does not extend to the cultivated villages of the countryside. However, when the height of the water reached fourteen cubits, the lower portion of the region is watered; but if it reaches sixteen cubits, there is general rejoicing, for there will be a good year."

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Figure 6: The Cisterns of Tawila located on Tawila river to the southwest of Aden in Yemen. The site consists of a series of tanks of varying shape and capacity, connected to one another. Originally there were about 53 tanks, but only 13 remain. The tanks were mentioned in the works of some Arab geographers such as Al-Hamadani in the 10th century and Al-Muqaddasi. (Source).

In Biyar, in the Al-Daylam region, he notes the scarcity of water, pointing out that water is distributed by a water clock, whilst the millstones are below ground, and the water flowing down. This being the desert, he observes, there is no other choice.^[29] In Ahwaz, in Khuzistan, he notes:^[30]
"On the stream are a number of wheels which the water turns, and they are of a kind called na`ura. Here also the water flows in raised canals to reservoirs in the town. Some channels flow to the gardens. The main stream flows from beyond the island about shouting distance to a reservoir, remarkably built from the rock, and here it forms a pool... On the reservoir are gates which are opened when the water rises... At the lower portion at a place called Karshanan, whence the boats sail to Al-Basra. There are some remarkable mills on the river."
Still on water, but on a more anecdotal note, Al-Muqaddasi makes the following observation:^[31]
"Should you want to assess the water of a place, visit their clothmakers and druggists, and scrutinize their faces. If you see water in them, you may know that the excellence of the water is in proportion to the freshness of countenance; if they appear to you like the faces of the dead, and you see their heads are drooping, make a hasty retreat from there!"
6. Fiscal Issues and Finance
Currency, its uses, and its users, as well as its fluctuations, constitutes a major aspect of interest for Al-Muqaddasi. Dinar and Dirham, their multiples and sub-multiples, as well as each region‘s local currencies, are dealt with in their most intricate functions. Thus, for the Maghrib region, Al-Muqaddasi states:^[32]
"The coinage: in all the provinces of this region, as far as the boundaries of the province of Damascus, the standard is the dinar, which is lighter than the mithqal by a habba, that is to say a grain of barley. The coin bears an inscription in the round."

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Figure 7: View of Aleppo in northern Syria, the second largest Syrian city. Al-Muqaddasi visited Aleppo, perhaps around the years 354-64 H/965-75 CE. (Source).

There is also the small rub' (quarter of a dinar); these two coins pass current by number, [rather than the weight]. The dirham also is short in legal weight. A half dirham is called a qirat; there is also the quarter, the eighth part, and the sixteenth part which is called a kharnuba. All of these circulate by number [rather than by weight], but their use thus does not bring any reduction in price. The sanjat (counterpoise weight) used are made of glass, and are stamped just as described about the ratls (pound).
The ratl of the city of Tunis is twelve uqiya (ounce), this latter being twelve dirhams (weight).'
Conversion from one currency to the other also receive attention from the author, as well as their release, control, regulations, and much else. The wealth of those involved in currency dealing is also included.
Prices and their fluctuations, varying in relation to the size and wealth of every market place, are considered. Cairo, Al-Muqaddasi notes, has such low prices as to surprise him greatly.
Being a trader himself, Al-Muqaddasi could hardly ignore taxes, on occasions, finding them light and bearable in some places, and perverse and disastrous in others. Thus, in parts of the Arab peninsula, we can observe that:^[33]

"At Aden, merchandise is appraised in terms of Zakawi dinars, then one tenth of the value is exacted in Athari dinars. It is estimated that one third of the wealth of the merchants reaches the treasury of the ruler, for here the inspection is strict. The levies at places on the coast are light, except at Ghalafiqa. Tolls are levied by land: on the caravans going between Jueddah and Makka, at Al-Qarin, and Batn marrat, each place half of a dinar… The ruler of Sa'da does not levy a tax on anybody, except that he takes the quarter of the tithe from the merchants.
"In Oman a dirham is levied on every date palm tree. I have found in the work of Ibn Khurradadhbih that the revenue of Al-Yaman is six hundred thousand Dinars; I do not know what he means by this, because I did not see it in Kitab al-kharaj (the book of tribute). In fact, rather, it is well known that the Peninsula of the Arabs is on a tithing system. The province of Yemen formerly was divided into three departments, a governor over Al-Janad and its districts, another over San'a and its districts, and a third over Hadhramawt and its districts. Qudama bin Ja'afar Al-Katib has noted that the revenue of Al-Haramayn [the two sacred cities] is one hundred thousand dinars, of Yeman six hundred thousand dinars, of Yemem and Al-Bayrayn five hundred thousand dinars, and of Oman three hundred thousand dinars."
For weights and measures, Al-Muqaddasi shows the same attention to specific detail. For each province, he names, measures, compares and explains fluctuations and variations of each measure and weight referred to. He would also dwell on the history of each; and so minute it becomes in all the detail, that it ends like the finance page of a broadsheet newspaper, with values, stocks and shares exhibited in all their minute variations, so tedious for the general reader, so fascinating to the expert.^[34]
7. City and Urban Developments
The Islamic urban setting, its evolution, diversity, complexity, economy and politics is what attracts most of the attention of Al-Muqaddasi. It re-occurs in each chapter, for every region and place he visits. A. Miquel offers an excellent summary of Al-Muqaddasi's interest in the subject.^[35]

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Figure 8: Picture of the harbour in Adan, Yemen, taken on board a ship, in ca.1901-10. Al-Muqaddasi visited Yemen and Aden during his journeys in the Arabian peninsula. (Source).

Al-Muqaddasi differentiates between town and city by the presence of the great mosque, and its minbar (pulpit where the imam (leader of prayer) stands to deliver sermons), symbols of Islamic authority. In connection with this, he states:^[36]
"Now, if someone should say 'why have you considered Halab the capital of the district, while there is a town bearing the same name?', I reply to him: I have already stated that the capitals are compared with generals and towns with troops. Hence it should not be right that we assign to Halab, with all its eminence, and its being the seat of government and the location of the government offices, or to Antakiya with all its excellence, or to Balis, with its teeming population, the position of towns subordinate to a small and ruined city."
Al-Muqaddasi probes most particularly on the defensive structures of every city. Walls, their height, thickness, distances between each, fortifications, access in and out, their location according to the general topography, and in relation to the rest, artificial obstacles, in particular, draw his attention. So do daily concerns such as trade and exchanges, markets and the urban economy as a whole. Al-Muqaddasi studies markets, their expansion and decline, providing also a bill of health for each, the revenues derived from them, both daily and monthly, and how such revenues are distributed.^[37]
He also studies carefully how a place is run, and its citizens act, dwelling most particularly on such factors as order, cleanliness, morality and the state of learning, all of which he considers for each and every place visited.
Considering the links between topography and urban expansion, he notes that in places such as Arabia, it is the sea alone that explains the presence of towns and people, opening up frontiers beyond the sea itself for trade and exchange.^[38] Thus on Aden, in Yemen, he notes:^[39]
"It is the corridor of Al-Sin, the seaport of Al-Yaman, the granary of Al-Maghrib, and entreport of kinds of merchandise. There are many mansions in it. It is a source of good fortune to those who visit it, a source of prosperity to those who settle in it... The Prophet-God's peace and blessings be upon him, gave his blessing to the markets of Mina and Adan."
The impact of space and climate on physical features are well observed too, the author noticing that colder places, such as Ferghana and Khwarizm, thicken beards and increase amounts of body fat. However some local customs form a major part of his interest, one from Pre-Islamic and newly Islamised Egypt of very great interest, and which Al-Muqaddasi narrates:^[40]
"It seems that when Egypt was conquered, its people came to Amr Ibn Al-'Asi during the beginning of the month of Bawna and they said: 'Oh Prince, regarding this Nile of ours, there is a practice embodied in tradition without which it will not flow. On the twelfth night of this month, we select a virgin girl who is the firstborn to her parents, and we recompense them both. We dress her in jewellery and raiment the best there are, then we cast her into the river.' Said Amr to them: 'This will not come to pass, ever, because Islam supersedes what was there before it.' So they waited that month, and the next month, and the following month, but the Nile flowed with not a little and not a lot. As a result the people were on the point of emigrating, on seeing which, Amr wrote to Umar bin Al-Khattab on the matter. He replied: 'you acted correctly in what you did, for Islam supersedes whatever preceded it,' and he sent a slip of paper within his letter, saying to Amr 'I have sent you a slip of paper which you should throw into the Nile.' When the letter arrived, Amr opened it and perceived what was on the slip of paper: 'From the servant of God, Umar, Commander of the Faithful, to the Nile of Egypt, now then! If you flow by your own power alone, then flow not! If, however, it be the One God, the Conqueror, that causes you to flow, then we ask Him -exalted be He- to make you flow.' Amr threw the paper into the Nile before the festival of the Cross, for the people had been preparing to emigrate. But when they arose on the morning of the Festival of the Cross, God had caused the river to flow so that it reached a height of sixteen cubits. God had thus prohibited that evil custom among them to this day."
Diets, clothing, dialects, discrepancies of all sorts, form other elements of study for the many ethnic groups of the vast Muslim land. A diversity in union, which Miquel notes in his conclusive words, was to be completely shattered by the Mongol invasion.^[41]

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Figure 9: The Quran Gate in Shiraz, a part of the great city wall built under the Buwayhids in the 11th century. Shiraz is the sixth most populous city in Iran and is the capital of Fars Province. Al-Muqaddasi took the decision to compose his work Ahsan al-taqasim in 375 H/985 CE while in Shiraz, at a time when he tells us that he had passed the age of forty. (Source).

8. Bibliography
Ahmad, S.M., "Al-Maqdisi", in Dictionary of Scientific Biography. New York: Charles Scribner‘s Sons, vol 9. 1970-1980, vol. 9, p. 88.
Al-Muqaddasi, Descriptio imperii moslemici. Edited by M. J. Goeje. Leyden: Brill, 1877. Reprint Brill, 1967. Reprint, Frankfurt: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science, 1992.
Al-Muqaddasi, Palestine under the Moslems. A description of Syria and the Holy Land, from A.D. 650 to 1500. Translated from the works of The Mediaeval Arab Geographers by Guy Le Strange. Published for the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. London: Alexander P. Watt, 1890.
Muqaddasi, Ahsan al-taqasim fi ma'rifat al-aqalim = Descriptio Imperii Moslemici, edited by Michaël Jan de Goeje. Leiden: Brill, 1906, "Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum, 3", 2nd edition.
Al-Muqaddasi, Description de l'Occident musulman au IVe=Xe Siècle by Al-Muqaddasi (Chams Ad-Din Abu Abd Allah). Texte arabe et traduction française en regard avec une introduction, des notes et index par Charles Pellat. Alger, Carbonel, 1950
Al-Muqaddasi, Ahsan at-taqasim fi ma'rifat al-aqalim: La Meilleure Répartition pour la Connaissance des Provinces. Traduction française partielle, annotée par André Miquel.Damas: Institut Français de Damas, 1963.
Al-Muqaddasi, Ahsanu-t-taqasim fi ma'rifat al-aqalim. Frankfurt: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science, 1989.
Al-Muqaddasi, The Best Divisions for the Knowledge of the Regions. Ahsan al-Taqasim Fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim. Translated into English by Basil Anthony Collins. (Great Books of Islamic Civilization). Reading: Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, Garnet Publishing, 1994; paperback 2000.
Ashtor, Eliyahu, "Levantine Weights and Standard Parcels: A contribution to the Metrology of the later Middle Ages", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 45, 1982, pp. 471-88.
Collins, Basil Anthony, Al-Muqaddasi: The Man and His Work. With Selected Passages Translated from the Arabic. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Department of Geography, 1974.
Dunlop, D. M., Arab civilisation to AD 1500. London: Longman, 1971.
FSTC, Al-Muqaddasi: The Geographer from Palestine (published 9 January 2009).
Ibn Khaldun, "Muqqadima: On the cause which increases or reduces the revenues of empire", in Bulletin d'Etudes Arabes, vol. 7, pp. 11-15 [extracted from De Slane's edition, vol. 2, pp. 91-94].
Kramers, Johannes Hendrik, Analecta Orientalia: Posthumous Writings and Selected Minor Works. Leiden, 1954-1956, 2 vols., "La Littérature classique géographique musulmans, vol. 1 (1954), pp. 182-183.
Miquel, André, "Les Portes D'Alep chez Al-Muqaddasi". Arabica (Brill), vol. 7, N° 1, 1960, pp. 60-71.
Miquel, A., La géographie humaine du monde musulman, jusqu'au milieu du XIe siècle. Paris-The Hague, 1967-88, 4 vols.
Miquel, A. and Digard, J.-P., "Géographie et ethnographie: le cas d'al-Muqaddasî (IV-Xè siècles)", in Le cuisinier et le philosophe. Hommage à Maxime Rodinson. Etudes d'ethnographie historique du Proche-Orient., Paris: P. Maisonneuve et Larose, 1982.
[Wikipedia], Al-Muqaddai (retrieved 28.01.2010).
Zakariyeh, Mohammed: Maqdisi: An 11th Century Palestinian Consciousness, Double Issue 22 & 23, 2005, Jerusalem Quarterly (Journal dedicated to the history and life of the city of Jerusalem (formerly the Jerusalem Quarterly File), published by the Institute of Jerusalem Studies (IJS), an affiliate of the Institute for Palestine Studies), pp. 86-92. Arabic version: Al-Jughrafi al-Maqdisi wa-nass al-hawiya al-filistiniya, Hawliyat al-Quds, n° 3, Spring 2005.
9. Notes [1.] The original article was produced by Salah Zaimeche, Salim Al-Hassani and Ahmed Salem. The members of the new FSTC Research Team have re-edited and revised this new version. The team now comprises of Mohammed Abattouy, Salim Al-Hassani, Mohammed El-Gomati, Salim Ayduz, Savas Konur, Cem Nizamoglu, Anne-Maria Brennan, Maurice Coles, Ian Fenn, Amar Nazir and Margaret Morris.
[2.] See for a fresh look at these issues The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, vol. 2: The Individual and Society in Islam, edited by Abdelwahab Bouhdiba and Ma ‘ruf al-Dawalibi, Paris, UNESCO, 1998 (French version 1998; Arabic version 2000). See also International Symposium on Anthropology in Islamic Culture: report on a congress organised in Kairouan in 9-11 April 2009 as apart of the festivities marking the celebration of the "Kairouan Capital of Islamic Culture".
[3.] Marvin Harris, The Rise of Anthropological Theory, Alta Mira Press, 2000 (revised from 1968 edition), pp. 8-52; Murray Leaf, Man, Mind and Science: A History of Anthropology, Columbia University Press, 1979, pp. 1-13; Paul A. Erickson and Liam D. Murphy, A History of Anthropological Theory, Broadview Press, 2003, pp. 21-25.
[4.] See The long and wonderful voyage of Frier Iohn de Plano Carpini: Reworking of Carpini's account by Richard Hakluyt in Latin and English (electronic edition published by eBooks@Adelaide; last updated 15 January 2010); and Timothy Mason, Resources for a History of Anthropology (retrieved 1.02.2010).
[5.] See John Hubbard Marco Polo's Asia, December 1994 (retrieved 1.02.2010) and John Howland Rowe, The Renaissance Foundations of Anthropology, American Anthropologist, vol. 67 (1), 1965, pp. 1-20 (retrieved 1.02.2010).
[6.] Akbar S. Ahmed, "Al-Beruni: The First Anthropologist", RAIN (published by the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland), No. 60 (Feb., 1984), pp. 9-10. See also J. T. Walbridge, "Explaining Away the Greek Gods in Islam", Journal of the History of Ideas vol. 59 (3), 1998, pp. 389-403; and Richard Tapper, "'Islamic Anthropology' and the 'Anthropology of Islam'", Anthropological Quarterly vol. 68 (3), 1995, pp. 185-193.
[7.] A. S. Ahmed, "Al-Beruni: The First Anthropologist", op. cit.
[8.] See Yasien Mohamed, "The Ethical Philosophy of Al-Raghib Al-Isfahani.- Journal of Islamic Studies (Oxford), vol. 6, 1995, pp. 51-75; Yasein Mohamed The Path to Virtue: The Ethical Philosophy of al-Raghib al-Isfahani, Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 2006 (reviewed by Rashid Begg in Journal for Islamic Studies, vol. 29, 2009, pp. 145-47).
[9.] Al-Raghib al-Isfahani, Al-Dhari'a ila makarim al-shari'a,edited by Abu Yazid al-Ajami, Cairo, 1985; paperback Cairo: Dar al-Salam, 2007.
[10.] E.K. Rowson, "Al-Raghib al-Isfahani", Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill Online, 2010 (print version: vol. 8, p. 389). See also W. Madelung, "Ar-Ragib al-Isfahani und die Ethik al-Ghazalis", in Islamwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen Fritz Meier zum 60sten Geburtstag, edited by R. Gramlich, Wiesbaden, 1974, pp. 152-63; Salah al-Din Abd Latif al-Nahi, Al-khwalid min ara' al-Raghibal-Isfahani fi falsafat al-akhlaq wa 'l-tashri' wa 'l-tasawwuf, Amman, 1987; Umar Abd al-Rahman al-Sarisi, Al-Raghibal-Isfahani wa-juhuduhu fi 'l-lugha wa 'l-adab, Amman, 1987.
[11.] Al-Muqaddasi, Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat il-Aqalim: La meilleure répartition pour la connaissance des provinces. Traduction française partielle, annotée par André Miquel, Damascus: Publications de l'Institut français de Damas, 1963, pp. XVI-XVII.
[12.]Ibid, pp. 46, 163, 188, 357, 367
[13.] Ibid, pp. XVI-XVII.
[14.] Ibid, pp. 8-9.
[15.] A. Miquel, "Al- Mukaddasi", Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill Online 2010; print version: vol. 7, p. 492.
[16.] Al-Muqaddasi, Ahsan at-taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim, in Bibliotheca geographorum arabicum, edited by M.J. de Goeje, Leiden, 1906, vol. 3, 2nd edition; a partial French translation is by André Miquel (Damascus, 1963; op. cit). A recent full translation into English was done by Basil Anthony Collins (Reading, Garnet Publishing, 1994; paperback 2000). See bibliography below for other publications of the book.
[17.] Johannes Hendrik Kramers, Analecta Orientalia: Posthumous Writings and Selected Minor Works. Leiden, 1954-1956, 2 vols., "La Littérature classique géographique des musulmans", vol. 1 (1954), pp. 182-183.
[18.] D.M. Dunlop, Arab civilisation to AD 1500, Longman, 1971, pp. 116-117.
by: FSTC Research Team, Mon 21 September, 2009

Spain's Islamic Legacy

2010-01-29T21:55:00.001+08:00

This short article is taken from the full article which is available here as a PDF file

Dr. Ghazanfar is a long-time resident of the U.S.A, born in pre-partitioned India, migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and moved to the USA as a student in 1958; having served as Professor and Chair, Department of Economics, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83843 (USA), he is presently professor-emeritus (retired, 2002.)
For a Muslim who has some familiarity with Islamic history in the Iberian Peninsula, a visit to this country is almost like a pilgrimage. However, unlike the pilgrimage to Makka, such a visit can be spiritually and emotionally agonizing, for one is overwhelmed by manifestations of European Islam in Spain (Al-Andalus, as it was then known). That was the era of the Golden Age of our civilisation extending from early eighth to late fifteenth century, coincidental with Dark Ages in the rest of Europe, when Al-Andalus was the centre of global civilisation. Its capital Cordoba was Europe's largest city--the city of books, of patrons of great literary men, scholars and explorers. There existed no separation between science, wisdom, and faith; nor was East separated from the West, nor the Muslim from the Jew or the Christian. It was here that the European Renaissance began and flourished beyond.

For decades I had longed to visit Spain, not only for its legendary charm and picturesque beauty but, more importantly, to witness the heritage of almost eight hundred years of Islamic presence. In December 1998, I travelled to Spain as a participant in a colloquium, sponsored by the Paris-based International Society for the Study of Arab and Islamic History and Science (in conjunction with Spanish universities). The conference theme pertained to the contributions of Cordoba's most distinguished intellectual, Ibn Rushd (1126-1198; known as Averroes in the West) in commemoration of the eight hundredth anniversary of his death.
The trip also provided me with an opportunity to experience Spain's Islamic heritage. Such heritage, indeed, has reminders in every nook and cranny of contemporary Spain, especially in the province of Andalucia. That is where the two most prominent cities of Islam's legacy are located: Granada (Arabic Gharnata) and Cordoba (Arabic Qurtaba); both are listed as United Nations' cities of "Heritage of Humanity". Conveniently these cities are well-maintained by Spanish Government mainly for their huge significance for tourism, notwithstanding the many threats made by Catholic fanaticism to destroy this prestige. Soon after landing in Madrid (Arabic Majrit, a kind of a breeze), I took a night train to Granada, arriving there the next morning.

While such impressive monuments of Islamic history, that one encounters in Spain, represent a tangible legacy of this great civilisation, there are many others that are less tangible for being parts of daily lives which are often taken for granted. Perhaps the most telling example of continuing Islamic influence is the survival of myriad Arabic words and phrases in the Spanish language, such as almirante (al-amir), almohade (al-mohtasub), arroz (al-ruz), guitarra (al-quitara), aceituna (al-zaytuna), and many others. Further, famous words such as "Ole'! Ole'!" during the Flamenco dances and Spanish bullfights, are the unwitting reference to "Allah! Allah!", while the Spanish/ Portuguese word "Oj'ala'" (God willing) is uttering the distorted version of Arabic "Insha-Allah.". This is to list a few as there is so much more, including many customs and traditions that are dated from the Islamic past, despite the many attempts of the Inquisition to eradicate them.

by: FSTC Limited, Mon 15 March, 2004

The Machines of Al-Jazari and Taqi Al-Din

2009-10-06T15:19:00.001+08:00

by Prof. Salim T S Al-Hassani*

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Muslim Contributions to Engineering
3. Al-Jazari: A Biographical Sketch
4. Taqi Al-Din: Short Biography
5. The Working Principles of the Machines
5.1 The Reciprocating Pump of Al-Jazari
5.2 The Six Cylinder Pump of Taqi Al-Din
5.3 The Third Water Raising Machine of Al-Jazari
5.4 The Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari
6. Mathematical Analysis
7. Animations and 3D Graphics
8. Notes and References

***

Note of the editor
This article is based on a paper presented by Professor Salim Al-Hassani at the 22nd Annual Conference on the History of Arabic Sciences held at Aleppo University, Aleppo, on 23-25 October 2001. It summarises the results of his investigations on the machines of Al-Jazari and Taqi Al-Din, sponsored by the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC, Manchester) and carried out at the University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST –now The University of Manchester) as Final Year student projects for the award of B. Eng Hons. Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

***

1. Introduction

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Figure 1: The Elephant Clock: Leaf from a manuscript of Al-Jazari's Kitab fi macrifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya (The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices) dated 715 H/1315 CE. (Source)

The investigations recently conducted by the author of this article explore the origin and operation of some complex machines invented by two genius scientists, engineer and inventors, Al-Jazari and Taqi al-Din, in the Islamic east, between the late 12th century and late 16th century. These machines are water raising machines and water clocks. The investigation was an in-depth research and discussion, aiming at the reconstruction of these devices and the description of their operation, besides a detailed account of their components. Geometrical and mechanical details were obtained from the original Arabic manuscripts and from English translations. Mathematical descriptions of the working (kinetic, motion and energy characteristics) were coded in MATHCAD to predict the various positions of the parts and the motion of the water. The mathematical analysis confirmed the viability and efficiency of the original design as described by Al-Jazari and Taqi Al-Din.

The original dimensions of the components were used to produce modern engineering drawings and these were used to produce images in 3D Studio Max software for each object. After assembling the objects, a full three dimensional image is produced of the machine.
The images can be rotated to produce the effects of fly over and fly around the machines. By incrementally adjusting the position, according to the machine kinematics of each component, a sequence of images was obtained to produce the effect of 3D animated motion. A CD with full interactive instructions to assist in understanding and investigating the mechanisms of the machines has been produced. For the first time, this project succeeded in combining state-of-the-art engineering and information technology to bring these machines to life.
2. Muslim Contributions to Engineering
Studies made during the past fifty years demonstrate that the scientists and engineers of the classical age of Islamic civilisation made substantial contributions to developments in engineering and that some of their accomplishments were passed on to the Europeans through Spain and Italy and the Crusades. Many of the achievements made in engineering and technology in the Islamic world in earlier centuries are not well known. Two main reasons for this were suggested by Ludlow and Bahrani^[1]:
1. During that period, several engineers and technologists were practical rather than literary people. They carried out their work competently but did not write down or publish their discoveries and achievements. Their skills and knowledge were passed on from master to pupil without being recorded. The extent of their ability and skill can now be judged from the few articles and instruments they made which still survive in some museums.
2. In the few cases where the engineers and technologists did write down an account of their work and observations, some of their manuscripts have been mislaid or destroyed, while a few others are still extant and have been studied by historians of science and technology during the last decades.
During the past fifty years there has been a revival of interest in the history of technology during the early Islamic period. A few Arabic manuscripts dealing with mechanical engineering have been found and some of these were translated into European languages. Among the most important of these manuscripts are:
a. Kitab al-hiyal (Book of Ingenious Mechanical Devices) by Banu Musa, the three sons of Musa Ibn Shakir. This manuscript, which was written in Baghdad about 830 CE, describes approximately one hundred pieces of technical equipment. The book has been edited by A. Y. Al-Hassan (1981) and translated into English by Donald R. Hill (1979).
b. Kitab fi ma'rifat al-hiyal al-handasiya (The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices) by al-Jazari written in Diyar Bakr (Turkey) about 1206 CE. This book, which has recently been translated into English by Donald R Hill^[2] contains descriptions and illustrations of clocks, fountains and perpetual flutes, machines for raising water and other miscellaneous devices.
c. Al-Turuq al-saniya fi al-alat al-ruhaniya (Sublime Methods in Spiritual Machines) by Taqi Al-Din ibn Ma'ruf, written in Damascus about 1551 CE. This manuscript, which has not yet been translated into English, contains descriptions and illustrations of clocks, weight lifting equipment, pumps and various other machines.
The contributions of engineering in the Islamic world are evidently many; yet the materials or treatises available to researchers are very limited, and much more effort is needed to study this field. Useful contributions have been made by Eilhard Wiedemann, Fritz Hauser, Ahmed Y. Al-Hassan and Donald R. Hill. The latter is the most important contributor to this project and most of his works focus on Al-Jazari's Kitab fi ma'rifat al-hiyal al-handasiyyah (The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices).
Quoting Dr Hill: "As far as I am aware, there has been no archaeological study of medieval Islamic technology, nor any detailed technical examination of those machines, which still exist, such as the Noria at Hamah, Syria."
Medieval Islamic technology can be divided into two categories, namely "fine technology" and "utilitarian technology". The term "fine technology" refers to machines or instruments that were designed to cause wonder and aesthetic pleasure to courtly circles, or for timekeeping, or for the use of scientists (mainly astronomers). The source of information on fine technology can be found in a few technical treatises, such as Al-Jazari's The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.
The term "utilitarian technology" refers to machines that were essential to the economic prosperity of society but were very much simpler technically than the construction of fine technology. The source of information on utilitarian technology comes largely from archaeology finds, examination of existing machines and references in the works of geographers, travellers and other non-technical writers. Machines of this category include mills, water-raising devices and textile machinery^[3].
It is interesting to note that Al-Jazari's third water-raising device incorporates both categories of technology, as the machine is designed to be a beautiful ornamental artefact with splendid craftsmanship which raises water at the same time.
3. Al-Jazari: A Biographical Sketch

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Figure 2:The reciprocating pump from Al-Jazari's manuscript. Topkapi Palace Museum Library, Ahmet III 3472

Al-Jazari was in the service of Nasir al-Din, the Artuqid King of Diyar Bakr, and he spent twenty-five years with this ruling family in Southern Turkey, having served the father and brother of Nasir al-Din. The Artuqids were a Turcoman dynasty who maintained a precarious autonomy during the 12th century in Mesopotamia^[4]. He received patronage from the Artuqid Kings and financial means were provided through salary and pension. Therefore, he was able to devote all his time to study, research, writing and inventions^[5].

Al-Jazari was quite evidently a master craftsman himself and regarded himself as one person in a succession of craftsmen and engineers^[6]. He states this by describing in scrupulous detail how each device was constructed, and much of the language that he used, which involved terms common amongst the craftsmen of that time, are in use right up to the present day in the technical vocabulary of Arabic. Furthermore, he expressed awareness of the need to develop machines with a better design and greater output than the traditional ones. He did not like to copy his predecessors' work blindly. Rather, he was concerned only with innovative and ingenious designs and inventions.
Al-Jazari's main virtues were the ability to carefully manufacture and assemble components, and to devise real improvements on the work of his predecessors. He did however have a tendency to be inconsistent in his dimensions, to display some vagueness about the positioning of the equipment, and failed to give a coherent record of mathematical or geometrical processes.
4. Taqi Al-Din: Short Biography

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Figure 3: The six cylinder water pump from Taqi Al-Din's manuscript.

Muhammad Ibn Ma'ruf, famous as Taqi Al-Din, was born in Damascus in 1525/6 CE, and he died in 1585 in Istanbul, the then capital of the Ottoman Empire. His full name was Taqi Al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Yusuf b. Muhammad Al-Shami. He was the son of a judge and became a judge himself. He was described by his contemporaries as the greatest scientist and engineer on earth. He is known to have written 19 books^[7]. The machines we modelled are described in his book Al-turuq al-saniyah fi al-'alat al-ruhaniyah.

Much the same observations can be made about Taqi Al-Din as those made for Al- Jazari. Nevertheless, taking drawings and text together, it can be said that they fulfilled their declared intention of describing the devices so that they could be reconstructed by their successors. Indeed, the "castle" water clock was reconstructed in the Science Museum, London, for the 1976 World of Islam Festival. It works perfectly, exactly in accordance with Al-Jazari's intention. Recently, the Frankfurt Institute of the History of Arabic and Islamic Sciences, under the direction of Fuat Sezgin, has constructed small models of a few of Al-Jazari's devices. Our present project also fulfils that aspiration in that all of Al-Jazari's machines as well as those of Taqi al-Din will be re-constructed by engineering and computer graphics.
5. The Working Principles of the Machine 5.1 The Reciprocating Pump of Al-Jazar

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Figure 4: 3D image extracted from the reproduction of the reciprocating pump by scholars of FSTC. (© FSTC)
Click here to see the animation.

This pump (Fig. 2) was first made by Al-Jazari in 1206. Taqi Al-Din also gave a full description of the pump. Left image (Fig. 4) shows a 3D image of this pump as produced from engineering analysis based on the details given by Al-Jazari.

The pump consists of two opposing copper cylinders, each containing a piston. The two pistons are connected through a rod, which is pin-jointed to a swinging arm pivoted at the base of the pump.
The arm is slotted so that a crank-pin on a gear wheel causes it to swing with wheel rotation. The wheel is driven by a water wheel or an animal drive. The two cylinders are connected to manifolds with inlet and outlet flap. The flaps act as non-return valves.
5.2. The Six Cylinder Pump of Taqi Al-Din

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Figure 5: 3D image of Taqi Al-Din's six cylinder water pump. © FSTC
Click here to view first animation.
Click here to view second animation.

Taqi Al-Din explained how this pump (Fig. 3) works in his manuscript. The input power source is the river and the resultant output is the water head delivered. The river exerts a force on the scoops which provide the drag force causing the wheel and camshaft to rotate. With the rotation of the camshaft, each cam pushes its connecting rod downwards. The connecting rods are pivoted at the centre. The distal end of the connecting rod lifts the lead weight upwards. As the lead weight moves upwards, it pulls the piston with it, creating vacuum which sucks the water through a non-return clack valve into the piston cylinder. After the camshaft rotates to a certain angle, the cam releases the connecting rod. This marks the point where the piston's stroke ends. Then, the lead weight pushes the piston under gravity forcing against the clack valve. As described earlier, the clack valve closes when the water moves in this direction, so that the water is forced to go through the other hole and through the delivery pipes. The synchronisation and control sequence of all the pistons is provided by the angular arrangement of the cams around the shaft.
5.3. The Third Water Raising Machine of Al-Jazari

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Figure 6: The third water raising machine from Al-Jazari's manuscript.

This machine on the left ( Fig. 6) was described in full by Al-Jazari. The image below (Fig. 7) shows a 3D image of this machine.
Water flows through the inlet pipe into the basin and out on to the scoops turning the water turbine.
The rotation is transferred through the cogwheel (gear A) and the lantern (pinion gear B).
The rotation is then transmitted via a pillar connected to the upper lantern and the cogwheel which turns the sindi-wheel.
The sindi-wheel carries a series of jars connected to ropes. As the jars dip in and out of the water basin, they carry water up to the aqueduct.

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Figure 7: 3D image of Al-Jazari's third water raising machine.© FSTC
Cick here to view the animation.

5.4. The Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari
The first image (Fig. 8A) below shows a sketch of the elephant clock by Al-Jazari. The second image (Fig. 8B) shows a schematic drawing of the clock as given in Ludlow and Bahrani 1978. Fig. 9 shows a 3D image of the various components of the clock. The elephant clock is a fine example of the many exquisite devices created during the Muslim Golden Age. It is classified as fine technology, as the device is used either for amusement and aesthetic pleasure or for astronomical observation and computation. It is described as one of the most spectacular clocks invented by Al-Jazari and it is estimated to be about 4 feet long and 6 feet high. It also demonstrates his considerable skill in both design and construction. The characteristics of the elephant clock consist of several mechanisms that are presently used in modern engineering such as automata, flow regulators and a closed-loop system.


8A. Large image	8B. Large image
Figure 8A: The Elephant Clock: Leaf from a manuscript of Al-Jazari's Kitab fi macrifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya (The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices) dated 715 H/1315 CE. (Source). 8B: Schematic drawing of the elephant clock. Click here to see the animation.

Automata: The clock employed automata, such as the striking of the cymbal and chirping of the bird, to mark the passage of the hours.
Flow Regulators: A small orifice in the submersible float is carefully calibrated to produce correct rates of flow under various heads of water rates. This rate of flow determines the time at which the clock strikes at hourly interval; it is set by trial and error methods.
Closed-loop system: The clock will continue to work as long as there are metal balls in the magazine.
Gravitational Force: The clock employs gravitational force as motive power. A submersible float or tarjahar drives it (a tarjahar is a device used for timing the allocation of irrigation water to farmers). The steady sinking of the float acts as gravitational force, pulling the wire that activates the tripping mechanism. In addition, as the ball drops onto the serpent's mouth (during operation), it activates a gravitational force, thus pulling down the serpent's head. As the ball leaves the serpent's mouth, it activates a return mechanism.
Return Mechanism: The serpent has a return mechanism in the form of a pulley. When the return mechanism is activated, the lowered serpent's head returns to its original position and lifts a chain along with it. This chain is connected to the float and it lifts up the submersible float and empties its content, the submersible float is now on the surface again and the cycle repeats.

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Figure 9: The Mahout on the neck of the elephant, the vases on either side and the scribe on top of the circular platform.

Control Mechanisms: The submersible float or tarjahar drives the clock. Initially, the submersible float lies on the surface of the water in the tank. A calibrated orifice on its underside allows water to enter and subsequently sinks the float. Attached to the submersible float are a wire and a chain. The wire runs from the float to the ball release mechanism inside the castle and activates it when the float sinks. The chain runs from the underside of the float to a staple on the tail of the serpent. Upon activation of the return mechanics for the serpent, the chain will tilt the sunken float out of the water, thus emptying it of its contents.
Then the emptied float will rest on the water surface and repeat the cycle. At the top of the clock, supported by four columns, is the castle (a square brass box with a detachable dome). Inside the castle is a ball release mechanism, which when activated, releases a ball that travels down a channel leading to the beak of the falcon. The ball will travel from the beak of the falcon onto the open mouth of the serpent. The serpent is in effect a pulley which rotates on an axle that rests on bearings fixed between each pair of the columns. Upon loading with the ball, the serpent head will be lowered down to the vase. Once the ball drops away from the serpent's mouth, the return mechanism of the serpent is activated and the serpent returns to its original position.
6. Mathematical Analysis Full mathematical analyses of each machine are contained in the respective project reports placed in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, UMIST, in May 2001. It is beyond the scope of this paper to describe these analyses. MATHCAD was used to link all the equations describing the motion of each component. The dimensions were obtained from Al-Jazari's and Taqi Al-Din's manuscripts. On a number of occasions, we had to make a best guess of the actual dimensions of the component.
Essentially, each analysis starts with equating the forces acting on each component allowing for friction as well as compatibility of velocities and displacements and the output is predicted. For example, in the case of Taqi Al-Din's six cylinder pump, the analysis starts with equating the weight of the lead and pistons to the required water head through the collective output pipe. The lead weights are then balanced by the force on the connecting rods which determine the torque on the camshaft which then fixes the force required by the water flow from the river. Allowance had to be made for friction forces at the pivot and for all sliding surfaces. Further allowances are made for the shape of the scoop at the end of each spoke of the water wheel.
When all the equations are encoded into MATHCAD, the solution provides the relationship between the geometrical and mechanical parameters and graphs are plotted to assist in the assessment of the efficiency of the machine. Additional analysis was conducted on the strength requirement of the components. From the forces and torques, stresses were calculated which are compared to the failure strengths and buckling capacity of the components.
7. Animations and 3D Graphics Modelling and animation were carried out using 3D Studio MAX R3.1 package, based on the findings on the research and mathematical analysis of the machines. 3D studio MAX is a very powerful graphics software used for modelling, animating, image processing and texture mapping for both 2D and 3D objects. Modelling the machines was done in four steps:
1. Creating objects and setting them into positions;
2. Modifying some objects to match those in the real machine;
3. Assigning materials to objects to make them look realistic;
4. Creating lights and cameras and setting them into proper positions to give a real look to the model.
The graphics show the components, devices and machines in different angles of views, close up views and "wire frame" views. The different angles of views include the front perspective view, rear perspective view, front view and left view. The close-up view zooms onto the chambers of the device in perspective view, while the "wire frame" view shows the "skeleton" view of the devices. The 3D animations consist of two movie files: a 360o rotational view and one that shows the movements of individual components during their operations. These animations enable the reader to view the device from different angles and also to view the device in operational mode. The 3D drawing file and animations are stored on CDs to enable a step-by-step construction of the machines or modification of the drawings.
8. Notes and References
[1.] C. G. Ludlow and A. S. Bahrani, 1978, "Mechanical Engineering during the Early Islamic Period", I. Mech. E, The Chartered Mechanical Engineer, pp. 79-83.
[2.] Ibn Al-Razzaz al-Jazari, 1974, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, translated and annotated by Donald R Hill. Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
[3.] Dionisius A. Agius and Richard Hitchcock (Editors), 1994, The Arab Influence in Medieval Europe. New York: Ithaca Press, p. 25.
[4.] Donald R. Hill, 1998, Studies in Medieval Islamic Technology, Edited by David A. King. London: Ashgate, Variorum collected studies series, p. 253.
[5.] Ahmad Y. Al-Hassan and Donald R. Hill, 1986, Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History. Cambridge University Press, p. 12.
[6.] Compilation of writers, 1976, The Genius of Arab Civilisation (Source of Renaissance), Edited by John R Hayes. Oxford: Phaidon, p. 177.
[7.] For details on his bio-bibliography, see the book by Ahmad Y. Al-Hassan, Taqi Al-Din wa-'l-handasah al-mikanikiyah al-'arabiyah (Taqi Al-Din and the Arabic mechanical engineering) with "Kitab al-turuq al-saniyah fi al-alat al-ruhaniyah" from the sixteenth century (Aleppo, 1976).
~ End ~

*Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani, Emeritus Professor at the University of Manchester and Chairman of The Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), Manchester, UK.

Rediscovering Arabic Science

2009-10-06T15:17:00.000+08:00

by Richard Covington*
Note of the Editor
The following article is a republishing of the original publication that appeared in Saudi Aramco World, issue May/June 2007, pp. 2-16; the web version is at: Rediscovering Arabic Science. See our earlier annoucement of the section at: Rediscovering Arabic Science: Islamic Scientific Heritage in the last issue of Saudi Aramco World (published 1 June 2007). We reproduce the articles under the permission granted by the publisher (see Copyright and Permissions). The figures and captions illustrating the articles were added by the editorial board of www.MuslimHeritage.com.

* * *

Table of contents
1. Rediscovering Arabic Science
2. The Language
3. Lines of Transmission

* * *

1. Rediscovering Arabic Science
You have to hand it to Ahmed Djebbar: The science historian certainly knows how to draw a crowd. As we circulate among the astrolabes, maps and hydraulic models of an eye-opening Paris exhibition on medieval Arabic science, curious museum-goers gather around us.
"Did you know that the Egyptian doctor Ibn al-Nafis recognized that the lungs purify blood in the 13th century, nearly 350 years before the Europeans?" he asks, standing in front of an anatomical drawing of the human body. "Or that the Arabs treated the mentally ill with music therapy as early as the ninth century?"

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Figure 1: Fig. 1: Illustration of Kuttab School in a mosque, from the 7th maqama of al-Hariri's Maqamat. This manuscript, copied and illustrated by al-Wasiti, was executed in Baghdad in 1237. MS. ar. 5847 f. 18v., Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris. Islamic science developed thanks to a good system of knowledge diffusion through education. (Source).

Examining a case of rare manuscripts, the dapper Lille University professor launches into a mini-lecture before the rapt group. The 13th-century Persian astronomer Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, the author of one of the yellowing Arabic-language texts, upended the geocentric Greek view of the universe, Djebbar explains, by declaring Ptolemy's model of planetary motion flawed and creating his own more accurate, but still Earth-centered, version. Three centuries later, the Polish astronomer Nicholas Copernicus borrowed al-Tusi's model to make the shocking proposition that the Earth revolves around the sun. "Al-Tusi made his observations without ctelescopes or even glasses," says Djebbar, removing his own spectacles and waving them theatrically in the air. "Even though the Arabs possessed the knowledge to make lenses, they probably thought it was an idiotic idea. God made us like this; why hang something on our noses to see better?" he jokes, placing his glasses back on his nose with a flourish. His audience erupts into laughter as Djebbar, who was curator of "The Golden Age of Arabic Sciences"—the Paris exhibition, which ran from October 2005 through March 2006 at the Arab World Institute—tries to quiet them down.

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Figure 2: Manuscript of an Arabic translation of Aristote's Organon. The Organon is the name given to the collection of Aristotle's six works on logic. This manuscript contains the copy of an edition of the Organon by the physician and philosopher al-Hasan b. Suwar (d. 1017), based on earlier translations carried on by Ishaq b. Hunayn. (Source)

For most westerners, and indeed for many Arabs, the spectacular achievements of Arabic-language science from the eighth through the 16th centuries come as a startling discovery, as if an unknown continent had suddenly appeared on the horizon. In mathematics, astronomy, medicine, optics, cartography, evolutionary theory, physics and chemistry, medieval Arab and Muslim scientists, scholars, doctors and mapmakers were centuries ahead of Europe. Centers for scientific research and experimentation emerged across Muslim lands—in Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus, Samarkand, Shiraz, Bukhara, Isfahan, Toledo, Córdoba, Granada and Istanbul.
Generations of science historians once rejected Islamic accomplishments. One critic, the French physicist Pierre Duhem, even accused Muslims of trying to destroy classical science in his 1914–1916 historic survey Le Système du Monde (The System of the World). Others asserted that the Arabic language itself was not suited for science, contends Roshdi Rashed, the dean of Islamic science in France. "Otherwise well-respected scholars like Ernest Renan and Paul Tannery excluded even the possibility of an Arabic contribution to science," says Rashed, a former fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, professor emeritus at the University of Paris and editor of the three-volume Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science.

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Figure 3:Two pages from Arabic works of geometry: (a) A page from Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's (d. 1274) commentary on Euclid's Elements, a page dealing with Euclid's method of exhaustion (Source); (b) a page from Kitab Tahrir al-Usul li-Uqlidis by the Pseudo Tusi published in Arabic in Rome in 1594. © MS Trinity College, Bodleian library in Oxford. (Source)

Although an alternative spectrum of science historians, beginning with the 19th-century European Orientalists Jean-Jacques Sédillot and Eilhard Wiedemann and including the 20th-century Harvard professor George Sarton, staunchly promoted the pivotal Arab/Muslim role in science, the general public has remained largely unaware of Arab discoveries. The 1300-year period between the Greek golden age of science (from the fifth century BC to the second century of our era) and the 15th-century Italian Renaissance was perceived as a scientific desert. If Arab scholars were acknowledged at all outside academia, they were seen merely as useful messengers, conduits who preserved the classical Greek knowledge of Euclid, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen, Ptolemy, Archimedes and others through Arabic texts.

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Figure 4: Stylized illustrations of three alembics with cucurbits in a copy of Sharh Shudhur al-dhahab (Commentary on the poems 'Nuggets') by Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari (2nd half of 12th century). The National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, MS A 65, fol. 81a. (Source).

True enough, much of ancient science came back to Europe via Arabic translations, which were subsequently translated into Latin and other languages. (See the article "Lines of Transmission"). Some key texts, like Ptolemy's Planisphere, Galen's commentary on Hippocrates' treatise Airs, Waters, Places and the final chapters of the third-century BC mathematician Apollonius' book on conic sections exist only thanks to the Arabic translations, since the original Greek manuscripts have all disappeared.
But according to astrophysicist Jean Audouze, director of the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, the Arabs were not simply transmitters of Greek concepts; they were creators in their own right. Like Djebbar and Rashed, Audouze is one of a small number of dedicated scholars —fewer than 150 in France, Germany and Britain, but also scattered through the US, Arab countries, Asia and Latin America—who are struggling to give Arabic science the long overdue respect it deserves.
"One of the more drastic consequences of the dismissal of the vast Islamic contribution is that you cannot understand classical science without it," argues Rashed. "If you reduce the distance between Greek science and 17th century science, you are going to say, for example, that Apollonius first conceived algebraic geometry. But he has nothing of the kind in his writings."
"Either you push Apollonius to invent ideas he did not have or you pull back 17th-century scholars closer to Greek levels of understanding. This results in very serious errors of perspective. But if you take into account Arabic science, you are better able to understand what is truly new in the 17th-century outlook and the steps that led from Greek classical science."
Tunisian geologist Mustafa El-Tayeb, director of science policy and sustainable development for the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris, is another impassioned advocate for Islamic science. He believes that reclaiming a proper place for medieval Arab achievements is vital for encouraging future generations of Arab and Muslim researchers.

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Figure 5: View of a spectacular laser effect. Ibn al-Haytham proved that light travels in straight lines in his famous Kitab al-manazir (Book of Optics), the most important book of optics before Kepler. (Source).

"When I hear reactionaries preaching to young Muslims that science is not good for Islam, I want these students to realize that it's a crucial part of their heritage and not something to be rejected, or seen as alien," says El-Tayeb. "As it is, the history of Islamic science is barely taught at all in universities across the Middle East."
In fact, the discipline is everywhere in a deepening crisis, warns George Saliba, professor of Arabic and Islamic science at Columbia University. "The most urgent need now for the study of Islamic science is to train people who can edit and publish the hundreds of scientific texts that are still lingering in world libraries with almost no one aware of their existence, let alone their contents," he says. "But despite this need, Islamic science historians are becoming an endangered species." To make his point, Saliba cites the 200 to 300 Muslim treatises on planetary theories that he"s tracked down. Only two have been translated into European languages—one into Latin centuries ago and the other, in modern times, into English.
Yet the duty to promote the Arab intellectual legacy has never been greater, argues Rashed, underscoring the philosophical alliance between science, which strives for unity in the natural world, and religion, which seeks a similar balance in the realm of the spirit. "Muslim science demonstrates that there has always been a profoundly rational base to Islamic civilization," he explains.
Drawing principally from Greek texts, but also Persian and Indian sources, medieval Islamic scientists made a staggering number of breakthroughs. The brilliant ninth-century Baghdad mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi invented algebra, initially to resolve property disputes (even though countless generations of high school students wish he hadn't bothered). He also solved linear and quadratic equations using algorithms, the basis of computer programming; the term itself is derived from his surname, testimony to al-Khwarizmi's enduring gift to mathematics.

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Figure 6: Two pages from Tadhkira fi ‘ilm al-hay'a ((Memoir on Astronomy) by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, dating from 1389: Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, MS ar. 2509, folios 40v-41r. Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi was among the first of several Arabic astronomers of the late 13th century at the observatory of Maragha who modified Ptolemy's models. The figure shown here is his ingenious device for generating rectilinear motion along the diameter of the outer circle from two circular motions. (Source).

Reversing the false Greek notion that light is emitted from the eye, the 11th-century physicist Alhasan ibn al-Haitham, known in the West by his Latinized first name as Alhazen, correctly asserted in Cairo that light rays travel in the opposite direction, reflecting off the surface of objects to enter the eye. Devising the first rudimentary pinhole camera, or camera obscura, Alhazen demonstrated that light emanates from an object in straight lines, establishing the principle of linear perspective essential to the art of Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance masters. (Alas, the Basra-born scientist did not invent film for his primitive camera; civilization would wait until the 19th century for the first photograph.) By putting his concepts to various tests, using the camera obscura and other tools, Alhazen also introduced the experimental method of proof, insisting that theories had to be verified in practice, a key element to modern science that was missing from the less empirical Greek tradition.
"Arab science succeeded as much in pragmatic applications as it did in theoretical concepts," Audouze maintains. "Islamic scholars distinguished themselves from their Greek predecessors, who were more inventive in ideas than in practical matters." Arab scholars also introduced the practice of peer review and citations to confirm their source material.
Although the Babylonians, Indians and Egyptians had astronomical observatories, those founded under Islamic rulers in Maragha (in present-day Iran), Samarkand and Istanbul were far more sophisticated, equipped with an impressive array of astrolabes, sundials, sextants, celestial globes and armillary spheres to track the movements of the planets and constellations.
Skilled at determining the precise location of Makkah from anywhere in the Muslim empire, Islamic astronomers were unsurpassed in their calculations and predictions. Many mosques engaged a full-time astronomer, called a muqqawit, to determine the hours of prayer and consult lunar calendars to fix the dates for Ramadan and other religious events.

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Figure 7: Photomontage : (a) Proofs and diagrams from the Arabic translation of the Conics of Apollonius, transcribed and drawn by Ibn al-Haytham himself (MS Aya Sofya, no. 2762, Istanbul); (b) Ibn al-Haytham (at left) and Galileo appear on the frontispiece of Selenographia, a 1647 description of the moon by Johannes Hevelius. The frontispiece presents the two scientists as explorers of nature by means of rational thought (ratione—note the geometrical diagram in Ibn al-Haytham's hand) and by observation (sensu—illustrated prominently by the long telescope in Galileo's hand). Photomontage by Bartek Malysa. (Source).

Persian astronomer Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973–1048), a protean intellectual figure who wrote in Persian, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew and Sanskrit, and lived in Kath (in present-day Uzbekistan), corresponded with Abu al-Wafa, another astronomer 2000 kilometers (1242 mi) west in Baghdad, to coordinate the simultaneous observation of a lunar eclipse. On May 24, 997, according to al-Biruni's book Al-athar al-baqiyah an al-qurun al-khaliyah (Vestiges of Bygone Days, usually shortened to The Chronology), they got their eclipse, measuring its duration and the moon's angle in the sky to calculate the longitude of Kath with unprecedented exactitude.
Arab astronomers and cartographers strove for—and frequently achieved— uncanny accuracy. To ascertain the distance separating degrees of latitude for a projected global map, the ninth-century Baghdad caliph al-Ma'mun dispatched 70 scientists into the Syrian desert. Using astrolabes, measuring rods and stretched lengths of cord, the teams walked until they observed a change of one degree in the elevation of the polestar, the equivalent to a degree of latitude. Reckoning the distance traveled at 562 2/3 Arab miles (64.5 statute miles or 103.8 km), they computed the Earth's circumference, which is 360 degrees, as 23,220 statute miles, or around 37,380 kilometers, a respectable error only about seven percent less than the true figure of 24,800 miles (40,000 km). (However, around 200 BC the Alexandrian geographer Eratosthenes handily beat their estimate, calculating the Earth's circumference at 39,690 km.)
Arabic/Muslim achievements in medicine were also impressive. The ninth-century Persian doctor Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, known in Latin as Rhazes, penned the first treatise on smallpox in his Kitab al-tajarib (Book of Experience), which probed some 900 cases of various maladies. Another Persian doctor, Abu Ali ibn Sina, or Avicenna (980–1037), compiled Qanun fi 'l-tib (Canon of Medicine), a five-volume compendium of Greek and Islamic healing that became one of the principal textbooks in European universities centuries later.
Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis in Latin), a 10th-century surgeon in Córdoba, composed Al-Tasrif, a 30-chapter medical encyclopedia describing dozens of operations, complete with graphic illustrations of surgical instruments, including scalpels, cauterizing tools, feeding tubes and cupping glasses. (A 15th-century Turkish edition added instructively terrifying depictions of doctors treating patients.) Some 300 years after al-Zahrawi, another Andalusian doctor, Ibn al-Baitar, published Al-jami li mufradat al-adwiyya wa l-aghdhiyya (Book of Simple Medications and Alimentations), adding more than 400 medicines and curative plants to the 1,000 catalogued by the first-century doctor Dioscorides and other Greek botanists.
Arab scholars even theorized about evolution, arriving at conclusions that anticipated Darwin. In 1377, nearly half a millennium before the 1859 publication of On the Origin of Species, the Tunisian-born historiographer Ibn Khaldun, renowned as one of the founders of sociology, asserted in Al-Muqaddimah (Prolegomena), "The animal kingdom was developed, its species multiplied, and in the gradual process of Creation, it ended in man & arising from the world of the monkeys."
The period from the ninth through the 16th centuries was also a golden age for hydraulic technology, with Muslim engineers devising underground canals, dams, waterwheels and water-lifting machines to modernize agriculture and provide fresh water to rapidly growing cities from Córdoba to Samarkand. Intricate water clocks, pumps and piston-driven machines were the forerunners of mechanisms that would not appear in Europe until the Italian Renaissance and later with the development of steam and internal-combustion engines in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The importance of all branches of learning, including science, is emphasized in the Qur'an itself, which reads, in Chapter 58, Verse 11, "God will raise up in rank those of you who have been given knowledge." The value placed on scholarship by Muslims at large is underscored by two sayings popularly linked to the Prophet Muhammad: "Search for learning even if it be in China," and "The quest for learning is a duty for every Muslim." Although these sayings cannot be traced to authentic hadiths (traditions) of the Prophet, they reflect the general feeling of esteem in which the Muslim community holds learning, based on the Qur'an's emphasis on the importance of knowledge and reason, and respect for learned persons.
To Djebbar, early theological debates over the meaning of the words in the Qur'an, interpretations of hadith and etymological arguments on the Arabic language itself all nurtured the questioning spirit of rationalism necessary for scientific development. "These [religious and linguistic] critiques are the true departure point for the Arabic scientific tradition," he asserts in his 2001 book, Une histoire de la science arabe (A History of Arabic Science).

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Figure 8: Page 14 from the Geometry (1412) of Qadi Zada al-Rumi (d. 1436) who was an astronomer and mathematician in the court of Ulugh Beg (d. 1449) in Samarkand. His Geometry was was a commentary on the Fundamental Theorems, written by al-Samarqandi (d. 1310), where he discusses twenty-five of Euclid's propositions in detail. At the top of the page is a discussion of Euclid's Proposition I-5: the base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal; at the bottom, there is a discussion of I-6, the converse of 1-5. (Source)

Although Umayyad princes filled libraries in Damascus with Greek scientific texts from Spain, beginning in the early eighth century, and commissioned Arabic translations, the main push for scientific inquiry arose in Baghdad around the time of the city's founding in 762. Beginning with the first Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur, the victorious dynasty promoted science for ideological and political reasons. "The new rulers needed capable astronomers and geographers to measure the recently conquered empire under their control and to demonstrate to their subjects that Abbasid power was a force for good," Djebbar explains. As rural populations migrated to the cities, creating a highly diverse, socially volatile mix of peoples, the demand for competent doctors, engineers and scientists exploded. Baghdad had a population of more than 800,000 inhabitants by the 10th century, and was, after Constantinople, the largest city on Earth.
At the end of the eighth century, Harun al-Rashid, the grandson of al-Mansur and the caliph whose court inspired The Thousand and One Nights, erected Baghdad's first paper mill, the second in the empire. (The first mill had been constructed in Samarkand by Chinese engineers captured in the Battle of Talas in Central Asia around 750, according to Djebbar. The Chinese, who had been making paper since at least the second century BC, had kept the process a jealously guarded secret.) Shortly after the Baghdad plant opened, paper mills cropped up in virtually all the major Muslim cities. By the end of the 12th century, the Moroccan capital Fez sustained some 400 paper-making workshops.
The introduction of paper into the Middle East was a key technological breakthrough and a critical innovation for the spread of science. Paper gradually supplanted parchment and papyrus, making publication of manuscripts far cheaper and providing access to ideas for a much broader range of the educated public. Feather-light but sturdy paper was developed for use in correspondence by carrier pigeon. Since al-Biruni's Chronology mentions an exchange of letters with Abu al-Wafa to measure an eclipse, Djebbar suggests that the two astronomers used carrier pigeon "air mail" to speed up their 2000-kilometer correspondence between Kath and Baghdad.
Around the same time that Harun al-Rashid ushered in the paper mill, he also founded Baghdad's first hospital and a separate scientific academy known as Bayt al-Hikmah ("House of Wisdom"). Initially little more than the caliph's private library, the House of Wisdom became a full-blown research and translation center and astronomical observatory under al-Rashid's son, Caliph al-Ma'mun, who ruled from 813 to 833. It was here that the versatile al-Khwarizmi developed algebra and, turning his hand to cartography, drafted an elaborate map tracing the meanders of the Nile River. According to Ibn al-Nadim, a local 10th-century bibliographer, al-Ma'mun had a prophetic dream of the white-bearded Aristotle seated on a throne in which the Greek philosopher advised the caliph on the path to wisdom through reason, law and faith. Al-Ma'mun took this vision as a sign to amass knowledge and shortly afterward sent a cohort of academics to Byzantium to bring back reams of scientific and philosophical texts to be translated into Arabic. Gradually, scholars acquired manuscripts from state archives and private collections in Alexandria, Damascus, Antioch, Harran and other cities. Although most of the books were in the original Greek, many volumes had already been translated between the fifth and seventh centuries into Syriac, the western Aramaic tongue used in ancient Syria. This massively ambitious initiative to translate Greek, Syriac, Persian and Indian treatises into Arabic lasted more than 200 years, from the middle of the 700's until the end of the 10th century, according to Djebbar (see the article "The Language").
Al-Ma'mun's patronage set an example, prompting princes, merchants, doctors and well-to-do scholars to finance research with charitable endowments, known as awqaf (waqf in the singular). "Scientists were always close to the courts; there was no such thing as independent science," explains Rashed. "One had to eat and for that the scholars needed a patron, either the caliph, a wealthy merchant or a nobleman."
The support of powerful benefactors became a vital element for the development of science across the Muslim empire. In Córdoba, the 10th-century caliph al-Hakam II sponsored extensive scholarly missions to scour manuscript collections in the eastern capitals to stock a library that soon rivaled the best in the world. In the early 11th century, the Fatimid ruler al-Hakim invited the renowned mathematician and physicist Alhazen to teach in his court, greeting him in person at the gates of Cairo, an extraordinary honor that gave a tremendous boost to the prestige of science in Egypt. That honeymoon ended abruptly, however, when Alhazen failed to realize the caliph's scheme to regulate Nile flooding. Feigning madness to avoid execution, the scholar was placed under house arrest, taking advantage of the solitude to churn out a flood of treatises, biding his time until al-Hakim's death in 1021.
Generally, scientists worked without religious constraints, Djebbar maintains, with Nestorian Christians, Jews and Muslims collaborating in relative harmony. The sort of persecution that inflamed the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century and later fired the 1633 heresy trial of Galileo in Rome did not occur in Islamic countries at the time, he says.
"It was not because Muslims were nicer people than Christians," the professor explains. "It was a matter of timing. In Christian countries, there was a scientific renaissance at a period when religion had already locked the doors of experimentation and speculation. In Arab countries, science arose shortly after Islam was established, creating its own secular space without reference to religion."
There were, however, isolated instances of repression. Shortly after al-Hakam II's death in Córdoba in 976, the prime minister Abu Amir al-Kahtani, who assumed power as regent for the underage prince Hisham, burned many of the manuscripts the caliph had acquired at such great cost, claiming that the teachings of the Greeks, particularly in astronomy and philosophy, contradicted the Qur'an. Only works of medicine and arithmetic were spared. Some 150 years later, in the 12th century, the Baghdad theologian and mystic Muhammad al-Ghazali branded theoretical mathematics and physics as dangerous, claiming that they bred a rationalistic philosophy that led to atheism, according to Djebbar.
Astrology also provoked a heated polemical debate that lasted for centuries. "Critics argued that astrology lied to people by claiming to predict the future when only God can see the future," says Djebbar, "but no Muslim astrologer—and there were many at the various courts—was ever put to death because of his predictions."

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Figure 9: This woodcut from a book about the nervous system, published in Venice in 1495, shows shelved reference volumes by Muslim physicians Ibn Sina, Al-Razi and Ibn Rushd, alongside works by Aristotle and Hippocrates. © Bibliothèque de la Faculté De Médecine, Paris / Archives Charmet / Bridgeman Art Library. (Source)

Although the first astronomical tables for calculating the positions of stars and planets arrived in Baghdad from Persia and India in the eighth century, the chief reference for Islamic astronomy was Ptolemy's Almagest, or The Great Book, initially translated into Arabic by al-Hajjaj around 828. Contrary to a common misperception, the second-century scholar from Alexandria did not believe the Earth was flat. Like his Arab successors, however, he was convinced that the sun, moon and planets revolved in celestial spheres around the Earth. In an attempt to match this geocentric theory with the actual movement of heavenly bodies, Ptolemy posited an eccentric model that depended on off-center orbits that were "physically impossible," according to Saliba of Columbia University. Struggling to reconcile the Greek universe with their own observations led a number of Islamic astronomers to challenge Ptolemy's faulty concepts of celestial motion.
The Syrian astronomer Muhammad ibn Jabir al-Battani, who worked in Raqqa from the late 10th century through the early 11th century, amended Ptolemy's figures for the inclination of the Earth's axis and was later praised by Copernicus as a source for his own heliocentric theory of the solar system. Around the same time, al-Biruni, who had been captured by Sultan Mahmud and hauled away to his court in Ghazni, in present-day Afghanistan, observed that the sun's apogee, its highest point in the heavens, was mobile, not fixed, as Ptolemy had maintained. In his comprehensive encyclopedia of astronomy, Kitab al-qanun al-Mas'udi, or the Canon Mas'udicus, dedicated in 1031 to Mahmud's son and successor, Mas'ud, al-Biruni also observed that the planets revolved in apparent elliptical orbits, instead of the circular orbits of the Greeks, although he failed to explain how they functioned. It was not until the 13th century that al-Tusi conceived a plausible model for elliptical orbits.
While parts of the Almagest underwent extensive revision by Arab and Persian scholars, much of this fundamental text was adopted intact. Commissioned by the Buwayid sultan Adud al-Dawla in Isfahan, the 10th-century astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi created a magnificently illustrated catalogue of the 1017 stars in 48 constellations enumerated by Ptolemy. It was a measure of the great value that medieval Muslim society placed on astronomy that this work was the first Islamic manuscript to contain figurative drawings. Al-Sufi's elegant sketches in his Suwar al-kawakib al-thabit (Treatise on the Fixed Stars) are filled with whimsical lions, fanciful serpents and mythological characters representing constellations and zodiacal signs. Tracing the outline of Perseus (also called Farsawus, or Hamil Ra's al-Ghul in Arabic) in red-painted stars, one dramatic scene depicts nearly identical facing images of the Greek hero, with Oriental features and flowing black hair, each brandishing a sword aloft and holding the head of a grimacing Medusa.
While some astronomers devoted themselves to illustrating or improving Ptolemy's science, others ventured forth on new tacks, designing more exact calendars, measuring eclipses and refining astronomical tables. In Cairo, the 10th-century scholar Ibn Yunus perfected tables used to calculate planetary motion to a number-crunching nine figures after the decimal point.
Three centuries later in Baghdad, the Persian polymath Zakariya al-Qazwini, a doctor, jurist, geographer and amateur astronomer, issued the first cosmography in the Muslim realm. This "layman's guide to the universe" covered everything celestial—solar cycles, weather forecasting and ruminations on the comportment of angels—and terrestrial, with fanciful illustrations depicting animal, vegetal and mineral kingdoms. Some editions of his 1270 Kitab aja'ib al-makhluqat wa ghara'ib al-mawjudat (Book of Marvelous Creatures and Rare Things) contain movable paper levers with the sun at one end and the moon at the other, pivoting on the Earth in the center to demonstrate how the Earth casts a shadow on the moon during a lunar eclipse—"the first interactive book," writes Parisian historian Danielle Jacquart.
One of the most forward-thinking scientific geniuses of the age was the astronomer-mathematician-theologian-physician al-Tusi. He was a Benjamin Franklin figure who persuaded the 13th-century Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan to finance a boldly experimental observatory in the northwest Persian city of Maragha. Staffed by the most experienced astronomers in the empire, the new observatory set about educating a rising generation of stargazers. It was here that the scholar from Khorasan, who wrote more than 100 works of science, philosophy and poetry, contrived an ingenious model of heavenly motion that came tantalizingly close to explaining away the inconsistencies in Ptolemy's theories.
"Al-Tusi's couple" consists of one large circle representing the orbit of the moon and, inside it, a smaller circle, half the radius of the larger circle, that represents the orbit of a planet. Both circles, the "couple," revolve in tandem around the Earth. As the couple orbits the Earth, the moon rotates in the same direction on its own orbit and the planet spins twice as fast on its inside orbit in the opposite direction. Using this model, both the moon and the planet appear to revolve around the Earth in elliptical orbits with oscillating centers. In this mind-bending way, al-Tusi tried to reconcile the irregular movements of the sun, moon and planets, yet preserve Ptolemy's geocentric circular orbits.
Although Maragha, with its library and copper foundry for manufacturing astronomical tools, constituted one of the first astronomy schools in Islamic civilization, the observatory at Samarkand, inaugurated a century and a half later in 1420 by the ruler Ulugh Beg, the grandson of Timur (Tamerlane), was positively palatial. With its three-story tower 48 meters (156') in diameter, encircled by dozens of lofty arched niches decorated with blue, gold and green faience tiles, the observatory prided itself on its giant sextant—two stone circles dug 20 meters (66') into the ground that were used to gauge the height of the sun and the stars.
Here, more was definitely more, and size mattered enormously. "[The astronomers] considered that the instruments of grand dimension were the best adapted [for their work] for the simple reason that they allowed them to obtain more precise measurements," writes Saliba in the catalog for the Arab science exhibition at the Arab World Institute. The celebrated Persian scholar Ghiyath al-Kashi (1380–1429), reputed for calculating the value of pi to 17 decimal points, was so impressed by their scale that he penned a letter to his father describing the techniques and materials employed to produce bigger—and presumably more exact—astronomical equipment.

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Figure 10: Manuscript copy of Al-Biruni's Mas'udic Canon (Al-Qanun al-Mas'udi) in the Pergamon and Egyptian Museums in Berlin. Titled after Mas'ud, son and successor of his patron Mahmud of Ghazni, and himself al-Biruni's major patron, the treatise is an extensive encyclopedia on astronomy, geography, and engineering. (Source)

After Maragha and Samarkand, another major observatory was built near the present-day site of Taksim Square in Istanbul around 1576, supplanting an earlier installation in the Galata Tower financed by Süleyman the Magnificent in 1557. Coming from Cairo, Taqi al-Din persuaded Sultan Murad III to found the best-equipped facility in the Muslim world. Some of the observatory's exceptional instruments are depicted in a vivid painting from the manuscript Sama'ilnama in the library of Istanbul University. Here, 16 astronomers sporting flamboyant white turbans engage in animated discussion as they demonstrate astronomical clocks, updated globes and newfangled compasses (one shaped like a stick tripod as big as a man) to enhance star readings.
Unfortunately, Taqi al-Din's success goaded jealous rivals to convince the sultan that the observatory was intended for un-Islamic astrology, not astronomy, according to Turkish-born Fuat Sezgin, director of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Sciences at the Goethe University in Frankfurt. Other scholars maintain that Taqi al-Din incurred the sultan's wrath when the man of science tried to play fortuneteller, interpreting a comet's passage as an omen of Ottoman victory over the Persians. (The Turks won the battle, but suffered a devastating plague and other setbacks that were blamed on the comet.) In any event, Murad ordered the magnificent edifice destroyed in 1580, dealing a significant blow to Islamic astronomy and helping to usher in a period of stagnation across all the sciences, says Sezgin.
Like astronomy, which evolved from the practical necessities of finding the directions and hours for prayers, Islamic mathematics was very much a hands-on affair at the beginning, a product of the marketplace and of the need for pragmatic legal precedents. Both algebra and the use of zero had the same end in mind—streamlining computations for business deals. Al-Khwarizmi had a hand in the development of both.
In his Kitab al-jabr (Book of Algebra)— the word comes from the Arabic word jabara, "to restore"—the Baghdad mathematician spells out his no-nonsense intent: "It's a summary encompassing the finest and most noble operations for calculations which men may require for inheritances and donations, for shares and judgments, for commerce and all sorts of transactions that they have among them such as surveying tracts of land, digging canals and other aspects and techniques."
In another treatise, the Book on Indian Calculation, which was lost in the Arabic original and only survived due to its Latin translation, al-Khwarizmi introduces the nine integers borrowed from the Indian system (1 through 9) and explains how zeroes are used to create multiples of ten, a hundred, a thousand and so on. Unlike archaic numerical systems, which were based on multiples of five, 12 or even 60, or cumbersome Roman numerals, the Indian–Arabic decimal system made arithmetic vastly simpler and more rapid.
Using the geometry of Euclid and Apollonius as starting points, Muslim mathematicians went much farther than their Greek predecessors. While al-Biruni promulgated the first book on trigonometry in the 10th century, it was not until the 13th century that the Maragha astronomer al-Tusi developed trigonometry into a separate discipline. After absorbing Apollonius' book on conic sections such as circles, parabolas, ellipses and hyperbolas, and deliberating over what was contained in the lost eighth chapter, Alhazen, the inventor of the camera obscura, proposed his own version of the book's ending, adding solutions for computing the volume of a three-dimensional parabolic shape.
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Figure 11: Page of a work of Biruni's work regarding the moon eclipse. (Source). Today, on the moon there is a crater named after al-Biruni (located 17.9oN, 92.5oE). See FSTC, Al-Biruni and Illustrious Names in the Heavens: Arabic and Islamic Names of the Moon Craters.

In 10th-century Baghdad, the mathematician-astronomer Abu Sahl al-Quhi formulated a life-saving use of trigonometry by employing it to determine the height and position of lighthouses and to gauge distances of ships at sea from hidden shoals. The resourceful scholar also invented the so-called "perfect compass," a hand-held mechanical tool with an adjustable arm pivoting around a fixed arm, to trace ellipses and other conic sections. Enlarging on Indian notions of the sine (the ratio of the length of the side of a right triangle opposite an acute angle to the length of the hypotenuse), the ninth-century mathematician Habash al-Hasin developed the concept of tangents (straight lines and planes touching arcs, circles and conic sections) to facilitate geometrical calculations.
When the multi-talented 11th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam was not rhapsodizing in The Rubaiyat and other verse, he kept busy revising solar calendars for the Seljuk sultan Jalal al-Din and drafting geometrical proofs for cubic equations by intersecting parabolas with circles. The mathematical bard also circulated a visionary critique of Euclid's theories on parallel lines that prefigured non-Euclidean geometry, to come some 800 years later.
In several other areas, Arab mathematicians were centuries ahead of European theorists. The 13th-century scholar Ibn Munim from Marrakech used Khayyam's earlier studies to plot a triangular numerical grid that allowed him to figure permutations and combinations. This exercise yields, for example, the maximum number of words that can be created with the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet. Four hundred years later, the 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal reinvented Ibn Munim's numerical grid.
The famous last theorem by Pascal's colleague, Pierre de Fermat, offers another example of Muslim scholars presaging European discoveries. Some 600 years before Fermat posited his mathematical riddle—that there are no non-zero integers x, y and z such that xn + yn = zn where n is an integer greater than 2—Muslim scientists Alhazen, al-Sizji, al-Khazin and others were grappling with a similar conundrum. Fermat's enigma would remain unsolved until 1994, when British mathematician Andrew Wiles at last provided a definitive proof.
While Islamic mathematicians outstripped their Greek and Indian predecessors, Muslim doctors used Hippocrates and Galen as springboards for their own expanded findings about medicine and anatomy. In his seminal Canon, Ibn Sina expanded on Hippocrates' influential fifth-century BC work, Airs, Waters, Places, by enumerating the effects that clean air and water and salubrious mountain and coastal environments have on health. Some Arab critiques of Greek physicians were pointedly specific. Writing about a famine in Egypt around 1200, Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi recounts his observations of the skeletons of starvation victims, noting that the lower jaw consisted of a single bone, instead of two articulated bones, as Galen had wrongly concluded. Neither Galen nor al-Baghdadi was able to dissect human bodies, due to religious taboos that lasted until the 17th century.
Even before the consolidation of the Islamic empire, the Arabs sought to raise the abysmal standards of public health, with the first Muslim hospital opening in Damascus in 706. "One of the great successes of Arabic medicine was the organization of hospitals at a level that far surpassed Greek, Roman or Persian models," says Djebbar.
Beginning in the late eighth century when Caliph Harun al-Rashid established a Baghdad hospital, doctors made daily rounds with their students, setting a precedent used in medical schools ever since. Typically, there was one courtyard wing for physically ill patients, another for those with moderate mental health problems and a third for those suffering from more severe psychological disorders. "In addition to music therapy, the courtyards all had fountains, trees and warbling birds so that the sounds of nature were part of the healing process," notes the Lille professor.
A handful of institutions boasted incredibly luxurious circumstances. According to Ahmed Issa Bey in his 1928 book The History of Hospitals in Islam, the 12th-century Almohad ruler Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur provided the fortunate patients of his Marrakech facility with running water in every room, wool blankets, silk sheets, free medicines and 30 dinars a day for food and other necessities. When indigent patients got well enough to leave, they received a small sum of money to ease their reentry into working society.
A few of these medieval hospital buildings still exist intact, even though they now serve different purposes. Aleppo's 14th-century Argun Maristan is a dramatic backdrop for folk dance, and a 12th-century stone hospital in Damascus houses the National Museum of Arabic Medicine and Science. Cairo's Qalawun hospital, which treated some 4000 patients a day when it was constructed in the 13th century and accommodated lecture halls, a mosque and doctors' residences, is currently one of the top ophthalmology clinics in Egypt.

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Figure 12: Front covers of two recent Arabic translation of Roshdi Rashed's books on Arabic mathematics and optics: (a) Al-handasa wa 'ilm al-manazir fi 'l-qarn al-'ashir: Ibn Sahl, al-Quhi, Ibn al-Haytham (Geometry and Optics in the 10th century: Ibn Sahl, al-Quhi, Ibn al-Haytham) (Beirut, 1996); (b) Al-Jabr wa 'l-handasa fi 'l-qarn al-thani 'ashar: Al-mu'allafat al-riyyadhiya li-Sharaf al-Din al-Tusi (Algebra and Geometry in the 12th century: The Mathematical Works of Sharaf al-Din al-Tusi (Beirut, 1998).

Although physicians had to be certified, scores of uncertified barbers and itinerant surgeons practiced bloodletting, tooth extraction and more dangerous operations with few anesthetics or antiseptics. Surgery was so chancy in the 10th century that even the adventurous doctor Rhazes refused to allow ophthalmologists to remove his cataracts. But by the 14th century, the situation had improved dramatically. Persian surgeon Mansur ibn Ilyas produced sophisticated anatomical drawings tracing nerves, veins, arteries, muscles and complex organs like the heart and brain that aided him immensely in conducting effective operations.
Al-Zahrawi and other healers sang the praises of herbal cures, recommending the duhn, or oil, of laurel, wheat, sweet and bitter almonds, mustard and other plants. Wild mint purportedly relieved fatigue when used as a compress and drove out colds if taken as nose drops. "It will also cure the sting of a scorpion," the 10th-century Córdoban doctor promised patients. One look at the fearsome arsenal of surgical tools in al-Zahrawi's Al-Tasrif made quick converts to less intrusive herbal nostrums.
Chemistry, a word derived from the Arabic al-kimya, was vigorously promoted, fostering a rigorous routine of trial-and-error experimentation that did not become widespread in Europe until the 18th century with Joseph Priestley, Antoine Lavoisier and other empirical researchers. According to the 10th-century bibliographer Ibn al-Nadim, Arab chemists manufactured waterproof fabrics, invisible inks and mosquito repellents. Around the same time, the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz designed a primitive pen with a self-contained ink cartridge nearly nine centuries before the Romanian student Petrache Poenaru invented the fountain pen in Paris in 1827.
The distillation of rosewater and other perfumes evolved into a Muslim specialty, with scents used medicinally to treat migraines, epilepsy and melancholy. In Kitab kimya al-'utoor w' al-tas'idat (Book of the Chemistry of Perfumes and Distillations), the ninth-century scientist Abu Yusuf al-Kindi lists formulas for preparing some 107 perfumes.
In his survey of optics, the 10th-century Baghdad scholar Ibn Sahl observed that light passing through crystals, water and other translucent substances slows down and is bent at different angles according to the density of the material—the basic principle of refraction. According to Rashed, this was reformulated in the 17th century by Dutch scholar Willebrord van Roijen Snell and French mathematician René Descartes as the Snell-Descartes law, or the law of sines. In the early 14th century, more than 300 years after Ibn Sahl, Maragha astronomer-mathematician Kamal al-Din al-Farisi experimented with a glass sphere filled with water to analyze the way sunlight breaks into the spectrum colors of a rainbow.
The 12th-century Persian physicist Abdur Rahman al-Hazini incorporated Archimedes' findings on the density, buoyancy and specific gravity of objects to perfect "the balance of wisdom," an ingenious scale that resembled a miniature Calder mobile. Originally invented by Abu Hatim al-Isfizari, the device consisted of five hanging trays, one of which was immersed in water to verify precise amounts of gold, silver and other precious metals in coins, jewelry and other materials.
Even as gold and silver mining expanded, the fabrication of artificial rubies, sapphires and other gems grew into a lucrative industry. Poring over the works of Egyptian and Greek alchemists, a handful of Muslim scientists employed their expertise in minerals to dabble in the elusive quest for an elixir, a magical "philosopher's stone," capable of transforming lead to gold. All failed, of course. The eighth-century Persian scientist Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber in the West), however, turned these experimental dead ends to advantage, concocting an array of previously unknown compounds, including sulfuric acid, caustic soda and nitric oxide, Djebbar explains.
Far more useful than the alchemists' hunt for gold were al-Biruni's pioneering treatises on mineralogy and geology. In one work, the Persian scholar, who spent much of his career in Ghazni in Afghanistan, asserted that the desert was once covered by the sea. He supported this controversial thesis with detailed descriptions of perfectly preserved fossils of fish and other aquatic creatures, paving the way for paleontology.

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Figure 13: The Madrasa Bin Yusuf in Marrakech, the largest traditional Islamic college in Morocco. The college was named after the Almoravid sultan Ali ibn Yusuf (reigned 1106–1142). The college was founded during the period of the Merinid (14th century) by the Merinid sultan Abu al-Hassan and allied to the neighbouring Bin Yousuf Mosque. Closed down in 1960, the building was refurnished and reopened to the public as an historical site in 1982.

Despite centuries of innovation, Islamic science ultimately went into an irreversible decline with the eclipse of Arab political and economic power, marked in the West by the fall of Granada in 1492 to the Castilian monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, and in the East by the muscular expansion of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century under Süleyman the Magnificent. But this slide into decadence was a slow process.
Surprisingly, perhaps, the Crusades in the 12th and 13th centuries did more to energize Muslim science than retard it, according to Rashed (see the article "Lines of Transmission"). "The Crusades encouraged Muslims & to find out the secrets of their enemies' forces," he contends.
The first crippling blow to Islamic science occurred with the Mongol invasions, culminating in the devastating sack of Baghdad in 1258, when two million Muslims were massacred, libraries, laboratories, hospitals and the landmark House of Wisdom were destroyed, and the Tigris ran red with the blood of scholars and black with the ink of their books. "Even after the Mongol invasions, there was still a substantial amount of scientific investigation," Rashed observes, "but scholars had to spend more time and energy preserving knowledge instead of pushing ahead with new explorations."
Another long-term reversal began in the 15th century, as Portuguese and Spanish navigators in heavily armed vessels exploited sea-trade routes between East and West. The slow-moving caravans of the Silk Road were gradually abandoned, breaking the Arab monopoly on commerce with the Orient and further undermining scientific progress, according to Rashed.
"Arabic science had arrived at a critical turning point where a cognitive revolution was needed in order to continue," the French science historian explains. In mathematics, for example, complex equations became so cumbersome they required 50 pages to articulate. "Creating new symbols to condense these equations required a conceptual leap that's possible in a society in expansion, but not in a society in decline," says Rashed.
With the rise of Ottoman hegemony, the heyday of Islamic science drew to a close, he argues, since Turkish rulers were far more interested in pursuing military goals and piling up layers of bureaucracy than in encouraging research. But the lessons of Islamic science have yet to be fully appreciated, even in the Arab world, Audouze maintains, where the unprecedented accomplishments of generations of medieval scholars should inspire contemporary Muslims to rebuild the foundations for a new round of discoveries.
"Science only develops in cultivated societies where the economy and commerce are in good health," says the French astrophysicist. "And it creates a virtuous circle where the economy favors science which in turn generates profits and wealth of all kinds, spiritual as well as material."
Continues...
*Richard Covington is based in Paris; he writes about culture, history and science for Saudi Aramco World, Smithsonian, The International Herald Tribune, U.S. News & World Report and the London Sunday Times.

by: Richard Covington, Mon 10 August, 2009

Creating a 3D Model with Motion Analysis of Taqi al-Din’s Six-Cylinder Pump

2009-10-06T15:16:00.000+08:00

oseph Vera, P.Eng.*
Table of contents
1. Preface
2. Design Intent of the Pump and Cylinder Block Design Considerations
3. Engineering Calculations: Sizing The Piston Weights and Calculating the Flow Rate
4. How The Pump Worked: Converting Rotary to Reciprocating Motion
5. Motion Analysis and Simulation of the Water in the Cylinder Block and the River
6. Generating a Photorealistic Rendering
7. Conclusion
8. References

***1. Preface
One day, while browsing at a local library, a fascinating book caught my eye. The book was Islamic Technology: An illustrated history by Ahmad Y. al-Hassan and Donald R. Hill, which explores the engineering achievements of the Islamic Golden Age, a topic that sadly had previously been neglected. One particular achievement mentioned in this book drew my attention: Taqi al-Din's six-cylinder "monobloc" piston pump. Although this pump was designed in the 16^th century it included components that are often associated with modern technology, such as: a camshaft, a cylinder block, pistons, non-return valves, and further to this it worked as a suction pump. However, it is important to note that this machine was created approximately two centuries before the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
For quite some time the subject of Industrial Archaeology, more specifically re-engineering ancient inventions, has been one of my main interests, and it occurred to me that creating a SolidWorks CAD model of this remarkable pump and to complete it with a motion simulation would help broaden our understanding of engineering during the Islamic Golden Age. After creating the model and the simulation, it is my belief that the engineers of this era had a very solid grasp of kinematics, dynamics and fluid mechanics. This paper describes how the "monobloc" pump was modeled and the steps required for creating a successful motion simulation. Below is a rendered image of this ingenious invention (fig. 1).

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Figure 1: Taqi al-Din's "monobloc" pump, SolidWorks model rendered in PhotoView 360. © Joseph Vera.

2. Design Intent of the Pump and Cylinder Block Design Considerations
The dimensional and design information we used came from two excellent sources: the book Islamic Technology – An illustrated history by Ahmad Y. al-Hassan and Donald R. Hill, and the article by Salim T S Al-Hassani and Mohammed A. Al-Lawati The Six-Cylinder Water Pump of Taqi al-Din: Its Mathematics, Operation and Virtual Design, published online on the academic web portal of FSTC www.MuslimHeritage.com. In cases where there was no detailed design information we chose dimensions that made the model strong enough to withstand the loads, and also we ensured that the model was manufacturable using technology that was available in the 16^th century.
The design intent of this pump is to elevate a certain quantity of water to a specified height using the energy from a nearby river. The water is pumped via suction pipes into delivery pipes and finally into an elevated collective pipe. These pipes are connected together and make up one component, which is known as the cylinder block. We started by modeling the cylinder block, since it is a key component in the design of the entire pump. In fact, the dimensions of the cylinder block will then determine the dimensions and the layout of the pistons, the levers, the pivots, the camshaft and the waterwheel. One of the challenges we faced in modeling the cylinder block was to ensure that the pipes are connected in such a way that there were no interferences or areas with small thicknesses that would make fabrication impossible. To achieve this, we added small clearances so that the pipes had enough spacing between them. Naturally, this is relatively simple to do with SolidWorks. However, Taqi al-Din and the engineers of the Islamic Golden age obviously did not use CAD software, which means that they must have had a great understanding of geometry and tolerances to create the cylinder block. Below is a drawing of the cylinder block showing some of the clearances (fig.2).

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Figure 2: Sample clearances in the cylinder block. © Joseph Vera.

3. Engineering Calculations: Sizing The Piston Weights and Calculating the Flow Rate
One of the most important calculations in this project was to check the volume of water in the cylinder block at full capacity (i.e. when the cylinder block is filled with water right up to the top). This volume of water is critical since the weight of the pistons doing the pushing has to be greater than the weight of the water that is being pushed above the water level of the pistons, in order for the pump to function properly. SolidWorks, like most CAD packages, can calculate the volume of components. With the help of SolidWorks, we obtained the volume of the water in the cylinder block by subtracting the volume of the hollowed cylinder block from the volume of a solid version of the cylinder block (see the figure 3 below). We then multiplied the volume of the water by the density of water to obtain the weight. To determine the required weight of the pistons we analyzed a maximum load scenario, which occurs when the cylinder block is full of water and four pistons are pushing the water. We took into account four pistons, because there is a brief moment during the operation of the pump when there are four pistons that are pushing while two pistons are doing the suction. In brief, we ensured that the total weight of four pistons was greater than the weight of the water being pushed when the cylinder block is at full capacity. The expression "the water being pushed" is defined as the water inside of the cylinder block that is above the water level of the pistons. It is interesting to note that Taqi al-Din made the pistons heavier by adding lead weights to them, which actually is a remarkable engineering solution. The lead weights that we modeled were 115 mm in diameter in order to meet this requirement.

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Figure 3: Water volume calculation. © Joseph Vera.

Another important calculation is the flow rate of the pump. First of all, we measured the stroke length of a piston in SolidWorks, which was approximately 120 mm. Then we measured the circular area of a piston, which is 5027 mm². We multiplied the length by the area to obtain the volume of water being displaced per stroke, which is 603240 mm³. In one camshaft revolution there are 6 strokes; therefore, there are 6 × 603240 mm³ = 3619440 mm³ or approximately 3.62 liters of water displaced per revolution. The flow rate depends on the angular velocity of the camshaft. If we assume that it rotates at 10 rpm (which is realistic for a river flowing at 500 mm/s), the flow rate then becomes 36.2 liters/minute.
4. How The Pump Worked: Converting Rotary to Reciprocating Motion
It is important to note that a linear reciprocating motion (i.e. linear back and forth motion) is required for the pistons to pump the water. How is this reciprocating motion obtained? For starters, a nearby river is used as the source of energy. This energy is captured via a scoop waterwheel which results in a rotary motion. So the challenge that Taqi al-Din faced was to convert this rotary motion to reciprocating motion. This was achieved by connecting a camshaft to the waterwheel. The cams were then equally spaced and lined up with the levers and the pistons. Also, the camshaft was hexagonally shaped and a cam was placed in each of the flat faces of the hexagon in such a way that each cam made contact with a lever at different instances in time. Each cam pushed one end of a lever down, causing the lever to pivot and pull a piston upwards, thereby suctioning the water. Then gravity caused the piston to move downwards and thereby push the water into the main collective pipe. Non-return valves ensured that the water always moved upwards. However, an important question remains: how did Taqi al-Din ensure that the pistons reciprocated linearly? The levers move up and down in an arc path; however, the pistons need to move up and down in a linear path. Although we have no detailed drawings in Taqi al-Din's manuscript, it is quite possible that a pin in the piston rod was connected to a slot in the lever. This mechanism would have converted the arc motion into a linear motion. Note that Taqi al-Din had used pins inside of slots in other pump designs. Below is a drawing generated from SolidWorks showing a possible design for this mechanism with the pin inside of the slot (fig. 4).

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Figure 4: Slot mechanism converting arc to linear motion. © Joseph Vera.

5. Motion Analysis and Simulation of the Water in the Cylinder Block and the River
SolidWorks is able to do motion analysis of solids and also do fluid flow analysis; however, it cannot not do both of them at the same time. More specifically, it cannot simulate water pushing a waterwheel, or water being suctioned by a moving piston. To overcome this limitation, we simulated the water pushing the waterwheel by adding a virtual motor in SolidWorks Simulation that rotated the waterwheel at 10 rpm, which -as stated before- is a realistic angular velocity for a river that moves at 500 mm/s. On the other hand, simulating the water in the cylinder block proved to be a challenge, until we realized that the water acted as a spring in the sense that it had a reaction force that was linear to its displacement. Further to this, the water in the cylinder block also acted as a damper that slows down the fall of the pistons. We added virtual springs with damping in SolidWorks to each piston in order to simulate the effect caused by the water in the cylinder block. Below is an image of one of these springs and a link to an animation of this motion simulation (fig.5).

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Figure 5: Water simulated as a virtual spring. Click here to see the animation. © Joseph Vera.

6. Generating a Photorealistic Rendering
SolidWorks has an add-on that allows one to create photorealistic renderings. In fact when one adds a material in SolidWorks, not only is the appropriate density assigned to the component, but also the texture of the material appears graphically. For the wood in the waterwheel and cylinder block we chose polished pine, since it has a texture that appears to be wet. This makes the pump appear like it has been used and looks more realistic. For the background we chose a dusty setting that resembled the desert, since this pump was likely used in either desert or arid regions. Below is the final rendered image (fig. 6).
7. Conclusion
Taqi al-Din and the engineers of the Islamic Golden Age designed several complex and innovative machines. Creating a model and a simulation of the "monobloc" pump gave us an appreciation of the technical challenges that Taqi al-Din must have overcome to complete this design. This appreciation leads me to believe that the engineers of this era had a very strong grasp of kinematics, dynamics and fluid mechanics in order to make these machines workable. It is also very noteworthy that this "monobloc" pump of the 16th century is a remarkable example of a machine that used renewable energy, a topic that is currently of utmost importance.

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Figure 6: Photorealistic rendering of the "monobloc" pump. © Joseph Vera.

8. References

Ahmad Y. al-Hassan and Donald R. Hill, Islamic Technology – An Illustrated History. Islamic Technology. An Illustrated History. Paris/Cambridge: UNESCO/ Cambridge University Press, 1986, pp. 49-52.
Salim T S Al-Hassani and Mohammed A. Al-Lawati The Six-Cylinder Water Pump of Taqi al-Din: Its Mathematics, Operation and Virtual Design, (published 21 July 2008).
Salim al-Hassani, The Machines of Al-Jazari and Taqi al-Din (published 30 December 2004).
FSTC: Al-Jazari: 800 Years After: A special folder published 1 February 2008 containing several articles.
FSTC: Taqi al-Din Ibn Ma'ruf: A Special Section published 15 July 2008.

*Professional Engineer registered in the Province of Ontario, Canada

by: Joseph Vera, Tue 09 June, 2009

Al-Jazari: The Mechanical Genius

2009-10-06T15:15:00.000+08:00

Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani *

Al-Jazari was the most outstanding mechanical engineer of his time. His full name was Badi' al-Zaman Abu-'l-'Izz Ibn Isma'il Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari. He lived in Diyar-Bakir (in Turkey) during the 6th century H (late 12th century-early 13th century CE).

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Figure 1: Wash-basin in the form of a peacock described by Al-Jazari in Kitab fi Ma'rifat al-Hiyal al-Handisayya. Manuscript copied in Sha'ban 6002/ March 1205. (Source).


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Figure 2 a-b:

He was called Al-Jazari after the place of his birth, Al-Jazira, the area lying between the Tigris and the Euphrates in Mesopotamia. Like his father before him, he served the Artuqid kings of Diyar-Bakir for several decades (at least between 570 and 597 H/1174-1200 CE) as a mechanical engineer. In 1206, he completed an outstanding book on engineering entitled Al-Jami' bayn al-'ilm wa-'l-'amal al-nafi' fi sinat'at al-hiyal in Arabic. It was a compendium of theoretical and practical mechanics. George Sarton writes: "This treatise is the most elaborate of its kind and may be considered the climax of this line of Muslim achievement" (Introduction to the History of Science, 1927, vol. 2, p. 510).

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Figure 3: Model of a blood letting device as described by Al-Jazari and reconstructed in 1977. It measured the blood lost during phlebotomy (blood-letting) sessions, a popular therapy in the Islamic medieval world. Two scribes are seated above the device and their actions describe the amount of blood to be let. Currently on display in The Science and Art of Medicine (inventory number : 1981-1710). (Source).

Al-Jazari's book is distinctive in its practical aspect because the author was a competent engineer and skilled craftsman. The book describes various devices in minute detail, providing hence an invaluable contribution in the history of engineering. British charter engineer and historian of Islamic technology Donald R. Hill (1974) who held a special interest in Al-Jazari's achievements wrote:

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Figure 4: Al-Jazari's water powered scribe clock brought back to life after 800 years by FSTC. The clock stands 1 metre high and half a metre wide; the scribe with his pen is synonymous to the hour hand of a modern clock. Click here to see the animation. (Source).

"It is impossible to over emphasize the importance of Al-Jazari's work in the history of engineering, it provides a wealth of instructions for design, manufacture and assembly of machines."

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Figure 5: Picture of the internal structure of an automata for dispensating liquids. © JC Heuden at Virtual Worlds. (Source).

Al-Jazari described fifty mechanical devices in six different categories, including water clocks, hand washing device (wudhu' machine) and machines for raising water, etc. Following the "World of Islam Festival" held in the United Kingdom in 1976, a tribute was paid to Al-Jazari when the London Science Museum showed a successfully reconstructed working model of his famous "Water Clock."

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Figure 6: The original drawing of the double action or reciprocating pump from Al-Jazari's manuscript. Topkapi Palace Museum Library, Ahmet III, MS 3472. (Source).

Donald R. Hill translated into English Al-Jazari's book in 1974, seven centuries and 68 years after it was completed by its author. Al-Jazari's encyclopedic treatise includes six main categories of machines and devices. Several of the machines, mechanisms and techniques first appear in this treatise, later entering the vocabulary of European mechanical engineering. Among these innovations, we mention the double acting pumps with suction pipes, the use of a crank shaft in a machine, accurate calibration of orifices, lamination of timber to reduce warping, static balancing of wheels, use of paper models to establish a design, casting of metals in closed mould boxes with green sand, etc. Al-Jazari also describes methods of construction and assembly in scrupulous detail of the fifty machines to enable future craftsmen to reconstruct them.

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Figure 7: 3D model recreated by FSTC of the double action pump of Al-Jazari. Click here to view the animation. ©FSTC 2009.

And he was successful in that, for many of his devices were constructed following his instructions. The work by Al-Jazari is also unique in the way that other writers often fail to give sufficient details, because - amongst other factors - they were not craftsmen themselves, or kept their secrets, or if they were craftsmen, they could have been illiterate. Al-Jazari in this respect was unique, and this gives his work immense value. His book, Hill states, is an absolute wealth of Islamic mechanical engineering.
In their paper on "Mechanical Engineering during the Early Islamic Period" (published in I. Mech. E, The Chartered Mechanical Engineer, 1978, pp. 79-83), C. G. Ludlow and A. S. Bahrani have raised the important point that it is more than likely that there is more on the subject in some of the thousands of Arabic manuscripts in the world libraries which have not yet been inspected closely, and obviously require looking into.
Hill, too, constantly raises the two major issues with respect to the history of engineering in general, and that of fine technology in particular. He first states the fact that the field, which is absolutely immense, is yet largely unexplored.

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Figure 8: View of The Elephant Clock: Leaf from a manuscript of Al-Jazari's Kitab fi macrifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya dated 715 H/1315 CE. (Source).

The other issue is related to fine technology. One of his concluding points states that "it is hoped that, as research proceeds, firmer evidence for the transmission of Islamic fine technology into Europe can be provided." Hill also offers some hints for such transmission. The most likely route was Spain. Such fine technology could have followed the same route as the astrolabe (itself part of this fine technology.) Apart from Spain, there were other possible lands of transfer: Sicily, Southern France, Italy, Byzantium and Syria during the Crusades. Hill is also right on a further account, that what will be seen in this work is just a fraction of the whole process, which, as with much else has hardly been explored.
The animation presented in figure 7 shows a virtual model of one of Al-Jazari's water raising pumps. The details of this unique pump were obtained from his manuscript and Hill's diagrams. We see two suction pumps in synchronous motion driven by a paddle wheel, which is driven by a water stream.

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The other animation is for a 3D model recreated from the description of the elephant clock as described by Al-Jazari (see below fig. 9). Full details of this animation are given in the works authored by the author and his collaborators published in the book 1001 Inventions: The Muslim Heritage in Our World (chief editor Salim al-Hassani, Manchester: FSTC, 2006) and in articles that can be consulted online on www.MuslimHeritage.com (see especially the two special folders devoted to Islamic technology: Al-Jazari and Taqi al-Din).

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Figure 10: A table device automaton designed by Al-Jazari. Manuscript dated from the early 14th century (1315), copied in Syria by Farrukh ibn Abd al-Latif. Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper. © The Smithsonian Institution, Washington. (Source).

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Figure 11: A large ewer held by a kneeling female attendant in a domed pavilion designed by Al-Jazari: once the bird whistles, water pours into a basin below; a duck then drinks the used water and releases it through its tail into a container hidden under the platform. © The Smithsonian Institution, Washington. (Source).

* Emeritus Professor at the University of Manchester and Chairman of The Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), Manchester, UK.

by: Professor Salim Al-Hassani, Fri 09 February, 2001

The West and the Middle East

2009-09-22T15:01:00.000+08:00

Bernard Lewis

Source: Foreign Affairs v. 76 (Jan./Feb. 1997) p. 114-30

In 1593 an Ottoman historian, Selaniki Mustafa Efendi, recorded the arrival in Istanbul of an English ambassador. He was not very interested in the ambassador, but he was much struck by the English ship in which the ambassador traveled. "A ship as strange as this has never entered the port of Istanbul," he wrote. "It crossed 3,700 miles of sea and carried 83 guns besides other weapons . . . It was a wonder of the age the like of which has not been seen or recorded.".

Why was this sophisticated Istanbul historian so interested in a ship coming from a barely heard of island at what was then the wrong end of Europe? Selaniki Mustafa Efendi's wonderment is not that difficult to understand if one recalls what was happening at the time. The Portuguese had sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and were active in Eastern waters, to be followed not long after by the Dutch and the English. Portugal, one of the smallest and least populous of the nations of Western Europe, was able to establish a maritime and commercial paramountcy in South Asia which three great Muslim empires -- the Ottoman, the Persian, and the Mogul Empire in India -- were unable to prevent or reverse.

A hundred years later, as the seventeenth century drew to a close, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire -- the dominant power in the Middle East, the shield and sword of Islam pointing toward Europe -- were becoming aware of the countries beyond the northwest frontier as something other than an outer darkness of barbarism and unbelief. For a century and a half, the Ottomans and their Christian enemies had been locked in bloody stalemate in Central Europe. This was broken by the second Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683, which ended in failure and retreat. During that war, Ottoman forces for the first time suffered major reverses on the field of battle; the peace treaty of 1699 was the first a victorious enemy imposed on the Ottomans.

The West was now seen in a new light -- as a source of danger and therefore, possibly, of inspiration. Ottoman military commanders soon realized that there were some things they had to adopt, adapt, copy, borrow, beg, buy, or steal in order to keep up with Western armies; weapons, certainly, and perhaps some other devices. The first lessons of civilizational change are most effectively and perspicuously administered on the battlefield. The others follow somewhat later, and often in a more ambiguous form.

What were the Ottoman reformers and other Muslim Middle Eastern rulers who followed their example looking for? What elements of Western modernity did they accept, and to what extent? In the Middle East the debate about this process and the decisions the process requires has been going on for almost three centuries, probably longer than in any other part of the non-Western world.

In his book Among the Believers, V.S. Naipaul observes that many present-day Muslim leaders see Western science and technology as a kind of celestial supermarket where they can come and buy, for money, the products they find useful, and reject those they do not want. Here, the word "reject," implying that one has a choice in relation to technological and sociological transfers, is, in part at least, a metaphor. It may mean to consider, evaluate, and refuse something that is offered. It also has a physiological sense, as in the body's acceptance or rejection of an alien transplant. The argument is increasingly heard in the Middle East that what the region's countries need is modernization without westernization -- that is to say, accepting, or, rather, acquiring the products of Western material culture, perhaps also the science and technology that produced them, but without the cultural baggage and false values and depraved way of life attached to them.

All scientific method is comparative. To discuss these questions, it is necessary to make some comparisons, however invidious and unacceptable that may be in the last years of the twentieth century. We must compare the West and the Middle East as they were on the eve of modernity, and the Middle East before and after the West's impact. Finally, and in many ways most instructive, we must compare the Middle East with other non-Western regions affected by the West.

THE ASCENT OF THE WEST.

The ship that arrived in Istanbul is an early example of the West's characteristic long-range projection of power, and, too, of its spirit of inquiry and exploration, the latest phase of which -- surely not the last -- is a man on the moon and space probes beyond the solar system.

Practical explanations for the ability of the British, the Dutch, and the Portuguese to establish naval -- and therefore imperial -- supremacy over distant lands are not too difficult to find. They faced the challenge of the Atlantic, and of their European rivals. (The Moroccans also faced the challenge of the Atlantic, but they had their part of it to themselves.) The English, Dutch, French, Spanish, and Portuguese sharpened their naval skills on each other, and they developed ships with weaponry and maneuverability vastly superior to those available to Muslim powers.

The ships of the Eastern empires were built for the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean. No one makes things stronger, bigger, and therefore more expensive than necessary, and Muslim ships were small, frail, and clumsy compared with vessels built to withstand northern seas and Atlantic gales. A relatively flimsy, simply rigged, lightly armed, sparsely manned ship of the Eastern empires was no match for a Portuguese carrack, which could carry much heavier armament.

The superiority of European ships was also important for commerce. Larger, more maneuverable vessels could carry bigger cargoes, faster, at lower prices. And they could offer the same advantages to passengers; by the eighteenth century, many Muslim pilgrims from India and Southeast Asia traveling to the holy places in western Arabia booked passage on European ships.

The peoples of the Middle East, and particularly the Turks, who were in the forefront, became increasingly aware of Western superiority demonstrated on the battlefield and in the marketplace. After seeing Western armies, previously despised, inflict one defeat after another on the hitherto invincible soldiers of Islam, Middle Easterners watched Western traders move quietly into markets which they had dominated.

In search of the reasons for the West's growing commercial success, let us return to Selaniki's ship, which brought Elizabeth I's envoy to the Ottoman sultan. Although the envoy was accredited by the queen, he was appointed and paid, and the embassy maintained, not by the Crown but by the Levant Company, a joint stock company established in England for the purpose of trading in the Levant. An English monarch of the late sixteenth century would have been unlikely to go to the trouble and expense of installing an embassy in Istanbul. But the Levant Company wanted one, and stepped in to arrange for this aid to its business. Though nominally the English, later British, embassy, it remained in effect the embassy of the Levant Company until the Napoleonic Wars, when the Crown deemed it time to take over.

The great European trading corporations exemplified the harnessing of economic power, in their relations with government, in their structuring and managing of complex operations extending over vast areas, and, in particular, in their mobilization of credit, all on a scale undreamed of in earlier economies. The impact of this mercantilist marriage of government and business was not unlike what present-day Far Eastern powers have achieved, to the West's consternation.

The Levant Company, moreover, was a voluntary association -- a group of people who had banded together because of shared beliefs, purposes, policies, interests, or projects. Relations in such associations are different from both the compulsory allegiance the ruled owe the ruler and the involuntary loyalty members owe the clan, the family, the sect, or the tribe. In most Middle Eastern and other non-Western societies this intermediate level did not exist; its emergence was a characteristically, and for a while almost an exclusively, Western phenomenon. Voluntary associations including groups as diverse as business corporations, trade unions, political parties, unestablished churches, independent colleges, clubs, and sports teams formed networks that developed into what is sometimes known as civil society.

The Levant Company ship illustrates yet another important feature of the Western world, an emphasis on harnessing energy. In traditional societies, Middle Eastern and other, the only source of energy besides human and animal muscle was the mill, using the power of water and, later, of wind. Mills are a tax-gatherer's delight; they are immovable, impossible to disguise, and, so long as they generate revenue, ripe for the taxing. They are also, for the same reasons, a historian's delight. Those who compile the archives on which historians must rely are primarily interested in money, so we have pretty good documentation on mills. The researches of Charles Issawi of Princeton University reveal that eleventh-century England, not long after the Norman Conquest, had more mills per capita than the central Ottoman lands at the height of the empire's power and glory.

The ambassador's conveyance was a sailing ship, but its rigging, of a far greater complexity than that of a typical Mediterranean coastal trader, enabled it to make better time in a fair wind, to escape a foul, and to find a breeze in a calm; it had to do all these to sail the Atlantic. The West developed other sources of energy, particularly wood, coal, and, later, oil, whose combustion provided power. The Middle East consumed its wood in antiquity and had little coal. It possessed immense quantities of oil, but it did not know how to extract or exploit that fuel until others came and showed it. Oil, I would say in passing, has proved at best a mixed blessing -- some might even say a curse -- for countries where it is found, in that it has sometimes served as a buttress to tyranny and a barrier to social modernization. It has freed oppressive governments from the need to raise taxes and thereby expose themselves to those pressures that raising taxes engenders; one might even adapt an American slogan for Middle Eastern purposes and say, no representation without taxation. There is worse to come. Western science and technology, which made oil first useful and then necessary, will sooner or later make it obsolete, and those who depend on oil revenues will confront a new reality.

There are some other points to note in this by now perhaps overloaded ship. It was manned not by galley slaves but by free sailors. These sailors both fought and worked the ship, unlike the great galleons of the Spanish Armada, for example, where sailors worked the ship and gentlemen fought. The sailors were not gentlemen and the gentlemen were not sailors, which put them both at a disadvantage in a sea battle. But even a Spanish galleon was far better placed than a galley with banks of oars manned by tiers of slaves. The English ship's crew of free sailors made a striking contrast at a time when Middle Eastern armed forces relied heavily on Mamelukes and janissaries and other more or less slave elements. Slavery -- military, economic, domestic, or sexual -- has been part of virtually every civilization known to history. Its abolition was initially, and for a while uniquely, Western. The effects of that change on the family, the economy, the society, and the polity were surely immense.

Perhaps most astonishing of all, and contemporary Turkish writers commented on it, is that the monarch who sent the embassy to the sultan was a woman, a reigning queen -- a strange and disturbing innovation. The position of women in the West was very far from equality with men, but it was incomparably superior to the position of women in most non-Western societies. Almost every Muslim traveler to Europe before the modern era noted what was for them the astonishing freedom, even deference, accorded women. The nuclear family based on monogamous marriage was an important factor in the emergence of Western individualism, and, therefore, in the rise and spread of Western civilization. The difference for society between the Western norm and the harem was well understood by Kemal Atatürk, the first president of the Turkish Republic, who in speeches in the mid-1920s began to talk about rights for women. With characteristic clarity and brevity Atatürk declared, "Our task now is to catch up with the modern world. We will not catch up with the modern world if we only modernize half the population.".

Elizabeth was not only a queen; she was a queen with a parliament. This, again, was something new and strange. It does not seem to have been noted at the time in Turkey, and Parliament under Elizabeth did not have much power. But its power was increasing, and not very long afterward it established once and for all that supremacy lay with the elected representatives and not with the Crown.

This ship's place of origin was the England of Queen Elizabeth and the Levant Company. It was also the country of Shakespeare and Bacon and, a little later, of Isaac Newton; of the Renaissance and the Reformation and, a little later, the parliamentary revolution. All these, too, are surely central to what is specifically Western about the West.

WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

When people realize things are going wrong, there are two questions they can ask. One is, "What did we do wrong?" and the other is, "Who did this to us?" The latter leads to conspiracy theories and paranoia. The first question leads to another line of thinking: "How do we put it right?" There is a very extensive literature in the Middle East from the early eighteenth century on how to put it right, how to save this state, how to protect this community against the waxing power of the infidel. All kinds of solutions were offered, most involving some imitation or adoption of at least the military methods of the enemy -- that is, of the modern West.

From quite an early date, Ottomans and other Middle Eastern rulers took up a conscious policy of reform. They didn't call it westernization, of course. They rejected that idea, and a number of terms were used to denigrate the very notion: the Arabic Tafarnuj, or "aping the ways of the Franks," the Persian Gharbzadagi, which has been imaginatively translated as "Westoxication." More and more people, however, evinced a growing awareness that extensive changes were needed over an ever wider range.

The defeat in Vienna began a new phase. Recognition of the military superiority of the Western states was immediately followed by plans and attempts to "modernize." Early reformers conceived of that process as the adoption of European weaponry and warfare, through the employment of foreign mercenaries as teachers and sometimes even field commanders, and through the purchase of European weapons. Europe had long been willing to provide such services. In the time of the Crusades, European Christian merchants did a flourishing business selling arms to the Saracens for use against the Crusaders. During the Ottoman advance into Europe in the sixteenth century, there was an English gunshop in Istanbul where military supplies could be bought. Other European states eagerly joined in this traffic, and European bankers were willing to finance Ottoman purchases. "Constructive engagement" has a long history.

But Middle Eastern governments eventually realized that all the weaponry they could afford still did not give them a modern army capable of meeting a Western army on its own terms. The Ottoman reformers and others after them drew the necessary inferences. They needed new weapons of the Frankish kind, and it was not safe to depend on imports. Therefore they required a modern armaments industry. They needed officers to lead these new armies and could not rely indefinitely on adventurers and mercenaries. Therefore they had to reform the educational system so that it could turn out suitably trained officers. They needed roads and other communications to move their armies, so they had to build -- usually with Western help -- what is nowadays called infrastructure.

By the nineteenth century the recognition of Western military superiority and of the need to westernize the armed forces acquired a cultural aspect. What matters primarily in war is weaponry and military organization. The changes of the eighteenth century proving insufficient, in the nineteenth we find Middle Eastern commanders dressing their armies in European-style uniforms with tunics and trousers and Sam Browne belts, and organizing them in European-style formations -- platoons, companies, battalions, brigades, and divisions -- themselves ordered by means of the European hierarchy of ranks from private to field marshal. These clearly were cultural more than practical choices, and they continue to this day. Middle Eastern armies, even those of the most anti-Western states, still wear European-style uniforms.(FN1).

The military reforms may have delayed but they did not prevent the establishment of Western domination. Even after the departure of the Western imperial powers, they have not sufficed to restore even a semblance of parity in the effective use of military power. The efforts of some states to acquire weapons of mass destruction -- Western inventions all -- are attempts to remedy this disparity. Such attempts may achieve mutual destruction; they will not achieve victory or even parity.

THE SECRET TALISMAN.

There were many who tried to find the secret talisman of Western power. Some located it not in the military realm specifically but in the Industrial Revolution, and economic development more generally; some in the science and technology that powered them. Some saw it as enshrined in that most extraordinary and exotic of Western institutions, constitutional and representative government.

This last has given rise to a whole modern school of thought that associates the nature of Western society with individual freedom, human rights, limited government -- in a word, citizenship, the right of the citizen to participate in the formation, conduct, and, if necessary, dismissal of government. Nowadays some form of constitutional and representative government is usually taken to be an essential part of the Western way of life and, therefore, of westernizing modernity. It has not always been so, and the recent history of, for example, much of the European mainland demonstrates that a state can be both Western and modern, at least for a time, under an autocratic and repressive regime. Surely it is unreasonable to expect newcomers to Western modernity to install this Western institution faster or operate it better than some major Western nations. At the same time, the success of some of the "Asian tigers" shows that a country can modernize effectively without democracy and human rights as impediments to action. While it may not be possible to have democracy today without modernity, it is certainly possible to have modernity without democracy.

In contrast, the idea of limited government is inherent and essential in Islam. The principle that the ruler is not above the law, but subject to the law no less than the humblest of his underlings, is central to classical Islamic teaching on the state. The unbridled autocracy that prevails in much of the Islamic world today is in large measure a byproduct of modernization, which has often abrogated intermediate powers and reinforced the sovereign power so that the most insignificant tinpot dictator wields a despotic authority beyond the wildest imaginings of the caliphs and sultans of the past.

More persuasive but still not entirely convincing is the attribution of Western modernity's success to the separation of church and state. Separation in the two senses, between political and ecclesiastical institutions and between scientific and religious thought, is now commonly accepted as an essential part of Western modernity. Certainly some of the most successful modern Western states have achieved such separation either by constitutional enactment, as in the United States and France, or by tacit agreement on both sides, as in the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian monarchies. But in the latter group this de facto separation came late in the development of both democracy and modernity, while in other successful Western states religion and even religious-based parties still play a significant role. The experience of Israel, a modern democratic state with an important religious component to its very identity, is too new and brief to serve as a basis of argument. Perhaps the same may be said of the religious-based parties in the democracies established after World War ii in former Axis countries. This much is certain: the role of religion in relation to both democracy and modernity may vary considerably from religion to religion and country to country. The historical roles of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christianity are very different, and all of them differ from those of Judaism and Islam. What is clearly incompatible with both Western civilization and its distinctive brand of modernity is the subordination of the state and of science to religious control, whichever religion it may be.

WESTERNIZING THE MASSES.

To discover how the West affected ordinary people in the Middle East, one may examine the inventories of estates before the distribution among heirs. Many hundreds of thousands of such inventories survive from the centuries of Ottoman rule. A young Turkish historian, Muge Gocek, had the idea of going through the registers of inventories of people who died in eighteenth-century Istanbul, taking soundings at intervals, among different elements in society, and looking for Western artifacts and objects. What she found included telescopes and eyeglasses, a European import already attested in Iran in the fifteenth century; chairs and other furniture; maps and books. The largest groups of items by far were muskets, pistols, clocks, and watches.

The measurement of time in the Middle East goes back to ancient Babylonia, but the clock and the watch -- portable, personal timepieces -- introduced a precision previously unknown. It became possible to have schedules and office hours and to make appointments -- a new way of life still imperfectly assimilated in the region. The calendar is another change of specifically Western origin. All civilizations devise their own ways of measuring the days, the months, and the years, but in our own age the Western Christian, or Gregorian, calendar and the division of time into Christian and pre-Christian eras have gained almost universal acceptance.

A parallel innovation was in the measurement of space. The European practice, inherited from the Greeks, was to divide the eastern hemisphere into three artificially defined continents assigned the names Europe, Asia, and Africa; European cartographers later added America. Asians, Africans, and pre-Columbian Americans had been quite unaware of these identities which Europe had assigned to them, but starting in the seventeenth century the Ottomans and other Middle Easterners began to accept these European classifications.

More important than the naming of continents was the demarcation of frontiers. Before, a realm extended as far as its ruler could collect taxes. Now came the European notion of a precisely demarcated border between states, and that, of course, had a considerable effect on the very notion of the state and on the shared identity and allegiance of those who lived within its frontiers.

No less important was the abridgment of both time and space by such new devices in communication as the train, the car, the plane, and printing and then newspapers. Printing is an interesting example of rejection. It was not a European invention, but was introduced to Europe from the Far East. In 1294 the Mongol ruler of Iran printed and issued Chinese-style paper currency. But the market refused it, the economy ground to a standstill, and after two months the paper was withdrawn and hard money -- i.e., coins -- returned. The printing of books was known and rejected. When the Spanish Jews came to Turkey in 1492 after their expulsion from Spain, they requested permission to set up printing presses to produce books for their own use. Permission was granted on condition that they did not print in Turkish or Arabic, or in Arabic characters. The usual explanation is that this was seen as a desecration of the Holy Script; perhaps the guilds of calligraphers and scribes also had something to do with it. Printing in Muslim languages was not permitted until the eighteenth century, when a Hungarian seminarist converted to Islam introduced it. The experiment was of brief duration and limited effect. And for a while, printing in the Middle East continued to be limited to religious minorities -- first Jews, later various Christian denominations. At the end of the eighteenth century and more actively during the nineteenth, printing was reintroduced, initially through the agency of foreign governments and Christian missions. By the mid-1800s it was extensively used for texts in Turkish, Arabic, and other Middle Eastern languages.

The other, perhaps more important, change in communications was in their speed, beginning with the telegraph. That invention was introduced in 1855 during the Crimean War, like so many other major changes due to war and the needs of war. The first telegram transmitted from the Middle East was a military communique , announcing, "Allied troops have entered Sevastopol." A combination of the war, telegraphy, and the presence of foreign correspondents endowed the Middle East with another potent vehicle for westernization and modernization -- the daily newspaper -- where before there had been only official gazettes and some rather sporadic private publications. The advent of the paper and its daily fix of news and comment radically transformed Middle Easterners' view of the world and of themselves.

WHO DECIDES MODERNITY.

Three attitudes have emerged among Middle Easterners faced with the alien civilization from the West. One is expressed in Naipaul's image of the supermarket: we take what we can adapt and use, without allowing ourselves to be infected by a superseded religion and an inferior civilization. This view comes in an extreme form nowadays in the writings and utterances of the so-called Islamic fundamentalists, who see Western civilization, and particularly American popular culture, as immoral and dangerously corrupting. In this strain is the Ayatollah Khomeini's denunciation, taken up by his successors in Iran, of the United States as the Great Satan.(FN2).

Others have talked hopefully of a marriage of the best elements of both civilizations. When civilizations meet and clash, however, what all too often results is not a marriage of the best but a promiscuous cohabitation of the worst.

The third attitude could be summed up in this way: The world has seen many civilizations. Each has grown and flourished in its day, then passed away. At this moment in history only one is still alive. We must join it or be uncivilized. This was the line that Kemal Atatürk and his ideological predecessors in the Young Turk Movement pursued.

The modern process of change was undoubtedly initiated by the West, but is it Western in its origins? The West was not born like Aphrodite from the seafoam, and much of it is of non-Western origin, distinct from the Greco-Roman and Judaeo-Christian roots of Western civilization.

It is the habit in the Western world, now followed in many other regions, to divide history into three main periods: ancient, medieval, and modern. In this system, medieval Europe marks the transition between antiquity, that is, Greece, Rome, and the ancient civilizations of the Middle East, and modernity, that is, ourselves. But there were three routes from antiquity to modernity thus defined, of which medieval Western Christendom was only one. The other two were Greek Orthodox Christendom and -- by far the most important of the three -- the world of Islam. The Islamic world, like the two Christendoms, accepted the heritage of antiquity, and it made far better use of that heritage than either of them. Greek philosophy and a wide range of Greek sciences were preserved, translated, and studied in the Islamic world long before they became known in Europe.

And that is not all. The ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, of Europe, India, and China were all local, at best regional. Christendom and Islam both claimed a universal mission, but the Islamic oecumene extending over large parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe was the first to create a civilization that was multiracial, multicultural, in a sense intercontinental. Islamic civilization extended far beyond the uttermost limits of Roman and Hellenistic culture, and was thus able to borrow, adapt, and incorporate significant elements from the remoter civilizations of Asia.(FN3) To these, Middle Easterners added their own rich contribution, which helped to form the nascent civilization of the West. A late medieval Indian, African, or European might well have asked -- is modernity Islamic?

A few examples may suffice to show they would have asked with good reason. Experimental science, Westerners like to persuade themselves, is peculiarly and exclusively Western. In fact, it was developed in medieval Islam much more than in the ancient world. The Greek genius lay in theory and philosophy. The Muslims developed experimental science and bequeathed a rich legacy which helped to start the modernization of the West.

In the economic realm, too, notably in commerce and banking, there is a considerable heritage from the Islamic world and beyond. The extent to which European traders learned from their more advanced Muslim colleagues is attested by the many Middle Eastern loan words in Western languages. Check comes from Persian, tariff from Arabic, and the names of a variety of sophisticated foodstuffs and commodities reveal their Middle Eastern origin: caviar and orange are Persian, while damask and muslin preserve the names of Arab cities. On another level, a range of mathematical and astronomical terms from algebra to zenith document the Islamic contribution to mathematics and astronomy. Double-entry bookkeeping was a great European invention, but it would hardly have been possible without the zero and positional numbering, which the Muslims brought to Europe from India, or paper and papermaking, which they brought from China.

Western influences in art and architecture appeared very early and spread very fast. The westernization of literature came later, but was also rapid. Much of the literary output in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish today is in form and, to a significant extent, in content no more alien than any other regional variant of the common Western culture. In music, however, there seems to be a hiatus -- one of the more striking cultural differences between the Middle East and other parts of the non-Western world. Western-style art music is appreciated and performed in Japan, in China, to some extent in India, while it remains alien in most of the Islamic world.

The same must be said of science. Scientists in the Far East and Southeast and South Asia are actively participating in what is no longer a Western but a worldwide scientific enterprise. Indeed, the science and technology of modern communications would be far less advanced without the Far Eastern contribution. But the Middle East's contribution compares poorly with that of its non-Western contemporaries and, even more dramatically, with its own past. This should lead Middle Easterners to ask themselves not why are they different from the West and how the West is to blame for this, but why their societies have fared so differently from those of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Far East.

This may perhaps help provide a practical, if not theoretical, definition of modernity. In every era of human history, modernity, or some equivalent term, has meant the ways, norms, and standards of the dominant and expanding civilization. Every dominant civilization has imposed its own modernity in its prime. The Hellenistic kingdoms, the Roman Empire, the medieval Christendoms, and Islam, as well as the ancient civilizations of India and China, all imposed their norms over a wide area and radiated their influence over a much broader one still, far beyond their imperial frontiers. Islam was the first to make significant progress toward what it perceived as its universal mission, but modern Western civilization is the first to embrace the whole planet. Today, for the time being, as Atatürk recognized and as Indian computer scientists and Japanese high-tech companies appreciate, the dominant civilization is Western, and Western standards, therefore, define modernity.

There have been other dominant civilizations in the past; there will no doubt be others in the future. Western civilization incorporates many previous modernities -- that is to say, it is enriched by the contributions and influences of other cultures which preceded it in leadership. It will itself bequeath a Western cultural legacy to other cultures yet to come.

Added Material.

Bernard Lewis is Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. His books include Cultures in Conflict: Christians, Muslims, and Jews in the Age of Discovery and, most recently, The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years.

FOOTNOTES.

1 Similarly among civilians, outside the Arabian Peninsula Western dress remains the norm for men, although not for women. (Men, although not women, make these choices.) Even the diplomatic representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran wear suits like the Europeans. Only the missing necktie symbolizes their rejection of the trammels of Western civilization.

2 No intelligence service is needed to interpret this epithet--just a copy of the Koran. The last verses, the best known along with the first, talk about Satan, describing him as "the insidious tempter who whispers in the hearts of men". Satan is not a conqueror, not an imperialist, not a capitalist, not an exploiter. He is a seducer. He comes with Barbie dolls and cocktails and provocative TV programs and movies and, worst of all, emancipated women.

3 Nowadays, we Westerners claim diversity as a characteristic merit of our Western societies. This is a fairly recent development, as Western societies for most of their history were totally intolerant of diversity. The Islamic societies of the Middle East, on the other hand, were enormously diverse, and people of different religions, races and ways of life developed the capacity to live side by side, I will not say in full equality, but in reasonable mutual tolerance. That has changed for the worse in the Middle East, as the strains grew greater and the opportunities fewer. It is much more difficult to be tolerant when you are under threat than when you feel yourself to be on top of the world. Meanwhile, in the Western world, tolerance of diversity has increased markedly.

CONCEPT OF WESTERNIZATION AND THE ROLE OF FOREIGN ARCHITECTS IN 19th CENTURY OTTOMAN ARCHITECTURE

2009-09-22T14:58:00.000+08:00

Ayse Nasir

Ottoman Empire reached her widest borders at the end of the 16th century and a long period of regression began with 17th century. With the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699) following the defeat at Vienna, Ottoman Empire conceived the Europe as a force to be contended. At this point Ottoman authorities accused the Ottoman army as the sole cause of the defeats. After this date early efforts were made to examine the causes of European military superiority and reforms based on European models were applied to Ottoman military forces, however; the most important cause of the regression was the failure of the Ottoman social structure against the Western capitalist social structure. As economic power also meant political power in capitalism, the Ottoman system with central administration left the mercantile and industrial activities to the monopoly of the Christian minorities who could never be a threat to the throne compared to the Muslims (1).
On the other hand, the land of the Ottoman Empire was an attractive area for the industrialized countries struggling for economical superiority. Ottoman lands had large raw material sources, large marketing opportunities and strategic geo-political characteristics. From this point of view, the Ottoman Westernization can be regarded as the Eastern policy of the capitalist West European countries which aimed to increase the economical dependency of the Ottoman Empire. The British Trade Agreement in 1838 which led the proclamation of Tanzimat / Reform in 1839 is considered to mark the introduction of the Ottoman economy to the capitalist Western world (2). While these reforms had been generated by internal forces, Western powers, notably England and France, also took an active interest in the implementation of the reform program. For example after the Crimean War in 1856, the conditions of further reforms were dictated by the British and French ambassadors in Istanbul and these conditions were also implemented to the agenda of the Paris Conference (3).

Continuous contact with European products and customs created a new taste in the Ottoman mentality and life style. Life styles of the foreign embassies in Istanbul and the impressions of the Ottoman ambassadors sent to the European capitals beginning with the reign of Selim III (1789-1807) introduced the Western life style to the Ottoman bourgeoisie. New schools were founded with European curricula and new Ottoman élite graduated from these local schools and also from European schools, preferred Western styled furniture and decoration in their houses.

Foreign experts from Europe were initially employed to renovate the Ottoman Army, producing cultural as well as the technical influences. For example as a result of the cultural impact of these foreign influences, some graduates of the military schools became painters presenting the Western painting techniques in their work. Thus as early as the first half of the 18th century, experts for military renovation were commissioned and military education was modified. During the 18th century France was the source of the technical support and experts but by the beginning of the 19th century Ottoman authorities preferred Prussian and Austrian experts as a result of tense diplomatic relations with France. Naturally these experts formed direct links with the West.

Initial attempts at training the Ottoman architects in contemporary building techniques and European styles were made in 1801, at the new Imperial College of Military Engineering. The first foreign instructor commissioned to teach young Muslim architects was probably the British architect, W.J. Smith (4). However a full curriculum of architectural education was established only with the foundation of the School of Fine Arts (Mekteb-i Sanayi-i Nefise) in 1883 according to the model of École des Beaux Arts. Western influences were not only observed in the architectural education but also in the municipal organization of the capital Istanbul. Istanbul Municipality was reorganized according to the French "prefecture de la ville" system for the requirements of the allied forces who used the city as headquarters during the Crimean War.

The effects of Westernization upon the Ottoman Architecture commenced with the changes seen in applied decoration, after the 1720's. In 1721, an ambassador was sent to Paris to study French civilization and prepare a report. The ambassador also brought back a plan of the Fontainebleau Palace (5). The same decade witnessed a fleeting interest among the high officers of Ottoman State and well-to-do families of Istanbul to the French-style decoration, furniture and gardens. In this period (1721-1740), Ottoman architects reinterpreted Western influences on the Ottoman manner. Towards the end of the 18th century, spatial and massive change in the forms of classical Ottoman Architecture other than decorative baroque and rococo shapes already revealed a different approach in design. Nuruosmaniye Mosque due to its architectonic features can be regarded as the first baroque example in the Ottoman Architecture. Throughout the 19th century Western influences brought a total change in style. Melling who was asked to design a palace for Hatice Sultan was the first foreign architect in the Ottoman Empire (6). Melling's design was the first example of eclecticism in the Empire and the Ottoman court acted as a pioneer in the introduction of this European style into the Ottoman Architecture.

During the Tanzimat period the neo-classical style prevailed in the West became popular in Istanbul in large buildings such as military barracks and palaces. The neo-classical style was first introduced by various European architects and military engineers who had been recruited to design various edifices for the requirements of the modified Ottoman army following European models. The various members of the Imperial Guild of Ottoman Architects who were trained the traditional building for techniques failed to meet the new design requirements. Court architects were also being replaced by Ottoman architects from Christian minority and by European architects who were better equipped to cope with the complex spatial demands of the sultans making reforms.

Among the foreign architects who worked in Tanzimat period the British architect W.J. Smith and the Swiss architect Gaspare T.Fossati were in the forefront due to their comissions. W.J. Smith who came to Istanbul for the construction of the British embassy (Pera House), lived in Istanbul between 1841-1856. He did not work only for the British community but was also commissioner by Sultan Abdulmecit to design the large scale edifice such military barracks (Mecidiye and Selimiye Kislasi) and military hospital at Gumussuyu (7). He worked not only for the public buildings but for the Sultan himself as well. For British critics, the imperial kiosk at Tophane, designed for the Sultan in 1853, represented a fascinating attempt by Turks to speak as modern Europeans (8). G.T. Fossati who came to Istanbul to build the Russian embassy, was commissioned by Sultan Abdulmecit after the success of his work at this building. Major works of Fossati were military hospital in Beyazit (1843), the university building (Darulfunun, 1845-1863) erected between Hagia Sophia and the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, the archive building in Sublime Porte (1847-1848) and restoration of Hagia Sophia (1846-1849). Fossati also worked for the Ottoman élites in Istanbul. Both Smith and Fossati represented neo-classicism tending the form of the Greek revival in their works.

During the reign of Abdulaziz (1861-1876) two Italian architects were commissioned for architectural activities. Barborini and his French assistant Leon Parville were appointed to design Ottoman pavilion at the Paris Exhibition of 1867 (9). Barborini was also the member of the building committee for municipality in Istanbul (10). Another Italian architect Montani prepared the book titled "Usul-u Mimari Osmani / Method of Ottoman Architecture" (L'Architecture Ottomane) upon imperial command for the 1873 Vienna Universal Exposition with collaboration Barborini. Montani also built Valide Mosque, which is considered one of the pioneers of Ottoman revivalism.

With the reign of Abdulhamit II (1876-1908) foreign architects began to be commissioned for major works and chosen as the court architects. Istanbul-born French architect A. Vallaury and German architect Jachmund sent to Istanbul by the imperial German government to study the history of Ottoman architecture, shaped the new Ottoman Imperial Architecture (11). They synthesized neo-classical forms and elements borrowed from Ottoman or Islamic architectures on the facades of their buildings to find harmony with the existing environment. Major commissions of Vallaury were School of Fine Arts (1882), Imperial Archeological Museum (1891-1907),

Ottoman Bank at Galata (1890), building for the Ottoman Public Debt Administration (Duyun-u Umumiye Idaresi, 1899-1900), Imperial College of Military Medicine (Mekteb-i Tibbiye-i Sahane, 1895-1900, with the collaboration of R. d'Aronco). Vallaury was also employed as the chief instructor at the School of Fine Arts. The other more influential architect of the period, Professor Jachmund, who was appointed as an instructor at the new School of Civil Engineering (Hendese-i Mulkiye Mektebi), was commissioned to design and build the Sirkeci Railroad Terminal (terminal for the Orient Express 1890).

Both Jachmund's and Vallaury's designs for Istanbul exhibited a duality. When they designed for the Ottoman government they tried to produce a synthesis of the neo-classic forms and Ottoman or Islamic architectural elements. When they worked for foreign enterprises their design exhibited pure European-styles. Jachmund's Deutsche Orient Bank designed in a central European-style with neo-renaissance mass, and Vallury's building for the Ottoman Bank and the Regie Cointeressee des Tabacs de L'Empire Ottoman designed with a highly ornamented colossal neo-renaissance mass, are the best examples which they built for the foreign establishments in Istanbul.

Among the other foreign architects working in Istanbul at the end of the 19th century, the Italian Art-Nouveau master Raimondo d'Aronco was the sole architect among foreigners who had gained international reputation before he came to Istanbul. R. d'Aronco's career in Istanbul commenced in 1893 with the invitation of Abdulhamit II to prepare the National Ottoman Exhibition. From 1896 until the establishment of second Turkish Constitution in 1908, R. d'Aronco worked in the service of Abdulhamit II, as an architect of State. In general, R. d'Aronco's works in Istanbul do not reveal attachment to one specific architectural style. An analytical survey of D'Aronco's works in the Ottoman Empire furthermore, reveals that he responded positively to the stimuli of the new cultural sphere he moved in (12). His education in Venice, Academia di Belli Arti, where the ideas of Camillo Bioto were dominant in design classes, had taught him, how to combine existing environment with other sources. While living in Graz at fourteen, he had also found the chance to follow the Austrian Secession more closely than most of his compatriots. Consequently the origins of Art-Nouveau in Istanbul are rightly attributed to D'Aronco.

D'Aronco designed and built a large number of buildings of various types in Istanbul. The stylistic features of his works in Istanbul can be classified in three groups: Revivalism, reinterpretation of the Ottoman forms, Art-Nouveau and Secession. Some of his works in Istanbul are: Yildiz Palace pavilions and the Yildiz Ceramic Factory (1893-1907), the Janissary Museum and the Ministry of Agriculture (1898), Casa Botter (1900-1901), the fountain of Abdulhamit II (1901), Karakoy Mosque (1903), the mausoleum for the African religious leader Sheikh Zafir (1905-1906), tomb within the cemetery of Fatih Mosque (1905), Cemil Bey House at Kirecburnu (1905), summer residence for the Italian embassy (1905), clock tower for the Hamidiye-i Etfal Hospital (1906), Huber residence (1906)...

Before the mid of the 19th century the major monuments, religious and social complexes which are called "kulliye" were concentrated on the Istanbul peninsula. By this time northern side of the city, the recently developed quarters Galata and Pera, Besiktas, Ortakoy, Sisli were favorite locations for the new constructions.

Foreign architects introduced new building types and new architectural styles to the Ottoman capital. Classical revivalism, Gothic revivalism and Islamic revivalism (or Orientalism) were the variations of the European eclecticism which was prevalent in the works of the foreigners in Istanbul. Another European architectural style which was introduced by the foreign architects was Art Nouveau. Architectural pluralism in 19th century-Istanbul observed on the facades of the new building types such as banks, office buildings, hotels, multistory houses, theaters etc., created opposition against the foreigner architects among Turkish intellectuals.

The nationalist movements among the Balkans which caused the loss of the Balkan lands ignited Turkish nationalism. The ideas of sociologist Ziya Gokalp, who was the leading figure of the Turkish nationalism influenced the young Turkish architects. According to Gokalp, as to be modern, Turks should follow European civilization without losing values concerning identity and religion (13). Under the leadership of two young architects, Vedat and Kemalettin Bey, Turkish architects searched new style which was appropriate for modernization of the Ottoman architecture. This new style which dominated the beginning of 20th century-Turkish Architecture is known as the First National Style.

NOTES:

1. E. Kongar, Imparatorluktan Gunumuze Turkiye'nin Toplumsal Yapisi / Social Structure of Turkey From Empire Till Today, Istanbul 1985, p.73
2. Y.S. Tezel, Cumhuriyet Doneminin Iktisadi Tarihi / Economic History of the Period of Republic (1923-1950), Ankara 1982, pp. 62-82, E.C. Clark, "The Ottoman Industrial Revolution", International Journal of Middle East Studies, 5/1974.
3. B. Lewis, Modern Turkiyenin Dogusu / Rise of Modern Turkey, Ankara 1984, p.116 (B. Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, Oxford University Press 1961), E.Z. Karal, Osmanli Tarihi / Ottoman History, V, Ankara 1983, pp. 248-250.
4. A. Nasir, Foreign Architects in Turkish Architecture, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Technical University of Istanbul, 1991, p.104.
5. S. Rado, Yirmisekiz Mehmet Celebi'nin Fransa Seyahatnamesi / Book of Travel of Mehmet Celebi XXVIII to Paris, Istanbul 1970.
6. Barbie du Bocage, Voyage Pittoresque de Constantinople et du Bosphore d'apres les dessins de M. Melling, Paris 1819, pp. 220-222, Melling, Voyage Pittoresque de Constantinople et des rives du Bosphore d'apres les dessins de M. Melling, Paris 1809, A. Arel, Onsekizinci Yuzyil Istanbul Mimarisinde Batililasma Sureci / Westernization Process of Architecture of Istanbul in the 18th Century, 1975, p.93, H. Sehsuvaroglu, Istanbul Saraylari / Palaces of Istanbul, Istanbul, 1954, p.32.
7. A. Nasir, "Turk', pp. 48-57.
8. M. Crinson, Empire Building, Orientalism & Victorian Architecture, London 1996, p.134, Builder, September 6, 1862, pp. 631-632, and September 27, 1862, pp. 690-692.
9. A. Nasir, "Turk', p.67., "The Paris Exhibition of 1867", The Levant Herald, January 10, 1867, "Turkey at Paris Exhibition", The Levant Herald, February 19, 1867.
10. The Levant Herald, May 31, 1869.
11. A. Nasir, "Turk', pp. 70-81, Y. Yavuz, S. Ozkan, "The Final Years of The Ottoman Empire", Modern Turkish Architecture, The University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 36-40.
12. Z. Nayir, "Raimondo D'Aronco and Ottoman Revivalism", Atti del Congresso Internazionale di Studi si Raimondo D'aronco e il suo tempo, 1981, pp. 135-136.
13. Z. Gokalp, Turklesmek, Islamlasmak, Muasirlasmak / To Become Turk, Muslim, Contemporary, Istanbul 1918.

The “Arabick” Interest of the Natural Philosophers in Seventeenth-Century England.

2009-09-22T14:55:00.001+08:00

The Journal of the American Oriental Society; 1/1/1997; Saliba, George

When people think of the impact of Islamic civilization on the Latin West they usually think of the period of the tenth to twelfth centuries that produced the immense collection of texts (mainly scientific and philosophical) that were translated from Arabic into Latin. The common wisdom is that this period in medieval European history was the main source of fresh knowledge, and thus produced what Charles Haskins called the Renaissance of the Twelfth Century.

The European Renaissance, on the other hand, was supposed to have taken place without any input from the same Islamic civilization that was responsible for the remarkable phenomenon of medieval times and in total isolation from it. Thereafter, what happened in Europe was simply a European affair, and should be studied and interpreted as an indigenous production totally independent of other cultures, most of whose output was by then much inferior to the brilliant results that began to be produced in European countries both south and north of the Alps. This view of European history is more than a century old, and is so common that it does not need any documentation.

Furthermore, because this major outline of European intellectual history is so well entrenched, very few people have taken the time to examine it in any detail, or even dared to question the validity of its inner logic. Even when striking similarities between the intellectual production of Islamic civilization and that of renaissance Europe began to appear, mainly during this century, and in such fields as medicine, astronomy, mathematics, or even literature and philosophy, the main outline was barely shaken, and the specialized research of distinguished scholars continued to be confined to professional journals and never percolated into less specialized literature to reach a wider audience. Who remembers, for example, that in the fifties, some forty years ago, both Marie-Therese d'Alverny and Joseph Schacht, to name only two, had together collected evidence to support the thesis that the discovery of the pulmonary circulation of the blood can first be documented in a thirteenth-century work of Ibn al-Nafis (d. 1288) of Damascus and Cairo, and was later rendered in the Latin texts of the Renaissance by the sixteenth-century physicians Servetus (d. 1553) and Colombo (d. 1559) before it was finally reformulated, with some additions, of course, by Harvey (d. 1657)? Or who remembers the similarities between the methods and mathematical techniques found in the works of astronomers who flourished within Islamic civilization during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and the techniques found in the works of Copernicus (1473-1543), which have been known for more than thirty years now, and are still confined mainly to the most erudite and specialized literature? In both instances, the evidence of transmission is tantalizing, and the methodology used to track influence and transmission seems to be inadequate to settle the issues involved one way or the other. We have no clear evidence, in the traditional sense of evidence, that Michel Servetus, for example, had ever read the works of Ibn al-Nafis directly or indirectly, or that Copernicus had ever read the works of Ibn al-Shatir of Damascus (d. 1375), in spite of the fact that, in both instances, the similarities are remarkable; the possibility of independent discovery is highly unlikely. Such is the picture now, with all its shortcomings and misconceptions.

What the book under review aims to do is to pursue this discussion of the possible contacts between Islamic civilization and Europe by going a step further and focusing on the seventeenth century, where things were happening under the light of history, so to speak, and in England in particular. Here we find, in the age of the Royal Society (with its notoriously rich records of correspondence), and in the two most influential centers of English higher education, Cambridge and Oxford, an express interest, which can be very well documented, in things “Arabick”, as such studies were then known. A reader who is accustomed to the traditional interpretation of European intellectual history will be shocked to find theologians, mathematicians, astronomers, natural philosophers, chemists, travelers, merchants, as well as botanists and physicians, all interested in things “Arabick”, and to discover that a great number of them were earnestly pursuing their study of Arabic right up to the end of the seventeenth century and beyond. What is most striking is that those studies do not seem to have been pursued with the kind of curiosity commonly identified with anthropological or antiquarian research. On the contrary, those involved in “Arabick” studies seem to have been doing so out of a deep concern for the advancement of their fields, this at a time when such tendencies, especially among the natural philosophers, were regarded as being “progressive”.

The focus of the book under review is specifically aimed at the works of these seventeenth-century men (no women emerged, as far as I can tell), and at the motivation behind their activities. In order to do so, Professor Russell has assembled a galaxy of distinguished experts in the various intellectual activities of the period and has asked them to focus on the connections of those seventeenth-century individuals to matters dealing with "Arabick" studies of the time.

All in all, this book comprises fourteen contributions that explore such areas as the background of organized Arabic studies in England in relation to similar activities that had taken place on the continent (surveyed by P. M. Holt); English interest in Arabic-speaking Christians (by Alistair Hamilton); Arabists and linguists in seventeenth-century England and their impact on the “philosophical languages” contemplated at the time (by Vivian Salmon); Edmund Castell and his remarkable attempt to produce a Lexikon Heptaglotton (by H. T. Norris); the history of the most influential press of renaissance Europe, namely, the Medici Press (Rome 1584-1614), and its impact on northern Europe (by Robert Jones); the actual financing and the establishment of Arabic chairs at the most prestigious universities of the time (by Mordechai Feingold); an overview of the distinguished collection of Arabic manuscripts at the Bodleian Library at Oxford from its very inception in 1602 (by Colin Wakefield, who is most involved with that collection); the interest in Arabic learning by members of the then newly founded Royal Society (by M. B. Hall); the most distinguished chapter in English mathematical astronomy as it relates to Islamic astronomy (by Raymond Mercier); the status of Arabic studies within the mathematical circles of the time (by George Molland); the impact of Ibn Tufayl's Hayy Ibn Yaqzan (Philosophicus Autodidactus) on John Locke in particular and on the members of the Society of Friends in general (contributed by the editor herself); the English medical writings and their interest in classical Arabic medicine (by Andrew Wear); the Latin forgeries of “Arabic” alchemical works (by William Neuman); and finally, the “Arabick” background of the coronary flowers of England (by John Harvey).

In addition, these scholars have in their own way explored other areas not directly indicated in the titles of their contribution, all to give an impression that matters “Arabick” touched almost every aspect of English intellectual life during the seventeenth century.

Why was Arabic so important that the attendance at a weekly lecture on it would be required of every student of arts (including medicine) at Oxford, according to the Statutes of the university chancellor, Bishop William Laud (1573-1645)? This during the age of Newton, the Royal Society, and the religious movement that saw the solidification of an independent church of England in opposition to the Roman See, and the establishment of the Society of Friends that is still with us today? As it turns out, each had some interest in matters "Arabick."

Three main reasons for this interest in “Arabick” keep surfacing in these essays with some regularity. First, there was the religious interest. On a mundane political level, Protestant churches, in their fight with the Roman See, sought contacts with the eastern churches that had already succeeded in the same fight some six hundred years earlier. In a sense, the eastern churches were looked at as an example to emulate, for they had their own liturgies, their own hierarchies, and their total independence of the church of Rome - a Protestant dream come true. By the seventeenth century, most of those eastern churches were thoroughly Arabized, that is, they had either translated their liturgy into Arabic or used that language primarily for their theological discourse. Under those circumstances it is not hard to see why the Anglican fathers would be interested in the eastern Orthodox or Coptic churches.

On a more sophisticated level, the same Protestant movement on the continent, with its emphasis on the return to the word of the Bible, had already begun to note the importance of Semitic languages for the study of both the Old and the New Testaments. And Arabic was simply the best preserved and most documented of all those languages. Hebrew scholars themselves had made extensive use of Arabic, even in medieval times, in order to acquire mastery of the Hebrew text. Those examples were not wasted on the learned theologians of the time, and they too began to make use of Arabic for the same purposes. After all, the King James committee for the translation of the Bible included the famous William Bedwell (1563-1632), the father of English Arabists, among its members.

Second, there was definitely a commercial interest. In his attempt to “sell” Arabic to his patrons, the same Arabist, William Bedwell, wrote that in all the Muslim countries “from the Fortune Islands . . . to the extreme east, “the privileges and diplomas of kings and princes, the instruments of contracts of merchants and nobles, finally the familiar letters of all, are expressed and written almost solely in the Arabic language”. Then there was the Levant Company, which was already founded in the latter part of the sixteenth century, with its illustrious history in several parts of the Ottoman Empire. One English Arabist after another either made use of books shipped by that company back to England from the Levant, or took some time from their teaching duties to become chaplains for that company in such places as Aleppo, Syria. This involved commercial activity, and the intimate relations established between the visiting chaplains and the “natives” included a heavy trade in manuscripts, a good number of which formed the core of the major collection of Oxford and Cambridge. But it was the contents of those manuscripts that were of special significance for the fields of study mentioned above.

Finally, there were the secular, scientific reasons to pursue Arabic and other Islamic languages, such as Persian and Turkish. This secular interest in Arabic is nowhere better illustrated than in the case of the English mathematicians and astronomers of the seventeenth century, a chapter of the book so brilliantly written by Raymond Mercier. In the words of one of the leading astronomers of the time, in a letter to Huntington, Edward Bernard (1638-96), an orientalist by inclination who studied mathematics with John Wallis and later became the Savilian professor of astronomy, wrote: “our men conceive that there is some sense and value in the oriental astronomy”. He went on to say: “Many reasonably trust the astronomy of the orientals”. Similar opinions and interests motivated John Greaves (1602-52), the orientalist and astronomer, and the Gresham Professor of Geometry (1630-33), who made a brief trip to Italy in 1635, but left on a longer trip to the East, namely, to Constantinople, Rhodes, Alexandria and Cairo, where he also made observations. After the death of John Bainbridge (1583-1643), Greaves succeeded him as the Savilian professor of astronomy, and at that time read and annotated the Persian work of Ala al-Din al-Quhji (d. 1474) on theoretical astronomy. He seems to have been mainly concerned with celestial distances and magnitudes.

The manner in which these men acquired the Arabic language is one of the most interesting and well-documented episodes in this book. In a curious remark, for example, John Greaves refers to a teacher by the name of Georgio that he had had in Cairo. The others made similar pilgrimages to other countries and centers of learning in order to achieve the same purpose.

But the practice of attaching one's self to a native teacher while traveling in the Orient, or even in Europe for that matter, seems to have been the normal method of acquiring a better grasp of Arabic. Several European Arabists followed this method. To name only a few, we know, for example, that Edward Pocock, the Laudian professor of Arabic, attached himself to al-Darwish Ahmad when Pocock was serving as chaplain of the Levant Company in Aleppo between the years 1630 and 1636. Mathias Pasor (1598-1658), the German orientalist, attached himself to Gabriel Sionita (or Jibrail Sahyuni, 1577-1648) in Paris in order to study Arabic. The same Sionita worked on many Latin translations of Arabic works with his compatriot, the Lebanese Maronite Yuhanna al-Hasruni (Johannes Hesronita, d. 1625). From Egypt, the Copt Yusuf Ibn Abu Dhaqan (Abudacnus, or Barbatus), who came on a mission to Rome in 1595, ended up converting to Catholicism and teaching Arabic at Oxford in 1610. Thomas Erpenius (1584-1624), the Dutch orientalist, is supposed to have studied Arabic with him. But judging from the message that Abu Dhaqan left to the orientalist William Bedwell, now preserved in a manuscript at the Bodleian, this Abu Dhaqan could not have taught much Arabic, for he himself had less than full control of the language.

Another curious phenomenon becomes clear from this book as well, namely, that most of the European orientalists from the Renaissance onward were mostly interested in mathematics and astronomy as well as oriental languages. We have already mentioned John Greaves and Edward Bernard, but we could also mention Bedwell himself, and individuals of the prior generation, such as Guillaume Postel (1510-81) and his student Joseph Scaliger (1540-1609). Similarly we can mention Edmund Halley (1656-1742), of the Halley comet fame, who studied the work of Battani and attempted to correct it, and John Bainbridge (1582-1643), who was appointed as Savile Professor of Astronomy in 1619, and in 1622 began to study Arabic.

All this seems to indicate that the interest in things “Arabick” in seventeenth-century England, and more so in the rest of Europe in the previous century were also motivated by a genuine scientific interest on the part of mathematicians and astronomers. A similar interest was also expressed by physicians and botanists. Even philosophers, like John Locke, as is so well argued by the editor herself, studied Arabic as a student at Oxford, and was apparently quite interested in Arabic philosophical works on the autodidactus when he was writing An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.

To conclude, one is left with the impression that all this activity was not at all motivated by the anthropological interest in other cultures. Rather these orientalists seem to have sought the scientific and philosophical Arabic sources out of a genuine interest in the developments in their own academic disciplines. This picture of the European Renaissance - quite different from the one that is commonly seen - is enough reason to recommend this book very strongly to anyone who has an interest in the history of oriental studies, renaissance Europe, or even general intellectual history.

GEORGE SALIBA COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

1997 American Oriental Society

Holocaust's untold heroes

2009-08-30T13:57:00.002+08:00

Albanians who were interviewed cited Besa, a code of honor, as a reason for helping the Jews.

Their story is rarely told, but Albanian Muslims took in fleeing Jews during World War II, saving thousands of lives

By SHAHZADA IRFAN
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

• Exhibit: Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust

• Where: Holocaust Museum Houston

• When: Through February

• Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

• Cost: Free

• Information: www.hmh.org

When no other European country dared to withstand the wrath of Nazi Germany, it was the Muslims of Albania who saved a large number of Jewish people from extermination.

Albania, a Muslim majority country in Europe, opened its borders during World War II and took in thousands of Jews fleeing from different countries. They were treated like honored guests, and many were given fake names and even passports.

This little-known chapter of history is the focus of the photographic exhibition Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust , which kicked off in July at the Holocaust Museum Houston and continues through February.

The exhibition displays photographs taken by Norman Gershman, a Jewish photographer based in Colorado, who traveled to Albania in 2003 to research the topic.

Gershman said it took him six years to complete the project. He interviewed Albanians who had harbored Jewish people at that time and were still alive and the relatives of those who were not. He took their photographs to accompany their individual stories in his book Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During World War II.

The photographs and stories displayed at the exhibition are taken from this book.

Everyone had a different story to tell, but one thing was common.

“They were compelled to act the way they had by Besa, a code of honor deeply rooted in Albanian culture and incorporated in the faith of Albanian Muslims,” Gershman said.

He said they were dismissive of the attention they were getting.

“To them it was nothing unusual,” he said. “They believed any Albanian would have done the same in a similar situation.”

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Israel, is the sponsor of this traveling exhibition.

Taking action

Marci Dallas, director of Changing Exhibits at the Holocaust Museum Houston, said the exhibition gives the message that no one should stand by during human suffering.

Eileen Reed, a visitor to the exhibit, was surprised how different people could decipher teachings of their faith differently.

“The Albanian Muslims derived inspiration from their religion to save Jews,” she said. “They were so different from those who perpetrate violence in the name of the same religion.”

Unknown history

These stories have remained unknown for decades, even to students of the Holocaust. Rob Satloff, director of the Washington Institute of Near East Policy in Washington, D.C., offers an explanation.

“First, we — Jews, Israelis, Western historians — didn't look very hard,” Satloff said. “And second, they — Arabs and Muslims, even those who rescued Jews — often did not want to be found. The result is a tacit conspiracy of silence about this lost chapter from the Holocaust.”

Satloff wrote the book Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust's Long Reach into Arab Lands.

Ellen Kennedy, interim director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota, believes these stories remained untold because many surviving Jews and Albanians were reluctant to share them.

“When survivors first began speaking about their experiences in the years immediately after the war, they were met with disbelief,” Kennedy said. “The public simply could not imagine that such horrors occurred.”

Gershman's work is an attempt at building bridges between Muslims and people of Jewish faith.

“Islam and Judaism are Abrahamic faiths, and we have lot of things in common,” said Dr. Aziz Siddiqui, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston. “We must strive to highlight these as Gershman has done and avoid everything that tends to divide us.”

Levant World

Islam and Rationality: the Impact of al-Ghazālī

Islam and Rationality: the Impact of al-Ghazālī

An International & Interdisciplinary Conference at the Ohio State University, November 10-12, 2011

Abu Hāmid al-Ghazālī (1058-1111) is a central figure in the history of Islamic theology, jurisprudence, philosophy and Sufism. Of Persian origin, he lived and worked in Baghdad and in other intellectual centers of the Muslim world of the 11th and 12th century.

About FSTC

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Ottoman Expansion

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Early Arab Warships

Women's Contribution to Classical Islamic Civilisation: Science, Medicine and Politics

Algebra

ISLAMIC BAGHDAD

Women's Contribution to Classical Islamic Civilisation: Science, Medicine and Politics

FROM ARAB EXCLUSIVISM TO ISLAMIC UNIVERSALISM: THE UMAYYAD AND ABBASID EMPIRES

THE FIRST CIVIL WAR AND THE END OF THE RASHIDUN CALI PHATE

THE ARAB CONQUESTS AND THE FIRST EMPIRE

The Development of Islamic Civilization

Al-Muqaddasi and Human Geography: An Early Contribution to Social Sciences

Spain's Islamic Legacy

The Machines of Al-Jazari and Taqi Al-Din

Rediscovering Arabic Science

Creating a 3D Model with Motion Analysis of Taqi al-Din’s Six-Cylinder Pump

Al-Jazari: The Mechanical Genius

The West and the Middle East

CONCEPT OF WESTERNIZATION AND THE ROLE OF FOREIGN ARCHITECTS IN 19th CENTURY OTTOMAN ARCHITECTURE

The “Arabick” Interest of the Natural Philosophers in Seventeenth-Century England.

Holocaust's untold heroes

Their story is rarely told, but Albanian Muslims took in fleeing Jews during World War II, saving thousands of lives

By SHAHZADA IRFANHOUSTON CHRONICLE

Taking action

Unknown history

By SHAHZADA IRFAN
HOUSTON CHRONICLE