Islam Science Throughout History

An Introduction to
Muslim Science
Author: Chief Editor: Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright:
Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Ahmed Salem BSc January 2002 4025 FSTC Limited, 2002 2003
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Introduction to Muslim Science January 2002
INT R ODUCT ION T O
MUSLIM SCIENCE
The Greek, a brilliant civilisation, encompassed subjects such as philosophy, mathematics, geography, astronomy and medicine. Archimedes, Aristotle, Euclid, Socrates, Galen, and Ptolemy are just a few of the great pioneers. When the Romans took over, a large empire extended from the doors of Asia to England, that also included North Africa and much of the Middle East. Christianity appeared in Roman times, the Roman civilisation thus straddling both sides of the Christian calendar: BC and A.D. The Roman Empire collapsed in the fifth century AD after the invasions of `barbarian' people, the Vandals, Anglo-Saxons and Franks, who gave the foundations to today's European nations (the Franks to France, the AngloSaxons to England etc.) Following the fall of the Roman Empire began what are generally known as the dark ages, which elapsed from roughly the late fifth century to the late fifteen century. Whilst the period of Antiquity, the time of Greco-Roman civilisation and the Renaissance, receive high praise, the period in between (late fifth to the late fifteenth) is highly obscured. Indeed, the amount of works of all sorts on the Greek civilisation, for instance, is absolutely staggering, with millions of books, articles, web sites, institutes, courses, conferences, seminars, films, documentaries, etc... The Renaissance, needless to say, is even more publicised. The centuries termed as `the dark ages, however, are the missing centuries in history. It is not as one would think that there is nothing about such centuries; as that is far from the truth. There are actually millions of works on the dark ages with many departments and thousands of scholars now dealing with this period. Such a focus, however, is mainly on the successive ruling dynasties, religion, warfare, the feudal system and the crusades. Science and civilisation, until fairly recently, on the other hand, have received little attention. Somehow, the picture that has dominated scholarship, and opinion, was that Europe went from the brilliance of antiquity straight into ten centuries of darkness, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, into the Revival; that very Revival that gave the West the power and lead it still keeps today. This means, basically, that Western civilisation owes all and everything to Greece. In other words, Greek learning was dormant for ten centuries (during the dark ages), then, one day, it was recovered, for no reason, just like that, and Europe blossomed again. Somehow, the mathematics, the astronomy, the optics, the medicine left by the Greeks being absolutely the same, untouched in ten centuries, just dusted off. To explain this theory, however devoid of any sense or logic, or scientific or historical truth, thousands upon thousands of `historians and opinion makers assembled spurious facts and fiction and concocted history. This `history is reproduced in books, classes, films, magazines, on television, daily, all the time; the truth is unchallenged (except by the highly intellectual books, for the initiated). Just recently, thus, on the BBC1, was the programme `The Greeks, narrated by an actor (Liam Neeson), turned historian for the occasion, pursuing on the same theme that all modern civilisation owes to the Greeks.
Publication Number: 4025

COPYRIGHT FSTC Limited 2001, 2002
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Western history, as generally presented, contains big distortions. Daily, nowadays, everything about such a history is questioned. No need to go into every single matter here. Just on the subject that matters here, as Wickens puts it:
Ìn the broadest sense, the West's borrowings from the Middle East form practically the whole basic fabric of civilisation. Without such fundamental borrowings from the Middle East, he adds, `we should lack the following sorts of things among others (unless, of course, we had been quick and inventive enough to devise them all for ourselves): agriculture; the domestication of animals, for food, clothing and transportation; spinning and weaving; building; drainage and irrigation; roadmaking and the wheel; metal-working, and standard tools and weapons of all kinds; sailing ships; astronomical observation and the calendar; writing and the keeping of records; laws and civic life; coinage; abstract thought and mathematics; most of our religious ideas and symbols. He concludes that `there is virtually no evidence for any of these basic things and processes and ideas being actually invented in the West. 2
There is a major fallacy in the concept of the `Dark Ages. Haskins, 3 followed by scores of others, demonstrated that Europe experienced its revival in the twelfth century and not in that `magic period of the so called Renaissance (late 15th - early 17th). Sarton4, in his voluminous Introduction to the History of Science shows both the continuity in scientific progress, the crucial importance of the middle ages and also the decisive Muslim contribution. Lynn White JR (by no means a fervent admirer of Muslim science) recognises that the traditional picture of the Middle Ages (5th to the 15th) has been one of historical decline, particularly in early Middle Ages, the so called dark Ages. Yet such a view of the Middle Ages is false when viewed from the standpoint of the history of technology.' 5 He further adds that:
`the very creative new Islamic civilisation incorporated and perpetuated the technical achievements of Greece and Rome... The idea of so called dark Ages was only applicable to the western portion of the Roman Empire.' 6
Whilst Whipple states:
`To many students of medical history and medical science the Middle Ages, or Dark Ages as they have been called, implies a period of regression, of endless controversy, of fruitless arguments of scholasticism and the mention of this period is met with disinterest if not antagonism. 7
That period of the `Dark ages coincides exactly with the Muslim apogee. This alone explains very much the hostility to it.8 Indeed, in the midst of Europe's darkness, almost immediately after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Muslim civilisation came into being. It was in the year 622 that the Hijra took place and in the year 630, that the Prophet (pbuh) entered Makkah. Following the death of the Prophet (pbuh), Islam spread to the neighbouring lands, embraced rapidly by the various local populations. And by the year 750, the Muslim lands stretched from Spain to the borders of China. Rising with the spread of Islam was a grandiose civilisation. Unlike Europe gripped by darkness, the Muslim scientific revolution took place exactly during the apogee of Islam, from roughly the late 8th century (2 Hijra) to the thirteenth (7th H). Islam, according to Draper, `had all along been the patron of physical

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science; paganising Christianity not only repudiated it, but exhibited towards it sentiments of contemptuous disdain and hatred.'9 It was, indeed, between the 8th-13th centuries that most decisive scientific inventions were made, and the foundations of modern civilisation were laid. Scientists and scientific discoveries in their thousands, artistic creativity, great architecture, huge libraries, hospitals, universities, mapping of the world, the discovery of the sky and its secrets and much more. It was the time when Al-Biruni, Al-Khwarizmi, Al-Idrissi, Al-Kindi, Ibn Sina, Al-Razi, Ibn Khaldun, Al-Khazin, Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Farabi, Al-Ghazali, Al-Jazari and hundreds more scientists shaped the modern sciences in such a way that in the mind of Briffault, science òwes a great deal more to the Arab culture, it owes its existence.'10 And had not it been for such Muslim upsurge, modern European civilisation, he pursues, would never have arisen at all; and `would not have assumed that character which has enabled it to transcend all previous phases of evolution.'11 George Sarton speaks of `The Miracle of Arabic science, using the word miracle as a symbol of our inability to explain achievements which were almost incredible... unparalleled in the history of the world.'12 Martin Levey points out to the crucial timing of the Muslim scientific upsurge (during the times of darkness elsewhere), and also how it was conveyed to Europe.
In a time when the movement of ideas was at a relative standstill, he holds, `the Muslims came along with a new outlook, with a sense of enquiry into the old, and finally to a point where Western Europe could take over this thoroughly examined knowledge and endow its ripeness with a completely fresh approach of its own.13
With the Spanish re-conquest of former Muslim towns and cities, most particularly Toledo, (in 1085), the Christians came across the vast Muslim learning. Adelard of Bath, Robert of Chester, Plato of Tivoli, Herman of Carinthia, Gerard of Cremonna, and many others and, of course, the many Jewish intermediaries, translated vast amounts of scientific works from Arabic into Latin, Hebrew and local dialects. These hundreds of works were to serve as the foundations of Western learning. The courts of Sicily and Muslim Spain also communicated more knowledge and civilisation. And so did the Crusades, two centuries of warfare and mayhem, and also of cultural intercourse, during which the Europeans acquired skills of various nature, in architecture, and others. Just as stated by Lowe:,
`The so called Dark Ages were lighter than we used to believe, and there was a constant interchange of knowledge and ideas between the supposedly hostile worlds of the Cross and the Crescent.'14
It is impossible for historians to explain the role of the Middle Ages in the advance of civilisation without referring to the Islamic role. Some (Lynn White Jr, Duhem; Clagett) did try to rehabilitate the Middle Ages, whilst still lessening the role of the Muslim. Their works ended up with gaps and contradictions of horrendous dimensions that any person, however limited in skills could raise. Besides, amongst the Westerners are scholars in the many who keep unearthing what others try hard to blot out. Sarton, Haskins, E.Kennedy, D. King, Wiedemann, Ribera, Hill, Mieli, Myers, Suter, Leclerc, Millas Vallicrosa, Sedillot, just to cite a few amongst the many, have put at the disposal of scholarship and audiences so much that is impossible to hide. So the true place of Islamic science can be reclaimed. Unlike their successors and some of todays `historians, the Muslims never denied the contribution of other races and peoples to the rise and spread of science. Science and learning have been recognised in earnest by the Muslims that they were not the God given gifts to one race or entity, and that instead all nations and creeds and colours shared in genius and creativity. The prophet (PBUH) himself stated the crucial role of China when commanding Muslims to seek knowledge. Muslim scientific intercourse with other people, the Chinese, above all, but also the Indians, the Africans, the local Europeans people, the Jews and all others dwelling on their lands never ceased.

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Many of the scientists under Islam have nothing Muslim about them. Thus, some of Islam earliest and most prominent scientists at the Abbasid court, Ishaq Ibn Hunayn and Hunayn Ibn Ishaq were Nestorian Christians. Thabit Ibn Qurrah, the astronomer, was a Sabean. The Bakhishtu family who held most prominent positions in the court in the ninth century were Christians, too. So were the historian-physician Abul Faraj; Ali Ibn Ridwan, the Egyptian, who was the al-Hakems Doctor; Ibn Djazla of Baghdad and Isa Ibn Ali, another famed physicist; and so on. Yaqut al-Hamawi, one of Islams greatest geographer-historian, was of Greek antecedents, and so was Al-Khazin (the champion author of the Balance of Wisdom). The Jews had the most glorious pages of their civilisation under Islam, too. To name just a couple, Maimonides (philosopher-physicist) was Salah Eddin Al-Ayyubis doctor, and Hasdai Ibn Shaprut, followed by his sons, held some of the most prominent positions in terms of learning and power in Muslim Spain. The Ben-Tibbon family were the ones who played a most prominent role in scattering Islamic learning in all provinces other than Spain (such as the South of France). Nearly all Muslim envoys to Christian powers were Jews; and about all Muslim trade was in the hands of the Jews, too. Moreover, amongst the Muslims, only a number of such scientists were Arabs; most were instead Turks, Iranians, Spanish Muslims, Berbers, Kurds thus a myriad of people and origins brought under the mantel of Islam, a religion open to all who sought to, and excelled in learning. That was the first and by far the most multi-ethnic culture and civilisation that had ever existed, not equalled in many respects, even today; not even in countries and institutions which keep advertising their equal opportunity status. One is equally amazed by the general attitude of Muslim scholars in acknowledging who ever preceded them and whatever theory they utilised; or refuted. Not one single Muslim scholar, as can be found by any reader consulting the works of the likes of Al-Zahrawi, Al-Biruni, Al-Bitruji, or any other, denied the paternity or authorship of any of their predecessors whether it be Ptolemy, Galen, or Aristotle; or their Indian-Chinese counterparts. Absolutely not a single instance exists of any of their successors (from Chaucer, to Bacon, to Acquinas, to Harvey, or Copernicus, or any of such `giants of science acknowledging the real (Islamic) source of their science. It has to be unearthed by those amongst the most able, inquisitive, fairest historians of our day (Sarton, Meyers, Mieli, Briffault, Saliba, Hill; etc). Besides, whilst under Islam, Jews and Christians occupied the highest chairs in learning and high ministerial positions in Muslim governments, not a single Muslim occupies today any high learning position (such as Vice chancellor, or chancellor.) In fact, most university departments in the social sciences (history, in particular,) are completely Muslim free. The fitting conclusion is that, in the crucial centuries of the Middle Ages, Europe acquired much knowledge from the Muslims, and could begin its revival. This revival stretched from present day Italy to Germany, to Holland, an outburst of creativity in all forms, from science to arts. It was the time of Da Vinci, Copernicus, Gallileo, Kepler, and many more... Muslim navigators had also passed on their skills and knowledge that opened the doors of ocean navigation. Christopher Columbus, via his Jewish links, relied on Muslim charts, and possibly navigators. Magellans success in the Indian Ocean owes nearly all to Ibn Majid's guidance and nautical legacy. Europe then built most of its power on its new colonies.
References 1 BBC2, Saturdays, January 2001, 8pm. 2 G.M Wickens: `What the West borrowed from the Middle East, in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976. pp 120-5. At p.120. 3 C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance of the Twefth century, Cambridge, Mass, 1927. 4 G.Sarton: Introduction to the history of science, 3 Vols, Baltimore: The Williams and Wilkins Co., 1927-

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1948. Published for the Carnegie Institute of Washington, D.C 5 Lynn White Jr: `Technology in the Middle Ages, in Technology in Western civilisation, Vol 1, edited by M. Kranzberg and C.W. Pursell Jr, Oxford University Press, 1967, pp 66-79; p. 66. 6 Ibid. 7 A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977, p.1. 8 The origin of this hostile attitude to that period of history (not the object of this work) goes back to Petrarch, who, so much disgusted by the Muslim imprint on civilisation, decided to brush it off, do away with the whole period altogether, and link straight Renaissance and Antiquity. 9 J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe. Two vols; revised edition, George Bell and Sons, London, 1875. vol 2: p. 121. 10 R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, George Unwin and Allen, London, 1928, at p. 191. 11 Ibid p. 190. 12 G. Sarton, Introduction, op cit. 13 M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology, Leiden, E.J. Brill,, 1973, p. 71. 14 A. Lowe: The Barrier and the Bridge, Published by G. Bles, London, 1972. p. 81. Bibliography: -R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, George Unwin and Allen, London, 1928. -J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe. Two vols; revised edition, George Bell and Sons, London, 1875. vol 2. -C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance of the Twefth century, Cambridge, Mass, 1927. -M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology, Leiden, E.J. Brill,, 1973. -A. Lowe: The Barrier and the Bridge, Published by G. Bles, London, 1972. -G.Sarton: Introduction to the history of science, 3 Vols, Baltimore: The Williams and Wilkins Co., 19271948. Published for the Carnegie Institute of Washington, D.C -G.M Wickens: `What the West borrowed from the Middle East, in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976. pp 120-5. -A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977. -Lynn White Jr: `Technology in the Middle Ages, in Technology in Western civilisation, Vol 1, edited by M. Kranzberg and C.W. Pursell Jr, Oxford University Press, 1967, pp 66-79.

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A review on
Early Muslim Historians
Author: Editors: Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright:
Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhD Professor Talip Alp Farooq Bajwa BA, MA, PhD Ahmed Salem BSc November 2001 4016 FSTC Limited 2002, 2003
FSTC Limited
Muslim Historians November 2001
MUSLIM HISTORIANS
The literature on Muslim writing on history is extensively varied and abundant. It is in the form of original manuscripts, possibly thousands of them, scores of treatises on individual historians, many secondary works in the form of articles, and other larger works, some very bulky in size and contents . To form an idea of such richness, nothing better than starting with some useful references. As with much else, or nearly everything else, works in German dominate, above all Wustenfelds Geschichtsschreiber der
Araber und ihre Werke, 1 and Carl Brockelmanns Geschichte der arabischen Literatur ,2 both crucial to any
avid seeker of knowledge of Muslim historiography. Also necessary to look into, and much more recent, but still in German, is Sezgins Geschichte des arabischen Schriftums3. There are some works by the French, but not as rich as in geography, a subject they master. In English, there is Rosenthals4 A History of Muslim
Historiography, and Dunlops section on the subject in his Arab Civilization to AD 1500.5 Humphreys summary in
the Dictionary of the Middle Ages covers well the bit of information on the Ottomans and Ibn Khaldun.6 There are also scores of articles and entries on the subject left and right. The best source, in English, however, and by very far, remains Sartons Intoduction to the History of Science, that is the appropriate sections in each volume. Sarton literally enlightens on each and every Muslim historian, East and West, and gives the bibliography related to each. He passes little judgement as far as the ideology of the scholar is concerned, and, above all, keeps away from the frequent Orientalist-Western practice of seeing good and excellence in every Islamic dissention, or source of dissention, and its author, and expanding it non-end in their writing, thus turning the mediocre and obscure into excellent, and obscuring the excellent. History is the teacher of life'' reminds us De Somogyi.7 Everything that exists, he holds, can only be correctly understood by its past. Therefore, history is no abstract study but provides the key to the right appreciation of everything that is actual, that is part and parcel of our own present. Consequently the precise and true recording of past events and conditions is of great significance for the conscious formation of the future. That is only historical interest is one of `the oldest mental activities of mankind, which can be found even in the remotest periods of religious, national, or any other type of human society.8 For Al-Jahiz, history is a `Royal science'. Ibn Khaldun was to make it so centuries later, setting patterns for others to follow. Amongst the earliest, or possibly the earliest historian of Islam, is Wahb Ibn Munabbih (d.728) a Yememnite author. He reports on legends, and reflects on the people of the book, as well as on oral traditions.9 He is also well acquainted with Biblical texts. His book al-Mubtada (The beginning) is lost, but fragments can be found with Ibn Qutayba and al-Tabari. Although Wahb cannot be considered as a reliable historian,10 he still exerted a big influence on his followers. On the whole, early Muslim historical writing was primarily concerned with the biography of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (Sirat Rasul Allah) and the first wars of Islam (Al-maghazi) both of which started under the Ummayads. Muhammad Ibn Ishaq (d.768) relates the first biographie Sira known of the Prophet (PBUH), much of which was incorporated by Ibn Hisham (d.833) in whose work can also be found much on the creation of the of the world, Biblical prophets, and the advent of Islam. He corrects hadiths, and also rids his accounts of legends and poetry that are not on the reliable side. The actions and deeds of the Prophet (PBUH) are scrupulously noted, and his battles described in great detail.11 Ibn Hishams Sirat Muhammad rasul Allah is considered by Dunlop one of the best existing authorities on the life of the Prophet (PBUH).12 The Arabic text of Ibn Hisham, in three volumes, was published at Cottingen by Wustenfeld, whilst a German translation was made by Weil, and an English translation by

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A. Guillaume. Al-Waqidi (d.823) the author of Maghazi (battles of the Prophet), is even more rigorous and methodical than Wahb. He indicates his sources clearly, and describes facts as accurately as possible, eliminating legends.13 Other than Kitab al-maghazi, al-Waqidi produced many other works, twenty eight books listed by The
Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim amongst which are Futuh al-Sham, Futuh al-Iraq, etc.
With Ibn Sa'd (d.845), a pupil and secretary of Ibn al-Waqidi, begins the genre of biographies of Tabaqats (classes). His treatise Kitab al-tabaqat al-Kabir (the great book of classes), first deals with the biographies of the Prophet (PBUH), and his companions and later dignitaries of Islam till 845. Ibn Saad elaborates on the qualities of the prophet, and the main traits of his mission. Taking into account the works of his predecessors, Ibn Saad gives a larger focus to the embassies sent to the Prophet or sent by him. It is the first major example of religious biography, universal in scope, trying to include all the religiously relevant persons of Islamic history, comprising 4,250 entries, 600 of them women. 14 Ibn Saads work can be found in a Sachau edition and in others.15 A third type, between Sira and Maghazi literature, is noted by De Somogyi16 that is the historical monograph which deals with general historical events, but confined to a certain event or period. The founder of this type Abu Mihnaf (fl.7th century) to whom many works are ascribed. Influenced very much by Ibn Saad and al-Waqidi is Al-Baladhuri (d.892). He covers Islamic history from its origins until the Abbasids. His works includes Kitab Futuh al-Buldan and Kitab ansab al-ashraf, the first of these making his reputation,17and is considered indispensable reading in the matter of the Muslim Futuhats. It goes on from Arabia to Syria, and Mesopotamia and progresses both in a geographical and chronological order. The author takes his information from people, scholars and officials, relying on a vast correspondence, searching for accurate information. All details matter to him: culture, economy, politics, social acts, but chooses very strictly, and observes a critical approach, seeking to remain objective as much as possible.18 Al-Baladhuri also gives a very interesting account on the Muslim presence in southern Italy, a twenty or thirty year history, about which nothing else would be known if it was not for al-Baladhuri.19 According to al-Masudi, `we know no better book on the conquests of the lands, than alBaladhuris.20 As for Kitab Ansab al-Ashraf (book of the Genealogies of the Nobles) is a work of at least twelve volumes, details of which are given by Brockelman.21 Various parts of the work were translated and edited in multiple languages, such as in Italian by Olga Pinto and Levi della Vida. Although al-Masudi and his Muruj al-Dahab ranks high in the field, it is Al-Tabari, who, by far, remains the greatest of all amongst Muslim pre-Ibn Khaldun historians. Al-Tabari (d.923) was born at Amul, north of the Elburz range in the coastal lowlands of the Gaspian sea then called Tabaristan, and died in Baghdad. He is the author of a monumental work in many volumes Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l Muluk, (History of the Apostles and the Kings), to which the Europeans refer as The Annals.22 In this work, Al-Tabbari looks at Antiquity and the Islamic period up to 915. Known as a commentator of the Kuran, he applies a critical methodology of hadith. He undertakes a series of travels through Iraq, Syria and Egypt, taking witnesses from his contemporaries. As an objective historian, he hardly expresses any judgement, and keeps a global vision of history.23 His book is a major source of information for scholars, which according to Ibn Khalliqan is the soundest and most reliable of its kind.24. For the history of Islam the Annals is no doubt the best single narrative work,25 for its scope (fifteen volumes in the Leiden edition of De Goeje).26 On the whole, according to Dunlop, with the exception of Ibn al-Athir, whose great history Al-kamil, has not been translated in its entirity (by the time Dunlop was writing, in the early 1970s) into any western language,27 the Annals of al-Tabari is the best work in Arabic for information about the historical development of Islam and the Caliphate, the most characteristic institution to which the new religion gave rise, and which marks the zenith in world

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history of the Arab race.28 For Rosenthal, Al-Tabari brought to his work the scrupulousness and indefatigable longwindedness of the theologian, the accuracy and love of order of the scholarly jurist, and the insight into political affairs of the practicing lawyer-politician.29 It was, thus, only natural that his work never ceased to exercise a considerable influence upon future historians, serving as a model of how history ought to be written.30 Muslim Spain Muslim Spain produced an excellent crop of historians. Abu bakr Al-Razi (no relation to the physicist and chemist) flourished in Spain in the year 936-7. He is the earliest whose work has been transmitted to us, and is called by the Spaniards Èl cronista por excellencia (the Chronicler per excellence).31 His Arabic text is lost, but there exist a Castilian version, itself derived from a Portuguese translation.32 Ibn al-Qutiyya (d.977), son of the Gothic woman, a member of the former ruling dynasty in Wisigothic Spain is the author of Tarikh Iftitah al-Andalus. Al-Andalusi (d.1034), a judge at Toledo, was the author of Tabaqat al-Umam. In it he gives a wide spectrum on civilization up to his time.33 He studies the people and nations that cultivate science and ranks amongst them the Arabs, Hindous, Iraniens, Greecs, and Jews, showing their contribution to scientific progress. He was subsequently heavily relied upon by Al-Qifty, Ibn abi Usaybi'a and others. Ibn Hayyan (d.1076) composed Kitab al-Muqtabis fi tarikh al-
Andalus34 and Kitab al matin (the Solid Bok), describing the main events around him. He sought to remain objective
in his writing throughout despite the upheavals affecting Muslim Spain, then, not disregarding even those events that pained him. Ibn Hayyans Kitab al-matin, which according to Ibn Said contained nearly sixty volumes,35 was believed at one time to be held at the Zaytuna in Tunisia.36 Whether still there remains to be clarified. Al-Humaydi (d.1095), who came from the city of Majorqa, was a student of Ibn hazm. He emigrated to the Orient because of troubles in Spain (the beginning of the Spanish Christian reconquest), and established himself in Baghdad. His work Jawdat al-Muqtabis,37 is about the history of Spanish scholars. It includes many volumes, and gives in alphabetical order the biographies of the main traditionalists, jurists, political figures, army generals etc.. nearly a thousand entries. Al-Humaydi was to become a major source of reference for Al-Maqqari and Ibn Khalikan. Other than these Spanish historians, more followed, with the main ones published in the series founded by Francisco Codera, Bibiotheca Arabico-Hispana, from 1882 onwards.38 The Crusades The history of the crusades, two centuries of warfare (1098-1291), although generally set aside by western writers when dealing with Muslim historians, is well documented by a large number of historians. Ibn al-Athir (d.1233) from al-Jazira, Baghdad, is one such historians. He belongs to a family of learned brothers, and is the author of Kitab al-
kamil fi'l tarikh (the perfect in history). This work has been edited by the Danish orientalist C.J. Tornberg,39 and is,
according to Dunlop, with the Annals of al-Tabari, one of the most highly valued sources of Islamic history, highly reliable and readable. It has been much studied by scholars of the West, Brocklemann making the relationship of the
Kamil and the Annals the subject of his doctoral thesis,40 whilst Sir William Muir uses him as his chief guide after alTabari.41 In the book, amongst others, is described the capture of Antioch by the crusaders in 1098, a crusade the author sees as part of a three pronged attack by the Christian world against Islam: in Spain, in Sicily, and now in the Holy land.42 Qadi al-fadil al-Baysani (d.1200), some time prior to Ibn al-Athir, was concerned with more events of the Crusades, notably Salah-Eddins naval expeditions to Aylah and other military operations.43 Another historian of great repute was Usama Ibn Munqidh (fl. 1138-1188); born in the castle of Shayzar in the Valley of the Orontes, fifteen miles north of Hamma, but who spent his life mostly in Damascus. Usama lived in the times of Salah Eddin alAyyubi, witnessing the first decades of Crusader onslaught and settlement in the Muslim lands, and was himself involved in fighting them. At an old age he composed Kitab al-Itibar (learning by example), a book which contains

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many anecdotes on the customs of the Franks, their inhumanity at peace and at war, and deriding their inferior medical practice. Editions and translations of Usamas work have been done by Derenbourg44 in French, Shuman45 in German, Porter46 in English. And from an Escorial (Spain) manuscript,47 Philip Hitti48 delivered by far the best work of the lot in English. Ibn al-Furat, unlike Usama, gave accounts of the later stages of Frankish presence, of the time they were being finally driven out by Baybars (about a century after Salah Eddin). Ibn al-Furat was born in Cairo and lived beween the years 1334-1405. He wrote his book, Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk thus some time after the event itself, yet it is a work of great wonder in every sense. This treatise survives, incomplete, in the National Library of Vienna, whilst a section from it, unknown, has long been preserved in the Vatican Library until discovered by the French historian: Le Strange. It was he who described this part in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.49 Parts of Ibn al-Furats work has been selected and translated by U and M.C. Lyons.50 They gave those extracts in two volumes, the first of which being the Arabic text, the second its translation. From those extracts can be gleaned some very interesting events of the later stages of the Crusades' presence in Muslim land such as the recovery of Jerusalem, Tiberias, Ascalon and other places from the crusaders. Most of all, Ibn al-Furat describes the rise of and campaigns of Baybars and his crushing of Mongols, Crusaders, and Armenians. Lives and Deeds Of Scholars So many Muslim historians wrote on the lives and deeds of eminent personalities of Islam. Ibn Asakir51 (d.1176) distinguished himself with his great History of Damascus: Tarikh Dimashq. He Lived in Damascus, and taught tradition at the Ummayad Mosque, then in a college. Throughout, he maintained good relations with Ayyubid sultans. The first two volumes of his treatise are devoted to Damascus and its monuments, and the two others, by alphabetical order, give the entries on main figures of city: princes, governors, judges, poets, and so on. Ibn Khalikan,52 born in 1211 at Irbil, Jazirah, east of the Tigris, received his first training from his father. He spent most of his working life in Syria, though, where he excerted as Qadi and where he taught. His only work, Kitab wafayat alayan wa-anba abna al-zaman (the death of great personages and histories of the leading people of the time), is a dictionary of the great men of Islam, containing 865 biographies. In it, he takes considerable pains to give accurate information, tracing genealogies, spelling names correctly, giving the main traits of each personality, adding anecdotes, and fixing dates of birth and death; and when insure about a detail, he omits the entry altogether. The holograph manuscript of the wafayat is deposed at the British Museum, and the manuscript itself has been repeatedly edited by Wustenfeld53 and De Slane,54 on top of the excellent translation by de Slane in English.55 Entries on Ibn Khalikan can also be gleaned in every sort of compendium or encyclopaedia. The rich value of such Islamic works is raised by De Somogyi,56 who points out that although many biographies of European rulers or autographies from the Middle Ages exist, `we do not know of any such comprehensive and chronologically arranged collections of biographies or such extensive and alphabetically arranged biographical dictionaries as have survived by the score in Arabic literature. Such works constitute a rich repository of information from which precious data may be drawn by Islamic scholars and students of general history alike. And such information can be used for comparison with, or, and supplementation to the other pertinent sources of Arabic historiography.57 Works on the lives and deeds of Muslim scholars and scientists have also been considerable in numbers and size. Those by Ibn Nadim, Yaqut al-Hamawi, and Hadji Khalifa will be the object of another work. Here, the ones to refer to are Ibn al-Qifti and Ibn Abi usaybia, both of whom focussed on the physicians of Islam. Ibn al-Qifti was born in Qift, in upper Egypt in 1172-1173. He flourished in Cairo, then Jerusalem, and finally Aleppo. 58 He was many times wazir for the Ayyubid rulers, and was extremely well learned, his library valued after his death at 60000 dinars, which was considerable at the time. Much of al-Qiftis work is lost to us. It only survives in abbreviated form, but is still being one of the most important sources on Muslim physicians, men of sciences and philosophers. Ibn

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abiUsaibia, born in Damascus in 1203-4 in a medical family, studied in Damascus, and worked in the al-Nasiri Hospital in Cairo. He compiled a collection of medical observations, now lost. His main historical work was Kitab
uyun al-anba fi tabaqat al-atiba (sources of information on the classes of physicians), a series of bio-bibliographies of
the most eminent physicians from the earliest times until his. It is and remains the main source for the history of Muslim medicine, dealing with about 400 Muslim physicians. The work is divided in fifteen chapters, evolving from the origins of medicine, and its development, to the physicians of Islam in every country. Because Muslim physicians also excelled in other sciences, the book informs on such scientific activities as well.59 Wustenfeld derives much of his information from Ibn Abi Usaybia, but it is Mullers edition, in German, which is most informative including 162 additional pages, a preface, corrections, and a complete index.60 Ibn Abi Usaybia became the authority dealing with Muslim scientists, Wustenfeld, of course, but above all Lucien Leclerc in his `Histoire de la Medicine Arabe (History of Arab medicine),61 a two volumes (over a thousand pages) unique source of reference on the subject. Egypt The history of Egypt, so important in many respects, is handled by Ibn Taghribidi (d.1469) who wrote an-Nujum azZahira fi Muluk Misr wal-Qahira (the Brilliant Stars in the Kings of Misr and cairo. It gives excellent accounts of events from the time of the Muslim arrival until 1468, that is to the eve of the authors death. It is divided into seven volumes of annals; so extensive that. Juynboll, Matthes, and Popper all worked on the edition of parts of the work. Also considerable in length and importance is Al-Maqrizis (d.1442) work. A man of the law, and teacher in Cairo, he collected his material, much of which absolutely unique, to compile his major work: Kitab al-Khitat.62 In it, all that happened in Egypt throughout the centuries preceding him is extensively described: places, towns, events, daily life, culture, archaeology, economy and finance. Al-Maqrizi also compiled Kitab al-Suluk li Marifat Duwal al Muluk (book of Entrance to the knowledge of the dynasties of the Kings), which is a history of Egypt from the time of Salah Eddin (1169) to 1440-1. It is thus a history of two dynasties, the Ayyubids and the Mamluks. The Frenchman Quatremere made a translation of a large portion of this work, and also an edition of the Arabic version up to 1354.63 North Africa In North Africa, flourished at the end of the thirteenth century Ibn al-Idhari al-Marrakushi.64 He wrote a history of Africa and Spain, Kitab al-bayan al-mughrib, which includes the most detailed account of the Ummayads of Cordova. Dozy turned the work into French,65 and a partial translation was made in Spanish by Francisco Fernandez Gonzalez.66 Also from North Africa, but belonging to a later era, was Al-Maqqari: (d.1632). Born in Tlemcen, Western Algeria, he established himself in Cairo. He compiled a whole literary and historical encyclopaedia of Muslim Spain entitled: Nafh al-Tib.67 The work is divided in two parts, one dealing with the history of Spain, and the other about the life of the historian, wazir, and contemporary of Ibn Khaldun: Ibn al-Khatib, or Lissan ad-din. Unlike many who prefered to dwell on the romantic poetry side of Lissan ad-Din, De Gayangos went for the more stimulating and highly informative history of Muslim Spain.68 The edition by De Gayangos is over 2000 pages long, divided into many books, evolving from the pre-Islamic Spain, to the conquest of that country, the description of life and culture of the Muslims, their cities, Cordova, most of all, the wars between Muslims and Christian, the arrival of the Berber armies (Almoravids and Almohads) to fight off the Christian onslaught, the divisions and conflicts between the Muslims, the Christian re-conquest of the country, the fall of Grenada, and in the end, the final expulsion of hundreds of thousands (or millions) of Muslims from the country. De Gayangos states in the preface, that he fixed his interest upon al-Maqqari because he was to his knowledge the one authority presenting a continuous history of the Muslim presence in Spain from the beginning and through the centuries. It also offers a

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vast store of knowledge derived from other historians, which helps form a critical history of the country.69 Al-Maqqari transmits the extracts and fragments taken from other works, in most instances giving the titles as well as the names of their authors, thus presenting the original text of ancient historians whose writings were most probably lost.70 Ottoman Turks The history of the Ottoman Turks is one of the richest, if not the richest of all histories, stretching from the Middle Ages to our times (twentieth century) and over the largest stretch of land ever affected by any single power. It will require a whole, voluminous encyclopaedia to give it justice. Yet, those centuries and immense vastness, so rich in events of all sorts, most of which are crucial to our understanding of world history, battles and wars in their thousands, movements of people, upheavals of gigantic proportions, and so on; all these are as if they had never existed as can be grasped from the works of those writing on Muslim historiography. These are also the very `scholars who manage to turn obscure figures and events into major landmarks of history. Humphreys,71 a little more than others, gave one or two glimpses of Turkish history, spelling out one or two comments and some names. He observes that the earliest historical writing in Ottoman Turkish (mid fifteenth century) seems to represent a distinct and independent tradition; that it is almost `folkloric in its narrative patterns, relying on a colloquial style. One example of such is the chronicle of Ottoman history by Ashiq Pasha Zade (fl. 1485). With the Tevarih-i Al-i Osman of Kemalpasha-zade (fl. 1500), however, he adds, Ottoman historians began to adopt `the ornate courtly style used in contemporary Persian historiography. From the mid sixteenth century on, Ottoman writers began to show some concern for the deeds of sultans and viziers, and also for the principles which govern the rise and fall of states. This concern, he explains, being the result of growing consciousness of decadence and decline, as seen in the writing of such imposing figures as Mustafa 'Ali (d. 1600), Katib Chelebi (d. 1657), and Na'ima (d. 1716). The latter two were particularly impressed by Ibn Khaldun in this specific area, and sought to apply them to the developments observed within the Ottoman polity. Obviously Humphreys short entry dismisses the matter all too quickly. At this point it will be too difficult to expand on the whole variety of Ottoman historiography, but a subsequent return to the subject is most needed. Here suffices it to add one or two other very useful pointers in relation to Turkish history. For a good description of Algeria in Turkish times, prior to the French arrival (1830), there is Ali Riza Pashas Mirat al-Cezayir (a View of Algeria). 72 Khayreddin Barbarossa, known in Western circles as a corsair, and who fought the Spanish onslaught on Algeria, also left first accounts of his military campaigns, and overall description of the condition of the Muslims in Spain. His `Gazavat-I Hayreddin Pasa, British Museum, Or.Ms.no 2798, is the main source for such events. There are also other versions of this manuscript, as in Italian by A. Gallota, 73 or by the Spaniard Francisco Lopez de Gomara. 74 Khayreddin was also directly involved in carrying Muslim exiles from Spain during their expulsion, to other Islamic lands. In his work he particularly resents the loss of those exiles of their children who were kept behind to be raised as Christians. 75 Ibn Khaldun Nothing better to finish this summary than with Ibn Khaldun (d.1406), a figure, who, had he been named Smith, Jacques or Lopez, would have been declared the greatest mind that ever lived. Despite the usual

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dismissive attitudes towards anything Islamic, there is still enough recognition of the genius of such a figure, from whose work sprang our modern sociology, history, political and economic theory. There are literally thousands of works that have been devoted to Ibn Khaldun, long and short, as well as conferences, classes and seminars, besides entries under his name in every encyclopaedia or dictionary, some of them quite original as that in the universal biography published in French. 76 Ibn Khaldoun major work: The
Muqquadimma 77 (The Introduction) is a gigantic endeavour, a discourse on universal history in six chapters.
Chapter one deals with geography: physical and humane. Chapter two deals with urban and rural life. Chapter three is on the state and its working. Chapter four describes cities, their prosperity and fall. Chapter five deals with economics, whilst the final chapter covers sciences, their classifications and their development. Ibn Khaldun also discusses the history of the Arabs, the Jews, the Khalifs, the passage from family to tribe, their confederation, empires, their natural limits, duration and their fall... He expands on administration, government, the law, religion, finance, taxes, war, trade, urban and rural life, arts, sciences, architecture, and music, too. In his work, Ibn Khaldun does not just describe events, but also looked at their source, and elaborated upon them. He criticises some of his predecessors, arguing that information has to be supported by facts, repeatedly, warning on the pitfalls that can induce historians into errors. He rejects partiality, always making thoroughly certain of facts; thus giving a new scientific dimension to the social sciences. In economic theory, four centuries before A.Smith, De Somogyi holds,78 Ibn Khaldun had already concluded that labour was the source of prosperity. He had also distinguished between the direct source of income in agriculture, industry and commerce, and the indirect source of income of civil servants and private employees. In respect to universal historiography he was the first to lay the foundation of the pragmatic method and make social evolution the object of historical research.79 Humphrey explains that Ibn Khaldun was also the first to argue that history was a true science based on philosophical principles. 80 History involves speculation and an attempt to get at the truth, `subtle explanation of the causes and origins of existing things, and a deep knowledge of the how and why of events. Historical knowledge, thus, is not the same as factual data about the past, but consists òf the principles of human society' which are elicited from these data in a complex process of induction and deduction. 81 Mere piling up of facts is not the object of historical study if these facts cannot be determined correctly, there is no basis for historical knowledge in the true sense. And, following a long held Muslim tradition, and along with most Muslim historians, Ibn Khaldun agreed that facts depended on the authorities who had transmitted stories about the past, and that these transmitters should be men widely recognized for their erudition and probity. Ibn Khaldun advises that historians rely on the past for understanding the present, that they use their own experience to understand the underlying conditions of their society and the principles governing them. In studying the past, they must discover the underlying conditions of those times and decide whether and how far the apparent principles of their own age are applicable. The understanding of the past, thus, becoming the tool by which to evaluate the present. Ultimately, once they fully understand the laws of human society, they can apply them directly to any new body of historical information they confront,82 which exactly fits in with the opening statement made at the start of the essay by De Somogyi. With the latter it must be concluded, that if the degree of evolution of any social type is to be measured by the development of its historiography, à prominent place is due to Islam among the cultures of mankind.83

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References:
1 2 3 4 5 6
F.Wustenfelds Geschichtsschreiber der Araber und ihre Werke (GAW) (1882), Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen (GAL) Literatur, rev. ed., 5 vols. (1937-1949). F.Sezgins Geschichte des arabischen Schriftums (GAS) Vol I (1967) Franz Rosenthal, A History of Muslim Historiography (1952, 2nd rev. ed. 1968), D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilization to AD 1500, Longmann, London, 1971, pp 70-149. R. S. Humphreys: Muslim Historiography, Dictionary of the Middle Ages, Charles Scribners and Sons, New York, vol 6, pp 250-5. J. De Somogyi: The Development of Arab Historiography, in The Journal of Semitic Studies , Vol 3; pp 373387; at p.373: Ibid. C. Bouamrane-L. Gardet: Panorama de la Pensee Islamique , Sindbad; 1-3 Rue Feutrier; Paris 18 (1984).Chapter 12: History. pp 252-66; at p. 253. A.al-Duri: Baht fi nash'at al-tarikh, pp 25-7, quoted in Bouamrane-gardet: Panorama, op cit. C. Bouamrane-L. Gardet: Panorama, op cit, at p.252. D.M. Dunlop Arab Civilization, op cit, p.72. C.Bouamrane-Louis Gardet: Panorama, op cit, at p.253. R.S. Humphreys: Historiography, op cit, p. 253 Leiden, Brill, 9 vols, 1904-28. J.De Somogyi: The Development, op cit, p. 376. Edt de Goeje, Brill, edit du Caire; Trad english of P.K. Hitti; and German trans of O. Rescher, 2 vols. S. Al-Munajjad, a'lam al-tarikh, Beyrouth, 2 vols, quoted in C. Bouamrane and L. Gardet: Panorama, op cit. D.M. Dunlop, Arab Civilization, op cit, pp.85-6. In D.M. Dunlop: Arab civilization, op cit, p.84. C. Brockelman: (GAL), op cit, supl, I, p. 216. Edit cairo, 10 Vols; Fr trsltn, reedited Sindbad, Paris, 1979-1984, 6 vols. C. Bouamrane-L.Gardet: Panorama, op cit, p 255. Ibn Khalliqan: Wafayat al-Ayan , ed. De Slane, I, 640. D.M. Dunlop, Arab Civilization, op cit p.89. Leiden, 1879-1901 (reprinted Leiden 1964), including two volumes of Introduction and notes. By the time Dunlop was making such a statement, a UNESCO project was under way to produce a complete English translation of the work. D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilization, op cit, p.92. F.Rosenthal: History, op cit, pp 134-135. Ibid, p.135. in G.Sarton: Introduction, op cit, vol 1, p.643. Ibid, p.643. Edit Beyrouth and Cairo; trsltn into French by R. Blachere, Paris, 1935. Edit Cairo. Quoted by al-Maqqari, in Nafh al-Tib, ed.Cairo, iv, 172 (ed.Leiden, ii, 122). C.Brockelmann: GAL, i.338. Edt cairo; Cf: A. Gonzales Palencia: Historia de la literatura arabiga-espanola, Madrid; tr. Arab of Husayn Mu'nis, Cairo, 1955.
8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

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38 39 40 41 42 43 44
For details see Brockelmanns GAL. Edit , J. Tornberg, Leiden, 1851-1876. C. Brockelmann: GAL I, 346. Sir William Muir, The Caliphate , Preface to 2nd edt. Ibn al-Athir: kamil, X, p. 112 in F. Rosenthal: History, op cit, at P 147. In F.Rosenthal: History, op cit, P. 175. H.Derenbourg: Ousama ibn Mounkidh , 2 vols, publications de lEcole des Langues Orientales, Paris 18861893. H.Derenbourg: Anthologie de textes arabes inedits par Ousama et sur Ousama; Paris, 1893. H. Derenbourg: Souvenir historiques et recits de chasse, Paris 1895 (French version of Kitab al-Itibar .)
45 46 47 48
G. Shumann, translation of Kitab a-itibar , Innsbruck 1905. George R. Porter: The Autobiography of Ousama ibn Munqidh, London, 1929. G.Sarton: Introduction, op cit, vol ii, at pp 446-7. Philip.K. Hitti: An Arab-Syrian gentleman and warrior in the period of the Crusades. Memoirs of Usamah
ibn Munqidh , Columbia University , New York, 1929; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol 32, 1900, p.295. 50 U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, selection from the Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of Ibn al-Furat ; 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971.
49 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62
In C. Bouamrane-L Gardet: Panorama, op cit, at p. 257. An excellent summary of his life and work in George Sartons introduction, op cit, vol ii, pp 1120-1. Gottingen 1835-1850. Paris 1832-1842. Baron Mac-Guckin de Slane: Ibn Khallikans Biographical Dictionary (4 vols, quarto, Paris, 1842-171. J.De Somogyi: The Development, op cit, p.385. Ibid. From sarton, Introduction, vol ii, pp 684-5. For more on Ibn abi Usaibia see Sarton: introduction, op cit, vol 2, pp 685-6; A. Muller, 2 vols, Konigsberg, 1884. L.Leclerc: Histoire de la Medicine Arabe, 2 vols, Burt Franklin, New York, reprint, 1971. Al-Maqrizi, Ahmad Ibn Ali. Al-Mawaiz wa Alitibar fi dhikr al-Khitat wa-Al-athar. Edited by Ahmed Ali al-Mulaiji. 3 Vols. Beirut: Dar al Urfan. 1959.
Al-Maqrizi, Kitab al-Khitat, ed. Bulaq; partial French tr. by U. Bouriant and P. Casanova, Description topographique et Historique de l'Egypte, Paris, 1895-1900; Cairo, 1906-20.
63 64 65
Cairo, 1956-8, 6 vols, . From G.Sarton: introduction, vol ii, pp 1118-9; A. Dozy: Histoire de lAfrique du Nord et de lEspagne intitules al-bayanol Moghrib par ibn Adhari ; 2 vols, leyden, 1848-1851. F.F. Gonzales: Historia de al-Andalus (vol 1, Granada 1860. Al-Maqqari Nafh al-Tib, ed. Muhammad M. Abd al-hamid. 10 vols, Cairo, 1949. P.De Gayangos: The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain (extracted from Nifh Al-Tib by alMaqqari); 2 vols; The Oriental Translation Fund; London, 1840-3. Ibid, preface, p.xiii Ibid, preface, p.xv. R.Humphreys: Muslim Historiography, op cit, p. 251.
66 67 68
69 70 71

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72 73 74 75
Trans Ali Sevki, Istambul, 1876. A.Gallota: Le Gazawat di Hayreddin Barbarossa, Studi Magrebini 3 (1970): 79-160. F.L. de Gomara: Cronica de los Barbarojas, in Memorial historico espanol, vol 6; Madrid 1853. Ghazavat, op cit, fol 29b, 30b. For sources on this particular event, and other points on Turkish history, see A.C. Hess: The Forgotten Frontier , The University of Chicago press, 1978; chapter seven: Islam expelled.
76
Biographie Universelle: New Edition, published under the direction of M. Michaud, Paris, 1857. Vol, XX, pp. 26870. Ibn Khaldun: The Muqqaddimah, tr. F. Rosenthal; 3 vols. New York, 1958. J. de Somogyi: The Development, op cit, p. 385. Ibid, at p. 387. R. Humphreys: Muslim Historiography, op cit, p. 254. Ibid. Mostly derived from the summary by Humphreys: Muslim historiography, op cit, p. 254. J.de Somogyi: The Development, op cit, at p. 373.
77 78 79 80 81 82 83
Bibliography Al-Andalusi: Tabaqat al-Umam. Edit Beyrouth and Cairo; trsltn into French by R. Blachere, Paris, 1935. Ibn al-Athir:Kitab al-kamil fi'l tarikh (the perfect in history).Edit , J. Tornberg, Leiden, 1851-1876. Ali Riza Pashas Mirat al-Cezayir (a View of Algeria)Trans Ali Sevki, Istambul, 1876. Al-Baladhuri: Kitab Futuh al-Buldan, Edt de Goeje, Brill, edit du Caire; Trad english of P.K. Hitti; and German trans of O. Rescher, 2 vols.
Biographie Universelle: New Edition, published under the direction of M. Michaud, Paris, 1857. Vol, XX, pp. 26870. C. Bouamrane-L. Gardet: Panorama de la Pensee Islamique, Sindbad; 1-3 Rue Feutrier; Paris 18 (1984).Chapter 12: History. pp 252-66. Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen (GAL) Literatur, rev. ed., 5 vols. (1937-1949). H.Derenbourg: Ousama ibn Mounkidh , 2 vols, publications de lEcole des Langues Orientales, Paris 18861893. H.Derenbourg: Anthologie de textes arabes inedits par Ousama et sur Ousama; Paris, 1893. H. Derenbourg: Souvenir historiques et recits de chasse, Paris 1895 (French version of Kitab al-Itibar .) Baron Mac-Guckin De Slane: Ibn Khallikans Biographical Dictionary (4 vols, quarto, Paris, 1842-171. A. Dozy: Histoire de lAfrique du Nord et de lEspagne intitules al-bayanol Moghrib par ibn Adhari; 2 vols, leyden, 1848-1851. D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilization to AD 1500, Longmann, London, 1971, pp 70-149. A.al-Duri: Baht fi nash'at al-tarikh, pp 25-7, quoted in Bouamrane-gardet: Panorama, op cit. A.Gallota: Le Gazawat di Hayreddin Barbarossa, Studi Magrebini 3 (1970): 79-160. P.De Gayangos: The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain (extracted from Nifh Al-Tib by alMaqqari); 2 vols; The Oriental Translation Fund; London, 1840-3. F.L. de Gomara: Cronica de los Barbarojas, in Memorial historico espanol, vol 6; Madrid 1853. F.F. Gonzales: Historia de al-Andalus (vol 1, Granada 1860. A.C. Hess: The Forgotten Frontier , The University of Chicago press, 1978; chapter seven: Islam expelled. Philip.K. Hitti: An Arab-Syrian gentleman and warrior in the period of the Crusades. Memoirs of Usamah

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ibn Munqidh , Columbia University , New York, 1929.

R. S. Humphreys: Muslim Historiography, Dictionary of the Middle Ages, Charles Scribners and Sons, New York, vol 6, pp 250-5. Ibn Khaldun: The Muqqaddimah, tr. F. Rosenthal; 3 vols. New York, 1958. Ibn Khalliqan: Wafayat al-Ayan , ed. De Slane, I. L.Leclerc: Histoire de la Medicine Arabe, 2 vols, Burt Franklin, New York, reprint, 1971.
U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, selection from the Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of Ibn al-Furat ; 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol 32, 1900. Al-Maqqari Nafh al-Tib, ed. Muhammad M. Abd al-hamid. 10 vols, Cairo, 1949. Al-Maqrizi, Ahmad Ibn Ali. Al-Mawaiz wa Alitibar fi dhikr al-Khitat wa-Al-athar . Edited by Ahmed Ali alMulaiji. 3 Vols. Beirut: Dar al Urfan. 1959. Al-Maqrizi, Kitab al-Khitat, ed. Bulaq; partial French tr. by U. Bouriant and P. Casanova, Description topographique et Historique de l'Egypte, Paris, 1895-1900; Cairo, 1906-20. Sir W. Muir, The Caliphate, Preface to 2nd edt. S. Al-Munajjad, a'lam al-tarikh, Beyrouth, 2 vols. A. G. Palencia: Historia de la literatura arabiga-espanola, Madrid. George R. Porter: The Autobiography of Ousama ibn Munqidh, London, 1929. Franz Rosenthal, A History of Muslim Historiography (1952, 2nd rev. ed. 1968). Ibn Saad: Kitab al-tabaqat al-Kabir (the great book of classes),Leiden, Brill, 9 vols, 1904-28. G.Sarton: Introduction to the History of science, The Carmegie Institute; 1927-48. F.Sezgins Geschichte des arabischen Schriftums (GAS) Vol I (1967). J. De Somogyi: The Development of Arab Historiography, in The Journal of Semitic Studies, Vol 3; pp 373-87. G. Shumann, translation of Kitab a-itibar , Innsbruck 1905. Al-Tabari:Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l Muluk, (History of the Apostles and the Kings), Edit cairo, 10 Vols; Fr trsltn, reedited Sindbad, Paris, 1979-1984, 6 vols. Ibn Abi Usaybia: Kitab uyun al-anba fi tabaqat al-atiba (sources of information on the classes of physicians),A. Muller, 2 vols, Konigsberg, 1884. F.Wustenfelds Geschichtsschreiber der Araber und ihre Werke (GAW) (1882).

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Review of Muslim Contribution to Civil Engineering:
Dam Construction
Author: Chief Editor: Editor: Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright:
Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Professor Talip Alp Ahmed Salem BSc June 2002 4021 FSTC Limited 2002, 2003
FSTC Limited
Civil Engineering: Dam Construction June 2002
R EVIEW OF M US LIM CONT R IBUT ION T O CIVIL EN GINEER ING:
DAM CONSTRUCTION
Introduction In his `History of Dams, Norman Smith, began his chapter devoted to Muslim dams, 1 by stating that:
`Historians of civil engineering have almost totally ignored the Moslem period, and in particular historians of dam building, such as there have been, either make no reference to Moslem work at all or, even worse, claim that during Umayyad and Abbasid times dam building, irrigation and other engineering activities suffered sharp decline and eventual extinction. Such view is both unjust and untrue. 2
Similar point is raised by Pacey, who notes that it is often said that hydraulic engineering `made little progress under the Muslim, and that the latters achievements hardly evolved beyond the Greek or Romans. Pacey corrects this view, pointing out that the Islamic civilisation adapted ancient techniques `to serve the needs of a new age, and that the Muslims extended the application of mechanical and hydraulic technology enormously. 3 To explain the reasons behind the belittling Muslim achievements as observed by Smith, Pacey and others 4 is a mammoth a task which requires people versed in political, religious, and historical matters. Dams and Construction Techniques The Muslims built many dams in a rich variety of structures and forms. The majority of the earliest Muslim dams were completed in Arabia itself; and full information on their height, length, and ratios between height and length is given by Schnitter. He also specifies that with the exception of the Qusaybah dam near Medina, a 30 m high-205 m long structure, which was slightly curved in plan, the alignment of all others were straight.5 About half such dams were provided with a flood overflow at one end, and often with a downstream training wall to guide the spilled water to a safe distance from the dams foot. Schnitter also observes that about a third of such very early dams (7th-8th century) are still intact. 6 In Iraq, in the vicinity of Baghdad, a considerable number of dams were built during the Abbasid Khalifate. 7 Most such dams are on the Tigris, but a few are on water diversions, further illustration of high engineering skills. In Iran can be found the Kebar dam, dating from the 13th century, the oldest arched dam known to have survived. 8 The dam has a core of rubble masonry set in mortar, the mortar made from lime crushed with the ash of a local desert plant, the addition of ash making the lime hydraulic. This resulted in a strong, hard and impervious mortar, ideal for dams, the very reason for such dam's long life, and the absence of cracks in it. Much earlier than this dam, in todays Afghanistan, were three dams completed by King Mahmoud of Ghaznah (998-1030) near his capital city. One named after him, was located 100 km SW of Kabul, and was 32m high, and 220m long. 9 Dam construction in Muslim Spain was prolific. In the city of Cordoba, on the river Guadalquivir, can be found what is probably the oldest surviving Islamic dam in the country.10 According to the twelfth- century geographer al-Idrisi it was built of Qibtiyya stone and incorporated marble pillars. 11 The dam follows a zigzag course across the river, a shape which indicates that the builders were aiming at a long crest in order

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to increase its overflow capacity. Remains of the dam can still be seen today, a few feet above the river bed, although in its prime, it was probably about seven or eight feet above high- water level and eight feet thick.12 Techniques used by Muslim masons and engineers reached great heights of ingenuity. On the river Turia, still in Spain, as an instance, modern measurements have shown that the eight canals have between them a total capacity slightly less than that of the river, thus raising the possibility that the Muslims were able to gauge a river and then design their dams and canals to match. 13 Smith elaborates on such skills. 14 Muslim engineers used sophisticated land surveying methods to locate their dams in the most suitable sites, and also to lay out very complex canal systems. For such, they used astrolabes and also trigonometric calculations. 15 Around Baghdad water was diverted into the Nahwran Canal which supplied water for irrigation, whilst improvements were made to existing, old systems. 16 Dams were built of carefully cut stone blocks, joined together by iron dowels, whilst the holes in which the dowels fitted were filled by pouring in molten lead. 17 An impressive structure of masonry is Hills impression of the dam at Marib in Yemen, with its carefully cut and fitted blocks using lead dowels in their joints. 18 It was also fourteen metres high and 600 metres long, with elaborate waterworks including sluices, spillways, a settling tank and distribution tank. So strong a structure, it survived for about ten centuries until lack of financial and technical means made it impossible to maintain. 19 Back in Spain, according to Scott, the masonry of the reservoirs was of the finest description, and the cement used was harder than stone itself. 20 Contingencies were provided for in such manner that no overflow occurred, and no damage resulted even during the worst flooding. Evidence of Muslim engineering `genius is the fact that these dams needed hardly any repair in a thousand years. 21 The eight dams on the Turia River at first sight seem to have an exaggerated amount of weight placed on their foundations, the masonry of each dam going some fifteen feet into the river bed, and further support provided by the addition of rows of wooden piles. Such solid foundations were justified by the rivers erratic behaviour, which in times of flooding reaches a flow that is a hundred time greater than normal, the structure having to resist the battering of water, stones, rocks and trees. 22 These dams, now over ten century old, still continue to meet the irrigation needs of Valencia, requiring no addition to the system. 23 On the River Segura, the Muslims built a dam in order to irrigate vast lands in the Murcia region. 24 Because of the nature of the terrain, not just the location, but the design and construction had to be absolutely perfect, too. The height of the dam was only 25 feet, yet its base thickness was 150 and l25 feet, which may seem excessive. Such thickness was necessary to meet the softness and weakness of the rivers bed to prevent it from sliding along. The water flowing over the crest initially fell vertically through a height of 13-17 feet on to a level platform, running the length of the dam. This served to dissipate the energy of the water spilling over the crest. The over-flow then ran to the foot of the dam over flat or gently sloping sections of the face. In this way the whole dam acted as a spillway and the energy gained by the water in falling 25 feet was dissipated en route. Thus the risk of undermining the downstream foundations was greatly reduced. Like with other dams, rubble masonry and mortar were used for the interior, and the whole was finished with large masonry blocks. 25 By far, the most original Muslim reservoirs are to be found in the region of Qayrawan in Tunisia. A lengthy (about 270 pages) account of such structures is offered by the French Solignac. 26 These reservoirs, possibly for their high aesthetics, and like many other Islamic achievements, 27 were attributed, despite all evidence, 28 to both Phoenicians 29 and Romans. 30 Such erroneous views were adopted by a number of scholars until modern archaeological excavations and advanced studies proved the Islamic origin of such structures. These reservoirs have two basins, one used for decantation, one as a reserve, and at times a

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third one for drawing water out of it. Other than their impressive numbers, over two hundred and fifty in the region, such reservoirs also offer a great attraction in their form and structure. Water Management and Water Storage Water management in all its intricacies, from Andalusia to Afghanistan, Bolens reminds, was the basis of agriculture, and source of all life. All the Kitab al-Filahat (books of agriculture), whatever their origin, Maghribian, Andalusian; Egyptian, Iraqi; Persian or Yemenite, insist, and meticulously, on the deployment of equipment and on the control of water. 31 The authorities of the time played a crucial role in that, too. In Iraq, as a rule, hydraulic tasks of a vast nature were left to the state, while the local population focussed its efforts on lesser ones. 32 In Egypt, a more elaborate picture comes out.33 There, indeed, the management of The Nile waters was most crucial to every single aspect of life, and dams responded to such necessity. Both al-Nuwayri 34 and al-Makrizi 35 stressed the role of maintenance of dams and waterways of the Nile for maximum benefits. It was the responsibility for both sultans and holders of large holdings, under both Ayyubids and Mamelouks, to dig and clean canals and maintain dams. As in Iraq the sultan took over the larger structures, and the people the lesser ones. Most distinguished Amirs and officials were also made chief supervisors of such works. 36 Under the Mamluks there was even an officer for the inspection of dams for each province of Egypt: the Kashif al-Djusur . 37 Dams are used to store water, and this has major implications on economic and social life. Smith observes that `not only do dams represent some of the most impressive achievements of engineers over the centuries, but their vital role in supplying water to towns and cities, irrigating dry lands, providing a source of power and controlling floods is more than sufficient to rank dam building amongst the most essential aspects of mans attempt to harness, control and improve his environment. 38 Effective storage and use of water for irrigation, for instance, can have dramatic repercussions, in cheapening the process and bringing into use lands that were hitherto impossible or uneconomic to irrigate. 39 Both Spain and Sicily offer good illustrations of that. Water is also stored for the aim of providing power for milling. In Khuzistan, at the PulI-Bulaiti dam on the Ab-i-Gargar, the mills were installed in tunnels cut through the rock at each side of the channel, constituting one of the earliest examples of hydro-power dams, and not the only one in the Muslim world. 40 Another example is the bridge-dam at Dizful, which was used to provide power to operate a noria that was fifty cubits in diameter, which supplied all the houses of the town. 41 Many such hydraulic works can still be seen today. 42 Transfer of Hydraulic Technology to Europe The Islamic mastery of hydraulic technology is far more advanced than acknowledged by some of the sources many are too keen to follow, and which hence distorts the exact role of Muslim engineering skills. Indeed, to the likes of Gimpel 43 and White, 44 the Muslims hardly made any contributions in such a field. Reality, however, is far the opposite. First and foremost, the hydraulic works of the Ancients were found by the Muslims in a terrible state of decay and ruin,45 and they did not just repair them, but also added considerable skills of their own. To Spain, for instance, the Muslims brought irrigation techniques which not only laid the foundations for the prosperity of the country, but also with nothing as elaborate and as efficient seen before in Europe. 46 After the country was retaken by Christian forces, the Muslims, masters of great skills then, were allowed to retain their functions and serve the new crown. Alongside builders, paper and textile makers, manufacturers of iron and experts of all sorts, the Spaniards also retained and used

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Muslim irrigation works, their attendant rules and even regulations. 47 And as soon as the Muslims, who refusing to be baptized as Christians were expelled, or massacred, economic ruin, and famine always followed. 48 And Spain never recovered its former prosperity and levels of advancement once the Muslims had been eliminated from its land. Hill also notes that the introduction of desilting sluices, the arch dam, and hydropower made their first appearances in the Islamic world, observing that it is `difficult to see how these can be other than Muslim inventions. 49 Further illustration of Islamic impact in the field is not just obvious through the works of Hill, Pacey, Smith and others, it is also visible via the works of Muslim engineers themselves as can still be observed through the remains of old age storage structures all over the Islamic land. Furthermore, Whites, Gimpels and their followers argument lacks historical backing, for the major changes that took place in Europe, and not just in terms of hydraulic technology, but all others, 50 did, and without one single exception, at the time the Europeans came into contact with the flourishing Islamic civilisation (twelfth-thirteenth centuries), and not the centuries before. Also, the fact that Western technology in nearly every respect is identical to the Islamic one offers further evidence of such impact. The Destruction of Islamic Engineering Works Like with much else regarding Islamic civilization, once the transfer was accomplished, destruction followed. Muslim dams did not escape in their vast majority the onslaught against Islam. In 1220, the armies of Jenghis Khan devastated the whole eastern parts of the Muslim land. The destruction of al-Jurjaniyah dam south of the Aral Sea diverted the River Oxus from its course and deprived the Aral Sea of water, causing it to nearly dry out centuries later. 51 A hundred and sixty three years later, in 1383, it was Timurs hordes, which this time completed the work of their predecessors. The Tartars laid the land waste, Zaranj the capital of the province of Seistan, suffering terrible fate; its dams and all its irrigation works completely laid waste. A similar fate befell the Band-I-Rustam, and the region of Bust. 52 Today, hardly anything survives in those lands once the seats of great civil engineering accomplishments.
References:
1 2 3
N. Smith: A History of Dams, The Chaucer Press, London,1971. Ibid.; p. 75. A.Pacey: Technology in World Civilization, a Thousand year History, The MIT Press, Cambridge, 1990, at See, for instance,
p.8.
4
-E.J. Holmyard: Chemistry in Islam, in Toward Modern Science, Vol 1, R. Palter edition, The Noonday press, New York, 1961; pp 160-70. -J.H. Harvey: the origins of Gothic Architecture, Antiquaries Journal, 48, pp 87-99. And anyone taking the bother to read any of the many books or articles devoted to Islamic science that are still accessible, will find support for the opinion of neglect and cover up of the Muslim contribution to world civilization.
5 6 7 8
N.J. Schnitter: A History of dams; A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, 1994; pp-81-2. Ibid, p. 82. N.Smith: A History of Dams, op cit, p.78. D.R. Hill: Islamic science and engineering, Edimburgh University Press, 1993, p. 168.

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N.Schintter: A History, op cit, pp 88-9. N.Smith: A History, op cit, p.90. In D.R. Hill: Islamic Science, op cit, op cit, p.161. Ibid. Ibid, p.165. N.Smith: a History, op cit, p. 88. See forthcoming chapter on al-Battani. A. Pacey, Technology, op cit, p.9. Ibid, pp.9-10. D.Hill: Islamic Science, op cit, at p. 159. Ibid. S.P. Scott, History of the Moorish Empire in Europe ; J.B. Lippincott Company, London and Philadelphia, 3 Ibid, p. 602. N.Smith: A history, op cit, p. 93. Ibid. N. Smith: A History, op cit, pp. 94-7; D. Hill: Islamic science, op cit, pp. 166-7. Ibid. A. Solignac: Recherches sur les installations hydrauliques de kairaouan et des Steppes Tunisiennes du VII A list that includes Arabic numerals, the invention of the pendulum, the use of the compass in navigation,
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Vols, Vol 3, 1904; at pp. 601-2.

21 22 23 24 25 26
au Xiem siecle, in Annales de lInstitut des Etudes Orientales, Algiers, X (1952); 5-273.
27
the vaulted arch in construction, blood circulation, and so on and so forth, all attributed to various sources other than Islam despite all evidence in favour of the Muslims. On the other hand, acts such as the burning of the famed Library of Alexandria were attributed for centuries to the Muslims despite the flimsy nature of evidence. The library was proven to have been burnt centuries before the Muslims entered Egypt(See E.Gibbon, The decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, for instance.) Undaunted, some sources still ignore such evidence and keep blaming the Muslims.
28
M.Shaw: Voyages de Shaw MD dans plusieurs provinces de la Barbarie et du Levant; 2 Vols, La haye, 1743; Vol
II; pp 257-9; and E. Pelissier: Description de la Regence de Tunis; Exploration scientifique de lAlgerie pendant les annees 1840-41-42; Paris, 1853, pp 279-280.
29
A.Daux: Recherches sur loriginalite et lemplacement des emporia Pheniciennes dans le Zeugis et le H.Saladdin: Enquetes sur les installations hydrauliques romaines en Tunisie, published by Direction des
Byzacium, Paris, 1849.

30
Antiquites et Beaux Arts, et La regence de Tunisie, Tunis, 1890 a 1912. R.Thouvenot: Les traveaux hydrauliques des Romains en Afrique du Nord in: Realites marocaines, Hydraulique,
Electricite, Casablanca, 1951.

31
Lucie Bolens: Irrigation: in Encyclopedia of the history of Science, technology, and Medicine in Non
Western Cultures. Editor: Helaine Selin; Kluwer Academic Publishers. Dordrecht/Boston/London, 1997. pp
450-2; at p. 451.
32 33 34 35 36
C. Cahen: Irrigation in Iraq; Encyclopaedia of Islam, second edition, Vol V, Leiden, Brill, pp.864-5. H.Rabie: pre-20th century irrigation in Egypt, in Enbcyclopaedia of Islam, Vol V, pp 862-4; Al-Nuwayri: Nihayat al-Arab, Cairo, 1923, vol I, p 265. Al-Makrizi: Khitat , Cairo, 1853-4 edt; vol I, p.61. Encyclopaedia, op cit, p 862.

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37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44
Ibid, p. 863. N. Smith: A History, Op cit, preface, p.i. A.M. Watson: Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic world, Cambridge University Press; 1983. p. 104. N.Smith: A History, op cit, p. 81. Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, London, 1905; p. 239. D.R. Hill: Islamic, op cit, p. 160. Jean Gimpel: The Medieval machine, Pimlico, London, 1976. Lynn White Jr: Medieval technology and social Change, Oxford, 1964.
When C. Singer, assisted by Hall and Holmyard completed the edition of the large `History of Technology, in five volumes, in 1958, the response from Lynn White was vitriolic towards the epilogue written by Singer Èast and West in Retrospect. White used first Speculum (vol 33, 1958, pp 130-5,) and, above all Technology and Culture (Vol 1, 1958, at pp 340-1), a quarterly set up soon after Singers book, and with him (White) taking one of the leading positions in that journal, to attack Singers above quoted chapter. Singer is not the first recipient of such attacks, though. Any single book or journal, including the famed ISIS (founded by George Sarton,) that is deemed favourable to Islamic science and technology suffers the same onslaught.
45 46 47 48
A.M. Watson: Agricultural innovation, op cit, p. 104. D.R. Hill: Islamic science, op cit, at p. 161. N.Smith, A history, op cit, p .103. On the expulsion and extermination of the Muslims in Spain and Portugal, see:
-Jean Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974. -Charles. H. Lea: A History of the Inquisition of Spain , 4 vols; The Mac Millan Company, New York, 1907. See volume three, pp 317-409. -S.P. Scott: A history of the Moorish, op cit, vol III.
49 50
D.R. Hill: Islamic science, op cit, pp 168-9. Including paper making, new architectural techniques, university teaching, the construction of hospitals, N. Smith, a History, op cit, p 86. Ibid.
windmills, the use of the compass etc..

51 52
Bibliography: -Lucie Bolens: Irrigation: in Encyclopedia of the history of Science, technology, and Medicine in Non Western Cultures. Editor: Helaine Selin; Kluwer Academic Publishers. Dordrecht/Boston/London, 1997. pp 450-2. -C. Cahen: Irrigation in Iraq; Encyclopaedia of Islam , second edition, Vol V, Leiden, Brill, pp.864-5. -A.Daux: Recherches sur loriginalite et lemplacement des emporia Pheniciennes dans le Zeugis et le Byzacium, Paris, 1849. -E.Gibbon, The decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. -J. Gimpel: The Medieval machine , Pimlico, London, 1976. -J.H. Harvey: the origins of Gothic Architecture, Antiquaries Journal, 48, pp 87-99. -D.R. Hill: Islamic science and engineering, Edimburgh University Press, 1993. -E.J. Holmyard: Chemistry in Islam, in Toward Modern Science, Vol 1, R. Palter edition, The Noonday press, New York, 1961; pp 160-70.

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-Charles. H. Lea: A History of the Inquisition of Spain , 4 vols; The Mac Millan Company, New York, 1907. -Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, London, 1905. -Al-Makrizi: Khitat , Cairo, 1853-4 edt; vol I. -Al-Nuwayri: Nihayat al-Arab, Cairo, 1923, vol I. -A.Pacey: Technology in World Civilization, a Thousand year History , The MIT Press, Cambridge, 1990. -E. Pelissier: Description de la Regence de Tunis; Exploration scientifique de lAlgerie pendant les annees 1840-41-
42; Paris, 1853.

-H.Rabie: pre-20th century irrigation in Egypt, in Enbcyclopaedia of Islam, Vol V, pp 862-4; -J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974. -H.Saladdin: Enquetes sur les installations hydrauliques romaines en Tunisie, published by Direction des Antiquites et Beaux Arts, et La regence de Tunisie, Tunis, 1890 a 1912. -M.Shaw: Voyages de Shaw MD dans plusieurs provinces de la Barbarie et du Levant; 2 Vols, La haye, 1743; Vol II. -N.J. Schnitter: A History of dams; A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, 1994. -S.P. Scott, History of the Moorish Empire in Europe ; J.B. Lippincott Company, London and Philadelphia, 3 Vols, Vol 3, 1904. -N. Smith: A History of Dams, The Chaucer Press, London,1971. -A.Solignac: Recherches sur les installations hydrauliques de kairaouan et des Steppes Tunisiennes du VII au Xiem siecle, in Annales de lInstitut des Etudes Orientales, Algiers, X (1952); 5-273. -R.Thouvenot: Les traveaux hydrauliques des Romains en Afrique du Nord in: Realites marocaines, Hydraulique,
Electricite, Casablanca, 1951. -A.M. Watson: Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic world, Cambridge University Press; 1983. -Lynn White Jr: Medieval technology and social Change, Oxford, 1964.

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Some Aspects of Mineralogy and Gemology in Muslim Civilisation
Professor Abdulkader M. Abed Professor Salim Al-Hassani Husamaldin Tayeh August 2003 4043 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Some Aspects of Mineralogy and Gemology in Muslim Civilisation August 2003
SOME ASPECTS OF MINERALOGY AND GEMOLOGY IN MUSLIM CIVILISATION

Summary
Many Muslim scholars dealt with minerals and gems and wrote monographs on the subject. The golden age of their writings was the 4th-5th century after Hijra (AH) (10th-11th century AD). They used almost all the physical properties known to us now to identify and differentiate minerals. subject. Experimentation was a widespread habit in the study of minerals. Al-Biruni, in the authors view, was the leading scientist in this
1- Introduction
Mineralogy is the science studying minerals. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance that has a definite chemical composition and crystal structure. In other words, a mineral is a crystalline, chemical pure, natural material. Accordingly, gold, diamond, quartz, calcite, sapphire, pearl, etc are examples of minerals. The importance of minerals and mineral resources are well known and do not need to be mentioned here. Gems and precious stones are special types of minerals. They are rare, beautiful (in colour, transparency, lustre, etc), and hard enough to resist physical and chemical changes for some time. Diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald, etc have these properties; they are gems and, of course, minerals. The importance of gems to emperors, kings and wealthy women was possibly the driving force behind their recognition since the dawn of human civilization. Certain varieties of mineral, precious stones, and gems were known to the Ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamian people, Ancient Indians, Greeks, and Romans. Most of the lands of these people became part of the Islamic State Caliphate. Consequently, their writings on gems and minerals, as was the case with other subjects, were translated into Arabic in the first 3 centuries A.H. Thus, it is not surprising to find the best contributions by Muslim scientists to mineralogy and gemology in the 4th and 5th centuries A.H.
2- Scientists of the Subject

Most of what was written in the subject of minerals, stones, and gems was lost. works. These are some examples: ! ! ! Yahya Bin Masawaih (died 242 AH/857 AD), Gems and their properties. Al-Kindi, Yakoub Bin Ishaaq (260AH/873AD) wrote three monographs, the best of which is Gems and the Likes. It was cited by other writers in the subject. However, it was lost. Al-Hamdani, Al-Hasan Bin Ahmad (334AH) wrote three books on Arabia in parts of which he described methods of exploration for gold, silver, and other minerals and gems, their properties and locations. A few monographs
survived, and are now printed. In addition, information on the subject can be found in some encyclopedic

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! !
Ikhwaan As-Safa (2nd half of the 4th century AH) wrote an encyclopedic work, which included a part on minerals, especially classification. Al-Biruni, Abu Ar-Rayhan Mohammad Bin Ahmad (440AH/1048AD) is in the authors view the leading mineralogist throughout the Islamic history. His monograph Treatises on how to recognize gems( Al-Jamhir fi Marifatil Al-Jawahir) is probably the best contribution on mineralogy in the Muslim civilization. Throughout this manuscript, Al-Beruni did not translate or copy the science of other civilizations. Instead, he recorded his own experience.
Al-Tifashi, Ahmad Bin Yousef (683AH), Flowering Ideas on Gemstones(Azhar Al-Afkar fi Jawahir Al-Ahjar) value. Although it is more than 200 years after the work of Al-Bierouni, it is of lower scientific However, it is much superior both in classifying minerals and in the method of studying
them, which is very close to what we see now in modern mineralogy books. ! Ibn Al-Akfani, Mohammad Bin Ibrahim (749AH/1348AD), Special Treasures on Characteristics of Gemstones (Nukhab Al-Thakhair fi Ahwaal Al-Jawahir). This monograph is scientifically of lesser quality than that of Al-Tifashi.
Fig. 1 (left) Diamond crystal as described by Al-Biruni and drawn by the author. Fig. 2 (right) Quartz crystal as described by Al-Biruni and drawn by the author.
3- Methods of Study
Since the dawn of human civilization up till the 18th century AD, minerals had been studied by the use of their physical properties; e.g. colour, luster, hardness, crystal habit, etc. Whilst Muslim scientists used the same set of physical properties as scholars before and after them, they also made original contributions to the subject. The following are some examples of these properties and how they were used by the Muslim scientists to identify certain minerals.
3.1- Colour
Colour is what you see with the naked eye in the specimens. It was used extensively to subdivide a gem into several varieties. ! ! ! ! Yaghout (), now known as corundum, was divided into four types; each was subdivided into several varieties. Red = present day ruby. Seven varieties were identified. Yellow = Yellow sapphire. Five varieties were identified. Blue = sapphire. Five varieties were identified. White = white sapphire.

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Since colour is misleading in the identification of minerals, it is important to emphasize their ability to put all these coloured varieties in one gem category: Yaghout or corundum. other properties beside colour. To do this, they depended on
3.2- Streak
Streak is the colour of the mineral powder when scratched. It is still used now to differentiate, for example, between minerals which have the same colour but vary in their streak colour. This property was used by AlBiruni to group several varieties of hematite Fe2O3 (Shathenj ) under one mineral.
3.3- Dispersion
This is the ability of a mineral to analyze the white light into its seven components, violet red. Diamond is one of the minerals which have this property. To Muslim scholars, the higher the quality of diamond, the better it disperses light.
3.4- Hardness
Hardness is the ability of a mineral to scratch other minerals. The scratched mineral is the softer of the two. This property was well known to Muslim scholars, to the degree that they arranged the known minerals according to their hardness. Al-Bierouni wrote in his monograph Al-Jamaher p. 66: I have started my book describing diamond before all other gems because it is the leader or master. It scratches Yaghout (corundum) and Yaghout scratches what comes below it. However, Yaghout can not scratch diamond. etc (Authors translation). This is exactly our present knowledge of both minerals. Al-Bierouni also differentiated between diamond and a variety of quartz by hardness. A lot had been written on this property; the above few lines are enough to explain the idea.
3.5- Habit
Habit is the most common natural form or shape of the mineral. It is a reflection of its crystal form. This important property was also frequently used by Muslim scholars to differentiate between minerals. Let us translate the habit of diamond from Al-Tiefashi (authors translation): and of the properties of diamond, all types have right angles, six or eight or more, the faces are triangles. If it is broken, faces will be triangular even at the smallest parts, . This is true because we now know that diamond is of the cubic crystal system, and its more important habit is the octahedron. Al-Biruni, p. 94-95 differentiated between diamond and Yaghout, and diamond and quartz using the crystal habit. Figures 1 and 2 are drawn by the author according to the descriptions of Al-Biruni.
3.6- Specific Gravity

This is another important property coined by Al-Biruni, where he measured the specific gravity of several minerals for the first time to my knowledge. He invented a simple apparatus to do this (Fig. 3). The procedure may be simple, but the results are accurate and reproducible. The conical apparatus is filled

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with water to the mark. Then, a piece of the mineral is weighed and put in the apparatus. The volume of the displaced water is determined, which equals the volume of the piece of the mineral. The specific gravity of the mineral was calculated in reference to a standard volume of the yellow-orange Yaghout (corundum), and NOT TO WATER as we now calculate it. The specific gravity of the standard (Kutb ) yellow-orange Yaghout was 100 Mithkal. In other words, he was comparing the weights of equal volumes of the minerals and the Kutb Yaghout. The experiment was the same as the current practice for measurement, except that we now use water as the reference material with a specific gravity of 1. Table 1 shows the specific gravity of some minerals and materials relative to Kutb Yaghout.
Fig. 3 A sketch of Al-Biruni apparatus which he used to determine the specific gravity of gems and minerals.
Tabl e 1
Specific gravity of some minerals and materials relative to the Kutb yaghout (From Al-Khazen, Mizan AlHikma, p. 58).
Name of the gem
Gem weights of equal volumes to Y ag ho u t Their weights when equal to the volume of 100 Mithkal of Yaghout D a w a n ik Mithkal Dawanik Total Tasaseej
2400 2331 2171 1671 1630 1574 1554 1549 1525 1509
Yaghout Ruby Spinel Beryl Lazaward Pearl Agate Agate Onyx & Quartz Phaross Glass
100 97 90 69 67 65 64 64 63 62
2 3 5 3 4 4 5
3 3 2 2 2 1 3 1

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Dawanik are parts of Mithkal, Tasaseej are parts of Danik. The above numbers are of less use until they are converted to specific gravity on the basis of water = 1 i.e. to numbers that can be compared to what we have in modern mineralogy books. To do this, find out the modern specific gravity of Yaghout or corundum (it ranges from 4.01 to 4.4). This is equal to 100 Mithkal or 2400 Tasaseej. Then convert all other numbers to get the modern specific gravity for the above gems as shown in Table 2. Note that the modern specific gravity for the above gems is a range rather than a single value, because of impurities inherited in their genesis. Also, the exact composition of the reference variety of Yaghout used by Al-Biruni is not known. Consequently, some differences are present. However, they are small enough to indicate the accuracy of Al-Birunis experiments.
Tabl e 2
Some of the specific gravities of Al-Bierouni compared to modern values.
Name
Al-Birunis values Their weights when equal to the volume of 100 Mithkal of Yaghout Yaghout = 100 Water = 1 Modern Values Water = 1
4.4 3.99 2.678 2.775 2.65 2.684 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.45 2.58 12 <1
Ruby Spinel Beryl Pearl Agate Coral, polished Syrian Glass Quartz Sabaj=Jet Amber
97.125 90.458 69.5 65.58 64.75 64.54 63.125-62.79 62.6 28 21.40
4.01 3.73 2.86 2.7 2.67 2.66 2.6 2.59 2.58 1.15 0.88
4- Experimentation
One should not expect Muslim scientists to perform complicated experiments using sophisticated equipment in the manner of present day mineralogy. Experiments were focused on the physical properties of the minerals, in order to differentiate or identify them. Some of the Muslim scientists had slightly experimented on minerals, like Ibn Masawaih; others had frequently used experiments, like Al-Tiefashi; and a third class of scientists acquired all their knowledge of minerals through experimentation, like Al-Biruni. The following example is cited because it is short enough to include in the article. Al-Biruni wrote in his book Al-Jamahir , p. 58, while talking about Yaghout (ruby): I (Al-Biruni) bought some raw pebbles brought from India. I heated some of them, they became more red. There were two very dark pieces, one was with reddish colour, the other was less red. I put both pieces in a crucible and directed the flame at them for a period sufficient to melt 50 Mithkal of gold. I took the pieces after cooled. I noticed that the less red piece became purer with a rose red colour. The other, deep red piece lost its colour and became like Sarandeep (now Sri Lanka) quartz. I then examined this latter piece and

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found that it was softer than the Yaghout. . . I concluded: when redness is lost with heating, the heated material is not Yaghout. This conclusion can not be reversed; i.e. if the heated material stays red it is not necessarily Yaghout, because iron stays red after heating. Authors translation. There are several tests in the above paragraph: ! ! ! ! ! Al-Birouni first classified the pebbles as red yaghout (ruby). Two pieces were doubtful on the basis of their colour. The colour was tested by heating the two pieces. They were then tested for their hardness. Then a general conclusion was made for the whole work.
There are many other experiments where more than one physical property is used to identify a mineral or a gem.
5- An Example of Other Writings

Let us end this article by giving an example of other writings in the field of mineralogy. The example is Sabaj (known now as jet). The writings on diamond or Yaghout is too long to copy. This is not a gem. . It is a deep black stone, sageel, very soft, light, and burns with fire. descriptions. It
ignites if heated by the suns rays and has a petroleum smell which is in agreement with our (his) It is a solidified petroleum very much like the black stones used to heat ovens in Fardhanah (now in Ozbecstan). This is because the asphalt, bitumen, and petroleum rises in the mountain in Farghanah. .few lines on the metals and minerals in Farghanah. . The best Sabaj quality comes from Tous (now in Iran), it is used to make mirrors and utensils, and usually found in black, wetted, rotten land. . It is also brought from the Dead Sea area. Its specific gravity relative to Yaghout is approximately 28. The type brought from Samarkand has a specific gravity of 26.25 (around 1 relative to water). I (He) did fixed his weight relative to Yaghout because of the abundance of bubbles within it which increase the volume and decrease the weight. Jamahir. Authors translation Note the wealth of information in the above paragraph: ! ! ! ! ! Areas from which it is brought or mined Detailed physical properties Variation in specific gravity and its causes Genesis: its relation to petroleum Uses P. 68, Al-

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Selected References:
) 749 1348 /( . .1939 )243 857/( . . .1977 . .1957 . ) ( ) 440( . 1355 .. ) 683( . .1977 . ) 515( . 1359 .. ) 345( . .1977 .

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Interior Architecture of Desert Climate

Case Study of Gadames city - Libyan Desert
Mr. Hadi Ali Shateh BA, MA Nasser University, Libya Professor Salim Al-Hassani Rabah Saoud BA, MPhil, PhD Ahmed Salem BSc October 2002 4037 FSTC Limited, 2002 2003
FSTC Limited
Interior Architecture of Desert Climate October 2002
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE OF DESERT CLIMATE

CASE STUDY OF G ADAM ES CITY - L IBYAN D ESE RT
ABSTRACT The desert environment is often regarded as a primitive wasteland occasionally occupied by tents of the passing nomads. Yet, the Arab desert saw the birth and establishment of one of the great civilisations the world has ever seen. The Islamic civilisation, with its huge achievements, started in desert Arabia, the vestige of which is still scattered in various regions in the form of a number of thriving cities and ruins of others. With their distinctive character, these cities display a sophisticated design and building technology. They were specifically developed to meet the harsh climatic conditions of this type of environment and to translate the socio-cultural structures of the desert societies. The present paper examines the design principles of the interior of desert houses in the city of Gadames (Libya). The paper argues for the great congruence between the characteristics of the physical fabric of Gadames houses and its environmental conditions. Such a feature should provide lessons for solving the inadequacies of contemporary housing in Libya and the Arab World in general.
1. INTRODUCTION The subject of design of the housing interior space in hot areas has been the subject of many studies before. The aim here is to study the nature of the interior space introduced in desert climate conditions, and analyse the principles applied in their design to achieve thermal comfort for residents. It is clear that natural circumstances of the desert present a great challenge to designers to finding appropriate ingredients to accommodate these circumstances in the characters of the built form, the open space as well as in the nature of material of construction used. In internal aspects, designers faced similar constraints in finding adequate spatial arrangement, dcor, furniture and so on. From the present study of Gadames, it appears that Arab designers have raised to this challenge and succeeded in developing a number of design tools to sustain the climatic and physical conditions of the desert. Acquiring his skills from his observation and experience with such environment, the Arab designer successfully adapted elements such as height, material of construction, wall thickness, lighting, furniture and dcor to local climate conditions. These solutions, found explicitly in Gadames, provide contemporary designers of similar environments with valuable lessons for coping with harsh climate conditions. 2. LOCATION AND CLIMATE Gadames is a Libyan desert city located on 35.08 north and 9.30 east with typical desert climate consisting mainly of hot and dry season. Temperatures reach an average of 48C.

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3. DESIGN OF HOUSING UNIT 3.1 The idea of design The design typology developed in Gadames conforms largely to the environmental conditions. Such measures were produced on three main levels of design parameters. The city level involves the form of buildings, height, and material of construction, all of which reflected the local conditions. The level of ventilation and lighting systems of the city plan includes the ways the streets are designed, ventilated and lighted. The third level of this conscious design is the internal spatial organisation of buildings, which is the subject of this brief. Below is an illustrative example of a typical housing unit plan in Gadames in which we will examine various aspects introduced to cope with the temperatures of the desert climate (figure 1) . 3.2 The House entrance Entrances of the houses of old Gadames city generally open to the streets which are mostly vaulted to protect against the burning sun (figure 2) . Residents took advantage of this and extended the upper floors of their dwellings towards these vaults. Figure 1 below illustrates a horizontal section of the ground floor of the house, identifying its main components. The walls are made thick to externally absorb the heat and internally to be used as wall cupboards for the storage of shoes, clothes and other items (figure 3) . The entrance usually connects with a long hall leading to the main staircase of the upper floor (figure 4) . This hall forms part of the female territory often highly decorated reflecting the good taste of the household, and the artistic talent of its female members. The entrance hall is usually painted white and equipped with a number of mirrors to reflect light and keep the area bright. 3.3. The First floor As illustrated in figure 5, this area consists of the living space of the household. In its centre, there is the main living room that is divided into two sections. The first is reserved for family use while the second is mainly for the use of guests. Around this central space, the rest of rooms are arranged according to their use. They include the boys room, the girls room and the storage room (see figure 5) . Although these rooms are a level higher then the living room, they overlook it and are accessed from it through a set of staircases (figure 6) . Such arrangements keep children always in sight and allow the head of the household (usually the mother or eldest sister) to control the space effectively. Housing units of the city adopted this typical layout and subsequently appears as if they have one common scale and one common plan. They even display the same type of hand made furniture and dcor, which give the city a strong identity feature. Different rooms are subdivided according to their use. The height of their ceiling varies reaching its highest point in the central living room, thus giving it a feeling of spaciousness.

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3.3.1. Design restriction parameters Because of the mediocre size of the land plot of the house, staircases were included inside the living room, eliminating void spaces. Furthermore, the case itself was converted into a storage space in the form of shelves and wall cupboards for keeping items of daily use needing immediate access such as tea pots, cutlery, plates, cushions and so on. Such arrangement also accentuates the centrality and functional predominance of the living room. Houses are dense and attached to each other like honeycomb cells, reflecting the strong solidarity between the households, and allowing greater social interaction between them. In the meantime, private space is well protected from public domains in streets and public open spaces. Further demarcation of this private space is achieved by extending the height of the walls of the house at least one level higher than the immediate street (figure 7) . In this case, one can conclude that housing design in Gadames have perfected the functionality of the private space and protected it well from public domains, translating, in this framework, the socio-cultural beliefs and values of the Muslim community and its desert traditions. Ben Sweas reflected on this issue suggesting that " the architectural theory, in this example, is based on the relationships between buildings and their users, a feature which considers the socio-cultural dimensions of the community". 3.4. Roof floor The roof floor consists mainly of the kitchen and fuel storage room (figure 8) . This unusual location of the kitchen is determined by the following factors: a. b. c. d. The first is the discharge of extra heat and smoke caused by cooking. It works as a safety precaution against accidental fire. In the event of fire, residents can be led out safely and the fire may be easily contained if it starts from the open roof terrace. By adding this floor, the insulation of the living floors below from the cold nights of the desert is achieved. The roof terrace is often used as a female territory for household work as well as interacting with neighbours (figure 9) . The location of the kitchen in this floor enables easy access to it. 4. BUILDING METHOD AND MATERIALS A key feature of desert buildings is they are densely attached to each other, a character that was determined by a number of environmental and socio-cultural reasons. With such density, buildings can withstand both the heat and the cold of the desert climate. The scheme reduces drastically the penetration of burning sunrays and consequently maintained adequate temperatures in streets, courtyards and houses
(figure 10) .
As for the material of construction, buildings were made from a composition of local materials such as clay, limestone, gypsum and palm wood. All of which are cheaply collected and have a high isolating ability of temperatures.

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5. ADEQUATE DESIGN FOR DESERT CONDITIONS Gadames city represents one of the best preserved building system providing best solutions to thermal issues of the desert climate. The city achieved a perfectly integrated design scheme that employed adequate instruments in shaping the character of the built form and its street system, to secure the highest possible comfort of residents. Figure 11, for example, gives a comparative summary of temperatures between the internal and external spaces in Gadames. 6. INTERIOR LIGHTING SYSTEM In desert environment the lighting issue is approached differently to other environments. In the northern hemisphere, for example, buildings are designed to receive maximum amount of sunrays. The Desert requires different approach because of the strength and brightness of the sunrays that do not only raise temperatures inside but also affect the vision as well. Gadames provides a unique design scheme addressing this issue. In addition to the reduction of spaces open directly to the sky, the street system was designed in a manner to avoid direct contact with the sunrays. This was achieved by inclining the vertical street line at an angle forcing an angular entry of the rays which weakens their brightness and reduces the heat in the street. Figure 12 shows that the only time the sun enters directly the street is at 11:00am and 4:00pm, times when the rays are weak and their brightness is soft. In houses, widows are absent and light enters in through small aperture (louver), which does not exceed the 1m2 , opened in the roof of the central living space and through the two floors. As this is the only source of light for the whole house, residents decorated their internal walls with reflective elements such as the white colour and mirrors, which are placed in the right locations to receive the sun coming from the aperture and project to other places. This method indeed provided good lighting without risking more heat. Figure 13 shows how the projected light in the main living room is distributed through the mirrors around the house. Yader (2001) observed that in order to best use the light that penetrates the living room without risking higher temperatures, the aperture should be made as small as possible. "The smaller the light aperture is made the lowest amount of rays penetrating inside. Meanwhile, the two level (floors) height of the living space keeps the heat in higher parts, trapped between the roof and the ceiling of the living room, making the latter cool and comfortable. The height also improves ventilation through the two apertures (of the first ground floor and first floor) which also lightens the ground floor" (Yader, 2001). 7. VENTILATION SYSTEM The ventilation system of buildings of Gadames was scientifically designed based on the rule of hot air weighing less than cold air. The ventilation louvers were designed to function accordingly. The circulation of air is directed vertically through small holes to reduce the amount of hot air entering inside (figures 14a & b) .

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8. INTERIOR DESIGN SYSTEM FOR TREATING THE CLIMATE AND PSYCHOLOGY CASES The desert climate of Gadames has conditioned the physical and psychological well being of its community. Apart from a few hours where male adults of the community spend either working in their oasis or entertain in local clubs (cafes), residents usually pass the largest proportion of their time inside their homes, away from the sun. As a consequence, they made considerable efforts making their homes heat proof and designed them in the best manner to secure the most comfortable living conditions. In Gadames, the field trip showed how residents developed a number of decorative tools, in addition to the planning tools discussed previously, to create the right pattern that keeps the interior of their homes lightened but cool and answers their socio-cultural and psychological needs. The first of these measures is the choice of particular colour and geometrical patterns for the decoration of wall ends and furniture. The scheme's main function is to reduce the brightness of strong sunrays. It also creates a positive psychological atmosphere corresponding to local desert traditions. The other tool employed involves the already mentioned use of mirrors in the living room. These are hanged in particular locations on walls to receive light from the louver and reflect it to the rest of the interior. This sometimes creates problems as the brightness of this reflective mirrors may cause some visual discomfort. Therefore, mirrors are usually framed with dark red colour patterns to soften the brightness of the incoming light and reduce the shining of the mirrors. Additionally, the particular choice of dark red colours was also successful as it helped create a comfortable calm atmosphere in the house. The overwhelming decorative geometrical pattern applied in these buildings is the triangular shape. This is a long known tradition in the region of Gadames, as well as in most parts of the Sahara, which goes back to times before Islam. The red colour, according to Yader (2001), is extracted from the seashells as well as from the oxide of the red mercury. In its raw form is called "Zinjabar". The use of the red colour is often made on white background, or combined with light yellow and dark blue and green colours. Such colours are widespread in hot climate environments. This colour scheme is used also in textile, pottery, linen, shoes, crafts and most of local products (figures 15a & b) . The choice of green colour symbolises the greenery of the oasis, while the yellow refers to the yellow colour of morning dawn, a period favoured for its coolness and beauty. The blue colour, however, symbolises the colour of the sky, an expression of both limitlessness and calmness. The use of the yellow and blue provides an additional beauty and breaks the monotony of the red colour. At night, the city is as beautiful as in daytime, especially in dry nights of the summer season. The use of copper plates of various sizes, hanged on the walls, to reflect the light of candles, not only is a useful technique to spread the light of the candles but also adds a beautiful charm to the city skyline at night. "Copper plates reflects the light from the mirrors, adding brightness and shine. They are regularly cleaned with clean sand to increase their dazzling reflections." (Yader, 2001).

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9. RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The main theme of this paper has been the particularity of the desert environment and its relationship with the design features of desert towns and cities. The case study of Gadames has illustrated the influence of environmental conditions on the character of the layout and the physical fabric of the city. This determinism has been demonstrated in the design of the housing interior where a great degree of congruence between residents needs and their environment was successfully achieved. The two main conclusions reached in this brief study are: (i) Architecture of the interior of desert housing should be inspired by local environment and traditions. Importing design ideas from other environments or cultures would be doomed to fail. (ii) With its unpolluted environment and abundance of energy resources (sun and petrol), the Sahara represents a viable potential for the Arab peoples to develop. This would require greater understanding of its importance and more respect of its hard conditions. Such an approach would necessitate more research to find the best ways to adapt urban design to local circumstances, in similar way Gadames did. This issue was repeatedly emphasised by the failure of design solutions completely foreign to the nature of the Arabian Sahara. The example of Gadames raised a number of key elements. These are summarised below: One of the most crucial aspect in the success of desert architecture is the incorporation of climate conditions in the design of the layout and the physical fabric of the desert city. Consideration of local natural conditions, such as topography, wind direction, temperatures, movement of sand, water resources and fertile landetc, is pertinent in any settlement schemes. The need to respect and preserve the identity of local desert life is decisive for both improving the character and function of desert urban environments. The use of local colours, construction material, density levels, height of buildings and spatial arrangement are all essential ingredients emphasising the identity and personality of the area. The need to observe the functionality of the interior space is essential for achieving the satisfaction of residents. The space needs to be kept simple but well integrated. Any decor needs to reflect residents' taste rather than being imposed by the designer. There is an urgent need to preserve local traditional building skills of the desert regions. This can be solved by setting up training institutions, which record and teach these techniques. This training need also to extend to finding ways of improving the design of buildings as well as domestic technology.
FIGURES TO FOLLOW

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Internal vaulted streets.
Street
Entrance
The walls are 60 cm thick getting more slender towards the top.
Storage room is the coldest space in the dwelling.
Sewage wall lays directly under the bath room.
The main entrance opens to the hall then to a staircase which leads to the living room in the first floor.
Figure (1) shows the plan of the ground floor and the entrance of the dwelling. Source: Salem (1985, p.50)
Figure (3) View of the entrance hall showing side view of a typical main door of the dwelling and the storage wall units. Figure (2a) Vaulted streets and its branches.

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Figure (4) Main door seen from inside view leading to the staircase.
Figure (5) First floor plan showing different rooms and their use. Source: Salem (1985, p.50)
Figure (6) View of first floor and its access taken from the central, also showing the under stairs storage space.
Figure (7) General view of Dwellings showing the general height and the absence of windows for protection from heat and enhance privacy.

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Figure (8) Plan of top floor containing the kitchen. Source: Salem (1985, p.50)
Figure (9) General view of roof tops of dwellings marked by low walls and used as open terraces.
Figure (10) Avoiding vertical contact with sun rays is one of the key techniques introduced by local designers to reduce the heat inside the dwellings.

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40
35
30
25
20
25
25 23
22
25 2 1
25 2 0
15
10
-5
19
25 18
17
25 1 6
25 1 5
Figure (11) The difference between the inlet and out let temperatures in old houses.
Figure (12) The penetration of the light into the dwelling. Source: Salem (1985, p.13)

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Figure (13) view of the living space (room) showing the distribution of copper plates and mirrors on walls of the room to reflect the incoming light.
Figure 14 (a) The cooling system and the circulation of air in day light. Source: Evans (1980, p.106)

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Figure 14 (b) The cooling system and circulation of air at night. Source: Evans (1980, p.106)
Figure 15 (a) Distribution of red color around the mirrors.
Figure 15 (b) The composition of red, yellow and blue colors in internal decor.

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REFERENCES Interview with Haj Abed-Alwahed Ahmed Yader. An Expert in old and vernacular buildings, Gadames[personal contact], 15.05.2001 Salem Ahmed 'City of Gadames General Plan', 1985, Libyan Jamahiriya Evans, M. `Housing, Climate and Comfort', Halsted Press: New York- 1980, p.106. Bin-Sweas Abdul-jawwad, 'Developing Gadames Town' Al-Fatheh University Libya, [undated and unpublished]

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A review on
Architecture in Muslim Spain and North Africa (756-1500AD)
Rabah Saoud BA, MPhil, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Ahmed Salem BSc January 2002 4026 FSTC Limited, 2002 2003
FSTC Limited
A review on Architecture in Muslim Spain and North Africa (756-1500AD) January 2002
A R EVIEW ON
ARCHITECTURE IN MUSLIM SPAIN AND NORTH AFRICA

(7 5 6 -1 50 0 AD )
Abstract The Islamisation of North Africa and Spain transformed their socio-cultural and economic structures from poverty and darkness to prosperity and enlightenment. This had engendered major advances in architecture and art. In building, this region, especially Andalusia, produced some of the world architectural masterpieces comprising a number of palaces, mosques and gardens. This article gives a brief historical background on the process of Islamisation of the region, explores the architectural achievement concentrating on important historical and architectural monuments and provides a summary of the main innovative elements and their impact on Muslim as well as European Medieval architecture.
Architecture of Muslim Caliphate in North Africa The arrival of Islam to North Africa at the hands of Uqba Ibn Nafi (d.683) annexed this region to the Caliphate in the East, becoming firstly part of the Ummayads and later a province of the Abbasids. This exVandals ravaged region was steered to civilisation and prosperity quickly restoring its important position in the Mediterranean region and later gaining strategic significance in the Muslim world. North Africa was, and still, the main propagator of Islam in Europe, and through it Islam reached Spain in 726, Sicily in 827, Malta in 868, and Syracuse in 876 at the hands of the Aghlabids 1. The strategic geo-political location at the crossroads between Muslim East and Europe made it a prosperous trade centre. The region became transformed into a construction field resulting in the elaboration and dissemination (to Europe) of building techniques and architectural forms. North Africa Influential Monuments Perhaps the most important monument, and the oldest, is the Kairawan Mosque (670-675AD)2 in Tunisia
(figure 1).
H. Saladin (1899) found the significance of the mosque in its irregular form as none of the angles being of
right angle. Jairazbhoy, (1972) also gave similar importance to the plan, which consists of a large court surrounded by columns and horseshoe arches while the sanctuary (prayer hall) consists of 17 parallel aisles separated with arcades on rows of columns (believed to have been brought from Baghdad). These run to the end of the wall but stop before reaching the last bay. The central aisle is wider and at the Mihrab is covered by a dome, and here meets a transverse aisle running the entire width of the sanctuary, forming the T shape. This is believed to be the second instance of this peculiar layout, after the al-Aqsa Mosque plan outlined by the Abbassid Al-Mahdi in 780. This feature was later copied in the Great Mosque of Cordoba and Abu-Dulaf Mosque in Samara. These features also dominated Aghlabid architecture and we can see them in the Great Mosque of Safax, built in 849 (rebuilt in 988), with the same T shape plan and the rectangular Minaret standing above the central axis of the prayer hall. In the Great Mosque of Sousse (850) we find peculiar features to the contemporary style of the time such as the use of pillars and masonry groin vaults producing an effect

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lacking light and weightlessness of the usual mosque, but very similar to that atmosphere found in European Romanesque church of 11th and 12th centuries
(figure2) .
Figure 1: Kairawan Mosque showing the rear side of the minaret.
Figure 2: The use of robust pillars and masonry groin vaults in Sousse Mosque produced the heavy atmosphere.
Appearing firstly in the Great Ummayyad Mosque of Damascus, the square tower (minaret) became a dominant feature of the North African Mosque. Under Banu Hammad, this minaret reached a cross section of 20 square metres and developed delicate ornamentation consisting of tripartite design as found in Qala (castle) of Banu Hammad 1007
(figure 3).
The strong resemblance between this minaret and European
square towers of the 11th and 12th centuries suggests some link which can be attributed to the influence of the Qala. However, deeper investigation is needed to confirm this. The other distinguishable period for the sophistication of the North African square towers came under the Almohads, the proclaimers of the oneness of God 3 (1130-1250). From their capitals Marrakesh (Morocco) and Seville (Spain). They took pride in the construction of mosques and paid particular attention to the minaret due to its symbolic significance. Historic sources revealed four examples of large squared minarets. The first three of these was designed a Moroccan named Jabir, at Kutubia Mosque which was built in 1158 in Marrakesh
(figure 4).
The minaret was
67.6 m high and 12.5 square meters with blind simple base, pairs of windows with horseshoe arch pierced

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in the first floor and the following sections, and richly ornamented top sections. The other two sister minarets, also designed by Jabir, were the minaret of the Great Mosque of Seville (1172-1182) whose plan was remodelled from Kutubia Mosque, and the tower of Hasan Mosque in Rabat (1195-1196). In Seville, the whole structure does not differ greatly from that of Kutubia but the ornamentation details were significantly developed
(figure 5).
The intersecting multifoil arch dcor system (known as Shebka) which appeared in
Kutubia as single intersection line in the top section was extensively worn by the Giralda. Meanwhile, wooden balustrades in the form of balcony were introduced in front of each pair of windows of each section. By the conversion of the Mosque into a cathedral, after the Christian conquest, in late 16th century a belfry and other Christian baroque ornaments were added, and only the orange courtyard (Sahn) of the original mosque remains. The impressive minaret of Hasan Mosque (1195/96) surpassed the above two examples by its enormous size (16 square meters and 80 m high) making it more like a tower than a minaret here too, confirming the same inspirational origin. The fourth example is more recent and found in the Great Mosque of Mansurah, in Telemcen (Algeria). The mosque was built between 1303-1336 by Abul-Hasan Ali who ruled Telemcen beteen 1331 and 1348. Commentators [such as Marcais (1954) and Hoag (1987)] asserted that the mosque was modelled on Hasan Mosque of Rabat in terms of size (197x 279 feet), the use of stone columns, and the Qibla wall proceeded with three parallel aisles while the remaining aisles were perpendicular to the Qibla. The minaret conformed with the other Almohad minarets, described above, but had a remarkably larger horseshoe gate
(figure 7). (figure 6).
Although only
three sections remain standing today, we find similar design and ornamental arrangements were applied
Figure 3: Qala beni Hammad

Minaret (Algeria 1007)
Figure 4: Kutubia Minaret

(Morocco 1158)
Figure 5: La Giralda
(Seville, Andalusia 1172-1182)

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Figure 7: Minaret of Mansurah Mosque

Telemcen (Algeria)
Figure 6: Tower of Hassan Mosque

Rabat (Morocco)
Although the North African minaret had enriched Muslim architecture, it had also influenced the towers of European churches. Male (1924) summed this influence in three main aspects; in the adoption of multisection composition of the European tower, in the dual character of blind base and well ornamented upper sections, and in the flanking of the tower at the main entrance gate. Architecture of Muslim Caliphate in Andalusia (Spain) The arrival of Abd-al-Rahman I to Spain in 756 brought it, as well as North Africa, security and prosperity. The environment became fertile for the growth of agricultural and industrial production. Trade opportunities increased substantially resulting in the accumulation of considerable wealth. This was consolidated by the Caliphs personal interest in science and their good taste for art and crafts. This was later reflected in considerable and outstanding output in intellectual as well as material production especially in arts and architecture. Within this intellectual environment and scientific attainment, artists, masons and architects pushed human creativity to its limits producing some of the most artistic wonders of the Muslim world. Influential Andalusian Monuments As customary with Muslim Caliphs, the first important building they erected was the Mosque. In Andalusia, the Mosque of Cordoba (nucleus) was first founded by Abd-ar-Rahman I in 787. Its construction continued for a number of years as each succeeding Caliph added his contribution to the mosque in the form of restoration and extension, yet the building still preserved its unity and harmony as if it was built by one single person
(figure 8).
In terms of architectural and ornamental innovation, the Cordoba mosque
introduced several features and techniques that became part of late Muslim architecture particularly in North Africa. The mosque introduced a fascinating technique (more elaborate than that of Quairawan) in extending the height of short columns to achieve a standard height of space (roof and ceiling). In the first

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instance, architects of Abd-Al-Rahman I used super-imposed arcades of round arches while in Quairawan Mosque (in 836) this was achieved by stretching up the arch to the desired height. In 961, and under AlHakem II, a third technique was introduced in the Maqsura of Cordoba Great Mosque by using the superimposed trefoil intersecting arches which added more decorative touch to this technique. Meanwhile, the substantial use of both horseshoe and polylobed arches in Cordoba was a source of inspiration for their European adoption. The next development was the use of ribbed domes. It was used in the Maqsura (erected between 961-968). This fashion consisted of adding ribs to the vault of the dome to give support to the structure as well as provide a fascinating internal decorative technique in the form of a rose formed by interlacing arches (ribs)
(figure 9).
After this experience in Cordoba, the use of these ribbed domes extended in Andalusia. It was eventually employed in the majority of buildings including the famous Mosque of Bab Mardum built in 1000. Progressively, Muslims mastered this style and produced remarkable domes such as those found in Morocco, Telemcen and Isfahan. The popularity of this extended also to churches of Christian parts of Andalusia and then to Europe where the majority of domes adopted the Cordoban approach. Some academics, such as Lambert, Male, and Choisy firmly established that this Cordoban technique was the origin of the ribbed vaulting of the Gothic. Another remarkable feature of this Mosque is its polychromy. The use of red and white coloured bricks, although its first use was the Dome of the Rock where an alternation of black and white was introduced. Its inclusion especially in the voussoirs of the arches of Cordoba Mosque produced a delightful atmosphere emphasising structural unity and aesthetic continuity. European visitors of the 9th and 10th centuries couldnt resist its overwhelming beauty and wasted no time in introducing it in their buildings. Medinat Al-Zahra was founded by al-Nasir lidin-Allah, Abd-al-Rahman III who ruled Cordoba between 912961. Beginning in 936, the town was slowly developed, mainly under Al-Hakem II (961 976), into a rectangular complex of about 875 by 1230 yards consisting of residential and administrative quarters enveloped within strong walls. The town represented an urban unity defined by strong ramparts and composed of topographical as well as functional hierarchy reflecting the socio-economic and political status of the community. The area was organised in terraces descending towards the Wadi al-Kabir Guadalquivir valley and comprising a considerable number of gardens, pools, arcades, halls and housing complexes. The northern terrace, the highest, accommodated the Caliphs palace (Dar al-Mulk), which dominated the site and the plains beneath leading to the river. The power of the palace extended beyond the site to the whole of Andalusia and Europe. The middle terrace accommodated the administrative buildings and palaces of important dignitaries and the Caliphs entourage. The most important buildings of this section were the house of the Prime Minister Jafar al-Mushafi who took this position in 961, and two major public reception halls; Dar al-Wuzara House of Viziers , and to the south the Caliphs' main reception hall
(figure 10).
The mosque laid beyond the middle
terrace was built by 1000 craftsmen in record time of 48 days (Hattstein & Delius, 2000). The remaining part of the town, the lower terrace, was reserved for infantry and cavalry housing as well as ordinary citizen. It has yet to be excavated.

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Figure 8. Cordoba Mosque showing the intrusion of the Christian Church in its heart.
Figure 9.The dome over the Mihrab of the Mosque.
Al-Zahra became renowned for its high advanced civilisation, style and protocol in addition to the extensively decorated walls, floors and ceilings of its buildings, which were depicted at least in two documentary occasions. The legendary reception of King Ordono IV of Leon was held in 962. Historic sources described this famous event and what happened to the visiting Christian King. He arrived at the main entrance gate on the northern terrace situated near the large portico. As he entered, he was taken in an official royal procession through rows of guards, with their parade uniforms, lined up on the stone benches, which bordered the walls of the sloping streets. The procession went down to Dar al-Wuzara 4 (House of Viziers) where the king was asked to climb down from his horse and was taken inside for a short rest. Later, he continued on foot to the main Caliphal reception hall where the Caliph waited for him. At the end of the reception with the Caliph, the King went back to Dar al-Wuzara before departing to his country.

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The second legendary reception was the one Abd al-Rahman III gave Johannes von Gorze, the monk ambassador of Emperor Otto I (962-973). Descriptions provided by Muslim writers are numerous, but the position of Al-Zahra cannot be better demonstrated than in Ibn Zaidun's poetry (1003-1070), especially the following verses: I have recalled you with longing in al-Zahra, Between limpid horizon and sweet face of earth whilst the breeze languished at sunset, almost diseased with pity for me. The city was destroyed in the civil war of 1010, which led to the emergence of Taifa Kingdoms. The state of ruin of Medinat Al-Zahra and the destruction of written documents made the task of assessing its contribution to Muslim and European world very difficult. However, there are suggestions that relate its influence on Europe to the spread of the horseshoe arch (in addition to Cordoba Mosque), as well the spread of Royal protocol and reception procession. The full impact of Medinat Al-Zahra still needs further exploration especially by Muslim scholars.
Figure 10: Al-Zahra main Reception Hall (restored)
The other influential edifice is Bab Mardum Mosque that was built between 999 and 1000 according to an inscription found on its faade
(figure 11).
The mosque is thought to be a private institution as reflected by
its mediocre size (26.4 square feet) and its pavilion type form (Hoag, 1987). Marcais (1954) found a link between Bab Mardum, the mosque of Casa de las Tornerias (Toledo 12th century), and Abu Fatata Mosque (Tunisia), while Creswell extended this link to include Sussa Ribat and Mosque of Masjid-I-Tarikh at Balkh. These buildings have one common plan consisting of square shape subdivided into square compartments. In Bab Mardum, Casa de las Tornerias and Balkh, there are nine chambers covered with domes. In Bab Mardum the technique introduced in these domes is very revealing, with the insertion of supporting ribs intersecting each other in similar fashion to that of Cordoba. The ribs of the central dome were arranged in a star form crowning the structure and externally the dome was raised slightly above the rest of the roof. The whole structure is supported by four centred columns which also define its nine bays and above them horseshoe arches were placed.

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In one of these domes, the ribs intersect at 90 in the centre of the dome
(figure 12),
th
a basic form of the
quadripartite ribbed vaults of early Gothic architecture which appeared in late 12
century. Lambert (1958)
firmly believed that the ribs of Bab Mardum must have been the inspiration of the Gothic ribs. Toledo was conquered by Alfonso VI in 1085 5 and Bab Mardum was immediately converted into a Christian church under the name of Cristo de la Luz. Direct imitation was undertaken in the second half of the 12th century at the construction of Casa de las Tornerias (also in Toledo) under the Christian rule. Meanwhile, the first quadripartite vault appeared in St. Dennis in 1144.
Figure 11: Faade of bab Mardum (999-1000) showing the Cordoban intersecting arches while the entrance is marked by the three famous Muslim arches, from left to right; The cinqfoil, the semi-circular, and the horseshoe.
Figure 12: The construction technique of ribbed dome in Bab Mardum, that inspired the Gothic earliest ribbed vaulting, the quadripartite vault.

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Following the weakening of the Cordoba Caliphate and the civil war that broke out in 1010 power vacuum was created. This allowed opportunist leaders to establish small kingdoms and states leading to the appearance of taifa kingdoms. Internal fighting and divisions gave a golden opportunity to northern Christians to strengthen themselves and recapture some key towns such as Toledo (1085), Saragossa, Seville and Badajoz. Consequently, Muslim artistic and architectural production became limited. The most important monument of this period was the Aljaferia Castle built in Saragossa. Under mounting threats of Christian invasion, North Africa under Almoravids (1031-1150), and later Almohads (1150-1250) came to the rescue of Muslim Caliphate in Andalusia and in both occasions North African leaders crossed Gibraltar to provide help and sustain the Muslim resistance there. This political unification consolidated much of the existing social and cultural unity leading to greater integration of art and architecture of this region which is better known as Moorish style. We have already referred to some of the works undertaken by these dynasties in previous sections, but here we briefly refer to the enlargement of the Qarawiyin mosque by Almoravid Caliph Ali ben Yousef (1135-1143). In this work, the stalactite vaulting was introduced to the region in the Mihrab dome of this Mosque. This dome was made of Muqarnas, plaster structure in the from of suspended and interlocked smaller domes similar to birds nests. This form became universal in Muslim architecture. It should be pointed out here that this had originated from Persia where it first appeared in 1037 at Yazd in the tomb of Duvazda-I Iman (Hoag, 1968, p.24). We cannot leave North Africa and Spain without referring to the famous Al-Hambra Palace. The origin of the building is still under debate as most scholars dated to 13th century Granada, but there are some indications which suggest that it was first built in the 11th century (see Bargebuhr, 1968) 6, a date with great significance to both Muslim and European architecture. The palace complex briefly consists of series of apartments, halls and courts organised in a delightful interconnected setting of hierarchy. The palace is an architectural masterpiece in every term. The successions of spaces are clearly defined by boundaries and each space contains identical features enhancing its identity as well as its function. The visual effect reaches its peak through careful combinations of colour, light and pattern. The structure cleverly dematrialised by continuous work of stucco, muqarnas and faience covering the entire walls, floors and ceilings. The composition of courts, gardens and water meantime expressed the Muslim views of paradise and its eternality rewarding those who strive to reach it. The honey juice is provided (symbolised) by the honey comb vault of the Hall of the Abencerages representing the world most fascinating vault
(figure 13).
Here the interlocking of small squinches of lozenge shapes which project from the walls produced a cell very alike to the honeycomb organised in an eight pointed star. The drum of the star carries 16 windows two for each side of the star allowing enormous amount of light in to dazzle the eye. The rivers of paradise are represented by the four streams, which run from the central fountain of the Court of Lions to supply the rest of numerous springs of the palace. The Pool of the Court of Myrtle is another river extending to the eastern side of the Palace
(figure 14).
The golden stucco and calligraphic ornament covering the walls as
they appear in the hall of Ambassadors may refer to golden jewellery and silky dresses the believer is promised (for more please consult Grabar, 1978). The impact of Alhambra in disseminating Muslim Moorish style was substantial. Rich and wealthy Europeans who heard about or visited it could not resist the idea of reproducing elements or parts of it in their own buildings as happened to Owen Jones (1809-1874). His fascination with Muslim architecture in general and

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Alhambra's court of Lion in particular was behind his creation of "Alhambra court: at the Crystal Palace at Sydenham (Darby, 1974). The Alhambra style of ornamental and internal decoration invaded most European houses especially in Victorian England. The position of Al-Hambra in the European mind can be demonstrated in the writing of Victor Hugo in his "Les Orientales": LAhambra! LAhambra! Palais que les genies Ont dore comme un reve et rempli dharmonies; Forteresse aux crenaux, festonnes et croulants, Ou lon entend la nuit de magiques syllabes, Quand la lune, a travers les milles arceaux arabes Serme les mures de trefles blancs! In the Muslim world, architecture seems to reach its complete character as works after this period mostly borrowed from previous buildings and this long established tradition. Nevertheless, several masterpieces were produced especially under the Turkish patronage (see article on Muslim Architecture under Turkish Patronage). Figure 13: Hall of the Abencerages (Alhambra) showing the honey comb dome.
Figure 14: The Court of Myrtle and the river of paradise in Alhambra.

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North African and Andalusian Architectural contribution The above brief account is by no mean a comprehensive survey of major monuments of the region but careful selection aimed at the identification of key edifices that produced innovative elements playing a leading role in the further development of Muslim architecture and having an inspirational impact on European and world architecture. The discussion highlighted a number of areas where Muslim architecture in North Africa and Andalusia made significant contributions in particular in the following: North African square towers and minarets had a significant contribution in the development of European church towers. The use of square shape in the form of added sections with decreased size, the dual system of blind base and decorated top sections, and the erection of the tower near the entrance gate were all but Muslim inspiration from North Africa. Andalusian and North African Muslims mastered the use and construction of arches. Their ultimate understanding of the properties of the arch appear in the technical innovation of achieving standard height by stretching, or super-imposing arcades of semi-circular or multifoil arches as seen in Cordoba Mosque and Quairawan. The extensive use of horseshoe and multifoil arches in the Mosque of Cordoba and Al-Zahra was the source of inspiration for their European adoption. There are suggestions which also relate the source of European adoption of the pointed arch to North Africa. Historic evidence revealed that Constantine the African, who played a leading role in the transfer of Muslim Medicine into Europe and the establishment of Salerno School of Medicine, was staying at Monte Cassimo monastery at the time it was under reconstruction in 1080, when the pointed arch was employed for the first time in Europe. A Christian from Tunisia where the pointed arch was used since the 9th century, Constantine and his Muslim (Saracen) servant must have showed the Amalfitan builders the advantages and how to build the pointed arch. The use of polychromy in Cordoba and Al-Zahra was also another inspiration for Europe's adoption of polychromy decore. The technical innovation in the construction of dome vaults through the introduction of ribs organised in various shapes including the eight pointed star which appeared in Cordoba Mosque and Bab Mardum was imitated first in European domes and later inspired the Gothic vaults.
Notes: 1 Descending from Ibrahim Ibn Alghlab, the Emir designated by Harun al-Rashid (786-809)to rule North Africa. 2 This date refers to the formal foundation of the Mosque, but the remaining structure belongs to two main periods. The minaret is believed to belong to the Umayyad Caliph Hisham built between 724 and 727. The rest of the structure belongs to the reign of the Aghlabid Emir Ziyadat Allah (began in 836).

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3 This is the theological meaning of the title of Almohads, in Arabic "Al-Muwahidun" 4 Also called salon Rico after its discoverer. 5 The first mass took place in Bab Mardum on 25th of May of 1085. 6 This work is being referred to for the dating purpose only, we must worn our readers that it is full of nonsense as the author devoted all his efforts to argue -without success- the Jewish origin of Al-Hambra as if Muslim civilisation in Andalusia was none but Jewish. References: Bargebuhr, F. R. (1968) ` The Alhambra, a cycle of studies in the 11th century in Moorish Spain' , Walter de Gruyer & Co. Berlin Creswell ,K.A.C. (1958) À Short Account of Early Muslim Architecture', Penguin Books, Choisy, A (1899) ` Histoire de l'Architecture', 2 /vols, Gauthier Villars, Paris. Darby, M. (1974)` Owen Jones and the eastern ideal , unpublished PhD thesis, university of Reading). Grabar, O. (1978)` The Alhambra', Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. Hoag, J.D. (1968) ' Western islamic Architecture', Studio Vista, London. Hoag, J.D. (1987) ' Islamic Architecture', Faber & Faber, London Hugo, Victor, (1968) Les Orientales. Garnier-Flammarion , Paris Saladin, H. (1899) `La Grande Mosquee de Kairwan', Paris. Jairazbhoy, R. A. (1972) 'An outline of Islamic architecture', Asia Publishing House, Bombay. Lambert, E. (1958) Art Musulman et Art Chretien dans la Peninsul Iberique, Editions Privat, Paris. Male, E (1928) Art et Artistes du Moyen Age', Librairie Armand Colin, Paris. Marais, G. (1954) 'L'Architecture Musulmane d'Occident : Tunisie, Algrie, Maroc, Espagne et Sicily', Arts et mtiers graphiques, Paris.

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Muslim Architecture under The Umayyad Patronage (661-750AD)
FSTC Limited
Muslim Architecture under The Umayyad Patronage (661-750AD) January 2002
MUSLIM ARCHITECTURE UNDER THE UMAYYAD PATRONAGE

(6 6 1 -7 50 A D )
The Umayyads established the first Islamic dynasty in Damascus, which is renown for a number of important accomplishments. Under their leadership, Islam reached most parts of today's Muslim World and by mid eight century Muslim Caliphate ruled from Damascus to Tashkent in the East and to the Pyrenee mountains in the West. The second major achievement was the organisation of administration and trade and the introduction of coinage. These events engendered greater architectural movements reflecting the Umayyad grandeur as portrayed in their master pieces; the Dome of the Rock and the Great Mosque of Damascus. The present article examines the main flagship construction projects of that period and explores its innovative architectural and artistic elements.
Background The arrival of Muawiya to the throne of Caliphate after the death of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the 4th Caliph, marked the beginning of the Umayyad dynasty. That period was renown for its architectural achievement. The relative security and peace that followed the turbulent first few years after the war the Umayyads led against Ali's family, augmented by the newly acquired wealth generated by the annexation of both Iraq, Iran and Syria to Islam contributed to the development of artistic and architectural activities. Signs of this change emerged in religious as well as secular buildings. The development of major architectural components of the mosque is attributed to the Umayyads. Muawiya introduced the minaret in 673 while carrying some enlargement works for the mosque of Amr Ibn-Al-AAs (Egypt, 641-2). He equipped it with four minarets for the call to prayer (Adhan). This innovation, according to Creswell (1958, p.14), was imitated from a Syrian Christian practice. According to this story, early Muslims in Damascus prayed initially at a neglected temple 1 which the Christians named as the Church of John the Baptist. It had four small projections at the four Corners on which people climbed to make the Adhan and thus inspiring the development of minarets (for example, Briggs, 1924 & Creswell, 1926) 2. Other theories suggest the influence of the Pharaohs light towers (Mitchell, et al., 1973). In Damascus Mosque (706-715), the Umayyad innovation also included the use of stone arcades surrounding the court and consisting of horseshoe arches. This is the earliest recorded appearance of this type of arches, a fact which contradicts some claims which attribute its adoption by Muslims to the influence of Visigoth Spain3 (Briggs, 1924 p.42). The first use and appearance of multifoil arches is also attributed to the Umayyad Mosque, in the minaret, then transmitted to the rest of the Muslim world before crossing over to Europe where it has been consistently used in church as well as civic buildings. The other main innovation was the introduction of the dome over the crossing, in the central nave in front of the Mihrab. This feature is known to have been used in Christian churches first appeared in the Umayyad Mosque and progressively became a central feature of most mosques. Moreover, according to Ibn Khaldoun (1967), Muawiya was also responsible for the introduction of the maqsura, a separate room near the Mihrab for his personal use, as a result of an attempt made on his life by the Kharijite.

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When Al-Walid became Caliph, the Prophets Mosque in Medina was becoming unfit to receive the large crowds of the faithful. He decided (in 707-709) to enlarge it. He erected four minarets and introduced the
Mihrab in the centre of the Qibla wall. The origin of the Mihrab had many explanations which chiefly linked
it to the form of the apse in Christian architecture. In Islam it became a symbol of a niche containing Gods light placed in front of worshippers helping them to achieve sincerity and devotion during prayers. The other function of the Mihrab was a symbol indicating the direction of the Qibla, the Kaaba (see: Article on the Mosque). Umayyad Mosques The Umayyad architectural splendour is experienced in both religious and domestic buildings. At the core of their religious heritage we find the Dome of the Rock, the architectural jewel of Islam and Damascus Mosque, its master piece. According to an inscription found on the building, the Dome of the Rock was built by the Caliph Abd-el-Malik between 691-692 (figure 1). The Mosque forms the heart of the complex of AlHaram As-Sharif and covers the rock Sakhra from where Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) ascended to heaven accompanied by Archangel Gabriel. By building the Dome of the Rock to cover the sacred Sakhra, Abd-alMalik wanted to match his rival Ibn Zubayr (who rebuilt Kaaba between 683-392) in his devotion to Islam.
Figure 1: Dome of the Rock, the Jewel of Islam (691-692) The suggestion that the buildings main objective was symbolic to celebrate the victory of Islam on other religions especially Judaism and Christianity (Grabar, 1959) should be questioned. The Mosque was introduced there since the days of the second Caliph Omar, when Muslims ruled Jerusalem. A more compatible view with the aspiration of Abdel Malik is that he wanted to glorify the location of Masjid AlAqsa as mentioned in the Quran.

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The significance of this building can be seen in numerous levels. The geometrical pattern of both plan and elevation, and the relation between dome, arches and columns, all create a sense of harmony and unity greatly emphasised by the rich dcor of polychrome marble and colourful mosaics (see forthcoming article on the Dome of the Rock). The exterior walls covered in quartered marble to the window line and above it in Turkish tiles (installed recently in 1554) add a special charm to the visual effect of colours and patterns. The drums of the dome were originally wooden and covered with glass mosaics before being replaced in the 12th century and recently in 20th century after the fire that was set by a Zionist settler. In general, the beauty of the Dome of the Rock has a world wide reputation which challenged all prejudices against Muslim architecture. The other important mosque the Umyyads built was the Damascus Mosque
(figure 2).
Its construction story
shows the great tolerance Muslims have to other faiths, especially Christianity and Judaism. After the spread of Islam in Damascus, Muslims needed to convert the neglected temple of John the Baptist, into a mosque. Caliph Al-Walid purchased bought this building from its Christian owners and converted it into the Great Mosque. The Mosque has a rectangular plan orientated towards the Qibla. On the qibla side (the southern side), three parallel aisles run from east to west and divided in the middle by a transverse nave with a dome over its middle section (square). The sanctuary opens up to a courtyard ( Sahn ) with a single
Riwaq on each side providing shelter from climatic conditions. In decoration terms, we find high quality
floral and vegetal patterns combined with some landscape ornaments covering the faade and arcades. Such dcor recalls that found in the Dome of the Rock indicating the possibility of Syrian tradition to both works rather than Byzantine origins as some Western historians claimed.
Figure 2: The Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (706-715)

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Umayyad Palaces In domestic and social life, the Umayyad Caliphs and princes lived a rural (Badiya) life in palace complexes pursuing their favourite hobbies of hunting and gardening. For this purpose they built a series of fortresses protected by strong walls and containing all necessary amenities to sustain their luxurious needs. Among these complexes we refer to Qasr Amra (Jordan around 715), Qasr al-Kharanah (Jordan 711), Khirbet alMafjar (Jordan 743-744), and Meshatta (750 uncompleted). In these palaces, the Umayyads showed a considerable architectural and decorative talent. In terms of design, a complex layout containing audience halls, baths, domestic apartments for both males and females, mosques, courtyards, stables and garden enclosures was developed reflecting their luxurious standard of living and their political and tribal power (Mitchel et al. (1978). The structural aspects of these palaces show an elaborate use of the vaulting system involving the dome and barrel vaults (Qasr Amra for example). In decorative terms, these palaces gathered the most exquisite forms of architectural dcor extending from mosaic floors (al-Mifjar), to walls tilted with decorated tiles and stucco which consisted of geometrical and vegetal representation (Meshatta). Perhaps the most influential of these is the six lobed (pointed) rosettes and octagons which appeared in Khirbat al-Mafjar and reappeared in Meshatta. With them, the circular rose window found in the latter inspired, through crusaders, Europeans to develop the famous Gothic rose window (Otto von Simson, 1956). Khirbat al-Mifjar and Qsar Amra also represent unique instances where the depiction of human and animal were issued in the Umayyad decorative art. Concluding Remarks Under the Umayyads, Islam spread to various lands, generating considerable prosperity and wealth. This engendered growth of new architectural forms and buildings. In that period, the mosque developed its main structural and functional elements such as Minaret , Mihrab, Maksurah and dome. Decorative arts slowly established the foundations of what was to become the Muslim art through the use of calligraphy (Kufic ), glass mosaics and vegetal and geometrical abstracts. After their defeat by the Abbassids in 750, the Ummayyads pursued their constructive role in Andalusia (Spain) where they produced numerous marvels some of which we can still admire today.
Notes:
1 2
Muslims purchased this derelict building from Christians and converted into, Great Umayyad Mosque (706-15) He sees Saumaa to be derived from the church of John the Baptist, but Manara from the Pharaohs light Muslims did not reach Spain until 726, suggesting that they were the source of its Spanish adoption.
tower.
3
References: Briggs, M.S. (1924) 'Muhammadan Architecture in Egypt and Palestine', Clarendon Press, Oxford. Briggs, M.S. (1927) The architect in History , Clarendon Press, Oxford.

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Creswell K.A.C. (1958) ' A Short Account of Early Muslim Architecture, Penguin Books. London, Creswell K.A.C. (1926) 'The Evolution of the Minaret, with special reference to Egypt, part 1', in the Burlington Magazine , Volume 68, No.274, pp.134-140. Grabar Oleg (1959) The Umayyad Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, in Ars Orientalis, Vol.3, Ibn Khaldoun (1967) 'The Mugadimah', translated from Arabic by F.Rosenthal, edited by Dawood, N.J., Princeton pub. Mitchell, G. et al. (eds.) (1978 ), Architecture of the Islamic world : its history and social meaning, Thames and Hudson, London. Ottop Von Simson (1956) ` The Gotrhic Cathedral, Origins of Gothic Architecture and the Medieval Concept of Order', (3rd Ed. 1988), Princeton University Press, USA.

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Muslim Architecture under The Abbassid Patronage (750-892AD)
FSTC Limited
Muslim Architecture under The Abbassid Patronage (750-892AD) January 2002
MUSLIM ARCHITECTURE UNDER THE ABBASSID PATRONAGE

(7 5 0 -8 92 A D )
Descending from Al-Abbass, the uncle of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh), these Abbassid emirs established the second major Islamic dynasty under which Muslim Caliphate reached its highest development. As efforts of spreading Islam receded, these Emirs embarked on an enlightenment mission consisting essentially of the spread of knowledge and elaboration of technical and artistic works. The Abbassids became patrons of a number of gigantic construction projects extending from large mosques and complex palaces to largescale urban design and city planning, and consequently they played a fundamental role in the development of city planning and its architecture. This article examines major architectural and urban works of this dynasty highlighting their main innovative signs. It starts with a brief historical background on the socio-political changes they introduced, then explores their major architectural and urban achievement. Finally, a summary of the key innovative elements of Abbassids' architecture is given.
1. Introduction The arrival of the Abbassids to the throne of Caliphate introduced upheaval in the socio-economic and political life of the Muslim world. That period was renown for the establishment of intellectual base as Abbassid Emirs nurtured education and learning and founded numerous libraries 1. Translation work reached its zenith as Muslims embarked on an unprecedented intellectual mission, first through a learning process based on acquiring existing knowledge from other cultures which played a significant role in the making of Muslim knowledge. This period brought to us great translators such as Ibn-al-Muqaffa (d.756), of Persian origin, translated the book of fables "Kalila wa Dimna" from Pahlevi into Arabic, and the biographies of Persian kings (Sirat Muluk al-Ajiam). Al-Fazari (c.771) translated the Hindu treatise on astronomy the "Siddhanta" (Sind Hind). He also compiled the Sassanid astronomical tables (al-Zij), and was the first Muslim to construct an astrolabe. The famous Hunayn Ibn Ishaq translated most of Greek works in medicine, philosophy and mathematics, namely works of Aristotle and Galen. Thabet Ibn Qurra (825-901) translated, among numerous works, Archimedes" and "Apollonius" of Parga who was famous in geometry and mechanics. He also translated "Almagest" of Ptolemy, "Elements" of Euclid as well as other works of Theodosius. The result of this hard work generated an academic wealth which enriched the Muslim library, eventually reaching in Spain up to 400,000 volumes at the time of the Caliph Al-Hakem II (961-976). By mid tenth century most of existing Greek and Hellenic works were translated into Arabic. These efforts had influenced the scientific attainment of Muslims which reached its apogee in the tenth and eleventh centuries. In later stages Europeans substantially benefited from their knowledge as well as their translations. In political terms, the Abbassids connection with Persia broke traditional Syrian link, giving the former more influence in shaping various aspects of Muslim life. Persia contributed militarily to the succession of the Abbassids especially under the leadership of Abu Muslim, later al-Mamun 2 led the coup detat against

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his brother al-Amin (in 813) from his residence in Merv (Persia). In these conditions, we can foresee a possible reason why the Muslim capital was moved from Damascus to Baghdad, nearer to Persia. Furthermore, the strategic location of Baghdad in the midst of the rich and populated Mesopotamia and as a crossroads of the ancient trade routes between Africa, Asia and Europe must have been a decisive factor for its choice as the new capital. Consequently, wealth was accumulated in this city providing an opportunity for the Abbassid Caliphs to develop a lavish taste and lifestyle which reached its peak under Harun Al-Rashid 3. This was so impressive that Abbassids religious and political rival in Byzantium tried to emulate such elegance. Historic sources show that in 830 a Byzantine envoy went to Baghdad where he was so impressed by the splendour of Abbassid architecture that on his return to Constantinople he persuaded the Emperor Theophilos (829-842) to build a palace exactly like the ones he had seen. The palace was built at Bryas, now Maltepe (Hattstein and Delius, 2000). It should be interesting to note that Ziryab (789-857), the famous musician who spread the high culture in Cordoba, and later in Europe, setting the standard of dress, table manners, protocol, etiquette and even the coiffures of men and women was an Abbassid migrant from Baghdad. Meanwhile, the Persian closeness increased the influence of Persian and Sassanian Royal architecture leaving strong fingerprints on much of the character of princial palaces and buildings and later extending to the general art of that period. 2. Ceremonial Gates of the Abbassids Among the features of the new elaborate lifestyle that had a great impact on the architecture of this period was the ceremonial attitudes of the Abbassid Emirs which led to the spread of monumental gates and
Iwans . These displayed the power of the Caliph and were reminders of his achievement and authority which
were hoped to gain the respect (and allegiance) of the subjects as well as maintain his legacy after his death. In this respect, Baghdad had four large gates celebrating the achievement of the city and its founder Al-Mansur (754-775). The gates were about 25 meters high and comprised a bent entrance passage giving extra protection against attacks (Blair and Bloom, 2000, p.96). The top of these gates consisted of chambers crowned with golden domes and accessed through staircases or ramps. These rooms were used by the Caliph as audience halls to wait for approaching special dignitary guests as well as for their departure. Others suggested that these audience halls were also designed to accommodate a large garrison (Scerrato (1980, p.32). Another example of these ceremonial gates was the Baghdad Gate at Raqqa (Syria), built by Al-Mansur4 (754-775). This impressive structure was wholly built with baked brick and its entrance was covered with a pointed barrel vault framed by two large niches and decorated with ornamental brickwork (Creswell, 1959). The pointed arch here was struck from four centres and the higher section of the gate was decorated with niches of polylobed arches, a feature which became common in Samara and later became popular decorative themes in Muslim architecture. Bab Al-Amma of Samara built by Al-Mutawakkil between 836-837 is a third example exceeding the fame and grandiose of the above gates
(figure 1).
This structure served as palace entrance (for Jusak Al-Khaqani)
as well as public audience hall and in its central iwan the canopy of the throne was laid down (sidilla). The stucco decoration showed the princial taste and displayed the Caliphal power. Its ornament as reconstructed by Herzfeld (1923) resembled those found in Meshatta and consisted of vine scrolls. The

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dado stucco of the great iwan of the gate consisted of six lobed rosettes separated with triangles, also resembling those of Meshatta, while its frontal arch was decorated with a series of eight lobed rosettes contained within two borders of vine stalks loops. These rosettes greatly resembled the rose window of 13th century gothic churches of Europe, and western scholars admitted this influence (see Otto-von-Simson (1956). The other feature associated with the use of gates and porches was the introduction of a ceremonial tradition where the Emirs appeared before their subjects from a window (the window of appearances) above the main entrance of their palace (Kritzeck, 1959).
Figure 1: Bab Alamma, Samara (836/37) with its three iwans.

Source: Hattstein and Delius (2000), p.97
3. City Design and Planning of the Abbassids The Abbassid period is characterised by large-scale design and city planning. In addition to their famous cities of Baghdad (762) and Samara (836), the Abbassids founded the settlement of Al-Rafiqa in northern Syria which was named as the Companion of Raqqa city. Al-Rafiqa was built in 772 by Al-Mansur, remodelled on Baghdad in its circular plan and protected by massive wall reaching about 5 kilometres in length and incorporating some 132 round towers. From these fortifications, three gates were opened leading inside the enclosure toward the Friday Mosque which stood at the central place. In relation to Raqa, there is no confirmation about the date it was built or its founder although Rice (1979) thought it was Abbassid from the circular plan. It is known that Harun Al-Rashid temporarily made it his capital between 796 and 808 and undertook numerous works including improving the citys fortifications and the construction of residential quarter to the north (Blair & bloom, 2000). However, if Raqa existed before AlRafiqa as indicated above, then Rices theory would confirm Creswell (1959) suggestion that Al-Mansur was the founder of Raqqa in addition to Baghdad and Al-Rafiqa. It is worth mentioning that the defensive work of Raqqa displayed some of the design and building techniques that were brought to the West by crusaders and consisting of the oblique approach (Rice (1979, p29). These cities, in addition to old ones, played leading roles in world trade, commerce and learning. The circular city of Baghdad and its buildings formed the scene for many tales of Harun Al-Rashid and the Arabian nights. Unfortunately, no remains of its wonders are left as the city was ravaged and entirely erased by the Moguls and their Christian allies in 13th century (1258). Samara was founded by the Caliph Al-Mutasim in the first half of the 9th century. This was in the form of a compound consisting of barracks for his Turkish troops, a palace and a mosque. Its layout

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provides an insight into Muslim concepts of city planning and morphology while the ruins of its mosques serve as specimen for the next major edifices in the chronology of mosques, after the Ummayad. (For details on Abbassid cities see forthcoming articles). 4. The Abbassid Mosques The building enthusiasm of the Abbassids took a new dimension in the construction of mosques as reflected in their size and character. As mentioned previously, unlike the Umayyads who continued the stone tradition of Syria, the Abbassids adopted the Mesopotamian tradition of mud and baked brick construction often arranged in decorative manner or carved and moulded with geometric and vegetal designs (Blair & Bloom (2000). Furthermore, the minaret of the Abbassids with its monumental character and size undertook another function, in addition to the call of prayers, consisting of advertising the presence of the Friday mosque from afar and sometimes used as landmark providing a sense of direction for travellers as the case of the minaret of Mujda (778) 5 (Creswell, 1959). The symbolic significance cannot be ruled out as these towers expressed the prominent role of the mosque in the Abbassid society as well as a public display of the power of the Caliph. 4.1 Al-Aqsa Mosque The earliest major mosque construction undertaken by the Abbassids was the rebuilding of Al-Aqsa. The mosque was originally built by Omar (the second Caliph) in 634, but extended and improved upon by a number of Umayyad Caliphs especially Al-Walid. After its destruction by the earthquake of 747-748 the Abbassid Caliph al-Mahdi (775-785) rebuilt it in 780 and according to Creswell (1959) the mosque retained this plan to present times 6. Al Aqsa is the second holiest mesjid in Islam after the Kaaba and Medinah. Religiously, the platform upon which is constructed is referred to in the Quran and it is also the location from where the ascension of Prophet Muhammed took place. Al-Muqaddisi (10th century) describes Al-Aqsa as follows:
the mosque had a building lofty central nave leading to the Mihrab and covered by a trussed timber roof. The nave had a width measured by 15 places of worshippers. In front of the Mihrab, the space was covered by a great dome of bigger diameter than today's and had four minarets projecting high in the sky. (Richmond, 1926)
On the sides of the nave there were 14 aisles, seven for each side divided by arcades each consisting of eleven pointed arches
(figure 2).
The access to the nave was on the main gate on the north, as well as from
numerous secondary doors (7 doors on left and right sides of the nave, and 11 on its eastern side). The major Abbassid addition was the introduction of the arcaded portico in the northern, western and southern side to protect the faithful from winter rain and summer heat as well as sheltering the poor and travellers. The other feature introduced by the Abbassids was the unusual shape of its plan by running the aisles of the sanctuary from North to South parallel to the central nave and intersecting them with the qibla in the Mihrab area forming a T shape. This space configuration was also adopted in North Africa in Quairawan Mosque (Tunisia) (836) and later in mosques of Samara; Al-Mutawwakil Mosque (848/849) and Abu-Dullaf (860). There are suggestions which consider this spatial arrangement to be derived from the Christian cross plan of the church but there is a little evidence of that especially if we knew that the spread of cross as well T planned churches took place only since the 11th and 12th century Romanesque and later Gothic Europe.

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4.2 Transfer of the Pointed Arch to Europe In relation to the transfer of the pointed arch to Europe we find historic sources indicating that at the first crusade of 1099 and after the fall of Palastine in the hands of the crusaders, crusading leaders held their first meeting in the Dome of the Rock Mosque. This was to settle their differences and intimidate the defeated Muslims. Those leaders who were interested in architecture could not escape noticing the beauty of both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa pointed arcades and brought it back with them when they returned to Europe (Lethaby, 1904).
Figure 2: Leaders of the crusade of 1099 noticed the elegance and practicalities of the pointed arch in Al-Aqsa as well as in the Dome of the Rock and subsequently adopted it in their constructions in Europe.
4.3 The Mosques of Samara The next major Abbassid building was the central mosque of Al-Mutawakkil (Samara) which was erected between 848 and 849 (some 140 years after the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus)) and was, until recently, considered the world largest 7 with an area of 109 acres and containing some 25 aisles riwaqs separated by octagonal piers supporting the teakwood beamed roof. These colonnades run from north to south in the direction of Makka as in the Aqsa Mosque, and not across that direction as in Damascus. These features form the T plan discussed above. The uniqueness of this mosque reveals a new design and architectural techniques showing a great deal of ingenuity and innovation (Creswell, 1959). Among these peculiarities is the absence of the Mihrab which has been substituted with three arched openings with the central arch being wider than the rest. The external wall, of baked brick and incorporating semicircular buttresses, was decorated with square panels and circular medallions in their centre. The helical minaret al-Malwiya, as it became known, consisted of spiral tower, which stood on its own on the north outside the enclosure wall in an unprecedented fashion were carefully placed on the enclosure and spanned by cinqfoil arches. This is again the first appearance of this motif which soon afterwards reached Muslim Cordoba and from there entered Europe where it became a predominant feature in Gothic architecture. Rivoira (1918) claimed that these multifoil arches appeared first in India, then transmitted to Samara and to the rest of Muslim land including Spain (Cordoba Mosque) and Sicily and then to Europe. Richmond (1926) hypothesised that these innovations were due to the contact of Muslims with Mesopotamia and Asia where such features were more common. He pointed out that these changes also mark the break from the Syrian building and artistic
(figure 3).
A number of windows

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tradition that reigned before and during the Ummayad period 8. The substitution of antique columns to carry arcades with brick piers in Al-Mutawwakil Mosque was also the first recorded instance at least 150 years before its adoption in Europe 9. These were octagonal in form on a square base, and have four circular or octagonal marble shafts to each pier. The shafts were joined with metal dowels and had bell shaped capitals.
Figure 3: Al-Malwiya Minaret of the Great Mosque, Samara (848/49)

Source: Hattstein and Delius (2000), p.105
Figure 4: Minaret of Abu Dulaf Mosque, Samara (860/61)

Source: Scerrato (1980), p.35
These features were re-employed by Al-Mutawakkil in his second most important mosque, Abu Dulaf (Samara, 860/61)
(figure 4),
which also adopted the features found in the Abbassid plan of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Here, the sanctuary consisted of 17 aisles perpendicular to the Qibla wall and Mihrab but they connected with two naves running parallel to the Qibla and forming the T shape discussed earlier. 4.4. Ibn Tulun Mosque Mosques that followed incorporated these innovations in combination with architectural elements of previous mosques. Ahmed Ibn Tulun, a soldier among the troops of Samara who was promoted to Emir of Egypt, built his mosque in Fustat, (Cairo 876) in the same fashion as Samara Mosques. According to AlMaqrisi, this Mosque was designed by an Egyptian architect and consisted of a sanctuary which occupies the eastern side of the enclosure with six aisles divided by five arcades of pointed arches carrying the roof. Each arcade is carried on 16 robust piers of brick. These piers also appear in the courtyard carrying the two arcades of the cloister
(figure 5) .
This was the first employment of piers outside Samara. The other feature
was the systematic use of pointed arches which is regarded as the first recorded example although the pointed arch appeared earlier in Ukhaidir Palace (below), the Alqsa Mosque (above), Ramlah Cistern (789) as well as Samara, but all these examples were Abbassid. This was at least two and a half centuries before it was introduced to Europe. Rice (1979) admitted this as he announced The pointed arch had already
been used in Syria, but in the mosque of Ibn Tulun we have one of the earliest examples of its use on an

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extensive scale, some centuries before it was exploited in the West by the Gothic architects (Rice, 1979,
p.45). And according to the same theory, Ibn Tulun Mosque was also the means through which the pier was transmitted to Europe. The other important feature, in Ibn Tulun Mosque, is decorative connected to the use of an advanced (to Samara) combination of geometrical and floral patterns (Arabesque) on the architrave of its arcades, which in the opinion of Richmond (1926) is also the earliest example found. Later, this feature became a prominent theme in most Muslim decorative art. Other innovations included the introduction of ornamental battlements which crowned the external walls and later became a prototype of Gothic pierced and crested parapets (Briggs, 1924). The transfer of these motifs to Europe according to Ibn Tulun's theory is manifest through the 11th century strong links the Fatimids had with Amalfitan and Venetian traders who often visited Cairo and this monument. Figure 5: Ibn Tulun Mosque (878) showing sahn and arcades of pointed arch.
5. The Abbassid Palaces Among the palaces built by Abbassid Caliphs and Emirs that attracted wide interest is the Ukhaidir Palace, a fortified living complex containing halls, courtyards, living apartments and a mosque. The palace, built between 774-775 by Isa ibn Musa 10 some 75 miles Southwest of Baghdad, was a masterpiece of architectural innovation, which had long lasting impact on the development of architecture. The architects and masons of Ukhaidir first introduced a new elaborate technique based on the construction of elliptical (pointed) barrel vaults with bricks in similar technique to building a wall and therefore considerably eased the way vaults were built
(figure 6).
The old tradition consisted of the use of a mixture of mortar and small
stones and debris laid out on wooden base. Such method required a lot of wood not available in this arid region and building took considerable time to finish as masons had to wait for the vault to dry to move the scaffolding to another part of the building. This new technique, likely to have been introduced through Persian and Mesopotamian Muslims, provided adequate solutions to these issues. Further elaboration of the vault construction technique was made in the palace's mosque, through the use of flattened arches to support the brick vault, a technique which became later known as ribbed vaulting (Jairazbhoy, 1972). According to Marcais (1954) this method was also employed in Medinat Al-Zahra (10th century) in Andalusia. This achievement provided the foundations for the rise of Gothic architecture in Europe.

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The other innovation was the first use of pointed arches seen later in Al-Aqsa and other Abbassid buildings as indicated above. The other original element introduced in Ukhaidir was decorative consisting of the use of blind arcading which appeared in the Northern faade of the Court of Honour. Again, this feature became an essential element in Muslim architectural decoration and later transmitted to Europe. Here, one has to point to the attitude of Western scholars which connect the use of blind arcading, as well as the origin of ribbed vaulting and a number of other features, to Lambard architects who are considered (by them) to be the main builders of Dark ages Europe, especially in the 10th and 11th centuries (see for example Porter, 1909). The appearance of this feature in Ukhaidir some 300 years earlier clearly denies such claims. Furthermore, for the majority of these scholars Lombardic architecture seems to provide the answer to the origin of medieval revival of Western architecture. I found a strong similarity between Lombardic buildings, especially around Italy, and Muslim buildings in both structural and decorative terms. A proper investigation, by Muslim scholars, in this subject is therefore urgently needed. Another innovation in Ukhaidir was the introduction of the first fluted dome which appeared at the crossing beyond the main entrance and which later was adopted in Quairawan mosque. Finally, Ukhaidir elaborated the defensive technique found in Raqqa by introducing whats known as chemin de ronde along the ramparts. The introduction of arrow slits in its walls enabled defence against attackers. Meanwhile, the four gates, consisting each of a chamber with an inner wall and an outer portcullis which could be lowered in case of assault trapping the attackers inside, provided another defensive architectural technique, again transmitted to Europe through the crusaders. Figure 6: Ukhadir Palace (720-800) showing the pointed arch and barrel vault of the Great Hall.
Source: Hattstein and Delius (2000), p.100.

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6. Abbassid architectural contribution From this brief outline, one can appreciate the architectural changes developed by the Abbassids, which can be grouped in a number of key elements including the following. The pier as we have seen was first introduced in the Great Mosque of Al-Mutawakkil (Samara) and later spread through Ibn Tulun Mosque. The rejection of the traditional column was due to the shortage of columns as Muslim constructions stretched over an area involving three continents. The cost and effort involved in the transport of these columns was also another motivator for the invention of the pier. Sources indicate that first European adoption of the pier was in the beginning of the tenth century, inspired by Ibn Tulun. The extensive use of the pointed arch as well as the pointed vault as found in Ukhaidir was another major development. In case of Baghdad Gate at Raqqa, the introduction of the four centred pointed arch made of two rings one inside the other was a technical innovation. The introduction of the pointed arch to Europe did not take place until the 11th century when some Amalfitans familiar with Muslim architecture rebuilt Monte Cassimo in Italy. The Al-Malwiya helical type of minaret symbolised a wish to desire to pry into the secrets of heaven. A sign of Muslim quest for knowledge which intensified under the Abbassid patronage. The polilobed form of archs appeared in the Abbasside Caliphate, in Samara, and largely in North Africa and Andalusia where it decorated most Moorish buildings especially Cordoba Mosque. Since the tenth century, Europeans fell in love with this form of arches and adopted it in their buildings, plans, and arts. The inspiration of Cordoba in this respect is well maintained. The extensive use of Umayyad six and eight lobed rosettes decorating the facades of most Christian churches. Finally Samara decorative styles which incorporated vegetal forms (especially vines) and abstract geometry paved the way for the development of Muslim arabesque.
(figure 7)
resulting in their dissemination in
the Muslim world and later reached Europe in the form of six or eight lobed rosettes windows
Figure 7: Stucco decoration from Samara showing a stucco panel of six lobed rosette.
Source: Hattstein and Delius (2000)

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Notes:
1 2 3 4 5 6
Such as the famous "Bayt-al-Hikma" (house of wisdom) which was set up by El-Mamoun (813-833). Al-Mamuns mother was also Persian Abu Nuwas (d.between 813-815) poetry can provide a glimpse of the luxury of this period. According to Herzfel (1948), it was built by Harun Al-Rashid (786-809) Built by Isa Ibn Musa around 778 halfway between Kufa and his Ukhaidir palace. There were other additions and modification carried out in successive periods, but here we are concerned Today the largest mosque is Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca. Such views deny any Muslim creativity and always attempt to connect their achievement to previous We remind the reader that building activity and techniques were at their lowest point at this time in
solely with Abbassid works. For a complete view on Al-Aqsa, please consult our forthcoming articles.
7 8
civilisations and other cultures despite the lack of evidence.

9
Europe. The continent was in black intellectual and artistic recession known as the Dark Ages. Buildings were a few and mostly made of wood under the influence of the Barbarians. Roman building tradition was lost and relations with Byzantium in Constantinople were at their worst. exchange.
10
The only proper contact with
civilisation Europe had was with the Muslims by virtue of the above as well as the close proximity and trade In addition to the pointed arch, the introduction of the pier to Europe was the second major step towards the architectural recovery in the continent. A nephew of al-Mansur who was exiled by the Caliph due to a dispute about the succession to the throne. References: Creswell, K.A. (1958) A short account of early Muslim architecture, Harmondsworth, Middlesex; Baltimore : Penguin Books. Hattstein and Delius (2000) 'Islam Art and Architecture', Konemann, Cologne. Herzfel, E (1923) Die Ausgrabungen von Samara , D. Reimer/E. Vohsen,. - (Forschungen zur
Islamischen Kunst, Berlin. Jairazbhoy, R. A. (1972) An outline of Islamic architecture'. Asia Publishing House, Bombay & London. Kritzeck, James (1959) The world of Islam : studies in honour of Philip K. Hitti, Macmillan. London. Lethaby, W.R. (1904) ` Medieval Art: from the peace of the church to the eve of the renaissance', Duckworth and Co London, Charles Scribner's Sons New York, Vol.IV, pp100-111. Marais, G. (1954) 'L'architecture musulmane d'occident : Tunisie, Algrie, Maroc, Espagne et
Sicily ', Arts et mtiers graphiques, Paris. Porter, K.A. (1909) ` Medieval Architecture, its origin and development', Volume 1, the Baker &

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Taylor Company, New York. Rice, D.T. (1979) Islamic art, Thames & Hudson, Norwich. Richmond, E. T. (1926) Moslem Architecture; 623-1516 some causes and consequences', The Royal Asiatic Society, London. Rivoira G.T. (1918) ` Moslem Architecture: its origin and development', translated by Rushforth, G. Oxford University Press.

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Aspects of the Islamic Influence on Science and Learning in the Christian West (12th-13th century)
Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Husamaldin Tayeh March 2003 4040 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Aspects of the Islamic Influence on Science & Learning in the Christian West March 2003
ASPECTS OF THE ISLAMIC INFLUENCE ON SCIENCE AND LEARNING IN THE CHRISTIAN WEST (12TH-13TH CENTURY)
The history of science and civilisation according to traditional Western writing and narration, by an overwhelming majority, can be summarised as follows: All Western, and hence our modern, civilisation is derived from the Greek heritage (roughly 6th BC to 1st 2nd century AD). This heritage was lost during the Dark Ages (5th-15th AD), recovered during the Renaissance (16th-17th centuries), dusted off, and so was revived for our modern world. As it was difficult to explain how such learning could be lost for nearly fifteen centuries, but recovered, Western historians gave that role to the Muslims: it was they, who, by chance, preserved it, keeping it for Western genius to arise again, before it was re-claimed and developed by that genius. One of the ìllustrious historians to defend this point, followed by hordes of modern `historians who today crowd history departments, is the Frenchman Duhem who states:
The revelations of Greek thought on the nature of the exterior world ended with the Almagest'' (of Ptolemy) which appeared about A.D. 145, and then began the decline of ancient learning. Those of its works that escaped the fires kindled by Mohammedan warriors were subjected to the barren interpretations of Mussulman commentors and, like parched seed, awaited the time when Latin Christianity would furnish a favourable soil in which they could once more flourish and bring forth fruit. 1
Some modern historians go further than Duhem, and even deprive the Muslims of this modest role of guardianship; one such historian, at a recent conference on the subject,2 seemingly able to interpret the unknown, confidently asserted that had the Muslims not preserved such heritage, it would have been recovered by Western scholarship anyway. One could write whole volumes on these and similar fallacies and abundant inanities which fill Western history. Not the place here, though. Briefly, however, one or two comments on the previous statement on the Greek role to highlight how ridiculous such an argument can be before moving on. First and foremost, the learning recovered, or found, or available, at that so-called Renaissance of the 16th17th (another illogically based notion of Western history) bears no resemblance to anything left by the Greeks. The mathematics, the medicine, the optics, the chemistry, the astronomy, geography, mechanics etc. of the 16th is centuries ahead of that left by the Greeks. Any person with the faintest knowledge of any such subjects can check this by looking at what was left by the Greeks and compare it with what was available in the 16th century, and even with what was available centuries up to the 14th). Anyone can thus question this notion of Greek learning recovered during the Renaissance.

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Furthermore, even supposing the Greeks had made some contribution in some of the sciences cited, what is the Greek contribution to the invention of paper, printing, farming techniques, irrigation, windmills, the compass, industrial production, glass making, cotton production, the system of numerals, trade mechanisms, paper money and the cheque? Modern finance as a whole, gardens, flowers, art of living, urban design, personal hygiene, and many more manifestations that compose our modern civilisation? As for the notion that Greek learning had disappeared, this is another preposterous point repeatedly made by Western historians. Greek learning was available throughout the so-called Dark Ages in Byzantium and even in the West.3 Western historians never fail to insist that the Muslims sought that Greek learning from Byzantine sources, and yet say that it has disappeared, which is impossible to square. Now, if such learning was available all along, why did Western scholars have to wait until they conquered Islamic lands in Sicily (11th), Toledo (Spain) (in the 11th) and in the east during the Crusades (11th-12th) before they started acquiring such `Greek learning? Why wait? And above all, why did Western translators of the 12th century, to whom we will return further on, chose to translate such learning from Arabic, then turn it into Latin rather than go to the Greek and even Latin sources? This is never explained by those historians who select miniscule or fragmentary pieces of evidence, often concoctions of their own, to build extensive theories (i.e the Pirenne theory, the burning of the Alexandria Library etc). The real evidence from history shows that where the Greeks had left off, the Muslims had continued thus setting up the foundations of modern science and civilisation. Before looking, albeit briefly, at some aspects of Muslim decisive influences, this author, like other Muslim historians, first and foremost, never ceases to acknowledge that, although the Muslims had made such contributions, the Islamic mind and soul stresses that science and civilisation are God given gifts to all people of equal abilities. The reason why the Muslims excelled at the time they did, and played the part they did is not due to any special status (as others appear to recognise as their own), but simply to circumstances current then, i.e spur of Islamic values, which were very strong; driven by faith, Muslims were able to accomplish what they could never achieve under other circumstances as history has shown. Moreover, the Muslims had their own contributions but never denied their inheritance from other civilisations; particularly from the Chinese with whom they always had excellent relations. In the Muslim civilisation, opportunities were always available to others. Muslim history is crowded with instances of slaves, and their descendants of whatever ethnic mix who became great scientists, men of letters, leaders and even rulers. The multi-faith and equalitarian nature of Islamic civilisation has not be equalled by even the so-called most open multi-cultural societies of today. Even when the whole Islamic land was threatened with extinction by both crusaders and Mongols (mid 13th century), decimated populations of Muslim lands in their hundreds of thousands (800,000 deaths in Baghdad alone in 1258),4 minorities whether Jewish or Christian (even when allies of the crusaders) still survived within Islamic jurisdictions, with all their powers, privileges, and wealth intact. These instances highlight the true character of Islamic civilisation, a characteristic completely alien to their successors. Thus, in respect to the issue debated here, it is no surprise that such successors, whilst benefiting from Islamic learning, still chose to obliterate their debt, and re-write that history in the ways indicated above. Such observations are not conjured up by the present author to pursue his own agenda. They can be found amidst some of the best but often inaccessible and thus obscure Western historians, or men of renown. Thus, Glubb states:

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The indebtedness of Western Christendom to Arab civilisation was systematically played down, if not completely denied. A tradition was built up, by censorship and propaganda, that the Muslim imperialists had been mere barbarians and that the rebirth of learning in the West was derived directly from Roman and Greek sources alone, without any Arab intervention. 5
Draper, too, notes:
the systematic manner in which the literature of Europe has contrived to put out of sight our scientific obligations to the Muhammadans (Muslims) Injustice founded on religious rancour and national conceit cannot be perpetuated forever... The Arab has left his intellectual heritage on Europe as, before long, Christendom will have to confess' 6
The Islamic influence is herein partly acknowledged in this extract.
General Aspects of the Islamic Influence

A general picture of the legacy of the East before and during Islamic times is described by Wickens:
In the broadest sense, the West's borrowings from the Middle East form practically the whole basic fabric of civilisation. `Without such fundamental borrowings from the Middle East, he adds, `we should lack the following sorts of things among others (unless, of course, we had been quick and inventive enough to devise them all for ourselves): agriculture; the domestication of animals, for food, clothing and transportation; spinning and weaving; building; drainage and irrigation; roadmaking and the wheel; metal-working, and standard tools and weapons of all kinds; sailing ships; astronomical observation and the calendar; writing and the keeping of records; laws and civic life; coinage; abstract thought and mathematics; most of our religious ideas and symbols. And he concludes that, `there is virtually no evidence for any of these basic things and processes and ideas being actually invented in the West. 7
To go through the Islamic impact on modern science and civilisation in detail demands so vast a book that nobody has written yet, and it is much beyond the capability of this author to address this issue as extensively as he would wish. Notwithstanding just some overall observations and points are raised here. In order to highlight the true scale of the Islamic impact, it is crucial to look, however briefly, at the condition of Western Christendom during those so-called Dark Ages, when, such were the contrasts, and such was the envy of Western Christians of life in the Muslim world, that, for Europeans, as Menocal puts it, it must have at times appeared that wealth and comfort went hand in hand with the ability to read Arabic. 8 Whilst universality of learning was a fundamental element in Islamic civilisation, science was the `hobby of the masses, with paupers and kings competing to obtain knowledge 9 whereas in Western Christendom, as Haskins observes, relatively few could read and write, these being chiefly ecclesiastics and, save for the very moderate attainments of an individual parish priest, men of education were concentrated in certain definite groups separated one from another by wide stretches or rural ignorance.10 As Draper puts it, when Èurope was hardly more enlightened than Caffraria is now, the Saracens were cultivating and even creating science. Their triumphs in philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry,

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medicine, proved to be more glorious, more durable, and therefore more important than their military actions had been.11Draper goes on to say, that whilst `the Christian peasant, fever stricken or overtaken by accident, journeyed to the nearest saints shrine and expected a miracle; the Spanish Moor relied on the prescription or lancet of his physician, or the bandage and knife of his surgeon.'12 `The Spurious medicine of the time, as practised under the sanction of the Holy See, Scott adds, `had raised up a herd of ignorant and mercenary ecclesiastical charlatans. These operated by means of chants, relics, and incense; and their enormous gains were one of the chief sources of revenue to the parish and the monastery, and a corresponding burden on the people.13 Urbanity and wealth also belonged to the Muslims, at that time. In tenth century Cordova, there were 200,000 houses, 600 mosques, 900 public baths, the streets were paved with stones, and were cleaned, policed, and illuminated at night, water was brought to the public squares and to many of the houses by conduits.14 Islamic cities, as a whole with their mosques and madrassas, their churches, synagogues, and schools, their bathhouses and other amenities, contained all that was needed for leading a religious and cultured life.15 Such Islamic cities boasted huge expanses of gardens.16 Basra in Iraq was described by the early geographers as a veritable Venice, with mile after mile of canals criss-crossing the gardens and orchards;17 Damascus with its 110,000 gardens, 18 and in Turkey, Ettinghausen says flowers were a `devotion, if not mania.19 Whilst in Islamic towns and cities, trade flourished in all directions, 20 and the wealth of its land were the objective of the preying and attacks of Christian pirates, 21 the view from Western Christendom was hardly flattering. So big was the contrast, as Scott puts it, that the magnificent architectural works of Àrab genius were attributed to an infernal agency, as beyond the efforts of unaided human power; an opinion still entertained by the Spanish peasantry, who firmly believe that the Moslem palaces `were constructed by evil spirits.22 This account by Draper tells that:
as late as 16th century England, there were highwaymen on the roads, pirates on the rivers, vermin in abundance in the clothing and beds... The population, sparse as it was, was perpetually thinned by pestilence and want.. 23
A similar state of wretchedness prevailed everywhere else. Scott tells how:
In Paris there were no pavements until the thirteenth century; in London none until the fourteenth; the streets of both capitals were receptacles of filth, and often impassable; at night shrouded in inky darkness; at all times dominated by outlaws; the haunt of the footpad, the nursery of the pestilence, the source of every disease, the scene of every crime. 24
In the Spanish Asturias at the time of the Muslim arrival (early 8th century), Scott states that, `the dwellings were rude hovels constructed of stones and unhewn timber, thatched with straw floored with rushes and provided with a hole in the roof to enable the smoke to escape; their walls and ceilings were smeared with soot and grease, and every corner reeked with filth and swarmed with vermin. The owners of these habitations were, in appearance and intelligence, scarcely removed from the condition of savages. They dressed in sheepskins and the hides of wild beasts, which, unchanged, remained in one family for

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many generations. The salutary habit of ablution was never practised by them. Their garments were never cleansed, and were worn as long as their tattered fragments held together. 25 From this alone, it seems extremely odd how, instead of gratitude, Western historians, including Albornoz 26 and Spanish historians of his ilk, deny the Islamic influence. How did many aspects of Islamic civilisation pass on the West can be seen now. Western scientific awakening and emergence out of barbarism mainly took place during the 12th century. Most serious historians now accept this. The idea of the Renaissance of the 16th-17th century now belongs either to past history, or primarily to the mass media where amateur historians working for the BBC and similar channels occasionally delve into history as one would engage into an enjoyable, but still far from mastered, hobby. Universities, like cathedrals and parliaments are products of the Middle Ages, says Haskins, who adds that, `The Greeks and the Romans, strange as it may seem, had no universities in the sense in which the word has been used for the past seven or eight centuries.27 Also belonging to the 12th century were new architectural styles, windmills, hospitals, many sciences and scientific works etc. In the 12th century two major elements entered into play, both linked to the Muslim world: First: The Western Christians established themselves into lands formerly Muslim, such as Sicily which had been retaken from the Muslims during the last decade of the eleventh; Spain, where the Muslims lost their main northern town of Toledo; and of course, the 12th century being (until the rise of Imad al-Din Zangi in the 1140s who inflicted the first major defeat on the Crusaders) a major period when the Crusaders followed their onslaught begun in 1097, and conquered the whole of Palestine and nearly the whole of todays Syria. From these three regions as will be seen the Westerners derived plenty, or should one say the essentials of what makes modern civilisation. Second: In the 12th century took place the greatest translation effort of sciences ever seen, and that was primarily of Islamic science in the town of Toledo, northern Spain. Before delving into the role of Sicily and the Crusades, it is very important to note that, without any exception, any region that first witnessed a scientific revival in Western Christendom, and began to emerge into modernity, was the area related to Islamic learning in one way or the other. Obviously, the overwhelming majority of Western historians always recognise the fact that these regions were first places of learning in the Christian West, but they never, with the exceptions of such historians as cited here see, recognise the Islamic link between these places. These Western historians have lost sight of the basic scientific principle, that similar effects have similar causes: that in the presence of similar phenomena, one should look for a similar link; However they dont, hence proving their methodology is not scientific in any way. Briefly here on such places, the first one in Western Christendom to awaken to science, astronomy and mathematics, principally, and which in turn diffused such sciences is Lotharingia, known today as Lorraine

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in north eastern France. It is the first place that had links with Muslim Spain via its ambassador John of Gorze, ambassador, but also scholar.28 The other place that came out of darkness in the south was Catalonia. Catalonia was the adjacent to Muslim Spain, the main centre of European science The Abbey of Ripoll was the destination of most scientific manuscripts coming from Cordova, where even Latin scholars went to examine and even collect such manuscripts.29 The towns and cities from which learning first spread include Salerno, the location of the first medical faculty, of which more will be said. It was Salerno to which Constantine arrived from Tunisia with his library of medical lore. Montpellier, equally was crucial to the development of learning in the Christian west, since Montpellier was the centre from which all sorts and forms of learning from the land of Islam, medical learning particularly, came whether from Muslims, or Jews, who also acted as the major disseminators of Islamic science. It was Montpellier, which gave some of the earliest renowned Western men of sciences, such as Arnau de Villanova.30 The School of Chartres, which was one of the principal points of departure of the intellectual movement in Europe was the work and the inspiration of people such as Fulbert (of Chartres) who was one of Gerbert of Aurillac's (d.1003) students, Gerbert, himself was the first true Arabist of all Western scholars.31 The Norman court in England was a thriving centre where Islamic learning, astronomy most particularly, found the largest place courtesy of the first English scholars of Muslim thought viz. Petrus Alphonsi, Walcher of Malvern, and Adelard of Bath.32 The birth of Western mathematics began with Fibonaccis Liber Abacci (1202), whose early studies were done in the city of Bejaia, in todays Algeria. 33 It is needless of course to extend this survey further, the field being open for any curious researcher who can pick on any place, or figure of learning, during the 11th to 15th centuries (and locate the Islamic link, often hidden, but nonetheless always there.
The Role of Sicily

The role of Sicily has been well studied by Michelle Amari, but unfortunately the work, although extremely old has remained inaccessible because it is only available in Italian.34 Haskins has touched a little on the role of Sicily, but other modern historians, on the whole, have worked hard to reformulate many of the conclusions arrived at by Haskins and Amari, by reducing mention of Islamic influence to its bare minimum. Hence, unless Amaris work is translated, the true place of the Muslim influence via Sicily will not be grasped, especially as the process of revisionism of history continues unabated. One must refer, albeit but briefly to some aspects of such Sicilian influence, mainly via the role of Frederick II (1194-1250). Frederick had from his infancy grown up using Arabic, the language of his court. He was both a cultural convert and a proselytizing patron of the then current Islamic culture. 35 It was Frederick II who encouraged Plato of Tivoli and Fibonacci, `the founders of European mathematics,' to gather Muslim and Jewish scholars to undertake translation of every available Arabic book, and he himself sent Michael Scot to Cordoba to obtain works by Ibn Sina to distribute copies to existing schools.36 Frederick himself conducted

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extensive correspondence with learned Muslims and Jews from both Al-Andalus and the cultural centres of the Middle East. His court was the intellectual capital of a world already in upheaval because of the translations of Islamic science which were spreading from Spain throughout the north. 37 Due to his preference of surrounding himself with Muslim rather than Christian influence, he was half Muslim in his own ways, states Sarton.38 It was under his rule, Briffault explains, that Muslim culture on the island reached its height and had à great and far reaching civilising influence over barbaric Europe.' 39 During the reign of Frederick the University of Naples in 1224, the first university of Europe which was founded at a definite time, and by a definite charter,40 was founded. And following the traditional Muslim model the university was fitted with a considerable collection of Arabic books.41 Frederick also established universities in Messina and Padua, and renovated the old medical school of Salerno ìn accordance with the advances of Arab medicine.'42 Frederick himself was widely respected, admired, and even envied in certain circles. But Frederick was anathema to the Church. Like al-Andalus itself, he was viewed with astonishment, admiration, and envy combined with fear and suspicion. 43At the Council of Lyon, Pope Innocent III made it clear that his association with heretics (to Frederick they were simply scholars and learned men) had caused Frederick's own heresy. 44 Sicily both before and during Fredericks rule never ceased to act as a magnet for literati and intellectuals from the rest of Western Christendom. Northern scholars visited the island in large numbers, and `wished to carry back some specimen of that eastern learning whose fame was fast spreading in the lands beyond the Alps.'45From the island was derived the English fiscal system, similar to the name it has today: The Exchequer, introduced by Thomas Brown (Qaid Brun) when he transferred his services from Roger II in Sicily to Henry II in England.46 The best known translator in Sicily was Michael Scot, whose translation in 1217 of Al-Bitruji (alpetragius) On The Sphere literally revolutionised the study of astronomy particularly the planets.47 Finally a few words on the islands contribution to the advances made in geography and cartography, courtesy of Al-Idrisi, who graced the courts of Roger II in Palermo, and on whose geography was built so much subsequent knowledge of the world.48
The Crusades
The best work on the influence of the Eastern Islamic thought on Western Christendom during the Crusades is by a German: Prutzs Kulturgeschichte der kreuzzuge. 49 The most unfortunate thing is, again, unlike many of the hollow books covering Islamic history and civilisation, and which have been eagerly studied and translated, this work has been left untouched, never translated into any other language. Extracts here and there offer a fairly good image of the Crusaders impact, though. Cochrane gives some brief idea on the Crusades impact through her study of the career and life of Adelard of Bath, the first English scientist, who travelled eastwards during the Crusades. 50 Cochrane, relying on the works by Harvey in particular,51 shows such Muslim influence on Western construction techniques during the times of the Crusades. 52 She explains how pre Norman churches in England, so many of which had skew chancels, revealed the builders' difficulty to achieve true rectangles. In the development of the so called Gothic style, she hails the use of the pointed arch, which was made possible via the contacts with the Muslims during the Crusades. Harvey, to whom she refers, quotes Christopher Wren's `the new architecture should be called Saracenic rather than Gothic.'53 Whilst the new geometry that was then introduced in the West could have played a part, Cochrane points out that the transition was rapid following the First Crusade. Local builders employed by the Crusaders revealed the solutions to the problems of construction orally or by demonstration. Talbot Rice points out that in the area dominated by the Seljuk Turks during the Crusades there was building work

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ìnvolving fine stone masonry, pointed arches, elaborate voussoirs and defensive conceptions which were to follow in Romanesque and Gothic architecture a generation or so later.'54 And to support the notion further, the proportioning of the arches in the Islamic world is, `basically similar to early Gothic. The system had the advantage of deriving its ratios from the perfect square, a favoured shape in Islamic buildings century after century.'55 Cochrane also points out that it was not just via the Crusades that the influence worked but also in their former territories of Europe, where, as she explains, the first impetus towards a new style came with the defeat of the Muslims in Spain and Sicily.56 Higher learning, in the way it is organised today also found its way to the West via the Crusades mainly, although as shown previously Spain had provided an impact, too. Makdisi57 outlines yet another excellent work which remains mostly inaccessible on the history of learning, that is Riberas excellent Disertaciones Y Opusculos, in which Ribera gives his views on the Muslim source of modern university learning.58 Ribera states that the rise of European universities followed Oriental universities, and that the channels of communication was opened by the Crusades. In justification Ribera cites three phenomena: 1) The swiftness of the universities appearance and propagation, without slow and gradual transformation of the organisation of studies. 2) The contrasts which prevailed in the customs and organisation of these universities, `betraying a fusion of opposing tendencies of two distinct civilisations.' 3) The custom of granting certificates or degrees that has no precedent in the Christian Middle Ages, or in Rome, or in Greece, but that was prevalent in the Muslim world, where masters were already doing so `for three or four centuries in that form used in the beginning by university professors, to be converted later in Europe into monopolistic patents and surviving down to the present day.
58
The crusades offered much else that it is too long to discuss here, and belong, hopefully to future works, including in this respect: the practice of bathing, sugar and glass production, many branches of textile manufacturing, the art of castle fortification, the spirit of chivalry, and so on and so forth.
Translations of Islamic Sciences

Although translations of Islamic science were undertaken in Barcelona, Tarazon, Segovia, Leon, Pamplona, Toulouse, Beziers, Narbonne and Marseille, the chief centre of translation remained: Toledo. Re-conquered by the Christians in 1085, after being almost four centuries (702-1085) in Muslim hands, Toledo, the ancient Visigoth capital, soon became the ideal place from where Muslim science was to be transferred north. It was in Toledo that possibly the greatest translation effort in the history of science took place. Throughout the early stages of the 12th century Toledo was the focal point, which attracted every single minded scholar and translator of the Christian West.59 DAlverny explains how:
Following the steps of the Christian armies, students from all countries rushed to Spain to lay hands on the treasures of science piling in the àrmaria of the Infidels, 60
Scholars from all Christian lands rushed to that place to translate Muslim science, and thus start the scientific awakening of Europe. Many of course were Spaniards: John of Seville, Hugh of Santalla, and those

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working under the patronage of King Alfonso; another translator was Herman from Dalmatia; two came from Flanders, Rudolph of Bruges and Henry Bate; many from southern France: Armengaud son of Blaise, Jacob Anatoli, Moses ibn Tibbon, Jacob ben Mahir, and from Italy: Plato of Tivoli, Gerard of Cremona, Aristippus of Catania, Salio of Padua, John of Brescia.61 From the British Isles will arrive Robert of Chester, Daniel of Morley, M. Scot, and possibly Adelard (of Bath), and others, including the intermediaries who helped transfer Islamic science from Arabic into Latin or local languages. Amongst such translators the most prolific of all was the Italian Gerard of Cremona, who translated about 87 works amongst which included the Toledan tables of al-Zarqali Canones Arzachelis and Jabir ibn Aflah's Islah al Majisti (correction of the Almagest of Ptolemy.) His other translations include The Banu Musas Liber trium fratrum,62 Al-Khwarizmis: De jebra et elmucabala, Abu Kamil: Liber qui secundum Arabes vocatur algebra et almucabala, Abu'l Qasim Al-Zahrawi: Liber Azaragui de cirurgia (treatise on surgery)63 AlFarabi: De scientiis,-Al-Kindi'sworks on physics and mechanics: De aspectibus; followed by De umbris et de diversitate aspecturm, 64 Ibn al-Haytham's work on physics: De crepusculis et nubium ascensionibus, 65 AlKindis: De gradibus medicinarum (on medicine).66 Amongst the translations made by the Jew turned Christian, John of Seville, are Al-Battanis Treatise on astronomy and other works; Thabit ibn Qura: De imaginibus astronomicis; Maslama ibn Ahmed al Majriti: De astrolabio; Al-Farabi: Ihsa al-Ulum; Abu Ma'shar: Al-Madkhal ila ìlm ahkam al-nujum; Al-Ghazali: Maqasid al-falasifa; Al-Farghani: Kitab fi harakat al-Samawiya wa jawami' ilm al-nujum It is not necessary to list all the translations since they can be found in greater detail, together with their successive editions, and a vast bibliography relating to them in G. Sartons Introduction.67 Every science was affected by the translation movement. The list and variety of seminal Muslim medical works that were translated at Toledo and used for inspiration is endless. Campbell,68 and by far the best work on the subject by Leclerc69 remain very good sources of reference for any curious mind on this matter. Just to mention briefly here, that it was a Tunisian born named Constantine, who introduced modern medicine into Europe through the southern Italian town of Salerno making it the first medical centre of Europe from which medical learning radiated north to Padua, Montpellier etc. Constantine had, indeed, carried with him vast amount of knowledge from Qayrawan northwards to Europe, following which arose à generation of prominent medical teachers.'70 Constantine's best known translation is that of Ali Abbas alMajusti's Kitab al-Malaki, known under the Pantegni.71 One does not need to dwell here on the many translations and editions up to the 18th century of the works of Ibn Sina and Al-Razi, and other medical works by Ibn Zuhr, Ibn Rushd, etc.. However it must be stressed that the Muslims pioneered and had an early impact in the sphere of mental health. It was in fact the direct contribution of Al-Razi, who set up an exclusive ward for the mentally ill in Baghdad. And it was the Muslims, who, as Syed explains,72 `brought a refreshing spirit of dispassionate clarity into psychiatry.' And as they were free from `the demonological theories' which were sweeping over the Christian world, they could make clear cut clinical observations about such diseases.73 Modern surgery owes about everything Al-Zahrawi (d.1013). Al-Zahrawi's chapter on surgery from Kitab alTasrif is `particularly outstanding' due to the frequent illustration of instruments and ìts pervading sense of personal experience.'74 Most of the instruments were devised and made by al-Zahrawi himself, and their introduction and use was a major breakthrough at the time, 75 and had a lasting influence. His surgical techniques were also revolutionary, and Smith gives very good illustrations of them. 76 For calculus in the

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urethra, for instance, Al-Zahrawi introduced the technique of using a fine drill inserted through the urinary passage. In the case of tonsillectomies, whilst he held the tongue by a tongue depressor, he removed the swollen tonsil holding it by a hook, and then removed it with a scissor like instrument with transverse blades which cut the gland, whilst holding it for removal from the throat. Al-Zahrawi also described how to connect sound teeth to those that were loose by gold or silver wire. In gynaecology, his work, alongside that of other pioneering Muslim surgeons, included instructions on training midwives to perform unusual deliveries, ways of extracting dead foetuses, the removal of the afterbirth, the design and introduction of vaginal dilaters, the description of forceps, and the use of caesarian methods. The surgical part of Al-tasrif was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona, and various editions were published at Venice in 1497, at Basel in 1541 and Oxford in 1778, and for centuries, it remained the manual of surgery in all early medical universities such as Salerno and Montpellier, whilst the illustrations of his instruments laid the foundations for surgery in Europe. 77 Muslim surgeons also, as Smith observes, displayed a sensible and humane reluctance to undertake the riskiest and most painful operations, and were also aware of the discomfort they inflicted on patients. This could be seen as a decisive breakthrough in the relationship between the surgeon and the patient. 78 The Muslim influence on pharmacy is similarly considerable. Levey gives a very good account of such influence.79 According to him, many influential Latin works of the `Renaissance' and thereafter are just compilations and slightly altered works of previous Muslim treatises. Belonging to such recensions is Johannes of St Awands Expositio Supra Nicolai Antidotarium written in 1250 and published in Venice in 1495, 1599 and 1602. Conciliator and De Venenorum remediis by Albano (professor in Padua from 1306 to 1316), while extensive extracts from Ibn Rushd and Al Maradini80 were repeatedly printed over the years. An important work on pharmacy in the modern sense, Levey maintains, is greatly influenced by the works of Ibn Sinna, Ibn Sarabiyun (known in Latin as Serapion), Al-Zahrawi and Ibn Masawaih (al-Maradini) in form and content was written by Saladin of Ascolo, a well known physician of the 15th century, and called Compendium aromatariorum.81 Divided into seven parts, this work follows exactly Muslim categorisation of subjects: examination of the pharmacist, the qualities desired for the pharmacist, substitute drugs, care of simple and compound drugs, etc. Another work that also greatly influenced European pharmacopoeias using material from Muslim treatises on simple drug substitutes, preservation of drugs, lists of little known drugs, etc, was that by Ludovico dal Pozzo Toscanelli, a physician of Florence who was authorised to do so by the Florentine College of Physicians, and from which compendium various editions were made. 82 Pharmacopoeias in German, French, English and Spanish also showed Muslim influence,83 whilst a later edition of the London Dispensatory, in the late 17thcentury, in its list of botanicals, minerals, simple / compound drugs for external and internal uses, oils, pills, cataplasms, etc, reflects influence.
84
the extent of Muslim
Most Muslim material was in fact used until late in the nineteenth century, and Levey concludes
that there is much to be learned yet from their early drug treatises. 85 In chemistry, the works of Jabir and Al-Razi set the foundations to the modern science. Jabir, known as Geber in Latin, described the preparation of many chemical substances: sulphide of mercury, oxides, arsenics etc. He made applications that led to major industrial transformations, including the refining of metals, dyeing of clothes (crucial for the textile industry some centuries later,) the use of manganese in glass making (to become another fundamental industry in Europe,) use of pyrites, and gave an exact description of processes such as calcination, crystallisation, solution, sublimation and reduction. 86 Al-Razis work is wary of using the mystical and even occult elements which affect so much of Jabirs and his predecessors works. His Secret of Secrets, in Latin Liber secretorum bubacaris, describes the chemical

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processes and experiments conducted by him, and which can be identified as equivalent to modern processes ranging from distillation to calcination, crystallization etc.87 Al-Razi also divided substances into animal, vegetable, and mineral.; the mineral substances include mercury, gold, silver, pyrites, glass etc: vegetable substances were mainly used by physicians; whilst animal substances divided into hair, blood, milk, eggs, bile etc.88 Al-Razi was also a practical chemist gaving laboratory work pre-eminence over theoretical observations. Hill points out that Al-Razi's Book of Secrets `foreshadows a laboratory manual' and deals with substances, equipment and processes.89 Al-Razi's laboratory includes many items still in use today: crucible; decensory; cucurbit or retort for distillation (qar) and the head of a still with a delivery tube (ambiq, Latin alembic); various types of furnace or stove etc.90 Some of Al-Razi's revolutionary experiments, derived from his Secret of Secrets, 91 include ways of smelting metals, the sublimation of mercury, the preparation of caustic soda, the use of the mercury ammonium chloride solution as a dissolving reagent, and the preparation of glycerine from olive oil. Al-Razi's lead in careful experimentation and observations demonstrated, as Holmyard put it: `that a by-product of alchemy was a steadily increasing body of reliable chemical knowledge, a trend which Al-Razi did most to establish and for which he deserves the gratitude of succeeding generations.'92 Still on chemistry, Hill also notes that works by many Muslim chemists included recipes for products that had industrial or military uses.93 He points out that the discovery of inorganic acids was of crucial importance for the history of chemistry. These acids were produced during chemical experiments but became valuable agents for industrial applications. 94 In optics, the works of the Muslims set up the foundations for all that was to follow. Excellent extracts can be found in Lindbergs study of the Islamic impact on Latin optics in Rasheds Encyclopaedia.95 The Islamic role is highlighted by their demolition of the previous Greek erroneous assumptions of optical theory. Hunain ibn Ishaq, first, followed by al-Kindi, criticised the Greek theory a critique outlined by Lindberg.96 It was, however, Ibn al-Haytham who revolutionised the whole science, determining by experimentation many optical phenomena. Ibn al-Haytham's achievements, as summarised by Lindberg,97 show that he did not just explain the principal facts of visual perception but also managed to establish the intromission theory of vision beyond all doubt and dispute for good. He `fundamentally' altered the aims and scope of the optical theory, and also managed to integrate into his theory anatomical and physiological claims of the medical theory. Thus, as Lindberg concludes, he was able `to draw together the mathematical, physical and medical traditions into a single comprehensive theory.... He created a new optical tradition and established the aims and criteria of optics which would prevail, though not without rivals, until Kepler and beyond.'98 Further achievements of Ibn al-Haytham include developing precision instrumentalisation, expounding for the first time the use of the camera obscura, and writing treatises on the halo and rainbow. 99 Hill states, ùnquestionably, the most important work on physics to reach the West in medieval times was Kitab alManazir.100 The influence of this work, with its intromission theory of vision and its completely new methodology had a profound impression on others, particularly Roger Bacon and Witelo.101 The foregoing is just the briefest of outlines of the Islamic influence which brought about the revival of science and learning in Western Christendom, and eventually our modern civilisation based on such Western learning.

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Conclusions
There are many excellent works that can serve future researchers interested in this subject. Sartons Introduction to the History of Science can be a beginning for anyone interested to sift through the thousands of pages of his voluminous work, looking not just under the term Islamic but also Èuropean/Latin Christendom to understand how Christians of the Middle Ages acquired their sciences via Islamic sources. Rasheds Encyclopaedia has also a volume, on the Islamic impact on European science and learning, which is very useful.102Other works include those cited above, most particularly those by Ribera, Leclerc, Amari, and Prutz to understand the role of the Islamic impact on the field of university learning, medicine, the Sicilian impact and that of the Crusaders. To gather how the Muslims influenced Western trade, and how the Islamic economic power was broken by both European pirates and papal policies, there is nothing better than Heyds Levant Trade cited above. To comprehend the Islamic role in mechanics and physics, the best sources are German, especially Widemanns,103although Hill, until his death, in 1994, has somehow rehabilitated the subject in English. Suter has given excellent indications of the Islamic role in astronomy and mathematics.104 Sezgin is by far one of those who have done so much these days to revive the interest in Islamic science and its impact, and again, the most unfortunate fact is that, like all excellent works, his is only available in German. 105 Amongst the English writing authors who can enlighten the reader further on the Islamic impact are Eugene Myers,106 D. Metletzki,107 Turner 108 and Menocal. In French Aldo Mielis work on the role of Islamic science in the awakening of modern science, as the title suggests is a must. 109 In Spanish, there are excellent works by Vernet 110 and Millas Vallicrosa, 111 and of course Castro. 112 Then, of course, there are the many works and articles, which either this author has not cited, or failed to access, or even are difficult to access with thousands of them, many gathering dust in the depths of libraries for decades- or over a century- and containing by far the best information of all on the subject. Modern works filling the shelves of libraries, and the readily available volumes on the history of science, in their overwhelming majority have very little to offer since the history of science and civilisation continues to be classically and Eurocentrically driven.
Bibliography
-R. Allen: Gerbert Pope Silvester II; The English Historical Review: 1892: pp 625-68. -M.T. DAlverny: Deux Traduction Latines du Coran au Moyen Age in Archives dhistoire doctrinale et litteraire du Moyen Age; 16; Paris; Librairie Vrin; 1948; in La Connaissance de lIslam dans lOccident Medieval; edt by C. Burnett. Varorium; 1994; pp 69-131. -A. Amari: La Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia, 3 vols, Revised 2nd edition by C.A. Nallino, Roma. (1933-9). -G. Anawati: Science, in The Cambridge History of Islam, vol 2, edt P.M. Holt, A.K.S. Lambton, and B. Lewis, Cambridge University Press, 1970, pp 741-779. -F.B. Artz: The Mind of the Middle Ages; Third edition revised; The University of Chicago Press, 1980. -C. Bouamrane-Louis Gardet: Panorama de la Pensee Islamique, Sindbad; 1-3 Rue Feutrier; Paris 18 (1984). -F.Braudel: Grammaire des Civilisations; Flammarion, Paris; 1987. -R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, George Allen and Unwin Ltd, London 1928. -C. Burnett and D. Jacquard: eds Constantine the African and Àli ibn al-Magusti: The Pantegni and related texts, Leiden, 1994. C. Burnett: The Introduction of Arabic learning into England. The Panizzi Lectures, 1996. The British Library, London, 1997.

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C. Burnett: Michael Scot and the transmission of scientific culture from Toledo to Bologna via the court of Frederick II Hohenstaufen, in Micrologus: Nature, Sciences and Medieval Societies, Science at the Court of Frederick II. Brepols, 1994.pp 101-126. -D.Campbell: Arabian medicine, and its influence on the Middle Ages; Philo Press; Amsterdam; 1926; reprinted 1974. -A. Castro: Espaiia en su historia. Cristianos, moros y judlos. Buenos Aires: Losada, 1948, 709 pp. See The Structure of Spanish History, English translation with revisions and modifications by Edmund L. King. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1954, 689 pp. A.Castro: La Realidad historica de Espana. 2ed. Edited by Paulino Garagorri with additions and corrections from Castros papers. Madrid: Alianza-Alfaguara, 1974. -L.Cochrane: Adelard of Bath; British Museum Press; 1994. -D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, to AD 1500, Longman, Librarie du Liban, 1971. -J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe; 2 Vols: London, 1875; revised ed; Vol 2. -P. Duhem: Medieval Physics, in R. Palter edition: Toward Modern Science; The Noonday Press; New York; 1961; Vol 1; pp 141-159; Quote at p. 141; This article is a reprint from `Physics, history of,'' Catholic Encyclopedia, XII (1911), pp 47-52. -W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. -Al-Duri: Tarikh al-Iraq; Baghdad; 1948. -I.R. and L.L. Al Faruqi: The Cultural Atlas of Islam; Mc Millan Publishing Company New York, 1986. -R. Folch Andreu: Influensso Italiano sull'evoluzione della farmacia,' raccolta di scritti in onore di Guilio Conci a cura di A.e. Vitolo (Pisa, 1953), pp 167-77. -D. J. Geanakoplos: Medieval Western Civilisation, and the Byzantine and Islamic Worlds, D.C. Heath and Company, Toronto, 1979. -Sir John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab peoples, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1969, p.289. -H.Harant and Y. Vidal: La medecine Arabe et Montpellier; pp. 60-85; In Cahiers de Tunisie; Vol 3. -J.H. Harvey, The origins of Gothic Architecture,' Antiquaries Journal 48 (1968). pp 87-99; -C.H. Haskins: The Rise of Universities: New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1923. C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance of the twelfth Century, Harvard University Press, 1927. C.H. Haskins: Studies in the History of Medieval Science; Frederick Ungar Publishing; New York; 1967. C.H. Haskins: England and Sicily in the 12th century; The English Historical Review: Vol XXVI (1911) pp 433-447 and 641-665. -W. Heyd: Geschichte des Levantehandels im Mittelalter 1, 1879 p. 104 ff. Fr edt: W.Heyd: Histoire du commerce du Levant au Moyen Age; Leipzig; 1885-6; reedit;Amsterdam 1967. -D.R. Hill: Islamic Science and Engineering; Edinburgh University press; 1993. -E.J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry; Oxford at the Claredon Press, 1931. -N.L. Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine Arabe; 2 vols; Paris; 1876. -M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology, E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1973. -D.C. Lindberg: The Western reception of Arabic optics, in Encyclopedia, op cit; pp 716-29. D.C. Lindberg: The Science of optics, in Science in the Middle Ages, D.C. Lindberg ed. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago and London. 1978; pp. 338-68. -George Makdisi: The Rise of Colleges, Edimburgh University Press; 1981. " : On the origin and development of the college in Islam and the West, in Islam and the Medieval West, ed. K. I. Semaan, State University of New York Press/Albany. 1980. Pp: 26-49. -Maria Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1987.

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-D. Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby in Medieval England, Yale University press, 1977. -Max Meyerhof: Science and medicine, in The Legacy of Islam, edt Sir Thomas Arnold and Alfred Guillaume; first edition, Oxford University press, 1931. -A.Mieli : la Science Arabe et son role dans levolution scientifique mondiale, Leiden, E.J Brill; 1938. -E.Myers: Arabic thought and the Western world in the golden age of Islam. New York: Ungar, 1964. -H. Prutz: Kulturgeschichte der kreuzzuge; Berlin, 1883. -R Rashed: editor: Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science 3 Vols.; Routledge, London and New York: 1996. -J. Ribera: Disertaciones Y Opusculos, 2 vols. Madrid 1928, 1, pp. 227-359. -E Savage-Smith: Medicine, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science vol 3; Edt R. Rashed; Routledge; London; 1996: pp. 902-962. -G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; In 3 vols; The Carnegie Institution of Washington; Baltimore, 1927-1947. -S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; in 3 vols; The Lippincot Company; Philadelphia; 1904.. -F.Sezgin: Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums; Leiden; 1967-84. -Ibrahim B. Syed: Medicine and Medical Education in Islamic History, in Islamic perspective in medicine, edt Shahid Athar, American Trust Publication, 1993, pp 45-56. -H. Suter: Die mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke; APA, Oriental Press, Amsterdam, 1982. -J. W. Thompson: Introduction of Arabic science into Lorraine in the tenth Century,'' Isis 12 (1929): 187-91. -H.R.Turner: Science in medieval Islam, Austin Texas, 1997. -Jose M. Millas Vallicrosa: Estudios sobre historia de la ciencia espanola, Barcelona, 1949. Jose M. Millas Vallicrosa: Nuevos estudios sobre historia de la ciencia espanola, Barcelona, 1960. -A.L. Udovitch: Urbanism; in The Dictonary of the Midle Ages; Vol 12; pp 306-10. -J.Vernet: Ce que la culture doit aux Arabes d'Espagne, translation by Gabriel Martinez Gros, 1985, Paris; German translation, die spanisch arabische Kultur in Orient und Okzident, 1984, Zurich/Munich. -A.Watson: AgriculturalIinnovation in the early Islamic World; Cambridge University Press; 1983. -W.M. Watt: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edinburgh University Press, 1972. -M. C. Welborn: `Lotharingia as a center of Arabic and scientific influence in the eleventh century,' Isis 16 (1931) pp.188-99. -G.M Wickens: `What the West borrowed from the Middle East, in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976. pp 120-5. -E. Wiedemann: -Beitrage zur Geschichte der Natur-wissenschaften. X. Zur Technik bei den Arabern. Erlangen, 1906. -`Zur mechanik und technik bei der Arabern' in Sitzungsherichte der physikalisch-medizinischen Sorietat in Erlangen (38), 1906. -Yaqut: Muaajam al-Buldan; vol iv. -G. Ziboorg: A History of MedicalPpsychology, W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 1941, p. 123.

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References
1 P. Duhem: Medieval Physics, in R. Palter edition: Toward Modern Science; The Noonday Press; New York; 1961; Vol 1; pp 141-159; Quote at p. 141; This article is a reprint from `Physics, history of,'' Catholic Encyclopaedia, XII (1911), pp 47-52. 2 Manchester Metropolitan University 27 October 01. 3 See for instance: D. J. Geanakoplos: Medieval Western Civilisation, and the Byzantine and Islamic Worlds, D.C. Heath and Company, Toronto, 1979. W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; In 3 vols; The Carnegie Institution of Washington; Baltimore, 1927-1947. 4 Sir Thomas W. Arnold: Muslim Civilisation during the Abbasid Period; in The Cambridge Medieval History, Cambridge University Press, 1922 (1936 reprint):Vol IV: Edited by J. R. tanner, C. W. Previte; Z.N. Brooke, 1923. pp 274-298; at p.279. Sir John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969; p. 207. 5 Sir John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Ppeoples, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1969, p.289. 66 J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe; 2 Vols: London, 1875; revised ed; Vol 2; p. 42. 7 G.M Wickens: `What the West borrowed from the Middle East, in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976. pp 120-5. At p.120. 8Maria Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1987; p.63. 9 I.R. and L.L. Al Faruqi: The Cultural Atlas of Islam; McMillan Publishing Company New York, 1986. p.232. 10 C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance of the twelfth Century, Harvard University Press, 1927: 32-4. 11 J.W. Draper: A History: Vol I; op cit; p. 412. 12 J.W. Draper: History, op cit, vol II, p. 40. 13 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; p. 26. 14 F.B. Artz: The Mind of the Middle Ages; Third edition revised; The University of Chicago Press, 1980. pp 148-50. 15A.L. Udovitch: Urbanism; in The Dictonary of the Midle Ages; Vol 12; pp 306-10.at p. 310. 16 A.Watson: Agricultural Innovation in the early Islamic World; Cambridge University Press; 1983. p.117. 17 Al-Duri: Tarikh al-Iraq; Baghdad; 1948 pp; 26.28. 18 Yaqut: Muaajam al-Buldan; vol iv; p. 787. 19 R.Ettinghausen: R.Ettinghausen: The Islamic garden; in The Islamic Garden, in The Islamic Garden, Edt by E.B. Macdougall and R. Ettinghausen; p.5. 20 W. Heyd: Geschichte des Levantehandels im Mittelalter 1, 1879 p. 104 ff. Fr edt: W.Heyd: Histoire du commerce du Levant au Moyen Age; Leipzig; 1885-6; reedit;Amsterdam 1967. 21 F.Braudel: Grammaire des Civilisations; Flammarion, Paris; 1987. 22 S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; in 3 vols; The Lippincot Company; Philadelphia; 1904. Vol II; p.223. 23 J. Draper: History, Vol II; op cit; p. 230: 24 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; Vol 3; pp 520-2. 25 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; Vol 1; p.339. 26 Sanchez Albornoz, C. L'Espagne Musulmane, French translation of earlier Spanish version, Paris, 1985. 27 C.H. Haskins: The Rise of Universities: New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1923:p. 3 28 J. W. Thompson: Introduction of Arabic science into Lorraine in the tenth Century,'' Isis 12 (1929): 18791. M. C. Welborn: `Lotharingia as a center of Arabic and scientific influence in the eleventh century,' Isis 16 (1931) pp.188-99. 29 R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, George Allen and Unwin Ltd, London 1928; p. 207. 30 H.Harant and Y. Vidal: La medecine Arabe et Montpellier; pp. 60-85; In Cahiers de Tunisie; Vol 3. D.Campbell: Arabian medicine, and its influence on the Middle Ages; Philo Press; Amsterdam; 1926; reprinted 1974.

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C. Burnett: The Introduction of Arabic learning into England. The Panizzi Lectures, 1996. The British Library, London, 1997. 33 W.M. Watt: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edinburgh University Press, 1972.; pp. 63-4. 34 A. Amari: La Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia, 3 vols, Revised 2nd edition by C.A. Nallino, Roma. (1933-9). 35 M Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role; op cit; p.63. 36 R. Briffault: The Making; op cit; p. 213. 37 M Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role; op cit; p.61. 38 G. Sarton: Introduction, op cit, Vol 2;P. 575. 39 R. Briffault: The Making, op cit, p. 212. 40 G. Sarton: Introduction, op cit, p. 575. 41 G. Sarton: Introduction, op cit, vol 2; p. 575. 42 R Briffault: the Making, op cit, p. 213. 43 M Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role; op cit; p.63. 44 M Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role; p.63. 45 C. H. Haskins: Studies, op cit, pp 156-7. 46 C.H. Haskins: England and Sicily in the 12th century; The English Historical Review: Vol XXVI (1911) pp 433-447 and 641-665. 47 See C. Burnett: Michael Scot and the transmission of scientific culture from Toledo to Bologna via the court of Frederick II Hohenstaufen, in Micrologus: Nature, Sciences and Medieval societies, Science at the Court of Frederick II. Brepols, 1994.pp 101-126. 48 For a brief, but good outline, see for instance D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, to AD 1500, Longman, Librarie du Liban, 1971. 49 H. Prutz: Kulturgeschichte der kreuzzuge; Berlin, 1883. See for the briefest but most useful summary: L.Cochrane: Adelard of Bath; British Museum Press; 1994. J.H. Harvey, The origins of Gothic Architecture,' Antiquaries Journal 48 (1968). pp 87-99; L. Cochrane: Adelard of Bath, op cit, pp. 63-4; 68-9. In Cochrane: Adelard of Bath, op cit, p. 64. David Talbot Rice: Islamic Art, London, 1965, pp 59, 86-89, 165-8. in L. Cochrane: Adelard of Bath, op cit, p. 68. 55 L. Cochrane: Adelard of Bath, op cit, p. 69. 56 L. Cochrane: Adelard of Bath, op cit, p. 64. 57George Makdisi: The Rise of Colleges, Edimburgh University Press; 1981. " : On the origin and development of the college in Islam and the West, in Islam and the Medieval West, ed. K. I. Semaan, State University of New York Press/Albany. 1980. Pp: 26-49. 58 J. Ribera: Disertaciones Y Opusculos, 2 vols. Madrid 1928, 1, pp. 227-359. 59 C.H. Haskins: Studies in the History of Medieval Science; Frederick Ungar Publishing; New York; 1967. G.Sarton: Introduction; op cit. 60 M.T. DAlverny: Deux Traduction Latines du Coran au Moyen Age in Archives dhistoire doctrinale et litteraire du Moyen Age; 16; Paris; Librairie Vrin; 1948; in La Connaissance de lIslam dans lOccident Medieval; edt by C. Burnett. Varorium; 1994; pp 69-131. at p.70. 61 G. Sarton: Introduction; Vol II, op cit; p.6 62 Edited by Max Curtze (Halle 1885). 63First printed together with Guy Chaulliac's Latin surgery (Venice 1498). 64 Edt: A. Bjornbo and Seb. Vogl (Leipzig, 1912). 65 Printed in Lisbon in 1542, and in Basle in 1572. 66 Printed with the Latin translation of Ibn Butlan's Tacuinum (Strasbourg 1531). 67 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit. 68 D.Campbell: Arabian medicine, op cit. 69 N.L. Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine Arabe; 2 vols; Paris; 1876. 70 Max Meyerhof: Science and medicine, in The Legacy of Islam, edt Sir Thomas Arnold and Alfred Guillaume; first edition, Oxford University press, 1931. p. 351.
31 R. Allen: Gerbert Pope Silvester II; The English Historical Review: 1892: pp 625-68. 32 D. Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby in Medieval England, Yale University press, 1977.
50 51 52 53 54

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71C. Burnett and D. Jacquard eds: Constantine the African and Àli ibn al-Magusti: The Pantegni and related texts; Leiden, 1994. 72 Ibrahim B. Syed: Medicine and Medical Education in Islamic History, in Islamic perspective in medicine, edt Shahid Athar, American Trust Publication, 1993, pp 45-56: at p. 55. 73G. Ziboorg: A History of Medical psychology, W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 1941, p. 123. 74 Emilie Savage-Smith: Medicine, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science vol 3; Edt R. Rashed; Routledge; London; 1996: pp. 902-962. at p. 943. 75Chikh Bouamrane-Louis Gardet: Panorama de la Pensee Islamique, Sindbad; 1-3 Rue Feutrier; Paris 18 (1984), p. 232. 76 E.S. Smith, Medicine, op cit, pp. 945-48. 77 P.K. Hitti: History of the Arabs, MacMillan, London, 1970; p. 577. 78 E. S. Smith: Medicine, op cit, p. 948. 79 M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology, E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1973. pp 175-6. 80 H. Schelenz, Geschichte der Pharmazie, Berlin, 1904, p 329, in M. Levey: Early Arabic, op cit, p 375. 81 M. Levey: Early Arabic, op cit, p. 175. 82 Ibid, p. 176. 83 R. Folch Andreu: Influensso Italiano sull'evoluzione della farmacia,' raccolta di scritti in onore di Guilio Conci a cura di A.e. Vitolo (Pisa, 1953), pp 167-77, in M. Levey: Early Arabic, op cit, p. 177. 84 M. Levey: Early Arabic, op cit, p. 177. 85 Ibid. 86 G. Anawati: Science, in The Cambridge History of Islam, vol 2, edt P.M. Holt, A.K.S. Lambton, and B. Lewis, Cambridge University Press, 1970, pp 741-779, at p. 776. 87 E.J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry; Oxford at the Claredon Press, 1931. 88 Georges C. Anawati: Arabic Alchemy, in Encyclopedia, op cit, pp. 853-85. at p. 869. 89 D.R. Hill: Islamic Science and Engineering; Edinburgh University press; 1993; p. 83. 90 D.R. Hill: Islamic Science, op cit, p. 83. C. Singer: Short History of Scientific Ideas. Op cit; p. 185. 91 E.J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry; Oxford at the Claredon Press, 1931. 92 Holmyard quoted in G. Anawati: `Science', op cit, at p. 777. 93 D.R. Hill, Islamic Science, op cit, p. 85. 94 Ibid, p. 88. 95 David C. Lindberg: The Western reception of Arabic optics, in Encyclopedia, op cit; pp 716-29. 96 D.C. Lindberg: The Science of optics, in Science in the Middle Ages, D.C. Lindberg ed. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago and London. 1978; pp. 338-68, at pp. 342-5. 97 D.C. Lindberg: The Science of Optics, op cit, pp 347-9. 98 D. C. Lindberg: Science of optics, op.cit, p. 349. 99 D.R. Hill, Islamic Science, op cit, pp. 73-4. 100 D.R. Hill, Islamic Science, op cit, p. 224. 101 G. Anawati: Science, op cit, p .755. 102 Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science 3 Vols. Edited by R Rashed; Routledge, London and New York: 1996. 103 E. Wiedemann: -Beitrage zur Geschichte der Natur-wissenschaften. X. Zur Technik bei den Arabern. Erlangen, 1906. -`Zur mechanik und technik bei der Arabern' in Sitzungsherichte der physikalisch-medizinischen Sorietat in Erlangen (38), 1906. 104 H. Suter: Die mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke; APA, Oriental Press, Amsterdam, 1982. 105 F.Sezgin: Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums; Leiden; 1967-84. 106E.Myers: Arabic thought and the Western World in the Golden Age of Islam. New York: Ungar, 1964. 107 D. Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby in Medieval England, Yale University press, 1977. 108 H.R.Turner: Science in Medieval Islam, Austin Texas, 1997. 109 A.Mieli : la Science Arabe et son role dans levolution scientifique mondiale, Leiden, E.J Brill; 1938. 110 J.Vernet: Ce que la culture doit aux Arabes d'Espagne, translation by Gabriel Martinez Gros, 1985, Paris; German translation, die spanisch arabische Kultur in Orient und Okzident, 1984, Zurich/Munich.

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111 Jose M. Millas Vallicrosa: Estudios sobre historia de la ciencia espanola, Barcelona, 1949.
Jose M. Millas Vallicrosa: Nuevos estudios sobre historia de la ciencia espanola, Barcelona, 1960.
112 A. Castro: Espaiia en su historia. Cristianos, moros y judlos. Buenos Aires: Losada, 1948, 709 pp. See
The Structure of Spanish History, English translation with revisions and modifications by Edmund L. King. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1954, 689 pp. A.Castro: La Realidad historica de Espana. 2ed. Edited by Paulino Garagorri with additions and corrections from Castros papers. Madrid: Alianza-Alfaguara, 1974.

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The Contribution of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) to the development of Earth Sciences
Munim M. Al-Rawi PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhD Ahmed Salem BSc November 2002 4039 FSTC Limited, 2002 2003
FSTC Limited
The Contribution of Ibn Sina to the development of Earth Sciences November 2002
THE CONTRIBUTION OF IBN SINA (AVICENNA) TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES

by Munim M. Al-Rawi PhD
Abstract / Highlights
The Muslim Civilization was outstanding in its natural look towards the universe, man and life. Muslim scientists thought and wondered about the origin of minerals, rocks, mountains, earthquakes and water, etc. Ibn Sina (981 - 1037 C.E.), better known in the West as Avicenna, has a leading contribution in his famous Encyclopaedia of Philosophy and Natural Sciences Kitab AI-Shifa (the Book of Cure, Healing or Remedy from ignorance). In Part 2, Section 5, the Article on Mineralogy and Meteorology, he presented a complete coverage of knowledge on what happens on the Earth in six chapters: 1. Formation of mountains; 2. The advantages of mountains in the formation of clouds; 3. Sources of water; 4. Origin of earthquakes; 5. Formation of minerals; 6. The diversity of earths terrain. His knowledge on Meteorology, or what happens above the Earth, is also covered in six chapters: 1. Clouds and rain; 2. Causes of rainbow; 3. Features associated with sun reflection on clouds, and rainbow; 4. Winds; 5. Thunder, lighting, comets and meteorites; 6. Catastrophic events which effects the surface of the earth. In Kitab Al-Shifa, Avicenna had presented fundamental principles of Geology in terms of Earth processes, major events and long geologic time. Those principles were later known in the Renaissance of Europe as the law of superposition of strata, the concept of catastrophisim, and the doctrine of uniformitarianism * . Those concept were embodied in the Theory of the Earth by James Hutton in the Eighteenth century C.E. Kitab AI-Shifa, was also known in the Renaissance of Europe. It was an inspiring source of thought to the founders of geological thought in Europe (such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Steno in the Seventeenth C.E., and most probably later on James Hutton in the Eighteenth C.E.).
* Uniformitarianism: is the concept that the earths surface was shaped in the past by gradual processes, such as erosion, and by small sudden changes, such as earthquakes, rather than by sudden divine acts, such as Noahs flood.

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Introduction
It can be rightfully said that Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 981 - 1037 C.E.) was a true product of the Muslim Civilization in its climax of scientific growth. He contributed to natural sciences (which he called it Attabieyat) along with other natural philosophers such as Ikhwan AI-Safa, AI-Biruni and many others. Avicennas work in Kitab AI-Shifa (the Book of Cure, Healing or Remedy from ignorance), the famous Encyclopaedia of Philosophy and Natural Sciences had influenced European scientists during the Renaissance because of its being in a comprehensive and encyclopaedic form. Although Avicenna is better known in Medicine and Philosophy, he was less known in Earth Science. This is because of the nature of the Earth Science itself, and its history of development in Europe. Earth Science was only known as "Geology" in Europe since the Seventeenth century C.E. The purpose of this rather concise account is to highlight Avicenna's contribution to the development of Earth sciences, and seeking to answer the following points: 1. 2. 3. To close the gap in the history of Geology, which reflects human thought upon the nature of the Earth. To show that Avicenna's original contribution was not the product of an earlier Greek thought. To show that fundamental principles of Geology were put forward many centuries before the Renaissance in Europe. It is intended to present Avicenna's principles of Earth Science as he put it in Kitab Al-Shifa, Part 2, Section 5, the Article on Mineralogy and Meteorology, the chapter on Origin of Mountains. Those principles were already known by some historians of Geology, such as Adams (1938), Dennis (1972), Kemmel (1973) and among historians of science such as Sabra (1976) and Wickens (1976). Unfortunately, some historians of Geology attributed Avicenna's knowledge of Earth science to the Greek science, such as Kemmel (1973). However, in a rather philosophical account titled the Discovery of Time, Toulumin and Goodfield (1965), have acknowledged Avicenna's contribution in the field of geologic time:
"Around A.D. 1000, Avicenna was already suggesting a hypothesis about the origin of mountain ranges, which in the Christian world, would still have been considered quite radical eight hundred years later".
***

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Avicennas contribution to Earth Sciences

Avicenna's area of study is located in the Former Soviet Republic of Uzbakistan, North of Afghanistan (Figure 1). It comprises the mountainous area around the Amur Darya River (previously known as the Oxus River or the Ancient River Gihoun). The area presently stretches along the northern mountains of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, as well as Western Uzbakistan. Geologically, the area studied consists of sedimentary rocks belongs to different geological ages, and Recent alluvium deposits along the Amur Darya River. As Adams (1938, p.333-335) put it;
Avicenna's views concerning the origin of mountains which, as will be noted, have a remarkably modern tone, may be best presented in a translation of his own words by Holmyard and Mandeville (Avicennae de Congelatione et Conglutinatione Lapidum, being sections of the Kitab al-Shifa. Librairie Orientaliste, Paul Geuthner, 1927, p. 18) ": We shall begin by establishing the condition of the formation of mountains and the opinions that must be known upon this subject. The first (topic) is the condition of the formation of stone, the second is the condition of the formation of stones great in bulk or in number, and the third is the condition of the formation of cliffs and heights.
In other words, Avicenna had established the fact that for the formation of mountains, we have to understand the ways that stones (rocks) are formed, then the manner of which rock sequences are formed, and finally the process of which mountains are formed after uplift and erosion. It is worthwhile then, to elaborate on Avicennas description on the origin of mountains as it fundamental principle in the formulation of geological sciences in Europe. Figure 2 illustrates Avicenna's field observations and interpretations. 1. Formation of Stones (Rocks): Avicnna has established three origins for the formation of stone (rock), being from water (chemical), mud (detrital) or fire (igneous). Presently, these origins are known as sedimentary and igneous. Avicenna did not know the third metamorphic origin (alteration from sedimentary and igneous rocks), because it was only known after the advent of microscope in Europe.
We say that, for the most part, pure earth does not petrify, because the predominance of dryness over (i.e. in) the earth, endows it not with coherence but rather with crumbliness. In general, stone is formed in two ways only (a) through the hardening of clay, and (b) by the congelation of waters... Stone has been formed from flowing water in two ways (a) by the congelation of water as it falls drop by drop or as a whole during its flow, and (b) by the deposition from it, in its course, of something which adheres to the surface of its bed and (then) petrifies. Running waters have been observed, part of which, dripping upon a certain spot, solidifies into stone or pebbles of various colours, and dripping water has been seen which, though not congealing normally, yet immediately petrifies when it falls upon stony ground near its channel. We know therefore that in that ground there must be a congealing petrifying virtue which converts the liquid to the solid.... Or it may be

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that the virtue is yet another, unknown to us.... Stones are formed, then, either by the hardening of agglutinative clay in the sun, or by the coagulation of aquosity by a dessicative earthy quality, or by reason of a desiccation through heat.
Regarding fossils, which were found within stones, Avicenna gave an explicit explanation of their origin from the petrifaction of plants and animals by mineralizing and petrifying virtue within stones:
If what is said concerning the petrifaction of animals and plants is true, the cause of this (phenomenon) is a powerful mineralizing and petrifying virtue which arises in certain stony spots, or emanates suddenly from the earth during earthquakes and subsidences, and petrifies whatever comes into contact with it. As a matter of fact, the petrifaction of the bodies of plants and animals is not more extraordinary than the transformation of waters
2. Formation of Stones Great in Bulk (Rock Sequences): Translation by the author from the Arabic by Montasir et al (1965), of the chapter on the origin of mountains in Kitab Al-Shifa, which is not included in Adams (1938):
The formation of stones in abundance is either at once due to intense heat (probably referring to arid climate) over vast mud area; or little by little through sequence of days. most probably from agglutinative clay which slowly dried and petrified during ages of which we have no record. It seems likely that this habitable world was in former days uninhabitable and, indeed, submerged beneath the sea. Then becoming exposed little by little, it petrified in the course of ages the limits of which history has not preserved; or it may have petrified beneath the waters by reason of intense heat confined under the sea. It is for this reason, i.e. that the earth was once covered by the sea, that in many stones when are broken , are found parts of aquatic animals, such as shells, etc. It is not impossible that the mineralizing virtue was generated there, i.e. in the petrifying clay, and aided the process, while the waters also may have petrified, (probably referring to the
chemical precipitation of cement from interstitial water). Avicenna has clearly recognised that the formation of rocks in bulk is a slow process. 3. Formation of Cliffs and Heights (Mountains): Avicenna went into describing the process of uplift and erosion in the formation of mountains, after the formation of stones and rock sequences:
The formation of heights is brought about by (a) an essential cause and (b) an accidental cause. The essential cause (is concerned) when, as in many violent earthquakes, the wind which produces the earthquake raises a part of the ground and a height is suddenly formed. In the case of the accidental cause, certain parts of the ground become hollowed out while others do not, by the erosive action of winds and floods which carry away one part of the earth but not another. That part which suffers the action of the current becomes hollowed out, while that upon which the current does not flow is left as a height. The current continues to penetrate the first-formed hollow until at length it forms a deep valley, while the area from which it has turned aside is left as an

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eminence. This may be taken as what is definitely known about mountains and the hollows and passes between themThe abundance of stone in them is due to the abundance, in the sea, of clay, which was afterwards exposed. Their elevation is due to the excavating action of floods and winds on the matter which lies between them, for if you examine the majority of mountains, you will see that the hollows between them have been caused by floods. This action, however, took place and was completed only in the course of many ages, so that the trace of each individual flood has not been left; only that of the most recent of them can be seen.
Avicenna then summarises his views on the origin of mountains:
At the present time, most mountains are in the stage of decay and disintegration, for they grew and were formed only during their gradual exposure by the waters. Now, however, they are in the grip of disintegration, except those of them which God wills should increase through the petrifaction of waters upon them, or through floods which bring them a large quantity of clay that petrifies on them.
Finally, Avicenna outlines the fundamental principle of superposition of strata, which later in the history of Geology became the Law of Superposition of Strata by Nicolaus Steno in the Seventeenth century C.E.:
It is also possible that the sea may have happened to flow little by little over the land consisting of both plain and mountain and then have ebbed away from it. ... It is possible that each time the land was exposed by the ebbing of the sea a layer was left, since we see that some mountains appear to have been piled up layer by layer, and it is therefore likely that the clay from which they were formed was itself at one time arranged in layers. One layer was formed first, then at a different period, a further layer was formed and piled, upon the first, and so on. Over each layer there spread a substance of different material, which formed a partition between it and the next layer; but when petrifaction took place something occurred to the partition which caused it to break up and disintegrate from between the layers (possibly referring to unconformity). As to the beginning of the sea, its clay is either sedimentary or primeval, the latter not being sedimentary. It is probable that the sedimentary clay was formed by the disintegration of the strata of mountains. Such is the formation of mountains.
***

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The Development of Earth Sciences in Europe

The Development of Geology as a distinct science in Europe, was a product of the development of certain principles and concepts on Earth in about three stages. 1. 2. 3. The Pre-Christian stage. The Formative stage between Fourteenth to Seventeenth centuries C.E. The development of geologic theories during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries C.E.
During formative and development stages, the scientific debate formulated the following principles and concepts: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Meaning of fossils. The continuation of geological processes or the doctrine of uniformitarianism. Law of superposition of strata. Long geologic time. Concept of catastrophisim.
The history of Geology in Europe sees Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), as a near universal genius:
"Da Vinci's notebook show that he clearly appreciated the nature of fossils, of erosion, transport and deposition, and of shifting of seas and land. Free from dogmatic misconceptions, he was a naturalist far ahead of his time. Unfortunately, his geologic ideal were lost for several centuries",
(Mears 1978) Those very ideas were embodied in Avicennas work in Kitab Al-Shifa and the work of many other Muslim natural scientists, such as Ikhwan Al-Safa and Al-Biruni. Nicolaus Steno (1638-1687) supposedly came with the early fundamental concepts of Historical Geology, the law of superposition of strata. "Steno's conclusion to the formation of a stratigraphic succession can be condensed as follows (Kummel 1973):
1. A definite layer of deposit can form only upon a solid base; 2. The former stratum must therefore be consolidated before a fresh deposit is precipitated upon it; 3. Any one stratum must either cover the whole earth or be limited laterally by other solid deposit; 4. Since, while a deposit is accumulating, only the water from which it precipitated is above it, the lower layers in a series of strata must be older than the upper".
The Eighteenth century C.E. saw the applications of the law of superposition of strata, as well as some controversial views on the earth's history. Abraham Werner (1749-1817) came with a theory that relates the origin of all rocks to water. That theory was also known as the Neuptunist theory, which had an overwhelming, support at that time in Europe. During that time, another distinguished investigator, James Hutton (1726-1797) who contributed some fundamental concepts, which are very important in the history of Geology.

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Hutton demonstrated the plutonic origin of granite and recognised the significance of angular unconformities. A few scientists before him had reasoned in uniformitarian terms, but it was Hutton who and his followers at Edinburgh, though vehemently attacked for decades, who introduced the necessary concept that "the present is the key to the past", into the mainstreams of geologic thinking", (Mears, 1978)
The Nineteenth century C.E. saw further development in the geological mapping of Britain and Europe, and the subdivision of the stratigraphic record. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Theory of Evolution gained scientific acceptance in the West with its application to the history of life on Earth. In the middle of that century, direct drilling into the subsurface strata in USA discovered oil in 1857. The developments in the search for oil enhanced the development of stratigraphic principles and many other aspects of geologic thinking to the present time. The debate on geological concepts and theories is a continuous process, which is being carried out even during the last Twentieth century C.E. The latest plate tectonic theory brought many pro and against scientists to it, as also between the creationists and the evolutionists.
Synthesis
In the discussion of Avicenna's contribution to the development of Earth Sciences, we must answer the previously outlined points: 1. Avicenna's contribution in Kitab Al-Shifa fills the gap in the history of Geology by bridging the PreChristian natural sciences with that of the Renaissance. It proves also, that mankind had already known a great deal of the nature of the Earth, many centuries than it was known in Europe. 2. There is no argument in the suggestion that Avicennas work is attributed to the Greek. If this argument is true, then modern Geology was born at the Greek time, not in the Renaissance of Europe, which is untrue. 3. The fundamental principles of Geology, such as the law of superposition of strata and uniformity in geologic processes were the products of Avicenna's time in the Eleventh centuries C.E. Avicenna's methodology of field observation was original in Earth Sciences. The field observation constitutes an essential part in any geological investigation, especially in an area, which was never studied before. Avicenna's method of reasoning his field observations to reach an interpretation is another original method. He clearly distinguished between the processes of erosion, transportation, deposition, uplift and unconformities (the time separation between layers). Furthermore, he recognised the sequence of those events in long span of time, which stretches beyond human lifetime, to form mountains. In other parts of Kitab Al-Shifa, Avicenna went beyond mountains and rocks, he wrote on meteorology, water salinity and other aspects of the earth, particularly the concept of formation and disintegration or decomposition. His ideas, taken collectively, constitute a natural philosophy of the Earth such as that constituted by James Hutton later in the Eighteenth century C.E. Huttons Theory of the Earth had basically called for the recognition of the fact that earth processes are continuous on Earth. This lead to the doctrine of uniformitarianism or the Present is the Key to the Past.

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Recent studies by Porter (1977) on the History of Earth Science in Britain raised some points on the nature of Hutton's Theory of the Earth as being alien to the traditional school of thinking in Britain. The nature of that theory as being formulated from certain concepts before it was applied in the field. It was also alien due to the belief, that is being brought by it's founder who spent sometime studying Medicine and Law in Leiden in Holland and Paris in France, which housed large volumes of Islamic manuscripts before the Fifteenth century C.E. It is not intended here to prove or disprove how much Hutton was influenced by Avicenna's thinking? But to any researcher in the field of History of Science could see the impact of Avicenna's work in Medicine, Philosophy and Natural Sciences in the West. To conclude this discussion, it is appropriate to quote again Toulmin and Goodfield (1965) on the Discovery of Time:
"For the time being (Avicennas time), these insights were not followed up, and the full antiquity of the world remained unsuspected".
Finally, it is suggested that certain effort should be made towards the publication of all parts of Avicennas Kitab AI-Shifa, in a modern form together with elaboration on it's value in the influence of philosophy and natural sciences in Europe. Supplementing this effort by visiting Avicennas field studied areas in the mountains around Amur Darya River in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbakistan so that its real antiquity could be appreciated.
Figures and References to follow.

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Figure 1: Location Map of Central Asia, after http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/uzbek.html
Figure 2: Illustration of Avicennas Sequence of Events to the Formation of Mountains, after Al-Rawi, 1983c.

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SELECTED REFERENCES
1. 2. Adams, F. D., 1938. The birth and development of geological sciences. First published by Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore. 506 P. Reprinted in paper pack by Dover Publication, New York, 1954. Aldo Mieli, 1962. Arab Science and its importance in the development of world science. Translated to Arabic by Al-Naggar, A.H. and M.Y. Mosa, and edited by Fawzi, H. from the original French text. Dar Al-Qalam, Cairo, Egypt. 3. Al-Rawi, M. M., 1977. A concise account on the history of Arabic Earth Sciences. In: Proceedings of the First Symposium for the History of Arabic Science, University of Aleppo, Syria. First Volume in Arabic, p. 187-209, with abstract in English. 4. Al-Rawi, M. M, 1979. A comparative study between "Al-Ma'adin Wal Athar AI-Ulwiyah" of Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and the principles of modern geology. Paper presented in Arabic to the Second International Symposium for the History of Arabic Science, April 1979, University of Aleppo, Syria, 27 p. with abstract in English. 5. Al-Rawi, M. M., 1983a. The contribution of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) to the development of earth sciences in Europe. Paper presented to the conference on the Impact of Arab and Islamic Civilisation, December 1983, Oxford University, England. 6. Al-Rawi, M. M., 1983b. The concept of hydrologic cycle and underground water in the Arabian science and its impact on agricultural development. Paper presented in Arabic to the Third International Symposium for the History of Arabian Science, Dec. 1983. Kuwait, 14 p. with abstract in English. 7. Al-Rawi, M. M., 1983c. The contribution of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) to the Development of Earth Science in Europe. Proceedings of the Oxford University Conference on the Influence of the Arab and Islamic Civilisation. St. Anthony's College, Oxford, England, December 17-18, 1983. 8. 9. Al-Rawi, M. M., 1984. Principles of Geology in "Al-Maadin Wal Athar Al-Ulwiyah" of Ibn Sina. (In Arabic). Journal of the Institute of Arabian Manuscripts. Kuwait. Vol. 28, Part 2, p. 547-564. Al-Rawi, M. M., 1988. Geology and Mineralogy. Chapter 2, in Volume 4: Science in Islam. UNESCO, Paris, France, MS 31 P. Currently 2002 under publication by UNESCO, see www.unesco.org/culture/aic/index/html 10. Al-Shahat, A. A., 1968. Abu'l Rayhan Al-Biruni: life, publications and scientific research. Dar Al-Ma'arif, Cairo, Egypt. (In Arabic). 11. Al-Sukari, A. A., 1973. The Arabs and Geology. El Maaref Establishment, Alexandria, Egypt, 108 p. with 15 p. (In Arabic with summary in English). 12. Al-Ward, A. A. and I. J. AL-Fadhl., 1977. The Arab origin of earth science (Geology). In: Proceedings of the First International Symposium for the History of Arabian Science. University of Aleppo, Syria. First Volume in Arabic, p. 347-387. 13. Conant, J. B., 1963. History of Science. Translated and edited to Arabic by Zaki, A. Dar Al-Maarif, Cairo, Egypt. 14. Dennis, J. C., 1972. Structural Geology, 1. Historical Survey, P.9. The Ronald Press Co., N.Y. 15. Dean, D. R., 1979. The word "Geology". Annals of Science, Vol. 36, No. 1, p. 35 - 43. 16. Eicher, D. L., 1976. Geologic time. 2nd edition. Prentice Hall International, Inc., London. 150 p. 17. Ferroukh, 0., 1970. The History of Arabian Science. Dar Al-Ilm, Beirut, Lebanon. (In Arabic). 18. Gould, S. J., 1967. Is Uniformitarianism Useful? Journal of Geological Education, Vol. 15, p. 149-150. 19. Hubbert, K. 1967. Critique of the Principle of Uniformity. In: Uniformity and Simplicity (GSA Special Paper 89) edited by C. C. ALBRETTON, Jr., p. 3-33, The Geological Society of America.

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20. Ibrahim, M. M., 1957. Iajaz Al-Quran Fi IlmT'abaqat Al-Ardh (The un-challengeable Quran in the science of earths stratigraphy). Kostathomas & Co. Printers, Cairo, Egypt. 21. Ikhwan Al-Safa, 1957. Rasal Ikhwan Al-Safa". Volume 2 on Natural Objects. Beirut and Sadr Publishing Houses, Beirut, Lebanon. (In Arabic). 22. Kennedy, E. S. et al, 1983. Studies in the Islamic Exact Sciences. American University of Beirut, Lebanon, 771 p. 23. Kennedy, E. S., 1970. Al-Biruni (or Beruni). Abu Rayhan (or Abul Rayhan) Muhammad ibn Ahmad. Directory of Scientific Biography, Vol. 2, p. 148-158, New York. Reprinted in KENNEDY, E. S. et al above p. 562-572. 24. Kummel, B., 1973. History of the Earth. An Introduction to Historical Geology, 2nd Edition. W.H. Freeman of Co., San Francisco, USA 25. Mears, B. Jr., 1978. Essentials of Geology. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York. 26. Montasir, A. H., et al, (Editors), 1965. "Al-Shifa" of Ibn Sina. Natural Sciences, Part 5 on Minerals and Meteorology. Amiri Publication, Cairo, Egypt. 94 p. (In Arabic with summary in French). 27. Morani, H. and Montasir, A. H., 1974. Readings in the History of Arabic Sciences. University of Mousil, Iraq. (In Arabic). 28. Nasr, S. H., 1976. Islamic Science. World of Islam Festival Publishing Co. Ltd, England, 273 p. 29. Potter, R., 1977. The Making of Geology. Earth Science in Britain 1660-1815. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 288 p. 30. Qassim, M., (Editor), 1969. "Al-Shifa" of Ibn Sina, Natural Sciences, Part 2 on Earth and Heavens, Part 3 on Formation and Decomposition, and part 4 on Actions and Reactions. Arab Book Publishing House. Cairo, Egypt. (In Arabic). 31. Sabra, A.H., 1976. The Scientific Enterprise. In: Lewis, B., (Editor). The World of Islam. Thames and Hudson, London, P.181-200. 32. Seyfert, C.K. and L.A. SIRKIN, 1979. Earth history and plate tectonics. 2nd edition. Harper & Row Publishers, New York. 33. Shell International Petroleum Co., 1966. The Petroleum Handbook. 5th Edition. Shell Centre, London SE1, 318 p. 34. Sokolov, V., 1972. Petroleum. Translated from the Russian by V. Purto. Mir Publishers, Moscow, 335 p. 35. SPEIZER, E.A., 1951. Ancient Mesopotamia: A Light That Did Not Fail. The National Geographical Magazine, Vol. XCIX, No. 1, p. 41-105. 36. Steno, N., 1669. An Early Statement of Ordering Principles in Earth History. University of Michigan, Humanistic Studies, Vol. XI, part 2, p. 229-230. 37. Toulmin, S. and Goodfield, 1965. The Ancestry of Science: The Discovery of Time. Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., London. 38. Whitehead, A.N., 1925. The origins of modern Science. In: Science and the Modern World, The Macmillan Co., renewed 1953 by E. WHITEHEAD. 39. Wickens, G. M., 1976. The Middle East as a World Centre of Science and Medicine. In: Savory, R.M. (Editor), Introduction to Islamic Civilisation, Chapter 10, P.111-119. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 40. Zahoor, A., 2002. Abu Ali Al-Hussain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina (Avicenna). In: http://users.erols.com/zenithco/sina.html 41. Zahoor, A., and Haq, Z., 2002. Quotations from famous historians of Science. In: http://users.erols.com/zenithco/sina.html (Copyright 1990, 1996, 1997 All Rights Reserved).

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A review on
Mosque Architecture
FSTC Limited
A review on Mosque Architecture January 2002
A R EVIEW ON
MOSQUE ARCHITECTURE
Abstract The mosque originates from the word Mesjid , meaning the place where people prostrate to God. It is also referred to as the House of Allah. That is where Allah is worshipped. It occupies the heart of Muslim life and the centre of its settlement. Its importance has been heavenly emphasised and its form has been divinely guided. The function is clearly established in Sura 24, Aya 36:
"In houses which Allah has permitted to be exalted and that His name may be remembered in them, there glorify Him therin in the mornings and the evenings. (24:36)
Another verse establishes the building principle:
"Certainly a masjid founded on piety from the very first day is more deserving that you should stand in it; in it are men who love that they should be purified; and Allah loves those who purify themselves." (9:108)
Meanwhile, books of " Seerah ", the life of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), refer to the divine guidance in his (Muhammed) major works including the construction of the mosque in Medina. This first embryo soon developed into a complex building equipped with a number of functional and decorative elements and incorporating spatial arrangements considerably different from buildings of earlier religions. The symbolic meaning given to these components is also important. This brief article explores the process of development of the physical and functional characters of the Mosque through time and geographical variation. In its first section, the article provides a general background to the importance of the mosque in Muslim life. In the second, it examines the morphological components of the mosque and follows the process of their development. In the last section, the article examines the design and functional types of the mosque providing a morphological and functional classification.
Introduction The mosque represents the heart of Muslim religion and community. It is the House of Allah Beit Allah where two of the five pillars of Islam are conducted namely the five daily prayers and Friday Salah . Additionally, a large number of Peligrimage Hajj rituals are also carried out in the mosque, in Al-Harem As-Sharif (Kaabah). Such importance is further emphasised by the Quran in numerous verses (16 times in singular form and 5 times in plural), indicating And that the mosques are Allahs therefore call not upon anyone with Allah (72:18). In terms of community, the mosque is the place where members (the faithful) meet at least five times a day, united in the worship of one God, and stand equal in rows facing the direction of Kaabah. The Mosque also embraced other functions in the past including:

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A learning school for all types of religious, literary and scientific subjects. A court where justice was carried out. A political forum where citizens discussed their problems with the Khalifa. The tradition indicates that the ruler (whether a Khalif or an Emir) led the congregational prayer, discussed the affairs of the state, and often Friday Khutba contained political speeches ending with the community renewing allegiance.
Within these conditions, the Mosque was the nucleus that created the characteristics of the Muslim society. Morphological components of the Mosque The above features and functions forced the Muslim architect to adapt his structural, spatial and decorative designs to accommodate them in one remarkable entity. We find, for example, the dualism of dome and minaret achieved a perfect expression of the submission to Allah, which became central element of Muslim religious architecture. The dome, popular in most cultures, had two main symbolic interpretations in Islamic architecture involving the representation of the vault of heaven and a symbol of divine dominance engulfing the emotional and physical being of the faithful. In functional terms, it is used to externally define the Qibla and internally lighten it (Dekkie, 1978). The most common forms of the dome are the semi-circular, which is the oldest, and most spread (figure 1). The bulbous dome (also called the onion shaped dome) was favoured particularly by the Mugals who spread it in Persia, the Indian sub-continent and Asia. Concerning the size, the earliest domes were small and often erected on the crossing before the Mihrab as seen in Quairawan (670-675), Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (705-707) and Cordoba (756-796) (figure 2). They progressively grew in size and number and were later used in various areas including the centre and some times covering the entire roof as seen in Mausoleums, tombs of founders or of holy men. Under the Ottomans, in particular, the size of the dome evolved to cover the entire sanctuary area preceded laterally with smaller and numerous domes as seen in Suleymania Mosque. Figure 1: Umayyad Mosque (Damscus), a hypostile mosque showing the semicircular dome, and the arcades of the courtyard.

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Figure 2: The dome over the Mihrab in the Mosque of Cordoba, internal view.
The minaret is used to call for prayers (Adhan). Its height is mainly determined by how far the call is heard, a method which until recently did not require the modern amplifier. The minaret is also given a symbolic meaning giving the highest position to the declaration and attestation of faith, "Shahada ". The declaration of "Allah is the greatest " and "there is no God except Him and Mohammed (pbuh) is His messenger", and the rest of the wording of Adhan is in fact a daily confession of Islam of that particular community or city. This noble meaning has been undermined by the articulation of skyscrapers, which dominate Muslim urban landscape including the city of Makkah itself. The shape of the minaret varied substantially between regions, reflecting local taste and tradition. The square minaret evolved in Syria starting from the Great Umayyad Mosque and was developed under the Almoravids who ruled North Africa between (1031-1150). Examples of this include the three world famous minarets of Kutubia Madrassa (Morocco 1164-1184), Great Mosque of Telemcen (Algeria 1172) and Giralda (Spain 1184-1196). Finally, the spiral form dominates the Persian connection spreading to India and Turkey while the cylindrical and polygonal or combination of these styles is found in the rest of Muslim world. The other feature in the mosque is the use of courtyard (Sahn) furnished with a fountain providing a space for ablution and under its covered arcades ( Riwaqs) sheltered its visitors especially the poor. The edifice is generally oriented towards the "Qibla" complying with the regulation provided by Sura 2 Ayah 145, which states that:
And now We will turn you indeed towards a Qibla which shall please you. So turn your face [in prayer] toward the Sanctified Mosque, and ye [o Muslims] wheresoever ye find yourselves, turn your faces [likewise] toward it. (2:145)
The sanctity of Qibla was further emphasised by the introduction of "Mihrab ", a niche used to mark such

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direction, and in private houses bedrooms and bathrooms are deliberately disoriented as a mark of respect. This leads us to raise an issue that many non-Muslims confuse with other religions thinking that Muslims attach special regard to the " Mihrab" like the Christians do to the Altar . The sanctity of the "Mihrab" does not come from the shape per se but from the direction it indicates (Qibla), in other words the Kaabah. This meaning had been clearly expressed in Turkey where some fragments of stones of the Kaabah were included in the " Mihrab" of Sokollu Mehmet Pasa mosque at Kadirga in Istanbul as well as the representation of Kaabah underneath the arch of "Mihrab" in some Ottoman Rugs (Dickie (1978). Furthermore, there are other hypotheses, which we cannot ignore. The Quran explicitly spoke of "Mihrab" in Surah 3, Ayah 39 referring to Prophet Zakaria being praying in front of Mihrab when he was promised the son Yahia (John):
Then the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary (Mihrab): that Allah gives the good news of Yahiya verifying a word from Allah, and honourable and chaste and a Prophet from among the good ones. (3:39)
In Ayah 37 of the same Surah, Maryam (Mary) is the one described as praying in the Mihrab:
whenever Zakariya entered the sanctuary (mihrab) to (see) her, he found with her food. (3:37)
The Mihrab here was translated as sanctuary rather than the niche. The meaning of niche is also introduced in Surah 24, Ayah 35:
Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth, a likeness of His light is as a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp is in a glass, (and) the glass as it were a brightly shining star, lit from a blessed olive oil tree, neither eastern nor western, the oil whereof gives light though fire touch it not, light upon light, Allah guides to His light whom He pleases. (24:35)
The word niche here has been transmitted in the symbolic form of Mihrab where traditionally Muslims put candles and lanterns reflecting the divine description and later was expressed in the use of this lamp under the arch of the Mihrab in most prayer rugs and carpets. Such symbolism extended to the lavish use of light in other parts of the mosque. In spatial terms, the mosque, unlike Christian church, is wider than deep. The selection of this spatial form was intended to give more worshippers the chance to get nearer to the Qibla wall which is known for its heavenly merits. The first to come and sits in the front rows near the Mihrab is better rewarded than the one comes last and sits in the rear. Morphological and functional categories of the Mosque The mosque plan was developed through a process of change and modification resulting in the emergence of four main forms reflecting the main periods of Islamic attainment (see Scerrato, 1976). These were the dates when Islamic World and sometimes regions were under the control of righteous and strong leadership. In this respect, the period of early Khalifs and their progressive successors developed the first type of Mosque. Being the earliest and most spread, this type had the form of hypostile hall consisting of a main hall composed of a number of parallel aisles defined by arcades of columns and pillars. In addition to

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creating a beautiful and emotional atmosphere which envelops the faithful as he enters the sanctuary, the extension of rows of pillars and arcades on all directions emphasises the limitlessness of the space, a symbol of the infinity of the Divine. This is further expressed in the system of organisation of prayers which consists of longitudinal rows of worshippers facing the qibla wall, and side ways forming a lateral expansion. The area near the Mihrab is defined by special treatment emphasising its sanctity. The use of dome in the square (crossing) in front of the Mihrab and the widening of the nave leading to it as well as the aisle closest to the Qibla wall are some of the main spatial arrangements introduced for this purpose. Further demarcation of this area is also defined by some stucco, floral, geometric and calligraphic decoration with intended meditation messages. Born in Medina from the Prophets Mosque and developed in Iraq and Syria, the hypostyle mosque soon entered North Africa, Andalusia, Sicily and Persia and countries of South Asia. The eleventh century saw the rise of Seljuk Caliphate as a reaction against deteriorating conditions and weakening state of the Fatimids in Syria and Palestine and Ghazanavids in Persia and northern provinces of Azerbijan, Tajikstan etc This had far reaching consequences as the success of these early Turkish people to the throne of Caliphate left its imprints on the general architectural and artistic character of Islam and set forth processes for the establishment of the Ottoman power. Under the patronage of Suljuk princes, Iran (Persia) developed new style of mosques known as "Iwan " mosque. Here, a high vaulted hall was built to function as a great entrance leading to the sanctuary and domed area before the Mihrab and sometimes leading to the Sahn . The roof of the Iwan is vaulted and commonly covered with "Muqarnas". Historic sources established the first appearance of this style about 890 in Friday Mosque of Shiraz as well as in Friday Mosque (Masjid-I juma) in Niriz in Fars built about 970 (Scerrato, 1076, p.58). Persians historically knew the Iwan as they used it under the Sassanian rule as a ceremonial forum. Later, it spread to the rest of the Muslim world especially to northeastern parts of Islam, which had strong connection with Persia. The
Iwan was successfully adapted to other building forms such as in educational buildings known as "Madrassa " where it served as lecturing hall and on its sides rooms were converted providing rooms for
students. Another useful adaptation of the Iwan plan was in hospitals and caravanserais, which spread in Iran, Syria and Anatolia. The popularity of this type of Mosques in Persia reached its peak in 11th century leading to the introduction of the four Iwan mosque (figure 3) which first appeared in Isfahan Friday Mosque (11th century). The succession of the Ottomans to the Caliphate in the 14th century, at the hands of their founder Othman (d.1326) and reaching its apogee in the 16th century, resulted in the introduction of new features to the design and construction of the Mosque. Under the Ottomans the mosque evolved from the traditionally horizontal space to a vertical structure rising into the sky through its domed roof, which was arranged in a number of small domes rising progressively like steps towards the main dome of the central nave. In this type, the infinity is expressed through verticality and hence the dome became the dominating skyline of Muslim mosques, probably influenced by Hagga Sofia as many Western academics would suggest. Furthermore, this mosque stressed another important symbol involving the oneness of God, conceptualised by Al-Tawhid, which forms the essence of Muslim faith. The perfect centralisation of the space under the main dome affirmed its unity and confirmed the symbol of one God. In the view of Davies (1982, p.127):
The interior is then one unit to be perceived in its entirety at a single view. Its reality is not to be found in the domes and arcades but in the cavities they define. Plenitude of space ... majestic space ... continuous space ... tawhid (the consciousness of divine Unity) made visible.

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Ottoman domed mosques themselves displayed a variety expressed in the style and number of domes employed. At first, the roof was made of a number of small domes sometimes combined with a central larger one (mother). The first of these is the Yesil Cami Mosque (Bursa) which was founded by Mehmet I (1403-1421) in 1419. The Mosque was located in a complex site that included a bath, a tomb, and a Medrassa. Typical of Ottoman mosques, Yesil Cami was dominated by its domes, which covered most of the interior space.
Figure 3: Masjid-I- Jami, Isfahan (11th century), the first four Iwan Mosque.
Figure 4: Sinans Sulaimanya Mosque (1550-1557), Istanbul.

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The fame of the Mosque is connected to its Persian made blue and green tiles decorating its walls which were made by artisans from Tabriz city (Hoag, 1969, p.42). The general decor and ornamentation of the mosque recall that of Hall of the Ambassadors at Alhambra. It is a mixture of both late Suljuk and early Ottoman art as seen in the style of its entrance which clearly emphasised the Suljuk tradition of extensive use of Muqaranas . These cupolas later increased in size and number first in Bayzid II Mosque in Istanbul (1501-1506) built by Kheyruddin and then at Suleymaniya Mosque (1549-1557), Sinans masterpiece (figure 4). The second feature of the Ottoman mosque is the pointed slender minaret, which differs greatly from the rest of the Muslim world. The fourth type of Mosque is the one developed by the Mugal dynasties in the Indian subcontinent. Here, a successful combination of the three above styles evolved into a fascinating new style consisting of a horizontal hypostyle hall area for the practice of rituals, covered with flat roof incorporating large onion shaped (bulbous) dome, and a large porch entrance recalling the Persian Iwan as seen in Delhi's Jami Masjid (India between 1644 and 1658) (figure 5).
Figure 5: Jami Masjid in Delhi, India (1644-1658), a combination of hypostyle and iwan styled mosque with bulbous domes
In addition to the formal and design styles, mosques were also categorised in terms of function and status in similar fashion to that of prayers. The five daily prayers are attributed to the individual and performed in the Mesjid. This is the first category mosque providing daily congregational prayer for the local community (district for example). Although daily prayers can be individually performed but in congregation they have higher merit up to 27 times. The Friday prayer, is performed once a week gathering the whole community in one bigger place that is called Jami, an Arabic reference to gathering the faithful from all corner of the built up area, and sometimes even from neighbouring villages and hamlets. The Jami has the highest status

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locally (nationally) and comes after the Kaaba, Al-Quds in Jerusalem and Prophets mosque in Medina (Saudi Arabia). The third type of prayer is the Eid Prayer which is done twice a year in Eid Al-Fitre and Eid
Al-Adhha. Here, the whole town goes out to pray in an open surface known as Mussala. Lastly, the one life
time prayer (at least) in Kaabah during Pilgrimage which gathers an enormous populous of Muslim world to circumcirculate around the Kaabah and to stand on the Mount of Arafat near Makkah. Outside these categories, we find other small mosques having other functions rather than congregational prayer. Among these are the Mausoleum mosques, which are structures built as burial places for important people such as rulers, holy men and other personage. These are usually located outside towns with modest size, but some have monumental character as in Gur-i-Mir mausoleum (Samarkand) and Taj-Mahal (India). The Madrassa is a collegiate mosque used for teaching as well as praying as in Al-Azhar mosque. The
Zawyia, however, is a monastic mosque where the devoted faithful could retire from this world into a holy environment. Zawyia is also used as a boarding teaching base for student followers of a particular scholar,
fulfilling the role of Madrassa. We have to note here that monasticism in Islam differs greatly from that of Christianity. The Itikaf tradition as set by the Prophet (pbuh), allows devotees to go into retreat but for no more than 10 days a time.
References: Hoag, J.D. (1968) Western Islamic architecture, Studio Vista, London. Davies, J.G. (1982) `Temples, churches and mosques, Basil Blackwell, Oxford Dickie James (Yaqub Zaki)(1978) Allah and Eternity: Mosques, Madrasas and Tombs, in Mitchell, G. et al. (eds.), Architecture of the Islamic world : its history and social meaning, Thames and Hudson, London. Scerrato Umberto (1976) Islam, Monuments of Civilisation, The Readers Digest Association Ltd., London.

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A review on
Muslim Contribution to Agriculture
Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Professor Talip Alp Ahmed Salem BSc August 2002 4018 FSTC Limited 2002, 2003
FSTC Limited
A review on Muslim Contribution Agriculture August 2002
A R EVIEW ON
MUSLIM CONTRIBUTION TO AGRICULTURE

Introduction History usually conveys the notion that the agricultural revolution took place in recent times in the form of rotation of crops, advanced irrigation techniques, plant improvements, etc some such changes only taking place in the last couple of centuries in Europe, and some even taking place nowadays. It is explained that such revolutionary changes fed the increasing European population, released vast numbers from the land and allowed agriculture to produce a capital surplus, which was invested in industry, thus leading to the industrial revolution of the 18th-19th century. This is the accepted wisdom until one comes across works on Muslim agriculture and discovers that such changes took place over ten centuries ago in the Muslim world, some such changes being the foundations of much of what we have today. Watson, Glick and Bolens, 1 in particular, indeed, show that the major breakthroughs were achieved by Muslim farmers on the land, and by Muslim scholars with their treatises on the subject. Thus, as with other subjects, prejudice distorts history, Muslim achievements of ten centuries ago covered up; a point raised by Cherbonneau, who holds: ìt is admitted with difficulty that a nation in majority of nomads could have had known any form of agricultural techniques other than sowing wheat and barley. The misconceptions come from the rarity of works on the subject If we took the bother to open up and consult the old manuscripts, so many views will be changed, so many prejudices will be destroyed.2 The Agricultural Revolution As early as the ninth century, a modern agricultural system became central to economic life and organization in the Muslim land. The great Islamic cities of the Near East, North Africa and Spain, Artz explains, were supported by an elaborate agricultural system that included extensive irrigation and an expert knowledge of the most advanced agricultural methods in the world. The Muslims reared the finest horses and sheep and cultivated the best orchards and vegetable gardens. They knew how to fight insect pests, how to use fertilizers, and they were experts at grafting trees and crossing plants to produce new varieties. 3 Glick defines the Muslim agricultural revolution in the introduction of new crops, which, combined with extension and intensification of irrigation, created a complex and varied agricultural system, whereby a greater variety of soil types were put to efficient use; where fields that had been yielding one crop yearly at most prior to the Muslims were now capable of yielding three or more crops, in rotation; and where agricultural production responded to the demands of an increasingly sophisticated and cosmopolitan urban population by providing the towns with a variety of products unknown in Northern Europe. 4 Whilst for Scott, the agricultural system of the Spanish Muslims, in particular, was `the most complex, the most scientific, the most perfect, ever devised by the ingenuity of man. 5 Such advancement of Muslim farming, according to Bolens, was owed to the adaptation of agrarian techniques to local needs, and to à spectacular cultural union of scientific knowledge from the past and the present, from the Near East, the Maghreb, and Andalusia. A culmination subtler than a simple accumulation of techniques, it has been an enduring ecological success, proven by the course of human history.' 6 Fertilisers, in their variety, were used according to a well-advanced methodology; whilst a maximum amount of moisture in the soil was preserved. 7 Soil rehabilitation was constantly cared for, and

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preserving the deep beds of cropped land from erosion was, according to Bolens, again, `the golden rule of ecology, and was `subject to laws of scrupulous careful ecology. 8 For Scott, the success of Islamic farming also lay in hard enterprise. No natural obstacle was sufficiently formidable to check the enterprise and industry of the Muslim farmer. He tunneled through the mountains; his aqueducts went through deep ravines, and he leveled with infinite patience and labor the rocky slopes of the sierra (in Spain). 9 Watson sums up. 10 To him, the rise of productivity of agricultural land and sometimes of agricultural labour owe to the introduction of higher yielding new crops and better varieties of old crops, through more specialised land use which often centred on the new crops, through more intensive rotations which the new crops allowed, through the concomitant extension and improvement of irrigation, through the spread of cultivation into new or abandoned areas, and through the development of more labour intensive techniques of farming. These changes, themselves, were positively affected by changes in other sectors of the economy: growth of trade, enlargement of the money economy, increasing specialisation of factors of production in all sectors, and with the growth of population and its increasing urbanisation. Irrigation, from Andalusia to the far East, from the Sudan to Afghanistan, remained central, `the basis of all agriculture and the source of all life. 11 The ancient systems of irrigation the Muslims became heirs to were in an advanced state of decay, and ruins.' 12 The Muslims repaired them and constructed new ones; besides devising new techniques to catch, channel, store and lift the water, and making ingenious combinations of available devices. 13 All of the Kitab al-Filahat (book of agriculture), whether Maghribi, Andalusian; Egyptian, Iraqi; Persian or Yemenite, Bolens points out, insist meticulously on the deployment of equipment and on the control of water.14 Agricultural Machines and Construction Water that was captured through a variety of ways was then successively channelled, stored and lifted using the different techniques and varied devices for each operation. Irrigation became cheap, affecting lands previously impossible or uneconomic to irrigate. 15 Irrigated fields yielded as many as four harvests yearly, 16 which, as in Spain, laid the foundations for the countrys prosperity. 17 Damming of rivers to provide households, mills with power, and for irrigation, was also widespread. 18 The introduction of the noria (a water lifting device) in any district has always had revolutionary consequences upon agricultural productivity, too. And because it was relatively inexpensive to build and simple to maintain, the noria enabled the development of entire huertas that were intensively irrigated. 19 In Cordoba, al-Shaqundi (thirteenth century) speaks of 5000 norias (possibly including both lifting and milling devices) on the Guadalquivir. 20 Some are still in use, as at La Nora, six km from the Murcia city centre, where although the original wheel has been replaced by a steel one, the Muslim system is otherwise virtually unchanged. 21 In general, these Islamic irrigation techniques that were transferred to Spain were adapted to specific natural conditions. 22 The Muslims, Forbes holds, should be credited with important developments of irrigation in the Western Mediterranean. And they did not just extend the irrigated area in Spain and Sicily, but also knew how to drain rivers and how to irrigate their fields by systems of branch channels with an efficient distribution of the available water. 23 Other than that, they also captured rainwater in trenches on the sides of hills or as it ran down mountain gorges or into valleys; surface water was taken from springs, brooks, rivers and oases, whilst underground water was tapped by creating new springs, or digging wells. 24

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Water Management Water, so precious commodity in a more Islamic aware age, was managed according to stringent rules, any waste of the resource banned, and the most severe economy enforced. Thus, in the Algerian Sahara various water management techniques were used to make the most effective use of the resource. The Foggaras, a network of underground galleries, conducted water from one place to the other over very long distances so as to avoid evaporation. Although the system is still in use today, the tendency at present is for over-use and waste of water. Still in Algeria, in the Beni Abbes region, in the Sahara, south of Oran, farmers used a clepsydra to determine the duration of water use for every user in the area. 25 This clepsydra regulates with precision, and night and day, the amount going to each farmer, timed by the minute, throughout the year, and taking into account seasonal variations. Each farmer is informed of the timing of his turn, and summoned to undertake necessary action to ensure effective supply to his plot. 26 In Spain, the same strict management was in operation. The water conducted from one canal to the other was used more than once, the quantity supplied accurately graduated; distributing outlets were adapted to each soil variety, two hundred and twenty four of these, each with a specific name. 27 All disputes and violations of laws on water were dealt with by a court-whose judges were chosen by the farmers themselves, this court named The Tribunal of the Waters, which sat on Thursdays at the door of the principal mosque. Ten centuries later, the same tribunal still sits in Valencia, but at the door of the cathedral. 28 Globalisation Crops Elaborating on the Islamic agricultural revolution, Watson holds 29that the picture that emerges is that of à large unified region which for three or four centuries, and in places still longer, was unusually receptive to all that was new. It was also unusually able to diffuse novelties: both to effect the initial transfer which introduced an element into a region and to carry out the secondary diffusion which changed rarities into commonplaces. Attitudes, social structure, institutions, infrastructure, scientific progress and economic development all played a part in the making of this medium of diffusion. And not only agriculture but also other spheres of the economy-and many areas of life that lay outside the economy- were touched by this capacity to absorb and to transmit. Indeed, as the Muslims advanced, Forbes explains, they introduced methods and machinery of the Ancient Near East, and also certain crops which could not have been grown with the typically classical agricultural methods. The Romans had imported rice but had never grown it on a large scale. The Muslims started to grow it on irrigated fields in Sicily and Spain, whence it came to the Pisan plain (1468) and Lombardy (1475). 30 In the words of Wickens, Spain received (apart from a legendary high culture), and what she in turn transmitted to most Europe, all manner of agricultural and fruit-growing processes, together with a vast number of new plants, fruit and vegetables that we all now take for granted. 31 These new crops included sugar cane, rice, citrus fruit, apricots, cotton, artichokes, aubergines, saffron... Others, previously known, were developed further.32 Muslims also brought to that country rice, oranges, sugar cane and cotton,33 and sub-tropical crops such as bananas and sugar cane were grown on the coastal parts of the country,34 many to be taken later to the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Also owing to the Muslim influence, a silk industry flourished, flax was cultivated and linen exported, and esparto grass, which grew wild in the more arid parts, was collected and turned into various types of articles. 35 In Sicily, crops and techniques introduced by the Muslims still constitute up till now the foundations of the economy. 36 Much of the transfer of such crops often owes to the enthusiasm of individual persons. Hence, Abd al-Rahman I, out of nostalgia for the Syrian landscape was personally responsible for the introduction of several species, including the date palm. 37 A variety of pomegranate was introduced from Damascus by

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the chief judge of Cordoba, Muàwiya b Salih, and a Jordanian soldier named Safar took a fig cutting and planted it on his estate in the Malaga region. This species, called safri after the soldier, subsequently became widely diffused. 38 It was also the Muslims who had introduced sugar cane into Ethiopia, and who made the East African island of Zanzibar famous for its high quality sugar. 39 In general, ìt would make a whole book, Baron Carra de Vaux observes, ànd not the least interesting, on the history of flowers, plants and animals that had come from the Orient, and which are used in agriculture, pharmacy, gardens, luxury trade, and arts.' 40 He lists tulips, hyacinths, narcissi, Lilacs, jasmine, roses, peaches, prunes, sheep of `barbary' lands, goats, Angora cats, Persian coqs, silk, cotton, plants and products used for dyeing, etc. 41 Farming Manuals Muslim farming manuals conveyed much of the expertise that was available. 42 Ways and methods for increasing production and productivity, and maintaining soil fertility were explained alongside detailed descriptions of soils, and their requirements. Soils were classified, and so was water according to its quality. It was explained how to enrich the soil by various methods, and methods of ploughing (normal and deep), hoeing, digging and harrowing. 43 Ibn Bassals treatise distinguished between ten classes of soil, each assigned with a different life sustaining capability, according to the season of the year. He was insistent that fallow land be ploughed four times between January and May and, in certain cases (for example, cotton, when planted in the thick soils of the Mediterranean coast), he recommended as many as ten ploughings. 44 Ibn al-Awwam's treatise was published in a Spanish translation and a French version between the end of the eighteenth and the middle of the nineteenth as its contents were of particular interest in both Spain and Algeria. 45 This Kitab al-Filaha (the book of agriculture), 46 has 34 chapters dealing with agriculture and animal husbandry. It covers 585 plants, explains the cultivation of more than fifty fruit trees, makes observations on grafting, soil properties, manure, and plant diseases and their treatments. Ibn al-Awwam studies gardening, irrigation, affinities between trees, grafting, animal husbandry and bee keeping. Al Ichbilis Kitab al-Filaha goes in the same direction in giving precise instructions to farmers about nearly every matter of concern. Extracts from it 47 show in minute detail how to grow olive trees, the treatment of diseases, grafting, harvesting olives, properties of olives, refining olive oil, conditioning of olives And the same with respect to other crops, including cotton, the required soil properties, the tasks preceding the planting, soil preparation, use of manure, and what sort; ploughing techniques, their frequency, the time for sowing and the manner it is done, watering after sowing, and during growth, maintenance of plants, harvesting etc. A wealth of information is also found in the `Calendar of Cordova of 961. 48 Its technical accuracy is `remarkable, and much of what it contains was to be found in subsequent geography books and farming treatises. Each month of the year had its tasks and time table, March, for instance, was when fig trees are grafted; and early cereals begin to rise. It was the time to plant sugar cane, and when pre-season roses and lilacs begin to come out. Quails appear; silk worms hatch; from the sea, mullets journey up rivers. That is also the time to plant cucumbers, and saw cotton, safron, and aubergines. During this month are sent to provincial tax officials mail orders to purchase horses for the government; locusts begin to appear and their destruction is ordered; time to plant lime and marjoram, too. It is also the mating season of many birds. 49 To illustrate the wide interest of a variety of writers regarding one single crop, one takes the example of rice. 50 Ibn Bassal, for instance, advises on the choice of terrain, plots that face to the rising sun. The thorough preparation of the soil is well recommended as well as the addition of manure, and how it is to be done. Sowing is advised between February and March. Al-Ichbilli gives the specific amount of rice that

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needs to be sown on any given surface, and how that should be carried out. Ibn al-Awwam speaks at length of the watering process, that land should be submerged with water up to a given height, then sowing the rice. Once the soil had absorbed the water, the seeds are covered with earth, and the land submerged with water again. All details on irrigation and ways of drainage once the plants grow are given. Fighting parasites, clearing weeds, and the means used for that also attract much attention from the writers. Ways of harvesting and for safe storage are explained, too. Use of rice as a food commodity takes many forms. Ibn al-Awwam specifies that the best way of cooking and eating rice is with butter, oil, fat and milk. An anonymous author of the Almohad dynasty51 also wrote a recipe book called Kitab al-Tabkh fi-l
Maghrib wal Andalus, which includes many recipes, five of them with rice, all sounding most appetising.
The loss of Ecological Balance `With a deep love for nature, and a relaxed way of life, classical Islamic society,' Bolens concludes, àchieved ecological balance, a successful average economy of operation, based not on theory but on the acquired knowledge of many civilized traditions.' 52 It was colonialism, she recognises, which subsequently and seriously upset the traditional agricultural balance in order to increase profitability for the colonizers. 53 The decline of agriculture as the destruction of other aspects of Islamic civilisation had, however, begun with the various invaders, from the Crusaders to the Mongols, from the Banu Hillal to the Normans and Spain's conquistadors in the West. Such invasions caused the ruin of irrigation works, destroyed permanent crops, closed down trade routes, and caused farmers to take flight. 54 The Muslim farmers also became over taxed by their new masters in Christian Spain and Sicily, and were exterminated in those countries; their system perishing with them. 55 The later colonisers, the French, only finished off whatever was left. No better place to see that than in Algeria, where the French on arrival in 1830 found a much greener country than the one they left 130 years later, and a population living more or less in harmony with its environment. In their wars of devastation against Algerian resistance, the French destroyed the garden rings that surrounded towns and cities, cutting trees and orchards. After that, they deforested whole regions to exploit timber, and took all fertile lands from their Muslim owners, forcing them to subside on arid lands, and in the vicinity of forests causing their degradation. Later, during the war of independence 1954-62, the French set ablaze millions of acres of forest lands; and then departed, leaving a legacy of bareness and hostility to greenery from which the Algerians have not recovered yet. 56

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References:
1
-A.M Watson: Agricultural Innovation in the Early Islamic World, Cambridge University Press, 1983. -A.M Watson: `The Arab agricultural revolution and its diffusion,' in The Journal of Economic History 34
(1974). -T.Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages , Princeton University Press, New Jerzey, 1979. -T.Glick: Irrigation and hydraulic technology: Medieval Spain and its legacy, Varorium, Aldershot, 1996.
-L.Bolens: Les methodes culturales au moyen age d'apres les traites d'agronomie andalous:
traditions et techniques. Geneva, 1974.

-L. Bolens, Agronomes Andalous du Moyen Age, Geneva/Paris, 1981. -L.Bolens: L'Eau et l'Irrigation d'apres les traites d'agronomie Andalus au Moyen Age (XI-XIIem siecles),
Options Mediterraneenes , 16 (Dec, 1972). 2 A. Cherbonneau: Kitab al-Filaha of Abu Khayr al-Ichbili, in Bulletin dEtudes Arabes, pp 130-44; at p. 130. 3 Frederick. B.Artz: The Mind of the Middle Ages; Third edition revised; The University of Chicago Press,
1980, p, 150.
4 5
T.Glick: islamic, op cit, p. 78. S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire in Europe. 3 Vols, Vol 3; J.B. Lippincott Company, London, 1904; L.Bolens: Àgriculture in Encyclopedia of the history of Science, technology, and Medicine in Non
p. 598.
6
Western Cultures , Editor: Helaine Selin; Kluwer Academic Publishers. Dordrecht/Boston/London, 1997. pp
20-2, at p. 20.
7 8 9
T. Glick: Islamic, op cit, p. 75. L.Bolens: Agriculture, in Encyclopedia, op cit, p. 22. S.P. Scott: History, op cit, p.604. A.Watson: Agricultural innovation, op cit, pp 2-3. Lucie Bolens: Irrigation: in Encyclopedia, op cit, pp 450-2; at p. 451. A.M. Watson: Agricultural innovation, op cit, p. 104. Ibid, pp. 109-10. L. Bolens, Irrigation, op cit, p. 451. A.M. Watson: Agricultural innovation, op cit, p. 104. T.Glick: Islamic, op cit. P. 75. D.R. Hill: Islamic science and Engineering, Edimburgh University Press, 1993; p. 161. Ibid, pp 159-69. T.Glick: islamic, op cit, p. 74. Al-Saqundi, Elogio del Islam espanol, p. 105; in T.Glick: Islamic, op cit, p.75. D.R. Hill: Islamic Science, op cit, pp. 97. E. Levi Provencal: Histoire de lEspagne Musulmane; 3 vols; Maisonneuve, Paris, 1953; vol iii, p. 279. R.J. Forbes: Studies in Ancient technology ; vol II, second revised edition, Leiden, E.J Brill, 1965, p. 49. A.M. Watson: Agricultural innovation, op cit p. 107. L. Goonalons: La Clepsydre de Beni Abbes, in Bulletin dEtudes Arabes, vol 3, 1943, pp 35-7: Ibid, p. 37. S.P. Scott: History, pp 602-3.
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

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28 29 30 31
Ibid, pp 602-3. A.Watson: Agricultural innovation, op cit, p.2 R.J. Forbes: Studies, op cit, p. 49. G.M. Wickens: What the West borrowed from the Middle east, in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation , M. Watt: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edimburgh University Press, 1972; pp 22-23. A. Pacey: Technology in World Civilization, a thousand year history, The MIT Press, Cambridge, E.Levi Provencal: Histoire, op cit, p.283. W.Montgomery Watt: The influence, op cit, pp 22-3. Francesco Gabrieli: Islam in the Mediterranean World, in The Legacy of Islam, edited by J.Schacht T.Glick: Islamic, op cit, p. 76. Ibid. A. Pacey: Technology, op cit, p. 15. Baron Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de l'Islam, vol 2, Paris, Librairie Paul Geuthner, 1921, vol 2, Chapter at p. 306. Ibid, pp 309-19. Most particularly: d'In al-Awwam, tr. from Arabic by J.J. Clement-Mullet, Vol. I,
edited by R.M. Savory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976, pp 120-5; at p. 125.
32 33
Massachusetts, 1990, p. 15.

34 35 36
with C.E. Bosworth, 2nd edition. Oxford Clarendon Press, 1974. pp 63-104, at p. 75.
37 38 39 40
x: Les Sciences Naturelles, Histoires Naturelles.

41 42
-Ibn Al-Awwam: Le Livre de l'Agriculture Paris 1864.
-Ibn Bassal: Libro de agricultura, Jose M.Millas Vallicrosa and Mohammed Azinan eds, Tetuan: instituto Muley al-hasan, 1953.
43 44
Derived from A.M. Watson: Agricultural, op cit, chapter 23. Millas Vallicrosa, `Sobre la obra de agricultura de Ibn Bassal,' in Nuevos estudios sobre historia de la
ciencia espanola (Barcelona: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1960), pp 139-40. 45 J. Vernet and J. Samso: Development of Arabic Science in Andalusia, in The Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Sciences, edt Roshdi rashed, Routledge, London, 1996, Vol 1, pp 243-76; at p 263. 46 Ibn Al-Awwam: Le Livre de l'Agriculture, op cit,. 47 In A Charbonneau: Kitab al-Filaha of Al-Ichbili, in Bulletin dEtudes Arabes , vol 6 (1946); pp 130-144;
48 49 50
Details of which in E.L. Provencal: History, op cit, pp. 289-90. Ibid. Derived from V. Lagardere: La Riziculture en Al Andalus (VIIIem-Xvem siecles), in Studia Islamica, vol 83, A Berber dynasty that went into Spain from Morocco, defeated the invading Christian forces and
1996, pp 71-87.
51
preserved the Islamic status of the Peninsula for over a century. When the Almohads were defeated, eventually, it was the end of Muslim Spain, the Muslims losing within a few years from each other (in the 1240s): Seville, Cordova, Valencia, and other territories, only retaining Grenada which would fall in 1492.
52 53 54 55
L.Bolens: Agriculture, in Encyclopaedia, op cit, p. 22. Ibid. See final Chapter by A. Watson: Àgriculture in retreat, in A. Watson: Agricultural. Op cit. See Charles H. Lea: A History of the Inquisition in Spain , in four volumes, The MacMillan Company, New
56
York, 1907, volume three, pp 317-410. Good accounts of such French devastation can be found in the following:

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-Charles.R. Ageron: Histoire de lAlgerie contemporaine, 3 vols, Presses Universitaires de France, 1979. -Charles.A. Julien: Histoire de lAlgerie Contemporaine, Presses Universitaires de France, 1964. -Henry Aleg et all: La Guerre dAlgerie, Temps Actuels, Paris, 1981. Bibliography -Charles.R. Ageron: Histoire de lAlgerie contemporaine, 3 vols, Presses Universitaires de France, 1979. Henry Aleg et all: La Guerre dAlgerie , Temps Actuels, Paris, 1981. -Frederick. B.Artz: The Mind of the Middle Ages; 3rd edition revised; The University of Chicago Press, 1980.
-L.Bolens: Les methodes culturales au moyen age d'apres les traites d'agronomie andalous:
traditions et techniques. Geneva, 1974.

-L. Bolens, Agronomes Andalous du Moyen Age, Geneva/Paris, 1981. -L.Bolens: L'Eau et l'Irrigation d'apres les traites d'agronomie Andalus au Moyen Age (XI-XIIem siecles),
Options Mediterraneenes , 16 (Dec, 1972). -L.Bolens: Àgriculture in Encyclopedia of the history of Science, technology, and Medicine in Non Western Cultures, Editor: Helaine Selin; Kluwer Academic Publishers. Dordrecht/Boston/London, 1997. pp 20-2. -Baron Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de l'Islam , vol 2, Paris, Librairie Paul Geuthner, 1921, vol 2, Chapter x:
Les Sciences Naturelles, Histoires Naturelles. -A.Cherbonneau: Kitab al-Filaha of Abu Khayr al-Ichbili, in Bulletin dEtudes Arabes, pp 130-44. -R.J. Forbes: Studies in Ancient technology; vol II, second revised edition, Leiden, E.J Brill, 1965. -Francesco Gabrieli: Islam in the Mediterranean World, in The Legacy of Islam, edited by J.Schacht with C.E. Bosworth, 2nd edition. Oxford Clarendon Press, 1974. pp 63-104. -T.Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages , Princeton University Press, New Jerzey, 1979. -T.Glick: Irrigation and hydraulic technology: Medieval Spain and its legacy, Varorium, Aldershot, 1996. -L. Goonalons: La Clepsydre de Beni Abbes, in Bulletin dEtudes Arabes, vol 3, 1943, pp 35-7. -D.R. Hill: Islamic science and Engineering, Edimburgh University Press, 1993. -Ibn Al-Awwam: Le Livre de l'Agriculture Paris 1864. -Ibn Bassal: Libro de agricultura, Jose M.Millas Vallicrosa and Mohammed Azinan eds, Tetuan: Instituto Muley al-Hasan, 1953. -C..A. Julien: Histoire de lAlgerie Contemporaine, Presses Universitaires de France, 1964. -V. Lagardere: La Riziculture en Al Andalus (VIIIem-Xvem siecles), in Studia Islamica, vol 83, 1996, pp 7187. -Charles H. Lea: A History of the Inquisition in Spain , in four volumes, The MacMillan Company, New York, 1907, volume three. -E. Levi Provencal: Histoire de lEspagne Musulmane ; 3 vols; Maisonneuve, Paris, 1953; vol iii. -Millas Vallicrosa, `Sobre la obra de agricultura de Ibn Bassal,' in Nuevos estudios sobre historia de la d'In al-Awwam, tr. from Arabic by J.J. Clement-Mullet, Vol. I,
ciencia espanola (Barcelona: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1960). -A.Pacey: Technology in World Civilization, a thousand year history, The MIT Press, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, 1990. -S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire in Europe. 3 Vols, Vol 3; J.B. Lippincott Company, London, 1904. -J. Vernet and J. Samso: Development of Arabic Science in Andalusia, in The Encyclopedia of the History of
Arabic Sciences , edt Roshdi rashed, Routledge, London, 1996, Vol 1, pp 243-76. - M. Watt: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edimburgh University Press, 1972.

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-A.M Watson: Agricultural Innovation in the Early Islamic World, Cambridge University Press, 1983. -A.M Watson: `The Arab agricultural revolution and its diffusion,' (1974). -G.M. Wickens: What the West borrowed from the Middle east, in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation , edited by R.M. Savory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976, pp 120-5. in The Journal of Economic History 34

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A review on
Muslim Contribution to Astronomy
FSTC Limited
A review on Muslim Contribution to Astronomy August 2002
A R EVIEW ON
MUSLIM CONTRIBUTION TO ASTRONOMY

Obscuring Islamic Astronomy Like others who dealt with the history of science, Kevin Krisciunas 1 could hardly fail to notice the generalised black-out imposed on Muslim astronomy. His opening statement of chapter two went as follows:
Ìt is a common misconception that astronomical research fell into a dazed slumber following Ptolemy (the Greek scientist who lived long before Islam), not to reawaken until the time of Copernicus. I have briefly sketched in the previous chapter the efforts on the part of various Greeks in preserving their astronomical science. These efforts continued up to the time of the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs, who were not the book burning fanatics that some have made them out to be. Those who think that these Arabs made no contributions of their own have not investigated the subject.
Kruisciunas then points that during the Middle Ages the principal astronomers were Moslems, Jews, and some Christians, and what they had in common was that they wrote in Arabic. `This was the principal language of astronomy of the ninth through the eleventh centuries, just as English is today. 2 Obscuring Muslim astronomy is common to the treatment of all Muslim sciences as expertly pursued by a number of historians, some ìllustrious and others less so. This obscuring of the Muslim achievements is, of course, today, complemented with a blowing out of proportion of anything negative about the Muslims, or distorting facts against them, something that can be observed all the time around us. In the field of history of science, as a whole, many instances regarding such obscuring can be seen. Here, one in the field of mathematics as pointed by the authors of the Mac Tutor site at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, who state: 3
`There is a widely held view that, after a brilliant period for mathematics when the Greeks laid the foundations for modern mathematics, there was a period of stagnation before the Europeans took over where the Greeks left off at the beginning of the sixteenth century. The common perception of the period of 1000 years or so between the ancient Greeks and the European Renaissance is that little happened in the world of mathematics except that some Arabic translations of Greek texts were made which preserved the Greek learning so that it was available to the Europeans at the beginning of the sixteenth century.
The authors pursue, stating:
`That such mathematics mathematics Duhem that:
views should be generally held is of no surprise. Many leading historians of have contributed to the perception by either omitting any mention of Arabic/Islamic in the historical development of the subject or with statements such as that made by Àrabic science only reproduced the teachings received from Greek science.

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Recent research, however, the authors add, is painting a very different picture of the debt that we owe to Arabic/Islamic mathematics, recognising that modern mathematics is closer to Muslim mathematics than the Greek, and as they also put it:
`Certainly many of the ideas which were previously thought to have been brilliant new conceptions due to European mathematicians of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are now known to have been developed by Arabic/Islamic mathematicians around four centuries earlier.
In the particular field of astronomy so many examples of distortions can be cited. Thus, the two guiding lights of Western historians of astronomy, Neugebauer 4 and Delambre, 5 both find nothing to report about Islamic astronomy. It is as if it never existed, and no Muslim ever looked at the sky, or measured whatsoever. For Duhem, 6 the inspiration for all scholars wishing and willing to find only doom, gloom, and chaos with Islam, things went as follows:
`The revelations of Greek thought on the nature of the exterior world ended with the Àlmagest,'' (by Ptolemy) which appeared about A.D. 145, and then began the decline of ancient learning. Those of its works that escaped the fires kindled by Mohammedan warriors were subjected to the barren interpretations of Mussulman commentors and, like parched seed, awaited the time when Latin Christianity would furnish a favourable soil in which they could once more flourish and bring forth fruit.
If Duhem is to be followed, the Muslims are responsible for one thing, and for its total opposite, both at once. Indeed, according to him the Muslims were fanatic, rampaging hordes, burners of Greek science, and also pale imitators, copiers of the Greeks. They cannot be both, though. How can you copy a book that you have burnt; or convey a science that you have destroyed on first contact? Incidentally, both these conflicting opinions can be found not just with Duhem, but also with his crowd of followers, who pursue the same aberrations of history. More recent amongst these is another Frenchman, J.P. Verdet,7 who in a History of astronomy, manages to jump from Ptolemy to Copernicus, skipping nearly 1500 years, as if in his whole lifetime, and a scholar with access to tens of libraries, he never came across one single work dealing with Muslim astronomy. Browsing through our modern means of communication, the web, also gives an early impression that the Muslims never looked at the sky, or put a pen on anything approaching that science called astronomy. Thus at http://w3.restena.lu/al/pub/indivs/wagnjean/astronomy.htm medieval what one finds is that Greek astronomy was transmitted to the Arabs; and although `compiling new star catalogs, and developing tables of planetary motion, the Arabs made few useful contributions; and that the Arabic translations of Ptolemy Almagest filtered into Europe. And that was it. On this last point, anybody without sufficient knowledge would believe that Ptolemys Almagest was the only work translated from Arabic into Latin. The Almagest was, indeed, one of hundreds of translations from Arabic into Latin by Christian scholars assisted by Jews. Amongst such translations that led to the awakening of Europe from its dark slumber were the astronomical works of Al-Khwarizmi, Al-Battani, Al-Fargani, MashAllah, Al-Zarqali, Al-Bitruji, Jabir Ibn Aflah, and so on.

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Moving further on the web, reveals other sites such as http://dmoz.org/Science/Astronomy/History. Nothing surprising here either. Out of the so many astronomical topics listed not a single reference to Muslim astronomy. Another site http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~carling/astrhis.html, and nothing, again. The author just jumps from Ptolemy to Copernicus, skipping those 1500 years. One would search in vain for a paragraph on the Muslims, or the Chinese (the greatest scientists of all times, and the other major victims of historical distortions) but nothing. The author, however, laments the burning at the stake of Giordano Bruno for adopting Copernican beliefs that were viewed with hostility by the Church. Also on the web is the site of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) at: http://www.astro.unibonn.de/~pbrosche/iaucomm41. The union was founded in 1919 with the aim of `promoting the science of astronomy through international cooperation. Commission 41 of the union and devoted to the History of Astronomy was created at the 1948 General Assembly, with Otto Neugebauer as its first President. From a look at the activities of such an organisation, the conferences it held, and also the membership of the current officers (years: 2000-3), nothing could be found regarding Islamic astronomy. The Real Story Yet, against what has just preceded, reality in relation to astronomy is considerably different. It will be impossible to go through even a summarised version of Muslim achievements here. The briefest of mentions will be made of different aspects of the science, some of which will hopefully be developed at a future stage. It also belongs to Muslims and others with minimal honest intentions to go through the abundant, old reference material, of primary and secondary sort, now being eagerly buried, and give a much truer picture of the Muslim contribution to this science, a reality that some try to hide for eternity. Sources for writing on Muslim astronomy exist in large abundance in German in particular, the work of Germans and also of others who expressed themselves in German. Heinrich Suter, for one, has numbered over 500 Muslim astronomers and mathematicians, giving for each of these the titles of their works that are known, and their still extant manuscripts. 8 Since Suter more have been added by Brockelmann 9 and Sezgin 10 (all in German). George Sarton in his voluminous Introduction to the History of Science 11 (already referred to abundantly) gives a very thorough picture, too, of the vast array of Muslim works in astronomy as in other sciences. Sedillot 12 (in French) and Nalino 13 (in Italian) have delivered plenty good information in the same field, too. Closer to us, David King, Julio Samso, George Saliba, E.S. Kennedy, W. Hartner and A.I. Sabra have added more regular contributions, King, in particular, providing a gigantic contribution to the subject. Other scholars have given very good summaries of Muslim astronomy, first amongst whom being Baron Carra de Vaux 14 and Aldo Mieli, 15 scholars of great repute from earlier in the century, Aldo Mieli founding one of the two greatest reviews on the history of science ARCHEION, (the other being ISIS by George Sarton.) Incidentally, both De Vaux and Mieli are being pushed into oblivion by second or third rate modern scholars who today fill departments of history of science. Before leaving the subject on contributions, Rashed, 16 again, managed in volume one of his Encyclopaedia of Arabic science to gather a number of excellent contributions to this science, on top of providing an extensive bibliography at the end, very useful for whomsoever wishes to go deeper into the matter.

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Before addressing other aspects of astronomy, and first and foremost, to the many pseudo historians who keep stating and re-stating that Muslim astronomers merely copied their Greek predecessors, no better evidence to the contrary than the many articles by George Saliba, 17 following Sedillot, much earlier, dealing with the corrections made by Muslim astronomers to Greek astronomy. And for Braudel, Ptolemys errors were too glaring to escape Muslim scholars, who were better equipped with precision instruments. 18 To have a very thorough picture of the contribution of various ethnic groups to astronomy in general, the Chinese, above all, no better work than Sarton, of course, but also the more recent excellent work by Hetherington: A chronicle of pre-Telescopic astronomy. 19 In it the author surveys each and every single achievement in the science, and every event of importance, year by year, from the very ancient times until our times; Hetherington, to his credit, not leaving the thousand years from 500 to 1500 blank as is customary with others. Observation of the sky and observatories in Muslim times have been expertly dealt with by Sayili 20, following Sedillot, just cited. Kruiscinas, 21 too, gave ample account of Islamic observations. Hartner, for his part, corrects Neugebauers remark 22 that colossal observational instruments stood only at the end of the Muslim civilisation (14th-15th century). These were already in use as early as Al-Mamuns reign (9th century) and remained in use throughout the centuries.23 Hartner also notes that it was only in the seventeenth century, thanks to Brahe, that high standards of Islamic observation were reached again by the Europeans. 24 On the specific point of instruments for observation it is useful to mention one amongst many contributions by R.P. Lorch on Jabir ibn Aflah and the Torquetom. 25 Nautical Astronomy In nautical astronomy, and to correct the erroneous views so abundant in the field, no better source than Steinschneider, a source suffering constant attempts by modern writers to erase it. 26 Joaquim Bensaude27 has kept Steinschneider alive, just for himself to be blotted out as well. 28 Duhem, 29 again, holds that the use of the baculus was introduced among the Portuguese navigators by the German scientist Behaim towards the end of the fifteenth century, whilst Bensaude (just cited) had demonstrated that the baculus was known in Portugal long before the time of Behaim. Dreyer also raises one of the so many contradictions proper to Duhem, that he (Duhem) quotes this book (Bensaudes) in a footnote without noticing that it demolishes what he had just stated in the text. Also contrary to assertions made by Duhem, that some revival was begun in France, the studies of Bensaude have shown that `the scientific light spread by the Arabs in spain and Portugal had never been put out, which amongst others impact considerably on navigation to the Indies and the New World. 30 Another contribution of interest to this very subject is by Howse, and can be found in the Journal of Renaissance and Modern Studies. 31 The Astrolabe The astrolabe is described as `the most important astronomical calculating device before the invention of digital computers and was the most important astronomical observational device before the invention of the telescope. 32 Its uses are varied, and not just in astronomy, but also in surveying and navigation. 33 In astronomy, it was used to calculate the altitude and azimuth (an Arab term) of the sun, the moon, stars and planets. It was also used to measure distances and heights. 34Of all the works on the astrolabe, by far

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the best is by A.L. Mayer on Islamic astrolabists and their works. 35 It describes and gives all names of those who made astrolabes through the ages of Islamic history, their places of birth and work, dates, and also the whereabouts of such astrolabes throughout the museums of the world and various international collections. Bibliographies about such makers and their works are also added, a very thorough work, indeed. The Globe Earth A point of crucial importance is raised by Dreyer 36 on a matter which is possibly the most blacked out of all, and that is the spherical shape of the earth, a notion which until the modern times led its authors to burning at the stake. In the world of Islam, Dreyer, however, holds, there was no such hostility to science, and there exists no record of any Muslim being persecuted for stating that the earth was a sphere that was capable of being inhabited all over; and that it was also very small compared to the size of the universe. 37 Muslim Astronomers Muslim scholars who worked on the subject of astronomy receive a good treatment in The Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 38 There are also, of course, Suter, Brockelmann, Sezgin and Sarton for more details on each of such astronomers. Amongst these astronomers was Al-Battani (d 929) who wrote The Sabian tables (al-Zij al-Sabi), a very influential work for centuries after him.39 Al-Battanis work also includes timing of the new moons, calculation of the length of the solar and sideral year, the prediction of eclipses and the phenomenon of parallax.' 40 Al-Battani also popularised if not discovered the first notions of trigonometrical ratios used today, 41 and made serious emendations to Ptolemy. 42 Al-Sufi (903-986) made several observations on the obliquity of the ecliptic and the motion of the sun (or the length of the solar year.) 43 He also made observations and descriptions of the stars, setting out his results constellation by constellation, discussing the stars positions, their magnitudes and their colour, and for each constellation providing two drawings from the outside of a celestial globe, and from the inside. 44 Al-Sufi also wrote on the astrolabe and its thousand or so uses. Al-Biruni (973-1050) claimed that the earth rotated around its own axis. 45 He calculated the earth circumference, and fixed scientifically the direction of Makkah (Mecca) from any point of the globe. Al-Biruni wrote in total 150 works, including 35 treatises on pure astronomy, of which only six have survived. 46 Ibn Yunus (d 1009) made observations for nearly thirty years (977-1003)using amongst others a large astrolabe of nearly 1.4 m in diameter, determining more than 10,000 entries of the sun's position throughout the years. 47 Al-Farghani was one of Caliph Al-Mamuns astronomers. He wrote on the astrolabe, explaining the mathematical theory behind the instrument and correcting faulty geometrical constructions of the central disc, that were current then.48 His most famous book Kitab fi Harakat Al-
Samawiyah wa Jaamai Ilm al-Nujum on cosmography contains thirty chapters including a description of the
inhabited part of the earth, its size, the distances of the heavenly bodies from the earth and their sizes, as well as other phenomena. 49 Al-Zarqali (Arzachel) (1029-1087) prepared the Toledan Tables and was also a renowned instrument maker who constructed a more sophisticated astrolabe: a safiha, accompanied by a treatise. 50 Jabir Ibn Aflah (d. 1145) was the first to design a portable celestial sphere to measure and explain the movements of celestial objects. Jabir is specially noted for his work on spherical trigonometry. Al-Bitrujis work Kitab-al-Hayah was translated by the Sicilian based Michael Scot, and bore considerable influence thereafter.

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On how the works of various Muslim astronomers have been used, or relied upon by scholars who followed them has received attention by many of the sources already cited. There remains many matters of contention as can be expected. Indeed, if it is easy for many historians of science to find the Greek origin in many Islamic works, however flimsy the evidence, the other way round, that is recognising the Muslim origin of any breakthrough of significance amongst the likes of Copernicus, Galileo, etc, is denied even when the evidence is beyond the glaring. No better instance than Copernicus theories based on those of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and Ibn Shatir. Pedersen, for instance, noting the resemblance, still finds no line of transmission. 51 This line of transmission North bluntly states it, holding that Greek and Latin materials that made use of alTusis device were circulating in Italy at about the time Copernicus studied there. 52 And North does not hesitate to add that Copernicus made repeated uses of al-Tusis and his followers devices. 53 On this issue see also works by Gingerich, 54 and above all the masterly delivery by George Saliba, which explains all about this matter at http://www.columbia.edu/~gas1/project/visions/case1/sci.1.html The Transmission of Muslim Astronomy to Christian Europe How Muslim scientific knowledge, in general, and astronomical, in particular, passed to the west is abundantly studied. Haskins, 55 Sarton, Myers, Mieli etc have described that in great detail. Spain played a major part in such a passage. It was from Catalonia that the early treatises on the astrolabe travelled north of the Pyrenees in the late 10th century via Gerbert of Aurillac (later Pope Silvester II). It was also to Toledo where flocked in the 12th century, in particular, scholars from all Christian lands to translate Muslim science, and start the scientific awakening of Europe. Amongst such translators were the Italian Gerard of Cremona, who amongst others translated the Toledan tables of al-Zarqali and Jabir ibn Aflah's Islah al Majisti (correction of the Almagest of Ptolemy). The Jew turned Christian, John of Seville, also made translations of the astronomical works of al-Battani, Thabit ibn Qurra, al-Qabisi, and al-Majriti. And later on, when Alfonso of Castille sought to construct an armillary sphere, `the finest and best that had yet been made', he turned to the Muslim scholars. 56 Charles Burnett has given ample details on how such Muslim science entered England. 57 Burnett explains the early penetration of texts on the astrolabe, and also how al-Khwarizmis tables were adapted to English locations. He also dwells on the education of King Henry II, and the influence of his Muslim inspired entourage. Most certainly the first English scientist ever was Adelard of Bath, the most Àrabist of all scientists, hence his lack of popularity amongst todays `learned circles, despite his considerable scholarly achievements, with a few exceptions, though. 58 Adelard's main works include the astronomical tables of AlKhwarizmi, as revised by Maslama at Cordoba. Another Englishman, Robert of Chester, made an adapted version of al-Battani and al-Zarqali's tables in 1149. Petrus Alphonsi, another Jew convert to Christianity, served both Spanish and English royal courts, and is accredited with the introduction of Muslim astronomy into England. Also incomer to England in 1091 from Lotharingia (modern day Lorraine) was Walcher of Malvern, who had come into possession of the astrolabe, and who, for the first time, in Latin Europe, on 18 October 1092, used such instrument to determine the time of lunar eclipse that he had observed in Italy. 59 In France, Muslim learning was mostly concentrated in the Southern Languedoc-Provence region and

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towns. By the 13th century, Montpelier was a well known centre of Muslim astronomy and also medicine. Marseilles, too, played its part, when a certain Raymond sought to adapt the astronomy of Muslim Spain north of the Pyrenees, declaring himself the first Latin `to acquire the science of the Arabs.' 60 His inspirations were al-Battani, Mash-Allah, and above all Al-Zarqali from whose astronomical canons his works are largely drawn. 61 Final Remarks In view of the so many sources just cited, the fact that books such as Verdets in the 1990s, and the various http://www still ignore the Muslim contribution to astronomy is beyond the credible. It just serves to show the darker side of `scholarship meant to be universal and devoid of prejudice. Hartner had already noticed this a while back; stating that in the writing of history:
Òur time witnesses a most unfortunate tendency to write prententious `syntheses' on the basis of either of a wholly unsufficient factual knowledge or of preconceived theories-religious, philosophic, sociological maintained only by twisting and suppressing facts at the author's pleasure. 62
On the same matter, T.F. Tout has recognised that:
Òur (Western-European-British)) civilisation is not merely national but world-wide, and that neither Great Britain, nor even Greater Britain, can be understood, unless we know something about our neighbours and associates, our enemies even more than our friends. 63
Tout adds:
Ìt is from the Middle Ages that our civilisation proceeds. If we could understand modern civilisation, we cannot make a fresh start a hundred or a hundred and fifty years ago. 64
And he concludes:
Èurope did not go to sleep in the Middle Ages, and then woke up, open her eyes, and see light at some date, previously marked out as 1453, 1492, or 1494 by eminent authorities. In the long story of European evolution the Middle Ages form an integral part, and unless you make allowance for them, you see modern history all askew. The men of the Renaissance, like the men of the Age of Reason, despised and ignored the Middle Ages. It is painful to find that there are still people who believe that you can hop straight from the Periclean or the Augustan ages to the times of the Medici and Louis XIV... It is good to begin at the beginning, but we must on no account stop at an arbitrary time, jump over hundreds of years, and then start afresh. 65

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References:
1 2 3
K. Krisciunas: Astronomical Centers of the World; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1988; at p. 23. Ibid. Created by John J O'Connor and Edmund F Robertson at: In the chapter devoted to: Arabic
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/index.html mathematics: a forgotten brilliance.

4 5
Astronomy and History; Verlag, 1983. Histoire de l'Astronomie Ancienne; Johnson Reprint Collection; New York, 1965. 6 P. Duhem: Medieval Physics, in R. Palter edition: Toward Modern Science ; The Noonday Press; New York; 1961; Vol 1; pp 141-159; Quote at p. 141; This article is a reprint from `Physics, history of,'' Catholic Encyclopedia, XII (1911), pp 47-52. 7 J. P. Verdet: Une Histoire de l'Astronomie, Le Seuil, Paris, 1990: 8 H. Suter: Die mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke; APA, Oriental Press, Amsterdam,
1982.
9
C. Brockelmann: Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur ; Weimar, 1898; reedited 1949. F.Sezgin: Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums (vol vi for astronomy); 1978. 3 Vols; Published for the Carnegie Institute of Washington, 1927-1948. Sedillot: Memoire sur les instruments astronomique des Arabes, Memoires de lAcademie Royale des
10 11 12
Inscriptions et Belles Lettres de lInstitut de France 1: 1-229; Reprinted Frankfurt, 1985. 13 Nallino, C.A: Raccolta di scritti Editi e Inediti, Roma, 1944.
14
Baron Carra de Vaux:
-Les penseurs de lIslam, Geuthner, Paris, 1921. -Astronomy and mathematics, in The Legacy of Islam, edt Sir Thomas Arnold and Alfred Guillaume, first edition, Oxford University Press, 1931., pp 376-397.
15 16
A. Mieli: La Science Arabe et son role dans lEvolution scientifique mondiale, Leiden, 1938. R. Rashed (with collaboration of R. Morelon): Encyclopedia of the history of Arabic science, 3 vols, G.Saliba: A 16th century Arabic critique of Ptolemaic astronomy: the work of Sham's al-Din al-Khafri;
Routledge, London and New York, 1996.

17
Journal for the History of Astronomy , Vol 25 (1994) pp 15-38;

G.Saliba: Critiques of Ptolemaic astronomy in Islamic Spain; in Al-Qantara , Vol 20, 1999; pp 3-25.
18 19 20 21 22 23
F. Braudel: Grammaire des civilisations , Flammarion, 1987, at p. 113. Published by John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 1996. Aydin Sayili: The Observatory in Islam, Turkish Historical Society, Ankara, 1960. K. Krisciunas: Astronomical Centers of the World, op cit. P.9 of his work. Essay review by W. Hartner of O. Neugebauer: A History of Ancient mathematical astronomy, Verlag, 1975; 3 Ibid, p. 211, note 20. R.P. Lorch: The Astronomical Instruments of Jabir Ibn Aflah and the Torquetom; Centaurus, 1976; vol
vols; in Journal for the History of Astronomy; 9; pp 201-212; at p. 202.

24 25

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20; pp 11-34.
26
In order to revive the works of that great scholar before they are condemned to eternal oblivion, see as
an instance: M. Steinschneider: -Etudes sur Zarkali; Bulletino Boncompagni; vol 20.
-Notice sur les tables astronomiques attribuees a pierre III dAragon, Rome, 1881. - Vite dei mathematici arabi; Roma, 1874. - Die europaischen Ubersetzungen aus dem Arabischen bis Mitte des 17. Jahrhundert (1904-5), repr. 27 J. Bensaude: L'Astronomie Nautique au Portugal, Meridian Publishing, Amsterdam, 1967. 28 J.L. E. Dreyer: Mediaeval Astronomy; In M. Palter edt, Toward Modern Science, Vol I, 1961, pp 235-256;
at p. 253,
29 30 31
(in Volume iv, p. 40 of his Systeme du Monde) Dreyer: Medieval, op cit p. 256. D. Howse: Navigation and Astronomy the first three thousand years; in Journal of Renaissance and Modern Montgomery College's Planetarium home page. Web page by H. Alden Williams. See: W. Hartner, `The Principle and use of the astrolabe,' in W. Hartner, Oriens-Occidens, Hildesheim, 1968, pp. C. Ronan: Arabian Science, in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Worlds Science; Cambridge University A.L. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists, Albert Kundig edition, Geneva, 1956. J.L.E. Dreyer: A History of Astronomy from Thales to Kepler ; Dover Publications Inc, New York, 1953, at Ibid.
studies, vol 30; pp 60-86;

32 33
287-318; and J. D. North: ``The Astrolabe,'' Scientific American 230, No 1, 1974, pp 96-106.
34
Press, 1983; pp 201-44; at p. 209.

35 36
p. 249.
37 38
Dictionary of Scientific Biography ; C.C. Gillispie editor in chief, Charles Scribners Sons, New York, 1970Regis Morelon: Eastern Arabic Astronomy, in Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, op cit, pp 20-57 at pp. G.M Wickens: The Middle East as a world centre of science and medicine; in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation, P.K. Hitti: History of the Arabs, tenth edition, Mac Millan St Martin's Press, 1970, at p. 572. Ibid; p. 376 R. Morelon: Eastern Arabic, op cit, p. 50. C. Ronan: The Arabian Science: op cit, p. 213. M. A. Kettani: Science and Technology in Islam: The underlying value system, in Z. Sardar edt: The Touch of
1980.
39
46-7.
40
edited by R.M. Savory; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976; pp 111-8.

41 42 43 44 45
Midas; Science, values, and environment in Islam and the West; Manchester University Press, 1984, pp 66-90; at p.
76.
46 47 48 49 50 51
R. Morelon: Eastern Arabic, op cit, p. 52. C. Ronan: The Arabian Science, op cit p. 214. Ibid, p. 207. R. Morelon: Eastern Arabic astronomy, op cit, p. 24. Carra de Vaux: Astronomy and Mathematics, op cit, p. 394. O. Pedersen: Early Physics and astronomy , Cambridge University Press, 1974, at pge 273. This
unfortunately is not Pedersens (whose title of professor of history of science comes glaring on the title

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page,) shortcoming. His whole work is to be set aside as one of those designed to rewrite another history of astronomy and physics than the real one. His treatment of Islamic contribution to both sciences hardly expresses what can be found in works in the bibliography he had at his disposal; and his justification in the preface of his work for omitting other contributions to such sciences, can at best be seen as a pathetic attempt to cover up for what sort of scholarship he represents.
52 53 54
John North: Astronomy and Cosmology; Fontana Press, London, 1994; at p. 195. Ibid. See for instance A Gingerich: A Tusi Couple from Shoner's de Revolutionibus?; see Journal for the History of
Astronomy, Vol 15 (1984); pp 128-132. 55 C.H. Haskins: Studies in the history of Mediaeval science ; Frederick Ungar Publishing Co.; New York;
1967 ed.
56 57
Carra de Vaux: Astronomy, op cit, at p. 396. C. Burnett: The Introduction of Arabic Learning into England; The Panizzi Lectures, 1996; The British See:
Library; 1997.
58
-L. Cochrane: Adelard of Bath, British Museum press, 1994. -C. Burnett: Adelard of Bath , Warburg, London, 1987.
-B.G. Dickey: Adelard of Bath, unpublished Thesis, University of Toronto, 1982. 59 O. Pedersen: Astronomy, in Science in the Middle Ages, edt D.C. Lindberg; The University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, 1978, pp 303-37; at p. 312.
60 61 62 63
C.H. Haskins: Studies, op cit, p. 98. P.K. Hitti: History, op cit, p. 571. Essay review by W. Hartner of O. Neugebauer: A History, op cit at p. 201. T.F. Tout: The place of the Middle Ages in the teaching of history, History, New series, Vol 8 (1923-4); pp 1-18; at Ibid, p. 7. Ibid; p.8.
p.2.
64 65
Bibliography: -J. Bensaude: L'Astronomie Nautique au Portugal, Meridian Publishing, Amsterdam, 1967. -F. Braudel: Grammaire des civilisations , Flammarion, 1987. -C. Brockelmann: Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur ; Weimar, 1898; reedited 1949. -C. Burnett: The Introduction of Arabic Learning into England; The Panizzi Lectures, 1996; The British Library; 1997. -C. Burnett: Adelard of Bath, Warburg Insitute, London, 1987.
-L. Cochrane: Adelard of Bath, British Museum Press, 1994. -J.Delambre: Histoire de l'Astronomie Ancienne; Johnson Reprint Collection; New York, 1965. -De Vaux (Baron Carra): Les penseurs de lIslam, Geuthner, Paris, 1921. -De Vaux (Baron Carra): Astronomy and mathematics, in The Legacy of Islam, edt Sir Thomas Arnold and Alfred
Guillaume, first edition, Oxford University Press, 1931., pp 376-97. -B.G. Dickey: Adelard of Bath , unpublished Thesis, University of Toronto, 1982.
-Dictionary of Scientific Biography; C.C. Gillispie editor in chief, Charles Scribners Sons, New York, 19701980.

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-J.L. E. Dreyer: Mediaeval Astronomy; In M. Palter edt, Toward Modern Science, Vol I, 1961, pp 235-56. -J.L.E. Dreyer: A History of Astronomy from Thales to Kepler ; Dover Publications Inc, New York, 1953. -P. Duhem: Medieval Physics, in R. Palter edition: Toward Modern Science; The Noonday Press; New York; 1961; Vol 1; pp 141-159; A reprint from `Physics, history of,'' Catholic Encyclopedia, XII (1911), pp 47-52. -A Gingerich: A Tusi Couple from Shoner's de Revolutionibus?; see Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol 15 (1984); pp 128-32. -W. Hartner: A History of Ancient mathematical astronomy, Verlag, 1975; 3 vols; in Journal for the History of
Astronomy; 9; pp 201-12.
-W. Hartner, `The Principle and use of the astrolabe,' in W. Hartner, Oriens-Occidens, Hildesheim, 1968, pp. 287318. -C.H. Haskins: Studies in the history of Mediaeval science; Frederick Ungar Publishing Co.; New York; 1967 ed. -B. Hetherington: A Chronicle of Pre-Telescopic Astronomy; John Wiley and Sons; Chichester; 1996. -P.K. Hitti: History of the Arabs, tenth edition, Mac Millan St Martin's Press, 1970, at p. 572. -D. Howse: Navigation and Astronomy the first three thousand years; in Journal of Renaissance and Modern studies, vol 30; pp 60-86; -M. A. Kettani: Science and Technology in Islam: The underlying value system, in Z. Sardar edt: The Touch of
Midas; Science, values, and environment in Islam and the West; Manchester University Press, 1984, pp 66-90. -K. Krisciunas: Astronomical Centers of the World; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1988; at p. 23. -R.P. Lorch: The Astronomical Instruments of Jabir Ibn Aflah and the Torquetom; Centaurus, 1976; vol 20;
pp 11-34. -A.L. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists, Albert Kundig edition, Geneva, 1956. -A. Mieli: La Science Arabe et son role dans lEvolution scientifique mondiale, Leiden, 1938. -R. Morelon: Eastern Arabic Astronomy, in Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, op cit, pp 20-57. -C.A.Nallino, C.A: Raccolta di scritti Editi e Inediti, Roma, 1944. -O. Neugebauer: Astronomy and History; Verlag, 1983. -J. D. North: ``The Astrolabe,'' Scientific American 230, No 1, 1974, pp 96-106. -J. North: Astronomy and Cosmology; Fontana Press, London, 1994. -John J O'Connor and Edmund F Robertson at: http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/index.html -O. Pedersen: Early Physics and astronomy, Cambridge University Press, 1974. -O. Pedersen: Astronomy, in Science in the Middle Ages, edt D.C. Lindberg; The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1978, pp 303-37. -R. Rashed (with collaboration of R. Morelon): Encyclopedia of the history of Arabic science, 3 vols, Routledge, London and New York, 1996. -C. Ronan: Arabian Science, in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Worlds Science; Cambridge University Press, 1983; pp 201-44. -G.Saliba: A 16th century Arabic critique of Ptolemaic astronomy: the work of Sham's al-Din al-Khafri;
Journal for the History of Astronomy , Vol 25 (1994) pp 15-38;

-G.Saliba: Critiques of Ptolemaic astronomy in Islamic Spain; in Al-Qantara, Vol 20, 1999; pp 3-25. -G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 Vols; Published for the Carnegie Institute of Washington, 1927-1948. A. Sayili: The Observatory in Islam, Turkish Historical Society, Ankara, 1960. -L.Sedillot: Memoire sur les instruments astronomique des Arabes, Memoires de lAcademie Royale des
Inscriptions et Belles Lettres de lInstitut de France 1: 1-229; Reprinted Frankfurt, 1985.

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-F.Sezgin: Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums (vol vi for astronomy); 1978. M. Steinschneider: Etudes sur Zarkali; Bulletino Boncompagni; vol 20.
Notice sur les tables astronomiques attribuees a pierre III dAragon, Rome, 1881.
Vite dei mathematici arabi; Roma, 1874.
Die europaischen Ubersetzungen aus dem Arabischen bis Mitte des 17. Jahrhundert (1904-5), repr.
-H. Suter: Die mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke; APA, Oriental Press, Amsterdam, 1982. -T.F. Tout: The place of the Middle Ages in the teaching of history, History, New series, Vol 8 (1923-4); pp 1-18. -J. P. Verdet: Une Histoire de l'Astronomie, Le Seuil, Paris, 1990. -G.M Wickens: The Middle East as a world centre of science and medicine; in Introduction to Islamic
Civilisation , edited by R.M. Savory; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976; pp 111-8.

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A review of Early Muslim Control Engineering
Author:
Professor Dr Mohamed Mansour Emeritus Professor of Control Engineering ETH Zrich, Switzerland Ahmed Salem BSc March 2002 4035 FSTC Limited, 2002 2003
Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright:
FSTC Limited
A review of Early Muslim Control Engineering March 2002
A REVIEW OF EARLY MUSLIM CONTROL ENGINEERING

During the period of Islamic-Arabic extraordinary activity in Science and Technology (9th-13th century) there are some recorded contributions to the area of Automatic Control mainly in the development of water clocks using float valve regulators, different level controls using float valves or combination of syphons and the development of On-Off control. The Islamic Arabic Automatic Control Technology had as a basis the Greek Technology of two scientists namely Philon of Byzantium (Rhodes and Alexandria) of the second half of the third century BC (his book pneumatica was translated from Arabic into French and German in 1902 and 1899 respectively) and Heron of Alexandria of the first century AD (his book pneumatica was translated from Greek into English and German in 1851 and 1899 respectively). It is noted in Greek technology the language is Greek but the scientists need not be Greek as in the case with Islamic-Arabic technology. It is known that there are hundreds of thousands of manuscripts dealing with Islamic Science and Technology to be edited and it is assumed that some of them deal with technology. This report is based on the following references [1-6].
PART I - AUTOMATIC CONTROL IN WATER CLOCKS 1. The work of Archimedes on the Building of Clocks This is an Arabic book whose arabic author is called pseudo-Archimedes with the earliest reference to it in The Fihrist of Al-Nadim (died 955 AD). From the literary style and the technique of its drawings this clock book seems to be an Islamic work based on Greek-Roman technology as mentioned in 1. This clock used a float level regulator, which makes it a feedback device. A large float drove the whole apparatus. The description of the complicated clock is so thorough that it could be reconstructed almost completely. This book did have considerable influence on the two great horological books of Al-Jazari and Ibn Al-Saati and other Arabic authors like Ibn Al-Akfani. 2. Al-Jami bain Al-Ilm by Al-Jazari5 This book was written in 1206.Al-Jazari is from Al-Jazira the area between Tigris and Euphrates. Sarton 6 mentions This treatise is the most elaborate of its kind and may be considered the climax of this line of Muslim achievement The distinctive feature of the book is its practical aspect. The book is rich in minute discription of various kinds of devices. Hill3 maintains It is impossible to over-emphasize the importance of Al-Jazari`s work in the history of engineering. Until modern times there is no other document from any cultural area that provides a comparable wealth of instructions for the design, manufacture and assembly of machines Al-Jazari did not only assimilate the techniques of his non-Arab and Arab predecessors, he was also creative. He added several mechanical and hydraulic devices. The impact of these inventions can be seen in the later designing of steam engines and internal combustion engines, paving the way for automatic

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control and other modern machinery. The impact of Al-Jazari`s inventions is still felt in modern contemporary mechanical engineering. Hill4 translated the book to English in 1974. A German translation was made in 1915.The chapter on water clocks describes 10 water clocks, the first two of them use float valve regulators. The various time-indicating mechanisms are propelled by a float .The other clocks are regulated differently. Al-Jazari mentions an old machine, which he inspected, in which a musical automaton was powered by a vertical water wheel. In his comments on this machine he clearly implies that he knew how to control the speed of such a wheel by means of an escapement. 3. Book on the Construction of Clocks and their Use, Ridwan b.Muhammad Al-Saati AlKhurasani (1203) This book describes the monumental water clock built by Ridwan`s father at the Jayrun gate in Damascus. A German translation was made in 1915. A large float drives the clock, float valve regulator and the device for varying the length of the hours are incorporated. 4. The Book of Secrets about the Resulte of Thoughts, Al-Muradi of Andalusia(11th century) This is the earliest description in Arabic of water clocks. This book deals with water clocks and other devices using automata. The treatise consists of 31 models of which 5 are essentially very large toys similar to clocks in that automata are caused to move at intervals, but without precise timing. The prime movers are water wheels that can be overshot or undershot depending on the intensity of flow. There are nineteen clocks, all of which record the passage of the temporal hours by the movements of automata. The power came from large outflow clepsydras provided with concentric siphons. This power was transmitted to automata by very sophisticated mechanisms, which included segmental and epicyclic gears and the use of mercury. These are highly significant features; they provide the first known examples of complex gearing used to transmit high torque while the adoption of mercury reappears in European clocks from the thirteenth century onwards. Unfortunately, the only known manuscript of this work is badly defaced and it is not possible to understand exactly how the clocks worked .A weight driven clock with a mercury escapement appears in Libros del Saber a work written in Spanish at the court of Alfonsos of Castille about 1277 and consisting of translations and paraphrases of Arabic works A novel feature in this treatise is the use of mercury in balances. Al-Zarquali built two large water clocks on the banks of the river Tagus at Toledo in 11th century2. 5. Kitab Mizan Al-Hikma (The Book on the Balance of Wisdom), Al-Khazini (1121-1122) 2 The eighth treatise of this work described two steelyard clebsydras. The main one, called the Universal Balance, was designed for 24-hour operation, and consisted of an iron beam divided into unequal arms by a fulcrum. An outflow clepsydra equipped with a syphon was suspended on the end of the short arm, and two movable weights, one large and one small, were suspended from the long arm, which was graduated into scales. As water discharged from the clepsydra, the weights were moved along the scale to keep the beam in balance. At any moment the hour of the day could be told from the position of the large weight, its minutes from the position of the small one.

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Part II - Automatic Control of Banu Musa Kitab Al-Hiyal (The Book of Ingenious Devices) by Banu Musa bin Shakir (9th century). The three sons of Musa organized translation and did original work in Bayt Al-Hikma(House of Wisdom) which is the science academy in Baghdad the greatest scientific institution since the Museum and Library of Alexandria. Banu Musa were the main supporters of the translation movement which gathered momentum as that important epoch of the Islamic scientific awakening reached fruition in the 9th century. They extended their patronage to Thabit Ibn Qurra, to Hunain Ibn Ishaq and to many other translators and scholars. They have more than 20 works which are known including the seminal engineering book Kitab Al-Hiyal translated into English by Donald Hill in 1979 and parts of it into German by Wiedemann and Hauser in 1918 and Hauser in 1922.The book was edited in Arabic by Ahmad Al-Hassan in 1981. The written Arabic heritage in mechanical technology begins with the Banu Musa book. It is possible they knew Hero`s mechanics written in Alexandria in the first century and translated by Qusta Ibn Luqa at the time of Banu Musa.Heros other books may have been known to the brothers for he enjoyed great fame among Arabic scholars in the 10th century. Banu Musa describe hundred ingenious devices. Hill identified twenty five devices resembling the ones of Hero and Philo(3rd century BC)books. There exist also other parts of the Banu Musa machines which resemble certain elements in Hero and Philo work. There are Banu Musa machines which bear no resemblance to either Hero or Philo. These include the fountains and dredging machine designed to salvage submerged objects from the bottom of rivers and seas and so on. Banu Musa made use primarily of the principles of the science of hydrostatics and aerostatics. Banu Musa use of automatic valves, delayed-action systems and their application of the principles of automatic control testify of creative mentality. Hill notes the use of crankshafts for the first time in the history of technology. In two models, they used a mechanism similar to the modern crankshaft, thus outstripping by 500 years the first description of the crankshaft in Europe. Mayr 1 mentions that they use syphons, float valves, Philon`s oil lamp, water wheels, etc. Some control systems work with nonmoving parts combining the principle of Philon`s oil lamp with some cleverly arranged syphons. They have contributions in technological refinements and new applications. They install throttling valves directly in the pipe requiring no constant force to keep them closed. These appear first in the book of Banu Musa. Also they introduce improvements on Philon`s oil lamp by ingenious combination of syphons added to the original system. Most important is the use of On-Off control with upper and lower limit for the controlled variable. Systems of this class are widely used in modern technology. The float valve used by Banu Musa, Al-Jazari and other Arabic engineers emerges again in the middle of the 18th century in Europe and in England.

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References 1 - Otto Mayr The Origins of Feedback Control, M.I.T. Press, 1970 2 - Ahmad Y.Al-Hassan & Donald R.Hill Islamic Technology, Cambridge University Press and Unesco, 1986 3 - Donald R.Hill Arabic Water Clocks, University of Aleppo, 1981. 4 - Kitab Al-Hiyal(The Book of Ingenious Devices) by Banu Musa Bin Shakir (9th century),edited by Ahmad Y. Al-Hassan, University of Aleppo,1981.
5 - Al-Jami bain Al-Ilm wal-Amal Al-Nafi fi Sinaat Al-Hiyal(A Compendium on the Theory and Practice of the Mechanical Arts) by Ibn Al-Razzaz Al-Jazari (1206),edited by Ahmad Y.Al-Hassan, University of Aleppo,1979.
6 - George Sarton Introduction to the History of Science, vol. 2,1931.

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A review on
Muslim Contribution to Chemistry
Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Ahmed Salem BSc December 2001 4017 FSTC Limited 2001, 2002
FSTC Limited
A review on Muslim Contribution to Chemistry December 2001
A REVIEW ON MUSLIM CONTRIBUTION TO CHEMISTRY

First, it is worth pointing out the excellent web page on the history of chemistry by Prof. H.A. Ead of the Cairo Science Heritage Centre, at: http://www.frcu.eun.eg/www/universities/html/shc/index.htm. Some reliance will be made upon his material in the work below; and our audiences are advised to consult and make good use of his site. There is also an excellent page on the subject, but in French, this time, at: http://kdolma.phidji.com/sciences/sciences.asp For the rest, the web betrays the usual bareness when it comes to this science, although some Islamic sites, A Zahoors in particular, at: http://users.erols.com/zenithco/index.html have touched on the subject, and above all on the scholars who dealt with it. Thus no need in the work below to go on about the lives of Islamic scholars involved the science, Zahoors site amply fulfilling the task. Non Islamic sites, as per usual, have completely ignored the matter. ALCHEMY OR CHEMISTRY? Before addressing the subject of Muslim chemistry, however, one crucial matter needs to be raised. It concerns the use of the word Alchemy instead of chemistry. This is another instance of historical corruption fooling so many who have no perception of the depths some scholarship can descend to in order to convey distorted images of aspects of history, such as that of Islamic science. Alchemy, indeed, is a corrupt translation of the Arabic word Chemia (chemistry,) preceded by the article Al (which means: the), and which the Arabs always use (like the French and others for that matter) in front of their subject such as AlTib (medicine) al-Riyadiyat (mathematics) etc If this was applied to other subjects, it would become almedicine; al-mathematics, al-geography and so on Only Baron Carra de Vaux had had the presence of mind to pointing to this, however briefly. 1 Somehow al-Chemy should be translated literally The Chemistry and not Alchemy in English; and La Chimie and not l'alchimie in French. The fact that only Westerners translated or dealt with the subject, followed by rather very respectful or shy Muslim scholars means that this corrupt word of al-chemy has remained, and has become the norm. The reason why alchemy is used instead of chemistry might have another motive behind it. Chemistry means a modern science; alchemy means the amateur, the occult, the second or third rate. Alchemy belongs to the Muslims; chemistry, of course, does not; instead is the realm of the good. This notion conveyed by some Western historians, that alchemy ended with the Muslims and chemistry began with the Westerners has no historical ground. The reason is simple: all sciences began in some part of the world, most likely China or the Ancient Middle East, or India, at level: 1, the most basic, and then graduated to levels 2, 3, 4, and higher, through the centuries, until they reached us at the level they are, and will evolve in different places in the future. This is the story of every science, and of every sign of our modern world. Thus, it was not that we had alchemy at one point, and then, with the Europeans it became chemistry. This is a crass notion like much else coming from those holding such a view. Chemistry began under one form, associated with occult and similar practices, and then evolved, gradually becoming more refined through the centuries until it took our modern forms and rules. Many elements concourse to support this point. Here they follow.

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INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY First and foremost many of the products or discoveries made by the Muslims have become part of our modern chemical world; in fact were revolutions in the advance of the science.
2
Mathe summarises the
legacy of Muslim chemists, which include the discovery of alcohol, nitric and sulphuric acids, silver nitrate and potassium, the determination of the weight of many bodies, the mastery of techniques of sublimation, crystallization and distillation. Muslim chemistry also took many industrial uses including: tinctures and their applications in tanning and textiles; distillation of plants, of flowers, the making of perfumes and therapeutic pharmacy. More specifically, some such advances that have revolutionised our world are expertly raised by Multhauf. 3 Thus in the De aluminibus, 4 composed in Muslim Spain, (whose author Multhauf does not recognise) but could be Al-Majriti, are described experiments to obtain the chloride of mercury, corrosive sublimate (Hg Cl2), process and outcome which mark the beginning of synthetic chemistry. Multhauf notes indeed that the chloride of mercury obtained did not just become part of the chemists repertoire but also inspired the discovery of other synthetic substances. Corrosive sublimate is capable of chlorinating other materials, and this, Multhauf, again, notes, marks the beginning of mineral acids. 5 In the field of industrial chemistry and heavy chemicals, Multhauf notes again that one of the greatest advances of the medieval times was the manufacture of alum from àluminous rocks, through artificial weathering of alunite, which he describes. And in the same context the Muslims managed to perform the crystallisation of àmmonia alum (ammonium aluminium sulphate). 6 Multhauf, however, falls in the same trap as many of his colleagues, asserting in his conclusion 7 that it was European Renaissance which gave chemistry a secure and significant place in science, and that with the Muslims all that was, was àlchemy; and Multhauf states this in full contradiction of what he had just described, and so expertly, and he had himself classified under modern chemistry. HOLMYARD'S CONTRIBUTION One who from the initial point gave Islamic chemistry its due, and hardly failed to call it so, was Holmyard. 8 Holmyard, indeed, has the right qualifications to discuss Islamic chemistry, and more than any other, with the exception of Ruska, and also Levey. Holmyard is indeed both a chemist with great reknown, and also an Arabist in training, rightly qualified to look at the science from the expert angles, unlike others, who are either Arabists and so understand little in chemistry, or are experts in chemistry and understand nothing in Arabic. Holmyard notes that the rise and progress of Islamic chemistry is given very little space, and whatever information exists is erroneous and misleading, a fact due partly to Kopps unfavourable opinion of Islamic chemistry, and the hasty conclusions drawn by Berthelot from his superficial studies of Islamic material. 9 And neither Kopp, nor Berthelot were Arabists, which, as Holmyard notes, makes their conclusions on Muslim chemistry unable to stand the test of criticism as more information is available. 10 Of course, todays historians can always ignore evidence that has come out since Kopp and Berthelot, and still stick with their misinformation, errors, or distorted statements, and blame such on either one of them. This tactic is in fact very common amongst those writing in any field of history, who shape and reshape events at will and have all the necessary sources and references to justify their writing. Some historians even go as far as blaming the material in the library of their university, stating in their preface or conclusion that any shortcoming in their work was the result of their access to such limited material. To return to Holmyard, in his Makers of Chemistry, tracing the evolution of the science from the very early times until our century, and even if not having at his disposal the vast amount of information that many

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have today, he produced an excellent and encompassing, thorough work. It includes none of the usual gaps of centuries one finds with other historians; nor does it include the discrepancies caused by `sudden, ènlightened `miraculous breakthroughs out of nothing. THE ADVENT OF EXPERIMENTAL CHEMISTRY One of the points raised by Holmyard, which was fundamental to chemistry, and to the development of science in general, is the development of its practical side, that is experiment. This, in fact, is one of the most sticking points in the history of science, a fact that has suffered much from the distortions of scholarship dealing with the history of science. Experiment is what differentiates Muslim science from Greek speculation (called science). Experiment also began with the Muslims, centuries before the likes of Grosseteste, whom scores of scholars, 11 in their usual short-sightedness, behind which lurks dishonesty, or incompetence, or both at once, keep attributing to. Indeed, Holmyard notes how Jabir Ibn Hayyan (722815), one of the earliest Muslim scientists, and the promoter of chemistry (not to use that silly word many of our scholars tend to use: father; as if a science has a father and a son) was acquainted with chemical operations of crystallization, calcination, solution, sublimation, reduction, etc, and, above all, that he describes them. Of greater interest even, as Holmyard notes, Jabir seeks to understand the changes that take place during the process, besides giving opinions to their aims; for instance, explaining how the aim of calcination is to remove impurities from metals, and how metals are calcinated in different ways. 12 Jabir also describes processes for the preparation of steel, the refinement of other metals, for dyeing cloth and leather, for marking varnishes to waterproof cloth, for the preparation of hair-dyes, etc.. He also gives recipes for making a cheap illuminating ink for manuscripts, and mentions the use of manganese dioxide in glass making. He was also acquainted with citric acid and other organic substances, and so on. 13 On the crucial role of experiment, Jabir had this to say: 14 `The first essential in chemistry is that thou shouldest perform practical work and conduct experiments, for he who performs not practical work nor makes experiments will never attain to the least degree of mastery. But thou, O my son, do thou experiment so that thou mayest acquire knowledge. Scientists delight not in abundance of material; they rejoice only in the excellence of their experimental methods. Jabirs overral achievements are elsewhere summarised by Al-Faruqi. 15 Some of his writing includes Al
Khawass al-kabir (the Great Book of Chemical properties), al-Mawazin (Weights and measures), Al-Mizaj (Chemical combination, and Al-Asbagh (Dyes). On top of that, he built a precise scale that weighed items 6,
480 times smaller than the ratl (approx 1 kg.) Before John Dalton by ten centuries, he defined chemical combinations as a union of the elements together, in too small particles for the naked eye to see, without loss of character. And he invented a kind of paper that resisted fire. Jabir's other achievements 16 include his perfecting of chemical processes already cited of sublimation, liquefaction, purification, amalgamation, oxidation, crystallization, distillation, evaporation, and filtration. He also identified many new products, including alkalines, acids, salts, paints and greases. He prepared sulphuric acid, nitro-hydrochloric acid (used to dissolve some metals), caustic soda and a multitude of salts such as sulphates, nitrates and potassium and sodium carbonates. Jabir's works with metals and salts subsequently helped develop foundry techniques and glazing processes for tiles and other ceramics. 17 Thus are illustrated Jabirs achievements in the science. However, instead of focusing on his pure scientific contribution to chemistry, many non Muslims dealing with Àlchemy', 18 prefer to dwell on the rather tedious, obscure, and un-scientific aspects

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of his work of the fanciful and folkloric sort of Greek and ancient origins (aspects which both Ibn Sina and Ibn Khaldoun instead denounce very much). AL-RAZI AND AL-MAJRITI Nearly a century had elapsed after Jabir before flourished another Muslim maker of modern chemistry: alRazi (b. 866). Al-Razi maintained the excellence began by Jabir, and gave chemistry foundations it kept up to our day. In his work Secret of Secrets, 19 he made the very useful classification of natural substances, dividing them into earthly, vegetable and animal substances, to which he also added a number of artificially obtained ones such as lead oxide, caustic soda, and various alloys. He went further in the cataloguing and description of his experiments, describing first the materials he used, then the apparatus, and methods and conditions of his experiments. 20 Al-Razi also set up the laboratory in the modern sense, designing, describing and using more than twenty instruments. Both Anawati and Hill provide a good account of such laboratory, 21 the precursor of the modern laboratory, of which many parts are still in use today (to which Hill points out, whilst Anawati does not.) 22 Al-Razi does not just list the instruments used in chemistry, he also gives details of making composite pieces of apparatus, and provides the same sort of information as can be found today in manuals of laboratory art. 23 Also his systematic classification of carefully observed and verified facts regarding chemical substances, reactions and apparatus, all in very clear language, further contribute to make Al-Razi of èxceptional importance in the history of chemistry, according to Holmyard. 24 These are, indeed, symbols of modern science; hence, the obvious conclusion that modern science, in practice and methodology, and not just chemistry, found roots in the works of Muslim scientists; Muslim chemistry itself proving to be no occult practice that ended with the European Renaissance. Al-Majriti (950-1007), from Madrid, hence his name, and already cited briefly, was particularly noted for his work Rutbat Al-Hakim (The Rank of the Wise), which amongst other things gives formulae and instructions for the purification of precious metals. This was collected and put together in the year 1009, two years after his death. In this work, Al-Majriti was also the first to prove the principle of conservation of mass, credited eight centuries later to the French Lavoisier, 25 the so called father of chemistry. PHARMACOLOGY IN THE MAKING Advances in Islamic chemistry led to the development of Islamic pharmacology, Al-Razi, for instance, acting to promote the medical uses of chemical compounds.
26
Sabur Ibn Sahl (d 869), it was, however, who was
the first physician to initiate pharmacopoeia, describing a large variety of drugs and remedies for ailments. Al-Biruni (d 1051) wrote one of the most valuable Islamic works on pharmacology entitled Kitab al-Saydalah (The Book of Drugs), where he gave detailed knowledge of the properties of drugs and outlined the role of pharmacy and the functions and duties of the pharmacist. Ibn Sina, too, described no less than 700 preparations, their properties, mode of action and their indications. He devoted in fact a whole volume to simple drugs in his Canon . 27 Of great impact were also the works by Massawayh al-Maridini of Baghdad and Cairo, and Ibn al-Wafid of Spain, both of which were printed in Latin more than fifty times, appearing as De
Medicinis universalibus et particularibus by `Mesue' the younger, and the Medicamentis simplicibus by
Àbenguefit'. 28 Peter of Abano (1250-1316) translated and added a supplement to the work of al-Maridini under the title De Veneris. In this area, however, it was al-Zahrawi (of Spain) who played a determining role, pioneering in the preparation of medicines by sublimation and distillation. His Liber servitoris is of particular interest, Sherwood Taylor explains, 29 because its purpose is to tell the reader how to prepare the

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`simples from which were compounded the complex drugs then generally used. Al-Zahrawi also gives methods of preparing litharge, white lead, lead sulphide (burnt lead), burnt copper, cadmia, marcaside, yellow arsenic and lime, the various vitriols, salts, natron etc. He also gives a considerable number of recipes for distilled products, though not alcoholic ones, the beginning of distillation as a means of preparing drugs, perhaps the most significant feature of all according to Sherwood Taylor. 30 Abu al-Mansur al-Muwaffaqs contributions in the field are also pioneering. Living in the tenth century, he wrote The
foundations of the true properties of Remedies, amongst others describing arsenious oxide, and being
acquainted with silicic acid. He made clear distinction between sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, and drew attention to the poisonous nature of copper compounds, especially copper vitriol, and also lead compounds. For the story, he also mentions the distillation of sea-water for drinking. 31 It is to Levey that credit goes for reviving this (medical) aspect of Islamic chemistry in his comprehensive
Early Arabic Pharmacology. 32 According to Levey, the Muslims were expert organisers of knowledge; their
pharmacological texts directed carefully along lines that were useful to the apothecary and medical practitioner. These treatises as a result generally are more or less within well-delineated groups. Some of the major types of Muslim pharmacological he list go as follows: 33 1) Medical formularies which include many kinds of compound drugs, pills, pastilles, powders, syrups, oils, lotions, toothpastes... 2) Books on poisons. 3) Synonymatic: treatises, in which are found lists of simples usually in alphabetical order to help the reader to identify the drug in other languages. 4) Tabular, synoptic texts, whereby long texts are turned into tabular work for quick usage, and abstracts made of some treatises for the same purpose. 5) Lists of materia medica which include therapeutic considerations and opinions of various writers on the subject, preparations of the drugs and descriptions 6) Substitute drugs in case one drug for whatever reason was not available, a substitute was provided. 7) Works on medical specialities available either as separate treatises or as sections of large encyclopaedias of medicine. CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY Leveys contribution was also instructive in other branches of Islamic chemistry. A good series of articles of his, unfortunately not gathered in a sort of varorium, can be found scattered in various medical journals. But the best revue to acquaint us with Leveys work is Chymia, 34 edited by H.M. Leicester. In Volume 7 (1961) of this review, Levey deals with inks, glues, and erasure fluids, making a preliminary survey of Islamic chemical technology (pp 57-72). Levey brings to knowledge the pioneering works of the Tunisian scientist Ibn Badis (1007-1061), who in his Umdat al-Kuttab (Staff of the Scribes) in twelve chapters, writes amongst others on: the excellence of the pen, the preparation of types of inks, the preparation of colored inks, the coloring of dyes and mixtures, secret writing, the making of paper, and so ona remarkable list indeed. In the same issue Levey also looks at the development of the Islamic atomic theory (pp.40-56). In volume eight, he considers Al-Kindis views of Aqrabadhins (pharmacists) (pp 11-20), whilst in volume nine, he considers the crucial matters of chemical technology and commercial law in Early Islam (pp 19-25). In the latter, Levey looks at the office of the Muhtassib (censor of customs), where the practice of the law comes into contact with the commercial chemical applications; the muhtassib enforcing what was legally

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right, and preventing what was illegal; and checking weights and measures, inspecting apothecaries, demanding the purity in the manufacture of goods, preventing the use of inferior dyes, and so on. Finally, in volume 11 of the same revue (pp 37-44), Levey looks at the chemical formulary of a scientist not considered in this paper, but so deserving it: al-Samarquandi. TRANSMISSION OF CHEMISTRY TO EUROPE Of course Muslim chemistry, like other sciences was heavily translated into Latin, and also into local languages, which explains its spread to Europe (more on this in the chapter on the transfer of Muslim science to Europe). Many of the manuscripts translated have anonymous authors. Of the known ones, Robert of Chester (12th Century), translated Liber de compositione alchemise . At about the same time, Hugh of Santalla made the earliest Latin translation of lawh azzabarjad (the Emerald table). Alfred of Sareshel translated the part of Ibn Sinna's Kitab al-Shiffa (the Book of Healing) that deals with chemistry. It is, however, as per usual, the Italian, Gerard of Cremona, who made the more valuable translations of AlRazi's study and classification of salts and alums (sulphates) and the related operations the De aluminibus et salibus , whose Arabic original is preserved. 35 The many versions of this work had a decisive influence on subsequent operations in the West, more generally on mineralogy; 36 as did others in the formation of the foundations of such science. In fairly recent times, Holmyard, Kraus, and above all Ruska, have devoted considerable focus to Muslim chemistry, much of which, unfortunately, is not accessible to non German speakers, 37 who thus will be deprived from forming a truest picture of Islamic chemistry. CONCLUSION After such an expose, however brief, should we still consider Muslim chemistry as an occult practice called alchemia? Are not many aspects of such science exactly what we have in our modern chemistry? And if this is not enough, here is what Muslims thought of the occult alchemia. Both Ibn Sina and Ibn Khaldoun attacked the experimentalists who sought to turn ordinary metals into precious ones, gold in particular. Ibn Sina, for instance, in The Book of Minerals, denounces the artisans who dye metals in order to give them the outside resemblance of silver and gold. He asserts that fabrication of silver and gold from other metals is `practically impossible and unsustainable from a scientific and philosophical point of view.'38 Ibn Khaldoun, for his part, 39 denounces the frauds who apply on top of silver jewelry a thin layer of gold, and make other manipulations of metals. To Ibn Khaldoun, the Divine wisdom wanted gold and silver to be rare metals to guarantee profits and wealth. Their disproportionate growth would make transactions useless and would `run contrary to such wisdom.' 40 It is, thus, time to give Muslim chemistry its due place in history. For that to happen, the concentrated effort of Arabic speaking, able scholars, with some honesty, ought to get on with the task of writing truest accounts of Islamic chemistry in history, do for this science what Rashed, Djebbar and Yuskevitch did for Islamic mathematics, or what al-Hasan and Hill did for Islamic engineering, and what King, Saliba, Kennedy and Samso seek to do for Islamic astronomy, bringing Islamic chemistry out of the slumber others have dug in for it.

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References
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Baron Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de l'Islam, (5 vols), Geuthner, Paris, vol 2, at p. 374. Jean Mathe: The Civilisation of Islam, tr. by David Macrae, Crescent Books, New York. R.P. Multhauf: The Origins of chemistry ; Gordon and Breach Science Publishers; London, 1993. De aluminibus was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona in Toledo, Spain, in the 12th century. R.Multhauf: The Origins, op cit, at pp 160-3; Ibid, p 339. At p. 351. E.J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry; Oxford at the Claredon Press, 1931. E.J. Holmyard: Chemistry in Islam; in R. M. Palter edition: Toward Modern Science ; Noonday Press, New Ibid. That include that so ìllustrious Crombie, whose book: `Robert Grosseteste and the origins of E.J. Holmyard: Makers, op cit; p. 59. Ibid at pp 59-60; Ibid, p. 60. I, and L. Al-Faruqi: The Cultural Atlas of Islam; Mc Millan Publishing; New York; 1986; at p. 328. Most particularly from A. M. Kettani: Science and Technology in Islam; in Z. Sardar edt: The Touch of
York, 1961; in Vol 1, at pp. 160-70. At pp 160-1.

10 11
experimental sciences , 1953, conveys this sort of (and other) distortions.

12 13 14 15 16
Midas; Manchester University Press; 1984; pp 66-90; at 78, and Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de l'Islam, op
cit.
17
G.M. Wickens: The Middle East as a world centre of science and medicine,' in Introduction to Islamic
Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory; Cambridge University press; Cambridge; 1976; pp. 111-18, at p. 113. 18 For instance: Georges Anawati, Arabic alchemy, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science; Edited by R. Rashed, 3 vol; at pp. 865-7; and C. Ronan: The Arabian science, in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Worlds Science; Cambridge University Press, pp 201-244, at p.p 237-8.
19 20 21
Translated by Gerard of Cremona. M. Ali Kettani: Science, op cit, p. 79. G. Anawati: Arabic, op cit, at p. 868; D.R. Hill: Islamic Science and Engineering; Edimburgh University This fact is highly important as it demonstrates how Muslim science is still valid in many respects today. E.J. Holmyard: Makers, op cit, at p. 66. Ibid; p. 64. M. Ali Kettani: Science, op cit, p. 79. C. A. Ronan: The Arabian, op cit, p. 239. Volume ii includes the names of simple drugs arranged in alphabetical order. Max Meyerhof: Science and medicine, in The Legacy of Islam, edited by Sir T. Arnold and A. Guillaume;
Press; 1993; at p. 84.

22 23 24 25 26 27 28
first edition, Oxford University Press, 1931; pp 311-55; at pp 331-2. (Worth mentioning here that the second edition of the Legacy of Islam is abysmall in comparison with the first).
29
F.Sherwood
Taylor : A History of Industrial chemistry: Heinmann, London, 1957; pp 140-1. Sherwood
Taylors writing is however very dismissive of Islamic chemistry; generally tending to refer to any Islamic breakthrough in the shortest wording possible permitted by the English language.
30
Ibid, p. 141.

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31 32 33 34 35
In Holmyard: Makers, op cit, at p.68. Leiden, 1973. M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology; E. J. Brill; leiden, 1973; at 68-70. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. J. Ruska: Das Buch der Alaune and salze , Berlin, 1935, mentioned in R. Halleux: The Reception of Arabic R. Halleux: The Reception, op cit, p. 892. See for instance:
Alchemy in the West, in the Encyclopedia of the history, op cit, pp 886-902, at p. 892.
36 37
-P. Kraus: Jabir Ibn Hayyan . Textes choisis, Paris, Cairo, 1935. -J.Ruska: Àl-Rasi (Rhases) als Chemiker', Zeitschrift fur Angewandte Chemie 35, 1912, pp 719-24. -J. Ruska: `Die Alchemie des Avicenna,' Isis 21, 1933: 14-51. -J.Ruska: `Die Alchemie ar-Razi's', Der Islam 22, 1935, 281-319. -J.Ruska: Das Buch der Alaune und Salze , Berlin, 1935.
38
Georges Anawati: Arabic Alchemy, op cit, p.877. One has to be careful of Anawati's article, though.
Whilst Ibn Sinna and Ibn Khaldoun never attacked the science of chemistry and true scientists, but just the crooked versions of it, Anawati, like others, eagerly generalises and accuses them of attacking the science itself. There is absolutely in neither Ibn Sinna's work, who was himself a chemist to large extent, or in Ibn khaldoun's, one single instance of an attack on the science itself.
39 40
For greater detail on Ibn Khalduns view of alchemy, see Prof Eads site referred to above. G. Anawati: Arabic, op cit, p. 881.
Bibliography -Georges Anawati, Arabic alchemy, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science; Edited by R. Rashed, 3 vol; Routlege, London, 1996 at pp. 865-7.
-Chymia, Quarterly review devoted to the history of chemistry; edited by H.M. Leicester. University of
Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. -A.C Crombie, whose book: ` Robert Grosseteste and the origins of experimental sciences, Oxford, 1953.
-De aluminibus was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona in Toledo, Spain, in the 12th century. -Baron Carra De Vaux: Les Penseurs de l'Islam , (5 vols), Geuthner, Paris, vol 2. -I, and L. Al-Faruqi: The Cultural Atlas of Islam; Mc Millan Publishing; New York; 1986.
-R. Halleux: The Reception of Arabic Alchemy in the West, in the Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic science. pp 886-902. -D.R. Hill: Islamic Science and Engineering; Edimburgh University Press; 1993. -E.J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry; Oxford at the Claredon Press, 1931. -E.J. Holmyard: Chemistry in Islam; in R. M. Palter edition: Toward Modern Science; Noonday Press, New York, 1961; in Vol 1, at pp. 160-70. -A. M. Kettani: Science and Technology in Islam; in Z. Sardar edt: The Touch of Midas; Manchester University Press; 1984; pp 66-90. -P. Kraus: Jabir Ibn Hayyan . Textes choisis, Paris, Cairo, 1935. -M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology; E. J. Brill; Leiden, 1973. -Jean Mathe: The Civilisation of Islam, tr. by David Macrae, Crescent Books, New York.

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-M. Meyerhof: Science and medicine, in The Legacy of Islam, edited by Sir T. Arnold and A. Guillaume; first edition, Oxford University Press, 1931; pp 311-55. -R.P. Multhauf: The Origins of chemistry; Gordon and Breach Science Publishers; London, 1993. -C. Ronan: The Arabian science, in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Worlds Science; Cambridge University Press, 1983; pp 201-44. -J. Ruska: Das Buch der Alaune and salze, Berlin, 1935. -J.Ruska: Àl-Rasi (Rhases) als Chemiker', Zeitschrift fur Angewandte Chemie 35, 1912, pp 719-24. -J. Ruska: `Die Alchemie des Avicenna,' Isis 21, 1933: 14-51. -J.Ruska: `Die Alchemie ar-Razi's', Der Islam 22, 1935, 281-319. -J.Ruska: Das Buch der Alaune und Salze , Berlin, 1935. -G.M. Wickens: The Middle East as a world centre of science and medicine,' in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory; Cambridge University Press; Cambridge; 1976; pp. 111-18. http://www.frcu.eun.eg/www/universities/html/shc/index.htm http://kdolma.phidji.com/sciences/sciences.asp http://users.erols.com/zenithco/index.html

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A cursory review of
Muslim Observatories
FSTC Limited
A cursory review of Muslim Observatories August 2002
A CUR S OR Y R EVIEW OF
MUSLIM OBSERVATORIES
Most eminent Muslim astronomers include Al-Battani, al-Sufi, al-Biruni, and Ibn Yunus. Al-Battani (d 929) known to the Latins as Albategni or Albatenius was the author of the Sabian tables (al-Zij al-Sabi), a work which had great impact on his successors, Muslim and Christian, in equal measure. 1 His improved tables of the sun and the moon comprise his discovery that the direction of the sun's eccentric as recorded by Ptolemy was changing. This, in modern astronomy, means the earth moving in varying ellipse. 2 He also worked on the timing of the new moons, the length of the solar and sideral year, the prediction of eclipses, and the phenomenon of parallax, carrying us `to the verge of relativity and the space age,' Wickens asserts.3 Al-Battani also popularised, if not discovered, the first notions of trigonometrical ratios as we use them today. 4 During the same period, Yahya Ibn Abi Mansour had completely revised the Zij of Almagest after meticulous observations and tests producing the famous Al-Zij al Mumtahan (the validated Zij). For details on his work see the proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conference on the History of Arabic Science 23rd-25th October 2001, Aleppo, Syria. Belonging to the same era, Abd-al Rahman al-Sufi (903-986) made several observations on the obliquity of the ecliptic and the motion of the sun (or the length of the solar year.) 5 He became renowned for his observations and descriptions of the stars, their positions, their magnitudes (brightness) and their colour, setting out his results constellation by constellation, for each constellation, providing two drawings, one from the outside of a celestial globe, and the other from the inside (as seen from the sky). 6 Al-Sufi also wrote on the astrolabe, finding thousands of uses for it. En par with other learned Muslims, he also pinpointed shortcomings of Greek astronomy. Ibn Yunus (d 1009), in his observation endeavours used, amongst others, a large astrolabe of nearly 1.4 m in diameter, and made observations which included more than 10, 000 entries of the sun's position throughout the years. 7 His work, in French edition, 8 was centuries on the inspiration for Laplace in his determination of the Òbliquity of the Ecliptic' and the Ìnequalities of Jupiter and Saturn's.' Newcomb also used his observations of eclipse in his investigations of the motions of the moon. 9 Observation Observation of the sky had begun in earnest in Islam. The observatory 10as a distinct scientific institution for observation, and where astronomy and allied subjects were taught, also owes its origin to Islam. 11 The first to be set up was the Shammasiyah observatory, which Caliph Al-Mamun had built in Baghdad around 828. It was associated with the scientific academy of Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) (also set up by AlMamun.) The astronomers made observations of the sun, the moon and planets, and results were presented in a book called the Mumtahan (Validated or Tested) Zij, see Yahya Ibn Abi Mansour above. In the same century more observations were made by the Banu Musa brothers mostly in Baghdad. Their accomplishments included the study of The Ursa Major (or the Great Bear). They also measured maximum and minimum altitudes of the sun, and observed lunar eclipses. Ibn Sina, Al-Battani, Al-Fargani, and scores more also devoted much of their attention and focus to observation and study of the sky.

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In the eleventh century, the Seljuk Sultan Malik Shah (ruled 1072-1092) built a more advanced observatory, which functioned for almost 20 years. Two centuries later, approximately, was built the Maragha Observatory in Azerbaidjan. It was fitted with a large library (over 400,000 books) and also with instruments capable of greater performance (hence of large size). Maragha was managed by no less than Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi (d. 1274) and Qutb Al-Din Al-Shirazi. Al-Tusi was the author of the IL-Khani Tables and the catalogue of fixed stars that were to rule for several centuries throughout the world. Maragha also became an institution for research, and an academy for scientific contacts and teaching. It lasted until at least the beginning of the fourteenth century. Today, however, all that remain are the foundations of it. Further advance in the construction of observatories is observed at Samarqand, in 1424, the work of Uluh Beg. It was a `monumental' building equipped with a huge meridian, made of masonry, symbol of the observatory as a long lasting institution.12 A trench of about 2 metres wide was dug in a hill, along the line of the meridian, and in it was placed the segment of the arc of the instrument. Built for solar and planetary observations, it was equipped with the finest instruments available, including a Fakhri sextant, with a radius of 40.4 metres, which made it the largest astronomical instrument of its type. The main use of the sextant was to determine the basic constants of astronomy, such as the length of the tropical year. Other instruments included an armillary and an astrolabe. Uluh Beg also assembled the best-known mathematicians of his day among whom was al-Khashi, who wrote an elementary encyclopaedia on practical mathematics for astronomers, surveyors, architects, clerks and merchants. 13 Observations were quite advanced for their time, and so the stellar year was found to be 365 days, 6 hours, 10 minutes and 8 seconds, (only 62 seconds more than the present estimation). The observatory at Samarqand remained active until nearly 1500 A.D, 14 but was later reduced to ruins, and apparently disappeared, until the archaeologist V. L. Vyatkin found its remains in 1908. Amongst the remains was a fragment of the gnomon of large size used to determine the height of the sun from the length of the shadow. There were also remains of a building of cylindrical shape with a complex interior plan. 15 It is also known through Abd-al-Razak that one could see a portrayal of the ten celestial spheres with degrees, minutes, seconds and tenths of seconds, the spheres of rotation, the seven moving planets, the fixed stars and the terrestrial sphere, with climate, mountains, seas, deserts etc. 16 Samarqand, in the early decades of the fifteenth century, Krisciunas observes, was `the astronomical capital of the world. And for such, ìt is deserving of further study. 17 Construction and Instrumentation of Observatories The last, or some of the last observatories built by Muslims were by Jai Singh, Maharajah of Jaipur, who constructed observatories in Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain and other Indian cities. The one in Delhi, the Jantar Mantar, was built in 1724 at the request of the Mughal ruler Muhammad Shah. Generally, the instruments found were based on those found at Maragha and Samarquand, although in architectural terms, the Indian observatory represented a major accomplishment as seen from current photographs. The construction of an advanced observatory, early it was realised, was no mean undertaking; not least on the financial front. It was, hence, only natural such an institution demanded the patronage of kings, princes, or very wealthy people. As a matter of fact, the observatory soon took on the prerogative as a royal institution. 18 Al-Mamun gave the lead; Uluh Beg, centuries later was wholly, and personally involved in

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the undertaking (more than in the running of stately affairs). The Buwayyids, another instance, supported the use of advanced, larger and heavier equipment. Other than finance, observatories also required the cooperation of well trained astronomers and engineers, for the success of their operations. 19 In all cases, however, the instruments gradually became bulkier, the aim being to minimise error as much as possible. 20 Each piece was also devoted for a particular class of observations. 21 At Maragha, the ecliptical consisted of five rings, the largest of which being twelve feet across. 22 Included, too, was a meridian armillary consisting of a graduated bronze ring in the shape of an alidade set upon the meridian to measure solar altitudes in zenith distance; a large stone sundial accurately aligned to the meridian and used only for determining the obliquity of the ecliptic; an equatorial armillary made in the form of a bronze ring set firmly parallel to the plane of the equator; and a parallactic instrument, a type of transit used to measure the zenith distance of a star or the moon at culmination. 23 To gain the required rigidity, instruments were built of masonry when the foundations of the structure could be made secure, as at the Indian observatories. The impact of Al-Battani on European Astronomy Observation in Islamic times reached beyond what much of scholarship gives it credit for. Many aspects of it were pioneering as can be observed from few extracts on the life and works of al-Battani by Carra de Vaux. 24 The merit of al-Battani, the author points out, is to pioneer the use of trigonometry in his operations. Al-Battani is also quoted saying:
àfter having lengthily applied myself in the study of this science, I have noticed that the works on the movements of the planets differed consistently with each other, and that many authors made errors in the manner of undertaking their observation, and establishing their rules. I also noticed that with time, the position of the planets changed according to recent and older observations; changes caused by the obliquity of the ecliptic, affecting the calculation of the years and that of eclipses. Continuous focus on these things drove me to perfect and confirm such a science.
More crucially, al-Battani, once pinpointing and demonstrating operations, by providing mathematical support, summoned others after himself: `to continue observation, and to search, saying that it was no impossibility that with the passing of time, more was found, just as he himself added upon his predecessors. `Such is the majesty of celestial science, so vast, that none could ever encompass its study by himself. Al-Battani also used the widest variety of instruments: astrolabes, tubes, a gnomon divided into twelve parts, a celestial globe with five armillaries, of which, likely, he was the author, parallax rules, a mural quadrant, sundials, vertical as well as horizontal. And, understandably, he opted for the largest instruments; the measures taken by the parallax rules relate to a circle of no less than five meters in diameter; and the quadrant was no less than one meter. So great was al-Battanis impact, De Vaux observes, that subsequent observation bore his mantel. Thus, Jewish scientists, Ibn Ezra, Maimonides, Levi Ben Gerson, and others, who through the centuries scattered Islamic learning in all regions of Europe, made al-Battanis calculations the foundations of theirs. Amongst the Christians, Robertus Cestrensis (Retinensis) devised tables of the celestial movements for the meridian of London for the year 1150 after him. Albertus Magnus, Alphonso X, Regiomontanus, Nicolas Cusanus,

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Copernicus, and Tycho Brahe are amongst others, on whom, al-Battani, in one way or another impacted. It was left to Nallino, who most recently edited al-Battanis work in Arabic with a Latin translation. Krisciunas on Uluh Beg On the web, are very few articles devoted to the subject of Muslim observatories. One of such by Kevin Krisciunas is on The Legacy of Uluh Beg, and can be found at: http://www.ukans.edu/~ibetext/texts/paksoy-2/cam6.html Without going into the detail of such article, but just to add to some points already made, Krisciunas reminds us that Uluh Beg is to be remembered not for his princely role, but for his role as patron of astronomy, an astronomer, and observatory builder. His distinction was that he was one of the first to advocate and build permanently mounted astronomical instruments. The importance of his observatory is further enhanced by the large number of astronomers, between sixty and seventy, involved in observation and seminars. Of crucial importance, too, is that observations were carried on a systematic basis for lengthy periods of time, as from 1420 to 1437. The reason, as Krisciunas makes clear, why observations are not completed in one year but instead require ten or fifteen years, is:
`the situation is such that there are certain conditions suited to the determination of matters pertaining to the planets, and it is necessary to observe them when these conditions obtain. It is necessary, e.g., to have two eclipses in both of which the eclipsed parts are equal and to the same side, and both these eclipses have to take place near the same node. Likewise, another pair of eclipses conforming to other specifications is needed, and still other cases of a similar nature are required. It is necessary to observe Mercury at a time when it is at its maximum morning elongation and once at its maximum evening elongation, with the addition of certain other conditions, and a similar situation exists for the other planets. `Now, all these circumstances do not obtain within a single year, so that observations cannot be made in one year. It is necessary to wait until the required circumstances obtain and then if there is cloud at the awaited time, the opportunity will be lost and gone for another year or two until the like of it occurs once more. In this manner there is need for ten or fifteen years. One might add that because it takes Saturn 29 years to return to the same position amongst the stars (that being its period of revolution about the Sun), a period of 29 years might have been the projected length of the Samarkand programme of observations.
In his article, Krisciunas, although recognising the crucial role of Islamic observation, still finds sources of disagreement with the notion that the Samarqand observatory exerted decisive influence on Europe. That, of course, is exactly the matter which plagues most minds of Western scholarship, refusing to acknowledge the Eastern impact (not just Islamic, but also Indian, and above all Chinese) on their civilisation. Krisciunas is not just one of the most fair minded, but also one of the most able scholars in the field. And his point of view has to be addressed on equal academic reasoning.

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Final Remarks It was under Islam that modern astronomy took shape. The Muslims gave names (still with us) to stars and constellations. They also devised maps and astronomical tables that were used in both Europe and the Far East in subsequent centuries. Early in the ninth century, on the orders of Caliph Al-Mamun (813-833), Muslim astronomers had also measured the earth's circumference at 40, 253.4 kms, (the exact figures being 40, 068.0 km through the equator, and 40, 000.6 km through the poles.)25 That was six hundred years before in Europe it was admitted the planet was not flat.26
Endnotes:
1
Regis Morelon: Eastern Arabic Astronomy, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, edited by C. Singer: A short History of scientific ideas to 1900; Oxford University Press, 1959; p. 151 G.M Wickens: The Middle East as a world Centre of science and medicine, in Introduction to Islamic
Roshdi Rashed, Routledge, London, 1996, pp 20-57 at pp. 46-7.

2 3
Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory, Cambridge University Press, pp 111-118, pp 117-8. 4 P.K. Hitti: History of the Arabs , tenth edition, Mac Millan St Martin's Press, 1970, at p. 572.
5 6
R. Morelon: Eastern Arabic, op cit, p. 50. C. Ronan: The Arabian Science, in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Worlds Science; Cambridge Ibid, p. 214. Edition Caussin De Perceval, Paris, 1804. S. M. Ziauddin Alavi: Arab Geography in the ninth and tenth centuries, Published by the Department of For the most comprehensive study on Muslim observatories, see: Aydin Sayili: The Observatory in Islam , L.A. Sedillot: Prolegomenes des tables Astronomiques d'Ouloug -Beg, texte, Chrestomathie Persane, vol A. Sayili: The Observatory, op cit, p. 271. C.A. Ronan, op cit. p 223. Sedillot, 1853, in R. Morelon, General Survey of Arabic Astronomy, in Encyclopaedia, op cit, vol 1, pp 1Francoise Micheau: The Scientific Institutions in the Medieval Near East, in Encyclopaedia, op cit, vol 3, Ibid. Kevin Krisciunas: The Legacy of Uluh Beg; at http://www.ukans.edu/~ibetext/texts/paksoy-2/cam6.html A. Sayili: The Observatory in Islam; op cit, p. 121. Ibid, P. 329.
University Press, 1983, pp 201-244 at p. 213.

7 8 9
Geography, Aligrah Muslim University, Aligrah 1965, p. 36.

10
Turkish Historical Society, Ankara, 1960.

11
1, 1847, p. CVII.
12 13 14
19; p 14.
15
pp. 985-1007. at pp. 1003-4.

16 17 18 19

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20 21
G.M Wickens: The Middle East, op cit at p. 117. Baron Carra de Vaux: Astronomy and mathematics, in The Legacy of Islam, edt Sir Thomas Arnold and Ibid. Instruments of Indian and Islamic origin, in
Alfred Guillaume, first edition, Oxford University Press, 1931., pp 376-397; at p. 396.
22 23
Dictionary of the Middle Ages; ed; Joseph Strayer; New
York, Scribner, 1982-1989.

24
Barron carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam, Paris; Geuthner, 1921.Vol 2; pp 208-13.
Bibliography: -S. M. Ziauddin Alavi: Arab Geography in the ninth and tenth centuries , Published by the Department of Geography, Aligrah Muslim University, Aligrah 1965. -Barron carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam, Paris; Geuthner, 1921.Vol 2. -Baron Carra De Vaux: Astronomy and mathematics, in The Legacy of Islam, edt Sir Thomas Arnold and Alfred Guillaume, first edition, Oxford University Press, 1931., pp 376-397.
-Dictionary of the Middle Ages ; Instruments of Indian and Islamic origin, ed; Joseph Strayer; New York,
Scribner, 1982-1989. -Sir John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. -P.K. Hitti: History of the Arabs , tenth edition, Mac Millan St Martin's Press, 1970. -M. Ali Kettani: Science and technology in Islam: the underlying value system, in Z. Sardar edt: The Touch of Midas; Science, values, and environment in Islam and the West. Manchester University Press (1984); pp 66-90. -Kevin Krisciunas: The Legacy of Uluh Beg; at http://www.ukans.edu/~ibetext/texts/paksoy-2/cam6.html -F. Micheau: The Scientific Institutions in the Medieval Near East, in Encyclopaedia, op cit, vol 3, pp. 9851007. -R. Morelon: Eastern Arabic Astronomy, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, edited by Roshdi Rashed, Routledge, London, 1996, pp 20-57. -C. Ronan: The Arabian Science, in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Worlds Science; Cambridge University Press, 1983, pp 201-244. -Aydin Sayili: The Observatory in Islam, Turkish Historical Society, Ankara, 1960. -L.A. Sedillot: Prolegomenes des tables Astronomiques d'Ouloug -Beg, texte, Chrestomathie Persane, vol 1, 1847, p. CVII. -C. Singer: A short History of scientific ideas to 1900; Oxford University Press, 1959. -G.M Wickens: The Middle East as a world Centre of science and medicine, in Introduction to Islamic
Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory, Cambridge University Press, pp 111-118.

References: M. Ali Kettani: Science and technology in Islam: the underlying value system, in Z. Sardar edt: The Touch of Midas; Science, values, and environment in Islam and the West. Manchester University Press (1984); pp 66-90 at p. 75.
26 25
Sir John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969; p. 109.

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Muslim Rocket Technology
Author:
Professor Dr Mohamed Mansour Emeritus Professor of Control Engineering ETH Zrich, Switzerland Ahmed Salem BSc July 2002 4036 FSTC Limited, 2002 2003
Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright:
FSTC Limited
Muslim Rocket-Technology July 2002
MUSLIM ROCKET-TECHNOLOGY
In the 13th century a Syrian scholar, Hassan Al-Rammah wrote a remarkable book on military technology, which became very famous in the west. The first documented rocket is included in the book, a model of which is exhibited at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. The author visited Washington in September 2000 where he obtained more information not only on the rocket but also on its fuel. Later, he acquired an edited copy of the book from the editor Ahmad Al-Hassan. This report depends on references [1-6].
Gunpowder The Chinese knew gunpowder in 11th century but did not know the right proportions to get explosions and did not acheive the necessary purification of potassium nitrate. The first Chinese book, which details the explosive proportions, was in 1412 by Huo Lung Ching1 . Al-Rammah's book is the first to explain the purification procedure for potassium nitrate and described many recipes for making gunpowder with the correct proportions to acheive explosion. This is necessary for the development of canons. Partington 3 says "the collection of recipes was probably taken from various sources at different times in the author's family and handed down. Such recipes are described as tested." Al-Razi, Al-Hamdany and an Arabic-Syriaque manuscript of the 10th century describe potassium nitrate. Ibn Al-Bitar describes it in 1240. The Arabic-Syriaque manuscript of the 10th century gives some recipes of gunpowder. It is assumed that these were added in the 13th century.
The Latin book "Liber Ignium" of Marcus Graecus is originally Arabic (translated in spain) gives many recipes for making gunpowder the last four of which may have been added to the book in 1280 or 1300.6 "Did Roger
Bacon derive his famous cryptic gunpowder formula in his Epistola of ca.1260 from the crusader Peter of Maricourt, some other traveller or from a wide range of reading from Arabic and alchemical books". The references 1 ,
3
and
doubt the correctness and the effectiveness of the recipe of Bacon.
The German scientist Albert Magnus obtained his Information from "Liber Ignium" originally an Arabic book translated in Spain. Evidence of the use of gunpowder during the crusades in Fustat, Egypt in 1168 was found in the form of traces of potassium nitrate. Such traces were also found in 1218 during the siege of Dumyat and in the battle of Al-Mansoura in 12491 . Winter 6 mentions "the Chinese may have discovered saltpeter (i.e. gunpowder) or else that discovery may have been transmitted to them by the Muslims whom they had plenty of opportunities of meeting either at home or abroad. Sarton is referring to Arab-Muslim traders to China, as well as Arab inhabitants in China. As early as 880 an estimated 120,000 Muslims, Jews and Persians lived in Canton alone."

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Canons and Rockets There are four Arabic Manuscripts (Almakhzoun-manuscripts) one in St Petersburg, two in Paris and one in Istanbul)in 1320 describing the first portable canon with suitable gunpowder. This description is principally the same as for modern guns. Such canons were used in the famous battle of Ain-Galout against the Mongols(1260) 1 . The Mamlouks developed the canons further during the 14th century. In Spain, the Arabs used canons defending Seville (1248), in Granada 1319, in (Baza or Albacete) 1324, in Huescar and Martos 1325,in Alicante 1331 and in Algeziras 1342-1344. Partington 3 says the history of artillery in Spain is related to that of the Arabs. Partington 3 mentions Arabic accounts suggest that the Arabs introduced firearms into Spain, from where they passed to Italy, going from there to France, and finally Germany. Also reported by Partington 3 "Hassan Al-Rammah describes various kinds of incendiary arrows and lances and describes and illustrates what has been supposed to be a torpedo. This is called 'the egg, which moves itself and burns' and the illustration and text suggest at least that it was intended to move on the surface of water. Two sheet iron pans were fastened together and made tight by felt; the flattened pear-shaped vessel was filled with "naphtha, metal filings, and good mixtures (probably containing saltpetre), and the apparatus was provided with two rods (as a rudder?) and propelled by a large rocket".
A conceptual model of the floating rocket described by Hassan Al-Rammah 3, created by FSTC Ltd.
Ley4 "But Hassan Al-Rammah adds one unsuspected novelty: a rocket-propelled torpedo consisting of two flat pans, fastened together and filled with powder or an incendiary mixture, equipped with a kind of tail to insure movement in a straight line, and propelled by two large rockets. The whole was called the 'selfmoving and combusting egg' but no instances of its use are related"

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Winter 6 "The Arabs, in any event, appear to have been the first to inherit (and possibly originate) the secret of the rocket and it was through Arabic writings - rather than the Mongols--that Europe came to know the rocket. Two notable examples of Arabic knowledge of the rocket are the so-called "self-moving and combusting egg" of the Syrian Al-Hassan Al-Rammah (d.1294-1295), details of which may be found in Ley's popular "Rockets, Missiles and Space Travel" and physician Yusuf ibn Ismail Al-Kutub's description (1311) of saltpeter ("they use it to make a fire which rises and moves, thus increasing it in lightness and inflammability").
References 1-Kitab Al-Furusiyya wa Al-Manasib Al-Harbiyya (Book of Military Horsemanship and Ingenious War Devices) by Najm Al-Din Hassan Al-Rammah(1280), edited by Ahmad Yusuf Al-Hassan, University of Aleppo publications,1998. 2-Ahmad Y. Al-Hassan and Donald R.Hill, Islamic Technology, Cambridge University Press and Unesco,1986 3-J.R.Partington, A history of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, The John Hopkins University Press, 1999 4-Willey Ley, Rockets, Missiles, and Space Travel The Viking Press, 1958 5-Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China Cambridge University Press, 1960 6-Frank H.Winter The Genesis of the Rocket in China and its spread to the East and West", Proceedings of the 13th History Symposium of the American Academy of Astronautics, Munich, September 1979,published by the American Astronautical Society, 1990

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An introduction to
Islamic Social Sciences
Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Ahmed Salem BSc August 2002 4023 FSTC Limited 2002, 2003
FSTC Limited
An introduction to Islamic Social Sciences August 2002
A N INT R ODUCT ION T O
ISLAMIC SOCIAL SCIENCES

Introduction The title above is by no means an accurate representation of what contents and subjects this section will include. Here, indeed, will be incorporated subjects that would otherwise form their own heading; i.e trade, social, legal and economic organization, political administration etc Many subjects might also be objected to for their placement under such a heading, seeming rather alien; necessity obliges, though. Technical requirements more than any other reason, at present, necessitate such a procedure. Ultimately, some items might find their own, or other headings. Also some issues raised here could normally find their place under headings considered elsewhere (i.e geography, historiography), or will touch upon disciplines seemingly un-related. It is very difficult, though, to keep matters within a strict set of corridors; nothing scholarly works in such a way. In the meanwhile, no compromise will be made in the matter of strict adherence to rules of scholarship in terms of contents included here. Amongst items to be included under this subject are writings by Muslims on social sciences. Master of the discipline is, of course, Ibn Khaldun. Nothing, indeed, in the annals of history precedes the quality of his work; whilst much follows him, including those well-known treatises by the so called masters of social sciences such as Montesquieu and Rousseau. Ibn Khaldun, it was, indeed, who 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 Muslims, although less accomplished, started raising matters and making studies of subjects, which Ibn Khaldun corrected, improved, and developed. These people and their achievements will also be looked at. Under this heading, finally, will also be considered the matters debated by those scholars; matters which include trade, social organization, living conditions, etc, and how they evolved in the land of Islam, and through the times. In this introductory article, will be considered one of the earliest Muslim scholars, Al-Muqaddasi, who touched on various subjects of interest to this subject, and also seen is Ibn Khalduns position on taxing farmers.

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Social scientists of Islam prior to Ibn Khaldun would not, if a rigorous modern methodology or approach was pursued, be included in the same realm as modern social scientists. Their writing, indeed, evolved, often, outside a structured methodology. This, however, is the case of every science, beginning first with rougher edges, and then gradually accepting the refinements of time and labour of the multitude. Al-Muqaddasi Al-Muqaddasi (or Al-Maqdisi) 1, (b.946-d.end of 10th century), originally from Al-Quds (Jerusalem), hence his name, is by far one of the most instructive of all early Islamic writers on the society of Islam. His works, generally, can be found under the subject of geography. His best known treatise Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma'arifat Al-Aqalim2 (the best divisions in the knowledge of the Climes) was completed around 985. A good summary of it is given by Kramers,3 extracts of which can be found in Dunlops Arab Civilisation.4In this work, Al-Muqaddasi gives an overall view of the lands he visited, and gives the approximate distances from one frontier to the other. Then, he deals with each region separately. He divides his work in two parts, first enumerating localities and providing adequate description of each, especially the main urban centres. He then proceeds to other subjects: population, its ethnic diversity, social groups moves onto commerce, mineral resources, archaeological monuments, currencies, weights etc, and also the political situation. This approach is in contrast with his predecessors, whose focus was much narrower, whilst Al-Muqaddasi wanted to encompass aspects of interest to merchants, travellers, and people of culture.5 Thus, it becomes no longer the sort of traditional `geography, but a work that seeks to understand and explain the foundations of Islamic society, and not just that, the very functioning of such society. Out of this, excellent information, regarding many subjects can be gleaned. Water as a social indicator On water management and hydraulic technology, much can be learnt from Al-Muqaddasis treatise. In Egypt, it is the description of the Nilometer, which grabs attention most, which goes:6
Ìt 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.
In Biyar, in the Al-Daylam region, he notes the scarcity of water, pointing out that water is distributed by waterclock, whilst the millstones are below ground, and the water flowing down. This being the desert, he observes, there is no other choice.7 And in Al-Ahwaz, in Khuzistan he notes:8
Òn the stream is a number of wheels which the water turns, and they are of a kind called naùra. 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

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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:9
`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!
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, Dirhem, their multiples, and sub-multiples, as well as each regions local currencies are dealt with in their most intricate functions. Thus, for the Maghrib region, Al-Muqaddasi states:10
`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. 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 sanja (counterpoise weights) used are made of glass, and are stamped just as described about the ratls. The ratl of the city of Tunis is twelve uqiya (ounce), this latter being twelve dirhams (weight).
Quotations from one currency to the other also receive attention from the author, as well as their emission, control, regulations, and much else. The wealth of those involved in currency dealing is also garnered. Prices, their fluctuations, varying in relation to size and wealth for every market place, are considered; Cairo, a place, which Al-Muqaddasi notes, has so low prices as to surprise him deeply. Al Muqaddasi could hardly ignore taxes, he himself being a trader 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:11
Àt Adan, 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 Judda and Makka, at Al-qarin, and batn marr-at each place half of a dinar The ruler of Saada does not levy a tax on anybody, except that he takes the quarter of the tithe from the merchants. In Uman a dirhem is levied on every date palm tree. I have found in the work of Ibn Khurradadhbih that the

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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 Al-Yaman formerly was divided into three departments, a governor over Al-Janad and its districts, another over Sanaa and its districts, and a third over Hadhramawt and its districts. Qudama bin Jaafar Al-Katib has noted that the revenue of Al-Haramayn (the two sacred cities) is one hundred thousand dinars, of Al-Yaman six hundred thousand dinars, of Al-Yamam and AlBayrayn five hundred thousand dinars,and of Uman three hundred thousand dinars.
Weights and Measures 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 each measure and weight applies to. He would also dwell on the history of each; and so minute it all becomes in the detail, 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, fascinating to the expert.12 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,13 in French, though, offers an excellent summary of Al-Muqaddasis interest in the subject. Al-Muqaddasi differentiates between town and city by the presence of the great mosque, and its minbar, symbols of Islamic authority. In connection with this, he states what follows:14
`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: Ì 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 delves 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. And so do daily concerns 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.15 How a location is run, and its citizens act, he also studies carefully, dwelling most particularly on such factors as order, cleanliness, morality and 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.16 Thus on Adan, in the Yemen, he notes:17
Ìt is the corridor of Al-Sin, the seaport of Al-Yaman, the granary of Al-Maghrib, and entreport of various

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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-Gods 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 fats in bodies. But it is some local customs which form a major point of his interest, one from Pre-Islamic and Newly Islamised Egypt of very good interest, and which Al-Muqaddasi narrates:18
Ìt seems that when Egypt was conquered, its people came to Amr Ibn Al-As during the beginning of the month of Bawna and they said: Òh 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, Ì 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 irruption.19

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Ibn-Khaldun on Taxes Nearly four centuries would elapse after Al-Muqaddasi before Ibn-khaldun enters the frame of Islamic scholarship, associating both intellectual might and near perfect organisational skills to set the foundations for our modern social, economic, historical and political sciences. No need to go into the life and works of Ibn Khaldun here; so much exists already, and is of very good quality. There are a couple of web-sites devoted to him, some of which quite good, and a few excellent. In this particular instance, it is looked at Ibn-Khalduns attitude towards taxing farmers, a simple text, and yet perfection as to the aims and the construction of the argument.
Extracts from Ibn khalduns Muqqadima on his passage on the cause which increases or reduces the revenues of empire, in Bulletin dEtudes Arabes, Vol 7, pp 11-15, extracted from De Slanes edition, vol II, pp 91-4;
In an empire that has just been founded, taxes are light, and yet bring much revenue. However, when it (the empire) approaches its end, they become heavy and bring very little revenue. Here is the reason: if the founders of the empire follow the road of religion, they only apply the taxes authorized by Divine law, that includes Zaquat (alms), Kharaj (land tax), and Djizyia. The amount of each is not too hard to bear, as everybody knows that tax on corn and livestock is not heavy; it is the same for Djizia and Kharaj. The rate of such taxes is fixed by law and so cannot be raised. If the empire is founded on a tribal system and conquest, civilisation must have been first that of a nomadic sort. The impact of such civilisation is to engage the rulers towards kindness, forbearance, and indifference towards the acquisition of wealth, except in rare cases. Thus, taxes and personal duties which finance the revenues of the empire are light. This being the case, the subjects carry their tasks with energy and enthusiasm. Work on the land grows because everyone wants to make the most of the lightness of the taxes, and this in turn raises the numbers of those engaged in the task, hence raising the revenues of the state. When the empire has endured a rather long period, under many successive sovereigns, the heads of states acquire more ability in their business, and lose with their habits (links with) nomadic life. Then simplicity of manners, forbearance, and casualness which characterised them hitherto disappear. The administration becomes more demanding and harsh; sedentary customs promote shrewdness amidst state employees, and they become more able men of business. And as they experience well being and pleasure, they also indulge in a life of luxury, and acquire new needs. This drives them to raise taxes on all, including farmers. They want taxes to bring in more revenues to the state. They also impose duties on farm products on sales in towns and cities. Expenditure on luxuries gradually rise in the government, and as the needs of the state increase, taxes rise further, and become heavier to bear by the people. This charge appears, however, as an obligation due to the fact that the increase has been imposed gradually, without it being too much noticed, and who did it remaining unseen. The increase, thus, taking the form of an obligation long accustomed to. With time, taxes grow beyond the bearable, and destroy in farmers the urge and love for work. When they compare their charges and expenses with what their profits, they become disheartened; and so many leave farming. This leads directly to a fall in taxes collected by the state, which affects its revenues. Sometimes, when the heads of states notice such a fall, they believe they can resolve it by raising taxes further, and so they do more and more until the point is reached whereby no profit could any longer be made by farmers. All charges and taxes leave no hope whatsoever of any profit. In the meantime, the government is still raising taxes. Farming is now abandoned. Farmers leave the land which has become worthless.

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All ill consequences fall upon the state The reader thus gathers that the best way to make agriculture prosper is to reduce as much as possible the charges that the state imposes. Then farmers work with enthusiasm knowing the great benefits they derive-and God is the Master of all Things.
References
1 2
Not to be confounded with George Maqdisi, a scholar of our time, and the expert on the madrassa. Al-Muqaddasi: Ahsan at-taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim; is in M.J. de Goeje ed., Bibliotheca geographorum arabicum,
nd
edition., III (Leiden, 1906); a partial French translation is by Andre Miquel, Institut Francais de Damas,
Damascus, 1963. There are also English and Urdu versions of the work.
3 4 5
J.H. Kramers: Analecta Orientalia, i, 182-3. D.M. Dunlop: Arab civilisation to AD 1500; Longman, 1971. S.M. AhmadL Al-Maqdisi, in Dictionary of Scientific Biography, C.C. Gillispie editor in Chief, Charles Al-Muqaddasi: The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions , a translation of his Ahsan by B.A. Ibid. at p. 314. Ibid, at pp. 365-6. Ibid, at p.93. Ibid at p. 215. Ibid;, pp 95-6. For more and nearly everything on the subject of Islamic weights and measures, see the article by
Scribners Sons, New York, , Vol 9; at p. 88.

6
Collins, Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, Garnet Publishing Limited, Reading, 1994. At p.189.
7 8 9
10 11 12
Eliyahu Ashtor: Levantine Weights and standard parcels, A contribution to the Metrology of the later Middle Ages, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 45, 1982; pp. 471-88.
13
A. Miquel: La Geographie Humaine du Monde Musulman, Vol 4, Ecole des hautes Etudes en Sciences Al-Muqaddasi: The Best Divisions, tr B.A. Collins, op cit, at p. 143. A. Miquel: La Geographie, op cit, pp 237-9. Ibid, at, p. 221. Al-Muqaddasi, the Best Divisions, op cit, at p.83. Ibid at p. 190. A. Miquel: La Geographie, op cit, p. 347.
Sociales, Paris, 1988.

14 15 16 17 18 19
Bibliography -S.M. AhmadL Al-Maqdisi, in Dictionary of Scientific Biography , C.C. Gillispie editor in Chief, Charles Scribners Sons, New York, , Vol 9. -Eliyahu Ashtor: Levantine Weights and standard parcels, A contribution to the Metrology of the later Middle Ages, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 45, 1982; pp. 471-88. -D.M. Dunlop: Arab civilisation to AD 1500; Longman, 1971. -Ibn Khaldun: Muqqadima:On the cause which increases or reduces the revenues of empire, in Bulletin dEtudes Arabes, Vol 7, pp 11-15, extracted from De Slanes edition, vol II, pp 91-4; -J.H. Kramers: Analecta Orientalia, i, 182-3. A. Miquel: La Geographie Humaine du Monde Musulman, Vol 4, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences

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Sociales, Paris, 1988. -Al-Muqaddasi: Ahsan at-taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim; is in M.J. de Goeje ed., Bibliotheca geographorum arabicum, 2nd edition., III (Leiden, 1906); a partial French translation is by Andre Miquel, Institut Francais de Damas, Damascus, 1963. There are also English and Urdu versions of the work. -Al-Muqaddasi: The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions, a translation of his Ahsan by B.A. Collins, Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, Garnet Publishing Limited, Reading, 1994.

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ARCHTECTURE
The Arch That Never Sleeps
Rabah Saoud BA, MPhil, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Ahmed Salem BSc May 2002 4031 FSTC Limited, 2002 2003
FSTC Limited
The Arch That Never Sleeps May 2002
A R CHIT E CT UR E
THE ARCH THAT NEVER SLEEPS

Abstract Perhaps no culture mastered the design and use of the arch more than the Muslims. Inheriting earlier arch forms from the Greeks and the Romans, Muslims developed a variety of new shapes including the horseshoe, multi-foil, pointed and the ogee arches. The passion they had for this motif is due to the regularly mystical/ symbolic meanings associated with it, as well as its functional advantages. Their architecture uses it as a major structural and decorative feature. The arch soon spread to all cultures progressively becoming a global architectural motif. This article explores the significance of the arch, Muslims' understanding of it, and its transfer to Europe.
1. Introduction The arch was an essential element of the architecture of early civilisations. The Egyptians and the Greeks used lintels, but the Romans and later the Byzantines adopted the semi-circular arch. Structurally the thrust, in a simple arch, is exerted vertically by the weight of the masonry and any other superimposed loads above the arch, and horizontally by the cumulative wedge action of the voussoirs. This action gives the arch elasticity, which enables it to reach a balance corresponding to the thrust. This condition is comparable to that of a hanging load chain; " the arch stands as the load chain hangs". In the Muslim world this characteristic is better described by the proverb " the arch never sleeps ". On the other hand, these characteristics reduced the thrust on a few points, but these could be easily enforced by other means. This relieved support to other areas and permitted the construction of lighter walls and vaults, saving a considerable amount of material. Visually the arch was an important decorative feature that was transmitted from architectural decoration to other forms of art, especially furniture. 2. The Muslim Adoption and Mastery of the Arch The Muslims mastered the use and design of the arch more than any other civilisation. Scot (1904) related their love for this motif to their love of the palm tree. They imitated the curve of its graceful branches in their constructions. Nevertheless, one cannot ignore the mystic meaning derived from the spherical nature of the universe and the divine symbolism of the dome from which the arch is derived. The Muslims' knowledge of geometry and laws of statics must also have played a leading role in their choices of various types of arch. The arch was first employed for structural and functional purposes but progressively it became used for decorative purposes. 2.1 The Horseshoe Arch The first Muslim adaptation and modification of the design of the arch was the invention of the horseshoe arch. This was first employed in the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus (706-715, figure 1) (Briggs, 1924). There is a suggestion that the horseshoe arch was derived from the symbolic use of the horseshoe in earlier ages where it represented a superstitious emblem for many societies (Jairazbhoy, 1973). The use of

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the horseshoe as a protector against the evil eye in North Africa is maintained to the present day. They are often mounted onto front doors of houses. A similar symbolic use is manifest in India and many other parts of the world. However, this suggestion should be dismissed because Islam categorically rejected such superstitious beliefs; they could not have been an inspiration to the early Muslims when they designed this arch. The horseshoe arch allowed more height then the classical (semi-circular) arch as well as better aesthetic and decorative use. Muslims used this arch to develop their famous ultra-semicircular arch, around which the whole of Muslim architecture evolved 1. Figure1. Horseshoe arches, Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
The introduction of the horseshoe arch into the Great Mosque of Cordoba in Spain (Great Mosque 756-796, figure 2) opened the way for its transmission to Europe through the northern Christian regions of Andalusia. This process started with the Mozarabs (Spanish Christians living in Andalusia) migrating between Andalusia and Northern Christian areas of Spain. Among these were artists, scholars, builders and architects who brought with them Muslim methods of building and architectural forms and motifs including the horseshoe arch (Trend, 1931). The result was the appearance, in northern Spanish regions, of a large number of religious edifices in a Moorish style with horseshoe arches. For instance, St Miguel de Escalada, near Leon, was built by monks arriving from Cordoba in 913. Among the features it had were the melon shaped domes and the horseshoe arches (Dodds, 1994). The horseshoe arch had also been illustrated by Mozarabs in their illuminated manuscripts such as the one of Beatus of Lebana. Historic sources indicate that the illuminator of this manuscript, named Magins, worked at the monastery of St Miguel de Esacalda. The church of St Cebrian de Mazote, also founded by Mozarab Cordoban monks in 921, reveals similar planning, structural and decorative elements of that of St Miguel de Escalada with a basilica plan, horseshoe arches, tripartite choir and horseshoe shaped apses (Dodds, 1994).

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Figure 2. The horseshoe and the cinqfoil arches on main faade, Cordoba Mosque.
2.2 The Transverse Arch Further development came in the 8th century when Muslims used, for the first time, the transverse arch in the Palace of Ukhaidir (720-800) setting precedent for its universal use. After the adoption of the pier as a replacement of the classical column, Europe embraced this arch in the 11th century. Here, the arch was thrown from each pier of the arcade to the wall of the aisle ( figure 3). There is no clear evidence on how and when this arch was transmitted to Europe where it is considered to be the first step revolutionising the way churches were built. The use of the transverse arch over the nave not only provided greater safety and durability but also gave the final shape of the nave especially in terms of height and roof. This feature represents a fundamental structural step in the process of development of Gothic. It led to the adoption of ribbed vaulting which progressively enabled the vaulting of the nave and evolving the compound. Figure 3. Arcade of transverse arches in Mahdia Mosque (Tunisia, 11th century).

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2.3 The Pointed Arch Rivoira (1914) believed that the pointed arch first occurred in India, carved out of some solid blocks in some seventh century temples concurring with Havell (1913) who related the pointed arch to the niches of early Buddhist temples. They pointed out that Indian artists are known to have worked for Harun-ar-Rashid in Baghdad and Indian merchandise was sent to Egypt and Syria. However, Indian origin of the pointed arch and its passage to Syria and Egypt through Sassanid Iran has been already dismissed by Hill (1993), who rightly believed in the Muslim origin of the pointed arch. The first appearance of the pointed arch in the Muslim World was traced to the Al-Aqsa Mosque 2 (780, figure 4), the Ukhaidir Palace (Iraq, 778), the Ramlah Cistern (789) and the Jussaq Al-Khaqani Palace (Samara, 836), all of which where Abbassid buildings. However, the Ibn Tulun Mosque (Egypt, 879) remains the first building where the pointed arch was used constructively and systematically. The main advantage of the pointed arch was that it concentrated the thrust of the vault on a narrow vertical line that could be supported by flying buttresses, a major feature of European Gothic architecture. The pointed arch enabled reduction of the lateral thrust on the foundations. In Gothic architecture, it enabled architects to lighten the walls and buttresses, which had to be massive to support earlier semicircular arches 3. Additionally, it resolved the difficulty of achieving level crowns in the arches of the vault, allowing the vault to become suitable for any ground plan. To tackle the problem of height, Muslims employed a variety of techniques, in addition to the pointed arch. The method used in Kairawan Mosque 4 (836) is revealing. Here, in order to gain a crown level of height, masons have raised the arcade of narrow areas above the arcade of wider areas as shown in figure 5 . In the Great Mosque of Cordoba, a more impressive method consisting of intersecting arches and the construction of a second arcade on top of a first lower level arcade was introduced ( figures 6 & 7). These clearly show the genius as well as the rational thinking in addressing various architectural problems.
Figure 4. The Al-Aqsa Mosque inspired the Crusaders to imitate the Muslim pointed arch in Europe.

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Figure 5. Raised arcades, Kairawan method.
Figure 6. Raised semi-circular arches, Cordoba Mosque.
Figure 7. Trifoil and semi-circular arches, Cordoba Mosque.

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3. Transmission of the Pointed Arch Historic sources indicate that Sicily played the role of intermediary for the transmission of many Muslim motifs including the pointed arch. Conant (1954) established the Sicilian connection through Amalfitan merchants who had trade links with Egypt where the pointed arch of the Ibn Tulun Mosque (figure 8) must have been the source. White (1971) endorsed this theory 5 suggesting that it was transmitted to Amalfi in 1000 through commercial and trade ties with Egypt. It was first used in the porch of the Abbey of Monte Cassimo in 1071. This challenges the idea widely accepted in Europe that the pointed arch, on which Gothic architecture was based, was an invention of European architects in their efforts to overcome the static problems in Romanesque vaulting. It is worth noting that while works were being carried out, Monte Cassimo became the retiring place for the Tunisian Christian scholar, Constantine the African. A physician and a distinguished scholar in mathematics, science, and theology, with large experience of Muslim building techniques and forms in Fatimid North Africa, Constantine would have undoubtedly advised on the building process. Furthermore, according to Meyerhof (1931), Constantine had an assistant Arab monk nicknamed "the Saracen" who helped him in translating Arabic books. Such connections give credibility to this theory.
Figure 8. Ibn Tulun Mosque was a source for the transfer of the pointed arch to Europe.
In 1083, St. Hugh, the Abbot of Cluny (Southern France) visited Monte Cassimo, five years before the work on the third Church of Cluny started (1088-1095). Conant (1954) revealed that the new church of Cluny used some 150 pointed arches in the aisles. Other Muslim features included the use of catenary vaulting, polyfoil cusps framing the triforium arches, and the rectangular frame enclosing the arch of the gate (1109-1115), known as Ijmiz, (destroyed in 1810). In 1130, Abbot Suger visited Cluny and between 1135 and 1144 he and his engineers built St Denis, the first Gothic building.

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The adoption by Cluny and Monte Cassimo, the two most influential churches in Europe, of the pointed arch and other Muslim forms encouraged the rest of Christian Europe to adopt it leading to its rapid spread across much of France, especially the south; later to Germany in the mid 12th century (Heer 1962, p.332), and eventually to the rest of Europe. 4. Conclusion This brief story is an example of the way a great number of Muslim architectural elements found their way to Europe where they provided solutions to many practical and intellectual problems. The Muslim arch was described as to never sleep due to its structural and decorative functions as well as its universal adaptability. A survey of world architecture would show its widespread use whether in the form of a semicircular, horseshoe, pointed, ogee, cusped or multi-foil arch. The arch demonstrates the positive contribution of Muslim architects to human civilisation.
Notes: 1 The Romans were the first to use it but the Muslims improved its form. 2 Al-Aqsa was built by Omar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph of Islam in 632. It was later improved in 780. 3 The semi-circular vaulting caused some static problems in covering such large and irregular areas. 4 Originally built between 670-675. 5 She also traced the pointed arch to India in the second century AD. According to her, it was transmitted to Persia and then to Syria and Egypt. References: Arnold, T. et al. (1931), The Legacy of Islam , Oxford University Press. pp.155-179. Briggs, M.S. (1924) Muhammadan Architecture in Egypt and Palestine, Clarendon Press, Oxford. Conant, K. (1954) Medieval Academy Excavations at Cluny , Speculum, Vol.39. Dodds, J.D. (1994) Architecture and Ideology in early Medieval Spain, Pennsylvania State University Press, USA. Havell, E.B. (1913) Indian Architecture: its psychology, structure, and history from the first', J.Murray, London. Heer, F. (1962) The Medieval World- Europe 1100-1350, Translated from German by Janet Sowd Heimer, Weidenfield & Nicholson, London. Hill, D. (1993) Islamic Science and Engineering , Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh. Jairazbhoy, R.A. (1972) An Outline of Islamic Architecture, Asia publishing House, Bombay.

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Meyerhof, M. (1931) Science and Medicine , Arnold, T. et al. (1931), The Legacy of Islam, Oxford University Press, pp.311-355. White Lynn Jr. (1971) Cultural Climates and Technological Advances in the Middle Ages, Viator, Vol.2, pp.171-201 Richmond,E.T. ((1926) Moslem Architecture, 623-1516: some causes and consequences, The Royal Asiatic society, London. Rivoira, G.T. (1914) Moslem architecture: its origins and development', Oxford University Press, London; H. Milford, New York. Scott, S. P. (1904) History of the Moorish Empire in Europe, 3 volumes, J. B. Lippincott company. Trend, J.B. (1931) Spain and Portugal, T. Arnold et al. (eds), The Legacy of Islam, Oxford University Press, pp.1-39.

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Urinary Stone Disease in Arabian Medicine
A M Dajani, F.R.C.S(Glas.) Consultant Urologist, Amman, Jordan Professor Salim Al-Hassani Professor Talip Alp Ahmed Salem BSc August 2002 4040 FSTC Limited, 2002 2003
FSTC Limited
Urinary Stone Disease in Arabian Medicine August 2002
URINARY STONE DISEASE IN ARABIAN MEDICINE

ABSTRACT Urinary stone disease (urolithiasis) was discussed in great detail in Arabian Medicine. Explanations given by Ibn Qurrah, Al Razi, Ibn Sina and Al Zahrawi about the formation and growth of urinary stones do not basically differ from our modern concepts. Pain and findings on uroscopy were carefully discussed and explained. Differential diagnosis between colitis and kidney stone, and between kidney and bladder stones was very clearly made. Some operations on bladder stones were described and the first lithotriptor to break an obstructing urethral stone was invented by the great Muslim surgeon Al-Zahrawi. To prevent recurrence of stones they advised diuretics and plenty of fluids, avoiding heavy foods and in particular dairy products. Finally, Arabian Medicine pharmacology and pharmacopeia are rich in drugs and compounds prescribed for the treatment and breaking of urinary stones. Includes 2 figures, 3 tables and 12 references
Introduction Urinary stone disease had been known in the Middle East since time immortal. A stone was found in an Egyptian mummy
(1)
and Elliot Smith discovered a stone in the pelvis of a skeleton at El Amarah in Egypt
(2)
more than 7,000 years old
. Description of stone disease and operations on bladder stones appeared in

(1)
Hindu civilisation in the form of great poems called Vedas or Samhitas
. More advanced and documented
material is found in Greco-Roman medicine and Galen tops the list of the physicians of that period. Muslim and Arabian physicians studied the treasures of ancient medicine, especially the Greek legacies, and by diligent work they added their own observations, experiments and deductions. During the golden age of Islamic civilisation (9th-12th C), medicine and health sciences flourished. It was during that period that the great physicians of Arabian medicine had lived and their well-documented studies about urinary stone disease had appeared. Aetiology of stones: The explanations given by Ibn Qurrah (d.901), Al Razi (Rhazes, d.932), Ibn Sina (Avicenna, d.1037)and Ibn Zuhr (Avezoar, d.1162) about the formation of stones, were all basically similar. All agreed that heavy food stuffs, dairy products and poor kidney function could be a cause Al-Qanun Ibn Sina
(5) (3,4,5,6)
. In his
explains
"A stone is formed by both a sticky stuff 'mucus, pus or blood'... and an
(5)
active force 'fever'.., the precipitates are caught together within whatever reaches from the filtrate... The inflammatory process petrifies the precipitate into a stone" cause, and that there was a familial tendency nowadays. Describing urine of a stone-former, they said "there may be a lot of deposit, reddish or yellowish gravel, the clearer it is and the less is the deposit, the harder is the stone" obstruct the mouth of the bladder"
(4) (5) (5)
. They thought outflow obstruction was also a
All these explanations are similar to what we know
... the patient passes blood with large
or coarse stone, but not with the small and soft one. Dysuria is more with the small one because it may and "the patient may urinate unconsciously... and rubs the tip of his
(4,5)
penis... and likes to urinate again because the bladder is irritated."
. Retention of urine... "precedes

(4)
filling if due to a urethral stone, while with bladder obstruction it occurs after filling"
Muslim physicians

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excelled in differential diagnosis. Table I shows the differentation between kidney and bladder stones, and ( Table II) shows the differences between colitis and renal pain. Graziani
(7)
thought that Ibn Jazlah (d.1080) had carried out research on kidney diseases at Al Adudi He dried up, weighed and examined the constitution of different stones. "A stone
Hospital in Baghdad.
weighed more than 33 Dirhams i.e. 100.61 gm when removed from the bladder, three days later when it was dry, it weighed 4.46 gms." Treatment of stone disease: Muslim physicians differentiated between treatment of pain by analgesics and the definitive treatment by drugs which disintegrate stones or facilitate their passage... Arabian pharmacopia is rich in drugs, single or compound, used for treatment of stones ( Table III). We failed to find any description of surgical treatment of kidney stones, though the discouragement by Ibn Sina to operate may indicate that some sort of surgery was practised. However, Wickham and Miller
(8)
quoted Wolfgang Gosche (1556) attributing the first operation of PCNL to the Arabian physician Ibn Serabion who...(is said to have removed a kidney stone by pushing a red hot iron bar into the loin of a patient and delivered the kidney stone out through the tract) According to Ibn al Quff more easily felt. In case of retention by bladder stones Ibn Sina
(5) (9) (8)
, surgical treatment of large bladder stones was easier than that of small ones
because the large one either stops in the urethra or is always in the cavity of the bladder.., and it can be
explains "If the patient lies on his back and his buttocks
are raised and he was shaken, the stone moves away from the passageway... urine streams out, it may also be easy to push away the stone by a finger in the rectum... If that does not work, use a catheter to push the stone back If it was difficult to be passed do not push hard." This is quite similar to how modern urologists handle an obstructing posterior urethral stone. They push it back either by a catheter or endosciopically. Al Zahrawi
(10)
(d.1013), otherwise known as Alzahravius or Albacasir, according to Springle
(11)
was the first
to perform transvaginal cystolithotomy. He devoted Chapter LX and Chapter LXI of his great book (Al Tasreef) for removal of stones. However, the operation to remove bladder stones or "The Lesser Operation" (Apparatus Minor) as it was called in the Middle Ages which he described was essentially similar to the one in the Sushruta Samhita in Hindu Medicine. Both Al Razi and Al Zahrawi stressed that the inner incision should be smaller than the external one to prevent leakage of urine; the stones should not be pulled out but extracted by forceps, and the big one should be broken and then delivered out bit by bit. This demonstrates their care to avoid damage to the tissues, excessive bleeding and formation of urinary fistula, most likely following the advice of Hindu Medicine; and to prevent its reformation every piece should be removed (...because even if one is left it will increase in size) Ibn Al Quff
(9) (4)
, an advice we stress upon nowadays!
the Jordanian-born surgeon, pointed out the difficulty of surgery in a woman "because she
may be a virgin, or shy, and a finger cannot be pushed into her vagina in search of the stone, or a big incision may be needed... and that is dangerous, or she may be pregnant and surgery will endanger her pregnancy."

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Al Zahrawi devised an instrument "Al Meshaab" ( Figure 1) for crushing an obstructing urethral stone: He describes "take a steel rod with a triangular sharp end ....tie a thread proximal to the stone lest it slips back. urine. Introduce it gently 'till it reaches the stone, turn it round to perforate it.... urine comes out If you do not succeed then do cutting." Commenting on this, Lewis and Spink
(12)
immediately, press on the stone from outside and crush it by your finger, it breaks and comes out with describes the originality of the instrument "This device of Albucasis does seem to have been in a manner a true lithotriptor many centuries earlier than the modern era and completely lost sight of and not even mentioned by the great middle-era surgeons Franco and Pare' nor by Fre're Come the doyen of genitourinary surgery." Ibn Zuhr
(6)
( Figure 2) improved on that device by fixing a diamond at the end of the steel rod
(6)
In
addition to the Meshaab, Al Zahrawi manufactured a knife to perform cystolithotomy ( Figure 2).
Figure 1: The Mibthaa (scalpel) for bladder stones.
Figure 2: The Meshaab for breaking an obstructing urethral stone.
Both Al Zahrawi and Al Razi advised pulling the skin forward before incising over a urethral stone... preventing the formation of a fistula, and advised meatotomy for a stone stuck at the tip... avoiding forceful extraction ...to avoid stricture formation. Prevention of recurrence: Arabian physicians advised against eating heavy and rich foods and thick heavy drinks. As we do nowadays they advised drinking plenty of fluids and diuretics.

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Closing remarks This review of some of the contributions of Arabian Medicine to urinary stone disease is far from being complete and is a small part of the voluminous works of Muslim and Arabian physicians. We believe that civilisation had developed and advanced and is progressing by the continuous contributions of the different nations and races.
Table 1 Differentiation between kidney stone and bladder stone Kidney stone Description Softer, smaller, reddish Bladder stone Harder, larger, grey-greyish white, coarse, maybe small particles, may be multiple. Difficult to break. Patient Pain Obese, elderly Worse during formation or migration to bladder. Radiation to groin means migration, stops when in bladder Urine Turbid, clears later, or remains turbid with deposit Usually thin (boys), Infancy - adolescence Less, unless causing retention. itching and pain along the penis and its base, the child plays with his penis. Pain in hypogastrium. Lighter colour, deposit, may contain gravel. Bloody if stone is big/coarse. Frequency+dysuria with small one (at neck). Associated complaint Parsthesias over hpsilateral thigh and testis Prolapse of rectum?

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Table 2 Differentiation between colonic pain and renal plain Colonic Severity Site Severe Begins down on the right, extends up to the left, more in front and lower abdomen Time Radiation Chills Medicines to fragment stones and fluids Stools Accompanying complaint: Pain-lower limbs & back Anorexia, bikiary vomit, drowsiness Relief by vomiting Borborygmi/Constipation Turbid urine Causes: Diet and overeating More More Precede Precedes, present Dehydration Less Less Less More Hard scybala, or like dung of cows May be no constipation Sudden, worse with food, eases on defecation To any part of the abdomen Absent No effect Renal Little, pricking like thorns Begins high in the back, with difficult urination, extends slightly downwards, pain in ipsilateral testicle Gradual, sever at the end, may become worse on defecation Steady in its place Frequent May help

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Table 3 Herbs and plants used by Muslim Physicians Diuretics Artemesia absenthium Ammoniacum resina Cucumis melo var. flexuosus (seeds) Ficus carica Oppanax Eroca sativa Mill Ceratonia siliqua Punica grantum Crocus sp. Andropogon nardus Sagapenum Fumaria officinalis Alkekenge Struthium Malva sylvestris Apium graveolen Cuminum syminum Water of chick peas Prunus amygdalis Prunus mahaleb Capparis Alkekenge rubus sanctus Anethum graveolens Disintegration of stones Solidago vira Aurea Cucumis melo Juglans regia Matricaria chamomlla Dribbling of urine Dysuria To increase sperms Phoenix dactylifer

Page 7 of 8
References 1-Herman,J.R.: Urology A View Through Retrospectroscope, Medical Department, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, Evanston, SanFrancisco, London, 1973. 2-Riches,E.: The History of Llithotomy and Lithotrity. Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England(1988),185-199. 3-Ibn Qurrah,T.: "Al Thakhira Fi Tib".Cairo Press,1928,p.107. 4-Al Razi,M.A.:"Al Hawi Fi Tib".New Series,Ottoman Department of Education,4,10.1st Ed.,Hydar Abad Deccan,Vol.X,pp125,140,144 &146. 5-Ibn Sina: "Al Qanun"Vol.2.Dar Sader, Beirut. 6-Ibn Zuhr,Abu Marwan ibn A/M.: "Al Tayseer fil Mudawat wat Tadbeer,1stEd.,Tx FKRMGS4115sy, 1983, p.297. 7-Graziani,J.S. :Arabic Medicine in the Eleventh C.As Represented in TheWorks of Ibn Jazlah.Hamdard Academy,Hamdard Foundation,Pakistan,Karachi18,1980,pp37 &139. 8-Wickham J.E. and Miller, R.A.: Percutaneous Renal Surgery. Churchill, Livingstone, Edinburgh, London ,Melbourne, NewYork.(1983),Chapter 5,p.108. 9-Ibn Al Quff: "Al Omdah fil Geraha".Ottoman Department Of Education,!st Ed.,Haydar Abad
Deccan,Vol.II,p.209. 10-Al Zahrawi A.: "Al Tasreef".Microfilm 610,956, Jordan University Library,A mman, Jordan. 11-Springle,cited by Khairallah,A.: "Introduction to Study of Contribution of Arabs To Medicine and Related Sciences".American Press,Beirut,1946. 12-Spink,M.S.and Lewis,G.L.: Albucassis on Surgery and Instruments.London,Wellcome Institute of History of Medicine ,Vol.Xii,NewSeries,1973.p.411.

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Piri Reis
World Maps and Kitab I-Bahriye (The Book of Sea Lore)
Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Ahmed Salem BSc July 2002 4022 FSTC Limited 2002, 2003
FSTC Limited
Piri Reiss World Maps and Kitab I-Bahriye July 2002
PIRI REISS WORLD MAPS AND KITAB I-BAHRIYE

Introduction The Turkish navy are famous for their endless battles fought for Islam, from around the late eleventh century to the twentieth, from the most further western parts of the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean and the Straight of Hormuz. 1 There is, however, another aspect of Turkish naval activity, that is their contribution to the wider subject of geography and nautical science. This aspect, however, like much else of Islamic science has been completely set aside. Hess puts it that European historians were only preoccupied with the identification of their own history. They first unravelled `the dramatic story of the oceanic voyages, their discoveries, and their commercial and colonial empires, and only stopped to consider how Muslim actions influenced the course of European history. Once such questions were answered, the study of Islamic history became the task of small, specialized disciplines, such as Oriental studies, which occupied a position in the periphery of the Western historical profession. 2 And the successful imperial expansion of Western states in Islamic territories during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Hess adds, `confirmed for most Europeans the idea that the history of Islam, let alone the deeds of Ottoman sultans, had little influence on the expansion of the West. 3 Although Hess observes one or two improvements by the time he was writing, the picture was still the same as nearly a decade later after him, Brice and Imber in a note addressed to the Geographical Journal, observed that although European charts of the Mediterraneen have received much focus, none has seriously considered similar Turkish maps. 4 Even worse, European scholars have dismissed Turkish works as being of Italian origin imported into the Ottoman Empire, or the work of Italian renegades, which Brice and Imber went on to demonstrate was without any foundation of veracity. 5 Turkish nautical science was much in advance of its time, though. Hess notes that in 1517 Piri Reis presented his famous map of the New World to the Sultan, giving the Ottomans, well before many European rulers, an accurate description of the American discoveries as well as details about the circumnavigation of Africa. 6 Salman Reis, a year later, added more
7
onto
that.
Goodrich,
in
pioneering work, also went a long way to correct the overall impression, giving excellent accounts of the Ottoman descriptions of the New World as it was then being discovered in all its strangeness, variety and richness.
http://www.prep.mcneese.edu/engr/engr321/preis/afet/afet0.htm

Page 2 of 11
Amidst the Turkish men of the sea of great repute, Piri Reis is by far the one with the greatest legacy. There are two entries on him in the Encyclopaedia of Islam. The first by F. Babinger 8 and the second by Soucek. 9 By far, Souceks entry is much richer, more informative and competently written. That of Barbinger, also out-dated, still offers a good variety of notes of primary sources likely to serve a devotee or researcher. There is a further entry on Piri Reis in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography by Tekeli. 10 On the web, there is an excellent contribution by professor Afetinan, pages of text complemented by some first class maps at http://www.prep.mcneese.edu/engr/engr321/preis/afet/afet0.htm one such map, a very glossy Piri Reis oldest map of America at: http://www.prep.mcneese.edu/engr/engr321/preis/afet/pmapsm.jpg Piri Reis the Naval Commander Piri Reis was born towards 1465 in Gallipoli. He began his maritime life under the command of his, then, illustrious uncle, Kemal Reis toward the end of the fifteenth and early centuries. He fought many naval battles alongside his uncle, and later also served under Khair eddin Barbarossa. Eventually, he led the Ottoman fleet fighting the Portuguese in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. In between his wars, he retired to Gallipoli to devise a first World map, in 1513, then his two versions of Kitab I-Bahriye (1521 and 1526), and then his second World Map in 1528-29. Mystery surrounds his long silence from between 1528, when he made the second of the two maps, and his re-appearing in the mid 16th as a captain of the Ottoman fleet in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. 11 The World Maps Piri Reiss first World Map in 1513, of which only one fragment is left shows the Atlantic with the adjacent coasts of Europe, Africa and the New World. The second World map from 1528-29, of which about one sixth has survived, covers the north western part of the Atlantic, and the New World from Venezuela to New Found Land as well as the southern tip of Greenland. The fragment of the first World map discovered in 1929 at the Topkapi Museum palace, signed by Piri Reis, and dated Muharram 919 (9 March-7 April 1513) is only part of the world of the map which the author handed over to the Sultan Selim in Cairo in the year 1517. The German scholar, P. Kahle, had made a thorough analysis and description of it 12, observing that Piri Reis was an excellent and reliable cartographer. Kahle also points out that the whole picture of Columbus has been distorted, as nearly all the important documents related to him, and in particular his ships journal, have been preserved not in their original but in abstracts and edited works, mostly by Bishop Las Casas. 13 Long after Kahle, in the mid 1960s, Hapgood returned to the subject of the Topkapi map, 14 but amazed by the richness of the map, and so convinced he was that Muslim cartography was poor, he attributed it to an advanced civilization dating from the ice age. 15 Hapgoods position seems now to edge on the ridiculous, not just for its exuberant assertions, and his stretching of evidence to beyond the fictional, but also in view of recent works on the history of mapping. The recent voluminous work by Harley and Woodward, by far the best on the subject, shows in rich detail, the meritorious role of Muslim cartography and nautical science. 16 As for Kahles original find, one regret he expresses, was that the fragment found in the Topkapi Museum was only one from an original map, which included the Seven seas, (Mediterranean, India, Persia, East Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Red Sea), thats the world in its vastness, and at a very early date. The search for the other parts has remained fruitless. 17

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Kitab I-Bahriye The matter of Piri Reis World Map, however exciting, can be the object of a subsequent study; here, focus will be placed on his Kitab i-Bahriye. Kahle, again, pioneered the study of this work in two volumes. 18 His version is in German only, but there have been some very good contributions to the subject by Soucek most of all. 19 Mantran also brought his contribution, looking at the Kitab i-Bahriyes description of the coasts of Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia and France. 20 Esin made a good task of the Tunisian coast, 21 but on this latter country, it is Souceks account which really gives most satisfaction. 22 There are a few Italian contributions by Bausani devoted to the Italian coast, 23 and of specific parts of it, the Venetian coast, the Adriatic and Trieste. 24 The Indian Ocean, too, is subject of interest.25 And Goodrich informs that the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism has recently (1988-91) published a four volume book of such Kitab. 26 It includes a colour facsimile of the said manuscript, each page being a transliteration of the Ottoman text into the Latin alphabet, a translation into modern Turkish, and one into English. 27 Kitab I-bahriye has also aroused the interest of archaeologists, geographers, historians, linguists. 28 There are two versions of the Kitab. The first dates from 1521 and the second from five years later. There are many differences between the two. The first was primarily aimed for sailors, the second, on the other hand, was rather more a piece of luxury; which Piri Reis offered as a gift to the Sultan. It was endowed with craft designs, its maps drawns by master calligraphers and painters, and even seen by wealthy Ottomans of the sixteenth as an outstanding example of bookmaking. 29 For a century or more manuscript copies were produced, tending to become ever more luxurious, prized items for collectors and gifts for important people. 30 Its luxury aspect apart, this version also gives good descriptions of matters of maritime interest such as storms, the compass, portolan charts, astronomical navigation, the worlds oceans, and the lands surrounding them. Interestingly it also refers to the European voyages of discovery, including the Portuguese entry in the Indian Ocean and Columbuss discovery of the New World. 31 This version also includes two hundred and nineteen detail charts of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, and another three of the Marmara Sea without text.32 There are around thirty manuscripts of the Kitab al-Bahriye scattered all over libraries in Europe. Most manuscripts (two third) are of the first version. Soucek gives an excellent inventory of the location and details of both versions, 33 amongst which are the following:
First version:
Istanbul Topkapi Sarayi, Bibliotheque, ms Bagdad 337 Istanbul Bibliotheque Nuruosmaniye, ms 2990 Istanbul Bibliotheque Suleymaniye, ms Aya Sofya 2605 Bologna, Bibliotheque de lUniversite, collection marsili, ms 3612. Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, ms H.O.192. Dresden, Staatbibliothek, ms. Eb 389. Paris, Bibliotheque nationale, suppl.turc 220. London, British Museum, ms. Oriental 4131. Oxford, Bodleian library, ms Orville X infra. USA, private collection.

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2nd version:
Istanbul, Topkapi sarayi, Bibliothque, ms. Hazine 642. Istanbul, Bibliotheque Koprulu Zade fazil Ahmad pasa, ms. 171. Istanbul, Bibliotheque Suleymaniye, ms Aya Sofya 3161. Paris Bibliotheque nationale suppl. Turc 956.
Nautical instructions in Kitab I-Bayrye
Kitab-i balhriye translated by Hess as Book of Sea Lore, 34 is what is commonly known as a portulan, i.e a
manual for nautical instructions for sailors, to give them good knowledge of the Mediterranean coast, islands, passes, straits, bays, where to shelter in face of sea perils, and how to approach ports, anchor, and also how provides them with directions, and precise distances between places. 35 It is the only full portolan, according to Goodrich of the two seas (Mediterranean and Eagean Seas) ever done, and caps both in text and in charts over two hundred years of development by Mediterranean mariners and scholars. 36 Whilst Brice observes that Kitab-I Bahriye provides `the fullest set known to us of the kind of large scale detailed surveys of segments of coast which, by means of joining overlaps and reduction to a standard scale, were used as the basis for the standard Mediterranean Portolan outline. 37And in his introduction, Piri Reis mentions that he had earlier designed a map of the world which deals with the very recent discoveries of the time, in the Indian and Chinese seas, discoveries known to nobody in the territory of the Rum. 38 He also gives reasons for making his compilation: 39 `God has not granted the possibility of mentioning all the aforementioned things (i.e cultivated and ruined places, harbours and waters around the shores and islands of the Mediterranean, and the reefs and shoals in the water) in a map since, when all is said and done, [a map] is a summary. Therefore experts in this science have drawn up what they call a `chart with a pair of compasses according to a scale of miles, and it is written directly on to a parchment. Therefore only three points can fit into a space of ten miles, and there are places of less than ten miles. On this reckoning only nine points will fit into a space of thirty miles. It is therefore impossible to include on the map a number of symbols, such as those showing cultivated and derelict places, harbours and waters, reefs and shoals in the sea, on what side of the aforementioned harbours they occur, for which winds the harbours are suitable and for which they are contrary, how many vessels they will contain and so on. If anyone objects, saying, Ìs it not possible to put it on several parchments? the answer is that the parchments would become so big as to be impossible to use on board ship. For this reason, cartographers draw on a parchment a map, which they can use for braod stretches of coast and large islands. But in confined spaces they will a pilot. And whilst Piri Reis notes that his Kitab will supply enough good detail to obviate the need for a pilot, this passage also shows his familiarity with small scale portolans of the Mediterranean, his kitab being designed to overcome their shortcomings. 40 The contents of Kitab-I Bahriye are organised in chapters, 132 of them in the first version, and 210 in the second. Each is accompanied by a map of the coast or the island in question. In Harleys, alongside

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Souceks article, are beautiful maps and charts of the island of Khios, the Port of Novograd, the city of Venice, the Island of Djerba etc 41 It was, indeed, Piri Reiss recurrent emphasis that text and map complement each other. 42 In places, Piri Reis follows his predecessors that include Bartolomoeo de la Sonetti (himself having found inspiring himself in previous Islamic sources). On the whole, though, Piri Reis brings many improvements. 43 The copy at the Walters Art gallery of Baltimore in the USA (W.658), which includes sixteen supplemental maps, attracts much focus by Goodrich. 44 Maps one, two, three and four bear an extraordinary beauty, and map three (f.40b) World Map in a Double Hemisphere, appears in no other manuscript. Furthermore, this map, Goodrich observes, 45 is very similar to the `Mappe Monde of 1724 by Guillaume de LIsle. 46 Map Four (f.41a) is the Oval World Map with the Atlantic Ocean in the Center. Goodrich also notes 47 that a later map (from 1601), Anoldo di Arnoldis two sheet world map, an oval projection called Ùniversale Descrittone Del Mondo is almost exactly the same as Piri Reis. 48 The wealth of information in Kitab I-Bahriye is articulated in the series of articles on the Mediterranean coasts. The French coast , 49 here briefly summarized, includes four maps, and delves on some important locations such as the city of Nice, or Monaco, which Piri Reis observes, offers good possibilities for anchorage. Marseilles, its port and coastline, receive greater focus; and from there, it is said, French naval expeditions are organized and launched. The Languedoc region, from Cape of Creus to Aigues Mortes, is inventoried in every single detail, too: its coastline, water ways, ports, distances, and much more. Kitab IBahriye thus offering, not just accurate information to sailors, but also pictures of places of times long gone to readers and researchers. The southern shores of the Mediterranean, however, capture even greater focus. They were the natural base of the Turks led by Kemal rais, and amongst whom was also Piri Reis. The description of the Tunisian coast, in particular, deserves thorough consideration. Mantrans50 study although adequate is less worthy than Souceks, which is here relied upon. 51 Soucek uses the term Tunisia but recognises that Ifriqyah is more correct (note 16, p. 132) as the focus stretches from Bejaia (todays Algeria in the West) to Tripoli (Libya) in the east. At the time, though, both places were under the Hafsid dynastic rule. The Muslims of North Africa, as a rule, welcomed the Turks not as aliens but as allies (p. 130.) At the time, the inhabitants of North Africa were, indeed, under constant threat of attacks by European pirates, who often came disguised as Muslims in order to capture Muslims (note 4, p. 161). Turkish seamen used those southern shores to rest between their expeditions to the north and to the West, and often wintered in one of the harbors or islands, and this is how Piri Reis became familiar with these shores (p. 130). 52 First describing Bejaia, he states that it was a handsome fortress situated on a pine tree covered mountain slope with one side on the shore. The citys ruler was called Abdurrahman, related to the Sultan of Tunis, a family descendant from Ommar Ibn al-Khatab, he holds (p.149). He observes that among all the cities of the Maghreb, none would offer a spectacle comparable to it. Piri Reis must have seen the Hammadite palaces and was so impressed by them before they were destroyed by the Spaniards when they took the city (note 2 page 160). When the Spaniards, indeed, took the city in 1510, they forced the population to flee to the mountains, settled part of it, and razed the rest (p.151). 53 Piri Reis moves onto Jijel and the region around, noting that it was under the rule of Bejaia (prior to the Spanish take over), under the protection of Aroudj Barbarosa (p. 157). Further to the east, his attention is caught by Stora, (now part of Skikda), its ruined fortress, and the large river which flows in front of its harbor, its water, he notes, tasting like that of the Nile. Before crossing into todays Tunisia, Piri Reis notes the presence of lions in the Bone (Annaba) region (p.169), people often falling victims to their hunger.54 Piri Reis begins his exploration of Tunisia proper with Tabarka, drawing attention that safe anchorage is on the western side, where it was navigable, and water

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deep enough. South of the island of Calta (Galite), he notes great danger when southern winds blow. The island, he points out has exceptionally good quality water `tasting of rose-water, (p.177), and includes innumerable flocks of wild goats. 55 Bizerte, on the other hand, impresses for its sturdy fortress, its good port for anchorage, and abundance of fish (p.185). Further on, at Tunis, great interest is in its climate, commerce, its rulers and their rivalries. The city has fifty thousand houses, each `resembling a sultans palace (p.197), and orchards and gardens fringe the city. In each of these gardens, were villas and kiosks, pools and fountains, and the scent of jasmine overpowering the air. There were water wheels, too, and so many fruit people hardly paid any attention to them. The city was visited by venitians and Geonese traders, their ships loading with goods before departing; their site of anchorage in the port nine miles in front of the city (p.197). The harbor of Tunis itself is a bay which opens toward the north, and anchorage, he points out, is seven fathoms deep, the bottom even, and the holding ground good. Further safety of the port is secured from enemy fleets by the means of a tower with a canon guarding it (p.199). To Cape Cartage, also called cape Marsa, uninterrupted anchorage is secure, and ships can winter all over the ports. Danger lies, however, in the vicinity of the island of Zembra, which is exposed most particularly to southerly winds, whilst rocks often covered by water (p 201) can be very treacherous. Along the Hammamet coast, the sea has shallow waters, an even bottom and white sand. The depth in the open sea, one mile offshore, is four to five fathoms. (p. 219). Continuing to Sousse, he points to the large fortress on the coast facing the North east; in front of it is a harbor built by ìnfidels; a man made breakwater, as in the Khios harbor, protecting it on the outer side. Water, however, is too shallow for large vessels (p.221). The island of Kerkena offers excellent anchorage conditions regardless of the severity of the sea storms; hence an ideal place for wintering (p.235). The same goes about Sfax. Around Kerkenna, however, he notes, is the constant threat of European pirates, especially where waters are deep enough to allow the incursion of their large boats. The island of Djerba, of all places, is what attracts most attention (pp 251-267). Piri Reis goes into the detail of its people, history, customs, economy, and, of course, of the sailing conditions close and around the island, including anchorage, nature of currents, tides, and risks to sailors. The focused attention on Djerba is the result of his earlier experiences, when, with his uncle Kemal, he conducted rescues of Muslim and Jewish refugees as they were being cleansed out of Spain following the Christian Re-conquest. 56 Now entering Libya, heis focus falls on Tripoli (pp. 273-285), its history, commerce, and its thriving port. He indicates how to sail there using a mountain as landmark. Anchorage at the city port is good, he notes, three islets on the northern side of the harbor, cutting down the wind velocity. By that time he is describing the city, though, it had already fallen into Spanish hands, something that aggrieved him so much. It was the loss of the place, of course, that of fellow companion seamen, and above all the destruction of the city fortress that compounded such grief. He notes (p.273) that in the Maghreb, no fortress was as handsome as Tripolis, all its towers and battlements as if cast from bees wax, and the walls painted in fresh lime. The fortress had fallen on July 25, 1510; and so much joy there was in Spain as in the rest of Christendom, that Pope Julius II went on a procession of thanks giving. 57
References
1
See For instance:
-M Longworth Dames: The Portuguese and Turks in the Indian Ocean in the 16th century in Journal of the
Royal Asiatic Society , 1921, pp 1-28.

-D.Ross: The Portuguese in India and Arabia between 1507 and 1517, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic

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Society 1921, pp 545-62.

-D. Ross The Portuguese in India and Arabia 1517-38; in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1922; pp 118.
2
A.C. Hess: The Evolution of the Ottoman Seaborne Empire in the Age of Oceanic Discoveries, 1453-1525; Ibid. W.Brice, and C. Imber: Turkish Charts in the Portolan Style, The Geographical Journal, 144 (1978); pp Ibid. A.C. Hess: The evolution, op cit, p. 1911. T.D. Goodrich: The Ottoman Turks and the New World; Wiesbaden , 1990. F. Babinger: Piri Reis, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, first edition (1913-30), vol vi; Leiden. E.J. Brill, pp 1070S. Soucek: Piri Reis, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, New edition, 1995, Vol VIII, Leiden, Brill, pp 308-9. S. Tekeli: `Piri Reis in Dictionary of Scientific Biography , vol 10; Editor C.S. Gillispie, Charles Scribners S.Soucek: A Propos du livre dinstructions nautiques de Piri Reis, Revue dEtudes Islamiques, Vol 41, pp P. Khale : Die verschollene Columbus-Karte von 1498 in einer turkishen Weltkarte von 1513, Berlin, 1933. Ibid; introduction. C. Hapgood: Maps of the Ancient sea Kings, Philadelphia, 1966. Ibid, p. J.B. Harley and D. Woodward: The History of Cartography, (vol two, book one: cartography in the P. Kahle: The lost, op cit, p.4. P. Kahle: Piri Reis, Bahriye, Berlin 1926, 2 vols. S. Soucek: A propos, op cit.
The American Historical Review,Vol 75, 1969-70, pp 1892-1919, at p. 1892.

3 4
528-529 at p. 528.
5 6 7 8
1
9 10
Sons, New York, 1974, pp 616-9.

11
241-55, at p. 242.
12
In English: P. Kahle: The Lost map of Columbus .

13 14 15 16
traditional Islamic and South Asian societies;) The University of Chicago Press, Chicago London, 1992.
17 18 19
-S. Soucek: Islamic Charting of the Mediterranean; in J.B. Harley and D. Woodward edt: History, op cit, vol 2, book one, pp 263-92.
20
Robert Mantran: La Description des cotes de lAlgerie dans le Kitab-I Bahriye de piri Reis, in Revue de
lOccident Musulman (ROM), Aix en Provence, Vol 15-16, 1973; pp 159-68.

R. Mantran: La Description des cotes de la Tunisie dans le Kitab I-Bahriye de Piri Reis, ROM, 23-24 (1977), pp 223-35. R. Mantran: Description des cotes Mediterraneene de la France dans le Kitab I Bahriye de Piri Reis, ROM, vol 39 (1985); pp 69-78. -R. Mantran: La Description des cotes de lEgypte de Kitab I-Bahriye: Annales Islamologiques, 17, 1981 pp. 287-310.
21 22 23 24
E. Esin: La Geographie Tunisienne de Piri Reis, in Cahiers de Tunisie, 29, (1981), pp. 585-605. S.Soucek: Tunisia in the Kitab-I Bahriye of Piri Reis, Archivum Ottomanicum, Vol 5, pp 129-296. Bausani A: LItalia nel Kitab I-Bayriye di Piri Reis, Il Vetro, 23 (1979), pp 173-96. Bausani A: Venezia e lAdriatico in un portolano Turco, Venezia e lOriente a cura di L.Lanciotti; Florence:
Olschki, 1987, pp 339-52. Bausani. A: La Costa Muggia-Triesto-Venezia nel portolano (1521-27) di Piri Reis, Studi Arabo-Islamici

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acura di C. Sarnelli Lergua. Naples: Istituto Universitario Orientale, 1985, (1988); pp 65-9.
25
Allibert. C: Une Description Turque de lOceon Indien au XVIem Siecle: LOcean indien Occidental dans le Thomas.D. Goodrich: Supplemental maps in the Kitab-I bahriye of Piri Reis, in Archivum Ottomanicum,
Kitab-I Bahriye de Piri Reis; Etudes Ocean Indien , 10 (1988); pp 9-51.

26
Vol 13 (1993-4), Verlag, Wiesbaden, pp 117-35.; at p. 119.

27
Kitab-I Bahriye, Piri Reis , 4 vols, ed., Ertugrul Zekai Okte, trans, Vahit Cabuk, Tulay Duran, and Robert
bragner, Historical research Foundation-Istambul Research Centre (Ankara: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Turkish Republic, 1988-91).
28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
P. Kahle: the Lost, op cit, p,2 T.Goodrich: Supplemental, op cit, at p.116. Ibid, p. 117. S. Soucek: Islamic Charting, op cit, at p. 272. T. Goodrich: Supplemental, op cit, p.117. A. Soucek,, A propos, op cit, pp 244-5. A.C. Hess: The Evolution, op cit. S. Soucek: A propos, op cit, pp 242. T. Goodrich: Supplemental, op cit, at p.117. W. Brice: Early Muslim Sea-Charts, in The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1977, pp 53-61, at p.56. P. Kahle: The Lost, op cit, p. 2. Derived from W.Brice-C. Imber: Turkish Charts, op cit, p 528. Ibid, p.529. S. Soucek: Islamic, op cit,, pp 277-80. Ibid at 277. See fig 1 in W. Brice: early Muslim sea-charts, op cit, at p. 57 T.Goodrich: Supplemental, op cit, p. 120. T.Goodrich, Supplemental, op cit, p.122. See R.V. Tooley: French mapping of America, London: Map Collectors Circle, 1967. T.Goodrich: Supplemental, op cit, p.122. See Rodney W.Shirley: The Mapping of the World, Early Printed World maps, 1472-1700; London; The R.Mantran: Description des cotes Mediterranneenes de la France, op cit. R. Mantran: La Description des cotes de la Tunisie op cit. S.Soucek: Tunisia in the Kitab-I Bahriye of Piri Reis, Archivum Ottomanicum, Vol 5, pp 129-296. With respect to this `Tunisian coast, Soucek notes, it is the first version of the Kitab which is much Bejaia was to be retaken forty five years later, in 1555 by Salah Reis, beylerbey of Algiers, but following In 1891, the French killed the last lion of North Africa between Bone and Bizerte (Tunisia) (Note 5, p. That is until the French exterminated them all (Lavauden, op cit, pp 18-19.) S. Soucek: Islamic Charting, op cit, p 267. Note 8, p. 287 in Soucek., Source Sanuto Diarii, v, fol.109.
Holland Press, 1984, no 228 and plate 180.

49 50 51 52
richer than the second.

53
the Spanish entry, it never regained its former glory.

54
180. Source in Soucek: L. Lavauden: La Chasse et la faune cynegetique en Tunisie, Tunis, 1924, p. 9.
55 56 57
The city was retaken from the Spaniards in 1551 by Sinan Pasha and Turgut.

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Bibliography -C.Allibert. C: Une Description Turque de lOcean Indien au XVIem Siecle: LOcean indien Occidental dans le Kitab-I Bahriye de Piri Reis; Etudes Ocean Indien , 10 (1988); pp 9-51. -F. Babinger: Piri Reis, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, first edition (1913-30), vol vi; Leiden. E.J. Brill, pp 10701. -A. Bausani: LItalia nel Kitab I-Bayriye di Piri Reis, Il Vetro, 23 (1979), pp 173-96. -A.Bausani: Venezia e lAdriatico in un portolano Turco, Venezia e lOriente a cura di L.Lanciotti; Florence: Olschki, 1987, pp 339-52. -A.Bausani: La Costa Muggia-Triesto-Venezia nel portolano (1521-27) di Piri Reis, Studi Arabo-Islamici acura di C. Sarnelli Lergua. Naples: Istituto Universitario Orientale, 1985, (1988); pp 65-9. -W.Brice, and C. Imber: Turkish Charts in the Portolan Style, The Geographical Journal , 144 (1978); pp 528-529. -W. Brice: Early Muslim Sea-Charts, in The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1977, pp 53-61. -E. Esin: La Geographie Tunisienne de Piri Reis, in Cahiers de Tunisie, 29, (1981), pp. 585-605. -T.D. Goodrich: The Ottoman Turks and the New World; Wiesbaden , 1990. -Thomas.D. Goodrich: Supplemental maps in the Kitab-I bahriye of Piri Reis, in Archivum Ottomanicum, Vol 13 (1993-4), Verlag, Wiesbaden, pp 117-35. -C. Hapgood: Maps of the Ancient sea Kings, Philadelphia, 1966. -J.B. Harley and D. Woodward: The History of Cartography, (vol two, book one: cartography in the traditional Islamic and South Asian societies;) The University of Chicago Press, Chicago London, 1992. -A.C. Hess: The Evolution of the Ottoman Seaborne Empire in the Age of Oceanic Discoveries, 1453-1525;
The American Historical Review,Vol 75, 1969-70, pp 1892-1919.

-P. Khale : Die verschollene Columbus-Karte von 1498 in einer turkishen Weltkarte von 1513, Berlin, 1933. In English: P. Kahle: The Lost map of Columbus . -P. Kahle: Piri Reis, Bahriye, Berlin 1926, 2 vols. -M Longworth Dames: The Portuguese and Turks in the Indian Ocean in the 16th century in Journal of the
Royal Asiatic Society , 1921, pp 1-28. -Kitab-I Bahriye, Piri Reis, 4 vols, ed., Ertugrul Zekai Okte, trans, Vahit Cabuk, Tulay Duran, and Robert
bragner, Historical research Foundation-Istambul Research Centre (Ankara: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Turkish Republic, 1988-91). -L. Lavauden: La Chasse et la faune cynegetique en Tunisie, Tunis, 1924. -R. Mantran: La Description des cotes de lAlgerie dans le Kitab-I Bahriye de piri Reis, in Revue de
lOccident Musulman (ROM), Aix en Provence, Vol 15-16, 1973; pp 159-68.

-R. Mantran: La Description des cotes de la Tunisie dans le Kitab I-Bahriye de Piri Reis, ROM, 23-24 (1977), pp 223-35. -R. Mantran: Description des cotes Mediterraneene de la France dans le Kitab I Bahriye de Piri Reis, ROM, vol 39 (1985); pp 69-78. -R. Mantran: La Description des cotes de lEgypte de Kitab I-Bahriye: Annales Islamologiques, 17, 1981 pp. 287-310. -D.Ross: The Portuguese in India and Arabia between 1507 and 1517, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic

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Society 1921, pp 545-62.

-D. Ross The Portuguese in India and Arabia 1517-38; in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1922; pp 118. -Sanuto Diarii, v, fol.109. -Rodney W.Shirley: The Mapping of the World, Early Printed World maps, 1472-1700; London; The Holland Press, 1984, no 228 and plate 180. -S. Soucek: Piri Reis, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, New edition, 1995, Vol VIII, Leiden, Brill, pp 308-9. -S.Soucek: A Propos du livre dinstructions nautiques de Piri Reis, Revue dEtudes Islamiques, Vol 41, pp 241-55. -S. Soucek: Islamic Charting of the Mediterranean; in J.B. Harley and D. Woodward edt: History, op cit, vol 2, book one, pp 263-92. -S.Soucek: Tunisia in the Kitab-I Bahriye of Piri Reis, Archivum Ottomanicum, Vol 5, pp 129-296. -S. Tekeli: `Piri Reis in Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol 10; Editor C.S. Gillispie, Charles Scribners Sons, New York, 1974, pp 616-9. -R.V. Tooley: French mapping of America, London: Map Collectors Circle, 1967.

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Ibn Hazms Philosophy and Thoughts on Science
Professor Salim Al-Hassani Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Husamaldin Tayeh November 2003 4045 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Ibn Hazms Philosophy and Thoughts on Science November 2003
IBN HAZMS PHILOSOPHY AND THOUGHTS ON SCIENCE

Abstract
What fixes and preserves a nations language, as well as its sciences and its history, Ibn Hazm holds, ìs simply the strength of its political power, accompanied by the happy welfare and leisure of its inhabitants.1 Abu Muhammad Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn Said Ibn HAZM, ( November 994August 1064) grew up in the period of final collapse of Ummayad rule in Spain as the nation disintegrated into often conflicting local states. That period of turbulence and his early education by women, in whose midst he grew, far from the company of other children,2 were to have profound effects on Ibn Hazms thoughts and character. As a scholar, Ibn Hazm had a great reputation, and was one of the most original theologians and literati of Muslim Spain. He was a master of many disciplines, including history, grammar, poetry, genealogy, and logic, and wrote works of enduring importance in Islamic theology and law.3 He is the author of over 400 works, and was greatly reputed for his vast capacity to memorize both lines and random facts.4 Carra de Veaux seems to bear little recognition for Ibn Hazm, though, stating amongst others that his production, although vast, was hardly devoid of errors.5 Ibn Hazm, however, in his Book of Introduction, Kitab al-Taqrib, which is now extant, states that `science consist in knowing with certainty something according to what it really is, or by an evident proof which hence helps reach certitude 6. This theme frequently occurs in his works. This paper seeks to look into this aspect as well as his philosophy and thoughts on science, its merits and its relationship to morals.
Prelude
Nothing more appropriate to open this paper on Ibn Hazms thoughts on science than some of his sayings. According to him,7
What fixes and preserves a nations language, as well as its sciences and its history, is simply the strength of its political power, accompanied by the happy welfare and leisure of its inhabitants.
In Kitab al-Akhlaq wal Siyar,8 he says: Compare yourself, for wealth, status and health to those lower to you. For faith, science, and virtue, compare yourself to those who are higher than you. And:
Sciences are like powerful drugs, which suit the strong and exhaust the weak. Likewise, complex sciences enrich a vigorous mind, and keep it off evil, but exhaust the mediocre mind.

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Life Synopsis
IBN HAZM, ABU MUHAMMAD 'ALl IBN AHMAD IBN SA'ID was born in November 994, and died in August 1064. The Ibn Hazm family came from the city of Cordoba itself. Their earlier origins are much less clear, although evidence shows that they were of indigenous Iberian stock from Labla West of Seville a few miles from the Atlantic shores. One of the ancestors of Ibn Hazm was converted to Islam from Christianity.9 Ibn Hazm's father, Abu 'Umar Ahmad ibn Sa'id ibn Hazm (d. 1012) held the function of vizier (Minister) at the court of al-Mansur. Al-Mansurs reign had been one of the greatest moments of Islamic Spanish history. Al-Mansur had enriched the kingdom economically and financially, and had led Muslim armies into victories of un-precedent scale against their Christian foes. At his death, though, ridden with intrigues, divisions, and conflict between numerous factions, the once most powerful state collapsed into chaos, and was never to recover. Aware of, and also part of such disintegration, Christian armies seized their chance to carve up the Islamic dominion. This, they would gradually achieve, only held up on two occasions during the Almoravid, first, and then the Almohad intrusions, which slowed the Christian advance by about two centuries. Early in the thirteenth, after the final defeat of the Almohads, Cordova, Valencia, Seville, and other Islamic strongholds all fell. Granada alone was to remain Muslim, until, it too, ridden with intrigues and divisions, finally fell in 1492. The Muslims were to be eliminated completely from Spanish soil not long after. The life, and thoughts of Ibn Hazm are both good illustration and product of the chaos and collapse of the Muslim state. Such collapse had direct impact on Ibn Hazm who was at the center stage of events. He held positions of power and prestige, followed by demise and disgrace following the political fortunes or misfortunes of his patrons. Hence, in 1016, for instance, Caliph Sulayman was overthrown, and Ibn Hazm, suspect for his Umayyad sympathies, was first imprisoned and then banished. Three years later, he returned to Cordoba, and four years after became the vizier of 'Abd al-Rahman V, whose rule, though, only lasted for seven weeks before he was assassinated, and Ibn Hazm was again put in prison.10 Ibn Hazm, who had already been terribly affected by the demise of his own father before him, following earlier upheavals, now suffered even more and directly the effects of political chaos. That may account for his acerbic and harsh temperament, which made him both famous and feared for his sharp tongue, and it became well known that "The tongue of Ibn Hazm and the sword of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf [the severe Umayyad governor of Iraq] are brothers.
11
The upheavals of his political career may also account for Ibn
Hazm withdrawal from public life to devote himself to study, teaching, and writing. For Asin Palacios, however, much influence on Ibn Hazms character and writing was the result of his education by women as he grew up in his fathers harem, isolated from children of his age and from men, which shaped his personality considerably.12
His Thought and Accomplishments

Ibn Hazms early learning, understandably, had a dramatic impact, too. He received an èxceptionally wide-ranging education, which, more than likely in his future years, impacted on his wide and diverse learning. His thinking extends to all stretches of Islamic sciences, grammar, lexicology, the science of the Quran, tradition and commentaries, canon law or fiqh, theology Thus to study him, according to Arnaldez, òne has to be first well aware of matters which Muslim thinkers have addressed.13 He was also seen as:

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One of the most original theologians and literati of Muslim Spain. a master of many disciplines, including history, grammar, poetry, genealogy, and logic, and wrote works of enduring importance in Islamic theology and law.14
Ibn Hazms intellectual force is also recognized by Castro,15 who states, that whilst the Muslims felt a `lively curiosity about everything religious, Ibn Hazm was the first religious historian ever. His `Critical History of Religions, whose Arabic title (Al-Fassl Fil Millel Wel Ahwai wel Nihal) reads in English `The Decisive word on sects, heterodoxies and denominations (translated into Spanish by Asin Palacios as `Historia Critica de las Ideas Religiosas,) is regarded16 as:
The first of its genre, and it is surprising that it was written in the 11th century when nothing like it existed in Christian Europe. Ibn Hazm proceeds like a scholar and a theologian who is acquainted through his own study and experience with the religion s of his time and he analyses them in detail, quoting their texts.
According to Yaqut and Al-Qifti, two of the main Muslim biographers, Ibn Hazm has written nearly four hundred works, amounting to nearly 80,000 pages. Amongst his surviving works are: -Kitab al-Ihkam fi usul al-Ahkam (of the perfect knowledge of the foundations of jurisprudence). The manuscript can be found in the National Library of Cairo, where it has been edited in two vols. -Kitab jamharat al-Arab (on the Arab genealogy), known through the Cairo critical edition made by Levi Provincal in 1948. -Risala fi fadl al-Andalus wa dikr rijaliha (a letter on the merits of al-Andalus and the memory of its men) which was kept by al-maqqari in his Nifh al-Tib (vol4). -Kitab al-Akhlak wal siyar (The book of morals and behaviour): edited for the first time in 1908, although cited by Yaqut and al-Maqqari. The manuscript was discovered by Dr Ritter alongside other works. Amongst the Arabic sources of Ibn Hazm are: -Al-Dabbi: Bughyat al-Multamis. Madrid 1885. -Hajji Khalifa: Kesf al-zounoun edt. Constantinople, 1941. -Ibn Bashkuwal: Kitab as-Sila; Madrid, 1882-3. -Ibn Khallikan: Wafayat al-ayan. Cairo, 1275 H. -Ibn Qasim B.Said: Tabaqqat al-Umam. Ed. L. Cheikho. Beyrouth; 1902. -Al-Maqqari: Analectes. Leyde; 1855-61. -A-Marrakushi: Histoire des Almohades. Trad. Fagnan; Algiers, 1893. -Yaqut al-Hamawi:Mojam al-Oddaba; Edt Rifai Bey; Cairo; Vol Xii. Today, the literature on Ibn Hazm is rather scant amongst English sources. There is a good entry on Ibn Hazm in the Encyclopedia of Islam by Arnaldez. But Arnaldez, like many with interest in Ibn Hazm, writes in French. The main work of Ibn Hazm that has retained the attention of English speaking scholarship is Tawq al-Hamama translated by A.J. Arbery, London 1953. Otherwise, most information on Ibn Hazm is gleaned from French sources, and of course, Spanish sources. Asin Palacios, more than any other, has written considerably, most particularly his well known, and lengthy: Abenhazem de Cordoba.

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Ibn Hazms writing has been looked at from many perspectives, and from many directions. Arnaldez, already cited, one of the students of Levi Provencal, the authority on Spanish history, had devoted his doctoral thesis to Ibn Hazm. Arnaldez has also given an excellent overview on Ibn Hazms theories on Jihad and scores of other contributions. On the influence Ibn Hazm had on post Islamic Spanish literature and thought, no better source than A. Castros Structure of Spanish History. Ibn Hazms writing and views on science have, however, been generally set aside. Possibly, as in the view of Barron Carra de Vaux, despite Ibn Hazms prolific output, and his prodigious ability to memorize texts and facts, it is because his writing is not devoid of errors.17 De Vaux also finds his work bearing an anti intellectual trait, suppressing speculation, narrowing considerably the frontiers of jurisprudence, depriving jurists of freedom of conscience etc. 18 Arnaldez, however, observes that Ibn Hazm in the Book of Introduction, Kitab al-Taqrib, which is no longer extant, states that science consists in knowing with certainty something according to what it really is, or by an evident proof which hence helps reach certitude.19 Arnaldez further compares Ibn Hazm with Descartes, with whom he shares a love for certainty; and like him seeks it in proof; and like him suspecting that all that edges away from proof becomes close to error.20 Maybe De Vauxs criticism stems from the fact that Ibn Hazm does not accept the notion of knowledge for its own sake; that satisfaction with independent knowledge just out of curiosity; traits that have distinguished the Greeks and their science. In Islam, science and knowledge have practical aims, and are according to Ibn Hazm shaped, or affected, by revelation. The object of science, for him, is to understand Divine orders.21 Ibn Hazm further adds: Our faculties of discerning and comprehending are helped by Divine grace, but on condition to use them as God wishes us to, and where he wants us to.22 And regarding the role of experiment and observation, crucial to scientific advance, Ibn Hazm has this to say:
We know with certainty that never could man have acquired the sciences and arts by himself guided only by his natural abilities and without the benefit of instruction. (this applies, e.g., to) medicine, the knowledge of the physiological temperaments, the diseases and their causes, in all their numerous varieties, and the invention of adequate treatment and cure of each of them by drugs or preparations, which could never have been actually tried out. For how could anyone test every prescription on every disease since this would take tens of thousands of years and necessitate the examination of every sick person in the world?23
Arnaldez, above, compared Ibn Hazm and the French philosopher-rationalist, Descartes. Perhaps more appropriately, comparisons should have been drawn between Ibn Hazm and the other French philosopherscientist: Pascal (1623-62). Indeed, like Ibn Hazm, Pascal is both scientist, and also highly imbued with faith, at all steps seeking to reconcile them, the moral aspect of each issue always imposing itself in the end. Moreover, Pascal, in his work, Les Pensees (Thoughts) (de Pascal) also seeks to order his thoughts, a sort of listing found in Ibn Hazm, whereby each thought carries a function, and conveys a specific injuction, or idea. All thoughts are related, coherently assembled in batches, and all aiming at one and single end: the cohabitation, or the working together of science and high, God inspired morality.
Virtues of Science
Ibn Hazms most extensive philosophy and thoughts on science are to be garnered from his Kitab al-Akhlaq wal siyar which was translated into French under UNESCO sponsorship by N. Tomiche, and which is used here as a source of reference. The English texts are the present authors own translation from the French. Science in Ibn Hazms thought is by no means a single entity devoid of any moral dimension, nor the most

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important moral outlet in life. He constantly asserts the real meaning of life, how all worldly things are of lesser value in comparison to the spiritual and moral. Thus (p.17), he says:
I have come across most people- with the exception of those that God most High has protectedthey rush into misery, worry, the exhaustion of this world, and amassing terrible sins, that will earn them hell-fire, gaining nothing in pursuing their evil deeds And they know that their evil intentions will neither fulfill their wishes, nor bring any gains; and that with purer intentions they will obtain great rest for their souls.
He adds (p.18):
Whoever harms his kinship and his neighbors is worse than them. Whomsoever returns ill that he receives from them is like them. Whomsoever does not return ill done to him is the master, the best and most virtuous amongst all.
And (p.116):
Whomsoever rises above things of this world, in front of which you kneel is much stronger than you.
And also (p.22):
Blame from a man with a corrupt soul in opposing him, and refraining from evil deeds is better for you than his esteem if you did evil.
Having, thus, declared his moral stands, he finds the adequate room for science, and looks at it in different contexts and situations. First, he gives it its real due, stating (p. 19):
Should the merit of science being fear of the ignorant, and love and honour for the scholars, that alone should encourage striving for it. What then about its other virtues in this world and the other.
And:
If science, and devoting oneself to it, had no other use than avoiding exhausting temptations, rushes of hope that give worry, and thoughts that sadden the soul, that alone should give us reasons to seek it Kinglets have sought distraction in chess, wine, music, hunting and much else that only bring harm in this world and the other.
Territoriality of Science
Science, in the mind of Ibn Hazm has some territoriality, which itself has a number of dimensions. Hence, on one hand, Ibn Hazm, has a word of warning against those who intrude in the realm of science whilst not being worthy of it, saying (p.22):

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There is no worse calamity for science and for scholarship than those intruders who are foreign to them. They are ignorant and yet think they know; they ruin everything whilst convinced they are fixing all.
In the same vein, Ibn Hazm warns those who stretch themselves beyond what they are capable of, stating (p.21):
Whomsoever has a natural leaning towards a science, even if it was less noble than another, should not abandon it for the other because if he did he would be like someone who would be growing coconuts in al-Andalus and olive trees in India, crops that would never fructify.
Fundamental Duties of the Scholar

Ibn Hazm is not satisfied with scholars who are only contented with their own self fulfillment. The duty of the scholar is to enlighten others; hence he observes (p.21):
Whomsoever is miserly with the gift of his knowledge deserves more blame than whomsoever is miserly with his money, because the man miserly with his money fears exhausting what he has, but the one miserly with his science is with an object which does not become exhausted with use, and that he would lose nothing in sharing it.
And humility amongst men of science is what he praises most (83-4):
If you pride yourself with your science, then you must realize that you have no merit; science is a gift that God has granted you. Thus do not acknowledge it in a way that angers the Highest, because he could erase it from your head through an illness of some sort.
Ibn Hazm reinforces this statement with the following:
Also be aware that many men eager for science, read, study, and research with application, but derive no fruit. The man of science must realize that if application alone was enough, many other men would be superior to him. Science, thus, is certainly a gift from the Highest. What place is left for pride, thus? We can only accept in humility, and give thanks to God, asking him to increase his bounty, and beg him not to deprive us of it.
The Perfect Sciences

Crucial for Ibn Hazm is that not all knowledge and science are acceptable. He states that clearly (p.21):
The most noble sciences, are those which bring us closer to the Creator; those which help us be pleasing to Him.
And in (p.23)

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Whomsoever wishes for happiness in the other life, wisdom in this world, equity in their deeds, having all moral qualities, the practice of all virtues, ought to follow in his deeds the example of Mohammed (PBUH) the Messenger of God.
Ibn Hazm takes great care to make parallels between knowledge and science on one hand, and the practice of good and evil:
The use of science in the practice of virtue, he says (p.24), ìs considerable: the man who knows the beauty of virtue will follow it, however possible. Knowing the evil of wrong, he will avoid it, however possible. He listens to worthy praise, and keeps his distance from unworthy praise. From this is derived that science has a part in every virtue, and that ignorance has one in every vice. Man who is illiterate and who still practices virtue must be extremely pure, a virtuous being. This is the state of Prophets (PBUH) because God had conveyed goodness to them without they acquiring it from men.
And he points out (p.24):
I have seen men who had studied the sciences, who knew the messages of the Prophets, the recommendations of the wise, and yet who surpassed the most evil men in their worse deeds, and their depravation. This is very frequent, and so I have understood that these two moral attitudes were favours granted or denied by the Most High.
Conduct of Men of Science in Disputations

Then, as now, discussions and disputations, used to take place between scholars. Ibn Hazm, in the last chapter of his book, Kitab al-Akhlaq wal Siyar, delves on this matter, and Òn the manner to attend study sessions. He begins by saying (p.114):
If you attend a study session, only behave like a man wishing to expand his knowledge and seeking a higher reward from God. Do not act like a man contend with what he holds, who is waiting for a weakness (from someone) to criticize (it or him), or an oddity to raise. This will be acting like vile people who have never mastered science. If you attend with good intentions you will obtain the best results. Otherwise just stay at home, awarding yourself rest, a good morality, and a salutary outcome in front of God.
And (in pp 114-5):
If you attended (a study session) strictly adopt three attitudes; there is no fourth. First : You can lock yourself in the silence of ignorance. Second: If you do not behave as such, ask for the questions a man seeking to learn asks. This man will ask only about what he does not know, not about what he knows. Asking about matters one knows is making proof of ineptitude; this is only ranting, waste of time for everyone. If the person you are questioning does not give satisfactory answers, stop questioning Third: You can answer like a scientist, refuting clearly the others arguments. If you are not capable of that, do not insist.

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Ibn Hazm also warns (p.116) against those who:
Ask questions stubbornly, very proud men who seeing themselves right without knowing anything about the matter. This shows lack of piety, a tendency to ranting, a weak mind, and excessive vanity. And Ìf you hear, or read writing (you object to), do not react with violence until you have proof that what is expressed is wrong. Do not accept that with the enthusiasm of the credulous man either until being wholly convinced of that. In both situations you blind yourself and drift away from truth Act like a person who has no preconceived views, one ready to know and accept what is right and reject what is wrong.
Classification of Science
Ibn Hazms thoughts and philosophy on science have also another dimension. It is common with Islamic scholars, such as Al-Ghazali, to classify sciences, to provide some sort of division that helps in their understanding, study and promotion. This division, gradually has led to our modern learning system in departments, faculties, and courses (Prior to the Muslim classifications, sciences were a bulk of knowledge, somehow like the precious stone mingled with rough metals, and earth. Indeed, there were no such a boundaries and it was thus easy to find the chemist dabbling with the magician, and the philosopher. It was extremely hard to stop one side, the non scientific taking over the scientific, and the science often stagnated, or diverted into inappropriate directions because of that). Ibn Hazm did not make the classification of sciences as such. Instead, he provided the boundaries, and the rules within science as a whole. He brings in all dimensions looked at above. He does, moreover, which is quite important, provide the seeker of science indications of how to go on about it, integrating the highly complex, abstract, moral and also the most down to earth, such as the prudent conduct in scientific gatherings.
On Natural Sciences
In addition to his vast contribution to Philosophy, Religious dialogue, Jurisprudence, Literature, Theory of Knowledge and Social Sciences, Ibn Hazm had commented on Natural Sciences. His views are scattered throughout his books and it would require a special task to collect them in a cohesive manner. However, much of his comments on Natural Science can be found in his (I) al-Taqreeb,(ii) al-fassl fil milal, and (iii) Response to Al-Razi (objecting to his views on the origin of the universe) . Below we give excerpts on various sciences.
Sciences of Numbers and Geometry

Like Pythagoreans, Ibn Hazm has especial and significance to the numeral 1. He maintains that
1 is not a number, because there is no other number like it. If you split it, it becomes a fraction ( hence looses its Oneness)and therefore, it becomes necessary that the True One is Allah, the starter of all creation and He (Allah) is not several but all creations are24

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On geometry, again like Pythagoreans, he defines the line, as the ultimate edge of any surface ad defined a point as the crossing between two lines. Al-Taqreeb p.47. He also commented on the concept of infinity or limitless and the limited. In Al-Taqreeb p. 128, he refers to the universe as limited and bounded, because it was created and because the universe is made of limited parts, it will follow that, it will also be limited. He also refers to the present objects and living creatures and plants, as limited, yet the ones which have not yet been created (such as humans who are not yet born) are unlimited.
On Dynamics
A very interesting notion on the nature of motion of bodies is found in Al-Fassl Fil Millel, vol 5, pp 55. He explains, there are mobile objects and stationary objects, but there is no motion nor staticness.
On Astronomy
Ibn Hazm refutes astrologers who believed that stars and planets had souls and minds and influence people. He maintains, Al-Fassl Fil Milleh, vol 5, pp 35-39,
that the stars are celestial bodies with no mind or soul. They neither know the future nor affect people. There effect on people however can be through their physical characteristics, such as the effect of the suns heat and rays on the planets and the effect of the moon on the tides of seas.
He explains that Saturns orbit takes 33 years (Al-Fasl Fil Milleh, vol 5, pp. 34). He actually meant the orbit around the Earth, which is wrong. Todays astronomy recognises Saturns orbit around the Sun (not the Earth) taking 29 years. In vol 2 pp 101, he argues against those who believe that the Sun sets in one of the seas on Earth. He questions how is it the larger Sun, sets in the smaller Earth? He says vol 2 pp 98,
the Earth is spherical despite what is popularly believed the proof is that the Sun is always vertical to a particular spot on Earth.
Ibn Hazm considers shooting stars to be hot fires that conglomerate into stars and that they eventually lose their light by burning. Obviously Ibn Hazm was not aware of present theory of supernovas and formation of stars and Black Holes. We do not believe that he knew about the relationship between matter and energy and the conversion between one to the other. In his Al-Taqreeb pp 141 and in Al-Fassl Fil Milleh, vol 2 pp 105 106. He challenges all theories on the age of the Earth. He says, we Muslims do not have definite knowledge yet of the age of the Earth. It could be many multiples of the ages suggested by others.
On Physics
Ibn Hazm did not seem to know about the discoveries of Al-Hasan Ibn Al-Haytham, (b. 965-1039). Ibn Hazm was nearly 40 years when Ibn Al-Haytham died, yet he still believed in the old Greek understanding of vision in that, the eye produces rays which illuminate the object which make it visible. Communications of learning at the time being slower, most particularly in times of turbulence as in Spain . Ibn Al-Haytham, of course was the first to prove that light is reflected from the object and passes through the eyes which is a spherical hollow ball that has a sensitive inner service, that detects the light (image). He proved that the

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angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. He constructed a dark box with one pin hole on its side (called it camara-camera) to prove his theory. Ibn Hazms views on sound is that it travels at specific speeds. He gave examples to prove this. Such examples include reference to the interval between lightening and the thunder that follows it. In this, he implicitly believes that lightening causes thunder.
On Life Sciences
Ibn Hazm expresses views on the development of life and species. He classified them into categories according to the process of their inception and development. He goes into details of various insects (such as lice and flies) and animals (such as frogs).
Conclusions
Much of Ibn Hazms work(400 nearly 80,000 pages) is still in Arabic. Although there are numerous Spanish and French translations of some of his books, there are very few in English. This paper attempted to review, in all three languages, his philosophy and thought on science, its virtues, territoriality, methods of its instruction and acquisition. The paper alludes to some of his ideas on natural and physical sciences. Analdez, likened Ibn Hazm to the French philosopher-rationalist, Descartes. Perhaps more appropriately, comparisons should have been drawn between Ibn Hazm and the other French philosopher-scientist: Pascal (1623-62): the cohabitation, or the working together of science and high, God inspired morality. Ibn Hazms thoughts and philosophy on science have also another dimension. It is common with later Islamic scholars, such as Al-Ghazali, in classifying sciences, to assists in their understanding and promotion. He drew the boundaries, and the rules within science as a whole. He moreover, which is quite important, provided the learner indications of how to go on about it, integrating the highly complex, abstract, moral and also the most down to earth, such as the perfect behaviour at a scientific gathering. This classification, gradually perfected has led to our modern learning system. Any scholar, imbued with science, often at odds with themselves, and the hows, and above all the whys of their science, have to return to Ibn Hazm. He has cleared massive ground needless, and very much impossible for someone to do now; just read and somehow, follow. And, Ibn Hazm, en par with most Muslim scholars of the time, knowledgeable and pious, usually ends his work with the following:
May God make us amongst those he allows to do good, and to practice it, and those who see the right path as none of us is without weakness; whomsoever sees his weakness will forget those of others. May God make us die in the faith of Muhammad. Amen, Oh Master of the Universes.

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1 M. Asin in Al-Andalus; 1939; Vol IV; p. 278. 2 Asin Palacios: Abenhazam de Cordoba, 5 Vols, Madrid.1927. 3 In Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Vol 6. Edited by J.R. Strayer; Charles Scribners Sons, New York; 1980,
at pp 117-8.
4 Barron Carra de Veaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam. Vol 3. Paris, Geuthner, 1922. at p. 333. 5 Ibid. 6 R.Arnaldez: Grammaire et Theologie chez Ibn Hazm de Cordoue; Doctoral Thesis, Paris; Librairie
Philosophique J.Vrin; 1956; at p. 105.
7 M. Asin Palacios in Al-Andalus; 1939; IV; p. 278. 8 Trsltd by N. Tomiche under the title: Epitre Morale, Collection UNESCO, Beyrouth, 1961, p.21. 9 Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Vol 6. Edited by J.R. Strayer; Charles Scribners Sons, New York; 1980, at
pp 117-8.
10 R.Arnaldez: Grammaire et Theologie chez Ibn Hazm de Cordoue; Doctoral Thesis, Paris; Librairie
Philosophique J.Vrin; 1956.
11 Dictionary of the Middle Ages, op cit; at p.117. 12 M.Asin Palacios: Abenhazam de Cordoba.; 5 vols; Madrid, 1927. Vol 1. 13 R.Arnaldez; Grammaire, op cit, Introduction p.1 14 Dictionary of the Midde Ages, op cit, p.117. 15 A.Castro: The Structure of Spanish History; Trsltd by E. King. Princeton University Press; 1954; p.140. 16 Ibid, p. 291. 17 Barron Carra de Veaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam. Vol 3. Paris, Geuthner, 1922. at p. 333. 18 Ibid, at p. 334. 19 R.Arnaldez: Grammaire et Theologie chez Ibn Hazm de Cordoue; Doctoral Thesis, Paris; Librairie
Philosophique J.Vrin; 1956; at p. 105.
20 Ibid, at p.106. 21 Ibid at p.193. 22 Ibid at p. 194. 23 Ibn Hazm: Kitab al-fisal fi'l-milal wa-l-ahwa wa-l-nihal, 5 parts in two vols; Cairo, 1899 and 1903; Vol I,
p.72.
24 Ibn Hazm: al- Taqreeb..,p.52

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Islamic Coins during the Umayyad, Abbasid, Andalusian and Fatimid Dynasties
Wijdan Ali, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Ahmed Salem January 2004 4046 FSTC Limited, 2004
FSTC Limited
ISLAMIC COINS DURING THE UMAYYAD, ABBASID, ANDALUSIAN AND FATIMID DYNASTIES
Wijdan Ali, PhD. Dean, College of Art and Design, University of Jordan & President of the Royal Society of Fine Art, Jordan.
This article is reconstructed from the book by Wijdan Ali, The Arab Contribution to Islamic Art from the 7th-15th Centuries, The American University in Cairo Press & The Royal Society of Fine Arts, Jordan.1999.
The Umayyad Coins (661-750CE)

During the early years of their reign, the Umayyads continued to use silver Sassanian coins in Iran and Iraq, and gold and copper Byzantine coins in Syria and Egypt (figure 1). As part of his policy to unify the various regions under Islamic rule, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (685-705CE) introduced the first Umayyad gold coins at a time of discord between the Umayyads and Byzantines over the merits of Islam and Christianity. The early coins were struck either in 691 or 692; the Byzantine emperor was angry and refused to accept the new Arab gold currency, renewing the war between the Arabs and the Byzantines. The new Islamic currency that was first coin to carry an Arabic inscription was called a dinar and was similar, in both size and weight, to the Byzantine solidus. On the obverse, there were three standing figures of unknown identities, as on the Byzantine coin, which had on its obverse the figures of Heracles, Heraclias Constantine, and Heraclonas; on the reverse, the Byzantine cross was replaced by a column placed on three steps topped with a sphere. In the margin surrounding the design the testimony of Islam was written in Arabic: "In the name of God, there is no deity but God; He is One; Muhammad is the messenger of God." The new Arab-Byzantine coin stressed the unity of God to counter the Christian Trinitarian doctrine, and made no mention of the caliph. The Byzantine emperor Justinian II responded to this challenge by striking a new solidus with the head of Christ on the obverse and on the reverse an image of himself robed and holding a cross.
Figure 1. Early Umayyad coins, 691/692CE.

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Caliph Abd al-Malik's response was to issue a new dinar in 693 (figure 2). On its obverse was the upright figure of the caliph, wearing an Arab headdress and holding a sword, with the testimony of Islam inscribed in the margin. The reverse bore the same column on three steps and the sphere, but a new legend appeared around the margin: "In the name of God this dinar was struck in the year four and seventy" Only eight of these early Arab-Byzantine dinars, dated according to the new Islamic calendar, have survived. Once more, the Byzantine emperor responded by striking a new coin similar to that of the Arabs, which greatly displeased Abd al-Malik. In 697 the caliph decided to abandon all traces of iconography and introduced the first Islamic coin devoid of figurative representation (figure 3). On both sides of the new dinar were inscribed verses from the Qur'an, expressing the message of Islam and making each piece an individual missionary of the faith. After he introduced this coin, Abd al-Malik issued a decree making it the only currency to be used throughout Umayyad lands. All remaining Byzantine and Arab-Byzantine pieces were to be handed to the treasury, to be melted down and re-struck. Those who did not comply faced the death penalty. The new gold dinars weighed a bit less than the solidus and the state controlled the accuracy of its weight along with the purity of the gold. Umayyad gold coins were generally struck in Damascus, while silver and copper coins were minted elsewhere.
Figure 2. Umayyad coins, 693CE.
Figure 3. Umayyad coins, 697CE.

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During the rule of the caliphs who followed, coins of one-half and one-third of a dinar were struck; they were smaller than the dinar in size and weight, and carried shorter inscriptions in the margin denoting the value of each coin. After conquering North Africa and Spain, the Umayyads established new mints in their western provinces where dinars similar to the early half-dinars were struck; these included the name of the city and date of minting. According to the Qur'an, which commands, "When you measure, give an exact measure and weigh with an accurate scale" (Surah 17:35), the caliphs were responsible for ensuring the purity and weight of the coins, established by the shari'a as seven mithqals of gold to ten dirhams of silver. Obsolete coins, whether from foreign countries or previous governments, and gold and silver bullion were brought to the mint to be refined and struck into a new currency. At the mint, the bullion was first examined to determine its purity, and then it was heated and refined to conform to the established alloy standards. After smelting and casting, the ingots were rolled out and cut into discs. Each disc was then placed on the obverse die and the reverse die placed on top. Finally, the top side of the die was struck one or more times with a mallet so that the design was impressed clearly on both sides of the coin. This method is called die-sinking; these dies were usually made of bronze and could manufacture several thousands of coins before they had to be discarded. Generally, Islamic coins indicate the place and date of their mint, the name of the ruler, his father's name, and that of his heir-apparent or envoy. When a new caliph came to power, he had a new coin struck in his name to make the change of rule official. When a revolt took place in some part of the Islamic empire, the leader of the uprising would establish himself by immediately substituting his own name on newly minted coins. Through the study of Islamic coins historical events could be traced with a certain amount of accuracy.

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The Abbasid Coins (750-1258CE)

It is likely that the earliest Abbasid gold dinars, minted in 750 and extremely rare, were struck either in Damascus before the Umayyad mint was closed down, or in Kufa, the first Abbasid capital (figure 4). When Caliph al-Mansur built Baghdad (762), the gold mint was moved to the new capital, and it was in this period that names of persons responsible or the coins first began to appear on silver coins called dirhams.
Figure 4. Early Abbasid Dinar, AH135/AD752-53.
When Caliph Harun al-Rashid came to power in 786, he minted dinars with the names of the governors of Egypt. During this period, at least two mints were active in the empire, one in Baghdad and the other in Fustat, the seat of the governor of Egypt. The Egyptian mint was particularly active, and the dinars bearing the names of governors and a dedication to the caliph must have come from there. Caliph al-Ma'mun (813-33), Harun al-Rashid's son, experimented with different kinds of coins. With his highly developed artistic taste, he improved the appearance of the coins by using a more elegant form of Kufic script. New gold mints were opened, viziers' and governors' names appeared on coins, and the legends and the size of the legends on the dinars were changed. The new dinars were struck on broader and thinner discs so that they could include two marginal legends (figure 5). The style begun in this period continued to be used for several centuries under the Abbasids and other dynasties that followed.
Figure 5 Abbasid Dinar, Struck under Al-Ma'mun, AH 207/AD 822.

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From 833 to 946, no important changes in calligraphy or style occurred on the Abbasid dinar. Because of the weakening of the caliph's authority and the carelessness of the local officials responsible for the mint, the weight and quality occasionally deviated from the high standard of the early Abbasid years. As the power of the caliph weakened, he was forced to add to his coins the names of those governors, heirs apparent, powerful brothers, commanders-in-chief of the army, or strong viziers who imposed their will upon him. Semi-independent dynasties such as the Tulunids in Egypt, the Saffarids (867-c.1495) and Samanids (819-1005) in Iran, and the Ikhshidids (935-69) in Egypt and Palestine all minted coins independently, yet they followed the Abbasid model, acknowledging the nominal leadership of the caliph. Thus, through the coins of the period, we get more detailed information about the weakening of the caliphal power and the development of the different small dynasties all over the empire. From 946 to 1055, the Abbasid caliphs lived in Baghdad as hostages of the Buwayhids, who had occupied the capital. Following them, the Seljuks marched in and took over, while in Egypt, the Fatimids formed an independent dynasty. Although only a few coins were minted in the name of the caliph during this time, true Abbasid coins could only have been minted in Baghdad, which was the sole city where the caliphs enjoyed any authority. The legends on all the coins were the standard text of al-Ma'mun's dinar, except for a blessing upon the Prophet and his family added on the reverse. Toward the end of the Abbasid reign, from 1160 to 1258, a series of poorly struck, light- weight coins were issued in Baghdad. Most of these coins were, in effect, no more than coin ingots and were not consistent with any definite monetary standard. Some of them bore attractive decorations, while all their legends followed previous texts (figure 6). The only addition was a longer blessing upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) on the reverse side.
Figure 6 Late Abbasid coin, 1160.

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The Andalusian Coins (711-1494CE)

In contrast to earlier Arab conquests, where coins from previous regimes continued to be used, the Muslims minted their first gold coins when they entered Spain in 711. The new coins were modelled in size and design after the Arab-Byzantine coins of North Africa struck by the Muslims shortly after the second conquest of Carthage in 699, and were similar to those already in use by the Byzantines. Their inscriptions are in Latin and, like the ones from North Africa they translate Muslim religious formulas, often in blundered adaptations of the shehada, and give the name of the mint and the date. A large star in the centre of the obverse field distinguished the Islamic Spanish coin from the Arab-Latin one. A new, handsome, bilingual dinar was struck in 716 bearing an Arabic legend on the obverse that read "Muhammad is the Apostle of God," and in the margin around it, "This dinar was struck in al-Andalus in the year eight and ninety"; its reverse bore a Latin legend. In 720, the first purely Arab gold coins appeared. The style and wording of the legends were copied from the North African Arab dinars struck the year before. They were a copy of the half-dinar minted in Damascus in 719 and included the name of the mint in al- Andalus. Those coins, which were issued regularly until 728, and the ones that followed until 732 are extremely rare. No gold coins have reached us from the time of Abd al-Rahman I, most probably because he continued to use the same coins minted earlier. The first new Umayyad gold coin appeared during the reign of Abd al-Rahman III in 929, after his break from Abbasid authority. From then until the end of the Umayyad period in Spain, each caliph placed his name and titles on the reverse field along with the name of the mint and the year. In addition to the dinar, Abd al-Rahman III minted quarter-dinars following Aghlabid and Fatimid models. The weight of the Andalusian Umayyad coin was less accurate than that of the classical eastern Umayyad dinar, and the dies were rather careless. The names of subordinate officials in the government appeared below the obverse and reverse fields. After 1010, during the years of Umayyad decline, various local rulers began to mint their own coins. Many of them copied those of the Umayyads, including the names of former caliphs. Later on, some of the more powerful dynasties of the Taifa Kings (1030-1086), such as the Abbadids in Seville, placed their own names and titles on the coins. These were mostly fractions of a dinar of low quality gold, which indicates the deteriorating economic and political conditions of the time. Almoravid (1088-1145) coins saw an unexpected flowering. From the plentiful and well-struck series of dinars from that time, we gather that the Almoravid reign must have been a period of great prosperity for both Morocco and al-Andalus. Their first Andalusian mint was in Cordoba, followed shortly after by one in Seville. Between 1096 and 1116, mints expand~ ed rapidly into practically every important town under Almoravid rule. What is of interest during the Almohad period (1145-1232) is the coin struck by King Alfonso VIII of Castile, who wanted to challenge the Muslim rulers of Spain. He issued a Christian coin with Arabic script, and instead of copying the coins of the Almohads, he chose those of their rivals, the recently conquered Amirs of Murcia. These remarkable dinars were minted in Toledo, the first Islamic city to fall to the Christians. As we see below, their close resemblance is remarkable. The remarkable feature is that the Christian coin has Arabic characters rather than Latin ones, and King Alfonso, in imitation of Prince Abd Allah, calls himself Prince of the Catholics and invokes the assistance of

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God. Both coins are called 'dinar' and mention their mint centre and date. The Pope is given the Arabic religious title Imam. Finally, the Bible verses quoted imitate the use of Qur'anic verses on the Islamic coin. Such coins were called maravedis, the name in Spanish of the gold dinars of the Almoravids. The last Islamic gold coins to be minted in al-Andalus were made in Nasrid Granada (1238-1492) (figures 7 & 8). Relatively heavy, they were carefully struck and bore long legends containing passages from the Qur'an and genealogies of the rulers. None of the Nasrid coins show a date, but they are identifiable by their motto "None victorious save God." Meanwhile, in the Christian kingdoms of the north, Arab and French currency were the only ones used for nearly four hundred years, from the early thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries.
Figure 7. Silver Nasrid Dirham of Muhammed I, Granada.
Figure 8. Gold Nasrid Dirham of Muhammed XII, Granada.

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Comparison between Muslim and Christian coin inscriptions: ISLAMIC COIN CHRISTIAN COIN
FRONT FACE OF COIN
OBVERSE FIELD: There is no god but God Muhammad is the Apostle of God the Prince Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Said May God protect him. MARGIN: In the name of God this dinar was struck in Mursiya in the year six and sixty and five hundred.
OBVERSE FIELD: The Prince of the Catholics Alfonso son of Sanja May God assist him.
MARGIN: This dinar was struck in the city of Tulaytula {Toledo) in the year twelve and two hundred and one thousand safar.
REVERSE FACE OF COIN
REVERSE FIELD: The Imam Abd Allah Commander of the Faithful the Abbasid. MARGIN: And whoso seeketh as religion other than Islam it will not be accepted from him and he will be lost in the Hereafter.
REVERSE FIELD: The Imam of the Church Commander of the Faithful of the Messiah, Pope of Rome the Great. MARGIN: In the name of the Lord and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the One God, whosoever believes in Him and is baptized will be saved.
Sura 3:85
Mark 16:15

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The Fatimid Coins (909-1171CE)

The first three caliphs, who ruled from their respective capitals, Quayrawan, al-Mahdiya, and SabraMansuriya, issued gold and silver coins that carried purely orthodox Sunni' legends. The early dinars of alMahdi followed the Aghlabid model in size and design, and only the mint name of Quayrawan was added to it. After 912, slightly larger dinars with a distinctive Kufic script were introduced. In 922, the mint was moved to al-Mahdiya and later to al-Mansuriya. Other mintless dinars were struck either in Sijilmasa, Fez, or a transient army base. The name of the mint and the date were omitted from quarter-dinar denominations. In 934, al-Qa'im was the first caliph to totally change the design and adopt a handsome monumental Kufic script (figure 9). Quarter-dinars were also struck in Sicily, probably in Palermo, and carried the mint name 'Siqilliya' Early Fatimid coins (909-53) are much rarer than those from later periods.
Figure 9. Early Fatimid coins, Al-Mahdiya, 949.
In contrast to coins of the first three Fatimid caliphs, the later ones emphasized their Shi'i identity by declaring their bond to Ali. In 953, Caliph al-Mu'izz issued dinars with a clear Shi'i message and a new design: a short, one-line legend was ringed by three concentric circular legends reading from the inner to the outer bands. The wording, which read "And Ali ibn Abi Talib is the Nominee of the Prophet and the Most Excellent Representative and the Husband of the Radiant Chaste One [i.e., Fatima, daughter of the Prophet]," expressed the essence of the Isma'ili doctrines; but as it offended the Sunni population it had to be abandoned (figure 10). The second and more lasting type of coin omitted the field inscriptions entirely and moderated the strength of the Isma'li idioms. The coins issued under later caliphs varied between three and two circular legends and single and double marginal lines. Between 1014 and 1020, the caliph's heir apparent's name was added to the dinar. After al-Mu'izz, Caliph al-Mustansir was the first to change the design of his coins. His dinars were similar to al-Zahir's, but with the unit and date formula put in the reverse margin. Between 1048 and 1077, he adopted the three-circle type first used by al-Mu'izz. They are such close copies that it is difficult to tell one from the other. After 1078 the standard of die-sinking became of poorer quality and remained so until 1094. During the third period of the Fatimid dynasty (1094-1171) an experimental dinar was minted that kept the design of al- Mustansir's last coins. Although their marginal legends were still in Kufic, the field legends

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were in a flowing Naskhi script. This was the first time in Egypt that a long Naskhi script appeared on a coin, and it did not reappear until 1227. In 1096 al-Musta'li (1094-1101) introduced a style that remained in use for the next 120 years: a handsome adaptation of al-'Aziz's two-circle type with brief inscriptions in the small field in the centre of the die. On the obverse the words "ali ghaya" were placed to indicate the coin's 'extremely high' quality.
Figure 10. Fatimid coin with Isma'ili Doctrine, Egypt, AH386/AD 996.
On the reverse was the caliph's title and given name along with his other titles of honour. Toward the end of the Fatimid period, when child caliphs succeeded one another and the viziers took over the actual power, coins were struck in 1130 and 1132 in the name of a nonexistent Fatimid prince. In 1133, a coin was struck in the name of the long-awaited imam, al-Mahdi, who according to Shi'i belief should appear at an undisclosed date in the future. Fatimid coins were of such high quality and so abundant that they became the most wide-spread trade coins of the Mediterranean world. When the Crusaders captured Palestine, they copied the contemporary Fatimid coins instead of striking their own. The Crusader coins ranged from excellent imitations of the original to crudely engraved and sloppily struck pieces that shared only their overall design with their Islamic
prototypes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation would like to thank HRH Princess Wijdan Ali for her support in producing this publication.
REFERENCES
This article is reconstructed from the book by Wijdan Ali, The Arab Contribution to Islamic Art from the 7th-15th Centuries, The American University in Cairo Press & The Royal Society of Fine Arts, Jordan.1999.

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The Mamluks in History
Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Tamanna Rahman February 2004 4047 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
The Mamluks in History February 2004
There are one or two misconceptions when Mamluk history is looked at. One is that the Mamluk presence ended in 1516, and that it ended with the Ottoman victory over the Mamluks. Neither are entirely true. The story of the Mamluks begins long before 1240. Ayalon provides a very good study on their appearance, rise to power, and their whole institution. 1 The Mamluks did not disappear in 1517 as most works on them state, but long after, in the 19th, broken mostly by Muhammad Ali of Egypt, after they were weakened by the French years before. 2 Furthermore, as rightly pointed by Ayalon, the unique or almost unique importance, dimension, impact, vitality and durability of the Mamluk institution was, on the whole, greatly ignored. The reason being that no parallel worthy of its name to that institution existed in any civilization other than Islamic civilisation. Another was a negative appreciation to what it represented and to its achievements. 3 Before looking at these and other aspects related to Mamluks history, one or two issues cleared first, besides looking at the Mamluk contribution in art and civilisation. Mamluk, in the words of Humphreys, means: "one who is owned, hence a slave, but it is hardly ever used in its general sense, for which the usual word is 'abd. Instead, it functions as a technical term, referring to a soldier who had been enslaved as a youth, trained to the profession of arms (and converted to Islam) under the supervision of his master (who was either the ruler or a senior military officer), and registered as a member of the standing professional forces of the realm." 4 A Mamluk, once purchased, he was cut off from his land of origin, his country is Egypt; his father the master who purchased him; and his brothers: his companions in arms. 5 These recruits came from every region bordering the Islamic world, most especially from the vast Turkic lands beyond the Oxus River, a major reservoir of military manpower for the Muslim rulers. The Turks were an esteemed military force for their toughness, their racial pride and sense of solidarity, and their uncanny skill in the art of mounted archery. 6 In his book of government 7, Nizam al-Mulk (the Seljuk Visier, founder of the Madrassa) singles out the Mamluks for being superior to any other form of military organisation, and so, for himself, he built a Mamluk army whose frugality; discipline; thorough training and skill, he lauds.8 The Mamluk great merit is also seen by Ibn khaldun who recognises that by the mid thirteenth, the Islamic state had fallen into decline and was unable to resist, and: "It was by the grace of God glory be to Him, that He came to rescue the true faith by reviving its last breadth and restoring in Egypt the unity of the Muslims, guarding His order and defending His ramparts. This He did by sending to them, out of this Turkish people and out of its mighty and numerous tribes, guardian amirs and devoted defenders who are imported as slaves from the lands of heathendom to the lands of Islam."9 First slaves, the mamluk assumed power themselves, in fact, as noted by Humphreys, from its first appearance in the mid ninth century, down to the end of Abbasid independence, the Turkish Mamluk generals were among the most visible and powerful figures at the caliphal court. 10 From Egypt, between the 13th and 19th centuries they ruled over territories in India, Iraq, Syria, Arabia, Libya, and even the Sudan. The Mamluks were an institution of one-generation nobility, though, which excluded their sons. The fear was that amidst power and wealth the children would be unable to preserve the military qualities of

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their parents, and the latter might intervene to promote their sons to power. As a result there had to be a constant supply of fresh recruits to replenish the system. Many aspects of Mamluk art and history can be found in the Encyclopaedia of Islam. The two entries on the Mamluks in such Encyclopaedia provide excellent information, as well as a dynasty tree of Mamluk rulers from 1240- 1517. 11 The term "dynastv", however, as Humphreys rightly notes 12, is actually a misnomer, for few of the major sultans in this long sequence were blood relatives. The leading emirs, he explains, from among whom the sultans were typically chosen, were almost always men who in their youth had been military slaves hence the name of the dynasty). Having been manumitted by some previous sultan on the completion of their training, they were then promoted by him to high military and executive office. In a real sense, therefore, the army was the state; soldiers determined policy and directed administration, while the senior officials of the realm retained not only military rank but also active field command. In the Mamluk state, civilian officials were mere functionaries, working under close military supervision and control.13 And Ibn Khaldun comments that the Mamluks could be appointed to high offices of state, and that "Even sultans are chosen from them who direct the affairs of the Muslims, as has been ordained by the Providence of Almighty God and out of His benevolence to His creatures. Thus one group of Mamluks follows another and generation succeeds generation and Islam rejoices in the wealth. Which it acquired by eans of them and the boughs of the kingdom are luxuriant with the freshness and verdure of youth." 14 This system, as recognised by Ayalon, even if having its drawbacks and limitations, it was far superior to any other conceivable socio-military system and far more beneficial to Islam (this will be confirmed by historical developments below). 15 The Mamluks were not just rulers and fighters, both features that will be further developed in great detail below. They were masters of great art and civilisation. The Mamluks were renowned for their patronage of the arts. Atil provides an excellent summary of Maluk art 16, which continued to influence Islamic art up to the twentieth century. Hundreds of edifices were erected in Cairo, the capital, as well as in the provinces. The buildings were lavishly decorated with carved stone, stucco, and marble mosaics and panels, and had metal and wood furnishings, inlaid with precious materials. Some outstanding features of Mamluk architecture are soaring tiered minarets, massive carved domes and entrance portals, and marble mihrabs. The distinct Mamluk character is obvious in the elaborate floral and geometric patterns of carved stonework. The Mamluk patrons also donated Korans to religious establishments, with exquisite calligraphy and
Pierced globe (brass: inlaid with silver, circa 1270) was made for Badr al-Din Baysari, a Syrian Amir of the early Mamluk period.

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dazzling illuminations, bound in leather and with stamped, tooled, and filigreed decorations. Also celebrated in Mamluk art were brass bowls, basins, ewers, trays, and pen boxes inlaid with silver, gold, and copper.. Artists also created remarkable mosque lamps, bottles, bowls, and goblets. Mamluk textiles and rugs were in great demand in the West, and wool carpets with geometric designs, dating from the end of the fifteenth century, are among the oldest extant rugs. The Mamluk defence of Islam is the basis of their whole ideology. In the Mamluk view, Humphreys explains: "The sultan (theirs) is designated by the caliph to be his executive agent in all matters pertaining to the well-being of Muslims in this life and the next. The sultan is first of all a warrior in the path of God. As such, he defends Islam against the foreign infidel and strives to extend its sway; he also tramples down heresy and rebellion within his domains. To ensure that his subjects know and obey the divine commandments, the sultan must uphold sound religious scholarship and orthodox doctrine, which he accomplishes through close supervision and lavish patronage. It is the sultan's duty, finally, to bring justice to all who live in his dominions by the energetic enforcement of the shari'a (sacred law), by whose provisions all receive their due; and the weak are protected from oppression. The Mamluk sultan claims to be the preeminent king of his age, superior to all others in status and power; therefore he must show himself to be the very model of Islamic kingship." 17 Throughout their history, the Mamluks lived to those standards and descriptions, and at various epochs. The Mamluk first and most crucial contribution in defence of the banner of Islam was the battle of Ain Jalut (1260) won against the Mongols. In a few words, that victory had saved Islam. The Mongols had devastated the whole eastern side of the Islamic Caliphate, slaughtered altogether around two million Muslims in their advance, left no city or town standing, and devastated trade and farming. Sir Thomas Arnold holds: "Muslim civilisation has never recovered from the destructions which the Mongols infliected upon it. Great centres of culture, such as Herat and Bukhara, were reduced to ashes and the Muslim population was ruthlessly massacred..... Under the command of Hulagu, they appeared before the walls of Baghdad (1258), and after a brief siege of one month the last Caliphe of the Abbasid house, Mustasim, had to surrender,and was put to death together with most of the members of his family; 800,000 of the inhabitants were brought out in batches from the city to be massacred, and the greater part of the city itself was destroyed by fire." 18 The Mongols inflicted the same treatment onto Syria, and turned West, aiming to break the last barrier of Islam: the Mamluks, and advancing as far as Morocco west. Surrender was alien to the Mamluks. Fighting was not. At Ain Jalut they crushed the Mongol army. Whatever remnants of the Mongol army escaped slaying there was finished off in their flight. The Mamluks, unlike Salah Eddin al-Ayyubi, for instance, were not known for their clemency to invaders. Ain Jalut was only a start. The Mamluks, led by Baibars, literally wiped off all enemy forces of Islam. In the space of three decades after Ain Jalut, the last of all Ismaili, Mongol, Armenians and Franks had been eliminated from castles, fortresses, towns and cities they held. Their campaigns are faithfully and remarkably well described by the Egyptian historian Ibn al-Furat. Ibn al-Furat (1334-1405) wrote his book, Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk, after the events themselves, but it includes excellent information. The treatise

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survives, in part, in the National Library of Vienna, and also in a part at the Vatican Library, which Le Strange described in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 19 Parts of Ibn al-Furats work have been selected and translated by U and M.C. Lyons 20 in two volumes, the first of which being the Arabic text, the second its translation. Ibn al-Furats work contains excellent extracts on the rise of, and campaigns of Baybars, and his crushing of both Mongols and Franks, and the recovery of Jeruslaem, Tiberias, Ascalon, and other places from the Franks. Many events are related by Ibn al-Furat such as the arrival of the invading forces led by the Kings of France, England, Barcelona, Navarre and many more, and how Baibars conducted his wars against them, all in very minute detail. Further accounts from other historians on the Mamluks are well expressed by the example Little gives of historians who wrote on Malik an-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalaun, about forty years of his reign (1293-1341). 21 The decline of Mamluk power is well captured by Humphreys description.22 Indeed, soon after the thirteenth century apogee, and after the mid fourteenth in particular, began a period of progressive economic and demographic decline. This was the outcome as diverse as the plague, naval attacks by Venice and Genoa, the sack of Alexandria by the crusader Kingdom of Cyprus in 1365, as well as Cypriot naval raids against the Syrian coast in the years following. The Black Death (1347-1349) spared no group of the population, but the Mamluks, who were strangers to the land were worst hit, with extremely high death rates amongst the young Mamluks. 23 The Mamluks kingdom was further wrecked by Timur (Tamerlane), who in 1400, overwhelmed Aleppo, pillaged it and put it to the torch; and so was Damascus. Following that, naval raids of Marshal Jean Boucicaut on the port cities of Syria in the summer of 1403 inflicted further damage. Egypt and Syria were bled, and never recovered the solid prosperity of the early fourteenth century. 24 The final period of Mamluk rule, from 1496 to 1517 was one of constant crisis, and little capacity to cope with it, partly due to poor leadership. Qansuh al Ghawri (1501-1516), the last major sultan, was too old, and faced the Portuguese who in the Indian Ocean were causing immense damage to traditional mamluk sea trade. The rise of the Safawids also made the Ottoman sultan Selim decide to move against the Mamluk empire so as to secure what he thought a unified Islamic land to face the new dangers.At Marj Dabiq, north of Aleppo, the Mamluk army was cut to pieces by Ottoman firepower in August 1516. Qansuh al Ghawri died in the course of the fighting. A new army under Tuman Bay was crushed again outside Cairo in January 1517. 25 However, this hardly meant end of the Mamluks, or Ottoman-Mamluk enmity. Egypt was then subject to the authority of a Turkish representative, the pasha, but actual power remained in the hands of Mameluk beys, or governors of districts or minor provinces. Instead, as Holt explains, although Selim had extinguished the Mamluk sultanate and annexed Egypt to his dominions, the degree of ottomanisation which immediately followed was very limited indeed. The Mamluks were not extirpated, nor did their recruitment cease. A kind of symbiosis between the mamluks and Ottoman elements in the ruling and military elite developed over the course of the years. It is therefore less of a paradox than it might seem that Selim, the destroyer of Qansawh and Tuman Bay, appears in later mamluk legend as something of a folk hero. 26 The Grand Visier reproached Selim for his favour to Khair Bey and the mamluks saying: "Our wealth and our troops are wasted, while you surrender their land to them! Thereupon Selim summoned the executioner, who struck off the Grand Visiers head. Later the sultan declared: `We covenanted with them that if they gave us possession of thei rland, we should continue them in it, and make them its commanders. Could we break the convenant and prove

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false? What if we have put their children into our army: they are Muslims, the sons of Muslims, and will be jealous of their homes." 27 By the late eighteenth century, Islamic power was approaching its end; the Ottomans, attacked on all fronts, were suffering serious defeats; the treaty of Karlowitz caused them very great losses. They could no longer stand to defend the Islamic realm as they had done centuries before. By now the English were expanding further into India at the expense of the weak Mughals. The French were following suite. Egypt and its vicinity were their prime target. Power in Egypt was then in the hands of Mamluk Circasians, from Georgia, mostly. Power was in the hands of two Mamluk Beys, the Amir al-Bilad (Commander of the Land), responsible for law and order, and Amir al-Hajj (Commander of Pilgrimage to Mecca). Just prior to the time of the French invasion, the Amir al-Bilad was Murad Bey (from Tbilisi, originally), whilst Amir al-Hajj was Ibrahim Bey (from the same part). 28 Both were going to constitute the major force of opposition to the French. On 1 July 1798 a French expeditionary force under the command of Napoleon disembarked near Alexandria. His proclamation for the people of Egypt on 2 July 1798 included the following: "For very long the Beys who rule Egypt have insulted the French nation, and have covered its tradesmen with insults. Now has arrived the hour of punishment. For very long, this collection of slaves (the Mamluks), purchased from Georgia and the Caucasus has inflicted its tyranny upon the most beautiful part of the world, but God, on which all depend has ordered that their reign ends. People of Egypt I have come to restore your rights, punish the usurpers, and more than the Mamluks I respect God, his Prophet and the Quran" 29 Napoleon added he came to defend Egypt against the rapacious Mamluks. The reasons, though, for his intervention, were different, considered briefly here. The French, Holt recognises, had long been perceptive of the strategic significance and commercial potential of Egypt. Many schemes had been considered since for the conquest and occupation of the country by French statesmen at intervals. 30 The French hoped to occupy Egypt permanently and to profit from its agriculture and trade, while `liberating the Egyptians from Mamluk rule.31 Complaints by French merchants calling for the French intervention were to serve as pretext for Bonapartes expedition. 32 They held: "It is beyond belief that in a country where the ruler is allied to France, that French citizens are treated as indignantly as this, trambling under the yoke of despotism, and only opurchase goods by ruinous scarifices and a precarious existence." 33 The first call being unsuccessful, the residents made a new one in 1793: "The prolongation of this scandalous situation will be outrageous for a republic which make the laws for Europe and whose name is terror for tyrants."34 They explain that the expedition will be paid for by the loot, and whatever compensation from the Egyptians, and conclude their call:

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"We need urgent rescue, because our ills are at their worst. Tell the lawmakers, so human they are, to uphold their works and listen to the suffering humanity. Tell these wreckers of tyrants that whilst they break the chains of people, some French suffer under despotism and call upon their country to give them rescue which it gives to foreigners." 35 Once they landed at Alexandria, the French were met by an initial resistance which they crushed. They took the city of Alexandria, granting its population safe conduct but soon raised an impost for the upkeep of their army. 36 From there, they advanced on Cairo. They met and defeated a Mamluk force under Murad bey at Shubrakhit. He was again defeated in the decisive battle of Inbaba, opposite the capital (the so called battle of the Pyramids) on 21 July 1798. Al-Jabarti dwells on the episode, and shows very little kindness to the irresolute, divided Mamluk forces which explained their defeat. 37 The Mamluks were not finished, though. After the initial chaos, they fought back at battle of Salahieh (11 August). Here, their bravery was extolled: "I have not seen anything like Mamluk bravery nor agility in the manipulation of arms; the same hand that fired also cut off with the sword." Said the chief of brigade Detroye.38 So fierce was Mamluk resistance and attacks, especially in october 1798, when the French were forced to leave their wounded behind, clinging to fleeing survivors. 39 Mamluk resistance continued, especially as they received support of Meccans and Tunisians and Algerians in early 1799. The Mamluk allies crossed to Jedda and Yambo on boats, and landed at Kosseir; crossed the desert and joined Murad bey on the Nile.40 The fighting now became more embittered. 41 The French army was still able to move forward, taking the city of Jaffa which had surrendered to them on 7 March. The French first looted the city before massacring the population. Commandant Malus speaks "of soldiers, everywhere slitting throats of men, women, children, old people, Christians, Turcs, all that had a human figure. Father thrown upon the corpse of the son; the daughter raped on the corpse of her mother; smoke from charred bodies burnt alive; the smell of blood." 42 On the 8th-9th of March 1799, the Turkish defenders, 2800 men were shot in cold blood. 43 Further French misdeeds were in Egypt itself. They levelled off areas of Cairo that stood in the way of their fortifications, and executed eminent Islamic figures in public to instore a sort of terror to help them rule. 44 Other instances of French tyranny are narrated by a traveller Vivant Denon. 45 Poor merchants were often seen as bandits, and would be shot and their merchandise looted, and their beasts taken. Profits were generally shared by the French and their allies. The soldiers plundered. The French further imposed extremely ruinous taxes on the population, upon which Al-Jabarti elaborates: "The French levied taxes including Khulaf (impost for the upkeep of the military) and tafarid (appointed taxes) of the country In implementation of this they appointed tax collectors (sarrafs) who went into the country like rulers wreaking havoc among the Muslims with arrests, beatings, insults, and ceaseless harassment in their demands of money. Furthermore

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they terrorized them with threats of bringing in the French soldiers if they did not pay the determined amount quickly." 46 On 19 March 1799 the French siege of Acre began. Against all expectations the town did not fall, and Bonaparte found himself pinned down on the coast. He sought his Muslim allies (Bashir al-Shihab) and the son of Zahir al-Umar, seeking to give him support but they did not. The Ottoman fleet brought reinforcements to the city, and the siege proved very costly to the French. In retaliation for Jaffa, every French prisoner was decapitated, every French head exchanged for prize money. 47 The French raised siege after very severe losses, and began their retreat back to Egypt, burning and looting on their way, but leaving their wounded behind. 48 They entered Egypt on 13 June 1799, A short while after Napoleon left the country, leaving command in the hands of General Kleber. Kleber was assassinated by a Syrian Muslim and command went to Abdallah Jacques Menou a French convert to Islam. Further attacks on the French forced them to capitulate on 2 September 1801 . The French intervention, although ended, still had weakened the Mamluks considerably. Then, when the French departed in 1801, the Ottoman sultan appointed a new governor of Egypt: Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali was born in 1769 in the Macedonian town of Kavalla. He became Viceroy of Egypt in 1805. His rise to power was also helped by the death of Murad Bey in 1801.The Mamluk were as often divided into factions among themselves, too. 49 In 1805, Muhammad Ali began to take steps to eliminate the Mamluks. He had some leaders decapitated. Then, in 1811, he resorted to incredible treachery to eliminate all of them. He invited their leaders on 1 march 1811 to the Citadel to attend the investment of Ahmad Tusun pasha, his son. The beys and their followers were shot down as they passed in procession down a rocky passage. Simultaneously their houses were sacked and those Mamluks who had not attended the ceremony were hunted down, as far as upper Egypt. A small group escaped beyond the Third cataract, and established their camp on the west bank of the Nile, where now stands the town of new Dongola.50 The last Mamluk leader, Daud, in Baghdad (1816-31), had initiated some modernization policies, that included clearing canals, military training, founding industries etc... His rule, though was finished by a combination of flood and plague which devastated Baghdad. Soon the Ottomans reasserted their sovereignty over the country.
Endnotes:
D.Ayalon: Aspects of the Mamluk phenomenon in Der Islam: Vol 53; 1976; pp 196-225. p. 216. See G. Hanotaux: Histoire de la Nation Egyptienne; Paris; Librarie Plon; 1931. Vol 5: By H. Deherain. 3 D.Ayalon: Aspects; op cit; p. 196. 4 R.S. Humphreys: The Mamluks; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980; p.68. 5 G.Hanotaux: Histoire; op cit; P. 52 6 R.S. Humphreys: Mamluks; opc it; p. 68. 7 N.Al-Mulk: Book of Government; trsltd by H.Darke; London; 1967. 8 D.Ayalon: Aspects; op cit. at p. 216.
2

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Ibn Khladun: Kitab al-Ibar; v; Cairo: Dar al-Taba al-Amira; 1867-8; pp 379-72 (from D. Ayalon) Mamlukiyyat: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 1980; 340. 10 R.S. Humphreys: Mamluks; op cit; p. 68. 11 P.M.Holt: Mamluks:Encyclopaedia of Islam; Vol 6.2nd ed; Leiden; Brill; pp 321-331; pp 328-9. 12 R.S. Humphreys: mamluks; op cit; p.70. 13 Ibid. 14 In D.Ayalon: Mamlukiyyat; op cit; p. 346. 15 D.Ayalon: Aspects; opc it; p. 196. 16 E.Atil: Mamluk art; in Dictionary of Middle Ages; op citl p. 70. 17 R.S. Humphreys: Mamluks; op cit; p.70-1. 18 T. W. Arnold: Muslim Civilisation during the Abbasid Period; In The Cambridge Medieval History,:Vol IV: Edited by J. R. tanner, C. W. Previte; Z.N. Brooke, 1923. Cambridge University Press, 1922 (1936 reprint); pp 274-298. at p.279: 19 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol 32, 1900, p.295. 20 U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, selection from the Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of Ibn al-Furat; 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971. 21 D.P. Little: An Introduction to Mamluk Historiography; Verlag; Wisbaden, 1970. 22 R.S. Humphreys: Mamluks; op cit; pp. 71-6. 23 Ibid; p. 74. 24 Ibid; p. 75. 25 Ibid; p. 76. 26 P.M.Holt: Egypt and the Fertile Crescent: 1522-1922 . Cornell paperbacks; Ithaca; New York; 1966. p.45: 27 Chronicles of al-Ishaqi; in P.M.Holt, p. 45. 28 To know more about the two figures, and comrades, see al-Jabarti: Al-Jabartis chronicle of the first seven months of the French occupation of Egypt. Edt and trsltd by S. Moreh; Leiden, 1975. pp 33-5, and related bibliography. 29 G.Hanotaux:Histoire; op cit; p.254; for lengthy details of this proclamation see al-Jabarti op cit; pp 39-47. 30 P.M. Holt: Egypt; op cit; p.155. 31 Ibid; p.156. 32 Ibid; p.155. 33 In G.Hanotaux: Histoire; op cit; p. 208 34 Ibid. 35 Ibid; p.209. 36 Al-Jabarti: Al Jabarti. Op cit; pp 36-7. 37 Ibid; pp 48-52. 38 G.Hanotaux: Histoire; op cit; p.272 39 Ibid; p.376. 40 Ibid; p. 61 and p.379. 41 For more detailed account, see Al-Jabarti: Al-Jabartis chronicle; op cit. 42 In G.Hanotaux: Histoire; op cit; pp 406-7. 43 Brigadier Detroyes Journal, in G. Hanotaux: Histoire; op cit; p. 407. 44 In P.M. Holt: Egypt; op cit; p. 157. 45 In N.Daniel: Islam, Europe and Empire, Edinburgh University Press; 1966; p. 105. 46 Al-Jabarti: Al-Jabarti, op cit; pp 67-8. 47 G.Hanotaux: Histoire; op cit; p.421. 48 Ibid; pp. 425-6. 49 P.M.Holt: Egypt; op cit; p. 162. 50 Ibid; p.178.

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Bibliography - W. Arnold: Muslim Civilisation during the Abbasid Period; In The Cambridge Medieval History,:Vol IV: Edited by J. R. tanner, C. W. Previte; Z.N. Brooke, 1923. Cambridge University Press, 1922 (1936 reprint); pp 274-298. - D.Ayalon: Aspects of the Mamluk phenomenon in Der Islam: Vol 53; 1976; pp 196-225. - N.Daniel: Islam, Europe and Empire, Edinburgh University Press; 1966. - Encyclopaedia of Islam; 2nd edition; Vol 6; Leiden; Brill. - J..G.Glubb: Soldiers of Fortune: The Story of the Mamluks (1973). - G. Hanotaux: Histoire de la Nation Egyptienne; Paris; Librarie Plon; 1931. Vol 5: By H. Deherain. - P.M. Holt: Egypt and the Fertile Crescent: 1522-1922. Cornelll paperbacks; Ithaca; New York; 1966. - R.S.Humphreys: The Mamluks; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980. - Al-Jabarti: Al-Jabartis chronicle of the first seven months of the French occupation of Egypt. Edt and translated by S. Moreh; Leiden, 1975. - Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol 32, 1900. - Ibn Khaldun: Kitab al-Ibar; v; Cairo: Dar al-Taba al-Amira; 1867-8. - D.P. Little: An Introduction to Mamluk Historiography; Verlag; Wisbaden, 1970. - U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, selection from the Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of Ibn al-Furat; 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971. - N.Al-Mulk: Book of Government; trsltd by H.Darke; London; 1967. - W. Muir: The Mameluke, or Slave Dynasty of Egypt, 1260-1517 (1896; repr. 1973).

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SPAIN'S ISLAMIC LEGACY: A MUSLIM'S TRAVELOGUE
Author: Editor: Chief Editor: Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright:
Professor S.M. Ghazanfar Dr. Rabah Saoud Lamaan Ball MPhys Husamaldin Tayeh March 2004 4050 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
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Spains Islamic Legacy: A Muslims Travelogue March 2004
SPAIN'S ISLAMIC LEGACY: A MUSLIM'S TRAVELOGUE

This paper originally appeared in a number of publications and websites to describe a journey in December 1998. It has now been modified by the author especially for www.MuslimHeritage.com This article is a travelogue of impressions from a recent visit to Spain by Professor Ghazanfar1. For a Muslim who has some familiarity with Islamic history in the Iberian Peninsula, a visit to Spain is almost like a pilgrimage. However, unlike the pilgrimage to Mecca, 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 Islam, 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 800 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 Cordobas most distinguished intellectual, Ibn Rushd (1126-1198; known as Averroes in the West) in commemoration of the 800th anniversary of his death. The trip also provided me with an opportunity to experience Spain's Islamic heritage. That 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 United Nations monuments of "Heritage of Humanity". Conveniently these cities are well-maintained by the Spanish Government for, among other things, their huge significance for tourism, notwithstanding the many attempts in times past by Catholic fanaticism to eliminate any remnants of Islamic past. Soon after landing in Madrid (Arabic Majrit, a kind of a breeze), I took a night train to Granada, arriving there the next morning.
Grandeur of Granada
When Muslims (Arabs and Berbers) arrived in Spain, during early eighth century, they thought they had discovered heaven on earth. Water, which had been somewhat of a luxury for them, was found in abundance in the snowy mountain peaks. By a series of intricate channels, they transported it into the palace grounds and onto the plains below. Still today in Granada one gets a glimpse of paradise (so described by many visitors and travellers before) in the majesty of Alhambra Palace and adjacent Generalife Gardens (Arabic Janna Al- Rafia'a, the Garden of the Architect).
Small streams carry water to various fountains and ponds, even rushing over a stone stairway. One observes and hears water splashing and gushing, under the conifers, roses, lilies, jasmines, etc with great displays of

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colour. Aside from the luxury of the Palace itself, there are the courtyards shaded by a variety of exotic trees and cooled by fountains and underground water channels.
Figure 1. The Generalife garden (Janna al Rafia'a) meaning "the garden of lofty paradise" imitating that described in the Quran containing wonderful orchards, pastures, and flower beds. It is part of a Nasrid palace built in the 13th century.
Figure 2. A beautifully golden decorated arched window from the interior of the Torre de las Infantas opening into a paradise garden
All through one feels the presence of God Almighty, for there are Qur'anic verses inscribed on the walls, the most prominent and ubiquitous being: "Wa la ghalib illa Allah" (There is no victor but Allah). As one walks through Alhambra and the Gardens, one vicariously absorbs into the past and begins to experience an enormous sense of pride and awe at the glory that was Islam. But as I walked through the Palace, the tour-guide pointed out, among others, the "Ambassador's Hall," where the Muslim ruler, Abu Abdallah ("Boabdil," as the guide referred to him) had signed the treaty on November 25, 1491 for the eventual surrender of Granada in January 1492 to the Catholic King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel. I recalled the painful scene I read about sometime ago when Abu Abdallah shed tears and cried out, "Allah O'Akbar," his mother said to him, "Cry you like a woman over a lost kingdom that you could not defend like a man." Thus one feels the pain of an inglorious end to a glorious past, intensified further by one's knowledge of a divided and impoverished present world of Islam, subject to Western hegemony almost since the Crusades.

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There are numerous other reminders of historic Islam in Granada. There are several smaller palaces and there is the historic Albaican quarter (the Muslim quarter, where some Muslims still live and where the former mosque stands as Church of El-Salvador). Many churches whose roofs were decorated with domes, crosses and bell-towers instead of the former crescent and the Muezzin's Ada'n, clearly revealed their former status. There is the Gothic Cathedral, which once was the Great Mosque of Granada and where the two Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, are buried. As I visited the Cathedral, I saw a multitude of statues and paintings of Catholic icons, reminding me of at least one of the reasons for the 16th century Protestant split in Christianity.
Figure 3. Court of Myrtles in the Comars Palace
Figure 4. The court of the Lions showing the famous fountain and the slender marble columns of the galleries of the courtyard.
One giant painting/sculpture that covered a large wall was most painful to absorb. It depicted a warrior on a horse and a dead man with his neck crushed, lying under the horse's feet. The guide explained, "It is Santiago and his horse, slaying a Muslim." When I asked further, she said, "It is the Apostle Santiago who helped in the Christian victory over Islam." When I pointed out the implied hate-message, she was slightly taken aback and wondered if I was a Muslim, and when I affirmed, she apologetically replied, "well, it is just a painting." Since that experience, I have learnt a little about the legend of St. James ("Santiago" in Spanish). Under continuous infiltration of Christian warriors from Leon (North of Spain) causing destruction and insecurity in neighbouring Muslim provinces, the Muslim commander, Ibn Abi Amir (also known as "Al-Mansur bi Allah," meaning "victorious through God's grace;" and "Almanzor" in the West), decided to fight them to bring back security and

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peace to these provinces. He captured Leon in the tenth century and his troops reached the Church of Santiago de Compostela. Christian claims of the wide destruction Almansur's army caused, including the demolition of St. James, need to be taken with great caution as neither the Islamic teaching which forbid destroying life and killing innocents nor the good character of this Caliph allow such brutality. Instead, Al-Mansur is known to have preserved the shrine of the Christian apostle St. James in that structure. Later, as the Muslims lost ground, the myth of St. James was cultivated, and Santiago "Matamoros" ("Santiago the Moor-slayer") became known as the inspiration for the Christian victory; thus becoming Spain's patron-saint.
Cordoba's Grand Mosque and Surroundings

From Granada, I proceeded by bus to Cordoba. Through the journey I could sense the conspicuous presence of Muslims, former mosques in every little town we passed, and forts and castles standing pretentiously on almost every mountain top, though displaying Christian symbols I could see flashbacks of Muslims tending to their olive groves, developing new crops and agriculture technology, and living peacefully side-by-side with their non-Muslim neighbours. Yet I could also imagine them hiding behind the hills and mountains, trying to escape the wrath of the 16th century Inquisition, when they had to choose between forced "baptized" (and thus, be "saved") expulsion (but children to be left behind), or risk brutal death.
Figure 5. The genius of Muslim architecture appears in this strange but functional arcade. The imposition of one arcade on top of another not only gave the space a greater height but also added to its majesty. The polychrome colouring added another decorative quality to this Great building.

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Among the various monuments of Islamic Spain, the most intense yearning of my soul was the Grand Mosque (Le Mezquita) of Cordoba, built in the 8th century by Emir Abdul Rehman I, but now called The Holy Cathedral. Immediately after arriving at my hotel in Cordoba, on December 8th, I was able to join a guided tour that included a visit to the Mosque. As a Muslim, visiting this landmark was an overwhelmingly therapeutic, as I could witness the great achievements of Islam with a sense of pride and admiration for its majestically enlightening message. In the open compound, there were ornate rows of orange trees, with the Cathedral's bell-tower on one side, once the muezzin's minaret. As we entered the Mosque, I noticed the sixteenth century Cathedral standing in the heart of the Mosque clearly symbolising the Christian victory. While the construction of the Cathedral was controversial, it helped to preserve the Grand Mosque from complete destruction at the hands of the new rulers. While standing in the Mosque, I felt spiritually immersed in its serenity and grandeur of its majestic arches and columns and by the symmetry of chandeliers in all directions, abruptly interrupted by the presence of the Cathedral.
Figure 6. The Mihrab of the Great Mosque of Cordoba built by Al-Hakem II between 966-969. Notice the use of the great" horseshoe arch and the Ijmiz which denotes the square frame around the arch. Both features were imitated by medieval Europe.
Figure 7. AL-Maqsura at the great Mosque of Cordoba is located in front of the Mihrab and was built by the Caliph Al-Hakem II as part of his extension of the Mosque between 962 and 966.
The Mihrab was the masterpiece which attracted my soul amidst intensely spiritual emotions. A metal fence enclosed it, but I could see several Qur'anic verses on the walls, beautifully inscribed in Arabic calligraphy, intertwined with coloured tiles. Such beautifully inspiring mosaic was painfully disturbed by the imposing

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presence of Christian statues and crosses above. Again, it was easy to flashback--and I could see myself standing in prayers, shoulder to shoulder, along side such Muslim intellectual giants of Cordoba as Ibn Hazam, Al-Qurtubi, Al-Maqqari, Al-Ghafiqi, Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Al-Arabi, and others who once made Cordoba the supreme intellectual centre of the world. On the architectural merits of the Mosque the tour guide, to my surprise and dismay, was painstakingly linking the beauty of the Mosque more to the Romans than the centuries of Muslim presence. During interactions with the guide, someone inquired about the origins of bullfights in Spain. The tour guide, either by ignorance or perjury, linked this violent sport to Muslims (Arabs), confidently stating, Oh, the Arabs brought that sport here." This fabrication bothered me considerably, as I had heard several explanations of the origins of bullfighting, but that was not one of them. So I politely interjected and referred to some Catholic legends as to the origins. The story dates back to the time when the Virgin Mariam (Mary puh) was pregnant with Prophet Issa (Jesus Christ; puh), there was an incident in which a bull was indignant to Mariam (puh), so the bull became a beast to be fought back. The tour guide denied any knowledge of such a story. However, to my surprise and satisfaction, a Catholic couple from the group confirmed my story. I do not know how authentically this explanation is but, certainly contemporary bull fighting did not originate with the Muslims (Arabs). After this incident I encountered a most painful experience in Cordoba's Grand Mosque. As the tour was in progress, I felt the urge to perform tahiyat al-masjid prayer which is a Suna, voluntary prayer practised by Prophet Mohammed (puh), consisting of two short Rak'at So I chose a remote corner away from the group and began my prayers. However, as I was ecstatically engaged in my prayers, during the second raka'at, an angry man, trembling with rage, approached me, literally breathing into my face, screaming in Spanish, "No Muslim prayers...No Muslim prayers" (so I understood). At first I resisted the pressure of the security guard; but I had to break my prayers. . Despite my protests (and the protest of the guide and other members of the group), the guard tightly held my arm and escorted me out of the Mosque. Once outside the Mosque, I could not escape feeling the pain of this hate and intolerance. The agony of my defeat added to my sadness provoked by memories of the downfall of the Muslim Caliphate in this land; I could not restrain my tears. Then I recalled the late Allama Iqbal (1873-1938) of the Indian sub-continent who visited this Mosque in 1932 (with special permission from England, for until not long ago, Muslims and Jews were forbidden to enter Spain). Having encountered similar experiences, he expressed his anguish in his epic poem, "The Mosque of Qurtaba," where he bemoaned: Oh Holy Mosque of Qurtaba, the shrine for all admirers of art Pearl of the one true faith, sanctifying Andalusia's soil Like Holy Mecca itself, such a glorious beauty Will be found on earth, only in a true Muslim's heart These verses and his other poems provided me with some comfort as I recollected the legendary tolerance and protection that Islam has historically extended to other faiths. During the next day or so, I returned to the Mosque, accompanied by a Muslim colleague from France; and cautiously, I was able to absorb its quiet spirituality more thoroughly.

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Besides the Great Mosque, Islams legacy in Cordoba has more to offer. Guided by a city map, I decided to explore more by walking. Echoes of Cordoba's grandeur remain strong in the area, especially around the Mosque. Like other Muslim towns, Cordoba contains small palaces built around watered courtyards, and to explore these streets is to encounter ecstatic bliss: glimpses through open doors reveal beautiful tiled and flower-filled patios. The use of Arabic names for streets, buildings and places is still much in common use, such as. "Alfaros, the name of the hotel where I stayed, with some of its luxurious rooms also named in Arabic (e.g., "Salon Al-Zahra"). Buildings such as churches, castles, and fortresses still testify to their Islamic past, either by their design or by their inscriptions. As I walked along the banks of Guadalquivir (derived from Al-
Wadi Al-Kabir, or Great River, in Arabic), I saw the picturesque ruins of three Muslim flour-mills, with a Roman
bridge standing in the background. On the other side of the bridge stood an historic fort, the Tower of Calahorra (Arabic Qalah Al-Horrah, or The Fort of the Freed Lady), which houses a small but excellent Arabfunded Islamic Museum, that provides a good introduction to Islamic legacy. The most spectacular sight, however, was that of a ninth century waterwheel (Spanish noira, from Arabic Al-Na'urah) still standing in the river. For many centuries, under Islam, this wheel was the main water machine supplying the Great Mosque and the whole Cordoba city with drinking water. Near the Mosque is the Alcazar (A-Qasr in Arabic), built in the eighth century, the residence of the first Ummayad emir, Abdur Rehman. Also, nearby there was the statue of Ibn Rushd whom I paid homage before leaving this area.
Figure 8. The Statute of Ibn Rushd (Averroes, 1126-1198) stands in pride as a reminder of the contribution of the Muslims not only to Spain but to the whole of Europe.

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Friday approached quickly and I needed to locate a mosque where Friday prayer takes place. Upon some investigation I located the newly-founded Ibn Rushd Islamic University in the vicinity of the Great Mosque. The University has a mosque within it; and I went there for Friday prayers, on December 11th. It was such a moving experience to hear the sound of adhan on the Spanish soil, where once the hostility to Islam could have resulted in a dreadful death. . A further irony is this: the university and its mosque are located at the site almost exactly where so much of the Islamic past was destroyed-- religious scriptures and thousands of books written by Islamic scholars. This was also one of the sites where Muslims who refused to convert to Christianity were burnt at the stake. Those who thus converted, by force, became known as Moriscos. Most inhabitants of todays Andalucia region are believed to hold that Morisco past, though over the centuries their identity is thoroughly lost amidst the new Spanish Christian society. The Jews, though a minority, had suffered similar fate, and those "baptized" were known as Conversos. In the University's mosque, I met some native young Spaniards (including three women) who, having discovered their roots and/or having formally studied comparative religion, had embraced Islam. In fact, it was most moving to hear the Friday Khutba (lecture ceremony) from a young Spanish Muslim, who spoke fluent Arabic, and even provided translation in Spanish and English. Then, at the University, I met the Rector of the University, Dr. Ali M. Kettani, a well-known Moroccan scholar. And it was a pleasant surprise, for he and I had briefly known each other in the 1980s when we were both located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I have not met many people with the dedication and enthusiasm to the cause of Islam that I observed in Dr. Kettani. With his strenuous commitment and efforts, he founded, almost singlehanded, this small university in an environment which, though officially tolerant, still exudes Catholic fanaticism; I was told the university and mosque doors have to be locked all the time, for there have been instances of violence and vandalism. The University currently enrols a number of Muslim and non-Muslim students with ambitious plans for expansion. However, there is also a desperate need for financial resources (anyone willing to contribute may contact the author or the University Rectorinformation available on the internet). I also learnt at the University of a most gruesome tragedy that a prominent Muslim lady, Sabora Uribe, had suffered. Professionally a psychiatrist, wife of the President of the Federation of Spanish Muslim Entities and mother of five children, Sabora had embraced Islam twenty years years ago. She was the founder of the Women's Spanish Muslim Association (called "Al-Nisa"). This noble lady was brutally murdered in a town near Cordoba on October 28, 1998. Some fanatics entered the house at night and stabbed her to death, the apparent motive being hatred for her Islamic faith and activities. The University has named one of its classrooms in her memory. One of her children attends the Islamic University in Cordoba.
Seville: A Detour
At the end of the Ibn Rushd colloquium and having absorbed as much of Cordoba as I could within the time available, a colleague and I decided to make a quick visit to Seville Seville, pronounced Sevellya in Spanish, is a derivation from the original Arabic, Ishibiliya, arabised from the Roman name "Hispalis". Incidentally, one of Ishibiliyas famous twelfth century scholars was the Muslim botanist, Abu Zakariyah al-Ishibili, who had identified nearly 600 plants and developed methods of grafting in order to grow improved varieties. In the

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usual Arabic fashion, he is named Ishibili, after the city of his residence. But there is more of Islamic past in Seville, submerged in the famous relics of the Alcazar and the Cathedral/La Giralda. Like Alhambra Palace, Seville's Alcazar (Al-Qasr) is another architectural jewel from the early days of Islam. It was built in the eighth century and expanded in the ninth. Later the Christian rulers made further additions mostly in Gothic style. The entire structure remains, however, essentially Islamic and follows the Islamic tradition of halls and open courts with water fountains. The walls are covered in painted stucco and glazed tiles. The blue and white inscription proclaims the same message seen in Alhambra above: "wa la ghalib ill Allah". Over the vestibule doors are elongated voussoirs which make a nice introduction to more fantasies. Multi-lobed arches support facades of a network of lace-like stone and foliage in which lurk human faces besides the shields of Castile (added under the Christian rule). The most prestigious rooms of the Alcazar are the "Hall of the Kings" and the "Hall of the Ambassadors". The Hall of the Kings is a wide room decorated with fine woodwork, a triple horseshoe-arched arcade and deep alcoves. The Hall of the Ambassadors, with its similar triple arcades, is sharply cut while the ornament is so lavish that it would numb the senses were it not for the vistas beyond. The dome is starlit above subdued muqaranas (stalactites) squinches which catch and reflect the light. One of the most elaborate plaster designs in one of the halls is a foliate lattice inset with pine cones, some of which seemed crushed into thistle heads and others conjured into three-dimensional shells. After absorbing the interior wonders of the Alcazar Palace, I walked through the well-trimmed hedges in the exterior, sat on the tiled benches and enjoyed the beautiful flowers as the Muslim emirs and their entourage would have done. In the midst of this beauty I could not but wonder: If only Muslim architects would come here, to the land of their forefathers, to learn from this beautiful Andalusian architecture, then our Muslim cities would regain their identity, beauty and functionality and rid ourselves from the monotony and ugliness of modern concrete blocks imposed upon various Islamic environments by the so called "modern architects". I also wondered how the sons of the Arabian desert became such excellent gardeners and farmers, something that still mystifies historians and scholars. It was the civilization of Islam which transformed such people into those genius architects, designers, scientists, gardeners and politicians. The Quran established this as it declares:
"Those who believe, and work righteousness,- their Lord will guide them because of their faith: beneath them will flow rivers in gardens of bliss. (This will be) their cry therein: "Glory to Thee, O Allah." And "Peace" will be their greeting therein! and the close of their cry will be: "Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds!" (The Quran: 10:9-10)
That's how such people introduced to Spain and the whole Western world so many different types of plants, such as: lemons, oranges, apricots, artichokes, dates, rice, sugarcane and so on. And then we walked to Seville's famous Cathedral and its La Giralda (The Minaret)--the grandest of the minarets, rivalled only by its mother minaret, the Kutubiyya of Marrakesh. The Cathedral is now where the Great Mosque of Seville was built in 1172; and the original minaret was built in 1198. The mosque was first converted into a church in 1248, later it was demolished to give way to the Cathedral which was built during the fifteenth century. Only the dome and minaret of the original mosque escaped demolition. Apart from the visible dome and the minaret (both now "Christianised,"), an astute visitor can also see the Cathedral's Islamic past in two other

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manifestations: The Arabic-inscription, disclosing the name of the name of the Caliph "Abu Yusuf Ya'qub" who financed and ordered the erection of the mosque, as one enters the minaret. The huge entry gate whose wooden doors not only have the Islamic design but also twelfth century Arabic inscriptions. There is nothing inside the Cathedral that would suggest its Islamic past. There is the thoroughly Gothic architecture inside, with dozens of statues and paintings of Christian icons and other symbols. Yet, I was impressed by the Cathedral's interior, not only for its grandeur and richness but also for the serene and solemn atmosphere and the religious sanctity that it conveyed, much more than I felt in Granada's Cathedral. In the Cathedral there is also the tomb of Christopher Columbus, who, after the fall of Islamic Granada in 1492, was charged by Isabella and Ferdinand to seek out India. But one factor that persuaded him to travel West was the Ottoman presence in the East. Guided by well-experienced Muslim navigators, he "discovered" the Americas in the same year (of course, many dispute and despise his adventures).
Some Concluding Remarks

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 as they are part of daily life and therefore 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), Al-Mohade (Al-
Mohtasub), arroz (Al-Ruz), Guitarra (Al-Guitara), aceituna (Al-Zaytuna), and many others. Further, famous
words such as Ole'! Ole'!" during the Flamenco dances and Spanish bullfights, are 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 only a few examples as there is so much more to describe, including many customs and traditions that are closely linked to the Islamic past, despite the attempts on the part of the Inquisition authorities to eradicate them. Contemporary Spain vigorously promotes Alhambra and other monuments of Al-Andalus as major tourist attractions. Yet, the promoters, including the tour-guides, do not quite point out that these are legacies of nearly eight centuries of Islamic presence in Spain during which they planted the roots of European Renaissance through unparalleled transfer of knowledge in almost every known field. In other words, while Spain and the West are happy to inherit and benefit from the legacy of Islamic Spain (with its own assimilation, to be sure, of the rediscovered Greek reservoir of knowledge), there is the historic reluctance to acknowledging how that legacy contributed to Europe's awakening. The American traveller, Washington Irving, observed this paradox when he visited Spain during early 18th century. The Spanish, he remarked, considered Muslims only as "invaders and usurpers;" and that still seems to be the case today. Following the new freedom of religion policy which was adopted recently in Spain, Islam was officially accepted as a religion in 1989. However, there are still occasions when fanaticism and racism resurface, such as the murder case of the Muslim woman mentioned earlier. According to information available from the Islamic University of Cordoba, there is now about half a million Muslims living in Spain of whom only a fifth are citizens the rest are migrants. Of the citizens, about twenty thousand are converts, the rest are naturalised. The new Muslims live in various regions of Spain although the

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majority is concentrated in the Andalucia region. There are about two hundred mosques in Spain today, fifty of them in the Andalucia region. At one time, of course, there were over 1600 mosques in Cordoba alone! Finally, while I have had the good fortune of having done some travelling here and there, none--except my visits to Mecca and Medina--surpasses the spiritual and emotional experience that I felt upon being immersed for a few days into Spain's Islamic past. There is indeed a sense of pride and humility about the glorious age of my forbearers in faith. This personal exposure to Islamic legacy, as well as my other recent academic explorations into Islam's intellectual contributions and their impact in the making of the West, are in the nature of spiritual medicine, a sort of a therapy for the soul. Such encounters enable me to escape into history books and thus help me in overcoming the sense of grudging humiliation that haunts me as a Muslim; I suspect I am not alone. Again I am recalling a verse from Allama Iqbal's poem, Hispania: Indeed, my eyes observed and absorbed Granada; but My soul is at peace neither from travelling, nor stopping Saw so much, absorbed so much; told so much, heard so much; Yet, solace to the heart is neither from seeing, nor from hearing While one can seek solace in such lamentations of the late Allama, yet one also yearns for a brighter Islamic future, as visualized in the writings of such universal intellectual giants as Ibn Sina (980-1037), Al-Ghazali (1058-1111), and Ibn Rushd (1126-1998). The meaning of life and its goal in Al-Andalus during its Islamic apogee directed each act of daily living, as well as scientific explorations. Such explorations were not set apart from wisdom and faith, and none can express this delicately-balanced bliss better than Ibn Rushd. Thus, during my visit to Cordoba's Islamic Museum, I noted this message from a recorded tape of Ibn Rushd's remarks from his book, On the Harmony of Science and Religion: (i) science, founded on experience and logic, to discover reason; (ii) wisdom, which reflects on the purpose of every scientific research so that it serves to make our life more beautiful; and (iii) revelation, that of our Qur'an, as it is only through revelation that we know the final purposes of our life and our history; Amen. Indeed, it is the gift of "reason" that the then civilized Islam, through Ibn Rushd and others, gave to the then primitive Europe. And it was their impact that the late Allama mentions in his poem, "The Mosque of Qurtaba:" Those whose vision guided the East and the West; Who showed Dark Europe the path of Enlightenment.
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). Presently, he is professor-emeritus (retired, 2002)

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The Muslim Carpet and the Origin of Carpeting
Dr Rabah Saoud Professor Salim Al-Hassani Lamaan Ball April 2004 4053 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
The Muslim Carpet and the Origin of Carpeting April 2004
THE MUSLIM CARPET AND THE ORIGIN OF CARPETING
Abstract
The Muslim carpet has long been a luxury commodity sought by textile museums, rich collectors and wealthy merchants all over the world. The fame of the flying carpet of 'Al'a Al-Din added some emotional mystery and value to its already exceptional beauty and tangible quality. It is not surprising that carpets still represent one of the most valuable art items obtained by museums and wealthy families of the West. Furthermore, carpeting is becoming one of the essential ingredients of today's living standard in the modern world. Modern sophisticated manufacturing has made it one of the cheapest available flooring methods enabling carpeted floors to invade all houses, apartments and offices. Meanwhile its comfort and warmth has increased its popularity becoming the largest used flooring system replacing the ceramics and mosaics. What are the origins of this tradition? What is the Muslim contribution to this subject? This brief account initially provides an historical background to the appearance and development of Muslim carpet making. Later, it follows the trail of its transfer to the West so gradually setting up a western carpeting tradition.
Background
Muslims regard the carpet with special esteem and admiration. For the traditional Bedouin tribes of Arabia, Persia and Anatolia the carpet was at the centre of their life being used as a tent sheltering them from the sand storms, a floor covering providing great comfort for the household, wall curtains protecting privacy and useful items such as blankets, bags, and saddles. It was indeed a resourceful inspiration to make use of the abundant wool produced by their herds. With Islam, another significant value was added to the carpet, being a furniture of Paradise mentioned numerous times in the Quran. For example in Surah 88 the carpet is counted as one of the riches the believer will be rewarded in the Hereafter:
(Other) faces that Day will be joyful, Pleased with their striving, In a Garden on high, Where they shall hear no (word) of vanity: Therein will be a bubbling spring, Therein will be Thrones (of dignity), raised on high, Goblets placed (ready), And cushions set in rows, And rich carpets (all) spread out. Do they not look at the Camels, how they are made?- And at the Sky, how it is raised high?- And at the Mountains, how they are fixed firm?- And at the Earth, how it is spread out? " (Surah 88: 8-20).
There is a considerable material dealing with the history, nature and character of the Muslim carpet. Such material is published under three main themes; the Oriental carpet, the Muslim carpet, or under regional classification such as Turkish carpet, Persian carpet and the like. Historic sources from this material have established that the carpet tradition is a very old custom practised by early civilisations. Recent discoveries (1949) of a carpet in the tomb of a Scythian prince in Pazyryk in the Altai Mountains (southern Siberia) date back to the sixth century B.C. This carpet, now in the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad, is the oldest extant knotted carpet. . From a study of its knotting technique, as well as its decoration, it appeared clearly that
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Publication ID: 4053

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the so-called "Pazyryk carpet" had a Persian origin . The next evidence, in the early development of the carpet, available consists of small sixth century C.E.
3
fragments from Turfan (east Turkestan), on the old
silk road, which were discovered between 1904 and 1913. From these two evidences it appears clear that the carpet was first made in the region of what was to become later a substantial part of the Muslim world. The earliest surviving Muslim carpet, however, are fragments found in Al-Fustat (old Cairo). The oldest of these belonged to ninth century (821 C.E.), while the remaining were dated to 13 th, 14th and 15 th centuries . Based on the form of their knots and decorative designs, these fragments were classified into two types. The first group included fragments having a knot similar to a later Spanish knot (knotted onto a single warp) and decorated with geometrical design similar to Spanish (Andalusian) carpets of the fifteenth century from Alcaraz .
5 4
Therefore, these were considered to be the first prototype of the latter Spanish
design. The other category of fragments incorporated stylised animal presentations and were considered to be of Anatolian typology of fourteenth and fifteenth centuries when animal decorative designs were the fashion. The similarity to the Spanish and Anatolian carpets has made some historians think they were only Fatimid imports. argued :
6
However, the fame gained by the so-called
"Cairene carpets" during the seventeenth
century can only refer to the refinement reached by the Fustat carpet tradition. Rice confirmed this as he
"The fact that similar designs inspired the woodwork of the middle period in Egypt, as well as the known competence of Egyptian weavers in other veins in early times, tends to support the existence of a local carpet industry, and that, if it existed at all, it was probably established as early as the eighth or ninth century."
Under the Seljuks Muslim carpet reached a high degree of proficiency of technique and high quality of design. Descending from Anatolian origins the Seljuks brought with them the talent and tradition of carpet making and other arts as they spread their reign to Persia and Baghdad by the eleventh century. Ettinghausen , and many others, considers the Seljuks to be the real originators of the Muslim carpet. A study of two specimens of this period, found in Museums of Turco-Islamic art in Istanbul and Konya, revealed the characteristics of the Seljuk carpet art. Carpets in Istanbul Museum belonged to Ala'-Al-Din Mosque of Konya, were dated back to thirteenth century when the Mosque was first built and Konya was the capital of the Seljuk of Rum (1081-1302). The carpets of Konya Museum, however, were originally made for Eshrefoglu Mosque at Beysehir, built in 1298. designs of stars framed by a band of calligraphy. By the collapse of the Seljuk Caliphate under the invasion of the Mongols who by 1259 took Persia, Syria and Baghdad, carpet manufacturing seems to halt for a while. The barbarity of the Mongol attack wiped out any artistic production, inevitably affecting the development of the carpet industry. There are no recorded examples of this period but historic sources indicate that carpet manufacturing recovered after a short period. The famous traveller Ibn Buttuta (1304-1377), for example, talked of the quality of Anatolian carpets, which he found in the hospice to which he was invited , and in his travels Marco Polo (1254-1324) praised them
10 9 8 7
The carpets incorporated beautiful geometrical
Historic sources talked of the spread of stylised animal designs during this period (14 th However, the only evidence available is found in some European paintings made by
century) (figure 1).
artists of this period who made contact with some of these carpets. The first painting, of "Saint Ludovic

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crowning Robert Angevin" made by Simone Martini (circa 1280-1344) in 1317, which is kept at the Capodimonte Museum in Naples, depicted a carpet with geometrical patterns and eagles under the throne. More paintings of carpets having stylised animal motifs were executed including; "The marriage of the Virgin" of Nicolo of Buonaccorso
11
(1348-1388), the "Madonna and Child with Saints" of Stefano de
Giovanni, or that of Anbrogio Lorenzetti "Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints".
Figure 1. Anatolian Prayer- Rug (pre-15

th
century) showing stylised animal motifs in symmetrical rectangles.
The origins of the depiction of animals have been traced back to ninth century Egypt as excavations at Fustat (Cairo) have revealed the existence of such designs in Cairene carpets. There is also a Turkish
12
element in these carpets, as shown in these paintings, exhibiting similar traditional knotting techniques Sometime in the fifteenth century, carpets with animal motifs ceased to exist but
so far no concrete
explanation has been established. It might be due to the rise of more religious Ottomans who could have prohibited the depiction of such animals, which depiction is Islamically discouraged. Consequently, a return to abstract geometrical forms took place signalling the beginning of the Ottoman art. The Ottomans gave great impetus to art as reflected in the quality of various works they produced, especially in architecture and textile. Ottoman carpets gradually became renowned for their proficient Historic treatment of plant motifs, in addition to the sophisticated geometrical and colour schemes.
evidence gathered from European paintings, produced around the second half of fifteenth century, shows the eminence and distinction which the Muslim carpet reached under these leaders. The most famous of these paintings are those of the renowned Holbein brothers after them the "Holbein carpets".
13
These two German brothers, especially
Hans Holbein the Junior, dedicated their paintings to Muslim (Ottoman) carpets that they became named These carpets are characterised by their geometrical design which consists of a repeated number of squares as the main frame and octagons as the border followed by a band of "S" pattern and calligraphic designs. The arabesque is used in abundance to fill the squares and the rest of the area. In the seventeenth century, and under the influence of the Persian carpets, the Ottomans adopted a new style consisting of the inclusion of star medallion and prayer niche patterns, features which extended to most Ushak carpets
14
(Figure 2). The design and presentation of these elements varied considerably; in
some instances the carpet was dominated by the central medallion, and in others smaller medallions and scrolls were arranged in particular patterns or in a band around the main theme of the centre. It is worth noting that such designs coincided with the appearance of the Baroque and later Rococo art styles which

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appeared in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries respectively.
These styles, which were
based on arabesque forms organised around geometrical frames and medallions, influenced the development of these two art forms. This is confirmed by Sweetman, 1987 in his statements:
If we look back from here to 1660 at the fortunes of Islamic and Islamic-inspired art in France and England, we have an overwhelming impression of the importance of decorative arts. The style had a part to play at the Baroque courts of EuropeIn England, under later Stuarts, as under the Tudors, the brilliance of Islamic textiles and the captivating intricacy of the arabesque found a happy correspondence with existing tastes and also made notable contribution to them
15
The Baroque, especially in architecture, is highly ornamented with medallions and irregular shapes as the word Baroque means. Historians admitted its connection with the Muslims, at least in language format, as Baroque came from the Portuguese Barueco and Italian Barocco which is derived from Arabic meaning irregular shaped pearl. The Rococo, however, used light and linear rhythms together with natural shapes like shells, corals and ammonites breaking form the formalities of the Baroque style. The Rococo was developed in France at a time when it had strong contacts with the east as explained earlier under the reign of Louis the fourteenth, a time when the Turqueries and Turkish themes were highly appreciated in France.
Figure 2. Ottoman Rug, Ushaq type, (16-17 th centuries) Berlin Museum. The niche carpets were mainly rugs destined for Muslim prayers, which explains the inclusion of the directional niche (Mihrab) in their centre sometimes with pendulum of light hanging from its arch. This development is a clear sign that the Muslim artist develops his themes from religious as well as natural sources. The use of the mihrab and the lantern in the carpet was highly symbolic reflecting that part of the mosque which locates the direction of the holy Ka'aba as well as translating the Divine meaning of the niche as defined in Surah 24, Ayah 35:
"Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth, a likeness of His light is as a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp is in a glass, (and) the glass as it were a brightly shining star, lit from a blessed olive oil tree, neither eastern nor western, the oil whereof gives light though fire touch it not, light upon light, Allah guides to His light whom He pleases." (24:35)

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The next development in carpet chronology is the contribution of Mamluk Egypt (1250-1570).
Although
there are only a few specimen left of the Mamluk carpet, the oldest dates back to only the fifteenth century which leaves a considerable period from which no samples are extant. However there is some evidence that these carpets became renowned for their quality and rich dcor
16
. They were generally characterised by
their geometrical designs which included stars, octagons, triangles, rosettes and so on, often arranged around a large central medallion. Once more we find arabesque and floral motifs being successfully inserted to fill around these shapes giving the design the unity it requires. centuries until the present day. Besides the Ottoman (Turkish) carpet, no other carpet reached the status and popularity of the Persian carpet. As mentioned above, the Persians had a long carpet tradition extending back to the Sassanian times. However, the earliest surviving evidence of carpet manufacturing in Muslim Persia are dated to Carpets were clearly knotted, comprising a fifteenth century mainly through illustrations in miniatures. of various widths
17
The Mamluk carpets set a design
tradition that continued to be influential in most Egyptian carpets of the eighteenth and nineteenth
rectangular centre dominated by a medallion and a border which sometimes took the form of several bands (figure 3).
Figure 3. Perisan carpet from Azerbijan, late 19th century with large central medallion bordered with "S" pattern band.
The earliest surviving specimen, however, are only dated to sixteenth century, the period of the reign of the Safavids when the production of carpets became a state enterprise as these rulers developed trade relations with Europe and carpet exporting was at the centre of this trade
18
. Carpets were also considered
as valuable gifts, exchanged during diplomatic missions to Europe. Under Shah Abbas I (1587-1629), in particular, carpet export and the silk trade became the main sources of income and wealth for the Safavid state. The production took on a wholesale dimension as manufacturers were receiving orders from
19
European consumers. Carpet making became a professional art requiring designers to draw patterns first on paper before translating it into woven designs . Persian craftsmen from Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan and Kerman produced eye dazzling and mesmeric designs ranging from the medallion centred carpets, mihrab carpets (figure 4) and vase carpets to personalised carpets bearing the coat of arms of a number of European rulers. Besides these carpets, the Persians excelled in the execution of carpets depicting human and animal scenes, a new style unparalleled in the Muslim world. By early nineteenth century the carpet

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industry started to decline partly due to historic events and conflicts which lost Persia its stability and security in addition to the decline of carpet export as Europeans established their own manufacturing. Table 1 Comparison between Turkish and Persian carpets.
Features Knot form and technique
Turkish In the Turkish (or Ghiordes) knot the yarn is taken twice around two adjacent warp threads and the ends are drawn out between these two threads. Turkish carpets are prominent in the treatment of plant motifs, using rich colours.
Persian In the Persian (or Sinneh) Knot, the wool thread forms a single turn about the warp thread. One end comes out over this thread and the other over the next warp thread. Persian carpets use more human and animal figures and often refer to landscape elements, using dominant delicate interplay of red and blue colours
Decorative design
The above brief is not exhaustive as other parts of the Muslim world such as Andalusia, North Africa, Afghanistan, and India made also their own contributions to the richness and quality of the Muslim carpets. The concentration, however, has been on these regions for their lasting impact on European art.
Figure 4. Beautiful mihrab Persian prayer rug from Azerbaijan, late 19th century.
Europe before the carpet.

How did Europe manage before the arrival of the Muslim carpet? Historic sources indicate that the earliest floor covering in Europe consisted of rushes. scattered over the floor and renewed from time to time
20
Rushes were
. This practice continued up to the second half of
the fifteenth century. The evidence is found in the illumination in a MS. At Lambeth Palace (The Dictes and
Sayings of the Philosophers) depicting King Edward IV (1461-83) receiving a copy of it form its translator

Page 7 of 17
William Caxton
21
. The King was seated in a room strewn with bright green rushes. Hampton Court is said
22
to have had its rushes changed daily on the orders of Cardinal Wolsey
Erasmus (1466-1536) revealed that these rushes were sometimes left too long that he condemned their use:
"The doors are, in general, laid with white clay, and are covered with rushes, occasionally renewed, but so imperfectly that the bottom layer is left undisturbed, sometimes for twenty years, harbouring expectoration, vomiting, the leakage of dogs and men, ale droppings, scraps of fish, and other abominations not fit to be mentioned. Whenever the weather changes a vapour is exhaled, which I consider very detrimental to health. I may add that England is not only everywhere surrounded by sea, but is, in many places, swampy and marshy, intersected by salt rivers, to say nothing of salt provisions, in which the common people take so much delight I am confident the island would be much more salubrious if the use of rushes were abandoned, and if the rooms were built in such a way as to be exposed to the sky on two or three sides, and all the windows so built as to be opened or closed at once, and so completely closed as not to admit the foul air through chinks; for as it is beneficial to health to admit the air, so it is equally beneficial at times to exclude it"23.
In a later stage rushes were woven into mats and widely used in Europe in this form. A miniature in the
Book of Hours in the Chateau at Chantilly entitled," Tres riches Heures du Duc de Berri" depicts the Duke
(1340-1416) seated at a table under which the floor is covered with rush matting
24
. The miniature is dated
to early fifteenth century. Another miniature, found in Bibleotheque Nationale de Paris, shows the Duke of Burgundy, John the Fearless (13711419), receiving a book in a room displaying rush-matting floor. Even at times of Queen Elizabeth I floor rush-matting was still used in England. till the reign of Charles I (1625-49)
25
Evidence from a portrait of
William, Earl of Pembroke (d. 1570) shows the persistence of this practice. In fact rush matting continued .
The Muslim carpet and Europe.

The European fascination with Muslim textile products goes back to the Middle Ages when contacts with the Muslim world, made during the Crusades and trade, resulted in the import of oriental art items including textiles. Such products were so valued that the Pope SilvesterII
26
was buried in luxurious Persian silk cloth.

27
The reader may appreciate the significance of this if he learnt that Queen Eleanor, the Castilian Bride of King Edward I, brought to England Andalusian carpets as precious items of her dowry in 1255 . However, the earliest recorded English contact with Muslim textiles was in the twelfth century when the grandson of William the Conqueror who lived in the Abbey of Cluny in the that century gave an Islamic carpet to an English church
28

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Figure 5. The Ambassadors. 1533. Oil on wood. National Gallery, London, UK
In France, as expected, Muslim carpets were known much earlier and were particularly popular at the time of Louis IX (1215-70 ) under the name tapis Sarrasinois and in 1277 there were trade privileges for this
tapis in Paris
29
. A silk cope from a Mamluk sultan of Egypt was inscribed on it the learned Sultan dating
from the fourteenth century was found in St. Marys Church at Danzig. This is not surprising as the famous geographer and philosopher, Al- Idrisi (c.1096 - 1166), revealed that woollen carpets were produced in the twelfth century in Chinchilla and Murcia (both now in Spain) and were exported all over the world. In addition to these historical facts, there is another source which provides credible evidence enabling us to evaluate the extent of use and the position of the Muslim carpet in Europe. The study of paintings made in late medieval period supplied considerable information on how and where these carpets were used and how they were regarded. The earliest occurrences of carpets in European paintings go back to early 1300s, starting with the painting of the Italian Simone Martini, Nicolo of Buonaccorso, Stefano de Giovanni, or that of Anbrogio Lorenzetti (see above). In addition to the depiction of stylised animals, there was also a Turkish element in these carpets which consisted of using similar knotting technique
30
In Renaissance paintings one can easily notice a considerable increase in the popularity of Muslim carpets, particularly the Turkish and Persian makes. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries growing trade relations and increasing prosperity of Europe resulted in more importation of Muslim artistic and luxurious goods as European society (i.e. the educated and wealthy) started to experience a more comfortable life. Large quantities of rugs, ceramics and other items formed an essential part of this trade, as confirmed by Mills: "By 1500 we reach a time when certain Turkish products were being produced and exported to the West in large number, and pieces evidently

Page 9 of 17
belonging to the same group are to be found represented by painters both of Italy and Northern Europe"
31
Portraits of important dignitaries from Italy, France, Germany, Holland and Belgium illustrated the luxurious usage of these carpets. Examples of these are those portrayed in the work of the German Hans Holbein, the Junior (1497-1543). He chose large patterned carpets, centrally decorated with octagons and framed within a pseudo-Kufic inscription. His painting known as French Ambassadors, for example, depicts two wealthy men standing in front of a table topped with an Ottoman carpet (figure 5). There other instances where Ottoman carpets were present in Christian themes i.e. depicting the Virgin Mary in a setting displaying Ottoman textiles (figures 6&7).
Figure 6. Virgin and Child with the family of Burgomaster Meyer, 1528 Oil on wood Schlossmuseum,Darmstadt, Holbein the younger.
In Belgium similar processes took place as carpets were subjected to similar privileged treatment. examples may suffice here including the works of Van Eyck (1390-1441) and Hans Memlinc. artists, like Holbein, incorporated the Muslim carpet in their drawings with holy and noble themes.
Two Van
These two
Eyck's painting of the Virgin and Child with St. Donatian, St. George and Canon Van der Paele (figure 8), which he painted in 1436 at Bruges, shows Mary (puh) seated on a carpet with geometrical shapes essentially circles drawn around rosettes combined with lozenges and eight pointed star motifs. used those Anatolian patterns very closely resembling the carpet of Eshrefoglu at Beysehir
32
His fellow
artist Hans Memlinc in his Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine (1479) and The Virgin Enthroned (figure 9) . In Italy, the earliest evidence of carpets is traced to the end of twelfth century, appearing in increasing number of paintings of this period, either below the throne of the Madonna (as in the work of Martini above) on the floor of sacred rites, or hanging from windows of homes on feast days. By the fifteenth

Page 10 of 17
century, carpets gained more popularity as they began to appear in documents showing that they were used as table carpets (tapedi de tavola), and desk carpets (tapedi da desco). Venice
33
These were both tapedi
damaschini, Damascus carpets, and tapedi ciaiarini, Cairo carpets, which invaded the trading markets of
.
Figure 7. Details of Figure 6. Here we have medallions made up of diamond and squares. The main border is a connected "S" pattern that is more common as a minor or guard border. In other occasions, Muslim carpets formed fashionable diplomatic gifts, especially the stylish Mamluk carpet from Egypt
34
. The portrait of Husband and Wife of Lotto (1480-1556) shows the use of the "S" pattern for
inner border combined with a delightful arabesque followed by another wider border made essentially of vine leaves (figures 12&13). The painting of the Venetian Cittore Carpaccio, "St. Ursula taking leave of her
father" shows the popularity of rugs appearing on the boat and on balcony of the tower. It is said that
these carpets (of the painting) were made by Turkish artists living in Venice in the "Fondaco dei Turchi" which provides another light on how the reproduction of Muslim/Turkish carpet, transformed into the so called "Venetian Carpaccio", took place
35
. In late fifteenth century paintings show the "Venetian Carpaccio From this time, the representation of carpets in paintings
hanging from the windows and balconies of houses as well as thrown on table tops and places where they can be more visually seen and appreciated. spread to Spain, Germany and France
36
The first arrival of this Ottoman/Turkish carpet to England was recorded in 1518 when Cardinal Wolsey ordered seven from Venice and another 60 Damascene carpets were dispatched to him in 1520 Henry VIII (1509-47) of England is known to have owned over 400 Muslim carpets
38 39 37
. King
. A portrait made for while Arabesque is
him by Holbein in 1537 shows him standing on a Turkish carpet with its Ushak star
bordering his garment, and other Muslim interlacing patterns appear on the curtains (figure 10). In another portrait showing the King and Princess Mary (later Queen 1553-8) seated at a table on which a Turkish carpet is spread (figure 11). Records also show that the Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley, (1532-1588), who lived during the time of Elizabeth I (1558-1603), left a total of 46 Turkish carpets and one Persian
40
Turkish carpets were also acquired by Hardwick Hall, formerly Bess of Hardwick which was built by Elizabeth of Shrewsbury in the 1590s. An inventory of the halls will of 1601 counted 32 carpets
42 41
Records also show that the Hall purchased in 1610 two Turkish carpets for the price of 1315 coffers, by households with prestige.
. Thus when
they were first introduced to England, carpets were used in display places, such as tables, desks, and

Page 11 of 17
Figure 8. Van Eyk: Virgin and child with ST. Donatian, St.George and Canon Van der Paele, Burges (1436). Muslim carpets continued to decorate most of Tudor Englands tables, chests, and walls. It was not until the Victorian period (18 th century) that they were used on floors. There is evidence suggesting that some carpets were made specifically for Europeans customers. The presence of round shaped carpet that could be used for tables and other cross- shaped carpets that were produced in Egypt can only be suggestive of a European destination Poland. It is quite clear that the Ottoman carpet reached an unprecedented position in European high society, as confirmed by Ettinghausen who wrote:
43
In other carpets the figure of the crucifixion was inserted in floral motifs, while
others carried the European coat of arms of which some were sent to King Sigismund III (15661632) of
"There is no doubt that carpets exerted a great fascination on would-be buyers and owners, whatever their social position-whether they were Hapsburgs or members of the royal house of Sweden, princes of the church, the nobility, or were just well-to-do members of the bourgeoisie. Their esteem can be gauged by the fact that they served as the setting for coronations and other important festive occasions. They became what is now called a status symbol"
44
In the seventeenth century, the carpet fashion took off strongly as records reveal the existence of many types of carpets; foot carpet, table carpet, cupboard carpet and window carpet despite the fierce competition from the Chinese carpets (table 2).
45
Such overwhelming
popularity continues till the present day while the import of carpets from Islamic countries continues strong

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Table 2. Imports of Oriental (Muslim) carpets. Country Austria Belgium Canada Denmark France Great Britain Holland Sweden Switzerland USA 1929 425 600 300 295 1967 355 170 720 70 100 340 510 1960 90
Source: Wirth, E. (1976) Der Orientteppich und Europa, Heft 37, Gedruckt inder universitatsbuchdruckerei Junge & Sohn, Erlangen, p.337.
Figure 9. Hans Memling Flemish (c.1440-1494), The Virgin Enthroned, Belgium.
Figure 10 Holbein the Junior, Henry 8th (c.1540) showing the Ushaq carpet.
Europe's Imitation of the Muslim Carpet.

The first imitation of Muslim carpets in Europe was undertaken under the sponsorship of English patrons
46
Attempts to introduce the craft of weaving carpet into England were made as early as the times of Elizabeth I. A Victoria and Albert Museum publication reports that a chapter in Hakluyt's Voyages, entitled " Certaine directions givento M. Morgan Hubblethorne, Dier sent into Persia, 1579" refers to a plan to import Persian carpet makers into England: "In Persia you shall find carpets of course thrummed wool, the best of the

Page 13 of 17
world, and excellently coloured: those cities and towns you must repair to, and you must use means to learn all the order of the dyeing of those thrums, which are so dyed as neither rain, wine, nor yet vinegar can stain.If before you return you could procure a singular good workman in the art of Turkish carpet making, you should bring the art into the Realm and also thereby increase work to your company" produced in 1570 at Gorhambury. other copies made in Britain.
47
According to Sweetman, the earliest carpet made in Europe was that of Verulam carpet which was Other three carpets were in the collection of Duke of Buccleuch at Boughton bearing the dates of 1584 and 1585. There are other suggestions which point to the existence of
Figure 11. Holbein the Senior, lost Mural at Whitehall. Between sixteenth and seventeenth centuries smaller objects such as chair covers, cushion covers and the like, some of which can be found in Norwich Cathedral, were reproduced in similar knotting patterns as those of the Turkish carpets
48
In seventeenth century small panels to cover cushions upholstery were An oak chair dated in 1649 and covered with such panels is to be
produced using Turkish techniques. found in Victoria and Albert Museum.
By the eighteenth century the carpet industry was established in Britain. middle of eighteenth century. covers
49
A certain French man with the
name Pavisot made carpets, imitating the Savonnerie carpets, at Paddington moving to Fulham by the However most of his production was destined to fulfil orders for furniture . Later, in 1751, the Royal Society of Arts promoted the establishment of successful carpet The
manufacturing "on the Principle of Turkey Carpets" through subsidies and awards. For example between 1757 and 1759, the Society spent 150 as awards for the best Turkish imitated carpets. Whitty at Axminster, Passavant at Exeter, and William Jesser of Frome
50
manufacturers benefiting from these awards were Thomas Moore in Chisewell Street, Moorfield, Thomas .
In France a similar approach was followed. In 1604 King Henry IV promoted a certain Monsieur Fortier and made him "tapissier ordinaire de sa Majeste en Tapiz de Turquie et facon de Levant" to make copies of Turkish and Eastern carpets. A year later, 1605, a company Savonnerie, was set up by Pierre du Pont to do this copying. Later, in 1750 the company expanded into England, two Frenchmen from Savonnerieat

Page 14 of 17
Chaillot moved to London and set up a carpet factory first in Westminster and later expanded into Paddington and Fulham
51
as outlined above.
Figure 12. Husband and Wife, Lorenzo Lotto, c. 1543.
Figure 13. Close up of carpet in Husband and Wife. Details of the octagonal design on the tapestry.
Other countries followed suit.
In 1634 Polish companies were set up in Brody by a certain Hetman

52
Stanislaw Koniecpolski to produce Turkish and eastern styled carpets
Summary and Conclusion.

From the above it appears that the European perception of Muslim carpeting has developed over time from being a rare luxurious item gifted to the holy and saintly figures to being possessed only by the rich and ultimately to the establishment of local carpet industries thus making it available to a wider public. In this process one can distinguish five phases: ! Carpets were first reserved to holy rituals as seen in paintings which incorporated them in the depiction of the Virgin (puh), Jesus (puh), the saints and other holy scenes. between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. ! ! In late fifteenth century the carpet reached the landed gentry becoming a status symbol to be displayed from such as windows and balconies (as seen in the "Venetian Capaccio"). In the seventeenth century, carpets were a popular decorative item covering tables, as seen in the Dutch paintings. This period also saw the appearance of foot carpet, table carpet, cupboard and window carpets. ! ! The eighteenth century marked the start of the carpet manufacturing. The last two centuries have seen a wider spread of carpet spreading reaching most houses and offices of the Western world. This contribution shows the humane dimension of Islam in catering for the comfort and well being of people through the development and spread of carpets. An insignificant item maybe, if compared to those higher intellectual achievements in such as science, literature, poetry and the like, but undoubtedly a useful contribution. This took place

Page 15 of 17
Notes.
Gans-Ruedin, E. (1975), Antique Oriental Carpets, From the seventeenth to the early Twentieth century, translated from, le tapis de l'Amateur, by Richard and Elizabeth Bartlett, Thames and Hudson, London, p.10. 2 Ibid, p.12. 3 Ibid, p.13. 4 Ibid, p.14 5 Spuhler, F. (1978),Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection, Faber and Faber ltd., London, p.27. 6 Rice, D.T. (1975), islamic Art, Thames and Hudson, Norwich, p.139. 7 For more on the Seljuk Caliphate please see Muslim Architecture Under Seljuk Patronage (10381327), Muslimheritage.com. 8 Ettinghausen, R. (1974), The Impact of Muslim decorative arts and painting on the Arts of Europe, Schacht Joseph and Boswoth, C. E. ed., The Legacy of Islam, 2nd Edition, The Clarendon Press, Oxford, p.300. 9 Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354. Translated and selected by H.A.R. Gibb. Edited by Sir E. Denison Ross and Eileen Power, Robert M. McBride & Company, New York, p.126. 10 t'Sterstevens, A. (1955),Le Livre de Marco Polo, Albin Michel, Paris, p.73. 11 Which contains a floor carpet with octagons depicting eagles, now at the National Gallery of London. 12 Mills, J. (1975),Carpets in Pictures', Publications Department National Gallery, London, pp.4-5. 13 Hans Holbein (1497-1543) the Junior, and Holbein the Senior 14 Spuhler, F. (1978), Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection, op, cit., p.47. 15 Sweetman, 1987, pp.71-72. 16 Gans-Ruedin, E. (1975), Antique Oriental Carpets, From the seventeenth to the early Twentieth century, op.cit., p.21. 17 Elke Niewohner (2000)Iran: Safavid and Qajars; Decorative arts, M.Hattstein & P. Delius eds, Islam: Art and Architecture, Konemann, Cologne, pp.520-529. 18 Blair, S. & Bloom, J. (2000),Islamic Carpets, M.Hattstein & P. Delius eds, Islam: Art and Architecture, Konemann, Cologne, pp.530-533. 19 Ibid., p.532. 20 Scott, S.P. (1904), History of the Moorish Empire, Vol2, The Hippincot Company, Philladelphia. 21 The book was translated from French "Les ditz moraulx des philosophes" by Guillaume de Tignoville. Apparently it was the first book to be published in England in 1477. 22 Victoria and Albert Museum, op., cit., p.59. 23 Cheyney, E.P. (1908)," Readings in English History", Ginn and Company, New York, pp. 316-317. 24 Victoria and Albert Museum, op., cit., p.59. 25 Ibid. 26 Reigned 999-1003; also called Gerbert. Born at or near Aurillac, Auvergne, France, about 940-950, of humble parents; died at Rome, 12 May, 1003. Gerbert entered the service of the Church and received his first training in the Monastery of Aurillac. He was then taken by a Spanish count to Spain, where he studied at Barcelona and also under Arabian teachers at Cordova and Seville, giving much attention to mathematics and the natural sciences 27 Sweetman, (1987) 28 Boase, T.S.R. (1953)Ènglish Art 1100-1216, p. 170.). 29 Sweetman, 30 Mills, J. (1975), op.cit., pp.4-5. 31 Ibid., p.16. 32 Gans-Ruedin, E. (1975), op., cit., p.20. 33 Victoria and Albert Museum (1920), op.cit. 34 Erdmann, K. (1962), Europa und der Orinetteppich,, Mainz, Berlin, pp.11-17 . 35 Mills, J. (1975), op.cit., p.17. 36 Victoria and Albert Museum (1920) Guide to the Collection of Carpets, HMSO, London. p.3. 37 Beattie, M. (1964)` Britain and the Oriental Carpet, in LAC 55, and Mills, J. (1983) the coming of the carpet to the West, in ARTS cat., the Eastern Carpet in the Western World.
1

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38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
King, D. (1983)`the inventories of the carpets of King Henry 8, in Hali 5,pp.287-296. The Ushak star consists of eight point indented star motif alternating with lozenge shapes. Ettinghausen, (1974) , op. cit., p.301. Beattie, M.H. (1959) Antique Rugs at Hardwick Hall, in Oriental Art, vol. 5, pp.52-61. Ibid. Ettinghausen, 1974, op.cit., p301. Ettinghausen (1974) op.,cit., p. 301. Victoria and Albert Museum, op., cit., p.9. Sweetman, 1987, op. cit., p.16. Quoted by Victoria and Albert Museum, op., cit., p.62. Victoria and Albert Museum, op., cit.,p.63. Ibid., p.64. Sweetman, 1987, op. cit., note 39, p.274,. Also see Victoria and Albert Museum, op., cit., p.64. Ibid., note 39, p.40. Ettinghausen, (1974), op., cit., p.302.
References
Ettinghausen, R. (1974), The Impact of Muslim decorative arts and painting on the Arts of Europe, Schacht Joseph and Boswoth, C. E. ed., The Legacy of Islam, 2nd Edition, The Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp.292-317. Gans-Ruedin, E. (1975), Antique Oriental Carpets, From the Seventeenth to the early Twentieth century, translated from, le tapis de l'Amateur, by Richard and Elizabeth Bartlett, Thames and Hudson, London. Hattstein, M. & Delius, P.eds (2000),Islam: Art and Architecture, Konemann, Cologne. Hunke, S.(1969), Shams Al'arab Tast'a 'ala al-Gharb, 2nd edition, The trading Office for Prinitng Distributing & Publishing, Beirut, Lebanon. Mills, J. (1975),Carpets in Pictures' , Publications Department National Gallery, London. Rice, D.T. (1975), islamic Art, Thames and Hudson, Norwich. Spuhler, F. (1978),Islamic Carpets and Textiles in the Keir Collection, Faber and Faber ltd., London, p.27. Victoria and Albert Museum (1920) Guide to the Collection of Carpets, HMSO, London. Wirth, E. (1976) Der Orientteppich und Europa, Heft 37, Gedruckt inder universitatsbuchdruckerei Junge & Sohn, Erlangen.

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Science and Related Institutions within the Ottoman Administration during the Classical Period
Salim Ayduz PhD Professor Salim Al-Hassani Nadeem Anwar April 2004 4054 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Classical Institutions within Ottoman Administration April 2004
SCIENCE AND RELATED INSTITUTIONS WITHIN THE OTTOMAN ADMINISTRATION DURING THE CLASSICAL PERIOD
The Ottomans conserved the fundamental features of Islamic civilization in their scientific institutions as they also did in social and cultural areas. Three of the six Ottoman state scientific institutions dealt with here are in the area of astronomy and the other three have to do with medicine. These scientific-based institutions functioning within the state administrative organization were established not for the purpose of governance but rather to provide state support for the pursuit of theoretical and applied scientific activities and allow the central government to monitor these. Of the scientific institutions within the Ottoman state apparatus, those dealing with medicine are divided into three separate bodies: the Office of Chief Physician (hekimbashilik), the hospitals and the Sleymniye Medical Madrasa. All three of these institutions came into being at different times. The hospitals, which were institutions concerned with public health, were the first to be established. Because of the increasing number of hospitals, which had come to exist in the empire, both those inherited from the Seljuks and the newly constructed ones, there arose a need to administer and monitor these as well as both the Palace doctors and those working in the hospitals. An Office of Chief Physician was established at the Palace for this purpose. Based on available information, we know that the Office of Chief Physician emerged during the reign of Byezd II. The Sleymniye Medical Madrasa was opened at a later time to train physicians and was put under the administrative aegis of the Office of Chief Physician. The fact that the establishment of some of these institutions in Ottoman society took place during a rather late period despite the fact that such bodies were to be found in earlier Islamic societies, can be attributed to the Ottomans tendency to create new institutions based on a felt need in society. The scientific institutions, which we shall examine in the field of astronomy, are the chief astronomers office, the muvakkithnes and the Istanbul Observatory. Though one can find original works and those in translation in the fields of astronomy and astrology from the early period on, the first calendar works were only begun during the time of Sultan Murd II. Such original studies, translations of works from other languages and the preparation of calendars were on the increase during the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror and became quite widespread during the time of Byezd II. Because the Ottoman state did not possess an observatory, with the exception of Takiyeddins, the astronomers were only able to pursue their work at Muvakkithanes and in their own homes. The establishment of the chief astronomers office, an institution which emerged to administer the growing number of Muvakkithanes set up in the Ottoman Empire and especially in Istanbul following the conquest and to manage astronomical and astrological activities at the palace, most probably took place during the reign of Byezd II. The short-lived Istanbul Observatory later established alongside the Muvakkithanes was also under the administrative control of the Chief Astronomers Office. In contrast to the sultan astronomers of earlier Islamic states, the Chief Astronomers Office continued to function with a rather large staff and broad responsibilities as a wellorganized institution engaged in its particular activities until the late period.
i
Adnan Adivar. Osmanli Trklerinde Ilim, 5th ed. Ed. Aykut Kazancigil and Sevim Tekeli. Istanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 1983.

Page 2 of 20
Office of Chief Physician

As was the case in all Turkish and Islamic states, there was an Ottoman Office of Chief Physician with responsibilities in the first instance for the health of the sultan and that of the personnel of the palace as well as for managing all state health institutions. There is some debate about the first establishment of the Chief Physicians Office and the identity of the first chief physician. There were, from the time of Orhan Gz to that of Sultan Byezd II, private physicians in attendance looking after the health of the sultan and his family. For example, during the reign of Murd II Seyh Sinan, and that of Mehmed the Conqueror Kutbeddin Efendi and Ykub Celebi, there were no chief physicians, but rather private doctors of those sultans. The first chief physician to take responsibility in a general sense for health services in the country was the chief physician during the reign of Byezd II, Izmitli Mehmed Muhyiddin Efendi (d. 1504-05). The chief physicians, dignitaries in the Outer (Birn) Service of the palace, were referred to in official documents as ras al-etibb. Because they carried the responsibility for the health of the sultan and the imperial family they were also known by such names as ser etibb-yi sultn, ser etibb-yi hassa, and among the public at large as hekimbashi efendi. Among the Ottoman bureaucracy they were referred to variously as: the most accomplished chief physician , the pride of specialist physicians, the elect of knowledgeable doctors, the Hippocrates of his age, the Galen of his time, the recipient of Gods divine gifts. (One of the Ottoman Chief Physcian paint see Figure 1.)
Figure 1 - One of the Ottoman Chief Physcian paintings Chief physicians would be selected from among well-educated individuals of the ulema (members of the Muslim learned) class with credentials in the medical sciences. Beginning in 1836, doctors from outside of the ulema class also began to be appointed to the position. The person appointed as chief physician would For the appointment of chief physicians see Topkapi Palace Museum Archives (TSMA), no. E. 668; Prime Ministry Archives (BOA), M. Cevdet Tasnifleri, Sihhiye, no. 8; no. 135, Saray, no. 408; no. 7072; Mehmet Sreyya, Sicilli Osmani Tezkere-i Mesahir-i Osmaniyye , 4 vols., (Istanbul 1308-1315 R) 4:721; Ali Seydi Bey, Tesrifat ve Teskilat-i Kadimemiz, (Istanbul, n.d.), 119-123; C. Ceyhun, Hekimbasilar Imparatorluk Devrimizin Saglik Bakani Yetkili Kisileridir, Ege Universitesi Tip Fakltesi Mecmuasi (EUTFM) 9, no 3, (Izmir, 1970): 557-559; M. Z. Pakalin, Osmanli Tarih Deyimleri ve Terimleri Szlg, 3 vols., (Istanbul, 1970), 1: 795-796; F. N. Uzluk, Hekimbasi Mustafa Behcet, (Ankara 1954), 26.
ii
ii

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take part in a ceremony where he was to wear a sable coat. This hilat (wearing of the robe of honor) ceremony, at which time the appointment would be announced, would take place in the presence of the grand vizier during the early period, later in that of the drssade agasi (chief aga of the Harem) and toward the end of the eighteenth century in the presence of the sultan himself. Chief physicians thus appointed would later be registered in the ruus ledger. The chief physicians took last place in the order of protocol. From the early years of the empire, if the sultan were to die of natural causes, the chief physician would be fired under the assumption that the sultan died as a result of the neglect or of an error on the part of the physician. If, however, the sultan were deposed or otherwise gave up the throne, the chief physician would continue in his position.iii Chief physicians working in positions such as teacher or kadi could rise as high as the rank of chief judge (kazasker) of Anatolia or Rumelia. Up until the nineteenth century chief physicians who worked at Topkapi Palace in a place known as the Baslala Kulesi used as the physicians office and pharmacy, were under the orders of the baslala (chief tutor) and in the retinue of the custodian of the sultans weapons (silhdr aga). The medicines used for the sultan and his associates would be prepared at the palace pharmacy by the pharmacist according to the prescription of the chief physician, this being monitored by the Janissary guard assigned to the chief tutor (baslala kullukcusu) and another palace guard (zlfl baltaci). After the medicines which had been prepared were put in bowls, cups or boxes and wrapped, instructions for their use would be written on them and they would be sealed by the chief tutor. The daily wage of the chief physician in the sixteenth century was 80 akces and the monthly salary 2360 akces and was provided by the Hazne-i mire. During more recent periods this salary rose as high as 6500 akces and after 1837 began to be paid from the Mansre Treasury. The chief physicians and palace physicians, whose rus were registered by the piyde kalemi, would receive their wages on a monthly basis. Chief physicians would also receive a payment for winter and summer clothing (kislik ve bahriye avidi) from the exchequer. The chief physicians would from time to time, upon the orders of the sultan, look after statesmen who were not well and receive payments and various gifts from them. The chief physicians had at their service officers of the court (muhzirlar), sultanic ushers (hnkr kapicisi), Janissarys keeper of the garments (Yeniceri cuhadari), halberdiers (baltacilar) and 100 inner palace officials (ic hademesi). The chief physician had various duties both within the palace and outside. His primary duty within the palace was to look after the health of the sultan and the members of the imperial family. He would pay special attention to the preservation of the sultans health and to keeping him from contracting an illness and he would never leave his side even at meal times. The chief physician would also accompany the sultan wherever he went. If the sultan set out on a military campaign the chief physician would accompany him and as a result would receive travel allowances. The chief physician would also serve as consultant to the sultan on matters of health. In addition to their having medicines prepared for the sultan when he was ill, chief physicians also had the responsibility for preparing various herbal or medicinal potions and mixtures for strengthening the body and increasing appetite. The chief physician was also responsible for the preparation of candles, soaps, perfumes, nisan suyu, incenses for the palace and also for the medicated mixes of sugar (mcunlar) prepared in the sweets kitchen (helvahne). Every year on the day of Nevrz (21 March) the chief physician would also have a fragrant red-colored mix known as nevrziye prepared from
iii
Ali Haydar Bayat, Osmanli Devletinde Hekimbasilik Kurumu Ve Hekimbasilar, Ankara : Atatrk Kltr Merkezi, 1999.

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an extract of ambergris, opium and numerous fragrant plants, and have this mix placed in porcelain dishes and wrapped with expensive fabrics. He would present the mix to sultan and to all the princes and princesses, the distinguished women of the palace, the grand vizier and other high palace officials at a ceremony. At this ceremony at which the chief oculist (kehhlbashi), chief surgeon and astronomer would be present, the chief astronomer would present the calendar for the new year and all of these individuals would in return be given furs to wear and receive various gifts. The chief physician, who was in charge of the palace pharmacies and five hospitals, was also administrative chief of the palace physicians (etibb-yi hassa), the palace surgeons (cerrhn-i hassa), the Jewish palace physicians (etibb-yi Yahudiyn-i hassa), the palace eye-doctors/oculists (kehhln-i hassa) and astronomers, a group totaling 21 persons. The chief physician would be responsible for selecting these individuals, monitoring their activities and appointing and dismissing them. The chief physician was also responsible for managing all health-related matters throughout the country. Because all medical and healthrelated institutions within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire were administratively connected to the chief physician, all appointments to hospitals and mental institutions as well as of all surgeons, eye-doctors and pharmacists were his responsibility. All students with diplomas from medical madrasas, medical schools (Mekteb-i Tibbiye) and hospitals would register with the chief physician upon graduation and would then await appointment to a medical institution.iv The chief physician would appoint new doctors to vacant posts and would approve the promotion of those recommended for such. In addition, physicians or surgeons who wished to open a private practice, especially in Istanbul, would have to get permission from the chief physician. The chief physician was responsible for all medical education and instruction both within the Palace and outside. Occasionally he would, along with the chief surgeon and chief eye-doctor, inspect and examine Muslim and non-Muslim doctors, surgeons, eye-doctors and herbalists and would close the shops of those without diplomas, licenses, or who were otherwise unqualified to practice their professions and prohibit them from practicing. Those who were qualified would receive a work permit carrying the seal of the chief physician. A number of chief physicians wrote important works in the field of medicine. A work titled Enmzec al-tibb by Murd IVs famous physician Emir Celebi (d. 1638-39) who studied medicine in Cairo and served as chief doctor at the Cairo Kalavun Hospital was used as a reference book by Ottoman physicians for quite a long time. The chief physician Slih b. Nasrullah (d. 1670-71) served in that position for a very long time and wrote and translated numerous medical works. In particular his book titled Gyet al-bayn f Tedbr-i Badan al-insn and his translations of the works of Paracelsus, which initiated the development of a concept of a new medicine (tibb-i cedd), ensured him an important place in the field of medicine. A medical work written in Turkish titled al-Risil al-msfiye fi al Emrz al-mskila by the chief physician Haytizde Mustafa Feyzi Efendi (d. 1691-92) composed of five treatises had a great impact during that period. The chief physician Subhizde Abdlazz Efendi (d. 1782) was one of the more important physicians trained during the eighteenth century. He translated the Aphorisms of the Dutch Hermann Boerhaave (1668-1738) into Turkish as Kitat-i Nekave f Tercma-i Kalimt-i Boerhave, an important contribution to Ottoman medical literature. The chief physician Mustafa Behcet Efendi (d. 1834)v is well known for a few short though important treatises as well as for his leadership in getting the modern Medical School opened. His
iv E. Ihsanoglu and M. Kacar, Ayni Mnasebetle Iki Nutuk: Sultan II Mahmudun Mekteb-i Tibbiye Ziyaretinde Irad Ettigi Nutkun Hangisi Dogrudur? Tarih ve Toplum no. 83 (Kasim 1990): 44-48; E. Ihsanoglu and F. Gnergun, Tip Egitimin Trkcelesmesi Meselesinde Bazi Tespitler, Trk Tip Tarihi Yilligi= Acta Turcica Histoirae Medicinae, I. Uluslararasi Tip Tarihi ve Deontoloji Kongresine Sunulan Tip Tarihi ile Ilgili Bildiriler, ed. Arslan Terzioglu, Istanbul, 1994, 127-134.

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most important works are Cicek Asisi Rislesi (A Treatise on Smallpox Vaccination) and Risle-i Illet-i Efrenc (A Treatise on Syphylis).vi During the Westernization process, which began with the Tanzimat, the office of the chief physician slowly began to lose its function as the body responsible for all health and medical concerns in the country and came to be confined solely to health matters within the palace. With the establishment in 1837 of a Health Office (Sihhiye Diresi) within the Ministry of War (Bb-i Serasker/Harbiye Nezreti) and then in 1850 the founding of the Imperial Medical School (Mekteb-i Tibbiye-i hne) and the Department of Civilian Medical Affairs (Umr-i Tibbiye-i Mlkiye Nezreti) and the passing of laws, rules and regulations pertaining to health matters, the chief physician ceased to have any control over civilian health matters. Henceforth he would serve solely as palace physician. In 1844 the title of the chief physician (hekimbashi) was changed to chief imperial physician (ser-tabb-i sehriyr). The last chief imperial physician was Dr. Resd Pasha. During the late Ottoman period health matters were under the administration of a general directorship under the aegis of the minister of the interior. This office was done away with in 1923 with the abolition of the sultanate. During the Republican period, a Ministry of Health and Social Assistance was established and has persisted to this day, though now known as the Ministry of Health. Based upon information we have been able to obtain to date, 44 physicians served as chief physician between 1484 and 1844. Some of these served two or three terms in the office.
vii
Hospitals (ifhneler)
ifahanes or Dr al-Shifs carried out the same functions as hospitals do today. As wakf institutions they were concerned with the public health of all social strata. They also offered medical education organized along apprenticeship lines. Such hospitals first began to be established during the Umayyad period and were at that time largely referred to with the term bmaristn. Such hospitals began to excel for the first time during the period of the Abbasid caliphs. Numerous famous hospitals were established during that time. No remaining ruins of any Islamic hospitals have, however, been discovered for the period prior to the time of the Seljuks. Many hospital buildings constructed during the Seljuk years continued to function during the Ottoman period as they had earlier, without any changes in their charter regulations. In this sense it can be said that the Seljuk hospital and medical tradition had a major impact on the Ottomans. The first hospital known to have been built in the Islamic world was the bmaristn constructed in Damascus in 706-707 by the Umayyad caliph Veld b. Abdlmelk. At the beginning of the tenth century, during the period of the Abbassid caliphs, numerous hospitals (bmaristn) were constructed in Baghdad in particular. The oldest Turkish-Islamic hospital that has been identified so far is the bmaristn built in Damascus by Atabeg Nureddin Zengi in 1154-1155 and known by his name. In addition, the Syrian Seljuk Emir Alemddin Sencer established a hospital in Kerek, and Dukak, the son of Tutus (d. 1095) had one built in Damascus.
F. N. Uzluk, Hekimbasi Mustafa Behcet, Ankara 1954. N. Sari and B. Zlfikar, The Paracelusian Influence on Ottoman Medicine in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, in Transfer of Modern Science & Technology to the Muslim World, ed. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (Istanbul, 1992), 157-179. vii Osman Sevki, Bes Bucuk Asirlik Trk Tababeti Tarihi, Istanbul 1925.
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The first hospital founded by the Seljuks was built by Alparslans (1063-1072) vizier Nizmlmlk in Nishapur. Subsequent to that the Seljuks built hospitals beginning in 447/1055-1056 in Baghdad, iraz, Berdesir, Kasan, Ebher, Zencan, Harran and Mardin. Nothing remains of those hospitals today. The following hospitals have survived to the present day: Nureddin Hospital in Damascus, Gevher Nesbe Dr alShif and Giyseddin Keyhusrev Madrasa (1205-1206) in Kayseri, Izzeddin Keykvus I Dr al-Shif (12171218) in Sivas, the Aleddin Keykubad I Dr al-Shif (1220-1237) in Konya, the Konya Kemleddin Karatay Dr al-Shif (1255), the Dr al-Shif (1228) built by Behramsahs daughter Turan Melek of the Mengcikler, the Cankiri Atabeg Ferruh Dr al-Shif (1235-1236), Amasya Dr al-Shif (1308), the Amasya Torumtay Dr al-Shif (1265-1266), the Muneddin Pervne Dr al-Shif (1275-1276) in Tokat and the Pervneoglu Ali Dr al-Shif (1271-1272) in Kastamonu. In addition, the following are hospitals constructed by other states in Anatolia: the Aksehir hospital (thirteenth centuries), the Erzincan Dr al-Shif (date of construction unknown), the Erzurum Dr al-Shif (1147), the Dr al-Shif constructed by the Ilkhanid ruler Olcaytu (1308), the Bmaristn-i Fruk constructed in the city of Meyyafarkin (Silvan) in Diyarbakir by Nasrddevle of the Skmenler and the Dr al-Shif built in Mardin by Emineddin, the brother of Necmeddin Ilgz (11081122) of the Artukids. All of these are famous hospitals, the names and we know builders of which. Some of these continued to be active as hospitals during the Ottoman period.
viii
In the Ottoman literature, the buildings where health-related activities were carried out were known variously as Dr al-Shif, drssihh, sifhne, bmaristn, bmarhne and timarhne.
ix
Beginning in the
early nineteenth century under the influence of the new western-style medical institutions, which were emerging, the term hospital began to come into use. The chief physician who was responsible for palace and state health matters undertook the administration of all hospitals among the Ottomans. The chief physicians would maintain a register containing the names and other information pertaining to public service doctors. When there was a need for a doctor anywhere they would appoint one in the appropriate order, that is, based on the availability of physicians of a particular rank and qualification. There was a hierarchy of hospitals. The highest-ranking hospital was the Sleymaniye Dr al-Shif. Byezd I in Bursa constructed the first hospital built in Anatolia during the Ottoman period. This hospital, which was built on 12 May 1400 in the eastern part of the city at the foot of Mount Olympus adjacent to the mosque, is no longer extant today. Its charter had been written on 12 May 1400 by Molla Fenr Mehmed b. Hamza, the kadi of Bursa. While at first there was only one section for mental patients, at a later date it became devoted solely to the mentally ill. It continued to function as such until the end of the nineteenth century.
x
There were a large number of hospitals founded during the Ottoman period, particularly in Istanbul. The first of these was the Dr al-Shif in the Ftih complex (1470). This hospital containing 70 rooms and 80 domes and had separate sections for female patients. Music was used in the treatment of mentally ill patients. There are few traces left of this hospital which continued to function until 1824.
viii
Esin Kahya, Anadolu Selcuklularinda Bilim, Erdem (AKM), 5 (13), 1990, pp. 53-79. ix Arslan Terzioglu, Trk-Islam Hastaneleri Ve Tababetinin Avrupada Tibbi Rnesansa Etkileri, Istanbul: Ciba-Geigy, 1992. x On Drt ve On Besinci Yzyillarda Bursadaki Bilimsel Hayattan Bazi Ornekler, Uluslararasi Tarih Kongresi, (Bilkent Universitesiyle Uludag Universitesi Birlikte), Bursa 1997, ss. 362-368.

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The Byezd Dr al-Shif constructed by Sultan Byezd II in Edirne in 1488 was well known for the treatment of the mentally ill and of diseases of the eye. (For the The Byezd Dr al-Shif of Edirne see Figure 2). The building, which is really an historical monument, is especially notable among Turkish hospitals in an architectural sense. The structure was designed in an especially attractive way and had an impact on the design of European hospital buildings. Evliy Celebi in his Seyahatnme (Travels) discusses how mentally ill patients were treated with music. Though it is said that this hospital just treated the mentally ill, there is neither any evidence supporting that assertion either in its charter or in works written at a later time. Perhaps this mistaken impression can be attributed to the special emphasis placed in the various sources on the methods used to treat the mentally ill there.
xi
Though some have argued that the madrasa connected by a passageway to the courtyard of the hospital was a medical madrasa, there is no evidence either in its charter or in any other sources that medical instruction took place there. However, Evliy Celebi does make mention of a medical madrasa located there. He refers to the madrasa as the Madrasa-i Etibb (Physicians Madrasa) and indicates that medical students were to be found in the madrasa rooms, that they were becoming specialized in one branch of medical science and that they were reading numerous valuable books in the field. However, he does not provide any information about the educational curriculum of the pupils resident at the Madrasa-i Etibb. Though at first the hospital was established for the treatment of a variety of illnesses, it later came to specialize in mental illnesses. It was abandoned in 1912-1913 as a result of the Balkan Wars.
Figure 2 - The Byezd Dr al-Shif of Edirne The hospital (bmristn) constructed in Manisa in 1522 by Ayse Hafsa Sultan, the mother of Sultan Sleymn the Magnificent and the wife of Sultan Selm I, continued despite its small size, to care for mentally ill patients until the late nineteenth century. It was one of the hospitals where the mentally ill were treated with music. The building was later abandoned and is now a museum. It has a charter dating from 1523. The charter of the hospital (1550) located in the western corner of the Sleymniye complex refers to it as a mristn (var. of bmristn). This hospital, a large structure that contained two courtyards and 30 rooms, was the highest ranking of all hospitals in the Ottoman system. Students studying at the medical madrasa would receive theoretical instruction four days a week and would get their applied subjects and do
xi
Evliya Celebi, Evliya Celebi Seyahatnamesi, 10 vols. (Istanbul, 1314), p. 468.

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their internship at the hospital. There was a separate section in the hospital for mentally ill patients in this institution that treated illness of all types. The hospital was, however, later entirely devoted to the mentally ill and continued to be used as such (as a bmristn) until it was shut down in 1861. (For a medical treatment of an Ottoman physician see Figure 3) The Haseki Dr al-Shif, constructed in 1550 by Haseki Hrrem Sultan, the wife of Sleymn the Magnificent, as a fully-equipped hospital was later devoted solely to women. In 1884 it was assigned only to mentally ill male patients and continued to function in that capacity until 1916. The district in which it was located is named after the hospital that continues to function to this day as Haseki Hospital. The Vlide-i Atk Dr al-Shif, constructed in skdar by Mimar Sinan for Nr Bn Sultan (d. 1583), the mother of Murd III and the wife of Selm II as a hospital treating all types of illnesses was, from 1858 to 1927, allocated for the treatment of the mentally ill. The Sultan Ahmed Dr al-Shif was constructed in 1617. As this hospital, a part of the last mosque complex constructed in Istanbul, was under the administration of the kizlar agasi, it was managed in quite an exceptional way. The building, which was especially devoted to the treatment of mentally ill patients, is no longer extant.
Figure 3 Dental treatment of an Ottoman physician The hospital located in the Topkapi Palace and known as the Criyeler Hospital functioned as a continuation of the Seljuk Palace hospital tradition. The chief physician administered the hospital, built for the members of the Palace. Newer types of hospitals were built as the westernization movement began to take hold in the Ottoman Empire. The first European style hospital was opened in 1805 at the Imperial Dockyards (Tersne-i mire) in Kasimpasa.
xii
A medical school was also opened there to train physicians and surgeons. The Tersne
Medical School, which was opened in 1806, was not very long-lived. In contrast to that, the hospital continued to function until 1822. A fire, occurred that time ruined the building. Following that in 1827 an Imperial Medical School (Tibhne-i mire) and an Imperial Surgical School (Cerrahhne-i mire) were opened. Later, in 1836 these two institutions were united. In 1839 an Imperial School of Medicine (Mekteb-i
xii
A. Ihsan Gencer, Trk Denizcilik Tarihi Arastirmalari (Istanbul, 1986), 54-63.

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Tibbiye-i Adliye-i hne) and a school hospital offering modern medical education were opened in Galatasaray. (For the Galatasaray Medical School Building see Figure 4) Beginning with the Tanzimat, the functions once assumed by clinical hospitals (Dr al-Shif) supported by the wakf system began to pass to modern hospitals (hastahne) funded from the state budget and established along European lines, a process that was part of the new modernizing approach which was taking over the Ottoman state apparatus and social life.
Figure 4 - The Galatasaray Medical School Building
Sleymniye Medical Madrasa (Sleymniye Tip Madrasasi)

The fact that the first Ottoman hospital, the Bursa Yildirim Byezd Dr al-Shif, recruited its chief physician from Egypt is an indication that there were not many physicians capable of performing that function in Ottoman cities at that time. Those physicians who were available had come from the Seljuks or from other states. That was because the Ottoman state had just been founded and it did not have any institutions or doctors available for training physicians. In later years we also encounter many doctors who had come from other countries as in the early period. For example, Mehmed the Conqueror made the Iranian Kutbeddin and the convert Ykub Pasha his private physicians. Sleymn the Magnificent employed the Jewish eye doctor Msa b. Hamun as his private physician. There were also many other Jews who worked as doctors in the Palace. That there were also a number of converts or physicians who came from abroad serving as chief palace physician during later years leads one to surmise that insufficient numbers of highly qualified physicians were being trained in Ottoman institutions, especially up until the time when the Sleymniye Medical madrasa was founded.
xiii
The medical school, which consisted of a section of the Sleymniye complex built by Sleymn the Magnificent and is described in the charter as the good madrasa which will house the science of medicine was the first medical madrasa built by the Ottoman Turks (1555). This medical madrasa which resembled those encountered in certain earlier Islamic states differed from them in being part of a larger mosque complex and in providing education in a more systematic fashion for nearly three hundred years. The medical madrasa was established to train specialized physicians and occupies a very important place in the field of Ottoman medical education in terms of medical specialization. That is because medical education, which had previously taken place in hospitals, acquired an independent institutional structure with the founding of this school. The entrance to the medical school, which is located across from the hospital, only the southwestern wing of which has survived to this day, opens out onto Tirykiler Market. The For the charter of the Sleymaniye Medical Medrese, see Sleymaniye Vakfiyesi, ed. K[Emal] E[dib] Krkcoglu (Ankara, 1962), 32-33.
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northeastern wing of the structure is located above the arches and shops of the market. According to the charter of the Sleymniye complex, the medical madrasa had a staff of eleven persons. The instructor at the madrasa earned 20 akces per day (7300 per year) and there were eight students (dnismend) who received two akces each as well as other staff members. School was Ahmed Celebi who received 60 akces per day. We still do not have exact or detailed information about the educational system or classes offered at the Sleymniye Medical School. According to Sheyl nver, instruction in anatomy was also offered there.
xv xiv
The first teacher at the Sleymniye Medical
In
addition, it is assumed that basic medical texts such as Ibn Sinas al-Qanun were also taught there. The education given at the school differed from that offered at other madrasas in that it was associated with applied training. Accordingly, the theoretical part of the medical training was offered at the madrasa and the applied part at the hospital. A student who wished to study at the Sleymniye Medical madrasa would first have to complete his course of education at the primary exterior (ibtid-yi hric) and interior (dhil) madrasas. Following that, the student wishing to study medicine would enroll in the Sleymniye preparatory (tetimme) schools. Students completing their education there would receive the title of fellow ( mlzim). Classes there were held four days a week. It is likely that one of the days not allocated for classes was a holiday, the other two devoted to work as an intern at the hospital. All practicums required during the course of their training were undertaken at the hospital. Those who completed their internships at the hospital would receive a sealed document called a sealed title (memhr temessk) rather than a diploma. The students would be given diplomas (iczet) based on the classes they had taken and the works they produced and, depending on the rank they achieved upon graduation, could become teachers or kadis. The teachers at Sleymniye would be offered lower order judgeships (mahrec mevleviyeti ) for periods of one year as a matter of course. They would leave those posts after having served for one year. Every year four people serving in that capacity would be given pyes (posts) in Egypt, Damascus, Bursa and Edirne and one of them would be given the office of kadi of Istanbul. Because it was also customary to give the chief judgeship of Anatolia (Anadolu
kazaskerligi) to the former Istanbul kadi, many of the doctors who graduated from the school rose to high political positions within the government, to the position of seyhlislm and even to a grand viziership. Persons who were trained at the Sleymniye Medical madrasa or who had taught there might also serve as
chief physicians at the palace or work at other medical institutions. In the final analysis it can be said that with the opening of the Sleymniye Medical madrasa a more systematic kind of medical education had begun in the country. Theoretical medicine had become institutionally separated from applied medicine. The building where the medical school was located is still extant and is being used as a maternity ward. The school most likely continued to train students until the middle of the nineteenth century, until, that is, sometime after the new medical school (tibbiye) opened.
. L. Barkan, Sleymaniye Camii ve Imareti Tesislerine Ait Yillik Bir Muhasebe Bilancosu, 993-994 (1585-1586), VD no. 9 (1971): 109-161. xv Sheyl Unver makes reference to the importance of the school and states that, it has been indicated that some of our surgeons who wished to be appointed to positions elsewhere came here to learn anatomy so as to increase their desirability. He does not, however, indicate any source for the statement. S. Unver, Tip Tarihi, Tarihten nceki Zamandan Islm Tababetine ve Islm Tababetinden XX. Asra Kadar, parts 1 and 2, (Istanbul, 1943), 114, 118-119.
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The Office of the Chief Astronomership (Munajjimbashilik)

The institution, which dealt with matters of astronomy and astrology as they pertained to the sultan and the state, was referred to as the Office of the Chief Astronomer (Munajjimbashilik). The word munajjim is derived from the Arabic word necm (star) and is used to refer to a person who is occupied with the science of the stars. (For a constellation star picture, which made by an Ottoman astronomer see Figure 5). The person who held the position of administrative head of those who were occupied with the science of the stars or astronomy was called the chief astronomer. This institution, which emerged toward the end of the fifteenth, beginning of the sixteenth centuries is not to be found in earlier Islamic Turkish states. The astronomers found at the palaces of the Abbasid caliphs or affiliated with the Seljuk sultans just prepared calendars and served as advisors on astrologic matters. (For a colour calendar page which made by an Ottoman chief astronomer see Figure 6)
Figure 5 - A constellation star picture constructed by an Ottoman astronomer
Among the Ottomans this institution emerged as a body concerned with the preparation of calendars and with astrologic matters as well as with the administration of the countrys Muvakkithanes. Both the Istanbul Observatory in the sixteenth century and the School of Astronomical Sciences (Mekteb-i Fenn-i Ncm), which opened in the nineteenth century to train astronomers and timekeepers, were attached to the office of the chief astronomer. The astronomers, who were considered part of the Outer (birn) Service at the Ottoman Palace, were in actuality members of the learned class (ilmiye sinifi) selected from among astronomers who had been trained at and graduated from madrasas. Affiliated with the head astronomers were those known as second-level astronomers (munajjim-i sn) and four or five astronomers known as clerks (ktip). Such astronomers could rise to the positions of second-level astronomer or head astronomer depending upon their efforts and abilities
xvi
xvi
Salim Aydz, Osmanli Devletinde Mneccimbasilik ve Mneccimbasilar. M.A. thesis, Istanbul University, 1993.

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The chief astronomers were Palace officials and members of the ulema class. As they were affiliated with the chief physician who was administratively connected to the custodian of the sultans weapons (silhdar
aga), their appointments and dismissals were handled by him. In their appointments, in addition to
signatures and decrees of the sultan, those of the seyhlislm and the grand vizier were also to be found. The appointments of the chief astronomers would be registered in the rus registers. The chief astronomers prepared the calendar for the Palace in the sixteenth century for which they were paid a fee of 2000 akces, while the astronomers were paid 1000 akces. In addition, the chief astronomers would receive fifteen akces on a daily basis and the astronomers ten as provender (ulfe). In the seventeenth century the chief astronomers received 1000 akces for the calendars they prepared and in the eighteenth century 6000 akces. The chief astronomer Hseyin Hsn Efendi (d. 1840) requested that this figure be raised to 7500 akces and indeed had the calendar fee increased. The provenders received by the head astronomers and their staff were paid on a monthly basis in contrast to the tri-monthly basis used for other members of the military ( asker ) class.
xvii
The most important duty of the chief astronomer was the preparation of calendars.
xviii
Up until 1800
calendars were prepared based on the Ulug Bey Zci (Ulug Bey Astronomical Tables) and henceforth according to the Jacques Cassini Zci (Cassini Astronomical Tables). In addition, the astronomers were, among other things, responsible for determining the hours when the fast was to begin (imskiye) prior to the beginning of Ramazan and for preparing horoscopes (zyice) or astronomical tables. The astronomers and occasionally the second-level astronomers would be responsible for determining propitious times for various important and unimportant occasions.
Figure 6 - A colour calendar page which made by an Ottoman chief astronomer The astronomer would interpret the horoscopes of sultan and various men of state. There were, however, sultans such as Abdlhamd I (1774-1789) and Selm III (1789-1807) who did not believe in the idea of propitious times or horoscopes. Because the practice of arranging ones actions in terms of propitious times had become such a common practice, these sultans were not able to do away with it despite their disbelief.
Salim Ayduz, Chief-astronomership institute in the Ottoman State, Journal of Ottoman Science Researches (editor: F. Gnergun), Istanbul 1995, pp. 159-207, English Summary: pp. 370-371. xviii Salim Ayduz, The Significance of the Munajjim-bashis Calendars as Historical Resources, Cogito, Journal of Thought, Istanbul spring 2000, pp. 132-144.
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The astronomers would also follow important astronomical events such as the passing of comets, earthquakes, fires and eclipses of the sun and moon and other extraordinary events and would inform the palace of these along with their interpretations of the events. The astronomers were also responsible for the management of the Muvakkithanes. Furthermore, Takiyeddin el-Rsid was responsible for the management of the Istanbul Observatory (1577-1583) while the head astronomers Hseyin Hsn and Sdullah Efendi were responsible for the School of Astronomical Sciences (1839-1845). There were a total of thirty-seven individuals who served as head astronomers for the Ottoman state. Of these, Takiyeddin el-Rsid (d. 1585) was well known for founding the observatory in Istanbul and the Muneccimbashi Dervish Ahmed Dede (d. 28 February 1702) for the history he wrote in Arabic titled
Camid-dvel. Hseyin Efendi was famous for the predictive success of his horoscope readings. Because
the head astronomers were members of the learned class they also filled such positions as teacher and
kadi.
The Office of Chief Astronomer continued in existence until the last head astronomer, Hseyin Hilmi Efendi, died in 1924. A new head astronomer was not appointed at that time and the position was abolished and replaced in 1927 with the Office of the Chief Time Keeper.
Time keeping houses (Muvakkithneler)

In Islamic cultures persons who were engaged in the determination of the correct time were referred to as timekeepers (muvakkit). Places devoted to the determination in particular of the appropriate times for prayer were called Time Keeping houses (Muvakkithanes). Such centers, the first of which was constructed during the Umayyad period (661-750) at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, continued in existence and developed up until the Ottoman period, when they assumed their final form.
Figure 7 - An Ottoman mechanical clock picture The earliest available information about the first Muvakkithane in Istanbul dates from the reign of Mehmed II (1451-1481). Subsequent to the conquest such centers were constructed adjacent to mosques or as separate buildings in various places in the country though especially in Istanbul. In Ottoman times
Muvakkithanes could be found in almost every city and town next to a mosque as a one or two room
structure. These institutions were administered by the wakf of the complex of which they were a part. The

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first Muvakkithane constructed in Istanbul was at the Ftih Mosque built in 1470 and numerous others were also constructed there. The most famous of these was the Byezd Mosque Muvakkithane built during the sixteenth century. Evliy Celebi attributes its fame to the precision of the clocks For an Ottoman mechanical clock picture see Figure 7). Among the other famous Muvakkithanes in Istanbul were those located at the Yavuz Selm, Ftih ehzdebasi and Eminn mosques.
xix
At those Muvakkithanes especially founded to determine the appropriate daily prayer times, the task would be undertaken with sundials. In addition, timekeepers would give simple astronomy lessons to interested parties. Some timekeepers would prepare yearly calendars and determine the time of day to begin the Ramazan fast. Almost all of them knew how to use simple astronomical equipment and there were even some who were qualified to write treatises in the field. (As astronomical equipment for Astrolabe see Figure 8)
Figure 8 - An astronomical equipment for Astrolabe The Muvakkithanes were, depending upon the knowledge of the timekeeper, both places where training in astronomy was given and at the same time simple observatories. It is for that reason that some
Muvakkithanes in Istanbul played an important role in the training of astronomers. Certain timekeepers rose to the position of chief astronomer as a result of their successful work at their Muvakkithanes.
Though the administration of these bodies and the salaries of their personnel were the responsibility of the
wakf with which they were affiliated, the chief astronomer made appointments. The son of a deceased
timekeeper could be appointed in his place. If the timekeeper did not have a son, interested parties would be appointed after having taken an examination. Concern was shown to ensure that those appointed, as timekeepers were qualified for the position. This matter was specified in the charter. The Muvakkithanes continued in existence until the very end of the Ottoman Empire despite the widespread use of mechanical clocks in the nineteenth century. Following the founding of the Republic, the
Muvakkithanes were transferred to a new body known as the Basmuvakkitlik (Office of the Chief Timexix
Salim Ayduz, Small observatories in the Ottoman Empire: Time-keeping houses (Muvakkithanes), Osmanli (Ed. Guler

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Keeper) (1927) until it was finally shut down on 20 September 1952. Though some Muvakkithane buildings are still extant today, most are in serious disrepair or are being used for other purposes.
xx
The Istanbul Observatory (Istanbul Rasathanesi)

The first Ottoman observatory was established in Istanbul during the reign of Sultan Murd III (1574-1595) by Takiyeddin el-Rsid
xxi
. Takiyeddin, who was born in Damascus in 1526, worked for a time as a kadi and
a teacher after completing his education in Damascus and Egypt. During that time he produced some important works in the fields of astronomy and mathematics. In 1570 Takiyeddin came to Istanbul from Cairo, and one year later (1571-1572) was appointed as chief astronomer upon the death of the Chief Astronomer Mustafa b. Ali. Takiyeddin maintained close relations with many important members of the
ulema and important statesmen, primary of whom was Hoca Sdeddin, and was presented to Sultan Murad
III by the Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmed Pasha..
xxii
Takiyeddin informed Sultan Murd III, who had an interest in astronomy and astrology, that the Ulug Bey
Astronomical Tables contained certain observational errors and that they had resulted in errors in
calculations made on the basis of those tables.
xxiii
Figure 9 - Istanbul Observatory miniature Takiyeddin indicated that these errors could be corrected if new observations were made and proposed to the sultan that an observatory be built in Istanbul for that purpose. Sultan Murd was very pleased to be the patron of the first observatory in Istanbul and asked that construction begin immediately. He also provided all the financial assistance required for the project. In the meantime, Takiyeddin was pursuing his studies at the Galata Tower, which he then continued, in 1577, at the partially completed new observatory
Eren and others), Ankara 1999, volume VIII, pp. 664-675. xx A. S. Unver, Osmanli Trkleri Ilim Tarihinde Muvakkithneler, Atatrk Konferanslari V, 1971-1972 (offprint) (Ankara, 1971), 34. xxi Sayili, Aydin. The Observatory in Islam. Ankara: Publications of the Turkish Historical Society, 1960. xxii Ahmet S. Unver, Istanbul Rasathanesi, Ankara 1985. xxiii Salim Ayduz, Ulug Bey Zicinin Osmanli Astronomi Calismalarindaki Yeri ve Onemi (the place and significance of Ulug Bey Zici in the studies of Ottoman astronomy), Bilig, Bahar 2003, sayi 25, pp. 139-172.

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called Dr al-Rasad al-Jadd (the New Observatory). (For Takiyeddin al-Rasid and the Istanbul Observatory miniature see Figure 9) The observatory, consisting of two separate buildings, one large and one small, was constructed at a location in the upper part of Tophane in Istanbul. Takiyeddin had the instruments used in the old Islamic observatories reproduced with great care. In addition, he invented some new instruments, which were used for observational purposes for the first time. There was also a library at the observatory largely consisting of books on astronomy and mathematics. The observatory had a staff of sixteen persons, eight of whom were observers ( rsid); four were clerks and the other four assistants. For the Istanbul Observatory staffs and observers miniature see Figure 10) At the same time, Takiyeddin invented new instruments, which were added to the array of those already in use for observation purposes in the Islamic world. Among the instruments used by Takiyeddin in the observatory were the following: 1) an armillary sphere (an ancient instrument consisting of an arrangement of rings all of which are circles of the same sphere, used to show the relative positions of the celestial equator, ecliptic and other circles on the celestial sphere) invented by Ptolemy; 2) a mural quadrant; 3) an azimuthally quadrant, an instrument used for the measurement of azimuths and elevations; 4) a parallactic ruler; 5) a ruler-quadrant or wooden quadrant; 6) an instrument with two holes for the measurement of apparent diameters and eclipses; 7) an instrument with chords for the determination of equinoxes, invented by Takiyeddin and replacing the equinoctial armillary at the observatory; 8) a mushabbaha bil-manatiq, another new instrument invented by Takiyeddin, the nature and function of which is not clearly explained; 9) a mechanical clock with a train of cogwheels, and 10) a sunaydi ruler, apparently a special type of instrument of an auxiliary nature, the function of which was indicated by Al al-Din al-Mansur. Takiyeddin used a mechanical clock, which he made himself for his observations and a wooden wall dial, which he set up in the observatory.
xxiv
Figure 10 - Istanbul Observatory staffs and observers miniature He described the clock as follows: we built a mechanical clock with a dial showing the hours, minutes and seconds and we divided every minute into five seconds. This is a more precise clock than clocks used
xxiv
Ismet Miroglu,. Istanbul Rasathanesine Ait Belgeler. Tarih Enstits Dergisi 3:7582, 1973.

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previously and is, as a result, considered to be one of the more important inventions in the area of applied astronomy developed during the sixteenth century.
xxv
Takiyeddin integrated the Damascus and Samarkand traditions of astronomy. (For the Samarkand Observatory see Figure 11). His first task at the observatory was to undertake the corrections of the Ulug
Bey Astronomical Tables. In addition, he also undertook various observations of eclipses of the sun and the
moon. The comet, which was present in the skies of Istanbul for one month during September of 1578, was observed ceaselessly day and night and the results of the observations were presented to the sultan. Takiyeddin was, as a result of the new methods he developed and the equipment he invented, able to approach his observations in an innovative way and produce novel solutions to astronomical problems. He also substituted the use of a decimally based system for a sexagesimal one and prepared trigonometric tables based on decimal fractions. He determined the ecliptic degree as 23 28' 40", which is very close to the current value of 23 27' . He used a new method in calculating solar parameters. He determined that the magnitude of the annual movement of the suns apogee was 63 seconds. Considering that the value known today is 61 seconds, the method he used appears to have been more precise than that of Copernicus (24 seconds) and Tycho Brahe (45 seconds). Takiyeddin also wrote the first Ottoman book on automatic machines titled el-Turuks-Seniyye.
Figure 11 - The Samarkand Observatory The observatory was witness to a great deal of activity within what was a rather short period of time. Observations undertaken there were collected in a work titled Sidratu Muntahal-Afkr f Malakut al-Falak al-
Davvr. When compared with those of the contemporary Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) who
also built an observatory, Takiyeddins observations are more precise. Furthermore, some of the instruments, which he had in his observatory, were of superior quality to Tycho Brahes. The observatory was torn down on 22 January 1580. Though rooted in certain political conflicts, religious arguments were put forth to justify the action. The sayh al-Islam issued a legal opinion (fetv) and Admiral Kilic Ali Pasha carried out the orders of the sultan to destroy the building.
xxvi
Sevim Tekeli,. Nasirddin, Takiyddin ve Tycho Brahenin Rasad Aletlerinin Mukayesesi. Ankara Universitesi, Dil ve Tarih-Cografya Fakltesi Dergisi 16 (34): 301393, 1958. xxvi A. Sayili, The Observatory in Islam and its Place in the general history of the Observatory (Ankara, 1960), 289-305; Sayili, Alauddin Mansurun Istanbul Rasathanesi Hakkindaki Siirleri, Belleten 20, no. 79 (Temmuz 1956): 425; J. H. Mordtmann, Das Observatorium des Taqi ed-Din zu Pera, DI 13, (1923): 82-96.
xxv

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adivar, Adnan, Osmanli Trklerinde Ilim, 5th ed. Ed. Aykut Kazancigil and Sevim Tekeli. Istanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 1983. Ali Seydi Bey, Tesrifat ve Teskilat-i Kadimemiz, (Istanbul, n.d.), 119-123. Ayduz, S., Chief-astronomership institute in the Ottoman State, Journal of Ottoman Science Researches (editor: F. Gnergun), Istanbul 1995, pp. 159-207, English Summary: pp. 370-371. Ayduz, S., Small observatories in the Ottoman Empire: Time-keeping houses (Muvakkithanes), Osmanli (Ed. Guler Eren and others), Ankara 1999, volume VIII, pp. 664-675. Ayduz, S., The Significance of the Munajjim-bashis Calendars as Historical Resources, Cogito, Journal of
Thought, Istanbul spring 2000, pp. 132-144.

Ayduz, S., Ulug Bey Zicinin Osmanli Astronomi Calismalarindaki Yeri ve Onemi (the place and significance of Ulug Bey Zici in the studies of Ottoman astronomy), Bilig, Bahar 2003, sayi 25, pp. 139-172. Aydz, S., Osmanli Devletinde Mneccimbasilik ve Mneccimbasilar. M.A. thesis, Istanbul University, 1993. Barkan, , L., Sleymaniye Camii ve Imareti Tesislerine Ait Yillik Bir Muhasebe Bilancosu, 993-994 (15851586), VD no. 9 (1971): 109-161. Bayat, Ali Haydar, Osmanli Devletinde Hekimbasilik Kurumu Ve Hekimbasilar, Ankara : Atatrk Kltr Merkezi, 1999. Ceyhun,C., Hekimbasilar Imparatorluk Devrimizin Saglik Bakani Yetkili Kisileridir, Ege Universitesi Tip
Fakltesi Mecmuasi (EUTFM) 9, no 3, (Izmir, 1970): 557-559.

Evliya Celebi, Evliya Celebi Seyahatnamesi, 10 vols. (Istanbul, 1314), p. 468. Gencer, A. Ihsan, Trk Denizcilik Tarihi Arastirmalari (Istanbul, 1986), 54-63. Ihsanoglu E. and M. Kacar, Ayni Mnasebetle Iki Nutuk: Sultan II Mahmudun Mekteb-i Tibbiye Ziyaretinde Irad Ettigi Nutkun Hangisi Dogrudur? Tarih ve Toplum no. 83 (Kasim 1990): 44-48. Ihsanoglu E., and F. Gnergun, Tip Egitimin Trkcelesmesi Meselesinde Bazi Tespitler, Trk Tip Tarihi
Yilligi= Acta Turcica Histoirae Medicinae, I. Uluslararasi Tip Tarihi ve Deontoloji Kongresine Sunulan Tip Tarihi ile Ilgili Bildiriler, ed. Arslan Terzioglu, Istanbul, 1994, 127-134.
Kahya, E. Anadolu Selcuklularinda Bilim, Erdem (AKM), 5 (13), 1990, pp. 53-79. Mehmet Sreyya, Sicilli Osmani Tezkere-i Mesahir-i Osmaniyye , 4 vols., (Istanbul 1308-1315 R) 4:721. Miroglu, Ismet,. Istanbul Rasathanesine Ait Belgeler. Tarih Enstits Dergisi 3:7582, 1973. Mordtmann, J. H., Das Observatorium des Taqi ed-Din zu Pera, DI 13, (1923): 82-96. On Drt ve On Besinci Yzyillarda Bursadaki Bilimsel Hayattan Bazi Ornekler, Uluslararasi Tarih Kongresi, (Bilkent Universitesiyle Uludag Universitesi Birlikte), Bursa 1997, ss. 362-368. Osman Sevki, Bes Bucuk Asirlik Trk Tababeti Tarihi, Istanbul 1925. Pakalin, M. Z., Osmanli Tarih Deyimleri ve Terimleri Szlg, 3 vols., (Istanbul, 1970), 1: 795-796. Sari, N. and B. Zlfikar, The Paracelusian Influence on Ottoman Medicine in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, in Transfer of Modern Science & Technology to the Muslim World, ed. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (Istanbul, 1992), 157-179. Sayili, A., Alauddin Mansurun Istanbul Rasathanesi Hakkindaki Siirleri, Belleten 20, no. 79 (Temmuz 1956): 425. Sayili, A., The Observatory in Islam and its Place in the general history of the Observatory (Ankara, 1960), 289-305.
Sleymaniye Vakfiyesi, ed. K[Emal] E[dib] Krkcoglu (Ankara, 1962), 32-33.

Tekeli, Sevim, Nasirddin, Takiyddin ve Tycho Brahenin Rasad Aletlerinin Mukayesesi. Ankara
Universitesi, Dil ve Tarih-Cografya Fakltesi Dergisi 16 (34): 301393, 1958.

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Terzioglu, Arslan, Trk-Islam Hastaneleri Ve Tababetinin Avrupada Tibbi Rnesansa Etkileri, Istanbul: CibaGeigy, 1992. Unver, S. Osmanli Trkleri Ilim Tarihinde Muvakkithneler, Atatrk Konferanslari V, 1971-1972 (offprint) (Ankara, 1971), 34. Unver, S. Istanbul Rasathanesi , Ankara 1985. Unver, S., Tip Tarihi, Tarihten nceki Zamandan Islm Tababetine ve Islm Tababetinden XX. Asra Kadar, parts 1 and 2, (Istanbul, 1943), 114, 118-119. Uzluk, F. N., Hekimbasi Mustafa Behcet, Ankara 1954.

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The Madrasas of the Ottoman Empire
Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu Professor Salim Al-Hassani Faaiza Bashir April 2004 4055 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
The Madrasas of the Ottoman Empire April 2004
THE MADRASAS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Introduction Pre-Ottoman Madrasas
The structure of the madrasa system when examined from the perspective of the history of its founding rests on a legal foundation defined, interpreted and preserved by experts in the field of Islamic jurisprudence (fkh). In terms of the organization of the madrasas, priority was given in the educational curriculum to fkh and all fields auxiliary to it. In contrast, fields based on the rational (natural) sciences 1 (akl ilimler) were not included in the curriculum. The primary objective for founding madrasas was to offer instruction in the science of jurisprudence (fkh). In the eleventh century the Nizmiye madrasas were founded solely for the purpose of training jurists in fkh (known as fakh). Among these madrasas there were those, which had, separate madrasas and teachers for each of the four Sunni schools of law (mezheb), there were also madrasas where several schools of law or, on occasion even all four schools, were taught. In the first Nizmiye madrasas, classes were offered in fkh and Arabic language subjects such as morphology (sarf) and syntax (nahiv), but there is no information in particular about whether instruction was given in the rational sciences (ulum-i akliye). Later, in the thirteenth century, in Egypt and Damascus, in addition to the fkh madrasas, separate madrasas such as the Medris al-hadis, Medris al-tafsir and Medris al-nahiv for the study of the Hadith (prophetic traditions), commentary on the Quran and syntax respectively were established. The madrasa system and organizations such as those of the social service and religiously oriented institutions in the Islamic world such as mosques, hospitals, soup kitchens, caravanserais, commercial houses and baths were established as pious foundations (vakfs). As these institutions all had a religious aspect to them, their vakfs had to be in conformance with Islamic law (ser-i serf). Though not much information is available about the nature of the education offered in the Anatolian Seljuk
madrasas or about the lessons given and their subject matter, it is quite clear that fkh, religious studies
and complementary lessons in literary studies were offered. From the charters, which are available for these madrasas, we learn that classes were given throughout the week with the exception of Tuesdays and Fridays and that the full course of education was limited to a period of five years. Madrasa students known as fakh were at first referred to as beginners ( mbted), then later as intermediate (mutavasst) and in the end, when they were in a position to write their own opinions based on inference, were referred to as advanced (mstedl). The rich, extensive accumulation of knowledge and education inherited from the 2 Seljuks in Anatolia provided the necessary foundation for Ottoman advances in this area. In the charter of the Altun-Aba Madrasa in Konya (prior to 1196-1197), one of the madrasas established in Anatolia during the Seljuk period, reference is made to one teacher and one assistant (mud) as well as to
1 For a comprehensive and detailed discussion of this subject see G. Makdisi, The Rise of Colleges, Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West (Edinburgh, 1981). 2 For pre-Ottoman madrasas in Anatolia see A. Quran, Anadolu Medreseleri-I (Ankara, 1969); M. Szen, Anadolu Medreseleri, Selcuklu ve Beylikler Devri, 2 vols. (Istanbul,1970-1972), 2: 19, 83.

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thirty-eight students.
In the charter of the madrasa-established in Amasya in the year 1209-10 by Mbariz
al-din Halifet Gazi, reference is made to one teacher, two assistants and twelve students. The teacher was 4 to have taught Hanefi fkh for a salary of 1200 fine silver dirhems per year . In the charter of the madrasa established in 1224 in Antalya by Mbriz al-din Er-Tokus, while making 5 reference to the teacher and students, no mention is made of the nature of the education offered. In the same way, in the charter of the Sivas Gk Madrasa established by Shib At Fahreddin Ali in 1295, reference is made to housing being provided for the fakhs, experts in jurisprudence (mtefakkha), scholars, and students in order that they may undertake the study of fkh and the complementary studies 6 of canonical law (ser ) and religious prescriptions (din hkmleri) . In the charter of the Karatay Madrasa established in Konya in 1251-52 by Vizier Jall al-din Karatay it is specified that it is imperative that teachers at the madrasa be qualified and suitably prepared in the study of the Serat, Hadith, interpretation, legal theory and methodology (usl), inheritance (fur) and polemics 7 (hilf). It appears that there was no ranking of the pre-Ottoman madrasas; they achieved their fame based on the qualities of the teachers affiliated to them. Following the completion of their basic education, students who wished to specialize in a particular field of study would select instructors well known in that area, take lessons and obtain a license (iczet) from them. It was the teacher who was the fundamental element in the license, a document that would indicate the nature of the study completed and the pedigree of the teachers issuing the degree, though not in the name of the madrasa where the education had taken place. In contrast, in the universities established in Europe in the twelfth century the diplomas issued to graduates would be issued in the name of the university where the student undertook his studies. In other words, in the madrasa it was the instructor and in the university the institution which was in the forefront. Large numbers of students were educated in this way in the madrasas and, under the instruction of famous scholars, came to constitute a new community of the learned in the Islamic world. While such scholarly activities were flourishing in the Ottoman Empire, one observes the persistence of similar activities in other Turkish states in Anatolia. For example, in Konya-Aksaray that was under the rule of the Karamanogullar, the teachings of Jaml al-din al-Aksary at the Zincirli Madrasa were very famous. In the same sense, when Molla Semseddin al-Fenr had a falling out with Sultan Byezd I, he was received with great respect 8 by Karamanoglu, and it is of note that Byezd insisted that al-Fenr return to Bursa. The attraction of scholars from other countries to Anatolia and the tradition of sending students to other countries for their education continued during the Ottoman period. Such scholarly travel is an indicator of cultural dynamism. For example, Ekmeleddin al-Bbert who was born in Bayburt (d. 1384-85) first went to Aleppo, then to Cairo to study with Sayf al-din el-Isfahn and then rose to the position of teacher at the O. Turan, Selcuklu Devri Vakfiyeleri- I, 197-235. R. Yinanc, Selcuklu Medreselerinden Amasya Halifet Gazi Medresesi ve Vakflar, VD no. 15 (Ankara, 1982): 5-22. 5 O. Turan, Selcuklu Devri Vakfiyeleri-II, Mbarizeddin Er-Tokus ve Vakfiyesi, Belleten 11, no. 43 (1947): 415-429. 6 S. Bayram and A. Karabacak, Sahib Ata Fahruddin Alinin Konya Imaret ve Sivas Gkmadrasa Vakflar, VD no. 13 (1981): 31-70. 7 O. Turan, Selcuklu Devri Vakfiyeleri-III, 79.
4 3

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famous al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo instructing numerous students there. Among those students were such famous Ottoman scholars as Hac Pasa (d. 1413 or 1417), Seyh Badr al-din (d. 1420) and Molla Fenr (d. 9 1430-31). During the reign of Murd II, Molla Yegn (d. 1436), one of the pupils of Ekmeleddin al-Bbert, met with Molla Grn in Cairo and brought him to the palace, presenting him to the sultan. The sultan treated Molla Grn with great respect and favour and appointed him as the teacher of Prince Mehmed (the Conqueror) when he was serving as the governor of Manisa.
Madrasa Education during the Early Ottoman Period

The madrasas of the early Ottoman period can be considered as institutions continuing in the established educational tradition that had been practiced in such pre-Ottoman cities as Amasya, Konya, Kayseri, Karaman and Aksaray. Such scholarly activity in Anatolia was made possible by the contributions of scholars coming from the most important cultural centres of the time in Egypt, Syria, Iran and Turkestan. The madrasa system inherited from the Seljuk Turks continued in existence augmented by the contributions of the Ottomans. The construction of a mosque and alongside it a madrasa had become a tradition in places conquered by the Ottomans, an integral part of their policy of conquest. This tradition was geared both to the provision of the necessary religious, scientific and educational services for the society and the state as well as for training administrative and legal personnel for the state administration. It was in this fashion that the Ottoman state was able to provide itself with educated personnel for its activities, individuals who were both knowledgeable in their areas of competence and at the same time able to perform their duties both in terms of the requirements of Islamic jurisprudence and customary practice. This tradition ensured that the central administration of the state was well founded and strong. The first Ottoman madrasa was established in Iznik (Nicea) by Orhan Gz. This ruler had a new madrasa 10 building constructed there immediately after the conquest of the city (1330-31). After Orhan Bey had arranged to have a sufficient number of vakfs attached to the madrasa to meet its financial needs, he appointed as teacher and trustee Mevln Dvud al-Kayser (d. 1350-51) who had completed his education in Egypt. Great scholars of the period such as Dvud al-Kayser and his successors, Tceddin al-Krd and 11 Aleddin Esved (d. 1393) all taught at this madrasa. Until the time when the scholars educated at the Ottoman madrasas were in a position to be appointed as teachers, the first teachers at the Ottoman madrasas were either those who were born and raised in other parts of Anatolia, or those who were born in Anatolia and were educated in Islamic cultural centres such as Egypt, Iran and Trkistan (Turkestan) and then returned to Anatolia, or those who were born and educated outside of Anatolia and who later came to the Ottoman country. Of the 115 scholars who were determined to have received education in Anatolia or in other Islamic countries between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, the percentages according to countries or regions are as follows: Iran is in first place with 43.3 percent, Egypt is in second place with 23.4 percent, followed by Anatolia with 14.7 percent, Transoxiana with 8.6 percent, Syria with 7.8 percent and Iraq with 1.7 percent. During the same centuries, when the countries of the authors of the thirty-three textbooks taught on various subjects at the Ottoman madrasas
8 9
M. C. Baysun, Osmanl Devri Medreseleri, IA, 8: 71-75. Ibn-i Hacer el-Eskaln, el-Drer el-Kamine, fi Ayan el-mae el-Samine (Haydarabad, 1972-1976), 4: 250. 10 skpasazade, Tevrh-i l-i Osmandan, skpasazde Tarihi, ed. Ali Bey (Istanbul, 1332): 42. 11 M. Bilge, Ilk Osmanl Medreseleri (Istanbul, 1984), 64.

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are examined, it is observed that various Islamic cultural centres were the source of the development of Ottoman education. According to a statistical research made on this subject Iran was still in first place with 39.3 percent. Egypt was in second place with 30.3 percent. It is observed that Transoxiana, Iraq, Khorezm 12 and Fergana each had 6.06 percent and that Anatolia and Khorasan had 3.03 percent.
Figure 1. Typical Window of Yesil Madrasa - Bursa
It appears as if the education offered in the madrasas was left entirely up to the initiative of the teachers appointed who would, following the tradition, be obliged to proceed within the framework of the conditions laid down by the vkf (the founders of the vakf). For example, in the charter of the Iznik Orhan Bey
Madrasa, other than the prescription that instruction should be given on a daily basis to the students
there appears to be no other restrictive statement. 13 In the charter of the Bursa Lala Shin Pasha Madrasa, founded in 1348, it is stated the teacher should be very knowledgeable and articulate and must not miss any classes without a legitimate excuse other than on holidays. In addition to a specification by Murd II in Edirne to the kind of lessons to be given at the Dr al-Hadis Madrasa, it is also indicated that the
12
M. H. Lekesiz, Osmanl Ilmi Zihniyetinde Degisme (Tesekkl-Gelisme-zlme XV-XVII. Yzyllar), (Master Thesis, Hacettepe University, Department of History, Ankara, 1989), 27-28, 65. 13 M. Bilge, Ilk Osmanl Medreseleri, 297-298.

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instructors should be giving lessons in Hadith and complementary studies, but that in particular they should 14 not be occupying themselves with philosophical studies in their classes. In the charter of the Akmadrasa established in 1415 by Karamanoglu Ali Bey in Nigde, it is stated that
this madrasa is devoted to fakhs and mtefekkhas (jurists and students of jurisprudence) engaged in Islamic legal studies (ulm-i seriyye) and to married persons, bachelors, boarding students and day students who are engaged in literary studies required for religious studies and to teachers and tutors instructing according to the Hanef and Shafi schools of law. The teacher should lecture every day on the subjects of fkh and legal theory and methodology (usl-i fkh) as well as on matters pertaining to canonical law and other higher studies, whereas the tutor should go over the lessons with the students every day, engaging them in discussion
15
These statements are important in terms of bringing some clarity to the basic features of the traditional
madrasa system prior to the Sahn-i Samn madrasas founded by Mehmed the Conqueror.
Figure 2. The Garden of Yesil Madrasa Bursa As is quite clear from the examples given above, education in Seljuk madrasas and those pre-dating Mehmed the Conqueror was pursued in terms of the traditions of the Nizmiye madrasas. Their major goals were the teaching of religious studies and in particular fostering the study of fkh. However, the fact that hospitals were established alongside certain Seljuk madrasas and that sites for astronomical observation have been found next to others, gives us some indication that there was an interest in medicine and astronomy in those madrasas. Education in philosophy, mathematics and the natural sciences, which do not fit in the category of religious studies, was, during the Seljuk and pre-Mehmed II period, given in the homes of scholars or at hospitals following a tradition of great longevity. There is also some indication that some of these sciences were taught as extra curricular activities in Anatolian Seljuk madrasas. From the beginning of the fourteenth century until the beginning of the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror there were a total of forty-two madrasas in the major cities: twenty-five in Bursa, thirteen in Edirne and four in Iznik.
14 15
Ibid., 229-233, 303-304.
I. H. Uzuncarsl, Nigde Karamanoglu Ali Bey Vakfiyesi, VD no. 2 (Ankara, 1942): 59-60.

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During the same period we note the existence of forty madrasas in smaller cities.
16
In short, the fact that
between the years 1331-1451, during the period when higher education in the Ottoman Empire was in its initial stages, a total of eighty-two madrasas were founded, is an indication of just how rapidly the worlds of education and the sciences were developing in Ottoman society. This would mean that on an average at least two madrasas were being established every three years. As the numbers of madrasas grew in particular cities, a need began to arise to rank the institutions in relation to each other. The ranking of
madrasas according to their status in the period prior to Mehmed II (the Conqueror) made more apparent
the differences among those institutions.
Figure 3. Fatih Mosque and the Complex of Sahn-i Semn Madrasas
Ranking of the madrasas

Following the conquest of Istanbul, Mehmed the Conqueror initiated a campaign of construction so as to give the city a new character. He also encouraged those around him to participate in this effort. As a result of these efforts numerous Byzantine buildings were transformed into mosques, madrasas and dervish lodges. In order to transform the new capital into a centre of learning (dar al-ilm) he had a mosque complex (klliye), which was later to take his name, constructed on the crest of one of the hills of Istanbul.

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Within the complex he had madrasas built which could be considered as expressions of his centralized approach and policies in the areas of scholarship-science and education. According to the charter prepared for the madrasas in the Fatih Mosque Complex, the Samniye madrasas were composed of eight higher madrasas surrounding the Fatih Mosque and of eight smaller madrasas behind these known as Tetimme. Thus there were a total of sixteen madrasas on both sides of the mosque. In addition to these, a Dar al-talim (primary school) was constructed on the side facing the western door. Furthermore, from the charter we learn that this complex was conceived as a total educational centre of the highest quality and that in this light, institutions such as a hospital, a library and a 17 soup kitchen were established to provide food, drink, shelter and medical treatment. In certain contemporary studies undertaken up until quite recently it has been argued that the Samniye
madrasas constructed under Mehmed IIs orders resembled European universities and that Ali Kuscu, Vizier Mahmd Pasha and Molla Hsrev developed a curriculum for the Madrasa. However, the most recent research on the subject has attempted to correct this mistaken impression about the Fatih madrasas and
their resemblance to a modern university and the claims put forth about their supposed curricula.
Figure 4. Arial View of the Fatih Mosque Complex and Sahn-i Semn Madrasas
A new era in Ottoman education was initiated with the establishment of the Fatih madrasas and the hierarchical structure of the madrasas was reorganized. Indeed, it has been generally accepted in historical studies of the madrasa since Uzuncarsl that, based on information provided by l, the academic levels of the madrasas were determined during the reign of Mehmed II according to the salaries paid to the teacher 18 heading the institution and in terms of the basic required textbook in use at the school. Based on the information provided by l, it seems that there had been a number of traditions and customary rules (generally referred to as Kann) governing education since the time of Byezd I, that a number of these continued to be implemented until the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror and that they were then collated 19 and restructured within a single framework during that period.
16 17
M. Bilge, Ilk Osmanl Medreseleri, 65-207; C. Baltac, XV.-XVI. Asrlar Osmanl Medreseleri (Istanbul, 1976), 20-21. E. Ihsanoglu, Osmanl Medrese Tarihciliginin Ilk Safhas (1916-1965)-Kesif ve Tasarlama Dnemi-, Belleten 64, no 240 (Agustos 2000): 541-582. 18 I.H. Uzuncarsl, Osmanl Devletinin Ilmiye Teskilat, 2nd ed. (Ankara, 1984), 11-12. 19 Gelibolulu Mustafa l, Knhl-Ahbar, Istanbul University Library (IMK), Turkish Manuscrripts (TY) no. 5959, fol. no.

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When we examine the charters of the madrasas from the period prior to Mehmed II we observe that by and large it is religious studies that are emphasized. By contrast, in the charter of the Fatih madrasas we encounter for the first time the requirement that teachers to be appointed to the madrasas must include both those who are knowledgeable both in religious studies and in the rational sciences, which included logic, philosophy and mathematics. Further, the charter indicates in literary language that the foundation of the madrasas rested on the rules of hikmet (wisdom, frequently used to refer to philosophy) and that they were established based on the rules of geometry, thus differentiating them from earlier madrasas. In our opinion, this is where one may find the influence of Ali Kuscu. The influence of Ali Kuscu, who came from Samarkand where he was associated with Ulug Bey and scientific circles largely concerned with mathematics and astronomy, can be seen in the requirement of the charter, which set the framework for these madrasas, that the rational sciences are to be taught along with religious studies. It is possible to observe this influence after the period of Mehmed II up until the time of the Sleymniye madrasas. In the Fatih Teskilt Kannnmesi (legal code), we find in the section regarding the appointments of the teachers that the madrasas were ranked based on a hierarchy determined by the daily fees paid to the teachers. They began with those who received twenty akces, increasing in increments of five akces to those receiving twenty-five, thirty, thirty-five, forty, forty-five and fifty akces. The teachers at the Sahn madrasas, that is those employed at the eighth highest-level madrasas at the Fatih complex, were considered the most distinguished of the ulema (learned men) and were positioned in front of the heads of sancaks 20 (provincial districts) in terms of official protocol. As the establishment, formation and the changes experienced over the centuries of this educational hierarchy have not been very thoroughly studied, more detailed and multifaceted studies will be required in order to achieve greater clarity with regard to the subject. When one examines the organization of Ottoman madrasas one observes that the first three are referred to under the names of Hsiye-i Tecrid, Miftah and Telvih. These names were taken from the titles of the main textbooks used in these madrasas. The Hsiye-i Tecrid madrasa takes its name from the fact that the main textbook used there was a commentary written by Seyyid Serf el-Grgn (d. 1413-14) based on a commentary by Shems al-din Mahmd b. Ebul-Kasm al-Isfahn (d. 1345-46) on a work titled Tecrd al21 Kalm by Nasreddin al-Ts (d. 1273-74). Madrasas which used that particular piece of work, with commentaries written by Seyyid Serf al-Grgani and Sadeddin al-Taftazani (d. 1388-89), were known as
Miftah madrasas. Miftah refers to a work by Ysuf al-Sekkk (d. 1228-29) on the subjects of morphology, nahv and rhetoric. Telvh is the name of the commentary written by al-Taftazn on the commentary titled Tavzt-Tenkh written by Sadrsseria Ubeydullah el-Buhr (d. 1346-47) on his own work on Islamic
jurisprudence titled Tenkhl-Usl. This commentary was used as a textbook in Telvih madrasas. 22
Both the 40 akce and the Haric 50 akce madrasas were constructed by the pre-Ottoman Anatolian municipalities, rulers and their families, by viziers, sancak beys and emirs. The Dhil madrasas are 85b-86b. 20 A. zcan, Fatihin Teskilat Kanunnamesi ve Nizm- lem icin Kardes Katli Meselesi, ITD (Fatih Sultan Mehmede Hatra Says,) no. 33 (Istanbul, 1982), 39. 21 Ktib elebi, Kesfz-Zunn an Esmil-Ktbi vel-Fnn, 2 vols., ed. Serefeddin Yaltkaya and Kilisli Rifat Bilge (Istanbul, 1941-1943), 2: 1762-1768. 22 I. H. Uzuncarsl, Osmanl Devletinin Ilmiye Teskilat, 26-28.

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madrasas constructed by the Ottoman sultans, the mothers of imperial princes and the daughters of the sultans. Following that one would come to the Sahn-i Semn madrasas, which had the highest educational level. Tetimme madrasas were of the same rank as Dhil madrasas and because they prepared students for the Sahn madrasas were referred to as Msla-i Sahn (preparatory to the Sahn).
In order to fit the Uc Serefeli Madrasa established in Edirne by Sultan Murd II, which paid 100 akces into the new hierarchy, Mehmed II, had an additional madrasa constructed alongside it and had the 100 akces shared between two teachers. Thus the level of the c serefeli madrasa, which was built by his father, was 23 The Ayasofya madrasa remained the sole made equal to that of the Sahn madrasas that he had founded.
madrasa at the 60-akce levels during the period of Mehmed II.
24
The madrasa system established by Mehmed the Conqueror continued unchanged during the reign of Byezd II. The only change was the rise to the 60-akce level of the Murdiye madrasa in Bursa upon the 25 appointment of Tokatl Molla Ltfi for a fee of 60 akces. On the second of the seven hills upon which Istanbul was built Suleyman the Magnificent constructed the mosque complex that would constitute the apogee of Ottoman culture, art and education. The construction of this complex, which reflected the grandeur of the Age of Sleyman the Magnificent, and the genius of its chief architect Sinan (1550-1557) marked the initiation of a phase of important developments and innovations in Ottoman education. As can be seen in the attached drawing, various schools and madrasas were constructed around the mosque offering a variety of levels and specialized areas of education. A primary school and four madrasas referred to as Sahn madrasas were established there. These consist of the first or madrasa-i ul (evvel madrasa); the second or sn madrasa (madrasa-i
sniye); the third or slis madrasa (madrasa-i slise); and the fourth or rbi madrasa (madrasa-i rbia). In addition, there were specialized madrasas, the Drlhadis (Hadith studies centre) and the Dail Tib for the study of medicine. There was also a hospital (bmarhne), a soup kitchen or Dar al-ziyafe, a convalescent home (Tabhne) as well as a pharmacy (Dar al-adviye). This complex is a fine example of the
development since the Fatih complex of the holistic way in which Ottoman mosque complexes dealt with human, religious, social and cultural services. According to the charter, the daily fee paid to each of the head teachers at the four madrasas was sixty
akces. The Drul-Hadis teacher received fifty and the Dr al-tbb teacher twenty akces. These madrasas were thus now ranked at a higher level than the Fatih Sahn madrasas. Although the amount allocated for the Drul-Hadis teacher in the charter prepared during the construction of the complex was lower than that of the other four madrasas, they were in fact paid 100 akces with the appointment of the first Drlhadis teacher. That is why, from that period on, that madrasa was considered the highest ranked Ottoman madrasa. The Drul-Hadis teacher was also considered the highest ranked teacher, and if he so desired he
could be appointed to a kadlk (juridical-administrative district) known as a mahrec mevleviyeti. 26
23 24 25 26
I. H. Uzuncarsl, Ilmiye Teskilat, 3; C. Baltac, XV.-XVI. Asrlar, 450-458. l, Knh'l-Ahbar, 86a; C. Baltac, XV.-XVI. Asrlar, 47. C. Baltac, XV.-XVI. Asrlar, 47, 48; 163-165, 480. I. H. Uzuncarsl, Ilmiye Teskilat, 36-38; C. Baltac, XV.- XVI. Asrlar, 601-606.

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The fifteen students studying in the Drlhadis and in the four madrasas and the eight students studying at the Dr al-tbb received two akces each while the tutors received five akces each as a daily fee. Those students resident in the rooms of the madrasas received lessons from their teachers four days a week and the soup kitchens provided them with two meals a day. The Suleymaniye madrasas were able to maintain their superior status within the madrasa hierarchy throughout later periods. However, in those later periods certain changes in the ranking of the madrasas 27 can be observed:
A Statistical Analysis of the Development of Ottoman Madrasas

In order to better understand the development of Ottoman scientific and educational life a statistical analysis has been undertaken of the works of Bilge and Baltac. Their research deals with Ottoman
madrasas constructed between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. It includes a compilation of
information they were able to access pertaining to the period. This information is given in the tables presented below.
Table 1 - Ottoman Madrasas by Major Cities and Regions
Fourteenth
Fifteenth
Sixteenth
Madrasas with Uncertain Dates
Total
Iznik Bursa Edirne Istanbul Anatolia Balkans Syria Hejaz Yemen Total
1 (Drssif) 12 4
4 19
11 20 23 31 12
40
97
6 10 113 32 18 3 6 1 189
6 13 5
24
4 36 31 142 88 39 3 6 1 350
The first important point to emerge from an examination of the first three tables is the fact that the intensity of Ottoman madrasa construction paralleled the political and economic development and advance of the Ottoman Empire and that these developments reached their peak during the sixteenth century. Until the sixteenth century this development virtually proceeds in almost geometric proportions. Thus the number of madrasas in each century was double that of the previous century. The city, which had the largest number of madrasas, was the imperial capital, Istanbul. During the nineteenth century (prior to
27
C. Izgi, Osmanl Medreselerinde Ilim. 2 vols. (Istanbul, 1997), 1 (Riyaz Ilimler), 35-42.

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1869) during the period when educational institutions of the modern type began to become more 28 widespread, there were 166 active madrasas in Istanbul with 5369 students. The fourth table was prepared based on information that Bilge and Baltac provided on Ottoman madrasas in Rumelia and on Ekrem Hakk Ayverdis four-volume study titled Avrupada Osmanl Mimari Eserleri 29 (Ottoman Works of Architecture in Europe) .
Table 2 - Distribution of Madrasas by Sultanic Reign
Orhan Gz (1326-1359) Murd I (1359-1389) Byezd I (1389-1402) Chelebi Mehmed (1402-1421) Murd II (1421-1451) Mehmed II (1451-1481) Byezd II (1481-1512) Selm I (1512-1520) Sleymn I (1520-1566) Selm II (1566-1574) Murd III (1574-1595) Mehmed III (1595-1603) Madrasas with uncertain dates Total
10 7 23 7 38 30 33 8 106 17 42 5 24 350
Table 3 - Type of Madrasa by Century
Fourteenth
Fifteenth
Sixteenth
Madrasa Drlhadis Drlkurr Drssif

Total
37 2 -1 40
90 2 3 2 97
168 13 11 2 194
with Uncertain Dates 24
Madrasas
Total
24
319 17 14 5 355
However, because it has not been possible to determine the construction dates of all the madrasas, it has been necessary to take the period between the fourteenth and twentieth centuries into consideration as a whole. The examination of this table reveals the importance, which the Ottoman state placed throughout its history on madrasa construction in the region of Rumelia.
28 M. Ktkoglu, 1869da Faal Istanbul Medreseleri, ITED, 7-8 (1996-97): 277-392; idem, XX. Asra Erisen Istanbul Medreseleri (Ankara, 2000). 29 E. H. Ayverdi, Avrupada Osmanl Mimari Eserleri, 4 vols, (Istanbul, volume 3 is dated 1981, and the others are not
dated).

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Table 4 - Madrasas in Rumelia during the Ottoman Period
Region
Greece Bulgaria Albania Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Voyvodina Romania Hungary Total
Madrasa
189 144 28 105 134 9 56 665
Curricula in Ottoman Madrasas

Though it is not possible to determine the curricula of the Ottoman madrasas in a clear and detailed manner from contemporary sources, one can, however, provide a basic though only partial outline of what was taught by means of an examination of the biographies of the teachers and scholars, their diplomas, the
vakf charters and regulations pertaining to the madrasas.

From the start of their education to the very end a student at an Ottoman madrasa would be required to read a large number of books in a number of different fields of study. There are differences with regard to the subjects a student would study at the various madrasas from century to century, up until the founding of the Drl-hilfetil-aliyye Madrasas during the Second Constitutional period. It is possible to follow these changes by examining the education of Taskprizde Ahmed b. Ismeddin who lived in the sixteenth century and the classes he later gave as a teacher as well as by examining the education of Ktib Chelebi in the seventeenth century. In addition, one is able to obtain detailed information about the subject from a little-known source about madrasa education titled Kevkib-i Seba (Seven Planets) written in the eighteenth century (1742) at the request of the French ambassador to Istanbul, Marquis de Villanueva. It is also possible to learn something about madrasa education and methods of instruction for that century from a book by the Italian Abbot Toderini titled De La Littrature des Turcs. For the nineteenth century it is possible to get quite a clear picture and conduct a detailed examination of the nature of madrasa education from the autobiography of Ahmed Cevdet Pasha. It appears that the textbooks used for instruction at madrasas were, in the first instance, prepared so as to provide every Muslim individual with the knowledge required for religious and worldly matters. Clearly, the most fundamental goal of madrasa education was to ensure that Muslims be brought up as knowledgeable and morally correct individuals. The legal code (kannnme) pertaining to education prepared during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent indicates that it is necessary to understand the mystery of creation, to establish a state which operates in an orderly fashion and to reveal the realities of the world in order to ensure the perpetuity of order in the world and the well-being of humanity, and that in order for all of these things to be realized it is essential that one must comprehend the universe created by God as well as learning the teachings of the prophets. To the extent that it can be clearly determined from the code written in the dense style used for official

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documents during that period, the views of Ottoman administrators with regard to education indicate that the purpose of education in the first instance involves the pursuit of science and wisdom (hikmet) and then an explication of virtue, talent, religion and the serat, in that order, as well as the development of human faculties and capacities. The sultan was held personally responsible for ensuring that all of this was carried out. During the course of their education, the books a student would read were ordered as follows. The first three were morphology (sarf), syntax (nahiv) and logic (mantk). The last two were hadith and commentary on the Quran (tefsr). In between the first three studies and the last two, subjects such as elocution (db-
i bahs), preaching (vaaz), rhetoric (belgat), study of philosophical theology (kelm), philosophy (hikmet), jurisprudence (fkh), inheritance (feriz), tenets of faith (akaid) and legal theory and methodology (usl-i fkh) were pursued. There would occasionally be differences in the presentation and ordering with respect
to these studies.
Kevkib-i Seba provides us with very valuable information about the manner in which students proceeded
with their lessons. The work tells us that students had five classes a week and that each class consisted of a few lines (satr) which were examined. Further, it informs us that they studied eight or nine hours for each lesson the day before it was given, that on the following day each student would read passages from the text to the teacher in turn and that after the teacher presented his interpretation each student would present his perspective on the subject to the teacher and they would engage in a discussion. After having thoroughly analysed and researched the lesson, the students would return to their rooms and continue studying until they were once again in the presence of their teacher at the next days lesson. Mathematical sciences such as arithmetic, geometry, algebra and astronomy and natural sciences such as classical physics were taught in Ottoman madrasas. Most of the autobiographies examined indicate that these sciences were studied after divine philosophy ( hikmet) and prior to the most esteemed subject of Commentary on the Quran (tefsr). Kevkib-i Seba indicates, however, that these subjects were dealt with in a less formal manner in the Quranic theology (kelm) class in the process of discussing such books as
Serhl-Mevkf and Serhl-Makasd: As much as books such as Serh-i Mevkf and Serhl-Makasd pertain to theology (kelm) they contain all of the auxiliary sciences, divine philosophy, astronomy, geometry and arithmetic. Geometry and arithmetic are easily apprehendable subjects, and because they do not require much deep thought are not studied as separate subjects. They are taken up along with the abovementioned sciences. There is a book titled Eskl-i Tesis in geometry at the iktisar level that they would read. Following that, they would read Euclid with its proofs at the istiksa level. For arithmetic at the iktisar level there is Bahiyye which they would read. Subsequently, they would report on Ramazan Efendi and Culli, which were close to the iktisad level. Because astronomy involves the use of the imaginative powers and supposition and is therefore more difficult than geometry, they study that later as a separate subject. It is offered at the appropriate level. It is common knowledge that scholars do not weary of the temperament of students and always give Tuesdays and Fridays off from classes in order to encourage them in their studies. Students use those two days for the preparation of materials they need and during the summertime they go off on trips and picnics. Even there they do not remain idle, but undertake discussions of arithmetic, geometry, astrolabes, rub (quarter), land surveying, Indian, Coptic and Ethiopian arithmetic, parmak hisb

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(abacus), mechanics and other such sciences which do not require independent lessons. During the winter, they engage in conversation, devote themselves to solving puzzles (muamm) and riddles, to mukadarat (measuring and comparing), to history, poetry, prosody and to classical dvn poetry. Some of them are occupied with the occult sciences, but the teachers do not allow them to follow 30 such pursuits because such subjects occupy too much of their time.
From De la Littrature des Turcs written by Toderini, who was resident in Istanbul between October 1781 and May 1786, we learn that there were teachers instructing young children in geometry and that some time was allocated between rhetoric and philosophy lessons for this area of mathematics. He says that he visited the Vlide Madrasa twice and that he observed the students had assembled to listen to their geometry lesson and that they were using an Arabic translation of Euclid.
The Development and Decline of Ottoman Madrasas

The development of madrasas, the educational and scientific institutions of the Ottomans and in a more general sense, of scientific and cultural life, was greatly influenced by the impact of a strengthened central state authority and the resulting political stability and economic well-being it brought to the society, all of which encouraged the best scholars from the Islamic world to come and work in Istanbul. further strengthened by the establishment of wealthy vakfs. A number of Ottoman writers discuss the gradual decline of madrasas toward the end of the sixteenth century and start of the seventeenth century, a decline similar to that taking place in other state institutions. They are in agreement that toward the end of the sixteenth century the performance of They were
madrasas began gradually to fall below earlier levels mainly due to falling teaching standards. Gelibolulu Mustafa l Efendi (1541-1599) attributes the decline of the madrasas to a decline in interest in scholarly studies, to the appearance of sons of senior members of the ulema (mevlizde) and their rapid rise in position to enter into scholarly careers via special connections, to the assignment of teachers and kadis
under the influence of bribes and to a poor differentiation then being made between real scholars and 31 ignorant men as well as to a decline in the writing of scholarly works. Ktib Chelebi attributes the decline to the elimination from the madrasa curriculum of the rational and mathematical sciences. students trained and the irregularities in the way in which the teachers were ranked. In order to better evaluate these criticisms from within and to have a clearer, more balanced understanding of the development of Ottoman madrasas these perspectives should be considered along with contemporary observations coming from outside the system. A number of European observers of Ottoman scholarly-scientific and educational affairs undertook some partial comparisons between Ottoman and contemporary European science and education. These comparisons provide us with the opportunity to better evaluate Ottoman education. The Italian nobleman Comte de Marsigli who lived for eleven months in Istanbul between the years 1679-1680 indicates that: C. Izgi, Osmanl Medreselerinde Ilim, 1 (Riyaz Ilimler), 69-77. I. H. Uzuncarsl, Ilmiye Teskilat, 2nd ed., 67-71. 32 For Ktib elebis ideas with regard to the decline of the madrasas see Ktib elebi, Mizanl-Hakk fi Ihtiyaril-Ehakk ed. O. Saik Gkyay, (Istanbul 1972); C. Baltac, XV.-XVI. Asrlar, 61-71; S. Tekindag, Medrese Dnemi, in Cumhuriyetin 50. Ylnda Istanbul niversitesi, (Istanbul 1973), 20-21.
31 30
32
Many Ottoman
thinkers believed the decline of the madrasa system was due to such things as the overly large numbers of

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Education and instruction among the Turks in general takes place in a practical way based on doing exercises. That is why when many Christians state that the Turks are illiterate and do not understand the Quran, they have no foundation in truth. The reason we have accepted such baseless notions is attributable to our lack of knowledge of Oriental languages. In our universities the analysis and study of Oriental languages only began after the sciences had become more broadly developed. However, our forefathers did not pursue education in that area. As a result, we have come to believe a number of things that are lies and blatantly false, and this situation defames our sciences and the state of our knowledge. Our readers would be protected from misinformation if they were to know that in Istanbul and in other Ottoman cities as well as among the Persians and the Arabs there are virtually no men of learning and science who do not know three languages 33 (Turkish, Arabic and Persian).
Comte de Marssigli did not hesitate to criticize the Turks on certain matters and in his analysis of the differences between science and education among the Ottomans and in Europe he also puts forth his views on education. We note that the Italian Abbot Toderini had the opportunity to get to know the madrasas very well, possessed the same complimentary thoughts about Ottoman educational institutions as did Comte de Marsigli. Both of these individuals lived at a later time than the Ottoman scholars we have referred to above, they visited the empire and wrote about their observations of the Ottomans. It is important to make note of the following complimentary words Toderini has to say about Ottoman scholars:
What makes Ottoman scholars knowledgeable and reliable is the fact that there are no underdeveloped academic pursuits to be found among them and that they all know Arabic and Persian. Toderini, who attempted to examine all of the areas of scholarly activity among the Ottomans, had a number of very important observations to make about the madrasas, which he refers to as academies, and about the courses of study they offered. Toderini examined the administration of the madrasas and the vakfs and noted they are more advanced than those in all 34 of the nations in Europe with respect to libralit and grandeur.
Ottoman intellectuals who had become aware of the problems facing the institutions in their own society were in search of solutions and registering their criticisms at the same time. On the other hand, as we have indicated with the examples given above, foreigners were very complimentary about Ottoman institutions and looked upon them with admiration. Engaging in a comparison of these two perspectives is surely an important vehicle for gaining an understanding of the problems facing Ottoman institutions. The appropriate conditions for the development of science and scholarship in the Ottoman Empire began, with the seventeenth century onwards, to move gradually in the opposite direction. A number of factors had a negative impact on scholarly activities. Among these were the weakening of the central government, increasing economic instability, a decline in conquests, the continuous loss of territory, the flooding of Europe with American silver and the impact of that on Ottoman economic and social life, a decrease in the L. F. Marsigli, Militare dellImperio Ottomano = LEtat Militaire de lEmpire Ottoman (Amsterdam 1732), 2 sections, (Graz, 1972), 1:39. 34 A. Toderini, De la Littrature des Turcs , 3 vols., (Paris, 1789), 2: 1-2.
33

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real income of the empire, the emergence of economic and social duress and the resulting state of economic and social decline. As the factors, which had in earlier times encouraged scholars to engage in their work, began to disappear, these individuals came to be replaced with those who had an overriding concern for subsistence. The coincidence in the timing of the troubles facing both scholars and the madrasas and those confronting the Ottoman state apparatus and its institutions has been taken by some to mean that the former factor was the cause of the decline of the empire. However, as we have attempted to indicate above, the coincidence of the decline of the scholarly class with that of other state institutions can be attributed to various underlying political, economic and social factors.

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Ottoman Educational Institutions during the Reform Period
Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu Professor Salim Al-Hassani Faaiza Bashir April 2004 4057 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Ottoman Educational Institutions during the Reform Period April 2004
OTTOMAN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS DURING THE REFORM PERIOD

The Ottoman history witnessed a long period of change and reform, which started as of the eighteenth century and continued until the end of the Empire. One of the most important aspects of this period was the reform movement in the cultural and educational life. In our opinion it is necessary to evaluate with a new approach the process of development of institutionalisation, which has not been considered as a whole up until the present and that forms the basis of this movement, within its political, social and cultural context. This evaluation, which will be made, based on new information and documents, will provide us with the opportunity of setting forth the real paradigm of the Ottoman reform. The reform movement in the army that was initiated with enthusiasm and great interest was first of all to prevent the defeats on the battlefields and to regain the military superiority, which had been lost. This reform movement was later extended to include the civilian fields as well. In the process of modernization that was started at the same time in many fields within an extensive period of time, the traditional institutions also attempted to preserve their own existences and functions. This situation in the initial period paved the way for the old and new institutions being intermingled and for them assuming an intricate status. It is necessary to evaluate in the form of two different models this coexistence, which was connected to each other. We will attempt to study in this chapter how the modern educational institutions were established and developed. In the eighteenth century the technology in the weapons industry in Europe started to change even more rapidly. The adaptation of the Ottomans to this became comparatively more difficult than in the previous periods. The Ottomans, who compared the military forces of Europe with their own forces, felt the necessity of transferring with new methods the technology, which was different from those in the past in order to, reestablish the balances of power, which had been upset to their disadvantage. Naturally, a need was felt for the consultancy of European experts for applying this technology. In general, this need was met up until the 1770s with the experts who had entered into the Ottoman service by being converted to Islam. Furthermore, in this period the Ottoman administrators were purchasing gunpowder, weapons and warships for the navy by importing directly from Europe to meet their own needs for war materials. In other words, the dependence on the imports of products and materials for the transfer of technology increased in this period. In this period as well, a number of new applications were started with the thought of learning the new military techniques and for the gradual modernization of the Ottoman army.
The Emergence of the Military Educational Institutions and Reform in Education

The establishment of new institutions within the Ottoman military organization, inspired by similar ones in Europe and the new type of instruction applied at these institutions, paved the way for a slow, but gradually increasing change in the Ottoman scientific and educational life.i The first initiative on this subject was the Ulufeli Humbaraci Ocagi (Corps of Bombardiers) that was established at the beginning of 1735
See Mustafa Kacar, Osmanli Devleti'nde Bilim ve Egitim Anlayisindaki Degismeler ve Mhendishnelerin Kurulusu, (Ph.D. thesis, Istanbul University, Faculty of Literature, Department of the History of Science), Istanbul, 1996 on the reform movements in the military field in the Ottoman Empire and on the situation of the schools of engineering up until 1808.
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under the direction of Compte de Bonneval (Bombardier Ahmed Pasha) of French origin who assumed the name of Ahmed after he sought asylum in the Ottoman State in 1729 and became a Muslim. The Corps of Bombardiers was organized in a different manner from the similar corps in the Ottoman military organization, both from the military aspect and from the administrative aspect. At this corps, besides the practical instruction, theoretical lessons were taught such as geometry, trigonometry, ballistics and technical drawing with the objective of educating bombardiers.ii
The Military Engineering Education

The Hendesehne (Mathematical School) was the first institution that was assigned separately for modern military technical education in the Ottoman Empire. The Hendesehne, which was called the Ecole des
Thories or the Ecoles des Mathmatiques in French, was established at the Imperial Shipyard on 29 April
1775. Baron de Tott and another French expert besides the Ottoman teachers taught courses and this institution had up to ten students and later assumed the name of the Mhendishne (School of Engineering).
FIGURE 1- The New (Imperial) School of Engineering (Mhendishne) established in 1793 by Sultan Selim III at the Cannoniers Barracks. A great number of French experts and officers came to Istanbul between 1783 and 1788, with the renewed closeness between the Ottomans and France. All of the French experts and foremen left Istanbul as the
ii
See Mustafa Kacar, "Osmanli Imparatorlugunda Askeri Sahada Yenilesme Dneminin Baslangici", pp. 209-225, in Osmanli Bilimi Arastirmalari, ed. F. Gnergun, Istanbul, 1995.

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result of the alliance formed between Russia and France when the Ottomans entered into war against Russia between 1787-1788.iii It was observed that Ottoman foremen and workers and workers from other European states (some Swedes) were employed after the French departed. When all of the French experts and officers returned to their country between 1787 and 1788, the applied courses were discontinued and theoretical courses continued to be given by only the Ottoman scholars, such as Gelenbev Ismil Efendi and Palabiyik Mehmed Efendi, the famous mathematicians. Within the Nizm-i Cedid (the New Order) movement, which was started in 1792, three years after Sultan Selim III (1789-1807) ascended the throne, the Mhendishne-i Cedide (New School of Engineering) was established in 1793 with the objective of providing education for bombardiers, sappers and artillerymen. The classes at the new school of engineering started in 1794. The new generation Ottoman engineering teachers, such as Hoca Abdurrahman Efendi and Seyyid Osman Efendi, were instructors at the new school of engineering. iv Ten years earlier they had received courses in military engineering techniques from the French experts at the Shipyard School of Engineering. Additionally, there was Hseyin Rifki Tamn, who was later appointed to be the chief instructor at the Mhendishne-i Berri-i Hmayun (Imperial School of Military Engineering) for artillery officers and army engineers.
FIGURE 2 - The Naval Academy Building at Heybeli Island, in Istanbul. The organization of the New School of Engineering, just like the previous School of Engineering was composed of one teacher, four assistants, ten students and the other officials. Here the members of the
iii
Karadeniz Kongresi Bildirileri, ed. Mehmet Saglam (Samsun 1990), 639-655.

iv
Frdrik Hitzl, "Dfense de la Place Turque d'Oczakow par un Officier du Gnie Francaise (1787)", in Ikinci Tarih Boyunca
K. Beydilli, Trk Bilim ve Matbaacilik Tarihinde Mhendishane, Mhendishane Matbaasi ve Ktphanesi (1776-1826), (Istanbul, 1995), 33 -34.

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bombardier and sapper corps were instructed on subjects such as geometry, trigonometry and measurement of elevations. With the transfer of the artillery and army engineering teachers to the above-mentioned newly established New School of Engineering, only courses in shipbuilding, navigation, cartography and geography were taught at the Shipyard Engineering School. In May 1793, S. Balthasar Le Brun, who had been brought from France, was appointed as the head of this school. After Le Brun returned to France, educated Ottoman naval officers were appointed in his place. This institution took the name of the Mhendishne-i Bahr-i
Hmayun (Imperial School of Naval Engineering) with the regulation of 1806. Later this school was moved
to Heybeli Island with the name of the Bahriye Mektebi (Naval Academy) and continued to provide education for many years.v After the Janissary Corps was abolished in 1826, the need for officers for the Askir-i Mansre-i
Muhammediye, a new military organization established by Sultan Mahmud II, was met from the schools of
engineering. Subsequently, in 1831, with the establishment of the Harbiye Mektebi (War School) as well, it was attempted to meet the needs for officers from both institutions. After the Tanzimat, the War School started to appear in the forefront and the demand for the Imperial School of Military Engineering decreased. An unstable period was experienced up until the First Constitutional Period, due to insufficient buildings and administration. Moreover, the educational activities in the 1870s were continued in the artillery and military engineering classes within the War School.
FIGURE 3 - The Harbiye Mektebi (War School). The period of education at the School of Engineering was decreased to three years in 1900 and it acquired the status of a vocational school as the Artillery School, completely attached to the War School.vi
The Civilian Engineering Education

Civilian engineering education in the Ottoman Empire started with the Mlkiye Mhendis Mektebi (Civilian School of Engineering) that later assumed the name of Turk u Mabir Mektebi (School of Roads and
v E. Ihsanoglu, "Osmanli Egitim ve Bilim Messeseleri", in Osmanli Devleti ve Medeniyeti Tarihi (The history of the Ottoman state and civilization), vol. 2, ed. E. Ihsanoglu (Istanbul, 1998), 281. vi V. Z. Dmer, "Mhendishne-i Berri-i Hmayun", in Trk Ansiklopedisi, vol. 25, 15-19.

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Passages) which was opened as a department of the Dar al-fnun-i Sultn (Imperial University) that started within the Galatasaray Sultnsi (Galatasaray High School) in the 1874-1875 school year.
The School of Roads and Passages has followed a program directed at the education of the engineers who would carry out the services required in public works and especially in the area of transportation that had been initiated on the extensive territories of the Empire, rather than providing solely scientific education, by taking into consideration the requirements of the country and the society. The Ministry of Public Works employed all of the graduates of this school as civil servants. The School of Roads and Passages provided a four-year education with semester breaks and its first group of students graduated in 1880. It can easily be understood from the curriculum that the school provided engineering education with a broad scope. There was a Train Machinist or Train Engineer School connected to this school, which was planned to provide a lower level of engineering education.vii The School of Roads and Passages, after its second group of students graduated in 1881, continued its activities after that date at the new civilian engineering school established with name of the Civilian School of Engineering in 1884 under the control of the state and in light of the experience acquired in engineering education.
FIGURE 4 - The Galatasaray Sultnsi (Galatasaray High School) opened in 1867 (still in use today as Lycee de Galatasaray).
The Medical Education

Besides the schools of engineering, the new style of educational institutions established for the military needs around the beginning of the nineteenth century, were the Medical School and the War School, in the fields of medical and military education. The first attempt on the subject of modern medical education was materialized in January 1806 by the establishment of a medical school with the name of Tersane Tibbiyesi (Shipyard Medical School), within the structure of the Imperial Shipyard to educate the physicians and surgeons needed by this institution. The goal of the Shipyard Medical School was to make modern medical education widespread and to increase the number of Muslim physicians in the Empire. The classes would be conducted in the Italian and French languages that were used a lot by the Levantine physicians; surgeons and pharmacists who were generally in contact with Europe and the textbooks would also be brought from Europe. However, the school was closed in 1808 after Sultan Selim III was deposed from the throne.viii
E. Ihsanoglu, "Drlfnun Tarihcisine Giris (II), Ucnc Tesebbs: Drlfnun-i Sultn", Belleten vol. 57, no. 218 (April 1993), 216-223. viii Ali Ihsan Gencer, Trk Denizcilik Tarihi Arastirmalari, (Istanbul, 1986), 54-70.
vii

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Approximately 20 years after the opening of the medical school within the Shipyard, the second initiative, with the objective of meeting the needs of the army for physicians and surgeons, was realized during the period when Mustafa Behcet Efendi was the Court Chief Physician. A new modern medical school was established in Istanbul in 1827, also under his leadership, with the name of Tiphne-i Amire (Imperial Medical School). It was followed by the Cerrahhne-i Amire (Imperial School of Surgery) established in 1832 to educate surgeons in the existing building at the Glhne garden next to the Topkapi Palace. The same year the Imperial Medical School of Sultan Mahmud located at Sehzdebasi, was also moved to the same building where the Imperial School of Surgery was located at Glhane and the medical education was reorganized and Sat-Deygallire, who was invited from France as well as several European physicians, served as teachers and the principal at this school. In 1836 these two schools were combined under the name of Mekteb-i Tibbiye (Medical School) and moved to Galatasaray in 1839. C. A. Bernard, a young Austrian physician, was made the head of this school at this date and the name of the school was changed to Mekteb-i Tibbiye-i Adliye-i Sahane (Imperial School of Forensic Medicine) in honour of Sultan Mahmud II.
FIGURE 5 - The visit picture of Sultan Mahmud II in 1838 to the re-opened Imperial Medical School in Galatasaray.9. Aziz Bey of Crimea (1840-1878). Dr. Bernard started a new period at this school by using different methods and changing the curricula. French was accepted as the language of teaching. Since the number of students in each grade was limited, a sequential system used to be applied for passing from one grade to the next. This sequential passing to the next higher grade was abandoned, the education was limited to five years and the method of giving a diploma to the graduating students was adopted. This European manner of graduation was also accepted at the Imperial School of Engineering and it was accepted to give the graduating students a diploma from the educational institution rather than an icazet (certificate). An icazet was a document given to a student by his teacher in the classical period, including a chain of teachers going all the way back to the Prophet Muhammad who is the source of the first sacred knowledge in religious sciences.

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Following the proclamation of the Tanzimat Imperial Rescript in 1839, it became possible for the nonMuslim Ottoman citizens to enter into the Imperial Medical School. The obligation of conducting the education in French at the school caused a decrease in the number of Muslim students in time and in contrast, caused a rapid increase in the number of non-Muslim students who were more familiar with the French culture. After a while, as a reaction to the fact that most of the physicians graduating were nonMuslims, Cemaleddin Efendi, who was appointed as the principal of the Imperial Medical School, formed a distinguished class of the students he selected from among talented youth at the school with the idea of increasing the Muslim physicians and had Turkish, Arabic and Persian language courses given to this class.
FIGURE 6 - Aziz Bey of Crimea (1840-1878), who made important contributions to the use of Turkish in medical education. This class formed the foundation of the civilian medical school that would be established later. A group of Ottoman physicians, all of whom were educated in the distinguished class, led by Aziz Bey of Crimea (1840-

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1878), succeeded in opening the Mekteb-i Tibbiye-i Mlkiye (Civilian Medical School) in 1867 as a faculty under the Imperial Medical School. Thus, civilian medical education acquired an independent institution providing education in Turkish. In a decision made at the Supreme Military Council in 1870, the teaching of medicine in Turkish at the Imperial Medical School as well was realized. After this decision, major disputes arose between some pro-Turkish physicians and their non-Muslim colleagues who were in favor of the medical education in French. After the triumph of the pro-Turkish physicians, the medical education in the Ottoman Empire started to be conducted completely in Turkish. A great number of works in Turkish have been printed in medicine and in scientific branches related to medicine. For instance, outside of Istanbul, in Damascus where the language of the local people was Arabic, the education at the Ottoman Medical School, established in 1903, was carried out successfully in Turkish.
FIGURE 7 - The Haydarpasa Medical School ( Dar al-fnun-i Osman Tip Fakltesi) building. The location is still being used as the Marmara University School of Medicine. The military and civilian schools of medicine carried out their activities independent from each other in proportion to their needs, the number of students and at different buildings and clinics. After the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Government in 1908, it was considered to combine these two schools. In 1909 the Imperial Medical School, educating military physicians, and the Civilian Medical School, educating civilian physicians, were combined at the Medical School building at Haydarpasa under the name of Dar al-fnun-i Osman Tip Fakltesi (Ottoman University Faculty of Medicine).

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Thus, the Imperial Medical School was discontinued. The Medical Faculty was moved to the European side of Istanbul in 1917 and became the source of the Turkish medical faculties that were established later. ix
The Mekteb-i Harbiye (War School)
FIGURE 8 - The Chemist Mehmed Emin Dervis Pasha (1817-1878). In 1826 Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839), abolished the Janissary Corps, which constituted one of the foundation stones of the Ottoman Army. In its place he established the new army with the name of Asakir-i
Mansure-i Muhammediye.(Victorious Muhammedan Soldiers). Subsequently he decided to establish a

military school in 1831 with the objective of educating officers (scientific officers) who would know modern war methods and techniques in the new army. This need was previously met to a certain extent from the Schools of Engineering. This school, which was established on the model of the European military schools and having a capacity of 400 students, started education at the Macka Barracks in 1834 with the name of
Mekteb-i Harbiye-i Sahane (Imperial War School). Namik Pasha, who was educated in Europe, was made
the principal of the school. Emin Pasha, who became the principal in 1838, divided the school into two sections. The first of these was the four-year higher education section called the Mekteb-i Fnn-i Harbiye (School of Military Sciences) and
ix
Nuran Yildirim, "Mekteb-i Tibbiye-i Sahane" (Imperial Medical School), in Dnden Bugne Istanbul Ansiklopedisi, vol. 5, 376.

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the other was the three-year preparatory section called the Mekteb-i Fnn-i Idadye (Preparatory School for Sciences). During the period of Emin Pasha's superintendence, the number of teachers was increased with the employment of those who had completed their education in Europe and returned and as well as the European experts as teachers. The Chemist Mehmed Emin Dervis Pasha (1817-1878), who also completed his education in Europe and became the principal of the school in 1848, completely reorganized the War School on a European model by being inspired by St. Cyr, the French military school. In 1846, as an addition to the War School, the Baytar Mektebi (The School of Veterinary Medicine) was also opened, that would provide the first modern veterinary education in the Empire to meet the veterinary needs of the army.
FIGURE 9 - The School of Veterinary Medicine (Baytar Mektebi ), teachers and students (1906).
The Establishment of Modern Civilian Educational Institutions And The Formation Of An Educational Policy
There were two main types of educational institutions in the period around the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century prior to the Tanzimat, which is considered to be the initial period of the fundamental reform movement in the Ottoman cultural and educational life. The first of

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these were the schools and madrasas supported by the foundations inherited from the founders and the only institutions providing the possibility for diffused education. The others were the engineering, medicine and military institutions that provided the opportunity to limited classes in Istanbul for military and technical education supported by the state revenues. It is observed that the Western style educational institutions established in the Ottoman educational life until the second half of the nineteenth century were realized in fields aimed at meeting the military requirements as has been briefly indicated above. After the Tanzimat the establishment of civilian primary, secondary, higher education or professional schools in the Western style have formed a completely new educational system. At the same time, the interest decreased in the madrasas that had maintained their existence as the most important educational institutions for centuries. The first signs of change in the general education in the Ottoman world was observed in the first half of the nineteenth century by the reforms introduced by Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839) in the administrative structure and functioning of the state and especially after the abolishment of the Janissary Corps in 1826. The Meclis-i Ahkm-i Adliye (Council for Judicial Ordinances) was established in 1837 to prepare the new regulations required for the reform movements, to deal with trials related to civil servants and to have a vote in the administration of the state affairs and the Meclis-i Vl-yi Ahkm-i Adliye (Supreme Council for Judicial Ordinances), which was formed after the Tanzimat and the Meclis-i Umr-i Nafia (Council of Public Works), which was opened in 1838. These councils were introduced essentially for the development of the state structure and to serve in providing for the welfare of the society. Although an independent institution to realize the reforms in the field of culture and education has not been established in this early period, the Council of Public Works prepared a draft bill in 1838 on the subject of "some matters related to education" and took some initiatives on the subject of the determination of the basic principles of public education.x Another reform that was started during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II was the sending of students to the capital cities of Europe for education. Initially, a limited number of students were selected and sent from among the Muslim citizens to receive military education. Along with the Tanzimat a large number of students were sent to Europe without discriminating between Muslims and non-Muslims to receive education in military and civilian fields. The Mekteb-i Osmani (Ottoman School) was opened in 1857 in Paris to provide preparatory education for a large number of Ottoman students to be sent to Europe for education, especially at the French schools in Paris. This school continued its activities until 1865 and was closed because it could not provide the benefits expected from it. However, sending students abroad for education continued until the end of the Empire. A majority of the students who returned to the Empire after completing their education abroad served in high positions in the State and became directly influential in the cultural and educational life of the society. However, their initiatives aimed at establishing the foundations of domestic scientific traditions and the production of new knowledge based on research at the newly established educational and scientific institutions could not attain the intensity needed for reaching this objective.
Changes In Education After The Tanzimat

The Imperial Tanzimat Rescript announced at Glhane in Istanbul on 3 November 1839, was composed of articles guaranteeing on behalf of the state the basic rights and freedoms of the people, Muslim and nonMuslim, such as guaranteeing life, property and honor, equitable collection of taxes, regulation of military
Bayram Kodaman, Abdlhamid Devri Egitim Sistemi, 2d ed. (Ankara, 1991), 4.

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service, fair trial for everyone and not confiscating property. The purpose of the Tanzimat was explained to be the giving of new life and prosperity to the country and people and not only for religion and state. It was accepted that the basic principle of the state was the existence of the state for the people, not the people for the state.xi Although there was not any clear objective envisaged in the Tanzimat Imperial Rescript related to education and culture, after a short period of time it was observed that the reforms had not produced positive results and it became evident that the reforms should be based on education. With this firman the subject of "conducting the education of the people from one centre" was considered for the first time in Ottoman history. xii The Temporary Educational Council composed of individuals selected from the classes of ulema, bureaucrats and military, started their activities for organizing educational affairs as of 13 March 1845. Melekpasazde Abdlkadir Bey, a member of the Besiktas Ulema Group, who became the Chief Ulema in 1843 and was also a member of the Supreme Council, was selected as the chairman of the Temporary Educational Council. The following individuals were selected as members: Arif Hikmet Bey who later became the Sheik ul-Islam, Chronicler Esad Efendi, Said Muhib Efendi who was trained at the Bb-i li (Sublime Porte) and became the private secretary of Hlet Efendi, Mesrebzde Mehmed Arif Efendi, Mehmed Emin Pasha, Engineer and Principal of the War School and Kececizde Fuad Efendi (Pasha) who later advanced to the position of Grand Vizier. Historian Mehmed Reci Efendi who was at the Bb-i li and who served as the council secretary of Halil Rifat Pasha was selected for the clerkship. Of these individuals selected, four from the ilmiye (ulema class), three bureaucrats and one from the military were appointed for preparing the basic principles and plans for the new educational policy. Those having the perception of traditional Ottoman education and culture, those who had been educated in Europe such as General Mehmed Emin Pasha and members who were in favour of Western style reforms jointly attempted to prepare a new educational reform.xiii The Temporary Educational Council at the end of its one-year study submitted a report to the Supreme Council. In this report the following decisions were made: to reorganize the primary schools, to reorganize the middle schools and to increase the education related to religious sciences and the establishment of an institution with the name of Dar al-Funun (University) that has the attributes which can answer the needs for everyone who wants to receive education in science and that can accommodate day and boarding students. Additionally, it was decided to establish general Educational Council responsible for the educational activities to follow the activities of these institutions. The objective and function of the General Educational Council composed of a chairman, six members and one clerk that was established in 1846 upon the decision of the Temporary Educational Council, was to apply the decisions made by the Temporary Educational Council, to discuss problems related to education in the country and to make the necessary reforms. xiv
Halil Inalcik, "Sened-i Ittifak ve Glhane Hatt-i Hmayunu", Belleten, vol. 28, no. 112 (Ankara, 1964), 612-613, 618. Kenan Akyz, Encmen-i Dnis, (Ankara, 1975), 40-42. xiii E. Ihsanoglu, "Tanzimat ncesi ve Tanzimat Dnemi Osmanli Bilim ve Egitim Anlayisi", in 150. Yilinda Tanzimat (The 150th anniversary of the Tanzimat), ed. Hakki Dursun Yildiz (Ankara, 1992), 359-360. xiv Ali Akyildiz, Tanzimat Dnemi Osmanli Merkez Teskilatinda Reform (1836-1856) (Reform in the Ottoman central organization during the Tanzimat period [1836-1856]), (Istanbul, nd.), 233.
xi xii

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These councils, which aimed to make a reform in the educational life, followed a course directed at applying the most urgent measures according to the conditions of the day, rather than considering the educational matters with all their ramifications. The fact that the educational policy had not become crystallized and the inadequacies in financing resulting from the problems in allocating resources to new institutions within the Ottoman financial structure are among the primary reasons for this. The Educational Council decided to start the educational reform at the same time at three levels (primary, secondary and higher education), graded as primary schools, middle schools and university. However, under the circumstances, implementation of the reform became impossible because there was neither a teacher to provide the higher education nor was there an existing potential of students able to receive education at this institution and at the same time, the fact that the education at the primary and middle levels was connected to an old traditional system.
The Mekteb-i Sultn (Galatasaray High School, The Imperial School of Galatasaray)
Although the educators of the Tanzimat period considered the middle schools as a source for the schools of higher education and the University, it was understood in time that the middle school education could not fulfil this function. The fact that they opened institutions such as the School to Educate Civil Servants and the Mahrec-i Aklm (School for the education of bureaucrats) and some preparatory classes giving courses between the middle schools and higher education institutions from the beginning, that is, as of 1848, shows that there was a need felt for a school above the middle schools. Furthermore, it also became obligatory to take into consideration the educational needs of the non-Muslim citizens with the 1856 Reform Firman to ensure that the Muslim, non-Muslim and all the Ottoman citizens benefited from educational services under equal conditions and thus, provide for the Ottoman unity. However, since it was considered to be undesirable to teach the Muslim and non-Muslim children together at the primary and middle schools, it was decided to do this at the higher levels of education. Whereas, an idea was not stated on how these types of schools would be opened and what their curricula would be. Finally, by setting forth the subject of improving the situation of the non-Muslims, the first initiatives were started for the establishment of a high school where the non-Muslims could attend, taking into consideration the requests of France for implementing the articles related to the education of the non-Muslims that was included in the 1856 Reform Firman. xv In 1868, M. Boure, the French Ambassador in Istanbul, talked with Grand Vizier l Pasha and Fuad Pasha, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Istanbul about the opening of a school that would provide education in French at the level of the European high schools and they tried to determine the principles on which this institution would be based. M. Victor Dury, the French Minister of Education, promised that he would provide all kinds of support for the opening of the school and recommended Dr. Alfred Levistal for the realization of preparations for the establishment of the school. Levistal was appointed as the assistant principal of this new school with a five-year contract.xvi The school started the registration of students on 1868 and officially opened with a great ceremony on 1 September 1868 at Beyoglu at the former Military High School building known by the name of the Galatasaray, allocated by the state. The school moved to the building vacated by the Imperial School of Medicine at Glhane and started the 1873-1874 school year
Ihsan Sungu, "Galatasaray Lisesinin Kurulusu", Belleten, vol. 7, no. 28 (Ankara, 1943), 317. It is said that the note mentioned was prepared by this person, F. Resat Unat, Trkiye Egitim Sisteminin Gelismesine Tarihi bir Bakis, (Ankara, 1964), 47.
xv xvi

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with Sava Pasha as the principal. In 1877 the Mekteb-i Sultn moved from Glhane back to its building at Galatasaray.
The Dar al-fnun (University) as an Institution of Higher Education
FIGURE 10 - Dar al-Funun building, which was built by Swiss architect G. Fossati, in the environs of the Ayasofya (St. Sophia) in Istanbul. The Dar al-Funun in the Ottoman educational history was a civilian higher education institution whose structure and educational programs were different from the madrasas in the classical Ottoman educational system. The initial idea for establishing the University was proposed in the Tanzimat period for educating the new type of bureaucrat that the state required and the initiatives on this subject were started around the middle of the nineteenth century. While the General Educational Council was considering the establishment of the University, it was stated that the objective was to educate well-informed civil servants who would carry out the services of the state in a good manner. This education would be made with the modern sciences. In 1846 an agreement was made with G. Fossati, the Swiss architect of Italian origin, for the construction of a three-story University building in the environs of the Ayasofya (St. Sophia) in Istanbul. The building would have 125 rooms and have a structure similar to the European universities. However, the construction was not completed for many years. In 1863, with the order of Kececizde Fuad Pasha, the Grand Vizier of the period, courses started to be made for the people in the form of open lectures in some

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of the rooms that had been completed. Lectures were given on the subjects of physics, chemistry, natural sciences, astronomy and history. When the construction was finally completed in 1865, with the reflection that it was too large for the University, it was allocated to the Ministry of Finance and it was conceived to construct a smaller building for the University. The University courses continued temporarily in the form of lectures at the Nuri Pasha Mansion at Cemberlitas that was rented. Courses were suspended when this building burned down completely in the large Hoca Pasha fire that broke out in the Cemberlitas district. The University was opened in 1869 with a big ceremony attended by li Pasha, the Grand Vizier, Safvet Pasha, the Minister of Education and the other notables of the state. Hoca Tahsin Efendi was appointed as the principal. The appointment to this office of a person who was educated at the madrasa, that was a classical educational institution, and who had taught at the Ottoman School opened in Paris, had the objective of finding a common ground between the Islamic and Western cultures and of establishing a suitable balance between "Islam and the West" and "the old and the new". However, the principles specified in the regulation of the Ottoman University could not be completely fulfilled and the education at the branches could not be implemented as envisaged due to the fact that the required conditions for starting university education were not ready, such as books and teachers were insufficient and financial resources were limited. They were forced to implement the same curriculum at all three branches and the students took the same courses. Thus, the second attempt to establish the University ended without producing the desired results. In 1873, Safvet Pasha, the Minister of Education of the period, appointed Sava Pasha of Greek origin and principal of the Imperial School at Galatasaray, to establish a new University provided that it would not be a burden on the treasury. The University that was thought to be established was this time planned to be established on the foundation of the Galatasaray Imperial School that had been open since 1868. Thus, it was aimed to graft a shoot of higher education onto the trunk of a secondary education institution. This new institution that was called the Dar al-fnun-i Sultn (Imperial University), was composed of law, science and literature branches and these three branches were referred to as mektib-i liye (higher education schools) in the official correspondence. When the 1874-1875 school year started, it was composed of the Higher Education Schools such as Literature, Law and (Civilian Engineering School). At the end of the first school year the Civilian School of Engineering, by taking the example of the "Ecole de Pontes et Chausses" in France, was changed to the School of Roads and Passages. According to the regulation, the students, after receiving a four-year education at the Imperial University, would prepare a scholarly thesis and if they defended this thesis with success, then they would graduate with the title of "doctor". The jurists who graduated would be employed at the Ministry of Justice, while the engineers would be employed at the Ministry of Public Works. Those graduating from the Literature School would be appointed as literature teachers. The students who did not prepare a thesis would pass an examination easier than for the doctorate and would be employed in a suitable position related to their professions. At the end of the 1875-1876 academic year, twenty-one students from the Law School and twenty-six students from the School of Roads and Passages participated in the examinations and were successful. We do not have information on whether or not courses were started at the Literature School. In 1881 the Law School was connected to the Ministry of Justice and the School of Roads and Passages was connected to

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the Ministry of Public Works and continued with success in the status of separate higher education schools connected to these ministries. After three unsuccessful attempts, the Ottoman University, with the name of Dar al-fnun-i Sahne (Imperial University), composed of several departments within the same organic structure and under a separate administration was formed at the beginning of the twentieth century on 31 August 1900 on the anniversary of the twenty-fifth year of Sultan Abdlhamid's accession to the throne. In the light of the approximately fifty-five years of experience and the existence of a sufficient number of students educated in modern secondary education; the fact that professionals educated in the established law, medical and other higher education institutions took an active role in the educational life; and the fact that a literature had been formed in Turkish more or less for the different branches of science that would be taught at the university led to the successful conclusion of the final attempt. The Imperial University has formed the source of the universities in Turkey today.
***
The objective of educating the new type of civil servants to modernize the state administration that was started by Sultan Mahmud II and intensified during the Tanzimat period followed a different course from the viewpoint of institutionalisation. It did not appear that either the Palace School or the madrasas had the potential to answer this need. For this, it was attempted to form new institutions, mainly in the field of civilian education or to send students abroad for education on civilian and military subjects. It was attempted by trial and error to establish the new schools that would rapidly answer the employment needs in the civilian field. The Ottoman educational institutions became systemized with the promulgation of the 1869 Regulations for Public Education and one of the most salient characteristics was the provision of the money needed for these institutions from within the Ottoman financial system. As it was indicated above, great efforts were required to educate an adequate manpower for the three different levels of the new educational system and to prepare the books to be taught at these schools. In this situation, the results the Ottoman administrators obtained in the field of education in Istanbul, Rumelia, Anatolia and the Arab provinces, should be considered to be a great success if the means available at that time and the financial resources of the state are taken into consideration. In conclusion, it has been observed as of the beginning of this chapter that the reform movement in the Ottoman educational life continued for a long period of time. The success of this reform, encompassing the entire Ottoman Empire spread over a very extensive geography, is so important that it should not be belittled when it is considered that the new structural forms arose next to the old or completely new forms were established, that the retarding influence created by the centuries of well-established traditions in the society and on the other hand, the desire of the state to succeed as soon as possible with the reforms and the due of limitation of resources. The result of this has been the formation of the infrastructure of modern education in all the states arising from the Ottoman Empire.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Akyildiz, Ali, Tanzimat Dnemi Osmanli Merkez Teskilatinda Reform (1836-1856), (Istanbul, nd.), 233. Akyz, Kenan, Encmen-i Dnis, (Ankara, 1975). Beydilli, Kemal, Trk Bilim ve Matbaacilik Tarihinde Mhendishane, Mhendishane Matbaasi ve Ktphanesi (1776-1826), (Istanbul, 1995). Dmer, V. Z., "Mhendishne-i Berri-i Hmayun" (The school of terrestrial engineering), in Trk Ansiklopedisi (Turkish Encyclopedia), vol. 25, 15-19. Ergin, O. Nuri, Trkiye Maarif Tarihi (The history of education in Turkey), vols. 1-2 (Istanbul, 1977), 583-585. Gencer, Ali Ihsan, Trk Denizcilik Tarihi Arastirmalari (Research on Turkish maritime history), (Istanbul, 1986), 5470. Hitzl, Frdrik, "Dfense de la Place Turque d'Oczakow par un Officier du Gnie Francaise (1787)", in Ikinci Tarih Boyunca Karadeniz Kongresi Bildirileri (Papers from the Second Congress on the Black Sea Throughout History), ed. Mehmet Saglam (Samsun 1990), 639-655. Ihsanoglu, E., "Drlfnun Tarihcisine Giris (II), Ucnc Tesebbs: Drlfnun-i Sultn", Belleten vol. 57, no. 218 (April 1993), 216-223. Ihsanoglu, E., "Osmanli Egitim ve Bilim Messeseleri" (Ottoman Educational and Scientific Institutions), in Osmanli Devleti ve Medeniyeti Tarihi, vol. 2, ed. E. Ihsanoglu (Istanbul, 1998). Ihsanoglu, E., "Tanzimat ncesi ve Tanzimat Dnemi Osmanli Bilim ve Egitim Anlayisi" (The perception of Ottoman science and education in the pre-Tanzimat and Tanzimat period) in 150. Yilinda Tanzimat (The 150th anniversary of the Tanzimat), ed. Hakki Dursun Yildiz (Ankara, 1992), 359-360. Inalcik, Halil, "Sened-i Ittifak ve Glhane Hatt-i Hmayunu", Belleten, vol. 28, no. 112 (Ankara, 1964), 612-613, 618. Kacar, Mustafa, "Osmanli Imparatorlugunda Askeri Sahada Yenilesme Dneminin Baslangici" (The start of the reform period in the military field in the Ottoman Empire), 209-225, in Osmanli Bilimi Arastirmalari, ed. F. Gnergun, Istanbul, 1995. Kacar, Mustafa, Osmanli Devleti'nde Bilim ve Egitim Anlayisindaki Degismeler ve Mhendishnelerin Kurulusu, (Ph.D. thesis, Istanbul University, Faculty of Literature, Department of the History of Science), Istanbul, 1996. Kodaman, Bayram, Abdlhamid Devri Egitim Sistemi (The educational system during the reign of Abdlhamid), 2d ed. (Ankara, 1991). zcan, Abdlkadir, "Tanzimat Dneminde gretmen Yetistirme Meselesi" (The problem of educating teachers in the Tanzimat period) in 150. Yilinda Tanzimat (The 150th anniversary of the Tanzimat), ed. Hakki Dursun Yildiz, (Ankara, 1992), 441-474. Sentrk, M. H., "Drlmarif", Diyanet Vakfi Islm Ansiklopedisi (Encyclopedia of Islam of the Foundation for Religious Affairs), vol. 8, 548-549. Sungu, Ihsan, "Galatasaray Lisesinin Kurulusu" (Establishment of the Galatasaray High School), Belleten, vol. 7, no. 28 (Ankara, 1943), 317. Unat, F. Resat, Trkiye Egitim Sisteminin Gelismesine Tarihi bir Bakis (A historical view of the development of the Turkish educational system), (Ankara, 1964), 47. Yildirim, Nuran, "Mekteb-i Tibbiye-i Sahane", in Dnden Bugne Istanbul Ansiklopedisi, vol. 5, 376.

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The Impact of Islam on Urban Development in North Africa
Dr. R. Saoud Professor Salim Al-Hassani Faaiza Bashir May 2004 4056 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited

May 2004
THE IMPACT OF ISLAM ON URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN NORTH AFRICA

Abstract
The decade of the nineties saw a substantial increase in critics against Islam blaming it for the backwardness and primitive state of Muslim societies. Such critics were much louder in the North African region, especially after the unfortunate events leading to the Algerian crisis. The new millennium, especially after the American incident of September 11th, 2001 brought serious threats against Islam. The present paper seeks to remind the readers of the contribution of Islam to the civilisation of peoples of North Africa by looking at its influence on the urbanisation of the region. The aim is to define the forces and circumstances underlying the urbanisation process during the Islamic period, discuss the nature and character of the urban development activity, and assess the urban morphological consequences resulting from it. Following these objectives, the paper first defines and provides the general setting of the study area (North Africa). Next, it addresses the region's pre-Islamic urban development. The emphasis is made on the assessment of the pre- Islamic origins, and the impact of the Islamic rule on the urban development in North Africa, and the emerging urban form of the Islamic pre-colonial North African city.
CONCEPT AND NATURAL SETTING OF NORTH AFRICA

The concept of North Africa, as a geographical area, is used to cover a region that differs among researchers. Abu-Lughod (1976, 1979) and Clarke (1973), for example, used the concept to cover Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Others exclude Egypt (Blake, 1974) and a third group adds Sudan to the list. Lawless (1981), Valensi (1977) and most French researchers used North Africa to mean the Maghreb region which extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Mediterranean sea in the east, covering only the countries of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. present paper. The region covers an area of 2,996,000 km2 and has a population of more than 70 million people (table 1). This vast land is marked by a variety of relief which runs from the west to the east in a succession of strips. The coastal area forms the first strip extending over 3000 km from the Atlantic coast in the west of Morocco to the eastern Mediterranean coast in the east of Tunisia. This band contains pockets of fertile plains namely in the Moroccan western coast, central coast of Algeria, and eastern coast of Tunisia. It is succeeded by a chain of mountains, the Tell Atlas Mountains which reach a height of 2,308 m (Djurdjura) in Algeria and 2,456 m in the Rif Mountains (Tidighin) in Morocco. for wheat production. Behind this chain lie the High Plains, extending from the east of Morocco to the east of Algeria near the Tunisian frontier. This area is famous To the south of the High Plains, a second chain of mountains, the Sahara Atlas, extends from the centre of Tunisia to Morocco where it joins with the Haut Atlas Mountains. The Sahara Atlas attains a height of 2,320 m in the Aures region (Chelia and Nememcha Mountains) in eastern Algeria, and 4,165 m in the Toubkal Mountains in the Haut Atlas in Morocco. To the south of these mountains lies the Sahara Desert. This definition is also adopted in the

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North Africa falls under the Mediterranean climate but is also influenced by the subtropical weather conditions which dominate the Sahara. mostly in the northern part. The Mediterranean influence results in a wet cold winter season The effect of the sub-tropical climate appears in summer when the hot dry
weather is predominant for a period extending from three to five months with temperatures reaching 28 and 30 degrees C in the coastal regions.
Figure 1 - North African natural environment
Source: Troin (1985)
The characteristics of the land have had a great impact on the distribution of the population and thus urban settlements. Higher density settlements are found on the coastal plains along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. In the interior, towns are mainly located in the high plains, but only a few are found in the Sahara. Mountains are only occupied by villages and small hamlets. The role of the climate is visible in the concentration of towns in the northern region where the Mediterranean climate is predominant. In the south, the Sahara with its hot dry climate does not provide ideal conditions for the development of settlements, and only a handful of small towns are found there. Furthermore, the effects of climate also appear in settlement and building design and material. This is very noticeable in early towns such as the narrow covered streets of the medina which provide shelter from the summer hot sun and allow cool air to circulate. Similar provisions are used in the buildings such as those found in the south where particular forms and materials were introduced to escape the heat1. On the other hand, the geographic location of the North African region has ensured that it has remained close to successive Mediterranean civilisations and a gateway to Africa. Its plains, climate and wealth have played a major role in raising its strategic importance and attracted many civilisations which brought it prosperity and cultural richness, and established an advanced settlement system. It attracted the Romans

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for its wheat and animals while through it Islam reached Spain and Europe. The Spanish and Portuguese conquered parts of North Africa and still hold parts of northern Morocco. Finally, imperial France colonised it in late 18th century. Much of today's urban settlements carry the finger prints of these successive civilisations. However, the impact of Islam in its lasting and overwhelming influence is unique. Table 1 - General indicators on North Africa
Area Population in 2000
Morocco 450,000 km 2 29,878,000
Algeria 2,382,000 km2 30,291,000
Tunisia 164,000 km2 9,459,000
Prospects: The 2000 Revision and World Urbanization Prospects: The 2001 Revision, http://esa.un.org/unpp.
Source: Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population
PRE-ISLAMIC PERIOD : MERCANTILE ORIGINS (814 BC-670 AD)

As indicated earlier, the strategic geographical location of the region has played a decisive role in its urban development. Being the gateway to and from Africa, early towns of North Africa were established on the coast as commercial centres linked to major Mediterranean empires, forming part of its trading system. This is clearly evident from the Phoenician 2 towns3, which represented the earliest urban origin in the region. These spread from Carthage (their capital in Tunisia built in 814 BC), Icosium (Algiers) in Algeria, to Rabat in Morocco4. In the second century BC, the Numidians (a Berber tribe) founded scores of towns in the centre of North Africa (Algeria) including their capital Cirta (Constantine today), which accommodated no more than 15 thousand people (Bulletin Archaeologique de l'Est, 1952). Only a little is known about the form and function of these towns, and what is left of them today are ruins and artefacts.
Figure 2 - Aerial view of a Typical North African Roman Town showing here Timgad (Algeria) Source: Lassus (1981, p.14) Given the vast and diversity of its land, North Africa attracted successive Mediterranean Empires, including the Romans. The search for grain, luxury commodities such as precious stones, gold and silver, and exotic

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beasts for their popular animal shows was the main driving force behind the Roman occupation (Owens,
1992).
Towns were first built partly to provide shelter for Roman migrants and legionnaires (Parker, Later, towns and cities played an
1987), and partly to extract and send these commodities to Rome.
additional role, that was to maintain peace (Pax Romana) and promote Roman civilisation (Owens, 1992). However, as profits and wealth extracted from the region expanded, the Romans extended their occupation to the interior. Consequently, North Africa saw the emergence of a number of towns of various sizes. The economic basis of these towns was generated mainly from the agriculture through the trade of olive oil and other agricultural products. Such towns served as the religious, administrative, and military centres for the Roman Empire. They reached a legal status of colonae, a fact which indicates their importance. Carthage, destroyed in the last Punic Wars, was rebuilt again in 45 BC to become a very important settlement. Tunis and Icosium (Algiers) were also rebuilt but they never reached the importance of Timgad and Djemila (Algeria). In Morocco, the Romans founded also a number of towns including Sala Coloniae (part of Rabat today). Their urban layout reflected these functions, and exhibited the general Roman features (table 2). Table 2 - The general form of the Roman town
Shape Boundary Open Space Streets
Rectangular or square (Mumford, 1961) Wall The Forum, at the centre. It was the arena where people met for national events and animal shows. The Cardo: a wide columnated street running from the North to the South and crossing the Decumannus at the centre of the town. The Decumannus maximus: Another columnated street running from the Eastern gates to the Western gates and crossing the Cardo in the centre.
The theatre: A civic building which had a capacity to accommodate up to 4000 people (Owens, 1992). Baths, temples and a public library in addition to other municipal buildings, public lavatories and military buildings. Sources: Mumford (1961), Owens, (1992). Main buildings
However, this urban experience excluded local Berber populations who continued to live separately in the countryside, especially uncongenial mountainous areas. favoured Roman soldiers and migrants. way of life. This was because the Roman settlement policy Meanwhile, the rebellious Berbers preserved their environmental
A proof of this "ethnic" separation is the Berber settlements which continued to exist
independently from the Roman rule. The famous Queen of Al-Kahina who was the only Berber leader to resist Islam causing considerable trouble for Uqba Ibn Nafi'5. By the fall of Rome, the region was ravaged by the Vandals and Byzantine invaders between 429 and 533 AD respectively. This unfortunate occupation exhausted the local economy and created political instability leading to social unrest and sectarian strife (Courtois, 1955). Furthermore, these struggles took place mainly in cities where the political power and commercial resources were concentrated. The consequences were a demographic decline and destruction of many cities including Carthage, Icosium and Sala (Laroui,
1977, p139). This continued to be the case until the arrival of the Muslims.

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ISLAMIC PERIOD, RELIGIOUS BASED URBAN DEVELOPMENT, (670-1830)

The penetration of Islam to Tunisia in 670 AD, and subsequently to the rest of North Africa had an irreversible and overwhelming impact on its urban development. The voluntarily accepted religion with its philosophy gradually established numerous towns inducing urban development of that area. This was due to a number of reasons. Islam is considered, even by non-Muslims, to be an urban religion (Fischel,
1956). The religious practices, beliefs and values, especially those relating to organisation and authority,
emphasised the effectiveness of and cohesiveness within the social gathering. Firstly Muslims are requested to undertake the obligatory five daily prayers in congregation in mosques, each known as a Masjid6, as pointed out in the Hadith narrated by 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar who said that Allah's Apostle (pbuh) said, "The
prayer in congregation is twenty seven times superior to the prayer offered by person alone." (Bukhari,
Volume 1, Book 11, Number 618). To achieve this reward, Muslims had to live in an approximity of a
congregational mosque. Secondly, the Friday prayer, which is also a compulsory duty, is only carried out in congregation in main mosque, known as Jami'. This can only refer to settlements rather than nomadic life. Thirdly, the emphasis on the protection of privacy and the application of head covering ( Hijaab ) also refers to urban living where neighbourliness and the presence of great number of strangers can constrain such private life. Fourthly, the annual pilgrimage ritual takes place in cities of Makkah and Medina, another emphasis on urban living. In addition to these "urban" religious duties, the Muslim is also requested to lead a strong social life and avoid isolation. The Quran states:
"And keep yourself patiently with those who call on their Lord morning and afternoon seeking His face, and let not your eyes overlook them , desiring the pomp and glitter of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, one who follows his own desires and whose affair (deeds) has become all excess " (The Cave, 18:28).
There is at least one hadith which warns against dispersal and isolation: Narrated AbudDarda': I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) say: If there are three men in a village or in the desert among whom
prayer is not offered (in congregation), the devil has got the mastery over them. So observe (prayer) in congregation, for the wolf eats only the straggling animal . Sa'ib said: By the word Jama'ah he meant saying
prayer in company or in congregation. (Sunan Abu-Dawud: Book 2, Number 0547). So Islamic towns in North Africa were erected at early stage to preach and practice Islam. Consequently a number of thriving towns emerged due to this religious role. In the tenth century AD, for example, there were six major towns7, each having a population of 20,000 inhabitants or more (Chandler and Fox,
1974). These were mainly inland towns dependent on the land routes, which were essential for the trade
and economic life of their communities. Waterways were still of very limited importance. Quirawan (also spelt Kairawan), founded by Ibn Nafi' in the seventh century, was the main centre of civilisation of this period. With its famous school (medrassa) and economic and artistic booms, it attracted students, artists and merchants from all over the Muslim land. Under the Aghlabid leaders, Quirawan played a key role in the spread of Islam to the rest of North Africa, Sicily and southern Italy. By the ninth century AD, the prestigious role of towns was replaced by political motives as North Africa broke its traditional links with the Caliphate in the East. This was a period when local leaders and influential groups pursued their political ambitions, neither respecting the will of their populations nor their

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Islamic moral convictions8. At first three states were established. The Idrissids in Morocco founded Fez as a capital in 809 AD on a strategic site at the crossroads of the east-west route from Tunis to the Atlantic and the north-south route from Tangiers in the north to the south. The Rustamids in Algeria took Tahart (Tiaret) as their capital. Finally the Aghlabids in Tunisia replaced old Quirawan with Tunis. These states were soon involved in disputes over sovereignty and sometimes quarrels erupted between members of the one ruling family or tribe. As a consequence several dynasties succeeded resulting in the appearance of a succession of capital cities as each dynasty founded its own distinctive capital. The rise of a new capital was often achieved at the price of the existing one. This could have produced a multiple number of former capitals but, since power was usually taken by force after heavy fighting, such towns were destroyed or abandoned.
Figure 3 - Islamic North Africa in the 13 th century.
Source: Laroui (1977)
The lack of stability was also reflected in the economic, cultural and social declines which are essential ingredients for urban prosperity. This was followed by the advance of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym tribes. Driven from Egypt, these two Arabian tribes swept through North Africa "like locusts" (Ibn Khaldoun,
1925). Algiers was destroyed as were many other towns while Tunis faced a major set back. Morocco,
however, was spared the destruction, as these tribes did not manage to go beyond Algeria. These conditions have greatly undermined the survival, growth and birth of towns, as they were the battleground for these divisions and disputes. In the eleventh century, Europe took advantage of the weakening state of the North African Caliphate invading it from various corners. In Spain, Christians conquered Toledo (1085), Badajoz (1086) and Saragosa (1118). In Italy, the Normans occupied Sicily and invaded Tunisia and managed to occupy most of its towns. Meanwhile, the rising powers of Genoa and Pisa managed to re-conquest Sardinia in 1016 and began harassing the North African coast including Bone (Annaba in Algeria) in 1034. Amid these The deteriorating conditions people looked back to Islam for inspiration leading to the rise of a devoted group calling themselves Al-Murabitun (the Almuravids), the retired worshippers and defenders of God.

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choice of the name was not accidental as this group soon emerged as a leading power defending against European threats. Within a century of their rule, they managed to unify Spain and North Africa under one Muslim Caliphate extending it from Andalusia to Mauritania and Mali in the south (11 th century) and Algiers and Tunis in the east (12th century). North Africa and Spain entered a golden age benefiting from the political stability and tolerance of the Almuravid leaders. The urban life prospered significantly with the establishment of a number of towns including Sijilmassa, Telemcen, and Marrakesh. Sijilmassa in particular reached an important position, becoming the northern station of the trans-Saharan gold trade coming from Awdaghust in ancient Ghana. In fact the Almuravid managed to completely control this route and established new routes to connect to places more firmly within their domain. Sijilmasas role in the islamisation of the western Sudan and other parts of Africa was decisive. The collapse of the Almuravid Caliphate came as late leaders, corrupted by wealth and excessive power, lost their Islamic piety and devoted themselves to worldly desires. proclaimers of oneness of God. As consequences, disputes broke out and the dissatisfaction of the population grew significantly leading to the rise of Almowahidun, the Originally from the high Atlas Mountains, the Almowahidun (commonly known as Almohads), united North Africa under one authority for the second time (Abun-Nasr, 1971,
p.110). They established their capital in Marrakesh in Morocco. They gave great impetus to learning and
hosted a number of great scholars including Ibn Tufail and Ibn Rushd. Their Kutubia Medrassa reached outstanding position in disseminating science, technology and arts. The Almohad art and architecture surpassed their predecessors, especially in their famous minarets (see our article Architecture in Muslim Spain and North Africa). Towards the end of the twelfth century, Yaqub Al-Mansour (the third Sultan of Almohads between 11841199) founded Rabat. He decided to make the fort used by his predecessors and named Ribat El-Feth, a royal town. The city was located on the right edge of the River Bouregreg facing the old Sala (Sale). It was enclosed by a wall from the south and east while the ocean and the river provided natural defences from the north and west. The walls were about four miles long and bordered an area of over four hundred hectares (Abu-Lughod, 1980, p56). not achieve a substantial importance. Rabat reached its golden age during this period but unfortunately Tunis, however, flourished and became once again the provincial only three gates and some parts of these walls still remain today. Algiers was used as a small port and did capital (capital of Almohads province of Tunisia). By the collapse of the Almohads in 1250, North Africa and Andalusia entered a troubling period of divisions and disputes affecting greatly the stability and prosperity of the area. In general, between 1200 AD and 1500 AD urban development concentrated on the coast due to the rise of the importance of sea transport. Consequently, urban population increased significantly as flourishing ship manufacturing attracted many migrants (Wagstaff, 1980). In addition to that, thousands of Andalusians, who fled Spain after the Christian recapture, settled mostly in coastal towns. Issaoui (1969) adds another significant reason suggesting that the countrysides insecurity, which was caused by the Bedouin raids, made the rural population flee to the cities. Therefore, coastal towns multiplied. According to Abu-Lughod (1976), North Africa saw the appearance of at least four new coastal towns9 in addition to the growth of existing ones, and only one new inland town "Marrakesh", during that period. Stability was regained in the region by the arrival of the Ottomans in 1516. The Ottomans were enabled to take control of North Africa (excluding Morocco) not only in a desire to revive the Islamic rule (Caliphate),

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and as a defence against Spanish and Portuguese colonial invasions. political and economic functions.
Cities and towns again assumed
They served to consolidate the Muslim (Turkish) Caliphate. They were
governed by the Bey, who was designated by the Dey10 and accountable only to him. The authority of the
Dey was based in urban areas, while a Bey appointed by him handled the administration of the countryside
and the collection of taxes there.
In economic terms, these towns were energised with an unprecedented economic activity geared towards shipbuilding to support the Turkish fleet, and defend Muslim ships against European pirates in the Mediterranean. The economic prosperity and political stability encouraged the flow of migrants from the Ottman Empire (but essentially from Turkey), leading to a substantial urban growth (figure 3).
With the increasing power of imperial Europe in the seventeenth century, North African cities main role was to provide men, money, and armaments to maintain Muslim supremacy over the Mediterranean Sea. Slowly, these efforts started to exhaust local resources amid the rise of a corrupt generation of leaders. Once again the region went into dark period of internal fighting, ignorance and immorality. It was followed by the spread of disease during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Historic sources revealed that a plague, which cost Tunisia a third of its population in 1784, spread to Algeria between 1793 and 1799, and to Morocco in 1800 causing the same devastating effect. In 1817, the same plague re-appeared to claim a quarter of the population of Tunisia and an equivalent proportion in Algeria (Vallensi, 1977). In general, on the eve of colonisation (in 1800) urban population in North Africa represented about 20% of the total population (table 3). Table 3 - Major towns in North Africa and their sizes (in 000's) at the eve of colonisation.
Morocco (1834-1836)a Fez Marrakech Mekness Rabat Tetouan Mogador Safi Tangier Larache
100* 70* 40* 22 16 10 8 7 2.5
Algeria (1830)b Algiers Constantine Tlemcen Mascara Oran Miliana Medea Cherchell
30-60 25-35 20 12 10 10 10 3
Tunisia (1850)c Tunis Quairawan Sfax Bizerte Monastir Sousse
100 15 10 5 5 3
Sources: a- Abu-Lughod (1980, p153); b- Magali Morsi (1984); c- Bennoune Mahfoud (1988, p27) * between 1910-1913
THE ISLAMIC CITY IN NORTH AFRICA

In our previous article, Introduction to the Islamic City, we referred to the theoretical debate dealing with the concept of Islamic city. Here, we provide the reader with some practical examples of the Islamic city in North Africa, which greatly resemble those of the rest of the Muslim world. In addition to the influence of local topography, and morphological features of pre-existing towns, the city reflected the Muslim socio- cultural, political, and economic structures of the North African society. The social organisation of the urban society which was based on social groupings sharing the same blood, ethnic origin and cultural perspectives was translated in the concept of quarters 11. Religious beliefs and practices,

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which formed the central base of the cultural life for these populations, gave the mosque a pivotal position in the institutional hierarchy. The religious beliefs separating between public and private lives and between male and female lives regulated the spatial order for usage so that areas formed well defined territories. The low technological level meant that topography and climate largely defined the design of buildings and streets. Thus the form of the city had a cultural, social, political, and economic logic in terms of physical fabric, layout, and usage.
EXAMPLES OF THE ISLAMIC CITY: RABAT, ALGIERS, AND TUNIS

The aim of looking at these three case studies is to provide concrete examples to illustrate the morphological features created, and provide a contextual framework that includes local (national) circumstances of each country within the general discussion of North African urban development. and economic importance. The selection of Rabat, Algiers, and Tunis was due to the fact that all three cities share the same historic, social These factors play a major part in the evolution of the urban form and its development. All three cities have been under similar pressure for development due to their social, administrative and economic roles as capital cities.
Rabat
Rabat was founded towards the end of the 12th century by Yaqub Al-Mansour (the third Sultan of Almohads 1184-1199). It was initially built as a garrison station to defend the Sultan against hostile Berber tribes in the region (around Rabat). The Casbah here was given to the distinguishable tribe of Oudea whose members were the Sultan's fighters while he kept his palace outside the internal walls of the city for use in royal visits. It was located on the right edge of the river Bouregreg facing the old Roman Sala (Sale today). For defensive reasons it was enclosed by walls of about four miles long and surrounding an area of over four hundred hectares (Abu-Lughod, 1980, p56). Andalusians, Jews, Arabs, Berbers, and Moors. The social composition of the city included This was translated in the system of quarters.
Morphologically, the town was similar to the rest of North African cities at that time. Rabat reached its golden age during this period and so continued until colonisation overtook it(map 4.6). On the eve of the establishment of the French protectorate (1912), Rabat had a population of 20,000 people of which 18,000 were Muslims and 2,000 were Jews (Ehlers, 1986, p.58).
Algiers
Algiers (Icosium) was founded by the Phoenicians as a commercial entrepot and a port for their vessels in 1200 BC (Lambert, 1899). It was rebuilt by the Romans12 but did not reach the importance of Timgad city. In early Islamic period, Icosium was conquered and its importance declined further as prosperity shifted to newly founded cities. In the 10th century AD, the prince Bologhine ibn Ziri revived the city of Icosium and gave it his family name "El-Djezair Banou Mezghana", a reference to his family Banu Mezghana (Lespes, 1930, p.100). the Ottoman North Africa. Since then, Algiers was used as a small port and did not achieve a substantial importance. However, by the arrival of the Ottomans in 1516, Algiers, assumed the role of the capital of

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On the eve of colonisation in 1830, Algiers had a population of about 30,000 (although a greater number has been suggested by Brahimi (1978) with five main ethnic origins. There were 10,000 Moors, 7,000 Berbers, 6,000 Jews, 5,000 Turks and Kouloughlis (of mixed Turkish and Arab descent), and about 1,500 black Africans. These were accommodated in 8,000 houses of which 3,000 were privately owned and the rest belonged to the Beylik or Habous (Boyer, 1963, p.48). However, Brahimi (1978) suggested that the number of houses reached 15,000. The town was organised into quarters reflecting these social compositions, all within strong well defended walls. As Algiers was the political capital of the Ottomans, the citadel was occupied by the Dey (Sultan) and the Turkish elite with their defensive army.
Tunis
Tunis was rebuilt under the Roman Emperor Augustus in the first century AD, but without the importance of Carthage. The Muslims re-fortified it in 720 AD, and built the Zaytouna Mosque. The city was used as an administrative centre, and as a garrison town subordinate to Qairawan. Its main role was to supply the Muslim army protecting the settlements of Sicily and southern Italy. Meanwhile the Zaytouna Mosque and university were preparing religious teachers to preach and teach new converts, while other teachers were being sent to Andalusia, Cordoba, and Sicily. religious orthodoxy. Since the Aghlabid reign (ninth century), Tunis replaced Qairawan as the capital of the province of Tunisia (Ifriqya as it was known then), and became a centre of
Figure 4 - Tunis in 1636
Source: Abdelkafi (1989, p.52)
It remained so until the period of European colonisation. Tunis naturally had a multi ethnic composition reflected in a number of quarters which catered for Arabs, Jews, Andalusians, a number of Italians, Maltese and other minorities.

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Just before becoming a protectorate, Tunis had an area of 270 ha and had a population of 90,000 people
(AbdelKafi, 1989, p.39). It was surrounded by two sets of walls with three major spatial components
(map 4.8). The central medina occupied the heart of the city and was bordered by ramparts. The two ribats (faubourgs), as they are called, were added to the medina in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries (Woodford, 1990).
SPATIAL FORM AND MORPHOLOGICAL COMPONENTS OF THE MUSLIM NORTH AFRICAN CITY
The organisation and land use of the city reflected its Islamic social and cultural values. Ordered around the main mosque, the town consisted of the following elements.
The Central Mosque

It was the main mosque of the city and occupied its heart. In Tunis, it has always been a complex of public
buildings incorporating the Zaitouna Mosque and University, famous for its religious teaching and
library. In Algiers, it was the al-Jami' al-Jadid Mosque. Not far from it there was the Jenina complex which included a large public garden, the government seat, the Dey's palace, the treasury and other government buildings. streets. In Rabat, the heart is situated in the southern half of the city not far from the Al-Kharazin district, on the road to the Bab al-Shallah gate. Surrounding it there were a number of suqs and shopping
Commercial quarters (suqs)

In Tunis, around the Zaitouna complex, there was a network of suqs, bazaars and shopping streets. These represented the economic heart of the city. above. The spatial distribution of these activities also followed a Activities involving particular pattern based on socio-cultural and environmental considerations similar to those described Near the mosque the prestigious trades and crafts were grouped together. pollution or noise such as dying and pottery were located on the fringes near the gates. In Algiers, a number of suqs were organised around the al-Jami' al-Jadid as it was called, in the form of a market and commercial streets. Close to the mosque, there was the suq El-Kebir where wheat, and other agricultural products were sold. There were also book shops providing an abundance of scientific and religious books. Next to them, there were the merchants of expensive clothes (gold embroidered clothes), and leather merchants (including shoe makers). There was Zankat al-Ferraga (serruriers), Zankat al-
Basmaggia (shoemakers), Zankat al-Dhawwaba (gold melting and moulding), Zankat al-Siagha (jewellers) and so on. The suqs continued in similar order until they reached Bab al-Jazeera (the Island gate) in the north. There was also a shopping street running from Bab Azzoun in the east to Bab al-Wad in the west. Near the Bab al-Wad gate (river gate) were industries of construction (construction materials), pottery and dying which needed a good supply of water. Near Bab Azzoun gate, there were funduqs (hotels) providing accommodation for travellers and visitors (Barraniya as they were called). Beyond this were complexes
where the tanning and olive oil extraction industries operated. In Rabat, the commercial quarters were located to the south of the city in the district called "Sweeka" in the form of suqs, bazaars and shopping streets. In this district, most foods were sold including butchers

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and fish sellers. To the south of this, the straw market was found near the gate which still bears its name,
Bab al-Tibn (the straw gate).

objects.
Next to these came the merchants of metal goods, armour, and copper
The shoemakers and Al-Jutia, as they were called in Rabat where the term included leather Near the Great Mosque, the al-Kharazin section was established where there were the
workers, saddlers, and harness makers, occupied the second commercial district located to the east of
Sweeka.
professional tailors and knitters as well as shoemakers, tailors, cord winders and others. In the centre of
Al-Rahba square (al-Rahba means open place), the grain market was located. Grain was sold and stored
there leading to the establishment of a number of grain mills and bakeries. Behind the grain market, there were the copper smiths, bronze polishers, tar merchants, and black smiths. In Al-Rahba also, there were the Jewish jewellers and cosmetic sellers. Outside the square and near Bab al-Bahr (sea gate) the dying industry was located.
Residential quarters
Known locally as Humate, residential quarters surrounded the local mosque (Masjid) where the five daily prayers were held. Each quarter had a high degree of independence.
Figure 5 - Typical Residential Quarter (Huma) in Tunis. Source: Abdelkafi (1989, p.44)

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It had its hammam, bakery, main shops, Quranic schools (Kuttab) and a Zawiya (charitable premises providing shelter, aid and religious lessons). It had its own gates which could be, in case of troubles, shut isolating any particular quarter from the rest of the medina (city). surrounding a courtyard. Houses had single or several storeys They were For They had few openings to the outside which usually had shutters.
provided with either individual wells or had water reservoirs. The population of the quarter usually shared a common origin, social or economic status. Quarters were named in recognition of these features. example, in Tunis there was Humat Al-Andalus mainly occupied by the Andalusian Muslims who had fled from Spain, the Jewish Hara, and the Humat al-Ifranj for the European Christians. Similar provisions were found in Algiers where these quarters grouped the population of similar ethnic origin, economic, social or professional status. They were often named for that status or for one of the famous buildings in that quarter or for springs or for a holy mans tomb or shrine. Examples include Humat
Lalahum, Humat Sidi Ahmed Al-tha'libi and Humat Bab al-Jadid .

In Rabat, three quarters could be distinguished. The Casbah of Udaya originally accommodated members of
Udaya tribe which protected the Sultan.
The Waqasah quarter, situated on the north of Mellah, was mainly
occupied by migrants from rural areas or neighbouring countries who worked as porters or water carriers. The Mellah quarter, occupying the south eastern corner of the city, accommodated the Jewish minority.
Street network
The various quarters of the city of Tunis were connected with a network of narrow streets which offered access to pedestrians, horsemen and pack animals. Two categories of streets could be found. The first consists of private streets, called Durub (singular Derb), made of a network of narrow streets with a dead end (cul-de-sac) and used mainly by the inhabitants of the residential unit. The second type consists of the public streets which surround the residential quarter and contain the essential sources of household provisions such as bakery, wheat mill, hammam and so on. In Algiers, the street network was organised in three main arteries (locally known as Zanka). The Bab alJazeera road led traffic to the port. Bab Azzoun Road connected with the southern gate towards the southern rural fields. Finally Bab el-Oued connected with the northern gate. In Rabat, the road system was based on two main horizontal roads running from the eastern to the western gates. The first road, in the north, extended from Casbah of Udaya to Bab El-A'lu. The second horizontal road in the south linked Bab El-Bhar with Bab El-Had in the west. Crossing these two roads, were net works of vertical narrow streets linking the northern gates with the southern ones. The main vertical roads were the ones that linked the Casbah with the Al-Rahba square. The second extended from Bab El-Bhar facing the ocean to Buwayba in the south.
Casbah
It is a citadel fortified with strong walls. It is isolated on the highest point in the city to the west of the medina. In both Tunisia and Algeria, the Casbah was the seat of the Ottoman government and residence of the Dey. In contrast to this prestigious site, there was in Rabat the Casbah (also spelt Qasbah) which contained poor dwellings occupied by the Udaya troops and their families with a number of shops for self efficiency. It

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formed the origins of that Rabat which was built to accommodate military volunteers, from the Udaya tribe, for the service of the Sultan. It remained so after the foundation of the city.
Walls
Strong fortifications surrounded the cities of Tunis and Algiers. with five gates (Deluz, 1988, p10). In Rabat, the city was enclosed by three sets of walls: internal walls surrounded the densely urbanised area of the city and had a total of eight gates. The second set of walls enclosed a large area of gardens of the suburban south and the Touarga complex which contained the royal palace, a mosque and gardens. These walls date from the Almohads dynasty (Yakob El Mansour) of the twelfth century. The external walls, located beyond the Almohad walls on the east, had three main gates In the latter, they consisted of 2,500
metres long ramparts, between 11 and 13 metres high and between 11.5 and 14.5 metres wide, pierced
Cemeteries
They were located mainly outside the outer walls in the east towards the sea. In Rabat, the cemeteries occupied the area on the Atlantic coast and near the main mosque. Two other cemeteries, one Jewish, were located outside the western walls. There were also a number of graves of holy men or shrines attached to these cemeteries. Beyond them were large gardens of orchards and open cultivated fields.
Conclusion
Although North Africa experienced urban living before Islam, especially under the Romans, this experience remained very limited as Roman towns were mainly reserved for Roman army and migrants. They were built for mercantile or military purposes as forts to house the troops as was the case during the Roman period. Other towns were established on strategic locations such as a potentially well defended hill. These towns main function was to extract wealth to serve the Roman empire. Local populations, namely the The Romans failure to Berbers, continued to occupy the countryside, especially mountainous areas.
incorporate them in their towns was due to the continuous state of rebellion by the Berbers. The arrival of Islam brought new social, economic, political and cultural ideologies which were transformed into the physical organisation of towns and their functions. Because of the nature of the Islamic belief and its practice which favour the settlement system, North Africa entered a period of consolidation and urbanisation. Towns were established to facilitate the spread of Islam. Later, they assumed political roles serving the ruling dynasties. This often resulted in discontinuity and in urban decline in times of internal disputes, but with prosperity in times of stability. To summarise, the main function of towns was religious although other functions (economic and administrative) evolved later as subordinate activities as towns developed. The urban city was a social organ assembled by various socio-cultural and religious forces of that time. Its form was essentially based on blood related social organisation, the separation between the private and public spaces, and their relation to the religious centre, the main mosque. Unfortunately these towns were subject to systematic destruction by the French colonial invaders as part of the destruction of the Muslim identity of the North African populations. French "Christian" construction and

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design norms were imposed, creating divergence between people and their environment.
The
independence of the North African states did not change much of the situation as they continued to apply these norms but under the name of modernisation. The North African city, as well as in many other Muslim regions, lost much of its Islamic identity so becoming increasingly ambiguous. consequences of this change will be discussed in another paper coming soon. NOTES i For more information on this issue see Delaval (1974) and Mr Shatehs article Interior Architecture of Desert Climate. 2 Phoenicians originated from the eastern Mediterranean. They occupied North Africa in the 9th century BC. 3 The contemporary understanding of the concept of town is not applied here. It is used to mean a gathering of a large group of people on a site exercising activities and provided with services more developed than in rural areas. These include administrative, military and religious services. 4 This is based on the Phoenician currency and items found in Rabat which dated from the 3rd century BC. No other evidence of the Phoenician foundation of Rabat is yet provided. 5 For the difference between Masjid and Jami' see our article Morphological and functional categories of the Mosque. 6 Some sources indicate that Uqba was killed by Al-Kahina's plotting. 7 The six main towns were: Sijilmasa, Meknes, Fez (in Morocco); Tlemcen and Constantine (in Algeria) and Quairawan (in Tunisia). 8 Clearly defying the command emphasised in the Qur'an: " And obey Allah and His Messenger and do not quarrel for then you will be weak in hearts and your power will depart, and be patient; surely Allah is with the patient " (8:46) 9 Tunis, Mehdia (Tunisia), Bejaia, Oran (in Algeria). i0 He was the Sultan, living in Algiers and designated by Constantinople. i1 Such groups include; Moors, Arabs, Andalusians, Berbers, Kouloughlis (resulting from the marriage of Arabs and Turks),Turkish, and Jews. 12 Algiers is the site of Icosium, a legendary city founded by 20 companions of the mythical hero Hercules. Icosium remained a small coastal trading post throughout the Phoenician and Carthaginian eras. In 146BC Icosium became part of the Roman Empire. The processes and
References
Abdelkafi, J. (1989) `La Medina de Tunis: Espace historique', Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris. Abu-Lughod,J. (1976) `Development in North African urbanism: The process of decolonisation', B.J.L. Berry, (ed.) urbanisation and counter urbanisation, Sage Publications, London. pp. 191-213. Abu-Lughod, J. (1979) `Moroccan urbanisation: Some new equations', in R.A. Obudho, and Salah El-Shakhs (eds.), Development of Urban Systems in Africa', Praeger publishers, New York, pp.61-78. Abu-Lughod,J. (1980) `Rabat. urban apartheid in Morocco', Princeton University Press, Princeton. Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. (1971) À history of the Maghreb', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Blake G.H. (1974) Ùrbanisation in North Africa: its nature and consequences', in D.J. Dwyer (ed.), The city in the third world, Macmillan, London. pp.67-80. Boyer, P. (1963) `La vie quotidienne a Alger a la veill de l'intervention Francaise', editions Hachettes, Paris. Brahimi, T. (1978) Òpinions et regards des Europeans sur le Maghreb au 17eme et 18 eme siecles', SNED, Algiers. Chandler and Fox (1974) `3000 years of urban growth', New York Academic Press, USA. pp.49-57. Charles Andre Julien (1986) `Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord', Vol.I and II, Payot, Paris. Issaoui Charles (1969) Èconomic change and urbanisation in the Middle East', in Lapidus (ed.) Middle Eastern cities, University of California Press, USA. pp. 102-121. Clarke J.I. (1973) Ùrban population growth in the Middle East and North Africa', in J.Despois (ed.), Maghreb et Sahara, Societe de Geographie, Paris. pp.79-90. Courtois Christien (1955) `Les Vandales et l'Afrique', Arts et Metiers Graphiques. Paris. Delaval, B. (1974) Ùrban communities of the Algerian Sahara', in Ekistics, Vol.38, No.227, pp.252-258.

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Eckart Ehlers (1986) `The structural development and differentiation of the Moroccan city: Rabat, Marrakechand Meknes ; A cartographic and aerial-photographic analysis', in Applied Geography and Development, Vol.28, pp.56-83. Ibn Khaldun (1967) `The Muqadimah', translated from the Arabic by F.Rosenthal, edited by Dawood, N.J., Princeton pub. Lambert, R. (1899) Àlgeria and Tunisia', 5th. edition, John Murray, London. Laroui Abdellah (1977) `The history of the Maghreb', translated from French by Ralph Manheim, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, USA. Lawless,R.I. (1981) `Social and economic change in North pp.264-279. Mumford, L.(1966) `The City in History' Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, UK. Owens, E.,J. (1992) `The City in the Greek and Roman World', Routledge, London. Parker Richard (1987) `North Africa', Praeger, New York, USA. Vallensi Lucette (1977) Òn the Eve of Colonisation: North Africa before the French Conquest', translated by Kenneth, J.Perkins, African Publishing Company, USA. Wagstaff (1980) ` The origin and evolution of Towns:4000 BC to 1900 AD', in G.H.Blake, and R.I. Lawless (eds.), The Changing Middle Eastern City, Croom Helm, London, pp. 1-11. Woodford,J.S. (1990) `The city of Tunis: Evolution of an urban system', Middle East and North African Studies Press Ltd. Cambridge. African medina : The case of Tunis', in J.I. Clarke, and H.B.Jones (eds.), Change and development in the Middle East, Methuen & Co Ltd, London.

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The Ottoman Ulema (Scholars)
Professor Mehmet Ipsirli Professor Salim Al-Hassani Faaiza Bashir May 2004 4059 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
The Ottoman Ulema (Scholars) May 2004
THE OTTOMAN ULEMA (SCHOLARS)

The term ulema, which is widely used in Islamic world and means community based scholars, is cited two times in Holy Koran and many times in varying forms in hadis
i ii
In early periods of Islam for scholars in
hadis, tefsir, fikih, and kelam fields the terms mufessir, muhaddis, fakih, and, mutekellim were used respectively instead of the term ulema. Afterwards the term ulema became preferred and gained
widespread usage. Though ulema is a plural word for alim (scholar) deriving from Arabic root ilm (knowledge), the term has gained a special meaning and became a common name for that section of community who are considered to be intellectual and partly aristocratic. The Ulema were perceived as the foremost element among the constituents of the community in almost every period of the Ottomans, and thus put under various evaluations as a group arousing high expectations .
iii
Ulema was applied as a common term for those scholars who completed their madrasa training and gained an icazet (graduation degree), and took responsibilities in law, education, primary religious services and
occasionally in bureaucracy or devoted themselves personally to community services in the Ottoman polity. The Ulema increasingly gained and consolidated its power until XVII century, then entered into a period of decadence due to reasons most of which were external developments, and found itself within the harsh milieu of daily politics. In this period starting with Sultan Ahmed I and continuing with following reigns of children sultans, power has been transferred into the hands of military commanders, viziers, influential palace circles, and naturally to the ulema. Each group tried to get the support of the ulema in order to strengthen its own power and influence. Mobilized by the advice coming from intellectuals who have observed rapid deterioration of the ulema due to this environment, official organizations spent great energy in order to reform and improve the ulema profession. In the XVII century starting with reform attempts, the ulema has been a supporter for reform initiatives and even a reform pioneer, assuming heavy responsibilities in the restructuring of the state . Furthermore, Grand viziers such as Damad Ali Pasha, Nevsehirli Ibrahim Pasha and Hekimoglu Ali Pasha, protected the ulema and tried to improve its conditions in this century . However, starting by the XIX century the ulema has undergone a big loss in its material-spiritual influence and power as a result of partial transfer of first education, then legal responsibilities of ulema to other groups, as well as by the establishment of the Ministry of Imperial Foundations (Evkaf-i Humayun Nezareti) which delegated foundation administration and incomes from the ulema to the treasury .
vi v iv
Quran, Suara, 2/198; Fatir 35/28. For examples look at al-Mu'jam al-mufahras li-alfaz al-ahadis, ilm and ulema. iii M. Ipsirli, "Osmanli Ilmiye Meslegi Hakkinda Gozlemler: XVI-XVII. Asirlar" [Observations on the Ottoman ilmiye Profession: XVI-XVII centuries], Osmanli Arastirmalari, (IstanbuI 1988), VII, pp.273-285. iv H. A. R. Gibb and H. Bowen, Islamic Society and the West. London : Oxford University, 1969. v I. H. Uzuncarsili, Osmanli Devletinin Ilmiye Teskilati, [Ilmiye Organization of the Ottoman State], (Ankara 1965), p. 296; M. Tayyip Gokbilgin, "Ulema," Islam Ansiklopedisi, v. 13, p.26. vi M. psirli, "II Mahmud Doneminde Vakiflarin idaresi [Administration of Foundations in Mahmud IIs Reign]," Sultan II.
ii

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The Ottoman state, which emerged on the historical scene as a border principality, was an heir to the previous Turkish-Islamic tradition in the fields of ilm and education similar to many other fields. Though it is hard to show the elements of the imminent influence coming from the ilm and cultural life of Central Asia clearly
vii
, Islamic traditions and motives are easier to follow within historical development.
Figure 1 - Ibn Kemal The case in the Ottoman state should be evaluated on the background of this understanding. The reason for Ibn Kemal's (d. 1534) entrance into the ilmiye class from the seyfiyye, (military) class in the early XVI century is important for representing community understanding at the time. When he was a junior officer under the command of vizier Candarli Ibrahim Pasha, Pasha arranged a meeting under his chairmanship when the army was in Sirem. While the meeting was going on a scholar enters and passes by all state officers sitting at nearby the grand vizier. Ibn Kemal watches this young scholar a sitting even above legendary warrior Evrenosoglu Ali Bey in perplexity and learns that he is Molla Lutfi who was a muderris (instructor) in Sirem when he asks about him. When he asks about how come he had such a great privilege, the answer is "rutbat al-ilm a'la'r-rutab"
viii
. Ibn Kemal starts to study. He reasons that he cannot
possibly reach to the status of Evrenosoglu Ali Bey in army no matter how many courageous acts he would have performed, but rather he aimed to reach the level of Molla Lutfi who was above Evrenosoglu, and he therefore decided to change his seyfiye career for an ilmiye one . In the partially well known life and reign of Osman Gazi it is difficult to follow activities of ulema in a sound way . This is also evident in his will to his successor son Orhan to consult with ulema.
x xi ix
He appointed
1973), s. 3-4. viii "Status of ilm is the highest status," Hadis-i Serif. ix Mecdi, Sakaik Tercumesi [Sakaik Translation], Istanbul 1852, p. 381; Ismet Parmaksizoglu, "Kemal Pasazade," Islam Ansiklopedisi, VI, 562. x For ilm life in the formative period look Arif Bey, "Devlet-i Osmaniye'nin teessus ve takarruru devrinde ilim ve ulema [Ilm and Ulema in the formation and development of the Ottoman State]," Darulfunun Edebiyat Fakultesi Mecmuasi, no. 2, (IstanbuI 1332), pp. 137-144. xi Mehmed Nesri, Kitab-i Cihannuma, Nesri Tarihi [Nesri History], (Ankara 1987), I, 145-146; Aydin Taneri, Osmanli Devletinin Kurulus Doneminde Hukumdarlik Kurumunun Gelismesi ve Saray Hayati-Teskilati [Development of the Sultanate
Mahmut ve Reformlari Semineri, Bildiriler, (Istanbul I990), pp. 49-57. vii Sahabettin Tekindag, "Madrasa Donemi [Madrasa Period]," Cumhuriyetin 50. Yilinda Istanbul Universitesi, (IstanbuI

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judges to the settlements conquered, and opened the first madrasa (academia) in Iznik (Nicea) in 1330 appointing Davud-i Kaysari (d.1350) as a muderris.
xii
New madrasas were built and new institutions in the
fields of education and judiciary we established during the reign of Murat I and Yildirim Bayazid. Kadiasker (Office of Chief Judge) institution was formed and certain amount of fees was introduced for processing cases in courts.
xiii
Along with those official developments the real progress in this period was observed in
the consolidation of ilm life and development of a tradition in this field.Early period Ottoman sultans played a great role in all those developments. As a part of their position they were raised as warriors but they always paid a great tribute to ilm and ulema and took concrete steps in that direction.
xiv
There are a number of ways that the ulema benefited from during these formative years. Rulers decided almost every issue after taking on the ideas of scholars. On the other hand, they also helped the ulema in a direct way by appointing them to the memberships of Divan as vizier, grand vizier, kadiasker, defterdar , or to some important posts in the central bureaucracy. Exchange trips for academic purposes were one of the most important elements in enriching and vitalizing
xv
ilm life during the formative period.
xvi
There is a strong and well-established tradition of such trips for
learning and teaching in the Islamic world. In hadis collections this practice has been promoted. In the Middle Ages when an Islamic renaissance was taking place it is observed that madrasa teachers and students visited all great ilm centers periodically, and an high degree of mobility was created under very difficult transportation conditions.
Figure 2 - Madrasa, teacher and students during the course Their teachers guided students to visit famous ilm centres such as Cairo, Semerkant, Buhara, Maveraunnehir, Baghdad and Damascus in order to complete their education reaching a certain level in their training.. Through student voyages and visits of guest teachers from other centres it was possible to Institution and Palace Life-Organization in the Formative Period of the Ottoman state], (Ankara 1978), p. 269. xii For life and publications of this renown scholar who is the first muderris look Mehmet Bayraktar, "Davudi Kayseri," Diyanet Islam Ansiklopedisi, 9, 32-35. xiii Amounts of those fees in different periods look H. Inalcik, "Adaletnameler," TTK-Belgeler, 11/3-4, (Ankara 1967), p. 78. xiv For ilm life in the formative period, and for first Ottoman madrasas in various cities, their founders and instructors look Mustafa Bilge, Ilk Osmanli Medreseleri [Early Ottoman Madrasas], (IstanbuI 1984). xv Fatih Kanunnamesi, (Abdulkadir Ozcan, Tarih Dergisi, (Istanbul 1982), no. 33, p. 34. xvi "Those leaving for learning are on the path of Allah until they ate back"; "Angels cover the one who left his home in the pursuit of learning with their wings due to their joy," Ramuzu'l-ehadis, (Istanbul 1982), p. 389, 419.

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gain a knowledge about relative superiority in different fields and ilm circles of each centre, which was used to advise students preparing for a new academic voyage. Ottoman sultans' invitations towards ulema and their good treatment contributed to ilm life by attracting guest scholars from other Anatolian principalities and famous centres.
Figure 3 - Fatih and his famous scholar Hocazade Murat II's period has a particular importance in that respect. This period was somewhat a cultural preparation for the great conquest witnessing the establishment of the institution of Seyhulislam institution and appointment of Molla Fenari to this post (1425) and the foundation of madrasas in Edirne, Bursa and other big cities parallel to the developments of scholarly and sufi movements.
Figure 4 - Famous Ottoman scholar Molla Zeyrek

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Many scholars came to the Ottoman polity at that period. Those scholars trained by great masters like Sadeddin Taftazani (d. 1389) and Seyyid Serif Curcani (d. 1413) transferred scholarly, intellectual and philosophical debates to the Ottoman lands and initiated a clear progress
xvii
. Such academic voyages
decreased after the conquest of Istanbul and became rare by the XVI century. Though it would be hard to pass a final judgment without a comprehensive research, this development has been one of the main factors behind the inertia in the Ottoman ilm life. Fatih period is not only a turning point in terms of organization but also in terms of perspective or approach. See Figure 3 for a picture of Fatih and his famous scholar Hocazade. In the famous law regarding organization and protocol there were provisions about ulema for the first time. In addition, a clear-cut differentiation was made between ilmiye, seyfiye and kalemiye occupations, with some preferences with regard to origins, educational backgrounds and formations of the youngsters that would serve in those fields. Fatih's personality, attitude and reign have a critical importance in terms of ilm life like many other domains. Figure 4 shows a famous Ottoman scholar Molla Zeyreks who lived during Mehmed IIs reign. Fatih had a great interest in religious-philosophical debates and initiated discussions among scholars concerning such subjects. See Figure 5 for famous scholar Ali Kuscu and Fatihs miniature.
Figure 5 It is known that in the same period there were similar developments in madrasas, which included philosophical courses in their curricula, though such courses gradually disappeared. That has given rise to deterioration in the intellectual climate of the madrasas and criticized by Katip Chelebi. In Fatih period there
xvii
H. Inalcik,"Murat II", IA, VIII, pp. 613-614.

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was not only a development quality-wise but also in quantity-wise, with opening ilm and culture institutions being a fashion in that period.
xviii
Figure 6 shows Fatihs reign scholar Molla Khayreddin.
Privileges provided for the ulema: The ulema as a part of military (administrative) class was rewarded by being provided with broad privileges. Those privileges can be classified into two categories as special treatment in taxes and punishments, and privileges given to their children. Though there were some tax exemptions for all military classes those of the ulema were defined in a broader way.
Figure 6 - Fatihs reign scholar Molla Khayreddin
Ilmiye families
Due to the great importance given to ilm and ulema in the Islamic religion and community, inheritance of
ilmiye occupation from father to sons and grandsons became customary and gave rise to emergence of
well-established families. There are numerous examples for this both in Muslim-Arab states like Umayyad, Abbasids and Fatimids and in Muslim-Turk states like Karahanlilar, Persian and Anatolian Saljukids and principalities. With the special privileges provided by the Ottomans such families developed a distinct identity and through inter-marriages created an ilmiye network and an aristocratic class. In an overall evaluation one may argue that there are advantages and disadvantages of the transfer of the posts from father to son and of the formation of families. Positive aspects are; raising the child in an ilm atmosphere, his acquisition of knowledge on many subjects conveniently from his father and father's friends, and particularly his access to books and libraries in an age in which it was difficult to own such means due to material-social reasons. However, providing privileges on the basis of being a progeny to
ulema does not have any justification. Normally a son selecting his father's occupation with all its natural
advantages should have reached to a higher level in the field, whereas with all those privileges and rights giving them an opportunity to promote without due effort, this practice gave rise to a rapid deterioration and internal corruption.
xviii
Fatih period ilm life and institutions have been studied by Suheyl Unver. S. Unver, Fatih, Kulliyesi ve Zamani Ilim Hayati [Fatih, His Complex and time life at His Time], (IstanbuI 1946).

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Ulema in the Ottoman state was not a group outside the state bureaucracy and system but rather a part of
it. Ulema performed its role by serving in various posts as kadi, muderris, kazasker, nakibuleshraf, tutorial to sultan, preacher for the sovereign, Seyhulislam, etc.; and by preparing reports aiming at administrative reforms that the state required from time to time, as well as directly involving into the reform process in accordance with those reports, assuming the role of forming a public opinion for the relevant subject. should have refrained, and issued some political fetvas guiding the community in a wrong direction.
xix
However, in performing those missions they have sometimes stepped into political quarrels from which they
Figure 7 - A seyhulislam Decay in the ulema and reform efforts: From its formation up until the times of Kanuni ilmiye vocation has progressed on a continuous way and a system peculiar to the Ottoman state has emerged; developing degrees for madrasas in time and degrees for Kadi organizations of Rumeli, Anatolia and Egypt, as well as procedures in subjects like rules of transfer from one to the other. However, all those developments also brought some unavoidable weaknesses. Historians are in agreement that the decay in the Ottoman institutions and basic order started by the second half of the XVI century. That negative process was immediately observed and, on the one hand, through State ordinances this decay was pointed out in a polite way, urging for a return back to the established tradition. On the other hand writers, intellectuals and historians of the times touched upon this negative developments in a harsh and open manner, stating their anxiety for the posterity. Actually one may relate those two channels of early warnings and accept them as a contemporary observation of the situation, because the justifications stated the ordinances were derived from observations and complaints coming from different sources, turning their advice into orders. After presenting common observations of the writers, it shall be possible to point out where they agree and where they differ regarding relevant issue. Taskopruluzade Ahmed Efendi (d. 1561), who came from among ulema ranks and served to this vocation by his books, states in pains as early as by the 1540s that the old interest for theology and mathematics
xix
For instance, Sahaflarseyhizade Esad Efendi, Yasincizade Abdullvehhab Efendi and Kadizade Mehmed Tahir Efendi, among others, played a significant role in creating a favorable public opinion for reform movements of Mahmut II.

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branches has disappeared among madrasa ulema and the scholarly level has decreased, as evident in the assumption among the ulema that they have been mature enough by reading simple hand-books without going through basic theoretical books.
xx
The strongest criticism raised against the ulema in the second half
of the XVI century came from Gelibolulu Mustafa Ali. Ali made an overall evaluation about and raised his criticisms against ilmiye vocation in his history book. Ali narrates how ulema transformed into a ritualistic group from being a vital part of the state and the society, how they left many beneficial meetings due to this change, that they were very unsuccessful in writing original books, that there was no scholar producing an important piece of work with the exception of Ebussuud Efendi, how widespread patron-client relationships was among the ulema, that kadiaskers turned towards corruption in the application of mulazemet procedure, that muderris and kadi posts were being purchased, and particularly the harmful affects of the rights and privileges given to the ulema. He states that regular courses were not performed, that many teachers were paid but did not teach, and that when teachers intended to teach they did not find students to teach.
xxi
Figure 8 shows an Ottoman madrasa class with teacher and students.
Figure 8 In the same years historian Mustafa Selaniki (d. approx. 1600), after referring to the key role of the ulema within the community, urges that this group representing religion and law should not go away from truth and integrity, and that though the major occupation of them was to promote virtue and prevent vice they could not perform their duty due to laziness and fear, abandoning many important meetings just because of the fight over being before in the protocol. He also states how increased firings led to a state of indecisiveness and anxiety
xxii
H. Inalcik, The Ottoman Empire, The Classical Age, 1300-1600, (London 1973), p. 179. Kunhu'l-ahbar, Uni. Libr., TY 5959, fol. 85b-90a; Nushatus-selatin, pub. A. Tietze, Mustafa Ali Counsel for Sultans of 1581 I, (Wien 1979), pp. 174-179; Meva'idu'n-nefais fi kava'idi'l-mecalis, (Istanbul 1956) (the same edition), section 28, pp. 102-109. xxii Selaniki, Tarih-i Selaniki, prepared for publication by M. Ipsirli, (Istanbul 1989), pp. 87-88.
xxi
xx

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The Crisis of the Ottoman Madrasa and the Ilm Life

Koci Bey, the renowned writer of the XVII century, naturally devoted a part to the ulema in his two treatises that were presented to Murat IV and Sultan Ibrahim. He stated that religion and state rest upon
ilm and ilm rests upon ulema, that the Ottoman sultans had shown a respect to the ulema more than any other sultan, and that the ulema could not make use of this advantage. He referred to the harmful effects
to the vocation of the frequent firings, corruption and patcon-c1ient type of relations as well as to the detrimental affects of misapplication of mulazemet as a basic aspect of the profession.
xxiii
Katip Celebi, the renowned scholar of XVII century also talked about the crisis of the Ottoman madrasa and the ilm life in general, its causes and remedies, in various occasions. His views are the soundest ones on this subject. In his book Mizanu'l-hak, he approaches intellectual and social subjects in a sound and critical way, giving a high quality analysis of the problems of the Ottoman madrasa. In his view Christianity and philosophical branches of knowledge have always been in conflict whereas Islamic world has never rejected such branches of knowledge, rather trying to reconcile both. In the early periods of Islam foreign science and thought had been rejected due to the fear of their possible subversive effects upon faith, but after a while they were all permitted as Islamic faith had established itself, achieving a complete translation and interpretation of Greek science and philosophy. In early periods of the Ottoman rule till the Kanuni period an ulema group raised who united wisdom and religion. Mehmed II in his madrasas made courses like Hasiye-i Tecrid and Serh-i Mevakif obligatory.
Figure 9 - Fatihs reign famous scholar Kara Yakubs Later generations eliminated such courses cursing them as philosophy and thus prevented the development of knowledge. Those coming from Eastern provinces with a sense of superiority filled this vacuum. He states that some men of knowledge observing those developments tried to reenter those courses, and he himself encouraged able students in that direction, pointing out differences between those kadi and muftu who know and who don't know mathematics with concrete examples.
xxiv
xxiii xxiv
Koci Bey, Risale, (Haz. Ali Kemal Aksut), Istanbul 1939, p. 33-37.
Mizanu'l-hak fi ihtiyari'l-ehakk,(Istanbul I306).

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Katip Celebi, while examining "Ilm al-hikma" subject in his book Kasf al-Zunun, touches upon this problem and criticizes elimination of wisdom and philosophy courses.
Publications of the ulema

The Ottoman ulema has been accused particularly by today's intellectuals for not writing basic and scientific publications. If we consider a huge geographical homeland extending from Algeria to Creamie and from Budin to Basra within very long duration of six centuries, that criticism might look like justified to some extent. However, two points need to be stressed at that junction. First; the Ottoman state originated as a state geared towards conquest and gaza, preserving this character throughout six centuries. In that context, it would not be a mistake to call the Ottoman state as an expedition lasting for six centuries. That was a uniform expedition effort first directed to the struggle against Byzantine, continued with the conquests in Europe and struggles to disseminate Islam in Europe and finally culminating in the struggle to maintain the lands conquered. The ulema was next to the Sultan and pioneer warriors, to motivate them, and to explain the sacredness of this struggle to the military and to the general public. In a sense, the
ulema provided the ground for this struggle. That was what the ulema was expected to do. Therefore, time
consuming scientific studies remained secondary and required personal devotion and curiosity. That is in fact the historical reality. Secondly; this is not yet a scientific examination regarding publications of the Ottoman ilmiye group. The publications are on library shelves waiting for researchers who are serious and open-minded. In order to reach final judgments about the issue one has to wait the findings of such systematic studies.
Figure 10 - A scholars group discussing and reading books After pointing out those two points, if the publications at hand might be classified and evaluated, it is observed that there are many scholars in the field of religion who published books on the curricula of
madrasas or written explanations for such books, and there are also plenty of scholars who produced high quality original publications in the fields of tefsir, hadis, fikih, etc.
There was a strong relationship between the ulema and poets in the Ottomans. Many ulema members were also average or high ranking poets, having divans. A sizeable number of them attained ilmiye membership not because of their scholarly power but because of their mastery in poetry.

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In the publications in the field of the history of the Ottoman organization ulema has been depicted as a motivating force and pioneers of the community, enjoying wide opportunities. The ulema members employed by the state were able to visit many parts of the country and get acquainted with the conditions of the people thanks to the mulazemet (rotation} system. Therefore, they were expected to write realistic letters and reports to the responsible persons including the sultan about the people of the region, their needs and problems, and respective ways of solving those problems. Those reports were also primary sources of contemporary historians.
Figure 11 A Handwritten Quran
Ulema and the reform movements

Contrary to the received knowledge and beliefs, many reform movements in the Ottoman state were achieved by the leadership, support, or at least, consent of the ulema. In fact, that has a well-established tradition in the Ottoman state. From the period of formation till the demise of the state the leadership or encouragement of the ulema created many military, scientific, and political organizations. There were numerous ilmiye members of different calibre among writers of reform reports in XVIII-XIX centuries, among those writing in the field of state administration.
XVIII-XX centuries
Reform studies in the ilmiye organization continued in the following centuries with a different approach. There were different imperial orders to the responsible people regarding reform of the ilmiye during the reigns of Ahmed III and Mahmut I in the early XVIII century. Those were covering the classical topics that were common in the XVI-XVII centuries. Selim III gave importance and priority to ilmiye in his widespread reform efforts towards the end of the century.

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However, it is observed that starting with Mahmut II there was a different approach to the ulema class and its role. Put in a clear way, that was a period in which the ulema started to be marginalized and lose its privileges and widespread field of influence step by step. The strongest attack in that period was the establishment of Evkaf-i Humayun Nezareti (the Imperial Ministry of Foundations) in 1826, which transferred all foundation incomes previously enjoyed to a large extent by the ulema to the treasury via the ministry. That change gave a great damage to madrasas and religious services managed by foundation incomes.
xxv
All in all, the Ottoman u1ema, who were described above with their main characteristics, had been a basic element of the state and the society, presenting progressive visions particularly during the formative and developing phases, despite all its deficiencies, creating a dynamism in society. That feature of the ulema had been reported in the publications of Western diplomats and voyagers clearly and in comparison to their own societies. The u1ema under investigation in that paper, and in others at different levels as well, is the center u1ema who had usually an education in Istanbul madrasas and taken official responsibilities in different regions of the state. Though this section is the major part there were, on the one hand, u1ema getting their education from famous and well-established madrasas in the Arabian provinces of EgyptAzhar,
xxvi
Damascus,
xxvii
Tunisia,
xxviii
and Algeria, representing different traditions which remained out of

xxix
the system in the Ottoman state; on the other hand, there were u1ema in Safavi, Qajar,
Morocco,
xxx
Ozbek and Babur which were outside the Ottoman homeland but retained close ties to it. It is known that those u1ema visited the Ottoman homeland with diplomatic missions and from time to time participated in the scholarly debates. Those ulema schools of different backgrounds within the Ottoman world need a separate investigation.
Bibliography
Quran, Suara, 2/198; Fatir 35/28. Algar, Hamit, Religion and State in Iran, 1785-1906, The Role of the Ulema in the Qajar Period, (Berkeley and Los Angeles 1969). Arif Bey, "Devlet-i Osmaniye'nin teessus ve takarruru devrinde ilim ve ulema [Ilm and Ulema in the formation and development of the Ottoman State]," Darulfunun Edebiyat Fakultesi Mecmuasi, no. 2, (IstanbuI 1332), pp. 137-144. For more information look B. Lewis, Modern Turkiye'nin Dogusu [Birth of the Modern Turkey], (trs. M. Kiratli), (Ankara 1970), pp. 93-95; M. Ipsirli, "II. Mahmut Doneminde Vakiflarin Idaresi [Administration of Foundations during the Reign of Mahmut II], Sultan II Mahmut ve Reformlari Semineri, Bildiriler, (IstanbuI 1990), p. 49-57. xxvi Danil Neil Crecelius, The Ulema and the State in the Modern Egypt, Princeton University, Ph.D., 1967; A. Chris Eccel, Egypt, Islam and Social Change, Al-azhar, Berlin 1984; A. L. Marsot, "The Ulema of Cairo in the Eighteen and Nineteen Centuries; Scholars, Saints, and Sufis, Muslim Religious Institutions since 1500, Ed. Nikki R. Keddie, (Univesity of California 1972), pp.149-166. xxvii Joan Elizabeth Gilbert, The Ulema of Medieval Damascus and the International World of Islamic Scholarship, University of California Berkeley, Ph.D., 1977; Moshe Maoz, "The Ulema and the Process of Modernization in Syria during the MidNineteenth Century; The Ulema in Modern History, Asian and African Studies, 7, (1911), pp. 77-78. xxviii Arnold H. Green, The Tunisian Ulema 1873-1915, Social Structure and Response to Ideological Currents, Leiden 1978; L, C. Brown, "The Religious Establishment in Husainid Tunisia; Scholars, Saints, and Sufis, Muslim Religious Institutions since 1500, Ed. Nikki R. Keddie, (University of California 1972), pp. 47-92. xxix Hamit Algar, Religion and State in Iran, 1785-1906, The Role of the Ulema in the Qajar Period, (Berkeley and Los Angeles 1969). xxx P. Shinar, "The Historical Approach of the Reformist Ulema in the Contemporary Magrib; The Ulema in Modern History,
xxv

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Bilge, Mustafa, Ilk Osmanli Medreseleri [Early Ottoman Madrasas], (IstanbuI 1984). Brown, L, C., "The Religious Establishment in Husainid Tunisia; Scholars, Saints, and Sufis, Muslim Religious Institutions since 1500, Ed. Nikki R. Keddie, (University of California 1972), pp. 47-92. Danil Neil Crecelius, The Ulema and the State in the Modern Egypt, Princeton University, Ph.D., 1967. Eccel, A. Chris, Egypt, Islam and Social Change, Al-azhar, Berlin 1984. Fatih Kanunnamesi, (Abdulkadir Ozcan, Tarih Dergisi, (Istanbul 1982), no. 33, p. 34. Gelibolulu Mustafa Ali, Kunhu'l-ahbar, Uni. Libr., TY 5959, fol. 85b-90a; Gelibolulu Mustafa Ali, Meva'idu'n-nefais fi kava'idi'l-mecalis, (Istanbul 1956) (the same edition), section 28, pp. 102-109. Gelibolulu Mustafa Ali, Nushatus-selatin, pub. A. Tietze, Mustafa Ali Counsel for Sultans of 1581 I, (Wien 1979), pp. 174-179; Gibb, H. A. R., and H. Bowen, Islamic Society and the West. London : Oxford University, 1969. Gilbert, Joan Elizabeth, The Ulema of Medieval Damascus and the International World of Islamic Scholarship, University of California Berkeley, Ph.D., 1977. Gokbilgin, M. Tayyip, "Ulema," Islam Ansiklopedisi, v. 13, p. 26. Green, Arnold H., The Tunisian Ulema 1873-1915, Social Structure and Response to Ideological Currents, Leiden 1978. Inalcik, H., "Adaletnameler," TTK-Belgeler, 11/3-4, (Ankara 1967), p. 78. Inalcik, H., "Murat II", Islam Ansiklopedisi, VIII, pp. 613-614. Inalcik, H., The Ottoman Empire, The Classical Age, 1300-1600, (London 1973), p. 179. Ipsirli, M. "II. Mahmut Doneminde Vakiflarin Idaresi [Administration of Foundations during the Reign of Mahmut II], Sultan II Mahmut ve Reformlari Semineri, Bildiriler, (IstanbuI 1990), p. 49-57. Ipsirli, M., "Osmanli Ilmiye Meslegi Hakkinda Gozlemler: XVI-XVII. Asirlar" [Observations on the Ottoman ilmiye Profession: XVI-XVII centuries], Osmanli Arastirmalari, (IstanbuI 1988), VII, pp.273-285. Katip elebi, Mizanu'l-hak fi ihtiyari'l-ehakk,(Istanbul I306). Koci Bey, Risale, (Haz. Ali Kemal Aksut), Istanbul 1939, p. 33-37. Lewis, B., Modern Turkiye'nin Dogusu [Birth of the Modern Turkey], (trs. M. Kiratli), (Ankara 1970), pp. 9395. Maoz, Moshe, "The Ulema and the Process of Modernization in Syria during the Mid-Nineteenth Century;
The Ulema in Modern History, Asian and African Studies, 7, (1911), pp. 77-78. Marsot, A. L., "The Ulema of Cairo in the Eighteen and Nineteen Centuries; Scholars, Saints, and Sufis, Muslim Religious Institutions since 1500, Ed. Nikki R. Keddie, (Univesity of California 1972), pp.149-166. Mecdi, Sakaik Tercumesi [Sakaik Translation], Istanbul 1852. Mehmed Nesri, Kitab-i Cihannuma, Nesri Tarihi [Nesri History], (Ankara 1987), I, 145-146. Mehmet Bayraktar, "Davudi Kayseri," Diyanet Islam Ansiklopedisi, 9, 32-35. Parmaksizoglu, Ismet, "Kemal Pasazade," Islam Ansiklopedisi, VI, 562. Ramuzu'l-ehadis, (Istanbul 1982). Selaniki, Tarih-i Selaniki, prepared for publication by M. Ipsirli, (Istanbul 1989), pp. 87-88. Shinar, P., "The Historical Approach of the Reformist Ulema in the Con- temporary Magrib; The Ulema in Modern History, Asian and African Studies, 7, (1971), pp. 181-210. Taneri, Aydin, Osmanli Devletinin Kurulus Doneminde Hukumdarlik Kurumunun Gelismesi ve Saray HayatiTeskilati [Development of the Sultanate Institution and Palace Life-Organization in the Formative Period of
the Ottoman state], (Ankara 1978), p. 269.
Asian and African Studies, 7, (1971), pp. 181-210.

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Tekindag, Sahabettin, "Madrasa Donemi [Madrasa Period]," Cumhuriyetin 50. Yilinda Istanbul Universitesi, (IstanbuI 1973), s.3-4. Unver, S., Fatih, Kulliyesi ve Zamani Ilim Hayati [Fatih, His Complex and time life at His Time], (IstanbuI 1946). Uzuncarsili, I. H., Osmanli Devletinin Ilmiye Teskilati, [Ilmiye Organization of the Ottoman State], (Ankara 1965), p. 296.

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Ottoman Cash Waqfs Revisited: The Case of Bursa 1555- 1823
Professor Murat Cizakca Lamaan Ball Faaiza Bashir June 2004 4062 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Ottoman Cash Waqfs Revisited: The Case of the Bursa 1555-1823 June 2004
OTTOMAN CASH WAQFS REVISITED: THE CASE OF BURSA 1555-1823

This article is summarised and updated from the authors extensive book A History of Philanthropic Foundations The Islamic World From The Seventh Century to the Present, (Istanbul: Bogazici University Press, 2000). It is also a shortened and updated version of the author's original article published by Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 38, 3, E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1995.
Introduction
The cash waqf (plural: awqaf) was a Trust Fund established with money to support services to mankind in the name of Allah. The Ottoman courts approved these endowments as early as the beginning of the 15th century and by the end of the 16th century they had reportedly become extremely popular all over Anatolia and the European provinces of the Empire. The exact extent of the geographical diffusion of these waqfs and, specifically, in the Arab provinces is subject to discussion. The gifted capital of the waqf was "transferred" to borrowers who after a certain period, usually a year, returned to the waqf the principal plus a certain "extra" amount, which was then, spent for all sorts of pious and social purposes. These vague terms "transferred" and "extra" have been used here deliberately. Whether the capital of the endowment was lent as credit to the borrowers and the return was in fact nothing but the ordinary interest constitutes another debate. In a society where health, education and welfare were entirely financed by gifts and endowments, the cash waqfs carried serious implications for the very survival of the Ottoman social fabric.
THE LEGAL BACKGROUND Position of the Classical Jurists

The Ottomans, being devoted Hanefis, conducted their business and social affairs within the general guidelines established by this school of thought. It is, therefore, imperative that this analysis should start with a summary of the classical Hanefi position pertaining to cash waqfs. Let us first consider the thorny issue of the endowment of moveable assets. The essence of this problem pertains to the perpetuity of the endowment, the sine qua non condition for any waqf. Real estate was thought to be the best asset to ensure the perpetuity of an endowment. There were, however, three recognized exceptions to this general principle among the Hanefi scholars: the endowment of moveable assets belonging to an endowed real estate, such as, oxen or sheep of a farm, was permitted; second, if there was a pertinent hadith, and third, if the endowment of the moveable asset was the customary practice, ta'amul, in a particular region. Indeed, exercising judicial preference, istihsan, Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani had ruled that even in the absence of a pertinent hadith the endowment of a moveable asset was permissible if this was customary practice in a particular location. Apparently, even custom was not always a required condition, for according to al-Sarahsi, Imam Muhammed had, in practice, approved the endowment of a moveable asset even in the absence of custom. Furthermore, both Imams Muhammed al-Shaybani and Abu Yusuf had confirmed, absolutely, the endowment of a moveable asset attached to a piece of real estate. In view of this, it is not surprising that we often see such combined cash/real estate waqfs in the Ottoman records.

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Given the acceptability of moveable assets as the basis for creating a waqf, how does one define a moveable asset? More specifically, can money be considered a moveable asset and, therefore, be permitted as the basis for the establishment of a waqf? Imam Zufer answered this question affirmatively and ruled that the endowment of cash was absolutely permissible. Zufer went into detail as to how such an endowment could be organized: he suggested that the endowed cash should form the capital base of a
mudaraba partnership and any profit realized be spent in accordance with the general purpose of the waqf
as stated in its charter. If the moveable assets endowed were not originally in a liquid cash form, then they should be sold in the marketplace and the cash thus obtained could be utilized as the capital of a
mudaraba.
In summary, three principles constituted the basis upon which the later Ottoman jurists built the structure of the cash waqfs: the approval of a moveable asset as the basis of a waqf, acceptance of cash as a moveable asset and, therefore, approval of cash endowments.
Figure 1 Ottoman akca
Establishment of a Cash Waqf

An additional debate in the establishment of Ottoman cash waqfs revolved around the question of irrevocability. According to Ebu Hanife the founder of a waqf or his descendants could revoke the original decision and claim the endowed property back. That is to say, a waqf was revocable. Ebu Hanife added, that for a waqf to become irrevocable and valid, a court's decision was necessary. Other great jurists of the Hanefi School did not agree with this opinion. Ebu Yusuf, for instance, argued that when Prophet Mohammed endowed his property, his personal property rights became null and void. Moreover, neither the Prophet nor any of the four Caliphs or the followers of the Prophet, ashab, ever reversed their decision to endow their properties. These scholars further argued that the establishment of a
waqf was an irrevocable act, based upon the hadith pertaining to Omer's endowment.
During the Ottoman period a legal precedent was established which resolved the debate among the great Hanefi scholars a man wishing to establish a waqf informed the court of his intention thereby creating the waqf. He later revoked his decision and demanded the trustee of the waqf return his capital. When the latter refused to do so, the case was brought before the court where the request was flatly rejected by the judge who declared that a waqf, once established, was irrevocable and definite.

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There are many instances of the establishment of cash waqfs noted in the Bursa Court Registers. One particular case dated 1676 should suffice to demonstrate the process described above. A certain Mehmed Ali b. Hasan, resident of the Karaca Muhiddin district of Bursa, had appointed Hasan Celebi b. Mehmed as trustee of a cash waqf which was to be established with a rather modest capital of 50 Esed Grus. This capital was to be loaned to borrowers having satisfactory collateral and sureties on a ten to eleven percent per annum basis. The return from this investment was to be used to provide a public banquet for the poor Muslims in the "zaviye" of the Baglar district on the evening of every 12th Rebiullevvel. The 50 Esedi Grus was then entrusted to the trustee. Later the endowment's founder demanded the return of his capital on the belief that the three imams did not consider the establishment of a waqf with cash a legal act. The trustee responded that according to Imam-i Ensari quoting Imam-i Zufer, the cash waqf was legal. The two disputants appealed to the court for an opinion. In his application to the court, Mehmed Ali b. Hasan stated that since Abu Hanife did not consider a waqf irrevocable and, therefore, withdrawal from a decision to establish a waqf was permitted, he wished to do so and demanded his capital from the trustee of the waqf. The trustee responded by confirming that, indeed, Abu Hanife had not considered a waqf as definitely irrevocable but Abu Yusuf, the "second imam" and Al- Shaybani, the "third imam" had ruled that a waqf was both definite and irrevocable and therefore he requested the decision of the court upholding the irrevocability of the waqf. The judge ruled that the waqf was definite and irrevocable and that any attempt to abolish the waqf was null and void. Moreover, the judge ruled, this decision was in agreement with the rulings of all the strong imams. This verdict finalized the procedure for the binding establishment of a cash waqf.
The Perpetuity Debate

The establishment of cash waqfs by the Ottomans during the 15 th century appears to have taken place without legal difficulties. But during the next century when these waqfs became so popular that they dominated the awqaf system, the military judge of the European provinces, Civizade, challenged the situation. The Seyhulislam Abussuud Efendi almost immediately countered his view and a fierce debate began. Since the details of this debate have already been published they will not be summarized here. It suffices to say that the debate between these two great jurists and their followers lasted for more than a century and even then remained inconclusive. Supported by the State, cash waqfs continued to exist and flourish. We will now focus our attention on the paradigm of perpetuity, the most vital issue in the debate, and seek answers to the following questions:
Since, one of the main points of the debate concerned the problem of perpetuity (proponents arguing that these endowments had as good a chance for survival as any other real estate endowments and the opponents believing that they would collapse within a relatively short time), would it be possible now, during the last decade of the 20th century, to evaluate retroactively which side of the debate was more true? What factors caused their failure or supported their endurance? In other words, if these endowments, indeed, had rapidly disappeared, what were the reasons behind this failure? Why were they so badly managed? If, in contrast, they succeeded in surviving for any length of time, then what were the reasons for their relative success?

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In what way did the cash waqfs contribute to the process of capital accumulation? This question has to be approached from two perspectives, i.e., from the point of view of savers as well as users of funds. More specifically, did the savers pool their resources to form joint cash waqfs or did they add their capital to already existing ones? Did the users of capital have access to several cash waqfs so as to enlarge the available pool of capital at their disposal? In the process of transferring funds to entrepreneurs or to the public, to what extent was the Islamic prohibition of riba observed? In other words are the claims that cash waqfs violated Islamic law justified?
CASH WAQFS IN HISTORICAL REALITY Survival of the Cash Waqfs

Since perpetuity is considered to be the conditio sine qua non of any waqf, an analysis of the survival rate of the cash waqfs assumes great importance. Unfortunately, with the exception of the Barkan-Ayverdi study, there is no published source that is relevant for this paradigm. Even this well-known study suffers from two weaknesses: first, it covers a time span of merely 76 years and is therefore unsuitable for an analysis of perpetuity. Next, closely related to the first weakness (since it is based upon an analysis of only three tahrir registers), the fluctuations in the number of waqfs that survived may be misleading. These fluctuations may have resulted from the fact that there may have been more than one tahrir register for a single year and a waqf not observed in one register may simply have been included in the missing register. Bearing in mind these shortcomings of the Barkan-Ayverdi study, which concentrated on the Istanbul
waqfs, an attempt has been made in this article to overcome these two weaknesses by a study of the Bursa
cash waqfs. To start with, the time span has been expanded to cover the period 1555-1823, i.e., a period of 268 years. Secondly, the analysis has been based upon the individual cash waqf. Thus, it has been possible to trace the performance of a waqf over a much longer period of time and it has been found that a
waqf that seemed to have vanished at a certain point in time could be re-discovered at a later period.
The main source used for this study is the set of registers that may be called aptly the "vakif tahrir defterleri" or the cash waqf censuses. About seventy volumes of these registers have been identified among the Bursa Court Registers Collection. In order to facilitate the research, a sample had to be made and those registers with approximately 20 years in between were chosen. Having selected our sample sources, we were then in a position to examine thoroughly the debate between the two great jurists of the 16 th century, Chivizade and Seyhulislam Abussuud Efendi and attempt to conclude, some four hundred years later, whose perspective was the most accurate. The question that we researched was, "what percentage of registered
waqfs were perpetual"? But first, the term "perpetual" must be defined. For all practical purposes, a perpetual waqf is defined here as one which survived for more than a century. Thus, those waqfs that had
survived for at least one hundred years were sought. In order to find the answer to the problem of perpetuity a total of 2688 cash waqfs were entered into the computer. This constituted the total population of the research. Within this whole population, however, there were 761 individual waqfs that were repeatedly identified across several different years, hence the

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much larger total population figure. The main question can thus be re-stated; what percentage of these 761 waqfs were perpetual? In order to answer this question the entire waqf population was analysed by computer. To help the computer identify distinct individual waqfs, it was decided that the district (mahalle) would be the main research unit. There were usually several waqfs in each mahalle and each of the latter was given a separate code. The computer was ordered to arrange first the entire population according to the mahalles in alphabetical order and second, to produce a chronological list of the waqfs in each mahalle. With this chronological list of district waqfs in hand, it was then a simple matter to search for an individual waqf and count the number of its occurrences across different registers and different years. One of the greatest difficulties encountered in this study was the naming of the mahalles. This difficulty became quite serious since the recording clerks often omitted writing the name of the mahalle in which a
waqf was established. and so many waqfs could not be included in the research. Thus, the number of perpetual waqfs observed represents a probable minimum of the total reality. This number was 148, that is to say, out of 761 individual waqfs, 148 definitely survived for more than a century. This gives us a
"perpetuity percentage" of 19%. It is quite clear that had it been possible to incorporate, into the general population, those waqfs that could not be traced to a specific mahalle, this percentage would have exceeded 20%. Given this information, can we then pass a judgement about the 16th century debate of perpetuity? In other words, was Abussuud Efendi correct in arguing that cash waqfs had as good a chance as real estate waqfs for long-term survival? Obviously, what has been presented above constitutes only the first part of the answer to this question i.e. that at least 20% of the cash waqfs survived for more than a century. For a complete answer, it would be necessary to determine the survival rate for real estate waqfs. Such research has never been attempted. At this point it may be argued that the real estate waqfs, normally, would have had a far better chance of survival than the cash waqfs and Abussuud Efendi must have been wrong to argue that the latter had as good a chance for survival as the former. But the staying power of the real estate waqfs should not be exaggerated. After all, waqfs were subject to such dangers as frequent fires, earthquakes and the declining fertility of land. Moreover, they suffered from inelastic revenues, the artisans who rented their shops refused to increase their rents and were difficult to evict due to the State support they enjoyed.
Icareteyn Vakiflari
When a major disaster struck a waqf property, substantial reconstruction work would have to be undertaken. Financing such unforeseen major expenses would naturally have been beyond the capacity of the normal revenues of the endowment. The solution was found in an institution known as the icareteyn
vakiflari, which may be translated as the "double rent endowments."

The basis of this institution is subject to debate. Gerber has argued that the classical law manuals are silent about the icareteyn vakiflari and that these endowments were invented during the 16th century. According to Gerber, these endowments were incorporated into the Ottoman jurisprudence in the year 1611-12, with the promulgation of a new law. This law belonged to the orbit of the state law, kanun, and was not an original Islamic concept. However, this view is challenged by Akgunduz who traces the origin to the so-

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called icare-i tavile by which the long term renting of an endowment property became possible for the first time as early as the 10th century. The icare-i tavile, a simple method by which the trustee signed successive rent contracts in a single session, was approved by the well known Hanefite jurists Mohammed b. El-Fadl and Cafer al-Hindawani. Moreover, the concept of a lump sum payment can also be observed in the writings of these early 10th century jurists. That the icare-i tavile evolved during the next six centuries into the Ottoman icareteyn vakiflari is certainly an interesting idea and is supported by Klaus Kreiser. Drawing our attention to a 15th century fetwa by Seyhulislam Molla Gurani and to Bulent Koprulu's work, Kreiser has informed us that the concept of double rents was well known during the 15th and 16th centuries. But this evolution did not occur smoothly and the legality of the concept was subject to an intense debate lasting several centuries even before the Ottomans emerged as a world power. The final outcome of the debate was that such endowments could be permitted only following the decision of a judge and in response to a dire necessity, zaruret. In any case, the promulgation of the 1611-12 law was apparently in response to such a zaruret which took the form of a series of fires that caused large scale destruction of the waqf property in Istanbul. The new system was based upon two different types of rents: the first one was a large lump sum amount,
muaccele, paid promptly to the trustee of the waqf. The second type, mueccele, was the normal annual rent. According to a fetwa by Abulhay, the muaccele had to be roughly equal to the real value of the waqf
property and the relationship between the two rents exhibited a ratio that varied between 1:30 and 1:112. With the now substantially enhanced revenues of the waqf, the reconstruction work could be completed. In order to ensure that the rental of a waqf property remained attractive to prospective tenants, the tenure was lengthened substantially, up to as much as 90 years. Lengthening the tenure to nearly a century created two new problems. The first one was the legal problem of circumventing the orthodox legal prohibition on the long-term lease of a waqf. A legal device, hile-i
seriye, which has been explained in detail by Gerber, solved this problem. The second problem was the
more substantial one of confusion and eventual loss of the waqf property rights in the long term. It goes without saying that with the tenure increasing to just under a century, the waqf property ended up having, in practice, two "owners" which must have led to substantial confusion of property rights. As a result, the new tenants who rented it as icareteyn must have eventually usurped some real estate waqf property. There is substantial evidence that in Egypt, where the ninety years tenure was applied, probably, for the first time, this practice led to the emergence of pseudo private property. Although it is not possible within the present limitations of our knowledge to quantify these arguments, substantial evidence can be found regarding the evolution of the Ottoman waqf law. Consider for instance, the legal status of the person, mutasarrif, who utilized the waqf property. Although strictly speaking, when the former died, the contract between him and the endowment should have been cancelled, however, over time a transfer prior to death was permitted. This transfer took the form of renting or selling the waqf property to a third party. Bequeathing the property to one's children or even to other relatives was permitted first in 1833 and then in 1867. When such transfers became legal, clearly the status of an
icareteyn waqf effectively approached that of private property. Finally, Vakiflar Kanunu, the republican law of endowments, permitted the private ownership of a waqf property against the payment of a so-called taviz bedeli.

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Until now, we have referred to the usurpation of waqf property rights by private individuals. But the greatest challenge to these rights came from the State and need not be repeated here as it has been explained in detail elsewhere. All of the above should indicate the vulnerability of the real estate waqfs for long term survival and hence in retrospect support Abussuud Efendi's argument in the perpetuity debate. Before moving on to the next topic, it will be argued here that the icareteyn vakiflari probably constituted the origin of the well-known malikane system, which was initiated in the year 1695 and thereafter dominated Ottoman State finance during the 18th century. In the malikane system, as in the icareteyn
vakiflari, tax-farms were auctioned off to the highest bidder who paid a muaccele, a large lump sum payment and an annual rent, mal. The system was introduced during a period of extreme financial hardship
and severe budget deficits caused by the long and costly war with the Habsburgs and played a crucial role in restoring the State finances (Gen, 1975).
The Management of the Cash Waqfs

Having observed the perpetuity percentage of the cash waqfs, the obvious question to ask at this point is one of management. How was it that some twenty percent of the cash waqfs succeeded in surviving for more than a century in the first place? To answer this question we need to take a careful look at the way these waqfs were managed. More specifically, we will be concerned here mainly with the manner in which the trustee invested the capital of the waqf. A typical 18th century waqf register contains the following information: 1. The name of the waqf and the purpose for which it was established. 2. The name of the mahalle; district, in which the endowment was registered. 3. The name of the trustee. 4. The time period covered by the census. 5. Original capital of the
waqf. 6. Later additions to the capital of the waqf either by individuals or by other waqfs. 7. The balance of
the new capital thus formed. 8. The return obtained from the investment of the endowed capital at the end of the year. 9. The purpose for which the annual return was designated, i,e., the expenditure or almasarif. Finally, in the section known as the zimem, information about the borrowers of the endowment capital was given: 10. The names of the borrowers. 11. The amount of capital they borrowed. 12. The mahalle where the borrowers lived. 13. The religious denomination of the borrowers and, 14. Their gender. The invaluable wealth of information contained in the waqf census registers stems from the standardized entry of data kept on hundreds of endowments across a time span of nearly three hundred years. Leaving aside the usual changes in the palaeography, there are only two distinctions discernible between a record kept in the 16th century and one of the 18th century; profit was called irad in the former period and murabaha in the latter, and whereas in the earlier period there is no information supplied about the borrowers, this information is made available in the latter. With the exception of these differences, a 16 th century waqf census entry contains exactly the same type of information as the one from the 18 th century. A typical 18th century cash waqf entry would read like this; "the account of the revenue and expenditure of the Muslim endowments for the purpose of (assisting) the avariz and nuzul taxes for the (residents of the) Orhan Gazi district of the city of Bursa during the trusteeship of Esseyid Halil Aga, the trustee of the said endowment from the year 1200 (1785) until the end of Zilhicce of the same year. This particular cash waqf was endowed with an initial capital of 2377.5 grus. To this, the "profit" of the previous year was added which increased the capital to 2544 grus. Later, we have three other waqfs further contributing to this 2544 grus. The first contribution, 50 grus, was provided by the waqf of the Ayse Hatun for the purpose of reciting the mevlid. The second one, 85 grus, came from the waqf of Hatim Hatun, for the same purpose. Finally, the third contribution, 50 grus, also came from the waqf of Hatim Hatun this time, for the purpose

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of buying candles for the Orhan Gazi waqf. The total capital of the endowment thus, increased from the original 2377.5 grus to 2729 grus, a total addition of 351.5 grus. This enhanced capital of 2729 grus was then distributed as credit to 20 individuals. These investments generated a return of 257.5 grus, murabaha fi sene-i kamile, which represented 9.4 per cent of the invested capital. Out of this return of 257.5 grus, a total of 86.5 grus were spent to assist the payment of
avariz and nuzul taxes, to recite the mevlid, to buy candles, to pay the trustee and the bookkeeper, and for miscellaneous expenses. The remaining 171 grus was called the ziyade ez masraf and was added the
following year to the capital of the endowment. This demonstrates, in brief, how a cash waqf actually functioned. In a nutshell, the endowed capital was distributed as credit to a number of borrowers and the return from this investment was spent for religious and social purposes. If the return exceeded, as in this particular example, the expenses, the remainder was then added to the original capital of the endowment the following year. In this brief explanation there are many points that cry out for an explanation. First, let us consider the enhancement of the initial capital. The original capital of an endowment could be expanded in two ways; either the return of the invested capital exceeded the expenditure and the resulting profit was added to the capital, or other endowments assigned part of their revenue to the endowment considered. The waqf for the provision of food to the members of the guild of sipahiyan constitutes a good example: the original capital of this endowment was 2010.5 grus. Four other endowments contributed to the capital of this waqf increasing it to 2180.5 grus. There is no satisfactory explanation for this frequently observed phenomenon of the transfer of funds between endowments. Whatever the explanation, the increased capital was invested in its entirety through transference to borrowers. Having observed above that the original capital of the endowment could be increased either by a reinvestment of the profit generated or by contributions from other endowments, it will be argued here that there must have been a relationship between "perpetuity" and enhancement of the initial capital. Put differently, we have the impression that the "perpetual waqfs" owed their survival to the enhancement of their initial capital. It has been stated above that 148 perpetual waqfs were studied. Of this total a 25% sample (36 perpetual waqfs) was created and the relationship between the enhancement of their capital and their perpetuity was examined. The results of this analysis are presented in Table 1i. Out of these 36
perpetual waqfs only 7, or 19% had not had their initial capital expanded. The remainder, i.e., 81% of these waqfs had gone through a process of capital enhancement. Thus our impression that the
enhancement of the initial capital appears to have been an important factor in explaining the perpetuity of the endowments was confirmed. Let us now examine the nature of the return of the invested capital, the irad or murabaha. Was it based on a certain percentage of the capital invested i.e., a rate of interest pure and simple or, was it solely the profit generated by the invested capital? If the former is true, it goes without saying that this would be in contradiction with the well known Islamic prohibition of interest. In such a case an explanation concerning how the prohibition was circumvented would be necessary. If the latter alternative is correct, i.e., return equals profit realized, then the return could conceivably entail not only a situation of profit but also a loss thereby causing a potential depletion of the initial capital as well.
i
For Capital enhancement and Perpetuity table see: Murat Cizakca, A history of philanthropic foundations the Islamic world from the seventh century to the present, Istanbul: Bogazici University Press, 2000).

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A cash waqf could invest its capital in one of these three methods: mudaraba, bidaa and muamele-i
seriyye. The first two methods are well known forms of Islamic finance and need not be explained here.
The third expression, on the other hand, is a general terminology covering various methods by which money could be lent to borrowers within the framework of Islamic jurisprudence. While the jurists permitted these muamele-i seriye methods, it seems they were simple legal devices intent on obeying the letter of the law while violating its spirit. Of these, a method called Istiglal, was the most wide-spread. By this method, the borrower was asked to provide a collateral, usually his own house, which he was permitted to continue using but for which he had to pay a rent for as long as he kept the waqfs money in his possession. When he paid back the credit, the ownership of his house reverted back to him. It is the exact nature of this rent and whether it actually constituted interest that is debated. Thus, through istiglal and other similar measures it was possible for cash waqfs to lend money (on interest) and still remain within the law. But did they actually lend money on interest or pseudo interest? We searched for the answer to this question by examining the murabaha/capital ratios. This search also shed light upon a recent debate between modern economic historians and jurists. This debate started with the Barkan-Ayverdi study that claimed that the cash waqfs simply lent money on interest. These authors were then joined by first Mandaville and then Gerber. A large body of modern day jurists, specializing in Islamic law came to notice Barkans and others argument when these views were summarized and published in Turkish (izaka and iller, 1989). In a symposium that followed in Istanbul, the historians' views were criticized on the grounds that all of the methods by which the cash waqfs transferred their capital to the borrowers had been scrutinized carefully by the Ottoman jurists and were therefore legal. More specifically, it was argued that the historians had been confused by some of the terminology used in the endowment deeds. The term istirbah, for instance, which some historians wrongly interpreted as resorting to riba or interest, simply meant that the capital of the endowment was not transferred as karz-i hasene, lending without interest, but that a share of the profit to be earned by the investment of the endowed capital was to be paid back by the borrower to the waqf. The term ilzam-i ribh, likewise, meant that the borrower was required to make a profit and return to the
waqf the principal plus a share of this profit. The term, onu onbir uzere, which can be translated as "eleven out of ten", specified this profit share and meant that for every ten dirhems earned by the borrower or the entrepreneur, one dirhem should be returned to the waqf.
The crucial word here is "earn". Indeed, if as Donduren suggests, the amount returned to the waqf by the borrower was a percentage of the profit earned, then this would be a profit share and not interest. So, herein is the basis for yet another debate. To test this theory we need to investigate the profit/capital ratios for each cash endowment. If Donduren is right and the return of the capital was in the form of a profit share then we would expect that the profit/capital ratio would exhibit a fluctuating trend reflecting the ever changing amounts of profits (or losses) accruing to the invested capital. If the return, however, were in the nature of interest, then we would expect to see more or less constant profit/capital ratios reflecting the constant returns to the invested capital.

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Before we start this analysis, however, we need to make a distinction between judicial and economic interest. Even if the profit/capital ratios exhibit a constant trend and the return is therefore identified as interest, it must be remembered that this pertains to an economic interest and not to a judicial one. This is because, as far as judicial interest is concerned, the issue had been resolved centuries ago by the jurists.
Istiglal and other methods of lending that modern historians consider simply as interest, pertain in actual
fact to economic interest. As far as the Legal Establishment was concerned these instruments were permitted and not categorized as interest. Most of the Ottoman jurists had no doubts about the legality of these instruments. To find an answer to the question of whether the murabaha or irad constituted an economic interest, 1563
waqfs and their respective profit/capital ratios covering the period 1667-1805 had been entered into the
computer. This evaluation constituted a major part of an earlier study (izaka, 1993). Only four of these
waqfs exhibited significant fluctuations while all the rest, i,e., 1559 of them, produced returns of between 9 and 12 per cent. Thus we conclude, although the financial instruments utilized by the cash waqfs were considered to be legal and approved by the courts, these constant ratios strongly suggest that an economic
interest prevailed. The details are presented below.
Average profit/capital ratio (Economic interest) 963/1555 1078/1667 1104/1692 1105/1693 1163/1749 1181/1767 1200/1785 1201/1786 1220/1805 1239/1823
Table 1
Economic Interest Rates in Bursa 10.8% 10.8% 10.8% 10.6% 11.5% 11.1% 11.5% 11.0% 11.5% 13.0%
At this point it would be appropriate to ponder the implications of this observation. First of all, the increasing trend of the economic interest rate in Bursa is diametrically opposed to the declining trend of the rate of interest observed in the West. This observation needs urgent explanation and should constitute the subject of a separate research. Moreover, there seems to have existed a secondary capital market in the Ottoman economy. This conclusion is suggested by the observation that market interest rates prevailing among the sarraf in Istanbul as well as in Ankara were significantly higher than the Bursa interest rates. This leads us to the following conclusions: first, the cash waqfs were prohibited from applying the existing market interest rate and were not allowed to charge rates above a certain limit imposed by their founders. Second, there were at least two different rates of interest prevailing in the market with the cash waqfs applying the lower rate. Consequently, it would make economic sense to borrow from a Bursa cash waqf and to lend the capital borrowed at the market rate of interest, say, to the sarrafs, bankers, in Istanbul.

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We will investigate this speculation below. For the moment it should suffice to point out that evidence from other sources support this argument. Consider, for instance, the forthcoming book by Ronald Jennings where he has shown that the trustee of a waqf in Lefkose, Cyprus lent money to the poor at 20 or 30% "interest" thereby violating the condition of the donor that only 10% "interest" be charged. This violation did not escape the attention of the court and the trustee was accused of fraud. It is possible to find literally thousands of endowment documents, vakifnames, which impose a maximum level of economic interest to be charged. Consider the following cases: In the month of Safer, 1513, el-Hac Suleyman b. el-Hac (?) endowed 70.000 silver dirhems. Of this, 30.000 dirhems were to be spent for the construction of a school and the remaining 40.000 was to be loaned as muamele-i -eriyye and istiglal with 10% annual murabaha. The revenue thus obtained was to be spent as follows; 3 dirhems daily wage to the teacher of the school, 1 dirhem to his assistant, 1 dirhem to the person who recites the Koran, and 2 dirhems to the trustee of the endowment.
Figure 2 An Ottoman Akca dated 1115 hijra (1703 AD), issued during the reign of Sultan Mehmed !V
Looking at the situation from a purely economic point of view, it may be suggested that if other institutions like the sarraf existed, that fully exploited the high market demand for capital by charging higher rates of interest, then eventually such institutions would expand at the expense of the cash waqfs, which due to moral and religious considerations were not permitted to charge beyond a maximum rate. We will have more to say on this argument when we consider the decline of the cash waqfs.
INJECTION OF CAPITAL INTO THE ECONOMY The Trustees as Borrowers

The points just made may be investigated further by a careful analysis of the borrowers. It has been indicated above that after the year 1749; the Bursa waqf tahrir registers contain a section for each waqf that informs us about the persons who borrowed the capital of the endowment. Looking carefully into these sections it should be possible to identify frequent borrowers, or those who borrowed regularly from a multitude of endowments. These individuals were most likely the ones who borrowed at the lower rate offered by the cash waqfs of Bursa and then lent this cash at higher rates to the sarrafs of Istanbul. The careers of two trustees extending from 1749 to 1785 in the district of Timurtas in Bursa illustrate this point.

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First of all, we note that these persons had administered as many as eight different endowments. Thus, it seems, the trusteeship had by this time emerged as a distinct profession. Halil Efendi received 69 grus and 360 akces salary, mevacib, annually from these establishments in the year 1749. Eighteen years later, in 1767, he was still managing seven foundations in the same district and his annual salary had increased to 76 grus and 260 akces. But he was not satisfied by this and obtained from two different foundations. In the year 1785, a certain Ahmet Efendi replaced Halil Efendi mentioned above. This Ahmet Efendi served as the trustee of six cash waqfs in the same Timurtas district. Four of these six endowments were the same as those managed previously by Halil Efendi. Ahmet Efendi earned a salary of 50.5 grus from these endowments, considerably less than Halil Efendi's 76 grus, 360 akces. But Ahmet Efendi was a much greater borrower. He borrowed a total of 79 grus, far in excess of Halil Efendi's 14 grus, from four of the endowments he was managing. These two cases lead us to believe that not only had trusteeship emerged as a distinct profession, but also that trustees were emerging as major borrowers as the 18 th century progressed. This increasing tendency for trustees to borrow is also confirmed by a more thorough analysis involving a 25% sample for the years 1749-1823. The details are presented below. Based upon the tables, we can now conclude that the trustees were becoming more and more significant as borrowers. Since they controlled the cash waqfs it must have been relatively easy for them to borrow capital from these institutions. The percentage rate at which they borrowed was shown to have been substantially lower than the prevailing market rate. Consequently, it is argued that the trustees must have earned substantial amounts by exploiting the difference between the two rates of "interest" existing in the capital market. had begun borrowing from the very foundations that he administered. The total amount he borrowed in 1767 amounted to 14 grus and was
Capital Injection
All the information presented above supports the fact that cash waqfs were responsible for a large-scale injection of capital into the economy of Bursa. Based on results of an analysis made with a 25% random sample, it seems, in a given year, 10 to 12 persons, on average, borrowed from a single waqf. But some
waqfs provided credit to as many as 37 to 42 persons within a given year.

If we take 1767 as the year for which we have the most complete information, and multiply 1662, the figure derived from the 25% sample as the number of borrowers for that year, by four, we obtain a very rough estimation of the total number of borrowers; This figure is 6648. Thus, we conclude that in a given year during the 18th century more than six thousand persons were provided with credit by the cash waqf system in the city of Bursa. To gain a figure for the total amount borrowed by these people, we should also multiply the credit provided in the sample for 1767, 117.084, by four. This gives us almost half a million grus. At this point we may wonder about the relative significance of this figure. Comparing this figure with the data provided by Mehmet Genc for the tax yield of the Bursa silk cloth press, mukataa-i resm-i mengene-i kutni ve pesimi ve
keremsud-i Brusa ve tevabii, for the years 1757-1788, we note that the capital injected into the economy of
Bursa by the cash waqfs was nearly ten times greater than the amount withdrawn by the State through the

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tax farm of silk cloth press. The redistribution function of the cash waqfs must not escape us here: the cash injected into the economy was not a lump sum amount given as credit to a select group. On the contrary, this amount saved by the privileged few was voluntarily redistributed. Thus, injection and redistribution occurred simultaneously. Evidence for this will be provided below. In this context an assessment of the six thousand or more persons who were provided with credit needs to be made. Indeed, what does this figure imply? Unfortunately, a reliable estimation of Bursa's population for the 18th century is not available. Erder, based upon the reports of French travellers, has made the only estimate that this author is aware of. Accordingly, in the early 18th century, Bursa had a population of about 50.000 to 65.000. By 1831, Behar (1996: 35) informs us that the citys population was 60.000. By the beginning of the next century (1911), this figure had reached 76.000. Thus, it would be reasonable to argue that for most of the 18 th century Bursa probably had a population of about 60.000 . In view of these numbers, we can conclude that about 10% of the total population of Bursa resorted to the cash waqfs of the city as a source of credit. At this point, however, we must point out another difficulty in analysis and that is the repetitiveness of the data. We do not know if these six thousand or so borrowers were six thousand separate individuals or if a particular group of people borrowed from a multitude of endowments in a given year. The answer to this question is important also from another perspective: capital pooling. In view of the difficulty presented by the Muslim names, in searching for an answer to this problem, it was necessary to develop a method that would reveal specific information about each one of the more than six thousand borrowers. This study was facilitated by the availability of two additional types of information: the name of the district, mahalle, in which the borrower resided and his profession. To facilitate the research further, a sample, had to be taken. This time four of the most popular Turkish names were chosen: Ahmet, Mehmet, Ali and Mustafa. The computer was then asked to list all the Ahmets, together with the names of the endowments from which they borrowed, the name of the district in which each one lived, the profession of each one and the amount borrowed by each. The same process was repeated for each of the other names. As a result, 133 professions were identified. Leaving aside one interesting case whereby a mother and a son had borrowed from the same endowment, it became clear that only one individual, a certain Ali Molla, had borrowed from two different endowments in the year 1767. This gives us a ratio of 7.5 per thousand. Thus, within the obvious constraints of our sample, it is concluded that only 7.5 per thousand of the borrowers practiced capital pooling. This gives, as a very rough estimate, the result that out of the 6648 borrowers only about fifty were involved in capital pooling. In view of what has been explained above about the increasing importance of the trustees as borrowers, it can be argued that most of these fifty borrowers plausibly belonged to this particular profession. This argument is supported by a previous study that showed that another profession that would have been most likely to utilize the cash waqf sources, i.e., the silk sector, rarely did so. In fact, the ratio Silk Credits/Total Credits never exceeded 3% during the period 1749-1785 (izaka, 1993).
The Decline of the Cash Waqfs

In the year 1909, cash waqfs yielded 7500 grus interest in Istanbul and 9400 grus in the provinces, thus a total of 16900 grus, while the total revenue of the awqaf ministry amounted to 56.966.000 grus. By contrast, in the same year the Ziraat Bankasi, an agricultural bank, singularly advanced about ten times this amount, 563 million grus, as credit. The credit advanced by the Ottoman Bank, on the other hand, reached a staggering 1,102 million grus. Seyhun does not make it clear if the entire capital of the cash waqf system

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was included in the total revenue indicated above but it would seem that it was not. He informs us that in the year 1914 a new bank called the Awqaf Bankasi was established. The capital of this bank was 500,000
liras, 500.000.000 grus, and consisted of almost entirely endowed money. Thus, the entire money endowed to the cash waqf system amounted to, at the most, 500 million grus which was still less than the credit advanced by the Ziraat Bankasi alone as mentioned above. In short, the cash waqf system was superseded
by modern banks as suppliers of credit. Apparently there were two distinct reasons behind this decline: economic and administrative. Let us first concentrate on the former. It has already been mentioned that the cash waqfs charged a fixed rate of economic interest that did not change in the long run. The rigidity of this rate was caused by conditions stipulated by the founders at the time of the establishment of these endowments. Once so determined, these rates could not be changed in response to the changing economic conditions and any attempt to do so was considered to be against the law. This is a clear case of information asymmetry: the rates were determined by the founders, who had no information about the economic conditions in the future. While the rates charged by cash endowments thus remained fixed, other sources of finance that developed were not hampered by such limitations. The sarraf, moneychangers, charged rates determined by the supply and demand for money. Consequently, a capital market developed in which two different rates of interest prevailed. It was argued above that under these conditions it would make sense to borrow money from cash waqfs that supplied the relatively cheaper capital and then sell this to the sarrafs who would re-sell it with a markup to the public. It was further argued that the trustees of the cash waqfs were in an ideal position to perform such transactions and, indeed, it was shown as evidence for the above argument that they were emerging as major borrowers of capital from the very endowments that they controlled. Even more definitive evidence supporting this idea has been found in the archives of the Chamber of Commerce of Marseille. The correspondences of French merchants residing in Istanbul inform us that, indeed, the market rate of interest prevailing in that city was substantially higher than the economic interest charged by the cash waqfs of Bursa. To demonstrate this point Table 1 presented above has been re-formulated in order to include information from the French sources.
Year 1555 1643 1667 1672 1686 1687 1692 1693 1698 1700 1748 1749
Economic Interest Charged by Bursa cash waqfs 10.8% 10.8%
Market Interest Rate in Istanbul 20%
Source A 68/75 ACCM, J141 B135/350 ACCM, J143 ACCM, J145 ACCM, J145 B169/385 B169/385 ACCM, J183 ACCM, J152 ACCM, J201 B170/386
25% 25% 18% 10.8% 10.6% 20% 18% 10% 11.5%

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1767 1785 1786 1805 1823
11.1% 11.5% 11.0% 11.5% 13.0%
B199/423 B352/736 B352/736 B197/802 B308/548
Table 2 - (ACCM: Archives of the Chamber of Commerce of Marseille. I am grateful to Ethem Eldem for these French sources).
In one of the French documents (ACCM, J 183), it is clearly stated by the two "deputes" Conston and Reimond that the situation in Istanbul differs substantially from that of Europe. They report that the sarrafs obtain capital at 12% to 13% interest which they then lend to members of "our" nation at about 20% interest without any regard to usury prohibitions. This approximate rate of 12-13% is roughly 2% above the rate at which the cash waqfs provided capital. The 2% difference therefore may represent a mark up charged by the trustees when they re-sell the capital to the sarraf. Moreover, the trustees themselves could also become sarrafs. In this case, the profit of the trustee/sarraf would increase by up to 8% or more. In short, the trustee/sarraf would borrow capital cheaply from the cash waqf managed by him and loan it at a higher rate to a third party. This process naturally closely resembles the essential character of conventional deposit banking. Finally, by the middle of the 18th century the difference between the economic rates charged by the cash
waqfs and the market interest rate prevailing in Istanbul had substantially narrowed. Assuming that the
demand for capital remained constant, this narrowing might possibly be explained by an increasing availability of capital which, in turn, might have been caused by more aggressive entry of the trustees into the capital market during these years. Turning our attention to administrative reasons for the decline of the cash waqfs, we must note a major development that affected the entire waqf system: not only cash endowments but also real estate waqfs. This was the centralization drive initiated by Abdlhamid I and continued rigorously by the following Sultans, particularly Mahmud II. The centralization drive was prompted by the ever-increasing financial needs of the State and the fact that by the beginning of the 19 th century large parts of land property in the Ottoman Empire was controlled by the waqf system. Thus, the State was deprived of enormous potential revenue. Moreover, this provocative situation had a shaky legal justification. After all, a major part of this real estate was arazi-i emiriye-i
mevkufe, i.e., land that essentially belonged to the State but was made waqf and then eventually claimed by private persons through the icareteyn system explained above. As the rakabe, ownership, remained with the State, the Sultan could justifiably claim that these endowments were evkaf-i gayri sahiha, canonically unsound; and as they were of quasi-legal status and ultimately held provisionally, these waqfs could be
revoked. After the destruction of the Janissaries and the resultant unchallenged growth of Mahmud's absolutism, practically all the endowments of the empire were put under the jurisdiction of the Evkaf-i
Humayun Nezareti, Minister of Endowments. The waqf lands in this period yielded 44,000 kese revenue per
annum which accrued to the Treasury. This amount was initially paid out to the endowments to meet their needs. During the government of Fuad Pasa these payments were called iane, aid. This was followed by a systematic reduction until the iane constituted a mere one-fourth of the original level of payments to the

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waqf system. Thus, in short, the State first expropriated the revenues that belonged originally to the waqf
system and then shamelessly called the meagre payments it made, "aid".
Figure 3 An Ottoman akca issued during the reign of Sultan Mustafa bin Mehmed (1617- 1618- 1622- 1629) Going back to the cash waqfs, we note that they too could not escape Mahmud's iron grip. A directive 1863 made it clear that cash waqfs fell within the jurisdiction of the Evkaf-i Humayun Nezareti, Ministry of the Imperial Endowments. Article 14 of the directive instructs the trustees that the annual murabaha, return, of endowed money not assigned for a specific social service must be sent directly promulgated in to the Treasury and recorded in the registers rather than kept by the trustees. This article is of interest not only because it indicates clearly that the cash endowments did not escape the centralization drive of Mahmud II, but also because it confirms the arguments made above pertaining to the tendency of the trustees to exploit the resources of the cash waqfs to their own advantage. It is self evident that the trustees did not just keep the money in their possession but lent it at a higher rate to the sarrafs or to the public. At the turn of the century the cash waqfs were put under the control of a separate department, the Directorate of Endowed Money, Nukud-i Mevkufe Mudurlugu, which was to function as an agent of the Ministry. A few years later the bulk of endowed money controlled by the directorate was used for purchasing shares of a newly founded bank, the Bank of Pious Foundations (waqfs), Evkaf Bankasi. Since the Ministry bought the majority of shares, it in fact controlled the new bank. This control was assured by the composition of the board of directors the majority of whom were appointed by the Ministry. The lending regulations of the bank were quite conservative and have been explained in detail (eyhun, 1992).
Conclusion
By organizing as well as financing expenditures on education, health, welfare and a host of other activities, cash endowments fulfilled services that are today financed by the State or local authorities. Thus, they played a vitally important role in the Ottoman social fabric and did so without any cost to the State. The aim of this article was to analyse how these endowments functioned and contributed to the society over the long term. For this purpose, the Cash Waqf Census Registers of the city of Bursa covering the period 1555-1823 were analysed. Thus, although limited to one Ottoman city, a long-term analysis covering almost three hundred years has been attempted for the first time.

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Cash waqfs were subject to a number of controversies throughout their history. The first debate pertained to the long-term survival of these institutions. This article partially resolved this debate in retrospect: the registers revealed that about 20% of the Bursa cash endowments had survived for more than a century. The complete answer to the debate necessitates the discovery of the survival percentage of the real estate endowments. The next question addressed concerned the reasons behind the relative success of these "perpetual" endowments. It was hypothesized that capital enhancement in the form of reinvesting the returns, receiving donations from other endowments, or both, played a decisive role in the survival of the endowments. This hypothesis was vindicated and the data revealed that 81% of the, perpetual' endowments had gone through a process of capital enhancement. Another debate surfaced recently among the economic historians and modern Islamic jurists. While the former had argued that the return of the invested capital of a cash waqf was interest pure and simple, the latter rejected this view and argued that the return percentages stated in the documents pertained to
ilzam-i ribh, the requirement that a certain percentage of the return earned was to be paid back to the endowment. This debate was resolved by an analysis of the murabaha/capital ratios of 1563 endowments. There is no doubt that cash waqfs injected substantial amounts of capital into the economy of Bursa. In this
context the concepts of capital redistribution and capital accumulation need to be addressed separately: this research based upon the Bursa court registers has indicated that cash waqfs were, primarily, institutions of capital redistribution. The capital accumulated in one way or the other by the original waqf founders was voluntarily distributed to a myriad of borrowers. Thus, redistribution appeared to be the primary function of this institution. It is possible that the cash waqfs were tolerated, notwithstanding the controversial nature of the returns they generated, precisely because of this. But I had originally thought that while they were thus redistributing the accumulated capital, cash waqfs might have also paved the way for a secondary cycle of capital accumulation by favouring the entrepreneurs over the consumers (izaka, 1996: 131-132). That is to say, by providing business capital to the entrepreneurs (borrowers), they might have also enhanced entrepreneurship and generated capital accumulation. If this were true, then the cash waqfs would have to be considered as both capital distributing and capital accumulating institutions.The available evidence from the Bursa Ottoman court records presented above, however, did not support this view. The latest research by Tahsin zcan on the Istanbul (skdar) cash waqfs also did not indicate any indication about the capital accumulating role of the cash waqfs (2003)The searched for evidence came from an unlikely source; the Venetian archives, where Suraiya Faroqhi discovered documents informing us that the Bosnian cash waqfs, indeed, provided entrepreneurial credit to merchants involved in trade between Bosnia and Venice (Pedani Fabris, 1994). Based upon Professor Faroqhis discovery we can now argue that indeed cash waqfs functioned as both capital redistribution as well as accumulating institutions. Nevertheless, the true dimension of the capital accumulating function of cash waqfs can only be established by further research. Finally, it was concluded that State policy, more than anything else, was responsible for the final demise of the cash waqfs. The destruction started by Abdlhamid I, gained momentum under Mahmud II and was completed by the Republic in the year 1954, when all the capital of the extant Ottoman cash waqfs were pooled to create a modern bank, the Bank of Awqaf (Vakflar Bankas). Yet, shortly after this, with the law of 1967, republican cash waqfs were borne. But that is a different story (izaka, 2000: 90-110).

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources

Bursa, Ottoman Court Registers: A 68/75 B 103/316-90b A 136/163 B 227/455-1/1b B 135/350 B 227/455-2/2b B 169/385 A 23/25 -61b B 170/386 A 21/27 -33a B 199/423 B 197/802 B 253/736 B 308/548
Secondary Sources
Akarli, Engin. "Gedik: Implements, Mastership, Shop Usufruct and Monopoly among Istanbul Artisans, 17500850", Wissenschaftskolleg Jahrbuch 1986, Berlin, 1987, pp. 225-231. Akgunduz, Ahmet. Islam Hukukunda ve Osmanli Tatbikatinda Vakif Muessesesi, (Ankara: T.T.K., 1988). Baltaci, Cahit. XV-XVI. Asirlarda Osmanli Medreseleri (Istanbul: Irfan Matbaasi, 1976). Barkan, Omer L. and Ekrem H. Ayverdi, Istanbul Vakiflari Tahrir Defteri (Istanbul: Fetih Cemiyeti, 1970). Barnes, R. J. An Introduction to Religious Foundations in the Ottoman Empire (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1987). Cizakca, Murat and Tansu Ciller, Turk Finans Kesiminde Sorunlar ve Reform Onerileri (Istanbul: Istanbul Sanayi Odasi, 1989). Cizakca, Murat. "Financing Silk Trade in the Ottoman Empire 16th-18th Centuries", S Cavaciocchi (Ed), La
Seta in Europa, secc. XIII-XX (Prato I.I.S.E., F Datini", 1993), pp 711-723.

Cizakca, Murat. Risk Sermayesi, zel finans kurumlari ve para vakiflari (Istanbul: ISAV, 1993). Cizakca, Murat. A Comparative Evolution of Business Partnerships; the Islamic World and Europe, with Specific Reference to the Ottoman Archives (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996). Cizakca, Murat. A History of Philanthropic Foundations: Islamic World from the Seventh Century to the Present (Istanbul: Bogazici University Press, 2000). Clark, Gregory. "The Long Term Decline in Real Interest Rates", Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 5, no.1, 1991. Cuinet, Vital .La Turquie d'Asie (Paris: E. Leroux, 1894), t. IV. Cuno, Kenneth M. The Pasha's Peasants (Cambridge: Cambridge Middle East Library, No.27, Cambridge University Press, 1992). Donduren, Hamdi. "Islam'da ve Osmanli Tatbikatinda Para Vakfi ve Finansman Olarak Yontemleri",
Altinoluk, 1990. Eldem, Etbem Le Commerce Francais d'Istanbul au XVIII Siecle (Aix-en-Provence Universite de ProvenceAix-Marseille I Ph.D. Thesis, 1989). Genc, Mehmet. "Osmanli Maliyesi'nde Malikane Sistemi", O Okyar (ed. Trkiye Iktisat Tarihi Semineri (Ankara Hacettepe Univerity Press, 1975), pp 231-297. Gerber, Haim. Economy and Society in an Ottoman City Bursa, 1600-1700 (Jerusalem The Hebrew University, 1988).

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Gibb, Hamilton A.R. 1969).
and Harold Bowen, Islamic Society and the West (Oxforo Oxford University Press,
Hatemi, Huseyin. Onceki ve bugnk Trk Hukukunda Vakif Kurma Messesesi (Istanbul Hukuk Fakultesi Publication, No 317, 1969). Hatemi, Huseyin. Medeni Hukuk Tzel Kisileri (Istanbul Hukuk Fakultesi Publ, No 514, 1979). Kreiser, K1aus . Icateretyn, Zur Doppelten Miete im Osmanischen Stiftungswesen", Journal of Turkish
Studies (Trklk Bilgisi Arastirmalari,), vol 10, Raiyyet Rsumu: Essays Presented to Halil Inalcik on His Seventeenth Birthday, 1986, pp. 219-226. Mandaville, Jon E. ."Usurious Piety: The Cash Waqf Controversy in the Ottoman Empire", International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, vol 10, 1979, no 3, pp 289-308. Masters, Bruce .The Origins, of Western Economic Dominance in the Middle East, (New York: New York
University Press, 1988). Mustafa Nuri Pasa, Netayic ul-Vukuat (Ankara: TTK, 1992), vols and II. zcan, Tahsin. Osmanl Para Vakflar, Kanuni Dnemi skidar rnei (Ankara: TTK, 2003). Pamuk, Sevket. "Coinage and Money in the Ottoman Empire", paper presented at the 6th International Conference of Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, Aix-en-Provence, France, 14th July, 1992. Pedani Fabris, Maria Pia. I Documenti Turchi DellArchivio di Stato di Venezia (Roma: Ministero per I Beni Culturali e Ambientali, 1994). Roded, Ruth ."Quantitive Analysis of Waqf endowment Deeds: A Pilot Project, Journal of Ottoman Studies, vol. IX, 1989, pp. 57-76. Seyhun, Ahmet. Centralization Process of Cash Waqfs in the Ottoman Empire and Their Legal Framework (Istanbul: Bogazici University Masters Thesis, History Dept., 1992). Yediyildiz, Bahaddin. "Vakif, Islam Ansiklopedisi (lstanbul: Milli Egitim Basimevi, 1986), vol. XIII, pp. 153172. Zilfi, Madeline. The Politics of Piety: The Ottoman Ulema in the Postclassical Age (16001800) (Minneapolis, 1988).

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Celestial Globes Armillary Spheres
Jonathan Chang
Professor Salim Al-Hassani Faaiza Bashir June 2004 4063 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Celestial Globes Armillary Spheres June 2004
CELESTIAL GLOBES ARMILLARY SPHERES

This short report is on the subject of celestial globes, and in particular the work of Emilie Savage-Smith; who performed an extensive study on Islamicate1 Celestial Globes, their history, use and construction. This article is based on her book. Some additional material is added on astrolabes and armillary spheres.
Introduction
From early antiquity, many great civilisations, such as the Greek, Islamic, and Chinese, have attempted to model the earths movements along with its visible stars and other celestial bodies.
These models were done in the form of:

1. 2. 3. Celestial Globes. Astrolabes: (a) Planispheric and (b) Spherical Armillary Spheres: (a) Demonstrational and (b) Observational
They were all based on an imaginary model where the earth is in the centre, and an outer sphere of stars and celestial bodies move around the earth (fig1). This suggests that observers of the above devices would view the sphere of stars from the outside, and imagine the earth to be in the centre2. These models were built using the vast knowledge of astronomy and planetary movement passed down from antiquity. The models provided a very good way of representing the very complicated movement of bodies.
Observer Star field, (Spherical around Earth) Earth
Figure 1 - Model with Surrounded by Stars and Celestial Bodies A physical model was not necessarily 3-dimensional or spherical, flat models were also built, as was with the case with the planispheric astrolabe. With this particular model, a 3D chart was projected on to a 2D plane, so users could obtain astronomical information with astrolabes that were more portable, and possibly more practical.
1 The author uses Islamicate to refer to objects or cultural features that are not related directly to the religion of Islam but are often based on traditions taken over from other cultures and nurtured and developed by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Islamic, however, refers to subjects directly related to, growing out of, or affected by the religion of Islam. 2 Emilie Savage-Smith, p. 3.

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Celestial Globes History

According to Cicero, who reported the statements of the Roman astronomer Gaius Sulphius Gallus of the second century BC, the first globe was constructed by Thales of Miletus (sixth century BC). It is uncertain as to how celestial globes were used by great astronomers, but we do know they made great contributions and improvements to astronomy:3 1 - Eudoxus: Documented the early work on constellations and their movement 2 - Aratus of Soli (ca. 315-240BC): Using the work of Eudoxus, wrote an influential astronomical poem called Phaenomena ( ). It gave general workings on the: a. positions of northern and southern constellations b. circles of the celestial spheres c. risings and settings of the fixed stars d. weather phenomenon 3- Hipparchus: Compiled from his observations the precise rising and setting times of stars, but only from his position in Rhodes. He also discovered the precession of the equinoxes. 4 - Geminus of Rhodes: Realised that the Artic and Antarctic circles were dependant on the observers position on the earth. 5 - Archimedes: Described by Cicero as having constructed two celestial globes in the third century BC, a ringed globe and a solid globe. The ring globe is a more complicated tool, and possibly classed as an armillary sphere. 6 - Ptolemy of Alexandria (fl. CE 127-148): Also catalogued the stars, (3 centuries after Hipparchus), but in much more detail. He considered all the stars, including the northern stars that are always visible. Each star was designated a parameter for its brightness and coordinate.
Figure 2 - Ptolemaic Precession Celestial Globe
Emilie Savage-Smith, pg 3-12.

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7 - Ptolemy: Used a horizon ring in order to make the celestial globe more universal (fig 2), as opposed to the previous globes that only considered the sky from Rhodes. The above list is brief, but it gives an indication of the type of knowledge that was all potentially passed over to the Islamic world. The above works were not translated until around the ninth century CE, and most influential was the work done by Ptolemy in his Almagest4.
Islamic Astronomers
After the translations, astronomers in the Islamic world contributed to the accuracy of the information by adding other stars and their coordinates, and also through better predictions of celestial and star movements.
Figure 3 - Al-Battanis Globe Design 1 Horizon Ring, 2 Zenith Ring, 3 Moveable Meridian Ring, 4 Stationary Meridian Ring, 5 Outside ring supporting Gnomon. There were works from an astronomer called Al-Battn , who wrote a comprehensive astronomical treatise that included star catalogues and planetary tables5. Also described in the book, is a celestial globe that is suspended from 5 rings that he calls Al-Baydah (the egg)6. The treatise is quite influential as it gives details of how stars should be marked onto the globe. Instrument makers around that time could then form a globe to a particular standard.
4 5 6
Emilie Savage-Smith, pg 18 It is known that Copernicus had relied heavily on this work , see this website. Emilie Savage-Smith, pg 18

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Al-Battns treatise is very different to the pre-Ptolemiac design of a celestial globe, which uses 5 parallel equatorial rings and constellation outlines. Instead, Al-Battn had a more precise method of charting the stars using the ecliptic and equator, and dividing them in to small divisions (fig.3). This method then allowed the stars to be given exact coordinates, and thus increased precision7. The Muslims were great tool and instrument makers. A name attributed to making celestial globes, was an astrolabe maker called, Abd al-Rahmn al-Sufi (AD 903-986)8. He wrote a treatise on the design of constellation images for celestial globe makers, his other treatises were based on how to use celestial globes9. Many globes were constructed up to the point of the sixteenth century, and many still exist today, but none prior to the eleventh century have survived10.
Figure 4 - German stamp celebrating the arrival of an Arabic Globe Europe (1279)
Usage of Globes
Before describing how the globes work, one must understand the terminology used:
Celestial Equator Celestial Poles Ecliptic

7 8
an imaginary ring around the globe that is equidistant from its poles. points furthest away from the equator, above and below. the path of the sun around the earth
Emilie Savage-Smith, pg 20 Emilie Savage-Smith, pg 22 9 Emilie Savage-Smith, pg 23 10 Emilie Savage-Smith, pg 24

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Ecliptic Poles Culmination Equinox
points furthest away from the ecliptic, above and below. the highest point of a body, i.e., the sun during the summer solstice. a time when the day and night hours are equal, or where the ecliptic path crosses the celestial equator. This occurs twice in a year, spring (vernal), and in winter.
Celestial Spheres
They were used to give observers a representation of the sky, dependent on the observers location and time of day (position of the sun). This then enabled astronomers to use a consistent coordinate system and to solve problems involving stars and other heavenly bodies. The positions of celestial bodies were given in relation to the equator or the ecliptic with a differenct coordinate system for both. The equatorial coordinate uses right-ascension and declination. Right ascension is the angular distance from the spring/vernal equinox, and declination is the distance north or south from the equator along a path that passes through the point in question and the two celestial poles.
Figure 5 - Celestial Sphere The ecliptic coordinate system uses celestial longitude and latitude. Whereby longitude is the angular distance from the ecliptic and also from the vernal equinox, and lattitude is the distance north or south of the ecliptic. (ref.1) This enabled astronmers to follow stars, see when the sun was about to rise or set and find the position of the earth by viewing the night sky, possibly using the north star.
Astrolabes
Using stereography, celestial spheres were able to be projected on to a 2D plane and form the important body of an astrolabe. They were based on the ecliptic, and divided into 12 portions, and each portion was given a sign of the zodiac.
The astrolabe has many applications, such as working out heights of inaccessible objects, time of day and its position on earth. This is all done by the use of clever tables and figures that are imprinted on both

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sides of an astrolabe. The details of how this is achieved will not be explained here, but it is important to note that charting the stars and the suns movement across the sky can have so many applications. (ref.2)
Figure 6 - Astrolabe Recently Manufactured by Dr. Hasan Al-Bilani, Aleppo, Syria.
Armillary Spheres
These used rings to represent the circles of the celestial body, i.e. the equator and ecliptic. They did not chart the stars, but were more concerned with planetary movement and position. They were not made with a solid sphere, but with several concentric rings connected in such a way to mimic the rotation of the earth and its surrounding bodies. (ref.3) The observational sphere is more a tool for astronomers to determine coordinates and other values, while the demonstrational sphere appears to just give the relative motion of bodies about earth.
Bibliography
Emilie Savage-Smith, Islamicate Celestial Globes: Their History, Construction, and Use, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984.
References
1. The celestial Globe - http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/celglobe.html 2. Astrolabe - http://www.astrolabes.org 3. Armillary Sphere - http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/armillary.html

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Turkish Contributions to Scientific Work in Islam
Author: Chief Editor: Abridgement: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright:
Professor Aydin Sayili Lamaan Ball Salim Ayduz PhD September 2004 4066 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Turkish Contributions to Scientific work in Islam September 2004
TURKISH CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENTIFIC WORK IN ISLAM

This article is a shortened version of the author's original article published by Belleten, XLIII, 47, Ankara.
Mesopotamia and Egypt were the cradles of our present-day civilization. The origins of today science can be traced back to these two civilizations of four or even five thousand years ago. The Greeks inherited the science of these countries appropriated it eagerly. They also endowed it with greater power of articulation and imparted fresh momentum to scientific work. In their hands scientific knowledge was not only considerably enriched, but it also gained substantially in refinement and theoretical stature. But with the beginning of Christianity a period of stagnation gradually set in, and the era called the Dark Ages with all its superstitions and dearth of well-founded scientific enlightenment began to weigh heavily upon the old classical Mediterranean world and the Near East. The situation changed with the advent of Islam. The history of Islam starts with the Hijra in 622 CE. In that year our Prophet Muhammed transferred the scene of his activities from the city of Mecca to Medina. The Prophet died ten years later, but before 650 CE the Muslims had managed to conquer Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Persia, and in these rapid conquests religious faith had served remarkably as a motive power for building a gigantic empire. In the Near and the Middle East the Arab conquerors met with remnants of civilizations much superior to their own, and, as the Islamic community became welded together, these civilizations cooperated actively in the formation of the emerging Muslim civilization. In the vast territory embraced by Islam the Arabs were considerably outnumbered by the non-Arabic elements and, consequently their control over the destiny of Islam decreased significantly. The original conquerors played by no means a passive part, however, in the emergence of the new society.
The rise of the Abbasid Caliphate, about one hundred and twenty years after the death of the Prophet, marked the opening of a cultural and scientific era, important not only in the history of Islam but also in that of the whole world. This was made possible by the great value attached to knowledge and culture. Consequently, an intense process of cultivation of knowledge constituted a veritably strong component in the very foundations of the emerging Islamic civilization.
Moreover, this enthusiasm was far from being limited to religious and literary fields. The existence of rich Indian and especially Greek scientific and medical literature was gradually discovered, and an aggressive curiosity to gain access to and appropriate that knowledge resulted. A great stream of Greek and other ancient learning began to pour into the Muslim World through the then newly founded city of Baghdad as a result of systematic and intense translation activities. Translations were made into Arabic from Greek, Sanskrit, Syriac and from the Pahlawi language. At the court of the second Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur we witness acts of courtesy extended to scholars from India or from regions close to India who brought with them important Sanskrit works on astronomy, trigonometry, and medicine. And the same caliph received an important collection of manuscripts including

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Euclid's Elements of Geometry. Through the initiative of Harun al-Rashid and also the Barmaks, originating from a family of high rank in the Buddhistic religious hierarchy of the city of Balkh, many additional scientific manuscripts of great importance were secured and the Baytulhikma was founded where these works were busily translated into Arabic. The seventh Abbasid caliph and son of Harun al-Rashid, AlMa'mun (813-833), took considerable pains to obtain Greek manuscripts and sent a special mission to the Byzantine emperor for that purpose. Resolved to pursue knowledge to its sources, Hunayn ibn Ishaq famous physician and translator of Christian faith, decided to discontinue his medical studies until he had perfected his knowledge of the Greek language and for that purpose went into seclusion for many years. One feature of the medieval Islamic culture, which seems to be very significant for the intellectual history of the world, is the conspicuous achievements in the organization and systematisation of education that were realized in Islam. Great strides were made in the direction of the dissemination and popularisation of learning, especially in the field of Islamic or transmitted sciences. In the Islamic Middle Ages, for the first time in history, the cultivation of knowledge came to be looked upon as something that has to be within the reach of every individual. The abundance of public libraries and of schools, even those devoted to higher education, is a shining witness of this attitude and of the extent to which a goal so difficult to be attained was realized in practice. In addition, in Islam the promotion of education came to be considered a duty of the state. There were several sayings attributed to the Prophet advocating the cultivation of knowledge and exalting the scholars. There is, it is true, the question of the authenticity of these Traditions. But some of these sayings at least should be genuine , since they are found in the earliest and most reliable collections of the sayings of the Prophet. Moreover, there are many verses in the Koran in which seeking knowledge is highly recommended. The sayings in question of the Prophet are therefore in complete harmony with these Koranic exhortations. Certain medieval Islamic thinkers tended to interpret the word "knowledge" in such passages so as to exclude the mathematical, physical, and natural sciences. Many scientists, however, referred to such verses and Traditions in exalting their fields of endeavour. These verses and Traditions undoubtedly acted therefore as strong stimulants in the cultivation of the secular sciences as well as in the popularisation of education in general. An economical way of manufacturing a suitable from of rag paper was found and perfected in China. Muslims learned the manufacture of paper from Turkistan, and this industry was soon adopted all over the Muslim realm. This economic factor too should be considered of great consequence. The manufacture of paper has probably played as important a part in the promotion of education and dissemination of knowledge as the invention of the printing press with movable types did some centuries later in Europe. It must have been of service also in securing and facilitating contact between Europe and the Islamic World. We know that this contact proved to be of great importance in the intellectual history of the world. Certain Islamic scholars, such as Al-Brn and Rashiduddin, physician, historian, and statesman, have criticized the Arabic script. They dwell upon certain disadvantages of that script, and their criticisms are very relevant from the point of view of the production of men of science and learning. Their thoughts have the earmarks of a deep interest in the question of the dissemination of knowledge.

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The achievements of Islam in the direction of the popularisation of education should be included among its major contributions to world civilization. The question of the relation between the Islamic madrasa and the late medieval European university seems to gain considerably in importance when considered against the background of the Islamic contributions to the democratisation of education. The organization of education in Islam reveals some rather important contributions of the Turks to Islamic civilization. The madrasa system came into being during the period of Turkish rule, the first of such institutions formally supported by the state being a creation of the Turkish Seljuqs. In a more general sense too the birth of the madrasa system owed much to Turkish initiative. It was developed in the region of Transoxiana and Khorasan, where Turks constituted a significant part of the population, and Turkish kings of the Qarakhanid, Ghaznawid, and Seljuq dynasties were the founders of the earliest of such schools. Turks appear, moreover, among the earliest bibliophiles and founders of libraries in Islam. Persia was almost completely conquered by Muslim armies in the time of the caliph Omar, in 641, only nine years after the death of the Prophet, and about ten years later the Sasanid monarch fell in the hand of the Arab armies in Merv. From this point on, from the Caspian to the south of Afghanistan, the Arab armies met, in their advance, with local Turkish resistance, and the conquest of Transoxiana and Tokharistan with its capital Balkh could be brought to a successful conclusion only through the energetic initiatives of Qutayba ibn Muslim about a hundred years after the death of the Prophet. Turks thus came to constitute a part of the Muslim community, and from this time on they undertook to defend the borders of Islam, while the other Turks of Central Asia from outside the Islamic realm began to accept the Muslim faith. Al-Ma'mun had a sizeable body of Turkish soldiers in Baghdad, who according to Jahiz, were the most capable and efficient of his military personnel, while with his successor Al-Mutasim (833-842) opened a period of predominance of Turkish army officers of high rank. This gave rise to the socalled Samarra period, during which the seat of government was moved from Baghdad to Samarra. This period lasted from 836 to 892, extending through the reigns of eight successive caliphs. Already in the ninth century independent Turkish states began to spring up in Islam, not only such as the Qarakhanids and the Ghaznawids in Central Asia, but such as the Tulunids and the Ikhshidids in Egypt, in the heart of the vast Islamic realm. But Turks were not active and efficient only in administrative and military affairs and in the field of statesmanship. For the cities of Central Asia soon gained pre-eminence not only as nurseries of Islamic studies but also as cultural centres where valuable scientific work was carried on extensively. W. Barthold observesation the importance of cooperation between peoples of different geographic regions in building up the Islamic civilization. He sees the main significance of the rise of Islam, for the intellectual history of the world, in the circumstance that thereby a realm came into being in which the cultural cooperation of a considerable part of mankind was possible. The vast Islamic territory extending from the Pyrenees and the Atlantic Ocean, through North Africa, to Central Asia and the Indian Ocean embraced many groups of people of different ethnic origins. Religion was the main common bond, but there were also different faiths and many denominational variations. And although sectarian ideologies were often utilized in the foundation of regional kingdoms, as the Muslim religion itself had served as the motive power of building an empire, yet a state of tolerance prevailed in Islam that was quite remarkable. Moreover, belief in the paramount importance of the Arabic language, the

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language of the Koran and the Prophet, was, more or less, an article of faith among the Muslims, and thus Arabic also served as a veritable common bond in the huge Muslim domain. It is of interest to consider the following assertion of Al-Brn, a truly towering genius of medieval Islam, in the light of this general perspective. He says, "The ideas and convictions of people often show great diversities, and the prosperity of the world rests on such divergences of opinion." In Zeki Velidi Togan's estimation and interpretation, Al-Brn conceived the world civilization as divided into two major groups. These were the Orient and the Occident. The former comprised the Indians, the Chinese, and the Turks remaining outside the sphere of the Islamic culture. Islam itself constituted a continuation of the Classical World of Antiquity. Al-Brn is thus seen to attach great importance to the elements of continuity tying the ancient Greek civilization to Islam and made possible especially through the activity of translation. Moreover, Al-Brn believed that the acceptance of the Muslim faith by the Turks resulted in a great extension of the sphere of the Occidental civilization and that thereby an important service was rendered to humanity.
Such high thoughts of Al-Brn are significant proof of Barthold's statement referred to above. The Persians played a great part in the intellectual and scientific activity of Islam. Moreover, a galaxy of truly remarkable thinkers and scientists of Islam are seen to have originated from the northeastern regions of Islam, from the districts of Khurasan and Central Asia in general. AI-Farabi, Al-Brn, Ibn Sina, Nasiruddin at-Tusi, and Ulugh Bey constitute examples of the vast group of scientists and thinkers from the districts of Khurasan and Transoxiana.
Such people were partly Persian and partly Turkish and did not feel the need to specify their ethnic origins. Only in certain exceptional cases, therefore, are we able to clearly distinguish their nationalities either on the basis of casual information concerning their lives which has come down to us, or because such inference becomes clearly possible from the titles they bore, or, in the case of scholars and scientists who lived in the earlier centuries especially, from the names of their ancestors. For example, such scholars as Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Uzlugh al-Farabi (d. 950-951), the dean of the philosophers and logicians of Islam and one of its most distinguished scientists, musicologists, and thinkers, and Abu Nasr Ismail al-Jawhari al-Farabi (d. 1002), one of its first lexicographers, bore the title al-Turki", i.e., the Turk" or "the Turkish". They both originated from Farab, a city deep in the lands inhabited by Turks, as their title al-Farabi indicates. Likewise, certain other scholars were referred to by the title "al-Farsi", i.e., "the Persian", or "from Fars". Concerning Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi, to whom several sources specifically refer as Turkish, we know, in addition, that throughout his long span of life he never abandoned the habit of wearing Turkish costumes and Turkish hat. Moreover, the names of his forefathers, Tarkhan and Uzlugh, are Turkish. With the advent of the Seljuqs Turks migrating in such large numbers into Islamic territories, that the part of this population which settled in Asia Minor was able to transform that territory into a predominantly Turkish country in a relatively short time. From the eleventh century on, therefore, Turks could be expected to be encountered in any part of the Islamic East. But before the Seljuqs geographic considerations could serve more reliably as guides for the likelihood of Turkish and Persian origins.

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Abu Bakr Muhammed ibn Zekeriya ar-Razi, great physician and chemist and one of the foremost representatives of free and independent thought in Islam, who originated from Ray, on the outskirts of present-day Tehran, may, solely on the basis of geographic criterion, be considered a Persian. Abu'l-'Abbas Ahmed al-Farghani, who was a contemporary of Al-Ma'mun and Al-Mutawakkil, on the other hand, may for similar reasons be deemed to be a Turk, while for scholars from Khurasan and its close neighbourhoods it would be more difficult to reach such verdicts. There is no need to emphasize that such a criterion alone would not be conclusive in individual cases, but could merely serve to establish a probability. As the examples are multiplied, however, the probability of making mistakes on the basis of geographical criteria alone should undoubtedly decrease. In dealing with individual cases therefore it is very desirable to rely upon more specific and detailed items of information. Al-Brn, for example, tells us that his mother tongue was neither Arabic nor Persian. He adds, moreover, that it is impossible to write scientific books in his maternal language. He asserts that Arabic is the language appropriate for writing books of science and learning and that Persian is suitable for eulogies and evening stories, adding, however, that he himself would prefer criticism in Arabic to being praised in Persian. Al-Brn is seen to have known Turkish from occasional references he makes to words in that language. Apparently he knew Turkish already in his very tender ages. For at least on two occasions he speaks of somewhat detailed childhood memories concerning aged Turks who brought medicines made of herbs to his native town, one of them being to the palace of Khwarazm. Moreover, Al-Brn's Turkish was, according to Zeki Velidi Togan, that of the Turks of his native country. And it is very unlikely that Al-Brn's acquaintance with Turkish was a result of his formal or private education. We may conclude that Al-Brn was most certainly not Persian and was very likely Turkish. His case is somewhat like that of A1-Farabi, in that there exist certain detailed items of information that make possible the determination of his nationality. It is of course not in any way essential or necessary to determine the nationalities of these scientists and thinkers one by one. But it is certainly of importance to do some such work at least in order to show that the production of such men was not a monopoly of any single national or racial group. In the medieval Islamic World the patronage and encouragement of scientists and their work by kings and people of high rank such as viziers was an important factor in the production of scientists and the continuation of scientific work. For in Islam the principle of utility was of considerable weight in deciding in favour or against a branch of knowledge, and the Muslims were quite conscious of this pragmatic test and often mentioned it as a legitimate criterion. Notwithstanding certain apt criticisms directed against astrology and alchemy, on the other hand, the feeling of dependability on these pseudo-sciences was quite strong and widespread in Islam, and the encouragement and patronage accorded to them was quite substantial. Quite naturally, medicine also enjoyed popular and royal support. In Islam astrology, with its branches, thrived well in royal courts. Moreover, in many cases, kings and princes patronized the type of astrology that required elaborate mathematical treatment and accurate observations with costly instruments.

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Without this kind of royal patronage the popularity of astrology might have not served to encourage the cultivation of mathematics and pure astronomy to any considerable extent beyond that part falling within the province of the muwaqqit (a time-keeper employed by a mosque) and satisfying the needs of religion. Indeed, in it became the case that in the Muslim world the transmitted sciences, i.e., those related to Islamic studies, were considered to be of far greater value as compared to the secular sciences, while the latter were subject to mild scepticism and suspicion and, at times, were made targets of rather severe criticism and of even active opposition. It may be said without hesitation that the support afforded by the kings to astrology, alchemy, and, at least thereby, to the secular sciences was quite often rather substantial. Indeed, royal patronage generally extended to the basic secular sciences quite generously. Royal patronage of the secular sciences was undoubtedly an important factor in counteracting lay and theological disapprovals of the secular sciences. For kings usually combined temporal authority with some degree of spiritual power, and their authority was generally absolute both in theory and practice. It was also a favourable circumstance from the vantage point of the cultivation of such knowledge that in Islam the system of a plurality of relatively small states rather than that of large central governments generally tended to prevail. Indeed, beginning with the Abbasid caliphs such as Al-Mansur, Harun Rashid, Al-Ma'mun, Al-Mutasim, and Al-Mutawakkil, royal patronage was the prime-moving factor in the intellectual development that lay at the foundation of the emerging Islamic civilization. Turks, on the other hand, assumed an active part in administrative, military, and political affairs from relatively early years of the Abbasid rule on, as we have already seen, and soon they extended this activity of statesmanship by founding or heading many Islamic states. They were thereby instrumental to quite a substantial extent in promoting scientific work. The most illustrious among Turkish rulers who encouraged and promoted scientific work is, without any doubt, Ulugh Bey. Indeed, if only three rulers should be singled out for consideration as the most remarkable patrons of science throughout the Middle Ages, they would undoubtedly be Al-Ma'mun, Alfonso X, and Ulugh Bey, and Ulugh Bey should certainly be ranked as the most enlightened among them. There will be occasion in the following pages to refer to other Turkish rulers who patronized scientific work when speaking of observatories and hospitals. Names of Turkish rulers in Islam who encouraged scientific work and were personally interested in its cultivation would run into a quite long list. It will be of interest, however, to mention here two specific examples of Turkish rulers who are most certainly not among the top celebrities and are in fact quite obscure. Mughith al-Din Muhammed ibn Arslanshah of the twelfth century, the seventh king of Seljuqs of Kirman, was very fond of astronomy and astrology. He possessed some knowledge in these fields and in the science of calendar. He gave unusual encouragement to the pursuit of learning and supported promising young students by giving them pecuniary rewards. And according to Ibn Bibi, (Alauddin Dawudshah ibn Bahramshah, thirteenth century ruler of Erzincan was very learned in the science of stars, including astrology, and in mathematics, medicine, natural sciences, and logic, and could write good poetry. In the Near and Middle East the Arab conquerors, as mentioned above, had come into contact with civilizations or remnants of civilizations far superior to their own, and as the Islamic community became welded together, these civilizations were duly represented in the emerging Muslim society. But in consolidating the intellectual foundations of the new society much concerted effort was expended and contact was secured

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also with cultures not so readily accessible. This was done, as said above, through systematic translation activities. Learned people made from Syria, Iraq, and Persia, people mostly belonging to the Nestorian and Monophysite sects made the majority of these translations. But there were also prominent Muslim Arabs as well as Jews and Zoroastrians among the translators. Harran, a pagan centre representing predominantly the ancient Mesopotamian civilization, Jundisapur, a predominantly Nestorian medical centre in southwestern Persia, and Merv, at the edge of the district of Khurasan, and well within the borderlands of Central Asia, where the Nestorians had set up a centre, were foremost among such cultural centres. This brings us back to the regions to the northeast of Iran, and we may say that in the matter of the first fruitful intellectual contacts, certain early scholars of this area were among the trailblazers in translations from Sanskrit. Likewise, the Jewish scholar Sahl ibn Rabban at-Tabari from Merv figures among the earliest translators of the Almagest of Ptolemy.
Figure 1. A horse anatomy figure drawn by Muslim surgeon. Indeed, AI-Farabi clearly states that the last representatives of the tradition of instruction of philosophy in Alexandria and Antioch moved to Merv when the representatives of this tradition had to quit those cities and that they continued their activity in that new centre. It should be of interest in this connection too that a man from Balkh and one from Nishabur, both in the regions in the north-east of Persia, are mentioned as teachers of Abu Bakr Muhammed ibn Zakariyya ar-Razi, a truly towering thinker and scientist of early Islam whose life stretches from 864: to 925 C.E.

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The illustrious pre-Islamic medical centre, Jundisapur, owed its importance particularly to Nestorian physicians who were forced to leave the territories of the Eastern Roman Empire because of their religious views and had enjoyed the protection of Iran. In Jundisapur there was a hospital which was apparently the most advanced institution of its kind in that era and which, most likely, served as the leading model for the medieval hospitals of Islam. It would seem that this medieval centre had been influenced to some extent by Indian medicine, but the predominant influence had come from the healing art of the Greeks, and Jundisapur was at the time the foremost representative of Greek medicine. The physicians of Jundisapur were among the promoters of the translation activity from Greek and Syriac into Arabic, in which some of them also participated personally. The hospitals of medieval Islam are in the true sense of the word the forerunners of the modern hospital. The Greek asklepion was a temple of cure dedicated to the gods of healing. These institutions were shrines of miraculous cure with mystifying atmospheres calculated to have psychological effects on the patients, and in them, ordinarily, physicians practising Greek scientific medicine played no part. The Islamic hospitals, on the contrary, were well-organized and specialized institutions of charity, and they constituted strongholds of scientific medicine.
Figure 2. Sultan Bayazid II Mental Hospital and Medical Madrasa in Edirne, Turkey. It is of great interest therefore that in the development of the hospital as a specialized philanthropic and scientific institution Turks seem to have played a prominent part. The fifth Islamic hospital was built by Fath ibn Khaqan ibn Gartuch, Turkish general and minister of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil, and the sixth one by Ahmed ibn Tulun. This latter institution was the first Islamic hospital supported by the waqf endowment. It may be added that out of the five earliest hospitals that had waqf, the Turks built three or possibly four of them.
The third Islamic hospital owed its existence to the initiative of the Barmaks who were from Balkh, and they may have had a hand in the foundation of the first Islamic hospital too. Representatives of Indian medicine ran the third Islamic hospital, and some such a situation may have obtained to some extent in the first Islamic hospital too. It should be added here that hospital-building activity

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gained great momentum beginning with the Seljuqs, i.e., during the period of prevalence of Turkish political power in Islam.
Like the hospital the observatory too was one of the most developed institutions of science and learning in Islam and one of the high-water marks of the Muslim civilization. There is no doubt that the observatory, as a specialized scientific institution owes a great deal to Islam. It may very reasonably be claimed, in fact, that it was first in Islam that the observatory, as a specialized institution with an official and legal status and with a fixed location where observation and other work on stellar bodies was carried out systematically through the cooperation of several scientists, came into existence. Al-Ma'mun set the example and initiated the tradition of founding observatories in Islam, and that monarch founded two of the major but very shortlived observatories, the Shammaslya in Baghdad and Qasiyun in Damascus.
Figure 3. Taqi al-Din and his colleagues in Istanbul Observatory miniature. Eight other examples of enterprises for building full-fledged and elaborate official state observatories occurred in the Islamic realm up to the seventeenth century. The earliest in date among them was the Sharaf ad-Dawla Observatory built in 987 in Baghdad. This was an elaborate institution, but it was quite short-lived, apparently because it suffered from the ambitiousness of its project. The Turkish king Melikshah in Isfahan founded the next large-scale observatory in 1074. Al-Afdal and Al-Bata'ihi, two Fatimid viziers, were active in the building of an observatory in Cairo between 1120 and 1125. But the project could not be brought to full completion.

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The Maragha Observatory, founded in 1259 under the patronage of Hulagu was one of the most elaborate institutions of its kind and the scene of important work. About 1300, Ghazan Khan founded another observatory in Tebriz, the characteristic feature of which seems to have been the weight given in it to instruction in astronomy. A gigantic observatory was built in Samarqand by the Turkish astronomer prince Ulugh Bey in 1420, and finally the Tophane Observatory of Istanbul was founded by the Ottoman ruler Murad III in 1575 or shortly thereafter. It is seen that three out of these ten institutions owed their existence to Turkish rulers, and two among the remaining seven also belong to the period of Mongol-Turkish rule. Out of these five observatories, moreover, four were the most elaborate and the most highly developed of such institutions ever built in the World of Islam, while the fifth one, that founded by Ghazan Khan, is of great interest because of its special feature connected with the dissemination of the knowledge of astronomy and the mathematical sciences, and also because it seems to bring into relief the effort to more truly integrate the observatory with the characteristics of the Islamic society through the endowment of that institution with waqf revenues. It may be added that Ulugh Bey was about twenty-five years old when he founded his observatory. The Turkish scientist Salahuddin Qadizade-i Rumi from far away Bursa in Anatolia played a great part in the formation of the scientific circle of Samarqand headed and patronized by Ulugh Bey. Qadizade had travelled to Samarqand to enrich his scientific knowledge. In his efforts to procure his travel expenses his sister, who sold her jewelery for that purpose, supported him. He became there a student of Sayyid Sharif-i Juzjani. It is very likely that in his decision to set up an observatory, Ulugh Bey was inspired at least partly by Qadizade. He was the teacher of Ulugh Bey who made him the director of his Samarqand Madrasa. In the introduction to his Zij Ulugh Bey writes: ...The work was started jointly, with the aid and assistance of His Excellency my master and my support, the most learned of the men of learning, the bearer of the banner of virtue and sagacity, the devotee of the path of truth and the guide of the road of scrutiny, our mawl Salah al-Molla wa'd-Din Musa, famous as Qadizade-i Rumi, may God's mercy and compassion be upon him. ..." In Islam there were rather important special observatories set up by individual astronomers and also observation posts with limited scope of work, some of which were quite elaborate though necessarily of a temporary nature and generally of short periods of activity. Real institutions should transcend individuals, and therefore special observatories belonging to individual astronomers are relatively in the background from the standpoint of the development of the observatory as an organized and specialized scientific institution. Nevertheless, such special observatories played an at least indirect part of primary significance in the birth and growth of that institution. One such special observatory of great interest and of quite early date was that belonging to the Turkish Amajur family. Abu'l-Qasim Abdullah ibn Amajur, his son Abu'l Hasan Ali, a third member of the family, and Ali's freed slave Muflih ibn Yusuf were among the greatest recorder of astronomical observations of Islam. There is a record concerning a certain Amajur who was a high official of Damasscus and who died about 878. He may have belonged to the same family. The Amajurs made extensive astronomical observations between 885 and 933, and, at times, seem to have had other collaborators. Their observations were made partly in Shiraz and mostly in Baghdad, and their

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work included observations of the fixed stars, as well as lunar, solar, and planetary observations. The Amajurs bore the title "al-Turki", i.e., "the Turkish". The early date of these observations may be brought into prominence by noting that they took place before the foundation of the Sharaf ad-Dawla Observatory and that, likewise, they antedated such first-rate and early observation activities as those of Abdurrahman as-Sufi and Abu'l-Wafa. In fact, the activity of the astronomers of the Amajur family was preceded, among similar major undertakings, only by the observations conducted by Al-Mamun and those made by the Banu Musa Brothers, the observations of AlBattani having been carried out practically during the same period as those of the Amajur family. The remarkably long stretch of the observation activity of the Amajurs, extending over nearly fifty years, did, very likely, not constitute an uninterrupted sequence of work. It should be noted, nonetheless, that it was lengthier than the life span of any of the major Islamic observatories mentioned above, with the sole and possible exception of the Maragha Observatory. Only two other specific examples of great interest, concerning early medieval Islam, will be touched upon here. Abu'l-Fadl 'Abdulhamid ibn Wasi ibn Turk was apparently the first Islamic mathematician to write a book on algebra. Indeed, he, very likely, wrote his algebra before Al-Khwarazmi wrote his. For, unlike AlKhwarazmi, he wrote an unabridged algebra, and, moreover, there is evidence that Al-Khwarazmi was still alive at about the middle of the ninth century. Abdulhamid ibn Turk was also the author of certain books on numbers, on commercial arithmetic, and on the art of calculation, probably with the decimal system. The fields of algebra and calculation with positional decimal system of numerals were fields in which Western Europe received important influence from the World of Islam. This influence was transmitted especially through the translation of the works of Muhammed ibn Musa al-Khwarazmi. Abu'l-Fadl 'Abdulhamid ibn Turk was either a contemporary of Al-Khwarazmi or of slightly earlier date. He must have lived therefore during the reigns of Harun Rashid and AI-Ma'mun. His grandson Abu Barza was also a mathematician and likewise bore the title "ibn Turk". AI-Khwarazmi too may have been a Turk, as his native land was Khwarazm where Turks constituted a considerable part of the native population. The likelihood that Al-Khwarazmi was Turkish is enhanced by the fact that he vas apparently sent on an official mission to the Turkish Khazars. Such examples of early date clearly show that Turks not only contributed substantially to the continuation and progress of scientific work in Islam, together with the Arabs and Persians, but that, like them, they also took part in the pioneering work of laying the intellectual foundations of the Islamic culture and civilization at its initial and formative stages. They thus figured prominently, in a more general context, among the artisans and architects who brought the Islamic World to the forefront of the domain of world civilization and raised it to the position of the torch bearer of knowledge from which the Christian West received the light and inspiration with the help of which the Dark Ages became a thing of the past. During the twelfth century in special Arabic works on science, medicine, and philosophy were translated into Latin as a result of intense and systematic efforts centred and organized in Toledo and Sicily. The importance of this process of appropriation of the legacy of Islam by Western Europe is brought into relief by giving the name "the Renaissance of the Twelfth Century" to this period of translation, implying thereby that it is quite comparable in importance, in the intellectual history of Europe, to the Renaissance of the sixteenth century.

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But there is also the question of further Islamic contributions during the era extending from the thirteenth century to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, i.e., of indirect contributions of Islam to the rise of modern science in Europe. In other words, although Islam did not produce the Copernicuses, Vesaliuses, Harveys, Galileos, and Keplers of the sixteenth and seventeenth century scientific revolution and even though the decisive achievements leading to the rise of modern science were materialized in Europe only, yet Islam would seem to have contributed to a limited extent and in a roundabout manner to the actualisation of that scientific revolution, and Turks were undoubtedly the most important element in Islam in the transmission of such influences. Contacts of Europe with Islam were sharply reduced with the close of the 14 th century CE. But there is evidence that after the later centuries too cultural contacts of intellectual significance between Islam and Europe continued to be of a magnitude that was by no means trivial or negligible.
There were Christian and Jewish communities and also important places of pilgrimage within the Islamic territory. Moreover, the time of the Ilkhans and the Ottoman era, especially the reigns of Muhammed the Conqueror and Suleyman the Magnificent marked periods of increased contact with Europe. By the beginning of the sixteenth century the whole of the Balkan Peninsula had come under the Ottomans, and Turkish rule had penetrated into the heart of Europe. It is reasonable to think that these circumstances too were conducive to the growth and enhancement of cultural relations between the two realms.
Figure 4: A miniature portrait of Mehmed II by Sinan Bey (Topkap Palace Museum Library, H 2153). In the Ptolemaic theory of the solar system, which had reigned supreme throughout the Middle Ages in Europe as well as in Islam, the model used for the moon resulted in a variation of the distance of the moon to the earth which was conspicuously exaggerated. It is of great interest from the standpoint of the repercussions of Islamic astronomy in Europe that the model used by Copernicus to correct this glaring discrepancy of the Ptolemaic model with observed facts was based on the use of secondary epicycles in the

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same way as they were utilized some two hundred years previously by the Islamic astronomer Ibn ashShatir. Parallelism also exists between Ibn ash-Shatir's and Copernicus' model serving to account for the motions of Mercury and Venus. As Copernicus generalized the use of Ibn ash-Shatir's double epicycle device by applying it to planetary motions, Ibn ash-Sha,tir's model for lunar motion is considered to have served as a source of inspiration for Copernicus. According to Copernicus' younger contemporary and close associate Rheticus, Copernicus' reflections on the changes observed in the brightness of Mercury contributed towards the creation of his system. It is noteworthy that a device used by Copernicus in connection with Mercury is also of Islamic origin. In Ptolemy's model for Mercury one of the constituent motions took place along a straight-line segment. Copernicus replaced this by a device consisting of two circles, the diameter of the smaller being equal to the radius of the larger one. The small circle rolls within the larger one, always remaining tangent to it. As in such a device a point on the circumference of the small circle traces a straight line which is a diameter of the larger circle, the device serves to convert uniform circular motion into an oscillatory motion along a straight line, or, rather, to represent a translational motion with the help of uniform circular motions. Copernicus used this device to transform the translational motion in the Ptolemaic model into uniform circular motion that was deemed more appropriate for stellar bodies. This device had been utilized and perhaps also thought out by Nasiruddin at-Tusi, the director of the Maragha Observatory founded by Hulagu. It is of great interest also that Copernicus' parallactic ruler was not fixed but could revolve about its vertical axis. This instrument was, either the first European example of its kind, or the second such example, the first use of it having been made by Regiomontanus shortly before the time of Copernicus. The revolving parallactic ruler also reveals unmistakable Islamic influence upon Europe. It made its first appearance in the thirteenth century in Islam. It was among the instruments designed for the Maragha Observatory, and about a century and half later Ghiyathuddin Jamshid al-Kashi (or Kashani) used such an instrument in Samarqand where he worked in Ulugh Bey's Observatory. In Europe it is later on seen among the instruments of Tycho Brahe. Ghiyathuddin al-Kashi is said to have thought of a new method with the help of which to measure the parallaxes of the lower planets and to apply it to Venus. As these planets are not visible at their culmination, he is said to have proceeded as follows, in Samarqand. He found the latitude and longitude of Venus for a given time shortly before sunrise or shortly after sunset and calculated its true altitude from these values of latitude and longitude. He then found its azimuth from this altitude, and fixing a parallactic ruler at this azimuth, he measured the apparent altitude of Venus. From this, finally, he deduced its parallax. Two of the methods for measuring parallaxes of comets attributed to Regiomontanus are based on measurements of elevation and azimuth at two positions making acute angles with the meridian. The measurement of elevation at directions outside the meridian brings to the mind the method, just

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mentioned, of Ghiyathuddin for determining the parallaxes of the inferior planets. It is possible that the latter's method had inspired Regiomontanus, and Regiomontanus may have had recourse to the revolving parallactic ruler for making the measurements in question. Parallelisms have been found between the trigonometry of Regiomontanus and that of Nasiruddin at-Tusi as well as of Ulugh Bey's circle. Again, Ghiyathuddin Jamshid al-Kashi (d. 1429-30) gave an example of the use of positional decimal fractions in a period in which similar individual examples of it are encountered in Europe. The mathematicians Mordecai Comtino (d. 1487) and Elia Misrahi (1456-1526) were well familiar with the Ottoman capital, and, in fact, they both died there. Mordecai Comtino gave the example of the use of positional decimal fractions, and Misrahi is known to have brought along with him, in his trip form Istanbul to Basel, a book containing certain important summation formulas. The knowledge of such formulas had been much developed and enriched in Islam through the work of Ghiyathuddin al-Kashi especially, and such mathematicians used summation formulas as Bonaventura Cavalieri (1598-1647) in connection with their work paving the way towards the emergence of the integral calculus. How did, for example Copernicus gain access to the knowledge of such things as the Nasiruddin at-Tusi device for converting circular motion into a rectilinear one and the Ibn ash-Shatir model of double epicycle? Apparently none of these were to be found in European texts. Such ideas must in part have travelled and been transmitted orally and by elusive routes very difficult to determine with any degree of certitude in their full details. Important books on astronomy were written in Eastern Islam during the period extending between the time of Nasiruddin at-Tusi and the end of the sixteenth century. And they were apparently well read and far from being merely committed to the shelves. Unbroken lines of astronomers were produced, and substantial commentaries to the more important works were composed. One finds, e.g., Nasiruddin's above-mentioned device described and explained in several fourteenth and fifteenth century books on astronomy. In the period spanning the life times of Regiomontanus and Copernicus there were at least two astronomers of note in Istanbul. They were both well versed in mathematics as well as in theoretical and practical astronomy, and they were productive writers. They were Ali Qushji (d. 1474) and Mirim Chelebi (d. 1525). Istanbul, on the other hand, with its active commercial dealings especially in maritime trade and its thriving Venetian, Genoese, and Ragusan colonies, was a metropolis well suited to traffic in ideas and cultural contacts between the East and the West. Several Italian painters and men of letters are known to have visited Istanbul and to have stayed there for periods of different lengths. Gentile Bellini resided in Muhammed the Conqueror's court for some months during the years 1479-1480. In the opening years of the sixteenth century Leonardo da Vinci designed a plan for a bridge to be built across the Golden Horn in Istanbul. His plan as well as a letter concerning it has been preserved to our day. Regiomontanus was a contemporary of Ali Qushji and Muhammed the Conqueror, and Copernicus was a contemporary of Mirim Chelebi and Suleyman the Magnificent. Suleyman the Magnificent ruled from 1520 to

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1561, and during the early years of his reign diplomatic activity of the Ottomans with all parts of Europe reached a high pitch. Examples of cultural contacts of a similar nature but running in the opposite direction are likewise not lacking. The map of America by Piri Reis, an admiral of Suleyman the Magnificent, is a clear witness of fruitful cultural relations between the East and the West, this time Ottoman Turkey being on the receiving end.
Figure 5. A section of the World Map produced by Pr Reis and presented to Sultan Selim I in 1517. It has been claimed that the ideas of Ibn al-Nafis of the thirteenth century influenced the discovery of the circulation of blood in Europe. This is probable indeed, as Ibn al-Nafis' book containing the first description in history of the pulmonary circulation was translated into Latin in 1547, i.e., several years before the publication of the same discovery by Michael Servetus and Realdo Colombo. It is quite possible too that the tracer whose invention is attributed to Sanctorius (1561 -1636), and sometimes to certain contemporaries of his, was not unrelated to the similar instrument used by Sabunjuoglu Sherefuddin, fifteenth century Turkish physician and surgeon of Amasya. The probability of such a relation gains added strength from the fact that they both had also the syringe and the permanent probe and that Altunjuzade (or Altunizade), a contemporary of Sharafuddin, also had some such instruments. But the case is complicated by the possible priority of Abu'I-Qasim az-Zahrawi (d. ca. 1013) in these matters. This would again involve the problem of Islamic influence upon Europe, but in this case the influence in question could go back to a much earlier date. It is of interest in this connection that Sanctorius had been to Hungary and Croatia, so that he must have been in rather close contact with Ottoman medicine.

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Nasiruddin at-Tusi's ideas on Euclid's parallel postulate became available in Europe in Latin translation in the middle of the seventeenth century. This is said to have influenced the substantial work of Girolamo Saccheri in the eighteenth century, clearing the way for the appearance of non-Euclidean geometry. Interesting similarities have come to light between the instruments of Taqiyuddin in Istanbul and those of his contemporary Tycho Brahe. Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg Observatory was built in 1576, i.e., only one year after that of Taqiyuddin. They both had the mural quadrant, the azimuthal quadrant, and a "wooden quadrant" with common special features. Both astronomers had, moreover, the armillary sphere and the parallactic ruler.
Figure 6. The Portrait of Sultan Selim III (1789-1808). Most of these instruments can be traced back to Ptolemy, but they had been improved in Eastern Islam and acquired new specific features, adapting them to the needs of large-size observatory instruments. The Tychonic instruments were of this later Islamic variety, so that they are linked up and tied to those of late medieval observatories of Islam with very tangible and clear bonds of historical continuity. Parallelism and continuity is likewise found between the other early observatories of modern Europe and those of late medieval Islam in many particulars and points of detail. There should be no doubt indeed that the modern observatories of Europe actually grew out of the observatories of the Turkish-Islamic World. With the passing of centuries Europe made great strides in science and industry, and it was now the turn of the Islamic World to turn to the West to increase its knowledge, reform its institutions of science and learning, and modernize its industry. In fact, such a procedure had to be adopted eventually by the rest of the world too, e.g., by Japan, China, and India. It should be noted here, even if very briefly, that outside of Europe, the first example of such a movement of importing Western science was given by Ottoman Turkey. This started with the opening, in Istanbul, of a naval engineering school in 1773-4 and of an army engineering school in 1795 by the Selim III reign. During the nineteenth century this movement of Westernisation continued in Ottoman Turkey in various

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other fields and on a progressively broadening scale, and Muhammed Ali Pasha of Egypt carried out the same sort of reform during the second quarter of the last century and in Iran in a somewhat later era. Turks are thus seen to have played an active part in the pursuit of science and learning in the Islamic World throughout its history. This activity started at the very formative stages of the process of building a historically momentous world civilization and continued, with its various turns of fortune, down to the present day.

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Al-Qayrawan (Tunisia)
Author: Chief Editor: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright:
Salah Zaimeche PhD Lamaan Ball September 2004 4067 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Al-Qayrawan (Tunisia) September 2004
AL-QAYRAWAN (TUNISIA)
Àl-Qayrawan,' according to Al-Idrisi, is `mother of cities and capital of the land, is the greatest city in the Arab West, the most populated, prosperous and thriving with the most perfect buildings...'1
Al-Idrisis eulogy for al-Qayrawan is not just amply merited, it symbolises the greatnesses of Muslim civilisation in each and every single manner, all to be found expressed by the history of Al-Qayrawan. First and foremost, Al-Qayrawan symbolises Islams greatness in the way, that out of nothing, sand and bareness of pre-Islamic times rose one of the most vibrant centres of civilisation of the Middle Ages. Second, it is first and foremost learning from Al-Qayrawan, which triggered revival north of the Mediterranean, that is in Europe, following translations of such learning. Third, Al-Qayrawan symbolises perfectly Muslim civilisation in its decline, the city rampaged in the 11th century by the Banu Hilal, saw its prosperity and learning extinguished to this day, just as learning was extinguished in Islam following the crusader-Mongol invasions, and yet, just as Islamic civilisation, refusing to be extinguished, al-Qayrawan has always been a symbol of resistance. These three points are looked at in turn.
The Birth and Rise to Glory of Al-Qayrawan:

When Okba Ibn Nafi, heading the Muslim army in the Maghrib reached the valley of al-Qayrawan, he spent there the night with his companions. The following morning, he stopped at the entrance of the barren valley, and hailed loud:
`Dwellers of the valley, leave! For we are stopping here. He gave the order three times. Soon, serpents, scorpios, and many other species began to leave. The Muslim warriors, standing, gazed at the exodus taking place from the morning until made uncomfortable by the great heat. Then, seeing that all had disappeared, they installed themselves in the valley. Forty years after this day, it was said, the people of Ifriqya could not find a serpent or a scorpion even when they were offered a thousand dinar for one.2
A legend say some, a real story say others; whichever, a beautiful story symbolising the greatness of a great city. Al-Qayrawan lies 112 miles south of Tunis and 40 miles west of Susa, and is 250 feet above sea level in the middle of a great plain traversed by the Wadi Zarud and the Wadi Merguellil, both of which ultimately disappear in a salt lake.3 These rivers are subject to sudden floods, which sometimes turn the environs of the city into a lake, and when the rains have been sufficiently abundant, the soil yields a rich harvest, the Al-Idrisi: Nuzhat al-Mushtaq, quoted by M al-Rammah: The Ancient Library of Kairaouan and its methods of conservation, in The Conservation and preservation of Islamic manuscripts, Proceedings of the Third Conference of Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1995, pp 29-47, at p. 29. 2 Ibn abd al-Hakem. In J. Fontaine and P. Gresser: Le Guide de la Tunisie; Editions La Manufacture; Besancon; 1992; P. 306. 3 G. Iver: Kairawan; Encyclopaedia of Islam; first series vol 4; pp. 646-9; at p. 646.
1

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Muslim geographer al-Bakri, telling how in the western part, the grain sown is sometimes returned a hundred fold.4 The year 670 CE is renowned as the year of the foundation of the city of Al-Qayrawan. Prior to that, the Muslim armies had already defeated the Byzantine army of the Patriarch Gregory at Sbeitla.5 A further Muslim victory which destroyed the Byzantine navy secured a powerful Muslim presence in the region.6 It was in 670, that Okba Ibn Nafi laid the first stone of the city; he first built a mosque, the palace of government, then houses for his soldiers as well as a wall 2750 yards long. 7Al-Qayrawan became the capital of Muslim Africa and the residence of the Muslim governors. 8
Qayrawan Mosque It was under the Aghlabids (800-909) that Al-Qayrawan underwent considerable expansion and reached the zenith of its prosperity;
9
and whatever legacy it has left to history dates from its Aghlabid period. The
Aghlabid rulers vied with each other in enriching the city with rich monuments and multiplied the works of public utility.10 Ibrahim Ibn Ahmad (876-7) built a palace celebrated for the purity of its air, a castle around which grew up an important town with bazaars, baths, and large parks and gardens. 11 The Aghlabids, most importantly, left great engineering works, such as the huge water storage basins, a number of aqueducts and bridges, various water works, and the complex sewage system. 12 One such remarkable work was the reservoirs, one of which al-Bakri describes:
ìs circular in form and of enormous size. In the centre rises an octagonal tower covered by a pavilion with four doors. A long series of arcades of arches resting one upon the other ends on the south side of the reservoir. 13
4 5
G. Iver: Kairawan; at p. 646. J. Fontaine and P. Gresser: Le Guide de la Tunisie; op cit; P.52. 6 J. Fontaine and P. Gresser: Le Guide de la Tunisie; P.52. 7 G. Iver: Kairawan; op cit; p. 647. 8 G. Iver: Kairawan; p. 647. 9 G. Iver: Kairawan; p. 647. 10 G .Iver: Kairawan; p. 647. 11 G. Iver: Kairawan; p. 647. 12 S and N. Ronart: Concise encyclopaedia of Arabic civilization; The Arab West; Djambatan; Amsterdam; 1966. pp, 37-8. 13 Al-Bakri quoted by G. Iver: Kairawan; op cit; at p. 647.

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These reservoirs are by far some of the most original ever to be erected, and done good justice by the lengthy (about 270 pages) account of them by the French historian Solignac.14 Solignac corrects in fact one of the greatest fallacies of history, for these reservoirs, due to their high aesthetics and remarkable engineering skills, and like many other Islamic achievements,15 were attributed, despite all evidence, 16 to both Phoenicians17 and Romans;18obviously too advanced to deserve a Muslim authorship. Such erroneous views were adopted by a number of Western `scholars until modern archaeological excavations and advanced studies proved the Islamic origin of such structures. 19These reservoirs have two basins, one used for decantation, one as a reserve, and at times a third one for drawing water out of it.20 Other than their impressive numbers, over two hundred and fifty in the region, such reservoirs also offer a great attraction in their form and structure. The photograph of such the `Basin des Aghlabides, (The Reservoir of the Aghlabids) built in the ninth century by Abu Ibrahim Ahmed reveals, was indeed a sort of temple of water which, it is hoped, is still preserved in its majesty. One of the glories of Islam, to be found in Al-Qayrawan, and not owed in its founding to the Aghlabids is the large mosque. Al-Qayrawan mosque, also known as Jamii Uqba built sometime between 670 and 680 by Uqba ibn Nafi, the founder of the city of Al- Qayrawan.21 It is the first mosque in the Maghrib, several times rebuilt and lavishly embellished in the course of centuries.
22
There is a very large and very instructive

24
account on the edifice as well as of the city of Al-Qayrawan in the excellent study by Saladin dating from early in the twentieth century.23 The great mosque could rival the most famous monuments of the East. And once more, it was under the Aghlabid that it witnessed its glory, the mosque being rebuilt by Zyadat Allah, who set up in the prayer hall the multitude of splendid columns, rich panelling of glazed tiles and ornamentations of sculptured wood. 25 Malik, who died in 795, considered Al-Qayrawan, together with Kuffa and El-Medina, the three capitals of Muslim sciences and learning. Yahia Ibn Salam al-Basri (745-815) composed and taught there his tafsir; Assad Ibn al-Furat (759-828) made a synthesis of teachings of all his masters.26 The city was a great centre of learning, where the study of Maliki law was particularly honoured; and it had celebrated professors like A. Solignac: Recherches sur les installations hydrauliques de kairaouan et des Steppes Tunisiennes du VII au Xiem siecle, in Annales de lInstitut des Etudes Orientales, Algiers, X (1952); 5-273. 15 A list that includes Arabic numerals, the invention of the pendulum, the use of the compass in navigation, the vaulted arch in construction, blood circulation, and so on and so forth, all attributed to various sources other than Islam despite all evidence in favour of the Muslims. On the other hand, acts such as slavery, the burning of the famed Library of Alexandria, the persecution of scholars, etc, are all, without hesitation attributed to the Muslims. 16 M.Shaw: Voyages de Shaw MD dans plusieurs provinces de la Barbarie et du Levant; 2 Vols, La haye, 1743; Vol II; pp 257-9; and E. Pelissier: Description de la Regence de Tunis; Exploration scientifique de lAlgerie pendant les annees 184041-42; Paris, 1853, pp 279-280. 17 A.Daux: Recherches sur loriginalite et lemplacement des emporia Pheniciennes dans le Zeugis et le Byzacium, Paris, 1849. 18 H. Saladin: Enquetes sur les installations hydrauliques romaines en Tunisie, published by Direction des Antiquites et Beaux Arts, et La regence de Tunisie, Tunis, 1890 a 1912. R.Thouvenot: Les traveaux hydrauliques des Romains en Afrique du Nord in: Realites marocaines, Hydraulique, Electricite, Casablanca, 1951. 19 A. Solignac: Recherches sur les installations hydrauliques; op cit. 20 A. Solignac: Recherches sur les installations hydrauliques; op cit. 21 H. Saladin: Tunis et Kairouan; Librairie Renouard; Paris; 1908. p.100. 22 S, and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; op cit; p. 368. 23 H. Saladin: Tunis et Kairouan; op cit; pp. 98 fwd 24 G. Iver: Kairawan; op cit; p. 647. 25 S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; op cit; pp. 37-8. 26 J. Fontaine and P. Gresser: Le Guide de la Tunisie; op cit; p.309.
14

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Asad b. Al-Furat, Ibn Rashid, and Sahnun (ca.777-854).27But it was, once more, under the Aghlabids, in 845, that al-Qayrawan became one of the main cultural centres of Islam, attracting students from all parts, including Muslim Spain.28 At the end of the 9 th century, still under Aghlabid rule, a Bayt al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom) was established there rivalling its counterpart in Baghdad in the study of medicine, astronomy, engineering and translation. 29 As in the rest of the Muslim world, intellectual debate raged at al-Qayrawan, mostly around religious and issues of jurisprudence.30 Public education and al-Qayrawan were deeply entwined and women actively participated in the pursuit of learning there, and scholars, reigning monarchs and men from all walks of life seem to have supported eagerly the library of their town's grand mosque. 31 Long, before al-Tabari, Yahyia b. Sallam al-Basri (741-815) was writing there and taught his Tafsir, which has been partially preserved. Just as at the Zautuna, at Al-Qayrawan university, alongside the Quran and jurisprudence were taught grammar, mathematics, astronomy and medicine.32The study of medicine was well represented by Ziad. B. Khalfun, Ishak B. Imran and Ishak B. Sulayman.33 Their works were translated by Constantine The African in the 11th, and were taught in Salerno (to become subsequently one of the first European universities, with a specialisation in the study of medicine.)
The rich collection of manuscripts assembled in the mosque university date from this period.
34
During his
investigation at Qayrawan Mosque, Shabuh unearthed a catalogue which was compiled in 693 AH /1293 CE, and which is quite detailed in its description of the contents of the mosque. 35The Great Mosque has preserved some of the remnants of its great intellectual apogee and memory of its scholars through books and documents they wrote in their own hands, or that they assigned others to write. 36 These documents, which included unique cultural data, formed part of the curriculum taught at the great mosque then.37 The collection in the ancient library of Qayrawwan is in large part written on parchment, and is the largest and best known collection in the Arab Islamic world.38 In Qayrawan, the manuscripts were endowed to students by those who sought Allah's favour and His pleasure with them, as was recorded on many such manuscripts.39
Mosque libraries, of course, contained to large extent books on religion, jurisprudence and language, but they also included large numbers of scientific works, and manuscripts no-one suspected they would possess. Abd al-Wahab located at the Qayrawan's Atiqa Library an Arabic translation of Tarikh al Umam al-
Qadima (history of Ancient Nations), which was written by Saint Gerome sometime prior to his death in
27 28
G. Iver: Kairawan; op cit; p. 647. Encyclopaedia of Islam, op cit, vol IV, p 829. 29 M. Al-Rammah: The Ancient Library, op cit, p. 29. 30 H.Djait et al: Histoire de la Tunisie (le Moyen Age); Societe Tunisienne de Difusion, Tunis. M.M. Sibai; Mosque Libraries: An Historical Study; Mansell Publishing Limited: London and New York: 1987. p 58. H. Djait et al: Histoire de la Tunisie; op cit; p. 378. 33 Al-Bakri, Massalik, 24; Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, Uyun al-anba, ed. and tr A. Nourredine and H. Jahier, Algiers 1958, 2.9, in Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol IV, pp 29-30. 34 S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; op cit; pp. 37-8. 35 Shabuh, Ibrahim. `Sijil Qadim li-Maktabat Jami al-Qayrawan.' Majallat Mahad al-Makhtutat al-Arabiya 2 (November 1956): 339-72. Also in the article are excellent photographs of original calligraphy and inscriptions. 36 M. Al-Rammah: The Ancient, op cit, p. 31. 37 Ramah 31. 38 M. al-Rammah: The Ancient Library, op cit, p. 31. 39 M. Al-Rammah: The Ancient Library, op cit, p. 32.
32 31

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420.40 Also, in the same mosque library, the same Abd al-Wahab states that it holds works such as Pliny's on botany which was translated from Latin.41
The Aghlabids 900CE (orange areas were only temporarily under Aghlabid rule)
A venerated sanctuary, and capital of a powerful state, Qayrawan was also a great commercial city, the shops of the merchants stood on either side of a covered street about two miles in length. 42 Al Qayrawan was greatly reputed for its carpets woven by the citys women on about a thousand handlooms.43 The typical carpet of al-Qayrawan is described as made of a large bordure formed of parallel stripes, each made of a repetitive floral pattern, highly geometrical. Within this bordure is a large rectangle whose middle is occupied by a hexagon: the Kamra, whose four angles release further motifs. The wools used for such carpets are dyed with natural colourings. The Al-Qayrawan carpet has remained according to tradition, a produce made solely by womens hands.44
40
Hassan Husni Abd al-Wahab, `Bait al-Hikma al-Tunusi, Bath Tarikhi fi Awwal Musasa Ilmiya jamia fi al-Bilad al-Ifriqiya," Majallat Majma al-Lugha al-Arabiya (Cairo) 30 (1963-4), p 128, in M. Sibai, op cit, p 98. 41 A. Abd-Alwahab (1965-67) in H. Djait et al: Histoire, op cit, p. 193. 42 G. Iver: Kairawan; op cit; at p. 647. 43 S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; op cit; p. 368. 44 The Tunisian National Office of Tourism, in J. Fontaine, and P. Gresser: Le Guide de la Tunisie; op cit; p. 308.

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Not surprisingly, under the Aghlabids, it was that Islam expanded from the Maghrib in direction of the Mediterranean islands, Sicily, above all, and in this the city of al-Qayrawan, playing the leading part. The Aglabid ruler, Ziyadat Allah I (817-38) pursued a policy, granting al-Qayrawan the first role in the expansion of Islam, just as Okba did centuries before him. He carried the dynastys prestige to its highest, and set about a policy of Muslim expansion around the Mediterranean.45In 827 the mounted Muslim expedition succeeded in establishing a long term foothold on the island of Sicily.46 From their base in Mazara, on the west coast, taken in 827, the Muslim force of ten thousand men moved forward.47 Palermo fell in 831, Messina in 843, Enna in 859, and the island was under effective Muslim control.48 The Muslim expeditionary force was a remarkable expression of the whole character of Islam, faith and civilisation, an infinitely mixed lot of Arabs, Berbers, Spaniards and Sudanese.49 To emphasise the religious character of the endeavour, Ziyadat Allah appointed the reputed theologian of al-Qayrawan, Asad Ibn al-Furat, as the supreme commander of the expeditionary forces. 50 This course was systematically followed by his successors who bore Muslim arms as far as Rome. 51 Many monuments and sites, Fontaine and Gresser tell, witness the greatness of the city. 52 Not just sites, though, but also a great history, a great contribution to civilisation, invisible in the monuments, but everywhere in the written history of Muslim civilisation, and the written history of other places to the north, too.
Al-Qayrawan as a Great Centre of Medical Studies:

Al-Qayrawan, under the Aghlabids, came to the forefront again, in respect to one of the great institutions of Islam: the hospital. Prince Ziyadat Allah I (817-838) built a hospital in the city in 830, one of the most pioneering of its genre, called ad-Dimnah hospital, being built in ad-Dimnah quarter near the great mosque of al-Qayrawan.53 Consequently other hospitals which were erected thereafter in Tunisia were likewise called ad-Dimnah. The construction of ad-Dimnah in al-Qayrawan was simple but adequate and the halls were well organized to include waiting rooms for visitors, a mosque for prayers and religious teaching, and a special bath which can be used for washing prior to prayer.54The halls were well organised indicating waiting rooms for the visitors, and sign of great breakthrough, for the first time female nurses, from the Sudan, were used in the hospital.55 In addition to regular physicians who attended the sick, there were Fuqaha al-Badan, a group of imams who practised medicine as well, a token of the early scholastic movement especially in the peripheral states of the Islamic world. 56 Their medical services included
45 46
S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; op cit; p. 38. A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; op cit; Vol 11; p.261. 47 J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; in Islam and the Medieval West; S. Feber Editor; A Loan Exhibition at the University Art Gallery; State University of New York; April 6 - May 4, 1975; p. 43. 48 J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; p. 43. 49 J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; p. 43. 50 S. and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; op cit; p.38. 51 Ronart: 38. 52 J. Fontaine, and P. Gresser: Le Guide de la Tunisie; op cit; p. 3 06. 53 S. Hamarneh: Health Sciences in early Islam; Noor Foundation and Zahra Publications; Texas, 1983; p. 102. 54 S. Hamarneh: Health Sciences; p. 102. 55 M.I.H. I. Surty: Muslim Contribution to the development of hospitals; Published by Quranic Arabic Foundation; Birmingham; 1996. p. 66. 56 S. Hamarneh: Health Sciences; op cit; p. 102.

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bloodletting, bone setting, and cauterisation.57 Another great symbol of Islamic innovativeness, at a time when elsewhere leprosy was deemed a sign of evil, in Al-Qayrawan was built near the hospital itself a special ward for the lepers, dar al-judhama.58Just like other hospitals in Tunisia, the hospital was supported by the rulers of the various dynasties from the state treasury, and by other rich people who gave generously to boost hospital income so that the best care could be provided. 59 The combinative elements of the citys intellectual abilities, the enlightened spirit of its Aghlabid rulers, and the leading place taken by the study of medicine in the university Mosque of Al-Qayrawan combined to have one of the lasting effects in the whole history of medical learning, and learning in general, most particularly with relevance to the Christian West. Al-Qayrawan was not just a university centre, whose scholars met at the mosque, the historian Marmol says, it was a centre of learning and Muslim enlightenment, resembling the University of Paris, which was to spring into existence some three centuries later. 60 It had many scholars, who specialised in medicine, Ishaq Ibn Amran at the court of Ziyadat Allah I and II, also Ishaq ibn Suleiman at the court of Ziyadat Allah III. 61 The latter had his seven works translated by Constantine and these were published at Leyden in 1515 under the title Opera Isaci. 62This is only one part of Constantines contribution, for his translation included much more than this, and was to revolutionise the whole of learning in Western Christendom courtesy of the medical learning of al-Qayrawan he took with him to Europe. B. Carthage (Tunisia) d. Monte casino (Italy) (flourished 1065-1085) is amongst the first figures to have transmitted Muslim learning to Europe. He is behind the flourish of the city of Salerno, where he travelled taking with him works and skills he acquired from the city of Qayrawan. To him must be owed, and without it seeming to be an exaggeration, the whole matter of revival of learning in the West. It is no surprise that he has to be a Tunisian, for Tunisia had, although still little studied, the best medical tradition outside the East, and certainly in the whole of the western Mediterranean. Al- Qayrawan was the centre of such glory, for as the capital of Islamic civilisation in those parts, it was bound to carry and to include all signs of civilisation. Constantine, somehow, linked the glory of one medical centre in the Muslim Maghrib, Al-Qayrawan, with one to be in the Christian West: Salerno. Soon after Constantines translations, Salerno became the first major centre of learning in Europe, its medical school the inspiration for the development of university learning. Constantine translations included a partial translation of the Kitab al-Maliki (the Pantegni) of Ali al-Majusi. Constantine translated several other works by doctors in Qayrawan, works on diets, the stomach, melancholy, forgetfulness and sexual intercourse such as Al-
Makala fil malikhuliya (De melancholia) of Ishak Ibn Imran (d.before 907); Kitab al-Bawl (de urines) and Kitab alhumayyat (De febrilus), and Kitab al-Aghdiya (De dietis) all of Ishak al-Israili (d. 995); Kitab Itimad al-Adwiya alMufrada (De Gradibus) of Ibn al-Djazzar (d. 1004).63 Constantine also translated by the same author (Ibn alDjazzar): Zad al-musafir (or the Guide for the traveller going to distant countries), which is the most accessible introduction to pathology, translated into Latin as the Viaticum, it exerted a considerable impact in Western
S. Hamarneh: Health Sciences; p. 102. Hassan abd al-Wahab: Al-Tib al-Arabi fi Ifriquiyyah; al-Fikr; 1985; vol 3; no 10; pp. 907-16; quoted by S. Hamarneh: Health Sciences; op cit; p. 102. 59 S. Hamarneh: Health Sciences; op cit; p. 102. 60 In H. Saladin: Tunis et Kairouan; op cit; p. 118. 61 In Saladin; p. 118. 62 Note 1, In Saladin; p. 119. 63 F. Micheau: La Transmisison a lOccident Chretien: Les traductions medievales de lArabe au Latin; in Etats; Societes et Cultures; J.C.Garcin et al: Etats, Societes et Cultures du Monde Musulman medieval; vo2; Presses Universitaires de France; Paris; 2000. pp. 399-420; p. 404.
58
57

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Christendom.64 Other texts on the stomach, forgetfulness, sexual intercourse also translated by Constantine could also be attributed to Ibn al-Jazzar.65 Eight of his translations are included in the Opera Isaac (Lyon, 1515), whilst a collected edition of his works appeared in Basel (2 vols., 1536-1539).66 Charles Singer has given a good account on how Constantine brought the art of Medicine to the Christians. 67But Constantine was not on his own, his translation work was continued by his pupil, another Muslim, also playing a great part in this transfer: Joannes Afflacious, also known as Joannes Saracenus (John the Saracen) (Born c. 1040; died in or after 1103).68 He was also a Salernitan physician, disciple of Constantine, author of treatises on urology and on fevers, on the best tradition of the Al-Qayrawan doctors, and also completed the translation of the surgical part of Ali ibn 'Abbas's Al-Majusi: Maliki (or Liber Regalis), began by Constantine.69 Here can be looked at the worth of some such works by the Al-Qayrawans doctors, and first how Constantine valued their worth. On the treatise on urine by Isaak Ibn Suleiman, Constantine says: `having found no work, which gave good and reliable information on this subject, I sought in works written Arabic, where I found some excellent information, which I have translated into Latin. This work written by Ishaak Ibn Suleiman is divided in ten sections.70 On the work on fevers, by the same author, Constantine says:
Àffected by your tears, oh my son John, I Constantine, have not refused to write after all I saw and knew that is useful in medicine. I have translated this work from Arabic. 71
The treatise on the stomach is dedicated to the Archbishop of Salerno, Alfanus, who often complained to Constantine about his stomach troubles. Constantine is surprised not to have found anything on the matter in the works of Greeks. He says he derived his own work from the elegant conclusions reached by the diverse authors (of al-Qayrawan). 72 It is, however, works of Ibn al-Jazzar, which give a more adequate idea of the sort of medical learning available at Al-Qayrawan which was conveyed to the Christian West. Ibn al-Jazzar, in Latin, Algizar, Algazirah. Abu Jatfar Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn abi Khalid Ibn al-Jazzar, flourished in Al-Qayrawan, died in 1009, being more than 80 years old.73As part of his medical practice he received and examined his patients during the hours of consultation; his servant Rashiq would then administer to them the required medicine, free of charge.74 When he died in, Ibn al-Jazzar left 24,000 Dinars and twenty five quintars (one quintar=45 kgs) weight of books on medicine and other subjects.75 Of his many writings, the most important, because of its enormous popularity, was his "Traveller's Provision" (Zad al-musafir) which was translated into Latin by Constantinus Africanus as Viaticum peregrinantis; into Greek by Synesios, and into Hebrew as Zedat al-
64 65
F. Micheau: La Transmission; p. 404. F. Micheau: La Transmission; p. 404. 66 G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institute; Washington; in 3 vols; 1927; vol I; p.769. 67 Charles Singer: A Legend of Salerno. How Constantine Brought the Art of Medicine to the Christians; Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin, vol. 28, 1917; pp. 64-9. 68 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; I; p.769. 69 Sarton I; p.769. 70 N.L. Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine Arabe; 2 vols; Paris; 1876. vol 2; p. 363. 71 N.L. Leclerc: Histoire; p. 363-4. 72 N.L. Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine; p. 365. 73 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol I; p. 682. 74 G. Bos: Ibn al-Jazzar on Womens diseases and their treatment; in Medical History; 1993; vol 37; pp. 296-312 at p. 296. 75 G. Bos: Ibn al-Jazzar on Womens diseases; p. 296.

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derachim.76 It contains remarkable descriptions of smallpox and measles. Ibn al-Jazar also wrote on the
coryza, on the causes of the plague in Egypt, etc.77Details on Ibn al-Jazzars works can be found in a diversity of works other than those used here.78 The best survey of Ibn al-Jazzars work remains by F. Sezgin.79 Just as with the rest of Islamic scientific manuscripts, most works by Ibn Al-Jazzar, oddly, remain unpublished to this very day.80 One such works was thought to have been lost until discovered by Dunlop in a unique manuscript in Lisbon.81 Ibn al-Jazzars writings earned him great fame and made him very influential in medieval Western Europe.82 Ibn al-Jazzars most important work is his Zad al-Musafar, which is not as the title tells a guide for the traveller, but rather a systematic and comprehensive medical work. Bos of the Welcome Institute in London gives an excellent outline of this work, from which the following is derived. 83 The work consists of seven books, which discuss the different diseases and their treatment from head to toe. Though comprehensive, the style is concise so that it can be taken on a journey and consulted in no physician is available. The work is still voluminous, covering 303 folios.84 Already at the beginning of the 11th century it had been translated into Greek, and widely distributed. 85 It was also repeatedly translated into Hebrew, and into Latin as already stated, and was commented upon by the Salernitan doctors, this work being one of the most influential in Europe.
86
Being accepted into the so-called Articella or Ars medicinae, a compendium of
medical textbooks, it was widely used in medical schools and universities: Salerno, Montpellier, Bologna, Paris, Oxford.87 One of the afflictions Ibn Al-Jazzar deals with is forgetfulness, Ibn al-Jazzar noting how forgetfulness is prevalent amidst people of old age in cold, moist countries. For Ibn al-Jazzar, in his Zad al-
Musafir, a good memory indicates a solid and balanced substance of the posterior part of the brain. Much
forgetfulness, however, little understanding, slowness of mind, and much carelessness indicate that its substance is not solid. 88In the same work, Ibn al-Jazzar states that superfluous cold moisture dominating the posterior part of the brain, causes so much forgetfulness that someone suffering from it will not remember what has been told him recently, will yawn very much and neglect his interests. 89 Ibn al-Jazzar treatise on womens diseases and their treatment is worth of more interest here, for it being a subject little known about. 90 This account is made available by the excellent article by Gerrit Bos.91 The section on women diseases was the major source for one of the Tortula treatises on gynaecology produced
G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol I; p. 682. Sarton; I; p. 682. 78 F. Wustenfeld: Geschichte der arabischen Aerzte (60, 1840). Puschmann: Geschichte der Medizin (vol. 1, 564, 1902). M. Steinschneider: Europaische Uebersetzungen aus dem Arabischen (11, 78, 1904; 17, 1905). 79 F. Sezgin: Geschichte des arabischen Schriftums; band iii; medizin-pharmazie-Zoologie; Leiden; Brill; 1970; pp. 304-7. 80 G. Bos: Ibn al-Gazzars Risala Fin Nisyan and Constantines Liber de Oblivione; in Constantine the African and Ali Ibn Abbas al-Majusi; Edited by C. Burnett and D. Jacqart; Leiden; 1994; pp. 203-37; at p. 203. 81 D.M.Dunlop: The Arabic manuscripts of the Academia das Ciencias de Lisboa; Actas del primer congreso de estudios arabes e islamicos (Cordoba; 1962; Madrid; 1964; p. 287. 82 G.Bos: Ibn al-Jazzars on womens diseases; op cit; p. 297. 83 G.Bos: Ibn al-Jazzars on womens diseases; op cit; p. 297. 84 Ms Dresden; 209. 85 See C. Daremberg: Recherches sur un ouvrage qui a pour titre Zad al-Mucafir, en arabe. In Archives des missions scientifiques et literarires, 1851; vol 2; 490-527. 86 G.Bos: Ibn al-Jazzars on womens diseases; op cit; p. 297. 87 See H. Schipperges: Die Arabische Medizin im lateinischen Mittelalater; Springer Verlag; 1976; pp. 106-8. 88 Zad al-Musafir; I; ch. 14; Ms. Dresden; 209; fol. 21 in Gerrit Bos: Ibn al-Gazzar; op cit; p. 208. 89 Zad al-Musafir; I; ch. 14; Ms. Dresden; 209; fol. 21. (Gerrit Bos p. 210) 90 G. Bos: Ibn al-Djazzar on womens diseases; op cit;. 91 G. Bos: Ibn al-Jazzar on Womens diseases. 296-312.
77
76

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in Salerno in the twelfth century, namely the Cum Auctor.92These women diseases are discussed in chapters 9 to 18 of the sixth book of the Zad al-Musafir. According to Ibn al-Jazzar menstruation plays a central role in maintaining womens health and in causing womens diseases, he therefore discusses this topic first. Some Western medical treatises such as the Lilium medicinae of Bernard of Gordon; (fl. 1283-1308,) follow a similar pattern as al-Jazzar, starting their discussion of womens diseases with the subject of menstrual retention.93 In Chapter 10, Ibn al-Jazzar discusses an excessive loss of blood occurring to women (Hypermenorhoea). Ibn al-jazzar concludes this chapter by prescribing a variety of decoctions, electuaries, pills, pessaries, suppositories and powders.
94
In Chapter 12, Ibn al-Jazzar discusses the occurrence of
tumours in the uterus, whilst in chapter 13, he discusses the occurrences of ulcers in the same part, and their treatment. His solutions touch upon the problem of the examination and treatment of the patient, an issue which has also been debated by Ibn Khaldun, and Ibn Hanbal; the prevailing idea being that the physician should only take an active part in the treatment of womens diseases when it is impossible for the midwife alone to do so, as for instance, in the case of some operations.
95
In Chapter 15, he discusses the
regimen which is good for pregnant women, he suggests some general rules to prevent the pregnant woman from getting upset during this phase, and he suggests, too, ointments and poultices to be applied in order to strengthen the connection of the foetus with the uterus, and for the end of pregnancy, he recommends bathing, ointments and relaxing food.96 It is this medical heritage which was passed on to the Christian West by Constantine the Africa, via Salerno. He did so, oddly, or precisely, soon after the high civilisation of Tunisia in general, and that of Al-Qayrawan, most particularly, suffered its demise, that is after the devastating invasions of the Banu Hilal.
Invasions and the Decline of Al-Qayrawan:

Ì give you, said the Fatimid Caliph to the Banu Hilal tribes, Ì give you, he said, `the Maghrib with all its riches. And to enhance his woe, he gave each warrior who crossed the western frontier of Egypt a dinar and a cloth of honour.97 This, Saladin reckons, simply meant ruin and devastation of Ifriqya.98 In wave after wave, the invaders, the warriors followed by their families and herds, swept over the Cyrenaica and Tripolitania into southern Tunisia, drawing others behind them, pilfering, burning, and destroying everything on their way. 99 The invaders spread havoc, the towns and cities were burnt down; the countryside devastated; the whole of Ifriqya now was turned from its once prosperous condition into vast emptiness and arid zone, only land for herds, nomads, and shepherds. 100 The Hilli invasions of the mideleventh century ended Tunisia's role as an entrept.101 Andalusi families doing business there transferred
92
This has been shown by M. H. Geen in her pioneering study: The transmission of ancient theories of female physiology and disease through the early Middle Ages; PH.d thesis; Princeton University; 1985, pp. 278-90. 93 G. Bos: Ibn al-Jazzar on women diseases; op cit; Note 21 p. 299. 94 G. Bos: Ibn al-Jazzar on women diseases; p. 302. 95 G. Bos: Ibn al-Jazzar on women diseases; p. 305. 96 G. Bos: Ibn Al-Jazzar; p. 308. 97 H. Saladin: Tunis et kairouan; op cit; p. 106. 98 H. Saladin: Tunis et kairouan; p. 107. 99 S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; op cit; p. 398. 100 H. Saladin: Tunis et kairouan; op cit; p. 107. 101 T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain; Princeton; 1979; p. 131.

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their operations eastwards. 102The Banu Hilal entered Al-Qayrawan, and wrought the most frightful havoc on it in 1057.103 Ibn Khaldun tells:
`They destroyed all the beauty and all the splendour of the monuments of Qayrawan. Nothing that the Sanhadji princes had left in their palaces escaped the greed of the brigands. All that there was in the town was carried off or destroyed. 104
Al-Qayrawan, residence of the caliphs governors, the spiritual and intellectual metropolis of the Muslim West in the days of the Aghlabids and the Zirids, was thoroughly devastated by the Banu Hilal.105 The population was scattered in all directions, some went to Egypt, others to Sicily and Spain; a considerable body to Fes. 106The capital of Ifriqya never recovered from this disaster. 107Writing in the sixteenth century, Leo Africanus, who visited Al-Qayrawan in 1516 tells:
`The inhabitant are at present all poor artisans, of whom some are curriers of the skins of sheep and goats, the others furriers whose handi work is sold in the cities of Numidia, where no European cloth is to be had. But all of these traders, there is none who is able to make a good livelihood and those who follow them live a miserable existence and are in very great poverty. 108
Like a sort of obituary, the road to decadence is well traced by Fontaine and Gresser, who tell how from a camp founded by Okba Ibn Nafi, to become the centre of the spread of Islam westward, then the capital of the governors of Ifriqyia, then the zenith of its glory and history under the Aghlabids, just to begin its road to decadence under the Fatimids, before the Banu Hilal dealt it the mortal blow.109 Talbi gives an even more vivid account of the road to decadence of Al-Qayrawan:
Òn the eve of the Banu Hilal invasion, he says, Àl-Qayrawan had already lost much of its brilliance of Aghlabid times, the Banu Hilal invasion was the coup de grace, which ended its brilliant history. On the first day of Ramadhan of 1057, they began their destruction and devastation. This half of the century symbolised not just the end of al-Qayrawan, but also the end of the whole brilliance of the Maghrib. It was the end of a prestigious period of civilisation. Urban life and urbanity retreated in front of the advance of the nomadic hordes, the Bedouinisation of the country spread down to the 19th century. In this era of decadence, al-Qayrawan, once a great metropolis, turned into a miserable town lost in the steppes. Deserted by the major part of its population, it continued to shrink. Ten years after the Banu Hilal invasion, only a crumbling wall surrounded the Great Mosque, and whatever was left of the quarters to the west of the city. When al-Idrisi wrote in the middle of the 12th century, that is just prior to the arrival of the Almohads, al-Qayrawan was only ruins, only subsiding walls of earth, in the hand of tribes who severely taxed an already impoverished population.110
102 103
T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain; p. 131. G. Iver: Kairawan; op cit; p. 648. 104 Ibn Khaldun: Histoire des Berberes; Trans De Slane; i.37. 105 S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; op cit; p. 368. 106 Abd al-Wahid al-Marrakushi: Al-Mudjib fi Tarikh akhbar al-Maghrib; ed. R. Dozy; 2; p. 259. 107 G.Iver: Kairawan; op cit; at p. 648. 108 Leo Africanus; quoted in G.Iver: Kairawan; op cit; at p. 648. 109 J. Fontaine, and P. Gresser: Le Guide de la Tunisie; op cit; p. 3 06. 110 M.Talbi, quoted in J. Fontaine, and P. Gresser: Le Guide de la Tunisie; p. 310.

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Once Al-Qayrawan was destroyed, the government organisation was dislocated; the authority of the Zirid emir was reduced to al-Mahdiya and the narrow coastal strip, whereas the rest of the country is split into numerous city states under continuously changing local chieftains.111 After the Banu Hilal mayhem, despite subsequent signs of renewal in subsequent centuries, the city never recovered its illustrious Aghlabid past. The demise of the Maghrib following the Banu Hilal invasion was a great blow to Islam, not just for the devastation caused, but also because it made the Christians aware of the chaos the Muslim realm was drowning into.112 This emboldened the Christian armies, which went on the attack on all fronts. The crusaders took Barbastro in Spain in 1063. Then from there began to wrest one place after the other from the Muslims in Spain.113 The timely intervention of the Almoravids led by Ibn Taschfin, and then by the Almohads saved Muslim Spain for another two centuries.114 The same Almoravids and Almohads checked the Christian invasion of North Africa, the Almohads, for instance, managing to expel the Normans who had taken al-Mahdya in 1148, the Almohad recovering the place in 1160. 115 In fact, the Normans, profiting of Muslim civil wars, had already taken much of Tunisia, and even Tripoli, and had begun settling the Maghrib with Christian populations, and were seeking to eliminate the Muslim presence completely in the region, and had it not been for the Almohads, the Normans would have succeeded.116 No Muslim force could save Muslim Sicily which fell in 1089, and where, subsequently, just as in Spain, the Muslims were entirely eliminated.117 The other front, the East, was the scene of another two century war (1096-1291) between Western Christendom and Islam. Al-Qayrawan, itself, remained, as always, at the forefront of Islamic resistance. Centuries before, the governor Ibrahim ibn Aghlab began his reign in 800 by moving the seat of his government out of the precincts of al-Qayrawan, the capital, because of, as Ronart alleges: ìts unruly population and the spirit of uncompromising combative Puritanism of its circles of men of religion and law.118 The spirit of resistance ever obvious, some eight centuries later, when the Hafsids accepted the Spanish protectorate after the capture of Tunis by Charles V in 1535, the people of Al-Qayrawan rising in great revolt against this, and being assisted by Arab tribes and the Turks and their seaman admiral Dragut. French `protection, Al-Qayrawan, once more, was the great centre of Tunisian resistance. said:
120 119
And three centuries later, after the signing of the Treaty of the Bardo in 1881, which put Tunisia under The reason, perhaps: when he laid the first stone of the city, the founder of Al-Qayrawan, Oqba Ibn Nafi in 670 had
Ì intend to build a town which can serve as a depot of arms (Kairawan) for Islam to the end of time.121
S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; op cit;; p. 371. For this, no better source than Ibn al-Athir: Al-Kamil fil Tarikh; 12 Vols; ed C.J. Tornberg; Leiden and Uppsala; 1851-76. 113 H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; Burt Franklin; New York; 1968 reprint. 114 S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888. 115 S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; op cit; p. 371. 116 D.Abulafia: The Norman Kingdom of Africa and the Norman Expeditions to Majorca and the Muslim Mediterranean; in D. Abulafia: Italy, Sicily and the Mediterranean 1100-1400; Variorum Reprints; London; 1987; pp. 27-49. 117 See for instance: Rodrigo de Zayas: Les Morisques: et le racisme d'etat; Edt Les Voies du Sud; Paris, 1992. 118 S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; op cit; pp. 37-8. 119 G. Iver: Kairawan; op cit; p. 648. 120 G. Iver: Kairawan; p. 649. 121 Al-Nuwairi in Ibn Khaldun: Histoire des Berberes; trans de Slane; i 327.
112
111

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lAlgerie pendant les annees 1840-41-42; Paris, 1853, pp 279-280. -H. Schipperges: Die Arabische Medizin im lateinischen Mittelalater; Springer Verlag; 1976. -M.M. Sibai; Mosque Libraries: An Historical Study; Mansell Publishing Limited: London and New York: 1987. -Charles Singer: A Legend of Salerno. How Constantine Brought the Art of Medicine to the Christians; Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin, vol. 28, 1917; pp. 64-9.
-A. Solignac: Recherches sur les installations hydrauliques de kairaouan et des Steppes Tunisiennes du VII au Xiem siecle, in Annales de lInstitut des Etudes Orientales, Algiers, X (1952); 5-273. -M.I.H. I. Surty: Muslim Contribution to the development of hospitals; Published by Quranic Arabic Foundation; Birmingham; 1996. -R.Thouvenot: Les traveaux hydrauliques des Romains en Afrique du Nord in: Realites marocaines,
Hydraulique, Electricite, Casablanca, 1951. - F. Wustenfeld: Geschichte der arabischen Aerzte (60, 1840). Puschmann: Geschichte der Medizin (vol. 1, 564, 1902). M. Steinschneider: Europaische Uebersetzungen aus dem Arabischen (11, 78, 1904; 17, 1905). -Rodrigo de Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme d'etat; Edt Les Voies du Sud; Paris, 1992.

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Constellations, Fixed Stars and the Zodiac in Islamic Astronomy
Salim Ayduz Lamaan Ball Faaiza Bashir September 2004 4068 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Constellations, Fix Stars and the Zodiac in the Islamic Astronomy September 2004
CONSTELLATIONS, FIXED STARS AND THE ZODIAC IN THE ISLAMIC ASTRONOMY

The earliest, somewhat enigmatic, references to the zodiac are found in ancient Sumerian texts. These are followed by far more systematic accounts in Akkadian, Elamian and Hittite from the second millennium BC onwards. In later centuries we find the signs of the zodiac being named and subdivisions begin to appear.
Figure 1 - Cevz (Gemini). Astronomers in the Mesopotamian region regarded the celestial bodies as divinities that influenced events on earth, and believed that each zodiacal constellation was ruled by a god. From this it was concluded that the gods under whose signs they were born and shared their characteristics influenced people. The most specific information about the supposed influence of the signs of the zodiac on people is found in Jewish Hebrew literature, whose roots lay in Mesopotamia and in particular in the traditions of Assyria. In these cultures the zodiacal constellations were called by various names and depicted in various ways over the centuries. It is thought that the imaginary figures associated with the fixed stars, and particularly the constellations, had been known from the third millennium BC. Homer is the first author to mention the zodiac in the Greek world. While the fourth century BC Greek mathematician Eudoxus gives the names of 44 zodiacal signs, Ptolemy (ca. 100-ca. 178) mentions 48 fixed constellations and zodiacal signs in his work translated into Arabic as the Almagest . Almost all the signs of the zodiacmost of which symbolised animalsused in Hellenistic civilization are recorded by Hipparchus (first century CE). The names and forms of the fixed stars and zodiacal constellations were largely defined in the pre-Islamic period, although Muslim astronomers occasionally modified these names and forms in accordance with their own ideas and beliefs.

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The names of the twelve signs of the zodiac used today first appear in Latin literature. According to GraecoRoman astrology, these twelve signs, or twelve 'houses,' each represent a specific human character. Magic can be defined as all actions carried out in order to achieve certain results, whether harmful, beneficial or defensive, which it is claimed is achieved through contact with supernatural forces or by using natural objects which it is claimed possess secret supernatural powers. Such claims are regarded in Islam as contrary to monotheistic beliefs. In Islam to claim something happens supernaturally implies that God is not in control. Nature is Gods creation. There is only one cause that is superior to nature and that is God. For this reason the practice of any act of magic, is considered one of the gravest sins. The ability to predict the future is the core benefit of the careful study of nature which we call science, but the separation of astronomy, the predictive science of nature based on monotheism, from astrology, the speculative science of the supernatural, took a long time to complete. Throughout history priests, oracles and astrologers have made use of very diverse information in their attempts to predict the future. There is a massive volume of documentation about fortune telling and prophecy in Egypt, China, Babylonia and Chaldea in the fourth millennium BC. Mesopotamia is probably the oldest source of such activity. According to the Mesopotamians, the stars were the writing of the sky, exerting a direct influence on the lives of communities and individuals, and orchestrating events according to their positions. Consulting the signs of the zodiac as a means of interpreting events in the process of prophecy and fortune telling is thought to have begun around 700 BC. Astrology, which could be defined as reading the stars, emerged as a type of prophecy, and over succeeding centuries developed to the point where it was the principal source for almost all prophecy. In time astrology developed into a complex system which sought to provide answers to countless specific questions. It was believed that depending on the position of the stars at the time of a person's birth, their destiny could be predicted. Of the types of fortune telling used in Babylonia, it was those relating to astrology that the Hittites adopted and used to the greatest extent, signs relating to the moon and sun being associated particularly with the king and other members of the royal family. The Chinese also attached great importance to astrology, and Hindu astrology was a combination of the Chinese and Middle Eastern systems. From the time when astrology emerged until the beginning of the eighteenth century, physicians, philosophers, mathematicians and soldiers made use of star maps and manuals giving the positions of celestial bodies in the course of their work. However, it was undoubtedly soothsayers and fortunetellers who relied on it to the greatest extent, using the stars and planets more than anything else to seek to interpret the future and the unknown. Knowing the positions of the constellations and fixed stars, the sun and the moon, was essential for them. In pre-Islamic cultures the supposed effects of the zodiacal constellations on human beings were more important than their astronomical aspects, as a result of the close connection with their pagan religions. They believed that the celestial bodies, each of which was a divinity, influenced human character and

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actions. The civilizations of Mesopotamia which devoted much attention to the three-way relations between gods, the zodiac and human beings, developed special prophetic formulas for interpreting these.
Figure 2 - Kavs (Sagittarius) and Ced (Capricornus).
The Zodiac
According to astronomy based on the heliocentric solar system, the sun appears to make a complete revolution around the ecliptic in a year. Thus, the ecliptic cuts the celestial equator, which itself divides the great sphere of the universe horizontally at an angle of 23.5 degrees. These points of convergence constitute the spring and autumn equinoxes. Early astronomers described the imaginary 8.5-degree band on either side of the ecliptic as the zodiac. Beginning with the spring equinox on 21 March, the zodiac was divided into twelve equal segments called signs, which took their names from the constellations situated in them. Today, however, due to precession of the Earth, they are no longer located exactly in the segments to which they belong. Since the position of these constellations shifts by 50 seconds every year as a result of precession, it is possible to calculate that the present names of the signs of the zodiac date back approximately 2600 years. Since the sun completes its apparent orbit around the zodiac in one year, and since the zodiac incorporates twelve constellations, each month corresponds approximately to a constellation. The areas covered by the constellations in the celestial sphere are unequal, so the time that

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the sun takes to pass through them is sometimes less or more than a month. For example, the sun spends 42 days crossing the sign of Leo, but only nine days crossing the sign of Scorpio.
Figure 3 - Mzan (Libra) and Akreb (Scorpius) constellations.
The Signs of the Zodiac

The concept of the zodiac, which before being adopted by Islamic civilization had been established in Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indian and Chinese civilizations, was viewed from a new angle by Muslim observers, who based their views on verses in the Koran. Since Islam was a monotheistic faith, most Islamic scholars regarded that the signs of the zodiac only as positions through which the sun and moon passed. The symbolism of the zodiac, represented largely by animals in Mesopotamian and Hellenistic civilizations, took different forms in different cultures. In Greek civilization the series of constellations known as the zodiakos kyklos (cycle of animals) or to zodia (small animals) were described by Muslim astronomers as the falak al-burj or dirat al-burj (both meaning zodiacal sphere).

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Islamic astronomers continued to follow Ptolemaic cosmology as described in the Almagest, using the names, symbolic forms and order of the signs of the zodiac. The sun was supposed to enter each of the houses on a specific date, these consisting of twelve equal 30-degree divisions of the circular zodiacal band. The Latin and Arabic equivalents of the signs of the zodiac and the dates on which the sun enters them are given in the table below:
LATIN ARIES TAURUS GEMINI CANCER LEO VIRGO LIBRA SCORPIUS SAGITTARIUS CAPRICORNUS AQUARIUS PISCES
ARABIC HAMAL SAWAR JAWZA SARATAN ASAD SUNBULA MAZAN AQRAB QUOS JADEE DALWA HOOD
DATE 1 MARCH 20 APRIL 21 MAY 22 JUNE 23 JULY 23 AUGUST 23 SEPTEMBER 22 OCTOBER 22 NOVEMBER 22 DECEMBER 20 JANUARY 19 SUBAT
Longitude 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 360
Islamic astronomers made extensive study of pre-Islamic observations, and were strongly influenced not only by the scientific knowledge of astronomers like Ptolemy, but some were also influenced by many ancient astrological beliefs and accepted descriptions of relationships between events on earth and the stars and zodiacal constellations. Some rulers sought advise from astrologers and with the generous sums on offer, numerous books were written about the way celestial phenomena influenced these events.
Astrology for the Ottomans

Astrology (tanjim) was also known as ilm-i ahkm-i ncm (the science of drawing inferences from the stars') in Islamic culture. However, there was constant controversy over whether astrology violated the principles of reason and religion. Although many Islamic scholars judged astrology to contravene religion, astronomers continued to interpret the heavens, and sultans to act on their advice. The office of chief astronomer (munajjimbahsi) instituted at the Ottoman court in the mid-fifteenth century combined astronomical observations for such purposes as drawing up annual calendars, and astrological functions. But the attitudes towards astrology of the Ottoman sultans varied. While some complied with tradition and consulted the chief astrologer from time to time, others dismissed astrology as contrary to both religious

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principles and reason. When Sultan Abdlhamid I (1774-1789), who belonged to the latter category, was told by his grand vizier that astronomers had given two different auspicious times for the army to march out of Istanbul on campaign, and asked which to choose, he wrote the following in reply:
Our Lord Prophet, in whose deeds the world glories, never acted according to the stars, but put his trust in God My affairs are in the hands of God Almighty, not the stars. In the Ottoman State great affairs of this kind have always been attributed to the propitious time, and action taken at once. It is up to one of my commanders from Istanbul, no other way is acceptable. When the enemies of the faith attack us, should we wait on the grounds that the time has not yet come? It is sometimes acceptable to choose between the opinions of notable honorable people. Otherwise whatever you wish it is up to you, I will not interfere. Our dignitaries will hinder you greatly, let the outcome be auspicious, let no one write a word about it, but march at once on whatever day is decided upon. May God be with us. It is not known how the weather will be by Thursday, so there is no better day than the morrow, which is Monday, the birthday of our Prophet, and I trust in that.
Figure 4 - Miniature illustrations of Dbb-i Asgar (Ursus Minoris) and Dbb-i Ekber (Ursus Majoris). Like his predecessor Abdlhamid I, Sultan Selim III (1789-1807) did not believe in propitious times and horoscopes, and when he was asked to decide between two times cited by astrologers as propitious for the sailing of the fleet, he replied:

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Every day is the day of God Almighty. I have no belief in the stars. I place my trust in God, so let the navy sail on whichever day you deem appropriate. And may the engagement take place on whichever day is appropriate.
However, when a further horoscope was presented to him, Selim III let tradition have its way, and wrote the following reply:
Since it has become the custom, let it be done accordingly.
Figure 5 - Kutta feres (Equuleus) and Feresl-azam (Pegasus) constellations.
Zodiac Illustrations Dating from the Tulip Era (Lale Devri)

The Tulip Era is the name given to the period 1718-1730, corresponding to the second half of the reign of Sultan Ahmed III (1703-1730). The predominant figure of this period was Grand Vizier Nevsehirli Damad Ibrahim Pasha (1718-1730), under whose government the Ottoman State enjoyed a period of peace and flourishing scientific and cultural activity. Although best remembered for its pleasure-loving aspect, the

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period is in fact more important for its achievements in the field of scholarship and the arts. Ibrahim Pasha encouraged scholars and poets, and enjoyed discussing scholarship and literature with them. One of the most important of the activities during this period was the second great translation movement in Islamic history. Ibrahim Pasha organized teams of scholars to translate many books, which he deemed to be of importance from diverse foreign languages into Turkish. One of these was Ikd al-Jumn f Tarihi Ahl al-Zaman, a book on world history by Imam Kadi Mahmud ibn Ahmed ibn Musa ibn Hseyin ibn Yusuf ibn Mahmud Bedreddin al-Ayn of Antep (d. 1451), known as Imam Ayn. This book describes the events of history from the time of Adam up to the writers own time in the fifteenth century, and the first volume includes sections on geography and astronomy. The first section of the first volume about astronomy and geography was translated into Turkish by the poet Mirzazde Salim Efendi (d. 1743).
Figure 6 - Seretan (Cancer) constellation.
Mirzazde Salim Efendi

Mirzazde Salim Efendi wrote introduction giving information about the author and his book, correcting some mistakes by Ayn on the subject of astronomy, and making some additions, which included 46 miniature paintings depicting the fixed stars and zodiacal constellations. These illustrations were intended to give readers a better understanding of the astronomical subjects discussed by Bedreddin Ayn, and they seem to have been painted by Salim Efendi himself.

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The illustrations are on pages 19b-30b of the manuscript. Twelve depict the signs of the zodiac, and the remainder fixed stars. Two of the miniatures depict two constellations each, bringing the total number depicted to 48, which is equal to the number of diagrams in the star catalogue of Ptolemy, in whose footsteps Muslim astronomers followed. The book relates that the fixed stars are 1022 in number, which again is in accordance with Ptolemy, but says that only 917 of these have been illustrated in 48 diagrams. Probably the remaining 105 were not illustrated because of their faintness. Twelve of the 48 diagrams belonged to the zodiacal constellations. Twenty miniatures showing 331 stars represent the constellations of the northern hemisphere, and fifteen those of the southern hemisphere.
Constellations
Constellations, or groups of fixed stars, were given names, such as the Great Bear, Orion, and Taurus. Twelve of these constellations gave their names to the signs of the zodiac, as described before. For astrologers what mattered was not the constellation themselves but the signs of the zodiac named after them. The Ottoman and Latin names of the constellations illustrated by Mirzazde Salim Efendi are as follows: Dbb-i Asgar (Ursus Minoris), Dbb-i Ekber (Ursus Majoris), Tinnn (Draco), Keykvs (Cepheus), Avva (Botes), Fekke (Corona Borealis), Cs (Hercules), Silyak (Vultur Cadens), Dcce (Cygnus), Ztl-krs (Cassiopeia), Kaytas (Cetus), Cebbr (Orion), Nehir (Eridanus), Erneb (Lepus), Siyavus (Perseus), Mmsikl-ainne (Ophiuchus,), Hayye (Serpens), Sehm (Sagitta), Ukab (Aquila), Delfn (Delphinus), Kutta feres (Equuleus), Feresl-azam (Pegasus), Meretl-mselsile (Andromeda), Mselles (Triangulum), Kelb-i ekber (Canis Majoris), Kelb-i asgar (Canis Minoris), Sefine (Argo Navis), Batiyye (Crater), Ikll-i Cenbi (Corona Australis), Ht-i Cenb (Piscis Austrinus), Hamel (Aries), Sevr (Taurus), Cevz (Gemini), Seretan (Cancer), Esed (Leo), Snble (Virgo, Virgin), Mzan (Libra), Akreb (Scorpius), Kavs (Sagittarius), Ced (Capricornus), Delv (Aquarius), Ht (Pisces), Suca (Hydra), el-Gurab (Corvus), Kanturus (Centaurus), Micmere (Ara). In the brief explanations at the top of each of the miniatures, Salim Efendi gives the name of each constellation and, with the exception of the zodiacal constellations, the number of stars they contain. The positions of the stars are marked on the miniatures. Islamic astronomers did extensive studies of the fixed stars and shapes of the constellations. One of the most important of these was Abdurrahman al-Sf (d. 986), who wrote a treatise on the subject entitled Rislat Suwar al-Kawakib that exerted a considerable influence not only on Islamic but also European astronomy.
REFERENCES
Aydz, Salim, Lle Devrinde Yapilan Ilm Faaliyetler, Dvan Ilm Arastirmalar Dergisi, 3 (1997/1), pp. 143170. Burc, Trk Ansiklopedisi, c. VIII, pp. 423-424. Bursali Mehmed Thir, Osmanli Mellifleri, Istanbul 1334-1343. Demirci, K.,-I. Kutluer, M. Uzun, Burc, DIA, VI, pp. 421-426. Fergani, The Elements of Astronomy, ed. Y. Unat, Harvard Unv. 1998. Izgi, Cevat, Osmanli Medreselerinde Riyaz ve Tabii Ilimlerin Egitimi, Istanbul 1997. Karal, E. Z.,Selim III. Devrinde Osmanli Bahriyesi Hakkinda Vesikalar, Tarih Vesikalari, I/3, p. 204. Kockuzu, A. O., Ayn, Bedreddin, DIA, IV, pp. 271-272.

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Mirzazade Salim Efendi, Tercme-i Tarih-i Ayn, Sleymaniye, Lala Ismail Ktp. nr. 318. Shahmardan ibn Abi al-Khayr Razi, Rawdat al-Munadjdjimin, ed. Djalil Akhavan Zandjani, Tehran 1989. Sinan Pasa, Marif-nme, ed. Ismail Hikmet Ertaylan, Istanbul 1961. Sitki, Seyrisefainde Mstamel Yildizlar Atlasi, Istanbul 1931. Uzuncarsili, I. H., Osmanli Devletinin Saray Teskilti, Ankara 1988.

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The Impact of Islamic Science and Learning on England
Salah Zaimeche Lamaan Ball October 2004-10-13 4069 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
The Impact of Islamic Science and Learning on England October 2004
THE IMPACT OF ISLAMIC SCIENCE AND LEARNING ON ENGLAND

Von Grunebaum tells that Modern Muslim society as a whole is lamentably ignorant of the origin, development, and achievements of its civilisation. This ignorance, he continues, is due partly to a defective educational system and partly to absorption by the adjustment problems of the moment. Moreover, scientific research methods have not yet found universal acceptance.1 This last statement raises two interesting issues. First, the obvious: Muslim society, as a whole, has no idea of the impact its civilisation has exerted on the modern world, on modern science and civilisation. Hardly will it occur to most Muslims that the English speaking world, which dominates our modern civilisation, mainly via America, had at some point acquired its learning and science from the Muslims. Second, and equally obvious: if the Muslims themselves ignore their contribution, why should others acknowledge it for them? Hence, a general great silence issues from the English-speaking world, as well as from other speech communities, about the Islamic contribution to their scientific revival. This paper seeks to address the aforementioned issues. Obviously it is not going to say everything; more able minds can attempt that. What is offered here is just an outline of how Islamic civilisation impacted on the rise of science and learning in England, and on aspects of English architecture. In order to do so, what is required, first and foremost, is a brief outline of the condition of both civilisations, Muslim and English, and the sharp contrasts between the two, so as to appreciate fully the scope of the Muslims impact.
Contrasts between Islamic and English societies:

The glimmering lamp of knowledge was sustained when it was all but ready to die out. By the Arabians it was handed down to us, says Draper.2 His brief statement means nothing, or everything if it is substantiated. Scott, Haskins and Metlitzki help in this respect to highlight the dire state of learning and civilisation in the West, including England, and how it was the Muslims who kept learning and civilisation alive, before they passed the light of knowledge as Draper says. Tenth century Andalusia, Scott tells, 3 was traversed in every direction by magnificent aqueducts; Cordova was a city of fountains; its thoroughfares, for a distance of miles, were brilliantly illuminated, substantially paved, kept in excellent repair, regularly patrolled by guardians of the peace. In London, in contrast, there were no pavements until the fourteenth; at night the city was shrouded in inky darkness; that it was not until the close of the reign of Charles II (17th century) that even a defective system of street lighting was adopted in London. The mortality of the plague is a convincing proof of the unsanitary conditions that
G.E. Von Grunebaum: Islam, Greenwood Press, Publishers, 1961. p.185. J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe; 2 vols, George Bell and Son, London, 1875. Vol I; p. 390. 3 S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire in Europe, 3 vols; J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and London, 1904. vol 3; pp 518-21.
2

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everywhere prevailed; the supply of water was derived from the polluted river or from wells reeking with contamination. Back in Spain, Scott pursues, the annual receipts of the state from all sources under Abd-al-Rahman III, in the first half of the tenth century exceeded three hundred million dollars; the revenues of the English Crown at the close of the seventeenth century were fifteen million. The inhabitants of England at the death of Elizabeth were about four million; the population of Muslim Spain six centuries previous to that date could not have been less than thirty million. In 1700, London, the most populous city of Christian Europe, was only half as large as Cordova was in 900, when Almeria and Seville had each as numerous a population as the capital of the British Empire eight hundred years afterwards. At the dawn of the eleventh century the Muslim dominions of Sicily and Spain presented a picture of universal cultivation and consequent prosperity, where industry was promoted and idleness was punished; where an enlightened spirit of humanity had provided asylums within whose walls the infirm and the aged might pass their remaining days in comfort and peace. Six hundred years afterwards what are now the richest and most valuable agricultural districts of Great Britain were unclaimed and uninhabitable bog and coppice, abandoned to game and frequented by robbers; and one-fourth of the inhabitants of England, incapable of the task of self-support, were during the greater part of the year dependent upon public charity, for which purpose a sum equal to one-half of the revenues of the crown was annually disbursed. In the middle of the tenth century, there were nine hundred public baths in the capital of Moorish Spain; in the eighteenth century there were not as many in all the countries of Christian Europe.4 With regard to learning, England, like other lands of Western Christendom, was in a lamentable condition. The chief centres of culture, Haskins tells, were the monasteries, islands in a sea of ignorance and barbarism, saving learning from extinction in Western Europe at a time when no other forces worked strongly to that end.5 When we remember, Lane Poole observes, that the sketch we are about to extract from the records of Arabian writers concerning the glories of Cordova, relate to the tenth century, when our (English) Saxon ancestors dwelt in wooden hovels and trod upon dirty straw, when our language was unformed, and such accomplishments as reading and writing were almost confined to a few monks, we can to some extent realize the extraordinary civilisation of the Moors.6 From what his friends told him of England, Adelard, the first English scientist, on whom plenty more further down, gathered that: violence ruled among the nobles, drunkenness among the prelates, corruptibility among the judges, fickleness among the patrons, and hypocrisy among the citizens; mendacious promises were given lightly, friends were invidious, and almost all whom one met courting favours. The coming anarchy of the reign of Stephen was on its way. Nothing seemed more distasteful to Adelard than to submit to this `misery'. Being unable to avert `this moral degeneration,' he decided to ignore it, holding a unique consolation-his enthusiasm for Arabum studia (Arab Studies).7 Adelard returned to England in the reign of Henry, son of William,'' having left it before 1100 to spend seven years learning in the Muslim East. His Quaestiones Naturales, which he composed for the benefit of his nephew, praises Muslim learning, in contrast with his feeling of misery about learning in England. The
4 5 6 7
S.P.Scott: History; op cit; pp 518-521. C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance of the twelfth Century, Harvard University Press, 1927: 32-4. S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888. pp. 129-30. Dorothee Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby in Medieval England, Yale University press, 1977. p.13.

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Quaestiones Naturales, in the form of a dialogue between him and his imaginary nephew, is essentially a
report of Adelard's grand tour and reflects his excitement at the new scientific outlook of the Muslims which had left the Latin schools far behind.8 Nothing contrasts more the discrepancies in learning as the place accorded to books. Scott tells that the library of Mostandir, Sultan of Egypt, contained eighty thousand volumes, and that of Tripoli, two hundred thousand. He tells that in the thirteenth century, when Bagdad was sacked by the Mongols, the books cast into the Tigris completely covered its surface, and their ink dyed its waters black, while a far greater number were destroyed by fire. The public collections of the Caliphate of Spain were seventy in number, and the great library of A1-Hakem II, alone, included six hundred thousand volumes. The private collections of many individuals were proportionately large. In that of Ibn-al-Mathran, the physician of Salah Eddin, were ten thousand manuscripts.9 Four centuries later, few books existed in Christian Europe except those preserved in monasteries; the royal library of France consisted of nine hundred volumes, two-thirds of which were theological works; their subjects were limited to pious homilies, the miracles of saints, the duties of obedience to ecclesiastical superiors. Their sole merit consisted in the elegance of their chirography and the beauty of their illuminations.10 This can be said even of the contents of the illustrious Santa Maria de Ripoll, at its height under Abbot Oliva (1008-46), from whose time we have a catalogue of its notable library of two hundred and forty six titles.11 Under Muslim rule, it was difficult to encounter even a Muslim peasant who could not read and write. During the same period in Europe, many great personages could not boast these accomplishments. Furthermore, from the 9th to the 13 th century, the Spanish Muslims possessed an educational system not inferior to the most improved ones of modern times. They taught astronomy from globes and planispheres; they measured the circumference of the earth; they observed the motions of the planets; they calculated the density of the atmosphere; they were familiar with the natural and artificial conditions under which vapours and gases are generated.12 One can go on with the flowery language for much longer. It is no longer necessary, though. This contrast between civilizations is not presented for the purpose of gloating about the superiority of Muslim civilisation over that of barbarian Europe, and all aspects of such a contrast. Nor is it aimed at ridiculing Muslims today, for how low they have descended since their time of glory. Instead, its aim is to highlight the fact that it is impossible for backward Western Europe (including England, of course) to live next to a society much more evolved, and not to have borrowed from its elements of civilisation, just as today Muslims borrow from the West. Hence, the argument that one finds in most English history - that England leapt from barbarism into light through its own internal genius, without borrowing from Islam the elements which will be found in England soon after contact with Islam was made - is a preposterous notion. In the following, it is shown how England acquired many aspects of learning and civilisation from Islam.
8 9
Dorothee Metlitzki: The matter; p.29. S.P.Scott: History; op cit; Vol 3; pp. 522-3. 10 S.P.Scott: History; Vol 3; pp. 522-3. 11 C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance. Op cit; Pp. 41-2. 12 S.P.Scott: History; Vol 3; pp. 522-3.

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Early contacts:
English contacts with Muslim learning began via a third party, Lorraine, in todays northeastern France. Contacts between Lorraine and the Islamic world date from the 9th century. A century later, John, Gorzes abbot, took his famed trip from Gorze (970-74) near Metz in French Lorraine. The trip to Spain was the result of exchanges between Abd al-Rahman III, caliph of Cordoba and the German emperor Otto the Great. On his return, John brought back with him the first elements that were going to stir the scientific awakening in Western Christendom in the Lorraine region.13 John had just spent three years in Cordova. There, he encountered a Jew named Hasdeu who understood Latin and, of course, was acquainted with Arabic. A man of intelligence and culture, who was very deeply interested in mathematics and astronomy, John in all probability brought back with him scientific manuscripts of Islamic origin, as he did from his previous trip to Italy.14 This is all the more certain since Cochrane notes that the original point of contact between Islamic science and the Christian West was the result of Carolingian interest in manuscripts to be found in Cordova.15 John was certainly helped in his enterprise by acquiring knowledge of the Arabic language from the Spanish Jews who understood Latin.16 Studies by Haskins, Thompson and Welborn,17 and the latter two in particular, show that mathematical and astronomical learning developed to a great extent, as a result of this aforementioned contact, and was based on Islamic sources. Thompson and Welborn show this Islamic influence in minute detail in places, needless to dwell upon here. What is important is how this learning passed on to England. Here, it is worth returning to Haskins who had stressed a crucial point, that is the role of the monasteries as islands of learning. It is through these places that Muslim learning voyaged between the two countries, carried by men of religion. Many early Muslim manuscripts in fact were located in monasteries and cathedrals. The reason for this, it must be recalled, is that at the time learning was universal, as noted above, in Islamic civilization, whereas the learned in the West were exclusively the men of religion. John of Gorze was himself an abbot. Mathematicians and astronomers of Lorraine, now well versed in Muslim science, and the first Westerners, if we do not take into account those of Muslim Spain, began to carry their learning to England mainly thanks to one crucial factor: the preference of King Knut the Great, the English king, for churchmen from Lorraine.18 From his time, on through many generations, scholars from Lorraine were very popular in England, and were appointed as bishops and masters of the schools. 19 Before the death of Knut, Duduc (from Lorraine) had already become bishop of Wells, Hermann, another man from Lorraine had become bishop of Ramsey; and Leofric, who had also been educated in Lorraine was bishop of Exeter (1046-1072). Under Edward the Confessor there was another group of these clerics, all of whom were interested in
J. W. Thompson: Introduction of Arabic science into Lorraine in the tenth Century,'' Isis 12 (1929): 187-91. M. C. Welborn: `Lotharingia as a center of Arabic and scientific influence in the eleventh century,' Isis 16 (1931) pp.18899. 14 J.W. Thompson: The Introduction of Arabic Science; op cit; pp 190. 15 Louise Chochrane: Adelard of Bath. British Museum Press. 1994. p. 6. 16 J.W. Thompson: The Introduction of Arabic Science; op cit; pp 189-90. 17 Mary C. Welborn, `Lotharingia; op cit; C.H Haskins, Studies, op cit, pp. 334-35; J.W. Thompson: Introduction of Arabic science; op cit; p. 191. 18 J.W. Thompson: The Introduction of Arabic Science; op cit; p. 191. 19 For more details on these Lotharingians, see : E. Freeman: Norman Conquest; 8 Vols; Oxford 1867; and T.D. hardy: Descriptive catalogue, 3 vols. London 1871.
13

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learning and many brought books with them from their own country. 20 Earl Harold, too, encouraged learning from Lorraine in England. He had travelled extensively and had discovered that the schools of Lorraine and the nearby German cities were not only much better than those of England, but also than those of France and Northern Italy at that time.21 He appointed Walter as bishop of Hereford (1060-1079) and Gisa as bishop of Wells (c.1060). However, his most important appointment was that of Athelard of Liege as the head of the college of canons, which he established at Waltham. During the times of the first Norman ruler (1066) William the Conqueror, and following him, under William Rufus, more men from Lorraine arrived in England, including Robert of Lorraine, a distinguished mathematician who was finally made bishop of Hereford (1079).22 Other figures included Walcher of Malvern, Walcher of Durham, Thomas of York, and Samson of Worcester.23 Of these latter-mentioned men, Walcher of Malvern was possibly the greatest figure of learning from Lorraine to reach England about 1091.24 Walcher, a scholar and - of course monk. In England he was the first native student of Arabic learning and was the first Latin critic of the work of translation from Arabic.25 He was the first English astronomer and also the first of his nation (or one of the very first) to translate or adapt a Muslim treatise.26 In the tables from this treatise he used Roman fractions; in the treatise of 1120 he used degrees, minutes and seconds. Walcher's tables call to mind others compiled a little later, about 1140, by Raymond of Marseilles. These were simply an adaptation of al-Zarqali's tables. 27 Walcher had observed lunar eclipses in Italy in 1091 and 1092, and compiled lunar tables about 1109. 28 Walcher had already adopted the Islamic methods of astronomical calculation and transposed them to the meridian of England.29 He had come into possession of the astrolabe, and for the first time, in Latin Europe, on 18 October 1092, he used one to determine the time of the lunar eclipse that he had observed in Italy.30 He had become interested in astronomical observations after experiencing the darkness of an eclipse in Italy and then discovering on his return to Malvern that the selfsame eclipse had been observed in his own monastery at a different time of the day.31 Whatever knowledge of Arabic or Arabic terminology Walcher had had been transmitted to him by King Henry I's physician Petrus Alphonsi.32 Walcher commenced his observations in 1090 using Roman numerals and fractions but later changed to degrees, minutes and seconds, employing an astrolabe and new methods. He had learned these from Petrus Alphonsi, himself one of the main figures to introduce Islamic learning in the Christian West,33 which brings us to Petrus and other Spanish links.
20 21
M.C. Welborn: Lotharingia as a center of Arabic; op cit; Pp 196-7. M.C. Welborn: Lotharingia as a center of Arabic; op cit; p.197. 22 C. Burnett: The Introduction of Arabic Learning into England; The Panizzi Lectures, 1996; The British Library; 1997. p.15. 23 J.W. Thompson: The Introduction of Arabic Science; op cit; p. 191. 24 M.C. Welborn: Lotharingia as a center of Arabic; op cit; p. 198. 25 D. Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby; op cit; p.26. 26 G.Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48.Vol 2; p. 124. 27 G.Sarton: Introduction; op cit; Vol 2; p. 124. 28 G.Sarton: Introduction; op cit; Vol 2; p. 124. 29 D. Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby; op cit; p.24. 30 O. Pedersen: Astronomy, in Science in the Middle Ages, edt D.C. Lindberg; The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1978, pp 303-37; at p. 312. 31 L. Cochrane: Adelard; op cit; p. 7. 32 D. Metlitzki: The matter of Araby; op cit; p.26. 33 L. Cochrane: Adelard; op cit; p. 7.

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The Spanish Connections: Petrus Alphonsi was a Spanish Jew convert to Christianity. He was one of King Henry I's physicians, thought to have been in England from 1112 to 1120.34 It was Petrus who introduced Islamic astronomy to England, and translated texts from Arabic for the first English scientists. Evidence of the astronomical contributions of Petrus Alphonsi is contained in a treatise preserved in Oxford, where he put a set of chronological tables based upon Islamic ones, including a concordance of eras for the year 1115. Also preserved at Oxford is a series of tables for the various planets and an explanation of the use of the chronological tables. 35 Most significant, though, Metlitzki notes, are the twelve dialogues (Dialogus) between Peter and òne Moses, which reflect the Islamic astronomical learning that Petrus was first to carry to the attention of the Western Christians on their own ground.36Petrus held that the ignorant have to be educated in Islamic science and that he, Petrus, has labored hard - `magno labore.... et summo studio' - to translate Islamic works `for the benefit of the Latin.37 He even expressed a `sense of mission in spreading Islamic astronomy among `the Latin in the land of the Franks.38 The Muslim Spanish connection was very much diverse. In Muslim Spain, Scott notes, there was not a village where `the blessings of education could not be enjoyed by the children of the most indigent peasant, and in Cordova there were eight hundred public schools frequented alike by Moslems, Christians, and Jews where instruction was imparted by lectures. The Spanish Muslim received knowledge at the same time and under the same conditions, Scott points out, as the literary pilgrims from Asia Minor and Egypt, from Germany, France and Britain.39 More importantly, many manifestations of Islamic civilisation travelled through the courts, appearing among the ruling families, who married members of the ruling monarchies of Spain (Aragon, Castile, etc). Eleanor, King Henry IIs wife, is a good case. She and her entourage, `much like her grandfather and his crowd, were familiar visitors to their relatives in courts where, since knowledge of Arabic was often de rigeur, translations from the Arabic were not as important as they were in London.40A daughter of Eleanor and Henry II had married into the royal family of Castile, and as the wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile and an eminent figure in Toledo, this other Eleanor (she had been named after her mother) `welcomed visitors from throughout Europe who came to Toledo to drink from its fountains of knowledge-and to take much of that knowledge back to England, France, and Germany.41The ruling family members themselves spread many of the symbols of Islamic civilisation, then a mark of sophistication aped by the higher echelons, amongst the diverse courts where they inter-married as Menocal shows to very good lengths.42 The Spanish connection was even stronger in terms of the translation effort. It must be reminded that after the Christians retook Toledo in 1085 they came across the abundance of Muslim scientific
34 35
D. Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby; op cit;.p.24-5. C.H. Haskins: Studies in the history of Mediaeval Science; Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. New York. 1967 ed.. P.117. 36 D. Metlitzki: The matter of Araby; op cit; 21. 37 D. Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby; op cit;.p.24-5. 38 D.Metlitzki: The Matter; op cit; p. 24. 39 S.P.Scott: History; op cit; Vol iii, at pp 467-8. 40 Maria Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1987.p.49. 41 Maria Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role; p.49. 42 M.R. menocal: The Arabic role; op cit;

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treatises left there. The beginning of the disintegration of Muslim rule in Spain, Metlitzki observes, had finally brought the Latin and Islamic worlds into intimate contact. 43 A vast translation effort was undertaken in Toledo, as the flower of Western scholarship descended onto the town, and was organised under the patronage of the local religious authorities. This vast translation effort through the 12th century explains the decisive changes that took place during the 12th century in Western Christendom - the so called 12th century Renaissance - and the rise of university learning in the Christian West.44 We must be reminded, here, that the crusaders were also in contact with the Muslim East exactly in the 12 th century and with Sicily in the same century, which indeed shows why things changed in Western Christendom in this crucial century. Let us return to the English translators for Metlitzki notes that, en par with other parts of the world, `the transmission of Muslim science to England is in full swing with Robert of Ketton, Daniel of Morley, Roger of Hereford, Alfred of Sarechel, and Michael Scot who continued Adelard's aim of Àrabum studia scrutari' (Scrutiny into Arabic studies).45 Most of these Englishmen went to Spain in search of astronomical and mathematical treatises and took an active part in the systematic work of translation in which Christian, Mozarab (Chistians formerly living under Muslim rule), and Jewish scholars collaborated at Toledo and other seats of learning in the valley of the Ebro and the region of the Pyrenees. 46 Our focus here is on Robert of Chester, also known as Robertus Castrensis, Cestrensis, Retinensis, Ketenensis, Ostiensis, Astensis, Anglicus; Robert the Englishman, Robert de Retines. He was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, and translator from Arabic into Latin.47 He lived in Spain about 1141-1147; was archdeacon of Pamplona, Navarre, in 1143; and lived in London about ll47-1150.48 He translated a number of treatises, notably one on alchemy (1144), one of the earliest works of its kind to be imported from Islam into Christendom. However, he is chiefly remembered because of his versions of the Quran (1143), and of al-Khwarizmi's algebra (1145).49 He was a man of higher intellect and was attracted by the more scientific side of Arabic learning. Witness his translation of a treatise on the astrolabe, his compilation of tables for the longitude of London (1149) derived from those of al-Battani and al-Zarqali, and his revision of the tables translated by Adelard of Bath. His main claim to our esteem, Sarton says, however, is his translation of the algebra of al-Khwarizmi (1145).50 Before saying more on this, it is interesting to note that before then he was commissioned, together with Herman the Dalmatian, by Peter the Venerable, the Abbot of Cluny, in France, to make a translation of the Quran, the first ever, far from perfect, and not for good intentions, either, Peters aims being to study the text so as to make a more sustained attack on Islam.51 The abbot of Cluny could not have made a better choice for his purpose, for both Robert of Chester and Herman the Dalmatian were well versed in Arabic, and they also had
D.Metlitzki: The Matter; op cit; p.30. See For instance: C.H. Haskins: Studies; op cit; The Renaissance of the 12th century, opcit; etc. 45 D.Metlitzki: The Matter; op cit; p.30. 46 D.Metlitzki: The Matter; op cit; p.30. 47 G.Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 175. 48 G.Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 175. 49 G.Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 115. 50 G.Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p.126. 51 See M.T. DAlverny: Deux Traduction Latines du Coran au Moyen Age in Archives dhistoire doctrinale et litteraire du Moyen Age; 16; Paris; Librairie Vrin; 1948; in La Connaissance de lIslam dans lOccident Medieval; edt by C. Burnett. Varorium; 1994; pp 69-131.
44
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access to Muslim `chests' - armaria (libraries joined with mosques) and had gathered an abundance of material.52 We know from Robert himself that he was deeply engrossed in astronomical and geometrical study when he was interrupted by Peter. 53 By 1145 Robert was again deeply engaged in mathematical and astronomical work. In that year, he was in Segovia translating al-Khwarizmi's algebra which, like his translation of the Quran, broke completely new ground in Western Christendom.54 The Book of Algebra and Al-Mucabola (of `making whole' and `balancing') introduced the name and function of a new branch of mathematics: algebra, from Arabic
jabara, to restore. 55 The name of the author, al-Khwarizmi, was itself becoming a new concept from the opening sentence (`Dixit algoritmi') of another of his works, the Arithmetic. The concept is algorism. 56It
was a fundamental landmark in the history of that subject, as it may be considered the beginning of European algebra, Sarton notes.57 Robert was also the first to use the word sinus (sine) in its modern sense. 58 In his translation, Robert copied even Al-Khwarizmis introduction:
`Praise be to God, beside whom there is no other. Here ends the book of restoration and opposition of number which in the year 1183 (Spanish era) Robert of Chester in the city of Segovia translated into Latin from Arabic. 59
Two years later, in 1147, Robert was back in London, writing, like Adelard, a treatise on the astrolabe, which by now was the standard trademark of every English Àrabist'.60
France and England:

One of the connections between France and England, other than the aforementioned Lorraine, was through Aquitaine. Aquitaine was a part of the English crown in France. As a boy, Richard the Lionheart had been brought up in Aquitaine, in the south of France where, as Glubb shows to great length, the influence of Muslim culture had been strong.61 The ease of Richard's relationships with Salah Eddin was doubtless largely due to the growing extension of Arab manners in Western Europe. Ìn the same manner today, a Syrian or Iraqi diplomat would mingle easily with Americans in the United States, if he had been educated in the American University of Beirut, adds Glubb. 62 There were three great schools in Paris at the beginning of the 12 th century, Sarton tells us:63 that of the cathedral of Notre Dame, that of the canons regular of St. Victor, and that of the abbey of St. Genevieve
52 53
D.Metlitzki: The Matter; op cit; p.31. D.Metlitzki: The Matter; op cit; p.31. 54 D.Metlitzki: The Matter; op cit; p.35. 55 L.C. Karpinski: Robert of Chesters Latin Translation of the Algebra of Al-Khowarizmi; New York; 1915. 56 D.Metlitzki: The Matter; op cit; p.35. 57 G.Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p.126. 58 G.Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p.126. 59 L.C. Karpinski: Robert of Chesters; op cit; p. 125. 60 C.H.Haskins: Studies; op cit; p.122. 61 J.Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. 62 J.Glubb: A Short History; op cit; p.179. 63 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; Vol II. p..351

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across the river. All contributed to making Paris the leading intellectual centre of Christendom, ` a city of teachers,' but it is chiefly from the cathedral school that the university sprang in a gradual and imperceptible transformation. By 1170 the university was taking shape. University learning, as already noted, was fundamentally based on the translated material from Arabic. In Paris, Sarton informs that the earliest college was established about 1180 by an Englishman, Josce of London. Little by little, masters and students grouped themselves in four faculties: arts, theology, law, and medicine.64 The connections between Paris and the foundation of the English universities have been studied by a variety of sources, some such sources telling more on how Islamic learning was passed between places,65 others telling how the very system of Muslim higher learning was passed on.66 These sources also show how Paris gave birth to Oxford University, which itself gave birth to Cambridge, the first two English Universities. That is where the influence of Paris ends, for as we shall see further on, as did Daniel of Morley, the other great early English scientist, learning in Paris was stale and moribund, and he could hardly wait to leave the place for the more exciting Toledo where Muslim learning ruled. Daniel himself would teach at Oxford, and would certainly supply it with its first books of science, which of course he had imported from Toledo.67 The French city of Montpellier had remained a major centre for the study of Muslim medicine, but also Muslim astronomy due to its proximity to Muslim Spain, and also the large presence of learned Muslims and, above all, Jews with Islamic learning.68Montpellier moreover was an offshoot of the first university of Western Christendom, Salerno, which burst into life in the late 11th century after the arrival of Constantine the African, who brought with him a whole cargo of medical books from Qayrawwan in Tunisia, which he translated, and which triggered the beginning of medical higher learning in Western Christendom. 69 Montpellier attracted students from other parts to the study of the subject as early as 1137. One such student was Robert the Englishman (not Robert of Chester who flourished in the previous century), who flourished in France, Montpellier (c. 1271;) and who wrote a treatise on the astrolabe (De Astrolabio canones) and a treatise on the quadrant.70 Both astrolabe and quadrant are Muslim instruments par excellence. Also worth mentioning is Gilbert the Englishman, who was the author of many medical writings, by far the most important being the compendium (or Lilium medicinae). It is a very comprehensive outline including good pathological descriptions and two chapters on the hygiene of travel very much inspired by Muslim works.
71
With France was the other link: the architectural link and its Islamic sources. It is worth noting how Sir Banister Fletcher praised the Muslim style that had `reached peaks of accomplishment that rank high among man's achievements.' 72 Equally, in his book Architecture,73 William Richard Lethaby (1857-1931) summarises the qualities that the Àrab' style represented for him: èlasticity, intricacy and glitter, a G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; Vol II. p..351 C.H. Haskins: Studies; op cit; C.Burnett: The Introduction; op cit; etc. 66 George Makdisi: On the origin and development of the college in Islam and the West, in Islam and the Medieval West, ed. Khalil I. Semaan, State University of New York Press/Albany. 1980. J. Ribera: Disertaciones Y Opusculos, 2 vols. Madrid 1928. 67 See C.Burnett: The Introduction; op cit; 68 W.M. Watt: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edinburgh University Press, 1972. pp. 66-7. 69 Constantine the African and Àli ibn al-Magusti: The Pantegni and related texts, eds C. Burnett and D. Jacquard, Leiden, 1994. 70 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; Vol II; p.993 71 G. Sarton: Introduction, Vol II, pp. 520-1. 72 Sir Banister Fletcher: A History of architecture: 18th edition, revised by J. C. Palmes: University of London, The Athlone press, 1975. p. 415. 73 W.R. Lethaby: Medieval architecture: in The legacy of the Middle Ages, edited by C.G. Crump and E.F Jacob: Oxford at the
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suggestion of fountain spray and singing birds'.74 More remarkable to Briggs is the incontrovertible fact about Muslim architecture, that in all countries and in all centuries, it retained an unmistakable individuality of its own.75 Hence the great appreciation for the Muslim style, the traces of which are to be found in England and at all epochs. Throughout her work, Cochrane has emphasised and repeatedly referred to expert sources, including John Harvey and Christopher Wren, to show how Gothic came initially from the Muslims. It is needless to go into the details of the manner of transmission, which have been expertly dealt with by other articles on this site. Thus keeping the matter brief here, Cochrane reminds that the building of purely Gothic churches had been preceded in the 11th century by the occasional use of pointed arches, which happened in Monte Casino, before the idea was pursued at Cluny (France).76 From Chartres and the Ile de France, Durant explains, the Gothic style swept into the French provinces and crossed frontiers into England, Sweden, Germany, Spain, and at last into Italy. French architects and craftsmen accepted foreign commissions.77 England welcomed it because she was, in the 12th century, half French, `the Channel but a river between the two sides of a British realm.78 The transition from Romanesque to Gothic, Durant pursues, was almost simultaneous in England and France. About the same time that the pointed arch was being used at St. Denis, (1140) it was appearing in Durham and Gloucester cathedrals and at Fountains Abbey and Malmesbury.79 Henry III (1216-72) admired everything French, envied the architectural glory of St Louis's reign, and taxed his people into poverty to rebuild Westminster Abbey. 80 Cochrane also touches upon the Islamic linkage of geometry and construction and its resulting impact on the West, observing how careful study of pre-Norman churches in England, so many of which have skew chancels, shows that builders found it difficult to achieve true rectangles. 81 She notes how the transition in England was rapid following the First Crusade in particular.82 Sicily, too, had its great impact in this area as in others.
Sicily and the Norman impact

Part of the Muslim influence in Sicily is here outlined by Scott. 83 He tells how Oriental craft, refinement, and learning were able to supply the deficiencies of whose existence `the rude and unpolished Western adventurers were thoroughly cognizant.84 The Muslims stood high in the confidence and favour of the Norman princes. Muslim councillors stood in the shadow of the throne; they collected taxes and administered the public revenues. They conducted important negotiations with foreign powers, whilst their Clarendon Press, 1969 edt, pp 59-93. p.250. 74 John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession: Cambridge University Press, 1987.p.203. 75 M. S. Briggs: Architecture, in The Legacy of Islam, edited by T. Arnold and A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press, first edition, 1931, pp 155-79. p. 157. 76 L. Cochrane: Adelard of Bath; op cit; p. 64. 77 Will Durant: The Age of Faith, Simon and Shuster, New York, 1950. p. 882 78 Will Durant: The Age of faith, p. 882 79 Will Durant: The Age of faith, p. 882 80 Will Durant: The Age of faith,:p. 882 81 L. Cochrane: Adelard of Bath; op cit; p. 63. 82 L. Cochrane: Adelard of Bath; op cit; p. 64. 83 S.P.Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; pp 27-9.

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impress on the customs of social and domestic life was deep and permanent. The prevailing language of court and city alike was Arabic. 85 The Cadi, retaining the insignia and authority of his original official employment, was an important member of the Sicilian judiciary and was frequently the trusted adviser of the monarch. Muslim institutions, with the powerful influences resulting from their universal adoption, thus maintained an overwhelming preponderance throughout the provinces of the Norman kingdom. Even in Apulia and Calabria, the original seat of the new dynasty, the same conditions prevailed. The crucifixions and the mottoes of Muslim rulers were impressed together upon the coinage of the realm, where eminent prelates owed investiture, rendered homage, and paid tribute to the secular power and where Muslim dignitaries, not infrequently, took precedence over Papal envoys.86 Hence there was a very strong Islamic influence permeating administration and institutions, at all levels and in every sphere. It must be reminded that the Normans ruled Sicily, but also parts of France, and above all England, which they had taken in 1066 from the Saxons. The intercourse between Norman Sicily and Norman England was very strong. Menocal highlights such links and how this disseminated Muslim learning between the courts: `The expansion of Norman political power in the late eleventh century and its consolidation in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries played an important role in the dissemination of learned Arabic texts in translation. The blood ties, as well as the political and cultural interactions among courts scattered from Sicily to England, with France in between, meant that there was a considerable amount of free exchange of intellectual and artistic activity much of which, in any case, tended to be carried out by peripatetic scholars and artists.87 This exchange was well caught, once more by Scott, who also touches upon another crucial point here, the manner in which Muslim-Sicilian culture revolutionised established norms in Western Christendom. It is thus worth paraphrasing: `The traders who visited the remote and semi-barbarous courts of Europe, the Crusaders who from time to time enjoyed the hospitality of the Sicilian cities, the returned adventurers who had served in the armies of the princely House of De Hauteville (the Norman dynasty who ruled Sicily), all spread, far and wide, exaggerated and romantic accounts of the strange and sacrilegious customs (i.e monarchs dressing in Muslim outfits, being surrounded by Muslim advisers, conversing in Arabic, etc.) of the Norman monarchy. Ecclesiastics crossed themselves with dismay when they heard of the honours lavished upon infidels (Muslims), whose co-religionists `had profaned the Holy Sepulchre, evoking gigantic expeditions which had depopulated entire provinces and drained the wealth of credulous and fanatic Europe. Others, whom study and reflection had made wise beyond the age in which they lived, saw, with open indifference and concealed delight, in this defiance and contempt of Popish tyranny, the dawn of a brighter era, the prospect of the ultimate emancipation of the human mind. The progress of the mental and moral changes which affected European society, acting through the intervention of Norman influence in the political and religious life of the continent, was gradual, indeterminate, and long imperceptible, but incessant and powerful.88 One area of impact is again architecture, on which subject readers need to go to proficient articles in this site. Most briefly here, Henry Gally Knight in his Normans in Sicily (1838) had affirmed the stylistic richness
84 85 86 87 88
S.P.Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; pp 27. S.P.Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; pp 28-9. S.P.Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; pp 27-9. Maria Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role; op cit; p.49. S.P.Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; pp 29.

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in his illustrations of Siculo-Norman, a style that was Muslim in its arches and that the Muslims, through the Crusaders, were responsible for in the pointed arch style of Continental Europe.89 As well outlined by Scott, the Muslims occupied a good place within Sicilian institutions and administration and soon the impact was felt in England. Haskins, hence, notes how we must bear in mind the possibility of a connexion between the Norman Domesday Book, which made an inventory of all the wealth of England in the 11th century, the first of the sort, for purposes of taxation, and for the Norman ruler to know more about his new kingdom, and the fiscal registers which the south, i.e. Sicily, had inherited from its Byzantine and Muslim rulers.90 Haskins enlightens on the English career of Qaid Brun (master Thomas Brown) in the English Exchequer. Thomas Brown (Qaid Brun) was a Muslim refugee from Sicily, who had to leave Sicily on the accession of William the Bad. He probably reached England by 1158, when he is mentioned in the Pipe Roll. As an official of both King Roger and Henry II, he was as a connecting link between the fiscal systems of the two kingdoms.91 The duties which master Thomas performed in the service of Henry II (of England) are only partially known, although the substantial wages which he received in 1160 indicate that from the outset his position was one of importance. Thomas Brown sat at the exchequer table and, with the assistance of two clerks, kept a watch on all proceedings in the upper and lower exchequers. A third roll is kept by him as a check on the rolls of the treasurer and chancellor, and this role, doubtless intended for the private information of the king, Thomas carries about him wherever he goes.92 In his concluding remarks, Haskins refutes the claims, as made by Niese, that it was England which influenced Sicilian legislation.93On this point, of course, it is a miracle to find much, for the aim by the overwhelming majority of modern historians, in particular, has been to obscure the Muslim impact on this most English institution of all.
Adelard of Bath and Daniel of Morley:

The routes of influence have been looked at although one, the crusades, however essential - which could have been added - is left for a future work. Adelard of Bath and Daniel of Morley are the two most influential English scientists, not just because they were amongst the very first, but also because they brought in some fundamental elements into English, and Western, intellectual life. Most certainly the first English scientist ever was Adelard of Bath. He could be said to have championed Islamic learning more than any other early scientist, being the most Àrabist of all scientists.94 He was born in Bath, studied at Tours (France) and taught at Laon (France). After leaving Laon he spent seven years in
89 90
Gally Knight in John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession; op cit; p.194. C.H. Haskins: England and Sicily in the 12th century; The English Historical Review: Vol XXVI (1911) pp 433-447 and 641665. p. 664. 91 Stubb: Constitutional History, vol i. P.408 in C.H. Haskins: England and Sicily. C.H. Haskins: England and Sicily; pp. 641-665. C.H. Haskins: England and Sicily; p. 664. 94 See: -L. Cochrane: Adelard of Bath, British Museum press, 1994. -C. Burnett: Adelard of Bath, Warburg, London, 1987. -B.G. Dickey: Adelard of Bath, unpublished Thesis, University of Toronto, 1982.
93 92

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study and travel, and can be traced in Cicilia and Syria. He might have visited Spain and Sicily before 1116 and probably before 1109 and was in Palestine by 1115. By 1126 he was back in the West, busy making the astronomy and geometry of the Muslims available to the Western Christian world.95 Adelard's most important contributions were in the field of mathematics. Early in life, before he travelled to Syria and Palestine, he wrote a treatise on the abacus (Regule abaci). Later, in 1126, he translated from Arabic into Latin the astronomical tables of al-Khwarizmi, revised by Maslama ibn Ahmad al-Majriti. They included tables of sines. Thus was Muslim trigonometry, and more specifically the sine and tangent functions, introduced into the Western Christian world. 96 At the time he was compiling his natural questions, Sarton informs, Adelard also wrote a treatise on falconry, the earliest Latin treatise of its kind which has come down to us. It shows no trace of Arabic influence. Thus, Adelard must have written it rather early or else he did not hear of eastern knowledge on the subject, but the matter, Sarton notes, requires further investigation. 97 He was also, Sarton tells, in all probability the "Magister A" who translated al-Khwarizmi's mathematical treatise
(Liber ysagogarum
Alchorismi). Thus, Adelard was an abacist at the beginning of his career and later became an algorist, the
earliest (or one of the earliest) of them. 98 Just like Petrus Alphonsi, Adelard became associated with the court of Henry I. Both men were important in the transmission of Islamic science in both court and kingdom as well as much of the West. Both worked on the Zij of al Khwarizmi. Whether this was done individually, or in cooperation, cannot be proved, but it might have happened after Adelard returned from his seven year travels.99 Adelards travels had begun years before, soon after his formal training in the Latin schools. He embarked on a journey, which took him to Magna Graecia and the principality of Antioch. It is this seven year journey which he describes, famously, as his quest for the studia Arabum (the studies of the Arabs), which he contrasts to the Gallica studia (French studies).
Àrab studies based on reason rather than authority.100

Cochrane charts his travels, telling that it is probable that Adelard made his way to Syria via southern Italy, Sicily and Greece. In De eodem, which he dedicated to the Bishop of Syracuse, he mentions both Greece and Salerno, whilst in his famed Questiones he describes being shaken by an earthquake as he crosses a bridge at Mamistra (modern Misis) near Adana on the way to Antioch. He speaks of the bridge itself and of the whole region as shaking violently with the movement of the earth. 101 Adelard's mentioning of the earthquake, Cochrane notes, is very useful in establishing a date for his journey. The earthquake took place in 1114 and affected Anatolia, and caused great damage to Antioch, which is one hundred miles from Misis, and as far away as Edessa. It was the time of the first crusade, when the Franks were under serious threat from forces being raised against them by the Seljuk Sultan Mohammed. Roger of Salerno was Prince of Antioch and personally supervised repairs to the fortifications.102Cochrane then highlights some very
95 96
C.H. Haskins: Studies; op cit;. Pp 33-4. G. Sarton; Introduction; vol 2; p. 167. 97 G. Sarton: introduction; 2; p. 168. 98 G. Sarton; Introduction; vol 2; p. 167. 99 L. Cochrane: Adelard of Bath; op cit; p.42: 100 C. Burnett: The Introduction; op cit; p. 25. 101 L.Cochrane: Adelard; op cit; p. 33. 102 L.Cochrane: p. 33.

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interesting points on how Adelard witnessed the Seljuk fixing bridges damaged by the earthquake and how their techniques were soon after to be seen in England.103 Adelards masterpiece is a collection of Natural Questions, which gave him the opportunity to publish Islamic knowledge on a variety of subjects. It is the result of his seven years of travel amongst the Muslims in the east, as mentioned above. When Adelard left Laon, he advised his `nephew and his other pupils to remain there and learn all they could of philosophy as it was taught in northern France. He would travel and study with the Àrabs and on his return they would compare notes. Quaestiones naturales is the resulting essay. The Quaestiones Naturals is in 76 chapters, each dealing with a scientific question, to explain the new knowledge which he had acquired from `his Arabs.'104 Quaestiones Naturales is in the form of a dialogue between the author, who has just returned from his journeys and is still full of the new impressions of Muslim science thus gained and his fictional nephew, who has had a scholastic education in France. 105Adelard could no longer endure the prejudice against modern science which in his time was synonymous with Islamic scholarship, especially after he had spent those seven years in study and travel in order `to investigate the learning of the Arabs as best as he could.106 Looking at Adelards brief outline in Haskins107 and his dealing with matters of plants, natural life, and geological questions, one is struck by the close resemblance they have with the works of Muslim botanists such as Al-Dinawari and Muslim geographers and geologists such as Al-Biruni, in particular. This comparative work has not been done, and to this day, Adelards quaestiones, except for some brief extracts here and there, are only widely available in German, yet another crucial work the English speaking world is deprived of. Adelard also brought back a unique enthusiasm for Arabum studia.108 Adelard declared that from his Muslim teachers he had learned to put reason above authority in the matter of natural knowledge since in fact the Ancients, who now possessed the authority, had gained it only by using their own reason. 109 He says,
From the Arab masters I have learned one thing, led by reason, while you are caught by the image of authority, and led by another halter. For what is an authority to be called, but a halter? As the brute beasts, indeed, are led anywhere by the halter, and have no idea by what they are led or why, but only follow the rope that holds them, so the authority of writers leads not a few of you into danger, tied and bound by brutish credulity."110
Thus, Adelard had triggered a completely new approach unknown then, the use of reason rather than authority, his line the very foundation of modern scientific thinking. His works `mark a significant stage in the history of ideas,'.111 Such eagerness and faith in human reason: Ìf reason be not the universal arbiter, it is given to each of us in vain.' 112
103 104 106 107
D.Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby; op cit; p.13. see Haskins' summary on The Quaestiones in C.H. Haskins: Studies, op cit pp 36-8. 108 D.Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby; op cit; Chapter 2: p.13. 109 E.J. Dijksterhuis: The Mechanisation; op cit; pp.116-7. 110 N. Daniel: The Arabs and Mediaeval Europe; p. 265-6. in Questiones, ch vi, on why man must use reason with which he is endowed. 111 L. Cochrane, Adelard of bath, op cit, p. 1. 112 G.Wiet V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Trsltd from the
Quaestiones naturales edt Muller 105 E.J. Dijksterhuis: The Mechanisation of the World Picture; Oxford at the Claredon Press; 1961; p.118.
L.Cochrane: Adelard; op cit; pp. 34-5 and fwd.

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It seems that English-based scholars (i.e. the older generations), as a rule, acknowledged openly the place and influence of Islamic science. The same eagerness is found in this regard in Daniel of Morley as in Adelard of Bath. Daniel of Morley proceeded to Cordova to learn mathematics and astronomy, published the fruits of his studies, and lectured at Oxford.113 His passion for Islamic learning is well caught in his dedication of his Philosophia to John of Oxford (Bishop of Norwich from 1175 to 1200), of which lengthy extracts are taken from Burnett:114
`When, some time ago, I went away to study, I stopped a while in Paris. There, I saw asses rather than men occupying the chairs and pretending to be very important. They had desks in front of them heaving under the weight of two or three immovable tomes, painting Roman Law in golden letters. With leaden styluses in their hands they inserted asterisks and obeluses here and there with a grave and reverent air. But because they did not know anything, they were no better than marble statues: by their silence alone they wished to seem wise, and as soon as they tried to say anything, I found them completely unable to express a word. When I discovered things were like this, I did not want to get infected by similar petrification.... But when I heard that the doctrine of the Arabs, which is devoted entirely to the quadrivium, was all the fashion in Toledo in those days, I hurried there as quickly as I could...'
Daniel pursues that he was begged to return to England from Spain by his friends, but was `disappointed' with what he found. Asked by his friend the bishop about `the wonderful things in Toledo,' the teaching there, and the movements of the celestial bodies, Daniel submitted a treatise for his scrutiny. Its first book was about the lower part of the universe, its second about the higher. He then begs the reader that
`he should not despise the simple and clear opinions of the Arabs, but should note that Latin philosophers make heavy weather of these subjects quite unnecessarily and, through their ignorance, have put figments of their imagination veiled in obscure language, so that their unsteady floundering in this subject might be covered by a blanket of unintelligibility.'115
Already in 1180, Daniel of Morley had returned to England convinced with Albu Al Maashar (Albumasar) that he who condemns astronomy destroys science. 116 Like Adelard, he emphatically relies on the Muslims against the antiquated authority of ancient Christian authors. Abu Maashar was, in the words of Alain de Lille, the undisputed master of stellar science. 117
Later influence
In art and architecture, the Muslim impact on modern Western art and architecture can be seen, other than at this site, at: http://www.islamicart.com/main/architecture/impact.html It gives a good idea of how diverse parts of the Muslim world and their masterpieces impacted upon Western artists and architects, most particularly English ones and Americans. Blair and Bloom, who are French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975. p.465. 113 R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, George Allen and Unwin Ltd, London 1928. p.199 114 In C. Burnett: The Introduction; op cit; pp.61-2. 115 Daniel of Morley, Philosophia, ed. G. Maurach, pp 204-55; in C. Burnett: The Introduction of Arabic learning, op cit, p. 62. 116 Daniels Von Morley Liber de naturis inferiorum et superiorum; ed Sudhoff; p. 32; in D. Metlitzki: The matter; op cit; p. 60.

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referred to in the site, note that a painting such as The Reception of a Venetian Embassy in Damascus, attributed to the school of Bellini in the early 16th century, was by an artist who was familiar with the topography and monuments of Damascus. The American landscape painter Fredric Church (1826-1900) returned from his trip in Syria and Palestine full of enthusiasm for Islamic architecture. After 1870, he designed and constructed his estate at Greendale-on-Hudson, New York, which according to Blair and Bloom, combined Alhambra motifs, simplified Hindu detail and Persian tile-work. In 1750, Frederick, the Prince of Wales, commissioned the English architect William Chambers (1723-1796) to design an "Alhambra" for the gardens at Kew. Chambers followed his design with an octagonal pavilion in the form of a mosque, which according to Blair and Bloom, was based on à free improvisation on the domed Ottoman mosques flanked by minarets illustrated by Fischer Von Erlach." From Turkey, the Westerners, including the English, imported the kiosks in public gardens where coffee and other beverages were served. The new kiosks did not just serve their original function as garden pavilions but also developed into band-stands and news-stands. From Muslim India, one of the first British artists to visit Agra, William Hodges (1746-1797), sought inspiration from the Taj Mahal. The landscape painter Thomas Daniell (1749-1840) the author of Oriental Scenery (six folio-sized parts, each with 24 hand-colored aquatint plates) was hired as a consultant to help design a British residence with such features as a bulbous dome with corner chatris and overhanging eaves, cusped arches and pinnacles. Daniell was further to inspire the architect John Nash (1752-1835) who was commissioned by George IV to remodel an unfinished structure at the Royal Pavilion. The Alhambra also continued to inspire many, such as the British architect Owen Jones, who after many visits designed two palatial houses in Kensington Palace Gardens in the Muslim style. In 1854, he created an Alhambra Court, following the Court of the Lions, for the reconstructed Crystal Palace in Sydenham. Another excellent work that gives good justice to the Muslim impact on modern arts and architecture in both England and America, as well as elsewhere, is John Sweetmans Oriental Obsession.118 Thus, only a few instances will suffice, here, to end this work with an illustration of the far reaching Islamic impact. In 1878, there appeared the influential book Art Decoration applied to Furniture by Mrs Harriet P. Spofford (1835-1921), which included a chapter on Oriental styles, amongst which the Muslim element was prominent. It was not a style, Mrs. Spofford conceded, for those `with restricted incomes, but she thought that even in small houses one room at least might be devoted to it. She recommended `sumptuous gold threaded material' for upholstery. Fringes should reach the floor concealing all woodwork in `true Moorish style. Preoccupation with accumulating eastern ornament was to endure after 1900. In the 1890s the `cosy corner' with sofa, cushions and tent like canopy was to become a minor rage.119
117 118
A de Lille in D. Metzliki: The matter; op cit; p. 60. John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession; op cit;. 119 John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession; p.232.

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Islamic carpets clearly provided thoughtful observers, in surprisingly various ways, with artistic lifelines, which they grasped wholeheartedly. The rugs could convey a visual rightness, which `contained' irregularity, à primitive force which embraced sophistication.120 The same might be said of oriental ceramics with their ancient traditions of simple shape and investing glaze and, in the case of so many Islamic types, surface qualities of pattern and metallic reflection. Morris's friend William de Morgan also frequented the South Kensington Museum, which was enriched, along with the British Museum, with Near Eastern and Hispano-Moresque wares and Italian maiolica.121 Maiolica, which has its story, which Sweetman traces admirably, and which demands a look at the source itself by those interested. Sweetman devotes a whole chapter, chapter six, to what he calls: The American Story. Besides the
influence of the great exhibitions, he notes, we have two further major considerations, the use of Islamic ideas of decoration by the entrepreneurs of Art Nouveau and by the newly rich, and the dedicated collecting by individuals of Islamic objects which would eventually benefit public museums. 122 Tiffany emerges as a major purveyor of oriental style, occupying a place in commerce as powerful as that of Liberty, but injecting into Art Nouveau `his predilections for Islamic art with greater creative force. Other firms designed Muslim interiors, such as Pottier and Stymus. Tiffany alone unites `magical sensitivity in his best work to a larger than life personal legend. One of the most memorable photographic portraits of him shows him attired as a Middle Eastern ruler wearing turban and pearls, for a grand ball in New York in 1913 (fig 142).123 In 1871-2 the influential Richard Morris Hunt also chose the Muslim style for the facade of his Tweedy Store, New York (fig 145), which was acclaimed not only at home but in Europe.124 The Alhambra (1832) as noted above, was especially acclaimed after it was brought to the wider audience by Washington Irving. It went through numerous editions in the land of its author. From the time of the welcoming review in the New York Mirror in June of the year of publication its success was assured. 125It struck many imaginations, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world. Twenty years after first seeing the Alhambra, Owen Jones 1809-1874 re-created part of it at the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, his well known Àlhambra Court'.126The Alhambra and its decorative schemes represented a conspicuous strand of Islamic artistic influence in 19th century Britain which, through the work of Owen Jones, helped to induce important shifts of attitudes to decoration and ornament in the field of interior design.127 The Alhambra also, as briefly noted here to end with, struck imaginations on the continent too. The French, 19th century writer and poet Victor Hugo, in his collection Les Orientales (1829) claimed:
'Alhambra! l'Alhambra! palais que les Genies Ont dore comme un reve et rempli d'harmonies...128 (Alhambra, Alhambra! Palace which genies have adorned like a dream, and filled with harmony).
120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127
John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession: 182. John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession: p. 182. John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession: p.230. John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession; p.233. John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession: p.238. John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession; p.217. John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession: p.125. John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession: 131.

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Conclusion
Draper tells that `The Arab has left his intellectual heritage on Europe and `such their (Muslims) splendour, their luxury, their knowledge; such some of the obligations we are under to them - obligations which Christian Europe, with singular insincerity, has ever been fain to hide. The cry against the misbeliever has long outlived the Crusades.129 It has indeed, and it is for those who are able, to look into the aspects of influence which have been only briefly touched upon here.
Bibliography
R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, George Allen and Unwin Ltd, London 1928. M. S. Briggs: Architecture, in The Legacy of Islam, edited by T. Arnold and A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press, first edition, 1931, pp 155-79. C. Burnett: The Introduction of Arabic Learning into England; The Panizzi Lectures, 1996; The British Library; 1997. C. Burnett: Adelard of Bath, Warburg, London, 1987. Louise Chochrane: Adelard of Bath. British Museum Press. 1994. Constantine the African and Àli ibn al-Magusti: The Pantegni and related texts, eds C. Burnett and D. Jacquard, Leiden, 1994. M.T. DAlverny: Deux Traduction Latines du Coran au Moyen Age in Archives dhistoire doctrinale et
litteraire du Moyen Age; 16; Paris; Librairie Vrin; 1948; in La Connaissance de lIslam dans lOccident
Medieval; edt by C. Burnett. Varorium; 1994; pp 69-131. N.Daniel: The Arabs and medieval Europe; Longman Librarie du Liban; 1975. G. Dickey: Adelard of Bath, unpublished Thesis, University of Toronto, 1982. E.J. Dijksterhuis: The Mechanisation of the World Picture; Oxford at the Claredon Press; 1961 J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe; 2 vols, 1875. Will Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York, 1950. Sir Banister Fletcher: A History of architecture: 18th edition, revised by J. C. Palmes: University of London, The Athlone press, 1975. E. Freeman: Norman Conquest; 8 Vols; Oxford 1867; and T.D. hardy: Descriptive catalogue, 3 vols. London 1871. J.Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969; George Bell and Son, London,
128 129
John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession: 120. J.W.Draper: A History; op cit; Vol II; p. 44.

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C.H. Haskins: Studies in the history of Mediaeval Science; Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. New York. 1967 ed. C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance of the twelfth Century, Harvard University Press, 1927. C.H. Haskins: England and Sicily in the 12th century; The English Historical Review: Vol XXVI (1911) pp 433-447 and 641-665. L.C. Karpinski: Robert of Chesters Latin Translation of the Algebra of Al-Khowarizmi; New York; 1915. S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888. pp. 129-30. W.R. Lethaby: Medieval architecture: in The legacy of the Middle Ages, edited by C.G. Crump and E.F Jacob: Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1969 edt, pp 59-93. George Makdisi: On the origin and development of the college in Islam and the West, in Islam and the
Medieval West, ed. Khalil I. Semaan, State University of New York Press/Albany. 1980. Maria Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History, University of Pennsylvania Press,
Philadelphia, 1987. Dorothee Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby in Medieval England, Yale University press, 1977. p.13. O. Pedersen: Astronomy, in Science in the Middle Ages, edt D.C. Lindberg; The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1978, pp 303-37.
Quaestiones naturales edt Muller

J. Ribera: Disertaciones Y Opusculos, 2 vols. Madrid 1928. G.Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire in Europe, London, 1904. John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession: Cambridge University Press, 1987. J. W. Thompson: Introduction of Arabic science into Lorraine in the tenth Century,'' Isis 12 (1929): 187-91. G.E. Von Grunebaum: Islam, Greenwood Press, Publishers, 1961. W.M. Watt: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edinburgh University Press, 1972. M. C. Welborn: `Lotharingia as a center of Arabic and scientific influence in the eleventh century,' Isis 16 (1931) pp.188-99. G.Wiet V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Trsltd from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975. 3 vols; J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and

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Morocco as a Great Centre of Islamic Science and Civilisation
Salah Zaimeche PhD Lamaan Ball October 2004 4070 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Morocco as a great Centre of Islamic Science and Civilisation October 2004
MOROCCO AS A GREAT CENTRE OF ISLAMIC SCIENCE AND CIVILISATION

Introduction
There is plenty of writing on the role of Baghdad, Spain and Sicily in the rise of Islamic science and civilisation and its impact on the world. Little is said or written about other places. Morocco is one such place, which played a great part in elevating the human condition. Moroccos role was in fact decisive, for it was the principal route by which ideas and also people voyaged between East and West, especially as the Mediterranean became increasingly unsafe for Muslim travellers following the loss of Sicily by the Muslims (late 11th century). To highlight the role of Morocco as a passage point, one illustration is the example of paper manufacturing. It first started in the furthest eastern parts of the Islamic lands. Paper, originally, was brought by the Muslims from China. From a Chinese art, the Muslims developed it into a major industry. 1 The first paper mill was built in Baghdad in the late years of the 8th century and early years of 9th century. Then, paper production, like much else passed on to Syria on the way West. From Syria, it progressed further West to Palestine, then reached Egypt around 850. From Egypt it continued further West to reach Morocco first by the early 10 th century, and then, from there crossed into Spain in 950. 2 From Spain and Sicily paper making spread to the Christians in Spain and Italy.3 This is just one aspect of Morrocos role. Another is the close relations between the two countries as far as contacts of the learned. Maghribi students, for instance, down to the 13 th century considered a sojourn in Cordova, Murcia, or Valencia necessary to finish their course. 4 In fact, the period that extends from the end of the 8th to the end of the 11 th century, as Vernet and Samso note, is characterised by the development, in both the Maghreb and Muslim Spain of two, more-orless linked, scientific traditions encouraged by scholars who,
`beyond the social contradictions and the differences of statute or of religion, were relatively united both by the way of life of the Islamic city and by the cultural and scientific environment that had been established favouring different human contributions and multiple contacts with the scientific foyers of the Muslim East. 5
Glick also explains how the economic links between Morocco and Muslim Spain were very close. The closest sphere of Andalusi commercial activities was North Africa; Morocco acting as both a source of raw materials
1 For more accounts on the growth of the industry see: - J.Pedersen; The Arabic Book, trans by Geoffrey French; Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey (1984). -M. M. Sibai: Mosque Libraries: An Historical Study; Mansell Publishing Limited: London and New York: 1987. 2 D. Hunter: Papermaking: the History and technique of an ancient craft; Pleiades Books; London; 1943; p.470. 3 T.K Derry and T.I Williams: A Short History of Technology; Oxford Clarendon Press, 1960. P. 232; W. M.Watt: LInfluence de lIslam sur lEurope medievale; Revue dEtudes Islamiques; vol 40; p.36.. 4 E,L. Provencal: entry: Al-Maghrib; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; New edition; Vol 5; 1986; pp 1208-9. 5 J.Vernet, 1978; J Vernet and J.samso, 1981, and J. Samso, 1992, in A Djebbar: Mathematics in medieval Maghreb; AMUCHMA-NEWSLETTER-15; Universidade Pedaggica (UP), Maputo (Mozambique), 15.9.1995 at http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/AMU/amu_chma_15a.html .

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(wood, alum, antimony) and finished cloth. In Morocco, Andalusi merchants sold their own finished cloth (Valencian brocade, according to al-Shaqund), and copper was a staple export.6 In particular, under the rule of the Almoravids and Almohads who united Spain with the Maghrib, the great Moroccan cities, Marrakech and Fes, especially, became extensions of the Andalusi urban economy. Merchants moved back and forth freely, bearing Spanish goods on camelback.7 Many businesses were family operations and therefore members of the same family would be stationed in different countries to ease commercial arrangements. Glick mentions in particular Jewish families (who were very much involved in Muslim trade) who owned houses on either side of the straight. 8 Moroccos main contribution to Spain, and the whole region, however, was to provide two of its most powerful Muslim forces, which shaped history decisively: the Berber Almoravids and Almohad Dynasties.
The Moroccan Berber Dynasties

Generally, when reading through literature, historical or other, and at the cinema, or in documentaries of various sorts, the image presented of the Almoravids and Almohads is very poor. Thus, in the famed film, El-Cid, for instance, the Almoravids are portrayed as evil incarnate. Their leader Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, called Yusuf in the film, is darkened in deeds more than in skin; cruel as much as ugly; his being and manners all oozing with malevolence and wickedness. His opponent the Cid is the reverse, handsome, kind, generous, merciful, courageous etc. In truth, El-Cid was a mercenary, bloodthirsty renegade, unfaithful to his word, who slaughtered the woman and robbed and slaughtered the orphan. He was a cruel, violater of altars, says Lane Poole.9 Yusuf Ibn Tashfin was, on the other hand, by far one of the greatest men in Islamic history, who deserves a whole article in appreciation. The Almohads come out even more poorly than the Almoravids. Even authors usually kind to Muslims abhor the Almohads as fanatical, orthodox, who harmed Muslim civilisation.
`Fanatic barbarians, of the eleventh and twelfth centuries,

Lea tells us.10
`The savage instincts of the Berbers were indulged by tortures and all the arts of the most exquisite cruelty. Whenever these barbarians encountered a monastery not one of the holy fathers was left alive. There was now visited upon the Christians a severe retaliation for the unspeakable horrors which they had been in the habit of inflicting upon their infidel adversaries in the name of the Gospel of Peace,
Scott tells us.11 Àlmohad persecution was particularly stressed by Durant.12 Yet, reality was far, very far, from that.
6
Al-Shaqundi in T.Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1979. pp.130-1. 7 T.Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain; pp.131. 8 T.Glick Muslim and Christian Spain; pp.131. 9 S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888; p.192. 10 H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; Burt Franklin; New York; 1968 reprint. p.1. 11 S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; The Lippincoat Cmpany; Philadelphia; 1904; Vol 1; p.584.

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The Almoravids (Mid 11th -1147)

Decades before the Almoravid intervention in 1086 in Spanish affairs, anarchy had spread in Muslim Spain as it disintegrated into thirty or so small feuding kingdoms (called the Taifas de Reyes). This chaos was exploited by the northern Christian neighbours to start their `Reconquista.'13 They saw their opportunity, and they made the most of it, observes Lane Poole.14 It culminated in a vast offensive, which resulted in the taking of the first major Muslim town Barbastro in 1065 by a combined army of papal, Norman, and Spanish forces. There, wholesale massacre of Muslims and mass rape of Muslim women took place. Many of the Reyes had thought their military alliance on the side of the Christian northern forces against fellow Muslims would save their realm, instead, they were conquered. A certain `monk of France,' possibly Hugh of Cluny himself, had sent a letter to Muqtadir ibn Hud of Saragossa advising him to accept Christianity; a new attitude, more aggressive, toward the Muslims was taking shape.15As the threat to their little kingdoms and principalities rose, it made it clear to the Reyes, Lane Poole observes, that the Spaniards meant nothing less than re-conquest of all Spain, and the extermination of all Muslims.16 The Muslim populations also became painfully aware of the relative helplessness of their own princes to stem the Christian advance, and acceding to pressures from below, the Taifa leaders were forced to appeal to the Almoravids in an attempt to halt the enemy.17 In 1086, the Almoravids, tribesmen from the Moroccan High Atlas, crossed into Spain, and manoeuvring en masses to the sound of drums, they inflicted on the Christian knights a shattering defeat at Zallaqa near Bajadoz.18The Christian forces were awed and intimidated by the continuous drumming, which accompanied the swiftly executed manoeuvres of the Almoravid army.19 Ibn Tashfin slaughtered the Christian army so much so that Alfonso barely escaped with some five hundred horsemen. Thousands of the best knights of Spain `lay stiff and nerveless on that fatal field.20Before the battle, Alfonso as he looked upon his own splendid army exclaimed:
`With men like these I would fight devils, angels, and ghosts!21
Twice the Almoravids were asked to intervene before being summoned to depart, their puritan faith hardly of the taste of the rather morally loose Reyes. Some such Reyes even plotted to have Ibn Tashfin, the Almoravid ruler, poisoned so as to rid themselves of an incumbent guest.22 The third time he was invited, in 1090, Ibn Tashfin crossed the straight of Gilbraltar from Morocco, removed the Reyes, and installed Almoravid rule all over the country. W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p.395. C. Cahen: Orient et Occident au temps des Croisades, Aubier Montaigne, 1983..p.21. 14 S. Lane-Poole: The Moors; op cit; pp. 176-7. 15 See D.M. Dunlop, À Christian Mission to Muslim Spain in the eleventh century,' Al-Andalus, XVII (1952), 259-310; Alan Cutler: Who was the Monk of France' and when did he write?', Al-Andalus, XXVIII (1963), pp 249-269. 16 S. Lane-Poole: The Moors. p.178. 17 J.T. Monroe: The Hispanic-Arabic World: in: Americo Castro, and the meaning of Spanish Civilisation. Jose Rubia Barcia edt; University of California Press, Berkeley, 1976 pp 69-90; p. .83. 18 G. Wiet et al: History of mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Trsltd from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975 p.269. 19 A.Thomson; M.A. Rahim: Islam in Andalus; Taha Publishers; Revised edt; 1996; p. 90. 20 S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; op cit; p.179. 21 S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain. p.179. 22 A.Thomson; M.A. Rahim: Islam in Andalus; p. 92.
13 12

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The Andalusian Al-Bakri, surrounded by the intellectual and material comforts of his country and his milieu (amidst the Reyes), considered these puritans of Islam as enemies. 23 He was not alone. The Christians, concerned at this new conquering thrust of Islam, were
`disconcerted by these veiled adversaries who charged on camel back to the sound of drums.
As a result, the historical reputation of the Almoravids suffered from great prejudices.24 The Almoravid conquest, Wiet et al, note, was not, as Al Bakri described it,
à bloody holy war waged by fanatical disciples of a strange religion.

They had conquered the whole of Morocco patiently, with the littlest amount of blood spilled. Their installation at Marrakech, their rapid expansion in southern Morocco, as revealed by excavations, emphasize the considerable degree of their cultural evolution, their faculty of assimilation and inventiveness, that of a people, whom Ibn Hawqal in the tenth century, just as Al-Bakri in the 11th century, wrongly regarded as little better than savages. 25
Largest Extent of the Almoravid Empire around 1100 CE

(Source: http://i-cias.com/e.o/almoravids.htm)
23 24 25
G. Wiet et all: History of Mankind: Vol III op cit; p.857. G. Wiet et all: History of Mankind:; p.857. G. Wiet et all: History of Mankind:; pp.857-8.

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The Almoravids also drew upon the African goldmines for minting coinage, and secured great prosperity for the region. They were the first to achieve the unity of Spain and North West Africa, which had the greatest possible repercussions on economic affairs and also on cultural affairs, even though the Almoravid Empire did not last very long.26 More importantly, the Almoravid intervention kept Spain in Muslim hands for another half century at least (that is until the end of their rule in 1147). They also halted the Spanish advance, which, as it was going to do in the following centuries, was to progress further south into North Africa. Hence, other than saving the Muslim realm for this period of time, the Almoravids also allowed Muslim civilisation to prosper for longer than it would have been had the Spaniards retaken the country. Coming after them, the Almohads were going to extend both Muslim political survival and the prosperity of Muslim civilisation until nearly the middle of the 13th century. Thus, the crucial role of these two powers from Morocco can be seen if one thinks of all the eminent names who lived in the realm of Islam under Almoravid and Almohad rule, such as the herbalists Al-Ghafiqi (d. 1165) wrote Kitab al-Adwiyat al-Mufradah (The Book of Simple Drugs) and Ibn al-Baytar (1197-1248), of Malaga, the author of the largest pharmacological encyclopedia that has survived to our time; the traveller Ibn Jubair (Ibn Jubayr); Ibn Rushd (1126-1192); the astronomer Jabir Ibn Aflah (d. 1145) and so many more, who would have been lost to Islamic civilisation had Spain been lost prior to the Almoravids, and their successors, the Almohads.
The Almohads (1147- 1269)

The Almoravids, were at first, great warriors, but soon after Ibn Tashfin's death succumbed to the same corruptions of their predecessors (The Reyes de Taifa).
`They came to Spain hardy rough warriors, unused to ease or luxuries, delighting in feats of strength and prowess, filled with a fierce but simple zeal for their religion,
says Lane Poole, the following generation, however,
`lost their martial habits, their love for deeds of daring, their pleasure in enduring hardships in the brave way of war In twenty years, in place of the former Berber army now was a disorganised crowd of sodden debauchees, miserable poltroons, who had drunk and fooled away their manhoods vigour and become slaves to all appetites that make men cowards.27
Soon Spain fell back into the usual chaos, the usual infighting between the various factions: Almoravid and Andalusian, Arab and Berber...28 Muslim Spain disintegrated into another multitude of warring city states just like those of decades before.29 These divisions were hardly lost on the combined Christian forces, who resumed their assaults under the conduct of King Alfonso I of Aragon, named El-Batallador (The Fighter) because of his deep thrusts into Muslim territory,30 taking their towns and cities one after the other; and slaughtering the population being the rule. At the taking of Lisbon, this time by an alliance of European
26 27
G. Wiet et all: History of Mankind:; p.857. S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; op cit; p.183. 28 A.Thomson; M.A. Rahim: Islam; op cit; p. 97. 29 S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia of Arabic civilization; The Arab West; Djambatan; Amsterdam; 1966. p. 89. 30 Jean Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974..p.150.

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armies, and following the tragic fate of the Muslim population once the city was retaken (1147), the English priest could not hold being moved by the fate of the Muslims:
`We are inclined to feel pity for our enemies in their evil fortunes, and to feel sorry that the lashes of divine justice are not yet at an end.' 31
The Almohads, another Berber dynasty from deep into Morocco crossed into Spain, and again saved Muslim Spain, beating off Christian armies further north. Then, on 18th July, 1196, Abu Yusuf Yaqub, the son of a slave girl,32 now ruler, who like the famous Ibn Abi-Abi Àmir, was to take the honorific title of Al-Mansur (The Victorious)33 inflicted a crushing defeat on Alfonso VIII of Castile at Alarcos, the Christian army being virtually exterminated.34 So generous in victory was Abu Yusuf, he freed twenty thousand Christian prisoners without ransom. 35 All Spain was at the mercy of Abu Yusuf, but he was obliged to cut short his operations to return to Africa, where a rebellion, sponsored and encouraged by Salah Eddins successors threatened him form the rear. 36 Abu Yusuf quelled the rebellion, but by the time he returned to Spanish matters, his forces had been drained, and considerably so. Still, Spain, and North Africa were safe in Muslim hands. Abu Yaqub,37 other than bringing peace and security in both Spain and North-West Africa, improved the irrigation systems and embellished the cities with fine buildings.38 In 1170-1171, Abu Yaqub had made Seville his capital, and rebuilt the portion of the wall adjacent to the river, after a calamitous flood. The Alcazar, or citadel, originally built by Abd al- Rahman II, was restored, and was also built the main mosque (1172-1176), of which only the minaret, now called the Giralda, still remains. 39 The three hundred feet high Giralda in Seville was both a minaret and also served as an observatory. 40 When Seville was lost to Ferdinand III of Castile (1248), it boasted seventy-two mosques.41 In Morocco, Almohad rule coincided with a great period of prosperity and brilliance of learning. The Almohad built the Marrakech Kutubiya Mosque, which accommodated no less than 25,000 people, but was also famed for its books, manuscripts, libraries and book shops, which gave it its name;42 the first book bazaar in history.
J Read: The Moors in Spain.p.161. Al-Marakushi: Kitab al-Mujib; Tr into Histoire des Almohades by E. fagnan, Algiers, 1893. p. 189. 33 J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; op cit.165. 34 John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. p.190. 35 J.Glubb: A Short History; op cit; p.190. 36 J.Glubb: A Short History; op cit; p.190. 37 Highly crucial here to make the difference between father and son with very close names: Abu Yaqub Yusuf ruled between 1163 and 1184; his son, the victor at Allarcos: Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur ruled 11841199. For easier identification, the father will be called Abu yaqub; and Son Abu Yusuf. 38 S.M. Imamudin: A Political History of Spain; Najmah and Sons Limited Publishers; Dacca; 1961; p. 167. 39 T.Glick: Seville in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Charles Coulston Gillispied Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980 onwards; vol 13; p.213. 40 S,M.Imamudin; A Political history; op cit; p. 167. 41 T.Glick: Seville; in the Dictionary of the Middle Ages; p.213. 42 R. Landau: Morocco: Elek Books Ltd, London 1967. p.80.
32
31

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Minaret of the Kutubiya Mosque in Marrakech Abu Yaqub, Deverdun says, `had a great soul and love for collecting books.43 He founded a great library, which was eventually carried to the Casbah, and turned into a public library, under the management of the most erudite. Their service, says Ibn Farhun, was one of the privileged state positions, for which were selected only the best scholars.44 Some books in the library constituted part of the Almohad treasury, in fact, and were as prized as precious metals.45 There are, for instance, two copies of the Quran written in Mansub character that Salah Eddin, had offered Abu Yaqub. 46 During the crusades, the Almohads had dispatched 180 vessels to help the Muslims fight the crusaders during the third crusade (which involved Salah Eddin against Richard the Lion Heart) in the east.47 Under the Almohads, the sovereigns did not just encourage the construction of schools and libraries, and sponsored scholars of every sort, but also, they were so keen, they even attended their scholars funerals. 48 Illustrious physicians also lived and worked in the Almohad court, especially under the third Caliph, Abu Yaqub and constituted a sort of corporation presided by one amongst them.49 Ibn Rushd, Ibn Tufail, Ibn Zuhr, and many more philosophers and scholars found sanctuary and served the Almohad rulers.50 And, contrary to their accusers who talked of their enmity to learning, libraries thrived under their rule, including private libraries. Three main collections (all dating from the mid 13th century) can be cited: the Maktaba of Ibn Tarawa, who was a great amateur of chroniclers, besides being a manuscript writer; the Maktaba of alQaysi and the Maktaba of Ibn as-Suqr, the main librarian of the imperial library. His collection required five full camel loads to be carried.51 The Almohads checked for a while Christian advances, yet, soon afterwards, their rule was to fall to the same fates as their predecessors. As most often happens, at his death, the illustrious victor at Alarcos, Abu
43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51
G.Deverdun: Marrakech; Editions Techniques Nord Africaines; Rabat; 1959.p. 265. G.Deverdun: Marakech;. 265. G.Deverdun: Marrakech; p. 265. G.Deverdun: Marrakech; p. 265. S.M. Imamudin: A Political History of Spain; Najmah and Sons Limited Publishers; Dacca; 1961;p. 168. G.Deverdun: Marrakech; op cit;.p. 261. G.Deverdun: Marrakech; p. 261. R. Landau: Morocco: Elek Books Ltd, London 1967. p. 431. G.Deverdun: Marrakech; p. 265.

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Yusuf (Al-Mansur), was succeeded by his son Al-Nasir (1199-1214), who was of a very different mould. AlNasir cared neither for science nor for religion, neglected government, and specialised in pleasure.52 At the very decisive battle of Navas de Tolosa, in 1212, Al-Nasirs much superior army was too disunited to face effectively a smaller, and yet united Christian army. Al-Nasir army was crushed. In the wake of the battle, 70,000 Muslim prisoners were slaughtered at the order of the Bishops of Toledo and Narbonne who were at the scene.53 Soon the beginning of the end of Muslim Spain will begin. One after the other Muslim towns and cities were retaken by the Christians: Cordova 1236; Valencia: 1238; Seville: 1248 etc... Only Grenada will be left in Muslim hands, to be taken in 1492. And there will be no strong army from North Africa to hold back the Spanish advance. The local wars between the Spanish monarchies were some relief for the Muslims. By the time the Spaniards and Portuguese resumed their thrust into North Africa, in the 15 th century, the Ottomans were powerful enough and willing to come and lend a hand, and help keep the place under Islamic rule.
Morocco a centre of Mathematical Studies

Two famous Moroccans Al-Marakushi and Al-Banna together addressed subjects such as arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, algebra and chemistry54 and also history.
Al-Marakushi
Abd al-Wahid Al-Marakushi was born in Marrakech in 1185; he studied there, in Fes, and after 1208 in Spain. In 1217, he went to Egypt, where he seems to have spent the rest of his life. In 1224, he completed a history of the Almohad dynasty, preceded by a summary of Spanish history from the Muslim conquest to 1087 (Kitab al-mujib fi talkhis akhbar ahl al-Maghrib).55 The text has been edited by R.P. A. Dozy.56 There is a French translation by Fagnan.57 Extracts can be found in Wustenfeld, Brockelman and Levi Provencal. 58 Hassan-al-Marakushi main work is Jami al-Mabadi wal-ghayat (the Unity of the Beginnings and Ends; i.e. Principles and Results), probably completed in 1229-1230. This is a very good compilation of practical knowledge on astronomical instruments and methods, trigonometry and gnomonics. 59 Part of this work has been translated by Sedillot.60 The Jami of Hassan al-Marrakushi was, Sarton holds, the most elaborate trigonometrical treatise of the Western caliphate, the best medieval treatise on practical astronomy, on gnomonics and the best explanation of graphical methods.61 The part dealing with gnomonics contained studies of dials traced on horizontal, cylindrical, conical, and other surfaces for every latitude.62 AlMarakushi gave a table of sines for each half degree as well as tables of versed sines and arc sines (this last one he called the table of al-Khwarizmi). To facilitate the use of gnomons he added a table of arc
52 53
W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.314. T.B. Irving: Dates, Names and Places: The end of Islamic Spain; in Revue d'Histoire Maghrebine; No 61-62; 1991; pp 7793; at p. 81. 54 E,L. Provencal: entry: Al-Maghrib; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; New edition; Vol 5; 1986; pp 1208-9. 55 G.Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. vol 2; p.681. 56 R.P. A. Dozy: The history of the Almohads; Leiden 1847; again, 1881. 57 French translation by Edmond Fagnan (Revue Africaine, Vols. 36 and 37, passim; separate edition, 332 p., Alger 1893). 58 Critiscism: F. Wustenfeld: Geschichtschreiber der Araber (109, 1881). C. Brockelmann: Arabische Litterartur (vol.1, 332, 1898). E. Levi provencal: Documents inedits d'Histoire almohade (440p., Paris, 1928, p; Isis, 13, 221). 59 G.Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p.621. 60 E,L. Provencal: entry: Al-Maghrib; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; New edition; Vol 5; 1986; pp 1208-9. 61 G Sarton: Introduction; op cit; p. 508.

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cotangents.63 The second part of al_jami was devoted to the explanation of graphical methods of solving astronomical problems. In al-Marakushis work are developed the construction of planispheres, astrolabes, quadrants and the need of gnomonics, which constituted the great interest of Sedillot who had written by far the best account on Muslim astronomical instruments.64 In the work, Al-Marakushi shows his good acquaintance with the mathematical and astronomical works of al-Khwarizmi, al-Farghani, al-Battani, Abu'l Wafa, al-Biruni, Ibn Sina, al-Zarqali, and Jabir Ibn Aflah. For example, he shared al-Zarqali's belief that the obliquity of the ecliptic oscilliates between 23 degrees and 33' and 23 degrees 53', a belief which tallied with the notion of the trepidation of the equinoxes. 65 It is interesting to note here how Al-Marakushi has devoted much study to trigonometry and associated subjects, and yet we read in some works on the history of science, including by one of the most renowned figure of such history, Crombie, saying the following:
`The development of modern trigonometry dates from mathematical work done in Oxford and France in the fourteenth century in connection with astronomy.66
Had Crombie, just like the tens or hundreds of modern historians of science with the same view, just briefly consulted al-Marakushi, he would have realised how far from the truth he was.
Ibn al-Banna
Ibn al-Banna, also known as Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Azdi, was born in 1256 in the city of Marrakech (or possibly it was the region of Marrakech which was named Morocco by the Europeans).67 There is a claim that al-Banna was born in Grenada in Spain and moved to North Africa for his education. What is certain is that he spent most of his life in Morocco. 68 This confusion on the place of his birth is explained by OConor and Robertson by the fact that the Moroccans, even after Almohad power faded, the Merinids, in this instance, kept trying to save Muslim Spain. The Merinids formerly lived in eastern Morocco before taking control of the whole of Morocco in 1269. The Merinids tried to help Grenada to prevent the Christian advance through their country, and the strong link built between Grenada and Morocco may account for the confusion as to which country al-Banna was a native of.69 Ibn al-Banna lived and taught for some time in Fes which became, after the fall of the Almohads, the capital of the Merinids, and which tried to rival, on an intellectual level, Marrakech, the only city which had the privilege of having been, for almost two centuries (1062-1248), the capital of the entire Maghreb, including vast sub-Saharan zones. 70 Ibn al-Banna studied geometry, fractional numbers and learnt much of
62 63
G.Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p.621. G.Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; pp. 508 and 621. 64 L.Sedillot: Memoire sur les instruments astronomique des Arabes, Memoires de lAcademie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres de lInstitut de France 1: 1-229; Reprinted Frankfurt, 1985. 65 G.Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p.621. 66 A.C. Crombie: Science, optics, and music in medieval and early modern thought; The Hambledon Press; London; 1990; p. 86. 67 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic mathematics, a forgotten brilliance at: http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/index.html 68 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic mathematics; 69 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson 70 Laroui; 1970; pp. 147-85 in A Djebbar: Mathematics in medieval Maghreb; AMUCHMA-NEWSLETTER-15; Universidade

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the impressive contributions that the Muslims had made to mathematics over the preceding 400 years.71 At the university in Fez Al-Banna taught all branches of mathematics, which at this time included arithmetic, algebra, geometry and astronomy. Many students studied under al-Banna in this thriving academic community.72 Al-Banna wrote a large number of works, in fact 82 are listed by Renaud; not all are on mathematics.73 Other sources in fact state that he distinguished himself from his Maghreban predecessors by the richness and diversity of his production, which seems immense. Based on the inventory that was made, at the time, by Ibn Hayder, Ibn al-Banna seems to be in fact the author of more than 100 titles, of which only 32 concern Mathematics and Astronomy, the others being dedicated to disciplines very distant from each other, like Linguistics, Rhetoric, Astrology, Grammar and Logic.74 The encyclopaedic character of the production of Ibn al-Banna may have contributed to his social status, honoured by the Merinid, which led him to leave Marrakech in order to install himself for a time in Fes at the invitation of the sultan of the epoch. 75 This eminent position, from which he benefited in the Merinid capital, reinforced the authority that he had already acquired through his scientific works. This double status, both scientific and social, may have helped him solve the problems that preoccupied his contemporaries, and which led him to publish an original book whose contents might be related, because of certain of its aspects, to what Djebbar calls Ethnomathematics.76 This work is Tanbih al-albab, the first part of which contains the precise mathematical answers to domains of everyday life, like the composition of medicaments, the calculation of the drop of irrigation canals, the explanation of frauds linked to instruments of measurement, etc. 77 The second part belongs to the already ancient tradition of judicial and cultural mathematics and joins a collection of little arithmetical problems presented in the form of poetical riddles.78 In mathematics, Two "firsts" are claimed for al-Banna, note OConnor and Robertson. He seems to have been the first to consider a fraction as a ratio between two numbers and he is the first to use the expression almanac (in Arabic al-manakh meaning weather) in a work containing astronomical and meteorological data.79 OConnor and Robertson consider al-Banna's Talkhis amal al-hisab (Summary of arithmetical operations) and the Raf al-Hijab (Lifting of the veil) which is al-Banna's own commentary on the Talkhis as his best. It is in this work that al-Banna introduces some mathematical notation which has led certain authors to believe that algebraic symbolism was first developed in Islam by ibn al-Banna and al-Qalasadi.80 A matter not agreed upon by the two authors, though. They note, on the other hand, that there are many interesting
Pedaggica (UP), Maputo (Mozambique), 15.9.1995. 71 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics; op cit; 72 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson 73 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson 74 Al-Balagh and Djebbar, 1995b, in A Djebbar: Mathematics; op cit;. 75 A. Djebbar: Mathematics. 76 A. Djebbar: Mathematics. 77 Al-Ballagh; Djebbar, 1995, b, in A Djebbar: Mathematics. 78 A Djebbar: Mathematics;. 79 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic mathematics; op cit; 80 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson

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mathematical ideas and results which appear in the Raf al-Hijab, including continued fractions used to compute approximate square roots. 81
Moroccos illustrious geographers

Al-Idrisi was born in Ceuta (Morocco) in 1099-1100 CE, and died in 1166 CE. He studied at Cordoba, and although he died in his birth place, Ceuta, he spent his working life at the Norman court of Palermo. At the age of 16, he travelled through Asia Minor, Morocco, Spain and the South of France and even visited England.82 His description of most of Western Europe is lively and, on the whole, quite accurate. 83 The same is true of his treatments of the Balkans, whilst for the rest of Europe and for most of the Islamic world (with the exception of North Africa, with which he had a first hand acquaintance) his account is based on the writings of others.84 It is to al-Idrisi that goes the merit for the invention of mathematical geography. He created the system of cylindrical projection of the earth surface, which was to be claimed some centuries later, in 1569, by the Flemish Gerard Mercator. 85 Al-Idrisis other merit, according to Udovitch is the extensive information he provides about contemporary Western Europe.86 Hitti also notes that al-Idrisis map places the sources of the Nile-supposedly discovered in the latter part of the nineteenth century-in the equatorial highlands of Africa. 87 At the court of Palermo, Al-Idrisis patron was King Roger II for whom he wrote al-Kitab al-Rujari (Roger's book) also known as Nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaaq. Roger's book is the most elaborate description of the world of medieval times, and for a considerable time thereafter. In the preface of his work, al-Idrisi says that he spent fifteen years on his work. 88
`Judging by the level of knowledge and the concept of critical research of his time,' Ronart writes, Ìdrisi's Rogerian Book must have ranked among the most prominent achievements in the history of geographical science.' 89
Al-Idrisi later wrote an even larger geographical encyclopaedia entitled Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-
Afaq (Pleasures of Men and Delights of Souls) (the integral text of it is lost). Al-Idrisi also constructed a
silver planisphere prepared with the utmost attention to scientific accuracy. This planisphere, Dunlop notes, surely has been lost, melted down, but the book still stood as à great monument of Arabic and Muslim geography.90
81 82
J J O'Connor and E F Robertson C.A.Ronan: The Arabian science; in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the World's Science; Cambridge University press. Newness Books, 1983; pp 201-244. p. 230. 83 A.Udovitch: Al-Idrisi, in Dictionary of Middle Ages; Charles Scribners Son; New York:Volume Six; p.412 . 84 A.Udovitch: Al-Idrisi, p.412. 85 A Kettani: Science and technology in Islam: the underlying value system, in: The Touch of Midas: Science, values and environment in Islam and the West, Ziauddin Sardar edt; Manchester University Press, 1984, pp. 67-90; at. p. 83. 86 A.Udovitch: Al-Idrisi; op cit; p. 412. 87 P.K. Hitti: America and the Arab heritage: in The Arab heritage, N.A. Faris edt:Princeton University Press, 1944.1-24:p.3 88 D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, op cit, p. 171. 89 S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia of Arabic civilization; The Arab West; Djambatan; Amsterdam; 1966.p. 174. 90 D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, op cit, p. 171.

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It is worth noting here in completing this brief entry on al-Idrisi that Udovitch, draws attention to a useful bibliography devoted to him, which can be found at the conclusion of the article by G. Oman in The Encyclopaedia of Islam.91 For those with good knowledge of French, it is also worth looking at the French translation of Jauberts geography of Idrisi.92 There is more left and right in English, Dunlop, already cited, constitutes a good source.
Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier on 24 February 1304, and died ca 1368-9. Ibn Battuta, left his native Tangier on 14 January 1325 in order to make his pilgrimage to Mecca, he returned to Morocco, Fes, almost a quarter of a century later, in November 1349.93 Soon after his return to Morocco, Ibn Battuta left on a trip for Spain, and then turned south to visit the Mali Madinka state, especially the cities of Timbuktu and Gao. He returned to Morocco in 1354, dicatated the story of his travels to Ibn Juzayy, a scholar at the court of Sultan Innan of Fes.94 Ibn Battuta's Rihla is an account of his travels crossing many countries to India, where he occupied an important official function. Then, by sea he travelled to China, Java and the Maldives. His Rihla was translated into French by Defremey and Sanguinetty, 95 - a translation accompanied by the Arabic version. There is also an abridged version by H.R. Gibb,96 who only translated chosen extracts (thus the Arabic and French versions remaining more comprehensive and whole). Ibn Battutas Rihla is very instructive for all the vegetation he names and describes, but also, as Rosenthal recognises, for its treatment of India in the 14th century, which remains unique, and even more so for the description of the Maldives, southern Russia and Black Africa. 97 The merit of Gibbs version,98 which is used in the following to illustrate some of Ibn Battutas descriptions of places he visited, is that it gives a very useful and lengthy introduction on Ibn Battutas life, relating to his ascetic regime, resigning all his offices and giving away all his possessions at some stage, before he was urged into accepting office again by Sultan Muhammad and became his envoy at the head of an important mission to the most powerful ruler in the world then, the Emperor of China. Gibb also tells of how Ibn Battuta was a hunted fugitive for eight days and was left only with the clothes he was wearing and his prayer mat, forcing him to seek refuge in Malabar, where he became judge again (p.6). During his journey from Alexandria to the Maghreb, and on two occasions, he narrowly escaped capture by Christian pirates; still his love for travel was never exhausted (p.8). From each part visited, Ibn Battuta relates his experiences and observations. Thus, on the River Nile (p.52), he states:
`The Egyptian Nile surpasses all rivers of the earth in sweetness of taste, length of course, and utility. No other river in the world can show such a continuous series of towns and villages along its banks, or a basin so intensely cultivated. Its course is from south to north, contrary to all other [great] rivers. One extraordinary thing about it is that it begins to rise in the extreme hot weather, at the time when rivers generally diminish and dry up, and begins to subside just when rivers begin
G. Oman: Al-Idrisi The Encyclopaedia of Islam: 2nd ed; Leyden Brill; 1971; p. 111. P. A Jaubert: Geographie d'Edrisi, 2 vols. (1836-1840). 93 F.Rosenthal: Ibn battuta: Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Charles Coulston Gillispie; Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1970 fwd; vol1; pp 516-7. at p. 516. 94 F.Rosenthal: Ibn battuta; p. 516. 95 Ibn Battuta: Voyages d'Ibn Battuta, Arabic text accompanied by French translation by C. Defremery and B.R. Sanguinetti, preface and notes by Vincent Monteil, I-IV, paris, 1968, reprint of the 1854 edn. 96 Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa; trsltd and selected by H.A.R. Gibb; George Routledge and Sons Ltd; London, 1929. 97 R.Rosenthal: Ibn Battuta; op cit; p. 517.
92 91

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to increase and overflow. The river Indus resembles it in this feature. Some distance below Cairo the Nile divides into three streams, none of which can be crossed except by boat, winter or summer. The inhabitants of every township have canals led off the Nile; these are filled when the river is in flood and carry the water over the fields.
The Turks, Ibn Battuta observes (p.143), leave their livestock free to graze without guardians or shepherds. This is due to their strict laws against theft. Anyone caught with a stolen horse is forced to restore it with nine others; if he cannot do this, his sons are taken instead. China amazes Ibn Battuta (p. 282 forward) for its porcelain; the huge size of hens' eggs, bigger than òur goose eggs, he notes. The skills of the Chinese are what thrills him most, though, very talented and precise people he admits. He has this to say:
Ì never returned to any of their cities after I had visited it a first time without finding my portrait and the portraits of my companions drawn on the walls and on sheets of paper exhibited in the bazaars.. Each of us set to examining the others portrait [and found that] the likeness was perfect in every respect. They had been observing us (in the palace) and drawing our portraits without our noticing it. This is a custom of theirs, I mean making portraits of all who pass through their country. In fact they have brought this to such perfection that if a stranger commits any offence that obliges him to flee from China, they send his portrait far and wide. A search is then made for him and wheresoever the [person bearing a] resemblance to that portrait is found is arrested.
For briefer regional accounts on Ibn Battutas travels, it is worth looking at M.Husain for India, Ceylon and the Maldives.99 For Africa, in English, there is G.S.P. Freeman-Greenville on the east African coast.100 Sartons Introduction,101 includes useful shorter extracts. though, only in French. The best and most works on Ibn Battuta are
Other Geographers
Worth mentioning here also is a little known Moroccan geographer, but rightly noted by Sarton, Ali Ibn Musa Ibn Sa'id, whose work although containing much of his predecessors also included many novelties, for example many coordinates not given by Al-Idrisi. 102 Ibn Said had some knowledge of the Senegal River, and of the northern countries of Europe, including Iceland. He had travelled extensively throughout the Islamic world and his work was much used, and later corrected, by Abu'l Fida in the following period.103 And, finally, the name of Al-Marrakushi cited above should be added for his contribution in the field. He crossed southern Spain and all northern Africa down to Egypt, himself determining the coordinates of the principal towns and cities.104
98 99
Ibn Battuta: trans H.A.R. Gibb; op cit. M.Husain : The Rehla of Ibn Battuta; Baroda, 1953; 100 G.S.P. Freeman-Greenville: The East African Coast; Oxford; 1962. 101 G.Sarton;: Introduction; op cit; Vol 3; 102 G. Sarton: Introduction, op cit; Vol II, p.775. 103 G. Sarton: Introduction, Vol II, p.775. 104 G.Deverdun; Marrakech; op cit: p. 262.

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Marrakech
Marrakech was founded about 1070 by the Almoravids as the headquarters of their army north of the High Atlas, close to Aghmat, the existing centre for trade across the mountains to the south. In 1147 Marrakech fell to the Almohads of the High Atlas, who made it the capital of their own. Even when residing in Seville, the city was the centre of the Almohad community with its scholars and military. Marrakech became by desire of its rulers the centre of attraction for Maghribi scholars and even a certain number from Spain.105 It is, thus, in Marrakech that Ibn Rushd in 1153 became engaged in astronomical observations and was associated with the Almohad court. He had been introduced and recommended to Abu Yaqub by the philosopher Ibn Tufayl (1105-1185).106Ibn Tufayl was also based in the same city.
Ibn Rushd worked in Marrakesh for the Almohad court Marrakech is reputed for the Kutubiya Mosque cited above, famed for its books, manuscripts, libraries and book shops, which gave it its name.107 The Kutubiya had a hundred or so librarians gathered in the shade of the minaret; and next to them there were many intermediaries who rushed between places searching for rare and new manuscripts to copy; and also the dallals who bought and sold ancient works from and to the scholars of the city.108 The sultans themselves collected both works and their authors, whom they wanted to have very close to them.109 In Marrakech there was also a great tradition of constructors of astrolabes, 110 and a good deal of detail on such figures and their accomplishments can be found in Mayer. 111 Many historians flourished in Marrakech, most living in the surrounding of Caliphs, such as Abu Bakr al-Sanhadji, who wrote extensively on the Almohads, and whose works were traced by Levi Provencal to the Spanish collection at the Escurial.
105 106 107 108 109 110 111
E,L. Provencal: entry: Al-Maghrib; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; New edition; Vol 5; 1986; Leyden; pp 1208-9. M. Brett: Marrakech in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; op cit; vol 8; pp 150-1. R. Landau: Morocco; op cit; p.80 G.Deverdun: Marrakech; op cit; pp. 264-5. G.Deverdun: Marrakech; 1959.pp. 264-5. G.Deverdun: Marrakech; .p. 262. A.L. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists, Albert Kundig edition, Geneva, 1956.

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Because he observed from very close up the events he describes, he bears the best of authenticity on the Almohad movement in history.112 Another historian born in Marrakech in 1185, but who studied at Fes, was Abd al-Wahid al-Marakushi113 He wrote towards 1224 his Kitab al-Mujib fi talkhis akhbar al-Maghrib, which is a good personal account of the authors history of the Western Maghrib; and where, of course, Marrakech has a leading place.114 Marrakech has its other great historical attractions, such as the walled Agdal Gardens, stretching for two miles south of the Casbah, and also dating from Almohad times.115 These gardens were irrigated, just as the city was supplied, by mainly subterranean canals from the mountains twenty miles to the south.116 One of the greatest accomplishments of Almohad rule was the Marrakech hospital, also called the Bimaristan of Amir al-Muminin al-Mansur Abu Yusuf. Marrakushi wrote: On this, al-
Àbu Yusuf built a bimaristan in Marrakech, which I believe has no equal in the world. For this purpose he chose a very extensive area in the centre of the city. He ordered the masons and the builders to carry out his plans with the greatest perfection possible. He decorated the hospital with inscriptions and designs of surpassing beauty....He ordered that flowers should be planted and cultivated in the courtyard, as well as fruit trees, and to have flowing water conducted to all the wards and rooms. Of the sources of water one was paved with marble. He ordered the hospital to be equipped with furniture and to be covered with tapestries of wool, linen and silk, which gave an indescribable richness. He endowed it with ample waqfs and donations, providing the hospital with a daily sum of forty dinars for its expenses. Pharmacists were employed to prepare food and drink and needed medicaments, as well as clothing for the summer and winter for the patients. When a poor patient left the hospital he was given a sum of money until he could find employment. When a rich patient was discharged he received his money and belongings beforehand. The hospital was accessible to rich and poor alike. If a stranger was taken ill in the city he was admitted and treated until he was well or until he died. Every Friday the monarch rode to the hospital and visited the sick, asking about the state of their health and making inquiries about their needs. The caliph continued this custom until his death.'117
112 113 114 115 116 117
G.Deverdun: Marrakech; op cit; .p. 263. R.Brunschvig: Un aspect de la literature history-geographique de lIslam; Melanges Gaudefroy Demombynes. G.Deverdun: Marrakech; op cit; p. 263. M.Brett: Marrakech; op cit; p. 151. M.Brett: Marrakech; op cit; p. 151. Abdel Wahid al-Marrakashi, The History of the al-Mohades, edited by R.Dozy ; Leiden ; 1881 ; p.209.

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Fes
Fes is admirable in every respect. Browsing through Burckhardt118 one is simply amazed by the uniqueness of the beauty of the city, the purity of colours, and, it seems, all the expertise of Muslim art gathered in every edifice of the city, its most renowned site, the Qarrawwiyin Mosque University, most of all. There is an excellent outline on the founding of Fes by Levi Provencal, originally published in the Annales of the Institute of Oriental Studies in Algiers,119 and reproduced in his Islam dOccident (Islam in the West), which is used here.120 It seems two separate cities were founded in an interval of one year, but needless to dwell on this. The date of the foundation is from the early 9 th century, the work of the Idrisids.121 Fes soon received an influx of people of diverse origins, Arabs, Berbers, Jews, and also Spanish Muslims from Cordoba who had just been severely repressed by the ruler Al-Hakem I. 122 The city grew in size and in cultural importance. Available information shows that a strong scientific tradition was established in Fes, although such research requires more to assert the full scale of this tradition, its links with that of al-Andalus, and the profile of the men of science who lived there.123 The Merinid princes made it the political capital, but also they were able to attract to this city a host of students from all parts of the country by the foundation of a series of colleges or madrassas around the Djami al-Qarrawiyin and mosque of New Fes. University.
124
The citys greatest claim on the intellectual front is the Qarrawwiyin Mosque-
General view of the courtyard of Qarawiyyin mosque univertisy
118 119
T.Burckhardt: Fez City of Islam; The Islamic Text Society; Cambridge; 1992.p.73 E.Levi Provencal: la Fondation de Fes; in Annales dEtudes Orientales de lUniversite dAlger; Vol 4; 1938; pp. 23-53. 120 E.Levi Provencal: La Fondation de Fes; in Islam dOccident; Librairie Orientale et Americaine; Paris; 1948; pp. 1-32. 121 E.L. Provencal: La Fondation; pp.3-4. 122 E.L. Provencal: La Fondation; pp. 6-7. 123 A. Djebbar: Mathematics in medieval; op cit. 124 E,L. Provencal: entry: Al-Maghrib; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; New edition; Vol 5; 1986; pp 1208-9.

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Al-Qarrawiyin was first built in 859, and was for some time one of the three or four schools of the city, before becoming the principal centre of higher learning in Morocco.125 It had a great impact on learning both around the Mediterranean and Europe. It is said that from the beginning of the 12th century until our time, `the glory of the Qarrawiyyin, it is held, was its body of scholars (ulamas).'126 Among the scholars who studied and taught there were Ibn Khaldoun, Ibn al-Khatib, al-Bitruji, Ibn Harazim, Ibn Maymoun, and Ibn Wazzan, and possibly even the future pope Gerbert (d.1003), who later became Pope Sylvester II, and who introduced the Arabic numerals into Europe.127 Al-Qarrawiyin was endowed principally by royal families and received students from all parts, near and distant, from the Maghreb, the Sahara and also Europe. Students lived in residential quadrangles, which contained two and three story buildings, accommodating between sixty and a hundred and fifty students, who all received a minimal assistance for food and accommodation.128 At the Qarrawiyin, there were courses on grammar, rhetoric, logic, elements of mathematics and astronomy, 129 and possibly history, geography and elements of chemistry.130 To have, an even better idea of such teaching, surely, consultation of manuscripts is de rigeur, and here can be cited some possible leads. 131 As for Fes, I have no better conclusion than this short and yet enlightening outline from a contemporary chronicler:
Ìt was during the reign of the Almohads,' writes the chronicler, that, ìn its richness and splendour Fes shone at its most magnificent. At that time, it was the most flourishing town in the Maghrib. In the reign of al-Mansur and his followers there were in Fes seven hundred and eighty five mosques and zawiyas. There are about 250 today; 240 places of convenience and purification, and 80 public fountains, which were all fed with water from springs and brooks. There were 93 public baths and 472 mills within and alongside the walls, not counting those outside the city.
The same chronicler goes on to mention 89036 dwelling houses, 19041 warehouses, 467 funduks(hotels) for the convenience of merchants, travellers, and the homeless; 9082 shops, two commercial districts, one in the Andalusian district, near the river Masmuda, and the other in the Qairaounese district; 3064 workshops, 117 public wash-houses; 86 tanneries; 116 dye works; 12 coppersmitheries; 136 bread ovens; and 1170 other ovens. In Fes there were also 400 paper making shops, which were later destroyed in the years of famine 1221-1241.'132
125 126
Bayard Dodge: Muslim Education in Medieval Times; The Middle East Institute, Washington D.C, 1962. Encyclopedia of Islam: Vol IV, p 633. 127 Rom Landau, The karaouine at Fes, The Muslim World 48 (April 1958): pp. 104-12; at p. 105. B. Dodge: Muslim Education, op cit, p 27. R. Le Tourneau: Fes in the age of the Merinids, trsl from French by B.A. Clement, University of Oklahoma Press, 1961, p. 122. 130 Ibid. 131 For manuscripts see: -E,Levi provencal: Les Manuscrips Arabes de Rabat; Paris; 1921. -I.S. Allouche and A. Regragui: catalogue ds manuscripts arabes de Rabat; Rabat 1954-8. -Muhammed al-Fasi: Al-Khizana al-ilmiyya bi fas; Rabat; 1960. 132 (Rawd al-Qirtas) in T.Burckhardt: Fez City of Islam; op cit; .p.73
129 128

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Conclusion
This is only a brief sketch of the Moroccan contribution to Muslim civilisation. The most unfortunate thing is that, although Moroccos heritage is much the object of admiration, there is no study that has gone into Moroccos history from the early days of Islam, and shown how, not just architecture and arts, but many other sciences thrived in the country. Indeed, there is a need for a study that shows the true role of Morocco in the brilliance of Muslim civilisation, and how much of what went into Europe, via Spain, passed by Morocco.
Bibliography
R.Brunschvig: Un aspect de la literature history-geographique de lIslam; Melanges Gaudefroy Demombynes. T.Burckhardt: Fez City of Islam; The Islamic Text Society; Cambridge; 1992. C. Cahen: Orient et Occident au temps des Croisades, Aubier Montaigne, 1983. A Cutler: Who was the Monk of France' and when did he write?', Al-Andalus, XXVIII (1963), pp 249-269. A.C. Crombie: Science, optics, and music in medieval and early modern thought; The Hambledon Press; London; 1990. T.K Derry and T.I Williams: A Short History of Technology; Oxford Clarendon Press, 1960. G.Deverdun: Marrakech; Editions Techniques Nord Africaines; Rabat; 1959. A Djebbar: Mathematics in medieval Maghreb; AMUCHMA-NEWSLETTER-15; Universidade Pedaggica (UP), Maputo (Mozambique), 15.9.1995 at http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/AMU/amu_chma_15a.html D.M. Dunlop, À Christian Mission to Muslim Spain in the eleventh century,' Al-Andalus, XVII (1952). B. Dodge: Muslim Education in Medieval Times; The Middle East Institute, Washington D.C, 1962. W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. G.S.P. Freeman-Greenville: The East African Coast; Oxford; 1962. T.Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1979. T.Glick: Seville in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Charles Coulston Gillispied Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980 onwards; vol 13; p. 213. John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. P.K. Hitti: America and the Arab heritage: in The Arab heritage, N.A. Faris edt:Princeton University Press, 1944.1-24 M.Husain : The Rehla of Ibn Battuta; Baroda, 1953; D. Hunter: Papermaking: the History and technique of an ancient craft; Pleiades Books; London; 1943. P. A Jaubert: Geographie d'Edrisi, 2 vols. (1836-1840). Ibn Battuta: Voyages d'Ibn Battuta, Arabic text accompanied by French translation by C. Defremery and B.R. Sanguinetti, preface and notes by Vincent Monteil, I-IV, paris, 1968, reprint of the 1854 edn. Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa; trsltd and selected by H.A.R. Gibb; George Routledge and Sons Ltd; London, 1929. S.M. Imamudin: A Political History of Spain; Najmah and Sons Limited Publishers; Dacca; 1961. T.B. Irving: Dates, Names and Places: The end of Islamic Spain; in Revue d'Histoire Maghrebine; No 61-62; 1991; pp 7793. A Kettani: Science and technology in Islam: the underlying value system, in: The Touch of Midas: Science, values and environment in Islam and the West, Ziauddin Sardar edt; Manchester University Press, 1984, pp. 67-90. S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888. H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; Burt Franklin; New York; 1968 reprint. R. Landau: Morocco: Elek Books Ltd, London 1967. Rom Landau, The karaouine at Fes, The Muslim World 48 (April 1958): pp. 104-12; at p. 105. R. Le Tourneau: Fes in the age of the Merinids, trsl from French by B.A. Clement, University of Oklahoma Press, 1961. Al-Marakushi: Kitab al-Mujib; Tr into Histoire des Almohades by E. fagnan, Algiers, 1893. A.L. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists, Albert Kundig edition, Geneva, 1956. J.T. Monroe: The Hispanic-Arabic World: in: Americo Castro, and the meaning of Spanish Civilisation. Jose Rubia Barcia edt; University of California Press, Berkeley, 1976 pp 69-90. J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic mathematics, a forgotten brilliance at: http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/index.html G. Oman: Al-Idrisi The Encyclopaedia of Islam: 2nd ed; Leyden Brill; 1971; p. 111. - J.Pedersen; The Arabic Book, trans by Geoffrey French; Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey (1984). E,L. Provencal: entry: Al-Maghrib; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; New edition; Vol 5; 1986; pp 1208-9.

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E.Levi Provencal: La Fondation de Fes; in Islam dOccident; Librairie Orientale et Americaine; Paris; 1948; pp. 1-32. Jean Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974. S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia of Arabic civilization; The Arab West; Djambatan; Amsterdam; 1966. C.A.Ronan: The Arabian science; in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the World's Science; Cambridge University press. Newness Books, 1983; pp 201-244. F.Rosenthal: Ibn battuta: Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Charles Coulston Gillispie; Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1970 fwd; vol1; pp 516-7. at p. 516. G.Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. vol 2. L.Sedillot: Memoire sur les instruments astronomique des Arabes, Memoires de lAcademie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres de lInstitut de France 1: 1-229; Reprinted Frankfurt, 1985. S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; The Lippincoat Cmpany; Philadelphia; 1904; Vol 1. -M. M. Sibai: Mosque Libraries: An Historical Study; Mansell Publishing Limited: London and New York: 1987. A.Thomson; M.A. Rahim: Islam in Andalus; Taha Publishers; Revised edt; 1996. A.Udovitch: Al-Idrisi, in Dictionary of Middle Ages; Charles Scribners Son; New York:Volume Six; p.412 M.Watt: LInfluence de lIslam sur lEurope medievale; Revue dEtudes Islamiques; vol 40. G. Wiet et al: History of mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Trsltd from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975 p.269.

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Sicily
Salah Zaimeche PhD Lamaan Ball November 2004 4071 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Sicily November 2004
SICILY
There is generally little known on the history of Sicily, with respect to its Muslim phase. Little is known about the impact of Islamic civilisation on the island, in particular with respect to the important role of Muslims under Norman rule of the island and also little and hardly anything known at all about the whereabouts or fate of the Muslims who once lived on the island. A proof of the general blackout of these crucial points of the history of the island is the fact that the best work on the history of Muslim Sicily was written by Michelle Amari in the 19th century, and reedited decades later by another Italian Nallino.1 This book in Italian has remained hardly if at all accessible, all the unique information it contains has been thereby effectively totally obscured. Thus, it is necessary for any outline on Sicily to try at least to bring out some of the main aspects of this history until, maybe, Amaris work is revived, or a work as good as it can be delivered to the public. The following extended outline will first look at Sicily under the Muslims; then at the relationship and impact of Muslim civilisation under Norman rule. Then, finally, it will look at how, due to the pressures exerted by the papacy, the Muslim presence was ended on the Island.
Sicily under Islamic Rule

Control of Sicily implied a major role in the affairs of the Mediterranean world, and it is thus no wonder that during the Middle Ages possession of the island was a prize contested among the major Mediterranean powers.2 At the time of the Islamic conquests in the mid seventh century, Sicily (together with the southern and eastern portions of the Italian Peninsula) was a province of the Byzantine Empire. In 827 Ziyadat Allah I (817-838), the semi-independent Aghlabid ruler of Ifriqiya (comprising eastern Algeria, Tunisia, and Tripolitania), mounted an expedition that succeeded in establishing a long term foothold on the island.3 From their base in Mazara, on the west coast, taken in 827, the Muslim force of ten thousand men moved forward. 4 Palermo fell in 831, Messina in 843, Enna in 859, and the island was thereafter under effective Muslim control.5 The Muslim expeditionary force is a remarkable expression of the whole character of Islam, faith and civilisation. It was an infinitely mixed lot of Arabs, Berbers, Spaniards, Sudanese.6Such was the island itself under Muslim rule, where ethnic and religious diversity characterized the population of the island during the 250 years of Muslim rule. The monk Theodosius, brought to it from Syracuse with Archbishop Sophronius in 883, acknowledged the grandeur of the new capital, Palermo, describing it as
"full of citizens and strangers, so that there seems to be collected there all the Saracen folk from East to West and from North to South . . . Blended with the Sicilians, the Greeks, the Lombards and the Jews, there are Arabs, Berbers, Persians, Tartars, Negroes, some wrapped in long robes and
4 J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; in Islam and the Medieval West; S. Feber Editor; A Loan Exhibition at the University Art Gallery; State University of New York; April 6 - May 4, 1975; p. 43. 5 J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; p. 43. 6 J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; p. 43.
A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons, N. York; 1980 fwd; Vol 11; pp. 261-3; p.261. 3 A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; op cit; p.261.
M. Amari: La Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia, 3 vols, (1933-9) Revised 2nd edition by C.A. Nallino, Rome.

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turbans, some clad in skins and some half naked; faces oval, square, or round, of every complexion and profile, beards and hair of every variety of colour or cut." 7
A majority of the inhabitants retained their Christian religious allegiance and were, in line with Islamic practice, accorded the status of protected minorities (dhimmis); which means, that in return for the payment of a poll tax (jizya) and adherence to certain regulations, they were guaranteed the safety of their persons and property, and the freedom to follow the laws of their own religion and maintain the institutions of their religious community.8 The same status was accorded to the small Jewish community of the island, which seems to have been concentrated mainly in the coastal towns.9 The cultural Islamic impact on the island is caught by the traveller/geographer Ibn Hawqal: in 972-973. He described the quarters of Palermo, their palaces and above all their hundreds of mosques: "The mosques of the city and of the quarters round it outside the walls exceed the number of three hundred." places of worship, served as schools each with its own schoolmaster.
11 10
He had
never seen an equal number of mosques, even in cities twice as large. These buildings, even more than as There was also the University of Balerm (Palermo), which though it scarcely rivalled that of Cordoba, nevertheless had its share of capable scholars, such as Ibn Hamdis, the noble Syracusan who left the court of Count Roger at Palermo for Muslim Spain, where he wrote and reminisced of his youth on the Island.12 The schools of Muslim Sicily, just as those of Muslim Spain, had long been the resort of students, ambitious of literary attainments and distinction, from every country in Europe.13 Aspects of such cultural brilliance will be caught later by another Muslim traveller, the Valencian born, Ibn Jubayr, who describes Palermo as follows:
Ìt is the metropolis of the islands, combining the benefits of wealth and splendour, and having all that you could wish of beauty, real or apparent, and all the needs of subsistence, mature and fresh. It is an ancient and elegant city, magnificent and gracious, and seductive to look upon. Proudly set between its open spaces and plains filled with gardens, with broad roads and avenues, it dazzles the eyes with its perfection. It is a wonderful place, built in the Cordova style, entirely from cut stone known as kadhan [a soft limestone]. A river splits the town, and four springs gush in its suburbs. The king roams through the gardens and courts for amusement and pleasure. The Christian women of this city follow the fashion of Muslim women, are fluent of speech, wrap their cloaks about them, and are veiled.14
Although the textile factories of Palermo were famous under the Muslims, and carried on under the Normans, little survives other than the regalia of Roger II, preserved in the Treasury of the Holy Roman
J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies;; p. 43.
Ibn Hawqal in J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; op cit; pp. 43-4. In J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; p. 44. 12 J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; p. 44. 13 S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; In three Volumes; J.B. Lippincott Company; Philadelphia; 1904; vol 3; p. 2. 14 The travels of Ibn Jubayr; trsltd from the original Arabic with introduction and notes, by R.J. C. Broadhurst; Jonathan cape, London, 1952; pp 348.
11
A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; op cit; p.262. 9 A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; p.262.
10

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Empire in Vienna.15 The Islamic source of many industries and crafts is obvious in many of the words used to this day, most particularly the appellation of mill with its Arabic name: Maassara. The Muslim presence also affected agriculture considerably. The introduction of new techniques and crops by the Muslims allowed the local economies to thrive, and some of such products, citrus fruit in particular, constitute up till now the foundations of the Sicilian economy.16 Again the Muslim impact is obvious through many technical terms. Philology, Bresc holds, has allowed stressing the Arabic etymology of Sicilian vocabulary related to irrigation. 17 Bresc shows through a careful analysis found in the notary acts of Sicily between the 14th and 15th century, related to sugar cane and horticulture, the similarities of Arabic and Sicilian technical terms; terms such as catusu: Qadus (pipe of cooked clay); Chaya: taya (hedge, or garden wall); Fidenum: fideni (sugar cane field); Fiskia: fiskiya (Reservoir); Margum: marja (inundated field); Noharia: nuara (irrigated cottage garden); Sulfa: sulfa (advance of credit granted to farmers); etc.18 The period of Muslim rule in Sicily also coincided with the early phases of the commercial revolution of the Middle Ages and was an era of brilliant economic prosperity for the island. During the late tenth and early eleventh centuries, Udovitch explains, Sicily was at the very hub of the expanding commercial activity in the Mediterranean world.19 Together with Tunisia, Sicily during this period was at the intersection of a number of major trade routes. Caravans from Sijilmasa in southern Morocco, carrying African and Moroccan commodities, made their way to Tunisia, and from there these goods found their way to the markets of Palermo and Mazara. Sicily served as a commercial intermediary between Muslim Spain and the Muslim East, and ships travelling between the two ends of the Mediterranean regularly called at its ports. 20 For European (mostly Italian) merchants in search of Eastern goods (flax, sugar, textiles of Egyptian provenance, pepper, spices, medical herbs, and so forth), the markets of Palermo and Mazara (as well as those of the Tunisian coastal towns) were closer and more accessible than those of the eastern Mediterranean.21 From at least the late tenth century, Sicily was a major producer of both raw and woven silk, which was actively traded in Mediterranean commerce. Its gold coin, the ruba"ya, or quarter dinar, was highly esteemed and much in demand in Egypt and in the trading towns of Syria and Palestine.22
The Fall of Muslim Sicily, and Muslims Under Norman Rule

To understand the fall of Sicily in the late 11th century, it is necessary, however briefly, to explain the Muslim context at the time. In the 11 th century, the Muslim world was locked in intense warfare between Sunnis and Shias; between various taifas in Spain; and between different princes in the east. Profiting from such divisions, Western Christendom launched a wide offensive on all fronts. In Spain, an alliance of French and other European forces descended on Spain, and began tearing away the Muslim control. Barbastro was taken in 1063, followed by mass slaughter and mass rape of Muslim women.23 Toledo was to fall in 1085.24
15
Francesco Gabrieli: Islam in the Mediterranean World in The Legacy of Islam, edited by J.Schacht with C.E. Bosworth, 2nd edition. Oxford Clarendon Press, 1974. pp 63-104, at p. 75.
17
16
J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; p. 54.
H. Bresc: Les Jardins de Palerme; in Politique et Societe en Sicile; XII-Xv em siecle; Varorium; Aldershot; 1990; pp. 55-127; p. 67. 18 H. Bresc: Les Jardins de Palerme; in Politique et Societe en Sicile; XII-Xv em siecle; Varorium; Aldershot; 1990; pp. 55-127. p. 81.
19 20
A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; op cit; p.262. A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; p.262. 21 A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; p.262. 22 A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; p.262. 23 For a succinct and vivid account on the early Christian conquest, and mass extermination of Muslims in Spain and

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Frightened by this onslaught, the Muluk of Tawaifs (reyes de taifas) called the Berber Almoravids of Morocco, who landed in Spain, crushed the Christian forces, Spain under Muslim control until the mid 13
th 25
and followed later by the Almohads, kept
century, when all of Muslim Spain (Cordova, Seville, Valencia,
Murcia, etc..) was lost (except Grenada, which will be lost in 1492.) In the East, the infighting between Muslims invited the crusades (1095-1291), a two century Christian onslaught which threatened the whole of Islam with extinction had it not been for the Seljuks and Mamluks, principally, who fought most of the wars against the crusaders and their Mongol allies.26 Sicily presented the same symptoms, and unlike Spain and the East, it had no Muslim force to fight back. Two centuries after the island was taken by the Normans, the Muslims were exterminated on the island. The beginning of the end of the Muslims in Sicily began early in the 11th century with open warfare between the Kalbid Emir of Palermo and the Zirid of Tunisia. Fully aware of such internal quarrels among the Sicilian Muslims, it became a priority policy for Christian forces to take the island.27 Soon there arrived the Normans to wrest the island from the Muslims. The Normans who swept across South Italy in the next few decades were a small band,28 and had the Muslims not been divided, the Normans would have found no foothold; as it was, in the course of a generation, the small band of adventurers created for themselves a kingdom.29 The incessant internal warfare among local warlords was certainly a factor in the comparatively easy and rapid Norman conquest in the 1070's.30 In fact the initial Norman invasion followed a local Muslim invitation.31 One of the Muslim emirs built links of intelligence with Roger the youngest of the Norman Hauteville brothers, who did not refuse the offer.32 Under these auspices the Normans landed in Sicily in 1061 and began to advance at the expense of the Muslims.33 This hardly seemed to bother the Muslims, as even when the Normans were half masters of the island, the Muslim chiefs continued to fight one another.34 In fact, the Sicilian Christians were less supportive of the Norman invasion than the Muslim factions. 35 In 1061 Roger I succeeded in capturing Messina, in 1072 Palermo fell, and in the course of the next twenty years the entire island came under secure Norman control.36 Arabic-speaking Muslim communities survived in Sicily for more than two centuries after the Norman conquest. 37 This survival accounts for a wide Islamic influence on all forms and manners of learning and civilisation as seen in the following account.
Portugal, see J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974. 24 J.J. Saunders: Aspects of the Crusades, University of Canterbury, 1962. p.19. 25 J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal;.p.133.
26
A.A. Vasiliev: The Struggle with the Saracens (867-1057): in The Cambridge Medieval History, Vol IV: Edited by J. R. tanner, C. W. Previte; Z.N. Brooke, 1923. p.150. 28 J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; op cit; 46-7. 29 N. Daniel: The Arabs; op cit; p.145. 30 A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; op cit; p.262. 31 N. Daniel: The Arabs; op cit; p.144. 32 M.L. de Mas Latrie: Traites de paix et de Commerce, et Documents Divers, Concernant les Relations des Chretiens avec les Arabes de l'Afrique Septentrionale au Moyen Age, Burt Franklin, New York, Originally Published in Paris, 1866.p.42. 33 John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. p.148. 34 G. Le Bon: La Civilisation des Arabes; IMAG; Syracuse; Italie; 1884.; p.230. 35 J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; op cit; pp 46-7. 36 A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; p.263. 37 A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; p.263.
27
See: W.B. Stevenson: The Crusades in The East; Cambridge University Press; 1907.

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Scott contrasts quite well the nature of the cultural relationship, which existed at first between the conquered Muslims and the conquering Normans; and in such a contrast he captures the thoroughness of Islamic impact on civilisation which will radiate from Sicily to the rest of Europe, and Scott does not refrain, once more from blaming Muslim decadent morality for the Muslim downfall. He goes on:
`No more striking antagonism of national customs, religious prejudices, habits, and traditions could be conceived than that existing between the victor and the vanquished. One came from the borders of the Arctic Circle; the original home of the other was in the Torrid Zone. Both traced their lineage to tribes steeped in barbarism and idolatry; but the Norman, though he had changed his system of worship, still retained many of its objectionable and degrading features, while the Arab professed a creed that regarded with undisguised abhorrence the adoration of images and the invocation of saints. In the arts of civilization, there was no corresponding advance which could suggest resemblance or justify comparison. Poverty, ignorance, ferocity, still remained the characteristics of the Norman, as when, with a handful of resolute companions, he scattered to the winds the armies of the Sicilian Mussulman. The latter, however, if inferior in endurance and martial energy to his conqueror, was possessed of accomplishments which justly entitled him to a prominent rank in the community of nations. No circumstance of honour, of distinction, of inventive genius, was wanting to exalt his character or magnify his reputation. The fame of his military achievements had filled the world. His commercial relations had made his name familiar to and respected by remote and jealous races, to whom the Christian kingdoms of Europe were unknown. His civil polity was admirably adapted to the character and necessities of the people its laws were intended to govern. Under those laws, administered by a succession of great princes, Moslem society had become opulent, polished, and dissolute beyond all example, but eventually and inevitably enervated and decadent. Political and social disorganization had not, however, entirely destroyed the prestige earned by ages of military glory and intellectual pre-eminence.38
Indeed, the end of Muslim Sicily hardly meant an end of Muslim influence on the island. On the contrary, for Hitti, under the Normans occurred `the efflorescence of an interesting Christian-Islamic culture;'39 and whilst hitherto, the Muslims were too much involved in warfare and squabbles amongst each other to develop finer things, under the Normans, `their genius attained full fruition in a rich outburst of ArabNorman art and culture.'40 The lustre of Muslim civilization was rather heightened than tarnished by the Norman conquest, and under the same Normans, `tribal animosity, which had been the curse of Moslem society, was suppressed, if not entirely eradicated. 41And as Miranda explains, once Sicily was freed from the devastation of war, its people devoted themselves `to the cultivation of their literature, poetry, legislation and the scientific knowledge they had received from the East.'42 Subsequently, the kingdom of Sicily, according to Haskins, rose to occupy a position of `peculiar importance in the history of medieval culture.'43 Sicily, Briffaut reckons, down to the last Elohenstaufen rulers remained a centre of Muslim culture and the focus of awakening civilization. 44
38
39 40
41
S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; pp. 16-7.
P.K.Hitti: History of the Arabs, MacMillan, London, 1970 ed. p. 606. P. K. Hitti: History, op cit, p. 606.
A. H. Miranda: The Iberian Peninsula and Sicily, in The Cambridge History of Islam, vol 2, edt: P. M. Holt. A.K.S. Lambton, and B. Lewis, Cambridge University Press, 1970, pp 406-439; p. 437. 43 C.H. Haskins: Studies in the history of Mediaeval Science. Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. New York. 1967 ed. p.
42
S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; op cit; p.
24.

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Muslim cultural and scientific pre-eminence was well understood by the Normans, and they acknowledged this in every single respect.
`The experience of the conquerors, obtained in many lands, Scott explains, ènabled them to appreciate the value of the monuments of a highly developed civilization, whose promoters were soon to pass under their sceptre. For this reason there was no ruthless spoliation of cities, no indiscriminate devastation of a fertile country which had been reclaimed by infinite toil and perseverance from an unpromising prospect of marsh, ravine, and precipice. The tangible results of three hundred years of national progress and culture were transmitted, with but little impairment, to the victorious foreigner. These advantages were at once grasped and appropriated with an avidity absolutely phenomenal in a people whose career had been dictated by the predatory instincts of the bandit, and whose manners had been formed amidst the license of the camp, the superstition of the cloister, and the carnage of the field. 45
Roger Is Coronation Mantel showing kufic script around the edging (Source http://home.earthlink.net/~lilinah/Textiles/roger.html) Roger I, who was the first to rule the island after the Muslims in 1091, and taking the risk of being considered a Muslim, èncouraged them to cultivate their gifts.'46 His successors, too, did the same, and so much so, they were, not without good ground, accused of being more Muslim than Christian.47 The nature of Roger II's (1111-1154) kingdom, and of Roger himself, was unlike anything in Christian Europe.
48
His
palace was almost Muslim in style and dreamy splendour, crowded with Muslim eunuchs, Arab poets,
156.
44 45
46
47
R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity; George Allen; London; 1928; p. 212. S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; op cit; pp. 18-9. R. Briffault: The Making; p. 212.
A. H. Miranda: The Iberian Peninsula and Sicily, in The Cambridge History of Islam, vol 2, op cit; p. 438. J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; op cit; p 53.
48

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geographers.49 The prevailing language of court and city alike was Arabic; and for a long time, a number of documents continued to be issued in Arabic, with dates from the Hijra - as were certain issues of coins. 50 The king himself knew not only Latin, but Greek and Arabic, the impression given by his court was of a fusion of the most splendid aspects of Byzantine and Islamic monarchic display. 51 At his court were a host of officials with Arabic titles, the kings cook being one; a significant circumstance which should not be overlooked. 52 Eunuchs, in flowing robes and snowy turbans, swarmed in the palaces; the kadi, retaining the insignia and authority of his original official employment, was an important member of the Sicilian judiciary, not just determining the cases of Muslims, but was frequently the trusted adviser of the monarch. 53
Detail from Roger Is Coronation Mantel showing octagonal patterned Islamic artwork (Source http://medieval.webcon.net.au/extant_roger_ii.html) Another Sicilian ruler, William II (1166-1189), according to Ibn Jubayr `resembles the Muslim kings in the habit of living sunk in the pleasures of kingship, also in the ordering of the administration, in manners and customs, in the gradation of his optimates, the magnificence of his court, and the display of pomp. Great is his realm. He can read and write Arabic. One of his trusted men has told us that his alamah (the royal
49
50 51
52 53
C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; Duckworth and Co; London; 1910; p. 43.
C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; pp. 43.
J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; op cit; p. 53. J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; op cit; p. 53.
28.

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motto used according to the Arab custom as a superscription to deeds in Arabic) is `praised be the Lord as is His due, and that the alamah of his father was `Praised be the Lord for all His benefits. 54 The Muslim system of administration was particularly appreciated by the Normans, who retained it; the kingdom presenting the ùnique spectacle' of a Christian kingdom in which Muslims held some of the highest positions. 55 Briffault insists that the posts of honour and command remained in Muslim hands.56 The chief minister of the kingdom held the interesting double title of Emir of Emirs (or Admiral of the Admirals) and Archonte of Archontes, a kind of grand vizier and commander in chief.57 By 1125 this was George of Antioch, a Christian native of Muslim Syria who had served the Zirids at Mehdia (Tunisia).58 The Muslim, though, stood high in the confidence and favour of the Norman princes.59 Quick to appreciate and meet the exigencies of every occasion, his prowess was invaluable in the suppression of anarchy and the establishment of order; Muslim councillors stood in the shadow of the throne. 60 `Norman Sicily exhibited, Scott tells, `to all intents and purposes, a prolongation, under happier auspices, of that dominion to which the island owed its prosperity and its fame; `the influence of Muslim thrift, capacity, and skill was everywhere manifest and acknowledged. Its silent operation facilitated its progress and increased its power. The maritime interests of the island were in the hands of the Moslems; they controlled the finances; they negotiated treaties; to them was largely confided the administration of justice and the education of youth. Their integrity was acknowledged even by those whose practices appeared most unfavourable by contrast; their versatile talents not infrequently raised them to the highest and most responsible posts of the Norman court. That court is declared by contemporary historians to have equalled in splendour and culture those of Cairo and Baghdad.61 And most certainly, in the running of government, in finance, in legislation, in the regulations of commerce, in the protection and encouragement of agriculture, in the maintenance of orderthe Norman domination in Sicily presented an example of advanced civilization to be seen nowhere else in Europe.62 Many of these Islamic administrative management and leadership skills seem to have radiated all over the West. Thus Briffault tells how the amyr al-bahr passed from the Latinised form ammirali, to admiral.63 From Sicily, the diwans, or government offices, became dakanas or douanes, administrative offices, or customs. 64 The Sicilian administration system with its Islamic antecedents, Briffault insists, served as a model to Europe.65 Between the Norman court of England under Henry II, there was continuous intercourse through which many elements of Muslim culture came directly to distant Britain. 66 And one such arrived in the person of Qaid Brun (master Thomas Brown) in the Exchequer, whose life and role in England has been most particularly explored by Haskins.67 Thomas Brown (Qaid Brun) was a Muslim refugee from Sicily, who had to leave
54
55
56
C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; pp. 59.
P.K. Hitti: History, op cit, p. 607.

J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; op cit; p. 53.
S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; p. S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; p. S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; p. 19-20.
R. Briffault: The Making; p. 212. 57 C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; pp. 43.

58
59 60 61 62 63
28. 28.
S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; p. 22. R. Briffault: The Making; p. 212. 64 R. Briffault: The Making; p. 212. 65 R. Briffault: The Making; p. 212. 66 R. Briffault: The Making; p. 212. 67 C.H. Haskins: England and Sicily in the 12th century; The English Historical Review: Vol XXVI (1911) pp 433-447 and 641-665.

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Sicily on the accession of William the Bad. He probably reached England by 1158, when he is mentioned in the Pipe Roll.68 As an official of both King Roger and Henry II, Thomas Brown has a special interest for the student of international relations in the twelfth century, and the influence which has been ascribed to him as a connecting link between the fiscal systems of the two kingdoms.69 Thomas Brown sat at the exchequer table, and with the assistance of two clerks kept a watch on all proceedings in the upper and lower exchequers. A third roll is kept by him as a check on the rolls of the treasurer and chancellor, and this roll, doubtless intended for the private information of the king, Thomas carries about him wherever he goes. 70 The Muslim impact was obvious in the system of justice of Sicily, too. Scott contrasts at length the Muslim impact on the formerly crude Norman system, which is worth reproducing to large measure:
`The barbarian prejudices of the Norman conqueror survived in many institutions inherited from ages of gross superstition and ignorance. Among these were the absurd and iniquitous trials by fire, water, and judicial combat, prevalent in societies dominated partly by priestcraft and partly by the sword. People familiar with the Byzantine and Islamic code eventually mitigated the evils produced by such irrational procedure; and, while not entirely abandoned, its most offensive features were gradually suffered to become obsolete. In other respects, the administration of justicefor the excellence of its system, for the rapidity with which trials were conducted, for the opportunity afforded the litigant for appeal and reversal of judgmentwas remarkable. Invested with a sacred character, the judge, in the honour of his official position, was inferior to the king alone. His person was inviolable. No one might question his motives or dispute his authority under penalty of sacrilege. The head of the supreme court of the kingdom, by which all questions taken on appeal from the inferior tribunals were finally adjudicated, was called the Grand Justiciary. His powers and dignity claimed and received the highest consideration. None but men conspicuously eminent for learning and integrity were raised to this exalted office. The Grand Justiciary, although frequently of plebeian extraction, took precedence of the proud nobility, whose titles, centuries old and gained in Egypt and Palestine, had already become historic. A silken banner, the emblem of his office, was carried before him. In public assemblies and royal audiences he sat at the left hand of the sovereign. Only the constable, of all the officials of the crown, approached him in rank. These unusual honours paid to a dignitary whose title to respect was due, not to personal prowess or to hereditary distinction, but to the reverence attaching to his employment, indicate a great advance in the character of a people which, but a few years before, acknowledged no law but that of physical superiority, no tribunal but that of arms.71
The Islamic legacy was also in the architectural and decorative style of early Norman churches, as well as in the minor decorative arts of the Norman period.72 In the church of the Martorana, built by George of Antioch for a convent of Greek nuns in Palermo, the Arabic inscription runs round the base of the tiny dome, which actually translates a Greek hymn.73The doors of the Martorana were carved by local craftsmen, recalling the skills of the Muslims who wrought the fantastic ceiling of Roger's own Palace
68
69
70 71
C.H. Haskins: England and Sicily in the 12th century. C.H. Haskins: England and Sicily in the 12th century.
Stubb: Constitutional History, i. 408 in Haskins.
72
A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; p.263. 73 J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; op cit; p. 53.
S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; op cit; p. 21-2.

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Chapel.74 The roof structure and ceiling of the nave of the Chapel are the work of Muslims, decorated with paintings of oriental style illustrating Eastern legends and fables.75
The Zisa in Palermo The suburbs of Palermo, like the Zisa, whose name derives from the Arabic al-Aziz, "the Splendid", 76 highlight the Islamic influence. Islamic influence which persisted even under William 1 (The Bad) (ruled 1154-1166), the heir to Roger II.77 He built a number of retreats in the outskirts of Palermo, of which none were more splendid than the "Zisa," the geometric structuring of the design suggesting a relation to woven textile patterns, a frequent means of transmission of ornamental motives during the middle ages.78 The Christian cathedral of Palermo combined skill of the Muslims and the Byzantine artists; the walls were incrusted with gold, whose dazzling brilliancy was relieved by panels of precious marble of various colours bordered with foliage of green mosaic; the columns were sculptured with floral ornaments, interspersed with inscriptions in Kufic characters. 79 In the field of scholarship, the Normans also acknowledge the superior Islamic system of learning. Hence, when these Normans took Sicily and the southern portion of Italy from the Muslims, they granted the medical school founded by the latter a thorough protection, which they also granted to all Muslim institutions.80 Roger Is son, Roger II, count of Sicily, duke of Calabria, from 1101, was the most enlightened monarch of his time, and patron of science and art.81 He delighted in the company of learned Muslims and in the last fourteen years of his life spent much of the time in scientific speculation in the true Muslim tradition.82 It is Roger II who will be the patron of al-Idrisi, the famed geographer, and whose overall contribution to this science will be seen abundantly under the following heading. Roger II was also responsible, courtesy of Islamic influence, for one of the most decisive breakthroughs in science and
74 75
76 77
Breckenbridge: p. 55. Breckenbridge: p. 55. 78 Breckenbridge: p. 55.

79 80
J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; op cit; p. 53. J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; op cit; p. 53.
81
82
G. Le Bon: La Civilisation des Arabes, IMAG, Syracuse, 1884.p.391.

G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. G. Sarton; p. 191.
26.
p. 191.

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civilisation: the establishment of system of examination for all medical practice. Scott explains how in Christendom, the clergy were the general depositaries of knowledge,an advantage which they thoroughly understood, and were by no means willing to voluntarily relinquish. However, in one respect alone their power was seriously curtailed:
`The spurious medicine of the time, as practised under the sanction of the Holy See, Scott tells `had raised up a herd of ignorant and mercenary ecclesiastical charlatans. These operated by means of chants, relics, and incense; and their enormous gains were one of the chief sources of revenue to the parish and the monastery, and a corresponding burden on the people.83
King Roger abolished this abuse, and required an examination, by experienced physicians, of all candidates for the profession of medicine and surgery. It is under him that the foundation and establishment of medical faculties and the granting of medical degrees were laid.84 In 1140, he enacted that everyone who desired to practice medicine must, under pain of imprisonment and confiscation of goods, present himself before a magistrate and obtain authorization.85 This measure restricted those whose learning was deficient to `the clandestine ministrations of the shrine and the confessional.86 In the following century, Roger II was emulated in many respects by his grandson Frederick II. Frederick became king of Sicily in 1198 (and of age in 1208), then the head of the Holy Empire in 1220, and king of Jerusalem in 1229.87 It was under his rule, Briffault explains, that Muslim culture on the island reached its height and had à great and far reaching civilising influence over barbaric Europe.'88 Like his grandfather before him, under Frederick, the Muslim influence grew very strong, and even stronger after his visit to the East, and was maintained by the political and commercial relations with Muslim lands.89 In his preference to be surrounded by Muslim rather than Christian influence, he was half Muslim in his own ways, states Sarton.90 So much so, in fact, he forced awe and respect, tempered with a certain suspicion that his great culture and learning had fundamentally tainted his Christianity.91 Just like al-Andalus itself, `he was viewed with astonishment, admiration, and envy combined with fear and suspicion.92 Frederick also kept intellectual exchanges with Muslim rulers to answer some of his queries. In the time of al Malik al-Kamil, sultan of Egypt (1218-38), the emperor sent seven hard problems in order to test Muslim scholars, and during these exchanges, he was sent a variety of gifts that included in 1232, a gift by Al-Ashraf, sultan of Damascus, a magnificent `planetarium,' which bore figures of the sun and moon marking the hours on their appointed rounds.93 On the whole, it is held that it was under Frederick `The first modern man upon a throne,' rather than in the days of Petrarch, that the real beginning of the Italian Renaissance is to be sought.94 And according to Briffault ìf the name of any European sovereign deserves to be specially
83
84 85 86
S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; op cit; p. 27. D. Campbell: Arabian medicine, and its influence on the Middle Ages; Philo Press; Amsterdam; 1926; reprinted 1974. p.119.
87 88
89 90
91 92
D. Campbell: Arabian medicine; op cit; p.119. S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; p. 26.
G. Sarton: Introduction, op cit, p. 575. R. Briffault: The Making, op cit, p. 212.
93 94
Maria Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1987; p.63. Maria Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role; p.63.
C.H. Haskins: Studies, op cit, p. 244. G. Sarton: Introduction, op cit, P. 575.
C.H. Haskins: Studies, op cit, p. 253 and p. 265. J. Burckhardt, Die Cultur der Renaissance in Italien; ed. Geige, Leipzig, 1899, i.4. in C.H Haskins: Studies, op cit,

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associated with the redemption of Christendom from barbarism and ignorance, it is not that of Charlemagne, the travesty of whom in the character of a civiliser is a fulsome patriotic and ecclesiastical fiction, but that of the enlightened and enthusiastic ruler (Frederick) who adopted `Saracenic' civilisation and did more than any sovereign to stimulate its diffusion.'95 Although Frederick, under Papal pressure, was forced to remove the Muslim Sicilian population to Lucera, in the Italian hinterland, where decades later the Sicilian Angevin rulers will extinguish such Muslim presence, Frederick himself, seems to have shown much respect and even penchant for the manifestations of the Islamic faith. From the summits of a hundred minarets which seemed to pierce the skies, the muezzin shrilly intoned the prescribed verses of the Koran and summoned the followers of Islam to prayer, in Palermo, and also other Sicilian cities: Messina, Syracuse, Enna, Agrigentum.96 And when he travelled to the Holy land, on the least bloody of all crusades, in 1228-9, in Jerusalem, when night falls and the evening call to prayer is not heard, he (Frederick II) was greatly disappointed, and, turning to the Qaid asked for an explanation.97 The Qaid replies that he had given orders to suppress it for that night only out of regard for him - the emperor. Whereupon, `this precursor of the intelligent modern tourist Frederick answers. After gently observing that in his countries the Qaid would hear it, Frederick observed-that the Qaid made a mistake by Allah! The main reason why, he, the emperor had arranged to spend a night at Jerusalem was in order to hear the call to prayer and the laudations recited by the Muslims during the night.98
Al-Idrisi - a Scholar at the Court of Palermo

During Roger IIs reign and the first few years of the reign of William I, there was what may be called a Board of Geography, superintended by Al-Idrisi, a Moroccan from the city of Ceuta (b. 1099-1100- d. 1166), on lines laid down by King Roger himself.
99
The Kings keen mind, Waern informs us, found à special

101
delight in all pertaining to this delightful branch of knowledge, in which, as we know, the Arabs excelled. 100 The king, moreover, was disgusted with the existing compendii-as learned men have been since his day. Indeed, as Scott notes, the incomplete work of the Greek Ptolemy had for centuries been the only recognized authority; the configuration of the earth's surface, its climates, the locations of continents and seas, of cities and empires, were facts little known, even to persons of the best education; and in Christian lands the Church assiduously discouraged all such studies as inimical to Scriptural revelation.102 Thus, Roger, says Al-Idrisi, became determined to compile a Universal geography based on the account of practical men.103 Based in Palermo, Al-Idrisi was obviously in a very advantageous position for carrying out all this work, as Sicily was the rendez vous of navigators from the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Northern waters.104 The work was to take al-Idrisi fifteen years to complete as he says in his preface.105 To do this,
p. 299. 95 R. Briffault: The Making, op cit, p. 212.

96 97
S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; In three Volumes; J.B. Lippincott Company; Philadelphia; 1904; p. C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; pp. 233-4. 98 C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; pp. 233-4. 99 C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; 47-8. 100 C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; 47-8. 101 C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; 47-8. 102 S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; op cit; pp 461-2. 103 C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; 47-8. 104 G.H. T. Kimble: Geography in the Middle Ages; Methuen &Co Ltd; London; 1938; p. 56. 105 M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, to AD 1500, Longman, Librarie du Liban, 1971. p. 171.
28-9.

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men experienced in travel were called in or made welcome from all parts, their accounts were compared, those that agreed were accepted and the others were rejected; while older written accounts were also evidently made use of.
106
After fifteen years of this sifting of evidence, `during which time there did not
107
pass a day, says Idrisi in his preface, `When the king did not take active part in the work,
al-Idrisi
completed the work. It included all available knowledge transcribed upon a large silver map and in a volume of descriptive text in Arabic, a project which was completed in 1154,108 called Nuz'hat al-Mushtaq or Roger's Book. Roger's book is the most elaborate description of the world of medieval times. `Judging by the level of knowledge and the concept of critical research of his time,' Ronart writes, Ìdrisi's Rogerian Book must have ranked among the most prominent achievements in the history of geographical science.'109 After a brief description of the earth as a globe, which he computed to be 22,900 miles in circumference and judged to remain `stable in space like the yolk of an egg, and of the hemispheres, climates, seas and gulfs, Al-Idrisi launches out on a lengthy account of the regions of the earth surface. 110 He divides the seven main climata, each in ten longitudinal sections. These seventy sections he describes in detail, illustrating each description with a map. When put together these maps constitute a rectangular world map.111 His description of each of his divisions is of exceptional merit when compared with the Christian, which is due, amongst others to the vast amount of detail and his scientific method.112 The compilation of Al-Idrisi marks an era in the history of science, in vividness of description, in accuracy of detail, in correct estimation of distance, it is one of the most remarkable literary productions of mediaeval times.113 Not only is its historical information most interesting and valuable, but its descriptions of many parts of the earth are still authoritative. For three centuries geographers copied his maps without alteration. The relative position of the lakes which form the Nile, as delineated in his work, does not differ greatly from that established by Baker and Stanley more than seven hundred years afterwards, and their number is the same.114 A map was prepared and finally transported on to a huge planisphere of silver (divided up into segments, according to Amari).115 This map makes a representation of the known world in the form of a disk, "weighing 400 rumi pounds, each pound worth 112 dirhams."116 The celestial planisphere was nearly six feet in diameter, upon the one side the zodiac and the constellations, upon the other-divided for convenience into segments-the bodies of land and water, with the respective situations of the various countries, were engraved. 117 This included the world seas, rivers, gulfs, mountains, deserts, roads, and numerous other features. 118 A description was also written of the countries figured on the planisphere, their physical features, their products, various kinds of buildings, monuments and the arts that flourished; their exports and imports; the climate and characteristics of the inhabitants, their nature, religion, ornaments, dress, and language.119 This planisphere, Dunlop notes, surely has been lost, melted down, but the book still stood
106 107
108
109
C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; 47-8. C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; 47-8.
M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, to AD 1500, op cit; p. 171. S and N Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia of Arabic Civilisation, Djambatan, Amsterdam, 1966, p. 174. 110 G.H. T. Kimble: Geography in the Middle Ages; op cit; p. 57. 111 G.H. T. Kimble: Geography in the Middle Ages; p. 57. 112 G.H. T. Kimble: Geography in the Middle Ages; p. 57. 113 S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; op cit; pp 461-2. 114 S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; op cit; pp 461-2. 115 C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; op cit; 47-8. 116 A. L Udovitch: Al-Idrisi; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Charles Scribners Son; New York; vol 6; p. 412. 117 S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; op cit; pp 461-2. 118 A. L. Udovitch: Al-Idrisi; op cit; p. 412. 119 C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; op cit; 47-8.

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as à great monument of Arabic and Muslim geography.120 Al-Idrisi later wrote an even larger geographical encyclopaedia entitled Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-Afaq (Pleasures of Men and Delights of Souls) (the integral text of it is lost). 121 As a recompense for his skill, Scott tells,
Èdrisi received from King Roger the remainder of the precious material, amounting to two-thirds, a hundred thousand pieces of silver, and a ship laden with valuable merchandise. Such was the munificence with which the son of a Norman freebooter, bred to arms and rapine and ignorant of letters, rewarded the genius of a scholar whose race was stigmatised by every Christian power in Europe as barbarian and infidel.122
This leads to the last point of this work: the perception of the Muslims elsewhere than Sicily and the consequences of it.
The End of the Muslim Presence in Sicily

Daniel tells that
`When William of Apulia is describing the capture of Palermo in his De Rebus Gestis Normannorum in Sicilia, he describes Rogers offer of safety and favour to the Muslim inhabitants. At the same time he destroys all the mosques, and turns the principal mosque into a church of the Virgin, so that where demons had sat should now be the seat of God and a fitting doorway to heaven.123 `This is not a bad summary of the mercy that Europe would always offer the Arabs: conditional on the destruction of their religion, and, ultimately of their separate identity, tells Daniel124
Daniel, indeed, catches, and with perfection, the extent and form of what tolerance of Muslims precisely means. Some have estimated that at its height the Muslim population of Sicily reached as much as half a million. 125 Early in the fourteenth century, the whole Muslim presence was wiped out from the island. The elimination of the Muslims from Sicily was due to a slow, but relentless pressure put upon the different rulers to remove the Muslims from amidst the Christians. Pope Clement V declared the Muslim presence amidst Christian àn insult to the Creator.126 Other popes, Lomax tells, from Gregory IX to Boniface VIII hounded the successive lords of Lucera (the last colony of Muslims in Sicily) about their Muslim subjects.
120 121 127
Frequently the popes
D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, op cit, p. 171. D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, op cit, p. 171. 122 S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; op cit; pp 461-2. 123 In N. Daniel: The Arabs and medieval Europe; Longman Librarie du Liban; 1975; p. 148. 124 N. Daniel: The Arabs; op cit; p. 148.
125 126
127
A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Vol 11; pp. 261-3; p.262. V. Green: A New History of Christianity; Sutton Publishing; Stroud; 1996; pp.90-1.
Perceptions of Islam, Edited by J.V. Tolan; Routledge; London; pp. 175-97; p. 189.
Housley: The Italian crusades; 40; 62; 64-5 In J.P. Lomax: Frederick II, His Saracens, and the Papacy, in Medieval Christian

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listed the mere existence of the colony among the casus belli for the series of crusades that Pope Innocent IV and his successors launched against the Hohenstaufen rulers of Sicily and subsequent enemies of the papacy in southern Italy.128 Scott comments on this:
`The centre of the Papal power and of the various states subject to its immediate jurisdictiona jurisdiction already important, but not as yet exercised with undisputed authoritycould not fail to be profoundly impressed by the proximity of this anomalous empire; where Christian symbols and Koranic legends were blended in the embellishment of cathedrals; where the crucifixion and the mottoes of `Mohammedan rulers were impressed together upon the coinage of the realm; where eminent prelates owed investiture, rendered homage, and paid tribute to the secular power; where Moslem dignitaries not infrequently took precedence of Papal envoys; and the hereditary enemies of Christendom fought valiantly under the standard of the Cross. Nor was the effect of this ominous example confined to localities where daily familiarity had caused it to lose its novelty. 129
Scott has just touched on the point of Muslim patriotic dedication to their new rulers, not just in serving them as already seen amply above, even going as far as fighting alongside them, even against their own co-religionists. North African sages could hardly believe the presence of Muslims in the armies and navies of the Norman kings during the attack on Alexandria in 1174, or, later, with Frederick II during his crusade in the east.130 The Muslims were some of the most faithful and loyal servants any Christian Sicilian lord or ruler could hope for.131It was just their refusal to set aside their faith which was their eventual downfall. Even under the seemingly Islamic minded rulers, pressures on Muslims mounted. In 1146, Roger IIs eunuch Philip, first his confidential agent and later successful commander of a sea raid (against Muslim Tunisia), was denounced as a hidden Muslim:
Ùnder the cloak of the Christian name, he preserved a hidden soldier of the devil; while as far as outward appearance was concerned he showed himself to be a Christian, he was wholly Muslim in mind and deed; he hated Christians and greatly loved pagans (Muslims); he went into the churches of God reluctantly, and visited the synagogues of the malignants (mosques) more often. He supplied them with oil for arranging the lights and other things necessary. Not respecting Christian tradition at all, he did not stop eating meat on Fridays or in Lent; he sent messengers with offerings to the tomb of Muhammad, and commended himself greatly to the prayers of the priests of that place.132
Roger was very upset that Philip, whom he had brought up as a Catholic since he was a boy, should so betray him.
133
Philip was handed over to the barons to condemn. Philip was dragged violently at the heels
134
of a horse to the square before the palace and thrown into the fire to die.
His accomplices were also
executed. The King did not interfere to show that he was à most Christian prince and a Catholic. 135
128 129
Housley: The Italian crusades; 40; 62; 64-5 In J.P. Lomax: Frederick II, p. 189. S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; op cit; p.
130
D. Abulafia: Commerce and Conquest in the Mediterranean, 1100-1500, Varorium, 1993; p.112. 131 A. Lowe: The Barrier and the Bridge, G. Bles; London; 1972.p. 92.
132 133
29.
In N. Daniel: The Arabs and medieval Europe; Longman Librarie du Liban; 1975. p. 149. In N. Daniel: The Arabs; p. 149. 134 In N. Daniel: The Arabs; p. 149. 135 In N. Daniel: The Arabs; p. 149.

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The condition of Muslims worsened sharply under William I (the bad) (ruled 1154-1166). Muslim merchants were massacred en masse in Palermo in 1160. In 1161, the Lombards invaded the royal domain and slaughtered the Muslims wherever they found them.136 The Muslims fled en masse, westward to safer areas, where the population was still predominantly Muslim. 137 The Lombards destroyed Muslim communities both those who lived mixed up with Christians in different towns, and those, who, living apart, possessed their own villages, with no distinction for sex or age.138 A few Muslims escaped disguised in Christian dress to the temporary safety of Muslim towns in the south, but felt such a horror of the Lombard areas that for generations they would only unwillingly pass through them.139 Under William II (1166-1189), the situation of the Muslims improved a little, but was far from ideal. Travelling then to Sicily, the Valencian Muslim traveller, Ibn Jubayr, seemed to perceive the end was approaching for them. He met a prominent Muslim, the head of all the Muslims of the island, who came to Trapani while our traveller was there. This was Qaid Abu Kassim ibn Hammud, surnamed Ibn al-Hagar, òne of the nobles of this island who have inherited the quality of lordship from father to son greatly praised for his virtues and charity towards the Muslims, ransoming prisoners and giving largess to poor wayfarers and pilgrims so that the whole town rejoiced at his coming. This man had lost the favour of the tyrants through intrigues, had been imprisoned in his house, and had all his palaces confiscated and also the possessions inherited from his ancestors. 140 He expressed a wish to meet Ibn Jubayr and they had a talk, and the great man said that he and all his relatives only desired to sell all they had and thus be liberated from their woes and be free to live in Muslim lands. When our pilgrim parted from Ibn Hammud, he wept and made them weep. 141
`The nobility of his lineage, the singular gifts of his character, the fine earnestness of his life, his charity towards relatives, his liberality, the beauty of his person and his soul, moved us deeply, said Ibn Jubayr. 142
Nor are further instances lacking of the persecutions to which the Muslims were subjected by this time, as Ibn Jubayr notes:
`Thus it is told that when a man loses his temper with his wife or his son, or a woman with her daughter, and they in a fit of anger throw themselves into a church, they are made Christians and baptised, nor can a man see his son again nor a woman her daughter in any other guise, so that those with insight fear that it then happen to the Muslims of Sicily as it happened to those of the island of Crete (when all the inhabitants, what with one thing, and what with another, were all forced to become Christians.) May the world of damnation fall over the infidel! 143
Another piteous case recounted was the following: one of the leading men in the city sent his own son to one of Ibn Jubayrs party asking him to accept his young daughter for his wife if she pleased him, or to give
136 137
N. Daniel: The Arabs; op cit; p. 151. D. Abulafia: Commerce and Conquest; op cit; p. 108. 138 N. Daniel: The Arabs; op cit; p.151. 139 N. Daniel: The Arabs; op cit; p.151.
140 141
C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; op cit; 74-5. C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; 74-5. 142 C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; 74-5. 143 In C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; 74..

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her in marriage to one of his countrymen, but in any case to take her away with him, she being gladly willing to leave father and brothers if she could only remain in the faith. 144 Gradually the Muslims were deprived of whatever wealth and land they had, and the remnant of the Muslim population was forced into western Sicily by aggressive Latin settlement at the eastern end of the island. 145 Continued Latin pressure on these Muslims brought on a full scale rebellion in the mountains and hills south and west of Palermo and Monreale in 1220, a rebellion, which Frederick subdued after two years of bitter fighting (1222-4).146 Now the total removal of the Muslims was a matter of time. Frederick, first, deported them to the Italian hinterland, to Lucera, where they were supposed to offer no danger of any sort. Papal pressure, however, mounted for their complete removal. According to Lomax, `The bitter and inflammatory rhetoric with which the popes consistently assailed the Muslims of Lucera, and often their royal masters, reveals the depth and character of papal animosity.147 Pope Gregory IX urged Frederick to `shatter the `presumptions of these Muslims so that they would dare not disturb the hearts of Gods faithful even a little, èspecially since particular injury will seem to be done to our Redeemer if the sons of Belial, who are bound by the shackle of perpetual servitude, assail the sons of light within our borders or damnably imagine themselves to be equal to them in privileges.148 The pope sought to evangelise the Muslims in Lucera, and to that end, he announced he was directing Dominican friars to evangelise them. Gregory urged Frederick to support the Dominicans `with the material sword, without which their mission might fail; indeed, to `drag this people, who are openly deceived by the error of perdition, to the font of regeneration and renewal by means of terror, because then their servitude will be more fruitful, since the one God shall have come to you and to them.149 Frederick professed to welcome and even assist in their conversion. At the same time he neatly avoided committing himself to the conversion by the use of terror that the pope had urged on him, and, at no point did he acknowledge that the Muslims of Lucera represented any kind of threat to the Church or to their Christian neighbours.150 Unhappy with Fredericks response, in February 1236, Gregory Charged Frederick with numerous crimina
manifesta (manifest crimes) in a letter entitled Dum preteritorum consideratione, which includes: `Buildings in which the divine name is honoured are forced to become places where the damnable Muhammad is adored.
then he added about the Muslims who are:
144 145
C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; 75.. J.P. Lomax: Frederick II, His Saracens, and the Papacy, in Medieval Christian Perceptions of Islam, Edited by J.V. Tolan; Routledge; London; pp. 175-97; p. 177. 146 J.P. Lomax: Frederick II, p. 177. 147 J.P. Lomax: Frederick II,; p. 179. 148 MGH (Monumenta Germaniae Historica) Epist. Saec. XIII 1:398-9; No 494 in J.P. Lomax: Frederick II, p. 180. 149 M.GH Epist. Saec. XIII 1:447-8; No 553 in J.P. Lomax: Frederick II,; p. 182-3. 150 Frederick would later maintain that the proximity of Muslims to Christians had produced more Muslim converts to Christianity; in J.P. Lomax: Frederick II, p. 183.

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`placed almost in the middle of the kingdom, can more easily corrupt the Catholic faith by the venom of their infidelity. Thence greater dangers take hold, for Christians are mixed in with them. Through companionship with pagans the flocks of the faithful depart from the Lords fold. 151
Gregory used the threat of excommunication to force Frederick to back down, but Frederick defended the reverse view, that he had moved the Saracens at great expense, and placed them in the midst of Christians who daily served as an example to them.152 In October 1238, Gregory sent the third and final excommunication warning; followed by other threats. All in all Papal ire over the existence of the Muslim enclave at Lucera, and the legal arguments with which Gregory IX supported his attacks on it and its imperial patron, persisted long after Gregorys death in 1241 and that of Frederick in 1250.153 Then, finally, in 1300, the Muslims were totally wiped out on the island,154 many sold into slavery, the rest simply disappearing into the obscurity of history. Pope Boniface VIII was delighted on hearing the news of the destruction of the last Muslim colony in Sicily, as Housley tells us.155
Bibliography
-M. Amari: La Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia, 3 vols, (1933-9) Revised 2nd edition by C.A. Nallino, Rome. -D. Abulafia: Commerce and Conquest in the Mediterranean, 1100-1500, Varorium, 1993. -J. D. Breckenridge: The two Sicilies; in Islam and the Medieval West; S. Feber Editor; A Loan Exhibition at the University Art Gallery; State University of New York; April 6 - May 4, 1975; -H. Bresc: Les Jardins de Palerme; in Politique et Societe en Sicile; XII-Xv em siecle; Varorium; Aldershot; 1990; pp. 55-127. -R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity; George Allen; London; 1928. -D. Campbell: Arabian medicine, and its influence on the Middle Ages; Philo Press; Amsterdam; 1926; reprinted 1974. -N.Daniel: The Arabs and medieval Europe; Longman Librarie du Liban; 1975. -M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, to AD 1500, Longman, Librarie du Liban, 1971. -Francesco Gabrieli: Islam in the Mediterranean World in The Legacy of Islam, edited by J.Schacht with C.E. Bosworth, 2nd edition. Oxford Clarendon Press, 1974. pp 63-104. -John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. -V. Green: A New History of Christianity; Sutton Publishing; Stroud; 1996. -C.H. Haskins: England and Sicily in the 12th century; The English Historical Review: Vol XXVI (1911) pp 433447 and 641-665.
151 152
MGH (Monumenta Germaniae Historica) Epist. Saec. XIII 1:574-5; No 676 in J.P. Lomax: Frederick II, p. 185-6. In J.P. Lomax: Frederick II, p. 186. 153 J.P. Lomax: Frederick II, p. 188.
154
155
D. Abulafia: Commerce and Conquest in the Mediterranean, 1100-1500, Varorium, 1993; p. 4.

Housley: The Italian crusades; p. 65. In J.P. Lomax: Frederick II; p. 189.

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-C.H. Haskins: Studies in the history of Mediaeval Science. Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. New York. 1967 ed. -P.K.Hitti: History of the Arabs, MacMillan, London, 1970 edt. -G.H. T. Kimble: Geography in the Middle Ages; Methuen &Co Ltd; London; 1938. -G. Le Bon: La Civilisation des Arabes; IMAG; Syracuse; Italie; 1884. -J.P. Lomax: Frederick II, His Saracens, and the Papacy, in Medieval Christian Perceptions of Islam, Edited by J.V. Tolan; Routledge; London; pp. 175-97. -A. Lowe: The Barrier and the Bridge, G. Bles; London; 1972. -M.L. de Mas Latrie: Traites de paix et de Commerce, et Documents Divers, Concernant les Relations des Chretiens avec les Arabes de l'Afrique Septentrionale au Moyen Age, Burt Franklin, New York, Originally Published in Paris, 1866. -Maria Rosa Menocal: The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1987. -A. H. Miranda: The Iberian Peninsula and Sicily, in The Cambridge History of Islam, vol 2, edt: P. M. Holt. A.K.S. Lambton, and B. Lewis, Cambridge University Press, 1970, pp 406-439 -J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974. -S and N Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia of Arabic Civilisation, Djambatan, Amsterdam, 1966. -G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. -J.J. Saunders: Aspects of the Crusades, University of Canterbury, 1962. -S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; In three Volumes; J.B. Lippincott Company; Philadelphia; 1904; vol 3. -W.B. Stevenson: The Crusades in The East; Cambridge University Press; 1907.
-The Travels of Ibn Jubayr; trsltd from the original Arabic with introduction and notes, by R.J. C. Broadhurst; Jonathan cape, London, 1952; pp 348.
-A.L. Udovitch: Islamic Sicily; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Charles Scribners Son; New York; Vol 11. -A.A. Vasiliev: The Struggle with the Saracens (867-1057): in The Cambridge Medieval History, Vol IV: Edited by J. R. tanner, C. W. Previte; Z.N. Brooke, 1923. -C. Waern: Medieval Sicily; Duckworth and Co; London; 1910.

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Granada- The Last Refuge of Muslims in Spain
Salah Zaimeche Lamaan Ball December 2004 4072 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
Granada- The Last Refuge of Muslims in Spain December 2004
GRANADA- THE LAST REFUGE OF MUSLIMS IN SPAIN

In the nineteenth century, a French poet, Victor Hugo, exclaimed in a poem on Granada, included in his collection Les Orientales (1829):
L'Alhambra! l'Alhambra! palais que les Genies Ont dore comme un reve et rempli d'harmonies...1
Meaning:
Alhambra! Alhambra! Palace which the genii have adorned like a dream flowing with harmonies.
The Alhambra palace is one of better known features of Granadas Muslim legacy. It is not the only one. Granada was also a city of scholars. But it was most of all the last refuge of Muslims in Spain. After the loss of most of Muslim Spain, the loss of such places such as Cordova, lost to the Muslims in 1236, Valencia, lost in 1238, Murcia and the rest of Muslim Andalusia lost in the following years, and finally, and most critically the loss of the flower of Muslim civilization, Seville, which fell in 1248 to Alfonso of Castile, only Granada was left. It remained in Muslim hands until 1492, then, that year it too fell.2. The history of this loss will be described in the last part of this article. First, the history and cultural prosperity of Granada need to be described.
Al Hambra Palace (Source http://mbravo.spb.ru/gallery/alhambra2/aag) Granada is the capital of the former Muslim kingdom of that name and one of the major cities of Muslim Andalusia. It is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada some 689 meters above sea level. The city was
1 2
In John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession: Cambridge University Press, 1987. p. 120.
For the best simplified history of Muslim Spain, and the fall of Granada, see S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888; see also H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; Burt Franklin; New York; 1968 reprint.

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built on three hills, two of which are separated by a deep ravine through which the Darro River (Arabic: Hadarru) flows, covered for much of its length by broad bridges.3 The three major sections of the city are the Antequeruela (named after refugees from Antequeruela who settled there in 1410). This section is enclosed by the Darro River, with the Alhambra section to the west. The other section is the Albaicin (from rabad al- hayazf, or falconers' quarter, although one tradition connects the name with refugees from Baeza who fled there in 1245, after Christians captured their home town). This is the oldest quarter, and was much favoured by Muslim nobles, located to the northwest, on the other side of the Darro; and in Granada proper.4
From the walls of Granada the Mountains of the Sierra Nevada Granadas illustrious past is inextricably linked with the Muslims. Following the Muslim conquest in the early eighth century, it was governed by the Umayyad caliphate at Damascus and later came to be known as the Damascus of the West. After 1031 the Zirid ruler Zawl established an independent kingdom here5. The increasing prosperity of Granada under Almohad rule made it, by about 1200, the fifth largest city in Spain, with a population of Arab, Spanish, and Berber Muslims, Spanish Christians, and Jews living in
R. Hillenbrand: Granada; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Joseph Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980 fwd;. 651-3; at p. 651. 4 R. Hillenbrand: Granada; at p. 651.
5
R. Hillenbrand: Granada; p. 651.

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separate quarters6. Ibn Sa'd, a thirteenth-century writer from Alcal la Real (Granada), remarked that no eastern cities reminded him of home except for Damascus and Hama, a central Syrian town, and alShaqund called Granada the Damascus of al-Andalus.7 Indeed, despite all the upheavals around, with the Muslim Spanish realm being lost one large stretch of land after the other, Granada remained prosperous. A brief period of insurrection between 1229 and 1238 brought a scion of the Banu Hud from Saragossa to power. He ruled Granada as part of a larger kingdom stretching from Algeciras to Almeria, but he was defeated by Muhammad ibn al-Ahmar, prince of Jaen, who seized the city and founded the Nasrid dynasty there in 1248, becoming lord of Malaga and Almeria at the same time.8 He was going to be the first of a line of twenty-one Nasrid sovereigns who maintained the independence of Granada until 1492, when the city, the last surviving outpost of Muslim Spain succumbed to the Spanish Catholic monarchy, on which more information is given further on 9. For the duration of its history, Granada was marked by a considerable cultural life, whose main aspects are described now.
Cultural and scholarly Granada

Granada produced a large number of scholars. The names of the best known are included here: Al-Mazini al-Andalusi al-Gharnati was born in 1080-1081 in Granada; died in 1169-1170 in Damascus. An Hispano-Muslim geographer, in 1114-1115 he was in Egypt, but he must have returned to his country not long afterwards; in 1117 he left Spain, sailing to Egypt via Sardinia and Sicily; in 1122-1126, he was in Baghdad; in 1130 in Abhar, Jibal; in 1131 at Sakhein (or Saqsin) on the Upper Volgahe spent many years in that region.10 In 1135-1136 he was in Bulghar (near Kazan, on the Volga); in 1150-1151 in Bashgird, Hungary, in 1160 in Baghdad; after that he resided in various places in Khurasan and Syria for example, in 1162 he was in Mosul. He died in Damascus in 1169-1170.11 Travel to the East was very common among Andalusi fuqah' (scholars of Islamic laws), and it was typical to read in a biographical account that a man had travelled in the lands of the East (tfa bild al-mashriq) and that he had done so "in search of knowledge" (ftalab al-'ilm).12 To a certain extent, the pilgrimage destination of Mecca determined the places visited (e.g., Qayrawn, Alexandria, Cairo, all places with scholarly communities), but the search for specialized knowledge deflected scholars to, for example, Basra and other Iraqi centres to study subjects such as grammar.13 Al-Mazini, was a contemporary of another illustrious geographer, al-Idrisi, born before him, and dying three years after him. Al-Mazini was more of a cosmographer in the old Islamic way than a systematic geographer, yet he gives information which is unobtainable anywhere else. He wrote various geographical works: (1) in Baghdad in 1160, Al-mughrib 'an bad. 'ajaib al-Maghrib (Collection of singularities relative to some of the marvels of the Maghrib); (2) in Musul in 1162, Tuhfat al-albab wa nukhbat al-a'jab (Gift to the
6 7 8 9
R. Hillenbrand: Granada; p. 652. T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1979. pp 55-6. R. Hillenbrand: Granada; p. 652.
See S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888; H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; Burt Franklin; New York; 1968 reprint. 10 G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institution; Washington; vol 2; p. 412.
11 12 13
G. Sarton: Introduction; 2; p. 412. T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain; op cit; p. 285.
T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain; p. 285.

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hearts and choice of wonders); (3) Nukhbat al-adhan fi 'aja'ib al-buldan; (4) 'Aja'ib al-makhluqat (Wonders of the creatures).14 It would seem that 3 and 4 are completely or partly identical with 1 and 2. His accounts of foreign countries are largely anecdotal and include many fables. The Tuhfat is divided as follows: Introduction; (1) general description of the world and its inhabitants, men and jinn; (2) singularities of various countries, (3) seas and islands, extraordinary animals living in them; (4) caverns, fossils, etc.15 After many years of travel he settled down in the Near East-as much as a restless person of his type could settle down anywhere - and finally died in Damascus.16 Ibn Tufayl is another well known scholar from Granada. He was an Hispano - Muslim scientist and physician. He was born about 1100-1110 in Wadi Ash, modern Guadix, northeast of Granada. He was a physician in Granada; later secretary to the governor of the province; in 1154-1155 he became a secretary to the governor of Ceuta and Tangier; finally he worked as physician to the Almohad Abu Ya'qub Yusuf I (sultan 1163-1184). Ibn Tufayl was among the illustrious scholars who lived and worked in the Almohad court, especially under the third Caliph, Abu Yaqub, where they constituted a sort of corporation presided by one amongst them.17 Alongside Ibn Tufayl were Ibn Rushd and Ibn Zuhr, and many more scientists and scholars found sanctuary and served the Almohad rulers.18 When old age obliged Ibn Tufayl to resign his position at the service of the Almohad rulers in 1182-1183, he was succeeded by his friend Ibn Rushd.19 He died in Marrakech in 11851186. Ibn Tufail wrote one of the most original books of the Middle Ages, a philosophical romance called after its hero, Haiy ibn Yaqzan. 20 The story itself includes a sketch of a natural classification of the sciences, a discussion of spontaneous generation, and miscellaneous scientific information. It was translated into Hebrew, and Moses ibn Joshua of Narbonne (second half of the fourteenth century) wrote a commentary upon it in 1349.21 Ibn Tufail wrote two medical treatises, and gave advice to Ibn Rushd with regard to the latter's commentaries and to his Kulliyat a tib, which was known as collegiate in the Latin world.22 It was he who suggested to al-Bitruji the latter's modification of the theory of homocentric spheres. 23 A large number of Muslim scholars transited between Granada and North Africa. The historian Ibn Khaldun, the philologist Abu Hayyan, Ibn Battuta, and the vizier-cum-litterateur Ibn al-Khatib frequented this court. 24
For more on Al-Mazini, see: Gabriel Ferrand: Le Tuhfat al-albab edite d'apres les MSS. 2167, 2168, 2170, de la Bibliotheque Nationale, et le MS. d'Alger (Journal Asiatique, vol. 207, 1-148, 193-304, 1925) Arabic text followed by an analysis, partial translation and notes; this is not yet the complete edition which we need, but it brings us much nearer to it (Isis, 11, 424). Haji Khalifa: Lexicon (vol. 2, 222, no. 2548, 1837; vol. 4, 189, no. 8072, 1845; the author's name is written differently in each note). J. T. Reinaud: Geographie d'Aboulfeda (vol. 1, cxi-cxiii, 1848). 15 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; 2; p. 412.
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 14
G. Sarton; ii; p. 300. G. Deverdun: Marakech; Editions Techniques Nord Africaines; Rabat; 1959.p. 261. R. Landau: Morocco: Elek Books Ltd, London 1967. p. 431. G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; II; pp. 354-5. G. Sarton: Introduction II; pp. 354-5. G. Sarton: Introduction II; pp. 354-5.
In 1255, in Padua, Italy, Bonacossa translated the Kulliyat (The Book of generalities (on medicine) of Ibn Rushd into Latin from Arabic in 1255. 23 G. Sarton: Introduction II; op cit; pp. 354-5.
24
R. Hillenbrand: Granada; op cit; p. 653.

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The passport given to the great scholar Ibn-Khaldun by Mohammed V., King of Granada, was interestingly written in rhyme.25 Ibn-al-Khatib, of Granada, whose marvellous erudition was displayed in the greatest of his works: The Universal Library; an immense epitome of the literary and historical facts obtainable in his time. 26 Besides their patronage of the arts, literature, and science, the Nasrid sultans cultivated a consciously Islamic civilization27 where women had their share of participation, too. Hence, Zainab and Hamda, the daughters of Zaid, the bookseller who lived at wadi al-Hima in the neighbourhood of Granada, were both excellent poetesses, thoroughly versed in all branches of learning and science.28 The second reign of Muhammad V (1362-1391) witnessed the apogee of Nasrid culture in Granada, when much of the Alhambra was built; silks and other textiles of unsurpassed quality were widely exported; irrigation and agriculture flourished as never before.29 But it was earlier, in 1248, that Muhammad ibn alAhmar (1232-73) ordered the erection of Spain's most famous edifice, the Alhambra (i.e., the red).30 The date of the construction of the Alhambra very probably dates from even earlier. The dates mentioned here are, however, the more certain ones. Regardless, the chosen site was a mountain crag bounded by deep ravines, and looking down upon two rivers, the Darro and the Genil. The Emir found there a fortress, the Alcazaba, dating from the ninth century; he added to it, built the great outer walls of the Alhambra and the earlier of its palaces, and left everywhere his modest motto: '`There is no conqueror but Allah."
31
The
immense structure has been repeatedly extended and repaired. Following the principles of military architecture as developed in Eastern Islam, the unknown architect designed the enclosure first as a fortress capable of holding 40,000 men.32 The more luxurious taste of the next two centuries gradually transformed this fortress into a complex of halls and palaces, nearly all distinguished by unsurpassed delicacy of floral or geometrical decoration, carved or stamped in coloured stucco, brick, or stone. In the Court of the Myrtles a pool reflects the foliage and the fretted portico. 33 Behind it rises the battlemented Tower of Comares, where the besieged thought to find a last and impregnable place of refuge. Within the tower is the ornate Hall of the Ambassadors; here the emirs of Granada sat enthroned, while foreign emissaries marvelled at the art and wealth of the tiny kingdom; here Charles V, looking out from a balcony window upon the gardens, groves, and stream below, mused, "How ill-fated the man who lost all this!',34 In the main courtyard, the Patio de los Leones, a dozen marble lions guard a majestic alabaster fountain; the slender columns and flowered capitals of the surrounding arcade, the stalactite archivolts, the Kufic lettering, the time-subdued tints of the filigree arabesques, make this the masterpiece of the Morisco style.35 Perhaps in their, enthusiasm and their luxury the Muslim architects and artists here pressed their art beyond elegance to excess; where all is ornament, the eye and soul grow weary even of beauty and skill. This building has
25 26 27 28
S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; The Lippincot Company; Philadelphia; 1904; vo III; p. 446. S.P. Scott; III; p. 458. R. Hillenbrand: Granada; op cit; p. 653.
Sayid Amir'Ali: A Short History of the Saracens, (569 at foot) in A. Shalaby: History of Muslim Education. Beirut: Dar al Kashaf, 1954., p. 28. 29 R. Hillenbrand: Granada; op cit; p. 653.
30 31 32 33 34 35
W. Durant: The Age of Faith; Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p. 316. W. Durant: The Age of Faith; p. 316. W. Irving: The Alhambra; 1832; 47. W. Durant: The Age of Faith; p. 316. S. Lane Poole: Moorish; op cit; 225. W. Durant: The Age of Faith; op cit; p. 316.

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survived a dozen earthquakes; the ceiling of the Hall of the Ambassadors fell, but the rest remained. 36 In sum this picturesque ensemble of gardens, palaces, fountains, and balconies suggests both the climax and the decay of Muslim art in Spain: a wealth gone to extravagance, a conquering energy relaxed into a flair for ease, a taste for beauty that has subsided from power and grandeur to elegance and grace.37 In the nineteenth century, a new wave of travel literature swept over Europe in the decades after Waterloo, culminating in one of the most widely read books of the century: The Alhambra (1832) by Washington Irving.
Al Hambra Decoration (Source http://mbravo.spb.ru/gallery/alhambra2/aau) This understandably went through numerous editions in the land of its author: from the time of the welcoming review in the New York Mirror in June of the year of publication its success was assured.38 It is
36 37 38
W. Durant: The Age of Faith; p. 316. W. Durant: The Age of Faith; p. 316. John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession; op cit; pp.217-8.

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of some significance that Mrs L.C. Tuthill in her History of Architecture from the Earliest Times (Philadelphia 1848) has, as Gerald Bernstein noted, five pages on Àrabian Architecture' of which three consist of direct quotations from Irving's book.39 This may suggest a relative scarcity in America of Owen Jones's book on the Alhambra which, the New World apart, was circulating badly enough in Britain, no doubt in part because of its bulk. But then Irving's volume, lacking in visual analysis yet replete with romantic narrative, scored heavily on a number of counts: small size, comparative cheapness, and human content.40
Alcazar de Genil (source http://www.legadoandalusi.es/itinerarios/it7/eng/circuitos7.htm ) The same man, Washington Irving also wrote a great work on the conquest of Granada,41 and also left us memorable lines of his trip to the place. Thus, in one of his letters date May 28, 1828, he says:
`The Arab conquest brought a higher civilisation and a nobler style of thinking into Gothic Spain. The Arabs were a quick witted, sagacious, proud-spirited, and poetical people, and were imbued with Oriental science and literature. Wherever they established a seat of power, it became a rallying place for the learned and ingenious; and they softened and refined the people whom they conquered.42
and:
`They (the Muslims) deserved this beautiful country, for they won it bravely, and they enjoyed it generously and kindly Everywhere I meet traces of their sagacity, courage, urbanity, high poetical feeling, and elegant taste. The noblest institutions in this part of Spain, the best inventions for
39 40
41 42
John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession pp.217-8. John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession pp.217-8. W. Irving: The Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada; Geoffrey Crayon Edition; New York; 1850. W. Irving: The Spanish Papers; Riverside Edition; Philadelphia, 1868; pp. 519-20.

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comfortable and agreeable living, and those attitudes and customs which throw a peculiar and Oriental charm over the Andalusian mode of living may be traced to the Moors.43
The Muslim legacy of Granada spread widely in space and time. Muslim construction skills also meant that architects from Granada were employed by Castilian monarchs in the construction of palaces, and even by orthodox prelates in the ornamentation of cathedrals.44 But it was not the only form of legacy. Much of the Muslim legacy has been victim to time and upheavals of all sorts, but traces of this splendour survive. The Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo is a bijou thirteenth-century villa set in beautiful gardens; the Alcazar de Genil was built in the mid fourteenth century as a palace for the Nasrid queens. Several other examples of Nasrid domestic architecture survive. 45 The Casa del Cabildo Antigua has as its core a fourteenth-century college founded by Yusuf I, and beneath the modern restorations of the Corral del Carbon may be discerned a Muslim inn, Alhondiga gedida (al-
funduq- al-jadid, the new inn).46 Some of the nine original Muslim bridges over the Darro were incorporated
into the urban fabric when the river was partially covered; the best-preserved of them is the Puente del Genil (qantarat Shanfl). The Church of S. Maria occupies the site of the Great Mosque, the Church of S. Ana was also originally a mosque, and the towers of the churches of S. Jose and S. Juan de los Reyes utilize minarets.47 The covered market now known as Alcaiceria ( al-qaysarrya) was burned down in 1843 but was rebuilt using the original pillars. Nearby is the Bibarrambla Plaza (rabbat Bab al-Ramla, "Sand Gate"), which in medieval times was the scene of tournaments, feuds, and a form of bullfighting, there are also two Muslim baths, including the "Nut-tree Bath," Bano del Nogal, near the eleventh-century Puente del Alcalde (qantaratal- qadi), "Bridge of the Judge"). 48
43 44
W. Irving: Letters; vol ii; (1823-38); Edited by Ralph M. Aderman; Herbert. L. Kleinfield and Jennifer. S. Bank; Boston; 1979; p. 315. S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 2; p. 22. 45 R. Hillenbrand: Granada; op cit; at p. 653.
46 47 48
R. Hillenbrand: Granada; p. 653. R. Hillenbrand: Granada; p. 653. R. Hillenbrand: Granada; p. 653.

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The Loss of Granada and the end of Muslims in Spain

Scores of people know that the Muslims lost Spain. Most, however, are aware of little about the crucial phases of this loss and fall. Many believe the whole of Spain was lost in 1492. Many more confuse the various parts and dates, and their history. Nearly everyone questions themselves on where have the Muslims of Spain gone, and when did they disappear. The following outline enlightens on such issues, but does it as briefly as possible. Soon after the death of the great leader al-Mansur (1005), Muslim Spain fell into chaos, the era of the party kings' (reyes de taifas, muluk at-tawa'if) (1009-1091), when the Peninsula broke into as many as thirty independent rulers, who fought each other.49 Profiting from this, Christian princes in North West Spain swept south, conquering one Islamic kingdom after the other, very often using one against the other.50 In panic some Reyes called the Almoravids of Morocco, and their leader Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, who had to assist them on three occasions, each time after crushing the Christian armies, he was asked to leave Spain, to be re-called once the Reyes were threatened again. The third time he was invited again, in 1090, Ibn Tashfin crossed the straight of Gilbraltar from Morocco, and this time eliminated the inept Reyes, and installed Almoravid rule all over the country. Under Almoravid rule not just was the unity of the Muslim Peninsula restored, but also there re-appeared in the West a combative form of Islam that responded to the Christian combativeness.51 When Almoravid power subsided, the Almohads came to the fore in 1147. Their most decisive victory was on 18th July, 1196, when they inflicted a crushing defeat on the Christian alliance of many armies at Alarcos, the Christian army being virtually exterminated.52 However, once their rule became ridden with internal rivalries, the Almohads were themselves crushed at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, a defeat which Lewis rightly recognised, `broke the back of Muslim power in the Peninsula.53 It was not just that, for Muslims were engaged in fighting each other, too, and often siding with Christian kings against other Muslims. Hence, Muhammad ibn al-Ahmar of Granada became a vassal of Ferdinand I of Castile, contracting to pay him a large annual tribute, and even helping him to conquer the Muslim principality of Seville.54 Following this, Cordova fell in 1236, Seville fell in 1248, and soon the other towns and cities followed, only leaving Granada in Muslim hands. Abul-Beka, of Ronda, Ibn-al-Lebburn, of Murviedro, and Ibn-al-Khatib, of Granada, described, in language of inexpressible beauty and pathos, the national calamities inflicted by Christian supremacy,the dissolution of empire, the desecration of the sanctuary, the dismemberment of families, the exile of the vanquished and the horrors of servitude. 55 For a couple of centuries, while the Spanish monarchs were busy in their rivalries, Granada remained independent in Muslim hands, it was the last beacon of Muslim civilisation in the Christian West. Granada
49 50 51 52 53 54 55
For details on the rule of al-Mansur and the break up of the kingdom see S.P. Scott: History ; op cit;. S.P. Scott: History; Vol 1; p.453 fwd. C. Cahen: Orient et Occident au temps des Croisades, Aubier Montaigne, 1983. p.21. John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. p.190. B. Lewis: Cultures in Conflict; Oxford University Press; 1995. p. 19. R. Hillenbrand: Granada; op cit; p. 652. S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol III; p. 450.

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provided refuge for Muslims expelled from Spanish Christian territory, such as Valencia and Almeria, and these refugees in time doubled the size of the city, besides increasing the lustre of its civilization. 56 Commerce and industry revived, art flourished, and the little kingdom survived till 1492 as the last European foothold of a culture that had made Andalusia for many centuries an honour to mankind.57 Granadas useful services to its Christian neighbours and its natural impregnability go far to explain its long survival, enjoying a unique position in Christian Spain and in the Muslim West.58 It then became the turn of Granada to submit, just like the rest of Muslim Spain before it. The fate of the Nasrid rulers of Granada was sealed at the victory of Salado de Tarifa, won in 1340 by Castilians and Portuguese, putting an end to Moroccan interventions to save Muslim Spain; although the Nasrid rulers held for another century and half (until 1492, to be precise).59 The conquest of Granada was a combined outcome of the Spanish Catholic monarchs Ferdinands and Isabellas decision to overthrow the emirate, and also of the Popes crusading zeal.60 A regular army was built to replace feudal horsemen; artillery was reformed, peasants were armed en masse under the name of St Hermandad (fraternity), and a special corps of thirty thousand talladores para military forces was charged with burning crops, expelling labourers, and cutting fruit trees in all Muslim lands. All was ready for the fight to death which Spain was delivering to the Muslims.61 Before the attack, the Christian monarchs launched a sustained campaign of devastation against the Nasrid realm, attacking its economy, before they engaged in a conquest of one town and city after the other. 62 Just at the moment when the Muslims of Granada needed all their forces to withstand the Christian attack, they were seriously weakened by dynastic quarrels: jealousies in the court of the emir. 63 `Such a suicidal mania invaded the minds of the rulers of Granada, Lane Poole says, àt a time when every man they could gather together was needed to repel the invasion of the Christians, they wasted their strength in ruinous struggles with each other, and one would even intercept the others army when it was on the march against the common enemy. The people of Granada, divided into various factions, aided and abetted the jealousy of their always fickle sovereigns.64 The Catholic monarchs were understandably happy at the divisions amongst Muslims, which they supported so as to neutralise their fighting spirit.65 Indeed, the Muslims of Granada could have held out for more than the ten years that it took to conquer the kingdom, had it not been for a bitter family feud.66 This feud involved Abul
56 57 58 59 60 61
R. Hillenbrand: Granada; p. 653. W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.314-5. R. Hillenbrand: Granada; op cit; at p. 653. G. Sarton: Introduction; Volume III; op cit; p.38. J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974. p.211.
M.L. de Mas Latrie: Traites de paix et de Commerce, et Documents Divers, Concernant les Relations des Chretiens avec les Arabes de l'Afrique Septentrionale au Moyen Age, Burt Franklin, New York, Originally Published in Paris, 1866. p.323. 62 H. Terrasse: Islam dEspagne; Librairie Plon; Paris; 1958; p. 243.
63
R. Merriman: The Conquest of Granada; from R. B. Merriman: The Rise of the Spanish Empire in the Old World and in the New; New York; The Macmillan Company; Copyright; 1918; pp. 62-75; reprinted in The Islamic World and the West; Edited by A.R. Lewis; John Wiley and Sons, Inc; London; 1970; pp. 137-144;at p.138. 64 S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; op cit; p.248.
65 66
R. De Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme dEtat; la Difference; Paris; 1992; p. 182. J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal,. Op cit; p.212.

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Hassan 'Ali (Mulay Hassan), ruler of Granada, and his son Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil.67 It was Boabdils alliance with the Spanish Christian monarchs, which contributed as much as any other cause to the overthrow of Muslim power in Andalusia.68 Whilst revolt and sedition were thus rife in the Muslim camp, the Christian side presented enthusiastic unity and devotion such as Spain had seldom witnessed before.69 And to stimulate the spirit of unity, the sovereigns did their utmost to instil into their troops the conviction that the war was a war for religion.70 Further impetus to the Catholic rulers was given by the Popes call for a crusade. 71 The end of Muslim Granada began in 1482, when the Christian armies of Rodrigo Ponce de Leon, Marquis of Cadiz, Struck at al-Hammah in the Sierra of the same name, south west of Granada and deep in Nasrid territory. 72 The Muslims sought to resist awaiting Abu'l-Hassan with a relief force from Granada. He arrived too late. The Marquis and his troops broke out, burnt down the mosque, where the women and children had taken shelter, and massacred the remaining defenders after fierce hand to hand fighting in the streets. 73 Abul-Hassan returned to Granada after his unsuccessful attempt to relieve al-Hammah, to find that in his absence, the population has been swung against him in favour of his son, Boabdil and his mother Aisha. With the Alhambra's garrison ranged against him, Abu'l-Hassan was forced to take refuge with his brother, Muhammad al-Zeghal, governor of Malaga.74 Led by Abul Hassan and Al-Zeghal, Muslim forces fought with such determination, that despite the shortcomings and betrayal of some emirs, it took ten years of implacable struggle to secure the triumph of Christianity.75 The seventeen strongholds and eighty boroughs of the Emirat (of Granada) had to be conquered one by one.76 In Al-Zeghal, Lane Poole tells, we see `the last great Moorish king of Andalusia. He was a gallant warrior, a firm ruler, and a resolute opponent of the Christians. Had he been untrammelled by his nephew (Boabdil), Granada might have remained in the hands of the Muslims during his life.77 It was Boabdils war against his father and uncle, al-Zeghal, alongside Christian forces, which eventually led to the fall of Granada.78 Boabdil, despised by the Christians, and hated by the majority of the Muslims, thanks to the money given to him by the Spaniards, and also their logistic support, worked towards destroying the last combative powers of the kingdom. 79 Boabdil both offered a promise to the Muslim populations of the Granada region that districts loyal to him would be spared the ravages of war.80 He also did his best to foil the resistance of his uncle, Al-Zeghal, against the Christians who were gradually narrowing the circle that they had drawn round the doomed kingdom. 81 City after city fell into Christian hands. However led by El-Zeghal, the Muslim forces fought with great determination. The Spanish answered by using Boabdil to promise peace and safety to the Muslims who did not fight the Christians.
67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal.p.196. S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; op cit; p. 246. Roger B. Merriman: The Conquest of Grenada; op cit; p.139. Roger B. Merriman: The Conquest of Grenada: op cit; p.139. H. Terrasse: Islam dEspagne; Librairie Plon; Paris; 1958; p. 243. J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal, .p.210. J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal, p.210. J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal, .p.213. M.L. de Mas Latrie: Traites de paix; op cit; p.323. M.L. de Mas Latrie: Traites de paix.p.323. S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; op cit; p.248. J. Read: The Moors. Op cit; P.215. R. De Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme dEtat; op cit; p. 184. L.P. Harvey: Islamic Spain: 1250-1500; The University Of Chicago Press; Chicago; 1990; p. 288.

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This led to divisions amongst Muslims and renewed outbreak of civil war between them: the Muslims of Albaycin engaged in street fighting with the supporters of al-Zeghal in the rest of the city.82 Granada fell to Boabdil with Christian help, the same Christians profiting from the civil war between Muslims occupied Loja, Illorca, and Moclin;83 and were able to progress towards Malaga.84 The Spaniards took possession of the city in August 1487.85 All Christians who had converted to Islam found there were tortured with sharp pointed reeds, and then burnt alive.86 Thousands of Muslims were massacred and young Muslim boys were picked up by priests to catechise them into Christianity, then Malaga was burnt down.87 Boabdil came to a further arrangement with the Catholic monarchs, that he would deliver Granada to them on condition that he retained some fiefdom, and his immediate supporters were to receive privileges guaranteed by the Christians, whilst the inhabitants of Albaycin would retain their properties and right to live in peace and practice their faith.88 However, after the fall of Almeria and the surrender of Al-Zeghal he was called upon to deliver the city.89 Boabdil handed over the keys of Granada, and left the Alhambra by a little frequented route. After a brief but courteous exchange with Ferdinand and Isabella, he continued his journey into exile, while the Catholic Monarchs made their triumphant entry into the city; the singing of the Te Deum and the hoisting of the banner of Santiago over the citadel symbolising the end of Muslim Spain.90 A secret agreement had been concluded, guaranteeing the safety of Boabdil and his family and granting him the small principality of the Alpujarras on the coast south of Granada and the retention of 30,000 pieces of gold, together with certain other benefits.91 So ended almost eight hundred years of Muslim rule in Spain. Boabdil had surrendered the last outpost without a fight, and the bitter reproach of his mother Àisha, who had herself played no little part in its downfall, rings down the centuries as his epitaph:
`weep like a woman for what you could not defend like a man.'92
This was no end of the story of the Muslims in Spain, though. The Muslims submitted to the statutes of Limpieza de sangre (the purity of blood) i.e. they were banned from public positions and status. 93 They were required to wear upon their caps and turbans a blue crescent òf the size of an orange,' which constantly brought upon them the affronts of children, and not infrequently the taunts and violence of a fanatical populace.94 Deprived of their arms, they were left defenceless at a time when to the Christians the
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94
S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; op cit; p.251. L.P. Harvey: Islamic Spain; p. 291. J. Read: The Moors; op cit; p. 215. J. Read: The Moors; op cit; p. 215. S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; op cit; p. 254. H.C Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; p.17. T.B. Irving: Dates, names and places; p.80. R. De Zayas: Les Morisques; op cit; p. 187. J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal, .p.216. J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal, .p.217. J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal, .p.219. J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal,p.219. H.Kamen: Spain: 1469-1714; Longman; London; 1983. p. 176. S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; op cit; Vol II, op cit; p.225.

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blood of the despised race was valued little more than that of a dog.95 Their movements were restricted, too; in 1530 death threatened any Muslim found travelling without a permit in the region between the coast and the highway from Alicante to Barcelona, whilst Granada and Castilian Muslims were threatened with death for entering Valencia. This measure was extended to those of Aragon in 1545; and repeated in 1563 and 1586.96 One law introduced on 25 May 1566 stipulated that the `Moors had to abandon the use of Arabic, change their costumes, that their doors must remain open every Friday and other feast days, and (of course) that their baths, public and private, will be torn down.97 Doors and windows were to be left open on Friday and Islamic feast days to watch in case they prayed.98 The possession of books or papers in Arabic was almost conclusive proof of disobedience with severe repercussions.99
Torture Methods of the Inquisition (source http://www.columbia.edu/itc/law/witt/images/lect4/fx_inquisition.jpg )

Muslims, in their countless numbers, were burnt at the stake for pursuing the observance of their faith. Thus Hernando de Palma, a `Morisco, accused of teaching and conducting Muslim ceremonies, denied and overcame severe torture. 100 He eventually confessed that, for seven or eighth years, he had practised some Muslim rites without regarding them as contrary to the Catholic faith and was eventually burnt in the
95 96 97 98 99
H.C Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; p.190. H. C. Lea: A History of the Inquisition of Spain, 4 vols; The Mac Millan Company, New York, 1907. vol 3; p. 377. Rodrigo de Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme d'etat; Edt Les Voies du Sud; Paris, 1992. p.230 T.B. Irving: Dates, Names and Places: The end of Islamic Spain; in Revue d'Histoire Maghrebine; No 61-62; 1991; pp 77-93. p.85. H.C Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; op cit; p.131. Henry Charles Lea: A History of the Inquisition; op cit; pp. 199-200.
100

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Toledo in 1606.101 Over the period beginning in 1549, the Inquisition of Saragossa, alone had burnt 1,817 men; and 758 women.102 Burning Muslims had only been one method used to seek to extinguish their faith and presence. The cardinal-archbishop of Toledo, the inquisitor in chief of the kingdom, à man of great piety, proposed to pass through the sword all Arabs non-converted, including women and children.103 The Dominican Bleda was more radical, even towards the Muslim converts to Christianity, proposing that it would be easier for God to differentiate in the other world those who deserved hell and those who did not, Bleda proposing to behead all Muslims without an exception; a measure wholly supported by the clergy.104 In order to extinguish the Muslims, Garcia de Loaysa, Archbishop of Toledo, in 1598, proposed that the Muslims be prohibited from marriage.105 Martin Salvatierra, Bishop of Segorbe, proposed the castration of Muslims. 106 In the 1560s King Philip II (1556-1598) consulted privately Dr. Otadui, professor of theology in Alcala and subsequently Bishop of Avila, who in his reply told the king that ìf any of the lords of the Moriscos cited the old Castilian proverb, The more Moors the more profit' he should remember that there was an older and truer one-The fewer enemies the better and he could combine the two into The more dead Moors the more profit, for there will be fewer enemies, which we are told pleased Philip greatly.107 And so, it was resolved to eliminate the Muslim presence in Spain. The Catholic Church played the decisive part in this, in a relentless campaign, which had stretched over several centuries: In 1337 Arnaldo Archbisop of Tarragona, in a letter to Benedict XII, implored the pope to order the King of Aragon to adopt such a policy.108 A century after, Alfonso de Borja, Archbishop of Valencia (1429-1455), urged upon Juan II of Aragon the expulsion of the Mudejares of Valencia; in this gaining the support of Cardinal Juan de Torquemada, uncle of the celebrated inquisitor general.109 In the words of the Dominican inquisitor, Bleda, `The Pope, Clement VII, who is known for his great piety and his courage, exhorted the Emperor Charles the Fifth, so as he orders them to leave his kingdom if they did not convert to Christianity, or be reduced to slavery. 110 Archbishop of Granada, Gurrero, returning from Trente in 1563, passed by Rome, and paid a visit to Pope Pie IV. The Pope listened and praised the zeal of this preacher who told him that `the flock was only Christian by name.111 So the pope gave him a letter for King Philip II, remonstrating the king, that the scandal had lasted too long, and that it was time to rid the land of that diabolical sect.112 The Inquisitors themselves described the Moriscos as Moors who would always be Moors and, if the Inquisition did not convert them, it at least compelled them to sin with less publicity and thus diminished their evil example.113 In exchange with the king in December 1601,
101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113
Henry Charles Lea: A History of the Inquisition in Spain; pp. 199-200. Les Morisques et leur temps; Table ronde Internationale: 4-7 July 1981; Montpellier; CNRS; Paris; 1983.P. 527 G. Le Bon, La Civilisation des Arabes, Syracuse; 1884; p.205-6. G. Le Bon, La Civilisation des Arabes, op cit; p.205-6. H.C Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; op cit; p.293. H. Kamen: Spain; op cit; p. 177. Pedraza: Historia ecclesiastica de Granada; Granada, 1638.fol.238-9. H. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; op cit; p.10. H. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; p.15. In R. De Zayas: Les Morisques; op cit; p. 466. R de Zayas: Les Morisques; op cit; p.229. R de Zayas: Les Morisques; op cit; p.229. Archivo hist.nacional, Inq.de Valencia, Leg.5, fol.185. 186 etc.

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Archbishop Ribera quotes the Old Testament texts ordering the enemies of God to be slain without mercy and setting forth the duties of kings to extirpate them. 114 Don Juan de Ribera, Archbishop of Valencia, owed much of his reputation for piety to the fact that he had denounced to the Inquisition more than four thousand alleged Moorish apostates.115 The energy of Ribera was incessantly exerted for the ruin of these supposed heretics, either by exile or extermination.116 The Moriscos are obstinate, dogmatising heretics, and the only remedy is to drive them out of Spain: evils to be cured must be torn up by the roots, leaving no fragments to send up fresh shoots. 117 The Muslims were accused of every crime: treason, murder, kidnapping, blasphemy, sacrilege, and for Ribera, even the destruction of the Armada was a divine judgment for the indulgence exhibited towards the enemies of the faith, and that the recent occurrences of earthquakes, tempests and comets was also attributed to the same cause.118 A letter from the king to Ribera confided ìn the divine favour, he had resolved on the expulsion of this evil race.119
The first Grand Inquisitor of Spain, Tomas de Torquemada (Source: http://www.defence.gov.au/news/dib/editions/2003/June/cast.htm) And so the Muslims were removed from Spain in 1609-10. How many died, or reached North Africa, and other parts of the Ottoman Empire is unknown. No Muslim historian has touched the question. Lane Poole tells us that no less than three million `Moors were banished between the fall of Granada and the first decade of the 17th century. 120 Western historians, modern that is, from the 1950s to this day, in their daily re-writing of history, i.e. banishing dark pages of Western history away, and in fact sticking all the savagery to the Muslims, instead, only put the figure at few thousand Muslims who were carried by boats from Spain to North Africa, safely put on the seashore, but `their intolerant, fanatical Muslim brethren of the Maghreb
114 115 116 117 118 119
H. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; op cit; p.308. S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; p. 311. S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; p. 311. H. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; p.308 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; p. 311. H. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; p.316,

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slaughtered them.121 Other modern historians go even further. Thus, one of them, Conrad is in agreement, and with many others, with the authority on the expulsion of Muslims from Spain, the French historian Lapeyre. Lapeyre reduced the expelled Muslims to just a few thousands, who suffered at the hands of other Muslims. He answered those who condemn the expulsion in the name of tolerance by saying that that `judging by the legitimacy or the opportunism of the operation in the name of principles foreign to the era, is a useless enterprise. 122 By this, modern Western historians are telling us that the Muslims had to be expelled (in truth exterminated) because then, times were different. They also justify such an expulsion, again, as summed up by their leading authority, Lapeyre as follows:
`The attacks on Muslims whether by religious or political figures were not alone. It was impossible to remain indifferent to such denunciations by ecclesiastic authorities who denounced the `Moors cold reaction towards Christianity, and their attachment to their old Muslim customs, denunciations which were in most cases justified. The dangers of Muslim violence, and intelligence with the enemy, which preoccupied the military were, maybe, a little exaggerated, but the memories of the [Muslim] rebellion at Granada, and the fact there were so many enemies facing the army justified such fears.123
One will counter this argument with the following: when the Muslim realm was threatened with extinction by the alliance of crusaders and Mongols in the 1250s, and when that alliances shared plan was to exterminate the Muslims (e.g. one million Muslims were slaughtered in Baghdad alone), and when both Christian and Mongol armies entered Damascus and other Syrian towns, inflicting on them terrible woes,124 the Muslims did not retaliate by mass extermination of the local Christian population. When the Mamluks crushed both Crusaders and Mongols in the 1290s, they did not embark on a programme of mass extermination of local Christians, which they could have easily done. Christians survived in these areas even to this very day. In contrast to this the Muslims have been wiped out to the last wherever Christianity triumphed. Yet, modern Western historians reach even further and lower in indecency and lewdness, such as when the Frenchman Conrad refers to Perez, who sees that with the elimination of the Muslims, Spain had become à nation like others in Christian Europe. The Moors, inheritors of the Mudedjares have refused to assimilate; they had to be expelled.125 Menendez Pidal in his Historia de Espana, concludes:
120 121
S. Lane Poole: The Moors; op cit; p. 279.
So tells us the erudite modern French `scholar H. Lapeyre: Geographie de l'Espagne Morisque; SEVPEN, 1959. p.155, who is today the most quoted `scholar of all specialists on Spain. 122 H. Lapeyre: Geographie; p. 213 in P. Conrad, op cit; pp. 120-1. 123 H. Lapeyre: Geographie; pp. 130-1. 124 For good details on such episodes, consult Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834. vol 3; or Ibn al-Furat: Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of Ibn al-Furat; including the shorter version of it in U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, selection from the Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of Ibn al-Furat; 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971. 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971. 125 J. Perez: Chretiens; Juifs et Musulmans en espagne; Le mythe de la tolerance religieuse (VIII-XV e siecle); in Histoire, No 137; October 1990. in P. Conrad: Histoire de la Reconquista; Que Sais je? Presses Universitaire de France; Paris; 1998. p. 122.

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that after many centuries of forced neighbourhood with the Christians, this exotic race has never integrated into Spain, neither to its faith nor to its collective ideals, nor to its character, the Moors never assimilated and lived like a cancerous growth in the Spanish flesh.126
Where, indeed, one has problem with these scholars, men of the lowest orders, who use their scholarly positions to make genocide acceptable, and even justifiable, and hence prepare the ground for something similar to happen again: the elimination of a minority on the ground of their spoiling the purity of the nation. It is with these modern interpretations of the past, generally coming from non-Spaniards, that this author has problems with. There is, indeed, no problem with Spain, nor with what happened in the past: what happened in the past happened. No-one can change it. Furthermore, the Spain of today is a most welcoming land for Muslims. It is also mostly Spanish scholars, of the greatest calibre, the likes of Ribera, Juan Vernet, Millas Vallicrosa, Samso, Castro, and many more, who have revived the Muslim heritage of the Iberian Peninsula, and are more passionate about this Muslim heritage than the Muslims themselves. Moreover, it is a sign of the greatness of Spain that not many people would have reacted as the Spaniards did towards their Muslim guests after the bloody train bombing incidents which hit Madrid in 2004: Not a single act of revenge against the Muslims was initiated. And Spain in the eyes of Muslims remains a great land, just as it once was. And so, one concludes with Smith:
`Yet even now the traveller in Spain feels as he approaches Andalusia that he is breathing a clearer atmosphere, that he is brought into contact with a finer literature, and is contemplating a far nobler architecture, than any which the more northern parts of the peninsula can boast. Moorish, not Catholic, is everything that appeals to his imagination and to his finer feelings; Moorish are the legends and the ballads of the country; Moorish are the Alcazar and the Giralda of Seville; Moorish everything that is not discordant in the once matchless Mosque, now the interpolated Cathedral of Cordova; Moorish all the glories of the Alhambra. And as the traveller passes the hill which is still called, with such deep pathos, the last sigh of the Moor, he feels that the day which saw the fall of Granada is a day over which every Spaniard may well sigh for what it cost Spain, and every European for what it cost humanity at large.127
126 127
R. M. Pidal: Historia de Esapana dirigida por Ramon Menendez Pidal Vol 2; Madrid; 2nd edition; 1966; p. 41. R.B. Smith: Mohammed and Mohammedanism; London; Smith, Elder & co; London; 1876; p. 287.

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Bibliography
-C. Cahen: Orient et Occident au temps des Croisades, Aubier Montaigne, 1983. -P. Conrad: Histoire de la Reconquista; Que Sais je? Presses Universitaire de France; Paris; 1998. -G. Deverdun: Marakech; Editions Techniques Nord Africaines; Rabat; 1959. -W. Durant: The Age of Faith; Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. -Ibn al-Furat: Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of Ibn al-Furat; Or see the short version of it in U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, selection from the
Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of Ibn al-Furat; 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971. 2 vols, W.
Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971. -T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1979. -John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. -L.P. Harvey: Islamic Spain: 1250-1500; The University Of Chicago Press; Chicago; 1990. -R. Hillenbrand: Granada; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Joseph Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980 fwd;. 651-3. -W. Irving: The Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada; Geoffrey Crayon Edition; New York; 1850. -W. Irving: The Alhambra; Sleepy Hollow Press; New York; 1982. -T.B. Irving: Dates, Names and Places: The end of Islamic Spain; in Revue d'Histoire Maghrebine; No 6162; 1991; pp 77-93. -H. Kamen: Spain: 1469-1714; Longman; London; 1983. -R. Landau: Morocco: Elek Books Ltd, London 1967. -S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888. -H. Lapeyre: Geographie de l'Espagne Morisque; SEVPEN, 1959. -H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; Burt Franklin; New York; 1968 reprint. -H. C. Lea: A History of the Inquisition of Spain, 4 vols; The Mac Millan Company, New York, 1907. vol 3. -B. Lewis: Cultures in Conflict ; Oxford University Press; 1995. -A.R. Lewis: The Islamic World and the West; Edited by A.R. Lewis; John Wiley and Sons, Inc; 1970. -G. Le Bon: La Civilisation des Arabes, Syracuse; 1884. -Les Morisques et leur temps; Table ronde Internationale: 4-7 July 1981; Montpellier; CNRS; Paris; 1983. -M.L. de Mas Latrie: Traites de paix et de Commerce, et Documents Divers, Concernant les Relations des Chretiens avec les Arabes de l'Afrique Septentrionale au Moyen Age, Burt Franklin, New York, Originally Published in Paris, 1866. - G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834. vol 3; -Pedraza: Historia ecclesiastica de Granada ; Granada, 1638.fol.238-9. -J. Perez: Chretiens; Juifs et Musulmans en espagne; Le mythe de la tolerance religieuse (VIII-XV e siecle); in Histoire, No 137; October 1990. -R. M. Pidal: Historia de Esapana dirigida por Ramon Menendez Pidal Vol 2; Madrid; 2nd edition; 1966. -J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974. -G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institution; Washington; vol 2. -S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; The Lippincot Company; Philadelphia; 1904; vo III. London;

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-A. Shalaby: History of Muslim Education. Beirut: Dar al Kashaf, 1954. -R.B. Smith: Mohammed and Mohammedanism; London; Smith, Elder & co; London; 1876. -John Sweetman: The Oriental Obsession: Cambridge University Press, 1987. -H. Terrasse: Islam dEspagne; Librairie Plon; Paris; 1958. -R. De Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme dEtat; la Difference; Paris; 1992.

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The Map of America by Pr Reis
Professsor Sevim Tekeli Lamaan Ball January 2005 4073 FSTC Limited 2005
FSTC Limited
The Map of America by Pr Reis January 2005
THE MAP OF AMERICA BY PR REIS

This article by Sevim Tekeli was first published by the Turkish review Erdem 3 (Ankara 1985), pp. 673683. The copyright of the article belongs to Erdem. We are publishing it by permission of Erdems editor Imran Baba. Our thanks go to them for giving their permission to us.
The discovery of a new continent, America, through the efforts to reach India by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope motivated great improvements in the field of marine geography in the 16th century. The Ottomans were also included in these activities for good reasons because in the 16th century the Ottoman Empire had expanded into three continents; the Black Sea and the Mediterranean were turned into Turkish lakes and Ottoman fleets had started to win victories in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. As a result, it became necessary for the Ottomans to improve themselves in marine geography. A Turkish Admiral Pr Reis, with his two world maps and his book Kitb-i Bahriyye, became one of the most important representatives of marine geography not only in the Ottoman, Empire but in the world as well. Towards the end of the 15th century, the wealth of European nations depended on sea trade. The nation which knew the new shores and sea routes that the others did not know, gained dominance over sea trade and naturally had the opportunity of becoming the richest nation of Europe. It was for this reason that the Spanish had begun to keep all the maps drawn after Columbus' first trip and discovery of the New World in the archives of Seville. Very few of these maps were allowed to be copied and then, only by the captains in whom the Spanish had complete confidence. The important maps drawn by famous explorers such as Columbus, Magellan and Cortes were copied, neither printed, nor engraved on copper or wood. The maps that were in circulation were the ones that had slipped through this close surveillance. During this period, quite a few maps and geography books were printed. However, the Spanish burnt them; on the pretext that they were full of errors or that, they disclosed secret information. In the 16 th century, the English and French offered a reward of forty ingots of gold for a correctly drawn map of any part of America.
1
With the disappearance of these maps from the archives of Seville, the map drawn in 1500 by Juan de la Cosa who was with Columbus on his trip to America in 1492 became the oldest map of America found. In this map, America was shown as the eastern coast of Asia. The two other well-known maps are those of Cantina and Canneries and are of Spanish origin. Another map that drew interest was the rough sketch by Columbus' son Bartholomea.
2
The first map that was printed was the map of Contarini who drew the newly discovered land as the extension of Asia.
3
The second map that showed America was the large-scale world map of Martin
4
Waldseemller, printed in 1507. Though it was based on the map drawn by Canneries in 1502, it differed from the first map in that America was shown as a separate continent from Asia and was called "America."
*
Professor of the History of Science, Head of the Department of Philosophy and of the Chair of the History of Science, Faculty of Letters, Ankara University. 1 Brown, L.A., The Story of Maps, Canada 1953, 5th ed., p. 8. 2 Tooley, R. V., Maps and Map-Makers, London, 1952, 2nd ed., p. no. 110. 3 Tooley, p. no. 110. 4 Brown, p. 110.

COPYRIGHT FSTC Limited 2005
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Martin Waldseemller was born in Radolfzell, educated at Freiberg University, and later appointed as a priest at St. Die. Here, a small group working on cosmography, cartography, and philosophy was formed. The Duke's secretary, Father Walter Ludd, founded a printing house to publish these studies. Waldseemller began his studies by putting together the copies of Ptolemy's maps in Basel and Strasbourg libraries. However, he could not ignore the studies of the Spanish and Portuguese on this subject. He cast Ptolemy aside for Amerigo Vespucci whom he admired and whose book Cosmographiae Introductio he used, in drawing a map of South America. He paid homage to the great explorer calling his map "America."
5
While the maps mentioned above have been accepted as the oldest maps of America, in 1929 Halil Eldem found a piece of a map in the Topkapi Place and took it to Ataturk who showed great interest in this map. After many studies, this map, or portolano, was proved to be a part of the world map drawn in 1513 by the famous Turkish Admiral Pr Reis. Pr Reis had also mentioned the sources he referred to while drawing this map. One of them, as he mentioned in Kitb-i Bahriyye, is the map of Columbus. This map is most probably the map Columbus drew in 1498 and sent to Spain. Although it was not very customary to have copies of the original then, there were copies made of this map. However, today neither the original nor can any of its copies be found. The only map that has survived until now is that of Pr Reis, who drew it using the map of Columbus as a model.
Figure 1. The portrait of Pr Reis.
The Life of Pr Reis

Although the exact date of his birth is not known, it is presumed that Muhyi al-Din Pr was born between 1465 and 1470 in Gallipoli, an important naval base along the Marmara coast. His father was Hajji Mehmed; his uncle, one of the famous admirals of the period, Kemal Reis. When Pr was about eleven, he joined the
Brown, p. 157.

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crew of his uncle who had started out as a pirate and then joined the Imperial Ottoman fleet. Between 1487 and 1493, Pr participated in many naval battles with his uncle. His independent career as naval captain corresponds to his heroic performances in the sea battles between 1499 and 1502. It is probably during one of these battles that he may have gotten hold of the Columbus Map. After his uncle's death in 1511, he left the open seas to live in Gallipoli and started working on map drawing. After a while, he joined in the crew of the great Turkish sailor Barbarossa Hayr al-Din. In 1516-1517, Pr Reis was given command of several ships in the Ottoman campaign against Egypt. He showed great prowess in capturing Alexandria which was then the naval base of Egypt. This victory caused Pr to gain, the closer notice of Sultan Selim (1519-1520) and to present to him the world map which he had completed in Gallipoli. After the Egyptian campaign, Pr returned to Gallipoli and started to work on the Kitb-i Bahriyye. In the meanwhile, Selim had died and Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent had ascended the throne; Pr was given a commission in the Turkish fleet.
Figure 2. A Turkey Republic bank note contains Pr Reis map. Around this time, there was some disturbance in Egypt and Pr Reis was asked to act as a marine guide to Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha of Parga who commanded the campaign. During the expedition, they were forced to take refuge at Rhodes due to storms. This gave Pr the opportunity of getting to know the Pasha better. Ibrahim Pasha, too, noticed that Pr often consulted some notes, that is, the book he was working on, Bahriyye. So, he asked Pr to make a proper book out of his notes. Eventually, Pr completed the book, with the help of Ibrahim Pasha, presented it to Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, and won the Sultan's appreciation. A second world map followed it. Today, only a portion of this map known as the North America map is available. About that time, the Portuguese had captured Aden. The Ottoman government made Pr Reis the Admiral of the Indian Ocean Fleet, and ordered him to take Aden back. Pr took Aden back in 1548 and other victories followed this one. These victories had angered his enemies, especially the governor of Basra, Kubat Pasha, who sent word to Istanbul that Pr had deserted the fleet at Basra. When the governor of Egypt seconded him, Dukaginzade Mehmed Pasha, Pr Reis was sentenced to death and was executed in Cairo in 1555, an old man over eighty.

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The First World Map of Pr Res (1513)

The map that was found in the Topkapi Place in 1929, drawn on a piece of parchment 90x60 cm. in size, was only a portion of the world map that Pr Reis drew in Gallipoli in 1513 and later presented to Sultan Selim in 1517 in Egypt. This portion shows only the coasts of South Western Europe, West Africa, Middle East and Central America.
Figure 3. Coordinates of Piri Reis map.
On the map, mountains were drawn in outlines and the rivers marked with thick lines, shallow places were indicated with red dots and rocky places in the sea with crosses. Notes were added concerning different regions, and the map was decorated with illustrations of special plants and animals. This map is a portolano, with no lines of longitude and latitude, which aims at giving information about coasts and islands. Instead of longitudes and latitudes, there are lines and two rose-compasses, one in the North and the other in the South. Each of the roses is divided into 32 parts and these lines extend beyond the rose frames; there are also two scales indicating mileage. The lines that are extended from wind roses and scales are used in measuring the distances between the ports. Generally, it was thought that these portolanos lacked mathematical basis. However, studies conducted on this subject showed that in the map of Pr Reis, there were five projection centres on the Atlantic Ocean. Lines of longitude and latitude can very easily be added to this map. He himself wrote in Bahriyye that this map was drawn very accurately and added that if there was an error in a map, no matter how small, it should not be used, for it could be misleading. Pr Reis made use of 34 maps in drawing his own. Of these, twenty had no dates. Eight of them were maps that were called jaferiya by Moslem geographers. Four were new maps drawn by the Portuguese and one

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was the map of Columbus.
In Kitb-i Bahriyye, he mentions it at length saying that Columbus had

7
discovered the Antilles on one of his travels and that he had opened the sea-route of the Antilles. The map of this had reached him (Pr) and he was announcing this to everyone.
We also learn from one of the notes on the map that a Spaniard, who had participated in three of the four expeditions, led and who was later taken prisoner by Kemal Reis, gave valuable information concerning the discoveries of Columbus. Since the map of Columbus is lost, the only original document we have today is the map of Pr Reis.
8
Figure 4. A section of the World Map produced by Pr Reis and presented to Sultan Selim I in 1517. (The original is in Topkapi Palace Museum Library, no. H. 1824.) In the fifth note on the map, he narrates how America was discovered. This section tells how these shores and islands were found. "These coasts are called the shores of Antilia. They were discovered in the year 896 of the Arab calendar. But it was rumoured thus, that a Genoese infidel called Colombo, was the one who discovered these places. For instance, a book came into the hands of the said Colombo, and he found it said in this book that at the end of the Western Sea (Atlantic), that is, on its western side, there were coasts and islands and all kinds of metals and also precious stones. The above-mentioned, having studied
6 7 8
Afetinan, 1983, pp. 27-28. Afetinan, 1983, pp. 22. Afetinan, 1983, pp. 28.

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this book thoroughly, explained these matters one by one to the lords of Genoa and said: Come, give me two ships, let me go and find these places. They said: O, unprofitable man, can an end or limit be found to the Western Sea? Its vapour is full of darkness. The above-mentioned Colombo saw that no help was forthcoming from the Genoese, so he sped forth, went to the Bey of Spain (King) and told his tale in detail. They too answered like the Genoese. In short, Colombo petitioned these people for a long time, finally the Bey of Spain gave him two ships, saw that they were well equipped and said: O, Colombo, if it happens as you say, let us make you Kapudan (Admiral) to that country. Having said that, he sent the said Colombo to the Western Sea. The late Ghazi Kemal had a Spanish slave. The above-mentioned slave told Kemal Reis that he had been three times to that land with Colombo. He said:
First we reached the straits of Gibraltar, then from there straight south and west between the two. . . Having advanced straight four thousand miles, we saw an island facing us, but gradually the waves of the sea became foamless, that is, the sea was becalmed and the North Star- the seamen still call it star on their compasses-little by little veiled and became invisible; and he also said that the stars in that region are not arranged as here. They are seen in a different arrangement. They anchored at the island which they had seen earlier across the way. The population of the island came, shot arrows at them and did not allow them to land and ask for information. The males and females shot hand arrows. The tips of these arrows were made of fish bones, and the whole population went naked. Seeing that they could not land on that island they crossed to the other side of the island and they saw a boat. On seeing them, the boat fled and they (the people in the boat) dashed out on land. They (the Spaniards) took the boat. They saw that inside of it there was human flesh. It happened that these people were of that nation which went from island to island hunting men and eating them. They said Colombo saw yet another island, they neared it, and they saw that on that island there were great snakes. They avoided landing on this island and remained there seventeen days. People of this island saw that no harm came to them from this boat. They caught fish and brought it to them in their small boat (filika). .. These (Spaniards) were pleased and gave them glass beads. It appears that he (Colombo) had read in the book that in that region, glass beads were valued. Seeing the beads, they brought still, more fish. These (Spaniards) always gave them glass beads. One day they saw gold around the arms of a woman; they took the gold and gave her beads. They told them: 'bring more gold, and we will give you more beads. They went and brought them much gold. It appears that in their mountains, there were gold mines. One day, also, they saw pearls in the hands of one person. They saw that when they gave beads, many more pearls were brought to them. Pearls were found on the shores of this island, in a spot one or two fathoms deep. And also leading their ship with many logwood trees and taking two natives along, they carried them within that year to the Bey of Spain. But the said Colombo, not knowing the language of these people, they traded by signs, and after this trip, the Bey of Spain, sent priests and barley, taught the natives how to sow and reap and converted them to his own religion. They had no religion of any sort. They walked naked, lay there like animals. Now, these regions have been opened to all and have become famous. The names, which mark the places on the said islands and coast, were given by Colombo so that they may know these places. And also Colombo was a great astronomer. The coasts and the islands on this map are taken from Colombo's map."
9
Afetinan, 1983, pp. 30-31.

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When Pr was drawing the coasts of America, he remained faithful to the map of Columbus and copied it from several points. The Antilles and Cuba are shown as continents on his map as Columbus believed them to be. When Columbus was near the coast of Cuba in 1494, he had the firm belief that Cuba was a continent, and as a result, he had his conviction recorded by the notary public on board, Fernand Perez de Luna, and asked all the crew to sign it. As we can observe from this document signed on the 12th June 1494, which declares that since it is quite evident that Cuba is a continent, thereafter whoever attempts to contradict this statement shall be fined to 10,000 Maravedis pieces that his tongue shall be cut out in addition.
10
Because Columbus had named a cape on Trinidad "Galera", Pr also named this island "Kalera".
Pr as the Island of Spain called Haiti called by Columbus Hispanyola. Pr called the eleven islands on the southeast of Haiti "Undizi Vergine" which shows that he preferred to use Italian, the mother tongue of Columbus, instead of using "onze" which means eleven in Spanish. Columbus had shown South America as a group of islands. Inspired by this, Pr too drew many imaginary islands opposite Trinidad with a picture of a parrot on the side. He made use of the new Portuguese maps when drawing South America. These are the maps drawn by Amerigo Vespucci and Juan de Solis before 1508. Some of the names of places on the South American coast, like Santa Agostini, San Magali, San Francisco, Port Rali, Total Sante, Cap Frio, and Katenio show a close resemblance to their modern forms. All the principal rivers in South America are marked on the map, though the names are not written. It is also interesting that he should have shown the river La Plata on the map when Pinzo and Juan de Solis never even took any notice of it. The land, which is shown as extending to the west from the south of South America Cleary, indicates the Ptolemaic influence. There are pictures of ships on the map. These are drawn for the purpose of indicating the discoveries of explorers. For example, next to a picture near the island of Santiano, is a note stating that a Genoese called Nation found this island. Again on the same map, towards the north, is a picture of a woman and a man building an Ore on a fish, a boat and yet another big boat with three people in it. This is the legend of Santo Brandon. But Pr does not neglect to point out that this legend comes down from the old Mappa Mundi (world map) and not from the Portuguese. As a conclusion, it can be said that this map is a very valuable historical map for two reasons. First of all, it was the most correct and scientific map of the time, and secondly it was the only map which was drawn using Columbus' map-the original or the copy of which does not exist today.
The Second World Map (1528)

Fifteen years after his first map, Pr Reis drew a second world map, also at Gallipoli today we have only a small portion of it, 68x69 in size. On this portion, there are the northern parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the newly discovered regions of North and Central America. The map starts with Greenland in the north. Towards the south there are two pieces of land, the first is called Baccalo, the second one further down is called Terra Nova and it is mentioned that the Portuguese discovered these. Further south there is the peninsula of Florida drawn quite correctly and which Pr Reis names San Juan Batisto. This name was given to Puerto Rico on the previous map. The pieces of land at the side are the peninsulas of Honduras and Yucatan, discovered in 1517 and 1519 respectively.
10
Pr Reis, Kitb-i Bahriyye, Istanbul 1935, pp. 442-423.

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Cuba and Haiti are drawn quite accurately on the second map. One can read the words 'Tsla di Vana" over Cuba. The errors on the previous map have been corrected on this one.
Figure 5. Part of Pr Res second World Map completed in 1528. (The original is in Topkapi Palace Museum Library, no. Revan 1633.)
Figure 6. The drawing of Pr Res Cyprus Map on the stamp. There are wind roses divided into 32 parts on this map instead of lines of longitude and latitude, besides the measurements and the two sets of scales on the side divided into twenty. There is a note that says that the distance between two sections is 50 miles and between two points 10 miles. Pr Reis also drew the Tropic of Cancer over Cuba on this map and called it "gunusadisi". However, this line should have been more to the north. There is, moreover, a slight distortion on the map from the true positions, as we know today. This error was committed, due to neglect in not taking into consideration the ten to thirteen degrees of difference in angle on the contemporary compasses. This error is true for all western originated maps. In this second map, the drawing of the coastlines shows greater improvement when compared with the inaccuracies of the first one; only the parts of the world that were already discovered were shown; the

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unexplored areas were left blank. This proves that Pr Reis observed the principles of scientific methods and that he continued following the new discoveries very closely. This map can be considered as one of the most successful maps of the period as far as cartographical techniques go.
Figure 7. The drawing of Piri Reis map stamp. The stamp reads: Lettre de Piri Reis Kalite.
Kitb-i Bahriyye
Pr Reis made a book of all his notes, revised and expanded it, and, in 1525, he presented it to Suleyman the Magnificent through Ibrahim Pasha. He analyzed the geographic works of his times and with his sharp faculties of observation, he set down everything he came across in his travels. In the preface of his book, he said that his purpose in writing such a book was to give information about ports, coast and islands by drawing them on maps known as portolanos in the west. However, he added that no matter how big the scales of maps were, it was impossible to show the vital and important details on them, and this lack of vital information made him see the necessity of writing a book to supplement such information. This, then, is the novelty Bahriyye brought to the science of navigation. In the first two chapters, he explains why he wrote the Bahriyye. In chapters II, IV and V, he gives information about storms, winds, the four directions and the compass. In chapters VI-VII, he studies the maps and the pictures on the maps. In chapter VIII, he talks about the seas, in IX, about the discoveries of the Portuguese and how they sailed to the Indian Ocean. Chapter X deals with Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and the arrival of the Dutch and the Portuguese in the Red Sea from the Cape of Good Hope. In chapter XI, he talks about "the ball of the earth". Chapter XII recounts the expeditions of the Portuguese to India, while the next two, XIII and XIV, give information about the Chinese seas, the customs and the traditions of the Chinese people and their skill in pottery. Chapter XV is about the Indian Ocean and the monsoons. In chapters XX, XXII, and XXIII, he talks at length about the Atlantic Ocean and the discovery of America by Columbus.

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Figure 8. Map of Argentine of Pr Reis and today map of same area. In the Bahriyye, there is detailed information about the Mediterranean. For example, one chapter deals with Venice in particular: "The city of Venice extends to an area of 12 miles. The whole district consists of parts of land and parts of an "ear" of the sea. The sea is at some places quite shallow and at others deep. The people have put piles upon these shallow spots and upon them built their city. In time, more people began to come there and to settle there by building houses over those piles. In the course of time, they increased in number. The wise ones among them thought that they must see to it that the city they were building must be able to stand for all time." Later he tells about the construction of the church and the tower built in the name of St. Marco whose remains were brought forth from Alexandria. He also says that ships entering the port should take a guide; otherwise, they would be stranded in shallow waters. Research work done on this book reveals that there is not one single statement that is not based on facts, and this proves that the
Bahriyye is a valuable study on navigation.

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Figure 9. Modern drawing of Piri Reis map.

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Bibliography
Adivar, Adnan, Osmanli Turklerinde Ilim, Istanbul 1982. Afet, A., "Bir Turk Amirali, XVI. asrin buyuk ceografi: Pr Reis", Belleten, vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 333-348. Afet Inan, A., Life and Works of Pr Reis, Ankara 1983. Afet Inan, A., Pr Reis'in Hayati ve Eserleri, Ankara 1983. Akcura, Yusuf, Pr Reis Haritasi Hakhnda Izahname-Die Karte des Pr Reis-Pri Reis Map-Carte de Pr Reis, Istanbul 1935. Alpaqut, H. and F. Kurtoglu, Mukaddime I-LV. Pr Reis: Kitb-i Bahriyye, Istanbul 1936. Brown, R. V., Maps and Map-Makers, London 1952. 2nd ed. Durand, D. B., the Vienna-Kloslemeuburg Map Corpus, Leiden 1952. Kahle, P., Pr Reis Bahriye, Das turkishe Segelhandbuch fur das Mittelldndische Meer uom Jahre 1521, Band I. Text, Band II. "Obersetzung, Berlin-Leipzig 1926. Kahle, P.,Pr Reis und seine Bahriye (Beitrage zur historischen Geographie), 1927. Kahle, P., Die Verschollene Columbus Karte von 1498 in einer Turkischen Weltkarte von 1513, BerlinLeipzig 1933. Selen, S-, "Pr Reis'in Simali Amerika Haritasi: (Die Nord Amerika Kartedes Pr Reis-1528)", Belleten, vol. 1. No. 2, pp. 515-528. Senemoglu, Y., Kitb-i Bahriyye, 2 vols. 1001 Temel Eser, 1979. Tooley, R. V., Maps and Maps Makers, London 1952, 2nd edition.

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Decoding and Demystifying Da Vinci
Dr Zohor Shanan Idrisi Lamaan Ball January 2005 4075 FSTC Limited 2005
FSTC Limited
Decoding and Demystifying Da Vinci January 2005
DECODING AND DEMYSTIFYING DA VINCI

There has been a great deal of interest in a recent book called The Da Vinci Code. In this article Dr Zohor Shanan Idrisi traces some of the religious symbolism connected to ideas in this book and used from ancient Mesopotamia through to the current day and looks at the ways in which the mathematics involved developed through Muslim contributions. In mans eternal quest to understand his purpose in the universe, much effort and time was spent looking at complex and mysterious things in mathematics, geometry and music to try and find connections to and reflections of the divine. Consequently patterns and symbols were embedded in art as a constant reminder of these ideas. The Mesopotamians were the first to devise a system of proportion. The oldest pentagram originates in ancient Mesopotamia (Iraq) around 3000 B.C. It was referred to as the heavenly body or the Star. The development of geometry was also important to the Ancient Egyptians to survey their irrigation system and for division of land, since every year it was flooded and the land markings were lost. In their religion their god Osiris was reflected in the waters and his consort Isis epitomised earth. Therefore the prospect of finding a divine strategy to establish the sacredness of this process became a necessity. The desire to manifest the sacredness of man and his role in the universe, to show that within him there is the cosmos and that he reflects it, drove him to build temples as sanctuaries for the souls of the dead. The human body of the ruler was to rest in the temple for the sake of its soul. The architectural theme of the Centrality of Creation was primordial for the Mesopotamian. Man was formed at the navel of the earth where the bond of Heaven and Earth is located. The calculation is determined on a human figure in a circle of which the navel is the centre. Hence the translation into Greek Omphalos, meaning navel. The designs of such buildings reflect not only the know-how of a nation but also its religious conviction. The equation of the body with a temple is thus an ancient Near Eastern and Ancient Egyptian concept. Despite the absence of a proper numerical system, the Ancient Near Eastern and Ancient Egyptians were able to divide lengths into simple fractions using a rope-folding method. Although they were confined to drawing their ground plans with ropes and pegs, they had nevertheless managed to trace squares and rectangles correctly by using a grid of intersecting circles; the circles being the one form that can easily be traced with a rope and two pegs. The accurate dimensions of their temples and monuments provide evidence for this. They had also discovered that there existed certain right-angled triangles whose sides were in the proportion of whole numbers, in particular the 3:4:5 triangle. the Tuat (Underworld). Irrational numbers, particularly 2 and 5 can be identified in some of their temple designs. It seems that, in the absence of a numeric system, these were obtained by constructing dynamic rectangles. The association with cosmological ideas and themes of creation and fertility gives ample evidence that they were copying the proportions found in nature. This has been evidenced by applying modern computer-aided design techniques to the structures of the Ancient Egyptian temple of Sesotris I at Tod (XIIth Dynasty c.1950 B.C.) and the Tomb of Rameses IV (XXnd Dynasty c.1140 B.C.). Their geometric system appears to be based on square grids, which shows that their monuments were built using a reproducible geometric method based on squares, circles, polygons etc. Furthermore they employed fractions as a means of This appears to have been considered as sacred and was known by the Ancient Egyptians as The Triangle of Osiris. It symbolized

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computing differences. (Issam Es Said/ Ayse Parman 1976). Finally, in many of their monuments, there is clear evidence of proportions governed by the Golden Ratio . In its simplest form the Golden Ratio is obtained by a geometric construct based on a square, the base of which (AP) is bisected. The mid-point thus obtained is joined to the opposing corner of the square. Using the line thus produced as radius and the mid-point of AP as centre, an arc is drawn that cuts the extension of the base at B. The Golden Ratio thus obtained is expressed by both AP/PB and AB/AP. Given that AP is unity, the ratio AB/AP can be expressed as (1 + 5), which gives a value of 1.618.
Geometric Illustration of AB/AP = Ancient Egyptian and Babylonian mathematics were transmitted to the Greeks, (the Golden Rectangle was used for the Parthenon, 400 B.C.). Later Pythagoras, who wrote on the Golden mean, referring to it as Polycleitus, (c. 450/470 B.C.) was a wellanalogia, received his information from the Egyptian priests.
known Greek architect and sculptor. His usage of the mathematical proportions of the human body is reflected in his statues: Doryphorus, (Naples Museum) and Diadumenus (Athens Museum) and the Amazon (New York Museum). The Roman architect and engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (c.70-25 B.C.), wrote his Roman Canon De Architectura based on earlier Greek treatises including those of Polycleitus. The idea of a circle with the navel of a human figure as its centre is firmly an ancient esoteric and religious concept. Vitruvius relied upon the ancient sexagesimal system of calculation from which is derived our degree of sixty minutes and our minute of sixty seconds within a three hundred and sixty degree circle. This system of mensuration was bequeathed from Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt to the Greeks. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire at the beginning of the 5th century mans concern was primarily focussed upon security and stability, whilst art and science were of necessity neglected. For two hundred years all progress stagnated in the wake of barbarian invasions and the resulting lack of maintenance of public works, such as dams, aqueducts and bridges. With the advent of Islam in the 7 th century a new type of society emerged, which quickly established its supremacy and its constructive identity in large sections of the known world. The citizen, whether Muslim or not, soon became confident in the future stability of his environment, so that trade not only reached its previous levels but also began to expand. In an empire that stretched from the Pyrenees to India, security of communications was vital. The resultant priority given to safety of travel provided a stimulus to trade. There followed a rapid expansion of commerce in which the economic strengths of the Sassanid, Byzantine, Syrian and western Mediterranean areas were united. The establishment of an efficient fiscal system meant that the state could now invest in large public works projects: mosques, madrasas, public baths, palaces, markets and hospitals. Princes and

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merchants became patrons of intellectual and scientific development. Waqf (trusts) were created to provide better education. This sponsorship engendered a creative enthusiasm and a flowering of scientific works and scholarly research. The world in effect became greater as mathematicians, geographers, astronomers and philosophers all contributed to a gradual but definite extension of the horizons of mans existence. The dividend of all this expenditure on learning made an immense contribution to the sum of the increase in mans scientific knowledge that occurred between the 9th and the 16th centuries. Foremost in the achievements of Muslim scholars was the treatment of numbers. It is impossible to conceive how science could have advanced without a sensible logical numeric system to replace the clumsy numerals of the Roman Empire. Fortunately, by the 9th century the Muslim world was using the Arabic system of numerals, an adaptation of the Hindu system, but with the essential addition of the zero. Without the latter, it was impossible to know what power of ten accompanied each digit. Hence 2 3 might mean 23, 230 or 203. advancement. The new numeric system did not only affect science. Its value was manifest in many aspects of daily life, from the calculation of customs dues, taxes, zakat (almsgiving) and transport charges, to the complexity of divisions of inheritance. A further useful innovation was the mine of separation in fractions, which eliminated many frustrating confusions. Islamic civilization produced from roughly 750 CE to 1450 CE a succession of scientists, astronomers, geographers and mathematicians from the inventor of Algebra to the discoverer of the solution of quadratic equations1. The list is far reaching, some are well known whilst others remain anonymous. One of the major advances was contained in the work of Al Khawarizmi, who wrote a mathematical work called Al Jabr The introduction of this numeric system with its zero was thus the sesame of scientific
wa Al-Muqabala (820 CE), from whose title is derived the name algebra. Amongst the achievements that
Al Khawarizmi left to posterity were: a. b. Solutions to first and second-degree equations with a single unknown, using both algebraic and geometric methods. A method of algebraic multiplication and division.
Al Khawarizmi defined three kinds of quantities: a. b. Simple numbers, such as 5, 17 and 131. The root which is the unknown quantity shay in Arabic meaning a thing. However, in translations made in Toledo, (the centre for translation of Arabic books), the absence of a sh sound in the Spanish language meant that a suitable letter had to be chosen. The choice fell upon x, which may well explain why Don Quixote is often pronounced as Don Quishote. c. Wealth (mal) the square of the root (x).
The algebraic equation expressing the Golden Ratio could therefore be written as
x:y = (x + y)/x*
1 *
J.L.Berggren 1986 See Appendix 1 - An algebraic treatment of the golden ratio

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Another virtuoso of algebra was Abu Kamil, a 10th century mathematician nicknamed the Egyptian calculator. He was capable of rationalizing denominators in expressions that involved dealing with powers of x (the unknown) as high as the eighth and solving quadratic equations with irrational numbers as coefficients. Al Biruni (9 th/10th centuries) mathematician and physicist, worked out that the earth rotates on its own axis and succeeded in calculating its circumference. Abu Bakr Al Karaji (10th century) is known for his arithmetization of algebra2.. He also drew the attention of the Muslim world to the intriguing properties of triangular arrays of numbers (Berggren 1983). Al Nasawi (10 th century) and Kushyar Ibn Subsequently Kushyar explained the Labban worked on problems of the multiplication of two decimals.
arithmetic of decimal addition, subtraction and multiplication and also how to calculate square roots. Abu Al Hassan al Uqlidisi (Damascus 10th century) invented decimal fractions, which proved useful for qadis (judges) in inheritance decisions. Al Karkhi (d.1019) found rational solutions to certain equations of a degree higher than two. Mohamed Al Battani (Baghdad 10th century), mathematician and astronomer, computed sine, tangent and cotangent tables from 0 to 90 with great accuracy. One of his works: Al Zij (Astronomical Treatise and Tables), corrected Ptolemys observations on the motion of the planets. Al Samawal Ben Yahya al Maghribi (1171) drew up charts of computations of long division of polynomials; one of the best contributions to the history of mathematics. Ibn Shatir Al Muwaqqit (Damascus 1375 CE) was an astronomer and the timekeeper of the Damascus mosque. His treatise on making astronomical devices and their usage and his book on celestial motions bear great resemblance to the works of Copernicus (1473-1543 CE). Ghiyat al Din al Kashi (1427 CE) raised computational mathematics to new heights with the extraction of fifth roots. He also showed how to express the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its radius as 6.2831853071795865, identical to the modern formula 2r .
Tomb of Bibi Khanum, Samarqand, 1398 and Tomb of Itimad Ad-dawla, Agra, India, 16783 The potential list of scientists is far too long, so only those connected with the details of this article have been listed. Moving from the realms of science and mathematics to the domain of art; because Islam forbids any kind of human representation, Muslims directed their interest towards abstract forms.
2 3
Roshdie Rashed Issam El Said/ Ayse, Parman, 1976

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Meanwhile the concept of centre in a system of proportion remained the focus for the mystics as well as the scientist. As a case in point, the Ikhwan Safa (Brethren of Purity - 10th century CE), encyclopaedists, in their epistles (Rasail), remain the witnesses of a transitional period. They transmitted the knowledge of several civilizations in the literary as well as in the scientific world. The 10th century is a key period in Islamic history, as in the Ikhwan can be seen, for the first time in human history, science becoming international on a great scale with the Arabic language as its vehicle. The 10th century was the beginning of a new era of development and extension of knowledge by autonomous research which was in contrast to the previous centuries that were spent in gathering information from different parts of the world, translating them into Arabic and absorbing the knowledge contained therein. The Ikhwan also appear to have been concerned with proportion. They knew of the Roman canon of Vitruvius as a system of proportion, but they considered its proportionality defective as it was centred on the sacrum instead of the navel. In fact the Vitruvian Canon was based on a Greek canon itself based on an Ancient Egyptian canon related to the backbone of the god Osiris. The sacred backbone (Djet pillar) was a pre-dynastic representation of Osiris. (Barbara Watterson 1984). It represented stability, endurance and rectitude. ( os sacrum)
Ikhwan Safa 10th Century- Infants proportion By contrast the Ikhwans epistles show that, after painstaking research, they were able to establish the centrality of the human body with the navel; the mid point on the centre of the circle with both superior and inferior members extended, i.e. with fingertips and the tips of the toes touching the circumference. Simply by using the body of an infant they achieved the ideal proportion required. In fact, the infants navel begins to be disproportionately placed after the age of seven; the age of innocence. Hence before the age of seven appropriate measurements were obtained. At birth the mid point of the body is at the navel. As the individual grows the mid point drops until it reaches the groin (sacrum). The proportional ratio produces an ideal figure for religious painting. The width is eight spans, the height is ten spans and the mid point is on the navel.

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The division of the figure follows these ratios4: 8 heads = 1/8 body = 1/8 body = 1/3 face = 4 noses 4 ears whole body 1 foot 1 face 1 forehead = 1 face = 1 face
The affinity between natural measurements and mathematical expressions made the whole concept sacred to artists. The centrality of the circle (the Earth) and the centrality of the navel, lieu of life sustenance, demonstrated the theophanic manifestation. The canons of divine proportion were reflected in cosmology, musicology, calligraphy and in all arts from the 10th century CE. The canons of proportion were seen as the key to finding harmony and, for the mystics, closeness to God. The Golden Ratio was found with more frequency in living things, such as mollusc shells, plant-leaves etc.
Kitab al Adwar - Music composition Urmawi b.1230

The intellectual dynamism that caused so many advances in science did not leave the arts unaffected in its wake. As regards music, at the beginning of the Islamic medieval period musical theory was at best rudimentary. No doubt this was due to the fact that no real innovations had occurred since the time of Plato and Aristotle. The Neo-Pythagorean philosopher, Nichomachus of Gerasa (2nd century CE), who associated music with mathematics, was unable to develop his ideas beyond associating the numbers from one to ten with gods and goddesses. The Byzantine music theorist Michael Psellus (1018-1080 CE) wrote, The kind of music that occupies minds today is only a faint echo of the Hellenistic music5 . Melodic interpretation was seen by the ancients, (the Mesopotamians and the Greeks), as circles representing the seven planets, corresponding to the relationship of the human soul, in terms of its emotional harmony, with the cosmos.
4 5
Fakour Mehrdad 1993 Egon Wellesz 1961

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The old Greek considerations of modal ethos did not inspire the Muslims.
They preferred to focus their
compositions upon astronomy, cosmology and the environmental atmosphere. The Greek scale was a sequence of descending sounds. This concept was effectively turned upside down by Muslim scholars, who instituted an ascending scale. The Muslim desire to organize, rationalize and measure was now directed towards music. Perhaps because of possible links with cosmology, they chose to apply their progress in mathematics to the theory of music. Thus mathematics became a basic feature of musical composition and music was treated as an intellectual subject. Muslim scholars revolutionized musical theory, both in form and content, evolving a notational system with 24 quarter-steps per octave. The theory of harmony of heavenly bodies rested on the movement of the planets and the laws of mathematics governed the relations of consonance. In systemizing such relationships the Muslim scholars ensured that the ratios of the various notational intervals were expressed in precise mathematical terms. The theorists interpreted the universal order as the relation between musical harmony and the mathematical proportions that it formed. Numbers in accordance with the ratios 1/2, 2/3 and 3/4 were used. Thus a real mosaic of meticulous calculations of sonic intervals was created for the first time. As a logical consequence this also involved the use of the Golden Ratio. This form of interpretation was perpetuated by a large number of scholars writing treatises over several centuries: Al Kindi Al Farabi Ibn Sina Ibn Zaylad Al Biruni Ibn Nadhim (874) (d.950) (d.1037) (d.1048) (1050) (10th century) Ibn Bajja (d.1139) Ibn Tafayl (d.1185) Al Urmawi (1275) Ibn Al Khattib (14th century) Al Ladhiqi (16th century)
Kitab al Adwar- Safi Yudin Abdel Mumin Ibn Yusuf Ibn Fakhri Al Urmawi B.1230 Muslim classical music, (maqamat, nuba and ala), is still vivid, although a great deal of the repertoire has been lost. It is still appreciated by its enlightened supporters, who fervently believe in its therapeutic qualities. Certainly it succeeded in sparing the life of Al Urmawi during the sack of Baghdad (1258 CE), when its quality had such an effect upon the bloodthirsty Mongol Hulagu. Not only did Al Urmawis lute

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save his life, but also it gained him a pension of 10,000 dinars!
No doubt because of the language
problem, but also because of a general lack of mathematical and scientific knowledge, Europeans had little understanding of medieval Muslim music. Jerome of Moravia (13th century) struggled unsuccessfully to understand Al Farabi as did Michael the Scot (d.1235). The following passage from Farmers (1934) translation of Al Farabi gives an idea of what the medieval Europeans missed:
To this science are three roots metre, melody and gesture. Metre devised to regulate a rational comprehension of diction. Melody was devised to regulate the parts of acuteness and gravity [in sound], and to it two roots have been included in the sense of hearing. Gesture has been included in the sense of seeing which, by coincident motions and corresponding proportions, has been arranged to agree with metre and sound. This art, therefore, is included in two particular senses hearing and seeing.
The above is only an outline of the matter. A full analysis of the musical methodology of the Islamic medieval period would be too vast a subject for the scope of this article. The desire to rationalize and organize all aspects of artistic endeavour was extended to the field of calligraphy. In the early 10 th century there were many forms of cursive writing, but they were all lacking in style. Ali Ibn Muqla (d.940 CE) devised a canon for the cursive style based on a precise complex The geometrical and mathematical system based upon the circle, a standard alif and a rhombic dot.
rhombic dot was dependent for its size on the size of the reed pen used for writing. The standard alif was dimensionally equal to a vertical array of eight of such rhombic dots. This was also the set diameter of the guiding circle. Thus the curved letter sin had its three curves written across the diameter with widths of one dot, two dots and four dots.
Ibn Muqlah d.939. The proportion of a diameter to the circumference of its circle is 1 to
Calligraphy Fakour Mehrdas 1998
Needless to say, before reaching calligraphy, the rationalization had made its mark on the structure of Arab poetry. In the phonetic pattern of the Arabic language, there are three short vowels called harakat (a, o and i) and three madd letters, (long vowels), alif, waw and ya. The latter are called consonants, because they have a special function in the Tafila system (poetry). The consonants, when they have a (sukun = silence) above them, have no following vowel sound. Al Khalil Ibn Ahmed (b.Baghdad 718 CE), a philologist, categorized the metres of classical Arabic poetry into sixteen distinct types (Tafila) of eight-word units. A system of scanning was used, where 1 indicates a

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sound and 0 indicates silence (i.e. no vowel). The verbal metre is a coded order repeated only in one or two units on the principle of circles called arud.
Example of a Tawil metre:
Type
sub-units 11010 1101010 11010 1101010x11010 1101010
faulun mafaulun faulun mafaulun) faulun mafaulun)
The ratios of sounds to silence signs in the whole, the and the of the Tawil metre are 28:20, 14:10 and 7:5.
Baron dErlanger
2 system of proportion: The verbal metres can be expressed geometrically. Thus two successive verbal units repeated four times (e.g. Tawil or Basit) can be illustrated by the repeat pattern of two squares within a circle, giving the octagonal star. superimposition. The Basit metre differs only in that the two squares can be in any position except

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Tawil -An octagonal grid Mutaqarib metre Hexagonal repeat unit with 3 system of proportion:
Basit - An octagonal grid Mutadarik metre
Where there is one verbal unit repeated six times (e.g. Ramal), or two units repeated three times (e.g.
Kamil), the pattern is that of a fixed hexagonal star (Ramal) or two triangles forming the latter, but capable
of being in any position other than superimposition.
Hexagonal Kamil metre

In parallel and for the sake of comparison, in the European Middle Ages, Leonardo Fibonacci (1170-1250 CE) was the prominent mathematical scholar of the 13th century. He is said to have been educated in Bugia, (present day Bejaia in Algeria), and possibly tutored by Arab mathematicians. He is stated to have been born in Pisa and to have returned there after thirty years. He is credited with the authorship of many mathematical texts and the creation of the Fibonacci sequence. He attracted the interest of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, who invited him to his court. deciphered Arabic texts. An analysis of the above information shows that there are major flaws in the Fibonacci story as related. Firstly a long sojourn by an Italian in Bugia, Algeria in the late 12th century was a virtual impossibility. The first crusade had been launched in 1099 CE. and by the time of Fibonaccis birth the eighth was already under way. Furthermore Bugia lay within the territory of the ultra-conservative Al Mohad dynasty, where there was no room even for Ibn Arabi, who fled North Africa because of his controversial beliefs. Even if a foreigner had been allowed to reside in the town, the place for advanced education was the mosque and its madrasa! The suggestion that an Italian could acquire sufficient knowledge of Arabic to read and understand mathematical works also seems unlikely. The Arabic ten-digit numeric system is said to have reached Europe during the 12th century through translations of Al Khawarizmis Algebra. However this can not be taken as an indication that the system was widely used. On the contrary there was stubborn resistance to its use and a tendency to stick to clumsy Roman numerals. He is also described as having translated and

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Added to the rarity of numeric skills was the fact that the Arabic word for mathematics riyaddiyyat had no equivalent in Latin and was thus not properly understood. The two Latin-Arab glossaries that have survived both translate riyaddiyyat by confusing it with riyada = domat, meaning sport, (Latino arabicum glossarium (11th century) and Schiaparelli vocabulisto in arabico (13th century)). It is on record that Michael the Scot, a contemporary Arabic scholar in 1235 CE was still writing about domatrix. Despite such disadvantages the Italian Fibonacci was writing mathematical examples that plagiarized the work of the Arab mathematician Abu Kamil (1000 CE), in the same manner that Al Karajis work on triangular numeric arrays re-emerged in 1665 as Blaise Pascals Triangle. However, this analysis does not diminish Fibonaccis mathematical ability, but it does cast grave doubts about his nationality. A far simpler and more logical explanation of the story is that Fibonacci was born a Muslim and received a mathematical education in a scholastic environment vastly superior to that available in contemporary Italy and Europe. The Golden Ratio could only belong to the original environment in which he had been educated, as did the ability to evolve the Fibonacci series from earlier observations in nature and the solution to his rabbit problem, plus the indication that the latter produced the Golden string. This leads to the logical conclusion that Fibonacci was perhaps another case of brain-stealing, similar to that of Hassan Al Wazan alias Leo Africanus. This North African pilgrim was kidnapped on his way to Mecca for the Hajj in the 15th century and retained to teach Arabic and translate texts for the Pope. Da Vinci (b.1452 CE Tuscany) was an Italian painter, sculptor and architect, but was also depicted by the Italians as a musician, an engineer, a mathematician and a scientist. The secular commercial rivals of the papacy, the Medici family, commissioned him to carry out works of art on religious themes. was noticed that he had incorporated controversial androgynous elements in his paintings. accused of spiritual hypocrisy and of sinning against God. The Renaissance Humanists had fuelled interest in Graeco-Roman classicism in the 15th century CE. One of their scholars, Luca Pacioli wrote a treatise entitled Divina Proportiona. Thus the concept of sacred geometry had finally reached the world of the humanists. With Pacioli, Leonardo Da Vinci produced a drawing called The Vitruvian Man, based upon the Roman Canon of Vitruvius. As mentioned above this Canon had been analysed by the Ikhwan Safa and was considered by them to be proportionally defective and it was these proportions that Da Vinci used. His other works, in particular, the paintings Mona Lisa, Madonna of the Rocks and The Last Supper were all cast on the Divine Concept of Proportion, the Golden Ratio. However, it The Church
took deep offence at the manner in which the Medici commission had been executed and Da Vinci was

Page 12 of 16
Vitruvian man-flat feet on the circle
The collection of books, whether scientific or artistic, the gathering of information, plus the central power of politics, were all the prerogative of the Church. Da Vincis mentor, Luca Pacioli (1445-1517) was in fact a Franciscan friar. He wrote summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalita. This work gives a summary of the mathematics known at the time. However, it contained nothing that was original, since its content was clearly based on Muslim works of previous centuries. Its importance lies in the fact that, on publication in Venice in 1494, it became one of the earliest printed mathematical books. In Italy there was a general interest in the concept of divine proportions and it was in fact Pacioli that introduced Da Vinci to the Golden Ratio. The latter found the ratio aesthetically satisfying both from a mathematical and artistic point of view. To conclude, the Muslim culture brought to the world a great surge of attainment. At first it acted as a compiler of knowledge of everything in the world of science and art. It then spread it through its lands without prejudice of colour or race. All contributed to this Muslim effervescence that was manifest from India to Africa and to southern Europe. This universality cannot be denied and the Arabic language became the lingua franca for all knowledge. The Arabic numeric system is one of mans greatest achievements. It should be seen as a blessing from heaven, since it dragged mathematics from stagnation to progress. It is tempting to suggest that the development of mathematics should be more valued than the discovery of the skill of writing. In short, it was a great liberating force. The ancient civilizations discovered the Golden Ratio and used it exclusively in buildings with a sacred or divine connection. For each successive civilization the Golden Ratio served as an ontological union with the Creator. The Muslims with their superior mathematics had a deep understanding of the Golden Ratio and they used it in every conceivable type of structure and in their abstract art forms. In every place in which they have lived, it is a hallmark of their presence. In Medieval Europe the Church was at one and the same time the patron and the filterer of knowledge. By stubbornly refusing the transmission of knowledge and information from the Muslim lands to the Christian world, it deprived its flock of scientific progress for several centuries. Thus the Arabic numeric system and Algebra both took three centuries to reach Europe, decimal fraction operations took five centuries to be taken into general use and it took six centuries to learn that the earth rotated on its own axis. Without such

Page 13 of 16
impediments it would have been possible for Europe to make the quantum leap in scientific knowledge from its state at the end of the Roman Empire to the age of Newton at least three centuries earlier. Returning to Da Vinci and the Golden Ratio, the Medicis interest in divine aesthetics prompted them to use Da Vinci. The latter brought no new discoveries to science, other than employing the ratio that he had learned from his mathematical mentor Pacioli. Several parameters have been used in this article; science, mathematics, calligraphy, poetry and music to illustrate the milieu in which so much progress was achieved. It is clear that in the Muslim environment, the Golden Ratio was frequently present, well known and understood and it was judged in terms of beauty and symmetry. However, in keeping with the sober theology of Muslims it had no mystically divine nature.
Bibliography
Abdellah Ben Abbas Al Jirari Taqdim al Arab fil ulum wa sinaa wa ustadhiyatihim li oroba- Dar al Fikr al Arabi- Cairo 1961. J.L. Berggren Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam- Springer-Verlag Inc, 1986. E.A.W. Budge Egyptian Religion- Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co. London 1899. S. Cox Cracking the Da Vinci Code- Michael OMara Books Ltd, London 2004. Mehrdad Fakour An Islamic Canon of Proportion: A study on the depiction of the human form in Early Islamic Art.- University of California Berkeley, 1983. H.G. Farmer Al Farabis Arabic Latin writings on Music - The Civic Press Glasgow, 1934. M. Guettat La Musique arabo-andalouse- Editions Fleurs Sociales Montreal, 2000. Ikhwan As Safa (Epistles) Rasail Ikhwan As Safa- 4 volumes- Edited by Dar as Sadr, Beyrout. n.d. Issam El Said and Ayse Parman Geometric Concepts in Islamic Art- World of Islam Festival Publishing Company Ltd Londom, 1976. M. Al Manouni Hadarat al Muwahidin- Dar Tubqal Linashr- Casablanca, 1989. S.H. Nasr Science and Technology in Islam- Science Musuem- World of Islam Festival London, 1976. B. OKane Studies in Persian Art and Architecture- The American University in Cairo Press Cairo, 1995. B. Watterson Gods of Ancient Egypt Sutton Publishing, Stroud U.K. 1996. E. Wellesz A History of Byzantine Music and Hymnography- Oxford University Press, Oxford 1961. R.H. Wilkinson Reading Egyptian Art- Thames and Hudson Ltd, London 1992. Zaki Mohammed Hassan Atlas al funun az zakhrafiya- Matbaat Kuliyat al Adab- Baghdad, 1956. New York

Page 14 of 16
Appendix - An algebraic treatment of the golden ratio

by Lamaan Ball
To show the algebraic equations behind the golden ratio , we start by showing the generic solution for a quadratic equation:
(1) (2)
ax 2 + bx + c = 0
x2 + bx c + =0 a a
2
(3)
b b2 c x + + =0 2 a 2a 4a
b b2 c =x 2 2a a 4a
b b 2 4ac =x 2a
(4)
(5)
To get the ratio we want the value
1 1+ 5 2
to be a solution to a quadratic.
To match this equation b must equal -a, to easily produce the and the square root, then we have:
(6)
a 2 4ac = 5
Any value will work here, so we can pick a simple one to find an equation that works. Let a = 1, then c = -1 as a simple case. Putting this back into (1) we get an equation which results in as a solution:
(7)
x2 x 1 = 0
Verifying this quadratic equation we put the values a=1, b=-1,c=-1 into (5) and confirm that we see the solution we wanted:
(8)
(1) (1) 2 (4 1 1) =x 2 1
1 5 =x= 2
(9)

Page 15 of 16
Equation (7) can also be expressed as
(10)
1+ 1 = 1+ 1 old old
within 10 iterations is reached to within four significant
This also works as an iteration such that
(11)
new = 1 +
Starting with practically any value for
figures. Within 20 iterations is reached to within 8 significant figures (1.6180339). If we rewrite as a ratio of x and y this may be expressed in the following way:
(12)
x y x+ y = 1+ = y x x
This can also be expressed as an iteration with
(13)
and
y new = xold
(14)
x new = xold + y old .
We can start with any values of x and y (other than x=0 and y=0) and following this iteration, we will, within a few iterations, have reached an accurate value of . If we take the simplest case of x=1 and y=1 as our initial values the series of values for either x or y is the famous Fibonnaci series. This was expressed by Fibonacci as the rabbit problem which gives specific meanings to x and y. In this expression x is the number of adult rabbit pairs and y is the number of young rabbit pairs. Each cycle of iteration a new pair of young rabbits is born to each adult pair. This corresponds exactly to (13). Each cycle the young rabbit pairs mature adding to the total of adult rabbit pairs. This corresponds exactly to (14). Iteration 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 3 2 3 3 2 5 3 4 5 3 8 5 5 8 5 13 8 6 13 8 21 13 7 21 13 34 21 8 34 21 55 34 9 55 34 89 55 10 89 55 144 89
xold yold x new y new
144 / 89 = 1.6179775280898876404494382022472

Page 16 of 16
Samarkand
Dr Salah Zaimeche Lamaan Ball March 2005 4076 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Samarkand March 2005
SAMARKAND
It is difficult to place a date on the founding of Samarkand,Ancient Marakanda, city of Transoxiana, now capital of Uzbekistan, although it is reputed to have been established as a frontier outpost in the mid sixth century B.C. by Cyrus the Great as protection against incursions by central Asian nomads.
2 1
The city was
known to Europe in classical antiquity as the capital of Sogdiana and was captured by Alexander on his campaign into India, but it was usually dominated by Turko-Mongol elements. It was an important stop on the East-West trade route, one of the last major outposts for the merchant traveling east before reaching the Jaxartes and entering the vast and sparsely populated inner Asian steppe.
3
Conquered by the Arabs in the early eighth century, Samarkand became one of the easternmost outposts of Islam and, along with Bukhara, one of the foremost cities of Mawara' al-Nahr (the land beyond the river).
4
Following the collapse of the Samanids in the late tenth century, Samarkand passed from one Turko-Muslim dynasty to another, first dominated by the Ghaznavids, then, in quick succession, the Oarakhanids, the Seljuks and ultimately by Khwarizmshahs.
5
Samarkand highlights with great perfection the great misfortunes which caused the woes of Muslim scholarship following various invasions. In the case of Samarkand the invaders were the Mongols. Early in the 1220s, the Mongols went on the move, and the whole of eastern Islam was devastated by them. In just one year the Mongols seized the most populous, the most beautiful and the best cultivated parts, whose inhabitants excelled in character and urbanism and inflicted all ills on them. An army under Jenghiz Khan's son Jagtai, captured and sacked Otrar, whilst another under Jenghiz himself, burned Bukhara to the ground, raped thousands of women, and massacred 30,000 men. Samarkand was one of the main victims of the Mongol onslaught and just like Balkh, it refused to war against the Mongols. It surrendered peacefully, with the hope to be spared devastation. It suffered pillage, and wholesale slaughter. Fourteenth-century travelers lamented that the city which they saw was only a shadow of what pre-Mongol Samarkand must have been, although even in ruins the city impressed them.
8 7 6
Ibn Battuta describes Samarkand just as Balkh, as still largely in ruins. The population had been largely
10
wiped out, a total of 1.3 million people were killed in the whole region.
Mongol devastation left little of the schools,
madrassas, and trade networks. Also the victims, in great numbers, were scholars. One of the most illustrious scholars to be slain by the Mongols was Najib al-Din al- Samarkandi.
R. Hattox: Samarkand: Dictionary of the Middle Ages: Vol 10; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons, N. York; 1980 fwd; pp 640-1. 2 R. Hattox: Samarkand:; pp 640-1. 3 R. Hattox: Samarkand:; pp 640-1. 4 R. Hattox: Samarkand; pp 640-1. 5 R. Hattox: Samarkand; pp 640-1. 6 B. Spuler: History of the Mongols; London, Routledge& Kegan Paul, 1972. p.31. 7 W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.339. 8 R. Hattox: Samarkand; op cit; pp 640-1. 9 Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa; trans and selected by H.A.R. Gibb; George Routledge and Sons Ltd; London, 1929. 10 E.G. Browne: Literary History of Persia; Cambridge University Press; 1929; 3 Vols; Vol 2; p. 439.

Page 2 of 14
Najib al-Din Al-Samarkandi

Najib al-Din Al-Samarkandi was a physician who was born or flourished at Samarkand, killed by the Mongols during the sacking of Herat in 1222-1223.
11
He wrote various medical works in Arabic, the most important
was entitled Kitab al-asbab wasl-alamat- (causes and symptoms (of diseases). He wrote on the treatment of diseases by diet, and wrote on simple drugs (al-Adwiya al-Mufrada) The popularity of his Kitab al-ashab is highlighted by the number of copies of the manuscript.
12
It was known also through a commentary
completed in Samarkand, 1423-1424, by Uluh Beg's physician, Al-Kirmani. The Sharh (or mamzuj al-ashab wal-alamat) is a commentary and is itself the nucleus of the Persian treatise Tibb i-Akbari (medicine of Akbar) completed in 1700-1701.
13
One, or the principal contributions of Al-Samarkandi, was to question
the old Greek ideas. One of his most interesting medical works with regard to pharmacology is his
Aqrabadhin
Khaledy.
15
14
- Medical Formulary. The treatise is called Kitab al-qarabadhin ala tartib al-ilal, (treatise on the
medical formulary on compounding for diseases,) whose English translation is by M. Levey and N.alIn a lengthy introduction, Al-Samarkandi attempts to rationalise his pharmacology and therapy
16
and is therefore a matter of great interest to the history of medicine.
Without voicing open objections to
all the contemporary pharmacological ideas of his day, he nevertheless, frequently avoided use of the humoral pathology and gave his own reasons for the compounding of drugs and the relative quantities used under certain condition.
17
Al-Samarkandi gave his reasons for compounding drugs. The circumstances
leading to the use of compound remedies involve various conditions:
Ìt is partly because of the nature of sickness and disease, partly because of the state of the organs, and partly because of the drug. For the use of compounded drugs there are fourteen reasons. One of them is due to the extent of the ill humor if there is no drug opposite to it in strength. It is then compounded from one which is stronger in the quantity of its humor with one which is less so. From these a blend is put together to resist that ill humor. The second is concerned with the strength and acuteness of the illness when there is no single drug which can resist it. It is then compounded so that the constituents may assist one another in resistance. Third, there are the differences in the state of the disease and attendant circumstances, and its treatment; a drug is unknown which (by itself) performs opposite actions like absorbing (jala) and bringing up (tamlis) in chest ailments, and the freeing (tahlil) and hindering of tumours, so that one must be compounded. Fourth is a basic one: a means to counteract many poisons and different ailments. This is the noblest of compound ones because it protects one from constriction with a strength superior to the strength of any element. Its effectiveness is due to the strength of its elements. The fifth has to do with the remoteness of the ailing organ from the stomach. It is compounded with a drug which is useful for it and (with one which) makes it reach the organ quickly as saffron and camphor, and Chinese cinnamon with haematite. The sixth concerns the
11 12
G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; in 3 vols; The Carnegie Institution; Washington; 1927 fwd; vol II; p.661. Sarton II; p.661. 13 Sarton II; p.661. 14 Manuscript at Aya Sofya, Turkey, 3555, and also Leiden, Holland, 1353. 15 M. Levey and N. Al-Khaledy: The Medical Formulary of al-Samarqandi; Philadelphia; 1965; 16 M. Levey: Influence of Arabic Pharmacology on Medieval Europe; in Convegno Internationale: Oriente e occidente Nel Medioevo Filosofia E Scienze; 9-15 Aprile 1969; Academia Nationale Dei Lincei; Roma; 1971; pp. 431-44. p. 434. 17 M. Levey: Influence of Arabic Pharmacology; p. 435-6.

Page 3 of 14
strength and importance of the organ and its size and functions. A drug is mixed to dissolve tumours and to ease (at the same time) the properties which lessen a drugs effectiveness to act as a restraining remedy. The seventh relates to the unsavouriness of the drug and its disagreeableness until it is improved to the point of acceptability by nature. The eighth has to do with the increase of potency of a drug as in mixing ginger with turpeth. The ninth protects some organs against the harmfulness of a drug as by correctives with purgatives, and the tenth is the inadequacy of a drug like gum Arabic in the collyrium of verdigris. The eleventh concerns the destruction of the evil property of a drug as mixing castareum with opium. The twelfth is for keeping the strength of the compounded drug for a long time as in mixing opium with the major electuaries. The thirteenth is concerned with the differences of drugs in their amounts and usages in the desired direction as in mixing a qiruti (A gloss reads: a kind of wax and oil mixture, it generally means `cerate or `salve used medicinally) unguent with essentials in poultices. The fourteenth is the need of a single useful remedy for an illness as in mixing the unguent with verdigris to form an effective drug for wounds when there are no other drugs good for wounds around.
18
It is obvious in these fourteen points, al-Samarkandi has given great emphasis to an empirical form of therapy. This development of empiricism in medicine was carried forth after the Arab period in Europe slowly but surely. The basis has been laid by al-Samarqandi and others like him for greater divergence with Galenic ideas. text:
19
It is the amounts of drugs used by al-Samarkandi in making up the remedies, the humoural
idea is still present but well circumscribed by other determining factors considered more important by the
Às to the reasons for the differences in weight, there are seven simple ones as well as combinatory reasons of these simple ones. As to the seven simple ones, the first is the strength and weakness in the drugs natures. Second is the value or lack of its usefulness. Third is the importance or non existence of its benefits. Fourth is its partnership in usefulness or its being alone. The fifth is concerned with the location of the ailing organ in regard to its proximity to or distance from the stomach. Sixth is the existence or non existence of drugs in the compounded one which weakens its strength. Seventh is the existence of harmfulness in it for some organs, or for inadequacy of the drugs or their over sufficiency.
20
It is appropriate to note that almost all these reasons are still of importance in present day allopathic medicine.
21
However the devastation of Samarkand did not cause it to be entirely wiped out of the land as other cities, which once boasted the glories of Islamic learning such as Merv or Nishapur, suffered. Samarkand was eventually incorporated into that part of the Mongol realm ruled by the descendants of Chagatay Khan (d. 1242).
22
From this period till much after Timur the Lames rule, there are no scientific achievements of
major importance to mention. The only scientist of some worth to have come to the fore then was Shams
18 19 20 21 22
Al-Samarqandi: Aqrabadhin; Ms. Aya Sofya; 3555; fols 4b-5a. M. Levey: Influence of Arabic Pharmacology; op cit; p. 435-6. Al-Samarqandi: Aqrabadhin; Ms. Aya Sofya; 3555; fols 5a-5b. M. Levey: Influence of Arabic Pharmacology; op cit; pp. 436-7. R. Hattox: Samarkand; op cit; pp 640-1.

Page 4 of 14
al-Din ibn Ashraf Al-Samarkandi (born: about 1250 in Samarkand, died: about 1310). He wrote works on theology, logic, philosophy, mathematics and astronomy which have proved important in their own right and also in giving information about the works of other scientists of his period.
23
Al-Samarkandi wrote a
24
work Risala fi adab al-bahth which discussed the method of intellectual investigation of reasoning using dialogue. He also wrote synopsis of astronomy and produced a star catalogue for the year 1276-77.
By the mid fourteenth century Chagatay control of Transoxiana had been replaced by local anarchy, out of which Tamerlane (Timur-i Leng [1336- 1405]), a local chieftain with hazy Chagatay connections, emerged victorious and established Samarkand as his capital. Gibbon narrates the misdeeds of Timur in Syria:
25
Timurs Mongol origins marked his rule by
devastation of the Muslim world similar in magnitude to that the Mongols had inflicted centuries earlier.
`the streets of Aleppo streamed with blood, and re-echoed with the cries of mothers and children, with the shrieks of violated virgins. The rich plunder that was abandoned to his soldiers might stimulate their avarice; but their cruelty was enforced by the peremptory command of producing an adequate number of heads, which, according to his custom, were curiously piled in columns and pyramids: the Moguls celebrated the feast of victory, while the surviving Moslems passed the night in tears and in chains. I shall not dwell on the march of the destroyer from Aleppo to Damascus, where he was rudely encountered, and almost overthrown, by the armies of Egypt after a period of seven centuries, Damascus was reduced to ashes on his return to the Euphrates he delivered Aleppo to the flames but I shall briefly mention that he erected on the ruins of Baghdad a pyramid of ninety thousand heads.
26
In his wholesale orgy of slaughter and destruction, Timur spared only one group: he carried off craftsmen, including glassmakers, to Samarkand.
27
The deportation of the glassmakers from Damascus in 1400 is

28
believed to have put an end to the manufacture of gilded and enameled vessels in western Asia.
After Timur, Samarkand witnessed the best period of its scientific legacy symbolized by the construction of its famed observatory by Uluh Beg.
The Samarkand Observatory

The Samarkand observatory dates from 1424. It was built By Uluh Beg. Uluh Beg was born Muhammad Targay, the grandson of Shah Timur in 1394, and died in 1449. From 1409 he was the ruler of Maverannakher in Central Asia, the chief city of which was Samarkand (which under the reign of the Timurid sovereigns was the most flourishing centre in the whole of the Near East.) Himself a great scientist,
23
J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic mathematics: A forgotten brilliance; at http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/index.html 24 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic mathematics: A forgotten brilliance; 25 R. Hattox: Samarkand; op cit; pp 640-1. 26 E.Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Chapter LXV; Part II. 27 D. Whitehouse: Glass; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; op cit; vol 5; pp. 545-8. p. 547. 28 D. Whitehouse; p. 547.

Page 5 of 14
he began to build the city into a great cultural centre. scholars and to debate scientific questions with them.
30
29
Uluh Beg was keen to surround himself with
It is in Samarkand, where, in 1420, he founded a

31
madrassa in which astronomy was the chief subject. It was one of the most beautiful buildings in the whole of central Asia according to a nineteenth century historian. where problems in astronomy were freely discussed.
32
He personally interviewed and selected Uluh Beg led scientific meetings
whoever taught there, to determine their knowledge and qualifications.
He was himself a scientist in his own merit. Uluh
Begs treatise, his Zij written in Tajik, included astronomical tables based on observations carried out at Samarkand. The third part of the introduction to this work deals with diverse problems related to planetary motion.
33
Uluh Beg analysed problems related to the determination of standard longitudes of the planets
34
for a given period as well as their precise position.
He gave particular attention to practical problems
concerning calculations related to the use of the tables, most of all the question of interpolation and the application of approximations resulting from the conversion of real anomalies into standard anomalies. He distinguished himself, most particularly, as a very meticulous observer.
35
The sextant of the Ulugh Beg Observatory. Amongst Uluh Begs greatest accomplishments was to found in 1424 one of, if not the greatest, observatory in Islam. It was not the only one, though. Large observatories continued to be built in the Islamic world J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, a forgotten brilliance; op cit. Francoise Micheau: The Scientific Institutions in the Medieval Near East, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, 3 Vols. Edited by R Rashed; Routledge, London and New York: 1996; pp. 985-1007. at pp. 1003-4. 31 A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Edited by C.C. Gillispie; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1974 fwd; vol; 7; pp. 255-62. at p. 255. 32 J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, a forgotten brilliance; op cit. 33 E. Rybka: Mouvement des Planetes dans lAstronomie des Peuples de lIslam; in Convegno Internationale: Oriente e occidente Nel Medioevo Filosofia E Scienze; 9-15 Aprile 1969; Academia Nationale Dei Lincei; Roma; 1971; pp. 579-93; p. 590. 34 T.Kary-Niyazow: Astronomitcheskaya chkola Uluhbeka; Tashkent; 1967; p.268.
30 29

Page 6 of 14
after the main initiative in theoretical astronomy had passed to Europe, for example the observatory of Istanbul (1574/5).
36
The Samarkand observatory was a monumental building equipped with a huge

37
meridian, made of masonry,
the symbol of the observatory as a long lasting institution.
38
A trench of
about 2 metres wide was dug in a hill, along the line of the meridian, and in it was placed the segment of the arc of the instrument. John Greaves writing in 1652, says that according to a trustworthy Turkish astronomer, the radius of that meridian arc was about equal to the height of the dome of the Ayasofya Mosque in Istanbul,
39
thus, approximately fifty metres. Built for solar and planetary observations, it was equipped with the finest instruments available, including a Fakhri sextant, with a radius of 40.4 metres, which made it the largest astronomical instrument of its type. The main use of the sextant was to determine the basic constants of astronomy, such as the length of the tropical year. Other instruments included an armillary and an astrolabe. With sophisticated instruments, it was possible to determine at noon every day the meridional height of the sun, its distance from the zenith, and its declination. Uluh Beg also assembled the best-known scientists of his day, over one hundred of them.
40
Among these was al-Kashi, who wrote an elementary

41
encyclopaedia on practical mathematics for astronomers, surveyors, architects, clerks and merchants; Qadi-Zada who was the head of the madrasa, and who was to succeed al-Kashi at his death. Observations at Samarkand lasted until nearly 1500 CE (over 75 years). Ilkhanide Tables, of which a hundred copies still exist.
44 43 42
and
They resulted in 1437 in the
These tables included some excellent sine and

45
tangent tables as well as improved planetary parameters and star positions.
An unusually large number of

46
these were based on original observations rather than on mere updating of Ptolemy or al-Sufi. the early seventeenth century.
47
The star
catalogue later aroused much interest in Europe, especially in the early days of serious Arabic studies, in Thanks to the values found in the Zijs (astronomical tables), astronomers
48
could for instance calculate the hour of the rising sun and the altitude of a celestial body. the direction of Mecca.
49
Some
astronomical works include tables which allow, thanks to complicated trigonometric formulae, to determine Others allow the expression of the equation of every planet; the tables of Uluh Beg related to the equation of the moon give more than sixty values of the parameter; other data is given by these tables, including the eclipses of the moon and the sun; parallax of a planet, the moon, the sun
E. Rybka: Mouvement des Planetes; p. 590. J. North: The Fontana History of Astronomy and Cosmology; Fontana press; London; 1994. p. 200. 37 A Sayili: The Observatory in Islam; Turkish Historical Society, Ankara, 1960; p. 271. 38 A. Sayili: The Observatory, op cit, p. 271. 39 J. Greaves: Binae Tabule..... pp. 9-10; in A. Sayili; 271. 40 J.S. Bailly: Histoire de l'Astronomie Moderne depuis la Fondation de l'Ecole d' Alexandrie in A. Sayili: The Observatory; op cit; p. 259. 41 C. A. Ronan: The Cambridge Illustrated History of the World's Science: Chapter: The Arabian science, Cambridge University Press. Newness Books, 1983. pp 201-244. at p 223. 42 Ronan. P. 223. 43 L. Sedillot, 1853, in Regis Morelon, General survey of Arabic astronomy, encyclopaedia (Rashed ed); vol i, pp 1-19; p 14. 44 F.Micheau: The Scientific; op cit; P. 1004. 45 J. North: The Fontana History of Astronomy; op cit; p. 200. 46 J. North: The Fontana History of Astronomy; p. 200. 47 J. North: The Fontana History of Astronomy; p. 200. 48 A. Djebbar: Une Histoire de la Science Arabe; Le Seuil; Paris; 2001; pp. 187-8. 49 A. Djebbar: Une Histoire de la Science Arabe; pp. 187-8.
36
35

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etc.
50
Further findings through observation at Samarkand included the stellar year, found to be 365 days, 6
51
hours, 10 minutes and 8 seconds, and a star catalogue, containing 1012 stars, was also devised.
The observatory
at Samarkand was brought down in the upheavals which marked the region. Its remains from 1908 yielded a fragment of the gnomon of large size used to determine the height of the sun from the length of the shadow. There were also remains of a building of cylindrical shape with a complex interior plan.
52
It is also known through the
historian Abd-al-Razak that one could see a portrayal of the ten celestial spheres with degrees, minutes, seconds and tenths of seconds, the spheres of rotation, the seven moving planets, the fixed stars and the terrestrial sphere, with climate, mountains, seas, deserts etc. study.
54 53
Samarkand, in the early decades of the fifteenth century,
Krisciunas observes, was `the astronomical capital of the world. And for such, ìt is deserving of further
Without going into the detail of the article, but just to add to some points already made, Krisciunas reminds us that Uluh Beg is to be remembered not for his princely role, but for his role as patron of astronomy, an astronomer, and observatory builder. His distinction was that he was one of the first to advocate and build permanently mounted astronomical instruments. The importance of his observatory is further enhanced by the large number of astronomers, between sixty and seventy, involved in observation and seminars. Of crucial importance, too, is that observations were carried on a systematic basis for lengthy periods of time, as from 1420 to 1437. The reason, as Krisciunas makes clear, why observations are not completed in one year but instead require ten or fifteen years, is:
`the situation is such that there are certain conditions suited to the determination of matters pertaining to the planets, and it is necessary to observe them when these conditions obtain. It is necessary, e.g., to have two eclipses in both of which the eclipsed parts are equal and to the same side, and both these eclipses have to take place near the same node. Likewise, another pair of eclipses conforming to other specifications is needed, and still other cases of a similar nature are required. It is necessary to observe Mercury at a time when it is at its maximum morning elongation and once at its maximum evening elongation, with the addition of certain other conditions, and a similar situation exists for the other planets. `Now, all these circumstances do not obtain within a single year, so that observations cannot be made in one year. It is necessary to wait until the required circumstances obtain and then if there is cloud at the awaited time, the opportunity will be lost and gone for another year or two until the like of it occurs once more. In this manner there is need for ten or fifteen years. One might add that because it takes Saturn 29 years to return to the same position amongst the stars (that being its period of revolution about the Sun), a period of 29 years might have been the projected length of the Samarkand program of observations.
50 51
A. Djebbar: Une Histoire de la Science Arabe; pp.187-8. D. Abbot ed: The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists, Astronomers; F. Muller; London; in B. Hetherington: A Chronicle of Pre-Telescopic Astronomy; John Wiley and Sons; Chichester; 1996. p. 191. 52 F Micheau: The Scientific Institutions in the Medieval Near East, in Encyclopaedia, op cit, vol 3, pp. 985-1007. at pp. 1003-4. 53 Micheau 1003-4. 54 Kevin Krisciunas: The Legacy of Uluh Beg; at http://www.ukans.edu/~ibetext/texts/paksoy-2/cam6.html

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The Samarkand observatory was headed in turn by two of the greatest Muslim scientists of their generation, also amongst the great figures of Muslim scholarship: Al-Kashi, and Qadi Zada Rumi, whose accomplishments are looked at in turn.
Jamshid al-Kashi
(Born: about 1380 Died: 22 June 1429 in Samarkand, now Uzbekistan) At the time that al-Kashi was growing up Timur was devastating large regions in the Muslim land, having proclaimed himself sovereign and restorer of the Mongol empire at Samarkand in 1370.
55
While Timur was
undertaking his military campaigns, conditions were very difficult with widespread poverty; al-Kashi himself lived in poverty, like so many others at this time. He devoted himself to astronomy and mathematics while moving from town to town.
56
Conditions improved markedly when Shah Rokh took over after his father's
57
Timur death. He brought economic prosperity to the region and strongly supported artistic and intellectual life. With the changing atmosphere, al-Kashi's life also improved markedly.
The first event in al-Kashi's life which we can date accurately is his observation of an eclipse of the moon which he made in Kashan on 2 June 1406 as we know from his Khaqani zij.
58
On 1 March 1407 he
59
completed his treatise Sullam Al-sama (The Stairway of Heaven, on Resolution of Difficulties Met by Predecessors in the Determination of Distances and Sizes (of the heavenly bodies). dedicated to Sultan Iskander as is indicated in the copy in the British museum.
60
Years later, his
Mukhtasar dar ilm-I-hayat (Compendium of the Science of Astronomy) written during 1410-11 was
In 1413-14 Al-Kashi finished his Khaqani zij, which he dedicated to Uluh Beg, stating in his introduction how he was working on astronomical problems for a long time whilst living in extreme poverty and that he would not have been able to finish his zij without Uluh Begs support. each minute. coordinates.
62 61
In this work there are trigonometric tables giving values
of the sine function to four sexagesimal digits for each degree of argument with differences to be added for There are also tables which give transformations between different coordinate systems on The Khaqani Zij also contains detailed tables of the longitudinal motion of the sun, the
64
the celestial sphere, in particular allowing ecliptic coordinates to be transformed into equatorial
63
moon, and the planets. Al-Kashi also gives the tables of the longitudinal and latitudinal parallaxes for certain geographical latitudes, tables of eclipses, and tables of the visibility of the moon.
55
For the best biography of al-Kashi see: A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; Dictionary of Scientific Biography; op cit; and J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, op cit. 56 J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics. 57 J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics. 58 A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; op cit; at p. 255. 59 A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; p. 255. 60 A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; p. 255. 61 E.S. Kennedy: The Planetary Equatorium of Jamshid al-Kashi; Princeton; 1960; pp. 1-2. 62 J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics; op cit. 63 J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics. 64 J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics.

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Al-Kashi was working as a physician to supplement his income until he was secured a permanent livelihood by Uluh Beg.
65
Uluh beg, then, was seeking best scientists to help with his scientific projects. Uluh Beg
66
invited Al-Kashi to join him at this school of learning in Samarkand, as well as around sixty other scientists including Qadi Zada. In his letters to his father, al-Kashi praises the mathematical abilities of Uluh Beg,
67
most particularly his ability to perform difficult mental computations; he described the princes scientific activity and called him director of the observatory. Despite al-Kashi's ignorance of the correct court
68
behaviour and lack of polished manners, he was highly respected by Uluh Beg.
Al-Kashi also gives in his

69
letters interesting information on the construction of the observatory building and its instruments.
Samarqand Madrasa Al-Kashi remains to this day known for his great mathematical output. He produced his treatise Risala alMuhitiya (Treatise on the Circumference) in July 1424, a work in which he calculated 2 [pi] to nine sexagesimal places and translated this into sixteen decimal places. This was an achievement far beyond anything which had been obtained before, either by the ancient Greeks or by the Chinese (who achieved 6 decimal places in the 5th century). It would be almost 200 years before van Ceulen surpassed Al-Kashi's accuracy with 20 decimal places.
70
Al-Kashi's most impressive mathematical work was, however, Miftah al-
Hisab (The Key to Arithmetic) which he completed on 2 March 1427. The work is a major text intended to
be used in teaching students in Samarkand, in particular al-Kashi aims to give therein the necessary mathematics for those studying astronomy, surveying, architecture, accounting and trading. The miftah al-
Hisab is divided into five books preceded by an introduction: On the Arithemetic of integrers; On the
arithmetic of fractions; On the computation of astronomers (on sexagesimal fractions); On the
65 66
A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; p. 255. J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics; op cit. 67 E.S. Kennedy: A letter of Jamshid al-Kashi to his father; in Commentarii periodici pontifici Instituti biblici; Orientalia; ns.29; fasc. 29; 1960; pp. 191-213; p. 200. 68 J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics; op cit. 69 A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; op cit; at p. 256. 70 A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; at p. 256.

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measurement of plane figures and bodies; and on the solution of problems by means of algebra (Linear and quadratic equations) and of the rule of two false assumptions etc.
71
The work is described as follows:
Ìn the richness of its contents and in the application of arithmetical and algebraic methods to the solution of various problems, including several geometric ones, and in the clarity and elegance of exposition, this voluminous textbook is one of the best in the whole of medieval literature; it attests to both the author's erudition and his pedagogical ability.
72
Because of its high quality, this work was frequently copied, and served as a manual for hundreds of years.
73
Dold-Samplonius has discussed several aspects of al-Kashi's Key to Arithmetic.
74
For example the
measurement of the muqarnas refers to a type of decoration used to hide the edges and joints in buildings such as mosques and palaces. The decoration resembles a stalactite and consists of three-dimensional polygons, some with plane surfaces, and some with curved surfaces. Al-Kashi uses decimal fractions in calculating the total surface area of types of muqarnas. The qubba is the dome of a funerary monument for a famous person. Al-Kashi finds good methods to approximate the surface area and the volume of the shell forming the dome of the qubba.
75
Al-Kashis great mathematical achievements are also Risala al-muhitiyya and Risala al-watar wal jaib; both written in direct connection with astronomical researches and especially in connection with the increased demands for more precise trigonometric tables. not least by Uluh Beg.
77 76
When he died, in 1429, al-Kashi was very much mourned,
Qadi Zada al-Rumi (or more properly Salah eddin Musa pasha)
(Born: 1364 in Bursa, Turkey; Died: 1436 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan).78 Montucla, in his history of mathematics holds that he was a Greek convert to Islam which Dilgan suggests may come from a misunderstanding of the name al-Rumi, as the peoples who lived in Asia Minor were called Rum, meaning Roman (not Greek), because Asia Minor was once Roman.79Qadi Zada means "son of the judge" and we must assume that indeed Qadi Zada's father was the judge.
80
It was in his home town of Bursa that Qadi Zada was brought up, and completed his standard education and then studied geometry and astronomy with the theologian-encyclopaedist al-Fanari (1350-1431).81 His teacher al-Fanari realised that Qadi Zada was a young man with great abilities in mathematics and astronomy and he advised him to visit the cultural centres of the empire, Khorasan or Transoxania, where
71 72
A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; pp. 256-7. Kary Niyazov: Astronomischeskaya shkola Ulugbeka; 2nd edition; Tashkent; 1967; pp. 141-2. 73 A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; op cit; at p. 256. 74 In J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics; op cit. 75 In J. J O'Connor and E. F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics. 76 A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; at p. 257. 77 C.A. Ronan: Arabian science; op cit; p 223. 78 H. Dilgan: Qadi Zada al-Rumi; Dictionary of Scientific Biography; op cit vol 11; pp. 227-9; at p. 227. 79 H. Dilgan: Qadi Zada al-Rumi; at p. 227. 80 J. J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics; op cit. 81 H. Dilgan: Qadi Zada al-Rumi; op cit; pp. 227-9; at p. 227.

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he could benefit from coming into contact with the top mathematicians of his time.
82
He also gave him
letters of recommendation and one of his works: Emmuzeg al-ulum (Types of sciences) to present to the scholars of those parts.83 Following this, Qadi Zada studied Mathematics and astronomy in Transoxiana; then a great cultural centre. In 1383, already, Qadi Zada gained a great reputation as a mathematician by completing a treatise on arithmetic: Risala fil Hisab; a work which covers arithmetic, algebra and mensuration.
84
After visiting a number of cities, Qadi Zada reached Samarkand in about 1410. Uluh Beg was only 17 years old when Qadi Zada met him at Samarkand in that year 1410. in particular, sole ruler of the Mawaraunnahr region.
86 85
He was far more interested in science and
culture than in politics or military conquest but he was, nevertheless, deputy ruler of the whole empire and, Qadi Zada had frequently Uluh Beg as a student at his classes.87 Meeting Uluh Beg was certainly a turning point for Qadi Zada, for he would spend the rest of his life working in Samarkand. Qadi Zada wrote a number of commentaries on works on mathematics and astronomy during his first years in Samarkand, which seem to have been written for Uluh Beg and it would appear that Qadi Zada was producing material as a teacher of the brilliant young mathematician. a second commentary was on a work by al-Samarkandi. In 1417, perhaps encouraged by Qadi Zada, Ulugh Beg began building a madrasa. The madrasa, fronting the Rigestan Square in Samarkand, was completed in 1420 and Uluh Beg then began to appoint the best scientists he could find to teaching positions in his university. establishment in Samarkand.
90 89 88
One
commentary on the compendium of the astronomer al-Jaghmini was written by Qadi Zada in 1412-13, while
There is little doubt that al-Kashi, Qadi
Zada and Uluh Beg himself, were the leading astronomers and mathematicians at this prestigious
Construction of the Samarkand observatory began in 1424 and, while the observatory was under construction, al-Kashi wrote to his father, praising the mathematical abilities of Uluh Beg and Qadi Zada. Qadi Zada's most original work Risalat al jayb (Treatise on the Sine)
91
was a computation of sines with
remarkable accuracy. He published his methods in his treatise in the sine and, although al-Kashi also produced a method for solving this problem, the two methods are different and show that two remarkable scientists were both working on the same problems at Samarkand; Qadi Zada computed the sine of angles to an accuracy of 10-12 significant figures (if expressed in decimals), as did al-Kashi.
92
After the death of al-Kashi, Qadi Zada became the director of the Samarkand observatory. The major work undertaken at the Observatory in Samarkand was the production of the catalogue of the stars, this star
82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92
J. J O'Connor and E.F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, H. Dilgan: Qadi Zada al-Rumi; op cit; at p. 227. H. Dilgan: Qadi Zada al-Rumi; p. 227. J. J O'Connor and E.F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, J. J O'Connor and E.F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, H. Dilgan: Qadi Zada al-Rumi; at p. 227. J. J O'Connor and E.F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, J. J O'Connor and E.F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, J. J O'Connor and E.F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, H. Dilgan: Qadi Zada al-Rumi; op cit; at p. 227. J. J O'Connor and E.F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics,
a forgotten brilliance; op cit. a forgotten brilliance; op cit. a forgotten brilliance; op cit. a forgotten brilliance; op cit. a forgotten brilliance; op cit. a forgotten brilliance; op cit. a forgotten brilliance; op cit.

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catalogue, the Zij-i Sultani, set the standard for such works up to the seventeenth century. Published in 1437, in the year following Qadi Zada's death, it gives the positions of 992 stars.
93
The catalogue was a
collaborative effort by a number of scientists working at the Observatory but the principal contributors were certainly Uluh Beg, al-Kashi, and Qadi Zada. In addition to tables of observations made at the Observatory the work contained calendar calculations and results in trigonometry.
94
Bibliography:
Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa; trans and selected by H.A.R. Gibb; George Routledge and Sons Ltd; London, 1929. E.G. Browne: Literary History of Persia ; Cambridge University Press; 1929; 3 Vols; Vol 2. A. Djebbar: Une Histoire de la Science Arabe; Le Seuil; Paris; 2001. H. Dilgan: Qadi Zada al-Rumi; Dictionary of Scientific Biography; vol 11; pp. 227-9. W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. E. Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Chapter LXV; Part II. R. Hattox: Samarkand: Dictionary of the Middle Ages: Vol 10; Scribners Sons, N. York; pp 640-1. B. Hetherington: A Chronicle of Pre-Telescopic Astronomy; John Wiley and Sons; Chichester; 1996. H. Hunger and K.Vogel: Ein Byzantinisches Rechenbuch des 15. Jahrhunderts; Vienna; 1963. T.Kary-Niyazow: Astronomitcheskaya chkola Uluhbeka; Tashkent; 1967. Kevin Krisciunas: The Legacy of Uluh Beg; at http://www.ukans.edu/~ibetext/texts/paksoy-2/cam6.html E.S. Kennedy: The Planetary Equatorium of Jamshid al-Kashi; Princeton; 1960. E.S. Kennedy: A letter of Jamshid al-Kashi to his father; in Commentarii periodici pontifici Instituti biblici; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles
Orientalia; ns.29; fasc. 29; 1960; pp. 191-213.

M. Levey and N. Al-Khaledy: The Medical Formulary of al-Samarqandi; Philadelphia; 1965; M.Levey: Influence of Arabic Pharmacology on Medieval Europe; in Convegno Internationale: Oriente e
occidente Nel Medioevo Filosofia E Scienze; 9-15 Aprile 1969; Academia Nationale Dei Lincei; Roma; 1971;
pp. 431-44. p. 434. P. Luckey: Die Rechenkunst bei Gamshid b.masud al-Kasi mit Rucklicken auf die altere Geschichte des Rechnens; in Abhandlungen fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes; 31; Wiesbaden; 1951; and Der lehrbrief uber den Kreisumfang von Gamsid b.Masud al-Kasi; A. Siggel ed; Berlin 1953. J. North: The Fontana History of Astronomy and Cosmology; Fontana press; London; 1994. J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic mathematics: A forgotten brilliance; at http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/index.html
93 94
J. J O'Connor and E.F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, a forgotten brilliance; op cit. J. J O'Connor and E.F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, a forgotten brilliance; op cit.

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R. Rashed: Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, in 3 Vols; edt R. Rashed; Routledge, London and New York: 1996. E. Rybka: Mouvement des Planetes dans lAstronomie des Peuples de lIslam; in Convegno Internationale: Oriente e occidente Nel Medioevo Filosofia E Scienze; 9-15 Aprile 1969; Academia Nationale Dei Lincei; Roma; 1971; pp. 579-93. C.A. Ronan: Arabian Science; in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the World's Science, Cambridge University Press, Newness Books, 1983. A. Sayili: The Observatory in Islam; Turkish Historical Society, Ankara, 1960; G.Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. B. Spuler: History of the Mongols; London, Routledge& Kegan Paul, 1972. A.P. Youschkevitch; B.A. Rosenfeld: Al-Kashi; Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Edited by C.C. Gillispie; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1974 fwd; vol; 7; pp. 255-62.

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Merv
Salah Zaimeche PhD Lamaan Ball March 2005 4077 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Merv March 2005
MERV
Merv is the city which dominated the province of Khurasan in todays Turkmenistan. Early Islamic geographers recorded a great economy based upon thriving farming and irrigation: a highly organised system of upkeep, a system of irrigation canals and a dam above the city with the supply of water regulated and measured by a metering device.1 Under the Abbasids Merv continued to be the capital of the East. It is to the period of 8th to the 13th century that the great prosperity of Merv belongs.2 In the latter half of the tenth century, when Muqaddasi, the geographer, knew Merv, a third part of the suburbs was already in ruin, and the citadel was in no better state, however, in the next century, the citadel gained in size and importance under the Seljuks.3 By the 11th century Merv was a great commercial centre of the Oriental type, bazaar, traversed by two main streets, the centre of the market roofed by a dome, shops for artisans, money changers, goldsmiths, weavers, coppersmiths, potters etc. It was an administrative and religious centre, containing mosques, madrasas, palaces, and other buildings.4 The dome of the mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar, one such place, was of turquoise blue, and could be seen a distance of a days journey away.5 One of Merv trademarks was its textile products, silk grown in abundance, and also a school for its study. The region was also famed for its fine cotton and exports, whether of raw products or manufactured and sent to different lands.6 Merv was one of the great emporiums of the caravan routes between western and eastern Asia, including to China, which meant that gradually trade and urban activities became the source of wealth rather than agriculture. 7 Yaqut al-Hamawi, the famed geographer (d. 1229) spent two years studying in the many libraries of Merv which he admired.8 According to him, there were ten wealthy libraries in the city around 1216-1218, two in the chief mosque and the remainder in the madrasas. 9 Yaqut was in Merv for three years collecting the materials for his great geographical dictionary, for before the Mongol invasion the libraries of Merv were celebrated.10 `Verily but for the Mongols I would have stayed and lived and died there, he writes, ` and
hardly could I tear myself away.11 Among others, he mentions the two libraries of the Friday mosque,
namely the Aziziyah with 12,000 or so volumes, and the Kamaliyah.12 There was also the library of Sharaf al-Mulk, in his madrasa, and that of the great Seljuk wazir Nizam al-Mulk.13 Among the older libraries were
C. E. Bosworth: Merv; Encyclopaedia of Islam; New Series; vol 6; pp. 618-21.p. 618. G. Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate; Cambridge University Press; 1930; pp. 401 ff. 3 G. Le Strange: The Lands; p. 401. 4 C. E. Bosworth: Merv; p. 619. 5 For Merv topography, see G. Le Strange: Lands; op cit; pp. 397-403. 6 R.B. Sergeant: Islamic textiles up to the Mongol conquest; Beirut 1972; pp. 87-90. 7 C. E. Bosworth: Merv; op cit; p. 619. 8 C. E. Bosworth: Merv; op cit; p. 620. 9 Yaqut al-Hamawi in J. Pedersen; The Arabic Book, (1928) translated by Geoffrey French; Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey (1984), p. 128. 10 G. Le Strange: The Lands; op cit; p. 401. 11 G. Le Strange: The Lands; p. 401-2. 12 G. Le Strange: The Lands; p. 401-2. 13 G. Le Strange: The Lands; p. 401-2.
2

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Merv March 2005
those founded by the Samanids, and one in the college of the Umaydiyah; also that in the Khatuniyah College and that which had belonged to Majd al-Muluk.14 Merv produced one of the earliest and greatest scientists of Islam Ahmad ibn 'Abdallah al-Marwazi (Marwazi means from Merv) best known as Habash al-Hasib (the calculator) who flourished in Bagdad and died a centenarian between 864 and 874. He was an astronomer under the Caliphs al-Mamun and al-Muttasim. 15 Habash made observations from 825 to 835 and completed three astronomical tables, the best known being the mumtahin (tested) tables, which may be a collective work of al-Ma'mun's astronomers, for there was a whole team involved in observation at the court at the time. 16 Apropos of the solar eclipse of 829, Habash gives us the first instance of a determination of time by an altitude (in this case, of the sun); a method which was generally adopted by Muslim astronomers. He seems to have introduced the notion of "shadow," umbra (versa), equivalent to our tangent, and he compiled a table of such shadows which seems to be the earliest of its kind.17 One of Habashs son, called Djafar was also a distinguished astronomer and instrument maker.18
The ruins of Kyz Kala with the Sanjar Mausoleum in the background (Source: http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Turkmenistan/Kyzkala.jpg) A lesser known scholar also from Merv is Saghani, who was a mathematician and astronomer attached to the Buyid observatory in Baghdad.19 Mathematically, he followed up the work of the Banu Musa, tackling the G. Le Strange: The Lands; p. 401-2. G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institution; Washington; 1927 ff; vol I; p. 565. 16 G. Sarton: Introduction; I; p. 565. 17 G. Sarton: Introduction; I; p. 565. 18 For more on Habbash and his accomplishments, consult: -H. Suter: Die Mathematiker und Astronomer der Araber; 1900; pp. 12, 27. -J.L.E. Dreyer: A History of Astronomy from Thales to Kepler; Dover Publications Inc, New York, 1953. -C. Schoy: Liber den Gnomonschatten und die Schattentafel; Hanover, 1923. 19 G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Translated from
15 14

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Merv March 2005
problem of trisecting the angle, which had preoccupied the ancient Greeks. 20 He was particularly versed in mechanics, and constructed, if he did not invent, the instruments he used for his astronomical observations.21 Also coming from Merv is Ibn Ahmad Al-Kharaqi, the name al-Kharaqi refers probably to the place Kharaq (or Kharak) near great Merv and he too was called al-Marwazi. He died in Merv in 1138-1139. He was a mathematician, astronomer, and geographer, whose works included: (1) Muntaha al-idrak fi taqslm al-aflak , the highest understanding On the division of spheres, (2 ) a development of Ibn al-Haitham's astronomy;
Kitab al-tabsira fi 'ilm al-hai'a, a shorter astronomical treatise; (3) Al-risala al-shamila, the comprehensive treatise, concerning arithmetic; (4) Al-risala al- maghribiya (the Magribi treatise); the last two are lost.22
Al-Kharaqis most important work is the Muntaha (first cited). It is divided into three discourses (maqala) treating of (1) the arrangement of spheres (tarkib al-aflak), their movements, etc.; (2) the shape of the earth, and its subdivision into a part which is inhabited and another which is not, the differences in the ascendents (tali') and ascensions (matali') due to geographical positions; (3) chronology or eras (ta'rlkh, al.
tawarikh), conjunctions (qiran, pl. qiranat), chiefly of Saturn and Jupiter, periods of revolution (daur, al. adwar)for example, daur al-qiran or 'aud al-qiran (return of the conjunction).23 The Tabsira is shorter and
covers essentially the same ground; however, it does not contain the elaborate description of the five seas which forms the second chapter of the second part of the Muntaha.24 Al-Kharaqi developed the theory according to which the planets are not supported by imaginary circles, but by massive revolving spheres. That theory had been expounded before by al-Khazin (not to be confounded with al-Khazini) centuries earlier, and it found its way into Western Europe through Hebrew and Latin translations of Ibn al-Haytham's treatise, Fi hai'at al-'alam.25 The part of the Muntaha describing the five seas was edited and translated into Latin.26 There are also details on the works of the author in German by the excellent Wiedemann.27 Another scholar to come from Merv is a historian, his name al-Tamimi al-Sam'ani (that is, of the tribe of Sam'an, a branch of the tribe of Tamim), Taj al-Islam. He was born in Merv in 1113, travelled extensively in Eastern Islam, died in Merv in 1166.28 He continued the annals of Baghdad begun by al-Khatib (second half of the eleventh century). In 1155 he undertook an extensive study of Arabic patronymics (nisba), in eight volumes, which is of great historical geographical interest, for apropos of the names of prominent persons he supplies biographical and topographical explanations, which had been collected by him in the course of his journeys, during which he had met for that very purpose a large number of learned men, a work called
Kitab al-ansab is chiefly precious with regard to Persia, Transoxiana, and Central Asia, for which countries it
the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975; p. 647. 20 G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; p. 647. 21 G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; p. 647. 22 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol ii; pp. 204-5. 23 G. Sarton: Introduction; ii; pp. 204-5. 24 G. Sarton: Introduction; ii; pp. 204-5. 25 G, Sarton: Introduction; ii; pp. 204-5. 26 by C. A. Nallino: Albatenii opus astronomicum; vol. 1, 169-175, Milan. 27 E Wiedemann: Beitrage zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, 20; Sitaungsber. der phys. med. Sozietat sur Erlangen, vol. 42, 72, 1910. 28 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; II; pp. 444-5.

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is our principal and often only source of information.29 The Kitab al-ansab is better known through an abridgment of it, the Lubab, compiled by the renowned historian Ibn al-Athir; or through a further abridgment, the Lubb al-lubab, by al-Suyuti.30 There is no complete edition of the Ansab, unfortunately, and traces of the work had to be found in Ibn al-Athir and al-Suyuti (second half of the fifteenth century). 31 There are usual extracts and details on both author and his work in German, in Wustenfeld.32
Al-Khazini
Finally, the greatest of all scholars to come from Merv was al-Khazini. Al-Khazini flourished ca.1115-ca 1130 at Merv. He was a slave boy to whom his master gave the best education in mathematical and philosophical subjects. He became a mathematical practitioner under the patronage of the Seljuk court. Of his life not much is known except for a few details.33 He was very much ascetic, refusing rewards and handed back 1000 Dinars sent to him by the wife of an Emir. He lived on 3 dinars a year.34 His accomplishments in astronomy can be summed up with his description of his construction of a 24 h water clock designed for astronomical purposes and for his treatise
Al-Zij al-Mutabar al-Sinjari, (The esteemed Sinjaric tables),
giving the positions of the stars for the year 1115/16, at the latitude of Merv. 35 Al-Khazini is, however, better known for his book, Kitab Mizan al-Hikma (the book of the Balance of Wisdom,36 was completed in 1121, and has remained one central piece of Muslim physics. The treatise of Kitab Mizane al-Hikma was written in 1121-1122 for Sultan Sanjar's treasury by Al-Khazini, and has survived in four manuscripts, of which three are independent.37 It studies the hydrostatic balance, its construction and uses and the theories of statics and hydrostatics that lie behind it and other topics. It was partly translated and edited by the Russian envoy Khanikoff in the mid nineteenth century.38 Without too much elaboration, it is important to mention that the first of its eight chapters deals with his predecessors' theories of centres of gravity, including al-Biruni, Al-Razi and Omar al-Khayam. Al-Khazini most particularly draws attention to the Greeks' failure to differentiate clearly between force, mass and weight, and shows awareness of the weight of the air, and of its decrease in density with altitude.39 By looking at his predecessors science, al-Khazini provides crucial records of their contributions that could have remained unknown or lost.40
Sarton II; pp. 444-5. Sarton II; pp. 444-5. 31 Sarton II; pp. 444-5. 32 F. Wustenfeld: Geschichtschreiber der Araber; no. 54, P. 87, 1881. 33 Well documented, though, by R.E. Hall: Al-Khazini; in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography; vol VII, 1973: 335-51. 34 R.E. Hall: Al-Khazini . 35 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p.122. 36 Al-Khazini: Kitab Mizan al-Hikma, Hyderabad; partial English translation by N. Khanikoff (1859); Ànalysis and extracts of Kitab mizan al-Hikma (book of balance of Wisdom), an Arabic work on the water balances, written by al-Khazini in the twelfth century,' Journal of the American Oriental Society 6:1-128; also Russian translation: by M.M. Rozhanskaya and I.S. Levinova ÀlKhazini. Kniga vesov midrosti,' Nauchnoye nasledstvo, Moscow, vol 6, 1983; pp 15-140. See also R.E. Hall, Dictionary of Scientific Bibliography VII, 1973: 335-51. 37 N.Khanikoff ed. p.16; in R.E. hall: Al-Khazini; Dictionary of Scientific Biography VII, 1973: pp.335-51. 38 Al-Khazini: Kitab Mizan al-Hikma, Hyderabad; partial English translation by N. Khanikoff (1859); op cit. 39 D.R. Hill: Islamic Science and Engineering; Edinburgh University Press; 1993, p. 61. 40 D.R. Hill:, p. 61.
30
29

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Most of the remaining treatises deal with hydrostatics, most particularly the determination of specific gravities. Al-Khazini goes to extreme length in describing the equipment necessary to obtain accurate results. His scrupulousness in the preparation of his equipment and materials, and in carrying out varied applications of his balances make his book one of the best examples òf rigorous attention to scientific accuracy.' 41 His interest is devoted to the determination of the specific gravities of metals, precious stones and alloys with commercial purposes in mind, so as to determine the purity of various substances and to detect fraud. To determine the specific weight of a specimen, its weight has to be known in air and water, and the volume of air and water displaced by the specimen. Hence, most Muslim researchers used water balances in their experiments. Using the same instrument as al-Biruni, Al-Khazini made repeated trials with several metals and gemstones. He also measured the specific gravities of other substances: salt, amber, clay etc, noting whether the substance sank or floated on water.
Page from Kitab Mizan al-Hikmah by Khazini All in all, he records the specific gravities of fifty substances that include precious stones, metals and liquids. The accuracy of such measures is impressive and is offered by Hill, together with modern values. Mieli sees the determination of specific weights by al-Biruni and al-Khazini as some of the most outstanding results obtained by the Muslims in experimental physics.42 by al-Khazini:
41 42
The strict definition for specific weight is given
D.R. Hill: Islamic, op cit, p 70. A. Mieli: La Science Arabe et son role dans levolution mondiale, Leiden, E, J. Brill, 1966. p. 101.

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`The magnitude of weight of a small body of any substance is in the same ratio to its volume as the magnitude of weight of a larger body (of the same substance) to its volume.43
As a student of statics and hydrostatics, Al-Khazini borrowed immensely from al-Biruni and al-Asfizari.44 AlKhazini also devotes a large space to the description of various balances by his predecessors, but the focus is on what he calls `The Balance of Wisdom. Al-Khazini's own balance of Wisdom is a unique instrument. Although this balance owes to Muzaffar b. Ismail of Harat, al-Khazini added refinements, which made it into an instrument that could perform the most accurate measurements.45 Such accuracy owes to the length of the beam, the special method of suspension, the fact that the centre of gravity and the axis of oscillation were very close to each other, and of course to the very precise construction of the whole. With this, alKhazini stated that he obtained an accuracy of 1 in 60,000. His uses of this balance were for varied purposes, from ordinary weighing, to taking specific gravities, examining the composition of alloys, changing dirhams to dinars, and many other transactions. 46 In all his processes, he moved the scales about until he obtained equilibrium. Al-Khazini in his descriptions gives particular focus to determining the proportions of two constituents in an alloy. Hall states that Al-Khazini's hydrostatic balance can leave no doubt that às a maker of scientific instruments he is the greatest of any time.'47 Al-Khazini also made many observations and propositions in his book which constitute some of the foundations of modern physics. Hence, he states:
`For each heavy body of a known weight positioned at a certain distance from the centre of the universe, its gravity depends on the remoteness from the centre of the universe. For that reason, the gravities of bodies relate as their distances from the centre of the universe. 48
Al-Khazini was, thus, the first to propose the hypothesis that the gravities of bodies vary depending on their distances from the centre of the earth; this phenomenon was only discovered in the eighteenth century (six centuries after al-Khazini) after a certain development in the theory of gravitation.49 Al-Khazini also found that there was greater density of water when nearer to the earth centre more than a century before Roger Bacon (1220-1294) propounded and proved the same hypothesis.50
The Mongols and the End of Merv as a Centre of Learning and Trade
The Muslims who were already facing the woes of the crusades (1095-1291), suffered further invasions form the east, which devastated the whole realm. In 1220, Jenghis Khan and his hordes flattened the eastern parts of the Muslim land. In just one year the Mongols seized the most populous, the most beautiful, and D.R.Hill: Islamic science; op cit; 61. R.E. Hall: Al-Khazini: Dictionary, op cit. 45 For details, see R.E. Hall: Al-Khazini. 46 D.R. Hill: Islamic, op cit, p 69. 47 R.E. Hall: Al-Khazini; Dictionary, op cit. 48 Kitab Mizan al-Hikma, English translation, p.24. in M. Rozhanskaya: Statics, op cit, pp 621-2. 49 Rozhanskaya; p. 622. 50 Max Meyerhof: Science and Medicine, in The Legacy of Islam; edited by Sir T Arnold, and A. Guillaume; Oxford University Press; 1931; p. 342.
44 43

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the best cultivated part of the earth whose inhabitants excelled in character and urbanism;51and inflicted all ills on them. An army under Jenghiz's son Jagtai, captured and sacked Otrar, whilst another under Jenghiz himself, burned Bukhara to the ground, raped thousands of women, and massacred 30, 000 men.52 Samarkand and Balkh surrendered but suffered pillage, and wholesale slaughter; so much so that a century later Ibn Battuta (14th century) described these cities as still largely in ruins.53 Through Khurasan, the Mongols ravaged every town on their march, placing captives in their vanguard, giving them the choice between fighting their fellow men in front or being cut down from behind.54 Amidst the toll of destruction was that of al-Jurjaniyah dam south of the Aral Sea, which diverted the River Oxus from its course and deprived the Aral Sea of water, causing it to nearly dry out centuries later.55 Merv was captured and was burned to the ground; its libraries were consumed in the conflagration. All the glories of the Merv libraries fell a prey to the flames, which followed in the wake of the Mongol sack of this great city.56 Ibn al-Athir tells that the invaders set on fire the Tomb of Sultan Sanjar with most of the mosques and other public buildings. 57 The citys inhabitants were allowed to march out through the gates with their treasures, only to be massacred. The total slaughter cost 1.3 million lives.58 Ibn al-Athir wrote
`For several years, I put off reporting this event (of the Mongol invasion) I found it terrifying and felt revulsion at recounting it and therefore hesitated again and again. Who would find it easy to describe the ruin of Islam and the Muslims.? O would that my mother had never borne me, that I had died before and that I were forgotten! Though so many friends urged me to chronicle these events, I still waited. Eventually I came to see that it was no use not complying The report comprises the story of a tremendous disaster such as had never happened before, and which struck all the world, though the Muslims above all. If anyone were to say that at no time since the creation of man by the great God had the world experienced anything like it, he would only be telling the truth. In fact nothing comparable is reported in past chronicles.. Those they (the Mongols) massacred, for a single city whose inhabitants were murdered numbered more than all the Israelites together. It may well be that the word from now until its end will not experience the like of it again, apart perhaps from Gog and Magog. Dadjal will at least spare those who adhere to him, and will only destroy his adversaries. These (the Mongols), however, spared none. They killed women, men and children, ripped open the bodies of the pregnant and slaughtered the unborn. Truly: we belong to God and shall return to Him; only with Him is strength and power.59
B. Spuler: History of the Mongols; London, Routledge& kegan Paul, 1972. p.31. W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950; p.339 53 Ibn Battuta: Voyages d'Ibn Battuta, Arabic text accompanied by French translation by C. Defremery and B.R. Sanguinetti, preface and notes by Vincent Monteil, I-IV, paris, 1968, reprint of the 1854 edn. -Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa; trsltd and selected by H.A.R. Gibb; George Routledge and Sons Ltd; London, 1929. 54 W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; Chapter XIV; p.339 55 N. Smith: A History of Dams, The Chaucer Press, London,1971; p 86. 56 G. Le Strange: The Lands; op cit; p. 402. 57 G. Le Strange: The Lands; p. 402. 58 Browne: in W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.339 59 Ibn al-Athir: Kitab al-kamil; ed K.J. Tornberg; 12 vols; Leiden; 1851-72; vol 12; pp. 233-4.
52
51

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Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar An enormous 27X27 m cube which is crowned by a dome of 17.28 m in diameter (Source: http://stantours.com/gallery/tm_gal_her_san_01.html) When Merv was visited in the 14th century by Ibn Battuta, it was still in great ruin. 60 Mustawli also saw that it was still largely in ruins, and the sands had begun encroaching. 61 Hafiz Abru adds that the Mongols had broken down all the great dams and dykes, which under the Seljuks had grown in number, and carefully seen to, in order thus to regulate the irrigation of the oasis; now everything lapsed into a desert swamp.62 However, what is remarkable today is that we find in Western history, generally great praise for the Mongols, their destructive prowess of the Muslim world is actually praised by such historians. The worst cases are found amongst modern historians who rewrite history. There is no need to name here such historians who are still at work, we have enough instances of those away from the working scene, and how they look at the Mongol devastation of the Muslim world. Thus, Saunders, tells us:
`The Mongol massacres, genocide, perhaps arose from mixed motives of military advantage and superstitious fears. By massacres they hastened the surrender of other places and speeded the conquest. However merciless their rage for destruction, after a decent interval, they commonly permitted the rebuilding of the cities they had burnt and ruined 63
60 61
G. Le Strange: The Lands; op cit; p. 402. C. E. Bosworth: Merv; op cit; p. 621. 62 G. Le Strange: The Lands; op cit; p. 402. 63 J.J. Saunders: The History of the Mongol Conquests; Routlege & Kegan Paul; London; 1971. p. 56,

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Which is false, for Saunders takes the exception to make it the rule, for all accounts talk of devastated places, in their near totality, which were in ruins centuries later. Wiet et al also tell us that Jenghiz Khans
`means were still limited, but he had on his side the moderation and the deliberation of a great leader and, above all, a magnificent army, the exploits of whose horsemen, incomparable bowmen and seasoned warriors take their place in history and legend.64
Then Wiet and his group do raise a point:
`What legend portrays so exultantly, however, the chronicles reveal as a grievous ordeal for the city-dwellers of Asia. The Mongols, lagging behind the other barbarians of Asia in their development, did not know what to do with the towns. On the principle that only terror is profitable, only the steppe livable and only the way to heaven valuable, they pillaged, destroyed and massacred. The list of their conquests is a litany of disaster: the marvellous cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, Nishapur, Baghdad and countless others were razed to the ground and their inhabitants slain.65
Just then they excuse the Mongols deeds on the grounds that:
`The sword, however, fell only on those who offered resistance. Those who welcomed the Mongol as a liberatorescaped the terror. 66
Which is a plain distortion, for most of the places that were devastated surrendered without a fight. It is also a flat contradiction to say that only those who fought were slaughtered and then to acknowledge that all the inhabitants, including women and children were slaughtered.
64 J. W. G. Wiet et al: History of mankind; Vol III:The Great Medieval Civilisations.Part Two: section two; Part three; Translated from the French. UNESCO; 1975.; p. 218 65 J. W. G. Wiet et al: History of mankind;; p. 218 66 J. W. G. Wiet et al: History of mankind;; p. 218

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Bibliography
-Ibn al-Athir: Kitab al-kamil; ed K.J. Tornberg; 12 vols; Leiden; 1851-72. -Ibn Battuta: Voyages d'Ibn Battuta, Arabic text accompanied by French translation by C. Defremery and B.R. Sanguinetti, preface and notes by Vincent Monteil, I-IV, Paris, 1968, reprint of the 1854 edition. -Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa; translated and selected by H.A.R. Gibb; George Routledge and Sons Ltd; London, 1929. -C. E. Bosworth: Merv; Encyclopaedia of Islam; New Series; vol 6; pp. 618-21. -J.L.E. Dreyer: A History of Astronomy from Thales to Kepler; Dover Publications Inc, New York, 1953. -W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. -R.E. Hall: Al-Khazini; in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography; vol VII, 1973: 335-51. -D.R. Hill: Islamic Science and Engineering; Edinburgh University Press; 1993. -Al-Khazini: Kitab Mizan al-Hikma, Hyderabad; partial English translation by N. Khanikoff (1859); Ànalysis and extracts of Kitab mizan al-Hikma (book of balance of Wisdom), an Arabic work on the water balances, written by al-Khazini in the twelfth century,' Journal of the American Oriental Society 6:1-128; also Russian translation: by M.M. Rozhanskaya and I.S. Levinova Àl-Khazini. Kniga vesov midrosti,' Nauchnoye nasledstvo, Moscow, vol 6, 1983; pp 15-140. -G. Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate; Cambridge University Press; 1930. -A. Mieli: La Science Arabe et son role dans levolution mondiale, Leiden, E, J. Brill, 1966. -M. Meyerhof: Science and Medicine, in The Legacy of Islam; edited by Sir T Arnold, and A. Guillaume; Oxford University Press; 1931. -J. Pedersen; The Arabic Book, (1928) translated by Geoffrey French; Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey (1984). -G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institution; Washington; 1927 ff. -J.J. Saunders: The History of the Mongol Conquests; Routlege & Kegan Paul; London; 1971. -C. Schoy: Liber den Gnomonschatten und die Schattentafel; Hanover, 1923. -R.B. Sergeant: Islamic textiles up to the Mongol conquest; Beirut 1972. -N. Smith: A History of Dams, The Chaucer Press, London,1971. -B. Spuler: History of the Mongols; London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972. p.31. -H. Suter: Die Mathematiker und Astronomer der Araber; 1900. -J. W. G. Wiet et al: History of mankind; Vol III:The Great Medieval Civilisations. Part Two: section two; Part three; Translated from the French. UNESCO; 1975.

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Aleppo
Salah Zaimeche PhD Lamaan Ball Aasiya Alla March 2005 4078 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Aleppo March 2005
ALEPPO
Figure 1. The Citadel of Aleppo `Halab, says Al-Muqaddasi, in 985:
ìs an excellent, pleasant and well fortified city, the inhabitants of which are cultured and rich, and endowed with understanding. The city is populous and built of stone, standing in the midst of its lands. It possesses a well fortified and spacious castle, provided with water. The great mosque stands in the town. The inhabitants drink the water of the Kuwaik river, which flows into the town through an iron grating, near the palace of Saif al-Dawla. The castle is not very large, but herein the Sultan has his abode. The city has seven gates: Bab Hims (Emessa gate), Bab ar Rakkah; Bab Kinnasrin; Bab al-yahud; Bab al-Iraq; Bab al-Batikh; and Bab Antakiyyah; The Bab Arbain (gate of the Forty) is now closed. 1
Idrisi (1100-1165) also refers to the citys thriving situation:
`Halab is the capital of the Province of Kinnasrin. It is a large town, and very populous, lying on the high road to Iraq and Fars and Khurasan Water is led therefrom by means of underground channels going into the town, and is distributed through the markets, streets, and houses. In the castle of Halab is a spring of excellent water. 2
Further on in the century, Ibn Jubayr, who visited Aleppo in 1185, says:
`Halab is a place of saintly remains, with a celebrated and impregnable castle. It was the city of the Hamdanite princes, whose dynasty is now passed away. Saif al-Dawla made it a bride for beauty of appearance. The castle stands on the hill, where, in ancient times, Abraham was in the habit of retiring at night with his flocks there to milk them (Halaba) giving away the milk in alms. Hence as it is said, comes the name of Halaba. Copious spring water rises in the castle, and they have made
Al-Muqaddasi: Ahssan Attaqassim; p. 155; in G. le Strange: Palestine under the Moslems; Alexander P. watt; London; 1890; pp. 360-1. 2 Idrisi; p. 25 in G. Le Strange; p. 363.
1

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two cisterns there to store water. On the city side of the castle is a deep ditch, into which the surplus water runs. In the town are fine and wide markets covered with wooden roofs. Shady streets with rows of shops lead up to each of the gates of the Jami mosque. Very fine is this mosque, and beautifully paved is its court. There are fifty odd doors opening therein. In the court of the mosque are two wells. The wood work of Halab is of excellent renown. The Mihrab (or prayer niche) of the mosque is very beautiful with wood work up to the roof, ornamentally carved, and inlaid with rare wood and ivory and ebony. The minbar (or pulpit) is also most exquisite to behold. On the western side of the mosque is the madrasa of the Hannafites, with a fine garden. In the city are four or five madrasas like this one and a hospital. Suburbs lie around the city, with numberless khans and gardens. 3
Early in the 13th century, the geographer Yaqut (d.1229) gives another account of the citys original name:
`Halab, Hims, and Bardhah, were three sisters of the Bani Amalik, and each of them founded a city, which was called after their name. 4 À surname of Aleppo is al-Baida, the White, because of the whiteness of the ground in its neighbourhood5
Yaqut goes on:
`Verily, I, Yaqut, have visited Halab, and it was of the best of all lands for agriculture. They cultivate here cotton, sesame, water melons, cucumbers, millet, maize, apricots, figs and apples. They only have the rains to water their lands, and yet they raise abundant crops, and of such richness as I have not seen in other lands. 6 `The castle of Halab is a wonder to behold, and has become proverbial for strength and beauty. Halab lies in a flat country. In the centre of the city rises a perfectly circular and high hill, which has been scarped artificially, and the castle is built on its summit. It has a deep ditch, which has been dug sufficiently deep to reach the water springs. Inside the castle is a reservoir which is filled with pure water. Also within the castle is a Jami Mosque, and maidan (square), and garden of considerable extent. 7
However, writing about 1300, Al-Dimashki tells us:
Halab is a city that has been laid in ruins by the Tartars. Of old, Halab was the equal in size of Baghdad and Al-Mawsil (Mosul), and its people prided themselves on their fine raiment and personal comeliness and horses and houses.8
Ibn Jubayr: Rihla; W. Wright edition; Leiden; 1852. p. 252. Yaqut al-Hamawi: MuAjam al-Buldan; Wustenfeld Edition; in six volumes; Leipzig; 1866; ii; 304. 5 Yaqut; 1; 792. 6 Yaqut; ii; 308. 7 Yaqut; ii; 310. 8 Dimashki: Kitab nukhbat al-dahr fi ajaib al-barr wal bahr (Selection of the age on the wonders of the land and the Sea). edited by A.F. Mehren; quarto, 375 p. St Petersburg; 1866. at p. 202.
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Al-Dimashki thus writes of the glory of Halab in the past, and also tells of the woes inflicted upon it by the Mongols. This is part of a history of Halab which will form the focus of the last section of this work after the citys contribution to science and civilisation has been looked at, beginning first with the thriving and imposing forms of civilisation that marked it.
Aleppo, its Imposing Sites and its Thriving Trades
Figure 2. Old city defences, Aleppo9 When the Muslim armies captured Aleppo in the year 16 after Hijra, Abu Udaiba, their general, entered by the Antioch gate. This is one of the imposing structures of Aleppo, a city of great sites, sites which impressed for both their majesty and their scholarly role, and also in their role for the promotion and defence of Islam, and sites worthy of a great, thriving city. All witnesses who saw Aleppo in the middle ages before the Mongol onslaught (in 1260) agree on its thriving trades and wealth, Ibn Hawqal, in the later half of the tenth century stating:
Ìt was very populous and the people were possessed of much wealth and commerce thrives, for the city lies on the high road between Iraq and the fortresses, and the rest of Syria. The city had originally five markets and baths, and hostels and quarters and broad squares. The drinking water of the population comes form the river, and there is a little sediment in it. The prices here are still cheap, for in old days its prosperity was great and its food stuffs abundant. 10
The traveller Nasir I-Khusraw, who visited Aleppo in 1047 writes in his diary:
`Halab is in appearance a fine city. It has great walls, whose height I estimated at 25 cubits (or fifty feet); also a strong castle, entirely built on the rock, which I consider to be as large as the castle of Balkh. All the houses and buildings of Aleppo stand close one beside the other. This city is where they levy the customs (on merchandises passing) between the lands of Syria and Asia Minor
9 10
http://cartome.org/aleppo-med.gif Ibn Hawqal; p. 117; in G. Le Strange: Palestine; op cit; p. 361.

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and Dyar al-Bakr and Egypt, and Iraq, and there come merchants and traders from all these lands to Aleppo. 11
The physician Ibn Butlan writes a few years later, in 1051:
`Halab is a town walled with white stones. There are six gates; and besides the wall is a castle, in the upper part of which is a mosque and two churches. In the town is a mosque and six churches, also a small hospital. Of the wonders of Halab we may mention that in the Kaisaryah (or bazaar) of the cloth merchants are twenty shops for the wakils or brokers. These men, every day, sell goods to the amount of 20,000 dinars (600,000), and this they have done for twenty years. No part of Halab is at all in ruins. 12
The Citadel of Aleppo is one of the great sites, its role highly stressed by the fact that, Aleppo is, with Mosul and Cairo, the city of Eastern Islam that played not just a central, but a decisive, role in the destinies of Islam, a role that will be amply looked at in the final part of this article. The Citadel is a natural mound with its slopes artificially sharpened and deep ditch; its form is oval, about 300 yards by 150 in area at the top, while the ditch encloses an area of 500x350, its height above the bottom of the ditch is 100 feet. The mound does not lie equidistant from the city walls but near the centre of the east wall. The only entrance is in the south. 13 The deep well on the north side, around whose cylindrical shaft a staircase winds, was built in the Seljuk period as an inscription of Malik Shah, found in a passage bellow, near the steps, shows. After the earthquake of 565 AH, Nur Eddin Zangi (ruled 1145-1178 CE) instituted great works of restoration, of which several inscriptions have survived on towers on the west side. In the interior, Nur Eddin built the lower sanctuary of Ibrahim al-Khalil with a splendid mirhab carved in wood, one of the finest examples of this branch of art. The celebrated minbar of the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem was also originally designed for this sanctuary. Briggs observes that `the remarkable and incontrovertible fact about Muslim architecture is that in all countries, and in all centuries it retained an unmistakable individuality of its own.'15 He also explains how much military architecture was produced by the Muslims between the 9th and twelfth centuries, and was copied by the Crusaders. One such feature of military architecture was the `right angled' or `crooked' entrance to a fortress through a gateway in the walls, whereby an enemy who had reached the gateway could not see or shoot through it into the inner courtyard. These crooked entrances were first used in places such as the `Round City' of Baghdad (8th century,) at Salah Eddin's citadel at Cairo, and at the citadel of Aleppo (Syria).16 In 1260 Hulagu captured and destroyed the fortress so that it had to be entirely restored under the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf al-Khalil; but in the devastating invasion by Timur Lang, The Lame, which took place in the late 14th century, and from which Aleppo never recovered, his hordes destroyed the walls17 as they devastated the city, slaying its population and raping its women (see further down). Another imposing site is the Great Mosque of Aleppo, which lies in the bazaars to the west of the citadel. It was founded during the reign of the Umayyad ruler Suleyman Ibn Abd al-Malik. No traces have however Nasir Khusraw; 2 in G. Le Strange; Palestine; op cit; p. 362. Ibn Butlan in Yaqut Al-Hamawi: Muajam; op cit; ii; pp. 306-308. 13 M. Sobernheim: Halab; Encyclopaedia of Islam; 1st Series; Vol 3; 233-7; at p. 234. 14 M. Sobernheim: Halab; at p. 235. 15 M. S. Briggs: Architecture, in The Legacy of Islam, edited by T. Arnold and A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press, first edition, 1931, pp 155-79; p157. 16 Ibid, pp 167-8. 17 M. Sobernheim: Halab; op cit; p. 235.
12 11
14

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survived of this building built after the plan of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.18 According to tradition, partly confirmed by inscriptions, the present edifice was first begun by the Kadi Ibn Al-Khashab, a great personality of Aleppo, to whom it will be returned, whilst the Seljuk ruler Malik Shah is also responsible for the construction of part of the edifice.19 The lower storey of the minaret bears the date 483 (AH) and its inscriptions mention both Malik Shah and Ibn al-Khashab.20 The architecture of the whole building and the absence of later inscriptions show that in appearance of the whole mosque has remained practically unaltered for centuries, Kalawun, the Mamluk sultan, who succeeded Baybars (d. 1277) built its mihrab as the old one had been destroyed in 1260 during a fire begun by the Armenians who were allied with the Mongols. 21 Four Mamluk maksurahs, which were still seen in 1908, have been removed except the maksurah al-Khatib during the repairs since undertaken. 22 The haram consists of a hall of three naves each with 18 cross vaultings on solid quadrangular pillars. In Malik Shahs time the hall is said to have had marble pillars. 23 The mirhab is a simple deep, round niche, whilst before the haram lies the splendid wide court with old decorative marble pavement, two roofed wells, a sundial and an open prayer estrade. 24 Around it are halls similar to the haram. The two naved east hall belongs to the architectural period of Malik Shah. The north hall with a large reservoir has two naves, it was restored by Barkuk, in 797 hijra.25 Like everywhere else in Islam, mosques and learning went together. Mosques did not just dispense learning, but they also provided books in large numbers in their libraries. In Aleppo, the largest and probably the oldest mosque library, the Sufiya, located at the city's Grand Ummayad Mosque, contained a large book collection of which 10 000 volumes were reportedly bequeathed by the city's most famous ruler, Prince Sayf al-Dawla.26 Where the Muslims surpassed even modern standards, was that they considered that the task of librarian was only for the best scholars amongst them. Muslims, according to Mackensen:
`chose men of unusual attainment as custodians of their libraries. In fact, much of the splendid activity of Arabic libraries is probably due to the quality of men who were pleased to act as librarians. It speaks highly for the generosity of the patrons as well as for the really important work carried out in these libraries, that men of marked ability in various fields felt it worth their while to undertake the duties of custodian.'27
The Sufiya of the Grand Mosque of Aleppo library, for instance, had Muhammad al-Qasarani, an accomplished poet and a man well versed in literature, geometry, arithmetic and astronomy in charge of it as librarian prior to his death about 460 AH/1153 CE.28 The madrasas, the precursors of our modern university colleges, 29 were first established by the Seljuk leader Nizam al-Mulk (murdered by the Ismailis in 1092). Following his madrasa, their spread was so rapid
18 19
M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 235. M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 235. 20 M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 235. 21 M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 235. 22 M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 235. 23 M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 236. 24 M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 236. 25 M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 236. 26 M. Sibai: Mosque Libraries: An Historical Study: Mansell Publishing Limited: London and New York: 1987, p 71. 27 R.S. Mackensen: `Background of the History of Muslim libraries.' In The American Journal of Semitic languages and Literatures, 52 (October 1935) 22-33, p. 24. 28 Y. Eche: Les Bibliotheques Arabes, Publiques et Semi Publiques en Mesopotamie, en Syrie et en Egypte au Moyen Age.

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that at some point in the medieval times, according to Tawtah, 30 there were 14 of them in Aleppo.31 The madrasa al-Halabiya was founded by Nur Eddin Zangi the ruler of Aleppo. The Madrasa al-Halabiya lies to the west of the Great Mosque from which it is separated only by a narrow bazaar street. It is in 517 AH that Kadi Ibn al-Khashab (also to be assassinated by the Ismailis) transformed this church into a mosque in revenge for the destruction of Muslim tombs by the crusaders.
32
In 543 AH, Nur Eddin made it a madrasa.
The first madrasa in Aleppo, however, was the madrasa al-Zadjdjadiya built by Sulaiman b. Abd al-Djabbar b. Ortuk (510-517 AH) of which no traces have survived (a generation later than the Nizamiyah of Baghdad).33 Close behind the Antioch gate lie the remains of the madrasa al-Shuaibiya built by Nur Eddin in 545, which occupies the site of the oldest mosque built in Aleppo built by Abu Ubaida. The importance of this building lies with its luxurious ornament, its architectural features and its kufic inscriptions.34 Ibn alAdim (1192-1262) lists a good number of madrasas around his time, briefly outlined here by Blochet.35 The madrasa al-Attabakiya was founded by the Seljuk Shihab Eddin Toghril, a madrasa which was subsequently burnt down by the Mongols. The madrasa Tumaniya was built by Emir Hussam Eddin Ibn Tuman, Emir of Nur Eddin Zangi. Ibn Shihna tells that in this madrasa there was a section reserved for women. The madrasa Ghoutaisyia built by Saad Eddin Masud, son of Emir Izz Eddin Aibek is known under the name of Ghoutais. This madrasa was destroyed by Timur the Lame when he devastated the city in the late 14 th century CE. The madrasa Djamaliya was built by Djamal al-Dula Ikbalath Thahiri, who attributed to it waqfs made of three wells, and eight oven bakeries.36 Many madrasas were for women or were financed by them, especially under the Mamluks, and in all parts of Islam, such as the one established in Cairo in 634 AH by the daughter of the Mamluk Sultan Tahir, whilst the daughter of Malik Ashraf, known as Khatun, erected a women's Madrasa in Damascus, and another Madrasa was founded by Zamurrad, wife of Nasiruddin of Aleppo.37 Throughout the land of Islam, and despite the demands of the crusader wars (1096-1291 CE), and despite the Mongol invasions and devastations, the Mamluks added many buildings to those erected before them by the Seljuks, and this combined effort is visible in Aleppo. Thus, there the Mamluks added many mosques, a beautiful hospital, a whole series of large warehouses and shops, dwellings, baths and public wells, which have survived.38 With regard to hospitals, medieval Aleppo had four of them, as recorded by Ahmed Issa Bey, who gives us the following outlines on the history of some of them.39 The Hospital al-Nuri, also known as the old hospital in Aleppo, some say that it was built in 1048, by Ibn-Butlan, the physician, under the reign of Nur Eddin Zangi. Ibn Butlan was the physician who later built the hospital in Antioch; here again Damascus: Institut Francais. 1967, p. 134. 29 G. Makdisi, 1981, The Rise of Colleges, Edinburgh University Press. 30 B. Dodge: Muslim Education in Medieval times; The Middle East Institute, Washington, D.C. 1962. p. 23. 31 J. Pedersen: The Arabic Book, (1928) tr by Geoffrey French; Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey (1984). p. 128. 32 M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 236. 33 M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 236. 34 M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 236. 35 Kamal eddin: Histoire dAlep; translated with additional notes by E. Blochet; Paris; Ernest leroux; Editeur; Paris; 1900. pp. 235-7. 36 Kamal eddin: Histoire dAlep;. pp. 235-7. 37 S.M Hossain: A Plea for a Modern Islamic university: Resolution of the Dichotomy. In Aims and Objectives of Islamic education: Edited by S M al-Naquib al-Attas: Hodder and Stoughton, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah. 1977, pp 91-103; at p. 100. 38 M. Sobernheim: Halab; p. 236. 39 A Issa Bey: Histoire des hopitaux en Islam; Beirut; Dar ar raid alarabi; 1981; p. 190.

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tradition has it that Ibn-Butlan chose the most favourable site for the hospital by hanging pieces of meat in various parts of the city, and selecting the site where the meat showed the least decomposition. The hospital was built near the market of al-Hawa, in the street which is now called Zukak al-Bahramia. The area above the gateway or entrance to the hospital was decorated with an inscription. It praises the king who ordered the hospital to be built, and lauds him as the protector of the faithful and the enemy of the infidel. From the l'lam al-Nubala, a work written in 1880, Issa quotes: 'Today this bimaristan has fallen completely in ruins, and the only thing left is the entrance gateway, or portal, and the outside walls inside which poor strangers live." 40 The New Bimaristan in Aleppo, Issa Bey quotes from the work, l'lam al-Nubala, that Prince Arghun alKamili, Viceroy of Aleppo, built this hospital in 1344, inside the porte of Qinnasrin. The prince insisted that it should be as perfect as possible. It was built on solid foundations, with wards most carefully planned. It was staffed with physicians and attendants to provide for every need of the sick inhabitants of the city as well as strangers. Flowing water was supplied to the hospital in abundance. The hospital was endowed with many waqfs which provided funds in excess of the needs of the institution. High officials were appointed at different times to manage the affairs of the hospital. But decades later as the waqfs and endowments were greatly reduced the hospital rapidly went from bad to worse. Until the end of the seventeenth century the hospital had functioned regularly, but after that time it was neglected and part of the building was in ruins. The same work described in detail the condition of the building as in partial ruin, and noted that the rooms formerly used to house the insane patients were so dreadful that the fetid air and darkness would drive a sane person insane if he were kept in them for more than a few hours. 41 The medical historian, Whipple, inspected the ruins of these two hospitals when he visited Aleppo in December, 1959, in his search for the sites and ruins of the hospitals that had been built in the Near and Middle East during the Middle Ages. The Director of the Museum of Antiquities in Aleppo told about the remains of the only two ancient hospitals in that city. There was little of the Old Hospital remaining, although the inscription over what was left of the entrance gate was still visible. There were three rooms inside the outer wall that may have been part of the original building, but the few more recently built rooms were occupied by indigent Arab families.42 The New Hospital was in a less ruined state; the entrance gate was still intact. Opening off it was a courtyard, with a small fountain in its centre. On the eastern side of the court was a passageway which led to a smaller court. Opening from this were three small rooms that must have been used for the insane patients, for there were iron rings in the walls, and the single small window in each room was protected with iron bars. There were a number of other rooms in a more ruined state, which were unable to be inspected because they were occupied by three Arab families, indigent and forlorn looking. Certainly there was no evidence of what was supposed to be a large and well-planned hospital. The description of the remains of this building, the two courts and the passageway between them, as given by the author of l'Iam
al-Nubala, corresponded closely with what we saw. 43
Isa Bey 205. Isa Bey 205 fwd. 42 A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977. p. 91. 43 Whipple 91.
41
40

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Issa Bey mentions briefly two other hospitals in Aleppo, but gives very little data regarding them.44 The Hospital of Bani al-Daqqaq. This old hospital was incorporated into the residence of Sa'dun al-Dawadar at a later date. It was situated west of al-Halawiyah. No date for the construction of the hospital or its builder is given. Issa Bey quotes the author of l'Iam al-Nubala as saying that at the portal of the Great Northern Mosque in Aleppo there existed a hospital, having a large entrance gate. It was founded by Ibn-Kharkhar (date not given), but was closed at the time of writing the above statement.45 Aleppo, as just seen, has produced large numbers of sites of great renown, and also architects who contributed each in their skills to erect some of such great sites in their variety, whether hospitals, madrasas, bridges, parts of the citadel, fortifications, etc. All these works, in their entirety were the labours of the Muslims, whether Seljuks, Mamluks, or Arabs. Yet, most modern Western historians, apparently here to enlighten on the history of Islam, in reality completely reshape it, turning things upside down, the destroyer of Islamic civilisation, i.e. the crusader, the Mongol, and Timur the Lame turned into forces of good, and the builder, and above all the defender of Islam, who fought and saved Muslims from extinction, turned into an evil, destructive force. Thus, we read one such modern, reputable historian, Ashtor, here lashing at the Seljuk and Muslim engineering ineptness. Thus Ashtor says, for instance:
`The attentive reader of the Arabic chronicles of the Seljukid age becomes aware of these facts at time and again he comes across reports of bridges falling down and dams bursting. For often the chronicler reveals that it was not simply the consequence of negligence but of bad construction and ineffective repairs. 46
And, from the same author:
`The technological knowledge possessed in former times by Persian and Babylonian engineers was lost. 47 `The execution of great constructions in Egypt at the end of the twelfth century, does not contradict the supposition of technological decline. For the citadel and the new walls of Cairo, which were constructed by order of Saladin, were built by Christian prisoners. 48
Yet, reality, shows such construction skills preserved and even improved all over the Muslim world. One need not refer to great lengths to the Seljuk accomplishments in their own realm, primarily Konya, and all over the Seljuk realm, which can be consulted by anyone reading on Seljuk architecture.49 One need not dwell on the imbecilic remark that suddenly the Muslims of Egypt could not build a thing, for, as can be consulted in the work by Mayer, there are hundreds of names, all Muslims, and the greatest works in Cairo were by Muslim engineers.50 This work focusing on Aleppo, shows, as outlined by Mayer,51 that construction skills prevailed amongst Muslims at a time, when according to Ashtor, it seems the Muslims could not build a wall. Hence, Hasan B. Mufarrasj as-Sarmani in 1091, erected the upper part of the minaret of the great
44 45
Isa Bey: Histoire; op cit; p. 208. Isa Bey 208. 46 E. Ashtor: A Social and Economic History of the Near East in the Middle Ages; Collins; London; 1976. p. 244. 47 E. Ashtor: A Social and Economic History. p. 245. 48 E. Ashtor: A Social and Economic Histor; p. 245. 49 As can be found, for instance, in D. Talbot Rice: Islamic Art; Thames and Hudson; London; 1979. 50 L.A. Mayer: Muslim architects and their works; Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956.

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mosque of Aleppo. In the following century, in 1112, Fahd B. Salman as-Sarmani erected the mihrab of the Maqam Ibrahim at Salihin, perhaps even the whole building. In 1150-1; Said B .AbdAllah erected the Madrsa Shuaibiya at the Bab Antakiya. In 1159, Isa B, Ali erected the Khanqah of Sunqurjah for Nur Eddin Zangi. In 1193, Abu Abdallah and Abu R-Radja, two brothers, stone cutters and wood workers erected the mihrab of the madrasa Shadhbakhtiya. In 1203-4 Abu Thabit Yaqut erected a building opposite the mausoleum of the Al-Khashab Family. In 1256, Abu Ali Al-Halabi worked at the restoration of the main entrance gate and other parts of the Citadel of Sinop in Asia Minor undertaken by Kaikawus B. Kaikhusrau, and in 1231, he erected the Red Tower at Alanya. In 1236-7, Abul Farradj Al-Banna erected part of the walls of Dyar Al-Bakr according to designs made by JaAfar b. Mahmud al-Halabi. In 1245-6, the architect Muhammad B, Al-Jarrar rebuilt the Hallayiyya Madrasa. Muhammad B, As-Sawwaf who was a master who flourished in the late 15th century, in 1494-5 erected the mosque known as Jami ad-Daraj. Ahmad B, AlAthar, in the years 1508-1514 restored the Citadel of Aleppo by orders of the Mamluk ruler Qansuh alGawri.52 And it is not just architects that Aleppo produced, but a great number of scholars, of which the following is only an outline. It must be noted, however, that very often it is very difficult to locate the scholars of Islam in one place, for they lived and worked in different places, as they went on pilgrimage, or moved according to the woes of history. But this outline and others on other cities will seek to be as accurate as possible in placing scholars in the places where they thrived most, or are related to the closest.
The Scholars of Aleppo
Figure 3. Inside Citadel53
L.A. Mayer: Muslim architects: pp. 35; 36; 37; 42; 60; 66; 74; 96; 103; 117; and 133. L.A. Mayer: Muslim architects: pp. 35; 36; 37; 42; 60; 66; 74; 96; 103; 117; and 133. 53 http://www.syrianstudents.com/pages/syria%20photos/aleppo/the%20welcoming%20room%20inside%20aleppo%20cita del.jpg
52
51

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Al-Farabi The ruler Sayf al-Dawla provided a house at Aleppo for al-Farabi, known in Latin as Alpharabius. Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Uzlagh al-Farabi was born in Wasit near Farab, Turkestan, of a Turkish family; studied in Baghdad; flourished chiefly in Aleppo; died in Damascus 950-51, aged c. 80.54 AlFarabi, who was keenly interested in the relation between logic and language, also studied Arabic grammar with the noted grammarian Ibn al-Sarraj (d. 929). For reasons not fully known, al-Farabi left Baghdad for Syria in 942,55 where he is said to have been sponsored by the Arab prince of Aleppo, Sayf al-Dawla (who came into power in 945).56 "He (Al-Farabi) was the most indifferent of men to the things of this world," says Ibn Khallikan; "he never gave himself the least trouble to acquire a livelihood or possess a habitation." 57 Sayf al-Dawla asked him how much he needed for his maintenance; al-Farabi thought that four dirhems (~$2) a day would suffice; the prince settled this allowance on him for life.58 Thirty-nine works by al-Farabi survive. Some of his works, notably The Enumeration of the Sciences and the Treatise on the Intellect, were translated into Latin and known to medieval Scholastics and to philosophers of the Italian Renaissance.59 He wrote a number of commentaries on Aristotle (physics, meteorology, logical treatises, etc.), on Porphyry's "Isagoge," on Ptolemy's Almagest," but his own writings deal chiefly with psychology and metaphysics.60 His own philosophy is developed in such works as Tahsil al-Sa'ada (The attainment of happiness), which forms the first part of a trilogy, Ihsa al-'ulum (The enumeration of the sciences), Kitab al-milla (The book of religion), al-siyasa al-madaniyya (The political regime), and Ara ahl al-madina al-fadila (The opinions of the citizens of the virtuous city).61 The Bezels of Philosophy, (Risala Fusus al-Hikam) is a short philosophical introduction.62 Al-Farabi is the author of a treatise on the classification and fundamental principles of science, Kitab ihsa al-'ulum, "De Scientiis," and "De ortu scientiarum".63 It summarizes the knowledge of his time in philology, logic, mathematics, physics, chemistry, economics, and politics.64 This work was translated in the 12th century by the Latin translator Gundisalvi.65 Escorial Arab 646. 66 A much later translation of this work is into Spanish by G. Palencia who publishes the Arabic text of Ihssa al-Ulum or catalogue of the sciences according to MS.
Carra de Vaux: Al-Farabi; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; vol. 2, 1913; pp. 53-5. M. Marmura: Al-Farabi: Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1982 fwd. p. 9. 56 M. Marmura: Al-Farabi: Dictionary of the Middle Ages; p. 9. 57 IBn Khallikan: wafayat al-Ayan wa-Anba Abna al-Zaman, Biographical Dictionary, tr., M. De Slane Duprat, Paris and Allen & Co., London, 1843., iii. 309-10. 58 W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950.; p. 253. 59 M. Marmura: Al-Farabi; op cit; p. 10. 60 G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institute; Washington; ; vol 1; p. 628. 61 M. Marmura: Al-Farabi; op cit; p. 10. 62 Friedrich Dieterici: Alfarabi's philosophische Abhandlungen; in Die Philosophie der Araber, vols. 14-15, Leiden, 18901892. Arabic text and German translation of nine small treatises, including "the bezels of philosophy." p. 219). 63 P. M. Bouyges: Sur le De scientlis recemment edite en arabe a Saida et sur le De divisione philosophiae de Gundissalinus; in Melanges de l'Universite St. Joseph, vol.9, pp. 49-69, Beirut; 1924. 64 W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 253. 65 see Liber Alpharabii de ortu scientiarum, as translated c. 1130-1150 by Gundisalvi; ISIS, IV, 135). 66 A. Gonzales Palencia: Alfarabi Catalogo de las Ciencias. Edicion y traduccion Castellana, Madrid 1932.
55
54

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Al-Farabi was conversant with the whole scientific thought of his day. He wrote a very important treatise on the theory of music (Kitab al- musiqi), where he demonstrated knowledge of mensural music and recognized the major third (4:5) and the minor third (5:6) as consonances. 67 His work Al-Medina al-FadilaThe Ideal City; (The Model city) (Risala fi mabadi ara ahl al-Madina alFadila); the organisation of an ideal city, is of great sociological interest.68 Al-Farabi discusses the structure of the "virtuous" city, the qualities its leadership must have, and the various types of "non virtuous" cities. The majority of these latter are characterized as "ignorant" because of their leaders ignorance of the true nature of happiness. Related to this is al-Farabi's eschatology, according to which immortality is confined to those souls that have knowledge of what constitutes true happiness.69 Durant outlines the contents of this work further.70 It opens with a description of the law of nature as one of perpetual struggle of each organism against all the rest; every living thing, in the last analysis, sees in all other living things a means to its ends. Some cynics argue from this, says al-Farabi, that in this inescapable competition the wise man is he who best bends others to his will, and most fully achieves his own desires. How did human society emerge from this law of the jungle? Some thought that society had begun in an agreement, among individuals, that their survival required the acceptance of certain restraints through custom or law; others laughed this "social contract" out of history and insisted that society, or the state, had begun as the conquest and regimentation of the weak by the strong, where states themselves struggle with one another for ascendancy, security, power, and wealth; war is natural and inevitable; and as in the law of nature, the only right is might. Al-Farabi counters this view with an appeal to his fellow men to build a society not upon envy, power, and strife, but upon reason, devotion, and love. He ends safely by recommending a monarchy based upon strong religious belief.71 Djamal Eddin Ibn Al-Qifti During the crusades, Aleppo remained a great centre of Muslim scholarship where many scholars retired to form a sort of fraternity, especially as this city remained protected by the might of the armies of Nur Eddin Zangi (1145-1173), in particular, hence, the one place, which protected Muslim scholarship until 1260 when it was devastated by the Mongols. This fraternity is symbolised by Djamal Eddin Ibn Al-Qifti, a vizier around whom much scholarship thrived in Aleppo. He was born in Egypt, in the year 1172. At a young age, his father took him to Cairo to learn to read and write, then he left Cairo for Jerusalem then, finally Aleppo, where he spent the rest of his life,72 first by the side of Emir Maymun al-Kasry. In Aleppo Ibn al-Qifti met another great scholar, who was close to the Emir: Youssef al-Sibti (d. 1226).73 When the Emir Al-Maymun died, Ibn al-Qifti retired from his functions into utmost solitude, running away from the world, and instead devoting all his time and energies to studies, still, subsequent rulers called upon him to resume his ministerial functions until he died in 1248.74
67
H.G. Farmer: The Arabian Influence on musical theory; in Journal of Royal Asiatic Society; 1925; pp. 61-80. and Sarton I; p. 628. 68 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 1; op cit; p. 628. 69 M. Marmura: Al-Farabi; p. 10. 70 W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 254. 71 W. Durant: The Age; op cit; 254. 72 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 684. 73 L Leclerc: Histoire de la Medecine Arabe; 2 vols; Paris; 1876; vol II; p. 193. 74 Leclerc II; p. 194.

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Ibn Al-Qifti enjoyed the company of scholars and their discussions, and was also the patron of scholars, and he became scholar himself, helped by his own assiduous efforts.75 He is a singular character who only found pleasure amongst books, so much so he never acquired a house despite his ministerial functions, and his morality remained impeccable to the end.76 Such was his love for books, he collected them in all their large numbers and variety, and his private library amounted to 50,000 books, which were legated to Malik AnNasir, a collection estimated after his death at 60000 Dinars, 77 or by Leclerc at the end of the 19th century at nearly a million Francs.78 His books were collected from all parts of the world and were all masterpieces; the authorship of the greatest scholars, even written by their own hand. Once, Ibn al-Qifti bought a book, which was missing a part. One day a tradesman brought him some pages of this part, which Ibn al-Qifti purchased, asking for the rest. When the tradesman told him he had used them to wrap his goods for sale, Ibn Al-Qifti mourned so much the loss that he suspended his ministerial functions.79 Ibn al-Qiftis own scholarship concerns lexicology, grammar, jurisprudence, tradition, the Quran, logic, astronomy, mathematics, history, and medicine. He is famed for his biography of scholars, called Kitab Ikhbar al-Ulama bi Akhbar al-Hukama, or information given to the learned on the history of the wise.80 This work is known through the summary made in 1249-50 by Al-Zawzani in a work generally known as Tarikh al-Hukama (the history of the wise). Mullers investigations by Julius Lippert.
81
The Tarikh al-Hukama was edited on the basis of August
The Spanish orientalist, Casiri, was the first to bring to light this
work. The work contains information on the life and works of more than 414 very unequal biographies of ancient and Muslim physicians, men of sciences and philosophers. 82 The information is very substantive, including very useful and rich information on the lives of such scholars. To have an idea of the length and volume of information in the work, it ought to be reminded that the manuscript at the Escurial in Madrid contains 500 pages, with fifteen lines each of small writing.83 The richness of this work on the life of Islamic scholarship is obvious, yet, as Sarton rightly observes, there has never been a full English translation of this work, which is very much needed.84 Ibn al-Qifti is also the author of other works, which include: Annals of grammarians. Annals of Egypt from the beginning to the time of Salah Eddin History of the Yemen Discourse on Sahih al-Bukhari History of the Seljuk Response to the Christians The best transcriptions since the invention of writing.85
` Kamal Eddin Ibn al-Adim

75 76
G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. L. Leclerc: Histoire; II; op cit; p. 194. 77 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 78 L. Leclerc: Histoire; II; op cit; p. 194. 79 Leclerc II; p. 195. 80 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 81 518 pp; Berlin; 1903. 82 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 83 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; II; p. 196. 84 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 85 L. Leclerc II; p. 198.
684. 684. 684. 684. 684.

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Kamal Eddin Ibn al-Adim (1192-1262) is the historian of his native city, Aleppo, most especially through his enormous biographical work, not yet published in modern times: Bughyat al-Talab (The students desire), which is a collection of biographies of the famous men of Aleppo arranged alphabetically,86 of which only a part remains. He also wrote his history of the city: Zubdat al-Halab fi taarikh Halab (The cream of the history of Aleppo), which describes the history of Aleppo up to 1243.87 Ibn al-Adim also wrote a guide for the making of perfumes, Kitab al-wuslat (or wasilat) ila-l- habib fi wasf al-tayibat wal-tibb 88 Ibn al-Adim was appointed professor in a madrasa of Aleppo in 1219-20, and later Qadi and Visier to the Ayyubid rulers of Aleppo, Al-Aziz and Al-Nasir. 89 It is with the latter that he fled to Egypt when the Mongols captured and devastated the city in 1260.90 This is only one episode of the very dramatic history of the city, which had earlier played a decisive role in Muslim history during the crusades as the last part of this work will show. Ibn al-Adim gives a very interesting and enlightening account, which is briefly summed up here, of one of the most decisive battles of the first crusade, at Balat in 1119, a battle that saved Aleppo from the crusader onslaught, which devastated much of Syria and Palestine:
Il-Ghazi and Tughtikin (The Muslim leaders) went together to Mardin and from there sent messages to the Muslim armies and to Turcoman soldiers far and near to join them in the great army they were mustering. Messengers arrived from Aleppo begging Il-Ghazi to hurry there as the Franks were raiding al-Athrib, south of Aleppo, and morale was low Sir Roger, the crusade ruler of Antioch assembled the Frankish and Armenian armies and made straight for the iron bridge (over the Orontes) and went from there to take up his position at Balat, between the two mountains near the Sarmada pass, north of al-Atharib. He camped there on Friday 20 June 1119. The Muslims waited for Tughtekin to arrive but he did not. Il-Ghazi was thus goaded into immediate action against the enemy. He made all the emirs and commanders renew their oath to fight bravely, to stand form without retreating, and to offer their lives in Holy War. To this they cheerfully swore At the head of the Muslim army was Ibn al-Khashab, the Qadi of Aleppo, mounted on a mare and carrying a lance, and urging the Muslims on to war. A soldier seeing the Qadi said: `So we left home and come all this way to march behind a turban. But the Qadi at the head of the troops rode up and down the lines haranguing them and using all his eloquence to summon every energy and rise to the highest pitch of enthusiasm, until men wept with emotion and admiration. Then Tugha Arslan Ibn Dimlaj (Amir of Arzan in the Jazira, and vassal of Ilghazi) led the charge, and the army swept down on the enemy tents, spreading chaos and destruction. God gave victory to the Muslims. The Franks who fled their camp were slaughtered. The Turks fought superbly, charging the enemy from every direction. Arrows flew thick as locusts, and the Franks, with missiles raining down on infantry and cavalry alike, turned and fled. Roger was killed, and so were 15,000 of his men A signal of victory reached Aleppo as the Muslims were assembled for the noon prayer in the Great Mosque. When the prisoners were brought in front of Il-Ghazi, he noticed one of magnificent physique who had been captured by a small, thin, ill armed Muslim. As he passes before the Prince the Turcoman soldiers said to him: àre not you ashamed to have been captured by this little man with a physique like yours? The Frank replied: `By God, this man did not capture me; he is not my
86 87 88 89
G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; op cit; p. 683. See: E. Blochet: lHistoire dAlep de Kamaladdin; Revue de lOrient Latin; 1896 to 1899; French Transation.. G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 684. G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 683.

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conqueror. The man who captured me was a great man, greater and stronger than I, and he handed me over to this fellow. He wore a green robe and rode a green horse. 91
Khalifa Ben Abi Al-Mahassin Syria produced a number of eminent writers in the field of eye surgery, such as a certain Salah al-Din, who wrote
Kitab Nur al-uyun wa-Jami al-Funun (light of the eyes), which is most particularly interesting in its mentioning all
preceding authorities and their works, including Ali.b. Isa, Ammar, Ibn Jazla... Better known, though, is Khalifa Ben Abi Al-Mahassin (13th century) of Aleppo, who is the author of a large work of 564 pages in which he describes and gives drawings of various surgical instruments including 36 instruments for eye surgery.92 He is known to us through his work containing 250 pp on eye surgery; the treatise entitled: Kitab al-Kafi fil Kohl The Sufficient Book on the Collyrium, 93 where he mentions eighteen major ophthalmologic texts; his work was very practical, too, with very good descriptions of cataract operations, and the instruments used, and also the steps to be taken after the operation.94 A manuscript of it was written by another hand in 1275 (Currently at the BN of Paris); the author was a Muslim the copyist, Abd Al-Aziz, was a Christian.95 Chapters in the treatise deal with diseases, their definitions, descriptions, varieties, causes, symptoms, treatment and medicines and cures for them. 96 Some chapters deal with the qualities an eye surgeon must have, and also there is a chapter where surgery for the removal of the cataract is described in good detail, including the authors own experience. The last one hundred pages of the manuscript deal with simples and diets.97 In the introduction the author cites all his predecessors in eye surgery. The authors cited represent diverse aspects of the science and Al-Mahassins aim was to provide a compilation of such issues.98 The treatise subdivides into two halves: Anatomy and therapeutic Hygiene and also includes a particular chapter for affections and treatment which is for general medical surgery. 99 The works first main part on the anatomy of the eye is subdivided as follows:100 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
90 91
Definition, colour of the eye. Tunics of the eye; The fluids of the eye. Visual power and its nerves. Motive nerves. Muscles of the eye, eyelids and eyelashes. The second part on treatment is also divided into six chapters: Generalities. Hygiene of the eye; things which are useful and things which are harmful. How to open the eye and introduce drugs into it.
G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 683. Kamal Eddin: zubdat al-Halab fi taarikh Halab; II; pp. 187-90. 92 M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology; E. J. Brill; Leiden, 1973. p. 129. 93 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; vol 2; p. 145. 94 M. Levey: Early Arabic; op cit; p. 129. 95 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 1101. 96 Leclerc; vol 2; p. 146. 97 Leclerc; vol 2; p. 147. 98 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 1101. 99 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; vol 2; p. 146. 100 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 1101.

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! ! !
The best kind of probe and its use. Tools for the handling of the collyria. Best garments for the eye doctor.
The text generally consists of two vertical texts on the same page progressing in parallel.101 The illustrations found in the manuscript of this treatise are very remarkable, chiefly a schematic figure representing the brain with its membranes, together with the eyes and eye nerves (the latter are shown crossed; i.e. the right eye is controlled by the left part of the brain and vice versa). 102 The schema of the brain and eyes occurs only in a late manuscript., but it goes back undoubtedly to an old Arabic tradition and it is the earliest drawing of its kind which has come down to us. 103 There are in the work synoptic tables relative to the diseases of the eyes and eyelids, giving for each disease the definition, description, varieties, causes, symptoms, treatments, drugs including narcotics; and other tables relative to surgical cases. Finally there is a list of drugs. 104 The most remarkable synoptic table is the one related to instruments; each table contains 18 such instruments, with its name and its usage.105 The instruments are in colour, and perfectly drawn; some instruments are for the operations on cataracts, others for eye infections which do not affect the senses.106 The author himself is so confident in his own talents as eye surgeon, that he did not fear to operate the cataract of a one eyed man. 107 Al Urdi Al Urdi (d. 1266) from Aleppo, is famed for his Kitab al-Hayah (A Book on astronomy). He was the first astronomer associated with Maragha to initiate constructing planetary models.108 He built astronomical instruments and wrote
The instruments of the observatory of Maragha.109 Al-Urdi is also an architect and engineer who began his technical
career in Syria, doing some engineering (Hydraulic) work in Damascus and constructed an astronomical instrument for the King of Hims Al-Mansur Ibrahim (ruler of Hims 1239-45).110 Following the invasion of Syria by the Mongols in 1259-60, Al-Urdi was taken to Maragha to work in the observatory there. Al-Urdis description of the instruments at Maragha shows that the Muslims realised the need for precise instruments and methods; and much importance was attached to such matters as the stability and correctness of the instruments and of each of their parts.111 Al-Urdi also wrote two other treatises:
Risala fi amal al-Kura (Construction of the perfect sphere)

On the Determination of the distance between the centre of the sun and the apogee.
L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; vol 2; p. 146. G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 1102. 103 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 1102. 104 See J. Hirschberg; J. Lippert, and E. Mittwoch: Die arabischen Lehrbucher der Augenheilkunde; Abhdl. Der preussischen Akademie, Chiefly pp. 12; 73-84; 1905. See also G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; pp. 1101-2. 105 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; vol 2; p. 146. 106 Leclerc; vol 2; p. 146. 107 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 1101. 108 B. Hetherington: A Chronicle of Pre-Telescopic Astronomy; John Wiley and Sons; Chichester; 1996. p. 159. 109 See: A. Jourdain: memoire sur lobservatoire de Maragha et les instruments employes pour y observer; in Magasins encyclopedique; Vol 6; 43 etc; 1809; Paris; 1810. 110 G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 1013. 111 G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 1013.
102
101

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Astronomical treatises and a treatise on Ptolemaic astronomy are also ascribed to him.112 Ibn al-Lubudi Ibn al-Lubudi was a physician, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher, born in Aleppo in 1210-1; died after 1267.113 He studied medicine in Damascus under the famed al-Dakhwar, then Ibn al-Lubudi entered the services of Mansur Ibrahim ruler of Hims (1239-45), and then Najm Eddin Ayyub appointed him government inspector in Alexandria, a post he later occupied in Syria after his return from Egypt.114 Ibn al-Lubudi wrote a number of medical works: treatises on rheumatism, on Hippocrats aphorisms, on the questions of Hunayn Ibn Ishaq. Only two of his works have survived: Collection of discussions relative to fifty psychological and medical questions (discussions which are merely theoretical not experimental); Commentary on the generalities (Kulliyat) of Ibn Sinas Qanun. The first work (Collection of discussions) is of interest here. This work is found in the Escurial in Madrid. In this work Al-Labudi deals with such matters as: ! ! ! ! ! ! Question 19: The body and its preservation depend upon blood exclusively, and not upon the four humours as held by the majority of scholars and philosophers. Question 25: That contrary to what Galen holds, women do not produce sperm. Question 27: that the movement of the arteries is proper to them and does not depend upon the movements of the heart. Question 29: That the first limb that forms in the body is the heart, which is contrary to what Hippocrate holds, which in his opinion is the brain. Question 34: That the bones forming the skull can grow into tumours. Question 58: That in cases of extreme fever, releases are not advised.115
Ibn al-Lubidis mathematical writings include: An extract from Euclid; An Arithmetical Textbook; A Treatise on Algebra. 116 He also compiled astronomical tables: al-Zahir (the brilliant) extracted from the tables of Habash Al-Hasib who lived in the early 9th century; and al-Muqarab (the approximate) based on his observations.117 In the year 1325, Ibn Sarraj flourished in Aleppo. He devised two kinds of universal astrolabes; developed several varieties of markings for the almucantar quadrant, and devised various highly ingenious trigonometric grids as alternatives to the simple sine quadrant.118 Ahmad al-Halabi (d. 1455) is an astronomer from Aleppo. He wrote on instruments, including: Bughyat al-Tulab fil
amal bi rub al-astrulab, which translates as Aims of pupils on operations with the quadrant of astrolabe, which can
112 113 114 115 116 117 118
G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 1014. See F. Wustenfeld: Geschichte der Arabischen Aertze und Naturforscher; Gottingen; 1840; p. 120. Ibn Abi Usaibiya: Wafayat al-Iyan; Mullers edition; vol 2; 1884; p. 185. In L, Leclerc: Histoire; vol 2; op cit; p. 161. G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; . 624. G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; . 624. B. Hetherington: A Chronicle; op cit; p. 172.

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be located at Leyden (1001/8); Paris (2524/10); Princeton (Yehuda 1168), and the Garrett Collection; the description of the Leyden manuscript accomplished by Ruska and Hartner.119 Another treatise of his is titled Nubdha fil amal bu jawdal al-nisba al-sittiniya, which is a concise exposition of operations with tables with sexagesimal ratio, which is now found at Oxford University (Oxford I 1035/1).120 A third treatise is on the operations with the sine quadrant titled: Risala fil amal bu rub al-mujayyab, a treatise that can be located at Princeton University (Yehuda 1168, after A1).121 Al-Halabi also wrote Jadwal irtifa al-kawakib al-thabita
inda tulu al-Fajr (table of the fixed stars on the ascension of dawn) which is now at Cairo (Falak 8525/2), and a final
work to mention here is his table for the Azimuth for the latitude of Damascus, which is also located in the same Cairo library.122 Al-Halabi: Ibrahim B. Muhammad is one of the rare, late scholars. He is a native of Aleppo, where he studied, on top of his other learning in Cairo, then he came to Constantinople where he filled the office of preacher and professor and died in 1549 at the age of 90. He is a jurist author of a handbook, according to the Hanafi school much used in Turkey, and often annotated.123 Its title is Multaka l-Abkur printed in Al-Halabi also Istanbul repeatedly. The French translation of this work has been made by Sauvaire, Marseilles; 1882, whilst the Turkish translation was by H. Raghib, printed in Bulak in Istanbul in 1889. composed other works, of which little is said.
124
Aleppo, City of the Great and Valorous

Aleppo symbolises, and by far, some of the greatest of Islamic history and civilisation. It symbolises the city that during the crusades was with Mosul and Cairo a leading centre of Muslim resistance to the crusades, the home of the great Muslim leaders, who literally saved the land when it was most vulnerable, and the home of the greatest leader of them all, the only one, who of all Muslims leaders at all times, comes the nearest to the first four caliphs: Nur Eddin Zangi (ruled 1145-1173). Aleppo also symbolises the decay of Muslim civilisation but for no fault of its own, but due to the repeated attacks and devastations caused by the Mongols, and later Timur the Lang, who slaughtered the citys population and devastated it for centuries to come. The great role of Aleppo began during the crusades. It was in the vicinity of where the onslaught of the crusaders occurred, such as at the neighbouring Maarrat an-Numan. In 1098, the crusaders took Maarrat anNuman. The siege was valiantly sustained, until, as in Antioch, one night, some defenders began to desert their place, followed by others who saw them.125 The crusaders seized their chance, and scaled the undefended walls; then entered the city. The terrified population hid in their homes, but to no avail. For three days the slaughter never stopped; the crusaders killed more than 100,000 people.126 The chronicler of nearby Aleppo, Ibn al-Adim (d. 1262), tells of the carnage:
B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, astronomers and other scholars of Islamic civilisation; Research Center for Islamic History, art and Culture; Istanbul; 2003; p. 281. 120 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, 281. 121 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, 281. 122 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, 281. 123 Unauthored note in Encyclopaedia of Islam; first series; vol 3; p. 236. 124 Unauthored note in Encyclopaedia of Islam; first series; vol 3; p. 236. 125 Ibn al-Athir: Kitab al-kamil; ed K.J. Tornberg; 12 vols; Leiden; 1851-72. vol x; p. 190. 126 Ibn al-Athir: Vol x; p. 190.
119

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`They (the Franks) killed a great number under torture. They extorted people's treasures. They prevented people from (getting) water, and sold it to them. Most of the people died of thirst... No treasure remained there that was not extorted by them. They destroyed the walls of the town, burned its mosques and houses and broke the minbars. 127
The Crusaders sought to take Aleppo, and its fate would have been the same as in Maarat an-Numan, Antioch, Jerusalem, Tyre, and anywhere else, the total slaughter of its population as just seen with Maarat. The Muslim victory at Balat in 1119 described above saved it. Then in 1124, Aleppo was besieged by Baldwin, St Giles of Tripoli, Joscelyn Count of Edessa and their Muslim allies (led by Dubais ibn Sadaqa.)128 The siege lasted nine months, Aleppo reaching the verge of starvation when it was rescued in January 1125 by Il-Bursuqi, governor of Mosul, who forced the Franks and their Muslim allies to retreat to Antioch.129 IlBursuqis counter offensive was cut short on 26 November 1127 when he was murdered by the Ismailis.130 In these early stages, resistance to the crusades was mostly from Mosul, and all the great leaders of the Muslim resistance came from that city, the last great leader amongst them being Imad Eddin Zangi, who also died assassinated in 1145. Imad Zangi left two sons, and the greatest amongst them, Nur Eddin, became the ruler of Aleppo, and with him the Muslim fight back against the crusades shifted straight from Mosul to Aleppo. Before Nur Eddin, Aleppo had already produced one of its most valorous men: The Qadi Ibn Al-Khashab (d. 528/II33-4). Not content to sit back in the mosque or madrasa and to preach and teach jihad, Ibn alKhashab was also closely involved in the running of affairs in Aleppo at a time when the city was extremely vulnerable to external attacks.131 Indeed, in the early twelfth century the Aleppan notables had sought military support from Baghdad against the Franks, before turning in desperation to the Turcoman ruler of Mardin, Il-Ghazi.132 In these negotiations Ibn al-Khashab was prominent. According to the town chronicler of Aleppo, Ibn al-'Adim, Ibn al-Khashab was responsible for the defence of the city and for taking care of its interests. In difficult times of chaos it is noteworthy that prominent religious figures were ready to shoulder administrative duties and assume civic leadership. 133 Ibn al-Khashab is known to have been present amongst the troops just before the battle of Balat 513 AH / 1119 CE, preaching to them as described above. It was Ibn Al-Khashab, who in 1111 led people in riots against the inept caliph of Baghdad to demand intervention against the Franks, but was finally assassinated by the Ismailis in 1134.134 Aleppo soon, though, became the home of the great leader, who was, for the first time able to reunite the Muslim world into a strong power, by bringing Egypt and Syria together, the ruler of Aleppo: Nur Eddin Y.Tabba: Monuments with a message, in The Meeting of Two Worlds; Ed V.P. Goss; Kalamazoo; Michigan; 1986; pp. 223-40; at p. 233. 128 The First and second Crusades from an Anonymous Syriac Chronicle: Translated by A.S. Tritton; with notes by H.A.R. Gibb: pp 69-101. Journal of The Royal Asiatic Society (JRAS) 1933. p.96. 129 The first and second Crusades.p.96. 130 S. Runciman: A History of the Crusades; Cambridge University Press; 1951 fwd; Vol ii; p. 175. 131 C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades; Islamic Perspectives; Edinburgh; 2001; p. 109. 132 Hillenbrand: the crusades; p. 109. 133 Ibn al-'Adim: Zubda, op cit; Dahan edition; vol II, p. I85. 134 C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades, op cit; p.110.
127

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Zangi (d. 1173). It is needless to dwell on Nur Eddins Zangi character, nor on his military achievements, which will fill a whole encyclopaedia, he, just like his father, Imad, and just like the Mamluk leader, Baybars, a century after him, fought and led Muslim armies in the field of battle from the youngest age until death.135 Nur Eddin continued from Aleppo the decisive role began by Mosul in saving the land of Islam; Nur Eddin continued his fathers role winning crushing victories against the crusaders. At the head of his armies, and assisted by his able general Shirquh (the Kurdish Uncle of Salah Eddin El-Ayyubi), in June 1149, Zangi crushed the combined forces of the crusades led by Raymond and the Ismailis led by Ali Ibn Wafa; the whole military elites of both forces eliminated at a stroke.136 The year after Nur-Eddin recaptured many advanced positions around Antioch, capturing Tell-Bashir, and inflicting another defeat on Joscelin of Edessa and his army, taking the blinded king into captivity until his death, hence in a year depriving Christianity of two of its greatest crusader leaders. 137 It is under Nur Eddin that Damascus was defended from crusader attacks, and it is under Nur Eddin that the young officer, Salah Eddin rose, who was sent by Nur Eddin to Egypt to terminate Fatimid power there in 1174, and unite at last the Muslim world against the crusaders. When he died, Nur-Eddin, had at last unified, and for the first time in centuries, a wide stretch of Muslim territory from Egypt to Damascus, and large Muslim populations brought together in the fight to repulse the Franks. Nur Eddin had achieved much else as in Gibbons narration:
Ìn his life and government the holy warrior revived the zeal and simplicity of the first caliphs. Gold and silk were banished from his palace; the use of wine from his dominions; the public revenue was scrupulously applied to the public service; and the frugal household of Noureddin was maintained from his legitimate share of the spoil which he vested in the purchase of a private estate. His favourite sultana sighed for some female object of expense. "Alas," replied the king, "I fear God, and am no more than the treasurer of the Moslems. Their property I cannot alienate; but I still possess three shops in the city of Hems: these you may take; and these alone can I bestow." His chamber of justice was the terror of the great and the refuge of the poor. Some years after the sultan's death, an oppressed subject called aloud in the streets of Damascus, "O Noureddin, Noureddin, where art thou now? Arise, arise, to pity and protect us!" A tumult was apprehended, and a living tyrant blushed or trembled at the name of a departed monarch. 138
Aleppo having resisted the crusades was however to fall to the Mongols in 1260. Aleppo, once one of the thriving trading cities of Syria, rich in crafts and craftsmen, scholars and scholarship, was occupied by the Mongols three times and reduced to destitution. In 1260 the citadel, the walls, the grand mosque, and surrounding structures were destroyed; according to accounts and the population was systematically slaughtered.139 What remained was finished off by a second Mongol invasion, in 1280, when mosques, madrasas, the houses of emirs, and the sultans palace were pillaged and burned.140
See, for instance: The First and second Crusades from an Anonymous Syriac Chronicle: Translated by A.S. Tritton; with notes by H.A.R. Gibb: pp 69-101. Journal of The Royal Asiatic Society (JRAS) 1933. Ibn al-Qalanisi: Dayl tarikh Dimashk; ed. H.F. Amedroz; Leiden; 1908.
136 137 138 139 140
135
S. Runciman: A History; vol ii; op cit; p. 326. S. Runciman: p. 328. E. Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; 1922; Vol 6; p. 336. I.M. Lapidus: Muslim Cities in the later Middle Ages: Harvard University Press; Cambridge Mass; 1967. p. 14. I.M. Lapidus: Muslim Cities. p. 14.

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Then, just as it began to recover under the Mamluks, Aleppo was devastated by further Eastern invasions, the worst by Timur the Lame at the end of the century (14th). Here is the narration by the historian Gibbon:
`Timur's front was covered with a line of Indian elephants, whose turrets were filled with archers and Greek fire: the rapid evolutions of his cavalry completed the dismay and disorder; the Syrians fell back on each other: many thousands were stifled or slaughtered in the entrance of the great street; the Moguls entered with the fugitives; and after a short defence, the citadel, the impregnable citadel of Aleppo, was surrendered. Among the suppliants and captives, Timur distinguished the doctors of the law, whom he invited to the dangerous honour of a personal conference During this peaceful conversation the streets of Aleppo streamed with blood, and reechoed with the cries of mothers and children, with the shrieks of violated virgins. The rich plunder that was abandoned to his soldiers might stimulate their avarice; but their cruelty was enforced by the peremptory command of producing an adequate number of heads, which, according to his custom, were curiously piled in columns and pyramids: the Moguls celebrated the feast of victory, while the surviving Moslems passed the night in tears and in chains. 141
But these continuous woes never lessened the valorous tradition of the city and its population. Centuries on, the city produced one of the great and little known heroes of Islam: Suleiman Al-Halabi. This man came in the wake of the French invasion of Egypt in 1798. In that year, the French invaded Egypt claiming that they had come to liberate it from the despotic rule of the Mamluks. Their leaders Napoleons proclamation to the people of Egypt went:
`For very long, this collection of slaves (the Mamluks), purchased from Georgia and the Caucasus has inflicted its tyranny upon the most beautiful part of the world . People of Egypt I have come to restore your rights, punish the usurpers; and more than the Mamluks I only have respect for God, his Prophet and the Quran. 142 In truth, other than seeking to destroy Islam and conquer the Holy land, the French had come to loot Egypt. Ten years before the French invasion, Count St Priest, on returning to France, in 1778, presented the minister, count Vergennes a report where he favours the conquest of Egypt; his major argument in favour of this project, which keep re-occurring in all documents of the time: the fertility of the land `where can grow every single crop, and the easy nature of the conquest in view of the anarchy of political power in Egypt. 143 In 1787, Lauzun, Duke of Biron reminding Count Montmorin how the conquest of Egypt was `for Choiseul; the acquisition of this superb, fertile country, was his favourite project, the political romance which filled his dreams.144 Instead of the promised liberation of Egypt from the despotic Mamluks, the French pursued a systematic policy of loot and slaughter. The French hanging Egyptian notables, burning alive of entire populations in Egyptian towns and cities, their despoliation of Al-Azhar and other mosques were countless and have been summed up in the forthcoming article on Cairo on this web-site.
141 142
E.Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Methuen and Co Ltd; Vol VII; 1920; pp. 55-6. G.Hanotaux: (vol 5 written by H. Deherain): Histoire de la Nation Egyptienne; Paris; Librarie Plon; 1931. p. 254. 143 G. Hanotaux/H. Deherain; p. 204. 144 G. Hanotaux/ Deherain; p. 203.

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The French invasion of the Holy Land, however, failed in front of a concerted resistance by the Mamluks, the Turks, and Arab volunteers from Arabia, the Yemen, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, who fought together. The French were forced to retreat back to Egypt on 13 June 1799. Forced to return to France, Napoleon left Egypt, leaving command in the hands of General Kleber. Kleber was assassinated by a Syrian Muslim, Suleiman al-Halabi; a man, which Western historians, as Morsy points out, fail to tell, was not guillotined nor shot, but was, instead impaled; his slow, long drawn out death intended to strike terror into the hearts of Muslims.
145
Suleiman was condemned to have his right fist cut off and burned, and to be impaled alive.
At the moment of his execution, and while it lasted, four hours, he showed courage and calmness which only the knowledge of having committed the most praiseworthy and glorious act, and the assurance of having earned the rewards promised to martyrs could give him.
146
Suleiman showed no change of

147
expression as his wrist was cut off, though he did cry when a burning fragment struck his neck. the shahadah and verses from the Koran.
148
Suleiman uttered no cry as the stake was driven in, and when it was raised and set in its hole he called out `He was one of many heroes, Morsy adds, `whom official history tends to bypass with embarrassment, not so much because their acts were bloody, as because they are an implicit indictment not only of foreign oppression, but also of the betrayal of political leaders engaged on the path of compromise.
149
Bibliography
-Ibn Abi Usaibiya: Wafayat al-Iyan; Mullers edition; vol 2; 1884; p. 185. -Ibn al-Athir: Kitab al-kamil; ed K.J. Tornberg; 12 vols; Leiden; 1851-72. -E. Ashtor: A Social and Economic History of the Near East in the Middle Ages ; Collins; London; 1976. -E. Blochet: lHistoire dAlep de Kamaladdin; Revue de lOrient Latin; 1896 to 1899; French Translation.
-
P. M. Bouyges: Sur le De scientlis recemment edite en arabe a Saida et sur le De divisione philosophiae de
Gundissalinus; in Melanges de l'Universite St. Joseph, vol.9, pp. 49-69, Beirut; 1924. -M. S. Briggs: Architecture, in The Legacy of Islam, edited by T. Arnold and A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press, first edition, 1931, pp 155-79. -N. Daniel: Islam, Europe and Empire; Edinburgh University Press; 1966. -Carra de Vaux: Al-Farabi; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; vol. 2, 1913. -Friedrich Dieterici: Alfarabi's philosophische Abhandlungen; in Die Philosophie der Araber, vols. 14-15, Leiden, 1890-1892. Arabic text and German translation of nine small treatises, including "the bezels of philosophy." -Al-Dimashki: Kitab nukhbat al-dahr fi ajaib al-barr wal bahr (Selection of the age on the wonders of the land and
the Sea). edited by A.F. Mehren; quarto, 375 p. St Petersburg; 1866.

-B. Dodge: Muslim Education in Medieval times; The Middle East Institute, Washington, D.C. 1962. -W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. -Y. Eche: Les Bibliotheques Arabes, Publiques et Semi Publiques en Mesopotamie, en Syrie et en Egypte au Moyen
Age. Damascus: Institut Francais. 1967.
M Morsy: North Africa 1800-1900; Longman; London; 1984; p. 94-5. J. Miot: Memoires pour servir a lHistoire des expeditions en Egypte et en Syrie; Paris; 1814; in N. Daniel: Islam, Europe and Empire; Edinburgh University Press; 1966; p. 106. 147 N. Daniel: Islam, Europe and Empire; Edinburgh University Press; 1966. p. 107. 148 N. Daniel: Islam, Europe and Empire; p. 107. 149 M Morsy: North Africa; op cit; p. 94-5.
146
145

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-Kamal Eddin: Histoire dAlep; translated with additional notes by E. Blochet; Paris; Ernest Leroux; Editeur; Paris; 1900. -H.G. Farmer: The Arabian Influence on musical theory; in Journal of Royal Asiatic Society; 1925; pp. 6180. - E.Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Methuen and Co Ltd; Vol VII; 1920 edition. -A. Gonzales Palencia: Alfarabi Catalogo de las Ciencias. Edicion y traduccion Castellana, Madrid 1932. -G. Hanotaux: (vol 5 written by H. Deherain): Histoire de la Nation Egyptienne; Paris; Librarie Plon; 1931. -Yaqut al-Hamawi: MuAjam al-Buldan; Wustenfeld Edition; in six volumes; Leipzig; 1866. -B. Hetherington: A Chronicle of Pre-Telescopic Astronomy; John Wiley and Sons; Chichester; 1996. -C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades; Islamic Perspectives ; Edinburgh; 2001. -J. Hirschberg; J. Lippert, and E. Mittwoch: Die arabischen Lehrbucher der Augenheilkunde; Abhdl. Der
preussischen Akademie, Chiefly pp. 12; 73-84; 1905.

-S.M Hossain: A Plea for a Modern Islamic university: Resolution of the Dichotomy. In Aims and Objectives
of Islamic education: Edited by S M al-Naquib al-Attas: Hodder and Stoughton, King Abdulaziz University,
Jeddah. 1977, pp 91-103. -A Issa Bey: Histoire des hopitaux en Islam; Beirut; Dar ar raid alarabi; 1981. -Ibn Jubayr: Rihla; W. Wright edition; Leiden; 1852. -A. Jourdain: Memoire sur lobservatoire de Maragha et les instruments employes pour y observer; in
Magasins encyclopedique; Vol 6; 43 etc; 1809; Paris; 1810. -IBn Khallikan: wafayat al-Ayan wa-Anba Abna al-Zaman, Biographical Dictionary, tr., M. De Slane Duprat, Paris and
Allen & Co., London, 1843. -I.M. Lapidus: Muslim Cities in the later Middle Ages: Harvard University Press; Cambridge Mass; 1967. -L Leclerc: Histoire de la Medecine Arabe; 2 vols; Paris; 1876. -G. Le Strange: Palestine under the Moslems; Alexander P. watt; London; 1890. -M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology; E. J. Brill; Leiden, 1973. -R.S. Mackensen: `Background of the History of Muslim libraries.' In The American Journal of Semitic
languages and Literatures, 52 (October 1935) 22-33. -G. Makdisi: The Rise of Colleges, Edinburgh University Press; 1981. -M. Marmura: Al-Farabi: Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in
Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1982 fwd. -L.A. Mayer: Muslim architects and their works; Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956. -M Morsy: North Africa 1800-1900; Longman; London; 1984. -J.Pedersen: The Arabic Book, (1928) trslted by Geoffrey French; Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey (1984). - B.Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, astronomers and other scholars of Islamic civilisation; Research Centre for Islamic History, art and Culture; Istanbul; 2003. -S. Runciman: A History of the Crusades; Cambridge University Press; 1951 fwd. -G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institute; Washington. -M. Sibai: Mosque Libraries: An Historical Study: Mansell Publishing Limited: London and New York: 1987. -M. Sobernheim: Halab; Encyclopaedia of Islam ; Old Series; Vol 3; 233-7. -Y.Tabba: Monuments with a message, in The Meeting of Two Worlds; Ed V.P. Goss; Kalamazoo; Michigan; 1986; pp. 223-40. -D. Talbot Rice: Islamic Art; Thames and Hudson; London; 1979. -The First and second Crusades from an Anonymous Syriac Chronicle: Translated by A.S. Tritton; with notes by H.A.R. Gibb: pp 69-101. Journal of The Royal Asiatic Society (JRAS) 1933.

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-A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977. -F. Wustenfeld: Geschichte der Arabischen Aertze und Naturforscher; Gottingen; 1840.

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Damascus
Author: Chief Editor: Sub Editor: Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright:
Salah Zaimeche PhD Lamaan Ball Rumeana Jahangir Aasiya Alla April 2005 4079 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Damascus April 2005
DAMASCUS
In the year 633 CE, the 18th century historian Gibbon, narrates that Caliph Abu Bakr (Caliph 632-4 CE) despatched a circular letter to the Arab tribes. It said
"In the name of the most merciful God, to the rest of the true believers. Health and happiness, and the mercy and blessing of God, be upon you. I praise the most high God, and I pray for his prophet Mahomet. This is to acquaint you, that I intend to send the true believers into Syria to take it out of the hands of the infidels. And I would have you know, that the fighting for religion is an act of obedience to God."
Gibbon continues:
His messengers returned with the tidings of pious and martial ardour which they had kindled in every province; and the camp of Medina was successively filled with the intrepid bands of the Saracens, who panted for action, complained of the heat of the season and the scarcity of provisions and accused with impatient murmurs the delays of the caliph. As soon as their numbers were complete, Abubeker ascended the hill, reviewed the men, the horses, and the arms, and poured forth a fervent prayer for the success of their undertaking. In person, and on foot, he accompanied the first day's march; and when the blushing leaders attempted to dismount, the caliph removed their scruples by a declaration, that those who rode, and those who walked, in the service of religion, were equally meritorious. His instructions to the chiefs of the Syrian army went: "Remember," said the successor of the Prophet, "that you are always in the presence of God, on the verge of death, in the assurance of judgment, and the hope of paradise. Avoid injustice and oppression; consult with your brethren, and study to preserve the love and confidence of your troops. When you fight the battles of the Lord, acquit yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained with the blood of women or children. Destroy no palmtrees, nor burn any fields of corn. Cut down no fruit-trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat. When you make any covenant or article, stand to it, and be as good as your word. As you go on, you will find some religious persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God that way: let them alone, and neither kill them nor destroy their monasteries.." All profane or frivolous conversation, all dangerous recollection of ancient quarrels, was severely prohibited among the Arabs: in the tumult of a camp, the exercises of religion were assiduously practised; and the intervals of action were employed in prayer, meditation, and the study of the Koran. The abuse, or even the use, of wine was chastised by fourscore strokes on the soles of the feet, and in the fervour of their primitive zeal, many secret sinners revealed their fault, and solicited their punishment. After some hesitation, the command of the Syrian army was delegated to Abu Obeidah, one of the companions of Mahomet; whose zeal and devotion was assuaged, without being abated, by the singular mildness and benevolence of his temper. But in all the emergencies of war, the soldiers demanded the superior genius of Caled (Khalid Ibn Walid); and whoever might be the choice of the prince, the Sword of God was both in fact and fame the foremost leader of the Saracens. He

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obeyed without reluctance; he was consulted without jealousy; and such was the spirit of the man, or rather of the times, that Caled professed his readiness to serve under the banner of the faith, though it were in the hands of a child or an enemy. Glory, and riches, and dominion, were indeed promised to the victorious Mussulman; but he was carefully instructed, that if the goods of this life were his only incitement, they likewise would be his only reward. 1
Gibbon dwells on the Muslim conquest of Syria, and their campaign to take Syria, providing exquisite details, unfortunately here is not the place to dwell upon them. Thus, straight onto Glubb who tells us:
One day, probably early in September 635, (during the Rule of Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khatab) the Arabs flooded into Damascus at dawn. The Byzantine governor surrendered on terms that all non Muslims were to pay a poll tax of one Dinar [a dinar is about 4 grams of gold] per year and a measure of wheat for the maintenance of the army. The cathedral was divided in half by a partition wall, the Muslims in future praying in one half, the Christians in the other. There was no killing or looting. These terms were of extraordinary generosity. Cities taken by storm in Europe were liable to be sacked, even as recently as the Napoleonic wars. 2
Thus began Muslim rule in Syria, a land out of which then emerged some of the greatest places civilisation ever witnessed, a civilisation they then carried to Spain to turn it from its barbaric state into the beacon of modern civilisation (see entries on Spanish cities on this site, especially Seville, the most Syrian of all Spanish cities). Amongst such great Syrian cities was Damascus.
Damascus, the Magnificent City of Islam

Damascus, says Yaqut (d. 1229 CE), `called Dimishk or Dimashk, is the capital of Syria, and it is the garden of the Earth. 3
Decades before Yaqut, in 1185 CE, the Valencian traveller, Ibn Jubayr saw Damascus as one of the friendliest places he had ever visited and said that 'it surpasses all other cities in its beauty . . . the
paradise of the Orient.' 4
Syria, the finest in situation, the most temperate in climate, the most humid in soil, having the greatest variety of fruits, and the utmost abundance of vegetables. The greater part of the land here is fruitful, and the most portion rich. Everywhere is seen the plain country, and the houses are high.5
Five converging streams made its hinterland the "Garden of the Earth," fed a hundred public fountains, a hundred public baths, and 120,000 gardens, and flowed out westward into a "Valley of Violets" twelve miles long and three miles wide.6
"Damascus," said Idrisi, "is the most delightful of all God's cities. It is the most beautiful city of
1
2
E. Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Methuen and Co; Limited; London; 1923 edition. vol 5; pp 415-7. J Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. p.48. 3 Yaqut al-Hamawi: MuAjam al-Buldan; Wustenfeld Edition; in six volumes; Leipzig; 1866. ii; ; p. 587. 4 S.K. Hamarneh: Health Sciences in early Islam; Edited by M.W. Anees; Noor Health Foundation; and Zahra Publication; 1983; Vol 1; p. 100. 5 Idrisi in G. Le Strange: Palestine under the Moslems; Alexander P. Watt; London; 1890; p.237. 6 W. Durant: The Age of Faith; Simon and Shuster; New York; 1950; pp 230-1:

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It was not just the Muslims who were thrilled by the beauty and greenness of the city; the Crusaders themselves were astounded by the greenery which surrounded the city. William of Tyres History talks of the neighbourhood of Damascus
where there are great number of trees bearing fruits of all kinds and growing up to the very walls of the city and where everybody has a garden of his own. 7
Figure 1: Ommayad Mosque8 The geographer al-Dimashki says:
The gardens of Damascus number one hundred and twenty one thousand; all are watered by a single river which comes down from the country near Az Zabadani, and the Wadi Barada. The springs coming from the heights above the wadi and the waters from the Ain al-Fijah come together and form a single river called the Barada, which below divides into seven streams, each called by its name.9
The city, still according to Dimashki, in reality consists of three towns. First come the palaces, the gardens, and orchards in Ghutah, sufficient to form a large town by themselves; then, second, are the under ground water courses; and third are the houses of the city itself.10 In the heart of the city, amid a population of some 140,000 souls, tells Durant, rose the palace of the caliphs, built by Muawiya I, gaudy with gold and marble, brilliant with mosaics in floors and walls, cool with ever-flowing fountains and cascades. On the north side stood the Great Mosque, one of 572 mosques in the city, and the sole surviving relic of Umayyad Damascus.11 The mosque, Dimashki goes on to say:
is one of the wonders of the world. On the middle night of the month of Shaaban they light in it twelve thousand lamps, and burn fifty Damascus quintars weight (quintar = 100kgs) of olive oil,
7
Historia; XVII, 3; Paulin Paris edit.; vol ii; p. 141 in J.K. Wright: The Geographical Lore of the Time of the Crusades; Dover Publications; New York; 1925. p. 239. 8 http://www.benjaminranck.com/photos/lebanon2004/pages/DamascusGreatMosque.html
9
Al-Dimashki; in G. le Strange: Palestine; op cit; p. 265. Dimashki in G. le Strange; p. 265. 11 W. Durant: The Age of Faith; op cit; pp 230-1:
10

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and this not counting what is consumed in the other edifices, such as the colleges, mosques, convents, cloisters, and hospitals. The walls of the mosque are faced with marble after the most exquisite manner ever seen, and above are mosaics in coloured glass and gold and silver. The length of the mosque from east to west is 282 ells, and the width is 220 (or 210) ells [1 ell = 1.143 metre]. The roof is covered with sheets of lead. 12
Durants description of the building goes:
The whole land tax of the empire, we are told, was devoted for seven years to the construction of the mosque; in addition a large sum was given to the Christians to finance a new cathedral. Artists and artisans were brought in from India, Persia, Constantinople, Egypt, Libya, Tunis, and Algeria; all together 12,000 workmen were employed, and the task was completed in eight years. Muslim travellers unanimously describe it as the most magnificent structure in Islam; and the Abbassid caliphs al-Madi and al-Mamun no lovers of the Umayyads or Damascus ranked it above all other buildings on the earth. A great battlemented wall, with interior colonnades, enclosed a spacious marble-paved court. On the south side of this enclosure rose the mosque, built of squared stones and guarded by three minarets one of which is the oldest in Islam... The roof and dome fifty feet in diameter were covered with plates of lead. The interior, 429 feet long, was divided into nave and aisles by two tiers of white marble columns, from whose gold-plated Corinthian capitals sprang round or horseshoe arches, the first Moslem examples of this latter form. The mosaic floor was covered with carpets; the walls were faced with coloured marble mosaics and enamelled tiles; six beautiful grilles of marble divided the interior in one wall, facing Mecca, was a mihrab lined with gold, silver, and precious stones. Lighting was effected through seventy- four windows of coloured glass, and 12,000 lamps. "If," said a traveller, "a man were to sojourn here a hundred years, and pondered each day on what he saw, he would see something new every day." A Greek ambassador, allowed to enter it, confessed to his associates: "I had told our Senate that the power of the Arabs would soon pass away; but now, seeing here how they have built, I know that of a surety their dominion will endure great length of days. 13
Ibn Jubayr, the 12th century Valencian traveller, tells that the Mosque has four gates, and also describes something remarkable worth quoting at good length:
On your right hand, coming out of the Bab Jarun, in the wall of the portico fronting you, is a gallery, which has the form of a great archway, and set around it are arches of brass, in which open small doors, in number according to the number of the hours of the day. Through the working of a piece of mechanism, when one hour of the day is passed, there fall two weights of brass from the mouths of two falcons fashioned in brass, who stand above two brazen cups, set one under each of the birds. One of the falcons is below the first of the doors, and the second below the last of them. Now the cups are perforated, and as soon as the balls have fallen, they run back through a hole in the wall to the gallery. The falcons appear to extend their necks when holding the balls, leaning towards the cups, and to throw the balls off with quick motion, so wondrous to see that one would imagine it was magic. With the falling of the two balls into the two cups, there is heard a sound (as of striking) a bell: and thereupon the doorway, which pertains to the hour that has elapsed, is shut with a brass door. A similar action goes on for each of the hours of the day; and when all the hours of the day are passed, all the doors are shut. When all the day hours are passed, the mechanism returns to its first condition. For the hours of the night they have another mechanism. It is this In
12 13
Dimashqi in G. le Strange; op cit; p. 265. W. Durant: The Age of Faith; op cit; pp 230-1:

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the bow of the great arch, which goes over the small arches (with the doors), just mentioned, are twelve circles cut out in the brass, and over each of these openings, in the wall of the gallery, is set a plate of glass. This is all so arranged as to lie behind the doors (for the day hours) above mentioned. Behind each glass is a lamp glass, which is water set to run for the space of one hour. When the hour is past, the light of the lamp coming down, illumines the glass, and the rays shine out of the round opening in front of it, and it appears to the sight of a red circle. This same happens to each circle in turn, till all the hours of the night are passed, and then all the circles have red light in them. There are eleven workmen (belonging to the mosque) who attend to this gallery, and keep the mechanism in order, and see the opening of the doors, and the running back of the weights into their proper places. This (piece of mechanism) is what people call al-Mikanikiyah. 14
Sarton tells without making it explicit, that there was a famous clock in one of the gates of Damascus, which was hence called Bab sa'a. It was placed there about the middle of the twelfth century and diverse medieval travellers mentioned it.15 It was constructed and taken care of by one Muhammad ibn 'Ali alKhurasani, and after Muhammad s death it was repaired and kept in good order by his son, Ridwan Ibn aiSaati. In 1203 the latter wrote a treatise explaining its construction and use.16 It is certain that this is the same clock which Ibn Jubayr describes. Syrian construction genius is also seen in the architecture of the madrasas. We learn that courses of coloured stone were used to accentuate building facades.17 The Zahiriyya madrasa of Damascus, which also housed the tomb of its founder, the Mamluk sultan Baybars (d. 1277), has portal constructed of black and white courses; the tomb chamber has a lavishly decorated mihrab and band of glass mosaic imitating designs used in the eighth-century Umayyad mosque.18 Typically Syrian madrasas had an elaborately decorated portal and an inner courtyard onto which opened living chambers along with a small mosque and larger rooms for classes; the latter often in the form of barrel-vaulted eyrdns, a feature that may suggest Iraqi influence.19 In addition to lecture halls and cells for the students, Syrian madrasas of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, of which almost 200 are recorded in the medieval sources, often had an oratory and an attached mausoleum for the founder.20 From Syria the fashion quickly spread to Egypt, encouraged by Salah Eddin after 1171, following his victory over the Fatimids.21 Damascus, just like the rest of Syria, is also famed for its industries. Idrisi again:
The city of Damascus contains all manner of good things, and streets of various craftsmen, with merchants selling all sorts of silk and brocade of exquisite rarity and wonderful workmanship-all this, such that the like exists nowhere else. That which they make here is carried into all cities, and borne in ships to all quarters, and all capital towns both far and near. The manufacture of the Damascus brocade is a wonderful art. 22
Lapidus outlines the citys medieval industries, which include fine household decorations, utensils, and jewellery in gold and silver, brass and copper. It was famous for silks, cottons, linens, decorative brocades
14 15
Ibn Jubayr; pp 262-97 in G. le Strange: Palestine; op cit; pp. 249-50. G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institute; Washington; 1927 fwd. p. 27. 16 G. Sarton: 2; p. 27. 17 R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; Dictionary of Middle Ages; Vol 8. J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1982 fwd. Vol 8; p. 11. 18 R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; p. 11. 19 P.P. Soucek: Islamic Art and Architecture; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Vol 6; pp. 592-614; p. 607. 20 R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; op cit; p. 11. 21 R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; p. 11. 22 Idrisi in G. Le Strange: Palestine; op cit; p. 239.

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and embroidered garments, tents, horse-trappings and robes made for Mamluk elites. The citys craftsmen turned their skills towards making weapons and precision instruments such as quadrants and astrolabes. High quality building crafts flourished. Even Cairo made use of her plasterers, masons, marble workers and brick manufactures. Damascus had an active glass industry, noted for gilded lamps, vases, ewers and bowls. Nor were iron, ceramic, leather, paper and the manufacture of fine confections neglected. Damascus was of singular importance as a producer of luxury goods which were exported throughout the empire and abroad. 23 In Damascus, underglaze painting predominated, and some vessels contain Persian patterns. In such ceramic ware, designs are drawn directly on the body, usually in black or blue; red and green highlights are sometimes added, the surface then is covered with a transparent, usually colourless, glaze.24 From Damascus the technique was carried to Cairo, probably by Syrian craftsmen who settled there.25 An industry that made the fame of Damascus was the paper industry. The first paper mills in the land of Islam were built in Baghdad in the late 8th century. After Baghdad, paper manufacturing rapidly spread west to Damascus, Tiberias and Syrian Tripoli. The factories set up in Syria benefited greatly from the favourable conditions for growing hemp. Syrian paper was regularly shipped to Egypt, the Red Sea ports, and India. The paper mills constructed in Damascus were the major sources of supply to Europe, which as production increased, became cheaper, more available and better quality. Cotton paper, sold as charta Damascena, was previously made at Damascus. 26
Figure 2: The Azem Palace27
23 24
I.M. Lapidus: Muslim Cities in the later Middle Ages: Harvard University Press; Cambridge Mass; 1967.pp.19-20. P.P. Soucek: Islamic Art and Architecture; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; Vol 6; pp. 592-614. p. 608. 25 P. Soucek; Islamic .. p. 608. 26 J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe; Revised edition; George Bell and Sons, London, 1875. Vol II:p.200 27 http://www.syriait.net/photos/uncategorized/azem_palace_1.jpg

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Damascus was described as a glassmaking centre by Ibn Battuta (d. 1377) and Niccolo of Poggibonsi who travelled in the Holy Land in 1345-6.28 Lamm assigned two main groups of vessels to Damascus: one decorated with fish placed in herringbone patterns, arabesques, and scenes of revelry, and the other with "Chinese" ornament.29 Another Damascene tradition was the manufacture of enamelled and gilded glass and lamps decorated in this manner became especially popular in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in Egypt where they were used in many Mamluk buildings.30 The political links between Syria and Egypt, particularly during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (1169-1517), led to the migration of craftsmen from one region to the other and the creation of a unified style in both regions.31 Glass production may have ceased after Timur Langs invasion of 1401. It was Timur who, as will be shown later, did not just end manufacturing in Syria, but also slaughtered the population of the country to large measure, and destroyed the culture and civilisation of Damascus for centuries to come.
Damascus: City of Munificence and Learning
When he reached Damascus, the Moroccan traveller, Ibn Battuta (b. Tangier 1304; d. 1368-9) is struck by the dedication of its population to all forms and manners of religious charitable foundations. There were so many foundations that it became difficult for him to count them. He cites as examples legacies by people who could not travel to Mecca to pay others to do it; foundations aimed at providing girls from poor backgrounds with all the requirements for their marriage; foundations devoted to purchasing the freedom of Muslim prisoners; others for paying the maintenance of roads, and so many more.32 Once, he saw a young boy dropping a porcelain plate, which broke. The passer-bys told the boy to take the pieces to the foundation for utensils. Consequently the boy got a refund for the value of a new plate.33 The people of Damascus, in their great numbers, also provided waqfs for schools, hospitals and mosques. It was a city, as Ibn Battuta tells us, where the social spirit was at its optimum. 34 Damascus is not just historically generous with its wealth, it is generous by nature. It is possibly the city which offered the most welcomes to refugees, more than any other in history. This brief outline by Bianquis captures this. In the 12th century, we find the Andalusian refugees chased from Spain by the Christian reconquest; former inhabitants of Napluse in Palestine fleeing the Franks, the new masters of Palestine; the 13th century witnesses the arrival of Iraqi and Iranian refugees fleeing the Mongol onslaught, and again more refugees from Spain. 35 In the 16th century, it is more refugees from Spain, both Muslim and Jewish, seeking the protection of the Ottoman empire, then in the 19th century it is refugees from the Caucasus, Kurds, and Turks fleeing the advance of the Russian armies.36 In the same century, it is the Algerians refusing French colonisation who arrive in large numbers, and so do the Albanians and other Balkan Muslims fleeing nationalist Christian risings.37 D. Whitehouse: Glass in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; op cit; vol 5; pp. 545-8; p. 547. D.Whitehouse: Glass; p. 547. 30 P. Soucek; Islamic; op cit. p. 608. 31 P. Soucek; Islamic .. p. 608. 32 Barron Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam; Geuthner, Paris, 1921; vol 2. p. 95. 33 BCV 95. 34 BCV 95. 35 Thierry Bianquis: Damas in Grandes Villes Mediterraneenes du Monde Musulman Medieval; J.C. Garcin editor; Ecole Francaise de Rome; 2000; pp. 37-55; at p. 43. 36 Thierry Bianquis: Damas; at p. 43. 37 Thierry Bianquis: Damas; at p. 43.
29 28

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Damascus was also at the forefront in providing assistance for education. Nur al-Din, the founder of schools, gave large collections of books to the various libraries.38 Towards the end of his life, the Damascus doctor Muhaddab Eddin Al-Dawhar, who was childless, transformed his house which was located south of the Mosque of the Ummayads into a madrasa for the teaching of medicine.39 He attributed to it waqfs to secure its running, the payment of teachers salaries and also grants for students and he himself taught there before his death.40 He requested that, after his death, Saraf Eddin Ali Ibn Rahbi (d. 1268) - the son of a well known doctor - should be appointed Professor there.41 During his visit to Damascus, the traveller, Ibn Jubair reported the high number and varied facilities for foreign students and visitors at the Umayyad Mosque, and he himself encourages students from Spain to go east for education.42 Ibn Jubair holds that
Anyone in the West who seeks success, let him come to this city (Damascus) to study, because assistance here is abundant. The chief thing is that the student here is relieved of all worry about food and lodging, which is a great help. 43
The madrasas, the precursors of our modern university colleges, were first established by the Seljuk leader Nizam al-Mulk (murdered by the Ismailis in 1092). Following his death, madrasas spread so rapidly that at some point in the medieval times, according to Tawtah,44 there were 73 colleges in Damascus alone (41 in Jerusalem, 40 in Baghdad, 14 in Aleppo, 13 in Tripoli, 9 in al-Mawsil and 74 in Cairo, in addition to numerous institutions in other cities.)45 A later author, writing around 1500, counted about 150 madrasas in Damascus alone. 46 Shalaby offers an excellent description of one such illustrious madrasa: the al-Nuriyyah al-Kubra in Damascus founded by Nur al-Din, and which was described by Ibn Jubair as one of the best colleges in the world.47
It is situated in Khatt al-Khawwasin which is now called àl-Khayyarin' and it is about half a mile south West of the Umayyad Mosque. The school has a `monumental' entrance: an arch with an outer door, and a broad passage leading to the court with a second door halfway along. The lintel of the outer door is adorned with the endowment tablet. The school had its Iwan, which then, was the most important place in the Muslim school. It is the equivalent of the modern lecture room, and there where the halaqat were held. Not far from the Iwan was the mosque, which took the significant place in a medieval school. The mosque was also open to other worshippers, and it was thus normal that it was remote from the Iwan. The school also included eight lodges for the students, and the caretaker's lodgings, the latrines, and also a kitchen and dining hall, the food store and the general store for the building. This madrasa, in most parts, still stands up to now. 48
Ibid, p. 102. A.M. Edde: Les Medecins dans la societe Syrienne du 13 em siecle; in Annales Islamologiques; Vol XXIX; pp. 91-109; at p. 96. 40 A.M. Edde: les medecins dans la societe Syrienne; at p. 96. 41 A.M. Edde: les medecins dans la societe Syrienne; at p. 96. 42 Ibn Jubair in K.A Totah: The contribution of the Arabs to education; New York; Columbia University Press, 1926. p. 45. 43 Ibid. 44 Bayard Dodge: Muslim Education in Medieval times; The Middle East institute, Washington, D.C. 1962. p. 23. 45 J. Pedersen: The Arabic Book, tr by G French; Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey (1984). p. 128. 46 J. Pedersen, The Arabic Book, p. 128. 47 Ibn Jubayr: Al-Rihla (The Travels of Ibn Jubayr), Tr. R.J.C. Broadhurst, Jonathan Cape, 1952 , p. 284. 48 In A Shalaby: History of Muslim Education. Beirut: Dar al Kashaf, 1954. pp 65-7.
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Ibn-Jubair writing about his visit to Damascus in 1184, also said:
"There is in this city an old and a new hospital. The old hospital was constructed on the same plan as the new one, but it is not as well furnished as the new one. It is situated west of the alMukarrem mosque. Both of these constitute a true glory of Islam." 49
The first known hospital in Islam was built in Damascus in 706 C.E. by the Ummayad Caliph: al-Walid Ibn Abd al-Malik. It was to cater for various sorts of patients including the blind, but also the lepers (then, in Europe, and for centuries thereafter, lepers were burnt to death by royal decree.) This hospital was well equipped and well staffed, and was to serve as the model for other hospitals to follow in the region. This is very certainly the first Muslim hospital to have been built.50 Al-Walid appointed physicians to staff the hospital and paid them for their services; he ordered that lepers be isolated so that they would not contaminate the other patients in the hospital.51 Under the Seljuks was added another hospital, located in the quarter known as Bab al-Barid, west of the great mosque, founded by the Seljuk leader Duqaq, towards the end of the 11 th century. In the 13th century, it was still standing as Izz Eddin Ibn al-Suwaydi (d. 1291) was working there.52 The most important hospital of the city was to be built much later in 1156 C.E., by Nur al-Din Zangi and it was known as Al-Nuri Hospital. The revenues of the hospital according to al-Maqrizi were due to the fact that Nur-al-Din had made prisoner a European king and had planned to have him executed. But the king paid as his ransom, four forts and 500 000 dinars, and hence he was released.53 On this hospital, the 13th century medical historian, Ibn abi Usaybi'ah wrote:
When Nur-al-Din built the Grand Bimaristan he appointed as the director Abul Majd al-Bahilli. This physician went regularly to the hospital to care for the patients, to examine them and to give the necessary orders to the attendants and servants who worked under his direction. After that this physician went to the citadel to examine the dignitaries and the noblemen that were ill. This task completed he returned to the hospital, sat in the liwan (vestibule hall) richly furnished, and commenced his lectures. 54
Under the direction of the physician Abu al-Majid al-Bahili, Nur ad-Din equipped the hospital with adequate supplies of food and medication, and donated in addition a large number of medical books to be housed in a special hall serving as library.55 Eminent physicians worked at the hospital. Muhadhib ad-Din Ibn anNaqqash (d. 1178) headed an-Nuri hospital besides serving King Nur ad-Din as chief physician.56 His son Najm ad-Din served in the same hospital, then was promoted to the rank of wazir for the Ayyubiyyah. Early in the thirteenth century, the physician ad-Dakhwar first served in an-Nuri hospital at a low salary, then, as Cited by A Issa Bey: Histoire des hopitaux en Islam; Beirut; Dar ar raid alarabi; 1981. p. 191. A.Isa Bey: Histoire; op cit; p. 188. 51 A.Isa Bey: Histoire; op cit; p. 188. 52 A.M. Edde: Les Medecins dans la societe Syrienne; op cit; pp. 95-6. 53 AI-Maqrizi, Al-Kitat Wal Athar, Vol. V, p. 408. Cited by Issa Bey, p. 191. 54 Ibn abi Usaybi'ah, UYun al-Anba fi Tabaqat al-Atibba, ed. by August Mller, Konigsberg, 1884. Vol. II. p. 155. 55 S.K. Hamarneh: Health Sciences in early Islam, 2 vols, edited by M.A. Anees, vol I, Noor Health Foundation and Zahra Publications, 1983. p. 100. 56 S.K. Hamarneh: Health Sciences in early Islam; p. 100.
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he increased in fame, his income from private practice brought him much wealth and he started a medical school in the city. 57 In the hospital, too, teaching and discussions on topics related to medicine were conducted.58 Many renowned physicians taught at the hospital's medical school, which it is said had elegant rooms, and of course the library mentioned previously. The physicians and practitioners assembled before Nur Eddin Zangi to discuss medical subjects and to listen to the lectures that Abul Majd gave his pupils; these would last three hours.59 A number of Muslim physicists graduated from there. Among the wellknown students are Ibn Abi Usaybi'ah (1203-1270), the famous medical historian and 'Ala ad-Din Ibn anNafis (d.1289) whose discovery of the lesser circulation of the blood marked a new step in better understanding of human physiology and was the earliest explanation until William Harvey (1628).60 At the hospital, health provision was universal as noted by Ibn Abi Usaybi'a who relates the story of an eminent Syrian doctor of the 12th century who, after examining the sick in the hospital, went to court to treat the people belonging to the elite.61 The hospital also innovated in the keeping of patients records. Ibn Jubayr praised the way in which the administrator kept a register of the patients,62 probably the earliest of its kind in the history of hospitals. 63 Beside each name, the physician daily listed the patient's requirement of diet and medication after he had made his rounds64. Al-Qalgashandi (1355-1418) affirms that the administrator of an-Nuri hospital in his time was given, as a token of his prestige, title of honour, Shihab ad-Din. He was authorized to exhort the employees to render better service to the patients and each department to execute its duties faithfully and efficiently.65 Khalil ibn-Shahine al-Zahiri told about his visit to Damascus :
I was accompanied by a distinguished and affable Persian. When he visited the al-Nuri hospital and saw the diets, the utilities and the comforts to be found there, he decided to see for himself, what being a patient was like in that hospital. He pretended illness and was admitted to the hospital. There the medical chief visited him every day and took his pulse and prescribed his diet, consisting of a variety of meats, fat chickens, candies and drinks and fresh fruits. On the third day the doctor told him that such patients were not allowed to stay more than three days, and asked him to leave. 66
S.K. Hamarneh: Health Sciences in early Islam; p. 100. Ibn Abbi Ussaybi'ah: Tabaquat, vol 3, op cit; pp 256-7. 59 A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977. p. 88. 60 Max Meyerhof, 'Ibn an-Nafis and his Theory of the Lesser Circulation,' ISIS, 1935,23 112. 61 Ibn Abi Usaybi'a Ùyun al-anba fi tabaqat al-attiba', edited by A. Mueller, Cairo/Konigsberg; 1884, reprint, 1965, p. 628 in F. Micheau: The Scientific Institutions in the Medieval Near East, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science 3 Vols. Edited by R Rashed; Routledge, London and New York: 1996. vol 3, pp. 985-1007 p. 1001. 62 Ibn Jubayr, Rihlat, op cit; pp. 283-4. 63 S.K. Hamarneh: Health Sciences; op cit; p. 100. 64 Ibn Jubayr, Rihlat, op cit; 283-4. 65 Ahmad al-Qalqashandi: Subh al-A 'sha; Cairo,1918, vol. 12, 84-85. 66 1 Khalil ibn-Shahine al-Zahiri: Tableau politique et administratif de la Syrie, Paris, 1894. Quoted by Issa Bey, p. 192.
58
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It is worth noting that fragments of this hospitals original building which served in promoting public medical care for about seven centuries remain to this day, and is reconstructed to its original design and structure. 67 A final scholarly institution here is the observatory. At the same time as observations were developed in Baghdad (9th century), they were equally so in Damascus, where another observatory was set up on the outskirts of the city on Mount Qasiyun.68 The best able astronomers of the era were brought together at the expense of the sovereign, charged most particularly with proving the data in Ptolemys Almagest, and of making observations of the sun and the moon for one year.69 The superintendent at the observatory of Damascus was the scholar Abu Mansur (b. 885).70 At that early stage, already, large instruments were gradually being introduced, which in Damascus include a 20 ft quadrant and a 56 ft sextant.71
The Scholars of Damascus

Abu-l-Fadl Jaafar ibn 'Ali al-Dimishqi is an economist who flourished in Damascus and other places in Syria. He composed in or before 1175 the Kitab al-ishara ila mahasin al-tijara wa matrifa aljayyid al-atrad wa
radiha wa ghushush al-mudallisin fiha (Book explaining the benefits of commerce and the knowledge of
good and bad qualities [of wares] and the falsifications of counterfeiters).72 One of the two manuscripts of it (both Damascene) was completed April 20, 1175. It is a work of great importance dealing not only with the knowledge of many wares and their falsifications, but also with the theory and practice of commerce, and even with economic subjects. 73 It examines such questions as the true meaning of wealth or ownership (haqiqat al-mal), the various kinds of possessions, the origin and use of money, the means of testing money, how to pack and preserve goods, how to determine their average prices, and how to protect property, whilst the chapters relative to wares contain abundant information on stones and metals, perfumes, textiles, etc., and the connected arts and trades. 74 Ibn Asakir (d.1176) distinguishes himself with his great History of Damascus: Tarikh Dimashq. He lived in
Damascus, and taught tradition at the Ummayad Mosque, then in college. The first two volumes of his are devoted to Damascus and its monuments, and the two others, by alphabetical order, give the entries on the main figures of the city: princes, governors, judges, poets... 75
67 68
S.K. Hamarneh: Health Sciences in early Islam; op cit; p. 100. A.L. Sedillot: Histoire generale des Arabes, 2 Vols., Paris, 1877. Vol 2.2, p. 8. 69 F. Micheau: The Scientific Institutions in the Medieval Near East, op cit; p. 993. 70 B. Hetherington: A Chronicle of Pre-Telescopic Astronomy; John Wiley and Sons; Chichester; 1996. p.101. 71 B. Hetherington: A Chronicle; p. 93. 72 The text of the MS. dated 1175, kept in the Khedivial Library, Cairo, was published in Cairo, 1318 H. Many extracts are translated into German in Wiedemann's and Ritter. -Eilhard Wiedemann: Mineralogisches aus einer arabischen Handels-und Warenlehre; Beitrage 30 Sitsungsber. der physi .med. Sozietat, vol. 44, pp. 229-35, Erlangen 1912; -E. Wiedemann: Kuiturgeschichtliche und klimatologisches aus arabischen Schriftstellern; Archiv fur Geschichte der Naturwiss., vol. 5, 60-61, 1913; -E. Wiedemann: Aus der arabischen Handels- und Warenlehren von Abu'1 Fadl Beitrage 32, Erlangen Sitsungsber., vol. 45, pp. 34-54, 1914. -Hellmut Ritter: Ein arabisches Handbuch der Handelswissenschaft; in Der Islam, vol. 7, 1-91, 1917; 73 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 462. 74 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 462-3. 75 History by C Bouamrane: in C Bouamrane-Louis Gardet: Panorama de la pensee Islamique; Sindbad; Paris; 1984; pp 252-

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Ibn Abi Usaybia (1203-69) is a Muslim physician and historian of medicine. He was born in Damascus where he studied medicine before emigrating to Cairo; there he was physician at the hospital; he then became physician to the Emir Azeddin in Sarkar.76 He obtained different managerial positions at hospitals in both Cairo and near Damascus in Syria; he also studied and classified herbs with Ibn al-Baytar of Malaga, entered into correspondence with Abd al Latif and personally knew many physicians. 77 He compiled a collection of medical observations which is lost.78 He has the distinction of being the first historian of Muslim medicine in his Lives of the Physicians: Uyun lAnba fi Tabaqatil Atiba ;(Sources of information on the classes of physicians), the first edition of which was published in 1245-6. 79 Uyun is a series of biobibliographies of the most eminent physicians from the earliest times to his own. It was composed near Damascus in 1242, but revised at a later date. 80 It is our main source for the history of Muslim medicine; it deals with about 400 Muslim physicians, but it also deals with others. It is divided into fifteen chapters: 1. Origins of medicine; 2. Early physicians 3. Greek Physicians 4. Hippocrates and his contemporaries 5 Galen and his time 6. Physicians of Alexandria 7. Physicians of the Prophets time 8 Syrian Physicians under the early Abbasids 9. The translators and their patrons 10 to 15: the last six chapters deal with the physicians respectively of Iraq; Persia; India; the Maghrib and Spain; Egypt; Syria.81 Although the work focuses on medicine, it also incorporates the facts relating to such figures, who were not just physicians, but also mathematicians, physicists, astronomers, philosophers or men of encyclopaedic interests; thus, the Uyun is a source of Muslim history of science in general.82 The work was edited into Arabic by Imru-l-Qais Ibn al-Tabban in the late 19th century in Cairo,83 and the same text was republished by A. Muller with 162 additional pages, including a German preface, lists of corrections and variations and a complete index in 2 volumes soon after. 84 There is a more recent edition of the work in Beirut dating from 1957.85 Yet, as Sarton perfectly laments, there is no version of this immense work in English.86 Ibn Khalikan (d.1282) undertook work on his dictionary whilst acting as a man of the law in Damascus and then in Cairo. Ibn Khalikan originally comes from Irbil where he was born in 1211 and received his education from his father who was a teacher at the madrasa of Irbil, before he continued his studies in Aleppo, followed by Damascus
66. 76 D. Campbell: Arabian Medicine and its Influence on the Middle Ages; Philo Press; Amsterdam; 1926; p. 83. 77 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 685. 78 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 685. 79 D. Campbell: Arabian Medicine; p. 83. 80 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 685. 81 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 685. 82 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 685. 83 Ibn Abbi Usaybiya: Uyun lAnba fi Tabaqatil Atiba edited by Imru-l-Qais Ibn al-Tabban; Cairo; 1882. 84 Ibn abi Usaybi'ah: UYun al-Anba fi Tabaqat al-Atibba, ed. In 2 vols by August Mller, Konigsberg, 1884. 85 Ubn Abi Usaybia: Uyun al-Anba fi Tabaquat al-Attiba, Beirut, 1957. 86 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 685.

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and finally Egypt.87 From 1260 to 1270 and also after 1277, he was chief Qadi of Syria with residence in Damascus, where he also taught in various colleges, chiefly at the Aminiya madrasa until his death in 1282 (he had also taught during Baybars rule in Egypt between 1270-1277 at the Fakhriya madrasa in Cairo).88 His major work is entitled Wafayat al-Ayan, which is a major biographic work, that includes 865 entries of important personalities, ranked in alphabetical order.89 Ibn Khalikan went back to the 3rd century AH/9th century, and covered the whole period up to his time. In every entry he indicated the origin of the person - there were 865 in total - the date of birth if known and date of death.90 He gave good accounts on the character of his subject, citing both work and achievements and he took considerable pains to give accurate information, e.g. to trace genealogies, to establish the right spelling of names, to indicate the main traits of each personality and illustrate them by anecdotes, to fix dates of birth and date.91 He, in fact, omitted many biographies simply because he was unable to ascertain the exact date of death.92 Ibn Khalikans dictionary was continued twice, first by Al-Muwafaq Fadlalah who wrote the Tali
Kitab wafayat al-Ayan, which contains the biographies of Egyptians and Syrians between 1261 and 1325, and second by Muhammad Ibn Shakir al-Kutubi (d. 1363) who wrote fawat al-Wafayat (omissions from the deaths).93
Ibn al-Nafis (b. near Damascus 13th century; d. Cairo Dec 1288.) studied medicine at the Great Nuri hospital in Damascus that was founded by Nur Eddin Zangi. Amongst Ibn al-Nafis great works is Kitab al-Shamil fi
sinaat al-Tibiyya (Comprehensive book on the art of medicine), which he wrote in his thirties, and which
consisted in 300 volumes of notes, eighty of which only were published. This voluminous work was thought to have been lost until in 1952 when one large but fragmentary volume was discovered among the Islamic manuscripts at Cambridge University. The data regarding the life and activities of Ibn-al-Nafis are taken from two sources - one from the thesis of Chehade,94 the other from an article by Haddad and Khairallah, in which they give translations from the treatise of Ibn-al-Nafis on the pulmonary circulation. 95 Ibn-al-Nafis followed his medical studies under the tutelage of the great master in Damascus, al-Dahwar, as well as other able physicians in that city.96 It is not certain when he migrated to Egypt and settled in Cairo. But it was there that he worked in the al-Nasiri Hospital founded by Salah Eddin, and became the physician-in-chief and later the dean of that institution. The medical historian Ibn-Abi-Usaybi'ah, was undoubtedly a contemporary of Ibn-al-Nafis, for they both had studied together under al-Dahwar in Damascus, and were colleagues in the Nasiri Hospital; while Ibnal-Nafis was dean, Usaybi'ah was in charge of the ophthalmologic service in that hospital. 97 Chehade discusses Ibn-al-Nafis' knowledge of the medicine of his day, saying that his knowledge and understanding of the works of Galen and Ibn Sina was vast, but Ibn-al-Nafis, contrary to most of his peers
G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 1120. G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 1120. 89 Ibn Khallikan: Wafayat al-Ayan wa-Anba Abna al-Zaman, Maymunyah Press, Cairo, 1888. Ibn Khalikan's biographical Dictionary, tr., M. De Slane Duprat, Paris and Allen & Co., London, 1843. 90 Ibn Khallikan: Wafayat al-Ayan wa-Anba. 91 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 1120. 92 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 1120. 93 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 1120-1. 94 A K Chehade, Ibn-al-Nafis, et la Dcouverte de la circulation Pulmonaire, Damascus, 1955. 95 S. I. Haddad and A. A. Khairallah: A Forgotten Chapter in the History of the Circulation of the Blood," Annals of Surgery. Vol. 404 (July, 1936), pp. 1-8. 96 A. Whipple: The Role; op cit; p. 47. 97 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol ii; p. 1099.
88
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and predecessors, was an accurate observer who carefully recorded the facts that he had observed himself.98 His love of the truth and his logical mind made him refuse to follow blindly traditional doctrines, which led him to oppose the dogmatic teachings of Galen and Ibn Sina when he considered them false, and did not hesitate to criticize them in definite terms, as had never been done before.99 In his Commentary on
the Anatomy of Ibn Sina's Qanun, in which he discussed the pulmonary circulation, Chehade states that
Ibn-al-Nafis' treatise is to be found in a number of manuscripts- in Berlin, Paris, Bologna, Beirut, Damascus, the Escurial, Istanbul, and Oxford.100 Ibn al-Nafis is the first to have written an accurate account on the pulmonary blood circulation. He antedated the Spaniard, Servetus, and other European anatomists who had been credited with this discovery by three centuries. Meyerhof believes it was a happy hypothesis that Ibn Nafis made his discovery, 101 but there are reasons to disagree with that idea because of the definite statements that he makes on the actual anatomy of the heart and the interventricular septum. 102 Chehade believes that Ibn-alNafis discovered this circulation after careful observations from dissections in comparative anatomy, which Ibn-al-Nafis considered essential to the understanding of human anatomy.103 In Folio IV and Chapter V of his treatise is a discussion on anatomical technique and the instruments to be used in dissecting, where he advised suffocating the animal by submersion to obtain engorgement of the veins; statements, which certainly indicate his interest in dissecting animals, if not in human cadavers.104 The Greeks, Erisistratus of the Alexandrian School believed that the arteries and the left side of the heart were empty and served to convey the spirit of life to the body, whilst Galen, in the second century, showed that by pricking any artery of a living mammal blood would gush forth.105 He taught that most of the blood from the right side of the heart passed through invisible pores in the septum to the left side of the heart, where it mixed with air to create spirit and was distributed to the body. 106 He also indicated that a small portion of the blood from the right side passed through the vena arteriosa and then by way of the arteria venosa reached the left side. Therefore Galen seems to have had a vague idea of the pulmonary circulation comprised by his doctrine of the invisible pores in the inter-ventricular septum.107 In 1553 the Spaniard Michael Servetus described the pulmonary circulation and denied the permeability of the septum, but upheld the Galenic theory that the blood in the arteria venosa was mixed with the inspired air and cleaned the 'soot' by expiration. Haddad and Khairallah summarize Ibn al-Nafis' discovery as follows: 1. He advises the study of comparative anatomy as an aid to the understanding of human anatomy. 2. On several occasions he hints that he performed dissections, which was very rare among Moslem physicians, and this despite the fact that he denies this in his introduction.
98 99
A K Chehade, Ibn-al-Nafis, op cit, 1955. A. Whipple: The Role; op cit; p. 47. 100 A K Chehade, Ibn-al-Nafis, op cit. 101 M. Meyerhof: Ibn Nafis; op cit. 102 A. Whipple: The Role; op cit; p. 47. 103 A K Chehade, op cit. 104 A. Whipple: The Role; op cit; p. 48. 105 Whipple 48. 106 Whipple 48. 107 Whipple 48.

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3. He is not a blind follower of authority. He has his own convictions, and after careful observation and recording he states these regardless of accepted authority. 4. He classifies man as an air-breathing animal. 5. He uses logic where observation does not suffice. 6. He declares that blood is aerated in the lung and gives a description of the alveoli. 7. He states that the heart is nourished by its own vessels. 8. He gives a definite description of the pulmonary circulation and repeats this more than five times in his text.108 Haddad and Khairallah, studying Haddad's manuscript of Ibn-al-Nafis in Beirut, made literal translations of the passages in which he describes it as follows:
In describing the functions of these organs, heart and lungs, we have depended upon true observations (he does not say how he made them) and honest study, regardless of whether or not these fit the theories of those who have preceded us. ...We see fit before starting the discussion of anatomy to write a preface that will help us to understand this science ... In describing the pulmonary vessels and their structure, Ibn-al-Nafis disagrees with Galen and his predecessors, as the cause of the difference in structure between these vessels and those in other parts of the body. And we say, and God is all knowing, whereas one of the functions of the heart is the creation of the spirit for very thin blood, strongly miscible with air, so it is necessary to make in the heart very thin blood to make possible the creation of the spirit from the mixture. The place where the spirit is created is in the left cavity, of the two cavities, of the heart. Therefore it is necessary in the heart of man and his like, of those that have lungs, to have another cavity where the blood is thinned, to become fit for the mixture with air. For if the air is mixed with blood while it is still thick it would not make a homogeneous mixture. This cavity where the blood is thinned is the right cavity of the heart. If the blood is thinned in this cavity it must of necessity pass to the left cavity where the spirit is created. But between these two cavities there is no passage as that part of the heart is closed and has no apparent openings, as some believed, and no non-apparent openings fit for the passage of this blood, as Galen believed. The pores of the heart are obliterated, and its body is thick, there is no doubt that the blood when thinned passes in the vena arteriosa to the lung to permeate its substance and mingle with the air, its thin part purified, and then passes in the arteria venosa to reach the left cavity of the heart. Having mixed with the air the blood becomes fit for the creation of the spirit. What is left of this mixture, less attenuated, the lung uses for its nourishment. This is why the arteriosa is made of thick walls and of two coats, so that what passes through its branches be very thin, and the arteria venosa thin and of one coat. ...Of necessity the cavity which contains this thin blood should be near the liver where the blood is made, and so must be near the right side of the body. Ibn Sina's statement that the heart has three cavities, or ventricles is not correct, as the heart has only two ventricles. Also dissection gives the lie to what they said, as the septum between the two cavities is much thicker than elsewhere, just some blood or spirit pass through and get lost.... Again Ibn Sina's statement that the blood that is on the right side of the heart is to
108
S. I. Haddad and A. A. Khairallah: A Forgotten Chapter; op cit; pp. 1-8.

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nourish the heart is not true at all, for this nourishment of the heart is from the blood that goes through the vessels that permeate the heart.109
It is evident, notwithstanding his denial, in the first part of his preamble that Ibn-al-Nafis must have done dissections to have obtained the anatomical facts that he describes. 110 Taqi Al-Din Ahmad Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328) belongs to a family which has provided well known scholars such as his uncle Fakhr Eddin (d. 1225) and his paternal grandfather, Majid Eddin, (d. 1255). It was in Damascus where his father was the director of the Sukkariyya madrasa that he was educated and learnt Muslim sciences.111 He succeeded his father in his office and gave his first lesson there in 1284 and in 1285 he began to teach Quranic exegis at the Umayyad Mosque. During the Mongol invasion of 1300 by Il-khan Ghazan, Ibn Taymiyya was in Damascus preaching resistance.112 The same year another Mongol threat arose, and he was instructed to exhort people to the jihad and went to Cairo to ask the Mamluk sultan Muhammad B. Qalawun to intervene in Syria. He was present at the subsequent victory by the Mamluks on the Mongols in 1303.113 Ibn Taymiyya is not an advocate of military aggression into the 'House of War' (Dar al-harb) but he argues that Muslims should strive to put their own house in order first. Thus he favours the moral rearmament of the Muslims within their own lands and strong resistance to any external intervention. 114 For him, jihad, both spiritual and physical, is a force within Islam which can create a society dedicated to God's service. With Ibn Taymiyya, jihad is replaced by an internal movement within the Dar al-Islam {'House of Islam') itself, both spiritual and physical, hence Ibn Taymiyya lays great emphasis on the greater jihad, the spiritual dimensions of which he outlines in his fatwas on jihad.115 At the same time, whilst stressing the prototypical religious importance of the Prophet's career for those who wish to wage jihad, Ibn Taymiyya is sufficiently a man of his own age to draw parallels between Muhammad's time and contemporary events he encountered.116 Ibn Taymiyya saw that the Muslim world was assailed by external enemies of all kinds,117 and the only solution is to fight jihad so that 'the whole of religion may belong to God'.118
*
The spectre of the Franks in Muslim territory exacerbated his deep-rooted hatred of infidels and heretics and his strong desire to purify Islam and Islamic territory from all extraneous intrusion and corruption. And while the Franks were plainly a spent force by the later thirteenth century, the Mongols were the exact opposite - the most fearsome enemy that the world of Islam had ever encountered, an alien force that had taken over most of the eastern Islamic world and seemed poised to extend its conquests to the West. No
109 110
Ibn Nafis in S. I. Haddad and A. A. Khairallah: A Forgotten Chapter, pp. 1-8. A. Whipple: The Role; op cit; p. 51. 111 M. Ben Cheneb: Ibn Taymiyya; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; 1st series; vol 2; 1927; pp. 421-3; at p. 421. 112 H. Laoust: Ibn Taymiyya; Encyclopaedia of Islam; New Series; vol 3; 1971; pp. 951-5; at p. 951. 113 H. Laoust: Ibn Taymiyya; p. 951. 114 C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades; Islamic Perspectives; Edinburgh; 1999. p. 243. 115 C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades; p. 243. 116 C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades; p. 243. 117 Ibn Taymiyya, Majmut fatawa Shaykh al-Islam Ahmad b. Taymiyya, Riyadh, I383, vol. XXVIII, pp. 44I-4. 118 Ibn Taymiyya, Majmut fatawa Shaykh al-Islam, p.442. * [Ed. This refers to a passage from the Quran which is better translated as [Your] religion is totally for God and concerns the way that enemies attacking the Muslims were preventing them practicing their religion, in particular praying at the

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wonder that Ibn Taymiyya saw it as his responsibility to galvanise the forces of the Islamic faith against such perils.119 Ibn Taymiyya considered religion and the state to be indissolubly linked. Without the coercive power of the state, religion is in danger. Without the discipline of the revealed law, the state becomes a tyrannical organisation. The essential function of the state is to see that justice prevails, to ordain good, and to forbid evil, to bring about, in reality, the reign of unity, and to prepare for the coming of a society devoted to the service of God. 120 Ibn Taymiyya favours the idea of property, but states that the rich should be friends and partners of the poor and he substitutes the idea of competition with that of cooperation and mutual help. He reminds people that the revealed law condemns those who make riches for their goal to resemble Karun, just as it condemns those whose aim is political power and who wish to be like Pharoah. 121 Ibn Taymiyya is no stranger to prison, having served many terms under diverse rulers; in 1306 he was imprisoned for over a year, and this was followed by terms in 1308, 1309, 1320, 1321 and in 1326 when he issued a letter that attacked visits to tombs and the cults of saints which led to a two year imprisonment. 122 Ibn Taymiyya kept writing from prison until his enemies protested to the sultan, who ordered that ink, pens and paper be taken away from him.123 This was a terrible blow to him, and despite prayer and the recitation of the Quran, he fell ill and died after twenty days. His funeral in Damascus was attended by 200,000 men and 15,000 women.124 Syria has long been a land of great engineers. The entry on Hama highlights this fact. Damascus has also produced great figures in the field, such as Ibn al-Shatir as to be seen further on. It also attracted great engineers, who came, lived, worked, and died in the city. Muhamad B. Ali Rustum Al-Khurasani, who between 1146 and 1169, constructed the clock placed at the Bab Jairun (often called the bab asaa, (door of the clock) of the Mosque of the Umayyads in Damascus,125 which had been burnt down in 1166-7.126 This clock was seen and described by travellers such as Ibn Jubayr, in 1184, and also subsequent travellers such as al-Qazwini and Ibn Battuta. When for various reasons, the clock became unworkable, his son Fakhr Eddin, author of a book on astronomical clocks, repaired and improved it.127 This son is commonly known as Ibn Al-Saati, born in Damascus where he also flourished, and where he eventually died in 1223.128 Ridwan repaired and improved the clock, and in the year 1203, he wrote a book to explain its construction and use. Next to al-Jazari, who was his contemporary, this is the most important source of early Islamic clocks, although the earliest Muslim reference to clocks, oddly, comes from
sacred mosque in Makkah] 119 C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades; Islamic perspectives; op cit; p. 243. 120 H. Laoust: Ibn Taymiyya; op cit; p. 954. 121 H. Laoust: Ibn Taymiyya p. 954. 122 M. Ben Cheneb: Ibn Taymiyya; op cit; p. 422. 123 M. Ben Cheneb: Ibn Taymiyya; p. 422. 124 M. Ben Cheneb: Ibn Taymiyya; p. 422. 125 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 632. 126 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists and their works. Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956; at p. 62. 127 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; p. 62. 128 G. Sarton: Introduction, op cit; vol 2; p. 631.

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the unlikely source of Al-Jahiz (middle 9th century, see entry on Basra) in his book: Kitab al-Bayawan. wrote also a commentary on Ibn Sinas Qanun and a supplement to the latters treatise on gripes.
130
129
Ridwan
Muhammad B, Ahmad al-Mizzi, was born in 1291, and studied in Cairo under Ibn al-Akfani. He lived in Damascus and worked there until he died in 1349 as a muwaqqit (time keeper) of the rabwa, and then of the Umayyad Mosque. He is the author of several works on astrolabes and quadrants.131 His quadrants sold for two dinars and more, his astrolabes for 10 dinars and more. In 1326/7 he constructed a quadrant which is now found in the museum of Islamic art of Cairo (No 3092).132 In 1326-7, he made a quadrant now found in the British museum (95.11.16.1) In 1333/4, while in Damascus he made a quadrant for Nasur Eddin, which was formerly found in the Collection of Clot Bey, but is now in the Public Library of Leningrad (St Petersburg).133 In the same year he also made another quadrant, once in the octavius Morgan collection, now in the British Museum (88.12-1. 276).134 Sarton notes, that judging from the number of manuscripts scattered in many libraries (every large Arab library has at least one of them) his treatises on the construction of instruments enjoyed much popularity.135 These treatises are listed by Sarton as follows: 1.Al-Risala al-Istarlabiya (on the astrolabe). 2.Kashf al-Raib fi-l-amal bil-jaib (the removal of doubt concerning the use of sines); this may refer to the sine quadrant or to the sine calculations implied. 3.Al-Raudat al-muzhirat fi-l amal bi rub al-muqantarat (the flowering gardens concerning the use of the quadrant with parallel circles.) 4.Al-Risala fi-l (amal bil) mujannaha on the `winged astrolabe, which may be a special kind introduced by the author. 5.Nazm al-lulu al-muhadhdhab fi-lamal bil rub al-mujaiyab (string of golden pearls concerning the use of the sine quadrant), 20 chapters in verse (arjuza) with an introduction. 6.Risala fi-l amal bil rub al-musattar (one the use of precious and mysterious quadrant). 7.Mukhtassar fil amal bil rub al-daira (summary concerning the use of the quadrant of the circle). Suter also adds two other instruments one on the folded quadrant (al-Muqantarat al-matwiya), and a table for the latitude of Damascus (Jadawil al-Hisas).136 Ibn al-Shatir: b. Damascus 1305, d. Damascus 1375; was an orphan since childhood, brought up by his grand-father who turned him over to an uncle to rear, the latter teaching him the craft of inlay work with ivory, wood, and mother of pearl for which Damascus is still famous.137 His skill in making his own instruments and his ability in ivory mosaics, which earned him the appellative `the incrutator, is especially mentioned by chroniclers.138 In 1314-5 he went to Alexandria in order to study, and for years serving as head muwaqqit at the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, with the duty to regulate astronomically defined G. Sarton: Introduction, op cit; vol 2; p. 631. G. Sarton: Introduction, op cit; vol 2; p. 631. 131 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; op cit; at p. 61. 132 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; p. 61. 133 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; p. 61. 134 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; p. 61. 135 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 3; pp. 696-7. 136 H. Suter: Die mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke; Ehrlangen; 1900; p.p 165; 227. 137 The Life and Work of Ibn al-Shatir; Edited by E.S. Kennedy and I. Ghanem; Institute for the History of Arabic Science; University of Aleppo; 1976; p. 13. 138 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists and their works; Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956. p. 40.
130 129

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prayer times. 139 Ibn al-Shatir is a prolific author about scientific instruments, astronomy and mathematics, his most influential work being his Zij al-Jadid, composed after the non extant Taliq al-Arsad, presumably a report of his observations at Damascus, and the Nihayat al-Sul, the exposition of his planetary theory.140 In 1337 he made two astrolabes for Muhammad ad-Darbandi, one of them to be acquired centuries later by Jomard from the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris. 141 In 1365-6, while muwaqqit in Damascus, he made a sundial with a qibla indicator, which he called Sanduk al-Yawaqit by order of the viceroy of Syria. In the main inscription, his work is characterised as `composition (made it and created for the first time) obviously in order to indicate its unusual square form.142 Ibn al-Shatir continued to make astronomical instruments at an advanced age, for the large sundial for the Mosque of Damascus was constructed by him in 1371.143 All his devices are ingenious whereby geometric configurations are constructed mechanically and to scale in order to give numerical solutions to the standard problems of spherical astronomy.144 The most important contribution of Ibn al-Shatir is his planetary theory. He is critical of his predecessors, notably Nasir Eddin al-Tusi. 145 His models are exactly mathematically identical to those prepared by Copernicus over a century after him, which raised the issue of how Copernicus acquired such elements of information, and their impact on European astronomy.146 Indeed, the mathematical devices originated by the Muslim predecessors of Copernicus, expressible in modern terms as linkages of constant length vectors rotating at constant angular velocities, are precisely those used by Copernicus.147 In many instances even the numerical parameters of Ibn al-Shatir and Copernicus are the same, the sole but important difference between the two systems being that Ibn al-Shatirs earth is fixed in space, whereas Copernicus gives an orbit around the sun. In the case of the lunar motion, Ibn al-Shatir corrects Ptolemy, whose imagined moon is made to approach far closer to the earth than does the actual moon. Again, Copernicuss solution is identical with that of Ibn al-Shatir. 148 After noting, as did other Muslim astronomers before him the shortcomings of the Greeks planetary theory, Ibn Shatir stated:
I therefore asked Almighty God to give me inspiration and help me invent models that would achieve what was required, and God, may He be praised and exalted, all praise and gratitude to Him - did enable me to devise universal models for the planetary motions in longitude and latitude and all other observable features of their motions, models that were free - thank God - from the doubts surrounding previous models.
With Ibn al-Shatir we come to the near dreary end of Muslim scholarship and brilliance in Damascus with hardly any figure of worth coming to the fore afterwards. This was due to the fact that, soon after this scholar (Ibn al-Shatir), Timur the Lame entered the city with his hordes and inflicted on it worse woes than the crusaders themselves did. This is part of the final issue discussed here.
139 140
L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists. p. 40. The Life and Work of Ibn al-Shatir; op cit; p. 13. 141 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists. Op cit; p. 41. 142 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists. p. 41. 143 The Life and Work of Ibn al-Shatir; op cit; p. 13. 144 The Life and Work of Ibn al-Shatir; p. 14. 145 The Life and Work of Ibn al-Shatir; p. 14. 146 George Saliba explains this matter at: http://www.columbia.edu/~gas1/project/visions/case1/sci.1.html
147 148
The Life and Work of Ibn al-Shatir; op cit; p. 14. The Life and Work of Ibn al-Shatir; p. 14.

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Fallacious Explanations of Decline of Islamic civilisation: The Instance from Damascus

It is needless here to dwell too long on this issue of fallacious writing of the history of Islam, its civilisation, and its decline, as it has been examined in one particular article on this site (The Myths), and is touched upon in other articles on other cities, in relation to their specific history. It ought to be remembered, that generally, historians and writers dealing with Islam, with the rarest exceptions, do two things: one after the other, they eliminate anything positive with regard to Islam, and instead attribute everything negative to it. And whilst they alter facts, they also suppress from bibliographies and even from general knowledge, any sources - including Western ones - which narrate anything favourable of Islam. And so we end up with the picture of an inept Muslim nation that plagiarised all its civilisation and sciences from others, and also that of a barbaric nation guilty of the worst crimes past and present. As for the decline of Islamic civilisation, of course, such writing also blames it on Islam. Thus, here, we look at this issue again, by focusing on the specific case of Damascus, to once more show the fallacies surrounding the decline of Islamic civilisation. Very briefly here, we restate the argument which blames Islam for the decline of Islamic civilisation. Toland in the Doutes sur les Religions, translated from an English text in 1739, claims that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) ordered his followers to be ignorant:
because he clearly saw that the spirit of inquiry would not favour him. This is how Islam maintained itself. 149
Diderot, equally, in a letter of 30 October 1759, held that the Prophet was the greatest enemy of reason; that he could not read or write, and so this encouraged Muslims to hate and have contempt for knowledge, which in turn secured the survival of Islam.150 Diderot also asserts that in the time of Caliph al-Mamun, people were heard shouting for his death because he had fostered science at the expense of the `holy ignorance' of the faithful believers.151 J.D. Bate (1836-1923), who served as a missionary in India (1865-1897) and who also contributed many articles to the Missionary Herald and the Baptist magazine, held that:
Islam reduces to a state of degradation every civilised state over which it obtains ascendancy and renders impossible the social and moral elevation, beyond a certain point, of even the most degraded people. Wherever Islam has obtained the sole ascendancy, the vast induction of twelve centuries tells one uniform tale - that the ascendancy has been the death knell of all progress and the signal for general stagnation.152
Von Grunebaum tells us:
149 151 152
150
in A. Gunny: Images of Islam in eighteenth century writing; Grey Seal, London, 1996. p.95. D. Diderot: Oeuvres Completes; Vol VIII, Paris; 1975. at p. 230. A. Gunny: Images of Islam; op cit; 168. J.D. Bate: The Claims of Ishmael; London; W. Allen; 1884; p. 301.

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From the orthodox viewpoint nothing was lost and perhaps a great deal gained when in the later Middle Ages Islamic civilisation prepared to renounce the foreign sciences that could not but appear as dangerous distractions. The retrenchment of intellectual scope must have seemed a small price to pay for the preservation of the original religious experience. Not only substance but method as well came under suspicion. 153
More recently, another academic, Huff asks himself: why didn't Arabic science give rise to modern science; and why did it go into decline beginning in the twelfth century? before he gives the answer:
A common formulation of the negative influence of religious forces on scientific advance suggests that the twelfth and thirteenth centuries witnessed the rise of mysticism as a social movement. This in turn spawned religious intolerance, especially for the natural sciences and the substitution of the pursuit of the occult sciences in place of the study of the Greek and rational sciences. 154
Then, of course are blamed the Seljuk Turks, the Mamluks, the Berbers, Al-Ghazali, Al-Ashari, the Ottomans in an array of aggressive rhetoric already seen in other articles on this site and it is needless repeat these points here. 155 No Western historian today would blame anybody else other than these malefic forces that caused the decline of Islam and its power. They would not blame the Mongols. Nor would they blame Timur the Lame. And of course, they will never blame the crusades or the papacy for the destruction of Islamic power and civilisation. There are even Western historians today who tell us that in fact the Mongols only killed few thousands of people to discourage others from resisting, and even that the Mongols promoted science. Yet, looking at reality and older historical sources, whilst focusing on the specific instance of Damascus, we see something completely different. First and foremost, the Islamic civilisation declined in the 13 th century onwards, because in that century it faced and suffered, at once, mass destruction and killings as a result of the crusader and Mongol destruction in the East; including Damascus, which was repeatedly devastated. The Christian-Mongol alliance, which is examined under the coming entry on Baghdad,156 had devastating consequences for Damascus.157 At the taking of the city, in 1260, three Christian leaders (the Mongol commander Kitbogha, the King of Armenia and the Crusader Count Bohemund VI of Antioch) rode through the streets and forced the Muslim population to bow to the cross. 158 Bohemond VI, whose father-in-law, the king of Armenia, had convinced him to join with the Mongols, had Mass sung in the Mosque of the Umayyads; the other mosques he had defiled by donkeys, wine was scattered on the walls, with grease of fresh pork, and salt, and the
153 154
G.E. Von Grunebaum: Islam, Greenwood Press, Publishers, 1961. p.118. T.E. Huff: The Rise of Early Modern Science, Cambridge University Press, 1993. pp. 52-3. 155 See also E. Renan: Averroes et l'Averroisme, in Discours et Conference, Paris, Calman Levy, 1919. p. iii; E. Ashtor: A Social and Economic History of the Near East in the Middle Ages; Collins; London; 1976. etc. 156 See, for instance: P. Pelliot: Mongols and Popes; 13th and 14th centuries; Paris; 1922. 157 See Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834; vol 3, above all. 158 J. J. Saunders: A History of Medieval Islam; Routledge; London; 1965. p. 182.

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excrement of his men. 159 The systematic slaughter of the Muslim population soon followed, and spread throughout Syria, the accounts of such mass slaughter and devastation are possibly unparalleled in world history.160 The Mongol-Christian alliance remained for decades until both were destroyed by first, Baybars and the Mamluk successors in the early 14th century. 161 Until then, Syria and Damascus, in particular, were regularly devastated. During 1299-1300, for instance, the Mongols devastated more Syrian towns and cities. Virtually the whole of al-Salihiyya suburb to the north of Damascus was pillaged and burned. Many important buildings were destroyed and the population was plundered and murdered. 162 Many hospitals and madrasas were destroyed. Inside the city, the area around the citadel was severely damaged and important schools were burned. The outlying villages suffered, too.163 Just as Syria began to recover from these deadly onslaughts, in came the worst of all of them: Timur. The arrival of Timur Lang (The Lame) at the end of the century (14th) finished any chance of recovery of the Muslim East after the Crusader Mongol onslaught. Timur is Muslim by name, one of those drunkard Muslims, who are equally at ease in mass murdering fellow Muslims and collaborating with the enemy. It was he, Timur, who, in 1402, stopped the Ottomans led by Bayazid in their swift advance. Timur was allied with not just France, but also with England and Castile, both before and after his overthrow of Bayazid. 164 He attacked the Ottomans from the rear just as the Venetians broke their peace treaties with the Ottomans.165 Timur had also received embassies from both Byzantium and France, which were inciting him to enter war against Bayazid.166 At the decisive battle of Angora, on 28 July 1402, which placed Timur against the Ottomans, Bayazid was betrayed by local contingents who en masse deserted to Timurs side during the battle.167 Bayazid was defeated, taken prisoner and put in a cage; his capital Bursa taken and burnt down.168 Timur then compelled Bayazids wife to pour out his wine in the presence of her husband, no longer `the Thunderbolt' of Islam.169 At the battle with Bayazid, Timur had invited the Castilian embassies, that included Enrique Payo de Soto and Hernan Sanchez de Palazuelos, at their head, to watch the fierce battle.170 The embassy returned to Castile with the news of this immense victory by Timur, which avenged previous Ottoman victories against Christianity.171 Prior to his war against Bayazid, Timur had already devastated the rest of the Muslim lands in the late 1380s-1390s. In 1388 he invaded northern India and destroyed the Turkish armies; then in 1398 sacked
Jean Richard: La Papaute et les Missions dOrient au Moyen Age; Ecole Francaise de Rome; Palais Farnese; 1977. p.99. See Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834; vol 3, above all. 161 Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols, op cit. 162 I.M. Lapidus: Muslim Cities in the later Middle Ages: Harvard University Press; Cambridge Mass; 1967.pp.19-20. p. 13. 163 I.M. Lapidus: Muslim cities; op cit. p. 13. 164 D. Vaughan: Europe and the Turk; Liverpool University press; 1954. p. 205. 165 Rodrigo de Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme d'etat; Edt Les Voies du Sud; Paris, 1992. p. 135. 166 R. De Zayas: Les Morisques; op cit; p. 135. 167 P. Wittek: The Ottoman Turks-from an emirite of march warriors to an empire: in The Islamic World and the West: editor A. R. Lewis; John Wiley and Sons; London; 1970; pp 106-118. p.115. 168 Sir Edwin Pears: The Ottoman Turks to the fall of Constantinople. In The Cambridge Medieval History, Cambridge University Press, 1923; Vol IV: Edited by J. R. tanner, C. W. Previte; Z.N. Brooke, 1923. , pp 653-705. p.682. 169 William Miller: The Balkan States; The Cambridge Medieval History, Vol IV: Edited by J. R. Tanner et al; op cit, pp 552-593. p.562. 170 R. De Zayas: Les Morisques; p. 136. 171 R. De Zayas: Les Morisques; p. 136.
160
159

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Delhi, massacred its inhabitants, and carried the treasure of the sultans home to Transoxeania.172 Political conditions in northern India remained chaotic for a long time thereafter; and many cities in ruin.173 Everywhere his hordes went, farms, orchards, irrigation works, dams, schools were razed to the ground.174 In Siwas, Timur had 120,000 people massacred, and in Aleppo, in Syria, and in Baghdad, it was another huge massacre, sparing none, regardless of age or sex. 175 Timur even ordered his men to trample children reading the Quran.176 It is Damascus, the last beacon of Islamic civilisation in the East other than Cairo, which was destroyed for good by Timur. Here is the narration by the historian Gibbon,
Abandoned by their prince, the inhabitants of Damascus still defended their walls; and Timur consented to raise the siege, if they would adorn his retreat with a gift or ransom; each article of nine pieces. But no sooner had he introduced himself into the city, under colour of a truce, than he perfidiously violated the treaty; imposed a contribution of ten millions of gold; and after a period of seven centuries, Damascus (including the Great Mosque) was reduced to ashes. The losses and fatigues of the campaign obliged Timur to renounce the conquest of Palestine and Egypt; but in his return to the Euphrates he delivered Aleppo to the flames but I shall briefly mention that he erected on the ruins of Baghdad a pyramid of ninety thousand heads. 177
Once Damascus was devastated, it was just yet another terrible loss for the civilisation of Islam, which had seen Baghdad burnt to the ground, one million of its people slaughtered in 1258; Aleppo, too, devastated and its population slaughtered, in 1260 and then during Timurs invasion; the glorious cities such as Merv, Bukhara, Nishapur, and others razed to the ground in 1219-22 by Genghis Khan; Cordova lost in 1236, Valencia lost in 1238, Seville, lost in 1248, and the rest of Spain, too, all but Grenada, lost for good to Islam. Now with Damascus gone, Muslim civilisation, which once shone from China to the Atlantic, now had dimmed. Only the light of Cairo remained bright.
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E.R. Wolf: Europe and the people without History; University of California Press; Berkeley; 1982. p. 45. E.R. Wolf: Europe. p. 45. 174 N. Smith: A History of Dams, The Chaucer Press, London,1971; p. 86. 175 Sir Edwin Pears: The Ottoman Turks; op cit; pp.679-80. 176 Sir Edwin Pears: The Ottoman Turks.p.684. 177 E. Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Chapter LXV; Part II.

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-E. Renan: De la Part des peoples semitiques dans lhistoire de la civilisation in Oeuvres completes, Vol II; Paris; 1948. -Ernest Renan: Discours et Conference, Paris, Calman Levy, 1919. -Jean Richard: La Papaute et les Missions dOrient au Moyen Age; Ecole Francaise de Rome; Palais Farnese; 1977. -H Ritter: Ein arabisches Handbuch der Handelswissenschaft; in Der Islam, vol. 7, 1-91, 1917; -George Saliba at: http://www.columbia.edu/~gas1/project/visions/case1/sci.1.html -G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institute; Washington; 1927 fwd. -J. J. Saunders: A History of Medieval Islam; Routledge; London; 1965. -A.L. Sedillot: Histoire generale des Arabes, 2 Vols., Paris, 1877. -A.Shalaby: History of Muslim Education. Beirut: Dar al Kashaf, 1954. pp 65-7. -The Life and Work of Ibn al-Shatir; Edited by E.S. Kennedy and I. Ghanem; Institute for the History of Arabic Science; University of Aleppo; 1976. -N. Smith: A History of Dams, The Chaucer Press, London,1971. -W.St Clair Tisdall: The Religion of the Crescent; London SPCK; 1894; 2 nd edt 1906; 3rd edt 1910; 4th 1916. -Ibn Taymiyya: Majmut fatawa Shaykh al-Islam Ahmad b. Taymiyya, Riyadh, I383, vol. XXVIII. -K.A Totah: The contribution of the Arabs to education; New York; Columbia University Press, 1926. -Ibn abi Usaybi'ah: UYun al-Anba fi Tabaqat al-Atibba, ed. by August Mller, Konigsberg, 1884. Vol. II. -D. Vaughan: Europe and the Turk; Liverpool University press; 1954. -G.E. Von Grunebaum: Islam, Greenwood Press, Publishers, 1961. -Eilhard Wiedemann: Mineralogisches aus einer arabischen Handels-und Warenlehre; Beitrage 30 Sitsungsber. der physi .-med. Sozietat, vol. 44, pp. 229-35, Erlangen 1912; -E. Wiedemann: Kuiturgeschichtliche und klimatologisches aus arabischen Schriftstellern; Archiv fur Geschichte der Naturwiss., vol. 5, 60-61, 1913; -E. Wiedemann: Aus der arabischen Handels- und Warenlehren von Abu'1 Fadl Beitrage 32, Erlangen Sitsungsber., vol. 45, pp. 34-54, 1914. -G. Wiet; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind: Vol III: The Great Medieval Civilisations; Tr from the French; first published 1975. -P. Wittek: The Ottoman Turks-from an emirite of march warriors to an empire: in The Islamic World and the West: editor A. R. Lewis; John Wiley and Sons; London; 1970; pp 106-118. -E.R. Wolf: Europe and the people without History; University of California Press; Berkeley; 1982. -A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977. -J.K. Wright: The Geographical Lore of the Time of the Crusades; Dover Publications; New York; 1925. -Khalil ibn-Shahine al-Zahiri: Tableau politique et administratif de la Syrie, Paris, 1894. -Rodrigo de Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme d'etat; Edt Les Voies du Sud; Paris, 1992.

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The Observational Instruments of Istanbul Observatory
Professor Sevim Tekelfi Lamaan Ball Rumeana Jahangir Aasiya Alla April 2005 4080 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
The Observational Instruments of Istanbul Observatory April 2005
THE OBSERVATIONAL INSTRUMENTS OF ISTANBUL OBSERVATORY
This article was first published in the International symposium on the Observatories in Islam 19-23 September 1977 (ed. M. Dizer), Istanbul 1980, pp. 33-43.
Four hundred years ago, the Istanbul Observatory was founded by Taq al-din al-Rsid at Tophane, on the European side of the Bosporus, under the sponsorship of Sultan Murad III (1574-1595). An unknown author gives the following information about the plan of its construction in Istanbul,
Thus during the glorious days of our Great King (Murad III) with the help of the Grand-vizier (Soqullu Muhammad Pasha) the foundation of a new observatory was being organised.. While he (Sa'd al-din) was making the necessary arrangements [when] suddenly our Master Taq al-din, who was the greatest scientist on earth, came to Istanbul to enter the felicitous Court of the King. When he was presented to the Emperor and received by him, was promoted and decorated with a large fief, because he was truly cognizant of sciences. Also the necessary expenses for his work were given from the Imperial treasury. In order to start the work with the help of God, [a] European Castle (Frenk Sarayi) above the great and prosperous buildings of Tophane in Istanbul, may God increase its beautiful buildings, was assigned and the activities were started. To put in verse the quality of the necessary instruments in the Imperial poetry firstly this text depending the statements of Taq al-din, is composed and named Alt al Rasdiya li Zj-i Shhinshhya."
1
It is stated in other sources, on the other hand, that it was Taq al-din who took the initiative in this matter and that he suggested to Sultan Murad III to establish an observatory. Taq al-din wished to have an observatory founded in Istanbul and the Grand-vizier Soqullu Muhammad Pasha and Khwaja Sa'd al-din became interested in the matter and supported him. He prepared a report to present to the Sultan which explained the necessity of founding a new observatory. In this report Taq al-din explained that the available astronomical tables had grown out-dated and new tables based on fresh observations had to be compiled. institution. As a matter of fact, recent research has shown that this observatory had been one of the largest of the observatories built in the 16 th century and was comparable to Tycho Brahe's Uroniborg (16th century) as well as Ulug Bey's Samarqand (15th century) and Nsir al-din Ts's Maragha (13 th century).
2
In this short article I am going to dwell on only the first part, that is to say the instruments built in this
1 2
Sevim Tekeli, Mechul Bir Yazarin Istanbul Rasathanesinin Aletlerinin Tasvirini Veren "Alt-i Rasadiye Li Zic-i Sehinsahiye" Adli Makalesi. Arastirma, Vol. I, p. 91. Nawzda ibn Yahy t, Dhayl al-Shaqaiq. Vol. I, 1268 H.P. 268.

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The reputation of the observatory depends on first and foremost the preciseness of its instruments, secondly on the importance of the work done in it; and then on the quality of the astronomers connected to it. The available sources that give information about the instruments constructed in this observatory are:
Alt-i Rasadya li Zj-i Shahinshhya (Astronomical instruments for the Zij of Emperor). Sidra Muntah al afkr of Taq al-din
l al-din al Mansr's Poem.
5 4
Generally, observational instruments in an observatory can be divided into two groups: fixed and portable. In enumerating the instruments, Taq al-din does not say anything concerning the portable instruments. From the above mentioned documents we learn that the following instruments were built with regards to the fixed group. An armillary sphere (tht al halk) with six rings for the measurement of latitudes and longitudes. The radius of the rings is more than 4 metres. All the rings are placed on a base called the horizon and the horizon is placed on six columns, the lower ends of which are attached to another stool like the horizon. This form of a base was generally used in 16th century Europe.
Figure 1a. Armillary sphere (that al-halak) of Taq al-Din.
Figure 1b. Armillary sphere (that al-halak) of Tycho Brahe6
3 S. Tekeli, Mechul Bir yazarin... Arastirma, Vol. I. p. 71-122. 4 Sevim Tekeli, Takiyuddin'in Sidret ul-Munteha'sinda Aletler Bahsi, Belleten, Vol. 25. p. 213-38. 5 Aydin Sayili, Al al-din al Mansur's Poems on the Istanbul Observatory, Belleten, Vol. 20, 1956. 6 Source from: http://www.kb.dk/elib/lit/dan/brahe/engelsktekst/instrumentlisteframe-en.htm

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A Mural quadrant (Libna) for the observations of the declinations of the sun and the stars. It is said that Taq al-din preferred the above-mentioned quadrant instead of suds-i Fakhr erected on the meridian
7
and two rings used by the
previous astronomers. They are two brass quadrants with a radius of six metres, placed on a wall,
Figure 2a. Mural quadrant (libna) of Taq al-Din
Figure 2b. Mural quadrant (libna) of Tycho Brahe8
7 Ab Mahmd Hmd ibn al Khidr al Khujandi (10th century) constructed an instrument, made of an arc of a sity degree of meridian, and called Suds al Fakhri, for the measurement of the obliquity of the ecliptic. It has a radius of about twenty meters, and surpassed all previous ones in size. This arc is placed on a wall, erected on the meridian. Sevim Tekeli, Nasiruddin, Takiyuddin ve Tycho Brahe'nin Rasat Aletlerinin mukayesesi. Ankara Universitesi, Dil ve Tarih-Cografya Fakultesi Dergisi, Vol. 16, No. 34, p. 319. 8 Source from: http://www.kb.dk/elib/lit/dan/brahe/engelsktekst/instrumentlisteframe-en.htm

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An azimuthal semicircle (dht al-semt wa'l irtifa) for the measurement of the altitudes and the azimuths of the stars. This instrument is composed of a copper ring representing the horizon and a semi circle perpendicular to the horizon.
Figure 3a. Azimuthal semicircle (that al-semt walirtif) of Taq al-Din
Figure 3b. Azimuthal semicircle (that al-semt walirtif) of Tycho Brahe9
Source from: http://www.kb.dk/elib/lit/dan/brahe/engelsktekst/instrumentlisteframe-en.htm

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Parallactic ruler or triquetrum. Generally the parallax of the moon is observed with this instrument. It is made of three long pieces of wood. The first is perpendicular to the horizon; the second is connected at the head of the first with an axis; the third which has the chord division is nailed near the base.
Figure 4a. Parallactic instrument of Taq al-Din
Figure 4b. Parallactic instrument of Tycho Brahe10
10

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The wooden quadrant (Rub). It is a quarter of a circle made of wooden rulers. The altitudes of the stars and even their distances to zenith are measured by this instrument.
Figure 5. Wooden quadrant of Taq al-Din
Figure 5b. Wooden quadrant of Tycho Brahe11
Dioptra (dht al-thuqbatayn), generally called the instrument with two holes for the measurement of the apparent diameters of the heavenly bodies and eclipses.
Figure 6. Diopra (dhat al-thuqbatayn) The instrument with cords (dht al-awtar) for the determination of equinoxes. This instrument is composed of a rectangular base, the side of which is equal to the radius and the sine of the latitude and two
11

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columns equal to the latitude and erected on the base. A string is stretched. With this, the equinoxes of fall and spring are designated.
Figure 7. Dhat al-awtar Sextant (mushabbaha bi'l mantiq) used to measure the distances between the stars.
Figure 8a. Sextant (mushabbaha bil-mantiq) of Taq al-Din
Figure 8b. Sextant (mushabbaha bil-mantiq) of Tycho Brahe12
12

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Observational clocks.
Figure 9. Observational clock. Let us here turn towards Europe. Tycho Brahe built an observatory under the sponsorship of King Frederic II of Denmark in 1576. He equipped this observatory with the best possible instruments of his time and succeeded in becoming one of the great astronomers of all history by building these refined instruments, making accurate observations and helping the discoveries of Kepler. Recent research has shown that there is an exact identity between most of the instruments of Tycho Brahe's and Taq al-din's observatories. I am going to compare the instruments of these observatories in three groups. The first group includes the instruments known and built by earlier astronomers since Ptolemy. They are armillary sphere, triquetrum or parallatic instrument and dioptra. In both observatories they were built as large as possible in order to show the minutes, (See Figures 1 a-b). The second group includes the instruments discovered later during Islamic civilisation. They are the mural quadrant (Libna) and azimuthal semicircle (dht al-semt wal irtif) (See Figures 2. and 3.)

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1.
The mural quadrant (libna) was built in both observatories and was fixed upon a wall and erected in
the meridian. The radius of Tycho's instrument was about 2 metres whereas Taq al-din's was six metres. Tycho's quadrant was divided by means of transversal points so that five seconds of arc could be read on it.13 We have no record showing whether Taq al-din knew the transversal divisions or not. However we must mention that Abd al-Mun'im al 'mil (16th Century), a contemporary of Taq al-din, gives a picture on which the transversal divisions are obvious in his Kitab-al-talm lt-i zij. (See Figures 10 a-b.)14 In the west the mural quadrant, whose discovery had been the greatest incident in the sixteenth century, was built first by Tycho Brahe and called Tychonicus although it was built by Nsir al-din al Ts in Maragha in 13th century. (See Figures 2 a-b.)
Figure 10a. Transversal divisions of Al-mil
Figure 10b. Transversal divisions of Tycho Brahe.
Tycho Brahe, Description of His Instruments and Scientific Work (Astronomiae Instauratae Mechanical ed. and tr. by H. Raeder, E. Stromgen, and E. Stromgen, Kobenhaun 1946, P. 28-31. 14 British Museum, Pers. Add. 7702, P. 4b.
13

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2.
The azimuthal quadrant or azimuthal semicircle, predecessor of the theodolite used to determine
altitudes and azimuths are found in both observatories. In the Islamic lands this instrument, which reached its perfection under Nsir al-din al Ts, was used since Ibn Sin (d. 1037). (See Figures 3, 11, 12)15
Figure 11. Azimuthal quadrant of Nsir al-Din Ts.
Figure 12. Azimuthal Instrument of Ibn Sn. Small and portable quadrants made of wood were in use in the medieval ages but large and fixed ones were used later. Taq al-din and Tycho Brahe built wooden quadrants. The radius of Taq al-din's was 4.5 metres whereas Tycho's 5.5 metres. (See Figures 5 a-b).
15
Sevim Tekeli, Nasiruddin, Takiyuddin ve Tycho Brahe'nin Rasat Aletlerininp. 32S-329.

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It is known that the right ascensions of the stars can be measured by taking the sidereal time elapsed between the sun and the stars. This needed very accurate clocks but when Burgi (1552-1632) was appointed the clock maker of Landgraf William IV of Hesse, the clocks were not available for this purpose. At last he succeeded in making such a clock. Landgraf William IV of Hesse writing to Tycho Brahe, on April 14th 1586 says, "Recently the accurate longitude of Orion, Canis Minor and Major have been observed by Burgi's clocks indicating minutes and seconds, with such accuracy, that between two culminations they deviate less then one minute".
16
Tycho Brahe writes the following in his Astronomiae Instauratae Mechanica, while
mentioning his mural quadrant.
"In order that the time of observation, and the very moment of transit over the meridian may also be noted, the clocks mentioned are constructed in such a way, that they give not only the single minutes, but also the seconds with the greatest possible accuracy, and imitating uniform rotation of the heavens."
17
The third group includes contemporary discoveries. Tycho Brahe and Taq al-din were not satisfied with the instruments of the previous astronomers. They have new discoveries to use. These are the sextant, the wooden quadrant and astronomical clock. Taq al-din's mushabbaha bi'l mantiq and Tycho Brahe's sextant should be considered among the great achievements of the 16th century. Mushabbaha bi'l mantiq is composed of three rulers. Two of them are attached as the rulers of triquetrum. An arc is attached at the end of one of the rulers. This instrument is used to determine the distances between the stars.
18
In Astronomiae instauratas Mechanica, Tycho Brahe writes,
"I now come to the explanation of the astronomical sextant, since this is particularly suited for the determination of distances in the sky between the stars. For, having found the experience of many years that the astronomical Radius by no means sufficed for the solution of the problem with reasonable certainty and accuracy, I devised, driven by necessity, some sextants of different form which solved this problem accurately and without uncertainty".
19
(See Figures 8 a-b).
Taq al-din also made and used an observational clock. The following is written in The Astronomical Instruments for the Emperor's Table,
"The ninth instrument is an astronomical clock. The following statement recorded from Ptolemy I could have freedom of action if I was able to measure the time precisely, Now
16 Sevim Tekeli, 16'inci Asirda Osmanlilarda Saat ve Takiyuddin'in "Mekanik Saat Konstruksuyonuna Dair En Parlak Yildizlar" adli Eseri. (The Clocks in Ottoman Empire in 16th Century and Taq al-din's" The Brightest Stars for the Construction of the Mechanical Clocks". Ankara 1966, p. 8-9. 17 Tycho Brahe, Description of his .p. 29-30. 18 Sevim Tekeli. Takiyuddin'in Sidret ul Muntehasinda. 224. 19 Tycho Brahe, Description of His .. p. 73.

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our master Taq al-din planned the astronomical clock."20 Thus he was able to do what Ptolemy had failed. In addition to that, in Sidra al Muntaha, he tells us, We constructed a mechanical clock with three dials which shows the hours, the degrees and the minutes. We divided each minute into five seconds."
21
Although there were resemblances and parallelism between these two observatories, we can say that concerning the quantity of the instruments, Tycho Brahe's observatory was clearly superior to Taq al-din. We can say that because of Tycho Brahe, Europe not only reached but also surpassed Islam in the field of constructing observational instruments.
20 Sevim Tekeli, Mechul bir Yazarin p. 97. 21 Sevim Tekeli, Takiyuddin'in Sidret ul Muntehasinda..p. 226.

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Hama
FSTC Limited
Hama April 2005
HAMA
Hama, also called Hamat, is a city in central Syria 54 kms north of Hims and 132 kms south of Aleppo on the road which connects these two towns. 1 It is built on both sides of the Orontes river (Nahr al-Asi), the larger part of the town being on the left bank, which in places rises as high as 120 feet above the river. Three bridges connect the two sides. No traces today remain of the medieval citadel and only a mound of ruins found early in the 20th century marked the site of the palace.2 The steppe plateau which surrounds the town is in part made into ploughed land for cereals. Mediterranean orchards and market gardens thrive thanks to the hydraulic installations which bring water from the river to its fertile soil. 3
Hama old town4 In the year 16 Al-Hijrah, Hama was taken by the Muslims and remained for nearly four centuries under the administration of the jund (military district) of Hims. During the reign of the Hamdanid Sayf al-Dawla, the town of Hama was incorporated into the district of Aleppo, and until the beginning of the 12th century its destiny was to be linked with that of this town, which at that time was going through a troubled period.5 It is known that after the raid by the Byzantine Nicephorous Phocas in 968, during which the Great Mosque of Hama was burned down, Hama had been under the nominal domination of the Fatimids, who allowed the Mirdasids to ravage it6 (hence the Fatimids exacted revenge on Hama in the same way they had treated of the Maghreb - allowing unruly tribes to devastate areas that had ceased to follow them). The Seljuks wrested what had survived of Hama from the Fatimids.7 In 1127 it was incorporated in the administrative district of Aleppo, in which it remained until the death of Ridwan.8 In the year 1133, the crusaders, taking advantage of an eclipse of the moon, penetrated the towns suburbs but were forced to retire without taking the town. In the years following 1137, the city experienced a period of turmoil before it passed completely under the rule of Imad ud-din Zangi, who placed a strong army unit there to guard it.9 It remained safe in Muslim hands under his son Nur-ud-din, who was followed by Salah-ud-din. Then the town passed under the rule of the Ayyubids, who were the ancestors of the greatest figure of Hamas history the scholar-ruler, Abul Fida. The ruler historian and warrior, Abul Fida, had the closest links with the Mamluks and when the latter defeated the Mongols, they appointed him as Sultan of his former family fief,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
D. Sourdel: Hama; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; New Series; vol 3; pp. 119-21.; at p. 119. M. Sobernheim: Hama; in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1st series, 1915; vol 2; pp. 240-1. at p. 240. D. Sourdel: Hama; op cit; p. 119. http://www.damascus-online.com/Photos/hama.htm D. Sourdel: Hama; p. 120. D. Sourdel: Hama; p. 120. D. Sourdel: Hama; p. 120. M. Sobernheim: Hama; op cit; p. 240.

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Hama April 2005
Hama, and its region.10 Under the rule of Abul Fida, Hama enjoyed great prosperity, its unusual appearance was stressed by both Eastern and Western travellers, and in particular by Ibn Jubayr.11 Abul Fidas son, AlMali al-Afdal, was however extremely incompetent, and drew upon himself the wrath of the Mamluks who banished him to Damascus. After his death, Hama was directly ruled by the Mamluks through a governor appointed by them.12 In the late 14th century, Hama suffered extreme devastation at the hands of Timur Lang, to whom the destruction of the citadel is attributed.13 The Mamluk administration built or rebuilt two of the most important norias (waterwheels) of the town and also the largest aqueduct.14 They maintained their rule until centuries on, Mamluk power faded and was followed by the rise of the Ottomans.
Hama's waterwheels - largest in the world 15
The Magnificence of Hama

Sourdel notes Hamas own particular charm which it was said was only appreciated by those who explored its various quarters. 16 This charm is appreciated by all medieval writers. Hama in the Hims province, write al-Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal ìs a small town, but very pleasant to live in, having plenty of water and trees, and fields and fruits.17
The traveller Ibn Jubayr spent some days in Hama during the year 1185, and has given a long description:
Hamah is a very celebrated, ancient, populous and fruitful city. To the east thereof a great river runs broadly along its bed, and on it are water wheels (dulab) in great numbers for irrigating the fields. On the river bank, in the suburb, are well fitted latrines, with a number of cells through
M. Sobernheim: Hama; p. 241. M. Sobernheim: Hama; p. 241. 11 D. Sourdel: Hama; op cit; at p. 120. 12 M. Sobernheim: Hama; op cit; p. 241. 13 D. Sourdel: Hama; op cit; p. 120. 14 D. Sourdel: Hama; op cit; p. 120. 15 (http://www.syrianstudents.com/pages/syria%20photos/hama/hama.htm) 16 D. Sourdel: Hama; p. 120. 17 Istakhri; p. 61; Ibn Hawqal; p. 116 in G. Le Strange: Palestine under the Moslems; Alexander P. watt; London; 1890. p. 357.
10 9

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Hama April 2005
which water flows coming from the water wheel. On the other bank of the river, near the lower town is a small Jami Mosque, the eastern wall of which is pierced with windows, and above are arcades through which you get a magnificent view. Opposite the passage of the river, and in the heart of the town is the castle hill. In the castle they have their water from the river by a channel which comes up there, so that there is no fear ever of thirst. The situation of the city is as though it lay above a low valley with broad extended lands, from which you go up on both sides as from a deep ditch to the city itself, which is perched on the slope of the hillside. Both the upper and lower town are small. But the city walls are high and go right round, enclosing the upper shoulder of the hill. The lower city is surrounded by walls on its three sides, the fourth being defended by the river. Over the river is a great bridge built of solid blocks of stone. This goes from the lower town to the suburb. The suburb is large, with many khans, and there are the shops of all manner of artificers and merchants, where travellers may find all they require, and so do not need to enter the town. The markets of the upper town are more numerous and richer than those of the lower, and they are places of gathering for all manner of merchants and artificers. The upper town has the Jami mosque, larger than the Jami of the lower town, and three madrasas. There is a hospital on the river land opposite the Jami as Saghr (the small mosque). Outside the city are gardens with trees and places of pleasant resort on either side of the river bank. The river is called al-Asi, the rebel, because apparently it runs from below upwards, its course being from south to north. To the south of Hama it passes Hims, and in this southerly direction lies the centre of Hama. On leaving Hama (on the way to Hims) after half a stage, we crossed the river al-Asi by a great bridge of stone arches, across which lies the town of Rastan.18
Yaqut describes Hama in the 13th century as a large town of the Hims province, surrounded by a wall very strongly built:
outside the wall is a most extensive suburb, in which are great markets and a mosque that stands above the river Al-Asi. This suburb, too, has a wall round it, and it extends along the bank of the river Al-Asi where are Naaurahs (water wheels), which water the gardens and fill the tank of the jami Mosque. This suburb they call as Suk al-Asfal (or the lower market), for it stands lower than the town, and the walled town above it is called As Suk al-Ala (for the upper Market). In this suburb also are many madrasas, which stand on the south bank of the Asi. Beside the city stands an ancient castle wonderfully fortified and constructed. Al-Malik al-Mansur dug a ditch there of 100 ells and more in length. In the year 884 Ahmad Ibn Tayibb describes this castle from eye witness as a village with a stone wall in which were large stone buildings with the Asi flowing in front of them, watering the gardens and turning the water wheels, but it is to be noted that he calls it a village. Besides the lower market also is a castle called Al-Mansuriya. It stands rather above the suburb, and to the left. In this lower market are many shops and houses for merchants and bazaars.19
Yaqut also tells us, `Kurun Hama (the horns of Hama) are two peaks standing opposite each other. They are the summits of a hill overhanging Hama.20 On the right bank of the Orontes, there extended a quarter which Ibn Jubayr describes as suburb and which, joined to the other bank by an arcaded bridge, was especially remarkable for its khans; it was there that travellers stayed. 21 The town proper was situated on
18 19
-Ibn Jubayr: Rihla; W. Wright edition; Leiden; 1852. pp. 257-8. Yaqut al-Hamawi: MuAjam al-Buldan; Wustenfeld Edition; in six volumes; Leipzig; 1866. II; p. 330. 20 Yaqut II; p. 332. 21 D. Sourdel: Hama; op cit; p. 120.

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Hama April 2005
the left bank, which was higher, reaching in places as much as 40 meters above the level of the river, and dominated by a line of mountains; it consisted of a lower and upper town both surrounded by a wall and also a citadel, built along the bank of the river on an isolated eminence overlooking the lower town; each of these towns had a mosque, that of the lower town built by Nur Eddin and that of the upper town being the original Great Mosque and suqs. The lower town possessed in addition a hospital and three madrasas (one of which had been found by Nur-ud-din for the great jurist Ibn al-Asrun. 22 The Great Mosque, the Haram has been evolved from a Christian basilica of unusual form: 3 naves of different breadth, 8 supports with five cupolas in the centre and covered by five cross vaultings on each side. The west wall seems to have been the narthex wall of the church. The south wall dates from the pre-Christian period. In the east, standing alone, is a four cornered minaret with Kufic inscription of probably the 11th century.
23
The
beautiful court is surrounded by vaulted halls, an estrade with two mihrabs before the haram, a second with a basin and isolated mihrab at the north hall, a khazna on eight ancient pillars. In the east hall a turbe and a hall of prayer with heavy bronze windows of the Mamluk period. A peculiar feature of the architecture of Hama finds marked expression in the mosque: the adornment of the walls by mosaic effects in colour by the alternation of black basalt and white limestone.24 The Jami Nuri built on the left bank of the Orontes on sloping ground and high substructions was founded by Nurud-din Zangi, the long haram, the cross vaulting of which belong to later period.25 The lower part of the minaret with its square white blocks is perhaps also old. The mosque, in the early 20 th century, contained the beautiful remains of a wooden minbar given by Nur-ud-din, and a richly decorated mihrab with decorated marble pillars given by the Ayyubid ruler Malik al-Muzaffar Taki Eddin, and in the eastern ante room a mihrab of marble columns the capital of which bears an inscription of Abul Fida.26 The water wheels of Hama, according to Sarton, are some of its great glories27. All travellers saw and marvelled at these giant water wheels. Nasir Khusraw in 1047 writes in his diary:
The City of Hama is well populated; it stands on the bank of the River Asi (Orontes). This stream is called Asi (meaning the Rebel), for the reason that it flows towards the Greek territory, that is to say, it is a rebel to go from the lands of Islam to the lands of the Infidel. They have set up numerous water wheels on its banks.28
Dimashqi, in 1300, says:
Hama is a provincial chief town, and seat of government. A fine city, and well fortified and with excellent provisions. The Nahr Asi flows between the two halves of the town, and the two are connected by a bridge. Along the Asi banks are huge water wheels called Naurah, such as you see nowhere else. They raise the water from the river to irrigate the gardens. The place has many fruits, especially apricots, called Kufuri Lauzi (camphorated with almond flavour), which you will see nowhere else.29
22 23
D. Sourdel: Hama; p. 120. M. Sobernheim: Hama; op cit; p. 241. 24 M. Sobernheim: Hama; p. 241. 25 M. Sobernheim: Hama; p. 241. 26 M. Sobernheim: Hama; p. 241. 27 G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. vol 2; p. 623. 28 Nasir Khusraw; p. 5. in G. le Strange; op cit; p.357. 29 Al-Dimashki: Kitab nukhbat al-dahr fi ajaib al-barr wal bahr (Selection of the age on the wonders of the land and the Sea).

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The water of the Orontes is led into the gardens and fields through aqueducts, to which it is raised by water wheels, the sound of which has a peculiarly soporific effect. 30 Alongside the river 32 water wheels or norias of various sizes, the tallest of which being 22 metres high, raised water to aqueducts which supplied both sections of the town and irrigated the surrounding gardens; drinking water was provided, it is not known exactly from which date, by a special aqueduct which came from the region of Salamiya.31 There are also similar water wheels in Antioch. The crusaders brought them to Germany where they are still used in a little valley in Franken near Bayreuth.32
Hamas norias33
During AbulFidas time, in the late 13th -early 14th century, there were 32 of such water wheels in Hama, by the early 20th century their number fell to nine, hence a rich heritage has been lost.34 Sourdel notes how in the late 20th century, there remain in Hama several monuments worthy of note. The most important is the Great Mosque which dates from the Umayyad period as is proved by the presence in the courtyard of a pavilion on columns intended as the local bayt al-mal (finance office).35 The hall of prayer is of an original plan: its three naves are in fact each of different width and its eight pillars support five cupolas. The courtyard is surrounded by vaulted porticoes with semi circular arches, some of which appear to date from the time that the mosque was built. 36 On the right bank of the Orontes is the Jami alNuri, the mosque of the lower town, founded by Nur-ud-din Zangi, in which survive important parts of the original building and which is particularly famous for the interesting minbar which belongs to the first foundation. On the opposite bank of the Orontes is the Jami al-Hayyat, or mosque of the snakes, so called
edited by A.F. Mehren; quarto, 375 p. St Petersburg; 1866. 30 M. Sobernheim: Hama; op cit; p. 240. 31 D. Sourdel: Hama; op cit; p. 120. 32 M. Sobernheim: Hama; op cit; p. 240. 33 http://www.syrianstudents.com/pages/syria%20photos/hama/hama.htm 34 M. Sobernheim: Hama; op cit; p. 240. 35 D. Sourdel: Hama; op cit; ; at p. 121. 36 D. Sourdel: Hama; op cit; p. 121.

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because of the form of the small columns which frame one of the windows of the hall of prayer and which resemble intertwined snakes.37
One of Hamas mosques38
The Scholars of Hama

Usama Ibn Munqidh (fl. 1138-1188 CE) was born in the castle of Shayzar (Caesarea ad Orontem) in the valley of the Orontes, fifteen miles north of Hama.39 His chief literary work was probably done during the years 1164-1174, a period of relative peace. He wrote many poems, a treatise on rhetoric, Kitab al-badi', etc. 40 At the age of ninety lunar years (that is, about 1182), he composed, or at any rate completed, an autobiography called Kitab al-ittibar (Learning by example), which is regarded as being historically important and is one of the first larger works of its kind.41 Usama witnessed the first decades of Crusader onslaught and settlement in the Muslim lands, and was himself a fighter against them just as his own father was. His experiences are found in his Kitab al-Itibar (Learning by example) - editions and translations of which have been composed by Derenbourg in French,42 Shuman in German;43 Porter in English44 and from an Escorial (Spain) manuscript,45 Philip Hitti46 delivered a good version of Usamas observations of crusader life.
37 38 39 40
D. Sourdel: Hama; p. 121. http://alfatihoun.edaama.org/Fichiers/Syrie/Histoire/web/images/GrandMosque%20Hama.jpg
G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. vol 2; p. 446. G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 446. 41 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 446. 42 H. Derenbourg: Ousama ibn Mounkidh, 2 vols, publications de lEcole des Langues Orientales, Paris 1886-1893. H. Derenbourg: Anthologie de textes arabes inedits par Ousama et sur Ousama; Paris, 1893. H. Derenbourg: Souvenir historiques et recits de chasse, Paris 1895 (French version of Kitab al-Itibar.) 43 G. Shumann, translation of Kitab a-itibar, Innsbruck 1905. 44 George R. Porter: The Autobiography of Ousama ibn Munqidh, London, 1929. 45 G. Sarton: Introduction, op cit, vol ii, at pp 446-7. 46 P.K. Hitti: An Arab-Syrian gentleman and warrior in the period of the Crusades. Memoirs of Usamah ibn Munqidh,

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Usama tells many stories of the Muslim East under crusader rule, such as Frankish ordeal by water in which the victim was a Muslim man accused with his mother of murdering Christian pilgrims:
They installed a huge cask and filled it with water. Across it they set a board of wood. They then bound the arms of the man charged with the act, tied a rope around his shoulders and dropped him into the cask; their idea being that in case he was innocent, he would sink in the water and they would then lift him up with the rope so that he might not die in the water; and in case he was guilty, he would not sink in the water. This man did his best to sink when they dropped him in the water, but he could not do it. So he had to submit to their sentence against him - may Allah's curse be upon them! They pierced his eyeballs with red hot awls [an awl is a punching tool used to make a hole in paper, leather and other soft materials].47
Usama also tells how the old crusaders who settled for very long amongst the Muslims, gradually lost their barbaric ways by acquiring Islamic values such as depicted in the following:
There are some Franks who settled in our land and taken to living like Muslims. These are better than those who have just arrived from their homelands, but they are the exception, and cannot be taken as typical. I came across one of them once when I sent a friend on business to Antioch, which was governed by a friend of mine: Todros Ibn As Safi (Theodoros Sophianos, the Greek commander of the municipality of Antioch). One day he said to my friend: À Frankish friend has invited me to visit him; come with me so that you can see how they live. I went with him, said my friend, ànd we came to the house of one of the old knights who came with the first expedition. This man had retired from the army, and was living on the income of the property he owned in Antioch. He had a fine table brought out, spread with a splendid selection of appetising food. He saw that I was not eating, and said: `Dont worry please, eat what you like, for I dont eat Frankish food. I have Egyptian cooks and eat only what they serve. No pigs flesh ever comes into my house! So I ate, although cautiously, and then we left. Another day, as I was passing through the market, a Frankish woman advanced on me, addressing me in her barbaric language with words I found incomprehensible. A crowd of Franks gathered round us and I gave myself up for lost, when suddenly this knight appeared, saw me and came up. `What do you want with this man? `This man, the woman replied, `killed my brother Urso. This Urso was a knight from Apamea who was killed by a soldier from Hama. The old man scolded the woman: `This man is a merchant, a city man, not a fighter, and he lives nowhere near where your brother was killed. Then he turned on the crowd, which melted away, and shook hands with me. Thus the fact that I ate at his table saved my life.48
Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229) - early scholarly activities consisted in copying and selling manuscripts, whilst studying Arabic and grammar.49 Yaqut could not settle in one place though and travelled much, first as a merchant, then as a geographer fascinated by places and their diverse populations, dress and ways. 50 He reached Merv, where he stayed for two years. What attracted him there, were the libraries; ten wealthy libraries, two in the chief mosque and the remainder in the madrassas.51 In 1218, he moved on to Khiva
Columbia University , New York, 1929; 47 Usama in P. K. Hitti: An Arab/Syrian; op cit; p. 168. 48 Usama; p. 103-4. 49 S. M.Ahmad: Yaqut al-Hamawi; Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Charles Scribeners Sons; New York; Vol 14; p. 546. 50 W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p. 329. 51 In J.Pedersen: The Arabic Book, (1928) trans by G French; Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey (1984). p.

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and Balkh; but it was the wrong time. In 1219, the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan from their eastern kingdoms, went on the move west and devastated the whole of eastern Islam (see entries on Merv, Bukhara, Khwarizm). Yaqut himself was nearly caught on one occasion by the first wave of invading Mongols in 1220; he fled, wearing no clothes, but clutching his manuscripts, across Persia to Mosul.52 From Mosul, he went back to Aleppo, where he remained under the patronage of Al-Qifti, until his death in 1229. During such stay, he still managed to make trips to Palestine, Egypt, Iraq and other parts.53 Whilst working as a book-seller, Yaqut also worked as an author, but only four of his many works have survived time, best known being his Muajam al-Udaba (Dictionary of the learned men); and Muajam al-Buldan (Dictionary of countries.) These two works were altogether 33 180 pages long.54
One of Hamas large waterwheels55
Mu'jam al-Buldan is a vast geographical encyclopaedia which summed up nearly all medieval knowledge of
the globe, and in which Yaqut includes almost everything from archaeology, ethnography, history, anthropology, natural sciences, geography, giving coordinates for every place, etc. 56 For every town and city, he gives every name, describes every part with its monuments and wealth, its history, its population, and its leading figures. To obtain information, Yaqut travelled to Persia, Arabia, Iraq and Egypt, and whilst established in Aleppo (in Syria), he built relations and friendships with scientists and historians, including al-Qifti, then a minister, to whom he dedicated his dictionary. Yaquts dictionary of countries is not just a collection of facts from other historians, geographers and travellers, but also facts gleaned from his many long travel experiences and from people he met during such travels.57 That Yaqut was fully conversant with the various concepts of Muslim geographers relating to 128. 52 W. Durant: The Age of Faith; op cit; p. 329. 53 S. M.Ahmad: Yaqut al-Hamawi; op cit; p. 547. 54 Yaqut, ibn-' Abd Allah al-Hamawi, Irshad al-Arib ila Ma'rifat al-Adib, also referred to as Mu'jam al-Udaba, (Dictionary of learned men,) edit., D.S. Margoliouth (Luzac, 1907 ff);
55 56
http://www.flat3.co.uk/levant/pages/990310.htm W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 329. 57 S. M.Ahmed: Yaqut; op cit; p. 547.
Yaqut, Ibn Abd Allah al-Hamawi, Jacut's Geographisches Worterbuch, ed. F. Wustenfeld. 6 vols. Leipzig, 1866-70.

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mathematics and physical and regional geography is well documented in his introduction, which also includes discussions of the geographical and legal terms in the work.58 Yaqut also used works that came before him, and did not fail to correct them whenever it was judged necessary. Throughout, his work and sources submit to strict observation, and all that was unchecked by facts were removed, Yaqut insisted thereby on the accuracy and rigour of his information.59 MuAdjam al-Buldan, thus remains to our day, as Miquel notes, an excellent source for reference.60 Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Abd allah, Al-Hamdani Al-Hamawi, Shihab Eddin was born in Hama in 1187-8, where he flourished and where he died in 1244-5. He is a Shafiite Qadi (judge) historian who wrote Tarikh (History) of the Prophet and of the caliphs down to 1231.61 He dedicated to the Ayyubid prince Al-Muzaffar Ghazi (ruled 12301244/5) an elaborate history of Islam in six volumes (Al-Tarikh al-Muzaffari).62 A good number of Italian authors have made use of the relevant extracts from this work, which they have especially used in their works on Sicily. Hence, Agostino Inveges (1595-1677) has translated into Italian extracts dealing with Palermo.63 A century after Inveges, Carusius made translations into Latin of the same extracts.64 The famed historian of Sicily, Muratory, and Gregorio also made similar usages.65 Dating from the thirteenth century several signed celestial globes are preserved today. The earliest and in many ways the loveliest was made in 1225-1226 CE for a nephew of Salah-ud-din in Egypt. The globe has the full set of 48 constellation figures engraved and damascened with copper, with approximately 1025 stars indicated by six different sizes of inlaid silver points corresponding to the various magnitudes.66 The globe also has a scale showing the sizes of silver points used for the first five magnitudes.67 The inscriptions, which are in Naskhi script rather than the commonly used Kufic script of this period, are damascened with silver or inlaid with silver wire.68 According to inscription, the globe was made for al-Malik Kamil, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt from 1218 to 1238, and the maker of the globe was ('Alam al-Din) Qaysar ibn Abi al-Qasim ibn Mu-safir al-Ashrafial-Hanafi, who was born in upper Egypt in 1178-1179 CE, studied in Egypt, Syria, and finally in Mosul (where the expertise for globes and metals was probably the best in Islam), before turning to Syria where he entered the services of Muzafar II Taqiud-din, ruler of Hama from 1229-1244. 69 He was a renowned mathematician and architect'70 and it is reported that the historian, Qadi, Jamal-ud-din Ibn Wasil put it on record that with his help, Qaysar constructed a celestial globe of wood and gilt.'71 In 1225, Qaysar made a brass globe on the order of the Ayyubid ruler al-Malik alKamil. This globe is unusual in that the horizon ring and stand, which are probably the ones originally made
58 59
W. Jwaideh: The Introductory Chapters of Yaquts Muajam al-Buldan; Leiden; 1959; p.19. C Bouamrane-L Gardet: Panorama de la pensee Islamique, Sindbad; 1-3 Rue Feutrier; Paris 18, 1984 at p. 260. 60 A.Miquel: Geography, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Sciences; Edited by R.Rashed; Routlege; London; 1996; pp 796-812 at p 809. 61 G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; p. 683. 62 G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; p. 683. 63 A. Inveges: Annali della felice citta di Palermo; Vol 2; 659; Palermo; 1650. 64 J. B. Carusius: Bibliotheca historica regni Siciliae; vol 1; Panormi; 1723; pp. 19-23.
L. A. Muratori: Rerum italicarum scriptores; vol 1; part 2; p. 251; and R. Gregorio: Rerum Arabicarum quae historian Siculam spectant; panormi; 1790; pp. 53-68.
66 67 68 69 70 71
65
E. Savage. Smith: Islamicate Celestial Globes; Smithsonian Institute Press; Washington, D.C, 1985. p. 25. ESS: Islamicate; p. 25. ESS: Islamicate; p. 26. G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 623. L.A, Mayer: Islamic astrolabists and their works; Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956. p. 80. L.a.Mayer: Islamic; p. 80.

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for this globe, have incorporated into them two gnomons and graduated arcs making them elevation dials. 72 The sphere itself is unusual in having Latin zodiacal names and Latin numerals engraved on it, but these may have been added later. 73 That globe was kept until 1809 in the cabinet of Cardinal Borgia at Velletri but is now in the Museo Nazionale of Naples.74 It is with regard to the water wheels that Qaysar is most associated with Hama, water wheels which, as Sarton holds, constitute one of the glories of Hama.75 These water wheels are huge in size as described above, and served to feed homes and farms with water. Only few of them survive today. It is likely that water wheels existed in the West before the crusades, but it is after the crusaders returned from the East that they brought with them the better ones, and much improved ones, from the east, and also a clear understanding of their usefulness. 76 As noted above, these Eastern (Syrian) water wheels can still be seen in Germany in Franconia near Bayreuth.77 Abu Abdallah Muhammad Ibn Salim Ibn Wasil, Jamalud-din, better known as Ibn Wasil, was born in 1207-8. He flourished in Hama, and between 1260-1 before he was called to Cairo by the Mamluk Sultan Baybars (ruled 12601277) who sent him as an envoy to King Manfred of Sicily (ruled from 1258 to 1266).78 Ibn Wasil remained for a long time at Manfreds court, then returned to Hama, where he was appointed as a chief Qadi and professor in the madrasa, and where he died in 1298.79 He was a Shafiite doctor, historian, philosopher and mathematician, who also taught Abul Fida mathematics and prosody.80 He dedicated to Manfred a treatise on logic, which he called in his honour Al-impirurya, then re-titled Nukhbat al-Fikr fil mantiq (selected thoughts on Logic.) 81 He also wrote a history of the Ayyubids, entitled Kitab Mufarridj al-Kurub fi akhbar bani Ayyub (the book which dispels sadness with the tales of the Ayyubids). This work was continued down to 1295-6 by Ali Ibn abd al-Rahman, secretary to al-Muzaffar III, Abul Fidas predecessor as prince of Hama.82 Finally, Ibn Wasil composed a commentary on the treatise of prosody of Ibn Hadjib (d. 1249), Sharh al-Maqsad al-Jalil. Salahud-din bin Youssef al-Kalal bi Hama (i.e. the eye doctor of Hama) was a Syrian oculist who flourished in Hama in 1296. He wrote for his son a very elaborate treatise of ophthalmology entitled Nur al-Uyun wa
Jami al-Funun (light of the eyes and collection of rules).83 The manuscripts in Paris of this treatise remained
the only one known by the time Leclerc was writing in 1876, and includes 178 pages of 27 lines each. 84 Salah-ud-din composed this work following a request from his son. 85 The treatise is divided into ten books as follows: Deontological introduction; 1. Definition of the eye anatomy in 22 chapters, including a schematic section (taqatu al-salibi) of the eye; 2. Vision, including the geometrical theory of it. Discussion of various theories of vision;
72 73
E. Savage Smith: slamicate; op cit; p. 26. ESS: Islamicate; p. 26. 74 L. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; op cit; p. 80. 75 G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; p. 623. 76 G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; p. 623. 77 M. Sobernheim: Hama; op cit; p. 240. 78 See Adolf Friedrich von Schack: Poesie und Kunst der Araber in Spanien und Sizilien; 2 Vols; Berlin; 1865. 79 G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 1119. 80 See H. Suter: Mathematiker und astronomen der Araber; 1900; p. 157. 81 G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; op cit; p. 1119. 82 G. Sarton: introduction; vol 2; p. 1119. 83 G. Sarton: introduction, vol 2; p. 1102. 84 L. Leclerc: Histoire de la Medecine arabe; vol 2; Paris; 1976; p. 205. 85 L. Leclerc: Medecine arabe; vol 2; p. 205.

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3 Eye diseases, their causes, treatment, drugs; 4. Hygiene; affections of the eye lids; 5. Affections of the canthi; 6. Affections of the conjunctiva; 7. Affections of the cornea; 8. Affections of the uvea, and cataract; 9. Intangible affections; 10. Simple drugs after Ibn al-Baytar. 86
This plan is identical to that of the Tadkhirat al-Kahallin of Ali Ibn Isa of Baghdad, and also contains many borrowings from Ammar Ibn Ali al-Mosuli.87 The author does not either refrain from citing his predecessors, as well as his master. He also gives an abundance of pictures of instruments, reminding us of al-Zahrawi who is also amply cited.88 In book seven, the author cites two cases of cancer, one of which, affecting Emir Azz-ud-din of Hama, he treated with great success.89 In book eight we find again the different operations described in good detail. He refers to the location of the cataract and describes minutely and lengthily the operation.90 He describes the special syringe used for the operation, which is often made of glass and which sucks up the cataract, and also dwells on vision, from near or far, and on objects of diverging sizes.91 The work also cites the authorities upon which the author has relied, and then gives ethical advice, such as that the physicist must be discrete, promoting good, dedicated in his study, detached from the pleasures of the body, and seeking the company of the scholars and the patients.92 Abul Fida (b. 1273-d. Hama 1331) belongs to the Ayyub family. Salah-ud-din having given as a fief Hama and some neighbouring parts to his nephew Taki-ud-din Omar, a descendant of whom is Abul Fida.93 With Usama Ibn Munqidh we find ourselves precisely in the same situation: Another great historian and would-be warrior, just as Abul Fida, but after a hundred year gap. Nevertheless we have the same struggle against the same crusader enemy, but this time, in the time of Abul Fida (13 th century, the conflict also involved Mongols on the Christian side, and Mamluks as fighters for Islam.94 At the time of the birth of Abul Fida, his father had been expelled from his Hama principality by the second Mongol invasions (began 1258) under Hulagu, (the first invasions occurred in 1219-22 under Genghis Khan). Abul Fida was educated therefore, in Damascus. It was remarkable for him, as noted by de Vaux, to receive any education for at the age of twelve he was already fighting against the crusaders alongside his father and the Mamluks at the taking of the crusader castle of Markab from the Knight Hospitallers.95 At the age of sixteen, he was still fighting alongside his father and cousin at the recovery of Tripoli from the crusaders (that is roughly a century and half after it was taken by the crusaders from the Muslims in 1109).96 Years after, he was still fighting the crusaders with another Muslim army for the conquest of the Castle of Roum, which controlled the Euphrates
86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96
See J. Hirschberg: Die arabischen Augenarzte; vol 2; Leipzig; 1905.. G. Sarton: introduction, vol 2; p. 1102. L. Leclerc: Medecine arabe; vol 2; p. 206. L. Leclerc: Medecine arabe; vol 2; p. 206. L. Leclerc: Medecine arabe; vol 2; p. 206. L. Leclerc: Medecine arabe; vol 2; p. 206. L. Leclerc: Medecine arabe; vol 2; p. 205. See Paul Chaix: Etudes sur Aboulfeda; Nouvelles annals des Voyages; 1; 1862; pp. 5-46. Paul Chaix: Etudes sur Aboulfeda; pp. 5-46. Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam; Geuthner; Paris; 1921; vol 2; pp. 139-47; at p. 140. Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs; at p. 140.

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River, and years on, he was under the orders of the Mamluk Sultan Ladjyn fighting the Christians in lesser Armenia.97 Abul Fida tells the story of this Sultan Ladjyn who was of German origins and of the Teutonic Order of Knights; he fought first for Christianity in Italy against the pagans, then came to Syria to fight the Muslims, then converted to Islam, joined the Mamluks, and gradually rose in rank until he became Sultan.98 In the year 1309, we find Abul Fida fighting in Armenia against the Mongol-Armenian alliance, having just returned from pilgrimage to Mecca.99 In 1316 he was in Mamluk Cairo, appointed as lieutenant for the Sultan, then two years later he was appointed Prince of Hama, thus recovering his ancestors title. Abul Fida narrates his return to his ancestral city:
All the troops who were there came to meet me. My entry into the city took place on Monday 23 Jumada second, in the afternoon, and lecture was made to the population of my appointment. 100
Abul Fida then went on pilgrimage again in the year 1321, he went into military campaign once more to fight in Asia Minor. It is amidst these military campaigns that Abul Fida used to write. In the year 1323, he was back in Hama writing on his Geography and still found time to converse with the learned, and even to undertake some commercial activity.101 Abul Fidas life is thus nothing less than extraordinary. His whole life from childhood is only a series of military campaigns, besides accomplishing pilgrimage to Mecca three times, devoting much time to the embellishment of his capital, and the patronage of learned men, and, of course, writing. 102 It is at the height of glory and power that Abul Fida died in Hama in 1331. The poet at his death said:
He is a prince, to whose home Glory rushes just as pilgrims do to Mecca So many marvels were born out of his hand When this hand held the pen.103
Abul Fidas main work are Mukhtassar tarikh al-Bashar (The Concise History of Humanity or Chronicles)
and the Taqwim al-Buldan (A Sketch of the countries). Other than his chronicles, and his geography (Taqwim), Abul Fida was also well learned in many fields such as botany and materia medica.104 He wrote a work in many volumes on medicine titled Kunash, and a book on the balance. His historical Mukhtassar, written in 1315 and continued by the author to 1329, is a universal history dealing with pre-Islamic and Islamic history down to 1329.105 The author relies very much on the great historian of Mosul preceding him, Ibn al-Athir, but also on his own sources, and his own experiences: he was after all at the front of events as a fighter. Such is the importance of this work, it was continued by many after him, including by Ibn al-Wardi who continued it to 1348, by Ibn al-Shihna al-Halabi who continued it to 1403, and of course was appreciated by early Western orientalists. 106 Many partial editions
97 98
Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs; at p. 141. Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs; at p. 141. 99 Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs; at p. 143. 100 Carra de Vaux: Les penseurs; at p. 144. 101 Carra de Vaux: Les penseurs; at p. 145. 102 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 3; p. 794. 103 Carra de Vaux: Les penseurs; op cit; p. 146. 104 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 3; p. 797. 105 The first edition of the Mukhtassar was published in Constantinople in 1869-70, in 2 vols. 106 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 3; p. 794.

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of the work were made in the West, the first by John Cagnier (1670-1740). 107 It was published in 1754 by Reiske, and has been for a very long time the most important Muslim historical work known in the West.108 Abul Fidas geographical treatise Taqwim al-Buldan (A Sketch of the countries) has been known quite early in the Latin West, with many translations of it, either partial or complete. 109 It includes twenty eight chapters, with a prologue which contains interesting observations such as the gain or loss of day according to the direction in which one goes around the earth, and the assertion that three quarters of the earths surface is covered with water.110 The chapters, each, deal with a definite part of the world in the order indicated: 1, Arabia; 2. Egypt; 3. Maghrib; 4. Equatorial Africa; 5. Spain; 6; Islands of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic; 7. Northern regions of Europe and Asia; 8 Syria; 9 Jazirah; 10. Iraq Arabi; 11. Khuzistan or Ahwaz; 12. Fars; 13. Kirman; 14 Sijistan; 15: Sind; 16: Hind; 17. China; 18 Eastern islands; 19 Rum (Asia Minor); 20. Armenia.111 The 28 chapters are very unequal in length, but are arranged in the same order, that is each is in two parts, the first of which is devoted to a general account of the country (its boundaries, physical peculiarities, political and ethnical divisions, manners and customs, monuments, main roads, etc) and the second given in tabular form a series of data concerning the main cities: names, sources of information, longitude, latitude, mathematical climate (as indicated by coordinates), physical climate or province, orthography, short description.112 Abul Fida took great pains to establish the orthography and orthophony of place names. His frequent quotations of diverging data (e.g. for coordinates) is typical of his honesty; this was due to his using different sources which he had no means of checking.113 A Turkish abbreviated translation in alphabetical order of this geographical treatise was made by Ali Sipahizade in 1588-9. In the mid 17th century it had an unedited translation by Schickard, and Gravious published in London extracts relating to Khwarizm and Transoxonia.114 A Latin translation was made in Leiden in 1746 by Reiske,115 whilst Reinaud and de Slane edited the complete text.116 The French translation by Reinaud and Guyard was completed in 1883.117 Possibly one of the most important aspects of Abu al-Fidas work is in his observations on the spherical shape of the earth.118 A later scholar of Hama is yet another instrument maker. Shihab Eddin Ahmed B. Abi Bakr as-Sarraj al-Hamawi (d. 1328-9) is the author of several books on scientific instruments and geometrical problems.119 He wrote a treatise on geometrical problems Masail handasya, which is found in Cairo (Riyada
107 108
J. Cagnier: De Vita et rebus gestis Mohamedis; Oxford; 1723. J. Reiske: Abilfedae Annales Moslemici, Lat. Ex. Ar. Fecit. J. J. Reiske; Leipzig; 1754; Arabic text published in 1789. 109 C. de Vaux: Les Penseurs, op cit, p. 13. 110 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 3; p. 797. 111 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 3; p. 794. 112 See R. Blachere: Extraits des geographes Arabes; Beirut; 1932; pp. 290-8. 113 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 3; p. 797. 114 J. Greaves or Gravius; (1602-52); London; 1650. 115 J. J. Reiske; Leipzig; 1266; reprinted 1286. 116 J.T. Reinaud and Baron de Slane; Paris; 1840. 117 J.T. Reinaud and S. Guyard eds: Geographie d'Aboulfeda, 2 vols. Paris, 1848-83. 118 Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs, op cit; pp 21-2. 119 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; op cit; p. 34.

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694), a treatise on the hidden astrolabe and hidden sine quadrant (Risalat al-amal bi rub al-muqantarat), which is located in Berlin (5869).120 He is the inventor of a quadrant called al-muqantarat al-Yusra, and in the year 1328-9, he constructed an amila, which is a universal lamina for Mohammed b. Mohammed atTanukhi, which is now found in the Benaki Museum of Athens.121 The treatise on this instrument, Risala al-
ala al Sarrajiya fi istikhraj
al-amal al-afaqiya (Treatise on the instrument of Ibn Sarradj on determining
operations on horizons) is located in Cairo (Miqat 291/1). 122 He wrote Risala al-amal bi rub al-musattar (Treatise on operations with the hidden quadrant, which is kept at Rampur (147).123 Abi Bakr As-Sarraj also wrote a book on sinus quadrants, ad Durr al-Gharib fil amal bi dairat al-tayyib ( Rare pearls on operations with the circle for finding sines), which is today at Leyden (187b/4), and which was dedicated to the Turkish Sultan Bayazid I.124 Ibn al-Sarradj also wrote Risala fil rub al-mujannah fi maarifat jayb al-qaws wa
qaws al-jayb (Treatise on the winged quadrant for finding the Sine of an arc and an arc of a sine, which is
kept in both Cairo (miqat 64/5, 138/7) and Istanbul (SM AS 1719).125 Other works by Ibn al-Sarradj include a treatise on the operations with the quadrant, which is kept in Cairo (Miqat 138/8), a smart treatise on operations with the `Chest of goose, also available in Cairo (Miqat 242/10), a treatise on an astronomical instrument, and finally he wrote a treatise on operations with balance for change gold, which is also located in Cairo (Fadil Riyada 30/6).126 Despite this scholars accomplishments, especially in the field of scientific instrument making, there has been no single study of him and his works, which, once more highlights the shortcomings of efforts directed at recovering Islamic heritage.
Great Events of History through the Historians of Hama

The Historians of Hama, Abul Fida, Ibn Wasil, the author of the Kitab Tarikh al-Mansuri, and Usama Ibn Munqidh, of the neighbouring Castle of Shayzar, 15 kms north of Hama, have left us some remarkable elements of history, some of which are unique. Brief outlines of some such accounts are looked at herein. Firstly we begin with Usama Ibn Munqidh contrasting Islamic and Christian learning, mostly in regard to medical practice.
Kitab al-ittibar of Usama contains many medical anecdotes concerning unusual wounds and cures.127
Usamas account tells of the crudities of Western treatment.128 The writer's uncle, a Muslim prince, had sent a doctor to a Frankish neighbour at the latter's request. When the doctor returned after a surprisingly short period, he had a remarkable tale to tell.
They brought before me, he said, a knight in whose leg an abscess had grown; and a woman afflicted with imbecility. To the knight I applied a small poultice until the abscess opened and became well; and the woman I put on a diet and made her humour wet. Then a Frankish physician
120 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, astronomers and other scholars of Islamic civilisation; Research Center for Islamic History, art and Culture; Istanbul; 2003; p. 250. 121 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; op cit; p. 34. 122 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, op cit; p. 250. 123 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians; p. 250. 124 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; op cit; p. 34. 125 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians; p. 250. 126 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians; p. 250. 127 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 447. 128 In W. Montgomery Watt: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edinburgh, 1972. p. 65. C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades, Islamic Perspectives, Edinburgh University Press; 1999. p. 352.

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came to them and said, This man knows nothing about treating them. He then said to the knight, Which wouldst thou prefer, living with one leg or dying with two? The latter replied, Living with one leg. The physician said, Bring me a strong knight and a sharp axe. A knight came with the axe. And I was standing by. Then the physician laid the leg of the patient on a block of wood and bade the knight strike his leg with the axe and chop it off at one blow. Accordingly he struck it while I was looking on - one blow, but the leg was not severed. He dealt another blow, upon which the marrow of the leg flowed out and the patient died on the spot. He then examined the woman and said, This is a woman in whose head there is a devil which has possessed her. Shave off her hair. Accordingly they shaved it off and the woman began once more to eat their ordinary dietgarlic and mustard. Her imbecility took a turn for the worse. The physician then said, The devil has penetrated through her head. He therefore took a razor, made a deep cruciform incision on it, peeled off the skin at the middle of the incision until the bone of the skull was exposed and rubbed it with salt. The woman also expired instantly. Thereupon I asked them whether my services[were needed]; and got a negative answer and returned home.129
Another clash of cultures of a different sort is related by Usama, who had obtained through Nur-ud-din Zangi the Frankish oath that he would cross their territory safely with his family, the Frankish King giving his cross, which ensures the bearers safety by the land and sea. At Damietta, Usama and his family transferred to a Frankish ship, and set sail. But near Acre, the Franks intercepted the boat and pillaged it all, looting everything in it, including 4000 volumes of his private collection, which he will mourn until the end of his life.130 Usama was mostly scandalised not just by the lack of respect by the Franks for their word, but also the fact that the king had gathered everybody in a house, and even fondled women's bodies to take all they had, which, of course, to Muslims is inconceivable.131 Abul Fadail who wrote Tarikh al-Mansuri, tells of a letter sent by Frederick II, the Sicilian ruler, who was very much imbued with Islamic culture, and the problems he encountered with the Papacy on his return to his country after his sojourn in the East due to his closeness to Muslims. In the year 1229, an ambassador to Sultan al-Kamil carried from the Emperor to the Sultan a letter, extracts of which went:
In the name of God the merciful, the forgiving. We inform you that as we explained in Sidon, the Pope has treacherously and deceitfully taken one of our fortresses, called Monte Casino, handed over to him by its accursed Abbot. He has promised to do even more harm but could not because our faithful subjects expected our return. He was forced, therefore, to spread false news of our death, and made the Cardinals swear to it and to say that our return was impossible. They sought to deceive the population by these tricks and by saying that after us no one could administer our estates and look after them for our son so well as the Pope. So on these mens oaths who should be High priests of the Faith and successors of the Apostles, a rabble of louts and criminals was led by the nose. When we arrived at the gates of well defended Brindisi we found that King John (of Brienne who during Fredericks absence in the East had invaded and devastated his kingdom) and the Lombards had made hostile raids into our
129
In W. Montgomery Watt: The Influence of Islam; p. 65. C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades,. p. 352. 130 E. Weber: Quelques aspects de l'image de l'autre chez Usama ibn al-Munqid: in De Toulouse a Tripoli; Colloque held between 6 and 8 December, 1995, AMAM, University of Toulouse. 1997. pp 93-114.p. 97. 131 E. Weber: Quelques aspects de l'image de l'autre chez Usama; p. 107.

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domains, and doubted even the news of our arrival because of what the Cardinals had sworn to them Meanwhile we had collected a large army of Germans who were with us in Syria and of those who left the Holy land before us but whom wind had cast upon our shores, and of other loyal men and officials of our state; with these we have marched off by long stages towards our enemys territories. Finally, we inform your Highness of our desire for frequent letters from you revealing your happy state, your interests and your needs, and of the salutations that we have transmitted to the commanders of your army and to all your pages, mamluks and courtiers. On your health be Gods blessing and mercy.
Written at Barletta 23 August 1229.132 Despite pressures from the popes, Frederick refused to annihilate his Muslim subjects, and instead had them transferred from Sicily to Lucera, where they formed the last colony of Muslims in the region. However, the pressures by the Popes remained very strong for the removal of the Muslims from the midst of Christians as they might infect them with their appalling beliefs (see entry on Sicily). The successors of Frederick had to sustain the same pressures for the removal of the Muslims. This theme is picked further on by Ibn Wasil, who relates to events following the death of Frederick. These are important events, for they explain well the fate of the Muslims of Sicily, who were extinguished soon in the wake of the events described by Ibn Wasil. Ibn Wasil tells that:
The Emperor, Frederick, died in 1250, and was succeeded by his son Conrad. When he too died, his brother Manfred came to the throne. All three were hated by the Pope because of their sympathy for the Muslims; the Pope and Emperor Manfred went to war. Manfred was victorious.
The Qadi Jamalud-din (Ibn Wasil), Chief Qadi of Hama, says in his history:
I went as ambassador to Manfred from Sultan Baybars of blessed memory in Ramadhan 1261, and was entertained by him in the highest honour in a city called Barletta in Apulia. Near where he lived was a city called Lucera, whose inhabitants were all Muslims from the Island of Sicily; they hold public prayer on Friday and make open professions of the Muslim faith. This has been so since the time of the Emperors father, Frederick. He had undertaken the building of a scientific institute there for the study of all the branches of speculative sciences; most of his officials and courtiers were Muslims, and in his camp the call to prayer, and even the canonic prayers themselves, were openly heard. When I returned home, news came that the Pope, together with the brother of the King of France (Charles of Anjou, brother of St Louis), was gathering an army to attack him. Rome was five days journey from the town where I had stayed. The Pope had already excommunicated Manfred for his Muslim leanings and for having dishonoured Christian religious Law. His brother and his father, the emperor, had also been excommunicated by the Pope of Rome for the same thing. They say that the Pope of Rome is for them the vicar of the Messiah, and his representative, with authority to decide what is permitted and what is forbidden, to cut off and to separate. It is he who crowns their kings and sets them on the throne, and everything in their law needs his approval. He is a priest, and when he dies he is succeeded by the man who is endowed as he was with this sacerdotal quality.
132
Tarikh al-Mansuri in Bibliotheca Arabo-Sicula; Second Appendix; Leipzig; 1887; pp. 34-7.

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The Pope and the King of Frances brother attacked Manfred and in a pitched battle destroyed his army and took him captive. The Pope ordered that he should be killed, and it was done. The King of Frances brother reigned over the lands that had belonged to the Emperors son and held possession of them.133
This is a remarkable witness account by Ibn Wasil, for it fills gaps in the understanding of the history of Sicily (as seen in the article on the said island). Under the new regime (the Papal-French rule in Sicily), the Muslims were exterminated in their last colony of Lucera. Finally here, with Abul Fida, we look at a decisive event in the history of Islam: the Muslim re-conquest in 1291 of the last crusader stronghold: Acre, taken by the Mamluk ruler Al-Malik Al-Ashraf, son of Qalawun, who had succeeded Baybars. 1291 thus marks the culmination of two centuries of endless war between Muslims and Christians in the Crusades era (1096-1291). A war fought on the Muslim side by the Seljuks of Mosul first from 1096 to 1127 and then, Imad and Nurud-din Zangi until 1173, with Mosul and Aleppo sharing the leading role in this period. Then Salah-ud-din from 1173 to 1193, leading from Damascus and Cairo mainly. From then onwards Cairo and Egypt played the leading role, under the Ayyubids first from 1244 to 1291, then under the Mamluks and it was their mighty ruler Baybars (d. 1277) above all, who terminated the Crusader presence in the Muslim East. Abul Fida narrates:
In 1291, Sultan Malik al-Ashraf marched on Acre with his Egyptian troops and sent word to the Syrian army to join up with him and bring the siege engines. The ruler of Hama, al-Malik alMuzafer, set out with his uncle al-Malik al-Afdal and the whole army of Hama for Hisn al-Akrad where we collected a huge catapult called the Victorious. A hundred wagons were needed to transport it. It was dismantled and the pieces distributed through the army. The part consigned to me was only one wagon load, since at the time I was an Emir of ten. It was the end of winter when we marched off with wagons; rains and snowstorm struck us between Hisn al-Akrad and Damascus, causing great hardship. It took us a month to reach Acre, usually an eight day ride. The Sultan ordered all the other fortresses to send catapults and siege engines to Acre, and in this way a great number of large and small artillery concentrated under its wall, more than had ever been assembled in one place. The battle began in May 1291, and raged furiously. God granted the Muslims victory on Friday 10 Jumada II, 17 June 1291. An amazing coincidence occurred: The Franks seized Acre from Salah-ud-din at midday on 17 Jumada II 587 AH, and captured and then killed all the Muslims therein; and God in his prescience destined that this year it should be re-conquered at the hand of another Salah-ud-din, Sultan Malik Al-Shraf (who too was named Salah-ud-din). Neighbouring towns soon fell to the Muslims. With these conquests the whole of Palestine was now in Muslim hands, a result that no one would have dared hope for. Thus the whole of Syria and the coastal zones were purified of the Franks,
133
Ibn Wasil from the Arabic manuscript; 1702; Caetani collection; pp. 121-3.

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who had once been on the point of conquering Egypt and subduing Damascus and other cities. Praise be to God! 134
Bibliography
-Ibn Abi Usaibiya: Wafayat al-Iyan; Mullers edition; vol 2; 1884; p. 185. -Abul Fida in Receuil des historiens des croisades, Historiens Orientaux; Vol 1; Paris; 1872. -S. M.Ahmad: Yaqut al-Hamawi; Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Charles Scribeners Sons; New York; Vol 14. -Ibn al-Athir: Kitab al-kamil; ed K.J. Tornberg; 12 vols; Leiden; 1851-72. -R. Blachere: Extraits des geographes Arabes; Beirut; 1932; pp. 290-8. - C Bouamrane-L Gardet: Panorama de la pensee Islamique, Sindbad; 1-3 Rue Feutrier; Paris 18, 1984 -J. Cagnier: De Vita et rebus gestis Mohamedis; Oxford; 1723. -Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam; Paris; Geuthner; 1921. - J. B. Carusius: Bibliotheca historica regni Siciliae; vol 1; Panormi; 1723. - Paul Chaix: Etudes sur Aboulfeda; Nouvelles Annales des Voyages; 1; 1862; pp. 5-46. -H. Derenbourg: Ousama ibn Mounkidh, 2 vols, publications de lEcole des Langues Orientales, Paris 18861893. - H. Derenbourg: Souvenir historiques et recits de chasse, Paris 1895 (French version of Kitab al-Itibar.) -Al-Dimashki: Kitab nukhbat al-dahr fi ajaib al-barr wal bahr (Selection of the age on the wonders of the land and
the Sea). edited by A.F. Mehren; quarto, 375 p. St Petersburg; 1866. -B. Dodge: Muslim Education in Medieval times; The Middle East Institute, Washington, D.C. 1962. -W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. -Y. Eche: Les Bibliotheques Arabes, Publiques et Semi Publiques en Mesopotamie, en Syrie et en Egypte au Moyen Age. Damascus: Institut Francais. 1967. -Yaqut al-Hamawi: MuAjam al-Buldan; Wustenfeld Edition; in six volumes; Leipzig; 1866. -B. Hetherington: A Chronicle of Pre-Telescopic Astronomy; John Wiley and Sons; Chichester; 1996. -C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades; Islamic Perspectives ; Edinburgh; 1999. -J. Hirschberg; J. Lippert, and E. Mittwoch: Die arabischen Lehrbucher der Augenheilkunde; Abhdl. Der preussischen Akademie, Chiefly pp. 12; 73-84; 1905. -J. Hirschberg: Die arabischen Augenarzte; vol 2; Leipzig; 1905.. - P.K. Hitti: An Arab-Syrian gentleman and warrior in the period of the Crusades. Memoirs of Usamah ibn Munqidh, Columbia University , New York, 1929. -A Issa Bey: Histoire des hopitaux en Islam; Beirut; Dar ar raid alarabi; 1981. -Ibn Jubayr: Rihla; W. Wright edition; Leiden; 1852.
-A. Jourdain: Memoire sur lobservatoire de Maragha et les instruments employes pour y observer; in
Magasins encyclopedique; Vol 6; 43 etc; 1809; Paris; 1810. -W. Jwaideh: The Introductory Chapters of Yaquts Muajam al-Buldan; Leiden; 1959; -Ibn Khallikan: wafayat al-Ayan wa-Anba Abna al-Zaman, Biographical Dictionary, tr., M. De Slane Duprat, Paris and
Allen & Co., London, 1843. - A. Inveges: Annali della felice citta di Palermo ; Vol 2; 659; Palermo; 1650. -L Leclerc: Histoire de la Medecine Arabe; 2 vols; Paris; 1876. -G. Le Strange: Palestine under the Moslems; Alexander P. watt; London; 1890.
134
Abul Fida in Receuil des historiens des croisades, Historiens Orientaux; Vol 1; Paris; 1872. pp. 163-5.

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-M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology; E. J. Brill; Leiden, 1973. -R.S. Mackensen: `Background of the History of Muslim libraries.' In The American Journal of Semitic
languages and Literatures, 52 (October 1935) 22-33.

-G. Makdisi: The Rise of Colleges, Edinburgh University Press; 1981. -L.A. Mayer: Muslim architects and their works; Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956. -L.A, Mayer: Muslim astrolabists and their works; Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956. - L. A. Muratori: Rerum italicarum scriptores; vol 1; part 2; p. 251; and R. Gregorio: Rerum Arabicarum
quae historian Siculam spectant; panormi; 1790; pp. 53-68. -J.Pedersen: The Arabic Book, (1928) tr by G. French; Princeton University Press; Princeton,
New Jersey (1984). -George R. Porter: The Autobiography of Ousama ibn Munqidh, London, 1929. -J.T. Reinaud and S. Guyard eds: Geographie d'Aboulfeda, 2 vols. Paris, 1848-83. -J. Reiske: Abilfedae Annales Moslemici, Lat. Ex. Ar. Fecit. J. J. Reiske; Leipzig; 1754; Arabic text published in 1789. -B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, astronomers and other scholars of Islamic civilisation; Research Center for Islamic History, art and Culture; Istanbul; 2003. -S. Runciman: A History of the Crusades; Cambridge University Press; 1951 fwd. -G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institute; Washington; 1927 fwd. - E. Savage. Smith: Islamicate Celestial Globes; Smithsonian Institute Press; Washington, D.C, 1985. - Adolf Friedrich von Schack: Poesie und Kunst der Araber in Spanien und Sizilien; 2 Vols; Berlin; 1865. - G. Shumann, translation of Kitab al-itibar, Innsbruck 1905. -M. Sibai: Mosque Libraries: An Historical Study: Mansell Publishing Limited: London and New York: 1987. - D. Sourdel: Hama; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; New Series; vol 3; pp. 119-21. -M. Sobernheim: Hama; in Encyclopaedia of Islam , 1st series, 1915; vol 2; pp. 240-1. -Tarikh al-Mansuri in Bibliotheca Arabo-Sicula; Second Appendix; Leipzig; 1887; pp. 34-7. -W. Montgomery Watt: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edinburgh, 1972. - E. Weber: Quelques aspects de l'image de l'autre chez Usama ibn al-Munqid: in De Toulouse a Tripoli; Colloque held between 6 and 8 December, 1995, AMAM, University of Toulouse. 1997. pp 93-114. -A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977.

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Jerusalem
FSTC Limited
Jerusalem April 2005
JERUSALEM
At the battle of Aizanadin in 633 CE, Khalid ibn Walid - `the Sword of God' - defeated the Roman army of Heraclius, inflicting the loss of fifty thousand men; it was soon followed by the fall of the great cities of Jerusalem, Antioch, Aleppo, Tyre and Tripoli.1 On a red camel, which carried a wooden dish, a leather water bottle, a bag of corn and one of dates, Caliph Umar (the second Caliph who ruled during 634-44 CE) came from Medina to take formal possession of Jerusalem. He entered the Holy City riding by the side of the Christian patriarch Sophronius.2 These are Caliph Umars words:
Ìn the name of Allah, the Benefactor and Merciful! This is the surety granted to the inhabitants of Aelia (Jerusalem) by the servant of God, Omar, Commander of the Faithful. He gives them protection of their persons, their churches, their crosses, whether these are in good or bad state, and their cult in general. No constraint will be exerted upon them in the matter of faith, and none of them will be harmed. The inhabitants of Aelia will have to pay the Jizya in the same proportion as the inhabitants of other cities. It is up to them to expel from their city the Byzantines and thieves. Those amongst the latter who would like to stay will be allowed to do so on the condition that they should pay the same Jizya as the inhabitants of Aelia.'3
Under the Emperors of Constantinople, in Asia and Africa subjects used to pay very onerous, excessive and complicated forms of taxes. Under the Muslims, a simple well-defined tribute* of far less amount, in some places only half of the previous tax, was charged. The lower orders were never made to feel the bitterness of conquest.4 The Jews, likewise, saw the positive difference Muslim rule could bring. Following Caliph Omars entry in the city, a grateful Jewish noble man said:
`The temple remained with Byzantium for 500 or so years and Israel were unable to enter Jerusalem; whoever did so and was found out, suffered death. Then when the Romans left it, by the grace of the God of Israel, and the kingdom of Ishamel was victorious, Israel was given leave to enter and take up residence and the courtyards of the house of God were handed over to them and they were praying there of a time. 5
J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe;Vol I; Revised edition; George Bell and Sons, London, 1875. vol 1; p.335. 2 J.W. Draper: A History; op cit; p.335. 3 Cited by Antoine Fattal: le Statut legal des non Musulmans en pays d'Islam, Imprimerie Catholique, Beyrut, 1958. in Yves Courbage, Paul Fargues: Chretiens et Juifs dans l'Islam Arabe et Turc, Payot, Paris, 1997; p.15. * [Editor Comment: The jizya means compensation and was paid in compensation for not having to do any military service. Typically this was one dinar (about 4 grams of gold) per year and only applied to men who would have had to fight to defend the community otherwise.] 4 J.W. Draper: A History; op cit; vol 1; p.337 5 Thus said Salman ben Yeruhim (wr.ca 950) in his Judaeo-Arabic commentary on psalm 30. in R.G. Hoyland: Seeing Islam as others saw it; The Darwin Press, Inc; Princeton; New Jersey; 1997. p 127.
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Under the Muslims, all Christians, Jews and Muslims lived in shared peace and prosperity in the city. Ibn alArabi, commenting on Jerusalem remarks that the Christians cultivated its estates and kept its churches in good repair.6 Ibn al-Arabi stresses that Jerusalem was the meeting place for religious scholars of all three faiths - Islam, Christianity and Judaism.7 The infamous Fatimid destruction of the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem was the act of a mad ruler, Al-Hakem (b.985), whose persecution of the Muslims was much worse than that of the Christians. With the exception of this incident all faiths lived together in the city in relative peace and harmony until the arrival of the crusades. Jerusalem had been in Seljuk hands before the crusades (which were launched in 1096). But, as the Seljuks were fighting the crusaders pouring through the north, the Fatimid wrested Jerusalem from them in 1097 which was a `real betrayal of Islam according to Lamarque.8 `The humour of history, according to Durant, means that when the Crusaders would arrive in front of Jerusalem in 1098, the Turks whom they had come to fight had been expelled from the city by the Fatimids in the previous year (1097)9. The Fatimids soon allied themselves to the crusaders against the Seljuks10. But in July 1099 the crusaders surrounded the city of Jerusalem held for the Fatimids by Iftikhar ad-Daula (The pride of the Nation). Iftikhar, his entourage and his army were allowed to leave the city under safe crusader conduct. 11 The population of 70 000 people, on the other hand, was slaughtered in cold blood12. Draper narrates: `The capture of Jerusalem, as might be expected under such circumstances, was attended by the
perpetration of atrocities almost beyond belief. What a contrast to the conduct of the Arabs! When the Khalif Omar took Jerusalem, A.D. 637, he rode into the city by the side of the Patriarch Sophronius, conversing with him on its antiquities. At the hour of prayer, he declined to perform his devotions in the Church of the Resurrection, in which he chanced to be, but prayed on the steps of the Church of Constantine; `for,' said he to the patriarch, `had I done so, the Musselmen in a future age would have infringed the treaty, under colour of imitating my example.' But, in the capture by the Crusaders, the brains of young children were dashed out against the walls; infants were thrown over the battlements; every woman that could be seized was violated; men were roasted at fires; some were ripped open, to see if they had swallowed gold; the Jews were driven into their synagogue, and there burnt; a massacre of nearly 70,000 persons took place; and the pope's legate was seen `partaking in the triumph.' 13
A contemporary present during the dramatic moments called Abbot Raymond of Agiles of the French town of Du Puy, wrote gleefully:
I.Abbas: Rihlat Ibn al-Arabi ila al-mashriq kama sawwaraha `Qanun al-Tawil, Al-Abhatth; 21/1, 1968. in C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades, Islamic Perspectives, Edinburgh University Press; 1999; p.50. 7 In C.Hillenbrand: The Crusades, p.49. 8 Henri Lamarque: La Premiere Traduction Latine du Coran. In De Toulouse a Tripoli, AMAM ; Colloque held between 6 and 8 December, 1995, University of Toulouse, 1997. pp 237-246. P.239. W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p.591. 10 Henri Lamarque: La Premiere Traduction; op cit. P.239. 11 B. Z. Kedar: The Subjected Muslims of the Frankish Levant, in Muslims under Latin Rule, 1100-1300, edt J.M. Powell, Princeton University Press, 1990.pp 135-174.p.143. On the dumping of corpses, see e.g., Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum, ed. K. Mynors, trans. R.Hill (London, 1962), p.92. 12 Ibn al-Athir: Kitab al-kamil; ed K.J. Tornberg; 12 vols; Leiden; 1851-72. X, pp. 193-95. 13 J.W. Draper: A History; Vol II; op cit; pp 22-3.
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`When our men took the main defences, we saw then some astonishing things amongst the Saracens. Some were beheaded, and thats the least that could happen to them. Others were pierced through and so threw themselves from the heights of the walls; others after having suffered in length were thrown into the flames. We could see in the roads and in the places of Jerusalem bits and pieces of heads, hands, and feet. Everywhere we could only walk through cadavers. But all that was only little'
The abbots description moves onto the Mosque of Omar, where,
`there was so much blood in the old temple of Solomon that dead corpses swam in it. We could see hands floating and arms that went to glue themselves to bodies that were not theirs; we could not distinguish which arm belonged to which body. The men who were doing the killing could hardly bear the smoke from the corpses. 14
The Christian chronicler, Humbert of Romans, delighted on `the splendid occasion when the blood of the Arabs came up to the horses' knees, at the capture of Jerusalem in 1099.' 15 The carnage perpetrated by the crusaders when they captured and occupied Jerusalem for 88 years (until 1187) had a permanent destructive effect. The scholars and scholarship that thrived in the city before the crusades were gone for good. The city would witness a certain revival in the late 12th century after it was retaken by the Muslims, but never again would it recover its glory and power after such a murderous onslaught.
Jerusalem: Its Sites, Scholars and Scholarship before the Crusades

Jerusalem prior to the crusades was a place filled with a thriving trade, scholars and madrasas. The crusades destroyed all such wealth and, above all, scholarship. This destruction, which will be considered in some detail in the last part of this article, will show how learning declined in Jerusalem due to the devastation of war inflicted upon Islam. Despite some improvement following the recapture of the city by Salahud-din in 1187, the city never recovered its prime scholarly activity, and just like the rest of the Muslim world, also suffering from the same problems, fell into gradual decline. The thriving character of the city prior to the crusades is caught by the traveller Nasr-ud-din Khusraw who saw the city in 1047 just decades before the crusades. He noted how things were cheap and plentiful and how the city had beautiful markets and high buildings. It had a great number of craftsmen and each craft had its market. The city was large with the number of inhabitants at about a hundred thousand. Nasr Khusraw refers to a great teaching hospital with rich waqfs dedicated to it, from which medicines for its numerous patients were dispensed and salaries for doctors were paid. He also refers to hostels for the Sufis by the mosque where they lived and prayed.16 Serious patronage of architecture had begun in Umayyad times (661-750). During their rule no single architectural style was used throughout the Islamic world, but monuments associated with the dynasty or its high officials were often well built and elaborately decorated. In structures such as the mosques of
14 15
Abbot Raymond of Agiles; in G. Le Bon: La Civilisation des Arabes; Syracuse; 1884. p. 249. N.Daniel: The Arabs and medieval Europe; Longman Librarie du Liban; 1975. p.253. 16 Nasir Khusraw in A.A.Duri; Jerusalem in the early Islamic period; 7th-11th centuries; in Jerusalem in History; Edited by K.J. Asali; Scorpion Publishing Ltd; 1989; pp. 105-29; at pp. 118-9.
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Medina and Damascus the aim appears to have been to create monuments that would proclaim the power and ideals of the new Islamic state.17 Even richer and more complex was the decorative and epigraphic program of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, built by Caliph 'Abd al-Malik and completed in 691/692CE.18 From its plana central domed area over the rock proper and a double octagonal ambulatory around it the commemoration of the rock appears to be the building's main purpose; a door placed where the mihrab should be demonstrates that it was not intended for use as a mosque.19 Both the inner (circular) and outer (octagonal) zones are formed of piers alternating with columns. Internally the building is notable for its colourful decoration: marble panels on the piers and lower wall surfaces; and mosaic cubes on the arcades of both zones as well as on the drum of the central dome. 20
Figure 1. Dome of the Rock 21 In the early eighth century the Aqsa Mosque (The Further Mosque) was erected adjacent to the south side of the Dome of the Rock. It was also embellished with marble and mosaics.22 In their complex decorative and iconographic schemes the Umayyad religious buildings of Damascus, Medina and Jerusalem are unique. However even more influential was the basic spatial organization of the mosques in those three cities which was often imitated in later buildings.23 The Aqsa Mosque has been repeatedly described by Muslim scholars. Al-Muqaddasi, who originally came from the city, wrote in 985:
`the main building of the Aqsa Mosque has twenty six doors. The door opposite the Mihrab is called the Green Brazen Gate; it is plated with brass gilt, and is so heavy that only a man strong of shoulder and of arm can turn it on its hinges. On the right hand side of the Court (that is along the West Wall of the Haram Area) are colonnades supported by marble pillars and plasters; and on the back (or north wall of the Haram Area) are colonnades vaulted in stone. The centre part of the
17
P.P. Soucek: Islamic Art and Architecture; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons, N. York; Vol 6; pp. 592-614; p. 593. 18 P.P. Soucek: Islamic Art and Architecture; p. 593. 19 P.P. Soucek: Islamic Art and Architecture; p. 593. 20 P.P. Soucek: Islamic Art and Architecture; p. 593. 21 http://www.atlastours.net/holyland/jerusalem.html 22 P.P. Soucek: Islamic Art and Architecture; p. 594.
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main building is covered by a mighty roof, high pitched and gable wise, over which rises a magnificent dome.24
The mosques played a primary role in disseminating science and culture in Islam. A brief glimpse of the scholarly institutions, which are described in great detail by the late medieval scholar, the Qadi Mudjir-uddin (d.1521), enlightens us on the link between faith and learning.25 Although his outline also includes madrasas built following the crusades, the earliest institutes which saw the best of Muslim scholarship in the city date from before the wars. Inside the Aqsa Mosque, just near the womens area is the madrasa Farisiya founded by Emir Fares-ud-din Albky. There was also the madrasa Nahriye and the Nassiriya. The latter was named after the Jerusalem scholar, Sheikh Nasr, before it became known as the Ghazaliya, after the famed scholar al-Ghazali who resided and worked there. Around al-Aqsa was the Qataniya, the Fakriya, Baladiya and the Tankeziya. The latter, Ibn Mudjir tells, is an immense madrasa situated on the Khatt is also responsible for building the road, and its founder, the vice ruler of Syria Emir Tankiz Nasri, aqueduct for the water supply of Jerusalem.
Figure 2. Al Aqsa Mosque is to the south on the lower right of this picture with the Dome of the Rock to north on the upper left
26
A number of Turkish women are behind the construction of many such madrasas in and around Masjid alAqsa. The madrasa Othmania was constituted in waqf in the year 1523 by a woman who belonged to one of the greatest families of the country; she was called Isfahan Shah Khatoun. Earlier, in 1354, another
P.P. Soucek: Islamic Art and Architecture; p. 594. Al-Muqaddasi: The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions, a translation of his Ahsan by B.A. Collins, Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, Garnet Publishing Limited, Reading, 1994. p; 170 25 Mudjir Eddin: Al-Euns al-jalil bi Tarikh el-Qods wal Khalil, translated into French as Histoire de Jerusalem et Hebron, by H. Sauvaire; Paris; Ernest Leroux; 1875; and 1926; pp. 140 fwd. 26 Source - http://www.atlastours.net/holyland/al_aqsa_mosque.jpg
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madrasa called Khatouniya was constituted in waqf by Oghl Khatoun, daughter of Chams ud-din Mohammed Bin Sayf ud-din of Baghdad. The madrasa was financed by a local business.27 The great number of madrasas is a reflection of the great intellectual activity that thrived in Jerusalem during the Islamic era preceding the crusades. Mudjir ud-din names some of the illustrious figures who, by their thoughts and writing, made a mark in the citys history such as Omm al-Khayr Rabeah, daughter of Ismail of the Aqyl family, who lived in the 8 th century (CE).28 In the 11th century, under the Seljuks, on the eve of the crusades, the city witnessed a great variety of cultural activities. Great scholars from both east and west of the Muslim land made the city their destination and, many settled therein. Both the citys scholars and the visitors participated in a rich cultural life.29 Ibn al-Arabi gives a vivid picture of the active life in the city which was a meeting place of scholars from Khurasan in the east to Al-Andalus in the west; he was impressed by the circles of study and the majlis of disputations. 30 Amongst such scholars was the Shaafiite Nasr b. Ibrahim al-Maqdisi (1096), who taught at the Nassriyya school; Ata al-Maqdisi (Abul Fadl); , and al-Rumali.31 Abul Farradj Abd Al-Waheed (d. ca 1090s) also dwelt Jerusalem. He is responsible for the spread of the Hanbalite thought of Islam in and around the city. He also wrote on jurisprudence and wrote Kitab al-Djawaher on the interpretation of the Quran.32 Abu Fath Nasr (d. 1097) is the author of many works such as Zahd al-Abed, and he taught Hadith in Jerusalem in the same place that was to be AlGhazalis abode. Abul Maaly Al-Mucharraf is amongst the great scholars of Jerusalem, who wrote Fadail al-
Bayt Al-muqaddas wa Asakhra (The merits of the Jerusalem and the Rock) in which he deals with all that
relates to the city, its history, its sites and its sanctuaries. 33 He is the contemporary of Abu Kassem Mekki al-Romarly, who also gathered many facts on Jerusalem and wrote on its history. 34 There was the great alGhazali (b. 1058) who settled in the city. The Andalusian Faqih, Abu al-Bakr al-Turtushi, also came to Jerusalem in 1091 and stayed and taught in the Aqsa Mosque, whilst Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi, who left for the East, attended his lectures.35
It has already become apparent how much of the scholarly life evolved in and around the mosques and especially with regards to al Aqsa. The Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is Islam's third holiest shrine and it had four libraries. It had several book collections in the Nahawiya and Ashrafyia madrassas and a library of even greater stature: the Farisiya Madrassa. Next to it is the Mosque of Omar which was founded during the reign of the second caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab (Caliph 634-644). It developed rapidly into an important academy for religious and secular studies and included a large book collection which was spread among the mosque's four madrassas. Amongst the latter was the Nassiryia Madrasa, founded by Nasr al-Maqdisi, which is also known as the Ghazzaliya in a tribute to the philosopher al-Ghazali (d. 505AH/1111CE) who sequestered himself there until he completed the writing of the celebrated work Ihya al-Ulum ud-din (The
revival of religious sciences).36

27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Mudjir Eddin: Al-Euns (Histoire de Jerusalem); P. 145. Mudjir Eddin: Al-Euns (Histoire de Jerusalem); op cit; P. 61 fwd. A.A. Duri: Jerusalem; op cit; p. 119. Duri; p. 120. Duri; p. 119. Mudjir Eddin: Al-Euns (Histoire de Jerusalem); pp. 63 fwd.; A.A. Duri: Jerusalem; op cit; p. 120. Mudjir Eddin: Al-Euns (Histoire de Jerusalem); Pp. 64-5. Mudjir Eddin: Al-Euns (Histoire de Jerusalem); P. 65. A.A. Duri: Jerusalem; op cit; p. 120. Kurd Ali, Muhammad. Khitat al-Sham. 6 Vols. Damascus: Al-Matbaa al Haditha, 1925-8. 6: p. 119.
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Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was born at Tus in 1058, lost his father at an early age and was reared by a Sufi friend. He studied law, theology and philosophy; he spent much of his life teaching and writing and he would stay in Jerusalem, Damascus and Baghdad. At thirty-three he was appointed to the chair of law at the Nizamiya College in Baghdad where he taught. Soon all Islam acclaimed his eloquence, erudition and dialectical skill.37After four years of this glory he was laid low by a mysterious disease; appetite and digestion failed, paralysis of the tongue occasionally distorted his speech and his mind began to break down.38
Figure 3. The Dome of the Rock, Inside 39 In 1094 he left Baghdad, ostensibly on a pilgrimage to Mecca; in reality he went into seclusion seeking silence, contemplation and peace. 40 He transported himself to Jerusalem burning with a desire to devote his life to faith and to visit the sacred sites.41 He established his house in the zawiya which was above the Door of the Redemption and which was formerly known as the Nassiriya, inside Masjid al-Aqsa, and there he wrote his famed Ihya al-Ulum ud-din (The Revival of the Science of Religion).42 He subjected sensationon which materialism seemed to restto critical scrutiny; accused the senses of making the stars appear small when, to be so visible from afar, they must be vastly larger than the earth; concluded from a hundred such examples that sensation by itself could be no certain test of truth; reason, he deduced, was higher and corrected one sense with another but in the end it too rested on sensation. Perhaps there was in man a form of knowledge, a guide to truth surer than reason'. 43
37 38
W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p. 331. W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 331. 39 www.islam.org/.../MOSQUES/ Jerusalem/DRockin.htm 40 Durant. 331. 41 Mudjir Eddin: Al-Euns (Histoire de Jerusalem); op cit; P. 66. 42 Mudjir Eddin: Al-Euns (Histoire de Jerusalem); P. 66. 43 W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 331.
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Al-Ghazali wrote his most influential Tahafut al-Falasifa (The Destruction of Philosophy) in which all the arts of reason were turned against reason; by a "transcendental dialectic" as subtle as the eighteenth century German philosopher Kant's, he argued that reason leads to universal doubt, intellectual bankruptcy, moral deterioration and social collapse.44 Seven centuries before Hume, al-Ghazali reduced reason to the principle of causality and causality to mere sequence: all that we perceive is that B regularly follows A, not that A causes B. Philosophy, logic and science cannot prove the existence of God or the immortality of the soul; only direct intuition can assure us of these beliefs, without which no moral order and therefore no civilization, can survive. 45 He accepted again the Quran and the Hadith, and in his Ihya Ulum ad-Din (Revival of the Science of Religion) he expounded and defended his renovated beliefs in Sunni Islam with all the eloquence and fervour of his prime; never in Islam had the sceptics and the philosophers encountered so vigorous a foe.46 When he died in 1111CE the tide of unbelief had been effectively turned; all Sunnis took comfort from him; even Christian theologians were glad to find, in his translated works, such a defence of religion and such an exposition of piety as no one had written since Augustine.47 Al-Ghazali wrote,
Ìt has always been my practice, as a youth and as a man, to thirst for knowledge of the true nature of things. So that I can be freed from the bond of imitation.48
For al-Ghazali personal knowledge should lead on to good deeds which please God and lead to salvation. He was also a very prominent scholar; his Maqasid al-Falasifah (The Aims of the Philosophers) was translated into Latin in the twelfth century and became very influential amongst scholastic Christian theologians.49 He deeply influenced the medieval Jewish philosophers, Maimonides . Even Christian writers particularly Aquinas, Dante, and Pascal - found inspiration in his translated works and used his ideas in the defence of their religion. 50 Before al-Ghazali, the citys famed scholars included Al-Tamimi (fl late 10th century). His full name was Abu 'Abdallah Mutammad ibn Ahmad ibn Sa'id al-Tamimi al-Muqaddasi (meaning, the native or inhabitant of the Holy City).51 He was a Palestinian physician who conducted pharmaceutical experiments and wrote various medical works chiefly on materia medica. His main work is a guide (Murshid) on materia medica entitled Kitab al-murshid ila jawahir al-aghdhiya wa quwa-l-mufradat (Guide towards [the understanding of] the substances of food-stuffs and [of] the simple drugs) which contains much valuable information on plants, minerals, etc.52
Durant. 332. Durant. 332. 46 Durant. 332. 47 Durant. 332. 48 In Al-Munquidh min al-dalal,p.13; referred to by A.N. Diyab: Al-Ghazali: in Religion, Learning and Science in the Abbasid Period; Ed by M.J.L.Young; J.D.Latham; and R.B. Serjeant; Cambridge University Press; 1990; pp.424-44. 49 M.Alonso quoted by A. Diyab: Al-Ghazali; op cit. 50 F.B. Artz: The mind, The Mind of the Middle Ages; Third edition revised; The University of Chicago Press, 1980. pp. 1467. 51 G. Sarton: Introduction to the history of sciences, The Carnegie Institution; Baltimore, 1927 fwd. vol 1; p. 679. 52 F. Wustenfeld: Geschicte der Arabischen Aerzte; Gottingen; 1840; p. 57. E.H.F. Meyer: Geschichte der Botanik; Vol 3; pp. 174-6; 1856. N.L. Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine Arabe; 2 vols; Paris; 1876. Vol 1; pp. 388-91.
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The 19th century French medical historian, Leclerc, in the first volume of his work on Muslim medicine, (on pages 549-52) deals with a most interesting manuscript that is located in MadridEscorial 887, old 882 containing what seem to be the notes taken by a student at the consultations of a physician.53 His physician is one Muhamad al-Tamimi about whom no definite information is given. Leclerc would place him in Toledo, c.1069, but Sarton notes that his conjecture is not convincing. There is a possibility that these two Tamimi are the same person. In any case this work seems to be very valuable and deserves a thorough investigation. About 50 consultations are reported in it. 54 Leclerc himself offers a good insight into this particular manuscript at the Escorial which he says is a mutilated, badly preserved manuscript.55 It is divided into sessions, or consultations, and these sessions are in the number of fifty. A sick person presents himself/herself, the doctor asks them questions, and has them examined by his student with further questions and answers. The doctor then prescribes medicines. The doctor generally asks his student on his knowledge about the illness of the patient. If the student does not know much, the doctor then lectures him more about it once the patient has left. 56 If the student notices something that is odd in relation to the diagnosis, the prognosis or something that has struck him, he asks the master who then provides him with answers. Here is an instance of a session narrated by the student:
à patient arrived telling he was suffering from severe headache. My master asks him: Ìs it at the front or at the back, and how do you feel the beating against the side of the head? The patient answered: Ìt is as if someone was hitting me with a hammer at the front of the head. The master provided the following prescription: You take some camomile, some rose leaves, and the head of poppies; you will mix the lot in a pan, and add water in sufficient quantity to cover the lot. You will boil the pan, and you bend your head towards the emanated steam. Do this for three days, day and night, and you will recover. With respect to your diet: eat something soft and that is relaxing. The patient soon recovered.57
Another session is also recounted by the student:
À man came in saying he had a large mole on his upper lid. My master orders me to measure the tumour with my hand, and whether it was static or moving. Which I did. The tumour moved like a sort of stone under the skin. The master asked me to see whether under the lid were lesions. Which I did and found nothing. The master then said: Friction the tumour with olive oil, and apply some compress with hot bread on it. The patient did it for three days and recovered.58
In one session, the student relates how the master cured a disease by just prescribing a food diet. To the baffled student, the master answers that the prescribed food is enough to cure the disease. 59 Al-Muqaddasi (b.946-d.end of 10th century), originally from al-Quds (Jerusalem), hence his name, is by far one of the most instructive of all early Islamic writers on the social geography of Islam. On his travels,
53 54 55 56 57 58
N.L. Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine Arabe; vol 1; pp. 549-52. G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 1; op cit; p. 679. L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 549. L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 550. L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 551. L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 552.
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he set off from Jerusalem and visited nearly every part of the Muslim world. His best known treatise is
Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma'arifat al-Aqalim60 (The best divisions in the knowledge of the Climes), which was
completed around 985. Dunlops Arab Civilisation. A good outline of it is given by Kramers,61 extracts of which can be found in
62
In this work, al-Muqaddasi was the first geographer to determine and standardize the meanings and connotations of Arabic geographical terms and the first to provide a list of towns and other features for quick referencing. He drew the first ever colour map indicating regional boundaries and trade routes in red, sandy areas in yellow, rivers in blue and mountains in ochre. After a general overview of geography and the land of Islam, the geographical arrangement of its various parts and approximate estimate of distances from one frontier to the other, al-Muqaddasi deals with countries separately. In dealing with each region, he divides his work in two parts: the first enumerates localities and gives good topographical descriptions, especially of the major towns, and the second lists various subjects: population, its composition, its social groups, commerce, minerals, archaeological monuments, money, political climate etc.63 The work also includes accounts of weights and measures, moneys, languages, political climate, fiscal charges of people and commerce.64 Al-Muqaddasi also gives the itineraries between the main places and distances are given in days' journeys but also in farsakhs. The Islamic urban setting, its growth, diversity, complexities, economy and politics are the details that attract most of the attention of al-Muqaddasi, and can be found in each chapter, for every region and place he visits as Miquel shows.65 Al-Muqaddasi differentiates between town and city by the presence of the great mosque and its minbar, symbols of Islamic authority. In connection with this, he states what follows:
`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: Ì 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.66
Al-Muqaddasi delves 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 but it is the artificial obstacles which in particular draw his attention. So do daily concerns such as trade and exchanges, markets and the urban economy as a whole. Al-Muqaddasi studied markets, their expansion and decline, providing a bill of health for each, the daily and monthly revenues derived from L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 552. Al-Muqaddasi: Ahsan at-taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim; is in M.J. de Goeje ed., Bibliotheca geographorum arabicum, 2nd edition., III (Leiden, 1906); a partial French translation is by Andre Miquel, Institut Francais de Damas, Damascus, 1963. There are also English and Urdu versions of the work. 61 J.H. Kramers: Analecta Orientalia, i, 182-3; in D.M. Dunlop: Arab civilisation to AD 1500; Longman, 1971, pp 166-7. 62 D.M. Dunlop: Arab civilisation; pp. 166-7. 63 D.M. Dunlop; p. 166-7. 64 D.M. Dunlop; p. 166. 65 A. Miquel: La Geographie Humaine du Monde Musulman, Vol 4, Ecole des hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, 1988. 66 Al-Muqaddasi: The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions, a translation of his Ahsan by B.A. Collins, Centre for
60 59
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them, and how such revenues were distributed. 67 He would carefully study how a location was run and the way its citizens would act, dwelling mainly on such factors as order, cleanliness, morality and state of learning, all of which he considers for each and every place visited.68 On water management and hydraulic technology, much can be learnt from him as he describes Egypt, the Nile and the Nilometer. 69 Currency, its uses, and its users as well as its fluctuations constitute a major aspect of interest; Dinar, Dirhem, their multiples and sub-multiples in addition to each regions local currencies were studied in good detail.70 Also of interest is information on diets, clothing, dialects, the varied differences of 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 irruption.71 This approach is in contrast with his predecessors, whose focus was much narrower, whilst Al-Muqaddasi wanted to encompass aspects of interest to merchants, travellers, and people of culture.72 Thus, it becomes no longer the sort of traditional `geography, but a work that seeks to understand and explain the foundations of Islamic society, and not just that, the very functioning of such society. On the whole, Kramers concludes that `There is thus no subject of interest to modern geography which is not treated by al-Muqaddasi.' And so, he is, according to A. Miquel (the author of a more recent translation of AlMuqaddasi), the creator of `total geographical science.'73 Muwaffaq Eddin Yaqub Ben Saklan was a Christian doctor of Jerusalem (fl. Middle of 12th century; d. 1229). He was an Oriental Christian who served as a manager of the hospital of Jerusalem under Muaddam the Ayyubid ruler. Muaddam took Yaqub into his service and showered him with gifts and honours.
74
Although his own health failed and he could not move due to problems with his legs, he still served the same Muaddam even if he had to be carried to see to the ruler.75 Both died in a short space of each other. Ben Saqlan was not just an able doctor, he is also said to have been appreciated for his surgical skills; Ibn Abbi Ussaybaia (the 13th century medical historian) is particularly full of praise for him.76 According to Ibn Abbi Ussaybia, Ben Saqlan observed very minutely all the symptoms, studied them while never allowing any detail to escape his attention and then applied the most accurate cures. He was an accomplished man, intelligent and judicious in his practice. He died leaving a son who followed in his footsteps.77 Rashid Eddin Ibn Essury (fl. Late 12th century- early 13th century), as shown by his last name, is of Syrian origins and he learnt his trade in Damascus. However he too practiced medicine for some time in Muslim Contribution to Civilization, Garnet Publishing Limited, Reading, 1994. p. 143. 67 A. Miquel: La Geographie, op cit, pp 237-9. 68 A. Miquel: La Geographie Humaine du Monde Musulman, Vol 4, Ecole des hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, 1988. 69 Al-Muqaddasi: The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions, (B.A. Collins); op cit; p.189. 70 Al-Muqaddasi (Collins tr) op cit; pp. 215 fwd. 71 A. Miquel: La Geographie, op cit, p. 347. 72 S.M. Ahmad: Al-Maqdisi, in Dictionary of Scientific Biography, C.C. Gillispie editor in Chief, Charles Scribners Sons, New York, , Vol 9; at p. 88. 73 Al-Muqaddasi: Ahsan at-taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim; traduction partielle, anotee par Andre Miquel, Institut Francais de Damas, Damascus, 1963, p. xxiv, in D. M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, op cit, at p. 166. 74 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; vol 2; p. 170. 75 Leclerc: vol 2; p. 170. 76 Ibn Abbi Ussaybaia: Waafayat al-Iyyan; in L. Leclerc. P. 170. 77 In Leclerc: vol 2; p. 171.
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Jerusalem and was attached to the citys hospital. He was taught the art of botany by his friend Abu AlAbbas Al-Hayany, a scholar and a man of great generosity, who knew about simples.
78
Rashid Eddin, just
as Ibn Saqlan, served King al-Muaddam (Muazzam) including during his war campaigns against the crusaders. At the death of Muaddam he served Nasir who legated to him the headship of doctors. Rashid Eddin was a well-recognised botanist79 and his passion and knowledge of the subject places him amongst the greatest botanists such as Ibn al-Baytar and Ibn Rumya.80 His works are not extant but other scholars refer to them. Rashid Eddin was famous not just for his theoretical knowledge of the subject but also for his innovations in the field. He travelled extensively especially in the mountains of Lebanon and he was always accompanied by a painter; the latter painted each plant in the proper colours, in minute details relating to the leaves, roots, body and at the various stages of growth; then the plants were drawn at their stage of dryness which is when they are best to be used as medicinal plants. 81 According to the Ottoman historianbiographer, Hadji Khalifa, Rashid Eddin added many plants to the known repertory.82 He is also known for his commentary on botany exchanged with another famed botanist of Islam, Tadj Eddin al-Bulghari (a friends of the famed botanist Ibn al-Baytar) 83
The Devastation of War through the Instance of Jerusalem

The thriving scholarship, which Jerusalem witnessed up to the late 11 th century has been described above. The crusaders reached and took the city in 1099, and all amongst the Muslim scholars, just like the citys population, were slain. The madrasas and libraries were either destroyed or, just like the Aqsa mosque, (as will be shown further on) were desecrated or reconverted for Christian use or as stables. The fate of Islamic learning and scholarship in Jerusalem is precisely the fate of every Islamic city that went through the woes of invasion. Thus, as shown under the appropriate entries on these cities, whether in Cordova (1236), Seville (1248), Baghdad (1258), Aleppo (1260), Damascus (1260), Merw, Bukharra, Nishapur, etc in the period 1219-1221, everywhere, the scholars fled or were put to the sword, crucified or tortured to death; libraries and madrasas burned, trades taken away or completely devastated, the Muslim population was slaughtered en masse and Islamic culture suppressed as in Spain following the Christian taking of Seville, Cordova, Valencia, Toledo, etc. All these tragic upheavals were bound to destroy Islamic learning. How can, indeed, Cordova produce any Islamic learning when it had fallen into Christian hands bent on deIslamising the city? How can Bukhara produce another Ibn Sina when it has been burned to the ground? How can Merv thrive when its schools and libraries had been burnt to the ground, and everyone in it slaughtered, with some sources there speaking of the mass slaughter of 1.3 million lives. 84 How can Nishapur suffer the same fate and then produce an Omar Khayyam, again? And it is the same all over. These evident facts, repeated all over, explain the decline of Islamic learning, which any ordinary person can find by browsing through history. Yet they are not recognised factors by most of those who write on Muslim civilisation and blame its decline on Islam, an issue seen under other entries, thus, needless to be repeated here.
78 79 80 81 82 83 84
Leclerc: vol 2; p. 171. Leclerc: vol 2; p. 172. Leclerc: vol 2; p. 172. Leclerc: vol 2; p. 172. Leclerc: vol 2; p. 172. Leclerc: vol 2; p. 173. E.G. Browne: in W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.339
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Here instead, we will focus on what has not been dealt with in the other entries: the war, its killings, its devastation, its mighty demands, its fierceness shared by both Muslims and their enemies. Its endlessness, absorbing the energies and the lives of generations after generations, bleeding the land of Islam in its fight for survival in face of an enemy dedicated to wiping the whole entity out. It will be shown that the fact that Muslims survived is a tribute to their absolute resilience and the power of their faith, that they survived, indeed, the fiercest onslaught ever witnessed in history, is a miracle even if their civilisation suffered. Other races worldwide, in their tens of millions, had been wiped out of existence by much lesser onslaught than what Islam faced.85 It will be shown how in those centuries (11th-13th centuries), when supposedly Islam or the Seljuk destroyed Islamic civilisation, how it was the war of devastation inflicted on Islam which prevented learning or civilisation prevailing, let alone thriving. The crusades (1096-1291) are a result of the Christian awareness of divisions amongst the Muslims between the Shias and Sunnis who were then at war. The Christians had also been emboldened by their successes in Spain with the taking of Barbastro in 1063 and Toledo in 1085 (see entry on Toledo). They had also re-taken Sicily from the Muslims in 1089 (see entry on Sicily). The Catholic Church knew this was the most opportune time to strike at the centre of Islam and amongst the disunited, infighting Muslims. The Muslims in the East had also just lost their two greatest figures; Malik Shah, the Seljuk ruler and his minister Nizam al-Mulk were both assassinated and the Fatimids, whose leaders were generally Armenian in origin, were ready to make an alliance with the crusaders. It was only left for the Christian leadership to find an excuse to justify the attack on Islam and to rouse the people of Christendom. Hence Pope Urban II concocted a story of Muslim massacres of Christians in the Holy Sites of Jerusalem. His speech included:
Àn accursed race, a race utterly alienated from God, a generation forsooth which has not directed its heart and has not entrusted its spirit to God, has invaded the lands of those Christians and has depopulated them by the sword, pillage and fire; it has led away a part of the captives into its own country, and a part it has destroyed by cruel tortures; it has either entirely destroyed the churches of God or appropriated them for the rites of its own religion. They destroy the altars, after having defiled them with their uncleanness. They circumcise the Christians, and the blood of the circumcision they either spread upon the altars or pour into the vases of the baptismal font. When they wish to torture people by a base death, they perforate their navels, and dragging forth the extremity of the intestines, bind it to a stake; then with flogging they lead the victim around until the viscera having gushed forth the victim falls prostrate upon the ground. Others they bind to a post and pierce with arrows. Others they compel to extend their necks and then, attacking them with naked swords, attempt to cut through the neck with a single blow. What shall I say of the abominable rape of the women? To speak of it is worse than to be silent. Accordingly undertake this journey for the remission of your sins, with the assurance of the imperishable glory of the kingdom of heaven. 86
see, for instance: -W. Howitt: Colonisation and Christianity: Longman; London. -R. Garaudy: Comment l'Homme devient Humain. Editions J.A, 1978. -D E. Stannard: "Genocide in The Americas" in The Nation, October 19, 1992; pp. 430-4. 86 In D. C. Munro, "Urban and the Crusaders", Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Vol 1:2, 1895,pp. 5-8
85
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In truth, there were no Turkish atrocities and defilements of the Holy sites; far from being in danger of extermination, the Christians enjoyed a uniquely favourable status under Muslim rule. In 1047 the Muslim traveller Nasir-i-Khosru, having seen Christians freely practicing their faith, described the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as à most spacious building, capable of holding 8000 persons, and built with the utmost skill. Inside, the church is everywhere adorned with Byzantine brocade, worked in gold. 87 This was but one of many Christian churches in Jerusalem. Christian pilgrims had free access to the holy places.88
Figure 4. The Knight Templars89 Christians (like Jews) also occupied all spheres of command within the Islamic realm, since the earliest times. Caliph Al-Mutasim (833-842), for instance, had two Christian ministers, one of whom was responsible for finance.90 Everywhere Christians were free to practice their faith and keep property and wealth with little intervention from the Muslims. In fact the destruction of The Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem, which the Pope used as an illustration of Muslim desecration of Christian sites, was the work of the Fatimid king Al Hakem (b. 985) gone mad; and the paradox, as Finucane notes, was that the kings chief secretary, who drew up the document of destruction of the Church was a Christian just like his vizier who signed it.91 Even more importantly, this Fatimid ruler had put to death many of the respectable Muslim Sunnis.92 The other principal cause cited by the Pope to justify the crusades was the supposed Muslim massacres of pilgrims and the prevention of them visiting the Holy sites; this claim is equally groundless.
Àt this time, years prior to the crusades, says a Christian contemporary, `there began to flow towards the Holy Sepulchre so great a multitude as, ere this, no man could have hoped for. First of all went the meaner folk, then men of middle rank, and lastly, very many kings and counts, marquises and bishops; aye, and a thing that had never happened before, many women bent their steps in the same direction.93
87
88
G. Lestrange: Palestine; op cit p. 202. W. Durant; The Age; op cit; p. 585. 89 http://www.rosslyntemplars.org.uk/Knights_Templar1.gif 90 T.W. Arnold: The preaching of Islam. A History of the Propagation of the Muslim faith, Archibald Constable, Westminster, 1896. in Y. Courbage, P. Fargues: Chretiens et Juifs dans l'islam Arabe et Turc, Payot, Paris, 1997;p. 53. 91 R. Finucane: Soldiers of the Faith; J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd; London, 1983. p. 155. 92 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; The Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund; London; 1897. p. 231. 93 Ralph Glaber in T.A. Archer: The Crusades; T. Fisher Unwin; London; 1894; p. 15.
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Even when some Bedouin thieves, who preyed on caravans, whether Muslim or non Muslim, attacked the Christians in order to rob them, `the Saracen lord of Ramleh came to the rescue, and under his guidance the pilgrims visited Jerusalem in safety.94 The true reasons for the call of the crusades, other than the awareness of Muslim chaos and divisions already cited, was the fact that the Church became aware that inflicting the final blow on the foe was within reach. The reason was, Bennet holds, the Churchs overriding ambition to destroy the Muslim creed and annihilate Islam.95 The need to exterminate the Muslim enemy was also reinforced by the need to re-assert Christian unity; first between the Greek and Latin Churches and also within Western Christendom.96 Pope Urban also sought unity amongst Western Christians in his own realm, as divisions were being exacerbated by the conflict between Pope (Gregory VII) and Emperor (Henry IV).. Urban stressed the ideological aims of the crusade: peace among Christians and death to the enemies of the faith.97 And amidst the new unity, peace was found with local feudal internal wars being now repressed; the mens pugnacity was now diverted to the Crusades.98
`Let hatred, therefore, depart from among you; let your quarrels end, said Urban in his speech, Ènter upon the road to the Holy Sepulchre; wrest that land from a wicked race, and subject it to yourselves. Jerusalem is a land fruitful above all others, a paradise of delights. That royal city, situated at the centre of the earth, implores you to come to her aid. Undertake this journey eagerly for the remission of your sins, and be assured of the reward of imperishable glory to the Kingdom of Heaven.99 `........... To all those who will depart and die on route, whether by land or sea, or lose their life in fighting the pagans, the forgiveness of their sins will be granted. And this I grant to those who participate to this voyage in accordance with the authority that I hold from God. 100
Equally high on the Western Christian agenda was the need to wrest from the Muslims their wealth. The men of Provence and Italy, Conder explains, were not insensible to art and beauty but many of the Latins came from gloomier lands, from dark castles and small fortresses frowning over squalid wooden villages.101 They were astonished at the wealth and luxury of Asia and their hearts rejoiced thinking of the spoils that lay before them in the east, where Baghdad and Damascus were said to rival Byzantium.102 The powerful trading cities of Pisa, Genoa, Venice and Amalfi also had great desire to extend their rising commercial power and capture such Islamic wealth for themselves.103 The leaders of the
94 95
T.A. Archer: The Crusades; p. 17. C. Bennett: Victorian Images of Islam; Grey Seal; London; 1992. p. 6. 96 J.J.Saunders: Aspects of the Crusades; University of Canterbury publishing; Canterbury; 1962. p.20. 97 J.H. Lamonte: crusade and Jihad: in N.A. Faris ed: The Arab heritage, Princeton University Press, 1944. pp 159-198. p.161. 98 W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.829. 99 Ogg quoted in W.Durant: the Age of faith; op cit; p. 587. 100 A. Bouamama: l'Idee de croisade dans le monde Arabe hier et aujourd'hui, in De Toulouse a Tripoli, AMAM, Colloque held between 6 and 8 December, 1995, University of Toulouse; 1997 .pp 211-219.p.212. 101 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom; op cit; p. 30. 102 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom. p. 30. 103 W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.586.
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crusades themselves had great dreams of making fortunes in the East. Godfrey of Bouillon, one of the principal leaders, was accompanied by a brother, Baldwin, and another leader, Bohemond, was joined by a nephew, Tancred. They hoped to make their fortunes overseas.104
Figure 5. Crusaders 105 Just as Bohemond went to find a principality in the East, Raymond of St.Gilles, the third most important leader, also had an eye on the fair lands of Syria.106 The masses who were to depart for the crusades were moved by the Popes speech relating of the massacres of their fellow Christians, the so-called desecration of the Holy Land and atrocities committed by `the infidels but it was unlikely, as Finucane observes, `that righteous indignation alone could have sustained the majority over the long trek east.107 Everyone sought a piece of the gains of this earth; Pope Urban had promised èternal wealth' but had also argued the `wealth of the Orient', contrasted with the `poverty of the Western world'.108 So anxious were the poor for a chance to strike it rich that once the killing began, `they were scrabbling for the spoils while the knights were still killing the Turks.109 And if all this was not enough to stir the masses of Western Christendom to depart east to slay the Infidel, there were other reasons, as Durant outlines:
Èxtraordinary inducements brought multitudes to the standard. A plenary indulgence remitting all punishments due to sin was offered to those who should fall in the war. Serfs were allowed to leave the soil to which they had been bound; citizens were exempted from taxes; debtors enjoyed a moratorium on interest; prisoners were freed, and sentences of death were commuted, by a bold
104
105
D.Hay: The Medieval Centuries; Methuen and Co; London; 1964. p. 91. http://www.freewebs.com/museumstjulians/crusades.jpg 106 J.H. Lamonte: crusade and Jihad: pp 159-198; p.162. 107 R. Finucane: Soldiers of the Faith; J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd; London, 1983. p.35. 108 R. Pernoud: les Hommes de la Croisade, op cit. in Yves Courbage, Paul Fargues: Chretiens et Juifs dans l'Islam Arabe et Turc, Payot, Paris, 1997. p.85. 109 R. Finucane: Soldiers of the Faith. p.79.
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extension of papal authority, to life service in Palestine. Thousands of vagrants joined in the sacred tramp. Men tired of hopeless poverty, adventurers ready for brave enterprise, younger sons hoping to carve out fiefs for themselves in the East, merchants seeking new markets for their goods, knights whose enlisting serfs had left them labourless, timid spirits shunning taunts of cowardice, joined with sincerely religious souls to rescue the land of Christ's birth and death. Propaganda of the kind customary in war stressed the disabilities of Christians in Palestine, the atrocities of Moslems, the blasphemies of the Mohammedan creed; Moslems were described as worshiping a statue of Mohammed. Fabulous tales were told of Oriental wealth and of dark beauties waiting to be taken by brave men. Such a variety of motives could hardly assemble a homogeneous mass capable of military organization. In many cases women and children insisted upon accompanying their husbands or parents, perhaps with reason, for prostitutes soon enlisted to serve the warriors.110
Neither were criminals nor violent men to be denied à share in the holy work-room for repentance and for good services. 111 Sinners and robbers sought a better life, and swore `to set free from the Turks the land
hallowed by the feet of Christ.112 Hence, all in all, clergy, nobles, the chaste, the incestuous, the adulterers,
robbers - àll who professed the Christian faith' - grasped the opportunity for penance, and went onto the crusade.113 They èmerged in bands on all sides', equipped themselves with food and arms that they needed to get to Jerusalem and all were `burning with fire and divine love' according to Albert of Aix.114 Even the animal world joined the crusades and as leaders (like the inspired goose and the perspicacious goat).115 This was the force, in their hundreds of thousands, which set off from Europe in the years 1095-96 and descended on the Muslim world. Having been told of Ìslamic barbaric cruelties against their Christian brethren, armed Christian crowds in their hundreds of thousands and possibly millions sought retribution. Their trail is covered in the mass slaughter of Muslim populations; mass rape; cannibalism in each and every Muslim city, town and village they came across (Antioch, Maarat An Numan, Tyre.. etc.) At Maarat anNuman, in late 1098, the crusaders scaled the undefended walls and entered the city. The terrified population hid in their homes but to no avail. For three days the slaughter never stopped. The Christian chronicler, Robert the Monk, following the taking of Maarrat describes the scene:
Òur men said the pious and charitable chronicler (Le Bons words) `walked through the roads, places, on the roofs, and feasted on the slaughter just like a lioness who had her cubs taken from her. They cut into pieces, and put to death children, the young, and the old crumbling under the weight of the years. They did that in groups Our men grabbed everybody who fell in their hands. They cut bellies open, and took out gold coins. Oh detestable cupidity of gold! Streams of blood ran on the roads of the city; and everywhere lay corpses. Oh blinded nations and destined to death;
110 111 112 113 114 115
W. Durant: The Age of faith; op cit; pp 588-9. C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom; op cit; p. 25. C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; op cit; p. 24. N. Daniel: The Arabs and medieval Europe; Longman Librarie du Liban; 1975. p.122. J.W. Draper: A History; vol ii; op cit; pp 22-3; N. Daniel: The Arabs; op cit; p.123. R. Finucane: Soldiers of the Faith; op cit. p.117.
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none of that multitude accepted the Christian faith. At last Bohemond brought out all those he had first invited to lock themselves in the tower of the place. He ordered that all old women be put to death, and also old men, whose age had rendered useless; then all the rest he ordered to be taken to Antioch to be sold as slaves. This massacre of the Turks took place on 12 December (1098); on Sunday; but on this day not all work could be accomplished; so the following day our men killed all the rest. 116
Radulph of Caen mentioned how
"In Maarra our troops boiled pagan adults in cooking pots; they impaled children on spits and devoured them grilled." 117
In fact it was a common practice, as the chronicler William of Tyre reports, for the crusaders to roast and eat the flesh of the Turks they slew.
118
At Maarrat, to avoid such a fate, many Muslims were said by a
Christian writer to have jumped down wells to their deaths.119 After a few more similar massacres down the road, the crusaders reached Jerusalem in 1099. The city must have contained a sizeable population at the time of the Crusader siege, since, as well as its own inhabitants, it probably also housed refugees from other towns and villages who had sought asylum behind its walls. 120 None escaped with their lives. The massacre has been described above to warrant more gruesome details here, but that can be found in any contemporary chronicle, or in old Western history books (The modern ones have typically cleansed Western history of such dark images and have in the same process cleansed Islamic history of anything positive). The scholars of Jerusalem suffered the same fate as the population. Al-Rumayli, the most celebrated Palestinian hadith expert of his age and author of tracts on the merits of Jerusalem and Hebron, was stoned to death.121 When the Crusaders took the city, he was made prisoner and was ransomed at 1000 dinars. As nobody paid his ransom, he was stoned to death at the gate of Antioch.122 Abd Al-Djabbar B. Ahmad of Isfahan was also killed.123 Such was the killing that the chronicler William of Tyre tells us,
`The place was inundated of the blood of the faithful. We could not watch without horror that multitude of deaths, their limbs scattered laying on the ground on all sides, and the flood of blood inundating the surface of the ground.124
116 117
Robert the Monk, in G. Le Bon: La Civilisation des Arabes; Syracuse; 1884; p. 248. In Janet Abu Lughod: Before European Hegemony; Oxford University Press; 1989; p. 107. 118 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom; op cit. p. 45. 119 R. Finucane: Soldiers of the Faith; op cit; p.106; 120 C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades, Islamic Perspectives, op cit;p.66. 121 B. Z. Kedar: The Subjected Muslims of the Frankish Levant, op cit.143. 122 Mudjir Eddin: Al-Euns (Histoire de Jerusalem); P. 65. 123 Mudjir: Ens; op cit; p. 299. 124 A. Bouamama: l'Idee de croisade dans le monde Arabe hier et aujourd'hui, in De Toulouse a Tripoli, AMAM, Colloque held between 6 and 8 December, 1995, University of Toulouse; 1997 .pp 211-219. p.213.
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In the words of Raymond of Aguilers,
Ìt was a just and splendid judgment of God that this place should be filled with the blood of the unbelievers the city was filled with corpses and blood.125
Some spared captives were forced to clear the streets and the court of the Haram of tens of thousands of corpses which were collected in heaps and burnt or thrown over the walls.126 When the Christian chronicler Fulcher visited Jerusalem in December 1099, five months after it was taken, he was disgusted by the stench of death inside and outside the city walls.127
Òh what a stench there was around the walls of the city, both within and without, from the rotting bodies of the Saracens slain by our comrades at the time of the capture of Jerusalem, lying where they were hunted down.128
All Muslim houses and trades, now vacant, were taken over by the crusaders. For seven days as the riot and carnage of the Muslim population went on, a contemporary wrote,
`Men forgot their vows, forgot the Sepulchre and Calvary, hastening to gather spoil, revelling and exulting, and claiming for their own the empty houses which they seized.129
Even priests were not slow to ask their share. Arnold, as Latin patriarch, claimed the treasures of the Mosque, which Tancred and Godfrey, the crusade leaders, had shared between them.130 In fact, it is whole Muslim towns and villages which became property of the Church. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was the richest and most important of all; Geodfrey, the first crusade leader gave twenty one villages to the church and the number increased to seventy through the donations of other kings and barons.131 These lay mainly in the mountains around Jerusalem within the Royal Domain; but in 1165 five villages in Galilee were purchased, and land in the north east of Caesarea.132 It is needless here to go on about the military campaigns that followed the taking of Jerusalem, the intensity and bitterness of each military encounter, etc as some of these can be found under other entries (Mosul, Hama, Aleppo) and from these the cost of the crusades upon Islam can be understood. The Muslims re-conquered Jerusalem in October 1187. Three months after Salah-ud-dins victory at Hattin on July 1187, on 2 October 1187, Jerusalem surrendered to the Muslims after a short siege. Salah-ud-dins terms were accepted, says a learned Christian, with gratitude and lamentation''; perhaps some learned Christians compared these events of 1187 with those of 1099.133 No massacre or violence was perpetrated, the entry of Salah-uddin was more `like that of Omar rather than that of Geodfrey. 134 (Geodfrey, it must be noted, was the
125 126
Raymond of Aguilers: Historia francorum qui ceperunt Jerusalem; tr. J.H. and L.L. Hill (Phila., 1968); p. 127-8. M.A.Hiyari: Crusader Jerusalem; in Jerusalem in History; op cit; pp. 130-76; at p. 140. 127 in R. Finucane: Soldiers of the Faith; op cit; p.104. 128 Fulcher; Expedition; p. 132; in M.A. Hiyari: Crusader Jerusalem; at p. 140. 129 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom; op cit; p. 67. 130 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom; op cit; p. 67. 131 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom; op cit; p. 194. 132 Regesta, No 420-425; see Quarterly Statement, Palestine Exploration Fund; January, 1890. There are fifty documents in the Cartulary of the Holy Sepulchre, referring to property in Palestine and in Europe. 133 W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.598. 134 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom; op cit;. p. 156.7.
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crusade leader in 1099, when in July of that year, as seen above, the crusaders wiped out the whole Muslim population in a massacre that was hardly unique in crusader history.) Following the Muslim victory in 1187, Salah-ud-din's brother al-Adil asked for the gift of a thousand slaves from the still un-ransomed Christian poor; it was granted and he freed them.135 Ibn al-Athir narrates this follow up to the taking of the city:
`The Sultan (Salah-ud-din) agreed to give the Franks assurances of safety on the understanding that each man, rich or poor alike, should pay ten dinar, children of both sexes two dinars and women five dinars. All those who paid the sum within forty days should go free Balian Ibn Barzan offered 30,000 dinars as ransom for the poor, which was accepted, and the city surrendered on Friday 27 Rajab/2 October 1187, a memorable day on which Muslim flags were hoisted over the walls of Jerusalem Among those multitude who left was the Grand Patriarch of Jerusalem who left with the treasures from the Dome of the Rock, the Masjid al-Aqsa, the Church of Resurrection and others, God alone knows the amount of treasure. He also took an equal quantity of money. Salah Eddin made no difficulties, and when he was advised to sequestrate the whole lot for Islam, he replied that he would not go back on his word. He took only the ten Dinar from the Patriarch, and let him go heavily escorted to Tyre. At the top of the cupola of the Dome of the Rock there was a great gilded cross. When the Muslims entered the city on the Friday, some of them climbed to the top of the cupola to take down the cross. When they reached the top a great cry went up from the city and from outside the walls, the Muslims crying Allah Akbar in their joy, the Franks groaning in consternation and grief. So loud and piercing was the cry that the earth shook. Once the city was taken and the infidels had left, Salah Eddin ordered that the shrines should be restored to their original. The Sultan ordered that the Dome should be cleansed of all pollution and this was done. On the Friday 4 Shaaban/9 October, the Muslims celebrated the communal Friday prayers there The Frankish population of Jerusalem who had not departed began to sell at very low prices all their possessions, treasures and whatever they could not carry with them. The merchants from the army and the non-Frankish Christians in Jerusalem bought their goods from them. The latter had asked Salah Eddins permission to remain in their homes if they paid the tax, and he had granted them this, so they stayed and bought up Frankish property. What the Franks could not sell, beds and boxes and casks, they left behind; even superb columns of marble and slabs of marble and mosaics in large quantities. Then they departed.136
Ibn al-Athir says:
`When Salah Eddin re-took possession of the city, and after driving out the infidels, he commanded that the buildings should be put back to their ancient usage. Now the Templars had built to the west of the Aqsa a building for their habitation, and constructed there all that they needed of granaries, and also latrines, with other such places, and they had even enclosed a part of the Aqsa in their new building Salah Eddin commanded that all this should be set back to its former state, and he ordered that the Masjid (or Haram area) should be cleansed, and also the Rock from all the filth and the impurities that were there. All this was executed as commanded.137
135 136 137
W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.598. Ibn al-Athir : Kamil; op cit; Vol xi; pp. 363-6. Ibn al-Athir; op cit; vol ix; p. 364.
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(When the crusaders took Jerusalem in July 1099, the Aqsa Mosque was given to the Knights of the Temple, who made considerable alterations to it and to the adjoining portions of the Haram area.) After Salah-ud-din re-took Jerusalem in 1187, to Richards vow that he would not abandon Jerusalem, Salah-ud-din wrote to Richard (Lionheart):
Àl-Quds is to us just as much as to you, and is more precious in our eyes than in yours, for it is the site of our Prophets nocturnal departure and the place where people will assemble on Judgment Day. Therefore do not imagine that we can waver in this regard.'138
As for the Jews, what they lost under crusader occupation, they regained under the Muslims. After retaking Jerusalem in 1187, Salah-ud-din raised the ban imposed on them by the Crusaders and encouraged them to settle the Holy city once more.139 Once Salah-ud-din died in 1193, his brother and his sons divided the realm, and instead of fighting the Crusaders, they sought to compromise so they could keep their territory. Two of the Ayyubid rulers were actually ready to hand back Jerusalem to the Franks.140 During the sixth crusade as the crusaders besieged Damietta, Malik al-Kamil offered to give up Jerusalem to the Crusaders, to free all the Christian captives and to pay a large sum towards the rebuilding of the walls, only for the offer to be rejected by the Pope legate, Cardinal Pelagius.141 Al-Kamil was not the only Ayyubid who sold out Jerusalem and other territories for the sake of his own realm. On hearing that the Franks had designs on Jerusalem, another Ayyubid, alMu'azzam, i.e The Grand, who initially had patronised building projects in the city, found himself dismantling its fortifications. According to Sibt al-Jawzi, al-Mu'azzam justified this very unpopular act by saying: Ìf they (the Franks) were to take it (Jerusalem), they would kill those in it and rule over Damascus and the countries of Islam. Necessity demands its destruction. 142 In 1228 Frederick II of Sicily arrived in Palestine on a Crusade, the sixth. Worried about his own realm, and without a blow, the Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil concluded a treaty with Frederick, which in the words of Muslim chroniclers was a supplication on the part of the Muslim ruler. 143 In the treaty, al-Kamil surrendered the whole of Jerusalem except the Mosque of Omar, the keys of which were to stay with the Muslims, but Christians under certain circumstances could enter it for prayer; the treaty further restored Bethlehem, Jaffa and Nazareth to the Crusaders.144 So pleased was Frederick he decorated the Sultans chief ambassador with the order of knighthood.145 This capitulation over Jerusalem caused widespread indignation and outrage amongst Muslims. In 1229, the chronicler Sibt b, al-Jawzi wrote, Ìn it (this year)
Ibn Shadad: Al-Nawadir al-Sultaniya wal Mahassin al-Yussufiya; in Receuil des Historiens des Croisades; Historiens arientaux; Paris; 1884; III; p. 265. 139 Kenneth Setton: History. in Y. Courbage, P.Fargues: Chretiens et Juifs dans l'Islam Arabe et Turc, Payot, Paris, 1997; p.99. 140 C. Hillenbrand: The Crusades, op cit;p.249. 141 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom; op cit; p. 310. 142 Sibt al-Jawzi: Al-muntazam fi tarikh al-muluk wal umam; X; Hyderabad; 1940; VIII/2; p. 601. 143 G.W. Cox: The Crusades; op cit; p. 189. 144 G.W. Cox: The Crusades; op cit; p. 189. 145 A.S. Atiya: Crusade, Commerce and Culture; Oxford University Press; London; 1962; p. 89.
138
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al-Kamil gave Jerusalem to the emperor... the news of the handing over of Jerusalem to the Franks arrived and great anger broke loose in all the lands of Islam.146 On 11 July 1244, the Khwarizmian Turks, who were not ready to compromise on the city, after crossing the Galilee burst into Jerusalem and, literally, in the space of days slaughtered their way through crusader ranks, decimating the whole of the two crusader armies of Hospitallers and Templars leaving barely fifty survivors.147 Thus the Jerusalem that had been ceded by the Ayyubid to the crusaders was recaptured and so ended Christian hegemony in the area until modern times.148 The Ayyubids and the crusaders formed an alliance to retake the city from the Khwarizmians. Against the Ayyubid-crusader alliance stood the combined Egyptian-Turkish army led by Baybars. The decisive battle of La Forbie (near Ghaza)149 lasted two days having started on the morning of October 17, 1244. In the end, such was the fierceness of battle that thirty thousand crusaders and their Muslim allies were killed; only the patriarch and the Prince of Tyre escaped with thirty three Templars, twenty six Hospitallers and three Teutonic Knights.150 More Christians died in this battle than at Hattin; hundreds were carried prisoners to Egypt.151 Following this success, Baybars went on the offensive and in just a year, aided by his forces, he retook most of the territory that the Ayyubids had ceded to the Crusaders.152 A decade later, the crusaders formed an alliance with the Mongols whose army was commanded primarily by Christians and included large numbers of Christians (particularly Armenians). They promised to wipe out Islam (the crusade-Mongol alliance can be further examined under the entry on Baghdad). Mongke, the Mongol general, promised the King of Armenia to conquer the Holy Land and give it straight back to the Christians.153 The engagement taken by Hulagu to return the Holy City and the old Kingdom of Jerusalem to the Latin was, in fact, the basis for the accord. 154 Led by Hulagu, the Mongols were about to succeed in their enterprise, massacring nearly a million people in Baghdad and millions more elsewhere, especially in Syria. They were advancing on Egypt and from there Jerusalem. They were defeated by the Mamluks at Ain Jalut in September 1260 who consequently had saved Muslims from extinction (see entry on Cairo). Jerusalem was saved and remained in Muslim hands until 1917 when new crusaders arrived. However the carnage perpetrated by the crusaders when they took the city - their destruction of schools, libraries and madrassas; the scattering of scholars; their occupation of the city for a century; two centuries of fierce warfare which took the lives of countless millions of Muslims and crusaders - had its enduring detrimental impact. Scholars who escaped to other parts were caught up with and massacred either by the crusaders or the Mongols or their allies. In the end, the scholars and scholarship that once thrived in the city before the crusades were gone for good. Jerusalem, just as the rest of the land of Islam, despite some recurrent
146 147
Sibt al-Jawzi: Al-muntazamVIII/ 2; op cit; p. 653. G.W. Cox: The Crusades; op cit; p. 195. 148 R. Finucane: Soldiers of the Faith; op cit. p.28. 149 W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.607. 150 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom; op cit. p. 318. 151 R. Payne: The Crusades; op cit; p. 331. 152 A.S. Atiya: Crusades; op cit; p. 90. 153 Hayton; in W. Heyd: Histoire du Commerce du Levant au Moyen Age; A.M.Hakkert Editor; Amsterdam; 1967. Vol II; op cit; p. 68. 154 Jean Richard: La Papaute et les Missions dOrient au Moyen Age; Ecole Francaise de Rome; Palais Farnese; 1977. p. 101.
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appearance of some individuals here and there, would never recover the glory and power which preceded the combined crusade-Mongol onslaught. Only Cairo, which had been spared both would remain the beacon of Islamic civilisation for centuries after. This is only the most minute illustration of what the land of Islam faced. Yet the eventual reality is staggering, as anyone reading through the history of Islam will know, the marvellous powers Muslims and their faith had in surviving the terrible onslaughts on them is astounding. Millions upon millions of enemies dedicated to wiping out Islam, descending upon the Holy land, and yet, after hundreds and thousands of fierce battles, despite betrayal, despite treachery, despite mass slaughter and all plots, the Muslims prevailed but at huge costs. The Muslims did lose their civilisation to the devastating blows of unforgiving enemies in wars that ran on and on but they survived. No other people suffered similar onslaught, an onslaught which the Muslims today in their shameful ignorance of history can never figure out, but an onslaught out of which emerged the greatest miracle of all: Muslim survival and Islam as strong as ever. And here is no better, and more fitting a conclusion than these words by the Italian historian, Gabrieli, who tells us,
Ì am going to make a confession, a confession of somebody who had studied since his youth Muslim society, its faith and culture, without ever reaching any sympathy for it, sympathy which alone allows a good understanding of history. Well, this sympathy, I must say, I did feel, though, when listening to the voices of these Arabs, these Muslims, who, at a time of great peril during the crusades, still clung fiercely by their faith, their civilisation, and fought back, and died defending it, like this old sheikh from the Maghrib: Al-Findalawi, who, Ibn Al-Athir says, walked amongst the volunteers for the defence of Damascus (in 1148), and who was told to withdraw from the fight because of his old age, but who answered: Ì have given my life to God; He had accepted it; this engagement is still valid. And, resolutely, and solemnly, he moved forwards towards death. 155
Bibliography
-T.A. Archer: The Crusades; Unwin; London; 1894. -F.B. Artz: The mind, The Mind of the Middle Ages; Third edition revised; The University of Chicago Press, 1980. -A.S. Atiya: Crusade, Commerce and Culture; Oxford University Press; London; 1962; -Ibn al-Athir: Kitab al-kamil; ed K.J. Tornberg; 12 vols; Leiden; 1851-72. -S.M. Ahmad: Al-Maqdisi, in Dictionary of Scientific Biography, C.C. Gillispie editor in Chief, Charles Scribners Sons, New York; Vol 9. -C. Bennett: Victorian Images of Islam; Grey Seal; London; 1992. -A. Bouamama: l'Idee de croisade dans le monde Arabe hier et aujourd'hui, in De Toulouse a Tripoli, AMAM, Colloque held between 6 and 8 December, 1995, University of Toulouse; 1997 .pp 211-219. -C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; The Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund; London; 1897. -Yves Courbage, Paul Fargues: Chretiens et Juifs dans l'Islam Arabe et Turc, Payot, Paris, 1997.
155
F. Gabrieli: Introduction aux historiens arabes des croisades; in Cahiers de Civilisation Medievale; vol 13; 1970; pp. 2218; at p. 228.
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-N.Daniel: The Arabs and medieval Europe; Longman Librarie du Liban; 1975. -A.N. Diyab: Al-Ghazali: in Religion, Learning and Science in the Abbasid Period; Ed by M.J.L.Young; J.D.Latham; and R.B. Serjeant; Cambridge University Press; 1990; pp.424-44. -J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe;Vol I; Revised edition; George Bell and Sons, London, 1875. vol 1; -D.M. Dunlop: Arab civilisation to AD 1500; Longman, 1971. -W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. -A.A.Duri; Jerusalem in the early Islamic period; 7 th-11th centuries; in Jerusalem in History; Edited by K.J. Asali; Scorpion Publishing Ltd; 1989; pp. 105-29. -R. Finucane: Soldiers of the Faith; J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd; London, 1983. -D. Hay: The Medieval Centuries; Methuen and Co; London; 1964. -W. Heyd: Histoire du Commerce du Levant au Moyen Age; A.M.Hakkert Editor; Amsterdam; 1967. -C.Hillenbrand: The Crusades, Islamic Perspectives, Edinburgh University Press; 1999. -R.G. Hoyland: Seeing Islam as others saw it; The Darwin Press, Inc; Princeton; New Jersey; 1997. -B. Z. Kedar: The Subjected Muslims of the Frankish Levant, in Muslims under Latin Rule, 1100-1300, ed J.M. Powell, Princeton University Press, 1990.pp 135-174.p.143. On the dumping of corpses, see e.g., Gesta
Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum, ed. K. Mynors, trans. R.Hill (London, 1962).

-Ibn Khaldun: Muqqadima:On the cause which increases or reduces the revenues of empire, in Bulletin
dEtudes Arabes, Vol 7, pp 11-15, extracted from De Slanes edition, vol II, pp 91-4; -Kurd Ali, Muhammad. Khitat al-Sham. 6 Vols. Damascus: Al-Matbaa al Haditha, 1925-8. -Henri Lamarque: La Premiere Traduction Latine du Coran. In De Toulouse a Tripoli, AMAM ; Colloque held
between 6 and 8 December, 1995, University of Toulouse, 1997. pp 237-246. -J.H. Lamonte: crusade and Jihad: in N.A. Faris ed: The Arab heritage, Princeton University Press, 1944. pp 159-198. -G. Le Bon: La Civilisation des Arabes; Syracuse; 1884. -N.L. Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine Arabe; 2 vols; Paris; 1876. -Janet Abu Lughod: Before European Hegemony; Oxford University Press; 1989. -A. Miquel: La Geographie Humaine du Monde Musulman, Vol 4, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, 1988. -Mudjir Eddin: Al-Euns al-jalil bi Tarikh el-Qods wal Khalil, translated into French as Histoire de Jerusalem et Hebron, by H. Sauvaire; Paris; Ernest Leroux; 1875; and 1926. -D. C. Munro, "Urban and the Crusaders", Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European
History, Vol 1:2, 1895,pp. 5-8.

-Al-Muqaddasi: Ahsan at-taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim; is in M.J. de Goeje ed., Bibliotheca geographorum arabicum, 2nd edition., III (Leiden, 1906). -Al-Muqaddasi: The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions, a translation of his Ahsan by B.A. Collins, Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, Garnet Publishing Limited, Reading, 1994. -R.Payne: The Crusades; Wordsworth Editions; 1986. -Raymond of Aguilers: Historia francorum qui ceperunt Jerusalem; tr. J.H. and L.L. Hill (Phila., 1968); -Jean Richard: La Papaute et les Missions dOrient au Moyen Age; Ecole Francaise de Rome; Palais Farnese; 1977. -G. Sarton: Introduction to the history of sciences, The Carnegie Institution; Baltimore, 1927 fwd. -J.J.Saunders: Aspects of the Crusades; University of Canterbury publishing; Canterbury; 1962. -Ibn Shadad: Al-Nawadir al-Sultaniya wal Mahassin al-Yussufiya; in Receuil des Historiens des Croisades; Historiens arientaux; Paris; 1884.
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-Sibt al-Jawzi: Al-muntazam fi tarikh al-muluk wal umam; X; Hyderabad; 1940; -P.P. Soucek: Islamic Art and Architecture; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons, N. York; Vol 6; pp. 592-614; -F. Wustenfeld: Geschicte der Arabischen Aerzte; Gottingen; 1840. -S. Runciman: A History of the Crusades; Cambridge University Press; 1951 fwd.
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CENTRAL ASIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARLIER PHASES OF HOSPITAL BUILDING

ACTIVITY IN ISLAM
Author: Chief Editor: Sub-Editor: Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright:
Aydin Sayili Lamaan Ball Rumeana Jahangir Aasiya Alla May 2005 250 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Central Asian Contributions to the Earlier Phases of Hospital Buildings Activity in Islam May 2005
CENTRAL ASIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARLIER PHASES OF HOSPITAL BUILDING ACTIVITY IN ISLAM*
By Aydin Sayili**
This article was first published in the Turkish review Erdem 7 (Ankara January 1987), pp. 149-161. We are grateful to Imran Baba, editor of Erdem for allowing publication.
In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia scientific medicine lived side by side with religious and magical medicine. Although with the passage of time scientific medicine made remarkable strides and the Greeks, in developing their scientific medicine benefited greatly from the knowledge and experiences of Egyptian and Mesopotamian physicians. The Greeks had the temple of cure which they called asklepion. It was devoted to Apollon and Asklepios, the gods of healing. Cure was brought about by priests in these institutions and psychological treatment occupied a prominent place in their practice. They were places of miraculous cure and in them ordinary physicians did not play any major part. Thus, although Greek philosophers were eminently successful in excluding magic from medicine, they could not extend their hegemony to the field of religious medicine. They could not dominate the procedures of cure exercised in the asklepia where miraculous cure was supposed to be an almost daily occurrence.
Figure 1. The gate of Divrigi Dar al-shifa in Divrigi, Sivas, Turkiye 1
This article is a slightly amplified version of a paper presented to the International Conference on the culture of Central Asia in the period extending from 750 A. D. at 1500 A. D. which was held in Alma Ata, 16-21 September 1985 in which the author participated as a guest of the Nauk Academy and the Unesco.
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The asklepia were very popular, and people in search of health improvement flocked in large numbers to these places. The psychological effect and mystifying atmosphere of these temples together with the stories illustrated by extraordinary examples of previous cures, must certainly have played the greatest role as far as the experience of the patients was concerned. With the advent of Christianity the temples of cure did not wholly disappear but belief in pagan gods gradually faded out of the picture. Asklepios was abandoned together with the other gods and Christ became the true healer. Likewise, the oracles and the Greek gods were replaced by other patrons of the healing art in conformity with Christian concepts. There are many interesting examples of such changes such as, Benedict of Nursia had the sun-god's temple in Monte Casino destroyed and he built a Benedictine monastery in the same location. Apollo's temple on the Palatine was demolished and out of the same stones, on the same site, was erected the first church consecrated to Sebastian, the Christian martyr and protector against the plague. It thus seems that the Christian hospitals developed from the old asklepion shrines. However, the very strong charitable features of the Christian hospitals are evident and they serve as a criterion to differentiate them from the Classical Greek temples.2 Humanitarian and philanthropic characteristics were very marked in the pre-Islamic hospitals of Byzantium. They had charitable institutions such as the hospices (xenodochia), ptochia (houses for the needy), orphanotropia (orphanages), gerontocomia (alms-houses) and the like. The more specialized Byzantine institution for cure was the nosocomium, i.e. the hospital. Such places were usually grouped around a church or a monastery such as was the Basiliad of Caesarea (modern Kayseri) established by St. Basil toward the end of the fourth century. The treatment and care of the lepers was one specific feature of these hospitals.3 The Byzantine hospitals have been looked upon by some scholars as the direct predecessors of the Islamic ones. Geographical considerations make this position seem reasonable especially since hospitals such as that of Jerusalem lay within the territories annexed by the Arabs during the reign of the first four caliphs.4 But the main point of resemblance between the Byzantine and the Muslim hospitals is found in their charitable nature. However in this respect influence from Byzantium may not be considered to be essential. Moreover, there are contrasting features between the two. For, contrary to the Islamic hospitals, the priest also seems to have had some role in the Byzantine hospitals in their curing of the sick.5
Emeritus Professor of the History of Science, Faculty of Letters, Ankara University. The gate of Divrigi Dar al-shifa, in Divrigi, Sivas, Turkiye. Ord. Prof. Dr. A. Sheyl Unver Nakishanesi Yorumuyla Divrigi Ulucami ve Sifahanesi Tas Bezemeleri, VIII. Turk Tip Tarihi Kongresi 16-18 Haziran 2004 Sivas-Divrigi (ed. Nil Sari, G. Mesara, N. Colpan), Istanbul 2004, p. 1. 2 Garrison, History of Medicine, p. 176-7; Henry E. Sigerist, The Great Doctors, 1933, pp. 21-8; A. Castiglione, Histoire De La Mdecine, tr. J. Bertrand, Paris 1931. 3 C. A. Mercier, Leper Houses and Medieval Hospitals, 1915, pp. 3 ff. 4 See, e.g. Brunei and Mili, Histoire des Sciences, Antiquit, pp. 1087-88. 5 Karl Sudhoff, Archiv fur die Geschichte der Medizin, vol. 21, 1919, pp. 169, 173-174.
1
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Figure 2. The illustration of gate of Divrigi Dar al-shifa 6 Some of the differences between the pre-Islamic hospitals of Byzantium and the Islamic hospitals seem indeed to be very sharp. In Islam there were hospitals in the modern sense of the word - specialized establishments where the sick were treated and discharged at the termination of their treatment. The Byzantine hospitals had not reached this stage of specialization. Its pre-Islamic hospitals were not founded exclusively for the cure of the sick. Moreover, as mentioned before, although medical knowledge had shown great progress in the hands of the Greeks, it had not been able to take the place of religious medicine in its hospitals. It was first in Islam that the divorce of scientific medicine both from magic and religion took place. There were sayings of the Prophet concerning medicine and healing but the medicine that came to predominate both in the medical instruction and in the hospital became the scientific medicine inherited from the past and from the Greeks in particular. The Romans had hospitals set up especially for military purposes7 in addition to the valetudinaria of the slaves and the gladiators8 and there were also pre-Islamic hospitals in India. But perhaps the most important preIslamic hospital available as a model for the early Islamic ones was that of Jundisapur. The hospital of Jundisapur, in the southwest of Persia was run by Nestorian physicians and was quite certainly the most important hospital of pre-Islamic times. Not much clear and detailed knowledge is available on this institution although there are quite a few fragmentary and isolated items of information concerning the instruction in Jundisapur, its physicians and the hospital itself. It is not known, for example, if patients were treated on a charitable basis at the Jundisapur Hospital and neither do we know how many beds it contained and whether or not it had separate wards. The only thing we know with certainly is that great doctors were there in the eighth century. It is not known either, strictly speaking, the extent to which the hospital at Jundisapur served as a model for the hospitals of Islam.
The illustration of gate of Divrigi Dar al-shifa. Illisturated by Gaye Ozen. From Ord. Prof. Dr. A. Sheyl Unver Nakishanesi Yorumuyla Divrigi Ulucami ve Sifahanesi Tas Bezemeleri, VIII. Turk Tip Tarihi Kongresi 16-18 Haziran 2004 Sivas-Divrigi (ed. Nil Sari, G. Mesara, N. Colpan), Istanbul 2004, p. 3. 7 A. Gastiglione, French tr., pp. 238-239. 8 Brunet and Mili, Histoire des Sciences, Antiquit, Paris 1935, p. 1087.
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The most critical study of the subject is that carried out by B. Ebermann in 1925 in Zapiski Kollegiy Vostokovedov Pri Aziatskom Muzee Rossiiskoy Akademiy Nauk. Ebermann forcefully draws attention to the very interesting possibility that certain stories implying early influence of Jundisapur on medical work in Islam may be later fabrications of the Suhu'byya movement and certain Christian centres. The story that Harith ibn Kalada, the Arab physician contemporary of the Prophet, studied medicine in Jundisapur and that he had conversations with Anushirawan may be the product of later fabrications. For it presents certain chronological difficulties in its details and it seems that even the story of the invitation of Jurjs ibn Jibrl ibn Bukht-Yish' to cure the Abbasid Al-Mansr was probably not genuine. Indeed, this story is contradicted by the statements of Ibn al Nadm and other pre-thirteenth century sources according to whose information, Bukht-Yish (II), the son of the above mentioned Jurjs, was the first Jundisapur physician to be called to Baghdad. Furthermore there is evidence that medicine in Jundisapur was in the monopoly of certain families and this suggests that, unlike the Islamic tradition, there was a tendency of professional jealousy among the physicians of Jundisapur. Ebermann has published a summary of this work in Islamica.9
Figure 3. Drawing of al-Frb. There was a medical school at Jundisapur which was probably in close association with the the towns hospital and there is evidence also of its ties with the Jundisapur School for religious instruction. But systematic influence of Jundisapur on Islamic medicine seems to have started during the reign of Harun alRashid, when Jundisapur physicians began to take up their residence in Baghdad. This is strange in view of the fact that Jundisapur was much closer to Baghdad than some other places like Alexandria whose physicians began to contribute to Islamic medicine in much earlier times. According to Ibn al-Qift, when Ms al-Hd fell ill in 786 CE, doctors such as Abu Quraysh cs "Abdullah alTayfr and Dwd ibn Sarfyn gathered together in order to cure him. His condition became worse however. Thereupon a certain Rabc said to Hd, "We have been told that a very skilled physician by the name of 'Abd
Yishc (i.e., Bukht Yish) exists..."10 It is of interest that, for example, the phraseology of this statement
indirectly suggests that Jundisapur physicians were not as yet well known in Baghdad during the reign of Hd. Bericht uber die Arabischen Studien in Russland Wahrend Wahrend der Jahre 1921-1927, Islamica, vol. 4, 1930, pp. 147149. A more recent publication may be found in A. Siassi. "L'Universite de Gond-i Shapur et l'Etendue de son Rayonneraent", Melanges Henri Masse, Tahran 1963, pp. 366-374. See also Aydin Sayili, "Gondshpr", Encyclopedia of Islam, vol 2, Leiden 1965, pp. 1119-1120. 10 Qift, p. 431- See also, Ibn Ab Usaybi'a, vol. 1, p. 125.
9
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Arabic sources contain stories which trace the medical interest at Jundisapur back to a physician who had come from India. These stories imply that this initial Indian influence found a fertile ground for development in Jundisapur and that this medical knowledge was further enriched through cumulative experience in treatment and through contact with local medical traditions. It is difficult to determine the factual value of such reports. The transformation of Jundisapur into an important medical centre was undoubtedly the work of the Nestorians. But this may not have effectively taken place before the reign of Khusraw I Anshrawn. The Nestorian sect was founded in 428 CE and its adherents were condemned as heretical by the Council of Ephesus in 431 whereupon they migrated to Odessa. Expelled thence in 489 by the Byzantine emperor Zeno, they then migrated into Persia. The much quoted statement of Firdaws saying that the skin of Man, stuffed with straw, was suspended from one of the city gates and near the wall of the hospital in Jundisapur serves therefore as a misplaced chronological emphasis on the Jundisapur hospital. Indeed, it was in the year 276 that Man, the founder of the Manichean sect, was put to death and it is doubtful, if not out of the question, that the hospital existed at that time.
Figure 4. The drawing of Ibn Sn on a Pakistan stamp. The stamp reads: Hakim Ibn-E-Sina (980-1037). The hospital of Jundisapur is important for Islam because it was a foremost centre of Greek medicine and because it was highly instrumental in establishing the supremacy of Greek medicine in Islam. Some of its physicians were among the foremost translators of Greek medical works into Arabic. As its history and development show, the hospital at Jundisapur was a Byzantine appendage (though not a Byzantine-type hospital) rather than an organic member of Persian culture. In fact we know of no other Persian hospitals. However, the word bimristn was widely adopted for hospital in Islam alongside the word dr al-shifa and this may point to Persian influence and may confirm a strong influence from Jundisapur. Maqrz refers to a pre-Islamic hospital in Jerusalem 11 which was apparently founded in the first quarter of the fifth century.12 Maqrz also mentions a pre-Islamic Egyptian hospital which was built by the Coptic king Manqiysh, son of Ashmsa, as the oldest hospital in Egypt. He adds that, according to Abu Sacd Zhid al Ulam (fl.ca. 1030), Buqrt (Hippocrates), the son of Ayqldus, was the inventor of the hospital.13 But the Muslim writers were apparently not under the impression that the Islamic hospitals owed their origins to
11 12 13
Khitat, Bulaq, vol. 2, p. 490. Khitat, vol. 2, p. 405.
See, Brunet et Mili, pp. 1087-1088.
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Byzantine ones. Indeed, references to them must be very rare. Jundisapur, on the other hand, is mentioned very frequently. The theory of Byzantine origin is suggested by geographical considerations and it is especially supported by the fact that the first Islamic hospital, that of Wald in Damascus, included a leper house and had the general features of a hospice as well as a hospital. But these are not the characteristics of the hospitals of Islam in general.
Figure 5. Mansur Qalaun Hospital in Cairo. The humanitarian features of the Islamic medieval hospital must not be allowed to eclipse its high medical standing per se. The hospital, by the middle of the tenth century at least, was one of the high water marks of the Muslim civilization. The hospitals of medieval Islam were hospitals in the modern sense of the word. The best available medical knowledge was put to practice within them. They were specialized institutions with expert physicians which had special wards and organized staff. Unlike the Byzantine hospitals, they did not have a mixed function of which the treatment of the sick was only one part. They were prototypes of the modern hospital. According to the testimony of the Islamic writers, the first hospital built in Islam was in Damascus. The founder was Wald ibn Abdulmalik (705-715 CE) who was the sixth Umayyad caliph. According to Maqrz the date of its construction was the year 88 after the Hijra (AH), i.e. 706-707 CE. This first Islamic hospital had been created for the purpose of curing the sick, providing care for those afflicted with chronic diseases and for looking after lepers, the blind and the poor. There was more than one physician employed in this hospital.14 Since lepers were isolated and looked after and care was given to the invalid and the poor, this hospital is seen to partly resemble at least the Byzantine nosocomia. These features, as said before, were not the characteristics of, or typical for, the medieval Islamic hospital as it later emerged. However, as these factors were present we may infer that, according to current knowledge, this first hospital in the Muslim regions may partially owe its existence to Byzantine influence.
14
Ahmad Issa Bey, Histoire des Bimaristans I'Epoque Islamique, Cairo 1929, p. 127.
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The lepers were isolated in the Wald Hospital in order to prevent the contamination of other patients. This segregation of lepers, of which all sources relating to this hospital speak, reminds one of the admonitions of Muhammad against mingling with sufferers from contagious skin disease. Moreover, the fact that the Prophet frowned upon treatment of the sick by unauthorized persons may account for the tendency which already seems to be discernible in the employment of several physicians with specialization in the cure of the sick.15 Therefore, as a second possibility we may decide that the Prophets pronouncements concerning medicine and concerning contagion more specifically, may have influenced the creation of the Wald Hospital. Indeed, the Prophetic traditions were usually in the form of useful advice and far from being unscientific. They were generally empirical in nature and at times warned that people not experienced in medicine should not practice the art.16 We have no information concerning the physicians who worked in the Wald Hospital or who gave it shape and acted as the guiding spirit in its foundation. Barmak, the head of the Buddhist temple Nawbhar of Balkh, was skilled in medicine and was also learned in astronomy and philosophy. In 705 he was summoned to Damascus at the court of Abdulmalik, to cure Maslama, the son of that caliph. For he had been successful in curing at least one of the commanders or highly placed personalities who were involved in the activity of the Arabs of annexing the districts of Khorasan and Transoxania to the Islamic realm and spreading the Muslim faith beyond Persia. We do not know how long Barmak stayed in Damascus, but he had returned to Balkh by 725-726. For it was then that he presided over the rebuilding and construction works carried out in Balkh which had previously suffered from warfare involved in its conquest.17 All this shows that there was much confidence in Barmak's skill as a physician and apparently 'Abdulmalik and his son Maslama were not disappointed in their reliance on him. We know that Maslama was still alive in 720-721. We also know that Barmak's medical knowledge was that of India. So, as a third possibility, we may conclude that the foundation of the Wald Hospital may somewhat be due to an influence originating from Central Asia which introduced Indian medicine into newly emerging trends and traditions of Islam and into its nascent institution for the medical care of the sick. For, as we shall presently see, this Barmak's son, Khlid, or his grandson Yahy was a patron of Indian medicine and active in the foundation of another hospital run by physicians representing that medicine. Moreover, Indian medicine was apparently of such nature that it could have been effective in the emergence of a hospital similar to that founded by Wald in Damascus.
15 See Aydin Sayili, "The Emergence of the Prototype of the Modern Hospital in Medieval Islam". Belleten, vol. 44, 1980, p. 281. 16 See, Aydin Sayili, ibid. 17 Barthold, "Barmak", Encyclopedia of Islam.
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Figure 6. A pregnant woman miniature, from an Islamic medicine manuscript. Asoka (263-226 BCE) is said to have been behind the construction of hospitals in India and Hindu hospitals have been dated further back. R.F.G. Muller has shown that the description of those institutions as "hospitals" is based upon rather insufficient evidence.18 Yet it is quite certain that there were hospitals or at least dispensaries in India in post-Christian pre-Islamic times. Muller is reluctant to accept this but his requirements are too rigid. His criticisms would also apply to the pre-Islamic Byzantine hospitals, the existence of which he seems to accept. On the basis of his requirements it would not be justifiable to say that a hospital existed in Jundisapur either. The Indian institutions were similar to the ones in Byzantium; they were more like hospices and medical help was only one of the diverse types of charity available in them. As we have seen, the Wald Hospital too shared such features. What happened in Damascus in the way of medical trends is not known with certainty. Alexandria seems to have contributed much to the development of medical instruction in early Islam. Mention is made of 'Abdulhamd ibn Abjar who lived during the time of the Umayyad caliphs Abdulmalk (685-705) and Umar Ibn
c
Abdulcaziz (717-720). Ibn Abjar is described as the "head of instruction" in Alexandria where pre-Islamic
activity seems to have continued. Before he became caliph, Umar ibn 'Abdul'aziz was a friend of Ibn Abjar, whom he helped convert to Islam. After he became caliph he made Ibn Abjar his personal physician and this resulted in, the transfer of the medical teaching from Alexandria to Antioch and Harran 19 and to the Umayyad capital at the time Barmak was apparently out of Damascus, as we have seen above.20 Max Meyerhof draws our attention to a chronological difficulty in the account given by Ibn Ab Usaybi'a, who seems to say that Ibn Abjar taught in Alexandria before the Muslim conquest of that city (641 CE). Ibn Abjar would thus have to be over one hundred years old at the time when 'Umar ibn 'Abdul'aziz came to power. Other sources also speak of Umar's patronage of Alexandrian medicine and Ibn Ab Usaybi'a speaks very briefly and only skims the beginnings of Ibn Abjar's teaching career. He dwells mainly on that scholar's
18 R. F. G. Muller, "Uber Krankenhausen aus Indiens Alteren Zeiten", Archiv fur die Geschichte der Medizin. vol. 23. 1930, pp. 135-151. 19 Ibn Ab Usaybi'a, vol. 1, p. 116. 20 See above, p. 8 and note 15.
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relationship with 'Umar ibn 'Abdulaziz, and we may therefore consider this part of his information as reliable.21 I have inserted these specific items of information here. For though they do not throw any specific light directly on our particular problem, it is of interest that in no way they contradict our three conjectures or run counter to them. In no way do they corroborate them, since Ibn Abjar and the Alexandrian medical teaching tradition have nothing to do with the tradition of building nosocomia. The construction of one other hospital in Umayyad times at Cairo is reported. Our only source concerning its existence is from Ibn Duqmaq (d. 1406) and it contains no specific information concerning the nature and characteristic traits of this hospital. Its location, however, is given in some detail.22
Figure 7. The treatment of a patient by the surgeon miniature by Sharaf al-Din Sabuncuoglus book Jarrahiyat
al-Haniyya.
According to information available, the next two hospitals were built in early Abbasid times. These were the Barmakid hospital which was undoubtedly in Baghdad, though its location is not specified and the hospital built by Caliph Harun ar-Rashid in Baghdad. This latter hospital must have been built sometime between 786 and 809, i.e. during his reign. On the other hand, as a result of translations Greek medicine became predominant and Indian medicine gradually went into the background. Of the two hospitals just mentioned the Barmakid Hospital is therefore the third and the Harun ar-Rashid Hospital the fourth Islamic hospital concerning which sources contain fragmentary report. It is true that the Barmak family remained in power until they were ousted in 803 by Harun ar-Rashid. If, therefore, their hospital was built after 786, it could be later than Ar-Rashid's Hospital. However, the date of construction of the Barmakid Hospital was undoubtedly before Ar-Rashid sat on the throne. For its head physician was a contemporary of his partron Khlid ibn Barmak (d. 781-782). This was therefore during the reign of the caliph Mahd (775-785) or perhaps even earlier.
Our knowledge of the Barmakid Hospital is derived from Ibn al-Nadm. He tells us that Ibn Dahn (or Dahan) al-Hindi, i.e. Ibn Dahn the Indian, was the director of this institution and that Khlid ibn Barmak ordered him to translate the Indian medical work of a physician called Susruta (Ssrd). Mankah al-Hindi who also came to Baghdad during the Caliph Al-Mansur's reign (754-775) was apparently connected with this
21 22
Max Meyerhof, "La Fin de l'Ecole d'Alexandria d'Apres Quelques Auteurs Arabes", Archeion, vol. 15, 1933, pp. 10-12. See, A. Issa Bey, p. 111.
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hospital. For Ibn al-Nadm says that Yahy ibn Khlid ibn Barmak ordered Mankah" (who was) m the Hospital", to write a commentary on Susruta.23 This statement of Ibn al-Nadm may be interpreted to possibly indicate that the Barmakid Hospital was still functioning during the later parts of the reign of Harun ar-Rashid. It is of interest that when Harun ar-Rashid fell ill in 793-794, he asked Yahy ibn Khlid to recommend a doctor to him. Yahy mentioned Bukth Yish (II) and in order to make his recommendation more convincing, added that he had previously been invited to cure Al-Hd (785-86).24 This means that the date of foundation of the Harun ar-Rashid Hospital was somewhat later than 794 CE. Very little information is available concerning the Baghdad Hospital or Harun ar-Rashid. But it is of great interest to hear that in the decision to launch this hospital, which symbolised the supremacy and predominance of Greek medicine in Islam, a member of the Barmak family seems to have played a part. But of greater importance is that in the foundation of the third hospital not only was Central Asian initiative important but also Indian medicine which apparently constituted another Central Asian contribution. The fifth hospital to be built in the Muslim lands was that of Fath ibn Khqn and it was located in Cairo. Fath ibn Khqn was a Turkish general and the minister and close associate of the caliph Mutawakkil. He was also a booklover and founded a library. Fath ibn Khqn died in 861 CE. Unfortunately we have no specific information about this hospital.25 The sixth Islamic hospital was founded by the Turkish statesman Ahmad ibn Tulun in 872 or 874 in Cairo. Ahmad ibn Tulun was the founder of the Tulunid dynasty (868-905) and the son-in-law of the above mentioned Fath ibn Khqn. Ibn Tulun has to his credit other important construction works in Egypt such as the Great Tulunid Mosque, the Aqueduct and the Nilometer. The Tulunid Hospital is among the outstanding hospitals of Islam in spite of its early date. It was first surpassed by the Adudi Hospital of Baghdad which was founded in the year 981 or somewhere around that date. So, this is another example of Central Asian contribution to the hospital building activity of Islam. The Tulunid Hospital contained two bathhouses - one for each sex. All of its treatment and medicine were free of charge. Patients entering this institution had to remove their street clothes and valuables and deposit them for safe-keeping to the hospital management. They were then given the clothes worn by patients and assigned to their beds. They received free food and medicine until completely cured. The Tulunid Hospital had a section for the insane, the first known of its kind. The hospital also had a library. Unfortunately our knowledge of the physicians who worked in the hospital is very limited.
23 24 25
Kitb al-Fihrist al Ulm, cd. Flugel, 1871-72, vol. 1, pp. 245, 303.
Ibn Ab Usaybi'a, vol. 1, p. 126. Maqrz, Khitat, Bulaq, 1854, vol. a, p. 406.
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Figure 8. Chief physician office/tower (bash lala kulesi) of Ottoman State Sultans in Topkap Palace Museum, Istanbul, Turkiye. According to present-day information, the Tulunid Hospital is the first Islamic hospital which had waqf revenues. The endowment of the hospital with waqf constituted a sign of a more complete integration with the Muslim culture and civilization and it was also a guarantee of the hospitals longevity. Ahmad ibn Tulun also set up a dispensary next to his Tulunid Mosque in Cairo which was built before the Hospital.26 This was a pharmacy where a physician was at hand every Friday. Apparently the purpose for establishing this dispensary was primarily to extend medical help in a manner similar to an emergency of first aid station. India seems to be the only place rich with precedents for such kinds of medical posts. Such medical aid stations are said to have existed in each of the four gates of a certain Indian city, for example, many of the simpler and more primitive hospitals claimed for India in pre-Islamic times were probably nothing more than such medical depots or store houses where physicians were also available.27 I have not come across other examples of this nature in medieval Islam. Thus, though the medical aid station of Ibn Tulun does not seem to have served to establish a tradition in Islam, it serves to corroborate the existence of influences from Indian medicine upon the early hospitals of Islam. It also demonstrates that there were Central Asian and, more specifically, Turkish contributions to the early hospital building activities of the Islamic regions.
26 27
R. E. G. Muller, "Uber Krankenhausen aus Indiens Alteren. Zeiten", Archiv fur Geschichte der Medizin, vol. 23, 1930, pp. 135-151.
Khitat, vol. 2, p. 405.
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RAVY (RAYY)
Salah Zaimeche PhD Lamaan Ball Rumeena Jahangir Aasiya Alla May 2005 4085 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Ravy (Rayy) May 2005
RAVY (RAYY)
Rayy is a city in the old Persian region of Media, during the Islamic times in the province of Djibal and the citys ruins are visible 5 miles south-south east of Tehran.1 The town is situated in the fertile zone which lies between the mountains and the desert on the southern slopes of the Elburz range that skirts the south of the Gaspian Sea.2 In the tenth century, Rayy was well described in Muslim geographical works; it was said to be one of the four capital cities of the Jibal province and except for Baghdad, it was reported to be finest city of the whole east according to the geographer Ibn Hawqal.3 Rayy covered at that time an area of a league and a half square.4 According to al-Istakhri, the town covered an area of 1 by 1 farsakhs (about 8km by 8km); the buildings were of clay, but bricks were also used and plaster as well.5 All writers agree on the commercial role played by the city; Ibn al-Fakih mentions silks, items of wood and lustre dishes.6 The town had five gates and eight large bazaars; Al-Muqaddasi calls Rayy one of the glories of the land of Islam.7 AlMuqaddasi focuses on two great buildings in Rayy, the fruit market and the Dar al-Kutub, or library, lying below Rudhab in a khan, (caravanserai).8 Rayy, at the height of its glory produced one of the greatest figures of Muslim scholarship - Al-Razi. Al Razi was born in 854 CE and died in 934-5 CE. He was known as Rhazes in the medieval West and was a writer of rare and incredible productiveness as well as the greatest clinician of Islam.9 In his youth he studied literature, philosophy, music and chemistry.10 He left more than two hundred works some of which are, of course, only short monographs or opuscules but others were more voluminous treatises. He wrote on medicine, natural science, chemistry, mathematics, optics, astronomy, theology and philosophy.11 One of the inhabitants of Rayy says that al-Razi was a generous man and so compassionate to the poor and sick that he used to distribute alms to them freely and even nurse them himself.12 He was always reading or copying and as the witness said: Ì never visited him without finding him at work on either a rough or a fair copy.13 His eyes were always watering on account of his excessive consumption of beans and he became blind towards the end of his life dying in his native town at the age of sixty and two months.14 However, V. Minorsky: Rayy; Encyclopaedia of Islam, new Series; Vol 8; pp. 471-3; p.471. E. J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry, Oxford at the Clarendon Press; 1931; p. 63. 3 G. Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate; Cambridge University Press; 1930; p. 214. 4 G. Le Strange: The Lands; p. 214. 5 V. Minorsky: Rayy; p.471. 6 V. Minorsky: Rayy; op cit; p.471. 7 Al-Muqaddasi: Ahsan at-taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim; is in M.J. de Goeje ed., Bibliotheca geographorum arabicum, 2nd edition., III (Leiden, 1906); a partial French translation is by Andre Miquel, Institut Francais de Damas, Damascus, 1963. There are also English and Urdu versions of the work.; p. 391. 8 G. Le Strange: The Lands; op cit; p. 215. 9 G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Translated from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975; p. 653. 10 E. J. Holmyard: Makers; op cit; p. 63. 11 G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind;op cit; p. 653. 12 E. J. Holmyard: Makers; op cit; p. 64. 13 E. J. Holmyard: Makers: p. 64. 14 E. J. Holmyard: Makers: p. 64.
2 1

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this is the only version that records his blindness. The other tells that his eye was continually fixed and exposed to serious mishaps, for his perseverance with fires and sharp odours affected it and he had to have recourse to medical treatment. He studied continually and engaged unremittingly in research, placing his lamp in a niche in the wall facing him, leaning his book against it, so that when overcome by sleep, the book fell from his hand and wakened him so that he might return to his studies. It was this, together with his fondness for beans, which affected his sight, till in the end he became blind, for a cataract affected him at the close of his life.15 Al-Razi wrote on most of the recognised sciences of his lifetime, and in particular on mathematics and metaphysics, but much of this seems to have been lost unlike his works on medicine and chemistry. At the same time he was studying philosophy and writing poetry on metaphysical subjects (apparently not too successfully), he earned his living in Ray as a banker or money changer, as indicated by the book: A Compendium of the
Mansuri, written by Muhammad Ibn-Zakariya' al-Razi, the Money Changer.16 He wrote an encyclopaedia on music entitled Fi Jamal-il-Musiqi (On the Beauty of Music).17 He also composed 19 chemical works according to
al-Fihrist and a set of 12 books, variously titled, the most important, which seems to summarize the chemistry of alRazi, is Sir al-Asrar (the Book of the secret of secrets).18
Al-Razi, and the Rise of Modern Chemistry

In his work Sir al-Asrar, Al-Razi launches the science of chemistry. These is no trace in it of mystical theories or allegories as with alchemy - Al-Razi departed from the well-trodden path of mysticism and symbolism.19 His supreme merit lay in his rejection of magical and astrological practices and his adherence to nothing that could not be proved, by experiment and test, to be actual fact.20 He gives precise results of technical experiments, with a detailed description of substances and instruments.21 It may be said that it was he who laid the basis of scientific chemistry: certainly
`he struck the match that sparked off a whole immense trail of literature on the natural properties of minerals, plants and animals.22
He only uses experimentation and technical operations; he describes in great detail the substances and the sort of equipment he uses detailing experiments and how he reaches his results.23 He went further in the cataloguing and in the descriptions of his experiments, methods and the conditions of his experiments.24 All these can be found in his Secret of Secrets, translated in Latin as Liber secretorum bubacaris, which describes the chemical processes and experiments conducted by him, and which can be identified in their D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, to AD 1500, Longman, Librarie du Liban, 1971. p. 239. C. Elgood: A Medical history of Persia; Cambridge University Press; 1951. pp. 196-8. 17 A. Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977. p.37. 18 R.P. Multhauf: The Origins of chemistry; Gordon and Breach Science Publishers; London, 1993. p.130. 19 G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Translated from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975; p. 654. 20 E. J. Holmyard: Makers; op cit; p. 67. 21 G. Wiet et al: History; op cit; p. 654. 22 G. Wiet et al: History; p. 654. 23 A. Mieli: La Science Arabe et son role dans levolution mondiale, Leiden, E, J. Brill, 1966. p.132. 24 A. M. Kettani: Science and Technology in Islam; in Z. Sardar ed: The Touch of Midas; Manchester University Press; 1984; pp 66-90. p. 79.
16
15

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modern equivalent from distillation to calcination, crystallization etc Some of Al-Razi's revolutionary experiments, derived from his Secret of Secrets include ways of smelting of metals, the sublimation of mercury, the preparation of caustic soda, the use of Mercury Ammonium Chloride solution as a dissolving reagent and the preparation of Glycerine from Olive Oil.25 Al-Razi's lead in careful experimentation and observations demonstrated, as Holmyard put it,
`that a by-product of alchemy was a steadily increasing body of reliable chemical knowledge, a trend which Al-Razi did most to establish and for which he deserves the gratitude of succeeding generations.'26
Al-Razi gave laboratory work pre-eminence over theoretical observations. Hill points out that Al-Razi's Book of secrets `foreshadows a laboratory manual' and deals with substances, equipment and processes.27 AlRazi gives a list of the apparatus used in chemistry such as Crucible; Descensory; Alembic; Beakers; Heating lamps; Large Oven; Cylindrical Stove; Flat stone mortar; etc.28 Al-Razi's laboratory appeared to be very well equipped and included many items still in use today.29 This includes: Crucible; Decensory; Cucurbit or retort for distillation (qar) and the head of a still with a delivery tube (ambiq, Latin alembic); various types of furnace or stove etc. 30 Al-Razi completes the subject by giving details of making composite pieces of apparatus and in general provides the same kind of information as is to be found nowadays in manuals of laboratory arts. 31 This crucial contribution to the science lead to many other consequences including the development of modern pharmacy. Hence Abu al-Mansur al-Muwaffaq mentions for the first time some chemical facts to distinguish certain medicines.32 Al-Razi himself was interested in the medical uses of chemical compounds.33 And in his work Secret of Secrets, he made the very useful classification of natural substances, dividing them into earthly, vegetable and animal substances, to which he also added a number of artificially obtained ones such as lead oxide, caustic soda and various alloys. The mineral substances include mercury, gold, silver, pyrites, glass etc; vegetables substances were mainly used by physicians, whilst animal substances divided into hair, blood, milk, eggs, bile etc...34. Worth noting here is that it was the twelfth century Italian translator, Gerard of Cremona, who composed the significant translations of Al-Razi's study and classification of salts and alums (sulphates) and their related operations in subsequent operations in the West particularly on mineralogy.36
25 26
De aluminibus et salibus
whose Arabic original is preserved.35 The many versions of this work had a decisive influence on
Holmyard quoted in G. Anawati: `Science', op cit, at p. 777. Holmyard quoted in G. Anawati: `Science', op cit, at p. 777. 27 D.R. Hill: Islamic Science and engineering; Edinburgh University Press; 1993; p. 83. 28 E. J. Holmyard: Makers: op cit; p. 66. 29 Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam; Geuthner; Paris; 1921; vol 2; p. 390; D.R. Hill: Islamic Scienc; op cit; p. 84. 30 D.R. Hill: Islamic Science, op cit, p. 83.. 31 E. J. Holmyard: Makers: p. 66. 32 E.J. Holmyard: Alchemy, London, 1957, p. 88, quoted in G. Anawati: Alchemy, op cit, p. 869. 33 C. Ronan: The Arabian science, in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Worlds Science; Cambridge University Press, 1983; pp 201-44. p. 239. 34 Georges C. Anawati: Arabic Alchemy, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science; edited by R. Rashed; pp. 853-85. at p. 869. 35 J. Ruska: Das Buch der Alaune and salze, Berlin, 1935, mentioned in R. Halleux: The Reception of Arabic Alchemy in the West, in the Encyclopaedia of the history of Arabic Science; edited by R. Rashed; Routledge; 1996; pp 886-902, at p. 892. 36 R. Halleux: The Reception, op cit, p. 892.

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Al-Razi the Medical Scholar

The majority of the works by Al-Razi have been translated into Latin and printed many times, principally in Venice in 1509 and in Paris in 1528 and 1548; his treatise on small verole, for instance, was reprinted in 1745.37 Courses in medical schools and universities of Europe have always relied on his works; along with those of Ibn Sina, they were the foundation of teaching in Louvain up to the seventeenth century as seen by the 1617 settlement hence the need for some works to be re-printed until the 18th century. 38 The same settlement shows that Greek authors had little place with the exception of the aphorisms of Hippocrates and the Ars parva of Galen.39 About the age of thirty, Al-Razi made his first visit to Baghdad where he had a life-changing experience. He decided to visit the Muqtadiri Hospital out of curiousity and became interested in a conversation with an old pharmacist. He returned the following day and happened to meet a physician at the hospital who showed him a human foetus with two heads.40 So interested was he in this and in what he heard from the druggist that he became determined to study medicine. He stayed in Baghdad and there received a thorough grounding in his new profession, although it is usually asserted that he made his medical studies in Rayy.41 On his return to Rayy, Al-Razi became the mutavalli or administrator of the citys hospital but he did not hold this post for long. Some time between 902 and 907 he returned to Baghdad and took charge of the Muqtadiri Hospital.42 As chief physician of Baghdad the fame of Al-Razi spread through the lands of the caliph and his services were in constant demand even in distant cities.43 Al-Razi ultimately became chief physician of the hospital at Rayy which he attended regularly, surrounded by his pupils and the students of his pupils; every patient who presented himself was first examined by the latter; and if the case proved too difficult for them it was passed on to the Master's immediate pupils then finally, if necessary, to himself.44 It is clear that al-Razi, in diagnosing illness as well as in treating it, sought to follow the dictates of practical common sense. 45 In the recording of the writings of al-Razi, the Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim, the oldest authority, enumerates 113 major and 28 minor works by him.46 Al-Razi wrote an entertaining tract on the success of charlatans and quacks in acquiring fame often denied to the competent and properly qualified physician but of his general works on medicine the two most important were his Mansuri, known in Latin as Liber Almansoris, and his monumental and most important work, the al-Hawi.47 The treatise known as Mansuri is primarily a treatise on anatomy where each bone, muscle, or organ is described in the light of its function and purpose; its novelty being that the terminology used throughout is in Arabic.48 The Kitab al-Hawi was translated in the
37
influence on the Middle Ages; Philo Press; Amsterdam; 1926; reprinted 1974. 38 P.K. Hitti: History of the Arabs, MacMillan, London, 1970 ed. pp 366-7. 39 G. Le Bon: La Civilisation des Arabes; Imag; Cyracuse; 1884; p.387. 40 C. Elgood: A medical History; op.cit.. pp. 196-198.
41 42
For the most comprehensive work on Muslim impact in medical sciences, see: D. Campbell: Arabian medicine, and its
A. Whipple: The Role; op cit; 37-8. Whipple 38. 43 Whipple 38. 44 E.G. Browne: Arabian medicine; Cambridge University Press, 1962. p. 45. 45 G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; op cit; p. 653. 46 Ibn al-Nadim: Fihrist; Edition Flugel; 1857. 47 A. Whipple: The Role; op cit; p. 39. 48 G. Wiet et al: History; op cit; p. 653.

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medieval period as 'liber Continens' and was mistaken at first, in view of its length, for an encyclopaedia prepared by Al-Razi's disciples from his collected papers.49 Its appearance is an event rare enough to merit emphasis due to its being an absolutely first-rate dossier of available clinical observations quite undogmatically assembled.50 Browne points out how the study of the Hawi is fraught with peculiar difficulties, for not only has it never been published in the original, but no complete manuscript exists and, indeed,
`so far as my present knowledge goes, Browne points out, Ì doubt if more than half of this immense work exists at all at the present day, while the extant volumes are widely dispersed, three volumes in the British Museum, three in the Bodleian, four or five in the Escurial, others at Munich and Petrograd and some abridgments in Berlin. Moreover there is some uncertainty as to the number and contents of the volumes which the work comprises, for while the Fihrist enumerates only twelve, the Latin translation contains twenty-five, nor is there any correspondence in subject matter or arrangement. This confusion arises partly, no doubt, from the fact that the Hawi was a posthumous work, compiled after the death of Razi by his pupils from unfinished notes and papers which he left behind him, and lacking the unity of plan and finishing touches which only the author's hand could give, and partly from the fact that the same title seems to have been sometimes applied to another of his larger works. Moreover the Hawi, on account of its enormous size and the mass of detail which it contained, appalled the most industrious copyists, and was beyond the reach of all save the most wealthy bibliophiles, so that Ali ibn ul-Abbas (Haly Abbas) who wrote only 50 or 60 years after Razi's death, tells us that in his day he only knew of two complete copies.51
Of Al-Razis many monographs the most celebrated in Europe is his treatise on smallpox and measles, known in Latin as De Peste or De Pestilentia. This work of importance on small pox and measles is the oldest reliable account of these two diseases.52 According to Neuburger, it ranks high in importance in the history of epidemiology not just as the earliest monograph upon smallpox, it also shows us Al-Razi as a conscientious practitioner, almost free from dogmatic prejudices. 53 As a sample of Al-Razi pioneering spirit on the subject, we pick extracts from Dunlop which show Al-Razis treatment of some parts of the body
Às soon as the symptoms of smallpox appear, drop rose-water into the eyes from time to time, and wash the face with cold water several times in the day, and sprinkle the eyes with the same. For if the disease be favourable and the pustules few in number, you will by this mode of treatment prevent their breaking out in the eyes. This indeed is to be done for greater caution; for when the smallpox is favourable, and the matter of the disease is scanty, it seldom happens that any pustules break out in the eyes. But when you see that the ebullition is vehement and the pustules numerous in the beginning of the eruption, with itching of the eyelids and redness of the whites of the eyes, some places of which are redder than others, in this case pustules will certainly break out there unless very strong measures be adopted; and therefore you should immediately drop into the eyes several times in the day rose-water in which sumach has been macerated. It will be still more
49 50
G. Wiet; p. 653. G. Wiet; p. 653. 51 E. G. Browne: Arabian medicine; op cit; p. 48. 52 G. Wiet et al: History of Mankind; op cit; p. 653. 53 Neuberger Quoted by E.G. Browne: Arabian medicine; Cambridge University Press, 1962. p, 47.

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efficacious to make a collyrium of galls in rose-water, and drop some of it into the eyes; or to drop into them some of the juice of the pulp of the acid pomegranate, first chewed, or squeezed in a cloth. Then wash the eyelids with the collyrium composed of the red horn poppy, the juice of unripe grapes, rusot, aloe and acacia, of each one part, and a tenth part of saffron; and if you also drop some of this collyrium into the eyes, it will be useful at this time.54
Dunlop then elaborates further on al-Razis treatment of the same disease when it reached violent stages, as well as other matters, all needless to repeat here, but well summed up by Dunlops erudition.55 Yet it is as a clinical, accurate observer that al-Razi excelled. One of the most telling of these notes is to be found in the Bodleian Library.56 This has been translated by Browne as follows:
Àbdu'llah Abd Allah ibn-Sawada used to suffer from attacks of mixed fever, sometimes quotidian, sometimes tertian, sometimes quartan and sometimes recurring once in six days. These attacks were preceded by a slight rigor, and micturition was very frequent. I gave it as my opinion that either these accesses of fever would turn into quartan, or that there was ulceration of the kidneys. Only a short while elapsed when the patient passed pus in his urine. I thereupon informed him that these feverish attacks would not reoccur, and so it was. The only thing which prevented me at first from giving it as my definite opinion that the patient was suffering from ulceration of the kidneys was that he had previously suffered from tertian and other mixed types of fever, and this to some extent confirmed my suspicion that this mixed fever might be from inflammatory processes which would tend to become quartan when they waxed stronger. Moreover, the patient did not complain to me that his loins felt like a weight depending from him when he stood up; and I neglected to ask him about this. The frequent micturition also should have strengthened my suspicion of ulceration of the kidneys.... So when he passed the pus I administered to him diuretics until the urine became free from pus, after which I treated him with terra siflil- lata, Boswellia thurifera and Dragon's Blood, and his sickness departed from him, and he was quickly and completely cured in about two months. That the ulceration was slight was indicated to me by the fact that he did not complain to me at first of weight in the loins. After he had passed pus, however, I enquired of him whether he had experienced this symptom, and he replied in the affirmative. Had the ulceration been extensive, he would of his own accord have complained of this symptom. And that the pus was evacuated quickly indicated a limited ulceration. The other physicians whom he consulted besides myself, however, did not understand the case at all, even after the patient had passed pus in his urine.57
The following outline derived from Dunlop is a very good window to show how Muslim science, in general, and Al-Razis medical science in particular, passed into Europe well into the 18th century. 58
`For knowledge of Al-Razi in Europe, Dunlop writes, `the date 1766 is of considerable importance. In that year the Londoner John Channing published, for the first time, a work of Al-Razi in the original Arabican edition, Arabic and Latin, of the Kitab fi al-jadar oa'l-Hasba (On Smallpox and Measles), which had already in 1747 attracted the attention of the celebrated Dr Mead (1673- 1754) and which has been described as 'the oldest and most important original work on smallpox and
54 55
M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, to AD 1500, Longman, Librarie du Liban, 1971. pp. 235. M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, pp. 235-ff. 56 Bodleian Library, MARSH 156, particularly ff. 2396-2456. 57 E.G. Browne: Arabian medicine; op cit; p. 52. 58 D. M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation; op cit; pp. 234-5.

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measles' and as 'probably the most concise and most original treatise in Muslim medical literature'. Mead knew no Arabic, but had given a Latin translation with the help of several eighteenth-century Orientalists, Salomon Negri, J. Gagnier and Thomas Hunt. Channing used the same basis as his predecessors, a Leiden manuscript of the Arabic original, which had belonged to the collection of Levinus Warner, and he was now able to produce an elegantly printed if not very correct Arabic text and a readable and clear Latin version. Channing says of his method of translation: The version is what is called a literal one. It is close and renders word for word as far as possible, while avoiding incorrect expressions, so that not only Al-Razis sentences but also his way of thinking, words and style are exhibited. Where the genius of the Latin language did not admit this, the Arabic phrase is noted at the bottom of the page. The reader is not to be irritated by Arabic words appearing in the Latin text, the explanation of which you will see in the margin. These have not been translated because no Latin word exactly corresponds to their sense, or because the meaning is doubtful. We do not possess, as it happens, any medieval translation of the work on smallpox and measles with which Channing's may be compared, but it is interesting to observe the learned eighteenth- century translator adopting exactly the same practice of retaining in the text difficult Arabic words as a Gerard of Cremona in the twelfth century. Nor are the Latinized Arabic words which Channing cites here noticeably closer to their originals than their medieval counterparts.59
To Al-Razi, Wiet et al conclude, the Muslim world owed its first formulation of the faith in a continuous scientific advance, with emphasis on the provisional nature of all research whose conclusions can be revised at all times.60 Rayy, just like the rest of the eastern Muslim realm was devastated permanently by the two scourges of the Mongols and Timur the Lame which caused that once thriving region to slumber into the scholarly and economic barren land it has become today. Regarding the first Mongol scourge that befell the city, Ibn alAthir wrote in his treatise, al-Kamil fil tarikh, that all the population of Rayy was massacred in 1220 and the survivors put to death in 1224.61 Then Timur arrived in 1384 to finish off the place or whatever had begun to revive. When the European historian/traveller Clavijo62 passed through the country in 1404, he confirmed that Rayy was no longer inhabited (agora deshabitada).63
Bibliography
-Georges C. Anawati: Arabic Alchemy, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science ; edited by R. Rashed; Routledge; 1996; London; pp. 853-85. -Ibn al-Athir: Al-kamil fil Tarikh; ed K.J. Tornberg; 12 vols; Leiden; 1851-72. XII. -E.G. Browne: Arabian medicine; Cambridge University Press, 1962. -D. Campbell: Arabian medicine, and its influence on the Middle Ages; Philo Press; Amsterdam; 1926; reprinted 1974. -Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam; Geuthner; Paris; 1921; vol 2.
59 60
D. M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation; op cit; pp. 234-5. G.Wiet et al: History of Mankind; op cit; p. 653. 61 Ibn al-Athir: Al-kamil fil Tarikh; ed K.J. Tornberg; 12 vols; Leiden; 1851-72. XII; p. 184. 62 ed. Sreznevsky; p. 187. 63 V. Minorsky: Rayy; op cit; p.472.

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-D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilisation, to AD 1500, Longman, Librarie du Liban, 1971. -C. Elgood: A Medical history of Persia; Cambridge University Press; 1951. -R. Halleux: The Reception of Arabic Alchemy in the West, in the Encyclopaedia of the history of Arabic Science; edited by R. Rashed; Routledge; 1996; pp 886-902. -D.R. Hill: Islamic Science and engineering; Edinburgh University Press; 1993. -P.K. Hitti: History of the Arabs, MacMillan, London, 1970 ed. pp 366-7. -E. J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry, Oxford at the Clarendon Press; 1931. -A. M. Kettani: Science and Technology in Islam; in Z. Sardar ed: The Touch of Midas; Manchester University Press; 1984; pp 66-90. -G. Le Bon: La Civilisation des Arabes; Imag; Cyracuse; 1884. -G. Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate; Cambridge University Press; 1930. -A. Mieli: La Science Arabe et son role dans levolution mondiale, Leiden, E, J. Brill, 1966. -V. Minorsky: Rayy; Encyclopaedia of Islam, new Series; Vol 8; pp. 471-3. -Al-Muqaddasi: Ahsan at-taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim; is in M.J. de Goeje ed., Bibliotheca geographorum arabicum, 2nd edition., III (Leiden, 1906); a partial French translation is by Andre Miquel, Institut Francais de Damas, Damascus, 1963. There are also English and Urdu versions of the work. -R.P. Multhauf: The Origins of chemistry; Gordon and Breach Science Publishers; London, 1993. -Ibn al-Nadim: Fihrist; Edition Flugel; 1857. -C. Ronan: The Arabian science, in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Worlds Science; Cambridge University Press, 1983; pp 201-44. -J. Ruska: Das Buch der Alaune and salze, Berlin, 1935 -A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977. -G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Translated from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975.

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Cairo
Salah Zaimeche PhD Lamaan Ball Rumeana Jahangir Aasiya Alla May 2005 4086 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Cairo May 2005
CAIRO
Ibn Khaldun visited Cairo in 1382 and he wrote the following about the city,
Ì spent a month in Alexandria preparing my departure for Mecca. As fate did not agree with my plans, I left, instead, for Cairo, on the first month of Dul Qada (784AH/1382CE). Cairo is a the world metropolis, the garden of the universe, a place of meeting of all nations, crammed with people, a high centre of Islam, a centre of power. Palaces in great numbers rise; everywhere flourish madrasas and hostels; just like shining stars, scholars shine. The city spreads on the sides of the Nile, river of paradise, gathering the waters that have poured down the sky, a great stream of water to quench the thirst of humans, and to grant them abundance and prosperity. I have crossed its streets: crowds fill them, the markets are crammed with all sorts of goods. How many times has been praised this capital that has risen to a high degree of prosperity and civilisation. I have collected about it many impressions, some from my masters, others from friends, pilgrims and traders. Here, first, is what my friend Al-Maqqari, Grand Qadi of Fes, great scholar of the Maghrib, on his returns from pilgrimage in the year 740 (AH) told me: `Whomsoever has not seen Cairo will never appreciate the degree of power and glory of Islam. Here is the account of my friend Abu al-Qasim al-Barji, the qadi of the armed forces of Fes, a faqih and a secretary. Returning from an embassy to the kings of Egypt after having transmitted the message of the Sultan on the Prophets grave, he presented himself in 756 to the council of Abu Inan (the Merinid Sultan). Answering the Sultan who had asked him about Cairo, he said the following: `To express my impression in the fewest words, I will say this: what man imagines is always greater than what he sees, because imagination surpasses the real. To this one exception: Cairo; this city surpasses everything that can be imagined and with regard to everything.1
This is one eulogy of the Egyptian capital. Cairo, in fact, was the only centre of Islam that remained safe from invasions until 1798 (when the French invaded) and because it had been free for centuries, it endured as the main centre of Islamic scholarship. Cairo and the rest of Egypt also played a central and even decisive role in the history of Islam due to their Mamluk dynasty, which, in the middle of the 13th century, saved the land of Islam from total annihilation as a result of the combined Crusader-Armenian and Mongol onslaught. It did this after all other great centres of Islam (Baghdad, Aleppo, Damascus etc) had been annihilated. Their populations, in their hundreds of thousands and millions had been slaughtered. To show these crucial roles, at both levels of culture and history, an outline of Islamic history for this period, however brief, is necessary. An outline is also necessary because hardly any Muslims know the crucial role played by Cairo and its Mamluk dynasty. This outline is all the more necessary because Western history in particular, has nearly always dwelt on the negative images of Islam and covered up the religions greatest achievements. It is incumbent on Muslims to dig up these hidden treasures and one of the key aspects of Muslim history that should be attended to is the fundamental and, crucial role played by Cairo in the 13th
1
dOrient; Paris; Sindbad; 1980; pp. 148-9.
Translation from Arabic into French by A. Cheddadi of the autobiography of Ibn Khaldun: Le Voyage dOccident et

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century. This capital of the Mamluks, through courage, military skills and strong Islamic faith, fought and saved Muslims from complete extermination.
1. Cairo and the Mamluk dynasty

In Western history, with maybe a handful of exceptions, the heroes of Islamic history are the Fatimids and the villains of Islamic history, attracting the invective and even insults of Western historians of Islam, are the Mamluks. Thus, with regard to the praise of the Fatimids (just as for the Savafids, who in the 16 th century attacked the Ottomans from the rear and so saved Europe), there are several examples in so many Western books that one is spoilt for choice. Here is a brief instance from Wiet et al:
`The Fatimid caliphs of Cairo, lived in magnificent luxury, and writers have written in ecstatic terms about their palaces. Carved wooden panels from these palaces are fortunately still in existence; they are convincing proof of an art which was sure of its techniques, and evinced a true concern for realistic presentation. This justly famous work in wood presents, in cusped medallions which are found all around the Mediterranean, a series of scenes originally juxtaposed, depicting hunting, music sessions, dancing, and drinking. The artists from whose imagination they sprang have retained their feeling for balance and systematic disposition. Certain medallions even show groups of animals facing each other, some in postures of gracious repose, but for the most part in well delineated action. (Pl.44b).2
Western history, fiction and literature deliver praise on whomever amongst the `Muslims caused the worst woes upon Islam: the Fatimids, The Reyes of Taifas of Spain, the Savafids, Timur the Lame and countless more traitors to their faith and people. In contrast, Western culture has developed an overwhelmingly ferocious depiction of the Seljuks, Almoravids, Almohads, Ottomans, Mamluks and their mighty figures such as Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, Baybars, etc To try and reproduce the derogative, insulting, hostile writing towards these dynasties and figures requires as large a work as would be required to reproduce Western writers attacks on Islam, its Prophet, its culture and society. It would be hard for Muslims to understand the nature and energy of these attacks for it would not enter the mind of a Muslim scholar to devote his life to attacking Christianity or Christians or their society even if angered with the surrounding political situation, history and above all at the treatment of matters relating to Islam in Western media and scholarship. It would be counter productive to do so as Islam respects Christianity as a religion based on divine revelation even if there is criticism of some areas. It is only in regards to this last point about hostile Western scholarship, that the Muslim scholar is obliged to respond. As scholars, regardless of competence, our aim and duty is not to increase prejudice but instead to fight it. Whilst bearing in mind the need to fight hostile, distorted depictions of Islam and its history, one also needs to keep things within limits of size, and thus, to keep the following as brief as possible and then return to the initial point made above. Hence, whilst praise for the counterproductive forces of Islam is abundant, equally plentiful are the onslaught on those deemed dark forces of Islam. A brief glimpse is offered by Ashtor, whose scorn for
G. Wiet; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind: Vol III: The Great Medieval Civilisations; Tr from the French; UNESCO; first published 1975. p.790.

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Seljuk and Mamluk (as for the Prophet and his companions) is limitless.3 Thus Ashtor, supposedly informing the public and scholarship on the problems of Muslim civilisation, devotes the largest part of his work savaging the Seljuk (chapter VI p. 209 fwd), accusing them of debauchery, drunkenness, incompetence, tyranny and the cause of the ruin and famines of the Muslim world (see entry on Mosul). Then, he turns his attention to the Mamluks (p.280 fwd) and his vindictive words against them is boundless. He writes, `the
foreign slaves who had become the lords of Egypt and Syria did their utmost to enrich themselves as soon as possible (p.283); ìncapable of building a bridge over a river (p.309); who èmployed every method of extortion of their subjects (p.320); causing `the bitterness of the townspeople, who suffered from oppression by a foreign soldiery and the extortions of a corrupt bureaucracy (p.322); that their incompetence and failure contrasts with `the daring and the ability of the Portuguese (p.330); and to his last paragraph, blaming the whole decadence of Muslim civilisation on the `rapacious military (the
Mamluks) (p.331). 4 Of course, if one looks at the few works on the Mamluks, for instance on their construction skills which was so much derided by Ashtor, one will find the complete reverse of what Ashtor and the near totality of Western historians report.5 And the reason why Ashtor, just like many a biased historian detests the Seljuks and Mamluks is simple. It is the Seljuk who stood against the crusaders when the latter began killing the Muslims in their millions from 1096 until the middle of the 12th century.6 And it is the Mamluks who saved the Muslim world from the combined attempt by the Mongols and crusaders to exterminate the Muslims in the 1250s-1260s and who eventually expelled the crusaders from the Muslim East in 1291.7 The same hate is evidently directed at the Almoravids and Almohads who saved Muslim Spain and North Africa,8 and the Ottomans who fought thousands of battles on behalf of Islam between the 13th century and First World War (1914-1918).9 To show that crucial role played by Cairo and its Mamluk dynasty it is necessary to explain the contrast between Fatimid rule and that of the Mamluks as briefly as possible. It is the Fatimids who put an end to the mighty Aghlabids of Tunisia (9th century) which built the greatest civilisation of North Africa to this day. The Aghlabid capital Al-Qayrawan was, between the 8th century and its ruin in the 11th century by the Banu Hillal, the great Muslim military and cultural centre of North Africa. 10 It is the Aghlabids who conquered and kept Sicily and the Mediterranean Islands for Islam. It is the E. Ashtor: A Social and Economic History of the Near East in the Middle Ages; Collins; London; 1976. E. Ashtor: A Social and Economic History. pp. 209-331. 5 Esin Atil: Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks; 1981. Or E. Atil: Mamluk art; in Dictionary of Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1982 fwd; vol 8. 6 See, for instance: W.B. Stevenson: The Crusaders in the East; Cambridge University Press; 1907. G.W. Cox: The Crusades; Longman; London; 1874. S. Runciman: A History of the Crusades; Cambridge University Press; 1951 fwd. 7 See, for instance: Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834. U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, selection from the Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of Ibn al-Furat; 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971. 8 J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974. 9 A C. Hess: The Forgotten Frontier; The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1978. 10 S. Denoix and J.C. Garcin: introduction; in J.C. Garcin editor: Grandes Villes Mediterraneenes du Monde Musulman
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Fatimids who destroyed not just this dynasty, and not just Tunisia, but the whole of the Maghrib by unleashing the Banu Hillal and the Banu Temim on the Maghrib, an invasion the Maghrib never recovered from. Ì give you, said the Fatimid Caliph to the Banu Hilal tribes, `the Maghrib with all its riches. And to enhance his woe, he gave each warrior who crossed the western frontier of Egypt a dinar and a cloth of honour.11 This, Saladin reckons, simply meant ruin and devastation of Ifriqya.12 During the crusades (1095-1291), Iftikhar ad-Daula (The pride of the Nation) who held Jerusalem for the Fatimids, was allowed to leave the city with his entourage and conduct under safe crusader conduct.13 The Muslim population on the other hand was massacred. The crusaders slaughtered more than 70,000 Muslims,14 in a bloodbath where:
`the brains of young children were dashed out against the walls; infants were thrown over the battlements; every woman that could be seized was violated; men were roasted at fires; some were ripped open, to see if they had swallowed gold; the Jews were driven into their synagogue, and there burnt; a massacre of nearly 70, 000 persons took place; and the pope's legate was seen `partaking in the triumph.' 15
The Fatimids indulged in luxury and a love of gold. The contemporary Christian envoys, who went to build alliance with the Fatimids against Nur Eddin Zangi and Salah Eddin al-Ayyubi, were bewildered by the sight of luxurious display in the Great Palace of the Fatimids in Cairo; the inner part of the palace is described here by William of Tyre (1130-90),
`curtains embroidered with pearls and gold, which hung down and hid the throne, were drawn aside with marvellous rapidity, and the caliph was revealed with face unveiled. Seated on a throne of gold, surrounded by his privy counsellors and eunuchs.16
Durant says:
When Salah Eddin entered the Fatimid caliph palace in Cairo, he found there, with the exception of male relatives of the Fatimid Caliph, a harem of 12 000 women, and such wealth of jewellery, furniture, ivory, porcelain, glass and other objects of art as could hardly be rivalled by any other dignitary of that era.17
H. Saladin: Tunis et kairouan; p. 107. B. Z. Kedar: The Subjected Muslims of the Frankish Levant, in Muslims under Latin Rule, 1100-1300, edt J.M. Powell, Princeton University Press, 1990.pp 135-174.p.143. On the dumping of corpses, see e.g., Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum, ed. K. Mynors, trans. R.Hill (London, 1962), p.92. 14 Ibn al-Athir: Kitab al-kamil; ed K.J. Tornberg; 12 vols; Leiden; 1851-72. X, pp.193-95. 15 J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe; Vol I; Revised edition; George Bell and Sons, London, 1875. 16 William of Tyre: A History of the Deeds done beyond the sea; tr. E. Babcock and A.C. Krey; 2 vols; Columbia; 1941; ii; 319-21. 17 W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.311.
13
Medieval; Ecole Francaise de Rome; 2000. p. 2. 11 H. Saladin: Tunis et Kairouan; Librairie Renouard; Paris; 1908. p. 106.
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On top of everything the Fatimids also made alliances with the crusaders against Nur Eddin Zangi18 and Salah Eddin al-Ayyubi and conspired to have a Norman Christian land in Egypt to re-occupy it after Salah Eddin had liberated it. The Mamluks, on the other hand, are the people who saved Muslims from extinction. In the 1250s, following the agreement reached by the Christians and the Mongols, a massive combined onslaught was launched on the Muslims.19 Baghdad had its population of one million slaughtered. 20 The Syrian towns and cities suffered the same fate. On 20th January 1260, the Mongols took Aleppo by assault. One hundred thousand young women and children were taken as slaves, the remainder of the inhabitants were systematically exterminated.21 Likewise the fate of Damascus, where the Muslim population was forced to bow to the cross when the conquering forces of crusaders, Armenians and Mongols entered the city in 1260.22 At the same time in, Muslim Spain, Cordova (1236), Valencia (1238), Seville (1248) etc were lost. Of all the great Islamic centres only Cairo remained in Muslim hands. Should Cairo fall, it would be the end of Islamic power and it would lead to the final extermination of Muslims as had happened elsewhere. The Crusaders and Mongols were in agreement to do away with it. A Mongol embassy of forty people was sent by Hulagu to Cairo, with a letter23 which announces that `God had raised the house of Genghis Khan, and that whomsoever resisted has been wiped out. The glory of our armies was invincible. If you do not submit, and did not bring tribute in person to my camp, prepare for war.24 However Cairo was in the hands of the Mamluks and they responded to Hulagus ultimatum by preparing for war. They began by decapitating Hulagus envoys. And then, at the meeting of the leadership, which included Quttuz (the Mamluk leader), Baybars, the Turkish general Nassir ud Din as well as the princes of Irbil and Acca, they decided to go to war. Quttuz then declared, `Well then, we will go to war; victorious or losers, we would have done our duty, and the Muslim nation will not call us cowards. 25 At the decisive battle of Ain Jalut of 3rd September 1260, the Mamluks destroyed Mongol power. They had the Mongol general Kitbuqa slain. One of Kitbuqas lieutenants gathered the remnants of the Mongol army and fled north to Armenian territory, where he was received and soon re-equipped for further campaigns.26 So angry was he when he heard the news of the defeat, (which reached him in Tabriz, Iran) that Hulagu had the Ayyubid sultan who was under his guard decapitated with all members of his entourage. Then the Mamluks of Egypt, led by Baybars (d. 1277) freed the whole of the Holy land from the Crusaders with al-Ashraf Khallil capturing the last Crusader stronghold of Acre, in May 1291.27 The Mamluks also defeated the Crusaders Armenian allies, who had played a central role in the massacres of Baghdad.28 And then, until the 14th century they fought the Mongols, who had established themselves in Iran, until they defeated G.W. Cox: The Crusades; op cit; p. 97. See Entry on Baghdad for detail of such Christian-Mongol plot to annihilate Islam; see also: J.J. Saunders: The History of the Mongol Conquests; Routlege & Kegan Paul; London; 1971. 20 Ibn al-Athir, Chronicon, quod perfectissimum inscribitur, ed. K.J. Tornberg [12 vols; Leiden, 1851-76], XII, pp. 233-5. See also: Sir Thomas W. Arnold: Muslim Civilisation during the Abbasid Period In The Cambridge Medieval History, Cambridge University Press, Vol IV: Edited by J. R. Tanner, op cit; pp 274-298. at p.279. 21 John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. p. 207. 22 J. J. Saunders: A History of Medieval Islam; Routledge; London; 1965. p. 182. 23 Baron G. dOhsson: Histoire des Mongols; op cit; vol 3; Note 2; p. 332. 24 Baron G. dOhsson: Histoire des Mongols; op cit; p. 332. 25 Baron G. dOhsson: Histoire des Mongols; p. 332. 26 J. Richard: The Crusades c.1071-c.1291; Cambridge University Press; Trans from the French; 1999. p. 415. 27 J.H. Lamonte: crusade; op cit; p.195. 28 Yves Courbage, Paul Fargues: Chretiens et Juifs dans l'Islam Arabe et Turc, Payot, Paris, 1997. p.101.
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them29 hence saving the land of Islam from its main scourges: Crusaders, Armenians and Mongols. Thus, one fully understands Western historys rabid hostility towards the Mamluks; just as Lyber correctly holds, the Mamluks have never been forgiven for having expelled Western Christians from the Holy Land in 1291.30 Cairo was not just the capital and the home of the greatest of all the Muslim dynasties, but it was also a great city of arts, industry, and scholarship.
2. Cairo: A Great Centre of Arts, Crafts and Scholarly Institutions

Life in Cairo in medieval times was similar to the high standards of Baghdad, Damascus, Cordova and Aleppo; the streets of Muslim cities as well as the larger towns were paved with stones and were cleaned, policed, and illuminated at night; water was brought to the public squares and to many of the houses by conduits.31 The tooled leather work, the work in metal, glass-making and silk weaving, the tile and ceramic creations, the illuminated manuscripts and the wrought jewels made in these Islamic centres were found markets all over Asia and Europe.32 Just like other great Islamic cities of the Near East, North Africa and Spain, Cairo was supported by an elaborate agricultural system that included extensive irrigation and an expert knowledge of agricultural methods, the most advanced in the world; thanks to this thriving agriculture, the farmers were able to support huge urban populations.33 Egypt continued to produce vessels of all qualities, particularly at Al-Fustat in old Cairo, where excavations yielded immense quantities of glass, ranging in date from the eighth century to the later Middle Ages. 34 Some of the most sophisticated Egyptian glass vessels were decorated with luster, a shiny, sometimes metallic effect, achieved by painting copper or silver oxide on the surface of the object, then firing it at a temperature of about 600C (1112F.).35 Mamluk gilt and enamelled glass had a peculiar status: it was a labour intensive luxury product using expensive materials.36 There is strong archaeological evidence that Mamluk enamelled glass were exported to the northern shores of the Black Sea, from where they subsequently make their way up to Kiev (in todays Ukraine) then to Belorussia and Lithuania and then into Muscovy. 37 Mamluk glass was also found in Scandinavia, the Hanseatic ports, and Maastricht in Holland. 38 In the light of archaeological evidence, it is now possible to speak of Mamluk glass as a significant item in fourteenth century northern European trade. 39
J.H. Lamonte: crusade; op cit; p.195. A.H. Lybyer: The Ottoman Turks and the routes of Oriental trade; The English Historical Review: Vol XXX (1915) pp 577-588; p.579. 31 F.B. Artz: The Mind of the Middle Ages; Third edition revised; The University of Chicago Press, 1980; pp 149-50. 32 F.B. Artz: The mind,. 33 F.B. Artz: The Mind; op cit; pp 149-50. 34 D. Whitehouse: Glass in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons, N. York; pp. 545-8: 35 D.Whitehouse: Glass; pp. 545-8: 36 J.M. Rogers: Further thoughts on Mamluk enamelled glass, in The Cairo Heritage; Edited by D. Behrens Abuseif; The American University in Cairo Press; Cairo; 2000; pp. 275-90; at p. 276. 37 J.M. Rogers: Further thoughts; p 279. 38 See E. Baumgartner and I. Krueger 9eds) exhibition catalogue, Historisches Museum Basel: Phoenix aus Sand und Asche. Glas des Mittelalters; Munich; 1989; No 70. 39 J.M. Rogers: Further thoughts; op cit; p 277.
30
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As in all civilizations, pottery was widely used for cooking, lighting, washing, etc In the bazaar in Cairo, according to the 11th century traveller Nasir Khusraw, grocers, druggists and ironmongers provided the glasses, the faience vessels and the paper to hold or wrap what they sold.40 It was a custom that persisted.
'Daily,' a fifteenth-century Arab historian informs us, 'there is thrown on to the refuse heaps and waste piles waste to a value of some thousand dinars - the discarded remains of the red-baked clay in which milk-sellers put their milk, cheese-sellers their cheese, and the poor the rations they eat on the spot in the cook-shops.'41
Mamluk textiles and rugs were in great demand in the West. Striped and ogival silks woven with metallic threads were sewn into ecclesiastical vestments. Wool carpets with geometric designs, which appeared at the end of the fifteenth century, are among the oldest extant rugs. 42 One of the greatest achievements of Mamluk Egypt and Cairo was in the artistic field. Atil notes that the Mamluks, who ruled Egypt and Syria between 1250 and 1517, were formidable warriors renowned for their patronage of the arts. They erected hundreds of religious and secular edifices in Cairo as well as in the provinces. They employed traditional plans, such as hypostyle mosques, four-Iwan madrasas, and square mausoleums. The buildings were lavishly decorated with carved stone, stucco, and marble mosaics and panels, but the most outstanding features of Mamluk architecture are the soaring tiered minarets, the massive carved domes and entrance portals, and the marble mihrabs.43 The elaborate floral and geometric patterns of the carved stonework give these structures their distinctly Mamluk character. Patrons gifted their religious establishments with magnificent Qurans with exquisite calligraphy and dazzling illuminations. They were either in single volumes or two volumes or thirty-volume sets and bound in leather and had stamped, tooled and filigreed decorations.44 Illustrations in literary and scientific manuscripts were based on earlier traditions, whereas those in manuals on horsemanship, which were unique to the Mamluks, had original, though simple, compositions.45 Brass bowls, basins, ewers, trays and pen boxes inlaid with silver, gold and copper are among the most celebrated works of Mamluk art. Artists created remarkable mosque lamps, bottles, bowls and goblets.46 The products of this Mamluk renaissance continued to influence Islamic art right up to the twentieth century.47 Travelling late in the 12th century, the Valencian born Ibn Jubayr praises two major achievements of Islam: the madrasas and the hospitals.48 The madrasas spread into Egypt and especially Cairo following the rule of Salah Eddin al-Ayyubi. Under his mentor Nur Eddin, Salah Eddin was sent from Syria and liberated Egypt, and from Syria also followed the madrasa model after 1171. In the following 150 years Cairo was embellished with a succession of the most ingeniously designed and most varied madrasas in the Islamic world.49 In addition to lecture halls and cells for the students, Syrian-inspired madrasas of the twelfth and
40 41
G. Wiet et al: History; op cit; p. 335. G. Wiet et al: History; p. 335. 42 E. Atil: Mamluk art; in Dictionary of Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1982 fwd; vol 8; p. 70. 43 Atil: pp 69-70. 44 Atil: p. 70. 45 Atil: p. 70. 46 Atil: p. 70. 47 Atil: DMA; p. 69. 48 Ibn Jubayr: Al-Rihla, (The Travels of Ibn Jubayr), Tr. R.J.C. Broadhurst, Jonathan Cape, 1952, p. 330. 49 R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; DMA; p. 11.

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thirteenth centuries (of which almost 200 are recorded in the medieval sources) often had an oratory and an attached mausoleum for the founder.50 Amongst such madrasas in Cairo are the earliest surviving (if irregular) four-Iwan madrasa, the Salihiya (1242), built on either side of a street; the first surviving cruciform four-Iwan madrasa, the Zahiriya (1262-1263), which was named after Baybars; and large complexes including the founder's tomb, a mosque, minaret, hospital and a madrasa (complex of Qala'un, 1281).51 It was a natural corollary that four-iwan madrasas should allot an iwan to each madhhab for its own teaching and for prayer (Nasiriya, Cairo, 1303-1304).52 Cairene architects, grappling with a chronic shortage of space, proved adept at accommodating madrasas to unpromising and irregular sites, often emphasizing height rather than breadth, and creating imposing, lavishly ornamented street facades for these buildings.53 Many Cairene madrasas are scarcely distinguishable from four-iwan mosques except by their smaller size and the student cells disposed in two tiers around the courtyard.54 These courtyards are not used for prayer and are thus typically much smaller than mosque courtyards. The Great scholarly institution of Egypt was the Cairene Al-Azhar. It is one of the cultural achievements of the Fatimids and was founded in 972 CE by Jawhar al-Siqilli, the fourth Fatimid caliph. Sixteen years later in 988 Al-Azhar Mosque was established as a university by Caliph al-Aziz.55 By then, it already had thirty five officially appointed teachers.56 Thus, by far, Al-Azhar is one of the oldest surviving universities in history, coming a century or so after Al-Qayrawan in Tunisia and decades after al-Qarrawiyin in Fes and the mosque university of Cordova. However, it did precede the likes of Oxford and Cambridge by around three centuries and many of its methods of teaching and learning were later found in the Christian West. Al-Maqrizi (d.1442) notes that in 991 CE, groups of listeners followed courses given by Al-Azhar teachers. 57
Courtyard of Al-Azhar Mosque58 Bayard Dodge provides a good succinct description of al-Azhar and its functions. It was built around an open courtyard, with the sanctuary in the rear and spacious loggias on both sides of the court. Its residential quarters provided living space for students who did not have homes in Cairo. Each student was assigned to a residential unit which was endowed to care for him. Generally, the unit gave the resident
50 51
R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; op cit; vol 8; p. 11. R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; DMA; p. 11. 52 R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; DMA; p. 11. 53 R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; DMA; p. 12. 54 R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; DMA; p. 12. 55 See J. Jomier: Al-Azhar; Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol I, Leyden; Brill; pp. 813-21. 56 J. Waardenburg: Some institutional aspects of Muslim higher learning, NVMEN, 12, pp.96-138; p. 99. 57 In J. Jomier: Al-Azhar, op cit; p. 816. 58 http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/Egypt/Cairo/al-Azhar3.jpg

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students free bread which supplemented food given to them by their families, whilst richer students would live in lodgings near the mosque and better conditions. Every large unit also included a library, kitchen and lavatory, and some space for furniture. 59 There were many students at Al-Azhar including several from abroad. Al-Maqrizi mentions 750 foreign students from as far away as the Maghreb and Persia simultaneously residing in the mosque60 in addition to the students from the rest of Egypt. On the eve of the British occupation (1882) Al-Azhar had 7600 students and 230 professors. 61 In addition to the traditional religious and literary subjects, Al-Azhar taught geography, astronomy, engineering, medicine and mathematics.62 Al-Azhar always attracted great figures of Islamic learning. Ibn al-Haytham lived there for a long period whilst Ibn Khaldun taught at the university towards the end of the fourteenth century and AlBaghdadi taught medicine at the end of the 12th century.63 The greatest of all earliest institutions of Cairo, however, was the hospital of Ibn Tulun established at alFustat in 872. Ibn Tulun is a former slave of Turkish origin, who rose in the military ranks to become governor of the city. The hospital was situated between the mosque of Ibn-Tulun and the hill of al-Gareh, in one of the most heavily populated quarters of Fustat. It was based on the model of the leading hospital at Baghdad. In both construction and management it absorbed vast resources; and also included a library of 100 000 books.64 Its financing came chiefly from the bazaar and from other waqfs. Ibn Tulun supervised the hospital himself. Issa Bey65 narrates that every hospital patient, when admitted, left his clothes and his money to the safekeeping of the Supervisor of the hospital. The patients were given a special garment and beds, and were served meals and medications. Physicians attended to the patients every day. Once a patient recovered good appetite, they were considered able to leave the hospital. Every Friday Ibn Tulun visited the hospital, inspected the supplies, conferred with the physicians and visited the patients. One day he was in the ward for the insane, when one of the patients who was chained said to him: "Believe me, Prince, I am not insane, but have been trapped in here. I have a great longing to eat a large pomegranate from Al-Arish (in Southern Palestine)." Ibn Tulun immediately ordered that the patient be brought one of these. The patient seemed happy over the present, passing it from one hand to the other. Then when Ibn Tulun was not looking at him, the patient threw the pomegranate at him, striking him on the chest. The pomegranate broke and soiled the garment of the prince. against the man.
66
Ibn-Tulun took no action
When Ibn Tulun established the hospital in 872, hospitals were unknown in Europe (they came into existence in Europe in the thirteenth century). Thus, long before monastic institutions, brotherhoods and sisterhoods started to segregate the sick, hospitals had spread all over the Islamic land towards the east and west.67
Bayard Dodge: Muslim Education in Medieval times, The Middle East Institute, Washington, D.C. 1962, pp 26-27 in particular. J. Jomier: Al-Azhar; op cit; p. 816. 61 Baedeker's Egypt, David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1974. Page 60. 62 M. Alwaye: Àl-Azhar...in thousand years.' Majallatu'l Azhar: (Al-Azhar Magazine, English Section 48 (July 1976): pp.1-6 p. 2. 63 J. Jomier: Al-Azhar; op cit; pp 816-7. 64 F.S. Haddad in I.B. Syyed: Medicine and medical education in Islamic history, in Islamic perspective in medicine, ed. S. Athar, American Trust Publications, Indianapolis, 1993; pp 45-56, p. 48. 65 A Issa Bey: Histoire des hopitaux en Islam; Beyrut; Dar ar raid alarabi; 1981; pp. 112-5. 66 A Issa Bey: Histoire pp. 112-5. 67 F. R. Farag: Why Europe responded to the Muslims; in Arabica, vol XXV, pp. 292-308. p. 295.
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When Salah Eddin conquered Egypt in 1171, he took over al-Qasr which was the palace of the Fatimid caliphs. This palace contained a great hall which Salah Eddin made into a hospital. Salah Eddin provided the sum of 190 dinars [a dinar is about 4 grams of Gold] a month to be paid from the state treasury to the hospital but it received other subsidies as well. 68 Ibn Jubair, in his visit to Cairo, wrote:
Among the glorious works of this Sultan Salah Eddin, we have seen the hospital of Cairo, which is one of the most beautiful devoted to medical ailments. In the various wards beds were installed, furnished with coverings for the comfort of the patients. The employees, under the direction of the supervisor, watched over the condition of the patients day and night, and provided them with food and drink that was agreeable to their condition. One section was reserved for female patients, over whom women attendants worked. On one side of these two sections a third large one was divided into separate rooms, guarded with iron grills. This was for the care of the mental patients. The Sultan himself questioned the patients from time to time, asking them about their condition and immediately telling the attendants to care for them.69
The Mamluk sultan, Qalawun (other spellings of his name include Qalaun), is famed for his victories over the crusaders, the Mongols and the Armenians. But he also made large scholarly and social contributions. He had the hospital al-Mansuri built between the two palaces of the Fatimids. Qalawun drew up the plans for the hospital and a school. The hospital had four iwans or vestibules, each furnished with a fountain and a jet of water in the centre. After the completion of the work, al-Mansur turned over many waqfs in Cairo and other places for the support of the hospital and other buildings, so that the revenue came to around one million dirhams a year [a dirham is 3 grams of silver]. 70 At a ceremony of the opening of the hospital al-Mansur ordered a cup of the hospital beverage and drank it, saying: "I hereby devote these waqfs for the benefit of my equals and my inferiors, for the soldier and the prince, the large and the small, the free and the slave, for men and women."71 The king made sure that the hospital was properly staffed with physicians and fully equipped with everything required for the care of the sick and he appointed male and female attendants to serve the male and the female patients.72 He installed beds furnished with mattresses and set up areas for each speciality. 73 Running water was provided for all parts of the hospital. In one part of the building the physician-in-chief was given a room for teaching and lecturing. There were no limits to the number of patients that could be treated and every one had access to the hospital whether they were rich or poor. Nor was their stay restricted and the patients were allowed to take home the medicines they needed. The constitution establishing the Al-Mansuri says:
ìts duty is to give care to the ill, poor, men and women until they recover. It is at the service of the powerful and the weak, the poor and the rich, of the subject and the prince, of the citizen and the brigand, without demand for any form of payment, but only for the sake of God, the provider. 74
3. The Scholars of Cairo
For details see, A. Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977. pp. 93 fwd. 69 Ibn Jubeyr: Rihla: 1907 edt; Leiden; p. 51. 70 E.G. Browne: Arabian medicine; Cambridge university Press; 1962 ; p.102. 71 A.Whipple: The Role. Op cit; p. 95. 72 A.Whipple: The Role. p. 95. 73 Whipple: 95. 74 A. Isa Bey: Histoire des hopitaux; Cairo. p. 151.
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The first Egyptian of international renown and possibly one of the greatest scholars of Islam that ever lived, although he is hardly known, is Ahmad Ibn Yusuf ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Daya al Misri, (the latter word means the Egyptian). He flourished in Egypt in the second half of the 9 th century and died about 912.75 He set up some of the earliest foundations of modern mathematics and in medieval Europe, he was known as Ametus filius Joseph.76 A Mathematician and secretary to the Tulunids, who ruled in Egypt from 868 to 905, he wrote a book on similar arcs (De similibus arcubus), a commentary on Ptolemy's Centiloquium, and a book on proportions Kitab al-nisba wal tanasub ("De proportione et proportionalitate").77 The latter book is significant due to its influence on medieval thought through Leonardo da Pisa and Jordanus Nemorarius (theorem of Menelaos about the triangle cut by a transversal; al-qatta, sector; hence figura cata, regula catta).78 The Liber Hameti de proportione et proportionalitate and the Liber de arcubus similibus were translated by the famed twelfth century Latin translator, Gerard of Cremona.79 The translation of the commentary on the Centiloquium was possibly made by another translator, Plato Tiburtinus who wrongly attributed it to the other Egyptian scholar 'Ali ibn Ridwan.80 This work was first printed in Venice, 1493 ("Incipit liber centum verborum ptholemei cum commento haly.") Ahmad, or else his father Yusuf ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Daya, may be the author of the History of the Astronomers, ascribed to one Ibn al-Daya.81 Abu Kamil al-Hasib Al-Misri (i.e the Egyptian calculator) originated from Egypt and flourished after alKhwarizmi, 82 who died c. 850, and before al-'Imrani, who died in 955, and so can be placed about the beginning of the tenth century.83 He was a mathematician who perfected al-Khwarizmi's work on algebra and whose mathematics included a number of subjects such as determination and construction of both roots of quadratic equations; multiplication and division of algebraic quantities; addition and subtraction of radicals; study of the pentagon and decagon (algebraic treatment).84 His kitab al-Jabr (Book on algebra) is available in many manuscripts, such as in Istanbul and Berlin, and also in diverse languages and translations such as Hebrew, German, and English.85 Abu Kamil wrote Taraif al-Hisab (Rarities of arithmetic) which is available, but incomplete at Leiden (199/6), but there are more complete Latin translations of this treatise in Paris (7377 a/6), and Hebrew translations from Spanish. 86 His treatise on the measurement of the pentagon and Decagon, in Arabic Misahat al-Mukhamas wal muashar, is available in Istanbul (Kara Mustafa 379/2) and in Latin translation in Paris (7377 a/5) and in translation into Hebrew, German, Italian, and partial translation into Russian.87 Abu Kamil also wrote on inheritance by means of roots, inheritance by means of Algebra, a book on indefinite problems, a treatise on the measurement of the land, another on measurement and geometry, one on reunion and separation and another entitled Kitab al-Kafi (Sufficient G. Sarton: Introduction to the history of sciences, The Carnegie Institution; Baltimore, 1927 fwd. vol 1; p. 598. B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, astronomers and other scholars of Islamic civilisation; Research Centre for Islamic History, art and Culture; Istanbul; 2003. p. 60. 77 M. Cantor: Ahmed und sein Buch uber die Proportionen; in Bibliotheca Mathematica, 7-9,1888. M. Curtze: Uber den "liber de similibus arcubus" (ibidem, 15,1889). H. Suter: Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber; 1900; pp. 42-3. 78 H. Burger und K. Kohl: Zur Geschichte des Transversalsatzes usw. In Abhdl. zur Gesch. d. Naturwiss., 7, 47-9, 80, 1924; ISIS, VIII, p. 799. 79 G. Sarton: Introduction to the history of sciences, op cit; p. 598. 80 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 1; p. 598. 81 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 1; p. 598. 82 H. Suter. Die Mathematiker; op cit; p.43. 83 G. Sarton: Introduction; Vol 1; op cit; p. 630. 84 See, for instance, L. C. Karpinski: The Algebra of Abu Kamil; in Bibliotheca mathematica, vol. 12, 1912; pp. 40-41. 85 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, op cit; p. 61. 86 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, op cit; p. 61. 87 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, op cit; p. 61.
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Book).88 Abu Kamils mathematics were largely used by his successors whether Muslims or Western Christians, such as al-Karkhi and Leonardo da Pisa.89 There have been a number of modern studies of Abu Kamil including those by Weinberg90and Levey.91 Ibn Yunus (d. Fustat in 1009) was an astronomer and a mathematician whose father was a distinguished historian. Ibn Yunus came to fame in 1804 when a Leiden manuscript of his was first studied; Ibn Yunus main work was al-Zij al-hakimi (Zij meaning an astronomical handbook) which begins with a list of observations made by himself and others.92 Ibn Yunus made observations for nearly thirty years (977-1003) using amongst others, a large astrolabe of nearly 1.4 m in diameter, observations that resulted in the well known `Hakemite' tables which contained more than 10,000 entries of the sun's position throughout the years.93 Centuries later Ibn Yunus's Al-Zij al-Hakimi94 relied upon by the French mathematician Laplace who used the tables prepared by Ibn Yunus in his determination of the Òbliquity of the Ecliptic' and the Ìnequalities of Jupiter and Saturn's' and also by the American Newcomb who used his observations of the eclipse in his investigations on the motions of the moon.95
Al Azhar Mosque96 Ibn al-Haytham was born in Basra (in modern day Iraq) in 965 and died in Cairo in 1039 CE. He is known under the Latin name of Al-Hazen.97 Although he made important contributions to mathematics, astronomy, medicine and chemistry, his main achievements were in optics. Due to his high reputation as a mathematician and engineer, he caught the attention of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakem (ruled 996-1021) who
B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, op cit; p. 61-2. Gustavo Sacerdote: I1 trattato del pentagone e del Jecagono per la prima volta pubblicato in italiano; in M. Steinschneider: Festschrift, Leipzig, 1896. pp. 169-94. 90 J.Weinberg: Die Algebra des Abu Kamil. Mnchen: Druck des Salesianischen Offizin, 1935. 91 M.Levey: The Algebra of Abu Kamil. Hebrew Text, Translation and Commentary with Special Reference to the Arabic Text. Madison-Milwaukee, and London, 1966. 92 H. Suter. Die Mathematiker; op cit; pp.77-8. 93 C. Ronan: The Arabian Science; in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Worlds science; Cambridge University Press; 1983; pp. 201-44. p. 214. 94 Edition Caussin De Perceval, Paris, 1804. 95 S. M. Ziauddin Alavi: Arab Geography in the ninth and tenth centuries, Published by the Department of Geography, Aligrah Muslim University, Aligrah 1965, p. 36. 96 http://www.safariegypt.com/egypt_hotels/cairo_hotels/Images/fourseason/CAF_009_320x400_web-large.jpg 97 G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; op cit; vol 1; p. 721.
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asked for his services.98 The Caliph received him personally and with great honours. 99 However, although a patron of sciences, Al-Hakem was a cruel leader who murdered his enemies and had other dark sides to his personality such as ordering the sacking of the city of al-Fustat; on one occasion he went as far as ordering the killing of all dogs since their barking annoyed him.100 Al-Hakems support for science may have been partly because of his interest in astrology.101 He had invited Ibn al-Haytham to Cairo after hearing that he had a plan for regulating the annual inundation of the Nile. However, once having taken measures on the ground, Ibn al-Haytham realised the plan was not feasible.102 Ibn al-Haytham knew that al-Hakem was a dangerous man whom he could not trust. 103 It appears that Ibn al-Haytham pretended to be mad, others say that he left Egypt altogether for Syria where he sought protection under the rule of one of its Emirs until after al-Hakem's death in 1021.104 During this time he undertook scientific work and after al-Hakem's death he was able to show that he had only pretended to be mad. According to the Muslim biographer, alQifti, Ibn al-Haytham lived for the rest of his life near the Al-Azhar Mosque, teaching, writing mathematics texts and earning money by copying texts.105 Ibn al-Haytham died in 1039, a very devout man.106 His theory of light and vision is neither identical with nor originated from the mainly Greek theories that preceded his time and which he adequately corrected. It was Ibn al-Haytham who resolved the century old issues of vision and set up the foundations for the modern science of optics. Ibn al-Haytham rejects the axiomatic approach of his predecessors, whereby postulates were assumed to be self evident and any experiments were just meant to reinforce axioms.107 Ibn al-Haytham also had the capacity to resolve complex issues into independent yet closely interrelated simple investigations (the whole-mark of every genius mind), subjecting every single problem to a quantitative analysis of its variable under strictly controlled conditions. 108 (For more on Ibn al-Haytham, see entry on Basra) Abu-l-Hasan Ali ibn Ridwan ibn Ali Ibn Jafar al-Misri was born in Jiza near Cairo, c. 998, the son of a poor baker in al-Guzah.109 Flourished in Cairo and died there in 1061 or in 1067. Astrologer, physician, author of many medical writings of which the most popular was his commentary on Galen's Ars parva which was translated by Gherardo Cremonese. 110 In his treatise on hygiene with special reference to Egypt ( fi dal'
mudar al-abdan bi-ard Misr), Ibn Ridwan discusses preventive measures, sanitation, the rules of hygiene
and the causes of plague.111 Ibn Ridwan subscribes to a code of strict ethics, which he himself describes:
Barron Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam; Geuthner, Paris, 1921; vol 2; p. 243. Barron Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam; vol 2; p. 243. 100 John J O'Connor and Edmund F Robertson at: http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/index.html In the chapter devoted to: Arabic mathematics: a forgotten brilliance. 101 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic nathematics; op cit. 102 Barron Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam; vol 2; op cit; p. 243. 103 W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p. 288. 104 Barron Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam; op cit; vol 2; p. 243. 105 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics; op cit. 106 Barron Carra de Vaux: Les penseurs de lIslam; vol 2; op cit; p. 244. 107 D.R. Hill: Islamic Science and Engineering; Edinburgh; 1993; p 72. 108 Gul A. Russel: Emergence of Physiological optics, in Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science 3 Vols.Edited by Roshdi Rashed; Routledge, London and New York: 1996. pp 672-715. p 686. 109 Ibn Abbi Ussaybi'ah: Ùyun al-anba fi tabaqat al-attiba', edited by A. Mueller, Cairo/Konigsberg; 1884, reprint, 1965. vol 2; p. 101. 110 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 1; op cit; p. 729. 111 Max Meyerhof: Uiber Klima und Gesundheit im alten Kairo (Sitzungsber. der . phys. med. Soz., Erlangen, vol. 54, 197214, 4 pl., 1923. Translation of chapter 8 of the fi dal 'mudar; ISIS, VIII, 537). F.Wustenfeld: Geschichte der arabischen Aerzte; Gottingen; 1840; pp.80-82. H. Suter: Die Mathematiker und Astrono men der Araber; 1900; p. 103 .
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I wear clothes that are adorned by the marks of distinguished people and by cleanliness. I use a delicate perfume, am silent, and hold my tongue where the failings of men are concerned. I endeavour to speak always decently and take care not to swear and to blame the opinions of others I avoid eager desires and covetousness; and if adversity befalls me, I rely on Allah the Most High, and meet it reasonably without faintheartedness nor weakness.112
He also holds that a man should study medicine with the intent of acquiring the art and not money, but this did not mean that he would lose the chance of making money:
`When a doctor treats the ailments of the wealthy and they are in severe pain, he can make what financial conditions he likes, and when he knows that his patients will carry out their bargain, it is then his responsibility to produce the cure. The money that he earns should be spent on such useful ends as befits him. I mean on the assistance of relatives, charitable acts and the purchase of drugs suitable for curing disease. Nor should he refrain under any circumstances from tending the poor and associating with them.113
Ibn Ridwan dwells on many issues including the causes of pestilence, and remarkably he states as one of the causes the following:
`Psychic events create epidemic disease when a common fear of a ruler grips the people. They suffer prolonged sleeplessness and worry about deliverance or the possibility of trouble. As a result their digestion becomes bad and their natural heat is changed. Sometimes people are forced into violent action in such condition. When they expect a famine in some years, they increase their hoarding. Their distress intensifies because of what they anticipate may happen.114
'ABD AL-Rhaman Ibn Nasr ibn 'Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Nabarawi al-Shafi'i (al-Adawi al-Shairazi) is an Egyptian scholar who flourished probably in the time of Salah. Eddin (sultan 1169-1193). He wrote a handbook for the use of police officers in charge of markets (muhtasib; hence, Spanish almotacen; their function was called hisba), enabling them for instance to verify weights and measures and to test the genuineness of wares.115(See entry on Malaga for greater detail on the functions of the Muhtassib). That handbook, divided into forty chapters, is entitled Nihayat al-rutbat al-zarifat fi talab al-hisbat (Summus
terminus auctoritatis politae de quaerendo munere honorifico praefecturae annonae). An elaboration of it

bearing the same title was edited by one Ibn Bassam in the thirteenth or fourteenth century; it contains 114 chapters dealing with almost as many trades or industries. 116 The interest of such handbooks from the cultural point of view needs no emphasis.117 Sarton refers to the work Walter Behrnauer,118 to make a note Ibn Abi Usaybiaya: Uyun; op cit; 2; p. 100. M.C. Lyons: The Kitab an-Nafi of Ali Ibn Ridwan, Islamic Quarterly, vol 6; 1961, 0pp. 168-9. 114 See Tucker: the effects of famines in the medieval Islamic world, quoted in Ibn Ridwans Treatise on the prevention of Bodily ills in Egypt; translated with an introduction by M. Dols; Arabic text edited by Adil S. Gamal; University of California Press; London; 1984; at p. 113. 115 Needles here to repeat the larger definition of Muhtassib. See entry on Malaga for greater detail on this formidable institution, the forerunner of much state inspection we have today. 116 Eilhard Wiedemann: Ueber Verfal schungen von Drogen u. s. w. nach Ibn Bassam und Nabarawi Beitrage 40, Sitzungsber., vol. 46, pp. 172-206, Erlangen 1914. 117 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 463. 118 Walter Behrnauer: Memoire sur les institutions de police chez les Arabes, les Persans et les Turcs in Journal Asiatique, 15, 461-508, 1860; 16, 114-190, 347-392, 1860; 17, 5-76, 1861.
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that it contains a long analysis of the Nihayat al-rutbat, and of various extracts relative to the same subject, for example, extracts from Ibn Khaldun and al-Maqrizi. A complete translation of this work seems very desirable, also a comparative study of it and others of the same kind. This would perhaps help to identify this 'Abd al-Rahman and to determine which books may be ascribed to him.119 Ibn Mammati Abu-l-Makarim Assad ibn al-Khatir ibn Mammati was born in an important Christian family of Egypt before he embraced Islam soon after the conquest of his country by Salah Eddin (1169) and became eventually secretary of war. The wazir's enmity obliged him to fly to Aleppo, where he died in 1209 at the age of 62.120 He wrote an account of the Egyptian government under the Ayyubid sultan Salah Eddin (Saladin, 1169-1193), the Kitab qawanin al-dawawin (Statutes of the councils of state).121 He wrote also a satirical work called Kitab al-fashush fi ahkam Qaraqush (Weak mindedness in the judgments of Qaraqush), whether this referred to Salah Eddin's famous chamberlain Qaraqush Baha' al-din (d. 1201) or not, the stupid Qaraqush of Ibn Mammati's story is the ancestor of the Oriental Punch (Qaragyuz).122 Abdul Latif (1162-1231) was born in Baghdad where he studied philosophy and philology and later chemistry and medicine. During his career he taught medicine and philosophy at Damascus, Aleppo and Cairo. Of the 166 works he is credited with, many of which were on medical subjects, only one is in print,
Compendium memorabilium Aegypti, which is based on his studies and experiences in Egypt, where he
visited at the request of Salah Eddin (who must have been at an old age by then).123 The Arabic manuscript now in the Bodleian Library was translated by Joseph White of Oxford in 1782 and published at Tubingen in 1789 under the title Abdolatiphi compendium124 An Arabic Latin edition containing the Arabic text was published by J. White at the Clarendon Press in 1800; a good French translation appeared in Paris in 1810, and a German translation by Wahl was published at Halle in 1790; other editions of this work were by Hunt in 1746, Mousley 1808, and De Sacy in 1803.125 It is important here to quote Briffault on a crucial aspect of scientific progress, in which Abd al-Latif has a role:
`Contrast that spirit of scientific minuteness and perseverance in observation (amongst the Muslims) with the speculative methods of the ancients who scorned mere empiricism; with Aristotle who wrote on physics without performing a single experiment, and on natural history without taking the trouble to ascertain the most easily verifiable facts, who calmly states that men have more teeth than women, while Galen, the greatest classical authority on anatomy, informs us that the lower jaw consists of two bones, a statement which is accepted unchallenged till 'Abd al-Letif takes the trouble to examine human skulls.126
Ibn Abi al-Hawafar (Floursihed middle of 13th century) wrote a treatise on ophthalmology
Natijat al-
Fikaràlaj amrad al bassar (The thoughtful conclusions on the treatment of the diseases of visions). The
G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 463. G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol; 2; p. 464. 121 Ibn Khallikan: wafayat al-Ayan wa-Anba Abna al-Zaman de Slane's translation; M. De Slane Duprat, Paris and Allen & Co., London, 1843. vol. 1, pp. 192-196. F. Wustenfeld: Geschichtschreiber der Araber; 1881; p.106, 1881. 122 P. Casanova: Qarakouch (Communication faite a l'Institut egyptien, 1892); Karakouch; in Memoire. de la mission archeologique francaise au Caire, vol. 7, 1893. 123 D. Campbell: Arabian Medicine and its Influence on the Middle Ages; Philo Press; Amsterdam; 1926. p. 83. 124 Campbell: Arabian medicine; p. 83. 125 Campbell: Arabian medicine; p. 83.
120 119

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work has been written for the last Ayyubid sultan of Egypt Al-Salih Najm al-Din Al-Ayyubi (ruled Egypt 1240-1249). The work was publicised on the occasion of the congress of medicine held in Cairo in December 1928, presented by N. Kahil under the French title: Une Ophtalmologie arabe par un practicien du Caire du 13em siecle (an Arabic ophthalmologic work of the 13th century by a doctor of Cairo).127 The works therapeutical and surgical parts contain many facts unknown to the Greeks. According to Kahil, this treatise is superior to every European treatise up to the beginning of the eighteenth century. It includes fifteen chapters, such as: Diseases of the cornea; problems of imaginary vision; diseases of the iris; diseases of the crystalline; diseases of the optical nerve; diseases of the eye muscles; diseases of the eyelids; poor eyesight; hygiene of the eyes.128 One of the historians of Mamluk Egypt was Muhyi al-Din Ibn Abd al-Zahir (1223-92) who wrote a contemporary biography of Baybars (ruled 1260-1277). He also wrote biographies of his successors, Qalawun (ruled 1279-90) and his son Al-Ashraf (1290-3). Al-Zahir received traditional Islamic education and rose to become the chief clerk of Baybars chancery. 129 An eminent Arabic stylist, which was an important qualification for the post, he was responsible for the drafting of state papers. 130 The greater part of AlZahirs biography of Baybars (Al-Rawd al-Zahir fi sirat al-Malik al-Zahir ) lifetime.
132 131
was written during its subjects
Of the manuscripts there are two extant copies, one nearly complete, the other covering
approximately the first third of the work.133 Ibn al-Furat was born in Cairo and lived between the years 1334-1405. He was a Hanafite scholar of Cairo, where he studied with notable scholars of the time.134 Amongst these are his shuyukh Abul Faraj Ibn Abd al-Hadi, Abul Futuh al-Dallasi and Abu Bakr ibn Sannaj, and was licensed by the two great scholars of Damascus Al-Mazzi and Al-Dhahabi.135 Ibn Al-Furat eventually became a teacher and a khatib (preacher) in the Muizziya school in Cairo, and also issued marriage contracts and gave authentic witness testimony at the courts.136 He wrote his book, Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk, which depicts best Mamluk crusade history. This treatise survives, incomplete, in the National Library of Vienna, whilst a section from it, unknown, has long been preserved in the Vatican Library until discovered by the scholar Le Strange. It was he who described this part in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.137 Parts of Ibn al-Furats work have been selected and translated by U and M.C. Lyons.138 They gave those extracts in two volumes, the first of which R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1928. pp. 193-4. N. Kahil: Une ophtalmologie arabe par un practicien du Caire du 13 em siecle; Congres de medecine du Caire; Decembre 1928; pp. 241-60. 128 N. Kahil: Une ophtalmologie arabe; pp. 241-60. 129 P.M. Holt: Three Biographies of Al-Zahir baybars; in Medieval Historical Writing in the Christian and Islamic Worlds; School of oriental and African Studies; University of London; London; 1982; pp. 19-29; at p. 20. 130 P.M. Holt: Three Biographies; p. 20. 131 Edited By Abd al-Aziz al-Khuwaytir: Al-Rawd al-Zahir fi sirat al-Malik al-Zahir; Ryad; 1976. 132 P.M. Holt: Three Biographies; op cit; p. 20. 133 P.M. Holt: Three Biographies; p. 27. 134 For an excellent outline on Ibn al-Furat see: M. F. ElShayyal: A Critical Edition of volume II of Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk by Muhammad B. Abd al-Rahim B. Ali Ibn al-Furat; in Islamic Quarterly; vol 47; 2003; pp. 197-216. Above information at p. 199. 135 M. F. ElShayyal: A Critical Edition; p. 199. 136 M. F. ElShayyal: A Critical Edition; p. 199. 137 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol 32, 1900, p.295. 138 U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, selection from the Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of Ibn al-Furat; 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971.
127 126

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being the Arabic text, the second its translation. From those extracts can be gleaned some very interesting events of the later stages of the Frankish presence on Muslim land such as the recovery of Jerusalem, Tiberias, Ascalon and other places from the Franks. Most of all, in Ibn al-Furats work, the focus is on the rise of and campaigns of Baybars.139 The History of the States of the Kings (Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk) has attracted the attention of other scholars such Reinaud who uses extracts relevant to the sixth crusade and the occupation of Damieta.140 More recently, ElShayyal has been engaged in bringing back to light this great historian of Islam. ElShayyal enlightens on previous scholarly works on Ibn al-Furats history, the manuscript of Ibn al-Furats treatise, his sources, and the edition of his text. 141 El Shayyals contribution to the knowledge of Ibn al-Furat was enhanced by his own edition of Ibn al-Furats work in a doctoral thesis at the university of Edinburgh. 142 In the following, it is worth citing briefly an extract from Ibn al-Furat to gather both impact and scale of the crusades on Muslim history. Ibn Al-Furat writes:
`Sultan Baybars received news that the French king, Louis, son of Louis, together with the kings of the Franks, had set sail for an unknown destination. These kings were: the king of England (Lord Edward), the king of Askusina, the king of Nevers (John Tristan), the king of Navarre (Theobald V) who was the count of Champagne, the king of Barcelona (James I of Aragon), the nephew (Robert II Count of Artois) of the French king, the Count of Flanders (Guy) accompanied by his mother (Margaret) who had five hundred knights with her, the Count of Toulouse (Alphonse of Poitou and Toulouse), and the Count of Albano. The Sultan devoted his attention to his frontiers and his galleys, and on his return to Egypt he built bridges of boats for the troops to cross from Fustat to the island of al-Rauda, and from al-Rauda to al-Jiza. He turned his thoughts to the region of Ascalon and considered whether Louis might make for it to build it up as he had built up Caesarea in the past. For Ascalon contained the remains of walls, more particularly those of its citadel. So he set off there himself.143
Kamal Eddin Eddamiri was born in 1349 and died 1405. He was nominally a religious preacher at several mosques in his birth place, Cairo, especially at the Koubbah or the cupola of Baybars. He then went on to occupy one of the chairs at the university of Al-Azhar. 144 He was a very pious person who accomplished many trips to Mecca. He wrote two main works on jurisprudence, a commentary on the Sunah of Ibn Madjah and another work on Minhadj of Nawawi. However, he also wrote one of the greatest medieval works on zoology and animals.145 This work, hayat al-hayawan (The life of animals) has been edited repeatedly and has also been translated into English by Lieutenant Colonel Jayakar.146 Extracts in French have been published by Silvestre de Sacy. The treatise is organised in alphabetical order. The Lion, whose Arabic name begins with A (Assad) comes first. The author tells of many traditions relating to the animal, giving names, epithets, or honorific surnames by which the animal is depicted.147 The author then dwells on issues such as whether the lions flesh could be consumed or not. In this specific instance, we are informed
139 140
U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, , 1971. J. Reinaud: Histoire de la 6em croisade et la prise de Damiette dapres les ecrivains arabes; in Journal Asiatique; 1826; pp. 51-72. 141 M. F. ElShayyal: A Critical Edition; op cit. 142 Ibn al-Furat: tarikh al-duwal wal Muluk; ed M.F. El-Shayyal; unpublished Ph.d., University of Edinburgh; 1986. 143 U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, vol 2; op cit; p. 140. 144 Carra De Vaux: les Penseurs de lIslam; vol 2; op cit; p. 344. 145 In carra De Vaux: les Penseurs de lIslam; vol 2; p. 344. 146 Ad-Damiris Hayat al-Hayan (A Zoological lexicon) trans by A.S.G. Jayakar; vol 1; and first part of the second; London and Bombay; 1906-1908. 147 In Carra De Vaux: les Penseurs de lIslam; vol 2; op cit; p. 345.

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that the flesh of animals, such as the lion, which have canine teeth that are used to grab their prey, are forbidden for use. Thus the jackal, for instance, is equally forbidden because it too lives thanks to the use to its canine teeth. 148 Ad-Damiri also dwells on the moral character of the beasts, also adding proverbs related to each of the animals and also the use of animal, or parts of it, for medical purposes. A brief extract on a scorpion variety (Djerrarah) can be given here:
Ìt is a species which when moving about, drags its tail. These scorpions are small, and are of yellowish colour. We find them in Askar Mokram in Khuzistan, generally in wells dug for making of sugar, or on molds prepared for sugar Djahiz says that these scorpions can kill, and can cause the flesh to rot very quickly. Ibn Djami tells that the venom is hot and dry, and that it creates within the chest a feeling of suffocation; but the place of the bite itself is not painful. As a counter poison can be used water of barley, or cheese water, or a puree of apples mixed with cold water.149
Al-Maqrizi (d.1442) was a man of the law and a teacher in Cairo who collected his material, a great deal of which is absolutely unique, to compile his major work Kitab al-Khitat.150 Al-Maqrizi also compiled Kitab al-
Suluk li Marifat Duwal al Muluk (Book of Entrance to the knowledge of the dynasties of the Kings) which is
a history of Egypt from the time of Salah Eddin (1169) to 1440-1. It is thus a history of two dynasties, the Ayyubids and the Mamluks. The Frenchman Quatremere made a translation of a large portion of this work, and also an edition of the Arabic version up to 1354.151 Al-Maqrizi informs us of all that happened in Egypt throughout the few centuries preceding him in extensive details: places, towns, events, daily life, culture, economy and even finance. Al-Maqrizi also describes the Crusades and Crusaders especially those that involved the French ruler St Louis. His focus is on Mamluk Egypt and Cairo. It is thanks to al-Maqrizi that we know so much about the history of the institutions of Cairo and its structures. We find, for example, information in the descriptions about the actual buildings of the hospitals; Al-Maqrizi provided details of the history, situation and structure of five hospitals in Cairo.152 Maqrizi has left us a vivid description of the progress of what was probably the most costly outbreak of the plague which happened during 1347-9. It broke out in Egypt in the autumn of 1347. By April 1348 it had spread throughout the country and reached its peak in November 1348 and January 1349 before finally subsiding in February 1349. During these one and a half years it wreaked havoc throughout Egypt from Alexandria in the North to the outskirts of Aswan in the south. In Alexandria the plague carried off one hundred people each day and at its height this number rose to two hundred. The royal tiraz factory was closed down for lack of workers; the markets and customs houses suspended operations for lack of merchants and travellers. The Delta areas were similarly affected. In Mahalla the plague was so intense that the prefect (walli) could find no one to come to complain to him; and the qadi, when approached by
In Carra De Vaux: les Penseurs de lIslam; vol 2; p. 345. In Carra De Vaux: les Penseurs de lIslam; vol 2; p. 345-6. 150 Al-Maqrizi, Ahmad Ibn Ali. Al-Mawaiz wa Alitibar fi dhikr al-Khitat wa-Al-athar. Edited by Ahmed Ali al-Mulaiji. 3 Vols. Beirut: Dar al Urfan. 1959. Al-Maqrizi, Kitab al-Khitat, ed. Bulaq; partial French tr. by U. Bouriant and P. Casanova, Description topographique et Historique de l'Egypte, Paris, 1895-1900; Cairo, 1906-20. 151 Cairo, 1956-8, 6 vols. 152 Al-Maqrizi: Kitab Al-Mawaiz wa Alitibar fi dhikr al-Khitat wa-Al-athar, Bulaq 1863, vol. II, pp. 406-8.
149
148

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people to validate their wills, because of their small number, could find no witnesses except with great exertion. In the countryside, there was almost no one left to cultivate the land or collect the harvests.153 Because of the plague, an expanse of land in upper Egypt which was previously inhabited by 6,000 tax payers contained only 116 who could pay taxes. In Cairo, the number of daily deaths rose from 300 at the beginning of October 1348 to 3000 towards the end of the month. Many streets were left with empty houses. Survivors helped themselves to abandoned property, houses, furniture and money. Maqrizi claims that in Cairo alone 900 000 people died, and that the figure would be doubled were it to include some of its suburbs and adjacent areas.154 The history of Egypt is also handled by Ibn Taghribidi (d.1469) who wrote an-Nujum az-Zahira fi Muluk Misr
wal-Qahira (the Brilliant Stars in the Kings of Misr and Cairo.155 It gives excellent accounts of events from
the time of the Muslim arrival until 1468, that is to the eve of the authors death. It is divided into seven volumes of annals; so extensive that Juynboll, Matthe, and Popper all worked on the edition of extracts from the work. 156 Hasan B. Husain al-Tuluni who was born in Cairo in 1432/3 belongs to a famed family of architects. In 1453, he became the chief architect Muallam al-mi-mariyya. He is known to have erected the mausoleum of khusqadam in Cairo, for which he received a robe of honour in 1462.157 He also was commissioned to restore the mosque in the Citadel, and to enlarge and renew parts of it. Between 1481 and 1491 we find him in charge of the restoration of the Main Mosque on the island of Rauda and the construction of mills with waterwheels, a feat of engineering which was considered at the time to be one of the sights of Cairo.158 Ibn Iyas mentions that the Sultan ordered the Nilometer to be repaired and restored at the same time and Al-Tuluni too was responsible for this work. 159 In 1487 he restored the bridge of Abu-l-Munajja. In 1493 he made pilgrimage to Mecca and in 1502-3, he is mentioned as chief architect again. He died in 1517 to be succeeded by his son Shihab Eddin.160
This outline has missed many scholars of Cairo but ought not miss a little known scholar, Izz Eddin alWafai, whose accomplishments seem remarkable as can be shown in the following brief outline based on the large entry devoted to him by Rosenfeld and Ihsanoglu.161 Al Wafai (d. 1469) was primarily a mathematician, muezzin and muwaqqit at the Muayyad mosque in Cairo who wrote a staggering number of forty treatises as listed by Rosenfeld and Ihsanoglu. These treatises are concerned with mathematics including arithmetic, operations with sexagesimal ratio (Kept at Oxford I 967/5, 1034/2), and a large number of works dealing with instruments. Amongst these is al-Nujum al-zahirat fi amal bil rub alR. Lopez, H. Miskimin, A. Udovitch: England to Egypt, 1350-1500: Long term trends and long distance trade. In Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East; Edited by M.A.Cook; Oxford University Press; 1970. pp. 93-128; p.119 154 Al-Maqrizi: Kitab al-Suluk, ed. M.M. Ziada; 2 vols; Cairo; 1936-58; vol ii; pp. 726-87; Trans G. Wiet: La Grande Peste Noire en Syrie et en Egypte; in Etudes dOrientalisme dediess a la memoire de Levi Provencal; 2 vols; Paris; 1962; vol I; pp. 368-80. 155 R. S. Humphreys: Muslim Historiography, Dictionary of the Middle Ages, Charles Scribners and Sons, New York, vol 6, pp 250-5. at p. 251. 156 R. S. Humphreys: Muslim Historiography, p. 251. 157 L.A. Mayer: Islamic architects and their works. Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956. 65. 158 L.A. Mayer: Islamic architects. 66. 159 L.A. Mayer: Islamic architects. 66. 160 L.A. Mayer: Islamic architects and their works. Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956. 66. 161 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, op cit; pp. 283-5.
153

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muqantarat (Brilliant stars on operations with the Almucantar quadrant, in 25 chapters and an introduction - manuscript kept in Cairo, Miqat 197, Istanbul, Leiden, Paris, Tunis, etc). Other treatises include Nuzhat al-nazar fil amal bi shams wal qamar (Delight of the observer on operations with the sun and the moon), a
treatise on the sine quadrant, a treatise on instrument called equatorial circle, a treatise on operations with the shadow plane, a treatise on operations with concave sundials, a treatise on the perfect astrolabe, various guides to pupils on how to make astronomical operations, a speech on almucantars on terrestrial equator and so on .162 From the list it appears that Al-Wafais works can be found in libraries stretching from Cairo to Istanbul, Turin, Manchester, Princeton, Oxford, Tunis, Leiden, Paris, Berlin, Beirut, Jakarta and Rome.
Concluding observations
Cairo is by far the one and only place in the whole of the Islamic world that produced great scholars from the early times of Islam to the late 18th century when we can cite al-Djabarti as possibly the last of the great scholars of Egypt. The fact that Egypt was such a hotbed of intellectual activity is due to not only the genius of its people but also the point that until 1798 - the time of al-Djabarti - Egypt was the only Muslim country that remained in Islamic hands for so long. All other parts of the Muslim world had either been lost for ever (such as Spain and Sicily) or devastated by all sorts of invaders or occupied for long stretches of time by diverse hordes that literally savaged the Islamic heritage and civilisation. The list of tragic devastations that befell the Islamic lands from the time that the Banu Hillal were launched upon the Maghrib in the mid 11th century by the Fatimids include: the beginning of the devastation of Muslim Spain (such as Barbastro in 1063 and the loss of the great city of Toledo in 1085); the loss of Sicily which happened in 1089; the loss of Muslim Spain (except Granada) which took place in the decades between 1230s and 1260s; the crusades which devastated the Muslim East from 1096 to 1291; the Mongol invasions in 1219-1222 and then 1258-1304; the systematic wiping out of millions of lives and countless cities by Timur the Lame and his hordes in the 1380s-1390s; the subsequent colonial wars on top of attacks by Christian pirates against the coastal cities of Islam and its shipping whether in the Mediterranean or the Indian Ocean. The history of Islam has been one of devastated, looted lands and mass slaughter which are unique in the annals of history and in terms of the systematic destruction of its civilisation.163 Thus was extinguished and devastated all or most of the brilliance of Cordoba, Seville, Bejaia, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khwarizm, Aleppo, Jerusalem, Al-Qayrawan, Baghdad, and many other cities of Islam which once provided light, learning, science, refinement and culture to a barbaric world (except China, India and Byzantium which were also civilised places). And such devastation on the ground is followed today by systematic destruction in writing and teaching. Egypt, alone, which escaped much of this terror and devastation, was able to preserve the light of scholarship and civilisation, which was extinguished by the invading hordes everywhere else. It is only from 1798, when the French invaded the country, that in Egypt too, Islamic civilisation and culture began to fall prey to destruction. Only a brief extract from al-Djabarti is useful here. He writes,
`The French trod into the Mosque of al-Azhar with their shoes, carrying swords and rifles. Then they scattered in its courtyard and its main praying area and tied their horse to the Qibla. They
162 163
B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, op cit; pp. 283-5. See articles on this site such as: The Myths; and the entries on diverse cities of Islam on this site, too.

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devastated the students quarter and ponds, smashing the lamps and chandeliers and breaking up the bookcases of the students, the mujawirun, and the scribes. They plundered whatever they found in the mosque, such as furnishings, vessels, bowls, deposits, and hidden things from closets and cupboards. They treated the books and Quranic volumes as trash, throwing them on the ground, stamping on them with their feet and shoes. Furthermore they soiled the mosque, blowing their spit in it, pissing and defecating in it. They guzzled wine and smashed the bottles in the central court and other parts. And whoever they happened to meet in the mosque they stripped. They chanced upon someone in one of the ruwaqs and slaughtered him. Thus they committed deeds in al-Azhar which are but little of what they are capable of, for they are enemies of the faith, the malicious victors who gloat in the misfortune of the vanquished, rabid hyenas, mongrels obdurate in their nature.164
To install fear in Egyptian hearts, the French also hanged Egyptian notable figures and then promoted a class of collaborators to help loot the Egyptian population. The French army also slaughtered the populations of many towns and villages in Egypt and burnt whole populations in their towns and hamlets such as at Benout at Beni Adin in March 1799,165 Tahta and at Abou Girge, where on 28 April 1799, the French commander Davout burnt the whole of the towns population alive inside their homes.166 The French also carried public executions of prominent Egyptian figures on repeated instances such as in November 1798 and July 1799 so as to install a climate of terror.167 The French also destroyed much of Cairo.168 One should remember that when the French army entered Egypt in 1798, its commanding leader, General Bonaparte (the future Napoleon), outlined the noble purposes of the French invasion. In his declaration to the Egyptian people on 2 July 1798, Bonaparte insisted that his only aim was to free Egypt from the Mamluk tyrants and despots. 169 His declaration stated,
`For very long the Beys who rule Egypt have insulted the French nation... Now has arrived the hour of punishment. For very long, this collection of slaves (the Mamluks), purchased from Georgia and the Caucasus has inflicted its tyranny on the most beautiful part of the world, but God, on Whom all depends has ordered that their reign ends. People of Egypt, I have come to restore your rights, punish the usurpers, and more than the Mamluks I respect God, his Prophet and the Quran `Where there is good land, it has been taken by the Mamluks; where there is a beautiful slave she has been ravished by them; a beautiful horse, a beautiful house, all belong to the Mamluks Ìn your land, in the past, were great cities, great canals, a prosperous trade. Who destroyed it all? If it is not the avarice, the injustice, the tyranny of the Mamluks. Àll Egyptians will be called upon to manage everything; the wisest, the best instructed; the most virtuous will govern; and the people will be happy.
Al-Jabarti in M Morsy: North Africa 1800-1900; Longman; London; 1984. p. 79. G. Hanotaux: (vol 5 written by H. Deherain): Histoire de la Nation Egyptienne; Paris; Librarie Plon; 1931. p. 387. 166 G. Hanotaux: Histoire; p. 387. 167 M. Morsy: North Africa; op cit; p. 80. 168 P.M. Holt: Egypt and the Fertile Crescent: 1522-1922. Cornelll paperbacks; Ithaca; New York; 1966. p.156 fwd. 169 In G. Hanotaux (Deherain): Histoire; op cit;. p. 254; for lengthy details of this proclamation see al-Jabarti: Al-Jabartis chronicle of the first seven months of the French occupation of Egypt. Ed and tr by S. Moreh; Leiden, 1975 pp 39-47.
165
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`Three times happier will be those who will side with us: they will prosper in their fortune and ranks. Happy will be those who will remain neutral: they will have time to learn to know us and will join with us.170
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ACOUSTIC SOLUTIONS IN CLASSIC OTTOMAN ARCHITECTURE
Prof. Dr. Mutbul Kayili Lamaan Ball Rumeana Jahangir Aasiya Alla May 2005 4087 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Acoustic Solutions in Classic Ottoman Architecture May 2005
ACOUSTIC SOLUTIONS IN CLASSIC OTTOMAN ARCHITECTURE

By Prof. Dr. Mutbul Kayili Gazi University, Faculty of Architecture & Engineering, Maltepe 06570 Ankara, Turkey
Introduction
Throughout history, Anatolia became the birthplace and cradle of many great civilizations. Due to a number of factors, the Turks held a significant part in these series of civilizations, beginning with the oldest that our historical knowledge has been able to determine the Hatties (Khatties). The first reason for this is that the preceding civilizations were not demolished by the Turks; on the contrary, they protected them and also carried them forward. Another reason is the monumental buildings they built and the technology they applied to these buildings. Whenever Anatolian Turkish works and their related technology are spoken of, the first name that comes to mind is that of the Turkish Architect Sinan. The construction technology used by Sinan has become legendary. Sinan's renowned success in the acoustic design of mosques has previously been studied in detail.1 The acoustic systems he applied, especially Helmholtz (cavity) resonators technology, are among the most successful applications of acoustic science. But it must be made clear here that cavity resonator technology was not new in Anatolia. The Roman architect-engineer Marcus Vitruvious Pollio, who lived in the first century CE, gives information on the construction technology of his age in his work titled Ten Books on Architecture (De architectura libri decem).2 In the fifth book, the writer takes up the subject of public buildings and gives information concerning their architecture and construction. In the third, sixth, seventh and eighth chapters of this book, acoustic data related to the construction of theatres are explained in detail. The fifth chapter, Sounding Vessels in the Theatre, is completely devoted to cavity resonators. In this chapter he explains that sounding vessels (cavity resonators) made of bronze must be placed in the theatre structure to reinforce the quality and harmonic structure of sound and he explains their resonances, installation location and form in detail. In the last section of the chapter in which theatres sounding vessels can be found is discussed and he gives the theatres in the Greek city states as an example. In addition, he relates that a man named Lucius Mummius, after destroying the theatre in Corinth, took the bronze vessels from there to Rome and sold them. He then made an offering to the Temple of Luna with the money he made from the selling. Later, the chapter relates how a number of experienced architects who built small theatres were forced by economic reasons to use earthenware vessels (in the place of bronze ones) that gave the same resonance and obtained positive results. The vessel described in this document, which gives important data for Anatolian civilizations, is actually one of the first examples of the cavity resonator applications. However, this technology did not end with Ancient 1 The writer has researched the acoustic data of Sinans mosques and the results of the Research have been published. See: Mimar Sinan Camilerinin Akustik Verilerin Degerlendirilmiesi, Mimar-basi Koca Sinan-Yasadigi Cag ve Eserleri, T.C. Basbakanlik Vakiflar Genel Mudurlugu publications, (Istanbul 1988). 2 Vitruvius. The Ten Books on Architecture. Translated by M. H. Morgan, Dover edition, Dover publication, (New York, 1960)

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Greece or the Roman Empire; on the contrary, their existence continued and developed. Moreover, new examples based on acoustic knowledge were applied.3 These examples are frequently seen in both Seljuk and Ottoman works. The Gevher Nesibe Sultan Darusshifa (A. C. 1205) in Kayseri from the Seljuk period is one of the best examples of this. In this hospital the music played for therapeutic purposes was heard in the patients' rooms by means of sound channels. These is one of the clearest examples of the continuing development of the applications of acoustic knowledge in Anatolia. The widespread use of cavity resonators is often seen in both Seljuk and Ottoman works. We see that the development of applications and technology covering acoustic knowledge reached its peak with Sinan. The results obtained from the mosques selected for our acoustic research on Sinan's mosques support this view. In the investigation of three large mosques, it is seen that attention was paid to the relation between the sound power capacity of source and the size (volume) and that the goal of obtaining sufficient sound level affected the layout of plans. For this reason, before specifically taking up Sinan's technology, which reached the top level of today's definition on acoustic design and applications, we believe it is useful to investigate the purpose of acoustic science and the applications based on acoustic knowledge.
ACOUSTIC SCIENCE
The exact meaning of the word acoustic is Of or relating to the science of sound. Early works dealing with sound and hearing are seen long before Vitruvius. The numerical observations made by Pythagoras (580500 BC) are accepted as the first works. Later, we encounter Aristotle's (384-322 BC) work titled Sound and
Hearing. Others followed this. In these works, the basic aims are to physically define sound and to
determine the necessary conditions for better hearing. In this period there was no concept of noise, as we understand it today. The existent noise was natural sounds such as thunder and storms and the sound of weapons during wartime. Noise (man-made noise) appeared with the Industrial Revolution. Humanity became aware of noise and took measures against it only after the Second World War. In this way noise control became a branch of acoustic science. Today's architectural acoustics is formed of two branches: 1. Noise control 2. Room acoustic.
3 The Acoustic knowledge term is used instead of acoustics sciencesince acoustics was not a science in those years. Hence works for better intelligibility and better hearing had been applied based on the then knowledge of sound. But, after discussing Sinans technology, it will be seen that applied technology defines acoustics science. The reason of using the acoustic system term for cavity resonators is that, physical definition of such resonators have been done by acoustic science and they work as a system.

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Figure 1. Instantaneous (no reflection) sound energy.
Figure 2. Energy decay of reverberant Sound As there was no noise problem recognised in that period, the scope of acoustic works were limited to "room acoustics" and was aimed at getting better hearing conditions. In order to achieve this aim, it is necessary to realize these two basic conditions: 1. 2. Realizing a homogenous dissipation of sound energy in a room (diffuse field). Realizing the decay of sound energy (reverberation time) at the optimum level.
The first condition, as will be easily understood, that in a room whose basic function is related to sound, the homogeneous distribution of the sound energy in the room must be realized. Sinan's making use of components on the boundaries of a room for this purpose and his realizing distribution of sound in all directions by the activity formed on these surfaces has been described in detail in the writer's previous publications.4 It is necessary to make it clear here that, in spite of all the positive applications, the dome that covers a mosque is one of the most inconvenient forms in acoustics. This subject and the applied solutions will be discussed later.
4 See footnote 1.

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We can define the second condition as follows; sound energy is emitted from its source in spherical waves. If, even in the outdoors, the waves do not strike and are not reflected by any surface or component, they will continue their travelling until all the sound energy will be absorbed by air. A listener in the path of the sound wave's emission perceives the coming and passing energy wave during the instant that it contacts his ear (Figure 1.). Regarding the speed of sound, it is understood that this time is extremely short. In enclosed spaces, the sound energy reflected from the boundaries continues its existence while decreasing (Figure 2.). We call this physical event reverberation. The time of reverberation is lengthened or shortened in relation to the sound absorption characteristics of components found in the room and the surfaces at the boundary of the room. The decay time of sound energy is called reverberation time. 5
Figure 3. Effect of sound energy decay on Intelligibility due reverberation time
5 Reverberation time is defined as the time which elapses from the moment the sound source is switched off until the average energy density in the room has fallen by 60 dB of its steady value.

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Figure 4. Recommended reverberation time for mosques The sound field around us is formed from a series of sound energy components that always follow one another. These components, from both the point of view of energy intensity and frequency characteristics, usually differ from each other. This is the nature of sound for human voices, and sounds in nature and in music. The human ear always seeks reverberation and in order not to separate sound components from one another wants to connect each one to the following one with a reverberation (sound energy decay) curve. So, realizing optimum reverberation time gives better hearing conditions. A short reverberation time leads the ear to feel unsatisfied, and a long reverberation causes components to mask the following ones, which results in insufficient intelligibility or even unintelligible hearing (Figure 3). For this reason, the problem in a room is achieving an optimum reverberation time according to the function of sound like speech, music, drama, etc. The sound absorption characteristics of finishing materials of boundaries and all components in the room give this value. The recommended optimum reverberation time curve for mosques is given in Figure 4 as a function of the size of the room and the time. In this description of the reverberation time curve, suggested by the writer, the function of the sounds formed in the mosque was taken as a basic factor and attention was paid to the reflections achieving a divine aesthetic quality to the sound. 6 Therefore, the values determined are longer than the reverberation time necessary for normal conversation.
6 See: "Sinan Eserlerinde Akustik", Turk Vakif medeniyeti Cercevesinde "Mimar Sinan ve Donemi Sempozyumu," Vakiflar Genel Mudurlugu publications, (Istanbul 1989).

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Effect of Cavity Resonators and Domes in Architectural Acoustics

After defining the basic concepts related to acoustic design in rooms, we can investigate the functions of the components in a dome described as bronze vessels by Vitruvius, by the Ottomans as jar and cavity resonators (Helmholtz resonators) in acoustics.
(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 5. a) Cavity resonator, b) Simple mechanical oscillators, c) LCR electrical circuit
Q=0.5
( )

Q=1.0
Q=5
Figure 6. Equivalent absorption cross section areas ratio of cavity resonators Cavity resonators, despite their small dimensions, are effective acoustic systems. Because of their small dimensions the medium (air) movement inside is analogous to those mechanical systems having lumped mechanical elements of mass, stiffness and

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resistance. Cavity resonators, therefore, can be discussed in terms of an analogous simple mechanical oscillators or LCR electrical circuits (Figure 5). Such a system consists of rigid enclosure, a neck that provides a connection to this cavity external medium.7 Without getting into physical equivalents, the air in the systems neck acts as a mass by oscillating with the effect of an incident sound wave. The air in the system's cavity acts as a spring in this oscillation, by compressing and expending, and thus provides the stiffness element. The total resistance of the air mass in the neck and radiation resistance forms acoustic resistance.
Figure 7. Equivalent scattering cross section areas ratio of cavity resonators The system acts as an absorber in a narrow frequency band with a centre frequency in which resonance occurs. By decreasing the system's quality factor Q (by increasing interior resistance), it is possible to widen absorption frequency band to a certain degree. In this situation, a decrease in the absorption is seen. In Figure 6 the ratio of the equivalent absorption cross section area () to the equivalent absorption cross section area at resonance frequency ()o is given as a function of the ratio of frequency to resonance frequency (). One of the other characteristics of the system is, again in a specific frequency band, to reradiate incident sound energy homogeneous in all direction as if it were source itself. In Figure 7 the ratio of the equivalent scattering cross section area (s) to the equivalent scattering cross section area at resonance frequency (s)o is again given as a function of the ratio of frequency to resonance frequency (). As will be seen in the figure, when the system's quality factor Q is reduced enough, the system is able to perform like a sound source system in the frequencies above the resonance frequency. Cavity resonators, particularly because of their effects at low frequencies, are used to prevent the resonance of standing waves inside a room and for the purpose of getting homogeneously distributed sound energy. 7 The writer has investigated Sinans acoustic technology and the results published, in this publication the physical characteristics of cavity resonators are given in detail. See: "Sinan ve Bosluklu Rezonatorler", Gazi Universitesi Muh.-Mim. Fakultesi Dergisi, vol. 3, no. 1-2, (Ankara 988).

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Figure 8. Behaviour of sound energy in a dome
Acoustic properties of the Dome

As explained above, the dome form is one of the most inconvenient forms in acoustics. The reason is due to the concave forms of the domes, the incident sound energy does not go out without reflecting several times in the dome. Because of this the reflected sound energy from the dome reaches back to the room with a time delay. So the result is echoes or noise in the room and reduction on the percentage of intelligibility. In Figure 8 the behaviour of sound energy in a dome is shown both in plan and cross section. As can be seen from the figure, the reflected sound energy that is increasingly delayed, especially in large domes, is a cause of echoes. The function of cavity resonators, whose characteristics were briefly given in the previous subsection, begins here. Cavity resonators, placed in a dome, prevent the reflection of sound energy and reradiate it throughout the room. By reradiating the incident energy in all directions, the room becomes a diffused sound field and the danger of echoes due to delayed reflections from dome is eliminated. Besides getting a diffused field, the sound coming from the dome shortly after the direct sound, creates a divine effect in the atmosphere of worship. It is believed that this application became a tradition in Ottoman
dome structure mosque
50 cm 1,5 and 3 cm
Figure 9. Cross section of the resonators found in the dome of the Sultan Ahmet Mosque

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mosques. To investigate the state of resonators, has however not been possible in every mosque dome. Such an opportunity only comes about during restoration work and that opportunity was found in the Sultan Ahmet (Blue) Mosque (See Photo 1 and Figure 9). The continuation of restoration in 1986 gave us a chance of detailed inspection in the main dome and seventy-five resonators were found on three rings at the dome. 8 Unfortunately, all of these resonators had been plastered over later. Some of them had even plugged with various components (See Photo 2). The same problem held true for the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne. According to authorities in charge of the last restoration work, "they found a large number of earthenware jars (resonators) in the dome, but all of them had their openings covered with bricks which had been plastered over. After cleaning the interiors of the resonators the bricks were replaced and plastered over once more. Again, Dr. Beyhan Ercag, who was in charge of restoration, writes in her Ph.D. thesis that during the course of
Photo 1. The opening of a resonator in the dome of the Sultan Ahmet Mosque
Photo 2. One of the plugged resonators in the dome of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque
8 See note 1.

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Figure 10. Plan of the Shehzade Mosque restoration, 144 resonators were found in Shehzade Mehmet Mosque (See Figure 10). 9 On the other hand, during the observation made at Kadrga Sokullu Mehmet Pasha Mosque, traces of holes believed to be the openings of resonators were found. There were thirty-six holes in the main dome and 42 to 45 in each of the quarter domes. Naturally, when the openings of the resonators are completely closed they are unable to function. The result of these causes, particularly in large rooms and at low frequencies, undesirable reverberation curves. As a matter of fact, this expectation was confirmed by measurements of the reverberation time made in the Suleymaniye and Selimiye Mosques (See Photo 3). In both mosques, a long reverberation time was measured, especially in the low frequencies. The irregular and prolonged reverberation times were also recorded for those frequencies
Photo 3. The opening of resonators in the dome of the Suleymaniye Mosque
9 Ercag, Beyhan, Istanbul'daki Bazi Mimar Sinan Camilerinde Ic Bezeme Programinin Gecirdigi Evreler, (Unpublished doctoral thesis), (Istanbul 1996).

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INFLUENCE OF ACOUSTIC DATA IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

The results of our investigation to define acoustic properties of Sinan's mosques proved the abundance of his knowledge and applied technology on acoustics and his ability in utilising them in architectural design. Especially, the obtained data from mosques other than his two large ones supports this view.10 Although the measured reverberation times of Suleymaniye and Selimiye were quite reasonable at middle and high frequencies, there were serious problems at low frequencies. The basic reason for such results is the mistakes that were made during the restoration activities without having sufficient knowledge of the applied technology. On the other hand, because of the size of Sinan's two big mosques, the delayed reflections have negative effect at those frequencies. On the other hand, the existence of muezzin mahfil (a gallery for the cal to prayer) in different locations in all three mosques is considered important; although a small
mahfil was added on to two pillars at the back of the Suleymaniye, it was not desired in the Selimiye. The
data led us to analyze the plan graphics of the three big mosques again; the analysis showed us improvement on Sinans acoustical concept during their design process and also his awareness of the intelligibility problem.11 It has been determined that, with this awareness, Sinan began to search for a solution to get sufficient intelligibility and he combined architectural design with acoustic design. The data given below led us to these result.
Type of sound source Average speaker Experienced speaker Instrumental or vocal soloist Large symphony orchestra Massed choirs
Maximum room volume (m3) 3000 6000 10000 20000 50000
Table 1. Maximum room volume according to type of sound source within First of all, the calculations of the interior volume of all three mosques show us that there is a lack of sound power due to sound sources in the mosques. The maximum volumes of the rooms are given in Table 1. The Shehzade Mehmet Mosque, in spite of being the smallest of the three mosques, has an interior volume of almost 50,000 m3 (See Figure 10). Looking at Table 1, we can see that only massed choirs can produce the sufficient sound power for the room with that size of interior volume. The muezzin's mahfil in this mosque is located next to the northwest pillar. It is evident that although there are cavity resonators in the dome, the sound energy will remain insufficient and the total sound energy of those working at the muezzin's
mahfil will not be the equivalent of large choirs.
10 Because restoration work was being done on the Sehzade Mehmet Mosque during the course of the research no research was conducted there. Acoustic data were taken from the Suleymaniye and Selimiye Mosques. 11 The writer has given the result of analyses of plan graphics in detailed in his paper Use of Cavity Resonators in Anatolia Since Vitruvius. The Seventh International Congress on Sound and Vibration Proceedings. Publications of International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration, V. 3, pp. 1621 1628, Munich, Germany, 2000.

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Figure 11. Plan of the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul It is realized that besides enlarging the interior volume of the Suleymaniye Mosque even more, Sinan tried to increase sound power by a number of sources. For this purpose, he placed the muezzin's mahfil near the
mihrab, next to the southwest pillar and in addition, he added small mahfils (balconies) to the two north
pillars (Photo 4.). The data show awareness of the need for extra sound power during the design process of this mosque with interior volume approximately 88,000 m3 and the data also demonstrate the greatness of both the period's and Sinan's acoustic knowledge. It must be noted here, however, that there is also a lack of knowledge in this application. In such a large enclosed volume having more than one source located at different places and with the repetition of the sounds from the first and following sources naturally create duplicate sounds or even multiple sounds resulting in unintelligible sound or noise. In Figure 11 the plan of the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul is given.
!
Photo 4. One of the small Mahfills in Suleymaniye Mosque

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Photo 5. The Acoustic Space and the muezzin's mahfil in the Selimiye Mosque For the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, it is evident that Sinan made an effort to achieve a reasonable solution to the acoustic problem. 12 (See Figure 12) For this purpose, he designed a total space for the interior of the mosque, not divided into spaces and reduced to the size of room. The interior volume of the Selimiye Mosque is approximately 75,000 m3 and, naturally, it is evident that the problem of the power of the sound source will arise. To overcome this problem, Sinan placed the muezzin's mahfil exactly in the centre of the total space (see Photo 5). The dome and also cavity resonators are directly above the sound source. The resonator system that will diffuse the sound energy into the room, being close and having no effect of reflected sound, will take the sound energy directly from the source and diffuse it throughout the entire room. Here intelligence shows its creativity, and for the first time in the history of civilization, we encounter an acoustic space. The sound energy coming from above defines a space - an acoustic space. It must be remembered that for Sinans design there is no application without a reason. For many years, historians have sought the answer to the question after creating a total space, why did he put the muezzin's mahfil right in the centre. Now we can easily say; The answer is to create an acoustic space.
12 The writer has given the analyses of total space in detailed in his paper Evolution of Acoustics and Effect of Worship Buildings on it. Proceedings of the Forum Acousticum Sevilla 2002 -16-20 September 2002. Revista de Acoustica, V. XXXIII, ISBN: 84-87985-06-8, Madrid, Spain, 2002.

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Figure 11. Plan of the Selimiye Mosque in Istanbul
CONCLUSION
In this work, we have briefly evaluated applied acoustic systems throughout history, especially in Ottoman period. The high level of development and applied technology that we have determined is surprising. Here it must be made clear that satisfactory researches have not been carried out in all relevant technical sciences, as we have seen in acoustics and many technical data have yet to be evaluated sufficiently. The air circulation in mosques and the soot-cell of the Suleymaniye Mosque are typical examples of not deeply investigated data. During the course of our research we saw a number of clay pipes going into the walls or opening into the mihrab in both mosques that are under the process of restoration and half ruined. These beg questions which must be answered. In addition, in the same mosques we saw a number of different types of plaster. It still is not completely clear whether or not these are a product of the technology which determined their characteristics due to their purpose. These topics, until now, have only interested art historians and architectural historians. These research projects now require the participation of engineers, physicists and other technical specialists. It should not be forgotten that with every restoration, a part of technological products that are not completely understood are completely lost or remain under plaster. It is necessary for this work to be carried out by a team composed of experts from many branches of science.

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The Muslim Agricultural Revolution and its influence on Europe
Zohor Idrisi PhD Lamaan Ball Rumeana Jahangir Aasiya Alla June 2005 4088 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
The Muslim Agricultural Revolution and its Influence on Europe June 2005
THE MUSLIM AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON EUROPE

By Zohor Idrisi, PhD, Senior Researcher, The Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation, UK
Abstract
Since the dawn of civilization the Levant with its varied flora and fauna has provided a rich diet for its indigenous population. This resulted in the area becoming a desirable target for conquest. Amongst the major conquerors were numbered the Greeks and Romans who exploited the areas crops through an essentially tributary economy. The belief that their presence was permanent discouraged introducing new types of crops to their environment. When the Roman Empire finally disintegrated, its tributary economy disappeared, civilization collapsed and all development stagnated. This dismal situation prevailed until the establishment of Islam (7th century C.E.) when the Muslim Agricultural Revolution transformed the essentials of life and its environment. Subsequently Muslim scientists, physicians and botanists set scientific development into motion. Amongst the trailblazing Muslim scientists Ibn Al-Baytar (circa 11881248 C.E.) and his like created a phenomenal repertoire in the field of botany. The progress of Muslim scientific knowledge then continued uninterrupted for several centuries. What happened to the Europeans beyond the Pyrenees? Why did they lapse into a medieval feudal system with no improvement in lifestyle albeit for the well being of the people until the 18th century? How did the change in attitude occur, so that what was once regarded as quackery, folklore and medical heresy became accepted as scientific information? What was the impetus that led the Swedish botanist known as Linnaeus (17071778 C.E.) to undertake his compilation of the flora and fauna of the known world? This paper attempts to answer these questions and comments on the relationship between the environment of Ibn AlBaytar and that of Linnaeus.
The Muslim Contribution to Botany

Medico-botanical books have been produced since the dawn of civilization; records from Egypt, Mesopotamia, China and India reflect a tradition that existed before man discovered writing. Conversely, nothing in the West evidences such antiquity. The first herbal in the Greek language was written in the 3rd century B.C.E. by Diocles of Carystus, followed by Crateuas in the 1st century C.E. The only consistent work that has survived is by Pedanios Dioscorides1 of Anazarba De Materia Medica (65 C.E.). He remains the 1 The herbal of Apuleius known variously as: De medicaminibus herbarum Liber uno, Herbarius Apulei Platonici- Herbarum de Sextus Apuleius Barbarus, Herbarium Apuleius Plato and De Herbarum virtutibus. This work was plagiarized several times in Classical times but reappeared in the 15th century under new titles. The author is definitely a pagan from North Africa who was a student of Platos Philosophy and his work included plants and reptiles from the Sahara. My conclusion is that this is the lost work of the King of Numidia Juba II (d.25 C.E.), husband of Cleopatra Selena, who spoke Greek and Latin, worshipped the Goddess Isis and wrote about his travels to the Sahara. F. J. Anderson, An Illustrated History of the Herbals, New York 1997- p.3; p. 24 -The work was given a Christian iconography in the 8-9th cent. It was printed in the

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only known authority amongst the Greek and Roman herbalists. The first treatise written on agriculture in the West was just after the fall of Carthage; it was a Roman Encyclopaedic work written by Cato 2 the Elder (234-149 B.C.E.) on medicine and on farming that was called De Agricultura, the oldest complete Latin prose on this subject. However, the stability of the world in which these works were compiled came to an end with the disintegration of the Roman Empire. In places where the authority of the empire no longer existed, its haphazard replacement by the early stages of feudalism brought little stability. Conflicts for the possession of the land were liable to break out anywhere. Civilization was near to collapse and all development halted. This dismal situation prevailed until the advent of Islam (7th century C.E.). In 711 C.E., within a century of the establishment of Islam, the area under Muslim influence had become one of robust economic development capable of yielding the wealth necessary to finance the protection of an area stretching from the foot of the Pyrenees to the frontiers of China. The widespread patronage of intellectual works was a key factor in this development and this resulted in the flowering of Islamic culture and civilization in the Muslim world. This civilization had such momentum that - despite constant threats of invasion and internal dissension huge strides were made in agriculture, medicine and science. Hence a wide range of raw materials and the means of adapting them for curing illnesses and for enhanced forms of nutrition became available. This great movement in agriculture was largely due to central government sponsoring an extensive network of irrigation canals. In the Near East good results were achieved. However, in the West the situation was less promising. The Iberian peninsula subsistence level agro-economy was only rudimentary 3. In fact it was defined by race. The Visigoth herder overlords jealously protected their stock-rearing interests4 whilst their conquered subjects produced wheat, barley, grapes, olive oil and a few vegetables, all inherited from their previous Roman masters. Thus the only links between the two systems were those of tribute or taxes. Once the Muslims had assumed control of the province, there was a need to define which crops to cultivate. Fortunately, the Arab botanical range was already extensive and growing rapidly. In their territorial expansion, the Muslims had come across plants and trees, which were hitherto unknown to them, whilst their merchants brought back exotic plants, seeds and spices from their many voyages. Many of the more 14th century with examples in Italian, German, French and English. Manuscripts in Laurenziana Archivo della Badia Montecassino cod. 97.- R.W.T. Gunther, The Herbal of Apuleius Barbarus from the early 12th cent. manuscript (MS Bodley 130) Oxford 1925- and W.T. Stearn, E. Caprotti 2 vols, Milan 1979. 2 Marcus Porcius Cato a Roman political leader who was a fervent enemy of Carthage and constantly sought its destruction. Carthage was a Phoenician enclave in North Africa famous for its agricultural ability and commercial success. It is related that Cato went to the Senate one day and dropped onto the floor a large fig brought from Carthage. It caught the admiration of the senators for its size and he warned them that this land is only 3 days away by sea from them. He constantly repeated Carthago delenda est (Carthage must be destroyed) which eventually happened and its soil was ploughed with salt to prevent anything growing again. 3 a) Clay Stalls Despite an often harsh ecology, the Ebro River Valley provided pasture for pastoralism under the Romans. In the 5th century C.E.: a decline in population under Visigoth rule. p.4 in Possessing The Land: Aragons Expansion into Islams Ebro Frontier under Alfonso the Battler 1104-1134 -E.J. Brill, Leyden 1995. b) Strabo Ist cent. C.E. De Geographiac) L. Bolens IV op.cit. p.268 Iberian desert transformed in green pastures. d) Elena Lourie A Society Organized for War: Medieval Spain- Past and Present 35 (1966):55. 4 By means of their Forum Iudicum issued in the VIth and VIIth centuries. Jaime Vicens Vives, An Economic History of Spain - Princeton University Press 1969, p 83-92.

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valuable crops such as sugar cane, bananas5 and cotton needed plenty of water or at least a monsoon season. Thus to cultivate them, a widespread artificial irrigation system would be needed. Artificial irrigation was in fact better known to the Muslims than the crop rotation system of colder European lands where it was felt necessary to leave the land fallow, i.e. to recover, for one year in three or four. However, artificial irrigation implied a need to raise water by several metres to guarantee a constant flow within the system. An ideal device existed for such tasks in the form of the Noria, Naura,6 the various forms of which represent a subject that merits its own particular study. Hence the Noria became the basis of sophisticated irrigation systems.7 The use of Norias spread rapidly to the extent that, in some areas, the water system became state property to ensure equitable distribution.8 In the Valencia area alone some 8,000 norias were built for the needs of rice plantations.9 Correct calculation of levels was essential, a task that the successors of Roman agrimensores with their chains of specific length were ill-equipped to perform. In this, the Muslims had the advantage of the advances they had made in mathematics thus making triangulation possible and hence the accurate measurement of height.10 The Muslims did not waste time in haphazard agricultural trials, but achieved maximum output by learning how to identify suitable soils and by mastering grafting techniques for plants and trees. The written works and oral traditions of ancient peoples were painstakingly recorded, whilst exchanges between experts became increasingly frequent, so that in all major towns the libraries were full of learned works on agriculture. Arising as they did from a civilization of travellers, the Muslims combed the known world for knowledge and information, journeying in the harshest of environments - as far afield as the Steppes of Asia and the Pyrenees. 11 In this context the discovery of paper12 stimulated on the spot detailed recording of their journeys and observations. This plethora of records and information built up to a level that prompted the compilation of encyclopaedic works. ! ! !
Kitb nabat (a treatise on plants) by Abu Hanifa Al-Dinawari (d.282/895 CE)13 Al filaha nabaiya (Nabatean agriculture) by Ibn Wahshiyya (IXth century) Al Biruni (973-1048) Kitb al aydana (Pharmacopoeia) - large pharmaceutical encylopedia
5 The Arabic word for this fruit is musa from Sanskrit mocha. In fact banan means finger in Arabic. See A. Achaya, Indian Food- A Historical companion - Oxford University Press, New Delhi 1994. p.208. 6 (i) M. Lombard, The Golden Age of Islam p. 31.(ii) Brunhes, J. lIrrigation dans la Pninsule ibrique et dans lAfrique du Nord. Paris, 1902- Also known as saniya. A large wheel driven by animal power (or occasionally by human power) which carried a series of large earthenware pots (dawlab) tied to a double loop of rope, so that the pots were let down into the water source and then raised to the top of the wheel's action where their contents were discharged into a feeder gully. 7 (i) Ibn Al Razzaz Al Jazari The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices- Transl. Donald R. Hill- Dordrechts Reidel 1974. (ii) P. Guichard, LEspagne et la Sicile Musulmanes aux XI et XIIme Sicles- Presses Universitaires de Lyon 1991. p. 52 8 Ahmed Al Wansharisi Al Nawazil and Al Miyar cf L. Bolens Agronomes andalous du Moyen Age III, p.86. 9 T.F. Glick Medieval Irrigation clocks -pp. 425-427. 10 On spherical trigonometry Habash al Hasib d.850 C.E.- M.V. Villuendas La Trigonometria Europea en el siglo XI-Estudia de la obra de Ibn Muad- Barcelona 1979. b) J.L. Berggren Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam- Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1986. 11 M. Lombard, The Golden Age of Islam pp. 57-59. 12 M. Lombard Textiles dans le monde musulmans -Fs had more than 400 paper mills. p. 203. 13 Toufic Fahd, Histoire des Sciences Arabes - sous la Direction de Roshdi Rashed- Editions du Seuil Paris 1997. vol. II p.

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! ! !
Ali B. Sahl Rabban al Tabari (d. 240/855) Firdaws al hikma14 Ibn Baqunesh (Abu Othman Sad Ben Muhamed) (d.1052 CE) Ibn Bassal (Abu Abdullah Muhamed Ibn Ibrahim) (d.1100 CE)15
By the 12th century in Al Andalus, botany was converted from its role as a purely descriptive science and achieved the status of an academic science. This century was seen as the golden age of Islamic botany with such great scholars as: ! ! ! ! ! ! Abul Abbas an Nabati (Ibn Rumiyya) d. 636 AH/1239 CE Ibn Baytar (1197-1248 CE)16, Tafsir kitb Diasquridus - Jami al mufradat al adwiya wal aghdiya Al Ghafiqi (d.1166 CE), author of Kitb jami al mufradat (materia medica) . Ibn Al Awwam, 12th century author of Kitb al filaha (treatise on agriculture)17 Ibn Bajja (d. 1138 C.E.), Kitb al nabat Liber de plantis (Latin transl.), defining sex of plants. Najib Eddin as Samarqandi (d.1222 C.E.) wrote a treatise on medical formulary.
The scholars themselves conducted their experiments and taught everywhere, including mosques and weekly markets. This is confirmed by the fact that Ibn Baytars work was recorded in Arabic, Berber, Greek and Latin whilst Al Birunis Pharmacopoeia gives synonyms for drugs in Syriac, Persian, Greek, Baluchi, Afghan, Kurdish and Indian dialects etc Their linguistic capabilities demonstrated their intention of spreading knowledge amongst all nations, as was the case with the distribution of the agricultural Calendar of Cordoba in the 10th century.18 provided as an aid to agriculture. In the aftermath of the Roman Empire conquerors, such as the Visigoths, installed regimes in which the monarch, the nobility and the church fathers owned the bulk of the land, the burghers, who were in charge of municipal affairs, had less than 25 acres each, whilst the serfs were the cultivators and were yoked to the land and were sold with it.19 The attitude of Muslims was different since they understood that real incentives were needed if productivity were to reach levels that might significantly increase wealth and thereby enhance tax revenues. 20 The Muslims brought revolutionary social transformation through changed ownership of land. Any individual had the right to buy, sell, mortgage, inherit the land and farm it or have it 74. 14 Author of an encyclopedia Firdaws al hikma (Paradise of wisdom) that covers subjects such as philosophy, medicine, hygiene, botany, astronomy/cosmology. Ibid. p. 77. 15 Ibn Bassal: libro de Agricultura- Edited by J. M. Millas Vallicrosa and M. Aziman, Tetuan 1955. 16 Ibn Baytar lists more than 150 authors and 1,400 drugs of which 400 were unknown to the Greeks. Ibid p. 79. 17 Kitb al Filaha Libro de agricultura, el doctor excelente Abu zacaria Iahia Aben Ahmed Ebn El Awam, Sevillano. Tranlsation Don Josef Antonio Banqueri Imprenta Real, Madrid 1802. 18 Calendar of Cordoba Kitb al Anwa Liber Anoe is an event calendar for the farmers year. A scholarly work intended to convey a variety of information, including constellation diagrams, on monthly tasks related to soil, plants, animals, seeding, planting and grafting seasons, giving the date for each of such tasks. Three copies were translated into Latin by Abul Hassan Arib Ibn Saad Al Katib for Al Hakam II (350-366/961-976 C.E.): one copy was sent to the German Emperor Othon, the second to Constantinople and the third to Jerusalem. Translation R .Dozy, E.J.Brill. Leyden 1961 (See Appendices A and B). 19a) S.M.Imamuddin, Some Aspects of the Socio-Economic and Cultural History of Muslim Spain- 711-1492- p.10. b) Roland Broadhurst (translator) The Travels of Ibn Jubayr Goodword Books New Delhi 2001-cf pp. 336-340. 20 (i) Abu Yusuf (731-798 AD.) Taxation in Islam Abu Yusufs Kitb Kharaj - Ed. And Transl. A. Ben Shemesh. Leyden/London 1969. (ii) Al Dawudi, Abu Ishaq Ja far Ibn Nasr (d. 1011) -Le Rgime foncier en Sicile au Moyen Age (ix et xme sicles). Ed. and transl. by H.H. Abdul Wahhab and F. Dachraoui in Etudes dorientalisme ddies la mmoire de Lvi-Provenal- 2 vols -Paris 1962. The Calendar of Cordoba is an example of the type of information

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farmed according to his preferences21. Furthermore every important transaction concerning agriculture, industry, commerce and employment of a servant involved the signing of a contract of which a copy was kept by each side. 22 The second incentive principle that was gradually adopted was that those, who physically worked the land, should receive a reasonable proportion of the fruits of their labour.23 Detailed records of contracts between landlords and cultivators have survived 24 with the landlord retaining anything up to one half. 25 Thus with all the enhancements and incentives already mentioned, the stage was now set for agricultural development on a scale hitherto unknown. development were of two kinds: ! ! Political, namely conscious decisions by the central authority to develop under-exploited lands.26 Market-driven, invariably involving the introduction, by means of free seeds, advice and education and by the introduction of high value crops or animals to areas where they were previously unknown. Consequently, crops and livestock were introduced initially for subsistence purposes, leading to a level of economic security that ensured wealth for all. The quality of life was enhanced27 by the introduction of artichokes, spinach, aubergines, carrots, sugar cane and various exotic plants. Vegetables were available all year round, obviating the need to dry them for winter. Citrus and olive plantations became a common sight,28 whilst market gardens and jananat (orchards) sprang up around every city.29 All this involved intense cropping, thereby imposing heavy demands on land fertility;30 but the technique of intensive irrigation agriculture with land fertility replacement had now been mastered. 31 In the field of development for economic ends, animal husbandry was of prime importance for its manure in addition to its meat. The latter was now plentiful in places where in the past it had been a luxury. The fine quality of the wool of the Maghreb soon became known throughout the world.32 Selective breeding using animals from different parts 21 A. M.Watson. Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic world. London 1975. p.113. 22 Al Maqsad al mahmud fi talkhis al uqud by Abul Hasan Ali Ibn Yahya Ibn Qasim al Sinhaji of Algeciras (d.585/1189). 23 Abd el Wahid al-Fihri and Ahmad al-Tulaytuli (both law scholars of the early XIth century). 24 Islamic law stipulates that the sharecropper is entitled to one fifth, (Khomos, hence khams/Khamsa in North Africa for sharecropper). [adapted by Spanish exarico ( x is sh in Spanish phonetics..) b) Clay Stalls op.cit. p.xii 25 S.M.Imamuddin. op. cit. p.72. 26 M.Lombard, Les Textiles dans le Monde Musulman...la prolifration des centres techniques depuis lEst vers lOuest du califat, de la partie la plus avance vers la partie peine veille. p.12. 27 El Bekri Description de lAfrique Septentrionale- Trans. Mc Guckin de Slane Librairie Paul Geuthner Paris 1913. pp.181323. 28 M. Lombard,. LIslam dans sa premire grandeur- p.186. 29 (i) Ibid p.185. (ii) A.M. Watson op. cit Small undertakings around cities, which were almost everywhere given over to market gardens and orchards - p. 114 and p. 197 n12. 30 As heavy cropping exhausted the soil of its fertility various type of fertilisers were used such as dung of cows, goats, horses, pigeons as well as bones, blood and vegetables. See (i) E. Beazley and M. Harverson op. cit. pp. 103-116.(ii) A.M. Watson op. cit. p. 125 and p. 203. (iii) Ibn Al Awwam Libro de Agricultura -Ed. J. A. Banqueri 2 vols, Madrid 1802. pp 4495-449. (iv) Abu al Khair Kitb al Filaha Ms 4764 Bibliothque Nationale Paris. 31 The level of success can be measured by the comments of Al Hymiari, (d.1177), writing in the 12th century, who compared Al Andalus to Syria in its fertility, to Yemen for its even climate, to India for its aromatic plants, to China for its mineral riches and to Aden for its seashore economy. See T. Glick op. cit p. 55. Al Ansari writing about North Africa in 1400 AD. He noticed that there were 65 kinds of grapes, 36 kinds of pears, 28 kinds of figs, 16 kinds of apricot etc.- Watson op. cit p.1. 32 Lombard, Les Textiles dans le Monde Musulman -pp. 22-23. The motivations that prompted phases of agricultural

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of the known world resulted in significant improvements in horse stocks and provided the Saharan caravans with the best load-carrying camels.33 By contrast, the African countries, instead of relying on the products of their flocks for food, were now able to eat a more balanced diet that included a variety of fruits and vegetables whilst the introduction of cotton and indigo gave them a useful cash crop.34 Improvements in irrigation made it possible to cultivate this high value plant in the sub-Saharan countries where other dye-making plants were also introduced. In a world that had previously known only flax and wool as textiles, silk and cotton production spread rapidly.35 Cotton, originally from India, became a major crop in Europe (Sicily and al Andalus) and the overall result was a democratisation of what had been rare luxury goods in the past. Within a relatively short period, mankind could use a wider range of textiles for his clothing which were available in a greater variety of colours. Sugar cane,36 of Indian origin, was known in the 6th century at the Sassanid court. Because of the endeavours of botanists and agronomists, it spread to Egypt, Syria, Morocco, al Andalus and Sicily.37 Thus, within barely a century of the Muslim conquest, the landscape38 in the area under Muslim control had changed so radically that it is fair to describe the process of transformation as the Muslim Agricultural Revolution.39 The elements of the success of this revolution can be summarised as: a. b. The extension of the exploitable land area by irrigation. The rapid implementation of improved farming techniques derived from the collection and collation of relevant information throughout the whole of the known world. c. Incentives based upon the two principles of the recognition of private ownership and the rewarding of cultivators with a harvest share commensurate with their efforts. d. Advanced scientific techniques allowing people like Ibn Baytar to challenge the elements by growing plants, thousands of miles from their origins that could never have been imagined to grow in a semi-arid or arid climate. The introduction and acclimatization of new crops and breeds and strains of livestock into areas where they were previously unknown.
33 Lombard, LIslam dans sa premire grandeur. p. 187/188. 34 Ibn Hawqal mentions that the value of indigo stocks held annually in Kabul was two million dinars. Kano was also an important indigo and cotton centre in Nigeria. Ibn Hawqal in Lombard Les Textiles dans le Monde musulman- p. 141. 35 Al qazaz = the silkworm breeder. The best silk was produced in Al Andalus. Maqdisi. p.239. Lombard Les Textiles dans le Monde Musulman- p.28. 36 Sugar was known in pre-Islamic time but only to the rich. The Sassanid court imported it from India, therefore the Arabic vocabulary regarding different types of sugar and its refining derives from Persian. For example phanita : thickened juice fanid in Arabic.(i) Watson op. cit. pp. 26-30. (ii) M. Lombard The Golden Age of Islam p. 25. 37 Lombard, LIslam-.p.185. 38 Ibn Hawqal visited Sicily in 362-363/972-973 and a variety of products being planted there : saffron, cotton, hemp and garden produce. Al Idrisi saw the abundant silk production available. Toufic Fahd Histoire des Sciences Arabes p. 80. 39 Unfortunately, the reconquista reversed several features of this Agricultural Revolution. Several of the new crops disappeared and were only re-introduced many years later, for example: bananas, sugar cane, cotton, artichokes and aubergines. Furthermore, the land fell into the hands of nobles and the ecclesiastical authorities, who used most of it for the production of cereals. Watson op. cit. pp.184-185. cf. Dr Z.S.Aylwin thesis. School of Oriental and African and Studies London 1999.

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Another feature of the growth of the Muslim domain was the increase in urbanization that was facilitated by scientific improvements in the fields of hygiene and sanitation. The farmer for his part benefited from the advances made in astronomy.
Muslim Foods, Pharmacy and Fragrant Kitchen Gardens

Winter
Vegetables and fruits: Seakale beet, cauliflower, turnips, parsnips, carrots, celery, coriander, peas, broad beans, lentils, chickpeas, olives, hard wheat: burghol, couscous, pasta, tharid. Walnut, almonds, pistachio, pine kernels, dried figs, dates, raisins, prunes. Meat: lamb, camel, trotters. Drinks: syrups violet, jasmine, aloes, medicament spices, fruit pastilles and gums. Clothing: cotton and wool in dark colours
Water Winter Cold PHLEGM bitter 12

11 1
C ol d
C ol d
&
&
oi st
ry D
10
Fire Summer Hot YELLOW BILE Acid/ salty
st
oi M
& ot H
Summer
Vegetables and fruits: green beans (11 types), radish (round and long), lettuces, chicories, aubergines, carrots, cucumber, gherkins, watercress, marrow, courgettes, rice, lemon, cedrat, lime, quinces, nectarines, mulberry, cherries, plums, apricot, grapes, pomegranates, watermelon, pears, apple, melon, sugarcane, jujube.. Meat: poultry, ostrich, beef. Drinks: syrups and jams, fruit pastels, lemon, rose, jasmine, ginger, fennel, making medicaments of herbs and seasoning spices. Distillation of fragrant flowers. Clothing: cotton, silk and flax in light colours.
The measurement of time and of the onset of the seasons and even the prediction of weather became more precise and reliable, as the farmer became informed of the solar movement through each zodiacal sign. He also profited from the compilation of calendars40 that told him when to plant each type of crop, when to graft trees, when and with what to fertilize his crops and when to harvest the fruits of his labours. 41
40 a) Gerrit Bos and C. Burnett Scientific Weather Forecasting in the Middle Ages: the writings of Al Kindi- Kegan Paul International, London and New York 2000 - b) Risala fi Awqat al-Sana Un calendario annimo andalus. Maria ngeles Navarro. Consejo superior de investigaciones scientficas. Granada 1990. 41 Ibn Bassal: libro de Agricultura op. cit. On preparing land before the planting season. p. 61. Information for the farmer

6
D ry & H ot
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Whereas in the past he had lived in a world where he rose and lay down with the sun and relied upon changes in weather to tell him when the seasons might be due, he now lived in a world where his decisions were much easier to make. It now became feasible to think in terms of growing each of his crops for a specific market at a specific time of the year.
Furthermore, the same calendar that aided the farmer in his activities also carried recommendations about what to eat and what to avoid at each time of the year. This in turn facilitated the farmers task of deciding what to plant in relation to future demand.
Medieval Europe
Books on herbals were rare and were known only amongst a small number of scholars who were either financed by the rich or belonged to the church. Until the end of the 15 th century, the materia medica was for Europeans the Arabic version of Greek texts translated into Latin. Thus between 1500 and 1600 there were about 78 editions of Dioscorides. The success of the traditionalist Humanists was measured by what they borrowed from Muslim botanists and how they participated in making Dioscorides more prominent. Their interest in Dioscorides during the 16th century Renaissance and their slogan of going back to Greek authors caused the Salerno school to decline even though it was an established centre for Arabic medical translation. Nevertheless its failure was also due to inadequacies in correct herbal recognition and lack of proficiency in the Arabic language. More than 142 composita of Arabic materia medica were disseminated in different Salernitan treatises. The main problem was the language of communication. Only a few could read and write in Latin. They did not understand the Greek texts as most of the time they were second-hand translations. Herbalists were frustrated by ignorance, malpractice, faults in earlier bad Greek translations and also by an inability to identify correctly ingredients in proper vernacular languages. This situation did little to promote either medicine or science. Thus, Bartholomi Maranta (1559 C.E.) writes to Aldrovandi describing how he recognised a plant described in Dioscorides. Petrus Pena (d. 1605C.E.) and Matthias de lObel (d. 1616 C.E.) decided to go as far as Marseilles for their search of Dioscorides plants, but to their disappointment, they concluded that Dioscorides referred to plants that were growing in the Near East and not in Europe. Therefore the time wasted during several centuries of neglecting Muslim agriculture led Sir Thomas Elyot (1490-1546 C.E.) to inform his readers that he derived no understanding from the ancients, i.e. no little
profyte concernynge myne owne helthe.

The only original work written by an Englishman during the Middle Ages was Proprietatibus Rerum by a theologian, Bartholomeus Anglicus in the 13th century. He lived in France and his book was translated from Latin into English in 1398. It is full of allusions to Classical writers on herbs such as Aristotle, Dioscorides and Galen without any reference to gardening or experimenting with plants. Also his book proves that he and how to recognise the different types of water pp. 183-182.

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had no practical knowledge of his subject. But surprisingly, this work had 17 editions and was used until the 16th century. In the Herbarium of Apuleus only 185 plants are mentioned. The Herbarius of 1484, the earliest herbal printed in Germany has only 150 plants recorded. Nobody knows what was growing in their gardens which were referred to as wyrtzerd (lit. Herb yard). The oldest illustrated herbal in Latin, the Herbarium dates from the 5th century CE by Apuleius Planicus, possibly the supposed lost work of Juba II, printed in Rome after 1480 by John Philippus de Lignamine, physician to Pope Sixtus IV. The school of Salerno was supposed to be a survival of Greek medicine but Bologna was the earliest in Europe that had botanic gardens and it was founded by Luca Ghini. Pierandrea Mattioli (1501-1577), Italian herbalist and physician to the Archduke Ferdinand and to the Emperor Maximilian II with Fabio Colonna 1592 were the most important herbalists of their day in Italy. Most of the 16th and 17th century herbals appear to have more than herbs in their contents. In the 1529 work by Sir John Treffy in Grete herbal he writes about using mummies blood and brain in his treatments: that mommye is to be chosen that is bright blacke stynkynge and styffe. Also bathing was regarded as dangerous many folke that hath bathed them in colde water have dyed. Again in a book of recipes in the Fairfax stillroom by Rodolphus Goclerius, professor of Phisick in Wittenburghte: take of the
moss of a strangled man two ounces, of the mummia of mans blood one ounce and a halfe of earth-worms washed in water or wine etc. The plant lore was used by princes and peasants alike. Simple herbs were
gathered to cure physical and mental ills but also they collected mysterious herbs to guard them, in their primitive imagination, against unseen monsters, elves and giants. An English physician, Wyllyam Turner (d. 1568) was known as the father of botany. He studied in Italy, visited Germany and Holland and had a garden at Kew. He dedicated his work to Queen Elizabeth I and he says to her,
How many surgianes and aphothcaries are there in England which can understand Plini in Latin or Galen and Dioscorides? - English physicians rely on apothecaries and they in turn on the old wives who gather the herbs. Dyd Dioscorides and Galen give occasion for every old wife to take in hand the practise of Phisick? Dyd they give any inst occasion of murther?
He was critical of foreign herbalists too. Although he learnt from them (referring to herbalists in Germany and Italy: Matthiolus, Fuchsius, Tagrus and Dodoneus), either knew not al or ellis erred in them (herbs)
greatlye. He also believes that if people took a pece of citron are unhurt by the poison of the snakes. In
a similar manner we see the French physician, Symphorien Champier (1472-1539 C.E.) stating that he purposely wrote his prologue in vernacular French since ignorance of Latin by apothecaries as well as surgeons had led to irresponsible actions. The last of the Great English Herbalists was John Parkinson (d. 1650), apothecary to James I. He wrote two books, Paradisus and Theatrum Botanicum. The most interesting feature about his work is the description of the vegetable lamb growing on stalk and when fully ripe burst open and disclosed a little lamb perfect in
every way. The pulp or meat underneath is like the flesh of a lobster. It hath foure legges also hanging

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down. The wolves much affect to feed on them. This myth, deriving from the Greek description of the
cotton plant by Herodotus, Pliny and others, carried on throughout the Middle Ages. Parkinson talks about gardens being joyous now with the introduction of new plants: daffodils, hyacinths, and gladioli from Turkey and Spain. He also mentions that he received from abroad Jasmin, cherries, peaches and he says sadly these trees never beare any fruite and therefore are more fit for a garden of
flowers than an orchard of fruite. There is no mention of fertilizers or feed for the plants and he is somebody, who still believes in evil sprits. In his dedication to the king, he writes most properly doth this worke belong to your majestys patronage both to further and defend malevolent spirits should not dare to cast forth their venom. Parkinson, on the other hand, seems to be the only one who was concerned about beauty recipes, commenting that they are highly prized: distilled water used by French and Italian women. He recommends cumin seeds and bishops weed for slimming down. The herbal book by Anthonye Askham, phisycyon during the reign of Charles II in 1660-1685, included an interesting,
oyle of roses is made thus. Some boyle rose in oyle and kepe it, some do fyll a glasse with roses and oyle and they boyle it in a cauldron full of water and this oyle is good. Some stampe fresh roses with oyle and they put it in a vessel of glasse and set it in the sune iiii dais and this oyle is good.
Similarly oyle of vyolettes is made thus. Sethe vyolettes in oyle and streyne it. It will be oyle of vyolettes This shows that he had no idea whatsoever of the distillation process. Guy de la Brosse, the king of Frances physician, wrote a book on medicine without plants De la nature,
vertu et utilit des plantes. Chasque Chose a son ciel et ses astres.
France and Germany outlawed imported indigo in the 1500s to protect the local woad42 industry. Dyes were made using the woad plant and fixed with urine instead of chemicals. People were still washing their clothes with female fern instead of soap. The above authors are the physicians, apothecaries and botanist of royalty and nobility. Their books remained in the private libraries of palaces and country houses. The rest of the population were victims to the kind of the 17th century charlatan like Nicholas Culpeper. Astrologer and presumed herbalist his book entitled English Physician Enlarged in 1698 was still reprinted as late at 1809. He related herbs to stars. Sir John Hill in 1755 wrote The Family Herbal, Virtues of Vegetables of other countries making jams and syrup. This was the first work addressed to the public at large, which also gave culinary recipes. Directly or indirectly, medieval herbals relied much on classical sources. The Europeans did not study plants or experiment with them; it was plant qua pharmacum i.e. a drug. When they couldnt understand or decipher Muslim drugs they returned to Dioscorides thinking that it had been the original source for Muslim herbalists. In fact, several editions were made in different languages. 42 Woad A nauseating plant ( Isatis tinctoria), used instead of indigo. The blue dye is obtained from the leaves of this yellow-flowered plant..

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Ingredients were assessed on their trade value, like pepper, or for medical usage but not for their nutritional use. The medieval European treatises were based on arithmetical magic, astrology and the doctrine of signatures or a need to balance excesses. The humanists struggle to return to the original Greek texts resulted in worsening their medical and botanical information. They were receiving Muslim texts in which the Arabic terms were badly translated. But translators of Arabic were rarer than Greco-Latin scholars in the Middle Ages and their knowledge of the Greek language was imperfect and their botanical knowledge was restricted to the knowledge of plant names. Plurality of synonyms attached to some plants by Dioscorides, Apuleius or other Greek authors added further opportunities for error. Returning to Greek authors did not solve their problem as Dioscorides was not thorough and lacked the detail that Muslim scholars used in their pharmacopoeia. The breakdown of Latin into local dialects that became the Romance (French/Spanish) and influenced Germanic language families (Flemish/English) brought more errors and confusion to the communication of botanical data and plant names. In addition, there was no empirical study of plants themselves. They spent their time copying and abridging older codices. The flora described by Greco-Roman authors was essentially Southern in its composition. Thus it was species peculiar to the Mediterranean Basin and Near East that were described in classical texts. Much time and effort was exerted in the futile search for a classical plant name in a Western or Northern European species not known to the ancients. The only contact they had with the plants of classical authors was by literary references and, unless a plant had a classical pedigree, it was ignored. There were no incentives in the Middle Ages to promote public studies of plants; the rich or church scholars being the exception. Botanists were lacking information on fertilizers, grafting plants or even defining the right place for a plant. Furthermore vegetables were considered peasant food and were eaten sparingly. The root vegetables grown in winter were regarded as animal fodder. It was all right for the populo minuto to live on such fare. Rich people did not contemplate eating vegetables, the higher social classes favoured an excessive amount of meat to show their wealth and status since meat was expensive and also difficult to keep. Even fruit was sometimes considered to cause fevers and other ailments. As a result gout, mineral and vitamin deficiencies were prevalent amongst the upper classes in Europe especially in the winter months. Meat was accompanied by sauces to mask its taste, especially since refrigerators had not yet been invented. Hence French cuisine today has several hundred types of sauces deriving from the ignorance of vegetables in the Middle Ages. The vegetables in Europe that were obtainable in the Middle Ages were leeks, root vegetables, and cereals: wheat, barley and rye. Occasionally meat (including blood) was available as the rural poor rarely saw fresh meat except for the animals they had to slaughter as winter fodder was scare. Until the 18 th century few households in the Northern countries had enough land to grow hay for winter fodder. Peas and beans were dried or powdered to eat in winter such as with soup pease pottage which was still the English national dish (17th century). White fish was reserved for the rich but some people dried fish because crippling taxes on salt and sugar prevented them from preserving meat. The norm in Europe was baked beans, turnips and

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preserved cabbage. The latter was cut and fermented as valuable food for winter. This, for the French, meant bean cassoulet and for the Germans, cabbage sauerkraut. Preserving oak leaves, roots and fruit berries through fermentation produced the basic kind of food people had. In Russia this was rye bread and pickled cucumbers with oak and cherry leaves. Boiled and preserved cabbage was one of the mainstays of the North European peasant diet. European royalty and the nobility were, on the other hand, very extravagant in the food they consumed. It was something to display at the baroque banquets held to impress people of great importance and to dominate the people. With no kitchen garden or access to herbs, people in towns lived on rye bread, pickled root vegetables, salted herrings and cheese with the occasional cheap cuts of fresh meat such as sheeps head or pigs trotters. As a result, scorbutic illnesses were prevalent not only on the seas but also in towns particularly in Northern Europe. It was not until 1753 that the Scottish naval surgeon James Lind proved by experiment that eating citrus fruit cured scurvy, yet it was not until 1795 that the British Admiralty issued an order requiring all members of the Royal Navy to take a daily ration of lemon/lime juice. The forty years delay cost the deaths of 200 000 British sailors by scurvy. The confusion referred to above, regarding the identity and therapeutic uses of plants became even greater as products from the Indies started to enter the European markets by the 16 th century. Thus when new products started to be circulated people did not know whether they were really new ones or old ones already described by the ancient authors heard of but never seen. Hence Nicholas Monardes wrote in This work, because 1574 Libro que trata de todas las cosas que traen de nuestras Indias Occidentales . into German (1895).
of its geopolitical importance, was translated into Latin, Italian (1576), Flemish (1600), French (1619) and Similarly the French interest became evident when Pre L. Feuille, the king of States started to focus on the problem and decided Frances herbalist wrote a book on American Plants Dyeing wood Gums and Trees in 1715 which was immediately translated into English by James Petiver. to give serious attention to the chaos that was about to happen as serious attention was being given to plants that could be exploited on an industrial scale. Field trips and botanising excursions began to be undertaken. For the European botanists progress had been inhibited by three factors: 1. 2. The language of science, which was Arabic, was lost. No one had any command of it.43 The botanists had little proficiency in Greek or Latin. Translations of Apuleus were also a basis for the European botanists and they were plagiarising each others work from the 8 th to the 16 th century. They were unaware that their own region produced different species. The Greek myths, superstitions and tales that were accepted in Antiquity were repeated in the Medieval period. 3. Their vernacular languages were not sophisticated enough to allow them to correctly identify or describe ingredients.
43 The Arabic language was banned in Spain from 1492, for Garcia Ballester, L. Giron F. el problema politico-religioso derivado de la presencia en Espana de una poblacion morisca. Even if el arabismo como via de acceso a las fuentes medicas griegas cad. Hist. Med. Esp., 13, 218-232 (1974). The Arabic language only returned to Spain via France in the 18th century.

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The World of Linnaeus

Carl Ingemarsson Linn (1771-1778 C.E.), a Swedish born naturalist, was the son of a pastor. He studied medicine at Uppsala University in Sweden and also in the Netherlands. In 1758 his work helped to establish and standardize the accepted nomenclature for species of plants and animals. Western countries have accordingly accepted his Systema Naturae as the official starting point for zoological nomenclature. All names existing before then have no validity unless adopted by Linnaeus (his Latinised name as used by English speakers) and later authors. He used classical authorities for species names. He was fond of classical authors and Greco-Roman literature such as the works of Virgil, Ovid and Horace. Thus myth and history were combined to name plants. Heliconii, papilio Priamus, P. Hector, P. Agamemnon after Homeric heroes and military ranks Pan Suecus, Pandora Insectorum, Hesperides, Siren lacertian, reminding the reader of the classical world or by using references from the Christian Bible. In his contribution as a botanical systematist he introduced order to plant classification in Europe through a binominal nomenclature by which a plant could be identified with just two names. In 1735 he travelled to the continent to finish his medical studies and he obtained his doctorate in medicine after only a week in the Netherlands (Leiden). In 1737 he was engaged as garden director to the banker Georg Cliffort at Hartekamp. In three years he wrote eight books on the single system of classification. Afterwards he visited Paris, London and Oxford before returning to Sweden never to leave there again. In 1761 he was granted nobility and became Carl von Linn. He occupied a central position amongst botanists in the 18th century. He created classification consistency and precision out of the European herbal chaos. Linnaeus concentrated on classification and taxonomy. He had contact with the new economic thinking of the business and political world especially as the Netherlands and Sweden had interests in their respective East India Companies. He was called upon to send some of his students on Swedish vessels to collect specimens and drawings from India and China. His work was valued because it came at an appropriate moment when a quantity of new plants and products had accumulated in Europe because of trading in the East Indies. The East India Company, established during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1599, was the most unique organization in British colonial history. It was formed by a group of London merchants and was granted a charter authorizing it to trade with the East. Other East India Companies were formed in Europe such as the Dutch East India Company (VOC), founded in 1602, traded with India and Sumatra before the British. The first profit made by the EIC was from the sale of pepper acquired from Sumatran and Javanese trading ports. In 1689 the EIC made a declaration of being the territorial power in India lasting until 1708. The French became involved in 1700. The eighteenth-century was an important period for the East India Companys history in trading with India and China. The trade had been a monopoly of Spain and Portugal until the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The Danish and Swedish East India Companies imported more tea than the British EIC and smuggled 90% of it to England. As a result the competition was so fierce between European countries that all the powers involved were interested in plant research and investigating methods of culture. However after the Napoleonic wars, British control of the seas spelled the end of the other Europeans involvement.

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After Linnaeuss death, the British founded a botanical Society in his name in 1788, since the national floras of Europe and those of distant lands were becoming better known through colonial power, foreign trade and scientific expeditions. For the first time botanical gardens in Holland, England and France (the three major commercial rivals) were filled with exotic seeds, roots and bulbs. However, Linnaeus would not have been accepted as a botanical legislator if it were not for his use of Greco-Roman literature. Within the framework of the conservative literary European tradition he gave directions for nomenclature in Latin. Linnaeus did not invent anything nor did he add any new discovery; his work was based on previous literature mainly derived from Muslim sources. He merely solved the problem of classification for the West. He stood outside experimental research of his time and it may be questioned whether Linnaeus ever really made it clear to himself what was actually meant by the term experiment. His work was seen by some as antiquated and primitive and he was accused of delaying the development of modern biology.
Conclusion
In conclusion, in the Muslim culture food was regarded as having pharmacological properties that prevent illness and promote health. Eating a variety of grains and vegetables causes the body to be infused with continual doses of pharmacologically active compounds that act as natural medicines to keep the body strong and less prone to certain diseases. The Calendar of Cordoba is an example of the goodwill and desire to disseminate knowledge during the golden age of the Muslim civilization. Despite the fact that they conquered areas in Spain and Sicily, where all this valuable medical and agricultural information was available, the rulers of the West failed to profit from it. Thus, by ignoring what was available they delayed their medical development by several centuries, whilst keeping their unfortunate subjects deprived of a decent quality of life. This is why it took until the 18th century for the West to achieve a reliable method of cataloguing plants and other organisms that might be comparable with the work of Ibn Baytar that was compiled five centuries earlier.
Bibliography
Achaya, A. Indian Food- A historical companion- Oxford University Press New Delhi 1994. Al Khattabi, M.A. Atteb wa al atibba fi al Andalus al Islamia Dar Al Gharb al Islami 1988 2vols. Al Khattabi, M.A. Umdat al Tabib fi marifat al nabat by Abul Khayr of Seville Dar al Gharb Islami Beyrouth 1995. Anderson F.J. An Illustrated History of the Herbals ( New York 1977). Basing Patricia Trades and Crafts Medieval Manuscripts - British Library London 1990. Berggren, J.L. Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam- Springer-Verlag New York 1986. Bolens, L. Agronomes andalous du Moyen Age- Librairie Droz Genve 1981. Broadhurst Roland The Travels of Ibn Jubayr Goodword Books New Delhi 2001. Brunhes, J. lIrrigation dans la Pninsule Ibrique dans lAfrique du Nord- Paris 1902. Clay Stalls Possessing The Land: Aragons expansion into Islams Ebro Frontier under the Alfonso the Battler 1104-1134. EJ Brill Leyden 1995.

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Gerrit Bos and C. Burnett Scientific Weather Forecasting in the Middle Ages: The Writings of Al Kindi- Kegan Paul Intt\. London 2000. Hill, Donald Hill R. The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices- Trans. Of Ibn Al Razzaz Al Jazari Dordrechts Reidel 1974. Ibrahim Ben Mrad, Tafsir Kitab Diasquridus by Abu Abdellah Ibn Al Baytar (d.646/1248) Dar al Gharb Islami Beyrouth 1990. Imamuddin, S.M. Some Aspects of the Socio-Economic and Cultural History of Muslim Spain :711-1492- E.J. Brill Leyden 1965. Jaime Vicens Vives An Economic History of Spain- Princeton Unv. 1969 Lombard, M. The Golden Age of Islam Flammarion Paris 1971. Navarro, Maria Angeles, Resale if Awaqat al Sana- Consejo Superior de Investigacions Scientificas Granada 1990. Pelner Cosman, Madeleine, Fabulous Feasts Medieval Cookery and Ceremony G. Braziller New York Inc. 1976. Prieto-Moreno, Francisco Los Jardines de Granada Ed. Ciguena Madrid 1952. Roshdi Rashid Histoire des Sciences arabes Seuil Paris 1997 3 vols. Sinclair Rohde, Eleanour The Old English Herbals- Dover Pub. New York 1971. Stannard, Jerry Herbs and Herbalism in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Ed, Katherine E. Stannard and Richard Kay Aldershot 1999. Storms, Godfrid, Anglo-Saxon Magic- The Hague 1948. Thomas Elyot(1541) The Castel of Helth Facsimile Edition New York, Scholars Facsimile and reprints n.d. Preface sig. Aiiii. Toufic Fahd, Histoire des Sciences Arabes- Ed. Seuil Paris 1997. Villuendas, M.V. La Trigonometria Europea en el siglo XI- Estudia de la obra de Ibn Muad Barcelona 1979.
Watson, A.M. Agricultural Innovation in the Early Islamic World- Cambridge University Press. London 1975.

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Appendix A - The Calendar of Cordoba-The Month of July

Syriac: tammz Zodiac sign Mansion (House) Season: Coptic: abb Cancer an-Natra, a-arf and of al-Jabha. Summer
1. Length of day: 14h 11/20; length of night: 9h 9/20. Suns height at midday: 75 Christians feast: The apostles St Simon and St Jude executed and buried in Persia. 4. Rising of ashshir al-Jumay, which is the Syrian Shir. exacerbates eye irritations. At this time fleas disappear. Sometimes there is a gritty wind that
5. Rising of ad-Dir at dawn; here is its shape
. O
Setting of al-Balda at dawn;
here is its shape O

The Naw of al-Balda lasts one night, - some say three - ; [this group of stars is arc-shaped]. Rising of its opposite ad-Dira. This group of stars belongs to those considered as not accompanied by rain; should the latter fall it is called hamm and also ramad. 7. Twilight ends 2h 1/20 after sunset and dawn begins 2h 1/20 before sunrise. 8. According to Hippocrates it is forbidden to use purgatives on this day, which is ten days before the rising of the Dog Star [i.e. of ashshir al-Abr]. 10. Christian feast of St Christopher, whose tomb is at Antioch. (This is celebrated in Cordoba) 11. Beginning of the summer summ, which lasts forty days: twenty in this month and twenty in August. Christian feast of St Marcienne, executed and buried in Caesarea. 16. Length of the day: 14h ; length of the night 9h . Height of the sun at midday: 73 2/5. The shadow of any object is 11/36 of its height. 17. The sun passes the sign of Cancer within that of the Lion, according to present day observations. The rising of ashshir al-Abr, - (the Yemen). From the time of its rising the unpleasant summer winds (bawrih) blow that parch everything and raise dust devils. Christian feast of St Juste and St Rufina executed and buried in Seville. (Their feast is celebrated in the
Auliatum monastery).
19. Rising of an-Natra at dawn ; here is its shape
Setting of Sad ad-Dbih at dawn; here is its shape

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The Naw of Sad ad-Dbih It is not noted to be associated with rain or wind. Rising of its opposite anNatra. This is one of the summer Naw ; its rain is called hamm or ramad (whenever by chance it falls). Christian feast of St Speratus, whose tomb is at Carthage. 21.Twilight ends 2h after sunset and dawn begins 2h before sunrise. 22. Christian feast of St Mary Magdalene. 24. The sun enters the sign of the Lion, according to the Sindhind. Christian feast of St Bartholomew the apostle, whose tomb is in India. 25. Christian feast of St Cucufat, who is buried in Barcelona. 26. Christian feast of St Christine, whose tomb is in Torano. 28. Setting of an-Nasr a-ayyr; it is the heart of the summer. 30. Twilight ends 1h 11/12 after sunset and dawn begins 1h 11/12 before sunrise. 31. Christian feast of Fabius, whose tomb is in Caesarea. Amongst the events of the month that are not mentioned in the daily entries are the following: the harvesting of the wheat and the threshing of the barley. The grapes ripen and the pistachios begin to form, the sugary pears and the sharp-tasting apples are ready. Marrow jam, pear and apple syrups are made. The bulk of the grapes ripen and the harvest is assessed. The following medicinal herbs are gathered: mustard, nigella, thyme and marshmallow. Small partridge appear and are hunted. Figs are dried in the plains. The sebesten ripens.
Appendix B - Calendar of Cordoba Latin text. August 25th to August 31st

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Baghdad
Salah Zaimeche PhD Lamaan Ball Rumeana Jahangir Aasiya Alla June 2005 4089 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Baghdad June 2005
BAGHDAD
An Abbassid Palace1 In the words of Artz:
`Baghdad, in the tenth century had at least 800,000 inhabitants and was, after Constantinople, the largest city in the world. The Tigris River and a system of canals gave the city access to the sea, and its trade and manufacture brought an enormous accumulation of wealth. Its palaces, mosques, schools, and public buildings were the wonder of the world.2
The city of Baghdad was founded under the second Abbasid caliph al-Mansur who ruled in 754-775 CE. After a lengthy research along the course of the Tigris as far north as Mosul, he decided to construct a palace complex at the junction of the Tigris and the Sarat canal. It appears that al-Mansur decided on this particular location because of strategic and geographic advantages. 3 The Sarat was deep enough to accommodate commercial traffic and so the Caliph was able to utilise the two major river systems which the Sarat connected: The Tigris and the Euphrates.4 The first major structure to be erected was the famous round city called Madinat as-Salam (City of Peace). Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of skilled and unskilled workers, artisans from outlying districts and military staff required housing, services and an industrial complex for the production of construction materials. Baghdad therefore acquired a quality of permanence even before the Round City was completed.5 The Round City had four equidistant gates lying one Arab mile apart from each other and from every gate went a high road.6 The four gates of the Round City were: 1. The SE Basrah gate opening onto the suburbs along the Tigris bank where the various branches of the Isa canal flowed out
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/imageislam/EricaImages/AbbPalace.jpg F.B. Artz: The mind, The Mind of the Middle Ages; Third edition revised; The University of Chicago Press, 1980; pp 14950. 3 J. Lasner: Baghdad; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; vol 2; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1982 fwd. vol 2; pp. 44-7; at p. 45. 4 J. Lasner: Baghdad; p. 45. 5 J. Lasner: Baghdad; p. 45. 6 G. Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate; Cambridge University Press; 1930; vol 2; p. 30.
2

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Baghdad June 2005
2. 3. 4.
The SW-facing Kufah Gate opening onto the high road going south, which was the pilgrim road to Mecca The NW Syrian gate where the high road branched left to Anbar on the Euphrates and right to the towns on the western bank of the Tigris north of Baghdad The Khurasan Gate leading to the main bridge of boats crossing the river.7
Great suburbs were eventually built on these four roads and these, before long, came to be incorporated in the circuit of the great metropolis. 8 In time, the urban area grew around the original walls of the Round City and developed into a sprawling complex of interdependent elements, each containing its own markets, mosques and cemeteries.9 Throughout the history of the city, movement across the Tigris was funnelled onto a series of pontoon bridges that could be cut from their moorings, whilst the other canals similarly served as natural barriers in time of attack. 10 The river links with Baghdad had another role. Ibn Rustah wrote in the 9th century that
`sea going ships sailing from India came up the Tigris from Basra, and thence could attain to Madai (formerly Ctesiphon), for sailing on they came out above Fam as-Silh into the Tigris reach of Baghdad.11
During the five centuries of the Abbasid caliphate, the plan of Baghdad with its suburbs changed considerably; in 836, the seat of the Caliphate was moved to Samarra but in 892 the latter was abandoned and the caliph re-established his court in the old capital. For the next four centuries up to the invasion of the Mongols (1258), the caliphs permanently established their residence on the east bank. 12 In the tenth century, the surface area of Baghdad could have reached 7000 hectares (ha), which is five times larger than tenth-century Constantinople. 13 The population of Baghdad might have been 200 people per ha,14 which gives a total of 1 400000 people, a number that fits figures from other sources. Baghdad, besides its size, opulence and role at the centre of the caliphate, was also the capital of Islamic learning and science and remained so for centuries until all was extinguished in February 1258 by the Crusader-Mongol onslaught. This splendour and the manner it was ended will be looked at in turn.
The Splendour of Baghdad: its scholarly institutions

The rule of Harun ar-Rashid began in 786 CE and it has generally been considered as the zenith of growth of Baghdad. In the following century the city achieved greater strides in civilisation. The historical sources speak of magnificent residences, exquisitely appointed and featuring unusual elements, including a
7 8
G. le Strange: The lands; vol 2; p. 30. G. le Strange: The lands; vol 2; p. 30-1. 9 J. Lasner: Baghdad; op cit; p. 45. 10 J. Lasner: Baghdad; p. 45. 11 G. le Strange: The lands; op cit; p. 28. 12 G. le Strange: The lands; vol 2; p. 32. 13 J. Lasner: Baghdad; op cit; p. 47. 14 J. Lasner: Baghdad; p. 46.

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Baghdad June 2005
zoological garden and fantastic mechanical devices.15 The citys scholarly glory can easily be seen in the fact that countless numbers of scholars involved in the sciences were nearly all connected in one form or another with the capital of learning and sciences - Baghdad.16 The city was at the height of the world in every single respect and possessed an innovative spirit in crafts and industries. Paper was originally brought by the Muslims from China. From an art, the Muslims developed it into a major industry.17 In Baghdad many paper mills were built in 793. By 950 CE water power was used in the fibre pounding process in Baghdad.18 From Baghdad the industry progressed west to Syria, Egypt, north Africa and eventually Muslim Spain. It paralleled the route generally followed by Muslim science from Baghdad to the Western shores of Islam. In the ninth century, the potters of Baghdad, just as those of Samarra, distinguished themselves by making - perhaps inventing - lustered pottery; the decoration was painted in a metallic oxide upon the glazed coating of the clay and the vessel was then submitted to a smoky and subdued second firing, which reduced the pigment to a thin layer of metal and gave the glaze an iridescent glow.19 Lovely monochromes were produced in this manner and still lovelier polychromes in gold, green, brown, yellow and red, in a hundred almost fluid tints. The luster technique was applied also to the ancient Mesopotamian art of decorative tiles. 20 The rich colours of these squares and their harmonious combinations gave unique splendour to the portals or mihrabs of a hundred mosques and to many a palace wall.21 The goldembroidered silks and mulhams are attributed to Baghdad on the basis of inscriptions, technique and richness of decoration. A significant but small group of such pieces is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 22 Despite the small number of surviving examples, the prestige of Baghdad can still be gauged from its impact on other centres. Iraqi textiles were reaching Spain in the tenth century and were much admired there; so great was their reputation that a famous silk, also in the Museum of Fine Arts, was falsely inscribed "made in the city of Baghdad" even though it was manufactured in Spain in the eleventh or early twelfth century.
23
The intellectual fervour of Baghdad at the height of its glory is best expressed by one symbol: the library. In the thirteenth century, before the Mongols devastated the city in 1258, Baghdad had thirty-six public libraries and over a hundred book-dealers, some of whom were also publishers employing a corps of copyists.24 Included amongst such libraries were Al-Mamun's Bayt al Hikma (House of Wisdom) founded in the 8th century; the Nizamiyyah College library named after its founder, the Seljuk minister Nizam al-Mulk (murdered 1092); J. Lasner: Baghdad; op cit; p. 46. See, for instance G. Sarton: Introduction to the history of sciences, The Carnegie Institution; Baltimore, 1927 fwd; esp volume 1. 17 For more accounts on the growth of the industry see: - J.Pedersen; The Arabic Book, translated by Geoffrey French; Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey (1984). -M. M. Sibai: Mosque Libraries: An Historical Study; Mansell Publishing Limited: London and New York: 1987. 18 F and J Gies: Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel subtitled "Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages". Harper Perennial, 1995; p. 97; J. Mokyr: The Lever of Riches subtitled "Technological Creativity and Economic Progress". Oxford, 1990; p. 41. 19 W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p. 275. 20 W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 275. 21 W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 275. 22 E. Whelan: Textiles; Dictionary of Middle Ages; op cit; pp. 715-8. at p. 717. 23 E. Whelan: Textiles; Dictionary of Middle Ages; op cit; pp. 715-8. at p. 717. 24 F. B. Artz: The Mind; op cit; 153.
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the Mustansiriyah school library; the library of Muhammad ibn al Hussain of Haditha which contained a collection of rare manuscripts kept under lock.25 The Mustansiriya college library was a fine one in which rare scientific manuscripts were kept.26 Students were allowed to make copies of them and they were supplied with pens and paper for that purpose.27 There were also 100 book-dealers.28 We hear of a private library in Baghdad from as early as the ninth century that required a hundred and twenty camels to move it from one place to another.29 Another scholar of Baghdad refused to accept a position elsewhere because it would take four hundred camels to transport his books; the catalogue of this private library filled ten volumes, which is the more astonishing when it is realized that the library of the king of France in 1300 had only about four hundred titles.30 Surrounded by the company of books, vast intellectual exchanges took place amongst the scholars of Islam in exact sciences and philosophy. Around 970 CE a pupil of one of al-Farabis students established at Baghdad an association of savants - known to us only from its founder's place name as the Sidjistani Society - for the discussion of philosophical problems.31 No questions were asked as to the national origin or religious affiliation of any member. The group seems to have drowned itself in logic and epistemology but its existence indicates that intellectual endeavour was very much alive in the capital.32 Caliph Al-Mamun (ruled 813-833 CE) sponsored philosophers, philologists, mathematicians, physicians, astronomers, chemists, traditionalists and other jurists.33 He organized at Baghdad a sort of scientific academy called the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma) which included a library and an observatory.34 It was primarily a research and translation institute; the first academy of science of its genre.35 Artz lists its assets as including a library, scientific equipment, a translation bureau and an observatory.36 Instruction in Bayt alHikma included rhetoric logic; metaphysics and theology; algebra; geometry; trigonometry; physics; biology; medicine and surgery.37 Baghdad soon became the place that launched the precursor of our modern university system: the Madrasa. 38 Madrasa (Turkish: medrese; Maghribi: medersa), commonly translated as "theological college" is derived from the Arabic verb darasa which means "to study".39 It denotes an Islamic building usually erected under state patronage - but often by private benefactors - which housed students and the salaried
M. Nakosteen: History of Islamic origins of Western education A.D 800-1350; University of Colorado Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1964. p. 69. 26 A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977, p.76. 27 A. Whipple; The Role; op cit; pp.76. 28 M. Nakosteen: History; op cit; p. 69. 29 F.B. Artz: The Mind; op cit; 153. 30 Artz: 153. 31 W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 254. 32 W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 254. 33 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; I; 558. 34 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; I; 558. 35 F.B. Artz: The Mind, op cit; .p. 151. 36 F.B. Artz: The Mind, p. 151. 37 F.B. Artz: The Mind, p. 151. 38 See George Makdisi: On the origin and development of the college in Islam and the West, in Islam and the Medieval West, ed. Khalil I. Semaan, State University of New York Press/Albany. 1980. Pp: 26-49. 39 R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; Dictionary of Middle Ages; op cit; vol 8; p. 11.
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teaching staff. 40 A chain of madrasas were built during the later eleventh century in the major cities of the Seljuk empire by the celebrated Nizam al-Mulk (assassinated in 1092) who was the vizier of two Seljuk rulers, Alp-Arslan and Malik Shah. In his honour, the madrasas were named Nizamiyas.41 For Abu Shamah, `the schools founded by Nizam al-Mulk are very famous all over the world. No single village lacks one of these schools...42. The largest and most splendid of such was the Nizamiyah in Baghdad, founded in 1065. From the descriptions it seems that the Nizamiyah stood between the Bab al-Azaj and the Tigris bank, not very far from the Basaliyah gate of the town wall.43 The Nizamiyah had celebrated lecturers that included the great theologian AlGhazali and Baha Eddin the celebrated historian of Salah Eddin al-Ayyubi44. Nearby the Nizamiyah was another college called the Bahaiyah next to which stood the hospital called the Tutushi, named after Tutush, one of the Seljuk rulers who fought the crusades (died in 1114).45 A century after its founding, the Nizamiyah was still standing and was visited by Ibn Jubayr in 1185 who described it in `glowing terms.46 The traveller Ibn Jubayr attended prayers in the Nizamiyah on the first Friday after his arrival in Baghdad in the year 1185 and he describes it as the most splendid of all thirty colleges which then adorned the city of East Baghdad.47 Ibn Jubayr reports that the endowments derived from the domains and rents belonging to the college amply sufficed both to pay the stipends of professors and to keep the building in good order besides supplying an extra fund for the sustenance of poor scholars.48 Nizam al-Mulk himself visited the madrasas to interrogate the pupils and took it upon himself to guide the most intelligent in their choice of a career.49 Those whom he considered would make good teachers were immediately installed as such; he opened a new school, complete with library, especially for them.50 He was primarily concerned, however, with teachers of the religious scriptures, for religion was the dominant idea of the Seljuk minister, the object of his respect and veneration. 51 Thus, according to Wiet et al:
ìt was the colleges, the madrasas that formed the minds of those who later substantially contributed to the resistance to Crusader and Mongol alike. It may be justifiably claimed that, politically, the madrasa saved Islam.
52
R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; p. 11. R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; p. 11. 42 A Shalaby: History of Muslim Education. Beirut: Dar al Kashaf, 1954. p. 58. 43 G. Le Strange: Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate; Oxford at the Clarendon Press; 1900; p. 298. 44 G. Le Strange: Baghdad; p. 298. 45 G. Le Strange: Baghdad; p. 298. 46 J. Pedersen; The Arabic Book, tr by Geoffrey French; Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey (1984). p. 127. 47 G. Le Strange: Baghdad; op cit; p. 298. 48 G. Le Strange: Baghdad; p. 299. 49 J. W. G. Wiet et al: History of mankind; Vol III; The Great Medieval Civilisations. Part Two: section two; Part three; Translated from the French; UNESCO; 1975; p. 458. 50 J. W. G. Wiet et al: History of mankind; Vol III:; p. 458. 51 J. W. G. Wiet et al: History of mankind; Vol III: p. 458. 52 J. W. G. Wiet et al; p.457:
41
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The Mustansiriyah College, Baghdad 53 In 1234 the Mustansiriyah college was constructed in Baghdad by the penultimate Abbassid Caliph, alMustansir. His son, al-Muatassim, was later to be put to death by Hulagu. Located immediately south of the Gharabah gate, on the eastern side of the Tigris River in a large walled-in compound, known as the Harim or Sanctuary,54 the college, as described by many sources,55 was built as a large two storied structure. It was oblong in shape with a great open court in the centre. Around the courtyard there were rooms for teachers and students, opening out to arched cloisters.56 In close proximity, the Great Mosque of the Palace (Jami al-Kasr) was also restored by Mustansir who also restored the four platforms (Dikkah) on the Western side of the pulpit.57 There, the students sat and held their disputations after the Friday public prayers. The remains of this mosque still exist to the present.58 Lodging and food were provided to those who needed them and it was said that a monthly payment of a gold dinar was given to the poor students.59 The students received medical care and financial aid in addition to free tuition, and daily rations of bread and meat were provided by means of a large kitchen. 60 There were store rooms, bathing facilities (hammam) and attached to the college was a hospital with a dispensary and rooms for teaching medicine.61 One of the curiosities of the institution was a famous clock with twelve doors opening to announce the hours.62 The students were taught by a head professor and his assistants, the curriculum including not only the traditional linguistic, legal and religious subjects but also arithmetic and the division of inheritance, land surveying, history, poetry, hygiene, the care of animals and plants and other phases of natural history.63 There was also a course in medicine with a physician in charge.64 There were smaller classes which consisted of ten students (like modern tutorials/seminars) and a librarian with an assistant and attendants.65 According to Ibn al-Furat, the library (Dar al-Kutub ) had
http://www.iraqwho.com/Tourism_Center_Historical.asp A. Whipple; The Role; op cit; pp.76. 55 I.e Yaqut: Irshad al-Arib ila Ma'arifat al-Adib, or Muja'am al-Udaba (Dictionary of learned men,), edt. D.S. Margoliouth (Luzac, 1907 ff), Vol.V, p. 231. Vol VI. p. 343. A.Shalaby: History of Muslim Education. Beirut: Dar al Kashaf, 1954. Ma'ruf, Naji, al-Madrassah al-Mustansiryah, Nadi al-Muthanna, Baghdad, 1935. 56 Bayard Dodge: Muslim Education in Medieval Times; The Middle East Institute, Washington D.C, 1962; p. 23; 57 Yaqut: Irshad al-Arib ed. D.S. Margoliouth; op cit; Vol VI. p. 343. 58 Yaqut: Irshad al-Arib ed. D.S. Margoliouth p. 343. 59 A. Whipple; The Role; op cit; pp.76. 60 Bayard Dodge: Muslim Education., pp 23. 61 Bayard Dodge: Muslim Education, p 23. 62 Bayard Dodge: Muslim Education., pp 23. 63 Bayard Dodge: Muslim Education., pp 23. 64 A. Whipple; The Role; op cit; pp.76. 65 Bayard Dodge: Muslim Education., pp 23.
54
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rare books dealing with various sciences which were easily available to students either for consultation or copying. Pens and paper were supplied and so were lamps and due provision of oil.66 The Caliph al-Mustansir himself took great interest and passion in the work of `his' institution to the extent that he inspected it nearly every day. He also had a belvedere (Manzarah) overlooking the college, with a window opening upon one of the college halls from where he watched the building and heard the lectures of the professors and the disputations of the students.67 Al-Mustansir insisted upon high criteria for admission to the college. Not more than 308 students were admitted and only ten were accepted as medical students.68 Elgood says,
It is, however, quite evident that the conception of al-Mustansir was an enormous advance not only in the teaching of medicine, but also in education in general.69
According to Hitti, the Mustansiriyah is almost the only structure surviving from the Abbasid days and today it is used as a customs warehouse.70 Al-Hasan of Baghdad (fl.825) (known for his book on the measurement of the sphere) was one of the earliest scholars to build an astronomical observatory in his home.71 His contemporaries, the Banu Musa brothers, made their observations from their house located on the Tigris River; studying the Ursa Major (or the Great Bear), measuring maximum and minimum altitudes of the sun and making observations of lunar eclipses.72 In 829 the first observatory sponsored and financed by a ruler Al-Mamun was completed. It was located at Shammasiyah (Baghdad) and was associated with the scientific academy of Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) which was also set up by Al-Mamun. This observatory was, hence, a major landmark in the history of science and astronomy whereby an institution of scientific observation was established by the state. From this observatory, in the year 830, the position of the solar apogee was determined as 82039'.73 Astronomers at al-Mamuns court also found the inclination of the ecliptic as equal to 23 33' and tables of the planetary motions were constructed.74 He ordered two degree-measurements to be made to determine the size of the earth, one of them near Tadmor (a degree = 56 and 2/3 Arabian miles, hence circumference of the earth = 20 400 Arabian miles).75 Expressed in other equivalents, the earth circumference was found through the measurement of the length of the terrestrial degree equal to 111.812 km which brought the circumference to 40253.4 km (the accurate figure being 40068.0 km through the equator and 40000.6 km through the poles).76 A large map of the world was drawn for Al-Mamun.77 M. Nakosteen. History of Islamic origins; op cit; pp. 50-1. Bayard Dodge: Muslim Education, op cit; p 23. M. Nakosteen, History, op cit, pp. 50-1. B. Dodge: Muslim education, op cit, pp 23-4. 68 A. Whipple; The Role; op cit; pp.76. 69 C. Elgood: A Medical history of Persia; Cambridge University Press; 1951. p.232. 70 P.K.Hitti: History of the Arabs; MacMillan, London, 1970; p. 411. 71 World Whos Who, in B. Hetherington: A Chronicle of Pre-Telescopic Astronomy; John Wiley and Sons; Chichester; 1996. p.92. 72 In L.A. Sedillot: Histoire generale des Arabes, 2 Vols., Paris, 1877. vol 2, p. 11. 73 W. Hartner: The Role of Observations in ancient and medieval astronomy; in The Journal of History of Astronomy; Vol 8; 1977; pp 1-11; at p. 8. 74 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; I; p. 558. 75 Gustav Weil: Geschichte der Chalifen; vol. 2, pp. 198-294. J. T. Reinaud: Geographie d'Aboulfeda (vol. 1, 269 sq., 1848). J. L. E. Dreyer: History of the Planetary System from Thales to Kepler; Cambridge; 1906; p. 245, 249, 278. R. A. Nicholson: Literary History of the Arabs; 1907; p. 359. G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; I; op cit; p. 558. 76 M.A. Kettani: Science and technology in Islam: the underlying value system, in The Touch of Midas; Science, values, and environment in Islam and the West edited by Z. Sardar; . Manchester University Press (1984). pp 66-90; p. 75.
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One of the astronomers was Habash al-Hasib (d.864) who had made observations of solar and lunar eclipses and of planetary positions at Baghdad, Samarra and Damascus. He compiled astronomical tables and gave the first instance of a determination of time by an altitude besides introducing the notion of shadow (umbra versa) corresponding to our tangent. He also compiled a table of tangents which were probably the earliest of its kind.78 Al-Farghani, of Farghanah in Transoxiana, was one of Caliph Al-Mamuns astronomers. He wrote on the astrolabe, explaining the mathematical theory behind the instrument and corrected faulty geometrical constructions of the central disc.79 His most famous book Kitab fi Harakat Al-Samawiyah wa Jaamai Ilm al-Nujum contains thirty chapters including a description of the inhabited part of the earth, its size, the distances of the heavenly bodies from the earth and their sizes. Al-Farghani corrected Ptolemy on several points.80 His Compendium of astronomy was translated into Latin by both Gerard of Cremona and Johanes Hispalensis. Another scholarly institution of Baghdad was the hospital. To try and reproduce details about all Baghdad hospitals during the citys glory days deserves a work of its own. The focus here is on some such institutions and their dominant features. In 914 CE the minister Abul Hassan founded a hospital in Baghdad in the quarter called al-Harbia, near the tomb of Ahmad ibn-Hanbal. He assumed all the expenses in its construction. He appointed his physician, Abu Osman Said Ibn-Yaqub al-Dimashki, who at the same time was the director of other hospitals in Baghdad, Mecca and Medina, to be director of the hospital. 81 In 918 Caliph al-Muqtadir Billah ordered Sinnan Ibn-Sabat to build a new hospital. Sinan chose the site of the hospital in the area of the Syrian Gate, in the quarter at the extreme western section of Baghdad and was named the al-Muqtadiri Hospital.82 From his private funds the caliph gave the monthly sum of 200 dinars toward the support of the hospital. This must have been one of the great hospitals in Baghdad, judging from the list of distinguished physicians that were on the staff of that institution. Issa Bey mentions especially two of the famous ones. The first was Jibra'il ibn-Bakhtishu, the court physician of the caliph. He had come from Jundi-Shapur and had spent some thirty years of his life in Baghdad. At the hospital he spent two days and two nights each week caring for and studying the patients. Ar-Razi about whom Issa Bey says this,
83
The other physician was
Ar-Razi was unquestionably the greatest savant of his century, for he knew all the sciences, especially that of medicine. He was a man of the first rank, generous, full of sympathy for the poor and their sick, whom he cared for grately, and to whom he gave generously in food and alms." 84
The Scholars of Baghdad
G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol I; p. 558. G. Sarton: Introduction; vol I, p.545. 79 C. Ronan: The Arabian Science, in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Worlds Science; Newness Books, Cambridge University Press; 1983; pp 201-44; at p. 207. 80 R. Morelon: Eastern Arabic astronomy, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science; edited by R. Rashed; Routledge; London; 1996; vol 1; pp. 20-57; at p. 24. 81 A Issa Bey: Histoire des hopitaux en Islam; Beyrut; Dar ar raid alarabi; 1981. p. 175. 82 A. Whipple: The Role; op cit; p. 84. 83 Issa Bey: Histoire; op cit; p. 177. 84 Issa Bey: p. 178.
78
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It is impossible to list and deal with all the scholars who lived and worked in Baghdad in the centuries of Islamic scientific glory (7th-13th centuries CE). Thus, here we concentrate on some who represented diverse disciplines. One of the earliest scholars of Islam was Al-Fazari Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim who was an astronomer that flourished around the second half of the 8 th century CE in Baghdad. He is first heard of in connection with the building of Baghdad in the latter half of 762, when he was associated with the other early scholars of Islam: Nawbakht, MashaAllah and Umar ibn al Farrukhan al-Tabari who were themselves involved in the same task.85 The first work that al-Fazari completed was the Zij al-Sindhind al-kabir which bore much Indian influence. Probably around 790, al-Fazari completed the Zij ala sinin al-Arab (Astronomical tables according to the years of the Arabs) in which he apparently tabulated the mean motions of the planets for one to sixty saura days, 10 to 60 saura days (60 saura days being equal to one sideral year), one to sixty sideral years and an unknown number of sixty years periods; he obviously added tables for converting kalpa aharganas into Hijra dates. 86 Of this latter set of tables we still have copies of the Mujarrad tables for finding the day of the week with which each Muslim year and month begin.87 Al-Fazari also gives a list of the countries of the world and their dimensions from this zij. Al-Fazaris other works, understandably, are little known.88 They include, however, a few lines of his poem Qasida fi ilm al-Nujum (Poem on the science of the stars) which have been preserved by the 13th century traveller-geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi and alSafadi. Bibliographers, more importantly, have recorded books on the use of the plane astrolabe with AlFazari said to be the first in Islamic civilisation to have constructed one.89 The three brothers of Banu Musa, the sons of Musa ibn Shakir, flourished in mid 9th century Baghdad and were involved in engineering, astronomy and mathematics.90 Their father was a robber in his youth but later worked for Caliph al-Mamun who sponsored his children by enrolling them in the House of Wisdom (the first major scientific institution of the Abbasids). 91 The three brothers were particularly interested in geometry and led astronomical observations. It is difficult to distinguish the part played by each brother; the most important seems to have been Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Musa (died in 872/3) who was particularly skilled in geometry and astronomy and eventually became a celebrated local leader (kaid). 92 Ahmed was especially interested in mechanics and Hasan in geometry; the latter, according to Hassan De Vaux, had extraordinary qualities with an incredible capacity for retention and a superior intellect.93 Many mathematical, mechanical and astronomical writings are ascribed to them.94 The most important are considered to be The Book on the Balance (farastun or qarastun) & and the Book on the measurement of the sphere, the trisection of the angle and the determination of two mean proportionals between two given quantities (translated into Latin by Gherardo da Cremona under the title Liber trium fratrum de
85
D. Pingree: Al-Fazari; in Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Editor Charles C. Gillispie; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1973 fwd. Vol IV; pp. 555-6; p. 555. 86 D. Pingree: Al-Fazari; p. 556. 87 D. Pingree: Al-Fazari;; p. 556. 88 For these, see: D. Pingree: The Fragments of the works of al-Fazari, in Journal of the Near eastern Studies; vol 29; 1970; pp. 103-23. 89 D. Pingree: Al-Fazari; op cit; ;p. 556. 90 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 1; op cit; p. 560. 91 M. Steinschneider: Die Sohne des Musa ben Schakir; Bibliotheca Mathematica, pp. 44-48, pp.71-75, 1887. 92 Barron carra de vaux; vol 2; p. 140. 93 Barron carra de vaux; vol 2; p. 140-1. 94 H. Suter: Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber (20-21, 1900); Nachtrage (160, 1902).

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geometria).95 Of the many works attributed to the Banu Musa was the Book on Mechanical Devices (Kitab al hiyal) written in 850 CE which can be found in The Vatican Library, Gotha and in Berlin.96 Kitab al hiyal
includes the description of about a hundred devices, including trick vessels of various sorts, fountain lamps and other apparatuses and gears such as a gas mask for use in polluted wells. The mastery of aerostatic and hydrostatic pressures and the use of automatic control and switching systems, according to Hill, make the work a unique achievement to be surpassed only in modern times97 (a great accomplishment considering that it dates from the 9th century). From the treatise, Wiedemann has focused his attention on an apparatus used to gather pearls from the depth of the sea, which is formed by two cylinders lowered to the deep sea and which close upon each other when raised above.98 This is very similar to our modern techniques used in the deep oceans. The devices in the Banu Musa treatise also considerably influenced many aspects and operations of modern technology. Ibn Sarayun, known in Latin as Ibn Serapion (fl. beginning of 9th century) and not to be mistaken with the physician Yahia Ibn Sarafyun, was a geographer. He authored a book on geography containing a description of the various seas, islands, lakes, mountains and rivers of the world. His descriptions of the Euphrates and Tigris and of the Nile are very significant. His account of the canals of Baghdad is our main basis of the reconstruction of the medieval plan of that city. This reconstruction was done by Guy Le Strange (1900) who also used many other authorities, chiefly Ya'qubi.99 Ibn Serapion's account of the network of the water system and Ya'qubis description of the highroads coming from Baghdad complete one another very well.100 The Arabic text was edited from a manuscript in the British Museum with translation and notes.101 Abu-l-Faraj Muhammad Ibn Ishaq Ibn Abi Ya'qub al-Nadim al-Warraq al- Baghdadi; the two last names mean, the copyist or stationer from Baghdad (d. in 995). Ibn al-Nadim was a historian and bibliographer. He completed in 987-88 his "Index of the Sciences" or Fihrist al-ulum. It is, to use his own words, "the index of the books of all peoples of the Arabs and non-Arabs whereof somewhat exists in the
language and script of the Arabs, on all branches of knowledge" together with biographies and
appreciations of the authors. 102 It is divided into ten discourses (maqalat), which are subdivided into sections (funun). The subject of the discourses can be roughly defined as follows: 1. 2. Languages, writings, Scriptures, Qur'an Grammar and philology
Verba filiorum Moysi, filii Sekir, id est Maumeti, Hameti et Hasen. Der Liber trium fratrum de geometria. Nach der Lesart des Codex Basiliensis F. II, 33 mit Einleitung und Commentar herausgegeben von Maximilian Curtze; in Nova Acta acad. germ. naturae curiosorum, vol. 49, 105-167, Halle, 1885. in G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 1; op cit; p. 560. 96 Eilhard Wiedemann: Bemerkungen zum Werk fi-l-hijal; Beitrage VI, 6, 55, 1906, deals with pneumatic tricks, hiyal; Beitrage X, 341-8, 1906, extracts from same treatise; Beitrage XII, 200-205, 1907; idem, lamps. E. Wiedemann und F. Hauser: Uber Trinkgefasse und Tafelaufsatze nach al-Jazari und den Benu Musa; in Der Islam, vol. 8, 55-93, 268-291, 1918; Isis, III, 478. Friedrich Hauser: Uber das Kitab al-hijal, das Werk uber die sinnreichen Anordnungen, der Benu Musa (Abhdl. Zur Gesch. Der Naturwis. Und der Medizin, heft 1. 188 p. 22pl. Erlangen, 1922; ISIS; V; p. 208. 97 D.R. Hill: -Àrabic Fine technology and its influence on European Mechanical Engineering,' in The Arab Influence in Medieval Europe, edition D.A. Agius and R. Hitchcock, Ithaca Press, 1994. pp 25-43. p. 27. 98 E. Wiedemann:Beitrage zur Geschichte der Natur-wissenschaften. X. Zur Technik bei den Arabern. Erlangen, 1906., p. 343. 99 Guy Le Strange: Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate; Oxford, 1900; reprinted, 1924. 100 G. Le Strange: Description of Mesopotamia and Baghdad, written about the year 900 by Ibn Serapion. 101 Journal of Royal Asiatic Society; 1-76; 255-315; 1895. 102 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 1; op cit; p. 663.
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3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
History, belle Lettres, biography, genealogy Poetry Scholastic theology Jurisprudence and tradition Philosophy and "ancient sciences" in three sections (a. materialist philosophy and logic; b. mathematics, music, astronomy, mechanics, engineering; c. medicine) Magic and fables Sects and creeds
10. Chemistry. 103 Because of the destruction of Baghdad in 1258 by the Mongols, not one in a thousand of the books quoted in the Fihrist remains. There is no complete translation in any language and no translation at all in English as noted by Sarton in 1927.104 The scholar who would undertake a complete and annotated translation would be sure to win the gratitude of the whole Republic of Letters as Sarton adds.105 This task was performed by Bayard Dodge in 1970.106 Abul Wafa al-Buznaji (940-998); as his name indicates, he was born in Buznaj (Quhistan) but he flourished in Baghdad where he died. He was an astronomer and mathematician.107 Abu al-Wafa was the greatest mathematician of the tenth century, according to Kettani.108 He wrote commentaries on Euclid, Diophantos and al-Khwarizmi (all lost); astronomical tables (zij al-wadih) of which we possibly have a later adaptation;109 a practical arithmetic; "the complete book" (Kitab al-kamil) and a book of applied geometry (Kitab al handasa).110 He wrote on solutions of geometrical problems with one opening of the compass; constructions of a square equivalent to other squares; regular polyhedra; approximate construction of regular heptagon (taking for its side half the side of the equilateral triangle inscribed in the same circle); constructions of parabola by points; geometrical solution of x4 = a and x4 + ax3 = b.111 Abu-l-Wafa' contributed considerably to the development of trigonometry.112 He was probably the first to show the generality of the sine theorem relative to spherical triangles; he gave a new method of constructing sine tables, the value of sin 30 being correct to the eighth decimal place.113 He made a special study of the tangent; calculated a table of tangents; introduced the secant and cosecant; knew those
G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 1; op cit; p. 663. G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 1; op cit; p. 663. 105 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 1; op cit; p. 663. 106 B. Dodge: The Fihrist of al-Nadim. A tenth century survey of Muslim culture, Columbia Records of Civilisation: Sources and Studies, No LXXXIII, 2 Vols, New York and London; 1970. See also M. Nakosteen, History... op cit, for extracts from al-Fihrist, pp 29-33. 107 See, for instance, L. Am. Sedillot Decouverte de la variation par Aboul Wefa; Journa1 Asiatique; vol 16; 1835; pp. 42038. 108 M.A. Kettani: Science and technology in Islam: the underlying value system, in The Touch of Midas; Science, values, and environment in Islam and the West edited by Z. Sardar; . Manchester University Press (1984). pp 66-90. p 71. 109 Carra de Vaux: L'almageste d'Abu-l-Wefa; in Journal Asiatique, vol 19, pp. 408-471, 1892. 110 F. Woepcke: Analyse et extrait d'un recueil de constructions geometriques par AboulWafa; in Journal Asiatique,vol.5, 218-256, 309-359, 1855. 111 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 1; p. 667. 112 A. Von Braunmuhl: Vorlesungen uber Geschichte der Trigonometrie; vol. 1, 1900; pp. 54-61. 113 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 1; p. 667.
104
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simple relations between the six trigonometric lines which are now often used to define them.114 Concerning some of the influence of Abu Al-Wafa on subsequent Western science, a return must be made to the work by Sedillot, unfortunately extant only in French and dating from the 19th century.115 Baron Carra de Vaux holds that the secant can be found in Abu al-Wafa, something he calls `the diameter of the shadow' and whose introduction is credited to Copernicus.116 Al Karaji (al-Karkhi), Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn (al-Hasan) (fl. ca. 1000) was a mathematician active in Baghdad. Virtually nothing is known of his origins, teachers or education, except what he himself wrote:
"When I arrived in Iraq and saw how both small and great people loved and venerated science, I began to write works on arithmetic and geometry, one quickly after another, until I went back to the mountain countries [cities located between Azerbaijan, Iraq, Kurdistan, Persia, and the lands bordering on the Caspian Sea] where I came to stay."117
Al-Karkhi relates to Karkh, a suburb of Baghdad, where the author flourished under the vizierate of Abu Ghalib Muhammad ibn Khalaf Fakhr al-Mulk.118 It is confirmed by others that al-Karkhi wrote all his mathematical and almost all his scientific works in Baghdad. Al-Karkhis contribution is most important in algebra and arithmetic. His three extant treatises on mathematics have often been referred to by subsequent mathematicians and bibliographers: the algebra works of al-Fakhri and al-Badi, and al-Kafi on arithmetic.119 His book on arithmetic (The sufficient on calculation, al-kafi fil-hisab) has been translated into German by Ad. Hochheim.120 There are two other extant texts, a short elementary treatise on algebra -
'al-hisab al-jabr (Oxford, Bodleian, 1, 986, 3) - and a fragment on the arithmetic triangle, cited by alKaraji's thirteenth-century successor, the mathematician al-Samawal.121 In addition to his books on mathematics, al-Karkhi wrote an engineering work on "extraction of underground waters" (Intbat al-miyah
al-khafiyyat). Other works attributed to him seem to be lost.122

In order to understand al-Karkhi's importance and the meaning of his contribution, it is necessary to review briefly the conception of algebra since it had been established as an autonomous discipline by al-Khwarizmi at the beginning of the ninth century. In his Algebra, al-Khwarizmi conceives of algebra mainly as a theory of equations of the first and second degrees. 123 He examines associated binomials and trinomials and then discusses the solution of arithmetic and geometric problems which, according to his view, can all be reduced to one of six basic equations. The elaboration of the tools of abstract algebraic calculus made it
G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 1; p. 667. L. Am. Sedillot Sur les emprunts que nous avons faits a la science arabe, et en particulier a la determination de la troisieme inegalite lunaire ou variation; Boncompagni's Bullettino, vol. 8, 63-78, Rome, 1875. 116 Baron Carra de Vaux: Astronomy and mathematics, in The Legacy of Islam, op cit, pp 376-97. note 1, p 390. 117 R. Rashed: Al-Karkhi; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; vol 7; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1986; pp. 211-2; at p. 211. 118 G. Sarton: introduction; vol 1; op cit; p.718. 119 H. Suter: Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber; 1900; p. 84. 120 Al-Kafi fil hisab; ed and tr by A. Hochheim; published in three parts, Halle, 1878- 1880. 121 R. Rashed: Al-Karkhi; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; p. 211. 122 R. Rashed: Al-Karkhi; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; p. 211. 123 R. Rashed: Al-Karkhi; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; p. 2112
115
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possible for al-Karkhi to conceive a new mathematical project: the arithmetisation of algebra.124 In the words of one commentator, he enabled the algebraist "to work with unknowns with all the arithmetic
instruments, just as the arithmetician works with the knowns". This involves a transposition and extension
of elementary arithmetic operations - the algorithms as well as Euclidean division or the extraction of roots - to algebraic terms and expressions and particularly to polynomials. Thanks to the arithmetisation of algebra, al-Karkhi arrived at the construction of the algebra of polynomials and also gained a better understanding of the algebraic structure of real numbers.125 One of the consequences of this new project was the algebraic interpretation of Book X of Euclid's Elements. Previously considered a geometry book by most mathematicians, it was reinterpreted by al-Karkhi as a book on algebra.126 According to this new view, its concepts refer not only to geometric magnitudes but also to magnitudes in general, numerical as well as geometric.127 Al-Karkhi's work marked forever arithmetic algebra. He stands at the beginning of a whole tradition which brings together the most important algebraist-arithmeticians from the twelfth until the fifteenth century such as al-Samaw'al, al-Farisi, al-Kashi and also the most notable Western mathematicians such as Leonardo of Pisa (Leonardo Fibonacci).128 It was not only to algebra that al-Karkhi contributed. Al-Karkhi defines points, lines, surfaces, solids and angles. He also gives rules for measuring both plane and solid figures, often using arches as examples. He also gives methods of weighing different substances. 129 Al Ghazali, known in Europe as Algazel, was one of the most illustrious Muslim scholars. He was born in 1058 near the city of Tus and died in 1111. He was the son of a poor, illiterate man and as a youth he studied law, theology and philosophy before becoming a teacher of law. He became famous throughout Islam for his eloquence and learning. 130 Al-Ghazali spent much of his life teaching and writing, staying in Jerusalem, Damascus and Baghdad where he flourished and where he taught at the Nizamiyyah College. Al-Ghazali wrote:
Ìt has always been my practice, as a youth and as a man, to thirst for knowledge of the true nature of things. So that I can be freed from the bond of imitation.131
For al-Ghazali, personal knowledge should spur on to good deeds which please God and lead to salvation. He was also a very influential scholar. His Maqasid al-Falasifah (The Aims of the philosophers), translated into Latin in the 12th century, became very influential amongst scholastic Christian theologians.132
124 125
R. Rashed: Al-Karkhi; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; p. 212. R. Rashed: Al-Karkhi; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; p. 212. 126 R. Rashed: Al-Karkhi; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; p. 212. 127 R. Rashed: Al-Karkhi; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; p. 212. 128 R. Rashed: Al-Karkhi; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; p. 212. 129 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics, a Forgotten brilliance; at http://www-history.mcs.standrews.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/Al-Karaji.html 130 F.B. Artz: The Mind; op cit; 146. 131 In Al-Munquidh min al-dalal,p.13; referred to by A. Diyab in Al-Ghazali; op cit. 132 M.Alonso quoted by A. Diyab: Al-Ghazali; op cit.

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In his thirties, al-Ghazali became the principal teacher at Madrasah Nizamiyyah of Baghdad, the most renowned institution of learning in eastern Islam (Cordova was its Western equivalent). His ideas on education dominated Islamic educational thought for centuries after his death. He studied the education of the child and the role of the master. According to Al-Ghazali,
`knowledge exists potentially in the human soul like the seed in the soil; by learning the potential becomes actual.133
The child, al-Ghazali also wrote,
ìs a trust (placed by God) in the hands of his parents, and his innocent heart is a precious element capable of taking impressions.134
One of the elements al-Ghazali insisted upon is that a child should be taught the words of the creed in his earliest days and be taught the meaning gradually as he grew older; corresponding to the three stages of memorising, understanding and conviction.135 The way the child relates to the world at large occupies a large concern in al-Ghazalis mind. 136 In concert with Ibn al-Hajj,137 he stresses that a child must not boast about his fathers wealth and must be polite and attentive to all. He should be taught not to love money for love of it is a deadly poison. The perspective of al-Ghazali is centred upon personal effort in the search for truth; and this presupposes, he insists, a received education and the direction of a master.138 Education (tarbiya), Al-Ghazali states in Ayyuha l-walad is like
`the labour of the farmer, who uproots the weeds, trims wheat so as it grows better and gives a better harvest.'139
The religion al-Ghazali preached was a vivid one, full of the love of God on the one hand and of the horrors of sin and hell on the other.140 Al-Ghazalis views on religion and faith were written largely in Jerusalem after he secluded himself in the Aqsa Mosque and details on such views are found in the article on the said city. But briefly here, it should be pointed out that his most influential books were the Destruction of Philosophy and the Revival of the Science of Religion (Ihya Ulum Addin). In these he argues that sensation is illusory and that reason, based on sensation, is deceptive and leads only to doubt.141 Logic and science cannot prove God the only great reality. Only a life of prayer and good works can bring man to know God while at the same time, without a belief in God and a desire to do his will, there can be no moral order in society. 142
133 134
Al-Ghazali in A.Tibawi: Islamic Education, Luzac and Company Ltd, London, 1972. p. 40. In A. Tibawi: Islamic, op cit, p. 40. 135 From A.S. Tritton: Materials on Muslim Education in the Middle Ages; Luzac and Company, London, 1957. p. 16. 136 Al-Ghazali: Ihya ulUlum, part I, book 2, section 2. 137 Ibn-Al-Hajj: Madkhal, in A. Tritton, Materials, op cit, p. 21. 138 C. Bouamrane-L. Gardet: Panorama de la pensee Islamique; Sindbad; 1-3 Rue Feutrier; Paris 18 (1984) , principally chapter 10, by Louis Gardet (Notion et principe de l'education en Islam: pp 205-226), p.207. 139 Ayyuha lwalad: UNESCO, Beyrut 1951 (Arabic text, Fr trsl, p. 36-7. 140 F.B. Artz: The mind, op cit; p. 146. 141 Artz 146. 142 Artz 146-7.

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Al Baghdadi is sometimes known as Ibn Tahir, whose full name is Abu MansurAbr al-Qahir ibn Tahir ibn Muhammad ibn Abdallah al-Tamini al-Shaffi al-Baghdadi (980-1037). We can deduce from al-Baghdadi's last three names that he was descended from the Bani Tamim tribe which was one of the Sharif tribes of ancient Arabia and that he belonged to the Shafi'i school of religious law or madhab.143 In Asfirayin, alBaghdadi taught for many years in the mosque on several subjects whilst never taking any payment. Although he was one of the greatest theologians of his age and many works are attributed to him, none has been studied scientifically. Here we look at two of his mathematical works. 144 The first book is a small treatise on mensuration: Kitab fi'l-misaha, which gives the units of length, area and volume and ordinary mensuration rules.145 The second treatise, al-Takmila fi'l-Hisab, is a work in which alBaghdadi notes in the introduction that earlier works are either too brief to be of great use or are concerned with only one chapter (system) of arithmetic. In this work, therefore, he seeks to explain all kinds of arithmetic in use.146 Several important results in number theory appear in the al-Takmila as do comments which allow us to obtain information on certain texts of al-Khwarizmi which are now lost.147 In al-Takmila, Al-Baghdadi gives an interesting discussion of abundant numbers, deficient numbers, perfect numbers and equivalent numbers. 148 The Greek mathematician Nicomachus had made claims about perfect numbers around 100 CE which were accepted, seemingly without question, in Europe up to the 16th century. However, al-Baghdadi knew that certain claims made by Nicomachus were false. 149 The last of Al-Baghdadis seven systems, business arithmetic, begins with business problems and ends with two chapters on curiosities that would find a place in any modern book on recreational problems or the modulo principle. One example is provided here: your partner thinks of a number not greater than 105. He casts out fives* and is left with a; he casts out sevens and he is left with b; he casts out threes and is left with c; Calculate 21a+ 15b+ 70c; cast out 105s, and the residue is the number.150 'Ali ibn 'Isa was a notable oculist (kahhal) of Baghdad whose life falls in the first half of the 11th century. His main work is Tadkirat al-kahhalin (Manual for Oculists or Note-book of the Oculists). It is the classical handbook of Muslim ophthalmology, translated once into Hebrew and twice into Latin, and was printed with the title of Tractatus de oculis Jesu Halis in Venice in 1497, 1499 and 1500.151 It is the oldest Muslim work on ophthalmology that is complete and survives in the original state.152 It would be of interest to the modern reader to quote Elgood on the three sections of the Tadkirat:
143 144
J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic mathematics; op cit. A. S. Saidan: Al-Baghdadi; in Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Vol 15; supplement; pp. 9-10; at p. 9. 145 A. S. Saidan: Al-Baghdadi; p. 9. 146 A. S. Saidan: Al-Baghdadi; p. 9. 147 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson; Arabic Mathematics; op cit. 148 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson 149 J J O'Connor and E F Robertson * [i.e. divide by five and take the remainder] 150 A. S. Saidan: Al-Baghdadi; op cit; p. 10. 151 F. R. Farag: Why Europe responded to the Muslims; in Arabica, vol XXV, pp. 292-308. at p. 300. 152 F. R. Farag: Why Europe; p. 300.

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`The first part is devoted to anatomy, the second to the external diseases of the eye, and the third part to internal diseases of the eye which are not visible upon inspection. This last section is perhaps the most interesting from a modern point of view, for it shows the very definite limitations of Greek and Arab ophthalmology. The ophthalmoscope and the power of seeing the retina have revolutionized ophthalmologic practice. When Ali speaks of internal diseases of the eye, he literally means diseases confined to the eye. The possibility of first diagnosing diabetes, kidney disease and cerebral tumour in the ophthalmic consulting room is not conceived of by the oculists of those times. The nearest approach that Ali makes to the modern conception of eye disease as a manifestation of general disease is when he urges the practitioner to realize that defective vision may be due to a disease of the stomach or brain just as much as to an incipient cataract. And with that he leaves the question.153
Despite this limitation which was common to all oculists of Ibn Isas day and which continued for many centuries later, his Tadkirat, passed over to Europe and became the foundation of Western practice.154 It has been used on a large scale by later Muslim oculists until the present day, both for the practical and theoretical portions, and whole chapters have frequently been quoted. A German translation of the Manual for oculists' based on the Muslim manuscripts can be found.155 Ibn Jazla was born of Christian parents at Baghdad in 1074 and converted later to Islam.156 His dispositio corporum
de constittutione hominis, Tacuin agritudinum, as the name implies, was translated into Latin. There is a story which
says that he was the physicist for Charlemagne and that he wrote his Tables or Tacuin at the instigation of the latter.157 This story by Browne has no historical foundation unless Ibn Jazla was born two centuries earlier, for indeed, Charlemagne was emperor up to 814. The Tacuin was translated by the Jew Farragut and the Latin version was published in 1532. A German translation was published at Strasbourg in 1533 by Hans Schotte.158 Ibn Jazla also wrote another work which was translated by Jambolinus and was known in Latin translation as the Cibis et
medicines simplicibus.
Al-Badi al-Asturlabi (d. 1140) died at Baghdad; he was a Muslim astronomer and director of astronomical observations in the palace of the Seljuk Sultan of Iraq, Mughith al-Din Mahmud; he compiled astronomical tables known as the Zij al-Mhamudi (The Mahmudic tables); the greatest expert of those times in the knowledge and construction of astrolabes.159 He made astronomical observations in Baghdad in 1130.160 He also wrote a complement to the book of Al-Khujandi on the universal instrument which is kept in a few places such as at Birmingham (560) and Tehran (Nasiri A2).161
C. Elgood: A Medical History of Persia. Cambridge University Press, 1951. p. 141. F. R. Farag: Why Europe; op cit; p. 301. 155 In J. Hirschberg; J. Lippert and E. Mittwoch: Die arabischen Augenarzte nach den Quellen bearbeitet; vol 1; Leipzig; 1904. 156 D. Campbell: Arabian Medicine and its Influence on the Middle Ages; Philo Press; Amsterdam; 1926. p. 82. 157 E.G. Browne: Arabian medicine; 1921; pp. 60-1. 158 E. Egass: Bulletin Historique Antique; University of Paris; Vol 573; quoted by J.Friend: History of Physick; two parts; London; 1750. p. 228. 159 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 204. 160 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, astronomers and other scholars of Islamic civilisation; Research Centre for Islamic History, art and Culture; Istanbul; 2003; p. 174. 161 B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: p. 174.
154
153

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The Fall of Baghdad
An Abbassid Castle162 Baghdad fell in February 1258. The massacre of its million or so inhabitants and the disastrous impact this had on the civilisation of Islam is recognised by older Western historical sources in particular whether they were sympathetic to Islam or not. Thus, Sir Thomas Arnold comments:
`Muslim civilisation has never recovered from the destructions which the Mongols inflicted upon it... Under the command of Hulagu, they appeared before the walls of Baghdad, and after a brief siege the last Caliph of the Abbasid house, Mustassim, had to surrender, and was put to death together with most of the members of his family; 800,000 of the inhabitants were brought out in batches from the city to be massacred, and the greater part of the city itself was destroyed by fire. 163
Glubbs outline of the capture of the city is as follows:
Òn 10th February (1258), the Khalif Mustassim gave himself up. Hulagu ordered him to instruct the whole population to gather on the plain outside the walls, where they also were shot, slashed and hacked to death in heaps, regardless of age or sex. Not until 13th February did the Mongols enter the city. For a week, they had been waiting on the walls, not a man daring to leave his unit to plunder. Such iron discipline, unknown in the Middle Ages, goes far to account for their invincibility. The city was then systematically looted, destroyed and burnt. Eight hundred thousand persons are said to have been killed. The Khalif Mustasim was sewn up in a sack and trampled to death under the feet of Mongol horses.164
Glubb concludes:
162
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~intlclub/events_files/image002.jpg Sir Thomas W. Arnold: Muslim Civilisation during the Abbasid Period; in The Cambridge Medieval History, Cambridge University Press, 1922 (1936 reprint):Vol IV: Edited by J. R. tanner, C. W. Previte; Z.N. Brooke, 1923. pp 274-298; at p.279. 164 Sir John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969; p. 207.
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`For five hundred years, Baghdad had been a city of palaces, mosques, libraries and colleges. Its universities and hospitals were the most up to date in the world. Nothing now remained but heaps of rubble and a stench of decaying human flesh.165
Baghdad would never recover. For a while now, Western history has been distorting the history of this fall on a number of grounds and suppressing fundamental facts of history. author if they wish to. In the following section we look at two essential aspects of distortions regarding the fall of Baghdad and its impact on Islamic civilisation. First we examine the distortions relating to the decline of Islamic civilisation, with particular regard to Baghdad and then we investigate the true reasons for such decline. This is, of course, not the place to resolve this issue. But the briefest of outlines is necessary to highlight this issue for others either to follow up or to challenge this
The Fallacies Regarding the Fall of Baghdad and the Decline of Islamic Civilisation
The responsibility for the decline of Islamic civilisation in nearly all modern works dealing with Islam and its civilisation is blamed on the religion itself and its most òrthodox followers, i.e. those who abide by the faith with commitment. Amongst those who apparently caused much harm to Islamic civilisation are the Caliph al-Mutawakil and the theologian al-Ashari after he converted to Sunni Islam. Multhauf, for instance, echoing most Western historians, says:
Àbbasid metaphysical toleration began to break down under the caliph Mutawakkil (847-61) who backed the Orthodox Sunnite sect against Muslim liberalism.166
The reason for this Caliph causing the end of Muslim civilisation is outlined for us by Durant:
`The whole structure of Islam, resting on the Koran, seemed ready to collapse. In this crisis three factors made Orthodoxy victorious: a conservative caliph, the rise of the Turkish guard, and the natural loyalty of the people to their inherited beliefs. A1-Mutawakkil, coming to the throne in 847, based his support upon the populace and the Turks; and the Turks, new converts to Mohammedanism, hostile to the Persians, and strangers to Greek thought, gave themselves with a whole heart to a policy of saving the faith by the sword.167
Al-Ashari, (born in Basra in 873-874 and died in 935-6) as Sarton tells us, was a Mu'tazilite at first, he was
`reconverted to Sunnite orthodoxy in 913 and henceforth his whole activity was devoted to the rationalization and the defence of his faith.
165 166 167
Sir John Glubb: A Short History; op cit; p. 207. R.P. Multhauf: The Origins of chemistry; Gordon and Breach Science Publishers; London, 1993. p.123. W. Durant: The Age of Faith; op cit; p.252.

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He may be called the founder of Muslim scholasticism and he re-established theological unity and òrthodoxy.168 The `destructive role of al-Ashari is reported to us by Wiet et al:
`His (Al-Ashari) ideas were seized on by the pious bigots, and it was this group that precipitated the decline of Islamic intellectual life. Its pietist rigour could lead nowhere but to the enslavement of thought; its ideas were imposed on the believer in the form of a catechism. 169
For E.G. Browne, the destructiveness of al-Asharis influence compares to that of Genghis Khan and Hulagu.170 Multhauf also acknowledges that:
Àn Orthodox and anti intellectual reaction gained momentum in Baghdad during the lifetime of alFarabi (b.ca 870; d. Damascus 950), and the great philosophers of Islam subsequently appeared elsewhere. 171
It is also the malefic Mamluks who devastated the land of Islam. Hence for Ashtor:
`The Mamluks were foreigners ruling over millions of people who were excluded from the higher ranks of the feudal hierarchy. They had no interest in developing the economic forces of their countries. So their rule degenerated into reckless exploitation, which ruined once flourishing countries.172
Whilst Al-Mutawaqil, the Turks, al-Ashari and the Mamluks seemingly have destroyed Islamic civilisation, the Mongols, on the other hand, are reported as having hardly committed any harm and in fact as having done Islamic civilisation much good. Ashtor narrates that the Mongols only killed 100 000 people and,
`the blood letting that accompanied the Mongol conquest was followed by a sort of recovery. The administration of Irak by Ata Malik Djuwaini, who held his post for 24 years (1258-82), brought relief to the sorely afflicted country.173
In this pax Mongolica trade also allegedly thrived:
Òn the other hand, the trade of Iraq with Persia and the countries of central Asia was considerably intensified after the Mongol conquests. Iraqi merchants began to regularly visit Khwarizm and to travel through Turkestan to China. Others took advantage of the Pax Mongolica to carry on trade with Kiptchak, the great Mongol kingdom north of the Caucasus.174
George Sarton: Introduction; vol I, op cit; p.625. G. Wiet; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind: Vol III: The Great Medieval Civilisations; Trsltd from the French; first published 1975.; p.567. 170 E.G. Browne: Literary history of Persia, vol 1,1908; p. 286. 171 R.P. Multhauf: The Origins of chemistry; Gordon and Breach Science Publishers; London, 1993. p.120. 172 E. Ashtor: A Social and Economic History of the Near East in the Middle Ages; Collins; London; 1976; p. 280. 173 E. Ashtor: A Social. 251. 174 E. Ashtor: A Social; p. 264.
169 168

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Before addressing this nonsensical view related to the Mongols, first, the issue of al-Mutawakil and AlAshari is addressed. The list of scholars above has shown us that scholars and scholarship thrived around and after the time of both men. Thus, why they should be accused of having ended Islamic civilisation is one of the mysteries this author cannot come to terms with. Every single contemporary that depicted the Mongols devastation of the land of Islam175 and the accounts of the many scholarly deaths at their hands or the cities that were burnt down (Merw, Nishapur etc) whose ruins still remain today, appear to be fiction in the pens of our modern scholars. This is only one aspect of the distorted history of the causes of decline of Islamic civilisation. The real reasons for its decline and the devastation of Baghdad, which the near totality of modern Western history of Islam fails to tell us, follow now.
The true reasons for the decline of Islamic science and the fall of the Caliphate
One fundamental reason for the decline of Islamic civilisation owes to the decadence amidst the Abbasid Caliphs themselves. The 18th century historian, Gibbon, traces this decadence:
`The caliph Al-Mamun might proudly assert, that it was easier for him to rule the East and the West, than to manage a chess-board of two feet square, yet I suspect that in both those games he was guilty of many fatal mistakes; and I perceive, that in the distant provinces the authority of the first and most powerful of the Abbassids was already impaired. The analogy of despotism invests the representative with the full majesty of the prince; the division and balance of powers might relax the habits of obedience, might encourage the passive subject to inquire into the origin and administration of civil government. He who is born in the purple is seldom worthy to reign; but the elevation of a private man, of a peasant, perhaps, or a slave, affords a strong presumption of his courage and capacity. The viceroy of a remote kingdom aspires to secure the property and inheritance of his precarious trust; the nations must rejoice in the presence of their sovereign; and the command of armies and treasures are at once the object and the instrument of his ambition. A change was scarcely visible as long as the lieutenants of the caliph were content with their vicarious title; while they solicited for themselves or their sons a renewal of the Imperial grant, and still maintained on the coin and in the public prayers the name and prerogative of the commander of the faithful. But in the long and hereditary exercise of power, they assumed the pride and attributes of royalty; the alternative of peace or war, of reward or punishment, depended solely on their will; and the revenues of their government were reserved for local services or private magnificence. Instead of a regular supply of men and money, the successors of the prophet were flattered with the ostentatious gift of an elephant, or a cast of hawks, a suit of silk hangings, or some pounds of musk and amber.176
Gibbon also blames:
175
176
Such as Ibn al-Athir: Kitab al-kamil; ed K.J. Tornberg; 12 vols; Leiden; 1851-72. E. Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Vol VI; 1925 Edition; pp. 51-2.

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`The luxury of the caliphs, so useless to their private happiness, relaxed the nerves, and terminated the progress, of the Arabian empire. Temporal and spiritual conquest had been the sole occupation of the first successors of Mahomet; and after supplying themselves with the necessaries of life, the whole revenue was scrupulously devoted to that salutary work. The Abbassids were impoverished by the multitude of their wants, and their contempt of economy. Instead of pursuing the great object of ambition, their leisure, their affections, the powers of their mind, were diverted by pomp and pleasure: the rewards of valour were embezzled by women and eunuchs, and the royal camp was encumbered by the luxury of the palace. A similar temper was diffused among the subjects of the caliph. Their stern enthusiasm was softened by time and prosperity. They sought riches in the occupations of industry, fame in the pursuits of literature, and happiness in the tranquillity of domestic life. War was no longer the passion of the Saracens; and the increase of pay, the repetition of donatives, were insufficient to allure the posterity of those voluntary champions who had crowded to the standard of Abu Bakr and Omar for the hopes of spoil and of paradise.177
Personifying this decadence of Abbasid power is the last of their caliphs: Mustassim. The Mongols had already slaughtered millions in the east by the time they reached the capital of the Caliphate - Baghdad - in January 1258.178 Mustassim was the ruling caliph. Mustassim, in the words of Baron dOhsson:
`lacked good judgment and energy; and left it to his ministers the levers of power, whilst he spent his time in frivolous deeds, passionate for music, the spectacles offered by passing singers, mimes, and other games of the sort. His pride equalled his poor mental state. The princes who came to pay homage to him were not admitted to his presence, but could only kiss a piece of cloth of black silk, representing a piece of the Caliphs robe, which was suspended to the palace door. And they had to prostrate themselves to kiss it. This way the Caliph sought to imitate the pilgrims kissing the black stone of the Kaaba. And whenever he ventured outdoors, the caliph did in a luxurious suite, his face covered by a black veil.179
The weakness of the caliph was compounded by betrayal around him, in the person of his vizier Ibn al Camiyi (also spelt as Ibn al Aqlami among others) who sent many secret letters to a reticent Hulagu informing him of both his loyalty and undermining the character of the Caliph, insisting that the conquest of Baghdad would be very easy. Ibn al Camiyi pressed Hulagu to advance on Baghdad.180 The same minister pressed the Caliph, against Turkish officers advice, to cut down the numbers of the military to save on expenses and the Caliph gave him all powers to do so.181 Hulagu himself was advised by his Muslim astrologer, Nasir Eddin al-Tusi to advance and destroy Baghdad as a favour written in the stars.182 Hussam Eddin, who was another Muslim astronomer, sought to dissuade Hulagu but al Tussi was the more convincing of the two and Hulagu moved on Baghdad. 183
177 178
E. Gibbon: The Decline; Vol VI; 1925 Edition; pp. 26-7. E.G. Browne: Arabian medicine; Cambridge University Press, 1962. p.439. 179 Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834. vol 3; pp. 207-8. 180 Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols; p. 212. 181 Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols; p. 213. 182 Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols; pp. 225-6. 183 Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols; pp. 225-6.

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The destruction of Baghdad was not however just due to factors such as Caliph Mustassims weakness, his viziers betrayal, Hulagus own initiative or Nasir Eddin Tussis advice. It resulted from another crucial factor: the Crusader alliance with the Mongols which was central to the destruction of the Caliphate in 1258. Indeed, the Crusades had been going on since 1095. The crusaders had sought in 1101 to reach the centre of the Caliphate - Baghdad - and terminate Muslim power. This 1101 crusade, consisting of nearly one million soldiers divided into four great armies, was destroyed by the Seljuk Turks in 1101-2.184 The subsequent crusades faced determined continuous resistance by the Seljuks and the armies of Imad Zangi (ruled 1127-1145), his son Nur Eddin (ruled 1146-1178) and Salah Eddin al-Ayyubi (1178-1193). After that the rising Mamluk power held the crusaders in check until the latter built an alliance with the Mongols. This alliance with the Mongols was arranged in the period of 1240 - early 1250s by the Crusader leadership and the popes. It was made possible by the fact that not just both sides hated Islam but most importantly because Nestorian Christianity held a great place alongside Shamanism amongst Mongol beliefs.185 Hulagu, the Mongol leader who was to take Baghdad in 1258, and his general Kitbuka had affinities with Nestorian Christianity.186 It was Hulagus protection of the Nestorians and the respect with which he welcomed and promoted the Katholikos Nestorian of Baghdad which was to play a major role in the alliance between Mongols and Crusaders.187 Hulagus wife, Doqouz Khatoun, was also a Christian and she ferociously loathed Islam.188 She had great personal influence189 and in order to please her, Hulagu supported and promoted this community so that it was able to build new churches everywhere.190 All the wives of Mangou, Kubilai and Hulagu were Christians and played leading parts in the favours shown by the Mongols to the Christians.191 The Popes in Rome were aware of this and in order to achieve their aims, they worked very hard to stimulate the zeal of these Christian wives.192 The Latin envoys to the Mongols did not just find churches in very large numbers, they also discovered that Christians had great influence in the local Mongol communities.193 There were also Christian soldiers employed as archers or sailors and adventurers in the Mongol court.194 To cement the Christian alliance with the Mongols, a strong number of Christian envoys were sent to the Mongols by St Louis, King of France and the Popes.195 In 1245, Pope Innocent IV commissioned Giovanni de Carpini to explore the alliance with the Mongols against Islam.196 Equally, in 1253, St Louis sent the Franciscan William of
Z. Oldenbourg: The Crusades; trans from the French by A. Carter; Weinfeld and Nicolson; London; 1965. pp. 174-5. B. Spuler: History of the Mongols; London, Routledge& kegan Paul, 1972. p.2. 186 B Spuler: Les Mongols dans l'Histoire, Payot, Paris, 1961. 187 A. Mieli: La Science Arabe et son role; Leiden; 1966:p.147. 188 A. Mieli: La Science Arabe; p. 147. 189 B. Spuler: Les Mongols dans l'Histoire, in Yves Courbage, Paul Fargues: Chretiens et Juifs dans l'Islam Arabe et Turc, Payot, Paris, 1997. p. 100. 190 B. Spuler: History of the Mongols; op cit; p.121. 191 Hayton, Saint Martin Brosset quoted in W. Heyd: Histoire du Commerce du Levant au Moyen Age; A.M.Hakkert Editor; Amsterdam; 1967.Vol II; p. 66. 192 Jean Richard: La Papaute et les Missions dOrient au Moyen Age; Ecole Francaise de Rome; Palais Farnese; 1977. p. 104. 193 G. de Rubruc.; pp 292; 301; Abul-Faraj: Hist.dynast; edt Pococke; p. 321, Ohsson: Hist des Mongols; ii; p. 234 and fl; all in W.Heyd: Histoire; op cit; p. 66. 194 J. Richard: La Papaute; op cit; p.104. 195 Innocent IV: Statuta capitulorum generalium ordinis Cisterciensis, ed. J. canivez, Vol II, Louvain, 1934, ad. ann.1245, & 28, p. 294. in J. Richard: La Papaute et les Missions d'Orient; op cit; p.66. 196 G. Sarton: Introduction; Vol II; op cit; p.37.
185
184

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Rubrouck to the Mongols.197 Rubrouck was then sent to meet the great leader himself, Mangu Khan further to the east. 198 These envoys were mainly Franciscan and Dominican missionaries.199 Ironically, they generally passed through the lands controlled by Muslim rulers with their blessings and help.200 The Mongols acknowledged the Christian messages for an anti-Muslim alliance and sent their replies. In 1249 at Cyprus, there came Mongol envoys to the devout French king, St Louis, offering alliance against the Muslims.201 The details of such an alliance has been partly uncovered by Pelliot,202 Spuler,203 Saunders204 and by the Swedish diplomat and scholar: Baron dOhsson in the best work on the subject.205 But the Vatican remains silent on the details of this alliance.206 Western religious or scholarly authorities remain, on the whole, silent about such an alliance, seeking to detach the Christian role from the Mongol atrocities committed against the Muslims.207 What is definitely known is that, three years after the return of the Popes envoy Rubrouck, Hulagu crossed Persia and devastated Baghdad.208 Christian quarters, on the other hand, were spared.209 It did not stop there; the Mongols destroyed nearly the whole of Syria (see the entries on Damascus and Aleppo) and advanced on Egypt to destroy the last power standing in front of them: the Mamluks. This advance and devastation of the land of Islam followed a promise by Mongke, the Mongol general and brother of Hulagu, to the King of Armenia to conquer the Holy land and give it straight back to the Christians.210 For the Christians, however, it was not Jerusalem that was the aim but to turn the Mongols ìnto a major asset for the West211 and
`to deal the mortal blow to the Muslims and thus guarantee the rule of the cross over the Holy Land.212 For the Christian West, the Mongol invasions were, indeed, aimed at `the final and long awaited fall of Islam.213 Maybe reaching even further, such invasions were a response to a dream òf a world from which the Arabs had been eradicated.214
As the Muslim armies were routed and the Muslim populations were slaughtered en masse, only one force stood ready and determined to fight back: the Mamluks of Egypt. It is they who crushed the Mongols at Ain
William of Rubrouck, envoye de Saint Louis, Voyage dans l'empire Mongol (1253-1255), Payot, Paris, 1985. C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; The Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund; London; 1897. p. 372. 199 C. Cahen: Orient et Occident au temps des Croisades, Aubier Montaigne, 1983. p.200. 200 G. Sarton: Introduction, Vol II, op cit; p.37. 201 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom. p. 350. 202 P. Pelliot: Mongols and Popes; 13th and 14th centuries; Paris; 1922. -P. Pelliot: Les Mongols et la Papaute; In Revue dOrient Chretien; 1923-1924; and 1931-2. 203 B. Spuler: Les Mongols dans l'Histoire, Payot, Paris, 1961. 204 J.J.Saunders: Aspects of the Crusades; University of Canterbury publishing; Canterbury; 1962. 1962. 205 Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834.
198
197
J. Richard: La Papaute; op cit; p.281. Whether Saunders who has been referred to here, or other historians such as Richard, who dealt with the issue, and even those seemingly favourable to the Muslims, such as Daniel (The Arabs and medieval Europe); all deny that the alliance between the Christians and Mongols to exterminate the Muslims worked on the ground, whilst it did. 208 C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom. Op cit; p. 381. 209 Yves Courbage, Paul Fargues: Chretiens et Juifs dans l'Islam Arabe et Turc, Payot, Paris, 1997; p. 29 210 Hayton; in W. Heyd: Histoire; Vol II; op cit; p. 68. 211 R.W. Southern: Western Views of Islam in the Middle Ages, Harvard University Press, 1978. p.44: 212 Jean Richard, `l'Extreme Orient legendaire au Moyen Age: Roi David et Pretre Jean,' in Annales d'Ethiopie, Vol II (Paris, 1957), pp 225-42. 213 M. Rodinson: Europe and the Mystique of Islam; tr: R. Veinus; I.B. Tauris and Co Ltd; London; 1988. p.27. 214 N. Daniel: The Arabs and medieval Europe; Longman Librarie du Liban; 1975. p.218,
207
206

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Jalut in September 1260. It is they who, led by one of Islams greatest figures, Baybars (d. 1277), launched the re-conquest and liberation of Syria and the lost lands, before eventually crushing the crusaders and removing them and soon afterwards the Mongols.215 Thus, now can be understood why in modern history, the Mamluks are portrayed as evil, and why the Mongols are portrayed as good, and why Nasir Eddin AlTusi is considered the greatest scholar of Islam, and so many other fallacies which crown and cram the unfortunate writing of the history of Islam.
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See, for instance: -U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, selection from the Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of Ibn al-Furat; 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971. -Ibn al-Furat: Tarikh al-duwal wal Muluk; ed M.F. El-Shayyal; unpublished Ph.d., University of Edinburgh; 1986. -Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; op cit.
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-C. Elgood: A Medical history of Persia; Cambridge University Press; 1951. -F. R. Farag: Why Europe responded to the Muslims; in Arabica, vol XXV, pp. 292-308. -J.Friend: History of Physick; two parts; London; 1750. -Al-Ghazali : Ayyuha lwalad: UNESCO, Beyrut 1951 (Arabic text, Fr trsl. -Al-Ghazali: Ihya ulUlum, part I, book 2, section 2. -E. Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Vol VI; 1925 Edition; -F and J Gies: Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel subtitled "Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages". Harper Perennial, 1995. -John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. -W. Hartner: The Role of Observations in ancient and medieval astronomy; in The Journal of History of
Astronomy; Vol 8; 1977; pp 1-11; at p. 8.

-Friedrich Hauser: Uber das Kitab al-hijal, das Werk uber die sinnreichen Anordnungen, der Benu Musa (Abhdl. Zur Gesch. Der Naturwis. Und der Medizin, heft 1. 188 p. 22pl. Erlangen, 1922; ISIS; V. -B. Hetherington: A Chronicle of Pre-Telescopic Astronomy; John Wiley and Sons; Chichester; 1996. -W. Heyd: Histoire du Commerce du Levant au Moyen Age; A.M.Hakkert Editor; Amsterdam; 1967.Vol II. -D.R. Hill: Àrabic Fine technology and its influence on European Mechanical Engineering,' in The Arab
Influence in Medieval Europe, edition D.A. Agius and R. Hitchcock, Ithaca Press, 1994. pp 25-43.
-R. Hillenbrand: Madrasa; Dictionary of Middle Ages; op cit; vol 8; p. 11. -P.K.Hitti: History of the Arabs; MacMillan, London, 1970. J. Hirschberg; J. Lippert; and Leipzig; 1904. -Innocent IV: Statuta capitulorum generalium ordinis Cisterciensis, ed. J. Canivez, Vol II, Louvain, 1934, ad. ann.1245, & 28, p. 294. -A Issa Bey: Histoire des hopitaux en Islam; Beyrouth; Dar ar raid alarabi; 1981. -M.A. Kettani: Science and technology in Islam: the underlying value system, in The Touch of Midas; E. Mittwoch: Die arabischen Augenarzte nach den Quellen bearbeitet;
Science, values, and environment in Islam and the West edited by Z. Sardar; . Manchester University Press
(1984). pp 66-90. -J. Lasner: Baghdad; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; vol 2; 1982; pp. 44-7. -G. Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate; Cambridge University Press; 1930. - G. Le Strange: Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate; Oxford at the Clarendon Press; 1900. -George Makdisi: On the origin and development of the college in Islam and the West, in Islam and the
Medieval West, ed. Khalil I. Semaan, State University of New York Press/Albany. 1980. Pp: 26-49.
-A. Mieli: La Science Arabe et son role; Leiden; 1966. -J. Mokyr: The Lever of Riches subtitled "Technological Creativity and Economic Progress". Oxford, 1990. -R. Morelon: Eastern Arabic astronomy, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science; edited by R. Rashed; Routledge; London; 1996; vol 1; pp. 20-57. -R.P. Multhauf: The Origins of chemistry; Gordon and Breach Science Publishers; London, 1993. -M. Naji, al-Madrassah al-Mustansiryah, Nadi al-Muthanna, Baghdad, 1935. -M. Nakosteen: History of Islamic origins of Western education A.D 800-1350 ; University of Colorado Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1964. -R. A. Nicholson: Literary History of the Arabs; 1907. -J J O'Connor and E F Robertson: Arabic Mathematics; a Forgotten brilliance; at http://www-
history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/Al-Karaji.html - Z. Oldenbourg: The Crusades; trans from the French by A. Carter; Weinfeld and Nicolson; London; 1965.

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-J. Pedersen; The Arabic Book, translated by Geoffrey French; Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey (1984). -P. Pelliot: Mongols and Popes; 13th and 14th centuries; Paris; 1922. -P. Pelliot: Les Mongols et la Papaute; In Revue dOrient Chretien ; 1923-1924; and 1931-2. -D. Pingree: Al-Fazari; Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Charles Coulston Gillispie Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1970 fwd. Vol IV; pp. 555-6. -D. Pingree: The Fragments of the works of al-Fazari, in Journal of the Near eastern Studies; vol 29; 1970; pp. 103-23. -R. Rashed: Al-Karkhi; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; vol 7; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1986; pp. 211-2. -J. T. Reinaud: Geographie d'Aboulfeda; vol. 1, 1848. -Jean Richard: La Papaute et les Missions dOrient au Moyen Age; Ecole Francaise de Rome; Palais Farnese; 1977. -Jean Richard, `l'Extreme Orient legendaire au Moyen Age: Roi david et Pretre Jean,' in Annales d'Ethiopie, Vol II (Paris, 1957), pp 225-42. -M. Rodinson: Europe and the Mystique of Islam; trsltd: R. Veinus; I.B. Tauris and Co Ltd; London; 1988. -C. Ronan: The Arabian Science, in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Worlds Science; Newness Books, Cambridge University Press; 1983; pp 201-44. -B. Rosenfeld and E. Ihsanoglu: Mathematicians, astronomers and other scholars of Islamic civilisation; Research Centre for Islamic History, art and Culture; Istanbul; 2003.
-William of Rubrouck, envoye de Saint Louis, Voyage dans l'empire Mongol (1253-1255), Payot, Paris, 1985. -A. S. Saidan: Al-Baghdadi; in Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Vol 15; supplement; pp. 9-10. -G. Sarton: Introduction to the history of sciences, The Carnegie Institution; Baltimore, 1927 fwd; esp
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Jewel of Chinese Muslims Heritage
Mohammed Khamouch Lamaan Ball Rumeana Jahangir Aasiya Alla June 2005 4090 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Jewel of Chinese Muslims Heritage June 2005
JEWEL OF CHINESE MUSLIMS HERITAGE

(A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH THE FIRST MOSQUE IN CHINA)
This is one of a series of articles especially commissioned by FSTC to report on some Islamic Monuments and Centres of interest but are not well known to the wide public. This one is reported by FSTCs special researcher, Mohammed Khamouch
Long before I travelled to Asia, my mind was always fascinated by China and its magical arts. I was unaware of Chinese Muslim communities and their way of life since little, if anything, was ever mentioned about them. I slowly began to learn about the areas of China where these Muslim communities lived, about their history, cultural heritage and early mosques which immensely intrigued me and I could not wait to pay homage to them. I entered the country from the south through Hong Kong where I visited the Hong Kong Museum which has numerous Arabic coins, Islamic Burial Tablets dating back to the Tang and Song Dynasties and a magnificent model of The Huaisheng Mosque which I was to visit. In order to embark on my spiritual journey and pay respect to the oldest mosque in the whole of China I had to obtain another entry visa from the Chinese authorities. This great mosque is dearly precious to every Chinese Muslim. It lies in the city Guangzhou (Canton), located at the north of Zhu Jiang (The Pearl River) which is the capital of Guangdong Province - the largest and most important gateway and foreign trading hub in southern China. From Hong Kong, I was anxious but thrilled to take the 165km journey northwest to Guangzhou to visit the mosque.
The Great Mosque of Guangzhou also known as Huaisheng Mosque which means Remember the Sage (A Memorial Mosque to the Holy Prophet) and is also popularly called the Guangta Mosque which translates as The Beacon Tower Mosque. Huaisheng Mosque is located on Guantgta Road (Light Pagoda Road) which runs eastwards off Renmin Zhonglu.

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View of Pavilion and Minaret Prior to 500 CE and hence before the establishment of Islam, Arab seafarers had established trade relations with the Middle Kingdom (China). Arab ships bravely set off from Basra at the tip of the Arabian Gulf and also from the town of Qays (Siraf) in the Persian Gulf. They sailed the Indian Ocean passing Sarandip (Sri
Lanka) and navigated their way through the Straits of Malacca which were between the Sumatran and
Malaysian peninsulas en route to the South China Sea. They established trading posts on the south eastern coastal ports of Quanzhou and Guangzhou. Some Arabs had already settled in China and probably embraced Islam when the first Muslim deputation arrived, as their families and friends back in Arabia, had already embraced Islam during the Holy Prophets revelation (610-32 ). Guangzhou is called Khanfu by the Arabs who later set up a Muslim quarter which became a centre of commerce. Guangzhous superior geographical position made it play an important role as the oldest trading and international port city in China. Witnessing a series of historical events, China has become a significant place in history and one of the fastest growing regions in the world enjoying unprecedented prosperity. Whilst an Islamic state was founded by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, China was enduring a period of unification and defence. Early Chinese annals mentioned Muslim Arabs and called their kingdom al-Madinah (of Arabia). Islam in Chinese is called Yisilan Jiao (meaning Pure Religion). A Chinese official once described Makkah as being the birthplace of Buddha Ma-hia-wu (i.e. Holy Prophet Muhammad). There are several historical versions relating to the advent of Islam in China. Some records claim Muslims first arrived in China in two groups within as many months from al-Habasha Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Ethiopia was the land where some early Muslims first fled in fear from the persecution of the Quraysh tribe in Makkah. Among that group of refugees were one of Prophet Muhammads daughters Ruqayya, her husband Uthman ibn Affan, Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas and many other prominent Sahabah (Companions) who migrated on the advice of the Holy Prophet. They were successfully granted political asylum by al-Habashi King Atsmaha Negus in the city of Axum (c.615 CE). However, some Sahabah never returned to Arabia. They may have travelled on in the hope of earning their livelihood elsewhere and may have eventually reached China by land or sea during the Sui Dynasty (581-

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618 CE). Some records relate that Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas and three other Sahabah sailed to China in c.616 CE from Abyssinia (Ethiopia) with the backing of the king of Abyssinia. Sad then returned to Arabia, bringing a copy of the Holy Quran back to Guangzhou some 21 years later, which appropriately coincides with the account of Liu Chih who wrote The Life of the Prophet (12 vols). One of the Sahabahs who lived in China is believed to have died in c.635 CE and was buried in the western urban part of Hami. His tomb is known as Geys Mazars and is revered by many in the surrounding region. It is in the north western autonomous province of Xinjiang (Sinkiang) and about 400 miles east of the latters capital, Urumqi. Xinjiang is four times the size of Japan, shares its international border with eight different nations and is home to the largest indigenous group of Turkic-speaking Uyghurs. Hence, as well as being the largest Islamised area of China, Xinjiang is also of strategic importance geographically. The Quran states in unequivocal words that Muhammad was sent only as a Mercy from God to all peoples (21:107), and in another verse, We have not sent thee but as a (Messenger) to all Mankind (34:28). This universality of Islam facilitated its acceptance by people from all races and nations and is amply demonstrated in China where the indigenous population, of ethnic varieties of Chinese Muslims today is greater than the population of many Arab countries including that of Saudi Arabia. The history of Huaisheng Mosque represents centuries of Islamic culture dating right back to the midseventh century during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) - the golden age of Chinese history. It was in this period, eighteen years after the death of the Holy Prophet, that Islam - the last of the three great monotheistic religions - was first introduced to China by the third Caliph, Uthman Ibn Affan (644-656 CE/23-35 AH). Uthman was one of the first to embrace Islam and memorize the Holy Quran. He possessed a mild and gentle nature and he married Ruqayyah and following her death, Umm Kulthum (both were daughters of the Holy Prophet). Consequently he was given the epithet of Dhu-n-Nurayn (the one with the two lights). Uthman was highly praised for safeguarding the manuscripts of the Quran against disputes by ordering its compilation from the memories of the Companions and sending copies to the four corners of the Islamic Empire. Uthman sent a delegation to China led by Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas (d. 674 CE/55 AH) who was a much loved maternal uncle of the Prophet and one of the most famous Companions who converted to Islam at the age of just seventeen. He was a veteran of all the battles and one of the ten who it is reported that the Holy Prophet said were assured a place in paradise. In Madina, Sad, using his ability in architecture added an Iwan (an arched hall used by a Persian Emperor) as a worship area. He later laid the foundation of what was to be the first Mosque in China where early Islamic architecture forged a relationship with Chinese architecture. According to the ancient historical records of the Tang Dynasty, an emissary from the kingdom of alMadinah led by Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas and his deputation of Sahabah, who sailed on a special envoy to China in c.650 CE, via the Indian Ocean and the China Sea to the famous port of Guangzhou, thence travelled overland to Changan (present day Xian) via what was later known as the Silk Route.

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Sad and his deputation brought presents and were warmly received at the royal court by the Tang Emperor Kao-tsung, (r. 650-683) in c.651 CE despite a recent plea of support against the Arabs forwarded to the Emperor in that same year by Shah Peroz (the ruler of Sassanids Persia). The latter was a son of Yazdegerd who, along with the Byzantines already had based their embassies in China over a decade earlier. Together they were the two great powers of the west. A similar plea made to Emperor Tai Tsung (r.627-649) against the simultaneous spread of Muslim forces was refused. First news of Islam had already reached the Tang royal court during the reign of Emperor Tai Tsung when he was informed by an embassy of the Sassanian king of Persia, as well as the Byzantiums of the emergence of the Islamic rule. Both sought protection from the might of China. Nevertheless, the second year of Kao-tsungs reign marks the first official visit by a Muslim ambassador. The emperor, after making enquiries about Islam, gave general approval to the new religion which he considered to be compatible with the teachings of Confucius. But he felt that the five daily canonical prayers and a month of fasting were requirements too severe for his taste and he did not convert. He allowed Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas and his delegation freedom to propagate their faith and expressed his admiration for Islam which consequently gained a firm foothold in the country. Sad later settled in Guangzhou and built the Huaisheng Mosque which was an important event in the history of Islam in China. It is reputedly the oldest surviving mosque in the whole of China and is over 1300 years old. It survived through several historical events which inevitably took place outside its door step. This mosque still stands in excellent condition in modern Guangzhou after repairs and restorations. Its contemporary Da Qingzhen Si (Great Mosque) of Changan (present day Xian) in Shaanxi Province was founded in c.742 CE. It is the largest (12,000 sq metres) and the best early mosque in China and it has been beautifully preserved as it expanded over the centuries. The present layout was constructed by the Ming Dynasty in c.1392 CE, a century before the fall of Granada, under its (ostensible) founder Hajj Zheng He who has a stone tablet at the mosque in commemoration of his generous support, which was provided by the grateful Emperor. A fine model of the Great Mosque with all its surrounding walls and the magnificent, elegant appearance of its pavilions and courtyards can be seen at the Hong Kong Museum placed gracefully besides the model of the Huaisheng Mosque. I was fortunate to visit the real mosque last year during Asr prayer, after which I met the Imam who showed me an old handwritten Quran and presented me with a white cap. Walking to the prayer hall is like sleepwalking through an oriental oasis confined in a city forbidden for the impure. A dragon symbol is engraved at the footstep of the entrance opposite the prayer hall demonstrating the meeting between Islam and the Chinese civilisation. All in all it is a dazzling encounter of the architecture of Oriental China with that of the indigenous fashionable taste of Harun ar-Rashid (147-194 AH/764-809 CE) of Baghdad - a newly founded city that was to become the greatest between Constantinople and China, fifty years after the time of Harun. The Sheng-You Si (Mosque of the Holy Friend), also known as the Qingjing Si (Mosque of Purity) and Al-
Sahabah Mosque (Mosque of Companions), was built with pure granite in 1009 CE during the Northern
Song Dynasty (960-1127). Its architectural design and style was modelled on the Great Mosque of

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Damascus (709-15) in Syria thus making the pair the oldest extant Mosques to survive (in original form) into the twenty-first century. Qingjing Mosque is located at Madinat al-Zaytun (Quanzhou) or, in English, City of Olives (Olive is a symbol of peace according to Arab/Muslim tradition) in Fujian Province, where there are the Sacred Tombs of two Companions of the Holy Prophet who accompanied Sad Ibn Abi Waqqass envoy to China. They are known to the locals by their Chinese names of Sa-Ke-Zu and Wu-Ku-Su and Arabs from various countries come to pay homage.
Zhen-Jiao Si (Mosque of the True Religion), also known as Feng-Huang Si (the Phoenix Mosque) in
Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is believed to date back from the Tang Dynasty. It has a multi-storied portal, serving as a minaret and a platform for observing the moon. The Mosque has a long history and it has been rebuilt and renovated on a number of occasions over the centuries. It is much smaller than it used to be, especially with the widening of the road in 1929, and it was partly rebuilt in 1953. The other ancient Mosque is located in the city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province, once the busiest city of trade and commerce during the Song Dynasty (960-1280). Xian-He Si (Mosque of Immortal Crane) is the oldest and largest in the city and was built in c.1275CE by Pu-ha-din, a Muslim preacher who was a sixteenth-generation descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. According to Chinese Muslim historians, Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas died in Guangzhou where he is believed to be buried. However Arab scholars differ, stating that Sad died and was buried in Medina amongst other Companions. One grave definitely exists, while the other is symbolic, God only knows whether it is in China or Medina. The message of Islam took root peacefully in China. The first envoy reached the southeast via the Zhu Jiang (The Pearl River) and was later followed by contact via an overland route from the northwest. Muslim communities are present over a wide geographical area in China today, including some in the remote places of Tibet, where I once met Tibetan Muslims in the middle of nowhere, while on a trek.
Grave of Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas Muawiyah (d.60 AH/680 CE), the sixth Caliph and founder of the Umayyad Caliphate, was known in China as Mo-ee and the Chinese closely observed the progress of the Islamic Empire, noting in the Tang annals, when Constantinople was unsuccessfully besieged by the Muslim armies, between 674 and 679, and they called the Arabs of that period White Robed Ta-shih. After the death of Muawiyah in 680, his son Yezid (r. 680-3) became the new Caliph. He sent Umar, son of Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas, who was in command of a large

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army. A century after the death of the Holy Prophet, the Islamic Empire extended from the Pyrenees to the Himalayas and was eventually sharing borders with China which closely observed the progress of the Islamic world. The Umayyad Dynasty had reached its zenith under the reign of al-Walid I (705-15) when expansion of the Islamic empire to the West and the East had achieved great success. When the first European lands (what is today Spain and Portugal) was conquered in 711 by Tariq Ibn Ziad and his army, Islamic rule was established right up to the Atlantic under the command of Musa Ibn Nusair. An overland expedition under Muhammad Ibn Qasim, a nephew and son-in-law of Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf,the governor of Iraq, was advancing through southern Persia and Baluchistan and reaching the lower Indus Valley. Qutaiba Ibn Muslim was appointed governor of Khurasan by Hajjaj and he launched a series of successful military campaigns, gaining control over Transoxiana in 94-5/712-3 where many Persians and Turkish inhabitants embraced Islam. Kashgar, a frontier town of China, was also raided and Qutaiba swore to take control over China but his demands were deflected by a friendly approach which included a symbolic gift by the provincial governor to release him from his solemn oath. According to the famous historian al-Tabari (225-310 AH/839-923 CE), in 96/714 there was a brief encounter with a Ta-shih delegation which brought precious gifts to Emperor Hsuan Tsung . The envoy refused to perform the traditional ko tou (bow) and when asked why by the bemused Emperor, the reply was in my country we only bow to God (Tian shen). The Emperor was angered and wanted to kill the envoy but a possible reminder of Qutaiba (who was besieging Feghana) by one of the ministers must have triggered the Emperors mind to recall a Chinese proverb that says: Exchange of jade and silk is better than of swords in a battlefield. In the battle of Talas (Central Asia) in 751, under the command of Ziyad Ibn Salih, the Chinese had suffered a decisive defeat by the Arabs who captured some prisoners, two of whom knew the art of papermaking and were later rewarded and released. Parchment or papyrus was generally used by the Arabs until the introduction of paper-making technology in Samarqand. The first paper mill was established in Baghdad thus producing a major breakthrough in education and science which were high priorities. Tu Huan (c.751-762), a Chinese clerical official who accompanied the ill-fated Chinese army in the battle of Talas under the command of Kao Hsien Chee, was held prisoner for a decade and travelled to Samarqand, Tashkent, northern Iran, Iraq and Syria before sailing back to Guangzhou from the Arabian Gulf. He wrote a book entitled Jing Hsing Chee (Where I Travelled) and accurately recorded the practice and fundamental belief of Islam, making it one of the earliest works of Islam in China.

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The exterior view of Prayer Hall One year after the death of the Amir al-Muminin, Abu-l-Abbas as-Saffah (r. 749-54), known in China as ABo-Lo-Ba, the foe became a friend of A-pucha-fo - the second Abbasid Caliph Abu Jafar al-Mansur (r. 754-75). The Emperor Su Tsung appealed for help in regaining control of his capital Changan from the treacherous commander, An Lu-Shan who was a multi linguist Tarter and governor of Pinglu and who had the wildest of ambitions and had rebelled against the Emperor. An opportunity occurred for Islamic influence to penetrate into the heart of China when al-Mansur responded by sending 4,000 warriors who recaptured the city and were well rewarded by the Emperor. Some men never returned to their native lands and were known as Ta-shihs. They married with Chinese women, subsequently establishing Muslim communities in Western China, descendants of which are the progenitors of the Hui (meaning return) nationality. The illustrious Ming Admiral Muhammad Ma Ho, Zheng He (1371-1433), his immediate lieutenant Ma Huan (Muhammad Hassan), chronicler Fei Hsin and his Arabic interpreter Hassan, a former Imam (exemplar) of Xian, were among these descendents. Zheng He courageously led treasure-ship fleets and expeditions to many countries, establishing good diplomatic, political and social relations between governments. On the seventh expedition (1431-33), under the reign of Emperor Xuan De (1426-1435), Zheng He sailed with over 100 ships and 27,550 men. They visited several countries including Arabia and especially Makkah where he and some of his naval officers paid homage to al-Bayt al-Haram (Holy Kabah). Belonging to a very old pious Muslim family, his father and grandfather were both Hajjis who, unlike Zheng, travelled for months on horseback and camel, reaching their destination stops with great difficulty before finally reaching Makkah. Heroically admired by many, he earned the title of San Pao Kung Our Master of the Three Jewels from the early Chinese settlers of Southeast Asia, wherein a Mosque named after Zheng He has been erected in Surabaya to mark the many years of trade and (Islamic) religious contact. Arab merchants at this time commissioned mosques, headed by an ahong (from the Persian akhun, meaning religious leader) in various parts of China and expressed their commitment to Islam by building symbolic characteristics into their communities, called Fan Fang foreign quarters clustered around a

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mosque. Arabs and Persians, who became permanent residents in the cities previously mentioned, were referred to as Fanke which means guests from the outlying regions. They were allowed to marry and they had children who became known as Tusheng Fanke (native-born guests). The latter were better known as Hui Hui as first noted in the literature of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). Representing the second largest of all ethnic minorities living in China today, they trace their descent from the Arabs and Persians, whom undoubtedly gained high command of the Chinese idiom. In China, Muslim places of worship have not incorporated the Arabic name of Masjid (Mosque) instead an alternative name such as Qing Zhen Si (Temple of Purity and Truth) is used. Si (Temple) is used for Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian places of worship. Hence most early Mosque exterior building structures, architecturally resembled that of a temple. Followers of traditional Islam were known as Gedimu (from the Arabic Qadeem which translates as old) and they were exposed to various teachings described as lao jiao (old religious teaching) such as Qadiriyyah, a famous order founded by Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (d.56/1166) in Baghdad. A group of which was founded in China by Hilal al-Din, Qin Jingyi (c.1656-1719). He received his early training from Khoja Abd Alla, a twenty-ninth-generation descendant of the Holy Prophet, who according to Chinese Sufi records arrived in at the port of Guangzhou in c.1674 and preached in many other cities before his eventual death in c.1689. Hilal al-Din, known among the Hui as Daozu (Grand Master Qi is entombed at Linxia which was once an important stop on the silk road between Lanzhou and Yang Guan. Another Gedimu is the Naqshabandiyyah - the conspicuous Sufi order founded by Muhammad Naqshaband of Bukhara (717-791/1317-1389). New teachings arrived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to replace the old ones referred to as xin xin jiao: The Yihewani (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun) Muslim Brotherhood movement was brought by annual pilgrims to Makkah, and the Wahhabis, a dominant sect in Saudi Arabia and Qatar which had established footholds in many countries including Africa, India and China. Devotees of this sect named after its founder Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1115-1201 AH/1703-1787 CE). On 12th February 1949, some six months before the official inauguration of the Peoples Republic of China, the luminary Imam Hassan al-Banna (c.1906-1949) was martyred in the heart of Cairo. The eminent founder of al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun (Muslim Brotherhood), his mission spread globally from the local coffeehouse in Egypt to downtown Muslim quarters of China attracting more urban intellectuals and sustaining a strong hold throughout China today. Such impact is clearly visible in current Chinese Mosque architecture, where traditional Gedimu Chinesestyle Mosques, which resemble that of Confucian temples, are rejected by the Yihewanis (al-Ikhwan alMuslimun) who are of an Arabist nature. They prefer more plain white Arab-style (iconography) mosques instead, with a young Imam for leading the congregational prayers similar to the Imam of a Mosque I have visited in Luoyang who may possibly have graduated from al-Azhar University where some thirty three Hui students enrolled in c.1939.

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Islamic civilization steadily spread - reaching the heart of every Chinese Muslim, creating a fascinating mosaic of ethnic neighbourhoods within the Dragons Den. Once on my return trip from the Huang He (Yellow River), also called Chinas Sorrow and the Worlds Muddiest River, a few miles north of Kaifeng in Henan Province, I spotted an old cottage remotely located with a small white flag flying from a tree branch, inscribed in Arabic with a Quranic verse to keep out evil spirits. Immediately it drew my attention as this was similar to what happened in many parts of the Muslim world. Huaisheng Mosque embraces a unique ingenious architectural setting by successfully integrating Islamic architectural renderings with elements of the Tang architectural style, producing an aura of Islamic-Chinese symmetrical architectural charm, free from ornamentation and idolatry. The mosque gave birth to a new chapter in the field of architecture in one of Chinas most illustrious periods of history where efficient administrative system developed, printing appeared for the first time, custom and philosophy became even more sophisticated and creative arts flourished, producing a highly cosmopolitan empire.
Gateway to the Mosque Huaisheng Mosque was rebuilt in 1350 during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) under the rule of Zhizhen (1341-1368) and again during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) under the rule of Emperor Kangzi. In 1695 the mosque was destroyed by fire and was rebuilt again on the same original site. A century-old photograph of the Mosque which I was fortunate to see displays a semblance of much of what we see today except for the uncultivated gardens which are in dire need of an aspiring gardener. A decade or so after the modernization of Guangzhou city which began in the early 1920s, where the remainder of the old city wall was demolished, the present prayer hall has undergone a complete reconstruction in 1935 using reinforced concrete. The mosque complex can accommodate one thousand worshipers and occupies an area of 2,966 square meters lying on a north-south axis.

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The building comprises of a main gate with a green awning facing south which is in accordance with Chinese tradition. As you enter through a narrow courtyard there is another gateway with a red plaque inscribed in four Chinese characters which translates as Religion that holds in great esteem the teachings brought from the Western Region. There are beautiful green plants on each side of the arched entrance. Another arched gateway with a two storied portal built in the seventeenth century, makes it graceful to pass through. Its called the Moon Pavilion and leads through to a wonderfully set courtyard taking you to the prayer hall. Entering the courtyard through the arched entrance of the Moon Pavilion, one instantly leaves behind the Chinese world for the Sino-Moorish. You begin to feel the calmness, spatial beauty and quiet atmosphere as if you were going back in time, in contrast to the hustle and bustle of the world one has just left. One begins to feel elevated by the fragrant smell of the flowers in the gardens and intrigued by such illustrious techniques used to venerate this building. Instead of a dome, a gambrel (mansard) roof with upswept eaves and undulating gables is used with a small stupica (small stupa) placed in the middle with a beautiful set of beams, spaciously designed with several columns symmetrically divided with a red bricked arch entrance. Wooden sliding doors with glass patterned shapes characterized and organized into coherent patterns of form by its monumental exterior and Chinese classical colonnades mark the entrance. Several long wooden seats and chairs are situated around the colonnades available for worshipers to sit in between or after prayers. The culmination of this Qing Zhen Si (Temple of Purity and Truth), known to the local Chinese as a Muslims place of worship, dominates a historical overview of when the first Arabs embarked on their journey from the sands of Arabia to the silk-door steps of the Middle Kingdom (China). I was lost in contemplation for a while, visualizing a theme of Arab merchants gathering in this very courtyard, reflecting on their long arduous and hazardous sea adventure. Thinking of such great men, all of whom I wish to pay tribute to, verily transported me back in time, and I was put into a kind of trance as I sat down in the cloistered courtyard. During the reign of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur, Arab traders sailed from the ports of al-Basrah and Siraf, in the months of May and June, enduring between three to six months of travel to the port of Guangzhou trading at different stopovers and keeping alert from pirate attacks and returned during the months of October and November following seasonal winds. Other merchants traversed the rough and hostile terrain from the Central Asian steppe along the Silk Route on camel caravans, facing constant danger as their journey progressed to their trading point. Intellectual curiosity which was embedded in the Islamic doctrine led early prominent Muslim travellers like Ibn Wahhab of al-Basrah to arrive in the port of Khanfu (Guangzhou) around c.815 CE, thence to Changan (Xian) where he attended an audience with the Emperor, wrote a vivid account on the city of Changan and the imperial household. Changan during the Tang Dynasty and Baghdad which reached its zenith during the Abbasid Caliphate, were the most powerful and largest cities in the world. Sulaiman al-Tajir (the Merchant), made numerous voyages to India and China from his native town of the port of Siraf where traders arriving from China first offloaded goods before distribution to al-Basrah and

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Baghdad via transportation vessels. He wrote about his long daring voyages in c.850 CE, describing the piracy and extreme weather en route to the port of Khanfu (Guangzhou) where extortionate port duties were charged on goods and finger-prints were used as signatures. The Muslim community of Guangzhou that Sulaiman visited had their own mosques, bazaars and a Qadi (judge), appointed by the emperor who kept order and applied, not Chinese, but Shariah law (canonical law of Islam) amongst his co-religionists, and delivered the Friday (Khutbah) sermon to the faithful. Stories of such adventures, which contain popular tales and scientific descriptions noted by early Arab travellers to China are recorded in twelfth-century Arabic manuscript entitled Akhbar al-Sin (Reports of China) wal Hind (Reports of India) relating stories of two Arab travellers. legendary Sindbad the Sailor and Prince Alladin are the most famous tales. The Muslim chronicler Abu Zaid Hassan al-Sirafi reported the massacre of some 120,000 Arabs, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians that took place in Guangzhou and edited the account of Sulaiman al-Tajir in c.851 CE. He was a friend of the famous Abul-Hasan al-Masudi (d.345/956) who was an outstanding encyclopaedic figure, historian and scientist of Islam as well as a world traveller who sailed through the China Sea and wrote valuable observations about China in his Meadows of Gold and Mines of Precious Gems. One of the few depictions of Arab shipping where sail, oars and the rudder were used can be seen in the 13th century manuscript of al-Hariris Maqdamat which did not reach the Christian Mediterranean until several centuries later. Within the prosperous maritime network, merchants brought valuable and distinctive commodities such as silk, jade, porcelain, lapis lazuli, spices and fruits which were carried on the backs of camels. Silk was one of many precious goods that were exchanged between East and West due to the prosperous maritime network managed by Arabs who were acting as intermediaries between China, India and the Middle East. Tales of such adventurous voyages are compiled in the huge collection known as One Thousand and One Nights` of which the
Ro'udat Abi Waqqas Caravans of students, scholars, ambassadors, monks, soldiers, craftsmen and traders journeyed through the arteries of this magnificent international trade route which ran over the roof of the world serving the Eurasian civilizations for eighteen centuries. They would halt at stops on the road and at well-known

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bazaars where Arab and Persian traders exchanged goods. Traders also gathered contributions to build mosques, many of which are of historical importance and are well preserved to this day. Men of the pen who treaded these foot paths acquired knowledge and spread Islam from the interior of China passing the Great Wall through to Central Asia. The magnificent Niujie Mosque of Khan-Baliq (present day Beijing) is a great example. It was established by an Arabian scholar Nasir al-Din who served as an official in the Liao Dynasty (907-1125). Two Arabs who came to China during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) and served as Imams now rest beside the Mosque where their tomb stones can be seen today. Proof of commitment to this graceful land continues today by the bearers of this religion. Huaisheng Mosque is austere and simple when compared with its younger sister several thousand miles away in al-Andalus (Spain) where La Mezquita - The Friday Mosque of Qurtabah (Cordoba). The latter mosque is famously known for its impressive interlocking multi-lobed arches and pink and white stripped arches. Its foundation had been laid down in 785 CE (after its purchase from the Christians) by Abd arRahman I (756-88) who successfully sustained both the Umayyad Dynasty and its intricate arts in the West. The interior designs of the Da Qingzhen Si (Great Mosque) of Xian built in 742 CE and the Niujie Mosque built in 996 demonstrate that unique ancient Islamic and Chinese classical architecture were merged to produce a vivid astonishing effect and embellishment. On the other hand the prayer hall of Huaisheng Mosque reflects the preference of simplicity and tranquility. There stands a low Minbar (pulpit) beside the Mihrab (niche facing Makkah) and a naturally shaped banister by the Minbar (pulpit) for the Imam to hold on to. Two pillars decorated with nine bands of triangular Quranic inscriptions are located symmetrically supporting the low part of the ceiling which magnificently displays the Quranic verse, The religion before Allah is Islam (submission to his will) (Al-Imran 18-19) and is written in an Sino-Arabic style. A few copies of the Quran are neatly placed on a table beside the Mihrab on the left-hand side. The Mosque currently boasts over 40 prayer mats inscripted with Arabic and Chinese dating back to the Tang Dynasty. The Guangta Tower is a freestanding minaret, of 36.30 m (119 ft) high. It is a cylindrical, smooth-textured minaret made from grey masonry with a balcony that served as a ritual tower for the Muezzin to call the worshipers to prayer. Another solid cylindrical tower is surmounted above the ringed balcony with a base dome decorated with two tiers of dougong. There is an elongated pointed tip with a metal rod supporting a crescent moon-shaped design. There are also windows to allow air and light onto the spiral staircase through which the Muezzin can access the balcony. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, when the bank of the Zhu Jiang (The Pearl River) was close to the minaret, sailors would occasionally climb the minaret to observe the weather conditions prior to sailing. This minaret has served its purpose well and famously became known as the Beacon Tower and the citys principal landmark. A lamp was lit atop the minaret and served as a beacon for navigation that guided boats along the Zhu Jiang River during the night. Its height dominated the citys skyline before the

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contruction of high-rise buildings and dwarfed everything allowing for a birds eye view of the city. The luminous tower also had a weathervane, placed on its roof indicating the direction of the wind. Its majestic presence played a huge role at the start of the maritime silk road. Before reaching the mainland on the Silk Road, reaching this port must have been a tremendous achievement for many anxious merchants. Another mosque in Galle, off the southern coast of what Arabs traders called Sarandib, i.e Sri Lanka, is called the Jaama Al-Khairat or The Galle Lighthouse Mosque. The light tower minaret is free-standing next to a beautiful palm tree and is situated close to the sea front where it is currently geared up to serve incoming navigations. The mosque is like a small fortress-like colonial two-storied building: white washed, symmetrically square domed twin-towered facade, crowned with a shaped-gable in the middle and a crescent-shaped tail placed above. The city of al-Zaytun which was the starting point of the Maritime Silk Route was well noted by Al-Idrissi who was born in Ceuta (492-576 AH/1099-1180 CE). He was a famous Moroccan geographer who, in 1154 CE, wrote in his book al-Kitab ar-Rujari (Book of Roger) a most elaborate description of the world. It formed the basis of European knowledge in the field at the time. He wrote about the commodities carried by Chinese ships such as leather, swords and iron and various textiles including silk which were bound for Aden. He described Hangzhous popular glassware and rated Zaytuns silk as the best. By the Song Dynasty (960-1279) trade was booming and many Arab and Persian merchants flocked to port of Guangzhou where the office of the Director General of Shipping was constantly under Muslim management, due to their law-abidingness and self-disciplined nature. Abul-Abbas al-Hijazi, a prosperous twelfth-century merchant who spent many years in China, had seven sons whom he posted in seven different commercial centres from his base in Yemen thus establishing a successful trading network after the loss of all but one of his twelve ships in the Indian Ocean. Domination of trade from the Far East and East Africa into the Red Sea, was in the hand of the Karamis of Aden. They were one of the greatest trading families of all time and were brimming with success from agencies as far as the ports of China and earning the support of the munificent Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (532589 AH/1138-1193 CE) - a hero, honoured by Muslims and Christians alike, who freed Jerusalem in c.1187 and ended its eighty eight year occupation by the Crusaders. In 1292 the Venetian merchant, Marco Polo (1254-1324) described al-Zaytun and Alexandria of Egypt as one of the two greatest ports in the world. He also found a flourishing Arab merchant community which he associated with the conspicuous Muslim presence in various areas of China. On his way from China in 1288 and 1293, he visited the port of Kayal in India which was full of ships from Arabia and China. He also mentioned seeing a large number of Arabian and Persian horses imported by sea into south India. Hajji Ibn battuta (1304-1369) was a noted explorer and a traveler who was born in Tangiers, Morocco into a family of judges during the Marinid Dynasty (1196-1511). He studied Islamic theology but little did his family know about his long journey at the age of 21 to perform Hajj at Makkah would take one and a half years and from which he would not return to his native town for nearly three decades.

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He served as a Qadi (judge) for eight years in the Sultanate of India under Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq (1326-51) before he was summoned as head of a mission to China in 1341 as an ambassador to meet the most powerful ruler in the world, the Mongol Emperor of China. The life-threatening adventure began just as he left Delhi where he was taken prisoner and hunted for eight days as a fugitive before ending up at the shores of Calicut with nothing but the clothes he wore and a prayer mat. He was blessed to be alive. He continued his journey to China via the Maldives where he became a chief judge - without the intention of becoming one - and married into the royal family. He then set sail from Sri Lanka when his ship nearly sank in a storm. He was rescued by another ship which was attacked by pirates who stole all his provisions and the precious stones given to him by the King of Ceylon. He again ended up in Calicut with no coverings but for his trousers. He set sail once more, briefly stopping at the Maldives to see his two years old son for the first time, then boarded a Chinese junk to China via Chittagong (the main port of Bangladesh) and the Muslim Kingdom of Samudra (Sumatra, Indonesia) before resuming his role as ambassador when he arrived at the port of al-Zaytun in 1345. My first journey to China took the form of a boat ferry from Inchon, South Korea to north Chinas largest port city of Tianjin, nicknamed Shanghai of the North, where a wellknown and sizeable Hui village of Tianmu lies situated on the northern citys suburbs. It took over thirty horrific hours and nervous worries of what will happen once I finally reach China.
The Moon Pavilion Ibn Battuta, on the other hand, considered China to be the safest and most regulated of all countries in the world for a traveller and declared that of all people the Chinese were the most skilful in the arts and possessed greatest mastery of them, hence his journey to reach China. He described al-Zaytun as housing one of the largest ports in the world with about a hundred junks that could not be counted for multitude. Every city had a separate Muslim quarter where merchants and their families lived in an honoured and respected manner with their own mosques, hospitals and bazaars. The Qadi Fanzhang (judge) of the Muslims, the Sheikh al-Islam and the leader of the merchants all came to meet Ibn Battuta with flags, drums, trumpets and musicians. He was invited and entertained by some immensely wealthy Muslim merchants including the family of Uthman Ibn Affan of Egypt. He was well received in every city as guest of honour on his way to Beijing only

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to be disappointed to find the Emperor absent from the capital. He returned back to al-Zaytun before sailing back to his native land in Shaban 750 (13th November 1349). On the morning of Monday 24th June 1996, I arrived at Guangta Road from Shamian Dao (sand surface island) to pay homage to the Huaisheng Mosque for the first time. Entering the Mosque felt like going back in time. It was before Az-zuhr prayer and the prayer hall was totally empty. I begun by performing two Rakaat in respect of the House of God and read a few Suras of the Holy Quran, before exploring the mosque. After which I began to contemplate and marvel at the wonders of this precious place, this House of God.
Prayer Hall I thought about all the Muslim envoys that had come to China, resided here and who prayed in this very prayer hall. They were Muslim merchants who traded here but never returned to their home land. Ibn Battuta (1304-1369) journeyed to this far away land and is believed to have prayed in this very Mosque. He has inspired me to tread onto this soil some 600 years later. Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar (God is great), the adhan (call to prayer) was chanted by the Muezzin summoning the faithful to prayer. I felt elation at hearing the adhan, voiced in Arabic and blended with Chinese flavour hence making it even more pleasant to hear. My first congregation prayer with my Chinese Muslim brothers at Huaisheng Mosque was led by Hajji Muhammad Rashid Yang Tang (Imam and vice president of the Mosque). Chinese Muslims, like those I have met in Central Asia and the Indian sub-continent, all wear white caps especially before Salah (prayer). This is due to the adherence to the Hanafi school of thought, which has the largest following amongst the Muslim community. It was founded by Abu Hanifa (81-150 AH /700-767 CE), a great Persian jurist of Kufah where he taught religious science and traded in Chinese silk, a popular commodity which made its first appearance in Europe due to the Arabs who spun the wheel of silk-weaving, interlacing Sicily and Spain with their knowledge of silk manufacture and production of textiles. Abu Yusuf, a follower of the late Abu Hanifa, became a supreme Qadi (judge) under the brilliant and luxurious reign of the fifth Abbasid Caliph Harun ar-Rashid (147-194 AH/764-809 CE), better known in China at the time as A-lun. Abbasids emissaries known as the Black Robed Ta-shih, also known in

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Byzantium, exchanged precious gifts on several visits with the Chinese Emperors thus improving and forging better future relations. Chinese Muslims established good communication links within the Muslim Ummah (community) and updates of all current issues including that of Muslim Ulama (scholars) of jurisprudence were recognised. Ibn Taymiyah (661-728 AH /1263-1328 CE), a well known jurist, was born one year before the Mongols made Beijing their capital in 1264 after China had been conquered by Kublai Khan who established the Yuan Dynasty (first) following the footsteps of Genghis Khan. Ibn Taymiyah was admired for his intellectual and physical prowess which he used to confront the Mongol chief Il-Khan Ghazan. He later engaged in jihad against the Mongols, winning a glorious victory for the Syrian-Egyptian army. While the eminent globetrotter Ibn Battuta was leading a peripatetic existence in Damascus, he attended a Friday Jumah prayer conducted by Ibn Taymiyah whom he describes, as a man of great ability and wide learning. His fame and influence extended beyond the boundaries of Egypt and Syria and even into China where funeral prayers in absentia were performed after he died by Chinese Muslims. Hand written Qurans remain in existence in China today, preciously handed over from one generation to the next, the oldest of which dates back to the eighth century and was brought by the first Arabs. The famous calligrapher Ibn al-Bawwab (d-1022 or 1032), inventor of the muhaqqaq style, himself skilfully handwrote 64 copies of the Quran, one of which was written in Rihani script and kept at Lalei Mosque in Istanbul. The earliest translation of the Holy Quran in Chinese dates back to the eighteenth century. However one of the first known translations was made in parts before the twentieth century by Sheikh Liu Che. The second is by Sheikh Ma Fu Chu who translated twenty Juz before he passed away, five of which were published after c.1927 by the Muslim Cultural Association in Shanghai. The complete Chinese translation of the Quran was composed from a Japanese translation based on that of Rodwell in c.1927 by Mr.Lee Tiek Tsing who embraced Islam after completing his translation. The most popular Chinese (translation) version of the holy Quran was made by the famous Sheikh Ilyas Wang Ching Cha in c.1928 with the assistance of the following Arabic scholars: Sheikh A. Rahim Ma Sun Ting, Muhammad Ma Shang Ting, Amir Mi Huang Chang, Ali Chao Chen Wu, Abu Bakr Yang Hsi Ju, Ibrahim Chen Cheng Kia and Yusuf Ying Po Ching. They received generous financial support from many including Muhammad Chao Wen Fu. In China today, the Holy Quran can be found in as many as eight different translations in the Chinese language as well as in Uygur and other Turkic languages.

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Path to Ro'udat Abi Waqqas After the prayer, I was introduced to the Imam Haji Rashid who, once he found out I was from Morocco, began to tell me about Ibn Battuta and his travels to southern China. Haji Rashid also introduced me to Mr Hassan who was the director of the mosque; both offered assistance when I needed it. I wanted to visit the Muslim Burial place where Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA) was entombed. Idris, an employee of the mosque, called a taxi and we went to the cemetery which is located on Guihua Ridge near the orchard garden. We went in to the cemeterys courtyard and passed by the religious services hall. The cemetery is surrounded by walls and has a courtyard with a square pond in the middle surrounded by various green plants and some flowers against a backdrop of a bright red pavilion with two locked doors symmetrically placed and a gate in the middle leading to the cemetery. The pavilion opens onto a straight path in the middle of the burial ground surrounded by a 3 ft high wall on each side. Cylindrical stone graves with Chinese and Arabic scriptures can be seen from either side as you walk along the path to the grave of Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA). The graves are neatly aligned facing Qibla in Mecca. Unlike a century ago, the mausoleum stood noticeably on its own like a miniature fort. As an architectural structure and the first of its kind ever to be erected in a distant land such as China, its roots stemmed from Arabia, bringing wisdom and prosperity to a nation as great as China. The mausoleum of Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas, which lies at the very end of the cemetery, is built like an ancient temple with a beamed roof and a thick wall circling the grave with a plaque inscribed in Arabic that Roudat Abi Waqqas which means Grave of Abi Waqqas. Idris and I took off our shoes and went in to pay our respect to this great Companion who, by the will of God, helped spark a new life in the hearts of many Muslims in this great country. It was a moment of great reflection. Since the founding of the Peoples Republic in 1949, both Huaisheng Mosque and The Ancient Tomb at the Muslim Cemetery have been listed as historical cultural relics and are now under state protection. This is a historic testimonial of the friendship between the Chinese and Arabs. Having paid homage to The Huaisheng Mosque and the Muslim Cemetery, it was now time to return. I made my journey back to Hong Kong via Macau to visit another Mosque at Ramal Mouros Road and the Macau Museum. I arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday 27th June 1996, to prepare myself before my flight to

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Bangkok. I attended Isha prayer at the Kowloon Mosque and Islamic Centre which reminded me very much of the London Islamic Cultural Centre as it is a place where you can meet Muslims from all over the world. I found the museum to be amazingly interesting with its exterior designed like a ship, housing an astonishing display of artifacts, models of boats and maritime activity which centered on the China Sea. There are four individual theoretical themes which the museum is divided into, one of which stunned me as I confronted a particular map on display by the famous Moroccan geographer of the entire Middle Ages, alIdrisi. It made me feel proud and homesick. There are various models of Chinese traditional vessels including a few models of Arab boats that once plied the oceans sailing towards the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River). Zheng He (1371-1433), Chinas most celebrated navigator who constructed massive ships and led Chinese armadas in his magnificent voyages, visited more than thirty countries during his seven maritime expeditions. A special feature at the museum was of his adventures, marking him as a royal Hero in the history of navigation. He ventured the oceans on board a giant flagship which dwarfed Christopher Columbuss ship and he discovered America 70 years earlier. This was almost a century before Vasco da Gama, while searching for a sea route to India in 1498, was fortunate to find the most illustrious Arab navigator Ahmed Ibn Majid, who famously compiled an invaluable seamen guide, The Advantages of Knowing the Sciences of the Sea. Master Ahmed travelled to the land of the Tiger and Elephant on several occasions. With half a century experience of navigation under his belt and in possession of maritime instruments and maps never before seen by Europeans, he easily guided the Portuguese flagship from Malindi, below the Horn of East Africa, thence to the shores of South Indian (Malabar) coast. Completing a full knot, from where my journey first began, I boarded a jetfoil from Macau, en route to what used to be the old Maritime Silk Route. When Arab merchants sailed pass what is now Hong Kong, it must have been just a rock passed unnoticed, barely signalling a stop for the merchants while navigating through to the mouth of Zhu Jiang (Pearl River). Today it is anomalous with high rise office buildings and luxurious hotels greeting one another by ferry arrivals or below sea level via a fast train. While speeding back to Hong Kong on a jetfoil, we passed by a Chinese junk sailing back to Hong Kong harbour. I had long hoped to see such a thrilling moment - a Chinese junk in action, just like the model display I had just seen at the museum boasting its versatility and superior advanced (unchanged) design to any other ship of its time. I was staying opposite the Mosque at the Chunking Mansions. A popular place which accommodates all the foreign residents from places such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa and the Middle East who all live together in one big building which consist of shops, restaurants and guest houses snugly placed under one giant silk umbrella just as we once were in al-Zaytun. This created a modern centralized vessel, i.e. Chunking Mansions, docked at the Golden Mile (Nathan Road) where many modern Muslim merchants of many nationalities purchase all their required goods such as jade, ivory and electrical gadgets before setting off and travelling faster than our predecessors through the means of air travel to trade in different cities of the world.

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Immediately after Isha prayer ended, four very old frail gentlemen from Bangladesh stood up and one of them had a message. The men asked if some of us would like to sit for a few minutes to discuss their planned mission. Most of us agreed and sat in four separate circles where the talk began. I was immensely impressed with the gentlemens courage and firmness and unflinching honesty. Their mission was to travel to Guangzhou at the crack of dawn after Fajr prayer to visit The Huaisheng Mosque for the Friday Jummah prayer where a planned lecture to Muslims of Guangzhou was to be given. Soon after, I left the mosque and met two Algerian merchants dressed in loose white clothing who were on a business trip to China. They reminded me of the old Arab merchants setting sail for China once more. The merchants from Algeria together with the four gentlemen from Bangladesh on their mission to The Huaisheng Mosque make time seem like it has stood still.
Muslim Graves

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A LOOK AT THE TOPIC "ZIYNET" (beauty) IN THE CANON BY IBN SN
Professor Nil Akdeniz Sari Lamaan Ball Rumeana Jahangir Aasiya Alla June 2005 4091 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
A Look at the Topic Zinyet (beauty) in the Canon by Ibn Sina June 2005
A LOOK AT THE TOPIC "ZIYNET" (BEAUTY) IN THE
CANON BY IBN SN
Professor Nil Akdeniz Sari
*
This article was published at Acts of the International Symposium on Ibn Turk, Khwrazm, Frb, Beyrn and Ibn Sn (Ankara, 9-12 September 1985), Ankara 1990, pp. 351-367.
The seventh and the last art in the fourth book of the Canon is assigned to the topic "ziynet" meaning beauty or physical appearance and it consists of four articles. Although the term "ziynet" calls to mind ornament and ornamentation, when we get a look at the text in the Canon, we see that it deals with appearance, that is to say, the care of hair and body; as well as skin diseases and their treatment; and also subjects such as obesity and thinness that affect the appearance, and preventive methods and measures for all of these are discussed. This article is based on the Turkish version of the Canon. But Mustafa b. Ahmed b. Huseyin of Tokat, who translated it into Turkish in the eighteenth century, often used medical Arabian terminology and some idioms that are not found in most of the Ottoman dictionaries. It is a literal translation yet most of the terms of Arabian origin that are found in it have different meanings from those of today. For this reason, in order to comprehend thoroughly the medicine of Ibn Sn, first of all we must perform an exhaustive study of the meanings of the medical terms used in the medical literature of the period. Only after this, can we properly understand the old medical texts. If we cannot comment properly on the theories about the etymology of illnesses or, in other terms, the "philosophy of medicine, I believe that it will be impossible to thoroughly grasp the old medicine. In the first article of the chapter "ziynet", matters about hair ("sha cr") are studied.All knowledge on hair, beard etc... is discussed under the title "shacr" (hair). Ibn Sina deals with what are the states of hair: In short, these are, respectively, the growing of hair and its "substance" or "factor" ("jawhar");, measures to be taken in order to prevent the shedding of hair and beard; getting the hair to grow plentifully, having the threads get thicker and softer and grow long; the measures to be taken in dressing it, such as getting it smooth or curly; methods for changing the colour of the hair, for example, darkening it, turning it to red, brown etc. All matters on the growth of hair, its illnesses, and treatment are explained according to the humoral theory. But it is difficult to understand the medical meanings of some of the terms. For instance, the growing of hair, its abundance and thinness depends on an agent (factor) called "buhr-i duhn" (meaning smoky or dry vapour) which is the substance (jawhar) of the hair. This smoke collects in the pores of the skin; sometimes hair grows with the help of other smokes. The surface from which hair grows is likened to the deciduous trees with fatty leaves. Just as these, the place from where hair grows is greasy.
1
* 1
Professor, Medicine Faculty, Department of Deontology and History of Medicine, Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa, Istanbul. Suleymaniye Kutuphanesi No. Hamidiye 1015.

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When studying hair diseases, the first matter to be discussed is the lack of hair, beard or body hair (butlan-i shacr). Sometimes the scarcity of hair is due to a "substance" (matter: "madde") and sometimes to a factor in the place of growth. The substance affecting hair is the "blood." The cause of the decreasing of blood is an object (matter: "nesne") which retains blood for a long time. Something connected with the "substance" which changes the character of the blood is, also, another cause of the lack or scarcity of hair. Hair also lessens when the agent (jawhar) which is the active cause of growing hair (buhr-i duhn) decreases.
Figure 1. A drawing of Ibn Sn (Avicenna). Scarce hair and the lack of beard in children and women is explained as such: According to this theory, in children and women the "moist vapour" (ebhire-i ratbe) is more than the "dry vapour" (buhr-i duhn); and since the dry vapour, which is the agent of growing hair, is less in children and women they have little bodily hair and they do not grow beards. Here I liken the "dry vapour" to the masculine hormone "testosterone" and the "moist vapour" to the female hormone, "estrogen." Without any technical facilities, Ibn Sn had to explain his successful observations by means of the medical theories of his period. How does the agent ("jawhar") of hair decrease? Sometimes it is acquired (called carizi) and sometimes it is hereditary. It is acquired during convalescence, since in chronically and emaciating (degenerating) diseases the "moistness" (rutbet) is absorbed and as a result in those who are in the state of convalescence lessens the nutrition nourishing the hair and therefore the hair falls off and does not grow; just as in the case of plants growing when watered, drying off in draught. In those who are castrated, hair will not grow and this is also acquired. Those castrated are similar to women in "moistness" and "coldness". Since no sperms are produced in them, the "innate moistness" accumulates and cools the body. In those castrated, only a very small portion of their moistness decomposes and since those decomposed are very thin, they are excreted through the pores. Hence bodily hair does not grow. Today we know that in the castrated the testosterone secretion decreases.
Hair of those who continually cover their head also gets thinner, which is an acquired state.

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Hereditary scarcity of hair is seen in baldness, called "salc". Such baldness results from the deficiency of the matter (substance), which means that the matter is insufficient. There are three basic reasons for the failure of the hair growth: The "matter" of hair will not diffuse (penetrate) into the place where hair grows from. "Matter" will penetrate into the place where hair grows from, but it will not stay there. The "matter" of hair is spoiled, consequently it acquires a quality not suitable for the growth of hair. The factors causing baldness are discussed below: Baldness ("salc") develops faster in people with a "hot temperament." Since the pores dry in man with a "hot temperament, they tend more to grow bald. It is hard to cure scarcity of hair in such people, because of the hotness of their humour. But those with a predisposition for baldness have a lot of bodily hair on their chest and other parts of their bodies. Baldness develops because of the obstruction and blocking of the pores. For instance, scars of old wounds prevent hair growth. Baldness called "akrac" develops in this way.
Figure 2. First page of Ibn Sns medical book the Canon. But, sometimes substances (madde) penetrate into the place where hair grows from, but these substances expand the pores and therefore hair doesn't grow. This state dominates in those who do not have beard and whose other hair easily come off their roots. In those who have the "moistness" (rutubet-a kind of hormone?) in their temperament suitable to become the "substance" (madde) of the hair, this affects the healing of baldness. For instance, in this kind of a castrated mans beard can grow and in women, baldness can be healed. But when the "substances" of hair are spoiled, in other words, when the "malign humour" (habs hilt) develops, the growth of hair is inhibited (hindered). This is what happens in "d'l-hayye" and "d'ssacleb" and in worn away chronic ulcers. This is the case in some types of baldness (karc). Although it is hard to cure baldness, it can be cured in some cases. That is, if measures are taken before baldness develops, it can be prevented or its occurrence may be delayed.

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As we have seen, several different terms, such as "salc", "karc", "aslac", "akrac" and "d's-sacleb" are used to describe baldness or the falling of hair. As it is understood from the term itself, "d's-sacleb" is an illness (alopecia areata: porrigo decalcans), as a result of which baldness (asla c) takes place. The hair and beard of people who suffer from this disease, falloff.
Figure 3. First page of Ibn Sns medical book the Canons Latin translation. The hard and the cartilaginous character of the places hair, eyebrows and eyelashes grow from tend to hold hair. Since the skin of Abyssinians and Negros is hard, baldness is rarer in them. Since the hardness of their skin hold their hair firmly, it is hard to pull their hair off, and because of the same reason, they have thin hair. As we have seen above, after having discussed the causes of the scarcity or lack of hair and its symptoms, medicine that protects hair and heals the diseases concerning hair are dealt with and these are collected under the title, "medicine protecting hair". The principles of healing are based on the humoral theory. The medicine that is to protect hair must have the attractive pleasant temperature" (hararet-i latfe-i jazzabe) and the "retaining (astringent) force" (quvva-i kbiza). When we study the drugs for protecting hair, the names of which are given below, we note that almost all of them have astringent effects and that drugs having astringent effects are at the same time used externally in healing wounds. I wonder if doctors in history had observed that drugs affecting as astringents also carried the characteristic of healing external wounds and they group them under the title drugs with "the astringent force" (quvva-i kbiza). Drugs protecting the hair: "As", "habbu'1-as", "laden", "emlec", "halilec-i kabilf, "murr-u sabir", "barsiyavugan", "afs" (sometimes useful owing to its astringent effect)*. "Filzaharac", especially used with "Sharab-i kabz" (astringent syrup); or "duhn-i as", "duhn-i mastaki" is used with "ma-i as" and "varak-i azad diraht usaresi". Or, "shecere-i

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bezir-i ketan" is burned with its seeds and the hair is rubbed with its oil; "cevz-i kusuru muhreki" is mixed with "duhn-i as" and "Sarab-i kabiz" and rubbed on the hair, especially of children.
The following are examples of compound drugs (preparations) used for protecting hair and growing new hair: "Habb'1-s", "afs" and "emlec" are cooked in "dhn-i verd" or "dbn-i s." Another compound drag is composed of "s'in varak-i ratbi", "laden" "avsec", "ezraf-i serv" and "habb'1s." These drugs are pounded. The preparation is mixed with olive oil and the head is wrapped (treated) with it.
Figure 4. An illustrated page of Ibn Sns medical book the Canons Hebrew translation. The Canon goes on to give medicine for protecting eyebrows, getting the hair to grow long, preventing baldness and shedding of hair. Following these it gives topics about beautifying and dressing hair: curling, smoothing, softening hair; preventing hair from turning grey; vitalizing hair, applying henna; dying hair to black, yellow or lightening the colour of hair. The first topic ends with the description and cure of the disease huzaz. The Ottoman dictionaries give huzaz as konak, (scurf) but huzaz may be a kind of a group of skin diseases (lichen). In the second article, the skin is dealt with in its characteristics of colour and it is introduced describing the factors that lead to changing the colour of the skin. The sun, cold, the wind, old age, bathing rarely, having too salty food, the changing of blood into bile (according to the humoral theory) darkens the colour of the skin. The following are the factors that cause the skin to grow pale: Illnesses, anxieties ("gumflm"), hunger, too much sexual intercourse, severe pain, very hot weather, drinking of stagnant water, eating "nnhuvah", having vinegar continually, drinking cumin and geophagia
2
It was sensed that stagnant water infects and carry parasites to people.

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cause the skin to grow pale. It is also stated that geophagia blocks the lumen of the blood vessels; consequently blood does not reach the skin. Here the disease Pica, is discussed. It's remarkable that Ibn Sn observed the relation between geophagia and anemia.
4
There are several types of drugs preserving the colour of the skin and they are introduced by describing the factors leading to changing the colour of and brightening the skin. All drugs attracting the "blood" and "spirit" (ruh) to the skin give colour to it, makes it pinkie, cleanse and give it shine.
5
Figure 5. The drawing of Ibn Sn on a Libyan Arab Jamahiriya stamp. The stamp reads: 1000th Anniversary of the Birth of Avicenna. There are three ways in which blood is attracted to the skin: 1 Some drugs ("eshya") beautify the colour of the skin by producing and increasing the amount of blood. The following produce the "fine blood" ("dem-i rakik") or the "good blood" ("dem-i ceyyid"): Chickpea (nohud), soft boiled egg, broth of meat (bouillon), sweet basil ("reyhan") and a drink made from sweet basil and figs etc. When these are eaten, they are turned into the "fine blood" which penetrates into the skin and act as beautifiers of the colour of the skin. Dried figs and normally ripe, but not overripe fruit ("busr"), especially dates are useful in Improving the colour of the skin of the convalescent. These increase the amount of the "fine blood" ("dem-i latif') and the natural body temperature ("hararet-i gariziyye"). 2 3 Some objects ("eshya") such as "itrifl-i sagr" and "helilec murebbai" beautify the colour of the skin by the clearance of the blood. Objects such as, "haltit, fulful, karanfil, su'd" beautify the colour of the skin by diffusing the blood in the body and skin. Since these are stimulants, they attract the blood outwards and dilate the blood vessels (vasodilators). These are added to meals and eaten together.
It can be assumed that habitual use of vinegar and cumin (kimyon) might fatigue the liver. Geophaigia was first described in Turkey by Muin Memduh Tayanc, in 1942 and knowledge in this field was improved by Prof. Reimann's clinical and laboratory findings. See Prof. Dr. Orhan Ulutin: "A look at the Turkish Hematology in the 100th anniversary of Ataturk's birth." Cerrahpasa Tip Fakultesi Dergisi, vol. 12, June 1981 p. 258. 5 As the term "ruh" is used for the celestial element which is the essence of life, it can also be valued as the "natural spirit" (tabii ruh) or the "vital spirit" (hayati ruh) of the "peneumatic theary." On some occasions, the term "ruh" was then used to mean "vessel".
4

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Later, topics such as protecting skin from sunshine, weather and cold; the treatment of sunstroke; the cure of pock marks from smallpox; skin diseases which change the colour of the skin such as "bahak" (vitiligo) and "baras" (achromic leprosy), the differences among them and their treatment are discussed. For instance, it is said that "bahak" occurs on the skin but "baras" penetrates into the "flesh." The third book is on the skin diseases that cause blisters, pimples, pustules, boils, furuncles, ulcers etc One of the most important skin diseases with sore blisters (bsru karhiyye) is "sa'fe" (tinea). "Sa'fe" begins with slight itching blisters (bsr-i mustahike-i hafife). These blisters are scattered on different parts of the body. Afterwards crusty red boils (kuruh-i hushk rshte) form. Sometimes these suppurate and excrete pus. This is called "shir-benc" and "moist sa'fe" (sa'fe-i ratbe). The cause of sa'fe is again explained in the terms of the humoral theory. According to this, the malign (redie), acute (hadde) and irritating (ekkale) "moistness" (rutubet) diffuses in the blood.
Figure 6. The drawing of Ibn Sn on a Poland stamp. The stamp reads: 1000 Lece u Rodzin. Sometimes this "bad moistness" mixes with the bad, dense (crude) humors (ahlt-i galze-i rede). These get together and form a swelling (teverrum) and mix and dissolve the fine humour (hilt-i rakk). Sometimes the "dry kbaiyye" (kbaiyye-i ybise) occurs and this type gets worse suddenly in winter but disappears (heals) quickly. The cause of the "dry kbaiyye" is too much black bile (hilt-i sevdvi) mixing with the "acrid moistness" (rutubet-i hirrf), diffuses to the skin, spoils and erodes it. After having discussed the types of "sa'fe" and having given their method of treatment, the disease "kub" (impetigo) is studied. In the Turkish version of Canon it is said that "kub" means "temregi", (lichen). But "temregi" may probably be identified as a different illness. "Kub" differs from "sa'fe" in some minor points. It is more similar to "dry sa'fe" (sa'fe-i yabise) than the other types. The "dry sa'fe" is a very malign type of "kub". The cause of "kub" is similar to that of "sa'fe", for the cause of "kub" is the acute (hadde) and acrid (hirrif) moistness (maiyyet); in "kub", also, an amount of matter mixes with the "dense" (galiz) bile matter. The characteristic of the type of "kub" the blisters of which heal quickly is that the thinness ("rakki") of its matter overcomes its thickness (galz). There is also a moist (ratb) and bloody (demev) type of "kub". When the blisters are scratched, a serous fluid secretes.

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There is also a "dry" (ybis) type of "kub", which is produced from the matter turning phlegm (balgam) into "the black bile" (sevda) through combustion (ihtirak). Another kind of kub forms a crust because of the intensity of dry-ness (shiddet-i yubset) and the depth of the sore (kesret-i gavr). This kind of kub is similar to "baras-i esved" (black leprosy; lepra nigricans) and "hushk-rishte." Still another kind of kub is one that does not form a scab. In short, there are different kinds of kub, some of which develop rapidly and spread all over the body (sat), some do not spread (vkif); while others appear later (hadis); and still others are chronic (muzmin). In the Turkish text, kub is termed as, "temriye" (lichen); yet, as we have already seen, various skin diseases are mentioned under the title of kub; and the descriptions being very different from those of today, we are not able to specify the clinical tables.
6
Figure 7. Divrigi (Sivas, Turkiye) Dar al-Shifa (Hospital) and patients inside. Kub is treated according to its etymology. In kub, primarily the "dense- matter" (galz madde) occurs, later on the "thin and inflammable matter" (madde-i hrre-i rakka) develops; or kub appears as a result of the prevalence of one of the two matters. For treatment, mixtures to remove the causes are prepared and measures expected to remove the cause that is predominant are preferably taken. Applying leeche (irsal-i alak), administering enema (tenkiye) and the water of cheese (m-i cbn) do well. Moistening (rutubetlendirmek) is useful for healing. Below is prescription for dressing the wound: If the disease is in the early phase and mild, some of the simple drugs (mufred devalar) to be administered are these: "Hushk-rishte" seems to have two meanings, the wound forming a crust or a kind of itch (uyuz) having dry pustules. As a term "husk" means "dry" and "rishte" means "Jigger".
6
sabr (washed; 1 dirhem) reyhan (cooked; 3 kiyye)

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"Hummz, utrc, zamk-i arab (with vinegar), zamk-i levz (with vinegar), asel lebeni (with vinegar), hardal (with vinegar), m-i kibrit, m-i mlih, zebed'1-bahr etc Besides the simple ones, many compound drugs are prescribed. Below is an example: 1 dirhem zac 1 dirhem kibrit dirhem sabr dirhem zamk These drugs are rubbed (til) with vinegar.
Figure 8. Ibn Sn drawing of A. Suheyl Unver. In the third article, besides the examples given, other skin diseases such as blistered skin diseases, itching and its treatment, corn and getting cornified, skin fissures (fissures in lips), feet and between fingers; fissures and wounds resulting from lying in bed too long; bad smells radiating from skin and urine etc and their treatment; getting lice and its treatment are dealt with. In the fourth article, with which the topic "ziynet" is completed, subjects related with the body and limbs are studied. Primarily, the aim is the treatment of emaciation (izlea'l-hzal). To achieve this, the causes of emaciation are determined which are the following: 1 Failing to take fattening food or eating too much "mlttif" (attenuant) food that causes one to get skinny. Although we cannot describe the "delicious food" (latf gida) specifically, we can get an idea of it from the examples of "delicious food" (latf gida) found in the old medical manuscripts. According to these manuscripts most of the vegetables, broth, yolk of the egg, radish, mustard, liver, piecles etc. are delicious (latf) food. Indeed, these are foods that do not cause people to grow fat. 2
7
Blood attracting the food that do not produce "clean blood" (dem-i zek).
See Nil Sari: Food in the Ottoman Palace, arranged according to the seasons and its relation with the medicine of the period. Paper of the symposium on the Turkish Kitchen. Ankara 1982, p. 246.

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3 4
Insufficiency of potential energy (quvvat) contained in food. Digestion or the "attractive force" (quvva-i czibe)
8
may be inefficient. These forces weaken
because of the corrupted (fesd) humor (mizac). Usually the corrupt humor causing weakness is the "cold" humor (mizac-i barid). The cause of the weakness of the attractive force is "extreme inactivity" (kasrat-i sukn); for when one is too inactive the "attractive force" gets calm and dormant. This condition is observed more frequently in those who have the habit of activating their function of attracting food by their own "attractive force" with the help of exercises such as sports. If such people remain in continuous inactivity, however moderate, (mutedil) the food they eat may be, the "attraction of food" by the attractive force weakens. Here the importance of sports is mentioned in the terms of feeding. 5 Splenomegali and resulting pressure on the liver is a cause of emaciation. As a result of spleenomegali, attraction of spleen is higher, compared to that of the liver. The liver organizes inefficiently the food that diffuses in the body. This pressure causes the liver to weaken and the "food" that flows out of the liver is insufficient. The loss of weight is related to the disturbance of the liver. 6 7 8 Helminths consume the food that's to be used by the body. Humors block the pores. For some other reasons the pores and canals in the body being blocked food can not diffuse property into the organs consequently and the food can not spread all over the body and emaciation results. The agents that cause the pores to be blocked consist of "heat, cold and dryness." 9 10 Eating soil is a cause for emaciation. Too much dissolution of the food (kesret-i tahallul): The food reaches the organs properly yet undergoes too much dissolution there. (This reminds us of the catabolism and metabolic reactions.) With heavy sports (riyazt-i seri), anxiety (hmm), worries (gumm) and consuming diseases, emaciation develops. It is possible for those who have become emaciated in a short time, to put weight on in a short time. Those who have got emaciated in a long time however need a long time to put weight on again, because their humours and ability to benefit the greater part of the food is low. (Here again metabolic reactions come to mind). The reasons why people do not want to be skinny are explained. According to Ibn Sn, the skin of the skinny being too loose, people dislike thinness. Those who are merely skin and bones (mehzfil) are extremely affected from heat and cold. In such people various spiteful resentments (infialat-i nefsaniye), illnesses, fatigue and insomnia are frequently observed. Here I will skip over thinness and its treatment, which is determined by the cause of it, in order to avoid extending the subject. However, I would like to state that developing different parts of the body such as hands, legs, etc... with the help of massage is discussed, which is remarkable from the point of physiotherapy. As far as I know, even though fatness was regarded as desirable in those days, Ibn Sn had seen the harmfulness of obesity. Thus indeed Ibn Sn said: "Fatness also does harm. The fat are not like normal people. Yet they do not take it seriously as long as they do not get any harm from it. But one must protect oneself and beware excessive obesity. Although they may not be suffering from fatness and see no harm in it, their health may fail unexpectedly. In order to loose weight Ibn Sn advices dieting, bathing and
As far as we now the "attractive force" (quvva-i czibe), attracts the humours to the surface of the body.

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intensive sports. After this subject, methods for getting some organs such as arms and legs thin are discussed. Finally, illnesses of the nails are studied. The topic "ziynet" ends with subjects such as pulling out the nails, protecting the newly growing nail, blood blister of the nail etc
CONCLUSION
1 Subjects are essentially classified according to the "symptoms". For example: Shedding of hair,
skin-growing pale, getting thin... Thus, some of the skin diseases are discussed in the article on "hair" while also being studied in the article on "the colour of the skin" and the discourses on this subject are excluded from the third article where only skin diseases are studied. Another classification was used for the organs. The topic ziynet starts with the head, studying the "hair" and ends with the foot by focusing on the "nail". Only in this way can we explain why nail diseases are discussed just the after the subjects obesity and emaciation. 2 The topic ziynet deals only partly with cosmetics. Especially in the first and second articles, there
are formulas for hair and skin care. Besides chapters on other subjects, primarily skin diseases, metabolism and nourishment, haematology, physical therapy is also discussed thoroughly. I would also like to make it clear that the main goal of Ibn Sn in the chapter on "ziynet" is not beautifying people. He discussed all subjects from the point of view of medicine and aimed to "cure" these diseases which "spoil the appearance." 3 Many "observations" given under the title "ziynet" are surprisingly interesting. The subject "Ziynet"
dealing with the externally observable symptoms, observation ought to have been easier for physicians. While acquisition of clinical knowledge was good, the etymology of diseases depended on the old theories of medicine, since technical aids were not developed. Physiopathology and the etymology of diseases were explained according to the medical theory based on the humoral theory. Many terms used in the explanations are form the medical terminology of the time. Although we know the meanings of these words commonly used in language, their medical meanings are not yet satisfactorily explained. For instance in this text there are several words such as "dem-i rakk, dem-i latf, dem-i ceyyd, dem-i zek" etc describing different types of blood, the meanings of which are obscure, especially as medical terms. Although these are considered to be theories or philosophy, I believe that they are based on medical observations not aided by technology. This is why we associate "buhr-i duhni" with male hormone (testosterone) and "ebhire-i ratbe" with female hormone (estrogen). Drugs are classified in categories according to their effects. While we know what some of these are, the composition of the others has not been discovered yet. In the topic, "ziynet" drugs are considered in categories with certain names according to their effects. For example, in this text, it is interesting to see that while astringent drugs were called "quvva-i kabza" (astringent agents), they were also used externally to cure hair and skin diseases.

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A complete criticism and evaluation of Ibn Sn's medicine will be possible only when the ancient medical terminologies have been interpreted correctly and when their meaning is brought into light.
4 - Some definitions we come across in the topic "Ziynet" are worth noting in respect of their similarity with today's medical knowledge; for an example, we can quote the fact that Ibn Sn distinguished vitiligo from lepra. The chapter "Ziynet" comprises some extremely interesting knowledge; such as geophagia, is an illness discovered and described in the twentieth century which we find clearly described by Ibn Sn. Here I will not quote any other examples in order to avoid stretching the subject. I believe, however, that when we have studied Ibn Sn's Canon as well as the works of the other great names of the old medicine attentively and patiently we shall have to bring about some changes in our learning and knowledge of the history of the old medicine.
DICTIONARY
-
afs: (Quercus infectoria); ,Oak. Used as astringent and coagulant. s: (Fructus myrti). Myrtle. It's leaves and berries are used internally and externally as astringent,
bacteriside, appetizer and coagulant. On applying externally, it has healing effect on wounds.
s'in varak-i ratbi: Green leaves of myrtle. asel leben: The gum of styrax officinale. A liquid derived from the liquid ambar tree, a gum. avsec: (lyceum Europaeum). Boxthorn, Purgative, sedative. barsiyvusn: ca'det el-qinna. Adianthum oder Asplenium (Filices). busr: ripe, but not too ripe fruits, especially dates. cevz-i kusr muhrek: Burnt walnut shells. (Pericarpium; Juglandis nu-cum). Green walnut leaves
and its shell have astringent and tonic effects. It is used externally in skin diseases as an antiseptic. It is mixed with the oil of myrtle and the astringent syrup; and specially applied on children's hair.
d'l-hayye: Alopecia ophiasique.

To shed scales from the skin (scaling skin).
d's-sa'leb: Alopecia areata: porrigo decalvans. Pelade. dhn-i mastak: gum mastic. A resin extracted from cuts on the branches and trunk of pistacia
lentiscus.
duhn-i mastak: mastic oil; oil extracted from the seeds of the fruit of P. lentiscus. duhn-i s: The oil of myrtle. It is produced by the distillation of the green leaves of myrtus
Communis.
duhn-i verd: (oleum rosae). Rose oil; dried rose leaves have an astringent effect. Externally it is
used as a gargle.
emlec: emblic myrobalans; emblica officinalis. ezraf-i serv: cypress cone. The dried cones of the Cupressus sempervir-ens species, picked when
green. It has astringent and coagulant effects. It is used externally for healing hemorrhoid and smell due to feet sweating.

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filzaharac: the African jasemin. Lycium afrum L. (The comman jasemin (oleaceae) is used as
astringent and sedative).
fulful: pepper. Appetizer. habbu'l-s: Fruit of myrtle. halilec-i kbili (helile-i kabuli): chebulic myrobalan. Dried fruits of the species Terminalia chebula,
picked unripe. Used as an astringent. Ointments containing myrobalan powder are used externally for healing wounds. These ointments have antiseptic and wound healing effects, because of the tannin they contain.
haltit: (Ferula assa foetida). Asafetida. Sedative, digestive, antihelminthic. hardal: (Snpis; brassica
nigra). Mustard. It is used externally to diffuse blood in the skin and as an analgesic in forms of mustard poultice, mustard plaster, or mustard bath.
helilec murebbsi: fruit gelatine of the Myrobalan. hummz: (Rumex acetosella). Sheep's sorrel. It's plaster is used in bandaging boils for maturing
(suppurating) them.
Itrifl-i sagr: clover, trifolium arvense. Astringent. irsal-i alak: Applying leeches. karanfil: (Flos Caryophylli) Stimulant, antiseptic, digestive. (In the Ottoman reign women used
ointments prepared from the flowers of Sweet William, a species of the clove, in order to get their faces look bright and healthy. It is used as sedative, cardiotonic and diaphoretic).
lden: The dried leaves and boughs of the species Cistus creticus L. or C. Salvufolius. It is used as
an astringent. The oleoresin is extracted from the leaves of the species C. creticus or C. ladanifer and is called "Ladanum" (laden). (A hair dye is prepared from the gum of this shrub in Crete).
kibrit: sulfur. m-i as: The sap of the leaves of the myrtle tree. If hair is washed with it, it would hinder the
shedding of hair.
m-i cubn: water of cheese. m-i kibrit: concentrated sulphuric acid. m-i malih: salty water. murr- sabir: (The finest quality of aloes). It is derived by concentrating the sap of the leaves of
the aloe species, by heating in the sun. Acts as a purgative.
su'd (suda): The corm and perfume of the plant Cyperus rotundus. Tonic, amenogog, diaphoretic,
digestive, antihelminthic, thic stimulant.
sarab-i kabz: syrup acting as an astringent. secere-i bezir-i ketan: flax seed tree. flax: linum usitatissimum. It is used as a material for dressing wounds.
Oil derived from its seeds is used externally for the treatment of wounds and burns. It is burnt with it's seeds, mixed with oil and applied on hair.
kiyye: A measurment of weight about 1 ounce (28.3 grams); or about 4.5 ounces. (It changes
from country to country it is used).
utrc: Citrus medica; citron tree; the fruit of this tree. It's seeds are used as digestive and
antihelminthic.
varak-i zd-i diraht usaresi: The juice of Melia azedarach's leaves. Mar-gosa tree. The leaves heal wounds. zdc: Natural copper or iron sulfate. za'feran: (Crous sativus). Saffron. Stimulant, appetizer, amenogog. zamk-i arabi: Gomme arabique. zamk-i levz: gum of almond.

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zebedu'l-bahr. L. Ossa sepiae, decapedae.
DICTIONARIES USED IN THIS STUDY: Ahmed Issa Bey, Dictionnaire des Noms Des Plantes. Le Caire 1930. Baytop, Turhan, Turkiye'de Bitkiler ile Tedavi, Istanbul 1984. Redhouse, James, W., Turkish and English Lexicon. Istanbul 1978. Siggel, Alfred, Arabisch-Deutsches Worterbuch Der Stoffe. Akademie. Verlag/Berlin 1950.

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TOLEDO
FSTC Limited
Toledo June 2005
TOLEDO
Toledo is a Spanish town in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula 60 miles S.S.W. of Madrid.1 It is built on the banks of the River Tajoh (Tagus) over which once stood a magnificent bridge consisting of only one arch, supported by large stone piers on both sides of the river, measuring three hundreds baas in length and eighty in width.2 Built 2000 feet above sea-level on a granite hill and surrounded on three sides by a bend of the Tagus, it commands in its immediate vicinity a fertile Vega which runs to N.E. and N.W along the river and beyond it is the plain denudation of the Castilian Plateau.3 Today Toledo is the capital of the province of the same name and the see of the premier Archbishop of Spain.4 The Muslim geographers who described the Iberian peninsula in its medieval Islamic times more or less give long accounts of Toledo. Al-Idrisi writes about it in the Iklim of al-Sharat (las Sierras). In his time the city had already been taken from the Muslims (although the rest of Spain was not).5 He describes its excellent strategic position, its ramparts and the surrounding gardens intersected by canals from which the water is raised for irrigation by means of norias.6 Maqqari describes it as:
Òne of the great cities belonging to the central division, says the 16th century historian alMaqqari, is `Toleytalah, which at the beginning of the 6th century of the Hijra (early 11th century of Christian calendar) became the capital of a kingdom founded by the Beni Dhi nun, one of the petty dynasties which sprung out of the ruins of the Cordovan Caliphate. Caesar, who is said to have founded Toledo, called it in his language Zaleyta, which means in Arabic `thou art content; but in the course of time the name was corrupted by the Arabs, who changed it into Toleytalah (Toledo). During the reign of Beni Umeyyah all the territories subject to Toledo were designat3ed under the generic name of Al-Thagheru-l-Adna, or lower frontier, to distinguish it from Saragossa and its district, which were called Al-Thagheru-al-Ala, or upper frontier. Toledo was further known under the name of Medinatu al-Muluk, the city of the kings, owing to its having been the court of seventy two kings of various infidel dynasties. We have said elsewhere that the Goths made it their capital; it is also supposed to have been for some time the residence of Suleyman, son of Daud (on whom be peace) as well as for some time the residence of Jesus son of Mariam, and Dhu al-Karneyn (Alexander). It was there that Tarik, son of Ziyad, found the table of Suleiman which formed part of the treasures which Ishban, king of the Romans, and founder of Ishbillia, brought from the sack of Jerusalem. The table was made out of one solid emerald, and when presented by Musa (Ibn Nusayr) to the Caliph al-Walid, was valued at one hundred thousand gold dinars. It is generally believed to be now in Rome, but God only knows. This inestimable jewel was not the only treasure which Tarik found at Toledo; there were among other things one hundred and seventy royal diadems, set with pearls, rubies, and other precious stones; a spacious temple filled with gold and
E.L. Provencal: Toledo; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; vol 3; first series; Leyden; pp. 809-12; at p. 809. Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib. Translated by P.De Gayangos: The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain (extracted from Nifh Al-Tib by al-Maqqari); 2 vols; The Oriental Translation Fund; London, 1840-3. vol 1; P.47. 3 E.L. Provencal: Toledo; op cit; p. 809. 4 E.L. Provencal: Toledo; p. 809. 5 Al-Idrisi in E.L. Provencal: Toledo; p. 809. 6 Al-Idrisi in .L. Provencal: Toledo; p. 809.
2 1

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Toledo June 2005
silver vases, which temple is further said to have been is such dimensions as to have afforded, when its riches were removed, sufficient room for the Muslim cavaliers to exercise in throwing the spear and other military sports. This latter circumstance, indeed, would seem almost incredible had it not been related by trustworthy people and eye witnesses. But God is all knowing.7
It is in the year 714 CE that the Muslim army under the command of a young Berber officer called Tarik Ibn Zyad took Toledo. It is in Toledo that the Muslim chroniclers locate the meeting of Tarik and the Muslim general, Musa Ibn Nusair; the latter only staying there a short while before proceeding north to seize Saragossa.8 The 18th century historian, Gibbon, narrates at great length the Muslim arrival in Spain. This is a brief extract from his concluding lines:
`The conditions of peace agreed and sworn between Abdelaziz, the son of Musa, the son of Nassir, and Theodemir prince of the Goths. In the name of the most merciful God, Abdelaziz makes peace on these conditions: that Theodemir shall not be disturbed in his principality; nor any injury be offered to the life or property, the wives and children, the religion and temples, of the Christians: that Theodemir shall freely deliver his seven cities, Orihuela, Valentola, Alicanti Mola, Vacasora, Bigerra, (now Bejar,) Ora, (or Opta,) and Lorca: that he shall not assist or entertain the enemies of the caliph, but shall faithfully communicate his knowledge of their hostile designs: that himself, and each of the Gothic nobles, shall annually pay one piece of gold, four measures of wheat, as many of barley, with a certain proportion of honey, oil, and vinegar; and that each of their vassals shall be taxed at one moiety of the said imposition. Given the fourth of Regeb, in the year of the Hegira ninety- four, and subscribed with the names of four Mussulman witnesses." Theodemir and his subjects were treated with uncommon lenity; but the rate of tribute appears to have fluctuated from a tenth to a fifth, according to the submission or obstinacy of the Christians. In this revolution, many partial calamities were inflicted by the carnal or religious passions of the enthusiasts: some churches were profaned by the new worship: some relics or images were confounded with idols: the rebels were put to the sword; and one town (an obscure place between Cordova and Seville) was razed to its foundations. Yet if we compare the invasion of Spain by the Goths, or its recovery by the kings of Castile and Aragon, we must applaud the moderation and discipline of the Arabian conquerors.9
Toledos Muslim history remained convulsed, though. Many rebellions against central rule were carried by the Toledans and in 845, they allied themselves with the Christians. It was then that the Amir Mohammed I fought them and defeated the alliance and after besieging the city took it. Abbas Ibn Firnas alluded to the taking of Toledo, chanting the victory of Emir Mohammed against the alliance of Toledans and Christians10 and the destruction of its bridge in the following verses:
`When morning came Toledo appeared deserted, and like a bird in the claws of a falcon. Its houses uninhabited, its streets without people, the whole city as empty and as silent as a tomb. The wrath
7 8
Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib. Pp. 46-7. E.L. Provencal: Toledo; op cit; p. 810. 9 E. Gibbon: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; vol 5; Methuen and Co; London; fifth edition; 1923; pp. 481-2. 10 E. Teres: le Development de la Civilisation Arabe a Tolede; in Cahiers de Tunisie, vol 17-8; 1969-70; pp. 73-86, at p. 75.

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Toledo June 2005
of heaven has fallen heavily upon it; even the bridge through which the inhabitants held communication with the Infidels has not been spared. 11
Yet despite such upheavals, Toledo remained a major centre of Islamic culture and civilisation especially under the Berber Dynasty of Banu Dhi Nun (11th century) as will be amply explored further on. All authors who have described Toledo also say that it has pleasant orchards, a beautiful river, gardens, groves, fine fruits of every kind and description; that its jurisdiction embraces extensive districts, good arable lands, rich meadows and pastures, fine cities and strong castles; one of the peculiarities of the place being that wheat can be kept under ground for a number of years without decaying and is transmitted from father to son as any other article of property.12 The saffron, of which large quantities were yearly exported in caravans, is of itself a source of wealth to the inhabitants as well as the tincture made with it which dyes of a beautiful butter colour.13 According to an Andalusian poet:
`Toledo surpasses in beauty the most extravagant descriptions. She is indeed the city of pleasures and delight. God has lavished upon her all sorts of ornaments; He has given her walls for a turban, her river for a girdle, and the branches of trees for stars. 14
The geographer-historian-ruler of Hama, AbulFeda (1273-1331), also praises the beauty of its orchards among which grew pomegranates with enormous flowers whilst according to Yaqut (d. 1229), the cereals grown around Toledo could be kept for 70 years without deterioration and its saffron was of excellent quality.15 However today there are very few traces left in Toledo of its long Muslim presence. At most, the remains of the little mosque of Bab Mardun (Cristo de la Luz) and some parts of the palace of Las Tornerias and of the old gate of Visagra can be dated back to the period of the Muluk al-Tawaif. On the other hand in the Vega near the town, a considerable number of epitaphs of Toledo Muslims have been found, mainly engraved on the shafts of columns.16 It is in 1085 that Toledo became one of the earliest and most important Muslim cities to be lost and to be never recovered again. This loss was to have a dramatic impact on both the future of Islamic Spain, and also the rise of the West. These crucial points will be looked at in great length after Toledos great Islamic scholarly role has been considered.
Muslim Scholars of Toledo

In spite of its position as a frontier town with a population containing a large proportion of Christian elements, Toledo, especially at the end of the Umayyad Caliphate and in the reign of al-Mamun (d. 1074),
11 12 13 14 15 16
Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib. op cit; Pp. 47-8. Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib.; p. 48. Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib.; p. 48. Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib.; p. 48. Abul Fida and Yaqut al-Hamawi in E.L. Provencal: Toledo; op cit; p. 809. E.L. Provencal: Toledo; op cit; p. 811.

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was reckoned one of the intellectual centres of Muslim Spain. 17
A large number of the articles in the
collections on the biography of Muslim Spain are devoted to scholars and jurists of Toledan origin.18 From the early years of the Muslim presence in the Peninsula, can be found a group of personalities from the city who studied letters and sciences, travelling to the East where they listened to the masters there such as Malik Ibn Anas. Then, on their return, they spread such learning as teachers themselves amongst their countrymen. 19 People of Toledo travelled to study in Al-Qayrawan, Tunisia which was a great centre of learning under the 9th century Aghlabids (see article Al-Qayrawan). They would listen most particularly to the teaching of Sheikh Sahnun.20 Amongst the disciples of Sheikh Sahnun we find three Toledans who became Qadis in Toledo whilst others became virtuous Muftis and others amongst such learned people died in combat against the Christians.21 Hence Yahya B. Haggag of Toledo, disciple of Shanun, died as a martyr in one of the great battles fought against the Christians and near to him stood another companion of study, Yahia B. al-Qasir who was the only one of such group of learned friends who did not lose his life in the battle and saw this as a dishonour; only to die in the field of battle in the following year.22 Then there is Sulayman al-Qaysi of Toledo, an ascetic scholar and expert in the Quran and hadith, who shared all his possessions with the poor of the city and when not teaching, he would be found fighting on the frontier as a Holy Warrior, finally dying at the Battle for the Castle of Gormaz. Such was his reputation, even the Christians believed they obtained benediction when they visited his grave.23 These are not the only learned Muslims who came to Toledo to teach and fight but they were joined by many others from all other parts of the Muslim world for precisely the same purposes. It must be remembered that Toledo was the northern Muslim outpost facing the Christians. Thus learned men came from Al-Qayrawan itself to fight and die and when not fighting, they exerted in their vocation as teachers, whilst leading an ascetic life.24 In keeping with the tradition current in the Islamic world during its golden era (7 th - 13th century), more than one ruler excelled in sciences and the promotion of sciences. Toledo was an excellent example of this. Thus the first Berber ruler, Al-Zafir (1018-1043) of the Banu Dhi Nun, who received great praise from Ibn Bassam for his defence of Islam and his uncompromising stance against the enemies of the faith, was a great supporter of scholarship. 25 Around him we find a great number of scholars of letters and sciences, such as: his secretary Muhammad B. Hurayra; his adviser, the scientist Ibn Bagunis, a man of letters and a renowned mathematician; as well as Ibn Labbun; Ibn al-Farag and Ibn Mahqur; all of who were men of letters, poets and men of sciences, especially the exact sciences. 26 It is particularly under al-Mamun (who ruled 1043-1073), the penultimate Berber ruler of the Banu Di Nhun dynasty (11th century), that learning thrived to a greater extent. During his reign, Toledo was enriched considerably. He had magnificent buildings erected such as the Majlis al-Mukaram (The Holy Council), the Bustan al-Naura (The Garden of the Noria) in which was constructed Qubbat al-Naim (The Cupola of
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
E.L. Provencal: Toledo; op cit; p. 811. E.L. Provencal: Toledo; p. 811. E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation
Arabe; op cit; p. 74. Arabe; p. 74. Arabe; p. 76. Arabe; p. 76. Arabe ; p. 77. Arabe; p. 77. Arabe; p. 78. Arabe; p. 78.

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Happiness), and other edifices which fill the lines of poets. 27 The prince was surrounded by prestigious men as the historian Al-Higari describes:
`There never was amongst the Reyes of Taifas another ruler as powerful and as famed as him (AlMamun). In his Majlis (council) gathered Muhammad B. Saraf, a glory of al-Qayrawan, Abd. Allah B. Khalifa al-Misri, al-Hakim, Abu Farraj al-Baghdadi al-Adib and amongst his viziers were the scholars: Abu Isa B. Labbun; Ibn Sufyan; Abu Amar b. al-Farrag, and Abul Mutarrif b. Mutanna.28
The sciences of religion and tradition thrived in Toledo just as always in this frontier city. Theology, Fiqh, Hadith and Quranic exegesis had many specialists, some such specialists with encyclopaedic knowledge. Thus there were people like Abd Walid al-Waqqali, a most learned man who studied deeply the letters and sciences, who excelled at languages, grammar, rhetoric, the secrets of poetry and who was also a faqih (expert in Islamic law) Yet, he says: able to write notarial acts. He was an expert in the science of inheritance and succession, an authority in mathematics and geometry and he was acquainted with all the scholarly ideas.29
Ìt is saddening for me to think that human sciences are only two without anyone able to add any to them. One science is that of Truth whose acquisition is impossible, and another (science) of vain things, whose acquisition is of no use.30
At the court of Emir al-Mamun lived the celebrated doctor Ibn al-Wafid31 to whom Al-Mamun granted the high position of vizier.32 Ibn Al-Wafid (Latin name: Abenguefit) was from Toledo where he was born in 997 and where he died in ca 1074. He was a Hispano-Muslim physician and pharmacologist who applied himself to studying simples - a field where he surpassed all his contemporaries.33 What characterised Ibn Wafid was his immense knowledge of medical matters and therapeutics and his skills in treating grave diseases and afflictions. 34 He preferred to use dietetic measures, and if drugs were needed, he gave preference to use the simplest ones before he recommended composed medicines. When he did use composed medicines, he gave priority to those less complex.35 His main work on simple drugs (Kitab al-adwiya al-mufrada) is partly existing in a Latin translation (De
medicamentis simplicibus).36 According to a later Muslim writer, Ibn al-Wafid spent twenty-five years
gathering the information he included in his treatise which was five hundred pages long and of which the Latin translation is only a fragment.37 There are also translations of it in Catalan and Hebrew.38 De
27 28
E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation Arabe; p. 73. E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation Arabe; p. 79. 29 E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation Arabe; p. 79-80. 30 H. Peres: Poesie; p. 456 in E. Teres: Le Development; p. 80 31 G.S. Colin: Filaha; Encyclopaedia of Islam: New edition: Leiden; 1986, Vol 2, p. 901. 32 L Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine arabe; vol. 1, Paris; 1876; p. 545. 33 L Leclerc: p. 545. 34 L Leclerc: p. 545. 35 E. H. F. Meyer: Geschichte der Botanik; I-IV, Konigsberg, 1854-7; vol. 3, pp. 205-8. 36 F. Wustenfeld: Geschichte der arabischen Aerzte, Gottingen; 1840; p. 82. 37 L Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 546. 38 Emilia Calvo: Ibn Wafid: in the Encyclopaedia of the history of Science, technology, and Medicine in Non Western Cultures; H. Selin Editor; Kluwer Academic Publishers. Dordrecht/Boston/London, 1997. p.438.

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medicamentis simplicibus has been printed frequently together with the Latin translation of the works of Masawaih al-Mardini39 or of Ibn Jazla's Taqwim (Dispositio corporum de constitutione hominis)40.
Ibn Wafid is also the author of a pharmacopoeia and manual of therapeutics entitled al-wisad fil Tib (book of the Pillow on Medicine), which according to Vernet could be a misreading of the Arabic title Kitab al-
Rashad fil tibb (Guide to Medicine).41 This work can be considered complementary to the preceding one
because Ibn Wafid describes compound medicines in it and it is a practical book as the information given is based on experience. 42 Ibn Abi Ussaybiya, the Muslim medical historian, attributes to Ibn Wafid a work entitled Mujarabat fil Tibb (Medical experiments) which could probably be identified with this book just cited.43 Ibn Wafid is also the author of two works entitled Tadqiq an-Nazar fi ilal hassat al-Bassar (Observations on the treatment of illness of the eyes) and Kitab al-Mughith (Book on Assistance) which are not preserved and a treatise on balneology which is preserved in a Latin version entitled De balneis sermo printed in Venice in 1553.44 Amongst the matters Ibn Wafid investigates is the action of drugs, 45 sleep, bathing and he also writes on farming. 46 On this latter point, the early nucleus of the school formed in Toledo where Ibn Wfid was employed in the royal garden of al-Ma'mn. But after the conquest of the city in 1085, Ibn Wafid's student Ibn Luengo and Ibn Bassl, his colleague in the royal garden moved to Seville where they came into contact with another nucleus of agronomists: Ibn al-Hajjj, Abu'l-Khayr and the mysterious "anonymous botanist" of Seville (studied by Asn Palacios) as well as al-Tignar of Granada.47 The pattern of their personal contracts and citations of one anothers works illustrates the kind of complex network that was bound to underlie the "dense climate of botanical study and experimentation" described by J. M. Mills Vallicrosa.48 Another scholar of Toledo, equally protected and sponsored by Al-Mamun, was Muhammad b. Ibrahim Ibn Bassal (fl. 11th century) who devoted himself exclusively to agronomy.49 He regularly performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, travelling via Sicily and Egypt and bringing back many botanical and agronomic notes. 50 He also visited Khursn for the same purpose of research. 51 Ibn Bassal wrote for Al-Mamun a lengthy treatise on agronomy, Diwan al-Filaha, which was eventually abridged into one volume with sixteen chapters with the Kitab al-Kasd wal bayan (Book of Concision and Clarity).52 The treatise by Ibn Bassal is singular in that it contains no reference to earlier agronomists; it appears to be based exclusively on the personal experiences of the author who is revealed as the most original and objective of all the HispanoVenice, 1549 sq. Strasbourg, 1532. 41 Emilia Calvo: Ibn Wafid; op cit; p.438. 42 Emilia Calvo: Ibn Wafid; p.438. 43 Emilia Calvo: Ibn Wafid; p.438. 44 Emilia Calvo: Ibn Wafid; p.438. 45 G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. vol 1; p. 728. 46 L Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine arabe; vol. 1, Paris; 1876; p. 547. 47 T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1979. p. 255. 48 T. Glick: Islamic; p. 256. 49 V. Lagardere: Campagnes et paysans dAl Andalus; Maisonneuve; Larose; Paris; 1993; at p. 264; G.S. Colin: Filaha; op cit; p. 901. 50 G.S. Colin: Filaha; p. 901. 51 T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 259. 52 G.S. Colin: Filaha; p. 901.
40 39

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Muslim specialists.53 Ibn Bassals treatise was eventually translated into Castilian in the Middle Ages, and was published in 1953 with a modern Castilian introduction.54 Al-Mamun was also known as `the great garden lover55and his garden had a pavilion called Majlis an-Naura which raised water from the Tajo to supply elegant fountains in which lions made of stone spouted water.56 In al-Andalus water-driven wheels were found in conjunction with canal systems in Murcia where the mammoth wheel at La Nora was driven by the current of the Aljufia canal; most typically in Toledo where, as described by al-Idrisi (b. 1099/1100 - d. 1166), they were surrounded by gardens interlaced with canals on which were established wheels for irrigation; in Cordoba where al-Shaqundi (13th century) described 5000 water wheels (probably including both lifting and milling devices) on the Guadalquivir.57 The extensive agronomical literature of the 11th-12th century Andalusi writers strongly accentuates the role of irrigation agriculture to the detriment of dry-farming techniques. 58 But the irrigation described is not fluvial but from wells from which the water is lifted by a noria with a chain of pots and deposited directly into a channel or into a holding basin. Indeed, these writers came largely from Seville and Toledo, two cities towards which the cultural centre of gravity had shifted after the fall of the Caliphate and where Valencian-style irrigation was not practiced.59 Ibn Bassal advises the placement of wells near rivers so that water continuously filters in and the level remains constant. If not, the water will fall below the level at which the noria's chain of pots can reach it.60 Moreover wells should be dug in August when the flow of water is most sluggish. For deep wells, Ibn Bassal recommends a counterbalance device which had the advantage over the noria, for the latter would have required a chain of pots of excessive length.61 Ibn Bassal eventually fled to Seville from Toledo when it was captured by Alfonso VI of Castile. He was at the court of Al-Mutamid for whom he created a new royal garden.62 His works and activities there are considered under the entry on Seville. However the glory of Toledo in the 11th century was the development of exact sciences. Here can be found the mathematicians al-Waqqadi and al-Tugibi; the geometers Ibn al-Attar and Ibn Hamis who were also astronomers. 63 Amongst these illustrious figures was Mohammad B. Assafar, who in 1029 made an astrolabe which, centuries after, was found in the Sprenger collection. It was later transferred to the Staatsbibliothek of Berlin and can today be located in the Westdeutsche Bibliothek of Marburg (still in Germany).64 Here could be found Ibn al-Bagunis and Ibn Wafid and here could be seen the rising star of Muslim scholarship, the young al-Zarqali. Said al-Andalusi (al-Tulaytuli) (of Toledo) has left us important
53 54
G.S. Colin: Filaha; p. 901. Ibn Bassal: Libro de agricultura, Jose M.Millas Vallicrosa and Mohammed Azinan eds, Tetuan: instituto Muley al-Hasan, 1953. 55 G.S. Colin: Filaha; op cit, p. 901. 56 T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 237. 57 T. Glick: Islamic; p. 75. 58 T. Glick: Islamic; p. 75. 59 T. Glick: Islamic; p. 75. 60 T. Glick: Islamic; p. 238. 61 T. Glick: Islamic; p. 238. 62 G.S. Colin: Filaha; op cit; p. 901. 63 E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation Arabe; op cit; p. 79. 64 L. A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists and their works; Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956; p. 75.

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information on this subject in his Tabaqat al-Umam (The Classification of Nations) which has been studied by illustrious historians. 65 Al-Zarqali (Arzachel) (1029-1087) was a Spanish Muslim of a family of artisans who entered the services of Qadi Ibn Said of Toledo as a maker of delicate instruments. He lived in Toledo until the city became insecure following Christian attacks. Al-Zarqali prepared the famous Toledan Tables, the original version of which were in Arabic are lost but two Latin versions have survived. Ptolemy's exaggerated estimate of the length of the Mediterranean Sea at 62o were first cut by al-Khwarizmi to 52o then probably by al-Zarqali to the near the correct value of 42o.66 Al-Zarqalis work was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona and was very popular for more than two centuries.67 All subsequent tables for different locations in the Christian West were based on al-Zarqalis measurements such as the tables of Marseilles, and his tables were also adapted to the meridians of London, Paris and Pisa.68 Robert of Chester's work was less a translation than an adaptation of the tables of al-Battani and al-Zarqali for the coordinates of London, 1149.69 Al-Zarqali was also a renowned instrument maker. As Barron Carra de Vaux tells us, he was given the surname ÀlNekkach which means the engraver of metals.70 According to established tradition he was a mechanic and metal craftsman who was very able with his hands.71 It was as an instrument maker that al-Zarqali entered the services of Qadi Ibn Said of Toledo. He was needed to make delicate instruments essential to continue astronomical observations begun in 1060, possibly by Yahia Ibn Abi Mansur.72 First Al-Zarqali built instruments for other scholars, but when they realised his great intellect, they became interested in him. As he told them that he was man of little learning, having never studied any science nor touched a book, they put him to task and made him study and learn,73 putting at his disposal the books he needed to educate himself.74 Two years later, in 1062, he became a member of the group and soon after its director.
75
Al-Zarqali continued to make instruments requested by others
but now began to invent his own and he also began to teach his own masters to the point that they soon began to follow his example.76 He invented and constructed an astrolabe - a safiha - about which he wrote a treatise out of which a whole literature developed.77 A Jew from Montpellier in France translated it into Latin; King Alfonso of Castile made two translations of it into Romance (Spanish) whilst Regiomontanus in the fifteenth century published a collection of problems on the `noble instrument of the safiha.'78 Around 1062 Al-Zarqali constructed the water clocks
E. Teres: Le Development de la Civilisation Arabe; op cit; p. 79. P.K.Hitti: History of the Arabs, MacMillan, London, 1970 ed. p. 571. 67 G. Sarton: Introduction; Vol II, op cit; p.11. 68 J.L. E. Dreyer: Mediaeval astronomy; in Robert M. Palter edt: Toward Modern Science; The Noonday Press; New York; 1961;Vol 1, pp 235-256; p.243. C.H. Haskins: Studies in the history of Mediaeval Science; Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. New York. 1967 ed. p. 98. 69 G. Sarton: Introduction; Vol II, op cit; p.11. 70 Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam; Geuthner, Paris, 1921; vol 2; p. 228. 71 Barron Carra de Vaux; p. 228. 72 J.Vernet: Al-Zarqali: Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; vol 14; p. 592. 73 Barron carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs; op cit; p. 228. 74 J.Vernet: Al-Zarqali; op cit; p. 592. 75 J.Vernet: Al-Zarqali; p. 592. 76 Barron carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs; op cit; p. 228. 77 Baron Carra de Vaux: Astronomy and Mathematics, in The Legacy of Islam; T. Arnold and A. Guillaume Ed; 1931; Oxford; p. 394. 78 Ibid, p. 395.
66
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of Toledo, descriptions of which can be found in Al-Zuhri as conveyed to us in Spanish by Millas Vallicrosa79and partly in English as in the following extract from Thomson:
The clocks consisted of two basins, which filled with water or emptied according to the increasing or waning of the moon. At the moment when the new moon appeared on the horizon, water would begin to flow into the basins by means of subterranean pipes, so that there would be at day-break the fourth of a seventh part, and at the end of the day half a seventh part, of the water required to fill the basins. In this proportion the water would continue to flow until seven days and as many nights of the month had elapsed, by which time both basins would be half filled. The same process during the following seven days and nights would make the two basins quite full, at the same time that the moon was at its full. However, on the fifteenth night of the month, when the moon would begin to wane, the basins would also begin to lose every day and night half a seventh part of their water, until by the twenty-first of the month they would be half empty, and when the moon reached her twenty-ninth night not a drop of water would remain in them. It is worthy of remark that, should anyone go to any of the basins when they were not filled, and poured water into them with a view to quicken its filling, the basins would immediately absorb the additional water and retain no more than the just quantity; and, on the contrary, were anyone to try, when they were nearly filled, to extract any or the whole of their water, the moment the hands are raised, the basins would pour out sufficient water to fill the vacuum in an instant.80
The clocks were in use until 1133 when Ibn Zabara was given permission by Alfonso VII (the new Christian ruler) to see how they worked but he failed to reassemble them after dismantling them. With Al-Zarqali now dead, details of his techniques were lost.81 Ibrahim B.Sa'id al-Wazzan is known to have been a prominent instrument maker working in Valencia and Toledo.82 From 1085 onwards his son Muhammad worked with him. 83 He made at least six astrolabes, one of which he constructed in Toledo in June 1067 and which centuries later became part of the collection of D. Faustino de Borbon before ending up in the Archaelogical Museum of Madrid (there is an electrotype of it in the London Science Museum).84 The following year, he made another astrolabe also in Toledo, which now is in the Lewis Evans Collection in the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford. 85 His four other astrolabes are today scattered in different museums, mostly in Rome at the Museo Astronomico and the Museo Kircheriano. 86 In 1085, with his son, he made a celestial globe with its stand (Kursi) for the Vizier Abu Issa B. Labbun (the minister at the Toledo court mentioned above).87 The globe was formerly in the Belluomini Collection, but is now in the Museo di storia della Scienza in Florence.88 Tracing the works of this remarkable instrument maker and giving him due credit through raising awareness of his achievements is
J.M. Millas-Vallicrosa: Estudios Sobre Azarquiel, Madrid-Grenada, 1943-1950, pp. 6-9. A. Thompson-M.A.Rahim: Islam in Andalus; Ta-Ha Publishers, London 1996; p. 45. 81 C. A. Ronan: The Arabian Science in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the World's Science: Cambridge University press. Newness Books, 1983. pp 201-244; p. 215. 82 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; op cit; p. 50. 83 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; p. 50. 84 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; p. 50. 85 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; p. 51. 86 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; p. 51. 87 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; p. 51. 88 L.A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists; p. 51.
80
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highly necessary. There is a vast but widely scattered bibliography mainly in Spanish that can be researched through. 89 Toledo was the residence of a great number of able architects. Fath B. Ibrahim (Fl. 934; d. 1013) was known as al-Qashari, a scholar, pious man and architect who, although flourishing in the Caliph court of Cordova, was also credited for building two mosques in Toledo. He also restored the fortifications of Makkada and Waqqash.90 His contemporaries were the architects Musa. B. Ali, al-Banna (the constructor) and Saada, who erected the mosque of Bab Mardum* known now as San Cristo de la Luz and is dated from the years 999-1000.91 Jairazbhoy offers an excellent summary of this Toledan edifice.92
Bab Mardum Mosque, Toledo93
Above the triple-doored entrance are interlacing semi-circular arches, followed by a cellular cross hatched band of brick ornament between denticulated mouldings, and a brick inscription still further above which says that the mosque was built for Ahmad Ibn al-Hadid by his architects Musa Ibn Ali and Saada. Over the round horseshoe doors of the lateral faade are larger engaged semi circular arches in rectangular frames, and above the filled in window voids of round horseshoe form with flaming voussoirs, are trefoil arches in relief. A break appears in the brickwork of the apsidal end, in the zoning of the composition, and in the features themselves, for the windows this time are of pointed horseshoe form and are encompassed by multifoil arches in relief. Leaving aside the apse which was a 12th century Mudejar (Muslim under Christian rule) addition, the remaining edifice
See, for instance, J. Millas Vallicrosa: Assaig dhistoria de les idees fisiques I mathematiques a la Catalunya medieval; vol 1; Barcelona; 1931. Casiri: Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Escurialensis. 2vols. Folio. Matriti, 1760. L.A.Sedillot: Memoire sur les instruments astronomique des Arabes, Memoires de lAcademie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres de lInstitut de France 1: 1-229; Reprinted Frankfurt, 1985. 90 L.A. Mayer: Muslim architects and their works; A. Kundig; Geneva; 1956; p. 62. * http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=264 91 L.A. Mayer: Muslim architects and their works;; p. 107. 92 R.A. Jairazbhoy: An Outline of Islamic architecture; Asia Publishing House; Bombay; London; 1972; pp. 89-91. 93 (Source http://www.islamfrance.com/photos_andalousie.html)
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resolves itself into 9 bays, each covered individually by separate vaults. The central vault is carried on four Visigothic columns, and is raised higher than its mates by the addition of an octagonal zone above the mock triforium. The ingenuity and variety of the ribbed vaulting in this mosque is extraordinary, even if the workmanship be somewhat crude. One of the vaults forms a square with the ends of the ribs meeting the centres of the sides of the square bay; one has two pairs of ribs crossing each other axially; another has ribs starting from above squinch arches and forming a cross, while another has lobed tripod squinches with lobed arms of a cross starting from the angles of the inscribed square, others form stars with non-ending intersecting lines, etc. The ribs of the central vault form one star shape with another, and within the centre of the inscribed star rises an octagonal shell. It will be noted that there are three examples of ribs intersecting in the centre; the germ, in fact, of the quadripartite vault that later became standardised in Europe. Following the recapture of Toledo in 1085, this mosque was turned into a cathedral. Other than this mosque, an 11th century horseshoe arcade on Visigothic columns preserved in the Church San Salvador, the Mosque of the Tornerias which is raised on the first storey and utilises ribs in its central vault, and the Puerto Visagra (Bab Shakra), a clean sweep has been made of the pre-reconquest buildings of Muslim Toledo.94
All the great names of Toledo and of Muslim sciences who have significantly influenced the rise of modern science and civilisation, as just seen, correspond precisely to this Berber phase of the Banu Dhi Nun rule. Yet, as in the overwhelmingly dire recording of Islamic history where the Seljuks, Mamluks and Ottomans are falsely accused of being fanatical hordes who destroyed civilisation, likewise the same terrible verdict is delivered on the Berbers. This issue is detailed under the entry on Seville. But briefly here, one quotes Renan, the French 19th century `scholar:
`Here, is according to me the most curious lesson which results from this whole history. The Arab philosophy offers the example, more or less unique of a very high culture suppressed nearly instantly without leaving any traces, and forgotten by the people who have created it. Islamism unravelled in this circumstance what was irremediably narrow in its genius. Christianity, too, had been little favourable to the development of positive science. It had managed to stop in Spain and hinder it in Italy; but did not suffocate it, and even the prominent branches of the Christian family had ended up reconciling themselves with it. Incapable to transform itself, and to admit any element of civilian and profane life, Islam tore out of its bosom every germ of rational culture. This fatal tendency was fought whilst Islam was in the hands of the Arabs, a refined and highly spiritual race, and the Persians, a race that leans strongly towards speculation; but it could not rule since the barbarians (Turks, Berbers etc...) took over the lead of Islam. The Islamic world then entered in a period of ignorant brutality, from which it emerged only to fall into the mournful agony in which it is struggling at present.95
Somehow just as Renan, Le Bon says:
`The Arab race was very delicate and very indulgent, and never departed from a tolerant spirit. However, when in the thirteenth century, the Arabs disappeared from the scene, and power fell in the hands of Turks and Berbers: `heavy races, `brutal and `brainless, intolerance began to rule
94 95
R.A. Jairazbhoy: An Outline of Islamic architecture; pp. 88-91. E. Renan: Averroes et l'Averroisme, 4th edition, Calman Levy, 1882. p. iii.

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amongst the Muslims. It is not doctrines that are intolerant, but men from amongst those entities just citedIntolerance is the mark of the ìnferior races: Turks and Berbers. 96
For Wiet and his group:
`We may date the apogee of the Moslem world in the tenth century, when Arab control of the Mediterranean and its environs was at its height. But already its future decomposition was heralded by the opposition between three rival caliphates. In the eleventh century the Moslem world was subjected to major invasions, those of the Berbers and especially of the Turks. 97
Yet, whilst these Western authors and others with similar views (especially the likes of Le Bon, Lane Poole, Monroe etc) are at least competent and do provide many good and positive facts in relation to the history of Islam even if they do state facts this author contests, modern historians are much less generous towards Islam (one here avoids using strong words in depicting the latter out of respect for this site). Here, indeed, is the new history of Spain according to one such modern historian: Fletcher who attacked Anthony Burgess of the newspaper daily The Independent who on 21 August 1991 wrote and praised the beauty, tolerance and learning of Muslim Spain. In response, Fletcher asks:
`Learning? Outside the tiny circles of the princely courts, not a great deal of it could be seen. Good order? Among the feuding Berber tribesmen? 98
Instead, Fletcher narrates that favourable images of Muslim Spain are due to:
`The nostalgia of Maghribi writers, reinforced by the romantic vision of the nineteenth century. This could be flavoured by a dash of Protestant prejudice from the Anglo Saxon world: it can be detected in Lane Pooles reference to the Inquisition. A powerful mixture!99
Had Fletcher, just like the rest amongst the hordes of modern `historians, paid more attention to the facts, they would have realised how false some of their assertions are. As the previous heading shows and as will be illustrated further on, the rise of modern science and civilisation precisely dates and comes from the `fanatic Berber period and it is precisely from the libraries and manuscripts left by these very Berbers that the Western translators acquired all books of science and learning which were to lead to the West coming out of the dark ages. Whilst we are on the point of decadence in the Islamic civilisation, it is neither the Berbers nor Islam which caused its decline but the destruction of Islamic civilisation is the work of the ancestors of those who today sit and with determination pour their invective on Islam and its defenders. And this is shown in the following with focus placed on the city of Toledo.
The Loss of Toledo and the Beginning of the End of Muslim Power and Civilisation
96 97
G. Le Bon: La civilization des Arabes; Cyracuse; 1884; pp. 447; 453. G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Trsltd from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975. p.7, 98 R. Fletcher: Moorish Spain; Phoenix; London; 1992. p.172. 99 R. Fletcher: Moorish Spain; p.172-3.

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We briefly return to the history of Spain under Islam. The Muslim entered and conquered Spain in 711. The country was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty until 976 CE. Then Ibn Abi Amir al-Mansur rose to power. He was one of the greatest and most able rulers of Islamand died in 1002. At his death, his son was too inept in comparison to his father and after six years his rule collapsed. What followed was the break of the Peninsula into thirty or so independent kingdoms: the Reyes of the Taifas. Toledo became the capital of an independent kingdom of the Banu Dhi Nun who were nobles of Berber origin.100 They were able rulers, especially Al-Mamun who in 1044 came to power and ruled an expanding kingdom until 1075. Whilst AlMamuns reign is marked with great successes and growth of the kingdom, that of his successor and grandson, Al-Kadir, was comparatively disastrous. 101 The incapacity of this prince brought a period of decadence which culminated in his making an alliance with the Christian King of Castile and Leon, Alfonso VI.102 The latter demanded payment of tribute from the Muslim ruler, a payment which grew larger and larger until Al-Kadir was forced to impose unbearable taxes on his subjects and put to death those who rebelled against it. 103 The Christian ruler, Alfonso then entered the kingdom and seized power supposedly for the benefit of his troubled Muslim ally (Al-Kadir) but, in truth, it was a result of self-interest and so in 1085, Toledo passed under Christian hands. The fall of Toledo was to have dramatic effects on Islam, its power and civilisation. But first it raised some far reaching questions on the causes of Muslim weakness. In various poems of the period the blame fell both on the rulers, for their indolence and preoccupations with their own pleasures, and on the Muslim community which had lost touch with the practices of its faith.104 Ibn Bassam quotes a verse describing the Andalusian rulers:
`Their minds were occupied with wine and song, and listening to music.105
Ibn Hazm was even sharper in his denunciation of the Taifa kings:
`By God, I swear that if the tyrants were to learn that they could attain their ends more easily by adopting the religion of the Cross, they would certainly hasten to profess it! Indeed, we see that they ask the Christians for help and allow them to take away Muslim men, women and children as captives to their lands. Frequently they protect them in their attacks against the most inviolable land, and ally themselves with them in order to gain security.106
Abul Kassim B. Faraj al-Ibiri, writing some time later, also pours vindictive words on these rulers, whose betrayal was to take a more substantial form after the fall of Toledo with dramatically significant effect in the loss of Muslim Spain and eventually, centuries down the line, the extermination of millions of Muslims there. Hence, he composes:
`Call the kings and say to them, What have you brought about?
E.L. Provencal: Toledo; op cit; p. 811. E.L. Provencal: Toledo; p. 811. 102 E.L. Provencal: Toledo; p. 811. 103 E.L. Provencal: Toledo; p. 811. 104 C. Melville and A. Ubaydli: Christians and Moors in Spain; vol 3; Arabic sources; Aris and Phillips Ltd; Warminster; UK; 1992; p. 90. 105 Ibn Bassam: Dhakhir; I; part ii; p. 430 in D. Wasserstein: The Rise and Fall of the Party Kings; Princeton University Press; 1985; p. 280. 106 Quoted by MacKay: Spain in the Middle Ages; 27 from M. Asin Palacios: Un Codice inexplorado del cordobes Ibn Hazm;
101 100

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You have handed over Islam into enemy captivity And (yourselves) remained seated (and inactive) We should rise up against you Since you have given support to the Christians You take no account of the breaking of the bonds of community of the Prophet.107
The Taifa rulers were not alone in being attacked in this way. The Muslims as a whole were also blamed for their laxity and falling away from the ideals of Islam. In a poem mourning the fall of Toledo to Christendom, an anonymous poet says:
Ìf we say, punishment has reached them, and rejection by God has come to them, Then we, too, like them, and more than they, Deviate (from religion), and can one who deviates be safe? Can we be sure that vengeance will not fall upon us, When corruption has combined with licence amongst us? The Veil is stripped from a people whenever Free rein is given to disobedience.108
This had the greatest impact upon the Christians there, and much else besides. The Christian capture of Toledo in 1085 was of much anguish as demonstrated by the cry of al-Assal, an ascetic figure of Toledo:
109
who now realised they could wrest Spain from the
Muslims. It had also the greatest impact on the Muslims for it began to signal the end of their presence
Òh people of al-Andalus, urge on your mounts Stay here only by mistake. Clothing frays from the edges, but I see the clothing of the Peninsula Coming apart in the middle. We are caught up with an enemy who will not leave us alone How can one live in a basket together with snakes?110
Another poet said:
Ò people of al-Andalus, return what you have borrowed; it is not customary to borrow without giving back Do you not see the pawn of the unbelievers has become a queen, while our king is checkmated on the last square?111
Al Andalus; 2; 1934; p. 42; in D. Wassestein; p. 280.
107 108
Ibn Bassam: Dhakhira; I; part ii; p. 374; in D. Wasserstein; p. 280. Anonymous quoted by Al-Maqqari: Analectes; ii; p. 778 in D. Wasserstein; p. 281.; 109 E.L. Provencal: Toledo; p. 811. 110 Ibn al-Assal al-Yahsubi in C. Melville and A. Ubaydli: Christians and Moors in Spain; vol 3; Arabic sources; Aris and Phillips Ltd; Warminster; UK; 1992; p. 91; also from D. Wasserstein: The Rise and Fall of the Party Kings; Princeton University Press; 1985; p. 279.

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Little was this poet like the rest far from realising the dangers. The loss of Toledo had devastating effects on both the scholarship of the city and eventually on the whole history of Spain. At the fall of the city, Muslim scholars took flight in their droves or were simply murdered by the Christian invaders. Al-Zarqali was one who fled. Ibn al-Wafid also escaped as did Ibn Bassal who as previously mentioned ran to Seville to the court of Al-Mutamid.112 Ibn Bassam describes how the incessant invasions of the Christians forced him to run away from Santarem in Portugal - `the last of the cities of the West - after seeing his lands ravaged and his wealth destroyed; he was a ruined man with no possessions save his battered sword.113 Many scholars such as Abu Salt of Denia and Abu Behr al-Tortuchi of Tortosa left Spain altogether to take refuge in Egypt.
114
Others were still more unfortunate, like the poet Ibn Wahbun who was murdered by Christian raiders on
the road from Lorca to Murcia in 1087.115 During the siege of the city, the central figures of Toledo left and never returned. They left for Cordova, Seville, Grenada and even crossed the Mediterranean to reach Ceuta and Fes in Morocco.116 In the biographic repertories there are many people of Toledo who spread all over the Muslim world but principally on the western side of the land of Islam and their names, all of them, were followed by al-Taytuli (The Toledan).117 Once Toledo became Christian, the main mosque was turned into a cathedral, the spoken and written Arabic language continued to be employed by the Mudejars (Muslims under Christian rule), Mozarabs (Christians under Muslim rule) and their descendants especially during the period of the school of translation (see next heading) but with time, the Arabic language in Toledo irremediably disappeared.118 In spite of the victories which the Almoravid ruler Yusuf Ibn Tashfin and subsequently the Almohads won in the Iberian Peninsula, Toledo never again passed into Muslim hands although its recapture remained one of the objectives of their armies for a century. 119 It was twice besieged by the Muslims but without success.120 Gradually in fact, following Muslim losses, the Muslim territories, day after day, became further and further away from Toledo.121 As Teres said:
`that the Eagle of al-Andalus now threatened the Muslims ever more. I said the Eagle of AlAndalus, because, we Spaniards, where we see the skin of a bull, this land, once was imagined as an eagle. It was Ali B. Tashfin, Emir of the Muslims, Prince of the Almoravids, who imagined it thus. He used to say that the belly of the eagle was at Calatrava, its head at Jaen, its beak at Grenada, its right wing stretched to the West, its left wing stretched to the Orient, and its claws were upon Toledo.122
111 112
Anonymous in C. Melville and A. Ubaydli: Christians and Moors in Spain; p. 91. G.S. Colin: Filaha; op cit; p. 901: 113 C. Dawson: Medieval Essays: Sheed and Ward: London; 1953; p. 129. 114 C. Dawson: Medieval Essays; p. 129. 115 C. Dawson: Medieval Essays: p. 129. 116 E. Teres: Le Development; op cit; p. 84. 117 E. Teres: Le Development; op cit; p. 84. 118 E. Teres: Le Development; op cit; p. 85. 119 E.L. Provencal: Toledo; op cit; p. 811. 120 E.L. Provencal: Toledo; p. 811. 121 E. Teres: Le Development; op cit; p. 85. 122 E. Teres: Le Development; p. 86.

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With the loss of Toledo, the eagle lost its claw and soon, the whole eagle was slain by the Christian advance. After Toledo fell, the Christians began to swallow the Muslim principalities of the Taifa rulers one after the other. Realising the danger, the Taifa rulers appealed to the mighty Moroccan Almoravids to save them. The Almoravids, who had just established their rule in Morocco, responded. In 1086, the Almoravid Berber armies, manoeuvring en masse to the sound of drums, inflicted on the Christian knights a shattering defeat at Sagrajas near Bajadoz.123 Ibn Tashfin was then prompted by local Spanish Muslim rulers to withdraw now that the Christian danger had abated. But falling under renewed Christian threats the Muslim princes called upon Ibn Tashfin again and he returned to the Peninsula in 1088 and also in 1090. On the final occasion, he decided govern the country by himself, removing all princes and putting Muslim Spain under Almoravid control. After an initial reassertion of Muslim power over the Peninsula, at the death of Ibn Tashfin his successors resorted to the same petty squabbling, civil wars and luxuries of the Harem just as their predecessors had done. Ali, Ibn Tashfins son, was raised in the indolent, poetry-saturated surrounding of urban Andalusia.124 He was also very much under the influence of his wife, Qamar - a former captive of Christian origin;125 she exerted such influence that in his latter years the country was virtually ruled from the Harem.126 The Almoravids, who were at first welcomed by the common people, now behaved with the same flamboyant libertinism of their predecessors127And as moral decadence set in, so their fortunes declined on the field of battle.128 Hence, once more, the Christian threat rose and once more, the Moroccan Berbers intervened - this time with the Almohads under their mighty ruler, Yaqub ibn Yusuf (1184-1199), who like the famous Ibn Abi-Abi Àmir was to take the honorific title of Al-Mansur (The Victorious).129 On 18th July 1196, he inflicted a crushing defeat on Alfonso VIII of Castile at Alarcos with the Christian army being virtually exterminated.130 Following the death of Yaqub al-Mansurhis successors again fell back into the same vain, corrupt life and indulgences. Civil wars followed and the Christian advance resumed. Muslim Spain was then under Al-Nasir, a ruler who cared neither for science nor for religion, and he neglected his governing responsibilities and focused on pleasure.131 His harem contained nearly seven thousand females.132 At the very decisive battle of Navas de Tolosa in 1212, Al-Nasirs much superior Muslim army was crushed and in the wake of the battle, 70 000 Muslim prisoners were slaughtered at the order of the Bishops of Toledo and Narbonne who were at the scene.133 The battle of Navas de las Tolosa, where the Muslim armies were wiped out, is one of the greatest Muslim military defeats in history and resulted in heavy consequences. 134 With Almohad control effectively gone by 1223, James the Conqueror of Aragon-Catalonia raided the Valencian border in 1225, seized the island of Majorca in 1229 and the Valencian lands in 1232-1245 and tightened control during subsequent G. Wiet et al: History of mankind; Vol III: The Great Medieval Civilisations. Part Two: section two; Part three; Translated from the French. George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975; p.269. 124 S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia of Arabic civilization; The Arab West; Djambatan; Amsterdam; 1966; p. 81. 125 S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia; p. 81. 126 J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974. p.147. 127 J. Read: The Moors; op cit;.p.147. 128 J. Read: The Moors; op cit.p.150. 129 J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; op cit.165. 130 John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. p.190. 131 W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p.314. 132 S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; in three volumes; The J.B. Lippincott Company; Philadelphia; 1904. vol 3; p. 643. 133 T.B. Irving: Dates, Names and Places: The end of Islamic Spain; in Revue d'Histoire Maghrebine; No 61-62; 1991; pp 77-93; at p. 81. 134 E.L. Provencal: Toledo; op cit; p. 811.
123

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campaigns.135 Meanwhile the kingdom of Castile-Leon, under Ferdinand III and his son Alfonso X the Learned, took Cordoba (1236), Jaen (1246), Seville (1248), Murcia (1243-1244 provisionally, 1266 definitively) and Cadiz (1262). While James intruded into Algerian-Tunisian affairs, Alfonso raided Moroccan Sala thus inaugurating the African penetration that El Cid had envisioned.136 This invasion was resumed in the late 15th and early 16th century and the Spaniards and Portuguese, the two greatest powers of the time, threatened to wipe out the whole Islamic presence in North Africa, advancing and occupying one Muslim city after the other: Melila (1497); Mers el-Kebir (1505); Wahran/Oran (1509) and, in 1510, Bejaia and Tripoli.137 The Tunisian and Algerian Sheikhs invited the Ottomans to intervene138 and so beginning in 1516, the Christian advance was checked and Muslim North Africa was saved. Arooj recaptured Algiers from the Spaniards.139 Bejaia was retaken from the Spaniards in 1555 by Salah Reis, Beylerbey of Algiers whilst Tripoli was recovered in 1551 by Sinan Pasha and Turgut. North Africa was safe in Muslim hands, but in Spain, gradually and finally in 1609-10, the whole Muslim population was wiped out.140 The loss of Toledo, thus, marked the beginning of the end of Muslim Spain. Oddly enough, it also marked the emergence of Western Christendom out of its relatively dark period.
The Loss of Toledo and the Beginning of Western Revival

The Muslims loss was Western Christians gain and not just in territory and riches, but above all in intellectual and scientific endeavours. Toledo was the city which gave rise to modern Western science and civilisation more than any other place in the world and in history. First, to appreciate what the Muslims left to the West through Toledo, we must return to the formers state before it discovered Islamic learning. Only the shortest outline is necessary to appreciate the impact the introduction of Islamic science had on the West. Draper thus tells us:
`When Europe was hardly more enlightened than Caffraria is now, the Saracens were cultivating and even creating science. Their triumphs in philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, medicine, proved to be more glorious, more durable, and therefore more important than their military actions had been.141
When the Muslims entered Spain in the early 8th century, in the Spanish Asturias, according to Scott, the local Christian inhabitants lived in
R.I. Burns: Spain; In the Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980 fwd. vol 11; pp. 374-83; at p. 378. 136 R.I. Burns: Spain; p. 378. 137 A C. Hess: The Forgotten Frontier; The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1978.p.42. 138 G. Fisher: The Barbary legend; Oxford; 1957 p. 36. 139 J. Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; op cit; p.262. 140 See: H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; Burt Franklin; New York; 1968 reprint. Rodrigo de Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme d'etat; Edt Les Voies du Sud; Paris, 1992.. 141 J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe; George Bell and Sons; 1875; Vol I; p. 412.
135

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`rude hovels constructed of stones and unhewn timber, thatched with straw, floored with rushes and provided with a hole in the roof to enable the smoke to escape; their walls and ceilings were smeared with soot and grease, and every corner reeked with filth and swarmed with vermin.142
The pre-Islamic inhabitants, Scott pursues, were ìn appearance and intelligence, scarcely removed from the condition of savages. They wore sheepskins and hides of wild beasts, which would remain in one family for many generations and `the salutary habit of ablution was never practised by them. Their garments were
never cleansed, and were worn as long as their tattered fragments held together.143
Throughout Western Christendom, the few blessed with the capacity to read were ecclesiastics, they were the rare souls lost in wide stretches or rural ignorance.144 Haskins writes that the monasteries were,
ìslands in a sea of ignorance and barbarism, saving learning from extinction in Western Europe at a time when no other forces worked strongly to that end.145
This, at the time, Campbell writes, when the Caliphs of Baghdad and Cordova endowed and fostered education among their subjects (both Muslims and non-Muslims) to such an extent that in the latter city every boy and girl of twelve was able to read and write.146 The following account by Scott highlights perfectly the contrast that once stood between Islamic civilisation and Western Christendom, and how Islam subsequently shaped the Christian West. Despite its excessive length, it is worth reproducing so as to capture the overall picture. Thus Scott narrates:
Ùnder the conditions of intellectual culture which characterized Moslem and Christian society even a greater inequality prevailed... In the thirteenth century, when Baghdad was sacked by the Mongols, the books cast into the Tigris completely covered its surface, and their ink dyed its waters black, while a far greater number were destroyed by fire; the public collections of the Moorish khalifate of Spain were seventy in number, and the great library of A1-Hakem II alone included six hundred thousand volumes. The collections of many private individuals were proportionately large. In that of Ibn-al-Mathran, the physician of Saladin, were ten thousand manuscripts; upon the shelves of Dunasch- Ben- Tamin, the great Jewish surgeon of Cairo, were more than twenty thousand. Four centuries afterwards few books existed in Christian Europe excepting those preserved in monasteries; the royal library of France consisted of nine hundred volumes, two-thirds of which were theological works; their subjects were limited to pious homilies, the miracles of saints, the duties of obedience to ecclesiastical superiors, their sole merit consisted in the elegance of their choreography and the beauty of their illuminations. During the Hispano-Arab domination it was difficult to encounter even a Moorish peasant who could not read and write; during the same period in Europe many great personages could not boast these accomplishments. From the ninth to the thirteenth century the Spanish-Arabs possessed an educational system not inferior to the most improved ones of modern times; they taught astronomy from globes and
142 143
S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire in Europe; op cit; vol 1; p.339. S.P. Scott: History; op cit; Vol 1; p.339. 144 C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance of the twelfth Century, Harvard University Press, 1927: 32-4. 145 C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance: 32-4. 146 D.Campbell: Arabian medicine, and its influence on the Middle Ages; Philo Press; Amsterdam; 1926; reprinted 1974:pp.xiii-xiv:

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planispheres; they measured the circumference of the earth; they observed the motions of the planets, they calculated the density of the atmosphere; they were familiar with the natural and artificial conditions under which vapours and gases are generated. For the European of that epoch there were no schools, for popular learning was discountenanced as conducive to heresy; education was confined to the cloister; the stars were but celestial lamps, whose only office was the nocturnal illumination of the earth; the latter was flat, and above it rose, in regular gradation, the seven regions of heaven; the ebullition and the explosion of gases were attributed to demoniac influence and to the agency of mischievous imps and goblins. Five centuries after the Moorish physicians of Spain had treated disease by the rational principles of medicine, surgery, and hygiene, Europe still adhered to the archaic conceptions of barbaric ignorance; to the belief that all illness was a manifestation of divine displeasure; to the possession by evil spirits; to the delusive expedients of priestly artifice,the exhibition of relics, the muttering of texts, the performance of exorcisms. Six hundred years after the celebrated astronomer, Ibn-Yuniswho constructed the Hakemite Table, advanced proofs of the eccentricity of the earth's orbit, and utilized the pendulum for the purposes of chronometry was honoured and awarded with the friendship of the Khalif of Egypt, Galileo, in the degrading robe of the penitent, horrible with painted flames and devils, was forced, kneeling before the familiars of the Holy Office, to abjure, as dangerous heresies, the scientific truths he had subjected to mathematical and ocular demonstration,the grand discoveries which have made his name immortal; and Bruno was sent to the stake for admitting the philosophical doctrine of the allpervading Divine Essence, for teaching the heresy of a plurality of worlds, and for insisting that the earth revolved on its axis and round the sun. Seven hundred years after universal toleration was enforced throughout the domain of the Umayyad Caliphate, where even the populace had learned to respect the weaknesses of senile eccentricity, and the belief in demoniacal possession had been contemptuously abandoned to the most-ignorant of the provincial rabble, the Duke of York was subjecting the unhappy Covenanters of Scotland to promiscuous massacre and to the excruciating torture of the boot, and Cotton Mather was burning witches on Salem Common. More than twenty generations had elapsed since the Arab geographer was first regarded by his country-men as a public benefactor, by his king 'as worthy of the highest honours that royalty can bestow, by the learned with the respect attaching to the possessor' of unusual attainments; when Calvin tortured Servetus at Geneva for publishing the unscriptural assertion that Palestine, so far from being a land flowing with milk and honey; was, in fact, a barren waste of volcanic desolation, Servetus, the great anatomist, who came within a hair's-breadth of anticipating Harvey in his discovery of the circulation of the blood. From time immemorial among unenlightened races insanity has been attributed to the influence of malignant spirits, who could only be expelled by the un-sparing use of the scourge or by the intervention of the priest. The Arabs were the first of nations to discard this idea, to use kindness and the administration of remedies m the treatment of the demented, and to establish asylums. These conditions disclose the comparative value of two great politico-religious systems, both claiming divine authority, each uniting in its head the functions of Church and State,one the exponent and zealous promoter of every scientific impulse, the other the everconsistent representative of intellectual repression. The influence of Moslem genius is felt today in the numerous inventions, the insatiable thirst for knowledge, the marvellous development of art, science, and letters which have made the closing years of the nineteenth century ever memorable in the annals of civilization. Apparently extinguished by the noxious vapours of superstition that had darkened the Christian world for so many ages, the vital spark of learning still remained, which, rekindled in an epoch more propitious-to mental culture, was destined to advance in an even more

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marked degree the material interests, as well as the most noble aspirations, of mankind. The law of human progress even under the ' most unfavourable conditions is constant, invariable, eternal; Its manifestations differ only in the degree of their advancement. The latter may be checked but its retardation is only temporary. The ground lost by scientific truth in one century it will surely make up in the next, and, despite the hostile agencies which may conspire for its suppression, it is destined eventually to triumph. The consideration of Arabic intellectual life, and especially of its culmination in the Spanish Peninsula, the astonishing energy, curiosity, and perseverance that characterized every stage of its development from its very origin to its extinction, the phenomenal rapidity of its advance, the superhuman greatness of its deeds, suggest the infinite possibilities to which its revival may ultimately give rise as affecting the destiny of nations.147
Islams impact stretches to all forms and manners of civilisation, a contrast, here, kept as brief as can be feasible. Thus, when medieval Muslim cities thrived with beautiful houses, gardens and baths, medieval Muslim visitors to Christian towns complained as Christian visitors to Muslim towns do now of the filth and smell of the "infidel cities."148 At Cambridge, now so beautiful and clean, sewage and offal ran along open gutters in the streets, and "gave out an abominable stench, so . . . that many masters and scholars fell sick thereof."149 In the thirteenth century some cities had aqueducts, sewers and public latrines; in most cities rain was relied upon to carry away refuse; the pollution of wells made typhoid cases numerous; the water used for baking and brewing was usually north of the Alps drawn from the same streams that received the sewage of the towns. 150 The 11th century Spanish Muslim Said al-Andalusi, in his book The Categories of Nations which singles out the people who had cultivated the sciences, finds no place for Western Christendom.151 It was Islam, which, in the expression of Lombard: `dragged Western Christendom out of its `barbarian night.152 It was Islam which promoted trade and culture and which dragged the West into àn astonishing progress and the re-launching of its civilisation. 153 An opinion also adhered to by Smith:
`The dark ages of Europe would have been doubly, nay trebly dark; for the Arabs who alone by their arts and sciences, by their agriculture, their philosophy, and their virtues, shone out amidst the universal gloom of ignorance and crime, who gave to Spain and to Europe an Averroes and an Avicenna, the Alhambra and the Al-Kazar.. It was the Arabs who developed the sciences of agriculture and astronomy, and created those of Algebra and chemistry; who adorned their cities with colleges and libraries, as well as with mosques and palaces; who supplied Europe with a school of philosophers from Cordova, and a school of physicians from Salerno.154
S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; pp. 522-5. Munro and Sellery; p. 266 in W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 1003. 149 In Coulton: Panorama; 304 in W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 1003. 150 Jackson: Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture; I; p. 142. Barnes: Economic History; p. 165 in W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 1003. 151 P. Benoit and F. Micheau: The Arab intermediary: in A history of Scientific Thought; M. Serres editor; Blackwell, 1995; pp 191221; p. 202. 152 M. Lombard: at http://www.archipress.org/batin/ts20lombard.htm. 153 Ibid. 154 R.B. Smith: Mohammed and Mohammedanism; London; Smith Elder; 1876 pp. 125-6; and 217.
148
147

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The discovery of Islamic learning, Levey points out, did not just arrive at a time when the movement of ideas was àt a relative standstill but also with a new outlook, a sense of enquiry into the old to the point `where Western Europe could take over this thoroughly examined knowledge and endow its ripeness with a completely fresh approach of its own.155 The Western appropriation of Islamic science to build Western civilisation is one of the matters which most Western history is very much at unease with and which many Western historians and opinion makers seek to remove or distort.
`The debt of Europe to the `heathen dog' could, of course, find no place in the scheme of Christian history, and the garbled falsification has imposed itself on all subsequent conceptions, says Briffault. 156 `The history of the rebirth of Europe from barbarism, he adds, ìs constantly being written without any reference whatsoever, except to mention `the triumphs of the Cross over the Crescent,' and `the reclamation of Spain from the Moorish yoke',' to the influence of Arab civilisation - the history of the Prince of Denmark without Hamlet. 157
Draper tells of:
`the systematic manner in which the literature of Europe has contrived to put out of sight our scientific obligations to the Muhammadans 158
Indeed, had Western history accepted the Islamic role in the rise of the West, it would be harder to justify the past occupation and colonisation of Muslim lands and todays daily onslaught on the `fanaticism and barbarism of Islam. Yet, it is Islam which dragged the West into light and Toledo played one of the most central roles. The Western twelfth century Renaissance dates precisely from the entry of the West into contact with Islamic learning, and translations of the scientific lore in that city of Toledo. The activity of the twelfth century was so intense that it has been possible to speak of "the Renaissance of the twelfth century" (C. H. Haskins), and the beginnings of European science and culture in the thirteenth century so striking that a Catholic enthusiast (J. J. Walsh) did not hesitate to call the thirteenth century "the greatest of centuries." 159 Sarton, for his part, holds:
Ì have shown in volume 1 that almost every age is a renascence in some respect, and so is every age a "middle age." Is it not the offspring of the preceding age and the begetter of the following? If one looks at it from the proper angle, each age is a compromise between the past and the future. However if the term Middle Ages had not already a definite meaning, or rather too many confusing meanings, it would be very tempting indeed to apply it to that period of one and a half centuries extending from about 1100 to about 1250.. Indeed I can think of no other period during which the transitional elements were more conspicuous, and the compromise on a greater scale and more
155 156
M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology, Leiden, E.J. Brill,, 1973, p. 71. R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1928, p., 189. 157 R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, p., 189. 158 J.W. Draper: A History; op cit; Vol 2; p. 42. 159 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 2.

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pregnant. It involved nothing less than a conflict between the three main civilizations of the Mediterranean world, itself a phase and the major onein the immemorial conflict between East and West. We now know that the outcome was the triumph of the West, triumph which has never been reversed since but has increased as time went bybut this was far from obvious in the days of the Crusades. However when we speak of a western triumph, we must not think of it as if eastern ideals had been then and there superseded by western ones. The western victory consisted rather in an assimilation of the East by the West The transfer of all these elements and their assimilation and elaboration took place in a number of ways, but toward the end of the thirteenth century most of them finally emerged under a Latin label. Thus the Western victory did not imply for mankind a change of purpose or direction, but simply a change in leadership. The twelfth century (or more generally the period 1100-1250) was a period of transition and compromise as defined above; it was also a period of absorption and fusion. It is then that the conflicting cultures were brought most closely together, especially the Christian and Muslim, and that their interpenetration constituted the solid core of the new Europe. From this point of view, the twelfth century might be called a Renaissance, and a tremendous Renaissance it was. Needless to say the fusion remained incomplete. Even soand much more sowhen civilizations meet and coalesce, the fusion extends only to the parts which are assimilable, and these are far smaller than the others. Hence the conflict between East and West was not by any means solved in the twelfth century, but simply transformed. The achievement was nevertheless immense.160
This is not the place to dwell on all the aspects Toledo influenced Western culture, such as in architecture, but only sum up some of its scientific impacts. Beginning first with its direct impact on some sciences such as astronomy. From the days of Maslama (Al-Majriti) and Al-Zarkali (both 11th century) to the days of Alfonso the Wise (13th century), the meridian of Toledo was long the standard of computation for the West.161 The tables for the meridian of Toledo by both Muslim authors were adapted to various European places. This was done by Raymond of Marseilles in Marseilles; Walcher of Malvern in England; Roger of Hereford who adapted the astronomical tables that existed for Toledo and Marseilles to the meridian of the city of Hereford using the Christian calendar `because the years of the Arabs and their months are difficult to our people who are not accustomed to them.'.162 The construction of astronomical tables implied trigonometrical theories and computations which were generally explained in the introductory chapters to these tables.163 This was the case, for example, for the Toledan Tables computed by Al-Zarqali and others in the second half of the eleventh century. Al-Zarqali gave an account of the trigonometrical knowledge of his time and of the means of constructing his tables. His work was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona and was very popular for more than two centuries.164 The transmission of the numerals bears a strong Toledan stamp. In Toledo, al-Khwarizmi's book was translated into Latin, and the beginning of "algorithm" is derived from al-Khwarizmi's name).165 The numerals themselves became so strongly identified with the translation movement centred in Toledo that they were known in Europe as Toletan numbers / Toletane figures. The presence or absence of the zero in
160 161
G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 2. C.H. Haskins: Studies in the history of Mediaeval Science; Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. New York. 1967 ed. P. 18. 162 D. Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby in Medieval England, Yale University press, 1977; p.38. 163 G. Sarton: Introduction; Vol II, op cit; p.11. 164 G. Sarton: Introduction; Vol II, op cit; p.11. 165 T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 269.

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medieval manuscripts is the strongest indication of whether or not the place-value concept was known. 166 The term "zero" itself comes from Arabic sifr ("void"). Sifr was Latinized as zephirum and then, since among Castilian speakers f was confused with h and was often lost, zephirum gave rise to zero. Through a parallel transmission, sifr gives Spanish cifra, English "cipher" and so forth.167 It is, however, the 12th century massive translations from Arabic carried in Toledo which triggered the biggest awakening of modern science in history. Following the recapture of the city from the Muslims in 1085 and the failure by the Muslims to recapture Toledo, in the view of Burkhardt, this was
`to affect the intellectual life of the entire Roman Christian world, for the acquisition of Toledo had brought with it an undisturbed centre of Islamic culture, complete with its scholars, artists, and libraries under Christian rule.168 This gave rise to a regular school for the translation of science which drew from all lands those who `thirsted for knowledge.169 `The influx into Spain of translators from Italy, Germany, England and elsewhere, there to seize on the wondrous secrets of the world of thought.170
The penetration into its `treasure chests' of learning brought about the excited discovery that it was, indeed, the Muslims who were the true representatives of classical knowledge and `the giants on whose shoulders Latin science and philosophy had to be placed.
171
Amongst those who had flocked to Toledo
were Robert of Chester, Gerard of Cremona, Plato of Tivoli, Daniel of Morley and many more who now laboured incessantly to acquire Islamic learning.172 Daniel of Morley, for instance, who fled in horror from England and Paris and hastened to hear `wiser philosophers of the universe' at Toledo where `the teaching of the Arabs was greatly famous in those days.'173 Translators were from all over the Christian West. Many of course were Spaniards: John of Seville, Hugh of Santalla and those working under the patronage of King Alfonso; another named Hermann, hailed from Dalmatia; two came from Flanders, Rudolph of Bruges and Henry Bate; many from southern France: Armengaud son of Blaise, Jacob Anatoli, Moses ib Tibbon, Jacob ben Mahir; from Italy: Plato of Tivoli, Gerard of Cremona, Aristippus of Catania, Salio of Padua, John of Brescia.174 In his voluminous Introduction to the History of Science, Sarton provides, by far, the most comprehensive analysis of the translations from Arabic into Latin that took place in the city of Toledo, above all.175 It is countless chapters, and nearly a hundred pages, which he devotes to the issue, which is even impossible to outline adequately here in view of the lack of space in this article. Thus, the shortest of summaries is provided, and readers interested in the matter are sent to the work in question. Thus, Sarton begins by listing the main translators, first amongst them:
166 167
T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 269. T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 269. 168 T. Burckhardt: Moorish Culture in Spain, George Allen & Unwin, London; 1972. p 161. 169 V. Rose: `Ptolemaus und die Schule von Toledo' in Hermes, viii. 327; (1874); in C.H. Haskins: Studies, op cit, p. 12. 170 G. Wiet et al: History; op cit; p.465. 171 D. Metlitzki: The Matter; op cit; p.6. 172 V. Rose: Ptolemaus und die Schule von Toledo; op cit, p. 12. 173 See: Daniel of Morleys praise to the Bishop of Oxford, in C. Burnett: The Introduction of Arabic Learning into England; The Panizzi Lectures, 1996; The British Library; 1997. pp 61-2. 174 G. Sarton: Introduction; Vol II, op cit; p.6 175 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; pp. 125-130; then chapters on the translators: pp. 167-81; then pp. 338-fwd..

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`the Englishman, Adelard of Bath, who translated in 1126 the astronomical tables of al-Khwarizmi, as revised by Maslama ibn Ahmad al-Majriti of Madrid, and probably the Liber ysagogarum Alchorismi , the mathematical treatise of the same al-Khwarizmi. The tables introduced Muslim trigonometry, chiefly the use of the sine and tangent functions, into the West. A large number of other Muslim mathematical works were published in Latin during this period, because it happened that the most active translator, John of Seville, was especially interested in the mathematical sciences. He translated various treatises by Mashallah, Abu Ma'shar, al-Kindi, 'Umar ibn al-Farrukhan, Ahmad ibn Yusuf ibn al-Daya, al-Battani, Thabit ibn Qurra, al-Qabisi, and Ibn abi al-Rijal. He also translated al-Farghani's astronomy (1134); a treatise on the astrolabe by Maslama ibn Ahmad al-Majriti and one on algorism, Liber alghoarismi de practica arismetrice, which is an elaboration of al-Khwarizmi's earlier work. Hermann the Dalmatian translated treatises of Sahl ibn Bishr and Abu Ma'shar, and the astronomical tables by al-Khwarizmi. The chief translation by Hugh of Santalla was al-Biruni's commentary on al-Farghani's astronomy. He also translated two of Mashallah's treatises. Robert of Chester translated an astrological work of al-Kindi's, a treatise on the astrolabe, besides compiling tables for the longitude of London (1149) derived from those of al-Battani and al-Zarqali, and his revision of the tables translated by Adelard of Bath. His main claim to esteem, however, is his translation of the algebra of al-Khwarizmi (1145), a fundamental landmark in the history of that subject, as it may be considered the beginning of European algebra. Robert was the first to use the word sinus (sine) in its modern sense. Hermann's pupil, Rudolf of Bruges, translated a book on the astrolabe by Maslama Ibn Ahmad and is said also to have written original astronomical treatises. Plato of Tivoli was assisted by Abraham bar Hiyya and translated mathematical works not only from the Arabic but from the Hebrew. In fact, his translation from the Hebrew of Abraham's Liber embadorum, completed in 1145; he also translated the astronomy of al-Battani, Ibn al-Saffar's treatise on the astrolabe, and treatises by al-'Imrani, Abu 'AlI al-Khaiyat, and Abu Bakr al-Hasan. However the main translator operating from Toledo was the Italian Gerardo of Cremona. Gherardo Cremonese, born about 1114 in Cremona, Lombardy, died in 1187 in Toledo. He went to Toledo, where he studied Arabic and carried on an almost unbelievable activity as a translator until the time of his death. A biography appended by his pupils to his translation of Galen's Tegni contains a list of seventy-one works translated by him, some of them of immense size - for example, Ibn Sina's Qanun and that list is far from being complete for we know of various other translations credited to him. Gerard himself, unassisted, could not possibly have made all the translations ascribed to him. It is probable that he himself was tremendously active and actually completed many translations alone but that many others were made under his direction and corrected by him. He was certainly the head of a school of translators and that many of the translations credited to him were made partly or completely by collaborators or pupils. It is possible also that later translations were ascribed to him because he was considered the translator par excellence. The number of translations ascribed to Gerard of Cremona is so large, and includes:

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1.Logic; 2. Philosophy; 3. Greek mathematics and astronomy; 4. Muslim mathematics and astronomy; 5. Physics and mechanics; 6. Greek medicine; 7. Muslim medicine; 8. Muslim astrology; 9. Muslim chemistry. Works by Muslim mathematicians, for instance, here include the name of scientist, the work, and the later editions of such works in the West (there were earlier editions as well): -Banu Musa (first half of the ninth century): Liber trium fratrum. Edited by Max. Curtze (Halle 1885). -Al-Khwarizmi (first half of the ninth century): De jebra et almucabala; Edited by Guillaume Libri: Histoire des sciences mathematiques (vol. 1, 253-297, 1838). -Al-Farghani (first half of the ninth century): De aggregationibus scientiae
stellarum et de principiis coelestium motuum. An earlier translation by John of Seville was printed in
Ferrara in 1493. The Latin text (probably Gerard's) was translated into French and from French into Italian by Zucchero Bencivenni in 1313. Gerard's translation was paraphrased in Hebrew by Jacob Anatoli about 1232 and Analoli's Hebrew version was retranslated into Latin by Jacob Christnann (Frankfurt 1590). -Ahmad ibn Yusuf (second half of the ninth century): De arcubus similibus. Edited by Max. Curtze (Mitt. des Copernikus Vereins, 48-50, 1887). -Ahmad ibn Yusuf: De proportione et proportionalitate. -Al-Nairizi (second half of the ninth century): Commentary on Euclid's Elements, Books I to X. Edited by M. Curtze, (420 p., Leipzig 1899). -Thabit ibn Qurra (second half of the ninth century): De figura alchata. -Thabit ibn Qurra: De expositione nominum Almagesti. -Thabit ibn Qurra: De motu accessionis et recessionis. Printed under the title De motu octavae
sphaerae (1480, 1509, 1518).

-Abu Kamil (first half of the tenth century): Liber qui secundum Arabes vocatur algebra et
almucabala.
-Abu 'Uthman (first half of the tenth century) or Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Baqi (second half of the eleventh century): Liber Judaei super decimum Euclidis. Edited under the title De numeris et lineis by B. Boncompagni (66 p., 1863?) and by M. Curtze (Leipzig 1899). -'Arib ibn Sa'd (second half of the tenth century): Liber anohe (anwa'), a Christian calendar containing astronomical and agricultural information. Edited by G. Libri, Liber anoe, in his Histoire des sciences mathematiques (vol. 1, 293-458, 1838). -Jabir ibn Aflah (first half of the twelfth century): Gebri de astrononomia libri IX in quibus Ptolemaeum emendavit. (Nuremberg 1534). -De practica geometrie. Unknown date and authorship. -Algorismus in integris et minutiis. Unidentified arithmetic. -Liber coaequationis planetarum. Sarton, finally notes that Gerard's medical translations were even more important, if possible, than his mathematical and astronomical ones. Incidentally they introduced into the European languages a number of new technical terms. For example, his translation of the Qanun introduced the words (vena) basilica (al-
basiliq), retina, saphena, cephalica, clavicula, true and false ribs, etc.; and his translation of al-Razi

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introduced the words albugo and albugineus (albugo, or leucoma, is a white opacity in the cornea; cf. Al-
bayad al-'ainwhite of the eye) and iris.176

Hence, thanks to this outline derived from Sarton, the crucial role of Toledo as a passage of Islamic learning to the Christian West and its role in its awakening becomes obvious. As translations proceeded in Toledo in the 12th century, the Christians had just taken Sicily from the Muslims (1089) where they began to suck out Islamic knowledge. At also precisely the same time, the Christians were engaged in the east in the crusades (see articles on Mosul, Aleppo, Hama and Damascus). Thus bringing from there further knowledge of technology (windmills, water wheels, hospitals, madrasas, military fortifications, trade mechanisms etc...) Hence the 12th-13th centuries witnessed widespread changes which we see taking place in the Christian West and which gave us our modern civilisation.
Final Words: Matters of Decadence of Islam and Rise of the West

Western writing on Islam, and Western opinion making apparatus, in their near totality, are always prompt to attribute barbarism and other dire qualities to Islam. Indeed, not much evidence is needed to attribute any misdeed upon Islam and its adherent, such a daily rant of negative labelling that a Muslim has become weary of opening any daily or watching any television channel, or listening to any radio station for fear of hearing the usual labels of barbarism and terrorism, of which one has grown sickened, especially as Muslims, in their near totality would never wish any harm to Westerners, people with whom they share the land and the future, and especially as one sees countless Muslim deaths, daily victims of those who label them with terror, unless, of course, the loss of a Western life equates that of hundreds of Muslims. The same Western writing and media on the other hand, also in their near totality, are very shy to grant Islam anything too favourable. We are more likely to witness in modern history departments and amongst the majority of modern writers on Islam-related matters a trend which consists in suppressing anything that constitute Islamic achievements and instead attributing it to the Christian West and the Greeks and, if not, others. It is needless to dwell on this, but any researcher looking at history will find that from the rise of the Gothics, to experimentation to the numerals to surgical instruments to the pendulum etc are all attributed by early Western scholars to Islam but now these achievements and others are being gradually taken away from the Muslims by modern scholarship always eager to write about the Greeks and others when they are supposed to be writing about Islam and insist, that no Islamic achievement could have been possible without the Greeks; that somehow, the Muslims are lame and impotent. Yet, as shown in this entry and in all others, there is hardly one Muslim scholar, among many thousands, who did not rise to criticise the Greeks and not to write in their refutation. The instance of Toledo is also a very enlightening example of how reality is re-shaped in modern Western historical writing. Toledo shows precisely that two major events happened at once, that whilst Toledo and soon the rest of Spain and the East were lost and destroyed, simultaneously the power of the West rose somehow at the expense of Islam. Yet modern Western historians in their majority explain these facts in two other ways. First, they explain as seen in the above article, and other articles on this site such as the `the Myths, that the decadence of Islamic civilisation was due to its faith and to its `fanatic, barbaric entities such as the
176
G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; ending at p. 339.

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Seljuks, the Berbers, the Mamluks, the Ottomans etc whilst in this article, and in other articles on Seville, Baghdad, Damascus, Aleppo etc it is demonstrated that it is instead the destruction of the Muslim realm by Western Christianity which is the principal cause of decline of the Muslims lands. Second, just as they falsify the decline of the Islamic land, Western historians in their vast majority, equally falsify the rise of the West. Indeed, in the 12th century the Christian West acquired its science from both the translations in Toledo and also from what it took from Sicily and from the East during the crusades. Yet whilst these contacts with the Muslims civilisation and borrowings are easily traceable for anyone studying the question, the major part of Western historians, whilst agreeing that the Western revival did indeed take place in the 12th century, each in his or her own field, deliver tens of explanations for such revival. Each of these historians explains that suddenly, out of barbarism, Western Christendom saw the light. Out of centuries of darkness, the Christian West began to devise water wheels, windmills, build hospitals, universities, castles, understand optics, mathematics, new textile products, new farming techniques, discover paper, the compass etc... It is as if in six or so centuries from now, Muslim historians will explain that todays backward Muslim world, out of immense backwardness, suddenly built all its planes and devised all its computers, and built all its refineries, and factories and the rest out of its own Muslim genius, whilst in truth everything is borrowed from the West. It is the same nonsense one finds in most of Western history today, that a backward nation borrows heavily from the more civilised one and yet denies it completely by attributing it to its own `genius. Yet, the instance above from the translations in Toledo shows that there was no such a thing, for early Western scholars descended upon Toledo. They did not go to Greece or to other places to translate there; these early Western scholars translated precisely what was soon to be found taught in the Christian West. If we look at the entries on Salerno, Bejaia, Sicily and the South of France, we see the same thing: learning, in all its forms, in the Christian West was acquired from the Muslim land or the Muslim influenced lands. Credit to all early Western scientists, without one single exception - especially the English amongst them such as Adelard of Bath and Daniel of Morley, attested to one thing rare in modern history, their admiration for, and their indebtedness to their Àrab masters. 177 Finally, distorting historians refer to each other and build on each others distortions, hence scholarly techniques (i.e. referencing) which give legitimacy to facts become in the hands of modern historians techniques which render fallacies into truths, and thus emerges a new history founded on fallacies, a new history whereby the land of Islam declined due to the innate barbarism of its people and the barbarism of its faith and the West rose to dominate thanks to its innate genius.
Bibliography
-Ibn al-Assal al-Yahsubi in C. Melville and A. Ubaydli: Christians and Moors in Spain; vol 3; Arabic sources; Aris and Phillips Ltd; Warminster; UK; 1992. -Ibn Bassal: Libro de agricultura, Jose M.Millas Vallicrosa and Mohammed Azinan eds, Tetuan: instituto Muley alHasan, 1953. -P. Benoit and F. Micheau: The Arab intermediary: in A history of Scientific Thought; M. Serres editor; Blackwell, 1995; pp 191-221. -R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1928. -T. Burckhardt: Moorish Culture in Spain, George Allen & Unwin, London; 1972.
177
See: C. Burnett: The Introduction of Arabic Learning into England; The Panizzi Lectures, 1996; The British Library; 1997.

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-C. Burnett: The Introduction of Arabic Learning into England; The Panizzi Lectures, 1996; The British Library; 1997. -R.I. Burns: Spain; In The Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980 fwd. vol 11; pp. 374-83. -Emilia Calvo: Ibn Wafid: in the Encyclopedia of the history of Science, technology, and Medicine in Non Western Cultures; H. Selin Editor; Kluwer Academic Publishers. Dordrecht/Boston/London, 1997. -D.Campbell: Arabian medicine, and its influence on the Middle Ages; Philo Press; Amsterdam; 1926; reprinted 1974: -Carra de Vaux: Les Penseurs de lIslam; Geuthner, Paris, 1921; vol 2. -Casiri: Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Escurialensis. 2vols. Folio. Matriti, 1760. -G.S. Colin: Filaha; Encyclopaedia of Islam: New edition: Leiden; 1986, Vol 2. - N. Daniel: The Arabs and medieval Europe; Longman Librarie du Liban; 1975. -C. Dawson: Medieval Essays: Sheed and Ward: London; 1953. -J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe; George Bell and Sons; 1875. -J.L. E. Dreyer: Mediaeval astronomy; in Robert M. Palter edt: Toward Modern Science; The Noonday Press; New York; 1961;Vol 1, pp 235-56. -W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. -G.Fisher: The Barbary legend; Oxford; 1957. -E. Gibbon: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; vol 5; Methuen and Co; London; fifth edition; 1923. -T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1979. -John Glubb: A Short History of the Arab Peoples; Hodder and Stoughton, 1969. -C.H. Haskins: Studies in the history of Mediaeval Science; Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. New York. 1967 ed. -C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance of the twelfth Century, Harvard University Press, 1927. -A C. Hess: The Forgotten Frontier; The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1978. -P.K.Hitti: History of the Arabs, MacMillan, London, 1970 edt. -T.B. Irving: Dates, Names and Places: The end of Islamic Spain; in Revue d'Histoire Maghrebine; No 6162; 1991; pp 77-93. -R.A. Jairazbhoy: An Outline of Islamic architecture; Asia Publishing House; Bombay; London; 1972. -V. Lagardere: Campagnes et paysans dAl Andalus; Maisonneuve; Larose; Paris; 1993. -S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888. -J. D. Latham: The Interpretation of a passage on scales (Mawazin) in an Andalusian Hisba manual. In
From Muslim Spain to Barbary; Edited by J.D. Latham; variorum reprints. -H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain ; Burt Franklin; New York; 1968 reprint. -G. Le Bon: La civilization des Arabes; Cyracuse; 1884. -L Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine arabe; vol. 1, Paris; 1876. -M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology, Leiden, E.J. Brill,, 1973. -E. Levi Provencal: Histoire de lEspagne Musulmane; vol 3; Paris; Maisonneuve; 1953. -E.Levi. Provencal: Toledo; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; vol 3; first series; pp. 809-12.
-M. Lombard at http://www.archipress.org/batin/ts20lombard.htm. -Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib. Translated by P.De Gayangos: The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain (extracted from Nifh Al-Tib by al-Maqqari); 2 vols; The Oriental Translation Fund; London, 1840-3. -L. A. Mayer: Islamic astrolabists and their works; Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956. -D. Metlitzki: The Matter of Araby in Medieval England, Yale University press, 1977. -E. H. F. Meyer: Geschichte der Botanik; I-IV, Konigsberg, 1854-7. N. Daniel: The Arabs and medieval Europe; Longman Librarie du Liban; 1975. especially pp. 265 fwd.

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-J.M. Millas-Vallicrosa: Estudios Sobre Azarquiel, Madrid-Grenada, 1943-1950, pp. 6-9. -J. Millas Vallicrosa: Assaig dhistoria de les idees fisiques I mathematiques a la Catalunya medieval; vol 1; Barcelona; 1931. -J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974. -C. A. Ronan: The Arabian Science in
The Cambridge Illustrated History of the World's Science: Cambridge
University press. Newness Books, 1983. pp 201-44. -S and N. Ronart: Concise Encyclopaedia of Arabic civilization; The Arab West; Djambatan; Amsterdam; 1966. -G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. -S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; in three volumes; The J.B. Lippincott Company; Philadelphia; 1904. -L.A.Sedillot: Memoire sur les instruments astronomique des Arabes, Memoires de lAcademie Royale des
Inscriptions et Belles Lettres de lInstitut de France 1: 1-229; Reprinted Frankfurt, 1985. -R.B. Smith: Mohammed and Mohammedanism; London; Smith Elder; 1876. -E. Teres: le Development de la Civilisation Arabe a Tolede; in Cahiers de Tunisie, vol 17-8; 1969-70; pp.
73-86. - A. Thompson-M.A.Rahim: Islam in Andalus; Ta-Ha Publishers, London 1996. -J.Vernet: Al-Zarqali: Dictionary of Scientific Biography; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; vol 14. -D. Wasserstein: The Rise and Fall of the Party Kings; Princeton University Press; 1985. -G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Trsltd from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975. -F. Wustenfeld: Geschichte der arabischen Aerzte, Gottingen; 1840. -Rodrigo de Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme d'etat; Edt Les Voies du Sud; Paris, 1992.

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Malaga
FSTC Limited
Malaga June 2005
MALAGA
In the words of al-Shaqundi,
Alcazaba1
`Malaga unites land and sea prospects, thus partaking of the advantages and productions of both; its environs are so covered with vines and orchards as to make it impossible for the traveller to discover a piece of ground which is not cultivated. Its towers, which I have seen, are like the stars in the sky, as numerous, and shining as bright. It is intersected by a river which comes to visit it in two seasons of the year, in winter and in spring, when, rolling its precipitous waters through deep ravines and down lofty hills, it empties them into the sea within the very precincts of the city. But what ranks Malaga far above any other country in the world is its figs called ar-Rayi, from Rayah, which was the ancient name of the city; I was told that they may be procured in Baghdad, where they are considered as the greatest delicacy, and as to the quantity annually exported by sea both in Muslim and Christian vessels, it is so enormous that I shall not venture upon a computation for fear of falling short of the real number All the coast of Malaga may be compared to a port, so full is it all times of vessels belonging either to the Muslims or to the Christians.2
The 14th century Moroccan traveller, Ibn Battuta, holds that,
`Malaga is one of the principal cities of Andalus; it has an excellent territory, and abounds in fruits of all sorts; I saw once eight ratl of grapes sold in its market for a small dirhem; the celebrated pomegranate named al-Mursi, and another kind called Al-Yacoti (the rubi coloured), grow on its soil; figs and almonds form a considerable staple of trade, and are exported in great quantities to distant countries in the East and West, as also its golden pottery, which is quite wonderful. It has a large mosque, Jami, very much renowned for its sanctity, with a very fine open court, all planted with orange trees.3
http://alpha.uhasselt.be/~gjb/photography/Andalucia/slides/alcazaba-2.jpg Al-Shaqundi, in Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib. Translated by P.De Gayangos: The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain (extracted from Nifh Al-Tib by al-Maqqari); 2 vols; The Oriental Translation Fund; London, 1840-3. vol 1; p. 48. 3 Ibn Battuta, in Al-Maqari, Nafh al-Tib (De gayangos); p. 50.
2

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Malaga was conquered by the Muslims in 711 by a force sent by Tarik Ibn Zyad and soon became an important centre - the capital of the province of Reiyo.4 In the 11th century, following the death of AlMansur, Muslim Spain descended into a state of chaos breaking up into thirty or so states which were ruled by local princes, the Reyes de Taifas. Malaga suffered at the hands of these divisions,
`The states of Valencia and Malaga, Scott notes, òwing to the political imbecility of their rulers had descended to a position greatly inferior to that to which they were entitled by reason of the commercial and agricultural resources.5
For a long time Malaga, governed by the Idrisids, was a centre of Berber influence. There was however a sharp contrast between the rulers and the ruled, which Scott points out,
Ìts (Malaga) lords, enervated by the temptations of tropical climate, to the disgust of their martial followers, suffered their lives to pass in inglorious ease until their domain was finally absorbed by the growing power of Grenada.6
In 1238, when the rest of Muslim Spain (Cordova, Seville, Murcia, Valencia,) began to fall to the Christians, Malaga and its province formed part of the land of the Nasrid kingdom of Grenada (also spelt as Granada).7 Malaga with Grenada remained the only two principal places of Spain and Portugal to remain in Muslim hands for another two and a half centuries. During this period, military conflict between Malaga and Grenada occurred on a couple of occasions until, in 1278, the Marinid sultan renounced his claims to Malaga and other places in favour of Mohammed II al-Fakih of Grenada. Henceforth a Nasrid governor was appointed to oversee the town. 8 Malaga remained part of the Grenada enclave until the late fifteenth century when in 1487, after a bitterly fought siege, it was permanently lost to the Christians by the Muslims (Grenada was to fall in 1492).
Thriving Muslim Malaga

Malaga, known in the past as Malaka, is a Spanish city situated on the Mediterranean Sea and it was built at the centre of a bay overlooked by the hill of Gibralfaro (the Djabal Faroh according to the geographer AlIdrisi).9 Malaga occupies a privileged position, dominated by the steep slopes of the Mountain of the Lighthouse (Djabal Faro) which peaks at 170 metres. 10 At a lower level towards the south west, rose what in the Muslim era corresponded to a strong Al-Cazaba which has been restored in recent times. It served as a residence for the governor and included a mosque, which dates from the reign of Abd Ar Rahman who was the first Umayyad ruler of Spain and which is the work of Qadi MuAwiya ibn Salih Al-Hadrami (d. 775), a Syrian immigrant who was the trusted man of Abd Ar Rahman.11 The city itself stretched between AlCazaba and the Rambla of a water stream, which descended from the neighbouring mountains, known as
4 5
E. Levi Provencal: Malaga; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; first series; 1936; vol 3; pp. 187-8; p. 187. S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; in three volumes; The J.B. Lippincott Company; Philadelphia; 1904. vol 2; p. 154. 6 S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 155. 7 J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; second series; vol 6; 1991; pp. 220-3; p. 222. 8 J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; op cit; p. 222. 9 Al-Idrisi quoted by E. Levi Provencal: Malaga; op cit; p. 187. 10 E.L. Provencal: Histoire de lEspagne Musulmane; vol 3; Paris; Maisonneuve; 1953; p. 342. 11 E.L. Provencal: Histoire; p. 343.

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the Guadalmedina (Wadi al-Madina).12 To the west stretches the Hoya of Malaga, a fertile plain formerly covered with various crops and especially tropical fruits but today severely damaged due to the enormous tourist development of the region.13 During the Muslim period the view of Malaga from any point was most enchanting. From Velez to Fuengirola - a distance of more than forty miles - the coast exhibited an unbroken series of fig plantations.14 Further back, covering the slopes of the Sierra, were groves of oranges and pomegranates; the vineyards were the most extensive and the grapes the most luscious of Muslim Spain; the belt of frowning grey walls which enclosed the city was relieved by the palm trees which at frequent intervals overtopped them.15 The mountains in the rear were enveloped in a haze of mingled tints of crimson, orange and violet and on the southern horizon, the sapphire blue of a cloudless sky blended almost imperceptibly with the deep ultramarine of the sea.16 Viewed at a distance, the white buildings with their red roofs nestling in a wilderness of verdure whose foliage displayed every tint of green; the harbour dotted with hundreds of snowy sails; the numerous mosques with their elegant towers encrusted with glittering tile work; the palaces of the noble and the wealthy decorated with all the caprices of Muslim architecture and each surrounded by spacious and shaded grounds; the boundless profusion of limpid and refreshing waters bearing fertility to every garden and comfort to every household; the interminable plantation of every fruit that contributes to the sustenance and enjoyment of every human; all presented a landscape whose counterpart probably did not exist in the most well-known regions of the inhabitable world.17 Almost all the medieval geographers of Muslim Spain give enthusiastic descriptions of Malaga. Ibn al-Khatib stresses the elegance of its population, the liveliness of its streets, its markets and suburbs as well as the beauty of its buildings.18 It possessed remarkable buildings and many mosques. The great mosque was a great building and its courtyard was planted with orange and palm trees. 19 The principal mosque is today the site of the principal cathedral which is very close to the sea.20 It had, according to the geographer alBakri, five naves. Al-Bakri also refers to the neighbourhood, known to us as Fontanella, and which opened to the exterior through a door called Bab Funtanella.21 Walls of extraordinary height and thickness encompassed the entire circuit of the city. Within this line of circumvallation the different quarters and suburbs, in accordance with Muslim custom, were strongly fortified.22 The elaborate system of hydraulics perfected by the Muslims operated everywhere with the sparkling waters of the mountain streams.23 The general aspect of the city was strikingly Oriental, in the narrow and tortuous streets often covered by awnings to exclude the heat or spanned by arches; in the sombre dwellings whose frowning walls were occasionally broken by narrow, projecting lattices; in the bazaars, each allotted to a special branch of commerce, where transactions involving the expenditure of great sums were concluded; in the mosques, with their glittering minarets; in the baths, with their ever moving, ever changing crowds; in the long
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
E.L. Provencal: Histoire; p. 343. J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; op cit; at p. 220 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 2; p. 620. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 620. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 620-1. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 621. J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; at p. 220 J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; op cit; at p. 221 E.L. Provencal: Histoire; p. 343. E.L. Provencal: Histoire; p. 343-4. S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 2; p. 616.

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strings of camels, each one tied to the croup of his leader, laden with every variety of merchandise; in the groups of richly apparelled ladies; in the confusing babble of a thousand tongues. It faithfully reproduced the picturesque life of Cairo, Baghdad and Damascus.24 The high quality of life of the city did not fail to make an impact on its visitors especially on the Italians of Genoa who formed the largest Western trading section in the city, as is here outlined by Scott,
Ìn their private life, the Genoese inhabitants of Muslim Malaga exhibited the sybaritic luxury which might vie with in pomp and elegance with that of royalty itself. Their palaces were of great extent and of surpassing magnificence. Buried in groves of odoriferous trees, brightened by beds of gorgeous flowers, cooled by innumerable rivulets and fountains, they combined all the ingenious devices of the Moorish landscape gardener with the taste and symmetry of classic Italy. The most exquisite creation of the Arab artificer in tiles and stucco, in gold and silver, in porcelain and in embroidered tapestry, decorated their apartments Long familiarity with the customs of their infidel neighbours had erased the memory and the reverence associated with the country of their birth, so closely connected with the Holy See, to such an extent that their disregard of ancient traditions and laxity of faith might not unjustly merit the imputation of heresy.25
Malaga was the most cosmopolitan of all cities. No restrictions were laid upon her trade, no vexation or humiliating conditions attached to a residence within her walls. She numbered among her inhabitants natives of every clime. 26 In the words of Scott, it was
`celebrated from the highest antiquity for its picturesque surroundings, for its wealth, for the enterprise of its citizens, for the unusual advantages conferred by its situation, which made it the seat of an immense commerce, in the fifteenth century that city dividing with Almeria the lucrative trade of the Western Mediterranean. The keen sagacity of the Phoenicians had early recognised its maritime importance. Carthage inherited its dominion, and long maintained there the agencies and warehouses of her most opulent merchants. Under the Romans it enjoyed the highest prosperity, but it was reserved for the Spanish Arabs to develop to the utmost the mineral and agricultural wealth of its territory, and to extend the commerce of Malaga to the most remote and inaccessible countries of the Orient, to every port whose location or communications promised a profitable return.27
The port of Malaga was a centre of immense traffic and was visited by traders from all countries especially those from the mercantile republics of Italy and the Genoese in particular.28 The tolerant and enlightened policy of the Muslims had assigned the enterprising Genoese a suburb which was designated by their name.29 The great factories of the merchants of the Adriatic, who at that time possessed the larger share of the carrying trade of the world, lined the crowded quays of Malaga and their flag was always the most
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 620. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 618. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 616-7. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 616-7. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 615-6. J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; p. 220 S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 615-6.

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conspicuous among the ensigns of the maritime nations whose vessels rode the anchor in the bay. 30 The extensive and varied commercial relations of that republic (Genoa) were thus intimately connected with those of the principal seaport of the Grenada Kingdom, Malaga. Through its portal constantly passed a vast and growing traffic which bartered the commodities of every country for the silks, the weapons, the jewellery, the gilded pottery and the delicious fruits of Spain.31 Malaga remained not just an important sea-port but also an active centre for shipbuilding.32 The Arsenal (Dar al-Sinaa) drew the admiration of the German traveller J. Munzer in 1494.33 The Ataranza, a great dockyard and arsenal provided with every facility for the construction and repair of shipping, occupied one side of the harbour. Its portals of polished marble and jasper were formed by horseshoe arches of an elegance that rather suggested the tranquillity of a sacred shrine than the noise and bustle inseparable from an edifice devoted to the purpose of trade and war.34 Embracing an area of more than eighteen thousand square feet, it was one of the most notable constructions of its kind in the world.35 While no ships were actually built within its precincts, these works being carried on at the adjacent mole and quays, it contained, nevertheless, all the material and equipment necessary for the completion of every type of craft; with immense quantities of naval supplies and munitions of war stored in its ample magazines.36 The city and the sea were approached through many gates but the massive wall which protected the citys western exterior disclosed no opening which might tempt the attack of an alert and daring enemy. The government of the Ataranza was entrusted to an officer of high rank, whose post was one of great responsibility, as a large portion of the city was at the mercy of its garrison.37 For the benefit of the thousands of workmen employed there a mosque was provided from whose minaret, at the hours designated by Muslim ritual, the muezzin regularly called the faithful to prayer. 38 The Vega, now known as the Hoya of Malaga was cultivated in its entirety; the texts stressed the abundance of fruits, especially delicious figs, vineyards, groves of almonds, olives and pomegranates, without counting other crops and the timber plantations. 39 Al-Idrisi mentions two of its suburbs, praises the sweetness of its waters and the flavour of its fruits.40 Figs occupied much of the Malaga countryside. Al-Shaqundi writes,
`During my residence in that city I once travelled along the sea coast from Sohayl to Tish, a distance of three days march, and I declare I saw nothing else on the road but fig trees, whose branches, loaded with fruit, almost touched the ground, so that the little urchins of the villages plucked them without the least trouble, besides the great numbers that were scattered on the ground. Those at Tish are reckoned to be the best; it was of one of these figs that a Berber said,
30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 615-6. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 615-6. E. Levi Provencal: Malaga; op cit; p. 188. J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; op cit; p. 220 S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 617. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 617. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 617. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 618. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 618. J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; op cit; p. 221 E. Levi Provencal: Malaga; op cit; p. 188.

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when he was asked how he liked it `thou asked me how I liked it, and it has all melted down my throat, and By Allah, the Berber was right, for I never tasted better figs in my life, and besides they are a blessing which God has refused to his country (Africa).41
The Poet Abul Hedjadj Youcef, son of Sheikh al-Nalawi, quoted by Ibn Said and other writers, says,
`Malaga indeed bestows life with its figs; but also causes death by them. During my illness my physician forbade me to eat them. How little does he care for my life.42
It is known that at Cordoba, a Jordanian soldier named Safar took a fig tree cutting and planted it on his estate in the Malaga region, a species, named after him: safri, and which eventually became widely diffused.43 From the standpoint of production for the export market, Malaga was the most important fig centre, the city being surrounded on all sides by figs of the Rayyo (rayy, also referred to as mlaqi, Malagan) variety which is the best class of figs and the largest, with the most delicious pulp and the sweetest taste." 44 Malagan figs were exported by Muslim and Christian traders and sold in Baghdad (according to al-Shaqund) and as far away as India and China where they were valued for their taste and their ability to be preserved for over the full year's travel necessary for their transport. 45 In the Sierra Morena a wide variety of figs was grown, including the qtiya (Gothic), sha'ar (hairy), and doegal.46 Such was the importance of figs in Malaga, it had two densely populated quarters, that of Fuentecilla and that of the fig merchants.47 Malagas prosperity and renown were also its industries. The manufacture of glazed and gilded ceramics, which, were a unique type, and were also an export product; the curing of fish and anchovies in particular, was a speciality of Malaga.48 Other industries included leather and iron.49 The local textile industry thrived, particularly from the 11th century onwards, especially in the manufacture of silk of different colours, one of its most important exports. 50 The silk industry thrived thanks to the large quantities furnished by the peasantry of the Grenada kingdom and was one of the most important branches of industry pursued in the city.51 The manufactures of silk of Malaga are famous for all their colours and patterns, some of which are so rich that a suit made out of them will cost many thousands.52 The great buildings where it was carried on rivalled to an extent the famed establishments of Almeria, once the centre of silk manufacture in Europe. The superior quality and harmony of these colours that characterised the tissues and brocades that came from the hands of the Malagan artificers gave them a peculiar value and enabled them to readily command extravagant prices in the foreign markets.53
41 42
Al-Shaqundi; in Al-Maqqari Nafh al-Tib; op cit; p. 49. Quoted in Al-Maqari nafh al-Tib; op cit; p. 49. 43 T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1979. p. 76. 44 In T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 80. 45 T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 80. 46 T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 80. 47 J.Bosch Villa: Malaga; op cit; p. 220 48 J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; op cit; p. 221 49 J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; p. 221 50 J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; p. 221 51 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 2; p. 619. 52 Al-Shaqundi; in Al-Maqari: nafh Al-Tib; op cit; p. 49. 53 S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; p. 619.

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The 14th century Moroccan traveller, Ibn Battuta, tells that a fine gilt porcelain was made at Malaga which was exported.54 Malaga became, indeed, very famed for its glazed wares. The diffusion of glazed wares, introduced from the East by the Muslims, can be traced with greater precision, owing to the chemical specificity of glaze recipes.55 Thus we know that blue glaze of cobalt oxide was introduced from the East to Malaga during the Taifa period whence it was diffused to Murcia and then to Christian Spain, to Valencia (beginning of the fourteenth century) and Barcelona (at the end of the century).56 Also of eastern provenance were tin enamel glazes, producing an opaque white used by Malagan and Mallorcan potters of the eleventh century. 57 Among the artistic techniques which were brought from the east to Spain was to be found the secret of the production of lustre faience. This movement of knowledge towards the west resulted in the fact that the city of Malaga was the only important centre for gold lustre ware which still existed in the 14th century.58 Persian lustreware potters fled to Malaga in the late thirteenth century, fleeing the Mongols59 and it is probable that they chose this destination because of its reputation as a lustreware centre.60 In the later middle ages, lustreware (named malica after Ma1aga) was produced by Muslim potters at Manises near Valencia.61 Malaga became a norm for the quality of excellent faience; the Italian word Majolica reminds us of this today.62 The Eastern kiln became the standard Spanish kiln; this is the Arabic horno still used by traditional earthenware potters today; the firing chamber located above the hearth from which the former is separated by a perforated floor.63 The foundation of an Andalusi kiln has been excavated in Almera and there are citations of kilns in medieval Christian documentation.64 Interestingly, temperatures requisite for common chemical operations were indicated in recipes by specifying the kind of oven needed.65 Thus for slowheating operations, the low-temperature tanr (medieval Castilian or Latin athanor, actanor) was used; the next lowest, according to Gerard of Cremona's twelfth-century translation of De aluminibus et salibus attributed to al-Rz, but with obvious Andalusi interpolations, was the furnum panis, the baker's oven; then, the potter's furnace (furnum figuli) and finally the glassmaker's oven (furnum vitrearii or fusionis). The diffusion of certain kinds of eastern kilns may well have been encouraged by the spread of apposite chemical processes. 66
E. Levi Provencal: Malaga; op cit; p. 188. T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 239. 56 T. Glick: p. 240. 57 T. Glick: p. 240. 58 Alice Wilson Frothingham, Lustreware of Spain, New York (1951), pp. 15-78; Luis M. Liubi'a, Ceramica medieval espanola, Barcelona 1967, pp. 91-105. 59 See Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834. 60 T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 240. 61 T. Glick: p. 240. 62 R. Schnyder: Islamic Ceramics: A Source of Inspiration for Medieval European Art in Islam and The Medieval West; ed; S. Ferber; A Loan Exhibition at the University Art Gallery April 6 - May 4, 1975. State University of New York at Binghamton. 63 T. Glick: Islamic Spain; op cit; p. 240. 64 T. Glick: 240. 65 T. Glick: 240. 66 T. Glick: 240.
55
54

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At the beginning of the Islamic period, glass was in common use in Egypt and western Asia and glassmakers had access to a wide range of techniques, the most common of which were free blowing and blowing into a mould, and various methods of applying ornament, manipulation, and cutting.67 The technique of cutting crystal was said to have been introduced in al-Andalus by Abbs ibn Firnas, poet and scholar in the courts of Abd al-Rahmn II and Muhammad I.68 Glass vessels were blown in Islamic Malaga just as they were in Almera and Murcia, doubtless in imitation of eastern wares, such as the irakes - glass goblets -favoured on the noble tables of tenth-century Len in Spain. 69
The Scholarship of Malaga
Alcazaba70 On the scholarly and learning front, Malaga was amongst a number of the principal cities of Spain (that also included Cordova, Toledo, Seville and Granada) which had academies that taught mathematics, astronomy, geography and medicine. And they were staffed not only with Muslim scholars, but Christians and Jews also took part in the teaching.71 Malaga produced two scholars of great renown who, through their scholarship, managed to mix science with Malagas greatest accomplishments of commerce and farming; one, Al-Saqati, wrote an essential treatise on Hisba (roughly commercial practice and law) and the other, Ibn al-Baytar, wrote the greatest treatise of medieval times on botany and herbals. Al-Saqatis work on hisba and the Muhtasib has been edited by G.S. Colin and Levi Provencal under the French title Un manuel hispanique de hisba (a Hispanic treatise of Hisba). This treatise of Abu Abn Allah
67
D. Whitehouse: Glass in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980 fwd. vol 5; pp. 545-8. at p. 545, 68 T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 241. 69 T. Glick: 241. 70 http://www.andalucia-life.com/images/places/malaga/0204/0204a.jpg 71 A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977, p. 32.

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Muhammad B. Abi Muhammad as-Saqati of Malaga deals with the inspection of corporations, the repression of fraud in Muslim Spain and includes the Arabic text, a glossary and an introduction totalling at least 700 pages altogether.72 Following Levi Provencal and Colin, Chalmeta and J. D. Latham made further decisive and welcome contributions to raising the awareness of this highly important work. Thanks to Chalmeta, there is now a version of this work in a Western language.73 Then, in a number of essays, 1973 fwd, Latham has put at the disposal of the reading public three articles which enlighten on diverse aspects included in Al-Saqatis work. 74 Al-Saqatis treatise is the first treatise in the Islamic West of hisba and is a guide for the state official who is in charge of this function of Muhtassib. The author al-Saqati exerted his functions of muhtassib at Malaga towards the end of the 12 th century or at the beginning of the 13th century. 75 Latham points out that today Al-Saqatis work is of primary importance for the economic history of Spain.76 Latham also points to the important fact of how Al-Saqati, as the Muhtassib, commits his practical observations of his trade to paper.77 Indeed, both functions of Muhtassib and the information contained in this work make it a crucial element in the study of Muslim economic history in Spain and its subsequent impact on the rest of Europe. It is important here to dwell a little on the role of the Muhtassib to explain the importance of the treatise by alSaqati. The word hisbah is derived from the root hasaba, which means to take into account.78 Hisbah is a judicial system, which is based on a few broad principles and a set of jurisdiction.79 Glick notes that both the market and the urban artisans who produced for the market required governmental control. 80 In the Islamic world, supervision of urban economic life gave rise to a specialized body of secular, customary law and a special jurisdiction called hisba (literally calculation) executed in Umayyad times by a Master of the Market (shib
al-sq) and later by a muhtasib with both deriving their authority from the qadi.81
However there is another interpretation from Conrad which goes as follows: Muhtassib is the Arabic title for an official roughly equivalent to a market inspector, although this rendering is in some respects unsatisfactory. In the most general sense, a muhtasib was any Muslim whose conduct reflected hisba. 82 In the first two centuries of Islam, it came to be closely associated with the frequent Quranic exhortation
introduction, notes liguistiques et glossaire; xiii + 722; publication de lInstitut des hautes etudes Marocaines; Paris Leroux; 1931. 73 El-Kitab fi adab al-Hisba (Libro de buen gobierno del zoco), in Al Andalus (1967-8); trans into Spanish by P. Chalmeta y Gendron. 74 J. D. Latham: From Muslim Spain to Barbary; Edited by J.D. Latham; variorum reprints; pp. 283 fwd. 75 J. D. Latham: The Interpretation of a passage on scales (Mawazin) in an Andalusian Hisba manual. In From Muslim Spain to Barbary; pp. 283-90; at p. 283. 76 J. D. Latham: The Interpretation of a passage; p. 283. 77 J. D. Latham: Towards the Interpretation of Al-Saqatis observations on grain and flour milling. In From Muslim Spain; op cit; Pp. 64-87; at. P. 65. 78 M.I. H.I. Surty: The Institution of Hisbah and its impact on the health sciences; in the Islamic Quarterly, vol XLIII (1999) pp. 5-20; at p. 6. 79 M.I. H.I. Surty: The Institution of Hisbah; p. 6. 80 T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p.122. 81 T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p.122. 82 L. I. Conrad: Muhtassib; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; op cit; vol 9; pp. 526-7; at p. 526.
72 G.S. Colin et Levi Provencal: Un manuel hispanique de hisba; traite dAbu Abd Allah Muhammed B.Abi Muhammad asSaqati de Malaga sur la surveillance des corporations et de la repression des frauds en espagne musulmane; Texte Arabe,

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"Enjoin the good and forbid the evil."83 It therefore seems that as an ethical term, hisba meant the promotion of good deeds as a responsibility enjoined by God.84 It was in this sense that theological and hortatory literature in medieval Islam considered the duty of hisba to be incumbent on all Muslims: For the sake of his soul, every believer should do good and eschew evil, and, for the welfare of the community, should encourage others to do likewise.85 This latter obligation implied a notion of personal responsibility for the moral rectitude of society, the scope and extent of this responsibility depending upon the position and capacity of each individual (for instance, a slave could remonstrate with his master if the latter committed an evil act but could not try to correct him by threat or force)86. From this graduated concept of hisba followed that the highest responsibility and the role of primary muhtasib, as it were, should fall upon the holder of public authority. The evolution of these ideas and their development into the theoretical foundation for a specific institution took several centuries.87 The sources mention the muhtasib and other guarantors of public morality from earliest Islamic times. At first, regulation of public conduct and economic activity was the concern of one's kin, and personal behaviour and business practice were deemed acceptable so long as they brought no disgrace to the family or tribe.88 Disputes were settled within the clan and intertribal quarrels were referred either to the governor (emir) or to a mediator acceptable to all parties. The expansion of cities (especially in Iraq) soon compelled the caliphs and their governors to try to maintain urban order in some uniform fashion and, to this end, to establish and uphold certain basic standards of public conduct, especially in the marketplace which was the most important social and economic forum of the early Islamic towns. The Umayyad caliphate (661-749) marks the appearance of the sahib (or amil) al-suq (market master).89 At the heart of the Muhtassib duties were the probity of weights and measures and the inspection of artisan manufactures and edible produce for adulteration; the muhtasib, thus, is pictured as making the rounds of the market with an assistant who carries a balance with which to certify that products sold by weight were accurately priced.90 If a fraudulent practice was discovered in the commission, the muhtasib could punish the offender summarily, typically by ordering the destruction of the bad product.91 The regulations, as collected in the treatises of Andalusi muhtasibs such as ibn Abdun of Seville and al-Saqati of Malaga, ranged from the general (prohibition of scandalous or irreligious behaviour in the marketplace) to very specific (stipulation of the number and kinds of thread per unit in various kinds of cloth; proportions of raw materials permissible in products containing multiple ingredients; procedures to be used in preparation and sale of meat).92 In the field of health sciences, for instance, Al-Saqati maintains that people are engaged in the pharmaceutical industry as professionals whose scope is very wide and whose methods are very numerous and complicated.93 Identification of fraud is very difficult, and the consequence of such fraud can neither be reckoned nor imagined.94 It is therefore essential that the muhtasib deals with such complex
83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94
L. I. Conrad: Muhtassib; p. 526. L. I. Conrad: Muhtassib; p. 526. L. I. Conrad: Muhtassib; p. 526. L. I. Conrad: Muhtassib; p. 526. L. I. Conrad: Muhtassib; p. 526. L. I. Conrad: Muhtassib; p. 526. L. I. Conrad: Muhtassib; p. 526. T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p.122. T. Glick: Islamic; p.122. T. Glick: p.122. In M.I. H.I. Surty: The Institution of Hisbah; op cit; p. 15. In M.I. H.I. Surty: The Institution of Hisbah; p. 15.

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problems.95 The muhtasib also looked into violations of what would now be called building codes, particularly as regarded the disposal of market and household refuse in the streets and the overbuilding of upper stories in such a way as to occlude the sunlight, making it impossible for muddy streets to dry. 96 These public health functions were viewed as intimately intertwined with the functioning of the marketplace which, together with the mosque, was the primary focus of public life over whose cleanliness and traffic the muhtasib also had some jurisdiction.97 All these issues find expression in one way or another in al-Saqatis treatise. It is divided into 18 parts, preceded by a general introduction on the application of the hisba in early Islam; the chapters dealing with weight and measures, the various trades of bakers, butchers, perfume sellers, druggists, and the makers and sellers of manufactured objects. 98 The work also deals with all sorts of frauds and fraudsters amongst trade dealers and craftsmen who work in the markets, their tricks and frauds in relation to weights and measures and the means they use to cheat their customers. 99 The treatise on hisba by al-Saqati also offers a vivid and expressive account on customs, corporations, the price of foodstuffs and so on.100 One of Lathams articles is an excellent essay on the Interpretation of a passage on scales (mawazin) in Al-Saqatis treatise.101 It is highly technical and includes very interesting descriptive passages and diagrams such as of an equal armed beam scales suspended upside down for agricultural purpose.102 Other articles by Latham include Al-Saqatis observations on grain and flour milling,103and also the bread trade in medieval Malaga.104
Dhya Eddin Abu Mohammed Abdallah ben Ahmed al Malaky (from Malaga) (1197-1248) was known as Ibn al Baytar (translated as son of the vet). He is the author of the richest repository of medical natural history amongst Muslims.105 Ibn-al-Baytar was born in Malaga but travelled in Spain and North Africa as a herbalist and later lived in Cairo as chief herbalist.106 There he was appointed by the Ayyubid Sultan Malik al-Addal as an inspector of all herbalists of Cairo according to one version and as the head of Cairos medical profession, according to another.107 From Egypt he travelled extensively through Syria and Asia Minor and died in Damascus in 1248. A pupil of Ibn-i-Rumia (Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati [the Botanist)), Ibn al-Baytar was also greatly influenced by the work of Al-Ghafiqi (d. 1165) named Kitab al-Adwiyat al-Mufradah (The Book of Simple Drugs). Max Meyerhof has made a good outline of the works of Ibn al-Baytar and his predecessors.108 Of his outstanding works, one was on materia medica, the other on simple remedies - medical preparations containing but one
In M.I. H.I. Surty: The Institution of Hisbah; p. 15. T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p.122. 97 T. Glick: p.122. 98 G.S. Colin et Levi Provencal: Un manuel hispanique de hisba; op cit. 99 G.S. Colin et Levi Provencal: Un manuel hispanique de hisba. 100 J. Bosch Villa: Malaga; op cit; p. 221. 101 J. D. Latham: The Interpretation of a passage on scales; op cit; pp. 283-90. 102 J. D. Latham: The Interpretation of a passage on scales; p. 286. 103 J. D. Latham: Towards; op cit. 104 J.D. Latham: Some observations on the bread trade in Muslim Malaga (ca. 1200); in From Muslim; op cit; pp. 111-22. 105 N.L. Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine Arabe; 2 vols; Paris; 1876. vol 2; p. 225. 106 A. Whipple: The Role; op cit; p. 34. 107 L. Leclerc: Histoire; p. 226. 108 Max Meyerhof: Esquisse d'Histoire de la pharmacologie et de la botanique chez les Musulmans d'Espagne', al-Andalus 3.; pp. 1-41.
96
95

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ingredient.109 The latter was a description of animal, vegetable and mineral ingredients obtained from his own research and experiments as well as data that he had learned from Greek and Muslim sources.110 A great deal of Ibn al-Baytars science comes from his travels and his personal collection and observation of plants of medical interest. He began his extensive travels through the then vast lands of Islam in 1216-7 in search of plants. He thus collected a number of new medicinal plants which were introduced into the pharmaceutical know-how. Hence in Bejaia, Algeria, he found and describes lengthily the Athrilal (Latin: ptychotisverticillata) which a local tribe traded as a specific remedy against leprosy.111 Ibn al-Baytar makes the same discoveries and collections of many other plants in Constantine, Tunis, Tripoli and other places he visits.112 Wherever he went, Ibn alBaytar entered into contact with local scholars to seek further information on local plants and amongst his better known colleagues was Rachid Eddin al-Suri (d 1241) who was another botanist who used to take a painter with him in his outings in search for medicinal plants, recording each of them that was of worth by having them painted at different stages of their growth for inclusion in his book.113 In his encounter with the 13th century medical historian Ibn Abi Usaybi'ah, who wrote the Tabaqat al-Atibba (The Classes of the Physicians, 1242),114 we are informed how in the study of their Greek predecessors - Galen, Dioscorides and others - they came across and raised the errors and contradictions amongst such Greek authors.115 It is held, that there was not a fruit or vegetable known in horticulture at that time that was not grown in the vicinity of Malaga in the Islamic period.116 It is likely that Ibn al-Baytar was largely instrumental in the foundation of the science of botany; his knowledge of plants acquired through his travels and studies enriching considerably the flora of his country with many additions useful for both their culinary and medicinal properties.117 Ibn al-Baytar produced his work Àl-Mughni fi al-Adwiyah (the Sufficient), which is extant in many copies, notably in Paris, No 1008, and 1029 in Arabic. The work subdivides in 20 chapters, dealing with simples for the cure of head diseases; simples for the cure of ear diseases; simples for cosmetics; simples used as counter poisons; the most commonly-used simples in medicine; simples used for fevers and atmospheric alterations and so on.118 In this work, the author makes many observations such as the following on small pox,
Às soon as the pustules appear on a child, he must be treated at the sole of the feet with henna, which then will prevent the disease spreading to the eyes. I have many times observed this. 119
However Ibn al-Baytars best known work is Kitab-ul-Jami fil Adwiyah al-Mufradah (Dictionary of Simple remedies and food) and is the most comprehensive encyclopaedic work on simple drugs. It was the greatest medieval treatise on this subject, 120 a fundamental work on botany describing 3000 simples, all of
109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120
Whipple; 34. Whipple; 34. L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; vol 2; p. 226. L. Leclerc: Histoire; p. 226. I.R. and L. L al-Faruqi: The Cultural Atlas of Islam; Mc Millan Publishing Company New York, 1986. p 328. G Le Bon, La Civilisation des Arabes; Syracuse; 1884; p. 358. L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; pp. 228-9. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; op cit; p. 620. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; op cit; p. 620. L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 235-6. L. Leclerc: Histoire; p. 236. A. Whipple: The Role; op cit; p.34.

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which are listed in alphabetical order. In the preface of the work, Ibn Al-Baytar claims that his objective is to make a thorough study of all simples and diets, which can be used in a continuous manner, whenever there is a need whether it is night or day; the objective is also to provide something that people will make good use of just like the clothes they wear.121 The information in the work derives from over 150 authors, whilst including personal observations by Ibn al-Baytar himself.122 On this, he states in his preface,
I have added to the ideas of the modern cures of vegetal, mineral and animal origins they do not know of. I have written this work relying on the most trusted sources, whether amongst the modern or amongst the botanists, whatever they did not pay attention to. I have always granted each author their own words. I have established the chain of my references by citing my sources. I have only given my authorship to what belongs to me alone; and have only written what I am certain is correct, and that can be relied upon with great confidence.123
As already stated, Ibn al-Baytar collected plants, and in his treatise he offers every single detail relating to their place of collection and also the local names of the plants. 124 A Latin version of the book was published in 1758, and its complete translation appeared in 1842. It was translated by the Frenchman Leclerc and recently re-edited.125 Before that, a number of 17-18th century Western scholars gave their focused attention and interest to the work, including Hottinger - who greatly appreciated it, Golius and Bochart - who used it abundantly in their own works, Herbelot - who praises it in his Bibliotheque Orientale (Oriental Library), Galand - who made a limited translation of it into French, Schultens and the Spanish Orientalist Casiri - who is equally in full praise of the work.126 19th century Western scholars also made their use of Ibn al-Baytars works in one way or the other: Amon making a limited translation of it into Spanish; De Sacy referred to it; Meyer, a historian of botany devoting interested attention to the Muslim author; Dietz making a partial Latin translation whilst Sontheimer made a full German version of the work.127 Ibn al-Baytar illustrates Muslim science in a crucial aspect: experimentation. He says in his preface of Kitab
al-jamii (Treatise on simples) (p. 2): `What for me is accurate, is what is reached by the means of experimentation; the facts obtained through experimentation and observation, and not through hear and say, I will keep like precious treasures, and I will rely on them, and nothing else, except Gods assistance. As for facts which, whether with regard to their potential, quantity, material observation in relation to their effectiveness, and their identification, which are opposed to reality and truth, those whose authors
M. Souissi: En parcourant les prefaces des ouvrages scientifiques en langue arabe; in Cahiers de Tunisie; vol 22; pp. 147-62; at pp. 156. 122 Juan Vernet and Julio Samso: Development of Arabic Science in Andalusia, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Sciences; Edited by R. Rashed; Routledge; 1996; Vol 1, pp 243-76; at pp. 271-2. 123 M. Souissi: En parcourant les prefaces; op cit; p. 156. 124 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 226. 125 Ibn al-Baytar (1874) al-jami .....I-IV, Cairo, 1291, French translation by Lucien Leclerc, I-III, Paris, 1977-83. 126 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 233. 127 L. Leclerc: Histoire; pp. 233-4.
121

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have deviated from the right path, and who load them on my back, I walk away from them with all my strength, telling their author: `You are telling a counter truth. I have not given priority to the Ancient because of his being an Ancient, nor to the modern in whom others have put their faith.128
Ibn al-Baytar sees the royal path of natural sciences,
ìt is through direct observation and experiment that we must base research. In case of conflict between the authorities of the text and observation, it is the latter which must prevail, and followed under every consideration.129
Ibn al-Baytar, in fact is so meticulous, he makes it clear that he has given the names of all medicines in different languages but only listing the medicines he is confident about. He tells that he cited the names of such medicines under the name they are known in their countries of origin, using for instance Berber or Latin and the foreign languages of Andalusia.
I have, he says, taken great care to get the perfect, precise spelling whether in the form of the letters, in diacritics points, so as to make sure that no error is made by the readers, or get into confusion, or distortion, for indeed, errors and mistakes made by the readers come from bad reading or from certain omissions.130
Ibn al-Baytar is the author of several other books which were translated into various European languages such as a treatise on weights and measures which is located in Leyden and Madrid.131 Ibn al-Baytar, however, as Sarton recognises, was one of the last `heroes of the period, which symbolises the relative decadence of Spain.132 A decadence which began in the 13th century by the loss of such great centres of Islamic learning as Murcia, Valencia, Seville, Cordova, Jaen, etc and which, two and a half centuries later, ended in the loss of the last enclave of Muslim Spain - Grenada and, preceding that, Malaga.
The End of Muslim Malaga

Muslim Spain was lost in the 13th century. Cordova, the once mighty city and symbol of Muslim brilliance was lost in 1236. Valencia, the city of industry, the centre of the paper industry and many crafts and trades, of prodigious farming and exceptional irrigation skills was lost in 1238; Murcia, another great city of Islamic scholarship that deserves future attention, was lost in 1266; the last capital of Muslim Spain, Seville, with its great splendour, with its observatory of the Giralda, was lost in 1248. In those few decades other Muslim towns and cities; Jaen, Majorca, Minorca, etc were all taken one after the other during the 13th century. Only the southern enclave of Grenada, which also included the city of Malaga, remained in Muslim hands. This southern territory remained in Muslim hands for roughly another two and a half centuries but their turn came in the years 1482-1483.
128 129 130 131 132
M. Souissi: En parcourant les prefaces des ouvrages; op cit; pp. 156-7. M. Souissi: En parcourant les prefaces des ouvrages pp. 161. M. Souissi: En parcourant les prefaces des ouvrages pp. 158. L. Leclerc: Histoire; p. 236. G.Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. Vol II, p. 485.

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The loss of the last Muslim southern enclave, which included Malaga, was due to the fact that when the Christians launched their vast offensive against this last Muslim outpost and at the time the Muslims needed all their forces to face the Christian attack, they were seriously weakened by divisions caused by jealousies in the harem of the emir.133 The Catholic monarchs were happy at the divisions amongst Muslims, supporting one side against the strongest so as to neutralise the Muslim fighting spirit. 134 This Muslim infighting involved Abul Hassan Ali (Mulay Hassan), ruler of Grenada, and his son Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil.135 It was Boabdils alliance with the Spanish Christian monarchs against his father Mulay al-Hasan, and above all against his uncle, alZeghal (the Brave), which contributed as much as any other cause towards the overthrow of Muslim power in Andalusia.136 Whilst division was rife in the Muslim camp, the Christian side was enthusiastically united in such devotion that Spain had seldom witnessed before.137 To stimulate the spirit of unity, the sovereigns did their utmost to instil into their troops the conviction that the war was a war for religion.138 Further impetus to the Catholic rulers was given by the Popes call for a crusade.139 The civil war between Muslims raged until 29 April 1487, when at last Boabdil had the upper hand in Grenada, and could install himself in the Alhambra after having all the supporters of al-Zeghal put to death.140 Profiting from the civil war between Muslims, the Spanish Catholic monarch Ferdinand occupied Loja, Illorca and Moclin;141 more crucially, because of Boabdil, the way to Malaga lay open for the Spanish Christian attack.142 The battle for Malaga in 1487 was particularly fierce and Queen Isabella herself was present at the siege. Malaga was one of the richest and best fortified of the Muslim cities, the walls flanked by eighty strong towers and four huge citadels, the Gibalfaro and Alcazaba facing the land and the Geneves and Atarazanas on the harbour protected the cityand all were connected with one another by underground passages.143 The position of the Gibralfaro was such as to bid defiance to any military engines or ordnance at the command of the captains of the 15th century and the steep and rugged escarpments of the cliff below it made successful assault impossible.144 It could not be mined; no means could be employed successfully to reduce the city except through starvation. 145 The city, on the other hand, was extremely cut off from the rest. During the siege of Malaga, the vigilance of the Castilian fleet prevented any relief by sea coming from North Africa.146
R. Merriman: The Conquest of Grenada; from R. B. Merriman: The Rise of the Spanish Empire in the Old World and in the New; New York; The Macmillan Company; Copyright; 1918; pp. 62-75; reprinted in The Islamic World and the West; Edited by A.R. Lewis; John Wiley and Sons, Inc; London; 1970; pp. 137-144;at p.138. 134 R. De Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme dEtat; la Difference; Paris; 1992; p. 182. 135 J. Read: The Moors in Spain and Portugal; Faber and Faber, London, 1974. p.196. 136 S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888. p. 246. 137 Roger B. Merriman: The Conquest of Grenada; op cit; p.139. 138 Roger B. Merriman: The Conquest of Grenada: op cit; p.139. 139 H. Terrasse: Islam dEspagne; Librairie Plon; Paris; 1958; p. 243. 140 R. De Zayas: Les Morisques; op cit; p. 187. 141 J. Read: The Moors; op cit; p. 215. 142 J. Read: The Moors; op cit; p. 215. 143 C.M. Yonge: The Story of the Christians and Moors of Spain; London; 1878; p. 272. 144 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; p. 621. 145 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; p. 621. 146 R. Merriman: The Conquest of Grenada; op cit; p. 140.
133

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The city suffered a long, relentless siege but its defence was led by Ez Zegry who inspired the citizens and his North African troops to fight to the last.147 When the Spanish King tried to bribe him, he dismissed the messenger with courteous disdain and when the city was summoned to surrender, Ez Zegry said,
Ì was set here not to surrender but to defend.148 `My countrymen have shown by choosing me that they think me worthy. Thou wouldst make me base. If the insult be renewed, the messenger shall be treated as an enemy.149
The Spanish monarchs then tried to bribe the inhabitants, thinking that the rich merchants and Jews would never endure the rigours of such a siege but Ez-Zegri discovered what was going on and threatened to turn his canon on them if he saw any sign of treachery.150 Ez Zegry and his followers resisted the bombardments and renewed assault; the walls were mined by the Spaniards yet the garrison held out. 151 In the words of the ancient chroniclers, the Muslim `fought so desperately that they seemed to have a greater desire to kill the Christians than to save their own lives.152 They offered nor accepted quarter;153 with one exception though. In one of the Muslim counter-attacks, they came across a group of young Spanish boys playing outside their camp. The Muslim leader patted them gently with his lance and bade them to run away to their mothers. `Why not let them taste the point of the lance? said a fierce warrior. `Because I saw no beards, answered the generous chief.154 And whilst Ez-Zegri and his men fought fiercely, the citys population - whose commercial pursuits, for the most part, rendered them averse to fighting - was ready to make any sacrifice for the sake of peace. 155 To these wealthy merchants, every patriotic consideration was subservient to the enjoyment of momentary quiet and safety. 156 This group was headed by Al Dordux, a citizen of immense fortune, distinguished lineage who was related to the House of Grenada and respected by his countrymen., Through his mediation, an attempt was made to deliver the city to the Christians.157 The situation was growing desperate, especially as the numbers of the fighters dwindled every day. And when Al-Zeghal hand-picked a group of Muslim warriors who set out from Guadix to relieve besieged Malaga, Boabdil, whose spies had informed him, ambushed the relieving party and decimated them before they reached Malaga,158 and thus, for this infamous service - thoroughly in keeping with his character Boabdil earned himself the congratulations of the Catholic ruler, Ferdinand. 159
147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158
S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; op cit; p.253-4. S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; op cit; p.253-4. C.M. Yonge: The Story of the Christians and Moors; op cit; p. 272. C.M. Yonge: The Story of the Christians and Moors; p. 272. S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; p.253-4. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; op cit; p. 625. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; op cit; p. 625. C.M. Yonge: The Story of the Christians and Moors of Spain; p. 273. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; op cit; p. 623. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; op cit; p. 628. S.P. Scott: History; vol 2; op cit; p. 628. R. Merriman: The Conquest of Grenada; p. 140.

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Eventually, despite Ez Zegry and his mens fighting to the near last, the starved people of Malaga, after a siege of countless months, forced Ez-Zegry to open the gates of the city.160 The Spaniards took possession of the city in August 1487; Ez-Zegry was cast into a dungeon never to be heard of again.161 Ferdinand imposed the harshest conditions on the Muslim city: the whole population was condemned to slavery.162One third was transported to North Africa to be exchanged for Christian captives detained there; another third was appropriated by the state as payment for the expenses of the campaign; the rest were distributed among the nobles, the Pope and the sovereigns of friendly lands.163All Christians who had converted to Islam found they were tortured to death with sharp pointed reeds; all conversos* were burnt alive.164 Thousands more were massacred and young boys were picked up by priests to catechise them; soon after much of Malaga was burnt down.165 Malaga was to be a Christian city; many mosques were `purified or pulled down, and churches erected. The beautiful lands and houses of the Muslims were freely given to settlers from Aragon and Castile.166 The chief Muslim remains in the late 19th century were the great citadel of the Gibalfaro and a beautiful marble horse shoe arch, the entrance to the Muslim dockyard, but now left far inland by the retreating sea. anniversary of the great victory - the great bell of the cathedral sounds three times.168 Writing in 1936, precisely the year in which the Spanish civil war began (1936-9), Levi Provencal tells us that hardly any monuments of the Muslim period survived in Malaga.169 The old chief mosque has become the cathedral. The old Muslim citadel is still called Alcazaba.170 The previously-mentioned arsenal - named dar al-Sinaa in Arabic and
167
On the 18th August - the
from which the current term Atarazana is derived - occupies the actual site of a market and one of the gates with the motto of the Nasrids - La ghaliba illa llah (there is none to overpower but Allah) - is still standing.171
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espagne musulmane; Texte Arabe, introduction, notes liguistiques et glossaire; xiii + 722; publication de
lInstitut des hautes etudes Marocaines; Paris Leroux; 1931. -L. I. Conrad: Muhtassib; in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980 fwd. vol 9; pp. 526-7. -Baron G. DOhsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834. -I.R. and L. L al-Faruqi: The Cultural Atlas of Islam; Mc Millan Publishing Company New York, 1986. -T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1979. -T.B. Irving: Dates, Names and Places: The end of Islamic Spain; in Revue d'Histoire Maghrebine; No 6162; 1991; pp 77-93. -S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888. -J. D. Latham: The Interpretation of a passage on scales (Mawazin) in an Andalusian Hisba manual. In
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Spanish by P. Chalmeta y Gendron. -G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. -S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; in three volumes; The J.B. Lippincott Company; Philadelphia; 1904. -R. Schnyder: Islamic Ceramics: A Source of Inspiration for Medieval European Art in Islam and The
Medieval West; ed; S.Ferber; A Loan Exhibition at the University Art Gallery April 6 - May 4, 1975. State
University of New York at Binghamton. -M. Souissi: En parcourant les prefaces des ouvrages scientifiques en langue arabe; in Cahiers de Tunisie; vol 22; pp. 147-62 -M.I. H.I. Surty: The Institution of Hisbah and its impact on the health sciences; in The Islamic Quarterly, vol XLIII (1999); pp. 5-20. -H. Terrasse: Islam dEspagne; Librairie Plon; Paris; 1958. -Juan Vernet and Julio Samso: Development of Arabic Science in Andalusia, in Encyclopaedia of the History
of Arabic Sciences; Edited by R. Rashed; Routledge; 1996; Vol 1, pp 243-76.

-Alice Wilson Frothingham, Lustreware of Spain, New York (1951).

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Malaga June 2005
-D. Whitehouse: Glass in Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980 fwd. vol 5; pp. 545-8. -A. Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977. -C.M. Yonge: The Story of the Christians and Moors of Spain; London; 1878. -R. De Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme dEtat; la Difference; Paris; 1992.

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Using an Astrolabe
Emily Winterburn PhD Lamaan Ball August 2005 4094 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Using an Astrolabe August 2005
USING AN ASTROLABE
This article has been kindly written for FSTC by Dr Emily Winterburn from the National Maritime Museum. We are very grateful for this article and in particular for the permission to use the images contained in it.
Al Sufi, one of the most famous astronomers of the Islamic world was writing in Isfahan (in modern day Iran) in the 10th century. In his writings he outlined over 1000 uses of an astrolabe. Accounts of the astrolabe as a scientific instrument range from the very earliest given by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus in around 150BC through writings from the Islamic world to modern day descriptions by historians and curators and all emphasise that the astrolabe is an extremely versatile instrument. The fundamental operation of astrolabes has varied little in their long history, all use the relationship between the apparent movement of the stars, as seen from a particular latitude on Earth, and time allowing them to be used to find the time from the stars or Sun, and the position of the stars and Sun at a particular time (a feature particularly useful when casting horoscopes). All similarly have the flexibility to be used as both an observational instrument and as an aid to mathematical calculation.

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Origin and spread

The astrolabe is thought to have originated in Ancient Greece. Though no examples have survived, Hipparchus, writing in around 150BC is credited with discovering stereographic projection, the mathematical means of representing the 3D sky onto a 2D plate that is the basis of how the astrolabe works. While their origin may have been Greek it is generally agreed that the design was then perfected in the Islamic world indeed the name Astrolabe comes from the Arabic version of the Greek term Star holder. The earliest surviving physical example of an astrolabe belongs to a private collection on permanent loan to the Kuwait National Museum and has been travelling the world in a touring exhibition called Islamic Art and Patronage, Treasures from Kuwait since the Gulf War (1991). question was made in Iraq and signed and dated Nastalus, 315AH (927-928 CE). The astrolabe in
Structure
An astrolabe is made up of 4 main pieces: the mater or base plate the rete or top web-like plate which shows the fixed stars, the ecliptic (the zodiac constellations and part of the sky across which the Sun travels) and certain naked eye stars the plates, each of which is made for a different latitude. Each plate has engraved on it a grid marking the zenith (point directly over head), the horizon and all the altitudes in between the alidade or rule with sights used for making observations and reading off scales. The rete and plates are designed to fit into the mater.

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This figure shows the mater from the back, surrounded by 4 plates, the alidade, the rete and the pin and horse that hold the assembled parts together.
This figure shows the rete of an astrolabe engraved in Latin. visible with the naked eye such as Rigel and Altair.
On this you can see a circle marking the
ecliptic with each zodiac sign labelled (Virgo, Libra, Scorpio etc) and pointers for key stars which are easily

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The back is then decorated with a varying number and range of tables the most common being a calendar scale allowing the user to match the Julian / Gregorian calendar date with the position of the Sun in the zodiac. Also common to almost all astrolabes is the shadow square for calculating the height of buildings using basic trigonometry.
Observations
To make an observation with an astrolabe you need to hold it with the ring at the top to ensure it hangs down straight. If observing the Sun, you then hold it out and line up the rule so that the Suns beam travels through both sights onto a point on the ground. This is because you must not look directly at the Sun. The degree scale around the edge of the back of the mater will give you the altitude or angular height of the Sun above the horizon. If observing a star you hold it up and look though both sights up at the star and again read off the angle where the rule crosses the degree scale.

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If observing the height of a building you need first to measure your position from the base of the building, then look through both sights at the top of the building, then read off the shadow square the ratio of vertical to horizontal distance given by where the rule crosses on the shadow square.
Measuring the height of a building

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Calculations telling the time from the Sun or stars

One of the most common calculations that can be made with an astrolabe is to find the time using the Sun or stars. This is done by first selecting the plate appropriate to your latitude. Each plate is engraved with concentric circles marking out degrees of altitude from 0 at the horizon to 90 at the zenith (or point directly above the observer). Next, observe the star to find its altitude (see above). You then find that star on the rete rotate the rete until the pointer for that star lines up with its altitude on the plate. Finally, attach the rule to the front of the astrolabe and then rotate the rule until it lines up with the star at its correct altitude. The time can then be read from the scale around the rim of the mater.
The process is very much the same when finding the time from the altitude of the Sun except that you need to add in an extra stage. Using the calendar scale on the back, find the position of the Sun in the ecliptic (ie the corresponding part of the sign of the zodiac for that date). This part of the ecliptic on the rete then acts in place of a star pointer, and as before is lined up with the correct altitude on the plate beneath.
Calculations finding the time of sunrise or sunset

To make predictions about when the Sun will appear in a particular part of the sky as seen from a particular latitude on a particular date the process needed is roughly the reverse of that described above. First you need to find the position of the Sun in the ecliptic for that date using the calendar scales on the back of the astrolabe. Next you need to rotate the rete to line up that part of the ecliptic on the rete with the horizon on the plate for your latitude. For sunrise use the horizon line to the left (east) of the centre, for sunset use the horizon line to the right (west). Then as before rotate the rule until it lines up with the ecliptic at the horizon and read off the time on the hour scale around the rim of the mater.
Calculations casting horoscopes

To cast a horoscope it is necessary to know the position of the stars visible in the sky at the time of birth. Using the same principles as above, this can be done by finding the position of the Sun in the ecliptic for the date of the birth in question and select the correct plate for the latitude of the birth. Then, rotate the rule until it lines up with the time of birth Next, rotate the rete until the part of the ecliptic relating to the correct date is in line with the rule.

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This set up of the astrolabe then shows all the stars visible in the sky. and all those below it were not visible at that time.
All the stars shown on the rete
above the horizon were visible at the time of birth, all those on the horizon were just rising or just setting
In addition to this feature many astrolabes also have tables engraved on the back displaying other astrological information that might be useful in the casting of horoscopes. These include tables of triplicities (showing which zodiac signs are Fire, Earth, Water or Air), the zodiac subdivided into limits (5 unequal divisions of each sign), decans (3 equal divisions of each sign) and faces (2 polarities positive and negative for the rulers for each decan) and information about the planets ruling each sign.
There is also sometimes information on the lunar mansions, a feature of astrology thought to have originated in India that subdivides the zodiac into 28 (instead of 12) sections, each referring to the position

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of the Moon in the zodiac for a particular day. Similarly some astrolabes have the12 astrological houses marked out on the latitude plates since it is through these that the stars move over the course of 24 hours.
Calculations religious applications

Additional features unique to Islamic astrolabes (and not featured in all of those) are those tables designed to aid the carrying out of the 5 pillars of Islam. Of the 5 pillars the two most dependant on astronomical observation and calculation are finding the qibla or direction of Mecca and predicting prayer times and for these many Islamic astrolabes carry special tables.
Qibla
One quarter of the back of some astrolabes have a grid made up of concentric quarter circles (or arcs of sine) each representing the date or zodiac sign in which the Sun would be found at that date. Cutting through these are lines running from the centre of the circle to the edge, these represent particular cities. To use this to find the direction of Mecca (the qibla) from one of these cities move the rule to the point at which the city line crosses the date line for todays date. This gives the altitude (on the outer degree scale) of the Sun at the point in that day when it is in the direction of Mecca. This method uses the fact that the Sun changes altitude and azimuth (travelling from East to West) as it crosses the sky.

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Gazetteer
Often as an alternative to the qibla many astrolabes contain a gazetteer or table listing place names, their latitude and longitude and the direction from that point to Mecca roughly (for example NW) and more exactly. Gazetteers are often found today in booklets alongside a compass allowing prayer mats to be properly aligned.

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Prayer lines
Some astrolabes also have prayer lines engraved on the plates since these are related to position of the Sun in the sky and are therefore latitude dependent.

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Inscriptions
One final indication we find on many Islamic astrolabes which gives them a religious dimension as opposed to simply being Arabic but non-religious is the inscriptions. On many Islamic astrolabes we find passages from the Koran, dedications, religious verses and of course the date given according to the Hijra calendar. On this astrolabe for example we find engraved along the rim of the mater an invocation to the Prophet, his mother, Fatima and the 12 Imams of Twelver Shi'ism telling us not only that it is an Islamic astrolabe, but that it was made by and / or for followers of the Shiite Islam.
A popular passage from the Koran (Ayat al-Kursi - 2:255), found on a number of astrolabes is this found on the throne of this astrolabe
God! There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him, nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on Earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or

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after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the Earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. For He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).
Appearance, region and time

Astrolabes have never been solely scientific instruments; they have always been objects of beauty as much as of function. As such their appearance can often tell us not only how they were used but also where, when and for whom they were made.

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This astrolabe for example was made for a muezzin in 13th century Syria and as such is simple in its design since it was made for someone for whom function would have been more important than appearance.
This one on the other hand reflects the prosperous and cultured time and place in which it was made. Made during the reign of the Safavid dynasty in Iran in the 18th century it is like the art and architecture of that time and place beautifully made with as much attention paid to its aesthetic perfection as to its scientific accuracy.

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Finally, this astrolabe suggests by its appearance that it was made in a particular region. The throne (top part of the mater which links the disc part of the astrolabe with the ring by which it is suspended) is of a design typical of Lahore of this period and indeed the makers signature and date engraved on the astrolabe confirms this. Astrolabes today The astrolabe was introduced into the Christian West around the 13th century CE via Islamic Spain. Europeans adopted the astrolabe along with the various astronomical texts some translations of Greek originals, some purely Arabic and it had become widespread within learned circles by the 14th century.
For a while the astrolabe came to symbolise the astronomer in the West just as much as it had in the East with numerous treatises dedicated to its versatility including Geoffrey Chaucers English account of the astrolabe (the first to be written in the West in a language other than Latin) written for his 10 year old son. In the 1400s a variation on the standard design was developed by the Portuguese and a new instrument, the mariners astrolabe was created. This, unlike the astronomical astrolabe was a purely observational device with no scope for calculation. The astrolabe fell out of fashion as a scientific tool in the West in the 17th century as a whole range of other instruments catering to specific needs the telescope for observation being the most significant that had previously been carried out by the astrolabe were developed. As a collectors item the astrolabe was rediscovered in the West in the mid-19th century and today examples can be found of astrolabes from around the world in museums. Included in those collections are a number of fakes made in the 19th century made in response to their newfound popularity among non-scientific collectors.

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In the East however the compactness of the astrolabe allowing so many functions to be performed by just one handy and portable instrument continued to be valued until well into the 19th century. Today in many parts of the Islamic world, the astrolabe is still seen as a symbol of scientific and cultural excellence and its image features in company logos, formal gardens and even shopping centres.

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Scientific Contacts and Influences Between the Islamic World and Europe: The Case of Astronomy
Author: Chief Editor: Associate Editor: Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright:
Prof. Paul Kunitzsch Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Savas Konur January, 2007 655 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
27 Turner Street, Manchester, M4 1DY, United Kingdom Web: http://www.fstc.co.uk Email: info@fstc.co.uk
Scientific Contacts and Influences Between the Islamic World and Europe: The Case of Astronomy January 2007
SCIENTIFIC CONTACTS AND INFLUENCES BETWEEN THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND EUROPE: THE CASE OF ASTRONOMY
Prof. Paul Kunitzsch*
This article was first published in the Cultural Contacts in Building a Universal Civilisation: Islamic Contributions. Edited by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. Istanbul: IRCICA, 2005. This book can be provided from IRCICA publication on their official website: www.ircica.org. We are grateful to Dr. Halit Eren, General Director of IRCICA for allowing publication.
When, in the early seventh century AD, in the Arabian Peninsula the new religion of Islam was founded and developed, the conditions for its meeting with the Christian world were significantly different on the two sides. The inhabitants of the lands of the Middle East and of Arabia were accustomed, since centuries, to live together with Christian and Jewish communities and individuals. The Muslims, therefore, had no major difficulty, after the spread of Islam through the lands of the Middle East and North Africa, to tolerate the Christian and Jewish minorities and to coexist with them peacefully. The situation was basically different on the side of the Western, Christian, world. The Christian world, at that time, existed in a sharp dichotomy: in the East, the Byzantine, orthodox, empire, and in the West the Roman-Catholic, Latin, area, falling into many separate dominions. The Byzantines knew their oriental neighbours for centuries; they knew them as occasional invaders or aggressors on the South-Eastern borders, but they also concluded treaties and entertained friendly relations with some of their tribes. It took them a while to realize that the Muslim expansion and conquests meant more than just some local raids and that behind all that there was a firm ideology, a new religion of its own. The report of Theophanes Confessor (d. 818) in his chronicle about these developments reached the Latin West, where it was used by Anastasius Bibliothecarius (d. 897) in his chronicle Historia tripartita and conveyed to the West the Byzantine attitude towards the new, "heretic", religion promulgated by the Prophet Muhammad. The Latin West was in the eighth century a uniform area of Christian, Rome-centred, belief. Apart from few Jewish groups or individuals, it was a closed Christian society living in the solid conviction of the validity and prevalence of its belief, without the experience of having in its mid adherents of other beliefs. This situation of Christian self-confidence was suddenly shaken by the invasion of the Muslims in Spain, in 711. Here the Latin West was confronted not just with one of the not uncommon attacks of some people, but with the adherents of another belief contesting the uniqueness of their background: their belief. At that moment a basic hostile attitude of the Christian West toward Islam was formed which continued through many centuries, and one might even say, somehow until today. The role played in the first centuries by the Arabs - the "Saracens" or "heathens" - (and, for the Byzantines, by the "Persians"), was later taken by the Turks conquering parts of South-Eastern Europe and threatening even Vienna.
*
Ludwig-Maximilians Universitt Mnchen, Visitor at Faculty of History and the Arts.
Publication ID: 655 COPYRIGHT FSTC Limited 2007
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But it would be wrong to assume that the two worlds lived on through the centuries in continuous enmity. There developed contacts beyond the borders on many levels. Christian pilgrims visited the holy places in Palestine; commercial contacts were established and firm establishments of Western traders were set up in several cities in Islamic lands; embassies were exchanged between the two sides and treaties were concluded. These contacts and exchanges led to a deeper mutual understanding. By and by each side learnt of the achievements of the others and became interested enough to procure for themselves what appeared valuable or useful to them. Not the least of the subjects provoking interest on each of the two sides were the sciences, in the widest sense. So it came that at different times, in different directions, vast movements of scientific borrowing developed. In the following we shall deal with such contacts and borrowings in the field of astronomy, which was always closely related to mathematics and which usually also, comprised astrology (the strict separation between astronomy and astrology was only introduced in Europe in early modern times1). With the spreading of Islam through the lands of the Middle and Near East the Arabs came into contact with the inhabitants of the area and began to learn of their achievements in all fields of civilization, among which there was also what had been cultivated there of the remnants of Greek science. As it seems, not only scholarly texts had there been preserved and studied, but also astronomical instruments from Greek tradition such as the celestial globe and the plane astrolabe had survived. Perhaps the oldest evidence in this context is the cupola of the caldarium in the desert castle of Qusayr 'Amra (ca. 60 km. east of Amman) built under the Omayyad Caliph al-Walid I (r. 705-715). This cupola is decorated with the painting of the celestial vault showing a number of constellations and some of the basic great circles in the sphere. As has been observed, this representation of the sky was copied from a celestial globe, naturally of Greek origin; but the artists, being no scholars themselves, committed the error of copying the view of the sky as it appeared on the convex, outer, surface of the globe onto the concave, inner, surface of the cupola so that it appears contrary to the natural view in the sky2. Another evidence for the existence of a Greek celestial globe in the area in the eighth century is found in Ibn al-Salah's (d. 1154) treatise on the mistakes in the transmission of Ptolemy's star catalogue in the Almagest; he cites a book describing a Greek celestial globe (kitab fi iqtisas kura yunaniya) which, as can be gleaned from the precession value cited, would have been constructed around 738 AD.3 Also for the plane astrolabe it must be assumed that exemplars from the Greek tradition survived into the early centuries of Islam and conveyed to Muslim scholars its actual form which they might not easily have been able to develop merely after the written texts on the construction of the instrument. Unlike the celestial globe, no specimens or mentions of such exemplars are known; the only Greek, Byzantine, astrolabe known dates from 1062 AD and may reflect oriental influence.4 It should, however, be pointed out that in 662, a few decades after the Arabic conquest, bishop Severus Sebokht of Qinnasrin (south of Aleppo) wrote a treatise, in Syriac, on the astrolabe based on Greek sources; this proves that the knowledge and practice of the astrolabe were alive in the area in the seventh century.
1 2 3 4
Hbner 1989. Saxl 1932; Beer 1932; Brunet, Nadal, Vibert-Guigue 1998. Ibn as-Salah 1975, 18, 72f., 132 (Arabic). Dalton 1926; Stautz 1997, 40f.
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The most famous manifestation of the interest of the Islamic world in the sciences of the Greeks, and of pertaining mutual contacts, is formed by the translation movement beginning in the eighth and continuing into the tenth century. Of the innumerable scientific texts then translated into Arabic we shall here only deal with astronomical and astrological materials. In the early period several Greek texts, especially in astrology, were translated from Middle-Persian versions. Afterwards Syriac was often involved, because practically all of the translators were Christian clerics and scholars well versed with Syriac. Among the works translated,5 the most influential was Ptolemy's astronomical handbook (ca. 150 AD) Mathematike
Syntaxis, known with the Arabs - perhaps after a Middle-Persian form - as al-Majasti, which later became the famous Latin Almagest.6 Of this work three successive translations were produced; the last one, by
Ishaq ibn Hunayn, was revised by Thabit ibn Qurra. Traces of the first translation can still be found in alBattani's al-Zij al-Sabi7 and in the treatise of Ibn al-Salah.8 Two of these versions arrived in Muslim Spain where, in the twelfth century, they served as the basis for the Latin translation by Gerard of Cremona. Still in 1732 Jayasimha, the Maharaja of Amber (India), had a Sanskrit translation of the Almagest made from its Arabic recension (Tahrir) by Nasir al-Din al-Ts (composed in 1247).9 These translations were normally instigated and patronized as well by influential private persons as by viziers or the caliphs. The outstanding figure here is the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813-833), who is known as the sponsor of two translations of the Almagest, apart of many other works. Following the example of the Khizanat al-Hikma, an institution collecting books and promoting the acquisition and promulgation of the sciences instituted by his father, the caliph Haran al-Rashid (r. 786-809), he founded in 832 the Bayt al-Hikma, "House of wisdom", with the same aims.10 It is also said that in pursuit of Greek scientific manuscripts he" sent a delegation to the Byzantine emperor. One of the most famous translators, Hunayn ibn Ishaq (808-873), is reported to have once spent two years, presumably in Byzantium (Bilad alRum), in order to improve his knowledge of Greek and that, on his return to Baghdad, he was able to recite verses from Homer's epics in Greek. 11 The influx of Greek science into the Islamic world was of far reaching influence, not only for the formation and growth of Arabic-Islamic science itself, but later also for the medieval scientific "Renaissance" in Latin Europe. Already under al-Ma'mun - when the translation movement was still far from having come to its end - Arabic astronomers began to examine, to criticize and to improve parameters from the Greek tradition, notably in the Almagest. From now on Arabic-Islamic astronomy started its own life to flourish for many centuries. At its base there was the knowledge of the Greeks, the geocentric cosmic system of Aristotle and Ptolemy. And Arabic-Islamic astronomy remained Ptolemaic-geocentric through all times, apart from a few individual proposals of other models which, however, did not gain wider acceptance. But ArabicIslamic astronomers more and more improved their observations of the motions of the celestial bodies and devised ever more refined methods to bring the observed phenomena in harmony with Ptolemy's model of the world. Another, similar, process of scientific contacts and borrowing developed in Europe, now in the opposite direction, from East to West, from the late tenth to the thirteenth centuries. Again, innumerable scientific
5 6
For individual Greek authors and texts translated into Arabic, see Ullmann 1972, 277-297; Sezgin 1978, 68-113; Sezgin 1979, 30-76. Kunitzsch 1974a, 115-125. 7 Kunitzsch 1974b; Ibn as-Salah 1975, 97-105. 8 Ibn al-Salah 1975. 9 Kusuba - Pingree 2002, 5. 10 Sourdel 1960, 1141. 11 Strohmaier 1971,578-581.
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texts were translated, now from Arabic into Latin and some also into Old-Spanish and Byzantine Greek. After the Muslim conquest of the territories along the southern and western coasts of the Mediterranean, parts of Europe came into direct contact with the Arabs. Most of the translations of this period were made in Spain, but some also in Sicily, in the Crusaders lands in the Near East and in Byzantium. The Arab conquest of Spain began in 711, and soon most parts of the Iberian Peninsula were under Arabic rule which lasted for almost eight hundred years. In the course of this span of time the area governed by the Arabs continuously shrunk, one part after the other being regained by the Christian reconquista, until in 1492 the last Arabic principality, Granada, was captured by Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. Spain thus fell, in those centuries, into two parts, a southern part, al-Andalus, under the rule of many successive Muslim dynasties, and the northern, Christian, part, both parts continuously in motion, the Christians extending their dominion more and more southward. The Christian population of al-Andalus continued to live under Muslim rule. This convivencia was not free of problems; the reports of various sorts of oppression are numerous. At least, the Christians of al-Andalus more and more accustomed to the leading Arabic culture. Paulus Alvarus complains, in the ninth century, about the behaviour of the young Christians who neglect their own Latin culture and try to excel in the refinements of the Arabic language and even Arabic poetry.12 The "Arabized" Christians of al-Andalus were called Mozarabs (musta'rib), and individuals from this group were often helpful in the transfer of knowledge from the Arabian side to the Christians. It must be stressed here that all the translations of scientific texts from Arabic were always made in the Christian parts of Spain. After the consolidation of the Arab rule the Arabs of al-Andalus became also interested in the sciences. They made themselves familiar with the achievements of the Arabic East and began their own scientific activity. The outstanding figure in mathematics and astronomy in the second half of the tenth century was Maslama al-Majriti (d. 1007). An echo of these activities radiated into the (Christian) region of Barcelona. Here scholarly monks in the late tenth century wrote the first Latin treatises based on Arabic materials. As it appears they had at their disposal Arabic texts as well as a specimen of an Andalusian astrolabe and, probably Mozarab, helpers who assisted them in the interpretation of the Arabic materials. Their texts contain portions translated from al-Khwarizmi's treatise on the use of the astrolabe13 and even two short fragments from Ptolemy's Planisphaerium14 as well as own writings on the subject based on the Arabic materials. The Catalonian texts, the Sententie astrolabii and others, soon spread through many parts of Europe France, Germany, England - so that gradually the fame of Arabic science was formed. In the twelfth century scholars from various parts of Europe came into Spain with the aim of gathering and translating more of the scientific wealth of the Arabs: Adelard of Bath and Robert of Chester, Hermann of Carinthia, Gerard of Cremona and Salio of Padua, a movement which was also shared by Spanish scholars such as John of Seville, Dominicus Gundisalvi and others.15 The conditions under which the "translators" were working in Seville, Toledo and other places in Christian Spain, are not known in all detail: their local affiliation, their knowledge of Arabic - in several cases it is reported that they had the help of native speakers of Arabic, such as Gerard of Cremona who was assisted,
12 13 14 15
Southern 1981, 21f.; Daniel 1975, 32f.; Metlitzki 1977, 6. Kunitzsch 1987a. Kunitzsch 1993. For a survey of the translations in the field of astronomy and astrology, see Carmody 1956.
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in the translation of Ptolemy's Almagest, by the Mozarab Galippus (Ghalib);16 others, like John of Seville, will have been fluent in Arabic - or the possibility of obtaining exemplars of Arabic texts in the area where they were working (that, for example, Gerard of Cremona translated the Almagest from Book I-IX after the Arabic version of al-Hajjaj, but the remaining Books X-XIII and the star catalogue, in Books VII-VIII, after the Ishaq-Thabit version, may have come because his Hajjaj manuscript was incomplete or because he obtained a manuscript of the Ishaq-Thabit version in a later stage of his work).17 The selling of scientific texts to Christians was, for example, forbidden to booksellers by Ibn 'Abdun (d. 1134) in his risala (treatise) on hisba (market supervision), arguing that then the Christians may claim the originality of the scientific achievements for themselves.18 Also, on the Arabic side orthodox tendencies were sometimes leading to the condemnation of the pagan sciences and resulted in the destruction of libraries holding such material, such as the destruction of the huge library of caliph al-Hakam II by the hajib Abu 'Amir al-Mansur (the Almanzor badly known among the Christians, d. 1002). In the thirteenth century the interest in Arabic astronomy reached a last peak under King Alfonso X of Castile (r. 1252-1284) at whose order and with whose own participation again Arabic texts were translated, now into Spanish, and other texts were composed on the basis of Arabic sources, assembled in his monumental compilation, Libros del saber de astronomia.19 In Sicily the situation was different. The Arab rule there, beginning in 827, lasted for about two hundred and fifty years. After the Christian reconquest, many Arabs remained in the area and left their traces in many fields, administration, architecture, the arts, etc. Speaking of the transmission of Arabic astronomy, we must here mention Michael Scot (d. around 1235) who, beginning his career in Spain, where he translated al-Bitruji's critique of Ptolemy's system, the De motibus celorum, in 1217, later moved to Sicily where he became court astrologer of the emperor Frederick II (r. 1212-1250), whose interest in Arabic science and whose contacts with Arab scientists of the time are well-known. Here Michael composed his
Liber introductorius, a survey of astronomy and astrology in four books based both on classical and on
Arabic sources. It seems also to have been in Sicily that the so-called "Sufi latinus corpus" was compiled, comprising an adaptation of Gerard of Cremona's version of Ptolemy's star catalogue to the data of al-Sufi's star catalogue (964 AD) - therefore, not a Latin translation of al-Sufi's book! - and adding illustrations of the 48 constellations as devised by al-Sufi and some other material; the oldest one of the eight manuscripts of the corpus, MS Paris, Arsenal 1036, was perhaps written in Bologna around 1270 and contains a number of hints to Sicily from the late twelfth to the early thirteenth century.20 Turning, then, to the Crusaders' lands in Syria and Palestine, it must be said that between 1098, the capture of Antioch, and 1291, the capture of the Crusaders last fortress, Accon, by the Mamluks, these lands contributed remarkably little to the process of transmitting Arabic science to Europe. The only name to be mentioned here is Stephen of Antioch. So far he has been known as the (second) translator, in 1127, of the medical handbook al-Kitab al-malaki, Regalis dispositio, of 'Ali ibn 'Abbas al-Majusi (10th century) - a first translation of this work had been made by Constantinus Africanus in the eleventh century, in Salerno
(Liber Pantegni). Recently arguments have been brought forward that the same Stephen could also be the
author of the Liber Mamonis, a Latin cosmology describing the Ptolemaic system and using Arabic material, and that the so-called "Dresden Almagest", i.e. a translation of the Almagest (obviously from Arabic)
16 17 18 19 20
According to Daniel of Morley; see Maurach 1979, 244f., cf. also 215. Kunitzsch 1974a, 97-104. Cf. Kunitzsch 1992, 73 with n. 5. Rico y Sinobas 1863-1867; Bossong 1979. Kunitzsch 1986a, esp. 71-74 and note on 80.
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surviving in a single copy, MS Dresden Db. 87, and only containing Books I-IV, might have originated in the same milieu.21 At last Byzantium should be mentioned. Here already before the year 1000 AD, Abu Ma'shar's astrological
De revolutionibus nativitatum was translated into Greek.22 Traces of Arabic influences are further observed
in the eleventh century (MS Paris gr. 2425; Symeon Seth; the anonymous "Methods for Computing....").23 Calculation with the Hindu-Arabic numerals became known in the middle of the thirteenth century.24 Near the end of the thirteenth and in the fourteenth centuries the names of Gregorius Chioniades and Georgius Chrysokokkes, respectively, play an important role. The first one visited Tabriz (northern Iran) and learnt Persian himself; he brought back from there to Constantinople astronomical texts, in Persian, and had them translated into Greek.25 As a commentary to the Persian material, Chrysokokkes wrote an "Introduction to the Persian Syntaxis" (presumably in 1347).26 The translations of astronomical and astrological works from Arabic became of fundamental influence in Latin Europe. The texts translated were partly Greek works in Arabic versions, as notably Ptolemy's
Almagest, and partly original works of Arabic-Islamic astronomers. But it must also be kept in mind that the
numerous translations made in Spain were restricted to a choice of Eastern Arabic works available in alAndalus in the twelfth century, the latest Eastern authors being, as it appears, Ibn al-Haytham (d. around 1041) and 'Ali ibn Ridwan (d. 1061); from al-Andalus, also some authors of the twelfth century such as Jabir ibn Aflah or al-Bitruji were translated. This means that the medieval Western knowledge of ArabicIslamic astronomy was relatively restricted; the full wealth of Arabic-Islamic astronomy until the twelfth century and beyond remained unknown until, starting from the seventeenth century, early Western orientalists began to study and edit more astronomical material from the Arabic-Islamic world. In any way, the Latin translations from Arabic exerted an essential influence on the revival of astronomical studies in Latin Europe which led, in the end, to the development of modern astronomy. These translations not only inspired European scholars in the Middle Ages; they were read and discussed into the seventeenth century.27 This success may, in part, have come due to the invention of printing which made those texts available on a wider range and easier to handle than in the earlier manuscript tradition. Unlike in medicine where in the Renaissance a tendency of "antiarabism" developed,28 the reputation of Arabic-Islamic astronomy remained unbroken. In the 1530s Peter Apian somehow became acquainted with al-Sufi's Book on the Constellations, reported translated portions from it and even drew a star map including drawings of Old-Arabic asterisms described there.29 Globe makers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries like Willem Janszoon Blaeu, Jacob Aertsz, Colom, Vincenzo Coronelli and George Adams added the constellation names in Arabic, in Arabic script, to the inscriptions on their celestial globes.30 In 1814, Giuseppe Piazzi introduced nearly a hundred new Arabic star names, beyond those known since the Middle Ages, in the
21
Burnett 2003. The text called Liber Mamonis by Burnett after its title in the manuscript has also been studied by R. Lemay. In his view, however, it is the Astronomia written by Hermann of Carinthia; see Lemay 2000. 22 Pingree 1968. 23 Hunger 1978, 241; Jones 1987. 24 Hunger 1978, 245-247. 25 Pingree 1964; Pingree 1985-1986. 26 Hunger 1978, 252f.; Pingree 1964; Kunitzsch 1964; Tihon 1987, 1989, 1990. 27 Knobloch 1996. 28 Schipperges 1964. 29 Kunitzsch 1986b, 1987b 30 Kunitzsch 1997,2001.
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second edition of his Palermo star catalogue.31 The nomenclature of the Moon, created by Francesco Maria Grimaldi and printed in 1651 in Giovanni-Battista Riccioli's Almagestum novum contained ten names of famous Arabic-Islamic astronomers in their medieval Latinized forms to which three more were added in 1837 in the Mappa selenographica of Wilhelm Beer and Johann Heinrich Madler.32 In recent times at least ten craters on the far side of the Moon were again named after outstanding Muslim astronomers. With the growth of the new, heliocentric, Copernican astronomy in Europe, Arabic-Islamic astronomy lost its influence and more and more became an object of historical interest. On the other hand, the new Western astronomy made itself only rarely felt in the Orient and did not lead there to major changes in the traditional science. In single places of contact, elements from the West were copied. So, e.g., star maps in a new Western style, including the newly created constellations in the southern celestial hemisphere, are found on some astrolabes of Muhammad Mahdi al-Yazdi around 1655 in Iran,33or in Ibrahim Muteferrika's printed edition of Hajji Khalifa's Jihannuma, Istanbul, 1732,34 or in an Indian cosmological manuscript sometime before 1839.35 But on the whole, Arabic-Islamic astronomy continued on the geocentric principles on which it had begun in the eighth and ninth centuries. It so appears that through a thousand and four hundred years the Islamic and the Western worlds, notwithstanding the differences in matters of ideology and social traditions and the intervening opposition of defenders of orthodoxy on both sides, cultivated science in mutual contact. Neither the Muslims hesitated to search and appropriate the 'ulum al-awa'il, "the sciences of the Ancients",36 nor spared the Europeans their efforts in search of the doctrina Arabum, "the science of the Arabs".37 In astronomy, technical terms and a wealth of names, for stars and other objects, testify until today to the role played by the Muslims in the development of this science. In our days science has become universal. Muslim scholars are teaching in many Western universities; Arabs surrounded the Earth on board of spaceships; astronomical research on up-to-date level is conducted in several Arab countries; in 1998 the "Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences" has been founded with its centre in Amman. For the orientalist and historian of Arabic-Islamic science it is a satisfaction to see that the fruitful contact between East and West begun in the Middle Ages is carrying on in the present time.
References:
Beer 1932: A. Beer, "The Astronomical Significance of the Zodiac of Qusayr 'Amra", in K.A.C. Creswell, Early
Muslim Architecture, vol. I, Oxford, 1932, 286-303.

Bossong 1979: G. Bossong, Probleme der Ubersetzung wissenschaftlicher Werke aus dem Arabischen in das Altspanische zur Zeit Alfons des Weisen, Tubingen, 1979 (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fiir romanische Philologie, Band 169). Brunet, Nadal, Vibert-Guigue 1998: J.-P. Branet, R. Nadal and Cl. Vibert-Guigue, "The Fresco of the Cupola of Qusayr 'Amra", in Centaurus 40, 1998, 97-123.
31 32 33 34 35
Kunitzsch 1959, 230f. Khan 1953. Savage-Smith 1992, 65-68. Lachieze-Rey, Luminet 1998, 90, Fig. 144. Savage-Smith 1992, 68-70.
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Burnett 2003: C. Burnett, "The Transmission of Arabic Astronomy via Antioch and Pisa in the Second Quarter of the Twelfth Century", in J. P. Hogendijk and A. I. Sabra (eds.), The Enterprise of Science in
Islam. New Perspectives, Cambridge, Mass., London: The MIT Press, 2003, 23-51.
Carmody 1956: F. J. Carmody, Arabic Astronomical and Astrological Sciences in Latin Translation. A Critical Bibliography, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1956. Dalton 1926: O. M. Dalton, "The Byzantine Astrolabe at Brescia", in Proceedings of the British Academy 12, 1926, 133-146. Daniel 1975: N. Daniel, the Arabs and Mediaeval Europe, London, New York, Beirut, 1975. Hbner 1989: W. Hbner, Die Begriffe "Astrologie " und "Astronomie " in der Antike, Stuttgart, 1989 (Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz; Abhandlungen der geistesund sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse, 1989, 7). Hunger 1978: H. Hunger, Die hochsprachliche profane Literatur der Byzantiner, vol. II, Mnchen, 1978 (Byzantinisches Handbuch, V, 2). Ibn al-Salah 1975: Ibn as-Salah, Zur Kritik der Koordinateniiberlieferung im Sternkatalog des Almagest, ed. P. Kunitzsch, Gottingen, 1975 (Akademie der Wissenschaften in Gottingen, Abhandlungen, Philologischhistorische Klasse, III, Nr. 94). Jones 1987: A. Jones, An Eleventh-Century Manual of Arabo-Byzantine Astronomy, Amsterdam, 1987 (Corpus des Astronomes Byzantins, III). Khan 1953: Mohd. A. R. Khan, "Names of Thirteen Muslim Astronomers Given to Some Natural Features of the Moon", in Islamic Culture 27, Hyderabad, 1953, 78-85. Knobloch 1996: "Zur Rezeption der arabischen Astronomie im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert", in J. W. Dauben, M. Folkerts, E. Knobloch, H. Wussing êds.), History of Mathematics: State of the Art. Flores quadrivii Studies in Honor of Christoph J. Scriba, San Diego, etc.: Academic Press, 1996, 237-261. Kunitzsch 1959: P. Kunitzsch, Arabische Sternnamen in Europa, Wiesbaden, 1959. Kunitzsch 1964: P. Kunitzsch, "Das Fixsternverzeichnis in der 'Persischen Syntaxis' des Georgios Chrysokokkes", in Byzantinische Zeitschrift 57, 1964, 382-411; repr.-ia Mtffiitzsch 1989, item II. Kunitzsch 1974a: P. Kunitzsch, Der Almagest. Die Syntaxis Mathematica des Claudius Ptolemdus in
arabisch-lateinischer Uberlieferung, Wiesbaden, 1974.

Kunitzsch 1974b: P. Kunitzsch, "New Light on al-Battani's Zij", in Centaurus 18, 1974, 270-274; repr. in Kunitzsch 1989, item V.
36 37
On the notion of al-awa'il, cf. Rosenthal 1960. Daniel of Morley, around 1270, apud Maurach 1979, 212.
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Kunitzsch 1986a: P. Kunitzsch, "The Astronomer Abu'l-Husayn al-Sufi and his Book on the Constellations", in Zeitschrift fur Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften 3, 1986, 56-81; repr. in Kunitzsch 1989, item XI. Kunitzsch 1986b: P. Kunitzsch, Peter Apian and Azophi: Arabische Stern-bilder in Ingolstadt im friihen 16.
Jahrhundert, Miinchen, 1986 (Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Sitzungsberichte, Philos.-hist.

Klasse, 1986, 3). Kunitzsch 1987a: P. Kunitzsch, "Al-Khwarizmi as a Source for the Sententie astrolabii", in D. A. King and G. Saliba (eds.); From Deferent to Equant: A Volume of Studies in the History of Science in The Ancient and
Medieval Near East in Honor of E.S. Kennedy, New York, 1987 (Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, vol. 500), 227-236; repr. in Kunitzsch 1989, item IX. Kunitzsch 1987b: P. Kunitzsch, "Peter Apian and 'Azophi': Arabic Constellations in Renaissance Astronomy", in Journal for the History of Astronomy 18, 1987, 117-124; repr. in Kunitzsch 1989, item XXIII. Kunitzsch 1989: P. Kunitzsch, The Arabs and the Stars, Northampton: Variorum Reprints, 1989. Kunitzsch 1992: P. Kunitzsch, "Gerard's Translations of Astronomical Texts, especially the Almagest", in P. Pizzamiglio (ed.), Gerardo da Cremona, Cremona, 1992 (Annali della Biblioteca Statale e Libreria Civica di Cremona, XLI, 1990), 71-84; repr. in Kunitzsch 2004, item I. Kunitzsch 1993: P. Kunitzsch, "Fragments of Ptolemy's Planisphaerium in an Early Latin Translation", in
Centaurus 36, 1993, 97-101; repr. in Kunitzsch 2004, item VIII.

Kunitzsch 1997: P. Kunitzsch, Neuzeitliche europdische Himmelsgloben mit arabischen Inschriften, Miinchen, 1997 (Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Sitzungsberichte, Philos.-hist. Klasse, 1997, 4). Kunitzsch 2001: P. Kunitzsch, "Coronelli's Great Celestial Globe Made for Louis XIV: the Nomenclature", in
Zeitschrift fur Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften 14, 2001, 39-55; repr. in Kunitzsch
2004, item XXIV. Kunitzsch 2004: P. Kunitzsch, Stars and Numbers. Astronomy and Mathematics in the Medieval Arab and
Western Worlds, Aldershot: Ashgate-Variorum, 2004.

Kusuba - Pingree 2002: Arabic Astronomy in Sanskrit, Al-Birjandi on Tadhkira II, Chapter 11 and its Sanskrit
Translation, ed. T. Kusuba and D. Pingree, Leiden, Boston, Koln, 2002.

Lachieze-Rey - Luminet 1998: M. Lachieze-Rey and J.-P. Luminet, Figures du ciel, Paris: Seuil/Bibliotheque Nationale de France, 1998. Lemay 2000: R. Lemay, "Nouveautes fugaces dans des textes mathematiques du Xlle siecle. Un essay
d'abjad latin avorte", in M. Folkerts and R. Lorch (eds.), Sic itur ad astra. Studien zur Geschichte der Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften. Festschrift fiir den Arabisten Paul Kunitzsch zum 70. Geburtstag,
Wiesbaden, 2000, 376-392.
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Maurach 1979: G. Maurach, "Daniel von Morley, Philosophia", in Mittellateinisches Jahrbuch 14, 1979, 204-255. Metlitzki 1977: D. Metlitzki, The Matter of Araby in Medieval England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1977. Pingree 1964: D. Pingree, "Gregory Chioniades and Palaeologian Astronomy", in Dumbarton Oaks Papers 18, 1964, 133-160. Pingree 1968: D. Pingree (ed.), Albumasaris De revolutionibus nativitatum, Leipzig, 1968. Pingree 1985-86: D. Pingree (ed.), The Astronomical Works of Gregory Chioniades, vol. I, parts 1-2, Amsterdam, 1985-1986 (Corpus des Astronomes Byzantins, II). Rico y Sinobas 1863-67: M. Rico y Sinobas (ed.), Libros del saber de astronomia, I-V, Madrid, 1863-1867. Rosenthal 1960: F. Rosenthal, "Awa'il", in Encyclopaedia of Islam, new edition, vol. I, Leiden, 1960, 758f. Saxl 1932: F. Saxl, "The Zodiac of Qusayr 'Amra", in K.A.C. Creswell, Early Muslim Architecture, vol. I, Oxford, 1932, 289-295. Savage-Smith 1992: E. Savage-Smith, "Celestial Mapping", in J. B. Harley and D. Woordward (eds.), The History of Cartography, II, 1, Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies, Chicago and London, 1992, 12-70. Schipperges 1964: H. Schipperges, Die Assimilation der arabischen Medizin durch das lateinische Mittelalter, Wiesbaden, 1964 (Sudhoffs Archiv, Beiheft 3). Sezgin 1978: F. Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, vol. VI: Astronomie, bis ca. 430 H., Leiden, 1978. Sezgin 1979: F. Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, vol. VII: Astrologie - Meteorologie und
Verwandtes, bis ca. 430 H., Leiden, 1979.

Sourdel 1960: D. Sourdel, "Bayt al-Hikma", in Encyclopaedia of Islam, new edition, vol. I, Leiden, 1960, 1141. Southern 1981: R. W. Southern, Das Islambild des Mittelalters, Stuttgart, etc., 1981 (first published in English, 1962). Stautz 1997: B. Stautz, Untersuchungen
von mathematisch- astronomischen Darstellungen mittelalterlichen Astrolabien islamischer undeuropdischer Herkunft, Bassum, 1997.
auf
Strohmaier 1971: "Hunayn b. Ishak al-'Ibadi", in Encyclopaedia of Islam, new edition, vol. Ill, Leiden and London, 1971, 578-581. Tihon 1987: A. Tihon, "Les tables astronomiques persanes a Constantinople dans la premiere moitie du XlVe siecle", in Byzantion 57, 1987, 471-487, with 4 tables.
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Tihon 1989: A. Tihon, "L'astronomie dans le monde byzantin", in: Technologia. Quarterly review devoted to historical and social studies in Science, Technology and Industry 12(3), 1989, 103-116. Tihon 1990: A. Tihon, "Tables islamiques a Byzance", in Byzantion 60, 1990,401-425. Ullmann 1972: M. Ullmann, Die Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften im Islam, Leiden, 1972 (Handbuch der Orientalistik I, VI, 2).
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Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations by Abd Al-Hamd Ibn Turk and the Algebra of His Time
Prof. Aydin Sayili Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Amar Nazir January 2007 656 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations by cAbd Al-Hamd Ibn Turk January 2007
LOGICAL NECESSITIES IN MIXED EQUATIONS BY C ABD AL-HAMD IBN TURK AND THE ALGEBRA OF HIS TIME BY AYDIN SAYILI * (1913-1993)
This article was first published as a part of the book entitled Abdlhamid Ibn Trkn Katk Denklemlerde Mantk Zaruretler Adl Yazs ve Zamann Cebri (Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations By cAbd Al-Hamd Ibn Turk and the Algebra of His Time) (Ankara: Trk Tarih Kurumu Basmevi 1985). We are publishing only an English translation of this book by the permission of Turk Tarih Kurumu. Thanks to the Prof. Yusuf Halacoglu for giving us permission.
CHAPTER I THE TEXT, MANUSCRIPTS

The Arabic text presented further below in this volume together with its Turkish and English translations, i.e., Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations by
c
Abd al Hamd ibn Wsic ibn Turk, is based on two One of these, referred to by the letter A in the edition
manuscripts, both preserved in Istanbul libraries.
given below, is in the Millet Library: section Carullah, No. 1505; It forms part of a collection of short treatises bound together and occupies pages 2a to 5a in the volume. Brockelmann mentions this manuscript.
1
The second copy, referred to by the letter B in the critical text given below, is in the
Suleymaniye Library: section Husrev Pasa, No. 257. This manuscript too forms part of a collection and occupies pages 5b to 8a in the volume. None of these manuscripts or collections bears any dates of transcription. Manuscript A is quite old and may be guessed to be from the twelfth century. Manuscript B is relatively recent. It must be several centuries later than A. The manuscript texts themselves have no title. I have added the title on the basis of the copyist's note seen at the end of the text given below. A comparison of the two manuscripts shows them to agree on many points of detail. Notes 3, 8, n, 15, 23, 35, 36, 37, 45, 48, 51, 62, and 63 in the Arabic text indicate grammatical errors which are common to both. Moreover, at two common points they are both of doubtful reading, as indicated by notes 4 and 66. And as seen from note 33-34, in one point of the text they contain an almost identical small lacuna that had to be reconstructed and filled in with the help of the context, while note 41 indicates a common numerical error identical or closely similar in both manuscripts.
Aydn Sayl: Chair for History of Science in Ankara in 1952. He was the first Turkish historian of science trained in History of Science. He completed his Ph.D in 1942 at Harvard University with George Sarton. * A short account of cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk's Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations was given in my communication presented at the Sixth Congress of the Turkish Historical Society held in Ankara in October 1961. 1 Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur, supplement vol. I, p. 383.
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From these details one gains the impression that B was copied from A, or, at least, that they are very closely related. The alternative that B may not be a mere copy of A is supported especially by their difference from the standpoint of diacritical marks and the slightly different manner in which their figures are lettered. Manuscript A contains but few dots, while in B the letters are dotted in an almost complete manner. In a few cases the dotting of verbs as found in B are clearly incorrect, as may be seen in footnotes 39 and 42, e. g. At points where I have not followed the manner in which B is dotted, I have indicated the differences in the footnotes though the disagreement may at times be of little significance. The word mas'ala is written in varying orthography in both manuscripts. I have adopted a unified spelling for this word in the text given below. Some doubt exists concerning two words of the text. One is the word muzd wherein the z is undotted, i. e., written as r even in B. fits well into the context. The word darrt, the plural of darra, is of crucial importance to this text. A perusal of the text will show that at the beginning of most paragraphs the word sayrra occurs. In one paragraph the word darra is seen, and at the end of the text the statement supplying us with the title of the text contains the word
2
Most dictionaries do not have the fourth form of zda, but as Dozy has it,
"have decided to read the word in question as the past participle of the fourth form of the verb zda which
darrt. The words darra and sayrra could easily be confused with one another, especially in a
manuscript like A where letters are rarely dotted. The possibility comes therefore to mind that all these may be the same word and its plural, i. e., either sayrra or darra. But manuscript B that is clearly dotted gives them as seen in the edited text below, and in manuscript A too they would seem to agree with the forms given in B. Moreover, the adopted forms seem to represent the most reasonable possibility, as will be further explained below. The word darra is obviously not used here in its usual and well-known meaning of social and economic need and necessity. In the Muht the following meaning is found for this word: "With the logicians it consists of the impossibility of the separation of the predicate from the subject." Several other dictionaries, which I have consulted, do not give such a meaning. In this somewhat unusual meaning, therefore, the word darra refers to a fixed and necessary relation expressed by certain propositions, or to apodeictic or assertorical necessity. I have looked into several Arabic texts of algebra with the hope of finding the word darra in a clearer context, but I have not seen it elsewhere. Al-Khwrazms Algebra, which is of greatest significance to this matter because of its chronological proximity to our text, has the word idtirr that is from the same root but in the eighth form.
5 4
Gandz quotes the statement of Al-Khwrazm wherein this word occurs, and he
translates it as "logical or algebraic necessity" and takes it to mean "algebraic analysis" in the sense of
See text, footnote 4. R. Dozy, Supplment aux Dictionnaires Arabes, Leiden 1881, vol. 1, p. 617. 4 Butrus al Bustani, Muhit al Muhit, vol. 2, p. 1242. 5 Muhammad ibn Ms al Khwrazm, Kitb al Mukhtasar f Hisb al Jabr wa'l Muqabala, ed. and tr. F. Rosen, London 1830, 1831, text, p. 8.
3
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algebraic reasoning. These passages seem quite clear. The translation "logical necessity" fits the context, and this meaning goes well with the word idtirr. Al-Khwrazm's usage of this word too is helpful therefore in the interpretation of the word darra in our present text. The word darra apparently refers in our text to each one of such equations as x2 + bx = c or x2=bx + c and such cases as when the discriminant is equal to zero or x possibly refer only to these three types of equation.
c
> b < 2
in the equation x2 + c = bx. But it may
Umar Khayym, in his book on algebra makes such statements as 'unknown quantities related to known
7
ones in a manner such that they can be determined' and 'the relations which connect the data of the problems to the unknown.' This could be a kind of fixed and necessary relation to which reference could be made in medieval algebra in connection with its equations. In this alternative meaning the word darrt could be translated as determinate equations. The name muqtarint was given to second-degree equations with more than one term on one side of the equality, the other side never being zero. Thus, in contrast to the mufradt, i.e., "simple equations" such as ax2 = b, such an equation as x2 + bx - c is an example of the muqtarint, i.e., "mixed equations. The title would thus refer, with this alternative meaning of the word darrt to the determinate types of "mixed equations." The translation of darrt as determinate equations could imply a knowledge of indeterminate equations in Islam before the translation of Diophantos into Arabic. Such a possibility should not be ruled out altogether especially as evidence has been brought to light that examples of such equations are found in the cuneiform tablets.
8
The adoption of this meaning for the word darra does not seem to be entirely satisfactory, however, for several reasons. Firstly, the idea of fixed relation is emphasized and the idea of logical necessity is pushed to the background. But this latter idea is prominent both in the dictionary meaning of this word and in the closely related term as used by Al-Khwrazm. Secondly, when the word darra is translated as determinate equation in the ordinary sense of the term one is tempted to change the words sayra into darra in the text given below; and this would run contrary to manuscript B and would not be the preferred reading in manuscript A. Finally, the title would have to be translated, as stated above, as "the determinate types of mixed equations, and the preposition f in the Arabic title would not seem to constitute the best choice for conveying such a meaning. I have therefore preferred the first alternative and taken the word darra to mean logical necessity without however excluding the meaning 'fixed or uniquely determined relation. It seems to me that this word is used by cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk in a slightly different sense as compared with Al-Khwrazm's usage of the
S. Gandz, The Origin and Development of the Quadratic Equations in Babylonian, Greek, and Early Arabic Algebra, Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 515-516. 'Umar Khayym, Algebra, (L'Algebre d'Omar Al-Khayym), ed. and tr. F. Woepke, Paris 1851, text, p. 4, tr., p. 5. 8 S. Gandz, Studies in Babylonian Mathematics, I, Indeterminate Analysis in Babylonian Mathematics, Osiris, vol. 8, pp. 12-40. 9 The word darra should refer in this case to the fixed and "necessary" elation implied by each determinate equation. It is of interest in this connection that Al-Khwrazm speaks of the "cause" of each type of "mixed" equation and considers its answer to be contained in the geometrical figure corresponding to its solution.
7 6
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word idtirr, a difference which is consonant with their dictionary meanings. Al-Khwrazm's usage of this latter word refers to obvious steps of analytical procedure such as those involved in the operations of "completion" and "reduction." It would therefore seem to approach the idea of analytical treatment, though perhaps not of proof, whereas cAbd al Hamd appears to use the word darra in reference to special cases, i.e., all the distinct types of relationships between the unknowns and the coefficients. Thus the equation x2 + c = bx is split up into several special cases, whereas no special cases are given for the other two types of "mixed" equations; this is obviously because no subclasses of the other two types of equation present themselves by logical or algebraic necessity. It would seem that darra does not refer here to geometrical solutions of equations just as Al-Khwrazm does not use idtirr in such a sense. It will be seen from footnote 40 of the Arabic text that although I have adopted the form qawl, manuscript B has the form qawluhu, and this is perhaps true for manuscript A also. One reason for my preference of
qawl is that otherwise the third word following it, i.e., cIsrn, would have to be corrected in both manuscripts and made cIsrn. Moreover, the pronoun at the end of qawluhu stands, so to say, in the air, the
text containing nothing to which this pronoun can refer. It could be conjectured, however, that the missing earlier parts of the text might possibly be of such a nature as to make this usage meaningful. In that case,
c
Abd al Hamd may have referred previously to a certain author or authority and done so several times, but
such a speculation is of course meaningless in the absence of the needed text. The word murabbac seems to be used in slightly varying senses in the text. At times it is used in the meaning of quadrilateral. For when speaking of the geometrical square, murabbac often occurs together with the adjectives equilateral and rectangular. On the other hand, however, murabbac is also used without further specification when referring to rectangles, and at times to squares.
10
I have translated this word as
quadrilateral and have generally given a literal rendering of the text although this has made the translation somewhat clumsy at points. I have thereby aimed to give a translation that, in technical points, resembles the original text. The need is felt, e.g., to distinguish between the geometrical square and the algebraic term standing for the square of the unknown quantity. The term ml, standing for x2, used in Arabic books of algebra, does not, as a word, contain the idea of square. In its ordinary dictionary meaning it is merely a quantity, money, capital, possession, and the like. In the present text the word ml is used throughout for expressing x2, and jadhr, to express x; jadhr means root, or "a quantity which is multiplied by itself," as it is sometimes defined. There are other Arabic terms also for these quantities, but the consistent use of this pair of terms should by no means be unusual. In our present text x2 is seen to come to the foreground, as an unknown, almost as prominently as x, and this observation may be said to be applicable to Al-Khwrazm as well. It almost seems as if cAbd al Hamd thinks in terms of an equation of the form X +b unknown and
X =
c, rather than x2 + b x = c, X being the real
the square root of the unknown.
10 Al-Khwrazm is seen to use the word murabbac to mean square, although in a few examples he adds to it the adjectives equilateral and equiangular as is done by 'Abd al Hamd ibn Turk. See, Al-Khwrazm, Rosen, text, pp. 1I, 12, 13, 14, tr., pp. 14, 19. See also, Leon Rodet, LAlgbre d'Al-Khrizm, Journal Asiatique, series 7, vol. 11, 1878, pp. 90-92.
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It is of interest in this connection that Al-Khwrazm occasionally uses the term ml also for the unknown in the first power, Karaj?
12 11
and that in his geometrical demonstrations, or solutions of equations, Al-Karkh (Al13
) lets line segments represent x2 as well as x.
Apparently, the question of the Arabic terminology of algebra has interested not only recent historians of mathematics
14
but also the mathematicians of Islam. Thus, there is a marginal note in an Istanbul
15
manuscript of Al-Karkh's, or Al-Karaj's, algebra called Al-Fakhr.
The writer of this note refers to the
three terms shay, i.e., thing, meaning also the unknown x, jadhr, and ml. He points to slightly varying usages of these terms and to different shades of meaning between them, quoting certain authors as authorities for his statements. One distinction between shay and jadhr mentioned in this marginal note is that shay refers to the unknown, while the same thing is called jadhr when its value is determined. And another distinction made between them is contained in a statement concerning the terms shay and ml. It is said that shay and ml are not used together; implying that if a term in x2 exists then the name, jadhr and not shay is given to x. It is also asserted in this marginal note that shay stands for "the unknown" whether the unknown be in the form of x or x2. This is reminiscent of cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk's text, and the following statement in the same marginal note is likewise of interest in this connection. It is said, namely, that the word shay stands both for the "absolute unknown, i.e., the thing whose solution is required, and the unknown which is multiplied by itself; thus, in the second case it is a name given to the root and in the first case a name given to the unknown. It will be noted that, in the text of cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk, the letters of one of their diagonals generally indicates rectangles. This is quite usual, but the expression the murabbac of AB, e.g., is also frequently found used in the same sense, AB referring to the diagonal of a rectangle. I have translated these as "the quadrilateral drawn on" AB, or an equivalent expression. Such examples too make the translation of murabbac as quadrilateral preferable to its translation as square. It would have been desirable to translate the word ml without using the word square. But as such a term which would correspond roughly to ml is not in use at present in algebra; I have chosen the expression "square quantity, which may be said to be in harmony with the terminology employed by cUmar Khayym who is preoccupied with making similar distinctions.16 Notes 6, 24, 38, 52, 60, and 75 of the Arabic text indicate differences in letters used in the corresponding figures found in manuscript B. There is disagreement in one letter only in the figures indicated by the notes 6, 52, and 60, while the other figures referred to show a difference of two letters. Note 61 also indicate a
11 See, S. Gandz, The Sources of Al-Khwrazms Algebra, Osiris, vol. i; 1936, p. 273; Gandz, The Origin and Development of the Quadratic Equations, Osiris, vol. 3, p. 535 and note. 12 Considerable evidence has been brought to light showing that the correct form of this mathematician's name was probably Karaj and not Karkhi. See, Adel Ambouba, Al-Karaji, Etudes Littraires, University of Lebanon, t et automne 1959, pp. 69-70, 76-77. 13 F. Woepke, Extrait du Fakhr, Trait d'Algbre par Abou Bekr Mohammed ben Alhaan Alkarkh, Paris 1853, pp. 8, 67-71. 14 See, e. g., Woepke, Extrait du Fakhr, p. 48; T. L. Heath, Diophantus of Alexandria, A Study of the History of Greek Algebra, Cambridge 1910, pp. 40-41; Gandz, The Sources of Al-Khwrazms Algebra, Osiris, vol. 1, pp. 272-274; Gandz, The Originand Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 535-536, note 94. 15 Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi, manuscript No. 3157, p. 4a.
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certain correction that had to be made in the corresponding figure of both A and B, namely the interchange of the positions of the letters H and K. The sign x in the footnotes of the Arabic text is used to show damaged spots, which exist only in manuscript A.
CHAPTER II THE AUTHOR, cABD AL HAMD IBN WSc IBN TURK

This text gives, as far as our present information goes, the only work of the author that has come down to us, and very little is known concerning the author himself. Certain sources refer to him as the grandson of "the Turk from Jl." Jl, Jlan, or Glan, is a district to the south of the Caspian Sea. Others have the word Khuttal, i.e., "from Khuttal," a region around the sources of the Oxus River, to the south of Farghana and west of Chinese Turkistan. Still another formal possibility is from Jabal.17 Jabal could refer to several places, most of them being in Syria. In the Arabic script these three words could be easily mistaken for one another through the omission or addition of dots. As manuscript A that is quite old has the form Jl, this may be said to constitute rather strong evidence in favour of this version, but the possibility of the form Khuttal cannot be ruled out.18
Figure 1. A line sketch depicting Al-Beruni in a Turkish stamp. The stamp reads: Eb Reyhan el-Brn 9731059.
LAlgbre dOmar Alkhayym, ed. and tr. F. Woepke, Paris 1851, see, e.g., text, p. 5, tr., pp. 7-8. See, Heinrich Suter, Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke, Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der Mathematischen Wissenschaften, Leipzig 1900, 1902, p. 17, note. 18 Brockelmann accepts the form Khuttal (Gesch. d. Arab. Lit., S. vol. 1, p. 383), and both Suter and Flgel accept it as the preferred form (See, Suter, op. cit., p. 17).
17
16
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The titles Ibn Turk and Ibn Turk al Jl (or Khuttal) indicate that cAbd al Hamd's grandfather was called "the Turk from Jl (or Khuttal)" and therefore that cAbd al Hamd was Turkish or of Turkish descent. cAbd al Hamd's grandson or great grandson Ab Barza* too kept the title Ibn Turk, indicating that the family remained to be Turkish. It is of interest in this connection that Al-Khwrazm too was from the district of Turkistan. Among the earlier scientists of medieval Islam a large number are seen to have originated from districts to the northeast of Persia. As Turks formed a part of the population of these districts,
19
it is reasonable to
think that a considerable number among this group of scientists were Turkish or of Turkish ancestry, although it is generally difficult to speak of the nationality of such scientists individually with any degree of certainty. But a few of them are seen to have been given the title "The Turk" or "Turkish, just as a few scientists bore the title "Al-Farsi, i.e., Persian, or from the region of Fars. For example, the two or three scientists of the Amajur Family (fl. 885-933)
20
, distinguished philosopher Ab Nasr al Frb (d. 950-951)

22
21
and the famous lexicographer Ab Nasr Isma'il al Jawhar from Frb (d. 1002) scientists.
had the title Al-Turk.
cAbd al Hamd ibn Wsic ibn Turk is apparently one of the earliest among this category of Turkish
Information concerning cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk is given by Ibn al Nadm, Ibn al Qift, and Hajji Khalfa. As this information is completed and partly given also in connection with cAbd al Hamd's grandson or great grandson Ab Barza, who was also a mathematician, there is some necessity of taking up these two scientists together.
Figure 2. Ab Nasr Al-Frb (870-950) appears on the 1 Tenge note from Kazakhstan.
For more information about Ab Barza see: B. A. Rosenfeld-E. Ihsanoglu, Mathematicians, Astronomers and other Scholars of Islamic Civilisation and their works (7th 9th c.). Istanbul: Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture, 2003, No. 115. Also see for Ibn Turk: Jens Hyrup, Al-Khwrizm, Ibn Turk, and the Liber Mensurationum: on the Origins of Islamic Algebra. Erdem 2 (Ankara 1986), 445484; Jens Hyrup, Algebraic Traditions Behind Ibn Turk and Al-Khwrizm, pp. 247268 in Acts of the International Symposium on Ibn Turk, Khwrezm, Frb, and Ibn Sn (Ankara, 912 September, 1985). (Atatrk Culture Center Publications, No: 41. Series of Acts of Congresses and Symposiums, No: 1). Ankara: Atatrk Supreme Council for Culture, Language and History, 1990. 19 Richard N. Frye and Aydin Sayili, Turks in the Middle East Before the Saljuqs, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 63, No. 3, 194.3, pp. 194-207. 20 See, A. Sayili, The Observatory in Islam, Ankara 1960, p. 101. 21 See, D. M. Dunlop, a Source of Al-Mas'udi: The Madnat al-Fdilah of Al-Frb, Al-Mas'udi Millenary Commemoration Volume, ed. S. Maqbul Ahmad and A. Rahman, Aligarh Muslim University 1960, pp. 69, 70. See also, S. M. Stern, Al-Mas'ud and the Philosopher Al-Frb, Al-Mas'udi Commemoration Volume, p. 40. 22 See the partial edition of Al-Jawhar's dictionary by Everardus Scheidius, 1774.
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Ibn al Nadm says concerning cAbd al Hamd, "He is Abu'l Fadl cAbd al Hamd ibn Wsic ibn Turk al Khuttal (or, al Jl), the calculator, and it is said that he is surnamed Ab Muhammad, and of his books are The Comprehensive Book in Arithmetic which contains six books (chapters) and The Book of Commercial Transactions. This item occurs under the general heading "The Calculators and the Arithmeticians." cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk is the first item and the second item concerns Ab Barza, and information on Ab Kmil Shujc ibn Aslam follows it immediately. On Ab Barza, Ibn al Nadm writes, "Abu Barza- Al-Fadl ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd al Hamd ibn Turk ibn Wsc al Khuttal (or Jl), and of his books are The Book of Commercial Transactions and the Book of Mensuration.23 Ibn al Qift gives the following information concerning cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk: "cAbd al Hamd Ibn Wsic Abu'l Fadl. He is a calculator learned in the art of calculation (hisb) having antecedence in the field, and the people of that profession mention him. He is known as Ibn Turk al Jl, and he is surnamed also as Ab Muhammad. In the field of arithmetic he has well known and much used publications. Among them is the Comprehensive Book in Arithmetic which comprises six books, and The Book of Little-Known Things in Arithmetic and the Qualities of Numbers.24 The same author has the following item on Ab Barza: Ab Barza, the calculator- in Baghdad and busied himself with the science of arithmetic, its subtleties, its fine points, and with the discovery of its peculiarities and rare qualities. He is the author of books in that field and has made original contributions to the subject. He died in Baghdad on the twenty seventh of the month of Safar in the year two hundred and ninety eight (November, 910 A.D.)."25 The following passage in Hajji Khalfa's Kashf al Zunn is of great interest although its reference to cAbd al Hamd is quite incidental. Hajji Khalfa writes, "Abu Kmil Shujc ibn Aslam says in his Kitb al Wasy bi'l Jabr weI Muqbala: I have written a book known as Kaml al Jabr wa Tammuhu wa'z-Ziydatu f Uslihi and in its second book I have proved the priority and antecedence of Muhammad ibn Ms. [Al-Khwrazm] in algebra and have refuted the assertion of the professional (?) [Mathematician] known as Ab Barza in what he makes go back to
c
Abd al Hamd, who, he claims, is his ancestor (or grandfather). And when I made clear his shortcoming
26
and his deficiency in what he traces back and attributes to his ancestor, I decided to write a book in the subject of legacies treated by the way of algebra (al wasy bil-jabr wa'l muqbala)..
Most likely, the Kamal al Jabr wa Tammuhu ... contains further information of interest, but this book is probably lost. Apparently a copy of Ab Kmil's Kitb al Wsy exists in Musul;
27
I have not been able to
23 24
Ibn al Nadm, Kitb Fihrist al cUlm, ed. Flugel, vol. 1, 1871, p. 273. Ibn al Qift, Tarkh al Hukam, ed. Lippert, Berlin 1903, p. 230, See also, below, pp. 92-93 and note 39. 25 Ibn al Qift, p. 406. 26 Hajji Khalfa, Kashf al Zunn, art. Kitab al Jabr wa'l Muqabala and art. Kitab al Wsy, ed. Yaltkaya, Istanbul 1943, vol. 2, columns 1407-1408, 1469-1470. See also, Salih Zeki, Athr-i Bqiye, vol. 2, Istanbul 1913, p. 246. 27 See, Brockelmann, Gesch. Arab. Lit. S. vol. 1, p. 390.
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consult it. Of course Ab Barza's book too, in which he presumably set forth his claim, if found, would shed much needed light on this controversial question.
Figure 3. A Sketch depicting Umar Khayyam (Image from www.unc.edu). It is seen clearly from the passage quoted by Hajji Khalfa that there was rivalry between cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk and Al-Khwrazm in the matter of antecedence and priority in the publication of books on algebra, or, at least, that such an issue was raised by Ab Barza and that the question was taken very seriously by Ab Kmil Sujac. Salih Zeki considers Ab Kmil Shujc to be a contemporary of Al-Khwrazm and concludes from the passage in the Kashf al Zunn that Ab Barza himself claimed priority over Al-Khwrazm in the writing of a book on algebra. Under these circumstances, our author cAbd al Hamd would be two or three generations before Al-Khwrazm, and his priority in the matter would be securely established.
28
According to Aldo Mieli, however, Ab Kmil Shujc flourished toward the year 900, him between the years 850 and 955,
30
29
while Sarton places
These latter dates are based on the fact that in his Algebra Ab
31
Kmil speaks of Al-Khwrazm as a mathematician of the past, while a commentary to Ab Kmil's Algebra was written by cAli ibn Muhammad al-cImrn al Mawsil who died in the lunar year 955-956 A.D.
From the phraseology and tone of Ab Kmil's statement quoted above from the Kashf al Zunn it may be concluded that he lived at a somewhat later date than Ab Barza;
28 29 30 31 32
32
and at the most, he could be a
Salih Zeki, op. cit, vol. 2, p. 246. Aldo Mieli, La Science Arabe, Leiden 1939, p. 108. George Sarton. Introduction to the History of Science, vol. 1, Baltimore 1927, p. 630. See, Suter, op. cit., pp. 43, 56-57; Salih Zeki, op. cit., vol. 2, p. 255. That Ab Ka.mil was of a somewhat later date than Ab Barza may be said to be indirectly confirmed by the fact that Ab Kmil's name
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contemporary of Ab Barza. We have seen, on the other hand, that Ibn al Qift gives the exact date of Ab Barza's death as 910 A.D. It seems quite clear therefore that Ab Kmil's lifetime must correspond approximately to the first half of the tenth century, extending, very likely, back to the end of the ninth century. Now, cAbd al Hamd was two or three generations before Ab Barza, and Al-Khwrazm is said to have been among the group of astrologers who had gathered at the death-bed of the caliph Al-Wathiq, who died in 847. Al-Khwrazm must therefore have lived beyond this date, but there is some doubt on this point.
33
There can be no certainty therefore that cAbd al Hamd's lifetime was before that of Al-Khwrazm. It is much more reasonable to assume that they were, roughly speaking, contemporaries. And this should be a safe assumption, as it may be concluded, on the basis of Ibn al Qift's statement quoted above, that cAbd al Hamd wrote his book on arithmetic and the art of calculation before Al-Khwrazm's book on the same general subject. Moreover, the passage quoted by Hajji Khalfa is quite clear in that Ab Barza made the claim of priority of publication in the field of algebra over Al-Khwrazm not for himself but in behalf of his grandfather or ancestor cAbd al Hamd. As we have seen, however, Ab Kmil Shujc rejects this claim rather violently; and he asserts the priority of Al-Khwrazm once more in his Algebra.
34
Ibn Khaldun says, "The first to write on this discipline (algebra) was Ab cAbdullah al Khwrazm. After him, there was Ab Kmil Shujc ibn Aslam." thing about Al-Khwrazm.
36 35
According to Salih Zeki, Shihb al Din ibn Bahim too, who was a
contemporary of Ibn Khaldun, says, in the commentary he wrote to the book called Ysamnya, the same Finally, Hajji Khalfa also states, just prior to the words of Ab Kmil quoted
37
from him above, that Al-Khwrazm was the first to write a book in the subject of algebra.
There should be little doubt that Hajji Khalfa's authority for this statement is Ab Kmil Shujc, and the phraseology of Ibn Khaldun too suggests such a possibility. It thus seems that it was through Ab Kmil that this assertion gained its circulation in certain sources. But Ab Kmil was certainly far from being impartial toward Ab Barza and his family. He speaks in somewhat derogatory terms about Ab Barza and his knowledge of mathematics, and he is clearly contradicted in this by Ibn al Qift; he expresses doubt concerning Ab Barza's relation to cAbd al Hamd, and such a relationship is confirmed by the texts of both Ibn al Nadm and Ibn al Qift. It appears quite possible therefore that Ab Barza's claim on behalf of
c
Abd al Hamd is not without
foundation. The following items of circumstantial evidence may in fact be brought to support it. It seems likely that the lifetime of cAbd al Hamd was somewhat earlier than that of Al-Khwrazm, for, as mentioned before, it appears from the statement of Ibn al Qift quoted above that cAbd al Hamd preceded
comes after that of Ab Barza's in the Fihrist of Ibn al Nadm (vol. 1, p. 281). Adel Ambouba associates Ab Kmil approximately with the year 900 (op. cit., 1959, p. 73). 33 E. Wiedemann, Khwrizm, Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. 2; Abdlhak Adnan Adivar, Hrizm, Islam. Ansiklopedisi, vol. 5, No. 42, 1949, pp. 258-259. 34 See, manuscript in the Bayezit General Library in Istanbul, No. 19046 (or, Kara Mustafa Pasa, No. 379), p. 2a. 35 Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddima, tr. F. Rosenthal, vol. 3, London 1958, p. 125. 36 Salih Zeki, op. cit., vol 2, p. 248 and footnote.
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Al-Khwrazm in writing a book on arithmetic.

c
38
It is even possible to interpret Ibn al Qift's words to mean
that Abd al Hamd wrote his Algebra before that of Al-Khwrazm. For the "art" in which, according to Ibn al Qift, cAbd al Hamd was a pioneer, is the field of "calculation" or "arithmetic" in a general sense, i.e.,
hisb. Algebra too is a type of hisb, and, in fact, the expression "the hisb of jabr and muqbala" occurs in
the title of Al-Khwrazm's Algebra. algebra.
c
39
It should perhaps be considered permissible, therefore, to see in Ibn
al Qift's statement a partial evidence in favour of cAbd al Hamd's priority over Al-Khwrazm in the field of
Umar Khayym speaks merely of the existence of special cases of the equation x2 + c = bx, but he does
40
not feel the need of dwelling upon them or even of enumerating them, saying that they are evident.
Apparently he considers them to be sufficiently well-known. Al-Khwrazm too perhaps did not feel the need of going into details for explaining these special cases because they were available in an earlier text. For he is seen, to touch most of these cases; but he does not do so in a systematic manner, and his reference to some of the cases is only implicit.
41
Figure 4. A scene from the city of Gilan. It may be added also that Ab Kmil Shujc, in his words quoted above, seems to treat our author somewhat lightly and that our present text does not support his attitude but shows Ibn al Qift's statement concerning cAbd al Hamd to be much more accurate. The fact that apparently Ab Kmil Shujc did not attempt to refute Ab Barza's claim on the basis of any considerations pertaining to chronological
37 38 39
See above, p. 89 and note 24. See, e.g., Gandz, The Sources of Al-Khwrazms Algebra, Osiris, vol. 1, p. 274. See also, Adel Ambouba, Ihy al Jabr, Manshrt al Jmi'a al Lubnnya, Qism al Dirst al Riydya, Beyrut 1955, pp. 8-9. 40 c Umar Khayym, Algebra, ed. and tr. Woepke, text, p. 14, tr., p.23. 41 Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, pp. 7-8, tr., pp. 11-12; Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 519-523, 533-534.
Kashf al Zunn, ed. Yaltkaya, vol. 2, column 1407.
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impossibility or anachronism should likewise constitute a point in favour of an earlier date for cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk's lifetime as compared to that of Al-Khwrazm. It may be conjectured, moreover, that were Al-Khwrazm's Algebra the first written in Arabic this would have been somehow revealed in the text. Al-Khwrazm seems to have written his book without any claims of originality of any kind. In the introductory-section of his Algebra Al-Khwrazm writes as follows: "The learned in times which have passed away, and among nations which have ceased to exist, were constantly employed in writing books on the several departments of science and on the various branches of knowledge, bearing in mind those that were to come after them, and hoping for a reward proportionate to their ability, and trusting that their endeavours would meet with acknowledgment, attention, and remembrance- content as they were even with a small degree of praise; small, if compared with the pains which they had undergone, and the difficulties which they had encountered in revealing the secrets and obscurities of science. "Some applied themselves to obtain information which was not known before them, and left it to posterity; others commented upon the difficulties in the works left by their predecessors, and defined the best method (of study), or rendered the access (to science) easier or placed it more within reach; others again discovered mistakes in preceding works, and arranged that which was confused, or adjusted what was irregular, and corrected the faults of their fellow-labourers, without arrogance towards them, or taking pride in what they did themselves. "That fondness for science, by which God has distinguished the Imam Al-Mamun, the Commander of the Faithful (besides the caliphate which He has vouchsafed unto him by lawful succession, in the robe of which He has invested him, and with the honours of which He has adorned him), that affability and condescension which he shows to the learned, that promptitude with which he protects and supports them in the elucidation of obscurities and in the removal of difficulties,- has encouraged me to compose a short work on calculating by (the rules of) Completion and Reduction, confining it to what is easiest and most useful in arithmetic, such as men constantly require in cases of inheritance, legacies, 1 partition, law-suits, and trade, and in all their dealings with one another, or where the measuring of lands, the digging of canals, geometrical computation, and other objects of various sorts and kinds are concerned - relying on the goodness of my intention therein, and hoping that the learned will reward it, by obtaining (for me) through their prayer the excellence of the Divine mercy: in requital of which may the choicest blessings and the abundant bounty of God be theirs! My confidence rests with God, in this and in every thing, and in Him I put my trust. He is the Lord of the Sublime Throne. May His blessing descend upon all the prophets and heavenly messengers!"
42
These details given by Al-Khwrazm indicate that his Algebra was written during the reign of Al-Mamun, i.e., between the years 813 and 833. From the words of its author the main purpose for its composition was to make available a book which could serve practical needs and one that would be easy to follow. Such reasons for writing a book are frequently encountered in Islam. There is no suggestion that this was the first book on algebra in Arabic.
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Al-Khwrazm states his book to be a short work, and the exact title of Al-Khwrazms Algebra too, as it has come down to us in its printed edition, contains the word mukhtasar, i.e., abridged. applied to the first book written in Arabic on algebra.
43
It may be
contended that, considering the conditions prevalent at the time, such a word would not be very likely to be
Figure 5. The drawing of Khwrizm on the stamp. The stamp reads: Post USSR 1983, 1200 Years, Mukhammad al-Korezmi. From the considerations dwelled upon above it seems quite likely that Ab Barza's claim was not without foundation and that cAbd al Hamd ibn Wasic ibn Turk, and not Muhammad ibn Ms al Khwrazm, was the first to write an Arabic book on algebra in Islam. Al-Khwrazm's Algebra contains a very short section on commercial transactions.
44
It may be noted that

45
according to Ibn al Nadm, cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk wrote an independent book devoted to this subject. was cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk who wrote the longer and more detailed treatise.
It
seems quite certain that in the field of algebra itself too, just as in the field of commercial transactions, it
Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, tr. Rosen, pp. 2-4.; also, text, p. 2. See also, Adel Ambouba, op. cit., 1955, p. 23. See Rosen's edition referred to above. This edition is based on an Oxford manuscript. Mr. Adel Ambouba has kindly informed me that according to the Revue of the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts of Cairo of November 1956 there is a second copy of Al-Khwrazm's Algebra in Cairo. Mr. Ambouba himself has discovered a third copy in Germany. 44 Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, pp. 48-50, tr., pp. 68-70. See also, Adel Ambouba, op. cit., 1955, p. 11.
43
42
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CHAPTER III
c
ABD AL HAMD IBN TURK'S LOGICAL NECESSITIES IN MIXED EQUATIONS
The knowledge of the history of algebra underwent a great transformation when it was shown, by O. Neugebauer, about thirty years ago, that the Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets gave proof of the existence of a rich knowledge of algebra as far back as two thousand years before our era, to show Al-Khwrazm's place in the history of algebra in a different new light. The importance of Al-Khwrazm's place in the history of algebra may be said to rest upon two considerations, although his algebra is more primitive in some respects than certain earlier phases of "algebra and even though no originality can be claimed for him in this branch of mathematics. He is, or was, thought to have written the first treatise or systematic manual on algebra, or, at least, to have been the first to do so in Islam; his book on algebra played a great part in the transmission of the knowledge of algebra to Europe, being also instrumental in giving this discipline its European name.
c
46
This was bound not
only to change the perspective of Greek mathematics in general and of Greek algebra in particular but also
47
Abd al Hamd ibn Turk's Algebra constitutes a serious challenge to the first of these two items in Al-
Khwrazm's title to fame, still leaving him as an influential figure in the history of algebra. It may be surmised from the statements of Ab Kmil Shujc that there possibly was some kind of rivalry between Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd himself in the field of algebra. Indeed, Ab Barza may not have been the originator of the controversy but someone who renewed it in an intensified form. It is likewise possible that this rivalry did not consist merely of a question of priority but that also certain differences of approach existed between them. 'For Ab Kmil Shujc, in the beginning of his Algebra too, praises AlKhwrazm for the solidity and superiority of his knowledge of the subject.
48
Gandz sees in a certain statement of Al-Khwrazm "a sharp point of polemics." He refers here first to the old Babylonian tendency to reduce problems to certain types of equations and to avoid the types found in Al-Khwrazm. He then explains that Al-Khwrazm represents the complete reversal of this tendency. The "point of polemics" in question refers to Al-Khwrazm's instruction and recommendation to reduce all problems to one of the "mixed" equations. Gandz sometimes speaks of Al-Khwrazm merely as a representative of this new school in algebra, but apparently he considers him as one who at least played an important part in making the ideas or practices of this school predominant.
49
The question comes to mind therefore whether any divergences having to do with such matters may have existed between Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk. A brief perusal of cAbd al Hamd's text shows clearly that there were no major divergences of such nature between the two authors. It is possible that the slight difference seen in their terminologies already referred to may be of interest in this respect.
45 46
Otto Neugebauer, Studien zur Geschichte der Antiken Algebra, Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte der Mathematik, Aslmnomie, und Physik, series B, vol. 2, 1932, pp. 1-27; Kurt Vogel, Bemerkungen zu den Quadratischen Gleichungen der Babylonischen Mathematik, Osiris, vol. 1, 1936, p. 703. 47 See, e. g., Gandz, The Sources of Al-Khuwdrizmi's Algebra, Osiris, vol. 1, p. 270; Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 409. 48 See, manuscript, Istanbul, Bayezjt Library, No. 19046 (or, Kara Mustafa Pasa, No. 379), p. 2a.
Fihrist, vol. 1, p. 273. See also above, p. 89 and note 23.
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Differences of pedagogical presentation too should be likely. At any rate, it seems quite reasonable to think that any differences which may have existed between them were of such a nature as not to seem of any considerable magnitude from our distance. As the text of cAbd al Hamd that is available at present is only a part, and probably a relatively small part, of his book, the information available to us is insufficient to answer such questions. In summarizing and analyzing this text, therefore, I shall keep this problem in the background and shall prefer to utilize this text, as much as possible, to the end of increasing our knowledge of the algebra of the time of AlKhwrazm and cAbd al Hamd.
Figure 6. The figure of Khwrizm. The present text of cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk which is of about fourteen hundred words is probably a chapter of cAbd al Hamd's Algebra. It may possibly consist of only a part of one chapter, but in that case it forms a well-rounded section, complete in itself with its beginning and end. Our text begins with the equation x2 = bx. This is apparently placed at the beginning of the section as an introductory passage. For this equation is not a "mixed" equation, i.e., of the type called muqtarint unless the definition of this type of equation may be extended to include equations in x2 and x. His explanation of the solution suggests that, just like Al-Khwrazm, to the analytical, in this algebra.
50
he does not think of dividing such an equation as x2 =
bx through by x. This is a clear sign of the predominance of the geometrical way of thinking, as contrasted
49 50
Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 509-511, 542-543. See, Gandz, The Origin and Development ...., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 538.
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In Nesselmann's classification, the present text represents the rhetorical stage of algebra. The equations dealt with, besides the above-mentioned x2= bx, are x2 + bx = c, x2 -f c = bx, and x2 = bx + c. Their solutions are based on geometrical reasoning. The idea of negative quantity does not exist, and in the representative types of equation none of the terms is subtracted. These three types of second degree equation, therefore, taken together, do not add up quite to the general case ax2 + bx +c = o. As would be expected, in all these general characteristics cAbd al Hamd ibn Wscs text shows no differences with that of Al-Khwrazm. The numerical example cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk gives for the equation x2 + bx = c is x2 + 10x = 24. He is thus seen not to use here the famous equation x2 + 10x = 39 found in Al-Khwrazm, Al-Karkh, or AlKaraj, cUmar Khayym, Fibonacci, and others. The geometrical figure used for this equation is formed by adding two rectangles of sides x and
b 2
to the adjacent sides of a square representing x2 and then
completing the larger square of side x +
b by 2
the addition of the
b square 2
. He thus has x +bx +
b 2
=c +
b 2
, and this gives the solution x =
b b +c . 2 2
51
This familiar figure is found, e.g., in Al-
Khwrazm but not in cUmar Khayym. This is the only figure used by cAbd al Hamd. Al-Khwrazm has a second figure which is also found in cUmar Khayym's Algebra. For equation x
c
= bx + c cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk gives the example x2 = 4x + 5. On the same occasion Al52
Khwrazm uses the equation x2 = 3x + 4 and cUmar Khayym x2 = 5x + 6.
In his geometrical figure,
Abd al Hamd starts with the square x2 and subtracts from it a rectangle equal to c. The remaining
rectangle equals bx. One side of this rectangle being equal to b, the square figure
b 2
2
is drawn on its
side adjacent to the rectangle c. Two sides of this square are then lengthened by the amount x - b, thus forming the
b b + ( x b) = x 2 bx + square 2 2 b + c, 2
2
. This square is equal to
b c+ 2
. Each of its sides
therefore is equal to
and to obtain x we have to add
b 2
to this quantity.
The treatment of the type x2 + c = bx constitutes the most interesting part of cAbd al Hamd's text. The examples he gives for this equation are x 2 + 21 = 10x with its double solution, x2 + 25 = 10x and x2 + 9 = 6x for the case x =
b 2
, and x2 + 30 = 10x for the case with no solution. The equation x2 + 21 = 10x is
53
also found in Al-Khwrazm

51 52 53 54
and Al-Karkh, or Al-Karaj.
54
Umar Khayym mentions the terms x2 and 10x
See, Woepke, LAlgbre d'Omar Alkhayym, p. 19. See, Woepke, ibid., pp. 23-25. See, Woepke, LAlgbre d'Omar Alkhayym, p. 22, note. Woepke, Extrait du Fakhr, p. 67.
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but leaves the constant term undetermined, saying that it can be varied for the different cases that occur.
55
There is thus a parallelism also between cUmar Khayym and cAbd al Hamd in this respect.
Figure 7. The drawing of al-Frb. The geometrical scheme followed in the solution of this type of equation is to represent c by a rectangle one side of which is equal to x and to juxtapose x2 and c in such a manner that their equal sides are superposed. They thus form one single rectangle together. Then the square
b 2
is drawn in such a
manner that one of its angles coincides with one of the angles of the rectangle c which are not adjacent to x2. In the general case where
b x x 2
and
b 2
>c, there are two possibilities. The case x <

2
b 2
in which one
has to find the value of the geometrical
b square x 2
2
, and the alternative x >
b 2
in which case one has
to find the value of the geometrical
b square x 2
. The procedure followed is to find geometrically the

2
value of the square

2
b +c 2 b . 2
which is equal to
b 2 bx + x , 2
2
i.e., equal to
b x 2
2
for x 
2
Thus for x 
b , 2
x-
b c 2 b 2
and x =
b b + c . 2 2
Hence, two values are found for x, and this demonstration
of two solutions for x2 + c= bx is based on a purely geometrical reasoning. The case x = is also considered, and it is shown geometrically that in this case c must be equal to
b 2
in order to obtain a solution for the unknown x.
55
Woepke, LAlgbre d'Omar Alkhayym, p. 21.
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Thinking in terms of our general equation and formula ax2 + bx + c = o and x =
b b 2 4ac 2a
, the
equation of the type x2 + c = bx represents the case of positive c and positive a. This is therefore the type in which imaginary, roots may occur. cAbd al Hamd discusses this also, and shows with the help of two geometrical figures that in case c >
b 2
the equation has no solution regardless of whether we imagine x

b . 2
The geometrical scheme of demonstration adopted by cUmar Khayym for the type x2 + c = bx is seen to be different from that of cAbd al Hamd. Hamd for the case c <
56
Al-Khwrazm uses a figure which is identical with that of cAbd al For the case c 
b 2
the extant Arabic text of Al-
Khwrazm, as it has come down to us in Rosen's edition, contains no figure and no special treatment, but its Latin translation by Robert of Chester has a figure that is different from that given by cAbd al Hamd, in that it is of a composite nature. The general
2
57
solution
for
the
second
degree
equation
b b 2 4ac 2a
becomes
b 2
b c 2
for the case a = . Since in the times of cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk and Al-Khwrazm the
negative root was excluded, only a positive root could be conceived as added or subtracted. Now, in AlKhwrazm, there is only one solution for each one of the equations x 2 + bx = c and x2 bx + c, namely, x =
b +c 2
b 2
and x =
2
b +c 2
b 2
respectively, but two solutions for the equation x 2 + c = bx,
viz., x =
b 2
b c . 2
In the equation x2 + c = bx therefore the positive square root is added to
b 2
to obtain one solution and
subtracted from the same quantity to obtain the other solution. Gandz has explained this peculiarity by tracing these three equations back to their Babylonian origin. The types of equations found in the cuneiform tablets are, according to the list given by Gandz, following:
58
the
I.
x + y = b; xy = c
56 57 58
Woepke, LAlgbre d'Omar Alkhayym, pp. 21-33. Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 521-523. See below, p. ro8, figure I. Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 405.
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II. III. IV. V. VI. VII.
x y = b; xy = c x + y = b; x2 +y2 = c x y = b; x2 + y2 = c x + y = b; x2 y2 = c x y = b; x2 y2 = c x2 + bx = c
VIII. x2 bx = c IX. x2 + c = bx
Types I and II lead directly, III and IV with change in the constant term, to the types VII, VIII, and IX; types V and VI become transformed into first degree equations when reduced to one unknown. Types VII, VIII, and IX are of course those found in cAbd al Hamd and Al-Khwrazm.
Figure 8 When the pair of equations of type I is reduced to one unknown one obtains two equations of the type x2 + c - bx, one in x and the other in y. Hence, the two solutions for the unknown, adding up to b. That is, the two solutions for x in this equation stand for the two solutions, one for x and the other for y, in the original pair x + y = b; xy = c. When, on the other hand, the second Babylonian type is similarly transformed, one of the two equations obtained is in the form x2 + bx = c and the other in the form x2 = bx + c. Hence, the two single solutions for these two equations correspond to the two solutions, one for x and the other for y,
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in the original pair x - y =b; xy = c. Thus, the four solutions for the three "mixed" equations are accounted for without having to think in terms of a negative square root.
59
Such therefore is the historical background of the algebra of cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk also. In fact, the two cases of the equation x2 + c = bx which are clearly distinguished in cAbd al Hamd's text may be said to represent a distinction between the two original solutions x and y. This clear twofold classification may therefore be looked upon as a vestige of past history and may be said to corroborate the explanation given by Gandz. It may be said, on the other hand, that to distinguish between the cases x 
b 2
is merely
tantamount to saying that x has two solutions, and it may be added that the text of cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk seems to be self-sufficient with respect to the explanation of the occurrence of the double solution so as not to leave much need for referring back to the original forms of the "mixed" equations. cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk's Logical Necessities in the Mixed Equations is thus seen to have the strange quality of suggesting a need for giving further thought to this matter.
CHAPTER. IV THE ALGEBRA OF cABD AL HAMD IBN TURK AND AL KHWRAZM

The explanation of the double root of x2+ c = bx as given by Gandz is undoubtedly very satisfactory as far as the question of the ultimate sources of Al-Khwrazm's algebra is concerned. But it cannot be claimed to stand for the answer Al-Khwrazm himself would have given if the same question were asked from him, and Gandz too, perhaps, does not mean to offer this solution of the problem as necessarily valid in the latter sense. According to the conclusions reached by Gandz, in a first stage i.e., in the "old Babylonian school, the first six types of equations in two unknowns seen in the list given above were the types in use. avoided.
61 60
Later on the
remaining three types of equation with one unknown also came into use, but the type x 2 + c = bx was Gandz considers a new school to have developed directly out of this second stage found in Babylonian algebra. The place and time of its appearance is not known, and its earliest representative known was Al-Khwrazm. The outstanding characteristic of this new school of algebra is its practice of excluding the six old Babylonian types and of using the three "mixed" equations in one unknown. The old Babylonian attitude is thus seen to have been completely reversed.
62
The reasons for the disappearance of the avoidance of, or the hesitation felt toward, the type x2 + c = bx are not accounted for in these views advanced by Gandz. Moreover, the fact that the acceptance and free usage of the type x2 + c = bx was accompanied by an aloofness toward the old types and methods
59 60 61 62
Gandz, Gandz, Gandz, Gandz,
The The The The
Origin Origin Origin Origin
and and and and
Development Development Development Development
..., ..., ..., ...,
Osiris, Osiris, Osiris, Osiris,
vol. vol. vol. vol.
3, 3, 3, 3,
pp, pp. pp. pp.
412-416. 417-456. 470-508. 509-510.
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suggests that the interpretation of the double root exclusively with the help of the pair of equations x+ y = b and xy = c should not constitute an explanation that could be prevalent and current in the time of AlKhwrazm but only an elucidation valid in terms of what may be called a long term history and distant origins. This is not to say, of course, that Al-Khwrazm was not familiar with the old types of equations and that he did not know that the two roots of the equation x2 + c = bx correspond to the two unknowns in a pair of equations such as x + y = b and xy = c which leads to the equation x2 + c = bx. The question here concerns the prevalent methods of algebraic reasoning, solution, and explanation, i.e., if the course of development in algebra as traced by Gandz is true, it could be said that Al-Khwrazm's explanation of the double root of the equation x2 + c = bx and the acceptance of only one solution for each of the other two "mixed" equations, would, most likely, not be in terms of an abandoned type of algebra. It is of course possible to think that Al-Khwrazm himself would have given such an explanation for the occurrence of two solutions for the equation in question and only one for the other equations. But the adoption of such a view would imply that Al-Khwrazm was either the founder of the new school or that in his time the school was relatively new and that its ideas were not as yet entirely formed or sufficiently wide-spread. As we have seen, Gandz is inclined toward such a view.
c
63
Abd al Hamd ibn Turk's text can be of help in elucidating this point. For it seems quite reasonable to think
that the answer Al-Khwrazm himself would have given in connection with the two solutions of the equation x2+. c = bx would have been quite similar to that given by cAbd al Hamd, in its general lines, if not identical to it. Gandz says, ... Al-Khwrazm tries hard to break away from algebraic analysis and to give to his geometric demonstrations the appearance of a geometric independence and self-sufficiency. They are presented in such a way as to make the impression that they are arrived at independently without the help of algebraic analysis. It seems as if geometric demonstrations are the only form of reasoning and explanation which is admitted. The algebraic explanation is, as a rule, never given."
64
It may be added here that Al-Khwrazm

65
closely associates the "cause" of an equation and its geometrical figure.
These observations of Gandz find full confirmation in cAbd al Hamd's text. It may also be said that this tendency probably constitutes an even more important characteristic of the new school than its practice of avoiding the old types and transforming them into the three "mixed" equations of the second degree. In answering our question therefore Al-Khwrazm would be expected to present us with certain figures serving to illustrate the different cases which occur for the equation x2 + c = bx. For these cases represent, in the terminology of cAbd al Hamd, the logical necessities and the fixed relations connected with this type of equation, and the figures serve to give the "causes" for each type, according to Al-Khwrazm himself. Indeed, for each one of the equations x2 + bx = c and x2= bx + c one figure is all that is needed for an unequivocal representation of the solution, whereas for x2 + c = bx it is impossible to represent the
63 64 65
See above, p. 98 and note 49. Gandz, The Origin and Development, . , Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 514-515. Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 515.
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solution with a single figure drawn on the same principle. This point is set forth very clearly in cAbd al Hamd's text. The Arabic text of Al-Khwrazm's Algebra, as it has come down to us in F. Rosen's edition, contains only one figure which concerns the solution obtained by the subtraction of the square root of the discriminant, and this figure is exactly the same as the figure given by cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk for this solution. The Latin translation of Al-Khwrazm's Algebra by Robert of Chester contains the figure reproduced here which is obtained by the superposition of the two figures for each one of the solutions. square OD represent the other solution for x.
66
The sides of the square AD
represent the value of x obtained by subtracting the square root of the discriminant, and the sides of the
Q M
O L K
Figure 9 This figure corresponds to the superposition of the two separate figures given by cAbd al Hamd for the two cases in question. It probably is a later addition. For Al-Khwrazm's text does not take up the second case in detail arid in a systematic manner, and none of the figures seen in Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd are of such a composite nature. In conformity with his treatment of the double solution of the equation x2 + c = bx, Gandz feels the need of explaining Al-Khwrazm's references to the cases of x = tracing them back to old Babylonian analytical methods.
67
b 2
and
b 2
< c in a non-geometrical form by
But again, these explanations are not in harmony
with his observations just quoted to the effect that geometrical demonstrations are the only form of algebraic reasoning and explanation admitted by Al-Khwrazm. Their clear explanation based on the principle of geometrical demonstration is found in cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk's text, and this should correspond pretty nearly, or exactly, to the way Al-Khwrazm himself would have accounted for them.
66 67
This figure is taken from Gandz. See, Gandz, The Origin and Development ...., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 522. Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 533-534.
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In explaining the solution of equations of the type x2 + c = bx Al-Khwrazm takes the example x2 + 21 = 10x and first gives the solution x=5-
52 21
=3. Then he remarks that the root may also be added if
desired, thus giving the solution x = 5 + 2 =7. This special example is followed by the general instruction to try the solution obtained by addition first and if this is found unsatisfactory to resort to the method of subtraction.
68
There is thus a reversal of order, in which the two alternative solutions are recommended to
be found, between the example of solution presented and the general instruction given. Gandz sees a contradiction in this and decides that the general instruction must be a gloss by a later commentator. preferred.
70 69
For he observes that in nine out of a total of ten examples of the solution of equations of
this type given by Al-Khwrazm the solution obtained by subtracting the square root of the discriminant is Gandz uses the word preference here in a composite sense. At times he refers by it to the rejection or omission of the other root, and at times he means by this word merely a preference in the order of calculation. Gandz considers this "preference" for the method of subtraction to find confirmation also by the facts that Al-Khwrazm's geometrical demonstration for the solution of this type of equation concerns the alternative of the method of subtraction
71
and that Weinberg's translation, from the Hebrew, of Ab Kmil Shujc's

72
Algebra, where the author quotes this part of Al-Khwrazm's text, does not contain the recommendation of
first trying, the method of addition.
Figure 10. The drawing of Thabit b. Qurra Gandz says on this occasion, "It is therefore a well established rule with Al-Khwrazm to prefer the negative root. He teaches this rule expressly in his exposition of the types, on p. 7, and he adheres to it
68 69
Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, p. 7, tr., p. 11. Gandzf The Origin and Development . . ., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 519-520. 70 Gandz, The Origin and Development . . ., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 532. 71 Gandz, The Origin and Development . . ., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 533. 72 Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 520, note 84. As we shall see below, there is another statement by AlKhwrazm wherein addition is mentioned first, so that the effort of Gandz to discard the former statement does not seem to be justified (see below, pp. 112, 113, 118 and notes 78, 79, and 92).
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also in his geometric demonstration of the type. There must have been a special reason for this preference and partiality exercised in favour of the negative root. Now if we were to consider the type in its later Arabic form, x2 + b = ax, there would be, to the writer's knowledge, no plausible explanation for this preference. But if we trace the type back to its historical old-Babylonian origin, there appears to be a very good and plausible reason for this strange procedure. The original form was: x + y = a; xy = b. The first part of it is still preserved in Al-Khwrazms examples, which have the condition x + y = 10. But we have seen that in five examples the positive root would lead for x to a value x > 10." These five examples, as they are numbered by Gandz, are: 5) x + y= 10;
73
xy 1 =5 yx 4
6) x+y= 10;
5x +5x=50, 2y
7) x + y = 10; y2 = 81x, 8) x + y = 10; 10x = y2, 9) x2 + 20 = 12x. The solutions for example No. 6 are x1 = 8, x2 =
50 , 4
and for No. 7 they are x1 = and x2 = 100. Al-
Khwrazm takes only the smaller values in both cases, obviously because both solutions x2 exceed 10. Al-Khwrazm himself gives no solutions for examples No, 5 and 8 above,
74
but Gandz includes them in his
list. The conclusion properly to be drawn here is that, at times, Al-Khwrazm leaves the final calculation of the answers to his reader. The solutions here are x1 = 3 and x2 = = 15 +
70 4
for No. 5, and x1 = 15-
125
and x2
125
for No. 8. Gandz says that Al-Khwrazm would have been obliged to choose the smaller
75
values in both cases, had he given the solutions,
and this seems quite acceptable.
These four examples hardly reveal anything beyond the simple fact that of the solutions x1 and x2 those which fit the initial conditions such as x + y = b were naturally preferred. In the examples considered here the acceptable solutions have to satisfy the condition x < 10. That is why in two out of the four examples the smaller values were chosen by Al-Khwrazm, and in the remaining two also the smaller roots should have been chosen as asserted by Gandz. I shall take up example No. 9 later on. We may now consider example No. 10 which appears on Gandz' list. It is (x
1 1 - x x x 4 3 4 312 288 24 = 25 25 25
=x+12.
This leads to the equation x2 +
576 624 = x. 25 25
Its two solutions are x1 =
and x2 =
73 74 75
Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris,-'vol. 3, p. 533. See also, pp. 525-532. Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, pp. 37, 36-37, tr., p. 51. Gandz, The Origin and Development .. , Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 528, 530.
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312 288 = 24 . 25 25
Al-Khwrazm gives only the value 24, and Grandz remarks that he is compelled to do so
because if the value
24 25
is substituted in the equation
1 1 x x x 4 3 4
=x+12, the value obtained
inside the parenthesis would be
10 76 -4, i.e., a negative quantity. 25
It is thus seen that the solution of smaller value was rejected and the larger one accepted without any hesitation when the nature of the problem required-such a choice. There should therefore be no bias in AlKhwrazm against the solution obtained by the method of addition. We have so far looked into five out of the ten examples mentioned by Gandz. I shall now take up examples 1 and 2. In these two examples Al-Khwrazm is seen to mention both solutions. Example No. 1 is x + y = 10; x2 + y2 = 58. It gives the equation x2 + 21=10x. Its two solutions are x1 = 3 and x2 = 7, and Al-Khwrazm gives both solutions,
77
apparently because x1 and x2 both are quite
admissible, i.e., they are not only the roots of the equation x2 + 21 =10x but they also give satisfactory values for x and y in the original system x+y= 10, x2 + y2 = 58. Example No. 2 is x + y = 10; xy = 21. This too leads to the equation x2 + 21 = 10x. Again Al-Khwrazm gives both solutions. He first mentions 3, and then he says, "and this is one of the parts, and if you wish you may add the root of four to half the coefficient of the unknown (i.e., to 5) and you will obtain seven, and this also is one of the parts." By the word "parts" he refers to x and y, or to x and 10 - x, i.e., to the two parts into which 10 is divided. Then he adds, And this is a problem, in which one operates both by addition and by subtraction.
78
In these two examples there are no conditions which would necessitate the rejection of one of the two solutions x1 = 3 and x2 = 7. And, indeed, Al-Khwrazm is seen not to make any such choice. The conclusion that the solution which fits the conditions presented by, the problem is selected is therefore seen to be applicable to all cases and to both solutions. The rule, then, is that the choice of x1 or x2, or both, is governed by whether xl, x2, or both x1 and x2, happen to satisfy the problem. It may be noted that the statements of Al-Khwrazm quoted above in connection with example No. 2 are quite similar to those wherein Gandz has detected a contradiction. Here too, at the beginning, AlKhwrazm mentions and finds the smaller value first and then he gives the second solution, but then, at the end, he mentions addition first and subtraction afterward. Al-Khwrazm says, "And this is a problem, in which one operates both by addition and by subtraction, and, "and if you wish you may add the root of four . . . and you will obtain seven. The same peculiarity of expression is partly found also in the passage where Gandz has found a contradiction. This phraseology suggests, firstly, that it could be known before the actual derivation of the values of x1 and x2 whether both
76 77 78
Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, pp. 42-44, tr., pp. 60-62; Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 531-532. Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, pp. 28-29, tr., pp. 39-40; Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 525. Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, p, 30, tr., pp. 41-42; Gandz, The Origin and Development . . ., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 524-525 (the
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solutions would be acceptable or not, and secondly, that when both solutions were acceptable it was considered just as natural to derive both x1 and x2 from the equation x2 + c = bx or to derive only one of them from that equation; the second root could then be derived from one of the equations leading to x2 + c = bx. This second point may be -said to be a direct consequence of the symbolism implicit in AlKhwrazm's formulation of equations. For it may be said that in Al-Khwrazm equations in two unknowns are a bit in the background. From an initial and ephemeral x and y he passes immediately to x and 10-x or b - x. I shall dwell on the first point in greater detail a little further below.
79
The expression "if you wish you may. . ." which we have just met and certain other peculiarities encountered here and there in. this algebra make it seem probable that there was in Al-Khwrazm's algebra a tendency of being satisfied with a single solution of the equation x2 + c = bx even when both solutions were acceptable. That such was not the case is indicated, however, by certain examples of solutions given, as well as by Al-Khwrazm's clear reference to the type of problems in which one operates
both by addition and by subtraction as seen in the quotation made from him above to which footnote 78
has been attached. Hence, our interpretation in the preceding paragraph. Example No. 4 in Gandz is x + y = 10;
x y 1 + =2 . y x 6
It gives the equation x2 + 24=10x, and its two

80
solutions are x1 = 4, x2 = 6. Al-Khwrazm mentions only x1 = 4.
It is obvious that he accepts x2 = 6 also.
We must conclude therefore that, at times, he mentions one of the solutions only, when both are acceptable. As we have just seen, his phraseology too shows this to be quite permissible. He leaves it to the reader to find the other answer either directly from the equation x2 + 24 = 10x or, by subtraction, from x + y= 10, i.e., from the relation 10 - x = y. We now come to example No. 3 in Gandz' list. It is x + y = 10; x2 + y2 + (y - x) = 54. Or we may write it directly as (10 - x)2 +x2 + [(10 - x) -x] = 54. It is seen that in this equation the relation y>x or 10 - x>x is assumed to hold by the very formulation of the problem. The equation leads to x2 + 28 =11x, and the solutions are x1 = 4, x2 = 7. Al-Khwrazm gives only x1 = 4.
81
The reason for his not accepting both values
is obviously that 4 + 7 10. But 7 too is less than 10. Why then did he not choose x2 = 7? The reason for this must simply have been that only x1 satisfies the relation 10 - x > x which was assumed in the formulation of the problem. Gandz asks the following additional question: Why is it that Al-Khwrazm did not formulate the equation in the form x2 + (10 - x)2 + [x-(10 x)] = 54, assuming that x- (10 - x) >o? His answer is that in that case the equation x2 + 18 = 9x would have been obtained, and as the two solutions of this equation are x1 = 3 and x2 = 6, Al-Khwrazm would have been compelled to choose x2 = 6 because x1 = 3 would not satisfy the relation x- (10 - x) > 0. But Al-Khwrazm according to Gandz feels inertia for accepting the larger answer; therefore he chose to formulate his problem as he did.
82
But how can we be sure that Al-Khwrazm chose to formulate his problem, as he did because he had a feeling against the acceptable solution resulting from the alternative formulation? He has the problem (10 -
translation given here is mine). 79 See below, pp. 122-123 and notes 95, 96. 80 Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, pp. 32-33, tr., pp. 44-45; Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 527-528. 81 Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, pp. 31-32, tr.3 pp. 43-44. 82 Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 526-527.
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x)2 -x2 = 40, e.g., in his book, just before our present example No. 3. It implies the relation 10 - x>x, and leads directly to the simple equation x = 3. He could have formulated it as x2 - (10 - x)2 = 40 leading to the equation x2.+10x = 70. Could we conclude from here that Al-Khwrazm avoids equations of the type x2 + bx = c? It is much more reasonable to answer Gandz' additional question by saying that, had Al-Khwrazm chosen the second formulation, he would have accepted x2 = 6, because this is the answer which satisfies the condition x > (10 - x). We now come to example No. 9, the only one remaining from Gandz' list. This is the equation x2 + 20=12x. It is directly given, i.e., it is not derived from other relations imposing such conditions as x + y = 10. Here the solutions are x1 = 2, x2 = 10, and Al-Khwrazm gives only x1 = 2.
83
Why does he not mention x2 = 10? To answer this question Gandz assumes that Al-Khwrazm associated this example in his mind with a system in the form of x + y = 10; x2 =4xy occurring in another part of AlKhwrazm's text.
84
He changes the second member of this pair into y2 = 4xy and says that the equation x2
+ 20 = 10x must in reality be the second degree equation derived from x + y=10; y2 = 4xy. For one thus obtains (10 - x)2 =4x (10- x), or x2 + 20 = I2x. The condition x + y = 10 being thus introduced into the equation x2 + 20 = I2x, the solution x2 = 10 can be said to be undesirable because it leads to the value zero for y. This, according to Gandz, is the reason why Al-Khwrazm passes over x2 = 10 with silence.
85
The equations x2 +20 = 12x and x+y=10; x2 = 4xy are separated in Al-Khwrazm's book by twenty five intervening isolated examples, and Al-Khwrazm gives no inkling of the connection suggested by Gandz. Moreover, the equations x + y = 10; x2 = 4xy, as treated by Al-Khwrazm, become transformed into x2 = 8x. This is an example of "simple" equations (mufradt), and not-of the "mixed" equations where the example x2 + 20 = 12x occurs. Al-Khwrazm is thus seen to deal with these two examples in two different parts of the section on problems, in his book, treating two different categories of equations. What conceivable reason could there possibly be under these circumstances for seeing the system x + y = 10x; x2 = 4xy, and in its version proposed by Gandz, loom suddenly behind the equation x2 + 20 = I2x? As we have seen it was Al-Khwrazm's intention to write a book that could easily be understood.
86
And
Gandz himself claims that Al-Khwrazm represented the tendency of the simplification and standardization of algebraically procedures and that his school did away with all solutions and transformations depending upon subtly concocted relations and ingenious devices.
87
How then could Al-Khwrazm expect his readers
to jump back twenty five examples in his book to make such a circuitous interpretation of his mere silence? Moreover, this kind of explanation by Gandz is, if not contradictory to his general theory concerning this type of equation, at least not in harmony with it. For Gandz' own general theory directs us, in the present example, e. g., to see the system x+ y = 12 and xy = 20 behind the equation x2+ 20 = 12x, and not the system x + y = 10; y2 = 4xy, in order to render the occurrence of two solutions intelligible. But the reasoning that x = 10 gives y = 0 and is therefore undesirable as a solution would not work in that case.
83 84 85 86 87
Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, p. 40, tr., p. 56. Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, p. 25, tr., pp. 35-36. Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 531. See above; pp. 94-95 and note 42. See below; pp. 126-127 and note 97.
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As we have seen, Al-Khwrazm occasionally leaves the calculation of the result, whether it is the larger or the smaller root, to his readers
88
and his phraseology suggests that he should not necessarily be expected

89
to mention two solutions when they are both acceptable.
It should therefore be quite possible that Al-
Khwrazm left it to the reader to figure out the value of x2 in the present example also. It may be supposed too, although such a supposition would represent an extreme attitude and is really unnecessary, that the solution x2 = 10 is missing due to some kind of an oversight on the part of some copyist or of AlKhwrazm himself. At any rate, a single exceptional case, even if it were in existence here, should not justify such an attempt to establish a complicated rule. It does also seem a bit exaggerated to see in the occurrence of the equation x+y = 10 in any specific and isolated problem a meaningful survival of one half of the standard Babylonian equation type I even if the second member of the pair bore no resemblance to that type. It is hardly necessary to invoke the old Babylonian practices for the clarification of the individual solutions of the equation x2 + c = bx found in AlKhwrazm. It can be said with little hesitation that these examples contain no puzzles and that they require no complex explanations. Three cases occur with regard to the acceptance or rejection of the two solutions of the equation x2 + c = bx. The solution obtained by the method of subtraction may be accepted; the solution obtained by the method of addition may be accepted; both solutions may be accepted. The special conditions contained in the problem solved dictate the choice between these three cases. These general conclusions may be said not to be in any essential disagreement with those of Gandz. Gandz claims, however, that the procedures followed in the choice and preference of these roots cannot be made intelligible unless we consider them in the light of their distant Babylonian origins. This certainly does not seem to be true. The treatment of these examples rather indicates that the algebra of Al-Khwrazm was quite self-sufficient in explaining its methods and the procedures it employed. Moreover, strict dependence upon geometrical reasoning was a prominent feature of this algebra, and it will have to be brought well into the foreground. We come now to the question of preference, if any, in the order in which the two solutions were derived even if both solutions were to be accepted, as in the case when the equation x2 + c = fax was directly given or when both solutions were expected or foreseen to be acceptable. It will be observed from the foregoing details that Al-Khwrazm's text contains five examples which may serve the elucidation of this question in an unequivocal manner. Once he proceeds to teach the solution of x2 + c = bx and uses the method of subtraction first, then he adds the second solution. Immediately after, he gives a general instruction in which he speaks of the method of addition first.
90
There are, in addition to
these, two problems which could be expressed in a pair of equations in two unknowns and leading both to the equation x2+21=10x. These are examples No. 1 and 2 in the list mentioned above. In one of these he derives first the smaller answer obtained by subtraction and then finds the other solution.
91
In the other
example too first the method of subtraction is used and then the method of addition, but immediately after
88 89 90
See above, pp. 110-111, 113-114, 114 and note 80. See above, p. 113-114 and note 79. Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, p. 7, tr., p. n. Sec also, above, p. 109 and note 68.
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he adds that the equation "should be solved both by addition and by subtraction, mentioning the method of addition first.
92
thus once more
In these five cases therefore Al-Khwrazm is seen to mention three times the method of subtraction first and twice the method of addition first. These examples are too few to constitute a basis for a general conclusion. It should be safe to decide, however, that Al-Khwrazm exercises no preference or partiality in the matter of the order of derivation of the two solutions of the equation x2 + c = bx. It is true nevertheless that the smaller solution is seen to occur more frequently in the list made by Gandz and that the smaller root of the equation is observed to constitute the satisfactory solution in the majority of the examples where only one solution is acceptable. If we add to Gandz' list the two general statements by Al-Khwrazm concerning the double roots and the example connected with his teaching how to solve x 2 + c = bx we will have thirteen cases. Six or seven of these concern or exemplify cases where both roots are acceptable. In five of them Al-Khwrazm speaks of both roots. Twice he speaks of the larger root first and three times of the smaller root first. In the remaining two examples he mentions only the smaller root of the equation. There are in addition six examples wherein only one solution is acceptable. In one of these the acceptable solution is the larger one and in the remaining five the smaller one. Al-Khwrazm mentions the former one and three out of the latter five. In Al-Khwrazm's examples therefore the smaller root of this type of equation is encountered, in one way or another, more frequently than the larger solution. Is there a reason, for this? It is possible that AlKhwrazm has a tendency or an inclination to set the unknown he is going to eliminate as greater than the unknown he lets remain in his equations, i.e., to set y > x, or, for x + y = 10, e.g., to suppose x <10 - x. For the examples found in his text suggest such likelihood. This may partly explain why the smaller solution is more prominently represented in his examples. But the relation x < 10-x cannot be said to constitute an established rule with Al-Khwrazm. The first example in the group of problems found in his book is x 2 = 4x (10 - x), and here x > 10- x.
93
Our foregoing conclusions may be summarized or formulated as follows. When a system of two equations in two unknowns F (x, y) =0 and f(x, y) =0 leads to an equation of the type x2 + c = bx, the two roots x1 and x2 of the latter equation will in general result in two new values y1 and y2 for y. It is only in the special case wherein both F (x, y) =o and f (x, y) =0 are symmetrical with respect to x and y that x1 = y2 and y1 = x2 . The solutions x1 and x2 will therefore stand in such a case for the solutions of x and y in the system F (x, y) = 0 and f (x, y) =0. Now, as in Al-Khwrazm's algebra the solutions of x2 + c = bx were in principle conceived to stand not only for the solutions of this equation itself but also for the solutions of x and y in F (x, y) = o and f (x, y) = o when the equationx2 + c = bx was derived from such a system of simultaneous equations, and as the examples of simultaneous equations used were not always both symmetrical with respect to x and y, it was natural that, occasionally at least, the two solutions x2 and x2 should be found not to be both satisfactory. One of them had to be accepted and the other rejected. Special conditions contained in F (x, y) = o and f
91 92 93
Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, p. 29, tr., p. 40. See also, above, p. 112 and note 77. Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, p. 30, tr., pp. 41-42. See also, above, p. 112 and note 78. Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, p. 25, tr., p. 35.
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(x, y) = o, depending also upon certain algebraic conceptions of the time, governed the choice between x1 and x2 in such cases. In short, Al-Khwrazm is seen not to contradict himself, and his general instruction need not be discarded. There is no conclusive evidence indicating that he exhibited any partiality in the order of derivation of the two roots. He may be said, however, not to treat this question in a well ordered fashion. cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk's text, on the other hand presents the matter in a more orderly and complete fashion, and as it was, likely, written before Al-Khwrazm's Algebra, the latter may not have felt the need of clearer explanation because he did not consider the subject, in its details, as one that was unknown or obscure. The additional light shed on the subject by the text of cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk was of some help in arriving at the conclusions presented above concerning Al-Khwrazm's algebra. There should not be much need therefore to insist on their applicability to cAbd al Hamd's text also.
c
Abd al Hamd ibn Turk applies the rules of subtraction and addition both to the same example, namely to
the familiar equation x2 + 21 = 10x, and this implies the permissibility of accepting both roots. He, moreover, clearly distinguishes between the cases
b > 2
x and
b < 2
x, with positive discriminant. In the first
case the square root of the discriminant has to be subtracted from half of b and in the second case it has to be added to the same quantity. This mode of expression seems a bit awkward from the standpoint of the solution of the equation though not from the viewpoint of geometrical representation. For, from the standpoint of the solution of the equation, this phraseology amounts merely to saying that if x is smaller than half of b then subtract the square root of the discriminant from half of b and in the opposite case add that amount to half of b. One is tempted to interpret this to mean that first both values of x are found, and if it is seen that the problem requires a solution which satisfies the condition x <
b 2
the solution which fulfils this condition is chosen,
and in the opposite case the alternative solution is accepted.

c
Abd al Hamd ibn Turk leaves the impression of having been a person who attached some importance to
formal and logical order of presentation and exposition, however, and he would be expected to avoid such a circular manner of expression. There is evidence that Al-Khwrazm too knew and used some, at least, of these rules and ways of classification.
94
It may be said therefore that these rules and modes of expression
had been developed apparently by the school of algebra of which cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk and Al-Khwrazm are the earliest representatives known to us, and that these rules and expressions had probably received the approval of several other mathematicians. Moreover, cAbd al Hamd is seen to use an identical expression when speaking of the case of negative discriminant, and it could not be, said that in this case too he means to refer to the actual comparison of x and
b . 2
He could only be interpreted in this case to mean that c >
b 2
leads to the impossibility of
94
See above, p. 108 and note 67.
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solution whether we imagine the relation
b > 2
x or
b 2
< x to hold. It is thus seen that the same mode of
expression has to be interpreted in a certain manner for the case of positive discriminant and in another manner for that of negative discriminant. All these considerations suggest that we possibly lack the knowledge of certain details needed here and that if the true elements of the particular reasoning involved were known to us the strangeness of this mode of expression would disappear. It may be wondered therefore whether this algebra may have possessed a method for deciding beforehand on the following questions: will both solutions of x2 + c = bx be acceptable; and if not, should the acceptable solution be greater or smaller than
b , 2
in case x
b , 2
the
case x =
b 2
being detectable through a comparison made between c and b.
As we have seen before, certain statements of Al-Khwrazm too suggest that he considered it predictable before the solutions were actually derived, whether both roots of the equation would be acceptable or only one of them. result,
96 95
Al-Khwrazm's general instruction, however, is to the effect that one may first try the
method of addition and if the result is not satisfactory then subtraction will be sure to give the satisfactory and this renders predictions unnecessary. But Al-Khwrazm may be supposed to give here a shortcut and simplified rule which he considered more practical and preferable from a pedagogical standpoint. The missing parts of cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk's Algebra did probably contain information serving to shed light on this question. In the absence of such information, only tentative guesses could be advanced. It may be conjectured that very frequently one of the equations F (x, y) = o and f (x, y) = o used, leading to an equation of the type x2+ c = bx, say, F (x, y) = o, was, e. g., in the form x + y = B. If B was seen to be equal to b, it was decided that both roots of x2 +c = bx would be acceptable. In case b B, they may have looked at f (x, y) = o to see whether it bore more strongly upon x or upon y, and in some such a way it may have been decided whether the acceptable solution of x2 + c = bx should be greater or less than
b . 2
This assumption or guess has seemed sensible to me because such a procedure should be traceable to the much used Babylonian and Diophantine methods of transformation of equations by the introduction of new unknown quantities. Thus if F (x, y) =0 is in the form x + y = B and f (x, y) = o is seen to be transformable into the form zy = c or z2 + y2 = c, then the way z is related to x could supply the needed relation between, x and
b . 2
2
It may seem reasonable to think that in his treatment of the solution of x +c = bx when
b 2
> c, cAbd al
Hamd ibn Turk takes into consideration, although he does not state it explicitly, the possibility of the operations needed for the solution. I.e., in our terminology, both the constant term and the coefficient of x 2 being positive, in this case, in the equation of the type x2 + c = bx the square root of the discriminant
95
See above, p. 113-114 and note 79.
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b 2
-c is smaller than
b , 2
and the possibility of a negative solution, which was not acceptable, is thus
excluded. For this may be said to be implied by his detailed treatment, on this occasion, of the case of negative discriminant. Such a consideration would constitute and supply an additional arithmetical or operational elucidation of the reason why x2 + c = bx has two solutions while each of the other "mixed" equations has only one. It would serve to supplement the geometrical demonstrations by an additional comparison between the three "mixed" equations. Indeed, the solutions x=
b b +c 2 2
of the other two "mixed" equations would
both become transformed into negative quantities if one thought of the alternative of subtracting the square root of the discriminant. In other words, both cases would lead to operations impossible to perform. For these two "mixed" equations, therefore, such alternatives had no meaning in the geometrically conceived algebra of the time. The meaning of the word darra becomes clearer in the light of cAbd al Hamd's treatment of these special cases and after the details considered above. The meaning of fixed or uniquely determined relation seems superimposed on the meaning of logical necessity and a meaning close to that of "determinate equation" ensues perhaps because the cases are envisaged, when necessary, as a pair of simultaneous equations. Thus the equation x3 + c = bx may be said not to represent a uniquely determined relation because it admits, in general, two distinct solutions. When one of the additional conditions x
b 2
is also imposed,
however, one equation and one inequality together constitute a uniquely determined relation. This explains why cAbd al Hamd's reference to the case wherein both solutions may be admitted is indirect and implicit. For in this part of his book his main purpose is to make an exposition of the darrt. The case x =
b 2
ay be looked upon in a like manner when this relation is translated into the condition c=
b 2
"Logicalnecessity" seems essential as a component in the meaning of darra because it accounts better for the case of negative discriminant for which case too both' alternatives x
b 2
are taken into consideration.
Moreover, this meaning of the word possibly may, by extension, refer also to the method of geometrical demonstration or "proof. We cannot be entirely certain that cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk wrote his book before Al-Khwrazm's Algebra, but there seems to be no reason for doubt that the part of his text that has come down to us constitutes the first extant systematic and well-rounded treatment and exposition of the topic it deals with. We have seen that Gandz is inclined to believe that Al-Khwrazm was, if not the founder of the school of algebra which he represents, at least one of its earlier representatives who played a part in the dissemination of its views and its manners of approach. The text of cAbd al Hamd, however, may be said to
96 Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text. p. 7, tr., p. 11. See also, above, p. 109 and note 68.
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corroborate the opposite thesis. The algebra of cAbd al Hamd and Al, Khwrazm does not at all seem close to its stage of genesis. It does not have the earmarks of an algebra which had not still finished going through its initial processes of development but of one with well-established rules, traditions, and points of view.
CHAPTER V THE ORIGINS AND SOURCES OF THE ALGEBRA OF cABD AL HAMD IBN TURK AND AL KHWRAZM
One of the most important and influential books in the history of algebra is Diophantos' Arithmetica. Apparently, the algebra of Diophantos is directly related to and derived from the old Babylonian school. But Diophantos did not influence the algebra of Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk. His influence was felt in Islam after his book was translated by Qust ibn Lq (d. ca. 912), but this was after the times of
c
Abd al Hamd and Al-Khwrazm.
I have outlined above the development of algebra, or the transformations it underwent, from its old Babylonian origins up to the time of Al-Khwrazm, as conceived and brought to light by Gandz. The first stage was characterized by the usage of certain types of equations. At an intermediary stage the three "mixed" equations also came to be used, but the type x2 + c = bx was avoided. At the stage represented by Al-Khwrazm the old Babylonian types became excluded and the "mixed" equations began to be used. A question that naturally comes to the mind is the reason for this reversal of attitude. Let us hear its answer from Gandz. He says, "In Al-Khwrazms algebra we may easily discern the reverse of the Babylonian attitude. Here we find that the three Arabic types are used, regularly and exclusively. The old Babylonian types and methods are entirely rejected and repudiated. They never occur; they are thoroughly discarded, while the three Arabic types, formerly the struggling and tolerated methods, are now the dominating ones to the complete exclusion of the old Babylonian methods. In Al-Khwrazms Algebra we, very frequently, find the same problems as in the Babylonian texts. But the Babylonian methods of solution though near at hand and though very convenient, are systematically avoided. Herein lays the great merit of Al-Khwrazm, his great contribution to the progress of algebra. He does away with all those brilliant ideas, ingenious devices, and clever tricks adopted by the Babylonians for the solution of their individual problems. He entirely spurns this
romanticism and individualism in the algebra, and instead, he introduces and originates what we may call the classic period in algebra. The methods of solution are, so to say, standardized. There are only, three
types and all the quadratic equations and all the problems may be reduced to these standard types and solved according to their rules. 'And we found, so he says at the outset of his book, on p. 15, after the six types (bx2 = ax, bx2 = a, bx = a, x2 + ax = b, x2 + b = ax, x2 = b + ax) have been described and explained by him, 'that all the problems handled by algebra will necessarily be reduced to one of these six types just described and commented upon. So bear them in mind.' There is a sharp point of polemics in these words. He means to say: You must not waste your time with the study and practice of all those antiquated Babylonian types and of all the innumerable devices and tricks to be employed in order to reduce the problems to these types, of equations. It is enough to study these three types that I have just expounded, and you will be in a position to solve all the problems. And the rest of his algebra is planned to bear out
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this statement. The problems are selected from the great storehouse of Babylonian mathematics and are all reduced to the three Arabic types. Thus the uselessness of the Babylonian methods and the usefulness of the Arabic methods are fully demonstrated."
97
As to the relation between the algebra of the time of Al-Khwrazm and Greek geometric algebra as developed by the Pythagoreans and found in Euclid, Gandz is of the belief that although this algebra too is based' upon and derived from the Babylonians no direct relations or connections exist between it and the algebra of Al-Khwrazm. Speaking of geometrical demonstrations and comparing Euclid and Al-Khwrazm, Gandz says, "Euclid demonstrates the antiquated old Babylonian algebra by a highly advanced geometry; Al-Khwrazm demonstrates types of an advanced algebra by the antiquated geometry of the ancient Babylonians. "The older historians of mathematics believed to find in the geometric demonstrations of Al-Khwrazm the evidence of Greek influence. In reality, however, these geometric demonstrations are the strongest evidence against the theory of Greek influence. They clearly show the deep chasm between the two systems of mathematical thought, in algebra as well as in geometry."
98
And concerning Diophantos he says, "Both, Al-Khwrazm and Diophantos, drew from Babylonian sources, but whereas Diophantos still adheres to old Babylonian methods of solution, Al-Khwrazm rejects those old methods and introduces the more modern methods of solution."
99
The first algebra which made its appearance in Islam becomes, therefore, according to this theory, a directline descendent of Babylonian algebra without any intervening or interfering side-influences. A crucial test and one of the most weighty arguments Gandz offers for this thesis rests on his ability to account for the occurrence of the double root of the equation x2+c = bx. Let us examine then this thesis of Gandz a little more closely. As we have seen, there is ample evidence that Al-Khwrazm, and therefore also cAbd Al-Hamd ibn Turk, knew that the two solutions x1 and x2 of an equation x2+ c = bx often did not correspond to the solutions x and y of a set of equations F (x, y) = o and f (x, y) = o which leads to the equation x2 + c = bx. It does not seem very satisfactory to think therefore that their explanation of the double root was made through reference to the system x+y = b; xy = c. In fact, had such been the case, Al-Khwrazm's text would very likely have revealed it unambiguously. For, in connection with the double root, clear though implicit reference is made, as we have seen, to the sets of equations F (x, y) = o and f (x, y)> = o, when the equation x2 + c = bx is derived from such a set. This reference is made, however, not in order to explain the occurrence of two solutions for a single equation but in order to make a choice, if necessary, between the two solutions. Moreover, references of such a nature are necessary to a set of equations in its more general form which would not serve to explain the occurrence of two solutions, and not to the special case x + y = b; xy = c.
97 98
Gandz, the Origin and Development . . ., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 509-510. Gandz, the Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 523-524.
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The explanation offered by Gandz could therefore be completely valid only in an indirect manner, when the matter is traced back to its origins in the past. The answer that Al-Khwrazm would have given for the occurrence of the double root would, furthermore, have to be also and especially in terms of the equation x2+ c = bx itself and not merely in terms of a set of equations F (x, y) =0 and f (x, y) =0 leading to it. That answer is ready at hand in cAbd al Hamd's text, as we have seen, and it concerns the equation x2+ c = bx itself, as it, at least partly, should, and not a set of simultaneous equations from which x2 + c = bx may be considered derived. This manner of accounting for the double root constitutes therefore the valid answer to our version of the question, i.e., the answer not pertaining to distant origins but the one AlKhwrazm himself would have supplied, and it serves, appropriately, to bring the method of geometrical demonstration well into the foreground, as it has been pointed out before. We are, moreover, here in the presence of an algebra which accepted the double root of x2+ c = bx without any hesitation. Would not its explanation by referring it directly to an algebra which felt uneasy toward the double root somewhat miss the point? The required explanation should also elucidate the passage and transition between the two types of algebra. There is obviously an important missing link in Gandz' explanation, arid it is essential, or highly desirable at least, not to bypass it. What, then, was the nature of the hesitation felt toward the equation x 2+ c = bx and why and how did that hesitation disappear? Speaking of the Babylonian algebra and the equation x2+ c = bx to which he refers by the symbol A II, Gandz writes as follows. "With regard to type A II, however, the writer's theory is that it was never made use, of. It must have been well known to the Babylonian mathematicians, but all kinds of ingenious devices were used to avoid this type of equations. So far, no Babylonian text came to my knowledge which would plainly, expressly and unequivocally exhibit this type of equation and the instruction for its solution, as was the case with the two Arabic types in BM 13901. Indeed, the most remarkable thing of this old document, seems to me to be that in its first part, dealing with equations of one unknown, it has no example of the type x2+ b = ax, whereas the other two types are distinctly taught in several instances. The lesson it teaches us is plainly that in the mathematical school from which this text comes such a type of equation was not recognized at all. This lesson is repeated and further corroborated by several other texts. The problems treated in those texts could be very simply and easily solved, if they were reduced to the equation x 2 + b = ax. Instead of that, however, all kinds of tricks and ingenious devices are employed in order to reduce them to the type of an equation with two unknowns x+ y = a; xy = b. Our modern students of Babylonian mathematics explained these equations of type B I by reducing them to the form x2+ b = ax. The Babylonian mathematicians, however, proceeded quite in the opposite way. They made all efforts to transform the equations of the type x2 + b = ax into the type x + y = a; xy = b. The reason for it is clear and was already mentioned in this paper ( 3, p. 415). The type was well known to them and it was also known to them that it leads to two solutions and two values. This idea of two values for one and the same quantity seems to have been very embarrassing. It was regarded as an ambiguity, as an illogical absurdity and as nonsense. Hence all the ingenious devices were invented in order to circumvent, dodge and forestall the use of this embarrassing type."
99
100
100
Gandz, the Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 527. Gandz, The Origin and Development . . -, Osiris, vol. 3, p. 480.
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Again, Gandz says, "In the selection and arrangement of these 8 problems there is plan and method and no mere chance and accident. Evidently the formulation and the plan-full arrangement of these examples have the aim of furnishing instances for the two fundamental Babylonian types and the three Arabic types. Most characteristic are especially the two last examples which demonstrate the two possible solutions of type A H, or else, let us say, the confusion arising out of the use of this type. We have here before us a regular and systematically lesson in the five fundamental types of the quadratic equations. The lesson gradually progresses from the plain and simple to the more difficult and more complicated tasks. The probability is that the Babylonian teacher chose these examples and this arrangement in order to demonstrate through them the great practicability and the usefulness of the old, traditional Babylonian methods. He most probably wanted to show that all these new fangled Arabic types may be reduced to the old Babylonian types, thus saving us from the confusion and duplicity involved in the use of types all." types" refers here to the "mixed" equations x + bx = c, x + c =, bx, and x = bx + c. On still another occasion Gandz expresses his ideas on this matter in the following manner: "But a dualism of value and of solution for one and the same quantity must have appeared to the Babylonian mathematician as a strange thing. That one and the same quantity should be the length and breadth of a rectangle, should amount to 3 and to 7 at the same time, must have been regarded by him as an illogical nonsense; he must have shunned it with abhorrence as an absurdity and monstrosity, belonging into the art of magic rather than into the science of mathematics."
102
2 2 2
101
The term "Arabic
We have seen that according to Gandz the reasons leading to the exclusive adoption of the "mixed" equations by the school represented by AI Khwrazm were akin to a principle of economy; these mathematicians wished to standardize the solutions and to make algebra less dependent upon ingenious devices and clever tricks. As to why such an attitude was not adopted by the Babylonians, we now see him give the reason that they did not feel quite at home with the idea of two solutions for one and the same quantity. Presumably therefore what prevented an earlier adoption of the principle of economy in algebra was the hesitation felt toward the double solution of the equation x2-f c = bx. At least from the standpoint of the algebra of Al-Khwrazm it seems proper to distinguish between two cases in connection with the hesitation felt for this double root. The case where the equation was directly given; and the case of its derivation from a pair of simultaneous equations in two unknowns. It could be conjectured that for the Babylonian mathematician there should have been less room for hesitation when x1 and x2 corresponded to the solutions sought for x and y. On the other hand, the derivation of two distinct values for one and the same quantity, both satisfying the equation and not traceable to two unknowns entering the problem to be solved, may have produced some kind of a psychological difficulty. In the algebra of Al-Khwrazm the double solution seems to have been looked upon as something quite normal when the equation was directly given. But when the equation was derived from a pair of simultaneous equations, there was the possibility that both solutions of x 2 + c = bx would not correspond to the two unknowns of the simultaneous equations, and additional considerations had to come into play.
101 102
Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 496. Gandz, The Origin and Development . . ., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 415.
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This being the situation, the turning point and the major characteristic of the algebra of the school to which Al-Khwrazm belonged must have been closely related with the disappearance of the hesitation felt for the double solution of the equation x8 + c = bx when this equation was directly given. As we have seen, it was the method of geometrical demonstration that made this double solution seems quite natural and understandable. It is to be concluded therefore that it was through the superposition of this method of geometrical demonstration on the Babylonian algebra that the new algebra came into being. It was not a direct-line descendent of the Babylonian algebra as found in the cuneiform tablets; but a side influence responsible for the adoption of the geometrical method of demonstration was indispensable for its coming into being. As we have seen, Gandz finds in this method of geometrical demonstration "the strongest evidence against the theory of Greek influence." believes the geometrical
103
What is it that makes Gandz think so? He mentions two reasons. He of Al-Khwrazm's algebra to be essentially different from the
figures
corresponding figures found in Euclid; he sees a great difference between the geometries underlying these two types of demonstration.
x E C x
A x B
M
b 2
F
b 2
b 2
Figure 11 Now, are the figures of Al-Khwrazm's algebra essentially different from the corresponding figures found in Euclid? Corresponding to x-x' = b; xx' = c Euclid has the figure presented here (Figure 11). successive steps of solution may be represented as follows:
2
104
The
EFDHKA+ FD =
2
AE 2
(1) (2) (3) (4)
EFDHKA = LMBA=xx'=c c+ FD = EA=
AE 2
2
b +c 2
103 104
See above, note 98. Euclid, Elements, book II. Proposition G.
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b b b x= EA - = + c 2 2 2
x= EA +
(5)
b b b = +c+ 2 2 2
(5)
In Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk the equation x'2 + bx' = c does not contain x. The rectangle LMEF is therefore not needed. In fact such is exactly the figure found both in Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd. In solving the equation x'2 + bx' = c, for similar reasons equality (2) above will naturally not occur. Instead, one will have EFDHKA = x'2 +
b x' 2
b 2
x' = x'2 + bx' = c, and the remaining relations (3), (4), and (5), will be identical.
This is actually seen to be the case in Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk. That the solution and figure given here by cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk and Al-Khwrazm are in harmony with Euclid's way of thinking, as far as the difference of the algebraic background implied by the distinction between the "mixed" equations and the old Babylonian types is concerned, may be considered further corroborated by the fact that theorem 4, e.g., of book II in the Elements can easily be brought into direct correspondence with equation x'2 + bx' = c in one unknown considered here. Its figure is quite similar to the corresponding figure of cAbd al Hamd and Al-Khwrazm, and the proof of this theorem, likewise, is essentially the same as the solution for this equation found in cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk and Al-Khwrazm. For the geometrical figure illustrating the solution of x2 = bx -f- c, the longer straight line x in fig. 2 has to be preserved. The rectangle xx' is also preserved. The side x' therefore remains in the new figure automatically although it does not appear in the equation. The modifications seen in the figure of Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk, as compared to Euclid's figure, are, firstly, that the square of x is drawn, and secondly, that the rectangle ACHK appears attached to the left side of the square drawn on side.
b 2
instead of being on its right
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b 2
x-
b 2
x-
b 2
b 2
b 2
x
Figure 12 None of these two modifications introduce anything essentially new as compared to the figure found in Euclid. To compare the figure of Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd (Figure 12) with that of Euclid (Figure 11), we may show the first modification, as well as a missing x' of Euclid's figure, in dotted lines. The main difference between the two figures, then, is that in the new figure the square of the unknown is shown. This is natural, as here x is the only unknown and is derived independently. These trivial alterations in Euclid's figure do not result, moreover, in any change in the manner of geometrical reasoning. The solution of the unknown is based on exactly the same kind of geometrical demonstration. Here too the main relation utilized is c +
b b =x 2 2
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x'
b 2
b 2
b 2
Figure 13
b 2
b 2
x'
b x' 2 b x' 2 b x' 2 x'
x'
Figure 14 Euclid's figure for x + x' = b; xx' = c (Figure 14) (Figure 13) given for x' 2 + c = bx'; <
105
is, as will readily be seen, very similar to the figure
b in 2
the algebra of cAbd al Hamd and Al-Khwrazm. And the
principle of geometrical proof of the solution is likewise identical. The main relation utilized is
b b = xx' + x' , 2 2
or
b b = c + x' 2 2
The first form of this relation containing the term xx' of course does not appear in the solution of the equation x'2 + c = bx.
105
Euclid, II, 5.
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For x2+c=bx; x>
b , it may be guessed from the previous example concerning the equation x2= bx + c that 2 b x' 2
jointly should naturally play a secondary part. This portion of the
a larger square, i.e., the square of x will appear in the figure. Again, here too, the part of Euclid's figure (Figure 13) representing x' 2 and
figure is seen to be transposed in a manner corresponding exactly to the transposition found in the figure for x2 = bx + c. The resulting figure (Figure 15) is that found in cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk's text. For facilitating comparison the new parts and a missing x' are shown in dotted lines in this figure (Figure 15).
b 2
b 2
b 2
x
b 2
b 2
x
Figure 15 The alterations in the figure are thus trivial. The principle of geometrical demonstration of the solution remains, moreover, exactly the same. For the main relation utilized is
b b = c +x 2 2
It is therefore quite clear that the geometrical figures of Al-Khwrazm's algebra, far from being totally different from the corresponding figures found in Euclid's Elements, are essentially the same as the latter, and the nature of the geometrical demonstrations in the two cases arc, for all intents and purposes, and as geometrical demonstrations, identical. Why, then, does Gandz believe the two geometries underlying these two types of demonstration to be very different from one another? Gandz says, "His (Euclid's) figure has nothing in common with the two, respectively three, figures of AlKhwrazm. The latter one proves two Arabic types independent of each other.-Euclid prove the ancient Babylonian type B II. Algebraically, AI Khwrazm is ahead of Euclid with 1000 years, geometrically, he is behind of Euclid with 1000 years. His demonstrations are based entirely upon intuition. He has nothing else to base them upon. In his geometry the Euclidean axioms, definitions, theorems, and propositions are entirely ignored."
106
106
Gandz, The Origin and Development . . ., Osiris, vol. 3, p. 519.
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On another occasion Gandz reaches the conclusion that Al-Khwrazm knows nothing of the special importance of the problem of cutting a given straight line in extreme and mean ratio.
107
Speaking of the equation x2 + c = bx, in a passage partly quoted before, Gandz writes, "In. spite of their apparent similarity, the two figures of Euclid and Al-Khwrazm are basically and intrinsically different. They are proving different cases by different methods. Euclid proves and demonstrates a case of ancient Babylonian algebra; Al-Khwrazm demonstrates a case of modern Babylonian school whose algebra came to be regarded as Arabic algebra. Euclid demonstrates the antiquated old Babylonian algebra by a highly advanced geometry; Al-Khwrazm demonstrates types of an advanced algebra by the antiquated geometry of the ancient Babylonians. "The older historians of mathematics believed to find in the geometric demonstrations of Al-Khwrazm the evidence for Greek influence. In reality, however, these geometric demonstrations are the strongest evidence against the theory of Greek influence. They clearly show the chasm between the two systems of mathematical thought, in algebra as well as in geometry."
108
Speaking of the part of Al-Khwrazm's Algebra dealing with menstruation, Gandz says, "Now, if AlKhwrazm had really studied Greek mathematics, we were certainly justified in the expectation to find some traces of the content or terminology of Euclid's Elements in his geometry. The fact, however, is that there are no such traces of Euclid in Al-Khwrazms geometry. Euclid's Elements in their spirit and letter are entirely unknown to him. Al-Khwrazm has neither definitions, nor axioms, nor postulates, nor any demonstration of the Euclidean kind. He has just a plain treatise on menstruation, a compilation of popular rules for the practical purpose of land surveyors."
109
Each of Euclid's figures concern two unknowns and are thus equivalent to two figures in Al-Khwrazm's or
c
Abd al Hamd ibn Turk's algebra. Thus Euclid's figures correspond to the Babylonian equations with two
unknowns while those of Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd correspond to the "mixed" equations and their special cases. But these do not constitute basic and essential differences as far as the type of geometry going into the demonstrations is concerned. It should not be safe, furthermore, to conclude that Al-Khwrazm was not familiar with the Euclidean geometry just because the part of his Algebra dealing with menstruation is not based on Euclidean methods of treatment. Menstruation was apparently a subject conceived as serving the need of surveyors in a practical manner by supplying them with ready formulas and instructions. Al-Khwrazm must have written this part of his book in conformity to a set prototype. Ab Barza ibn Turk wrote an independent book on this subject.
110
Euclid's Elements is said to have been made available in Islam already during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur (754-775). This item of information which is accepted by Kapp
111
is derived apparently
from Ibn Khaldun. According to Ibn Khaldun, upon Al-Mansur's request the Byzantine emperor sent him a
107 108 109 110 111
Gandz, The Origin and Development .... Osiris, vol. 3, p. 531. Gandz, The Origin and Development ..., Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 523-524. Gandz, The Sources of Al-Khwrazms Algebra, Osiris, vol. 1, p. 265. Ibn al Nadm, Fihrist, vol. 1, p. 281. A. G. Kapp, Arabische Vbersetzer und Kommentatorm Euklids I, Isis, vol. 22, 1934-35- p- 170.
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number of books among which was that of Euclid. Rashid (786-809).

113
112
This seems reasonable. For there is information that a
translation of Euclid into Arabic was made by Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn Matar around the year 790 for Harun al This was probably its first translation made in Islam. Hajjaj ibn Yusuf made a second
114
translation of this book for Al-Mamun (813-833). This translation has come down to us partly, and, moreover, Sanad ibn cAl, one of Al-Mamun's astronomers, is said to have written a commentary on it.
Euclid's Arabic translation was later improved especially by Hunayn ibn Ishaq, Ishaq ibn Hunayn, and Thabit ibn Qurra. But the details presented above indicate that Euclid's Geometry became, known to the mathematicians of Islam during the reign of Harun al Rashid. Al-Khwrazm, on the other hand, was attached especially to the Bayt al Hikma whose most prominent function was its being the centre of translation activity.
115
It seems unlikely therefore that Al-Khwrazm should not have been familiar with the
Euclidean geometry. But it is not really relevant to our subject whether Al-Khwrazm knew Euclidean geometry or not, and this is apparently the point on which we must dwell for a moment. For the difference between the conclusions we have reached and that of Gandz has its roots in this point. From the quotations just given, it is seen that Gandz looks upon the Euclidean geometrical demonstrations of the algebraic equations in question as forming an inseparable part of the Euclidean geometry with its definitions, axioms, postulates, and proofs. It is true of course that the material in question appears in Euclid in the form of theorems. But these Euclidean theorems could, together with their proofs, be very well taken out of their Euclidean context and placed within a less advanced type of geometry. And they could likewise be presented in the form of problems, as they were in their Pythagorean origin, without altering their contents or details of procedure in any essential manner. These geometrical demonstrations of Al-Khwrazm and
c
Abd al Hamd ibn Turk, as well as the
corresponding Euclidean propositions considered in their historical background, resemble the solutions of the second degree equation by the analytical method of completing squares as seen in modern textbooks of algebra. They are proofs in the sense that they prove the correctness of the solutions of these types of problems treated with a geometric scheme of approach. These proofs are based upon the knowledge of certain geometrical relations, but they do not necessarily presuppose a logical system of geometrical reasoning based on definitions, axioms, postulates, and theorems. The nature of these geometrical demonstrations, even in their Euclidean form, is such that, in a sense, they need not be considered as necessarily partaking of the logical and systematic perfection of the Euclidean geometry. For they are based on very simple geometrical knowledge. As they occur in Euclid's text, the underlying geometrical relations are of course based on axioms, postulates, and theorems. But, on the other hand, there is nothing forbidding us from assuming that the situation is the same in the case of Al-Khwrazm. The point, however, is that this particular question is not very relevant here.
112 113 114
Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddima, tr. F. Rosenthal, vol. 3. London 1958, pp. 115-116. Kapp, pp. 133, 164. Kapp, pp. 166, 170.
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The geometrical demonstrations of Euclid as well as those of Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk stand indispensably in need only of the type of geometry which was developed, or, at any rate, represented, by the Pythagoreans. Whether, as Gandz says, this also corresponds to Babylonian geometry, or whether it was derived from it or was similar to it, is still another question. It would seem quite safe to say that the geometrical knowledge necessary for the geometrical demonstrations found in, Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk was not beyond the reach of the Babylonian mathematicians. But there apparently is no documentary evidence indicating that such geometrical demonstrations were used by the Babylonians in their algebra. As we have seen, Al-Khwrazm speaks, in his Algebra, of the learned men "in times which have passed away and among nations which have ceased to exist" who "were constantly employed in writing books on several departments of science and various branches of knowledge,"
116
Looking at the first part of this
quotation, it seems probable that Al-Khwrazm himself associated his algebra with the Babylonians. But it is also possible to see here an allusion to the Greeks. Moreover, the second part of the quotation refers to books written on various scientific subjects, and this applies more readily to the Greeks. This seems especially likely when we take into consideration the fact that the Arabic text contains reference also to books written on philosophy, or wisdom, (Hikma), translation quoted above. The interpretation of these statements of Al-Khwrazm cannot be made with certainty, and, moreover, he may not have been well-informed on the history of his subject. His statement seems, nevertheless, to support the theory of Greek influence. In short, it seems quite reasonable to see in the geometrical demonstrations of the algebra of Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk a clear sign of Greek influence. Thus, the Greek influence in question could have acted on the Babylonian algebra of the later school to produce the algebra of cAbd al Hamd and AlKhwrazm, if we think
118
117
a word which does not appear very clearly in Rosen's
in terms of the course of development sketched by Gandz. But it is also probable

c
that the algebra of Al-Khwrazm and
Abd al Hamd was a direct outgrowth of the Greek geometric
algebra, possibly with the superposition of a supplementary influence from the later Babylonian school. Another evidence in favour of Greek influence may be found in the fact that, as Gandz points out, AlKhwrazm does not reject irrational numbers as solutions. This may be said to apply to cAbd al Hamd also. For, had he rejected irrational solutions, the extant part of his book would have been the very place to speak of it. Alongside of the special case and logical necessity represented by the imaginaries, he would have to have another special case of impossibility of solution corresponding to results involving irrational quantities. Diophantos did not admit irrational solutions.
119
The acceptance of irrational quantities in the algebra of Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al Hamd ibn Turk is very likely a result of Greek influence. For, as we have seen, complete reliance on reasoning in terms of
115 116
Sayili. The Observatory in Islam, pp. 53-56. See above, p. 94 and footnote 42. 117 Al-Khwrazm, Algebra, Rosen, text, p. 1. 118 Gandz, The Origin and Development .. ., Osiris, vol . 3, pp. 534-536. 119 Gandz, The Origin and Development . .., Osiris, vol. 3. pp. 534-536.
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geometrical demonstrations was apparently a very prominent and characteristic feature of this algebra, and this points to an awareness of the difficulties presented by analytical methods of treatment based purely on number and discrete quantity. It would seem therefore that the algebra of Al-Khwrazm was the outcome of a tendency of simplification and economy in procedure and method coupled with the disappearance of the hesitation felt toward the double root of the equation x2 + c = bx. The ambiguity surrounding this question of the double root was apparently dissipated through the adoption of the method of geometrical demonstration, this method being a modification of the method of geometrical demonstration of the Pythagoreans and Euclid. The nature of the modification was determined by the need for its adaptation to the tendency for the exclusive use of the "mixed" equations. The geometrical method of demonstration may also have commended itself because of the need of avoiding difficulties arising from the irrationals. The tendency for the exclusive use of the "mixed" equations at the stage of solution was probably a Babylonian development, and the adoption of the new method of geometrical demonstration was apparently a result of influence deriving from the Greek geometric algebra. This seems to be the most reasonable picture of the course of the developments leading to the algebra of
c
Abd al Hamd ibn Turk and Al-Khwrazm. Chronological and geographical details of a substantial nature
are entirely lacking. Moreover, this picture is only partly based on direct and conclusive evidence. For the relevant documents available at present leave serious lacunas, and these have to be filled by carefully thought out guesses. Greater certainty on these points of detail will have to await future research based on fresh documentary evidence.
LOGICAL NECESSITIES IN MIXED EQUATIONS FROM THE KITB AL JABR WA'L MUQBALA OF AB'L FADL CABD AL HAMD IBN WSIC IBN TURK AL JL
With the name of God the merciful and compassionate. Blessing and peace be upon Muhammad, the master of the prophets, and on all his descendents. The case of the equality of [a certain number of] square quantities to a number of roots (i.e., root of the square quantity). When we say, e.g., that one square quantity equals three roots; we represent the square quantity by the area of a plane quadrilateral figure with equal sides and right angles. Let ABCD be this figure. Each one of its sides is the root of the square quantity. The line AB is therefore the root of the square quantity. But the quadrilateral ABCD equals three roots, and AB is the root of the square quantity. The line BD is therefore numerically equal to three. For when we multiply it by AB, which is the root of the square quantity, it gives us the quadrilateral ABCD which is equal to three roots. But BD is the root of the square-quantity. The root of the square quantity is therefore three. And the square quantity is nine. And this is the shape of the figure.
The case of equality of one square quantity and a number of roots to a certain number. Thus, when we say that one square quantity and ten roots equal twenty four, we represent the square quantity by a plane
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quadrilateral figure with equal sides and right angles. Let this be the surface AD. Each one of its sides is the root of the square quantity. We add to this figure the rectangular surfaces QD and DH, and we set the length of each numerically equal to five and their breadth equal to that of the surface AD, i.e., equal to the root of the square quantity. Each one of these two rectangular surfaces is therefore equal to five roots. The three surfaces AD, QD, and DH are thus equal to ten roots and one square quantity, i.e., twenty four. In order to complete the larger figure AK the product of ZD with DT is needed. Each one of these lines is equal numerically to five, and the quadrilateral formed by them, i.e., the surface DK, is equal to twenty five. This twenty five becomes juxtaposed upon the twenty four consisting of the surfaces DH, DQ, and DA, and the whole thing thus adds up to forty nine. This is the greater surface AK. We take its root, which is seven, and this is the value of each one of its sides. When we subtract from this seven, which is the line AH, the extended line CH which is equal to five, the line AC, which is the root of the square quantity, remains, and it, is found to be equal to two. The root, of the square quantity is therefore two and the square quantity itself four. And when ten roots are added to it the quantity twenty four is obtained. And this is the shape (of the figure).
A C
The case of equality of a square quantity and a given number to a number of roots. Thus, when we say that one square quantity and twenty one equal ten roots, we represent the square quantity by a plane quadrilateral figure of equal sides and right angles, and this is the surface AD. Each one of its sides is the root of the square quantity. We add to it the rectangular area HB and set it equal to twenty one. Each one of the lines HC and DZ is therefore equal to ten. For the line CD is the root of the square quantity, and the areas ZA and AD are equal to ten roots. At the point Q, we divide the line ZD into two equal parts, and we draw at right angles to it the line QT equal in length to both ZQ, and QD. The point Q, which is the midpoint, will either fall on the line ZB or on the line BD. This point of equal division cannot in this example be the point B. For if B were located at the middle of the line ZD, BD would be equal to the line BZ. And as the line BD is of the same length as AB, the line AB would equal BZ, and the quadrilateral built on HB would thus equal twenty five. But we know this not to be so. For its value was supposed to be twenty one. And in case the point Q, which is the midpoint of ZD, is located on the line ZB, then the line QT must surely cut the quadrilateral HB. For QT is of the same length as QD and QP is longer than BD, while BD is equal to AB. The line QT is therefore longer than the line AB. Let us first suppose Q to be on BZ. We draw QT and complete the quadrilateral KQ. This quadrilateral is then equal to twenty five. The line QT is equal to QD, and BD is equal to NQ. The line TN is therefore equal to each of the lines BQ and NA. We mark off from the line KT, which is equal to QT, a section equal to NQ, i.e., the line KL, and we draw LM. The remaining section LT is thus equal to TN and the quadrilateral on KM equal to the quadrilateral on NB, and the quadrilateral LN is equilateral. But the quadrilaterals HQ and QA together are twenty one, and the quadrilateral NB is equal to the quadrilateral KM, while the quadrilateral HQ is common between them. The quadrilaterals KM and HQ equal therefore twenty one. But the
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quadrilateral KQ was equal to twenty five. The quadrilateral LN which is their difference is thus equal to four. Each one of its sides is its root. The line TN is therefore equal to two. But TN was equal to QB. The line QB is thus equal to two. When we subtract two, which is the value of QB, from five, which is the length of QP, we obtain the value of the line BD, which is the root of the square quantity, as equal to three. And this is the shape of the figure.
M Q B N A
L T
If, on the other hand, the midpoint of ZD falls within the section BD, then the line QT is shorter than the line AB, and it does not cut the quadrilateral AD. For the line TQ is equal to the line QD, and the line AB is equal to the line BD, while the line BD is greater than the line QD. The line AB is thus lengthier than the line TQ. Let then the point Q be on the line BD. We draw the line QT and complete the quadrilateral KQ, and it is equal to twenty five. Now, the line NB is equal to the line QD. The line AN is therefore equal to the line BQ. But the line BQ is equal to NT. The line NT is thus equal to the line AN, and the line KT is equal to the line TQ. We mark off from the line TQ a section equal to the line KN, i.e., the section TL, and we draw the line LM. There thus remains the line LQ, which is equal to the line TN, and the line LM is equal to the line TN. The quadrilateral on the line MT is therefore equal to the quadrilateral on the line HN, and the quadrilateral on the line MQ is equilateral. But the two quadrilaterals HN and NZ are equal to the quadrilaterals NZ and MT. The quadrilaterals NZ and MT together are therefore equal to twenty one. Now, the quadrilateral KQ was equal to twenty five. When we subtract from it the quadrilaterals NZ and MT, which are equal to twenty one, the remaining quadrilateral MQ is seen to equal therefore four. This latter being equilateral, each one of its sides is its root. The line BQ is then equal to two. When we add the line BQ to the line QD, which is equal to five, we obtain seven, and this is the root of the square quantity. The square quantity is therefore forty nine, and when twenty one is added to it becomes seventy.
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Page 48 of 53
B Q
M L
N T
As to the intermediate case of equality, this obtains when the root of the square quantity is equal to half the number of the roots. This will not occur except in an example wherein half of the number of the roots is multiplied by its equal, this product being the numerical quantity which is with (on the same side of the equality as) the square quantity. Such is the case when it is said that one square quantity and twenty five equal ten roots, or one square quantity and nine equal six roots, and similar examples. These conditions being satisfied, we represent the square quantity by a plane quadrilateral figure of equal sides and right angles. Let this be the surface AD. We add to it the surface HB which we set equal to twenty five. The surface HD thus becomes one square quantity and twenty five, and this is equal to ten roots. Each one of the lines HC and DZ is therefore equal to ten. When we divide the line ZD into two equal parts at B and draw from this midpoint a perpendicular line the length of which is five, i.e., equal to each one of the halves, and square it, we obtain twenty five. AB is this line and it is equal to the line HZ. Its square is the surface HB. For it is equal to twenty five. Half the number of the roots is therefore the root of the square quantity. And this is the shape of the figure.
There is the logical necessity of impossibility in this type of equation when the numerical quantity which is with (on the same side of the equality as) the square quantity is greater than half the number of the roots multiplied by its equal. Thus, when we say that one square quantity and thirty dirhams equal ten roots, we represent the square quantity by an equilateral plane quadrilateral figure. Let this be the surface AD. We add to it the rectangular figure HB, and we set it equal to thirty. The surface HD is thus equal to ten roots and each one of the lines HC and ZD have the value ten. We divide the line ZD into two equal parts at the .point Q.
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Let us first consider the case wherein the point Q is located on the line ZB, as was done before. We draw the line QT at right angles to ZD and of the same length as each one of the lines ZQ and QD, i.e., equal to five, and we complete the quadrilateral KQ, which is thus equal to twenty five. The line TQ is equal to the line DQ. Therefore the line TL is equal to the line LA. As the line LQ is equal to the line AC and the line KT is equal to the line TQ, the quadrilateral KL is greater than the quadrilateral LB; and we add the quadrilateral HQ to both these quadrilaterals. The quadrilaterals KL and HQ together are therefore greater than the quadrilaterals HQ and QA taken together. Now, the quadrilaterals HQ, and QA together were equal to thirty, and the quadrilaterals KL and HQ together were equal to twenty five. Twenty five becomes therefore greater than thirty. But this is absurd and impossible. The logical necessity of impossibility in this type of equation has thus come into appearance. And this is the shape of the figure.
Q B
L A
Likewise, let the point Q fall within the section BD. We draw the line QT at right angles to ZD and of the same length as each one of the lines ZQ and QD, and we complete the quadrilateral KQ, which thus has the value twenty five. Conditions such as those satisfied here indicate that the quadrilateral LQ is greater than the quadrilateral HL. We consider the quadrilateral KB as added to both these quadrilaterals. The quadrilaterals KB and BT together are thus greater than the quadrilaterals KB and KA taken together, now, the quadrilaterals KB and KA together had the value thirty and the quadrilaterals KB and BT together twenty five. Twenty five therefore becomes greater than thirty. But this is absurd and impossible. And this is the shape of the figure.
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Page 50 of 53
B Q
L T
The case of equality of a numerical quantity and a certain number of roots to one square quantity. Thus, when we say that four roots and five dirhams are equal to one square quantity, we set the square quantity equal to a plane quadrilateral figure of equal sides and right angles. Let this be the surface AD. Each of its sides is the root of the square quantity. Within it we draw the line HZ parallel to the lines AB and CD both, and we set the surface AZ equal to five. The remaining surface HD is thus equal to four roots. As the line CD is the root of the square quantity and the surface HD is equal to four roots, the line HC becomes equal to four. At the point Q we divide the line HC into two equal parts, and we draw the line QT at right angles to it and equal to each one of the two lines HQ and QC. Its length is thus equal to two. We complete the quadrilateral KQ, which is equal to four. We then extend the line QT to the point L, and we set the line TL equal to each one of the lines AH and BZ. We draw the line LM at right angles to the line QL. The line AQ is thus equal to the line MA. The line QC is therefore equal to MB. But the line QC is also equal to the line LN. The line LN is thus equal to MB. And each one of KN and TL is equal to each one of MN and BZ. The quadrilateral MZ is therefore equal to the quadrilateral KL. In our construction the quadrilateral AN is contiguous to both these quadrilaterals. The quadrilaterals AN and BN together therefore equal the quadrilaterals AN and NT. But the quadrilaterals AN and JMB together are equal to five. The quadrilaterals AN and NT together are thus equal to five. But the quadrilateral KQ is equal to four. The quadrilateral AL has therefore the value nine. Each one of its sides is its root. Thus, the line AQ is equal to three. Now, the line QC was equal to two. The whole line AC is therefore equal to five, and this is the root of the square quantity. And this is the shape of the figure.
M K
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Here ends "Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations" taken from the book of Al-Jabr wa'l Muqbala by cAbd al Hamd ibn Wsc al Jl, may God's blessing be upon him.
REFERENCES
Adivar, Abdlhak Adnan, Hrizm, Islam. Ansiklopedisi, vol. 5, No. 42, 1949, pp. 258-259. Ambouba, Adel, Al-Karaji, Etudes Littraires, University of Lebanon, t et automne 1959, pp. 69-70, 76-77. Ambouba, Adel, Ihy al Jabr, Manshrt al Jmi'a al Lubnnya, Qism al Dirst al Riydya, Beyrut 1955. Brockelmann, Carl, Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur, supplement vol. I, p. 383. Dozy, R., Supplment aux Dictionnaires Arabes, Leiden 1881, vol. 1, p. 617. Dunlop, D. M., a Source of Al-Mas'udi: The Madnat al-Fdilah of Al-Frb, Al-Mas'udi Millenary Commemoration Volume, ed. S. Maqbul Ahmad and A. Rahman, Aligarh Muslim University 1960. Frye, Richard N. and Aydin Sayili, Turks in the Middle East Before the Saljuqs, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 63, No. 3, 194.3, pp. 194-207. Gandz, S., Studies in Babylonian Mathematics, I, Indeterminate Analysis in Babylonian Mathematics, Osiris, vol. 8, pp. 12-40. Gandz, S., The Origin and Development of the Quadratic Equations in Babylonian, Greek, and Early Arabic Algebra, Osiris, vol. 3, pp. 515-516. Gandz, S., The Sources of Al-Khwrazms Algebra, Osiris, vol. i; 1936, p. 273; Gandz, The Origin and
Development of the Quadratic Equations, Osiris, vol. 3, p. 535. Hajji Khalfa, Kashf al Zunn, art. Kitab al Jabr wa'l Muqabala and art. Kitab al Wsy, ed. Yaltkaya,
Istanbul 1943. Heath, T. L., Diophantus of Alexandria, A Study of the History of Greek Algebra, Cambridge 1910. Hyrup, Jens, Algebraic Traditions Behind Ibn Turk and Al-Khwrizm, pp. 247268 in Acts of the International Symposium on Ibn Turk, Khwrezm, Frb, and Ibn Sn (Ankara, 912 September, 1985). (Atatrk Culture Center Publications, No: 41. Series of Acts of Congresses and Symposiums, No: 1). Ankara: Atatrk Supreme Council for Culture, Language and History, 1990. Hyrup, Jens, Al-Khwrizm, Ibn Turk, and the Liber Mensurationum: on the Origins of Islamic Algebra. Erdem 2 (Ankara 1986), 445484. Ibn al Nadm, Kitb Fihrist al cUlm, ed. Flugel, vol. 1, 1871. Ibn al Qift, Tarkh al Hukam, ed. Lippert, Berlin 1903, p. 230. Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddima, tr. F. Rosenthal, vol. 3, London 1958. Kapp, A. G., Arabische Vbersetzer und Kommentatorm Euklids I, Isis, vol. 22, 1934-35- p- 170. LAlgbre dOmar Alkhayym, ed. and tr. F. Woepke, Paris 1851. Mieli, Aldo, La Science Arabe, Leiden 1939. Muhammad ibn Ms al Khwrazm, Kitb al Mukhtasar f Hisb al Jabr wa'l Muqabala, ed. and tr. F. Rosen, London 1830, 1831. Neugebauer, Otto, Studien zur Geschichte der Antiken Algebra, Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte der
Mathematik, Aslmnomie, und Physik, series B, vol. 2, 1932, pp. 1-27. Rodet, Leon, LAlgbre d'Al-Khrizm, Journal Asiatique, series 7, vol. 11, 1878, pp. 90-92.
Rosenfeld, B. A.,-E. Ihsanoglu, Mathematicians, Astronomers and other Scholars of Islamic Civilisation and their works (7th 9th c.). Istanbul: Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture, 2003. Salih Zeki, Athr-i Bqiye, vol. 2, Istanbul 1913, p. 246. Sarton. George. Introduction to the History of Science, vol. 1, Baltimore 1927, p. 630. Sayili, A., The Observatory in Islam, Ankara 1960, p. 101.
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Stern, S. M., Al-Mas'ud and the Philosopher Al-Frb, Al-Mas'udi Commemoration Volume, p. 40. Suter, Heinrich, Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke, Abhandlungen zur
Geschichte der Mathematischen Wissenschaften, Leipzig 1900, 1902.

Umar Khayym, Algebra, (L'Algebre d'Omar Al-Khayym), ed. and tr. F. Woepke, Paris 1851. Vogel, Kurt, Bemerkungen zu den Quadratischen Gleichungen der Babylonischen Mathematik, Osiris, vol. 1, 1936, p. 703. Wiedemann, E., Khwrizm, Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. 2. Woepke, F., Extrait du Fakhr, Trait d'Algbre par Abou Bekr Mohammed ben Alhaan Alkarkh, Paris 1853, pp. 8, 67-71.
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Alfraganus and the Elements of Astronomy
Assoc. Prof. Yavuz Unat Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Savas Konur January 2007 659 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
Alfraganus and the Elements of Astronomy January 2007
ALFRAGANUS AND THE ELEMENTS OF ASTRONOMY

Assoc. Prof. Yavuz UNAT*
Alfraganus Life
Abl Abbas Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Kathr al-Farghn al-Hsb, known as Alfraganus in the West, was the one of the famous astronomers who worked during al-Mamns dynasty (813-833). His name was given by Ibn al-Nadm as Muhammad b. Kathr, but Abul Faraj wrote it as Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Kathr. Ibn alQift mentioned two Farghns, a father whose name is Muhammad and a son whose name is Ahmad b. Muhammad. But all these are names of astronomers who lived in Mmns period. We do not know much about his life. He was born in Farghn, Transoxiana, flourished under al-Mamn, and was still living in 861.
4 3 1 2
His studies extended to engineering. Ibn Taghrbird wrote that he supervised

5 6
the construction of the Great Nilometer in Fustat (old Cairo). This was completed in 861. Ibn Khallikan also reported the construction, giving the name of the engineer as Ahmad Ibn Muhammad al-Qarsn. The last word, Al-Qarsn, could be a corruption of al-Farghn.
7
Alfraganus also directed the digging of a canal, named al-Jafar. Al-Mutawakkil entrusted it to the two sons of Musa b. Shakir, Muhammad and Ahmad. They delegated the work to Alfraganus. The canal ran through the new city, al-Jafariyya. But Alfraganus committed a grave error, making the beginning of the canal deeper than the rest. The explanation given for his mistake is related to the fact of his being a theoretical rather than a practical engineer. Al-Yaqb (d. 897) gave another reason for this failure. He said that the stony ground chosen for the city was too hard to dig. He did not mention Alfraganus by name, only said that the canal was entrusted to Muhammad b. Ms al-Munajjim and those geometers who associated themselves with him.
8
His Works
Ibn al-Nadm ascribes only two works to Alfraganus in The Fihrist : 1. The Book of Thirty Chapters, a
Summery of the Almagest (Kitb al-Fusl Ikhtiyr al-Majist), 2. The Book on the Construction of Sundials (Kitb Amal al-Rukhmt).
10
* 1
Ankara University, Faculty of Letters, in the Department of the History of Science. Ibn al-Nadm, Fihrist, vol. I, Leipzig 1348, p. 499. 2 Abul Faraj, Trikh Mukhtasar al-Duwal, Beirut 1890, p. 236. 3 Julies Lippert, Ibn al-Qifts Tarh al-Hukam, Leipzig 1903, pp. 78, 286. 4 A. I. Sabra, al-Farghn, Abul-Abbs Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Kathr, Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. IV, 1971. p. 541; H. Suter, Al-Fargn, IA, vol. IV, Istanbul 1950, p. 565; George Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, Baltimore 1950, vol. I, p. 567. 5 Ibn Taghrbird, al-Nujm al-Zhira, Leiden 1851, pp. 742-743. 6 Ibn Khallikan, Wafayt al-ayn, vol. I, Cairo 1882, pp. 483-485. 7 Sabra, p. 541. 8 Al-Yaqb, Kitb al-Buldn, Leiden 1892, pp. 266-267. 9 Sabra says that this word should no doubt be read ikhtisr (summary). See, Sabra, p. 543.
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Ibn Qift gives his two works under the title of Muhammad b. Kathr: 1. The Book of Chapters, (Kitb alFusl), 2. The Book of Chapters, a Summary of the Almagest (Kitb al-Fusl Ikhtiyr - or Ikhtisr - alMajist). He ascribes only one of his works under the tittle of Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Kathr al-Farghn: 1. The Science of the Construction of the Spheres and the Motions of the Stars (Ilm Hayat al-Aflk wa-
Harakt al-Nujm).
11
Except The Book on the Construction of Sundials, all these books are the same, The
Elements of Astronomy. There are two works on astronomy which was written by Alfraganus; On the Construction of the Astrolabe (F Sanat al-Asturlb) and On the Astronomical Tables of al-Khwrizm (Il alZj al-Khwrizm). However, the last book is missing. His other works are; 1. Al-Kmil f al-Asturlb 2. Cadwal al-Farghn 3. R. f Marifat al-awqt allat yakn al-qamar fh fawq al-Ard aw tahtah 4. Hasb al-Aqlm al-Saba
Figure. 1 The cover page of the Latin translation of Alfraganus book of astronomy.
The Elements of Astronomy

This book was written about 833 (certainly before 857). It was about celestial motions including a complete study on the science of the stars and consisted of thirty chapters. The introduction to the book reads as
10 11
Ibn al-Nadm, p. 1343. Lippert, pp. 78, 286.
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follows; This book named as The Elements of Astronomy is one of the books tprepared for this science and the most compact of that. It is classified by Ahmed b. Muhammad b. Kathr al-Fargn al-Hsib (Alfraganus), the big sheikh, writer, God rest his soul. In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Thank God and peace be upon Mustafa! Thank God who is one and unique. God bless him who is virtuous and his family. This book, The Element of Astronomy, is written by sheikh Ahmed b. Muhammad b. Kathr al-Fargn al-Hsib. The book consists of thirty chapters. The Chapters are as follows; Chapter 1 is about the Arabic and Persian years, the names of their months and days and the differences between them. In this chapter, he describes the years of the Arabs, Syrians, Romans, Persians, and Egyptians, giving the names of their months and days and the differences between their calendars. Chapter 2 is about likeness of the heavens to a sphere. Chapter 3 is about likeness of the earth with all its interior which are lands and seas to a sphere. Chapter 4 is about the central position of the earth. Chapter 5 is about the two primary movements of the heavens; the daily and the yearly movement. Those are the basic concepts of Ptolemy in Almagest. Chapter 6 is about the inhabited quarter and day and night. Chapter 7 is about the parts of the inhabited quarter. Chapter 8 is about the seven climates. Chapter 9 is about the names of well-known lands and cities in all climates. Chapter 10 discusses ascensions of the signs of the zodiac in the direct spheres and the oblique spheres. Chapter 11 mentions the equal and the unequal hours. Chapter 12 is about the spheres of each planet and their distances from the earth. Chapter 13 describes the movements of the sun, moon, and fixed stars in longitude. Chapter 14 is about the movements of the five planets in longitude. Chapter 15 is about the retrograde motions of the planets. Chapter 16 is about the magnitudes of the eccentricities and of the epicycles. Chapter 17 is about revolutions of the planets in their orbit.
12
12
See, Yavuz Unat, al-Fargn, The Elements of Astronomy, textual analysis, translation into Turkish, critical edition & facsimile, edited by inasi Tekin & Gonul Alpay Tekin, Harvard University 1998, p. 107.
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Chapter 18 is about the movement of the moon and of the planets in latitude. Chapter 19 is about the order of magnitude of the fixed stars and the positions of the most remarkable among them. Chapter 20 is about the lunar mansions. Chapter 21 is about the distances of the planets from the earth. Chapter 22 is about the magnitudes of the planets in comparison with the magnitude of the earth. Chapter 23 is about the transits in meridian. Chapter 24 is about the rising and the setting, and the ascensions, the descensions and the occultation. Chapter 25 is about the phases of the moon. Chapter 26 is about the emergence of the five planets. Chapter 27 is about the parallax. Chapter 28 is about the lunar eclipses. Chapter 29 is about the solar eclipses. Chapter 30 is about the intervals of the eclipses.
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Figure 2. Picture of Alfraganus crater on the Moon.
The Elements of Astronomy was a summary of Almagest. It was entirely descriptive and nonmathematical.
Although it was mainly a summary of Ptolemys Almagest, some sections of the book were different. Chapter 1 does not correspond to the Almagest. It considers the years of the Arabs, Syrians, Romans, Persians, and Egyptians, giving the names of their months and days and the differences between their calendars. Almagest does not have such information. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 are connected with basic principles of Ptolemaic astronomy. In Chapter 5, Alfraganus gives the value of the greatest inclination between the equator and the ecliptic as 230 35. This value is different from Ptolemys. Ptolemys value is given as 23 0 51.
13
Alfraganus value of 230 35 is more precise than the value in the Almagest .
14
Alfraganus gave the distance per degree at the equator, and in Chapter 8 determined the diameter of the earth to be 6,500 miles.
15
However the idea of the shape of the earth as a sphere was not a new one. The
Greeks divided the spherical earth into 360 degrees, but differing sources gave different information about the length of a degree. We know today that the correct measurement is about 111 kilometers per degree at the equator. In the third century BCE, the Greek astronomer Eratosthenes, the director of the library in Alexandria, came up with the remarkably accurate calculation of 110 kilometers (59.5 nautical miles) per degree; in the second century BCE, the great Alexandrian geographer, Ptolemy calculated the length of a
See, Ptolemy, Almagest, Great Books of Western Word, XIV, trans. into English by R. Catesby Taliferro, Chicago-London-Toronto 1952, p. 31. 14 Al-Farghn, Jawmi Ilm al-Nujm wal-Usl al-Harakt al-Samwya, trans. into Latin by Jacob Golius, Frankfurt 1986, p. 18. 15 Ibid, p. 31.
13
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degree to be 93 kilometers (50.3 nautical miles). Ptolemy's.
16
Alfraganus calculated it and decided that the value In this case, his value was more accurate than
should be 111 kilometers (56 2/3 nautical miles).
17
In chapter 21, Alfraganus give the greatest distances of the planets from the earth and the diameters of the planets.
18
However, Ptolemy had stated only the distances of the sun and the moon and also the
19
magnitudes of the sun and the moon, but not of the other planets.
However, it is easy to determine the
diameters and the magnitudes of the planets by analogy from what he did for the sun and the moon. Alfraganus agrees with Ptolemy on the theory of precession, but thinks that it affects not only the stars, but also the suns apogee. Ptolemy says that the theory of precession affects all the planets except the sun. Elements of the orbits of the sun are constant. and the movement of its apogee.
21 20
On the other hand, according to Alfraganus, the apogee of
the sun moves by the fixed stars, thus there are two movements of the sun; the movement in the eccentric,
Some values given by Alfraganus for the movements of the planets were different from Ptolemys. Ptolemy gave the anomalistic motion of Saturn as 57 7, whilst this motion was given by Alfraganus as 59 . was 12; 30 0.
23 22
According to Ptolemy, the eccentricity of the moon was 10; 19 0. On the other hand, Alfraganus said that it The diameter of the epicycle of the moon was 5; 150 in the Almagest; conversely, it was 6;
24 25
200 in The Elements of Astronomy. However, Alfraganus gave it as 90.
The extreme latitude of Venus was given as 6; 220 by Ptolemy. The elongations of Mars and Venus as given by Alfraganus was
26
different from Ptolemys value. According to Alfraganus, the elongation was 170 for Mars, and 70 for Venus. These values were 140 33 for Mars, 50 36 for Venus in the Almagest. Alfraganus.
27
Ptolemy said that the parallax of
the moon was between 0; 10 0 - 0; 25 0. However, the parallax of the moon was given as 10 44 by
Alfraganus did not repeat some of the mistakes of the Almagest. For example, if you look at the distances of the planets from the earth given by Ptolemy, you can see that there is empty space between Venus and the Sun. This is contrary to Aristotelian cosmology. On the other hand, Alfraganus does not make such a mistake.
28
There is no empty space between Venus and the Sun in The Elements of Astronomy.
See, J.L.E. Dreyer, History of the Planetary System from Thales to Kepler, New York 1953, pp. 176-178; Morris R. Cohen & I.E. Drabkin, A Source Book in Greek Science, Massachusetts 1966, pp. 149-153; Syed Hasan Barani, Muslim Researches in Geodesy, Al-Brn Commemoration Volume, Calcuta 1951, p. 40; Thomas Heath, A History of Greek Mathematics, Oxford 1921, pp. 106-107, 220.
16 17 18 19
Al-Farghn, 1986, p. 31. Ibid, p. 81. See, Almagest, V, 13, 14, 15, pp. 167-175. 20 Ibid, III, 4, pp. 93, 145, 291. 21 Al-Farghn, 1986, p. 50: See also Pierre Duhem, Le systme du monde, vol. 3, Paris 1958, pp. 211-214. 22 Almagest, IX, 3, 4, pp. 273-290; Al-Farghn, 1986, pp. 55-61. 23 Al-Farghn, 1986, pp. 64-65. 24 Ibid, pp. 64-65. 25 Almagest, XIII, 5, pp. 456-457; Al-Farghn, 1986, p. 74. 26 Almagest, XIII, 7-10, pp. 458-465; Al-Farghn, 1986, pp. 96-99. 27 Almagest, V, 18, p. 182; Al-Farghn, 1986, pp. 99-102. 28 Al-Farghn, 1986, pp. 80-82; Almagest, V, 13, 14, 15, pp. 167-175; Dreyer, 1953, pp. 175, 177-178; O. Neugebauer, A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy, Berlin-Heidelberg- New York 1975, pp. 919-921.
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Figure 3. A shape from the Latin translation of Alfraganus book of astronomy.
Influences of the Elements of Astronomy

The Elements of Astronomy was one of the most popular books on astronomy in both the East and the
West, and was used as a textbook on astronomy until the 15th century. Alfraganus was perhaps the first Muslim astronomer to write on astronomy. By summarizing and simplifying the Almagest, Alfraganus had a major influence on Islamic astronomy. Islamic astronomers accepted his ideas, especially the value of precession which was different from Ptolemys value and the distances and diameters of planets in his work.
29
Ikhwn al-Saf and al-Battn
made use of Alfraganus book. Abd al-Aziz al-Qabis (d. 967) also wrote a commentary on it.
29
Duhem, vol. 3, p. 214.
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Another question asked by Islamic astronomy was the distances of planets from the earth. Of the several attempts made by Islamic astronomers to give an answer, none became as well known as that of Alfraganus.
30
Figure 4. A page from the Latin translation of Alfraganus book of astronomy.
The Elements of Astronomy greatly influenced Western Astronomy. It was translated several times, the first translation of the book into Latin being made by John of Seville in 1137 under the title of Differentia Scientie Astrorum. This translation was published in Ferrara in 1493 (Breuis ac peritulis compilatio Alfragani astronomorum pertissimi totum it continens quod ad rudimenta astronomica est opportunum).
31
This was
reprinted in Nuremberg in 1537 as part of Continentur in hoc libro Rudimenta astronomica Alfragani. Item
Albategnius.... De motu stellarum, ex observationibus tum proprijs, tum Ptolemaei, omnia cum demonstrationibus geometricis & additionibus Ioannis de Regiomonte. Item Oratio introductoria in omnes scientias mathematicas Ioannis de Regiomonte.... Eiusdem introductio in Elementa Euclidis. Item epistola Philippi Melanthonis nuncupatoria. A second reprint, giving the name of the translator for the first time in print, appeared in Paris in 1546 (Alfragani astronomorum pertissimi compendium, id omne quod ad Astronomica rudimenta spectat complectens, Ioannis Hispalensi interprete, nunc primum peruetusto exemplari consulto, multis locis castigatus redditum). It was reprinted by Francis Carmody under the title of Alfragani Differentie in quibusdam collectis scientie astrorum (Berkeley, Calif., 1943).
32
30 31 32
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Science and Civilization in Islam, 1987, p. 182. Sarton, Intro., vol. II, pp. 169-171; Sevim Tekeli, Modern Bilimin Dogusunda Bizansin Etkisi, Ankara 1975, pp. 42-43. F.J. Carmody, Arabic Astronomical and Astrological References in Latin Translations, A Critical Bibliography, Berkeley-Los Angeles 1959,
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Its second translation into Latin was made by Gerard of Cremona, before 1175 (Liber de aggregationibus scientie stellarum et principiis celestium motuum,). The translation was published by Romeo Campani in 1910 with his notes and his preface (Alfragano Il Libro dell aggregazione delle stelle, Citt de Castello, 1910).
33
The Elements of Astronomy was translated into Hebrew by Jacob Anatoli about 1231-1235 under the title of Qizzur almagesti.
34
It consisted of thirty three chapters. This Hebrew translation of the book served as a
basis for the third Latin translation made Latin by the Heidelberg professor, Jacob Christmann (Muhammedis Alfragani Arabis Chronologia et astronomica elementa). It was published in Frankfurt in 1590 and again in 1618.
35
Figure 5. A page from the Latin translation of Alfraganus book of astronomy.

Finally, in 1669, in Amsterdam, Jacob Gollius published a new Latin text with the original Arabic (Muhammedis Fil. Ketiri Ferganensis. qui vulgo Alfraganus dicitur. Elementa Astronomica. Arabice & Latine.
Cum notis ad res exoticas sive Orientales, quae in iis occurrunt).
36
This translation was reprinted by Fuat

37
Sezgin with his preface under the title of Jawmi ilm al-Nujm wa-Usl al-Harakt al-samwya in 1986.
pp. 113-114; Sabra, 1971, p. 544; Tekeli, 1975, pp. 42-43. 33 Carmody, 1959, p. 115; Sabra, 1971, IV, p. 544; Tekeli, 1975, p. 44. 34 Sarton, Intro.,vol. II, pp. 565-566. 35 Carmody, p. 116; Sabra, p. 544. 36 Sabra, p. 544. 37 Al-Farghn, Jawmi Ilm al-Nujm wa-Usl al-Harakt al-Samwya, trans. into Latin by. Jacob Golius, Frankfurt 1986.
Page 10 of 15
George Sarton said that The Elements of Astronomy was translated into French in the 14th century and that this translation was based on an Italian translation by Bencivenni.
38
The 24th chapter of The Elements of

39
Astronomy was also published with Sacroboscos Sphaera in 1556 and in 1564.
The Elements of Astronomy exerted a great deal of influence upon European astronomy before
Regiomontanus. There are many references to it in medieval writers and there is no doubt that it was responsible for the spread of Ptolemaic astronomy, at least until this role was taken over by Sacroboscos
Sphaera. Even then, The Elements of Astronomy continued to be used until the 15th century.
40
Sphaera Mundi (The astronomy, Tractatus de sphaera) (c. 1233) written by Sacrobosco, the English
mathematician and astronomer, was derived from Alfraganus and al-Battn.
41
The Elements of Astronomy
served as the foundation for Sacroboscos Sphaera. In universities throughout Western Christendom the
Sphaera was used as a textbook. In the age of printing it went through more than 200 editions before it
was superseded by other textbooks in the early 17th century.
42
The Italian writer and scientist Ristoro

43
dArezzo (c. 1282) used Alfraganus in his work, Della composizione del mondo colle sue cagioni.
The
Encyclopedist Gerson ben Solomon derived material from Alfraganus, Ibn Sin and Ibn Rushd for his Shaar
hashamayim (Gate of Heaven) (c. 1280?).
44
The Theorica Planetarum of Gerard of Sabbioneta the Italian astrologer who flourished c. 1255-1259, was a summary of Ptolemaic astronomy as explained by Alfraganus and al-Battn.
45
The Italian astrologer, Guido Bonatti derived certain astronomical knowledge from Alfraganus in Liber
astronomicus (Astronomiae tractatus decem).
46
In the Astrologia, the English physicist and astronomer, William the Englishman, (c.1200) gave the distances of the planets from the earth. This information was taken from Alfraganus. this work, he used Alfraganus.
48 47
Roger Bacon (1214-
1294) had also stated the distances of the planets and the diameters of the planets in the Opus Majus. In
Alfraganus influenced the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1261-1321). Dantes main source of astronomical knowledge was Alfraganus, whom he studied thoroughly in the Latin translation. Dantes cosmology in the
Il convivio and the Divina Commedia was adopted from Alfraganus Elements of Astronomy. He quoted
Sarton, Intro., vol. III, p. 463. See, Carmody, pp. 113-116; Sabra, p. 542; Tekeli, pp. 66, 84. 40 Duhem, vol. 3, p. 185. 41 Sarton, Intro., II, pp. 617-618; see also John of Sacrobosco, On the Sphere, trans. into English by Lynn Thorndike, A Source Book in Mediaeval Science, Massachusetts 1974, pp. 442-451. 42 Owen Gingerich, Islamic Astronomy, Scientific American, 1986, p. 70. 43 Duhem, vol. 4, p. 202. Sarton, Intro., vol. II, pp. 928-929. 44 Sarton, Intro., vol. II, p. 886. 45 Ibid, p. 987. 46 Ibid, pp. 988-989. 47 Ibid, p. 620. 48 Ibid, pp. 952-967; Dreyer, 1953, pp. 234, 258.
38 39
Page 11 of 15
Alfraganus or his book only twice in the Convivio. Alfraganus.

50
49
Jacopo di Dante Alighieri, Dantes son also used
Figure 6. The cover page of the Latin translation of Alfraganus book of astronomy.
The theologian, mathematician, astronomer, and physicist Levi Ben Gerson (1288-1344) followed Afraganus with reference to the movement of the apogees in the fifteen books of the Milhamot Adonai.
51
Conrad of Megenbegs (1309-1374) Sphaera, the first astronomical and physical textbook in German was a free translation of the Sphaera Mundi of Sacrobosco.
52
Everything which Robert Grosseteste, a leading figure in the 13th century Aristotelian school of Paris, attributed to Ptolemy in his Summa philosophiae was in fact taken from Alfraganus.
53
The famous
54
Renaissance scholar Regiomontanus delivered lectures in Padua in 1464 based upon Alfraganus work.
49 50 51 52 53 54
Sarton, Intro., vol. II, pp. 479-500 and vol. III, p. 111; Sabra, 1971, p. 542; Duhem, vol.4, p. 222; Tekeli, pp. 66, 84. Sarton, Intro., vol. III, pp. 500-501. Ibid. pp. 594-607. Ibid, pp. 817-821. Duhem, vol. 4, p. 468; Al-Farghn, 1986, p. VI. Al-Farghn, 1986, p. VI.
Page 12 of 15
Alfraganus greatly influenced Columbus who used Alfraganus value for the measurement of the earth. Columbus' theoretical basis for the assumption that the western ocean was not vast was borne out by his practical experience as a sailor. According to a note in his own hand in his copy of "Imago Mundi," Columbus navigated by the erroneous calculations of the 9th century Arabian astronomer Alfraganus. Using Alfraganus' value of 56 and 2/3 land miles per equatorial degree, Columbus assumed that he had only to sail approximately 2,500 miles westward from the Canary Islands in order to reach the Orient. Columbus asserted that his voyages had confirmed the cosmography of "Imago Mundi" and the calculations of Alfraganus.
55
Columbus himself thought that he was navigating according to Alfraganus' value and he
wrote: "Observe that in sailing often from Lisbon southward to Guinea, I carefully measured the course ... and in agreement with Alfragan I found that each degree answered to 56 and 2/3 miles. So that we may rely upon this measure."
56
So even if the Elements of Astronomy was a summery of the Almagest, it was clear that it differed from the
Almagest in some aspects. By adding astronomical material from his own time and shortening the text, Alfraganus made Ptolemys Almagest clearer. As a result, the Elements of Astronomy was used as a textbook rather than the Almagest. For those reasons, in my opinion, the Elements of Astronomy of Alfraganus was a kind of supplement to the Almagest. This could be the reason why The Elements of Astronomy was very well-used for such a long time by Western as well as Eastern astronomy.
Bibliography
Barani, Syed Hasan, Muslim Researches in Geodesy, Al-Brn Commemoration Volume, Calcuta 1951. Brockelmann, Carl, Geschihte der Arabischen Litteratur , Leiden 1937-1949. Carmody, F.J., Arabic Astronomical and Astrological References in Latin Translations, A Critical Bibliography, Berkeley-Los Angeles 1959. Cohen, Morris R. & Drabkin, I.E., A Source Book in Greek Science, Massachusetts 1966. Delambre, J.B.J., Historie de lastronomie du moyen-age, New York and London 1965. Dreyer, J.L.E., History of the Planetary System from Thales to Kepler, New York 1953. Duhem, Pierre, Le systme du monde, Histoire des doctrines cosmologiques de Platon a Copernic, Paris 1958. Abul Faraj, Trikh Mukhtasar al-Duwal, Beirut 1890. Al-Farghn, Kitb Cevmi Ilm al-nucm ve usl al-Harekt, (manuscript), Istanbul, Carullah, 1279/30 (384a - 393a).
55
56
Historical Review, February 1985, pp. 73-102.
Pauline Moffitt Watts, "Prophecy and Discovery: On the Spiritual Origins of Christopher Columbus' 'Enterprise of the Indies'," American J. N. Fiske, The Discovery of America, vol. 1, Boston 1983, pp. 377-78; Watts, pp. 73-102.
Page 13 of 15
Al-Farghn, Kitb al-Fusl al-Mudhl f Mecist, (manuscript), Istanbul, Ayasofya, 2843/2 (61a - 102a, 772 H.). Al-Farghn, Jawmi Ilm al-Nujm wa-Usl al-Harakt al-Samwya, trans. into Latin by Jacob Golius, Frankfurt 1986. Al-Fargn, The Elements of Astronomy, textual analysis, translation into Turkish, critical edition & facsimile by Yavuz Unat, edited by inasi Tekin & Gonul Alpay Tekin, Harvard University 1998. Fiske, J.N., The Discovery of America, vol.1, Boston 1983. Al-Yaqb, Kitb al-Buldn, Leiden 1892. Heath, Thomas, A History of Greek Mathematics, Oxford 1921. Ibn al-Qift, Tarh al-Hukam, Leipzig 1903. Ibn al-Nadm, Fihrist, vol. I, Leipzig 1348. Ibn Khallikan, Wafayt al-Ayn, vol. I, Cairo 1882. Kramers, J. H., Nil, IA, vol. 9, Istanbul 1950. Lippert, Julies, Ibn al-Qifts Tarh al-Hukam, Leipzig 1903. Nallino, C.A., Arabian Astronomy Its During the Mediaeval Times, Romae 1911. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Science and Civilization in Islam, 1987. Neugebauer, O., A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy, Berlin-Heidelberg-New York 1975. Neugebauer, The Exact Sciences in Antiquity, Rhode Island 1957. Neugebauer, Studies in Byzantine Astronomical Terminology, Transactions of the American Philosophical
Society, vol. 50, 2, Philadelphia 1960.

Neugebauer, A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy, Berlin-Heidelberg-New York 1975. Ptolemy, Almagest, Great Books of Western Word, XIV, trans. into English by R. Catesby Taliferro, Chicago-London-Toronto 1952. Sabra, A.I.,al-Farghn, Abul-Abbs Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Kathr, Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. IV, 1971. Sacrobosco, John of, On the Sphere, trans. into English by Lynn Thorndike, A Source Book in Mediaeval
Science, Massachusetts 1974.

Sarton, George, Introduction to the History of Science, Baltimore 1950.
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Sayili, Aydin, The Observatory in Islam, Ankara 1988. Suter, H., Al-Fargn, IA, vol. 4, Istanbul 1950. Suter, Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und Ihre Werke, Leipzig 1900. Tekeli, Sevim, Modern Bilimin Dogusunda Bizansin Etkisi, Ankara 1975. Watts, Pauline Moffitt, "Prophecy and Discovery: On the Spiritual Origins of Christopher Columbus's 'Enterprise of the Indies'," American Historical Review, February 1985.
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Al-'Urd 's Article on "The quality of Observation"
Prof. Sevim Tekeli Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Amar Nazir January 2007 661 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
Al-'Urd 's Article on "The quality of Observation" January 2007
AL-'URD 'S ARTICLE ON "THE QUALITY OF OBSERVATION"*

PROF. SEVIM TEKELI** Introduction
This article includes the critical edition and the translation of the Risala f kayfiya al-arsd wa ma yuhtaja il
llmihi wa amalihi min turuq al-muwaddiya ild marifa'auddt al-kawakib (The treatise on the quality of the observations and the teoretical and practical knowledge needed to make them, and the methods leading to understanding of the regularities of the stars) of Al-Urd. It gives us a whole description of the instruments
of the Maragha Observatory that was constructed by Nasir al-Din al-Ts in 1261 under the auspices of Hulagu. Only at the time of Tycho Brahe (in 16th century) did the instruments in Europe become as perfect and precise as the instruments constructed in Maragha Observatory. Al-'Urd is a Syrian architect. He constructed the water installations of Damascus. He has also constructed astronomical instruments for Al-Mansur, the ruler of Hims. After 1259, he worked in cooperation with Nasir al-Din al-Ts. We could clearly see from the descriptions given in this article that the constructions of the instruments and their erections were done with great care in order to have accurate results. An incomplete French translation of this article was made by Amabl Jourdain (in 1909) in Mmoire sur
Lobservatoire de Meragah et sur quelques instruments emploiys poury observer. In 1928, it is translated into German by Hugo Seemann as Die Instrumente der Sternwarte zu Maragha nach den Mitteilungen von Al- Urd. This German translation is quite complete. Though it is one of the fundamental books in Islamic
Astronomy, its text has not been published up to now. The text herein is the comparison of the three manuscripts. Two of these three copies are in Istanbul and the other one is in Paris.
1
One of the two manuscripts in Istanbul is enlisted in the St. Sophia Library and its number is 2973. According to the information given by the Directory of the Library the description of the manuscript is as follows: Dimension of the page: 186 x 120 mm. Written area: 130 x 75 mm. Quality of the paper: yellowish polished paper. It is without marginal notes and quite correct. It is rarely punctuated and is one of the oldest manuscripts. It does not include the name of the person who has copied this manuscript but it includes the date of its completion: tenth month of the lunar year 864 (H.).
I learned from Professor Sayili that another copy is found in Tehran.
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The other manuscript is registered in Nuruosmaniye Library under the number of 2971. According to the information given by the Directory, the description of the manuscript is as follows: Dimension of the page: 257 x 176 mm. Written area: 190 x 100 mm. Quality of the paper: Abadi. Binding: brown leather with head bound. This is a review which includes different manuals. It is clearly written, but mostly not punctuated. The third manuscript is in Bibliotheque National of Paris registered under 2544,10. It is clearly written and punctuated. The transcriber has compared two manuscripts and pointed out their differences in the margin. That is why in the text this manuscript is showed P. and pa as two copies. Pa stands for the second which was compared to the first one. At the end, it is written that the manuscript has been copied by Hafiz Hasan b. al-Hafiz Mustafa in the year 867 (H.) the 12th of the sixth month of the lunar year. In the Paris and St. Sophia manuscripts, the name of the copier is not included. But in the Nuruosmaniye manuscript, it is written in the beginning that it has been transcribed by Al-Urd of Damascus. Though the date of the transcription has not been indicated in the manuscripts we can easily deduce from the information given in the text that it has been written after the construction of the Maragha Observatory and before the death of Nasir al-Din Ts. In the text, the date of the construction of the instruments is given as 1261/2. Since Nasir al-Din Ts died in 1274, we can estimate easily that the manuscript is transcribed between 1262 and 1274. However, since Al-'Urd indicates that some of the models of the instruments have already been constructed but without saying whether they have been constructed in the Observatory or not, we can make our estimations further then 1274. According to the grammar rules, it is necessary to accord the verbs but in addition, accords were made in the kind and number of verbs, when this is not conational in order to provide precision and these changes are indicated with notes. The errors thus made in the dictation are different in the manuscripts but still these changes do not require any corrections. The translation of the manuscript was made word for word. It has been compared to the German translation and the differences were noted. But towards the end of the German translations more emphasis was given to the meaning without a literal translation. That is why the differences were not noted separately.
RISALA FI KAFIYA AL- ARSAD
In the name of Allah, the merciful. Thank God. Praise to prophet Muhammad and his close relations. The grace comes from God.
2
2 Hugo J. Seeman, Die Instrumente der Slernwarte zu Margha nach den mitteilungen von Al-'Urdi, Sitzungsberichte der Physi. medi. Sozietat, Erlangen 1928. P. 23. This pait is missing.
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This article has been written by Mu'ayyad al-Din al-'Urd of Damascus who is the leader of the scientists, head of the engineers, connoisseur of mathematics and the supporter of the Nation. He says: "I wrote this article in order to explain the techniques of the observations and to give information about the construction and the use of the observational instruments and the other things necessary in the field of theory and practice to lead us to the knowledge of the movements of the stars, their positions, their distance from the earth and their efficiency when the earth's radius is taken as a unit." Astronomy that is a branch of mathematical sciences that develops the theoretical sciences and the branch, which is closer to theology than the others, is glorified in two ways: of its subject and the soundness of its arguments. Its subject is the heaven that is one of the unique and wonderful creations of the God, free from all defects. When we come to the arguments, they depend upon mathematics and geometry. That is why we endeavoured all our efforts on this subject. The arguments depend upon our observations and the observations require instruments so we started with the description of the instruments. The ancient and the modern astronomers have constructed many of them. Some of them have defects and the others are difficult to realize. This difficulty does not come from the complexity of its construction; it is the result of the defect in the planning and the fault in the design. We will not mention these in here. We will mention the most accurate of the old instruments and remove every kind of doubt and obstruction befallen on them and we will add the new ones we constructed. These instruments are perfect and precise. We need to know the meridian of the observatory during the erections of these instruments. Different methods were put forward to determine this. I saw that among these, the best method is the Indian Circle used by our elders. We have discussed the precision of this method in our Risla-i camal al-kura al-kmila. This instrument is especially used when the sun is in one of the tropics. With no doubt the Indian Circle gives precise results when the sun is found in one of the tropics, rather then when it is found in any other point. Its construction: we take a wooden or a stone plate, level the upper face, and place it parallel to the horizon. This is done by fadin which is a scale of a bricklayer. If this instrument will be used in winter the length of the scale should be 1/4 of the diameter of the largest circle drawn on the plate and if it is going to be used in the summer then the length should be 1/3th . We make a scale with a lathe. This should be in cylindrical form with a pointed top and a round base . If the scale is of copper then its weight is enough but if it is of wood then we make a hole at the centre of the base which is larger at the bottom then at the mouth and fill this hole (not completely) with lead so that when the scale is placed this weight will help to fix the scale (Figure I).
4 3
Since the height of the shadow will change according to its presence in the winter or the summer tropics so the height of the scale will get longer or shorter accordingly 4 The word -MELESE is read like SULUS That is why itis translated less than 1/3. P. 26.
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Then we draw a small circle [whose diameter is equal to the diameter of the base of the scale] to the centre of the plate; thus, when the scale is placed on the base, their centres coincide and its axis falls perpendicular to the face of the plate. The plate is put parallel to the horizon, when it is fixed to its place with lime or another material, we draw concentric circles so that when the shadow comes and we are unaware, the other one will replace it. When the shadow is not yet inside the circle but on the circumference, the middle of the width of the tip of the shadow is marked on the circumference. The same operation is done with the other circles as well. When the sun passes to the other side of the meridian-this happens when the shadow is the shortest, afterwards it becomes longer-then we follow with our eyes the movement of the shadow when it is at the point of leaving one of the circumferences of the circles marked at the entrance of the shadow. We mark the middle of the width of the shadow before it leaves the circumference. To verify this we repeat the same operation on the other circles. The chord of the arc is divided. After we lift the scale, we connect the centre of the plate with this point by a straight line and extend it at both sides. This straight line is the meridian established in the most precise way. When we drop a perpendicular from the centre to this plane, this is called the east west line (Figure II).
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Now, we will mention the instruments we constructed in the Observatory, which is devinely, guarded near the Maragha at the west side hill. These constructions were done in the few years, before 660 (H.) and after 660. (H.) All these were possible with the suggestion of our great leader, the eminent scientist, the perfect investigator, the symbol of the scholars, head of the judges, the most virtuous of not only the savants of Islam but of the entire ancient and the present thinkers. He, who is capable of comprehending all the sciences and the nice behaviour, sound judgement, tenderness, good nature, virtue, of which only one is found in a scientist, is a rare creature of the God who is free from all evil. He gathered all the scientists and strengthened their devotions towards him by donations. He was much more closer to them than a father to his son. We were safe under his protection and happy to see him. As it is said in the poem, To test him, we vexed him, But what we found was tenderness in both states.
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This rare person, God give him long life, is Nasir al-Din Muhammad ibn al-Ts, supporter of the Nation. I heard many things about him before I saw him and I thought these sayings were exaggerated. But when I met him the rumours about him lost their significance. The days, which give us opportunity to work under his leadership, are the most wonderful days. We were away from our children, from our relatives and from our country but we were with him (Al-Ts). One who finds him has lost nothing but the one who has lost him loses everything. God should not separate us from him and should let us get as much benefit from his presence. We overtook to construct the instrument called "libne" by Ptolemy. We call it (rub) quadrant. To construct this we take a wall with a proper width, which is made of brick and lime, parallel to the meridian and which extends from north to south. The height and the length is 6 the dhir used in astronomy, and its thickness is one dhir . We put wooden-pillows which form an arc up to a span from the surface and which is constructed of wood on the northern surface of the wall. We fix these pillows in equal intervals starting from the southern corner of the wall which is nearer to the base, up to the northern corner of the wall making a quarter of a circle. Besides, we will have other pillows over which the ruler will be fixed to carry the quadrant this will be mentioned in the previous paragraphs (Figure III a, b).
5
1 2
of Hshimi dhir , this is
Afterwards, we make a quadrant from the teak tree , which was brought from India, and we fix the ends of this quadrant to the ends of the two rulers which intercept at the centre of the quadrant. The length of the two rulers should not be less than five dhir (every dhir is about three span of a hand). The rulers intercept each other in forming right angles. In order to prevent the bending of the rulers, their thickness is made one fourth of a dhir. We construct the quadrant from small sections and fix the ends firmly to the rulers (Figure IV).
5 6
It is missing in the German translation. P. 28. It is a big tree, which grows in India. It is like ebony but it is not as dark as it is. Its fruit looks like grape and its leaf is like the leaf of Pine-tree. It has white stripes when it is fresh.
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After we make the adjustment very carefully, we open a canal whose depth is half a finger and the width three fingers of hand in the middle of the width. We moulded a quadrant from copper, whose depth, quadrant depth is more than one finger and the width three fingers so that after filing let its dimensions be equal to the dimensions of the canal in the quadrant, exactly in the dimensions we desired it to be. We place the copper quadrant in the wooden canal so that its face will project outwards in respect to the face of the wooden quadrant (Figure V). We fix these two firmly with nails. That is why we file the face of the copper one as much as possible.
The vertex of the right angle, formed by the two rulers fixed at the two ends of the wooden quadrant determines the centre of the quadrant. We draw four-quarter circles around the centre, on the surface of the copper quadrant. We extend two strait lines, which intercept each other at the centre up to the end of the copper quadrant. We divide into 90 the band, which is between the two-quarter circles restricted by these two strait lines. Then we divide each one of these degrees into 60 minutes and mark these on the first two outer quarter circles. We divide the bent, which is following the two quadrants into 90 degrees and with it and the ones following it into 18. We start to make divisions of 5 from the north corner of the wall
7
This part is different from the German translation. P. 30.
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starting from the bottom of the quadrant so that during the observation the height of the culmination will rest outside (to have height of the zenith) (Figure VI).
Then we fasten the quadrant and the rulers at the end of the wooden pillows. We place the centre so that it will come over the angle of the upper southern part of the wall. Thus, one of the rulers will be perpendicular and the other one will be parallel to the horizon. Adjust the copper quadrant to the surface of the meridian so that the straight line, which connects the centre and the south end of the quadrant, passes from the zenith. This could be established with the help of the meridian line, which is expelled outside the surface of the horizon with the help of these perpendiculars.
8
After we establish the necessary position for the instrument, in conformity with the above-mentioned conditions, we fix the instrument on to the pillows firmly with the nails.
9
We make the same thing to the
two rulers connected to their ends. We open a hole at the centre of the quadrant so that the centre of the hole and the centre of the quadrant coincide with each other and we fix an iron axis in the form of a cylinder about one finger wide. Then we construct another ruler from the teak tree whose length is longer than the radius of the quadrant and the cut off section is rectangular. The width of this rectangle is four fingers and its thickness is less than its width. We file it as much as possible. We place copper pieces at their ends, divide the width from the centre, and make a hole at its one end about the size of the diameter of the axis that we have mentioned above. From the other end, we cut off three fingers from the length up to the straight line which connects the centre with the middle of the ruler, to clarify the value of the culmination during its movement over these sections (Figure VII).
The ruler made according to these conditions, the straight line (SM) (Figure VIII) which passes from the centre of the quadrant and the divisions (since the direction of the sun is determined only with the straight line (K L) which connects the holes free from these two points) passes from the centre of the sun. This
8 9
It is missing in the German translation. P. 30. It is missing in the German translation. P. 35.
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does not form on the curved ruler only provided when the pinnules (a, a') placed on the surface of the ruler in a raised form should turn towards the centre (o), this should be in such a way that the holes of the pinnules of the ruler (b, b') (with a geometrical precision) should be in the of surface (K L M 0) of the ruler which passes from the centre of the quadrant that is to say the surface (M F) which is determined by the extended surface which is established by the cut end. The interception of the two parallel lines is impossible (in other words they meet in the infinite), that is why one of the straight lines mentioned on the (ruler) with the desired conditions passes as a straight line (S M) through the centre of the quadrant and the cut end which moves over the divisions which evaluates the height of the ruler, and the other one passes through the holes of the pinnules. In this condition, the strait line (K L) which passes through the holes of the pinnules should also pass through the centre (O K) of the axis over which the ruler called alidade turns.
In the case of the construction the ruler of the astrolabe by the astrolabe manufacturers, this production is not done with precision. They do not give much care because in the small instruments small differences are not perceived. But when the instrument gets larger and the division is very small then the differences show themselves clearly and can be perceived easily. It is necessary to hang a hinge and a hoop at the end of the ruler and a pulley, which moves on the upper part of the wall. There, we have a string strong enough to carry the weight of the ruler, which passes through the pulley and fixed on to the hoop which is at the end of the ruler. The height of the quadrant from its base is about some fractions of a dhirc. One of the instruments we constructed for the guarded Observatory is the armillary sphere (dht al-halk) with five circles which does not need the ninth circle of Theon of Alexandria and which is not same as the instrument described by Ptolemy as having six circles. The description of its construction:
10
We make two circles in equal size whose surfaces are parallel to each
other and their cut off section in a rectangular form. The radius of each of these circles are three dhir' according to the observation dhir and their width and thickness are four fingers. One of these represents the ecliptic circle and the other one represents the polar circle (which passes through four poles).
11
After
the termination of the filing of the circle and its division, we make two cavities in the shape of a rectangle at the convex side of the polar circle who face each other and whose depth is equal to the thickness of the circles (Figure IX, K. a). The same way we make two cavities (E, b) in the form of a rectangle at the concave side of the ecliptic circle which face one another. Their depth is one-half of its thickness and their width is equal to the width of the polar circle.
10 11
It is missing in the German translation. P. 35. It is missing in the German translation. P. 35.
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In order to place the ecliptic circle over the polar circle we cut off a section, which will end at the convex side and it, will be a span long with a depth of half of the depth of the cavity, at one of the side of one of the cavities of the polar circle
12
(Figure X).
Then they are both placed inside the ecliptic circle in such a way that they form a right angle with each other and their convex sides as well as the concave sides will be on the same spherical surfaces. After a careful filing of the straight and circular surfaces, they are connected to each other. In order to smooth the convex surface, we construct a copper piece having exactly the same dimensions of the segment cut off from the polar circle, we strengthen this by attaching it to the section we want to protect. If the artisan is skilful, he makes the carved section in such a way that it will not need any attaching. Then we construct a third circle larger than the others do, which will touch the convex surfaces of the two circles that we have previously constructed. The width of this circle should be equal to the width of the other two circles and its thickness should be one finger smaller than its width. We file it and smooth the roundness of the convex and the concave surfaces. It is necessary and convenient to thicken the width of this circle at each end of one of its diameters, on two opposite surfaces. Their length must
13
be one span and their thickness must be two fingers. We will mention their advantages
after we have discussed the filing of the other circles. (Figure XI). This is called the large latitude circle; it rotates on and outside the poles of the ecliptic.
12 13
A different form is given in the German translation. P. 36. In the manuscript, though the word is used for zl in German translation it is translated as thickness. P. 36.
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We construct a fourth circle called meridian circle. We place it in such a way that it represents the plane of the meridian. The concave surface of this circle must touch the convex surface of the other circle. Let us make its thickness five fingers. We make one supplusage over the straight surface of the circle, opposite the axis - this is the diameter on which the circles turn -. The length must be three fingers and the height from the straight surface must be one finger. We must have the same supplusages on the opposite side as well. They are useful to strengthen the position of the two holes opened for the poles. On these, we fix two metal axes, which represent the poles of the equator at the armillary sphere and at the places where the circles turn, when our instrument is completed. For this large circle, we make a base whose thickness is equal to the thickness of the circle, the width and the length is half a dhir (Figure XII). The function of this base, as is mentioned below, is to fix strongly this section of the instrument on top of the column. concave sections.
14
We smooth by filing the surfaces, convex and the
14 In the German translation, the part translated as: "As will be explained below, the middle of the base is placed over a column" is the result of reading the word nasb as nisf. But this reading cannot be accepted. P. 37.
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We construct a fifth circle smaller than the first two circles; whose thickness is only two fingers and the width is equal to the width of the first two circles. The convex section of this fifth circle perfectly touches the concave section of the first two circles. Inside this circle, we make a diameter, which is constructed as a single piece with the circle, whose width, and the thickness is equal to the width and the thickness of the circle.
15
We give a circular form to the centre of the diameter, so that the hole we are going to open will
not weaken it. This circle is called small latitude circle, which is the smallest of all the circles, because it turns about the poles of the ecliptic. The best thing to do is to start the construction from this circle, because the centre of the diameter of this circle is at the same time the centre of all circles. When we make the necessary corrections of the small latitude circle, the correction of the concave face of the ecliptic or polar circles becomes easier. When we adjust their convex sections, the correction of the concave face of the larger latitude circle becomes easier; when we adjust the convex section the correction of the concave section of the largest circle (meridian) becomes easier. We place the circles one within the other and in perfect adaptation. These are the small and the large latitude circles, one of the two equal circles and the meridian. We turn them thus one within the other, and change the equal circles. In this way, if we adjust concave and the convex sections with the straight surfaces, then the same way we can adjust the concave section of the circle, which is exactly touching everywhere the convex surface.
16
When we are through with the correction and the construction then we can start the division. Only three needs to be divided from these, ecliptic, the small latitude circle and the largest circle to say the meridian. When we come to the division of the ecliptic circle; First of all as mentioned above, we draw its two diameters. We divide into equal ninety degrees each quadrant divided by these diameters, and mark these divided parts over the two sides of the straight surfaces of these quadrants.. We divide into 90 both sides of the convex surface of each quadrant. We write the names of the twelve signs over the ecliptic circle between divided rows of the concave and the convex surfaces. There is no damage in repeating the names of the signs, whereas the names can be useful during the observation (Figure XIII).
We start to mark down the signs, by writing the head of the Cancer into the middle of one of these holes. And we write the head of the Capricorn into the middle of the hole, opposite this one. In a habitual way, we
15 16
In the German translation it is translated as a part is added, both translations are acceptable. P. 38. It does not correspond with the German translation. P. 39.
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put in order the rest of the signs. We make divisions of thirty degrees and five degrees by the side of each sign (Figure XIV).
We must not forget the following when we are connecting the ecliptic circle with the polar circle: the middle of the hole into which we write the head of the Cancer must be near the one assigned to the north pole of the equator. The names of the signs will follow one another from the east and it will be written from right to left. When we come to the division of the small latitude circle, we draw the diameter, which divides the width of the copper diameter into two (Figure XV). Then we take out the diameter which makes right angle at the centre with the first one (b). We divide into 90 degrees
17
the space between the two concentric circles,
which are drawn close to each other on one of the straight surfaces. Then we draw a third circle whose distance is three times from the inner circle of the first two circles. We divide each quarter of this circle into 18 and mark this division up to 90, five by five. So that they will terminate with 90 degrees at both sides of the strait line, which divides the width of the copper diameter and starts at both ends of the second diameter.
17
In the German translation though the transcription has not been followed word by word, they have rested loyal to the meaning. P. 39.
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When we come to the division of the meridian circle: we draw the second diameter which forms a right angle with the first (Figure XVI) and divides the base into two and then we draw three concentric circles on the centre over the straight surface. In order to mark the degrees between the two circles (pc) at the concave side, these must be drawn close together. The third largest circle must be placed from the middle circle in an interval equals to three times the space between the two circles (s). We divide quarter of the external circle into 90 degrees and the internal circle into 18 sections. We write the degrees of fives so that it will end at both end of the first diameter at the degrees of nineties. We divide every degree of the external division into smaller sections as possible.
When we come to the axes and their positions this is done, as I will describe it and not at random. This way we will compose the instrument soundly and without any defect. We must be sure not to have any inaccurate results because of the axis over which the circles turn, during the movement of the ensemble.
18
We shape one of the two ends which are connected into the meridian circle and which is towards the pole of the universe, in the form of a plate. The width of this section is three fingers,
19
and the thickness is
about one finger. (Figure XVI, a). The section which enters the holes of the large latitude circle and whose thickness is equal to the thickness of this circle is in a form of a plate (b). To reinforce it, we shape it in such a way that its cut off section becomes circular and its middle becomes thicker. And the rest will be in a shape like cylinder (c), and its length will be equal to the thickness of the polar circle and its thickness will be equal to the size of the small finger. The polar circle and the other circles inside it turn around this section. Its middle (of the geometric axis) divides the plate into two equal parts.
20
The German translation does not correspond to the manuscript. P. 39. In German translation, it is 1/3 finger. It is possible to read the word as 1/3th but the word finger which comes after it is in plural so it is not really possible to read it 1/3. Anyway, this is too thin for an axis that carries so many circles. P. 41. 20 We cannot find the last sentence in the translation. P. 42.
19
18
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The axis opposite this one is in a form of A. cylinder whose thickness is one finger
21
and the length twelve
fingers. We cover the external part of this axis with a strong metal whose interior is open from one end to the other. This is placed in the middle of the axis, between the polar circle and the meridian circle so that it can carry the weight of the circle (Figure XVIII). In this way the circle does not fall down. The height of this metal part must be equal to the thickness of the large latitude circle. This is a support between the meridian circle and the polar circle.
When we come to the axes of the two latitude circles: these are at the same time the poles of the ecliptic. The cut off section of the middle part of the upper axis is in square form and the length of this section is equal to the thickness of the polar circle. The remaining upper and lower sections are in cylindrical form and, as thick as the latitude circle. (Figure XIX). The large latitude circle turns around the upper and the small latitude circle turns around the lower part.
21
In the translation, it is written as 12 fingers. P. 42.
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The lower one is in a shape of a cylinder. The length of the two axes is eight fingers circle.
22
and their thickness
is one finger. This length is equal to the sum of the thickness of the two latitude circles with the polar
In the case of the holes, we opened in the circles for these axes: the upper one of the meridian circle is in the middle of the convex section of the circle, in a rectangular form, and its length is equal to the length of the pole in a plate form mentioned above. The distance of the middle of this hole (Figure XX), [the centre of the base, (b),] to the zenith, the diametrically opposite, must be equal to the complement of the latitude established by the observation. The complement of the latitude for Maragha is 52; 40. That is why we constructed this instrument first. Because it is possible to find the distance between poles of the equator and the ecliptic, also the latitude of the place. The end of the plate can be pasted in its place by heating the circle.
23
The hole facing this is round as the shape of the axis.
Since the addition of the thickness of the three circles is 9 fingers, this must be nine also. In the German translation, it is 9 but no explanation is given below. P. 42. 23 We cannot find this in the German translation. P. 43.
22
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We make two holes on the polar circle, at the sections facing each other. Their centres are in the middle of the width of the convex section, and the distance of each from the middle of the ecliptic circle is equal to one forth of the polar circle. The hole at the north (Figure XXI, a) is in the shape of a square whose side is equal to the cut off section of the middle part of the axis. The hole facing this is as wide as the axis (b). As regards to the holes we made on this circle for the poles of the equator around which the whole instrument turns, the distance of the north of these (c) to the distance of the northern pole of the ecliptic (a) is equal to the greatest obliquity. At the end of the observations, we conducted in Maragha and in other observatories; we found its value as 23; 30.
In the middle of the convex section of the polar circle, we put two marks whose distance to the eclectic poles is 23; 30 on the sections facing each other .The construction becomes easier by the help of the parts of the convex section of the ecliptic circle, which is equal to our circle. We name the one between the ecliptic pole and the head of the Cancer the North Pole. The South Pole faces the North Pole. We open two holes as large as the width of the ends of the axis mentioned above, and take these points as centres. We make two holes (circular) on the large latitude circle at the ends of the axis which represent the poles of the ecliptic and which project to the middle of the width from each side of the polar circle. In regards to the small latitude circle, we open two circular holes on the convex section from both ends of the "second" diameter which is perpendicular to the copper diameter. The end of the ecliptic axis which forms a knob inside the polar circle is placed at the end of these. After we finish the correction and the investigation of all these and complete the five circles, we construct a ruler whose length is as long as the small latitude circle and the width is equal to the width of the copper diameter (Figure XXII). We pierce the centre of this circle and shape as a circle the middle of its length. We pierce the centre of the circle at the middle of the copper diameter which is at the same time the centre of all the circles, and fix the ruler with a pivot to the centre of the diameter as is done always. Sometimes we cut off parts limited by the straight line (b b') which passes from the centre, and the line dividing the width (a a') of the ruler from opposite directions. The ends of the ruler become in opposite directions. Then over
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it we make two pinnules which have covers equal to each other and they have the shape of a square. We pierce the middle of their widths and fix covers over them. The distance between the two holes is a span.
We place a stone column (c) over the foundation constructed for this instrument. We draw the meridian line on the upper section, and construct a canal at this place from north to south in a rectangular form. To this canal, we fix the base of the meridian circle, the largest of all. We make it parallel to the meridian plane by adjusting it with the help of the plumb. We arrange it in such a way that the straight line which connects the zenith with the centre of the base over the circle, forms a right angle (Figure XXVIII, ZT MM). We make these adjustments by leaning the instrument towards different directions accordingly, and by using plumb line. After the instrument takes the desired form, we pore lead to fill up the empty parts on both sides of the base and to this canal as well. Then we place the rest of the circles inside the meridian circle and the axes prepared for them. We fix the other poles to their places, attach the metal part in its place so that it will carry the weight of the polar circle, and place the two latitude circles over the ecliptic poles. Thus, the parts of the instrument are put together and the instrument is placed firmly on its base.
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The additions that should be made to perfect (even more then is done up to know) the instrument will be mentioned herein. I will draw the pictures of the circles and the axes and explain their advantages. In regards to the additions over the meridian circle and on the sides of the holes made for the opposite two axes, these are added to reinforce the holes for the axis. The inverse corresponding additions of the large latitude circle are for the two holes, which are opened over the large latitude circle so that the axis of the equator will be able to enter. These (the two axes of the equator) cross from the meridian circles to the polar circles, and that is why they prevent the fitting of the large latitude circle to the polar circle and obstruct it from making half a tour. As a result of this, the coinciding of the large latitude circle over the plane of the ecliptic circle is not completed and consequently we made additions and holes at these places.
24
(Figure XXIII).
The additions on the face of the circles, at the sides of the poles are made only to protect these from breaking. In regards to ruler, this does not necessitate the sixth circle placed inside the fifth circle by Ptolemy in order to obtain the latitudes of the stars. However, we obtain the latitudes of the stars with a ruler and its two pinnules. Now we are going to explain the error and the insufficiency of the sixth circle, these errors are not found in the rulers. The construction and the utilization of the ruler are easier than the sixth circle. It is necessary that the sixth circle should turn inside the fifth circle and their surfaces should stay on the same plane. That is why; we need clutches to prevent the overlapping of the surface of the sixth circle from the fifth circle. These impediments are done in two ways: one of these is to open a canal surrounding the middle of the convex surface of the sixth circle and to fix some nails, which will pass through the concave surface of the fifth circle and enter into the opened canal.
24
In the translation, this part is summarised. P. 46.
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As we come to the second of these impediments: we fix some clutches on the two straight surfaces of the sixth circle, which will project from the surface of the fifth circle, to prevent the projection of the sixth circle from the surface of the fifth circle. We cannot fix these clutches on the fifth circle. If the clutches are on the fifth circle, it will prevent the movement of the sixth circle because the tracer, which shows the division, moves on the surface of this circle.
25
If the fifth one is closely contacted with the sixth one, it will be
difficult for the observer to move the instrument because of its great size. But if they are not in perfect connection, the sixth circle will fall down because of its weight and its centre will not correspond to the centre of the fifth circle. Another disadvantage is the following: when the instrument gets larger, the distance between the two pinnules increases as well so that the observer cannot seethe star through the holes of the pinnules. To construct a straight pipe, which connects these two, will be very difficult. If the light, which penetrates from one to the other, is used, the light will get shady and dispersed and its verification will be very difficult. If the instrument is small then it is not sound and is not useful. Whereas, when we replace it with ruler, it is very easy to place the pinnules on the ruler and nothing will obstruct of our doing so. In this way, we make use of the centre of the fifth circle and its fixed position. On the other hand, we will presume that the circles meet at one centre when we have an instrument without ruler to fix this centre. That is why in the construction of the instrument, the need for this centre is immense, but to fix and to make use of this common centre is impossible. To file and to make corrections on surfaces of the circles is not an easy job. I constructed some levelling instruments to make the necessary corrections of the circles. We construct strong plates from copper whose width is three fingers after the filing and the length half a
dhir. We draw an arc on one of the sides of these with a diameter equal to the diameter of the concave
surface of the first circle, which needs correction. We file the section outside the arc. Then we draw an arc, which coincides, to the circumference of the convex surface of the circle and file the section included in the concave section of the arc. This way we have convex surface on one side of the plate and a concave surface on the other side (Figure XXIV) make a new plate for each.
26
. We correct the convex surfaces of the circle with the concave
side of the plate and vice versa. When the concave and the convex surfaces of the circles are not equal, we
It is like this in Ptolemy, Almagest, Book 5, P. 166, The Great Books of the Western World. Vol. 16. Seeman explains the form it takes when the conditions in the Book of Ptolemy is not present. P. 46. 26 One can be contented with one plate since the concave of every circle is equal to the convex of every other circle. This is missing in the German translation. P. 47.
25
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As we come to the straight surfaces of the circles: we construct two rulers. One of them is longer than the diameter of the greatest circle and the other is in three spans. To understand whether the surfaces of the circle are smooth the first ruler is put on each division. If the ruler coincides inner and the outer borders of circle this part is levelled (Figure 25).
If the middle part of the circle lifts the ruler then we see light at the outside and the inside of the circle. The higher part is cut off with a file. If the light is seen from the inside we take two outside borders, on the contrary if it is seen from the outside then we take two inner borders. In regards to the small ruler, this can be placed on every part of the circle successively, and the section where its face touches the circle is smooth. If the light is seen through the two ends of the ruler, the middle is bulged. We remove the excess parts with a file until the surfaces coincide with each other. We take a short plate and make a hole in the shape of a right angle in one of its corners (its depth will be equal to the width of the circle). With this, we correct the circle from the convex and the concave sections. And again with it we learn the position of the four corners, whether the two inner circles are equal to each other and the centres of these two circles are found at the axis of the arc. The position of the two other circles is established in the same way (Figure XXVI).
27
We take another plate and over it we open a rectangular hole. With it, we measure the widths of all the circles. We circle it ones around the inner circumference and ones around the outer circumference. In this situation, one side whirls around one of the straight surface and the other whirls around the other straight surface. (Figure XXVII).
27
This part is not literally translated in the German translation P. 48.
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With it we find out whether the width of the circle is proportional. If we want to improve the precision of the correction of the surfaces of the circles to a limit, we bring the surface of the circles over a smooth place, from every side, (as much as possible), into a horizontal position by an instrument called Fadin. We take from the mud that is used for making pots, inside it; we make a canal, which will encircle the concave side. The base of the canal will be lower than its surface and its inner border is higher than the surface of the circle. We fill the canal with water in a place or at a time so that the water will not undulate. We pour over the surface of the water the powdered ashes of the plants. We control the parts where the level of the water is lower than the surface of the circle and file the higher parts so that the water overflows from every part, the same way. The other circles are also filed accordingly. One of the old instruments to measure the obliquity of the ecliptic is a circle, which is fixed on the surface of the meridian. The largest inclination of the ecliptic to the equator is brought forward with this circle. It must be large so that it can be divided into small sections of three, two, or one minute. Ptolemy has mentioned this in his Almagest. He has placed another circle inside it, which moves towards south and north, and its surface stays inside the surfaces of the first two circles. He has constructed two pinnules over one of the surfaces of the circle across the diameter, and he has placed at their centres two indicators, which moves over the surface of the first circle. With it, we find the altitude of the sun and the stars when they are in the meridian. From the inner circle, we get only the up and down movement of the indicators and the pinnules over the divisions. The same kind of corrections made on the sixth circle of armillary sphere is mentioned in here also. In this instrument, we make a circle whose width and the thicknesses are four dhir and the diameter five dhir. We construct a diameter casted of a single piece whose width is three spans as we have done in the fifth circle of the armillary sphere. We make a base in the shape of the base of the meridian circle of the armillary sphere as is described above. The constructed diameter (Figure XXVIII) (a) extends between the centre of the base and the section opposite its diameter (b) and when the instrument is set upright then it caries the weight of the circle.
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We construct a ruler for it as we have made for the fifth circle. The circumference of the circle is divided into 360 degrees and every degree is divided into possible smaller sections. When the diameter of the smallest circle drawn on its face is five dhir then the circumference of the largest of these circles does not become less than 16 2 dhir. And half of the 1/8 of this, (this is more then three spans), corresponds to the
3
22; 30 over the circumference of the largest circle and every degree will be larger then one finger of
dhir.
28
Every one of them can be divided 60 or 30 sections, distinctly separated from each other.
We draw from the centre, the diameter that divides the base into two and cuts through the entire length of the copper diameter. When the instrument, is placed upright, this diameter passes from the zenith. After the division is completed, we regulate the commencement of the division as 90 degrees in the end of the diameter, which passes through the zenith. We construct two pinnules whose height and width are equal to each other over the ruler. The straight line, which passes through the centre of the circle, which is at the same time the centre of the ruler, divides the widths of every pinnule from the middle and we open two round holes, which are in equal distance over the upper surface of the ruler. The straight line which passes through their centres (which divides the ruler from its middle), is parallel to the straight line which passes from the common centre of the circle and the ruler. We construct a straight pipe. We connect these two holes with it in such a way that the eye's radiations will be able to pass from one of the holes, cross the pipe and will go out from the other hole. Whether this is a radiation or any other thing will not make any difference. height from the indicator of the ruler, which is towards us.
29
We know the degree of the
This part does not correspond with the German translation. P. 55. In the notes also it is being marked as wrong. Note 7. P. 57. = 12 fingers f = 11 fingers 32
29
28
2 X 32 4 1 > f P = 32 = 33 3 3 < 3 X 16
During the cUrd's time the sight was explained by rays which are projected from the eye according to some optical sand geometrical laws. But there were also people who did not believe this. cUrd in here must have pointed out this. He must have mentioned the rays,
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This instrument has other advantages. This is to find the latitude of the place of the observation in regards to the altitude of the circumpolar stars. This star is found on the surface of the instrument during the upper and the lower culmination, half of the sum of these two is equal to the height of the pole. And this is equal to the latitude of that country. In regards to its fixation on its base and the problem of establishing a certain way in its orientation, this is done exactly as it is done in the circle of the meridian circle of the armillary sphere. The fourth one is an instrument used by the ancients, and which is named by Ptolemy in his Almagest as equatorial armillary, which informs us that the sun has reached the equinoxes and which represents the plane of the equator. This is a copper circle having four perpendicular surfaces. Its construction and its control are like the construction and the control of the armillary sphere. In regards to its setting up, this is done after the determination of the latitude of the place of the observatory. The latitude of the place gives us the distance of the equator to zenith, which is to say of the surface of the circle; from here we can find out the inclination of the equator in regards to the surface of the horizon. When the circle is placed according to our purposes, the parallel surfaces of the circle will be parallel to the plane of the equator. When one of the sides shadows the other, the both concave sections will be lighted in equal degrees and at this moment, the sun will be at one of the equinoxes. When this instrument is placed over the horizons that have latitudes (besides the equator), we have to give some inclination to the circle. That is why the position of the instrument will be disturbed because of this inclination and at the same time to place, the instrument will not be easy. When we come to its mounting, as it should be done properly, I described this operation. According to me, it is necessary to use a meridian circle instead of an inside circle and fix the previous on this meridian circle. The connection of this circle should make a right angle with the meridian as we have done with the circles of ecliptic and poles. The distance of the middle of the hole (Figure XXIX) at the place of the connection of the equator circle with the zenith must be equal to the latitude of the place of the observatory. At the places where there are these holes, we make some additions to protect them. The meridian circle carries its weight and prevents the upset of its position. If we place this circle inside the meridian circle, we construct the latter lighter and larger than the concave section of the meridian circle. We thicken the convex section of the meridian circle (the carrier of the other circle) because of the two holes. We make the division of the meridian inside the concave section so that the circle of the equator can be placed over the end of the ruler. All these are very clear. In this condition, it is placed on the surface of the equator. It is easy to control its inclination, and the setting is not difficult at all. Its inclination can be measured with the help of the meridian circle.
which were projected from the objects.
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If we use one inclined circle then the error, which is seen in one of the largest circles mounted in the Porch of Alexendria as is mentioned by Ptolemy, will produce itself. This circle was lighted twice in one equinox. One of the old instruments called dioptra known with two pinnules possesses a mobile pinnule, Ptolemy in his Almagest mentioned its name only, and did not describe it. We start by constructing a base, which will carry the instrument and hold the axis which will help to turn it. Its shape: we make a base from two wooden pieces in the form of rectangles whose length is four dhir and who intercept each other at right angles (Figure XXX).
We mark the centre of their intercepting surfaces so that it will perform the duty of a mutual centre (m). We open holes (b) at each end of the wooden pieces (a). And on these holes we fix four columns leaning to the central column (Figure XXXI, s). The other end of the columns encounter a strong circle whose height is two dhir (from the start of the central column) and whose thickness is 1/4 dhir and the diameter 2/3 dhir. These four ends are fixed into the four sockets (p) over the diameters of the circle so that they will support the circle from the sides by their corresponding inclinations. Then we open a hole whose diameter is five fingers by hand on the centre of this circle.
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We construct a central column whose thickness is equal to the hole at the centre of the circle and the length is four dhir' and who is in the form of a cylinder made of wood. At its lower end, let there be an iron pole which turnes on this mentioned centre (Figure XXXII, b). Let there be a hole (F) in a rectangular form, whose bottom is narrower than the upper part and whose depth at the top of the section which is over the base is five fingers towards the length of the central column. We fix a bar at the side of the central column, (n). With this bar, we turn the central column. A metal ring is placed around the top of the central column to reinforce the hole of the central column. This is the description of the base and the central column.
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In regards to the ruler with a mobile pinnule, we construct a four-sided ruler from teak tree half a dhir' in width, and 4
2 3
dhir' in length and whose surface is in a rectangular form and parallel. At the middle of its
width, all along its length, we construct a canal (Figure XXXIII, v) whose depth is half a finger and the width 1/3 of the width of the ruler. We construct the base larger than the upper section and file it in such a way that it will be parallel to the surface of the ruler.
We construct a copper segment whose dimensions are equal to the dimensions of the canal, its width equal to the width of the canal, its thickness is the same in every part, the lower part is wider than the upper part, its depth is equal to the depth of the canal, and its length is one span. This segment fills the canal in such a way that it can move within the canal without vibrating and quite freely. We construct a ruler over one of its ends so that it makes a right angle with the surface. Its width must be one small finger larger than the width of the ruler. So that at its sides, there are the two projections which move at both sides of the canal. Two indicators, which show the divisions, are attached to these (Figure XXXIV). We open a hole in the shape of a truncated cone on the upper part of the pinnules. The larger section of the hole must be turned towards the longer part of the mobile section. And the narrower part must be turned towards the shorter part of the section. The diameter of this narrow hole is half a finger this is mentioned before as of
dhir' finger.
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We construct another pinnule at the end, of, the ruler whose width and length is equal to the width and the length of the first one and which is set up in to the canal, we open a narrow hole in it (Figure XXXV, p). The straight line (ii) which passes through the centres of the holes of these two pinnules must be parallel to the straight line (e ) which divides the width of the ruler into two. We construct the part of the narrow hole which turnes towards the end of the ruler, wider then the part, which turns towards the mobile pinnule.
30
We take two brass circles who have a handle in between them. The diameter of the larger of these is 2 fold larger than the diameter of the narrow circle, one of the two circles over the mobile pinnule, and the diameter of the smaller one is equal to the diameter of the circle over the mobile pinnule. This is called the diaphragm. We divide both edges of the ruler on which the two indicators of the mobile pinnule move, in such a way that every section will be equal to the diameter of the narrow circle of the mobile pinnule. The starting point of the division is in front of the surface of the fixed pinnule, which is turned towards the eye, and the end as 220 is at the other end of the ruler. We divide every one of these sections into 12 parts. These represent the diameter - fingers of the sun and the moon. We number them starting from the fixed pinnule and end at 220. The observer must bring his eyes nearer to the hole of the fixed pinnule when he is using this instrument during the observation because the starting point of the division have to be at the top of the optic cone.
30
There is no clear example on the direction the narrow part of the mobile pinnule will take after the ruler is placed on the canal.
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The apex of this cone is inside the lens. It is because this cone includes a part (which can be observed easily) from the surface of the lens that the object is perceived with the help of this part. When the area cut off by the optic cone from the surface of the lens is really very small, so small that, the objects cannot be perceived with the eye, because the smallness of the apex angle of the optic cone, as a result of the distance between the viewer and the objects (Figure XXXVI).
That is why, there are convenient distances for the objects, and these objects can be seen from these distances. There are so many different distances but they cannot be seen from these distances. These limits change according to the strength of the sight. For every object there is a certain distance in proportion to the eye of the observer, if the distance of the object is larger it cannot be seen but when it is nearer, the section cut off by the cone from the surface of the lens will be larger and this way it can be perceived easily (Figure XXXVII).
When we have terminated the completion of the instrument with great care, we fix the half of the joint to the middle point of the lower surface of the ruler, that is to say to the middle of the opposite of the surface where the canal and two pinnules are found
31
(Figure XXXVIII a).
31
The German translation does not correspond with the manuscript. P. 67.
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The upper half of the joint turns around the axis which comiacts it to the other half. One of the ends of the ruler on this axis moves upwards towards the zenith while the other end moves downwards. We fix firmly one of the apexes of the joint to the ruler and the other one to the hole over the axis (Figure XXXIX). When we want horizontal movement from the ruler, we turn the central column. When we want up and down movement then we move upward the end of the ruler, which is towards us. We can turn the instrument as much as we want and towards any direction over the axis of the joint.
During the eclipse or any other time, we bring the ruler to the direction of the moon, we keep away the pinnule from the eye once and then bring it forward until we see the whole moon. The hole on the pinnule includes all of it, the moon covers the hole and there is no excess left. We mark the distance between the mobile-pinnule and its indicator with the eye. We do the same thing for the image of the sun. We know at what distance the apparent diameter of the moon is equal to the diameter of the sun. The amount from the divisions of the ruler does not exceed 130.
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In regards to the diaphragms,
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which are mentioned before, if the eclipse is the eclipse of the sun then we
use the small circle of the instrument to find the eclipsed area of the surface of the sun. In order to do this measurement, we keep at a distance (marked previously) the mobile-pinnule from the fixed pinnule. At this distance, as we have mentioned before, the hole of the mobile pinnule encircles the sun entirely. Thus, if we turn the ruler towards the sun during the eclipse and if we cover the eclipsed area with the small circle, the quantity of the eclipse will be established. In regards to the eclipse of the moon, we make with the big circle the thing that we have done with the small circle during the eclipse of the sun. We have divided the diameter of the small circle into 12 parts with the diameter-finger. With the help of these, we can calculate the quantity of the eclipsed part of the diameter of the sun. We divide the diameter of the large circle into 31
1 4
parts with the eclipse-finger with these we can find the quantity of the
eclipsed part of the diameter of the moon by the help of the section separated by the circle from the divided part. The writer of the Almagest has mentioned these instruments as being constructed of the Porch in Alexandria. In regards to the (dht al-shu'batayn) triquetrum, we will describe it in detail. We will also mention the ones that we have constructed which are more precise and firm. But again these things are best known by the Great God. In regards to the instruments whose construction is created by us and whose missing parts are completed, some of these have been put into practice and they are found in the Great Observatory. We constructed the model of some of them. After these, we had other engagements such as: to construct a small mosque, to carry the water in large containers up to the top of the mountain and to construct a house for his Royal Majesty, God protect his supreme being. These were not my job, but your brother was forced to the jobs that he did not like to do. And your brother is not a hero. There is also another instrument, which is called (dht al-rub'ayn) instrument having two quadrants, which replaces the armillary sphere. We cast a circle from copper whose diameter is as large as it possible could be. We can cast this circle in segments rather then of a single piece and connect the pieces together afterwards. It is not necessary to make it very thick because it is immobile and is placed on a circular masonry foundation and parallel to the horizon. After we finish its filing, we inter it into a section, which will reinforce it and encircle it from the outside and it will not be higher than its surface. We take the centre out and correct the convex and the concave surfaces with the help of two concentric circles. When we come to the correction of the surface parallel to the horizon, the best way to do this is the following: after correcting the inside and the outside sections, as it is done in the previous ones, we put it in its place and fix it. We construct a canal, which will include the concave section. The surface of the circle will not be higher than the surface of the canal; on the contrary, it will be one small finger lower. In a calm day, we fill the canal with water and we scatter over the water the plant dust, which has been grinded. We
The forms of the diaphragms are not clearly explained in the manuscript. They could be in form of a divided circles or a hole opened over a plate. When the circle is filled up, it covers the dark section but when it is empty, it covers the lighted section. In the manuscript, this section could have been read both ways.
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file it so that the water and the plant dust will cover it in equal quantity in every part. We rectified the bottoms of the gutters in Damascus the same way. It is possible for us to make another levelling instrument in order to rectify its surface. For this, we set up a column at the centre of the horizontal circle and construct a handle, which will hold the column from its top (Figure XL). We set up this column in such a way that the column will not lean when it makes a complete turn; it stays in a perpendicular position, and stays in the same position making a right angle with the surface of the circle. This is easy to' handle. We open a hole at the bottom of the column and we construct a ruler or a thin stick (s) which will be fixed at this hole. Only the end of the ruler will not rest on the surface of the circle, the ruler, as a whole will rest on the column, which carries the ruler. The end of the ruler should barely touch the surface of the circle.
The sections where the ruler is higher than the surface of the circle are lower. The sections where the ruler is contact to the surface of the circle are filed until the ruler will be in equal distance from the surface of the circle or it will be in contact with it the same way all around in the complete tour of the ruler, so that the connection will fulfil the requirements. This way we will accomplish the horizontality and the filing of the surface of the circle. In this case, it will be definitely parallel to the horizon. In regards to the division, we take out the meridian line, which passes from the centre dividing the circle into two, and we draw a diameter perpendicular to this, which passes through east and west points. We draw five concentric circles over the surface of the circle. We mark the small divisions between the largest circle and the one following it. The division of the degrees and the ones with five degrees are written in a way that they will start from east and west points and end at 90 degrees in south and north points. We divide the degrees into the smallest portions possible provided that these smallest portions are clear, that is to say the lines to mark these divisions do not intercept each other (Figure XLI).
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We construct two quadrants equal to each other from copper. Each of these is covered with parallel surfaces and each of these is 3 fingers of the hand wide 2,5 fingers thick. These should be made from a circle whose circumference is equal to the circumference of the circle of the horizon. Let there be two copper radiuses for each quadrant intercepting each other perpendicularly at the centre of the quadrant, whose thickness and width are equal to the width and the thickness of the quadrant, and surfaces are parallel to each other, and cut off section is in the shape of a square. We make additions in semicircular form near the two ends of the two diameters that we have constructed perpendicular to the surface of the circle, at the centre of the circle of the horizon and they are connected to each other. We do the same thing in the middle part also. We construct two female sections (Figure XLII),
which are formed from two half parts as it is in the hinges constructed for the doors which are made in such a way that the one wing of the door coincides with the other wing when they are folded (Figure XLIII). They enter soundly into the ones facing these on the other quadrants. These additions must be resistant and sound. Either these are constructed ensemble with the radius from copper or they are made of iron and put separately into their places. They are placed in such a way that each of these turn freely inside the one opposing it (beginning from the surface of the radius) and its projection must be two fingers and the thickness one finger.
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We open circular holes at their centres whose half is beside the semicircle and the other half beside the ruler, which is to say beside the perpendicular radius (Figure XLIV).
Thus, when the centres of these circles are connected to each other, they are found in a straight line, which is the intersection of the surfaces. We connect the two quadrants to each other with an iron axis, which passes from the holes of the semicircles. Half of this axis sets up inside the rulers whereas the other half sets up inside the projections beside the semicinles. This way they will form one when one of the faces of one of the quadrants coincides with the face of the others and they form a semicircle when the gap between them is kept at such a distance that the quadrants come to a straight line. In order to prevent the bending, the axis must be strong. The lower end of the axis is fixed at the centre of the horizon circle and the upper end is placed at a handle, which rests over the two cylinders fixed outside the azimuth horizon in order to prevent the movement of the quadrants. We make as exact as possible the right angle formed by the axis and the azimuth horizon (Figure XLV).
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In regards to the two ends of the quadrants, these move over the inner side of the azimuth horizon. Let there be two indicators at their ends. The sharp side of these indicators must be over the surface of the quadrants, which coincide with each other (Figure XLVI). These turn over the sections of the circumference of the azimuth horizon. 1/3 of the surface of the circle from the inner side (of the azimuth horizon) is not divided for the ends of the quadrants that move.
We have to cut out two segments which are facing each other from the edges at the side of the semicircles where the two perpendicular radius project. Each of these is quarter of a cylinder that is to say one fourth of the iron axis, which connects the two quadrants (Figure XLVII). The circular forms of the holes in the semicircles are completed with these two protected sections. These two holes must be over the surfaces of the quadrants, which coincide with each other.
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We mark the centres of the quadrants over the two other surfaces and draw four concentric circles over the quadrant. We divide into 18 equal parts the space between the smallest circle and the one following it. In here, we write the five degrees starting from the end of the quadrant which moves on the horizon and which is completed to 90 degrees on the upper end. We divide into 90 degrees the space between the second circle from the inside and the one following it and we divide into the smallest degrees possible the space between this circle and the one following it. We fix two-iron axis in the shape of a cylinder at the centres of the quadrants. We construct two rulers from copper, which is one finger more than the sides of the quadrants that is to say than the radius, whose surfaces are parallel and which are equal to each other. We open a circular hole near the end of each of these about the radius of the axis fixed to the centre of the ruler. We cut out half of the width of the ruler from the other end. Let the width of the ruler be 3,5 fingers and the thickness 1,5 finger.
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We fix two
pinnules, which are parallel, and equal to each other over each of these, we open two holes in the shape of a truncated cone on the pinnules as is usually done. The distance of each of these pinnules must be one
dhir. We add one pipe for each of these in order to connect the distance between the two holes and a
segment to collect the lights on the section towards the eye. In this way, this magnificent instrument is completed. I say that we will not be needing armillary sphere when we have this instrument. It is clear that the construction and the use of this instrument are sounder and easier. We can provide many things with the instrument that we cannot have with armillary sphere. But we have to admit that this does not mean that we do not need any calculations (only in the height we do not need calculations) when we use this instrument. We assigned this instrument only to determine the distance between two stars; this can be any two stars whose distance is desired to be determined. This distance is the size of the arc cut off by the two straight lines that reaches the highest celestial globe starting from the centre of the universe after passing the two stars (Figure XLVIII).
33
This part does not correspond with the German translation, P. 68.
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Besides, this instrument is capable of measuring the heights of the zenith and the altitudes of each of the stars. With it, we can also calculate the altitudes of the two stars at the same time. In regards to the calculation of the distance between the two stars, we can measure their azimuths and their altitudes at the same time. We find out the difference of the azimuths of these two which are equal to the space between the two quadrants and we find out their azimuths and their altitudes. In here a triangle is formed (Figure XLVIII P P' D). The two sides of this triangle are known because they are equal to the complements of the altitudes, and the angle formed by the quadrants is established from the degrees of the azimuth horizon, which is in between the two quadrants. Thus, the base of the triangle, that is to say the arc which connects the ends of the straight lines which passes from the two stars is known. If the place in regards to the latitude and the longitude of any of the star is known, (with the help of this instrument) we can calculate the latitude of this star and also its altitude and azimuth. And from here we can calculate the degree of ascension of the ecliptic. From the observation of a star whose place is unknown, if we know the degree of ascension by marking its azimuth and altitude then we will know its place in regards to latitudes and longitudes. The most important thing that is calculated by armillary sphere is the determination of the place of the unknown star with the help of any other star the place of which is known. However, this instrument is excellent and its construction is very easy. With this instrument, we can measure the geographical latitude in two ways: The first is from the meridian heights of the sun (in winter and in summer tropics) and the second is the meridian altitudes of the stars, which never set. It is impossible to determine such calculations with armillary sphere. We do not doubt that these are all done with the wish of the Great God.
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The description of the kinds drawn from (dht al-shu'batayn) triquetrum, (dht al-ustuvanatayn) instrument with double column constructed for the protected Meragha Observatory are from these.
c
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We set up two
columns whose surface is in the shape of a square and whose height is six dhir with the observatory dhirc for this instrument. We construct them strong enough so that they will not tremble. We fix a cap over each of these which are parallel to each other and parallel to the horizon. (Figure XLIX, B). We open two holes over these whose bottoms are round and whose depths and the largeness are equal to each other, and we try to keep them at the same level. We control the equality of their level by placing a ruler between the holes and measuring them by placing a bricklayer's plummet on them.
We make a rod having two round ends which will enter into the holes of the caps and its middle part between the two holes in the shape of a square, and we open a hole right in the middle (Figure L). We construct a ruler from teak tree whose faces are in the shape of a rectangle and the length 5
dhir and
the width of the surfaces which encircles it and which are parallel to each other is half a dhir'. We preferred this wood because it is strong and inflexible. We place one end of this ruler into the hole of the handle in such a way that they from a right angle and the face of the one will be at the same plane with the face of the other one.
34
This part does not correspond with the German translation. Because the word fnn has been read as ftm the word. P. 85.
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We draw a straight line over the face of the rod all along its length and which divides its width into two. We also divide the width of the ruler into two parts. We extend this straight line up to the straight line in the rod. Thus, we can be able to divide it into two equal parts with this extension, which is perpendicular to it. Starting from this interception point, we mark five dhir from the straight line, which divides it into two parts. This straight line is the radius of the circle drawn by the ruler about the axis of the rod from that is why we call it the radius. We set a base at the place where the perpendicular from the centre of the axis touches the earth (Figure LI). We fix two beds over it, an iron axis whose middle is in the shape of a square with round ends, turns between these beds. We make the distance from the middle of the axis to the middle of the cut off section that is to say of the axis of the rod equal to the radius.
We construct another ruler whose surfaces are parallel to each other and the above mentioned wood and cut off section is a square. We let at one of its ends a semicircular projection (Figure LII) on which we open a hole (v) in the shape of a rectangle and as large as the thickness of the iron axis. Half of this hole will be towards the ruler and the other half will be at the fix projection. We pass the iron axis through this hole, only its two ends rest outside the ruler. Thus, the straight line, which passes all along, the middle of the thickness of the axis, is found on its upper turned surface when the ruler is placed. The length of this ruler from the socket of the axis is a little more than and a half radius. This is called the chord ruler.
1 1 + 4 2
of the radius. That way its length will be almost one
We place the iron axis into the beds of the base so that the surface at the west side of the chord ruler and the surface at the east side of the ruler hanged to the rod will be on the same plane which represents the plane of the ecliptic and will touch each other. We take from the surface of the west and upper part of the ruler an amount equal to the radius starting from the middle of the iron axis, and divide it into 60 equal
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parts. We divide also into 25 equal parts the remaining section of the ruler. Thus the total of the divisions will be 85. We divide each division into 60 minutes. We mark these divisions, who has 5100 minutes as the total sum, on the western edge of the upper surface of the ruler and we separate these divisions from the others by a straight line, which is parallel to the edge of the ruler. We draw another straight line, which is close and parallel to the first one, and we write the complete integral divisions without fraction between these two. We write the values of the arcs suspending the chords, opposite the divisions of the chords with the help of the chord table so that it will not be necessary during the utilization of the instrument to apply to the chord table and also with the purpose to drive the values of the arcs in the chord division. And we assign to this division the area between the first and the second straight lines. These divisions start from the point near the middle of the iron axis. The ends as 85 divisions are at the other end of the ruler.
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We fix two pinnules, which are parallel and equal to each other on the northern surface of the ruler, which is hooked up. We bring their middle points over a straight line, which divides the ruler into two, and leave distance of one dhir with the dhir of hand between them. When the sun comes to the meridian we pull the end of the ruler, which is hooked up, towards north until one of the pinnules shadows the other and the rays of the sun penetrates from the upper hole to the lower hole. We raise the end of the chord ruler, which stands towards us until its surface touches the end of the radius marked over the ruler which is hooked up. We find the distance of the zenith of the sun from the chord ruler, and from that, we find its altitude. We construct a wall adjoined to the north side of the column at the east, whose heights equal to the height of the column and the lengths about five dhir. We place a quadrant at its east surface, which is just like the previous quadrant, only a little smaller, in order to measure the distance of the zenith. We construct a handle at the upper north surface, which will project towards west and place two pulleys at its end. During the utilization of the instrument, we connect the circle and the pulley with a string, which passes from the pulley to the circle, and from the circle to the pulley and which are fixed to the ends of the chord ruler and the ruler, which is hooked up. With the help of the Great God.
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There is an instrument called (dht al-juyb wal-samt), the instrument having sines and azimuth we constructed for him its model, in the divinely protected Observatory. We can measure the altitudes from every direction with this instrument. That is why we need to construct a copper circle. It is better to construct the circle as big as possible. We call this the azimuth horizon. Its construction and the correction is done just like the one we mentioned above. We construct a wall in a circular shape, about 1,5 dhir' height for this instrument and fix this over it. We correct its parallelism to the horizon just like the previous one. We mark over it the meridian and the east-west direction, and draw concentric circles. We write between them by twos the numbers, the degrees, and their fractions starting from east-west points and ending as 90 degrees at north-south points.
35 36
This section is right in meaning but it is not a literal translation. P. 85. This part does not correspond with the German translation. P. 86.
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We construct a diameter from a solid wood in the shape of a rectangle whose width and thickness is 1/3 th of a dhir'. Let its two ends move on the inside edge of the azimuth horizon. We fix a traverse (t) right in the middle, perpendicular to the wooden diameter (Figure LIII, c) whose, length is about two dhir' or equal to the diameter, and the thickness 1/3 of a dhir'. We open a hole in the middle of each of these two and connect them solidly so that the traverse and the diameter make a right angle.
We open a canal in the middle of the diameter, all along its length, in the shape of a rectangle, parallel to the edges of the ruler and 1/6 th of a dhir wide and deep (Figure LIV).
We file the base and make it larger than the upper section (Figure LV).
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We set up two rulers in the middle of the diameter, at the two sides of the canal opened at the place, which are equal to the radius and perpendicular to the diameter and the traverse (Figure LVI, p). The cut off section of each of these must be in the shape of a square, their surfaces must be parallel to each other, they must be set up right opposite to each other, and their width must be 1/6th of a dhir. We construct a canal in the middle of each of these and all along its length whose width and depth is equal to a small finger. We set up both of these in the middle of the diameter, at the edges of the canal opened at the place. Let the canals in the rulers face each other at the base, and the straight line between the two straight lines dividing the widths of the canals passes from the centre of the circle. We connect the distance between the upper sections with an iron axis, which holds them together.
We construct three supports for each of these in order to protect them and prevent any defect in their perpendicular position. One of these supports comes from the end of the traverse and meets its 1/3 th starting from the lower section of the ruler; the other two supports come out from the middle of the diameter and meet its 1/3 th starting from the lower section of the ruler, likewise the same operation is done for the other ruler. We construct an iron axis at the centre of the azimuth horizon, below the traverse; it is connected firmly and has a length of l/5th of a dhir (Figure LVII, M). We construct a part (F) from wood in the shape of a square below the traverse whose edge is equal to not less than two dhir. We open a hole in the middle so that the axis can turn there. We file its surface so that the traverse can turn over it easily.
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We construct a base to place the instrument. The hole mentioned above must continue in the middle of the base also (Figure LVIII). At the bottom of the base, there is a stone (Y) whose surface in touch with bottom of the hole is in the shape of a rectangle. Inside this hole there must be a bar which is perforated (in circular shape) in the middle. We place firmly this iron bar into the hole of the stone. This hole is constructed in such a way that the bottom end of the axis can turn, and the instrument will not be shaken when we turn the diameter and the two rulers.
We construct two other rulers in the shape of squares, l/6 th of a dhir in width and the length of each is equal to the radius. Let there be additions at both ends of each of these in the shape of a circle and let its height from the surface of the ruler be equal to 2/3 th of the width of the ruler. These additions must be at both ends of its surfaces. To connect the rulers to each other, we connect the semicircles at the ends of the
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rulers with an iron axis (Figure LIX). The middle of this iron axis is found in the intersection point of the surfaces. Thus, we have the shape of a pair of compasses. When they come together the surface of the one coincides with the surface of the other. And when the two ends are pulled away from each other they are opened. We call these the measuring rulers. The two ends of this axis must project out as much as the depths of the hollows opened in the rulers. The thickness of their cut off sections must be equal to the width of the hollows so that it will move up and down without shaking.
37
We construct two parts from wood or copper in the shape of the hollow in the diameter, whose cut off sections are in the shape of rectangles and the length of each is a span (Figure LX).
Let there be additions at the ends of these in the shape of semicircles (F). The lower section must be wider than the upper section so that it can fill the hollow. Thus, they can move there without shaking. We open a hole at the centre of the semicircles, which are at the ends of these parts. In the same way, we open holes in the semicircles, which are at the ends of the rulers. We connect each part to the ends of the rulers with an iron axis. At both ends of these sections, there must be a sharp and projected indicator, which marks the divisions at both sides of the diameter and moves over the both sides of the canal in the diameter (Figure LXIII).
37
In the German translation at this section, there are some missing parts. P. 90.
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All the surfaces of the measuring rulers must be equal, in such a way that the distance between the centres of the two semicircles of the one must be equal to the distance between the centres (m) of the other (Figure LXII, d).
When the construction is completed, we take out a part equal to the distance between the two straight lines (ae), parallel to each other and perpendicular to the rulers passing through the centres of the semicircles as long as the measuring rulers, starting from the middle of the diameter that is to say starting from the straight line which crosses the canal in the ruler. We divide this length into 60 divisions and divide each division into smaller parts. We separate with straight lines the distance between the divisions and the five degrees all along the diameter and parallel to the edges of the canal in the middle of the diameter (Figure LXI). The division starts from the middle of the diameter and terminates at both ends.
In regards to the axis, which connects the ends of the measuring rulers to the ends of parts, they give us the sine of their complement of the altitude (Figure LXIV, ap). We construct two equal pinnules over the widths of the measuring rulers. We perforate them as we have always done before. It is quite clear that
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there will remain at both ends a part, which is not divided if each of the measuring rulers are equal to the radius.
During the time of the observation, the rays of the sun must pass through the holes of the pinnules and the indicators at the ends of the measuring rulers must be at equal distances. In regards to the semicircles, which project from the surfaces of the rulers, and the parts, which are connected to their ends, instead of these we can use an iron joint or a copper hinge. By getting enfolded up to their halves into the ends of these rulers they become the axis upon which the rulers are turned. Thus, their construction is more solid and easier.
38
One of the instruments whose model we constructed in the observatory is dht al-jaib wa'l-sahm. With this instrument, we can obtain the azimuth. For this instrument, we construct an azimuth horizon, a diameter, a traverse in the middle of the diameter, an iron axis upon which the instrument turns a circular base and a support to hold these. These are done exactly the way we have done before. We construct two rulers (for each of these) whose thickness and the width is l/6 th of a dhir', the surfaces in the shape of a rectangle, and whose length is equal to the radius. We construct annexes in the semicircular shape, which becomes an iron project at their ends, in other words handles that are enfolded into the surface of the rulers up to their halves and connect the two rulers with an iron axis. Their construction is exactly the same as the ones constructed in the measuring rulers. Only they do not need annexes. We place one of these rulers into the canal opened on the diameter. The situation in here is the same as in the parts mentioned before because the lower part of the ruler and the hollow is wide and the upper part is narrow. We must fill up the canal with the same dimension and its upper surface must be at the same level with the upper surface of the diameter. We call this dht al-sahm and the second the radius. We open a rectangular hole in the middle of the width of the second one. We construct an axis for that hole in the shape of a plate whose ends are in the shape of a cylinder and which is perpendicular to the surface
38
In the German translation this section is translated in summary, P. 92.
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of the diameter.
39
The two ends of the axis move inside the hollows opened on the perpendicular rulers so
that we can protect its position between the two rulers during the up and down movement of the diameter. We put a sign over the main support (the straight line which is parallel to the edges of the ruler and which divides the surface from the middle) which passes through the centre of the axis, which connects the two rulers, and over this end of the radius. The distance between the sign and the axis is equal to the radius (Figure LXV, ap). The same way we put signs on the surfaces of the columns starting from the big diameter, their heights are equal to the radius. Each of these three parts is divided into 60 equal parts and each of these also are divided into smaller parts. We divide the ruler buried into the canal of the ruler into the same equal parts. In here, the starting point is the middle of the iron axis, which connects it to the radius.
We can calculate the sine of the complement of the arc of the altitude from the section left between the surface of the column and the axis (Figure LXVI, ap); and from the rest we can calculate the versed sine of the arc of the altitude.
We place two pinnules, which will divide the width along the length into two parts, on the surface of the radius opposite the surface, which is towards the columns. We do not need to repeat ourselves here because the operation has been mentioned many times before. We calculate the sine of the arc of the altitude from the interception of the columns with the radius. There are many proves which verify each other in this instrument. In the year 650, 1 constructed another instrument for his Royal Highness Mansur, ruler of Hims in the City of Damascus; I constructed this instrument in the presence of the Wazr Najm al-Din-al Lubud and he called it (aid al-Kmil) perfect instrument. This is another kind of this same instrument, which helps us to calculate all altitudes and azimuths.
39
This part does not correspond with the German translation. P. 94.
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That is why we construct a base just like the one mentioned in the mobile-pinnule. Only its base is wider and its height is higher. Instead of its cross shape there, we construct the base as a very large circle with two diameters from wood which intercept each other in right angles (Figure LXVII). We attach the upper circle with eight solid supports.
We fix the base parallel to the horizon, and take out the meridian and the east-west line and we divide them into smaller parts as usual. We call this the azimuth horizon. We place a column over this circle (p). The bottom end of the column turns in the centre of the circle, and its section, which projects over the upper circle, is 1/3th of a dhir. We are careful to place it over the base in a vertical position. In regards to the top end, the section, which turns inside the upper circle, is in a cylindrical shape. The section above the circle is in a square shape whose side is not less than l/4th of a dhir'. We place a square shaped head whose width is 1/2 of a dhir' and the length l/3 th of a dhir' over this square shaped section. We strengthen the connection with nails (Figure LXVIII). We construct it in such a way that the upper surface of the circle exactly touches to the surface of the lower part of the head. This is done in such a way that the head turns over the surface of the circle without shaking. We construct a handle over it in case we need to turn the axis.
We construct three rulers from the best kind of wood, in a rectangular shape; each of these is 4 and 1/2
dhir long and 1/6th of a dhir wide. We fix the ends of two of these into the rectangular sockets of the above-mentioned head, and we make the distance between the two l/6th of a dhir. They must be
perpendicular to the upper surface of the head (Figure LXIX).
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In regards to the third one, we call this the ruler, which gives us the altitudes. We divide widths of the three rulers with straight lines all along their lengths. We put a sign on the straight lines, which divide the widths of the perpendicular rulers into two, starting from the head in equal distance and nearer to the upper section; we open one hole at each of these signs opposite one another. The same way we pierce the middle of the width of the third one, and place this in between the two. We connect these three with an axis, and fix two pinnules at the middle of the width of the surface of the third one parallel to the axis. We open two holes at the same hight, dividing its widths from the middle. We make the length of the third ruler in such a way that it will be in touch with the upper surface and place it between the two straight rulers. We construct a fourth ruler from the best kind of wood whose edges are in a rectangular form, whose length is 1,5 times of the length of the middle ruler, whose thickness is four fingers and width five fingers, we call it chord ruler. We construct an annex at its one end so that it will widen the width. Its length is 1, width 1/6 th of a dhir and the thickness is equal to the thickness of the ruler. We cut off a section from the end of the ruler connected to the annex; this section is 0,5 long and 1/6 th of a dhir wide, equal to the width of the perpendicular ruler. The surface of the chord ruler opposite the surface to which the annex is connected and the inner surface of the perpendicular ruler will be on the same plane if we coincide the surface of the width of the annex with the upper surface of the perpendicular ruler. The middle of the three turns (Figure LXX) over this plane.
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We put a sign on the upper part of the straight line, which divides the width of the perpendicular ruler. We mark the length equal to the distance between this sign and the axis on the third ruler starting from the middle of the axis. We make this the radius of the circle drawn by the movement of the middle ruler over the upper axis. We fix an iron axis about three fingers thick and 1/4 th of a dhir' long over the sign at the side and bottom of the perpendicular ruler. We construct three iron rings at the end of the annex placed on the end of the long ruler (Figure LXXI). Their halves are buried inside this annex and their widths are equal to the iron bar. They are placed side by side over the width of the annex with their centres on the surface of the chord ruler. We place the axis on which the long ruler turns inside the mentioned circles.
We divide with parallel lines thought the length of the surface of the chord ruler, which comes to the exterior when it is placed. Starting from the straight line, which passes from the centre of the iron axis, we divide the mentioned radius into 60 parts. The remaining from the end of the chord ruler is divided into 25, each being equal to the sections divided as 60 parts. Thus, we will have 85 parts. And each part is divided into smaller parts. We take the centre of the axis over which the chord ruler is turning and the side on which the perpendicular ruler is fixed as the starting point of the division. At the side of each division of the chords, we write down the value of the arcs suspending the chords. This arc is found from the chord tables. In short, this is just like it was in (dht al-ustuwanatayn) the instrument with two cylinders. When we want to measure with this instrument, we turn the handle which passes through the head. With it the instrument turns until the circle of altitudes on which the star to be measured is present, coincides with the surface of the middle ruler. We bring the ends of the middle ruler and the chord to the opposite direction of the star. We pull the end of the middle ruler until the star is seen from both pinnules. We raise it so that the divided surface of the ruler will pass through the middle ruler that is to say through the marked point of the diameter. From the divisions of the ruler we will be able to determine the chord of the angle between the two straight lines, which pass through the star and the zenith, and the arc subtending it. This is the complement of the altitude and when we subtract this from ninety the rest will be the arc of the latitude. If the measurement of the position of the sun is being determined, it is easier because the rays of the sun penetrate through the holes of the pinnules. In regards to stars, in order to observe them clearly we
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construct a pipe, which connects the holes and the distance between the two pinnules. And we fix a cup like section at the end of the hole for watching. In regards to the mounting of the instrument, we take the meridian line and place the north and south points marked over the base of the instrument on this straight line. We place the base so that its upper surface will be parallel to the horizon. We bury timbers on the ground, connect the base with strong nails to these timbers, and surround it with walls so that it will not be disturbed by the wind. We construct a ruler whose end turns over the azimuth horizon at the lower part of the column and in perpendicular position. We calculate the azimuth with it. It is obligatory to connect the ruler to the circle of the azimuth that is to say to the surface on which the middle ruler rotates. Only the pointed end is on the opposite side towards which the chord ruler and the radius are directed. In such a way that, the end of the ruler and the surfaces of the chord ruler and the middle ruler which touch each other are always found on the plane of the azimuth. Many problems, which cannot be solved by triquetrum in the Almagest, can be solved or investigated with the help of these instruments. For instance, with this we can calculate the position of an unknown star from a star whose latitude and the longitude is given. When we measure the altitude and the azimuth of any star with this instrument, we also determine its ascension. When we calculate the altitude, azimuth and the ascension of a star we can at the same time calculate its longitude and the latitude. If this can be calculated from dht al-rub'eyn the result will be more precise because the altitudes of the two will be taken at the same time. These things could be done only if the Great God wishes it. In regards to dht al-shu'beteyn in the Almagest, the results are more precise obtained with our instruments than the results obtained with this instrument. Consequently, Ptolemy says the following when explaining the construction of this instrument. We construct two rulers, their lengths are four dhir each and the shape of their surfaces are rectangular. We divide their widths with straight lines along their lengths. We fix one of these on the base so that it will be perpendicular to the horizon. Let its surface represents the plane of the meridian. We open a circular hole along its thickness from east to west. The same way we open a hole on the straight line, which divides the width into two parts. We join them with an iron axis. The second will move freely over this axis. We fasten a round nail on the lower end of the straight line, which divides the width of the perpendicular ruler, and attach a third ruler to this. The distance between the lower and the upper axes will be divided into 60 parts. We put a mark on the second ruler whose distance from the upper centre will be equal to the distance between the two centres of the axes. We fix two equal pinnules on the second one as usual and open two holes on them. The hole on the pinnule towards the eye will be narrow and the hole on the upper pinnule will be large enough so that the full moon will be seen through this hole. We make the observation when the moon comes to the meridian. We mark the section which is separated from the third ruler and which is in between the middles of the perpendicular ruler and the mobile ruler. We make the third ruler come to contact to the perpendicular
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ruler. The chord of the angle, which is in between the two straight lines, which divides the widths of the mobile ruler and the perpendicular ruler can be determined from the division of the third ruler opposite the mark on the perpendicular ruler. And the arc of the chord can be obtained from the tables. The rest is known by all of us. We did not quath his article word by word but the meaning he gave is exactly given in here. We have to point out here that for some one who has practical skill the instrument mentioned above is not precise and it has many errors and unreliable parts. When we come to the unreliable parts, in mentioning the connection of the third one to the perpendicular ruler he does not clarify to which face the third ruler is going to be connected. If this is placed over the surface, which touches the second ruler, the thickness of the third one will go in between the two surfaces that are in touch. Thus, the triangle whose upper angle is on the axis and whose base is formed from a thin ruler cannot be at the meridian. If it is placed on the other side of the perpendicular ruler, the thickness of the ruler will form an obstacle between the surface of the mobile ruler, which has two pinnules, and the ruler with chord divisions. Thus, it is not possible for the surfaces and the rulers, which surround the angle to be in the plane of the meridian. When the altitude is near the zenith then it will be very hard for the thin ruler to subtend the angle. In regards to its de fee tuosity: Because of the continuous motion of the mobile ruler, the weight will pull down the axis that it is connected to. The marks and the boundaries do not keep their places. In regards to the shortcomings, we can calculate only the culmination of the heavenly bodies. And it is necessary that this altitude must be more than 30 degrees. Since the division of the perpendicular ruler is 60 and since it is the chord of the arc of 60 degrees, the altitude when it is lower than 30 degrees, cannot be calculated with this instrument. If they use thread instead of the thin ruler, since the tread will become longer when pulled from its end, the calculations made with it will not be precise. A person who expects exactitude from the instrument cannot depend upon a thread. For someone who understands our critical analysis, it is clear and open that our purpose is to find the truth and not oppose someone whom we envy.
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THE ARTICLE ON THE QUALITY OF THE OBSERVATIONS" OF AL-'URD
Sevim Tekeli Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Amar Nazir January 2007 661 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
The Article on the Quality of the Observations of Al-Urdi January 2007
THE ARTICLE ON THE QUALITY OF THE OBSERVATIONS" OF AL-'URD* BY SEVIM TEKELI**

Introduction
This article includes the critical edition and the translation of the Risala f kayfiya al-arsd wa ma yuhtaja il
llmihi wa amalihi min turuq al-muwaddiya ild marifa'auddt al-kawakib (The treatise on the quality of the observations and the teoretical and practical knowledge needed to make them, and the methods leading to understanding of the regularities of the stars) of Al-Urd. It gives us a whole description of the instruments
of the Maragha Observatory that was constructed by Nasir al-Din al-Ts in 1261 under the auspices of Hulagu. Only at the time of Tycho Brahe (in 16th century) did the instruments in Europe become as perfect and precise as the instruments constructed in Maragha Observatory. Al-'Urd is a Syrian architect. He constructed the water installations of Damascus. He has also constructed astronomical instruments for Al-Mansur, the ruler of Hims. After 1259, he worked in cooperation with Nasir al-Din al-Ts. We could clearly see from the descriptions given in this article that the constructions of the instruments and their erections were done with great care in order to have accurate results. An incomplete French translation of this article was made by Amabl Jourdain (in 1909) in Mmoire sur
Lobservatoire de Meragah et sur quelques instruments emploiys poury observer. In 1928, it is translated into German by Hugo Seemann as Die Instrumente der Sternwarte zu Maragha nach den Mitteilungen von Al- Urd. This German translation is quite complete. Though it is one of the fundamental books in Islamic
Astronomy, its text has not been published up to now. The text herein is the comparison of the three manuscripts. Two of these three copies are in Istanbul and the other one is in Paris.
1
One of the two manuscripts in Istanbul is enlisted in the St. Sophia Library and its number is 2973. According to the information given by the Directory of the Library the description of the manuscript is as follows: Dimension of the page: 186 x 120 mm. Written area: 130 x 75 mm. Quality of the paper: yellowish polished paper. It is without marginal notes and quite correct. It is rarely punctuated and is one of the oldest manuscripts. It does not include the name of the person who has copied this manuscript but it includes the date of its completion: tenth month of the lunar year 864 (H.). The other manuscript is registered in Nuruosmaniye Library under the number of 2971. According to the information given by the Directory, the description of the manuscript is as follows:
1
I learned from Professor Sayili that another copy is found in Tehran.
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Dimension of the page: 257 x 176 mm. Written area: 190 x 100 mm. Quality of the paper: Abadi. Binding: brown leather with head bound. This is a review which includes different manuals. It is clearly written, but mostly not punctuated. The third manuscript is in Bibliotheque National of Paris registered under 2544,10. It is clearly written and punctuated. The transcriber has compared two manuscripts and pointed out their differences in the margin. That is why in the text this manuscript is showed P. and pa as two copies. Pa stands for the second which was compared to the first one. At the end, it is written that the manuscript has been copied by Hafiz Hasan b. al-Hafiz Mustafa in the year 867 (H.) the 12th of the sixth month of the lunar year. In the Paris and St. Sophia manuscripts, the name of the copier is not included. But in the Nuruosmaniye manuscript, it is written in the beginning that it has been transcribed by Al-Urd of Damascus. Though the date of the transcription has not been indicated in the manuscripts we can easily deduce from the information given in the text that it has been written after the construction of the Maragha Observatory and before the death of Nasir al-Din Ts. In the text, the date of the construction of the instruments is given as 1261/2. Since Nasir al-Din Ts died in 1274, we can estimate easily that the manuscript is transcribed between 1262 and 1274. However, since Al-'Urd indicates that some of the models of the instruments have already been constructed but without saying whether they have been constructed in the Observatory or not, we can make our estimations further then 1274. According to the grammar rules, it is necessary to accord the verbs but in addition, accords were made in the kind and number of verbs, when this is not conational in order to provide precision and these changes are indicated with notes. The errors thus made in the dictation are different in the manuscripts but still these changes do not require any corrections. The translation of the manuscript was made word for word. It has been compared to the German translation and the differences were noted. But towards the end of the German translations more emphasis was given to the meaning without a literal translation. That is why the differences were not noted separately.
RISALA FI KAFIYA AL- ARSAD
In the name of Allah, the merciful. Thank God. Praise to prophet Muhammad and his close relations. The grace comes from God.
2
This article has been written by Mu'ayyad al-Din al-'Urd of Damascus who is the leader of the scientists, head of the engineers, connoisseur of mathematics and the supporter of the Nation. He says: "I wrote this article in order to explain the techniques of the observations and to give information about the construction
2 Hugo J. Seeman, Die Instrumente der Slernwarte zu Margha nach den mitteilungen von Al-'Urdi, Sitzungsberichte der Physi. medi. Sozietat, Erlangen 1928. P. 23. This pait is missing.
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and the use of the observational instruments and the other things necessary in the field of theory and practice to lead us to the knowledge of the movements of the stars, their positions, their distance from the earth and their efficiency when the earth's radius is taken as a unit." Astronomy that is a branch of mathematical sciences that develops the theoretical sciences and the branch, which is closer to theology than the others, is glorified in two ways: of its subject and the soundness of its arguments. Its subject is the heaven that is one of the unique and wonderful creations of the God, free from all defects. When we come to the arguments, they depend upon mathematics and geometry. That is why we endeavoured all our efforts on this subject. The arguments depend upon our observations and the observations require instruments so we started with the description of the instruments. The ancient and the modern astronomers have constructed many of them. Some of them have defects and the others are difficult to realize. This difficulty does not come from the complexity of its construction; it is the result of the defect in the planning and the fault in the design. We will not mention these in here. We will mention the most accurate of the old instruments and remove every kind of doubt and obstruction befallen on them and we will add the new ones we constructed. These instruments are perfect and precise. We need to know the meridian of the observatory during the erections of these instruments. Different methods were put forward to determine this. I saw that among these, the best method is the Indian Circle used by our elders. We have discussed the precision of this method in our Risla-i camal al-kura al-kmila. This instrument is especially used when the sun is in one of the tropics. With no doubt the Indian Circle gives precise results when the sun is found in one of the tropics, rather then when it is found in any other point. Its construction: we take a wooden or a stone plate, level the upper face, and place it parallel to the horizon. This is done by fadin which is a scale of a bricklayer. If this instrument will be used in winter the length of the scale should be 1/4 of the diameter of the largest circle drawn on the plate and if it is going to be used in the summer then the length should be 1/3th . We make a scale with a lathe. This should be in cylindrical form with a pointed top and a round base . If the scale is of copper then its weight is enough but if it is of wood then we make a hole at the centre of the base which is larger at the bottom then at the mouth and fill this hole (not completely) with lead so that when the scale is placed this weight will help to fix the scale (Figure I).
4 3
Since the height of the shadow will change according to its presence in the winter or the summer tropics so the height of the scale will get longer or shorter accordingly 4 The word -MELESE is read like SULUS That is why itis translated less than 1/3. P. 26.
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Then we draw a small circle [whose diameter is equal to the diameter of the base of the scale] to the centre of the plate; thus, when the scale is placed on the base, their centres coincide and its axis falls perpendicular to the face of the plate. The plate is put parallel to the horizon, when it is fixed to its place with lime or another material, we draw concentric circles so that when the shadow comes and we are unaware, the other one will replace it. When the shadow is not yet inside the circle but on the circumference, the middle of the width of the tip of the shadow is marked on the circumference. The same operation is done with the other circles as well. When the sun passes to the other side of the meridian-this happens when the shadow is the shortest, afterwards it becomes longer-then we follow with our eyes the movement of the shadow when it is at the point of leaving one of the circumferences of the circles marked at the entrance of the shadow. We mark the middle of the width of the shadow before it leaves the circumference. To verify this we repeat the same operation on the other circles. The chord of the arc is divided. After we lift the scale, we connect the centre of the plate with this point by a straight line and extend it at both sides. This straight line is the meridian established in the most precise way. When we drop a perpendicular from the centre to this plane, this is called the east west line (Figure II).
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Now, we will mention the instruments we constructed in the Observatory, which is devinely, guarded near the Maragha at the west side hill. These constructions were done in the few years, before 660 (H.) and after 660. (H.) All these were possible with the suggestion of our great leader, the eminent scientist, the perfect investigator, the symbol of the scholars, head of the judges, the most virtuous of not only the savants of Islam but of the entire ancient and the present thinkers. He, who is capable of comprehending all the sciences and the nice behaviour, sound judgement, tenderness, good nature, virtue, of which only one is found in a scientist, is a rare creature of the God who is free from all evil. He gathered all the scientists and strengthened their devotions towards him by donations. He was much more closer to them than a father to his son. We were safe under his protection and happy to see him. As it is said in the poem, To test him, we vexed him, But what we found was tenderness in both states. This rare person, God give him long life, is Nasir al-Din Muhammad ibn al-Ts, supporter of the Nation. I heard many things about him before I saw him and I thought these sayings were exaggerated. But when I met him the rumours about him lost their significance. The days, which give us opportunity to work under his leadership, are the most wonderful days. We were away from our children, from our relatives and from our country but we were with him (Al-Ts). One who finds him has lost nothing but the one who has lost him loses everything. God should not separate us from him and should let us get as much benefit from his presence. We overtook to construct the instrument called "libne" by Ptolemy. We call it (rub) quadrant. To construct this we take a wall with a proper width, which is made of brick and lime, parallel to the meridian and which extends from north to south. The height and the length is 6 the dhir used in astronomy, and its thickness is one dhir . We put wooden-pillows which form an arc up to a span from the surface and which is constructed of wood on the northern surface of the wall. We fix these pillows in equal intervals starting from the southern corner of the wall which is nearer to the base, up to the northern corner of the wall making a quarter of a circle. Besides, we will have other pillows over which the ruler will be fixed to carry the quadrant this will be mentioned in the previous paragraphs (Figure III a, b).
5
1 2
of Hshimi dhir , this is
It is missing in the German translation. P. 28.
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Afterwards, we make a quadrant from the teak tree , which was brought from India, and we fix the ends of this quadrant to the ends of the two rulers which intercept at the centre of the quadrant. The length of the two rulers should not be less than five dhir (every dhir is about three span of a hand). The rulers intercept each other in forming right angles. In order to prevent the bending of the rulers, their thickness is made one fourth of a dhir. We construct the quadrant from small sections and fix the ends firmly to the rulers (Figure IV).
After we make the adjustment very carefully, we open a canal whose depth is half a finger and the width three fingers of hand in the middle of the width. We moulded a quadrant from copper, whose depth, quadrant depth is more than one finger and the width three fingers so that after filing let its dimensions be equal to the dimensions of the canal in the quadrant, exactly in the dimensions we desired it to be. We place the copper quadrant in the wooden canal so that its face will project outwards in respect to the face of the wooden quadrant (Figure V). We fix these two firmly with nails. That is why we file the face of the copper one as much as possible.
It is a big tree, which grows in India. It is like ebony but it is not as dark as it is. Its fruit looks like grape and its leaf is like the leaf of
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The vertex of the right angle, formed by the two rulers fixed at the two ends of the wooden quadrant determines the centre of the quadrant. We draw four-quarter circles around the centre, on the surface of the copper quadrant. We extend two strait lines, which intercept each other at the centre up to the end of the copper quadrant. We divide into 90 the band, which is between the two-quarter circles restricted by these two strait lines. Then we divide each one of these degrees into 60 minutes and mark these on the first two outer quarter circles. We divide the bent, which is following the two quadrants into 90 degrees and with it and the ones following it into 18. We start to make divisions of 5 from the north corner of the wall starting from the bottom of the quadrant so that during the observation the height of the culmination will rest outside (to have height of the zenith) (Figure VI).
7
Then we fasten the quadrant and the rulers at the end of the wooden pillows. We place the centre so that it will come over the angle of the upper southern part of the wall. Thus, one of the rulers will be perpendicular and the other one will be parallel to the horizon. Adjust the copper quadrant to the surface of the meridian so that the straight line, which connects the centre and the south end of the quadrant, passes from the zenith. This could be established with the help of the meridian line, which is expelled outside the surface of the horizon with the help of these perpendiculars.
8
After we establish the necessary position for the instrument, in conformity with the above-mentioned conditions, we fix the instrument on to the pillows firmly with the nails.
9
We make the same thing to the
two rulers connected to their ends. We open a hole at the centre of the quadrant so that the centre of the hole and the centre of the quadrant coincide with each other and we fix an iron axis in the form of a cylinder about one finger wide. Then we construct another ruler from the teak tree whose length is longer than the radius of the quadrant and the cut off section is rectangular. The width of this rectangle is four fingers and its thickness is less than its width. We file it as much as possible. We place copper pieces at their ends, divide the width from the centre, and make a hole at its one end about the size of the diameter of the axis that we have mentioned above. From the other end, we cut off three fingers from the length up to the straight line which connects the centre with the middle of the ruler, to clarify the value of the culmination during its movement over these sections (Figure VII).
Pine-tree. It has white stripes when it is fresh. 7 This part is different from the German translation. P. 30. 8 It is missing in the German translation. P. 30. 9 It is missing in the German translation. P. 35.
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The ruler made according to these conditions, the straight line (SM) (Figure VIII) which passes from the centre of the quadrant and the divisions (since the direction of the sun is determined only with the straight line (K L) which connects the holes free from these two points) passes from the centre of the sun. This does not form on the curved ruler only provided when the pinnules (a, a') placed on the surface of the ruler in a raised form should turn towards the centre (o), this should be in such a way that the holes of the pinnules of the ruler (b, b') (with a geometrical precision) should be in the of surface (K L M 0) of the ruler which passes from the centre of the quadrant that is to say the surface (M F) which is determined by the extended surface which is established by the cut end. The interception of the two parallel lines is impossible (in other words they meet in the infinite), that is why one of the straight lines mentioned on the (ruler) with the desired conditions passes as a straight line (S M) through the centre of the quadrant and the cut end which moves over the divisions which evaluates the height of the ruler, and the other one passes through the holes of the pinnules. In this condition, the strait line (K L) which passes through the holes of the pinnules should also pass through the centre (O K) of the axis over which the ruler called alidade turns.
In the case of the construction the ruler of the astrolabe by the astrolabe manufacturers, this production is not done with precision. They do not give much care because in the small instruments small differences are not perceived. But when the instrument gets larger and the division is very small then the differences show themselves clearly and can be perceived easily. It is necessary to hang a hinge and a hoop at the end of the ruler and a pulley, which moves on the upper part of the wall. There, we have a string strong enough to carry the weight of the ruler, which passes through the pulley and fixed on to the hoop which is at the end of the ruler. The height of the quadrant from its base is about some fractions of a dhirc. One of the instruments we constructed for the guarded Observatory is the armillary sphere (dht al-halk) with five circles which does not need the ninth circle of Theon of Alexandria and which is not same as the instrument described by Ptolemy as having six circles. The description of its construction:
10
We make two circles in equal size whose surfaces are parallel to each
other and their cut off section in a rectangular form. The radius of each of these circles are three dhir' according to the observation dhir and their width and thickness are four fingers. One of these represents
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the ecliptic circle and the other one represents the polar circle (which passes through four poles).
11
After
the termination of the filing of the circle and its division, we make two cavities in the shape of a rectangle at the convex side of the polar circle who face each other and whose depth is equal to the thickness of the circles (Figure IX, K. a). The same way we make two cavities (E, b) in the form of a rectangle at the concave side of the ecliptic circle which face one another. Their depth is one-half of its thickness and their width is equal to the width of the polar circle.
In order to place the ecliptic circle over the polar circle we cut off a section, which will end at the convex side and it, will be a span long with a depth of half of the depth of the cavity, at one of the side of one of the cavities of the polar circle
12
(Figure X).
Then they are both placed inside the ecliptic circle in such a way that they form a right angle with each other and their convex sides as well as the concave sides will be on the same spherical surfaces. After a careful filing of the straight and circular surfaces, they are connected to each other. In order to smooth the convex surface, we construct a copper piece having exactly the same dimensions of the segment cut off from the polar circle, we strengthen this by attaching it to the section we want to protect. If the artisan is skilful, he makes the carved section in such a way that it will not need any attaching.
10 11 12
It is missing in the German translation. P. 35. It is missing in the German translation. P. 35. A different form is given in the German translation. P. 36.
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Then we construct a third circle larger than the others do, which will touch the convex surfaces of the two circles that we have previously constructed. The width of this circle should be equal to the width of the other two circles and its thickness should be one finger smaller than its width. We file it and smooth the roundness of the convex and the concave surfaces. It is necessary and convenient to thicken the width of this circle at each end of one of its diameters, on two opposite surfaces. Their length must
13
be one span and their thickness must be two fingers. We will mention their advantages
after we have discussed the filing of the other circles. (Figure XI). This is called the large latitude circle; it rotates on and outside the poles of the ecliptic.
We construct a fourth circle called meridian circle. We place it in such a way that it represents the plane of the meridian. The concave surface of this circle must touch the convex surface of the other circle. Let us make its thickness five fingers. We make one supplusage over the straight surface of the circle, opposite the axis - this is the diameter on which the circles turn -. The length must be three fingers and the height from the straight surface must be one finger. We must have the same supplusages on the opposite side as well. They are useful to strengthen the position of the two holes opened for the poles. On these, we fix two metal axes, which represent the poles of the equator at the armillary sphere and at the places where the circles turn, when our instrument is completed. For this large circle, we make a base whose thickness is equal to the thickness of the circle, the width and the length is half a dhir (Figure XII). The function of this base, as is mentioned below, is to fix strongly this section of the instrument on top of the column. concave sections.
14
We smooth by filing the surfaces, convex and the
In the manuscript, though the word is used for zl in German translation it is translated as thickness. P. 36. In the German translation, the part translated as: "As will be explained below, the middle of the base is placed over a column" is the result of reading the word nasb as nisf. But this reading cannot be accepted. P. 37.
14
13
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We construct a fifth circle smaller than the first two circles; whose thickness is only two fingers and the width is equal to the width of the first two circles. The convex section of this fifth circle perfectly touches the concave section of the first two circles. Inside this circle, we make a diameter, which is constructed as a single piece with the circle, whose width, and the thickness is equal to the width and the thickness of the circle.
15
We give a circular form to the centre of the diameter, so that the hole we are going to open will
not weaken it. This circle is called small latitude circle, which is the smallest of all the circles, because it turns about the poles of the ecliptic. The best thing to do is to start the construction from this circle, because the centre of the diameter of this circle is at the same time the centre of all circles. When we make the necessary corrections of the small latitude circle, the correction of the concave face of the ecliptic or polar circles becomes easier. When we adjust their convex sections, the correction of the concave face of the larger latitude circle becomes easier; when we adjust the convex section the correction of the concave section of the largest circle (meridian) becomes easier. We place the circles one within the other and in perfect adaptation. These are the small and the large latitude circles, one of the two equal circles and the meridian. We turn them thus one within the other, and change the equal circles. In this way, if we adjust concave and the convex sections with the straight surfaces, then the same way we can adjust the concave section of the circle, which is exactly touching everywhere the convex surface.
16
When we are through with the correction and the construction then we can start the division. Only three needs to be divided from these, ecliptic, the small latitude circle and the largest circle to say the meridian. When we come to the division of the ecliptic circle; First of all as mentioned above, we draw its two diameters. We divide into equal ninety degrees each quadrant divided by these diameters, and mark these divided parts over the two sides of the straight surfaces of these quadrants.. We divide into 90 both sides of the convex surface of each quadrant. We write the names of the twelve signs over the ecliptic circle between divided rows of the concave and the convex surfaces. There is no damage in repeating the names of the signs, whereas the names can be useful during the observation (Figure XIII).
15 16
In the German translation it is translated as a part is added, both translations are acceptable. P. 38. It does not correspond with the German translation. P. 39.
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We start to mark down the signs, by writing the head of the Cancer into the middle of one of these holes. And we write the head of the Capricorn into the middle of the hole, opposite this one. In a habitual way, we put in order the rest of the signs. We make divisions of thirty degrees and five degrees by the side of each sign (Figure XIV).
We must not forget the following when we are connecting the ecliptic circle with the polar circle: the middle of the hole into which we write the head of the Cancer must be near the one assigned to the north pole of the equator. The names of the signs will follow one another from the east and it will be written from right to left. When we come to the division of the small latitude circle, we draw the diameter, which divides the width of the copper diameter into two (Figure XV). Then we take out the diameter which makes right angle at the centre with the first one (b). We divide into 90 degrees
17
the space between the two concentric circles,
which are drawn close to each other on one of the straight surfaces. Then we draw a third circle whose distance is three times from the inner circle of the first two circles. We divide each quarter of this circle into 18 and mark this division up to 90, five by five. So that they will terminate with 90 degrees at both sides of the strait line, which divides the width of the copper diameter and starts at both ends of the second diameter.
17
In the German translation though the transcription has not been followed word by word, they have rested loyal to the meaning. P. 39.
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When we come to the division of the meridian circle: we draw the second diameter which forms a right angle with the first (Figure XVI) and divides the base into two and then we draw three concentric circles on the centre over the straight surface. In order to mark the degrees between the two circles (pc) at the concave side, these must be drawn close together. The third largest circle must be placed from the middle circle in an interval equals to three times the space between the two circles (s). We divide quarter of the external circle into 90 degrees and the internal circle into 18 sections. We write the degrees of fives so that it will end at both end of the first diameter at the degrees of nineties. We divide every degree of the external division into smaller sections as possible.
When we come to the axes and their positions this is done, as I will describe it and not at random. This way we will compose the instrument soundly and without any defect. We must be sure not to have any inaccurate results because of the axis over which the circles turn, during the movement of the ensemble.
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We shape one of the two ends which are connected into the meridian circle and which is towards the pole of the universe, in the form of a plate. The width of this section is three fingers,
19
and the thickness is
about one finger. (Figure XVI, a). The section which enters the holes of the large latitude circle and whose thickness is equal to the thickness of this circle is in a form of a plate (b). To reinforce it, we shape it in such a way that its cut off section becomes circular and its middle becomes thicker. And the rest will be in a shape like cylinder (c), and its length will be equal to the thickness of the polar circle and its thickness will be equal to the size of the small finger. The polar circle and the other circles inside it turn around this section. Its middle (of the geometric axis) divides the plate into two equal parts.
20
The axis opposite this one is in a form of A. cylinder whose thickness is one finger
21
and the length twelve
fingers. We cover the external part of this axis with a strong metal whose interior is open from one end to the other. This is placed in the middle of the axis, between the polar circle and the meridian circle so that it can carry the weight of the circle (Figure XVIII). In this way the circle does not fall down. The height of this metal part must be equal to the thickness of the large latitude circle. This is a support between the meridian circle and the polar circle.
When we come to the axes of the two latitude circles: these are at the same time the poles of the ecliptic. The cut off section of the middle part of the upper axis is in square form and the length of this section is equal to the thickness of the polar circle. The remaining upper and lower sections are in cylindrical form
The German translation does not correspond to the manuscript. P. 39. In German translation, it is 1/3 finger. It is possible to read the word as 1/3th but the word finger which comes after it is in plural so it is not really possible to read it 1/3. Anyway, this is too thin for an axis that carries so many circles. P. 41. 20 We cannot find the last sentence in the translation. P. 42. 21 In the translation, it is written as 12 fingers. P. 42.
19
18
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and, as thick as the latitude circle. (Figure XIX). The large latitude circle turns around the upper and the small latitude circle turns around the lower part.
The lower one is in a shape of a cylinder. The length of the two axes is eight fingers circle.
22
and their thickness
is one finger. This length is equal to the sum of the thickness of the two latitude circles with the polar
In the case of the holes, we opened in the circles for these axes: the upper one of the meridian circle is in the middle of the convex section of the circle, in a rectangular form, and its length is equal to the length of the pole in a plate form mentioned above. The distance of the middle of this hole (Figure XX), [the centre of the base, (b),] to the zenith, the diametrically opposite, must be equal to the complement of the latitude established by the observation. The complement of the latitude for Maragha is 52; 40. That is why we constructed this instrument first. Because it is possible to find the distance between poles of the equator and the ecliptic, also the latitude of the place. The end of the plate can be pasted in its place by heating the circle.
23
Since the addition of the thickness of the three circles is 9 fingers, this must be nine also. In the German translation, it is 9 but no explanation is given below. P. 42. 23 We cannot find this in the German translation. P. 43.
22
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The hole facing this is round as the shape of the axis. We make two holes on the polar circle, at the sections facing each other. Their centres are in the middle of the width of the convex section, and the distance of each from the middle of the ecliptic circle is equal to one forth of the polar circle. The hole at the north (Figure XXI, a) is in the shape of a square whose side is equal to the cut off section of the middle part of the axis. The hole facing this is as wide as the axis (b). As regards to the holes we made on this circle for the poles of the equator around which the whole instrument turns, the distance of the north of these (c) to the distance of the northern pole of the ecliptic (a) is equal to the greatest obliquity. At the end of the observations, we conducted in Maragha and in other observatories; we found its value as 23; 30.
In the middle of the convex section of the polar circle, we put two marks whose distance to the eclectic poles is 23; 30 on the sections facing each other .The construction becomes easier by the help of the parts of the convex section of the ecliptic circle, which is equal to our circle. We name the one between the ecliptic pole and the head of the Cancer the North Pole. The South Pole faces the North Pole. We open two holes as large as the width of the ends of the axis mentioned above, and take these points as centres. We make two holes (circular) on the large latitude circle at the ends of the axis which represent the poles of the ecliptic and which project to the middle of the width from each side of the polar circle. In regards to the small latitude circle, we open two circular holes on the convex section from both ends of the "second" diameter which is perpendicular to the copper diameter. The end of the ecliptic axis which forms a knob inside the polar circle is placed at the end of these. After we finish the correction and the investigation of all these and complete the five circles, we construct a ruler whose length is as long as the small latitude circle and the width is equal to the width of the copper diameter (Figure XXII). We pierce the centre of this circle and shape as a circle the middle of its length. We pierce the centre of the circle at the middle of the copper diameter which is at the same time the centre of all the circles, and fix the ruler with a pivot to the centre of the diameter as is done always. Sometimes we cut off parts limited by the straight line (b b') which passes from the centre, and the line dividing the width
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(a a') of the ruler from opposite directions. The ends of the ruler become in opposite directions. Then over it we make two pinnules which have covers equal to each other and they have the shape of a square. We pierce the middle of their widths and fix covers over them. The distance between the two holes is a span.
We place a stone column (c) over the foundation constructed for this instrument. We draw the meridian line on the upper section, and construct a canal at this place from north to south in a rectangular form. To this canal, we fix the base of the meridian circle, the largest of all. We make it parallel to the meridian plane by adjusting it with the help of the plumb. We arrange it in such a way that the straight line which connects the zenith with the centre of the base over the circle, forms a right angle (Figure XXVIII, ZT MM). We make these adjustments by leaning the instrument towards different directions accordingly, and by using plumb line. After the instrument takes the desired form, we pore lead to fill up the empty parts on both sides of the base and to this canal as well. Then we place the rest of the circles inside the meridian circle and the axes prepared for them. We fix the other poles to their places, attach the metal part in its place so that it will carry the weight of the polar circle, and place the two latitude circles over the ecliptic poles. Thus, the parts of the instrument are put together and the instrument is placed firmly on its base.
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The additions that should be made to perfect (even more then is done up to know) the instrument will be mentioned herein. I will draw the pictures of the circles and the axes and explain their advantages. In regards to the additions over the meridian circle and on the sides of the holes made for the opposite two axes, these are added to reinforce the holes for the axis. The inverse corresponding additions of the large latitude circle are for the two holes, which are opened over the large latitude circle so that the axis of the equator will be able to enter. These (the two axes of the equator) cross from the meridian circles to the polar circles, and that is why they prevent the fitting of the large latitude circle to the polar circle and obstruct it from making half a tour. As a result of this, the coinciding of the large latitude circle over the plane of the ecliptic circle is not completed and consequently we made additions and holes at these places.
24
(Figure XXIII).
The additions on the face of the circles, at the sides of the poles are made only to protect these from breaking. In regards to ruler, this does not necessitate the sixth circle placed inside the fifth circle by Ptolemy in order to obtain the latitudes of the stars. However, we obtain the latitudes of the stars with a ruler and its two pinnules. Now we are going to explain the error and the insufficiency of the sixth circle, these errors are not found in the rulers. The construction and the utilization of the ruler are easier than the sixth circle. It is necessary that the sixth circle should turn inside the fifth circle and their surfaces should stay on the same plane. That is why; we need clutches to prevent the overlapping of the surface of the sixth circle from the fifth circle. These impediments are done in two ways: one of these is to open a canal surrounding the middle of the convex surface of the sixth circle and to fix some nails, which will pass through the concave surface of the fifth circle and enter into the opened canal.
24
In the translation, this part is summarised. P. 46.
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As we come to the second of these impediments: we fix some clutches on the two straight surfaces of the sixth circle, which will project from the surface of the fifth circle, to prevent the projection of the sixth circle from the surface of the fifth circle. We cannot fix these clutches on the fifth circle. If the clutches are on the fifth circle, it will prevent the movement of the sixth circle because the tracer, which shows the division, moves on the surface of this circle.
25
If the fifth one is closely contacted with the sixth one, it will be
difficult for the observer to move the instrument because of its great size. But if they are not in perfect connection, the sixth circle will fall down because of its weight and its centre will not correspond to the centre of the fifth circle. Another disadvantage is the following: when the instrument gets larger, the distance between the two pinnules increases as well so that the observer cannot seethe star through the holes of the pinnules. To construct a straight pipe, which connects these two, will be very difficult. If the light, which penetrates from one to the other, is used, the light will get shady and dispersed and its verification will be very difficult. If the instrument is small then it is not sound and is not useful. Whereas, when we replace it with ruler, it is very easy to place the pinnules on the ruler and nothing will obstruct of our doing so. In this way, we make use of the centre of the fifth circle and its fixed position. On the other hand, we will presume that the circles meet at one centre when we have an instrument without ruler to fix this centre. That is why in the construction of the instrument, the need for this centre is immense, but to fix and to make use of this common centre is impossible. To file and to make corrections on surfaces of the circles is not an easy job. I constructed some levelling instruments to make the necessary corrections of the circles. We construct strong plates from copper whose width is three fingers after the filing and the length half a
dhir. We draw an arc on one of the sides of these with a diameter equal to the diameter of the concave
surface of the first circle, which needs correction. We file the section outside the arc. Then we draw an arc, which coincides, to the circumference of the convex surface of the circle and file the section included in the concave section of the arc. This way we have convex surface on one side of the plate and a concave surface on the other side (Figure XXIV) make a new plate for each.
26
. We correct the convex surfaces of the circle with the concave
side of the plate and vice versa. When the concave and the convex surfaces of the circles are not equal, we
It is like this in Ptolemy, Almagest, Book 5, P. 166, The Great Books of the Western World. Vol. 16. Seeman explains the form it takes when the conditions in the Book of Ptolemy is not present. P. 46. 26 One can be contented with one plate since the concave of every circle is equal to the convex of every other circle. This is missing in the German translation. P. 47.
25
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As we come to the straight surfaces of the circles: we construct two rulers. One of them is longer than the diameter of the greatest circle and the other is in three spans. To understand whether the surfaces of the circle are smooth the first ruler is put on each division. If the ruler coincides inner and the outer borders of circle this part is levelled (Figure 25).
If the middle part of the circle lifts the ruler then we see light at the outside and the inside of the circle. The higher part is cut off with a file. If the light is seen from the inside we take two outside borders, on the contrary if it is seen from the outside then we take two inner borders. In regards to the small ruler, this can be placed on every part of the circle successively, and the section where its face touches the circle is smooth. If the light is seen through the two ends of the ruler, the middle is bulged. We remove the excess parts with a file until the surfaces coincide with each other. We take a short plate and make a hole in the shape of a right angle in one of its corners (its depth will be equal to the width of the circle). With this, we correct the circle from the convex and the concave sections. And again with it we learn the position of the four corners, whether the two inner circles are equal to each other and the centres of these two circles are found at the axis of the arc. The position of the two other circles is established in the same way (Figure XXVI).
27
We take another plate and over it we open a rectangular hole. With it, we measure the widths of all the circles. We circle it ones around the inner circumference and ones around the outer circumference. In this situation, one side whirls around one of the straight surface and the other whirls around the other straight surface. (Figure XXVII).
27
This part is not literally translated in the German translation P. 48.
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With it we find out whether the width of the circle is proportional. If we want to improve the precision of the correction of the surfaces of the circles to a limit, we bring the surface of the circles over a smooth place, from every side, (as much as possible), into a horizontal position by an instrument called Fadin. We take from the mud that is used for making pots, inside it; we make a canal, which will encircle the concave side. The base of the canal will be lower than its surface and its inner border is higher than the surface of the circle. We fill the canal with water in a place or at a time so that the water will not undulate. We pour over the surface of the water the powdered ashes of the plants. We control the parts where the level of the water is lower than the surface of the circle and file the higher parts so that the water overflows from every part, the same way. The other circles are also filed accordingly. One of the old instruments to measure the obliquity of the ecliptic is a circle, which is fixed on the surface of the meridian. The largest inclination of the ecliptic to the equator is brought forward with this circle. It must be large so that it can be divided into small sections of three, two, or one minute. Ptolemy has mentioned this in his Almagest. He has placed another circle inside it, which moves towards south and north, and its surface stays inside the surfaces of the first two circles. He has constructed two pinnules over one of the surfaces of the circle across the diameter, and he has placed at their centres two indicators, which moves over the surface of the first circle. With it, we find the altitude of the sun and the stars when they are in the meridian. From the inner circle, we get only the up and down movement of the indicators and the pinnules over the divisions. The same kind of corrections made on the sixth circle of armillary sphere is mentioned in here also. In this instrument, we make a circle whose width and the thicknesses are four dhir and the diameter five dhir. We construct a diameter casted of a single piece whose width is three spans as we have done in the fifth circle of the armillary sphere. We make a base in the shape of the base of the meridian circle of the armillary sphere as is described above. The constructed diameter (Figure XXVIII) (a) extends between the centre of the base and the section opposite its diameter (b) and when the instrument is set upright then it caries the weight of the circle.
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We construct a ruler for it as we have made for the fifth circle. The circumference of the circle is divided into 360 degrees and every degree is divided into possible smaller sections. When the diameter of the smallest circle drawn on its face is five dhir then the circumference of the largest of these circles does not become less than 16 2 dhir. And half of the 1/8 of this, (this is more then three spans), corresponds to the
3
22; 30 over the circumference of the largest circle and every degree will be larger then one finger of
dhir.
28
Every one of them can be divided 60 or 30 sections, distinctly separated from each other.
We draw from the centre, the diameter that divides the base into two and cuts through the entire length of the copper diameter. When the instrument, is placed upright, this diameter passes from the zenith. After the division is completed, we regulate the commencement of the division as 90 degrees in the end of the diameter, which passes through the zenith. We construct two pinnules whose height and width are equal to each other over the ruler. The straight line, which passes through the centre of the circle, which is at the same time the centre of the ruler, divides the widths of every pinnule from the middle and we open two round holes, which are in equal distance over the upper surface of the ruler. The straight line which passes through their centres (which divides the ruler from its middle), is parallel to the straight line which passes from the common centre of the circle and the ruler. We construct a straight pipe. We connect these two holes with it in such a way that the eye's radiations will be able to pass from one of the holes, cross the pipe and will go out from the other hole. Whether this is a radiation or any other thing will not make any difference. height from the indicator of the ruler, which is towards us.
29
We know the degree of the
This part does not correspond with the German translation. P. 55. In the notes also it is being marked as wrong. Note 7. P. 57. = 12 fingers f = 11 fingers 32
29
28
2 X 32 4 1 > f P = 32 = 33 3 3 < 3 X 16
During the cUrd's time the sight was explained by rays which are projected from the eye according to some optical sand geometrical laws. But there were also people who did not believe this. cUrd in here must have pointed out this. He must have mentioned the rays,
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This instrument has other advantages. This is to find the latitude of the place of the observation in regards to the altitude of the circumpolar stars. This star is found on the surface of the instrument during the upper and the lower culmination, half of the sum of these two is equal to the height of the pole. And this is equal to the latitude of that country. In regards to its fixation on its base and the problem of establishing a certain way in its orientation, this is done exactly as it is done in the circle of the meridian circle of the armillary sphere. The fourth one is an instrument used by the ancients, and which is named by Ptolemy in his Almagest as equatorial armillary, which informs us that the sun has reached the equinoxes and which represents the plane of the equator. This is a copper circle having four perpendicular surfaces. Its construction and its control are like the construction and the control of the armillary sphere. In regards to its setting up, this is done after the determination of the latitude of the place of the observatory. The latitude of the place gives us the distance of the equator to zenith, which is to say of the surface of the circle; from here we can find out the inclination of the equator in regards to the surface of the horizon. When the circle is placed according to our purposes, the parallel surfaces of the circle will be parallel to the plane of the equator. When one of the sides shadows the other, the both concave sections will be lighted in equal degrees and at this moment, the sun will be at one of the equinoxes. When this instrument is placed over the horizons that have latitudes (besides the equator), we have to give some inclination to the circle. That is why the position of the instrument will be disturbed because of this inclination and at the same time to place, the instrument will not be easy. When we come to its mounting, as it should be done properly, I described this operation. According to me, it is necessary to use a meridian circle instead of an inside circle and fix the previous on this meridian circle. The connection of this circle should make a right angle with the meridian as we have done with the circles of ecliptic and poles. The distance of the middle of the hole (Figure XXIX) at the place of the connection of the equator circle with the zenith must be equal to the latitude of the place of the observatory. At the places where there are these holes, we make some additions to protect them. The meridian circle carries its weight and prevents the upset of its position. If we place this circle inside the meridian circle, we construct the latter lighter and larger than the concave section of the meridian circle. We thicken the convex section of the meridian circle (the carrier of the other circle) because of the two holes. We make the division of the meridian inside the concave section so that the circle of the equator can be placed over the end of the ruler. All these are very clear. In this condition, it is placed on the surface of the equator. It is easy to control its inclination, and the setting is not difficult at all. Its inclination can be measured with the help of the meridian circle.
which were projected from the objects.
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If we use one inclined circle then the error, which is seen in one of the largest circles mounted in the Porch of Alexendria as is mentioned by Ptolemy, will produce itself. This circle was lighted twice in one equinox. One of the old instruments called dioptra known with two pinnules possesses a mobile pinnule, Ptolemy in his Almagest mentioned its name only, and did not describe it. We start by constructing a base, which will carry the instrument and hold the axis which will help to turn it. Its shape: we make a base from two wooden pieces in the form of rectangles whose length is four dhir and who intercept each other at right angles (Figure XXX).
We mark the centre of their intercepting surfaces so that it will perform the duty of a mutual centre (m). We open holes (b) at each end of the wooden pieces (a). And on these holes we fix four columns leaning to the central column (Figure XXXI, s). The other end of the columns encounter a strong circle whose height is two dhir (from the start of the central column) and whose thickness is 1/4 dhir and the diameter 2/3 dhir. These four ends are fixed into the four sockets (p) over the diameters of the circle so that they will support the circle from the sides by their corresponding inclinations. Then we open a hole whose diameter is five fingers by hand on the centre of this circle.
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We construct a central column whose thickness is equal to the hole at the centre of the circle and the length is four dhir' and who is in the form of a cylinder made of wood. At its lower end, let there be an iron pole which turnes on this mentioned centre (Figure XXXII, b). Let there be a hole (F) in a rectangular form, whose bottom is narrower than the upper part and whose depth at the top of the section which is over the base is five fingers towards the length of the central column. We fix a bar at the side of the central column, (n). With this bar, we turn the central column. A metal ring is placed around the top of the central column to reinforce the hole of the central column. This is the description of the base and the central column.
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In regards to the ruler with a mobile pinnule, we construct a four-sided ruler from teak tree half a dhir' in width, and 4
2 3
dhir' in length and whose surface is in a rectangular form and parallel. At the middle of its
width, all along its length, we construct a canal (Figure XXXIII, v) whose depth is half a finger and the width 1/3 of the width of the ruler. We construct the base larger than the upper section and file it in such a way that it will be parallel to the surface of the ruler.
We construct a copper segment whose dimensions are equal to the dimensions of the canal, its width equal to the width of the canal, its thickness is the same in every part, the lower part is wider than the upper part, its depth is equal to the depth of the canal, and its length is one span. This segment fills the canal in such a way that it can move within the canal without vibrating and quite freely. We construct a ruler over one of its ends so that it makes a right angle with the surface. Its width must be one small finger larger than the width of the ruler. So that at its sides, there are the two projections which move at both sides of the canal. Two indicators, which show the divisions, are attached to these (Figure XXXIV). We open a hole in the shape of a truncated cone on the upper part of the pinnules. The larger section of the hole must be turned towards the longer part of the mobile section. And the narrower part must be turned towards the shorter part of the section. The diameter of this narrow hole is half a finger this is mentioned before as of
dhir' finger.
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We construct another pinnule at the end, of, the ruler whose width and length is equal to the width and the length of the first one and which is set up in to the canal, we open a narrow hole in it (Figure XXXV, p). The straight line (ii) which passes through the centres of the holes of these two pinnules must be parallel to the straight line (e ) which divides the width of the ruler into two. We construct the part of the narrow hole which turnes towards the end of the ruler, wider then the part, which turns towards the mobile pinnule.
30
We take two brass circles who have a handle in between them. The diameter of the larger of these is 2 fold larger than the diameter of the narrow circle, one of the two circles over the mobile pinnule, and the diameter of the smaller one is equal to the diameter of the circle over the mobile pinnule. This is called the diaphragm. We divide both edges of the ruler on which the two indicators of the mobile pinnule move, in such a way that every section will be equal to the diameter of the narrow circle of the mobile pinnule. The starting point of the division is in front of the surface of the fixed pinnule, which is turned towards the eye, and the end as 220 is at the other end of the ruler. We divide every one of these sections into 12 parts. These represent the diameter - fingers of the sun and the moon. We number them starting from the fixed pinnule and end at 220. The observer must bring his eyes nearer to the hole of the fixed pinnule when he is using this instrument during the observation because the starting point of the division have to be at the top of the optic cone.
30
There is no clear example on the direction the narrow part of the mobile pinnule will take after the ruler is placed on the canal.
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The apex of this cone is inside the lens. It is because this cone includes a part (which can be observed easily) from the surface of the lens that the object is perceived with the help of this part. When the area cut off by the optic cone from the surface of the lens is really very small, so small that, the objects cannot be perceived with the eye, because the smallness of the apex angle of the optic cone, as a result of the distance between the viewer and the objects (Figure XXXVI).
That is why, there are convenient distances for the objects, and these objects can be seen from these distances. There are so many different distances but they cannot be seen from these distances. These limits change according to the strength of the sight. For every object there is a certain distance in proportion to the eye of the observer, if the distance of the object is larger it cannot be seen but when it is nearer, the section cut off by the cone from the surface of the lens will be larger and this way it can be perceived easily (Figure XXXVII).
When we have terminated the completion of the instrument with great care, we fix the half of the joint to the middle point of the lower surface of the ruler, that is to say to the middle of the opposite of the surface where the canal and two pinnules are found
31
(Figure XXXVIII a).
31
The German translation does not correspond with the manuscript. P. 67.
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The upper half of the joint turns around the axis which comiacts it to the other half. One of the ends of the ruler on this axis moves upwards towards the zenith while the other end moves downwards. We fix firmly one of the apexes of the joint to the ruler and the other one to the hole over the axis (Figure XXXIX). When we want horizontal movement from the ruler, we turn the central column. When we want up and down movement then we move upward the end of the ruler, which is towards us. We can turn the instrument as much as we want and towards any direction over the axis of the joint.
During the eclipse or any other time, we bring the ruler to the direction of the moon, we keep away the pinnule from the eye once and then bring it forward until we see the whole moon. The hole on the pinnule includes all of it, the moon covers the hole and there is no excess left. We mark the distance between the mobile-pinnule and its indicator with the eye. We do the same thing for the image of the sun. We know at what distance the apparent diameter of the moon is equal to the diameter of the sun. The amount from the divisions of the ruler does not exceed 130.
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In regards to the diaphragms,
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which are mentioned before, if the eclipse is the eclipse of the sun then we
use the small circle of the instrument to find the eclipsed area of the surface of the sun. In order to do this measurement, we keep at a distance (marked previously) the mobile-pinnule from the fixed pinnule. At this distance, as we have mentioned before, the hole of the mobile pinnule encircles the sun entirely. Thus, if we turn the ruler towards the sun during the eclipse and if we cover the eclipsed area with the small circle, the quantity of the eclipse will be established. In regards to the eclipse of the moon, we make with the big circle the thing that we have done with the small circle during the eclipse of the sun. We have divided the diameter of the small circle into 12 parts with the diameter-finger. With the help of these, we can calculate the quantity of the eclipsed part of the diameter of the sun. We divide the diameter of the large circle into 31
1 4
parts with the eclipse-finger with these we can find the quantity of the
eclipsed part of the diameter of the moon by the help of the section separated by the circle from the divided part. The writer of the Almagest has mentioned these instruments as being constructed of the Porch in Alexandria. In regards to the (dht al-shu'batayn) triquetrum, we will describe it in detail. We will also mention the ones that we have constructed which are more precise and firm. But again these things are best known by the Great God. In regards to the instruments whose construction is created by us and whose missing parts are completed, some of these have been put into practice and they are found in the Great Observatory. We constructed the model of some of them. After these, we had other engagements such as: to construct a small mosque, to carry the water in large containers up to the top of the mountain and to construct a house for his Royal Majesty, God protect his supreme being. These were not my job, but your brother was forced to the jobs that he did not like to do. And your brother is not a hero. There is also another instrument, which is called (dht al-rub'ayn) instrument having two quadrants, which replaces the armillary sphere. We cast a circle from copper whose diameter is as large as it possible could be. We can cast this circle in segments rather then of a single piece and connect the pieces together afterwards. It is not necessary to make it very thick because it is immobile and is placed on a circular masonry foundation and parallel to the horizon. After we finish its filing, we inter it into a section, which will reinforce it and encircle it from the outside and it will not be higher than its surface. We take the centre out and correct the convex and the concave surfaces with the help of two concentric circles. When we come to the correction of the surface parallel to the horizon, the best way to do this is the following: after correcting the inside and the outside sections, as it is done in the previous ones, we put it in its place and fix it. We construct a canal, which will include the concave section. The surface of the circle will not be higher than the surface of the canal; on the contrary, it will be one small finger lower. In a calm day, we fill the canal with water and we scatter over the water the plant dust, which has been grinded. We
The forms of the diaphragms are not clearly explained in the manuscript. They could be in form of a divided circles or a hole opened over a plate. When the circle is filled up, it covers the dark section but when it is empty, it covers the lighted section. In the manuscript, this section could have been read both ways.
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file it so that the water and the plant dust will cover it in equal quantity in every part. We rectified the bottoms of the gutters in Damascus the same way. It is possible for us to make another levelling instrument in order to rectify its surface. For this, we set up a column at the centre of the horizontal circle and construct a handle, which will hold the column from its top (Figure XL). We set up this column in such a way that the column will not lean when it makes a complete turn; it stays in a perpendicular position, and stays in the same position making a right angle with the surface of the circle. This is easy to' handle. We open a hole at the bottom of the column and we construct a ruler or a thin stick (s) which will be fixed at this hole. Only the end of the ruler will not rest on the surface of the circle, the ruler, as a whole will rest on the column, which carries the ruler. The end of the ruler should barely touch the surface of the circle.
The sections where the ruler is higher than the surface of the circle are lower. The sections where the ruler is contact to the surface of the circle are filed until the ruler will be in equal distance from the surface of the circle or it will be in contact with it the same way all around in the complete tour of the ruler, so that the connection will fulfil the requirements. This way we will accomplish the horizontality and the filing of the surface of the circle. In this case, it will be definitely parallel to the horizon. In regards to the division, we take out the meridian line, which passes from the centre dividing the circle into two, and we draw a diameter perpendicular to this, which passes through east and west points. We draw five concentric circles over the surface of the circle. We mark the small divisions between the largest circle and the one following it. The division of the degrees and the ones with five degrees are written in a way that they will start from east and west points and end at 90 degrees in south and north points. We divide the degrees into the smallest portions possible provided that these smallest portions are clear, that is to say the lines to mark these divisions do not intercept each other (Figure XLI).
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We construct two quadrants equal to each other from copper. Each of these is covered with parallel surfaces and each of these is 3 fingers of the hand wide 2,5 fingers thick. These should be made from a circle whose circumference is equal to the circumference of the circle of the horizon. Let there be two copper radiuses for each quadrant intercepting each other perpendicularly at the centre of the quadrant, whose thickness and width are equal to the width and the thickness of the quadrant, and surfaces are parallel to each other, and cut off section is in the shape of a square. We make additions in semicircular form near the two ends of the two diameters that we have constructed perpendicular to the surface of the circle, at the centre of the circle of the horizon and they are connected to each other. We do the same thing in the middle part also. We construct two female sections (Figure XLII),
which are formed from two half parts as it is in the hinges constructed for the doors which are made in such a way that the one wing of the door coincides with the other wing when they are folded (Figure XLIII). They enter soundly into the ones facing these on the other quadrants. These additions must be resistant and sound. Either these are constructed ensemble with the radius from copper or they are made of iron and put separately into their places. They are placed in such a way that each of these turn freely inside the one opposing it (beginning from the surface of the radius) and its projection must be two fingers and the thickness one finger.
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We open circular holes at their centres whose half is beside the semicircle and the other half beside the ruler, which is to say beside the perpendicular radius (Figure XLIV).
Thus, when the centres of these circles are connected to each other, they are found in a straight line, which is the intersection of the surfaces. We connect the two quadrants to each other with an iron axis, which passes from the holes of the semicircles. Half of this axis sets up inside the rulers whereas the other half sets up inside the projections beside the semicinles. This way they will form one when one of the faces of one of the quadrants coincides with the face of the others and they form a semicircle when the gap between them is kept at such a distance that the quadrants come to a straight line. In order to prevent the bending, the axis must be strong. The lower end of the axis is fixed at the centre of the horizon circle and the upper end is placed at a handle, which rests over the two cylinders fixed outside the azimuth horizon in order to prevent the movement of the quadrants. We make as exact as possible the right angle formed by the axis and the azimuth horizon (Figure XLV).
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In regards to the two ends of the quadrants, these move over the inner side of the azimuth horizon. Let there be two indicators at their ends. The sharp side of these indicators must be over the surface of the quadrants, which coincide with each other (Figure XLVI). These turn over the sections of the circumference of the azimuth horizon. 1/3 of the surface of the circle from the inner side (of the azimuth horizon) is not divided for the ends of the quadrants that move.
We have to cut out two segments which are facing each other from the edges at the side of the semicircles where the two perpendicular radius project. Each of these is quarter of a cylinder that is to say one fourth of the iron axis, which connects the two quadrants (Figure XLVII). The circular forms of the holes in the semicircles are completed with these two protected sections. These two holes must be over the surfaces of the quadrants, which coincide with each other.
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We mark the centres of the quadrants over the two other surfaces and draw four concentric circles over the quadrant. We divide into 18 equal parts the space between the smallest circle and the one following it. In here, we write the five degrees starting from the end of the quadrant which moves on the horizon and which is completed to 90 degrees on the upper end. We divide into 90 degrees the space between the second circle from the inside and the one following it and we divide into the smallest degrees possible the space between this circle and the one following it. We fix two-iron axis in the shape of a cylinder at the centres of the quadrants. We construct two rulers from copper, which is one finger more than the sides of the quadrants that is to say than the radius, whose surfaces are parallel and which are equal to each other. We open a circular hole near the end of each of these about the radius of the axis fixed to the centre of the ruler. We cut out half of the width of the ruler from the other end. Let the width of the ruler be 3,5 fingers and the thickness 1,5 finger.
33
We fix two
pinnules, which are parallel, and equal to each other over each of these, we open two holes in the shape of a truncated cone on the pinnules as is usually done. The distance of each of these pinnules must be one
dhir. We add one pipe for each of these in order to connect the distance between the two holes and a
segment to collect the lights on the section towards the eye. In this way, this magnificent instrument is completed. I say that we will not be needing armillary sphere when we have this instrument. It is clear that the construction and the use of this instrument are sounder and easier. We can provide many things with the instrument that we cannot have with armillary sphere. But we have to admit that this does not mean that we do not need any calculations (only in the height we do not need calculations) when we use this instrument. We assigned this instrument only to determine the distance between two stars; this can be any two stars whose distance is desired to be determined. This distance is the size of the arc cut off by the two straight lines that reaches the highest celestial globe starting from the centre of the universe after passing the two stars (Figure XLVIII).
33
This part does not correspond with the German translation, P. 68.
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Besides, this instrument is capable of measuring the heights of the zenith and the altitudes of each of the stars. With it, we can also calculate the altitudes of the two stars at the same time. In regards to the calculation of the distance between the two stars, we can measure their azimuths and their altitudes at the same time. We find out the difference of the azimuths of these two which are equal to the space between the two quadrants and we find out their azimuths and their altitudes. In here a triangle is formed (Figure XLVIII P P' D). The two sides of this triangle are known because they are equal to the complements of the altitudes, and the angle formed by the quadrants is established from the degrees of the azimuth horizon, which is in between the two quadrants. Thus, the base of the triangle, that is to say the arc which connects the ends of the straight lines which passes from the two stars is known. If the place in regards to the latitude and the longitude of any of the star is known, (with the help of this instrument) we can calculate the latitude of this star and also its altitude and azimuth. And from here we can calculate the degree of ascension of the ecliptic. From the observation of a star whose place is unknown, if we know the degree of ascension by marking its azimuth and altitude then we will know its place in regards to latitudes and longitudes. The most important thing that is calculated by armillary sphere is the determination of the place of the unknown star with the help of any other star the place of which is known. However, this instrument is excellent and its construction is very easy. With this instrument, we can measure the geographical latitude in two ways: The first is from the meridian heights of the sun (in winter and in summer tropics) and the second is the meridian altitudes of the stars, which never set. It is impossible to determine such calculations with armillary sphere. We do not doubt that these are all done with the wish of the Great God.
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The description of the kinds drawn from (dht al-shu'batayn) triquetrum, (dht al-ustuvanatayn) instrument with double column constructed for the protected Meragha Observatory are from these.
c
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We set up two
columns whose surface is in the shape of a square and whose height is six dhir with the observatory dhirc for this instrument. We construct them strong enough so that they will not tremble. We fix a cap over each of these which are parallel to each other and parallel to the horizon. (Figure XLIX, B). We open two holes over these whose bottoms are round and whose depths and the largeness are equal to each other, and we try to keep them at the same level. We control the equality of their level by placing a ruler between the holes and measuring them by placing a bricklayer's plummet on them.
We make a rod having two round ends which will enter into the holes of the caps and its middle part between the two holes in the shape of a square, and we open a hole right in the middle (Figure L). We construct a ruler from teak tree whose faces are in the shape of a rectangle and the length 5
dhir and
the width of the surfaces which encircles it and which are parallel to each other is half a dhir'. We preferred this wood because it is strong and inflexible. We place one end of this ruler into the hole of the handle in such a way that they from a right angle and the face of the one will be at the same plane with the face of the other one.
34
This part does not correspond with the German translation. Because the word fnn has been read as ftm the word. P. 85.
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We draw a straight line over the face of the rod all along its length and which divides its width into two. We also divide the width of the ruler into two parts. We extend this straight line up to the straight line in the rod. Thus, we can be able to divide it into two equal parts with this extension, which is perpendicular to it. Starting from this interception point, we mark five dhir from the straight line, which divides it into two parts. This straight line is the radius of the circle drawn by the ruler about the axis of the rod from that is why we call it the radius. We set a base at the place where the perpendicular from the centre of the axis touches the earth (Figure LI). We fix two beds over it, an iron axis whose middle is in the shape of a square with round ends, turns between these beds. We make the distance from the middle of the axis to the middle of the cut off section that is to say of the axis of the rod equal to the radius.
We construct another ruler whose surfaces are parallel to each other and the above mentioned wood and cut off section is a square. We let at one of its ends a semicircular projection (Figure LII) on which we open a hole (v) in the shape of a rectangle and as large as the thickness of the iron axis. Half of this hole will be towards the ruler and the other half will be at the fix projection. We pass the iron axis through this hole, only its two ends rest outside the ruler. Thus, the straight line, which passes all along, the middle of the thickness of the axis, is found on its upper turned surface when the ruler is placed. The length of this ruler from the socket of the axis is a little more than and a half radius. This is called the chord ruler.
1 1 + 4 2
of the radius. That way its length will be almost one
We place the iron axis into the beds of the base so that the surface at the west side of the chord ruler and the surface at the east side of the ruler hanged to the rod will be on the same plane which represents the plane of the ecliptic and will touch each other. We take from the surface of the west and upper part of the ruler an amount equal to the radius starting from the middle of the iron axis, and divide it into 60 equal
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parts. We divide also into 25 equal parts the remaining section of the ruler. Thus the total of the divisions will be 85. We divide each division into 60 minutes. We mark these divisions, who has 5100 minutes as the total sum, on the western edge of the upper surface of the ruler and we separate these divisions from the others by a straight line, which is parallel to the edge of the ruler. We draw another straight line, which is close and parallel to the first one, and we write the complete integral divisions without fraction between these two. We write the values of the arcs suspending the chords, opposite the divisions of the chords with the help of the chord table so that it will not be necessary during the utilization of the instrument to apply to the chord table and also with the purpose to drive the values of the arcs in the chord division. And we assign to this division the area between the first and the second straight lines. These divisions start from the point near the middle of the iron axis. The ends as 85 divisions are at the other end of the ruler.
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We fix two pinnules, which are parallel and equal to each other on the northern surface of the ruler, which is hooked up. We bring their middle points over a straight line, which divides the ruler into two, and leave distance of one dhir with the dhir of hand between them. When the sun comes to the meridian we pull the end of the ruler, which is hooked up, towards north until one of the pinnules shadows the other and the rays of the sun penetrates from the upper hole to the lower hole. We raise the end of the chord ruler, which stands towards us until its surface touches the end of the radius marked over the ruler which is hooked up. We find the distance of the zenith of the sun from the chord ruler, and from that, we find its altitude. We construct a wall adjoined to the north side of the column at the east, whose heights equal to the height of the column and the lengths about five dhir. We place a quadrant at its east surface, which is just like the previous quadrant, only a little smaller, in order to measure the distance of the zenith. We construct a handle at the upper north surface, which will project towards west and place two pulleys at its end. During the utilization of the instrument, we connect the circle and the pulley with a string, which passes from the pulley to the circle, and from the circle to the pulley and which are fixed to the ends of the chord ruler and the ruler, which is hooked up. With the help of the Great God.
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There is an instrument called (dht al-juyb wal-samt), the instrument having sines and azimuth we constructed for him its model, in the divinely protected Observatory. We can measure the altitudes from every direction with this instrument. That is why we need to construct a copper circle. It is better to construct the circle as big as possible. We call this the azimuth horizon. Its construction and the correction is done just like the one we mentioned above. We construct a wall in a circular shape, about 1,5 dhir' height for this instrument and fix this over it. We correct its parallelism to the horizon just like the previous one. We mark over it the meridian and the east-west direction, and draw concentric circles. We write between them by twos the numbers, the degrees, and their fractions starting from east-west points and ending as 90 degrees at north-south points.
35 36
This section is right in meaning but it is not a literal translation. P. 85. This part does not correspond with the German translation. P. 86.
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We construct a diameter from a solid wood in the shape of a rectangle whose width and thickness is 1/3 th of a dhir'. Let its two ends move on the inside edge of the azimuth horizon. We fix a traverse (t) right in the middle, perpendicular to the wooden diameter (Figure LIII, c) whose, length is about two dhir' or equal to the diameter, and the thickness 1/3 of a dhir'. We open a hole in the middle of each of these two and connect them solidly so that the traverse and the diameter make a right angle.
We open a canal in the middle of the diameter, all along its length, in the shape of a rectangle, parallel to the edges of the ruler and 1/6 th of a dhir wide and deep (Figure LIV).
We file the base and make it larger than the upper section (Figure LV).
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We set up two rulers in the middle of the diameter, at the two sides of the canal opened at the place, which are equal to the radius and perpendicular to the diameter and the traverse (Figure LVI, p). The cut off section of each of these must be in the shape of a square, their surfaces must be parallel to each other, they must be set up right opposite to each other, and their width must be 1/6th of a dhir. We construct a canal in the middle of each of these and all along its length whose width and depth is equal to a small finger. We set up both of these in the middle of the diameter, at the edges of the canal opened at the place. Let the canals in the rulers face each other at the base, and the straight line between the two straight lines dividing the widths of the canals passes from the centre of the circle. We connect the distance between the upper sections with an iron axis, which holds them together.
We construct three supports for each of these in order to protect them and prevent any defect in their perpendicular position. One of these supports comes from the end of the traverse and meets its 1/3 th starting from the lower section of the ruler; the other two supports come out from the middle of the diameter and meet its 1/3 th starting from the lower section of the ruler, likewise the same operation is done for the other ruler. We construct an iron axis at the centre of the azimuth horizon, below the traverse; it is connected firmly and has a length of l/5th of a dhir (Figure LVII, M). We construct a part (F) from wood in the shape of a square below the traverse whose edge is equal to not less than two dhir. We open a hole in the middle so that the axis can turn there. We file its surface so that the traverse can turn over it easily.
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We construct a base to place the instrument. The hole mentioned above must continue in the middle of the base also (Figure LVIII). At the bottom of the base, there is a stone (Y) whose surface in touch with bottom of the hole is in the shape of a rectangle. Inside this hole there must be a bar which is perforated (in circular shape) in the middle. We place firmly this iron bar into the hole of the stone. This hole is constructed in such a way that the bottom end of the axis can turn, and the instrument will not be shaken when we turn the diameter and the two rulers.
We construct two other rulers in the shape of squares, l/6 th of a dhir in width and the length of each is equal to the radius. Let there be additions at both ends of each of these in the shape of a circle and let its height from the surface of the ruler be equal to 2/3 th of the width of the ruler. These additions must be at both ends of its surfaces. To connect the rulers to each other, we connect the semicircles at the ends of the
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rulers with an iron axis (Figure LIX). The middle of this iron axis is found in the intersection point of the surfaces. Thus, we have the shape of a pair of compasses. When they come together the surface of the one coincides with the surface of the other. And when the two ends are pulled away from each other they are opened. We call these the measuring rulers. The two ends of this axis must project out as much as the depths of the hollows opened in the rulers. The thickness of their cut off sections must be equal to the width of the hollows so that it will move up and down without shaking.
37
We construct two parts from wood or copper in the shape of the hollow in the diameter, whose cut off sections are in the shape of rectangles and the length of each is a span (Figure LX).
Let there be additions at the ends of these in the shape of semicircles (F). The lower section must be wider than the upper section so that it can fill the hollow. Thus, they can move there without shaking. We open a hole at the centre of the semicircles, which are at the ends of these parts. In the same way, we open holes in the semicircles, which are at the ends of the rulers. We connect each part to the ends of the rulers with an iron axis. At both ends of these sections, there must be a sharp and projected indicator, which marks the divisions at both sides of the diameter and moves over the both sides of the canal in the diameter (Figure LXIII).
37
In the German translation at this section, there are some missing parts. P. 90.
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All the surfaces of the measuring rulers must be equal, in such a way that the distance between the centres of the two semicircles of the one must be equal to the distance between the centres (m) of the other (Figure LXII, d).
When the construction is completed, we take out a part equal to the distance between the two straight lines (ae), parallel to each other and perpendicular to the rulers passing through the centres of the semicircles as long as the measuring rulers, starting from the middle of the diameter that is to say starting from the straight line which crosses the canal in the ruler. We divide this length into 60 divisions and divide each division into smaller parts. We separate with straight lines the distance between the divisions and the five degrees all along the diameter and parallel to the edges of the canal in the middle of the diameter (Figure LXI). The division starts from the middle of the diameter and terminates at both ends.
In regards to the axis, which connects the ends of the measuring rulers to the ends of parts, they give us the sine of their complement of the altitude (Figure LXIV, ap). We construct two equal pinnules over the widths of the measuring rulers. We perforate them as we have always done before. It is quite clear that
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there will remain at both ends a part, which is not divided if each of the measuring rulers are equal to the radius.
During the time of the observation, the rays of the sun must pass through the holes of the pinnules and the indicators at the ends of the measuring rulers must be at equal distances. In regards to the semicircles, which project from the surfaces of the rulers, and the parts, which are connected to their ends, instead of these we can use an iron joint or a copper hinge. By getting enfolded up to their halves into the ends of these rulers they become the axis upon which the rulers are turned. Thus, their construction is more solid and easier.
38
One of the instruments whose model we constructed in the observatory is dht al-jaib wa'l-sahm. With this instrument, we can obtain the azimuth. For this instrument, we construct an azimuth horizon, a diameter, a traverse in the middle of the diameter, an iron axis upon which the instrument turns a circular base and a support to hold these. These are done exactly the way we have done before. We construct two rulers (for each of these) whose thickness and the width is l/6 th of a dhir', the surfaces in the shape of a rectangle, and whose length is equal to the radius. We construct annexes in the semicircular shape, which becomes an iron project at their ends, in other words handles that are enfolded into the surface of the rulers up to their halves and connect the two rulers with an iron axis. Their construction is exactly the same as the ones constructed in the measuring rulers. Only they do not need annexes. We place one of these rulers into the canal opened on the diameter. The situation in here is the same as in the parts mentioned before because the lower part of the ruler and the hollow is wide and the upper part is narrow. We must fill up the canal with the same dimension and its upper surface must be at the same level with the upper surface of the diameter. We call this dht al-sahm and the second the radius. We open a rectangular hole in the middle of the width of the second one. We construct an axis for that hole in the shape of a plate whose ends are in the shape of a cylinder and which is perpendicular to the surface
38
In the German translation this section is translated in summary, P. 92.
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of the diameter.
39
The two ends of the axis move inside the hollows opened on the perpendicular rulers so
that we can protect its position between the two rulers during the up and down movement of the diameter. We put a sign over the main support (the straight line which is parallel to the edges of the ruler and which divides the surface from the middle) which passes through the centre of the axis, which connects the two rulers, and over this end of the radius. The distance between the sign and the axis is equal to the radius (Figure LXV, ap). The same way we put signs on the surfaces of the columns starting from the big diameter, their heights are equal to the radius. Each of these three parts is divided into 60 equal parts and each of these also are divided into smaller parts. We divide the ruler buried into the canal of the ruler into the same equal parts. In here, the starting point is the middle of the iron axis, which connects it to the radius.
We can calculate the sine of the complement of the arc of the altitude from the section left between the surface of the column and the axis (Figure LXVI, ap); and from the rest we can calculate the versed sine of the arc of the altitude.
We place two pinnules, which will divide the width along the length into two parts, on the surface of the radius opposite the surface, which is towards the columns. We do not need to repeat ourselves here because the operation has been mentioned many times before. We calculate the sine of the arc of the altitude from the interception of the columns with the radius. There are many proves which verify each other in this instrument. In the year 650, 1 constructed another instrument for his Royal Highness Mansur, ruler of Hims in the City of Damascus; I constructed this instrument in the presence of the Wazr Najm al-Din-al Lubud and he called it (aid al-Kmil) perfect instrument. This is another kind of this same instrument, which helps us to calculate all altitudes and azimuths.
39
This part does not correspond with the German translation. P. 94.
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That is why we construct a base just like the one mentioned in the mobile-pinnule. Only its base is wider and its height is higher. Instead of its cross shape there, we construct the base as a very large circle with two diameters from wood which intercept each other in right angles (Figure LXVII). We attach the upper circle with eight solid supports.
We fix the base parallel to the horizon, and take out the meridian and the east-west line and we divide them into smaller parts as usual. We call this the azimuth horizon. We place a column over this circle (p). The bottom end of the column turns in the centre of the circle, and its section, which projects over the upper circle, is 1/3th of a dhir. We are careful to place it over the base in a vertical position. In regards to the top end, the section, which turns inside the upper circle, is in a cylindrical shape. The section above the circle is in a square shape whose side is not less than l/4th of a dhir'. We place a square shaped head whose width is 1/2 of a dhir' and the length l/3 th of a dhir' over this square shaped section. We strengthen the connection with nails (Figure LXVIII). We construct it in such a way that the upper surface of the circle exactly touches to the surface of the lower part of the head. This is done in such a way that the head turns over the surface of the circle without shaking. We construct a handle over it in case we need to turn the axis.
We construct three rulers from the best kind of wood, in a rectangular shape; each of these is 4 and 1/2
dhir long and 1/6th of a dhir wide. We fix the ends of two of these into the rectangular sockets of the above-mentioned head, and we make the distance between the two l/6th of a dhir. They must be
perpendicular to the upper surface of the head (Figure LXIX).
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In regards to the third one, we call this the ruler, which gives us the altitudes. We divide widths of the three rulers with straight lines all along their lengths. We put a sign on the straight lines, which divide the widths of the perpendicular rulers into two, starting from the head in equal distance and nearer to the upper section; we open one hole at each of these signs opposite one another. The same way we pierce the middle of the width of the third one, and place this in between the two. We connect these three with an axis, and fix two pinnules at the middle of the width of the surface of the third one parallel to the axis. We open two holes at the same hight, dividing its widths from the middle. We make the length of the third ruler in such a way that it will be in touch with the upper surface and place it between the two straight rulers. We construct a fourth ruler from the best kind of wood whose edges are in a rectangular form, whose length is 1,5 times of the length of the middle ruler, whose thickness is four fingers and width five fingers, we call it chord ruler. We construct an annex at its one end so that it will widen the width. Its length is 1, width 1/6 th of a dhir and the thickness is equal to the thickness of the ruler. We cut off a section from the end of the ruler connected to the annex; this section is 0,5 long and 1/6 th of a dhir wide, equal to the width of the perpendicular ruler. The surface of the chord ruler opposite the surface to which the annex is connected and the inner surface of the perpendicular ruler will be on the same plane if we coincide the surface of the width of the annex with the upper surface of the perpendicular ruler. The middle of the three turns (Figure LXX) over this plane.
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We put a sign on the upper part of the straight line, which divides the width of the perpendicular ruler. We mark the length equal to the distance between this sign and the axis on the third ruler starting from the middle of the axis. We make this the radius of the circle drawn by the movement of the middle ruler over the upper axis. We fix an iron axis about three fingers thick and 1/4 th of a dhir' long over the sign at the side and bottom of the perpendicular ruler. We construct three iron rings at the end of the annex placed on the end of the long ruler (Figure LXXI). Their halves are buried inside this annex and their widths are equal to the iron bar. They are placed side by side over the width of the annex with their centres on the surface of the chord ruler. We place the axis on which the long ruler turns inside the mentioned circles.
We divide with parallel lines thought the length of the surface of the chord ruler, which comes to the exterior when it is placed. Starting from the straight line, which passes from the centre of the iron axis, we divide the mentioned radius into 60 parts. The remaining from the end of the chord ruler is divided into 25, each being equal to the sections divided as 60 parts. Thus, we will have 85 parts. And each part is divided into smaller parts. We take the centre of the axis over which the chord ruler is turning and the side on which the perpendicular ruler is fixed as the starting point of the division. At the side of each division of the chords, we write down the value of the arcs suspending the chords. This arc is found from the chord tables. In short, this is just like it was in (dht al-ustuwanatayn) the instrument with two cylinders. When we want to measure with this instrument, we turn the handle which passes through the head. With it the instrument turns until the circle of altitudes on which the star to be measured is present, coincides with the surface of the middle ruler. We bring the ends of the middle ruler and the chord to the opposite direction of the star. We pull the end of the middle ruler until the star is seen from both pinnules. We raise it so that the divided surface of the ruler will pass through the middle ruler that is to say through the marked point of the diameter. From the divisions of the ruler we will be able to determine the chord of the angle between the two straight lines, which pass through the star and the zenith, and the arc subtending it. This is the complement of the altitude and when we subtract this from ninety the rest will be the arc of the latitude. If the measurement of the position of the sun is being determined, it is easier because the rays of the sun penetrate through the holes of the pinnules. In regards to stars, in order to observe them clearly we
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construct a pipe, which connects the holes and the distance between the two pinnules. And we fix a cup like section at the end of the hole for watching. In regards to the mounting of the instrument, we take the meridian line and place the north and south points marked over the base of the instrument on this straight line. We place the base so that its upper surface will be parallel to the horizon. We bury timbers on the ground, connect the base with strong nails to these timbers, and surround it with walls so that it will not be disturbed by the wind. We construct a ruler whose end turns over the azimuth horizon at the lower part of the column and in perpendicular position. We calculate the azimuth with it. It is obligatory to connect the ruler to the circle of the azimuth that is to say to the surface on which the middle ruler rotates. Only the pointed end is on the opposite side towards which the chord ruler and the radius are directed. In such a way that, the end of the ruler and the surfaces of the chord ruler and the middle ruler which touch each other are always found on the plane of the azimuth. Many problems, which cannot be solved by triquetrum in the Almagest, can be solved or investigated with the help of these instruments. For instance, with this we can calculate the position of an unknown star from a star whose latitude and the longitude is given. When we measure the altitude and the azimuth of any star with this instrument, we also determine its ascension. When we calculate the altitude, azimuth and the ascension of a star we can at the same time calculate its longitude and the latitude. If this can be calculated from dht al-rub'eyn the result will be more precise because the altitudes of the two will be taken at the same time. These things could be done only if the Great God wishes it. In regards to dht al-shu'beteyn in the Almagest, the results are more precise obtained with our instruments than the results obtained with this instrument. Consequently, Ptolemy says the following when explaining the construction of this instrument. We construct two rulers, their lengths are four dhir each and the shape of their surfaces are rectangular. We divide their widths with straight lines along their lengths. We fix one of these on the base so that it will be perpendicular to the horizon. Let its surface represents the plane of the meridian. We open a circular hole along its thickness from east to west. The same way we open a hole on the straight line, which divides the width into two parts. We join them with an iron axis. The second will move freely over this axis. We fasten a round nail on the lower end of the straight line, which divides the width of the perpendicular ruler, and attach a third ruler to this. The distance between the lower and the upper axes will be divided into 60 parts. We put a mark on the second ruler whose distance from the upper centre will be equal to the distance between the two centres of the axes. We fix two equal pinnules on the second one as usual and open two holes on them. The hole on the pinnule towards the eye will be narrow and the hole on the upper pinnule will be large enough so that the full moon will be seen through this hole. We make the observation when the moon comes to the meridian. We mark the section which is separated from the third ruler and which is in between the middles of the perpendicular ruler and the mobile ruler. We make the third ruler come to contact to the perpendicular
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ruler. The chord of the angle, which is in between the two straight lines, which divides the widths of the mobile ruler and the perpendicular ruler can be determined from the division of the third ruler opposite the mark on the perpendicular ruler. And the arc of the chord can be obtained from the tables. The rest is known by all of us. We did not quath his article word by word but the meaning he gave is exactly given in here. We have to point out here that for some one who has practical skill the instrument mentioned above is not precise and it has many errors and unreliable parts. When we come to the unreliable parts, in mentioning the connection of the third one to the perpendicular ruler he does not clarify to which face the third ruler is going to be connected. If this is placed over the surface, which touches the second ruler, the thickness of the third one will go in between the two surfaces that are in touch. Thus, the triangle whose upper angle is on the axis and whose base is formed from a thin ruler cannot be at the meridian. If it is placed on the other side of the perpendicular ruler, the thickness of the ruler will form an obstacle between the surface of the mobile ruler, which has two pinnules, and the ruler with chord divisions. Thus, it is not possible for the surfaces and the rulers, which surround the angle to be in the plane of the meridian. When the altitude is near the zenith then it will be very hard for the thin ruler to subtend the angle. In regards to its de fee tuosity: Because of the continuous motion of the mobile ruler, the weight will pull down the axis that it is connected to. The marks and the boundaries do not keep their places. In regards to the shortcomings, we can calculate only the culmination of the heavenly bodies. And it is necessary that this altitude must be more than 30 degrees. Since the division of the perpendicular ruler is 60 and since it is the chord of the arc of 60 degrees, the altitude when it is lower than 30 degrees, cannot be calculated with this instrument. If they use thread instead of the thin ruler, since the tread will become longer when pulled from its end, the calculations made with it will not be precise. A person who expects exactitude from the instrument cannot depend upon a thread. For someone who understands our critical analysis, it is clear and open that our purpose is to find the truth and not oppose someone whom we envy.
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OTTOMAN MARITIME ARSENALS AND SHIPBUILDING TECHNOLOGY IN THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES
Prof. Dr. Idris Bostan Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Amar Nazir January 2007 658 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
Ottoman Maritime Arsenals and Shipbuilding Technology in the 16th and 17th C. January 2007
OTTOMAN MARITIME ARSENALS AND SHIPBUILDING TECHNOLOGY IN THE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURIES BY PROF. DR. IDRIS BOSTAN *
This article was first published in the Great Ottoman-Turkish Civilisation (Ed. K. Cicek and others, Ankara: Yeni Turkiye, 2000, vol. III, 735-744). We are grateful to Idris Bostan, author of the article and Yeni Turkiye, publisher of the Encyclopaedia, for allowing publication. The Ottoman state that was founded as a small principality in northwest Anatolia expanded its territories towards the west and the north and reached the coast within a short time period. Thus they made use of the knowledge and experience of such Anatolian principalities as Karesiogullari, Aydinogullari, Menteseogullari and Candarogullari. Besides, they utilised naval bases that were seized from the Byzantine Empire such as, Izmit, Karamursel, Gemlik and Edincik. 1 With the inclusion of Gallipoli into Ottoman domination and with the restoration and reparation (1390) of the dockyard by Yildirim Bayezid, the Ottomans acquired a maritime arsenal for the first time. They then started activities to protect their territories against the Venetian and Genoese fleets, rival to them in the seas. While the conquest of Istanbul was a step for the Ottoman state to extend its hegemony worldwide, Ottoman navigation gained a new centre. The new centre of the state, Istanbul, started to develop as the centre of Ottoman navigation. Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, having noticed the mild and deep waters of the Golden Horn appropriate for a maritime arsenal, appointed the Commander of the Navy, Hamza Pasha, for the construction of a maritime arsenal in the Haskoy side of the Kasimpasa River. So, the first maritime arsenal, which was composed of a few sections, a mosque and a hall of audience started to be built. Many carpenters, sailors and artists were brought from the coastal areas of the Empire to Istanbul to enable the continuation of the activities of this maritime arsenal.2 The term tersane has entered the Turkish language after many usages of the Arabic word dar al-Sinaa by various Mediterranean countries throughout centuries. It was used by the Spanish as ataruzana, arsenal
darsena, by the Portugese darsenale, drasena, by the Italians arsenale, darsena and by the Maltese tarzna, tarznar.
The Ottomans were using the word "port" instead of maritime arsenal, but from the beginning of the sixteenth century onwards, they started to use the term tershane or tersane which was similar to the Italian usage of the word.
3
The pictures of the late fifteenth century, depicting galleys anchored or repaired in the Golden Horn, point to the fact that the arsenal was functioning. The Ottoman fleet which was built in the Gallipoli Maritime Arsenal
Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters, Istanbul Turkey. For a detailed explanation at the navigation experiences of the Anatolian principalities, see Halil Inalcik, 'The Rise of the Maritime Principalities in Anatolia, Byzantium and the Crusades". The Middle East and the Balkan under the Ottoman Empire, (Bloomington 1987), pp. 309-341. 2 For the establishment and history of the Istanbul Maritime Arsenal, see Idris Bostan, Osmanli Bahriye Teskilati: XVII. Yzylda Tersne-i mire [Ottoman Naval Organization: The Main Maritime Arsenal in the Seventeenth Century], [Ankara 1992), pp. 1-14. See also W. MullerWiener. "Zur Geschichte des Tersane-i Amire in Istanbul," Turkische Miszellen, Robert Anhegger Armagani, (Istanbul 1987), pp. 253-273. 3 On the etymology of the term, sec H-R Kahane- A. Tietze, The Lingua Franca in the Levant, Turkish Nautical Terms of Italian and Greek Origin, (Urbana 1958), pp. 428-430.
1 *
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that continued to be the Ottoman naval base in this period and the newly-established Istanbul maritime arsenal (Figure 1) dominated the Black Sea and seized Otranto under the command of Gedik Ahmed Pasha (1480). The maritime arsenal was enlarged during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II and many ships that engaged in wars with the Venetians were built here under the supervision of Kemal Reis.
Figure 1. The Imperial Arsenal (Halic) map drawn by Velican in the XVIth century. Hunername minyaturleri ve sanatcilari. Istanbul: Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi, 1969.
The Expansion of the Istanbul Maritime Arsenal in the Sixteenth Century

The fundamental modification in the Istanbul Maritime Arsenal was made during the reign of Sultan Selim I, who wanted to be strong in the seas as well as in the lands, and sought to expand the Istanbul Maritime Arsenal to have a greater fleet. Upon his return from the Caldiran campaign, he expressed his views to the Grand Vizier Pir Mehmed Pasha as follows: "If these scorpions (Christians) are occupying the seas with their ships, if the flags of Doge of Venice, the Pope and the kings of France and Spain are waved in the coasts of Thrace, this is because of our tolerance. I want a very strong navy large in number as well." Upon this, Pir Pasha replies as follows: "My Excellency, you just stated what I would like to present. Scold me, especially, when we come to your presence with the other viziers. Order immediately for the construction of a maritime arsenal and five-hundred warships. The Franks will be frightened when they hear this news. You will see that before the completion of the yards and the laying out to the sea of forty galleys, they will come
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demanding for the renewal of the treaties and payment of taxes. By this way, most of our expenditures will be met by their payments.
4
After these meetings, they paid attention to the maritime arsenal and naval affairs. The maritime arsenal construction that had started in the area extending from Galata to Kagithane River under the supervision of Admiral Jafar was completed in 1515. In this construction, 50,000 coins were spent for each section and 150 ships were ordered to be built. By this way, the Galata (Golden Horn, Istanbul) maritime arsenal that would serve as the constructive and administrative centre of the navy was established. During this period, the Ottoman sultans paid utmost attention to navigation and from the reign of Bayezid II onwards, they pursued policies towards the Mediterranean and the Black Sea on the one hand and towards the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, on the other. In the beginning of the sixteenth century when the Ottomans turned towards the south, Sultan Selim stated his views to the famous scientist, Kemal Pashazade (later the Head of Ulema) as follows: "I wish to increase the number of maritime arsenals to three hundred. They should extend from Hisar
Kagithane and this is the way it should be. I hope to conquer European countries." Kemal Pashazade
replied by emphasising the necessity of a strong maritime to establish a strong state.
5
As a matter of fact, Sultan Selim I had turned its attention towards the seas when he came back from the Egyptian campaign. He had previously seized important ports in the Eastern Mediterranean, as Syria and Egypt and he regarded it as vital to conquer Rhodes which was on the route that connected these states to the Ottoman Empire. Because it was necessary to stop the Saint-Jean L. Hospitality knights of Rhodes, who would possibly threaten the commercial ships passing through, and to provide for the security of those who would visit the Holy Land. To this end, it was crucial to have Rhodes and other islands under the Ottoman control. Thus realising this fact, Sultan Selim I spent his last years with the preparation of a huge fleet. However, the conquest of Rhodes was accomplished by his son, Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. The Main Maritime Arsenal continued its development during the times of Sultan Suleyman and his son, Selim II. During the times of Hayreddin Barbarossa Pasha (Figure 2) and other famous seamen that he trained, the Arsenal served as the central base of the fleet which materialised the Ottoman hegemony. In this period, the maritime arsenal extended from Azapkapisi to Haskoy. Among its outhouses were sections that were approximately two hundred in number where shipbuilding and reparation took place, various ammunition depots, production studios, administrative buildings, a mosque, a dungeon, a bathhouse and fountains. With these facilities provided, the Istanbul Maritime Arsenal became the most famous one worldwide in the sixteenth century. A similar one existed only in Venice.
6
Hammer, Devlet-i Osmaniye, Tarihi [The History of the Ottoman state] trans.: M. Ata, (Istanbul 1330), IV, 151-152. See Lutfi Pasa, Asafnme, (Istanbul 1326), p. 21. 6 Ruggiero Romano, "Economic Aspects of the Construction of Warships in the Sixteenth Century", Crises and Change in the Venetian Economy in the 16th and 17th Centuries, (ed,: B. Putlan), (London 1968), pp. 59-87.
5
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Figure 2. The statue of Barbaros Khayreddin Pasha in Istanbul. In the development of the Main Maritime Arsenal, known also as the Galata Maritime Arsenal, some Grand Admirals as Guzelce Kasim Pasha, Hayreddin Barbarossa Pasha and Sokullu Mehmed Pasha played an important role. In a map of Istanbul in Pin Reis's book, Kitab-i Bahriye, among the outhouses of the Galata Maritime Arsenal that extended from Azap Kapisi to Haskoy, were the Meyyit Seaport located in the eastern coast of the Golden horn, Old Hall of Audience, kureklik (the oar warehouse), Hall of Audience, cellar, maritime arsenals and Maritime Arsenal Garden. From 1515 on, the activities of the maritime arsenal were transferred from Gallipoli to Istanbul and the Galata maritime arsenal had become the central base. The development and the process of shipbuilding activities were possible only through the books of registers. The first of such books that belonged to the years 933934, (1527-1528) indicated that the annual revenue provided for the expenses of the Galata Maritime Arsenal were 1,662,377 coins. The expenses of the Galata Maritime Arsenal comprised the salaries (mevacibat) paid to the people who worked in the shipbuilding process such as caulkers, carpenters, parutiras (cutters), makaraci (pulleyworkers), kumbaraci (bombardiers), haddad (blacksmiths), ustubucu (mop workers), and menders. In addition to that, the mubayaat (brokers) spent for the purchase of the necessary inputs to be used for the shipbuilding process, icarat (wages) that were paid to the artisans, who worked in the transportation and construction phases. The total population of the Maritime Arsenal ranged around 84 to 89 people during the years 933-934, (1527-1531). According to the accounting books, shipbuilding had continued in the Istanbul Maritime Arsenal between the years 1527-1531. Between 1527 and 1531, 1530 became the year when the highest amount of ships were constructed. 24 galleys were rebuilt and 8 galleys were repaired. The number of galleys built during this period was 44, and
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repaired 32. Between the years 1527-1530, a stone ship had been built every year and 10-12 cannon ships were regularly repaired. However, small war galleys, called bastarda, were not rebuilt and only 8 of them were repaired between 1527 and 1528. Approximately 60 years later, some changes are seen in the numbers of built and repaired ships. In 1585, the number of built and repaired bastardas was 23, galleys were 37. In this year mavna (barges),
karamursel (small cargo crafts), stone and horse ships that were used in transportation, were also repaired.
The artisans who worked in ship-building were composed of caulkers, carpenters, oar-workers, pulleyworkers, bombardiers, iron-workers, mop-workers and repairers. The number of the artisans that were working at the maritime arsenal on a regular basis was 89. However, when there was a need for craftsmen, they were brought to Istanbul from the coastal areas of the empire and employed at the maritime arsenal.
7
Until the discovery of steam ships in the nineteenth century, oar-crafts and sail-ships were built in this maritime arsenal. Among them were oar-ships like galleys, small war galleys, firkate (frigates), kalyata (small galleys) and mavna (barges), and sail-ships like kalyon (galleon), burtun (large warships), barca (old large galleys) and agribar (pirate ships). To give an example, it is possible to argue that 1200 ships were built and repaired at the Istanbul Maritime Arsenal in the seventeenth century. In the campaign years, this number naturally increased. (Figure 3)
Figure 3. Goke an Ottoman war ship. Miniature taken from Katip Celebis manuscript Tuhfetl-kibar. Topkapi Palace Library, R. 1192.
Bostan, Tersne-i mire, pp. 3-14. See also Murat Cizakca, "Ottomans and the Mediterranean; An Analysis of the Ottoman Shipbuilding Industry as Reflected by the Arsenal Registers of Istanbul 1529-1650", Le Genti del Mare Mediterrano, (ed,: R. Ragosta), (Napoli 1981).
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After the defeat at Inebahti in the sixteenth century, there were not any campaigns which necessitated great preparations. However, during the conquest of Crete, the maritime arsenal had become active again. It is possible to see the magnitude of the shipbuilding activity at the state-owned Main Maritime Arsenal of the Ottoman Empire, by comparing it with the maritime arsenals of the other states at that time. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the only comparable maritime arsenal to the Main Maritime Arsenal was in Venice. For instance, while 18 galleys were built at the Venice Maritime Arsenal in 1583, there were 13 small war galleys built in addition to 11 small war galleys 36 galleys repaired at the Main Maritime Arsenal. Towards the end of the seventeenth century, galley-building had almost stopped and the galleys left their places to galleons.8
Main Maritime Arsenal and Its Outhouses

The renovation and development of the Istanbul Maritime Arsenal in the sixteenth century had started after the creation of the office of the Grand Admiral and in this respect; Guzelce Kasim Pasha had played an important role. In a map of Istanbul of the sixteenth century, among the outhouses of the Galata Maritime Arsenal that extended from Azap Kapisi to Haskoy, were the Meyyit Seaport located in the eastern coast of the Golden Horn, the Divanhane (the Old Hall of Audience), kureklik (oar warehouse), divanhane (the Hall of Audience), the cellar, maritime arsenals and the Maritime Arsenal Garden.
9
According to Evliya Celebi, during the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, among the Maritime Arsenal buildings were the Baruthane Tower, 70 captain cellars, oar-houses, seven leaden-cellars, the new
divanhane, the Sanbola dungeon, the Cirit Meydan kasri, the Sahkulu Gate and the Meyyit Seaport gate.
10
After the defeat of Inebahti (1571), there were some attempts at re-strengthening the fleet and among these efforts was the outhouses added to the Main Maritime Arsenal. In this year, more locations were reserved from the Has Bahce that was close to the Arsenal and a maritime arsenal with eight arches was built that would enable the building of eight ships. Before the time of Sokullu Mehmet Pasha, the area on which the maritime arsenal was built was an unoccupied zone. When he became the Grand Admiral (1546-1550), he built a cellar behind every section to keep the galley equipment and had surrounded the maritime arsenal with a wall the interior of which could be seen only from the sea.
11
The Maritime Arsenal Subdivisions

For the subdivisions with stocks above them, which were used to build ships and protect the ones that returned from expedition during winter, the term "arsenal" was used. As a matter of fact, in the plan in
Kitab-i Bahriye, the term "maritime arsenals" were used to denote maritime arsenal subdivisions. In the
8 9
For more information about the types of ships in the fleet and the number of ships built, see Bostan, Tersne-i Amire, pp. 83-101. Piri Reis, Kitab-i Bahriya, TSMK, Revan 1633, fol. 434a. 10 Evliya Celebi, Seyahatname, I, 417. 11 Colin H. Imber, The Navy of Suleyman the Magnificent, Archivum Ottomanicum, VI, (Belgium 1980), pp. 239-240.
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books of registers of the Main Maritime Arsenal, the same terms were also used regarding the reparation parts. It was understood that in the Galata Maritime Arsenal, there were 114 sections in 1522 when Rhodes was conquered, 92 in 1534, 123 in 1557, 120 in 1655, 137 in 1668 and 110 divisions (shipbuilding yards) in 1684. Brick, tile and lead were used in the construction of the maritime arsenal sections. Again in these sections, the most repaired parts were the stocks on which the ships were laid and the round balks called felenk to lay the ships on stocks and in sea.
The Cellars
At the beginning, there was only one cellar in the Main Arsenal (Tersane-i Amire). By the beginning of the sixteenth century, it doubled. One of the cellars was called mahzen-i surb (the Leaden Cellar) and anbar-i cub. Among the equipment that was kept in the Leaden Cellar were various irons, nails, copper pots, leaden plates, hemp ropes, barrels, sail, awning, anchor, cannon, lantern and paper. A leaden cellar was built in 1626, during the time of the admiral of the sea, Catalcali Hasan Pasha (1626-1630). Mahzen-i cub, on the other hand, was used to preserve timber necessary for ship-building. The account of the ammunition in the cellars was kept by the new supervisor in case there was a change in the supervisor of the main maritime arsenal and then the account was accepted. The book that was kept by the cellar clerk would be registered at the Office of Head Accounting. The maritime arsenal supervisor and the clerk were primarily responsible for the maintenance of the equipment in the cellar, for the big fires in the maritime arsenal were causing great damage.
The Studios
In the main maritime arsenal there were studios of several branches of art. Among them were carpenters, calligraphers, mopworkers, boat-makers (zevrakcilar) and saw-makers (errekesler). It is possible to have an idea about the magnitude of some studios from the reparations done.
The Chambers
At the Main Maritime Arsenal there were the chambers of the Maritime Arsenal Stewart, the Maritime Arsenal Supervisor, Maritime Arsenal Agha, and The Clerk of the Leaden Cellar etc. The chamber of the Grand Admiral was at the Hall of Audience. One of the chambers of the Maritime Arsenal Stewart was at the old Hall of Audience and the other small chamber was near the sections close to the old Hall of Audience. Some of the articles that were used in these chambers were felt, small rug (kalice), velvet, pillow, basin, ewer, jug, round tray, cotton, dining-table, napkin, macram, large bath-towel, a kind of twilled cotton used for linings (bogasi) etc.
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The Hall of Audience (Divanhane)

The Hall of Audience where the administrative affairs were taken care of and chambers of the Grand Admiral and Maritime Arsenal Stewart were located, was first established by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror and was added a new Hall of Audience during the reign of Sultan Selim I when the maritime arsenal was expanded. In the sixteenth century, there were two halls of Audience in the Main Maritime Arsenal, one of which was old. In the new Hall of Audience that was built in the seventeenth century, there were the chambers of the Grand Admiral and in the old one there was the chamber of the Maritime Arsenal Stewart.
The Dungeon
The Maritime Arsenal dungeon, in which slaves and criminals were put and also called forsa and sanbola was composed of three sections in the sixteenth century. In the first section, the artisans working in the shipbuilding were living, in the second section the ones who had no artistic talents and were forced to live and the third section was used as a hospital. Since the dungeon was surrounded by high walls, only the roofs of the buildings inside could be seen. Also there were no windows and the light was coming through the windows at the ceiling. In the sixteenth century, 300 azab were assigned on duty for the dungeon. Besides the dungeon, there was also a small mosque, bakery, kitchen, bathhouse and fountain.
The Maritime Arsenal Garden

The garden that was established in Haskoy for the first time by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror was also referred to as the Maritime Arsenal Garden because of its proximity to the maritime arsenal. It was also called the Has Bahce, since it was a place where the sultans made pleasure walks from time to time. There were mansions (kasirs), bathhouses, numerous chambers, a hall with fountain (sofa-i sadirvan), and a stable and similar buildings. The most important palace of the Maritime Arsenal Garden, the imperial mansion (Kasr-i
Humayun) was built in 1613 during the reign of Ahmet I by the Grand Admiral Halil Pasha (1608-11, 1613-16).
The Ottoman Sultan were going to the Garden from time to time through the sea, riding horses and climb to
Okmeydani and played the game of jereed (cirit and cevgan).
12
Other Ottoman Maritime Arsenals The Gallipoli Maritime Arsenal

The primary, largest and orderly of Ottoman maritime arsenals was built in Gallipoli. During the construction that had started in 1390, the damaged outer wall of the Gallipoli castle was pulled down and the inner castle on a hill was strengthened. The artificial port composed of two pools in each side for the ships to take shelter. Also, for security reasons two towers were built in the entrance of the port that could be closed with a chain. Together with this port, there were shipbuilding yards, equipment preservation depots, fountains to provide water for the ships, bakeries for ship's crackers, and gunpowder depots which made the Gallipoli maritime arsenal a complete state maritime arsenal.
12
For derailed information about the buildings within the arsenal, see, Bostan, Tersane-i Amire, pp. 7-14.
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Despite the establishment of a new maritime arsenal in Galata with the conquest of Istanbul, the Gallipoli maritime arsenal had kept its importance until the end of the reign of Sultan Selim I. Moreover, Gallipoli had become the settlement area and a central sanjak of the province of Cezayir-i Bahr-i Sefid in 1534. After the assignment of Gallipoli to maritime arsenal and navigation affairs, during the first years of the Ottoman state, the indigenous Greeks appointed to work were paid salaries and some others were paid wages called harac ispenc and avariz-i divaniyye for the ship-building and reparation and the maintenance of the pool. In the first half of the sixteenth century, with the development of the Galata Maritime arsenal, the Gallipoli Maritime arsenal became the second rank in importance and was used only when there was a need for shipbuilding. The Gallipoli Maritime arsenal which had 30 pools in 1526 was repaired from time to time in later stages.
The Sinop Maritime Arsenal

Sinop was a very appropriate maritime arsenal since it was the only natural port in the Black Sea coast and had the necessary resources for shipbuilding which could all be found in the neighbourhood of Sinop. The right to use the forests in Sinop was granted to the Main Maritime Arsenal and most of the trees were used in the ship-building in Sinop and some were sent to Istanbul. The Ottoman Empire had inherited the maritime arsenal in Sinop from Candarogullari and had built many of the war ships in this maritime arsenal. As a matter of fact, among the ships that were built in the Sinop Maritime Arsenal in 1566 were 15 galleys and 3 barges, and in 1571, 25 galleys. We can understand from the variety and amount of the ships that Sinop was the third biggest maritime arsenal after the Galata and Gallipoli arsenals.
The Izmit Maritime Arsenal

The presence of suitable forests around Izmit which had a maritime arsenal even before its conquest by the Ottomans had enabled the ship-building to take place here in all periods. The Izmit maritime arsenal was one that had shipbuilding yards and timber cellars. The maritime arsenal that was located near the Hunkar Palace had been repaired from time to time in the sixteenth century. For instance, after the general reparation in 1554, its four gates and some walls had been rebuilt in 1556.
The Suez Maritime Arsenal

The Ottomans had started ship-building in Suez against the Portuguese who had come to the Black Sea and aimed at helping the Mamluk Navy by building the arsenal long before the conquest of Egypt. Just in 1513, 20 ships that were built under the supervision of an Ottoman seaman, Selman Reis, were laid on the sea in the presence of the Mamluk Sultan Kansu Gavri. In 1517, when the Ottoman undertook the protection of the Red Sea and especially Hejaz with the conquest of Egypt, through the seizure of Yemen in 1526, and
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Aden in 1538, they tried to establish control in the region. The Suez Grand Admiralty and the maritime arsenal had been transformed into a naval base for the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The asset of the Ottoman Navy that was present in the Red Sea in 1525 was 6 small war galleys (bastarda), 8 galleys and 3 small galleys (kalyata). In 1531, 80 ships, 30 of which were galleys and were built in the Suez maritime arsenal with the aim of fighting with the Portuguese in Yemen and in the Indian Ocean under the command of Egypt's governor-general Hadim Suleyman Pasha. In the Suez maritime arsenal, the Mediterranean-type ships were built. The activities in this maritime arsenal were increasing from time to time depending on the years of the expeditions, and sometimes were decreasing so that the presence of the maritime arsenal was being questioned.
The Birecik Maritime Arsenal

The establishment year of the Birecik maritime arsenal is not known exactly, but it is understood that it was active in the first half of the sixteenth century. Actually, in 1522, rowboats, in 1571, 250 military ships and 150 grain ships were built.
The Basra Maritime Arsenal

With the conquest of Egypt (1517), the Ottomans had acquired the Suez maritime arsenal and could have had access to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. With the acquisition of Basra in 1538, they acquired a new port and a base. In the sixteenth century, there was also a grand admiralty and the navigation affairs were conducted intensely. A Portuguese traveller, who had visited the Basra maritime arsenal in 1563, indicated that he had seen 5 newly-built galleys and also galleon-type ships. Again in the Basra maritime arsenal, 5 kalyatas were built in 1571, and 15 galleys were repaired.
The Ruscuk Maritime Arsenal

With the conquest of Hungary, a navy was formed on the Danube and in the Ruscuk maritime arsenal, small galleys, frigates, the Hungarian sayka, and a kind of boat with no top called ustuacik that were suitable for the Danube, had started to be built.
The Samsun Maritime Arsenal

The maritime arsenal in which the most numerous ships were built after Sinop and especially the hemp fibre and hemp ropes were used in ship-building technique was in Samsun.
The Kefken Maritime Arsenal

By having a look at the amount of the ships built, it is understood that the Kefken maritime arsenal was very active. This maritime arsenal was inherited with an edict. In case of reparation, eight volunteers were appointed from that region, to be held exempt from avariz tax.
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Other Ship-Building Yards

In the sixteenth century and especially in time of war preparations, there were also shipbuilding activities in the maritime arsenals other than the Main Maritime Arsenal and the above-mentioned ones. Actually, in the aftermath of the defeat of Inebolu, imperial orders were issued for shipbuilding in many coastal seaports and the shipbuilding activities to continue. For instance, as the order about the provision of nails sent in OctoberNovember 1571 to Vize Bey and the Maritime Arsenal Clerk implied, in Thrace and Anatolia 50 ships each, 100 in total were envisaged to be built. In the same year, if it is considered that the number of ships built in the Main Maritime Arsenal totalling 134, the rest of the activities outside the Main Maritime Arsenal can be considered as having a great share in the total production. Among the shipbuilding yards were the ones in Varna, Ahyolu, Vize, Ineada, Trabzon, Semendire, Nigbolu, Mohac, Budin, Sakarya, Kemer, Silivri, Biga, Samanli, Istankoy, Inebahti, Preveze, Avlonya, Nova, Antalya and Alanya.13
Types of Ships Built In the Maritime Arsenal

The Ottomans increased their naval power towards the end of the fifteenth century. They adapted technical terms in navigation and navigation experiences from their Western neighbours and especially from the Venetians. They increased the number and type of their ships and established their hegemony in the Mediterranean in the first half of the sixteenth century. The ships in the Ottoman navy were divided into two: Those with the oars and those with the sails. The ship which ran with both the oars and the sail were called "cekdiri", "cekdirir", or "cekdime", those that ran with the sails only were called "yelkenli" (sailing ships) or "galley-type ships." The ships with oars, called 'cekdiri were divided into two groups as the large fleet ships and the narrow fleet ships. Among the big fleet ships were bastarda, galley, kalyata and frigates. The Bastarda was bigger than the galleys, smaller than barges with 26-36 seats. Each of its oars was pulled by 5-7 oarsmen. They were divided into three with respect to their magnitude as the medium bastarda, the pasha bastarda, and the sultan bastarda. The most utilized warship and the most destructive one in the Ottoman fleet since its inception was the galley. The length of an Ottoman galley between its sternposts was 42-43 meters. Galleys were long and narrow and fast-moving. Each galley had three sails, two awnings, five anchors (lenger) and 27 coils (kanga!) of ropes. At the end of the fifteenth century each galley had a big cannon and 4 guns (darbzen) and 8 prangi cannons. In the galleys one empty space for the oars was used as a kitchen. Each oar was pulled by four or five people. So, in a normal galley, there were 328 people, 100 of which were warriors, 196 (or 245) oarsmen, 20 rope-workers and others. The Kalyata was a warship of 32-34 meters long, had 19-24 seats and was used in ship chasing. They had a cannon ball and had 220 people during the war.
13 For a detailed list of the maritime arsenal and shipbuilding yards by the sea and on the rivers in the Ottoman Empire and for the shipbuilding activities, see, Bostan, Tersane-i Amire, pp. 14-29 For the maritime arsenals and shipbuilding yards, see also I. H. Uzuncarsili, Osmanli Imparatorluunda Merkez ve Bahriye Teskilati [The Central and Naval Organization of the Ottoman Empire] (Ankara 1948), pp. 394-405.
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The Firkate had 10-17 seats and 2-3 oarsmen were pulling the oars. At the same time it was used in the rivers and had 80-100 people at times of war. The narrow fleet ships were mostly used as auxiliary ships and some of them were used in transportation or in rivers. Among them were karamursel (small cargo crafts) which were initially used as a warship and then for transportation. Among others that had an important place were sayka (a kind of Hungarian boat) that was used on the rivers or sometimes on the Black Sea Coast, iskampoye, that was used as messenger and transportation, ustuacik,, aktarma, cekeleve, horse, stone and cannon ships that was used in transportation and guarding. Even though the sailing ships started to be mostly used in the seventeenth century, there were also ships that used sails to some extent in the sixteenth century and they were mostly used in transportation. The most important ones were galleon, barca, and agribar.
14
The Necessary Materials for Shipbuilding

The materials that were used for building and equipping the ships were acquired through two means. One way was to obtain these materials as a tax liability from the regions where they were produced the most. The second way was to purchase these materials. Timber, columns, yard, lead, car, pitch, grease, resin, wax, hemp, mops, linen cloth, canvas embroidery, broadcloth and gunpowder were proposed to the reaya as the family estate (ocaklik) in return for their taxes (avariz). Being a tax liability, avariz meant that the goods and services would be obtained from the regions and the producers instead of tax payments. Ocaklik, on the other hand, meant the transmission of the necessary equipment to the places which needed these materials in return for avariz. The materials necessary for the maritime arsenals were distributed as ocaklik to the producing areas in return for their avariz and were obtained through this way. The most important material was timber. The appropriate types of timber for shipbuilding were oak, pine, elm, chestnut, walnut, box, linden tree and plane-tree. Timber was mostly provided from Kocaeli and its neighbourhood, Biga and its neighbourhood, and from the Anatolian and Thracian coasts of the Black Sea. The nail and anchors, and iron that were used in the making of anchor and likewise instruments that were used in shipbuilding were acquired from Samakov that could be considered as the centre of the iron industry. In addition to that, Sofia, Dubnije, Pazarcik, Iznebol and some other places were among those from where iron was provided. Lead was extracted from the mines in Northern Serbia and Bosnian region in Thrace, and from Gumushane, Ergani and Keban mines in Anatolia. Tar was acquired from Albania, Walachia, and the Black Sea region and around Canakkale. Pitch was acquired from Midilli, Avlonia, Pazarcik and Gallipoli. Hemp was brought from the Black Sea region and partly from the Aegean and Thrace. Linen cloth that was produced from cotton was used in the making of ship sails and awnings and was acquired from Gallipoli, Egriboz, Egypt, the Aegean region and Cyprus.
14
For the types of the ships used in the Ottoman fleet, see Bostan, Tersane-i Amire, pp. 83-97.
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The war materials that were used in ships were gunpowder, cannon ball, bow and arrow. Gunpowder was derived from the mixture of saltpetre, coal and sulphur. Saltpetre was easily found in the lands of the Empire and especially in Karaman, Kayseri, Nigde, Aksaray, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. Sulphur, on the other hand, was found in around the Lut Lake, and in eastern Anatolia. The most important gunpowder houses were Kagidhane and Sehremini in Istanbul, Gallipoli, Izmir and Salonika. Being the heaviest artillery of the Ottoman land forces, cannon were used in ships according to the size of the latter. Among these cannon types were kolonborna, sayka balls, head and side cannons, darbzen and prangi. The bullets that were to be fired from the cannons were called balls, (yuvarlak meaning round), and they were made of iron or marble. They were produced in Istanbul and Banaluka. In the sixteenth century, the shipbuilding activities seen in the Ottoman maritime arsenals are very informative about the Ottoman shipbuilding technology and the industry it required. While the Ottomans were continuing their shipbuilding activities, they had no difficulty in providing the necessary materials and ammunition. The sources of ammunition for the Empire were sufficient to maintain the presence of the fleet. For this reason, the materials that were needed by the Main Maritime Arsenal were not imported. On the contrary, some produced goods were even exported because of their high quality, such as the sailcloth.
15
The Administration of the Ottoman Navy

The administrative staffs of the Ottoman navy were divided into two: Navy High Officials and Main Maritime Arsenal High Officials. Among the Navy High Officials were the navy commanders and the admirals who worked with them and the other servants on the ships. The Main Maritime Arsenal Officials included the workers in the Maritime Arsenal. (Figure 4)
Figure 4. An Ottoman kalyon, a war ship and naval army personnel. From http://www.turkkorsanlari.com
15
For the materials used in the shipbuilding, the equipment necessity for the functioning of the ships and the ammunition that was put on
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The military and civilian head above these ranks working in the Navy and the Maritime Arsenal was the Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Fleet (Kapudan Pasha). Previously, the Grand admirals used to serve as the sanjak beys of Gallipoli. In later stages, they were appointed as the governor-general of the province of
Cezayir-i Bahr-i Sefid that was established with the joining of Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha to the Ottoman fleet,
and by the end of the sixteenth century they obtained the rank of vizier. The Grand Admiral could join the meetings or imperial council (Divan-i Humayun) when he became vizier. He could hear cases in every place he went with his fleet and when he came to the Maritime Arsenal. He was responsible only to the Grand Vizier and the sultan about the administrative and military affairs of the Ottoman Navy. He also dealt with the administration of the province that he possessed and the completion of the construction of the navy. As a matter of fact, Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha had spent the winter months of the year 1534 in the maritime arsenal dealing with ship-building. Likewise, Kilic Ali Pasha had spent the winter in the maritime arsenal to rebuild the Ottoman fleet that was almost destroyed at Inebahti (1571).
16
The naval commanders (derya beys) who were called sanjak beys before were also participating in the expeditions with the fief-holder cavalrymen with their galleys. This reserve fleet, also referred to as 'bey ships' separate from the central fleet constructed in the state-owned Main Maritime Arsenal, was formed during the reign of Sultan Selim I. With the joining of Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha under the service of the Ottoman state, and with the formation of the province of Cezayir-i Bahr-i Sefid, the sanjaks devoted to navigation were attached to this province. This province, like the others was composed of sanjaks and the sanjak beys were serving their posts in the maritime expeditions. During the formation of the province of Cezayir-i Bahr-i Sefid, there were the sanjaks of Rhodes, Midilli and Egriboz in addition to the central sanjak Gallipoli. By the mid-sixteenth century Karlini, Inebahti and Chios were some other islands were added to them and in time, their number changed. The naval commanders possessed the same sort of authority as the sancak beys had in administration and protocol. These commanders were in charge of coastal security, and the protection of coasts in their region and the commercial vessels against the pirates with the ships under their command.
17
The Maritime Arsenal High Officials were working in the maritime arsenal when the fleet was there and at a time when ships were built and repaired. When the fleet was sent to the expedition, some of them were leaving, since there was less to do. Among those officials were Tersane Emini (official in charge of dockyard) and, under his command, katip, ruznamceci, Mahzen Eminleri, Liman Katibi, Defter Emini and his kethuda. The Maritime Arsenal Supervisor used to deal with shipbuilding there with his attendants and used to provide the necessary equipment. The most important figure among the Maritime Arsenal High Officials was the Maritime Arsenal Agent who was also one of the commanders of the fleet. He was the second in rank after the Grand Admiral in maintaining order in the maritime arsenal. The population in charge of maritime arsenal affairs were the captains, marine workers (azab) and the ones working in the ship-building were such craftsmen as carpenters, caulkers, cutters and mop-workers. By the mid-sixteenth century, the number of the maritime arsenal population was approximately 2650.
ships as war materials, see Bostan, Tersane-i Amire, pp. 101-179. 16 Ismet Parmaksizoglu, "Kaptan Pasa", IA, VI, 206-210. 18
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The Ottoman Empire, which was building the greatest fleets in the world with such huge personnel, was facing the problem of dispatching and administration of these fleets as they were put out to sea. The preparation of thousands of oarsmen in each expedition and the provision of the food for them necessitated a separate form of organisation. For this reason, in the sixteenth century, with its presence in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Indian Ocean, the Ottoman Empire looked like a Seaborne Empire.
19
Even though it had been influenced from
Western states and especially from the Venetians, regarding the shipbuilding technology and navigation techniques, in time, it established a Nautical Organisation and had maintained it through modifications throughout centuries.
FIGURES
Figure 1. The Imperial Arsenal (Halic) map drawn by Velican in the XVIth century. Hunername minyaturleri ve sanatcilari. Istanbul: Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi, 1969. Figure 2. The statue of Barbaros Khayreddin Pasha in Istanbul. Figure 3. Goke, an Ottoman war ship. Naval Museum, Istanbul. Figure 4. An Ottoman kalyon, a war ship and naval army personnel. From http://www.turkkorsanlari.com
17 18
Idris Bostan, "Derya Beyi", DIA, VI. 200-201. On the administrative structure of the maritime arsenal see Bostan, Tersane-i Amire, pp. 32-81. 19 Andrew Hess, "The Evolution of the Ottoman Seaborne Empire in the Age of the Oceanic Discoveries, 1453-1525", American Historical Review, LXXV/7 (December 1970), pp. 1892-1919.
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Mapping and Picturing: Maps as Records of History
Prof. Gunsel Renda Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Savas Konur February 2007 664 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
Mapping and Picturing: Maps as Records of History February 2007
MAPPING AND PICTURING: MAPS AS RECORDS OF HISTORY

Prof. Gunsel Renda*
This article was first published in the Essasys in Honour of Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, (compiled by M. KaarZeynep Durukal). Istanbul: IRCICA, 2006, pp. 557566. This book can be obtained from IRCICA publication on their official website: www.ircica.org. We are grateful to Dr. Halit Eren, General Director of IRCICA and Mustafa Kacar-Zeynep Durukal, editor of the book, for allowing publication.
Researchers of cartography are often geographers or cartographers themselves who examine maps for their content in view of the science of map making, while the illustrations on the maps are often overlooked. A study of historical maps and sea charts indicates, however, that cartographers have often considered map making as an art as well as a science and aimed to record the different parts of the world not only with their topographical details but also with their history. Therefore, city views, costumes, ships, flora and fauna and even portraits found on certain maps have brought them close to works of art. Certain illustrated maps have survived from the Roman and Medieval times but it is in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that a great number of maps and sea charts or portolans have been produced. It is the real explosion of geography in the sixteenth century that led to the production of maps and sea charts by the Italians, Catalan and Portuguese as well as the Ottomans. This was the natural outcome of the Portuguese expeditions that led to new trade routes and naval traffic especially on the Mediterranean. To this must be added the conflicts that aroused in the sixteenth century between the ruling powers in the Mediterranean. For all purposes maps and sea charts were needed to provide current knowledge of geography and navigation. Maps and sea charts normally served to guide soldiers for military expeditions and especially mariners who sailed close to shore for refuge from corsairs and the ports they stopped for supply. Suitable harbours or towns were indicated with inscriptions and sometimes with sketchy vignettes. Maps and sea charts more or less have followed the same techniques over the centuries. Portolans or sea charts drawn on vellum are either single sheets, the size of the animal skin used, or they are in the form of atlases made up of separate sheets. They have interconnecting rhumb lines; representing the 32 points of the compass, 32 winds main half and quarter which join in wind roses which are multicoloured and decorated with a variety of motifs. Coast lines are drawn in green or blue, the islands painted in different colours. They have decorative scale bars as well, the place names or legends are written at right angles to the shore in black or red. Some of these maps or sea charts were produced in Italian, Catalan or Ottoman workshops as special presentation copies prepared for rulers or wealthy customers. Important cities which in the simple maps were no more than vignettes developed in these copies into plan views or ground level panoramas of certain cities and harbours with added legends concerning historical facts often indicating the political allegiance of a place. Venice and Genoa were the most frequently illustrated ports although other cities such as Marseilles, Jerusalem, Alexandria or Cairo were represented. They also included figures of
*
Koc University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey.
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rulers or other humans worthy of attention, animals, birds, flags, etc. It is in these illustrated maps that the links between map and picture making bring aesthetic concerns and their artistic component needs to be explored. A study of such maps or sea charts from the Mediterranean reveals the interplay between diverse cultures in the area and especially the political and cultural relations between the Mediterranean countries, and the different approaches revealed by the works of Italian, Catalan or Ottoman cartographers. The Catalan or Italian cartographers preparing maps and sea charts for their patrons seem to have developed a special interest towards the Moslem rule in the eastern Mediterranean. Ottoman expansion into Anatolia and especially the conquest of Istanbul in 1453 must have been an unpleasant reality for Italian and Catalan cartographers as they were reluctant to depict the city under Moslem rule and they preferred to indicate if all, the new masters of the Byzantine capital only by a flag and symbolize the Moslem rule in Anatolia by banners with crescents or sometimes a turbaned figure holding a dagger. One of the best plan views of Istanbul during Byzantine rule was drawn by Christoforo Buodelmonte in his Liber Insularum, the book on islands, in 1430, which still is a real document for the city and its monuments. Approximately sixty years after, the city was depicted in Liber Cronicarum printed in Germany in 1492 still as a Byzantine city with no indication of the monuments added by Mehmed II after the city's conquest in 1453. As late as 1561, the Venetian cartographer Giorgio Sideri refrained from drawing Istanbul although he depicted many of the cities and harbours in Europe, North Africa and the Near East, and preferred to mark the Bosphorous with a Christian flag as well as a banner with a crescent placing a Christian flag in the Black Sea as well. Some Italian cartographers such as Jacopo Maggiolo did depict Istanbul under Moslem rule. However Jerusalem and Cairo although drawn in much detail are not indicated as Moslem cities although they came under Ottoman rule in 1516.
Figure 1. View of Istanbul. Liber Cronicarum, Topkapi Palace Museum Library, H. 2878, d. 1497.
On the other hand Battista Agnese, a Venetian cartographer active in the second quarter of the 16th century seems to have taken a keen interest in contemporary history. His world maps and atlases covering different parts of the world are extensively illustrated and quite accurate. His interest in political history is explicit in his depictions of rulers in all the European countries, the Scottish and English kings, and the enthroned Pope. He had a keen interest for the eastern rulers as well. Suleyman the Magnificent, the reigning Ottoman sultan is depicted on his throne in Anatolia. The inscription nearby indicates the spot where Timur defeated Bayezid II in 1402, in Ankara. In Iran, not far from the Caspian, he placed the Safavid sultan on his throne.
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Interesting though is Agnese's depiction of the island of Rhodes under a Christian flag although the island was taken by Suleyman the Magnificent. Ottoman rule in the Balkans is verified by a second portrait of Suleyman the Magnificent, both portraits being quite realistic depictions of the sultan. Suleyman was one of the sultans most frequently portrayed by European artists at the time, so he must have seen a portrait of the Ottoman sultan. His indication of the holy town Jerusalem with a depiction of Christ and God in the clouds is done undoubtedly to emphasize the Christian significance of the town. On the other hand, when depicting the eastern Mediterranean area he indicates in an inscription that Selim I had conquered the area.
Figure 2. Portrait of Suleyman the Magnificent enthroned on the map of the Ottoman Empire, Battista Agnese. Portolan 1, Venezia, Museo Correr, d. 1553 (Courtesy of Museo Correr).
Agnese's maps are the most accurately illustrated examples. Other 16th and 17th century cartographers reflected different approaches. Some indicated political rule by placing curious symbolic imaginary figures as rulers, for example the figure symbolizing the Habsburg king in Europe or the Ottoman sultan in this portolan. Some included seascapes; others gave plan views of the major towns unframed in a section above the maps. The sixteenth century saw the production of several maps and sea charts by the Ottomans as well. The Ottoman expansion policy in the Mediterranean resulted in the annexation of Syria and Egypt followed by the siege of Rhodes already signalling Ottoman supremacy in the Aegean by 1520's. This continuing interest in campaigns in the Mediterranean necessitated the presence of a powerful fleet and extensive geographic material. It was Mehmed II in the 15th century who had acquired a rich collection of geographical sources for the Ottoman court. His personal interest in geography is revealed by a large number of books and maps still kept in the Topkapi Palace Museum. Francesco Berlinghieri, the Florentine geographer, dedicated a copy of Ptolemy's Geographike's Italian translation to Mehmed II. A military map of the Venetian republic also commissioned by Mehmed II is now in the Topkapi Museum. Various military maps or siege plans were produced by the Ottomans. In two siege plans, one of Belgrade and the other of Lepanto, painted in the technique of miniature painting, Lepanto is shown enclosed in flatly rendered walls but the monuments themselves in elevation. It is in way a map and also a miniature painting. The plan of Belgrade has scattered vignettes reminiscent of portolan style but the way the buildings are shown, the-plants rendered and the colouring is typical of Ottoman miniatures of the time.
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The best examples of Ottoman mapping are found among the works of Piri Reis, a manner and a cartographer at the court of Selim I and Suleyman the Magnificent. His well known world map of 1513 based on the Columbus map of 1498 and the various copies of his Kitab-i Bahriye, a book of portolans and sailing directions, are full of city views and legendary images worthy of attention. In the long inscription on the world map he says he consulted 20 maps and mappamondi and legends about the discovery of America. Piri's Kitab-i Bahriye contains charts of the Mediterranean starting his voyage with the Aegean Sea, the Dalmatian shores, Italy, southern France, Spain, North Africa, east Mediterranean, southern shores of Turkey and back to the Dardanelles. Some of his legends describing the towns and their depictions themselves are reflections of the Ottoman cartographers' approach. Piri describes Venice in his text, as a city no more than a simple fishermen's town established by fishermen from Alexandria who brought the relics of San Marco. Although as an Ottoman mariner, he must have accepted Venice significant as a naval force as well as being a commercial center not to forget its large arsenal, and although it is the largest representation of a town in the whole book, the city's view reflects Piri's perception of Venice. The arsenal, the only rivalling arsenal to the Istanbul one, as Piri writes, is depicted in detail. The church of San Marco and the campanile are indicated but not very accurately drawn. The rest is a pile of buildings and canals. The image is far removed from the accurate bird's eye views of the town already used in European maps after Barbari's plan of Venice in 1500. Piri's version is a topographical drawing of the town in an Ottoman miniaturist's approach. But when it comes to towns in North Africa or the Anatolian coast, Piri gives detailed representations of the towns based on his own observations. When depicting Cairo he shows many of the Moslem monuments, he emphasizes the sailors because it had an arsenal, and he carefully depicts all the significant monuments.
Figure 3. View of Venice. Piri Reis, Kitab-i Bahriye, Suleymaniye Library, ca. 1525, A 2162, f. 214b
In later copies of Piri Reis' book produced at the end of the 16th century town views have been elaborated and are much more detailed. By the mid-16 th century a tradition of topographical painting was initiated in the Ottoman ateliers influenced by the cartographers' work. Miniature artists now depicted in the historical manuscripts those towns besieged or visited by the Ottoman army or navy with accurate topographical details very much like the town views in atlases. These views painted by the Ottoman artists some of whom
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are known by name indicate the close relationship between cartographers and artists, and documents prove the presence of artists working at the cartographers' ateliers in Istanbul. Later in the century several Ottoman atlases without text were produced, some of them with elaborate illustrations. In an atlas in the Walters Art Gallery dating from late 16th century, the major cities in Europe and the East Mediterranean are depicted with accurate details (Alexandria and Marseilles). Genoa is depicted with its two harbours, but the most interesting image in the atlas is the panorama of Istanbul. The city is divided by the Golden Horn and the Bosphorous into three sections and each section when viewed from the sea is drawn like a ground level panorama. The Istanbul skyline with its major mosques and Galata section with its tower are marked with accuracy, not to forget the arsenal which was elaborated in the second half of the 16th century. The panorama looks like a ground level view at first sight but it also gives the feeling of a bird's eye view because the city is shown from a distance. Yet it totally lacks the single perspective used in bird's eye views of European towns by cartographers such as Roselli and Barbari at the beginning of the 16th century. On the other hand this panoramic view of Istanbul is not an imaginary or symbolic representation of the town nor is it in any way reminiscent of portolan style town views seen previously. It is more in line with detailed panoramas of Istanbul often drawn by European travellers in the 16th century such as the Lorichs panorama or the Vienna one. They are ground level panoramas seen from the Galata section. The true bird's eye view plan of Istanbul was published by Braun and Hogenberg in the Civitates Orbis Terrarum early in the 17th century (1572-1618) where the view of Istanbul is in the perfect geometrical perspective. Braun and Hogenberg included figures and portraits in their city views and there is an interesting note in their publication. They say they did this to prevent the Turks whose religion forbade images from using their maps for their own military end.
Figure 4. View of Istanbul. Atlas, F. 8b-9a, Baltimore Walters Art Gallery, W. 660, d. 1560s (Courstesy of Walters Art Gallery).
When Bleau brothers presented their atlas to Louis the 14th in 1663 they wrote "geography is the eye and light of history". "The cartographer describes each section of the world individually with its cities, villages, islands, rivers, lakes, mountains, etc. and tells its history making everything so clear so that the reader sees the actual town or place before his eyes". Maps should be considered to present geography as the eye of history. They record the history of a town as well as the 'political history of a region, they reflect the conflicts between political powers and beliefs, they reflect the artistic milieu of the period and above all the
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cartographer who often was also the artist, or sometimes the sailor or the traveller himself, his political tendencies, his interest in far away lands, his cultural background, his knowledge of environment and nature and his own world of fantasies and memories. No doubt the map makers in history have been referred to as "world describers". Their work enables us to contemplate at home and right before our eyes things that are farthest away. Yet the artistic component of the cartographers work is equally significant. This interesting merge of mapping and picturing, should be the concern of the historians of art as these illustrated maps may well be a source for historical documentation as well as the art of painting at the time, and the aesthetic criteria prevailing in various art circles in the Mediterranean.
Selected Bibliography
Goodrich, T., "The Earliest Ottoman Maritime Atlas-the Walters Deniz Atlasi", Archivum Ottomanicum, 11 (1986)
25-50.
Goodrich, T., "Old Maps in the Library of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul", Imago Mundi, no.45, London, 1993.
The History of Cartography, vol. two, book one (ed. J. B. Harley, D. Woodward), Chicago and London, 1992. XIV-X VIII. Yuzyil Portolan ve Deniz Haritalari/Portolani e Carte Nautiche XI V-X VII Secolo dalle collezioni del Museo Correr - Venezia. Museo del Topkapi- Istanbul, 1994.
Renda, G. "Representations of towns in Ottoman sea charts of the sixteenth century and their relation to Mediterranean cartography", Soilman le Magnifique et son temps, Paris, 1992, 279-297. Soucek, S., Piri Reis and Turkish Mapmaking after Columbus, London, 1992.
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Calendars and Almanac in Islamic Civilization
Dr. Salim Ayduz Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Amar Nazir February 2007 666 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
Calendars and Almanac in Islamic Civilization February 2007
CALENDARS AND ALMANAC IN ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

Dr. Salim Ayduz*
This article first was published in Art and Culture Magazine (Istanbul, winter 2004, Issue 11,pp. 72-85). We are grateful to author for allowing publication.
Neither astrologers nor timekeepers know the long midwinter night Ask he who is sunk in despond how many hours the nights last.
Turkish Proverb
Islam attaches importance to the structuring of each day, so as to make the best use of time. Daily, weekly and yearly worship is laid out in a specific regular system that enables people to lead their life in a productive way. Daily affairs and work are organised within this framework of times of prayer, defined according to the sun by day, and the moon and its phases by night. Therefore, from early on Muslim scholars began to follow the movements of these heavenly bodies in their endeavour to accurately measure time, and came to play a leading role in the advance of astronomical science. The concept of time was widely debated by Islamic philosophers, many of whom tackled the question of time and space. Munajjim, who were both astrologers and astronomers, sought to understand the abstract concepts relating to time in the course of their astronomical work. From their astronomical observations and calculations, and in particular the task of drawing up calendars, they attempted to make deductions about time itself. Pinning down this controversial dimension in concrete terms had preoccupied human beings everywhere for many centuries. St Augustine remarked on the difficulty of finding a satisfactory answer to the question:
What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know.
The modern philosopher Alfred North Whitehead said:
It is impossible to meditate on Time and the mystery of the creative process of nature without an overwhelming emotion at the limitations of human intelligence.
For this reason no one can have the last word where explaining time is concerned. Time is one of the great puzzles with which human beings have grappled throughout history, and its enigmatic nature is expressed by the Famous Turkish poet Necip Fazil Kisakurek in one of his poems,:
What is time, what?
S. Ayduz PhD. Visiting scholar at the School of Languages, Linguistics and Culture, The University of Manchester, and Senior Researcher at The Foundation for Science and Technology and Civilisation (FSTC - Manchester).
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A flowing river, a flying bird? What is time, what? A descent, or an ascent?
Calendars
For desert tribes and caravans, which kept their activity to a minimum in the pitiless heat of day, preferring to travel by night, it was natural that the moon should take precedence over the sun. The lunar calendar used by pre-Islamic Arabian tribes continued to be used, with modifications, to regulate social and religious life following the advent of Islam.
Figure 1. A cover page of an astrological Table and. Topkapi Palace Museum Library, K 1069.
This calendar was important in defining the times of religious observances that were new to the Arab people. The Islamic religion, whose rituals were based on the lunar calendar, frequently calls the attention of Muslims to the heavens in the Koran, demonstrating the close relationship with astronomy in Muslim culture. This message, combined with the natural inclination of Arab nomads living in vast deserts to use the stars in the dome of sky to guide them on their way, meant that right from the beginning Islamic culture lent new momentum to the study of astronomy, which acquired a special importance. The primary concerns of astronomers were the preparation of calendars specifying times of prayer, and the accurate determination of direction since worshippers prayed facing Mecca. Muslims were accustomed to the lunar calendar, which they had used prior to Islam, but as they spread rapidly into new regions, they made the acquaintance of other calendars based on the movement of the sun.
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Some of these solar calendars were used side by side with the lunar calendar throughout Islamic history for the purpose of regulating agricultural and those administrative activities for which a solar calendar was more convenient. The Hijri takvim or lunar calendar based on the Hegira was fundamental to social and religious life, and that which principally preoccupied Muslim astronomers until the introduction of the Jalal calendar devised by Seljuk astronomers, among them Omar Khayyam. The Jall calendar was a very reliable and precise solar calendar that came to be widely used.
Figure 2. Traditional Turkish Calendar (1452). The traditional Turkish calendar was based on a cycle of 12 months, each corresponding to a different animal. This calendar for the year of the monkey by Hamdi Mustafa b. Sunbul was presented to Mehmed II. (Topkap Palace Museum Library, B 309).
The Islamic Calendar

The starting year of the Hijr takvim or Islamic lunar calendar is 622 AD, when the Hegira, or emigration of Muhammed and his followers from Mecca to Medina took place. It is based on the revolution of the moon around the earth, and consists of twelve months of 29 or 30 days: Muharrem (30), Safer (29), Rebulevvel (30), Rebulhir (29), Cemziyelevvel (30), Cemziyelhir (29), Receb (30), Saban (29), Ramadan (30), Sawwal (29), Zilkde (30) and Zilhicce (29, 30). (For an astrological and the Ramadan page of a calendar see Figure 1). The lunar year consists of 354 days, which is 11 days less than the solar year, and every 33 years falls one year behind the Gregorian calendar. The discrepancy with the solar year, which follows the seasons, meant that Muslim countries also used the solar calendar, and some calendars drawn up by astronomers include the dates according to the European Gregorian calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
Rum Calendar
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Ottoman Turkey used both the Islamic lunar calendar, and a solar calendar known as the Rum or Roman calendar, which was based on the Julian calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. This calendar was inherited from the Byzantines, and used by the Ottomans for the taxation of agricultural revenues. The year according to the Rum or Julian calendar began on 1 March, and the Ottomans took the starting year to be that of the Hegira. To make up for the gain of 11 days made by the solar Rum calendar over the Islamic calendar, a leap year was deducted from the Rum calendar every 33 years.
Figure 3. A detail of an Almanac Cover Page. This calendar by Hamdi Mustafa bin Sunbul was presented to Sultan Mehmed II. Topkapi Palace Museum Library, B 309.
Rzname
A rzname is a set of tables giving the first days of the months in both the Islamic and Rum calendars, the date on which the sun enters each sign of the zodiac, and eclipses of the sun and moon. Also known as
takvm-i dim (perpetual calendar) or takvm-i devr-i dim (calendar of perpetual motion), they were
permanently valid whatever the year. There is no evidence that such calendars were produced in preOttoman times, and they may therefore be regarded as a type unique to Ottoman Turkey. The earliest known rznme is the Rznme-i Seyh Waf dated 1488 by Seyh Vef, whose full name was Muslihddin Mustafa bin Ahmed ibn al-Waf al-Sadr al Konev. The first part of the calendar consists of tables and various astronomical diagrams relating to the motion of the heavenly bodies, with some information about astrology. The second part gives the equivalence of the names of the months used by the Ottomans in numerous different languages, and evaluates them from the astrological point of view. Translations of Seyh Vefas Rznme in several languages are to be found in libraries.
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Rznme tables were written in different colours of ink, and usually had some decorative gilding. They
occasionally include astronomical information. Some were in the form of books of ten to fifteen pages, while others were in the form of scrolls, which made them easier to use. Seyh Vefas Rznme (Topkapi Palace Museum Library, Y. 1693) is a scroll.
Figure 4. A miniature detail of an eclipse from a Turkish Almanac that presented to Mehmed II. Topkapi Palace Museum Library, B 309.
Another famous rznme is that written by Mehmed Efendi of Darende in 1739. It was translated into Latin, and of this translation Prince Dimitri Cantemir remarked: The Turks are able to calculate the days, hours and even the minutes of each new month with accuracy, by means of what they call a ruz-nameh.
OTTOMAN ALMANACS
The methods used for formulating calendars by Ottoman astrologers (munajjim), who as explained above combined the role of astrologer and astronomer, had their origins in earlier Islamic states, particularly the Seljuks. Ottoman court astrologers played a particularly important role in calendar and almanac production. The earliest known Ottoman calendars are dated 848 H/1444 CE (Paris, Bibliothque Nationale, Manuscrits turcs, no. 180) and 850 H/1446 (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Hunt. donat. 16). Both these calendars are by the same person. These are followed by two-dated 856 H/1452 (Topkapi Palace Museum Library, B.K. 309, For some of this calendar pages see Figure 2, 3, 4, 5) and 858 H/1454 (Nuruosmaniye Library no. 3080). Subsequently the number of Ottoman astrologers increased, and consequently the number of calendars. From the late 15 th century onwards, calendars began to be produced regularly, and this continued until the end of the Ottoman Empire.
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The office of court astrologer was established towards the end of the 15th century. The astrologer, his deputy and five clerks produced almanacs annually for presentation to the sultan and statesmen, and this official institution was important for the study of astronomy in the Ottoman Empire.
Figure 5. Almanac Page. This page from an almanac by Hamdi Mustafa bin Sunbul presented to Sultan Mehmed II describes the effects of the signs of the zodiac according to the different seasons. Topkapi Palace Museum Library, B 309.
Nawrziyye
The court astrologer presented the almanac for the New Year to the sultan on 21 March, at a ceremony marking the occasion. These imperial almanacs were beautifully produced, being handwritten and ornamented using coloured inks and gilding. The calendar presentation ceremonies at the palace were attended not only by the court astrologer, but by the royal physician, royal surgeon, and royal ophthalmic. The royal physician presented a sweet electuary composed of herbs and spices known as Nawrziyye to the sultan, his ministers and officers of the court at the ceremony, while the sultan rewarded the court astrologer and the royal physician with gifts and sums of money. (For an Almanac page reign of Bayezid see Figure 6).
Astronomical Tables
Calendars made use of astronomical tables known as zic. Ottoman astronomers and astrologers based their astronomical and astrological calculations on the zic prepared by Ulugh Beg (1394-1449), grandson of Timur (Tamerlane) at his observatory in Samarkand. In time, however, these tables became outdated and some miscalculations were discovered in them, as a result of which new and more accurate astronomical tables drawn up at European observatories began to be used, such as that of Noel Durret (d. after 1648),
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and after 1800 those of the French astronomer Jack Dominic Cassini (d. 1756). From 1832, when the Cassini tables became inadequate, those of Lalande replaced them, and subsequently from the middle of the century all of these were abandoned in favour of astronomical tables prepared by the French Observatory. Ottoman calendars were of two different types, one astronomical, known as rakam takvimi, and the other astrological, known as ahkm takvimi or 'calendar of predictions.' The rakam takvimi showed the months and days of the year, while the other gave the court astrologers predictions for the New Year, and listed activities that it was appropriate to engage in or avoid.
Figure 6. Almanac Page Reign of Bayezid II (1481-1512). Topkapi Palace Museum Library, R 1711.
Almanacs
Almanacs usually consisted of three main sections: a brief history of the world, a calendar with a page for each of the 12 months, and a page devoted to astronomical and astrological events for the year. These pages included information about the seasons, activities appropriate to be carried out or avoided, pronouncements and predictions for particular days, and tables listing certain important days. The types of information are given varied over the centuries. Some almanacs, particularly prior to the 17th century, began with a brief account of major historical events from the time of Adam up to the present, together with their dates, most of the ancient events being based on a legendary view of the history of the world. This section was followed by a calendar, together with various astrological information, such as predictions for the year, and interpretations of dreams. Almost all such almanacs also listed auspicious and inauspicious
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dates for activities concerning government. The third section was devoted to eclipses of the sun and moon. (For the last page of an Almanac that consisting of calendar, horoscope and describing the partial eclipse and horoscope for the year see Figure 7.) The calendar, called Nawrz-i Sultan (Royal New Year), which commenced on 21 March, consisted of thirteen pages. This was drawn up in the form of a Jalli solar calendar, with a line for each of the 29 or 30 days. The thirteenth page was devoted to the five or six additional days arranged into columns, the first headed al-Arab listing the days of the Islamic calendar, and the second headed al-Rmi giving the equivalent days of the Rum calendar. In this section there were also columns devoted to astrological and other information, such as predictions, signs, the seasons, events and the signs of the zodiac.
Figure 7. Almanac Page. Last page of the almanac consisting of calendar and horoscope produced by court astrologer Chief Astronomer Seyyid Sadullah Mehmed Efendi, and describing the partial eclipse and horoscope for the year. Topkap Palace Museum Library, R 1712.
With minor modifications and variations, this form continued to be used for Ottoman almanacs over the centuries.
First section:
This preliminary section of the almanacs could include both historical and astrological subjects. The brief history of the world began with Adam, and went on to list the prophets, caliphs, the Seljuks, Turkish and Muslim principalities, and the Ottomans in chronological order. This was followed by various astronomical and astrological information, such as celestial events that were to take place on particular days and months, the seasons, dream interpretation, and advice about which foods and beverages should be taken or avoided during particular months and seasons.
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This section varied widely in content and length between different almanacs, sometimes being extremely long, sometimes extremely brief, or even missed out entirely. Sometimes it included a sub-section entitled Zayice ve Ahkm (Horoscopes and Predictions), in which astrological predictions were given for the year ahead, with the most auspicious times for engaging in particular activities, and the position of the stars on these days specified. (For a horoscope page according to the traditional Turkish calendar see Figure 8). Predictions and signs relating to the sultan, ministers and statesmen, sacred days and nights, the first days of each month in the lunar calendar, the position of the stars and planets on particular days, and meteorological events for each season were given under the heading Mevsim (Seasons), or Mevsim ve Ahvl-i Kevkib (Seasons and Astral Events). Finally this section gave the years according to the ancient Turkish calendar based, like the Chinese, on a cycle of twelve years corresponding to different animals. This calendar was known as Tarih-i Turk or Sl-i
Turkn.
Figure 8. Almanac Page Reign of Bayezid II (1481-1512). Tables giving horoscopes according to the traditional Turkish calendar. Topkapi Palace Museum Library, R 1711.
Second section:
This consisted of the calendar proper in twelve or thirteen pages of tables giving both the Islamic lunar (Hijr) and solar (Rum) days in comparative form for each month. Further columns explain tasks that should be carried out or avoided, and similar information. On the page showing the twelve months are predictions for the year, positions of the twelve signs of the zodiac, and the positions of the planets and which sign they will be in.
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Next to the columns listing the days, are other columns containing further astrological information, under such headings as Ihtiyart, Dellt, Tevkit, Cumut, and Mevki-i Burc.
Ihtiyart: This column explains which tasks should or should not be carried out on that particular day, and indicates days when important ventures should be avoided with the word mahzurt (inauspicious), and those appropriate for such ventures mubarektir (it is auspicious), or phrases to similar effect.
Lunar and solar eclipses are also given in this column.
Dellt: This section specifies the activities of the sultan, statesmen and other high-ranking functionaries
for which each month is auspicious or inauspicious. It also includes advice and warnings concerning daily life. Where a particular admonition refers to a certain day or period, this is specified in the opening sentence. For example, This refers to the sixteenth day of the holy Sevval until the sixteenth of Zilkade. Then follow the words Allahu alem (God the Omniscient), a reminder that only God can know all, as a precaution against the predictions of the munajjim turning out to be mistaken. This was repeated at the end of the column, with the addition of the words and his Prophet.
Tevkit: In this column various information is given, such as the dates of religious festivals and other
important days, meteorological information, the names of the months, and the daily positions of some of the planets.
Cumut: Also called el-usbu in some almanacs, this column contains the names of the days of the week,
which are always in Persian whatever the language of the rest of the almanac.
Mevki-i burc: This column specifies which constellation of the zodiac the moon will be in during a
particular month. The signs of the zodiac were always given in Arabic as follows: Kavs (Sagittarius), Cedi (Capricorn), Deliv (Aquarius), Ht (Pisces), Hamel (Aries), Sevr (Taurus), Cevza (Gemini), Seratan (Cancer), Esed (Leo), Sunbule (Virgo), Mizan (Libra), Akreb (Scorpio). Some almanacs give the times of the five daily prayers, and other times relating to religious worship. The times of prayer are specified to the minute for each day, since these vary as the length of daylight changes throughout the year. Other times given include istibk-i nucum (the moment when the stars first appear), the is-i sani (bedtime prayer), imsak (the hour at which the fast begins each morning during Ramazan),
tulu-u afitab (sunrise), vakt-i israk (rising of the moon), dahve-i kubra (noon) and the phases of the moon.
Some astrologers drew up calendars confined specifically to the times of prayer (such as that for the year 1241 H in Topkapi Palace Museum Library, E. 6536/3).
Third section:
The final section was devoted to astronomical information, such as lunar or solar eclipses, with the times and other details of each, together with astrological interpretations.
Marginal notes
Diverse notes added to almanacs are of great interest. These include notes made by the authors themselves, which are sometimes of considerable historical importance, throwing light on recent events of the time. However, the notes, which are of most significance, are those made by owners who used the
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calendars as diaries for jotting down events that they personally regarded as important or interesting. Among these we can discover many fascinating details, ranging from such mundane private matters as when their hens laid eggs, to major historic and natural occurrences. Most such notes specify the date, and sometimes even the precise time, at which they happened. Among them are references to political events, social and cultural subjects, and details of the force of earthquakes, which occurred. Fires, eclipses, rain, snow and hail, storms, rainbows, comets, and the launching of ships are among the most common facts noted in this way. Additionally we find observations on the subject of dismissal of statesmen from their posts, exiles, uprisings, riots, declarations of war and peace and other important political events. Family events recorded include marriages, circumcisions, deaths, and births. A selection of such notes from almanacs of various dates in the library at Kandilli Observatory in Istanbul is given below: 'Today in the mid-afternoon we were invited to the Porte for consulting.' A great fire in Sultan Bayezid district. His majesty Sultan Abdulmecid boarded ship for a sea voyage. Then a storm broke out in the Black Sea, and in fear he commanded that they return. Later, on Wednesday at 32 minutes past the hour of two, he ordered the departure by land in the direction of Rumeli.
Almanac 234.
Fire broke out in the Imperial Harem at Besiktas district, and the hearts of the faithful burned with grief at the death of Emine Sultan, the young daughter of the Sultan. A great and violent earthquake.'
Almanac 39
'A violent earthquake occurred at nightfall. The town of Hafsa was entirely destroyed, and there was partial destruction in Edirne.
Almanac 48
Sadullah Efendi, Director of the Powder Factory, passed away.' A full eclipse began at eight oclock, and lasted for 23 minutes. 27 Zilkade 1145 H/1732 The High Admiral sailed for the Mediterranean with a few galleys and a couple of galleons that were in Istanbul.'
Safer 1146 H/1733
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Resident of the madrasa, Mulla Osman, was given permission to visit his family in the city of Bartin, on the condition he returned within four months.' 'We met with Seyh Muhammed Niyaz, who is in the retinue of the Uzbek ambassador, at the home of Veliyudden Efendi. High Admiral Canim Hoca arrived from the Black Sea. From the waterfront pavilion we attended him, and then they confined us in Kutahya. In order to exchange he went through Laz Ali Gate. 'Seyhulislam Ataulah Efendi was dismissed and Arabzade Arif Efendi appointed on Thursday 27 Ce. of the year 23.
Almanac 30
'A great earthquake occurred in the land of Azerbaijan, destroying the buildings, and governor Suleyman Pasa and most of his servants were buried beneath the rubble of the palace. I extracted my tooth, which had no root, without difficulty.' 'A light earthquake took place. They say it was violent in the province of Bursa, extremely violent around Amasya, and entirely destroyed the town of Corum, where half the inhabitants were killed.' Drawing up calendars and almanacs was one of the foremost duties of astrologers and horologers in Ottoman times, as it had been in Turkish and Islamic states of earlier centuries. Calendars were a source of information about the times that regulated the lives of every one of all classes. Almanacs, which were presented to the sultans and state functionaries, were decorative as well as functional, and the astrologers were rewarded generously for them each year. Most of those produced by the court astrologers have survived, and are valuable documents that provide a wealth of diverse information, particularly about astronomy and astrology, but also social and other aspects of their period.
Bibliography
Abdurrahman, Takvim al-Tam, Suleymaniye Kutuphanesi. Esad Efendi, 1978. Ahmed Sakir Pasa, Takvim-i Nucumi; IstanbuI 1306. Atsz, N., Fatih Sultan Mehmede Sunulmu Tarihi Bir Takvim, Istanbul Enstits Dergisi, Istanbul 1957, pp.17-23. Ayduz, S., Osmanli Devletinde Munajjimbahsilik, Osmanli Bilimi Arastirmalari I, Istanbul l996, pp.159-207. Ayduz, S., Uc Sultan Bir Bilim Adami Ulug Bey- Uzun Hasan- Fatih Sultan Mehmed ve Ali Kuscu, Sanat
Dnyamz, vol. 93, IstanbuI 1999, pp. 171-175.

Basbakanlik Arsivi, Cevdet-Maarif, no. 192; 5316; 5621; 6325. Basbakanlik Arsivi, Cevdet-Saray, no. 59; 644.
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Basbug, Hayri, Nevruz, Turk Dunyasi Arastirmalari, Issue 34, February 1985. Bouvat, L., Ulug Bey, IA, XIII, p. 27. Gokmen, Fatin, Eski Turk1erde Hey'et ve Takvim, Istanbul 1937. Huseyin Hsni, Zic-i Cedid Tercumesi, Belediye Kutuphanesi, Cevdet, no. 151, 1b-2a. Ibn Haldun, Mukaddime, trans. S. Uludag, Istanbul l982. Inalcik, Halil, Fatih Devri Uzerine Tetkikler ve Vesikalar I, Ankara 1987. Kafesoglu, Ibrahim, Turk Milli Kltr, IstanbuI 1986. M. Akif Efendi, Tarih-i Sultan Mustafa Han, Es'ad Efendi Kutuphanesi, 2108. Ruska, J. Zayirce, IA, XIII, pp. 476-477. Salih Zeki, Kmus-i Riyaziyyat, Istanbul 1315, I, pp. 315-318. Stern, M. S., Time in the lslamic World, Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
in the non-Western Cultures, ed. H. Selin, 1997, pp. 979-980.
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Saf al-Dn al-Urmaw and the Theory of Music:
Al-Risla al-sharafiyya f al-nisab altalfiyya

Content, Analysis, and Influences
Dr. Fazli Arslan Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Prof. Mohammed Abattouy Dr. Salim Ayduz March, 2007 673 FSTC Limited, 2007
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FSTC Limited
Saf al-Dn al-Urmaw and the Theory of Music March, 2007
SAF AL-D N AL-URMAW AND THE THEORY OF MUSIC:
AL-RIS LA AL-SHARAFIYYA F AL-NISAB ALTAL FIYYA

CONTENT, ANALYSIS, AND INFLUENCES
Dr. Fazli Arslan*
Introduction
One of the most important figures of the history of Middle Eastern music is Saf al-Dn 'Abd al-Mumin alUrmaw (d. 1294). One meets his name in the introductions to most of the books written in the field of the theory of Eastern music. Al-Urmaw analyzed thoroughly the Greek sources and the works of Muslim scholars such as al-Kind, al-F r b and Ibn Sn. He studied the practical music of his time scientifically and systematized it. The theory and practice of this systematization can be found in his main treatise al-Risla
al-sharafiyya f al-nisab al-talfiyya (The Sharafian Treatise on Musical Proportions).

It is acknowledged that the contribution of Saf al-Dn al-Urmaw is of tremendous importance in the chain of theoretical works in the history of Arabic music starting with al-Kind. He studied the sciences in alMustansiriyya school in Baghdad and was well known as a celebrated calligrapher and writer of literature. Saf al-Din was also a good physicist and a performer of the ' d (oriental lute). Being famous with his compositions abroad, Saf al-Dn invented two musical instruments and trained students in the fields of calligraphy and music. "Old Orient Sound System with 17 Notes" which was systematized by Saf al-D n was considered as one of the best sound systems by some writers. It is thanks to this system and other achievements that he was claimed as Zarlino of the Orient. The works of Saf al-Dn in the field of music theory, Kitb al-adwr (The Book of Musical Modes) and alRisla al-sharafiyya f al-nisab al-talfiyya were the sources for many authors who wrote about the theory of music for several centuries after his time. Qutb al-Dn Mahmud al-Shr z (d. 1310), Abd al-Qadr b. Ghayb al-Margh (d. 1435), Fath Allh Mmin al-Shirwn (d. 1486), Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Hamd al-Ldhiq (d. 1494) and Alishah b. Haci Buke (d. 1500) are some of the writers who relied on Saf al-Dn in their works. The treatise al-Risla al-sharafiyya consists of five discourses under different headings. Its content is analysed in this article.1 A special focus is laid on the mathematical fundamentals of music in the second, third and fourth discourses of the book. The parts of the works of al-Kind al-F r b and Ibn Sn that benefited to Saf al-Dn are also indicated. Finally, the traces of al-Sharafiyya are tracked by showing references to it in some works written in later centuries, in order to emphasize the impact of the book on the subsequent studies and the innovations it brought.
* 1
The Ministry of Education of Turkey, the Board of Education, the Centre of Examining Educational Materials. The study is based on the Arabic text that I have extracted from the three oldest manuscript copies of al-Sharafiyya in Turkey (The Language and History-Geography Faculty, Saib Sencer MS I/4810; Topkapi Palace Museum Library, Ahmad III, MS 3460; Nuruosmani Library, MS 3647) and the copy in Paris Bibliotheque Nationale, MS 2479.
Page 2 of 24
First Discourse of al-Sharafiyya

In the first discourse of al-Sharafiyya, composed of five subheadings, Saf al-D n examined the theory of sound and approached the subject by narrating ideas mostly from al-Fr b and partly from Ibn Sn. In this discourse, Saf al-Dn explains the ideas of al-Fr b on the formation of sound and points out what he considers as the defective aspects of the Second Master's analysis. He defines the note and explains the reasons of the acuity and gravity. In this context, he examines some ideas of al-Frb and Ibn Sn on this subject and indicates that he disagrees with them and states the falsity of their opinions. Then he explains the reasons of the acuity and gravity in the stringed and wind instruments, before he writes on the features of the note.2
Figure 1. Cover of the CD-Rom issued in February 2007 "Music of the Abbasid Era: The Legacy of Safiy ad-Dn al-Urmaw" by the violonist and musicologist Nidaa Abou Mrad and the Arab classical music ensemble of Antonine University (Lebanon).
Second Discourse
This chapter is about ratios of numbers to each other, making up of intervals, the ratio of the intervals made up, the levels and names of consonance and dissonance.
The Ratio between the Numbers:
On the theory of sound, see Ab Nasr Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Tarkhn al-Frb (d. 950), Kitb al-Msq al-Kabr, ed, atts Abd al-Malik Khashaba and Mahmd Ahmad al-Hifn, Cairo, n.d. pp. 211-224; Ikhwn al-Saf, Ras'il: al-Risla al-Khmisa f al-msq, edited by Khayr al-Dn al-Zirikl, Cairo, 1928, vol. 1, 137-141; Ibn Sn, (d. 1037), Kitb al-Shif, Gawmi' 'ilm al-msq, edited by Zekeriyy Ysuf, Cairo, 1956. pp. 4-13; R. D'Erlanger, Trait anonyme ddi au Sultan Osmanli Muhammed II, La Musique Arabe, Paris, 1939, iii, 17-25; Fath Allh al-Shirwn Majalla f al-msq, edited by Fuat Sezgin, Frankfurt 1986, v. 26, fols. 47-54; Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Hamd alLdhiq, al-Risla al-fathiyya f al-msq Istanbul Municipality, Taqsim Ataturk Library MS K23, fols: 13b-16b; Rauf Yekta, Trk Msiksi Nazariyti (Turkish music theory), Istanbul, 1924, pp. 14-34.
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According to Saf al-Dn there is always a ratio between two numbers. He arranged them as 12 parts. Firstly, two numbers are equal to each other (the position of equality) if there is no equality between the numbers, there is one of the ratios below:
Mithl and guz: First level 1+1/2 (3/2), then continuing to infinity 1+1/3 (4/3), 1+1/4 (5/4). This super
particular is the ratio of (1+1/N).
Mithl and agz': the first level of this goes on like 1+2/3 (5/3), 1+3/4 (7/4), 1+4/5 (9/5) Dif and guz: starts with 2+1/2 (5/2) and goes on like 2+1/3 (7/3), 2+1/4 (9/4) Dif and agz ': starts with 2+2/3 (8/3) and goes on like 2+3/4 (11/4), 2+4/5 (14/5) Amthal: First level is 3 and then goes on like 5, 6, 7, 9 Amthal and guz: First level goes on like 3+1/2 (7/2), 3+1/3 (10/3), 3+1/4 (13/4) Amthal and agz': First level goes on like 3+2/3 (11/3), 3+3/4 (15/4) . Adaf : First level is 4, then goes on like 8, 16. In order to keep the word short Saf al-Dn says "guz and agz are added like this and goes on forever". That is to say, adaf and guz starts with 4+1/2 (9/2), 4+1/3 (13/3), and adaf and agz' with 4+2/3 (14/3) then goes on like 4+3/4 (19/4) .
Then he showed all the ratios between the two numbers on a thread divided into 12 equal parts in order to make us see all the ratios practically.
Let us have a look at the ratios between numbers on this figure. YB/Y=6/5, YB/T=4/3, YB/H=3/2, YB/Z=12/7, YB/V=2, YB/h=12/5, YB/D=3, YB/C=4, YB/B=6, Then, YA/Y=11/10, YA/T=11/9, YA/H=11/8, YA/Z=11/7, YA/V=11/6, YA/h=11/5, YA/D=11/4, YA/C=11/3, YA/B=11/2, Then, Y/T=10/9, Y/H=5/4, Y/Z=10/7, Y/V=5/3, Y/h=2, Y/D=5/2, Y/C=10/3, Y/B=5, Then, T/H=9/8, T/Z=9/7, T/V=3/2, T/h=9/5, T/D=9/4, T/C=3, T/B=9/2, Then, H/Z=8/7, H/V=4/3, H/h=8/5, H/D=2, H/C=8/3, H/B=4, Then, Z/V=7/6, Z/h=7/5, Z/D=7/4, Z/C=7/3, Z/B=7/2, Then, V/h=6/5, V/D=3/2, V/C=2, V/B=3, Then, h/D=5/4, h/C=5/3, h/B=5/2, Then, D/C=4/3, D/B=2, D/A=4, Then, C/B=3/2, C/A=3, Then, B/A=23
The Names of the Intervals:

Saf al-D n names the intervals which he calls "usable". He points out that the rest is recognized with their ratios. The intervals are:
1. Zul-kul merrateyn (two octaves): The first of the intervals Saf al-Dn names. The interval positioned between YB/C, H/B, D/A is the first level of adaf level. Its ratio is 2/1x2/1=4/1. 2. Zul-kul vel-hams (octave and penta chord): It is between YB/D, T/C, V/B. 2/1x3/2=3. 3. Zul-kul vel erba (octave and tetra chord): H/C interval is an example for this. 2/1x4/3=8/3. 4. Zul-kul (octave): It is positioned between the intervals of YB/V, Y/h, H/D, V/C, D/B, B/A. Its value is 2/1. 5. Zul-hams (penta chord): The first of mithl and guz levels. It is positioned between YB/H, T/V, V/D. Its
ratio is 3/2.
These 11 ratios which are out of the numbers of equality are mentioned in Mukaddimt al-usl as it was mentioned in al-Sharafiyya, Alishah b. Haci Buke, Muqaddimt al-usl, University of Istanbul, The Library of Ancient Works, The Department of Persian Manuscripts, MS 1097, fol. 5a. For more details on the intervals and ratios in al-Shirwn, see al-Shirwn, Majalla f al-msq, fol. 39.
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6. Zul-erba (tetra chord): The intervals of YB/T, H/V, D/C. The second level of mithl and guz at tetra
chord. Its ratio is 4/3. In spite of the fact that Saf al-Dn says the intervals mentioned above is recognized with their names and the rest is recognized with their ratios, he also points out that the interval of 9/8 is known as "tann" (whole-tone) and the one with 256/243 is called
bakiyye (remnant/limma). Among the ones he named
there is also an interval called irkha and he indicates that this is the quarter of "tann (9/8)".
Figure 2. First page of "Kitab al-adwar" by Safi al-Din. In the treatises of al-Kind, the terms octave, penta chord, tetra chord and tann (9/8) are frequently encountered4. In the Risla fi al-msq of Ikhwn al-Saf, there is no information on the ratios of the numbers with each other in the way Saf al-D n put forward. However, the sentences in Ikhw n al-Saf about this subject are important. "The best compositions are the ones produced with the most consonant ratios"5. Then, it is pointed out that these consonant ratios are 2/1, 3/2, 4/3, 5/4, 9/86. In the Sixth Ris la of Ikhwn al-Saf where " numbers, the effect of numerical ratios on the people and the ratios related to
music" mostly take place, these subjects are examined: "The ratio is a measure between two amounts.
When the two numbers are compared to each other, both are either equal or not. If there is no equality between the two numbers, one is either smaller or larger than the other. When the smaller one is compared to the larger one, there are nine positions. These are: 3/2, 4/3, 5/4, 6/5, 7/6, 8/7, 9/8, 10/9, 11/10 Besides, the ratios of dif (two fold), mithl and guz', mithl and agza', dif and guz', dif and agza' and adaf are also indicated"7. After naming nine harmonious intervals as octave, penta chord, tetra chord, tann, mujannab, bakiyye, two octaves, octave and penta chord, octave and tetra chord, Shirwn points out that the consonant intervals
4 5 6 7
See Ahmed Hakki Turabi, el-Kindnin Msik Risleleri, MA Thesis, stanbul 1996, (especially on Risala f khubr sin'at al-talf), p. 113. Ikhwn al-Saf, Risla f al-msiq, i, 161. Ibid, i, 164. Ikhwn al-Saf, ibid, al-Risla al-sdisa f al-nisba al-'adadiyya wa 'l-handasiyya, i, 181-182.
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are 12 in practice and he adds three octaves, two octaves and penta chord, two octaves and tetra chord to the ones mentioned above8.
The Parts of Intervals:

Saf al-Dn divides the intervals he explains into three parts; large, middle and small. 1. Large Intervals: Two octaves, octave and penta chord, octave and tetra chord and octave intervals. 2. Middle Intervals: Penta chord and tetra chord intervals. 3. Small Intervals: The intervals such as 5/4, 6/5 and 7/6 He calls the small intervals as "lahn" (melodic) and further subdivides them into three: a. Large lahn intervals; 5/4, 6/5, 7/6 ratio intervals. b. Middle lahn intervals; 8/7, 9/8, 10/9 ratio intervals. c. Small lahn interval; the intervals starting with 11/10 and continuing.
Figure 3. Extract from the colophon page of "Kitab al-adwar" by Safi al-Din. Compared to the performers of his period, Saf al-Dn points out that lahn intervals are divided into three. These are the extra intervals the biggest of which is 9/8, middle one is 14/13 and the smallest one is 256/243. He claims that all consonant melodies are made up of these three because the other lahn intervals look and sound like each other. Therefore, he explains that 9/8 is used instead of 8/7 and 10/9, and that instead of all middle intervals 14/13, and instead of all small lahn intervals 256/243 is used.
Consonant and Dissonant Intervals

Later on, Saf al-Dn divides the intervals he described into consonants and dissonants.9 He divides the consonants into two as first level consonants and second level consonants: 1. Octave intervals; the major consonant and the most natural one of the intervals.
8 9
Al-Shirwn, Majalla f al-msq, fols. 59-66. For an identical definition, see al-Shirwn, ibid, fol. 59.
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2. Second level consonant intervals; two octave, octave and pent chord, octave and tetra chord intervals. Then there is the pent chord and tetra chord. The intervals of 5/4, 6/5 and 7/6 out of these are the weak consonant intervals. As for the small lahn, the most consonant of them are 8/7 and 9/8. He points out that as the intervals get smaller, so does the weakness.
Figure 4. Extract from a scene of music (Hadith Bayd wa Riydh), 13th century Source : http://expositions.bnf.fr/livrarab/grands/099.htm. Ibn Sn divides the intervals into three as large, middle and small intervals. Octave intervals were classified by Ibn Sn as large interval, tetra chord and pent chord intervals as middle, and the others coming after tetra chord are classified as lahn10. To Ibn Sn also, the large lahn intervals are the ones with 5/4, 6/5, 7/6, 8/7, 9/8, 10/9, 11/10, 12/11, 13/12 and 14/13 ratios. Middle lahn intervals are the ones from 15/14 to 29/28. The others starting with 30/29 are the small lahn intervals.11 Al-L dhiq classified intervals as large, middle and small in the same way as Saf al-Dn and pointed out that this classification belongs to Saf al-D n. This classification also exists in Al-Shirwn.12 The large and middle intervals Rauf Yekta pointed out with a heading of "consonant intervals" are the same as those recorded by Saf al-Dn. Yekta pointed out all the other intervals except these as "small intervals" and showed them to the staff.
13
The Third Discourse of al-Sharafiyya

The main topic of this third part of the treatise is about the addition, division, subtraction of the intervals and the formation of these kinds.
10 11 12 13
Ibn Sn, Gawmi' 'ilm al-msq, pp. 18-19. Ibid, pp. 23-25. Al-Ldhiq, al-Risla al-fathiyya, fol. 35b. See also al-Shirwn, Majalla f al-msq, fols. 92-93. Yekta, Trk Musikisi Nazariyti, p. 94; Also see Trait anonyme, pp. 34-41.
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The Addition of the Intervals:

Saf al-Dn starts the third discourse with the processes of the addition, division and subtraction of the intervals. If two intervals are equal to each other the numerator and the denominator are multiplied by each other while being added. The biggest ('uzm) and the smallest (sur ) number of the interval are obtained. Then in order to find the medium (wasat) number, the numerator of the one is multiplied by the denominator of the other as these two are of equal ratios. If we add the two tetra chords, it is 4x4=16 which is 'uzm side. 3x3=9 gives the number which is sur , while 4x3=12 is the medium number. So, three numbers are formed, which are 16, 12, and 9. It is obvious that 16/12=4/3. If we want to add a third tetra chord to these, we should do the arithmetic of 16/9x4/3. Calculating this we get 64, 48, 36, and 27 which are numbers whose ratios to each other subsequently are 4/3. If one of the two intervals is big and the other is small, we multiply the numerator and the denominator by each other. Let us add 4/3 and 9/8. The result is 4/3 x9/8=36/24 and these are the big and small sides. Later on, if we want to leave the tetra chord at the beginning side or in Saf al-Dns words "if we want to do the addition on the high in pitch (tz) side", we multiply the denominator of the tetra chord by the numerator of the other ratio. That is to say, it is 3x9=27 which is one of the wasat numbers. In other words, in the ratios between the three numbers 36, 27, 24, pent chord comes at the beginning side and
tann comes after that: 36/27=4/3 and 27/24=9/8.

If we want to do the addition at the low in pitch (pest) side, that is, if we want to leave the tann at the beginning, then we multiply the denominator of the tann by the numerator of the tetra chord. In this case the medium number is 32. In other words, as it is seen between the numbers of 36, 32, 24, 36/32=9/8 is at the beginning side, 32/24=4/3 is at the end.
The Division of the Intervals:

If we divide any interval into two equal parts, the process to be done is to multiply the numerator and the denominator of the interval by 2 and to find the medium (wasat) number by adding half of the difference between the big number we get and the small number. For example: we divide 4/3 into two; we get 4x2=8 and 3x2=6 and these are the big and the small sides. For the medium number, we add 1 which is half of 2, the difference of 8 and 6 into the small side. This number is 7. We get the numbers of 6, 7 and 8. In this case a tetra chord is divided into two intervals as 8/7 and 7/6. The intervals can also be divided into more than two parts. If so, the number intended to be divided into how ever many numbers is multiplied by the numerator and the denominator.
The Subtraction of the Intervals from Each Other:

As we want to subtract a small interval from a big interval, if the ratio to be subtracted is intended to leave at the high in pitch side, firstly the numerator of the big side and the denominator of the small side are multiplied and then the denominators are multiplied by each other. Let us subtract 3/2 from 4/3. It is 3x3=9, 3x2=6. We multiply 2 by 4 for the wasat number. We get the numbers of 9, 8, and 6 which is a process when we want 9/8 to leave at the high in pitch side. Here, 9/8 is at the high in pitch and 4/3 ratio which exists between 8 and 6 is left at the low in pitch side. If we want to leave the ratio to be obtained at the low in pitch side, in this case we multiply the denominators by each other. The result is 12. As it is seen, the ratio of 9/8 which is between the numbers of 12, 9, 8 is at the low in pitch side.
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The subjects of the addition, the division and the subtraction of the intervals do not take place in Treatises
of al-Kind, and Ras'il of Ikhwn al-Saf. Al-Frb studied this subject in detail as "simple numerical
relations between the intervals".14 Ibn Sn allocated the second discourse of his work to this subject. The first part of the second discourse, which he divided into two, is about the addition of the intervals with each other and their subtraction from each other, while the second part is about redoubling the intervals and their division.15
Figure 5. Lute player, Iraq 10th century Source: http://trumpet.sdu.edu/M151/Racy1.GIF Later on, the addition, subtraction and division of the intervals were dealt with by subsequent authors. AlLdhiq dedicated the second part of his treatise to this topic16, and Rauf Yekta dealt with it in detail in the chapter Msiknin Meb di-i Riyziyesi (The Preliminary Mathematics of Music).17
The Arrangement of the Intervals within Tetra chord and Constituting the Kinds: Saf al-Dn arranged tetra chords, from 5/4 to 256/243, with lahn intervals. And this is no more than three intervals and four notes called jins (kind). If the ratio of the biggest of the intervals in tetra chords is bigger than the total sum of the other two, it is called layyin (weak) kind. The rest is called qaw (strong) kind.
In a tetra chord there are three ratios bigger than the other two. These are 5/4, 6/5, 7/6. Layyin is divided into three. The one whose biggest interval is 5/4 is called rsim (enharmonic), the one with 6/5 is lawn (chromatic) and the one with 7/6 is named nzim (chromatic). The following one will be 8/7, which is not bigger than the other two ratios; it is classified in the qaw (diatonic) kinds.
14 15 16 17
Al-Frb, Kitb al-msq al-kabr, pp. 188-204. Ibn Sn, Gawmi' 'ilm al-msq, pp. 33-41. Al-Ldhiq, al-Risla al-fathiyya, fols. 46a-52a; see also al-Shirwn, Majalla f al-msq, fols. 83-89; Trait anonyme, pp. 47-50. See Trk Musikisi Nazariyati, pp. 35-45.
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Layyin classes are arranged as follows: Rsim (daif/feeble) Rsim (eed/firm) Lawn (feeble) Lawn (firm) Nzim (feeble) Nzim (firm)
Next come qaw (strong) kinds: First non-conjunct (feeble) First non-conjunct (firm) : : 8/7x14/13x13/12=4/3 8/7x21/19x19/18=4/3. 9/8x64/59x59/54=4/3. 9/8x48/43x86/81=4/3. 10/9x12/11x11/10=4/3. 10/9x9/8x16/15=4/3. : : : : : : 5/4x32/31x31/30=4/3. 5/4x24/23x46/45=4/3. 6/5x19/18x20/19=4/3. 6/5x15/14x28/27=4/3. 7/6x16/15x15/14=4/3. 7/6x12/11x22/21=4/3.
Second non-conjunct (feeble) : Second non-conjunct (firm) Third non-conjunct (feeble) Third non-conjunct (firm) : : :
The following ones are the kinds formed by putting the two equal ratios together. These are zt-tadif (doubling) kinds. They are arranged in three classes: First doubling Second doubling Third doubling : : : 8/7x8/7x49/48=4/3 9/8x9/8x256/243=4/3 10/9x10/9x27/25=4/3
Saf al-D n reminds us that bakiyye interval is named for 256/243 in "second doubling kind" and points out that this is the most often used; it is called zl-mddeteyn. Then three intervals are arranged with the two ratios following each other in a tetra chord; this kind is called muttasil (conjunct /continuous). First conjunct Second conjunct Third conjunct : : : 8/7x9/8x28/27=4/3 9/8x10/9x16/15=4/3 10/9x11/10x12/11=4/3
Thereafter, the kinds formed as not following each other but formed as skipping one ratio are arranged. These kinds, called munfasil (disjunct), are three parts: Feeble disjunct Medium disjunct Firm disjunct : : : 8/7x10/9x21/20=4/3 9/8x11/10x320/297=4/3 10/9x12/11x11/10=4/3.
After finishing the kinds he arranged under the consideration of the tetra chord as composed of three intervals, Saf al-Dn points out that it is possible to divide the tetra chord into four intervals opposite to the
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general rule of "a tetra chord is composed of three intervals". This is most conveniently classified in two ways. First Second : : 13/12x14/13x13/12x96/91=4/3. 13/12x14/13x15/14x16/15=4/3.
The second one is arranged as 24 classes and the most convenient one is the first class (13/12, 14/13, 15/ 14, 16/15); it is called as the first single kind (Isfehn). Saf al-D n subtracts 16/15 from the tetra chord and names the rest the second single kind (Rhew ).
The Consonant and Dissonant of the Kinds:

Saf al-Dn divides these kinds into three classes: major consonant, mid consonant and weak consonant. The first one of the qaw kinds is the most consonant, the most well known and the most used one with its six classes. 36 classes of layyin (r sim, lawn, nzim classes) are weak harmonious. They are not used. Saf al-Dn points out that the tetra chord with 9/8x9/8x256/243 (diatonic) ratio is mostly used. He also explains that it is also possible for the person studying into this letter to arrange many kinds out of the ones he himself arranged. Thus, Saf al-Dn emphasizes on these kinds hugely in his work. This subject was dealt with in detail in alFr b. Before him, al-Kind also had explained three kinds: tann (including every diatonic kinds), lawn (including every chromatic kinds) and telf (composed kind including every enharmonic kinds). Tann is composed of "tann-tann -fadla" (ton-ton-limma) intervals. Lawn is arranged as fadla-fadla-three halves tann; (1 tone). Telf kind is arranged as irkha-irkha-two tann (tones). 18 Al-F r b examined layyin and qaw kinds under the heading of "the arrangement and classes of the kinds" in detail. Although it has a great similarity with al-Frb's, Saf al-Dn's approach never refers to al-F r b in the third discourse dedicated to the arrangement of the kinds.19 Ibn Sn allocated the third discourse of his Gawmi' 'ilm al-msk of Kit b al-Sif to the kinds. Defining these kinds, as they are composed of three intervals and four notes, he calls them lahn". Qaw kinds are explained in the third discourse and lawn ones are in the fourth part.20 Two other authors hit upon the kinds issue. While al-Ldhiq devoted a large place in his work to the topic, 21 al-Shirwn never mentioned it, arguing that "it would exceed the capacity of his brief work..22 Rauf Yekta takes this subject into his work and explains it completely in parallel with Saf al-Dn.23 After examining all the kinds Saf al-Dn did, Rauf Yekta explains: "After this tiring work, maybe it will be asked how many tetra chords consonants with each other were obtained. As a response, we would say with shyness that only four consonants were decided and a tetra chord was obtained. The others were confined into the theoretical books. Additionally, these obscured the ideas of the European artists who attempted to
18 19 20 21 22
For detailed information, see Risla f khubr sin'at al-talf (Turabi, p. 124). Al-Frb, Kitb al-msq al-kabr, pp. 278, 317. For details see: Ibn Sn, Gawmi', pp. 45-46. See al-Ldhiq, al-Risla al-fathiyya, fol. 53a; Trait anonyme, pp. 51-76. See al-Shirwn, Majalla f al-msq, fol. 99.
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do unfruitful works to realize them while they were unveiling the mystery of the kinds in Greek music so many centuries later". 24
Figure 6. Extract from Ab Ma'shar al-Balkhi's Kitb al-mawald.
The Fourth Discourse of al-Sharafiyya: The Arrangement of the Kinds in Big Layers
The Formation of Two Octaves with Tetra chords and Tann Intervals:
In this part, Saf al-D n firstly arranges two octave scales with tetra chords. He calls the tetra chords in two octaves tabaka (layer) and mentions the first, second, third, fourth layers subsequently. He calls tann
fsila in this arrangement. In this case, an octave composed of two tetra chords (tabaka) and a tone
(fsila/tann) and two octaves consist of four tetra chords and two tones. He arranges the tetra chords and tann intervals mentioned above within two octaves as nine classes. In the first three classes fsila is at the low in pitch side, tetra chords are at the high in pitch side, in the second three classes fsila is at the high in pitch side and tetra chords are at the low in pitch side, in the third three classes "fsila intervals" are in the medium and tetra chords are at the low in pitch and high in pitch sides. Also, there are two tetra chords and a tann in the second octave. In the second octave tann intervals change their position in each class and they are at the low in pitch, the high in pitch and the medium. Saf al-D n marked the tetra chords as "C", and the tann intervals as "B" and he arranged the sequences like this: If the two fsila (tann) are both at the low in pitch side; munfasil al-athqal. If the two fsila are at the high in pitch side; munfasil al-ahad. If the first fsila is at the low in pitch and the other is at the high in pitch, then a tetra chord is at the medium; muttasil. If the two fsila are between the tetra chords; munfasil al-awsat or fsilat al-wust .
23 24
Yekta, Trk Musikisi Nazariyati, p. 59. Ibid, p. 63.
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The symbols, ratios and names of these nine classes which he arranged in two octaves with tetra chords and tann intervals are as follows:
I. C-C-B C-C-B: 4/3x4/3x9/8x4/3x4/3x9/8=4/1=4: Munfasil al-ahad II. C-C-B B-C-C: 4/3x4/3x9/8x9/8x4/3x4/3=4: Munfasil al-ahad al-athqal III. C-C-B C-B-C: 4/3x4/3x9/8x4/3x9/8x4/3=4: Munfasil al-ahad al-awsat IV. B-C-C B-C-C: 9/8x4/3x4/3x9/8x4/3x4/3=4: Munfasil al-athqal V. B-C-C C-C-B: 9/8x4/3x4/3x4/3x4/3x9/8=4: Munfasil al-athqal al-ahad VI. B-C-C C-B-C: 9/8x4/3x4/3x4/3x9/8x4/3=4: Munfasil al-athqal al-awsat VII. C-B-C C-B-C: 4/3x9/8x4/3x4/3x9/8x4/3=4: Munfasil al-awsat VIII. C-B-C C-C-B: 4/3x9/8x4/3x4/3x4/3x9/8=4: Munfasil al-awsat al-ahad IX. C-B-C B-C-C: 4/3x9/8x4/3x9/8x4/3x4/3=4: Munfasil al-awsat al-athqal The two octaves are arranged by combining the tetra chords as shown above. Al-F r b called "tann-tetra chord-tetra chord" arrangement " munfasil al-athqal", "tetra chord-tetra chordtann" arrangement munfasil al-ahad, "tetra chord-tann-tetra chord as munfasil al-awsat. He made this two arrangements in two octaves and he called the arrangement of stann-tetra chord-tetra chord tanntetra chord-tetra chord" munfasil cem-i tm; "tetra chord-tetra chord-tan n tetra chord-tetra chord-tann" was called munfasil cem-i tm, "tetra chord-tann-tetra chord tetra chord-tann-tetra chord" was called
cem al-ictima. Al-Frb did not use such symbols as "C" for tetra chords and "B" for tanns intervals like
Saf al-Dn.25
The Arrangement of Tetra chords in One Octave with the Intervals at Kinds: Saf al-Dn arranges munfasil al-ahad with some of the kinds he made up in his third discourse. Munfasil alahad (C-C-B) is composed of the intervals of 4/3x4/3x9/3=2/1. He arranges the tetra chords in munfasil alahad firstly with the intervals of "first non-conjunct kind" (gayr-i muttasil). First non-conjunct kinds
intervals are 8/7x14/13x13/12=4/3. He arranges the first and the second tetra chord from these intervals and puts 9/8 at the end in order to complete the circle. Saf al-Dn points out that he doesnt use "layyin kinds" as they are dissonant and some of the qaw kinds as they are very near in value.
25
See. Al-Frb, Kitb al-msq al-kabr, p. 329-332; This subject was taken place in al-Ldhiq and Trait anonyme just like the one in alSharafiyya. See al-Rislah al-fathiyya, fols. 38a-41a and Trait anonyme, pp. 78-91.
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I. Munfasil al-ahad in lower octave is composed of these intervals as it is used with the intervals of "first non- conjunct kind" (ghayr-i muttasil):
Octave
II. Munfasil al-ahad, with the intervals of "second non-conjunct". 9/8x64/59x59/49x9/8x64/59x59/54x9/8=2/1. III. With the intervals of "third non-conjunct "; 10/9x12/11x11/10x10/9x12/11x11/10x9/8=2/1. IV. With the intervals of "first conjunct" (muttasil); 8/7x9/8x28/27x8/7x9/8x28/27x9/8=2/1. V. With the intervals of "second conjunct "; 9/8x10/9x16/15x9/8x10/9x16/15x9/8=2/1. VI. With the intervals of "third conjunct "; 10/9x11/10x12/11x10/9x11/10x12/11x9/8=2/1. VII. With the intervals of "first doubling" (z 't-tadf); 8/7x8/7x49/48x8/7x8/7x49/48x9/8=2/1. VIII. With the intervals of "second doubling"; 9/8x9/8x256/243x9/8x9/8x256/243x9/8=2/1. IX. With the intervals of "third doubling"; 10/9x10/9x27/25x10/9x10/9x27/25x9/8=2/1. X. With the intervals of "first disjunct (feeble)" (munfasil); 8/7x10/9x21/20x8/7x10/9x21/20x9/8=2/1. XI. With the intervals of "second (medium) disjunct"; 9/8x11/10x320/297x9/8x11/10x320/297x9/8=2/1. XII. With the intervals of "third (firm) disjunct"; 10/9x12/11x11/10x10/9x12/11x11/10x9/8=2/1.
The Arrangement of Tetra chords in Two Octaves with the Intervals at Kinds: Saf al-Dn arranged munfasil al-ahad at the "lower octave ( zul-kull al-athqal)" with the intervals of qaw
kinds up to present. He also goes on to perform the same process in two octaves with again the
Page 14 of 24
arrangement of munfasil al-ahad and with the types of qaw kinds mentioned above. These are 12. Reflecting on the first table, the others will go on at the same order, he does the same arrangement of
munfasil al-ahad in the lower octave in two octaves. The ratios are:
I. With the intervals of "first non-conjunct kind" ( ghayr-i muttasil).
Double octave
II. With the intervals of "second non-conjunct"; 9/8x64/59x59/54x 9/8x64/59x59/54x9/8x9/8x64/59x59/54x9/8x64/59x59/54x9/8=4/1=4. III. With the intervals of "third non-conjunct "; 10/9x12/11x 11/10x10/9x12/11x11/10x9/8x10/9x12/11x11/10x10/9x12/11x11/10x9/8=4. IV. With the intervals of "first conjunct/muttasil"; 8/7x9/8x28/27x8/7x 9/8x28/27x9/8x8/7x9/8x28/27x8/7x9/8x28/27x9/8=4. V. With the intervals of "second conjunct";
9/8x10/9x16/15x9/8x10/9x16/15x9/8x9/8x10/9x16/15x9/8x10/9x16/15x9/8=4.
VI. With the intervals of "third conjunct"; 10/9x11/10x 12/11x10/9x11/10x12/11x9/8x10/9x11/10x12/11x10/9x11/10x12/11x9/8=4. VII. With the intervals of "first doubling" (zt-tad' f); 8/7x8/7x49/48x 8/7x8/7x49/48x9/8x8/7x8/7x49/48x8/7x8/7x49/48x9/8=4. VIII. With the intervals of "second doubling; 9/8x9/8x256/243x9/8x9/8x256/243x9/8x9/8x9/8x256/243x9/8x9/8x256/243x9/8=4. IX. With the intervals of "third doubling "; 10/9x 10/9x27/25x10/9x10/9x27/25x9/8x10/9x10/9x27/25x10/9x10/9x27/25x9/8=4. X. With the intervals of "first disjunct" (munfasil); 8/7x10/9x21/20x8/7x 10/9x21/20x9/8x8/7x10/9x21/20x8/7x10/9x21/20x9/8=4. XI. With the intervals of "second disjunct"; 9/8x11/10x 320/297x9/8x11/10x320/297x9/8x9/8x11/10x320/297x9/8x11/10x 320/297x 9/8=4. XII. With the intervals of "third disjunct"; 10/9x12/11x11/10x10/9x12/11x11/10x9/8x10/9x12/11x11/10x10/9x12/11x11/10x9/8=4.
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Saf al-Dn indicates that when examined the most consonant one and the best one to the human nature of these scales are two scales of "second doubling kind" (zt-tad f al-than) (9/8x9/8x256/243=4/3 and 10/9x10/9x27/25=4/3) "second conjunct kind" (muttasil); (9/8x10/9x16/15=4/3).
Common Notes in the Scales:

Saf al-Dn explains with an example how other kinds in octave can be arranged. Such as the scale arranged with the intervals of "the second conjunct kind" in the bass octave:
The order of 9/8x10/9x16/15=4/3 here is the ratios of "the second conjunct kind" with those of the first class. The third class of the same kind is like 10/9x16/15x9/8=4/3. This third class here exists between B and h. As it is mentioned here it is possible to see several more tetra chords in this way in these scales. Saf al-Dn calls them "bahr ". The tetra chord between B and h here is accepted as "second bahr ". Also, C-V tetra chord is the ratios of "the second conjunct kind" with its sixth class and it is called the "third bahr" in the scale. D-Z tetra chord is the "fourth bahr " and the ratios are the same as those of the first one. h-H tetra chord has the same values as those of the second tetra chord. Saf al-Dn calls the total of these bahr (tetra chordal species) in one octave as " add". Saf al-Dn gave the bahrs (tetra chords) mentioned above in his Kit b al-adwr in one octave with the keys of Rst scale.26 In al-Sharafiyya he showed the eight different octaves which are in two octaves that he presented with a table.27
The Accordatura of Stringed Instruments and d:

Saf al-Dn says that all the sounds exist in one string but one string is not enough to compose and perform it and that two, three, four or more stringed instruments were invented for this purpose. Two stringed instruments can be accorded in different ways. The most common one is the tetra chordal accord. The ' d, which is considered to be the most perfect and well known of the instruments, is a five string instrument. The one at the top is the bamm and then comes mathlath, mathn, zr and h dd strings. The ' d instrument is named as the most excellent instrument of all in Ikhwn al-Saf28 and the most famous one in al-F r b.29 The same idea is expressed in the following books. The reason why the instrument is called "' d kmil" (the perfect lute) is because it includes all the notes.30
Saf al-Dn, Kitb al-adwr, Yale University, The Beineke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, MS S 73, fol. 30. Alishah presented seven scales of one octave which he showed in an Ushshq scale of two octaves with their names. He pointed out these full scales are called all sorts of kinds. Alishah b. Haci Buke, Mukaddimat al-Usl, fol. 29b; also see for bahr Al-Ldhiq, al-Risla alfathiya, fol. 76a; for common notes see Trait anonyme, p. 103. 28 Ikhwn al-Saf, al-Risla fi al-msq, i, 148. 29 Al-Frb, Kitb al-msq al-kabr, p. 498. 30 Al-Ldhiq, al-Risla al-fathiyya, fol. 88a.
27
26
Page 16 of 24
The names of bamm, mathlath, mathn, z r are the same in each music manuscript.31 Besides, al-Kind mentioned about the ones tying one more string named hdd below z r string in his age, and he adds that they take five things, five senses, five fingers and planets and five prosody circles into consideration while doing this.32 Al-Frb allocated a great part for the 'd while he was explaining the subject of producing notes and instruments and talked about the tunes of four strings of the 'd instrument mentioned above and about the accord orders in many ways. At the end, he pointed out that one of the three ways is to add a fifth string to the ' d instrument in order to achieve the two octaves/haddetul-hddt . Two octaves will be completed with the note when the ring finger touched on the fifth string.33
Figure 7. Some instruments. In the following works the instrument of 'd has five strings with hdd. 34 The accord of ' d is a tetra chordal accord. In this case there are two octaves between the open position of the bass (A) at the top and the key where the ring finger touches at the lowest string. A-Lh. In all music manuscripts (Adwr) the accord orders between the strings of 'd is the same. According to al-Fr b well-known accord is the one where the sound of ring finger tune of each string and the sound of open position of the lower string is equal.35 This expression is the same as the one Saf al-Dn presented above.36
Determining 17 Notes on the ' d : The Division of the Frets:

Saf al-Dn points out that firstly he determines seven tones in the first tetra chord on the bamm string of the 'd with ratios of "the second doubling kind" (9/8x9/8x256/243=4/3 tone-tone-limma), which he calls "z 'l-mddeteyn", then as limma-limma-tone 9/8x9/8x256/243=4/3. He does not perform the duty to find the others, just points out the names of tones. The tones he determined is shown on a table of the d with their high in pitch octaves in Kitb al-adwr and al-Sharafiyya as follows37:
31
Al-Kind talks about the strings of this instrument in detail both in the book Kitb al-musawwitt al-watariyya (see Turabi, pp. 149-153) and in Rislah f agz' khubriyya (Turabi, pp. 163-167) and he connects celestial bodies, natural events, and human morality with emotions and behaviours. Also see; Ikhwn al-Saf, i, 149, al-Frb, Kitb al-msq al-kabr, p. 502; Ibn Sn, Gawm'i, p. 148. 32 Kitb al-musawwitt al-watariyya (Turabi, p. 142). 33 Al-Frb, Kitb al-msq al-kabr, pp. 588-592. 34 Ibn Sn, Gawmi', p. 148; Alishah, Mukaddimat al-usl, fols. 89a-89b. 35 Al-Frb, Kitb al-Msq al-kabr, p. 597. Here al-Frb tells about various accord orders of d. 36 Al-Kind, al-Risla al-kubr f al-talf (Turabi, p. 176); Ikhwn al-Saf, i, 149, Ibn Sn, Gawmi', p. 148. 37 Saf al-Dn, Kitb al-adwr, fol. 33.
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Bamm Mathlath Mathn Zr Hdd
H Yh KB KT LV
Z YD KA KH Lh
V YC K KZ LD wust alzalzal
H YB YT KV LC wust alkadm
D YA YH Kh LB sabbbah
C Y YZ KD LA mujannab alsabbbah
B T YV KC L
A H Yh KB KT
khinsir
binsir
Saf al-Dn shows the tunes on the strings after the bamm by giving the names. However, he tells in his
Kitb al-adwr the division of an octave into 17 intervals in detail and this manner is carried on in the works
of following adwrs and new works.38 These 17 tones (18 with its octave) are shown depending on their distance to the starting sound like this:
N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
38
Names of the notes A () B () C () D () H () V () Z () H () T () Y () YA () YB () YC ()
Ratios 1/1 256/243 65536/59049 9/8 32/27 8192/6561 81/64 4/3 1024/729 262144/177147 3/2 128/81 32768/19683
Sent 0,00 90,22 180,45 203,91 294,13 384,36 407,82 498,04 588,27 678,49 701,96 792,18 882,40
Saf al-Dn, Kitb al-adwr, fols. 4-6; Alishah b. Haci Buke, Mukaddimat al-usl, fols. 48a-49a; Trait anonyme, pp. 27-28; Al-Ladhiq, alRislah al-fathiyya, fols. 25a-26a; Also see; Yalin Tura, Trk Musikisinin Meseleleri (The Problems of Turkish Music) Istanbul, 1988, pp. 182-184; M. Cihat Can, XV. Yzyil Trk Msiksi Nazariyti (Ses Sistemi), PhD Thesis, Istanbul, 2001, pp. 156-157; Murat Bardaki, Meragali Abdulkadir, Istanbul, 1986, pp. 56-57.
mutlak
Zyid
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14 15 16 17 18
YD () Yh () YV () YZ () YH ()
27/16 16/9 4096/2187 1048576/531441 2/1
905,87 996,09 1086,31 1176,54 1200,00
These tones are shown on a porte:
The Scales of Maqms

After telling the harmonious arrangements of tann, mujannab, and bakiyya intervals Saf al-Dn starts to form maqm scales with these intervals. He indicates that the performers of his age have given the following names to the ranges he mentioned above and he gives the intervals:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Ushshq Naw Absalik Rst Nawrz Irq Isfehn Buzurg Zrfkand Rhaw
T-T-B T-B-T B-T-T T-C-C C-C-T C-T-C C-C-C-B C-T-C-C-B C-C-B C-C-C
A-D-Z-H A-D-h-H A-B-h-H A-D-V-H A-C-h-H A-C-V-H A-C-h-Z-H A-C-V-H-Y-YA A-C-h-V A-C-h-Z
Saf al-Dn points out that seven out of ten kinds are of 4/3 value, one is 3/2, one is 5/4 and another one is 6/5. We can count the intervals given in the table as follows. In this case we will remember which ratios Saf alDn used for tann, mujannab and bakiyya intervals:
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Ushshq Naw Absalik Rst Nawrz Irq Isfehn Buzurg Zrfkand Rhaw
: 9/8x9/8x256/243=4/3 : 9/8x256/243x9/8=4/3 : 256/243x9/8x9/8=4/3 : 9/8x65536/59049x2187/2048=4/3 : 65536/59049x2187/2048x9/8=4/3 : 65536/59049x9/8x2187/2048=4/3 : 65536/59049x2187/2048x2187/2048x256/243=4/3 : 65536/59049x9/8x2187/2048x65536/59049x256/243=3/2 : 65536/59049x2187/2048x256/243=8192/656139 : 65536/59049x2187/2048x2187/2048=81/6440
Saf al-Dn arranges the first seven of the kinds above having the value of full tetra chord with their equals and one tan n, that is to say, he does it by adding the pentha chords of the same ranges into these tetra chords. While doing this he arranges them by leaving interval (tann-9/8) at the high pitch side (munfasil al-ahad), at the low pitch side (munfasil al-athqal) and at the middle (munfasil al-awsat) and he points out the most used ones of the ranges. The first kind (Ushsh q) is arranged with the first and second tetra chords with the arrangement of
munfasil al-ahad, munfasil al-athqal and munfasil al-awsat as follows:

Munfasil al-ahad : A-D-Z-H-YA-YD-Yh-YH: 4/3x4/3x9/8=2/1 Munfasil al-athqal: A-D-Z-Y-YA-YD-YZ-YH: 9/8x4/3x4/3=2/1 Munfasil al-awsat: A-D-Z-H-YA-YD-YZ-YH: 4/3x9/8x4/3=2/1
He says that of the three, the range arranged as munfasil al-ahad is the most used. To note, this is the range of Ushshq arranged as tetra chord-tetra chord-tann, its tetra chords are also arranged as T-T-B: 9/8x9/8x256/243x9/8=4/3. As the interval ratios of the ranges above were mentioned before, we will not mention them again here. So, a range of Ushshq is composed of ratio values of 9/8x9/8x256/243x 9/8x9/8x256/243x9/8=2/1 in one octave. This is the following topic and maqm ranges are composed of the ranges arranged here. As same as above Naw , Abselik, R st, Nawrz, Irq, Isfehn kinds are arranged, there occurs totally 63 scales. Saf al-Dn determined the ones well known among the musical artists and mostly used in these ranges. He demonstrated them in a table such as below: Ushshq Naw : : A-D-Z-H-YA-YD-Yh-YH A-D-h-H-YA-YB-Yh-YH
39
This is the kind as Saf al-Dn indicates, having a value of 5/4. The ratio is the average value of the major third with a value of 8192/6561 used in practice. 40 Saf al-Dn gives the ratio of 6/5 for Rhew. But the ratio of 6/5 is the ratio used instead of the minor third with the ratio of 32/27.
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Absalik Rst Hijz Nawrz Isfehn Zanqla Rhaw Zrfkand Buzurg Muhayyer Husayn Nihft
: : : : : : : : : : :
A-B-h-H-T-YB-Yh-YH A-D-V-H-YA-YC-Yh-YH A-C-V-H-Y-YC-Yh-YH A-C-h-H-Y-YB-Yh-YH: A-D-V-H-YA-YC-Yh-YH A-D-V-H-Y-YC-Yh-YH A-C-V-H-Y-YB-Yh-T A-C-h-H-Y-YB-YC-YV-YH A-C-V-H-Y-YA-YD-YV-YH A-C-h-H-YA-YC-Yh-YH A-C-V-H-Y-YA-YC-Yh-YH A-C-h-H-Y-YC-Yh-YH A-C-V-H-Y-YB-YC-YV-YH A-D-V-H-Y-YA-YD-YV-YH A-C-h-H-YA-YB-Yh-YH A-C-V-H-Y-YC-Yh-YZ-YH
Hijz (its another scale): Kawasht Kardniye Husayn Irk : : : :
Saf al-Dn showed the one (rast ) he chose among these scales with its 17 tones and indicated that the ones knowing the arrangements of the intervals would be able to show each period with the same method. Saf al-Dn did not show all the maqms he named and gave the intervals in the table. The ones he showed in the table are: Ushshq, Abusalik, Naw, Rst, Husayn, Rhaw, Zanqla, Irk, Isfehn, Zr fkand, Hijazi/Hijaz, Buzurg. He showed these maqm scales by adapting on each tone as 17 layers. However, he started from the starting sound of the second tetra chord of the former layer at each layer. In the Treatises of al-Kind, although the maqms which Saf al-Dn mentioned with the names above are not taken place, together with tann, lawn and telfi names consisting the maqms, three more kinds and seven maq m ranges are presented. These are shown with the notes of modern time by the editors studying al-Kind. These maqms do not have a special name in al-Kind but they are shown with their equal maqms in Greek music manuscripts.
42 41
. The subject of maqm is in the important topics of subsequent music
Saf al-Dn completes his work by mentioning several accords of the d, the subject of transforming tones (nagme), in the fifth discourse the subject of k' and composing.
41 42
Turabi, pp. 83-84. The source of these adwrs is Saf al-Dn. However, there have been substantial differentiations in defining maqms and their numbers and existed important varieties about this subject between these manuscripts. See Alishah, fols. 14b-24b; al-Ldhiq, al-Risla al-fathiyya, fols. 74a-74b; al-Shirwn, Majalla f al-msq, fol. 100; Hizir b. Abd Allah, Kitb al-adwr,Topkapi Rewan no: 1728, fol. 63b; Trait anonyme, pp, 107-120.
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Conclusion
Saf al-Dn is a scholar who occupies an important place in the history of Eastern music in the XIIIth century. His fame relies on the influential works he wrote in the field of theoretical music. Besides being a theoretician, he was a professional music performer, a composer and an inventor of musical instruments. As in the Eastern sources, Saf al-Dn is also one of the theoreticians that took a valuable place in the works of Western modern writers who studied Eastern music. His works had been a source for almost all the musical writings composed in subsequent centuries. These writings, are as if they were, mere annotations on the original discoveries of Saf al-Dn. The authors of these works name Saf al-Dn the master of this field and praise him. The main treatise of Saf al-Dn al-Sharafiyya is perfect in terms of both arrangement and style. This feature of the work is, as we mentioned before, due to the fact that the author knew Arabic previous literature and built upon it. Saf al-Dn studied the ratios between the numbers very systematically, named the intervals established with these ratios, classified them, and explained the consonance and dissonance ones in detail. After al-Fr b, the tetra chord divisions had never been examined in such a detailed way in any adw r. Saf al-Dn showed all possible divisions and pointed out the most consonant of these. He mentioned the tetra chords with four intervals and penta chordal kinds and explained the consonant ones. Some writers following him avoided this topic as it is complicated and full of details, and did no more than following the same route as Saf al-Dn. Saf al-Dn al-Urmaw benefited from several sequencing forms of tetra chord, penta chord and tann intervals while he was arranging two octave ranges. While forming one and two octave ranges, he arranged the intervals of tetra chord and penta chord in several ways and formed the maqms with the consonant ranges appearing after this work. In addition, he mentioned some topics such as the determination of 17 sound ranges, common tones of scales, transposition, performing of an instrument, the order of accords, and the performance with several accords and compositions. The examination and naming of the maqms in Kitb al-Adwr and al-Sharafiyya of Saf al-Dn were achieved for the first time. In al-Sharafiyya Saf al-Dn arranged 63 ranges with tetra chords and penta chords, and he produced 18 maqms out of them and showed the scales of 12 ones in the tables by adapting them into 17 tones/notes. Up until the end of the fifteenth century, there seems no great change in the classification and naming of the maqms that Saf al-Dn accomplished. Having a great knowledge over the terminology of music in his age, Saf al-Dn surveyed almost all the topics in al-Sharafiyya with a clear and understandable language and style. With the purpose of being a light for the incoming studies in the future, we believe that al-Sharafiyyas valuable work supplyed some substantial contributions which should be noticed by everybody writing over theoretical music in the Islamic heritage of the past.
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Bibliography
Al-F r b, Ab Nasr Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Tarkhn, (d. 950) Kit b al-Ms q al-Kabr, edited by Gatts 'Abd al-Malik Khashaba and Mahmd Ahmed al-Hifn. Cairo, n.d. Al-Faruqi, An Annotated Glossary of Arabic Musical Terms. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1981. Alishah b. Haci Buke, Mukaddimat al-Usl. University of Istanbul, The Library of Ancient Works, The Department of Persian Manuscripts, MS 1097. Bardaki, Murat, Meragali Abdulkadir. Istanbul, 1986. Can, Mehmet Cihat, XV. Yzyil Trk Msiksi Nazariyti (Ses Sistemi). Doctorate Thesis, Istanbul, 2001. D'Eerlanger, Baron Rodolphe, "Trait anonyme ddi au Sultan Osmanli Muhammed II", La Musique Arabe, Paris, 1939, v. iii. "Safiyu-d-dn al-Urmaw, A-arafiyyah", La Musique Arabe. Paris, 1938, III, pp. 1-182. Chabrier, Jean Claude, "Musical science", Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science . Edited by Roshdi Rashed with the collaboration of Rgis Morelon. London/New York: Routledge, 1996, vol. 2, pp. 581-613. Farmer, Henry George, Safiyeddn, Islam Ansiklopedisi. Istanbul, 1967, c. X. The Sources of Arabian Music. Leiden, 1965. Fath Aallah Mumin al-Shirwn, Majalla f l-msq, edited by Fuat Sezgin. Frankfurt 1986. Hizir b. Abd Allah, Kitb al-Adw r. Topkapi Rewan, MS 1728. Ibn Sn, Kit b al-Sif, Gaw mi' 'ilm al-msk, edited by Zekeriyya Yusuf. Cairo, 1956. Ikhwn al-Saf, Ras'il: al-Risla al-Khmissa fi al-Msiq, and al-Risla al-sdisa f al-nisba al-'adadiyya wa
'l-handasiyya, edited by Khayr al-Dn al-Zirikl. Cairo, 1928, vol. 1.

Muhammad b. Abd al-Hamd al-Ldhiq, Al-Rislah al-fathiyya f al-msq. Istanbul Municipality, Taqsim Ataturk Library MS K23. Saf al-Dn al-Urmaw, Kit b al-adwr . Yale University, The Beineke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, MS S73. Shiloah, Amnon. The Theory of Music in Arabic Writings, (c. 900-1900). Mnchen, 1979. Tura,Yalin, Trk Musikisinin Meseleleri (The Problems of Turkish Music). Istanbul, 1988.
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Turabi, Ahmed Hakki, el-Kindnin Msik Risleleri: Rislah f khubr sin'at al-talf, Al-Risla al-kubr fi alta'lf, Kitb al-musawitt al-watariyyah, Rislah fi eczi Khubriyye. MA Thesis, Istanbul 1996. Wright, Owen. The Model System of Arab and Persian Music, A.D. 1250-1300. London Oriental Series, vol. 28. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978. "Saf al-Din", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , edited by Stanley Sadie. London, 1980, c. XVI. Yekta, Rauf, Trk Msiksi Nazariyti. Istanbul, 1924.
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The Valuable Contributions of al-Rz (Rhazes) in the History of Pharmacy
Dr. Sharif Kaf Al-Ghazal Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Prof. Mohammed Abattouy Dr. Salim Ayduz April 2007 680 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
The Valuable Contributions of al-Rz (Rhazes) in the History of Pharmacy April, 2007
THE VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS OF AL-R Z (RHAZES) IN THE HISTORY OF PHARMACY

Dr. Sharif Kaf Al-Ghazal*
Keywords: Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, Razi, Rhazes, Islamic medicine, Islamic pharmacy, saydala, saydalah, Kitab al-Hawi, Kitab al-Mansuri, Continens Liber.
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Rz was a physician, a chemist and a philosopher. In medicine, his contribution was so significant that it can only be compared to that of Ibn Sn. Some of his works in medicine, e.g. Kit b al- Mansri, Kitb al-H w , Kit b al-Mulk and Kitb al-Judar wa al-Hasabah earned everlasting fame. Al-Rz was also the first in the Islamic medical tradition to write a book based on home medical (remedial) advise entitled Man l yahduruhu al-tibb for the general public. In his book Manfi' al-aghdhiyyah, al-Rz followed a pattern that had been introduced earlier by Galen but in it, al-Rz attempted to correct several errors made by Galen himself. The development of professional pharmacy, as a separate entity from medicine, started in Islam under the patronage of the early Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad. This first clear-cut separation of the two professions, and the recognition of the independent, academically oriented status of professional pharmacy, materialized in the Baghdad and al-Rz was one of the few pharmacists who added very valuable contributions to medicine and pharmacy right at the beginning of the Islamic medical tradition. Arabic pharmacy (Saydalah) as a profession with a separate entity from medicine was recognized by the 9th century. This century not only saw the founding and an increase in the number of privately owned pharmacy shops in Baghdad and its vicinity, but in other Muslim cities as well. Many of the pharmacists who managed them were skilled in the apothecary's art and quite knowledgeable in the compounding, storing, and preserving of drugs. State-sponsored hospitals also had their own dispensaries attached to manufacturing laboratories where syrups, electuaries, ointments, and other pharmaceutical preparations were prepared on a relatively large scale. The pharmacists and their shops were periodically inspected by a government appointed official (al-Muhtasib) and his aides. These officials were to check for accuracy the weights and measures as well as the purity of the drugs used. Such supervision was intended to prevent the use of deteriorating compounded drugs and syrups, and to safeguard the public.
Consultant Plastic Surgeon MD, MS, Plast Cert (RCS), DM, MA (Med Law). Consultant Plastic, Reconstructive & Hand Surgeon England. Founder and executive member of the International Society for History of Islamic Medicine (ISHIM): http://www.ishim.net.
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Figure 1. Kit b al-Hw by al-Rz copied in Iran probably in 1674. Preserved at the Historical Medical Library of Yale University (Cushing Arabic MS 10). Source: http://www.library.yale.edu/~bturner/neareast/Kitab_al-Hawi.html This early rise and development of professional pharmacy in Islam (over four centuries before such a development took place in Europe) was the result of three major occurrences: (1) the great increase in the demand for drugs and their availability on the market; (2) professional maturity; and (3) the outgrowth of intellectual responsibility by qualified pharmacists. In this study, only certain important aspects of the influence of al-Rz on the development of pharmacy and medical therapy in the 9th century will be briefly discussed. Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya al-Rz (864-930 C.E.) was born at Ray, Iran. Initially, he was interested in music but later on he learned medicine, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, pharmacy and philosophy. At an early age he gained eminence as an expert in medicine and alchemy, so that patients and students flocked to him from distant countries. He was first placed in charge of the first Royal Hospital at Ray, from where he soon moved to a similar position in Baghdad where he remained the head of its famous Muqtadar Hospital for a long time. He moved from time to time to various cities, especially between Ray and Baghdad, but finally returned to Ray where he died around 930 C.E. His name is commemorated in the Rz Institute near Tehran. Al-R z excelled in different fields of knowledge, such as medicine, chemistry and alchemy and philosophy. His medical works had an everlasting influence, like those of Ibn Sn. In them, generations of physicians learned medicine in Muslim lands and in Europe after that some of them were translated into Latin, like the famous Kit b al-Hwi al-Kabr known in Latin as the Continens Liber. His Kitb al-Mansri, which was also translated into Latin in the 15th century, comprised ten volumes and dealt exhaustively with Greco-Arab medicine. Some of its volumes were published separately in Europe.
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His book Kit b al-Judar wa-'l-Hasabah, which translated into various European languages, is the first treatise on smallpox and chicken-pox, and is largely based on al-Rz 's original contribution. Through this treatise, our scholar became the first to draw clear comparisons between smallpox and chicken-pox.
Kitb al-Hw was the largest medical encyclopaedia composed by that period. It contained on each medical
subject all important information that was available from Greek and Arabic sources, and this was concluded by al-Rz by giving his own remarks based on his experience and views. A special feature of his medical system was that he greatly favoured cure through correct and regulated food. This was combined with his emphasis on the influence of psychological factors on health. He also tried proposed remedies first on animals in order to evaluate in their effects and side effects. He was also an expert surgeon and was the first to use opium for anaesthesia. The best survey of al-R z's works from the medieval period seems to be an epistle by al-Br n written about 1037. Through this epistle, can be seen concealed sides of al-Rz 's life and his contributions as a prolific author and compiler to pharmacy and medical therapy. To understand and appreciate him fully, however, one should look upon him as the product of his time and of the context in whch he lived. For in the West and Byzantium this was an age of faith, important to our discussion here. Therefore, it is in this context that we understand his courageous attack of errors in the medical and philosophical teachings of the ancients. In particular, he wrote a critical book on ancient medicine that he entitled
Shukk 'al Jlns (Doubts or Apories on Galen), in which he doubted the accuracy in many medical,
physiological and therapeutic concepts, theories, and procedures as stated by Galen and which were blindly accepted and transmitted by his followers and later compilers and commentators.
Figure 2. Colophon of al-Rz's Kitb al mansr fi 'l tib (Book of medicine for Mansr). Source: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/islamic_medical/image/image09.gif
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On the professional level, al-Rz introduced many useful, progressive, medical and psychological ideas. He also attacked charlatans and fake doctors who roamed the cities and the countryside selling their nostrums and 'cures'. At the same time, he warned that even highly educated doctors did not have the answers for all medical problems and could not cure all sicknesses or heal every disease. Al-Rz exhorted practitioners to keep up with advanced knowledge by continually studying medical books and expose themselves to new information. He further classified diseases into three categories: those which are curable; those that can be cured; and those which are incurable. On the latter, he cited advanced cases of cancer and leprosy which if not cured the doctor should not take blame. Al-R z was the first in Islam to write a book based on home medical (remedial) advisor entitled Man l
yahduruhu al-tibb for the general public. He dedicated it to the poor, the travellers, and the ordinary
citizens who could consult it for treatment of common ailments when the doctor was not available. This book, of course, is of special interest to the history of pharmacy since books on the same theme continued to appear and has found acceptance by readers to the present century. In its 36 chapters, al-Rz described diets and drugs that can be found practically every where in apothecary shops, the market place, in well-equipped kitchens, and in military camps. Thus, any intelligent mature person can follow its instructions and prepare the right recipes for good results. Some of the illnesses treated are headaches, colds, coughing, melancholy, and diseases of the eye, ear, and stomach. In a feverish headache, for example, he prescribed "two parts of the duhn [oily extract] of rose, to be mixed with a part of vinegar, in which a piece of linen cloth is dipped and compressed on the forehead". For a laxative, he recommended "seven drams of dried violet flowers with twenty pears, macerated and mixed well, then strained. To the filtrate, twenty drams of sugar is added for a draft". In cases of melancholy, he invariably recommended prescriptions including either poppies or their juices (opium) or clover dodder (Curcuma epithymum Muss) or both. For an eye remedy, he recommended myrrh, saffron, and frankincense, two drams each to be mixed with one dram of yellow arsenic and made into tablets. When used, each tablet was to be dissolved in a sufficient quantity of coriander water and used as eye drops.
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Figure 3. Extract from a manuscript by al-R z preserved at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, UK (MS Marsh 156, fol. 2v). Source: http://www.jameslindlibrary.org/trial_records/9th-15th-century/al-razi/alrazi-tp.html Al-R z followed the same method in his book Bur as-Sa'ah, in which he prescribed remedies to cure ailments in one hour, or at least in a short time, so that the patient would not need to frequently call on his doctor and pay large fees. In his other book on diets, their uses and disadvantages, Manfi' al-Aghdhiyyah, al-Rz followed a pattern that had been introduced earlier by Galen. In it, al-Rz attempted to correct several errors made by Galen and to introduce new data missed by the latter. Ibn Msawayh was another physician who wrote on the same topic. According to
al-Rz , Ibn Msawayh did more harm than good in his exposition of the subject. These misgivings challenged al-Rz to undertake the writing of a comprehensive study, namely the Manfi' al-Aghdhiyyah, which is of great interest not only to pharmacy and medicine but to the history of the culinary art as well. Emphasizing specific matters and general regulations for healthy living, al-Rz discussed breads, waters, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, spices, meats, and fishes. He explained in detail their kinds, methods of preparation, physical properties, and therapeutic modes of action, and pointed out when they were useful and when not. He described the disadvantages of frequent consumption of wines leading to alcoholism, which often causes many serious diseases as epilepsy, paralysis, senile tremor in older people, cirrhosis, hepatitis, mental disorders, visionary distortions, obesity, debility, and impotence. While al-Rz paid much attention to curing the body's ills, he did not ignore cures for infirmities of the soul. The proof of his concern for psychotherapy seems quite evident. On completing his medical encyclopaedia,
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Kitb al-Mansri, on the diagnoses and treatment of body diseases, he filled in the gap by writing a
counterpart At-Tibb ar-Rhn on the medicine of the soul. His concern for, and penetration into, human nature, its complexities, and the directions leading into it, confirm his appreciation of the importance of psychotherapy and psychology as two important parts of the healing art. In his famous Kitb al-Mansr , however, al-Rz devoted four out of the book's total of ten treatises, to diets and drugs, medicated cosmetics, toxicology and antidotes, amelioration of laxatives, and compounded remedies, all of which are of pharmaceutical interest. Al-R z's last and largest medical encyclopaedia is his al-Hwi f t-Tibb, which embraces all areas of medical knowledge of the time. It included sections related to 'pharmacy in the healing art', materials arranged in alphabetical order, compounded drugs, pharmaceutical dosage forms and toxicology. It also included numerous medical recipes and tested prescriptions that influenced 'medical therapy' in Islam and in the West during the Middle Ages. In his use of mineral drugs as external and internal remedies, including vitriols, copper, mercuric and arsenic salts, sal ammoniac, gold scoria, chalk, clay (as in the terra sigillata and Armenian clay), coral, pearl, tar, and bitumen, al-Rz encouraged and pioneered chemotherapy in Islamic medicine. Although he recommended poppies and opium internally as somniferous agents and to quiet coughing, and externally to relieve eye and wound pains, he warned against their deadly effects (two drams are fatal).
Conclusion
The development of professional pharmacy, as a separate entity from medicine, started in Islam under the patronage of the early Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad. This first clear-cut separation of the two professions, and the recognition of the independent, academically oriented status of professional pharmacy materialized in the Abbasid capital (Baghdad) and al-Rz was one of the few pharmacists who added very valuable contributions to medicine and pharmacy, at an early time when the Islamic science was at its beginning and centuries before the Latin versions of his books contributed to shape the European Renaissance.
References
1. Aftab, Macksood, "How Islam Influenced Science". The Islamic Herald, March 1995. 2. Hadzovic, S., "Pharmacy and the Great Contribution of Arab-Islamic Science to its Development". Med.
Arch. 1997;51(1-2): 47-50.

3. [History of Medicine Lecture Series], The History of Medicine Lecture Series, University of Florida Society for the History of Medicine, Website: http://www.medinfo.ufl.edu/other/histmed/ 4. Ibn Ab Usaybi'a, 'Uyn al-anb' f tabaqt al-atibb', Beirut: Dar al Hayat, 1965 (in Arabic). 5. Irfan, Hwaa, "Hikmat (Unani Medicine)".
Islam
on-line
website
(29/06/2002):
http://www.islamonline.net/English/Science/2002/06/article15.shtml.
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6. Iskandar, Albert Zaki, A Study of al-Rz's Medical Writings. With Selected Texts and English Translations. A thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Oxford, 1959. 7. Kaf al-Ghazal, Sharif, Islamic Medicine On-line: http://www.islamicmedicine.org/
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Seville
Salah Zaimeche PhD Lamaan Ball August 2005 4095 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Seville August 2005
SEVILLE
Seville is a Spanish city located on a meander of the Guadalquivir River, ninety-seven kilometres (sixty miles) from the Atlantic coast at Cadiz. Known as Ishbilya in Arabic, Seville was second to Cordoba in size and importance throughout most of the Islamic period, reaching its maximum extension of 187 hectares (462 acres) and its greatest population (83,000) in the mid twelfth century, when the city was favoured by Almohad dynasts. Until the ninth century, the city was confined to the limits of the primitive Roman oppidum (town).1 Seville rose to greatness with the Berber Almoravids and Almohads, whose rule of Spain, and North Africa began with the Almoravids under Yusuf Ibn Tashfin in 1088-9. Prior to them ruled the Reyes of the Taifas (roughly 1008-1090), and before them Ibn Abi Al-Mansur (976-1002), and prior to him, Muslim Spain had been ruled by the Umayyads, a branch of the dynasty that, once decimated in the East by the Abbasids in 750, ruled over Spain. The Muslims had been in Spain for just two centuries when ascended to the throne one of the greatest rulers of Islam, the Umayyad, Abd Al-Rahman III, in the year 912. One of his early measures, noted later on by Ibn Khaldun, was to suppress all taxes not in accordance with Muslim Tradition, and causing justice to be fairly and equally delivered.2 Burckardt sums up some of his achievements, noting how Abd alRahman III granted Muslim Spain its period of greatest unity and finest flowering; he repelled the Christian kingdoms which had been gaining strength in the north of Spain, and called a halt to the advance of the Fatimids in North Africa.3 He further built monuments of great stature, such as the famed al-Zahra, which at some points, in his very presence at the Friday prayer at the mosque, drew criticism from the religious circle, criticism the sovereign acknowledged but did not repress.4 Abd al-Rahman was succeeded in 961 CE by another successful ruler, al-Hakem II, whose early deeds were to personally lead the Muslim armies, and to repulse combined attacks from the North by the Christians and from the south by the Fatimids, and from even further north, attacks from the Vikings. 5 Unlike his father who delighted in buildings, Al-Hakem delighted in books. He amassed such a collection that was estimated at four hundred thousand volumes, causing works on all subjects to be conveyed to Cordova from every country, however remote, lavishing his treasures in their acquisition, and he was so fond of reading them, that he preferred the company of books to the pleasures of royalty. 6 The death of Al-Hakem II in 976 heralded the end of Ummayad Spain. In the semi chaos which followed succession, rose to power Ibn Abi Amir, who subsequently will be known as Al-Mansur, and who established
T. Glick: Seville; In The Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons, N. York; vol 11; pp 213. 2 In Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib. Translated by P.De Gayangos: The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain (extracted from Nifh Al-Tib by al-Maqqari); 2 vols; The Oriental Translation Fund; London, 1840-3. vol I; Appendix; xLvii 3 T. Burckhardt: Moorish Culture in Spain, George Allen & Unwin, London; 1972; p. 34. 4 A. Thomson and M. A. Rahim: Islam in Andalus; Taha Publishers; London; 1996; p. 59. 5 A. Thomson; op cit; p. 67. 6 Al-Maqqari; De Gayangos; op cit; vol 2; p. 169.
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his authority in the name of Al-Hakem IIs young son, Hisham.7
Al-Mansurs deeds were exemplary. He
extended the Cordova mosque, built another palace, al-Zahira on the banks of the Wadi al-kebir (Guadalquivir), and then spent the rest of his rule leading his armies into battle against the Christians in the north, two expeditions each year, even taking Santiago de Compostela on his fiftieth expedition.8 It is in the year 1002, during his fifty second military expedition that Al-Mansur died. Al-Mansur was followed by the inept rule of his son. After six years, Muslim Spain disintegrated into thirty of so independent states, the Reyes of Taifas. After the fall of the Umayyad caliphate in Seville (1013), the chief religious judge (Cadi), Abu'l- Qasim ibn Abbad, proclaimed himself ruler (hajib) of an independent Sevillian principality that lasted until the Almoravid conquest of 1091. Its greatest ruler, al-Muqtadid (r. 1042-1069), both enlarged the kingdom and wrote poems praising the city's undoubted grandeur during this period. 9 The Reyes of Taifas, however, with rare exceptions, such as Al-Mamun of Toledo, were inept and dissolute. As they warred each other, it encouraged the Spanish Christians to launch a war of re-conquest from the North. Muslim states began to fall one after the other. Barbastro was first taken by a coalition of Christian armies, mainly French in 1063. It presaged the future for the Muslims in Christian hands. Scott narrates:
`The atrocities practiced (at Barbastro) by these Christian barbarians seem incredible. Such was the amount of booty, that an inferior officer is said to have received as his share five hundred loads of merchandise and fifteen hundred maidens. In the general division, as was customary, the master with his households and possessions were delivered to the fortunate soldier, who at once proceeded, by ingenious tortures, to insult the distress of his victim and inflict upon him exquisite pain in order to compel the discovery of hidden treasure. The female members of his family were violated in his presence. His body was plunged into boiling oil. He was hacked with swords and battle axes and his limbs were slowly wasted by fire.10
Now the Muslims began to awaken to the threat, and such a threat became even more pressing when Toledo fell in 1085 into Christian hands (see entry in Toledo). Muslim Spain was about to overwhelmed, and the dangers were of the most severe nature. The Reyes could only rely on the rising Almoravid Berber power in Morocco, but reluctantly, for a gulf separated the debauched Reyes from the very devout Almoravids. The tide of history, the ferocious encounter with Christianity could only favour the latter, and signal the end of the former. The end of one of them, of interest here, Al-Mutamid of Seville is well described by Durant, who in the process, captures every bit of both of the history of the time, treachery, and fall from power in a wonderful passage worth reproducing in its entirety.11 Durant, thus, goes:
À more heroic end came to al-Mutamid, Emir of Seville. Like other kinglets of disintegrating Spain, he had for several years paid tribute to Alfonso VI of Castile as a bribe to Christian peace. But a bribe always leaves a balance to be paid on demand. With the sinews of war provided by his prey, Alfonso pounced upon Toledo in 1085; and al-Mutamid perceived that Seville might be next. The city-states of Moslem Spain were now too weakened by class and internecine war to offer any
7 8
A. Thomson: Islam; op cit; p. 69. A. Thomson; p. 74. 9 T. Glick: Seville; pp 213. 10 S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; in three volumes; The J.B. Lippincott Company; Philadelphia; 1904. vol 2; p. 156.
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adequate resistance. But across the Mediterranean there had arisen a new Moslem dynasty; it was called Almoravid from the marabout or patron saint of north western Africa; founded on religious fanaticism, it had turned almost every man into a soldier of Allah, and its armies had easily conquered all Morocco. At this juncture the Almoravid king Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, a man of courage and cunning, received from the princes of Spain an invitation to rescue them from the Christian dragon of Castile. Yusuf transported his army across the Strait, received reinforcements from Malaga, Granada, and Seville, and met the forces of Alfonso at Zallaka, near Badajoz ( I086). Alfonso sent a courtly message to Yusuf: "Tomorrow [Friday] is your holyday, and Sunday is ours; I propose, therefore, that we join battle on Saturday." Yusuf agreed; Alfonso attacked on Friday; al-Mutamid and Yusuf fought well, the Moslems celebrated their holyday with victorious slaughter, and Alfonso barely escaped with 500 men. Yusuf astonished Spain by returning bootyless to Africa. Four years later he came back. Al-Mutamid had urged him to destroy the power of Alfonso, who was rearming for a fresh assault. Yusuf fought the Christians indecisively, and assumed sovereign power over Moslem Spain. The poor welcomed him, always preferring new masters to old; the intellectual classes opposed him as representing religious reaction; the theologians embraced him. He took Granada without a blow, and delighted the people by abolishing all taxes not prescribed in the Koran ([in] 1090). Al-Mutamid and other emirs joined in a league against him, and formed a holy alliance with Alfonso. Yusuf besieged Cordova; its populace delivered it to him. He surrounded Seville; al-Mutamid fought heroically, saw his son killed, broke down in grief, and surrendered. Now all Andalusia except Saragossa was in Yusuf's hands, and Moslem Spain, ruled from Morocco, was again a province of Africa. Al-Mutamid was sent as a prisoner to Tangier. While there he received from a local poet, Husri, some verses praising him and asking for a gift. The ruined emir had now only thirty-five ducats ($87) in all the world; he sent them to Husri with apologies for the smallness of the gift. AlMutamid was transferred to Aghmat, and lived there for some time in chains, always in destitution, still writing poetry, till his death (I095). One of his poems might have served as his epitaph: `Woo not the world too rashly, for behold, Beneath the painted silk and broidering, It is a faithless and inconstant thing. Listen to me, Mutamid, growing old. And wethat dreamed youth's blade would never rust, Hoped wells from the mirage, roses from the sand The riddle of the world shall understand And put on wisdom with the robe of dust.12
It was the end of the Reyes, and the beginning of a new era of Muslim Spain, an era under Berber rule, which was to deliver the finest hours of the city of Seville, a fine hour which brought into combination of the Syrian and Berber genius in equal measures, and which gave us the greatest city of the 12 th century.
11 12
W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. pp. 306-7. Translation by D. Smith; in M. Van Doren: Anthology of World Poetry; New York; 1928; p. 99. In W. Durant The Age; op
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Seville: A Mighty, Thriving, Great City

Seville, settled by Syrian junds, was customarily and affectionately referred to by Arab writers and poets of east and west alike as Hims al-Andalus, after the Syrian town of that name.13Seville and its territory was known by the name of Hims, for when the lands were divided among the Arab settlers it fell to the people of hems, in Syria, whose banner immediately follows that of the people of Damascus in the processions at Medina.14 Ibn Sa'd, a thirteenth-century writer from Alcal la Real (Granada), remarked that no eastern cities reminded him of home except for Damascus and Hama, a central Syrian town, and al-Shaqund called Granada the Damascus of al-Andalus. Not surprisingly, the Damascus scenes in the film "Lawrence of Arabia" were filmed in Seville, a city generally acknowledged to resemble traditional Damascus more than Damascus itself.15 Most striking of all was the extensive Syrianization of the landscape that took place throughout the eighth century, first, through the settlement of Syrian contingents (junds) in such places as Seville and Valencia; second, through the wholesale importation of Syrian styles by the cadres of Umayyad clients who flocked to the peninsula after 756; third, by the deliberate policy of Umayyad emirs, 'Abd al-Rahmn I in particular.16 The introduction of Syrian agricultural systems, of hydraulic machinery used in Syria, of Syrian building techniques and decorative motifs, the deliberate importation of vegetation native to Syria -- these were among the many discrete elements that contributed to the Syrianization of Andalusi towns and countryside.17 And of Syrian Spanish cities, the most beautiful of all, and the greatest by far, was Seville. From the words of an author referred to by the 16th century Muslim writer, al-Maqqari,
`Seville is built on the banks of the Guadalquevir, also known by the name of Wadi Kortobah (the river of Cordova). A very handsome bridge of boats, fastened together by means of iron chains, serves as a communication for the people living on the two banks of the river. The city itself is fine and well built; the squares are large, and the market places commodious and abundantly provided with every necessity, as also with articles of trade of the most expensive kind, which afford great gain to the merchants The Axarafe district contains besides olive groves, a very large population scattered in farm houses, or living in towns and villages, which have also their market places, their baths, fine buildings, and other conveniences and comforts only to be met with in cities of the finest order.18
The author of Minhaju-l-fakar refers to the river that flows through the city:
`which has no equal in the world. It is navigable for large vessels, and is always filled with pleasure boats kept by the people, and by fishing or trading vessels; in the opinion of some it surpasses in beauty the Euphrates, the Tigris, and the Nile. Its banks are covered with fruit trees, forming a sort of canopy over the river, so that one may sail in it sheltered from the rays of the sun, and listening
cit; p. 307. 13 T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1979. pp 55-6. 14 Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib. Op cit; p.56. 15 T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain. Op cit; p. 56. 16 T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain; p. 55. 17 T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain; p. 55. 18 In Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib; op cit; pp.55-6.
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to the charming melody of the singing birds. The journey along its banks is equally pleasant, and one may travel the distance of ten parasangs (thirty miles) through clusters of buildings and farm houses, high towers and strong castles, forming a continued city. The tide is perceptible in the river of Seville at a distance of seventy two miles from the sea. It also abounds in fish, of which the daily consumption is almost incredible. The amount of taxes paid by the city of Seville only, during the caliphate of Al-Hakem Ibn Hisham is stated at one hundred and thirty five thousand dinars. 19
Water was central in many other ways, from the erection of the pleasure garden to other urban usages. In Toledo, al-Ma'mn's garden had a pavilion called majlis al-n'ra, which raised water from the Tajo to supply elegant fountains in which lions spouted water, in the palace of al-Mu'tamid of Seville, an elephant fountain was likewise supplied by a wheel, described as a dawlab, a synonym which usually connoted an animal-driven wheel.20
Al-Cazar*
Seville itself received its domestic water supply from an arched aqueduct of Roman construction, known in the later Middle Ages as the Canos de Carmona. By the twelfth century this system had fallen into disrepair,
19 20 *
In Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib. p.56. T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain; op cit; p. 237. source http://www.greatestcities.com/users/monda/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Seville/
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but it was restored by the Almohad rulers in 1172. 21 After taking the city in 1248, the Castilians encountered the system still functioning, and in 1254 Alfonso X ordered a '`Master Caxico" (probably a resident Genoese) to "make the water [of the Carmona aqueduct] flow to two fountains in Seville as it used to flow in the time of the Moors."22 The Almohads, also when building their new main mosque, uncovered the Roman sewer system and altered and enlarged its course.23 After the sack of the city by Norman pirates in 844, the Umayyad emir Abd al-Rahman II ordered the reconstruction of the walls to include both the old city and the newer suburbs to its east and north. The walls were rebuilt in the early tenth century and again a century later. Finally, in 1170-1171 the Almohad caliph Abu Ya'qub Yusuf, who made Seville his capital, rebuilt the portion of the wall adjacent to the river, after a calamitous flood.24 The Alcazar, or citadel, originally built by Abd al-Rahman II, was restored by the Almohads, who were likewise responsible for building a new main mosque (1172-1176), of which only the minaret, now called the Giralda, still remains. At the time of the conquest of the city by Ferdinand III of Castile (1248), Seville boasted seventy-two mosques.25 The Almohads, in building a new main mosque near the river, to the south of the old urban centre, created a dual economic zoning whereby the export and local economic activities were each confined to specific areas; the Alcaicera, or covered market, where expensive silks were sold for export, was located near the river port.26 The Alhondiga, or flour exchange, supplying the needs of the townspeople, was in the centre of town, near the previous main mosque. Islamic Seville was a centre for the trade, both domestic and overseas, of the olive oil produced in the nearby Aljarafe region.27 A picture of the economic life of Almohad Seville is preserved in the market regulation, or hisba, treatise of Ibn'Abdun, which describes not only a great variety of alimentary trades but also construction, textile, and iron industries (see further down). 28 The functional separation of the city into two distinct economic zones has survived unchanged from Almohad times. International trade was centred near the river in the Barrio de la Mar (in fact, a separate jurisdictional entity) and in the so-called Genoese and Castilian quarters, where the Genoese and textile exchanges (Lonja de Genova, Lonja de los Panos) were located, along with the covered market and olive-oil warehouses. The economic life of the city proper continued to be located nearer the city's centre. 29 Al-Shaqundi, in his risala, says:
Ì have also heard of the magnificence and good design of its buildings; most of which, not to say all, are abundantly provided with running waters, and spacious courts planted with fruit trees, such as oranges, the lemon, the lime, and the citron tree. The sciences and the arts are cultivated with
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T.
Glick: Glick: Glick: Glick: Glick: Glick: Glick: Glick: Glick:
Seville; Seville; Seville; Seville; Seville; Seville; Seville; Seville; Seville;
op cit; pp 214. pp 214. pp 214. op cit; p 213. pp 213. pp 213-4. pp 213-4. pp 213-4. op cit; pp 214.
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more or less ardour, with more or less success; the number of their authors is indeed too considerable to be stated, and their writings too well known to need description.30
Today, though, a description of such authors and scholars imposes itself, however many there are.
The Giralda, the old minaret of the original Mosque, is 117 metres high and looks out over the city*
The Scholars of Seville

Scott tells that
`The graceful courtesy and deference to the sex, which were the indispensable attributes of every gallant cavalier, in short, the very genius of chivalry, originated among the Spanish Mohammedans. The women of Christian Europeexcept in countries influenced by Muslim culturefrom the tenth to the fifteenth century received no such social consideration and enjoyed no such educational advantages as did their infidel sisters of the Peninsula.31
30 *
Al-Shaqundi; Risala, in Al-Maqqari: Nafh Al-Tib; op cit; p.56. Source http://www.greatestcities.com/users/monda/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Seville/ 31 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; p. 452.
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Indeed, it is in Seville, that there came into prominence a number of scholarly women. Valada, a princess of the Almohades, was renowned for her knowledge of poetry and rhetoric; her conversation was remarkable for its depth and brilliancy; and, in the academic contests the capital which attracted the learned and the eloquent from every quarter of the Peninsula, she never failed, whether in prose or in poetical composition, to distance all competitors.
32
Algasama 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 most accomplished artists of the age. The literary attainments of Miriam, the gifted daughter of A1-Faisull, were famous throughout the Peninsula, the caustic wit and satire of her epigrams were said to have been unrivalled.33 These women were part of large circle of scholars who thrived in their multitude in the city during the Almoravid and Almohad times above all. Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Khair ibn 'Umar ibn Khalifa al-Ishbili is a Hispano- Muslim scholar, born in Seville in 1108-1109, studied in Seville and Cordova, and died in Cordova in 1179.34 He compiled a bibliography (Fihrist) containing more than 1400 titles of books composed by Spanish Muslims on every subject, a bibliography which is very precious, as other standard bibliographies of Arabic writings, compiled by Easterners (notably that of Hadji Khalifa) do not give sufficient importance to the Spanish writings.35 This Fihrist was edited by Francisco Codera y Zaidin and Julian Ribera y Tarrago late in the 19th century, vol 10 of which contains the index and a Latin introduction.36 The science of Botany which thrived under the Berber Dynasty of Banu Dhi Nun of Toledo, and their illustrious ruler, Al-Mamun, moved south to Seville following the fall of Toledo to the Christians in 1085. Running south amongst the surviving scholars was Ibn Bassal, whose works in Toledo have been examined under that entry. Ibn Bassal joined the court of Al-Mutamid for whom he created a new royal garden.37 In Seville Ibn Bassal met with Ali Ibn al-Lukuh another scholar of Toledo, who himself was a student and disciple of another famed scholar of Toledo, Ibn Wafid, and also encountered Mohammed B. Hadjadj Al-Ishbilli, also a writer on agronomy.38 It is in Seville, that Ibn Bassal came into contact with the other great botanist of Grenada, al-Tignari, who during his visit to Seville was able to benefit greatly from Ibn Bassals expertise in the field.39 It is also in Seville that Ibn Bassal and Ibn Lukuh were the masters of the mysterious ànonymous botanist of Seville, the author of the Ùmdat al-Tabib fi maarifat al-nabat li kuli labib, a botanical dictionary, which Colin considers far superior to even the master in the genre, that is Ibn al-Baytar of Malaga.40 It seems that this writer could have been Ibn Abdun (not the author of the treatise on Hisba, who lived a century or so earlier; See below), who was at some point part of the diplomatic mission to the Almohad court in Marrakech in 1147.41
32 33
S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; p. 447. S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; p. 447. 34 G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48. vol 2; p. 444. 35 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 444. 36 Francisco Codera y Zaidin and Julian Ribera y Tarrago: Index librorum de diversis scientiarum ordinibus quos a magistris didicit; Biblioteca arabico-hispanica, vols. 9 and 10, Saragossa, 1894-1895. 37 G.S. Colin: Filaha; Encyclopaedia of Islam: New edition: Leiden; 1986, Vol 2, p. 901. 38 G.S. Colin: Filaha; p. 901. 39 G.S. Colin: Filaha; p. 901. 40 G.S. Colin: Filaha; p. 901. 41 G.S. Colin: Filaha; p. 901.
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Another botanist is Abul Khair (fl early 12th century), who is the author of a book on farming: Kitab al-
Filaha. In this treatise, Abul Khair proposes four procedures to collect rain water, and other artificially obtained
waters.42 Abul Khair stresses the need for the recuperation of rain water for the reproduction of olive trees by cuttings: before filling the holes, by throwing in small stones at the bottom of the plant so as to preserve moisture, then filling the hole.43 Abul Khair also informs on the process of sugar making as conveyed to us by Ibn al-Awwam:
`Here is the process to make sugar: we cut the sugar cane when it has reached its point of maturity. Then we cut it into small pieces, which are then well crushed inside presses (Maasara), or in similar apparatuses. Then is boiled the extract, then allowed to rest fro a period of time, then it is sifted through it, before it is cooked again until only a quarter of the initial quantity is left. Then this concentrate is poured into moulds of clay of a special shape, which are then stored in the shade until they harden or crystallise; then the sugar is taken out to dry still in the shade and then is removed. The left over from the sugar cane is not wasted but is instead fed to horses who love it, and which helps them gain in strength and energy.44
Abu Zakariya Yabya Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn al-'Awwam al-Ishbili is a Hispano-Muslim agriculturist who flourished at Seville about the end of the twelfth century. He wrote a treatise on agriculture, Kitab al-
filaha, which is the most important Muslim work as well as the most important mediaeval one on the
subject.45 The treatise divides into two main parts, the first dealing with soils, fertilizers, water, gardens, trees, fruits and their preservation, etc, whilst the second deals with ploughing, the choice of seeds, the seasons and their tasks, grain farming, leguminous plants, small allotments, aromatic plants and industrial plants, harvesting, farming engineering, livestock breeding, poultry, and the treatise ends with a section devoted to veterinary subjects.46 The treatise is divided into thirty-four chapters, of which the first thirty deal with agriculture proper, and the last four with cattle and poultry raising and apiculture.47 Ibn al'Awwam's treatise covers 585 plants, and explains the cultivation of more than fifty different fruit trees, besides containing striking observations on the different kinds of soil and manure and their respective properties, on various methods of grafting, on sympathies and antipathies between plants, etc.48 Ibn alAwwam also studies gardening, water variety, irrigation, animal husbandry and bee keeping, the symptoms of many diseases of trees and vines are indicated, as are also methods of cure. 49 Leclerc makes a very important observation, that in Ibn al-Awwams work, there is no place for superstition, which is found in every work prior to the Muslims, and including with that figure of the Islamic period, Ibn Wahshiya,50 who wrote Filaha Nabatiya. Ibn Al-Awwam innovated further as we hear from him:
Abul- Khair Kitab al-Filaha; in . V. Lagardere: Campagnes et paysans dAl Andalus; Maisonneuve; Larose; Paris; 1993; at p. 265. 43 Abul- Khair Kitab al-Filaha; p. 140 fwd in . V. Lagardere: Campagnes; p. 265. 44 Ibn al-Awwam; p. 393, in V. Lagardere: Campagnes; p. 384. 45 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; pp. 424-5. 46 L. Leclerc: Histoire de la medecine Arabe; Paris; 1876; vol 2; p. 111. 47 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; pp. 424-5. 48 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 425. 49 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 425. 50 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; vol 2; p. 110.
42
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Àfter reading the books on farming legated to us by both Muslim farming manual writers and their ancient predecessors, who wrote on farming under all sorts of conditions, my attention has remained fixed upon whatever is worth in these works. I report the opinions of these authors textually as they have written themselves in their treatises without ever trying or seeking to modify such expressions. As for me, I write nothing which is proper to me without it having been first tried on the ground through experiment and observation.51
Thus, once more, we are confronted to this re-occurring and dominant feature and distinction of Islamic science, that is its fundamental reliance upon the observed, and the experimental. Ibn al-Awwam's work was published in a Spanish translation,52 and a French version53 between the end of the eighteenth and the middle of the nineteenth for utilitarian purposes as the techniques it describes were of particular interest to the development of agriculture in both Spain and Algeria.54 Both editions and translations were very unsatisfactory, according to Sarton, 55an opinion which is shared by Leclerc, who blames the deficiencies on the old age of Clement Mullet pressed by time, and thus stresses the need for a new, better translation of the work.56 However, since Leclerc was writing, in 1876, and since Sarton was, early in the 20th century, such translation has not been forthcoming, and reliance is still on the deficient ones by both Banqueri and Mullet. There is an edition of the work into Urdu,57 but still none into English, and none into Arabic easily available! Abu Abbas Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Mufarraj, often called al-Nabati, or Ibn Rumiya (son of the Christian woman), also al-Hafiz (he who knows the Quran and Hadith (Tradition) by heart), is a Hispano-Muslim botanist born in Seville in 1165-6 or 1171-72, and died in Spain, Seville, very probably in ca. 1239-40.58 His knowledge of plants was primarily derived from his direct study of them, and he seems to have been interested in them for their own sake, not just for medical purposes.59 He was the teacher of his worthy successor, Ibn al-Baytar (see Malaga), with whom he shared the love for plants and the science of botany, and he was part of the group which also included other illustrious figures in the field Abdallah ben Salah and Ibn Al-Hadjadj, of Seville.60 He made many botanical excursions in Spain and across the straight; then in ca 1217, he travelled eastwards, in North Africa, Egypt and further on, to complete his botanical investigations and perform the pilgrimage. The Ayyubid sultan Al-Adil (ruled 1199-1218) tried to retain him in Cairo, but al-Nabati remained only long enough to collect the ingredients necessary for the kings treacle, and he then proceeded to Syria and Iraq where he learned to know many plants not grown in the West, and he finally returned to Spain.61
51 52
L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; vol 2; p. 110-1. Joseph A. Banqueri; 2 vols., folio, Madrid 1802. 53 Le Livre de l'agriculture, by Clement-Mullet; 2 tomes in 3 vols., Paris 1864-1867. 54 J Vernet and J Samso: Development of Arabic Science in Andalusia, in Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science; Edited by Roshdi Rashed; 3 vols; Routledge, London and New York: 1996. Vol 1, pp 243-76., p. 263. 55 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 425. 56 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; vol 2; p. 113. 57 G.S. Colin: Filaha; op cit; p. 902. 58 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 650. 59 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 651. 60 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; vol 2; p. 244. 61 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 651.
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He wrote an account of his journey, Kitab al-Rihla, which deals primarily with his observations of plants many of which were new, e.g. those relative to plants growing along the shores of the Red Sea.62 The Rihla is lost, and is only known through some of the writing of Ibn Al-Baytar, who makes over a hundred citations from it, most of the plants cited and described were completely unknown. 63 Amongst the plants collected in the Maghrib, most with local names, Leclerc cites their Latin equivalent, Bunium bulbocastanum; Rhamnus alaternus; gentianee; Centauree tinctoriale; meum; etc. 64 Two other works are ascribed to Ibn Rumiya: Explanation of the names of simples in Dioscorides, and Treatise on the composition of drugs. Leclerc insists, that instead of following his Muslim or Greek predecessors, Ibn Rumiya made a personal study of the plants, and, like Ibn al-Awwam, relied on observation and experimentation. 65 He also introduced new methods of investigating the properties and uses of drugs, doing away with the old methods of the Greeks (Galen and others.) Before leaving this subject, point is made by Levey, who insists that because of its accumulation of thousands of years of experience, Muslim pharmacology may still bear something of value for modern science.66 Medicinal properties, particularly of botanicals known to Muslim physicians and apothecaries, he adds, deserve great attention. Some important medicinal plants prescribed today have been explored with success, and more remains to be done, and clues to valuable drugs, he holds, can be found in the early texts in Arabic.67 There is a good number of architects famed for their work in Seville. One of the earliest was Abu Ibrahim b. Aflah ar-Rakham (the marble mason, who in September 1079, completed restoration works at the Mosque of Seville after it had been damaged weeks before.68 More renowned, though, is Abu-l-Laith as-Siqilli, who succeeded Ali-Al-Ghumari as architect of the Giralda, which he completed in February 1198.69 The Giralda, or minaret, which towered over the mosque of Seville, and still for the most part intact early in the twentieth century, is the principal ornament of its cathedral, and is the greatest monument to its fame.70 Scott offers a good non too technical description of the edifice, which is outlined here. The base of Giralda is a square of fifty feet; its original height was three hundred. For eighty seven feet from the foundations the walls are of stone blocks fitted with the greatest nicety, and once polished to the smoothness of glass. The superstructure is of brick, and almost covered with graceful arabesque patterns in terra cotta. Each side is divided into six panels with the designs in bas relief, the panels resting upon ogival arches. In the central panels are a series of ajimezes or Muslim windows, whose compartments are separated by miniature columns of alabaster.. The minaret as originally designed was crowned with battlements, and was surmounted by another tower eight cubits in height, of similar plan but of much more elaborate ornamentation. Above the latter structure rose a bar sustaining four bronze balls of different sizes placed one above the other. The general colour of the building was a brilliant red due to the bricks of which it was principally composed. Within this bright setting the sunken arabesques glowed with all the splendour of the richest damask. The interstitial portions of the designs were painted with scarlet, azure, green, and purple,
62 63
E. H. F. Meyer: Geschichte der Botanik, I-IV, Konigsberg, 1854-7. vol 3; pp. 233-6. L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 247. 64 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 247. 65 L. Leclerc: Histoire; p. 244. 66 M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology, Leiden, E.J. Brill,, 1973. preface, pp vii-viii. 67 M. Levey: Early Arabic, op cit, preface, pp vii-viii. 68 L.E. Mayer: Muslim architects and their works; Albert Gundig; Geneva; 1956; p. 38. 69 L.E. Mayer: Muslim architects; p. 39.
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the parts in relief were gilded.. The interior of the famous minaret presents some extraordinary, not to say unique, architectural features. Its walls are nine feet in thickness at the base, and instead of decreasing in dimensions, become still more solid as they rise, until the capacity of the structure near the summit is but little more than half what it is at the bottom. This ascent is made by thirty five ramps, or inclined planes, resting upon vaults and arches, and supported by a shaft of masonry built in the centre of the tower.71 Another famed architect who also contributed to the erection of the Giralda, and whose fame is the greatest, is Ahmad B. Baso. He spent his youth in Seville, and in 1160 directed architectural works for the Almohads at Gibraltar, later erecting some public buildings and frontier fortresses in Cordova, then, by 1171-2, at the latest was back in Seville.72 In Ramadhan of that year, he began the main mosque and its minaret on which he worked until 1184-5, before in that year, he constructed the Buhaira palace outside the Puerta de Chahuar of Seville. 73 It was the Almohad ruler Abu Yaqub Yusuf who delegated the architects Ahmad Ibn Basso and Abd Allah Ibn Amr to build the Great mosque of Seville in 1172-6. Little remains now but the blind pointed horseshoe brick faade with stepped cresting in the Court of Oranges, and two entrances one covered with a Mukarnas vault, and the other with bold stucco carving in the soflit of its arch. The bronze door of the latter has engraved on it floral motifs within hexagonal compartments, an open work door handle with frilled outline, and lettering in Kufic with the formula `The Kingship is Allahs.74 Ibn Bassos work on the Giralda was continued by Ali-Al-Ghumari, and finished by Abu-l-Laith As-Siqilli in 1198.75 The subject of Hisba has been looked at in great detail in the entry on Malaga under its author there AlSaqati. Seville, too, had its author on the same subject: Ibn Abdun Muhammad B. Ahmad. He flourished at the end of the 11th century, and lived under the early Almoravids as he speaks of them as the new masters of the city.76 His short treatise, together with that of his contemporary Al-Saqati (of Malaga), is a most valuable source of urban, economic and social life in Muslim Spain in this period.77 There is no need to dwell here on this crucial role of the Muhtassib, his tasks and duties, the sources of the function, forms, origins, and much else already well detailed under the entry on Malaga (Al-Saqati). The treatise by Ibn Abdun is available in French thanks to the labours of Levi Provencal, who edited it and translated it into French, from which the following is extracted to highlight a very interesting point not dealt with anywhere else in the depiction of Islamic civilization, and which relates to the Muhtasibs regulation with regard to prison and prisoners.78 Thus goes Ibn Abdun:
`Prisons must be inspected twice or three times a month so as to make sure of the good welfare of the prisoners, and in case the cells become overcrowded. Those who had committed light crimes should be taken out of prison quickly.
S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 2; p. 316. S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 2; pp. 316-9. 72 L.E. Mayer: Muslim architects; op cit; p. 42. 73 L.E. Mayer: Muslim architects; p. 42. 74 R.A. Jairazbhoy: An Outline of Islamic Architecture; Asia Publishing House; Bombay; London; etc; 1972; at p. 95. 75 L.E. Mayer: Muslim architects; op cit p. 42. 76 F. Gabrieli: Ibn Abdun; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; vol 3 of new edition; p. 681. 77 F. Gabrieli: Ibn Abdun; p. 681. 78 E. Levi Provencal: Seville Musulmane au debut du XII siecle (le Traite dIbn Abdun sur la vie urbaine et les corps de metiers; Maisonneuve; Paris; 1947. The particular passage on prisons and prisoners is at pp. 39-42.
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When relaxed, prisoners ought to be on the days of Ramadhan, or the 10th day of Dhu al-Hidja, or in the middle of Shaaban as these are days of celebration. People ought not be detained too long in prison, but either the judgments against them must be executed, or they must be freed The prison guard ought never take or ask anything from the prisoners prisoners must not be shackled except for the most dangerous amongst them, and shackled prisoners ought to be freed at the time of prayer and when they need to do it (as to relieve themselves). Women ought never be imprisoned alongside men. Their guards ought to be chosen amongst older men with a reputable moral and personal life. Women should never be kept too long in prison. Women prisoners are to be released quickly to the care of a matron of good reputation who will receive in exchange a salary from public finance for her work. Prison guards ought never to be too many. Too many of them, and disorder will spread in the place He whomsoever had his hand amputated ought to be released and left to seek peoples piety until he heals. Guards ought never to beat a prisoner out of their own initiative, either to terrorise or to hurt. Nobody is entitled to stop visits to prisoners. An imam must be put at the disposal of prisoners, and will meet them at the hours of prayers, and will lead in the prayers. This imam will be paid for his services out of public finance. Nobody is to be executed until the head of the government had been consulted three times in succession. Agents of authority ought to be banned from using whips; whipping prisoners is utterly forbidden. [Those who] can only deliver such punishment the head of government [are] the prefect of the city, the Cadi (the judge), the Muhtasib and the judge second in command. Nobody has the right to put anyone in prison without the authorization of the Cadi or the head of the government.79
Medical sciences equally thrived in Seville, and one family, the Ibn Zuhr dominated the subject. The
ancestor of the Spanish line was named Zuhr, hence the patronymic Ibn Zuhr. The first prominent member of the family was a jurist, Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Marwan, who died at Talavera in 1030-1031, at the age of 86. His son, Abu Marwan 'Abd al-Malik, was a great physician, especially famous as a skilful diagnostician, who practiced in Al-Qairawan, Cairo, and finally returning to Spain, settled in Denia where he died in 1077-1078.80 This Abu Marwan had a son, Abu-l-'Ala, who is the subject of the present note.
79 80
E. Levi Provencal: Seville Musulmane; pp. 39-42. G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 231.
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Abu-l-'Ala' studied at Cordova at the school of Abu Al-Aina, a doctor who came from the Orient to Spain.81 He was even more successful as a physician than his father. He was attached to the court of al-Mutamid, the last 'Abbadid king of Seville (ruled from 1068 to 1091), and after the-conquest of Seville by the Berber Murabitin (Almoravides) in 1091, he became wazir to the Yusuf ibn Tashfin (who ruled until 1106).82 His usual name, Al-wazir Abu-l-'Ala' Zuhr, was corrupted by early Latin translators into Alguazir Albuleizor (and variants). He died in Cordova in 1130-1131, and was buried in Seville.83 His main title to fame is the fact of being Ibn Zuhr's father, but he deserves to be remembered for his own activity. He wrote a number of medical books: Kitab al-khawas, Book of (medical) properties; Kitab al-adwiya-l-mufrada, Book of simple drugs; Kitab al-'idah, Book of explanation; Kitab hall shukuk al-Razi 'ala kutub Jalinus, Solution of al-Razi's doubts with regard to Galen's works (which proves if needs be that the Muslims were very critical of Greek science); Mujarrabat , Experimental facts (Medical observations); Maqala fil-radd ala Abu 'A1i ibn Sina fi
mawadi' min kitabihi fi-l-adwiya-l-mufrada, Discourse of refutation of a few points in Ibn Sina's book on simple drugs; Maqala fi basthi lirisala Ya'qub itn Ishaq al-Kindi fi tarkib al-adwiya, Discourse wherein is explained al-Kindi's letter on the composition of drugs; Kitab al-nukat al-tibbiya, Main principles of medicine.84 The last named is almost certainly identical with another work of his, the Tadhkira, or
Reminder, which he wrote for his son 'Abd al-Malik (Avenzoar) when the latter was travelling in Morocco. It is a practical guide containing special references to climatic and pathological conditions in Marrakech; complementary information on various medical subjects; and also deontological advice.85 This treatise has sometimes been ascribed, wrongly, to the son. The best known and most renowned physician of the Muslim Spanish period was Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar). He was born between 1091 and 1094 in Seville, the most illustrious member of the famous Ibn-Zuhr family that produced six generations of physicians in direct descent.86 His full name was Abu Marwan 'Abd al-Malik ibn Abi-l-'Ala' Zuhr, etc. (see his father's name, above). He was often called Abu Marwan Ibn Zuhr, hence the Latin form Abhomeron Avenzoar, or Avenzoar. He was born in Seville about 1091-1094, and died in the same city in 1161-1162.87 Ibn Zuhr was not a Jew. This is sufficiently obvious, and need not be stated but for the fact that some good scholars, beginning with Casiri (Bibliotheca arabico-hispana, 1760), have maintained erroneously the opposite view.88 Among the many distinguished physicians of the Muslim West, he was by far the greatest; he was also the most famous physician of his time, not only among Muslims, but also in Christendom.89 He served under the Almoravids, and after them the Almohads (Muwahhid, Unitarians). He became wazir (minister) and physician to 'Abd al-Mu'min (ruled 1130-1163), a ruler well known for his great intelligence, his genius for organization, and his large support to culture and science, and who took Ibn Zuhr at his service.90 For many
81 82
L. Leclerc: Histoire; vol 1; p. 83. G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 231. 83 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 231. 84 F. Wustenfeld: Geschichte der Arabische Aerzte; Gottingen; 1840; p.91. 85 Gabriel Colin: La Tedkira d'Abu'l-'Ala', publiee et traduite pour la premiere fois (86 p., Publications de la Faculte des lettres d'Alger, 45; Paris 1911); Arabic and French text with technical glossary. 86 A. Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977, p.52. 87 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 232. 88 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 233. 89 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 232. 90 L Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 87.
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years he was the court physician and vizier to ' Abd-al-Mu'min, founder of the Muwahhid dynasty, and unlike so many of the physicians of that period in Spain, he confined his activities to the field of medicine.91Colin has written one of the best, if possibly the best outline of Ibn Zuhr, on his life and work, and which is available in French.92 Ibn Zuhr was formed at the school of his father, and became an eminent practioner, with great medical experience, never relying on the Ancients (Greek) legacy, but instead, submitting everything to experimentation.93 He wrote six medical texts, of which three are still to be found in a few of the libraries, like the British Museum and the Bibliothque Nationale.94 The three extant works, in chronological order, are as follows: (1)Kitab al-iqtisad fi islah al-anfus wal-ajsad, Book concerning the reformation of souls and bodies, completed in 1121-1122, for the Almoravid prince Ibrahim ibn Yusuf ibn Tashfinthe son of the Yusuf, to whom Abu-l-'Ala' Zuhr had been the wazir. It is a summary of therapeutics and hygiene, composed for the benefit of lay readers. It remained apparently incomplete; it contains fifteen iqtisad; it is probable that the author meant to write a second volume; there would then have been thirty iqtisad. As the title indicates, it treats of souls as well as bodies; the beginning of it is a summary of psychology.95 (2) Kitab al-taysir fi-l-mudawat wal-tadbir, Book of simplification concerning therapeutics and diet. This is Ibn Zuhr's most important work. It was written at the request of Ibn Rushd, who was a great friend and admirer (though not a disciple); it would seem that they both meant the Taysir to be the counterpart of the
Kulllyat (of Ibn Rushd), the latter dealing with the generalities of medicine, the former with more special
topics.96 If that be true, the task was certainly very well distributed between them, Ibn Rushd being primarily a philosopher, while the older man, Ibn Zuhr, was first of all a clinician or practitioner. The Taysir contains an elaborate study of pathological conditions and relevant therapeutics, the whole being followed by an antidotary or formulary called Jami' (meaning Collectorcollected recipes), which is sometimes mentioned as a separate work.97 The Taysir deals with specific medical conditions, among them are pericarditis, pharangeal paralysis, inflammation of the middle ear, and recommended tracheotomy for laryngeal obstruction.98 Ibn Zuhr realized the nocuousness of the air coming from marshes; he was a great advocate of venesection; he examined human ossements. 99 (3) Kitab al-aghdhiya, Book of foodstuffs, composed for the first Almohad caliph, 'Abd al-Mu'min, who ruled from 1130 to 1163. This work treats various kinds of food and their use according to the seasons; simple drugs, and hygiene. It also indicates the usefulness of various bezel stones.100 Amongst the works which are no longer extant, there is a treatise on cosmetics, reproduced twice by Wustenfeld, under the title Liber ornamenti, and under Liber de decoratione; a treatise on leprosy, and a memorial addressed to his son on what to do in the treatment of diseases and the use of laxatives. 101
91 92
A. Whipple: The Role, op cit; p.52. Gabriel Colin: Avenzoar, sa vie et ses oeuvres (200 p., Publications de la Faculte des Lettres d'Alger, vol. 44; Paris 1911. 93 L. Leclerc: History; vol 1; op cit; p. 86. 94 A. Whipple: The Role, op cit; p.52. 95 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 232. 96 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 232. 97 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 232. 98 A. Whipple: The Role, op cit; p.52. 99 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 233. 100 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 232. 101 F. Wustenfeld: Geschichte der arabischen Aerzte; 1840; p.90. L.Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; vol 1; pp. 92-3.
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Although he may not have been the first to describe the itch mite (Acarus scabiei), Ibn Zuhr was one of the first paracytologists. 102 He was anticipated in this by Ahmad al-Tabari (second half of the tenth century), a few extracts of the Kitab al-mualaja al-buqratiya have been translated into German by Mohamed Rihab.103 Through Hebrew and Latin translations, Ibn Zuhr's influence upon European medicine was maintained until the end of the seventeenth century. 104 The Taysir was promptly translated into Hebrew. There were at least two early Hebrew translations, both anonymous, one of which was known in Italy before 1260.105 Jacob the Hebrew (Magister Jacobus Hebraeus) translated a Hebrew translation into vulgar language (Venitian?), and this version was turned into Latin by Paravici in 1280-1281. This Latin translation, Adjumentum de medela
et regimine, was printed in Venice in 1490, 1496, 1497, 1514, 1530; Lyon 1531 (bis); Venice 1554 (?).106 All of these editions contain both the Taysir and the Kulliyat. Outside of these complete editions, there appeared also many separate ones: for example, Libellus Zoar de cura lapidis (Venice 1497); editions of relevant parts included in the collections De balneis (Venice l553); and De febribus (Venice 1594). 107
Another Latin translation of the Taysir was made by John of Capua (second half of the thirteenth century); not from the Arabic as has been claimed, but from the Hebrew. (Illustrated MS., Faculty of Medicine, Paris). This translation seems to be more correct than the one which was so often reprinted; yet both are full of errors and obscurities. Sarton insists that a critical edition of the Arabic text, and a good translation based upon it, are badly needed.108 To complete the history of this great medical dynasty, Ibn Zuhr's only son, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik, etc., nicknamed al-Hafid (the grandson), was born in Seville in 1110-1111 (or 1113-1114), and died in 1199. He was a successful physician, but was more famous among his contemporaries as a man of letters and a poet, but a treatise on eye diseases is ascribed to him. 109 Just like his father, after serving the Almoravid rulers, he also served their successors, the Almohads, serving both Abu Yaqub Yussuf al-Mansur, and then Al-Nassir.110 A group of envious dignitaries wrote a letter to Al-Mansur, in which they made serious allegations against Abu Bakr Al-Hafid, but al-Mansur instead had the accusers imprisoned as his confidence in Abu Bakr was boundless.111 It is said, that whilst in Morocco, Abu Bakr felt great nostalgia, missing the presence of his family, and wrote verses about his state. Al-Mansur read the verses, and one day when Ibn Zuhr returned home, to his immense joy, he found his family waiting for him, Al-Mansur having had them secretly shipped from Spain.112
102 103
A. Whipple: The Role, op cit; p.52. Mohamed Rihab: Archiv fur Geschichte der Medizin, 19, 123-168, 1927; the reference to the itch-mite will be found on p. 134; See ISIS; 10, p.119. 104 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 233. 105 M. Steinschneider: Die hebraischen Ubersetzungen des Mittelalters; 1893; pp.748-52. 106 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 233. 107 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 233. 108 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 233. 109 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 233. 110 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 93. 111 L. Leclerc: Histoire; op cit; p. 94. 112 Al-Maqqari quoted by L. Leclerc: Histoire; p. 95.
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Abu Bakr Ibn Zuhr had also a daughter who became a skilful midwife, as did her own daughter later, delivering the children of the Almohad ruler, Al-Mansur, and his family.113 This daughter was poisoned at the same time as her uncle, Abu Bakr al-Hafid Ibn Zuhr, in Marrakech in 1199 by a hateful vizier. 114 Abu Bakr Muhammad left a son, Abu Muhammad 'Abdallah ibn al-Hafid, born in Seville in 1181-1182, who became also a successful physician in the Almohad service, and just as his father, he died poisoned in 1205-6, and was buried in Seville near his family ancestors. 115 He also left two sons who lived in Seville; the youngest, Abu-l-'Ala' Muhammad, was also a physician; he represented the sixth generation of physicians in direct descent in the Ibn Zuhr family.116 There could have been a new generation of Ibn Zuhrs, possibly, but soon, Seville was going to be taken by the Spaniards, and just as their line of scholarship ended, so was going to be that of all Muslim scholarship in the city, ending at precisely the same juncture (in the 1240s). But it was no loss of one single science the loss of Muslim Seville caused, but all sciences, which thrived in that mighty city, including exact sciences, such as mathematics. One of the mathematicians of Seville is Ibn al-Yasamin al-Ishbilli, one of the so many neglected, and yet accomplished scholars, who had a great impact on the science, an impact brought to general knowledge by the excellent entry on him by A. Djebbar, and out of which the following is derived.117 Ibn al-Yasamin (fl second half of the 12th century; d. 1204) comes originally form Norh Africa, of Berber descent, and, of Black skin, just as his mother was. He was according to the historian Ibn Said educated in Seville, including on the hands of Ibn Qasim alShalubin, who taught him algebra and the science of calculation, an education which was not restricted to mathematics since we know he also became famous in literature and poetry, and also was a legal expert. According to Ibn al-Abar, Ibn Yasamin wrote his famous algebraic poems in Seville, poems which in 1190 he was using in his teaching. Like most scholars of the time, Ibn al-Yasamin was a welcome visitor of the Almohad court, especially under Abu Yusuf Waqub (Al-Mansur) (ruled 1184-1199). The best known work of Ibn al-Yasamin is a poem of fifty three verses in rajaz meter entitled Al-Urjuza al-
Yasminiya fil jabr wal Muqabala (Poem on Algebra and restoration). In it, Ibn al-Yasamin defines the
algebra known in his time: number, root, and sequence, then the six canonical equations of al-Khwarzmi with the processes of solving them, and finally the operation of algebra-the restoration, comparison, multiplication, and division of monomials. This work has been widely read not just in Spain and the Maghrib, but much beyond. The success of this work led Ibn al-Yasamin to write a second on irrational quadratic numbers and maybe a third on the method of false position, and a fourth work entitled Talqih al-afkar bi rushum huruf al-ghubar (Fertilisation of thoughts through the help of dust letters). This latter work is the most important of all for both its quantity as well as quality. It is a book of two hundred folios which contains classic chapters on the science of calculation and geometry, amongst the works of the Muslim West, which have come to us, the only which consolidates these two disciplines. Its importance is also due to the nature of its material and its mathematical tools, which make it an original book and also one which is totally representative of this
113 114
L. Leclerc: Histoire; p. 94. L. Leclerc: Histoire; p. 94. 115 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; p. 233. 116 G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; vol 2; p. 233. 117 A. Djebbar: Ibn al-Yasamin; in Encyclopaedia of the history of Science, technology, and Medicine in Non Western Cultures; edited by H. Selin; Kluwer Academic Publishers. Dordrecht/Boston/London, 1997; pp. 414-5.
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period of transition in which three mathematical traditions were juxtaposed: of the east, Andalus, and the Maghrib, before they became blended in the same mold.118
Cupula in Al-Cazar* There are some modern studies on Ibn al-Yasamin, which require further explorations so as to understand not just the previous point made by Djebbar, but also understand the situation and role of Islamic mathematics in Spain and their wider impact.119
118
A. Djebbar: Ibn al-Yasamin; p. 415. * source - http://primates.ximian.com/~federico/photo/guadec-2002/ 119 See, for instance: -S. Jalal: Manzumat Ibn al-yasamin fi amal al-Jabr wal hisab; Kuwait; Muassassat al-Kuyat li taquadhum al-ilmi; 1988.
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Seville is by far the best successor to its predecessor, Toledo, and excelled that city in every single science it inherited from it. Thus, with regard to astronomy and instrument construction it even surpassed it, especially with regard to astronomy. It produced two of the greatest figures of the science of astronomy, who laid the foundation of astronomy as we know it today. Abu Muhammad Jabir ibn Aflah. The astronomer Geber of Latin writers, who should not to be confused with the chemist Geber, Jabir ibn Hayyan (fl. second half of the eighth century). Jabir Ibn Aflah is a HispanoMuslim astronomer and mathematician, born or lived in Seville; died probably about the middle of the twelfth century (this author is here correcting Sarton (Introduction. Vol2 2; p. 206), who by mistake places Jabir in the 13th century, whilst subsequent Muslim writers of the early 13th century were aware of his writing, which hence makes no sense. Sartons mistake must be, however, due to lack of attention only, for he correctly lists Jabir in the volume he devotes to the twelfth century). Jabir wrote a treatise on astronomy, Kitab al-haiaa, also called Correction of the Almagest, Islah al-Majisti, which was soon translated into Latin by Gherardo Cremonese under the title: Gebri filii Affla Hispalensis de
astronomia libri IX in quibus Ptolemaeum, alioqui doctissimum, emendavit.120 This translation was published by Peter Apian in Nurnberg in 1534, together with the other treatise Instrumentum primi mobilis.121
Subsequent translations of Jabir Ibn Aflah were made into Hebrew by Moses ibn Tibbon in 1274, then again by Jacob ben Mahir (second half of the thirteenth century); this second translation was commenced by Samuel ben Judah and completed in 1335.122 In this work Jabir severely criticised Ptolemy, and correctly asserted that the lower planets, Mercury and Venus have no visible parallaxes.123 Sarton makes the following point, that Jabir criticized vigorously the Ptolemaic theory of planets but did not propose a better one, that the lower planets (Mercury and Venus) at least must have a perceptible parallax; Venus may happen to be exactly on the line joining the sun and the earth.124 Sartons criticism of Jabir for failing to propose something better than Ptolemy despite being severely critical of him misses the main point. The fact is, indeed, science and scholarship advance on the merits of those who criticize, and show the weakness of an established argument, and demonstrate it to be so. Those amongst scholars who highlight and demonstrate the weakness and deficiencies of a previous theory have the great merit of demolishing it, and preparing the ground for their followers to build upon their work. They do not need to do it themselves. Hence, Jabir, by destroying Ptolemaic astronomy and demonstrated its shortcomings, had set the foundations upon which his successors built and gave us modern astronomy. And in this respect, he deserves much more than the dismissive remark, which is, unfortunately, the case for most accounts of Muslim scholarship, even on the part of those who supposedly praise Islamic achievements, always dismissing them in the end as pale accomplishments in comparison to their Greek counterparts. However, whilst Sarton is only guilty of the mild crime of being somehow dismissive, and whilst he, Sarton, is by far, the most favourable Western scholar to Islamic civilization, others, such as the leading figure of -M Souissi: Al-luma al-maradiniya fi sharh al-Yasminiyya; Kuwait; 198. T. Zemouli: Muallafat Ibn al-Yasamin ar-riyaddiya; master thesis; E.N.S. Algiers; 1993.. 120 H. Suter: Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber; 1900; p.119; Nachtrage, 1902; p. 174. 121 G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 206. 122 M. Steinschneider: Eebraische tibersetzungen; 1893; pp. 543, 849. 123 P.K.Hitti: History of the Arabs, MacMillan, London, 1970 edt. p. 572. 124 G. Sarton: Introduction:; op cit; vol 2; p. 206.
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Western history of science, Duhem, dismisses Muslim science as pure plagiarism of the Greeks as here with Jabir Ibn Aflah. In his famed, and the textbook of history of science for generations of followers, Le
Systeme du Monde, Duhem dismisses Jabirs astronomy as simply a translation of Greek astronomy, and
pure plagiarism.125 Yet, as just established, and as was subsequently made evident by the rare scholars not keen to take Duhems words as established fact, Jabir Ibn Aflah precisely wrote his work in refutation of Greek astronomy, thus, its very reverse. How can a theory which demolishes another be a plagiarism of it? This is one of many contradictions writers on Islam and Islamic history are guilty of. Duhem incidentally is the same leading historian who set his hordes of followers on the following line of thought, that the Muslims burnt Greek science, and yet, few lines down, the same Muslims plagiarized Greek science. Duhem goes, indeed:
`The revelations of Greek thought on the nature of the exterior world ended with the Àlmagest,'' (by Ptolemy) which appeared about A.D. 145, and then began the decline of ancient learning. Those of its works that escaped the fires kindled by Mohammedan warriors were subjected to the barren interpretations of Mussulman commentors and, like parched seed, awaited the time when Latin Christianity would furnish a favourable soil in which they could once more flourish and bring forth fruit.126
If Duhem is to be followed, the Muslims are responsible for one thing, and for its total opposite, both at once. Indeed, according to him the Muslims were fanatic, rampaging hordes, burners of Greek science, and also pale imitators, copiers of the Greeks. They cannot be both, though. How can you copy a book that you have burnt; or convey a science that you have destroyed on first contact? Incidentally, both these conflicting opinions can be found not just with Duhem, but also with his crowd of followers, who pursue the same aberrations. Back to Jabir, who is specially noted for his work on spherical trigonometry, a science ìn which the Arabs in general made great advances.'127 He introduced the equivalent of the formula: cos B = cos a. sin B for a spherical triangle rectangular in C.128 Jabir was also the first to design a portable celestial sphere to measure and explain the movements of celestial objects.129 The invention of the astronomical instrument called turquet has been ascribed to him.130 The point previously made, how after Jabir Ibn Aflah demolished Greek astronomy, rose al-Bitruji, who built on his work and set up the foundations of modern astronomy. Al-Bitruji (known as Alpetragius) was born in Morocco, lived in Seville and died around 1204. His biography is well summed up in the entry by Julio Samso in the Dictionary of
Scientific Biography, upon which reliance is made here.131 Al-Bitrujis Kitab-al-Hayah was popular in thirteenth
century Europe, and was translated by the Sicilian based Michael Scot (who was either Irish or Scot) under the title A. Duhem: Le Systeme du monde; vol. 2, Paris; 1914; pp. 172-179, in G. Sarton: Introduction; vol 2; p. 296. P. Duhem: Medieval Physics, in R. Palter edition: Toward Modern Science; The Noonday Press; New York; 1961; Vol 1; pp 141-159; Quote at p. 141; This article is a reprint from `Physics, history of,'' Catholic Encyclopedia, XII (1911), pp 4752. 127 W. Montgomery Watt: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edinburgh University Press; 1972. p. 35. 128 Von Braunmuhl: Geschichte der Trigomometrie; vol. 1, 1900; pp. 81-3. 129 W.M. Watt: Influence, op cit, p. 35. 130 R.P. Lorch: The Astronomical Instruments of Jabir Ibn Aflah and the Torquetom; Centaurus, 1976; vol 20; pp 11-34. 131 J. Samso: Al-Bitruji; in Dictionary of Scientific Biography; volume 15; supplement 1; Editor Charles C. Gillispie; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1973 fwd. Pp. 33-6; at p. 33.
126 125
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Òn the Sphere,' and was also translated into Hebrew by Moses Ibn Tibbon in 1259, whilst Yahuda ben Solomon Kohen produced an abridged version.132 According to al-Bitruji, Ibn Tufayl (of Grenada) expounded an astronomical system that differed from Ptolemys and did not use eccentrics or epicycles, and al-Bitruji was also aware of Jabir Ibn Aflahs criticism of Ptolemy, and of the problems of the order of the spheres of the inferior planets (Jabirs treatise is also one of the ways through which the sine theorem was introduced to Spain.)133 An important aspect of Al-Bitrujis planetary theory is his discussion of the order of the inferior planets. After presenting the history of the subject, he gives the order as moon, Mercury, sun, Venus, Mars, and so on: mercury was slower than the sun, which was slower than Venus. He rejected the objections made to the traditional order (moon, Mercury, Venus, sun) based on the fact that the transits of Mercury and Venus across the sun are not visible. He put it that Mercury and Venus have their own light and do not receive it from the sun, as the moon does. Therefore their transits cannot be perceptible.134 Al-Bitrujis astronomical system spread through much of Europe in the 13th century; William the Englishman cited it, and Robert Grosseteste referred to it in many works, even plagiarizing from it in his refutation of the Ptolemaic system. 135 The impact of al-Bitruji continued down the centuries, at the end of the 15th century impacting upon Simon de Phares, whilst Copernicus, in his De revolutionibus, cited his system in connection with theories of the order of the inferior planets. 136 Seville accounted for a great instrument maker, Mohammed B. Fatuh, who flourished in the early 13 th century. He is known for eight works at least. In the year 1212-3, he constructed an astrolabe in Seville, which in 1873 could be found in the French collection of H. Sauvaire, who had acquired it in Cairo, but todays possessor of the object is unknown.137 In the year 1216-7 he made a safiha (following in the tradition of al-Zarqali) also in Seville, which was moved between collections, in the Gengia collection, then in the Da Schio collection at Valdagno, and now in the Observatorio Astronomico in Roma, (No 694).138 The following year he made another Safiha, also in Seville, which was formerly in the Schultz collection before it was transferred to the French national Library (Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris).139 The same year he built an astrolabe in Seville, which is kept in the Collection of Cattaoui Pasha in Cairo, followed two years later (1221-2) by another astrolabe now kept in the Lewis Evans collection in the Museum of the History of Science.140 In the year 1224, he made an astrolabe in Seville, also kept in the same Lewis collection already cited, then six years after constructed another astrolabe formerly in the Harari collection, and finally in 1236, he made another astrolabe in Seville in the Mensing collection, now in the Alder Planetarium Chicago.141 Just a few years later, Seville fell, and this latter instrument could have been the last the Muslims constructed in Spain. Seville fell in 1248 to Alfonso of Castile, who made a good use of what he inherited. During the reign of Alfonso el-Sabio (Alfonso the Wise,) King of Castile (1252 to 1284) in Spain, he commissioned works of
132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141
J. Samso: Al-Bitruji; p. 33. J. Samso: Al-Bitruji; p. 33. J. Samso: Al-Bitruji; p. 35. J. Samso: Al-Bitruji; p. 35. J. Samso: Al-Bitruji; p. 35. L.A. Mayer: Islamic Astrolabists and their works; Albert Kundig; Geneva; 1956; p. 64. L.A. Mayer: Islamic Astrolabists; p. 65. L.A. Mayer: Islamic Astrolabists; p. 65. L.A. Mayer: Islamic Astrolabists; p. 65-6. L.A. Mayer: Islamic Astrolabists; p. 66.
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history and science deeply reliant on Muslim sources.142 And during his reign was produced a collection of treatises on astronomy, and the famed Alphonsine tables; and writings on instruments mostly based on known Muslim works. Alfonso el-Sabio in 1254 established the Latin and Arabic college of Seville. Thus, just as with Toledo, Muslim loss was Christian gain. And this took place in the 13th century when Seville was wrested from the Muslims.
The Loss of Muslim Seville:

The battle of Navas de las Tolosa in 1212, where the Muslim armies of the inept Al-Nasir (ruled 1199-1213) were wiped out, is one of the greatest Muslim defeats in history, heavy in its consequences.143 With Almohad control effectively gone by 1223, James the Conqueror of Aragon-Catalonia raided the Valencian border in 1225, seized the island of Majorca in 1229 and the Valencian lands in 1232-1245, and tightened control during subsequent campaigns.144 Meanwhile, Castile-Leon, under Ferdinand III and his son Alfonso X the Learned, took Cordoba (1236), Murcia (1243-1244 provisionally, (and definitely in 1266); Jaen (1246), then two years later, in 1248, the Muslims lost Seville. Before it fell, though, Seville fought to the bitter end.145 The siege of Seville lasted seventeen months in one of the most arduous and obstinately contested struggle in the history of the re-conquest, 146 Berbers and Arabs united and equal in fierceness in their resistance to the Christian onslaught. No nation of that period had a more thorough acquaintance with the art of defensive wafare as much as the Muslim defenders of the city, notes Scott. The sudden sally, the skirmish, the night attack, their skill to detect, and their skill to foil the most matured designs of the enemy, and their ramparts equipped with the most formidable engines known to the military science of the age; their catapults able to throw long distances, and with crushing power masses of stone and iron, weighing more than a thousand pounds, whilst their balistas cast a hundred arrows at once, with such a force they transfixed with ease a horse completely sheathed in steel. 147 The siege, however, intensified during the year and the surrounding districts and regions became filled with Christian forces. 148 They captured a large number of the inhabitants and seized some of their children in ships, with which they maintained a tight blockade, kept up bombardments from mangonels and destroyed all amenities, both small and great. 149 The people, according to a chronicler, became dismayed and staggered around like drunkards even though they were not drunk; a great many died of starvation they began to chew skins; the fighting men among the populace and the ranks of the army perished.150 It was in the end hunger and despair that had reason of the Muslims, more powerful weapons than all the military appliances by the Christian besiegers, more than the combined efforts of a thoroughly organized hierarchy, and more than the benedictions and indulgences of the Pope.151 Forced to surrender, it was with greatest reluctance the Muslims consented to
P.F. Kennedy: The Muslim sources of Dante? in The Arab influence in Medieval Europe, ed D.A. Agius and R. Hitchcock, Ithaca press, 1994, pp. 63-82. p. 72. 143 E.L. Provencal: Toledo; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; vol 3; first series; pp. 809-12; at p. 811. 144 R.I. Burns: Spain; In The Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980 fwd. vol 11; pp. 383-9; at p. 383. 145 R.I. Burns: Spain; at p. 383. 146 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 2; p. 411. 147 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 2; p. 412. 148 Ibn al-Idhari: Al-Bayan al-Mughrib; ed. A. Huici Miranda; Tetuan; 1963; pp. 381-5; in Christians and Moors in Spain; edited by C. Melville and A. Ubaydli; Aris and Phillips Ltd; Warminster; 1992; vol 3; p. 145. 149 Ibn al-Idhari: Al-Bayan al-Mughrib; (in Melville-Ubaydli) p. 145. 150 Ibn al-Idhari: Al-Bayan; p. 145. 151 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 2; p. 413.
142
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give up the great mosque, which with its minaret was both sacred and the most conspicuous monument of the city.152 The seventeen month siege and the fierce battles for the city, and hunger had their impact. The view of the city after its surrender was all the reverse of what it once was. Ibn Al-Idhari holds:
Àll the population was immersed and floating in a sea of death because of the terrors and agonies that had befallen them, the description and explanation of which would be protracted and would exhaust both pen and paper.153
The surviving Muslims emigrated towards Grenada, and following the occupation, the Mosques were consecrated to Christian worship, whilst in the division of the spoils and the distribution of the riches that once belonged to the Muslims, the Church exercised the privileges of priority. 154 The poet Al-Rundi captures the Muslim sorrow at the loss of the city:
Ò Hims (Seville), was it your predestined fate when it shot at you-That destruction observed neither pact nor (claims to) protection? The Tyrannical hand of time has pointed at you-Time never acts justly when it makes a decision. I did not imagine that the disasters of time would blot out that beauty-Clothing its splendour with darkness. Your beauty had the charm of youth-But after being stricken it has exchanged for this ugliness and senility. O Paradise, from whose flowing streams our sins have snatched us-While sorrow and regret attend us. O you who ask me about the disaster suffered by the Muslims there-Listen that you might hear something that will leave a legacy of deafness. The Guardians of the Trinity have risen up-Forestall them and rouse your thoughts from heedless slumber. How many captives have come to have their feet bound in fetters-Shattered, complaining of abasement? And how many a suckling baby continues to be cast down-Snatched away from his mother, and has weaned in the waves (i.e thrown in the river). 155
The consequences of the loss of Seville were far reaching and had permanent effects, for Seville, just like the rest of Muslim Spain lost in the 13th century was never recovered again by the Muslims. Following the capture of the city by the Castilians, the Muslim population was removed, and was replaced by settlers of predominantly Castilian origin; the mosques were granted as churches or houses, with three reserved as synagogues for the Jewish population.156 The Christian conquest resulted in a severe depopulation of the city, as the displacement of the Muslim residents created many open spaces separating Christian neighbourhoods with relatively low population densities.157A small Muslim quarter, housing mainly artisans
152 153 154 155 156 157
S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 2; p. 413. Ibn al-Idhari: Al-Bayan; op cit; p. 149. S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 2; p. 413. Al-Rundi; in Christians and Moors in Spain; edited by C. Melville and A. Ubaydli; op cit; p. 147. T. Glick: Seville; op cit; pp 214. T. Glick: Seville; op cit; pp 214.
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(masons, weavers, and smiths, in particular), subsisted after the Christian conquest.158 Post conquest society was characterized by an urban Christian aristocracy whose wealth was based in rural properties, particularly in the Aljarafe district, and by a large number of free burghers, or francos, who were prominent in the textile industry and in local commerce. 159 Overseas trade was in the hands Genoese (who had been established in the city since Almohad times as merchants, armourers, and bankers), and also Florentines, and Castilians, groups who dominated the export trade in wheat, olive oil, hides, and other agricultural products, which turn dominated the overseas commerce. 160 The fate of the Muslims of Seville was the same as that of the rest of Spain. En masse, Muslim populations were regularly moved within Spain whenever the occasion arose. In 1247 James I ordered their expulsion from Aragon. Over 100,000 of them left.161 Newly Christian Majorca seems to have lost the larger part of its Muslims to flight and expulsion, whilst its smaller neighbour, Minorca had its population entirely enslaved.162 There all but one hundred Muslims were allowed to remain, the rest of the population was rounded up and sold into slavery, temporarily glutting the markets of Ibiza, Valencia and Barcelona.163 Cordova at its fall was full of eager Christian land-hunters who seized Muslim farms in the hinterland and drove off the inhabitants.164In Valencia, the Muslims at first had to abandon Valencia city, losing nearly everything, whilst the rural proprietors in the citys district had to hold their farms now as mere share tenants at the pleasure of the new Christian owners.165 In the1260s, the Guadalquivir valley began to empty of Muslims forced or pressed into exile; just as in Moreria, Carmona and Jerez, in some surviving grants of houses in the towns, the names of former Muslim occupants even specified.166 The Castilian ruler, Alfonso X, intensified this policy of expulsion, in 1262-3 driving out the inhabitants of Ecija; and expelling the Muslims from Jerez, Arcos, Lebrija and Puerto Santa Maria to secure the safety of his frontier.167 Any urban Muslims remaining after each early conquest were removed to a suburb outside the main walls.168 And where they were not expelled, whole Muslim populations, such as those of Valencia, were commandeered by the king to defend fortresses in endangered areas.169 Even chroniclers least favourable to Muslims, and who were willing to deny true sovereignty to the Muslims, saw the severity of such expulsions òpenly contrary to precepts of charity'.170 The Church saw things differently, though. Thus when the Muslims found their way back to the islands Ibiza and Formentera as freemen, the pope was very much infuriated that they should live alongside Christians in such a way.171 The Muslim lost, thus, city, mosques, properties, business and trades, and soon, began to lose much more else. Soon, the defeated Muslims, and not just in Seville, but in all other places in Spain were forced to T. Glick: Seville; op cit; pp 214. T. Glick: Seville; pp 214. 160 T. Glick: Seville; pp 214. 161 W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.700. 162 R. I. Burns: Muslims in the Thirteenth Century Realms of Aragon: Interaction and Reaction, in J.M. Powell edition: Muslims under Latin Rule, 1100-1300; op cit. pp 57-102; at p.67. 163 Felipe Fernandez-Armesto: Before Columbus: Exploration and Colonisation from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic 12291492; Mac Millan, 1987. p.36. 164 Felipe Fernandez Armesto: Before Columbus; op cit; p.64. 165 R. I. Burns: Muslims in the Thirteenth Century: op cit; p.75. 166 Felipe Fernandez Armesto: Before Columbus; op cit; p.59. 167 Felipe Fernandez Armesto: Before Columbus; op cit; p.59. 168 R. I. Burns: Muslims in the Thirteenth Century Realms of Aragon::p.65. 169 J. Boswell: The Royal Treasure: Muslim Communities under the crown of Aragon in the fourteenth century, New Haven, 1977, chap 4. 170 J. Muldoon: Popes, lawyers and infidels; Liverpool, 1979, pp 111-19; Oldradus de Ponte, Consilia (Venice, 1571), folios 126-7.
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wear a distinctive garb, live in a separate section of each city, and bear especially heavy taxation.172 The only Muslim artistic elite which remained under Christian rule were men (and women) whose creative genius did not depend on language, and could avoid the political implications inevitable in verbal discourse; in short, masters of the decorative and architectural arts, painters, plasterers, woodcarvers, ceramicists and builders. In those areas, there was no anomaly in receiving Christian patronage.173 The sole field of scholarship which offered a living to a Muslim under Christian rule was medicine, for it too was a craft rather than a form of discourse. Yet though there were a few Muslim doctors and many surgeons, it was probably no coincidence that when a scholar at Lerida needed copies of certain medical books in Arabic, Jews and not Muslims were expected to have them; and a popular Muslim eye specialist practicing in Vilafranca del Penedes was a slave, who had obviously been trained elsewhere.174 Similarly, when Ramon Lull decided to learn Arabic, it was not a Muslim who became his tutor, but a slave whom he had bought specially to teach him. 175 Other than Muslim wealth and civilization and culture, it was Islam, which was targeted mostly for suppression. Muslims were summarily jailed and tortured for refusing to eat pork or drink wine; neighbourhood gossip and surveillance were also introduced mainly to keep an eye on anyone whose clean and neat person betrays that of a Muslim who regularly performed his àblutions'.176 Gradually, a series of regulations and edicts squeezed the Muslims on a legal-institutional level; physical elimination, as always, preceded by legal restrictions and measures, as Daniel reminds.177 Regulations in the way Muslims ought to dress were introduced to help Christians recognize Muslims on sight and thus keep their distance from them.178 To prevent Muslims from presenting themselves as people of high social positions, the Cortes of Seville in 1252 (art.40) forbade Muslims living in Christian towns to wear certain types of clothing or certain colours.179 These were extensions to measures introduced earlier. Already, in 1216, four years after the crushing defeat of the Muslims at Las Navas de la Tolosa, the Church Latheran Council passed a measure which obliged both Muslims and Jews to wear distinctive garb, and that meant not just daily humiliation, but also exposure to attacks and murder especially during travel on the insecure high roads.180 The quarters of the Muslims and the Jews in the towns and cities were also isolated. Walled compounds were established `Juderias for the Jews and `Moreiras for the Muslims, both of which were surrounded by a large wall and only had one entrance. 181 Any Muslim who had not settled within the Moreiras within eight days had his property forfeited and was liable to whatever punishment the king saw fit, which often took the form of torture and death. Christian women were forbidden to enter the Moreiras (Moreria).182 Jews and Muslims together suffered worse forms of discrimination. In 1300 the king issued edicts requiring members of both denominations to kneel whenever a priest, carrying a consecrated wafer, passed them on the street, and if they wished to avoid the humiliation they were compelled `to hide in Felipe Fernandez Armesto: Before Columbus; op cit; p.33. W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; p.700. 173 E. Lourie: Anatomy of Ambivalence; Muslims under the crown of Aragon in the late thirteenth century; in E. Lourie: Crusade and Colonisation; Muslims, Christians and Jews in Medieval Aragon; Variorum; Aldershot; 1990. pp. 1-75. p. 50. 174 For Mudejar and Morisco surgeons, see L. Garcia Ballester: Los Moriscos y la medicina; Barcelona 1984. 175 E. Lourie: Anatomy of Ambivalence; op cit. p. 50. 176 T.B. Irving: Dates, Names and Places: The end of Islamic Spain; in Revue d'Histoire Maghrebine; No 61-62; 1991; pp 77-93. p. 81. 177 N. Daniel: The Arabs and Medieval Europe, Longman, Librairies du Liban, 1975. p.254. 178 J. F. O'Callaghan: The Mujedars of Castile and Portugal in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in Muslims under Latin Rule, edited by J.M. Powell, Princeton University Press, 1990. pp 11-56; p.30. 179 J. F. O'Callaghan: The Mujedars of Castile: p.30. 180 A. Thomson and A. M. Rahim: Islam; op cit; p. 115. 181 A. Thomson and A. M. Rahim: Islam; op cit; p. 116-7. 182 A. Thomson and A. M. Rahim: Islam; op cit; p. 116-7.
172 171
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their own quarters until the Host had passed. 183 Both groups were exposed to the vigilantism of their Christian neighbours in enforcing this law. The Muslims visible through open doors and windows, they were reported and fined for not kneeling even in their own homes and workshops.184 Those caught outside the moreria as the consecrated Host came into view, and who fled for cover in nearby houses to avoid kneeling were denied entry; and were beaten by Christian bystanders.185 In Aragon the local Christians were making dunghills and building houses not only in the Muslim cemetery, which had existed as far back as memory went, but also in their mosque, whilst in Saragossa, the Muslim cemetery was also used as a cesspit, and even a brothel was opened in the Moreria.186 Extending these restrictions further, the assembly of Jerez in 1268 (art.30) forbade Christian women to live with Muslims or Jews or to serve them in any way, on penalty of being enslaved.187 Christian women who had intercourse with Muslims were treated with great severity. In the case of a virgin or widow, the Siete Partidas (7.25.10) stipulated that for the first offence, she would lose half her goods, while her lover would be stoned to death.188 By contrast anyone who raped a Muslim woman escaped with his life but had to pay 10% of the fine due to a Christian victim of the same crime.189 In the Cantigas de Santa Maria, Alfonso X told of a Christian woman who committed adultery with a Muslim slave, but was saved from the flames by the Virgin Mary, while her Muslim paramour was burned.190 A series of articles of the Fuero Real (4.11.1), however, legislated the death penalty for a Christian woman who married a Muslim or a Jew.191 The Leyes del estilo, compiled in the late 13th-early 14th century for use in the Castilian royal court, stipulated that the fine for killing a Muslim should be in accordance with local custom, but should not be as great as the fine for Killing a Christian.192 If custom is to be followed, the fuero of Najera in 1076 fixed the fine for killing a Muslim at twelve and a half solidi, half the cost of a cow and equal to that of an ass.193 The mere accusation of sexual delinquency with Christian women was sufficient cause for a Muslim or a Jew to flee, and false accusations became a convenient method of blackmailing the rich or settling scores. 194 In 1337, the Bishop of Tarragona requested Pope Benedict XII in a letter to empower the nobles to seize and sell the person and property of the Muslims as they were public enemies and infidels.195 Soon was established the Inquisition to undertake the job of uprooting such a faith by the use of torture and burning at the stake.196According to Mariana:
`The accusers were not named or made known, nor confronted by the accused (the Muslim), nor was there publication of witnesses And what was most serious was that because of these secret
183 184 185
E. Lourie: Anatomy of Ambivalence;. p. 52. E. Lourie: Anatomy of Ambivalence; p. 52. 186 E. Lourie: Anatomy of Ambivalence; p. 52. 187 J. F. O'Callaghan: The Mujedars of Castile: p.31. 188 J. F. O'Callaghan: The Mujedars of Castile: p.31. 189 FCuenca, art. 11.22-23, p.316; Fbaeza, art.246, p.105; Fbejar, art.316, p.85; FAlarcon, art.231, p.218; FAlcaraz, art.4.22-23, p.218. 190 Alfonso X: Cantigas de Santa Maria, ed. Walter Mettmann, 2 vols. Vigo, 1981; 1: 601-3, no.186. 191 J. F. O'Callaghan: The Mujedars of Castile: p.32. 192 J. F. O'Callaghan: The Mujedars of Castile; p.39. 193 J. F. O'Callaghan: The Mujedars of Castile: p.39. 194 E. Lourie: Anatomy of Ambivalence; op cit; p. 54. 195 A. Thomson and A. M. Rahim: Islam; op cit; p. 116. 196 H.C. Lea: A History of the Inquisition of Spain, 4 vols; The Mac Millan Company, New York, 1907. See volume three.
Crusade and Colonisation; Muslims, Christians and Jews in Medieval Aragon; Variorum; Aldershot; 1990. pp. 1-75. p. 52.
E. Lourie: Anatomy of Ambivalence; Muslims under the crown of Aragon in the late thirteenth century; in E. Lourie:
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investigations, the Muslims were deprived of the liberty to hear and talk freely, since in all the cities, towns and villages there were persons placed to give information of what went on.197
The stake, that is burning a human alive, is too tragic, and maybe not too much worth to go into here in all its horrific details beyond a few facts to enlighten on the condition of Muslims. In 1531, the Valencia tribunal had fifty eight trials for heresy, with some 45 burnings in person, most of whom Muslims.198 An average of at least one Muslim was burnt alive every week, and this for twelve years, 1528-1540 in the city.199 At the Seville auto de fe of September 24, 1559, two Muslim apostates were burnt; one had carried Muslims to `Barbary and the other had taken his wife and children there.200 A letter to Philip II. from the inquisitors of Saragossa, June 6, 1585, said that in that day five culprits were burnt.201 Over the period 1549-1622, the Inquisition of Saragossa had burnt 1,817 men; and 758 women.202 Hernando de Palma, a Muslim, accused of teaching and conducting ceremonies, denied and overcame severe torture, then confessed. He was burnt in Toledo in 1606.203 The Dominican Inquisitor, Bleda, writing in 1604, commented that: when they are about to be burnt alive, the Muslims always read their Islamic lines, and threw a curse on the Holy Church, and he concluded that, `they should have their mouths gagged so as to stop them from insulting our true faith204 The Church often describes Islam as `spurcitia mahometani, (Mahommedan filth).205 Throughout the period up to their final elimination in 1609-10, Muslims were regarded as agents of the transMediterranean enemy of Christendom (that is the Turks), were suspected as aliens, were closely watched, and were subjected to indignities.206 They were summarily jailed and tortured for refusing to eat pork or for drinking wine; and surveillance was introduced to keep an eye on anyone who looked neat and clean as that showed they regularly performed their ablutions.207 As aliens, the Muslims survived until their expulsions in 1609-1610.208 The policy was presented to them as concerning only specific groups and regions. Thus, as the promulgation of the Valencia edict of expulsion alarmed both the Muslims in the neighbouring kingdoms, and in order to calm them, Philip, on October 20, 1609, ordered the new viceroy, the marquis of Aytona, to assure them that the matter did not concern them.209 To avoid organised resistance, the removal was to be swift. A first order of the expulsion of the Andalusians and Murcians was signed by Philip III on 9 December 1609, and the modalities for expulsion were made public:
`the Moriscos were to depart, under the pain of death and confiscation, without trial or sentence... to take with them no money, bullion, jewels or bills of exchange.... just what they could carry.210
197 198
Mariana in H. Kamen: The Inquisition in Spain; 1965; p. 53. Arch.Hist. Nacional, Inquisition de Valencia, Legajos 98, 300.; H.C. Lea: A History of the Inquisition in Spain; op cit;p.358 199 A. Thomson; M.A. Rahim: Islam; op cit; p.187. 200 H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; Burt Franklin; New York; 1968 reprint. p.189. 201 H.C Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; op cit; p.118. 202 Les Morisques et leur temps; Table ronde Internationale: 4-7 July 1981; Montpellier; CNRS; Paris; 1983.P. 527 203 H.C. Lea: A History of the Inquisition in Spain; op cit; pp.199-200. 204 In Rodrigo de Zayas: Les Morisques et le racisme d'etat; Edt Les Voies du Sud; Paris, 1992. pp.471-2. 205 E. Lourie: Anatomy of Ambivalence; op cit; p. 57. 206 John P. Dolan: Medieval Christian tolerance and the Muslim world: The Muslim World. Vol 51: 1961; pp 280-287. p.284. 207 T.B. Irving: Dates; op cit. p. 81. 208 N. Daniel: The Arabs and mediaeval Europe; op cit; p.254. 209 H. C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; op cit; p.337 210 H. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; op cit; p.345
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The numbers of those expelled, of course, are disputed by modern Western historians, who in an effort to diminish the scale of the tragedy, put the numbers of such Muslims at just a few thousands.211 If they are right, it leaves the suspended matter, unresolved to our day: what happened to the millions of Muslims who lived in Spain. In 1492, for instance, the population of Castile was six and three quarter million; in 1700 there were in the entire kingdom of Spain but six million souls.212 In what happened to the Muslims, the Church played the leading part. It follows a long tradition, which goes from the separation advocated by Innocent III (Pope 1198-1216), to the canon by Gregory IX (appointed 1216) warning the king of Portugal not to appoint Muslims or Jews to office,213 to the view by Pope Clement V (pope 1305-1314), that the Muslim presence amidst Christians was àn insult to the Creator.214 And thus is a glimpse of the conditions of Muslims after they lost Spain, conditions it was necessary to bring about so as to illustrate the crucial fact, that under such circumstances, when Muslims were being expelled, impoverished, persecuted, hounded, and their culture banished, it was impossible for them to promote a Muslim civilization any longer. Yet, what we see in historical writing is a different story, which, instead, blames Islam and Muslims themselves for the resulting decline. Somehow just like the criminal blaming his victim for his own crime. And this is the matter looked at now.
Historical Myths and Distortions Ruining Islamic History

Seville is an excellent case to expose two amongst the principal myths that ruin Islamic history written by Westerners, and followed by many gullible, inept Muslim historians unable to think and act independently from the Western framework of history, culture and civilization, especially when such framework is neither scientific nor backed by facts, and is fundamentally, systematically, continuously, and rabidly hostile to anything Islamic. These two principal myths have to do: First with blaming the Berbers, and the Almoravids and Almohads in particular, as the causes of decline of science and civilization in Spain. Second with blaming the decline of Islamic power and civilisation on Islam.
The `Barbaric forces of darkness: the Almoravids and Almohads: The Film El-Cid, one believes, is one manner by which distortions are turned into reality, just because it is the cinema. In the film, we see the Almoravids and their leader, Ibn Tashfin portrayed as the evil incarnates, burning, looting, slaughtering, betraying, the Almoravids forces of barbarism and fanaticism, cowards, treacherous, and other dark depictions one film can muster. One watches blinks, but one knows, after all, the Indians were wiped out in their tens of millions by the newly arrived White settlers, according to Howitt and Stannard,215 and yet in the cinema we see the kind White men being slaughtered by savage Modern historical authorities such as: L. Cardaillac; J.P. Dedieu: Introduction a lHistoire des Morisques; in Les Morisques et lInquisition: Edited by L. Cardaillac; Publisud; Paris; 1990; pp 11-28. See also H. Lapeyre: Geographie de l'Espagne Morisque; SEVPEN, 1959. 212 S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; p. 321. 213 N. Daniel: The Arabs and mediaeval Europe; op cit; p.257. 214 V. Green: A New History of Christianity; Fwd Rvd Lord Runcie; Sutton Publishing; Stroud; 1996. pp.90-1. 215 W. Howitt: Colonisation and Christianity: Longman; London; 1838. D E. Stannard: "Genocide in The Americas" in The Nation, October 19, 1992 pp. 430-4;
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Indians. One is also used to seeing the Arab character, especially the devout Muslims portrayed as the arch-villain, and the only Arab or Muslims positively portrayed being the one who has sold out, the traitor, the cynics would say. This is admitedly fiction, but the spirit of the crusades is always thriving, despite appearances of fortitude, care and `civilised manners, and this is all too normal. One, however, does not expect Western learning to be tainted by the same. The unfortunate thing, however, is that modern Western learning, above all, to its nearly overwhelming totality, is tainted by the same anti Islamic crusader zeal as that of any modern crusading individual dressed in any sort of apparel, and carrying through the `civilizing message and message of love and care taken to the fanatic, barbaric Muslims. Indeed, to try and reproduce here the calumnies of Islam, its Prophet, the insults, the terrible depictions of Muslims, the distortions, the urge for the destruction of Islam, and so on and so forth, that one finds in Western literature is impossible. It is systematic, absolute, continuous, terrible and very often unbearable for any one reading through it.216 To also try to reproduce here the writing and teaching that studies, dwells upon, exaggerates and uses for political and ideological purposes the differences amongst Muslims, into Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, Berbers, Turks, and Arabs, and using one side to defeat and destroy the other, is impossible, and yet tragically it is systematic and is easily observed today either in rhetoric or on the ground. This is impossible for the Muslim scholar to understand, for it is simply repulsive for a Muslim to spread strife amongst people as in the Quranic message this is worse than murder. There is, moreover, absolutely nothing amongst Muslims that can ever approach, let alone compare with this systematic, rabid anti Islamic culture. This systematic anti Islamic rant one reads in scholarly books, never mind the systematic media rant, is difficult for a Muslim to understand, for however angry one is with Western `scholarly and media practices, or policies, one would never use ones scholarship to insult the Western people, let alone wish them harm. Never, indeed, would a Muslim, calling himself or herself so, devote their writing to systematic insults of Christianity, or Christians. Never will one find or should find a Muslim visiting the West, then picking on observed instances of Western ills, to then generalize them upon all the Westerners, in an interminable litany of how wretched, evil, corrupt, etc, Westerners and their society are. It will be wrong and evil to do so. Never will a Muslim devote his of her writing to studying the divisions of Western society between Catholics and Protestants, for instance, and then act on them to cause mayhem in Western society. It will be also wrong and evil to do so. And whilst Muslims see the Western public or population as decent and good, but with their bad apples just as the Muslims are, never will one find, nor should one find, a rabid anti Western rant similar to that by which Muslims and Islam are depicted all over, including in learning. Still, though, a Muslim is dutiful to counter attack such rabid, biased, hostile, and distorted depictions of Islam and its diverse peoples, which hides behind the veneer of `scholarship. Thus is the object of this brief outline and what follows.
See, how the anti Islamic rant proceeded at all times of history as shown in the excellent following works: -N.Daniel: Islam and the West; One World; Oxford; 1993. -N. Daniel: The Arabs and Medieval Europe, Longman, Librairies du Liban, 1975. -R. Kabbani: Europes myths of Orient; Mc Millan; 1986. -A. Gunny: Images of Islam in eighteenth century writing; Grey Seal, London, 1996.
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First on the issue looked at here, that is the most succinct sample and manner by which the Almoravids and Almohads are depicted: Like Renan (see entry on Toledo), Charles Andre Julien speaks of Turkish impotence and Berber inertia. 217Whilst, Le Bon speaks of:
`The Arab race was very delicate and very indulgent, and never departed from a tolerant spirit. However, when in the thirteenth century, the Arabs disappeared from the scene, and power fell in the hands of Turks and Berbers: `heavy races, `brutal and `brainless, intolerance began to rule amongst the Muslims. Intolerance is the mark of the ìnferior races: Turks and Berbers. 218 Àfter Maimonides the Jews of Spain, fled the Almohad persecution,
adds Durant.219
À New Berber revolution had taken place in North Africa, and a sect of fanatics, called the marabouts, or saints, the Almoravids had conquered the whole country from Algiers to Senegal,
tells Lane Poole,220 who adds:
`When the Almoravids first came over (to Spain) like a cloud of locusts to devour the country thus offered to their appetite, they found the way perfectly open.221 And: `the poets and men of letters who had thriven at the numerous little courts... were disgusted with the savage Berbers, who could not understand their refinements. 222
The Christian threat from without, tells us Monroe, favoured the development in al-Andalus of a strict Berber orthodoxy unparalleled in the East, as Goldhizer already noted years ago,223 and this led to intellectual stagnation.224 George Henri Bousquet talks of `the congenital impotence of the Berbers to create anything.225 And for Fletcher:
`The Almoravids were outsiders, people of the Bled, unsophisticated tribesmen, materially and culturally impoverished It is difficult to imagine Ibn Tashfin at the elegant soirees of the Abbadid court of Seville. The Almoravid leadership were puritan, ascetics, zealots. They saw their role as
C.A. Julien: History of North Africa, in L.Valensi: North Africa Before the French Conquest 1790-1830; trans K.J. Perkins; Africana Publishing Company; London; 1977; p. 115. 218 G. Le Bon: La Civilization des Arabes; Syracuse; 1884; pp. 447; 453. 219 W. Durant: The Age of faith, op cit; Chapter XVII; p.395. 220 S. Lane-Poole: The Moors in Spain; Fisher Unwin; London; 1888; p.178. 221 Lane Poole: p.178. 222 Lane Poole: 181. 223 In a lecture delivered before the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1876, and published in Budapest in Hungarian by that Academy in 1877. Spanish translation made by F.M. Pareja, `Los Arabes espanoles y el Islam,' Àctas del primer congreso de estudios arabes e islamicos: Cordoba 1962 (Madrid, 1964), pp 3-77. 224 J.T. Monroe: The Hispanic-Arabic World: in: Americo Castro, and the meaning of Spanish Civilisation. Edt by Jose Rubia Barcia University of California Press, Berkeley, 1976 pp 69-90. p. 85. 225 G.H. Bousquet: Les Berberes; 1957; in L. Valensi: North Africa before the French Conquest; 1790-1830; trans by K. J.
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one of purifying religious observance by the imposition where necessary of the strictest canons of Islamic Orthodoxy.226
He, Fletchers, lashes at Anthony Burgess of the daily, The Independent, who on 21 August 1991, wrote and praised the beauty, tolerance and learning of Muslim Spain. In response, Fletcher asks:
`Learning? Outside the tiny circles of the princely courts, not a great deal of it could be seen. Good order? Among the feuding Berber tribesmen? 227
Instead, Fletcher tells:
`The nostalgia of Maghribi writers, reinforced by the romantic vision of the nineteenth century. This could be flavoured by a dash of Protestant prejudice from the Anglo Saxon world: it can be detected in Lane Pooles reference to the Inquisition. A powerful mixture! But that is not yet the end of the receipt. In the second half of the twentieth century a new agent of education makes its appearance: the guilt of the liberal conscience, which sees the evils of colonialism-assumed rather than demonstrated-foreshadowed in the Christian conquest of al-Andalus and the persecution of the Moriscos (but not, oddly, in the Moorish conquest and colonisation). Stir the mix well together and issue it free to credulous academics and media persons throughout the Western world. Then pour it generously over the truth 228
Fletcher, thus, corrects older historians, telling that only a maximum of 300,000 Muslims were expelled from Spain in 1609-1610.229 He insists that they left without harm done to them (which is the very opposite of what earlier historians had asserted. 230) This expulsion is justified on the ground that it only mirrors earlier deeds by the Almoravid Muslims who forcibly deported Christian populations.231 These accounts and cheap assertions un-backed by evidence are crammed with fallacies, which contradict real facts. As amply shown in this article, it is under the Almoravids and Almohads, both condemned in Western writing as equally fanatical, and agents of doom and gloom, that Spain witnessed its greatest flourishing, and that the Almohad capital above all, Seville, produced the best crop of scientists who had the most impact on modern science that possibly no other city in history ever had, possibly with the exception of the other Berber ruled town/city, Toledo, as seen in the entry on Toledo. The learning Seville, just as Toledo, under its Berber dynasties, is not limited to the tiny circles of the princely courts as Fletcher dismisses in his contemptuous style. Now, if we are told the Almohads were fanatical and against civilization because they repressed philosophical studies, this is another fallacy too. It is a fallacy on two fundamental grounds:
Perkins; Africana Publishing Company; London; 1977. p. 115. 226 R. Fletcher: Moorish Spain; Phoenix; London; 1992; p.108. 227 R. Fletcher: Moorish Spain; p.172. 228 R. Fletcher: Moorish Spain; p.172-3. 229 R. Fletcher: Moorish Spain; p.168. 230 H.C. Lea: A History of the Inquisition in Spain, in four volumes, The MacMillan Company, New York, 1907, volume three, in particular. H.C. Lea: The Moriscos of Spain; Burt Franklin; New York; 1968 reprint. S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish; op cit. 231 R. Fletcher: Moorish Spain; op cit;. p.172.
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First, because forbidding some type of writing because it insults Islam does not mean the Almoravids or Almohads did not favour philosophical studies, for they did. The Almohad sovereign, Abd-al-Mumen, `the
nominal representative of the destroying principle of fanaticism, for instance, was the admiring patron of
Ibn-Tofail, Ibn-Zohr, and Averroes, three of the greatest writers who ever embellished by their talents the literature of any age.232 (See also entries on Marrakech and Fes.) Second, even if the Almohads went to some extremes to forbid certain works, how can that compare to what has marked scholarly life elsewhere, where anyone coming with unacceptable ideas was straight condemned to be burnt at he stake. And history is rich with the thousands of scholars and others who were burnt alive for their ideas or beliefs, and none of them by Islam or the `fanatical Berbers. Thus, for instance, Victor le Clerc in his Discourse on the state of letters in France in the 14th century, says that as the burning of forbidden books was not enough, it was decided, that in anticipation of the burning of hell-fire, it was necessary to burn authors and their disciples. Thus, in the list, in 1308 were burnt Dolcino of Navarre, who was preaching goodness to community; in 1315 the Cathares of Austria; in 1319, in Marseilles, four brothers from the Third order of the Franciscans, the priests and one archdeacon; in 1322, in Cologne, Walter Lolthard,; in 1325, in Girone, Durand de Valdac, Bourgeois of that town, alongside one of his associates; in 1327, in Florence, the poet Cecco dAscoli, and in Ascoli itself, Dominique Savi, author of works;.. Why have men of faith in power given the example of barbaric punishments, which bring shame on justice itself? asks Le Clerc233 No such a thing was done by the Almohads nor by the Almoravids. It is thus, one of the remarkable facts of modern history, which reshapes reality, turning the burner into the civilized, and instead blames barbaric treatment of scholarship on the Muslim and his faith. Finally here, back to Fletcher who attacks old Western historians such as Lane Poole for denouncing the intolerance of Western Christendom towards the Muslims. One only answers him and his likes, countless numbers of them thriving today, and busy re-writing the history of Islam and the history of mass extermination of Muslims, that the extracts above depicting the treatment of the Muslims under Christian rule are not the imagination of this author, and had this author wished to dwell on the matter of mistreatment of Muslims and their extermination, and the horrific manners it was done under such rule, it would not have taken a few pages, but a few volumes. The wish, however, of a Muslim historian, such as this author, is to bring out just enough facts to highlight an issue, but not too many to open wounds, or to cause rifts between people of different cultures by dwelling without end on the dark pages of the past. Dark things of the past must illuminate on the past but must not darken our shared future, which is our belief. But if some supposed `historians are here to rewrite history, it is also our duty to counter them. The unfortunate fact in modern history is that it does not just condemn Muslims or some of their entities as fanatics who destroyed civilization, we also encounter the problem whereby the very author of the destruction of Islamic civilization condemns and blames Islam for its decline as is now seen.
S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; p. 431. Victor le Clerc (1789-1865) in his Discours sur l'Etat des Lettres en France au XIV e siecle (HL 24, 7-9, 1862). In G. Sarton: Introduction; Volume III; op cit; pp. 22-4.
233
232
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The Problem of Islamic Decline Through the Instance of Seville It is indeed remarkable, as seen through the instance of Seville above, how the systematic destruction of Islamic civilization and even presence was carried by the hounding of Islam and Muslims, by torture and burning, banning Arabic, Islamic culture, something widened to all places, and yet, again, modern historians sift through it, cleanse it, and then come out with another history, whereby the very author of all such destructive deeds of Islamic culture and civilization, now blames the destruction on Islam. Hence, in modern historical accounts we read how, it is, indeed, Islam, which is the cause of decline of civilisation, Islam a force of darkness. Thus, as held by Wiet et al:
`Muslim scholars were showing a certain modification, increasingly at variance with the fanatic monotheism of the Kuran.234
And:
`No one wished to give the impression of forcing the pace, for fear of being charged with heresy. The misoneism of Islam is well known. To the mind of the Moslem community, all innovation was suspect and to be deplored as endangering unity or leading to the foundering of the law.235
Renan, once more:
`Caliph Al-Mamun (ruled early 9th century), who introduced Greek learning was damned without pity by the theologians. Thus, to please the multitude exited and aroused by the Imams, books were burnt in city centres; books of philosophy and astronomy were thrown down wells; those who cultivated such sciences were called Zandiks, and were beaten in the streets; their houses burnt down, and whenever it suited them to increase their popularity, rulers put these scientists to death.236
Or as held by Watt:
`Throughout the centuries the ulema have used their authority to prevent the dissemination of all heretical or non Islamic views, and indeed of whatever deviated from their own teaching and from the Islamic self-image as they conceived it. The suppression or squeezing out of undesirable views has been carried out by methods not unlike those of western totalitarianism. In some Islamic countries at the present time it is virtually impossible for Muslim intellectuals to publish anything at variance with the dominant fundamentalism or traditionalism.237
Von Grunebaum, for his part, uses this instance: `Similar is the story told by Tanuhi (d.994),238 in which, under the impact of a dream, a man tears up Galen's Anatomy as an irreligious book,239
234
G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Trsltd from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975. p.568. 235 G. Wiet et all: History; p.547. 236 E. Renan: LIslamisme et la Science; Conference at the Sorbonne given on 29 March 1883; in Oeuvres Completes; Calman Levy; Paris; 1947 edition; vol 1; p. 955. 237 W. M. Watt: Muslim-Christian encounters; Routledge; London; 1991; p.44. 238 Tanuhi: Nishwar al-muhadara, II, trans D.S. Margoliouth, Islamic Culture, V (1931), 171 (no 2).
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In the view of Hitti, a Christian Arab, and otherwise fervent admirer of Àrab Civilisation:240
`Modernisation on the intellectual spiritual level involves secularisation. Secularisation means more than separation between church and state. It replaces providential interpretation of historic events and current happenings to the individual with rational interpretation based on physical and psychological forces. Hardly a current issue of an Arabic newspaper lacks repeated mention of the name of Allah in connection with reports of birth and death, sickness and health, fortune and calamity success or failure, a relic of bygone thinking.241
Yet, as amply shown by the instance of every single city of scholarship of Islam on this site, decline in Islamic civilization followed precisely and exactly its destruction by the invaders, whether Mongols or crusaders, or Timur, or the Christian forces in Spain. How can civilization remain in a Muslim city or region after all the scholars, and very often the whole population has been put to the sword, or Islamic culture hounded off. It is one of those incredible forms of writing one finds in Western writing blinded to even the most basic, the most obvious of facts. And here, in the instance of Seville, the city, which under Islam produced one of the brightest civilizations in history. Amongst its scholarship, if one quotes Sarton, and names at random, names such as the philosophers al-Baytalyusi and Ibn Bajja, the astronomer Jabir ibn Aflah, the geographer Muhammad al-Zuhri, the physicians of the Ibn Zuhr family, the historian Ibn Bashkuwal, and the jurists Ibn al-Arabi and Abu Bakr al-Turtushi, Ibn Tumart most of these men; Sarton notes, lived and worked for a time in Seville.242 It is also Seville, which gave al-Bitruji, Ibn Yasamin, Nohammed B. Fatuh, and the scholars cited above and the countless more not cited. All these names came in the decades before the Muslim loss of Seville. After 1248, the year Seville fell, not a single name of Muslim scholarship arose or was allowed to arise. How can, indeed, Seville produce Muslim science when it has been lost by the Muslims, and its population expelled or murdered; and the same for Valencia, which suffered the same fate in 1238, and the mighty Cordova, in 1236, and nearly the whole of Spain. And it was the same for Baghdad, which was lost in 1258, and its million people slaughtered by the Mongolcrusader alliance; and Damascus which suffered the same fate in 1260, and Aleppo which suffered the same fate the same year, and Merw, Bukhara, Khwarizm, and the thriving cities of culture of Islam, which gave us Al-Khwarizmi, and Ibn Sina, and many more, all devastated by the Mongols in 1219-2; and how can the scholars of Jerusalem produce scholarship when they are dead, the citys whole population slaughtered in 1099, and its scholars stoned or tortured to death, and the same for each place and city of Islamic scholarship, all devastated or lost by Islam during those terrible times, in the 13th century above all. This fact is clearly evident for any person, however incompetent, to sift through history and find. Yet, modern Western `historians, in their near totality ignore all this, and tell us that the decline of Islam in the 13th century was due to the malefic forces of Ìslamic obscurantism, which they see in Sunni Islam, the Berbers, and Islam, the faith itself. This distortion is so gross that it is not the genius of this author to unravel, but is here for any one however lame historically to reject, for indeed, it is so gross. And yet, however gross, it is taught, and it persists, and it is `scholarly.
239 240
G.E. Von Grunebaum: Islam, Greenwood Press, Publishers, 1961. note xix . p.250. P.K. Hitti: History of the Arabs, Macmillan, London, 1970 edit. 241 P.K. Hitti: Islam and the West: An Historical, Cultural survey; Princeton, 1962. p. 93. 242 G Sarton: Introduction, Vol II, op cit; p.148.
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Rather than causing decline, Islam, was in fact, the spur which led to science, these lines from Scott suffice as a fitting conclusion and illustration of this:
`Society has progressed far beyond that intellectual stage when the comet was dreaded as a harbinger of universal misfortune; when the appearance of the pestilence was considered a manifestation of the wrath of the Almighty; when superstitious fear transformed every floating mist into a cloak for goblins; regarded every rustling of the foliage as an evidence of supernatural presence; saw in every ebullition of gaseous water a mysterious phenomenon, in every subterranean rumble an omen of sinister and portentous augury. This emancipation of the human intellect, this impetus to every expression of material progress, cannot be attributed to ecclesiastical inspiration. They were not a product of the Crusades. They were not the effect of the Reformation" They are not the work of Christianity, whose policy has indeed been constantly inimical to their toleration or encouragement. They are a legitimate consequence of the liberal policy adopted and perpetuated by the Umayyad Caliphs throughout their magnificent empire, whose civilization was the wonder, as its-power was the dread, of mediaeval Europe.' Modern science unquestionably owes everything; to Arab genius. From the mass of debased superstitions, mummeries, and fetishism, entertained and cultivated by the Bedouin, emerged, as has been seen, a thorough knowledge of the mutual relations of the different parts of the universe and a familiarity with the wonderful phenomena of Nature. From the study of astrology astronomy was evolved; from alchemy, chemistry; from geomancy, geography; from magic, natural philosophy. The principles of government by law were established. Anthropomorphism was discarded. It was no longer attempted to control the inexorable operation of physical agencies by prayers and incantations. In one especially important respect the Moslems differed from their European predecessors. The Roman system and the Gothic polity were founded entirely upon force; Arabic power was largely controlled by intellectual conditions. With this great people the love of scientific investigation was an absorbing passion. It pervaded every department of government, every occupation of life, every branch of study The cultivation of letters, the prosecution of experiments were, for eight centuries, the most prominent characteristics of the Arab race, the highest distinction of Muslim sovereigns. It is far from creditable to modern civilization, indebted for its existence to these pursuits, to ignore such claims to gratitude and renown, through prejudice against the religious principles of those who engaged in them. Surely in all literature there exists no nobler or more elevated sentiment than that expressed in the saying of Mohammed, "A mind without culture is like a body without a soul, and glory does not consist in riches, but in knowledge."243
243
S.P. Scott: History; op cit; vol 3; pp. 531-3.
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New Haven, 1977, chap 4. -T. Burckhardt: Moorish Culture in Spain, George Allen & Unwin, London; 1972. -R.I. Burns: Spain; In The Dictionary of the Middle Ages; J.R. Strayer Editor in Chief; Charles Scribners Sons; New York; 1980 fwd. vol 11; pp. 374-83. -L. Cardaillac; J.P. Dedieu: Introduction a lHistoire des Morisques; in Les Morisques et lInquisition: Edited by L. Cardaillac; Publisud; Paris; 1990; pp 11-28. -Francisco Codera y Zaidin and Julian Ribera y Tarrago: Index librorum de diversis scientiarum ordinibus quos a magistris didicit; Biblioteca arabico-hispanica, vols. 9 and 10, Saragossa, 1894-1895. -G.S. Colin: Filaha; Encyclopaedia of Islam: New edition: Leiden; 1986, Vol 2. -Gabriel Colin: La Tedkira d'Abu'l-'Ala', publiee et traduite pour la premiere fois (86 p., Publications de la Faculte des lettres d'Alger, 45; Paris 1911); Arabic and French text with technical glossary. -Gabriel Colin: Avenzoar, sa vie et ses oeuvres (200 p., Publications de la Faculte des Lettres d'Alger, vol. 44; Paris 1911. -N.Daniel: Islam and the West; One World; Oxford; 1993. -N. Daniel: The Arabs and Medieval Europe, Longman, Librairies du Liban, 1975. -A. Djebbar: Ibn al-Yasamin; in Encyclopaedia of the history of Science, technology, and Medicine in Non
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Gillispie; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1973 fwd. Pp. 33-6; -S.P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; in three volumes; The J.B. Lippincott Company; Philadelphia; 1904. -C. Singer: A Short History of Scientific ideas to 1900; Oxford University Press; 1959. -M. Steinschneider: Die hebraischen Ubersetzungen des Mittelalters; 1893; pp.748-52. -H. Suter: Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber; 1900; p.119; Nachtrage, 1902. -A. Thomson and M. A. Rahim: Islam in Andalus; Taha Publishers; London; 1996. - L. Valensi: North Africa before the French Conquest; 1790-1830 ; trans by K. J. Perkins; Africana Publishing Company; London; 1977. -J Vernet and J Samso: Development of Arabic Science in Andalusia, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science; Edited by R Rashed; 3 vols; Routledge, London and New York: 1996. Vol 1, pp 243-76. -Von Braumuhl: Geschichte der Trigomometrie; vol. 1, 1900.
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Educating the Ottoman Physician
Professor Nil Sari Lamaan Ball August 2005 4097 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Educating the Ottoman Physician August 2005
EDUCATING THE OTTOMAN PHYSICIAN

This article was first published in Turkish review History of Medicine Studies (Editors, Nil Sari-Husrev Hatemi), Istanbul 1988, pp. 40-64. We are grateful to Nil Sari, author of the article for allowing publication. Where and how was the Ottoman physician trained? No definite answer has been given to this question yet. In this study, I am going to present a general view of medical education, based on certain documents. The Ottomans had a special concept of medicine and methods of medical training. Besides the "tabb" whom we can call specialist of internal diseases, there were several other specialists, such as the "jarrah" (surgeon), "kahhl" (ophthalmologist), "kirik-cikikci" (orthopaedist), serbetci" (syrup preparator), "attar" (herbalist) etc., all dealing with the public health and trained in different ways.
Schools of Medicine (Madrasas) and Hospitals (Dr al-Shifas)

The "tabb" held the highest position in the class dealing with health and was usually educated at "madrasa" (University) and "dr al-shifa" (hospital). But, since the documents studied so far do not give full and satisfactory information, there is a great gap of knowledge about the education that took place at the "madrasa" and "dr al-shifa". It is certain that in the Ottoman hospitals, as well as in Seljuk hospitals of Kayseri (1205-6) which has a double "madrasa plan" and Sivas, the physician was trained both side theoretically and practically.
Figure 1. The Gevher Nesibe Sultan Shifahne
The young man, who entered a trade in order to learn an art or a craft, serving under the supervision of a master or foreman, was called "cirak" or "Shaqird". One who wanted to be a physician was called "tlib" and the name of the student physician was "Shaqirdi tabb. The "Sakird" attended clinical cases at the hospital and acquired theoretical learning in medical science in the madrasa and by reading medical manuscripts in the library of the "madrasa.

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Ottomans carried on the good tradition, building new hospitals, in addition to the old ones of the Seljuks . One of these was Bursa Hospital (1399), a part of the Sultan Yildirim complex where physicians were trained at the "dr al-tib" (school of medicine) and there was a schoolroom in the hospital and a teacher who was a physician (tabb hoca) .
2
Figure 2. Yildirim Hospital in Bursa It is also noted that in the Fatih Hospital (1470) in Istanbul, there was a teacher; called "darsim" and medical students, called "tabb shaqirdi" . In Edirne (Adrianople) at the Byezid II Hospital (1484) it is Neither the original nor a copy of the Waqfiya (trust of deed) of Kayseri Hospital has been found yet. See: (51: p.6). -Also see (8: p. 14): "The importance of the Gevher Nesibe Sultan Sifahna - (The Kayseri Hospital)- is that it was the first madrasa in Anatolia, known to be founded with a "double madrasa" plan. From the existence of a passage between the two buildings, we can conclude that theoretical studies and practical work based on observation in the hospital were carried on together. -Prof. Unver believes that in Kayseri Hospital there was a medical faculty connected to the hospital by an inner gate. -We have the "Waqfiya" of the Sivas Hospital, which consists of only one building. It is not noted, however, that there was a medical faculty there. 2 O. S. Uludag, writing about Husnu Efendi, known as the Professor physician (hoca tabib), concluded from the method of teaching in "Bursa Dr al-Tib (medical school) that the Hospital at Bursa (also called Yildirim Darussifasi) was founded both as a hospital and a medical faculty, (see: 32: pp. 81; 138). -The architect S. Cetintas studied the canonical records of Bursa and in a document dated 1085, the phrase "the scholar who is a student at the faculty of medicine" is recorded. In addition, S. Cetintas writes in detail of the schoolroom of the Bursa Yildirim Hospital and presents several pictures of it. (see. 10: pp. 2, 3, 6, 7, 10). 3 When the Fatih Madrasa (Dar al-funn) was first founded (1470) it had three schools: Islamic Divinity School, School of Islamic Law, and School of Arabian Literature; and yet it didnt have any school of positive sciences, such as school of medicine, or mathematics. Feeling the necessity for education in these fields, schools of medicine, mathematics (riyadiyya) and one for teaching prophet's example (Dar al-Hadith) were added to those already existing. See: (37), p. 33. -O. S. Uludag: "A hospital, (Bimarhne) was also built for the practical observations of the students of medicine who had acquired theoretical medical knowledge at the madrasa (Sahn Madrasa) in the courtyard of the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul, (see. 32: p. 142). -From the record, "a student of medicine (tabb Shaqirdi) was to be roomed and boarded in the two rooms called "Balahne", as a student (Danishmend), Prof. Unver concludes that medical students were educated at the Fatih Hospital. (See. 43; pp. 39-45). (see again (47). -Evliya Celebi, the famous traveller of the seventeenth century, also writes that, a "dersimin hakimbasisi" - chief physician who was also a professor -was employed in Fatih Madrasa, (see. 15: c. 3, pp. 467-468). -An outstanding Persian physician, named Kutb al-Din Ahmed, was appointed as a professor - hoca -to the Fatih Madrasa. (See: 39, p. 6; Quoted from: Hammer Tarihi, Cilt 3, p. 216). See also: (16: pp. 248-251), (39: pp. 6, 8); (44: p. 17); (28: pp. 831-840); (24: pp. 229-234).
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noted that there was a medical school, called "madrasa-i atibba" . As a continuation of the Islamic tradition, just as it was in Seljukian period, during the Ottoman period also, theoretical and practical medical sciences were taught in the hospitals. Until the mid nineteenth century, physicians were trained at hospitals that served as medical schools, too.
5
Figure 3. Site plan of Bayezid II Complex in Edirne
A separate medical school was founded at the "Suleymaniye Complex" (1556-7), where medicine was taught as an independent field of study . The medical students had their courses in applied medicine at the
4
Dr. Rifat Osman says that: "The school of medicine (madrasa-i tibbiyye) at Byezid II. Complex in Adrianople was a separate schoolhouse, consisting of a classroom, rooms of the professor and students build around a garden, similar to other madrasas. (see. 23: p. 30). -Evliya Celebi says: "There is a hospital in the garden on the right of the large outer court of the Byezid Han mosque. Besides this there is a medical school (madrasa-i atibba) and students in its rooms; expert and experienced doctors, always studying and arguing about Plato, Socrates, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen, Physagoras; As it is said in a Hadith, there are two kinds of learning, one is the science of religion and the other is the science of the body. The science of the body precedes the science of religion. Following this Hadith, students study notable books on medicine and try to provide drugs for human beings and heal them. (see. 15: Vol. 3, p. 468). -In a paragraph of the "Waqfiya" of Adrianople Hospital, referring to the disciplinary punishment of the personnel it is stated that: "If the professor does not attend classes without a true excuse; his wages being taken without any service, will be an undeserved gain, so it will do him no good. Thus, the teacher is morally punished, (see. 18: p. 35). -Evliya Celebi writes that theoretical lessons were given two days a week at "Hafsa Sultan Hospital" (Bimarhne; 946/1539) in Manisa. (see. 15: Vol. 13: p. 74). 5 See: 25 and 26. 6 O. S. Uludag says: Having acquired learning in religion and language arts etc. in the "hric and dhil madrasas - (degrees in the hierarchy of schools of canonical law; hric madrasa - the primary school of the madrasa)- the student (Shaqird) who wanted to study positive sciences such as medicine, natural science (tabiiyat) and mathematics (riyadiyat), should attend the Suleymaniye "tatimma" (a school preparing for higher madrasa education). In addition, it is noted that the graduates received a diploma and that the medical student had practical experience in medicine in the hospital (Dr al-Shifa) nearby the madrasa. (See. 32: pp. 101-102, 107). -Prof. Uzuncarsili describes the site of the medical school; the formalities for appointing the professor (mudarris) and his relation to the office of the head physician: "South-west of Suleymaniye Mosque, a medical school, and a pharmacy, in the western part of the "imaret" -free kitchen- a "tabhne" (almshouse) -and

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hospital near the "madrasa". Suleymaniye medical school is described in the "Waqfiya, as "a supreme and honourable school built for the science of medicine..."
Figure 4. The site plan of the school of medicine in the Suleymaniye Complex.
The staff consisted of a "mudarris" (professor) with a payment of 20 akcas per day and eight "danismends" (students) who were paid two akcas per day. Danishmends were the students of the medical school who had completed the madrasa education.
7
In the "Waqfiya" (trust of deed) of the Suleymaniye foundation, the following are stated about the qualifications and duties of the professor (mudarris) of the medical school: "In this beautiful school of medicine the one who is known as virtuous, considerate, praised with strength of intuition and keenness of senses; endowed with common sense, high intelligence and healthy sense organs; the one who is informed of all the subtleties of logic and medicine; the Plato and Aristotle of his day; distinguished amongst the physicians endowed with the gift of the healing power of the breath of Jesus; the one who surpasses all those of the rank of Galen is the professor (mudarris). He is expected to work assiduously to teach medical students the principles drawn from the heritage of the old masters of medicine; to try hard to teach the right principles which are important for restoring health; to attend classes regularly; to be helpful in every other respect and for all these services he shall be paid 20 "akcas" a day. a hospital were built. The post of the university professorship here was allocated to the physician named Isa Oglu Ahmed of Izmit, with a salary of 60 akcas and his rank was regarded a step below that of palace chief physician and this position of madrasa professorship was decided to be awarded to those specialized enough in his profession to be a candidate for the position of the "chief physician" (hekimbasi). At present, we do not have any information about the text books used at the medical schools. See: 37; pp. 33-35, p. 38. In libraries today there are manuscripts written in different centuries. These manuscripts were probably used as texts for instruction. 7 See: 14 (1939 , Vol. 1), pp. 125-126.

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The eight applicants "tlibs" who chosen to be physicians are called "danishmends" and they are expected to be eager to learn the factors of health; be true believers, known as well behaving persons. If they studied medicine properly, putting forth all their effort, they will receive two akcas per day in return. Obviously, the student received a kind of scholarship.
Figure 5. The paragraph referring to the beautiful school of medicine (madrasa-i tayyiba) and the instructor (mudarris) in Suleymaniye trust of deed. As we learn form the "Waqfiye" of Suleymaniye, there was a supervisor called "nuktaci, at the medical school, who saw that the instruction was carried on regularly. The qualifications and the duties expected from the "nuktaci" were:
"To be a true believer, an honest man; strict and intolerant to those neglecting their duties; to be, free from wordy ambitions; brave in case of need. The 'nuktaci' is responsible for supervising the regular attendance of the professor (mudarris), assistants (muid), and students to the classes and for observing their duties, as well. He was to report to the trustee those who neglected their duties without any proper or important reason, on which the trustee was to withhold their daily payment. The nuktaci's daily wages was three akcas.
In the madrasas, a "mud" also was employed. The "mud" repeated the lesson given by the mudarris, heard the students reciting their lessons and in the mean time supervised the behaviour of the students. It is interesting that the "muds" were selected from the most talented and skilful students. This must have motivated the students. "Muds" were occasionally appointed to hospitals (Dr al-shifa) or as palace physicians.
8
See (45) in bibliography for the documents about the appointment of "muds". The following is a description of "Shaqird,

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Graduation from classical madrasa was required in order to be qualified for enrolment to the medical school to specialize. The physician who had already studied Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), divinity, philosophy, and literature had by then learned Arabic and Persian as well. Physicians educated at hospital were always required to have "madrasa" education as well as medical learning.
Figure 6. Ceremonial initiation of the Medical School reopened and renamed as Mekteb-i Tibbiye-i Adliye-i Shhne (Royal School of Medicine), by Sultan Mahmd II. In addition to learning Islamic divinity, they were expected to acquire knowledge of all sciences. Having received a certificate according to the textbooks he had studied in the class, he continued in the class of another professor (mudarris). And when he had received the last certificate he became a "mudarris", or a "qd" (qd-judge of the Islamic canon; governor of a district) As a result many physicians could chose to work in various fields, as a "mudarris", a "qd", an "imam" and "kazasker"-(Chief military judge)- .
9
"Danishmend" and "muid" by M. Z. Pakalin in his dictionary, titled Osmanli Tarih Terimleri ve Deyimleri Sozlugu: Shaqird: It is a term used as an equivalent for a prospective civil servant in government offices. Students and apprentices working with a craftsman were called Shaqird, too. (See. p. 305). Danishmend: A term used for those educated at madrasa. The danismends who had taken a required examination successfully were called "mulazim". Mud: Tutor at the madrasa and those in the status of assistant professorship (p. 573). Also see (37: p. 8). 9 The following are some of the famous physicians who had had both a madrasa and a medical education: Ahmad (13301413) had studied Islamic sciences and positive sciences such as pharmacy, astronomy, physics and mathematics, as well as medicine. Hajji Pasa of Konya (d. 1424) who was the chief physician at he Mansuriye-Kalavun Hospital, had been educated at a "madrasa" in Egypt. He was a profound scholar in religious sciences and he came to be interested in medicine only later because of an illness. Saban Shifa of Ayas (d. 1705), Nuh b. Abdulmannan (1628-1707), Ali Muns of Bursa (d. 1733), head-physician Hasan Efendi (d. 1734), Abbs Vesm Efendi (d. 1759), Shanizde Mehmed Atullah Efendi (17711826). See: 27 (1970): pp. 287, 284-285, 299, 301-304, 307-308). We can also mention the following physicians who studied medicine after having had classical education in madrasa and who were employed as "qd", "imam" and even "kazasker": Hajji Pasa (d. 1424) was appointed as "qd; head-physician Slih b. Nasrullah (d. 1669) as "qd" of Istanbul and "Kazasker" of Istanbul and "Kazasker" of Anatolia; Saban Shifa (d. 1705) as "mudarris" and "qd"; Katipzde (d. 1769) as "imam". (See. 27: pp. 287, 284-285, 299, 301-304, 307-308). I believe a short outline of the education in madrasa would help the reader to understand the education in these institutions of higher education. The following paragraphs are quoted from Prof. Uzuncarsili: "Ijazatnme" is a degree or a diploma that qualified a graduate to be an instructor in a madrasa. The progress in madrasa education was based on the individual course of study with a certain professor. The madrasa student who studied a certain textbook with a professor of a certain rank was awarded a certificate, which qualified him to attend another subject and another textbook with another professor with a higher rank. Progressing in this way, he completed all the courses with professors of different ranks and was awarded the final certificate and a degree of diploma that qualified him to be appointed as an instructor or "qd. (See: 37: p. 75). In the course of time, some students were seen to omit the course of some professors and attend to others of the higher course, aiming to graduate in the

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The Ottoman scholars used to attend the madrasas in Syria, Egypt, and Iran
10
. For instance the physician
Hajji Pasa (1424) obeying the fashion of the day, studied at a madrasa in Egypt and later on he got interested in medicine and becoming a physician he was promoted in time to be the head-physician of Kalavun Hospital
11
There was a close relation between the medical service in the palace and hospitals. Just as the physicians of Suleymaniye were appointed as palace physicians, there were also palace physicians who were transferred to a hospital
12
. And even there were physicians working as palace physicians, who at the same
13
time, served at Fatih and Suleymaniye Hospitals
Figure 7. Chief physician. Topkap Palace Museum Library.
The chief physician (Hekimbasi) was not only in charge of the health affairs of the state, but was, also, closely interested in medical education. From a document in Topkapi Palace archive, (E. 668; 16th century),
shortest time they could, and become instructors. In order to improve the system, decrees (fermn) were issued, to the effect that those who didn't study properly should be dropped from school and the professors who permitted these students to attend his courses were to be dismissed. (See: 2: pp. 50-51); (1: pp. 97-100); (37: pp. 67, 241-260). In case of several applications for a single position available as a mudarris, a competitive examination was given. In this examination the candidate instructors was asked to talk and write an essay. Questions were arranged so as to meet the standards of madrasa education. The essays were read and evaluated by a committee and the winner was appointed (see 37: p. 63). There were about 120 "madrasas, 89 "Dr al-Shifas" and 9000 students in the last quarter of the sixteenth century in the Ottoman territory. (See: 37, p: 98). 10 See. 37: p. 227. 11 See 27: pp. 284-285. 12 See 40. 13 See 27: pp. 301-303.

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referring to the appointment of the head-physician we learn that he was to be elected of the professors (mudarris) of the highest rank.
14
In another document in Topkapi Palace Archive, we find a list of the books to be used by the headphysician. In a record at the back of this document, it's noted that these books were given to the head physician Molla Kasim in 1575 who on his retirement, delivered them over to Isa Celebi, who replaced him, in 1580. We can conclude from these documents that head physicians were closely interested in medical education.
Figure 8. The list given from the inner treasure to the chief physician for instruction. The list mentioned above may provide a clue for the curriculum of medical education. This list includes 66 books in Arabic
15
. Eighteen of these books consist of Avicenna's Canon and its commentaries, one of which
is Mujaz, an abridged version of Canon by Ibn-i Nefs (d. 1288), composed for practical use. Some notable books in the list are, Mufradt of Ibn al-Baytar (d. 1248), Mansr and Kitb al-Hw of Rz (Rhazes; d. 925); Fusl of Hippocrates, that is the commentary of his book, on "seasons"; Shifa al-Askm (1381) of The head-physicians were elected of those qualified as scholars, as well as medical doctors, in accordance with an article of law referring to the appointment of the head-physicians, until the year 1836. (See: (36: p. 367). Also see: (32: p. 201). 15 Although the books studied in medical schools were in Arabic, as we noted, medical books were begun to be translated into Turkish in increasing numbers, from the fourteenth century on. Moreover, we know that many books of medicine were written and complied in Turkish. For instance, Sabuncuoglu Serefeddin wrote his famous book of surgery in Turkish, so that Turkish-speaking people could read and understand it. We note that the medical terminology in the text was well established, (see 19 for extensive knowledge and linguistic characteristics of the age). The language of instruction in madrasa is believed to be Arabic; though there are some writers who presume that it was Turkish. Practical bedside instruction was certainly Turkish.
14

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Hajji Pasa (d. 1413-17); Kitb al-tasrf of Zahrv (d. 1013). Also a book of astronomy (hay'a); Hayt al-
hayavn (zoology) of Demr (1344-1405); db al-tabb (medical ethics) believed to be written by Rahv
(9th century); a book of ophthalmology; a book on diet and three books on anatomy.
Surgeons, Ophthalmologists and the "Royal Craftsmen's Organization (Hssa Ehl-i Hiref Teskilati)
The organization of artisans in the palace was an important institute of education. Surgeons and ophthalmologists were educated at hospitals or learned medicine at a shop, working as an apprentice with a master. There were also families that carried on the medical profession as a family tradition, the younger learning it from their elders in the family hearth. There was, however, an organization in the palace too, which trained surgeons and ophthalmologists, who were regarded as craftsmen. The organisation of artisans in the palace was also an important institute of education. This organization named "hssa ehl-i hiref selected and educated those talented to become ophthalmologists or surgeons. Names of the surgeons and ophthalmologists, masters, apprentices and other personnel who were connected to the craftsmen's organisation and payments made to them are recorded in the registers of the craftsmen's organization found in Topkapi Palace archive. In addition, in some of these registers, concise information about the said surgeons and ophthalmologists is inserted. The payment registers of the organization (Topkapi Palace Archive, No. D. 9706) dated 1525 is the oldest document with additional information of this kind; I have so far seen
16
. In this document, under the title of
"members of surgery" 45 and under the title "apprentices of surgery" five names are mentioned. But in the year 1596 we see that the number of the members of surgery was increased to be 79 and apprentices to 33. The following passages from the article titled "Documents on the history of Ottoman medicine" by Rifki Melul Meric, who made an extensive study of this organization that is very important for our subject, are found interesting enough to be quoted:
17
"Surgeons and ophthalmologists were guilds of the craftsmens organization of the palace school. These "royal surgeons" and "royal ophthalmologists" were also employed by the "Yeniceri" (Janissary) organization during peace, as well as, in war. Their guilds were consisted of masters and students.
See 21. The register recorded at number D. 9706 in Topkapi palace archive at present is same as the one at number D. 9613, which was published by Rifki Melul Meric There is a list of surgeons and their apprentices, between the sheet number 23 b-25 a. For more extensive knowledge about the list of members of surgeons and ophthalmologists before and after the year 932 (H) and the royal craftsmen's organization see 21. Also see: (29: p.3); (36: pp. 316, 364, 430, 462-464). -The head-physician, surgeons and ophthalmologists were palace officials in the rank of scholars, employed in "Brn", that is the outer palace department. See: (36: p. 358). -Surgeons for the army service were selected from the craftsmen called "erbabi hiref' and they were directed by a qualified chief-surgeon who had a degree. See: (35: pp. 405-406). -Also see: (46: p.3) The practice of surgery, especially outside the palace might have been traditionally left from father to son, as a kind of hearth. For, some documents record that the father was replaced by the son, on his death. Some physicians used to keep secret what ever they knew of the methods of diagnosis and treatment. Usually this secret information was transferred to the son by the father and was a private possession of the "family. The same may be said of the other occupations. See 46: p. 4. 17 See 21 (No. 1/16): pp. 37-113.
16

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Those inaugurated or oriented to become surgeons or ophthalmologists in the craftsmen's society and those of the "Pencik"
18
and "devsirme oglanlari" (boys recruited for the janissary corps) who were talented
were appointed to the vacancies or to the apprenticeships created to meet the requirement; and they received the same payment made to them before the appointment. The wages of those who proved efficient used to be raised. These additional payments were usually made when the wages of the late masters and students of the craftsmen's organization was distributed amongst those qualified or was awarded as a privilege. On proving their efficiency, students were promoted to the membership of masters. The vacancies and positions newly created to meet the necessities were filled by those who deserved on the submission of the royal treasurer. of the "Ras al-kuttab"
20 19
In addition to the royal treasurer's submission, the reference note
was to be taken into consideration as well. The members of the craftsmen's
organization were subordinate to the treasurer. Their salaries were paid by the minister of finance (Sikk-i evvel defterdari; basdefterdar). The craftsmen's organization being palace servants, they were also connected with the royal army, "kapikulu"
21
. They were from time to time appointed to the army services and served there.
Figure 9. The plan of Topkapi palace before 1665, as drawn by Albert Bobovi. Those who proved to be failures in learning or performing the craft or those who were more talented in another art or trade were transferred to the organizations of those occupations in which they were talented, on the note of the head of the palace private treasury (Ser hazn-i endern).
18 19
One fifth of the Christian prisoners of war was chosen for military service and called "pencik" lads. Endern-i Humyn Haznedrbasisi: The one who is in charge of the Sultan's Treasury in the inner palace. 20 Ras al-kuttab: The head of the Sultan's council's secretariat, until the seventeenth century. It is equivalent to today's foreign minister. 21 Kapikulu: an organization formed of foot soldiers and cavalrymen of the regular army paid by the government.

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Surgeons and ophthalmologists were considered as a separate community amongst the craftsmen's organization. After having completed their propaedeudic courses (Mukaddemt-i ulm), which they had started while a member of the Palace School Organization (Endern-i Humyn Muteferrika Cemaati), they were trained in practical education and applied courses, for the duties they were going to undertake in the inner (Endern) and the outer palace (Brn) during war and peace. They used to note down what they learned from their masters and they referred to their notebooks whenever necessary. Specialized surgeons and ophthalmologists improved their knowledge by experience as well as reading books concerning their profession. The rank of the royal chief surgeon was usually conferred to the most able
22
."
Those Trained as Apprentices become skilled Physicians

There was another form of education besides the madrasa, the hospital, and the palace. It was also possible to be trained by a qualified physician in his office or in a special class by the master-apprentice method and get a certificate for practicing medicine. In this case, what was the relation between the craftsmen's guild (ah teskilati) and the physicians, surgeons and ophthalmologists who practiced independently? Not much research has been made in this respect
23
Figure 10. Infirmary in Topkapi Palace and ambulance cart in the lower right corner. Many experienced physicians trained students in private courses, even in their private classrooms. Especially in the end of the seventeenth century and in the eighteenth century, with the deterioration of the
22 23
See 21 (No. 1/16): pp. 34-36. See 6: pp. 66-67.

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"madrasas" and the appearance of the ignorant ones amongst real scholars led to the increase of the practice of private education outside hospitals
24
There were some famous physicians amongst those educated through the master apprentice method outside the hospitals. Nida, the writer of a very popular medical book titled Menfi al-ns (Treatise on common welfare, 1566), describes his medical education and his receiving an "ijzat" (diploma) in the following way:
"I, your humble servant, came across a venerable man over a hundred years of age, who taught me this science of medicine, handed over to me all these experimented drugs and gave me a diploma. Later that venerable old man past away. God bless his soul. While teaching, if I was neglectful, he would say: 'O man, don't linger, go on writing, because I was sent here for you. He taught me this science rigorously. May God bless his soul
25
Siyah Lrendev, also, notes in his medical manuscript dated 1615, that he was educated by an Egyptian master and received an "ijzat" from him:
"I lived in Egypt for many years, learning medicine there... There was an excellent master living in Egypt, who originally was from Baghdad. He was one of the highest rank of the Muslim saints and was called Molla Muhammad. He found me, this humble servant, naturally gifted and wished to teach me this science. He was so kind as to initiate me, apprenticing me as a trained man. Having trained and instructed me, he awarded an ijzat. And I, also, did my best."
26
In the seventeenth century when the number of physicians and surgeons at the palace was about 40-45, Evliya Celebi writes that the number of physicians practicing medicine outside the palace was 1000 and that of the members of the profession of surgery was 700. From this we conclude there were personal offices of great number and the master-apprentice method of training was a common practice
27
Another important item from the point of the history of medical education is that decrees were issued from time to time as a result of the appearance of quacks requiring physicians, surgeons, ophthalmologists and herbalists to be examined and those found efficient were to be given a certificate, but the failures were forbidden to practice. It was decreed that those who practiced therapy were to be examined in their field by the head-physician of the day and those who were successful given a certificate, sealed by the headphysician, enabling them to practice and those who had not studied medical science with a great master and the ignorant who practiced medicine without learning the medical art from skilful physicians were forbidden from practice and punished. We see that in this way those ignorant of medical knowledge and
24
Famous physicians such as Bursali Ali Efendi (d. 1733), Omer Sifa (d. 1742), Abbs Vesm (d. 1759), and Gevrekzde Hasan Efendi (d. 1801) were said to have private classes and favoured training by master-apprentice method. See: (32): pp. 147-149; No. 1 (16): p. 32. 25 Nida: Menfi al-ns. Cerrahpasa History of Medicine Library. No. 84, chapter 60, pp. 260-261. 26 Siyah Larendev: Mecmu-i Tibb-i Siyh. Cerrahpasa Library of the History of Medicine. No. 478, leaf: 2. 27 See 15: Vol. I. pp. 530-533. Also see 32: p. 147: Special classes were organized and students were educated.

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practice, which started an office as a favour on request and beseech were checked and prevented from practice
28
The decrees prove that the existing medical education failed to meet the needs and the head physician was closely interested in the problem. The decrees declared repeatedly in the course of years showed that this problem could not be solved. Consequently, some new attempts were made.
On Founding of the New Schools of Medicine

Attempts towards a new type of medical education on European lines, alongside with traditional medical education began in early nineteenth century. We have documents referring to the founding of two different medical schools in 1805-1806.
Figure 11. Certificate noting protection of the non-Muslim subjects, views on Medical education and the appointment of Dimitrashko for founding a medical school (1850) Of these two documents the one belonging to the reign of Sultan Selim III (1789-1907) and dated 1805, is in the prime ministry archive, recorded at No. 304, Cevdet classification dealing in health. The problem, of medical education is dealt with in this document, following the advice on the protection of Greek and Armenian paupers and restoration of their hospitals. The text concisely is as follows: First of all, able physicians are needed for organizing hospitals. Although physicians educated in famous schools come to our country, they have been found to make mistakes in various respects, because of different temperaments, change of climate, and their different background in a foreign country and
28
See (2: p. 89); (5: pp. 62-64); (3: pp. 37, 106-107, 214-215; Also see: pp. 28-30. The names of the physicians and surgeons who had taken the examinations successfully and were given certificates enabling them to practice are recorded (1699) Also see: (4: pp. 8-9); (36: p. 364).

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consequently it is believed that medical science should be learned and practiced locally. Therefore, it is noted that hospitals and schools, for training physicians should be established everywhere and increase the number of the qualified men, so that Moslem soldiers, and everybody could be served and benefited. The existing medical madrasas being recorded to be inefficient in comparison with European hospitals and in surgery and anatomy, it is noted that the Greek people have been allowed to organize a medical school and Dimitrasko Meroz, one of the leading figures of the Greek people, has been appointed to head it. We don't know whether this school started education or not. Even though the school might have been started, Dimitrasko having been proved to be a traitor in 1812, the school is supposed to have been closed as with the views set forth about medical education.
29
. This
document is noteworthy with respect to the privileges allowed to the non-Muslim Ottoman subjects, as well
Figure 12. Document about the opening of a medical school (tabibhne) and hospital at the state arsenal (Tersne-i mire). Prime Ministry Archive; Cevdet-Sihhiye, nr. 1575. From the other document dated 9 January 1806, which is in prime ministry archive, registered at number 1575, Cevdet classification dealing in subjects on health, we learn that a medical school was opened near the wooden hospital (Ispitalya), which used to stand at the site of the naval hospital today
30
. In fact there
See (34) and (13), (14). See (17), (33), (34): We don't know whether the fact that the opening of the medical school of the state Dockyard, shortly followed the assignment of the medical school to the Greeks bore a special significance. We know that the medical school of the state dockyard was active in 1807, though our knowledge of the following years is incomplete.
30
29

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were students in the hospital before this date, yet students were educated in the hospital, not in a separate school of medicine.
31
The text of the document, dated 9 January 1806 is as follows:
Before this, an edict being issued to the effect that a medical school was to be opened in the state arsenal (Tersne-i mire) so as the science of medicine should be taught and the art of medicine spread in the Ottoman domain, two buildings, a school of medicine (tibhne) and a hospital (Ispitalya), were suggested to be built and a chief-physician and a chief-surgeon, with a monthly half purse of "akcas" and ten physicians and ten surgeons with a salary of forty piasters were appointed as their suit. Because of some flaws in practice and difficulty of supervision, however, it was directed that another chief-physician and another chief-surgeon were to be appointed and two experienced aids (ustad yamak), that is assistants were to be assigned and enough salary allowed to them and a private room in the state dockyard was to be given and when the navy sailed out, a physician and a surgeon were to be accompanied and material and equipment needed for the practice of their profession should be bought and kept ready in the storeroom. Too much money was being wasted before, measures were advised to be taken to regulate the selection of physicians and surgeons and to prevent the appointments of the unskilled and unqualified through request and favour and provide for rightful appointments of the citizens of the Ottoman State. In the meantime, the chief physician named Masaroki and the chief surgeon named Arbili were dismissed.
32
Figure 13. The admirals mansion that was built at the site of the Naval Hospital standing there today, where the State arsenal hospital and medical school was founded. With a regulation dated 5 January 1807, "the sciences of medicine and surgery, and other problems" were completely brought under discipline and very important articles about the education of medicine and surgery were devised. We don't know anything about the state of the medical school of the state dockyard in the later years. Yet, we think that it came to be impossible to operate as a result of 1808 political disturbances and it is known that it was burned down in Kasimpasa fire in 1822.
33
31 32 33
See (17). See (17) and (34). See (17).

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The opening of the school of medicine (tibhane) and surgery (cerrahhane) in 14 March 1827, is regarded as the beginning of today's medical faculties
34
. This assumption is based on the fact that the medical
education at the madrasa and hospital, as it were, was no longer in favour and a medical education on the European lines was started in this new school. However, the medical madrasa at Suleymaniye complex also continued. We don't know, for certain, how long the education at Suleymaniye was continued. However, the existence of a document noting that Sakip Efendi gave courses there during the years of 1852-53, proves that Suleymaniye was still active then.
35
Figure 14. The building next to the small mosque, which is pointed to as the infirmary on shores of Topkapi Palace grounds. It was possible to practice medicine for many years later without being graduated from the new school of medicine. As we learn from a document dated 1840, the school of medicine (mekteb-i tibbiyye) used to give an examination to physicians and surgeons who hadn't got a diploma and those found inefficient were prohibited from practice. Cupping, administration of an enema, applying leeches, although considered as the practice of the profession on the lowest level, was still continued.
36
More extensive researche needs to be made in the Ottoman history of medicine and the conclusions to be arrived at are sure to shed light on our problems today and enable us to understand them better. This will be possible, by the classification, study, and publication of all the documents and manuscripts relating to the field that exist in archives and libraries.
34
Sultan Mahmud II founded the school of medicine (tibhne) and surgery (cerrahhne) at Sehzadebasi in 1827). He made his famous speech in the opening of the medical school that was moved to Galatasaray in 1839. This occasion was believed to be the beginning of a real progress in the development of medical education. See for more information: 13, 38, 41, 49, 12, 14. 35 See 45: p. 204. 36 See Prime Minister Archive, Cevdet classification dealing with health. No. 263.

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Figure 15. A physicians office in the seventeenth century.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Osmanlilarda Tiphnenin Kurulusuna Kadar Tip Egitimi". Turk Dunyasi Arastirmalari, No.22. 1983. p. 152-182. Adivar, Adnan: Osmanli Turklerinde Ilim, Istanbul 1943. Ahmet Refik: Onuncu Asr-i Hicri'de Istanbul Hayati, Istanbul 1333. Ahmet Refik: Hicri On ikinci Asirda Istanbul Hayati, Devlet Matbaasi, Istanbul 1930. Ahmet Refik: Hicri On birinci Asirda Istanbul Hayati, Devlet Matbaasi, Istanbul 1931. Ahmet Refik: On Altinci Asirda Istanbul Hayati, Devlet Matbaasi, Istanbul 1935. Akdeniz, S. Nil: Osmanlilarda Hekim ve Deontolojisi, Istanbul 1979. Barkan, L. O.: Suleymaniye Cami ve Imareti Insaati (1550-1557). v. I. Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ank. Akdeniz Sari, Nil: 1972. Cantay, G. Gonul: "Turklerde ve Turkiye'de Tip Egitimi Tarihi" Istanbul Tip Kurultayi 25-30 Eylul
1977, Istanbul Tip Fak. Yay.

Cevdet, Muallim: "Sivas Darussifasi Vakfiyesi ve Tercumesi", Vakiflar Dergisi, Sayi: I, s.35-38, Ank. 1938. Cetintas,, Sedat: Bursa Darussifasi, Istanbul Tip Fak. Tip Tarihi Enst. Yay. No. 46, Istanbul 1952. Daglioglu, T. Hikmet: "Tababet Tarihimize Ait Vesikalar", Turk Tip Tarihi Arsivi, v. 4, No: 13, 1939.

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Erel, Muhiddin: "120 Yillik Tibbiyemizin Tarihine Bir Bakis." Istanbul Uni. Tip Tarihi Enst. Yay. No: 13, 1947. Ergin, Osman: Istanbul Tip Mektepleri, Enstituleri ve Cemiyetleri . Istanbul Unv. Tip Tarihi Enst. Yay. No: 17, 1940. Ergin, Osman: Turk Maarif Tarihi, Istanbul 1977. Evliya Celebi: Seyahatname. C. I, s. 321.; C. 3, s. 468. Dersaadet Ikdam Matbaasi (1898); Mtc. Danisman, Zihni: C. 13, s.74, Istanbul 1971.
Fatih Mehmet II. Vakfiyeleri. Vakiflar Umum Mud. Turk Vakfiyeleri No: l, s. 248-251, Ank. 1938. Gencer, A. Ihsan: "Istanbul Tersanesinde Acilan Ilk Tib Mektebi, Tip Fak. Mec. 41: s. 732-747.
1978. Kazancigil, Ratip: 1362-1920 Yillari Arasinda Edirne Ilindeki Saglik Kurumlari ve Bu Kurumlarda
Calisan Personel. Istanbul 1981. Kilicoglu, Vecihe: Cerrahiye-i Ilhaniye, Ank. Unv. Dil ve Tarih Cog. Fak. Yay. No: 97, Ank. 1956. Kurkcuoglu, K. Edib: Suleymaniye Vakfiyesi. Vakiflar Umum Mud. Nesr. Ank. 1962. Meric, R. Melul: Osmanli Tababeti Tarihine Ait Vesikalar". Tarih Vesikalari, issue. I (16), Agustos
1955, issue: 2 (17), Ocak 1958. Miller, Barnette: The Palace School of Muhammed the Conqueror. Harvard University Press. 1941. Rifat Osman: "Dort Bucuk Asirlik Bir Seririyatimiz" Turk Tip Tarihi Arsivi, issue: 13, S. 27-34, Eylul 1939. Sayili, Aydin: "Bizde Tip Ogretimi Ozerine." Belleten, C. XXXV, issue: 138, S. 229-234, 1971. Sayili, Aydin: "The Emergence of the Prototype of the Modern Hospital in Medieval Islam." Belleten, C.XLIV, Sayi: 174, S. 279-286, Nisan 1980. Sayili, Aydin: "Certain Aspects of Medical Instruction in Medieval Islam and its Influences on Europe." Belleten, C. XLV/2, issue: 178, s. 9-21, Nisan 1981. Sehsuvaroglu, Bedii: Eczacilik Tarihi Dersleri. Ecz. Fak. Yay. No. 10, Istanbul 1970. Sehsuvaroglu, Bedii: "Turk Istanbul'da Tip Ogretiminin 500. Yildonumu". Istanbul Unv. Tip Fak.
Mec. No. 34, S. 831-840, 1971. Tarih Encumeni Mecmuasi: 1335-1336. Fatih Devrine Ait Vesikalar, s. 3. Taskiran, Nimet: Hasekinin Kitabi. Haseki Hast. Kalkindirma Dernegi Yay. No. 6, Istanbul 1972. Taskiran, Nimet: "Tip Mesleginde Okumanin Onemi." Haseki Tip Bulteni, C. XII, issue: 4, s. 369-376,
1974. Uludag, O. Sevki: Besbucuk Asirlik Turk Tip Tarihi. Istanbul 1925. Uludag, O. Sevki: Tarihimizde Iki Tiphne Vardir." Tip Dunyasi. v. 8, s. 2987-2989, 15 Agustos 1935. Uludag, O. Sevki: Yeni Ilk Tibhne ve Rum Tibbiye Mektebi." Tip Dunyasi, C. 13, s. 4365-4368, 15 Mart 1940. Uzuncarsili, I. Hakki: Kapikulu Ocaklari, v. I, Turk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, Ank. 1944. Uzuncarsili, I. H.: Osmanli Devletinin Saray Teskilati. Turk Tarih Kurumu Yay. VIII Seri, No. 15, Ank. 1945. Uzuncarsili, I. H.: Osmanli Devletinin Ilmiye Teskilati. Turk Tarih Kurumu Yay. VIII Seri, No. 17, Ank. 1965. Unver, Suheyl: Cerrahhne-i Amire (1832). Istanbul 1931. Unver, S.: Fatih Darussifasi. Istanbul 1932. Unver, S.: "Evrak Hazinesinde Turk Tip Tarihine Ait Vesikalar I ve II". Tip Dunyasi, issue: 5, 1934.

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Unver, S.: "Istanbul Tip Fakultesi 1827-1934: 107 Yilda Gecirdigi Cigirlar", Dirim, issue: 1-2, Subat 1934. Unver, S.: "Orta Zamanda Turkce Takrir Uzerine Kisa Bir Mulahaza." II. Turk Tarih Kongresi Tebligi, 25 Eylul 1937. Unver, S.: "Fatih Kulliyesine Aid Diger Muhim Bir Vakfiye." Vakiflar Dergisi, Sayi: I, s. 39-45, 1938. Unver, S.: "Fatih Kulliyesinin Ilk Vakfiyesine Gore Fatih Darussifasi;" Turk Tip Tarihi Arsivi, v. 5, No. 17, s. 17, 1940. Unver, S.: "Suleymaniye Kulliyesinde Darussifa, Tip Madrasasi ve Darulakakire Dair." Vakiflar
Dergisi. C. 2, S. 195-207, Ank. 1942.

Unver, S.: "Fatih Zamani Cerrahlari Hakkinda." Dirim, No. 9, S. 3, 1949. Unver, S.: "Fatih Darussifasi." Dunyada Tip, C. 2, issue: 5, Mayis 1953. Unver, S.: "749 Sene Once Kayseri'de Acilan Ilk Tip Mektebi ve Klinigi." Dirim, No. 3, Mart 1955. Unver, S.: "1838'de Dr. Bernard'in Memleketimize Gelisi." Istanbul Unv. Tip Fak. Mec. No. 3-4, s. 494-510, 1956. Unver, S.: "Selcuklularm Bir Sifa Yurdu: Sivas Tip Sitesi." Abbottempo III. 1965. Unver, S.: Kayseri Tip Sitemiz 760 Yasinda. Turkiye Ulusal Verem Savas Der. Yay., Istanbul 1966.
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. The Kayseri Hospital (Shifahna) built by Lady Gevher Nesibe Sultan . Drawn by Suheyl Unver. Figure 2. Yildirim Hospital in Bursa: A view of the lecture Hall. Figure 3. Site plan of Bayezid II Complex in Edirne. The Madrasa (school of medicine, right lower corner); connected to it is the Dr al-shifa (hospital). Figure 4. The site plan of the school of medicine in the Suleymaniye Complex. Figure 5. The paragraph referring to the beautiful school of medicine (madrasa-i tayyiba) and the instructor (mudarris) in Suleymaniye trust of deed. Figure 6. Ceremonial initiation of the Medical School reopened and renamed as Royal School of Medicine (Mekteb-i Tibbiye-i Adliye-i Shhne), by Sultan Mahmd II. The visit of him in 1838 to the reopened Imperial Medical School in Galatasaray (Prof. Dr. T. Baytop Collection). Figure 7. Chief physician. Topkap Palace Museum Library, Album no. III, A. 3690, picture 7. Picture copied by the permission of Nil Sari and Ulker Erke from: 38th International Congress on History of Medicine,
Turkish Medical History Through Miniature Pictures Exhibition (Drawn by U. Erke, Organizer and Editor Nil
Sari), Istanbul 2002. Figure 8. A list of books, which chief physicians must read for instruction. These books were stored in the inner treasury of the Palace. (Topkapi Palace Museum Archive, D. 8228). Figure 9. The plan of Topkapi palace before 1665, as drawn by Albert Bobovi. The hospital of the palace school (Endern) and its departments is situated in the right lower corner, (50-61),

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Figure 10. Infirmary in Topkapi Palace and ambulance cart in the lower right corner. (See; Hunernme, Topkapi Palace Museum Library, Ahmed III, no. 1524.). Figure 11. Certificate noting protection of non-Muslim subjects, views on Medical education and the appointment of Dimitrashko for founding a medical school (1850). The Prime Ministry Archive in Istanbul, Cevdet-Sihhiye, nr. 304. Figure 12. Document about the opening of a medical school (tabibhne) and hospital at the state arsenal (Tersne-i mire). Prime Ministry Archive; Cevdet-Sihhiye, nr. 1575. Figure 13. The admirals mansion that was built at the site of the Naval Hospital standing there today, where the State arsenal hospital and medical school was founded. Istanbul University Library, Album department, nr. 90398. Figure 14. The building next to the small mosque, which is pointed to as the infirmary on shores of Topkapi Palace grounds. (See. M. Melling, Vue Generale de Constantinople. S. Unver notes that this building was used as the school of surgery (Cerrahhne), between the years 1831-1838. Figure 15. A physicians office in the seventeenth century, drawn by Prof. Dr.Suheyl Unver.

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George Sarton and The History of Science
Professor Aydin Sayili Lamaan Ball September 2005 4098 FSTC Limited, 2005
FSTC Limited
Sarton September 2005
GEORGE SARTON AND THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

This article was first published in the Turkish review Erdem 25 (Ankara 1996), pp. 73-115. We are grateful to Imran Baba, editor of Erdem for allowing publication.
George Sarton ** Professor George Sarton (1884-1956) was a fervent advocate of the thesis of a quite wide scope that scientific activity constitutes a common bond for the whole of humanity as the most reliable type of knowledge created by the human brain; as the basic element responsible for the progressive nature of culture and civilization: and as an endeavour responsible for the amelioration of human life. He consequently was strongly convinced of the importance science must have had in the making of the destiny of mankind, and he was engaged in a concerted effort to persuade, the intellectual elite, of the great significance and relevance of the history of science in our effort to grasp the major factors responsible for the phenomenal growth of civilization and as a constituent element bringing to the fore the inexorable force of history. It was a great ideal for him, consequently, to establish the history of science securely in the universities as an independent academic discipline - with the difference, however, that even if his ideas advanced on behalf of the role of science should be reduced in certain respects, the plea for the importance of the history of science as an academic discipline would still retain its validity and cogency. These ideas and thoughts are seen to be closely associated with the intellectual culture sector of general culture and civilization; i.e., with the sector of culture that is based upon, or closely tied up with, science, and, more generally, with relatively sound and reliable knowledge. Intellectual culture is of course a subject of major interest for the Ataturk Culture Centre, and the history of science which has rapidly grown as an academic discipline in the universities of the Western World during the last half century is a very convenient avenue of approach for gaining acquaintance with science as a perennial human endeavour. It deals with science in the making, thus revealing its dynamic aspects in particular; and it constitutes a convenient way

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of avoiding the difficulty of gaining a sound scientific culture through arduous efforts involving the mastery of narrow Fields of specialization. The history of science is therefore conducive in multifarious ways to developing and promoting a broad view and outlook of science, its methods, and the scientific attitude. We should entertain no doubt indeed that as an academic discipline the history of science should be a very welcome new item added to the more classical university curriculum. This usefulness could be conceived from the vantage point of a substantial culture-building process and especially as an efficient way of securing a sound and critical assessment and evaluation of science as a human activity. From this standpoint in particular the history of science is to be advocated as an invaluable contribution to our intellectual culture and enlightenment. Moreover, it is very important that the history of science should be conceived and instituted or organized as an independent academic discipline if it is to constitute a really new and significant contribution to our culture and enlightenment. Indeed, it should undoubtedly be very useful to form views concerning the nature of science with the help of judgements acquired with the help of data and impressions gained or gleaned from within the pale of the history of science itself, as is in fact already being done to some extent nowadays. For thus, the history of science will be able to add a new dimension to our way of looking into matters pertaining to epistemology and the philosophy of science, or other matters pertaining to questions related to science. Sarton, who was born in 1884 in Belgium, came to the United States in 1915. He gave a few lectures and courses during his first years in America, and in 1918 he became associated with the Carnegie Institution of Washington. He had already founded Isis in 1912, while in Belgium, and although its publication was interrupted during the four years of World War I, it began to reappear in the post-war years when Sarton established himself in the United States. Following a meeting of the American Historical Association in Boston, in December 1923, David Eugene Smith, Lynn Thorndike, and a group of other members organized the American History of Science Society, incorporating it in January 1924. The History of Science Society was created for the specific purpose of furthering the study of the history of science, and to support Sarton's work and especially his journal Isis.
1
The first years in the United States were not easy for Sarton, but when in 1918 he was appointed research associate of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, things started to rapidly change for the better. For this enabled him to devote himself to his studies without financial anxiety. After a short time he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was given a suite of rooms in the Widener Library, where he continued to work almost to the end of his life.
2
A French article by Sarton, bearing the title "Une Encyclopdie lonardesque", published in 1919 in Raccolta
Vinciana, clearly shows the great importance Sarton attached to his association with the Carnegie
Institution. There he writes about how grateful he is for the position he has been given by them and how he considers it a great honour.
** 1
Isis, vol. 6. 1924, pp. 4-8; his, vol. 7, 1925, p. 371; Isis, vol. 16,1931, pp. 125-126; James B. Conant, "George Sarton and Harvard University", Isis, vol. 48,1957, p. 302; Dorothy Stimson, Sarton on the History of Science, Essays by George Sarton, Selected and Edited by Dorothy Stimson, Harvard University Press, 1962, Preface, p. VI. 2 E. M. S., "Bibliographical Data on George Sarton", Studies and Essays in the History of Science and Learning Offered in Homage to George Sarton, ed. M. F. Ashley Montagu, Henry Schuman 1944, p. XII-XIII.
Source http://www.comnet.ca/~pballan/HS&PS.htm

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It was a modest beginning, he says, but one whose importance could not be exaggerated. It is enough for me to say that the position which has been created for me by the Carnegie Institution and which allows me to devote all my time for this study is unique in the world.
He then adds in a foot note that there exist two similar positions in Germany for the history of medicine but not for the history of sciences.
3
Sarton then broadly outlines his projected work. There are two major items listed here: 1) A substantial work on Leonardo [Da Vinci] and the science of his time, and, 2) The history of nineteenth century physics and its applications.
4
Then he continues with the following words:
And initially, - why was Leonardo selected as the subject of our first meeting? It is because the range of the historical studies, to which I have devoted my life, exceed greatly their immediate results. The goal is not only to know the history of science, but to humanize science, i.e. to make it more pleasant and more alive, to show it in upward path and progressing, to highlight how time has its major unity and its innumerable relationships to all the other activities of our life. How could this goal be reached better? How could it be possible to better render comprehensible the time at which scientists and artists [produced this synthesis and this ideal harmony? It is to show it to them already realized in the single and imposing personality of Leonardo, [in his] time, the greatest artist, the greatest scientist and perhaps the best man of his century"
Two pages later the text reads thus:
*5
"Besides, I do not only propose to present the ideas of Leonardo and his contemporaries, but I will endeavour as much as possible to completely explain their genesis and their evolution. That obliges me to study more deeply than I would wish it, the medieval Christian, Arabic and Jewish philosophy, but the reward is large. Just as Leonardo in a concrete way will enable me to show the unity of science, it will also enable me to show its continuity. Because, although original in his singular genius, it is not less deeply coming from the master key. Leonardo is not an isolated
George Sarton, "Une Encyclopedic Leonardesque", Raccolta Vinciana, fascicule 10, Milano 1919, pp. 235-236. Ibid., p. 236. See also, "A Summing up" (Report to the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1949), Sarton ore the History of Science, ed. Dorothy Stimson, pp. 367-370.
4
* [approximate translation of : "Et d'abord, -pourquoi Leonardo a-t-il t choisi comme le sujet de notre premire entreprise? C'est que la porte des tudes historiques, auxquelles j'ai consacre ma vie, dpasse de beaucoup leurs rsultats immdiats. Le but n'est pas seulement de connaitre l'histoire des sciences, mais d'humaniser la science, c'est--dire de la rendre plus aimable et plus vivante, de la montrer en voie d'volution et de progrs, de mettre en vidence a la fois son unit profonde et ses relations innombrables avec toutes les autres activits de notre vie. Or, comment ce but serait-il mieux atteint, comment serait-il possible de mieux faire comprendre a la fois aux savants et aux artistes cette synthse et cette harmonie idale que de la leur montrer dj ralise dans la personnalit unique et grandiose de Leonardo, a la fois le plus grand artiste, le plus grand savant et peut-tre le meilleur homme de son sicle?" 5 Ibid., p. 236.

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accident, a miracle, but the reappearance of the sudden and rare fruit of a long evolution, never entirely stopped and which, though mainly secret, is not less real.
Speaking of Sarton, Dorothy Stimson writes:
*6
"...Thus his first scholarly love, Leonardo da Vinci, could not properly be studied until he knew what had gone before. Out of that search grew his many-volumes Introduction to the History of Science which after twenty years' labour he had to end fifty years before he had reached da Vinci."
7
Two mutually related ideas on which Sarton insisted throughout his career were the ideas of "the unity of mankind" and "the unity of science" or "the unity of knowledge". He must have felt entitled to a verdict on these points also because of his wide coverage of so many groups of people from all over the world in his
Introduction volumes. And he dealt there with periods during which there was comparatively little cultural
contact between those widely different geographical regions. Early in his career, Sarton says:
"...For one thing, science - at least that part of it which has already become classical - is the common thought of the whole world; it is the organized body of all the facts and theories from which almost all arbitrariness has been excluded, upon which enlightened people are unanimously agreed and which is placed temporarily beyond the range of discussion. The domain of classical science is in the privileged domain of internationalism, for it is already the common patrimony of all men. Moreover, science constitutes the very axis of human advance and furnishes the very principle and the fundamental methods of social organization. ..."
We also hear him speak in the following words:
8
"The history of science establishes the unity of science in at least two different ways. First, the progress of each science is dependent upon the progress of the others; this implies of course that the sciences are not independent, but interrelated in a number of ways, and that the interrelations are not accidental but organic. Second, the simultaneity of scientific discoveries made in different places and sometimes by means of different methods implies also an internal congruency. ...
9
These kinds of assertions by Sarton, of which he was sparing, have created quite widely the impression that he was much given to philosophizing. Such a generalization would be quite misleading, however, particularly with respect to certain aspects of his ideas. With respect to his words in his last quoted passage, e.g., I feel that Sarton never appreciably underscored the idea of unity of knowledge in the sense of close interrelations between various fields of knowledge; he perhaps referred to it partly for the sake of [Approximate translation of: "D'ailleurs, je ne me propose pas seulement d'exposer les ides de Leonardo et de ses contemporains, mais je m'efforcerai de plus d'expliquer aussi compltement que possible leur gense et leur volution. Cela m'oblige tudier plus profondment que je ne le dsirerais, la philosophique mdivale chrtienne, arabe et juive, mais la rcompense est grande. De mme que Leonardo me permettra de dmontrer d'une manire concrte l'unit la science, il me permettra aussi de montrer sa continuit. Car, si original que soil son singulier gnie, il n'en est pas moins profondment enracine dans le passe. Leonardo n'est pas un accident isole, un miracle, renais le fruit soudain et rare d'une longue volution, jamais entirement interrompue et qui, pour tre en grande partie secrte, n'en est pas moins relle." 6 Ibid., p. 238. 7 Dorothy Stimson, Sarton on the History of Science, Preface, p. IX. 8 George Sarton, "The New Humanism", Isis, vol. 6, 1924, p. 24.
*

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completeness. It is my impression that his references to it were only sporadic and that they were often superficial rather than substantial. But, in contrast to this, he did emphasize the idea that science oversteps national, linguistic, and religious boundaries, which occurs in the passage quoted from him to which footnote 8 has been appended. Sarton, as we have seen, had planned to prepare a history of nineteenth century physics for the Carnegie Institution. At Harvard he gave a history of mathematics course which was called Mathematics 7 and was listed among mathematics courses, if I remember correctly. Moreover, James B. Conant writes: "And the scholarly training which Professor Sarton considered essential for a real scholar included 'A knowledge of the European languages, palaeography, scholastic philosophy, political history, ecclesiastic history' as well as a basic training in one of the natural sciences.
10
All this indicates that Sarton did not hesitate to take up different sciences separately. We also see that he considered it quite natural for historians of science to cultivate only one scientific field as that of their major interest. Yet he did not believe that the juxtaposition of courses on the histories of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology in different departments of a university could constitute instruction in the history of science anywhere close to an ideal state of affairs. Conant says, "From Professor Sarton I learned, while I was a graduate student in chemistry, the difference between the history of a science (as exemplified by Chemistry 8) and the history of science. ,.."
11
It is well known that Sarton had pet ideas such as the claim that the history of science should be accorded a place of major importance in history in general and that it should constitute a bridge between science and the humanities, or between science and humanism. He might dwell briefly on such ideas at the very beginnings of his courses, but then he would rarely refer to them again as the courses proceeded. More frequently he would call attention to unintentional and accidental cooperation between scientists working in different countries whenever, as in the case of science in modern Europe, the subject matter dealt with served to throw light on many clear and interesting examples of such nature. But even then his remarks would be of the nature of brief asides. At any rate, as far as I know, Sarton practically never took up these notions in purely conceptual lines in a systematic manner, he never wrote substantial monographs on these ideas or on the concepts they involved with a formal philosophical approach. For him the unity of man and the unity of scientific knowledge were practically obvious on a factual basis, on the basis of copious data pervading all parts of the history of science. Over and above such notions and such pet ideas he was interested in promoting and establishing on a firm footing the cultivation of the history of science. His main concern or objective was to establish the history of science as an independent academic discipline. In 1930 he wrote,
"... The intellectual elite are at present divided into two hostile groups, - which we might call for short: the literary and the scientific, - who do not speak the same language nor think in the same
Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, vol. 1, p. 31. James B. Conant, "George Sarton and Harvard University", Isis, vol. 48, 1957, p. 305. 11 James B. Conant, "History in the Education of Scientists", Harvard Library Bulletin, vol. 14, 1960, p. 317.
10

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way. If nothing is done, the gap separating them must necessarily increase, together with the steady and irresistible progress of science. ... "I believe that the gap can be reduced considerably if there be enough good will on both sides, and that it will eventually be possible to bridge it. The main purpose of the movement which I initiated so many years ago and to which my life has ever since been devoted, is precisely to build that bridge and to educate men who will become the natural intermediaries between the two sides. Such men would be very few to begin with but they would slowly increase in number. ... "... However humanism may be defined, at least we shall agree I am sure that it should not harbour intolerance. "Personally I would much prefer not to speak of humanism any more but to work quietly in my little corner preparing materials for the bridge to be built. ..."
12
I believe that the statement in the last sentence above is truly descriptive of Sarton's attitude and behaviour in the years that followed. Science historians had of course been in existence before, and a quite impressive literature of the history of science had come to exist. But its coming into being had been dependent largely on change and personal taste. The best and the most outstanding historians of science had generally been trained as scientists, and they had later developed their interest in the history of their branch of science and gone into the field of the history of science. It was Sarton's objective to have a substantial group of people trained in universities as historians of science, just as historians, physicist, and psychologists were trained by receiving instruction in these particular fields respectively. I believe that this was Sarton's paramount and straightforward goal in contrast to his more fictitious or idealized plans to humanize science or to make historians shift their central interest to science. This at least was the more urgent matter, and once it was realized to a reasonable extent, it was Sarton's hope that, somehow the rest would probably take care of itself. According to Sarton, those who were to be trained as historians of science should, for this purpose acquire sufficient knowledge in one branch of science at least and also in certain source languages. A historian of science, in Sarton's opinion, should become familiarized with the whole field of the history of science and should, in addition, go into two kinds of specialization: Vertical specialization in a branch of the history of science such as the history of mathematics, physics, or astronomy, extending vertically through all periods, and a horizontal field of specialization spreading over a certain civilization or culture at a certain era but encompassing as much as possible all branches of science and related intellectual fields. Examples of this would be Greek science, India, medieval Islam, or seventeenth century Western Europe. Strictly speaking, this second type of specialization is more easily feasible for earlier periods, of course. However, Sarton was not dogmatic or overenthusiastic, although he was in reality unswerving, in this mode of training historians of science. He used to say that as the history of science is a youthful discipline, there are various methods and manners of approach for the historians of science, and that this freedom, not infrequently, was of advantage to the field. For in this way it became possible for its representatives to complete each other and to make up for one another's shortcomings.
12
George Sarton, the History of Science and the New Humanism, 1931, pp. 8-10.

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Although the Introduction to the History of Science
volumes had to stop at the end of the fourteenth
century, Sarton himself measured up quite well to the ideal he set up for a well-trained historian of science. For he was very well-versed indeed in European science in the sixteenth and the following centuries. The wide coverage of the courses he gave at Harvard as well as certain substantial articles of his give ample proof of this. Modern European science rather than the Middle Ages was, at least initially, Sarton's area of primary competence. Sarton's ideal was, however, to have people draw their intellectual inspirations from the history of science. Historians of science, indeed, as he would have them, with their primary field of specialization in the history of science itself, would not be expected normally to impose upon the history of science notions more peculiar to other fields of endeavour and not so appropriate to science and its history. He wrote in one of his later works: "The history of science should not be used as an instrument to defend any kind of social or philosophic theory; it should be used only for its own purpose, to illustrate impartially the working of reason against unreason."
13
Initially, Sarton's plan for his university education was to study philosophy, and he started to do so. But before long he abandoned the subject "in disgust".
14
It is interesting to hear him speak about twenty years
later, in 1919, in a passage quoted from him above to which our footnote 6 has been appended, of the necessity for him to go more deeply into the study of medieval philosophy than he would have liked to do. These statements from his student days and from the beginning of his career are typical of Sarton also in the much mature phases of his life. He certainly had no aversion or dislike for philosophy, but it may be said, I believe, without hesitation, that he did not find the philosophical approach to questions very inviting and much preferred the more concrete and direct scientific ways of dealing with things. In A History of
Science, Ancient Science. Through the Golden Age of Greece, published in 1952, he writes, "We clearly
realize that Plato is the typical and 'ideal' philosopher, whose knowledge or wisdom is supposed to come from above and to stoop like an eagle on the objects below. The knowledge of a metaphysician is complete to begin with and proceeds from heaven downward; the knowledge of the man of science, on the contrary, begins with homely things on the face of the earth, then soars slowly heavenward. The two points of view are fundamentally different."
15
Sarton conducted a seminar in the history of science to which guest speakers such as Abbot Payson Usher, Arthur O. Lovejoy, Raymond Clare Archibald, Tenny L. Davis, Dirk J. Struick, and Robert S. Woodbury were invited at times as guest speakers.
16
One day when Lovejoy was guest speaker, after he had finished
speaking, Sarton made a remark to the effect that in such fields as medieval science and Aristotelian physics the more properly or specifically scientific content or material should be detached from its philosophical context and accorded preferential treatment by the historians of science. Lovejoy expressed his disapproval not only in simple words but also by a distortion in his countenance and said that the complex of these ideas resembled delicate roots of a plant all tangled up at the bottom of a pot and that one could not possibly hope to succeed in clearing and sorting out a single root without breaking it to
13 14 15 16
Arnold Thackray and Robert K. Merton, "On Discipline Building: The Paradoxes of George Sarton", Isis, vol. 63, p. 483. I. Bernard Cohen, "George Sarton", Isis, vol. 48, p. 287. Op. cit., p. 431. See, Isis, vol. 26, 1936, pp. 154-155.

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pieces. Sarton had no answer, but he took this remark in good part; he merely smiled at Lovejoy's impatience with his suggestion. Sarton too, I believe, did not have in mind a thoroughgoing dichotomy. In speaking of Ibn Sina, e.g., he says, "The philosopher Ibn Sina, as in Aristotle, can never be separated from the man of science." sophisticated sentences, and that is why he had perhaps gone somewhat beyond his real mark. With all due respect for the fine-grained and exacting philosophical analyses of men like Lovejoy and Koyr, they were, I feel, to some degree different from Sarton's ideal of historians of science drawing their main and adequate inspiration from within the pale of the history of science, or science itself perhaps. Koyr was undoubtedly a great historian of science, interested in a limited part of that vast field, who was a powerful source of inspiration for an important generation of science historians and one who did exemplary work.
18 17
But
Sarton, when speaking, used often short and to-the-point expressions and did not use elaborate and
But he seems to have looked down to a considerable extent on the importance of experiment in Galileo's work, and, together with Cassirer to have exaggerated Galileo's Platonism. More recent research seems, indeed, to indicate that the place of experiment in Galileo's work was of considerable moment and that the situation was not at all like that pictured by Koyr.
19
W. H. Donahue writes, "In the nineteenth century he [Galileo] was commonly depicted as a champion of fact (as opposed to weightless theory), discovering natural laws by watching chandeliers swing and dropping objects from the Pisan campanile. Later, Alexandre Koyr showed us quite a different Galileo, a Platonist whose regard for theory was such that he scornfully rejected the need for empirical verification. Although this view gradually gained wide acceptance, in more recent years, and especially during the last decade, it has been shown to be a serious misrepresentation. Research by Thomas Settle and others has revealed the large extent to which Galileo relied upon experiment, and there is little evidence to suggest that Galileo believed in a Platonic mathematical archetype for the universe. The result has been an increasingly clear picture of what Galileo was not, and much lively controversy as to the philosophical basis (if any) for his views."
20
Richard S. Westfall's appraisal of the question reads as follows:
"The larger work... is infused with Drake's own interpretation of Galileo. Not everyone will accept it. Drake is well aware that he represents a minority position; a polemicist like his hero, he has drawn
Sarton, "Avicenna: Physician, Scientist and Philosopher", Sarton on the History of Science, ed. Dorothy Stimson, 1962, p. 69. 18 Arnold Thackray, "Making History", Ms, vol. 72, 1981, pp. 7, 8. 19 "See, Thomas B. Settle, "An Experiment in the History of Science", Science, 6 January 1961, No 3445, pp. 19-23; David C. Lindberg, "Galileo's Experiments on Falling Bodies", Isis, vol. 56,1965, pp. 352-354; Stillman Drake, "Free Fall in Galileo's Dialogues", Isis, vol. 57,1966, pp. 269-271; Stillman Drake, "Galileo's Discovery of the Law of Free Fall; Scientific American, May 1973, pp. 85-92; Stillman Drake, "Galileo's Experimental Confirmation of Horizontal Inertia: Unpublished Manuscripts (Galileo Gleanings XXII)", Isis, vol. 64,1973, pp. 290-305; James MacLachlan, "A Test of an 'Imaginary' Experiment of Galileo's", his, vol. 64, 1973, pp. 374-379; Stillman Drake and James MacLachlan, "Galileo's Discovery of the Parabolic Trajectory", Scientific American, March 1975, pp. 102-110; Ronald Naylor, "Galileo: Real Experiment and Didactic Demonstration", Isis, vol. 67, 1976, pp. 398-419. David K. Hill, "A Note on a Galilean Worksheet," Isis, vol. 70, 1979, pp. 269-270; David K. Hill, "Galileo's Work on 116 v; A New Analysis," Isis, vol. 77, 1986. pp. 283-291; Ronald H. Naylor, "Galileo's Method of Analysis and Synthesis," Isis, vol. 81, 1990, pp. 695-707. 20 W. H. Donahue, review of Stillman Drake's Galileo against the Philosophers..., Journal for the History of Astronomy, vol.
17

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all his details together into a vigorous and frequently pungent exposition of the experimentalist view of Galileo: The enemy is Alexandre Koyr and his followers, who emphasize Galileo's debt to Platonic philosophy and question whether he ever performed experiments. As far as I am concerned Drake settles the issue once and for all. From the manuscripts he draws manifold evidence of experiments (among others, with inclined planes) that are beyond reasonable denial. One cannot avoid the conclusion that Koyr's insistence on thought experiments in Galileo was exaggerated, indeed greatly exaggerated. I speak, let me say, as one deeply influenced by Koyr's writings. "At the same time, it appears to me that Drake is guilty of equal excess in attempting to paint a narrowly empirical Galileo as the model of the modern experimental scientist. It was the great virtue of Koyr's work to teach us that profound philosophic questions, not to be settled by observations in the laboratory, lay behind the shift in views that ushered in modern science. The fact that Galileo did in fact experiment in no way negates that point. ..."
21
There is much wisdom and discernment in these words. It seems to me that it may be rightfully claimed, nevertheless, that as a result of Koyr's distorted view Galileo's methodology, in so far as recourse to experiment is concerned, a more adequately or judiciously balanced picture of Galileo's work may be claimed to given by, e.g., E. Gerland in 1913, than by the pretentious monographs of Koyr, twenty six years latter. Koyr Writes:
22
written
"Indeed, an experiment -as Galileo so beautifully has expressed it- being a question put before nature, it is perfectly clear that the activity which results in the asking of this question is a function of the elaboration of the language in which it is formulated. Experimentation is a teleological process of which the goal is determined by theory. The "activism" of modern science, so well noticed -scientia activa, operative, - and so deeply misinterpreted by Bacon is only the counterpart of its theoretic development. "It is well known with what extreme ingenuity, being unable to perform direct measurements, Galileo substitutes for the free fall the motion on an inclined plane on one hand, and that of the pendulum on the other. It is only justice to recognize his immense merit and genial insight, which are not diminished by the fact that they are based on two wrong assumptions. But it is justice too to turn our attention to the amazing and pitiful poverty of the experimental means at his disposal. "A bronze ball rolling in a "smooth and polished" wooden groove! A vessel of water with a small hole through which it runs out and which one collects in a small glass in order to weigh it afterwards and thus measure the times of descent (the Roman water clock, that of Ctesebius, had been already a much better instrument): what an accumulation of sources of error and in exactitude!
10, 1979, p. 44. 21 Richard S. Westfall, review of Drake's Galileo at Work, Isis, vol. 70, 1979, p, 275. 22 See, Gerland's Geschichte der Physik

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"It is obvious that the Galilean experiments are completely worthless. The very perfection of their results is a rigorous proof of their in correction (sic)."
23
Sarton's convictions concerning scientific method were in tune with the more traditional and classical views. They may be described as in conformity with the beliefs and feelings concerning scientific spirit and procedures of research as practiced, or, at least, idealized by men of science themselves. He would therefore not be expected to adhere to such extreme ideas as being, e.g., against mathematics as a key to understanding nature, or looking askance at attaching paramount importance to experimentation or careful observation. For him these are the pillars on which the glorious edifice of science and scientific thought had to rest. Stillman Drake, writing in 1973 speaks of some previously unknown notes of Galileo and says:
"This unpublished material includes at least one group of notes which cannot satisfactorily be accounted for except as representing a series of experiments designed to test a fundamental assumption, which led to a new, important discovery. In these documents empirical data are given numerically, comparisons are made with calculated values derived from theory, a source of discrepancy from still another excepted result is noted, a new experiment is designed to eliminate this, and further empirical data are recorded. The last-named data, although proving to be beyond Galileo's powers of mathematical analysis at the time, when subjected to modern analysis, turn out to be remarkably precise. If this does not represent the experimental prowess in its fully modern sense, it is hard to imagine what standards historians require to be met. "The discovery of these notes confirms the opinions of earlier historians. They read only Galileo's published works, but did so without a preconceived notion of continuity in the history of ideas. The opinion of our more sophisticated colleagues has its role support in philosophical interpretations that fit with preconceived views of orderly long-term scientific developments. ..."
24
It is of course a widely known fact, on the other hand, that Galileo's trail-blazing and diligent work in the field of telescope astronomy constitutes undeniably clear evidence to the fact that he attached great importance to the empirical foundations of scientific knowledge.
25
It should be of interest in this connection that in the Royaumont Symposium on the Sixteenth Century Science held in 1953 Koyr refused to attach any importance to a remark made touching the fact that Walter Hermann Ryff had, in 1537, just one hundred years before the appearance of Galileo's Dialogue on Two-New Sciences, spoken of the empirically established conclusion that the maximum range of a projectile corresponds to 45 angle of elevation of the gun barrel. He declined to concede that suchlike experiences
Alexandre Koyr, "An Experiment in Measurement", Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 9% Number 2, 1953, pp. 222, 224. 24 Stillman Drake, "Galileo's Experimental Confirmation of Horizontal Inertia: Unpublished .Manuscripts," Isis, vol. 64, 1973, p. 292. 25 A brand new item of evidence for this may be mentioned as Galileos accurate observations of Neptune 234 years before it was identified as a planet. The following statement s made in this connection: "The reliability of Galileo's observations makes his sightings f Neptune much more than a historical curiosity. His observations call into question the accuracy of the modern calculated orbit of Neptune." See, Stillman Drake and Charles T. Kowal, "Galileo's Sighting of Neptune," Scientific American, December 1980, pp. 52-59.
23

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of gunners could be of relevance, as ready experimental data, for Galileo in his work on the trajectory of projectiles. As to Galileo's Platonism, I have already quoted a statement of W. H. Donahue which is relevant to this question, I shall merely make the following additional quotation from Ernest A. Moody, to show at least that the relevancy, to the issue in hand, of Galileo's Platonism would seem to be a controversial matter:
"To wed sense to reason, and to tie reason to reality -this is an ideal that transcends the oppositions between Aristotelians and Platonists, and it was his devotion to this ideal of true science that enabled Galileo to earn full right to the title of the 'founder of modern mechanics.' "
26
It may not be out of place to wonder whether Koyr as an example for such an issue would not constitute a type that would well-nigh defeat its own purpose, considering the fact that I am favourably disposed towards defending Sarton's viewpoint. In the present context, however, its value rests mainly in its constituting a caustic test for the cogency of Sarton's viewpoint, and I believe also that it serves to bring out certain fine points on which there seems to have been some misunderstandings. Moreover, as I have pointed out above, Sarton also expressed the belief that the greater degree of freedom available to those who cultivate the history of science did, at times, serve as an advantage to the growth of the history of science, as a new discipline. Koyr had, I assume, a philosophical basic training which somehow made him look down on the empirical side of scientific work. But a person with a scientific basic training in mathematics and with a mathematical type of predilection may well feel pretty much the same way. And mathematicians too are known to have been wont to split among themselves into different schools of thought. According to Charles Singer, it has been said that "everyone is by nature a disciple either of Plato or of Aristotle'. this nature too could possibly account for such variations of intellectual taste. It should certainly not be unduly optimistic to think or hope that the history of science of the self-centred and self-reliant type as conceived by Sarton in particular can effectively help broaden the perspective or background against which such differences of value judgements of the philosophy of science may be compared or appraised. It should therefore be commendable to create circumstances conducive to form or evaluate such judgements through the intellectual, atmosphere emerging from the facts of the history of science itself, as much as possible, rather than have scholars trained in other fields try to introduce or impose preformed ideas into or upon the history of science. For, to say the least, this will add a new dimension to our way of looking into such matters. The same should be valid of course, and perhaps with greater force, for other more stereotyped varieties of ideologies. I should stress the fact, on the other hand, that I have absolutely no concrete evidence that Sarton actually considered Koyr not to conform to his ideal type of science historian. It is only my personal judgement or feeling that he did not quite conform to that ideal type. I happened to sit in at an executive committee meeting of the International Academy of the History of Science and the Union of the History and Philosophy of Science held in Jerusalem on the occasion of the 1953 International Congress of the History of Science,
26 Ernest A. Moody, "Galileo and Avempace", Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 12, 1951, p. 422. See also, ibid., pp. 163183, 192-193, and Stillman Drake and W. H. Donahue, op. cit. (Donahue's review of Stillman Drake's Galileo against the Philosophers), Journal for the History of Astronomy, vol. 10, 1979, pp. 44-47. 27 Charles Singer, a Short History of Science to the Nineteenth Century, Oxford 1941, p. 34.
27
Cultural backgrounds of

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and I was impressed by the genial relations between Sarton and Koyr, as well as others who were present, such as Bodenheimer, Millas Vallicrosa, Laignel-Lavastine, Joseph Needham, and their much younger associate, Ren Taton. I knew Laignel-Lavastine through his work, and I had come to get more closely acquainted with him during the Congress. There was an item on the agenda of that evening's meeting which required a bit of subtle handling, and, all of a sudden, Laignel-Lavastine, who was very close to me, cast an inquisitive glance upon me and asked about the why and wherefore of my presence there. It was explained that I was Sarton's guest and that I naturally had no right to vote. For a moment I was afraid I was going to be thrown out of the room I had entered through no fault of my own, but the matter was settled with the greatest of ease, and I was allowed to stay. This little incident helped me though to notice more clearly the concern that seemed to prevail among these senior members of the family of the historians of science. I also see that Sarton had Giorgio de Santillana review Koyr's Etudes Galileennes and that he published this not as an ordinary review but as a main article, though the review is by no means a long one.
28
Santillana rounds up his review with the following words: "After following this careful investigation, one is apt to feel that in its very accuracy it does less than justice to a fundamental character of Galileo's thought. In that intricate web of doubts, tests, and qualifications, we should not lose perception of an essential physical insight and firmness which eventually proved more fruitful than Cartesian clarity. But if we thus risk losing sight of the wood because of the trees, it is not the author's fault; it is simply that he has done his job with painstaking exactness." I. Bernard Cohen writes:
"In 1936, Harvard established the degree of Ph.D. in the history of science, and Sarton inaugurated his seminars. Under his direction, two candidates completed their doctorates, ... I suspect that the reason why there were not more professionally (sic) students was that the immensity of his task of editing Isis and Osiris of research and writing, and of lecturing and propagandizing for the new discipline left little energy for attracting and training students. Yet he must have had considerable pleasure in seeing his labours bear fruit all over the world, in witnessing new journals and many books and articles in the history of science."
29
When I first came to Harvard in the school year 1934-1935, there were two candidates for Ph.D. in the history of science, both working under the direction of Professor Sarton. One of them was Robert S. Woodbury who lectured on the history of technology in M.I.T. I do not remember the other gentleman's name. They did not continue their work for the doctorate, however. As I remember it, it was said that a committee for work toward Ph.D. in the history of Science had been set up in 1932 and that such work had thus become possible at Harvard since that date. I find no reference to such an arrangement in Isis, and this seems very puzzling to me. Could this possibly indicate a disappointment of Sarton on the decision taken?
28 29
See, Isis, vol. 33, 1941, pp. 654-656. I. Bernard Cohen, "George Sarton", Isis, vol. 48, 1957, p. 296.

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James B. Conant, Harvard's distinguished president, makes the following statements which seem to contain a clue, though somewhat vague, concerning this matter:
"George Sarton's official connection with Harvard University started in the fall of 1916 and continued until his retirement as professor emeritus in 1951. The first appointment as a lecturer for two years seems to have been one of those temporary arrangements incidents to a world war and its dislocations. ... Certainly the first arrangements that were made were quite special. Sarton received an appointment to the staff of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, as well as an appointment as lecturer at Harvard. The History of Science Society was founded for the explicit purpose of supporting Isis. In all these matters, Professor Lawrence J. Henderson played an active role. "Henderson was one of a small group of younger men on whose judgement President Lowell relied, ... Neither President Lowell nor Professor Henderson were unduly worried about academic formalities or organization. They did not let concern about the future interfere with their conviction that the one thing that really matters in a university is the ability and originality of the scholarly professors. And President Lowell was usually willing to take unorthodox steps in support of his convictions. ... "In 1933, at Henderson's instigation, an attempt was made to work out an arrangement with the Carnegie Institution by which Sarton's appointment as annual lecturer would be transformed into a permanent professorship. But it was not until 1940 that this suggestion became a reality and Professor Sarton's relationship to both Harvard and the Carnegie Institution was put on a permanent unambiguous basis. That this was a step forward in the recognition by Harvard of the significance of the history of science and the acknowledgement of Sarton's eminence, there could be no doubt. Furthermore, the appointment of a standing committee on History and [of?] Science of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences a few years earlier had provided for the first time at Harvard an academic basis for both graduate work leading to a Ph.D. degree and an undergraduate field of concentration. But such steps in Professor Sarton's opinion fell far short of establishing his discipline on an adequate basis."
30
Conant may be referring to the committee which I remember as having been set up in 1932, but he does not specify the date of its formation. At any rate, Conant explicitly refers to Sarton's dissatisfaction with the steps taken at Harvard in the way of establishing the history of science there as an independent academic discipline. The following statements by Conant are also of interest from this standpoint. He says.
"... This and similar proposals that Professor Sarton from time to time put forward had budgetary implications which prevented the administration from giving them serious consideration". And again, "The time was not ripe for the launching of a scheme of the magnitude which Sarton had in mind. For my own part, I felt that in the United States, unlike Europe, a new academic discipline must
30
James B. Conant, "George Sarton and Harvard University", Isis, vol. 48, 1951, pp. 302-303.

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prove its value at the undergraduate level if it was to find adequate support for a graduate program. On this point I never could convince Professor Sarton. ..."
31
I do not remember hearing Sarton say anything concerning this question. My experience, however, has led me to think that, under certain circumstances, instruction in the history of science could at times be thought of as associated more conveniently with students of relatively advanced level. For the history of science obviously has to rest upon some knowledge of basic sciences and an appreciation of the flavour that can be bestowed by history upon our judgement. If I am not mistaken, instruction in such fields as librarianship and education too, which need necessarily be built upon or superadded to knowledge already acquired in certain branches of learning, are generally planned as postgraduate teaching. Sarton may possibly have had such a scheme of instruction in mind for the training of historians of science. Altogether, it seems that Sarton, as a pioneer in establishing the history of science as an independent academic discipline, had the feeling that he was not in possession of adequate means for duly carrying out his mission from the standpoint of instruction. But he surely must have felt that he was in a fine position so far as laying the foundation of this work as a scholar was concerned. Hence his words quoted above to the effect that he would prefer to work quietly in his "little corner preparing materials for the bridge to be built." Arnold Thackray and Robert K. Merton write:
"True, World War I made him a refugee and destroyed his early secure world. Yet he never experienced the fury of war at first hand, unlike many of his generation in Europe. The privations born of civil dislocation threatened, interrupted, and transformed his personal life. Yet they could not grip or hold him, thanks to his determination, his energy, and his burning sense of mission. And all through the later years of the Depression and World War II he was to have a reasonably steady income, secure access to a major library, the environs of an academic town remote from the world's trouble centres, and a library to do scholarly work that made many regular members of the Harvard Faculty appear somewhat like dull serfs enslaved to teaching and committee work."
32
At Widener Library Sarton did not have to gain access to the stacks through the main entrance. He had a pass key to certain closed doors leading to the stacks through a staircase not far from his study. He took me to the stacks a couple of times through these closed doors in order to consult certain books. He would grasp the rail of the balustrade with his hand and pull himself up so that he would run up the stairs and without consulting the cards he remembered the approximate place where the needed books were located and after a short search he would pick up the particular book needed. I do not know how often he could accomplish this feat. But undoubtedly he was very familiar with sections of Widener Library stacks which were of greatest interest to him. Moreover, I never saw anybody else have recourse to this method of getting at the needed books, and nor did I hear anyone speak of other persons using a similar procedure. I have the feeling that the method was perhaps unique with Sarton. And the privilege was undoubtedly very generous and invaluable for anyone who could put it into good use. Speaking of Sarton, Lynn Thorndike says:
31
Ibid., p. 304.

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"Once he did think of starting an Institute for the History of Science, but I dissuaded him, pointing out that he was already turning out more for the history of science all by his lonesome in 185 Widener than he would be able to do, if he saddled himself with a directorship, a librarian, a secretary, an annual report, multifarious administration, and what not."
33
There is a brief reference to such an institute in Conant's article referred to above. But it is difficult with just such limited information to venture any guess on the comparative weights instruction and research activities were to occupy in the institute Sarton had in mind. Jonaton R. Cole and Harriet Zuckerman write:
"Unlike his own teacher, George Sarton, Merton had some success in recruiting students to the discipline [of sociology or the sociology of science]. In his concern to establish the history of science as a respectable scholarly enterprise, Sarton made demands on students so severe as to be self defeating. Not many learned the classical and oriental languages whose mastery, along with five or six major modern languages, Sarton deemed necessary. And still fewer obtained the equivalent of advanced degrees in both the physical and the biological sciences he also considered necessary for historians of science. He also failed to develop a coherent formulation of principal problems in the field and a set of usable research techniques. Although Sarton developed a distinctive perspective on the history of science, it was not one that could be readily adopted by potential recruits. It is not surprising then that few historians of science count themselves among Sarton's students."
34
Two of the earliest publications of Merton are closely related to the history of science. These are "Science, Technology and Society in Seventeenth Century England", published in Osiris (1938), and "The Course of Arabian Intellectual Development, 700-1300 A.D." (In collaboration with Sorokin), published in Isis (1935). He came under the influence of George Sarton, as we shall presently see. The same is probably true of Henry Guerlac who was a Harvard junior fellow and who shifted from chemistry to the history of chemistry sometime about 1935. Marie Boas Hall says that Henry Guerlac was a biochemist, obtained his master's degree in 1933, and was elected to a junior fellowship at Harvard, and that shortly after this he turned to history, in the study of which he was influenced by L. J. Henderson rather than directly by George Sarton.
35
Doris Helman too came apparently under Sarton's influence. For
she worked for her Master's Degree under him in Radcliffe. I myself was sent to America, in 1934, by the Turkish Ministry of Education to study the history of science specifically under Sarton. Henry Guerlac introduced the history of science as an independent academic discipline in Cornell, where F. K. Richtmyer, who was much interested in the history of his field, physics,
36
was, I believe, dean. Here,
Marie Boas Hall, a Radcliffe graduate, became one of the first graduate students in the history of science. Arnold Thackray and Robert R. Merton, "On Discipline Building: The Paradoxes of George Sarton", Ms, vol. 63, 1972, p. 480. 33 Lynn Thorndike, "Some Letters of George Sarton", Isis, vol. 48, 1957, p. 323. 34 Jonathan R. Cole and Harriet Zuckerman, "The Emergence of a Scientific", The Idea of Social Structure, Papers in Honor of Robert K. Merton, 1957, pp. 155-156. 35 Marie Boas Hall, "Eloges, Henry Guerlac 10 June 1910-29 May 1985", his, vol. 77, 1986, pp. 504-506. 36 See, F. K. Richtmyer, In Introduction to Modem Physics, McGraw Hill. 1934, pp. 1-80.
32

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Frederick G. Kilgour, a student of Sarton, and a classmate of mine in some of the history of science courses, contributed, from quite early years on, to the cultivation of the history of science at Yale, where John F. Fulton, professor of physiology and the history of medicine, who had become associated at some stage of his postgraduate work with Harvard and who was a staunch supporter of Sarton's aspirations, was anxious to promote work in the history of science.
37
I cannot be exhaustive in giving such examples. I am simply not equipped with the means for doing so. But Harvard itself was of course the outstanding and the most obvious example. Brilliant young representatives of the history of science such as Willy Hartner and Giorgio de Santillana joined the Harvard group of history of science instructors in and shortly after 1935, and they, in turn, formed new centres of work and instruction in the history of science. President Conant of Harvard University spoke thus in February 1960:
"Henderson's great contribution to the history of science was in bringing George Sarton to Harvard. ...This is not the time or place for me to attempt even to summarize the history of Professor Sarton's long years at Harvard, his prodigious scholarship, his editorship of Isis and Osiris, his vain attempts during the depression years to persuade either Harvard or any other university to endow what he considered a minimal department of the history of science. That we are meeting here tonight with a teaching staff in the history of science at Harvard in active service, that a flourishing undergraduate and graduate field of study in history and science has been long characteristic of this university are some of the fruits of George Sarton's long uphill struggle to make the history of science an important part of the American academic scene."
38
It seems to me that these words of Conant have much food for thought. Sarton's activity and efforts in the line of teaching and organizing instruction in the history of science, in general courses in the history of science in particular, in contrast to histories of special branches of science such as the history of mathematics or the history of chemistry, must have played a great part in establishing and spreading the history of science as an independent academic discipline. I believe, likewise, that Sarton's activity of carrying out simple teaching, year after year, and organizing such instruction of more or less elementary general as well as special undergraduate courses should receive much more emphasis than it has hitherto done, in contradistinction to the activity of organizing and guiding research for graduate students trained in fields other than the history of science, whereas this latter aspect seems to have tended to draw more attention by the writers on the subject. Robert K. Merton speaks of how he met professor Sarton for the first time in a personal interview. It was in the fall of 1933 that he knocked on the door of Sarton's room in the Widener Library. He had audited a course of his somewhat irregularly and he had heard of his reputation as a remote and austere person, a person dedicated to his own scholarship and difficult to gain access to. Merton was then a third year graduate student. He writes:
37 See, John E Fulton, "On the Development of Science. VI. The Discovery of the Circulation", The Yale Scientific Magazine Lectures, The Yale Scientific Magazine, vol. 23, No. 6, March 1949; Chauncy D. Leake, "John Farquhar Fulton, 1899-1960", Isis, vol. 51,1960, pp. 560-562. 38 James B. Conant, "History in the Education of Scientists'', Harvard Library Bulletin, vol. 14, number 3, 1960, p. 317.

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"On that initial well-remembered occasion, the reputedly unapproachable scholar did not merely invite me into his "tiny book-lined study"; he positively ushered me in. Thus began my short, incomplete, and sometimes unruly apprenticeship, followed by an intermittent epistolary friendship that continued until his death in 1956. 1 began that first audition by telling of my plans for a dissertation already begun. I can not say that he greeted those plans with conspicuous enthusiasm; instead he mildly suggested that so large a canvas as seventeenth-century English science might be a bit excessive for a novice. But he did not veto the idea. I should describe his response as, at best, ambivalent. Having registered his doubts, he then proceeded to tailor a research course to the needs of the first graduate student to have come to him from the social sciences since his arrival at Harvard some seventeen years before. "I now suspect that the unheralded appearance of a young sociologist-in-the-making may have reactivated his own youthful ecumenical vision of transcending disciplinary boundaries. ... Since, not quite incidentally, he was also a Harvard lecturer; I was there to ask that this composite personage break through all bureaucratic barriers to establish a research course for a neophyte sociologist. "Happily, Harvard was not in the hands of bureaucratic virtuosos and manifestly that special course was soon arranged; else I would not be thinking back on the devices this early master of the art and craft of the history of science invented to bring that maverick sociologist across academic boundaries into the then hardly institutionalized discipline of the history of science." "There is yet another evident hypothesis: that in truth, George Sarton happened to treat me with friendly care, even with solicitude. This is somewhat more plausible. It has the further merit of being in accord not merely with possibly undependable memory traces but with personal documents. ... Nor is it surprising that I should have remained attached to him, early and late in our evolving relationship. For as I have discovered only now in reliving the history of that relationship for this centenary moment, he had bound me to him -not with any such intent, I believe- by a flow of gifts, freely bestowed, which in their cumulative outcome may have affected my life and work in ways that have little or nothing to do with substantive doctrine or method of inquiry but much to do with discovering the pleasures and joys, as well as the nuisances and pains, of life as a scholar. I now see that he provided an accumulation of advantage, thus leading me to incur a debt that called for a life of continuing work long after the insidious temptations of an easy retirement have been painlessly resisted. "Only now, decades after the events, have I come to recognize the attended flow of the gifts material and symbolic, which this ostensibly peripheral mentor bestowed upon me, and should I be exaggerating their import and consequences, as I may be doing in the first flush of their composite discovery, they remain nevertheless as I describe them"
Bernd Dibner writes:
39
"There are three named rooms in the Burndy Library: the Leonardo Room, the Faraday Room and the George Sarton Room. They are intended to represent to visitors the library's major areas of interest. The Sarton Room breathes the spirit of the old-timers who helped Uncle George in his
39
Robert K. Merton, "Recollections and Reflections. George Sarton: Episodic Recollections by an Unruly Apprentice," Isis,

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mission to foster the history of science as an intellectual discipline. Photographs and other pictorial matter relating to Sarton appear on the walls, his publications fill the bookcases, and memorabilia are exhibited in a large display cabinet. The memorabilia include off prints from among the more than 300 papers -spanning the breadth of human knowledge- that he published after his association with the Carnegie Institution and while at Harvard University. The off prints on display bear his inscriptions to friends and correspondents."
40
Concerning Millas Vallicrosa, Thomas E Glick writes as follows:
"That Millas was able to launch the history of science in Spain, in addition to pursuing his Hebrew and Arabic studies and pedagogy, was in part a result of the example, stimulation, support, and encouragement that he received from George Sarton."
41
Joseph Needham too seems to have been influenced to some extent by Sarton and his Introduction to the History of Science.
42
All in all, there seems to be little doubt that Sarton was eminently successful in exciting interest in the history of science and that he was clearly instrumental in the expansion of instruction and research in the new discipline which he had somehow, through thick and thin, managed to summon into existence. His personal participation in instruction at Harvard must be deemed significant too. It extended over many years, it was supplemented by similar work at Radcliffe, and it was commensurate to the conditions prevailing for the newly forming discipline. The history of science courses given by Sarton, Henderson, Hartner, Santillana, and Dana B. Durand were not under populated when I took them. Sarton's courses in 1937 and 1938 had, as I remember them, about fifty students each. Aldo Mieli too brought out a first rate journal of the history of science, had pretty important publications, and organized the International Academy of the History of Science.
43
But he has never been deemed, so
far as I know, to rival Sarton as a pioneer in establishing the new discipline. Neugebauer undoubtedly made great contribution to the spread and growth of the history of science. But he concentrated on the exact sciences with emphasis on Antiquity and the history of astronomy. He replaced Raymond Clare Archibald at Brown University, as I recall from a talk by Archibald in Sarton's Seminar. Donald Fleming, who prepared his Ph.D. thesis under Sarton's distinguished student I. Bernard Cohen, was in Brown around and shortly after 1950. I believe he had been a student of Sarton as well. He was not working with Neugebauer's group, however, so far as I know. For Neugebauer's idea of the history of science, or the scope of his department or section at Brown, was of a somewhat restricted nature. This is reminiscent of research work referred to by Sarton in his footnote to the passage quoted above from his Une Encylopdie
vol. 76, 1985, pp. 470-474. 40 Bern Dibner, "Sarton Letters at the Burndy Library" Isis, vol. 75, 1984, p. 45-49. 41 Thomas F. Glick, "Jose Maria Millas Vallicrosa (1897-1970) and the Founding of the History of Science in Spain", Isis, vol. 68, 1977, p. 277. 42 Arnold Thackray and Robert K. Merton, op. cit., p. 491. 43 P. Sergescu, "Aldo Mieli (1879-1950)", Brochure No. 5 of l'Union Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences, 19 pages; Herbert Butterfield, "The History of Science and the Study of History", Harvard Library Bulletin, vol. 13, 1959, pp. 329-347.

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lonardesque. We see Donald Fleming to have joined the Harvard staff some time later, as information given by Price for the academic year 1967-1968 indicates.
44
The following words of Dorothy Stimson seem to summarize very well Sarton's position. She says:
"The encyclopaedic range of his writings led the way to fresh and fertile fields for other scholars. His teaching trained younger people in his methods and his point of view. Most of all, his unremitting maintenance of the highest standards of scholarship, his whole-souled devotion to his self-imposed task, and his integrity are certain to keep his memory alive for years to come. It is largely owing to his efforts and influence that the spread of the history of science is steadily widening in this country."
45
Sarton had a prodigious capacity for work, and he spread his ideas both by precept and example. Thanks to
Isis, moreover, he was quite efficiently active in propagandizing for the new discipline. Arnold Thackray and
Robert K. Merton have the following to say on this and other similar matters:
"... Tempting as such themes are, this essay will abstain and concentrate on the central aspect of Sarton's life: his work as key figure in the history of a discipline. That work found its focus as well as its fullest expression in the monumental Introduction to the History of Science; we shall therefore pay particular attention to it. But, as will become apparent, the Introduction was only one of a great variety of enterprises that Sarton undertook in his capacity as discipline builder. "Exploiting the liberty available to a pioneer, Sarton enjoyed a multiplicity of roles in relation to his discipline and played them all with a characteristic lack of self-awareness. A major one was that of propagandist. His evangelizing on behalf of his chosen subject inevitably calls to mind the way Francis Bacon served as propagandist for the field of science itself. And, like Bacon, Sarton had his most enduring impact in this vital, though little acknowledged capacity. Other roles were more central to his life and mission. With a discipline to be created, a world to be won, the provision of tools, techniques, methodologies, and intellectual orientation lay uppermost in his mind and at the forefront of his actions. A cognitive identity for his new discipline was the primary goal, his own pattern of work the self-exemplifying model of appropriate scholarship. Sarton was also well aware of the real, if less immediate, need for professional as well as cognitive identity. Without it, his field of learning could never be secure, let alone accepted as crucial to man's intellectual quest. Appropriate exhortations poured from his pen. The need for career positions and institutes for the history of science were matters to which he often returned..
46
There is a claim to the effect that Sarton was wont to indulge in thinking of general principles or matters pertaining to complex human affairs in terms of simple theorems or straightforward syllogisms and that he at times fell into contradictions or became involved in paradoxes. This reminds one of the questions of the so-called many-valued logic, although the claim is not elaborated in any formal sense but rests solely on Derek J. de Solla Price, "A Guide to Graduate Study and Research in the History of Science and Medicine", Isis, vol. 58, 1967, p. 389. 45 Dorothy Stimson, "Dr. Sarton and the History of Science Society", Isis, vol. 48, 1957, p. 284. 46 Arnold Thackray and Robert K. Merton, "On Discipline Building: The Paradoxes of George Sarton", Isis, vol. 63, 1972, pp. 475-476. See also, A. Thackray and R. K. Merton, "Sarton", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 12, 1975, p. 109 and pp. 107-114.
44

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the method of exemplification. To me Sarton's falling into contradictions in dealing with clear and simple propositions is out of the question. It seems possible to me, however, that the observations made may more aptly be interpreted in a different manner, namely, to the effect that Sarton was not likely to fall into the fallacy of misplaced precision i.e., of trying to make unduly precise what is not easily possible to do so. I have quoted at the beginning of this article somewhat extensively from an early paper of Sarton. One reason for this was that toward the end of the passage quoted from that paper Sarton writes about Leonardo as not being an accident but part of a long evolution. This brings to mind Thomas S. Kuhn. I am not ready to go into the question at any length, but it seems to me that, although Sarton put much stress upon the historical continuity aspect of revolutionary changes, he would not feel that Kuhn's thesis would be irreconcilable with that of his own. For he would think that Kuhn's idea is reconcilable with the principle of historical continuity. And this he would think of explaining on the basis of minute details involved in each particular process, as he actually asserted at least in one other case and in some detail.
47
Sarton was anxious to detect regularities and recurring patterns from among the facts made available through a detailed and objective study of the history of science. And although he never treated the subject systematically writing monographs devoted to such a kind of approach to the history of science but merely referred to considerations or observations of this nature in a casual manner in his writings, he may be said to have been, in a sense, more pretentious or at least more optimistic than Kuhn in this respect. This may be gathered, e.g., from Kuhn's following statement:
"A third factor in the formation of modern historiography of science has been a repeated insistence that the student of scientific development concern himself with positive knowledge as a whole and that general histories of science replace histories of special sciences. Traceable as a program to Bacon, and more particularly to Comte, that demand scarcely influenced scholarly performance before the beginning of this century, when it was forcefully reiterated by the universally venerated Paul Tannery and then put to practice in the monumental researches of George Sarton. Subsequent experience has suggested that the sciences are not, in fact, all of a piece and that even the superhuman erudition required for a general history of science could scarcely tailor their joint evolution to a coherent narrative."
48
Sarton attached quite an importance to the idea that the facts of the history of science are complex and he believed that this was due largely to the complexity and intricacy of the process of the growth of scientific knowledge itself. He dwelled at times on such examples as Auguste Comte's bold guess to affect that, as the celestial bodies could not be introduced into to the laboratories, their chemical compositions could never be determined and pointed out that this was belied through the birth of spectrum analysis only a few years after Comte's death. Again, he would frequently refer to the failure of great scientists to appreciate contributions closely related to their own epoch-making discoveries, such as Dalton's failure to appreciate the values of the giant contributions of Gay-Lussac and Avogadro to his own atomic theory. Sarton used to refer to this kind of occurrences as the great discoverers' being "blinded" by the magnitude of their own discoveries.
47 48
History of Science and the New Humanism, 1931, pp. 36-37. Thomas S. Kuhn, The Essential Tension, 1977, s. 109.

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Sarton always felt keen for the possible abuses of the power gained as a result of becoming equipped with knowledge capable of being put into practical use. Science should therefore be checked and controlled in its utilizations for human needs. Scientific and technological power and skill should always be coordinated and supplemented with virtue, and standards of right and moral excellence. At the very beginning of his The History of Science and the New Humanism, a book quoted in particular by Gusdorf and quite representative of the enthusiasm he exhibited for the cause of science, Sarton speaks in the following words:
"... in our days an educated man can no longer behave as if the gigantic efforts of scientists did not concern him - as if they belonged so -to- say to another world; he must recognize the scientific spirit as being at least on the same level as the religious spirit, the artistic spirit, the spirit of justice, one of the four glories of humanity.
49
The following passage from the same book may also be considered quite relevant to the same question:
"Before, considering the very complex case of mankind as a whole, suppose we had to tell the history of a single man. How would we set about it? The main point of the story, I take it, would be to explain the development of his genius, the gradual accomplishment of his special mission. If he became a great mathematician, we would try to show how and when his mathematical bent revealed itself, how a growing boy devoted more and more attention to mathematics, how other interests were by degrees sacrificed to this dominating one. A boy who toys with mathematical ideas, what fun; but little by little they engross the whole of his mind until finally we have the awful feeling that there is no choice or freedom left. No more playing with mathematics, but rather mathematics playing with a human mind and using it to the limit. That is how genius looks when we come nearer to it. Nothing very comfortable or pleasant, but rather a fearsome mystery. Our story should be focused upon that very mystery. Its value will depend upon our ability to evoke the genius - everything else however much there may be of it being subordinated to this - to evoke its growth, its struggles, its fulfilment, its influence; it will depend also upon our success in making other people realize the mystery involved. It is clear that all else is relatively indifferent, in as much as we are interested in this man because of his mathematical genius. To be sure our curiosity is not restricted to the mathematical side of him - if we are sufficiently interested in his genius our curiosity is properly insatiable- but that side is the essential, every other, auxiliary. A biography which would be focused, let us say, on the account of his diseases, or of his loves or hatreds, might be entertaining, it might obtain the favour of superficial readers, but it would be false. The case of mankind is not essentially different from that of a single man, though it is infinitely more complex. To begin with, the main direction is not so easy to discover, for there are many. Which is the purpose of mankind? Is such a question too ambitious? Is it at all possible to answer it? I believe it is. Without venturing into metaphysics, we may safely assume that the main purpose of any creature is indicated by its specific function. What can man do which other animals cannot? His purely physiological functions he shares with many of them; it cannot be that he lives only to live and reproduce his kind. Indeed if we look back we see that the men who came before us have not simply perpetuated their own flesh, but produced a quantity of things, material and immaterial,
49
See, op. cit., p. 10.

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which constitute the best part of our inheritance. The totality of these things we call civilization. They include such material objects as buildings, statues, paintings, furniture; instruments and tools of every description, and such immaterial things as artistic and scientific methods, ideals, hopes, fears and prejudices. They represent the creative activity of man, his net creations above and beyond those which had no aim but to make his net creations above and beyond those which had no aim but to make his life possible, or to lighten it, make it more agreeable, and insure its prosperity and continuation. Is it not as daylight that if we want to write the history of man it is this creative activity, specified to him, which must provide us with our Leitmotiv? Everything which pertains to that activity must be in the foreground of our picture; everything else, however interesting, in the background. To put it briefly we might say that, as far as we can discern, the main purpose of man is to create such intangible values as beauty, justice, truth. I trust that the reader will not require any definition of these terms; that he can distinguish order from chaos, beauty from ugliness, justice from injustice, truth from untruth. It is not necessary that he be able to distinguish them in each and every case; there will always be enough ambiguous cases to rejoice the heart of casuists, but we shall not allow the latter to sidetrack us. It will suffice to recognize that there have been in all times at least some men who were obsessed by the idea of creating beautiful things, of improving social conditions, of discovering and publishing the truth. The fact that they were not free from illusions, that their experiments were not always successful, that even the best of them made mistakes, does not affect the general statement. Considered as a body these men were those who fulfilled the distinctive mission of mankind, and to them we owe most of the privileges and of the pleasures of our lives, the nobility of our minds, and the grace of our hearts."
50
As I have said before, over and above certain pet ideas he had, Sarton's main concern was to establish the history of science as an independent academic discipline. Independent, especially in the sense that historians of science should have the chance and opportunity, through their special training, of forming and shaping their views concerning science and its place in human life and thought primarily on the basis of the facts to be gleaned from the history of science itself and should not therefore be over inclined to use the history of science for the support and defence of ideologies introduced and borrowed from fields outside of the history of science. For presumably this would make the history of science more useful as a contributing factor and constituent element of our sagacity in making value judgements in matters pertaining to intellectual culture and science itself. This is a very important concern, a cardinal matter for consideration. Yet Sarton thought of this scheme of training historians of science as one that should be predominant but not necessarily exclusive and one not stereotyped but preferably leaving room for variations and adaptations to special conditions and needs. Such lack of rigidness should, in my opinion, in no way be interpreted as indecision or vacillation, or as paradoxical. Sarton had very fine personality traits. He was extremely democratic and liberal, and, in my understanding, he was entirely free from superstitions such as racial or religious discriminations and other human weaknesses verging on bigotry and intolerance. He was also exemplary in his sincerity and earnestness.
50
George Sarton, the History of Science and the New Humanism, 1931, pp. 21-24.

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After the start of World War II when it became certain that Isis could no more continue to be published in Belgium. Sarton got in touch with local printing presses in Boston. He was speaking with a representative of such a printer or publisher, and Dr. Alexander Pogo, who was in the contiguous room and could overhear the talks, did sense nervous fear that the man was going to put over on Sarton certain unreasonable ideas and at times he made gestures of interfering with the conversation. Sarton, however, closed the door separating the suite of rooms and let the man speak to him in greater privacy. There was occasion to refer to Pogo's concern after the man had gone, and Sarton explained that although he appreciated Pogo's concern in the matter, he wished the man to be satisfied with the bargain and that, after all, as a businessman, it was the man's duty to prove shrewder than Sarton as customer and to extract from him certain advantages in their deal and bargain. As I have explained before, in his self-assigned calling as a pioneer for the promotion of the cultivation of the history of science and even in his main concern to establish the history of science as an independent academic discipline Sarton was not dogmatic or over enthusiastic although unswerving in his ideal mode of training historians of science. But all this was due to his broadmindedness and his unwillingness to unduly interfere in the affairs of others. And, moreover, in his ideal program or scheme for training historians of science he was realistic and reasonable; he was not trying to have his candidates for advanced degrees in the history of science accomplish the impossible as it is sometimes asserted, apparently with perfectly good intentions or simple credulity, even by otherwise well-informed circles. As a discipline builder, Sarton may have had some exaggerated schemes in mind concerning the training of historians of science, before say 1936, or 1932, but in that case he must have toned down his plans to somewhat more moderate dimensions when he officially began to put his ideas into practice. It is of course impossible to be specialized or highly competent in Chinese astronomy, Mesopotamian medicine, Greek mathematics, alchemy in medieval Islam, and nineteenth century physics, just as it is impossible for one and the same person to be a brain surgeon, a specialist on the diseases of the respiratory organs, and a paediatrician. This does not make it unreasonable though to think that the history of science should be an independent academic discipline and that science historians should be expected to have a rough acquaintance with the whole field of the history of science just as it actually is in the more or less parallel case of the field of medicine, or in mathematics, physics, psychology, literature, philosophy, or in any comprehensive field of study, for that matter. In concluding I find it convenient to refer to Professor Sami Hamarneh and quote a few passages from his paper on Sarton, "Sarton and the Arabic-Islamic Legacy". He says;
"The Two ventures that meant so much to Sarton and were a great source of satisfaction to him in their realization and execution were the publication and enthusiastic reception of Isis and the Introduction. To them he devoted the best part of his life's energies and because of them he is best remembered. From the beginning, Sarton planned that the two publications would "go forward hand-in-hand." It was intended that Isis contain certain articles dealing with the general historical aspects of science and culture, the findings of research, news items, queries and answers, book reviews and systematic critical bibliographies. The latter added new spirit, dimension and organization to this entirely new academic discipline, which he worked so hard to establish and of which he became the outstanding pioneer. So it was that before his passing from the scene, the

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subject of the history of science had become firmly established as a permanent feature of the academic landscape, not only in the New World but in many countries of the Old as well."
51
"Another dream of Sarton's was fulfilled in January 1924 when the 'History of Science Society' in the U.S. was incorporated. Two years later, Isis became its official organ. Although from its incorporation the Society supported Isis, the fact remains that for the best part of forty years, Sarton continued to pay a good portion of its operational and publication costs out of his own pocket, in 1952, after his retirement from Harvard, he relinquished this responsibility, and the editorship of Isis passed to other hands. But it never again reflected the same spirit it had once enjoyed under Sarton's fatherly devotion. "It should be explained here that the completion of the exhaustive five-volume Introduction constituted only the first part of Sarton's larger and more ambitious project of a history of science to the end of the nineteenth century. But the data and preparations needed for continuation were so tremendous that he had to stop at the fifteenth century - they could not have been completed in one person's lifetime at the same level of scholarship and perfection. The project as envisaged would have been impossible as the sole effort of one person. Admittedly, it would have required a team or even generations of scholars with varied talents and academic qualifications. Sarton himself wrote: "It is already clear that I shall not be able to carry my investigation down to the twentieth century." It is hard to explain the scope of his scholarly research. Consideration of their apparatus as of January 1931, for example, will be illuminating. He had consulted some 3100 books; 4000 booklets, monographs and reprints, and about 41000 bibliography cards. By 1947 'the arsenal' had grown into 3400 books, 13500 pamphlets, and 80 000 cards and other documents. Add to these the availability of the Harvard libraries. As it was, Sarton accomplished an enormous intellectual feat with disciplined erudition - a task to which he devoted the best years of his life. His hard 'labour of love', vigorously promoted and increased interest in areas that had been disastrously neglected. And for the periods he covered, this was the first survey of human civilization to the published as completely and accurately as humanly possible."
52
Again, Sami Hamarneh writes: "Volume one of the Introduction (1927) took nine years of preparation and covered a two millennia period, 'a kind of wager, the very idea of it', Sarton wrote, 'causes me to shudder,' By September 1930, Sarton had completed the final draft for the second volume (in two parts). Publication was completed by July 1931, after thirteen years of preparations while volume three (also in two parts) took twenty seven years for completion. In them he used both analytical and synthetic investigation. His intention was to enable scholars to know as exactly as possible the state of knowledge at the time for each topic. The work contained the first tolerably complete account of medieval science and technology, integrating eastern and western cumulative knowledge into a single synthesis.
"By the end of 1947, 103 issues of Isis (in 35 volumes) had already appeared plus 67 critical bibliographies, and seven volumes of Osiris. With irony Sarton explained, 'If I were to attempt volume four this would take ten to fifteen years (or more). This would be tempting Providence.' Indeed he died in less than nine years from the time of his writing that statement. He therefore preferred to devote 'the rest of his life to shorter (and smaller) undertakings.' He thought of smaller
51 52
Ibid., p. 304.
Sami Hamarneh, "Sarton and the Arabic-Islamic Legacy", Journal for the History Arabic Science, vol. 2, 1978, p. 302.

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books carrying his investigations of the late medieval period into the Renaissance and the early modern periods. But even here, and at his advanced age he reiterated, 'I was determined to examine everything with my own eyes,' to secure accuracy and veracity."
53
It would have been a great blessing for the historians of science and the students of intellectual history, had Sarton been able to bring his Introduction down to the end of the fifteenth century. For the sixteenth century has been conceived as an integral part of modern times and as a period of dissolution of continuity with the Middle Ages. As a consequence of this tradition both the teacher and the researcher will find reference works without much difficulty for these later centuries, while for the fifteenth century the situation is quite different. For that century it is not easy either to gain all-round pictures for that era as a whole or for major aspects of it, or, again, to place its specific problems into sufficiently enlightening backgrounds. A special volume or a pair of tomes as for the fourteenth century, on the fifteenth century as a part of the Introduction would have therefore brought this work of Sarton to a much better stopping point, as a reliable guide for students of intellectual history and science historians. Sarton's tremendous coverage and his extraordinarily wide range of interest transcended of course both the medieval era and the World of Islam to both of which his Introduction shed much light. For both of these needed a comprehensive synthesis even if of an encyclopaedic and eclectic nature. But it may be said that Sarton's Introduction may be characterized as more complete as far as its treatment of the World of Islam is concerned. For it served to bring the Islamic world more clearly into the spotlight as a major phase and stage of the world's intellectual history. And it also helped interested scholars by providing them with a detailed general and reliable guide for the period in which, at least relatively speaking, it deserved such a presentation most urgently. Moreover, there is the all-important question of precursors upon whose works Sarton could build up, both as far as medieval Islam, and the European late Middle Ages are concerned. But these are big questions which can be taken up in another article as the present one can only cover it in a superficial manner. Professor Sami Hamarneh has the following to say concerning this aspect of Sarton's greatness of achievement with respect to his treatment of medieval Islam. He says:
"For almost a century before Sarton completed his five -volume Introduction several Orientalists and Arabists had been producing monumental works on the Islamic-Arabic legacy. To name a few, we mention Wustenfeld, Choulant, Ahlwardt, Mueller, Houstma, Fluegel, Suter, Brockelmann, Pertsch, and Meyerhof. But Sarton's contribution regarding the place and relevance of this civilization, its history of science and technology and its universal impact remains unique. He became a worthy successor to these pioneers and scholars. He was the first and most dynamic among them to give a prominent place to Arabic-Islamic science and technology as he did in Isis, the Introduction, and other publications for over four decades of prolific life. These contributions go beyond mere transmission of an ancient and classical legacy leading to new significant observations, conclusions and ideas."
54
53 54
Ibid., p. 305 Ibid., p. 309.

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The Economic Theory of Ibn Khaldun and the Rise and Fall of Nations
Dr. Selim Cafer Karatas Prof. Gomati Mr. Amar Nazir April 2006 401 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
The Economic Theory of Ibn Khaldun and the Rise and Fall of Nations April 2006
THE ECONOMIC THEORY OF IBN KHALDUN AND THE RISE AND FALL OF NATIONS
INTRODUCTION
Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406/808) is a fourteenth century Muslim thinker who wrote on many subjects, including on the rise and fall of nations in his Muqaddima: an Introduction to History, and was born in what is now Tunisia. His writings on economics, economic surplus and economic oriented policies are as relevant today as they were during his time. His emphasis on less government expenditure for mercenary army has been heeded by many developed countries which are in the process of implementing his policy prescriptions in order to increase economic surplus by shifting resources to education and human development. He opposed taxation and tariffs that discouraged trade and production. Ibn Khaldun opposed state involvement in trade and production activities. He thought the bureaucrats cannot understand commercial activities and they do not have the same motivations as tradesmen. He predicts relative fall of economic surplus and the decline of countries in which state involvement in trade and production exists. He sees a large army as an impediment to the expansion of trade, production and economic surplus. The common sense economics of Ibn Khaldun is now being understood slowly by less developed countries. Privatization tendencies in these countries are a beginning. However, developed countries are aiming to reduce military oriented investments and expenditures in order to invest more in education and technology to increase economic performances of their private enterprises in international markets. Furthermore, the same industrial countries have followed concessionary taxation policies conducive for trade and production. These policies and many other economic policies which this paper aims to reflect on have existed as policy prescriptions of Ibn Khaldun for a civilized society.
IBN KHALDUN ON ECONOMICS

Ibn Khaldun was the first to systematically analyze the functioning of an economy, the importance of technology, specialization and foreign trade in economic surplus and the role of government and its stabilization policies to increase output and employment. Ibn Khaldun, moreover, dealt with the problem of optimum taxation, minimum government services, incentives, institutional framework, law and order, expectations, production, and the theory of value. Ibn Khaldun again is the first economist with economic surplus at hand, who has given a biological interpretation of the rise and fall of the nations. His coherent general economic theory constitutes the framework for his history .
1
Ibn Khaldun, the Muqaddima: An Introduction to History, trans. from Arabic by Franz Rosenthal, 3 volume, Bollingen Series, No. 43 (New York: Pantheon, 1958).
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No one in the history of economic thought has established such a coherent general economic theory to explain and predict the rise and the fall of civilizations, nations and empires as Ibn Khaldun has formulated in his Muqaddima: an Introduction to History. His theory has the empirical and theoretical power not only to explain the consequences of government policies on production and trade, investment and specialization, but also to predict the very survival of a state.
IBN KHALDUN ON THE STATE

Since the State has important functions in the social, political and economic life of a nation, the role and the nature of the state has to be clarified for the well-being of society. For Ibn Khaldun, the role of the State is to establish law and order conducive for economic activities. Moreover, the enforcement of property rights, the protection of trade routes and the security of peace are necessary for any civilized society to engage in trade and production. The economic surplus could increase in a situation where governmental policies favor economic activities. Government should take a minimum amount of surplus through taxation in order to provide minimum services and necessary public works. For Ibn Khaldun, optimum taxation occurs when governments do not discourage production and trade through taxation . If the State tries to over-expand its bureaucracy and its mercenary army by over-taxing the economic surplus, in return specialization, production, trade and economic activities will be reduced. As a result, economic surplus will shrink. For, the growth of absolute power in the State is the cause of the decline of economic prosperity and, consequently, of the State and the city, because large mercenary armies, bureaucracy and over-taxation discourage entrepreneurs from engaging economic activity. This leads to a decrease in the total income of the State and new means of increasing its income have to be devised: taxes in kind curves, excise taxes, confiscation, - and worst of all, the direct interference of the State in economic activity by engaging in commerce . For Ibn Khaldun, the State has to take the responsibility to change the expectations of the entrepreneurs by implementing the public works to generate employment and confidence. As a part of the stabilization policy, the State should build roads, trade centers, and other activities that encourage production and trade. But the direct interference of the State in economic activity by engaging in commerce, would cause the decline of the State and the economic activities. The interference of the State in commerce, by itself, will increase bureaucracy and mercenary army. As a result of governmental interference in commercial and economic affairs, the entrepreneurs would be prevented to trade and invest and make profits in their enterprises. The tyranny of the State starts with direct involvement of the State in commercial and economic affairs and causes the decline of the arts, the contraction in trade, production and specialization. With it, the economic surplus declines. The population would seek an alternative location from the former cities and the centre of productions. When the cities are depopulated, the decline in demand for goods and services would
3 2
2 3
Bid, volume II, page 281. Muhsin Mahdi, Ibn Khalduns Philosophy of History (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1971), pp 219-220.
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generate the decline in the civilized mode of life, including civilized economic life. The whole country starts to revert back to primitivism . The concept of the role of the government in stabilization policy to generate excess demand was formulated by Ibn Khaldun. This is five centuries before Keynes got the attention of the whole world on stressing the importance of excess demand to increase output and create public works and confidence in order to increase employment . Ibn Khaldun wrote that over-taxation would occur when the demands bureaucracy and mercenary armies would expand beyond normal economic surplus. He stated the fact that the larger the bureaucracy and the mercenary armies, the greater over-taxation would be, and the greater burden on economic surplus would be realized. He did not think it proper to increase excess demand through enlarging bureaucracy and the mercenary armies. Greater production and maximum efficiency can be obtained with trade and specialization through profitseeking entrepreneurs who bear the consequences of their actions in terms of gains and losses. The entrepreneurs are the ones who have incentives for efficiency and specialization as long as they perceive profits. The bureaucrats, on the other hand, do not have the same incentives for the expansion of trade and specialization in production. For Ibn Khaldun, the best State is the one that has the minimum bureaucracy, minimum mercenary armies to keep low and order, and minimum taxation on its citizens to finance the activities of the State.
5 4
IBN KHALDUN ON SPECIALIZATION AND ECONOMIC SURPLUS

Ibn Khaldun has dealt with economics, sociology, political science and other subjects in order to understand the behavior of man and his history. He indicated the fact that specialization is the major source of economic surplus, almost three centuries before Adam Smith . For Ibn Khaldun, when there is an environment conducive for specialization, the entrepreneur is encouraged to commit himself for further trade and production. Indeed, specialization would occur in a place in which a person is able to get the benefit of his efforts. Given law and order, for him, specialization is a function of population, trade, production and minimum taxation. On specialization, this is what he says:
6
Each particular kind of craft needs persons to be in charge of it and skilled in it. The more numerous the various subdivisions of a craft are, the larger the number of the people who (have to) practice that craft. The particular group (practicing that craft) is colored by it. As the days follow one upon the other, and one professional coloring comes after the other, the crafts-coloring men become experienced in their various crafts and skilled in the knowledge of them. Long periods of
4
Ibid., p221. Jean David c. Boulakia, Ibn Khaldun : A fourteenth-Century Economist, Journal of Political Economy, Volume 79, No. 5, Sept. Oct. 1971, p. 1106. 6 Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (London: Methuen Co., Ltd., 1925), p.313.
5
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time and the repetition of similar (experiences) add to establishing the crafts and to causing them to be firmly rooted .
The concept of mass production, learning by doing and the concept of on the job training have been exposed by Ibn Khaldun in the above statement so clearly which needs no further clarification. However, it is important to indicate that these very concepts had become the subjects of articles in Economic Literature in the late 50s. For Ibn Khaldun, specialization meant the coordination of different functions of factors of production where, what is obtained through the cooperation of a group, of human beings satisfies the need of a number many times greater (than themselves) . Later, on the same subject, Adam Smith had this to say: Thus, generally, to the value of the materials which he works upon, that of his own maintenance, and of his masters profit . However, more succinctly, Ibn Khaldun states the economic rationale behind specialization (and coordination) with this sentence the combined labor produces more than the needs and necessitates of the workers . On the same subject, he states the fact that through cooperation, the needs of a number of persons, many times greater than their own (number) can be satisfied . For Ibn Khaldun, providing coordination and cooperation of factors of production is a function that has to be performed by entrepreneurs according to market forces. For Ibn Khaldun, given law and order and security of peace, the greater specialization will be realized when there is a large population with minimum taxation and free trade (without impediment and restriction to trade). For Adam Smith, on the other hand, specialization is a function of the market: the greater the market and the greater the specialization. In fact, there is not so much difference between Ibn Khaldun and Adam Smith. The greater population implies greater market for many products. It means greater specialization. For Ibn Khaldun, it is obvious that specialization through cooperation and coordination of factors of production is the source of economic surplus. A partial interpretation of this surplus led Ricardo and Marx to the conclusion of the exploitation of the working class. In other words, Ricardo and Karl Marx are poor indirect students of Ibn Khaldun by partially interpreting his coherent general theory of economic surplus. This misdirection and partial blindness led Marx to say that the labor itself is productive labor . Since the labor is the only source of value, according to Ricardo and Marx, then the surplus taken by capitalists is a sign of exploitation. To prevent the exploitation of labor by capitalists, Karl Marx suggested to change the social structure of the society by revolution and destroy the lover of force, the capitalist .
13 12 11 10 9 8 7
Ibn Khaldun, Vol. II, p. 250. Ibid, Vol. II, p. 235. 9 Adam Smith, p. 313. 10 Ibn Khaldun, Vol. II, p. 235. 11 Ibid, Vol. II, p. 69. 12 Karl Marx, Kapital: A Critique of Political Economy. Ed. By Frederick Engels and revised by Ernest Untelmann (New York: Modern Library, 1906), p.201. 13 Ibid, pp. 824 - 826.
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Ibn Khaldun, on the other hand, clearly indicated that the profit human beings make is the value realized from their labor . For Ibn Khaldun, large profits [are] because of the large amount of (available) labor, which is the cause of (profit) . However, Ibn Khaldun considered not only the activities of the workers, but of entrepreneurs to be productive as well. For that matter, no exploitation would occur. Ibn Khaldun considers both the workers and the entrepreneurs as respected members of the society who try to maximize the return for their activities in the form of wages and profits. For him, the profit is the primary motive of economic endeavor, since the expectation of profit leads to the expansion of production. Moreover, Commerce means the attempt to make a profit by increasing capital, through buying goods at a low price and selling them at a high price . In other words, the truth about commerce is to buy cheap and sell dear . For Ibn Khaldun, it is clear that the profit human beings make is the value realized from their labor, but this value, the price of labor, is determined by the law of supply and demand. These points were missed by Karl Marx and his ardent followers. For Ibn Khaldun, the coordination, cooperation and direction of factors of production in increasing economic surplus is a productive and costly process which is undertaken by entrepreneurs who try hard to make a gain for their economic activities. They spend time, energy and capital to search for goods and services to buy cheap and sell dear, in order to make profit. As a result, Ibn Khaldun praised the initiative of entrepreneurs for their productive activities in coordinating and directing of factors of production. Then, they very rightly deserved profit from their risky undertakings. Karl Marx, Ricardo and others went astray on this point as well.
17 16 15 14
IBN KHALDUN ON SUPPLY AND DEMAND

Ibn Khaldun, again centuries ahead of his time, postulated that prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand. When a good is scarce and in demand, its price is high. The merchant will buy the goods where they are cheap and plentiful and selling them at a high price where they are scarce and in demand. Naturally, when a good is plentiful, its price is low: the inhabitants of a city have more food than they need. Consequently, the price of food is low, as a rule, except when misfortunes occur due to celestial conditions that may affect (the supply of) food . Moreover, Ibn Khaldun demonstrated the concept of long-run cost of production in the Marshallian sense.
18
14 15 16 17 18
Ibn Khaldun, Vol. II, p. 289. Ibid, Vol. II, pp. 245 - 246. Ibid, Vol. II, p. 297. Ibid, Vol. II, p. 297. Ibid, Vol. II, p. 240.
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IBN KHALDUN ON MONETARY POLICY

Ibn Khaldun defends a stable monetary policy. He is against the policies of the authorities to play with the value of currency. He fears that the authorities may be tempted to debauch with the value of money in order to build palaces and finance mercenary armies. This process will cause inflation and the population will lose confidence in the currency. These developments are considered to be unjust. As a supreme policy for the society, the protection of purchasing power of money has to be implemented as a matter of justice. To do that, he proposed an independent monetary agency under the authority of Chief Justice, a Godfearing man to prevent the rulers fearlessly from tampering with the value of money and debauching the currency. Upon this idea of Ibn Khaldun, American Federal Reserve Board, Bank of England and West Germanys Bundesbank have been following relatively independent monetary policies aiming to keep inflation down and provide a stable currency for their respective economies. Moreover, Ibn Khaldun has something to say about quantity of money. The modern Quantity Theory of Money can be read from his statement that the quantity of money is of no significance for a countrys wealth . For him, as far as monetary policy is concerned, a stable monetary policy aiming at the protection of purchasing power of money is a must as a matter of justice. The population has to be protected from unjust policies of the rulers when they debauch the currency. A stable and sound currency increases the confidence of people in currency, trade and production. For Ibn Khaldun, what is needed for the society is less government expenditure on palaces and bureaucracy, less expenditure on mercenary armies, less taxation and a stable currency for trade and production .
20 19
IBN KHALDUN ON FIXED PRICES

Ibn Khaldun was not only against state involvement in commercial and agricultural activities, he was also against government involvement in fixing the prices of goods and services. When the government employs force by buying things up at a cheapest possible price, the ruler will be able to force the seller to lower his price and forces the merchants or farmers who deal in these particular products to buy from him . The rulers undertake to buy agricultural products and goods from their owners who come to them, at prices fixed by themselves as they see fit. Then, they resell these things to the subjects under their control, at the proper times, at prices fixed by themselves . This kind of policy, according to Ibn Khaldun, causes the following consequences: They (the farmers and the merchants) themselves will no longer be able to trade, which is what enables them to earn something and make their living .
23 22 21
19Ibid., Vol. II, p. 245. 20 Ibid., Vol. II, pp. 245, 246, 285. 21 Ibid., Vol. II, p. 94. 22 Ibid., Vol. II, p. 96. 23 Ibid., Vol. II, p. 94.
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Moreover, this repeated process takes away from them all incentives to efforts, thus ruining the fiscal (structure). Furthermore, (the trading of the ruler) may cause the destruction of civilization . Fixed pricing policy is even more dangerous, harmful, and ruinous for the subjects than the engaging of state in commerce or agriculture which soon turn out to be harmful to the subjects, to be ruinous to the revenues, and to decrease cultural activity .
25 24
In light of the above analysis of Ibn Khaldun, it seems clear that the relative increase of poverty in Egypt, Algeria and many parts of the world and Africa is due to states control of commerce, industry, agriculture and service sector with fixed pricing systems. Indeed, such fixed pricing policies of these countries have forced them to be more dependant on foreign help for food and more indebted than before. However, some of these countries are gradually in the process of following the prescription of Ibn Khaldun. This is an encouraging sign.
IBN KHALDUN ON PROPERTY RIGHTS

After the 1960s, some economists, especially in the United States have started to deal with property rights and its impact on economic development. Ibn Khaldun, on the other hand, centuries ago had dealt firmly with this issue. The protection and the enforcement of property rights had to be defended as a matter of justice for the survival of civilization. For him, when the incentive to acquire and obtain property is gone, people no longer make efforts to acquire any. The extent and degree to which property rights are infringed upon determines the extent and degree to which the efforts of the subjects to acquire property slacken
26
Ibn Khaldun predicts the decline of economic activities when the property rights are not protected and enforced with the following statements:
When attacks (on property) are extensive and general, extending to all means of making a livelihood, business inactivity, too, becomes (general), because the general extent of (such attacks upon property) means a general destruction of the incentive (to do business). If the attacks upon property are but light, the stoppage of gainful activity is correspondingly slight.
Civilization and its well-being as well as business prosperity depend on productivity and people and peoples efforts in all directions in their own interest and profit. When people no longer do business in order to make a living, and when they cease all gainful activity, the business of civilization slumps and everything decays .
27
24 25
Ibid., Vol. II, p. 95. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 96. 26 Ibid., Vol. II, p. 103. 27 Ibid., Vol. II, p. 103 - 104.
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Ibn Khaldun sees a clear connection between property rights and justice. For him, men persist only with the help of the property. The only way to property is through cultivation. The only way to cultivation is through justice. Justice is a balance set up among mankind . Whenever, the violation of property rights occurs, it means the commitment of an injustice act. For Ibn Khaldun, people who collect unjustified taxes commit an injustice. Those who infringe upon property (rights) commit an injustice. Those who take away property commit an injustice. Those who deny people their rights commit an injustice. Those who, in general, take property by force, commit an injustice , and injustice ruins civilization . Ibn Khaldun argues that the importance of property rights has been emphasized vigorously in Islam as a matter of justice. The lack of justice, for him, permits the eradication of the human species. This is what the religious law quite generally and wisely aims at in emphasizing five things as necessary: The preservation of (1) the religion, (2) the soul (life), (3) the intellect, (4) progeny, and (5) property. Since, injustice calls for the eradication of the (human) species by leading to the ruin of civilization, it contains in itself a good reason for being prohibited . The relative backwardness of developing communist countries can be attributed to the existence of relatively poor property rights. The theory of Ibn Khaldun, other things being equal, predicts that a country with relatively strong property rights will witness a lively prosperous civilization, and a country with relatively poor property rights, will stay poor forever.
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CONCLUSIONS
In summary, Ibn Khaldun is one of the few successful theoreticians, who has analyzed the behavior of human beings and of society as an integrated whole in their totality as part of greater humanity in the rise and fall of civilization paralleled to the rise and fall of economic surplus, respectively. For him, the cycle of the civilization has reached its end with the destruction of superstructure. At the beginning, the desire for a luxurious mode of life had inspired men to perform heroic deeds, fights, to overcome difficulties, and to build - Now-men fight again, but not for the hopes that they had once entertained. Motivated by the fear of hunger, they fight for mere existence, and like the primordial man who fought out of the same motive, they display the beast in man and return to the life of beasts . Ibn Khaldun does not give any clue, as far as my limited observation is concerned, whether we could be able to prevent the decline of a civilization through instilling the dynamism of personal responsibilities in individuals and through research and investment in science and technology to generate further specialization in goods and services in order to increase economic surplus and keep government bureaucracy and large mercenary armies at minimum.
28 29 30 31 32
32
Ibid., Vol. II, p. 105. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 107. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 106. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 107. In Muhsen Mahdi, p. 221.
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It remains a weighty question as to whether the decline of Greek, Roman and Islamic civilizations could have been prevented. We are not sure whether Great Britains relative decline could have been prevented. The United States and Russia are trying hard to reduce military expenditure and invest more in research, education, and technology to prevent their relative economic competitiveness falling further vis--vis Japan and Germany in international markets. It will be seen whether these policies will work in increasing economic surplus. What is clear is that Ibn Khaldun had discovered a great number of fundamental economic notions a few centuries before their official births. He discovered the virtues and the necessity of a division of labor before Smith and the principle of labor value before Ricardo and the role of government in stabilization policy before Keynes . The reform movements in Eastern Europe are following the prescription of Ibn Khaldun by privatization policies and establishing private property rights. They are on the process of getting rid of price controls on goods and services. Moreover, they emphasize the role of entrepreneurship, initiative and free enterprise. Furthermore, they try to get rid of mercenary armies and reduce bureaucracy. They are on the process of reducing the overall economic activities and trading role of government. It is clear that the policy recommendations of Ibn Khaldun for a civilized society are as relevant today as they were during his time. The countries that follow his recommendations will prosper and the ones that reject them will be in despair.
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THE RISE AND FALL OF NATIONS ACCORDING TO IBN KHALDUN

Given political stability, for the rise of the nations, there must be: a). A firm establishment of private property rights and freedom of enterprise, b). Rule of law and the reliability of the judicial system for the establishment of justice, c). The security of peace and the security of trade routes, d). Lower and less taxation in order to increase employment, production and revenues, e). Less bureaucracy and a much smaller efficient army, f). No government involvement in trade, production and commercial affairs, g). No fixation of prices by the government, h). A rule that does not give monopoly power to anyone in the market, i). Stable monetary policy and independent monetary authority that does not play with the value of money, j). A larger population and a larger market for greater specialization, k). A creative education system for independent thinking and behavior, l). The collective responsibility and internal feeling for the setting up of a just system to encourage good deeds and prevent vice.
----------------------------------------Summarized by Hon. Dr. Selim Cafer Karatas for the benefit of brothers/sisters to ponder upon.
33 Boulakia, p. 1117.
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The Miracle of Light
H. Salih, M. Al-Amri, and M. El-Gomati M. El-Gomati Amar Nazir February 2006 385 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
The Miracle of Light February 2006
THE MIRACLE OF LIGHT

There may be more to celebrate in the International Year of Physics than meets the eye. Indeed, the Year marks not only the centenary of Einstein's miraculous year but also the millennium which saw the founding of modern optics by physicist Ibn Haitham (Iraq, 965-1040). Amongst a number of major contributions, Ibn Haitham put experimental science on the map by decisively settling the heated debate over the basics of vision, through a series of remarkable experiments. Having pioneered the pinhole camera, he successfully explained sight in terms of light travelling into the eye rather than vice-versa. This finally discredited the now absurd emission theory of Plato and Ptolemy 1, effectively rewriting centuries of scientific thought. Here, we voyage through one thousand years uncovering the physics of light, with a special focus on optics. The upper-cone is called the future light-cone, and shows how a pulse of light spreads out in space (represented horizontally) as time passes (represented vertically). The lower-cone is called the past lightcone and is simply an extension of the future light-cone into the past. There are two basic properties of light underpinning a light-cone diagram. The first is that light travels in straight lines, as was experimentally proven by Ibn Haitham using the pinhole camera 1000 years ago. The second basic property, also proposed by Ibn Haitham, is that light has a finite speed. The organisers of the International Year of Physics 2005 (originally labelled the World Year of Physics) could hardly have chosen a more elegant logo than a colourful sketch of a light-cone diagram, reminiscent of Einstein's seminal work of 1905. Light-cones, as the famous Oxford physicist Roger Penrose put it, represent the most important structures in space-time. A light-cone simply demonstrates how a pulse of light spreads out in space as time passes, just as ripples spread out on the surface of a pond. The reason why light lends itself to such elegant geometry in the first place is due of two basic properties. The first is that light travels in straight lines (ignoring the curvature of space-time); the second being that light has a finite speed. These two properties lead us to the 11th century Arab physicist Alhasan Ibn Haitham, more commonly known to the West by his Latinised first name Alhazen, the founding father of modern optics.
Ibn Haitham's light beam

In order to settle the long-standing debate over how vision worked, Ibn Haitham pioneered an experimental set-up of surprising simplicity: the pinhole camera, or camera obscura2, the principle behind all photography from the earliest to modern-day digital cameras. His pinhole camera consisted simply of a tiny hole that led to a dark room. He placed several lamps outside the room and observed that an identical number of light spots appeared inside the room on the opposite wall. Upon placing an obstacle between one of the lamps and the hole, he observed that one of the light spots disappeared and as he removed the obstacle that the light spot reappeared. Crucially, he observed that each lamp and its corresponding light spot were always aligned perfectly in a straight line passing through the hole. Thus, using the pinhole camera, Ibn Haitham proved that light travels in straight lines.
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Further, by observing that light from different lamps did not merge while travelling through the hole, he drew a crucial parallel, concluding that vision occurred by means of light travelling into the eye and forming an ordered point-for-point image of the visual scene. The pinhole camera was in fact the climax of a series of observations and experiments that meant that the eye could be studied as an optical instrument. Indeed, Ibn Haitham studied the anatomy and physiology of the eye in great detail, giving many eye parts their present-day names, such as the cornea, the lens and the retina. By defining a beam of light, he was able to describe the propagation of light in a way which perfectly fitted the laws of geometry, highlighting a unique relationship between physics and mathematics. But for him, unlike his predecessors, theory had to be supported by experiment. Therefore, in order to prove his theories, he invented devices of varied complexity which were designed not merely to test qualitative assertions but also to obtain quantitative results. Regarding the phenomenon of diffuse reflection, essential for understanding vision, he showed by experiment that reflected light from each point on the surface of an illuminated object radiates in all directions in straight lines. In particular, reflected light from a visible object forms a cone of rays with its base at the object and its tip at the eye. This is the principle behind linear perspective, the foundation of renaissance art. Artists such as Italian Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) used linear perspective masterfully to achieve a realistic three-dimensional sense in their paintings. Yet Ibn Haitham's influence on the development of science in Europe proved profounder still. Following the revival of logic by Spanish polymath Ibn Rushd (1126-1198), the transmission into Europe of Ibn Haitham's theory of light and vision played a singular role in illuminating the European Dark Ages.
Science through the pinhole camera

Before we turn to the second property of light, underpinning a light-cone diagram, let's take a closer look at the impact of the pinhole camera, an invention which has powered centuries of scientific thought. The pinhole camera became a standard method for generations of physicists after Ibn Haitham. Isaac Newton, for example, used it to conduct his famous prism experiment in which he analysed white light into basic colours: The Sun shining into a dark chamber through a little round hole in the window-shut and his light being there refracted by a prism to cast his coloured image upon the opposite wall..., Newton explained in Opticks (1704). Commenting on his discoveries in optics, Newton wrote in a letter to his arch-rival Robert Hooke, If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. Two and a half centuries later, photographs of stars taken from the island of Principe, off the west coast of Africa, provided the proof needed to convince the international scientific community once and for all, the soundness of Einstein's general theory of relativity. Einstein had predicted that light passing near a massive object like the Sun would be deflected by an amount provided by his new theory of gravity. The 1919 solar eclipse provided an opportunity for a British expedition led by Arthur Edington to test Einstein's prediction. Edington compared photographs of stars from the Hyades star cluster, seen in the vicinity of the eclipsed Sun, with photographs of the same stars when the Sun was off the visual field. The photographs confirmed the predicted shift in the stars' apparent position, thus making Einstein a celebrity.
Speed of light, infinite or finite?

Two of the most fundamental phenomena in optics are reflection and refraction, both of which Ibn Haitham investigated through countless experiments. In explaining refraction (the bending of light as it enters or leaves a denser medium), he went against the accepted wisdom by arguing that light has a finite speed,
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which is the second property of light underpinning the light-cone diagram in the Year of Physics' logo. In a flash of insight, he realised that refraction was caused by the slowing down of light as it enters a denser medium. He characteristically based his proposition on an experimental model. Quantum Electro-Dynamics (QED), the climax of the quantum revolution which Einstein kick-started in 1905, tells us that light always takes the path of least time in travelling between two points. Within the same medium, this path is simply a straight line. But because the speed of light is slower in a denser medium, the path of least time for light crossing between two mediums is no longer a straight line, causing light to bend. The theory of QED developed by Paul Dirac, Richard Feynman and others fantastically explains a wealth of optical phenomena. Why does it not suddenly get dark when the Sun sets? The phenomenon of twilight is so common that one hardly stops to ponder. In his book, the Balance of Wisdom, Ibn Haitham calculated on the basis of the duration of twilight that the Sun is actually 19 degrees below the horizon when the twilight ends, due to the reflection of sunlight by the Earth's atmosphere. In a spectacular feat, he ingeniously used the onset of the twilight to calculate geometrically the approximate height of the atmosphere from the Earth's radius, opening a new chapter in the quest to unravel the mysteries of the universe.
Optics masterpiece
An in-depth analysis of reflection and refraction appears in the second half of Ibn Haitham's masterpiece Kitab Al-Manazir, or Book of Optics, translated into Latin as Opticae Thesaurus - a revolutionary work firmly based on geometry and experiment, reforming the established optical tradition of Ptolemy. Here, Ibn Haitham decisively distinguished the study of optics (both physical and geometric) from that of visual perception, experimentally establishing optics and more generally physics as an independent science. It was in optics, rather than mechanics, that the concept of experimentation as systematic and ordered proof was born. Ibn Haitham's Book of Optics must rank alongside Newton's Principia Mathematica as one of the most influential books ever to be written within physics. George Sarton in his History of Science (1927) writes: 'He was the greatest Muslim physicist and student of optics of all times. Whether it be in England or faraway Persia, all drank from the same fountain. He exerted a great influence on European thought from Bacon to Kepler. As a side note, there is a unique copy of Opticae Thesaurus in the archives of the Institute of Electrical Engineers in London, which once belonged to the celebrated French physicist Andr Ampre (1775-1836).
Designing the perfect lens

According to legend, Archimedes (Greece, 287-212 BC) set invading Roman ships afire by focusing sunrays onto them using huge mirrors. Whether or not the story is true, the quest to construct a perfectly focusing mirror has inspired much research in optics since antiquity. Ibn Haitham's predecessor, 10th century Baghdadi mathematician Ibn Sahl, redefined the goal of this research more generally as constructing a correctly focusing optical device. He pioneered the study of the lens, formulating the first geometric theory for lenses. Unfortunately, Ibn Sahl's work was lost for centuries. However, recently discovered manuscripts of his work, analysed by French historian of science Roshdi Rashed, leaves no doubt that Ibn Sahl was the first to discover the elusive sine law of refraction. This
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makes the law of refraction, together with the law of reflection - first given in full by Ibn Haitham probably the oldest dynamic laws formulated from nature. Armed with this discovery, Ibn Sahl achieved a centuries-old goal by deriving the geometric shape of a perfectly focusing lens, otherwise known as an 'anaclastic'. What's more, he designed elaborate mechanisms for drawing his lenses and mirrors. Yet, the basic understanding of lenses took on a whole new dimension after Ibn Haitham launched the study of their visual and magnifying properties with his Book of Optics. It was undoubtedly this new understanding of the lens, based on geometry and experiment, which underpinned the craft of the Dutch spectacle-makers (makers of eye-glasses) who, by holding one lens in front of another, invented the first microscope and telescope, two instruments crucial to the subsequent development of science.
Light's dual nature, simply miraculous

Three centuries after Ibn Haitham, the Persian physicist K. Al-Farisi (1267-1319) wrote an important commentary on the Book of Optics, in which he set out to explain many natural phenomena. For example, by modelling a water drop using Ibn Haitham's study of double refraction in a sphere, he gave the first correct explanation of the rainbow. Al-Farisi also proposed the wave-nature of light. By contrast, Ibn Haitham had modelled light using solid balls in his experiments on reflection and refraction. Thus the question was proposed: Is light wave-like or particle-like? Despite the wave theory of light becoming very dominant by the start of the 20th century, it could not account for certain experimental observations, most notably the phenomenon of the photo-electric effect, the subject of Einstein's first paper of his Miraculous Year. Einstein reintroduced the idea of light particles, now called photons, successfully explaining the photo-electric effect and thus initiating the quantum revolution. We now have to think of light as being wave-like and particle-like at the same time: light's paradoxical wave-particle duality. In fact, duality was a key concept in Einstein's thinking at the beginning of the last century. In what is considered to be his most important work of 1905, the special theory of relativity, he showed that mass and energy are two aspects of the same thing. Indeed, stars including the Sun shine by converting mass into energy in gigantic nuclear-fusion explosions. Einstein expressed the mass-energy duality elegantly in the famous equation E = mc2 , where E is energy, m is mass, and c is the speed of light - a universal physical constant.
Alhazen's Billiard Problem

The recent proof of Fermat's3 Last Theorem, hailed as one of the biggest mathematical triumphs of the 20th century, left perhaps the last of the great problems in classical geometry half-solved: Alhazen's Problem. This mathematical puzzle named after Ibn Haitham has a colourful history dating back to the time of the Greek geometricians. In his Book of Optics, Ibn Haitham tackled the problem in terms of optical reflection in spherical, cylindrical and conical mirrors. It is also known as Alhazen's Billiard Problem, since it can be formulated as finding the point on the boundary of a circular billiards table at which the cue ball must be aimed, if it is to hit the black ball after one bounce off the cushion. Ibn Haitham was the first to find a solution for this geometric riddle, solving it
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using conic sections. Indeed, mathematics was his passion, with half of all his surviving works on pure mathematics. But Ibn Haitham's mathematical genius is a story for another occasion. The brilliant mathematician Al-Khwarizmi (Iraq, 780-850) who is said to have invented algebra while writing a book on how to divide inheritance based on the Quran. Al-Khwarizmi's mission as a mathematician was simple: he set out to make mathematics more systematic. Indeed, the very word 'algorithm' is derived from his name. Successive generations applied algebra to the existing branches of mathematics, giving rise to new mathematical branches. This is why algebra is considered by many as the foundation of modern mathematics. While it became possible to express geometric problems in terms of algebra, Alhazen's Problem defied an algebraic solution for many centuries. Finally, an Oxford professor of mathematics solved it algebraically one thousand years after Ibn Haitham penned his geometric solution, drawing the curtain over a rich chapter of mathematics in time for the new millennium.
The oldest puzzle of science

Have you ever wondered why the Moon looks much bigger when it is near the horizon? This intriguing phenomenon, known as the 'Moon illusion', is arguably the oldest unsolved scientific puzzle today. A similar effect is observed for the setting and rising Sun. The ancients wrongly attributed the illusion to the magnifying properties of the atmosphere. But is it actually physical phenomenon? Surprisingly, the answer is no. The Moon illusion was correctly redefined by Ibn Haitham as being caused by visual psychology rather than physics. As has been mentioned, this clarity of thinking was key in establishing physics as an independent science. On a slightly different note, there is a famous quote in which Einstein expressed his discontent with the haziness of quantum mechanics by asking a friend: do you really believe that the Moon exists only when you look at it? The Moon illusion gives Einstein's rhetorical question a touch of irony. One can easily test the Moon illusion by taking pictures of the Moon near the horizon and comparing them with pictures of the Moon near the zenith. Most people are astonished to find that the size of the Moon in the photographs remains almost exactly the same! A mind-bending explanation for the Moon illusion was given by Ibn Haitham in his Book of Optics. First, he proposed what is now called the Size-Distance Invariance Hypothesis (SDIH), basically explaining why an object would appear to be larger if it is perceived to be further away, an effect purely to do with visual processing in the brain. Indeed, most present-day explanations of the Moon illusion are based on some version of Ibn Haitham's SDIH. Second, he explained why the dome of the sky appears flattened; in other words, why the stars near the horizon seem to be further away than the stars directly above. Paradoxically however, most people say that the large horizon Moon actually seems closer, hence little children are sometimes seen to jump in an attempt to catch it! It is precisely this paradox which many present-day researchers are trying to resolve.
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The search for quantum gravity

One of the intended goals of the International Year of Physics is perhaps to inspire another paradigm shift, which might well be needed in order to solve the central problem in physics today: finding a theory for quantum gravity. That theory needs to unify quantum mechanics with general relativity (the theory of the very small and the theory of the very large). If we reflect on the last 1000 years of science, comparing Einstein's paradigm shift at the beginning of the 20th century (that established modern physics) with Ibn Haitham's paradigm shift at the beginning of the last millennium (that established physics on experimental grounds) one thing strikes us: the central theme for both was light, not gravity. Interestingly, many physicists today seem to give special prominence to the laws which govern gravity, since, as famous Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking explains, it is gravity which determines the largescale structure of the universe. We can still question whether the curious similarity between the paradigm shifts in physics of 100 years ago and 1000 years ago give away any clues about the nature of the paradigm shift which might solve today's central puzzle of quantum gravity?
Over the Moon!

Today, in celebration of Ibn Haitham, who correctly explained the nature of the Moon's surface, a lunar crater has been named after him. Alhazen crater lies near the eastern rim of the Moon's near side (Latitude: 15.9 N, Longitude: 71.8 E). Another lunar crater celebrates Einstein: Einstein crater lies along the western limb of the Moon (Latitude: 16.3 N, Longitude: 88.7 W). It is a fitting coincidence that, on the Moon, Alhazen crater lies in the east whereas Einstein crater lies in the west, beautifully reflecting their birth places back on Earth - Basra in Iraq and Ulm in Germany. Einstein once said, It has always pained me that Galileo did not acknowledge the work of Kepler. But has the work of Ibn Haitham, that established experiments as the norm of proof in physics, been properly acknowledged? Let's make the centenary of the miraculous year a celebration of one thousand years of physics - from Ibn Haitham to Einstein - and a celebration of light, the universal metaphor for knowledge. H. Salih4, M. Al-Amri and M. El Gomati
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NOTES
The historical content of this article is based primarily on original writings of Ibn Haitham, as well as on the analysis of Roshdi Rashed, recipient of UNESCO's Avicenna Gold Medal. For details, contact: M. El Gomati: mmg@ohm.york.ac.uk. The philosopher Plato (Greece, 427347 BC) and astronomer Ptolemy (Egypt, 90168) were both legends in their time. By measuring the position of stars, Ptolemy realized that light is refracted by the atmosphere.
2 3
Camera is the Latin word for room and obscura meaning dark.
Pierre de Fermat (France, 16011665) would intrigue mathematicians for centuries by scribbling in the margin of his copy of Diophantuss Arithmetica I have discovered a truly remarkable proof which this margin is too small to contain. Fermat claimed to have discovered a proof that the Diophantine equation xn + yn = zn had no non-zero integer solutions for x, y and z when n > 2. This came to be known as a 'theorem' on the strength of Fermats scribbled note, even though no other mathematician was able to prove it for centuries.
4
H. Salih is affiliated to York Probe Sources Ltd at the University of York (UK), M. Al-Amri to the Department of Physics, King Khalid University in Abha (Saudi Arabia) and M. El Gomati to the Department of Electronics at the University of York. All three authors are affiliated to the Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation (UK). The authors are grateful to those who made valuable suggestions during the preparation of this manuscript, especially David Wilkinson of Central Science Laboratories in York.
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Artillery Trade of the Ottoman Empire
Dr. S. Ayduz Prof. M. Gomati Mr. A. Nazir July 2006 610 FSTC Limited, 2005 2006
FSTC Limited
Artillery Trade of the Ottoman Empire July 2006
ARTILLERY TRADE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Introduction
The Ottoman State emerged at the beginning of the fourteenth century in North Western Anatolian lands on former Byzantine territory and expanded through the Balkan Peninsula and South-East Europe. The Ottomans were extending their hegemony towards Europe at approximately the same time as the use of firearms took root in some European countries. Towards the middle of the fourteenth century, firearms expanded through the European states as a new military technology but still proved largely ineffective in military campaigns. They became effective mainly in the second half of the fourteenth century. Most rulers including the Pope, prohibited firearms trade with the Ottomans in addition to the already banned materials such as cereals and munitions. A clause of the papal proclamation (In Cena Domini) of Pope Gregory XI on 15th May 1373 concerning the prohibition of trading with Turks, some other Muslim states and with Romania demonstrates the existence of a vast trade of firearms. Other items also banned as a result of this prohibition included horses, weapons, iron, copper, tin, sulphur, saltpetre and similar war materials as well as certain types of rope and timber which were used for ship building . Some Christian rulers through their support of the papal prohibition announced legislation to prevent such trade . These prohibitions, often renewed, had little effect the flow of munitions into the Ottoman Empire and other Muslim countries continued unabated despite all that Austria could do and despite the efforts of Spain, the Pope and the Knights of Saint John of Malta to seize the well-armed vessels which took the contraband materials through the Mediterranean to the harbours of the Levant . On the other hand, this kind of trade was encouraged and supported by the Ottoman rulers who granted commercial privileges to such traders . Hence, in spite of the prohibitions and many obstacles and numerous attempts to stop this trade between European Christians and Muslim powers there still existed a great degree of cross Mediterranean traffic during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. 5 Such trade was simply too profitable to traders to be discouraged by the rulers. It was very difficult for Christians due to papal support for the ban but, in considering the question of how the Ottomans obtained firearms in the second half of the fourteenth century, one can find that Western merchants continued trading these goods even at the risk of outraging
6 the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, the Ottomans were buying various metals and munitions which they
needed for their armies especially from Dubrovnik, Florence, Venice and Genoa in the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries from Europeans.7 The active arms trade which persisted throughout the Middle Ages
1. Halil nalck, Osmanllarda Ateli Silahlar, TTK Belleten, 83 (1957), p. 509; V. J. Parry, Materials of War in the Ottoman Empire, Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East from the Rise of Islam to the Present Day (ed. M. A. Cook), London: Oxford University Press, 1970, pp. 220-227. 2. For example, a decree emanating in 1544 from the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria declares all traffic with the Ottomans in victuals, firearms, gunpowder, saltpetre, lances, armour, cuirasses, iron, tin, and lead to be illegal. See: Parry, Materials of War, pp. 225-6. 3. D. Petrovic, "Fire-arms in the Balkans on the eve of and after the Ottoman Conquests of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries", War, Technology and Society in the Middle East (ed. V. J. Parry-M. E. Yapp), London 1975, p. 176; Gabor Agoston. Ottoman Artillery and European Technology in the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaria, XLII/1-2 (Budapest 1994), p. 23; Parry. Materials of War. pp. 225-227. 4. For published formal documents in the Dubrovnik archives about those merchants, who could trade in the Ottoman territories freely see: Ciro Truhelka, "Dubrovnik Arivinde Trk-slv Veskalar", stanbul Enstits Dergisi, I (1955), pp. 39-65. 5. Kelly Devries, "Gunpowder Weapons at the Siege of Constantinople, 1453", War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean, 7th-15th Centuries (ed. Y. Lev), Leiden 1997, pp. 343-362. 6. Petrovic. "Fire-arms in the Balkans. p. 176. 7. nalck, Osmanllarda Ateli Silahlar, p. 509; for more information about the trade between the Ottomans and the Raguza Republic during the reign of Sultan Murad I see: T. Gkbilgin. Osmanl Messeseleri Tekilt ve Medeniyeti Tarihine Genel Bak. stanbul: stanbul
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continued. This can be seen not only in the large number of weapons, but also in the late medieval documents that establish the existence of an extensive arms trade. Towns, such as fourteenth-century Avignon and Dubrovnik, for instance, served often as markets for weapons and gunpowder. The aim of this article is to provide evidence which demonstrates sales of firearms, metals8 and munitions between the Ottoman Empire and Europe from the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Metal Trade
Before delving deeper into the arms-trade I would like to discuss the trade of metals between countries. Any economic history of the late Middle Ages is handicapped by the nature, and shortage of original sources. This problem is highlighted when dealing with the Ottomans in the fourteenth and first half of the fifteenth centuries by the absence of Turkish archival and written materials for that period. Any study of the firearms and munitions trade with the Ottoman State in the early Ottoman centuries is severely hampered by the lack of records due not only to the haphazard survival of documents, something which affects research into all aspects of this area and period, but also because of the prohibitions by the Pope and various governments of trading metals with the Muslims and other nations. The illicit nature of firearms and munitions makes trade even more difficult to trace. According to some archival documents and other manuscripts, firearms were used by the Ottomans in the last decade of the fourteenth century, and were plentifully and effectively used in the time of both the Sultans Murad II (1421-1451) and Mehmed II (14511481).
10 9
During the thirteenth century merchants from the Italian maritime states met the caravans from the Far East and Iran not only in the North but also hinterland to Anatolias cities. Before the Ottomans, the principal items of East-West trade were the fine cloths of Flanders and Florence, worn in the East mainly by the upper class, and Chinese silks. In the thirteenth century Anatolia not only linked Europe with the East but was also a crossing point for North-South trade between the Khanate of the Golden Horde in Eastern Europe, and the Arab lands. Spices, sugar and various fabrics from the South were exchanged for furs and slaves from the North. Italian merchants transported these goods by sea, while Muslim traders also carried them overland from various Anatolian cities.
11
Italian Cities on the Trade

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries two states, in particular Venice and Genoa, were alike in that they lived by trade and both had a republican form of government. However, these states were not alike in many other ways.
12
In addition, such states as the Netherlands , Florence, Dubrovnik and Bosnia, and later
13
niversitesi Ed. Fak., 1977, p. 26. 8. See: Kate Fleet, European and Islamic Trade in the Early Ottoman State, the Merchants of Genoa and Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 9. Ottoman archives begin to provide substantial information from the sixteenth century on. 10. For more information on when the Ottomans began to use firearms see: Salim Aydz. Osmanl Devletinde Tophne-i mire ve Top Dkm Teknolojisi, unpublished Ph.D Dissertation, University of Istanbul, 1998; dris Bostan. La Fonte de Canons la Fonderie Impriale DIstanbul Au Dbut du XVIe Sicle. Anatolia Moderna/Yeni Anadolu, IX, Paris 2000, pp. 171-182. 11. H. nalck. The Ottoman Empire the Classical Age. Trans. Norman Itzkowitz, Colin Imber. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1973, p. 121. 12. Susan Rose. Medieval Naval Warfare, 1000-1500. London: Routledge, 2001, pp. 100-101. 13.M. Schmautz. "Artillerie", Encyclopdia Universalis. Paris 1980, II, p. 526.
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England and France did a considerable amount of trade in the Levant especially firearms, cannons as well as other goods and grains.
14
The Genoese and the Venetians were known to be importing large quantities
15
of arms into the Levant. These traders without concern for religious and national differences were selling arms and aiming to create a market. With regards to Ottoman commercial relations with the West in the
16
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, so far no reference to arms trading with the Turks has been found in the Genoese and Venetian sources for this period.
Nevertheless, there clearly existed a metal trade between Western merchants and Muslim powers as is exemplified by the constant papal prohibitions against the export of certain commodities to the infidels, such as food and war materials/metals. Such repetitious prohibitions indicate a persistent trade, conducted in defiance of papal prohibition and, one must assume, therefore profitable.
17
It will be evident that this trade in defensive and offensive weapons included fire-arms of smaller dimensions, which would secure higher profits. On the other hand, increasingly close trade connections were maintained with the Turkish territories in Asia Minor and especially with two major corn-handling ports, Altoluogo (Ayasoluk) and Palatia (Balat), during the last decades of the fourteenth century. For instance, Dubrovnik ships calling at these ports to load corn were armed with bombards. This must have provided a further opportunity for the Ottomans to become acquainted with fire-arms.
18
Even if future research finds additional evidence for the existence of firearms in the central Ottoman forces at the end of the fourteenth century, it will be necessary still to regard the Balkans and the Italian merchant towns as possible conveyors of such weapons to the Turks.
19
According to Fynes Moryson (1566 - February 12, 1630), the Ottomans had in former victories taken a great store of brass ordinance from the Christians, in Hungary, Cyprus and in Galata. It is manifested by the sieges and assaults often made by them, and with much fury, that either at home or brought by merchants, they had a stock of artillery, bullets and gunpowder.
20
Bartolomeo de Giano who lived in Istanbul in 1438, wrote a letter to the Venetian authorities complaining that some Venetian, Genoese and other Italian and Western merchants went on selling strategic materials to the Ottomans despite papal excommunications and prohibitions. He continued:
From ItalyLatin, Venetian, Genoese, and other merchants bring galleys and ships there loaded not with iron but with steel in such great abundance that I can scarcely believe that steel would be found in any Italian city at such a good price and in such great quantities as it is found in Gallipoli, Pera, and Adrianople! I am a liar if I have not seen it with my own eyes and in the galleys on which it came. But hear how they excuse themselvesthey do not sell it to the Turks but only to the Jews
14. See: Nimet Kurat. Trk-ngiliz Mnasebetlerinin Balangc ve Gelimesi (1553-1610), Ankara: Ankara niversitesi Dil ve Tarih Corafya Fakltesi, 1953, p. 38; R. Davis. English Imports from the Middle East, 1580-1780. Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East from the Rise of Islam to the Present Day (ed. M. A. Cook), London: Oxford University Press, 1970, pp. 193-206; Parry, Materials of War. p. 225. 15. nalck. Osmanllarda Ateli Silahlar. s. 509. 16. Fleet. Ibid, pp. 112-121. 17. Fleet, ibid, p. 112. 18. Petrovic, ibid, p. 177. 19. Petrovic, ibid, p. 177. 20. Fynes Moryson. Shakespeares Europe Fynes Moryson's Itinerary. By. C. Hughes. Manchester: Sherratt and Hughes, 1902, p. 47.
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and the Greeks. It is they, therefore, who later give the steel to the Turks with their own hands. And this, so that the Turks may make sharper swords to spill the guts of Christians! Indeed, over the last forty days we have seen mules loaded with steel led from this city to Adrianople where the Turks themselves foully mock the Christians, saying openly: Look at your blindness, you wretches: 21 you offer us arms so that we may compete.
After the conquest of both Bursa and later Constantinople by the Ottomans, these two cities soon became the most important centres of Levant trade. Thus merchants could journey in safety from Arabia and Iran to Bursa, and for European, especially Italian traders such as the Venetian, Genoese and Florentine merchants, to Constantinople and Galata. Bursa was the closest market in which to purchase Eastern goods and sell European woollens.
22
Both the Ottoman lands Rumelia and Anatolia were the main trading centres
for the Italian merchants subsequent to the Ottoman occupation of these territories. 23 In 1416 a Venetian fleet defeated the Ottoman navy at Gallipoli, but in general, in spite of enormous hostility, the Republic of San Marco, primarily interested in smooth commercial relations, managed to stay at peace most of the time with the Ottomans. Genoa held a similar position since her colonies on the Crimean Peninsula, near Constantinople, on the coast of Asia Minor, and among the Aegean islands made her especially vulnerable. Treaties were frequently concluded between the Ottomans and the Italian republics. On some occasions, the Turkish rulers were even actively supported in their military expeditions by Genoese ships. The stronger the Turkish fleet at Gallipoli became, the more effective was its threat to cut off all foreign access to the Black Sea. Soon after Mehmed II became the Ottoman ruler (1451), he took Constantinople and the Genoese colony of Galata on the opposite side of the Golden Horn.
24
Even after the

25
conquest of Constantinople, which became the capital for the Ottoman Empire as Istanbul, Bursa continued for another century as one of the empires main commercial centres, although mainly trading in silk
Firearms Trade in the Balkan Peninsula

It was as a consequence of the instability in the Balkans during the fifteenth century that all the remaining free and semi-free Balkan states and also the colonies of Venice and Genoa became equipped with firearms. During this century the main suppliers of cannons were Venice and Dubrovnik (Ragusa). One of the outstanding states in the matter of trading arms to the Ottomans was Dubrovnik. As early as 1301, a prohibition was imposed in Dubrovnik on the export of arms to the Levant. Such prohibitions imposed sometimes both heavy fines and the forfeiture of the bought or sold arms. All the measures designed to stop the trade in arms testify to the continuance of this traffic. There are archival records to confirm this statement. 26 In Dubrovnik itself, early in the century, the production of firearms underwent a change with the setting up of a cannon foundry in 1410, the first such foundry to be established in the Balkans .27 An
21. Bartolomeo de Giano, O.F.M. A Letter on the Cruelty of the Turks. Translated by W.L. North from the edition of the letter in J.P. Migne (ed.) Patrologia Graeca 158, cols. 1055-1068. This edition was based on MS 1130 in the Bibliotheca S. Michele, Venice. 22. Halil nalck. The Ottoman Economic Mind and Aspects of the Ottoman Economy, Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East from the Rise of Islam to the Present Day (ed. M. A. Cook). London: Oxford University Press, 1970, pp. 207-218; H. nalck, The Ottoman Empire: the Classical Age, p. 124. 23. F. Babinger. "Fatih Sultan Mehmed ve talya". TTK Belleten, XVII, 65, (January 1953), pp. 42-45. 24. Henry & Rene Kahane, Andreas Tietze. The lingua franca in the Levant: Turkish nautical terms of Italian and Greek origin. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1958, pp. 11-12. 25. nalck, The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age, p. 124. 26. Petrovic, ibid, pp. 176-177. 27. Petrovic, ibid, p. 179.
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awareness of firearms and of their effectiveness was undoubtedly present in the Balkans, and especially in the regions under the control of Venice and Genoa and in towns and districts which maintained commercial, business, friendly, and family ties with the Italian cities.
28
According to the sources known thus far, Venice
and Dubrovnik were the main suppliers of firearms to the Balkan lands at the end of the fourteenth century. Venice provided cannons for the North-Western area of the Balkans and for its own lands in Albania and in Romania Veneta. On the other hand, most of the Central and Southern Balkans looked to Dubrovnik for their supplies. Thus, Venice and Dubrovnik were at the same time places where firearms were made.
30 Christians were bought from Dubrovnik . 29
According to G. Skrivanic, the Ottoman armys cannons that were used in the Kosovo Battle of 1389 against
Gunpowder was prepared in Dubrovnik itself by a simple method of mixing crushed sulphur, saltpetre, and charcoal.31 Documents preserved in the Dubrovnik Archives show that the Balkan hinterland acquired cannons, gunpowder, saltpetre, and sulphur in three ways: through Dubrovnik merchants; through rulers and feudal lords; and through representatives in Dubrovnik, consisting of individual princes and feudal lords. Firearms and gunpowder were either sold or given away as a gift or on loan. Cannons and gunpowder were sent to the Balkan rulers, princes as well as the Ottomans. When Mahmud Pasha (14551468), the grand vizier of Mehmed II, arrived at the walls of Jajce in Central Bosnia, he asked Dubrovnik in 1463 to send him 9000 dinar, two kantars (108 kg.) of saltpetre and sulphur to prepare gunpowder for his army.
32
Further, in 1498 Byezid II requested Dubrovnik to acquire and dispatch to Istanbul a consignment
of tin and iron for the making of bombards.33 Most of the demands for cannons and gunpowder or sulphur and saltpetre came to Bosnia, a centre of production, well equipped with cannons and gunpowder. Besides the Ottoman state and Bosnian tycoons, minor noblemen also, and even historically unknown persons turned to Dubrovnik with such demands. There is hardly any mention in the Dubrovnik archives of the procurement of gunpowder for the Kings of Bosnia.34 There are far more documents referring to deliveries of gunpowder, saltpetre, and sulphur than of cannons. This may mean that those who bought gunpowder were already in possession of bombards which they either made themselves or obtained from another source. Venice and Genoa had a large share in the trade of the Mediterranean. They enjoyed commercial privileges granted to them by the Byzantine Emperors
35
and later by the Ottoman Sultans, obtaining licences from the
Pope allowing them to trade with non-Christians. These licences however, contained a ban on the sale of metals and weapons. It is difficult to determine the amount of this trade, but we know that the Genoese sold arms and Milan-made coats of mail. Moreover, the measures introduced by Venice, for instance in 1372, against the malpractices of their merchants in exporting metal to the Levant, testify to the existence of such trafficking. Also to the list of gun-runners should be added Ancona and Florenceboth accused in the fifteenth century of shipping arms to the Ottoman Empire.
36
28. Petrovic, ibid, p. 169. 29. Petrovic, ibid, p. 172. 30. For Skrivanis book Kosovska bitka (Centinje 1956, s. 28-30): Eric McGeer. "Firearms", the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, New YorkOxford 1991, II, p. 786. 31. Petrovic, ibid, p. 181. 32. erafettin Turan, "Dubrovnik", Diyanet Islam Ansiklopedisi, IX, s. 543. 33. Petrovic, ibid, p. 182. 34. Petrovic, ibid, pp. 182-184. 35. The Venetians had first acquired extensive privileges in Constantinople by making a crucial bargain with the Byzantine Emperor in 1082. Rose. Medieval Naval Warfare. p. 101. 36. Petrovic, ibid, p. 176.
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From the early beginnings of the Ottoman state to the capture of Constantinople in 1453, Anatolia was an area of intense commerce, one facet of which was the trading activity of the Western merchants, among whom, as we mentioned above, the Genoese and Venetians held a dominant position. The Genoese were extremely active in Anatolian trade, not merely coming into the coastal ports from which the goods were exported but placing their own agents in commercial centres.
37
After the conquest of Constantinople, Galata remained the warehouse for most Turkish foreign trade, whereas the Muslim quarter became merely the end point of the commerce. The Genoese, however, never regained the extensive privileges they had enjoyed under the Byzantines. Whereas Galata had formerly enjoyed a semi-autonomous status, the quarter and its inhabitants were now subsumed into the Magnifica
Communit di Peyra, an entity that, in the course of time, became something more than a millet and less
than an independent colony. All Latins (i.e., Roman Catholics) were placed under the civil authority of this body. Yet, although its jurisdiction was restricted to the internal affairs of the Latins and the administration of the churches, the Magnifica Communit, by binding the Catholic community together, enabled the quarter to long retain its distinctive character. 38 Until 1569 the Italian states, primarily Venice, handled Ottoman trade with the Western Christian world, and so long as Venice was the main sea-power in the Mediterranean neither other Christian states nor the Ottomans could change the situation. The Ottomans cooperated with Venices rival, Genoa, granting the Genoese a capitulation as early as 1352 and also providing a long-term monopoly over alum production in Manisa, the main source of alum for the European textile industry. The Genoese colonies in Western Anatolia Foa and the island of Chios became ports of entry for Anatolian trade. In return for this preferential treatment, Genoese ships assisted the Ottoman armies at crucial moments, notably in 1421 and 1444, when they transported troops across the Dardanelles, then under Venetian control.
39
While the trade in alum was largely in the hands of the Genoese, Turks also traded in this commodity. Anatolia was one of the principal alum-producing areas, exporting alum to Egypt and Syria. Turkish alum also travelled to the West, into Northern Europe, even reaching as far as England.40 The Ottomans employed various economic tactics against Venice. By renewing their commercial privileges and permitting them to trade in wheat, they persuaded the Venetians to make concessions and to relax their war effort. During the second half of the fifteenth century, political tensions in Mora and Albania led Mehmed II into a long war with Venice, lasting from 1463-1479, and forced him to take economic reprisals. At the same time he sought to maintain trade with the West, by encouraging Florence and Dubrovnik to take Venices place. In 1469 he granted new trade privileges to Florence and also maintained good terms with Florence by, for example, attending Florentine banquets. By capturing Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1463, Mehmed opened a new and direct trade route with Florence, through Dubrovnik.
41
37. 38. 39. 40. 41.
Fleet, ibid, pp. 22-23. Louis Mitler. The Genoese in Galata: 14531682. International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 10, No. 1. (Feb. 1979), pp. 75-76. nalck. The Ottoman Empire: the Classical Age, p. 134. Fleet. ibid, pp. 80-82. nalck. The Ottoman Empire: the Classical Age, p. 135.
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Due to the strategic importance and rare availability of firearms, related metals and munitions, such trade was banned by government and also religious authorities through the centuries. Understandably, rulers attempted to restrict the flow of these materials and products to other lands of possible opposition. This was an obvious disadvantage for the Ottomans at that time. When the Ottomans required firearms and the materials of war in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Pope and other states forbade this trade and also implemented hefty fines. After the Ottomans grew in strength and wealth, they also enacted similar measures to prevent the trade of firearms to Christian states and neighbours such as the Safawis, Austria and other rival states. objects).
43 42
The Ottomans announced the banned materials as a memnu emtia (banned
Thus, the Ottomans implemented new legislation to prevent prohibited materials from leaving
their own soils and took some strict measures in this respect.44 In the second half of the sixteenth century France very quickly became a commercial rival of Venice on the Ottoman land trade and after the Ottoman-Venetian war of 1570-73, France began to displace Venice in the Levant. At the beginning of the seventeenth century there were approximately a thousand French vessels active in the commerce of the Levant, and the volume of trade rose to thirty million livres, half of Frances total trade. Other European merchants, especially the English and the Dutch, traded under the French flag.
45
The English in particular, and later the Dutch, also created for themselves a lucrative trade with the Ottomans in materials for warfare. An English ship is mentioned as being at Livorno in 1573 with a cargo of tin, broken bells and ingots of lead. The French ambassador in Istanbul, de Germigny, notes that in 1580 the English brought to the Porte much steel, broken images, bronze and brass for the casting of guns. The broken bells and images came, of course, from the churches despoiled in England during the course of the Reformation.
46
After two years, Parry quotes the Spanish Ambassador to England as saying, in 1582, that
the English sent large amounts of broken bells and images, tin and lead which the Ottomans bought "almost for its weight in gold, the tin being vitally necessary for the casting of guns and the lead for purposes of war."
47
The Ottoman Sultan granted the English a capitulation in 1580 and a more extensive one in 1583.
On 11 September 1581 the Levant Company was founded by royal charter. The Ottoman government lowered the customs rate for the English to 3 percent, while the French and other foreigners were paying 5 percent until 1673, when they succeeded in having the custom rate lowered to 3 percent also. The English competed fiercely with the French and Venetians, the former monopolists of the Levant trade. The English were selling fine quality woollens at low prices, and imports of English tin and steel were vitally important for the Ottoman arms industry.
48
Bernardino de Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador in London, informed his
Master Philip II in 1579 of an English vessel bearing 20,000 crowns worth of bar tin to the Levant. Again,
42. See: Jallzde Mustafa Calabi. Tabakt al-Mamlik wa Darajt al-Maslik. (By P. Kappert), Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1981, pp. 27a-27b; Agoston, "Ottoman Artillery", pp. 16-17. 43. According to the Ottoman trade rules the most important banned objects were listed as: cereals, cotton, gunpowder, horses, weapons, leather, wax and raw materials. See: Zeki Arkan. "Osmanl mparatorluu'nda hrac Yasak Mallar (Memnu Meta)". Prof. Dr. Bekir Ktkolu'na Armaan, stanbul: stanbul niversitesi Edebiyat Fakltesi Tarih Aratrma Merkezi, 1991, pp. 279-306. 44. For more information on the proclamations announced by the High Porte, the prohibitions regarding the trade of food and military equipment towards the Dar al-Harb i.e. Iran and other countries towards the East of the Ottomans see: Basbakanlik Arsivi, Mhimme Defteri (MD), nr. 5, 25/67, 10 Muharram 973 (7 August 1565). MD, nr. 5, 94/217, 12 Safar 973 (10 September 1565); MD, nr. 22, 238/460, 14 Rabi al-Akhir 981 (14 August 1573); MD, nr. 7, 483/1396, 13 Dhu Al-Hajjah 975 (11 May 1568); 725/1988, 3 Rabi al-awwal 976 (27 August 1568); MD, nr. 35, 296/750, 14 Rabi al-Akhir 981 (14 August 1573). 45. nalck, the Ottoman Empire: the Classical Age, p. 137. 46. Parry, Materials of War, p. 226. 47. Alan Williams. Ottoman Military Technology: The Metallurgy of Turkish Armour. War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean, 7th 15th Centuries (ed. Y. Lev). E. J. Brill, Leiden-NewYork-Kln, 1977. pp. 363-364. 48. nalck, the Ottoman Empire: the Classical Age, p. 138.
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in 1582, de Mendoza told Philip II that the English sent large amounts of tin and lead which the Ottomans bought almost for its weight in gold.49 Documents from the archives at Marseilles give some information about the movement to the Levant (under royal licence - of copper and steel) to Tripoli and Beirut in Syria in 1572, and also of tin (English, acquired at Rouen, and German obtained at Lyons) between 1553 and 1591.
50
Raw Metals Trade

By about 1500 the Mediterranean, Europes classical trading area, was a world of its own, with lively interaction between its various regions. Within the area, trade cut across the division between Christendom and Islam. From the area, routes went Northwards and Eastwards by land and sea and by river or mountain passes to Central and Western Europe.
51
Among the metals, copper, tin and lead were old-established items
of trade. Copper came largely overland from central Europe and was exported in Venetian ships. England was the main source of lead and tin. The Ottomans were constantly in need of tin, which was imported from Europe, either overtly or as contraband (smuggled goods). It could be combined with copper to form bronze and bronze was used to make cannons. Some tin came into Muslim hands; it would seem, from Transylvania through
53
the
town
Szolnok
during
the
sixteenth
and
seventeenth
centuries.
52
The
Mediterranean area itself supplied one mineral that was in international demand - alum - which was used in the textile industry. Iron Iron was employed to make weapons and a broader range of necessities such as anchors, horseshoes, nails, picks, shovels and the like. It was to be found in numerous areas of the Ottoman Empire; in the Balkans and Anatolia. Therefore the Ottomans had no lack of it.
54
Iron was also imported from the West
however, and goods made from it were the most important merchandise traded by the Genoese. Western merchants seem to have been largely unconcerned by religious hesitation over this commerce. Pope Gregory XI was obliged, in 1373, to direct a threat of excommunication against those Christians who were selling iron to the Turks. Papal permission, granted in 1363, to the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem (Knights of Malta) to import foodstuffs from the Turks, contained the proviso that the Hospitallers should not, in return, trade war materials, including iron. It is unlikely that the Hospitallers supplied their enemies with weapons, this passage being probably a stock phrase used by the Popes when granting such permission. Regardless of papal sentiment, iron and other metals like lead, tin and copper was sold throughout the Levant, including in Anatolia, Antalya and Bursa by Genoese and Venetian traders. Iron was not the only metal brought into the eastern Mediterranean, for lead too came in from the West, traded from Ragusa to Alexandria, to the Levant, some Mediterranean islands and other markets in the East. It was sold also in Anatolia and the Genoese traded lead in Balat around the end of the fourteenth and beginning of
49. Parry, Materials of War, p. 226. 50. Parry, Materials of War, p. 227. 51. Kristof Glamann. European Trade 1500-1750. The Fontana Economic History of Europe: the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. (ed. C. M. Cipolla). Glasgow: William Collins Sons and Co Ltd, 1974, p. 434. 52. Parry, Materials of War, p. 225. 53. Glamann, ibid, p. 437. 54. Fleet, ibid, pp. 112-115; Parry, Materials of War, pp. 224-225.
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the fifteenth centuries.55 Through expansion, the Ottomans had already gained established iron mines. After the conquest of the Balkan area, especially Bulgaria and Serbian territories, the Ottomans became rich with iron. The Ottomans also captured the Kratova iron mines just after the Kosovo Battle (1389) and iron mines which belonged to the King Georges Brankovic (14271456) family in 1392 and Gluhavica mines in 1396.56 Copper Besides being in demand for cast bronze cannons, copper was used to manufacture domestic utensils (plated with tin). However our focus here is on bronze for manufacture of cannons. Bronze cannon founding flourished from the middle of the fifteenth century to the beginning of the seventeenth. This was the era of the new nation-states with their large armies, their fleets and theirs wars; these, together with geographical expansion, all added to the demand for cannons, copper and tin. Cast-bronze artillery reached a high state of perfection, especially the German and Flemish pieces, in which there was an extensive trade, while Italian and French production went for local use.
57
A wide market for copper existed between European states. Sweden produced and possibly exported copper in the late middle ages, but only in negligible quantities. Gustavus Adolphus, the champion of Protestantism, sold copper to Catholic Spain via middlemen in Amsterdam. Thus, despite prohibitions without number, a substantial proportion of the Hungarian copper production reached Turkey, the principal antagonist of Christendom. The copper purchase, as it was called, could mean that a fair proportion of the output of an area might fall into relatively few hands. Normally what interested merchants most was trading in copper.
58
Still around 1500 England was importing copper from Saxony (Mansfield), Bohemia, Hungary
and Tyrol. Swedish copper production and exports rapidly grew after 1570 and remained on a very high level throughout the seventeenth century. Norwegian copper mines were not exploited to any important extent before the 1640s. Spain received supplies of copper mostly from Hungary until the middle of the sixteenth century when Spain began to import copper in increasing quantities from Mexico, Peru and Cuba. In 1646 the Marquis de Loriana complained that the quality of American copper had deteriorated, While at the beginning it was as good as that of Hungary. In 1578 it was said that Spain paid five times as much for copper from Hungary as it did for copper from Cuba. The Dutch exported much copper from Japan in the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries but they mostly sold it in other parts of Asia and only occasionally imported this copper to Europe.
59
It has been assumed that the trade in metals from the West into the Ottoman lands was of greater significance or volume than the sources appear to show, which one would argue is due to its illegality and consequent concealment combined with the haphazard surviving data. Anatolia does not appear always to have been a market for metals, for on occasion imported metals remained unsold there, indicating that Anatolia was not suffering from a lack of metals, such as would have attracted a large run of imports. Anatolia was after all a metal-producing and exporting country in its own right. It had metal resources, copper, iron and silver in particular. Deposits of copper ore existed in the Balkans and especially Anatolian
55. Fleet, ibid, pp. 112-114. 56. Petrovic, ibid, p. 174; Parry, Materials of War, p. 224; Mcteba lgrel. "Osmanl Topuluunun ilk Devirleri". Prof. Dr. Hakk Dursun Yldz'a Armaan, stanbul: Marmara niversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakltesi, 1995, pp. 285-293. 57. Glamann, ibid, p. 492. 58. Glamann, ibid, pp. 490491. 59. Carlo M. Cipolla, Guns and Sails in the Early Phase of European Expansion 1400-1700, London: St Jamess Place 1965, pp. 24-25.
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territory.
60
Copper was mined in North-East Anatolia in the region of Kastomonu, Sinop, Samsun and
Osmanck and was of high quality. The Ottomans, although appearing by name much less often in the sources, were also active. At the end of the fourteenth century, Turks themselves traded in copper with the Venetians and Genoese; for example, the sfendiyarolu ruler Sleyman Paa was selling Kastamonu copper to Genoese merchants. At the same time a Turkish trader sold alum to a Genoese official in Chios. At the beginning of the next century, Hajji Mustafa traded copper in Chios.
61
Anatolia was a producer and exporter of copper which the Italian merchants bought in large quantities. Most of the copper trade was under the control of Venetians, even in Ottoman lands. But in 1461, the Venetians lost their positions to Florentine merchants and all trade changed hands. Mehmed II stopped trade with the Venetians and exiled them from the Ottoman territories and settled Florentines in their place. Before that time, the Venetians also had mints in the Ottoman Empire.
62
Skilled Cannon Makers

The absence of references to a large volume of metal trade from the West into the Ottoman Empire may be due not only to its illegality and gaps in extant data, but to the reality that there was no great volume. The Ottomans did not necessarily need to import large quantities of metal, or at least not those it produced itself. In the case of the arms trade, perhaps weapons were not traded in concealed quantities but what was imported, was technology and expertise.
63
Besides implementing a number of military treaties (as will
be mentioned below) to improve, develop and obtain new European military firearm technology, the Ottomans employed a certain degree of European military expertise also. There were many ways by which European military technicians, craftsmen and soldiers ended up in the Ottoman foundries, naval arsenals and in the army. Certain military experts and adventurers from Europe offered their services to the Sultans hoping for a better salary and advancement in their social status.
64
In the second half of the fifteenth
century the Ottoman administration employed experts in large-scale enterprises, such as ambitious construction projects and modernization of artillery. Some of the huge guns under Mehmed II that fired so effectively at the walls of Constantinople were cast by a Hungarian (or German) gun master Urban.
65
The complicated techniques for building and equipping large ships had also to be acquired from nonOttoman lands. Experts were provided by the Italian sea powers, as in the case of two large battleships that were constructed by a shipbuilder trained in Venice.
66
The records for the sixteenth century show that
all types of artisans among the Italian captives were employed in the dockyards and paid according to their technical skills, and that the warships were manned, in part, by hired specialists, Greeks and Italians. The military organisation of the navy was, of course, directed by the Turks, but there were many Christian renegades even among the highest ranks.
67
Sources show that there were many experts working at the
60. Parry. Materials of War, pp. 224225. 61. Fleet. ibid, pp. 22-23. 62. Babinger. "Fatih Sultan Mehmed ve talya". pp. 66-68. 63. Fleet. ibid, p. 119. 64. G. Agoston. Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilisation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 4243. 65. Fleet. ibid, p. 119. 66. Henry & Rene Kahane, Andreas Tietze, p. 15. 67. Kahane-Tietze, p. 15.
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Imperial Cannon Foundry or Tophne-i mire from different nations of Europe, and that Jews also existed as a minority. The French traveller Jrme Maurand, who visited Istanbul in 1544, reported that at the foundry there were forty or fifty Germans, employed by the Sultan to cast cannons. Spanish and Sicilian experts worked at the Tophne.
69 68
The French
ambassador to Istanbul, Monsieur d'Aramon, added that in 1547-48, several French, Venetian, Genoese,
Beside the Hungarian cannon master Urban, there were some European gun masters working for Mehmed II, such as Jrg of Nuremberg and George of Frankfurt. Jrg of Nuremberg, the author of Ayn Tractat von
der Trcken, seems to have been sent to the Herzog in 1456 by Count Ulrich de Cilly. According to his own
account, he stayed in Bosnia until 1461, cast several cannons there and was taken prisoner, together with his wife and children, during an attack on the Herzog Stjepan by the forces of his son Vladislav and the Ottomans. Until 1480, he remained in the service of Mehmed II and cast cannons for him.
70
In 1463, during
the siege of Bobovats castle in the Balkans peninsula he cast cannons which were 5 meters long and 60 cm in diameter. In 1480, he escaped to the service of Pope Sixtus IV in Rome and then went to Frankfurt his native city.
71
According to J. Needham, when he got back to Germany, he brought with him a new cannon
casting technology which he had learnt when he was in service of the Ottomans. In Frankfurt in 1486 he melted and cast cannons in a wind-pot or kiln; that is, he was able to cast his pieces without contact between metal and fuel. The invention is significant for it was ancestral to all the reverberatory furnaces (puddling, open heart, etc.) of European siderurgy. As we mentioned he also worked for a long time in the Ottoman Empire as a cannon founder, and thus it is strongly assumed that he may have learned the technique in the imperial cannon foundry.
72
The other cannon maker, Master George from Germany, was living on the island of Rhodes and went into the service of Mehmed II as a volunteer. When the Sultan besieged Rhodes he worked for the Ottomans for a while and gave them the secret maps of the castle, but during the siege he was sent by the Sultan to the Knights service as a spy. He cast huge cannons for them but when they understood his secret task they hanged him.
73
Through these cannon masters and others workers, some technological information was
transferred from one side to the other during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. These technicians sold their skills to the lords and Sultans with mutual agreements.74 The Muslims had gun-founders of their own but, whenever the possibility arose, they always tried to acquire Western technicians. In many cases, they did not have to capture the craftsmen. Then, as always, there were many ready to sell their skills to rivals, if the salary was high enough. Many European technicians and skilled masters entered the service of the Muslims, and Western merchants went on selling
68. Itineraire de Jerome Maurand dAntibes a Constantinople (1544) (Ed by L. Dorez), Paris 1901, pp. 201-204. A German traveller, Hans Dernschwam, who visited Istanbul in the middle of the sixteenth century, mentions that the Ottomans employ slaves to make some weapons. See. Hans Dernschwam (1494-1568), stanbul ve Anadolu'ya Seyahat Gnl (trans., Y. nen), Ankara 1992, pp. 166-169. 69. See: J. Chesneau, Le Voyage de Monsieur dAramon (published by M. Ch. Schefer), Paris 1887. 70 A. Vasiliev, Jorg of Nuremberg, A Writer Contemporary with the fall of Constantinople (1453), Byzantion 10 (1935), pp. 205-209; Petrovic. ibid, p. 184. 71. F. Babinger. Mehmed the Conqueror and his Time (trans. R. Manheim, ed. W. C. Hickman), Princeton: Princeton University, 1978, pp. 138-139, 335, 396-397; Petrovic. ibid., p. 184; V. J. Parry, Barud, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, E. J. Brill, I, p. 1062; Agoston, Ottoman Artillery.., pp. 28-29; S. Yerasimos, Les Voyageurs Dans LEmpire Ottoman, Ankara: Trk Tarih Kurumu, 1991, p. 111; Feridun Dirimtekin. "Belgrad'n ki Muhsaras". Istanbul Enstits Dergisi, 2 (1956), p. 61. A. Vasiliev, Jrg of Nuremberg, A Writer Contemporary with the fall of Constantinople (1453), Byzantion 10 (1935), pp. 205-209. 72. Joseph Needham, the Development of Iron and Steel Technology in China, London: the Newcomen Society, 1964, p. 22. 73. Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror, s. 396-398; Ali Cengiz. Fatihin Top Dkm Ustas Georgius. Askeri Tarih Blteni, 34 (1993), pp. 42-45. 74. Aydz. Tophne-i mire, pp. 140-160.
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strategic materials to the Turks despite papal excommunications and prohibitions of all kinds. Our Christians supply the Turks with all warlike munitions, a sixteenth-century Christian writer sadly remarked.
75
The rulers themselves became personally interested in the matter of ordnance, and as in the case of Duke Alfonso dEste, King John II of Portugal, King James IV of Scotland, the Emperor Maximilian and Mehmed II, they developed not only enthusiasm but real, technical expertise in the art of gunnery. They patronised gunners and gun-founders and devoted a good deal of their resources to the building and the improvement of arsenals and artillery trains. Mehmed II, for example, gave the plans to cast huge cannons to his master during the siege of Constantinople and gave some directions on how to shoot ships at the Golden Horn via newly designed mortars.
76
The trade in raw copper and in bronze ordnance became one of
the flourishing and profitable activities of the day moving mainly around the markets of Nuremberg, the main centre of German metallurgy; Lyon, through which France bought her provisions; Bolzano, on the way from the Tyrol to Northern Italy; and Antwerp where the flow of commodities from West Africa and later the spice islands met the flow of metallurgical products from Germany and Flanders. Much of the European Frh-Kapitalismus had it origins firmly rooted in this very fertile trade: the Fugger, to quote the most conspicuous example, were great merchants of copper and had a prosperous gun foundry at Fuggerau, near Willbach (Carinthia).
77
The Records of the Imperial Cannon Foundry: Tophne-I mire

As mentioned previously, the study of firearms / metals trade with the Ottoman State in early centuries is severely hampered by a lack of various records. There are very limited documents in the Ottoman archives about this trade. Iron and copper requirements for the cannon arsenal were obtained mostly from the Anatolian and Balkan ores of the Empire. More iron came from Anatolia where there were both iron and copper workings. Apart from the mines in North-East Anatolia, the Ottomans also came to control the metal resources of the Balkans. After the battle of Kosovo in 1389, for example, the mines of that region fell into Ottoman hands. The most important source for the supply of iron parts was Samokov in Bulgaria, where there were both iron mines and iron workshops. Ottomans and European states. The Ottoman authorities in the capital city Adrianople (Edirne) developed cannon-foundries at the beginning of the fifteenth century. During these attempts mobile and fixed cannons were produced. The oldest arsenal was produced during the Murad II period in Adrianople. Even before this time, there had been mobile cannon foundries around castles to facilitate any attack against them. However it is well known that during the reign of Mehmed II, cannon founding attempts peaked due to his continuing plans to capture Constantinople. These works were organised by his master artilleryman Saruca Usta and architect
78
When we check the imperial cannon foundry account
book records, we can find some useful information about the firearms and munitions trade between the
75. Cipolla. Guns and Sails. pp. 94-95. 76. Kritovulos, Tarih-i Sultan Mehmed Hn- Sn (trans. Karolidi), stanbul 1328, pp. 6061; Tcizde Cafer Celebi. Mahrse-i stanbul Fetihnmesi, stanbul: Tarih-i Osmani Encmeni Mecmuas, 1331, p. 13; Zorzo Dolfin. "1453 Ylnda stanbul'un Muhasara ve Zapt". (trans. Samim-Suat Sinanolu). Ftih ve stanbul, I, stanbul: stanbul Fethi Dernei, 1953, pp. 1962. 77. Cipolla, Guns and Sails. pp. 2627. 78. Colin Imber. The Navy of Sleyman the Magnificient. Archivum Ottomanicum, IV, 1980, pp. 234-235.
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Muslihuddin, although Mehmed II constantly controlled these works even attending to the design of a range of cannon sizes.79 Mehmed II gave much attention to the production of firearms
80
even after the conquest of Constantinople;
in the 1470s, he constructed a central imperial cannon casting foundry (i.e., Tophne-i mire), the biggest casting centre of the day, which included both the indigenous and foreign gunners. Even though there is not much specific knowledge about this cannon foundry during the reign of Mehmed II, it is known that large calibre cannons were cast. 81 The personal interest of Mehmed II in military affairs especially in giant cannons was commonly known in Europe so that authors of military treaties dedicated their works to him and rulers who wanted to gain his support or simply desired to preserve good relations with him dispatched their own military experts to the Sultan. A manuscript copy of Roberto Valturios (1413-84) De re Militari was sent to the Sultan by Sigismundo Malatesta in 1461, despite recurring attempts at prohibiting the transfer of up to date military knowledge to the infidels, mainly by the Papacy and by countries at war with the Ottomans.
82
The period of Mehmed II is well known as the golden age of Ottoman bronze foundry work. It is known that the Ottomans produced many types and quantities of cannons during the time of Mehmed II.
83
Some
military sources indicate that the enemy had seized two hundred cannons during the siege of Belgrade in 1456, which were carried away to the palace of the Hungarian King in due course. These cannons received much attention according to both native and foreign sources which note that the extraordinary precision and size of them created such great excitement in Europe that people from different countries came to see the cannons: it is evident that the fame of the Ottoman-made-cannons had reached all Europe.
84
The Ottoman State archive records provide us with very important information about the cannon founding industry. Especially the Tophne-i mire account books, which contain significant information about firearms metals and their origin. The organization of Tophne as a large-scale state industrial enterprise appears to have been similar to that of other Ottoman activities in e.g. mining or agriculture or shipbuilding which, utilising in part free craftsmen and in part forced or slave labour, served the needs of the state. The Tophne-i mire accounts books enable us to examine two of the chief aspects of the organisation and its activities; procurement of raw material for foundry work and the production of cannons and other objects. Before considering further the information within these account books I would like to mention the imperial cannon foundry (i.e., Tophne-i mire) and a short history of firearms in the Ottoman State. Firearms came into use at the beginning of the fourteenth century but became a more effectual type of weaponry during
79. Gabor, Ottoman Artillery. pp. 2535. 80. Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror. p. 139. 81. Aydz. Tophne-i mire ve Top Dkm Teknolojisi. 82. The Topkapi Palace Library in Istanbul owned a copy of the books 1472 edition, (Hazine 2699). J. R. Partington, A History of Greek fire and Gunpowder, Cambridge: W. Heffer and Sons, Ltd., 1960, s. 164-166; Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror. p. 201. Adnan Advar. Osmanl Trklerinde lim (ed. by A. Kazancgil- S. Tekeli), Istanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 1982, p. 40; Halil nalck, "Mehmed II", slam Ansiklopedisi, Ankara: Milli Eitim Bakanl Yaynevi, VII, p. 535; nalck. The Ottoman Empire: the Classical Age. p. 181; Agoston. Ottoman Artillery. p. 25; Aydz. Tophne-i mire. pp. 12-15. 83. Gazavat-i Sultan Murad b. Mehemmed Han (ed. Halil nalck-M. Oguz). Ankara: Trk Tarih Kurumu, 1978; J. H. Lefroy. The Great Cannon of Muhammad II (A.D. 1464)". The Archaeological Journal, 25 (London 1868), pp. 263-264; Ffoulkes. "The 'Dardanelles' Gun at the Tower". The Antiquaries Journal. X (July 1930), pp. 217-227; J. Piaskowski. "The Technology of Gun Casting in the Army of Muhammad II Early 15th Century". I. International Congress the History of Turkish-Islamic Science and Technology, T, 14-18 September 1981, Istanbul, 1981, III, s. 164; A. N. Kennard. Gun founding and Gun founders A Dictionary of Cannon Founders from earliest times to 1800. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1986. 84. Bain, R. Nisbet. The Siege of Belgrade by Muhammad II, July 123, 1456. The English Historical Review, 7 (26) (April 1892), pp. 235
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the late fourteenth century. Firearms, which were used at first by Andalusian Muslim armies then by Western armies, started to be used by Ottoman armies during Murad IIs reign (1421-1451). But such weapons become widespread throughout the Ottoman domains after the first quarter of the fifteenth century to the extent that the Ottoman trading companies exported new weapons from their own weapon plants. Progress in technology and production during Murad IIs reign, reached a high level during the period 1451-81.
85
The two metals which, in the early centuries, were required by the Tophne for its cannon casting activities were copper and tin, the major and minor ingredients of bronze, which alone the Ottoman Empire made use of for casting cannons. Unlike many of their opponents, the Ottomans were fortunate to have had abundant ore deposits within the borders of their Empire to establish strong ammunition and ordnance industries. The only ore they lacked was tin which they imported from Europe.
86
The needs of the foundry
were met in two ways: by the procurement of copper and tin; and by an elaborate recovery-system which brought to Tophne from many parts of the Empire large quantities of scrap bronze cannons. Supplies of copper were plentiful in the Ottoman Empire, as we mentioned before, particularly in the area of Kastamonu. The Tophne appears not to have drawn its supplies of the refined metal directly from the region of production, but from the imperial warehouses like Bae-i mire. Tin, however, was less accessible to the Ottomans, who were obliged in part to seek supplies from outside the Empire and in particular from Europeans such as the Venetians and Genoese and later the English. Tin, like copper, was not supplied from the mines to the foundry. Stores of the metal were maintained in Galata in the so-called
mahzen-i kule and were released to the foundry on the authority of the Kadi of Galata or one of his
deputies.87 After Mehmed II, his son Bayezid II ascended to the Ottoman throne. We have one official account book about the cannon casting during this time. This book is dated 1500 and mentions the cannon casting in Volana (Avlonya) and Preveza for the Ottoman navy. It gives an account of copper and tin and iron wire sent to Volana and Preveza from 4 Jumaada al-l 905 to the 18 Jumaada al-Akhir 905 i.e., 7 December 1499 to 20 January 1500 by the order of the Sultan. This account pertains to the new cannon casting in Volana and Preveza for the Ottoman Navy due to the Modon campaign. In this account book we find that the Ottomans bought copper, tin and iron wires for the cannons to be cast there. Most of these materials came from the imperial canon foundry warehouses and stores, although, most of the tin materials were provided by European merchants. Cannon Manufacturers in Volana and Preveza used a total of 530 kilograms of tin for the cannons. 46 kilograms of the tin was bought from Yakom Frenk and 326 kilograms from Felim and David Frank to the Ottomans. We cannot find any information about their nationalities but it is obvious that they were European merchants according to their names. There is also no information regarding the actual details of sale.
88
The illicit traffic was not confined to the raw materials of war and other metals. It embraced also the sale of arms, e.g., guns, arquebuses, pistols, and muskets. One Ottoman document refers to a muhtasib of Safad
252; Feridun Ditimtekin. Belgradin iki muhasaras. Istanbul Enstits Dergisi, (Istanbul 1956), II, p. 61. 85. V. J. Parry. Barud, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. E. J. Brill. I, p. 1062. 86. Agoston. Guns for the Sultan: pp. 186-188. 87. Colin Heywood. "The Activities of the State Cannon-Foundry (Tophne-i mire) at Istanbul in the Early Sixteenth Century According to an Unpublished Turkish Source". Prilozi, 30 (1980), s. 209217. 88. Babakanlk Arivi, Ali Emiri, Bayezid II, Nr. 41, p. 12.
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in Palestine who obtained fire-arms from the Dr al-Harb and sold them to the Arab tribesmen.89 One document contains a record dealing with the cannon trade via the Tophne-i mire account books which belonged to Selim I reign (1512-1520). According to the record, the Ottomans bought some darbzen type cannons from Nikola Bayloz who was the Venetian ambassador to the Sublime Porte at that time90 and was paid 20000 akcas for them by Ayas Aga, who was the chief gunner of the army. This account book shows the Tophnes accounts between 1517 and 1518 during the reign of the Egyptian, Selim I. This record provides the only available information about the cannon trade between the Ottomans and Venetians at that time.
91
It is probable that the darbzen type of cannons were primarily used by the Ottomans in the
second half of the fifteen century. Such cannons were being produced only by the Ottoman foundries. Those cannons that Nikola sold to them had to be produced in the Venetian foundry. Most probably they were casting those cannons after the Ottoman influence.92 Again during Selim Is reign, another Tophne account book shows that the Ottomans bought 82 kilograms of Frankish steel, 93 to cast new cannons, for which they paid 13329 akcas. Hence, per kilogram, steel was sold for 162 akcas at that time. There is no more information about where this steel came from or who sold it to the Tophne.
94
There are more records about the Frankish steel trade in another Tophne account book for 1524 to 1525, during the Suleyman I reign (1520-1566). At that time the Ottomans bought 84 kilograms of Frankish steel to cast different sizes of cannons in the Tophne-i mire. They paid 13521 akcas which means the price was almost the same as the previous record. In addition to the steel, there is another item in this book worthy of mention. Some Frankish brass was bought for the same purpose. Apparently they bought 77 kilograms of brass and paid 12135 akcas. Thus, per kilogram, brass was sold at 157 akcas.95 Besides the Tophne account books, there is some information in other documents about this trade which shows that the Ottoman traders were importing metals and other munitions from Europe to the home land. For example, Selim II sent an imperial decree (Name-i Hmyun) to the Doge of Venice about a Muslim traders problem in Rabi al-Akhir 977 (13-22 September 1569). The Sultan stated that Mehmed Reis bought in Venice 2400 sword blades (kurde) and 260 lodra (140 kg.) of iron wire and 120 kantar (6480 kg) of Frankish steel (frengi elik). He paid the customs, but the Venetian state confiscated the goods because they could not be exported. In addition Mehmed Reis was not refunded the money he gave to the customs although traditionally if a merchant paid the customs this meant that he could export the goods. The Sultan asked justice for him.
96
Another example during the reign of Selim II is a request to the Doge of Venice for some affaires from the Venetians. A document dated in Jamaz al-awwal 977 (21-30 November 1569) states: Since in Egypt they
89. Parry, Materials of War, p. 227. 90. B. Spuler Balyos. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, CD-Rom Edition, 1999, Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. 91. minh an bahi darbzen ki an Nikola Bayloz hardeest ber mcebi hkmi erfi l ki an ma'rifeti Ayas Bey sercem'ati topyn, 20000, Babakanlk Osmanl Arivi, Kamil Kepeci, nr. 4726, pp. 12-50. 92. For the darbzen style cannons see: Aydz. Tophne-i mire. 93. Although it is not certain that this steel came from Europe, as far as we understand this material is only mentioned as Frankish. Agoston also agrees that it most probably came from Europe or was taken from a European ship. See. Agoston, Guns for Sultan, p. 176. 94. Babakanlk Osmanl Arivi, Kamil Kepeci, nr. 4726, pp. 1819. 95. Babakanlk Osmanl Arivi, D. BM. 9, pp. 28. 96. Venetian State Archives, Lettere e scritture turchesche, filza II, c. 280. Document published by Maria Pia Pedani, Dalla Frontiera al Confine, Quaderni di Studi Arabi. Studi e testi, 5, Roma, Herder, 2002, p. 62. I would like to convey my thanks to Pedani for kindly sending me these documents from her book.
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need iron (elik) for some affaires (muhimmat), when the Tercman (dragoman) Mahmud arrives in Venice, please send 1000 kantar (54000 kg) of it on a Venetian ship going to Egypt. The Sultan had already given orders to the Beylerbeyi (governor) of Egypt Iskender to pay for the transport.
97
At the end of the sixteenth century we find one more record about buying Frankish steel for the imperial foundry. According to the Tophne-i mire account book, dated 1597, the Ottomans bought 2 kantars (108 kilogram) of Frankish steel from a Jewish merchant David Yahudi paying 4000 akas per kantar. They bought another 8.8 kantar of Frankish steel from him, but this time they paid 4400 akcas per kantar which made it about 12 akcas cheaper than in the previous records.
98
In addition to these materials the Ottomans bought some other products for the Tophne-i mire. According to the other account book of the Tophne, dated between 26 March 1525 and 14 March 1526, the Ottomans bought 500 pieces Frankish clay roofing tile for Tophne-i mire building and 500 coils of Frankish iron wire to use for cannon casting mouldings. materials here. The last piece of information found in the Tophne-i mire account book is related again to the tin trade. It provides an account of copper and bronze and tin for the casting of new cannons at the imperial cannon foundry from 29 Safar 928 to the end of Jumaada al-Akhir 932, i.e., from 28 January 1522 to 12 April 1526. It was recorded during Suleyman Is reign, that between 1523 and 1526, 200 kantars (10800 kg) of tin were delivered to the Tophne from mahzen-i kule (Galatas Tin warehouse). A further 299 kantars 78 lodra of tin
100 99
There is no more information about these
(16180 kg.) was obtained from a Frankish supplier. In the early years of Sleyman Is reign, the
main supplier of tin was Lodovico (Luigi, Alvise) Gritti, the natural son of the Venetian Doge Andrea Gritti 101, the Venetian home daffaires and confidante of the Ottoman grand vizier brahim Paa. Between September 1524 and February 1526 eight separate consignments of tin were supplied to the Tophne directly from this source. This tin was bought for the casting of new cannons at the Tophne-i mire but there is no more information regarding the money that was paid for it or where it came from. As records of the firearms and munitions trade between the Ottoman Empire and European states, or those traders from European states, are limited, it can only be assumed from the remaining records that there was considerable trade relating to various war commodities and knowledge. It is hoped that future research and discoveries will shed further light on the history or war related trade between the Ottoman Empire and Christian Europe.
97. Venetian State Archives, Lettere e scritture turchesche, filza II, c. 283. Document published by Pedani, ibid, p. 62. 98. Babakanlk Osmanl Arivi, Maliyeden Mdevver Defterler. No. 6760, pp. 2-8. 99. Babakanlk Osmanl Arivi, D. BM. TPH. 1/1, pp. 2-8. 100. Babakanlk Osmanl Arivi, Maliyeden Mdevver Defterler, No. 7668, pp. 1-27. 101. See: M. Tayyib Gkbilgin. "Kanuni Sultan Sleyman'n Macaristan Siyaseti". Kanuni Armaan, Ankara: Trk Tarih Kurumu, 1970. pp. 16, 177. He was known as a Beyoglu (i.e., Son of Lord).
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The Islamic Science of Weights and Balances: A Refoundation of Mechanics Deeply Rooted in the Social Context of the Islamic Civilization
Author: Chief Editor: Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright: Prof. Dr. Mohammed Abattouy Prof. Dr. Mohamed El-Gomati Savas Konur November 2006 616 FSTC Limited, 2006
FSTC Limited
The Islamic Science of Weights and Balances November 2006
THE ISLAMIC SCIENCE OF WEIGHTS AND BALANCES: A REFOUNDATION OF MECHANICS DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF THE ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION *
Mohammed Abattouy**
Three main concerns are focused upon in the following article. The first is an overview of the textual tradition of a core-part of Arabic mechanics dealing with the science of weights. Then the historical significance of the Arabic science of weights is analyzed. Thus, the transformation brought about by this important segment of Arabic mechanics is interpreted as the reorganization of a core-part of ancient mechanics into an independent science of weights. On this basis, a strong claim is made in favor of the independent status of
>ilm al-athql, which should no longer be confused with >ilm al-iyyal, understood
as a general descriptive discourse on different types of machines. The final section is devoted to a preliminary survey of the institutional setting of the control of weighing instruments in the Islamic medieval society through the office of the
isba. This study, covering the theoretical as well as the practical aspects
of an important segment of Arabic classical science, i.e. mechanics, is part of a program of research which the author is developing, appealing for the renewal of the field of the history of Arabic classical sciences, by merging together historical research based on empirical investigation in the scientific texts, the epistemological reflexion on the concepts, categories and methods, and the sociological analysis of the contextual structures that shaped the practice of science in medieval Islam. 1
The reconstruction of the corpus of the Arabic science of weights

The balance is an instrument of our current life, charged with history and science. In Islamic classical times, this familiar instrument was the object of an extensive scientific and technical debate of which dozens of treatises on different aspects of its theory, construction, and use are the precious remains. Different sorts of balances were the object of such an extensive enquiry, including the normal equal-armed balance (called in Arabic
mzn, ayyr, and shhn), the steelyard (called qarasn, qaffn, and qabbn) and al-Khzin, al-arr,
sophisticated balances for weighing absolute and specific weights of substances. Several drawings of balances are preserved in Arabic manuscripts, such as those of and
al-Qazwn. Further, some specimens of the ancient balances survived and are presently kept in
museums. For illustration, we refer to two such Islamic steelyards from the 10th-12th centuries. The first, built in Iran, is preserved in the National Museum in Kuwait (LNS 65M). It is made of steel, bears marks on
*
An earlier version of this article was published in Abattouy 2002b. Several results exposed in this study were obtained under the sponsorship of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin (1996-2003). I am grateful to my colleagues at the MPIWG, especially to Professor Jrgen Renn, director of Department I at the MPIWG, for this long-lasting and fruitful collaboration. ** Mohammed Vth-Agdal University, Rabat, Faculty of Letters, Philosophy Department 1 For case studies, reflexions and references bringing evidence to this research program, see the three forthcoming volumes: Abattouy [In
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its beam. Its dimensions (height: 11.5 cm, length: 15.6 cm) show that it was used for weighing small quantities. 2 The second is kept in the Science Museum in London (accession number Inv. 1935-457). This balance came to the Science Museum in 1935 from the University College in London, together with a large selection of archaeological material consisting of ancient weights and measures collected from the Near East by the British archaeologist Flinders Petrie. A scale of silver is inlaid along its 2.37m long, wrought-iron beam. It bears two suspending elements and corresponding calibrations: one ranging from 0 to 900 (1
ral-s
ral is approximately 1 pound); the other ranging from 900 to 1820 ral-s.3
Figure 1. Al-Khzins balance, in Al-Khzin, Kitb mzn al-ikma , Hyderabad, 1940 (The image
was introduced by the editor).

The interest in the balance in Islamic scientific learning was culturally nurtured by its role as a symbol of good morals and justice. The
Qur<n and the adth appealed extensively to a strict observance of fair
and accurate weighing practices with the balance. Considered the tongue of justice and a direct gift of God, the balance was made a pillar of the right society and a tool of good governance. These principles were recorded explicitly in several treatises on the balance, such as the introduction to by
Kitb mzn al-ikma
al-Khzin, where the balance is qualified as the tongue of justice and the article of mediation.
Furthermore, it was counted as a fundamental factor of justice, on the same level with the glorious Book of God, and the guided leaders and established savants.4 The emergence of Arabic mechanics is an early achievement in the scientific tradition of Islam. Actually, already in the mid-9 th century, and in close connection with the translation of Greek texts into Arabic, treatises on different aspects of the mechanical arts were composed in Arabic, but with a marked focus on balances and weights. These writings, composed by scientists as well as by mechanicians and skilful artisans, gave birth to a scientific tradition with theoretical and practical aspects, debating mathematical and physical problems, and involving questions relevant to both the construction of instruments and the social context of their use. Some of these Arabic treatises were translated into Latin in the 12 th century and influenced the European science of weights.
Press 2006a], [In Press 2006b], and [In Press 2006c]

2 3 4
See al-ab 1989, p. 32.
The images of these balances can be seen at http://www.mpiwgberlin.mpg.de/en/forschung/projects/theoreticalMechanics/project_image_Fig.11.jpg/showImagen and in Abattouy 2002b, p. 110.
Al-Khzin 1940, pp. 3-4.
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The corpus of the Arabic science of weights covers the entire temporal extent of scientific activity in medieval Islam and beyond, until the 19th century. The reasons for such an abundance of literature on the problems of weighing can be explained only by contextual factors. In fact, the development of the science of weights as an autonomous branch of science was triggered by the eminent importance of balances for commercial purposes. In a vast empire with lively commerce between culturally and economically fairly autonomous regions, more and more sophisticated balances were, in the absence of standardization, key instruments governing the exchange of currencies and goods, such as precious metals and stones. It is therefore no surprise that Muslim scholars produced numerous treatises specifically dealing with balances and weights, explaining their theory, construction and use. This literature culminated in the compilation by
>Abd ar-Ramn al-Khzin, around 1120, of Kitb mzn al-ikma, an encyclopedia of mechanics
dedicated to the description of an ideal balance conceived as a universal tool of a science at the service of commerce, the so-called balance of wisdom. This was capable of measuring absolute and specific weights of solids and liquids, calculating exchange rates of currencies, and determining time.
Figure 2. Al- Khzins balance, in Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Science an Illustrated Study, Kent 1976
(The image was introduced by the editor).

A complete reconstruction of the Arabic tradition of weights is currently being undertaken by the author. This project began in the context of a long-term cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. The work on the establishment of the Arabic corpus of the science of weights started in Fall 1996 by the systematic reconstruction of the entire codicological tradition of the corpus of texts dealing on theoretical and practical levels with balances and weights. By now almost two-thirds of the entire corpus has been edited and translated into English; this part, including texts dating from the 9th through the 12th centuries, is being prepared for publication with the appropriate commentaries. The preliminary analysis of the texts investigated so far established the importance of the Arabic tradition for the development of the body of mechanical knowledge. The Arabic treatises turned out to be much richer in content than those known from the ancient tradition. In particular, they contain foundations of deductive systems of mechanics different from those inferred from extant Greek texts, as well as new propositions and theorems. On the other hand, the Arabic treatises also represent knowledge about practical aspects of the construction and use of balances and other machines missing in ancient treatises.
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The first phase of the research on the Arabic science of weights was focused on establishing the scope of its extant corpus. Surprisingly, this corpus turned out to be much larger than usually assumed in history of science. Up to now more than thirty treatises dating from the 9th through the 19th centuries have been identified which deal with balances and weights in the narrow sense. The majority of these treatises has never before been edited or studied, and only exists in one or more manuscript copies. Some important manuscripts have been discovered or rediscovered even in the course of the research activities conducted by the author. The textual constituents of the Arabic works on the problems of weights can be classified chronologically into three successive units. First a set of Greek texts of mechanics extant in Arabic versions. Despite their Greek origin, these works can be regarded as an integral part of the Arabic mechanical tradition, at least because of the influence they exerted on the early works of Arabic mechanics. In the case of some of these texts, although they are attributed to Greek authors, their Greek originals are no more extant nor are they ascribed to their supposed Greek authors in antique sources. The second unit comprises founding texts composed originally in Arabic in the period from the 9th through the 12th centuries. This segment of writings laid the theoretical basis of the new science of weights, in close connection with the translations and editions of texts stemming from Greek origins. The third phase covers the 14 th through the 19th centuries, and comprises mainly practical texts elaborating on the theoretical foundations laid in the earlier tradition. In the following, the texts belonging to these three phases will be described in brief, with a short characterization of some theoretical contents.
2. Arabic versions of Greek texts of mechanics

The corpus of Greek texts that were known to Muslim scholars through direct textual evidence and dealing with the problems of weighing and the theory of the balance are six in number: 1. First,
Nutaf min al-iyyal, an Arabic partial epitome of Pseudo-Aristotle's Mechanical Problems: The
Problemata Mechanica, apparently the oldest preserved text on mechanics, is a Greek treatise ascribed to
Aristotle, but composed very probably by one of his later disciples. It has long been claimed that this text was not transmitted to Arabic culture. It is possible now to affirm that the scholars of Islamic lands had access to it at least through a partial epitome entitled mechanics) included by
Nutaf min al-iyyal (elements/extracts of
al-Khzin in the fifth book of his Kitb mzn al-ikma.5 f 'l-mzn) and on heaviness and lightness
2-3. Two texts ascribed to Euclid on the balance (Maqla (Kitb
fi 'l-thiql wa 'l-khiffa): Extant only in Arabic, the first one provides a geometrical treatment of the
balance and presents a sophisticated demonstration of the law of the lever. It is not recorded if it was edited in Arabic, but there is enough evidence to conclude that this was probably the case. The second text survived in a version edited by
Thbit ibn Qurra . It is an organized exposition in 9 postulates and 6
Al-Khzin 1940, pp. 99-100. The text of the Nutaf was edited and translated, with commentaries, in Abattouy 2001a.
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theorems of dynamical principles of the motion of bodies in filled media, developing a rough analysis of Aristotelian type of the concepts of place, size, kind and force and applying them to movements of bodies. 6 4. A partial Arabic version of Archimedes On Floating Bodies: Contrary to the highly creative impact Archimedes had on Arabic mathematics, it seems that his main mechanical treatises such as Equilibrium of
planes and Quadrature of the parabola were not translated into Arabic. However, some elements of his
theory of centers of gravity were disclosed in the mechanical texts of Heron and Pappus, whereas the main ideas of his hydrostatics were transmitted in a
Maqla f 'l-thiql wa 'l-khiffa, extant in Arabic in several
manuscript copies. This short tract consists in a summarized digest of the treatise on the Floating Bodies, presenting mere statements of the postulates and propositions of Book I and the first proposition of Book II without proofs. 7 5.6. Heron's and Pappus' Mechanics : Finally, the last two Greek texts to be connected with the Arabic tradition of the science of weights are the two huge treatises referred to as Mechanics of the Alexandrian scholars Heron (1st century) and Pappus (4th century). These texts are together major sources for the reconstruction of the history of ancient mechanical ideas. Given their composite character, only some of their chapters concern the foundations of theoretical mechanics as developed in the later Arabic tradition around the questions of weighing. Heron's Mechanics was translated into Arabic by the title
8
Qus ibn Lq under
F raf> al-ashy< al-thaqla (On lifting heavy loads). After the loss of the Greek original text, it Madkhal il >ilm al-iyal (Introduction to
survived only in this Arabic version. On the contrary of Heron's Mechanics, Pappus mechanical treatise was preserved in Greek and in Arabic. Its Arabic version is titled affirm that this version saw the light in 10 th-century Baghdad.9 the science of mechanics), by a translator who has not yet been identified, but there is enough evidence to
3. Founding texts of the Arabic science of weights

In close connection with the translation and study of the above mentioned Greek sources, the Muslim scientists composed in the period from the 9th up to the 12th century a set of original texts that laid the foundation to the new science of weights. To mention just the main treatises, these texts are seven in number: 7. First, the
Kitb f l-qarasn by Thbit ibn Qurra (d. 901): Without contest the most important text
of the Arabic mechanical tradition, it was apparently one of the first Arabic texts to deal with the theory of the unequal-armed balance in Islam and to systematize its treatment. As such, it established the theoretical foundation for the whole Arabic tradition.
Kitb f l-qarasn presents a deductive theory of the steelyard based on dynamic assumptions. It is
extant in four known copies, of which three contain complete texts with variant readings. Two of these,
6 7 8
The contents of these two works are surveyed in Abattouy 2001b, p. 216ff. Their textual tradition is analyzed under the procedure of A MS copy of this text was published in Zotenberg 1879 and translated into English in Clagett 1959, pp. 52-55.
isl in Abattouy 2004c.

Heron's Mechanics was edited and translated twice respectively by Carra de Vaux in 1893, with French translation, and by Schmidt and Nix in 1900, with German translation. These editions were reprinted recently: respectively Herons 1976 and Hron 1988.
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preserved in London (India Office MS 767-7) and Beirut (St.-Joseph Library, MS 223-11), were studied and published recently. 10 The third copy, formerly conserved in Berlin (Staatsbibliothek MS 559/9, ff. 218b224a), was reported lost at the end of World War II. A colleague from Berlin, Paul Weinig and I happened to rediscover it in the Biblioteka Jagiellonska in Krakow (Poland) in October 1996. Recently Sonja Brentjes kindly attracted my attention over a partial fourth copy that exists in the archives of the Laurentiana Library in Florence (MS Or. 118, ff. 71r-72r). Never mentioned before, this valuable three-page text includes the introductory two sections of known as Beirut scholium).11 8.
Thbit's treatise. This part of the text exposes the dynamic foundation of the
treatise and an important passage that was thought of up to now to occur only in Beirut MS copy (and thus
Kitb f ifat al-wazn by the same Thbit ibn Qurra: This five-section text on the balance is about Kitb f l-qarasn is provided by the occurrence, in the
the conditions necessary to achieve equilibrium in weighing with balances, primarily the equal-armed sort.12 An important connection between this text and last section of
ifat al-wazn, of the statement of a proposition identical with the postulate that opens
Kitb f l-qarasn.
9.
Ziyyda f 'l-qarasn or An Addition on the theory of the qarasn: A short anonymous text extant in Ziyyda serves as an appendix to Kitb f lThbit ibn Qurra is mentioned twice in the
a unicum copy preserved in Beirut. In this codex, the
qarasn. The two texts are written in the same hand and display strong terminological affinities which
include the basic vocabulary as well as the technical terms.
Ziyyda. This and several other elements induce us to consider it as an appendix intended to amplify the
analysis developed in
Thbit's original work. The text of the Ziyyda is composed of five propositions. The Kitb f l-qarasn while the last three establish a
first two are mere applications of the Proposition VI of number of times. 10. A short text on the balance by Muammad well known mathematician of the 10 in curators of the library:
th
procedure for calculating the counterweight required to maintain equilibrium in a lever divided an evenly
ibn >Abd-Allh b. Manr al-Ahwz : Al-Ahwz is a
century; his text on the balance is extant in a unique copy preserved
Khuda Baksh Library in Patna (Codex 2928, folio 31) without title, save for the one provided by the Risla f 'l-mzn.13 al-Qh and Ibn al-Haytham : These important contributions by
11. The treatises on centers of gravity of reproduction by
two most important Muslim mathematicians of the 10th-11th centuries survived only through their
al-Khzin in a joint abridged version that opens the first book of his Kitb mzn al-
13
The Arabic text of Pappus' Mechanics was transcribed and translated into English in Jackson 1970. 10 Respectively in Jaouiche 1976 and Knorr 1982. 11 The mechanical theory of Kitb f 'l-qarasn was studied in Jaouiche 1976, Abattouy 2000d and in Abattouy 2002a. 12 This text was preserved thanks to its integration in Kitb mzn al-ikma: al-Khzin 1940, pp. 33-38. For translations, see the German version in Wiedemann 1970, vol. I, pp. 495-500 and a partial English version in Knorr 1982, pp. 206-208. On al-Ahwz, see Sezgin 1974, p. 312.
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ikma.14 The potential discovery of the complete versions of these texts will mean the recovery of
fundamental sources.15 12. The statements on the law of the lever by the same gravity he had with
al-Qh included in a discussion on the centers of
Ab Isq al-b around 990-91.16 ly al-Marn on measures and weights: ly al-Marn was the Archbishop of Maqla f 'l-makyyl wa al-awzn
13. The treatise of
Nisibin (north Mesopotamia) in the first half of the 11th century. His steelyard as elaborated in earlier Arabic works. 14. by
(Treatise of measures and weights) is essentially of practical interest, but it is based on the theory of the
Irshd dhaw al->irfn il in>at al-qaffn (Guiding the Learned Men in the Art of the Steelyard)
al-Isfizr : A fundamental and long-neglected treatise, written by Ab tim al-Muaffar b. Ism>l
al-Isfizr, a mathematician and mechanician who flourished in Khurasn (north-east Iran) around 10501110. In this original text on the theory and practice of the unequal-armed balance, different textual traditions from Greek and Arabic sources are compiled together for the elaboration of a unified mechanical theory. It is extant in a unique manuscript copy preserved in Damascus (al-<Asad National Library,
al-
hiriyya collection, MS 4460, folii 16a-24a). In addition, an abridged version reproduced by al-Khzin
includes a section on the construction and use of the steelyard, which is omitted from the Damascus manuscript.17 15.
Kitb mzn al-ikma by al-Khzin: A special mention should be made of Kitb mzn al-ikma, Abderamn al-Khzin in 1121-22, a real mine of
the encyclopedia of mechanics completed by
information on all aspects of the theoretical and practical knowledge in the Islamic medieval area about balances. The book covers a wide range of topics related to statics, hydrostatics, and practical mechanics, besides reproducing abridged editions of several mechanical texts by or ascribed to Greek and Arabic authors. This huge summa of mechanical thinking provides a comprehensive picture of the knowledge about weights and balances available in the Arabic scientific milieu up to the early 12th century. Therefore, it represents a major source for any investigation on ancient and medieval mechanics.18 The textual tradition of the Arabic science of weights between the 9th and the 12th centuries also contains additional sources that should be taken into account in any complete reconstruction of its corpus. These include the work of
Muammad Ibn Zakariyy al-Rz (865-923) on the natural balance,19 extracts from
14 15
Al-Khzin 1940, pp. 15-20.
In his catalogue of Arabic manuscripts, Paul Sbath mentioned that there was a copy of Ibn al-Haytham's Maqla f 'l-qarasn in a private collection in Aleppo in Syria, which may be Ibn al-Haytham's treatise on centers of gravity: See Sbath 1938-1940, part 1, p. 86. For textual considerations on the treatise of al-Qh, see Bancel 2001.
16
17
The correspondence was edited and translated into English in Berggren 1983.
al-Khzin 1940, pp. 39-45. Al-Isfizr's biography and the contents of his Irshd are surveyed in Abattouy 2000b and Abattouy
2001b. 18 On al-Khzin and his work, see Hall 1981 and Abattouy 2000a. 19 Reproduced in an abridged version by al-Khzin 1940, pp. 83-86.
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texts on weights by
Qus ibn Lq and Isq ibn unayn,20 Ibn al-Haytham's largely expanded al-Khayym.22
recension of Menelaus' (fl. Alexandria, 1st century) text on specific gravities,21 and two writings on specific gravity and the hydrostatical balance by >Umar
4. Texts of the later period

The third and last phase of the Arabic writings on weights and balances is represented by a group of texts dating from the 14 th to the 19th century and originating principally from Egypt and Syria. These two countries were unified during this long period under the rule of the
Ayybd, Mamelk, and Ottoman
dynasties, respectively, and they constituted for centuries a common economic and cultural space. Whence the raison d'tre of this large amount of writings on the theoretical and practical problems of the balance and weights, since it was a direct outcome of the integration of economic and cultural activities in this vast area. The authors of these texts are mathematicians, mechanicians, and artisans. In the following some names and works are mentioned for illustration. 16.
Mas<il f 'l-mawzn (Problems on balances) by Ya>sh b. Ibrhm al-Umaw: This short tract is Mas<il consists in a small collection of problems about weighing with
by a mathematician of Andalusian origin who lived in Damascus (fl. 1373), and is known as author of several arithmetical works. 23 His Library in Cairo. 17. hydrostatic and normal balances. The text is part of the codex DR 86 preserved in the Egyptian National
Risla f >amal al-mzn al-ab> by Taq al-Dn ibn Ma>rf: The author is a well known Taq al-Dn of a previous
mathematician, astronomer, and mechanician (born in Damascus in 1525-died in Istanbul in 1585). His short treatise on making the natural balance describes what was transmitted to writing on the balance that he ascribes to the mathematician
Ghiyyth al-Dn al-Ksh (died in
Samarkand in 1429). It is part of the collections of the municipal library of Alexandria. 18.
>Amal mzn li-sarf al-dhahab min ghayr anj (The construction of a balance for converting gold Ab 'l->Abbs Amad b. Ab Bakr b. >Al ibn al-Sarrj. The author, who
without standard weight) by
was alive around 714 H (1319-20) and 748 H (1347-8), was an important specialist of astronomical instrumentation in the Mamluk period.24 His short text is the sixth item of the codex MR 30 conserved in the Egyptian National Library in Cairo. The Egyptian astronomer
Muammad ibn Ab al-Fat al -f (d. 1543) composed several treatises on Al-f seems to be
the theory and the practice of the steelyard balance which enjoyed a wide diffusion.
the last original representative of the classical Arabic tradition of works on balances and weights. With him,
20 21
These texts are preserved in Aya Sofya Library in Istanbul, Codex 3711. Obviously extant in a unique manuscript discovered in Lahore in 1979 by Anton Heinen: see Heinen 1983. 22 Both edited in al-Khzin 1940, pp. 87-92, 151-153. On Khayym's mechanics, see Aghayani Chavoshi and Bancel 2000, and Abattouy 2005b.
23 24
On al-Umaw, see Sa>dn 1981. See on Ibn al-Sarrj King 1987 and Charette 2003.
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this tradition arrives at an end, in the same time when pre-classical physics in Europe was operating a deep transformation that will finally integrate the science of weights into modern physics. Here are his main treatises, known in several extant copies preserved exclusively in Cairo and Damascus, attesting to their widespread use in Egypt and Syria over several centuries: 19.
Risla f in>at al-qabbn (Treatise in the art of the steelyard): a systematic description of the
steelyard and its use in different situations, showing a clear acquaintance with steelyards. The text is explicitly written for the practitioners; 20.
Irshd al-wazzn li-ma>rifat al-awzn bi 'l-qabbn (Guide to the weigher in the knowledge of the
weights of the steelyard): similar to the previous text; 21.
Risla f qismat al-qabbn (Treatise on the division of the steelyard): contains arithmetical and
geometrical problems on the calculation of the parts of the steelyard; 22.
Risla f il fasd al-qabbn (Treatise on repairing the defectuosity of the steelyard): very
detailed analysis of the different cases of deficiency of a steelyard and the solutions to repair these deficiencies. Other later texts include:
23. Nukhbat al-zamn f in>at al-qabbn: a short text on the steelyard by >Uthmn b. >Al< al-Dn alDimashq, known as Ibn al-Malik (fl. 1589); 24. Rislat al-jawhir f >ilm al-qabbn (Treatise of jewels in the science of the steelyard): a ten-chapter text written by Khir al-Burlus al-Qabbn (d. in 1672). 25. Two writings on the science (>ilm) and the description (ta>rf) of the steelyard by >Abd al-Majd al-
Sml (18th century);
26. Al->Iqd al-thamn fm yata>allaq bi-'l-mawzn (The high priced necklace in what concerns the balances), a systematic treatise on the balance and weights, by asan al-Jabart (1698-1774);
27. Several short texts dealing with the principles and the construction of the steelyard by
Muammad al-
Ghamr (died before 1712);

28.
Risla f 'l-qabbn by Muammad b. al -usayn al->Ar (d. 1819), a Syrian author, is among the
very last works written in Arabic in the style of the earlier mechanical tradition.25
This treatise is a digest of earlier works composed of an introduction devoted to the principle of the equilibrium of weights and 2 chapters on 1. the construction of the steelyard, 2. the conversion of weights between countries. Chap. 1 deals in a didactic way with the elementary properties of the balances and a certain emphasis is made on the law of the lever. The text exists in 3 copies: Damascus, alAsad Nat. Lib., hir. coll., MS 4297; Aleppo, al-Amadiya Lib., al-Maktaba al-waqfiya, MS 1787; Rabat, National Library, MS D 1954.
25
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For some other texts, the authorship is not yet established firmly as they don't bear any name and they are catalogued until now as "anonymous texts". In this last category, we mention the following three tracts, which are very probably connected with the texts of the later period just mentioned above. 29. First, a huge summa titled
Al-qawnn f ifat al-qabbn wa 'l-mawzn (The laws in the Cairote Dr al-
description of the steelyard and the balances) existing in Codex TR 279, ff. 1-62 in the
kutub.
30. Then a short text, steelyard) (Cairo,
Bb f ma>rifat >amal al-qabbn (Chapter in the knowledge of making the
Dr al-kutub, MS K3831/1and MS RT 108/1). risla f >ilm al-qabbn" (Cairo, Dr al-kutub, in
31. An untitled tract which the beginning is: "hdhihi the same codex K3831). 32. And finally two short tracts (Risla
mukhtaara f >ilm al-qabbn and Risla f >ilm in>at al-
qabbn) preserved in Damascus (National Library, al-hiriyya Collection, MS 4).26

The texts mentioned so far afford a precious testimony to the fact that scientific and technical works sometimes with a high level of originality continued to be composed in Arabic in the field of mechanics until the 19th century. This corresponds to similar information derived from recent research in other fields of Arabic sciences, such as astronomy and mathematics. The ongoing research into this later phase of science in the Arabic language will undoubtedly change our appreciation of the historical significance of Arabic science and of its place in the general history of science and culture.
6. The status of the science of weights (>ilm al-athql)

The availability of the major part of the Arabic texts on the problems of weights and balances makes it possible, for the first time, to address the question of the historical significance of this large corpus of mechanical works. The investigation of this question has already led to a far-reaching conclusion. It turns out that this corpus represents no less than the transformation of the ancient mechanics into a systematic science of weights and balances. As disclosed in the treatises of Pseudo-Aristotle, Philon, Heron, and Pappus, the Greek classical doctrine of mechanics was shaped as a collection of descriptions and riddles about machines, instruments, and common observation. In contradistinction, the new Arabic science of weights is focused on a relatively small range of subjects mainly the theory of the balance and equilibrium and the practical issues of weighing with different instruments. On the conceptual level, it is built on a dynamic foundation and seeks to account for mechanical phenomena in terms of motion and force. As such, it restores a strong link between mechanics and natural philosophy. This new science of weight lasted in Arabic culture until the 19th century and constituted since the 12 th century a basis for the Latin scientia de ponderibus that developed in Western Europe.
26
Among these anonymous texts, we should mention a "strange" text preserved in Paris (Bibliothque Nationale, Fonds Arabe, MS 4946, ff. 79-82) under the title Nukat al-qarasn (The secrets or the properties of the steelyard) and ascribed to Thbit ibn Qurra. Its contents are without any doubt related to the science of weights, and its main subject is very elementary and treats of some cases of weighing with the steelyard.
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The emergence of the Arabic science of weights has been proclaimed by
al-Frb (ca. 870-950) in his
I< al->ulm, where he produced an authoritative reflexion on the epistemological status of mechanics
that set the stage for the question once and for all. In particular, he set up a demarcation line between the science of weights and the science of machines, and considered both as mathematical disciplines.
Al-Frb differentiated in his system between six principal sciences: those of language, logic,
mathematics, nature (physics), metaphysics and politics. The mathematics is subdivided into seven disciplines: arithmetics, geometry, perspective, astronomy, music, the science of weights (>ilm and the science of devices or machines ( >ilm
al-athql)
al-iyyal). The last two are characterized as follows:
As for the science of weights, it deals with the matters of weights from two standpoints: either by examining weights as much as they are measured or are of use to measure, and this is the investigation of the matters of the doctrine of balances ( <umr
al-qawl f 'l-mawzn ), or by examining weights as much al-
as they move or are of use to move, and this is the investigation of the principles of instruments (<ul
lt) by which heavy things are lifted and carried from one place to another.
As for the science of devices, it is the knowledge of the procedures by which one applies to natural bodies all that was proven to exist in the mathematical sciences in statements and proofs unto the natural bodies, and [the act of] locating [all that], and establishing it in actuality. The sciences of devices are therefore those that supply the knowledge of the methods and the procedures by which one can contrive to find this applicability and to demonstrate it in actuality in the natural bodies that are perceptible to the senses. 27
Considering the two main branches of mechanics as genuine mathematical sciences, al-Frb located their objects respectively in the study of weights and machines. Hence,
>ilm al-athql is centered on the whereas >ilm
principles of the balances and of lifts, investigated with reference to measure and motion,
al-iyyal is conceived of as the application to natural bodies of mathematical properties (lines, surfaces,
volumes, and numbers). As such, it includes various practical crafts: the overseeing of constructions, the measurement of bodies, the making of astronomical, musical, and optical instruments, as well as the fabrication of hydraulic mechanisms, mirrors, and tools like bows, arrows and different weapons.28 In this context, the main function of
>ilm al-iyyal consists in bringing the geometrical properties from al-Frb endows the science of machines with an eminent
potentiality (quwwa) to actuality (fi>l) and to apply them to real bodies by means of special engines (bi-'lan>a).29 Developing an Aristotelian thesis,30
27 28 29
Al-Frb 1949, pp. 88-89.
iyyal (sing. la) translated the Greek word mechan which means both mechanical instrument and trick and is at the origin of the words machine and mechanics. On the affinities between mechan and la, see Abattouy 2000c.
In the Arabic partial version of Pseudo-Aristotle's Mechanical Problems, this very function of the iyyal is said to be carried out with artificial devices (iyyal in>iyya): see the edition of the Nutaf min al-iyyal in Abattouy 2001a, pp. 110, 113 and Aristotle 1952, 847a
25-30. The function of >ilm al-iyyal as actualisation of potentialities is surveyed in Saliba 1985.
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task, to actualise the mathematical properties in natural bodies. Such a function of actualisation could not be extended to
>ilm al-athql. In fact, weight and motion, the two notions that delimit its field of al-Frb to spatial
investigation, can hardly be taken as geometric properties of natural bodies, limited by properties of magnitudes from the realm of geometry.
and numerical aspects, in accordance with the canonical Euclidean paradigm that banishes all the material
The distinction of the science of weights from the different crafts of practical mechanics is a crucial result of
al-Frb's theory. The emphasis laid by the Second Master on >ilm al-athql can not be stressed
enough. It means no less than a solemn announcement of the emergence of an independent science of weights. With roots in the long tradition of the ancient mechanics, this new discipline came to light in the second half of the 9th century in the works of scientific achievement that was recorded by
Thbit ibn Qurra and his colleagues.31 It is this important
al- Frb while building his system of knowledge.
Al-Frb's thesis had a long-lasting resonance in Arabic learning and was never challenged seriously. The
fundamental singularity of the science of weights as an independent branch under the mathematical arts, distinct from the science of machines, became a feature of subsequent theories of science. For confirmation a great number of instances, in different kinds of works and in various literary contexts, can be called upon. Hereinafter, some of these instances are presented in chronological order. In his
Risla f aqsm al->ulm al->aqliyya (Epistle on the parts of rational sciences), Ibn Sn (980>ilm al32
1037) enumerated the mechanical arts, considered as secondary constituents of geometry, as
iyyal al-mutaarrika (the science of movable machines, i.e., automata),

particular machines (>ilm
the pulling of weights (jarr
al-athql), the science of weights and balances (>ilm al-awzn wa al-mawzn), and the science of al-lt al-juz<iyya).33 Ibn Sn establishes a clear distinction between the
science of weights and balances, the craft of pulling heavy loads, and the art of devices. In addition, the latter is subdivided into the arts of automata and of particular machines. Likewise, the pulling of weights, included in the science of weights by point, however, in
al-Frb, is assigned as a specific branch of geometry. The main wazn instead of the thiql could be interpreted as wazn is a constant quantity measurable in a
Ibn Sn's schema is the emphasis laid on the science of awzn and mawzn in which
weights and balances are combined. The reference to the
a privilege given to the statical standpoint. Indeed, the balance, whereas the
thiql is that quantity called gravity or heaviness which varies during the weighing
process and depends on the position of the weighed object relatively to a particular point, the center of the world or the fulcrum of the balance.34
30 31 32 33 34
Aristotle, Metaphysics XIII.3, 1078 a 14-16. The thesis of the birth of the Arabic science of weights was first formulated in Abattouy, Renn and Weinig 2001. That al-lt al-mutaarrika refers to automata is established in Abattouy 2000c, pp. 139-140.
The other components of geometry are the sciences of measurement, of optics and mirrors, and of hydraulics: see Anawati 1977, p. 330 and Ibn Sn 1989, p. 112. The difference is well illustrated by the definition opening Pseudo-Euclid's Maqla f 'l-mzn: weight (wazn) is the measure of heaviness (thiql) and lightness (khiffa) of one thing compared to another by means of a balance: Paris, Bibliothque Nationale, MS 2457, f. 22b.
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In his discussion on the divisions of sciences in
Maqid al-falsifa (The Intentions of philosophers), alal-iyyal).35 Ibn
Ghazl (1058-1111) subsumed the science of weights (>ilm al-athql) as an independent branch under
the mathematical arts and differentiates it from the study of ingenious devices (>ilm
Rashq, a Moroccan mathematician of the late 13th century from Sebta, assumed a similar demarcation
between weights and machines, and founded the latter on the former: the science of weights, of balances, and of catapults (>ilm
al-athql wa 'l-mawzn wa 'l-majnq) deals with the downward motion of >al >ilm al36
heavy bodies and constitutes the foundation of the science of machines (wa-yatarattab
athql >ilm al-iyyal).

reported that (>ilm
In his biography of
al-Isfizr, al-Bayhaq did not confuse the two when he
al-Isfizr was mostly inclined to astronomy and to the science of weights and machines
al-athql wa al-iyyal).37 This corresponds to what we know of his extant works in mechanics, the
Irshd being clearly a book of athql, whereas al-Isfizr's work on iyyal is represented by a collection
of compiled summaries (sometimes with comments) extracted from the mechanical works of Heron, Apollonius and
Ban Ms.38 Later on, Taq al-Dn ibn Ma>rf, the 16th-century mechanician, followed al-iyyal al-daqqa), treatises of the science
the same pattern. Accounting for the books he read in his scientific curriculum, he mentioned, in addition to texts of mathematics, books of accurate machines (kutub of the steelyard and of the balance (ras<il (jar
>ilm al-qarasn wa al-mzn), and of the pulling of weights
al-athql).
39
Sometimes
>ilm al-athql is refered to as >ilm markiz al-athql, one of its branches which enjoyed
great reputation. A good instance of this is the following quotation we find in the correspondence between
al-Qh and al-b. In a letter to al-Qh, al-b says:

We did not obtain a complete book on this science, I mean centers of gravity (markiz al-athql), nor was there done any satisfactory work by one of the ancients or one of the moderns. In my opinion it is in the rank of a singular science which merits to have a book of basic principles (al-
in>a al-mufrada allat yutj an yu>mal lah kitb ul).40
35 36 37
Al-Ghazl 1961, p. 139.
Al-usayn b. Ab Bakr Ibn Rashq (d. 1292), Rislat f tanf al->ulm al-riyiyya, Rabat, al-Maktaba al->mma, MS Q 416, p. 422. On Ibn Rashq, see Lamrabet 2002 and Abattouy 2003a, pp. 101-105.
Al-Bayhaq 1988, p. 125. Likewise, in the notice he devoted to the mathematician Ab Sahl al-Qh, al-Bayhaq states that he was "well-versed in the science[s?] of machines and weights and moving spheres" (baraza f >ilm al-iyyal wa al-athql wa al-ukar almutaarrika) (ibid., p. 88).
In the incipit of this collection, al-Isfizr writes: We collected in this book what has reached us of the books on various devices (anw> al- iyyal) composed by the ancients and by those who came after them, like the book of Philon the constructor of machines (sib aliyyal), the book of Heron the mechanician (run al-majnq) on the machines (iyyal) by which heavy loads are lifted by a small force... We start by presenting the drawings of the machines (uwwar al-iyyal) conceived by the brothers Muammad, Amad and al-asan, Ban Ms ibn Shkir. Manchester, John Ryland Library, Codex 351, f. 94b; Hayderabad, Andra Pradesh Library, Asafiyya Collection,
39 38
Codex QO 620, p. 1. In his Kitb at-uruq al-saniyya f al-lt al-rniyya (The Sublim methods in spiritual machines): al-asan 1976, p. 24.
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A century later,
al-Isfizr qualified the centers of gravity as the most elevated and honourable of the
parts of the mathematical sciences and defined it as:
the knowledge of the weights of loads of different quantities by the [determination of the] difference of their distances from their counterweights. 41
Al-Khzin specifies further the definition of his predecessor when he explains that the study of the
steelyard is founded upon the science of the centers of gravity ( wa Therefore, it is obvious that the expression aspect of
>alayhi mabn al-qaffn ).42
markiz al-athql is intended to account for the statical
>ilm al-athql, by the study of forces as they are related to weights, such as in the case of
levers and scales. This same thesis is assumed by other Islamic scholars.43 In contrast, the tradition of
iyyal delimits the contours of a distinct discipline, centered on the Ban Ms and al-Jazar,
investigation of the methods of applicability of mathematical knowledge to natural bodies. As represented in several Greek and Arabic mechanical texts, written by Heron, Pappus, Philon, the tradition of
iyyal is focused on the description of machines and the explanation of their functions.
Book I of Heron's treatise contains principles of theoretical mechanics, but the rest, more than three quarters of the whole, is predominantly about different kinds of devices. The same applies to the treatise of Pappus. As for Philon of Byzantium (fl. 230), his Pneumatics is mainly a catalogue of machines worked by air pression. 44 An important constituent of the Greek traditional doctrine of mechanics as it is disclosed in the texts by Pseudo-Aristotle, Heron and Pappus is represented by the theory of the simple machines (the windlass, the lever, the pulley, the wedge, and the screw). Those simple machines were dealt with in Arabic science by several scholars such as the Pseudo-Ibn of
Sn,45 al-Isfizr,46 and Sinn ibn Thbit47 under the name
iyyal. Besides this trend on the basic simple machines and their combinations, the science of iyyal Ban
also included a description of other categories of machines necessary in daily life and useful for civil engineering. The most well known works describing this kind of engines are the texts of machines by
40 41 42 43
Berggren 1983, pp. 48, 120.
Irshd dhaw al->irfn il in>at al-qaffn, al-<Asad National Library in Damascus, al-hiriyya collection, MS 4460, f. 16b. Al-Khzin 1940, p. 5.
For instance, Ibn al-Akfn (fourteenth century) asserts that >ilm markiz al-athql shows how to balance great weights by small ones, with the intermediary of the distance, such as in the steelyard (qarasn): Ibn al-Akfn 1989, p. 409. The same idea is in al-Tahnaw 1980, vol. 1, p. 47. Philon's Pneumatics was translated into Arabic under the title Kitb Fln f al-iyyal al-rniyya wa mjanq al-m< (The Book of Philon on spiritual machines and the hydraulic machines). The Arabic text was edited and translated into French in Carra de Vaux: see Philon 1902. A Persian mechanical text called Mi>yr al->uql dur fan jar athql is attributed to Ibn Sn. The treatise, in two sections, is devoted to the five simple machines. It presents the first successful and complete attempt to classify simple machines and their combinations: Ibn Sn 1331 H [1952]. For a short commentary, see Rozhanskaya 1996, pp. 633-34.
46 47 45 44
Al-Isfizr is the author of a collection of summaries and commentaries extracted from the mechanical works of Heron, Apollonius, and Ban Ms. He dealt with simple machines in his commentary on Book II of Heron's Mechanics: see Abattouy 2000b, pp. 147-48. Sinn (d. 942), the son of Thbit ibn Qurra, is presumably the author of a fragment on the five simple machines preserved in Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, MS Orient fol. 3306.
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Ms and al-Jazar. Kitb al-iyyal by the Ban Ms comprises a large variety of devices, the vast
majority of which consist of trick vessels for dispending liquids. The book of
al-Jazar al-Jmi> bayna 'l-
>ilm wa 'l->amal f in>at al-iyyal (The Compendium of theory and practice in the art of mechanics)
enlarges this same feature in an unprecedented way. The author incorporates in it the results of 25 years of research and practice on various mechanical devices (automata, musical machines, clocks, fountains, vessels, water-raising machines, etc.) 48 The conception of
iyyal as the practical component of mechanics is additionally corroborated by the Maft al->ulm by Muammad b. Ysuf al-Khwrizm (10th century). in>at al-iyyal, tusamm bi al-
contents of a chapter of the
Chapter 8 of Book II of this lexicographic encyclopedia is dedicated to
ynniyya manjanqn (the art of mechanics, called in Greek manjanqn). Besides a short mention of
machines for the traction of weights, the
iyyal described are essentially of two types: automata (lt aliyyal
arakt) and hydraulic devices (iyyal arakt al-m<).49 The author devotes great attention to the first
two kinds; this might be taken as evidence to the preeminence of these machines in the domain of in his time. Significantly, of
al-Khwrizm like Ibn Sn classifies the weight-pulling machines in the field
iyyal in contrast to their arrangement among that of athql by al-Frb, which should be considered
as an evolution in the sense of narrowing and prcising the domain of weights, thus articulated around the ideal model of the study of balances and measures. The analysis of the overall significance of the Arabic medieval science of weights showed that this tradition does not represent a mere continuation of the traditional doctrine of mechanics as inherited from the Greeks. Rather, it means the emergence of a new science of weights recognized very early on in Arabic learning as a specific branch of mechanics, and embodied in a large scientific and technical corpus. Comprehensive attempts at collecting and systematizing (as well as updating with original contributions) the mainly fragmentary and unorganized Greco-Roman mechanical literature that had been translated into Arabic were highly successful in producing a coherent and orderly mechanical system. In this light, a redefinition of Arabic mechanics becomes necessary, initially by questioning its status as a unified field of knowledge. Such a redefinition may be worked out briefly by setting a sharp distinction between
>ilm al-
athql and >ilm al-iyyal. The latter corresponds to the traditional descriptive doctrine of machines,
whereas the core structure of the
>ilm al-athql is a genuine theory of mechanics articulated around the
balance-lever model and its theoretical and practical elaborations. Uniting the theoretical treatment of the balance with concrete practical information about its construction and use, and adopting an integrative treatment of physics and mechanics, overcoming their original separation in Antiquity, the new science of weights distinguishes itself by turning mechanics from being originally a marginal part of geometry into an independent science of weights. On the methodological level, the new science of weights was marked by a close combination of experimentation with mathematisation. The Aristotelian qualitative procedures were enriched with
48 49
For the two works of Ban Ms and al-Jazar, see respectively Hill 1974 and Hill 1979 for English translations and al-asan 1979 and al-asan 1981 for the Arabic texts.
Al-Khwrizm 1968, pp. 246-247.
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quantitative ones, and mathematics was massively introduced in the study of mechanical problems. As a result, mechanics became more quantitative and the results of measures and experiments took more and more weight in mechanical knowledge. Certainly, the fundamental concepts of Aristotelian physics continued to lay in the background, but the scholars were able to cross their boundaries and to accomplish remarkable discoveries in physical ideas. For instance, the generalization of the theory of centers of gravity to three-dimensional objects, the introduction of a dynamic approach in the study of problems of statics and hydrostatics, the improvement of the procedures and methods for the determination of specific weights and of weighing instruments, the development of the theory of heaviness and the establishment of a theory of the ponderable lever. Further, the treatment of the law of equilibrium by
Thbit ibn Qurra and al-
Isfizr opened the horizon of a unified theory of motion in which the dichotomies of natural-violent,
upward-downward motions vanish, exactly as they disappear in the concomitant motions of the two arms of a balance lever. In this physical system, indeed, the weight of the body might be considered the cause of the downward as well as of the upward motion, overcoming the Aristotelian balking at making weight a cause of motion. For their parts,
al-Qh and Ibn al-Haytham had the priority in formulating the
hypothesis that the heaviness of bodies vary with their distance from a specific point, the center of the earth. Moreover, they contributed to unify the two notions of heaviness, with respect to the center of the universe and with respect to the axis of suspension of a lever. In his recession of the works of his predecessors,
al-Khzin pushed forward this idea and drew from it a spectacular consequence regarding
the variation of gravity with the distance from the centre of the world. All this work represented strong antecedents to the concept of positional weight (gravitas secundun situm) formulated by Jordanus in the 13th century.50 The historians of mechanics, from Pierre Duhem until Marshal Clagett, assumed that the foundation of the science of weights must be credited to the school of Jordanus in Europe in the 13th century. Now it appears that this science emerged much earlier in Islamic science, in the 9th century. Moreover, the first steps of the Latin scientia de ponderibus should be considered as a direct result of the Arabic-Latin transmission, and especially as a consequence of the translation of two major Arabic texts in which the new science and its name are disclosed,
Kitb f 'l-qarasn by Thbit ibn Qurra and I< al->ulm by al-Frb. al-Frb's
Indeed, the very expression scientia de ponderibus was derived from the Latin translation of
I< al->ulm. Versions of this text were produced both by Gerard of Cremona and Dominicus
Gundissalinus. The latter made an adapted version of the
I< in his De scientiis and used it as a
framework for his own De divisione philosophiae, which later became a guide to the relationships between the sciences for European universities in the 13th century. In the two texts, Gundissalinus reproduced sometimes verbatim
al-Frb's characterization of the sciences of weights and devices, called
respectively scientia de ponderibus and sciencia de ingeniis.51 The reason for this close agreement is easy to find: he could not rely on any scientific activity in this field in his times in Latin.52 Among all the sciences
50
51 52
It is evident that all these issues need to be treated and instantiated separately and thoroughly, as they document the theoretical components of the new science of weight: see for a first analysis Abattouy 2001b and Abattouy 2002a. The interpretation of the Arabic science of weights as a progress of science is developed in Abattouy 2004a. Gundissalinus 1903, De Div. Phil., pp. 121-24 and Gundissalinus 1932, De Scientiis, pp. 108-112.
It is to be noted that Hughes de Saint Victor who, in his Didascalicon de studio legendi , provided the most complete Latin classification of the sciences before the introduction of Arabic learning, just overlooked the two mechanical arts. On the Didascalicon see Taylor 1991.
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to which Gundissalinus dedicated a section, the sciences of weights, of devices, and of optics were obviously less known in the Latin west in the 12 th century. Even the antique Latin tradition represented by Boece and Isidore of Sevilla could not furnish any useful data for a sustained reflexion on their epistemological status. It must be added also that Gundissalinus seems to ignore all their developments in the Arabic science either, including
Thbit ibn Qurra's book on the theory of the balance and Ibn al-
Haytham's achievements in optics. Hence, the effort of theorization deployed by Gundissalinus, by showing
the state of the sciences in the late 12 th century in Western Europe, throws the light on a considerable underdevelopment in several sciences. This concerns particularly the different branches of mechanics.53 As said before, Liber karastonis is the Latin translation by Gerard of Cremona of
Kitb f 'l-qarasn. The
general structure is the same in both Arabic and Latin versions, and the enunciations of the theorems are identical. Yet the proofs might show greater or lesser discrepancies. None of the Arabic extant copies of
Thbit's Kitb seem to be the direct model for Gerard's translation. The Latin version was repeatedly
copied and distributed in the Latin West until the 17th century, as it is documented by several dozens of extant manuscript copies. This high number of copies instructs on the wide diffusion of the text. Further, the treatise was embedded into the corpus of the science of weights which was understood to be part of the mathematical arts or quadrivium, together with other works on the same topic, in particular the writings of Jordanus Nemorarius in the science of weights.54 In addition, at least one version of
Thbit's work was
known in Latin learning as a writing of scientia de ponderibus. This version is the Excerptum de libro Thebit
de ponderibus, a Latin text which appears frequently in the codexes. It is precisely a digest of the logical structure of Liber de karastonis, in the shape of statements of all the theorems. 55
7. Mechanics in the service of society

This final section will be dedicated to a preliminary overview on the institutional setting of the usage of the balance in medieval Islamic societies. The focus will be laid on a brief description of the role the office played in the control of the fabrication and usage of weighing instruments The balance most widely used in the Islamic lands of medieval times was the equal-armed platform scale, made mostly in copper. There were tiny balances for gold and jewels, average ones for retail traders, and huge balances for the merchants of grains, wood, wool, etc. In general, the balances had beams and weights made of steel or iron. Steelyards, called reported in a historical source,
56
isba
qarasn or qabbn, were also widely employed. As
a site called
Qarasn existed in the ancient medina in Fez until the early
20th century, probably because of a huge public balance set up there. Public balances are still located today
This was noted by Hugonnard-Roche 1984, p. 48. Other Arabic works on the classification of the sciences translated into Latin might have been a source for the distinction of the science of weights and its qualification as the theoretical basis of mechanics. For instance, alGhazl's Maqid al-falsifa, translated as Summa theoricae philosophiae by Gundissalinus and Johannes Hispanus in Toledo, and Ibn Sn's Risla f aqsm al->ulm, translated by Andrea Alpago: In Avicenn philosophi prclarissimi ac medicorum principis, Compendium de anima, De mahad, Aphorismi de anima, De diffinitionibus et qusitis, De divisione scientiarum, Venice, 1546, fols 139v-145v.
54 55 56
53
The Liber karastonis is edited with English translation in Moody and Clagett 1952, pp. 88-117. For more details on its codicological tradition, see Buchner 1922 and Brown 1967. Brown, 1967, pp. 24-30 and Knorr, 1982, pp. 42-46, 173-80. Dozy 1927, vol. 2, p. 327.
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in the
fandiq (bazaars) of the old medina. One can infer in this context that a similar public weighing site
must have been present in all the markets of Islamic cities.
Figure 3. Al-Birnis balance, in Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Islamic Science an Illustrated Study. Kent 1976 (The image was introduced by the editor).
The
qarasn or steelyard with a sliding weight was largely used since Antiquity. It is mentioned in Greek
sources by its ancient name, the charistion, and was employed extensively in Roman times.57 Composed of a lever or a beam (>amd) suspended by a handle that divides it into two unequal arms, the center of gravity of the instrument is located under the fulcrum. In general the shorter arm bears a basin or a scalepan in which the object to be weighed is set, or suspended from a hook. The cursor-weight,
rummna in
Arabic, moves along the longer arm in order to achieve equilibrium. This arm, which has generally a quadrangular cross section, bears two different scales which are engraved along the two opposite sides. Due to the fact that the steelyard can be suspended by two hooks, there are two independent graduations. According to the choice made, there will be different relations between the lengths of the longer and smaller arms of the lever, corresponding to the different scales. On the beam or near the fulcrum, the number of units or fractions corresponding to the capacity of the balance was engraved as was the official stamp of the authorities. The advantage of the steelyard is that it provides an acceptable precision in weighing and allows heavy loads to be supported by small counterweights. In addition, it can be carried around easily. Another kind of balance is a combination of the ordinary balance and of the steelyard in the form of an equal-armed balance with mobile weight. A typical example of this instrument is the balance of Archimedes described by
al-Khzin according to an account by Menelaus.58 In addition to its two equal arms to which
two fixed scale pans are suspended, this balance had on one of the arms a cursor weight which could be hang up on different points of a small scale graduated in two series of divisions. Presented as an hydrostatical balance for the determination of specific gravities, it could also serve for ordinary weighing. A variety of the Archimedes' balance consists in moving the scale pan on a part of the arm. This is the main property of the
mzn ab> (natural or physical balance) designed by Muammad ibn Zakariyy al-
Rz. In this model with equal arms and without counterpoise, one of the scale pans is movable and might
behave as a counterweight.
57
On the ancient history of the steelyard, see Ibel 1908 and Damerow et al. 2002.
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Nowadays, the steelyard balance is called in some Arab countries designated as
al-mzn al-qabbn; in Morocco it is
mzn al-qura. Despite the introduction of modern balances more or less sophisticated,
since long time ago (in the first half of the 19 th century), the steelyards continue to be utilized in Arab and Islamic countries. They serve in popular markets and are widely used in some activities, such as in the slaughterhouses and in the shops of butchers. In Egypt, the industry of traditional steelyards is still active. Egyptian colleagues informed me that in the old city of Cairo, in an area called
ay tat al-rub>, near the
Dr al-kutub, not far from the Azhar Mosque, artisans build steelyards according to traditional methods.
These balances are used massively throughout the country, for example in the weighing of cotton in the country side. In other Arab countries, the fabrication of these balance disappeared completely. For instance, in Morocco, it vanished since several decades, as a result of the introduction of modern balances and of the concurrence of the European industry of these same instruments. Therefore, the steelyards used in the country are imported from Southern Italy and Spain. But local artisans are able to repair the imported engines and to supply certain of their equipments, as I could see by direct observation during my visits to their shops in Fez in 1999 and 2000. In his geographical book at as
Asan al-taqsm f ma>rifat al-aqlm, Muammad al-Muqaddas, the
Palestinian geographer of the 10th century, reports that the most accurate balances were those fabricated
arrn in northern Mesopotamia. Kfa, in southern Iraq, was also famous for the accuracy of its Khursn. But others were better known for their fraudulent procedures. Various passages in the
balances. Other regions were celebrated for the honesty of the weighing practices of their merchants, such
Qur<n show that as early as the advent of Islam, false balances were in use in the markets. Later
narratives report that some jewelers and goldsmiths, in order to fraudulently weigh their wares, blow gently on the scale-pan of their balance, stick a small piece of wax under it, or merely use false weights. Al-
Jawbar (fl. 1216-22) described two such arrangements. In the one the beam of the balance consisted of a
hollow reed containing quicksilver, which was closed at both ends. By a slight inclination of the beam, the quicksilver could be made to flow as desired to the side with weights or with goods and thus make one or the other appear heavier. In the other case, the tongue of the balance was of iron and the merchant had a ring with a magnetic stone; by bringing the ring close to the balance, it moves down to the right or left.59 In order to reprimand these fraudulent tricks and deceitful behaviour, and to implement the instructions of Islam about the strict observance of the just weighing, the Islamic society invented a specific institutional setting, represented by the office of
isba. This office was occupied by the mutasib, an officer regularly
appointed to take charge of the harmonization between the commands of Islam and the social practice, especially concerning the control of markets. As such, one of his main duties was to observe that correct scales and weights were used in commercial transactions. The office of
isba was established towards the 2nd century of Hijra as a consequence of the development fiqh (jurisprudence) assumed form. With the
of large cities and after that the various schools of

58 59
Al-Khzin 1940, pp. 78-79.
Al-Jawbar 1979-80, vol. 2, p. 162. Similar fraudulent practicas are described in detail in the books of isba: for references to the isba
literature relevant to the balances and weights knowledge, see Abattouy [Forthcoming 2006].
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establishment of the new office, certain text-books began to include chapters dealing with the theory of its functions and their practical application, and in the course of time independent manuals intended to assist the
mutasib in the performance of his duties were written. Among these text-books, the best known are
Nihyat al-rutba f alab al-isba by >Abd-al-Rahman al-Shayzar (d. 589/1193), and Ma>lim alqurb f akm al-isba, by iyy< al-Dn al-Qurash, known as Ibn al-Ukhuwwa (d. 729/1329).
The manuals for the guidance of the in medieval Islam. The
mutasib are an important source for the reconstruction of the social
structures within which the making and the use of the balances and weights were organized and regulated
mutasib was in charge of the morality, integrity, and quality of the various trades, but his main duty,
the basic and permanent one, was to watch over and to supervise the balances and weights. In his
Nihyat al-rutba f alab al-isba (The utmost authority in the pursuit of isba), the earliest extant
book of its kind to appear in the Islamic East, this domain:
al-Shayzar defines as follows the duties of the mutasib in
The most accurate scale is that in which the two sides are equal, the pans are balanced and the hole for the attachment on either side of the centre of the beam is one third of the thickness of the attachment. The hole should be one third of the way under the peg of the attachment, and two thirds above it. This allows for the inclination of the scales by taking the tongue of the balance out of the beam of the attachment, and the pan will descend with the slightest weight (). The peg might be square, triangular or round. The best is the triangular one because it inclines with more sensitivity than the others. The mutasib must order those who use scales to wipe and clean them hourly of any oil or dirt, as a drop of oil may congeal on them and affect the weights. The merchant must settle the scales before he begins to weigh and should place the merchandise on them gently, not dropping it into the pan from his raised hand, nor moving the edge of the pan with his thumb, as all of this is fraudulent The merchant should acquire ral-s and awqiyya-s made of iron and test their accuracy against the standard weights. He must not use stone ones, as this chip when they knock against each other and thus become inaccurate. If stone weights have to be used because iron ones are unavailable, then the mutasib must order the merchant to bind them with leather and he must stamp them after testing their accuracy. He should re-examine them now and again in case the merchant has replaced them with wooden weights which look the same.60
In the 13th-century Fatimid Cairo, the fabrication as well as the control of the balances and weights was undertaken within a specific institution, the his
Dr al->iyyr, itself under the supervision of the mutasib. In
al-Maw>i wa 'l-tibr f dhikr el-khia wal-thr, al-Maqrz (1364-1442) provides a valuable
60
Al-Shayzar 1999, pp. 43-44. The same instructions are in Ibn al-Ukhuwwa 1938, pp. 80 ff. and in other manuals of isba: see Ziyyda 1962 and Izzi Dien 1997.
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report about this institution and shows in a new light the duties of the balances and weights:
mutasib in the regulation of
The mutasib inspects the Dr al->iyyr The standard measures were in a place known as the
Dr al->iyyr in which the accuracy of all the parts of scales and all the weights were checked. He
used to pay the costs of this Dr, and whatever was needed of copper, steel, wood, glass and other apparatus, and the wages of the workmen, overseers and such like, from the government administration. The mutasib and his deputies would go there to check in his presence the accuracy of what was produced in it. If it was correct, he endorsed it, and if not then he ordered that it should be re-made until it was correct. In this Dr were specimens with which he corrected the standard measure; for the weights, scales and measures would not be sold except from this
Dr. All the merchants would go to this Dr upon the mutasib's summoning them, bringing their
scales, weights and measures to be tested every so often. If a deficiency was found then the [scale, etc.] was destroyed and its owner was taken to the Dr and compelled to purchase a replacement from that which was accurately manufactured there, and to pay its price. Then he is forgiven. () This Dr still remains in all of the Fatimid states. When Sal al-Dn took over the government he confirmed this Dr and it still remains.61
According to this report, the
Dr al->iyyr was in fact the factory where legal balances and weights were mutasib and his collaborators. It also comprised the office
fabricated and tested under the control of the
in which the standard weights were kept. The merchants had to test their usual weights against these legal weights. In the light of this report, it becomes clear therefore why the authors of the Ayyubid, Mameluk and Ottoman Egypt and Syria were so prolific in the composition of technical treatises on the construction of balances, especially of the steelyard type, and on their reparation and testing. There was a strong social demand on them. The
Dr al->iyyr, the isba office and similar other institutions provided the Islamic society with the
institutional setting for the control of the balances, weights, and measures. These institutions must have been connected in one way or another to the scientific and technical activities shaped of the scientists involved in what we called the science of weights. Indeed, the scientific discoveries and the technical improvements must have provided the controllers of scales and weights with the knowledge and expertise to accomplish their task. In fact, it is easy to demonstrate that the large amount of texts on different sorts of balance written in Arabic between the 9th and the 19th centuries were not intended to remain solely in the circle of scientists. At least a substantial part of them was surely addressed to practitioners and artisans, and to the state officials overseeing the markets. This is another instance of the connection between science and society in medieval Islam which deserves a closer investigation.62
References
61 62
Quoted in Buckley 1992, p. 86.
A preliminary study of the interaction of the isba institution with the science of weights may be found in Abattouy 2004b. A partial survey of the doctrinal basis of the institution of isba, mainly in the Islamic west, is in Abattouy 2005a.
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1.
Abattouy, Mohammed 1999. "The Arabic Tradition of Mechanics: Textual and Historical Characterization." Majallat kulliyyat al-db wa 'l->ulm al-insniyya bi-Fs, vol. 12.1 (1999): pp. 75-109. 2000a. La Tradition arabe de la balance:
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Thbit ibn Qurra et al-Khzin. In Quelques aspects de l'volution des ides scientifiques. Antiquit et moyen ge. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 49-91.
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4. 2000c. Mechan vs. iyal: Essai d'analyse smantique et conceptuelle. In Imagination and Science. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 127-151. 2000d. Sur quelques dmonstrations grecques et arabes de la loi du levier: transmission et transformation. In liyyt al-istidll f 'l->ilm. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 7-43 2001a. Nutaf
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Maqla f 'l-mzn un trait sur la thorie du levier attribu Euclide." Majallat kulliyyat al-db wa 'l->ulm al-insniyya bi-Fs (Fez), N 13:
14. Abattouy 2004-2005. Entries "al-Ahwz", "Ily al-Marn", "al-Isfizr", "Taq al-Dn ibn Ma>rf" (in Arabic). In Maws>at a>lam al->ulam< wa 'l-<udab< al-muslimn (8 volumes to date). Published by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (Tunis) and Dar al-Jayl (Beirut). 15. 2005a.
"Al-<ass al-kalm li-mu<assasat al-isba f al-gharb al-islm (The kalmic foundation of the institution of hisba"). In Al-ittijht al-kalmiya f al-gharb al-islm (The trends of kalm in the Islamic
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al-isba f 'l-gharb al-islm f >asr Ibn Khaldn." Forthcoming in AlAbniya al-fikriya f 'l-gharb al-islm zaman Ibn Khaldn. Proceedings of the meeting held in Marrakech in
23-26 February 2006. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press.
21. Abattouy, M., Renn, Jrgen, Weinig, Paul 2001. Transmission as Transformation: The Translation Movements in the Medieval East and West in a Comparative Perspective. Science in Context, vol. 14: pp. 1- 12. 22. Aghayani Chavoshi, Jafar & Bancel, Faza 2000. Omar Khayym et l'Hydrostatique. Farhang. Quarterly Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (Tehran) vol. 12: : pp. 33-49. 23. Anawati, Georges C. 1977. Les divisions des sciences intellectuelles d'Avicenne. Mlanges de l'Institut Dominicain d'Etudes Orientales du Caire vol. 13: pp. 323-335. 24. Aristotle 1952. Mechanica. Greek text with English translation by E. S. Forster. In The Works of Aristotle, vol. 6: Opuscula. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 25. Bancel, Faza 2001. Les centres de gravit d'Ab 78. 26.
Sahl al-Qh. Arabic Science and Philosophy vol. 11: pp. 45-
Bayhaq, al-, >Al ibn Zayd 1988. Trkh ukam< al-islm. Edited by M. Kurd >Al. Damascus: Mab>t mujamma> al-lugha al->arabiyya. Reprint of the 1st edition (1946). Isq al-b. A Translation
27. Berggren, Lennart J. 1983. The Correspondence of Ab Sahl al-Kh and Ab with Commentaries. Journal for the History of Arabic Science vol. 7: pp. 39-124.
28. Brown, Joseph Edward 1967. The "Scientia de Ponderibus" in the Later Middle Ages. Ph. D. Dissertation. Madison: The Wisconsin University Press. 29. Buchner, Franz 1922. Die Schrift ber den Qarastn von Thabit b. Qurra. Sitzungsberichte der PhysikalischMedizinischen Soziett zu Erlangen: pp. 141-188. 30. Buckley, R. B. 1992. The
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31. Charette, Franois 2003. Mathematical Instrumentation in Fourteenth-Century Egypt and Syria. The Illustrated Treatise of Najm al-Dn al-Mir. Leiden: Brill. 32. Clagett, Marshall 1959. The Science of Mechanics in the Middle Ages. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 33. Damerow, Peter, Renn, Jrgen, Rieger, Simone, and Weinig, Paul 2002. Mechanical Knowledge and Pompeian Balances. Homo Faber: Studies on Nature, Technology, and Science at the Time of Pompeii. Edited by Jrgen Renn and Giuseppe Castagnetti. Roma: L'Erma, pp. 93-108.
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34. Dozy, R. 1927. Supplment aux dictionnaires arabes. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2 vols. 35.
Frb, al-, Ab Nar Muammmad 1949. I< al->ulm. Edited by >Uthmn Amn. Cairo: Dr al-fikr al>arab, 2nd edition. Ghazl, al-, al-Imm ab mid 1961. Maqid al-falsifa. Edited by Sulaymn Duny. Mir [Cairo]: Dr al-ma>rif.
36.
37. Gundissalinus, Dominicus 1903. De Divisione Philosophiae. Herausgeben und philosophiegeschichtlich untersucht... von Dr. Ludwig Baur. Beitrge zur Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittelalters, 4.2-3. Munster: Druck und Verlag der Aschendorffschen Buchhandlung. 38. [Gundissalinus, D.] Domingo Gundisalvo 1932. De Scientiis. Texto latino establecido por el P. Manuel Alonso Alonso. Madrid-Granada: Impressa y Editorial Maestre. 39. Hall, Robert A. 1981. Al-Khzin. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 16 vols. Edited by Charles Gillispie. New York: Scribners, vol. VII: pp. 335-351. 40.
asan, al-, Amad Ysuf 1976. Taq al-Dn wa al-handasa al-mknkiyya al->arabiyya. Ma>a Kitb aluruq al-saniyya f al-lt al-rniyya min al-qarn as-sdis >ashar. Aleppo: Institute for the History of
Arabic Science.
41. 1979. Ibn al-Razzz al-Jazar: Al-Jmi> Institute for the History of Arabic Science. 42. 1981.
bayna al->ilm wa al->amal al-nfi> f in>at al-iyyal. Aleppo:
Ban Ms: Kitb al-iyyal. Aleppo: Institute for the History of Arabic Science.
43. Heron von Alexandria 1976. Heronis Alexandrini Opera quae supersunt. 5 vols; vol. 2: Mechanica et catoprica. Edited by L. Nix and W. Schmidt. Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner. Reprint of the 1st edit. Leipzig: 1899-1914. 44. Hron d'Alexandrie 1988. Les Mcaniques ou llvateur des corps lourds. Texte arabe de Qus ibn Lq tabli et traduit par B. Carra de Vaux, Introduction de D. R. Hill et commentaires par A. G. Drachmann. Paris: Les Belles Letters. 45. Heinen, Anton 1983. At the Roots of the Medieval Science of Weights: A Report on an Edition Project. The Journal of Sophia Asian Studies (Tokyo) vol. 1: pp. 44-55. 46. Hill, Donald R. 1974. The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices. An Annotated Translation of
al-
Jazar's Treatise. Dordrecht: Reidel.

47. 1979. The Book of Ingenious Devices. An Annotated Translation of the Treatise of
Ban Ms. Dordrecht: Reidel.
48. Hugonnard-Roche, Henri 1984. La classification des sciences de Gundissalinus et l'influence d'Avicenne. Etudes sur Avicenne. Diriges par J. Jolivet et R. Rashed. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, pp. 41-75. 49. Ibel, Thomas 1908. Die Wage im Altertum und Mittelalter. Erlangen: Junge (Erlangen Univ., Diss., 1906). 50.
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Ibn al-Akfn, Shams al-Dn 1989. Kitb Irshd al-qid il asn al-maqid. Edited by Junuarius Justus Ibn Sn, al-Shaykh al-Ra<s ab >Al 1331 H [1952]. Mi>yr al->uql, tasnf Shaykh Ra<s ab >Al Sn. Persian text edited with introduction and notes by Jall al-Dn um<. Tehran: Anjuman-i Asar-i Milli. Tis> Ras<l fi 'l-ikma wa 'l-ab>iyyt. Cairo: Dr al-Bustn, 2nd edition.
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TURKISH MEDICAL HISTORY OF THE SELJUK ERA
Prof. Dr. Ali Haydar Bayat Prof. Dr. Mohamed El-Gomati Savas Konur December 2006 621 FSTC Limited, 2006
FSTC Limited
Turkish Medical History of the Seljuk Era December 2006
TURKISH MEDICAL HISTORY OF THE SELJUK ERA
Prof. Dr. Ali Haydar Bayat*
THE GREAT SELJUK ERA

The Oguz tribe, who were a pan of the Gokturk Empire that was disbanded in 744, had settled in an area that was under Samanogullari's rule in Mawaraunnahr, Khwarezm and Khorasan. However, after a dispute, Seljuk Bey migrated with his followers 10 the banks of the Jayhun River. The Seljuks after they won the war of Dandanakan against the Gaznevids, established the Great Seljuk State in 1040 and conquered vast lands (Middle Asia, India, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Anatolia).1 The scientific and civil life of the Great Seljuk cannot be separated from the Islamic civilization. During this era, although born and raised in Turkish states, medical greats like Ibn Sn and Brn, who wrote their works in Arabic, the scientific language of the era, were accepted by other Muslim nations. In an era when the idea of community was more important, it was not expected for them to declare their nationality. Together with this, scientists who were able to travel without any political boundaries and to settle in places where they were appreciated were very common for the era. For this reason, it would be incorrect to make an observation about their nationality from where they lived. This is why it is necessary to be tolerant about the nationalities of the scientists of the Great Seljuk Era. There was a doctor, Ibn Tilmz working for the Sultan Sancak.2 Sultan Masud's doctor. Abu al-Barakat from Baghdad worked in the palace and had been awarded with a hilat, a robe of honour.3 During the era of the Sultan Malikshah, there were such doctors as Said b. Hbatullah, who wrote Kitab al-Mugn f al-Tibb and Ibn Jazala who wrote Kitb Takvm al-Abdn and Minhj al-Bayan f m Yasta'milah al-insan.4 Abdullah ibn al-Mudaffar al-Bahl from Andalusia had been the doctor of Mahmud the son of Sultan Malikshah.5 One of the most important books on Pharmaceuticals that was written in this era was Kitab al-Abniya 'an Haqayiq
al-Adviya.6
Hospitals that existed in the Muslim world before the Seljuks were developed and spread by them. However, we have little information on Seljuk hospitals. Among these there are the hospitals and madrasas that were built by order of the vizier to Sultan Sancak, Ahmed Kshi, in Kashan, Abhar, Zanjan, Gence and
Errn,7 hospitals in Kirman (1281) and Bardasr (11th and 12th century), 8 and care centres for the blind and
* 1
Ege University Medical Faculty Medical Ethics and History Department. Ali Sevim, Suriye ve Filistin Selcuklulari Tarihi, Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1983, p. XI. 2 Osman Turan, Selcuklular Tarihi ve Turk-Islam Medeniyeti. Turk Kulturunu Arastirma Enstitusu. Ankara 1965, pp. 243-244. 3 Nihat Keklik, Turkler ve Felsefe. Istanbul 1986, p. 76. 4 Ibrahim Kafesoglu, Sultan Meliksah, Istanbul 1973, p. 172. 5 A. Suheyl Unver, "Selcuklular Zamaninda Seyyah Hastahanenin Muessisi", Turk Tip Tarihi Arkivi, V/18, Istanbul 1940, pp. 70-71. 6 Bedullah Debr Nejd, "Selcuklular Devrinde Kulturel Durum ", Erdem, III/8, Ankara 1987, p. 489. 7 Nasruddin Kirman, Nesimu'l-Eshar (Publ. by Celaleddin Urmev), Tehran 1338. p. 65 [Osman Turan, Selcuklular Tarihi ve Turk-Islam Medeniyeti, p. 250].
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disabled in Musul (1159). Additionally the vizier Kundur, on order of Tugrul Bey restored hospitals such as the Adud al-Dawla in Baghdad.9 They also created field hospitals for the military, where doctors, medical personnel, wounded, medicines and medical supplies were carried by camels.10
Figure 1. A pregnant woman miniature from Mansur b. Muhammad b. Ahmads book Tashrih Badan alInsan (The image was introduced by the editor).
The Turkish Seljuks, in the beginning, acted as the western arm of the Great Seljuk State, but then became independent and created its own identity. The science of medicine in the Turkish Seljuks was not of their own but a continuation of the experience and knowledge of the Islamic medicine through the Seljuk geography.
MEDICINE DURING THE TURKISH SELJUKIAN PERIOD

After the victory of Alp Arslan in Malazgirt in 1071, the doors to Anatolia opened for many Turks to migrate through. By the 13th century Anatolia had become the homeland to one third of the Turks. Even Europeans started to call Anatolia, Turkiye. As Anatolia was an economical bridge between east-west and north-south, the economic and political policies of the sultans, the lowering of the customs tax, the not getting taxes from wheat and metalwork, the guaranteeing of the safety of the international trade routes and the caravanserais on them, the guaranteeing to the traders the income of the country grew parallel to the agricultural and industrial production." The budget of the state was 27 million dinars (gold), compared to 3 million in France and 4 million in England.11 The treasury that was stored was used for making public works.
8 9
Erdogan Mercil, Kirman Selcuklulari. Ministry of Culture, Ankara 1980, pp. 235, 354-355, 362-363. Mehmed Altay Koymen, Tugrul Bey ve Zamani, Ministry of Culture, Ankara 1976, p. 121. 10 Imad ad-Din Katib al-Isfahan, Irak ve Horasan Selcuklulari Tarihi (Trans. Kivameddin Burslan), Turk Tarih Kurumu. Istanbul 1943. pp. 129-230; A. Suheyl Unver, "Selcuklular Zamaninda Seyyah Hastahanenin Muessisi". pp. 70-71. 11 Osman Turan. Selcuklular Zamaninda Turkiye. Turan Nesriyat Yurdu, Istanbul 1971. p. XXVI.
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The statement by Ibn Havkal in the 10th century, "In the Islamic countries, the rich are spending their money for their own pleasures, where in Turkistan, the rich population is using their wealth for religion and charity,"12 and the statement by Ibn Batuta in the 13th century,13 Abundance in Damascus, compassion in Anatolia" has been observed.14 With this understanding, Anatolia amid the confusion at the beginning and end of the middle Ages, started to see an economical and cultural growth not seen before.15 Cities, whose population exceeded one hundred thousand on important caravan routes like Konya, Kayseri, Sivas, became important centres. Mosques, madrasas, soup kitchens for the poor, lodges for the dervishes, bridges, inns, hammams and hospitals were built, and the social status of the people was raised. Especially during the reign of Kilic Arslan II and Aladdin Qaykubat many scientists and artists were invited to live in Anatolia, and these men, by moving in temporarily or permanently, helped the progress of science. From the architectural works that have survived to the present, those that are important for medical history are the dar al-shifas (hospitals) that prove the civilized status of the Anatolian Seljuks.
Hospitals:
During the Anatolian Seljuk time with its show of economic and cultural progress, hospitals called dar al-
shifa, dar al-sihha or bmaristan was opened in every city. Medical assistance was been given to those who
got sick at caravanserais 16 and soup kitchens for the poor. These hospitals that were built by the royal family and supported by foundations were able to do their duties over a long period without becoming a financial burden on the state. Medical treatments were given free of charge and doctors, ophthalmologists, surgeons and pharmacists worked in these hospitals. Some of the many Seljuk hospitals that have made it to the present are as follows: Mardin: Necmeddin Ilgazi Hospital (Maristan) (502-516 H/1108-1122): It was started by the Sultan of Necmeddin Ilgaz of Artuq and completed after his death in the name of his brother by Emineddin Ilgazi. The hospital institution consisted of a mosque, a madrasa, a hammam and a fountain. The institution was built over a vast land and the mosque, madrasa, hammam and fountain has survived until today in ruins. The hospital was in the area south of the hammam. Kayseri: Gawhar Nasiba Medical Madrasa and Hospital (Maristan) (602 H/1205-1206): It is the first medical building the Turkish Seljuks built in Anatolia. The ruler of the Seljuks Giyasaddin Qayhusraw, through the will of his sister Gawhar Nesibe Sultan who died at a young age, built the complex with a hospital (shifaiye) on the west and a medical madrasa (giyasiya) on the east.
12 13 14 15 16
Osman Turan, Selcuklular Tarihi ve Turk-Islam Medeniyeti. p. 276. Ramazan Sesen, Islam Cografyacilarina Gore Turkler ve Turk Ulkeleri. Turk Kulturunu Arastirma Enstitusu, Ankara 1985, p. 209. Ibn Batuta, Seyahatname-i Ibn Batuta (Trans. Mehmed Serif), Matbaa-i Amire, Istanbul 1922, p. 310. Claude Cahen, Osmanlilardan Once Anadolu'da Turkler (Trans. Y Moran), E yayinlari, Istanbul 1979, p. 169. Osman Turan, "Celaleddin Karatay, Vakiflari ve Vakfiyeleri", Belleten, XII/45, Ankara 1948, p. 58.
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Figure 2. Gawhar Nasiba Sultan Sifahana (The image was introduced by the editor).
The two buildings were connected by a corridor that was 1.5 x 11 meters and the hospital was 40 x 42 m (1680m2) and the madrasa was 28 x 40m (1120m 3). Both sections had a plan that included a pool in the middle, a courtyard that was surrounded with pavilions and four antechambers. Together with the rooms around the courtyard, 18 cells that were discovered in the latest excavation on the western wall of the hospital were restored. As it was traditional among the Anatolian Seljuks to bury the founder of the place in the complex, one of the rooms in the medical madrasa with an octagon pyramid roof was built for Gawhar Nesibe. Sivas, Izzeddin Qaykavus Hospital (Dar al-shifa) (614 H/1217): The hospital built by Izzedin Qaykavus in Sivas in 1217, together with its destroyed parts (54.65 x 61.90m) was about 3400m 3 and the largest of the Seljuk hospitals. The hospital was built like a madrasa with antechambers and a courtyard. The 690m2 courtyard was covered with stone and surrounded with 30 rooms with porches. The mausoleum of the donator Izzeddin Qaykavus, which is located inside the hospital, was built with the special Seljuk art of brick lay and mosaic tile. The foundation deed, dated 1220, is the only example from the Seljuk hospitals that has survived to the present. This is why it is very important. From this foundation deed we are able to gather information on the hospital staff and how the hospital was run. The administration of the hospital foundation was given to the palace treasurer and founder of the Cankiri hospital, Camal al-din Farruh. The administrators decided on the wages of the experienced, well performing doctors, surgeons, ophthalmologists and pharmacists, and provided the raw material for the making of medicine. They also decided on the wages of the various workers in the hospital. Five farms, 7 pieces of land and 108 shops devoted to the foundation coveted an area as big as a couple of villages and the money generated from these areas were used in maintaining the hospital. The leftover money was used to buy more income generating sources.17
17
Ali Haydar Bayat, Anadolu Selcuklu Hastane Vakfiyelerinin Tek Ornegi Qlarak Sivas Darussifasi Vakfiyesi", Turk Kulturu, XXIX/333, 1991, pp. 5-19.
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Divrigi: Turan Malak Hospital (Dar al-shifa) (628 H / 1228): The complex consisted of a mosque and a hospital. The mosque was built by Ahmed Shah, the ruler of the Divrigi area of the Menguceks, and the hospital was built by his wife, the daughter of the Erzincan Bey, Turan Malak Sultan. This one and only Ulucami and hospital complex was built on the east side of the city on sloping land. It is very fortunate for Anatolian Turkish art that this building has survived. The hospital had a plan of a madrasa with a courtyard with four antechambers and due to the harshness of the climate, it was covered with three vaults supported by four columns, and was lit up with a large lamp. There were seven rooms around the courtyard and an octagon pool under the place where the light was hanging. There was a stone stairway in the south corner that led to the mezzanine and there was a big hall and two rooms across the front. In the northeast comer of the courtyard, where the gate to the mosque and hospital was located was the mausoleum of Turan Melek. Konya and Aksaray Hospital (Dar al-shifas): It is known that in Konya and Aksaray, as they were the capitals of the Anatolian Seljuk State and adorned with many monuments, there were three hospitals. The first of these three hospitals that has not survived to the present was probably commissioned by Kilic Arslan II and became the Mristan-i Atik.
Dar al-shifa-i Al, which was commissioned by Aladdin Qaykubad, was located on the north side of the
Aladdin hill, near the Seljuk kiosk, just in front of the Ertash gate, on the left side of the Farhuniye/Sd Tekke street. The third hospital in Konya was commissioned by one of the viziers of Izzeddin Qaykavus II, the religious judge Izzedin Muhammed. The complex had a mosque, a madrasa and a hospital. The hospital unit was funded from revenues from the Kestel and Kocmar villages near Kadinhani. In 1254 when Izzeddin Muhammed reorganized the foundation, the hospital was referred to as Maristan-i Atik. We do not have much information on the hospital that was established in Aksaray circa 13th century. Cankiri, Camal al-din Ferruh Hospital (Dr al-afiye) (633 H/1235): This hospital was commissioned by the foundation administrator of the Sivas hospital, Atabey Camal al-din Ferruh. The only remaining parts of the hospital are the inscription made by Atabey Camal al-din Ferruh and a grail with two intertwined snakes. Kastamonu, Ali Bin Suleyman Hospital (Mristan) (671 H/1272): It was commissioned by Muhazzibuddin Ali, the son of one of the Seljuk viziers Muinaddin Suleyman in 1272 in Kastamonu. After a terrible fire about one hundred and fifty years ago only the front where the door was and some of the sidewalls remain. Tokat, Muinuddin Suleyman Hospital (Dar al-shifa) (1255-1275) : One of the buildings of the complex (madrasa, hospital) that was built by one of the statesman of the Seljuk State Parvana Muinuddin Suleyman in Tokat was a hospital. From the complex only the madrasa, now used as the Tokat Museum, has remained. Probably the hospital was one of the adjacent buildings to the madrasa.
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Amasya, Anbar bin Abdullah Hospital (Dar al-shifa) (708 H/1308-9): It was built during the era of the Ilhan ruler Olcayto Mahmad, around the years 1308/09, by Anbar bin Abdullah, the slave of princess Yildiz Hatun. The hospital was built on the side of the road next to the Yesilirmak river and its dimensions were 24.58x32.90m using a madrasa plan and with an antechamber and ten rooms.
Figure 3. Amasya Gokmadarasa (The image was introduced by the editor).

Besides being a hospital complex, it was also known as a place that trained doctors. We have information about the doctors that were assigned here during the Ottoman era. Some of these doctors were Sukrullah (1488), Sabuncuoglu Serefeddin (after 1465), who worked here for ten years and created many valuable pieces of work for Turkish medical history, and Halimi (1516).
Hot springs:
Due to its geological structure Anatolia has rich healthy hot water sources. These hot springs that had been mentioned since antiquity by writers such as Homer, Calinos and Strabon were used for healing purposes. Hot springs that were left from the Roman and Byzantium eras were still being used by the Turkish Seljuk State and new springs were opened for public use. According to the 14 th century writer Omar, there were over 300 thermal springs that the public used for healing purposes. The most famous was the Ilgin hot springs built by Aladdin Qaykubad in 1236 on top of the thermal springs that had been known about since the time of the Roman Justinian. This hot springs area that has remained intact along with its inscriptions consisted of two hammams with a pool under its domed roof.18 We can also mention the other hot springs of the time as follows; Agamemnun in Izmir,
Haymana, Kizilcahamam in Ankara, Chardak (1175) in Eskisehir, Yoncali (1233) in Kutahya, Kizozu/Aslanagzi (1256) in Havza, Karakurt (1135) in Kirsehir, llica in Erzurum and Karakaya in Ayas.19
18 Ali Haydar Bayat, "Anadolu Selcuklu Donemi Darussifalari Uzerine Toplu Bir Degerlendirme, I. Uluslararasi Selcuklu Kultur ve Medeniyeti Kongresi, Bildiriler, I, Selcuk Universitesi, Selcuklu Arastirmalari Merkezi, Konya 2001, pp. 121-148. 19 Bedi Sehsuvaroglu, "Anadolu Kaplicalari ve Selcuklular ", I. U. Tip Fakultesi Mecmuasi, year 1957, issue 2, p. 305-325; A. Suheyl Unver, "Kutahya'da Selcuklulardan Kalma Yoncali Ilicasi 631 (1233)", Turk Tip Tarihi Arkivi, VI/21, Istanbul 1943, p. 29-34; A. Suheyl Unver, "Selcuklular Zamaninda ve Sonra Anadolu Kaplicalari Tarihi Uzerine ", CHP Konferanslari Serisi, Kitap 8, Ankara 1939. p. 89-109, Riza
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Hamams also play an important role in the development of health areas during the Seljuk time. Many hammams were built by foundations, sultans and statesman for the public, for both men and woman.20
Medical Education:
In the Islamic world, in the Mustansiriye Madrasa in Baghdad, other than the professors that taught Islamic science, the existence of shayh al-tibb professors that taught 10 students21 and the announcement that medical classes were being given in the Mansuriyya and Muayyadiya madrasas in Cairo, show us that medicine was taught in some of the madrasas. Also, Nuaymi's introduction of three medical madrasas in Damascus (Dinvariyye, Dunaysiriyya ve Labbudiyya), illustrates that although few, there were independent medical schools.22" Private lessons were also given. Damascus doctors Muhazzabaddin and Muhaddab (1232) had left instructions that after their deaths that their homes and books were to be used for medical studies. 23
Figure 4. A medical treatment miniature from Sharaf al-Din Sabuncuoglus book Jarrahiyyat al-Haniya (The image was introduced by the editor).
There is no proof that medical classes were given in Turkish Seljuk madrasas. The Seljuk hospitals in Anatolia, on one hand being a health facility were also places where doctors were educated through a master-apprentice relationship. Two documents regarding the appointment of doctors in hospitals have survived to the present. In one of these, the doctor Burhanaddin Abu Bakr, who was appointed to succeed on the death of doctor Izzaddin of the Konya Hospital, was told to take care of the sick with kindness and compassion not to discriminate between the sick and the insane, and that his salary would be paid by the
Reman, Balneoloji ve Sifali Kaynaklarimiz. Istanbul 1942; Enis Karakaya, "Kaplica", Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi Islam Ansiklopedisi, XXIV, Istanbul 2002, pp. 351-352. 20 A. Suheyl Unver, "Konya'da Selcuklular Zamanidaki Hamamlara Dair", Turk Tip Tarihi Arkivi, V/17, Istanbul 1940, pp. 83-86. 21 Abdullah Kuran, Anadolu Medreseleri, vol. 1, Ankara 1969, p. 4; Osman Turan, "Selcuklu Devri Vakfiyeleri III", Belleten, XII/45, Ankara 1948, p. 75. 22 Ismail Yigit, "Memluklu Donemi (1250-1517) Ilmi Hareketine Genel Bir Bakis". Turkler, vol. V, Yeni Turkiye Yayinlari, Ankara 2002, pp. 750, 751, 752 [Nuaym, ed-Dris f Trihi'l-Medris (publ. by Cafer el-Hasen), vol. 1, Beyrut 1405, p. 54]. 23 Osman Turan, Selcuklular Tarihi ve Turk-Islam Medeniyeti. p. 241; Dogu Anadolu Turk Devletleri Tarihi, Turan Nesriyat Yurdu, Istanbul 1973, p. 220; Turkiye Selcuklulari Hakkinda Resmi Vesikalar, Turk Tarih Kurumu. Ankara 1958, p. 54.
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foundation of the hospital. The second document stated that due to Sharafaddin Yakub being a talented doctor he was appointed to the hospital, that he should not mix the medicines together other than what was stated in Medical books, that he should not discriminate between the rich and the poor, and that he should enlighten the students with precise proofs during their education at the hospital.24
Physicians and Their Work:

We are able to gather information on the Turkish Seljuk doctors from history books, publications, literature, and from their writings that have survived to the present. Although some present publications state that the position of head doctor was given, there are no documents to prove this.25 Seljuk rulers appointed some of the valuable doctors for their own health problems when they saw fit. From sources that have survived until now, we can see that in the Anatolian Seljuk era, due to developments in the medical field, there were many doctors active in the cities. Especially during the rule of Kilic Arslan II and Aladdin Qaykubad, there were many doctors invited to Anatolia. Because of their wide range of knowledge, their reputation and intellectual personalities, some doctors were sent on political missions to foreign countries by their administrators (i.e. Abu Bakr bin Yusuf).26 Some of the doctors worked in hospitals, but some of them travelled from city to city, practicing medicine. For example the doctor Saduddin Mes'ud, in a letter he wrote to a friend, mentioned going to Sinop, Kastamonu, Amasya and Niksar to heal patients and that he longed to return but that he had to go to the Canik area to cure some patients. We learn from the narratives of Evhadudduddin Kirman that in Anatolia there were ear cleaners that travelled with a copper flask that contained oil and alcohol,27 similar to the quack eye doctors that roam the same areas today performing cataract operations. Well known doctors with good reputations were addressed as: "Malik al-Hukama, Sultan al-Atibba, Platon
al-dahr Hippocrat al-Asr, Masih al-zaman, Fahr al-Millat wa al-Din..."28

There were many doctors who created works during the Anatolian Seljuk era, who were invited by the rulers to come to Anatolia temporarily to do their job. Some of these doctors are as follows: Hakim Barka/Baraka: He is the first doctor to write a medical book in Turkish, Tuhfa-i Mubariz. In the preface he states that he first wrote the book in Arabic under the name Lubab al-Nuhab, and then he translated it into Persian under the name Tuhfa-i Mubrz. He then submitted this book to the Amasya Governor of Aladdin Qaykubat, Mubaruziddin Halifat Alp Gzi. The Governor liked the book but stated, "If it
24
Osman Turan, Turkiye Selcuklulari Hakkinda Resm Veskalar. Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1958, pp. 51-52, 53. 67-68; Osman Turan, Selcuklular Tarihi ve Turk Islam Medeniyeti, p. 251. 25 Ali Haydar Bayat, Osmanli Devletinde Hekimbasilik Kurumu ve Hekimbasilar. Ataturk Kultur Merkezi Baskanligi, Ankara 1999, p. 3; A. H. Bayat, "Mevlana'nin Dostlarindan Tabib Ekmeleddin Mueyyed el-Nahcuvan, III. Milli Mevlan Kongresi (12-14 Dec. 1988) (Tebligler), Selcuk Universitesi, Konya 1988, p. 233. Kamal al-Din Ibn al-Adim, Bugyat al-Talab f Tarih Halab (Publ. by Ali Sevim), Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1976, p. 94. 27 Mikail Bayram, "Anadolu Selcuklulari Donemi Tababeti ile Ilgili bazi Notlar". Yeni Tip Tarihi Arastirmalari, issue 4, Istanbul 1994, p. 151. 28 Hasan b. Abdi'l-Mu'min el-Hoy, Gunyetu'l-Ktib ve Munyetu't-Talib Ruslmu'r-Resil ve Nucmu'l-Faz'il, Publ. by Adnan Era, Ankara University Faculty of Theology, Ankara 1963, p. 13.
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had been written in Turkish, it would have been an invaluable piece of work." Therefore, he translated it into Turkish. He also wrote the book Kitab-i Hulasa dar 'ilm-i Tibb.29 Ekmeleddin Muayyad al-Nahcuvn: Ekmeleddin, who was described to Mevlana as our son whose self is pure and correct, was born in Nahcivan. We do not have the information of where he learned to become a doctor and when he came to Konya. We understand from the names given to him by the palace, statesman and Mevlana: Malik al-huqama, wa'1-atibba: rais al-atibba; huqama-i jihan, sultn-i etibb-i zaman; iftihr al-atibba; Calinus al-fadl, Aflatun al-tadbir, Calinus al-zaman; tadbir al-dahr, Eflatun alzaman: Bokrat al-'asr, that he was a well-respected doctor.30 Abu Bakr b. az-Zaki el-Mutatabbib al-Konev: We get most of the information from the works Ravdat
al-Kuttab and Hadkat al-Albab that he wrote in 1279 from letters to Akmal al-din. From this we learn that
he was a student of Akmal al-din, that he made medicine for the statesmen, that he cured an emir's son, that he found an impostor trying to be a doctor and that he had written a brochure Bb-i Munzara-i
Meyn-i Dil u Dimag (the debate between the heart and brain).31
Gadanfar Tabrz: His real name was Abu Ishak Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Ma'ruf bi-Gadanfar al-Tabrz (if there is not someone else with the same name at that time) and he was one of the doctors that worked with Akmal al-din on the deathbed of Mevln to cure him. His copies of the writings of the commentary
Hsil al-Masa'il on Hunayn b. Ishak's (87)] al-Masa'il fi't-Tibb li'l-Mutaallimin and his commentary on Ibn Sina's at-lsharat wa'l-Tanbihat, al-Tabi'iyyat part that he wrote in 1301-2 has survived until the present. We know two of his works that he reproduced. These are Brni's Kitabu's-Saydana and the criticism of Behmenyr to Ibn Sin's Envr al-Afqr.32
Hubays al-Tifls: It is thought that he came to Anatolia when Kilicarslan II decked out Aksaray with mosques, madrasas, soup kitchens for the poor and bazaars, and when many scientists and merchants settled there from Azerbaijan. He has written about thirty books on topics such as medicine, language, literature, astrology, dream explanations and the pronunciation of words in the holy Kur'an. Although he has many works, he is not mentioned in Islamic sources. Among his medical works some examples that he wrote are as follows:
Adviyat al-Adviya: A book on Pharmaceuticals, the gathering of medicines, how to store, bum, cook and
use the formulas of ink medicine and how they are made.
Ihtisaru Fusuli'l-Bukrat: An Arabic copy of Hippocrates' Aphorisms.

Cevat Izgi, "Anadolu Selcuklu Tabibleri", III. Turk Tip Tarihi Kongresi, Istanbul 20-23 Sept. 1993, Bildirileri, Turk Tarih Kurumu. Ankara 1999, p. 220-221. 30 Ali Haydar Bayat, "Mevlana'nin Dostlarindan Tabib Ekmeleddin Mueyyed el-Nahcuvan, III. Milli Mevlan Kongresi (12-14 Dec. 1988) (Tebligler), Selcuk University, Konya 1988, pp. 231-262. 31 Feridun Nafiz Uzluk, "Anadolu Selcuklulari Hekimlerinden Zeki Oglu Ebubekir "Sadr-i Kunevi", Ankara Tip Fakultesi Mecmuasi, 1/3, 1947, pp. 91-99; German; "Ebubekr der Sohn des Zeki, Gennant Sadri Kunevi ein Artz aus Zeit des Anatolischen Seldhukkenreiches", Acta Medica Turcica, I/2, Ankara 1949, pp. 29-37; Abu Bakr Ibn al-Zaki. Ravzat al-Kuttab va Hadkat al-Albab (pub. Ali Sevim). Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1972, pp. 51-52 (139-149); Feridun Nafiz Uzluk (pub,); Mevlana'nin Mektuplari, Sebal Basimevi, Istanbul 1937, pp. 21-25; A. Suheyl Unver, Turk Tip Tarihi Hakkinda Muallim Cevdet'in Bibliyografyasi", Muallim M. Cevdet'in Hayati, Eserleri ve Kutuphanesi (edit by Osman Ergin), Bozkurt Matbaasi, Istanbul 1937, p. 632; Cevat Izgi, Anadolu Selcuklu Tabibleri", III. Turk Tip Tarihi Kongresi (Istanbul 20-23 Sept 1993), Bildirileri. Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1999, p. 229. 32 Cevat Izgi, Anadolu Selcuklu Tabibleri", III. Turk Tip Tarihi Kongresi (Istanbul 20-23 Sept 1993), Bildirileri. Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1999, pp. 22S-226; Cevat Izgi, "Gazanfer et-Tebrizi", Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi Islam Ansiklopedisi, XII, Isianbul 1996, pp. 433-434.
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Kifayat al-Tibb: This work consisted of two books and 224 chapters. It was written in Persian and was
presented to Melikshah.
Risle f Sharhi Ba'zi'l-Masai'l- li-Asbab and 'Almt Muntahba Mina'l-Qann: It is a pamphlet that explains the reasons and symptoms of illnesses, using examples from ibn Sina's al-Qann.
Other works include Sihhat al-Abdn, Takdm al-'Ilac and Bazrakat al-Minhc, Rumz al-Minhc ve Kunz al'Ilac and Lubabu'1-Asbab.33 Sherhu Kulliyat al-Qann and Hallu Shukuki'l-Murade f sharh al-Fahr al-Razi written in 1253, Ibn Sna's alIshrt wat-tanbiht in his book Zubdat al-Nakz ve Lubb al-Kaff.34 Abdullah Sivs: He lived in the 14th century and was known for his summary of the works of Hippocrates' Aforizma, Ibn Abu Sadik en-Nishbur's commentary in his book Umdat al-Fuhl f Sharh al-Fusl, written in 1314 in Aksaray.35 Ali Sivs: He lived in the 14th century and is known for his book Kitbu Iksr al-Hayt f Talhsi Kava'id al-
Mu 'celt that he wrote for the Amasya princes' tutor, Emir Yashbak.36
Tcuddin Bulgar: He was one of the students who came from the Volga Bulgarian Turks who had come to the Islamic states for scientific education. He was sent in his older age as an ambassador lo Baghdad by Giyasaddin Qayhusrav II. He has one book, Muhtasar f Marifat al-Adviyat a1-Mufrada.37 Muhazzibiddin bin Hubal (1213): He was a student of the famous doctor, Abu'l-Barakat from Baghdad. He was praised highly by Allatshahi Ibrahim and made a fortune when he returned to Damascus. One of the doctors that tried to cure Sultan Aladdin Kaykubat when he was in Malatya, Izzeddin ibn Hubal was probably his son. His book, al-Muhtar fi't-Tibb, was used as a main reference book during his time. 38 Other than these doctors whom we know about from their works, there are also those who we know about from their being in the sultan's service such as: Hasnun, Faridaddin Muhammed Jjarm, Izzeddin ibn Hubal, Is, Jarrah Vsil, Abu Slim b. Karya, Safiyuddawla, Rakkal Ridvan bin Ali (1247),39 Taqi al-din Abu Bakr of Ras al-Ayn,40 and Aladdin of Erzincan.41 There are those who had also been mentioned for being
Cevat Izgi. "Anadolu Selcuklu Tabibleri", III. Turk Tip Tarihi Kongresi, Istanbul 20-23 Sept. 1993, Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1999, s. 212-219; Cevat Izgi, "Hubeys et-TifIisi", Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi Islam Ansiklopedisi, XVIII, Istanbul 1999. pp. 68-270; Mikail Bayram, Baciyan-i Rum. Konya 1987, p. 40; Claude Cahen, Osmanlilardan Once Anadolu'da Turkler (Trans. Yildiz Moran), E Yayinlari, Istanbul 1979, p. 248. 34 Cevat Izgi, "Anadolu Selcuklu Tabibleri", pp 224-225. 35 Cevat Izgi, "Anadolu Selcuklu Tabibleri ", p. 228. 36 Cevat Izgi, "Anadolu Selcuklu Tabibleri ", p. 229. 37 Cevat Izgi, "Anadolu Selcuklu Tabibleri", pp. 219-220; Emine Uyumaz, Sultan I. Aleddin Keykbad Doneminde Anadolu 'da Hekimlik Yapan Bazi Tabibler, Yeni Tip Tarihi Arastirmalari, issue 4, Istanbul 1998, pp. 153-156. 38 Ibn Ebi 'Useybia, Uyunu'1-Enb f Tabakatu'l-Etibb, Daru'l-Sakafiye, Beirut 1987, vo. 11, pp. 334-336; Osman Turan, Dogu Anadolu Turk Devletleri Tarihi, p. 120. 39 Ibn-i Bb, el-Evmiru'l-'Al'iyye fi'l-'Umuri'l-Alaiyye, Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1956, p. 296; Translation, Ibn Bibi, el-Evmirul-Aliye fi'l'Umril-Alaiye (by Mursel Ozturk), Ministry of Culture 1000 Temel Eser. Ankara 1996, p. 312; Emine Uyumaz, Sultan I. Alaeddin Keykubad Doneminde Anadolu 'da Hekimlik Yapan bazi Tabibler", Yeni Tip Tarihi Arastirmalari, issue 4, Istanbul 1998, p. 153-154; Ali Sevim (Trans.), Ibnu'l-Adim, Biyografilerle Seljuklular Tarihi (Bugyetu't-Taleb fi Tarihi Haleb) (Secmeler), Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1972, pp. 193-194. 40 Kamal al-Din ibn al-Adm, Bugyat at-Talab fi Tarih Halab (Pub. Ali Sevim), Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1976, p. 94.
33
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around the Sultan, such as Saraf al-Din Ya'kb, Burhan al-Din Abu Bakr, Sa'duddin Mas'ud, Badr al-din ibn Harir, Badr al-din Jarr, Shams al-din b. Hubal, Fahruddin Abu Bakr Ahmed b. Mikail bin Abdullah Konav. There were also those doctors who had been temporarily invited to come to Anatolia. Abdullatif bin Yusuf el-Bagdd, who had been invited by Aladdin Davutshah of the Mencunuk at a high salary, wrote many books when he was in Erzincan.42 It is also known of a doctor in Konya named Mevln Emr Hasan.43 There was also Gabriel, Hasnun of Urfa (1227) and his student 'Isa, Shamon of Harput and Ahron who worked in Malatya. From libraries that kept written works in Sivas, Erzincan, Konya, Aksaray, the copied works of great doctors are proof that there was a scientific livelihood in these areas.44 It is understood that a portion of these scientist had a very active life. For example the doctors from Konya Fahr al-din Abu Bakr Ahmed bin Mika'il bin Abdullah and Fahr al-din Abu'l-Barakat bin Abdussalam bin Mansur Mardn,45 pharmacist Kutbeddin Sancar bin Abdullah Atk al-Shib Aladdin Ata al-Melik Cuveyn alRm, had moved to Tabriz from Anatolia.46 After the battlefield loss in Kosedag in 1241, there was a lot of activity in the Eastern cities and Doctor Imaduddin Malat and other scientists moved from Malatya to Konya. 47
Pharmacists:
During Seljuk times, medicines were prepared and sold in herbal stores (attar). The medicines were prepared accordingly to the medical books and the main ingredients consisted mainly of plants from Anatolia. The rest of the raw material was obtained from India and other Islamic countries through the Spice and Silk Roads. Hospitals and caravanserais had their own little pharmacists.48
Epidemics:
Throughout history one of the greatest disasters mankind has seen are epidemics. In their most critical times, they have killed millions, causing people to migrate, paralyzing workforces, agriculture and stockbreeding decline, all creating negative effects on the economy. The worst epidemics of the middle Ages were the plague, black death/peste noir, peste, pestis in the West, tun in the Islamic world and
kiran, olet among the Turks.

Because Anatolia is a bridge between the East and West, it has seen many epidemics throughout its history. The first great epidemic was seen in the Mediterranean countries during the 6 th century, called the Justinian
Osman Turan, Dogu Anadolu Turk Devletleri Tarihi, p. 74, Ahmed Eflaki, Ariflerin Menkibeleri. vo 1 (Trans. Tahsin Yazici), Milli Egitim Bakanligi Yayinlari, Istanbul 1964, pp. 337-338. 42 Osman Turan, Dogu Anadolu Turk Devletleri Tarihi, pp. 64, 74. 43 Ahmed Eflaki, Ariflerin Menkibeleri. (Trans. Tahsin Yazici), vol II, Maarif Vekaleti, Istanbul 1954, p. 446. 44 Cevat Izgi, "Anadolu Selcuklu Tabibleri", pp. 232-233. 45 Ibrahim-Cevriye Artuk, "Fahreddin el-Mardin, II. Turk Tip Tarihi Kongresi (Istanbul, 20-21 Sept 1990), Kongreye Sunulan Bildiriler, Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1999, pp. 187-189; Ilhami Nasuhioglu, "Artuktular Doneminde Bilim ve Kultur", Dirim. I/5, Istanbul 1976, p. 217. 46 Ziya Musa Bunyatov, "Ibn al-Fuvati'nin Talhis Macma' al-Adab fi Mu'cam al-Alkab Eserinde Belirtilen Konya Sultanliginin Gorkemli Sahislari", VIII. Turk Tarih Kongresi (Ankara, 11-15 Oct. 1976) Kongreye Sunulan Bildiriler, vol. II, Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1981, pp. 594-596. 47 Mikail Bayram, "Selcuklular Zamaninda Anadolu'da Bazi Yoreler Arasindaki Farkli Kulturel Yapilanma ve Siyasi Boyutlari", Selcuk Universitesi Turkiyat Arastirmalari Dergisi, issue 1, Konya 1994, p. 85; "Selcuklular Zamaninda Malatya'da ilmi ve Fikr Faaliyetter", I-II. Mill Seljuklu Kultur ve Medeniyeti Semineri. Selcuk University, Selcuklu Arastirmalari Merkezi, Konya 1993, p, 123. 48 Erdogan Mercil, "Anadolu Selcuklularinda Serbest Meslekler, Cogito. issue 29. Istanbul 2001. pp. 147-148; Osman Turan, Turkiye
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Plague. It lasted three years and destroyed a great number of the population it hit. There are no records of the deaths and destruction in Anatolia but just in Istanbul about 16,000 died per day, which gives an idea of its destruction. There were many epidemics in various places where the Seljuks ruled that came from Anatolia and foreign countries. Mostly epidemics started after military campaigns, sieges and famines. The main epidemics were: the plague that started in Istanbul; during the time of Suleyman Shah I (1078), killing 160,000 in four months; during the time of Kilicarslan I (1093), during the siege of Antakya, during the First Crusade (1098) when just from the French military 100,000 died; curing the time of the Danismand ruler Malik Muhammed (1143), an epidemic in Malatya first killed poultry, then humans, mostly small children; during the military campaign to Cukurova of Mesud I (1153), a part of the Seljuk and Konya military; during the rule of Kihcarslan II (1178) a plague due to a famine in Syria, Iraq, Diyarbakir and Ahlat, the people were not able to bury their dead in time as the rate of death was too high; during the Third Crusade (1189), the French army had many casualties due to an epidemic stemming from the heat and famine; during the rule of Aladdin Qaykubad (1221), an epidemic in Konya, in 1244 in Malatya, in 1259 in Syria and in Anatolia due to a famine; and the Mongolian invasion that took place at the same time an epidemic in Mardin and Mayyafarikin (Silvan) all caused immense damage. The reasons for the epidemics were not known, and reasons for the epidemics were explained by supernatural causes, as the people tried to stop the epidemic material and spiritual ways. In the Christian world, sacrifices, magic, religious ceremonies were performed and miracles were expected from saints. In the Islamic world they obeyed the saying of Hz. Muhammad, "Do not enter a place of plague, and do not leave it," creating a quarantine, but as they did not know the cause of the epidemics other from trying various medicines, they also tried superstitious beliefs. 49 Other than the already mentioned methods of treatment, herbal remedies were also used in scientific medication that was also used by the people. For example, garlic for prolonged fevers (allium sativum) or honey made into a paste; myrobalan (fructus myrobalani citrinae) for diarrhoea; a mix of honey and vinegar to lower fever; honey, garlic and yogurt for colds; eating of raw turnip to strengthen the eye; scammony plant for constipation; myrobalan roots (radix scammoniae) for diarrhoea; theriacs for intestinal pains; visits to thermal baths for skin diseases; drinking watered wine for reaction to weather changes; opium milk for over sleeping (opium, succus papaveris); hot springs for leprosy; blood letting for colds and visits to a hammam.50 The most important part of the Anatolian Seljuk medical practice for Turkish cultural history is probably that it started to put medical practice into Turkish, and within the paradigm of Islamic medicine, the first Turkish works were produced. This started in 1233 when Doctor Baraka moved from Khwarezm to Anatolia and translated his own book Tuhfa-i Mubriz, that he had written in Arabic into Turkish, and continued during the Beylik era when works written in Aydinoglu, Mentese, Karesi, Candaroglu Beyliks were in Turkish.
51
Selcuklulari Hakkinda Resmi Vesikalar, p. 54. 49 Feda Samil Arik, "Selcuklular Zamaninda Anudolu'da Veba Salginlari", Tarih Arastirmalari Dergisi 1990-1991, XV/26, Ankara 1991, pp. 2757: Sezgin Gucluay, "Tarihte Ticareti Etkileyen Unsurlar", Turk Dunyasi Arastirmalari issue 126, 2000. pp 48-49. 50 Ali Haydar Bayat, "Anadolu Selcuklulari Devrinde Konya'da Saglik Hayati". Turk Kulturu. XXVII/311, Ankara 1989. p. 174. 51 Ihsan Fazlioglu, Selcuklular Doneminde Anadolu'da Felsefe ve Bilim (Bir Giris). Cogito. Issue 29, Istanbul 2001, p. 164.
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List of Figures :
Figure 1. A pregnant woman miniature from Mansur b. Muhammad b. Ahmads book Tashrih Badan al-
Insan.
Figure 2. Gawhar Nasiba Sultan Sifahana drawn by Suheyl Unver (source: www.muslimheritage.com). Figure 3. Amasya Gokmadarasa (source: www.metu.edu.tr/home/wwwissch/ozgurey/sivas/gok.htm) Figure 4. A medical treatment miniature from Sharaf al-Din Sabuncuoglus book Jarrahiyyat al-Haniya.
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THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND EUROPE: CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS
Prof. Dr. Gunsel Renda Prof. Dr. Mohamed El-Gomati Savas Konur December 2006 622 FSTC Limited, 2006
FSTC Limited
The Ottoman Empire and Europe: Cultural Encounters December 2006
THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND EUROPE: CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS *

Prof. Dr. Gunsel Renda**
Although the Islamic world and Christian Europe had been in contact since the westward expansion of Islam, scholars in the past were interested in the political and economic history of the two worlds, wars and conflicts, diplomatic and commercial relations rather than interactions in art. Fortunately recent research has thrown light upon the cultural exchange between Europe and the Islamic world revealing the fact that Islamic and Western art interacted with each other over the centuries. This study covers mainly the cultural encounters between Europe and the Ottomans who had become immediate neighbours on the Balkans and the Mediterranean after the Ottoman state expanded into Central Europe.
1
The two cultures met in
different geographies under different conditions and through the centuries the rulers and art patrons as much as the political, diplomatic and trade relations had a great role in the cultural exchange. Different as the two artistic traditions may seem cultural contacts enriched each other's artistic and technical achievements, little affected by wars and conflicts of belief.
2
Sultan Mehmed II is considered as one of the rare rulers who changed the course of world history but less known is his art patronage that left deep traces in the Western and Eastern world. Mehmed II, who was interested in ancient history and Western culture from an early age, was the first Ottoman ruler who had cultural relations with the West. - He enriched his library with a great number of scientific books written in various languages in the fields of geography, medicine, history and philosophy. Among these were Bibles and classical Greek works. Giorgios Amirutzes of Trabezond produced a world map for the sultan by making use of Ptolemy's Geographike.
3
In the Topkapi Palace, there is a Latin copy of the Geographike and an
Italian translation by Berlinghieri Fiorentino dedicated to Mehmed II (TSM GI84). Italian and Catalan maps and portolans also reached the palace in this period. Sultan's library.
*
In addition to scientific
books and maps Italian engravings depicting mythological and religious scenes found their way to the
5
This article was first published in the Cultural Contacts in Building a Universal Civilisation: Islamic Contributions. Edited by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. Istanbul: IRCICA, 2005. This book can be obtained from IRCICA publication on their official website: www.ircica.org. We are grateful to Dr. Halit Eren, General Director of IRCICA for allowing publication. ** Prof. Dr. Gunsel Renda, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkiye. 1 This article is based on the chapter by the author, Renda, G., "Europe and the Ottomans: Interactions in Art", in Ottoman Civilization (ed. H. Inalcik, G. Renda), Istanbul 2000, 1048-1089. Also see the chapter in the same book Inalcik, H., "Mutual Political and Cultural Influences between Europe and the Ottomans", 1090-1121. 2 The 1973 New York, 1983 Vienna and Munster, 1989 Berlin, 1995 Dresden exhibitions and their catalogues published constitute the most important sources on this subject: A. N. St. Clair, The Image of the Turk in Europe (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1973); Die Turken vor Wien, Europa und die Entscheidung an der Donau 1638. Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien (Vienna, 1983); Osterreich und Osmanen. Osterreichisches Nationalbibliotek und Osterreichische Staatarchiv (Vienna, 1983); Niederb'sterreich im Turkenjahr 1683. Osterreichiches Zinnfigurenmuseum im Scholl Pottenbrunn (St. Polten, 1983); Was von den Turken Blieb (Perchtoldsdorf, 1983); Munster, Wien und die Ttirken 1683-1983 (Munster, 1983); Europa und der Orient. 800-1900 (Berlin, 1989); Im Lichte des Halbmonds. Das Abendland und der turkische Orient (Dresden, 1995). 3 Important information is given about Mehmed IIs library and the scientific circles in Istanbul. See J. Raby, "Mehmed the Conqueror's Greek Scriptorium", Dumbarton Oaks Papers 37 (1983): 15-34. 4 The most interesting is a map of Venice /TSM HI829. For the maps that came to the palace in this period see Istanbul Topkapi Sarayi
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Figure 1. Map of Anatolia from Ptolemys Geographike translated by Berlinghieri Fiorentino and dedicated to Mehmed II, Topkapi Palace Museum, G184.
Mehmed II's personality, politics and his interest in the Western world led to the spread of the image of the Turks in European art. The first portrait of the sultan produced in Europe has the inscription El Turco and it is based on the image of the Byzantine emperor Johannes Paleologus found on a medal struck on the occasion of the council that convened in Florence in 1438 with the purpose of uniting Eastern and Western churches.
6
Figure 2. Portrait of Mehmed II inscribed El Turco, shown in the attire of the Byzantine king Johannes Paleologus, ca. 1460, Topkapi Palace Museum H 2153.
Mehmed II, who followed the developments in the Renaissance art and science, wanted to immortalize his own image with medals and portraits, like the Greek and Roman rulers and the Renaissance humanists whose portraits were objects of diplomatic and cultural exchange. He requested artists from several rulers in Italy. Sent by Ferdinand Ferrante II, the King of Naples, Costanzo da Ferrara, was the first Italian artist
Muzesi ve Venedik Correr Muzesi Kolleksiyonlarindaki XIV-XVIII Yuzyil Portolan ve Deniz Haritalari. Portolani e Carte Nautiche XIV-XVIII Secolo dalle Collezioni del Museo Correr-Venezia Museo del Topkapi-Istanbul (Istanbul, 1994), Nos. 4, 6, 8. 5 J. Raby, "Mehmed II Fatih and the Fatih Album", Islamic Art 1 (1981): 42-49. 6 J. Raby, "Opening Gambits", in the Sultan's Portrait (Istanbul, 2000), 65. 7 L. Jardine and J. Brotton, Global Interests. Renaissance Art between East and West (New York: Cornell Univ. Press, 2000), 23-25. 8 Mehmed IIs patronage of the European artists is discussed in detail by J. Raby, "Opening Gambits", The Sultan's Portrait, 64-72.
8 7
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who came to the Ottoman palace. This Venetian medallist stayed in Istanbul in the mid-1470s and struck medals with portraits of the Conqueror. After the peace agreement made with Venice in 1479, political and cultural exchanges with the Venetians had increased. The sultan asked from the doge of Venice for a bronze caster who could make medals and a painter. Gentile Bellini came and worked for the sultan in Istanbul, struck a medal with the sultan's portrait and produced other portraits and city views. Moreover, it is thought that the Sultan sent this medal to Lorenzo dei Medici with whom he had good relations. Mehmed II had arrested in Istanbul the leader of the Pazzi uprising against the Medicis.
10 9
Figure 3. Portrait of Mehmed II painted by Gentile Bellini, London National Gallery.

Bellini's most important work is the oil portrait that is now at the National Gallery in London. In this portrait, Bellini used the Renaissance portrait model but still followed an oriental iconography. According to recent research, the crowns on both sides of the arch in the portrait symbolize the Ottoman sultans preceding Mehmed II. The seventh crown that of the reigning Sultan Mehmed is found on the embroidered cover.
11
The important point is that Mehmed II obtained what he wanted and the portrait medals he
commissioned and their copies made in Europe provided for the spread of the image of the sultan in Europe.
12
The activities of the European masters undoubtedly influenced the local artists working at the Conqueror's ateliers. A portrait of the sultan attributed to a local artist, Sinan Bey, shows how borrowings from Western painting were transformed into Islamic norms. Bellini as well as many other fifteenth and sixteenth century painters, led by the Venetian painters, used figures dressed in Turkish costumes in their paintings depicting scenes from the Bible. It is known that in this period the Ottoman fabrics and carpets were imported to
J. Raby, "Opening Gambits", the Sultan's Portrait, 68. M. Pedani-Fabris, "The Portrait of Mehmed II: Gentile Bellini. The Making of an Imperial Image", Art Turc/Turkish Art, 10th International Congress of Turkish Art, Geneva, 17-23 Sept. 1995, Actes/Proceedings (Geneva, 1999), 555-558. 12 Archpriest Matteo Bosso saw the medals with portraits of the Conqueror. Moreover, when he met Cem Sultan, the Conqueror's son in Rome, he stated that he wondered whether or not there was a resemblance. See J. Raby, "Opening Gambits", The Sultan's Portrait, 69, footnote 26.
11
10
Ibid., 67.
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Italy by Italian merchants. Moreover, fabrics similar to these were produced in some of the Italian cities. Turkish carpets depicted in fifteenth century European paintings are proof of their popularity.
14
13
Mehmed IIs successor, Sultan Bayezid n, did not seem to share his father's interest in European painting, but he was aware of the activities of Italy's masters and requested architectural and engineering services from some of them. Leonardo da Vinci wrote a letter to the sultan making a proposal for a floating bridge on the Golden Horn. In fact, the drawing of such a bridge project is found in Leonardo's notebooks. Michelangelo also prepared a model for the same bridge and he even considered coming to Istanbul.
15 16
Sultan Bayezid II, unlike his father, did not have an interest in portraits. However, it is interesting to note the first series of Ottoman sultan portraits was produced in Europe during his reign. This series of portraits ending with Bayezid II, is attributed to Felix Petancius, who painted the portraits by relying on the information provided by the Hungarian Embassy delegation that came to Istanbul in 1495. In this series, in scroll form, portraits of the first seven Ottoman sultans up until Sultan Bayezid II are placed in medallions.
17
Such examples prove the growing interest in Europe in the Ottoman sultan portraits after
Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror.
Figure 4. Leonardo da Vincis project for a bridge over the Golden Horn. The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, vol. 1, 387.
The expansion of the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent as far as Central Europe and the important role the Ottomans played in the European balance of power caused an increase in interest as well as anxiety towards Turkey and the Turks. Two different approaches towards the Ottomans were encountered in the sixteenth century European art and culture. The first group were the books and materials produced with the reaction and fear against the crushing, threatening power of the Turks. Prejudiced propaganda publications were prepared against the expansion policy of the Ottomans. In the newspapers and bulletins published in the Germanic countries there were
H. Inalcik, "Harr (Silk): The Ottoman Empire", Encyclopedia of Islam III (Leiden and London, 1971), 211-218. S. Yetkin, Turkish Historical Carpets (Istanbul, 1981), 47, 67, 71, 72. 15 Leonardo's project and this letter now kept in the Topkapi Palace were published by F. Babinger: "Vier Bauvorschlage Lionardo da Vincis an Sultan Bajezid II (1502-3)". Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Gottingen I. Philologish-Historische Klasse, I (1952), 1-20; In the section describing the East of the Mediterranean in Leonardo's notebooks there are notes related to the Taurus Mountains, Cilicia and even the Bosphorus. However, it is not certain whether or not he ever went there himself. J. Richter, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (arranged and rendered into English and introduced by Edward Me Curdy), vol. 1 (New York, 1889), 215, 387. 16 Vasari, who wrote the biographies of the Renaissance masters towards the end of the sixteenth century, in his Le Vite indicates that Michelangelo planned to go to Istanbul; J. Raby, "Opening Gambits", The Sultan's Portrait, 72, footnote 46. 17 A scroll similar to this scroll at the Budapest National Library is in Madrid; see The Sultan's Portrait, Cat. No. 9.
14 13
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pictures with a political content carrying negative images of the Turks.
18
The second group was composed

19
of more objective publications and works of art that illustrated Ottoman country and culture.
Several
Europeans, who came to the Ottoman country with various political and diplomatic purposes, wrote books about the Ottoman Empire and had their books illustrated with paintings done by the artists who accompanied them or by the local artists they commissioned in Istanbul. In fact, travel books and illustrated books related to the Ottoman Empire became widespread in Europe after the period of Suleyman the Magnificent. Ottoman daily life and costumes and views of Istanbul, included in almost all of these, are documentary sources for the Ottoman Empire in this period. For example, Pieter Coecke van Aelst from Anvers, who came to the Ottoman capital in 1533 on behalf of the gobelin factory in Brussels to sell tapestries, stayed in Istanbul for a period of time and he made a series of drawings related to the Ottomans.
20
Cosmographer Nicolas de Nicolay, who accompanied the French ambassador sent to Istanbul
21
in 1553, also made numerous drawings documenting the Ottoman costumes and these paintings printed in his travel book in Lyon in 1568 became a documentary source for many artists in later years. Melchior Lorichs from Flensburg, who came with the Ambassador Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq, sent by the Holy Roman Empire to the Ottoman court, produced the most realistic paintings depicting the period of Suleyman the Magnificent. Lorichs' Istanbul panorama and his drawings of various districts, streets, monuments in Istanbul and his costumes are important visual documents for the Ottoman Empire in this period.
22
Figure 5. Portrait of Suleyman the Magnificent by Mechior Lorichs, Royal Library, Copenhagen.
Suleyman the Magnificent is one of the Ottoman rulers most frequently portrayed in Europe. Undoubtedly, this is because of the significant role he played in European politics throughout his reign for forty-six years. Suleyman's alliance with Francois I, who was defeated by the Habsburgs in 1526 and his Hungarian
J. Meyer zur Capellen and S. Bagci, "The Age of Magnificence" in The Sultan's Portrait, 96; also see footnote 6 in this article. The costumes of Turkish women and men are included in the books by Abraham Bruyn and Jean-Jacques Boissard published in 1581. See C. D. Rouillard, The Turk in French History, Thought and Literature (1520-1660) (Paris, 1938), 278; Three such books that were written and illustrated in the second half of the sixteenth century are at the Vienna National Library. Furthermore, similar examples are at the Mayer Memorial Museum in Jerusalem and the Bodleian Library in Oxford. 20 P. Coecke van Aelst, Ces moeurs etfachons defaire de Turcs (Antwerp ?, 1553). 21 Nicolas de Nicolay, Les quatres premiers livres de navigations et peregrinations orientates (Lyon, 1568); For a new edition, see Nicolas de Nicolay, Dans I'Empire de Soliman le Magnifique, presente et annote par Marie-Christine Gomez-Geraud and Stephane Yerasimos (Paris, 1989). 22 Lorichs wished to publish the pictures he drew in Istanbul in two different books, but his work could only be published in 1626 after his death: Wolgerrissene und geschnittene Figuren in Kupfer und Holtz durch den Kunstreichen weitbermbten Melcher Lorch fur die Mahler Bildhawer unde Kunstliebenden an Tag gegeben, anno 1619. The original of this publication did not last until the present, but copies have been produced. E. Fischer, Melchior Lorck. Drawings from the Evelyn Collection, Stanor Park, England, and from the Department of Prints and Drawings (Copenhagen: The Royal Museum of Fine Arts, 1962), 20-71; Melchior Lorck in Turkey (Copenhagen: The Royal Museum of
19 18
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campaign against the Habsburgs is the most important political event of this period. In this manner, the Ottoman pressure on the Catholic Habsburgs facilitated the spread of Protestantism and Luther's success.
23
In fact, the portraits of the sultan became more widespread in Europe after his Mohacs campaign and the 1529 Vienna siege. As early as 1526, Albrecht Durer, drew the portrait of the Sultan. Tiziano, the Venetian artist, painted a bust portrait of Suleyman, and used images resembling the Sultan in some of his religious paintings copied from images that already existed. An interesting portrait, painted by Agostino Veneziano in 1535, depicts the sultan with a helmet decorated with precious jewels. This helmet, in the shape of a crown, was commissioned in 1532 to the Caorlini's, a Venetian jeweller family because Suleyman the Magnificent wanted to wear an imperial crown like the westerners to show his supremacy over the European rulers. In fact, sources indicate that the sultan wore this crown in a ceremony that was also attended by the Habsburg ambassadors in Nis before the 1532 campaign.
24
The conquests and personal life
of the Sultan were the source of inspiration for many literary works, ballets and operas in Europe after the sixteenth century. Not only the sultan himself, but his wife Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana) and his Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha were also included in plays and librettos. Even Cervantes and Lope De Vega, two famous Spanish authors, wrote many plays about the Turks. Among these, Cervantes' La Gran Sultana and El Trato
de Constantinopl are among the most important.
Figure 6. The Port of Toulon, painted by Matrakci Nasuh, Suleymannme, ca. 1545, Topkapi Palace Museum, H 1608.
Suleyman the Magnificent's relations and political alliances established with France left deep marks on both sides. The Ottoman-French alliance mentioned above provided for the Ottomans expansion and sovereignty in the Mediterranean. The sea campaigns of the Ottomans initiated the Ottoman science of geography. Undoubtedly, the Ottomans were also using the Portuguese, Catalan and Italian maps that reached the Ottoman capital. In fact, Piri Reis, the famous cartographer of the period, made his world map, which is now lost except for a fragment, by using Christopher Columbus' map, and therefore, is an important product of the cultural exchange in the Mediterranean. He also wrote his Kitab-i Bahriye (Book of navigation) in this milieu. The city views in Kitab-i Bahriye are the forerunners of Ottoman topographical
Fine Arts, 1990). 23 For the letter written to Suleyman the Magnificent by Francis Fs mother and the text of the correspondence on this subject see H. Inalcik, "Mutual Political and Cultural Influences between Europe and the Ottomans", Ottoman Civilization, 1062. 24 O. Kurz, "A Golden Helmet made in Venice for Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent", Gazette des Beaux arts 74 (1969): 249-258; G. Necipoglu, "Suleyman the Magnificent and the Representation of Power in the Context of Ottoman-Habsburg Rivalry", The Art Bulletin 71/3 (September 1989): 401-427.
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paintings that developed as a separate genre.
25
Matrakci Nasuh, the famous historian and miniature artist
of Suleyman's period, while describing the Sultan's Hungarian campaign and Admiral Barbarossa's Mediterranean campaign, drew the different states in these campaigns, the cities, towns and ports and documented the topography of these regions. In other words, from then on images related to Europe were encountered in Ottoman painting. Haydar Reis (Nigari), another miniature artist in the same period, not only portrayed the sultans, but also painted portraits of King Charles V and King Francois I, the two leading European rulers.
26
Figure 7. Portrait of Franois painted by Ottoman artist Nigari, ca. 1540s, Boston Fogg Museum 85. 214.
Nigar as an artist close to the palace circles, must have seen some European engravings in the palace, as he used the form of busts and 3/4 profile. In fact, it is believed that a series of Ottoman sultan portraits painted by Nigari reached France during the Mediterranean campaign of Barbarossa in 1543. These portraits were given by Barbarossa to Virginio Orsini, the French admiral. Paolo Giovio, the Italian historian and collector, who collected the portraits of famous people of the period at his villa in Como, borrowed the sultans' portraits from him and had them copied by Tobias Stimmer, the Swiss artist, and the woodcut prints were published in Giovio's book Elogia Virorum Bellica Virtute Illustrum.
27
The trade privileges granted by Sultan Suleyman to the European countries increased the cultural relations in both directions. Trade increased with France, England and Holland, as well as Venice. While the Ottomans purchased weapons and armaments from Europe, the Ottoman carpets, fabrics, ceramics, marbled paper and leather bindings found customers in Europe. In a short period of time, local ateliers were formed in Europe to copy the Ottoman carpets and ceramics. It is sufficient to look at the works of
portrayals see G. Renda, "Representations of Towns and Sea Charts of the Sixteenth Century and their Relation to Mediterranean Cartography", Solimon le Magnifique et son temps. Actes du Colloque. Paris, 7-10 Mars 1990 (Paris, 1992), 279-298. 26 These portraits, which were in the Binney collection at one time, are presently at the Fogg Museum in Boston. E. Binney, Turkish Treasures from the Collection of Edwin Binney, 3d ed. (Portland, Oregon, 1979), 25. 27 For detailed information about the portraits in the Giovio collection see L. Klinger and J. Raby, "Barbarossa and Sinan. A Portrait of Two Ottoman Corsairs from the Collection of Paolo Giovio", Venezia e I'Oriente Vicino. Atti del primo congresso internazionale sull'arte Islamica 9-12 XII1986, ed. E. Grube (Venice, 1989), 47-59; F. Berksoy, "Paolo Giovio'nun Dogu Ilgisi ve Osmanh Sultan Portreleri" (Paolo Giovio's interest in the Orient and the Ottoman sultan portraits), Aptullah Kuran icin Yazilar/Essays in Honour of Aptullah Kuran, eds. C. Kafescioglu and L. Thys-Senocak (Istanbul, 1999), 143-160; in addition, for the connections between the Nigari and Giovio series see J. Raby, "From Europe to Istanbul", The Sultan's Portrait, 141-150.
For maps and atlases of European origin at the Topkapi Palace see A. Deismann, Forschungen und Funde im Serai mit einem Verzeichnis der nicht-islamischen Handischriften im Topkapi Serai in Istanbul (Berlin and Leipzig, 1933); E. H. van de Waal, "Manuscript Maps in the Topkapi Saray Library in Istanbul", Imago Mundi 23 (1969): 81-89; For the sixteenth century Ottoman cartography and topographic port
25
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the sixteenth century painters such as Hans Holbein or Lorenzo Lotto, to observe to what an extent the Ottoman carpets had become widespread. Moreover, the carpets depicted in these paintings have caused the Ottoman carpets to be classified as Holbein, Memling or Lotto carpets. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Usak carpets were produced in England and Belgium under the name of Turkish carpets. Copies of the Iznik ceramics were made in centers such as Liguria and Padua in Italy.
29 28
An interesting example of the cultural exchange with Europe is the order placed by the grand vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha through the Venetian balio in Istanbul, during the reign of Sultan Murad III Sokollu, who must have seen the illustrated dynastic histories in Europe, wished to have a manuscript similar to these produced and commissioned the official court poet of the period and the renown miniature artist Nakkas Osman, to prepare a book containing the information related to all the Ottoman sultans illustrated with their portraits. He thought that it would be proper to refer to sultan portraits in Europe for the images of the earlier sultans. Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, who heard that such a series existed in Venice, asked the Venetian balio to have these brought to Istanbul. These oil portraits produced in the Veronese workshop, reached Istanbul in 1579 and most of them are still kept at the Topkapi Palace Museum.
30
Osman, used
this series and also referred to certain historical texts, studied the authentic costumes of the previous sultans kept at the palace or in their mausoleum and then drew the portraits of the twelve Ottoman sultans from Sultan Osman through Sultan Murad III. Osman did not use the bust form in these portraits.
Figure 8. Portrait of Sultan Sleyman painted by painter Osman, 1579, Kyafat al-insaniya f shemil alOsmaniya, Topkap Palace Museum H 1563.
The sultans sit with their knees bent, holding a handkerchief or a flower in their hands in the Eastern tradition. However, their common feature with the European portraits is the 3/4 profile model. In this manuscript, painter Osman formed the iconography for sultan portraits that was used for centuries in Ottoman miniature painting. In fact, this manuscript, the Semailname is the Islamicized version of the illustrated Western biographical histories.
28 S. Yetkin, Turkish Historical Carpets (Istanbul, 1981), 79; the examples found in some English collections prove that these carpets were produced in England as well. See J. Mills, Carpets in Pictures. Themes and Painters in the National Gallery (London, 1975); J. Mills, "The Turkish Carpet in the Paintings of Western Europe", Turkish Carpets from the 13th-18th Centuries. Exhibition held at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts (Istanbul, 26 September-12 November 1996), 38-44. 29 J. Raby, "The European Connection", Iznik, The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, eds. N. Atasoy and J. Raby (London, 1989), 264-268 30 For the Veronese series portraits see The Sultan's Portrait, 150-163.
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With the increase in the diplomatic relations with Europe a more realistic Turkish image appeared in the European art of the seventeenth century. This is especially reflected by those paintings made by the artists accompanying the European embassy delegations to the Ottoman court. The Austrian artists who came with the embassy delegation sent to Sultan Murad IV by the Austrian King Ferdinand in 1628 under the leadership of Ludwig Kuefstein, depicted receptions and audiences attended by the ambassador. These paintings are exhibited at the chateau belonging to the Kuefstein family at Grillenstein and at the Perchtoldsdorf Museum in Vienna.
31
In 1641, the French ambassador Jean de la Haye was sent to Istanbul
to renew the capitulations. George de la Chapelle, an artist accompanying him, painted mostly the women in the Ottoman Empire and printed them in 1648 in his book called Receuil de divers portraits de principales
dames de la Porte du grand turc.
32
In the background of George de la Chapelle's figures are scenery from

33
Istanbul documenting various districts of the city.
Paintings depicting the sultan, viziers and the

34
dignitaries painted by the painter in the service of Claes Ralamb, who was sent as ambassador to Sultan Mehmed IV in 1657, are at the Nordiska Museet in Stockholm.
The ambassadors sent by the Ottomans to the European capital cities also had a share in the cultural relations with the Europeans. The visits of the Ottoman embassy delegations to Europe aroused great interest. Suleyman Aga, sent in 1669 by Sultan Mehmed IV to King Louis XIV, was so influential and after this, Turkish costumes started to be worn at masked balls organized at the court. Moliere added a Turkish ceremony to the play called Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and Suleyman Aga was depicted as a comical character.
35
It is said that Suleyman Aga was accommodated at a palace decorated in the Ottoman style
and here the visitors were offered delicious meals and coffee. This played a role in the affectation for coffee in France. Coffee started to be used in Europe as of the seventeenth century. Sources indicate that it reached Venice around 1615 and the first coffeehouse there was opened in 1630.
36
After a short while it
became widespread in London as well. It is believed that coffee became popular in Vienna after the 1683 campaign and that the first coffeehouse there was opened by Count Kolschitzky, a translator of Polish origin. However, coffee must have been known in 1665 during the visit of Ambassador Kara Mehmed Aga to Vienna.
37
The embassy delegation of Kara Mehmed Aga had a great impact on music. The European
composers occasionally used the melodies of the military band music. The Seyahatname (Travel Book) by Evliya Celebi, who accompanied Kara Mehmed Aga to Europe, is considered to be the first book written by a Turk related to Europe. From then on, the Ottomans started to become better acquainted with Europe and
The scenes at the Perchtoldsdorf Museum have been published: K. Teply, Die Kaiserliche Grossbotschaft an Sultan Murad IV in Jahre 1638. Des Freiherrn Hans Ludwig von Kuefsteins Fahrt zur Hohen Pforte (Vienna, 1976); In addition, they were published in the 1983 exhibition catalogue, Was von den Turken Blieb; a portion of the Kuefstein collection was also exhibited in London in 1988. The paintings in the catalogue of this exhibition were attributed to the artists named Frans Hermann, Hans Gemminter and Valentin Mueller; At the Sublime Porte. Ambassadors to the Ottoman Empire 1550-1800 (London: Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox, 1988). 32 The Sultan's Portrait, Cat. No. 79; C. D. Rouillard, the Turk in French History, Thought and Literature (1520-1660) (Paris, 1938), 283285. For a catalogue of the collection see Begegnung swischen Orient und Okzident, Landesmuseum Ptuj, 1992; The Sultan's Portrait, Cat. Nos. 81, 98, 99. 34 Some of these paintings were in the Islamic exhibition held in Sweden in 1985: Islam. Art and Culture, Statens Historiska Museum (Stockholm, 1985), 201, 203; K. Adahl, "The Ralamb Paintings and the von Celsing Collection at Bibi Manor. Turkish Motifs from the 17th and 18th centuries in Sweden", Milletlerarasi Turk Sanatlan Kongresi/9th International Congress of Turkish Art, vol. 1 (Ankara, 1995), 13-17, fig. Ill, 1-2. 35 H. Desmet Gregoire says that the visit of Suleyman Aga started the Turkish fashion (a la turca): Le Divan Magique. L'Orient turc en France au XVIIIe siecle (Paris, 1980), 18-19. 36 F. Braudel, The Structures of Everyday Life: The Limits of the Possible (New York, 1981), 256-259. 37 H. E. Jacob, Coffee: The Epic of a Commodity (New York, 1935), 44, 46, 77.
33 31
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took an interest in European culture and science. In fact, many science books of European origin were translated into Turkish in the seventeenth century. Katip Celebi translated the book called Atlas Minor written by Jean Bleau, the Dutch geographer. He also wrote the books called Cihannuma, which is an important geographical source, and also Irsad'ul-Heyara ila Tarih'il Yunan ve'n-Nasara, which is related to Greek and Christian history.
38
In the seventeenth century, a great number of European engravings and books came to the Ottoman palace (TSM H2135, 2148, 2153).
39
Figures wearing European costumes are encountered in the albums
prepared during the reign of Sultan Ahmed I at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Illustrated albums, especially those with costume studies, started to be produced in Istanbul in this period, hi these albums, which the English called Costume Book and the Germans called Trachtenbuch, there was occasionally a short introductory text, but most of the time there were only brief captions in Italian, French or English. Most of these were works of local masters, although there are some painted by European artists.
40
The books about Turkey and the Turks becoming widespread in Europe were the sources for the Turkish motifs used by several seventeenth century European artists. For example, Peter Paul Rubens, the renowned Flemish artist, used such albums when drawing his Turkish costumes.
41
Rembrandt drew Turkish
figures as well. After the Ottomans granted trade rights to the Dutch in 1612, Ottoman carpets, metals and ceramics reached Holland and Ottoman motifs started to be used in Dutch art. Tiles and ceramics with Ottoman motifs were produced in the Delft ceramic ateliers. The tulip was the most popular decorative motif. The botanist Clusius, a Dutchman working for the Austrian court in Vienna, grew tulips from the bulbs, which had been brought to Vienna by Ambassador Busbecq in the sixteenth century and took the bulbs to Holland. Books were written about this flower and the tulip became a part of daily life. In a short period of time, the passion for tulips, called tulipomania, made the flower a popular theme for Dutch painters.
42
The eighteenth century is a period of balance, more correctly, a balance of power in European history. Both the Ottomans and the Europeans accepted equal terms and consciously wished to acquaint themselves with the cultures of one another after the 1683 Vienna defeat. In Austria Turkish motifs were used in minor arts, architecture and in objects of daily life. This cultural interaction is best displayed by architect J. L. von Hildebrandt in Vienna at the Belvedere palace, which has corner domes looking like an Ottoman tent with tassels or in the towers resembling minarets at the Karlskirche built by the renowned Austrian architect J. B. F. von Erlach.
43
38
In particular, the engravings belonging to the seventeenth century Dutch school are in the majority. There is a Virgin Mary and Jesus painting signed by Georg Wyns in an album of Ottoman origin at the Metropolitan Museum (67.266.7.5 r). 40 There are few examples from the beginning of the seventeenth century. The Mundy album (1974-6-17-013) dated 1618 and a second album (1928-3-23-046) belonging to the 1620s are in the British Museum. Approximately 11 albums made between 1640-1660 have been documented. G. Renda, "17. Yuzyildan Bir Grup Kiyafet Albumu" (A group of seventeenth century costume albums) in 17. Yuzyil Osmanli Kultur ve Sanati, 19-20 Mart 1998 Sempozyum Bildirileri (Istanbul, 1998), 153-178. 41 O. Kurz, "The Turkish Dresses in the Costume Book of Rubens", Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarbook 23 (1972), 275-290. 42 For the Turkish motifs on the Dutch ceramics and tiles see The Tulip. A Symbol of Two Nations, eds. M. Roding and H. Theunissen (Utrecht and Istanbul, 1993).
Europe (Toronto, 1982).

39
For more detailed information on Katip Celebi and the interest of the Ottomans in Western science see B. Lewis, The Muslim Discovery of
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The Ottomans, after the Vienna defeat, consciously opened up to the West for the first time, accepted the technical superiority of the West and sent ambassadors to the European countries for longer periods of time, not only for political dialogue, but also to provide information in the fields of technology, science and culture. In 1721 Sultan Ahmed III sent Ambassador Mehmed Celebi to the court of King Louis XV in Paris. Besides his diplomatic duties, Mehmed Celebi observed the military and technological developments, participated in social and cultural activities and wrote a sefaretname upon his return to Istanbul.
44
Mehmed
Celebi also brought from France books related to architecture, some plans and drawings. These engravings and drawings with explanations in Ottoman Turkish, especially some related to the Versailles palace and gardens, are now kept in the Topkapi Palace Museum. Sources indicate that when Mehmed Celebi was in France he also took an interest in music and attended the operas and concerts. Both the visits of Mehmed Efendi and his son Said Efendi, who was sent with the same mission twenty years later in 1742, aroused great interest in Paris with the gifts they presented, the costumes they wore and their manners. These visits caused the French to become more closely acquainted with the Turks.
45
Turkish themes became
widespread in literature, stage arts, painting and decoration; especially novels, ballets and operas depicting Turkish characters in fantastic decors followed one after the other. It became the fashion to wear Turkish costumes at balls and to have portraits made in Turkish costumes. Turkish motifs were used even in furniture and porcelain. Thus, this Turkish vogue, which started in France in the eighteenth century and also spread into the other European centres, was called Turquerie. The Turkish affectation was very widely spread in literature.
46
Voltaire wrote his book called Essais sur les
Moeurs, describing the characteristics of different countries, right after the visit of Said Efendi. C. S. Favart
treated the relation between Sultan Suleyman and Hurrem Sultan in his comedy called Solimon II ou Les
Trois Sultanes. Moreover, sources indicate that Favart had costumes brought from the Ottoman Empire for his actress wife, who played the part of Roxelana. The first act of Rameau's four act opera, Les Indes Galantes, first staged in 1735, was called Le Turc genereux
47
. Turkish characters and melodies spread
towards the end of the century with Mozart's famous opera, Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail. There is also an unfinished opera by Mozart called Zaide, which treats the subject of Sultan Suleyman. Haydn, like Mozart, and later composers such as Beethoven and Rossini also used Turkish melodies. Ottoman military band melodies are included in the orchestra section at the end of Beethoven's 9th symphony. Rossini composed an opera called Il Turco in Italia. Verdi, inspired by Lord Byron's Corsair, composed his opera Il
Corsaro.
The real representatives of the Turquerie movement in European art are the European artists who came to Istanbul in the eighteenth century and lived there for a period of time. These painters, who are referred to as Les peintres du Bosphore, generally worked in the European embassy circles in Istanbul or illustrated the
The exhibitions organized in Vienna in 1983 set forth in a clear manner the Ottoman-Austrian mutual cultural influence. See footnote 2. Yirmisekiz Mehmed Celebi's original sefaretname no longer exists, but there are many copies. A section of this sefaretname was published: Yirmisekiz Mehmed Efendi Sefaretnamesi (Istanbul, 1976); In addition, there is also the French translation of the Sefaretname: Relation de I'ambassade de Mehmed Effendi a la cour de France en 1721 ecrite par lui mime et traduitpar Julien Galland (Constantinople and Paris, 1757); 45 There are weapons ornamented with precious stones, caftans, carpets and fabrics among the gifts brought by the ambassadors. DesmetGregoire and M. G. Gocek have treated the Ottoman-French relations in the eighteenth century in the greatest detail: H. Desmet-Gregoire, Le Divan Magique (Paris, 1998); M. G. Gocek, East Encounters West. France and the Ottoman Empire in the Eighteenth Century (New York and Oxford, 1987); In addition, see P. Hughes, Eighteenth Century France and the East (London, 1981). 46 For the Turkish affectation in literature see C. D. Rouillard, The Turk in French History; R. Bezombes, L'exotisme dans I'art et la pensee (Paris, 1953). 47 O. Kurz, "Pictorial Records of Favart's Comedy 'les Trois Sultanes' ", Etudes d'art francais offertes a Charles Sterling (Paris, 1975), 31144 43
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travel books written by the Europeans.
48
Among these, J. B. Vanmour from Valenciennes, who stayed the
longest period of time in Istanbul, worked for various European ambassadors, such as the French Ambassador Marquis de Ferriol, the Dutch Ambassador Cornelius Calkoen. Vanmour, who depicted the receptions of the ambassadors, Turkish costumes and daily life, is known for his realistic paintings. In fact, commissioned by the French Ambassador Marquis de Ferriol, he had his costume paintings printed in 1714 with the title of Receuil de Cent Estampes representant differentes nations de Levant, which was a pattern book for Turkish motifs in the eighteenth and nineteenth century European porcelains. The paintings of Vanmour became the source of inspiration for many Turkish and foreign artists. More correctly, the activities of the artist in Istanbul, where he spent a great part of his life, constituted a painting school that can be called the Vanmour School.
49
J. E. Liotard is another painter who was influential in the spread of the Turquerie vogue in European painting. Liotard was a Swiss painter who lived in Istanbul between 1738-1742 and who learned Turkish wore Turkish costumes and is known for his portrait&tand paintings that depict Turkish life in a realistic manner.
50
The new relations between the Ottomans and the Europeans in the eighteenth century brought many diplomats, merchants, travellers and artists to the Ottoman capital. With the growing interest in history and archaeology in this century, collecting antiques and curiosities had reached its height and many travellers came to the Ottoman Empire for research. Among these there were architects and painters. The market for travel accounts with engravings grew in Europe. Consequently, most of the artists working in embassy circles, even the ambassadors themselves often produced such illustrated books.
51
Baron Gudenus, a
military draftsman, accompanying the Austrian ambassador Corfiz Ullfeld to Istanbul in 1740, drew a panorama of the city, which still is one of the most important documentary sources about Istanbul at that time and specifically its vernacular architecture.
52
Sir Robert Ainslie, the English Ambassador appointed to
Istanbul between 1776-1794, was also an antique collector, and he had employed Luigi Mayer, an artist of Italian origin, to make drawings of the historical buildings. The French artist J. B. Hilair, who worked for the French Ambassador Count Choiseul Gouffier, painted scenery from various regions of the Empire in a trip he made with the ambassador in 1776. Most of his paintings were engraved in Voyage pittoresque de la Grece, the travel book published by Choiseul Gouffier between 1778-1782.
53
Hilair also made illustrations for
Tableau General de lEmpire Ottoman written by Mouradgea D'Ohsson, an Armenian from Istanbul, who
317; for the Turkish costume of Mme. Favart in the role of Hurrem see F. M. Gocek, East Encounters West, picture on page 74. 48 The best source for the European painters who worked in Istanbul in the eighteenth century is A. Boppe who had a diplomatic position in Istanbul at the beginning of the twentieth century: A. Boppe, Les Peintres du Bosphore au dix-huitieme siecle (Paris, 1911), 2nd ed., 1989. Following this book, the Turquerie exhibition held in Paris the same year introduced this current to Europe. 49 For the best source on this subject see R. van Lutterwelt, De 'Turkse' schilderijen van J. B. Vanmour en zijn school (Leiden and Istanbul, 1958); Some of Vanmour's paintings in the Rijksmuseum were exhibited in Istanbul and Ankara in 1978: Les Peintures Turque's de Jean Baptiste Vanmour. 1671-1737 (Ankara and Istanbul, 1978); the facsimile edition of Receuil de Cent Estampes was printed in Istanbul in 1979. The latest publication on the subject is: Also An Eyewitness of the Tulip Era. Jean-Baptiste Vanmour (E. Sint Nicolaas, D. Bull, G. Renda, G. irepoglu), Istanbul, 2003. 50 F. Fosca, Liotard (Paris, 1965); G. Renda, "Turk Ressami diye anilan Jean Etienne Liotard", Sanat Dunyamiz, 13 (1978): 12-21 (English summary); A. de Herdt, Dessins de Liotard (Geneva, 1992). 51 The 1985 exhibition catalogue composed of his drawings is the best source: Cornelius Loos, Tekningar fran en expedition till Fram're orienten, 1710-1711 (Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, 1985). 52 Copies of the Istanbul panorama by Gudenus are at the Kungliga Bibliothek in Stockholm and the Ataturk Library in Istanbul. This panorama was printed in the book called Collection des Habillements en Turquie dessines d'apres nature par le Baron de Budenus et dedies
aux ambassadeurs qui sont et ont ete a Constantinople. 53 A. Boppe, Les peintres de Bosphore, 191, 212-228, 234-240,274-277.
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worked as a translator at the Swedish Embassy.
54
Architect A. I. Melling, who was invited by Sultan Selim
III to Istanbul around the end of the century and spent approximately 20 years in Istanbul, drew the topographical views from various districts of Istanbul and they were later published in his book called
Voyage pittoresque et les rives du Bosphore.
55
A. L. Castellan, was another architect who came to Istanbul
with an engineering assignment in 1797 and published the paintings he did in Greece and the Ottoman Empire in his book Lettres sur la Moree, lHellespont et Constantinople en 1811. Besides these illustrated travel accounts, many costume books were also published in this century. Although there are some costume books illustrated by European painters, most of them were produced by local artists, as was the case in the previous centuries.
56
Figure 9. Swedish ambassador Ulric Celsing received by Sultan Mustafa III, anonymous, Celsing Manor, Bibi, Sweden.
The paintings about the Ottoman Empire that have found their way to Europe through diplomatic relations constitute another group. For example, the Gustav and Ulric Celsing brothers, who served as ambassadors in Istanbul between 1747-1779, took back many objects and paintings related to the Ottomans and displayed them in their mansions. Especially the collection of paintings, including the reception scenes, single figures with Ottoman costumes and landscapes, that were brought by the Celsing brothers are now kept at the Celsing manor in Bibi, Sweden, and are invaluable pictorial documents of the eighteenth century Ottoman world.
57
Another interesting example in Sweden is the portrait of Sultan Abdulhamid I placed on
the wall of a hall added by King Gustav III in 1770 to the Gripsholm Chateau near Stockholm. The king, who wished to portray himself together with the great European rulers of the period, also included the Ottoman ruler.
58
The new diplomatic, trade and cultural relations established with the European countries
59
in the eighteenth century left profound imprints in the Ottoman artistic milieu.
Many books and objects of
European origin reached the palace. Besides, various gifts, engravings, plans and architectural drawings
54 For a new edition of D'Ohsson's book with chapters by S. Theolin, C.V. Findley, G. Renda, P. Mansel, V. Ciobanu, K. Beydilli, A.Temimi, R.V. Sellaoti, F. Ludwigs, see The Torch of the Empire. Ignatius Mouradgea d'Ohsson and the Tableau of the Ottoman Empire in the Eighteenth Century, Istanbul, 2003. 55 The original of the Melling book was published in Paris in 1819. A facsimile edition was published in Istanbul in 1969. 56 Such costume books are found in various museums and collections in the world. For a comprehensive list see N. Atasoy, "The Birth of Costumes Books and the Fenerci Mehmed Album", Ottoman Costume Book: Fenerci Mehmed (Istanbul, 1986). 57 For a recent publication on the Celsing collection see: Minnet av Konstantinopel. Den osmansk-turkiska 1700-talssamlingen pa Biby, (K. Adahl, M. Ahlund, C. Brown, E. L. Karlsson, A. Karlsson, Ff. Kaberg, M. Laine, G. Renda), Stockholm, 2003. 58 G. Renda, "Europe and the Ottomans", Ottoman Civilization, 1114.
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were brought from France by ambassadors Mehmed Celebi and Said Efendi. Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha requested the French Ambassador Marquis de Bonnac to acquire from France engravings and architectural drawings, most of which were related to the Versailles Palace, have been influential in the buildings constructed during the Tulip Period. The Sadabad Palace, which started to be constructed at the Golden Horn in 1722, with its springs, fountains and cascades, could rival the French palaces. No doubt, the European influence on Ottoman architecture increased even more after the Tulip Period. However, the traces of the baroque and rococo styles prevalent in Europe appeared mainly in architectural decoration.
Figure 10. Portrait of Abdlhamid I on the walls of Gripsholm Castle, Sweden.

There were no major alterations in mosque architecture. More accurately, the plans did not change, but on the exterior facades, doors and windows, on the niches and mimbars in the interior, curving motifs in the baroque and rococo styles, seashells and cartouches are encountered. The Nuru-u Osmaniye Mosque (1748-1755) is the only example among the mosques, displaying this style, most often called the "Ottoman Baroque" with undulating multifoil arches, masses and cornices, high portals, capitals with baroque motifs and minarets with bulbous feet followed in the 19 th century. This shows that Ottoman architects, rather than bringing a structural change to architecture, adopted new features in the decorative program. No doubt, a certain period of time was needed for any structural change in Ottoman architecture, which had such a long tradition. A period of transition was also needed for the Ottoman art of painting.
60
The new demands and tastes, which developed with the interest aroused in European art in the Ottoman palace circles, brought a new flavour to the art of painting. Undoubtedly, the European artists who established themselves in the Ottoman capital were influential in creating a new artistic milieu. Technique and content changed in painting.
61
Miniature paintings were gradually replaced by watercolour paintings
and what is more important, perspective entered into miniatures. The subjects were also changed. The miniatures with historical themes were replaced by stories with a light content, scenes from daily life, landscapes, portraits and floral compositions.
B. Lewis, The Muslim Discovery, 168-169; F. M. Gocek, East Encounters West, 114. For the European influences observed in Ottoman architecture see A. Kuran, "18th Century Ottoman Architecture", Studies in 18th Century Islamic History, eds. Th. Naff and R. Owen (Southern Illinois Univ., 1977), 163-189; G. Renda, "Europe and the Ottomans", Europa und, die Kunst des Islam 15. bis 18. Jahrhundert, XXV. Internationaler Kongress fuer Kunstgeschichte-Ciha (Vienna, 4-10 September 1983), 932; F. Yenisehirlioglu, "Western Influences on Ottoman Architecture", Das Osmanische Reich un Europa 1683 bis 1789 (Vienna, 1983), 153178; D. Kuban, "Ottoman Architecture" in Ottoman Civilization, 626-697. 61 For the developments in the eighteenth century art of painting see G. Renda, "Ottoman Painting and Sculpture" in Ottoman Civilization, 932-967.
60
59
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Around the mid-eighteenth century, the architectural decorative program, changing with the introduction of the Western elements, paved the way for the development of a painting genre that can be called wall painting. The landscape paintings placed among baroque and rococo motifs replacing the traditional
kalemisi (painted decoration) are marked by the use of certain Western painting techniques, such as
perspective, light and shade. Documenting various districts and buildings in Istanbul, they seem to have followed the approach of the European artists who came to Istanbul in the eighteenth century. This new concept in painting, which also spread to the other regions of the Empire in a short period of time, shows that it was also adopted outside the capital city. The most important development observed in the Ottoman painting in this century is the introduction of canvas paintings. All of the sultans who reigned during the second half of the eighteenth century had their portraits painted in oil on canvas. Moreover, starting with Sultan Selim III, the sultans distributed their own portraits. Sultan Selim III, who realized that the rulers in Europe exchanged their portraits as gifts, had his own portrait engraved and distributed it to the high dignitaries in the Empire, the European rulers and ambassadors.
Figure 11. Portrait of Selim III painted by Constantine Kapdal and engraved in London, dated 1793, Topkapi Palace Museum, A 3689.
As a matter of fact, a copy of this portrait was sent to Napoleon. Both this portrait and a ring with Napoleon's portrait on it, sent to Sultan Selim III, are kept in the Topkapi Palace collection. Sultan Mahmud II, who succeeded Sultan Selim III, had medals made with his portrait showing him wearing a jacket, trousers and a fez, symbolizing the costume reform he realized. These were also produced for distribution.
62
62
For portraits of Selim and Mahmud see G. Renda, "Propagating the Imperial Image: Tasvir-i Humayun 1800-1922", The Sultan's Portrait, 442-543; G. Renda, "Ottoman Painting and Sculpture" in Ottoman Civilization, 932-967.
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Figure 12. Ring with portrait of Napoleon presented to Selim III, Topkapi Palace Museum 2/3699.
The Ottoman-European relations followed a different line in the nineteenth century. While further achievements were taking place in science and culture in the gradually industrializing Europe, the Ottoman Empire continued its significance as a profitable market for the Europeans. This was a period in which westernization in the Empire became institutionalized. The Ottomans, who had established permanent embassies in Europe after Sultan Selim III, improved their diplomatic and commercial relations. Especially after the 1839 Tanzimat Firman (Noble Reform Script), it is observed that Europeans and non-Muslims became influential in commercial and cultural life in the Ottoman capital city and the major cities in the provinces. All the European styles were now adopted, both in architecture and in the art of painting. The palaces constructed in Istanbul one after the other such as the Dolmabahce, Beylerbeyi, Goksu, Ciragan and Yildiz, which the sultans wished to see as the symbols of westernization, are quite different from the traditional palaces. These buildings display an eclectic style, a blend of the neo-baroque, neo-classical or even neo-gothic styles in the nineteenth century European architecture.
Figure 13. Reception room in the Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul 1853. (Figure taken from http://www.wowturkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6042&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=80)
These palaces were composed of various quarters unified behind a long facade, like the palaces in Europe, and unlike the Topkapi Palace where pavilions are collected around courtyards. These palaces are marked by their monumental gates and intensive decoration on their facades. Their interiors are dazzling with gilded reliefs, carved wooden and carton-pierre decorations, panoramic wall paintings, European-made furniture and porcelains. The Ottoman elite, who adopted westernization, used the same styles and decorations in the mansions they built in the capital city and the provinces.
63
While westernization was
63 For general information related to the nineteenth century palaces, D. Kuban, "Ottoman Architecture", 626-697 and G. Renda, "Ottoman painting and Sculpture", 932-979 in Ottoman Civilization.
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becoming a lifestyle in the Ottoman palace circles and the elite class throughout the nineteenth century, for the Europeans, the exotic and novel lay in the East. This was reflected in the wave of orientalism, which spread in France, England, Germany, Austria and Italy. Actually, orientalism, which is a concept created by Europe nourished by imperialism and colonialism as a result of the industrial revolution, has manufactured an exotic, mystical, "Oriental" image filled with unknowns.
64
The "Oriental" image created by the heroes of
the stories, novels or plays were most often an Ottoman image. Such images found in the works of authors such as Lord Byron and Victor Hugo in the first half of the nineteenth century also influenced other branches of art. For example, Byron, in his book called Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, narrates his hero's journey to the East. The oriental image created by Byron in this book is a strong but merciless, mysterious character for whom women become slaves. In fact, E. Delacroix, the famous French artist, who was inspired by Byron, in his painting called the Death of Sardanapal shows his hero together with the women of his harem who do not abandon him at the moment of disaster. Byron, who was a guest at Ali Pasha's palace in Yannina, assumed an attitude against the Ottomans after the murder of the Ottoman Pasha in 1822 and actually died during the Greek war of independence. Delacroix's painting called Massacre in Chios was also derived from Byron. It is evident that the romantic authors wanted to show the Ottomans as "oriental" and "different". Especially after the 1827 Navarino defeat, they saw the Ottomans as a state that had lost its political power. Victor Hugo, in his book called Les Orientales, exalts the Greek war of independence. Moreover, it is interesting to note that the European orientalists were disappointed at the Ottoman westernization, because the westernized Ottoman image did not fit the concept of the "Oriental" they had created. For example, G. de Nerval, in his book called Voyage en Orient, when he was describing that he saw Sultan Abdulmajid in European attire, almost criticized the sultan. When describing the streets of Istanbul he said that the oriental traces no longer remained in the westernized architecture. The same approach is also observed in the art of painting.
65
These painters who depicted the orient
following the orientalism in literature, created the same mysterious, dramatic, picturesque oriental image. Some of these artists who never visited the Ottoman Empire painted the orient they themselves imagined by making use of the illustrated travel books. The most favourite themes were the scenes of the oriental bath and the harem, which even if they travelled in the East would be unable to see. Some of the orientalist painters even delineated the topography to create a pictorial and dramatic effect. Well-known orientalist painters such as E. Delacroix, J. A. D. Ingres and others have attempted this. Moreover, H. Vernet, J. L. Gerome and L. Deutch, although they travelled in the Orient, presented exaggerated scenes and topographical images, because when they exhibited their paintings in the Paris Salon, the viewer was still seeking that "oriental" image manufactured by the West. In fact, these painters were forced to compete with the photographs that had become widespread in Europe.
64 For treatment of the political and sociological factors in the formation of this concept in the nineteenth century in the most comprehensive manner see Edward Said, Orientalism (New York, 1978). 65 In recent years, numerous books or exhibition catalogues have been published on orientalism in European art. The following are the important ones: P. Jullian, The Orientalists: European Painters of Eastern Scenes (Oxford, 1977); ,M. Verrier, The Orientalists (New York and London, 1979); P. and V. Berko, Peinture Orientaliste (Brussels, 1982); L. Thornton, The Orientalists. Painter-Travellers 1828-1908 (Paris, 1983); J. Sweetman, Oriental Obsession (Cambridge, 1988); S. Germaner and Z. Inankur, Orientalism and Turkey (Istanbul, 1989). In recent years many exhibitions have been held related to orientalist paintings. A part of the exhibition catalogues are given here; Orientalist Painters of the Nineteenth Century (London, 1978); Travellers beyond the Grand Tour (London, 1980); Orientalism. The Near East in French Painting 1800-1880 (Rochester, 1982); The Orientalists. Delacroix to Matisse. The Allure of North Africa and the Near East (Washington, D.C., 1984); Europa und der Orient (Berlin, 1989); Voyages and Visions. Nineteenth Century European Images of the Middle East (London and Washington, D.C., 1995); B. Folsach, By the Light of the Crescent Moon: Images of Near East in Danish Art and Literature, 1800-1875 (Copenhagen, 1996); C. Peltre, Orientalism in Art (New York, London, Paris, 1998); S. Germaner and Z. inankur, Orientalists' Istanbul (Istanbul, 2002).
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On the other hand, there were European artists in the nineteenth century who came to the Ottoman Empire with a curiosity about history and archaeology and who documented what they saw with scholarly accurate drawings. They painted the orient, but they were not orientalists in the concept described above. Pasini and Zonaro who came to the Ottoman capital at different times painted realistic scenes from the Ottoman Empire. Especially inspired by the archaeological research started in Egypt by Napoleon, these artists came on scholarly journeys, made accurate topographical drawings and costume paintings. Artists like T. Allom and W. Bartlett, who both had started their careers as architects, worked together with the clergyman Robert Walsh at the British Embassy in 1836-1838 and they published the illustrated work Constantinople
and the Scenery of Seven Churches of Asia Minor. Bartlett, when he came to Istanbul in 1835, made
illustrations for the book called The Beauties of the Bosphorous that was published in 1839 by Julia Pardoe. The orientalist movement also influenced European architecture in the second half of the nineteenth century. Buildings were inspired by the Islamic architecture in an extensive geography from North Africa to India, with the Ottoman Empire in the lead. The participation of the Ottomans in the world exhibitions and fairs organized one after another in Europe and the United States had a role in this. Sultan Abdulaziz, who attended the 1867 Paris Universal Exposition, had Ottoman architectural drawings prepared for the Universal Exposition in 1873 in Vienna. The models of the Ottoman buildings were built at the fair grounds. These drawings and models were copied in many European countries. From then on, it was possible to find Turkish fountains in the parks and Turkish rooms in the homes.
66
In the Ottoman capital a large number of European architects and artists worked for the Ottoman sultans during the second half of the nineteenth century and they made projects for the Ottoman sultans who commissioned them, satisfying the demands and tastes of the sultans. Sultan Abdulaziz and Sultan Abdulhamid also formed a collection of European paintings at the palace. Moreover, Sultan Abdulhamid even established a museum
67
at the Yildiz Palace and displayed paintings. Operas of the European
composers were staged at the Yildiz Palace theatre. The Ottoman palace and the Ottoman capital had become an important centre for European culture and art as well.
Figure 14. Portrait of Sultan Abdulaziz painted by the French artist P.D. Guillemet, Topkapi Palace Museum, 17/943.
66 67
Z. Celik, Displaying the Orient. Architecture of Islam at Nineteenth Century World's Fairs (Berkeley, Los Angeles and Oxford, 1992). G. Renda, "Propagating the Imperial Image: Tasvir-i Humayun 1800-1922", The Sultan's Portrait, 442-469, Cat. No. 177.
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A look at the European-Ottoman relations throughout the centuries clearly indicates that the cultural relations stayed firmly behind political and economic developments. Among the Islamic communities, the Turks have always had the closest relations with the Western Christian world. The way these relations were reflected in art and culture since the fifteenth century shows variations according to political alliances, victories and defeats, diplomatic relations, and even the personalities of the art patrons. While in the earlier years the Turkish image in Europe carried an exoticism brought by the unknown, for the Europeans in the sixteenth century, the Ottoman Empire was a state administered by powerful rulers, having great political significance for Europe. In this connection, the powerful rulers of this empire, the pompous ceremonies of the Ottoman court and the elaborate Ottoman costumes were reflected in European art. No doubt, the unique topography and interesting monuments of Istanbul, the capital city of the empire, were drawn by almost every artist. However, during these centuries the European-Ottoman cultural relations preserved their unilateral character. More accurately, a profound European influence was not encountered in the Ottoman culture and art until the eighteenth century. However, after the eighteenth century, both the Ottomans and the Europeans attempted to become more closely acquainted with each other under equal terms and have been even more inspired from each other. The European influence penetrating into Turkish art in parallel with the Turquerie fashion developing in Europe is a concrete indicator of these relations. The political balances in the nineteenth century pushed the Ottomans into an intensive westernization and the European culture was much more influential. It is a fact that Ottoman-European cultural interactions developing throughout history have contributed a rich content to both European and Ottoman art and indicates that different cultures can create powerful syntheses.
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Les Peintures Turque's de Jean Baptiste Vanmour. 1671-1737. Ankara and Istanbul, 1978.
Lewis, B., The Muslim Discovery of Europe. Toronto, 1982. Loos, Cornelius, Tekningar fran en expedition till Fram're orienten, 1710-1711. Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, 1985. Lutterwelt, R. van, De 'Turkse' schilderijen van J. B. Vanmour en zijn school. Leiden and Istanbul, 1958.
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Minnet av Konstantinopel. Den osmansk-turkiska 1700-talssamlingen pa Biby, (K. Adahl, M. Ahlund, C. Brown, E. L. Munster, Wien und die Ttirken 1683-1983, Munster, 1983.
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Niederb'sterreich im Turkenjahr 1683. Orientalism. The Near East in French Painting 1800-1880. Rochester, 1982. Orientalist Painters of the Nineteenth Century. London, 1978. Osterreich und Osmanen. Osterreichisches Nationalbibliotek und Osterreichische Staatarchiv. Vienna, 1983. Osterreichiches Zinnfigurenmuseum im Scholl Pottenbrunn. St. Polten, 1983.
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Receuil de Cent Estampes was printed in Istanbul in 1979.

Renda, G., "17. Yuzyildan Bir Grup Kiyafet Albumu" (A group of seventeenth century costume albums) in 17. Yuzyil Osmanli Kultur ve Sanati, 19-20 Mart 1998 Sempozyum Bildirileri (Istanbul, 1998), 153-178. Renda, G., "Europe and the Ottomans", Europa und, die Kunst des Islam 15. bis 18. Jahrhundert, XXV. Internationaler Kongress fuer Kunstgeschichte-Ciha (Vienna, 4-10 September 1983), 9-32. Renda, G., "Europe and the Ottomans", Ottoman Civilization, 1114. Renda, G., "Ottoman Painting and Sculpture" in Ottoman Civilization, 932-967. Renda, G., "Propagating the Imperial Image: Tasvir-i Humayun 1800-1922", The Sultan's Portrait, 442-543. Renda, G., "Representations of Towns and Sea Charts of the Sixteenth Century and their Relation to Mediterranean Cartography", Solimon le Magnifique et son temps. Actes du Colloque. Paris, 7-10 Mars 1990 (Paris, 1992), 279-298. Renda, G., "Turk Ressami diye anilan Jean Etienne Liotard", Sanat Dunyamiz, 13 (1978): 12-21 (English summary). Richter, J., The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (arranged and rendered into English and introduced by Edward Me Curdy), vol. 1. New York, 1889. Rouillard, C. D., The Turk in French History, Thought and Literature (1520-1660). Paris, 1938. Said, Edward, Orientalism. New York, 1978.
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List of Figures
Figure 1. Map of Anatolia from Ptolemys Geographike translated by Berlinghieri Fiorentino and dedicated to Mehmed II, Topkapi Palace Museum, G184. Figure 2. Portrait of Mehmed II inscribed El Turco, shown in the attire of the Byzantine king Johannes Paleologus, ca. 1460, Topkapi Palace Museum H 2153. Figure 3. Portrait of Mehmed II painted by Gentile Bellini, London National Gallery. Figure 4. Leonardo da Vincis project for a bridge over the Golden Horn. The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, vol. 1, 387. Figure 5. Portrait of Suleyman the Magnificent by Mechior Lorichs, Royal Library, Copenhagen. Figure 6. The Port of Toulon, painted by Matrakci Nasuh, Suleymannme, ca. 1545, Topkapi Palace Museum, H 1608. Figure 7. Portrait of Franois painted by Ottoman artist Nigari, ca. 1540s, Boston Fogg Museum 85. 214. Figure 8. Portrait of Sultan Sleyman painted by painter Osman, 1579, Kyafat al-insaniya f shemil alOsmaniya, Topkap Palace Museum H 1563. Figure 9.Swedish ambassador Ulric Celsing received by Sultan Mustafa III, anonymous, Celsing Manor, Bibi, Sweden. Figure 10. Portrait of Abdlhamid I on the walls of Gripsholm Castle, Sweden. Figure 11. Portrait of Selim III painted by Constantine Kapdal and engraved in London, dated 1793, Topkapi Palace Museum, A 3689. Figure 12.Ring with portrait of Napoleon presented to Selim III, Topkapi Palace Museum 2/3699. Figure 13. Reception room in the Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul 1853. (Figure taken from http://www.wowturkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6042&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=80) Figure 14. Portrait of Sultan Abdulaziz painted by the French artist P.D. Guillemet, Topkapi Palace Museum, 17/943.
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The Arabic Transformation of Mechanics: The Birth of the Science of Weights
Prof. Dr. Mohammed Abattouy Prof. Dr. Mohamed El-Gomati Savas Konur November 2006 615 FSTC Limited, 2006
FSTC Limited
The Arabic Transformation of Mechanics: The Birth of the Science of Weights November 2006
THE ARABIC TRANSFORMATION OF MECHANICS: THE BIRTH OF THE SCIENCE OF WEIGHTS *

Mohammed Abattouy**
The following article focuses on three main concerns. The first is an overview of the textual tradition of a core part of Arabic mechanics, dealing with the science of weights. Secondly, the article will analyse the historical significance of the Arabic science of weights. Thus, the transformation brought about by this important segment of Arabic mechanics is interpreted as the reorganization of a core-part of ancient mechanics into an independent science of weights. On this basis, a strong claim is made in favor of the independent status of ilm al-athqal, which should no longer be confused with ilm al-hiyal, understood as a general descriptive discourse on different types of machines. The final section is devoted to a preliminary survey of the institutional setting of the control of weighing instruments in the Islamic medieval society through the office of the hisba. This study, covering the theoretical as well as the practical aspects of an important segment of Arabic classical science, i.e. mechanics, is part of a program of research which the author is developing, appealing for the renewal of the field of the history of Arabic classical sciences, by merging together historical research based on empirical investigation in the scientific texts, the epistemological reflexion on the concepts, categories and methods, and the sociological analysis of the contextual structures that shaped the practice of science in medieval Islam. 1
1. The reconstruction of the corpus of the Arabic science of weights

The balance is an instrument of our current life, charged with history and science. In Islamic classical times, this familiar instrument was the object of an extensive scientific and technical debate of which dozens of treatises on different aspects of its theory, construction, and use are the precious remains. Different sorts of balances were the object of such an extensive enquiry, including the normal equal-armed balance (called in Arabic mizan, tayyar, and shahin), the steelyard (called qarastun, qaffan, and qabban) and sophisticated balances for weighing absolute and specific weights of substances. Several drawings of balances are preserved in Arabic manuscripts, such as those of al-Khazini, al-Hariri, and al-Qazwini. Further, some specimens of the ancient balances survived and are presently kept in museums. For illustration, we refer to two such Islamic steelyards from the 10 th-12th centuries. The first, built in Iran, is preserved in the National Museum in Kuwait (LNS 65M). It is made of steel, and bears marks on its beam. Its dimensions (height: 11.5 cm, length: 15.6 cm) show that it was used for weighing small quantities. 2 The second is kept in the Science Museum in London (accession number Inv. 1935-457). This balance came to the Science Museum in 1935 from University College in London, together with a large
An earlier version of this article was published in Abattouy 2002b. Several results exposed in this study were obtained under the sponsorship of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin (1996-2003). I am grateful to my colleagues at the MPIWG, especially to Professor Jurgen Renn, director of Department I at the MPIWG, for this long-lasting and fruitful collaboration. This article was also submitted to the Proceedings of the Manchester 1001 Inventions Day Conference. ** Mohammed Vth-Agdal University, Rabat, Faculty of Letters, Philosophy Department 1 For case studies, reflexions and references bringing evidence to this research program, see the three forthcoming volumes: Abattouy [In Press 2006a], [In Press 2006b], and [In Press 2006c]. 2 See al-Sabah 1989, p. 32.
*
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selection of archaeological material consisting of ancient weights and measures collected from the Near East by the British archaeologist Flinders Petrie. A scale of silver is inlaid along its 2.37m long, wrought-iron beam. It bears two suspending elements and corresponding calibrations: one ranging from 0 to 900 ratl-s (1 ratl is approximately 1 pound); the other ranging from 900 to 1820 ratl-s.3
Figure 1. Al-Mizan al-jami (the universal balance of) al-Khazini, as depicted in al-Khazini, Kitab mizan alhikma, Hyderabad, 1940, p. 103 (The image was introduced by the editor).
The interest in balance in Islamic scientific learning was culturally nurtured by its role as a symbol of good morals and justice. The Quran and the Hadith appealed extensively to a strict observance of fair and accurate weighing practices with balance. Considered the tongue of justice and a direct gift of God, balance was made a pillar of right society and a tool of good governance. These principles were recorded explicitly in several treatises on balance, such as the introduction to Kitab mizan al-hikma by al-Khazini, where balance is qualified as the tongue of justice and the article of mediation. Furthermore, it was counted as a fundamental factor of justice, on the same level with the glorious Book of God, and the guided leaders and established savants.4 The emergence of Arabic mechanics is an early achievement in the scientific tradition of Islam. Actually, already in the mid-9 th century, and in close connection with the translation of Greek texts into Arabic, treatises on different aspects of the mechanical arts were composed in Arabic, but with a marked focus on balances and weights. These writings, composed by scientists as well as by mechanicians and skilful artisans, gave birth to a scientific tradition with theoretical and practical aspects, debating mathematical and physical problems, and involving questions relevant to both the construction of instruments and the social context of their use. Some of these Arabic treatises were translated into Latin in the 12 th century and influenced the European science of weights.
The images of these balances can be seen at http://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/en/forschung/projects/theoreticalMechanics/project_image_Fig.11.jpg/showImagen and in Abattouy 2002b, p. 110. 4 Al-Khazini 1940, pp. 3-4.
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The corpus of the Arabic science of weights covers the entire temporal extent of scientific activity in medieval Islam and beyond, until the 19th century. The reasons for such an abundance of literature on the problems of weighing can be explained only by contextual factors. In fact, the development of the science of weights as an autonomous branch of science was triggered by the eminent importance of balances for commercial purposes. In a vast empire with lively commerce between culturally and economically fairly autonomous regions, more and more sophisticated balances were, in the absence of standardization, key instruments governing the exchange of currencies and goods, such as precious metals and stones. It is therefore no surprise that Muslim scholars produced numerous treatises specifically dealing with balances and weights, explaining their theory, construction and use. This literature culminated in the compilation by Abd ar-Rahman al-Khazini, around 1120, of Kitab mizan al-hikma, an encyclopedia of mechanics dedicated to the description of an ideal balance conceived as a universal tool of a science at the service of commerce, the so-called balance of wisdom. This was capable of measuring absolute and specific weights of solids and liquids, calculating exchange rates of currencies, and determining time. A complete reconstruction of the Arabic tradition of weights is currently being undertaken by the author. This project began in the context of a long-term cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. The work on the establishment of the Arabic corpus of the science of weights started in Fall 1996 by the systematic reconstruction of the entire codicological tradition of the corpus of texts dealing on theoretical and practical levels with balances and weights. By now almost two-thirds of the entire corpus has been edited and translated into English; this part, including texts dating from the 9th through the 12th centuries, is being prepared for publication with the appropriate commentaries.
Figure 2. An Ottoman scales, in G. Kurkman, Anadoluda Agirlik ve Olculeri. Istanbul 2003 (The image was introduced by the editor).
The preliminary analysis of the texts investigated so far established the importance of the Arabic tradition for the development of the body of mechanical knowledge. The Arabic treatises turned out to be much richer in content than those known from the ancient tradition. In particular, they contain foundations of deductive systems of mechanics different from those inferred from extant Greek texts, as well as new propositions and theorems. On the other hand, the Arabic treatises also represent knowledge about practical aspects of the construction and use of balances and other machines missing in ancient treatises.
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The first phase of the research on the Arabic science of weights focused on establishing the scope of its extant corpus. Surprisingly, this corpus turned out to be much larger than usually assumed in history of science. To date, more than thirty treatises dating from the 9th through the 19th centuries have been identified which deal with balances and weights in the narrow sense. The majority of these treatises have never before been edited or studied, and only exist in one or more manuscript copies. Some important manuscripts have been discovered or rediscovered even in the course of the research activities conducted by the author. The textual constituents of the Arabic works on the problems of weights can be classified chronologically into three successive units. First, there is the set of Greek texts of mechanics extant in Arabic versions. Despite their Greek origin, these works can be regarded as an integral part of the Arabic mechanical tradition, at least because of the influence they exerted on the early works of Arabic mechanics. In the case of some of these texts, although they are attributed to Greek authors, their Greek originals are no more extant nor are they ascribed to their supposed Greek authors in antique sources. The second unit comprises founding texts composed originally in Arabic in the period from the 9th through the 12th centuries. This segment of writings laid the theoretical basis of the new science of weights, in close connection with the translations and editions of texts stemming from Greek origins. The third phase covers the 14 th through the 19th centuries, and comprises mainly practical texts elaborating on the theoretical foundations laid in the earlier tradition. In the following, the texts belonging to these three phases will be described in brief, with a short characterization of some theoretical contents.

The corpus of Greek texts that were known to Muslim scholars through direct textual evidence and dealing with the problems of weighing and the theory of the balance are six in number: 1. First, Nutaf min al-hiyal, an Arabic partial epitome of Pseudo-Aristotle's Mechanical Problems: The
Aristotle, but composed very probably by one of his later disciples. It has long been claimed that this text was not transmitted to Arabic culture. It is possible now to affirm that the scholars of Islamic lands had access to it at least through a partial epitome entitled Nutaf min al-hiyal (elements/extracts of mechanics) included by al-Khazini in the fifth book of his Kitab mizan al-hikma.5 2-3. Two texts ascribed to Euclid on balance ( Maqala fi 'l-mizan) and on heaviness and lightness (Kitab fi 'l-
thiql wa'l-khiffa): Extant only in Arabic, the first one provides a geometrical treatment of balance and
presents a sophisticated demonstration of the law of the lever. It is not recorded whether it was edited in Arabic, but there is enough evidence to conclude that this was probably the case. The second text survived in a version edited by Thabit ibn Qurra. It is an organized exposition in 9 postulates and 6 theorems of dynamical principles of the motion of bodies in filled media, developing a rough analysis of Aristotelian type of the concepts of place, size, kind and force and applying them to movements of bodies. 6
5 6
Al-Khazini 1940, pp. 99-100. The text of the Nutaf was edited and translated, with commentaries, in Abattouy 2001a. The contents of these two works are surveyed in Abattouy 2001b, p. 216ff. Their textual tradition is analyzed under the procedure of islah in Abattouy 2004c.
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Figure 3. The Balance of al-Khazini, in Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Science an Illustrated Study. Kent 1976 (The image was introduced by the editor).
4. A partial Arabic version of Archimedes On Floating Bodies: Contrary to the highly creative impact Archimedes had on Arabic mathematics, it seems that his main mechanical treatises such as Equilibrium of
theory of centers of gravity were disclosed in the mechanical texts of Heron and Pappus, whereas the main ideas of his hydrostatics were transmitted in a Maqala fi 'l-thiql wa'l-khiffa, extant in Arabic in several manuscript copies. This short tract consists in a summarized digest of the treatise on the Floating Bodies, presenting mere statements of the postulates and propositions of Book I and the first proposition of Book II without proofs. 7 5.6. Heron's and Pappus' Mechanics: Finally, the last two Greek texts to be connected with the Arabic tradition of the science of weights are the two huge treatises referred to as Mechanics of the Alexandrian scholars Heron (1st century) and Pappus (4th century). These texts are together major sources for the reconstruction of the history of ancient mechanical ideas. Given their composite character, only some of their chapters concern the foundations of theoretical mechanics as developed in the later Arabic tradition around the questions of weighing. Heron's Mechanics was translated into Arabic by Qusta ibn Luqa under the title Fi raf al-ashya al-thaqila (On lifting heavy loads).8 After the loss of the Greek original text, it survived only in this Arabic version. Unlike Heron's Mechanics, Pappus mechanical treatise was preserved in Greek and in Arabic. Its Arabic version is titled Madkhal ila ilm al-hiyal (Introduction to the science of mechanics), by a translator who has not yet been identified, but there is enough evidence to affirm that this version saw the light in 10th-century Baghdad. 9

In close connection with the translation and study of the above mentioned Greek sources, the Muslim scientists composed in the period from the 9th up to the 12th century a set of original texts that laid the foundation to the new science of weights. To mention just the main treatises, these texts are seven in number:
A MS copy of this text was published in Zotenberg 1879 and translated into English in Clagett 1959, pp. 52-55. Heron's Mechanics was edited and translated twice respectively by Carra de Vaux in 1893, with French translation, and by Schmidt and Nix in 1900, with German translation. These editions were reprinted recently: respectively Herons 1976 and Hron 1988. 9 The Arabic text of Pappus' Mechanics was transcribed and translated into English in Jackson 1970.
8
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7. First, the Kitab fi 'l-qarastun by Thabit ibn Qurra (d. 901): Without contest the most important text of the Arabic mechanical tradition, it was apparently one of the first Arabic texts to deal with the theory of the unequal-armed balance in Islam and to systematize its treatment. As such, it established the theoretical foundation for the whole Arabic tradition.
Kitab fi 'l-qarastun presents a deductive theory of the steelyard based on dynamic assumptions. It is extant
in four known copies, of which three contain complete texts with variant readings. Two of these, preserved in London (India Office MS 767-7) and Beirut (St.-Joseph Library, MS 223-11), were studied and published recently.10 The third copy, formerly conserved in Berlin (Staatsbibliothek MS 559/9, ff. 218b-224a), was reported lost at the end of World War II. A colleague from Berlin, Paul Weinig and I happened to rediscover it in the Biblioteka Jagiellonska in Krakow (Poland) in October 1996. Recently Sonja Brentjes kindly attracted my attention to a partial fourth copy that exists in the archives of the Laurentiana Library in Florence (MS Or. 118, ff. 71r-72r). Never mentioned before, this valuable three-page text includes the introductory two sections of Thabit's treatise. This part of the text exposes the dynamic foundation of the treatise and an important passage that was, up to now, thought only to occur in Beirut MS copy (and thus known as Beirut scholium).11 8. Kitab fi sifat al-wazn by the same Thabit ibn Qurra: This five-section text on the balance is about the conditions necessary to achieve equilibrium in weighing with balances, primarily the equal-armed sort.12 An important connection between this text and Kitab fi 'l-qarastun is provided by the occurrence, in the last section of Sifat al-wazn , of the statement of a proposition identical with the postulate that opens Kitab fi 'l-
qarastun.
9. Ziyyada fi 'l-qarastun or An Addition on the theory of the qarastun : A short anonymous text extant in a unicum copy preserved in Beirut. In this codex, the Ziyyada serves as an appendix to Kitab fi 'l-qarastun. The two texts are written in the same hand and display strong terminological affinities which include the basic vocabulary as well as the technical terms. Thabit ibn Qurra is mentioned twice in the Ziyyada. This and several other elements induce us to consider it as an appendix intended to amplify the analysis developed in Thabit's original work. The text of the Ziyyada is composed of five propositions. The first two are mere applications of the Proposition VI of Kitab fi 'l-qarastun while the last three establish a procedure for calculating the counterweight required to maintain equilibrium in a lever divided an evenly number of times. 10. A short text on the balance by Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah b. Mansur al-Ahwazi: Al-Ahwazi is a well known mathematician of the 10 th century; his text on the balance is extant in a unique copy preserved in Khuda Baksh Library in Patna (Codex 2928, folio 31) without title, save for the one provided by the curators of the library: Risala fi 'l-mizan.13 11. The treatises on centers of gravity of al-Quhi and Ibn al-Haytham: These important contributions by two of the most important Muslim mathematicians of the 10th-11th centuries survived only through their reproduction by al-Khazini in a joint abridged version that opens the first book of his Kitab mizan alRespectively in Jaouiche 1976 and Knorr 1982. The mechanical theory of Kitab fi 'l-qarastun was studied in Jaouiche 1976, Abattouy 2000d and in Abattouy 2002a. 12 This text was preserved thanks to its integration in Kitab mizan al-hikma: al-Khazini 1940, pp. 33-38. For translations, see the German version in Wiedemann 1970, vol. I, pp. 495-500 and a partial English version in Knorr 1982, pp. 206-208. 13 On al-Ahwazi, see Sezgin 1974, p. 312.
11 10
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hikma.14 The potential discovery of the complete versions of these texts will mean the recovery of
fundamental sources.15 12. The statements on the law of the lever by the same al-Quhi included in a discussion on the centers of gravity he had with Abu Ishaq al-Sabi around 990-91.16 13. The treatise of Ilya al-Matran on measures and weights: Ilya al-Matran was the Archbishop of Nisibin (north Mesopotamia, Nusaybin in present Turkey) in the first half of the 11 th century. His Maqala fi 'l-
makayyil wa al-awzan (Treatise of measures and weights) is essentially of practical interest, but it is based
on the theory of the steelyard as elaborated in earlier Arabic works.
Figure 4. Al-Khazinis balance in Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Islamic Science an Illustrated Study. Kent 1976 (The image was introduced by the editor).
14. Irshad dhawi al-irfan ila sinaat al-qaffan (Guiding the Learned Men in the Art of the Steelyard) by alIsfizari: A fundamental and long-neglected treatise, written by abu Hatim al-Muzaffar b. Ismail al-Isfizari, a mathematician and mechanician who flourished in Khurasan (north-east Iran) around 1050-1110. In this original text on the theory and practice of the unequal-armed balance, different textual traditions from Greek and Arabic sources are compiled together for the elaboration of a unified mechanical theory. It is extant in a unique manuscript copy preserved in Damascus (al-Asad National Library, al-Zahiriyya collection, MS 4460, folia 16a-24a). In addition, an abridged version reproduced by al-Khazini includes a section on the construction and use of the steelyard, which is omitted from the Damascus manuscript.17 15. Kitab mizan al-hikma by al-Khazini: A special mention should be made of Kitab mizan al-hikma, the encyclopedia of mechanics completed by Abderahman al-Khazini in 1121-22, a real mine of information on all aspects of the theoretical and practical knowledge in the Islamic medieval area about balances. The book covers a wide range of topics related to statics, hydrostatics, and practical mechanics, besides reproducing abridged editions of several mechanical texts by or ascribed to Greek and Arabic authors. This huge summa of mechanical thinking provides a comprehensive picture of the knowledge about weights and
14 15
Al-Khazini 1940, pp. 15-20. In his catalogue of Arabic manuscripts, Paul Sbath mentioned that there was a copy of Ibn al-Haytham's Maqala fi 'l-qarastun in a private collection in Aleppo in Syria, which may be Ibn al-Haytham's treatise on centres of gravity: See Sbath 1938-1940, part 1, p. 86. For textual considerations on the treatise of al-Quhi, see Bancel 2001. 16 The correspondence was edited and translated into English in Berggren 1983. 17 Al-Khazini 1940, pp. 39-45. Al-Isfizari's biography and the contents of his Irshad are surveyed in Abattouy 2000b and Abattouy 2001b.
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balances available in the Arabic scientific milieu up to the early 12th century. Therefore, it represents a major source for any investigation on ancient and medieval mechanics.18 The textual tradition of the Arabic science of weights between the 9th and the 12th centuries also contains additional sources that should be taken into account in any complete reconstruction of its corpus. These include the work of Muhammad Ibn Zakariyya al-Razi (865-923) on the natural balance,19 extracts from texts on weights by Qusta ibn Luqa and Ishaq ibn Hunayn,20 Ibn al-Haytham's largely expanded recension of Menelaus' (fl. Alexandria, 1st century) text on specific gravities,21 and two writings on specific gravity and the hydrostatical balance by Umar al-Khayyam.22

The third and last phase of the Arabic writings on weights and balances is represented by a group of texts dating from the 14 th to the 19 th centuries and originating principally from Egypt and Syria. These two countries were unified during this long period under the rule of the Ayyubid, Mameluk, and Ottoman dynasties, respectively, and they constituted for centuries a common economic and cultural space. Consequently the raison d'etre of this large amount of writings on the theoretical and practical problems of the balance and weights, was a direct outcome of the integration of economic and cultural activities in this vast area. The authors of these texts are mathematicians, mechanicians, and artisans. In the following some names and works are mentioned for illustration. 16. Masail fi 'l-mawazin (Problems on balances) by Yaish b. Ibrahim al-Umawi: This short tract is by a mathematician of Andalusian origin who lived in Damascus (fl. 1373), and is known as author of several arithmetical works.23 His Masail consists in a small collection of problems about weighing with hydrostatic and normal balances. The text is part of the codex DR 86 preserved in the Egyptian National Library in Cairo. 17. Risala fi amal al-mizan al-tabii by Taqi al-Din ibn Maruf: The author is a well known mathematician, astronomer, and mechanician (born in Damascus in 1525-died in Istanbul in 1585). His short treatise on making the natural balance describes what was transmitted to Taqi al-Din of a previous writing on the balance that he ascribes to the mathematician Ghiyyath al-Din al-Kashi (died in Samarkand in 1429). It is part of the collections of the municipal library of Alexandria. 18. Amal mizan li-sarf al-dhahab min ghayr sanj (The construction of a balance for converting gold without standard weight) by Abu 'l-Abbas Ahmad b. Abi Bakr b. Ali ibn al-Sarraj. The author, who was live around 714 H (1319-20) and 748 H (1347-8), was an important specialist in astronomical instrumentation in the Mamluk period.24 His short text is the sixth item of the codex MR 30 conserved in the Egyptian National Library in Cairo.
On al-Khazini and his work, see Hall 1981 and Abattouy 2000a. Reproduced in an abridged version by al-Khazini 1940, pp. 83-86. 20 These texts are preserved in Aya Sofya Library in Istanbul, Codex 3711. 21 Obviously extant in a unique manuscript discovered in Lahore in 1979 by Anton Heinen: see Heinen 1983. 22 Both edited in al-Khazini 1940, pp. 87-92, 151-153. On Khayyam's mechanics, see Aghayani Chavoshi and Bancel 2000, and Abattouy [Forthcoming 2006a]. 23 On al-Umawi, see Saidan 1981. 24 See on Ibn al-Sarraj King 1987 and Charette 2003.
19 18
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The Egyptian astronomer Muhammad ibn Abi al-Fath al -Sufi (d. 1543) composed several treatises on the theory and the practice of the steelyard balance which enjoyed wide diffusion. Al-Sufi seems to be the last
original representative of the classical Arabic tradition of works on balances and weights. With him, this
tradition comes to an end, at the same time as pre-classical physics in Europe was undergoing a deep transformation that would finally integrate the science of weights into modern physics. Here are his main treatises, known in several extant copies preserved exclusively in Cairo and Damascus, attesting to their widespread use in Egypt and Syria over several centuries: 19. Risala fi sinaat al-qabban (Treatise in the art of the steelyard): a systematic description of the steelyard and its use in different situations, showing a clear acquaintance with steelyards. The text is explicitly written for the practitioners; 20. Irshad al-wazzan li-marifat al-awzan bi 'l-qabban (Guide to the weigher in the knowledge of the weights of the steelyard): similar to the previous text; 21. Risala fi qismat al-qabban (Treatise on the division of the steelyard): contains arithmetical and geometrical problems on the calculation of the parts of the steelyard; 22. Risala fi islah fasad al-qabban (Treatise on repairing the defectuosity of the steelyard): very detailed analysis of the different cases of deficiency of a steelyard and the solutions to repair these deficiencies. Other later texts include: 23. Nukhbat al-zaman fi sinaat al-qabban: a short text on the steelyard by Uthman b. Ala al-Din alDimashqi, known as Ibn al-Malik (fl. 1589); 24. Risalat al-jawahir fi ilm al-qabban (Treatise of jewels in the science of the steelyard): a ten-chapter text written by Khir al-Burlusi al-Qabbani (d. in 1672); 25. Two writings on the science (ilm) and the description (tarif) of the steelyard by Abd al-Majid alSamuli (18 th century); 26. Al-Iqd al-thamin fima yataallaq bi-'l-mawazin (The high priced necklace in what concerns the balances), a systematic treatise on the balance and weights, by Hasan al-Jabarti (1698-1774); 27. Several short texts dealing with the principles and the construction of the steelyard by Muhammad alGhamri (died before 1712); 28. Risala fi 'l-qabban by Muhammad b. al -Husayn al-Attar (d. 1819), a Syrian author, is among the very last works written in Arabic in the style of the earlier mechanical tradition.25 For some other texts, the authorship is not yet established firmly as they don't bear any name and they are catalogued until now as
25 This treatise is a digest of earlier works composed of an introduction devoted to the principle of the equilibrium of weights and 2 chapters on 1. The construction of the steelyard, 2. The conversion of weights between countries. Chap. 1 deals in a didactic way with the elementary properties of the balances and a certain emphasis is made on the law of the lever. The text exists in 3 copies: Damascus, alAsad Nat. Lib., Zahir. coll., MS 4297; Aleppo, al-Ahmadiya Lib., al-Maktaba al-waqfiya, MS 1787; Rabat, National Library, MS D 1954.
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"anonymous texts". In this last category, we mention the following three tracts, which are very probably connected with the texts of the later period just mentioned above. 29. First, a huge summa titled Al-qawanin fi sifat al-qabban wa 'l-mawazin (The laws in the description of the steelyard and the balances) existing in Codex TR 279, ff. 1-62 in the Cairote Dar al-kutub. 30. Then a short text, Bab fi marifat amal al-qabban (Chapter in the knowledge of making the steelyard) (Cairo, Dar al-kutub, MS K3831/1and MS RT 108/1). 31. An untitled tract, of which the beginning is: "hadhihi risala fi ilm al-qabban" (Cairo, Dar al-kutub, in the same codex K3831). 32. And finally two short tracts (Risala mukhtasara fi ilm al-qabban and Risala fi ilm sinaat al-qabban) preserved in Damascus (National Library, al-Zahiriyya Collection, MS 4).26 The texts mentioned so far afford a precious testimony to the fact that scientific and technical works sometimes with a high level of originality continued to be composed in Arabic in the field of mechanics until the 19th century. This corresponds to similar information derived from recent research in other fields of Arabic sciences, such as astronomy and mathematics. The ongoing research into this later phase of science in the Arabic language will undoubtedly change our appreciation of the historical significance of Arabic science and of its place in the general history of science and culture.
Figure. 5. Al-qistas al-mustaqim (the right balance of) Umar al-Khayyam, in al-Khazini. Kitab mizan alhikma, Hyderabad, 1940, p. 153 (The image was introduced by the editor).
6. The status of the science of weights (ilm al-athqal)

The availability of the major part of the Arabic texts on the problems of weights and balances makes it possible, for the first time, to address the question of the historical significance of this large corpus of mechanical works. The investigation of this question has already led to a far-reaching conclusion. It turns
26 Among these anonymous texts, we should mention a "strange" text preserved in Paris (Bibliothque Nationale, Fonds Arabe, MS 4946, ff. 79-82) under the title Nukat al-qarastun (The secrets or the properties of the steelyard) and ascribed to Thabit ibn Qurra. Its contents are without any doubt related to the science of weights, and its main subject is very elementary and treats of some cases of weighing with the
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out that this corpus represents no less than the transformation of the ancient mechanics into a systematic science of weights and balances. As disclosed in the treatises of Pseudo-Aristotle, Philon, Heron, and Pappus, the Greek classical doctrine of mechanics was shaped as a collection of descriptions and riddles about machines, instruments, and common observation. In contradistinction, the new Arabic science of weights is focused on a relatively small range of subjects mainly the theory of the balance and equilibrium and the practical issues of weighing with different instruments. On the conceptual level, it is built on a dynamic foundation and seeks to account for mechanical phenomena in terms of motion and force. As such, it restores a strong link between mechanics and natural philosophy. This new science of weight lasted in Arabic culture until the 19th century and constituted since the 12 th century a basis for the Latin scientia de ponderibus that developed in Western Europe. The emergence of the Arabic science of weights has been proclaimed by al-Farabi (ca. 870-950) in his Ihsa
al-ulum, where he produced an authoritative reflexion on the epistemological status of mechanics that set
the stage for the question once and for all. In particular, he set up a demarcation line between the science of weights and the science of machines, and considered both as mathematical disciplines. Al-Farabi differentiated in his system between six principal sciences: those of language, logic, mathematics, nature (physics), metaphysics and politics. Mathematics is subdivided into seven disciplines: arithmetic, geometry, perspective, astronomy, music, the science of weights (ilm al-athqal) and the science of devices or machines (ilm al-hiyal). The last two are characterized as follows:
As for the science of weights, it deals with the matters of weights from two standpoints: either by examining weights as much as they are measured or are of use to measure, and this is the investigation of the matters of the doctrine of balances (umur al-qawl fi 'l-mawazin), or by examining weights as much as they move or are of use to move, and this is the investigation of the principles of instruments (usul al-alat) by which heavy things are lifted and carried from one place to another. As for the science of devices, it is the knowledge of the procedures by which one applies to natural bodies all that was proven to exist in the mathematical sciences in statements and proofs unto the natural bodies, and [the act of] locating [all that], and establishing it in actuality. The sciences of devices are therefore those that supply the knowledge of the methods and the procedures by which one can contrive to find this applicability and to demonstrate it in actuality in the natural bodies that are perceptible to the senses. 27
Considering the two main branches of mechanics as genuine mathematical sciences, al-Farabi located their objects respectively in the study of weights and machines. Hence, ilm al-athqal is centered on the principles of the balances and of lifts, investigated with reference to measure and motion, whereas ilm al-
hiyal is conceived of as the application of mathematical properties (lines, surfaces, volumes, and numbers)
to natural bodies. As such, it includes various practical crafts: the overseeing of constructions, the measurement of bodies, the making of astronomical, musical, and optical instruments, as well as the fabrication of hydraulic mechanisms, mirrors, and tools like bows, arrows and different weapons.28
steelyard. 27 Al-Farabi 1949, pp. 88-89. 28 Hiyal (sing. hila) translated the Greek word mechane which means both mechanical instrument and trick and is at the origin of the words
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In this context, the main function of ilm al-hiyal consists in bringing the geometrical properties from potentiality (quwwa) to actuality (fil) and to apply them to real bodies by means of special engines (bi-'l-
sana).29 Developing an Aristotelian thesis,30 al-Farabi endows the science of machines with an eminent
task, to actualize the mathematical properties in natural bodies. Such a function of actualization could not be extended to ilm al-athqal. In fact, weight and motion, the two notions that delimit its field of investigation, can hardly be taken as geometric properties of natural bodies, limited by al-Farabi to spatial and numerical aspects, in accordance with the canonical Euclidean paradigm that banishes all the material properties of magnitudes from the realm of geometry. The distinction of the science of weights from the different crafts of practical mechanics is a crucial result of al-Farabi's theory. The emphasis laid by the Second Master on ilm al-athqal can not be stressed enough. It amounts to no less than a solemn announcement of the emergence of an independent science of weights. With roots in the long tradition of ancient mechanics, this new discipline came to light in the second half of the 9th century in the works of Thabit ibn Qurra and his colleagues.31 It is this important scientific achievement that was recorded by al- Farabi while building his system of knowledge. Al-Farabi's thesis had a long-lasting resonance in Arabic learning and was never seriously challenged. The fundamental singularity of the science of weights as an independent branch under the mathematical arts, distinct from the science of machines, became a feature of subsequent theories of science. For confirmation, a great number of instances, in different kinds of works and in various literary contexts, can be called upon. Some of these instances are presented in chronological order hereinafter. In his Risala fi aqsam al-ulum al-aqliyya (Epistle on the parts of rational sciences), Ibn Sina (980-1037) enumerated the mechanical arts, considered as secondary constituents of geometry, as ilm al-hiyyal al-
mutaharrika (the science of movable machines, i.e., automata),32 the pulling of weights (jarr al-athqal), the science of weights and balances (ilm al-awzan wa al-mawazin), and the science of particular machines (ilm al-alat al-juziyya).33 Ibn Sina establishes a clear distinction between the science of weights and
balances, the craft of pulling heavy loads, and the art of devices. In addition, the latter is subdivided into the arts of automata and of particular machines. Likewise, the pulling of weights, included in the science of weights by al-Farabi, is assigned as a specific branch of geometry. The main point, however, in Ibn Sina's schema is the emphasis laid on the science of awzan and mawazin in which weights and balances are combined. The reference to the wazn instead of the thiql could be interpreted as a privilege given to the statical standpoint. Indeed, the wazn is a constant quantity measurable in a balance, whereas the thiql is that quantity called gravity or heaviness which varies during the weighing process and depends on the position of the weighed object relatively to a particular point, the center of the world or the fulcrum of the balance.34
machine and mechanics. On the affinities between mechane and hila, see Abattouy 2000c. 29 In the Arabic partial version of Pseudo-Aristotle's Mechanical Problems, this very function of the hiyal is said to be carried out with artificial devices (hiyal sinaìyya): see the edition of the Nutaf min al-hiyal in Abattouy 2001a, pp. 110, 113 and Aristotle 1952, 847a 2530. The function of ìlm al-hiyal as actualisation of potentalities is surveyed in Saliba 1985. 30 Aristotle, Metaphysics XIII.3, 1078 a 14-16. 31 The thesis of the birth of the Arabic science of weights was first formulated in Abattouy, Renn and Weinig 2001. 32 That al-alat al-mutaharrika refers to automata is established in Abattouy 2000c, pp. 139-140. 33 The other components of geometry are the sciences of measurement, of optics and mirrors, and of hydraulics: see Anawati 1977, p. 330 and Ibn Sina 1989, p. 112. 34 The difference is well illustrated by the definition opening Pseudo-Euclid's Maqala fi 'l-mizan: weight (wazn) is the measure of heaviness (thiql) and lightness (khiffa) of one thing compared to another by means of a balance: Paris, Bibliothque Nationale, MS 2457, f. 22b.
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In his discussion on the divisions of sciences in Maqasid al-falasifa (The Intentions of philosophers), alGhazali (1058-1111) subsumed the science of weights (ilm al-athqal) as an independent branch under the mathematical arts and differentiates it from the study of ingenious devices (ilm al-hiyal).35 Ibn Rashiq, a Moroccan mathematician of the late 13th century from Sebta, assumed a similar demarcation between weights and machines, and founded the latter on the former: the science of weights, of balances, and of catapults. (ilm al-athqal wa 'l-mawazin wa 'l-majaniq) deals with the downward motion of heavy bodies and constitutes the foundation of the science of machines (wa-yatarattab ala ilm al-athqal ilm al-hiyal).36 In his biography of al-Isfizari, al-Bayhaqi did not confuse the two when he reported that al-Isfizari was mostly inclined to astronomy and to the science of weights and machines (ilm al-athqal wa al-hiyal).37 This corresponds to what we know of his extant works in mechanics, the Irshad being clearly a book of athqal, whereas al-Isfizari's work on hiyal is represented by a collection of compiled summaries (sometimes with comments) extracted from the mechanical works of Heron, Apollonius and Banu Musa.38 Later on, Taqi alDin ibn Maruf, the 16th-century mechanician, followed the same pattern. Accounting for the books he read in his scientific curriculum, he mentioned, in addition to texts of mathematics, books of accurate machines (kutub al-hiyal al-daqiqa), treatises of the science of the steelyard and of the balance ( rasail ilm al-
qarastun wa al-mizan), and of the pulling of weights (jar al-athqal).39

Sometimes ilm al-athqal is referred to as ilm marakiz al-athqal, one of its branches which enjoyed a great reputation. A good instance of this is the following quotation we find in the correspondence between alQuhi and al-Sabi. In a letter to al-Quhi, al-Sabi says:
We did not obtain a complete book on this science, I mean centers of gravity (marakiz al-athqal), nor was there done any satisfactory work by one of the ancients or one of the moderns. In my opinion it is in the rank of a singular science which merits to have a book of basic principles (alsinaa al-mufrada allati yuhtaj an yumal laha kitab usul).40
A century later, al-Isfizari qualified the centers of gravity as the most elevated and honourable of the parts of the mathematical sciences and defined it as:
Al-Khazini specifies further the definition of his predecessor when he explains that the study of the steelyard is founded upon the science of the centers of gravity (wa alayhi mabna al-qaffan).42 Therefore, it
Al-Ghazali 1961, p. 139. Al-Husayn b. Abi Bakr Ibn Rashiq (d. 1292), Risalat fi tasnif al-ùlum al-riyadiyya, Rabat, al-Maktaba al-`mma, MS Q 416, p. 422. On Ibn Rashiq, see Lamrabet 2002 and Abattouy 2003a, pp. 101-105. 37 Al-Bayhaqi 1988, p. 125. Likewise, in the notice he devoted to the mathematician Abu Sahl al-Quhi, al-Bayhaqi states that he was "wellversed in the science[s?] of machines and weights and moving spheres" (baraza fi ìlm al-hiyal wa al-athqal wa al-ukar al-mutaharrika) (ibid., p. 88). 38 In the incipit of this collection, al-Isfizari writes: We collected in this book what has reached us of the books on various devices (anwa` al- hiyal) composed by the ancients and by those who came after them, like the book of Philon the constructor of machines (sahib al-hiyal), the book of Heron the mechanician (Irun al-majaniqi) on the machines (hiyal) by which heavy loads are lifted by a small force... We start by presenting the drawings of the machines (suwwar al-hiyal) conceived by the brothers Muhammad, Ahmad and al-Hasan, Banu Musa ibn Shakir. Manchester, John Ryland Library, Codex 351, f. 94b; Hayderabad, Andra Pradesh Library, Asafiyya Collection, Codex QO 620, p. 1. 39 In his Kitab at-turuq al-saniyya fi al-alat al-ruhaniyya (The Sublim methods in spiritual machines): al-Hasan 1976, p. 24. 40 Berggren 1983, pp. 48, 120. 41 Irshad dhawi al-ìrfan ila sinaàt al-qaffan, al-Asad National Library in Damascus, al-Zahiriyya collection, MS 4460, f. 16b.
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is obvious that the expression marakiz al-athqal is intended to account for the statical aspect of ilm al-
athqal, by the study of forces as they are related to weights, such as in the case of levers and scales. This
same thesis is assumed by other Islamic scholars.43 In contrast, the tradition of hiyal delimits the contours of a distinct discipline, centered on the investigation of the methods of applicability of mathematical knowledge to natural bodies. As represented in several Greek and Arabic mechanical texts, written by Heron, Pappus, Philon, Banu Musa and al-Jazari, the tradition of hiyal is focused on the description of machines and the explanation of their functions. Book I of Heron's treatise contains principles of theoretical mechanics, but the rest, more than three quarters of the whole, is predominantly about different kinds of devices. The same applies to the treatise of Pappus. As for Philon of Byzantium (fl. 230), his Pneumatics is mainly a catalogue of machines worked by air pression. 44 An important constituent of the Greek traditional doctrine of mechanics as it is disclosed in the texts by Pseudo-Aristotle, Heron and Pappus is represented by the theory of the simple machines (the windlass, the lever, the pulley, the wedge, and the screw). Those simple machines were dealt with in Arabic science by several scholars such as the Pseudo-Ibn Sina,45 al-Isfizari,46 and Sinan ibn Thabit47 under the name of
hiyal. Besides this trend on the basic simple machines and their combinations, the science of hiyal also
included a description of other categories of machines necessary in daily life and useful for civil engineering. The most well known works describing this kind of engines are the texts of machines by Banu Musa and al-Jazari. Kitab al-hiyal by the Banu Musa comprises a large variety of devices, the vast majority of which consist of trick vessels for dispending liquids. The book of al-Jazari al-Jami bayna'l-ilm wa 'l-amal
fi sinaat al-hiyal (The Compendium of theory and practice in the art of mechanics) enlarges this same
feature in an unprecedented way. The author incorporates in it the results of 25 years of research and practice on various mechanical devices (automata, musical machines, clocks, fountains, vessels, waterraising machines, etc.) 48 The conception of hiyal as the practical component of mechanics is additionally corroborated by the contents of a chapter of the Mafatih al-ulum by Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Khwarizmi (10 th century). Chapter 8 of Book II of this lexicographic encyclopedia is dedicated to sinaat al-hiyal, tusamma bi al-yunaniyya
manjaniqun (the art of mechanics, called in Greek manjaniqun). Besides a short mention of machines for the traction of weights, the hiyal described are essentially of two types: automata (alat al-harakat) and hydraulic devices (hiyal harakat al-ma ).49 The author devotes great attention to the first two kinds; this might be taken as evidence to the preeminence of these machines in the domain of hiyal in his time. Significantly, al-Khwarizmi like Ibn Sina classifies the weight-pulling machines in the field of hiyal in
Al-Khazini 1940, p. 5. For instance, Ibn al-Akfani (fourteenth century) asserts that ìlm marakiz al-athqal shows how to balance great weights by small ones, with the intermediary of the distance, such as in the steelyard (qarastun): Ibn al-Akfani 1989, p. 409. The same idea is in al-Tahanawi 1980, vol. 1, p. 47. 44 Philon's Pneumatics was translated into Arabic under the title Kitab Filun fi al-hiyal al-ruhaniyya wa majaniq al-ma (The Book of Philon on spiritual machines and the hydraulic machines). The Arabic text was edited and translated into French in Carra de Vaux: see Philon 1902. 45 A Persian mechanical text called Mi`yar al-ùqul dur fan jar athqal is attributed to Ibn Sina. The treatise, in two sections, is devoted to the five simple machines. It presents the first successful and complete attempt to classify simple machines and their combinations: Ibn Sina 1331 H [1952]. For a short commentary, see Rozhanskaya 1996, pp. 633-34. 46 Al-Isfizari is the author of a collection of summaries and commentaries extracted from the mechanical works of Heron, Apollonius, and Banu Musa. He dealt with simple machines in his commentary on Book II of Heron's Mechanics: see Abattouy 2000b, pp. 147-48. 47 Sinan (d. 942), the son of Thabit ibn Qurra, is presumably the author of a fragment on the five simple machines preserved in Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, MS Orient fol. 3306. 48 For the two works of Banu Musa and al-Jazari, see respectively Hill 1974 and Hill 1979 for English translations and al-Hasan 1979 and alHasan 1981 for the Arabic texts.
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contrast to their arrangement among that of athqal by al-Farabi, which should be considered an evolution, as it narrows and refines the domain of weights, articulating the ideal model of the study of balances and measures. The analysis of the overall significance of the Arabic medieval science of weights shows that this tradition does not represent a mere continuation of the traditional doctrine of mechanics as inherited from the Greeks. Rather, it means the emergence of a new science of weights recognized very early on in Arabic learning as a specific branch of mechanics, and embodied in a large scientific and technical corpus. Comprehensive attempts at collecting and systematizing (as well as updating with original contributions) the mainly fragmentary and unorganized Greco-Roman mechanical literature that had been translated into Arabic was highly successful in producing a coherent and orderly mechanical system. In this light, a redefinition of Arabic mechanics becomes necessary, initially by questioning its status as a unified field of knowledge. Such a redefinition may be worked out briefly by setting a sharp distinction between ilm al-
athqal and ilm al-hiyal. The latter corresponds to the traditional descriptive doctrine of machines, whereas
the core structure of the ilm al-athqal is a genuine theory of mechanics articulated around the balancelever model and its theoretical and practical elaborations. Uniting the theoretical treatment of the balance with concrete practical information about its construction and use, and adopting an integrative treatment of physics and mechanics, overcoming their original separation in Antiquity, the new science of weights distinguishes itself by turning mechanics from being originally a marginal part of geometry into an independent science of weights. On the methodological level, the new science of weights was marked by a close combination of experimentation with mathematization. The Aristotelian qualitative procedures were enriched with quantitative ones, and mathematics was massively introduced in the study of mechanical problems. As a result, mechanics became more quantitative and the results of measures and experiments were given more and more weight in mechanical knowledge. Certainly, the fundamental concepts of Aristotelian physics continued to lie in the background, but the scholars were able to cross their boundaries and to accomplish remarkable discoveries in physical ideas. For instance, the generalization of the theory of centers of gravity to three-dimensional objects, the introduction of a dynamic approach in the study of problems of statics and hydrostatics, the improvement of the procedures and methods for the determination of specific weights and of weighing instruments, the development of the theory of heaviness and the establishment of a theory of the ponderable lever. Further, the treatment of the law of equilibrium by Thabit ibn Qurra and al-Isfizari opened the horizon of a unified theory of motion in which the dichotomies of natural-violent, upwarddownward motions vanish, exactly as they disappear in the concomitant motions of the two arms of a balance lever. In this physical system, indeed, the weight of the body might be considered the cause of the downward as well as of the upward motion, overcoming the Aristotelian balking at making weight a cause of motion. For their parts, al-Quhi and Ibn al-Haytham had the priority in formulating the hypothesis that the heaviness of bodies vary with their distance from a specific point, the center of the earth. Moreover, they contributed to unify the two notions of heaviness, with respect to the center of the universe and with respect to the axis of suspension of a lever. In his recension of the works of his predecessors, al-Khazini pushed forward this idea and drew from it a spectacular conclusion regarding the variation of gravity with the distance from the centre of the world. All this work represented strong antecedents to the concept of positional weight (gravitas secundum situm) formulated by Jordanus in the 13th century.50
49 50
Al-Khwarizmi 1968, pp. 246-247. It is evident that all these issues need to be treated and instantiated separately and thoroughly, as they document the theoretical
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The historians of mechanics, from Pierre Duhem until Marshal Clagett, assumed that the foundation of the science of weights must be credited to the school of Jordanus in Europe in the 13th century. Now it appears that this science emerged much earlier in Islamic science, in the 9th century. Moreover, the first steps of the Latin scientia de ponderibus should be considered as a direct result of the Arabic-Latin transmission, and especially as a consequence of the translation of two major Arabic texts in which the new science and its name are disclosed, Kitab fi 'l-qarastun by Thabit ibn Qurra and Ihsa al-ulum by al-Farabi. Indeed, the very expression scientia de ponderibus was derived from the Latin translation of al-Farabi's Ihsa al-ulum. Versions of this text were produced both by Gerard of Cremona and Dominicus Gundissalinus. The latter made an adapted version of the Ihsa in his De scientis and used it as a framework for his own De divisione philosophiae, which later became a guide to the relationships between the sciences for European universities in the 13th century. In the two texts, Gundissalinus reproduced sometimes verbatim al-Farabi's characterization of the sciences of weights and devices, called respectively
scientia de ponderibus and sciencia de ingeniis.51 The reason for this close agreement is easy to find: he
could not rely on any scientific activity in this field in his times in Latin.52 Among all the sciences to which Gundissalinus dedicated a section, the sciences of weights, of devices, and of optics were obviously less known in the Latin west in the 12 th century. Even the antique Latin tradition represented by Boece and Isidore of Sevilla could not furnish any useful data for a sustained reflexion on their epistemological status. It must be added also that Gundissalinus seems to ignore all their developments in the Arabic science either, including Thabit ibn Qurra's book on the theory of the balance and Ibn al-Haytham's achievements in optics. Hence, the effort of theorization deployed by Gundissalinus, by showing the state of the sciences in the late 12th century in Western Europe, throws light on a considerable underdevelopment in several sciences. This concerns particularly the different branches of mechanics.53 As said before, Liber karastonis is the Latin translation by Gerard of Cremona of Kitab fi 'l-qarastun. The general structure is the same in both Arabic and Latin versions, and the enunciations of the theorems are identical. Yet the proofs might show greater or lesser discrepancies. None of the Arabic extant copies of Thabit's Kitab seem to be the direct model for Gerard's translation. The Latin version was repeatedly copied and distributed in the Latin West until the 17th century, as it is documented by several dozens of extant manuscript copies. This high number of copies instructs on the wide diffusion of the text. Further, the treatise was embedded into the corpus of the science of weights which was understood to be part of the mathematical arts or quadrivium, together with other works on the same topic, in particular the writings of Jordanus Nemorarius in the science of weights.54 In addition, at least one version of Thabit's work was known in Latin learning as a writing of scientia de ponderibus. This version is the Excerptum de libro Thebit
components of the new science of weight: see for a first analysis Abattouy 2001b and Abattouy 2002a. The interpretation of the Arabic science of weights as a progress of science is developed in Abattouy 2004a. 51 Gundissalinus 1903, De Div. Phil., pp. 121-24 and Gundissalinus 1932, De Scientiis, pp. 108-112. 52 It is to be noted that Hughes de Saint Victor who, in his Didascalicon de studio legendi , provided the most complete Latin classification of the sciences before the introduction of Arabic learning, just overlooked the two mechanical arts. On the Didascalicon see Taylor 1991. 53 This was noted by Hugonnard-Roche 1984, p. 48. Other Arabic works on the classification of the sciences translated into Latin might have been a source for the distinction of the science of weights and its qualification as the theoretical basis of mechanics. For instance, alGhazali's Maqasid al-falasifa, translated as Summa theoricae philosophiae by Gundissalinus and Johannes Hispanus in Toledo, and Ibn Sina's Risala fi aqsam al-ùlum, translated by Andrea Alpago: In Avicenn philosophi prclarissimi ac medicorum principis, Compendium de anima, De mahad, Aphorismi de anima, De diffinitionibus et qusitis, De divisione scientiarum, Venice, 1546, fols 139v-145v. 54 The Liber karastonis is edited with English translation in Moody and Clagett 1952, pp. 88-117. For more details on its codicological tradition, see Buchner 1922 and Brown 1967.
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de ponderibus, a Latin text which appears frequently in the codices. It is precisely a digest of the logical structure of Liber de karastonis, in the shape of statements of all the theorems. 55

This final section will be dedicated to a preliminary overview on the institutional setting of the usage of the balance in medieval Islamic societies. The focus will be laid on a brief description of the role the hisba office played in the control of the fabrication and usage of weighing instruments. The balance most widely used in the Islamic lands of medieval times was the equal-armed platform scale, made mostly in copper. There were tiny balances for gold and jewels, average ones for retail traders, and huge balances for the merchants of grains, wood, wool, etc. In general, the balances had beams and weights made of steel or iron. Steelyards, called qarastun or qabban , were also widely employed. As reported in a historical source, 20
th 56
a site called Qarastun existed in the ancient medina in Fez until the early
century, probably because of a huge public balance set up there. Public balances are still located today
in the fanadiq (bazaars) of the old medina. One can infer in this context that a similar public weighing site must have been present in all the markets of Islamic cities. The qarastun or steelyard with a sliding weight was widely used since Antiquity. It is mentioned in Greek sources by its ancient name, the charistion, and was employed extensively in Roman times.57 Composed of a lever or a beam (amud) suspended by a handle that divides it into two unequal arms, the center of gravity of the instrument is located under the fulcrum. In general the shorter arm bears a basin or a scalepan in which the object to be weighed is set, or suspended from a hook. The cursor-weight, rummana in Arabic, moves along the longer arm in order to achieve equilibrium. This arm, which has generally a quadrangular cross section, bears two different scales which are engraved along the two opposite sides. Due to the fact that the steelyard can be suspended by two hooks, there are two independent graduations. According to the choice made, there will be different relations between the lengths of the longer and smaller arms of the lever, corresponding to the different scales. On the beam or near the fulcrum, the number of units or fractions corresponding to the capacity of the balance was engraved as was the official stamp of the authorities. The advantage of the steelyard is that it provides an acceptable precision in weighing and allows heavy loads to be supported by small counterweights. In addition, it can be carried around easily. Another kind of balance is a combination of the ordinary balance and of the steelyard in the form of an equal-armed balance with mobile weight. A typical example of this instrument is the balance of Archimedes described by al-Khazini according to an account by Menelaus.58 In addition to its two equal arms to which two fixed scale pans are suspended, this balance had on one of the arms a cursor weight which could be hang up on different points of a small scale graduated in two series of divisions. Presented as a hydrostatical balance for the determination of specific gravities, it could also serve for ordinary weighing. A variety of the Archimedes' balance consists in moving the scale pan on a part of the arm. This is the main property of the mizan tabii (natural or physical balance) designed by Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Razi. In
55 56 57 58
Brown, 1967, pp. 24-30 and Knorr, 1982, pp. 42-46, 173-80. Dozy 1927, vol. 2, p. 327. On the ancient history of the steelyard, see Ibel 1908 and Damerow et al. 2002. Al-Khazini 1940, pp. 78-79.
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this model with equal arms and without counterpoise, one of the scale pans is movable and might behave as a counterweight. Nowadays, the steelyard balance is called in some Arab countries al-mizan al-qabbani; in Morocco it is designated as mizan al-qura. Despite more or less sophisticated modern balances being introduced a long time ago (in the first half of the 19th century), the steelyards continue to be utilized in Arab and Islamic countries. They serve in popular markets and are widely used in some activities, such as in the slaughterhouses and in the shops of butchers. In Egypt, the industry of traditional steelyards is still active. Egyptian colleagues informed me that in the old city of Cairo, in an area called Hay taht al-rub, near the Dar al-kutub, not far from the Azhar Mosque, artisans build steelyards according to traditional methods. These balances are used massively throughout the country, for example in the weighing of cotton in the country side. In other Arab countries, the fabrication of these balances disappeared completely. For instance, in Morocco, it vanished several decades ago, as a result of the introduction of modern balances and of the concurrence of the European industry manufacturing these same instruments. Therefore, the steelyards used in the country are imported from Southern Italy and Spain. But local artisans are able to repair the imported engines and to supply certain equipment for them, as I could see by direct observation during my visits to their shops in Fez in 1999 and 2000. In his geographical book Ahsan al-taqasim fi marifat al-aqalim, Muhammad al-Muqaddasi, the Palestinian geographer of the 10 th century, reports that the most accurate balances were those fabricated at Harran in northern Mesopotamia. Kufa, in southern Iraq, was also famous for the accuracy of its balances. Other regions were celebrated for the honesty of the weighing practices of their merchants, such as Khurasan. But others were better known for their fraudulent procedures. Various passages in the Quran show that as early as the advent of Islam, false balances were in use in the markets. Later narratives report that some jewelers and goldsmiths, in order to fraudulently weigh their wares, blow gently on the scale-pan of their balance, stick a small piece of wax under it, or merely use false weights. Al-Jawbari (fl. 1216-22) described two such arrangements. In the one the beam of the balance consisted of a hollow reed containing quicksilver, which was closed at both ends. By a slight inclination of the beam, the quicksilver could be made to flow as desired to the side with weights or with goods and thus make one or the other appear heavier. In the other case, the tongue of the balance was of iron and the merchant had a ring with a magnetic stone; by bringing the ring close to the balance, it moves down to the right or left. 59 In order to reprimand these fraudulent tricks and deceitful behavior, and to implement the instructions of Islam about the strict observance of the just weighing, the Islamic society invented a specific institutional setting, represented by the office of hisba. This office was occupied by the muhtasib, an officer regularly appointed to take charge of the harmonization between the commands of Islam and the social practice, especially concerning the control of markets. As such, one of his main duties was to observe that correct scales and weights were used in commercial transactions. The office of hisba was established towards the 2 nd century of Hijra as a consequence of the development of large cities and after that the various schools of fiqh (jurisprudence) assumed form. With the establishment of the new office, certain text-books began to include chapters dealing with the theory of its functions and their practical application, and in the course of time independent manuals intended to assist
59 Al-Jawbari 1979-80, vol. 2, p. 162. Similar fraudulent practices are described in detail in the books of hisba: for references to the hisba literature relevant to the balances and weights knowledge, see Abattouy [Forthcoming 2006b].
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the muhtasib in the performance of his duties were written. Among these text-books, the best known are
Nihayat al-rutba fi talab al-hisba by Abd-al-Rahman al-Shayzari (d. 589/1193), and Maalim al-qurba fi ahkam al-hisba, by Diyya al-Din al-Qurashi, known as Ibn al-Ukhuwwa (d. 729/1329). The manuals for the guidance of the muhtasib are an important source for the reconstruction of the social structures within
which the making and the use of the balances and weights were organized and regulated in medieval Islam. The muhtasib was in charge of the morality, integrity, and quality of the various trades, but his main duty, the basic and permanent one, was to watch over and to supervise the balances and weights. In his Nihayat
al-rutba fi talab al-hisba (The utmost authority in the pursuit of hisba), the earliest extant book of its kind to appear in the Islamic East, al-Shayzari defines as follows the duties of the muhtasib in this domain: The most accurate scale is that in which the two sides are equal, the pans are balanced and the hole for the attachment on either side of the centre of the beam is one third of the thickness of the attachment. The hole should be one third of the way under the peg of the attachment, and two thirds above it. This allows for the inclination of the scales by taking the tongue of the balance out of the beam of the attachment, and the pan will descend with the slightest weight (). The peg might be square, triangular or round. The best is the triangular one because it inclines with more sensitivity than the others. The muhtasib must order those who use scales to wipe and clean them hourly of any oil or dirt, as a drop of oil may congeal on them and affect the weights. The merchant must settle the scales before he begins to weigh and should place the merchandise on them gently, not dropping it into the pan from his raised hand, nor moving the edge of the pan with his thumb, as all of this is fraudulent The merchant should acquire ratl-s and awqiyya-s made of iron and test their accuracy against the standard weights. He must not use stone ones, as these chips when they knock against each other and thus become inaccurate. If stone weights have to be used because iron ones are unavailable, then the muhtasib must order the merchant to bind them with leather and he must stamp them after testing their accuracy. He should re-examine them now and again in case the merchant has replaced them with wooden weights which look the same.60
In the 13th-century Fatimid Cairo, the fabrication as well as the control of the balances and weights was undertaken within a specific institution, the Dar al-iyyar, itself under the supervision of the muhtasib. In his
al-Mawaiz wa 'l-itibar fi dhikr el-khitat wal-athar, al-Maqrizi (1364-1442) provides a valuable report about this institution and shows in a new light the duties of the muhtasib in the regulation of balances and
weights:
The muhtasib inspects the Dar al-iyyar The standard measures were in a place known as the Dar al-iyyar in which the accuracy of all the parts of scales and all the weights were checked. He used to pay the costs of this Dar, and whatever was needed of copper, steel, wood, glass and other apparatus, and the wages of the workmen, overseers and such like, from the government administration. The muhtasib and his deputies would go there to check in his presence the accuracy
60
Al-Shayzari 1999, pp. 43-44. The same instructions are in Ibn al-Ukhuwwa 1938, pp. 80 ff. and in other manuals of hisba: see Ziyyada 1962 and Izzi Dien 1997.
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of what was produced in it. If it was correct, he endorsed it, and if not then he ordered that it should be re-made until it was correct. In this Dar were specimens with which he corrected the standard measure; for the weights, scales and measures would not be sold except from this Dar. All the merchants would go to this Dar upon the muhtasib's summoning them, bringing their scales, weights and measures to be tested every so often. If a deficiency was found then the [scale, etc.] was destroyed and its owner was taken to the Dar and compelled to purchase a replacement from that which was accurately manufactured there, and to pay its price. Then he is forgiven. () This Dar still remains in all of the Fatimid states. When Salah al-Din took over the government he confirmed this Dar and it still remains.61
According to this report, the Dar al-iyyar was in fact the factory where legal balances and weights were fabricated and tested under the control of the muhtasib and his collaborators. It also comprised the office in which the standard weights were kept. The merchants had to test their usual weights against these legal weights. In the light of this report, it becomes clear therefore why the authors of the Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman Egypt and Syria were so prolific in the composition of technical treatises on the construction of balances, especially of the steelyard type, and on their reparation and testing. There was a strong social demand on them. The Dar al-iyyar, the hisba office and similar other institutions provided the Islamic society with the institutional setting for the control of the balances, weights, and measures. These institutions must have been connected in one way or another to the scientific and technical activities shaped by the scientists involved in what we called the science of weights. Indeed, the scientific discoveries and the technical improvements must have provided the controllers of scales and weights with the knowledge and expertise to accomplish their task. In fact, it is easy to demonstrate that the large amount of texts on different sorts of balance written in Arabic between the 9th and the 19th centuries were not intended to remain solely in the circle of scientists. At least a substantial part of them was surely addressed to practitioners and artisans, and to the state officials overseeing the markets. This is another instance of the connection between science and society in medieval Islam which deserves closer investigation.62
References
1. Abattouy, Mohammed 1999. "The Arabic Tradition of Mechanics: Textual and Historical Characterization." Majallat kulliyyat al-adab wa 'l-ulum al-insaniyya bi-Fas, vol. 12.1 (1999): pp. 75-109. 2. 2000a. La Tradition arabe de la balance: Thabit ibn Qurra et al-Khazini. In Quelques aspects de l'volution des ides scientifiques. Antiquit et moyen ge. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 49-91. 3. 2000b. Al-Muzaffar al-Isfizari alim min al-qarnayn 5-6 H/11-12, muallif Irshad dhawi al-irfan ila sinaat al-qaffan. In Ibid (Quelques aspects de l'volution des ides scientifiques), pp. 135-175. 4. 2000c. Mechan vs. hiyal: Essai d'analyse smantique et conceptuelle. In Imagination and Science. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 127-151. 5. 2000d. Sur quelques dmonstrations grecques et arabes de la loi du levier: transmission et transformation. In liyyat al-istidlal fi 'l-ilm. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 7-43.
61 62
Quoted in Buckley 1992, p. 86. A preliminary study of the interaction of the hisba institution with the science of weights may be found in Abattouy 2004b. A partial survey of the doctrinal basis of the institution of hisba, mainly in the Islamic west, is in Abattouy 2005a.
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6. 2001a. Nutaf min al-hiyal: A Partial Arabic version of Pseudo-Aristotle's Mechanica Problemata. Early Science and Medicine (Leiden) vol. 6: pp. 96-122. 7. 2001b. Greek Mechanics in Arabic Context: Thabit ibn Qurra, al-Isfizari and the Arabic Traditions of Aristotelian and Euclidean Mechanics. Science in Context (Cambridge University Press) vol. 14: pp. 179247. 8. 2002a. The Aristotelian Foundations of Arabic Mechanics (Ninth-Twelfth centuries). In The Dynamics of Aristotelian Natural Philosophy from Antiquity to the Seventeenth Century. Edited by C. Luthy, C. Leijenhorst and H. Thijssen. Leiden: Brill, pp. 109-140. 9. 2002b. The Arabic Science of weights: A Report on an Ongoing Research Project. BRIIFS. The Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (Amman) vol. 4: pp. 109-130. 10. 2003a. Ulum al-mikanika fi al-gharb al-islami al-wasit: dirasa awwaliyya (The mechanical sciences in the medieval Islamic west: a preliminary study). In La Pense Scientifique au Maghreb: le Haut Moyen Age. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 91-121. 11. 2004a. Min ilm al-hiyal ila ilm al-athqal: wilada thaniyya li-l-mikanika (From the science of machines to the science of weights: a new birth of mechanics). In Mafhum al-taqaddum fi 'l-ilm (The concept of progress in science). Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 89-109. 12. 2004b. Science des poids et hisba: Prolgomnes l'tude des structures sociales de la mcanique arabe mdivale." In Les lments paradigmatiques, thmatiques et stylistiques dans la pense scientifique. Rabat: Publications de la Facult des Lettres, pp. 119-130. 13. 2004c. "Islah comme un mode ditorial d'appropriation: la tradition arabe de Maqala fi 'l-mizan un trait sur la thorie du levier attribu Euclide." Majallat kulliyyat al-adab wa 'l-ulum al-insaniyya bi-Fas (Fez), N 13: pp. 153-193. 14. Abattouy 2004-2005. Entries "al-Ahwazi", "Ilya al-Matran", "al-Isfizari", "Taqi al-Din ibn Maruf" (in Arabic). In Mawsuat alam al-ulama wa 'l-udaba al-muslimin (8 volumes to date). Published by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (Tunis) and Dar al-Jayl (Beirut). 15. 2005a. "Al-asas al-kalami li-muassasat al-hisba fi al-gharb al-islami (The kalamic foundation of the institution of hisba"). In Al-ittijahat al-kalamiya fi al-gharb al-islami (The trends of kalam in the Islamic west). Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 293-308. 16. [In Press 2006a]. Etudes dHistoire des Sciences Arabes . Edited by Mohammed Abattouy. Casablanca: Publications of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for the Humanities and Islamic Studies. 17. [In Press 2006b]. La science dans les socits islamiques: approches historiques et perspectives d'avenir. Edited by Mohammed Abattouy. Proceedings of the conference organized in Rabat, 16 et 17 avril 2004 (articles in Arabic, English and French). Casablanca: Publications of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for the Humanities and Islamic Studies. 18. [In Press 2006c]. L'Histoire des sciences arabes classiques: une bibliographie slective commente. Casablanca: Publications of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for the Humanities and Islamic Studies. 19. [Forthcoming 2006a]. "Une balance de Umar al-Khayyam: al-Qistas al-mustaqim (la balance droite)." Farhang. Quarterly Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (Tehran). 20. [Forthcoming 2006b]. "Muassasat al-hisba fi 'l-gharb al-islami fi asr Ibn Khaldun." Forthcoming in AlAbniya al-fikriya fi 'l-gharb al-islami zaman Ibn Khaldun. Proceedings of the meeting held in Marrakech in 23-26 February 2006. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press.
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21. Abattouy, M., Renn, Jurgen, Weinig, Paul 2001. Transmission as Transformation: The Translation Movements in the Medieval East and West in a Comparative Perspective. Science in Context, vol. 14: pp. 1- 12. 22. Aghayani Chavoshi, Jafar & Bancel, Faza 2000. Omar Khayyam et l'Hydrostatique. Farhang. Quarterly Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (Tehran) vol. 12: pp. 33-49. 23. Anawati, Georges C. 1977. Les divisions des sciences intellectuelles d'Avicenne. Mlanges de l'Institut Dominicain d'Etudes Orientales du Caire vol. 13: pp. 323-335. 24. Aristotle 1952. Mechanica. Greek text with English translation by E. S. Forster. In The Works of Aristotle, vol. 6: Opuscula. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 25. Bancel, Faza 2001. Les centres de gravit d'Abu Sahl al-Quhi. Arabic Science and Philosophy vol. 11: pp. 45-78. 26. Bayhaqi, al-, Ali ibn Zayd 1988. Tarikh hukama al-islam. Edited by M. Kurd Ali. Damascus: Matbuat mujamma al-lugha al-arabiyya. Reprint of the 1st edition (1946). 27. Berggren, Lennart J. 1983. The Correspondence of Abu Sahl al-Kuhi and Abu Ishaq al-Sabi. A Translation with Commentaries. Journal for the History of Arabic Science vol. 7: pp. 39-124. 28. Brown, Joseph Edward 1967. The "Scientia de Ponderibus" in the Later Middle Ages. Ph.D. Dissertation. Madison: The Wisconsin University Press. 29. Buchner, Franz 1922. Die Schrift Uber den Qarastn von Thabit b. Qurra. Sitzungsberichte der Physikalisch-Medizinischen Soziett zu Erlangen: pp. 141-188. 30. Buckley, R. B. 1992. The Muhtasib . Arabica vol. 39: pp. 59-117. 31. Charette, Franois 2003. Mathematical Instrumentation in Fourteenth-Century Egypt and Syria. The Illustrated Treatise of Najm al-Din al-Misri. Leiden: Brill. 32. Clagett, Marshall 1959. The Science of Mechanics in the Middle Ages. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 33. Damerow, Peter, Renn, Jurgen, Rieger, Simone, and Weinig, Paul 2002. Mechanical Knowledge and Pompeian Balances. Homo Faber: Studies on Nature, Technology, and Science at the Time of Pompeii. Edited by Jurgen Renn and Giuseppe Castagnetti. Roma: L'Erma, pp. 93-108. 34. Dozy, R. 1927. Supplment aux dictionnaires arabes. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2 vols. 35. Farabi, al-, Abu Nasr Muhammmad 1949. Ihsa al-ulum. Edited by Uthman Amin. Cairo: Dar al-fikr alarabi, 2nd edition. 36. Ghazali, al-, al-Imam abu Hamid 1961. Maqasid al-falasifa. Edited by Sulayman Dunya. Misr [Cairo]: Dar al-maarif. 37. Gundissalinus, Dominicus 1903. De Divisione Philosophiae. Herausgeben und philosophiegeschichtlich untersucht... von Dr. Ludwig Baur. Beitrge zur Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittelalters, 4.2-3. Munster: Druck und Verlag der Aschendorffschen Buchhandlung. 38. [Gundissalinus, D.] Domingo Gundisalvo 1932. De Scientiis. Texto latino establecido por el P. Manuel Alonso Alonso. Madrid-Granada: Impressa y Editorial Maestre. 39. Hall, Robert A. 1981. Al-Khazini. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 16 vols. Edited by Charles Gillispie. New York: Scribners, vol. VII: pp. 335-351.
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40. Hasan, al-, Ahmad Yusuf 1976. Taqi al-Din wa al-handasa al-mikanikiyya al-arabiyya. Maa Kitab alturuq al-saniyya fi al-alat al-ruhaniyya min al-qarn as-sadis ashar. Aleppo: Institute for the History of Arabic Science. 41. 1979. Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari: Al-Jami bayna al-ilm wa al-amal al-nafi fi sinaat al-hiyal. Aleppo: Institute for the History of Arabic Science. 42. 1981. Banu Musa: Kitab al-hiyal. Aleppo: Institute for the History of Arabic Science. 43. Heron von Alexandria 1976. Heronis Alexandrini Opera quae supersunt. 5 vols.; vol. 2: Mechanica et catoprica. Edited by L. Nix and W. Schmidt. Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner. Reprint of the 1st edit. Leipzig: 18991914. 44. Hron d'Alexandrie 1988. Les Mcaniques ou llvateur des corps lourds. Texte arabe de Qusta ibn Luqa tabli et traduit par B. Carra de Vaux, Introduction de D. R. Hill et commentaires par A. G. Drachmann. Paris: Les Belles Letters. 45. Heinen, Anton 1983. At the Roots of the Medieval Science of Weights: A Report on an Edition Project. The Journal of Sophia Asian Studies (Tokyo) vol. 1: pp. 44-55. 46. Hill, Donald R. 1974. The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices. An Annotated Translation of al-Jazari's Treatise. Dordrecht: Reidel. 47. 1979. The Book of Ingenious Devices. An Annotated Translation of the Treatise of Banu Musa. Dordrecht: Reidel. 48. Hugonnard-Roche, Henri 1984. La classification des sciences de Gundissalinus et l'influence d'Avicenne. Etudes sur Avicenne. Diriges par J. Jolivet et R. Rashed. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, pp. 41-75. 49. Ibel, Thomas 1908. Die Wage im Altertum und Mittelalter. Erlangen: Junge (Erlangen Univ., Diss., 1906). 50. Ibn al-Akfani, Shams al-Din 1989. Kitab Irshad al-qasid ila asna al-maqasid. Edited by Junuarius Justus Withkam. Leiden: Ter Lugt Pers. 51. Ibn Sina, al-Shaykh al-Rais abi Ali 1331 H [1952]. Miyar al-uqul, tasnif Shaykh Rais abu Ali Sina. Persian text edited with introduction and notes by Jalal al-Din Humai. Tehran: Anjuman-i Asar-i Milli. 52. 1989. Tis Rasal fi 'l-hikma wa 'l-tabiiyyat . Cairo: Dar al-Bustani, 2nd edition. 53. Ibn al-Ukhuwwa, Muhammad 1938. The Maalim al-qurba fi ahkam al-hisba. Edited, with abstract of contents, glossary and indices by Reuben Levy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press/London: Luzac & Co. 54. Izzi Dien, Mawil 1997. The theory and the practice of market law in medieval Islam. A study of Kitab Nisab al-Ihtisab of Umar b. Muhammad al-Sunami (fl. 7th-8th/13th-14th century). Cambridge: E.J.W. Gibb Memorial Trust. 55. Jackson, David E. P. 1970. The Arabic Version of the Mathematical Collection of Pappus Alexandrinus Book VIII. Ph. D. Dissertation. University of Cambridge. 56. Jaouiche, Khalil. 1976. Le Livre du qarastun de Thabit ibn Qurra. Etude sur l'origine de la notion de travail et du calcul du moment statique d'une barre homogne. Leiden: Brill. 57. Jawbari, al-, Abd al-Rahman 1979-80. Le voile arrach. L'autre visage de l'Islam. Traduction intgrale sur les manuscrits originaux par Ren Khawam 2 vols. Paris: Phbus. 58. Khazini, al-, Abd al-Rahman 1940 [1359 H]. Kitab mizan al-hikma. Hayderabad: Dairat al-maarif aluthmaniyya.
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59. King, David A. 1987. "The Astronomical Instruments of Ibn al-Sarraj: A Brief Survey." In D. A. King, Islamic Astronomical Instruments. London: Variorum, B IX. 60. Knorr, Wilbur R. 1982. Ancient Sources of the Medieval Tradition of Mechanics: Greek, Arabic and Latin Studies of the Balance. Firenze: Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza. 61. Khwarizmi, al-, Abu Abdallah b. Yusuf 1968. Liber Mafatih al-Ouloum. Edited by G. Van Vloten, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2nd edition. 62. Lamrabet, Driss 2002. Ibn Rashiq (XIIIme sicle) et la classification des sciences mathmatiques. In Science et pense scientifique en Occident musulman au moyen-ge. Rabat: Publications de la Facult des Lettres, pp. 43-56. 63. Lane, Edward W. 1984. Arabic-English Lexicon. 2 vols. Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society. 64. Moody, Ernst, and Clagett, Marshall 1952. The Medieval Science of Weights (Scientia de Ponderibus). Treatises ascribed to Euclid, Archimedes, Thabit ibn Qurra, Jordanus and Blasius of Parma. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. 65. Philon de Byzance 1902. Le livre des appareils pneumatiques et des machines hydrauliques. Paris: C. Klincksieck. 66. Rozhanskaya, Mariam M. 1996. Statics. In Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science . 3 vols. Edited by R. Rashed. London: Routledge, vol. III, pp. 614-642. 67. Sabah, al-, Hussah al-Salim (supervision) 1989. Al-Ulum inda al-Arab wa-al-Muslimin. Collection of Dar al-thar al-Islamiyya. Kuwait: Dar al-thar al-Islamiyya. 68. Saidan, Ahmad S. 1981. Al-Umawi. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 13/14, pp. 539-540. 69. Saliba, George 1985. "The Function of Mechanical Devices in Medieval Islamic Society." Science and Technology in Medieval Society. Edited by Pamela Long. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 441: pp. 141-151. 70. Sbath, Paul, 1938-1940. Al-Fihris: Catalogue des Manuscrits Arabes. 3 parts plus Supplement. Cairo. 71. Sezgin, Fuat 1974. Geschichte des Arabischen Schriftums. Vol. V: Mathematik. Leiden: E. J. Brill. 72. Shayzari, al-, Abd al-Rahman b. Nasr 1999. The Book of the Islamic Market Inspector: Nihayat al-rutba fi talab al-hisba (The utmost authority in the pursuit of hisba). Translated with an introduction and notes by R. P. Buckley. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 73. Tahanawi, al-, Muhammad. [1862] 1988. Kashshaf istilahat al-funun. A Dictionary of the Technical Terms Used in the Sciences of the Musalmans. 2 vols. Edited by M. Wajih et al., Calcutta: W. N. Lees' Press. Reprinted OsnabrZck: Biblio Verlag. 74. Taylor, Jerome 1991. The Didascalicon of Hugh de saint Victor. A Medieval Guide to Arts. New York: Columbia University Press. 75. Wiedemann, Eilhard. 1970. Aufstze zur Arabischen Wissenschaftsgeschichte. 2 vols. Hildesheim/New York: G. Olms. 76. Ziyyada, Niqula 1962. Al-Hisba wa-'l-muhtasib fi 'l-islam . Beirut: al-Matbaa al-kathulikiyya. 77. Zotenberg H. 1879. Traduction arabe du Trait des corps flottants d'Archimde. Journal asiatique vol. 7: pp. 509-515.
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The Islamic Science of Weights and Balances: A Refoundation of Mechanics Deeply Rooted in the Social Context of the Islamic Civilization
Author: Chief Editor: Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright: Prof. Dr. Mohammed Abattouy Prof. Dr. Mohamed El-Gomati Savas Konur November 2006 616 FSTC Limited, 2006
FSTC Limited
THE ISLAMIC SCIENCE OF WEIGHTS AND BALANCES: A REFOUNDATION OF MECHANICS DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF THE ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION *
Mohammed Abattouy**
Three main concerns are focused upon in the following article. The first is an overview of the textual tradition of a core-part of Arabic mechanics dealing with the science of weights. Then the historical significance of the Arabic science of weights is analyzed. Thus, the transformation brought about by this important segment of Arabic mechanics is interpreted as the reorganization of a core-part of ancient mechanics into an independent science of weights. On this basis, a strong claim is made in favor of the independent status of ilm al-athqal, which should no longer be confused with ilm al-hiyyal, understood as a general descriptive discourse on different types of machines. The final section is devoted to a preliminary survey of the institutional setting of the control of weighing instruments in the Islamic medieval society through the office of the hisba. This study, covering the theoretical as well as the practical aspects of an important segment of Arabic classical science, i.e. mechanics, is part of a program of research which the author is developing, appealing for the renewal of the field of the history of Arabic classical sciences, by merging together historical research based on empirical investigation in the scientific texts, the epistemological reflexion on the concepts, categories and methods, and the sociological analysis of the contextual structures that shaped the practice of science in medieval Islam. 1
The reconstruction of the corpus of the Arabic science of weights

The balance is an instrument of our current life, charged with history and science. In Islamic classical times, this familiar instrument was the object of an extensive scientific and technical debate of which dozens of treatises on different aspects of its theory, construction, and use are the precious remains. Different sorts of balances were the object of such an extensive enquiry, including the normal equal-armed balance (called in Arabic mizan, tayyar, and shahin), the steelyard (called qarastun, qaffan, and qabban) and sophisticated balances for weighing absolute and specific weights of substances. Several drawings of balances are preserved in Arabic manuscripts, such as those of al-Khazini, al-Hariri, and al-Qazwini. Further, some specimens of the ancient balances survived and are presently kept in museums. For illustration, we refer to two such Islamic steelyards from the 10 th-12th centuries. The first, built in Iran, is preserved in the National Museum in Kuwait (LNS 65M). It is made of steel, bears marks on its beam. Its
*
An earlier version of this article was published in Abattouy 2002b. Several results exposed in this study were obtained under the sponsorship of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin (1996-2003). I am grateful to my colleagues at the MPIWG, especially to Professor Jurgen Renn, director of Department I at the MPIWG, for this long-lasting and fruitful collaboration. ** Mohammed Vth-Agdal University, Rabat,Faculty of Letters, Philosophy Department 1 For case studies, reflexions and references bringing evidence to this research program, see the three forthcoming volumes: Abattouy [In Press 2006a], [In Press 2006b], and [In Press 2006c]
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dimensions (height: 11.5 cm, length: 15.6 cm) show that it was used for weighing small quantities.2 The second is kept in the Science Museum in London (accession number Inv. 1935-457). This balance came to the Science Museum in 1935 from the University College in London, together with a large selection of archaeological material consisting of ancient weights and measures collected from the Near East by the British archaeologist Flinders Petrie. A scale of silver is inlaid along its 2.37m long, wrought-iron beam. It bears two suspending elements and corresponding calibrations: one ranging from 0 to 900 ratl-s (1 ratl is approximately 1 pound); the other ranging from 900 to 1820 ratl-s.3
Figure 1. Al-Khazinis balance, in al-Khazini, Kitab mizan al-hikma, Hyderabad, 1940 (The image was introduced by the editor).
The interest in the balance in Islamic scientific learning was culturally nurtured by its role as a symbol of good morals and justice. The Quran and the Hadith appealed extensively to a strict observance of fair and accurate weighing practices with the balance. Considered the tongue of justice and a direct gift of God, the balance was made a pillar of the right society and a tool of good governance. These principles were recorded explicitly in several treatises on the balance, such as the introduction to Kitab mizan al-hikma by
al-Khazini, where the balance is qualified as the tongue of justice and the article of mediation.
Furthermore, it was counted as a fundamental factor of justice, on the same level with the glorious Book of God, and the guided leaders and established savants.4 The emergence of Arabic mechanics is an early achievement in the scientific tradition of Islam. Actually, already in the mid-9 th century, and in close connection with the translation of Greek texts into Arabic, treatises on different aspects of the mechanical arts were composed in Arabic, but with a marked focus on balances and weights. These writings, composed by scientists as well as by mechanicians and skilful artisans, gave birth to a scientific tradition with theoretical and practical aspects, debating mathematical and physical problems, and involving questions relevant to both the construction of instruments and the social context of their use. Some of these Arabic treatises were translated into Latin in the 12 th century and influenced the European science of weights. The corpus of the Arabic science of weights covers the entire temporal extent of scientific activity in medieval Islam and beyond, until the 19th century. The reasons for such an abundance of literature on the problems of weighing can be explained only by contextual factors. In fact, the development of the science
2 3
See al-Sabah 1989, p. 32.
The images of these balances can be seen at http://www.mpiwgberlin.mpg.de/en/forschung/projects/theoreticalMechanics/project_image_Fig.11.jpg/showImagen and in Abattouy 2002b, p. 110.
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of weights as an autonomous branch of science was triggered by the eminent importance of balances for commercial purposes. In a vast empire with lively commerce between culturally and economically fairly autonomous regions, more and more sophisticated balances were, in the absence of standardization, key instruments governing the exchange of currencies and goods, such as precious metals and stones. It is therefore no surprise that Muslim scholars produced numerous treatises specifically dealing with balances and weights, explaining their theory, construction and use. This literature culminated in the compilation by Abd ar-Rahman al-Khazini, around 1120, of Kitab mizan al-hikma, an encyclopedia of mechanics dedicated to the description of an ideal balance conceived as a universal tool of a science at the service of commerce, the so-called balance of wisdom. This was capable of measuring absolute and specific weights of solids and liquids, calculating exchange rates of currencies, and determining time.
Figure 2. Al- Khazinis balance, in Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Science an Illustrated Study, Kent 1976 (The image was introduced by the editor).
A complete reconstruction of the Arabic tradition of weights is currently being undertaken by the author. This project began in the context of a long-term cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. The work on the establishment of the Arabic corpus of the science of weights started in Fall 1996 by the systematic reconstruction of the entire codicological tradition of the corpus of texts dealing on theoretical and practical levels with balances and weights. By now almost two-thirds of the entire corpus has been edited and translated into English; this part, including texts dating from the 9th through the 12th centuries, is being prepared for publication with the appropriate commentaries. The preliminary analysis of the texts investigated so far established the importance of the Arabic tradition for the development of the body of mechanical knowledge. The Arabic treatises turned out to be much richer in content than those known from the ancient tradition. In particular, they contain foundations of deductive systems of mechanics different from those inferred from extant Greek texts, as well as new propositions and theorems. On the other hand, the Arabic treatises also represent knowledge about practical aspects of the construction and use of balances and other machines missing in ancient treatises.
Al-Khazini 1940, pp. 3-4.
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The first phase of the research on the Arabic science of weights was focused on establishing the scope of its extant corpus. Surprisingly, this corpus turned out to be much larger than usually assumed in history of science. Up to now more than thirty treatises dating from the 9th through the 19th centuries have been identified which deal with balances and weights in the narrow sense. The majority of these treatises has never before been edited or studied, and only exists in one or more manuscript copies. Some important manuscripts have been discovered or rediscovered even in the course of the research activities conducted by the author. The textual constituents of the Arabic works on the problems of weights can be classified chronologically into three successive units. First a set of Greek texts of mechanics extant in Arabic versions. Despite their Greek origin, these works can be regarded as an integral part of the Arabic mechanical tradition, at least because of the influence they exerted on the early works of Arabic mechanics. In the case of some of these texts, although they are attributed to Greek authors, their Greek originals are no more extant nor are they ascribed to their supposed Greek authors in antique sources. The second unit comprises founding texts composed originally in Arabic in the period from the 9th through the 12th centuries. This segment of writings laid the theoretical basis of the new science of weights, in close connection with the translations and editions of texts stemming from Greek origins. The third phase covers the 14 th through the 19th centuries, and comprises mainly practical texts elaborating on the theoretical foundations laid in the earlier tradition. In the following, the texts belonging to these three phases will be described in brief, with a short characterization of some theoretical contents.

The corpus of Greek texts that were known to Muslim scholars through direct textual evidence and dealing with the problems of weighing and the theory of the balance are six in number: 1. First, Nutaf min al-hiyyal, an Arabic partial epitome of Pseudo-Aristotles Mechanical Problems: The
Aristotle, but composed very probably by one of his later disciples. It has long been claimed that this text was not transmitted to Arabic culture. It is possible now to affirm that the scholars of Islamic lands had access to it at least through a partial epitome entitled Nutaf min al-hiyyal (elements/extracts of mechanics) included by al-Khazini in the fifth book of his Kitab mizan al-hikma.5 2-3. Two texts ascribed to Euclid on the balance (Maqala fi l-mizan) and on heaviness and lightness (Kitab
fi l-thiql wa l-khiffa): Extant only in Arabic, the first one provides a geometrical treatment of the balance
and presents a sophisticated demonstration of the law of the lever. It is not recorded if it was edited in Arabic, but there is enough evidence to conclude that this was probably the case. The second text survived in a version edited by Thabit ibn Qurra. It is an organized exposition in 9 postulates and 6 theorems of dynamical principles of the motion of bodies in filled media, developing a rough analysis of Aristotelian type of the concepts of place, size, kind and force and applying them to movements of bodies. 6
5 6
Al-Khazini 1940, pp. 99-100. The text of the Nutaf was edited and translated, with commentaries, in Abattouy 2001a. The contents of these two works are surveyed in Abattouy 2001b, p. 216ff. Their textual tradition is analyzed under the procedure of islah in Abattouy 2004c.
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4. A partial Arabic version of Archimedes On Floating Bodies : Contrary to the highly creative impact Archimedes had on Arabic mathematics, it seems that his main mechanical treatises such as Equilibrium of
theory of centers of gravity were disclosed in the mechanical texts of Heron and Pappus, whereas the main ideas of his hydrostatics were transmitted in a Maqala fi l-thiql wa l-khiffa, extant in Arabic in several manuscript copies. This short tract consists in a summarized digest of the treatise on the Floating Bodies, presenting mere statements of the postulates and propositions of Book I and the first proposition of Book II without proofs. 7 5.6. Herons and Pappus Mechanics : Finally, the last two Greek texts to be connected with the Arabic tradition of the science of weights are the two huge treatises referred to as Mechanics of the Alexandrian scholars Heron (1st century) and Pappus (4th century). These texts are together major sources for the reconstruction of the history of ancient mechanical ideas. Given their composite character, only some of their chapters concern the foundations of theoretical mechanics as developed in the later Arabic tradition around the questions of weighing. Herons Mechanics was translated into Arabic by Qusta ibn Luqa under the title Fi raf al-ashya al-thaqila (On lifting heavy loads).8 After the loss of the Greek original text, it survived only in this Arabic version. On the contrary of Herons Mechanics, Pappus mechanical treatise was preserved in Greek and in Arabic. Its Arabic version is titled Madkhal ila ilm al-hiyal (Introduction to the science of mechanics), by a translator who has not yet been identified, but there is enough evidence to affirm that this version saw the light in 10 th-century Baghdad.9

In close connection with the translation and study of the above mentioned Greek sources, the Muslim scientists composed in the period from the 9th up to the 12th century a set of original texts that laid the foundation to the new science of weights. To mention just the main treatises, these texts are seven in number: 7. First, the Kitab fi l-qarastun by Thabit ibn Qurra (d. 901): Without contest the most important text of the Arabic mechanical tradition, it was apparently one of the first Arabic texts to deal with the theory of the unequal-armed balance in Islam and to systematize its treatment. As such, it established the theoretical foundation for the whole Arabic tradition.
Kitab fi l-qarastun presents a deductive theory of the steelyard based on dynamic assumptions. It is extant
in four known copies, of which three contain complete texts with variant readings. Two of these, preserved in London (India Office MS 767-7) and Beirut (St.-Joseph Library, MS 223-11), were studied and published recently.10 The third copy, formerly conserved in Berlin (Staatsbibliothek MS 559/9, ff. 218b-224a), was reported lost at the end of World War II. A colleague from Berlin, Paul Weinig and I happened to rediscover it in the Biblioteka Jagiellonska in Krakow (Poland) in October 1996. Recently Sonja Brentjes kindly attracted my attention over a partial fourth copy that exists in the archives of the Laurentiana Library in Florence (MS Or. 118, ff. 71r-72r). Never mentioned before, this valuable three-page text includes the
A MS copy of this text was published in Zotenberg 1879 and translated into English in Clagett 1959, pp. 52-55. Heron's Mechanics was edited and translated twice respectively by Carra de Vaux in 1893, with French translation, and by Schmidt and Nix in 1900, with German translation. These editions were reprinted recently: respectively Herons 1976 and Hron 1988. 9 The Arabic text of Pappus' Mechanics was transcribed and translated into English in Jackson 1970. 10 Respectively in Jaouiche 1976 and Knorr 1982.
8 7
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introductory two sections of Thabits treatise. This part of the text exposes the dynamic foundation of the treatise and an important passage that was thought of up to now to occur only in Beirut MS copy (and thus known as Beirut scholium).11 8. Kitab fi sifat al-wazn by the same Thabit ibn Qurra: This five-section text on the balance is about the conditions necessary to achieve equilibrium in weighing with balances, primarily the equal-armed sort.12 An important connection between this text and Kitab fi l-qarastun is provided by the occurrence, in the last section of Sifat al-wazn , of the statement of a proposition identical with the postulate that opens Kitab fi l-
qarastun.
9. Ziyyada fi l-qarastun or An Addition on the theory of the qarastun : A short anonymous text extant in a unicum copy preserved in Beirut. In this codex, the Ziyyada serves as an appendix to Kitab fi l-qarastun. The two texts are written in the same hand and display strong terminological affinities which include the basic vocabulary as well as the technical terms. Thabit ibn Qurra is mentioned twice in the Ziyyada. This and several other elements induce us to consider it as an appendix intended to amplify the analysis developed in Thabits original work. The text of the Ziyyada is composed of five propositions. The first two are mere applications of the Proposition VI of Kitab fi l-qarastun while the last three establish a procedure for calculating the counterweight required to maintain equilibrium in a lever divided an evenly number of times. 10. A short text on the balance by Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah b. Mansur al-Ahwazi: Al-Ahwazi is a well known mathematician of the 10 th century; his text on the balance is extant in a unique copy preserved in Khuda Baksh Library in Patna (Codex 2928, folio 31) without title, save for the one provided by the curators of the library: Risala fi l-mizan.13 11. The treatises on centers of gravity of al-Quhi and Ibn al-Haytham: These important contributions by two most important Muslim mathematicians of the 10th-11th centuries survived only through their reproduction by al-Khazini in a joint abridged version that opens the first book of his Kitab mizan al-
hikma.14 The potential discovery of the complete versions of these texts will mean the recovery of
fundamental sources.15 12. The statements on the law of the lever by the same al-Quhi included in a discussion on the centers of gravity he had with Abu Ishaq al-Sabi around 990-91.16 13. The treatise of Ilya al-Matran on measures and weights: Ilya al-Matran was the Archbishop of Nisibin (north Mesopotamia) in the first half of the 11 th century. His Maqala fi l-makayyil wa al-awzan (Treatise of measures and weights) is essentially of practical interest, but it is based on the theory of the steelyard as elaborated in earlier Arabic works.
11
The mechanical theory of Kitab fi 'l-qarastun was studied in Jaouiche 1976, Abattouy 2000d and in Abattouy 2002a. This text was preserved thanks to its integration in Kitab mizan al-hikma: al-Khazini 1940, pp. 33-38. For translations, see the German version in Wiedemann 1970, vol. I, pp. 495-500 and a partial English version in Knorr 1982, pp. 206-208. 13 On al-Ahwazi, see Sezgin 1974, p. 312. 14 Al-Khazini 1940, pp. 15-20. 15 In his catalogue of Arabic manuscripts, Paul Sbath mentioned that there was a copy of Ibn al-Haytham's Maqala fi 'l-qarastun in a private collection in Aleppo in Syria, which may be Ibn al-Haytham's treatise on centers of gravity: See Sbath 1938-1940, part 1, p. 86. For textual considerations on the treatise of al-Quhi, see Bancel 2001. 16 The correspondence was edited and translated into English in Berggren 1983.
12
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14. Irshad dhawi al-irfan ila sinaiat al-qaffan (Guiding the Learned Men in the Art of the Steelyard) by alIsfizari: A fundamental and long-neglected treatise, written by Abu Hatim al-Muzaffar b. Ismail al-Isfizari, a mathematician and mechanician who flourished in Khurasan (north-east Iran) around 1050-1110. In this original text on the theory and practice of the unequal-armed balance, different textual traditions from Greek and Arabic sources are compiled together for the elaboration of a unified mechanical theory. It is extant in a unique manuscript copy preserved in Damascus (al-Asad National Library, al-Zahiriyya collection, MS 4460, folii 16a-24a). In addition, an abridged version reproduced by al-Khazini includes a section on the construction and use of the steelyard, which is omitted from the Damascus manuscript.17 15. Kitab mizan al-hikma by al-Khazini: A special mention should be made of Kitab mizan al-hikma, the encyclopedia of mechanics completed by Abderahman al-Khazini in 1121-22, a real mine of information on all aspects of the theoretical and practical knowledge in the Islamic medieval area about balances. The book covers a wide range of topics related to statics, hydrostatics, and practical mechanics, besides reproducing abridged editions of several mechanical texts by or ascribed to Greek and Arabic authors. This huge summa of mechanical thinking provides a comprehensive picture of the knowledge about weights and balances available in the Arabic scientific milieu up to the early 12th century. Therefore, it represents a major source for any investigation on ancient and medieval mechanics.18 The textual tradition of the Arabic science of weights between the 9th and the 12th centuries also contains additional sources that should be taken into account in any complete reconstruction of its corpus. These include the work of Muhammad Ibn Zakariyya al-Razi (865-923) on the natural balance,19 extracts from texts on weights by Qusta ibn Luqa and Ishaq ibn Hunayn,20 Ibn al-Haythams largely expanded recension of Menelaus (fl. Alexandria, 1st century) text on specific gravities,21 and two writings on specific gravity and the hydrostatical balance by Umar al-Khayyam.22

The third and last phase of the Arabic writings on weights and balances is represented by a group of texts dating from the 14 th to the 19th century and originating principally from Egypt and Syria. These two countries were unified during this long period under the rule of the Ayyubid, Mameluk, and Ottoman dynasties, respectively, and they constituted for centuries a common economic and cultural space. Whence the raison detre of this large amount of writings on the theoretical and practical problems of the balance and weights, since it was a direct outcome of the integration of economic and cultural activities in this vast area. The authors of these texts are mathematicians, mechanicians, and artisans. In the following some names and works are mentioned for illustration. 16. Masail fi l-mawazin (Problems on balances) by Yaish b. Ibrahim al-Umawi: This short tract is by a mathematician of Andalusian origin who lived in Damascus (fl. 1373), and is known as author of several
al-Khazini 1940, pp. 39-45. Al-Isfizari's biography and the contents of his Irshad are surveyed in Abattouy 2000b and Abattouy 2001b. On al-Khazini and his work, see Hall 1981 and Abattouy 2000a. 19 Reproduced in an abridged version by al-Khazini 1940, pp. 83-86. 20 These texts are preserved in Aya Sofya Library in Istanbul, Codex 3711. 21 Obviously extant in a unique manuscript discovered in Lahore in 1979 by Anton Heinen: see Heinen 1983. 22 Both edited in al-Khazini 1940, pp. 87-92, 151-153. On Khayyam's mechanics, see Aghayani Chavoshi and Bancel 2000, and Abattouy 2005b.
18 17
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arithmetical works.23 His Masail consists in a small collection of problems about weighing with hydrostatic and normal balances. The text is part of the codex DR 86 preserved in the Egyptian National Library in Cairo. 17. Risala fi amal al-mizan al-tabii by Taqi al-Din ibn Maruf: The author is a well known mathematician, astronomer, and mechanician (born in Damascus in 1525-died in Istanbul in 1585). His short treatise on making the natural balance describes what was transmitted to Taqi al-Din of a previous writing on the balance that he ascribes to the mathematician Ghiyyath al-Din al-Kashi (died in Samarkand in 1429). It is part of the collections of the municipal library of Alexandria. 18. Amal mizan li-sarf al-dhahab min ghayr sanj (The construction of a balance for converting gold without standard weight) by Abu l-Abbas Ahmad b. Abi Bakr b. Ali ibn al-Sarraj. The author, who was alive around 714 H (1319-20) and 748 H (1347-8), was an important specialist of astronomical instrumentation in the Mamluk period.24 His short text is the sixth item of the codex MR 30 conserved in the Egyptian National Library in Cairo. The Egyptian astronomer Muhammad ibn Abi al-Fath al -Sufi (d. 1543) composed several treatises on the theory and the practice of the steelyard balance which enjoyed a wide diffusion. Al-Sufi seems to be the last original representative of the classical Arabic tradition of works on balances and weights. With him, this tradition arrives at an end, in the same time when pre-classical physics in Europe was operating a deep transformation that will finally integrate the science of weights into modern physics. Here are his main treatises, known in several extant copies preserved exclusively in Cairo and Damascus, attesting to their widespread use in Egypt and Syria over several centuries: 19. Risala fi sinaiat al-qabban (Treatise in the art of the steelyard): a systematic description of the steelyard and its use in different situations, showing a clear acquaintance with steelyards. The text is explicitly written for the practitioners; 20. Irshad al-wazzan li-marifat al-awzan bi l-qabban (Guide to the weigher in the knowledge of the weights of the steelyard): similar to the previous text; 21. Risala fi qismat al-qabban (Treatise on the division of the steelyard): contains arithmetical and geometrical problems on the calculation of the parts of the steelyard; 22. Risala fi islah fasad al-qabban (Treatise on repairing the defectuosity of the steelyard): very detailed analysis of the different cases of deficiency of a steelyard and the solutions to repair these deficiencies. Other later texts include: 23. Nukhbat al-zaman fi sinaiat al-qabban: a short text on the steelyard by Uthman b. Ala al-Din al-Dimashqi, known as Ibn al-Malik (fl. 1589);
23 24
On al-Umawi, see Saidan 1981. See on Ibn al-Sarraj King 1987 and Charette 2003.
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24. Risalat al-jawahir fi ilm al-qabban (Treatise of jewels in the science of the steelyard): a ten-chapter text written by Khidr al-Burlusi al-Qabbani (d. in 1672). 25. Two writings on the science (ilm) and the description (tarif) of the steelyard by Abd al-Majid al-Samuli (18th century); 26. Al-Iqd al-thamin fima yataallaq bi-l-mawazin (The high priced necklace in what concerns the balances), a systematic treatise on the balance and weights, by Hasan al-Jabarti (1698-1774); 27. Several short texts dealing with the principles and the construction of the steelyard by Muhammad alGhamri (died before 1712); 28. Risala fi l-qabban by Muhammad b. al -Husayn al-Attar (d. 1819), a Syrian author, is among the very last works written in Arabic in the style of the earlier mechanical tradition.25 For some other texts, the authorship is not yet established firmly as they dont bear any name and they are catalogued until now as "anonymous texts". In this last category, we mention the following three tracts, which are very probably connected with the texts of the later period just mentioned above. 29. First, a huge summa titled Al-qawanin fi sifat al-qabban wa l-mawazin (The laws in the description of the steelyard and the balances) existing in Codex TR 279, ff. 1-62 in the Cairote Dar al-kutub. 30. Then a short text, Bab fi marifat amal al-qabban (Chapter in the knowledge of making the steelyard) (Cairo, Dar al-kutub, MS K3831/1and MS RT 108/1). 31. An untitled tract which the beginning is: "hadhihi risala fi ilm al-qabban" (Cairo, Dar al-kutub, in the same codex K3831). 32. And finally two short tracts (Risala mukhtasara fi ilm al-qabban and Risala fi ilm sinaiat al-qabban) preserved in Damascus (National Library, al-Zahiriyya Collection, MS 4).26 The texts mentioned so far afford a precious testimony to the fact that scientific and technical works sometimes with a high level of originality continued to be composed in Arabic in the field of mechanics until the 19th century. This corresponds to similar information derived from recent research in other fields of Arabic sciences, such as astronomy and mathematics. The ongoing research into this later phase of science in the Arabic language will undoubtedly change our appreciation of the historical significance of Arabic science and of its place in the general history of science and culture.
6. The status of the science of weights (ilm al-athqal)
25 This treatise is a digest of earlier works composed of an introduction devoted to the principle of the equilibrium of weights and 2 chapters on 1. the construction of the steelyard, 2. the conversion of weights between countries. Chap. 1 deals in a didactic way with the elementary properties of the balances and a certain emphasis is made on the law of the lever. The text exists in 3 copies: Damascus, alAsad Nat. Lib., zahir. coll., MS 4297; Aleppo, al-Ahmadiya Lib., al-Maktaba al-waqfiya, MS 1787; Rabat, National Library, MS D 1954. 26 Among these anonymous texts, we should mention a "strange" text preserved in Paris (Bibliothque Nationale, Fonds Arabe, MS 4946, ff. 79-82) under the title Nukat al-qarastun (The secrets or the properties of the steelyard) and ascribed to Thabit ibn Qurra. Its contents are without any doubt related to the science of weights, and its main subject is very elementary and treats of some cases of weighing with the steelyard.
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The availability of the major part of the Arabic texts on the problems of weights and balances makes it possible, for the first time, to address the question of the historical significance of this large corpus of mechanical works. The investigation of this question has already led to a far-reaching conclusion. It turns out that this corpus represents no less than the transformation of the ancient mechanics into a systematic science of weights and balances. As disclosed in the treatises of Pseudo-Aristotle, Philon, Heron, and Pappus, the Greek classical doctrine of mechanics was shaped as a collection of descriptions and riddles about machines, instruments, and common observation. In contradistinction, the new Arabic science of weights is focused on a relatively small range of subjects mainly the theory of the balance and equilibrium and the practical issues of weighing with different instruments. On the conceptual level, it is built on a dynamic foundation and seeks to account for mechanical phenomena in terms of motion and force. As such, it restores a strong link between mechanics and natural philosophy. This new science of weight lasted in Arabic culture until the 19th century and constituted since the 12 th century a basis for the Latin scientia de ponderibus that developed in Western Europe. The emergence of the Arabic science of weights has been proclaimed by al-Farabi (ca. 870-950) in his Ihsa
al-ulum, where he produced an authoritative reflexion on the epistemological status of mechanics that set
the stage for the question once and for all. In particular, he set up a demarcation line between the science of weights and the science of machines, and considered both as mathematical disciplines. Al-Farabi differentiated in his system between six principal sciences: those of language, logic, mathematics, nature (physics), metaphysics and politics. The mathematics is subdivided into seven disciplines: arithmetics, geometry, perspective, astronomy, music, the science of weights (ilm al-athqal) and the science of devices or machines (ilm al-hiyyal). The last two are characterized as follows: As for the science of weights, it deals with the matters of weights from two standpoints: either by examining weights as much as they are measured or are of use to measure, and this is the investigation of the matters of the doctrine of balances (umur al-qawl fi l-mawazin), or by examining weights as much as they move or are of use to move, and this is the investigation of the principles of instruments (usul al-alat) by which heavy things are lifted and carried from one place to another.
As for the science of devices, it is the knowledge of the procedures by which one applies to natural bodies all that was proven to exist in the mathematical sciences in statements and proofs unto the natural bodies, and [the act of] locating [all that], and establishing it in actuality. The sciences of devices are therefore those that supply the knowledge of the methods and the procedures by which one can contrive to find this applicability and to demonstrate it in actuality in the natural bodies that are perceptible to the senses. 27
Considering the two main branches of mechanics as genuine mathematical sciences, al-Farabi located their objects respectively in the study of weights and machines. Hence, ilm al-athqal is centered on the principles of the balances and of lifts, investigated with reference to measure and motion, whereas ilm al-
hiyyal is conceived of as the application to natural bodies of mathematical properties (lines, surfaces,
volumes, and numbers). As such, it includes various practical crafts: the overseeing of constructions, the
27
Al-Farabi 1949, pp. 88-89.
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measurement of bodies, the making of astronomical, musical, and optical instruments, as well as the fabrication of hydraulic mechanisms, mirrors, and tools like bows, arrows and different weapons.28 In this context, the main function of ilm al-hiyyal consists in bringing the geometrical properties from potentiality (quwwa) to actuality (fil) and to apply them to real bodies by means of special engines (bi-l-
sana).29 Developing an Aristotelian thesis,30 al-Farabi endows the science of machines with an eminent
task, to actualise the mathematical properties in natural bodies. Such a function of actualisation could not be extended to ilm al-athqal. In fact, weight and motion, the two notions that delimit its field of investigation, can hardly be taken as geometric properties of natural bodies, limited by al-Farabi to spatial and numerical aspects, in accordance with the canonical Euclidean paradigm that banishes all the material properties of magnitudes from the realm of geometry. The distinction of the science of weights from the different crafts of practical mechanics is a crucial result of al-Farabis theory. The emphasis laid by the Second Master on ilm al-athqal can not be stressed enough. It means no less than a solemn announcement of the emergence of an independent science of weights. With roots in the long tradition of the ancient mechanics, this new discipline came to light in the second half of the 9th century in the works of Thabit ibn Qurra and his colleagues.31 It is this important scientific achievement that was recorded by al- Farabi while building his system of knowledge. Al-Farabis thesis had a long-lasting resonance in Arabic learning and was never challenged seriously. The fundamental singularity of the science of weights as an independent branch under the mathematical arts, distinct from the science of machines, became a feature of subsequent theories of science. For confirmation a great number of instances, in different kinds of works and in various literary contexts, can be called upon. Hereinafter, some of these instances are presented in chronological order. In his Risala fi aqsam al-ulum al-aqliyya (Epistle on the parts of rational sciences), Ibn Sina (980-1037) enumerated the mechanical arts, considered as secondary constituents of geometry, as ilm al-hiyyal al-
mutaharrika (the science of movable machines, i.e., automata),32 the pulling of weights (jarr al-athqal), the science of weights and balances (ilm al-awzan wa al-mawazin), and the science of particular machines (ilm al-alat al-juziyya).33 Ibn Sina establishes a clear distinction between the science of weights and
balances, the craft of pulling heavy loads, and the art of devices. In addition, the latter is subdivided into the arts of automata and of particular machines. Likewise, the pulling of weights, included in the science of weights by al-Farabi, is assigned as a specific branch of geometry. The main point, however, in Ibn Sinas schema is the emphasis laid on the science of awzan and mawazin in which weights and balances are combined. The reference to the wazn instead of the thiql could be interpreted as a privilege given to the statical standpoint. Indeed, the wazn is a constant quantity measurable in a balance, whereas the thiql is that quantity called gravity or heaviness which varies during the weighing process and depends on the
Hiyyal (sing. hila) translated the Greek word mechan which means both mechanical instrument and trick and is at the origin of the words machine and mechanics. On the affinities between mechan and hila, see Abattouy 2000c. 29 In the Arabic partial version of Pseudo-Aristotle's Mechanical Problems, this very function of the hiyyal is said to be carried out with artificial devices (hiyyal sinaiyya): see the edition of the Nutaf min al-hiyyal in Abattouy 2001a, pp. 110, 113 and Aristotle 1952, 847a 2530. The function of ilm al-hiyyal as actualisation of potentialities is surveyed in Saliba 1985. 30 Aristotle, Metaphysics XIII.3, 1078 a 14-16. 31 The thesis of the birth of the Arabic science of weights was first formulated in Abattouy, Renn and Weinig 2001. 32 That al-alat al-mutaharrika refers to automata is established in Abattouy 2000c, pp. 139-140. 33 The other components of geometry are the sciences of measurement, of optics and mirrors, and of hydraulics: see Anawati 1977, p. 330 and Ibn Sina 1989, p. 112.
28
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position of the weighed object relatively to a particular point, the center of the world or the fulcrum of the balance.34 In his discussion on the divisions of sciences in Maqasid al-falasifa (The Intentions of philosophers), alGhazali (1058-1111) subsumed the science of weights (ilm al-athqal) as an independent branch under the mathematical arts and differentiates it from the study of ingenious devices (ilm al-hiyyal).35 Ibn Rashiq, a Moroccan mathematician of the late 13th century from Sebta, assumed a similar demarcation between weights and machines, and founded the latter on the former: the science of weights, of balances, and of catapults (ilm al-athqal wa l-mawazin wa l-majaniq) deals with the downward motion of heavy bodies and constitutes the foundation of the science of machines (wa-yatarattab ala ilm al-athqal ilm al-hiyyal).36 In his biography of al-Isfizari, al-Bayhaqi did not confuse the two when he reported that al-Isfizari was mostly inclined to astronomy and to the science of weights and machines (ilm al-athqal wa al-hiyyal).37 This corresponds to what we know of his extant works in mechanics, the Irshad being clearly a book of athqal, whereas al-Isfizaris work on hiyyal is represented by a collection of compiled summaries (sometimes with comments) extracted from the mechanical works of Heron, Apollonius and Banu Musa.38 Later on, Taqi alDin ibn Maruf, the 16th-century mechanician, followed the same pattern. Accounting for the books he read in his scientific curriculum, he mentioned, in addition to texts of mathematics, books of accurate machines (kutub al-hiyyal al-daqiqa), treatises of the science of the steelyard and of the balance ( rasail ilm al-
qarastun wa al-mizan), and of the pulling of weights (jar al-athqal).39

Sometimes ilm al-athqal is refered to as ilm marakiz al-athqal, one of its branches which enjoyed great reputation. A good instance of this is the following quotation we find in the correspondence between alQuhi and al-Sabi. In a letter to al-Quhi, al-Sabi says:
We did not obtain a complete book on this science, I mean centers of gravity (marakiz al-athqal), nor was there done any satisfactory work by one of the ancients or one of the moderns. In my opinion it is in the rank of a singular science which merits to have a book of basic principles (alsinaa al-mufrada allati yuhtaj an yumal laha kitab usul).40
A century later, al-Isfizari qualified the centers of gravity as the most elevated and honourable of the parts of the mathematical sciences and defined it as:
34 The difference is well illustrated by the definition opening Pseudo-Euclid's Maqala fi 'l-mizan: weight (wazn) is the measure of heaviness (thiql) and lightness (khiffa) of one thing compared to another by means of a balance: Paris, Bibliothque Nationale, MS 2457, f. 22b. 35 Al-Ghazali 1961, p. 139. 36 Al-Husayn b. Abi Bakr Ibn Rashiq (d. 1292), Risalat fi tasnif al-ulum al-riyaiyya, Rabat, al-Maktaba al- mma, MS Q 416, p. 422. On Ibn Rashiq, see Lamrabet 2002 and Abattouy 2003a, pp. 101-105. 37 Al-Bayhaqi 1988, p. 125. Likewise, in the notice he devoted to the mathematician Abu Sahl al-Quhi, al-Bayhaqi states that he was "wellversed in the science[s?] of machines and weights and moving spheres" (baraza fil ilm al-hiyyal wa al-athqal wa al-ukar al-mutaharrika) (ibid., p. 88). 38 In the incipit of this collection, al-Isfizari writes: We collected in this book what has reached us of the books on various devices (anwa al- hiyyal) composed by the ancients and by those who came after them, like the book of Philon the constructor of machines (sahib alhiyyal), the book of Heron the mechanician (run al-majaniqi) on the machines (hiyyal) by which heavy loads are lifted by a small force... We start by presenting the drawings of the machines (suwwar al-hiyyal) conceived by the brothers Muhammad, Ahmad and al-Hasan, Banu Musa ibn Shakir. Manchester, John Ryland Library, Codex 351, f. 94b; Hayderabad, Andra Pradesh Library, Asafiyya Collection, Codex QO 620, p. 1. 39 In his Kitab at-suruq al-saniyya fi al-alat al-ruhaniyya (The Sublim methods in spiritual machines): al-Hasan 1976, p. 24. 40 Berggren 1983, pp. 48, 120.
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Al-Khazini specifies further the definition of his predecessor when he explains that the study of the steelyard is founded upon the science of the centers of gravity (wa alayhi mabna al-qaffan).42 Therefore, it is obvious that the expression marakiz al-athqal is intended to account for the statical aspect of ilm al-
athqal, by the study of forces as they are related to weights, such as in the case of levers and scales. This
same thesis is assumed by other Islamic scholars.43 In contrast, the tradition of hiyyal delimits the contours of a distinct discipline, centered on the investigation of the methods of applicability of mathematical knowledge to natural bodies. As represented in several Greek and Arabic mechanical texts, written by Heron, Pappus, Philon, Banu Musa and al-Jazari, the tradition of hiyyal is focused on the description of machines and the explanation of their functions. Book I of Herons treatise contains principles of theoretical mechanics, but the rest, more than three quarters of the whole, is predominantly about different kinds of devices. The same applies to the treatise of Pappus. As for Philon of Byzantium (fl. 230), his Pneumatics is mainly a catalogue of machines worked by air pression.
44
An important constituent of the Greek traditional doctrine of mechanics as it is disclosed in the texts by Pseudo-Aristotle, Heron and Pappus is represented by the theory of the simple machines (the windlass, the lever, the pulley, the wedge, and the screw). Those simple machines were dealt with in Arabic science by several scholars such as the Pseudo-Ibn Sina,45 al-Isfizari,46 and Sinan ibn Thabit47 under the name of
hiyyal. Besides this trend on the basic simple machines and their combinations, the science of hiyyal also
included a description of other categories of machines necessary in daily life and useful for civil engineering. The most well known works describing this kind of engines are the texts of machines by Banu Musa and al-Jazari. Kitab al-hiyyal by the Banu Musa comprises a large variety of devices, the vast majority of which consist of trick vessels for dispending liquids. The book of al-Jazari al-Jami bayna l-ilm wa l-amal
fi sinaiat al-hiyyal (The Compendium of theory and practice in the art of mechanics) enlarges this same
feature in an unprecedented way. The author incorporates in it the results of 25 years of research and practice on various mechanical devices (automata, musical machines, clocks, fountains, vessels, waterraising machines, etc.) 48
41 42 43
Al-Khazini 1940, p. 5. For instance, Ibn al-Akfani (fourteenth century) asserts that ilm marakiz al-athqal shows how to balance great weights by small ones, with the intermediary of the distance, such as in the steelyard (qarastun): Ibn al-Akfani 1989, p. 409. The same idea is in al-Tahanawi 1980, vol. 1, p. 47. 44 Philon's Pneumatics was translated into Arabic under the title Kitab Filun fi al-hiyyal al-ruhaniyya wa majaniq al-ma (The Book of Philon on spiritual machines and the hydraulic machines). The Arabic text was edited and translated into French in Carra de Vaux: see Philon 1902. A Persian mechanical text called Miyar al-uqul dur fan jar athqal is attributed to Ibn Sina. The treatise, in two sections, is devoted to the five simple machines. It presents the first successful and complete attempt to classify simple machines and their combinations: Ibn Sina 1331 H [1952]. For a short commentary, see Rozhanskaya 1996, pp. 633-34. 46 Al-Isfizari is the author of a collection of summaries and commentaries extracted from the mechanical works of Heron, Apollonius, and Banu Musa. He dealt with simple machines in his commentary on Book II of Heron's Mechanics: see Abattouy 2000b, pp. 147-48. 47 Sinan (d. 942), the son of Thabit ibn Qurra, is presumably the author of a fragment on the five simple machines preserved in Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, MS Orient fol. 3306.
48
45
Irshad dhawi al-irfan ila sinaat al-qaffan, al-Asad National Library in Damascus, al-zahiriyya collection, MS 4460, f. 16b.
For the two works of Banu Musa and al-Jazari, see respectively Hill 1974 and Hill 1979 for English translations and al-Hasan 1979 and al-Hasan 1981 for the Arabic texts.
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The conception of hiyyal as the practical component of mechanics is additionally corroborated by the contents of a chapter of the Mafatih al-ulum by Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Khwarizmi (10 th century). Chapter 8 of Book II of this lexicographic encyclopedia is dedicated to sinaiat al-hiyyal, tusamma bi al-yunaniyya manjaniqun (the art of mechanics, called in Greek manjaniqun). Besides a short mention of machines for the traction of weights, the hiyyal described are essentially of two types: automata (alat al-harakat) and hydraulic devices (hiyyal harakat al-ma).49 The author devotes great attention to the first two kinds; this might be taken as evidence to the preeminence of these machines in the domain of hiyyal in his time. Significantly, al-Khwarizmi like Ibn Sina classifies the weight-pulling machines in the field of hiyyal in contrast to their arrangement among that of athqal by al-Farabi, which should be considered as an evolution in the sense of narrowing and prcising the domain of weights, thus articulated around the ideal model of the study of balances and measures. The analysis of the overall significance of the Arabic medieval science of weights showed that this tradition does not represent a mere continuation of the traditional doctrine of mechanics as inherited from the Greeks. Rather, it means the emergence of a new science of weights recognized very early on in Arabic learning as a specific branch of mechanics, and embodied in a large scientific and technical corpus. Comprehensive attempts at collecting and systematizing (as well as updating with original contributions) the mainly fragmentary and unorganized Greco-Roman mechanical literature that had been translated into Arabic was highly successful in producing a coherent and orderly mechanical system. In this light, a redefinition of Arabic mechanics becomes necessary, initially by questioning its status as a unified field of knowledge. Such a redefinition may be worked out briefly by setting a sharp distinction between ilm al-
athqal and ilm al-hiyyal. The latter corresponds to the traditional descriptive doctrine of machines, whereas
the core structure of the ilm al-athqal is a genuine theory of mechanics articulated around the balancelever model and its theoretical and practical elaborations. Uniting the theoretical treatment of the balance with concrete practical information about its construction and use, and adopting an integrative treatment of physics and mechanics, overcoming their original separation in Antiquity, the new science of weights distinguishes itself by turning mechanics from being originally a marginal part of geometry into an independent science of weights. On the methodological level, the new science of weights was marked by a close combination of experimentation with mathematisation. The Aristotelian qualitative procedures were enriched with quantitative ones, and mathematics was massively introduced in the study of mechanical problems. As a result, mechanics became more quantitative and the results of measures and experiments took more and more weight in mechanical knowledge. Certainly, the fundamental concepts of Aristotelian physics continued to lay in the background, but the scholars were able to cross their boundaries and to accomplish remarkable discoveries in physical ideas. For instance, the generalization of the theory of centers of gravity to three-dimensional objects, the introduction of a dynamic approach in the study of problems of statics and hydrostatics, the improvement of the procedures and methods for the determination of specific weights and of weighing instruments, the development of the theory of heaviness and the establishment of a theory of the ponderable lever. Further, the treatment of the law of equilibrium by Thabit ibn Qurra and al-Isfizari opened the horizon of a unified theory of motion in which the dichotomies of natural-violent, upwarddownward motions vanish, exactly as they disappear in the concomitant motions of the two arms of a balance lever. In this physical system, indeed, the weight of the body might be considered the cause of the downward as well as of the upward motion, overcoming the Aristotelian balking at making weight a cause
49
Al-Khwarizmi 1968, pp. 246-247.
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of motion. For their parts, al-Quhi and Ibn al-Haytham had the priority in formulating the hypothesis that the heaviness of bodies vary with their distance from a specific point, the center of the earth. Moreover, they contributed to unify the two notions of heaviness, with respect to the center of the universe and with respect to the axis of suspension of a lever. In his recession of the works of his predecessors, al-Khazini pushed forward this idea and drew from it a spectacular consequence regarding the variation of gravity with the distance from the centre of the world. All this work represented strong antecedents to the concept of positional weight (gravitas secundun situm) formulated by Jordanus in the 13th century.50 The historians of mechanics, from Pierre Duhem until Marshal Clagett, assumed that the foundation of the science of weights must be credited to the school of Jordanus in Europe in the 13th century. Now it appears that this science emerged much earlier in Islamic science, in the 9th century. Moreover, the first steps of the Latin scientia de ponderibus should be considered as a direct result of the Arabic-Latin transmission, and especially as a consequence of the translation of two major Arabic texts in which the new science and its name are disclosed, Kitab fi l-qarastun by Thabit ibn Qurra and Ihsa al-ulum by al-Farabi. Indeed, the very expression scientia de ponderibus was derived from the Latin translation of al-Farabis Ihsa al-ulum. Versions of this text were produced both by Gerard of Cremona and Dominicus Gundissalinus. The latter made an adapted version of the Ihsa in his De scientiis and used it as a framework for his own De divisione philosophiae, which later became a guide to the relationships between the sciences for European universities in the 13th century. In the two texts, Gundissalinus reproduced sometimes verbatim al-Farabis characterization of the sciences of weights and devices, called respectively
scientia de ponderibus and sciencia de ingeniis.51 The reason for this close agreement is easy to find: he
could not rely on any scientific activity in this field in his times in Latin.52 Among all the sciences to which Gundissalinus dedicated a section, the sciences of weights, of devices, and of optics were obviously less known in the Latin west in the 12 th century. Even the antique Latin tradition represented by Boece and Isidore of Sevilla could not furnish any useful data for a sustained reflexion on their epistemological status. It must be added also that Gundissalinus seems to ignore all their developments in the Arabic science either, including Thabit ibn Qurras book on the theory of the balance and Ibn al-Haythams achievements in optics. Hence, the effort of theorization deployed by Gundissalinus, by showing the state of the sciences in the late 12th century in Western Europe, throws the light on a considerable underdevelopment in several sciences. This concerns particularly the different branches of mechanics.53 As said before, Liber karastonis is the Latin translation by Gerard of Cremona of Kitab fi l-qarastun. The general structure is the same in both Arabic and Latin versions, and the enunciations of the theorems are identical. Yet the proofs might show greater or lesser discrepancies. None of the Arabic extant copies of Thabits Kitab seem to be the direct model for Gerards translation. The Latin version was repeatedly copied and distributed in the Latin West until the 17th century, as it is documented by several dozens of extant
50 It is evident that all these issues need to be treated and instantiated separately and thoroughly, as they document the theoretical components of the new science of weight: see for a first analysis Abattouy 2001b and Abattouy 2002a. The interpretation of the Arabic science of weights as a progress of science is developed in Abattouy 2004a. 51 Gundissalinus 1903, De Div. Phil., pp. 121-24 and Gundissalinus 1932, De Scientiis, pp. 108-112. 52 It is to be noted that Hughes de Saint Victor who, in his Didascalicon de studio legendi , provided the most complete Latin classification of the sciences before the introduction of Arabic learning, just overlooked the two mechanical arts. On the Didascalicon see Taylor 1991. 53 This was noted by Hugonnard-Roche 1984, p. 48. Other Arabic works on the classification of the sciences translated into Latin might have been a source for the distinction of the science of weights and its qualification as the theoretical basis of mechanics. For instance, alGhazali's Maqasid al-falasifa, translated as Summa theoricae philosophiae by Gundissalinus and Johannes Hispanus in Toledo, and Ibn Sina's Risala fi aqsam al-ulum, translated by Andrea Alpago: In Avicenn philosophi prclarissimi ac medicorum principis, Compendium de anima, De mahad, Aphorismi de anima, De diffinitionibus et qusitis, De divisione scientiarum, Venice, 1546, fols 139v-145v.
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manuscript copies. This high number of copies instructs on the wide diffusion of the text. Further, the treatise was embedded into the corpus of the science of weights which was understood to be part of the mathematical arts or quadrivium, together with other works on the same topic, in particular the writings of Jordanus Nemorarius in the science of weights.54 In addition, at least one version of Thabits work was known in Latin learning as a writing of scientia de ponderibus. This version is the Excerptum de libro Thebit
de ponderibus, a Latin text which appears frequently in the codexes. It is precisely a digest of the logical structure of Liber de karastonis, in the shape of statements of all the theorems. 55

This final section will be dedicated to a preliminary overview on the institutional setting of the usage of the balance in medieval Islamic societies. The focus will be laid on a brief description of the role the hisba office played in the control of the fabrication and usage of weighing instruments The balance most widely used in the Islamic lands of medieval times was the equal-armed platform scale, made mostly in copper. There were tiny balances for gold and jewels, average ones for retail traders, and huge balances for the merchants of grains, wood, wool, etc. In general, the balances had beams and weights made of steel or iron. Steelyards, called qarastun or qabban , were also widely employed. As reported in a historical source, 20
th 56
a site called Qarastun existed in the ancient medina in Fez until the early
century, probably because of a huge public balance set up there. Public balances are still located today
in the fanadiq (bazaars) of the old medina. One can infer in this context that a similar public weighing site must have been present in all the markets of Islamic cities.
Figure 3. Al-Birunis balance, in Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Islamic Science an Illustrated Study. Kent 1976 (The image was introduced by the editor).
The qarastun or steelyard with a sliding weight was largely used since Antiquity. It is mentioned in Greek sources by its ancient name, the charistion, and was employed extensively in Roman times.57 Composed of a lever or a beam (amud) suspended by a handle that divides it into two unequal arms, the center of gravity of the instrument is located under the fulcrum. In general the shorter arm bears a basin or a scale54
The Liber karastonis is edited with English translation in Moody and Clagett 1952, pp. 88-117. For more details on its codicological tradition, see Buchner 1922 and Brown 1967. 55 Brown, 1967, pp. 24-30 and Knorr, 1982, pp. 42-46, 173-80. 56 Dozy 1927, vol. 2, p. 327.
57
On the ancient history of the steelyard, see Ibel 1908 and Damerow et al. 2002.
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pan in which the object to be weighed is set, or suspended from a hook. The cursor-weight, rummana in Arabic, moves along the longer arm in order to achieve equilibrium. This arm, which has generally a quadrangular cross section, bears two different scales which are engraved along the two opposite sides. Due to the fact that the steelyard can be suspended by two hooks, there are two independent graduations. According to the choice made, there will be different relations between the lengths of the longer and smaller arms of the lever, corresponding to the different scales. On the beam or near the fulcrum, the number of units or fractions corresponding to the capacity of the balance was engraved as was the official stamp of the authorities. The advantage of the steelyard is that it provides an acceptable precision in weighing and allows heavy loads to be supported by small counterweights. In addition, it can be carried around easily. Another kind of balance is a combination of the ordinary balance and of the steelyard in the form of an equal-armed balance with mobile weight. A typical example of this instrument is the balance of Archimedes described by al-Khazini according to an account by Menelaus.58 In addition to its two equal arms to which two fixed scale pans are suspended, this balance had on one of the arms a cursor weight which could be hang up on different points of a small scale graduated in two series of divisions. Presented as an hydrostatical balance for the determination of specific gravities, it could also serve for ordinary weighing. A variety of the Archimedes balance consists in moving the scale pan on a part of the arm. This is the main property of the mizan tabii (natural or physical balance) designed by Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Razi. In this model with equal arms and without counterpoise, one of the scale pans is movable and might behave as a counterweight. Nowadays, the steelyard balance is called in some Arab countries al-mizan al-qabbani; in Morocco it is designated as mizan al-qura. Despite the introduction of modern balances more or less sophisticated, since long time ago (in the first half of the 19th century), the steelyards continue to be utilized in Arab and Islamic countries. They serve in popular markets and are widely used in some activities, such as in the slaughterhouses and in the shops of butchers. In Egypt, the industry of traditional steelyards is still active. Egyptian colleagues informed me that in the old city of Cairo, in an area called Hay taht al-rub, near the Dar al-kutub, not far from the Azhar Mosque, artisans build steelyards according to traditional methods. These balances are used massively throughout the country, for example in the weighing of cotton in the country side. In other Arab countries, the fabrication of these balance disappeared completely. For instance, in Morocco, it vanished since several decades, as a result of the introduction of modern balances and of the concurrence of the European industry of these same instruments. Therefore, the steelyards used in the country are imported from Southern Italy and Spain. But local artisans are able to repair the imported engines and to supply certain of their equipments, as I could see by direct observation during my visits to their shops in Fez in 1999 and 2000. In his geographical book Ahsan al-taqasim fi marifat al-aqalim, Muhammad al-Muqaddasi, the Palestinian geographer of the 10 th century, reports that the most accurate balances were those fabricated at Harran in northern Mesopotamia. Kufa, in southern Iraq, was also famous for the accuracy of its balances. Other regions were celebrated for the honesty of the weighing practices of their merchants, such as Khurasan. But others were better known for their fraudulent procedures. Various passages in the Quran show that as early as the advent of Islam, false balances were in use in the markets. Later narratives report that some jewelers and goldsmiths, in order to fraudulently weigh their wares, blow gently on the scale-pan of their
58
Al-Khazini 1940, pp. 78-79.
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balance, stick a small piece of wax under it, or merely use false weights. Al-Jawbari (fl. 1216-22) described two such arrangements. In the one the beam of the balance consisted of a hollow reed containing quicksilver, which was closed at both ends. By a slight inclination of the beam, the quicksilver could be made to flow as desired to the side with weights or with goods and thus make one or the other appear heavier. In the other case, the tongue of the balance was of iron and the merchant had a ring with a magnetic stone; by bringing the ring close to the balance, it moves down to the right or left. 59 In order to reprimand these fraudulent tricks and deceitful behaviour, and to implement the instructions of Islam about the strict observance of the just weighing, the Islamic society invented a specific institutional setting, represented by the office of hisba. This office was occupied by the muhtasib, an officer regularly appointed to take charge of the harmonization between the commands of Islam and the social practice, especially concerning the control of markets. As such, one of his main duties was to observe that correct scales and weights were used in commercial transactions. The office of hisba was established towards the 2 nd century of Hijra as a consequence of the development of large cities and after that the various schools of fiqh (jurisprudence) assumed form. With the establishment of the new office, certain text-books began to include chapters dealing with the theory of its functions and their practical application, and in the course of time independent manuals intended to assist the muhtasib in the performance of his duties were written. Among these text-books, the best known are
Nihayat al-rutba fi talab al-hisba by Abd-al-Rahman al-Shayzari (d. 589/1193), and Maalim al-qurba fi ahkam al-hisba, by Diyya al-Din al-Qurashi, known as Ibn al-Ukhuwwa (d. 729/1329). The manuals for the guidance of the muhtasib are an important source for the reconstruction of the social structures within
which the making and the use of the balances and weights were organized and regulated in medieval Islam. The muhtasib was in charge of the morality, integrity, and quality of the various trades, but his main duty, the basic and permanent one, was to watch over and to supervise the balances and weights. In his Nihayat
al-rutba fi talab al-hisba (The utmost authority in the pursuit of hisba), the earliest extant book of its kind to appear in the Islamic East, al-Shayzari defines as follows the duties of the muhtasib in this domain: The most accurate scale is that in which the two sides are equal, the pans are balanced and the hole for the attachment on either side of the centre of the beam is one third of the thickness of the attachment. The hole should be one third of the way under the peg of the attachment, and two thirds above it. This allows for the inclination of the scales by taking the tongue of the balance out of the beam of the attachment, and the pan will descend with the slightest weight (). The peg might be square, triangular or round. The best is the triangular one because it inclines with more sensitivity than the others. The muhtasib must order those who use scales to wipe and clean them hourly of any oil or dirt, as a drop of oil may congeal on them and affect the weights. The merchant must settle the scales before he begins to weigh and should place the merchandise on them gently, not dropping it into the pan from his raised hand, nor moving the edge of the pan with his thumb, as all of this is fraudulent
59
Al-Jawbari 1979-80, vol. 2, p. 162. Similar fraudulent practicas are described in detail in the books of hisba: for references to the hisba literature relevant to the balances and weights knowledge, see Abattouy [Forthcoming 2006].
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The merchant should acquire ratl-s and awqiyya-s made of iron and test their accuracy against the standard weights. He must not use stone ones, as this chip when they knock against each other and thus become inaccurate. If stone weights have to be used because iron ones are unavailable, then the muhtasib must order the merchant to bind them with leather and he must stamp them after testing their accuracy. He should re-examine them now and again in case the merchant has replaced them with wooden weights which look the same.60
In the 13th-century Fatimid Cairo, the fabrication as well as the control of the balances and weights was undertaken within a specific institution, the Dar al-iyyar, itself under the supervision of the muhtasib. In his al-Mawaiz wa l-itibar fi dhikr el-khitat wal-athar, al-Maqrizi (1364-1442) provides a valuable report about this institution and shows in a new light the duties of the muhtasib in the regulation of balances and weights:
The muhtasib inspects the Dar al-iyyar The standard measures were in a place known as the Dar al-iyyar in which the accuracy of all the parts of scales and all the weights were checked. He used to pay the costs of this Dar, and whatever was needed of copper, steel, wood, glass and other apparatus, and the wages of the workmen, overseers and such like, from the government administration. The muhtasib and his deputies would go there to check in his presence the accuracy of what was produced in it. If it was correct, he endorsed it, and if not then he ordered that it should be re-made until it was correct. In this Dar were specimens with which he corrected the standard measure; for the weights, scales and measures would not be sold except from this Dar. All the merchants would go to this Dar upon the muhtasibs summoning them, bringing their scales, weights and measures to be tested every so often. If a deficiency was found then the [scale, etc.] was destroyed and its owner was taken to the Dar and compelled to purchase a replacement from that which was accurately manufactured there, and to pay its price. Then he is forgiven. () This Dar still remains in all of the Fatimid states. When Salah al-Din took over the government he confirmed this Dar and it still remains.61
According to this report, the Dar al-iyyar was in fact the factory where legal balances and weights were fabricated and tested under the control of the muhtasib and his collaborators. It also comprised the office in which the standard weights were kept. The merchants had to test their usual weights against these legal weights. In the light of this report, it becomes clear therefore why the authors of the Ayyubid, Mameluk and Ottoman Egypt and Syria were so prolific in the composition of technical treatises on the construction of balances, especially of the steelyard type, and on their reparation and testing. There was a strong social demand on them. The Dar al-iyyar, the hisba office and similar other institutions provided the Islamic society with the institutional setting for the control of the balances, weights, and measures. These institutions must have been connected in one way or another to the scientific and technical activities shaped of the scientists involved in what we called the science of weights. Indeed, the scientific discoveries and the technical improvements must have provided the controllers of scales and weights with the knowledge and expertise to accomplish their task. In fact, it is easy to demonstrate that the large amount of texts on different sorts
Al-Shayzari 1999, pp. 43-44. The same instructions are in Ibn al-Ukhuwwa 1938, pp. 80 ff. and in other manuals of hisba: see Ziyyada 1962 and Izzi Dien 1997. 61 Quoted in Buckley 1992, p. 86.
60
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of balance written in Arabic between the 9th and the 19th centuries were not intended to remain solely in the circle of scientists. At least a substantial part of them was surely addressed to practitioners and artisans, and to the state officials overseeing the markets. This is another instance of the connection between science and society in medieval Islam which deserves a closer investigation.62
References
1. 2. Abattouy, Mohammed 1999. "The Arabic Tradition of Mechanics: Textual and Historical Characterization." Majallat kulliyyat al-adab wa l-iulum al-insaniyya bi-Fas, vol. 12.1 (1999): pp. 75-109. 2000a. La Tradition arabe de la balance: Thabit ibn Qurra et al-Khazini. In Quelques aspects de lvolution des ides scientifiques. Antiquit et moyen ge. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 49-91. 2000b. Al-Muzaffar al-Isfizari alim min al-qarnayn 5-6 H/11-12, muallif Irshad dhawi al-irfan ila sinaiat al-qaffan. In Ibid (Quelques aspects de lvolution des ides scientifiques), pp. 135-175. 2000c. Mechan vs. hiyal: Essai danalyse smantique et conceptuelle. In Imagination and Science. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 127-151. 2000d. Sur quelques dmonstrations grecques et arabes de la loi du levier: transmission et transformation. In liyyat al-istidlal fi l-ilm. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 7-43 2001a. Nutaf min al-hiyal: A Partial Arabic version of Pseudo-Aristotles Mechanica Problemata. Early Science and Medicine (Leiden) vol. 6: pp. 96-122.
2001b. Greek Mechanics in Arabic Context: Thabit ibn Qurra, al-Isfizari and the Arabic Traditions of Aristotelian and Euclidean Mechanics. Science in Context (Cambridge University Press) vol. 14: pp. 179-247.
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2002a. The Aristotelian Foundations of Arabic Mechanics (Ninth-Twelfth centuries). In The Dynamics of Aristotelian Natural Philosophy from Antiquity to the Seventeenth Century. Edited by C. Luthy, C. Leijenhorst and H. Thijssen. Leiden: Brill, pp. 109-140. 2002b. The Arabic Science of weights: A Report on an Ongoing Research Project. BRIIFS. The Bulletin of the
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Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (Amman) vol. 4: pp. 109-130.
10. 2003a. Ulum al-mikanika fi al-gharb al-islami al-wasit: dirasa awwaliyya (The mechanical sciences in the medieval Islamic west: a preliminary study). In La Pense Scientifique au Maghreb: le Haut Moyen Age. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 91-121. 11. 2004a. Min ilm al-hiyyal ila ilm al-athqal: wilada thaniyya li-l-mikanika (From the science of machines to the science of weights: a new birth of mechanics). In Mafhum al-taqaddum fi l-ilm (The concept of progress in science). Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 89-109. 12. 2004b. Science des poids et hisba: Prolgomnes ltude des structures sociales de la mcanique arabe mdivale." In Les lments paradigmatiques, thmatiques et stylistiques dans la pense scientifique. Rabat: Publications de la Facult des Lettres, pp. 119-130. 13. 2004c. "Islah comme un mode ditorial dappropriation: la tradition arabe de Maqala fi l-mizan un trait sur la thorie du levier attribu Euclide." Majallat kulliyyat al-adab wa l-ulum al-insaniyya bi-Fas (Fez), N 13: pp. 153193. 14. Abattouy 2004-2005. Entries "al-Ahwazi", "Ilya al-Matran", "al-Isfizari", "Taqi al-Din ibn Mairuf" (in Arabic). In Mawsuat alam al-ulama wa l-udaba al-muslimin (8 volumes to date). Published by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (Tunis) and Dar al-Jayl (Beirut).
62 A preliminary study of the interaction of the hisba institution with the science of weights may be found in Abattouy 2004b. A partial survey of the doctrinal basis of the institution of hisba, mainly in the Islamic west, is in Abattouy 2005a.
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15. 2005a. "Al-asas al-kalami li-muassasat al-hisba fi al-gharb al-islami (The kalamic foundation of the institution of hisba"). In Al-ittijahat al-kalamiya fi al-gharb al-islami (The trends of kalam in the Islamic west). Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press, pp. 293-308. 16. 2005b. "Al-Qistas al-Mustaqim: la balance droite de Omar Khayyam." Farhang. Quarterly Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (Tehran). Issue Topic: Commemoration of Khayyam (3), vol. 18, n.53-54, pp.155-166. 17. [In Press 2006a]. Etudes dHistoire des Sciences Arabes. Edited by Mohammed Abattouy. Casablanca: Publications of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for the Humanities and the Islamic Studies. 18. [In Press 2006b]. La science dans les socits islamiques: approches historiques et perspectives davenir. Edited by Mohammed Abattouy. Proceedings of the conference organized in Rabat, 16 et 17 avril 2004 (articles in Arabic, English and French). Casablanca: Publications of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for the Humanities and the Islamic Studies. 19. [In Press 2006c]. LHistoire des sciences arabes classiques: une bibliographie slective commente. Casablanca: Publications of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for the Humanities and the Islamic Studies. 20. [Forthcoming 2006]. "Muassasat al-hisba fi l-gharb al-islami fi asr Ibn Khaldun." Forthcoming in Al-Abniya alfikriya fi l-gharb al-islami zaman Ibn Khaldun. Proceedings of the meeting held in Marrakech in 23-26 February 2006. Rabat: The Faculty of Letters Press. 21. Abattouy, M., Renn, Jurgen, Weinig, Paul 2001. Transmission as Transformation: The Translation Movements in the Medieval East and West in a Comparative Perspective. Science in Context, vol. 14: pp. 1- 12. 22. Aghayani Chavoshi, Jafar & Bancel, Faza 2000. Omar Khayyam et lHydrostatique. Farhang. Quarterly Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (Tehran) vol. 12: : pp. 33-49. 23. Anawati, Georges C. 1977. Les divisions des sciences intellectuelles dAvicenne. Mlanges de lInstitut Dominicain dEtudes Orientales du Caire vol. 13: pp. 323-335. 24. Aristotle 1952. Mechanica. Greek text with English translation by E. S. Forster. In The Works of Aristotle, vol. 6: Opuscula. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 25. Bancel, Faza 2001. Les centres de gravit dAbu Sahl al-Quhi. Arabic Science and Philosophy vol. 11: pp. 45-78. 26. Bayhaqi, al- Ali ibn Zayd 1988. Tarikh hukama al-islam. Edited by M. Kurd Ali. Damascus: Matbuat mujamma allugha al-arabiyya. Reprint of the 1st edition (1946). 27. Berggren, Lennart J. 1983. The Correspondence of Abu Sahl al-Kuhi and Abu Ishaq al-Sabi. A Translation with Commentaries. Journal for the History of Arabic Science vol. 7: pp. 39-124. 28. Brown, Joseph Edward 1967. The "Scientia de Ponderibus" in the Later Middle Ages. Ph. D. Dissertation. Madison: The Wisconsin University Press. 29. Buchner, Franz 1922. Die Schrift Zber den Qarastn von Thabit b. Qurra. Sitzungsberichte der PhysikalischMedizinischen Soziett zu Erlangen: pp. 141-188. 30. Buckley, R. B. 1992. The Muhtasib. Arabica vol. 39: pp. 59-117. 31. Charette, Franois 2003. Mathematical Instrumentation in Fourteenth-Century Egypt and Syria. The Illustrated Treatise of Najm al-Din al-Misri. Leiden: Brill. 32. Clagett, Marshall 1959. The Science of Mechanics in the Middle Ages. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 33. Damerow, Peter, Renn, Jurgen, Rieger, Simone, and Weinig, Paul 2002. Mechanical Knowledge and Pompeian Balances. Homo Faber: Studies on Nature, Technology, and Science at the Time of Pompeii. Edited by Jurgen Renn and Giuseppe Castagnetti. Roma: LErma, pp. 93-108.
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34. Dozy, R. 1927. Supplment aux dictionnaires arabes. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2 vols. 35. Farabi, al-, Abu Nasr Muhammmad 1949. Ihsa al-ulum. Edited by Uthman Amin. Cairo: Dar al-fikr al-arabi, 2nd edition. 36. Ghazali, al-, al-Imam abu Hamid 1961. Maqasid al-falasifa. Edited by Sulayman Dunya. Misr [Cairo]: Dar al-maarif. 37. Gundissalinus, Dominicus 1903. De Divisione Philosophiae. Herausgeben und philosophiegeschichtlich untersucht... von Dr. Ludwig Baur. Beitrge zur Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittelalters, 4.2-3. Munster: Druck und Verlag der Aschendorffschen Buchhandlung. 38. [Gundissalinus, D.] Domingo Gundisalvo 1932. De Scientiis. Texto latino establecido por el P. Manuel Alonso Alonso. Madrid-Granada: Impressa y Editorial Maestre. 39. Hall, Robert A. 1981. Al-Khazini. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 16 vols. Edited by Charles Gillispie. New York: Scribners, vol. VII: pp. 335-351. 40. Hasan, al-, Ahmad Yusuf 1976. Taqi al-Din wa al-handasa al-mikanikiyya al-arabiyya. Maa Kitab al-turuq alsaniyya fi al-alat al-ruhaniyya min al-qarn as-sadis ashar. Aleppo: Institute for the History of Arabic Science. 41. 1979. Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari: Al-Jami bayna al-ilm wa al-amal al-nafi fi sinaiat al-hiyyal. Aleppo: Institute for the History of Arabic Science. 42. 1981. Banu Musa: Kitab al-hiyyal. Aleppo: Institute for the History of Arabic Science. 43. Heron von Alexandria 1976. Heronis Alexandrini Opera quae supersunt. 5 vols; vol. 2: Mechanica et catoprica. Edited by L. Nix and W. Schmidt. Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner. Reprint of the 1st edit. Leipzig: 1899-1914. 44. Hron dAlexandrie 1988. Les Mcaniques ou llvateur des corps lourds. Texte arabe de Qusta ibn Luqa tabli et traduit par B. Carra de Vaux, Introduction de D. R. Hill et commentaires par A. G. Drachmann. Paris: Les Belles Letters. 45. Heinen, Anton 1983. At the Roots of the Medieval Science of Weights: A Report on an Edition Project. The Journal of Sophia Asian Studies (Tokyo) vol. 1: pp. 44-55. 46. Hill, Donald R. 1974. The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices. An Annotated Translation of alJazaris Treatise. Dordrecht: Reidel. 47. 1979. The Book of Ingenious Devices. An Annotated Translation of the Treatise of Banu Musa. Dordrecht: Reidel. 48. Hugonnard-Roche, Henri 1984. La classification des sciences de Gundissalinus et linfluence dAvicenne. Etudes sur Avicenne. Diriges par J. Jolivet et R. Rashed. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, pp. 41-75. 49. Ibel, Thomas 1908. Die Wage im Altertum und Mittelalter. Erlangen: Junge (Erlangen Univ., Diss., 1906). 50. Ibn al-Akfani, Shams al-Din 1989. Kitab Irshad al-qasid ila asna al-maqasid. Edited by Junuarius Justus Withkam. Leiden: Ter Lugt Pers. 51. Ibn Sina, al-Shaykh al-Rais abi Ali 1331 H [1952]. Miyar al-uqul, tasnif Shaykh Rais abu Ali Sina. Persian text edited with introduction and notes by Jalal al-Din Humai. Tehran: Anjuman-i Asar-i Milli. 52. 1989. Tis Rasal fi l-hikma wa l-tabiiyyat. Cairo: Dar al-Bustani, 2nd edition. 53. Ibn al-Ukhuwwa, Muhammad 1938. The Maalim al-qurba fi ahkam al-hisba. Edited, with abstract of contents, glossary and indices by Reuben Levy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press/London: Luzac & Co. 54. Izzi Dien, Mawil 1997. The theory and the practice of market law in medieval Islam. A study of Kitab Nisab alIhtisab of Umar b. Muhammad al-Sunami (fl. 7th-8th/13th-14th century). Cambridge: E.J.W. Gibb Memorial Trust.
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55. Jackson, David E. P. 1970. The Arabic Version of the Mathematical Collection of Pappus Alexandrinus Book VIII. Ph. D. Dissertation. University of Cambridge. 56. Jaouiche, Khalil. 1976. Le Livre du qarastun de Thabit ibn Qurra. Etude sur lorigine de la notion de travail et du calcul du moment statique dune barre homogne. Leiden: Brill. 57. Jawbari, al-, Abd al-Rahman 1979-80. Le voile arrach. Lautre visage de lIslam. Traduction intgrale sur les manuscrits originaux par Ren Khawam 2 vols. Paris: Phbus. 58. Khazini, al-, Abd al-Rahman 1940 [1359 H]. Kitab mizan al-hikma. Hayderabad: Dairat al-maarif al-uthmaniyya. 59. King, David A. 1987. "The Astronomical Instruments of Ibn al-Sarraj: A Brief Survey." In D. A. King, Islamic Astronomical Instruments. London: Variorum, B IX. 60. Knorr, Wilbur R. 1982. Ancient Sources of the Medieval Tradition of Mechanics: Greek, Arabic and Latin Studies of the Balance. Firenze: Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza. 61. Khwarizmi, al-, Abu Abdallah b. Yusuf 1968. Liber Mafatih al-Ouloum. Edited by G. Van Vloten, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2nd edition. 62. Lamrabet, Driss 2002. Ibn Rashiq (XIIIme sicle) et la classification des sciences mathmatiques. In Science et pense scientifique en Occident musulman au moyen-ge. Rabat: Publications de la Facult des Lettres, pp. 43-56. 63. Lane, Edward W. 1984. Arabic-English Lexicon. 2 vols. Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society. 64. Moody, Ernst, and Clagett, Marshall 1952. The Medieval Science of Weights (Scientia de Ponderibus). Treatises ascribed to Euclid, Archimedes, Thabit ibn Qurra, Jordanus and Blasius of Parma. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. 65. Philon de Byzance 1902. Le livre des appareils pneumatiques et des machines hydrauliques. Paris: C. Klincksieck. 66. Rozhanskaya, Mariam M. 1996. Statics. In Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science. 3 vols. Edited by R. Rashed. London: Routledge, vol. III, pp. 614-642. 67. Sabah, al-, Hussah al-Salim (supervision) 1989. Al-Ulum inda al-Arab wa-al-Muslimin. Collection of Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyya. Kuwait: Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyya. 68. Saidan, Ahmad S. 1981. Al-Umawi. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 13/14, pp. 539-540. 69. Saliba, George 1985. "The Function of Mechanical Devices in Medieval Islamic Society." Science and Technology in Medieval Society. Edited by Pamela Long. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 441: pp. 141-151. 70. Sbath, Paul, 1938-1940. Supplement. Cairo.
Al-Fihris:
Catalogue
des
Manuscrits
Arabes.
parts
plus
71. Sezgin, Fuat 1974. Geschichte des Arabischen Schriftums. Vol. V: Mathematik. Leiden: E. J. Brill. 72. Shayzari, al-, Abd al-Rahman b. Nasr 1999. The Book of the Islamic Market Inspector: Nihayat al-rutba fi talab alhisba (The utmost authority in the pursuit of hisba). Translated with an introduction and notes by R. P. Buckley. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 73. Tahanawi, al-, Muhammad. [1862] 1988. Kashshaf istilahat al-funun. A Dictionary of the Technical Terms Used in the Sciences of the Musalmans. 2 vols. Edited by M. Wajih et al., Calcutta: W. N. Lees Press. Reprinted Osnabruck: Biblio Verlag. 74. Taylor, Jerome 1991. The Didascalicon of Hugh de saint Victor. A Medieval Guide to Arts. New York: Columbia University Press.
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75. Wiedemann, Eilhard. 1970. Aufstze zur Arabischen Wissenschaftsgeschichte. 2 vols. Hildesheim/New York: G. Olms. 76. Ziyyada, Niqula 1962. Al-Hisba wa-l-muhtasib fi l-islam. Beirut: al-Matbaa al-kathulikiyya. 77. Zotenberg H. 1879. Traduction arabe du Trait des corps flottants dArchimde. Journal asiatique vol. 7: pp. 509515.
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THE EMERGENCE OF THE PROTOTYPE OF THE MODERN HOSPITAL IN MEDIEVAL ISLAM
Prof. Dr. Aydin Sayili Prof. Dr. Mohamed El-Gomati Amar Nazir December 2006 624 FSTC Limited, 2006
FSTC Limited
The Emergence of the Prototype of the Modern Hospital in Medieval Islam December 2006
THE EMERGENCE OF THE PROTOTYPE OF THE MODERN HOSPITAL IN MEDIEVAL ISLAM *

Prof. Dr. Aydin Sayili**
This article was first published in the Turkish review Belleten 44 (174) (Ankara 1980), pp. 279-286). Piety and Philanthropy cannot very well be divorced in medieval Islam, but by observing the Muslim hospitals and other institutions of charity and social welfare it is seen quite clearly that the idea of public assistance had developed beyond what piety alone could have produced. A discriminating and comprehensive consideration of the necessity of public assistance and social welfare, beyond mere religiosity, may be said to have been responsible for the quality and quantity of the hospitals of Islam. Moreover, the humanitarian features of the Islamic medieval hospital must not be allowed to eclipse its high medical standing per se. The hospital was one of the most developed institutions of medieval Islam and one of the high-water marks of the Muslim civilisation. The hospitals of medieval Islam were hospitals in the modern sense of the word. In them the best available medical knowledge was put to practice. They were specialised institutions. Unlike the Byzantine hospitals, they did not have a mixed function of which the treatment of the sick was only one part. Of the pre-Islamic hospitals, the temples of healing, represented mainly by the Greek
asklepion, were places to which the idea of miraculous cure was far from being alien.
The psychological effect and the mystifying atmosphere of these temples must certainly have played a great part as far as the experience of the patients was concerned. Although psychological factors were not ignored or excluded from the Islamic medieval hospitals, the essential and epoch-making characteristic of these institutions was their insistence on high standards and their strict adherence to scientific medicine.
Figure 1. Mansur Qalawuns mosque from http://weekly.ahram.org.eg (The image was introduced by the editor).
The king of Egypt Mansur Qalawun (1279-1290), while still a prince, fell ill during an expedition which he was directing in Syria. He was so impressed by the Nuri Hospital of Damascus, founded in 1154 by the Nuruddin Mahmud Zangi ibn Aksungur, in which he was treated, that he made a vow to found a similar institution as soon as he ascended the throne.
This is the text, with a few additions in the footnotes, read at the International Congress of the History and Philosophy of Science held in Islamabad, Pakistan, 8 lo 13 December, 1979). ** (1913-1993), Professor of the History of Science, Ankara University.
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The Famous Mansuri Hospital of Cairo thus resulted from that enthusiasm borne out of close acquaintance with Damascus's Nuri Hospital.1 This shows that the larger hospitals of medieval Islam were fit to cater to people of highest social standing. As the hospital reached in Islam a high standard to which it had not attained before, it must have gone through a process of development within the World of Islam itself. The first and earliest six hospitals of Islam may be said to mark an initial process of speedy evolution spanning a period of less than two centuries during which, beginning apparently from a modest status, the Islamic hospital became a stronghold of scientific medicine and adapted itself to Muslim ideologies and economic requisites. It thus acquired a stabilised form, spread widely, and became an integral part of city life. The first hospital built in Islam was in Damascus. The founder was Walid ibn 'Abdulmalik (705-715 A. D.). Its date of construction was 86 A. H. (706-707 A. D.). This first Islamic hospital had been created for the purpose of curing the sick and giving care to those afflicted with chronic diseases, and for looking after lepers, the blind, and poor people. The lepers were isolated. All treatment and care was free of charge. There was more than one physician employed in this hospital.
Figure 2. The detail picture of Divrigi Hospitals gate from Ord. Prof. Suheyl Unsever Nakishanesi Yorumuyla Dvrigi Ulucami ve Sifahanesi Tas Bezemeleri, VIII The History of Turkish Medicine Congress, Sivas-Divrigi, 16-18 June 2004 (The image was introduced by the editor).
In pre-Islamic times there were several types of Byzantine institutions of charity. One of them, the nosocomium, came closest to being a hospital. In it care was given to the sick, the lepers, the invalid, and the poor. The Walid Hospital of Damascus is therefore seen to resemble the Byzantine nosocomia. But this first Islamic hospital too was perhaps more
Ahmad Issa Bey, Histoire des Bimaristans a l'Epoque Islamique, 1929, p. 137.
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specialised than the nosocomia. Its main point of resemblance with the nosocomium is the special interest it extended to the lepers and the invalid and destitute people, features which are not characteristic of the typical Islamic hospital as it emerged some time later. This first Islamic hospital may owe its existence mainly to impulse received from certain sayings of the Prophet also. For there are Traditions recommending the isolation of those who have contagious diseases in general and skin diseases of this kind in particular. Moreover, the fact that the Prophet frowned upon the treatment of the sick by unauthorised persons may account for the tendency which already seems to be discernible in this first Islamic hospital's staff with several physicians towards specialisation on the cure of the sick.2 We have no information concerning the physicians who worked in the Walid Hospital or guided its construction. Barmak, the head of the Buddhist temple Nawbihar of Balkh, had been called to Damascus in 705, however, to the court of 'Abdulmalik to cure Maslama, the son of that caliph. This means that there was great confidence in him as physician, and apparently his treatment of Maslama was successful, for Maslama was still alive in 720-721. As it shall be indicated below, Barmak's medical knowledge was that of India, and this is corroborated by the fact that either his son Khalid or his grandson Yahya was a patron of Indian medicine and founded a hospital whose headphysician was an Indian doctor. It is quite possible therefore that Barmak guided the foundation of the Walid Hospital. This is a reasonable conjecture. For there were hospitals in India, especially perhaps in its northern regions, which had spiritual ties with Buddhism, and in these too attention was given to the poor and the invalid, as well as to the sick pure and simple.
Figure 3. Gawhar Nasiba Sultan Hospital in Kayseri, Turkey from www.kayseri.gov.tr (The image was introduced by the editor).
The second Islamic hospital seems to have been one built in Cairo during Umayyad times. But we have no specific information concerning the nature and characteristic traits of this hospital. Its location, however, is given in some detail. The third Islamic hospital in the order of construction was the Barmakid Hospital of which the location is not specified. There should be little doubt, however, that this was a Baghdad hospital. There is only a short reference to it in Ibn alNadim's Fihrist, but we learn from it that Ibn Dahn (or Dahn) al-Hind was its head-physician, that he translated from Sanskrit certain books, and that Manka al-Hind too was probably associated with this institution. For Manka translated the
The following admonitions, e. g., are attributed to the Prophet: one who treats a sick person although previously not known to be a physician is liable to be called to account for his deed (man tatabbabe wa lam yuallim minhu tibbun qabla zlika fahuwa dhmin); and, One who practices as physician although not reputed to be one and brings death to a person or causes a lesser harm to him is liable to be called to account (man yatibbu walam yakun bit-tibbi marfan fa asba nafsan wa mdnah fahuwa dhmin).
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book of Shusruta into Arabic. We know therefore that this third hospital represented strong Indian influence and that it was sufficiently organised to have a head-physician. Very little is known concerning the fourth Islamic hospital, the Baghdad Hospital of Harun al-Rashid. The construction of this hospital was directed by Jibrl ibn Bukht-Yish' II, who served as its head-physician for some time. Yuhanna ibn Masawayh too worked in this hospital and was its head-physician for some time. As both these physicians were from Jundishapur, the Harun al-Rashid Hospital represents Jundishapur influence, and this means the predominance of Greek medicine. Indeed, Yuhanna ibn Masawayh made translations from Greek works, directed translation work by others, and was the master of such a famed translator as Hunayn ibn Ishaq. Jibrl ibn Bukht-Yish' also was active in promoting and guiding the translation activity of his time and obtaining Greek.
Figure 4. Bayazid II Kulliye, Edirne, Turkey from Islamic Science, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, 1976 (The image was introduced by the editor).
We do not know whether this hospital had separate wards and whether it represented different fields of specialisation or not. But we have strong reason to believe that, because it was run by Jundishapur men, it strongly supported and reinforced the tradition of making the hospitals institutions specialised in the treatment of the sick and strongholds of scientific medicine. The fifth hospital was built by Fath ibn Khqn, a general and minister of Mutawakkil. This hospital was in Cairo, and no specific information concerning it has come down to us with the exception of a detailed description of its location.
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The sixth Islamic hospital in date of construction and the third hospital to be built in Cairo was the Ahmad ibn Tln Hospital. This hospital is generally considered to be the first hospital to be built in Cairo.3 The existence of a small Islamic hospital in Cairo in the Umayyad times and referred to above is attested in one source to which A. Issa has drawn attention, however, and-the foundation of the Fath ibn Khqn Hospital in Cairo is reported by no less an authority than Maqrizi.4 The Ahmad ibn Tln Hospital was built in 872-874. It contained two bath houses, one for men and one for women. All treatment and medicine was free of charge. It had a rich library and a section for the insane. Patients entering this institution had to remove their street clothes and deposit them, as well as their valuables, with the hospital authorities for safe keeping. They were then given special clothes worn by the patients and were assigned to their beds. So far as is known, the Tlnid Hospital is the first Islamic hospital endowed with waqf revenues. The endowment of the hospital with waqf constituted a sign of a more complete integration with Muslim culture and civilisation, and it was also a guarantee of the hospital's longevity. We may conclude therefore that from the standpoint of financial administration the organisation of the hospital as a specialised institution was completed with the Cairo hospital of Ahmad ibn Tln. Indeed, the Tlnid Hospital was highly prized and it may be said that it was first surpassed by the 'Adudi Hospital of Baghdad founded in 980 A. D.
Figure 5. Ibn Tlns complex from www.thinkquest.org (The image was introduced by the editor).
Ahmad ibn Tln also established a dispensary next to his Tlnid Mosque which was built before the Hospital.5 This was a pharmacy where a physician was at hand every Friday. Apparently, the purpose for setting up this dispensary was primarily to extend medical help in a manner similar to an emergency station. India seems to be the only place rich with precedents for such kinds of medical posts. Such medical aid stations are said to have existed in each of the four gates of a certain Indian city, e.g. indeed, many of the simpler and more primitive hospitals claimed for India in pre-Islamic times were probably nothing more than such medical depots where physicians were also available.6 Fath ibn Khqn was a general and a generous patron of scholars. His rich library was a meeting place of scientists. Ahmad ibn Tln, the founder of the Tlnid dynasty, was the son-in-law of Fath ibn Khqn. He contributed much to the welfare and prosperity of Egypt. His initiation of the tradition of supplying hospitals with waqf revenues is of great significance. The other four earliest hospitals with waqf are, in the chronological order of their foundation, 1) the Hospital of Badr Ghulm (d. 902), an administrator and army commander of the caliph Mu'tadid (892-902), in Baghdad; 2) the Baghkam
3 4
Philip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, 1940, p. 365. Khilat, Bulaq 1854, vol. 2, p. 406. 5 Khilat, vol. 2, p. 405. 6 R. E. G. Muller, ber Krankenhuser aus Indies lteren, Archiv r Geschichte der Medizin, vol. 23, 1930, pp. 135-151.
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Hospital of Baghdad built by Amr Ab'l-Hasan Baghkam (or Yahkam) at-Turk (d. 940), commander of the caliph Muktaf (902-908); 3) the Ikhshidid Hospital of Cairo built by the Kfr al-Ikhshd in 957; and, 4) the hospital built by Mu'izzuddawla ibn Buwayh in Baghdad in or around the year 967 A. D.
Figure 6. The treatment of a patient by the surgeon miniature by Sharaf al-Din Sabuncuoglus book Jarrahiyat al-Haniyya (The image was introduced by the editor).
As we have seen, Ibn Tln's dispensary creates the impression that he was a transmitter of Indian influence in the domain of hospital building activity. Indian influence is clear and certain in the case of the Barmakid Hospital of Baghdad, and probably in that of the Walid Hospital, the carrier of this influence being the Barmakids. Now, contrary to the claim of some of our sources, it is firmly established that the Barmaks were Buddhist and not fire worshippers.7 This makes their connection with Indian medicine quite understandable. But we also have information of a specific nature on this particular point. The Barmak who was the head of the Buddhist temple of Balkh when Qutayba conquered that city and who was called to Damascus to cure Maslama is known to have been brought up in the monasteries of Kashmir in the tradition of Indian Buddhism, and it is likewise attested that he had studied there astronomy and medicine. The occasion for this education in
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Kashmir was that his father was killed by the king Nayzak because of his religious allegiance or preference, whereupon the son escaped to Kashmir. Barmak had cured one of Qutayba's commanders at the time of Qutayba's conquest of Balkh.8 Hence, apparently the fame Barmak must have enjoyed as a skilled physician. This lends further credence to the likelihood that Barmak had a hand in the foundation of the first Islamic hospital, and clarifies the circumstances surrounding the role of the Barmak family in the transmission of Indian influence in the domain of the hospital building activity of the Islamic realm. It also serves to throw light on a similar part played by Ahmad ibn Tln.
Bibliography
Ahmad Issa Bey, Histoire des Bimaristans a l'Epoque Islamique, 1929, p. 137. Philip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, 1940, p. 365. Khilat, Bulaq 1854, vol. 2, p. 406. Khilat, vol. 2, p. 405. R. E. G. Muller, ber Krankenhuser aus Indies lteren, Archiv r Geschichte der Medizin, vol. 23, 1930, pp. 135-151. Z. V. Togan, loc. cit. in N. Togan.
See; article "Barmika", Encyclopedia of Islam. As will be clear from this article, Barthold had, years ago, decided, that the genealogy of the Barmaka, tracing them back to the Sasanians, was probably false and the result of forgery. 8 See, Z. V. Togan, loc. cit. in N. Togan (note 7 above).
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Al-Khwarizmi, Abul-Hamid Ibn Turk and the Place of Central Asia in the History of Science and Culture
Prof. Dr. Aydin Sayili Prof. Dr. Mohamed El-Gomati Amar Nazir December 2006 623 FSTC Limited, 2006
FSTC Limited
Al-Khwarizmi, Abdul-Hamid Ibn Turk and the Place of Central Asia In the History of Science and Culture December 2006
AL-KHWARIZMI, ABDUL-HAMID IBN TURK AND THE PLACE OF CENTRAL ASIA IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND CULTURE
Prof. Dr. Aydin Sayili (1913-1993)
This article was first published in the Turkish review Erdem, VII, 19 (January 1991), pp. 1-100. We are grateful to Imran Baba, editor of Erdem for allowing publication. Abu Jacfar Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrazm is a truly outstanding personality and a foremost representative of the supremacy of the Islamic World during the Middle Ages in scientific and intellectual pursuits. Medieval Islam was largely responsible for the shaping of the canon of knowledge that dominated medieval European thought. This was the result of a noteworthy process of multidimensional and complex transmission of scientific knowledge enriched at most stages by new contributions and creative activity. Al-Khwrazm is a symbol of this historical process and a key figure at its early and formative stages which were realized in Islam as well as in its later phases in which the passage of systematic influence from Islam to Western Europe was involved. Indeed, Al-Khwrazm's fame and sphere of influence overstepped the boundaries of the World of Islam itself and extended into Western Europe upon the advent of the "Twelfth Century Renaissance. Though his activity ranged clearly over much wider spheres, his main title to fame rested upon his achievements in the fields of arithmetic and algebra, in both of which he had the reputation of being a trailblazer and an innovator. The European word algebra was derived from the name of his book entitled "An Abridged Treatise on the Jabr and Muqbala (Type of) Calculation" (Al-Kitb al-Mukhtasar f Hisb al-Jabr wa al-Muqbala), while the method of calculation with the so called Hindu-Arabic numerals, or number system, was called algorism or algorithm and its several other variants, derived from the name of Al-Khwrazm, in Western Europe, in the late Middle Ages, and this was the origin of the modern word algorithm, signifying the art of computing in a specific or particular manner or way. Sarton says, the history of science is not simply the history of great scientists. When one investigates carefully the genesis of any, one finds that it was gradually prepared by a number of smaller ones, and the deeper one's investigation, the more intermediary stages are found. ...1 These words are rather sharply reminiscent of the results of scholarly research on Al-Khwrazm as an innovator in the field of algebra and a trailblazer in his activity of transmitting and spreading the method of calculation with the Hindu-Arabic numerals. But Sarton's words quoted above should at the same time serve to make us feel sure that such elaborations and developments of our knowledge of the history of various subjects should be looked upon as entirely in keeping with the nature of things. Consequently, any observation of this kind in connection with Al-Khwrazm's work should not detract in any way from the greatness of Ai-Khwrazm as an outstanding scientist and teacher of worldwide scope. Al-Khwrazm's years of greatest productivity coincided with the reigns of the seventh Abbasid caliph AlMa'mun (813-833 A.D.) and his two successors Al-Mu'tasim and Al-Wathiq (842-847). He worked in the Bayt alHikma, or the House of Wisdom, which was founded by Al-Ma'mun's father Harun al-Rashid and the Barmaks,2 but developed especially during Al-Ma'mun's reign. This was a kind of academy and centre of systematic translation of scientific, philosophical, and medical works especially from Greek and Syriac into Arabic, and Al-Khwrazm was
1 2
George Sarton, the History of Science and New Humanism, Henry Holt and Company, New York 1931. pp. 35-36. See, Aydin Sayili, The Observatory in Islam, Turkish Historical Society publication, Ankara 1960, 1988, the Arno press publication, 1981, pp. 54-55.
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associated with it. He was apparently at the head of this institution, as it may be gathered from certain statements of Ibn al-Nadm and Ibn al Qift.3 According to Aristide Marre, Ibn al-dam wrote in his zj called Nazm al-cIqd that Al-Mamun, before his accession to the throne of the caliphate, had Al-Khwrazm prepare for him a compendium or abridged version of the book called Sindhind which had been brought to Baghdad by Manqa during the reign of Al-Mansr (754-775).4 This means that Al-Khwrazm was a scientist with an established fame already sometime before the year 813, in case Aristide Marre's assertion is well founded. Al-Khwrazm is also known to have been the author of a zj, i.e., a book containing astronomical tables and material of an auxiliary nature. We may assume that this was not the same as the one described as an "abridged version of the Sindhind." Only a version of Al-Khwrazm's zj as revised by Maslama al-Majrit (fl.ca. 1000) has come down to us. This book of Al-Khwrazm contains sine and tangent tables, but Maslama may have added the latter function.5 It is also known that Al-Khwrazm wrote not only one but two zjs, or that he brought out perhaps two editions of his zj.6 Ibn al-Nadm says that people had confidence in Al-Khwrazm's "two zjs, the first and the second, and used them, before the observation program and after."7 E.S. Kennedy assigns Al-Khwrazm's zj, i.e., the one of which the Latin translation of the Maslama al-Majrit version has come down to us, to the year 840 approximately, without explaining the justification for this dating.8 A justification for Kennedy's dating may possibly be sought in a statement of Ibn Yunus (d. 1009) reporting that Al-Khwrazm referred in the introduction, now lost, to his zj, to astronomical observations made in Baghdad during Al-Ma'mun's reign for the purpose of determining the obliquity of the ecliptic.9 Al-Khwrazm was, it seems, more or less involved in practically all of the scientific work carried out under Al-Ma'mun's patronage, and we know on the authority of Al-Beyrn (d. after 1050) that he was present at least at one solstice observation made in 828 A.D. in Al-Ma'mun's Shammasiyya Observatory of Baghdad.10 There are thus two references at least, one by Ibn Yunus and one by Ibn al-Nadm, to a zj by Al-Khwrazm which was written after a certain astronomical observation, or observations, carried out under Al-Ma'mun's patronage. The astronomical observations made in Baghdad during Al-Ma'mun's reign with the purpose of the determination of the obliquity of the ecliptic to which Ibn Yunus refers may possibly belong to a time prior to the foundation of the Shammasiyya Observatory. Ibn al-Nadm's reference to two zjs written respectively before and after the "observations, on the other hand, gives the impression that he is thinking of Al-Ma'mun's observatory building activity and his elaborately conceived and directed astronomical observations carried out in his two observatories, one of Baghdad and the other of Damascus.
3 4
See, Aydin Sayili, The Observatory in Islam, p. 55. See, Aristide Marre, Le Messahat de Mohammed ben Moussa al-Khwarazni, Traduit el Annote, 2 edition revue et corrigee sur le texte arabe, Rome 1866, p. 2; Abu'l-Qasim Qurbn, Riyaddnn-i Irn ez Khwrazm t Ibn-i Sina, Tehran 1350 HS., p. 3; Ahmad Saidan, Al-Fusl fi'l-Hisb al-Hind li Abil-Hasan ibn Ibrhim al-Uqldis, Urdun 1973. p. 8. 5 See, George Sarton, Introduction to (he History of Science, vol. 1, 1927, pp. 563-564. See also, J. Vernet, "Al-Khwrazm", Encyclopedia of Islam, new edition, vol. 4, 1978, pp. 1070-1072. 6 See, Qurbani, op. cil., pp. 3, 15; C.J. Toomer, "Al-Khwrazm", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 7, 1973, pp. 360-361. 7 Ibn al-Nadm, Kitb al-Fihrist, ed. Flgel, 1871, p. 274; Bayard Dodge, The Fihrist of Al-Nadm, Columbia University Press, vol. 2, 1970, p. 652. 8 E.S. Kennedy, "A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series, vol. 4.6, part 2, 1956, pp. 128, 148. 9 See, Toomer, op. cit., p. 361 and note 18. 10 See, Aydin Sayili, The Observatory in Islam, p, 56.
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In Al-Khwrazm's zj, which has come down to our time in the Latin translation of its Maslama version, methods of Indian astronomy are generally used, but Al-Khwrazm is seen to have also adopted in it some Persian and Ptolemaic procedures and parameters.11 The foundation of the Shammasiyya Observatory of Al-Ma'mun in Baghdad marks the beginning of the definitive predominance of Ptolemaic astronomy in Islam. Al-Mamuns astronomers until sometime before the foundation of the Shammasiyya Observatory used Indian astronomy. The earliest observation known to have been made from that observatory is in the year 828 A.D. (213 H.).12 This makes it quite likely therefore that the date 828 must have been some years later than the latest possible date for the composition of Al-Khwrazm's zj, i.e., for the composition of the earlier of the two zjs said to have been prepared by him. Kennedy writes: "Brn (in Rasa'il, I, pp. 128, 168) notes the existence of a book by Al-Farghn, a younger contemporary of Khwrazm, criticizing the latter's zj, and Brn himself demonstrates (in Rasa'il, I, p.131) an error in Al-Khwrazm's planetary equation theory. It is curious to note that in spite of the simultaneous existence of tables based on more refined theories, this zj was used in Spain three centuries after it had been written, and thence translated into Latin."13 But this may bespeak the respect inspired or the authority enjoyed by Al-Khwrazm's person, or a curiosity felt toward Indian astronomical methods, or it may perhaps represent an exceptional case of some kind. For, in the Baghdad intellectual circle of Al-Ma'mun's time the situation seems to point to the definitive establishment of the idea of the superiority of the Ptolemaic-Greek astronomy during the reign of Al-Ma'mun, or during the later parts of that period at any rate. Indeed, Habash al Hsib writes, in the Introduction to his "Damascene" zj, as follows: "And when he (Al-Ma'mun) found out that such was the situation, he ordered Yahy ibn Ab Mansr al-Hsib to conduct an investigation into the origins of the books on the science of the stellar bodies and to bring together the scholars well versed in that art and the philosophers of his time in order to have them cooperate in investigating the roots of that science and to attempt to make the necessary corrections. For Ptolemy of Pelusium had brought forth proof to the effect that the comprehension of what he had sought to ascertain concerning the science of the heavens was not impossible. "Yahy acted in accordance with the orders he had received from Al-Ma'mun concerning this undertaking and gathered together scholars proficient in the art of calculations on the stellar bodies, and philosophers considered as the foremost authorities of the time. Yahy and these co-workers launched an investigation into the roots of these books. They examined them carefully and compared their contents. The outcome of this investigation was that they did not find, among all these works, any that was more correct than the book entitled Almagest, of Ptolemy of Pelusium.... "They therefore accepted this book as a canon for themselves. They then resorted to the use of instruments with which astronomical observations are made, such as the armillary sphere and others, and in their astronomical observations they followed the methods and rules prescribed by Ptolemy and examined the trajectories of the sun and the moon on different occasions in Baghdad.
11
See, Kennedy, op. cit., pp. 148-151, 170-172; Ahmad Saidan, op. cit., p. 8; Abu'l-Qasim Qurbani, op. cit., p. 3; Toomer, op. cit., pp. 360-361, 364-365. See also, Tooraer, ibid., for further bibliography on the subject, and, Sukumar Ranjan Das, "Scope and Development of Indian Astronomy", Osiris, vol. 2, 1936, p. 205. D.A. King, "Al-Khwrazm and New Trends in Mathematical Astronomy in the Ninth Century", The Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near-Eastern Studies, Occasional Papers on the Near East, Number Two, New York University, 1981; and A.A. Ahmedov, J. Ad-Dabbagh, B.A. Rosenfeld, "Istanbul Manuscripts of Al-Khwrazm's Treatises", Erdem, vol. 3, number 7, 1987, pp. 163-211. 12 See, Aydin Sayili, The Observatory in Islam, pp. 79-80, 56-60. 13 Kennedy, op. cit., p. 128. According to M.S. Khan, Sa'id al-Andulus (born in 1029) in his Tabaqat al-Umam, criticized "AlMajrit for not correcting the errors while reconstructing the astronomical tables of Al-Khwrazm." See, M.S. Khan, "Tabaqt al-Umam: The First World History of Science", Islamic Studies, 30:4, 1991, p. 528. See also, ibid., s. 529.
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"Then, after the death of Yahy ibn Ab Mansr, Al-Ma'mun, may God be pleased with him, went to Damascus and addressed himself to Yahy ibn Aktam and Al-'Abbas ibn Sa'd al-Jawhari ... whereupon they chose for him Khalid ibn cAbd al-Mlik al-Marwrdh. Al-Ma'mun ordered him to make ready instruments of the greatest possible perfection and to observe the stellar bodies for a whole year at Dayr Murran...."14 Under these circumstances it seems quite clear that Al-Khwrazm's zj prepared for Al-Ma'mun and written, according to Ibn al-Nadm, after the rasad (observations at the Observatory) should not be the one somewhat revised by Maslama al-Majrit. This must have been a zj, such as that of Habash al-Hasib, based on the work and especially observations carried out in the Shammasiyya and Qasiyun Observatories. The zj of Al-Khwrazm, as revised by Maslama, which we possess in its Latin translation must therefore go back to the years before 828. Ibn al-Qift also states briefly that during Al-Ma'mun's reign Ptolemy came to the forefront as an authority and that this was followed by an activity based on observational work.15 The historian Tabar speaks of Al-Khwrazm, and on one occasion he reports that when the caliph Al-Wathiq was fatally ill he ordered astrologers to come to his bedside so that he would have them make a prognostication concerning his life span, shortly before his death, and Al-Khwrazm was among them. But the name Al-Khwrazm occurs in the form of Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrazm al-Majs al-Qutrubbull. Sanad ibn Al is also in the group. This was supposed to refer to Al-Khwrazm, and it was assumed that some kind of a mistake had somehow crept in. However, in case it is assumed that the person in question is Al-Khwrazm, one has to accept that he had the additional epithet al-QutrubbuI referring to a district not far from Baghdad. But such an epithet for him is not attested in any other source. He should also be assumed to have some connection with the Zoroastrian religion because of his epithet Al-Majs, and he is known to be a devout Muslim.16 Apparently this confusion is due merely to the dropping off of the conjunctive particle "and" (wa), as aptly pointed out by Roshdi Rashed. Al-Majs al-Qutrubbulli thus refers to another person who was present among the group assembled at the caliph's bedside. There may thus be missing another word such as Muhammad or Al, e.g., i.e., the given name of Al-Majs al-Qutrubbull.17 This means that Al-Khwrazm was still alive in 847 A.D., the date of Al-Wathiq's death. Indeed, we have another clue indicating that Al-Khwrazm was still alive at the beginning of that caliph's reign and that he was held in high esteem by that caliph. According to the testimony of the tenth century historian Al-Maqds (or Muqaddas), the caliph Wathiq sent Al-Khwrazm, early during his reign, to Tarkhan, king of the Khazars. There has been some hesitation as to whether the person in question here was Abu Jacfar Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrazm or Muhammad ibn Ms ibn Shkir. Dunlop at first tended to agree with Suter in deciding that the person visiting Tarkhan, the king of the Khazars, was probably Muhammad ibn Ms ibn Shkir.18 But later Dunlop is seen to have changed his opinion in the light of certain additional bits of information. He says, "If it is a fact that Al-Khwrazm visited Khazaria, very likely he did so for scientific purposes." But there is really no good reason for casting this sentence into the conditional form. For Al-Maqdis openly states this as a fact and he gives the name of the person sent to Tarkhan as Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrazm "the munajjim, so that there is no reason at all to think that the person may have been one of the Ban Ms Brothers. Furthermore,
14 Aydin Sayili, "The Introductory Section of Habash's Astronomical Tables Known as the 'Damascene' zj", Ankara Universitesi Dtl ve Tarih-Cografya Fakltesi Dergisi, vol. 13, 1955, pp. 142-143. 15 See, Ibn al-Qift, Ta'rikh al-Hukam, ed. Lippert, Berlin 1903, p. 271. 16 See, Toomer, op. cit., p. 358. 17 See, Roshdi Rashed, Entre Mathematique et Algebre Recherches sur I'Histoire des Mathematiques Arabes, Les Belles Lettres, Paris 1984, p. 17, note 1. See also, Aydin Sayili, The Observatory in Islam, p. 33. 18 D. M. Dunlop, "Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrazm, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1943, pp. 248-250.
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the text has been subjected to no amendation at this point and the editor does not give any relevant variants in the footnotes.19 There is no compelling reason either to uphold the supposition that the visit was of a scientific nature. It is said by Maqdis that the caliph saw in his dream that the Wall of Gog and Magog built by Alexander had been breached and thereupon-sent Sallm on a journey with the specific purpose of ascertaining the actual situation. It is on this occasion that Al-Maqds mentions Al-Khwrazm's visit to the Khazar king which took place somewhat earlier. The visit may have been of a political nature with a religious or commercial background. Although the Jewish religion was accorded an official status, among the Khazars, the Muslim religion too was extensively practiced in the Khazar state,20 and the Muslim-Khazar trade relations too were of considerable dimensions.21 What can be said with greater certainty is that Al-Khwrazm's visit to the Khazar King has the earmarks of an official visit. Sallam, who some time later was commissioned with a similar visit, was an interpreter in the court of Al-Wathiq and dealt especially with the caliph's Turkish correspondence.22 It may be conjectured, therefore, that the reason why Al-Khwrazm was commissioned with the visit was partly the circumstance that he knew Turkish, the language of the Khazars. Indeed, this would not be surprising at all for a person like Al-Khwrazm simply in view of his being a native of Khwarazm. Beyrn too, e.g., who was a native of Khwarazm, knew Turkish in his childhood, while, as a child, both the Arabic and the Persian languages were alien to him.23 The title Al-Khwrazm should in these early centuries of Islam, refer to the old city of Khwarazm situated on the mouth of the Oxus River, on Lake Aral.24 This was just on the border of the land extending between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Lake, a land which the Arab armies bypassed in their conquest of Persia, Khurasan, and Transoxania. It was inhabited by Turks who gradually accepted the Muslim religion by their own free will and who also infiltrated into Khwarazm.25 It is of interest that Khazar hegemony and political boundary extended at times beyond the Caspian Sea up to the coast of the Aral Lake, i.e., to the vicinity, or the very boundary, of Khwarazm.26 The caliph Al-Wathiq sent Al-Khwarazm to the Byzantine Empire also, charging him with the task of investigating the tomb of the Seven Sleepers at Ephesus. Toomer is of the belief that the person charged with this function was not Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrazm, but was Muhammad ibn Ms ibn Shkir,27 i.e., the oldest one among the three Ban Ms Brothers who received their scientific training in the Bayt al-Hikma under AlMa'mun's patronage.28 But apparently the reason why Toomer tends to believe that it was Muhammad ibn Ms
19 Al-Maqdis, Ahsanu 't-Taqasim f Marifati'l-Aqlm, ed. MJ. de Goeje, E.J. Brill, Leiden 1906, p. 362; D.M. Dunlop, The History of the Jewish Khazars, Princeton University Press, 1954, p. 190. 20 See, Dunlop, op. cit, pp. 222 ff. 21 A.N. Poliak, "The Jewish Khazar Kingdom in the Medieval Geographical Science", Actes du VII' Congres International d'Histoire des Sciences, Jerusalem 1953, pp. 488-492. 22 See, Poliak, op. cit., p. 489; Dunlop, p. 191. 23 See, Max Meyerhof, "Das Vorwort zur Drogenkunde des Brn", Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Medizin, Berlin 1932, vol. 3, Heft 3, pp. 12, 39-40; Brn, Kitabu's-Saydana, ed. Hakim Mohammed Said, Karachi 1973, p. 12; Al-Brn's Book on Pharmacy and Materia Medica, tr. Hakim Mohammed Said, Karachi 1973, p-8; Zeki Velidi Togan, "Brn", Islam Ansiklopedisi, vol. 2, 1949, pp. 635-636; Zeki Velidi Togan, Umumi Turk Tarihine Giris, Istanbul 1946, pp. 420-421; Aydin Sayili, "Brn", Belleten (Turkish Historical Society), vol. 13, 1948, pp. 56-57. 24 See, F.A. Shams, "Abu al-Rayhn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Bayrn", Al-Brn Commemorative Volume: Proceedings of the International Congress Held in Pakistan, November 26 Through December 12, 1973, Karachi 1979, pp. 260-288. 25 See, W. Barthold, Turkestan v Epokhu Mongol'skago Nashestviia, St. Petersburg 1898, 1, texts, p. 99; R.N. Frye and Aydin Sayili, "Turks in the Middle East Before the Seljuqs", Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 63, 1943, p. 199 and note 56; R.N. Frye and Aydin Sayili, "Selcuklulardan Evvel Orta Sarkta Turkler", Belleten, (Turkish Historical Society), vol. 13, 1948, p. 55 and note 3. R.N. Frye and Aydin Sayili, "Turks in Khurasan and Transoxania Before the Seljuqs", Muslim World, vol. 35, 1945, pp. 308315. 26 See, Dunlop, op. cit., pp. 150, 160. 27 See, GJ. Toomer, "Al-Khwarasmi, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ms", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 7, 1973, p. 358. See also, C. A. Nallino, "Al-Khwrazm e il suo Rifacimento della Geografia di Tolomeo", Raccolta di Scritti Editi e imediti, vol. 5, Rome 1944, pp. 463-465 (458, 532). 28 See, Aydin Sayili, The Observatory in Islam, pp. 92-93.
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ibn Shkir who was sent to Byzantium is that he thinks it was likewise Muhammad ibn Ms ibn Shkir who was sent by Al-Wathiq to the Khazar king. We can thus conclude with some certainty that Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrazm survived the caliph Al-Wathiq who died in the year 847. No information has come down to us concerning the year of AlKhwrazm's birth. It would seem reasonable to conjecture that Al-Khwrazm had a hand in the geodetic measurements carried out during Al-Ma'mun's reign in order to measure the length of a terrestrial degree and also the distance between Baghdad and Mecca. For this undertaking was organized by the Bayt al-Hikma where Al-Khwrazm was active as a key figure, although there is no justification for a conjecture that he actually took part in any of these expeditions. The primary objective of these expeditions was to ascertain for the translation of Ptolemy's Almagest carried out at the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma) the value of one stadium, the unit length used by Ptolemy, in terms of the units known and used in Islam at that time.29
Figure 1. The drawing of Khwrizm on a stamp. The stamp reads: Post USSR 1983, 1200 Years, Mukhammad alKorezmi (The image was introduced by the editor).
In his Algebra Al-Khwrazm uses the arithmetical rule of "false position" and "double false position" combined with the "rule of three" generally for solving equations of the first degree, i.e., for solving algebraically problems without algebra. As to his solutions of quadratic equations, he employs for this purpose simple geometric constructions consisting of squares and rectangles, reminiscent of analytical methods of completing or transforming into squares, or into exact squares. This is indeed equivalent, in a way, to the analytic solution of the equation practiced in our own day. This geometric way of solution of the quadratic equation is also somewhat similar to the Pythagorean geometry incorporated by Euclid into Book 2 of his Elements. In fact, it would seem that this secures a solid foundation for the solution of the algebraic problems expressed in the form of quadratic equations. In other words, it serves to prop these solutions with the rigor of geometrical knowledge, i.e., it sets this algebra free from
29
Aydin Sayili, the Observatory in Islam, pp. 85-87.
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the thorny question of avoiding irrational roots, a circumstance which seems quite instructive since it brings to mind the Pythagorean shift from emphasis on pure number to the expedient alternative of the geometric representation of number. Recourse to geometric representation also opens the door for finding two roots for a quadratic equation provided both roots are positive. Several writers have pointed to ties between Al-Khwrazm's geometrical solutions and certain theorems of Book 2 of Euclid's Elements.30 This tradition goes back to Zeuten in the nineteenth century.31 Gandz, however, is not of this opinion. On the contrary, as we shall see in somewhat greater detail below, Gandz believes that AlKhwrazm's method of geometrical demonstration shows that Al-Khwrazm remained outside the sphere of Greek influence.32 Al-Khwrazm does not seem to have written a separate work on geometry proper. The translation into Arabic of Euclid's geometry in Islam goes back to the time of Al-Mansr (754-775 A.D.). Al-Khwrazm speaks of rational numbers as "audible" and of surd numbers as "inaudible and it is the latter that gave rise to the word surd (deaf-mute). The first European use of the word seems to begin with Gerard of Cremona (ca. 1150). It corresponds to the term irrational or incommensurable.33 We may dwell here briefly on the words Jabr and muqabala occurring in the name of Al-Khwrazm's book. Reviewing a book of Julius Ruska, Karpinski writes, "So far as the title (hisb al-gabr wal-muqabalah) is concerned, Ruska shows that Rosen is extremely careless and unscientific in his English translation of the two terms involving the idea of restoration or completion (algabr) and reduction or comparison (almuqabalah). "Both terms are carefully explained by Al-Khwrazm in connection with algebraic problems. When the Arab arrives at the equation 10x-x 2 =21, he conceives of 10x as being incomplete by the amount x2 which he "completes" with x3, arriving at 10x=21 + x2; the word used for "completes" is a verb formed from the same stem as gabr (algabr). When the Arab arrives at an equation 50 + x 2 = 29 + 10x, he "reduces" by casting out 29 from 50, arriving at 21 + x 2= 10x; the verb used for "reduces" here is from the same stem as mukabalah."34 Roshdi Rashed translates the terms jabr and muqabala as transposition and reduction.35 George A. Saliba speaks of the two meanings of the word jabara, one being "to reduce a fracture, and the other "to force, to compel." He then writes: "We believe ... that the root jabara was employed by the medieval algebraists in its second sense, "to compel. In this, we follow one of these same algebraists, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Husein al-Karaji, quoted below, and a contemporary historian of science....
See, e.g., Salih Zeki, Athr-i Bgiya, vol. 2, 1913, pp. 13-14; Julius Ruska, "Review on Karpinski's English Version of Robert of Chester's Translation of the Algebra of Al-Khwrazm", Isis, vol. 4, 1921, p. 504; Solomon Gandz, "Isoperimetric Problems and the Origin of the Quadratic Equations", Isis, vol. 32, 1940, p. 114. Hamit Dilgan, Mukammed ibn Ms el-Harezm, Istanbul 1957, p. 5; Martin Levey, "Some Notes on the Algebra of Abu Kmil Shuja'", L'Enseignement Matkematique, series 2, vol. 4, fascicle 2, April-June 1958, pp- 77-92; A. Sayili, Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations by Abd al-Hamd ibn Turk and the Algebra of his Time, Ankara 1962, pp. 68-71, 133-138; GJ. Toomer, "Al-Khwrazm", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 7, 1973, p. 360. 31 See, A. Seidenberg, "The Origin of Mathematics", Archive for History of Exact Sciences, vol. 18, number 4, 1978, pp. 307-308. 32 Solomon Gandz, "The Sources of Al-Khwrazm's Algebra", Osiris, vol. I, 1936, pp. 263-277; Gandz, "The Origin and Development of the Quadratic Equations in Babylonian, Greek, and Early Arabic Algebra", Osiris, vol. 3, 1938, pp. 405-557. See below, p. 34 and note 95. 33 See, D.E. Smith, History of Mathematics, vol. 2, p. 252. 34 Review by Louis C. Karpinski of Julius Ruska, "Zur ltesten Arabischen Algebra und Rechenkunst" (Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosopkischhistorische Klasse, vol. 8, pp. 1-125, 1917), in: Isis, vol. 4, 1921 (pp. 67-70), p. 68. 35 Roshdi Rashed, "L'Idee de 1'Algebre Selon Al-Khwrazm", Fundamenut Scientiae, vol. 4., number 1, p. 95.
30
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"The science of Algebra differs from Arithmetic ... in that in the first one assumes a set of relations involving the unknown. Certain mathematical operations are then performed until there emerges a value that satisfies the conditions of the problem. This process can be looked upon as forcing out the value of the unknown. And whatever process, or operation, pushes the unknown closer to the domain of the known can be called jabr. This is the essence of al-Karaji's definition of jabr. On the other hand, in solving an algebraic problem, more often than not, more than one value for the required unknown is obtained. It is only by checking these values against the conditions of the problem that the appropriate one can be chosen. This process of checking is the one intended by the word muqabalah (lit. comparing, posing opposite). This meaning of muqabalah is that intended by al-Samaw'al (d. ca. 1175 A.D.) in his discussion of "Analysis" quoted below."36 Earlier writers, as e.g., Julius Ruska, Solomon Gandz, Aldo Mieli and Carl B. Boyer37 have also dwelt at some length on the meaning and usage of the terms al-jabr and al-muqabala. Luckey points out that Thabit ibn Qurra does not use the term al-jabr in the sense of "restoration" or "completion, i.e., the operation of getting rid of a negative term. He rather uses the term al-jabr, without adding to it the word al-muqabala, simply in the sense of the branch of mathematics designated now by the word algebra.38 There are other examples of such usages of the term algebra. But Thabit ibn Qurra (ca. 834-901) does so consistently and is a quite early-example of such usage. It is therefore of special interest. Indeed, it may possibly reveal or constitute, in a way, an earlier tradition going back to the Mesopotamian use of the word. Gandz says: "There are still remnants in the mathematical literature suggesting that in olden times the term aljabr alone was used for the science of equations, and the term al-jabriyyn was taken for the masters of algebra. On the other hand, the term at-muqabalah alone, according to its real meaning of "putting face
to face, confronting, equation, seems to be the most appropriate name for equations in general. With these difficulties in mind, the writer undertook to search out the real meaning of jabara in the related Semitic languages. Now the Assyrian name gabru-mahdru means to be equal, to correspond, to confront, or to put two things face to face, see Delitzsch, Asyyrisches Handworterbuch, under gabru and mahdru, pp. 193, 401, and Muss-Arnolt, Assyrian Dictionary, under gabru and maxaru, pp. 210, 525. From the first of these we have the etymology of the Hebrew geber and gibbor. Geber is the mature man leaving the state of boyhood and being equal in rank and value to the other men of the assembly or army. Gibbor is the hero who is strong enough to fight and overcome his equals and rivals in the hostile army. Gabara = jabara, in its original Assyrian meaning, is, therefore, the corresponding name for the Arabic qabala (verbal noun muqabalah), and an appropriate name for equations in general."39 According to J. Hyrup, however, the origin of the word algebra goes back to the Sumerians.40
George A. Saliba, "The Meaning of al-jabr wa'1-muqabalah", Centaurus, vol.17, pp, 189-190. Julius Ruska, "Zur Altesten Arabischen Algebra und Rechenkunst", Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Hislorische Klasse, vol. 8, Jahnjng 1917, pp. (1-125) 7-14; Solomon Gandz, "The Origin of the Term 'Algebra'", American Scientific Monthly, vol. 33, 1926, pp. 437-440; Aldo Mieli, La Science Arabs, EJ. Brill, Leiden 1939 (1966), pp. 83-84; Carl B. Boyer, A History of Mathematics, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1968, pp. 252-253. 38 P. Luckey, "Thabit b. Qurra uber den Geometrischen Richtigkeits Nachweis der Auflosung der Quadratischen Gleichungen", Sachsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschafliche Klasse, Bericht 93, Sitzung von 7 Juli 1941, pp. (93-114), 95-96. 39 S. Gandz, "The Origin of the Term 'Algebra'", American Scientific Monthly, vol. 33, 1926, p. 439. 40 See, J. Hyrup, "Al-Khwarazm, Ibn Turk, and the Liber Mensurationum: On the Origins of Islamic Algebra", Erdem, vol. 2, no 5, 1986, p. 476; Melek Dosay, Kereci'nin Ilel Hesab el-Cebr ve'l-Mukabele Adli Eseri, Ankara 1991, p. 10.
37
36
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We are interested here mainly in Al-Khwrazm's work in the Held of algebra. Now algebra which, in its essence and early history, is the art of making the solutions of arithmetical problems less cumbersome than they would ordinarily be in arithmetic proper, was in a sense a new field, although it went back to ancient Mesopotamia, on the one hand, and to Diophantos, on the other. In the form it made its appearance in Islam and as it is represented in Al-Khwrazm it was closely associated with arithmetic, but some of its essential features, i.e., in the solutions it provided for quadratic equations, it was clearly geometrical. Moreover, as far as the question of its predecessors in Greek mathematics is concerned, its direct or indirect ties with Diophantos' arithmetic and algebra and with Euclid's geometry should certainly be made subject of weighty consideration.41 It is generally admitted that Al-Khwrazm's book on algebra represents the first systematic treatment of the general subject of algebra as distinct from the theory of numbers. This does not mean the first appearance of algebra. For this goes clearly back to the early centuries of the second millennium B. C. in Mesopotamia. This is amply testified by the researches of such scholars as F. Thureau-Dangin, O. Neugebauer, Solomon Gandz, E. M. Bruins, and B. L. van der Waerden.42 That the idea that algebra as an independent discipline and as distinct from Arithmetic or the theory of numbers first appeared all of a sudden in Islam, and with Al-Khwrazm, is a thesis that used to be considered more or less reasonable during the last century, in the absence of a knowledge of Babylonian algebra and in spite of the existence of a considerable amount of knowledge concerning Diophantos. It was especially as a result of the discovery of Mesopotamian algebra that this image has largely disappeared. Notwithstanding the Babylonian and Diophantine achievements in algebra, Professor Roshdi Rashed is recently reviving the thesis that Al-Khwrazms share of original contribution to the discipline is quite substantial.43 Florian Cajori, writing shortly before concentrated work on Mesopotamian Algebra had started to give its substantial fruits, said concerning Al-Khwrazm's algebra, "The work on algebra, like the arithmetic, by the same author, contains little that is original. It explains elementary operations and the solutions of linear and quadratic equations. From whom did the author borrow his knowledge of algebra? That it came entirely from Indian sources is impossible, for the Hindus had no rules like the "restoration" (jabr) and "reduction" (muqabala). They were for instance never in the habit of making all terms positive, as is done by the process of "restoration. Diophantos gives two rules which resemble somewhat those of our Arabic author, but the probability that the Arab got all his algebra from Diophantos is lessened by the consideration that he recognized both roots of a quadratic, while Diophantos noticed only one; and the Greek algebraist, unlike the Arab, habitually rejected irrational solutions. It would seem, therefore, that the algebra of Al-Khwrazm was neither purely Indian nor purely Greek."44 As is seen, there is no mention of Babylonian algebra in this text. The perspective was to extensively change as a result of the copious light shed upon the subject by the content of relevant cuneiform tablets. Algebra can be distinguished in its earlier phase as a study of equations and methods of solving them from modern abstract algebra which is enormously more complex and many-sided. Now, was this earlier phase of algebra as a continued tradition before its transition, in an uninterrupted historical process, into modern algebra, created first in Islam, or did the World of Islam inherit it almost ready made from the past? Moreover, in either case, as Arabic was the language of science in Islam, the first appearance of the subject in Islam had to be in Arabic, regardless of whether it was a brand-new achievement or taken over from a past tradition.
See, Roshdi Rashed, Entre Arithmetique el Algebre, Reckerckes sur I'Histoire des Mathe'matiques Arabes, Paris 1984, p. 9. See, Aydin Sayili, Misirlilarda ve Mezopotamyalilarda Matematik, Astronomi ve Tip, Ankara 1966, pp. 246-247; B.L. van der Waerden, "Mathematics and Astronomy in Mesopotamia", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 15, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981, pp. 667, 668-670. 43 Roshdi Rashed, Entre Arithmetique et Algebre, p. 9. Jens Hyrup has recently published a critical appraisal of this question where he also gives a survey of the trends with regard to the question of historical continuity in this matter, i.e., in the history of algebra starting with its most ancient and formative phases in Mesopotamia. See, Jens Hyrup, Changing Trends in the Historiography of Mesopotamian Mathematics -An Insiders View-, Preprints og Reprints, 1991, Roskilde University Center, Denmark. 44 F. Cajori, A History of Mathematics, The Mac Millan Company, 1931, p. 103.
42
41
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Another question is this: Who wrote the first book in algebra in Arabic? The question seems to have been to some extent controversial, and a short reference to it has come down to us in the words of Hjj Khalfa. The source statement reproduced in Hajji Khalifa's text is that of Abu Kmil Shujc ibn Aslam. According to him, the mathematician Abu Barza claimed that his ancestor, i.e., possibly his grandfather or great grandfather, had priority over Al-Khwrazm in writing a book in algebra and drawing attention to this discipline in the newly emerging intellectual world of Islam. Abu Kmil flatly rejected this claim, and he also gave vent to his scepticism concerning Abu Barza's assertion that cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk was an ancestor of his. This latter assertion of Ab Barza is confirmed, however, by both Ibn al-Nadm and Ibn al-Qift, and Abu Barza too had the surname Ibn Turk in common with cAbd alHamd ibn Wasic ibn Turk. The phraseology of the report concerning this controversy creates the impression that Abu Barza ibn Turk's life span was perhaps somewhat before that of Abu Kmil. Indeed, Abu Barza died in 910 A.D., according to Ibn alQift,45 while Abu Kmil seems to have outlived Abu Barza by about two decades. For Roshdi Rashed gives the life span of Abu Kmil as from 850 to 930 A.D.46 Adel Anbouba47 gives Abu Kmil's year of death as approximately 900 A.D., however. It may be noted in this connection that Ibn al-Nadm mentions the name of Abu Barza before that of Abu Kmil in his synoptic account of calculators and arithmeticians of the Islamic World.48 Only a fragment of several pages of cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk's book on algebra entitled Kitb al-Jabr wa'1Muqabala has come down to our day. Salih Zeki speaks of this treatise, as referred to by Hajji Khalifa,49 and Carl Brockelmann, and Max Krause also refer to it.50 Ibn al-Nadm says concerning cAbd al-Hamd: "He is Abu'1-Fadl cAbd al-Hamd ibn Ws ibn Turk al-Khuttali (or, al-Jili), the calculator, and it is said that he is surnamed Abu Muhammad, and of his books are The Comprehensive Book in Arithmetic which contains six books (chapters?) and The Book of Commercial Transactions. "51 Ibn al-Nadm is seen not to speak of a book by cAbd al-Hamd on algebra. But he does the same thing in speaking of Al-Khwrazm, although he refers three times, elsewhere in his book, to commentaries written on AlKhwrazm's Algebra. We know, on the other hand that cAbd al-Hamd too was the author of a book on algebra, on the basis of a reference to such a name (Kitab al-Jabr wa'1-Muqabala) in the extant manuscript of a fragment of this book.52 Ibn al-Qift, on the other hand, has the following to say about cAbd al-Hamd: "He is a calculator learned in the art of calculation (hisb) having antecedence in the field, and he is mentioned by the people of that profession. He is known as Ibn Turk al-Jl, and he is surnamed as Abu Muhammad. In the field of Arithmetic, he has well-known and much used publications. Among them is The Comprehensive Book in Arithmetic, which comprises six books, and The Book of Little-Known Things in Arithmetic, and the Qualities of Numbers.53 The fragment, or tract, of the book on algebra of cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk that has come down to us apparently made up one whole chapter. For it bears the specific and distinct title "Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations" and
45 46
Ibn al-Qift, Kitb Ta'rikh al-Hukama, ed. Lippert, Berlin 1903, p. 230. See, Roshdi Rashed, Entre Aritkmetiqtte et Algebre, p. 44. 47 Adel Anbouba, "Al-Karaji", Etudes Litteraires, University of Lubnan, 1959, p. 73. 48 Ibn al-Nadm, Kitb al-Fihrish, ed. Flgel, vol. 1, p. 281. 49 Salih Zeki, Athr-i Bqiye, vol. 2, Istanbul 1913, p. 246. 50 Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur, Supplement vol. 1, p. 383; Max Krause, "Istanbuler Handschriften Islamischer Mathematiker", Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte der Mathematik Astronomic und Physik, Abteilung B.Studien, vol. 3, 1936, p. 448. See also, Aydin Sayili, Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations by 'Abd al-Hamd ibn Turk and the Algebra of his Time, Ankara 1962, pp. 79-80. 51 Ibn al-Nadm, Kitb al-Fihrist, ed. Flgel, vol. 1, 1871, p. 273. See also, Bayard Dodge (editor and translator), The Fihrist of Al-Nadm, Columbia University Press, vol. 2, 1970, p. 664. 52 See, Aydin Sayili, Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations..., pp. 145, 162. 53 Ibn al-Qift, ed. Lippert, Berlin 1903, p. 230. See also, Aydin Sayili, Logical Necessities in Mixed..., pp. 88-89.
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deals in particular with the solution of second-degree equations, having terms in x2 and x, and a term consisting of a constant. It is clear in the light of the text fragment that has survived that Abu Kmil is not altogether objective and impartial in his appraisal of Abu Barza and cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk. Indeed, this chapter of cAbd al-Hamds book that has come down to us may with good reason be claimed to be a bit superior to the corresponding or parallel section in Al-Khwrazm's text. This is apparently the reason why Roshdi Rashed refers to it as an attempt to continue Al-Khwrazm's work by dwelling upon its theory of equations and the question of the demonstration of its solutions. Roshdi Rashed believes, moreover, that Al-Khwrazm was in a way the founding father of algebra and that the priority in this respect belonged definitively to Al-Khwrazm and not to cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk. Roshdi Rashed backs up this conviction of his with statements of Sinan ibn alFath, Al-Hasan ibn Yusuf and Ibn Mlik al-Dimishq, who simply and clearly state that Al-Khwrazm was the first person to write a book on algebra in Islam.54 Jens Hyrup, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the appearance of the Khwrazmian algebra was the result of a long and slow pre-Islamic process of development, and he also tentatively points to a clue indicating that perhaps Ibn Turk represents a slightly earlier phase in this process, as compared with Al-Khwrazm.55 Kurt Vogel simply sides in favour of the priority of cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk. He apparently believes that the evidence at our disposal is sufficient for such a decision.56 Boyer says, "In one respect cAbd al-Hamd's exposition is more thorough than that of Al-Khwrazm, for he gives geometrical figures to prove that if the discriminent is negative, a quadratic equation has no solution. Similarities in the works of the two men and the systematic organization found in them seem to indicate that algebra in their day was not so recent a development as has usually been assumed."57 Youschkevitch too says that the theory of the equations of the second degree in Ibn Turk is the same as that of Al-Khwrazm but that the subject is taken up in considerably greater detail by Ibn Turk.58 Sanad ibn cAli too is mentioned by Ibn al-Nadm as the author of a book entitled Kitb al-Jabr wa'lMuqabala.59 Sanad ibn cAli was a close contemporary of Al-Khwrazm. He too would seem to have been of quite mature age during the reign of Al-Ma'mun. And there were others who were nearly contemporary with, though of a bit later date than, Al-Khwrazm and who wrote books on algebra, so that Boyer's remark would seem to be corroborated by this circumstance too. It is true that as his Algebra is not mentioned among Al-Khwrazm's books in the section dealing with AlKhwrazm in the Kitb al-Fihrist, Suter has expressed doubt in the veracity of the assertion that Sanad ibn cAli wrote a book on algebra, thinking that in this way it may be possible to ascribe this book on algebra to AlKhwrazm.60 But it is difficult to deny the authorship of Sanad ibn Alt for such a book on the basis of hypothetical conjectures. It is more reasonable to assume that a source book like the Fihrist should fail to mention a certain book as it does for Al-Khwrazm's algebra than to imagine its inclusion of a non-existing item.
Roshdi Rashed, "La Notion de Science Occidentale", Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Congress of the History of Science, Edinburgh, 10-19 August 1977, pp. 48-49; Roshdi Rashed, "L'idee de I'Algebre Selon Al-Khwrazm", Fundamenta Scientiae, vol. 4, no. 1, 1983, p. 88; Roshdi Rashed, Entre Aritkmetique el Algebre, 1984, p. 27. 55 Jens Hyrup, "Al-Khwrazm, Ibn Turk, and the Liber Mensurationum: On the Origin of Islamic Algebra", Erdem, vol. 2, pp. 473-475. See also, below, p. 26 and note 76. 56 Kurt Vogel, "Die Ubernahme das Algebra durch das Abendland", Folkerts Lindgren, Hg., Matkemata, Festschrift fur Helmuth Gericke (Reihe "Boethius", Bd. 12), Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, Gmb H, Stuttgart 1984, p. 199. 57 Carl B. Boyer, a History of Mathematics, John Wiley and Sons, 1968, p. 258. 58 Adolph P. Youschkevitch, Les Mathematiques Arabes, tr. M. Cazenave, and K. Jaouiche, Vrin, Paris 1976, p. 44. 59 Ibn al-Nadm, Kitb al-Fihrist, ed. Gustav Flugel, vol. 1, Leipzig 1871, p. 275. 60 See, Qurbani, op. cit., p. 7.
54
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At any rate, we know that Ibn al-Nadm knew of the existence of Al-Khwrazm's Algebra, for he refers to commentaries written on it on at least three occasions.61 A.S. Saidan says concerning the Kitb al-Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadm that it has been unjust to Al-Khwrazm and he continues with the following remarks: "It attributes a few works to him, but no algebra and no arithmetic. Yet in other places, it refers to the Algebra of Al-Khwrazm. It has been a circulating fact that Ibn al-Nadm, the author, had his work written and was in the habit of inserting additions and corrections stuffed around the name concerned. "With this in mind, we find: 1) that the name which precedes Al-Khwrazm is that of Sahl ibn Bishr. To him are attributed some books which include no algebra. Yet the statements end pointing out: 'It is said that the Rum value highly his Al-Jabr wa'1-Muqbala.' I guess that this statement should go to Al-Khwrazm. 2) That the name which follows is that of Sanad ibn cAli. To him are attributed works ending with: Hisb al-Hindi, Al-Jam' wa't-Tafriq, and Al-Jabr wa'1-Muqabala. These are exactly the works missing from Al-Khwrazm's list. I guess that they must go there. This will do him justice."62 Other mathematicians two or three generations later than Al-Khwrazm too are known to have written such books. And it is important to note that according to the manuscripts at our disposal the little text of cAbd alHamd ibn Turk which has come down to us is not an independent article, but only one part of a book on algebra. Our sources state also, as we have seen, that cAbd al-Hamd was the author of other books, as well.63 In dealing with these matters it is undoubtedly of some importance to take into consideration the fact that we are in possession only of one chapter or section of Ibn Turk's book, and that this book is said to have been entitled simply Book on al-Jabr and al-Muqbala and therefore that, in contrast to Al-Khwrazm's book, apparently Ibn Turk did not use the word "abridged, or some equivalent expression, when naming his book. It may come to mind, therefore, that Ibn Turk's book would be expected to deal in greater detail with the subject taken up in each chapter. In Ibn Turk's book parallelism with that of Al-Khwrazm would be expected to exist normally to the exclusion of the parts on Menstruation and on Legacies. For, in case such a consequence of the usage of the word abridged is not assumed, it would be difficult to reconcile the situation that although cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk's text is superior in some of the details it takes up, it is at the same time the slightly earlier text; or that since it is the older text it should reasonably be expected to be the slightly more primitive one. We should be heedful, in short, that, as pointed out by Al-Khwrazm, his text is an abridged one, that it is a text in which the algorithm called algebra has been presented by way of summary, by somehow abbreviating it. It is worth noting that Al-Khwrazm did not only put the word abridged in the title of his book, but that he also uses this word abridged or short (mukhtasar) in the course of his introductory remarks where he states that AlMa'mun encouraged him to compose a book of such a nature (mukhtasar).64 It is perhaps also worth noting that it is not so easy to consider a text which is characterized by its writer as brief or summarized (or, condensed, compendious, or abridged) to represent at the same time an innovation or a fresh contribution and to constitute something not existing or not known previously, unless one writes down
61
Ibn al-Nadm, Kitb al-Fihrist, ed, Flugel, p. 280 (speaking of cAbdullah ibn al-Hasan al-Saydann), 281 (speaking of Sinan ibn alFath), 283 (speaking of Abu'1-Wafa al-Buzjn); The Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadm, edited and translated by Bayard Dodge, Cambridge University Press, 1970, pp. 662, 665, 668; Qurbani, op. cit., pp. 7-8. 62 A.S. Saidan, "The Algebra and Arithmetic of Ai-Khwrazm, Muhammad ibn Musa", Acts of International Symposium on Ibn Turk, Khwrazm, Frb Beyrn, and Ibn Sina, Ankara, September 9-12, 1990, English and French edition, p. 279. Uluslararasi Ibn Turk, Harezmi, Frb, Beyrn, ve Ibn Sina Sempozyumu Bildirileri, p. 315. 63 Aydin Sayili, Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations..., pp. 88-89; Ahmed Aram, "Rislei der Jebr wa'1-Muqabele", Sukhan-i cIlm, 1343, series 3, number 11-12, pp. 1-23 (offprint). 64 See, Rosen's edition of the text, p. 2, and his translation, p. 3; Melek Dosay's proved translation: Pakistan Hijra Council, Islamabad 1989, text, p. 4, translation, p. 66.
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only part of what he has conceived and formulated in his mind. But in such a case too one would be expected to clarify the point and say something more specific about the part that has been omitted though it would have been a fresh contribution, had it been brought to light. Moreover, in such a case it would be unlikely though not impossible for Al-Ma'mun to request Al-Khwrazm to write such a book, i.e., to write down in an abridged form such an innovation. But Al-Khwrazm stresses the fact that Al-Ma'mun encouraged him (qad shajja ant) to write the book in such a way. Indeed, Al-Khwrazm states that he has composed his Algebra because Al-Ma'mun encouraged him to write a short, or abridged, book on algebra, "confining it to what is easiest and most useful in arithmetic, such as men constantly require in cases of inheritance, legacies, partition, law-suits, and trade, and in all their dealings with one another, or where measuring of land, the digging of canals, geometrical computations, and other objects of various sorts and kinds are dealt with."65 Al-Khwrazm's book on algebra, therefore, seems to have been conceived as a popular handbook on certain subjects with a method that would not be difficult to follow. And its wide influence and popularity among scholars and mathematicians for several centuries may, therefore, be partly explained by this very nature of the book and by the objective assigned for it by the caliph Al-Mamun as well as by Al-Khwrazm himself. As we have seen previously, Julius Ruska made a critical study of the terms al-jabr and al-mugabala. Ruska carried out also a quite profound study of the nature of the fundamental terms mal, jadhr or jidkr, (meaning "root"), and shay of the algebra of Al-Khwrazm, as a result of which he comes to the conclusion that mal, which means wealth or possession, should preferably not be translated as square, as it is usually done. For although by translating mal as square and jidkr as (the unknown) quantity -not to speak of translating it as root - the nature of the relationship between mal and jidhr is not changed, the primacy or precedence of mal over jidhr is disregarded, or, to be more exact, their order is reversed. Rosen, e.g., translates mal as square in Al-Khwrazm's text, but, as pointed out by Ruska, in seven (in reality, in nine) concrete examples Rosen is seen to have been forced to translate mal as number and in three cases as square root. Ruska, therefore, proposes the use of some such non-committal formula as w4-bv=c, in turning the rhetorical mode of expression of Al-Khwrazm into a symbolic form. w+bv=c may hardly be considered to satisfy the function expected from such a transformation, however. For it totally ignores the basic relationship which exists between mal and jidhr. Ruska may have been willing to settle the issue by considering x+b acceptable alternative. But mathematically the difference between x+b
x =c as an
x =c and x2+bx=c' is trivial. The
difference thus boils down to stating that ml =jidhr instead of saying that ml=(jidkr)2. But Ruska also points out, or implies, that the question involved here should not be looked upon as a merely philological one and that it could not be satisfactorily taken up as an isolated historical fact.66 Ruska draws attention also to the fact that neither of these two fundamental algebraic terms, as well as shay, meaning thing, is of a basically geometrical nature, but that, nevertheless, in Al-Khwrazm's geometrical figures elucidating the solutions of his three "mixed" quadratic equations mal and jidhr represent respectively the area and the side of a square. Ruska qualifies, therefore the algebra of Al-Khwrazm as essentially of an arithmetical nature and looks upon the geometrical figures with the help of which the "mixed" second degree equations are illustrated, and their solutions justified, as superimposed upon the main arithmetical body of these equations and as the "reasons" or "causes" for the proofs given. The word "Grund" which Ruska uses on this occasion is the translation of the word ìlia in Al-Khwrazm's text.67 Solomon Gandz translates this word or term ìlia with the
65 66
Rosen's translation, p. 4; Melek Dosay's translation, p. 3-4. Julius Ruska, op, at., (see above footnote 34), pp. 47-70, especially, pp. 62-64. 67 Ibid., pp. 66-67.
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word cause. "Reason" should be more appropriate, however.68 Terms such as proof and justification are the words used more frequently in this context nowadays. In giving the geometrical explanation of the solutions of his "mixed" equations, Al-Khwrazm speaks of the mal as represented by squares "with unknown sides, the unknown values of the area and the sides being required to be found. Here, both the area and the sides of these squares are sought, and the order of priority seems to recede to the background. This peculiarity of considering both x and x2 (or X and X , as Ruska would rather have it), as the two unknowns required to be solved, continued after Al-Khwrazm too, and it may be speculated that the reason why x2 too was kept in the foreground may have been the consequence of some concern related to the difficulty of finding the exact values of so many square roots. This may indeed have been at the bottom of the fact of resorting to the method of geometrical solutions. In this case, the origin of Al-Khwrazm's geometrical solutions may possibly be traceable to the discovery of the irrational numbers by the Pythagoreans. Or it may possibly go back to the Babylonian algebra. Gandz says, "Diophantos (c. 275 A.D.) admits of no irrational numbers. The condition or Diorismus is always that the term under the root be a square. ... Al-Khwrazm, however, never mentions such a condition. ..."69 Thinking in terms of paradigms and tradition shattering scientific work, therefore, Diophantos' Diorismus, on the one hand, and recourse to geometry as seen in Al-Khwrazm, on the other, would both represent repercussions to the discovery of irrational numbers. It would seem possible to conceive, therefore, the Al-Khwrazmian algebra, as in some ways a continuation of a tradition bypassing Diophantos.
Figure 2. Ince Minare Madrasas gate from Miniaturk Istanbul (The image was introduced by the editor).
There recently have been some very interesting speculations, or, more properly speaking, investigations on the possibility that the so-called geometrical and analytical approaches to algebra may possibly go back to a much more remote past, a hypothetical common origin of Babylonian, Indian, and Greek algebras. Thus, this seemingly
68 69
See below, p. 34 and note 94. S, Gandz, "The Origin and Development of the Quadratic Equations", p. 534.
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dualistic approach in the Khwrazman algebra may be envisaged as going back to a past much earlier than the crisis arising from the discovery of the irrationals.70 Speaking of the quadratic equations of two unknowns represented, e.g., by sets of equations such as x+y=b and xy=c, or xy=b and xy=c, Gandz writes as follows: "Historically, it would perhaps be more proper to speak of rectangular instead of quadratic equations, because it was the problems of the rectangle that gave rise to these questions. In the square, there is only one unknown quantity, x. If one knows the side x, one may find the area x2, and if one knows the area, he may find the side. In the rectangle, there are two quantities that must be ascertained, the length and breadth, or the flank and the front, as the Babylonians call them (reference is made here to Thureau-D'Angin), x and y in our designation. If one knows both of them, he may find the area, and if one knows the area and one of the sides,..."71 Kurt Vogel dwells in somewhat greater detail on such examples giving evidence of the possible connection of the Babylonian quadratic equations with geometry.72 Examples containing such clues seem to belong generally to the earlier phases of the history of Babylonian algebra. That would seem to explain why the Babylonian algebra in its more classical form is generally regarded to be of an analytic nature. Martin Levey, who, following Gandz, assumed that Greek geometry and algebra had no direct influence on AlKhwrazm, writes as follows: ... Abu Kmil utilized not only the ideas of Al-Khwrazm, the inheritor of Babylonian algebra, but also the concepts of the Greek mathematics of Euclid; the result of this approach was a welding of Babylonian and Greek algebra, the first time such a fusion had ever been attempted. "Euclid, in his book II, gives geometric demonstrations of algebraic formulas, while, on the other hand, the works of the early Muslims are primarily algebraic with geometric explanations, more or less abstract."73 The same author also says: " ... Muslim Algebra seems to parallel the development of Arabic chemistry in that it is a fusion of the practical arts and the more theoretical Greek approach to mathematical thinking. Although there is no conclusive chain of transmission, it is probable that this combining of the two methods also traces back to Alexandrians Heron and others like him, of the second century. "Abu Kmil ... utilized the theoretical Greek mathematics without destroying the concrete base of Al-Khwrazm's algebra and evolved an algebra based on practical realities derived from Babylonian roots and strengthened by Greek theory."74 Speaking of Euclid's geometrical algebra and quoting Heath, Levey remarks that "the proofs of all the first ten propositions of Book II are practically independent of each other" and then adds, "Heath then asks and answers the question: 'What then was Euclid's intention, first, in inserting some propositions not immediately required, and secondly, in making the proofs of the first ten independent of each other?' Surely the object was to show the power of the method of geometrical algebra as much as to arrive at results."75
A. Seidenberg, "The Origin of Mathematics", Archive for History of Exact Sciences, vol. 18, 1978, pp. 301-342. Gandz, ibid., pp. 4.10-411. 72 See, Kurt Vogel, "Bemerkungen zu den Quadratischen Gleichungen der Babylonischen Mathematik", Osiris, vol. 1, 1936, pp. 703-717. 73 Martin Levey, The Algebra of Abu Kmil, Kitb al-Jabr wa'l-Muqabata in a Commentary by Mordecai Find, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1966, p. 20. 74 Ibid., p. 4. See also, Martin Levey, "Some Notes on the Algebra of Abu Kmil Shujac: A Fusion of Babylonian and Greek Algebra", Enseignement de Mathe'matique, vol. 4, fascicle 2, 1958, p. 78. 75 Martin Levey, the Algebra of Abu Kmil, p. 20. See also, Roshdi Rashed, "La Notion de Science Occidental" (see above,
71 70
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In Al-Khwrazm's algebra, the word murabba is used in the meaning of square, although in a few examples AlKhwrazm adds to this word the adjectives equilateral and equiangular. In cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk's text, on the other hand the word murabba seems to be used more often in the meaning of equilateral. For while speaking of the geometrical square the word murabba often occurs in his text too with the adjectives equilateral and rectangular, this word is used without further specification when referring to rectangles, and at times to squares.76 Could this possibly represent a vestigial or residual evidence of influence coming from the remote past, i.e., old Babylonian algebra? It may be worth trying to investigate this point. Neugebauer writes: "To say that Greek mathematics of the Euclidean style is a strictly Greek development does not mean to deny a general Oriental background for Greek mathematics as a whole. Indeed, mathematics of the Hellenistic period, and still more of the later periods, is in part only a link in an unbroken tradition that reaches from the earliest periods of ancient history down to the beginning of modern times. As a particularly drastic example might be mentioned the elementary geometry represented in the Hellenistic period in writings that go under the name of Heron of Alexandria (second half of first century A.D.). These treatises on geometry were sometimes considered signs of the decline of Greek mathematics, and this would indeed be the case if one had to consider them as the descendents of the works of Archimedes or Apollonius. But such a comparison is unjust. In view of our recently gained knowledge of Babylonian texts. Heron's geometry must be considered merely a Hellenistic form of a general Oriental tradition. The fact, e.g., that Heron adds areas and line segments can no longer be viewed as a novel sign of the rapid degeneration of the so-called Greek spirit, but simply reflects the algebraic or arithmetic tradition of Mesopotamia. On this more elementary level, the axiomatic school of mathematics had as little influence as it has today on surveying. Consequently, parts of Heron's writings, practically unchanged, survived the destruction of scientific mathematics in late antiquity. Whole sections from these works are found again, centuries later, in one of the first Arabic mathematical works, the famous "Algebra" of alKhwrazm (about 800 to 850). This relationship can be especially easily demonstrated by means of the figures. In order to make the examples come out in nice numbers, the figures were composed from a few standard right triangles. One of these standard examples is shown in figure 21 which appears in Heron as well as in alKhwrazm. Two right triangles with sides 8, 6 and 10 are combined into an isosceles triangle of altitude 8 and base I2."77 There is some evidence showing that this dichotomy into more theoretical and more practical in mathematics went back to Mesopotamia, and to Elam and Susa, which in turn means that it was also practiced by the Sumerians. Indeed, the concept of napkharu seems to indicate that these men wished to avoid the fallacy of misplaced precision. On a previous occasion, I have made, in connection with cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk's Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations, the following remark: "In our present text x2 is seen to come to the foreground as an unknown, almost as prominently as x, and this observation may be said to be applicable to Al-Khwrazm as well. It almost seems as if cAbd al-Hamd thinks in terms of an equation of the form X+b X =c, rather than x2+bx=c, X being the real unknown and square root of the unknown."78
X the
Martin Levey says, "Al-Khwrazm explained a total of forty problems in his algebra compared with Abu Kmil's sixty-nine. The latter greatly expanded Al-Khwrazm's algebra with the addition of different types of problems and also varied solutions for these problems. Abu Kmil's work represented innovations in algebraic method such as in the solution directly for x2 instead of for x, since the latter was frequently not desired by Islamic mathematicians." Martin Levey has here a footnote for this last remark of his, and the footnote is "J. Tropfke,
note 54), p. 4.9. 76 See, Aydin Sayili, Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations..., p. 84. 77 Otto Neugebauer, the Exact Sciences in Antiquity, Brown University Press, 1957, pp. 146-147. 78 Aydin Sayili, ibid., pp. 84-85.
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Gesch. d. Elementar-Mathematik, 3, 74-76, 80-82. (Berlin 1937); see also the important chapter in J. Weinberg,
Dissertation."79 A question of the type we are here confronted with, viz., why should a second degree equation be conceived to have two solutions, one of x and one of x2, is often a question of the order of historical background, a question of ascertaining the relevant historical setting, and it can be answered only by placing the question successfully within its appropriate historical perspective. It may not often have much meaning as a question detached from its historical background. In other words, this peculiarity of form or structure can be answered only in terms of its history. It cannot be accounted for merely as a development, as an appearance out of nothingness. This appearance or development may partake of the attributes of a transformation, of reorganization of some related stockpiles of knowledge and constitute a revolution. It may be the result of a break in some past trend, but even then, its appearance needs to be made intelligible within the framework of the principle of historical continuity. Regardless, therefore, of whether Al-Khwrazm was an innovator or a relatively passive follower of past tradition, his achievement stands in need of being made intelligible by placing it into relation with its history. Ruska believed as we have seen, that the Al-Khwrazman algebra was arithmetical in nature and that the geometrical scheme of solution was superimposed upon it. Let us look at an example from Umar Khayyam. In c Umar Khayyam the solution of equations is based upon geometry just as in the case of Al-Khwrazm. Again, the terms mat and jidhr are used by cUmar Khayyam exactly in the same manner as they occur in Al-Khwrazm. The word for cubic, however, is ka b, i.e., a geometrical term in cUmar Khayyam. Moreover, cUmar Khayyam's geometry coming into play in the solutions of cubic equations cannot be qualified by any means as primitive or elementary. It is of great interest also that in solving a simple example such as x3 + ex2 = bx, the procedure employed by cUmar Khayyam to reduce this equation to x2+cx = b is of a clearly geometrical nature,80 so that it is not in conformity with Ruska's verdict that Al-Khwrazm's approach to the quadratic equations is of an essentially non-geometrical nature; it does not constitute a parallel to Ruska's conjecture. The Mesopotamian tablets dealing with algebra usually contain solutions of equations. These solutions are systematic, the solutions for each individual problem being presented step by step, but no explanations are explicitly given for these solutions. The method of recourse to auxiliary unknowns is seen to have been quite general, however. Thus in solving the pair of equations x+y=b, xy=c, e.g., it may be concluded that they use an auxiliary unknown such as 2z=xy. Consequently 2x=b+2z and 2y=b 2z. Consequently xy= (b/2) 2z2=c, or z2= (b/2)2c and z=(xy)/ 2=
2
(b/2)2c . Therefore (x + y) 2= b and (x - y) = (b / 2) 2 c. The quadratic 2 2 2

2
equation in two unknowns is thus transformed into a pair of first degree equations in two unknowns. Thus, x= (b/2)+ (b/2) c and y=b/2 (b/2) c . Now, there is evidence suggesting that in solutions of this nature algebraic [ identities come into play. Thus the identity xy=[
(x y) ]2=[ (x + y) ]2-c, and (x y) = (b/2)2c. Hence, again, x=b/2 + 2 2 2

(b / 2) 2 c. 81
(x + y) ]2-[ (x y) ]2=c. Therefore 2 2

(b/2) 2 c. and y=b/2 -
Thus the solutions of quadratic equations in Babylonian algebra would seem to be of a purely analytical nature. The following interesting example shows, however, that this may not have been an exclusive feature or a
79 80
Martin Levey, op. cit., p. 18. F. Woepcke, L'Algebre d'Omar al-Kkayyami, Paris 1851, Arabic text, p. 15, French translation, pp. 25-26. 81 Solomon Gandz, "The Origin and Development of Quadratic Equations in Babylonian, Greek, and Early Arabic Algebra", Osiris, vol. 3, 1938, pp. 418-419, 423-424, 447-448, 499; O. Neugebauer, The Exact Sciences in Antiquity, Brown University Press, 1957, p. 41; E.M. Bruins, "Neuere Ergebnisse ber Babylonische Algebra", Praxis der Mathematik, year 1, Heft 6, 15 September 1959, pp. 148-149; E.M. Bruins, "Neuere Ergebnisse zur Babylonische Arithmetik", Praxis der Mathematik, year 1, Heft 4, 15 July 1959, pp. 92-93; Aydin Sayili, Misirlilarda ve Mezopotamyalilarda Matematik, Astronomi ve Tip, Ankara 1966, pp. 206-232.
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thoroughly predominant characteristic of the Babylonian algebra as regards their treatment of quadratic equations. This example belongs, properly speaking, to their geometry. But as their geometry was an algebraic geometry it serves to shed light on the question we are dealing with at this point.
h2
F2 b2 F1 b1 Table I
h1
Our example is in the tablet Vat. 8512 and has been studied by O. Neugebauer in his Mathematische KeilschriftTexte, I.82 The problem is this: a line, parallel to the base, into two parts, a trapezium and the top triangle, divides a rectangular triangle. The text contains no figure. In Gandz's words, the formulas are rather complicated, but they are pretty well secured by the text. F1F2 =D and h2 h1=d. The value of b1 too is known. It is required to find b2, h1, h2, F1 F2. The solution formula given for b, in the tablet is b2=
D D 1 D [( + b1 ) 2 + ( ) 2 ] - . d d 2 d
h2
c b2
h1
' b2
b1
Table II
b1'
This formula exhibits some strange deviations from what would be normally expected to be found. The solution proposed by Neuge-bauer leads to the formula
82
Quellen und Studien zur Geschkhte der Mathematik, A3, Berlin 1935, pp. 340 ff.
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b2=
(D/d)2 + (D/d) b1 + (I/2) b12 - D/d .
The two formulas are equivalent and they may be derived one from the other, but the deviation of the text formula from that found by Neugebauer could not be accounted for until Peter Huber discovered a much unexpected geometrical scheme for the derivation of the formula of the tablet for b2. This is achieved by adding a rectangle to the triangle as seen in the figure presented.83 Though taken from algebraic geometry, this example would seem conducive to make us think that in Mesopotamian algebra in its so-to-say classical form too geometry may at times have played some part in conceiving schemes helpful to find the solutions of quadratic equations. Peter Huber refers at the end of his article to the following statement of Neugebauer and Sachs (O. Neugebauer and A. Sachs, Mathematical Cuneiform Texts, New Haven 1945)1 "Although these problems are sometimes accompanied by figures ... and although their terminology is geometrical, the whole treatment is strongly algebraic," and remarks that this statement stands therefore in need of a bit of modification, although the general character of the totality of the Babylonian mathematics is naturally unaffected by such examples.84 Jens Hyrup writes: "A close investigation of the Old Babylonian second degree algebra shows that its method and conceptualisation are not arithmetical and rhetorical, ... Instead, it appears to be based on a "naive" geometry of areas very similar to that used by Ibn Turk and Al-Khwrazm in their justification of the algorithms used in al-jabr to solve the basic mixed second degree equations. "This raises in a new light the question whether the early Islamic use of geometric justifications was a graft of Greek methods upon a "sub-scientific" mathematical tradition, as often maintained; or the relation of early Islamic algebra to its sources must be seen differently. "Now, the Liber Mensurationum of one Abu Bakr, known from a twelfth century Latin translation, refers repeatedly to two different methods for the solution of second-degree algebraic problems: A basic method may be identified as "augmentation and diminution" (al-jam wa'l-tafg?) and another one labelled al-jabr which coincides with Al-Khwrazm's use of numerical standard algorithms and rhetorical reduction. Since the Liber Mensurationum coincides in its phrasing and in its choice of grammatical forms with Old Babylonian texts, and because of peculiar details in the terminology and the mathematical contents of the text, it appears to represent a direct sub-scientific transmission of the Old Babylonian naive-geometric algebra, bypassing Greek as well as late Babylonian (Seleucid) algebra as known to us. This, together with internal evidence from Al-Khwrazm's Algebra and Thabit's Euclidean justification of the algorithms of al-jabr, indicates that Ibn Turk and Al-Khwrazm combined two existing submathematical traditions with a "Greek" understanding of the nature of mathematics, contributing thereby to the reconstruction of the subject as a scientific mathematical discipline."85 Again, Jens Hyrup says: "Since the discovery some fifty years ago that certain cuneiform texts solve equations of the second degree, the ideal has been close at hand that the early Islamic algebra known from AlKhwrazm and his contemporary Ibn Turk continues and systematizes an age-old tradition. More recently, Anbouba has also made it clear that the two scholars worked on a richer contemporary background that can be
83
Peter Huber, "Zu Einem Mathematischen Keilschrifttext (Vat 8512)", Isis, vol. 46, pp. 104-106. For more details on the problem, see S. Gandz, "The Origin and Development of the Quadratic Equations in Babylonian, Greek, and Early Arabic Algebra", Osiris, vol. 3, 1938, pp. 475-479. See also, Aydin Sayili, Misirlilarda ve Mezopotamyalilarda Matematik, Astronomi ve Tip, Turkish Historical Society Publication, Ankara 1966, pp. 232-236. 84 Peter Huber, ibid., p. 106. On this point, see also, A. Seidenberg, "The Origin of Mathematics", Archive for History of Exact Sciences, vol. 18, number 4, 1978, pp. 308-310. 85 Jens Hyrup, "Al-Khwrazm, Ibn Turk, and the Liber Mensurationum: On the Origins of Islamic Algebra", Erdem, vol. 2, pp. 445446. See also, Jens Hyrup, Algebra and Nairn Geometry, An Investigation of Some Basic Aspects of Old Babylonian Mathematical Thought, 3. Raekke, Preprints og Reprints, 1987, Nr. 2, passim.
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seen directly from their extant works. In fact, the same richer tradition can be glimpsed, e.g., from some scattered remarks in Abu Kmil's Algebra - cf. below, section VI."86 Gandz, who did work of fundamental importance on Babylonian and early Islamic Algebra gives the following list of the types of second-degree equation found in the cuneiform tablets: 1) x+y=b; xy=c, 2) xy=b; xy=c, 3) x+y=b; x2+y2 =c 4) xy=b; x2+y2=c, 5) x+y=b; x2y2==c, 6) xy=b; x2y2=c, 7) x2+bx=c, 8) x2-bx=c, 9) x2+c=bx.87 Types 1 and 2 lead directly, 3 and 4 with change in the constant, to the types 7, 8, and 9; types 5 and 6 become transformed into first degree equations when reduced to one unknown. It is observed that types 7, 8, and 9 are those found in Al-Khwrazm and cAbdu'l-Hamd ibn Turk. According to the conclusions reached by Gandz, in a first stage, i.e., in the "old Babylonian school, the first six types of equations in two unknowns seen in the above list were the types in use.88 Later on, the remaining three types of equation with one unknown also came into use, but the type x2+c=bx was avoided,89 Gandz considers a new school to have developed directly out of this second stage found in Babylonian algebra. The place and time of its appearance is not known, and its earliest representative known is Al-Khwrazm, according to Gandz. The outstanding characteristic of this new school of algebra is its practice of excluding the six old Babylonian types and of using the three "mixed" equations, in one unknown, i.e., equations having terms in x2 as well as in x and in constants. In Gandz' opinion the old Babylonian attitude is thus seen to have been completely reversed.90 The reasons for the disappearance of the avoidance of, or the hesitation felt toward, the type x2+c=bx are not accounted for in these views advanced by Gandz. In Al-Khwrazm's algebra the equations x2+bx=c and x2=bx+c have one solution each, while x2+c=bx has two solutions or roots. Now, type 1 in the above list gives x2+c=bx and also y2+c=by, while type 2 gives x2=bx+c for x and y2+by=c for y. Therefore, the two solution for x2+c=bx may be interpreted as the solutions for x and y in type 1 from which x2+c=bx may be considered to have originated, while for x2+bx=c and x2=bx+c such a roundabout interpretation is not necessary.
Add Anbouba, "Acquisition de I'Algebre par les Arabes et Premiers Developpements, Aperu General", Journal for the History of Arabic Science, vol. 2, 1978, pp. 66-100. See, Jens Hijtyrup, op. cit., p. 447. See also, Jens Hyrup, the Formation of "Islamic Mathematics", Sources and Conditions, May 1987, Preprints og Reprints, Roskilde University Centre, p.20. 87 S. Gandz, "The Origin and Development of Quadratic Equations in Babylonian, Greek, and Early Arabic Algebra", Osiris, vol. 3, 1938, pp. 515-516. 88 Gandz, op. cit., pp. 417-456. 89 Gandz, op. cit., pp. 470-508. 90 Gandz, op. cit., pp. 509-510. See also, Aydin Sayili, Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations by cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk and the Algebra of His Time, pp. 103-105.
86
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According to Gandz this explains why the Babylonians tried to avoid the x2+c=bx type and preferred to deal with the x+y=b; xy=c type instead.91 But the fact that the acceptance and free usage of the type x2+c=bx was accompanied, as Gandz says, by an aloofness toward the old Babylonian types and methods suggests that the interpretation of the double root of x2+c=bx exclusively with the help of the pair of equations x+y=b and xy=c should not constitute an explanation that could be prevalent and current in the time of Al-Khwrazm. It is of great interest, therefore, that the explanation of the double solution of x2+c=bx without recource to the pair x+y=b and xy=c is clearer and fuller in cAbdu'l-Hamd ibn Turk than in Al-Khwrazm.92 To sum up, Gandz claims that the question of the four roots of the three "mixed" equations of Al-Khwrazm's algebra cannot be made intelligible unless we consider them in the light of their distant Babylonian origins. But this certainly does not seem to be true. The algebra of Al-Khwrazrm was apparently quite self-sufficient in explaining away the question of the number of roots of the "mixed" quadratic equations. Moreover, as Gandz also asserts, strict dependence upon geometrical reasoning was a prominent feature of this algebra, and this feature has to be brought well into prominence. Gandz says, ... Al-Khwrazm tries hard to break away from algebraic analysis and to give to his geometric demonstrations the appearance of a geometric independence and self-sufficiency. They are presented in such a way as to create the impression that they are arrived at independently without the help of algebraic analysis. It seems as if geometric demonstrations are the only form of reasoning and explanation which is admitted. The algebraic explanation is, as a rule, never given.93 It may be added here that, in Gandz's words, Al-Khwrazm closely associates the "cause" of an equation and its geometrical figure.94 Speaking of geometrical demonstrations and comparing Euclid and Al-Khwrazm, Gandz says, "Euclid demonstrates the antiquated old Babylonian algebra by a highly advanced geometry; Al-Khwrazm demonstrates types of an advanced algebra by the antiquated geometry of the ancient Babylonians. "The older historians of mathematics believed to find in the geometric demonstrations of Al-Khwrazm the evidence of Greek influence. In reality, however, these geometric demonstrations are the strongest evidence against the theory of Greek influence. They clearly show the deep chasm between the two systems of mathematical thought, in algebra as well as in geometry."95 As to the relationships between Babylonian algebra and the algebras of Diophantos and Al-Khwrazm, Gandz says, "Both, Al-Khwrazm and Diophantos, drew from Babylonian sources, but whereas Diophantos still adheres to old Babylonian methods of solution, Al-Khwrazm rejects those old methods and introduces the more modern methods of solution."96 Both Gandz and Hyrup thus evaluate Al-Khwrazm's geometrical solutions with roughly equivalent or similar approaches, but while Gandz believes the Babylonians to have more generally used analytical procedure, Hyrup concludes that the Babylonian algebra too was based upon geometrical conceptualizations. In this latter respect, Hyrup's judgment seems to rest upon more concrete source evidence. As to the question of the value judgments on geometrical proofs or demonstrations of Al-Khwrazm's solutions of his second degree equations, it is seen that already immediately following Al-Khwrazm there were attempts to cast his solutions into forms conforming to the spirit of Euclidean geometry.97 Ivonne Dold-Samplonius informs us,
Gandz, op. cit., pp. 412-416. See, Sayili, Logical Necessities..., pp. 99-104, 107-109. 93 Gandz, op. cit., pp. 514-515. 94 Gandz, op.cit., p. 515; Aydin Sayili, Logical Necessities..., p. 107. 95 Gandz, "The Origin and Development...", pp. 523-524. 96 Gandz, ibid., p. 527. See also, Gandz, "The Sources of Al-Khwrazm's Algebra", Osiris, vol. 1, 1936, pp. 263-277, on the historical foundations of Al-Khwrazm's algebra. 97 Yvonne Dold-Samplonius, "Developments in the Solution of the Equation cx2+bx=a. From Al-Khwrazm to Fibonacci", From Deferent to Equant: A Volume of Studies in the History of Science in the Ancient and Medieval Near East in Honor of E.S. Kennedy, ed.
92 91
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on the other hand, that Professor B.A. Rosenfeld of Moscow stated in a letter to her that in his opinion AlKhwrazm's geometrical "illustrations" are geometrical proofs.98 In connection with the solutions of his quadratic equations, all that Al-Khwrazm had to do was to prove, or to show, that the said solutions were correct; he was not trying to prove theorems. It would be unreasonable not to accept Al-Khwrazm's geometrical solutions as valid justifications or arguments establishing the veracity of the solution formulas on the basis of entirely acceptable geometrical evidence. Indeed, it would very likely be wrong to think that Al-Khwrazm was not conversant with Euclid's geometry. In his elaborate work on the comparison of Al-Khwrazm's Bb al-Masha with Mishnat ha-Middot too, Gandz speaks of his conviction that Al-Khwrazm was not familiar with Euclidean geometry or that he stayed aloof from it.99 On this occasion, William Thomson says: "The fact that Al-Khwrazmi's book on menstruation shows little or no sign of influence from the side of Greek theoretical mathematics does not prove either his ignorance or his dislike of that mathematics. The only legitimate inference is that he did not use it, or find it useful, for his purpose. ..." On this occasion William Thomson enumerates a few examples of parallelism in geometrical terminology used by Al-Khwrazm and his older contemporary Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf who had made his translation of Euclid before Al-Ma'mun became caliph.100 Cantor, on the other hand, has pointed out that the letters accompanying Al-Khwrazm's geometrical figures serving to prove his solutions of the mixed equations correspond to the letters of the Greek alphabet, and Julius Ruska considers this as strong evidence for the existence of some kind of Greek influence on these AlKhwrazman proofs. Gandz, however, is not of this opinion.101
D
Table III
Aristide Marre reproduces a proof given by Al-Khwrazm for the Pythagorean Theorem that applies only to the special case of an equilateral right triangle. It is proved here that the square on the diagonal BD is equal to the sum of the squares drawn on BA and AD by showing that the square drawn on BD is equal to the sum of four of the equal triangles into which the square ACNK is divided, while the squares on AB and AD are equal each to two such triangles, their sum therefore being equal to four such triangles. Aristide Marre then remarks that this proof is thus addressed to the type of reader whom Plato would not have admitted to his classes. Then he adds that this
David King and George Saliba, The New York Academy of Sciences, New York 1987, pp. 71-87. 98 Ibid., p. 85, note 4. 99 Solomon Gandz, "The Mishnat ha Middot and the Geometry of Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrazm", Quellen und Studien zur Geschickte der Mathematik, Astronomit und Physik, AbteilungA: Quellen, vol. 2, 1932, pp. 64-66. 100 William Thomson's review of Gandz's Quellen und Studien article. See, Isis, vol. 20, 1933, pp. 278, 279. 101 See, Julius Ruska. "Zur ltesten Arabischen Algebra und Rechenkunst", pp. 69-70; S. Gandz "The Sources of Al-Khwarazmfs Algebra", Osiris, vol. 1, 1936, pp. 276-277.
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example serves to show that Al-Khwrazm was not presenting in his book the whole of what he knew but was trying to vulgarise the knowledge he dealt with by simplifying it and to place it at the reach of even the youngest readers.102 It is interesting to see that Plato ascribes the same kind of proof to Socrates, but this time the proof is being given for a still more special case. For AB here is equal to two feet, this example being connected with 2 . This passage is in the dialogue Meno of Plato, and in it Socrates is trying to show, "thai teaching is only reawakening in the mind of the learner the memory of something. He illustrates by putting to the slave a carefully prepared series of questions, each requiring little more than 'yes' or 'no' for an answer, but leading up to the geometrical construction of 2 . ... Socrates concludes with the words: 'The Sophists call this straight line (BD), the diameter (diagonal); this being its name, it follows that the square which is double (of the original square) has to be described on the diameter.'"103 This example is quite interesting in that it conforms to Aristide Marre's suggestion that pedagogical concerns aiming to place a book within the reach of even children of small age would make a learned person like Al-Khwrazm utterly simplify the material presented to his readers. But at the same time it contradicts Marre's other verdict by showing that Plato too was not against such simplifications even if he should not be willing to admit to his classes the readers to which such texts are supposed to address more specifically. Thabit ibn Qurra (826-901) was requested by a friend of his who was not satisfied with the "Socratic proof of the Pythagorean theorem to give a general proof for it. Thabit conceived this requested proof as one giving a general proof which would be of the same nature or method as the "Socratic special proof. Thus, the fact that Euclid's Elements contains a general proof of the theorem does not make the question superfluous, and Thabit ibn Qurra gives two different proofs of an appropriate kind.
Table IV
One of these proofs is shown in the figure presented here. ABC is a right triangle and all the other triangles seen in the figure are equal to it. Now if from the total figure the three shaded triangles are deducted the squares on the right sides of ABC are obtained, while the square on the hypothe-nuse AB results when from the total figure the three triangles on the corners are subtracted. The sum of the two former squares is therefore equal to the latter square. Thabit compliments his friend for seeking a comprehensive knowledge of things and adds that the generalization achieved by the proofs he gives may not be considered sufficient. One could wish, e.g., to generalize
102
Aristide Marre, Le Messahat de Mohammed ben Moussa al-Khwarazni, Traduit el Annote, 2 edition revue et corrigee sur le texte arabe, Rome 1866, pp. 6-7. 103 Thomas Heath. A History of Greek Mathematics, vol. 1; From Thales 10 Euclid, Oxford 1921, pp. 297-298.
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the theorem to any triangle whatsoever, and the figures drawn on the sides may be any similar figures similarly placed upon the sides. But it is noteworthy that although Thabit ibn Qurra gives two proofs for the simpler and widely known theorem, he merely says that the proof could easily be found on the basis of Euclid's Elements and does not feel the need of proving this more general and somewhat more complicated theorem which apparently constitutes his original contribution to the subject. Thabit ibn Qurra also remarks that our knowledge is perfect when it combines the most general and comprehensive with the special and particular. For, he says, in our purely general knowledge the knowledge of the particular cases exists only potentially. He also states that in the course of instruction one has to follow a procedure in which there is a gradual increase in generalization and comprehensiveness, and he adds that the reason why Socrates mentioned only the proof of a special case of the Pythagorean theorem was that the person he was teaching was a beginner in the subject and not an advanced student.104 It is to be noted that this statement of Thabit ibn Qurra corroborates the verdict given by Aristide Marre concerning the reason why Al-Khwrazm preferred an easy proof of a special case to a more comprehensive general proof. It may also be added that this assertion of Thabit ibn Qurra represents a pedagogical procedure generally practiced in the medieval Islamic World. Thabit ibn Qurra is, moreover, a highly gifted mathematician who had a thorough appreciation of the spirit of Greek mathematics, and one who happens to have shown a special interest in supplying the Khwrazmian solutions of the second-degree equations with thorough geometrical proofs. Thabit ibn Qurra bases his proofs of the solutions of Al-Khwrazm for the equations x2+bx=c and x2=bx+c on proposition II 6 of Euclid's Elements and the proof of the solution of the equation x2+c=bx on Euclid's proposition II 5.105 It may be said that the establishment of the relationships between the geometrical solutions of Al-Khwrazm and the said propositions of Euclid does not stand in need of an undue forcing of the imagination, but whereas it may be claimed that these are in a way implicit in Al-Khwrazm they are explicitly set forth and formally established in Thabit ibn Qurra. Moreover, it is to be noted that Thabit ibn Qurra does not present these proofs or the establishment of these relationships clearly as an original personal contribution of his own. The possibility that he may be speaking in line with a tradition going back to times before Al-Khwrazm cannot therefore be entirely excluded on the basis of Thabit ibn Qurra's text.106 Thabit ibn Qurra's justifications for the solutions of the "mixed" second-degree equations are undoubtedly more sophisticated than those of Al-Khwrazm. But, as we have seen, Thabit ibn Qurra too, at times, seems to have been satisfied with more down-to-earth and simple geometrical demonstrations, leaving to the reader the more complicated ones. It is reasonable to think, therefore, that Ai-Khwrazm's simple geometrical justifications for his solutions of quadratic equations, and his simple practical approach in the section on menstruation in his Algebra, do not, in any way, mean that he was unfamiliar or antagonistic to the Euclidean approach to classical synthetic geometry. At the threshold of modern era in science, we witness the discovery of the law of refraction of light. On the subject, Cajori writes as follows: "The law of refraction was discovered by Willebrord Snell (1591-1626), professor of mechanics at Leyden. He never published his discovery, but both Huygens and Isaak Voss claim to have examined Snell's manuscript He stated the law in the inconvenient form as follows: For the same media the ratio of the cosecants of the angle of incidence and of refraction retains always the same value. As the cosecants vary inversely as the sines, the equivalence of this to the modern form becomes evident. As far as known, Sneil did not attempt a theoretical deduction of the law, but he verified it experimentally. The law of sines, as found in modern books, was given by
See, Aydin Sayili, "Thabit ibn Qurra's Generalization of the Pythagorean Theorem", Isis, vol. 51, 1960, pp. 35-37. See also, Aydin Sayili, "Sabit ibn Kurra'nin Pitagor Teoremini Tanimi", Belleten (Turkish Historical Society), vol. 22, 1958, pp. 527-549. 105 P, Luckey, "Thabit b. Qurra ber dem Georaetrischen Richtigkeitsnachweis der Auflosung der Quadratischen Gleichungen", Sachsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse, Bericht 93, Sitzung von 7 Juli, 1941, pp. (93-14) 95, 105-112; J. L. Berggren, Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam, Spinger-Verlag, pp. 104.-106. 106 Ibid., pp. 95, 106, 107, 110, 111.
104
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Descartes in his La Dioptrique, 1637. He does not mention Snell, and probably discovered the law independently. (1. Various opinions have been held on this point. ...) Descartes made no experiments, but deduced the law theoretically from the following assumptions: (1) the velocity of light is greater in a denser medium (now known to be wrong); (2) for the same media these velocities have the same ratio for all angles of incidence; (3) the velocity component parallel to the refracting surface remains unchanged during refraction (now known to be wrong). The improbability of the correctness of these assumptions brought about attacks upon the demonstration from the mathematician Fermat and others. Fermat deduced the law from the assumption that light travels from a point in one medium to a point in another medium in the least time, and that the velocity is less in the denser medium."107 It is very interesting that Abu Sa'd al-cAla ibn Sahl of the last quarter of the tenth century, in his geometric study of lenses, arrived at a conclusion of a constant ratio of certain distances and that this is equivalent to Snellius' law of refraction. Here the idea of the physical factor of the denseness of transparent media, i.e., the index of refraction, does not occur as a factor that should be taken into consideration in accordance with the media coming into play. Moreover, as this study of dioptrics concerns the burning quality of lenses, it is tied up with the idea of focus. Thus, Ibn Sahl is led to deal with the conic sections, i.e., to restrict himself to such configurations, and as his work is based on empirical study of the phenomenon of concentration of light on a single point; he is guided by experimental data. This secured the correctness of the results he arrived at and thus made him, at least partly, a forerunner of Snellius, or Snell, at a date even before the time of Ibn al-Haytham.108 We see here three contemporary and independent proofs of the same law of physics. This was a law sought for a long time by many outstanding scientists such as Ptolemy and Ibn al-Haytham without success. How did it happen to be established in three different manners within relatively short intervals? One of these later on proved to rest on wrong premises. Fermat's proof of the correctness of the law is entirely theoretical and hypothetical, while that of Snell is based on observation and experiments. It is perhaps not far-fetched to see a parallelism between these and the proof of Al-Khwrazm's solution formulas for second-degree algebraic equations. Just as Snell need not be antagonistic toward theoretical proofs of a law of physics or Fermat toward an experimental proof, so it is not reasonable to conclude that Al-Khwrazm was against Euclid's geometry or ignorant of it, because in a tract of his meant for practical men without theoretical training he did not proceed in a formal synthetic geometrical approach. Such an assumption of ignorance or antagonism on the part of Al-Khwrazm would, moreover, seem entirely out of tune with the intellectual orientation of the institution in which he seems to have occupied a prominent place and with the cultural policy of the caliph who had great confidence in his knowledge and scholarship. In 1932 Solomon Gandz published a paper in which he claimed that the Bab al-Masaha part of Al-Khwrazm's Algebra was borrowed from a Hebrew book by the name of Mishnat ha Middot which, in his estimate, had been written in about 150 A.D.109 William Thomson reviewed this work in Isis.110 He notes that Hermann Schapira "was the first to perceive the extraordinary likeness between the Mishnat ha-Middot and one section of the algebra of Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrazm."111 William Thomson may be said to summarize, in its trenchant lines, his impression of Gandz's work in the following paragraph: "The whole literary and historical background of the problem presented by the book is discussed by Gandz with great acumen and scholarly simplicity in his introduction to the Hebrew and Arabic texts, and the problem is laid bare in such a masterly fashion and the facts stated so candidly that it is possible for a scholar to draw his own conclusions, if he does not agree with those of Gandz. The emendations and reconstructions of the Hebrew text
Florian Cajori, A History of Physics, The Macmillan Company, New York 1935, p. 83. See, Roshdi Rashcd, "A Pioneer in Anaclastics. Ibn Sahl on Burning Mirrors and Lenses", Isis, vol. 81, 1990, pp. 464-491. On the question of the discovery of the law of refraction, see also: Antoni Malet, "Gregorie, Descartes, Kepler, and the Law of Refraction", Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences, vol. 4.0, no 125, 1990, pp. 278-304. 109 Solomon Gandz, "The Mishnat ha Middot and the Geometry of Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrazm", Quellen und Studien zur Geschkhte der MatheMlik Astronomic und Physik, Abteilung A: Quellen, vol. 2, 1932, pp. 1-96. 110 Isis, vol. 20, 1933, pp. 274-280. 111 Ibid, p. 275.
108 107
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proposed by Gandz are the fruits of ripe scholarship and based on genuine philological grounds, many of his notes are nothing short of essays on the historical development of mathematical terminology, and as far as the texts and translations are concerned, the edition is as definite as can well be expected. In the statement of his thesis, however, there is some confusion, and the evidence on which he relies to demonstrate it will not be accepted in toto without further proof."112 Concerning the date 150 A.D., which Gandz advances for the Mishnat ha-Middot, William Thomson writes as follows: "The crux of the matter lies in the authorship, and it should be pointed out that the name, Nehemiah, occurs only twice, and both times in the Bodleian fragment only, ... Moreover, the connexion of this name with the Rabbi Nehemiah of the second century C.E. is, of course, a conjecture, resting for the most part on the fact that he appears to have been interested in mathematical computation."113 Further, on, William Thomson says, "Moreover, the comparative table on page 85 does not prove that the bulk of Al-Khwrazm's geometry was taken from the Mishnat ha-Middot. The order of the sections is entirely different. In one section the Arabic has another text altogether and another section is not represented in the Hebrew at all. Sometimes the Hebrew is fuller, at others the Arabic. In some sections the Arabic arranges the material quite differently from the Hebrew, in others it adds proofs that appear to be of a more developed type than those given in the Mishnat ha-Middot, not to speak of phrases and sentences that are occasionally of vital import and which Gandz on two occasions at least (cf. p. 29, note 38) inserts into the Hebrew text with no other justification than that the author of the Mishnat ha-Middot shows in another section that he knew the required formula, a plausible argument, if we overlook the fact that the Mishnat ha-Middot has probably had a history of its own. These facts do not point to a direct dependence of the one book upon the other, but only to a family resemblance, and Al-Khwrazm's chapter on menstruation is probably a more advanced type of a common school text, of which an earlier type served as basis for the Mishnat ha-Middot.114 William Thomson's reference to family resemblance brings to mind Hero of Alexandria, one of the most outstanding representatives of the tradition of practical mathematics or the mathematics of mensuration. He flourished around the year 62 A.D. Otto Neugebauer, who discovered that an eclipse of the moon described by Hero corresponds to an eclipse in A.D. 62 and to none other during some five hundred years extending around that time reference point, ingeniously tied the otherwise vague chronology of his life span to that year.115 Concerning Hero of Alexandria, Marshall Clagett writes: "We have already suggested that Gaien and Ptolemy were not the only authors of the early Christian era who represented Greek science at its highest level. Hero of Alexandria also belongs to that select group. We have already discussed his Mechanics as being the culminating effort of mechanics in late antiquity (see Chap. Six) and as containing both theoretical and applied mechanics. His writings, particularly the Metrica, which included many formulae, and his commentary on Euclid's Elements (of which parts remain in Arabic) reveal him as an excellent mathematician."116 Michael S. Mahoney speaks as follows concerning Hero's mathematics: "The historical evaluation of Hero's mathematics, like that of his mechanics, reflects the recent development of the history of science itself. Compared at first with figures like Archimedes and Apollonius, Hero appeared to embody the "decline" of Greek mathematics after the third century B.C. His practically oriented mensurational treatises then seemed to be the work of a mere "technician, ignorant or neglectful of the theoretical
Ibid., p. 277. Ibid., p. 277. 114 Ibid., p. 278. 115 A.G. Drachmann, "Hero of Alexandria", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, ed. Charles Coulston Gillispie, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1972, vol. 6, p. 310. 116 Marshall Clagett, Greek Science in Antiquity, Abelard-Schuman, Inc., New York 1955, p. 117.
113 112
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sophistication of his predecessors. As Neugebauer and others have pointed out, however, recovery of the mathematics of the Babylonians and greater appreciation of the uses to which mathematics was put in antiquity have necessitated a revaluation of Hero's achievement. In the light of recent scholarship, he now appears as a well-educated and often ingenious applied mathematician as well as a vital link in a continuous tradition of practical mathematics from the Babylonians, through the Arabs, to Renaissance Europe. "The breadth and depth of Hero's mathematics are revealed most clearly in his Metrica, a mensurational treatise in three books. ... The prologue to the work gives a definition of geometry as being, both etymologically and historically, the science of measuring land. It goes on to state that out of practical need the results for plane surfaces have been extended to solid figures and to cite recent work by Eudoxus and Archimedes as greatly extending its effectiveness. Hero meant to set out the "state of the art, and the thrust of the Metrica is thus always toward practical menstruation, with a resulting ambiguity toward the rigor and theoretical fine points of classical Greek geometry.... . .. .. "Hero's work enjoyed a wide audience. This is clear not only from what has been said above, but also in that fragments of his works can be found in the writings of several Arab mathematicians, including al-Nayrizt and alKhwrazm"117 Gad B. Sarfatti, writing in 1968, has estimated, according to Roshdi Rashed, that the date of composition of the Mishnat ha-Middot was later than that of Al-Khwrazm's book on algebra.118 Previously Julius Ruska had advanced the thesis that the Bab al-Ma-saha was inspired by Indian works.119 Aristide Marre speaks of parallels of the Bab al-Masaha with certain Indian books and also with Hern.120 Examples similar to those given by Al-Khwrazm and Thabit ibn Qurra, in line with "Socrates proof which is called the method of "reduction and composition" by Thabit ibn Qurra, are not rare in the history of mathematics. The origin of proofs based on this method is sometimes traced to late ninth century Indian mathematicians.121 But the fact that it can be traced back to Plato indicates clearly that its origins must be sought in much earlier times. Such details found in widely separated sources clearly show that Al-Khwrazm's and cAbdul-Hamd's geometrical schemes of verification or justification for their solutions of second degree equations were far from being irreconcilable with Greek classical synthetic geometry and constituting merely "naive" and primitive approaches unworthy of one steeped in Euclidean axiomatic geometry which secured and supplied a clearly thought-out notion of "proof. The Pythagoreans "proved" the irrationality of 2 in an irrefutable manner, and, likewise, the theorem a2+b2=c2 for a right angled triangle, and Archytas conceived his masterly solution of the duplication of the cube long before Euclid. These should therefore be classified in the group as perfectly satisfactory proofs of preEuclidean geometry achieved at a time when the notion of proof was not as yet sufficiently clear and sophisticated or rigorous. Modern mathematicians too have now and then felt quite free to give the status of axiom to widely differing items of knowledge, and this is reminiscent of the pre-Euclidean proofs of Euclidean geometry. All in all, it would seem perfectly reasonable therefore to qualify the geometric justifications of the solutions of second degree equations seen in Al-Khwrazm and cAbdu'l-Hamd ibn Turk as geometric proofs or demonstrations
117 118
Michael S. Mahoney, "Hero of Alexandria: Mathematics", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 6, 1972, pp. 314, 315. Roshdi Rashed, Entre Arithmetique et Algebre, p. 19, note 7. 119 Julius Ruska, "Zur Altesten Arabischen Algebra und Rechenkunst", Silzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, 1917, pp. 1-125. 120 Aristide Marre, op. cit., pp. 2-14. 121 W. Lietzmann, Der Pythagorische Lehrsatz, Stuttgart 1953, p. 24, Harriet D. Hirschy, "The Pythagorean Theorem", Historical Topics for the Mathematics Classroom, Thirty-first Yearbook, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Washington, D.C., 1969, pp. 215-218.
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although the simplicity of the geometry underlying them may tend to create the impression that they should not deserve such a pretentious name. The third part of Al-Khwrazm's Algebra deals with the algebra of inheritance. This part (the Kitb al-Wasy) is seen to occupy almost half of the whole book, so that we may conclude that Al-Khwrazm must have attached great value to this part of his Algebra in particular. This part occupies pp. 65-122 in the Arabic text of 122 pages, as published by Rosen, and pp. 86-174 in Rosen's translation. In fact, as we have seen, and as pointed out by Gandz, Al-Khwrazm emphasized in his Introduction to his Algebra that he has written his book in order to serve the practical needs of the people in their affairs of inheritance, legacies, partition, lawsuits, commerce, etc. In the Kitb al-Wasy (Book on Legacies) inheritance and legacies are mentioned first, thus also indicating that here was the most important part of his work.122 The algebra of inheritance part of his book may constitute the most original contribution of Al-Khwrazm in his book on algebra. In the Hisb ad-Dawr (Computation of Return) section of the Kitb al-Wasy,123 in his introductory note Rosen criticizes Al-Khwrazm's treatment of the problems presented, and this criticism is seen to have been accepted in its general outlines by such outstanding authors as Cantor and Wieleitner, until Gandz appeared on the scene and showed that the misunderstanding was due to deficiency of a knowledge of the Islamic laws of inheritance on the part of Rosen, who did the pioneering work on Al-Khwrazm, and of his followers such as Cantor and Wieleitner. Al-Khwrazm did pioneering work in such important fields as arithmetic, algebra, cartography, and the publication of trigonometric and astronomical tables in the World of Islam. In case he has to share the glory due to him in these domains with some fellow scientists and scholars, this should not detract from the credit due to him. It seems, as we have seen, that he has to share some of this glory with cAbdu'l-Hamd ibn Turk in algebra and arithmetic, in spite of Abu Kmil Shujac ibn Aslam's verdict. Both in the field of algebra and the positional number system Mesopotamia and the Sumerians in particular occupy a very fundamental place in world history. The Mesopotamian influence may be viewed also in a much broader perspective resulting from Neugebauer's wide-reaching researches. David Pingree writes: "The fundamental conclusions which he (Neugebauer) reached is that, almost without exception (the Chinese and the Mayans are the exceptions), the various civilizations of the world have all depended on the Babylonians for their basic understanding of mathematical astronomy, though each has reshaped what they received, directly or indirectly from Babylon, to suit its own traditions and requirements."124 We shall see in this paper, shortly hereafter that the Babylonian mathematical astronomy may possibly have influenced China also, and that Central Asia, the home of both Al-Khwrazm and cAbdu'l-Hamd ibn Turk, may have served as intermediary in the passage of this influence. Thus, Neugebauer's impression (or, at least, that of David Pingree) that China was an exception will have turned out to be wrong, i.e., if such an influence can be fully ascertained or substantiated. It is, moreover, likely also that such an influence played a part, and in more than one way, in the process of the spread of the notion of the system of numerals and calculations because of the positional system. Here too Central Asia and China seem to have possibly come into play to a certain extent, as we shall see. And this particular aspect of the problem interests us very much both from the standpoint of Al-Khwrazm and AbdulHamd ibn Turk. There is evidence, moreover, as we have seen, that Al-Khwrazm knew Turkish and that he belonged to the Turkish sector of the population of Khwarazm, just like Al-Beyrn.125 Indeed, there would be little chance or occasion for a non-Turk living in Baghdad to master the Turkish language and Professor Akmal Ayyub speaks of
122 123
S. Gandz, "The Algebra of Inheritance, A Rehabilitation of Al-Khwarazmi. Osiris, vol. 5, 1938, p. 324. Rosen's translation, pp. 133-174; Melek Dosay's translation, pp. 106-137. 124 David Pingree, "Neugebauer, 1899-1990", Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences, vol. 40, no 124, Juin 1990, p. 83. 125 See above, pp. 8-9 and notes 20-28.
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him as "one of the greatest Turkish minds of the medieval Islamic age" and says that "he was Turk by nationality but Arab in language."126 cAbdul-Hamd ibn Turk too was obviously a Turk by firsthand authentication and open acknowledgment. Now, Al-Khwrazm and cAbdul-Hamd ibn Turk wrote algebra at a relatively early date, i.e., about two generations before the book of Diophantos on arithmetic, which played a very important part in the history of algebra, was translated into Arabic. The question automatically comes to mind as to what was the source of their knowledge. It is extremely interesting therefore that they were both Turkish, or, more generally, speaking Central Asian. Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), in his well-known Muqaddima states in a categorical manner that in the fields of science and learning (intellectual endeavours) the part played by the Arabs was a very minor one, while that of the non-Arabs, i.e., ajams was very substantial and outstanding.127 There is no doubt that Ibn Khaldun exaggerates the little importance he attributes to the contribution of the Arabs to intellectual pursuits of medieval Islam, But it is equally true that he makes a remarkably apt observation when he emphasizes the part played by non-Arabs of Eastern Islam and Central Asia in an unequivocal manner. Indeed, it is a fact that Central Asia was the home of a great majority of the most outstanding Islamic thinkers and scientists such as cAbdul-Hamd ibn Turk, Farghn, Frbi, Ibn Sn, Abu'l-Waf, Beyrn, Gazl, Umar Khayym, and Nasru'd-Dn Ts. Certain scholars are wont to tie up this situation solely with the Persian elements of the population of Central Asia, or, those that may be considered as relatives of the Persians. But this attitude is not sufficiently reasonable. In fact, Persia itself was not, as a region, so much in the forefront of the countries giving rise to the production of scientists and thinkers, when compared to Central Asia, i.e., to the countries in the east and northeast of Persia itself. These remarks of Ibn Khaldun are somehow indicative of a basic circumstance that must have been predominant in the medieval Islamic World, and it is worth to attempt to disentangle the various elements involved in this state of affairs. At any rate, it is not a matter to be taken lightly. Indeed, the distinguished German Orientalist Ignaz Goldziher writes: ... Under Islam the Arabization of non-Arab, elements and their participation in the scholarly activities of Muslim society advanced rapidly, and there are few examples in the cultural history of mankind to rival this process. Towards the end of the First century there is a grammarian in Madna named Bushkest, a name that sounds quite Persian. ... The fathers and grandfathers of many others, who excelled in politics, science, and literature, had been Persian or Turkish prisoners of war who became affiliated to Arab tribes and who by their completely Arabic nisbes almost made people forget their foreign origin. But on the other hand it was not impossible for such Arab mawl to retain a memory of their foreign descent, though it was not very common." The famous Arab poet Ab Ishq Ibrhm al-Sl was a descendant of Sol Tigin, a Khorasanian Turkish prince who was defeated by Yazid ibn Muhallab toward the end of the first quarter of the eighth century and had lost his throne. Converted to Islam, he became one of the most zealous partisans of his conqueror. He is said to have written upon the arrows he sent against the Caliphs troops: "Sol is calling upon you to follow the book of God and the Sunna of His Prophet."128 An item of information that an influence of algebraic astronomy came from Central Asia, or from parts of China on the borderlands of Central Asia, to the Chinese astronomers in the eighth century is of great interest in this context, i.e., in view of the fact that both Al-Khwrazm and cAbdul-Hamd ibn Turk were from Central Asia. Shigeru Nakayama writes:
126
See, N. Akmal Ayyubi, "Contributions of Al-Khwrazm to Mathematics and Geography", Bulletin of the Institute of Islamic Studies, vol. 17-21, 1984-1988, published by The Institute of Islamic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, p. 82; N. Akmal Ayyubi, "Contributions of Al-Khwrazm to Mathematics and Geography", Acts of the International Symposium on Ibn Turk, Khwrazm, Farabi, Beyrn, and Ibn Sina (Ankara, 9-12 September 1985), Ankara 1990, pp. 213-214. 127 See, Franz Rosenthal's translation, vol. 3, 1958, pp. 311-315. 128 Goldziher, Muslim Studies, English translation by S.M. Stern, London 1967, pp. 108-109.
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"The solar equation of centre was the most important problem with which professional mathematical astronomers in ancient times had to deal. Western astronomers traditionally treated it with geometry and trigonometry, while the Chinese generally relied on an entirely different pragmatically and empirical tradition, namely numerical interpolation between values of the midday gnomon-shadow length observed at, say, ten-day intervals. There is, however, another tradition using an algebraic function of second order (degree) that seems to have originated in Central Asia sometime around the eighth century. This third approach was discovered by the present writer in 1964 and briefly described in English. ... "The Futian calendarical system (that is, the step-by-step methods for computing the ephemeris) has been known as one of the unofficial calendars compiled in A.D. 780-783 in China. The compiler, Cao Shiwei ... originated in the western part of China. One conjectures that he or his family originally came from Samarkand. "No part of the content of the Futian calendar has survived in China to this day. Tradition says that it was based on an Indian calendar and speaks of it as having entirely altered the old Chinese method. ... Another innovation of the Futian calendar is its use of decimals rather than traditional fractions. ... "H. Momo has shown that the Futian calendar was the major tool of the Buddhist school of astronomy, the productions of which competed with the official Chinese-style ephemeredes made by Japanase court astronomers. He has also proven that two extant twelfth-century Japanese horoscopes had been calculated with the Futian calendar. ... "In 1963, the late J. Maeyama found a text entitled 'Futenreki nitten sa rissei' (The Futian calendar table of the solar equation of center, in I volume) in the Tenri Library. The present writer analyzed it astronomically. ..." Tatara Hoyu ''edited several collections, one of them entitled 'Ten-mon hisho' (Esoteric works of astronomy) which includes a fragment of the Futian calendar.... "The text consists of a short illustration of calculation and a table of the solar equation of centre for each Chinese degree (defined as the mean daily solar motion). Though the explanation of the computational method is somewhat clumsy, analysis of the table clearly showed that the data given are all calculated from the formula x=(182 - y) y/3300, where x is the equation of centre and y is the mean solar anomaly, both expressed in Chinese degrees. "This formula employed in the Futian calendar resembles neither the traditional Chinese empirical (interpolation between observational data) nor the Hellenistic-Indian geometrical or trigonometrically approach. It is an algebraic calculation of second order (degree). "Whether such an algebraic method is superior to empirical or geometrical techniques is hard to judge. It has the advantage of being easily calculated on a counting board, especially in a culture such as China where decimal calculation was widespread. ... This algebraic function became a regular feature of Chinese calendar calculation. It was also employed later for the same purpose in the Uygur calendar. ... The traditional approach required empirical data for the solar equation of centre on any given day, that is, day-to-day observation of the position of the sun.... ... The algebraic expression introduced into calendarical calculation in the eighth century provided an alternative method simpler, easier and more convenient for calendar calculators."129 Much more knowledge of concrete detail would of course be desirable on this question. But one item of information is quite clear, and this is that knowledge of algebra, and in particular concerning second degree
129
Shigem Nakayama, "The Emergence of the Third Paradigm for Expressing Astronomical Parameters: Algebraic Function", Erdem, vol. 6, (no 18), 1992, pp. 877-884.
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equations, was apparently available in Central Asian regions neighbouring China on its western boundaries, i.e., neighbouring Chinese Turkistan, or Chinese Turkistan itself, during the eighth century. Roughly speaking, this is the vast area extending between Iran and China, including perhaps the western parts of China itself; Khwarazm also and Khuttal, and Gilan (or jilan), i.e., the homes or birthplaces of Al-Khwrazm and cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk, are located within this geographical region. Again, we know for sure that this knowledge was available more specifically at a time which corresponds to the beginning of Al-Khwrazmi's life span, and it is also very likely that the life span of cAbdu'l-Hamd ibn Turk was roughly the same as that of Al-Khwrazm, if not somewhat earlier. All this is clear, and we may therefore conclude that this explains why Al-Khwrazm and Ibn Turk were in a position to write for the first time in the World of Islam a book on algebra, and more specifically on second-degree equations. And we may therefore conclude that it was not due to a mere coincidence that both these mathematicians were natives of Central Asia. Sanad ibn cAli Sanad ibn cAli's name also appears in the Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadm as the author of a book on algebra. He too was a contemporary of the caliph Al-Ma'mun and of Al-Khwrazm. The question arises therefore whether he too was of Central Asian origin. I have not gone into a detailed work on Sanad ibn cAli's place of birth and his life, of which not much seems to be known, however. For A. S. Saidan's observation that these words of Ibn al-Nadm fit in very well with the works of Al-Khwrazm, and that as they are not corroborated elsewhere, i.e., other sources on Islamic scholars and scientists, Sanad ibn cAli is not considered here as author of a book on algebra.130 Of great interest to our subject would also seem to be Shigeru Nakayama's statement concerning the Chinese tradition of day-to-day observation of the position of the sun. Habash al-Hsib, a contemporary of Al-Ma'mun, states that the one-year program of observation in Al-Ma'mun's Qasiyun Observatory at Dayr Murrn was fully accomplished and that these astronomical observations were made every day.131 This program of astronomical work was set up just after the decision of Al-Ma'mun and his astronomers that Ptolemy's astronomy constituted the definitely superior knowledge of the time and that it should be adopted in preference to methods of Indian astronomy, we also know that Al-Ma'mun was personally involved in the taking of this decision.132 Day-to-day observation was probably very rarely practiced in Islam and Western Europe up to the time of Tycho Brahe. We know very little about the type of work carried out in the Islamic observatories of the Middle Ages, but there is no evidence at all that such a method of daily observation became established as a tradition in these institutions. The Qsiyun example is just about the first serious and systematic attempt to establish a fruitful scientific research program. And it was decided at this juncture that Greek astronomy was superior to that of India. One may wonder therefore whether there was also an influence deriving from the Chinese empirical tradition upon Islam at such a relatively early date. For the Chinese had astronomical bureaus with imperial astronomers and astrologers. These bureaus were equipped with staffs, and regular observations of stellar bodies were carried out in these bureaus. They may be likened to primitive astronomical observatories or to the Islamic muvakkit offices133 and Al-Ma'mun was the first to found an astronomical observatory in Islam.
130 131
See above, p. 20 and note 62 for Saidans remarks on this question. See, Aydin Sayili, The Observatory in Islam, p. 57 and note 37. 132 See, Aydin Sayili, the Observatory in Islam, pp. 79-80, and also above, p. 4 note 12. 133 Colin A. Ronan, the Shorter Science and Civilization in China; 2, Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 75-77.
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A.S. Saidan doubts the existence of any Chinese influence on Islamic mathematicians (and astronomers) before the foundation of the Maragha Observatory in the second half of the thirteenth century.134 Cultural contact between China and the Islamic World before the spread and establishment of the Muslim religion in Central Asia must have been relatively insignificant due to the vast distances between the two Worlds. There was the Silk Route causing some cultural contact between China and the Near East, and Central Asia. But we are more interested here with serious and weighty scientific and intellectual contacts, which may at times be casual and rather personal, from relatively early dates on and particularly before the advent of the Seljuqs, and it is clear that Central Asia acted as intermediary between China and the bulk of the Islamic World, as it did, through Buddhism in particular, between India and China. As is well known, there is a hadith, i.e., a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad in which the Muslims are recommended to search knowledge (cilm," i.e., scientific knowledge or, at least, knowledge including the scientific) even in China: utlubu'l- ilme walaw bi's-Sn. This saying is not found in the six basic and classical hadith collections, and this indicates that, very likely, it is not a true hadith. Abu'l-Hasan cAli al-Hujwr (d. 1072) mentions it,135 and he may be among the early examples of the persons who propagated it. Hujwr was from the southern extension of Central Asia whose interest in such cultural contacts should naturally be of significance, and the very fact that such a saying was put into circulation would indicate that China was considered as of some importance from this standpoint. Indeed, examples of fruitful contacts of great significance were, as we shall see, already in existence. It was natural therefore that their continuation should be considered profitable in intellectual centres. Arab conquests in Central Asia brought the boundaries of the Muslim World closer to China. But direct contact between Arab and Chinese forces was rare, and the Battle of Talas in 751 A.D. marked the end of such rare direct military encounters. The Turkish element of the population of Central Asia acted as intermediary between whatever contacts the Muslim World had with China. Whether Muslim or non-Muslim, Turks appear as the major element of Central Asia's population. Modem scholarship seems to have exaggerated the importance of the Indo-European elements of Asia's population. From the start of the Arab conquests beyond the northern and eastern boundaries of Persia on, the Arab armies met Turks practically everywhere in Central Asia, including the southwestern regions of Central Asia, i.e., northern India. The same situation seems to be true from the standpoint of cultural contact too, including what we may characterize as major scientific and intellectual ones. The picture created by Firdaws's Shhnma, i.e., the world of the Turans as confronting that of Iran, or Persia, seems to turn out to be quite realistic. The same impression is corroborated by the accounts of Muslim travellers in non-Muslim regions of Central or Inner Asia too. In this connection the picture created by Nizami of Ganja in his couplet "Z Kh-i Hazar t bi Derya-yi Cn - Heme Turk bar Turk Bn Zemn" [i.e., from the Khazar Mountain (Caucasian Mountains) to the Sea of China (Pacific Ocean) - All the way through, you came across regions populated by Turks, one after another] seems to constitute a correct image of the situation if one excepts China itself, i.e., if one thinks, beyond the Chinese Wall, of the lands to the north of China.136 Central Asia is a vast region, and its boundaries may be established of course by convention, but they are and should be based on historical as well as geographical considerations. The northern India of the Middle Ages, i.e., Afghanistan and the present Pakistan, may conveniently be included within the bounds of Central Asia.
Ahmad Saidan, Al-Fusul fi'l-Hisb al-Hindi li Abul-Hasan Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Uqldisi, History of Arabic Arithmetic, vol. a, Urdun 1977, p. 251; see also, A.S. Saidan, The Arithmetic of al-Uqldis, D. Reidel Publishing Co., 1978, pp. 466-485. 135 See, Aydin Sayili, the Observatory in Islam, pp. 13-14. 136 See, Nizam-i Ganjawi, Iskendernme, Sharafnme section, Kulliyt-i Hamsa-i Hakm Nizam-i Ganjaw, Emr-i Kebr edition, 1344 HS (1965) Tehran, p. 1100.
134
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The Hephthalites extended their conquests to Northern India in this sense. They were apparently of Turkish origin, and the Tukyus inherited the lands within the Hephthalite Empire. As a consequence of this, when the Arab armies penetrated these lands shortly after the termination of their conquest of Persia, they met, in these regions, with Turkish rulers and princes such as Rutbil of Kabul and the Turkish Shahis and several other rulers and princes of Turkish stock all over the different regions of Central Asia. The rulers and armies as well as a considerable part of the population of these regions were Turkish, and the Arab conquerors consequently left these local rulers in power as tributaries of their Khorasan governors.137 This general ethnic picture of Central Asia, as far as its Turkish element of population is concerned, is apparently capable of extension quite a long way back, through extrapolation and interpolation - as a matter of fact, to times close to the dawn of history in Mesopotamia. As revealed by cuneiform tablets of the Sumerians dating back to 2500-2200 B.C., the titles of the kings of the Gutians of Mesopotamia are seen to be in a Turkish very close to that of the Orhun inscriptions of Central Asia belonging to the Tukyus from the first half of the eighth century A.D.138 A bone amulet, carved in the shape of a deer, on which is written "white meral, i.e., white deer, in runic letters, i.e., the letters of the Orhun alphabet, shows, in the words of Altay Amonjolov, that the runic alphabet "was the script of the early Turkic speaking peoples, the alphabetic script of the Sakas ... in the fifth century (previous to our era) in South Siberia and Kazakhistan. ..." The same author speaks also of a silver bowl found in an excavation near the city of Esik at the foot of the mountains in the environs of the Ili River. On this, again, stands a short inscription in Turkic belonging to the Saka period (the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.). Altay Amonjolov writes, concerning this archaeological find, as follows: "The great value of this writing is that it once again concretely proves that the language of the Saka peoples, who settled in the territory of Kazakhstan in early times was the ancient Turkic language. Furthermore, ... it testifies to the fact that Turkic speaking peoples of 2500 years ago knew alphabetic writing and made use of it widely."139 It has been known, on the other hand, since the last decade or so of the last century that the language of the Sumerians, who occupy an altogether extraordinary place at the origins of the history of our present-day Western civilization, was an agglutinative tongue similar in various respects to the Turkish language.140 The similarity of Turkish and the Sumerian language, and the probability therefore that the "Sumerians were a Turkish-related people" has recently been attested, on a special occasion, by Samuel Noah Kramer, one of the greatest Sumerologists of our era.141
137 See, H.A.R. Gibb, The Arab Conquest in Central Asia, The Royal Asiatic Society, 1923; H. A. R. Gibb, Orta Asya Futuhati (M. Hakki cevirisi), Evkaf Matbaasi, Istanbul 1930; Richard N. Frye and Aydin Sayili, "Turks in the Middle East Before the Seljuqs", Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 63, 1943, pp. 194-207; Richard N, Frye and Aydin Sayili, "Selcuklulardan Evvel Orta Sark'ta Turkler", Belleten (Turk Tarih Kurumu), vol. 10, 1946, pp. 97-131; R.N. Frye and Aydin Sayili, "Turks in Khurosan and Transoxania Before the Seljuqs", Muslim World, vol. 35, 1945, pp. 308-315; Zeki Velidi Togan, "Eftalitlerin Mensei Meselesi", see below, note 156. Aydin Sayili, "The Nationality of the Hepthalites", Belleten (TTK), vol. 46, 1982, pp. 17-33; N.A. Baloch, "An Evaluation of Birum's References to the Turk Rulers of Kabul and Peshawar Region in the Light of Historical Perspective of the Turkish States and Principalities During the 7th-10th Centuries A.D,", Acts of the International Symposium of Ibn Turk, Khwrazm, Frb, and Ibn Sn, Ankara 1990, pp. 23-32; same article in Turkish translation by Esin Kahya, Uluslararasi Ibn Turk, Khwrazm, Frb, Beyrn, ve Ibn Sn Sempozyumu Bildirileri, Ankara 1990, pp. 26-34. 138 See, Kemal Balkan, "Relations between the Language of the Gutians and Old Turkish", and its Turkish: "Eski Onasya'da Kut (veya Gut) Halkinin Dili ile Eski Turkce Arasindaki Benzerlik", Erdem, no 16, 1992, pp. 1-125. 139 Altay Amonjolov, "The Words of Ancestors", Erdem, vol. 5, no 15, 199). pp. 794, 795. See also, Semih Tezcan, "En Eski Turk Dili ve Yazini", Bilim, Kltr ve Ogretim Dili Olarak Trkce, ed. Aydin Sayili, Ankara 1978, p. 282. Semih Tezcan warns us that the conclusions to be drawn From the Esik excavation must be handled with caution. 140 For the place of the Sumerians in the world intellectual history, see, e.g., Samuel Noah Kramer, History Begins at Sumer, London 1961, or, From the Tablets of Sumer, 25 Firsts in Man's Recorded History, 1965, and, more specifically, for their contributions to the exact sciences and medicine, see, Aydin Sayili, Misirlilarda ve Mezopotamyalilarda Matematik, Astronomi ve Tip, Ankara 1966, 1992. 141 Mbahat Turker-Kyel, "Ataturk'un civi Yazili Kultur Arastirmalarina iliskin Katkilari Hakkinda Uc Tarihsel Belge Daha", Erdem, no 16, Ankara 1995, pp. 294-297.
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The Sumerians are believed to have come from Central Asia to Mesopotamia about 3500 or 4000 B.C., i.e., a millennium or 1500 years before the Gutians. All this goes to show that Turks were a constituent part of the population of Central Asia since times immemorial and that Turkish is one of the most ancient languages of history. In Arabic there is a special word, qirts, for paper, but the word kghad, or kghaz, is more widely used, and not only in Arabic but also in Persian, Turkish, Urdu, and the languages of southeast Asia. Several etymological origins have been suggested for this word by various authors. Berthold Laufer believes it to be of Uyghur Turkish origin.142 Philip K. Hitti writes: "Worthy of special note is the manufacture of writing paper, introduced in the middle of the eighth century into Samarqand from China. The paper of Samarqand that was captured by the Muslims in 704 was considered matchless. Before the close of that century, Baghdad saw its first paper-mill. Gradually others for making paper followed."143 Rag paper was supposed to have been made for the first time in Europe in relatively modern times. But research made in the later years of the last century and the early parts of the present century showed that the manufacture of rag paper went back, in Turkistan as well as in China, almost to the very period when paper was invented. Thomas Francis Carter says: "Examination of paper from Turkistan, dating from the second to the eighth centuries of our era, shows that the materials used are the bark of the mulberry tree; hemp, both raw fibers and those which have been fabricated (fish nets, etc.); and various plant fibers, especially China grass (Brehmeria Nicea), not in their raw form but taken from rags."144 Concerning the passage of paper from China and Central Asia to the World of Islam, Emel Esin writes: "According to information contained in various Islamic sources, Chinese prisoners captured by the Muslims in the Battle of Talas (751 A.D.) or Uyghur Turks taken as prisoners of war by the Amir of Samarqand during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mahdi (775-788), taught the manufacture of paper to the people of Samarqand. It is possible that both these assertions are meant to refer to Uyghurs (Toguz-Guzz). For in that era the term Chin (China) did not refer exclusively to the China of our day. In those days, China proper was called "Machin" which was, apparently, a distorted form of Maha-Chin (Great China). The region of East Turkistan, Kashgar, and the lands of the Uyghurs, which are all in the boundary district of the China of our time, were called "Chin, i.e., China, in those days. Moreover, the sovereignty of the Uyghur Empire extended in the west to the region of Farghana and could become involved in warlike activities with the Islamic realm. The likelihood or possibility that these artisan or artist war prisoners were of Uyghur extraction is enhanced by the circumstance that the Uyghurs were familiar with the manufacture of paper which they called "kegde" and they were well known for the production of their renowned arms, swords in particular. Likewise, Laufer's conviction to the effect that the word kgaz (kagid) was derived or borrowed in Arabic and Persian not from the Chinese language but from Turkish, i.e., from the Turkish word "kagash, meaning the bark of a tree, also confirms the thesis that the artisan prisoners of war in question were Uyghurs and not Chinese. The Uyghurs decorated their swords by inlaying them with darkened steel. This method of ornamentation was further developed later on in Damascus."145 It would undoubtedly be worthwhile to mention some of the sources from which Emel Esin gleaned this information. Concerning the question whether the artisan prisoners were Chinese or Turkish these sources are: V. Minorsky, "Tamim ibn Bahr's Journey to the Uyghurs, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies,
B. Laufer, Sino-lranica, Chicago 1919, pp. 557-559, see, p. 557, note 6. Philip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, Macmillan 1940, p. 347. 144 See, Thomas Francis Carter The Invention of Printing in China, Columbia University Press, 1931, pp. 1,4, and 4-6. 145 Emel Esin, "Turklerin Islam a Girisi, Ilk Devir: VIII.-X. Yuzyillar", Islamiyetten Onceki Turk Kulturu Tarihi ve Islama Giris, Turk Kulturu El Kitabi 11, cilt 1bden ayri basim, Edebiyat Fakltesi Matbaasi, Istanbul 1978, pp. 155-156, p. 259, note 81-82; see also, op.cit., p. 319. In connection with the artisans taken prisoner at the Battle of Talas, see also, below, p. 68 note 172.
143 142
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vol. 12, 3-4, London 1948; Marwazi (Sharaf al-Zaman Tahir), Marwazi on China The Turks and India, ed. Minorsky, London 1942. Concerning the words kgaz and kegde; O. Franke, Geschichte des Chinesischen Reiches, Berlin 1925, vol. 3, p. 392.146 Turks of Central Asia seem, indeed, to have had a great share of contribution in the cultural development realized and accomplished in medieval Islam. Apparently, this was especially conspicuous in intellectual pursuits. This can best be illustrated in the light of concrete examples conducive to making assessments and value judgments, as much as possible in the state of our rather chary state or sort of information. Examples relating to Turkish influences in the fields of decorative art and architecture in the relatively formative eras of Islamic civilization may not be out of place at all here. This brings us back to Emel Esin. Emel Esin writes: "A Turkish monarch, perhaps Kul Tigin, was represented on the murals of Kusair Amra amongst the world kings vanquished by the Caliph. Influences of the art of Western and Eastern Turkistan are already notable at the Palace of Mafjar and other Omayyad castles. These influences must have been further introduced by personalities such as the yabgu of Tokharistan and the 'Son of the Turkish Khagdn' who were taken prisoners in Khorasan and brought to Damascus in the reign of the Caliph Hisham (735-742), the builder of the Palace of Mafjar. But the bulk of the Turkish contribution to Islamic art began in the ninth century. ... Al-Ya'qubi who wrote his description of Samarra fifty-five years after the construction of the city (started in 836), attributes the erection of several monuments to Turks, Khazars, and Central Asians. 'It happened, said Al-Yaqubi, that most of the Turkish were then of the 'ajam category. These were carefully isolated from Muslims, even of the slave class and allowed intercourse only with the people of Farghana, who were equally 'ajam. It was a group of such Turk al-'ajam' (non-Muslim Turks) who under the leadership of the Muslim Turkish dignitary 'Urtunj (Artug in Tabari) Abu'1-Fath ibn Khaqan (another son of the Khaqan built the Khaqan Palace of Samarra (al-Jawsaq alKhaqani) celebrated for its paintings. Al-Yaqubi states clearly that these non-Muslims had not contact with their environment."147 Oktay Aslanapa writes, "It would appear, from the limited works and records that have survived, that a very advanced art of miniature painting and book production had been reached by the Uyghur Turks as early as the eighth century. These miniatures, together with the Bezeklik and Sorchuk frescoes that were brought to light in the Turfan excavations, show that there existed a characteristic Central Asian Turkish style of painting that, even at first glance, is quite distinct from Chinese art."148 This example serves to show that although Central Asian medieval Turkish culture and civilization could be expected to show signs of strong influence from China, it had characteristics that were quite independent from China. As we shall see149 Beyrn classified Turkish culture and civilization as that of the East together with China and India, and individual traits of it seem to corroborate and justify such a classification. On the other hand, Turks belonged to a vast area in Central Asia, and it would seem natural if "Turkish culture" should show a notable range of variation within its own bounds. The custom of building mausoleums did not exist in Islam in Umayyad times. The earlier Abbasids too, and the Muslims in general of that era, were not anxious at all to have buildings erected over their grave as later Muslims were. The first exception to this rule occurred with the Abbasid caliph Al-Muntasir (862). His Greek mother obtained permission to have a mausoleum built for him. This edifice was called Qubba al-Sulaybiyya. It was in Samarra and was located on a hill. The caliphs Al-Mu'tazz (866-867) and Al-Muhtad (869-870) also were subsequently buried in it. The plan is octagonal, and it is covered by a dome. It consists mainly of two octagons with an ambulatory in between, and the central chamber is square shaped.150
146
See, ibid., pp. 259, 315, 313. I owe my acquaintance with this remarkable work of Emel Esin to the kind interest of Professor Mbahat Trker-Kuyel. 147 Emel Esin, "Central Asian Turkish Painting before Islam", Turk Kltr El Kitabi, vol. 2, part la, Istanbul 1972, pp. 262-263. 148 Oktay Aslanapa, Turkish Art and Architecture, London 1976, p. 308. 149 See below, p. 71 and note 177. 150 K.A.C. Creswell, A Short Account of Early Muslim Architecture, Pelican-Penguin Books, 1958, pp. 286-289, 320; Katharina Otto-
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Otto Dorn writes concerning this first Islamic Mausoleum, "The whole thing is entirely non-Islamic and has apparently come into being under foreign influence. The origin of the domed octagon with an interior ambulatory is very clear. As with the Dome of the Rock (Qubba as-Sakhra) in Jerusalem, here too, certainly the general plan of the early Christian martyr churches of Syria and Palestine have been of influence, though this fact has heretofore remained unnoticed. ... "Disregarding, however, the special type of the plan of this sepulchral monument and concentrating on the fact that we have here a first exemplification of the making of the burial places outwardly visible, then it becomes reasonable to suppose that an old Central Asian tradition was responsible for this innovation, namely the tradition of the tent tomb and mound or tumulus (kurgan) which was extremely well known and alive among the Turks settled in Samarra and which, ... made a deep impression on Abbasid art. When viewed from the standpoint of this complex background upon which we shall dwell in greater detail in connection with the Seljuqid trbe (i.e., mausoleum, tomb) this burial monument has a fundamental significance aside from the fact that it is the forerunner of all the later monumental sepulchral edifices, which from the eleventh century on, and in an unbroken sequence have contributed to the fixing of the usage in Islam, especially under the dynasties set up by the steppe peoples, beginning with the Seljuqs...."151 Within these veins there are other points of importance to our main topic which could be taken into consideration. Jean-Paul Roux, e.g., says that during the Wei Dynasty, i.e., the period of Turkish To-ba or Tabgach rule, China reached an acme of its achievements in the field of sculpture with the works of art found in the Yun Kang and Lung-Men Caves.152 All this shows that Turkish art was of considerable importance from relatively early times on in Islam. The chronology of the Central Asian influence on Islam is of much importance, and we also note that such Central Asian influences were not always traceable to Chinese origins either. Moreover, this early chronology of influences in art is parallel to the Central Asian influences in such fields as algebra and chemistry and much prior to the period of the establishment of Seljuk political supremacy. The hospital in medieval Islam was, unlike the Greek asklepion and Byzantine institutions of charity in which medical care was available, a specialized institution devoted to the cure of the sick and having recourse to scientific medicine exclusively. It was thus in Islam that the true prototype of modern hospital came into being. It went through a relatively speedy process of development, it seems, which was realized within a span of time of about three centuries. The first Islamic hospital was built at the very beginning of the eighth century in Damascus. Barmak who was the head of the Buddhist temple of Balkh in Central Asia when the Arabs conquered that city, may possibly have had a hand in its foundation, though its establishment may also have been influenced by certain sayings of the Prophet concerning medicine and contagious skin diseases and, quite likely the Byzantine nosocomia also may have served as a model or prototype for it. The second Islamic hospital was located in Cairo, and practically nothing is known concerning it. The Barmakids built the third hospital in the order of chronology in Baghdad, late in the eighth century. It was under Indian medical influence. The fourth hospital was founded by Harun al-Rashid with the aid of Jundisapur physicians, and it therefore represented Greek medicine. The fifth hospital was built in Cairo by Fath ibn Khaqan, Turkish general and statesman, who was minister of the caliph Al-Mutawakkil. And the sixth hospital, in chronological order, was brought into existence by Ahmad ibn Tulun, famed Turkish statesman. This hospital seems to bare traces of Indian influence.
Dorn, Kunsi der Islam, Baden-Baden 1964, pp. 71-72. 151 Katharina Otto-Dorn, op. cit, p. 72. 152 Jean Paul-Roux, Histoire des Turcs, Fayard 1984, P. 38.
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Ahmad ibn Tulun's hospital was built in Cairo in 872-874, and it was supplied with waqf revenues, the first to be so endorsed, so far as is known. This was not only a guarantee for its longevity but also a sign or agent of a more thorough integration of the hospital with the Muslim religious culture. If we extend this list of early Islamic hospitals so as to include the next four hospitals endowed with waqf, thus reaching the date 967 approximately, we note that out of these latter four three were built by Turks. Two of the earlier six too owed their existence to Turks. This means that out of the first ten hospitals of Islam five were founded by Turks.153 It is of great interest, on the other hand, that by the side of the sources which trace the genealogy of the Barmak family back the Sasanians,154 there is a parallel trend in the sources, or, rather, there is one which can be disentangled from the sources, as established by Zeki Velidi Togan and which is deemed by him as much more trustworthy, according to which the ancestry of the Barmaks goes back to the Epthalites155 and this means that they were, very likely, Turkish.156 The geneology connecting the Barmaks with the Sasanians had previously been deemed suspicious by Barthold especially because it represents the Barmaks of Umayyad times as fire worshippers, whereas the Barmak whom the Arabs met for the first time and who was of ripe age at the beginning of the eighth century was at the head of the Buddhist temple of that city.
Figure 3. Divrigi Daralshifa from Miniaturk Istanbul (The image was introduced by the editor).
Now, if the Barmaks were Turks, then not only five out of the first ten hospitals considered above were founded by Turks, but the third Islamic hospital in chronological order of construction too would fall into this
153
See, Aydin Sayili, "The Emergence of the Prototype of the Modern Hospital in Medieval Islam", Belleten (Turkish Historical Society), vol. 44, 1980, pp. 279-286; Aydin Sayili, "Central Asian Contributions to the Earlier Phases of Hospital Building Activity in Islam", Erdem, vol. 3, no. 7, 1987, pp. 149-162, Turkish translation by Ahmet Cevizci, ibid., pp. 135-148. 154 See, Encyclopedia of Islam (Turkish), vol. 2, (article "Bermekiler"), 1949, pp. 560-563. 155 Zeki Velidi Togan, "Bermek ve Smnlerin Mense'i ile ilgili Kayitlar", appendix to note 48 of: Nazmiye Togan, "Peygamberin Zamaninda Sark ve Garb Trkistani Ziyaret Eden Cinli Budist Rahibi Huen-Cang'in Bu Ulkelerin Siyas ve Dn Hayatina Ait Kayitlari", Islam Tetkikleri Enstits Dergisi, vol. 4, part 1-2, Istanbul 1964, pp. 61-64. 156 See, Zeki Velidi Togan, "Eftalitlerin Mensei Meselesi", appendix to note 41 of: Nazmiye Togan, "Peygamberin Zamaninda Sark ve Garb Turkistani Ziyaret Eden Cinli Budist Rahibi Huen-Qang'in Bu Ulkelerin Siyas ve Dn Hayatina Ait Kayitlari", Islam Tetkikleri Enstitusu Dergisi, vol. 4, part 1-2, Istanbul 1964, pp. 58-61; Aydin Sayili, "The Nationality of the Epthalites", Belleten (Turkish Historical Society), vol. 46, 1982, pp. 17-33.
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category. There is, in addition, the question of the probable part played by the above-mentioned father Barmak, who was the head of the Buddhist temple of Balkh at the beginning of the eighth century, in the construction of the first Islamic hospital, i.e., the Walid ibn cAbdu'l-Mlik Hospital of Damascus. And if this was the case, it would then mean that out of the first ten Islamic hospitals seven were built by Turks.157 And this is almost incredible, at the first sight at least. But if the Barmaks are not added to the five mentioned above, still, five out of ten of these institutions owed their existence to Turks, and still seven to the people of Central Asia and this is quite remarkable. The Baghdad hospital of the Barmaks and also probably the Cairo hospital and dispensary of Ahmad ibn Tulun, as well as the Damascus hospital of Wald ibn cAbd al-Mlik perhaps, show the existence of Indian and more particularly Buddhist influence on the early hospitals of Islam, and Turks appear to have played a major part in the transmission of this influence to Islam.158 It is of great interest therefore that we are in possession of fragmentary evidence of a relatively clear and entirely independent nature that can serve to lend further credence to this impression. Indeed, the propagation of Buddhism among the Turks, beginning not later than the sixth century, brought them into contact with Indian medicine. In the Buddhist Turkish monasteries the physician monks (otaci bakshi) healed the sick. The term iglig yatgu ev, i.e., dormitory for the ailing, shows the existence of hospitals in Buddhist Turkish monasteries.159 A reference to such a hospital is in the Uyghur Turkish work Maytrisimit which belongs perhaps to the ninth or the eighth century at the latest, but there is much uncertainty concerning the date.160 The wording of the passage here is in the form of "building hospitals as an act of benevolence.161 This may be taken as an indication that such places for hospitalizing the sick were not rare. Moreover, as this is traceable to Buddhistic influences, it should be reasonable to conjecture that they existed also in earlier centuries and among the Turkish Buddhist pre-Islamic inhabitants of Transoxania, Tokharistan, and environs. It is also of interest in this connection, on the other hand, that in spite of the rapid dissemination of the Islamic religion among the Turks, we witness the survival of Buddhistic medicine still in later centuries in east Central Asia. In fact, we have a document written in Uyghur Turkish attesting the existence of a medical school in a Buddhist monastery in the twelfth century A.D.162 Since this is a situation tied up to Buddhism, it may be reasonable to conjecture that the tradition was in existence in earlier centuries too. Indeed, this makes us understand better the circumstance that the head of a Buddhist monastery in Central Asia should be invited to Damascus to cure a member of a royal family. The hospital and medical instruction in Islam seem to have stamped certain characteristic features of theirs upon the Renaissance hospitals of Europe, of the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries. Moreover, a Turkish ruler, Nur al-Din Abul-Qasim Zangi, Atabak of Halab and Damascus (1118-1174), in the Damascus Hospital bearing his name, established clinical medical instruction in Islam. This hospital served as model for the finest hospitals of Islam, and, among them, for the Qalawun Hospital of Cairo, a sort of acme among such institution in the Middle Ages. The Turkish Mamluks of Egypt founded this hospital. It was apparently a great source of
See, Aydin Sayili, ibid., Belleten, vol. 44, and Erdem, vol. 3, no. 7. The chronological list of early Islamic hospitals founded later than the Ahmad ibn Tulun Hospital of Cairo, as referred to here, is based on the information given by A. Issa Bey in his Histoirt des Bimaristan (Hapitaux) a I'Epoque Islamique (Cairo 1929) and Tankh al-Bimaristanat fi'l-Islam, (Damascus 1939). 158 Aydin Sayili, ibid., (Belleten), pp. 284-286; Aydin Sayili, ibid.,(Erdem), pp. 155-161, 139, 142-143. 146-147. 159 Emel Esin, "Otaci' Notes on Archaeology and Iconography Related to the Early History of the Turkish Medical Science", Proceedings of the First International Congress on the History of Turkish-Islamic Science and Technology, 14-18 September 1981, vol. 2, pp. 11, 13. 160 See, Sinasi Tekin, Uygurca Metinler II, Maytrisimit, Ankara 1976, pp. 28-29, note 53. 161 Sinasi Tekin, ibid, pp. 109, 229. 162 See, Halim Baki Kunter, "Turk Vakiflari ve Vakfiyeleri Uzerine Mcmel Bir Etd", Vakiflar Dergisi, vol. I, Ankara 1938, pp. 117-118. Halim Baki Kunter's source for this information is W.Radloff and S. Malow, Vygurische Sprachdenkmaler, Leningrad 1928.
157
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inspiration for European sixteen and seventeenth century hospitals not only in architectural planning and decoration but also from the standpoint of the clinical method of medical instruction. This method was adopted in Padua and Leiden, and from these centres, it was disseminated in other parts of Western Europe. But we are not in possession of sufficient evidence to trace back these all-important developments to Central Asia.163 An extremely interesting example of contributions of Turks to more strictly scientific pursuits in medieval Islam may be chosen from the field of chemistry. Here too the part played by the Turks seems to have close ties with Chinese culture. That is, in this example Turks act also as intermediaries between Chinese culture and the culture of the World of Islam. But their independent achievement seems also to be of considerable magnitude and importance. Just as in the field of algebra, in the Medieval Islamic World, chemistry or alchemy too began its growth and development two or three generations before Islamic contacts with Greek scientific, medical, and philosophical texts made a clear start. Here we may consider Jbir ibn Hayyn as-Sf, in the second half of the eighth century as representing the beginning of this important activity in chemistry. The tendency of generalizing the concept of cure to encompass different kinds of improvement and betterment has an interesting exemplification in the idea of elixir in the history of chemistry. Elixir is not mentioned explicitly in Hellenistic or Alexandrian alchemy. Jbir, however, has recourse to the method of using elixirs, and he employs this concept in the sense of "curing" the "sick" metals, i.e., the deficient or imperfect ones, in order to convert them up to the status or perfection of silver and gold. But the Chinese had such a conception. They believed the base metals could be transformed into the noble ones by treating them with certain "medicines.164 The trend of generalizing the concept of cure may therefore have originated in China. This brings to mind the probability that Jbir received influence from Chinese chemistry. Another item or consideration, the stress on sal ammoniac, or, more specifically, ammonium carbonate, in the works of Jbir, may serve to shed additional light on this question. The Greeks did not know this substance. It was introduced into the Islamic world under the Persian name nushadur, suggesting that it represents an influence on Jbir's chemistry received from Persia or via Persia from somewhere further east.165 But the origin of this word is in need of some clarification. Nushddur was found in Persia, Khurasan, and especially in West Turkistan. Nushddur is a loan word in the Persian language. It has been supposed to be of Soghdian origin. But this suggestion leaves the ending iur unexplained. Its Chinese is nao-sha, so that the theory of Chinese origin for the word does not help to entirely clarify the question either. There is, moreover, some evidence that this Chinese term is also a foreign loan word.166 The Turkish word for Nishadur is chatur.167 The ending tur exists therefore in the Turkish name of this substance, so that the word nishadur apparently owes its Persian form to some influence from the Turkish language.
See, Aydin Sayili, "Certain Aspects of Medical Instruction in Medieval Islam and its Influences on Europe", Belleten (Turkish Historical Society), vol. 45, 1981, pp. 9-21. 164 See, Henry M. Leicester, The Historical Background of Chemistry, 1956, pp. 65, 67, 68. See also, Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China, vol. 5, part 2, Cambridge University Press 1974, pp. 71, 235, 236. 165 See, Henry M. Leicester, op. cit., p. 65. Nishadur as known to the chemists of Islam is of two kinds. One is ammonium carbonate, (NH4), CO3, an organic substance that is easily distilled. This was the substance occurring in Jbir for the production of elixirs. The other variety of Nusadur is sal ammoniac properly called. It is a crystalline volatile salt, its chemical formula being ammonium chloride (NH4Cl). It was found, or prepared, near the temple of the Egyptian god Ammon. Hence the name given to it later on in Europe. 166 Berthold Laufer, Sino-Iranica, pp. 503-508. 167 See, Clauson, An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-thirteenth Century Turkish, p. 403.
163
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There is, moreover, some evidence that sal ammoniac was highly prized among the Turks of Central Asia. For it apparently figured as an item among the objects sent to the Chinese emperor as gift by an Uyghur king in the tenth century.168 In the year 981 a Chinese ambassador to the Uyghurs speaks of hills in the vicinity of the city of Beshbaliq, which he saw during his journey and where ammonia (kang-sha) (NH3) was produced. He says that smoke and flames rose from these hills and that the men who worked there wore shoes with wooden soles in order to protect their feet from heat.169 Joseph Needham writes: ... a medieval Persian writer of a history of China attributed the invention of chemistry to a Chinese named Hua Jen, or Changer; while (at first sight) the Persian's Chinese source regarded him as a man from the Far West. Rashd al-Dn al Hamdn, in his history of China finished in 1304, speaking of the time of the High King Mu of the Chou, mentions the exploits of the legendary charioteer Tsao Fu, and then goes on to say: "'At that time there lived a man called Hwrin (Hua Jen). He invented the science of chemistry and also understood the knowledge of poisons, so well that he could change his appearance in an instant of time. "Here there is no suggestion that Hua Jen was anything but a Chinese. "In order to clarify Rashd al-Dn's source one has to know two things expounded by John Franke; ... 'The oldest of these, says Franke, 'was ...;' but the closest to Rashd al-Dn's history was the work of a monk named Nien-Chang.... "The statements of Nien-Chang about 'Changer' are as follows: "'In king Mu's time a Changer appeared from the Furthest West. He could overturn mountains and reverse the flow of rivers, he could remove towns and cities, pass through fire and water, and pierce metal and stone - there was no end to the myriad changes and transformations (he could effect and undergo)....' "The story echoes familiarity. ... Its original intention had probably been to suggest that the visible world was like a dream or a magician's illusion, and Changer was certainly not a historical person, but the chemical artisans of the Middle Ages did not appreciate such fine distinctions, so it was wholly natural that Changer should have become in due course the technique deity and patron saint of the art, craft and science of chemical change. "As for the 'Furthest West' in Lieh Tzu and the Fo Tsu Li Tai Thung Tsai, it never meant Europe or the Roman Empire, but rather the legendary land of the immortals, thought of as somewhere near Tibet or Sinkiang, where reigned the Great Queen Mother of the West, Hsi Wang Mu, nothing short of a goddess. King Mu of Chou paid her a celebrated visit, the main theme of the ancient book Mu Thien Tzu Chuan, and also referred to in Lieh Tzu. When centuries later the story came to the knowledge of real Westerners like the group around Rashd alDn all this was omitted, and they took Changer (Hua Jen) to have been a Chinese with marvellous chemicai knowledge. The significant fact that early in the fourteenth century they were quite ready to do this is the only justification of these paragraphs."170 Joseph Needham says:
See, Laufer, op. at., p. 306. Ozkan Izgi, Cin Elcisi Wang Yen-Te'nin Uygur Seyahatnamesi, Turkish Historical Society, Ankara 1989, pp. 1, 66 and pp. 63, 64, 65, note 179. 170 Joseph Needham, "Contributions of China, India, and the Hellenistic-Syrian World to Arabic Alchemy", Pritmata, Festschrift fur Willy Mariner, ed. Y. Maeyama and W. G. Saltzer, Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden 1977, pp. 250-251.
169
168
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... in contrast to the flood of Greek scientific books which poured into Arabic we do not so far know of one Chinese work which was translated into that language until a very Jate date. Of Persian writings there were many and of Sanskrit more than a few, but because Chinese books remained behind the ideographic-alphabetic barrier that is no reason whatever for thinking that Chinese ideas also did. Indeed, seminal concepts divested of verbiage might be all the more compelling."171 Speaking of the Battle of the Talas River, the same author writes, ... the Chinese were defeated but the Arabs so mauled that they could press no further. Soon afterwards, because of the rebellion of An Lu-Shan, the Chinese withdrew from the whole of Turkistan (Sinkiang) leaving a vacuum as it were between the two civilizations; and very soon afterwards al-Mansr was to be seem dispatching (in +756) a contingent of Muslim troops to help the young emperor Su Tsung regain control after An Lu-Shan's revolt. Thus it came about that no Arab army ever crossed the Chinese border in hostility. And already a closeness of cultural contact had appeared, for many Chinese artisans taken prisoner at the Talas River settled with their arts and crafts in Baghdad and other Arabic cities, some returning home in - (-762 but others (like the paper-makers and weavers) staying to exert permanent effects - very likely some workers with chemical knowledge were among them, especially as painters and gilders are mentioned. We even know their names."172 This last paragraph serves well to indicate the complexity of the question of cultural relations between China and the World of Islam. But it seems to omit the place of Central Asia almost wholly, and we are much interested in this particular subject. The following additional item of knowledge bearing on the possible role played by Central Asia is therefore very welcome indeed. A. Waley writes: "T'ao Hung-ching (Giles, Biographical Dictionary, No 1896) who was born in 451 or 452 and died in 536, was a prolific writer on Taoist subjects, and was in later times regarded as an important alchemist. But in his existing writings there are only fleeting allusions to alchemy. There is, however, in one of his books (the Teng Chen Yin Chuch, Wieger, no 418) an interesting reference to foreign astrology: ... 'These exotic methods (speaking of certain loose methods of determining a man's destiny by the date of his birth) are all much the same as the astronomical notions of the Hsiung-nu (Huns) and other foreign countries.' Alchemy in China as elsewhere is closely bound up with astrology, and if the Chinese were in the fifth century in contact with foreign astrology they were, it may be assumed, in a position to be influenced by foreign alchemy. "For the centuries that follow (sixth to ninth, the period covered by the Sui and Tang dynasties) we have plenty of anecdotes, but an almost complete lack of datable literature. It is strangely enough, in Buddhist literature (Takakusu Triptika, vol. xlvi; p. 791, column 3, Nanjia, 1576) that we find our most definite landmark. Hui-ssu (517-77), second patriarch of the T'iem-t'ai sect, prays that he may succeed in making an elixir that will keep him alive until the coming of Maitreya.... "The wizard Ssu-ma Cheng-chen, who lived at an advanced age c. 720, had a great reputation as an alchemist; but his surviving works deal with other subjects. One of the few works on alchemy which may with certainty be accepted as belonging to the T'ang Dynasty is the Shih Tar Erh Ya (Wieger, No 894), a dictionary of alchemical terms, by a certain Mei Piao. Internal evidence, such as the mention of Ssu-ma Cheng-chen, shows that the book is at least as late as the eighth century. I should feel rather inclined from the general tone and style, to place it in the ninth. Several obviously foreign terms are given. ... There is also a reference by an alchemical treatise called ... 'Treatise of the Hu (Central Asian) king
171 172
Ibid., p. 250. Ibid., p. 252.
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Yakat (Yakath or the like)'173 The same author continues somewhat later with the following remarks: "The Central Asian king Yakat (Yakath or the like)" to whose treatise I have already referred remains an enigma. It is probable, but not quite certain, that he proves the existence of pre-Mohammedan alchemy in Central Asia. As to the nationality the name does not, to my knowledge, give us any clue. He may have been Eastern Iranian (Sogdian) or Turk. But after the Arabic conquest the influence was, I believe, all from East to West. Further examination of Arabic alchemy will show, I am convinced, that it contains a vast element which it owes to China rather than to the Greek world. In particular the idea of 'philosopher's stone' as an elixir of life is a contribution of the Chinese."174 The variant Yakar, if such a variant is permissible, is a Turkish word, and in the Middle Ages it may have been used as a personal name.175 Waley refers to the possibility of variants besides Yakar and Yakath, and several such variants may be said to sound like Turkish words. Yakak and Dukak, e.g., are personal names in Turkish. They are mentioned as the name of the father of Seljuq, the founder of the Seljuq Empire.176 This fits pretty neatly together with what we have noted about sal ammoniac and the evidence it brings to light concerning the part played by Central Asia and its Turkish elements of population, in creating the novelties Jbir ibn Hayyn es-Sfi brought to medieval alchemy, in their own right or as an element acting as intermediary between China and the World of Islam. And we have seen that a similar situation exists in relation to the knowledge of algebra and its propagation in the World of Islam through Al-Khwrazm and cAbd alHamd ibn Turk, and also with respect to cultural contact between Central Asia and China. We also know that Central Asia and India had a lively cultural contact perhaps mainly through the influence of Buddhism in China. Al-Beyrn seems to be well informed in these matters. According to Zeki Velidi Togan, Beyrn considered the civilized world to be composed of two major parts, the East and the West. According to him the Chinese, the Turks, and the people of India made up the Eastern civilization, and the World of Islam was a continuation of the Western civilization which was based on Greek civilization. He was of the opinion that the acceptance of the Muslim religion by the Turks brought a great expansion to the Western civilization, and this was a great gain for humanity as a whole and especially for the cause of science.177 Coming back to Al-Khwrazm, we have to take here into consideration, first and foremost, his work and influence in the field of arithmetic. Unlike Al-Khwrazm's algebra, his place in the spread of the so-called HinduArabic numerals and calculation with zero and the positional or place-value numeration system seems to have its vague points in certain respects. Notwithstanding all this, however, Al-Khwrazmi's figure looms large against the horizons of the history of science in several major issues. Al-Khwrazm's work in the field of practical arithmetic has its controversial points. Al-Khwrazm's book on arithmetic in its Arabic text has not come down to our time, but its Latin version or translation is known to have played an important part in the spread, in Western Europe, of the decimal place-value system of numerals and the methods of computation with that system. This is witnessed by the fact that in Europe this system of calculation was called algorism, or algorithm, a word derived from the very name of Al-Khwrazm. The fact that the decimal positional system of numerals was called the "Arabic numerals" in Western Europe corroborates the paramount importance of this transmission of knowledge. The term "Arabic numerals" was first used in the twelfth century by Adelard of Bath.
173
A. Waley, "Notes on Chinese Alchemy", Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies London Institution, vol. 6, 1930-1932 (pp. 124), p. 14. 174 Ibid., pp. 23-24. 175 Set, Clauson, An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-thirteenth Century Turkish, pp. 896-897. 176 See, Sadru'd-Din Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali ibn Nasir ibn "Al al-Husayn, Akhbru'd-Devleti's-Selckqiyya, ed. Muhammad Iqbal, Lahore 1933, p. 1, ed. Z. Bunyatov, Moskova 1980, facsimile, p. 1b; Turkish translation by Necati Lugal, Ankara 1943, p. 1; Besim Atalay, Turk Bykleri ve Turk Adlari, Istanbul 1935, p. 133; Mehmet Altay Koymen, Buyuk Selcuklu imparatorlugu Tarihi, vol. 1, Ankara 1979, pp. 6-9. 177 Zeki Velidi Togan, Brn. Encyclopedia of Islam (Turkish), vol. 2, p. 638, column I.
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The earliest example of the positional system goes back to the Sumerians who lived in Mesopotamia up to four thousand years ago. This was a sexagesimal system for whole numbers as well as for fractions. But the concept of zero was explicitly integrated into the system only gradually, and even in Assyrian and Seleucid times this concept did not develop, in a formal sense, to the point of being used fully consistently. Nevertheless, the shortcomings of this sexagesimal system from the standpoint of full consistency may be said to have been small indeed when viewed within the perspective of such examples in history in its full extent.178 The Greeks chose the Babylonian sexagesimal system to express their fractions and patched this upon their alphabetic numeral system, and this usage was taken over by the astronomers of Islam. But for whole numbers the mathematicians of Islam used a positional decimal system and continued, together with it, the Greek Hellenistic tradition of positional sexagesimal fractions expressed in alphabetical numerals. It is the positional decimal system, and the method of computation based upon this system, to the spread of which inside the Islamic World and in Western Europe Al-Khwrazm is known to have largely contributed. And Al-Khwrazm himself, as the name of his book clearly indicates, mentions India specifically as the origin of the decimal place-value system and the method of computation based upon it, which were introduced into the World of Islam by Al-Khwrazm in particular. Very little is known concerning the exact mode of the evolution of this Indian system which involved a full use of the concept and symbol of zero and the principle of place-value numeration system.179 The question of the birth of the place-value system as connected with decimal numeration is far from having been completely clarified. Neuge-bauer believes it to have been the result of the diffusion of the Greek version of the positional sexagesimal fractions into India. That is, the Greeks adopted the Babylonian sexagesimal fractions and expressed them with their own alphabetical numerals. This influenced then the Indians. Neugebauer says, "It seems to me rather plausible to explain the decimal place-value notation as a modification of the sexagesimal place-value notation with which the Hindus became familiar through Hellenistic astronomy."180 In Egypt and Syria, the Arab conquerors found a tradition of Byzantine administration of state revenues and financial matters. At first they left the established tradition more or less intact, but during the reigns of the caliphs cAbd al-Mlik (685-705) and Wald (705-715) the language of these public registers were changed from Greek into Arabic. The tradition of computational work and techniques seem, however, to have continued to be performed with the old Greek alphabetic numerals. Such numerals are seen to have lived for many centuries in Morocco where they were called al-qalam al-Fasu But how did they spread into the Maghrib? According to Georges S. Colin, the Greek alphabetic numerals were used extensively, and the Arabs from Syria and Egypt into Morocco through Spain carried them.
178
See, George Sarton, Decimal Systems Early and Late, Osiris, vol. g, 1950, pp. 581-601; O. Neugebauer, The Exact Sciences in Antiquity, 1957, pp. 13, 16-17, 20, 22, 33-34. 179 See, Solomon Gandz, "Review on Datta and Singh, History of Hindu Mathematics", Isis, vol. 25, 1936, pp. 478-488. See also, G.R. Kaye, "Notes on Indian Mathematics-Arithmetical Notation", Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. 3, number 7, July 1907, pp. 475-508; G.R. Kaye, "The Use of Abacus in Ancient India", Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. 4, number 6, June 1908, pp. 293-297; G.R. Kaye, "References to Indian Mathematics in Certain Medieval Works", Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. 7, number 11, December 1911, pp. 801-816; D.M. Bose, A Concise History of Science in India, Indian National Science Academy, 1971, pp. 173-183. 180 O. Neugebauer, The Exact Sciences in Antiquity, Brown University Press, 1957, p. 189.
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Figure 4. The drawing of Al-Frb on the Kazakh 1 Tenge (The image was introduced by the editor).
Colin supplies evidence to show that, in the thirteenth century, Spain was familiar with the Greek alphabetic numerals. He also points out that in the fourteenth century Ibn Khaldun refers to the use of Greek alphabetic numerals in North Africa.181 Europe adopted the ghubr numarals, i.e., the "Hindu-Arabic" numeral signs as they were used in Spain, But Colin says that the system of calculation based on the decimal place-value system seems to have been used in Spain only in connection with scientific work wherein complicated calculations were involved which could not be performed on the abacus or just mentally.182 According to Colin, very likely, the use of the abacus with columns of numeral signs led to reducing the twenty seven signs of the abacus to the nine signs of the first column, i.e., the column of ones of the abacus, and, as a consequence, these nine signs acquired a positional value. This thesis is not original with Colin. He shares it with others who advanced such a theory previously. The nine signs of the Greek alphabet, according to this thesis, infiltrated in an early date to India, and there simplified methods of calculation with them were invented. These numerals and methods of calculation were diffused into Islam, and later on infiltrated from the Islamic realm into Western Europe. Within this process of infiltration Al-Khwrazm seems to have played a major part in the passage of influence from Islam into Europe, although Europe adopted the ghubr numeral signs of Spain which were not those used by Al-Khwrazm.183 Saidan writes as follows: "Some of the texts used in this study do not use, and some do not even seem to know, the Hindu-Arabic numerals. They express numbers in words, and for fractions they resort to the scale of sixty or other scales derived from local metrologies. Their manipulation schemes are mental and rely upon finger reckoning. The system they expose is commonly called hisb al-yadd, i.e., hand arithmetic; Al-Uqldis calls it as well hisb alRm wa al-Arab, the arithmetic of the Byzantines and the Arabs. It did involve the so-called jummal notation, which uses the Arabic alphabet, in the Aramaic jummal order, to denote numbers. The notation seems to help and coexist with finger reckoning but belongs to the scale of sixty. Manipulations of this scale are usually called: hisb al-daraj wa al-daqiq (the arithmetic of degrees and minutes), hisb al-zj (the arithmetic of astronomical tables) or tarq al-munajjimin (the way of astronomers). This was a complete and independent system, standing side by side with hisb al-yadd, relying to a lesser extent on finger reckoning, and having its own multiplication tables expressed in the jummal notation.
181
See, Georges S. Colin, "De l'Origine Grecque des 'Chiffres de Fez' et de Nos Chiffres Arabes", Journal Asiatique, Avril-Juin 1933, pp. 193-198. 182 Op. cit., p. 209. 183 Colin, op. cit., pp. 214-215.
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"These systems expressed the arithmetical tradition obtaining in the civilized world before Islam, in service of government, everyday life and astronomical, as well as astrological, calculations. The foundation was mainly Greco-Babylonian. It was inherited by the Muslims and served their purposes before and after the advent of Hindu arithmetic. ... To pursue the mutual influence of one system upon the other is a tempting task not easy to carry out satisfactorily. Hindu arithmetic had a perfect notation and well-defined techniques that required little mental reckoning. But we shall find more concepts in common between the three systems than we may at first expect. The task of tracing the influence of one system upon the other is made particularly difficult by the Arabic authors themselves, who laboured hard to secure a unified system better than all. Thus Al-Uqldis gives us Hindi arithmetic enriched with Rm and Arabic devices expressed by Hind numerals. Abu al-Waf and AlKaraj present finger-reckoning combined with the scale of sixty, but even in their attempt to turn their back on Hindi devices, they prove to have borrowed from them. Kushyar gives the scale of sixty expressed in Hindi numerals. A text called Hindi (arithmetic) extracted from Al-Kafi attempts to present finger-reckoning expressed by Hindi numerals...."184
Figure 5. The drawing of al-Brn on a stamp (USSR, 1973) (The image was introduced by the editor).
Neugebauer says: "Only the purely mathematical (cuneiform) texts, which we find well, represented about 1500 years after the beginning of writing, have fully utilized the great advantage of a consistent sexagesimal place-value notation. Again, 1000 years later, this method became the essential tool in the development of mathematical astronomy, whence it spread to the Greeks and then to the Hindus, who contributed the final step, namely, the use of the place-value notation also for the smaller decimal units."185 Again, the same author writes: "The advantage of the Babylonian place-value system over the Egyptian additive computation with unit fractions is so obvious that the sexagesimal system was adopted for all astronomical computations not only by the Greek astronomers but also by their followers in India and by the Islamic and European astronomers. Nevertheless the sexagesimal notation is rarely applied with the strictness with which it appears in the
184 185
A.S. Saidan, The Arithmetic of Al-Uqldis, D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1978, pp. 7-8. O. Neugebauer, op, cit., p. 20.
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cuneiform texts of the Seleucid period in Mesopotamia. Ptolemy, for example, uses the sexagesimal place-value system exclusively for fractions but not for integers."186 Gandz writes: "The Hindu and the Ghubar Numerals. - The modern numerals with place-value and zero are commonly known as the Arabic numerals, as distinguished from the Roman numerals. ... The Arabs too distinguished two different types of numerals and characterized them by two names, the Hindu and the ghubr numerals. The Hindu numerals were common among the Eastern Arabs and are, at present, still usual in the Arabic World. The ghubr numerals were found in Spain among the Western Arabs. ... It will be seen that these ghubr numerals resemble our modern numerals much more closely than the Hindu numerals do, and are almost identical with the forms of the abacus numerals given in the Boethius geometry. "The name Hindu numerals are quite clear. It simply indicates the origin and source; it acknowledges the well-established fact that the Arabs learned them from the Hindus. Much less clear, however, is the meaning of the term ghubr and the origin of the ghubr numerals. ... That in last line they are to be traced back to India, like the so-called Hindu numerals ... is the common opinion. But who brought them from India to Muslim Spain, and at which time were they introduced? On this question, there are two general theories. 'The first is that they were carried by the Moors to Spain in the eighth or ninth century, and thence were transmitted to Christian Europe. The second advanced by Woepcke is that they were not brought to Spain by the Moors, but that they were already in Spain when the Arabs arrived there, having reached the West through the Neo-Pythagoreans.' The facts that support Woepcke's theory are: the ghubr numerals differed materially from the Hindu numerals and resembled the abacus numerals. It was customary with the Arabs to adopt the numerical system of the countries they conquered. They adopted the Greek numerals in use in Damascus and Syria, and the Coptic in Egypt, and so on entering Spain it was only natural for them to adopt the abacus numerals in use there. Whether these ghubr numerals belonged to the Hindu system and reached Spain through the Neo-Pythagoreans of Alexandria as early as c. 450 A.D., as Woepcke thinks, or whether, as Bubnov's theory holds, they were derived from the ancient Roman-Greek symbols used on the abacus, it is not our purpose to discuss, or to decide."187 Gandz also writes: "This again goes to corroborate the theory of Woepcke claiming that the ghubr numerals were learned by the Arabs in Spain from the Roman abacus. As we today speak of Roman and Arabic numerals, simply indicating the origin and source, so the Arabs speak of the Hindu and ghubr numerals, both terms only giving the origin of the numerals."188 Gandz writes also as follows: "The earliest Arabic documents containing the ghubr numerals are two manuscripts of 874 and 888 A.D. The oldest definitely dated European document known to contain these numerals is a Latin manuscript written in 976 A.D." Then, quoting Smith and Karpinsky, he adds, "That Gerbert (930-1003) and his pupils knew the ghubr numerals are facts no longer open to controversy. ... It is probable that Gerbert was the first to describe these numerals in any scientific way in Christian Europe, but without zero."189 Thus, we may conclude that Western Europe apparently adopted the so-called ghubr numerals, including a zero sign, from Muslim Spain, but it learned the principle of the new reckoning especially from Al-Khwrazm's
186 187
Ibid., p. 22. Solomon Gandz, "The Origin of the Ghubar Numerals, or the Arabian Abacus and the Articuli", Isis, vol. 16, 1931, pp. 393395. 188 Ibid., p. 399. 189 Ibid., p. 394.
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book on arithmetic, since it not only had it translated into Latin but also gave the name of Al-Khwrazm to the new method of reckoning. Of course, on the other hand, the question of the shape of the numerical signs is, essentially, of secondary importance in comparison with the principle of place-value system, supplied with a special sign for zero, and as compared to the diffusion of the new methods of the so-called Indian calculation. Moreover, very likely, the transmission of these into Spain is to be associated, largely, with influences exerted by Al-Khwrazm through his book on arithmetic. The question in its entirety has very complex facets especially in some of its aspects pertaining to detail. For one thing, a) the question of Spain's part in the transmission of knowledge to Europe looms large in certain other ways even if Al-Khwrazim, from Eastern Islam, was the major carrier of influence in the process involved in this special case of diffusion of knowledge, b) A second major question is the exact nature and scope of the knowledge Al-Khwrazm acquired from India, and c) A third comprehensive question concern the history and the origin of the ghubr numerals as a specific theme. Time does not as yet seem ripe to bring definitive answers to these questions. But I shall try to give a summary account of them at least in order to throw some additional light on the personality of Al-Khwrazm and on his scientific achievement, partly in a direct manner and partly as a question of scientific perspective within which we have to appraise Al-Khwrazm's work in the fields of arithmetic and algebra. Let us begin with the first of these, namely Spain's part in the transmission of scientific knowledge from Islam to Western Europe. In the field of algebra the accomplishments of several mathematicians, some of whom were active in periods very close to the time of Al-Khwrazm, were quite important and their contributions were quite weighty. One of these was Abu Kmil Shujac ibn Aslam and another one was Al-Karaj (or Al-Karkh, as he was called until recently). We have mentioned before cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk. Yet it was mainly through the influence exerted by Al-Khwrazm's book that the knowledge of algebra was transmitted to Europe and began to flourish there. David Eugene Smith writes: "Algebra at one time stood a fair chance of being called Fakhr, since this was the name given to the work of Al-Karkh (c. 1020), one of the greatest Arab mathematicians. Had this work been translated into Latin, as AlKhwrazm's was, the title might easily have caught the fancy of the European world."190 E.S. Kennedy writes: "Birun notes the existence of a book by Al-Farghan a younger contemporary of Khwrazm, criticizing the latter's zj, and Brn himself demonstrates an error in Khwrazm's planetary equation theory. It is curious to note that in spite of the simultaneous existence of tables based on more refined theories, this zj was used in Spain three centuries after it had been written, and thence translated into Latin." He also says, concerning this zj, that "In the original Arabic the work is not extant, but Adelard of Bath's Latin translation of the revision of Maslama al-Majrit (fl. 1000) has been published by Bjornbo and Suter" and also that "The zj of Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrazm ... is one of the only two zjes out of the entire lot which has been published."191 A. Saidan writes: "In Western Islam, Indian mathematical thought had deeper influence. The arithmetic and astronomy of AlKhwrazm, with their Hindu elements were spread in Spain and North Africa, when better books in the East had already surpassed Hindu lore to the extent that Al-Brun (973-1048) found it expedient to write and translate for the Indians books on geometry and the astrolabe. It was the teaching of Western Muslims that reached Europe first and thus established the prestige of Al-Khwrazm...."192
190 191
D.E. Smith, History of Mathematics, vol. 2, the Athenaeum Press, Boston 1925, p. 388. E.S. Kennedy, "Islamic Astronomical Tables", 1956, p. 128. See also, above, p. 5 and footnote 13. 192 Saidan, the Arithmetic of Al-Uqlds, p. 7.
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According to Colin, Spain served also as a region through which cultural innovations or influences in general and matters, related to computational techniques in particular were transmitted into Morocco and other parts of the Maghrib. An interesting example he dwells upon on this occasion concerns Greek alphabetic numerals. He points out that Ibn Sab'n in thirteenth century Spain used to write his name in the form of Ibn O, i.e., "ibn" followed by an omicron sign.193 As this letter standing for 70, i.e., sab'n, in the Greek alphabetic numerals was adopted to represent zero in the sexagesimal system used by the astronomers, this example may serve to explain how it came about that while in the decimal place-value system of Eastern Islam zero was represented by a dot, in the ghubr numerals zero had the form of a circle. Saidan speaks of Sarton's reference to late-medieval European terms abacist and algorist and writes; "He assumes that the abacists avoided Hindu arithmetic and that the algorists, like Al-Khwrazm, adhered to it. He thus finds that the two names were used promiscuously, as Leonardo's Hindu arithmetic was called Liber Abaci while that of Beldonandi, which contains an outspoken denunciation of the Hindu pattern, was called algorismus. Sarton concludes that 'minds were still befogged with regard to the main issue.' We can now state that minds were not befogged, but informed; the abacists were those who used the Hindu type of arithmetic, while algorists avoided it."194 Saidan quotes Al-Uqldiss statement, e.g., to the effect that calculators disliked being seen with the dust board in their hands, making their hands dirty, and wished to avoid being identified with, or mistaken for, the people who earned their living by doing astrological prognostications on the streets. Strangely enough, this and certain other items of information gleaned by Saidan seem to confirm in a general way Sarton's above-quoted statement to the effect that people were not clear in distinguishing the major issues involved in the place-value system from secondary matters not pertaining to its essential virtues or characteristics. And another point is that Sarton is speaking of the late medieval times in Western Europe while Saidan's authorities and items of evidence concern the earlier Islamic Middle Ages. Speaking of the diffusion of Hindu numerals in Western Christiandom, in the twelfth century, Sarton says: "The use of these numerals extended gradually but very slowly. They were forbidden in Florence and Padua, and this implies that some people at least were trying to make use of them."195 Again, on the same subject the same author writes: "The Hindu numerals continued their diffusion in the second half of the thirteenth century, steadily, but slowly. As we might expect, it was in Italy that they were first put to practical purposes. We know indirectly that business people already used them before the end of the century, because the bankers were forbidden in 1299 to do so. Besides, the statutes, of the University of Padua, ordered that the stationer keep a list neither of books for sale with the prices marked 'nor, per cifras sed per literas ciaras.'"196 Now, there should be practically no doubt that this new kind of arithmetic was called algorism in Europe. On another occasion Saidan refers to the Liber Algorismi de Numero Indorum (The Book of Al-Khwrazm on Indian Number), which is supposed to be a translation, by Adelard of Bath (c. 1120), of Al-Khwrazmi's book on
193
Georges S. Colin, "De l'Origine Grecque des 'Chiffres de Fez et de Nos Chiffres Arabes", Journal Asiatique, Avril-Juin 1933, pp. 204-205. 194 Saidan, "The Earliest Extant Arabic Arithmetic, Kitb al-Fusl fi al Hisb al-Hind of Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Ibrahim alUqldis", Isis, vol. 57, 1966, p. 480. Saidan is seen to have later on changed his verdict on this matter. See his reference indicated below, p. 83 and note 203. 195 George Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, vol. 2, part 2, 1931, p. 747. See also, George Sarton, "The First Explanation of Decimal Fractions and Measures (1585). Together with a History of the Decimal Idea", Isis, vol. 23, 1935, pp. 164166. 196 Op. eit., vol. 2, part 2, p. 985.
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the Indian method of calculation, lost now in its Arabic original. Saidan also speaks of Dixit Algorismi (So Speaks Al-Khwrazm), of 1143, allegedly quoting the Indian arithmetic of Al-Khwrazm.197 There is also the Liber Algorismi of John of Seville, again from the first half of the twelfth century, which deals with Al-Khwrazm's Indian method of calculation.198 In all these examples, the Indian method of calculation is represented by the word algorism, by referring to Al-Khwrazm in person. In fact, it was suggested and shown in about the middle of the nineteenth century that this word was merely a corruption of the word Al-Khwrazm. This is, moreover, in line with a statement of Sacrobosco, of the thirteenth century, to the effect that the word algorism was derived from the name of a scholar, and it is strongly confirmed by the above-mentioned book names such as Dixit Algorismi and Liber
Algorismi de Numero Indorum.
It is to be concluded that the origin of the word was forgotten soon after the twelfth century and, in fact, many of the early Latin writers suggested various fanciful etymologies for it. D, E. Smith too refers to the loose and inconsistent manner in which this word was used, giving several examples to illustrate it.199 David Eugene Smith writes: "The Hindu Forms (of the numerals) described by Al-Khwrazm were not used by the Arabs, however. The Baghdad scholars evidently derived their forms from some other source, possibly from Kabul in Afghanistan; where they may have been modified in transit from India."200 We have already spoken of the two sets of numeral forms which were used in the Islamic World, one in the East and one in the West. The one used in the East was perhaps the same as that used by Al-Khwrazm. The Central Asian or Kabul form referred to by D.E. Smith may have been the one adopted by Al-Khwrazm, since he was a native of that region. It is of great interest that the numerals adopted by Europe, which are those still used today, were the same as the ghubr numerals, and these numerals seem to have a very complex history which was probably quite independent from Al-Khwrazrn, although D.E. Smith's statement quoted above seems to imply the assumption that Al-Khwrazm used numerals close in shape to that of the ghubr numerals. It is so much the more interesting therefore that the passage to Europe of methods of reckoning based on the decimal place-value system owed much to Al-Khwrazm, as the word algorism testifies. Europe's adoption of the ghubr numerals of Spain too obviously had a great part to play in the passage of the computation methods based on the decimal place-value system from the World of Islam to the Western Christian World. Saidan says: "In Western Islam, Indian mathematical thought had deeper influence. The arithmetic and astronomy of AlKhwrazm, with their Hindu elements, were spread in Spain and North Africa, when better books in the East had already surpassed Hindu lore. ... It was the teaching of Western Muslims that reached Europe first and thus established the prestige of Al-Khwrazm. .,."201 This generalization should not be fully correct as far as astronomy is concerned, and its veracity for arithmetic is in need of further research.
See, Saidan, The Arithmetic ofAl-Uqldis, Reidel Publishing Company, 1978, p. 22. See, M.F. Woepcke, "Memoire sur la Propagation des Chiffres Indiens", Journal Asiatique, series 6, vol. 1, May-June 1863, p. 519. 199 D.E. Smith, History of Mathematics, vol. 2, pp. 8-11. See also, Kurt Vogel, Die Practice des Algorismus Ratisbonmsis, S.H. Becksche Verlagsbuch hand lung, Munchen 1954, pp. 1-9, especially 1-3. 200 Op. cit., vol. 2, p. 72. David Eugene Smith does not give his source for this statement. 201 The Arithmetic of Al-Uqldis, p. 7.
198 197
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Again, Saidan says: ... Al-Khwrazm wrote the first Arabic work on Indian arithmetic. This is lost to us, but we have a collection of Latin texts alleged to be partial translations of it or derived from it. From these it seems that neither the numeral forms nor the manipulation schemes given by Al-Khwrazm agree with that spread later on in Islam under the name of Indian arithmetic."202 Saidan also writes: "According to this assumption, two arithmetic must be attributed to Al-Khwrazm; the Latin texts must be presentations, or translations, of his Kitb al-Hisb al-Hind. "This assumption justifies the two names given to mathematicians in Europe, viz., abacists and algorists; see Sarton's (89) section 78. Both seem to have drawn from Al-Khwrazm; the former from his Hindi arithmetic, and the letter from his Al-Jam' wa al-Tafriq."203 This assertion of Saidan to the effect that Al-Khwrazm's Al-jam' wa't-Taffiq, lost in its Arabic original, influenced Europe is very interesting, but in need of proof. The question of the origin of the ghubr numerals has been the subject of quite profound investigations by Woepcke, Nicholas Bubnov, and Solomon Gandz, in particular.204 What is the origin of the ghubr numerals? These numerals are the same as the apex signs, i.e., the signs marked on the abacus blocks or apices, and they are found in the Ars Geometrica of Boethius (480-524 A.D.), Roman encyclopedic scholar. They have each a particular name ranging from 1 to 9 inclusive. These names are igin (i), andras (2), ormis (3), arbas (4), quimas (5), kaltis (6), zenis (7), temenias (8), selentis (9). Moreover, these names incorporate also the idea of place-value. For while they represent these values on the first column of the abacus, on the second column they represent 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90, and on the third column they represent the hundreds. The system has no zero. But zero is represented by the absence of apices on the corresponding column. Therefore, the apex signs go beyond the idea of utilizing a separate sign for each item of the ones, tens, and the hundreds, as so on, as in the alphabetical numerals. With these signs, in accord with the decimal placevalue system, merely nine signs can be utilized on the abacus to represent any number within the range of the thousands and beyond. If, therefore, this stage of development of the idea of representing numbers had already been attained by the time of Boethius, this would be earlier than Severus Sebokt and Al-Khwrazm Concerning this question D.E. Smith writes: "In certain manuscripts of Boethius there appear similar forms (similar to the ghubr numerals), but these manuscripts are not earlier than the tenth century and were written at a time when it was not considered improper to modernize a text. They do not appear in the arithmetic of Boethius where we might expect to find
See, op. cit., p. 12. See, op. cit., p. 23. 204 See, M.F. Woepcke, "Memoire sur la Propagation des Chiffres Indiens", Journal Asiatique, series 6, vol. 1, 1863, pp, 27-291, 442-529; for Bubnov, see, Harriet Pratt Latin, "The Origin of our Present System of Notation According to the Theories of Nicholas Bubnov", Isis, vol. 19, 1933, pp. 181-194; David Eugene Smith and Louis Charles Karpinski, The Hindu-Arabic Numerals, Ginn and Co., Boston 1911; Solomon Gandz, "The Knot in Hebrew Literature, or From the Knot to the Alphabet", Isis, vol. 14, 1930, pp. 189-214; S. Gandz, "The Origin of the Ghubar Numerals, or the Arabian Abacus and the Articuli", Isis, vol. 16, 1931, pp. 393-424; S. Gandz, "Review on Datta and Singh: History of Hindu Mathematics", Isis, vol. 25, 1936, pp. 478-488; Salih Zeki, thr-i Bqiya (in Turkish), vol. 2, Istanbul 1329 (1913), pp. 10-102
203
202
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them, if at all, but in his geometry, and their introduction breaks the continuity of the text. It therefore seems very doubtful that they were part of the original work of Boethius."205 Another interesting side of these apex signs, regardless of the more or less exact chronology of their origin, is that they seem to contain Ural-Altaic, Finno-Ugrian and Semitic sounding elements. Concerning the gkubdr numerals Harriet Pratt Lattin writes as follows: "On etymological grounds also Bubnov denies the Hindu-Arabic origin of our numerals. In manuscripts of the eleventh century and possibly of the end of the tenth century are found strange names for the symbols used on the abacus, i.e., igin, andras, ormis, arbas, quimas, caltis, Zfinis, zemenias, or temenias, words unknown to the Hindus, and meaning 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. The words for 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9 belong to the languages of the peoples of Ural-Altaic origin; thus igin is related to Hungarian ik, ekky, and to an Ugro-Finnish dialect of Siberia, ogy, egid; ormis, to the Hungarian korom, harom; kaltis to the Turkish alti; zenis to the Turkish sekiz or senkis without the "k, celentis (pronounced kelentis), to the Hungarian kilenez. Only the names for 4, 5 and 8 are of Semitic origin. ... Such a mixture could have occurred in Mesopotamia before the Christian era, if one accepts the fact that the people there were subjected to Semitic (Babylonian) domination. If our numerals had originated in India, the names would result from a mixture of Indo-European word roots and Semitic (Arabic). Our numerals and these strange names originated in Central Asia and from there spread both to India and to Western Asia where the Greeks became acquainted with them and through the Greeks they found a place on the abacus."206 According to Bubnov, place-value was a feature of the abacus and was constantly employed on the abacus, but not independently of the abacus "until the thirteenth century, due to the failure of the abacist to understand the theory of the zero which they actually used in practise." He also believed that the fundamental elements going into the making of the positional system of numerals were developed by a slow process, lasting hundreds if not thousands of years, and took place among different peoples and different cultures so that special individuals cannot lay claim to their origin. Again, according to Bubnov, Boethius may have known the symbols, i.e., the apex signs, "and according to Bubnov's theory there is no reason why he should not have, but he was not the author of any surviving geometries circulating under his name so that conclusions as to his part in the transmission of the numerals based on their contents are worthless."207 Apparently Budnov did not deal with the place-value system of numerals in Islam, and nor does he deal with Al-Khwrazm's contributions to the dissemination of this numeral system in Western Europe as a result of the Twelfth Century Renaissance of Europe. In short, however, the origin of the ghubr numerals seems therefore to involve, according to Bubnov, influences coming from Ural-Altaic, Finno-Ughrian, and Semitic languages. In his opinion, these names must have originated from Central Asia where such intermingling could occur. Hence, Bubnov denies a Hindu-Arabic origin for the decimal place-value system of numeration which with the passage of time came to be adopted by Western Europe. He believes the system to have originated with the Greeks and to have resulted from a transfer of the instrumental arithmetic of the abacus to writing. As to the names of the apex signs, Bubnov believed, on etymological grounds, that they originated in Central Asia, and thus we come once more face to face with Central Asia which seems of great interest with respect to intellectual developments of medieval Islam. Gerbert (930-1004 A.D.) knew the gkubar numerals, abstraction, of course, being made of the zero sign. Gandz brings the words uqud and articuli into correspondence with each other and concludes that the origin of the use of this word in the sense of series of numerals goes back to Rome, in agreement with Woepcke. Gandz concludes that Persius (34-62 A.D.), Boethius, and Alcuin (735-804) knew the ghubr numeral signs with the
205 206
D.E. Smith, History of Mathematics, vol. 2, pp. 73-74. Harriet Pratt Lattin, "The Origin of our Present System of Notation According to the Theories of Nicholaus Bubnov", Isis, vol. 19, 1933, pp. 185-186. 207 Ibid., pp. 183, 189, 190.
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exception of zero and that the sign of zero was added to this system as a result of Indian influence transmitted through the World of Islam.208 Salih Zeki209 speculates that the gkubar numerals passed from the World of Islam to Europe as a result of the contact between Harun al-Rashd (786-809 A.D.) and Charlemagne and their exchange of gifts. Gandz has the following to say concerning hypotheses of this nature: "It is true that at the time of Alcuin and his royal friend Charlemagne there were some merchants, travellers and emissaries passing back and forth between the East and West, and with such ambassadors must have gone the adventurous scholar, inspired, as Alcuin says of Archbishop Albert of York (766-780), to seek the learning of other lands. There is also a cruciform brooch in the British Museum inlaid with a piece of paste on which is the Mohammedan inscription in Kufic characters "There is no god but God." How did such a brooch find its way, perhaps in the time of Alcuin, to England? And if these Kufic characters reached there, why not the numeral forms as well? So ask Smith and Karpinski. Similarly, Ruska thinks only of two possibilities: either Alcuin invented the term articulus, or he learned it from the Moors. ... In the writer's opinion, however, there would be more probability for the assumption that some of these emissaries, pilgrims and scholars came in touch with the Nestori-an priests of Syria, who, like Severus Sebokht, were familiar with the Hindu numerals as early as 662. ..."210 The question seems rather complex, and there may be truth in more than one of the several theories advanced. One thing may also be said to emerge out of this complicated situation, and this is that there was apparently much inertia to change in this matter so closely tied up with established practices. But is it possible to conclude that Al-Khwrazm appears to emerge out of this puzzling situation as a person of outstanding foresight in appreciating the essential advantages of a decimal place-value system of numeration and as a figure of far-reaching influence not only in Islam but also in Europe in the dissemination of that system and the method of calculation based upon it? I have already quoted Saidan saying that some of the texts studied by him do not use and some do not even seem to know the Hindu-Arabic numerals. Reproducing a gist of his statements, we have, ... To pursue the mutual influence of one system upon the other is a tempting task not easy to carry out satisfactorily. ... But we shall find more concepts in common between the three systems than we may at first expect. The task of tracing the influence of one system upon the other is made particularly difficult by the Arabic authors themselves, who laboured hard to secure a unified system better than all. ..." We also have Saidan's thesis to the effect that AlKhwrazm's arithmetic as a representative of Indian mathematical thought had a greater influence in Spain than in Eastern Islam. To reproduce another statement of his, we have: ... It seems that neither the numeral forms nor the manipulational systems given by Al-Khwrazm agree with that spread later on in Islam under the name of Indian arithmetic. ..."211 Saidan ignores the extra-Islamic or pre-Islamic influences upon Spain in the matter of the ghubr numerals as a specific group of symbols and as a type of calculation presumably deriving from an act of making abstraction of the columns of the abacus with the exception of the first column. This manner of conceiving the ghubr numerals in their history as the tools of a certain type of calculation akin to that of Al-Khwrazm but deprived as yet of a zero sign serves to bridge the gap between Al-Khwrazm as a representative of Eastern Islam and the ghubr numerals as distinctive of Spain. There seems to lurk behind all this the possibility of gaining more knowledge of detail without increasing our grasp of a question as a whole, of having difficulty in seeing the wood for the trees. The manuscripts that have come down to us may possibly not represent a balanced and realistic distribution of the different tendencies and
Gandz, "The Origin of the Ghubar Numerals, or the Arabian Abacus and the Articuli", p. 411. Op. cit., p. 62-63. 210 Gandz, "The Origin of the Ghubar Numerals...", pp. 410-411. 211 See above, pp. 74-55, note 184, pp. 79-80, note 194, p. 81, note 198, pp. 82-83, notes 201, 202. See also, Saidan, The Arithmetic of Al-Uqldis, pp. 7-8, 12.
209 208
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preferences. The antidote to such a situation would be to consult and assess the views of others who were in a better situation from the standpoint of gaining a well-rounded perspective of the real circumstances. Relevant views seem to be gleanable from, e.g., Ibn al-Qift and Abu'l-Qsim Scid al-Andulus. Ibn al-Qift speaks of Al-Khwrazm as the person who materially helped spread the Indian arithmetic, declaring that the method of calculation disseminated by Al-Khwrazm was clearly superior and preferable to all other methods available, and, naturally, he does not distinguish Eastern and Western Islam from one another as the scenes of diffusion of this influence exerted by Al-Khwrazm.212 It is of interest also that Abu'l-Qsim Scid al-Andulus, speaking of the arithmetic of the Indians, refers to it as the "ghubr calculation" (hisb al-gkubar) and says that it.was through Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ms alKhwrazm that its use became more extensive.213 Here the reference is to the method of calculation rather than to the type of numerals. Yet, Scid al-Andulus thus associates indirectly the ghubr numerals also with AlKhwrazm, or seems to do so. This may possibly be explained by the fact that he was from Spain. This is by no means clear. But the idea that emerges from his statement clearly is that Sacid al-Andulus did not contrast the ghubr numerals of Spain with the "Indian" system of calculation of Eastern Islam. Richard Lemay writes, "In Muslim Spain, on the other hand, as G. Menendez Pidal has pointed out, the Indian system (of arithmetic) became known as early as the ninth century, It seems to have prospered more immediately there, although in a significantly different cultural context marked by the opposition of the Spanish c Umayyads to the Abbasid culture of Baghdad. Starting at least with the tenth century under the first caliph of Cordoba, cAbder Rahman III. an indigenous scientific and cultural tradition flourished in al-Andalusia where astronomy, astrology and mathematics in particular were intensely cultivated. In view of its potential impact upon Western Europe, as shown by the example of Gerbert in the late tenth century, al-Andalusia thus becomes a more natural focus of attention for the transmission of the "Hindu" numerals to Western Europe in the Middle Ages."214 In the Eastern parts of Islam too the Abbasid Caliphate, the Buwayhids, Samanids, Qarakhanids, and Ghaznawids, as well as the rulers of smaller kingdoms under the jurisdiction of sovereigns such as Qabs and the rulers of Eastern and Western Khwrazm regions, were all good patrons of science, and they encouraged scientists and scholars in their intellectual pursuits both in the fields of the secular or intellectual sciences, i.e., al-culm al-caqliyya or the awil sciences, and the Arabic and religions sciences, i.e., al-culm al-cArabiyya and
al-culm al-naqliyya.
Naturally, this patronage did not distinguish between different approaches to specific scientific subjects or problems, and did not distinguish between detailed epistemological concerns either. It seems necessary therefore to consider our question dealing with numerals and methods of calculation in the narrower context related to this specific topic or theme. For example, Spain was in favor of Al-Khwrazm's "Indian" arithmetic, and this was quite plausible and well suited to the question dealt with. But this fame of Al-Khwrazm seems to have perhaps led to the choice of his zj for the publication of a revised version, whereas there were several other zjs such as that of Al-Battn that could or should have been preferred for such a purpose.215
Ibn al-Qift, Ta'rikh al-Hukam, ed. Julius Lippert, Leipzig 1903, pp. 266-267. Abu'l-Qsim S'id ibn Ahmad al-Andulus, Kitb Tabaqt al-Umam, ed. P. Louis Cheikho, Beyrut 1912, p. 14, French translation by Regis Blachere (Livre des Categories des Nations), Paris 1935, pp. 47-48. 214 Richard Lemay, "The Hispanic Origin of our Present Numeral Terms", Viator (Medieval and Renaissance Studies), vol. 8, 1977, University of California Press, p. 444. 215 See above, pp. 4, 6 and notes n, 12, 14, 15 and p. 8a, note 201, pp. 78-79, note 191. As to the degree to which scientific publications of the Eastern Islamic World were available in Arab Spain, see, M.S. Khan, "Qdi Sa'id al-Andulus's Tabaqt al-Umam: The First World History of Science", Islamic Studies, vol. 30: 4, 1991",' pp. 518, 520, 524.
213
212
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The question is well posed, however. Spain played a prominent part in the acceptance by Western Europe of the decimal positional system of numeration. For the ghubr type of numeral signs belonging to Spain were adopted by Western Europe. But Al-Khwrazm too was outstanding in this passage of influence as unmistakably seen in the coining of the term algorithm. We are, therefore, naturally interested in the answer to the question as to why did Spain constitute a favourable environment for the passage of this influence. The question naturally divides itself into two parts. One is the ease with which Arabic Spain adopted the "Hindu" system of numerals. The second part, or phase, concerns the passage of this system of numeration from Spain to Western Europe. In this second phase one automatically thinks of geographical proximity as a manifest reason for the passage of influence from Spain to Western Europe. But the more relevant reason would exclude the factor of geographical proximity. For in the first phase concerning Arab Spain at any rate, i.e., concerning the question as to why did Arab Spain adopt the "Hindu" numeral system of Al-Khwrazm more readily, the factor of geographical proximity does not come into play at all. In the second phase, i.e., the adoption of these numerals by Western Europe such a factor may have come in to play a part. In short, therefore, we are essentially interested in the answer to the question as to why did Spain constitute a favourable environment for the passage of influence from Al-Khwrazm in the field of the place-value numeral system and the Indian type of calculation. This question is much more specific in comparison with the patronage and encouragement of scientific work and intellectual pursuits, and it can be dealt with or taken up with greater clarity of purpose. For it concerns more directly the nature of conditions prevailing in a particular place with regard to the question studied. Such specific conditions prevailing in Spain were that arithmetical calculations in Spain depended on the abacus operated with the help of the nine apex signs - in the absence of a sign for zero. The Arabs of Spain must have adopted this system locally, and as a matter of fact they did, as they did in many regions of the vast Islamic realm. But why did they take the next step, i.e., why did they easily adopt Al-Khwrazm's number system and arithmetic with much relative ease? Very relevant to this circumstance is the following quotation Gandz gives from Alcuin of York (735-804), a scholar contemporary with Charlemagne: "We see also that the progression of numbers through the articles, being so to say, certain units, grows up to infinity by a limited number of certain forms. For the first progression of numbers is from 1 to 10, the second from ten to a hundred, and the third from a hundred to thousand. ... "Thus even as the number six is in the order of the units, ... so also must be the number sixty ... in the order of the tens. ..." Alcuin observes here that through the repetition of these three series or forms the numbers continue to grow in an unlimited progression.216 Gandz concludes there from that Alcuin shows himself to be familiar with the Hindu system.217 Bernelinus describes Gerbert's abacus as divided into thirty columns "of which three were reserved for fractions, while the remaining 27 were divided into groups with three columns in each. In every group the columns were marked respectively by the letters C (centum), D (decem), and S (singularis) or M (monas). Bernelinus gives the nine numerals used, which are the apices of Boethius, and then remarks that the Greek letters may be used in their place. By the use of these columns any number can be written without introducing a zero, and all operations in arithmetic can be performed in the same way as we execute ours without the columns but with the symbol for zero."218 With Al-Khwrazm and the passage of the decimal positional system of numeration to Western Europe, we are dealing mainly with integers to the exclusion of decimal positional fractions. It is so much the more interesting therefore that the abacus of Gerbert as described by Bernelinus is seen to be designed so as to be
216 217
Gandz, "The Origin of the Ghubar Numerals", Isis, vol. 16, 1931, p. 408. Gandz, ibid., p. 409. 218 This quotation is from Florian Cajori, A History of Mathematics, 1931, p. 116.
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equipped with the potentiality of applying the place-value principle to fractions, as well as to integers, although deprived of a zero sign. We have just seen that, from the words quoted from Alcuin, Gandz believed one must conclude that Alcuin was familiar with the so-called Hindu-Arabic numeral system, and that is a system including a sign for zero. It is clear; however, from the passage just quoted from Cajori that the words of Alcuin quoted above from Gandz need not refer exclusively to the Hindu-Arabic numerals, including zero. They might as well refer to the ghubr numeral signs used on the abacus. It is thus seen, therefore, that Spain was in a very favourable position to appreciate and adopt AlKhwrazm's "Hindu" system of number. This should be of considerable importance in trying to explain why, in the words of Richard Lemay, the Indian system of numeration seems to have prospered more immediately in Spain as compared to other parts of the Muslim World. For, as we have pointed out with some detail, the positional decimal system was for a considerably long time not sufficiently appreciated and easily adopted, neither in medieval Islam and nor in Western Europe of the late Middle Ages. According to Richard Lemay, AlBeyrn states that among the Indians too "the system of nine figures and their use in positional value was far from being universally practiced since it had to compete within Indian tradition with two rival systems, the sexagesimal and the letter numerals."219 Otto Neugebauer writes: "Only in one point is the Greek (Hellenistic) notation less consistent than the Babylonian method. In the latter, all numbers were written strictly sexagesimally, regardless of whether they are integers or fractions. In Greek astronomy, however, only the fractions were written sexagesimally, whereas for integer degrees or hours the ordinary alphabetic notation remained in use for numbers from 60 onwards. In other words, the Greeks already introduced the inconsistency which is still visible in modern astronomy, where one also would write 130 17' 20. The other inconsistency of modern astronomical notation, namely to continue beyond the seconds with decimal fractions, is a recent innovation. It is interesting to see that it took about two thousand years of migration of astronomical knowledge from Mesopotamia via Greeks, Hindus, and Arabs to arrive at a truly absurd numerical system."220 It is of much interest that with the same critical approach and appraisal as that of Neugebauer, we may describe the ghubr numerals "as a system in which there were nine signs which in conjunction with the abacus could express numbers in a place-value system and in which one could perform arithmetical operations consistently with any integers as well as fractions expressed on a decimal scale." But because this system did not have a sign for zero, in the absence of the abacus, these numbers could not be written down, e.g., on paper. They could only be expressed with the help of the abacus. This reminds us of the cuneiform sexagesimal place-value system of Mesopotamia in its earlier phases when it did not have a sign for zero. The introduction of a zero sign came as a gradual development in the Mesopotamian sexagesimal place-value number system. We may set up in our minds a parallelism between this process and the case of the ghubr numerals, therefore, from such a standpoint also. By such a comparison it would seem reasonable to speculate that through contact with Al-Khwrazm's "Indian" numeral system the ghubr numerals should with relative ease remedy its disadvantage resulting from the absence of a sign for zero and should without much difficulty adopt the zero sign. We have seen in our quotation from Shigeru Nakayama that the Chinese were not alien to the decimal fractions either; or, rather, that their use of the positional decimal fractions increased as a result of their adoption of the Futian calendar, i.e., as a result of contact with Central Asia.221
219 220
Richard Lemay, op. cil., p. 443. O. Neugebauer, The Exact Sciences in Antiquity, Brown University Press, 1957, p. 16-17. 221 See above, p. 50 and note 129. See also, Ronan, pp. 37-38.
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With Al-Khwrazm and the passage of the decimal positional system to Western Europe, we are dealing mainly with integers to the exclusion of decimal fractions. It is so much the more interesting therefore, as pointed out above, that the abacus of Gerbert as described by Bernelinus is seen to be designed so as to be equipped with the possibility of applying the place-value principle to fractions as well as to integers. We learn from A.S. Saidan that Al-Uqldis (fl. ca. 952) was familiar with decimal fractions, and Al-Uqldis is the author of the earliest book of medieval Islam on arithmetic, the Arabic text of which has come down to our day. It is possible therefore, that decimal fractions were not entirely unknown to Al-Khwrazm. A.S. Saidan, relying on Joseph Needham, says that the Chinese mathematicians of the third century A.D. may be considered the inventors of decimal fractions and adds that it can be safely said that the first mathematician "so far known" to have used decimal fractions in the Middle East is Al-Uqldis of the tenth century.222 The life times of Al-Khwrazm and Al-Uqldis were separated by about five generations, assuming that generations are renewed every twenty-five years, so that Al-Uqldis's father could have known Al-Khwrazm in person. According to Zeki Velidi Togan, a truly outstanding scholar in not only the fields of Turkish medieval Islam and Central Asia but also a foremost contributor to our knowledge of Al-Beyrn, Al-Beyrn considered the civilized world to be composed of two major parts, the East and the West. The Chinese, the Turks, and the people of India made up the East in his classification, and the World of Islam was a continuation of the Western civilization which was based on the classical Greek civilization. According to Zeki Velidi Togan, Al-Beyrn believed that the acceptance of the Muslim religion by the Turks caused a considerable expansion of the Western civilization, and that this constituted a great gain for humanity as a whole and especially for the cause of science.223 As we have seen, such examples as Jbir's in chemistry, the propagation of the art of making rag paper, and the algebra of second degree equations corroborate Al-Beyrn's assertion that generally the Chinese and Turkish cultures and civilizations were somewhat tied up and related to each other. A similar situation may therefore have existed in number theory and arithmetic. As we have seen, moreover, Central Asia, and more particularly some Turkish elements of its population seem to have given some kind of impetus to China in the use of decimal fractions. Now, as the abacus used with the ghubr numerals may be considered as having offered access to the use of decimal fractions, this may be interpreted as constituting a clue or an item of evidence in favour of Bubnov's contention, or suggestion, that the ghubr numerals must have originated in Central Asia. The question of the use of decimal fractions in China may possibly have an explanation connected with China's cultural relations with India directly or through Central Asia. Central Asia too may possibly come somewhat into the foreground in this regard. I have on an earlier occasion referred to a statement of D.E. Smith to the effect that numeral signs used by Baghdad scholars, and Arabs in general, were not the same as the signs described by Al-Khwrazm and that they were probably derived from those used in pre-Islamic Afghanistan.224 This is a rather vague statement. It may, nevertheless, by association of ideas, bring to our mind Bubnov's contention that the ghubr numeral signs must have originated in Central Asia. All this may also possibly tend to lead to some suggestions as to the nature of the "Indian" origin of AlKhwrazm's arithmetic, partly affecting our picture of the influence brought by Manka or Hanka of "India" to Baghdad during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mansr (754-775), or, at an earlier date (c. 650 A.D.) via the Nestorian Severus Sebokt.225
222 223
A. S. Saidan, The Arithmetic of Al-Uqldis, pp. 485, 486. Zeki Velidi Togan, "Birn", Encyclopedia of Islam (Turkish), vol. 2, 1949, p. 638. 224 See, above, p. 8a and note 200. 225 The words India and Indian are written in most of these passages within quotation marks in order to remind the reader that these words as used in the sources may be referring to Northern India and that "Northern India" may be taken to mean, more specifically, the southern extension of Central Asia.
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Neither Khwarazm, the home of Al-Khwrazm, nor Khuttal and Gilan, or Jilan, one of which must have been the birthplace of cAbdu'l-Hamd ibn Turk, is in North India, or, in the southern extension of Central Asia. They are both in Central Asia, more properly speaking. On the other hand, our sources tell us that cAbdu'l-Hamd ibn Turk too, like Al-Khwrazm, was the author of books on arithmetic. And they both belong, presumably at least, to the initial phases of the dissemination of the "Indian arithmetic" in the World of Islam. Abd al-Hamd ibn Turk is said to have been the author of books on arithmetic,226 three of them mentioned by name, and Al-Khwrazm was the author of one, or, perhaps, of two books in this field.227 Our source on the information concerning Ibn Turk's publications in the field of arithmetic leaves the impression that he was the earlier writer, as compared to Al-Khwrazm and it is likely that his arithmetic also was of the Indian type. Hanka or Manka may therefore not be sufficient to bring to light the sources of cAbdu'l-Hamd ibn Turk and Al-Khwrazm in their knowledge of arithmetic; i.e., he may have not constituted the sole source of the knowledge of these two mathematicians in the field of arithmetic. Just as in the field of algebra, in the field of arithmetic too, cAbd al-Hamd ibn Turk and Al-Khwrazm may have possibly been indebted for at least part of their knowledge of arithmetic to their homeland in Central Asia. I have spoken of decimal fractions as a topic which may constitute an item of evidence in favor of Bubnov's thesis to the effect that Central Asia may have been the source and origin of the ghubr numeral signs. This contention of Bubnov's which rests on etymological considerations cannot be changed by replacing the term Central Asia by the word China. And the subject of decimal fractions is not very clearly known. Thus, a claim that the subject of decimal fractions helps increase the possibility of the veracity of Bubnov's thesis is not very convincing, and Bubnov's thesis stands in need of much more concrete verification. Moreover, we should not exaggerate the importance of decimal fractions as indirect evidence in support of the etymologically reasonable Bubnov thesis. For one thing the use of decimal fractions is not a sufficiently wellattested feature of the ghubr numeral signs used in conjunction with the abacus either. Joseph Needham says: "Place-value could and did exist without any symbol for zero, as in China from the late Chou (i.e., before the third century B.C.) onwards. But the zero symbols, as part of the numeral system, never existed, and could not have come into being, without place-value. It seems to be established that placevalue was known to, and used by, the authors of the Paulisa Siddhanta in the early years of the +5th century, and certainly by the time of Aryabhata and Vraha-Mihira (c+500). And this was the decimal place-value of earlier China, not the sexagesimal place-value of earlier Babylonia. It may be very significant that the older literary Indian references simply use the word sunya, "emptiness, just as if they were describing the empty spaces in Chinese counting-boards."228 Again, Joseph Needham writes: "In general therefore, it will be seen that the Shang numeral system was more advanced and scientific than the contemporary scripts of Old Babylonia and Egypt. ... All three systems agreed in that a new cycle of signs began at 10 and each of its powers. With one exception already noted, the Chinese repeated all the original nine numerals with the addition of a place-value component, which was not itself a numeral. The Old Babylonian system, however, was mainly additive or cumulative, below 200, like the later Roman; and both employed subtractive devices; ... . Only in the sexagesimal notation of the astronomers, where the principle of place-value applied, was there better consistency, though even then special signs were used for such numbers as 3600, and the subtractive element was not excluded. Moreover, numbers less than 60 were expressed by pile-up signs. The ancient Egyptians followed a cumulative system, with some multiplicative usages. It seems therefore that the Shang Chinese were the first to be able to express any desired number,
c
226 227
See, above, p. 17 and notes 51, 52, 53. See, above, p. 83 and note 203. 228 Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China, vol. 3, Cambridge University Press, 1959, pp. 10-11 (note k). The Chou Dynasty period referred to above extends between -10th and the -3rd centuries. See, Joseph Needham, ibid., p. 5.
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however large, with no more than nine numerals. The subtractive principle of forming numerals was never used by them."229 I have dwelt at some length on the Chinese numerals in order to explore or examine the possibility of the Central Asian origin of the nine ghubr numerals on the hypothesis of influence received by Central Asia from China especially because of Joseph Needham's statement just quoted to the effect that the Shang Chinese were able to express any decimal number, however large, with no more than nine numerals, and likewise Colin A. Ronan's assertion that "only the Shang Chinese were able to express any number, however large, using no more than nine numerals and a counting board."230 These two statements can be applied to the ghubr numerals without changing the wording, with this exception that in Colin A. Ronan's sentence the term "counting board" will have to be replaced by "calculating board, or the word "abacus, with some reservations with regard to technical detail. For, in connection with the ghubr numerals for the sake of clarity we may specify the abacus as the abacus as described by Bernelinus. I have dwelt on the Chinese numerals, as I have just said, because of the statements of Joseph Needham and Colin A. Ronan, in particular. But I have decided that these statements are somewhat misleading perhaps because of an exaggerated importance attributed to the idea of "piled-up signs" and to the idea of "place-value components, neither of which concern the inherent characteristics essential to the concept of the place-value numeral system. For the sake of brevity and simplicity, we may have recourse to a mathematical definition of the place-value notation based only on the essential aspects or features of the system. The system may be decimal or sexagesimal, or based on some other convenient number. If decimal, then it is in need of ten signs, if sexagesimal in need of sixty signs, including zero in each case. The number signs, or symbols, may be plain, or simple, as in our present day decimal system, or based on a piling-up process of constituent elemental parts as in the old Mesopotamian sexagesimal system. In a sexagesimal system, sixty independent elemental signs would make the system a bit unwieldy, so that the "piling-up" process could help making the system less cumbersome. In the "mathematical" definition of the place-value system, a basic number sign such as three in a decimal place-value system such as ours has the place-value 3=3X10" where n- ... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, o, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ..., and in the Mesopotamian sexagesimal system, a basic numeral sign such as eleven has the place-value = 11X60n where n= ... 5, -4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ..., n representing the rank or order a special integer, or numeral sign, occupies. Now, Al-Khwrazm's decimal system had a zero sign, but so far as the value of n of our formula is concerned, it did not run through negative values. The ghubr numerals used on the abacus did not have a zero sign, and as we have conjectured, it may have been used for values n < 0, but it had only nine signs and was in need of a zero sign in order to be properly classified as a place-value system. This shows very clearly how close it was to the status of being a place-value system properly speaking. But the Old Egyptian or the Roman, Ionian, and the Phoenician numeral systems, e.g., and so far as I understand it, the Chinese numeral systems, cannot be fitted into our mathematical definition of a place-value system, or, at least not into a pattern closely similar to the ghubr numerals used with an abacus resembling that of Gerbert. The hypothetical Central Asian numeral system that constituted the origin of the ghubr numbers without a zero sign does not thus seem to be confirmable or supportable on the basis of influences traceable to Chinese
229 230
Joseph Needham, ibid, vol. 3, pp. 13-15. Colin A. Ronan, The Shorter Science and Civilization in China: 2, p. 5.
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number systems. And the same may be said concerning its possible relations with the numeral systems of India. This brief survey based on, or centering upon, our "mathematical" definition of the place-value number system should be of help to us by once more indicating clearly what a great advantage Spain had for transforming its numeral system into a place-value system. Indeed, this was to be done in the presence of a ready model, and the only change to be brought about was the adoption of its scheme of using a special additional zero sign. We have tried to see if any features similar to the ghubr numerals can be discovered in Chinese numerals, thinking that this may be construed as confirming the existence of an affinity or kinship between Central Asian numerals and the ghubr number system. And we have failed to discover such similarities. But this does not of course mean that Central Asia cannot constitute the origin of the ghubr numerals at all. For not every cultural trait of Central Asia has to be akin to that of China. For instance, the Turkish runic alphabet and the Chinese script were basically different from each other. So, we cannot infer that such a number system did not exist in Central Asia.
ghubr numerals seriously. For, with the sole exception of the country of the Khazars, i.e., Caucasia, it is
The problem remains, therefore, that it is difficult not to take Bubnov's theory of Central Asian origin for the
virtually impossible to think of any region, or country, which could have given rise to the names of "Boethius' apexes, and the Khazars may be considered to have much in common with the autochthonous peoples of Central Asia. One other possible candidate for the country of origin for the names of the apex signs used in a vague manner is, it may be conjectured, Mesopotamia, as mentioned by Bubnov himself.231 This requires, however, a chronology that is much too early for the ghubr numerals, and with such early dates, the etymological basis of the argument would loose much of its force. The "Central Asia" of Bubnov should conform, moreover, to a Central Asia either peripheral to "Islamic Central Asia" or it should refer to a Central Asia where the Arabic language was not the sole dominant cultural tongue. This geography would of course show some variation depending on chronology.
231
See, Harriet Pratt Lattin, op. cit., pp. 185-186, 189, 190.
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Transfer of Islamic Science to the West
Prof. Dr. Ahmed Y. Al-Hassan Prof. Dr. Mohamed El-Gomati Savas Konur December 2006 625 FSTC Limited, 2006
FSTC Limited
Transfer of Islamic Science to the West December 2006
TRANSFER OF ISLAMIC SCIENCE TO THE WEST *

Prof. Dr. Ahmad Y. Al-Hassan**
From ancient history till the sixteenth century, the Near East was leading the world in technological innovation and advance. This is not to minimize the importance of Chinese civilization and its great contributions to the world, but what we want to point out is that the overall contribution of the Near East to human progress in general until the sixteenth century, surpasses anything that was achieved anywhere else in the world. This was true during the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, as it was true during the Hellenistic and the Roman periods. What is called the Greco-Roman heritage was built on the great civilizations of the Near East. Furthermore, the major achievements in science and technology that are called Hellenistic and Roman were mainly Near Eastern achievements due to the scholars and artisans of Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia. The pre-Islamic civilizations of the Near East and of all the lands extending from Central Asia and northern India to Spain were inherited by Islam; and under the influence of Islam and of the Arabic language, the science and technology of these regions were greatly developed and advanced. During the rise of Islamic civilization, Europe was still at an early stage in its technological status. Charles Singer, in the second volume of A History of Technology, observes that "the Near East was superior to the West. For nearly all branches of technology, the best products available to the West were those of the Near East. Technologically, the West had little to bring to the East. The technological movement was in the other direction".
1
Despite these facts, the influence of the medieval Arab-Islamic civilization in formulating the western tradition and in providing the foundation for its science and technology is hardly recognized in the mainstream of modern western literature, except for an occasional reference. There is a resistance by the mainstream of western historians in acknowledging this influence. This paper summarizes the debt that the West owes to the Arabic-Islamic civilization in the field of technology. It comes as a response to the sudden interest in the West in the Arabic-Islamic achievements in science and technology; an interest that was awakened by the recent political and military events.
Avenues of Transfer
Transfer of Islamic science and technology to the West was affected through various avenues. We give below an outline of these.
*
This article was first published in the Cultural Contacts in Building a Universal Civilisation: Islamic Contributions. Edited by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. Istanbul: IRCICA, 2005. This book can be obtained from IRCICA publication on their official website: www.ircica.org. We are grateful to Dr. Halit Eren, General Director of IRCICA for allowing publication. ** An Associate of the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University of Toronto, an editor of the Journal for the History of Arabic Science, a past member of the Advisory Committee of the United Nations University, Tokyo, a Chevalier of the Legion dHonneur, France, a Corresponding Member of the International Academy for the History of Science, and a Corresponding Member of the Iraqi Academy. 1 C. Singer, Epilogue, in C. Singer et al. (eds.), A History of Technology, Vol. II (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979), 756.
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Al-Andalus
There was a remarkable flow of scientific and technological knowledge from the Muslim East to al-Andalus and that was central to its cultural and economic vitality. The most fruitful transfer to the West took place in the Iberian Peninsula, where over several centuries the generally tolerant rule of the Umayyad Caliphs and their successors permitted friendly relationships between Muslims and Christians. The Spanish historian, Castro, argued that Christian Spain has always been an importer of technologies, and after the fall of Toledo in 1085 the exporters of technology were the Muslim Mudjars who formed enclaves of technological expertise that were geographically inside the country, but ethnically outside it. Ethnic boundaries are not hermetically sealed. Diffusion of techniques was continuous. The implantation of new techniques in Spanish Christian towns was effected through the migration of artisans, utilization of the skills of ethnic enclaves, or imitation of foreign wares. Castro is of the opinion that Christian economy was colonized by its own ethnic subordinates. The Mozarabs
3 2
played also an important role in transferring Arabic culture and technology to Christian
Spain. The Christian kingdoms could only continue to expand by successfully colonizing the territories that they had occupied. These territories were virtually depopulated because of the conquests and it was therefore necessary to repopulate them again. One method used was to attract Mozarab immigrants from al-Andalus. Such was the policy which enabled Alfonso III to colonize the conquered territories. The Mozarabs were to build important buildings, monasteries and fortresses that constituted typical examples of Mozarabic architecture. They brought with them their knowledge of the language that enabled them to compile Arabic glosses on Latin manuscripts, and to translate Arabic works. They provided the base of the intellectual movement of the 'School of Translators of Toledo'. They introduced Arabic-Islamic tastes, crafts and administrative skills. In this sense, it is undeniable that they contributed powerfully to the intellectual and cultural arabisation of the Christian kingdoms. Muslim operations in agriculture, irrigation, hydraulic engineering, and manufacture were an integral part of everyday life in the southern half of the peninsula, and many Muslim skills in these fields and in others, passed from Christian Spain into Italy and northern Europe. These transmissions were not checked by the crusading wars which were going on against the Muslims in Spain. Indeed, they were probably accelerated, since the Christians took over the Muslim installations and maintained them in running order in the ensuing centuries.
Sicily
Sicily was part of the Muslim Empire and did not lag behind in the cultivation of a high standard of civilization including the founding of big institutions for teaching sciences and arts. Due to its proximity to mainland Italy it had played an important role in the transmission of Arabic science and technology to
Spanish "Mudjar" (from Arabic mudajjar), any of the Muslims who remained in Spain after the Christian conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (11th -15th century). 3 From Arabic "musta'rib", "arabicized", any of the Spanish Christians living under Muslim rule, who, while unconverted to Islam, adopted Arabic language and culture.
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Europe. During the Arab era (827-1091) and the Norman one (1091-1194) Sicily was, after Spain, a bridge between the Arabic-Islamic civilization and Europe. In the Muslim period Palermo was a major city of trade, culture and learning. It became one of the greatest cities in the world. It was a period of prosperity and tolerance as Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in harmony and peace. The Arab tradition of tolerance toward other religions was perpetuated under the Norman kings. Under the rule of Roger II, Sicily became a clearing house where eastern and western scholars met and exchanged ideas that were to awaken Europe and herald the coming of the Renaissance. Arabic science was passed from Sicily to Italy and then to all of Europe. The Arab presence in Sicily was the stimulus for artistic activity which characterized Norman Sicily. Virtually all monuments, cathedrals, palaces and castles built under the Normans were Arab in the sense that the craftsmen were Arab, as were the architects. As a result, Arabic influence on architecture can be seen in several Italian cities. The Arabs introduced many new crops: including cotton, hemp, date palms, sugar cane, mulberries and citrus fruits. The cultivation of these crops was made possible by new irrigation techniques brought into Sicily. The revolution in agriculture generated a number of related industries, such as textiles, sugar, ropemaking, matting, silk, and paper. Other industries included glass, ceramics, mosaics, arms and engines of war, ship building, and the extraction of minerals such as sulphur, ammonia, lead and iron. The proximity of Sicily to mainland Italy made it, together with Muslim Spain, a source for the transfer of several industrial technologies to Italian cities such as the manufacture of paper and silk. By the late 11th or early 12th century sericulture had been established in Muslim Sicily; and by the 13th century silk textiles were being woven on the Italian mainland itself, principally at Lucca and Bologna. These two Italian cities were also the site of the first silk-throwing machine in Europe, a technology that was transferred from the Arabs of Sicily.
Byzantium
The proximity of Byzantium to the Islamic lands and the common borders between them resulted in active commercial and cultural contacts. Some Arabic scientific works were translated into Greek. The discovery of the Tusi Couple in a Greek manuscript that could have been accessible to Copernicus accounts fairly well for the possible transmission of that theorem through the Byzantine route. Technology was transferred from Islamic lands to Byzantium and from thence to Europe.
Wars The Crusades in the Near East
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In the high Middle Ages 'Orient' meant Arabic civilization for Europe, and although the influence of the Crusades on the transmission of science to Europe was small, yet the Crusaders, while in the Near East, experienced the attractive sides of Islamic life, and attempted to imitate these on their return home. These aspects of material civilization mean that the Crusaders transferred to Europe several technological ideas from the Near East . The outcome was the adoption by the Christian West of some of the great achievements of Arabic civilization. This Arabic influence was to have an enormous impact on the further development of Europe.
4
Figure 1. The Crusades in the Near East: Crac de Chevaliers on the Syrian coast is a symbol of the Crusading wars that lasted about 200 years, from the 11th to the 13th century. During this period the West became acquainted to the luxury products of Islamic civilization and this was instrumental in the rise of manufacturing centres in Europe to produce similar goods.
The Crusades in Spain

The Crusades against the Muslims in Spain resulted in various kinds of technology transfer to the Christians of Spain. One of these technologies was the use of gunpowder and cannon. It is reported that this technology was transferred also to the English in 1340-42 at the siege of al-Jazira in al-Andalus. The English earls of Derby and Salisbury participated in the siege and it is reported that they carried back with them to England the knowledge of making gunpowder and cannon. After few years the English used cannon for the first time in Western Europe against the French in the battle of Crecy in 1346.
Commercial relations
Relations between Christian Europe and the Islamic World were not always hostile, and there were active commercial relations most of the time. This led to the establishment of communities of European merchants in Muslim cities, while groups of Muslim merchants settled in Byzantium, where they made contact with Swedish traders traveling down the Dnieper. There were particularly close commercial ties between Fatimid
4
E. Barker, "The Crusades" in Thomas Arnold and Alfred Guillaume, eds., The Legacy of Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1931), 4077; Singer et al., 764-5. Two sources are particularly useful: A.S. Atiya, The Crusades, Commerce and Culture (Mass.: Gloucester, 1969);
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Egypt and the Italian town of Amalfi in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The ogival arch, an essential element of Gothic architecture, entered Europe through Amalfi - the first church to incorporate such arches being built at Monte Cassino in 1071.
Figure 2. Trade with the Muslim East: Venice was the most prominent among the Italian cities in its trade relations with the Near East. This is an illustration of a woodcut map of Venice (1500), Source: Deborah Howard, Venice and the East (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), 24.
In the Middle Ages, oriental luxury goods were indispensable to the lifestyle of the European upper classes. Significant as these luxury goods were to European culture of the Middle Ages, they were no less important to the medieval economy. Foreign trade that provided these luxury items was an economic enterprise on a grand scale. Islamic luxury goods and pepper were transported from Syria and Egypt. Venice became the chief transfer point in Europe. With the profits from this trade, the Venetian wholesale merchants built their marble palaces. The splendid architecture of Venice, lavishly displaying its oriental influence, became a sort of monument to its trade with Islamic lands.
The translation of Arabic works

The translation movement which started in the twelfth century had its impact on the transfer of technology. Alchemical treatises are full of industrial chemical technologies such as the distillation industries and the chemical industries in general. Arabic treatises on medicine and pharmacology are rich also in technological information on materials processing. Works on astronomy contain many technological ideas when they deal with instrument-making. In the court of Alfonso X there was an active translation movement from Arabic where the work entitled
Libros del Saber de Astronomia was compiled. It includes a section on timekeeping, which contains a
weight-driven clock with a mercury escapement. We know that such clocks were constructed by Muslims in Spain in the eleventh century about 250 years before the weight-driven clock appeared in northern Europe. The West was acquainted with the Muslim science of surveying through the Latin translations of Arabic mathematical treatises.
and P. Hitti, Tarikh al-'Arab, Vol. II (Beirut, 1965), 780-92, and his original English History of the Arabs, 10th ed. (Macmillan, 1970), 659-70.
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Translations of technical materials from Arabic are evident in Adelard of Baths's new edition of Mappae Calvicula. Several recipes from Arabic were confirmed by historians of science. It is known that Adelard resided in Arabic lands and was a noted translator from Arabic. Another important text of Arabic origin is the Liber Ignium of Marcus Graecus. It is now acknowledged that gunpowder was first known to the West through this treatise.
Arabic Manuscripts in European Libraries

In his research into the avenues through which Copernicus became acquainted with the Arabic theorems on astronomy George Saliba indicated that these theorems were circulating in Italy around the year 1500 and thus Copernicus could have learned about them from his contacts in Italy. Saliba demonstrated that the various collections of Arabic manuscripts preserved in European libraries contain enough evidence to cast doubt on the prevailing notions about the nature of Renaissance science, and to bring to light new evidence about the mobility of scientific ideas between the Islamic world and Renaissance Europe. There was no need for Arabic texts to be fully translated into Latin in order for Copernicus and his contemporaries to make use of their contents. There were competent scientists in that period when Copernicus flourished who could read the original Arabic sources and make their contents known to their students and colleagues. This information about the availability of Arabic manuscripts in European libraries and the familiarity of many Europeans with Arabic brings to light the possible transfer of Islamic technology into Europe in the sixteenth century through the possible understanding of un-translated Arabic works. We mentioned below that the Banu Musa, al-Jazari and Taqi al-Din described in their works innovations in mechanical technology much earlier than the appearance of similar devices in the West. We may recollect in passing that Arabic was taught in academies and schools in Spain, Italy and France that were established mainly for missionary purposes, but they served other fields of knowledge as well. They were also taught in some universities.
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Flow of Arabic recipes from Spain into Europe

Beside the known Arabic works that were translated into Latin, and the Arabic manuscripts in western libraries, there is ample evidence that there was an active traffic of recipes flowing from Spain into Western Europe. Starting with Jabir ibn Hayyan in his book Kitab al-Khawass al-Kabir which contains a collection of curious operations some of which are based on scientific principles, physical and chemical, an Arabic literature on secrets arose. Some of these secrets are called niranjat. Military treatises also, such as al-Rammah's book, contain recipes of secrets in addition to the formulations of military fires and gun-powder.
Saliba, George, "Mediterranean Crossings: Islamic Science in Renaissance Europe", an article on the Internet: http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/ services/ dropoff/ saliba/document/
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The Arabic military and secrets recipes found their way into Latin literature. All recipes in the Liber Ignium had their corresponding ones in the known Arabic literature. Numerous other Latin works such as those of Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon in the thirteenth century, and Kyeser and Leoardo da Vinci in the fifteenth, contain recipes of Arabic origin. An explanation on how these Arabic recipes, military and secret, found their way into Latin literature has been suggested. There were in Spain persons with knowledge of Arabic science and technology, and of both Arabic and Latin, who embarked on compiling various collections of recipes from Arabic sources to meet the increasing demand in Europe. Jews were most active in this pursuit. These collections were purchased at high prices by European nobility, engineers and other interested parties. Some recipes were un-intelligible but they were purchased on the hope that they will be interpreted at some future time.
Migration of Artisans
An effective method of technology transfer was the migration of craftsmen and artisans. They migrated either through treaties and commercial relations, were driven westwards as a result of persecution and wars or to seek better opportunities. As mentioned below, in the fifth/eleventh century, Egyptian craftsmen founded two glass factories at Corinth in Greece, then they emigrated westwards after the destruction of Corinth by the Normans. The Mongol conquest of the thirteenth century AD drove large numbers of Syrian glassworkers to glass-making centres in the West. In 1277, Syrian craftsmen were sent from Syria to Venice as a result of a treaty between Antioch, and Venice, as we shall see below. In Spain the migration of Muslim craftsmen to Christian Spain was taking place throughout the Crusade upon the fall of Muslim cities. Al-Andalus was an emporium from which Christians were importing those products which they did not produce themselves. The techniques, however, were transferred upon the conquest of Muslim towns. The technologies were practiced by resident Muslim craftsmen who, subsequent to the conquest, became very mobile and diffused manufacturing technologies throughout the Christian kingdoms. As mentioned above, Mozarabs immigrated northwards to Christian territories either due to enticement or because of persecution and were influential in transferring Islamic technology. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the economy of Provence in the south of France was affected by contact with the Muslim West and the Muslim East. The imported crockery from al-Andalus became popular in Provence. Archaeology attests to the importation of techniques from the Muslim West for the manufacture of ceramics in imitation to the Muslim ones. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries a great proportion of artisans and workers in Marseilles and Provence were foreigners including moors and Jews from al-Andalus. The fall of Muslim Sicily to the Normans resulted in the emigration of great numbers of Sicilian Muslims to North Africa but others remained. Around 1223 Frederick II deported the remaining Muslims to Lucera in
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Apulia, Italy, and some had settled in other parts of southern Italy. The Muslims of Lucera practiced several occupations including the manufacture of arms, especially crossbows with which they supplied Christian armies. They produced also ceramics and other industrial products. When the colony was destroyed in 1230 and its inhabitants were sold into slavery, the manufacturers of arms were spared this fate and were allowed to stay in Naples to practice their craft.
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Livorno in Tuscany expanded and became a major port during the rule of the Medici family in the 16th century. Cosimo I (1537-1574) wanted to increase the importance of Livorno, so he invited foreigners to come to the new port. Ferdinand I, grand duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, gave asylum to many refugees - including Moors and Jews from Spain and Portugal. These immigrants were given many rights and privileges and they established in Livorno the soap, paper, sugar-refining and wine distillation industries.
Movement of Scholars, Converts, Diplomats, Commercial Agents, Clergy and Spies

In addition to the translators who flocked to Spain during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries there was a continuous movement of persons from the West to the Near East, and to al-Andalus and al-Maghrib countries, and a movement in the opposite direction also. This movement of persons contributed to the transmission of science and technology from Islamic lands to the West. Gerbert who became Pope Sylvester II was a French educator and mathematician who spent three years (967-970) in the monastery of Ripolli in northern Spain during which he studied Arabic science. He is considered "the first ambassador who carried the new Arabic science across the Pyrenees". Constantinus Africanus was the first to introduce Arabic medicine into Europe. He was born in Tunis (about 1010-1015 AD) and died at Monte Cassino in 1087. He traveled as a merchant to Italy and having noticed the poverty of medical literature there he decided to study medicine, so he spent three years doing this in Tunis. After collecting several Arabic medical works he departed to Italy when he was about 40 years old, and he settled first in Salerno and then in Monte Cassino where he became a Christian convert. Constantinus translated into Latin the most important Arabic medical works that were known up to his time, and attributed then to him. But these works were later traced back to their real Arabic origin. Nevertheless he was responsible for introducing Arabic medicine into Europe and in heralding the start of proper medical education. One of the earliest western scholars to travel to Arab lands was Adelard of Bath who was active between 1116 and 1142. He traveled to Sicily and Syria where he spent seven years during which he learnt Arabic and became acquainted with Arabic learning. Beside his important scientific translations Adelard was instrumental in the transfer of Islamic technology. He issued a revised edition of Mappae Clavicula which is a collection of recipes on the production of colours and other chemical products. This treatise is a very
Julie Taylor, Muslims in Medieval Italy, The Colony at Lucera (Lexington Books, 2003), 114, 203,204.
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important one in western medieval technology. Steinschneider listed it among works that are mostly of Arabic origin whose authors and translators are unknown. Another important figure from the same era was Leonardo Fibonacci who was born around 1180. He was a great mathematician and at 12 was living with his family in Bougie in Algeria. He received his education in mathematics and Arabic under an Arab teacher. This was followed by an apprenticeship period in commercial travels to the ports of the Mediterranean during which he visited Syria and Egypt and was able to have access to Arabic manuscripts in mathematics and to gain experience in Arabic commercial mathematics. He compiled his important book Liber abaci in 1228. He wrote also other works of lesser importance, one of which was Practica geometriae. In this book he explained the utilization of geometry in surveying ('Ilm al misaha), as it was practiced by Muslim engineers. Another Arab convert to Christianity was Leo Africanus who was born in Granada between 1489 and 1495 and was raised in Fas (Morocco). His name is al-Hasan b. Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Zayyati (or al-Fasi). He was travelling in diplomatic missions, and while he was returning from Cairo by sea he was captured by Sicilian corsairs who presented him to Pope Leo X. The Pope was able to convert him to Christianity in 1520. During his stay of about thirty years in Italy, he learnt Italian, taught Arabic at Bologna, and wrote his famous book Description of Africa which was completed in 1526. He collaborated with Jacob ben Simon in compiling Arabic-Hebrew-Latin vocabulary. Before 1550, he returned to Tunis to spend his last years embracing back his ancestral faith. From the Renaissance period was Guillaume Postel, a French scholar who was born around 1510 and died 1581; he was well versed in Arabic and other languages, and had procured in two trips to Istanbul and the Near East a large number of Arabic manuscripts. The first trip which took place in 1536 was undertaken to collect manuscripts on behalf of the king of France. In the second trip Postel is believed to have spent the years 1548 to 1551 travelling to Palestine and Syria to collect manuscripts. After this trip, he earned the appointment as Professor of Mathematics and Oriental Languages at the College Royal. Two Arabic astronomical manuscripts from his collection are now in the Bibliothequc Nationale of Paris and in the Vatican, and they contain al-Tusi theorems and carry heavy annotations and notes by Postel himself. It is possible that among the manuscripts that he collected were some written by Taqi al-Din who was the foremost scientist in Istanbul at that time and who wrote treatises on astronomy, machines and mathematical subjects. Postel's precious collection of manuscripts went to the University of Heidelberg. Another important scholar from this period is Jacob Golius (1590-1667), who was appointed Professor of Oriental Languages at the University of Leiden. Golius after his appointment spent the period 1625 until 1629 in the Near East, bringing back a harvest of 300 Arabic, Turkish and Persian manuscripts. He was an Arabist as well as a scientist, and it is reported that he translated some works of Jabir into Latin and had them published. Some western diplomats played a role in the transfer of science and technology. Levinus Warner (1619-65) was a student of Golius in Leiden. In 1644 he settled in Istanbul. In 1655 he was appointed the Dutch representative at the Porte. During his stay he amassed a great library of manuscripts of about 1000 which he bequeathed to the University Library of Leiden.
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Another important figure from the Renaissance period was Patriarch Ni'meh who immigrated from Diyarbakir in northern Mesopotamia to Italy in 1577 AD. He carried with him his own library of Arabic manuscripts. Ni'meh was well received by the Pope Gregory XIII and by the Medici Family in Florence and was appointed to the editorial board of the Medici Oriental Press. His own library is still preserved at the Laurenziana Library in Florence, and apparently formed the nucleus for the library of the Medici Oriental Press itself. During his service with the press several Arabic scientific works were published. In addition to scholars and diplomats many travelers and pilgrims frequented Muslim lands throughout the centuries, and they contributed to the transfer of Islamic science and technology. We shall mention only one unique person who was a traveler as well as a spy. This was the French traveler Bertrandon de la Broquiere, who visited the Holy Land and the Muslim states of Anatolia in 1432 and wrote his book Le
Voyage d'Outremer. His mission as a spy was to assess the possibilities of launching a new crusade to be
led by the Duke of Burgundy.
Figure 3. The title page of the English translation of Le Voyage d'Outremer. Written by the French traveller Bertrandon de la Broquiere who was sent on a spying mission to Syria and the Anatolian Turkish states to evaluate the possibility of launching a new crusade. La Broquiere carried with him to France, among other things, the secret of fireworks. Source: The Voyage d'Outremer, by Bertrandon de la Broquiere, trans. Galen R, Kline (New York: Peter Lang, c. 1988).
He was a highly competent spy and a very observant tourist and was keen to understand everything that came in his way. When he arrived in Beirut in 1432 the inhabitants were celebrating the 'Id. He was surprised to see the fireworks for the first time. He realized fully their great potential in war and he was able, against a bribe, to learn their secret and he took the information with him back to France. We can refer briefly to the role played by the commercial missions of Italian cities in Egypt, Syria and other Muslim cities. This influence has been the subject of recent research. One such study established the Muslim influence on the architecture of present day Venice due to its commercial missions in Muslim lands. We may refer also to the importance of the Arab Maronites who resided in Rome and other cities in Europe during the Renaissance for educational purposes and for rendering services related to their knowledge of the Arabic language and Arabic culture. Among them were great scholars who became professors of Arabic in Rome and Paris.
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Transmission of Islamic Engineering to the West

Medieval Islam was a prosperous and dynamic civilization, and much of its prosperity was due to an engineering technology that assisted in increasing the production of raw materials and finished products. In addition, the demand for scientific instruments, and the need to cater for the amusements and aesthetic pleasures of the leisured classes, was reflected in a tradition of fine technology based upon delicate and sensitive control mechanisms. This is a very wide subject indeed, and the Islamic contribution to the development of modern engineering will be indicated by means of citing individual cases of technology transfer.
Civil Engineering: Irrigation and Water Supply

With the spread of the Islamic Empire westward, agricultural and irrigation methods and techniques were introduced into the western regions of Islam. The rulers of al-Andalus and many of their followers were of Syrian origin, and the climate, terrain and hydraulic conditions in parts of southern Spain resemble those of Syria. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the irrigation methods -technical and administrative - in Valencia closely resemble the methods applied in the Ghuta of Damascus.
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There is a unanimous opinion among historians that the present Spanish irrigation systems of Valencia and Andalusia are of Muslim origin. In 1960 a celebration commemorating the 'Millennium. Of the Waters' was held in Valencia, indicating public recognition of the establishment of the irrigation system and specifically of the Tribunal of Waters in the reign of 'Abd al-Rahman III. The irrigation system that had been instituted in the days of the caliphs in Valencia was perpetuated and confirmed under the succeeding dynasties, until, when the Christian conquerors appeared in the thirteenth century, it recommended itself for adoption, backed by the experienced benefits of several centuries. The Arabic names used in the irrigation systems give distinct proofs of the Moorish origin of the irrigation systems in eastern Spain. There is some difference between eastern Spain (Valencia and Murcia) and the kingdom of Granada. The chief object of the Granada water supply system was not the irrigation of crops only but the distribution of water to the fountains and baths of the capital. In Granada the system is still 'to an exceptional degree' the same as it was in the time of the Arabs, and we find undisturbed the institutions practiced by the Arabs themselves. The Arabic systems in irrigations were diffused to Christian Spain. This accounts for the Aragonese traditions of irrigation. These systems of irrigation had migrated from Spain to America where we find them still practiced in San Antonio in Texas. The story begins properly in the Canary Islands where in the late fifteenth century settlers from Spain introduced Islamic institutions of water distribution. They brought with them to the
7 Thomas F. Glick, Irrigation and Society in Medieval Valencia (Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press, 1970), 169-170, 186, 214, 230, 264-265.
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American southwest both the technology and the institutional framework for irrigation and the distribution of water.
The Qanat
The qanat system was an efficient method for irrigation and water supply. It originated in pre-Islamic Iran. The qanat technology spread westward to North Africa, Spain, and Sicily. The Andalusi agronomical writers provide practical advice on well-digging and qanat construction. From Spain the qanat technology was transferred to the New World and qanats have been found in Mexico, Peru, and Chile. In the 1970s a qanat system 2.3 kilometres long was located in the La Venta area, just 10 km northwest of Guadalajara, Mexico. In Palermo, Italy, a qanat system from the Arab days was used to bring fresh water to the city and to irrigate its beautiful gardens. There are current plans to revive and reconstruct the Arabic qanat and utilize it to solve the acute needs of the modern city of Palermo for potable water. The project in hand is of great historical, archaeological, geological and hydro-geological importance. It is already of great interest for tourists.
Dams
There are many Muslim dams in Spain, a large, number of which were built during the fourth/tenth century, the golden age of Umayyad power in the peninsula. In this period, for example, many small dams, or azuds, were built on the 150 mile-long River Turia, which flows into the Mediterranean at Valencia. (In passing it is important to note the Spanish word azud, from Arabic al-sadd, one of very many modern irrigation terms taken directly from Arabic and certain proof of Muslim influence on Spanish technology.) Eight of these dams are spread over six miles of river in Valencia, and serve the local irrigation system. Some of the canals carry water much further, particularly to the Valencian rice fields. These, of course, were established by the Muslims, and continue to be one of the most important rice-producing centres in Europe. Because of their safe design and method of construction, and because they were provided with deep and very firm foundations, the Turia dams have been able to survive the dangerous flood conditions for 1000 years.8
Mechanical Engineering: Water-raising Machines

The saqiya was widely used in the Muslim world from the earliest days onwards. It was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by the Muslims, where it was massively exploited. Its maximum expansion in the Valencian country took place throughout the eighteenth century. In 1921 their number amounted to 6000 installed in the orchards of Valencia, which supplied water to 17866 hectares. Throughout the twentieth century they have been replaced by hydraulic pumps.
N.A.F. Smith, A History of Dams (London: Peter Davies, 1971), 91.
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The saqiya was introduced by the Spanish into Central America. Today, this ancient water raising machine is seen in a few farming areas in the northern Mexican states. It also survives in the Yucatan Peninsula. It is reported that one group of farmers in Veracruz, Mexico is reverting back to using the traditional technology of the saqiya. The na'ura (noria) is also a very significant machine in the history of engineering. It consists of a large wheel made of timber and provided with paddles. The large-scale use of norias was introduced to Spain by Syrian engineers. An installation similar to that at Hama was in operation at Toledo in the sixth/twelfth century.
Figure 4. A saqiya in Ma 'arrat an-Nu 'man near Aleppo. The saqiya travelled westward and was used by the thousands in Spain until recent centuries. It reached central and south America where it was used extensively, Source. Science and Technology in Islam (STI), (UNESCO, 2002), part II, 171.
The noria of Albolafia in Cordoba also known as Kulaib, which stands until now, served to elevate the water of the river until the Palace of the Caliphs. Its construction was commissioned by 'Abd al-Rahman I, and has been reconstructed several times since then. The noria was heavily exploited all over Muslim Spain. It was diffused to other parts of Europe, and like the saqiya has shown remarkable powers of survival into modern times. Five water-raising machines are described in al-Jazari's great book on machines, composed in Diyar Bakr in 602/1206. One of these is a water-driven saqiya, three of the others are modifications to the shaduf. These are important for the ideas they embody, ideas which are of importance in the development of mechanical engineering as we shall mention below. The fifth machine is the most significant.
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Figure 5. Al-Jazars Suction Pump. Al-Jazari described in 1206 the first suction pump. The first description of such a pump in the West is attributed to Taccola (c. 1450). Source: STI, Part II 178, or Al-Jazaris Arabic text edited by Ahmad al-Hassan (Aleppo, 1979), 465.
This is a water-driven twin-cylinder pump. The important features embodied in this pump are the doubleacting principle, the conversion of rotary into reciprocating motion, and the use of true suction pipes. The hand-driven pumps of classical and Hellenistic times had vertical cylinders which stood directly in the water which entered them through plate-valves in the bottoms of the cylinders on the suction strokes. The pumps could not, therefore, be positioned above the water level. This pump of al-Jazari could be considered as the origin of the suction pump. The assumption that Taccola (c. 1450) was the first to describe a suction pump is not substantiated. The only explanation for the sudden appearance of the suction pump in the writings of the Renaissance engineers in Europe is that the idea was inherited from Islam whose engineers were familiar with piston pumps for a long time throughout the Middle Ages.
Figure 6. The crank-connecting rod system. This important mechanism in mechanical engineering was first described by al-Jazari in 1206. The crank is the most important single mechanical device after the wheel. The invention of the crank-connecting rod system is considered by historians of technology to be the most important mechanical device of the early 15th century in Europe. But al-Jazari used this system in the pump illustrated here more than two centuries before its appearance in Europe. Source: Al-Jazari ys Arabic text edited by Ahmad Y. al-Hassan, 457.
Evidence for the continuation of a tradition of mechanical engineering is provided by a book on machines written by Taqi al-Din about the year 959/1552. A number of machines are described, including a pump
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similar to al-Jazari's, but the most interesting device is a six-cylinder 'Monobloc' pump. The cylinders are bored in line in a block of wood which stands in the water - one-way valves admit water into each cylinder on the suction stroke. The delivery pipes, each of which is also provided with a one-way clack-valve, are led out from the side of each cylinder and brought together into a single delivery outlet. It is worthy of note that Taqi al-Din's book antedates the famous book on machines written by Agostino Ramelli in 1588. It is therefore quite possible that there was some Islamic influence on European machine technology even as late as the tenth/sixteenth century as we have alluded above.
Power from Water and Wind

The Muslim geographers and travellers leave us in no doubt as to the importance of corn-milling in the Muslim world. This importance is reflected by the widespread occurrence of mills from Iran to the Iberian Peninsula. Arab geographers were rating streams at so much 'mill-power'. Large urban communities were provided with flour by factory milling installations. The ship-mill was one of the methods used to increase the output of mills, taking advantage of the faster current in midstream and avoiding the problems caused by the lowering of the water level in the dry season. Another method was to fix the water-wheels to the piers of bridges in order to utilize the increased flow caused by the partial damming of the river. Dams were also constructed to provide additional power for mills (and water-raising machines). In the sixth/twelfth century al-Idrisi described the dam at Cordoba in Spain, in which there were three mill houses each containing four mills. Until quite recently its three mill houses still functioned. Evidence of the Muslims' eagerness to harness every available source of water power is provided by their use of tidal mills in the fourth/tenth century in the Basra area where there were mills that were operated by the ebb-tide. Tidal mills did not appear in Europe until about a century after this.
Figure 7. The geared calendar of al Birun. Geared calendars and various mechanisms of the water clock were the prelude to the appearance of the mechanical clock. Source: British Library, MS OR 5593. Reproduced in Early Gearing, Science Museum (London, 1985), 34, and in Donald Hills Studies in Medieval Islamic Technology (Ashgate-Variorum, 1998), XIV, 150.
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Water power was also used in Islam for other industrial purposes. In the year 134/751 the industry of paper-making was established in the city of Samarqand. The paper was made from linen, flax or hemp rags. Soon afterwards paper mills on the pattern of those in Samarqand were erected in Baghdad and spread until they reached Muslim Spain. The raw materials in these mills were prepared by pounding them with water-powered trip-hammers. Writing about the year 435/1044, al-Biruni tells us that gold ores were pulverized by this method "as is the case in Samarqand with the pounding of flax for paper". Water power was also used in the Muslim world for fulling cloth, sawing timber and processing sugarcane. It is yet to be established to what extent industrial milling in Europe was influenced by Muslim practices. A likely area of transfer is the Iberian Peninsula, where the Christians took over, in working order, many Muslim installations, including the paper mills at Jativa.
Fine Technology
The expression 'fine technology', embraces a whole range of devices and machines, with a multiplicity of purposes: water clocks, fountains, toys and automata and astronomical instruments What they have in common is the considerable degree of engineering skill required for their manufacture, and the use of delicate mechanisms and sensitive control systems. Many of the ideas employed in the construction of ingenious devices were useful in the later development of mechanical technology. The tradition of pre-Islamic fine technology continued uninterrupted under Islam and was developed to a higher degree of sophistication. Monumental water clocks in Syria and Mesopotamia continued to be installed in public places. The Abbasid Caliphs were interested in clocks and ingenious devices. The story of the clock that was presented by Harun al-Rashid (786-809), to Charlemagne in 807 AD is well known.
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The Evolution from Water to Mechanical Clocks

The technology of clock-making was transferred to Muslim Spain. About the year 1050 AD, al-Zarqali constructed a large water clock on the banks of the Tagus at Toledo in Spain. The clock was still in operation when the Christians occupied Toledo in 1085 AD. A manuscript describing Andalusian monumental clocks was written in the eleventh century by Ibn Khalaf al-Muradi. Most of his devices were water clocks, but the first five were large automata machines that incorporated several significant features. Each of them, for example, was driven by a full-size water wheel, a method that was employed in China at the same period to drive a very large monumental water clock. The text mentions both segmental and epicyclical gears. (In segmental gears one of a pair of meshing gear-wheels has teeth on only part of its perimeter; the mechanism permits intermittent transmission of power). The illustrations clearly show gear-trains incorporating both these types of gearing. This is extremely important: we have met simple gears in mills and water-raising machines, but this is the first known case of complex gears used to transmit high torque. It is also the earliest record we have of segmental and epicyclical gears. In Europe, sophisticated gears for transmitting high torque first appeared in the astronomical clock completed by Giovanni de Dondi about AD 1365.
Einhard and Notker the Stammerer, Two Lives of Charlemagne, trans. Lewis Thorpe, (Hammondsworth, 1979), 50-51. See also D. Hill, Studies in Medieval Islamic Technology (Ashgate-Variorum, 1998), art. V, 179.
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In a Spanish work compiled for Alfonso X in 1277 AD, in which all the chapters are translations or paraphrases of earlier Arabic works; we find a description of a clock. It consisted of a large drum made of wood tightly assembled and sealed. The interior of the drum was divided into twelve compartments, with small holes between the compartments through which mercury flowed. Enough mercury was enclosed to fill just half the compartments. The drum was mounted on the same axle as a large wheel powered by a weight-drive wound around the wheel. Also on the axle was a pinion with six teeth that meshed with thirtysix oaken teeth on the rim of an astrolabe dial. The mercury drum and the pinion made a complete revolution in 4 hours and the astrolabe dial made a complete revolution in 24 hours. Clocks incorporating this principle are known to work satisfactorily, since many of them were made in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This type of timepiece, however, with its effective mercury escapement, had been known in Islam since the fifth/eleventh century, at least 200 years before the first appearance of weightdriven clocks in the West. An important aspect of Islamic fine technology is the tradition of geared astronomical instruments which were described in Arabic literature. The most notable example is the astronomical geared mechanism that was described by al-Biruni and called by him Huqq al-Qamar (Box of the Moon). From al Biruni's text we understand that these mechanisms were known in Islamic astronomy. A surviving example is the geared calendar dated 1221/2 AD that is part of the collection of the Museum of the History of Science at Oxford. Derek J. de Solla Price
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when describing the Antikythera mechanism (90 AD) remarked that "It seems
likely that the Antikythera tradition was part of a corpus of knowledge that has since been lost but was known to the Arabs. It was developed and transmitted by them to medieval Europe, where it became the foundation for the whole range of subsequent invention in the field of clockwork." Many of the ideas that were to be embodied in the mechanical clock had been introduced centuries before its invention: complex gear trains, segmental gears in al-Muradi and al-Jazari; epicycle gears in al-Muradi, celestial and biological simulations in the automata-machines and water clocks of Hellenistic and Islamic engineers; weight-drives in Islamic mercury clocks and pumps, escapements in mercury docks, and other methods of controlling the speeds of water wheels. The heavy floats in water clocks may also be regarded as weights, with the constant-head system as the escapement. The knowledge that Christians in Spain learned about Muslim water clocks was transferred to Europe and there was a substantial advance in the fifth/eleventh century in the techniques of hydraulic time-keeping. Water clocks in Europe became very elaborate with complications that were often a source of fascination and amusement. There are records of an early medieval water clock where figures of angels would appear every hour, bells would ring, horsemen would appear and a little man, known as a jack, would strike the hour bell with a hammer. This is reminiscent of one of al-Jazari's water clocks. In a treatise written by Robertas Anglicus in 1271, it is mentioned that the clockmakers - i.e. the makers of water clocks - were trying to solve the problem of the mechanical escapement and had almost reached their objective. The first effective escapement appeared a few years later. This evidence, circumstantial though it is, points strongly to an Islamic influence upon the invention of the mechanical clock.
Feedback Control and Automata

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Derek de Solla Price, in his paper on the "Antikythera Mechanism", Scientific American, June 1959, 60-67.
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Feedback control is an engineering discipline. As such, its progress is closely tied to the practical problems that needed to be solved during any phase of human history. The Book of Ingenious Devices (Kitab al-Hiyal) of Banu Musa was written in Baghdad about 235/850. It contains descriptions of a hundred devices, most of which are trick vessels which exhibit a bewildering variety of effects. For example, a single outlet pipe in a vessel might pour out first wine, then water and finally a mixture of the two. The means by which these effects were obtained are of great significance for the history of engineering. By the end of the tenth century, the construction of automata was probably a well-established practice in the Arabic world. There is historical evidence that the skills of automata makers were enlisted to add distinctive features to royal palaces.
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The early history of automata in Europe goes back to Arabic automata in Muslim Spain. We have mentioned how the technology of water clocks had been transferred to Western Europe. The elaborate automata of Islamic water clocks became a feature of European water clocks also. The Banu Musa used conical valves as 'in-line' components in flow systems, the first known use of conical valves as automatic controllers. An almost constant head was maintained in a float chamber by feedback control. Other Muslim engineers used the float regulator and the important feedback principle of on/off control in their water clocks and automata. As mentioned above, water clocks spread in Europe for some time before they were replaced by mechanical clocks, and it follows that European engineer and technicians were acquainted also to the float regulators and the automata that accompanied them. In the late 1700's, regulation of the level of a liquid was needed in two main areas: in the boiler of a steam engine and in domestic water distribution systems. Therefore float regulator devices once again become popular during the Industrial Revolution. The important feedback principle of on/off control that was used by Muslim engineers came up again also in connection with minimum-time problems in the 1950s.
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Astronomical instruments
The astrolabe was the astronomical instrument par excellence of the Middle Ages; from its Hellenistic origins it was brought to perfection by Muslim scientists and craftsmen. A number of astronomical problems, which otherwise have to be solved by tedious computation, can be solved very quickly by using
11 Some ingenious devices of the Banu Musa type could be seen until now in the Near East. They are exhibited by street magicians in Egypt, Palestine and Syria. The writer remembers that he witnessed several of these street magicians' shows in Palestine. 12 F. L. Lewis, Applied Optimal Control and Estimation (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1992). Re-printed at the web site
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the astrolabe. It has been established that the first European treatises on the astrolabe were of Arabic inspiration and were written in Latin at the beginning of the fifth/eleventh century in the abbey of Ripoll in Catalonia. From this centre the knowledge of the instrument was diffused to the rest of Europe. Other computing instruments were devised in the Muslim world in the later Middle Ages, perhaps the most important of these being equatoria, which were invented in Muslim Spain early in the fifth/eleventh century. The objective of the equatorium was the determination of the longitude of any one of the planets at a given time. As with the astrolabe, knowledge of equatoria was diffused into Europe from the Muslim world.
Technology Transfer in the Chemical Industries Transmission of Practical Chemistry

Arabic works on alchemy and chemistry were translated into Latin in the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The first treatise on alchemy was translated by Robert of Chester in 1144. It was the dialogue between Khalid ibn Yazid and Maryanus the Hermit. Since then several alchemical works for Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber), al-Razi (Rhazes), Khalid ibn Yazid (Calid), Ibn Umail (Senior Zadith) and others were translated also. Thus the Latin West became acquainted with Arabic alchemy. This included the transmutation theories as well as the practical chemistry which involved the various chemical processes such as distillation, calcinations, assation, and a multitude of others. It involved also the laboratory equipment that was used to carry out the chemical processes such as the cucurbit, the alembic, the aludel, and the equipment needed for melting metals such as furnaces and crucibles. Knowledge of the various materials was included also such as the seven metals; the spirits of mercury, Sal ammoniac, and sulphur; the stones; the vitriols; the boraxes and the salts. Potassium nitrate was among the boraxes.
Nitric and Mineral Acids

During their extensive experimentation Islamic alchemists prepared mineral acids which they called sharp waters, among other names. They distilled the materials that produced nitric, sulphuric and hydrochloric acids. It was established that the Arabic natrun and the Latin nitram denoted frequently potassium nitrate in Arabic and Latin alchemy and that there are Arabic texts using natrun in the preparation of nitric acid and aqua regia which date from before the thirteenth century.
http://www.theorem.net/ theorem/ lewisl.html.
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Figure 8. Title page of the English translation of Jabir's (Geber) works in Latin. These works represent Arabic chemistry that was transferred to Europe from the 12th century. They appeared at the end of the 13th century. It was thought until recently that nitric acid was first described in one of these works. But recent research had revealed several other recipes for nitric acid in the Arabic works of Jabir, al-Raz, and others which preceded the 13th century. Source: The Alchemical Works of Geber, trans. Richard Russell (Maine: Samuel Weiser, 1994), xxv.
One of these recipes describes the solution of sulphur with acids, and is given in kitab al-mumarasa (the book of practice) that forms book sixty-five of the Book of Seventy by Jabir ibn Hayyan (d. about 815). The ingredients in the recipe are: rice vinegar, yellow arsenic (zarnikh asfar), natrun, alkali salt, live nura (unslaked lime), eggshells, and purified Sal ammoniac. Distillation produces aqua regia that is strong enough to put the sulphur into solution. There is, in the Sunduq al-Hikma manuscript, a recipe attributed to al-Razi which reads as follows: "Take the water of eggs, [of] one hundred eggs, and one quarter of one rail from Sal ammoniac (nushadir), and two natrun, and Yamani alum (shabb) two qaflas. Bury this [mixture] in dung for seven days then take it out and distil it twice using the qar' (cucurbit) and ambiq. This distilled water is suitable for zarnikh, sulphur and mercury". In an Arabic treatise, Ta 'widh al-Hakim we read a description of the preparation of aqua regia which is called al-ma' al-ilahi (the divine water) or ma' al-hayat (the water of life). The ingredients are natrun, alum, the viriol of Cyprus, and Sal ammoniac. In the Liber Luminis luminum, that is attributed to al-Razi, and sometimes to Michael Scot we find a recipe for the preparation of nitric acid or aqua regia, that involves distilling a mixture of sal nitrum, Sal ammoniac and vitriol. We find a recipe for nitric acid also in De inventione Veritatis which is a work in Latin ascribed to Jabir (Geber) that appeared at the end of the thirteenth century. Berthelot (end of nineteenth century) thought that this recipe for the preparation of nitric acid was the first of its kind. He went further to assume that Geber was not Jabir. This hypothesis of Berthelot is now baseless since there are in fact several Arabic recipes for nitric acid proceeding the thirteenth century as we have just mentioned.
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Figure 9. Distillation in a water bath according to al-Kind. Al-Kind's book on the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations describes, in the 9 th century, a great number of methods to obtain perfumes and other distillates. It mentions the distillation of wine to produce an alcohol Distilled alcoholic drinks were known since the early centuries of Islam. Source: STI, Part II, 66, Fig. 4.6.
Explosive Gunpowder and the First Cannon

The first use of explosive gunpowder and cannon is another critical issue in the history of civilization. Gunpowder was first known in China but the mixture used was weak and not explosive. The proportions of the ingredients were not the right ones for cannon and the purity of the nitrate was not adequate because of the lack of a purification process. In the thirteenth century the military engineer Hasan al-Rammah (d. 695 AH/1295 AD) described in his book al-furusiyya wa al-manasib al-harbiyya (The Book of Military Horsemanship and Ingenious War Devices) the first process for the purification of potassium nitrate. The process involves the lixiviation of the earths containing the nitrate in water, adding wood ashes and crystallization. Wood ashes are potassium carbonates which act on calcium nitrate which usually accompany potassium nitrate to produce potassium nitrate and calcium carbonate. The carbonates are not soluble and are precipitated. Al-Rammah deals extensively in his book with explosive gunpowder and its uses. The estimated date of writing this book is between 1270 and 1280. The front page states that the book was written as "instructions by the eminent master Najm al-Din Hasan Al-Rammah, as handed down to him by his father and his forefathers, the masters in this art and by those contemporary elders and masters who befriended them, may God be pleased with them all". It is unmistakable from this statement that Al-Rammah compiled inherited knowledge. The large number of gunpowder recipes and the extensive types of weaponry using gunpowder indicate that this information cannot be the invention of a single person, and this supports the statement of the front piece in his book. If we go back only to his grandfather's generation, as the first of his forefathers, then we end up at the end of the twelfth century or the beginning of the thirteenth as the date when gunpowder became prevalent in Syria and Egypt.
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Figure 10. Two illustrations from an Arabic military treatise (known as the Petersburg manuscript) showing the first use of explosive gunpowder and cannon. This early cannon was used to frighten the horses of the Mongols army during the Battle of 'Ayn Jalut in Palestine in 1260. The composition of gunpowder for the illustrated cannon was 74.1 % nitrate, 11.1 sulphur and 14.8 charcoal This is an explosive gunpowder which is very close to the best established composition. Al-Rammah's average composition for rockets in the 13th century gave 75% potassium nitrate which is identical with the best modern value for explosive gunpowder. Source; STI, Part II, 128, Fig. 422.
The book contains 107 recipes for gunpowder. There are 22 recipes for rockets (tayyarat, sing, tayyar). Among the remaining compositions some are for military uses and some are for fireworks. The gunpowder composition of seventeen rockets was analyzed, and it was found that the median value for potassium nitrates is 75 percent. The ideal composition for explosive gunpowder as reported by modern historians of gunpowder is 75 percent potassium nitrate, 10 percent sulphur, and 15 percent carbon. Al-Rammah's median composition is 75 nitrates, 9.06 sulphur and 15.94 carbon which is almost identical with the reported ideal recipe. Analysis of the composition of explosive gunpowder in several other Arabic military treatises of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries gave results similar to those of al-Rammah. These included the composition of gunpowder in the first cannon in history that was used, according to the military treatises, to frighten the Tatar armies in the battle of 'Ayn Jalut in 1260. The correct formula for the explosive mixture was not known in China or Europe until much later. The Arabs in al-Andalus used cannon in their conflicts with the crusading armies in Spain and their first knowledge of the art was effective in their encounters. But ultimately the Muslim technology of gunpowder and cannon was transferred to Christian Spain and was used by them in the last encounters with the Muslims. From Christian Spain this technology reached Western Europe. We have mentioned above that the Earls of Derby and Salisbury who participated in the siege of al-Jazira (1240) took back with them the secrets of gunpowder and cannon to England.
Alcohol
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The date of the first appearance of alcohol is another critical issue in the history of science. The distillation of wine and the properties of alcohol were known to Islamic chemists from the eighth century. The prohibition of wine in Islam did not mean that wine was not produced or consumed or that Arab alchemists did not subject it to their distillation processes. Some historians of chemistry and technology assumed that Arab chemists did not know the distillation of wine because these historians were not aware of the existence of Arabic texts to this effect. The first reference to the flammable vapours at the mouths of bottles containing boiling wine and salt occurred in Kitab ikhraj mafi al-quwwa ila al-fil of Jabir ibn Hayyan (d. 200/815). This flammable property of alcohol was utilized extensively after Jabir and we find various descriptions of the alcohol-wine bottles in Arabic books of secrets and military treatises. Literary evidence from Arabic poetry and prose indicate that distilled wine was consumed in the Abbasid period in the second/eighth century. Among the early chemists who mentioned the distillation of wine is al-Kind (d. 260/873) in Kitab al-
Taraffuqfi al-'itr (also known as The Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations). Al-Farabi (d c.
339/950) mentioned the addition of sulphur in the distillation of wine. Similarly Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (d. 404/1013) mentioned the distillation of wine when he was describing the distillation of vinegar from white grapes. Ibn Badis (d. 453/1061) described how silver filings were pulverized in the presence of distilled wine to provide a means of writing with silver. We find in the military treatises of the thirteenth and fourteenth century that alcohol from the distillation of old grape-wine became an ingredient in military fires. In the fourteenth century alcohols were exported from the Arab lands of the Mediterranean to Europe. Pegolotti mentions alcohol and rosewater among the list of exported commodities (1310-1340). By the fourteenth century knowledge of the distillation of wine was transferred to the East and West and the word 'araq in its various forms became widely used outside the Islamic lands of the Near East. The word arak was used for example by the Mongols in the fourteenth century. Mongol araki is first mentioned in a Chinese text in 1330. The word spread to most lands of Asia and the eastern Mediterranean. It is assumed in western literature that the earliest references in a Latin treatise to the distillation' of wine occurred in either in a text from Salerno around 1100 AD or in a cryptogram which was added by Adelard of Bath to the Mappae Clavicula (c. 1130). But the information given above indicates that knowledge about the distillation of wine preceded these dates and that both the recipe of Salerno and of Adelard of Bath were based on Arabic sources. Most histories of distilled spirits inform us that the art of distillation of spirits is credited to the Arabs, especially the Arabs of al-Andalus. Wine was distilled in al-Andalus as we have seen above (see al-Zahrawi),
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and sherry
13
was produced in Jerez. The word sherry comes from Sharish, the Arabic name for Jerez.
14
The
first to produce this were the Moors during their rule in southern Spain. We learn also from these histories that Armagnac was produced in the south of France some time before Cognac, and that it was probably produced by the Moors in the 12th century.
Perfumes and Rosewater

According to some historians of perfumes, the Arabs became for several centuries the perfumers of the world.
15
It is reported that among the many presents of Harun al-Rashid to Charlemagne were several
types of perfumes. Forbes says that only with the coming of the golden age of Arab culture was a technique developed for the distillation of essential oils. By distilling their favourite flower, the rose, the Arabs succeeded in extracting from it a perfume that is still a favourite all over the world: rosewater. Rosewater came to Europe at the time of the Crusades. Damascus was famous for its rosewater. We have detailed descriptions in the literature of rosewater distillation installations in Damascus. It was exported to several countries including Europe. According to Arab geographers, rosewater was distilled also in Jur, and in other towns in Fars. The rosewater of Jur was the best quality and it was exported to all countries of the world including: the Rum (Byzantium), Rumia (Rome) and the lands of franja (France and Western Europe), India and China.
Soap
In Mesopotamia several detergents were known and used but soap as such was unknown. The classical world did not have better detergents, and bran, pumice-stone, natron, vegetable alkali and the like were used. Later on, Pliny described a soft kind of soap made by the Gauls but historians think that this was pomade made from un-saponified fat and alkali. In medieval times the soaps that were made in northern Europe by the action of wood-ash lyes on animal fats and fish-oils were soft soaps of unpleasant odour. Personal cleansing by using hard soap was not a common practice in Europe. Syria was renowned for its hard soap, which was pleasant to use for toilet purposes. Geographers of the tenth century reported that Nabulus in Palestine was prominent in its soap exports. Soap was manufactured in the other Mediterranean Arab-Islamic lands including Muslim Spain where olive oil was abundant. In 1200 AD Fez alone had in it 27 soap manufacturers. In the thirteenth century, varieties of hard soap were imported by Europe from the Arab lands of the Mediterranean and were shipped across the Alps to northern Europe via Italy. The technology of soap-making was transferred to Italy and south France during the Renaissance.
Paper
13 Sherry is a fortified wine. All sherry is fortified after fermentation with high-proof brandy, to about 16-18 percent alcohol, depending upon type, brandy used to fortify sherry contains about 80-95 percent alcohol by volume. 14 Cesar Saldana, General Manager of the Regulatory Council for Sherry, November 2002, http://www.crushmarketing.ca/Images%20Sherry/Sherry%20Seminar%20book%2072dpi pdf
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The introduction and spread of the paper-making industry in the Near East and western Muslim Mediterranean, and then Europe was one of the main technological achievements of Islamic civilization. It was a milestone in the history of mankind. The manufacture of paper facilitated the production of books on an unprecedented scale. Its diffusion and its replacement of parchment led to the evolution and success of printing, and with these two important achievements a true cultural revolution took place in human civilization.
Figure 11. A woodcut of early paper-making in Europe. The technology of paper-making was transferred from Jativa in Muslim Spain to Fabriano in Italy in the 13th century and then to the rest of Europe. It took five centuries for paper-making to reach Europe after its first establishment in Samarqand and Baghdad. Source: Dard Hunter, Paper-making Through Eighteen Centuries (New York: William Edwin Rudge, 1930), 124, illustration no. 77.
Paper-making from mulberry bark started in China and it is claimed that it was a state monopoly. Chinese prisoners of war at the battle of Talas River in 133/751 started this industry in Samarqand. Before the end of the century there were floating paper mills on the Tigris River, in Baghdad. Paper mills then spread to Syria, to Egypt, and then to North Africa. Finally the manufacture of paper reached Muslim Sicily and Spain. Jativa became famous for its paper mills. Paper-making technology was then transferred to Italy and then the rest of Europe. The first paper mill in Europe was established in Fabriano in Italy in 1276, more than five centuries after the start of this industry in Samarqand and Baghdad. It took more than a century later before the first German mill was established in Nuremberg in 1390. The Muslims revolutionized the industry of paper-making. They introduced several important innovations and the basic steps of Islamic paper-making technology remained virtually the same until modem times, the main later change being the conversion of the very small scale industry into a mammoth one by using huge modern machinery and modern methods of production.
Sugar
15
John Trueman, The Romantic Story of Scent (N.Y.: Doubleday, 1975), 83-84.
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Sugar is a basic commodity that owes most of its development and spread to the Islamic civilization. It is thought that sugar-cane originated in eastern Asia from where it spread to India and then to Persia before Islam. When Islam came to Persia in 642 AD sugar-cane was being grown and unrefined sugar was known. With the rise of the Arab-Muslim Empire sugar-cane spread into all the Islamic Mediterranean lands including Sicily and Spain and sugar production became a large scale industry.
Figure 12. Sugar cane cultivation and sugar manufaring spread westward during the early centuries of Islam. It reached Muslim Spain and Sicily and was transferred afterwards to the New World. This illustration of sugar cane is from an Arabic manuscript on natural history. Source: STI, part II, 34, Figu. 4.2.
Sugar refining was developed greatly and several qualities of sugar were produced* and exported. Sugar became a foodstuff as well as a medicinal material in all Muslim countries and then Europe. Sugar was first known to western Europeans as a result of the Crusades in the 11th century AD. Crusaders returning home talked of this 'new spice' and how pleasant it was. The first sugar was recorded in England in 1099. It became a luxury commodity in high demand. It is recorded, for instance, that sugar was available in London at 'two shillings a pound' in 1319 AD. This equates to about US $100 per kilogram at today's prices. Pegolotti in his lists of goods imported into Italy between 1310 and 1340 wrote that these included powdered sugar of Alexandria, Cairo, Kerak, Syria and Cyprus. Also lump sugar, basket sugar, rock candy, rose sugar, and violet sugar from Cairo and Damascus. England was importing its sugar from Morocco as well. We may remember that the words sugar and candy are both of Arabic origin. From Spain sugar-cane plantations were established in the 1400's in Madeira, the Canary Islands, and St. Thomas. The Islamic technology of sugar-cane processing and sugar refining were established there.
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In 1493 Columbus carried sugar cane cuts from the Canaries to Santa Domingo, and by the mid-1500's its manufacture had spread over the greater part of tropical America.
Glass
As was the case with the transfer of science to the West, the art and techniques of glass-working were transferred also. As mentioned above the first phase of technology transfer took place in the fifth/eleventh century when Egyptian craftsmen founded two glass factories at Corinth in Greece. Here they introduced contemporary techniques of glass manufacture, but the factories were destroyed during the Norman conquest of Corinth in AD 1147 and the workers emigrated westwards to contribute to the revival of western glass-making.
16
Technology transfer took place again after the Mongol conquest of the thirteenth century AD, which drove large numbers of Syrian glass-workers from Damascus and Aleppo to glass-making centres in the West.
17
A third and a unique method of technology transfer, which reminds us of modern technology transfer, is a treaty which was drawn up in June 1277 AD between Bohemond VII, the titular prince of Antioch, and the Dodge of Venice. It was through this treaty that the secrets of Syrian glass-making were brought to Venice. Raw materials as well as Syrian Arab craftsmen were sent from Syria. The techniques of Islamic glassmaking formed the foundations upon which Venice established its famous glass industry.
18
Ceramics
The glazed and painted ceramics which are exhibited in world museums reveal the splendours of the glorious Islamic art of pottery. Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia and Persia had a continuous history in this art before Islam, but under Islam a revival took place, and the art spread throughout the Islamic World reaching Muslim Spain and then the West. As early as the twelfth century the superior artistic pottery of Islamic countries had already attracted the notice of Europeans as an article of luxury for the wealthy. It is reported that Arab potters were brought into Italy, France and Burgundy to introduce the practice of their art, while Italian potters certainly penetrated into the workshops of Muslim Spain and elsewhere and gathered new ideas.
19
Valencian tin-glazed wares, a legacy of the Andalusian wares, were exported to Italy, with Majorcan trading ships and were called maiolica (majolica). The Italian potters extended the name to the tin-glazed pottery which they made in imitation to the Valencian and the Andalusian wares. Another example is the Sgraffito ware. This technique was derived from the Islamic East through the Byzantine medium. It attained artistic importance in Italy towards the end of the fifteenth century and was made in Bologna until the seventeenth.
16 17
Singer et al., 328. R. W. Douglas and S. Frank, A History of Glass-making (Oxfordshire: G. T. Foulis & Co., Henley-on-Thames, 1972), 6. 18 G. Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science (Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins), Vol. II, pt. II, 1040; see also Atiya, A. S., Crusade Commerce & Culture (Indiana University Press, 1962), 238-239. 19 See T. Glick, Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1979), especially 238-241.
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Tin glazing was an important development. Tin oxide was added to lead to render the glaze opaque. This tin glaze was decorated in cobalt blue, green and sometimes also manganese brown or yellow. This type was found in Samarra, was produced also in Persia and it reached Spain and then Italy. The golden pottery of Granada was tin-enamelled earthenware painted in metallic colours derived from silver and copper.
Tanning
The major tanning operations have come down from the earliest times as a slow empirical development. The Islamic civilization inherited the skills of the Near East and during several centuries tanning technology flourished and Muslim craftsmen contributed in developing this art. From Islamic craftsmen the know-how of leather-making began to reach Europe. A great variety of leathers were first introduced to the West by the Arabs in Spain. Morocco and Cordova leathers became widely known throughout Europe for their fine quality and pleasing colours. Through this technology transfer the tanning industry was already established in Europe in the fifteenth century. However the basic tanning technology remained unchanged, and until the end of the nineteenth century the only notable change in leather production was the introduction of power-driven machinery. The first change in 2000 years in tanning technology was the use of chrome salt at the end of the nineteenth century.
Other Transferred Technologies

The author of this article hoped to be able to include the transfer of other important technologies, but there is an inevitable length limit to any paper. We did not discuss for example the textiles industries, nor did we have space to speak about dyes and inks. We did not include the metallurgy of metals, especially that of iron and steel. There is, as well, much information to include about building methods and the influence of Islamic architecture including the Mudejar one. Military technology, navigation, and artisan crafts did not have space for them also. It is hoped however that this paper will be considered as a starting point for more exhaustive and detailed surveys in future.
References
In addition to the footnotes, references to the information outlined in this article are given in the following sources: Ahmad, Aziz, A History of Islamic Sicily. Islamic Surveys 10, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1975. Al-Hassan, A. Y. et al., the Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, Vol. IV: Science and Technology in Islam, Parts 1 and 2, UNESCO, 2002. Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y. and Donald Hill, Islamic Technology, An Illustrated History, UNESCO and CUP, 1986. Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y., "Potassium Nitrate in Arabic and Latin Sources", Proceedings of the XXI International
Congress of History of Science, Mexico City, 2001. Also at www.gabarin.com/ayh.
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Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y., "Gunpowder Composition for Rockets and Cannon in Arabic Sources in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries", in ICON, Vol. 9 (2004), forthcoming. See also this article on the internet at www.gabarin.com/ayh. Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y. and Donald Hill. "Ingeneria". Storia Delia Scienza, Vol. Ill, Capitolo LI. Enciclopedia
Italiana, 2002, 647-666.

Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y., "Technologia Delia Chimica", Storia Delia Scienza, Vol. Ill, Capitolo LII, Enciclopedia
Italiana, 2002, 667-686.

Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y., "Alcohol and the Distillation of Wine", forthcoming article in the Festschrift in honour of Professor Andrew Watson. See also this article on the internet at www.gabarin.com/ayh. Glick, T. F., Irrigation and Society in Medieval Valencia, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970. Goblot, Henry, Les Qanats, Paris: Mouton, 1979. Hoerder, Dirk, Cultures in Contact: World Migrations in the Second Millennium, Duke University Press, 2002. Lopez Robert S. and Irving W. Raymond, Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World, Columbia University Press, 2001. Partington, J. R., A History of Greek Fire & Gunpowder, John Hopkins University Press, 1999. Sarton, George, Introduction to the History of Science, 3 vols. in five, Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 19271948. Schioler, T., Roman and Islamic Water-lifting Wheels, Odense: Odense University Press, 1973. Smith, N.A.F., A History of Dams, London: Peter Davies, 1971. Watt, W. Montgomery, The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1972. Wiedemann, E., Aufsadtze zur arabischen Wissenschaftsgeschichte, 2 vols., New York: Hildesheim, 1970., coll. "Collectanea, VI", Olms.
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The Role of Translations in the Eighteenth Century: Transfer of Modern Science and Technology to the Ottoman State
Author: Chief Editor: Vice Editor Production: Release Date: Publication ID: Copyright: Dr. Salim Ayduz Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Savas Konur December 2006 626 FSTC Limited, 2006
FSTC Limited
The Role of Translations in the Eighteenth Century: Transfer of Modern Science and Technology to the Ottoman State December 2006
THE ROLE OF TRANSLATIONS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: TRANSFER OF MODERN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO THE OTTOMAN STATE
Dr. Salim Ayduz*
This article aims at examining books translated from European languages in the field of exact and natural sciences in the Ottoman Empire. Previous researches show that there are many translation activities in different fields in the eighteenth century. Before moving onto the analysis of translated works, this article will provide a short introduction to the history of scientific activities in the Ottoman world until the eighteenth century. History of the Ottoman science, education and technology can be divided mainly into classical and reformist periods within the general framework of Ottoman Science and Education research studies. This article deals with the period of transition from the classical to the reformist period referred to as modernism and focuses on the role of translations during this process. In his research on Ottoman relations with Europe, Prof. Ihsanoglu identified three main channels, which were used to transfer scientific knowledge to the Ottoman world. The first channel was translations from European languages, the second was observations of Ottoman ambassadors and emissaries on their formal visits to Europe and the third channel was new educational institutions which were established in the late XVIII and early XIX centuries.
1
This article will examine translated materials from European languages in the field of sciences. Previous research shows that there are many translation activities in different fields in the eighteenth century. Before moving onto the analysis of translated works, this article will provide a short introduction to the history of scientific activities in the Ottoman world until the eighteenth century.
I. TRANSITION FROM THE CLASSICAL TO THE MODERN PERIOD

During its classical period in the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Ottomans enjoyed significant political achievements as well as serious corresponding vitality in the field of scientific research and activity. The Ottomans inherited Islamic science and did not open new horizons to advance it further. Instead they spent their efforts in developing the application of this heritage. Commentaries on and explanations of the earlier works have an important place during this period in the Ottoman world. However, after Mehmed II's (d. 1481) accession to the throne in 1451, scientific activities gained increasing vitality, reaching a zenith during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566). An observatory was established in Istanbul and a number of important works were produced after almost ten years of research during this scientific vitality, which lasted until the mid-seventeenth century. Nevertheless, closure of the observatory and following crisis in the political arena caused stagnation in the area of learning. Although the Ottoman technicians achieved significant successes in firearm technology in the beginning of the 15 th century, they failed to invent alternative technologies to counter new technologies, which began emerging in Europe in the
Senior Researcher at FSTC, UK. E. Ihsanoglu, "Some critical notes on the Introduction of Modern Sciences to the Ottoman State and the Relation Between Science and Religion up to the End of the 19th Century", Varia Turcica IV, Comite International d'etudes pre-Ottomanes et Ottomanes, VIth Symposium, Cambridge, 1-4 July 1984, Proceedings, Istanbul-Paris-Leiden 1987, 235-251; E. Ihsanoglu, "Bati Bilimi ve Osmanli Dnyasi: Bir Inceleme ornegi olarak Modern Astronominin Osmanli'ya Girisi (1660-1860)", Belleten, LVI, December 1992, Nr. 217, 727-780.
1 *
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beginning of the seventeenth century. They were also not willing to transfer their knowledge to the latter generation. Towards the end of seventeenth century, the Ottomans started to experience defeats and failures in military campaigns due to their failure to follow development in science and technology and to adopt advanced products. Eventually, the Ottomans started to lose their political influence following military failures. The Ottoman rulers and intellectuals partly turned a blind eye to scientific and technological developments in Europe in a self-confident mood inspired by the fact the Ottoman Empire was the most powerful state until the end of seventeenth century. The Ottoman rulers and intellectuals were extremely confident to the extent that they thought there was nothing of value to transfer from Europe. From the beginning of the thirteenth century there were numerous small states and principalities in Europe and these small states and principalities displayed no significant resistance to the advancement of the Ottoman Empire nor did they possess important science and technology at this time. This state of affairs contributed to the emergence of such a feeling among the Ottoman rulers and intellectuals that they thought there was nothing worthy of following and taking from Europe. Thus, they despised and undervalued new developments in Europe. However, this line of thinking began to change gradually following failures in military campaigns after the end of seventeenth century and the Ottoman rulers and intellectuals began to notice new developments in European countries. The Ottoman rulers realised what lied behind the military achievements of Europe; it was scientific and technological developments, which contributed to European military successes. It was only after this realisation did the Ottoman rulers and intellectuals begin to change their old attitudes and developed a new approach to view the European world.
1. Changes in Mentality towards Europe

The eighteenth century was the time when enlightenment began to take course in Europe. At this time Europe was in close contact with the Ottoman World. This interaction and geographic connection with Europe gave the Ottomans the opportunity to be acquainted with new inventions there. The close interaction, geographic proximity and active relations of the discoveries with Europe, made the Ottomans aware of the novelties and discoveries in Europe. In the eighteenth century, however, the sources of classical Islam were about to come to an end, and experimental researches were slowing down. Thus the Ottoman men of science studying especially in fields of astronomy, geography, mathematics, medicine, chemistry, and physics felt that they had to have their eyes open to what was happening in Europe. From the beginning of the eighteenth century some Ottoman scholars and statesmen, being aware of these developments in Europe, began to make comparisons between the works of their world and those of Europe. One of the statesmen in this course was Yirmisekiz Mehmed Celebi, an Ottoman envoy who lived in various capitals of Europe, mainly in Paris. After his return from Europe Celebi made his observations available in a book titled Sefaretname (Ambassador Account), pointing to new developments that would leave the Ottomans behind. The time when Celebi lived in Paris coincided with the new period of the Tulip Age (Lale Devri), which was regarded as a turning point for the Ottoman State.
2
Salim Ayduz. On Sekizinci Yzyl Osmanl Tbbnda Deiim: Dou Tbbndan Bat Tbbna Gei zerine Bir Deneme, Proceedings of the 38th International Congress on the History of Medicine (16 September 2002) Volume II, Editors Nil Sari, Ali Haydar Bayat, Yesim lman, Mary Isin, Ankara: Trk Tarih Kurumu, 2005, 1031-1038.
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2. The Tulip Age (Lale Devri)

The Tulip Age stands for the time when the Ottomans made serious and first attempts to contact Europe and know the new culture emerging there. In other words, the process that is called, Modernisation, Westernisation or Europeanization traces back to this period. It covers the years between 1718, when the Pasarofca Agreement was signed, and 1730, when the Patrona Halil Revolt took place. The Sultan of the time was Ahmad III (r. 1703-1730) and the Grand Vizier was Nevsehirli Damad Ibrahim Pasha (d. 1730). This period that went on for about 13 years had witnessed the first examples of cultural activities of European style. Committees that were set up by the Grand Vizier, while translating books from the Islamic, began to translate books from the Western world.3 Meanwhile the first printing house which was established by Ibrahim Muteferrika with courtesy of Vizier Ibrahim Pasha printed many books in a relatively short time. The first books printed in this house were not of religion but rather dictionaries, and works based on geography and grammar. The Vizier who appreciated science and encouraged scholars was the motivator of establishing a scientific atmosphere in the capital. Unfortunately, as the viziers power, his scientific atmosphere also weakened and lost pace. However, the years ahead witnessed the speeding up in the adoption of European science and technology. This was down to two particular causes; firstly, the intellectuals of European origin came to live on Ottoman soil for various reasons; secondly, by way of translations from European languages. Both channels played significant roles in introducing scientific developments of Europe to the Ottoman World.
3. Europeans coming to Ottoman soils

We know that many Europeans came to the Ottoman lands for various reasons, either as travellers, or captured in war as slaves, merchants, even those of military personnel and diplomatic envoys. Some of these, either as occasional or permanent visitors played a significant role in transferring modern European science and technology. The intellectuals of European origin who came to live in the Ottoman soil and played an important role in bringing modern science and technology of Europe to the Ottoman World throughout the seventeenth century had various reasons to do so. For example, Ibrahim Muteferrika (d. 1745), a convert of Hungarian origin, came to Istanbul to print books translated into Turkish from European languages, a Frenchman Claude-Alexandre Comte de Bonneval (an engineer in education), a practicing military man, taking the name of Ahmed after converting to Islam came to Istanbul in 1730. Bonneval once served as Commander in Chief of the Queen's Army in France before committing himself to the service of Prince Eugene in Austria. He later had to seek refuge from the Ottomans and lived in Bosnia before settling in Istanbul. He was appointed as the Officer in Chief of a section in the Ottoman army (Humbaracilar Ocagi) with the approval of Sultan Mahmud I and Vizier Topal Osman Pasha. It was not long before the Ottomans appreciated Bonneval. He soon began to train this section of the army in a modem way and brought some
Salim Aydz, Lale Devrinde Yapilan Ilmi Faaliyetler, Divan Ilmi Arastirmalar Dergisi, III, Istanbul 1998, 143-170. See also Mehmet Ipsirli, "Lale Devrinde Teskil Edilen Tercume Heyetine Dair Bazi Gozlemler". Osmanli ilmi ve Mesleki Cemiyetleri (ed. E. Ihsanoglu), Istanbul 1987, 33-42; Can Erimtan. "The Sources of Ahmed Refik's Lale Devri and the Paradigm of the "Tulip Age": A Teleological Agenda". Essays in Honour of Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, (compiled by M. Kacar-Zeynep Durukal). Istanbul: (IRCICA) Islam Tarih, Sanat ve Kultur Arastirma Merkezi, 2006, 259-278; Wilheim Heinz. "Die Kultur der Tulpenzeit des Osmanischen Reiches", Weiner Zeitschrift fr die Kunde des Morgenlandes, band VXI (1967), 62-116; Ariel Salzmann. The Age of Tulips: Confluence and Conflict in Early Modern Consumer Culture (1550-1730). Consumption Studies and the History of the Ottoman Empire: 1550-1922. Ed. Donald Quataert, (Albany: SUNY Press, 2000), 83-106; Kemal Silay. Nedim and the poetics of the Ottoman court: Medieval inheritance and the need for change. Bloomington: Indiana University Turkish Studies Series, 1994.
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number of experts from France. During his stay in the Ottoman lands, around 20 years, he taught mathematics in the military school established by himself for Humbaracilar Ocagi as well as training the army. Another of his tasks was to write reports and small booklets4 on how the Ottoman army can be improved5. He also wrote a diary that covered his life story while he was in Turkey6. Baron de Tott, was another European military man and engineer was present in the Ottoman state. He was famous for his expertise on artillery. He came to Istanbul in the last quarter of the 18th century and established the artillery house of Haskoy on the demand of Sultan Mustafa III. He made use of Diderots work titled Encyclopedie in shaping a new cannon foundry (tophane) to produce new artillery weapons by using modern techniques. Hence, it was Baron de Tott who first introduced the Ottoman world with modern techniques of artillery weapons production.7
II. TRANSLATIONS FROM EUROPEAN LANGUAGES DURING THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

The Ottoman translations from European languages focused on four disciplines. Astronomy came first because of its importance in determining the schedule for daily prayers and some annual religious prayers and festivals. The second is geography, because the Ottomans recognised its military importance and the finding of the Qible direction for daily religious prayers. The third was medical science about which translations had begun towards the end of the century. This was because of the new current in medical science in Europe, which was called by the Ottomans 'tibb-i cedid' (the new medical science). In the meantime for the purpose of following closely the developments in military fields, books concerning cannon casting had been brought from Europe. Some of these books were used without translations while others were translated. At this point we can have a look at each discipline more closely as they will be the main points of attention in this article.
1. Astronomy
Astronomy best illustrates the way the Ottomans pursued Western science. This is because the entry of Copernican heliocentric system, which caused a serious debate in Europe, constitutes an excellent example that can be clearly traced over time. There are two reasons to investigate the entry of the Copernican heliocentric system to the Ottoman Empire as a model; first, it is one of the most important discoveries of modern European science; secondly, besides its contribution to science, it had a deep impact on philosophy and religion. On the other hand its easier to trace the transfer of astronomy to the Ottoman State because astronomy was an exact science about which the Ottomans had previous familiarity, its certainty and its novelty as a field of occupation.
4 Prime Ministry Archive (BA), Mhimme Defteri, no. 136, p. 292; BA, Cevdet-Hariciye, no. 7897; Mehmed rif, "Humbaracibasi Ahmed Pasa (Bonneval)", Tarih-i Osmn Encmeni Mecmuasi, III/18 (1328), 1153-1157; Cavid Baysun, "Ahmed Pasa", MEB Islam Ansiklopedisi, I, 199; Abdlkadir zcan, "Humbaraci Ahmed Pasa", Diyanet Islam Ansiklopedisi, XVIII, 350-353; Necdet Sakaoglu, "Ahmed Pasa (Humbaraci)", Dnden Bugne Istanbul Ansiklopedisi, I, 129-130; Resat Ekrem Kocu, "Ahmed Pasa (Kumbaraci)", Trk Ansiklopedisi, I, 418-419; Mustafa Kacar, Osmanli Devleti'nde Bilim ve Egitim Anlayisindaki Degismeler ve Mhendishnelerin Kurlusu, University of Istanbul, unpublished PhD, 1996, 4-20. 5 Mlk ve Milel-i Nasr'da Olan Havdisin Takrr-i Icmli, Sleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi, no. 3889; Nemce ari Memleketinin Ahvaline Dair Rapor, Library of Istanbul University, TY, no. 6102; Icml's-sefin f bihri'l-lem, Sleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi, no. 2062. 6 Mmoires du Comte de Bonneval, Paris 1737. 7 S. J. Shaw, The Established Ottoman Army Corps under Sultan Selim III (1789-1807), der Islam, 40/2-3 (1965), p. 171; Kacar, ibid., p. 35-45.
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Zigetvarli Tezkireci Kse Ibrahim Efendi was the first to mention the Copernican system in the Ottoman world. Ibrahim Efendi translated the work of French astronomer Noel Durret that (d. c. 1650) entitled
Ephemerides Motuum Celestium RicheHasue ex Lansbergi Tabulis, this book was translated from Latin first to Arabic and then to Turkish with the title of Sajanjal al-Aflak fi Ghayat al-ldrak. Ottoman scholars received
this new theory well, although they were traditionally accustomed to the geocentric system due to belief in its practical benefits. This new system that received enormous rejection from religious circles in Europe had never received a negative reaction among the Ottomans. For instance Ibrahim Muteferrika who published the work of Hajji Khalifa, known as Katip Chelebi (1609-1658) on geography, Jihannuma, wrote an introduction to it where he mentioned the Copernican system in a great detail, Ibrahim Muteferrika, who was well aware of the religious reactions against the Copernican system in Europe, acted very cautiously commenting in his introduction that religion, i.e. Islam, made no explicit statement on this issue. The work had received no negative reactions comparable to Europe. Consequently a year later Muteferrika discussed the same issue in the translation of the Atlas Coelestis, which he translated upon a request from Mahmud I.
Durret Zici was translated in 1772. This work was concerned European astronomy and was followed by Cassini Ziji. Later it was followed by Lalande Ziji, which was translated between 1808-1839. The purpose in
the translation of astronomical tables was to meet the needs of daily and otherwise astronomical calculations in the most exact way. The Ottoman scholars of astronomy and calendar making had been traditionally relying on the Ulugh Bey Zij. Yet the more exact, i.e. that which had been produced by European observatories superseded his astronomical tables. A new observatory was built in Istanbul by Taqi al-Din al-Rsid (d. 1585) to correct the mistakes and implements of deficiency of the Astronomical tables of
Ulugh Bey in about 1577. Yet this observatory was destroyed for political reasons after a few years of activity. As a result the astronomical tables of Ulugh Bey continued to be used until the middle of the
eighteenth century.
8
Figure 1. A fountain in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul (Salim Ayduz).
Salim Ayduz. Ulug Bey Zicinin Osmanl Astronomi Calismalarindaki Yeri ve Onemi, Bilig, Ankara, Spring 2003, issue 25, 139-172.
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Cinari Halifezade Ismail Efendi translated Cassinis Tables Astronomiques (Paris 1740) with the title of
Tuhfe-i Behic-i Rasini Tercume-i Zc-i Kasn in 1770 . This work was translated with the purpose of
correcting the mistakes of Ulugh Beys classical work while it was used in the new observatories work has also contributed to the introduction of logarithm to the Ottoman world. translation of the work the chief astronomer in the palace begun to rely on it. Another work which mentions the Copernican system is by Erzurumlu ibrahim Hakki in his encyclopaedic work, Marifetname. Hakki discusses general sciences, astronomy, astrology, medicine, geography as well as several religious disciplines. Ibrahim Hakki advocated that as Islam did not have a standpoint contradicting the Copernican system, and as the Copernican system is based on scientific observation, it should be accepted as valid.
11 10
. This
. Sooner after the
2. Medicine
The Ottoman doctors inherited the concept of classical medicine based on Islamic sources and wrote works that include their own experiences. However, they were also aware of the then developing modern medicine in Europe, and followed it closely. Beginning in the 18th century they translated some of the newly written medicine books in Europe. It is, however, only in the last quarter of the 19 th century they caught up to the age of modern or scientific medicine.
12
While maintaining classical Islamic medicine on the one
hand, the Ottoman doctors translated modern European medicine and tried to incorporate both. Abbas Vesim b. Abdurrahman Efendi (b.1760) is the leading doctor, in this context, who carried out serious studies and produced outstanding works. His Dusturu Vasim fi tibb al-jadid wal-kadim,
13
Vasilat al matalib
fi ilm al-tarakib
14
and Tibb-i Kimya-i jadid are among those written in this subject and in their
bibliographies both Islamic medicine books and that of Europe were cited.
Figure 2. Chief Physician (Topkapi Place Museum Library).
Kandilli Rasathanesi Library, Nr. 200. Adnan Adivar, Osmanli Trklerinde Ilim, Istanbul 1982, 199-201. 11 Salih Zeki, Kmus-u Riyaziyyt, Istanbul 1315, I, 315-318. 12 R. Murphy, "Ottoman Medicine and Transculturalism from the Sixteenth through the Eighteenth Century", Bulletine of History of Medicine, LXVI, 1992, 376-403. 13 Byezid Devlet Library, no. 4097; Ragip Pasa Library, no. 946, no. 947, I-II volume. 14 University of Istanbul, Tip Fak., Tip Tarihi Library, TY, no. 235.
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Chief Physician Suphizade Abdlaziz Efendi (b. 1783) is another eminent doctor who transferred knowledge from Europe in an authentic way. Abdlaziz Efendi translated Herman Boerhaaves aphorisms into Turkish with the name Kitaat-i Nakaha fi Tarjama-i Kalimat-i Boerhaave. The most important aspect of this translation is that it mentions the blood circulation in such a broad manner in Turkish.
15
3. Geography
The Ottomans followed the developments in Europe concerning geography also. European geographic discoveries were followed and works written in this subject were translated in short periods. Ottoman scientists, who translated some geographical works beginning from the 15th century, began to write other works in this subject by benefiting from some of the compiled works in Europe. The Jihannuma by Hajji Khalifa, known as Katip Chelebi by the Ottomans, which was written by benefiting from not only Islamic sources but also European works, was updated with the addition of some modern topics and published by Muteferrika in 1732.
16
After this work, Tarjama-i Kitab-i Cografya is another book that entered the Ottoman
intellectual world by direct translation from European sources. Geographia Generalis in Qua Affectionnes
Generalles Telluris Explicantur, the work of Bernhard Varenius, who is one of the leading figures of physical
geography in Europe, with the order of Kprlzade Ahmed Pasha, was translated into Turkish by Osman b. Abdlmennan in 1751. Apart from this work Osman b. Abdlmennan translated many works from European languages. Among these there is a work of Pierre-Andre Mathidi pertaining medicine. Moreover, he prepared in Turkish a work concerning geometry, Hadiyyat al-Muhtadi, which also covers topics related to artillery and ballistics between 1770-1774. The book, to a great extent, is a translation-compilation work and was prepared by means of German and French sources. The most important aspect of this book is that it is one of the first translations from European languages
17
Again in the same period, Petros Baronian translated Jacques Robbs' La Methode Pour Appendre Facilement La Geographie in the name of Risala-i Cografya (Fan-numa-yi Jaam-i jam az-Fann-i Cografya).
4. Military Technology
During the last quarter of the eighteenth century several engineering schools were opened in Istanbul where European engineers served as instructors. The first engineering school (Imperial School of Naval Engineering) was opened in 1774 while the second (Imperial School of Military Engineering) was opened in 1795. The European instructors who introduced modern disciplines in these schools had also contributed to the introduction of modern sciences to the Ottoman Empire in general.
18
Prior to the declaration of Tanzimat, there was a need for medical science, astronomy and other modern disciplines. The state needed in particular modern knowledge in the fields of military technology.
Adivar, ibid, p. 190. Fikret Saricaoglu, "Cihannm ve Ebbekir b. Behrm ed-Dimesk-Ibrahim Mteferrika", Prof. Dr. Bekir Ktkoglu'na Armagan, Istanbul 1991, 1121-142; Aydz, "Lle Devrine Yapilan Ilm Faliyetler", 143-170. 17 E. Ihsanoglu, "Ottoman Science in the Classical Period and Early Contacts with European Science and Technology", Transfer of Modern Science and Technology to the Muslim World, ed., E. Ihsanoglu, Istanbul 1992, 1-48; R. Sesen, "The Translator of the Belgrade Council Osman b. Abdlmennan and his Place in the Translation Activities", Transfer of Modern Science and Technology to the Muslim World, ed., E. Ihsanoglu, Istanbul 1992, 371-383 18 Kacar, ibid.
16
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Figure 3. Justice Tower of Topkapi Palace, Istanbul.

The French engineer L. Claude (d. 1792) who thought in the navy engineering school in Istanbul between 1784-1788 wrote a text book to be used in the instruction of engineering students in the school. The title of this work is Usulu Maarif fi tartibil ordu ve tahsinihi muwakkatan. This book was published in 1786-1787 at the print house of the French Consulate.
III. THE ROLE OF SULTANS AND STATESMEN IN THE TRANSLATION EFFORT

Both the Sultan and the statesman of the time had encouraged the translation of scientific work from European languages with the purpose of increasing of the familiarity of the Ottomans with Western science and new developments. During the Tulip Age, Sultan Ahmed III and Grand Vizier Nevsehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha commissioned translations of certain works to teams of scholars and encouraged some scholars specifically to make translations. Yanyali Esad Efendi translated for instance Kitb al-samniya f simait-
tabi on a request from Ibrahim Pasha and Sheikh al-Islam Abdullah Efendi. Tarjamat al-Mucallad al-Samaniye li-Aristoteles
20
19
The three chapters of this
classical book on physics was translated by a team under Esad Efendi from Greek to Arabic with the title of
. Another work, which was written by the encouragement

21
of Ibrahim Pasha is Safaratnama-i Fransa, which is written by Yirmisekiz Mehmet Celebi (d. 1732). Celebi who visited Paris on an official trip presented his observations to Ahmed III and Ibrahim Pasha enjoyable and informative style, he also included pictures in his works. . With an
19 BA, Mhimme Defteri, 132, sh. 91; BA, D. CMH, Bb-i Defter, Cizye Muhasebesi Kalemi, Genel Defter no. 26727; H. Ziya lken, Uyanis Devirlerinde Tercmenin Rol, Istanbul 1935, 203-213; Mahmut Kaya, Some Findings on Translations Made in 18th Century from Greek and Esad Efendis Translation of the Physica, Transfer of Modern Science and Technology to the Muslim World (ed. E. Ihsanoglu), Istanbul
1992, p. 387. Library of Istanbul University, AY, no. 534; Sleymaniye Library, Esad Ef., no. 1936 and 1939; Hamidiye, no. 874; Ragip Pasa, no. 680 (824); Besir Aga, no. 414. 21 Yirmisekiz elebi Mehmed Efendi Sefretnmesi, (ed. A. Ucman), Istanbul 1975, 5-8; F. R. Unat, Osmanli Sefirleri ve Sefaretnameleri, Ankara 1987, 53-58.
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Figure 4. The first pages of Hajji Khalifas book Jihannuma, Suleymaniye Library, Istanbul.
Ibrahim Muteferrika, the founder of the printing house in the Ottoman Empire was familiar with European languages. Ahmed III and Ibrahim Pasha supported him. Muteferrika held a wide knowledge about the printing houses, machines and books published in Europe. He brought some of the important books from Europe for translation into Turkish. In addition to the works mentioned above, he translated another book to Turkish; Macmuat al-Hay'at al-Kadima va'l-Jadida . This is the translation of the work of the Dutch scholar Andreas Cellarius, Atlas Coelestis, which was written originally in Latin . This book was translated on an order from Ahmed III, and was completed in 1733. Muteferrika was unsuccessful in his effort to publish this book . The other translation Muteferrika made is Judasz Tadeusz Krusinkis Latin work on the history of the Safawid Empire between 1500-1720. It was translated and published by Muteferrika 1729 with the title of Trh-i Sayyh dar Bayn-i Zuhr-i Agvaniyn ve Sabab-i Inhidam-i Bin-i Dawlat-i Shhn-i
24 23 22
Safawyn . In addition Muteferrika made a concise translation of a book, which was originally published in
Leipzig. The work is entitled Fuyuzati Miknatisiyya and concerns compasses . Another translator who worked by the encouraged of Ibrahim Pasha is Tercuman Osman Aga who was familiar, besides other European languages, with Hungarian and German. Osman Aga made a translation on the history of Austria in 1722, which was titled as Nemce Tarikhi.
27 26
25
Grand Vizier Koca Ragip Pasha who was interested in modern European physics wanted the translation of
Elements de la philosophie de Newton
28
. We cannot verify whether the translation was realised or not, yet
even the suggestion serves as an indication to the interest of Ottoman statesman in modern sciences. In general the Sultans, Grand Viziers and other statesman adopted a supportive attitude toward the introduction of modern sciences to the Ottoman State. Nevertheless the interest of the state did not go beyond a particular level of scholarship. The concentration of the state was not transferring European science as a whole; instead it was on the practical needs of running the state. Considering translations from
Nshasi, Askeri Mze Library, no. 5203. "Cellarius, Andreas", Biographie Universelle, VII, Paris 1813, p. 504; Copy of translation: Istanbul Library of Military Museum, Nr. 5302. 24 Adivar, ibid, 172-173. 25 Sleymaniye Library, Resid Ef., no. 1119 ve Yazma Bagislar, no. 2415; Trk Tarih Kurumu Library, no. 649. 26 ahabettin Demirel, "Ibrahim Mteferrika'nin Fyzt-i Mikntisiyye (Miknatisin Yararlari) Adli Kitabi", AU, DTCF 1982, Ankara: Atatrk'n 100. Dogum Yilina Armagan Dergisi (1982), 265-330. 27 Kprl Library, Haci Ahmed Pasa, no. 220, p. 1. 28 A. Toderini, De la Literature des Turcs, trans. A. Cournand, I, Paris 1789, p. 118.
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European languages during the 18th century it not possible to say that the state had a systematic policy towards translations. However, we see that developments in Europe were followed, translated and transferred due to the practical benefits of this.
REFERENCES
Prime Ministry Archive (BA), Muhimme Defteri, no. 136, p. 292. BA, Cevdet-Hariciye, no. 7897. BA, D. CMH, Bb-i Defter, Cizye Muhasebesi Kalemi, Genel Defter no. 26727. BA, Muhimme Defteri, 132, sh. 91. "Cellarius, Andreas", Biographie Universelle, VII, Paris 1813, p. 504. Adivar, Adnan, Osmanli Turklerinde Ilim, Istanbul 1982, 199-201. Ayduz, Salim, Lale Devrinde Yapilan Ilmi Faaliyetler, Divan Ilmi Arastirmalar Dergisi, III, Istanbul 1998, 143-170. See also Mehmet Ipsirli, "Lale Devrinde Teskil Edilen Tercume Heyetine Dair Bazi Gozlemler". Osmanli ilmi ve Mesleki Cemiyetleri (ed. E. Ihsanoglu), Istanbul 1987, 33-42 Ayduz, Salim, On Sekizinci Yuzyl Osmanl Tbbnda Deiim: Dou Tbbndan Bat Tbbna Gei Uzerine Bir Deneme, Proceedings of the 38th International Congress on the History of Medicine (16 September 2002) Volume II, Editors Nil Sari, Ali Haydar Bayat, Yesim Ulman, Mary Isin, Ankara: Turk Tarih Kurumu, 2005, 1031-1038. Ayduz, Salim, Ulug Bey Zicinin Osmanl Astronomi Calismalarindaki Yeri ve Onemi, Bilig, Ankara, Spring 2003, issue 25, 139-172. Baysun, Cavid, "Ahmed Pasa", MEB Islam Ansiklopedisi, I, 199. Demirel, ahabettin, "Ibrahim Muteferrika'nin Fuyzt-i Mikntisiyye (Miknatisin Yararlari) Adli Kitabi", AU, DTCF 1982, Ankara: Ataturk'un 100. Dogum Yilina Armagan Dergisi (1982), 265-330. Erimtan, Can, "The Sources of Ahmed Refik's Lale Devri and the Paradigm of the "Tulip Age": A Teleological Agenda". Essays in Honour of Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, (compiled by M. Kacar-Zeynep Durukal). Istanbul: (IRCICA) Islam Tarih, Sanat ve Kultur Arastirma Merkezi, 2006, 259-278 Heinz, Wilheim. "Die Kultur der Tulpenzeit des Osmanischen Reiches", Weiner Zeitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes, band VXI (1967), 62-116
Icmlu's-sefin f bihri'l-lem, Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi, no. 2062.

Ihsanoglu, E., "Bati Bilimi ve Osmanli Dunyasi: Bir Inceleme ornegi olarak Modern Astronominin Osmanli'ya Girisi (1660-1860)", Belleten, LVI, December 1992, Nr. 217, 727-780. Ihsanoglu, E., "Ottoman Science in the Classical Period and Early Contacts with European Science and Technology", Transfer of Modern Science and Technology to the Muslim World, ed., E. Ihsanoglu, Istanbul 1992, 1-48. Ihsanoglu, E., "Some critical notes on the Introduction of Modern Sciences to the Ottoman State and the Relation Between Science and Religion up to the End of the 19th Century", Varia Turcica IV, Comite International d'etudes pre-Ottomanes et Ottomanes, VIth Symposium, Cambridge, 1-4 July 1984, Proceedings, Istanbul-Paris-Leiden 1987, 235-251. Kacar, Mustafa, Osmanli Devleti'nde Bilim ve Egitim Anlayisindaki Degismeler ve Muhendishnelerin Kurlusu, University of Istanbul, unpublished PhD, 1996, 4-20.
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Kaya, Mahmut, Some Findings on Translations Made in 18th Century from Greek and Esad Efendis Translation of the Physica, Transfer of Modern Science and Technology to the Muslim World (ed. E. Ihsanoglu), Istanbul 1992, p. 387. Kocu, Resat Ekrem, "Ahmed Pasa (Kumbaraci)", Turk Ansiklopedisi, I, 418-419. Mehmed rif, "Humbaracibasi Ahmed Pasa (Bonneval)", Tarih-i Osmn Encumeni Mecmuasi, III/18 (1328), 1153-1157.
Mmoires du Comte de Bonneval, Paris 1737. Mulk ve Milel-i Nasr'da Olan Havdisin Takrr-i Icmli, Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi, no. 3889. Bulletine of History of Medicine, LXVI, 1992, 376-403.
Murphy, R., "Ottoman Medicine and Transculturalism from the Sixteenth through the Eighteenth Century",
Nemce ari Memleketinin Ahvaline Dair Rapor, Library of Istanbul University, TY, no. 6102.
zcan, Abdulkadir, "Humbaraci Ahmed Pasa", Diyanet Islam Ansiklopedisi, XVIII, 350-353. Sakaoglu, Necdet, "Ahmed Pasa (Humbaraci)", Dunden Bugune Istanbul Ansiklopedisi, I, 129-130. Salih Zeki, Kmus-u Riyaziyyt, Istanbul 1315, I, 315-318. Salzmann, Ariel, The Age of Tulips: Confluence and Conflict in Early Modern Consumer Culture (15501730). Consumption Studies and the History of the Ottoman Empire: 1550-1922 . Ed. Donald Quataert, (Albany: SUNY Press, 2000), 83-106. Saricaoglu, Fikret, "Cihannum ve Ebbekir b. Behrm ed-Dimesk-Ibrahim Muteferrika", Prof. Dr. Bekir Kutukoglu'na Armagan, Istanbul 1991, 1121-142. Sesen, R., "The Translator of the Belgrade Council Osman b. Abdulmennan and his Place in the Translation Activities", Transfer of Modern Science and Technology to the Muslim World, ed., E. Ihsanoglu, Istanbul 1992, 371-383 Shaw, S. J., The Established Ottoman Army Corps under Sultan Selim III (1789-1807), der Islam, 40/2-3 (1965), p. 171. Silay, Kemal. Nedim and the poetics of the Ottoman court: Medieval inheritance and the need for change. Bloomington: Indiana University Turkish Studies Series, 1994. Toderini, A., De la Literature des Turcs, trans. A. Cournand, I, Paris 1789, p. 118. Ulken, H. Ziya, Uyanis Devirlerinde Tercumenin Rolu, Istanbul 1935, 203-213. Unat, F. R., Osmanli Sefirleri ve Sefaretnameleri, Ankara 1987, 53-58.
Yirmisekiz elebi Mehmed Efendi Sefretnmesi, (ed. A. Ucman), Istanbul 1975, 5-8.
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Pioneers of Automatic Control Systems
Atilla Bir and Mustafa Kacar Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Savas Konur December 2006 628 FSTC Limited, 2006
FSTC Limited
Pioneers of Automatic Control Systems December 2006
PIONEERS OF AUTOMATIC CONTROL SYSTEMS

Prof. Atilla Bir* and Assoc. Dr. Mustafa Kacar**
This article was first published in the Essasys in Honour of Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, (compiled by M. Kaar-Zeynep Durukal). Istanbul: IRCICA, 2006, pp. 557566. This book can be obtained from IRCICA publication on their official website: www.ircica.org. We are grateful to Dr. Mustafa Kacar, editor of the book, for allowing publication.
The theory of automatic control systems is an idea closely related to feedback concept. A system is a combination of components that act together and perform certain objectives. In a feedback system the output signal is fed back in order to increase or reduce the input signal
1
(Figure 1).
Figure 1. A feedback system. Although, the feedback concept which is lying in the foundation of dynamic systems has been perceived relative recently (at the end of the 19th century), it is known that the idea has been understood and applied correctly since the ancient times. In the engineering, the aim of control is to guide the system to a desired direction or kept constant at a certain value. A feedback control system is one which tends to maintain a prescribed relationship between the output and the reference input by comparing these and using the difference as the means of control. Thus, in an automatic control system, the variable to be controlled is first measured, secondly compared against a reference value and at least the difference applied to the system input, in order to influence the system in a desired manner. In the block diagram of an automatic control system, the controlled system take place in the forward path and the measuring device of the controlled variable take place in the feedback loop. A disturbance is a signal that tends to affect adversely the value of the output of a system (Figure 2).
* Prof. Dr., ITU Faculty of Electric & Electronics, Maslak Istanbul. ** Assoc. Dr., Istanbul Uni. Faculty of Letters, Department of History of Science, Beyazit Istanbul. 1 Benjamin C. Kuo, Automatic Control Systems, Prentice Hall, New Jersey 1995. See also Turkish translation Atilla Bir, Otomatik Kontrol Sistemleri, Literatur Yayinlari, Istanbul 1999.
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To differentiate an automatic control system, realized and used unconsciously during centuries from the open loop control system, one has to check the existing system for the feedback characteristic (Figure 2). The oldest automatic control systems technically mindfully designed and tested for their operational merit, date back to the Hellenistic era2. The oldest applications are flow rate control in water clocks. The system created by Ctesibius of Alexandria around the third century B.C regulates the water level in a vessel and is similar to the carburettor system of the modern car that regulates the flow of the gasoline (Figure 3). The purpose of this system was to keep in a clock the flow of water in the container at a constant rate and independent of level and pressure deviations, by using a floated valve. Although, Ctesibius left no written documents, a reconstruction of his control system is possible through the accounts of the Roman engineer Vitruvius.
Philo of Byzantium, a generation younger than Ctesibius (ca 200 B.C), in his work titled Pneumatica gives examples of automatic oil level control systems in oil candles. In these systems, the oil level h is controlled and taken constant by the amount of air entering the airtight oil vessel (Figure 4). It is interesting that today Pneumatica is known only through its Arabic translation now finding in the Suleymaniye Library (Ayasofya 2755 and 3713).
Otto Mayr, the Origins of Feedback Control, M. I. T. Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, 1970.
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The third important name in the history of automatic control is Hero of Alexandria who lived in the first century B.C. In his work Pneumatica, Hero describes automatic control systems as well as automata in the modern sense. These automata, were designed to amuse, to arouse interest in the ancient temples or to water supply the bathhouses, attracted the attention of various circles and especially of the Islamic scholars in the following centuries. Among many control systems using principles mentioned above, the float siphon devise, which causes a constant outflow v of liquid is an interesting application of a flow regulator (Figure 5). One can estimate that float siphons where successfully used in water clocks.
Scientific advancement, which reached its peak in the Hellenistic age, lost its luster in the palaces of Byzantium; the Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad once more let lit the science torch. Muhammad, Hassan and Ahmad known as Benu Musa or Sons of Musa bin Shakir of Khurasan, are very famous in the history of technology3. They played an important role in the advancement of mathematical sciences during the reign of Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (813-833 A.D) and the succeeding caliphs. Ahmad's interest in technology might have led them to write the book titled Kitab al Hiyal (Book of Mechanical Devices) (850 A.D). The manuscript in the Ahmed III Library at Topkapi Palace is almost a complete copy (A 3474) and includes magical vessels, water jets, oil lamps, a densimeter, a bellow, and a lifting device. This science of 'ingenious devices' and 'ingenious automata' created by the use of matter, water and air is known as 'ilm al-alat al ruhaniyet': science of pneumatic devices. According to Akfani, "the science of pneumatic devices deals with the construction of various devices based on the principle of the 'horror of vacuum'. The purpose is to educate the mind while designing these systems that deal with measured cups, siphons and other elements."
Kitab al Hiyal of Benu Musa brothers describes 100 systems of which 18 are automatic control systems.
On close inspection, these control systems are technically perfect and applicable to modern use. Since it is not possible to look into all these systems, we will examine Model 7 in the book which is introduced with the title 'A trough of approximately 2 litres of water that preserves its level, even if 20 small animals drink water from it, but loses all its water when a bull drinks" (Figure 6).
Donald R. Hill, the Book of Ingenious Devices (Kitab al-Hiyal) by the Band (sons of) Musa bin Shakir, D. Reidel, Dordrecht-Boston, 1979. Atilla Bir, The Book 'Kitab al-Hiyal of Band Musa bin Shakir, interpreted in sense of modern system and control engineering, IRCICA, Istanbul 1990.
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Water is fed into the tank at the funnel like tab b. When the level of the water in the tank a-b reaches the end g of the siphon i-d-, the water runs through valve c into the tank e-v. At the beginning valve if is closed, the level of water in this tank rises until the lower end d of the pipe a-d is plugged with water or the entrance of air into tank a-b is prevented. After the filling is finished and the airtight tab b is closed, one pore also some water into the trough q-y from which the animal drink. Some of the water poured into the trough goes through the pipe r- and raises the float l in the tank h-n. By this way, the valve t opens and one realize a connection between trough q-y and tank e-v. Thus, the water level in the trough rises up to the level of the tank e-n-z. As requested when small animals drink water from the trough, the water level of the trough is continuously regulated by the amount of air passing through pipe a-d to tank a-b. If a big animal like a bull or a horse puts its head into the trough q-y for a drink, the level of water in the tank
e-v raises for a moment with the amount of water that the animal splashes back with his mouth. When the level of the water in the tank n-m-z rises over the level z of the siphon n-z, the water in the tank quickly starts running over the siphon n-m-z-k into the tank k-g. At the same moment, the buoy f, which is in the tank k rise and close the valve z. Thus, the regulating of the water level in the tanks a-b and the trough q-y is prevented. All the water in trough q-y and tank e-v empties down to the level r-v-p level. In addition, float l drops and removes the connection between the tank and the trough. The water poured into the tank k-g flows out through the hole g at the bottom of the tank. When the tank k-g empties out after a while, the float a drops, the valve c opens and the level of the water in tank e-v begins to be controlled again from the tank a-b. In order to put the trough q-y in connection with the tank some water has to be poured into the trough from outside. By this water, the float l raise and the valve t reopens.
This system is a perfect example in which control by float valve and air is successfully applied. Other automatic control systems mentioned in the book are similar to earlier applications of float valves used in modern toilet siphons. Another practice is keeping the level of oil constant in oil lamps. Among the examples given are an oil lamp that trims its wick automatically and another oil lamp turning its body continuously against the wind in order to keep the wick burning. Ancient Egyptian water clocks continuously improved during the ancient Classical period reached monumental dimensions in the Hellenistic period. This tradition continued into the period of Islam and reached its height with al-Jazari, who introduces himself in his manuscript as Badi'al- Zaman abu al-'Izz
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Ismail al-Razzaz al-Jazar4. He served in the Artukid capital Amid (Diyarbakir) as court engineer. He is famous for his book Kitab al-Hiyal, 'Book of Ingenious Devices' where he explain the design, construction and working principles of fifty different systems of practical use and aesthetic value such as water clocks, automata, water jets, vessels for blood collecting, water raising devices and ciphered keys. In the foreword of his manuscript, he mentions that he served the Artukid rulers Sultan Nasir al-Din Mahmud (1200-1222). For twenty-five years he had been in the service of the royal family, served first for the father of the king Nur al-Din Muhammed (1174-1185) and then for the brother Kutb al-Din Sokman II (1186-1199). He completed his book in 1206. Today, Ahmed III Library at Topkapi Palace houses a second-hand copy of the original manuscript (A 3472). In six sections, the book describes fifty different systems. From the eleven clocks explained in the book, two are automatic flow-rate controlled water clocks. These clocks use regulators invented by Ctesibius. However, due to the Islamic principle of dividing the time between the rising and the setting of the sun into twelve equal parts, it was necessary to add a reference regulating mechanism to the system (Figure 7)
The amount of water necessary to move the clock mechanism for the period of one day or for twelve hours is stored in a container. If the water flows out in a constant rate, the level of the water in the vessel will determine the passage of time from sunrise or the time left until the sunset. The level of the water in the tank is transmitted to the screen of the clock by a rope attached to the float. A counter weight attached at the other end of the rope ensures the friction required to rotate the clock screen. At sunrise, one open the valve at the bottom of the vessel and the water begins to flow in the flow regulator vessel, containing a float valve. Since, the exit pipe of the regulatory vessel is narrower than the entry pipe, the water level rises and the float valve blocks the entry pipe. Thus, in a short time a steady state condition takes place, where the income and outcome flows are equal. However, the flow of the water from the vessel or the level of the water in the regulator is proportional to the difference between the level of the float valve and the position of the outflow pipe. For this reason, the outflow pipe rotate freely around the centre of an adjustment disk recording the positions where the point of the exit pipe should be according to the day or season of the
Donald R. Hill, the Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, D. Reidel, Dordrecht, Boston, 1974.
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year. During the summer months when the days are longer, the point of the exit pipe turned to the top and during the winter months when the days are shorter to the bottom of the disk. Thus, the water level in the regulator tank is adjusted according to the season, which in turn determines the outflow time of the water. In a control system, this means a change of the reference value. As in Al-Jazari example, during many centuries they used and developed traditional automatic control systems with great success. However, at the end of the 13th century, following the Mongol invasion, the scientific thought in the Islamic world reached a stagnation and decline period. On the other hand, for the first time with the Crusades, the West met the Eastern world. The transferring of scientific and technical knowledge from the Eastern world began and during the age of Renaissance, the gap rapidly closed. Meanwhile through the conquest of Spain the Christian established the second important contact between the East and the West. Taqi al-Din (1521-1585) was one of the last original engineers and scholars of the East world. He built the Istanbul observatory during the reign of Murad III (1564-1595), and wrote numerous books mainly on astronomy and mechanics5. His work on the construction of mechanical clocks is a testimony to competition with the West. When in 1583 the Sultan has ordered the destruction of the observatory, the last research centre of the East closed for more then 200 years. In the West, initially only the alchemists designed automatic control systems. Since, they were trying to produce synthetic gold from ordinary elements; they believed that the ambient temperature for a reaction has to be constant. Thus, Drebbel (1610) developed the first autoclave. In later centuries, they used the heat regulators in incubators (Reaumur 1750) and eventually in steam boilers (Henry 1750, Bonnemain 1777). In spite of its glorious past in the Hellenistic and Islamic era, to use level control in steam boilers the method was reinvented in the 18th century (Brindley 1758, Polzunov 1765). Papin in 1707 first applied pressure control to a container resembling a pressure-cooker. Similarly, methods developed by Delap in 1799, Murray in 1799, and Bulton and Watt in 1820, found applications in steam engines. Speed control methods were first applied to windmills in England. The method inspired by a local technology employed rotating balls. This controlling element called a governor was the subject of many patents given at that time (Mead 1786, Hooper 1789). Watts' steam engine used a governor for speed control of his machine (1788). The mathematical study of governors by Maxwell (1868) and Routh (1877) set the grounds for theoretical control engineering. Many concepts related to the stability analysis of systems have been possible with the inventiveness of these pioneers and the progressive insight of the first theoreticians.
Suheyl A. Unver, Istanbul Rasathanesi, Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1969.
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REFERENCES
D Hill, onald R., the Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, D. Reidel, Dordrecht, Boston, 1974.
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Hill, Donald R., the Book of Ingenious Devices (Kitab al-Hiyal) by the Band (sons of) Musa bin Shakir, Reidel, D., Dordrecht-Boston, 1979. Atilla Bir, The Book 'Kitab al-Hiyal of Band Musa bin Shakir, interpreted in
sense of modern system and control engineering, IRCICA, Istanbul 1990.

Kuo, Benjamin C., Automatic Control Systems, Prentice Hall, New Jersey 1995. See also Turkish translation Atilla Bir, Otomatik Kontrol Sistemleri, Literatur Yayinlari, Istanbul 1999. Mayr, Otto, the Origins of Feedback Control, M. I. T. Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, 1970. Unver, Suheyl A., Istanbul Rasathanesi, Turk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 1969.
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Contribution of Khwrazm to Mathematics and Geography
Dr. N. Akmal Ayyubi Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Savas Konur December 2006 631 FSTC Limited, 2006
FSTC Limited
Contribution of Khwrazm to Mathematics and Geography December 2006
CONTRIBUTION OF KHWRAZM TO MATHEMATICS AND GEOGRAPHY *

Dr. N. Akmal Ayyubi**
This article first published in Acts of the International Symposium on Ibn Turk, Khwrazm,Frb , Beyrn and Ibn Sn (Ankara, 9-12 September 1985), Ankara, 1990.
Islam gave a new civilization to the Turks who carried that from its centres into China in the east, India in the south east, Russia in the north, and Anatolia in the west of Asia. The Turks who had also transmitted that civilization to Europe and Africa had themselves been deeply affected by their conversion. Islamic ideology had penetrated the social, political, juridical and educational concepts of the Turks of Medieval period and their culture was endowed by the temporal and the cultural outlook of Islam. The Turks were always great admirers of learning but as the learning in the Middle Ages was synonymous for theology, the Islamic theology soon captivated their attention. Great madrasas which correspond to our modern universities were also founded by the Turks where scholars and students were to study which was confined to Arabic rhetoric, logic, philosophy, Islamic history, hadith, fiqh, tafsir of the Qur'an as well as mathematics. The language of the instruction of those institutions was Arabic; therefore generally literature on all these branches of knowledge was produced in that language. The Turks were also great admirers of other sciences and have distinguished themselves in nearly all branches of knowledge. They have a definite position in the history of science and their contributions are vast and their effects are also far-reaching. Even the Uygur Turks (740-1335 A.D.) of Turkistan who were advanced and enjoyed a high level of cultures and civilization had shown great interest in scientific study. It is said that an Uygur work deals with movements of the stars in relation to the sun.
2 1
Another Uygur work on
Cosmography describes the revolutions of the stars. But one of the greatest Turkish minds of the medieval Islamic age is Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ms al-Khwrazm (b. before 800, d. after 847) who was a mathematician, astronomer as well as a geographer and a historian. It is said that he is the author of the oldest astronomical tables, the oldest work on arithmetic and the oldest work on algebra which were translated into Latin and were used until the sixteenth century as the principal mathematical text books in European universities. Originally he belonged to Khwrazm (modern Khiwa) situated in Turkistan but all his works are in Arabic language. Therefore, he is Turk in nationality but Arab in language. He was summoned to Baghdad by Abbasid Caliph Al-Ma'mun (213-833) who was himself a philosopher, a theologian and a great patron of learning. He had established his famous Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) which worked like a modern research academy. It had a large and rich library (Khizna Kutub al-Hikma) and distinguished scholars of various faiths were assembled to produce scientific masterpieces as well as to translate faithfully nearly all the great and important ancient works of Greek, Sanskrit, Pahlawi and of other languages into Arabic. Ms al-Khwrazm, according to Ibn al-Nadm and Ibn al-Qift as is quoted by Prof.
*
** 1 2 3
Note: All images in the paper were newly introduced by the editor and are not part of the original paper. Department of Islamic Studies Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. Turkish Architecture, translated by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Edip Uysal Ankara 1965, p. 2.
Ibid. Fihrist al-Ulm, edited by Flgel, volume 1, 1871, p. 274.
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Dr. Aydin Sayili, was attached to (or devoted himself entirely to) Khizna al-Hikma. It is also said that he was appointed court astronomer of Caliph Al-Ma'mun who also commissioned him to prepare abstracts from one of the Indian books entitled Surya Siddhanta which was called al-Sindhind in Arabic. Ms alKhwrazm had also translated certain Greek works
8
into Arabic and produced his own scholarly works
not only on astronomy and mathematics but also on geography and history. It was for Caliph al-Ma'mun that Al-Khwrazm composed his astronomical treatise and dedicated his book on Algebra to that caliph.
Contribution to Mathematics
Ms Al-Khwrazm is one of the greatest scientific minds of the medieval period and most important Muslim mathematician who was justly called the 'father of algebra'. He wrote the Kitb al-Jem wa'l Tafrq bi Hisb al-Hind also called Kitb Hisb al-adad al-Hind on arithmetic in which he used Indian numerals
9
including zero in place of depicting numbers by the letters of the alphabet and the decimal notations or numeration by position" for the first time. It deals with the four basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as well as with both common and sexagesimal fractions and the extraction of the square root. The original Arabic text of the book is lost and its only Latin translation is available.
Figure 1. Ms Al-Khwrazm. The drawing of Khwrizm on the stam. The stamp reads: Post USSR 1983, 1200 Years, Mukhammad al-Korezmi.
4 5
Tarikh al-Hukama, edited by Lippert, Berlin 1903 (Cairo edition, 1326 H), p. 286. Aydin Sayili, The Observatory in Islam, Ankara 1960, p. 55. 6 Abdulhak Adnan Adivar, "Harizmi" in Islam Ansiklopedisi, volume 4, p. 261.
7
It was first introduced in Baghdad by an Indian traveller in 771 A.D. which by order of al-Mansur was translated into Arabic by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Fazr between 796 and 806 for the first time. 8 Stephen and Nandy Ronart, Concise Encyclopaedia of Arabic Civilization, New York I960, p. 295. 9 Ya'qub bin Tariq was the first Muslim to introduce Indian numbers to Arabs.
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Other mathematical writings of Ms Al-Khwrazm are also not known. His best known classical work on algebra is the Kitb al-Mukhtasar f Hisb al-Jabr wa'l Muqbala. It was also translated into Latin in the Middle Ages and holds an eminent place in the history of mathematics, firstly, in the words of Galal S.A. Shawki,
10
because it defined algebra as an independent disciple in mathematics, and secondly because it

11
accelerated the introduction of the Arabic place value numbering into the West. The book is devoted to finding solutions to practical problems which Muslims encountered in daily life work in Arabic was written in 820 A.D.
12
concerning matters of
inheritance, legacies, partition, lawsuits and commerce, with over eight hundred examples. The original and was translated into Latin in the twelfth century. It is worth remarking that the term al-jabr, in the Latinized form of algebra, has found its way into the language of Europe, whiles the old mathematical term, algorism, is a distortion of al-Khwrazms name.
Figure 2. A sample page of Suhayl al-Khs manuscript Risla-i Abi Sahl or F istihraci masaha al-muhassama al-mkf. Suleymaniye Library, Ayasofya 4832.
The meaning of the Arabic word Al-Jabr is restoration by transposing negative quantities to the other side of the equation to make them positive and the term Al-Muqbalah refers to the process of eliminating identical quantities from the two sides of the equation. Muqbala, according to John K. Baumgart,
14 13
But the best translation for Hisb al-Jabr wa'l-
is 'the science of equations'. The algebra of Ms al-
Khwrazm was rhetorical in form. Al-Khwrazm had given the rules for the solution of quadratic equations which are supported in a number of cases by geometrical proofs also. The unknown quantity, in the words of Galal S.A. Shawki, was termed the "thing" (shay) or "root" (jazr); the latter means in Arabic the origin or base, also the root of a tree, hence, the use of the expression "root of an equation" is derived from the Arabic concept.
15
Ms al-Khwrazm had used the Arabic word for root to denote the first degree term of a
quadratic equation. Explaining in detail he says, "The following' is an example of squares equal to roots, a square is equal to 5 roots. The root of the square then is 5, and 25 forms its square, which of course
Galal S.A. Shawki, Formulation and Development of Algebra by Muslim Scholars, published in Islamic Studies of Islamabad, volume 23, No. 4, p. 338. 11 Lancelot Hogbin, Mathematics for the Million, New York 1946, p. 291. 12 Sidney G. Hocker and others, Fundamental Concepts of Arithmetic, 1963, p. 9. 13 Galal S.A. Shawki, Formulation and Development of Algebra by Muslim Scholars in Islamic Studies of Islamabad, volume 22, No. 4, p. 338. 14 Historical topics for the Mathematics Classroom, Washington 1969, pp. 233-4.
10
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equals 5 of its roots."
16
For the second power of a quantity he employs ml (wealth, property) which is also
used to mean only "quantity" and dirham is used as unit of coinage.
Figure 3. A mathematical figure from Ali Kuscus book Risla al-Fathiyya fi ilmil-Haya. Sleymaniye Library, Ayasofya 2733.
The bases of algebra, first viewed as an independent mathematical discipline, were laid down by Ms alillustrated his method of solution by practical examples.
17
He was quite aware of the existence of two roots

18
of the quadratic equation, though he cared for positive, real roots only.
His Hisb al-Jabr wa'l-Muqbalah is actually on applied mathematics. Its first part discusses the equations of the first and second degrees. All his proposed problems can be reduced to one of the six standard forms. He gives rules for the solution of each of the six forms and explains how to reduce any given problem to one of these standard forms with examples.
19
The second part of the book deals with practical mensuration by giving
rules for finding the area of various plane figures including the circles, and for finding the volume of a number of solids including cones and pyramids. The third part concerns legacies as well as inheritance and is the longest. It consists entirely of solved problems which arise out of legacies.
Figure 4. A sample page of Sabit b. Kurras manuscript Kitb fuzal ustuwana wa natstabiha. Sulaymaniye Library, Ayasofya 4832.
15 16 17 18 19
Islamic Studies of Islamabad, volume 23, No. 4, p. 339. Philip S. Jones, "Large Roman Numerals", The Mathematics Teacher, volume 28, p. 261. Islamic Studies of Islamabad, volume 23, No. 4, p. 351. Ibid. G.J. Toomer, "Al-Khwrazm", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, volume 7, p. 359.
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The mathematical works of Ms al-Khwrazm were the chief text books used in European universities up to the seventeenth century. He is, in the words of cAli 'Abdullah Al-Daffa,
20
the founder of algebra and had
transformed the concept of a number from its earlier arithmetic character as a fixed quantity into that, of variable element in an equation. He also found a method to solve general equations of the first and second degree in one unknown by both algebraic and geometric means.
21
It was through his work on
mathematics that the Indian system of numeration was known to the Arabs and later through its Latin translation to the people of Europe. He synchronized Greek and Indian mathematical knowledge but was the first mathematician to distinguish clearly between algebra and geometry and gave geometrical solutions of linear and quadratic equations.
Figure 5. A sample page of Sabit b. Kurras manuscript Kitb fuzal ustuwana wa natstabiha. Suleymaniye Library, Ayasofya 4832.
Contribution to Geography
Ms al-Khwrazm had also contributed to the science of geography. As the book of Geography of Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century A.D.) was translated several times into Arabic he had a model for writing his book in this field of knowledge. His book on geography entitled Kitb Srat al-Ard (Book of the image of the earth) consists almost entirely of lists of longitudes as well as latitudes of localities and gives in a tabulated form the coordinates of the places like cities, mountains, seas, rivers, islands etc. The book is arranged according to the Greek system of the seven climes (aqlim) giving contemporary data but the knowledge acquired by the other Muslims are also incorporated into it. The first section lists cities, the second, mountains (giving the coordinates of their extreme points and their orientation); the third, seas (giving the coordinates of salient point on their coastlines and a rough description of their outlines); the fourth, islands (giving the coordinates of their centres, and their length and breadth); the fifth, the central points of various
20 21
The Muslim Contribution to Mathematics, London 1977, p. 7. Franklin W. Kokomoor, Mathematics in Human Affairs, New York 1946, p. 172.
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geographical regions; the sixth, rivers (giving their salient points and towns on them).22 This book had served as a basis for later works and stimulated geographical studies and the composition of original treatises. It is said that his Kitb Srat al-Ard was also accompanied by regional maps of each of the climes and by a single world map called "al-Srat al-Ma'muniyya" but have been lost. It is also said that his map of the world was the first map of the heavens and the world drawn by Muslims. But the editor of the Kitb Srat al-Ard Hans von Mzik, has produced only four maps. These four maps, in the words of S. Maqbul Ahmad,23 seem to be later recessions of the original maps. But Ibrahim Shawkat24 reasons that since AlKhwrazm wrote a brief work on geography, he did not draw a complete map of the world but confined himself to draw only the four maps as an illustration. His source of inspiration might possibly have been the mappa mundi25 constructed for Caliph Al-Ma'mun by a team of geographers in which Al-Khwrazm himself would have been included26.
Figure 6. The world map of al-Idrisi., Ahmad b. Sahl Al-BAlh, Aklim al-buldn, Suleymaniye Library, Ayasofya 2577.
The Kitb Srat al-Ard depends, even if in an indirect manner, on the Geography of Ptolemy, opinion of Ibrahim Shawkat, it was based on the work of Marinus.
28
27
but in the
The book was produced under the
patronage of the Caliph Al-Ma'mun in about 830 A.D. in which the towns and mountains are presented in a tabulated form, and oceans, seas, islands, countries, springs and rivers are given in a descriptive form. Again, towns, mountains, springs and rivers are described according to the climes (aqlim) to which they belong, while the description of the oceans and seas is free from the limits of these climes. Similarly islands are described under the seas and oceans to which they belong. The description of the countries is also free from the limits of the climes. Along with the geographical names of the Muslim period, a large number of ancient place names are also founded in the book but in the later portions these names rapidly begin to disappear.
22 23 24 25 26 27
G.J. T oomer , "Al- Khwarizmi", Dictionar y of Scientific Biography, volume 7, p. 361. Encyclopaedia of Islam, (new edition), volume 4. Khara'it Jughrafiqyyi al-'Arab al-awwel, Majallet al-Ustadh of Baghdad, 1962, pp. 7-8. Mappa Mundi is a term used for the map of the world. Encyclopaedia of Islam, volume 4, p. 1078. Ibid.
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The map of the world of Ms al-Khwrazm called al-Srat al-Ma'muniyya has now been fully reconstructed by an Indian scholar, Dr. S. Razia Jafri,
29
on the basis of description and data given in his Kitb Srat al-Ard.
It is divided into 38 sections which are again sub-divided into 1740 small squares from West to East and into 1200 small squares "from South to North. Each clime (iqlm) from West to East is again divided into seven sections. It is to be noted that the general division of the Map into climes is according to al-Khwrazm, but the sub-division of the climes into section is done by Dr. Razia Jafri arbitrarily. In this way it is just like an Atlas. It is to be noted that the Soviet Academy of Sciences of Tajik is publishing it along with the forward and introduction of Dr. Kamal Ayni and Prof. S. Maqbul Ahmad respectively. The printing of this work is done under the supervision of Prof. M.S. Asimov who is the eminent scholar and the president of the Academy of Sciences of the Tajik SSR at Dushanbe. Ms al-Khwrazm is the author of several other books on astronomy and history. He became well known as a mathematician and it is said that he is the author of the oldest work on algebra. But the Professor of the History of Science, Dr. Aydin Sayili says in one of his research papers entitled "Turkish contribution to Science" as follows: "Abu'l Fadl cAbdulhamd ibn Wsic ibn Turk was apparently the first Islamic mathematician to write a book on algebra. Indeed, he, very likely, wrote his algebra before Al-Khwrazm wrote his. For unlike AlKhwrazm, he did not write an unabridged algebra, and, moreover, there is evidence that Al-Khwrazm was still alive at about the middle of ninth century. cAbdulhamd ibn Turk was also the author of certain books on numbers, on commercial arithmetic, and on the art of calculation, probably with the decimal system.
30
Now,
it is not possible for me to agree or disagree with him but it is realistic to say that the works of Ms alKhwrazm on mathematics have great influence in the birth of Western Science and he is rightly called the "father of algebra" and a peerless geographer.
REFERENCES
Adivar, Abdulhak Adnan, "Harizmi" in Islam Ansiklopedisi, volume 4, p. 261. Fihrist al-Ulm, edited by Flgel, volume 1, 1871, p. 274. Historical topics for the Mathematics Classroom, Washington 1969. Hocker, Sidney G., and others, Fundamental Concepts of Arithmetic, 1963, p. 9. Hogbin, Lancelot, Mathematics for the Million, New York 1946, p. 291. Jones, Philip S., "Large Roman Numerals", The Mathematics Teacher, volume 28, p. 261. Khara'it Jughrafiqyyi al-'Arab al-awwel, Majallet al-Ustadh of Baghdad, 1962, pp. 7-8. Kokomoor, Franklin W., Mathematics in Human Affairs, New York 1946. Ronart, Stephen and Nandy, Concise Encyclopaedia of Arabic Civilization, New York I960, p. 295.
28 29 30
Tafkir al-cArab al-Jughrafi wa'itaqat al-Yunan bihi", extract from the Journal "A l-Ustadh", Baghdad 1961. One of the staff members of Aligarh Muslim University of India. Aydin Sayili, "Turkish Contributions to Scientific Work in Islam", Belleten (Turkish Historical Society), volume 43, Ankara 1979, s. 16.
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Sayili, Aydin, "Turkish Contributions to Scientific Work in Islam", Belleten (Turkish Historical Society), volume 43, Ankara 1979, s. 16. Sayili, Aydin, The Observatory in Islam, Ankara 1960. Shawki, Galal S.A., Formulation and Development of Algebra by Muslim Scholars, published in Islamic Studies of Islamabad, volume 23, No. 4, p. 338. Tafkir al-cArab al-Jughrafi wa'itaqat al-Yunan bihi", extract from the Journal "A l-Ustadh", Baghdad 1961. Tarikh al-Hukama, edited by Lippert, Berlin 1903 (Cairo edition, 1326 H), p. 286. The Muslim Contribution to Mathematics, London 1977, p. 7. Toomer, G.J., "Al-Khwrazm", Dictionary of Scientific Biography, volume 7, pp. 359-361. Turkish Architecture, translated by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Edip Uysal Ankara 1965, p. 2. Ya'qub bin Tariq was the first Muslim to introduce Indian numbers to Arabs.
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The First Attempts of Flight, Automatic Machines, Submarines and Rocket Technology in Turkish History
Prof. Arslan Terzioglu Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Savas Konur January 2007 634 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
The First Attempts of Flight, Automatic Machines, Submarines and Rocket Technology in Turkish History January 2007
THE FIRST ATTEMPTS OF FLIGHT, AUTOMATIC MACHINES, SUBMARINES AND ROCKET TECHNOLOGY IN TURKISH HISTORY
Prof. Arslan Terzioglu*
This article was first published at The Turks (ed. H. C. Guzel), Ankara 2002, pp. 804-810. We are grateful to Hasan Celal Guzel, editor of The Turks for allowing publication.
I. Introduction
Discovering the skies had occupied people's imagination for many ages. In old Greek mythology, we see the flying attempts of Icarus and Daedalus. It is more than natural for the Chinese, with their culture dating back thousands of years, to dream of flying like birds. Ancient Chinese sources mention a flying vehicle called "fei tsch" around 1760 B.C. In a Chinese work written in the third century, this flying vehicle is referred to as follows: "The people of Tschi-kung know very well how to build the technical tool used to kill birds. They are also capable of building the 'flying chariot = fei tsch' which can travel great distances with favourable winds. During the T'ang period (ca. 1760 B.C.) western winds brought such a chariot all the way to 'I Tschau.' The T'ang had it destroyed so that the people would not see it. After 10 years had passed, T'ang had another similar flying chariot built when the eastern winds blew and sent the visitors of the time to their lands at 40,000 11 (13,000 miles = 20, 921 km), passing through the I-men passage."1 Tao hung Tsching, who lived between 451-536 A.D., again mentions this flying vehicle in his work titled "Tschen kao". The oldest illustrations of this flying vehicle are in a book titled "Iyu kue" of 1368-1398 A.D. The illustrations of this flying vehicle were later published in 1609 in the works "san ts'ai t'u schuo" and "T'u schu tschi tsch'eng". However, in these illustrations, there is no sign of the force that actuates the flying vehicle. Therefore, until ancient Chinese sources describing the flying vehicle in further detail are found, this flying vehicle is to remain one of the inexplicable mysteries of ancient Chinese culture. Archytas of Tarentum, who lived in the fourth century B.C., was described by Aulus Gellius as the inventor of a device called the "Flying Dove".2 Archytas was one of the first founders of the study of mechanics. The "Flying Dove" he built was a type of kite. It is known that in Alexandria, which was a large cultural centre in the Hellenistic period, the field of technical constructions was of large interest. Ktesibios, an Alexandrian mechanical scientist (third century
Istanbul University, Faculty of Medicine. Giles, H. A.: Spuren der Luftfahrt im alten China. Sonderdruck aus der astronomischen Zeitschrift, Hamburg 9 (1917), p. 2; Giles, H. A.: Traces of Aviation in ancient china. In: adversita Sinica, shanghai 1910. 2 Sarton, G.: Introduction to the History of science. Baltimore 1927, vol. I, p. 116. Darmstaedters, L.: Handbuch zur Geschicte der Naturwissenschaften und Technik. Berlik 1908, p. 14.
1 *
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B.C.), and Philon and Heron (first century A.D.) were working on the construction of several machines.3 However, it is not known whether the construction of a flying mechanical device was made in the Hellenistic period. However, it can be proven with documents that in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Era, flying mechanical devices were built, and the first attempts at flight were made in Turkic-Islamic cultural circles and in Europe.
II. The Abbasid Period

In the Islamic world, great importance was placed upon the study of natural sciences and technology. It is known that as early as during the reign of Harun al-Rashid, a water clock was built in the Islamic world. As told by Einhard4 who wrote the life of Charlemagne, Harun al-Rashid sent a water clock to Emperor Charles as a gift. Caliph al-Mamun had a silver and golden tree in his palace in Baghdad in 827, which had the features of an automatic machine. There were metal birds that sang automatically on the swinging branches of this tree built by the Muslim engineers of the time (The German publication of the Ismail b. Ali Ebu'l Feda history, Weltgeschichte, hrsg. von Fleischer and Reiske 1789-94, 1831). Caliph al-Muktadir also had a golden tree in his palace in Baghdad in 915, with birds on it flapping their wings and singing (Marigny, A. de: Histoire des Arabes. Paris 1760, Bd. 3, S.206). In the Abbasid period, Muslim scholars of Turkish, Persian and Arab origins created quite interesting works in the fields of mathematics and astronomy. It is accepted even by the Europeans that al-Biruni, the Muslim scholar, (973-1051) had argued that the world revolved around its axis 500 years before Copernicus. It is certain that Islamic scholars influenced Europeans in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. In his famous work titled De revolutionibus orbium coelestium of 1530, Copernicus refers to al-Zarqali (1028-1087) and al-Battani (858-929), Islamic astronomers.
III. Seljuk Turks Era

Sultan Malik Shah (1055-1092), the great Turk Seljuk emperor, had observatories built in Isfahan and Baghdad. In these observatories, famous astronomers like Omar Khayyam, Abu'l Mudaffar Isfizar, and Maymun al-Najip al-Vsit practised their art. A new calendar (the Jalalaean Calendar) was created by the Islamic astronomers of the era for Sultan Malik Shah.5 Mathematics, astronomy, physics, natural sciences, and technical sciences flourished in Turkic-Islamic cultural circles. Several manuscripts on mechanics and automatic machine construction in various libraries in Constantinople are sufficient to demonstrate this.
Drachmannn, a. G.: Ktesibios, Philon and Heron. Kopenhagen 1948; Klemm, F.: Technik, eine Geschicte ihrer Probleme. FreiburgMnchen (1954), p. 527. 4 Sarton, G.; ibid, p. 527. 5 Ibn Funduq, Tatimma sivan al-hiqma, by M. Shafi, Lahore 1935, Bd. I, p. 115, 119, 163.
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Figure 1. A machine working by water, design of al-Jazari, the chief engineer of Artuq Turks (an illustration from al-Jazari's book, al-Jamiu bayn al-ilm wal-amal al-Nafi f sinaat al-hiyal) (Ahmet III Library, Topkapi Palace Nr 3472, p. 1366).
During the era of the Artuqs, one of the small Turkic states that appeared after the Great Seljuk Empire collapsed, technical works were built. Upon the encouragement of Malik us-Salih Nasruddin Abu al-Fath Mahmud b. Kara Arslan b. Davud b. Sokman b. Artuq (1200-1222), the Artuq emperor who reigned in Diyarbakir, Bedi al-Zaman Ebu'1-Izz Ibn Ismail Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazar wrote a book with the title Kitb al-
Jmi bayn al-ilm wal-amal al-naf f sinaat al-hiyal which mentioned several automatic machines, water
clocks, water pumps, water levels, and musical instruments, with construction drawings. Even though the original of the book does not exist, there are five handwritten copies in Turkey, four of them in the Topkapi Palace Museum (Ahmed III, No. 3472, No. 3461, No. 3350 and Treasury No. 414) and in the Suleymaniye Library (St. Sophia No. 3606), and ten other hand-written copies in the libraries of Oxford, Leiden, Paris, Dublin and St. Petersburg.6 The Oxford copy of this work was studied by E. Wiedemann, the German science historian, and his conclusions were published in various articles as of 1908.7 The Oxford copy of this book was translated into English by Donald R. Hill and was published in 1974.8 Al-Hassan had compared several hand written copies of this work, and published the Arabic text in Aleppo in 1979 with an English summary.9 Of the existing hand-written copies, the copy at No. 3472 of the library of Ahmed III in the Topkapi Palace is most probably the most valuable one, as it is stated that the drawings in this copy are drawn by Badi al-Zaman Abu'l-Izz Ismail ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazar himself and the manuscripts are copied by Muhammad Ibn Yusuf Ibn Osman, from the original copy of the author. According to Prof. Kazim Cecen, who made valuable research
6
Bodleian Library oxford graves M. S. 27. Library of the university of leiden, Or. M. S. 656, chester beatty library Dublin. M. S. 4187, bibliothique nationale paris, fonds arabe 2477, Leningrad library M. S 2539. Wiedemann, Eilhard; Hauser, F.: ber die uhren im bereich der Islamichen Kultur. NOVA ACTA Band C, Nr. 5, Halle 1915, p. 3-272. 8 Hill, Donald, R.: The Book of knowledge of ingenious mechanical devices. Dordrecht (Holland) Boston (USA) 1974. 9 Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y.: al-Jami bain al-ilm wal-amal al nafi fi sinat al hiyal. Institute for the history of Arabic science university. Of
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on this subject, in the handwritten copy of this work in the Bodleian library, Oxford, it is stated that alJazar completed the original book on 4 jamaziyulahir 602 (January 16, 1206), and, in copy no. 3472 in the Ahmed III library, it is stated that this hand-written copy is completed around end of shaban 602 (April 10, 1206), and as, al-Jazar is referred to as deceased, it can be deduced that al-Jazar passed away between these two dates. 10 Accordingly, it is understood that al-Jazar worked for 32 years in the Artuqlu palace between 570 (1174) and 602 (1206). However, most probably due to a copying mistake, in the Suleymaniye Library copy of this text (St. Sophia No. 3606) on page 2a, it is stated that al-Jazar worked in the Artuqlu palace as the head engineer (Reis'ul-Amal) for 25 years. In the preface of the work, al-Jazar states that he had studied the books and works of scholars preceding him, but finally he had freed himself from their influences and solved the problems through his own point of view. He underlined the importance of the work, saying: "This book contains some tears that have been patched, some methods that have been classified and some sketches that have been discovered. I do not believe there exists another similar work".11 In his work, which consists of six chapters, al-Jazar discloses his discoveries concerning important technical issues such as water clocks, water clocks with oil lamps, the constructions of pots and pans for wine making, the construction of ewers and bowls for use as cups, the sketches of pools and fountains and music automatons, and the sketches of devices able to elevate water from shallow wells or flowing rivers.
Figure 2. An automatic clock design from al-Jazars book, al-Jamiu bayn al-ilm wal-amal al-Nafi f sinaat al-hiyal (Ahmet III Library, Topkapi Palace Nr 3472).
It was most probably al-Jazar, the engineer, who built the giant complex in Hisn Keyfa, covering an entire district and consisting of a bridge with bazaars underneath, caravanserais, and other structures, upon the request of Fahreddin Karaarslan, the Turkish Artuq emperor.12
Aleppo. Syria 1979. 10 Cecen, Kazim: El-Cezernin su saatinin konstruksiyonu. I. uluslararas trk-islam bilim ve teknoloji tarihi kongresi. 14-18 Eyll 1981, Bildiriler V, Istanbul 1981, p. 322. 11 Suleymaniye Library, Ayasofya nr. 3606, folio 2-4. 12 De Vaux, Baron Carra: Les Penseurs de lIslam. Paris 1921, Bd. II p. 173-4; Yaqt: Mucemul-Buldan. Beirut 1957, Bd. II, p. 65; Turan,
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It is seen that the technical and natural sciences were encouraged and flourished not only during the Artuqs, but also in the other Seljuk beyliks, and in Syria and Egypt later on during the Mamluke sultans. Especially during the first Crusades, there was an obligation for Islamic scholars to work on the discovery of gunpowder and explosive weapons as early as the twelfth century, in order for the Turkic-Islamic world to succeed against the Christian armies. Kajgarh Mahmud, mentioning a primitive gun that shoots bullets,13 and later Aydinogullari using guns firing bullets using springs and which are audible, 14 shows that the gun was invented by the Turks in its primitive form, together with gunpowder. In the twelfth century, the Seljuks had facilities in Sivas for manufacturing war machines.15 It is stated in Nesr Tarihi written at the end of fifteenth century that in the Ottoman army canons and guns were used from 1421-22.16 It is understood from the reports of a Frenchman who witnessed the battle that the Muslim engineers used explosive weapons against the Crusade Army V, led by King Ludwig der Heilige.17 It is stated in Tung-kiang-kang-m, the Chinese Empire Chronicle, that the Chinese used explosives earlier, in 1232, when defending Pien-king against the Mongols. However, whether the inventor of this explosive material was Wei-sching, the Chinese supreme commander, or not, it is not known.18 Still, it is understood from the following information, again from old Chinese sources dating back to the Kubilay Khan era, that the Turkic-Islamic world was more advanced than China in manufacturing explosive materials and ballistic weapons. Between 1271 and 1273, Kubilay Khan had requested Abaka Khan (Chinese transcription Apu-ko-wang) to send Muslim engineers in order for his own army to win during the siege of the Chinese cities Hangshow and Hsiang-yang. Again according to Chinese sources, Abaka Khan sent two Muslim engineers, Alaaddin and Ismail, from Turkestan. It is obvious that these engineers, who were Muslims and from Turkestan, are Turks. These two Turk-Muslim engineers built machines of a ballistic-weapons nature before the besieged city of Hang-show. Aladdin, the engineer, later crossed the Yang-tsze River with the army of General Alihaya and played a major role in the conquest of several Chinese cities. Aladdin died in 1312. His son Maho-scha took after his father. 19 Ismail (Chinese transcription I-ssu-ma-yin), the other Turk-Muslim engineer, was present in the Mongol siege of Hsiang-yang in 1273. He built a war machine with the characteristics of a ballistic weapon in the southeast of the city. Chinese sources mention that when this war machine was fired the earth and skies
O.: Selcuklular tarihi ve Turk Islam Medeniyeti, Istanubl 1969, p. 368. 13 Kasgarli Mahmud: Divanu Lgat it-Turk. By Kilisli Rifat, Istanbul 1333, 1335; trans. B. Atalay, Ankara 1940-41, I, p. 325. 14 Dsturnme, p. 59; Turan, O.: p. 291. 15 Nesevi, M.: Siretu Jala al-din Mengbirti. Published by O. Houdas, Paris 1891, p. 186; Quatremere: Historier des Mogol de la Perse. Paris 1836, p. 132-136. 16 Mehmed Nesri: Tarih-i cihannuma, by Faik Resit Unat, Mehmet A. Koymen, Ankara 1957, II, 565, 611, 639. 17 Hunke, S.: Allahs sonne ber dem Abendland. Stutgart (1967), p. 36. 18 Darmstadler, L.; ibid, p. 52. 19 Giles, H. a.: A chinese Biographical Dictionary, London-Shangai 1898, p. 1; Sarton, G.: Vol II, Part, p. 1034.
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shook, the canons were buried seven feet into the ground and destroyed everything.20 Yakub, the son of Ismail the engineer who died in 1330, also took after his father.21 Syria (and particularly Damascus) was a major centre of the sciences in the thirteenth century with the madrasas and hospitals built by Turkic Atabegs. It was very natural for Muslim scholars to manufacture gunpowder and build explosive weapons in Syria as it witnessed many gory battles during the Crusades. Islamic scholars in the thirteenth century had technical information sufficient to use gunpowder for rockets.
Figure 3. A rocket plan from Ibn Aranbughas book Kitabl anik fil manajik kitabl hiyal fil hurub ve fath, Kitabul esliha (Armoury Manual), Ahmet III Library, Topkapi Palace Nr, 3469.
In the books "Kitap al-furusiya val-muhasab al-harbiya" and "Niyahat al-su'ul val-ummiya fi ta'allum a'mal
al-furusiya" written by the Islamic scholar Hasan ar-Rammah Najm al-Din al-Ahdab in the thirteenth
century, explosive materials, firearms, and, for the first time, torpedoes driven by a rocket system were mentioned.22 In this work on battle techniques written around 1275 by Hasan ar-Rammah, the illustrations of a torpedo running with a rocket system filled with explosive materials and having three firing points can also be found. Hasan al-Rammah lived in Syria during the reign of Sultan Baybars, during the Mamluk era and died in 1294 or 1295.23 A hand-written copy of this work can be found in the Topkapi Palace Library (Topkapi Palace A. 2651). Another copy is registered with No. Ancien fond MS. 1127 in the Bibliotheque National, Paris. Another book on arms and military in the Topkapi Palace is a very valuable document copied in the fourteenth century that consists of three different works. The first section is called Kitab anq fi'l-manajniq and written in 775 for Ibn Aranbugha Al-Zardksh, the Ayyubid commander or for Mingili Boga al-Shimmin. According to more recent research, the author is not known. The second section is the book called Kitab alhiyal fi'l-hurub ve fath almada'in hifz al-durub, on rockets, bombs and burning arrows, written by the Turkish commander Alaaddin Tayboga al-Omari al-Saki al-Meliki al-Nasir. It was copied in 1356 (Topkapi Palace A. 3469, Es'ad Ef. Library No. 1884).
Giles. H. A.: ibid, p. 354. Sarton. G.: ibid, p. 1039. 22 Sarton, G.: p. 1039-1040; Joseph Toussaint Reinaud und ildephonse fave: Histoire de lartillerie, I, ere partie: Du feu gregois, de feux de guerre et des orignes de la poundre a canon. Paris 1845. 23 Satron, G.: ibid, p. 1039.
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Figure 4. Another rocket plan from Ibn Aranbughas book Kitabl anik fil manajik kitabl hiyal fil hurub ve fath, Kitabul esliha (Armoury Manual), Ahmet III Library, Topkapi Palace Nr, 3469.
Later on, it is seen that explosive weapons using gunpowder were used by Muslims in Spain in their battles with the Christians. The Muslims in Spain had victories against the armies of Christian knights in Baza in 1325, in Alicante in 1331, and in Algejiras and Crecy in 1342.24 With the translation of Islamic works on natural sciences and techniques into Latin, technical advances were possible in the Christian world in the Renaissance era. Giovanni de Fontana, the Italian engineer, was the scientist who designed water mines (See Minen) for the first time in Europe.25 Giovanni de Fontana designed in 1420 a "mechanical bird" that was powered by a rocket system, and which was used for measuring the heights of castle walls and buildings. However, it is not known whether this mechanical bird was put into practice or not. In the fifteenth century, Giovanni Torriano, another Italian engineer, built a wooden mechanical bird that flew. It is known that in the fifteenth century Regiomontanus, the German astronomer, built a mechanical eagle and a mosquito. Regiomontanus, whose real name was Johann Muller, was ordained as the cardinal of Regensburg by Pope Sixtus IV. It is stated in the sources that around 1470 or 1477, while he was in Rome, he died of plague or of poison. In a source from 1739, the following was written on the flying mechanical constructions of Regiomontanus. "... we have to admit that he [Regiomontanus] was so skilled in making machines that he built an iron mosquito that flies and a wooden -or a metallic, according to some sources-eagle. This mechanical eagle met the Emperor Maxilian flying when he came to Nurnberg and accompanied him to the city".26
Hunke, S.: ibid, p. 37. Darmstaedter, L.: ibid, p. 61. fontanas book about tehcnique Munchen, Staatsbibliothek. Cod. Iconogr. Nr. 242. 26 Grosses vollstandiges Universal Lexicon aller Wissenschaften und Knste. Leipzig und Halle 1739, Bd, XXII. P. 224; for Regiomontanus flying mechanical constructions first see: Ramus, Peter: Scholar, mathem., II, Frankfurt 1599 (Bhel, J. A.: De aqvila et Mvsca ferrea, quae mechanico artifice apud Noribendgenses gvondam volitasse feruntur, Altdorf 1707). See. Feldhaus, F. M.: Die Technik Mnchen, (1970).
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Regiomontanus had written a commentary on the astronomical works of al-Battani (877-918), the famous Muslim astronomer, and this was published in 1537 in Nurnberg together with the work of al-Fargani. The title of this work, in its second publication in Bologna in 1645, was as follows: "The Astronomy Book of al-Battani with some Additions of Johannes Regiomantanus".27 Leonardo da Vinci is often mentioned as the first inventor of the dark box (a primitive version of a camera [Camera obscura]), water pump, flywheel, and flying machines. However, it is known that Leonardo da Vinci was under the influence of Islamic scholars, and he was particularly inspired by the work of al-Hazen. We have to remind here that a hand-written copy of the technical work of Ahmed b. Musa, the Islamic engineer, is still in the Vatican Library.28 Furthermore, in the Turkic-Islamic cultural world, the first attempts at flight are seen long before the European Christian world. A Turkish scholar of Sayram (Ispidjap) had researched the relationship between the wing surfaces of birds and their weights, to find the physical causes for flight.29 This work set new horizons in the field of aerodynamics. "The old Turks called heaven ugmak [to fly]. And hell was called
Tamuk or Tamu. Tamuk means covered building. Ucmak means reaching the skies".30
Furthermore, the word ugmak (to fly) can be found in the lyric poems of the work of Sultan Veled, "Divan-i Turk Sultan Veled", printed in 1925 by Veled Celebi Izbudak for the Ministry of Education. For example:
Ugmak asindan dilervem hir canak Nur hamurundan iki uc bazlama. Tahurdur hak sucusu ucmak icre Eger tahirsen ondan sen icersin?31
Considering that flying is a much-desired sacred ideal for Turks, one should not be surprised at the flight attempt of Ismail Ibn Hammad al-Javhar, the great Turkish scholar, of Farab, Turkestan as early as the beginning of the eleventh century. Al- Javhar who boasts the famous work of "al-Sihah" attempted flying when he was in Nijabur. He tied two wooden wings with a rope, and climbed the roof of a mosque in Nijabur. He addressed the people of Nisabur who gathered around the mosque with surprise and curiosity, as follows: "O People! No one has made this discovery before. Now I will fly before your very eyes. The most important thing on earth is to fly to the skies. That I will do now", and let himself free from the roof of the mosque
Sp. 50. 27 Hunke, S. A.: ibid. P. 93. 28 Louvrage sur la mecanique dAhmed fils de Mousaexiste en manuscrit au Vatican, avec des figures, 6 Berlin et a Gotha; mais le texte nen serait pas tres correct, dapres Wiedemann qui la un peu erudie. (De Vaux, Baron Carra: Les Penseurs de LIslam. Paris 1921, Bd. II, p. 172). Louvrage sur la mecanique dahmed fils de Mousaexiste en manuscrit au Vatican, avec des figures, 6 Berlin et a Gotha; mais le texte nen serait pas tres correct, dapres Wiedemann qui la un peu erudie. (De Vaux, Baron Carra: Les Penseurs de LIslam. Paris 1921, Bd. II, p. 172). 29 Turan, O.: ibid. p. 368. 30 Necip Asim Yaziksiz: Istanbulda Balon. Turk Tarihi Encumeni Mecmuasi, 18 (1926), pp. 384-385. 31 Velet Celebi Izbudak: Divan-i Trki Sutan Veled. Ankara 1925.
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with his two wings. After flying for some time, he fell and died.32 The date of the flight attempt, which was delayed due to the death of al- Javhar, is given as 1003 (393 A.H.), 1007-1008 (398 A.H.) and 1009-1010 (400 A.H.) in sources.33 Similar flight attempts were also made in Spain in the ninth century, which coincided with the brightest era of Islamic culture. Islamic scholar Abbas b. Firnas, who discovered the manufacture of crystals, made a flight attempt with the flying surfaces he built in 880, and after flying some time, he landed again without being hurt.34 The most interesting of the flight attempts in the Turkish-Islam cultural circles were those of Hazarfan Ahmed Celebi and Lagar Hasan Celebi in 1630-1632 during the reign of Sultan Murad IV. Evliya Celebi, who personally witnessed these flight attempts, gave the following information in his travel book, the handwritten copies of which can be found in the Libraries of Istanbul: "Hazarfan Ahmed Celebi: First he practiced by flying over the pulpit of Okmeydani eight or nine times with eagle winds, using the force of the wind. Then, as Sultan Murad Han was watching from the Sinan Pasha mansion at Sarayburnu, he flew from the very top of the Galata Tower and landed in the Dogancilar Square in Uskudar, with the help of the south-west wind. Then Murad Khan granted him a sack of golden coins, and said: 'This man is a scary man. He is capable of doing anything he wishes. It is not right to keep such people,' and thus sent him to Algeria on exile. He died there".35 Evliya Celebi's anecdote of Lagar Hasan Celebi flying with a seven-winged rocket of his own invention is still more interesting, and is as follows: "Lagar Hasan Celebi: The night Murad Han's daughter, Kaya Sultan, was born was as brilliant as a star, and there was an infant ceremony. Lagar Hasan had invented a seven-winged rocket using fifty okka (140 lbs) of gunpowder paste. In Sarayburnu, he mounted the rocket before the emperor. His students lit the wick. Lagar said 'O my sultan! Be blessed, I am going to talk to Christ', and he ascended praying. He lighted the rockets he took with him, illuminating the surface of the sea. When the big rocket ran out of gunpowder, he splashed into the sea while landing. Thereon, he swam and came before the sultan naked. He kissed the ground and joked 'O my sultan! Christ sends his regards to you'. He was granted a sack of silver coins, and was enrolled as a cavalry soldier with seventy silver coins for his salary: Then he went to Selamet-Giray Khan in Crimea, and died there. The deceased was a close friend of mine. God bless him".36 Dr. John Wilkins, Chester High Priest and mathematician, mentions these flight attempts of Turks in Istanbul in his work "Wilkins Discovery of a New World", of 1638.37 As his source, he names Augerius
Hayrettin Zirikli: El-alam Kamusul-Teracim. Cairo 1927, p. 105; Sarkis, Joseph Elian: Dictionnaire Encyclopedique de Bibliographie arabe. Fascicule XI. Caire 1930. pp. 723-724. 33 Cheneb, M. ben al-Djawhari: Enzyklopaedie des Islam. Hrsg. M. Th. Houtsma. Leiden-Leipsiz 1913, Bd. I, s. 1073. 34 Lvi-Provencal, E.: La Civilitation Arabe en Espagne. Paris 1948, p. 77; Sitzungsberichte d. phys. med. Sozietat, Erlangen, Bd. 38, 1906, p. 146. 35 Evliya Celebi: Seyahatname. New Edition. Istanbul (1969). II, 335; Manuscript Topkapi Palace B. Nr. 304; Suleymaniye Besir aga, nr. 448. 36 Evliya Celebi: Seyahatname Istanbul (1969), II, 335-336.
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Gislenus Busbequius (1522-1592), who came to Istanbul as the Austrian envoy during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent.
Figure 5. Augerius Gislenus Busbequius (1522-1592), the Austrian Ambassador who had indicated as the reference in Europe, to the flight trials of Turks in Istanbul.
In the work "The Birth of Flight" published in 1941, G. Busbequius is also named as a source, and the Istanbul attempts of Turks are briefly mentioned as follows: "If it be enquired what means there may be conjectured for our ascending beyond the space of the earth's Magnetical. Vigor, I answer: It is not perhaps impossible that a man may be able to fly by the application of wings to his own body as Mercury and Deadalus are feigned and as has been attempted by Divers, particularly by a Turk in Constantinople as Busbequis relates".38 Accordingly, it must be accepted that as early as during the reign of Suleyman I Ottoman Turks made a number of attempts at flight. Hezarfen Ahmed Celebi, who opened a new era in the history of aviation, being sent to Algeria on exile, and Lagar Hasan Celebi not receiving enough attention, and his departure to Crimea later on, do answer the question of why the development in this field did not continue. The Turkish engineer Lagar Hasan Celebi, flying with a seven-winged rocket of his own invention and then landing safely on the sea with eagle-like wings, is very similar to the sea-landing methods of Americans, with parachutes after their voyages into space. Therefore, Lagar Hasan Celebi deserves a special place in
37 38
Wilkins, John: Discovery of a New World. London 1638. The Birth of Flight. Edited by Hartley Kemball Cook George allen/Unvin Ltd. London 1941, p. 29.
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the history of aviation, with his flight attempt, which opened new horizons in rocketry techniques. This success of Lagar Hasan Celebi is a result of the technical developments in the Turkic-Islamic world, such as of gunpowder and fire arms being first developed in the Seljuk era in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, ballistic arms being built by Turkic-Islamic engineers, and even the preparation of sketches of torpedoes powered by a rocket system. Indeed, during the conquest of Constantinople, and as the Ottoman Empire expanded across three continents, the major role of the advanced state of the Turks in making explosive arms and in technical fields is without doubt. It must not be forgotten that when Lagar Hasan Celebi made his flight attempt with a rocket-like vehicle; the Ottoman Empire was going through its last bright era under Sultan Murad IV. One of the most important anecdotes of Evliya Celebi on these flight attempts is that Lagar Hasan Celebi went to Crimea to Selamet Giray Khan after these trials, and later died there. According to the researches by S. N. Kuzmenko, a Russian scientist on rocket technology, the study of rocket technology began in Ukraine for the first time after the seventeenth century, and the first description of a rocket dates to 1650 in Ukraine. Afterwards, Nikolojev and K. I. Konstantinov (1818-1871) based their works on these first studies in Ukraine, which enabled the current success of Russian rocket technology.39 The first Russian rocket technology studies in Ukraine coinciding with just after Lagar Hasan Celebi's residence in the Crimea and his death supports the opinion that studies in the field of Russian rocket technology could have been influenced by the Turkish engineer Lagan Hasan Celebi and his students. When I supported this thesis in the 13th Congress on the History of Sciences in Moscow, on August 26, 1971,40 the Russian scientist S. N. Kuzmenko who was reporting on Russian rocket studies in Ukraine, stated that he agrees with me and that he is carrying out research in the Russian archives to support my assertions. In the work called Ummul-Gaza, written by Ali Aga, the second caliph of the Bombardiers class in the reign of Sultan Ahmed III (1703-1730), which is in the Topkapi Palace currently; the rockets called tulumbas invented by himself and used for castle sieges in the seventeenth century were described. These are illustrated to be 11-12 arsin (7-8 m) long and the diameter was difficult for one person to encircle. In this work, Ali Aga relates the failures of the battles to the recession in inventing and developing arms and recommends to the sultan that new arms be developed. Thus, it is seen that the developments and new discoveries in the Turkic-Islamic world in this field came to an end. However, again during the reign of Sultan Ahmed III (1703-1750), which is during the Tulip Age, there is strong evidence both in the Surname (chronicle) of Mehmed Hazn and the Surname of Vehbi, as the witnesses of the era, that Ibrahim Efendi, the dockyard architect, had invented the submarine which was called "Tahtelbahir". Seyyid Vehbi compared this submarine invented by the architect Ibrahim Efendi to an alligator, and tells in his Surname that during the circumcision ceremony that Sultan Ahmed III held for his sons, while the sultan, the viziers, and sultan's sons were watching the shows in the coastal palace in Aynali Kavak, the alligator-like submarine slowly emerged on the water and moved slowly to the sultan, and after staying on the sea for half an hour, submerged in the sea again to the great surprise of the public;
39 Kuzmenko, S. N.: Froom the History of Rockettry in Ukrania. XIII th international congress of the history of science. Section. N. 12. Histroy of aircraft, rocket and space science and technology, Moskou 1971, pp. 74-75. 40 Terzioglu, Arslan: Handschriften aus dem gebiet der Technik und aerodynamik sowie ersten Flugversuche im IX. XVII. Jh. m islamischtrkischen Kulturbereich. XIII. th international congress of the history of science. Section. N. 12. Histroy of aircraft, rocket and space science and technology, Moskou 1971, pp. 75-77.
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then emerged one hour later, with five people walking outside the mouth of this alligator-like submarine, with trays of rice and zerde (dish of sweetened rice) on their heads. The book Surname-i Humayun of Seyyid Vehbi, which explains the technical information concerning this sub-marine submerging in the sea and the crew being able to breathe through pipes while under the sea,41 demonstrates to us that the first Ottoman trials of submarines were successful. The Surname 42 of Mehmed Hazn, who told of the events of October 1, 1720, during the circumcision ceremony of the sons of Sultan Ahmed III, related that a fish-like submarine was present; however, his secrets were buried with him. Although it is mentioned by Bahaeddin, the historian, that the first submarine was used43 during the Seljuk period, against the Crusader knights in the siege of Akka in 1150, it is understood that the submarine built by Ibrahim, the architect, in the Ottoman era during the reign of Ahmed III was more developed and could stay under water for one hour. Considering that the British tried to build a small submarine half a century after Ibrahim and failed, 44 it is obvious that the Ottoman success in this field is most notable. However in 1776, the submarine developed by the American scientist David Bushnell was a success.45 The sketches of a submarine project in the archives of Stockholm Military Organization are interesting for the assessment of all the technical developments of the era.
IV. Conclusion
The Islamic renaissance, which began in the ninth and tenth centuries, brought about major advances in the technical field and as early as the ninth century the first attempts at flight had begun in Turkistan and Andalusia. It is understood from the works of Hasan ar-Rammah and Aladdin Tayboga al-Umari as-Saki and other works the copies of which are in our libraries, which during the Seljuk and Mamluk era, rocket driven torpedoes and rockets were developed. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Turkish engineer Lagar Hasan Celebi's flight in Istanbul is very similar to the sea-landing methods of Americans, with parachutes, after their space trials. Evliya Celebi mentioning that Lagar Hasan Celebi went to the Crimea after this trial, to Selamet Giray Khan, and the first Russian rocket technology studies in Ukraine coinciding with just after Lagar Hasan Celebi's residence in Crimea and his death, support the opinion that studies in the field of Russian rocket technology could have been influenced by the Turkish engineer Lagar Hasan Celebi and his students.
REFERENCES
Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y.: al-Jami bain al-ilm wal-amal al nafi fi sinat al hiyal. Institute for the history of Arabic science university. Of Aleppo. Syria 1979. Cecen, Kazim: El-Cezernin su saatinin konstruksiyonu. I. uluslararas trk-islam bilim ve teknoloji tarihi kongresi. 14-18 Eyll 1981, Bildiriler V, Istanbul 1981, p. 322. Cheneb, M. ben al-Djawhari: Enzyklopaedie des Islam. Hrsg. M. Th. Houtsma. Leiden-Leipsiz 1913, Bd. I, s. 1073.
41 42 43 44 45
See. Seyyid Vehbi: Surnme. Suleymaniye Library, Hamidiye 952, foliea 171b. See. Mehmed Hazn: Srnme, Bayezid Library, Nureddin Paa, 10267, folio 132 b. Saban Dogen, Musluman ilim onculeri ansiklopedisi, stanbul 1984, s. 205. See. Flack, N. D.: Diving vessel by the Ms. Day. London 1775. Feldhaus, F. M.: Die Technik. Ein Lexikon der Vorzeit, der geschichtlichen Zeit und der Naturvlker. Mnchen 1970, sp. 1122.
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Darmstaedters, L.: Handbuch zur Geschicte der Naturwissenschaften und Technik. Berlik 1908, p. 14. De Vaux, Baron Carra: Les Penseurs de LIslam. Paris 1921. Dogen, Saban, Musluman ilim onculeri ansiklopedisi, stanbul 1984, s. 205. Drachmannn, a. G.: Ktesibios, Philon and Heron. Kopenhagen 1948. Evliya Celebi: Seyahatname Istanbul (1969). Evliya Celebi: Seyahatname. New Edition. Istanbul (1969). Feldhaus, F. M.: Die Technik Mnchen, (1970). Feldhaus, F. M.: Die Technik. Ein Lexikon der Vorzeit, der geschichtlichen Zeit und der Naturvlker. Mnchen 1970, sp. 1122. Flack, N. D.: Diving vessel by the Ms. Day. London 1775. Giles, H. a.: A chinese Biographical Dictionary, London-Shangai 1898, p. 1; Sarton, G.: Vol II, Part, p. 1034. Giles, H. A.: Spuren der Luftfahrt im alten China. Sonderdruck aus der astronomischen Zeitschrift, Hamburg 9 (1917), p. 2; Giles, H. A.: Traces of Aviation in ancient china. In: adversita Sinica, shanghai 1910. Grosses vollstandiges Universal Lexicon aller Wissenschaften und Knste. Leipzig und Halle 1739, Bd, XXII. P. 224. Hayrettin Zirikli: El-alam Kamusul-Teracim. Cairo 1927. Hill, Donald, R.: The Book of knowledge of ingenious mechanical devices. Dordrecht (Holland) Boston (USA) 1974. Histroy of aircraft, rocket and space science and technology, Moskou 1971, pp. 75-77. Hunke, S.: Allahs sonne ber dem Abendland. Stutgart (1967). Ibn Funduq, Tatimma sivan al-hiqma, by M. Shafi, Lahore 1935, Bd. I, p. 115, 119, 163. Joseph Toussaint Reinaud und ildephonse fave: Histoire de lartillerie, I, ere partie: Du feu gregois, de feux de guerre et des orignes de la poundre a canon. Paris 1845. Kasgarli Mahmud: Divanu Lgat it-Turk. By Kilisli Rifat, Istanbul 1333, 1335; trans. B. Atalay, Ankara 194041. Klemm, F.: Technik, eine Geschicte ihrer Probleme. Freiburg-Mnchen (1954).
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Kuzmenko, S. N.: Froom the History of Rockettry in Ukrania. XIII th international congress of the history of science. Section. N. 12. Histroy of aircraft, rocket and space science and technology, Moskou 1971, pp. 7475. Lvi-Provencal, E.: La Civilitation Arabe en Espagne. Paris 1948. Mehmed Hazn: Srnme, Bayezid Library, Nureddin Paa, 10267, folio 132 b. Mehmed Nesri: Tarih-i cihannuma, by Faik Resit Unat, Mehmet A. Koymen, Ankara 1957. Nesevi, M.: Siretu Jala al-din Mengbirti. Published by O. Houdas, Paris 1891. Quatremere: Historier des Mogol de la Perse. Paris 1836. Ramus, Peter: Scholar, mathem., II, Frankfurt 1599 (Bhel, J. A.: De aqvila et Mvsca ferrea, quae mechanico artifice apud Noribendgenses gvondam volitasse feruntur, Altdorf 1707). Sarkis, Joseph Elian: Dictionnaire Encyclopedique de Bibliographie arabe. Fascicule XI. Caire 1930. pp. 723724. Sarton, G.: Introduction to the History of science. Baltimore 1927, vol. I, p. 116. Seyyid Vehbi: Surnme. Suleymaniye Library, Hamidiye 952, foliea 171b. Sitzungsberichte d. phys. med. Sozietat, Erlangen, Bd. 38, 1906, p. 146. Suleymaniye Library, Ayasofya nr. 3606, folio 2-4. Terzioglu, Arslan: Handschriften aus dem gebiet der Technik und aerodynamik sowie ersten Flugversuche im IX. XVII. Jh. m islamisch-trkischen Kulturbereich. XIII. th international congress of the history of science. Section. N. 12.
The Birth of Flight. Edited by Hartley Kemball Cook George allen/Unvin Ltd. London 1941, p. 29.
Turan, O.: Selcuklular tarihi ve Turk Islam Medeniyeti, Istanubl 1969. Velet Celebi Izbudak: Divan-i Trki Sutan Veled. Ankara 1925. Wiedemann, Eilhard; Hauser, F.: ber die uhren im bereich der Islamichen Kultur. NOVA ACTA Band C, Nr. 5, Halle 1915, p. 3-272. Wilkins, John: Discovery of a New World. London 1638. Yaqt: Mucemul-Buldan. Beirut 1957. Yaziksiz, Necip Asim: Istanbulda Balon. Turk Tarihi Encumeni Mecmuasi, 18 (1926), pp. 384-385.
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The Observation Well
Prof. Aydin Sayili Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Savas Konur January 2007 636 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
The Observation Bell January 2007
THE OBSERVATION WELL *

Prof. Aydin Sayili**
This article was first published in the Ankara Universitesi Dil ve Tarih-Cografya Fakultesi Dergisi, volume XI, issue, 1, March 1953, pp. 149-155.
In the literature of the history of astronomy, as well as in literature in general and in the folklore of different countries, one meets claims that from the bottom of a deep well, or with the help of some other equivalent structure, stars become visible in day-time. In many cases, the statements are general and anonymous, originating usually with well diggers, chimney sweepers, and miners. In other cases they are more definite and specific; they are connected with a particular place, person, and sometimes with an observatory. Several articles written on the subject have come to my attention, but no comprehensive monographic study of the subject seems to be in existence, most works of any detail being usually devoted to the refutation of a single case. I am not prepared to give an exhaustive treatment of the subject. I have been impressed, however, by the recurrence of the question in connection with a number of observatories, arid it is my intention to draw attention to this fact and to the possibility that this subject may be more substantial and worthy of more careful consideration than the rather casual references to it tend to indicate. The problem is an old one. It was known already to Aristotle, seen in very deep wells.
2 1
and Pliny also knew about it. Pliny states
that stars become visible in day-time during eclipses of the sun and in the- reflected images of the sky as
Cleomedes tells us that the sun appears larger when seen from the bottom of deep cisterns because of the darkness and moisture of the air. A detailed medieval monograph in Arabic, by Ab'l Barakt al Baghdd (d. after 1165), on the theoretical explanation of the cause of the obscurity of the stars during day-time is extant. Here the illumination of the part of the atmosphere immediately above the observer is held responsible for the obscurity of stars in day-time.
4 3
Leonardo da Vinci too explains this question in a
somewhat similar fashion. He says, "The stars are visible by night and not by day, because we are beneath the dense atmosphere, which is full of innumerable particles of moisture, each of which independently,
This paper was read at the Seventh International Congress of the History of Science, in Jerusalem. Israel, in which the author took part as a delegate of the Faculty of Letters, Ankara University and of the Turkish Historical Society. It will also appear in the Acts of the Congress. ** (1913-1993), Professor of the History of Science, Ankara University. 1 Generation of Animals, book 5, ch. 1; J. C. Houzeau, Vade-Mecum de VAstronome, Bruxelles 1882, p. 852; Robert Eisler, "The Polar Sighting-Tube", Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences, No. 6 (vol. 28), 1949, p. 313. My attention was drawn to Eisler's article by Prof. Sevim Tekeli. 2 F. Arago, Astronomie Populaire, vol. I, Paris 1834, p. 302-303; Eisler, p. 324, note 13. 3 Eisler, p. 324, note 13. 4 Ab'l Barakt wrote this booklet as an answer to the query in question which was brought up by the Seljuq ruler Giyth al-Din Muhammad ibn Malikshh. A German translation of it has been published by E. Wiedemann (ber die Grunden warum die Sterne bei Nacht sichtbar und bei Tag verborgen sind", Eders Jahrbuch fur Photographie, Halle a. d. s., 1909, p. 49-54.) In some of its extant manuscripts this work has wrongly been attributed to Ibn Sn (this is chronologically impossible), and a Turkish translation of it, as a work-of Ibn Sn, has been published, (in Ibni Sina , Publications of the Turkish Historical Society, series vii, No. 1, 1937, 4 pp. See also, .Max Krause, "Stambuler Hand-schriften Islamischer Mathematiker", Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte der Mathematik, Astronomie und Physik, Abteilung B, vol. 3, Berlin 1936, p. 437-532.).
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when the rays of the sun fall upon it, reflects a radiance, and so these numberless bright particles conceal the stars; and if it were not for this atmosphere the sky would always display the stars against its darkness."
5
The statements of Ab'l Barakt, and to a smaller extent those of Cleomedes and Leonardo, would seem to be in agreement with or even inspired by the claim that from the bottom of a well or in a tall tower, which would prevent the illumination of a portion of the atmosphere immediately above the observer, stars become visible in day-time. Neither Abl Barakt nor apparently Cleomedes and Leonardo make any reference, however, to "observation wells." Roger Bacon knew about the visibility -of stars from the bottom of wells in day-time, and the phenomenon was apparently well-known in Islam. For several Islamic examples on the subject are found, and though our information concerning them is usually brief and vague, all these Islamic examples of "observation wells" are allegedly connected with either well-known astronomers or with observatories. It is claimed by the inhabitants of Maragha, in the north-west of Persia, that the famous Maragha Observatory (founded ca. 1259) contained an "observation well" and that this well was utilized for day-time observations by Nsir al-Din al Ts, the first director of the Observatory. Only one rather feeble source testimony confirming this popular tradition has come to my attention.
9 8 7 6
There were caves underneath the
observatory hill, but they do not, so far as is known, form any vertical well, and the mode of their utilization is a matter open to conjecture. It may be that the "observation well" in this case is a mistaken reference to the caves. The Jaja Bey Madrasa of Kirsehir, Anatolia, (founded in 1272) was used as an observatory according to local tradition which claims that previously an "observation well" was in existence directly underneath the circular hole of the dome of the madrasa building and that this .device was intended to serve for day-time observation of stars. A small-scale excavation has corroborated the claim of the existence, of a well,
10
and
other considerations may be adduced which make the other particulars of the claim also seem rather reasonable. There is no conclusive evidence, however, that the well was built or utilized as an "observation well". The water-bearing level was found at a depth of about seven meters. As this probably represents the original state of the well, it tends to give one the impression that the well was not an "observation well". Apparently, however, "observation wells" need not have been dry. For claims of the observation of the reflected image of the sky in the water of the wells exist at least on two occasions, both of which are mentioned in this paper. It is interesting to note that during the latter half of the thirteenth century several stars - of greater brightness were very close to the zenith of both Maragha (N. Latitude 37
5 6
22') and Kirsehir (N. Latitude
J. P. Richter, The Literary Works of L'eonardo da Vinci, London 1883, vol. 2, p. 911. Eisler, p. 324, note 13. 7 Samual Graham Wilson, Persian Life and Customs, 1895, p. 77. 8 The unknown editor of the unpublished lt-i-nasadya li zij-i shahinshhya of Taq al-Din (MSS. Kutahya City Library, No. 932; Topkapi Palace-Museum Library, No. Hazine 452) transmits with some hesitation second-hand information that observation wells were in existence at the Margha and Samarqand Observatories and that they were used for astronomical observation. 9 See, e. g., Fuat Koprulu, "Maraga Rasathanesi", Belleten, vol. 6, 1942, p. 208 ff. 10 See, A. Sayili and W. Ruben, Belleten, vol, n, 1947, p. 673-91.
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39
9') Andromedae (2.28 magnitude), Persei (2.2

m m
) Persei (3.96
m
), Lyrae (0.14
m
), and Cygni
m
(2.32 (2.32
) in the case of Margha, and Andromedae (2.28 ), and Cygni (I-33

m
); Persei (2.2
), Lyrae (0.14
), Cygni
) in the case of Kirsehir.
11
The third Islamic example is somewhat more substantial that the Istanbul Observatory (founded ca. 1579) actually did contain an "observation well" (or tower) finds confirmation in certain Turkish and European sources.
12
As the Observatory was demolished soon after its foundation, however, perhaps no observation
m
was ever made, or attempted to be made, from its well. At the time, the stars Andromedae (2.28 Aurigae (0.31
m
)
m
), Aurigae (2.3
), Canum Venaticorum (2.90

13
), Lyrae (0.14
), and Cygni (1.33 )
were directly overhead-the Istanbul sky (N. Latitude 41 0 3').
According to Evliya Chelebi, famous traveller of the seventeenth century, the astronomer Ali Qushji, contemporary of Ulugh Bey (d. 1449) and Muhammad the Conqueror and co-worker, of the former, had an "observation well, in Istanbul,
14
and a local tradition of approximately the same nature is said to still
persist. This is perhaps a distorted reference to the above-mentioned well of Taq al-Din in the Istanbul Observatory. For the location of both are exactly the same. Two other examples are reported, one in the Samarqand Observatory of Ulugh Bey, which, again brings to mind the name of 'Ali Qushji, and one in the vicinity of Cairo in the sixteenth century belonging to the above-mentioned Taq al-Din.
15
In Europe the tradition of the "observation well" was kept alive for a long time, and different examples of interest are encountered in the literature. Here again, examples of "observation wells" connected with observers or observatories are available, and though our information concerning them is generally superficial and vague it is nevertheless quite relevant and capable of throwing some light on our very obscure and little known topic. In 1630, Schemer says that, according to "observers" and students, stars were visible in day-time from the bottom of a very deep well in Coimbra, Portugal, and that according to a trustworthy person, stars were clearly seen reflected even at noon in the waters of deep wells in Spain.
16
Erhard Weigel (1625-99), court mathematician of Duke Wilhelm IV of Saxe Weimar and professor at Jena University, built a sumptuous house at Jena in 1667. The flat roof of this house was an open-air observatory, and a slanting tube was built into the wall bf the staircase making possible the day-time observation of stars.
17
The zenith distances of these stars for the latitudes and centuries concerned were computed by Dr. Zaitschek of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 12 See, J. H. Mordtmann, "Das Observatorium des Taq ed-din zu Pera", Der Islam, 1923, vol. 13, Heft 1-2, p. 82-86. 13 See footnote 11. 14 Evliya Celebi Seyahatnmesi, ed. A. Cevdet, Istanbul 1314 H., vol. i, p. 443. Here the term "munejjim Quyusu" (astrologer's or astronomer's well) is used. 15 The above-mentioned editor (footnote 8) mentions it, says it was 40 arshin (ca. 25 m.) deep, and also states that a ladder was placed in it, but adds that Taq al-Din found it to be of no use. He is also sceptical, in general, about the advantages of this observational technique. Ail examples show that "observation wells" were quite deep. The water level of a long unused well of a mosque not far from the site of the Istanbul Observatory of Taq al-Din and situated further down the hill, is at a depth of about 35 meters. 16 Arago, ibid., p. 203; Houzeau, p. 852. 17 Eisler, p. 314.
11
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The Paris Observatory (founded in 1667-75) building was cut through by a vertical hole which, together with its extension in the caves below, formed a well of about 55 meters' depth. It is said that Cassini, shortly after the foundation of the Observatory, considered the possibility of its use for day-time observation of stars, as one of the bright stars of the constellation Perseus, he said, would come within the field of view (about 1) of the well in approximately forty years. He seems to have used the well himself. For he took measures to shield the vertical hole from light coming through the windows of the building and caused the construction of another well in a more secluded section of the building, but apparently no systematic day-time observation of stars was made from these wells. Perhaps the development of new astronomical instruments rendered superfluous and out-of-fashion the laborious procedure of going down the bottom of a deep well in order to observe a very limited portion of the sky. A rumour exists, however, that a janitor of the Observatory made some money for himself by admitting outsiders into the well and showing them stars in day-time. There is a claim that this must have been due to light seeping through some crack which must have disappeared by itself depriving the janitor from his extra income.
18
The Kremsmunster Observatory in Austria, founded in 1748, contains a well, 59 meters deep, which is said to have served as an "observation well". The Observatory was built in the form of a massive tower within the grounds of the Benedictine Convent of Kremsmunster.
19
A letter of A. Reslhuber, director of the
Kremsmunster Observatory, concerning the well, has been published (1868). Reslhuber is very sceptical about the matter, and, as, confirmation of his doubts, states that the cross-section of the field of vision from the bottom of the well is only 49' 24" and that none of the three prominent stars which come closest to the zenith are close enough to it to fall within that narrow field.
20
Reslhuber considered only the
declination of the stars in his own time, however, and this is really quite irrelevant. For it is seen that among the stars mentioned by him Persei was undoubtedly within the field of vision at earlier, years, most likely during the years just prior to the foundation of the Observatory.
21
After the enumeration of these examples of "observation wells" connected with observatories and astronomers, I would like to draw attention to the fact that in its actual state the subject of the day-time observation of stars from wells or similar structures is of a two-fold nature. One is a purely scientific question, viz., the question of the possibility of the daytime observation of stars with the naked eye under special conditions of illumination. The other aspect of the question falls more strictly within the scope of the history of science and is based on the records concerning popular traditions as well as on the more factual cases and testimonies. It would be rather strange that this tradition should have persisted for such a long-time and in a pretty wide-spread fashion if it had no factual basis. And though some effort has been made to discredit the reports, I have not found any convincing refutation of the phenomenon. I have dealt with the Kremsmunster case in some detail. Alexander von Humboldt says that the chimney sweepers contacted by him have never seen stars by day-time, and adds that neither he himself nor anyone else among the miners
18 19
Charles J. E. Wolf, Histoire de l' Observatoire de Paris de sa Fondation 1793, Paris 1902, pp. 54-55. Houzeau, p. 852, 986-87. 20 A. Reslhuber, "Die Sichtbarkeit der Sterne bei Tage Betreffend", Sinus, vol. 1, 1868, p. 63-64. 21 Taking the latitude of Kremsmunster as 480 3', Persei should be visible during parts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (see, P. V. Neugebauer, Tafeln zur astronomischen Chronologie, vol. 1, Leipzig 1912, p. 29). This may have had some influence in the choice of this particular site for the Observatory.
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he questioned in Mexico, Peru, India, and Siberia have ever witnessed this phenomenon from the bottom of deep shafts.
22
Among still others, J. C. Houzeau, in a general manner, and R. Wolf, in a more specific way,
23
have expressed their scepticism concerning the matter. Houzeau considers it likely that the whole matter may lie within the realm of pure fancy and illusion, and Wolf takes in hand the example of the wells of
24
Bex in order to refute it. There is a written record concerning the visibility of stars at midday from a depth of 220 meters at the bottom of the wells of Bouillet in Bex, Switzerland. arrives at a negative answer,
25
Wolf considers this case and
but his result, does not seem to be conclusive at all.
At present the scientific aspect of the question must be considered as undecided, although in addition to recurrent popular traditions and the above-mentioned examples of "observation wells" connected with observatories, other concrete' cases of positive testimony are not lacking. A few such cases may be mentioned here. One is the case of a "famous" optician (Troughton?), whose attention' was drawn to astronomy by the regular appearance of a star through his chimney in day-time, as related by John Herschell.
26
Another positive testimony comes from Ferdinand Carpentier of Zurich who, as a ten or twelve
27
year old child, saw stars in day-time from the bottom of a well of about 90 feet depth. This was near Magdeburg and was done in order to check on the statement of another child of about the same age. Thus, in spite of the doubts expressed by various scholars and scientists, it is difficult to consider the alleged phenomenon, i. e., the day-time visibility of the stars to the naked eye under special conditions of illumination, as one without any factual foundation. Apparently, the claim would be theoretically acceptable if it were established firmly as an observed fact.
28
An official verification with the help of scientifically

29
conducted observations is lacking, however, and would be very desirable.
For, as we have seen, there
exist definite examples of objections raised and scepticism expressed by well-known astronomers and men of science in general, even though some astronomers may accept this phenomenon as an observed fact. It would seem that in arranging a test of .this kind certain possibly relevant physiological and psychological factors may have to be taken into consideration. For in addition to the claim that nothing but popular prejudice, pure fancy, or illusion may lie at the bottom of this claimed observation, it has also been suggested that possibly only the eyes of certain people may be strong enough to make the observation in question successfully.
30
It should be added that although such wells were connected with observatories, there is no evidence that' such observations were systematically made and utilized by astronomers. Such records may possibly exist, but if so, apparently none has as yet come to light.
22 23 24 25
Houzeau, p. 852. R. Wolf, "Uber das Sehen der Sterne bei Tage aus Tiefen Schachten", Mitteillungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Bern, Bern 1851, p. 159-161. 26 F. Arago, ibid., p. 203; Houzeau, p. 852; Eisler, p. 326, note 17. 27 R. Wolf, "ber das Sehen der Sterne aus Tiefen Brunnen", Vierteljahrsschrift der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Zurich, vol. 20, 1875, p. I79-180. 28 See, F. Arago, ibid., p. 203-4. 29 Mr. Theodor Meysels, art editor of Jerusalem Post, tells me that he has seen stars in day-time from the bottom of the deep shaft at Sodom, so that Israel may prove to be a most convenient place for carrying out such an experiment at this very time. 30 Such a probability has been suggested by certain writers (see,. e. g., Houzeau, ibid., p. 853 and Sirius, vol. I, 1868, p. 63).
Op. cit., p. 852. Others too, e. g., Etienne Arago, have expressed similar opinions. See C. Wolf, ibid., p. 55.
Eisler, p. 326, note 16. See also, Houzeau, p. 852-53.
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We seem to be confronted here with a very little known medieval technique of astronomical observation, at least a theoretical or imaginary one. Only future research can show whether it was ever carried out in practice or actually applied in any systematic way. The manner in which the results of such observations were, or were intended to be, utilized is therefore also a matter open to conjecture. One could easily venture to guess, however, that such observations could be very useful in connection with time determinations and especially for the correlation of the coordinates of the stars with those of the sun, and this correlation is of course a very useful and important one for research in astronomy. In fact, very soon after the invention of the telescope, day-time observation of the brighter planets with the help of the new instrument were made and utilized for exactly this purpose.
31
REFERENCES
Arago, F., Astronomie Populaire, vol. I, Paris 1834. Bigourdan, G., Histoire de I'Astronomie d'Observation et des Observatoires en France, Paris 1918, p. 2223. Eisler, Robert, "The Polar Sighting-Tube", Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences, No. 6 (vol. 28), 1949, p. 313.
Evliya Celebi Seyahatnmesi, ed. A. Cevdet, Istanbul 1314 H.

Houzeau, J. C., Vade-Mecum de VAstronome, Bruxelles 1882.
Ibni Sina , Publications of the Turkish Historical Society, series vii, No. 1, 1937.
Koprulu, Fuat, "Maraga Rasathanesi", Belleten, vol. 6, 1942, p. 208 ff. Krause, Max, "Stambuler Hand-schriften Islamischer Mathematiker", Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte der
Mathematik, Astronomie und Physik, Abteilung B, vol. 3, Berlin 1936, p. 437-532.

Mordtmann, J. H., "Das Observatorium des Taq ed-din zu Pera", Der Islam, 1923, vol. 13, Heft 1-2, p. 8286. Neugebauer, P. V., Tafeln zur astronomischen Chronologie, vol. 1, Leipzig 1912. Reslhuber, A., "Die Sichtbarkeit der Sterne bei Tage Betreffend", Sinus, vol. 1, 1868, p. 63-64. Richter, J. P., The Literary Works of L'eonardo da Vinci, London 1883, vol. 2, p. 911. Wiedemann, E., (ber die Grunden warum die Sterne bei Nacht sichtbar und bei Tag verborgen sind", Eders
Jahrbuch fur Photographie, Halle a. d. s., 1909, p. 49-54.

Wilson, Samual Graham, Persian Life and Customs, 1895. Wolf, Charles J. E., Histoire de l' Observatoire de Paris de sa Fondation 1793, Paris 1902. Wolf, R., "ber das Sehen der Sterne aus Tiefen Brunnen", Vierteljahrsschrift der Naturforschenden
Gesellschaft in Zurich, vol. 20, 1875, p. I79-180.

Wolf, R., "Uber das Sehen der Sterne bei Tage aus Tiefen Schachten", Mitteillungen der Naturforschenden
Gesellschaft in Bern, Bern 1851, p. 159-161.
31
See, G. Bigourdan, Histoire de I'Astronomie d'Observation et des Observatoires en France, Paris 1918, p. 22-23.
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Better Directions at Sea: The Pr Reis Innovation
Prof. Thomas D. Goodrich Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Dr. Salim Ayduz Savas Konur January, 2007 638 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
Better Directions at Sea: The Pr Reis Innovation January, 2007
BETTER DIRECTIONS AT SEA: THE PR REIS INNOVATION*

Prof. Thomas D. Goodrich**
This article was first published in the Essasys in Honour of Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, (compiled by M. Kaar-Zeynep Durukal). Istanbul: IRCICA, 2006, pp. 557566. This book can be obtained IRCICA publication on their official website: www.ircica.org. We are grateful to Dr. Halit Eren, General Director of IRCICA and Mustafa Kacar-Zeynep Durukal, editor of the book, for allowing publication.
Our lives are filled with directions of all sorts, including how to write this paper and both where and when to submit it. Directions are generally very useful. Among the most common visual directions nowadays are those we see as we speed along the highways. They tell us how fast or slowly to go, which side of the road to drive on, and how to get to where we want to go. On land, it used to be that we went slowly enough to ask directions. We could even stop to ask someone for help or visit a house to seek help. Nowadays life and directions are more complex, so we need more help. In order to reach a particular place I find that I want both written directions and a map. They complement each other. In the open sea, on the other hand, it is more difficult to see signposts like those on the road or to ask directions even when sailing slowly, even when becalmed. At sea we need something else. The development of useful help took a long time and is still improving with newer technology such as Global Positioning System (GPS). Up until about 1300 CE and the early Renaissance, sea captains relied largely on memory, perhaps some personal notes, and practiced skill to get to where they wanted to go.
1
About that time the
knowledge that was accumulated began to be written down in portolans, that is, books of instructions on how to get from one port to another port. Also at this time, almost miraculously, a new style of chart or map appeared based on the use of the compass. The map might accompany a portolan, though visually not, and has come to be called a "portolan chart." These maps became ever more detailed and accurate, giving additional information as it was reported to the mapmaker. The maps improved much more after the development of printing as corrections were easier to make without adding copiers' errors. In 1584 Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer published Die Spieghel der Zeevaeri in the Netherlands. It included not only detailed instructions but also many coastal maps. This book is considered "the first to contain charts and
2
* The paper is a revision of a presentation at the International Conference of the History of Cartography at Harvard University, June 16, 2003. ** Professor Emeritus, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA. 1 For an example of a pilot's practice still in the 19th century and on a river, read chapter 10 of Samuel Clement (Mark Twain), Life on the
The development of the early charts has been explored extensively, though not conclusively. For the most recent extensive study, see Campbell, Tony. "Portolan Charts from the Late Thirteenth Century to 1500," in The History of Cartography, volume one, Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean, edited by J. B. Harley and David Woodward (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987) pp. 371-463. Other studies with some beautiful plates and bibliography are: Mollat Du Jourdin, Michel, and Monique de La Ronciere. Sea Charts of the Early Explorers: 13th to 17th Century. Translated by L. Le R. Dethan (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1984); and Whitfield, Peter. The Charting of the Oceans: Ten Centuries of Maritime Maps (Rohnert Park: Pomegranate Art books, 1996).
Mississippi.
2
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sailing directions in one book.
It was soon available in English and other languages. It was very popular,
often republished, and used a great deal for a long time. In the 1520s, more than half a century before Waghenaer, however, another mapmaker did the same thing, if not in so detailed a fashion. It is that earlier book of the 1520s that I would like to examine and, in doing so; add one more leaf to the laurel wreath of fame on the brow of the already famous Ottoman cartographer, Pr Reis. Pr Reis has become well known for his two world maps and for his portolan, the Kitab-i Bahriye . There is, however, an innovation of his within the Kitab-i Bahriye that to my knowledge no one has ever fully explored for its useful creativity. The large-scale coastal maps of Pr Reis illustrate what he says in his text, and his maps add additional information to the text. The two elements go together.
6 5
Waghenaer may have
done a much more thorough work and added aspects such as coastal profiles, but no cartographer before Pr Reis had developed quite such a close interrelationship between the two elements of text and maps. In the cartographic work of Pr Reis we already recognize five not merely special but unique aspects: First: In his time he was successful in drawing two quite different types of maps: (A) world maps in loxodromic form: that is, the two incomplete maritime maps of the world of 923/1513 and 935/1528 with all their rhumb lines and scales of measurement, and
7
Phillip Allen, Mapmaker's Art: Five Centuries of Charting the World (2000), p. 58. Copies of a map by Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer are in many histories of map making. 4 Svat Soucek has written the best introductions to the Kitab-i Bahriye, both in "Islamic Charting in the Mediterranean," Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies, History of Cartography II/i, edited by J. B. Harley and David Woodward (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1987), 279-84, and in his Pr Reis & Turkish Mapmaking after Columbus (London: Nour Foundation, 1992), 84-101. For the purposes of this article, unless otherwise indicated, all references to the Kitab-i Bahriye are to the colour facsimile of the manuscript of the second version, Ayasofya 2612: Pr Reis, Kitab-i Bahriye. Edited by Ertugrul Zekai Okte, translators: Vahit Cabuk, Tulay Duran, and Robert Bragner, The Historical Research Foundation - Istanbul Research Centre (Ankara: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Turkish Republic, 1988), 4 volumes. (As much as possible, use the facsimile itself. One must treat the English carefully, since it is the result of three removes from the text.) This publication is the third facsimile edition of the same manuscript, the first in colour, and the only facsimile of any manuscript text. The most complete published listing of extant manuscripts and some lovely maps in colour from other manuscripts are in M. E. Ozen, Pr Reis and His Charts (Istanbul, 1998), 20-22; almost as complete with additional information is in Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies, pp. 290-292. There have been studies of many sections of the Kitab-i Bahriye, but the only thorough study of a section of both versions of the text was that prepared over a quarter century ago by Svat Soucek, "Tunisia in the Kitab-i Bahriye by Pr Reis," Archivum Ottomanicum 5 (1973 [1976]), 129-296. He transliterated and translated both versions of the book and has extensive studies of every issue that came up. He also compared a short part of the text with four other earlier portolans, concluding: "[In] the description of the coast of Tunisia, the Kitab-i Bahriye is based on the original experience and notes of the author to the point of making any discussion of foreign models specious. In the thoroughness and organization of his description, Pr Reis was ahead of his time by perhaps two centuries" p. 294. A careful study of one large section that includes an examination of the place names on the maps is Dimitris Loupis, Pr Reis: Ottoman Cartography and the Aegean Lake (in Greek), (2000). 5 Without quite realizing the innovative aspect Svat Soucek has explained how Pr Reis has used the words with the maps: "Kitab-i Bahriye," Pr Reis & Turkish Mapmaking, 86-88; "Islamic Charting in the Mediterranean," op. cit. p.277. 6 For an explanation of why the book was written and why it is basically a written set of directions with maps as supplements, read what Pr Reis writes in Kitab-i Bahriye, 41-42, or f. 2b-3a. 7 For the maps in the Kitab-i Bahriye see the chapter in the History of Cartography 11/1, by J. M. Rogers, "Itineraries and Town Views in Ottoman Histories," 228-256, especially 231-35; and Svat Soucek, "A propos du livre destructions nautiques de Pr Reis," Revue des Etudes Islamiques 41 (1973), 241-255.
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(B) The hundreds of detailed coastal maps in his portolan, the Kitab-i Bahriye, each with its northpointing arrow but without a scale of measurement, since the text gives the necessary distances between points.
8
Second: unlike anyone else in his time or before, as he writes on his world map of 1513, he utilized at least twenty maps not only from the Christian European world but also from the Islamic world and from the ancient period, or as he put it "the time of Alexander" (Iskender Zulkarneyn' zamaninda).
9
Third: he included in the world map of 1513 information based upon the map of Christopher Columbus resulting from his second voyage.
10
Fourth: he initiated the representation of towns and cities in Ottoman illustrations.
11
Fifth: he wrote the most complete portolan of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, the Kitab-i Bahriye, few passages of which we are going to look at more carefully.
12
These accomplishments make him one of the world's outstanding cartographers. It is time to recognize yet another cartographic achievement of Pr Reis. In the second version of 1526 his great Kitab-i Bahriye (A Book on Maritime Matters), there are more than two hundred large-scale maps. To help get the attention of his sultan, Suleyman the Magnificent (ruled 152066), Pr Reis made the maps beautiful.
13
More importantly for us today, he included information about
historical and personal events. Most importantly and the main purpose of the book, however, was the large number of directions he wrote about safely getting around the Aegean, Adriatic, and Mediterranean seas. The text is as practical and rooted in reality as possible. The details are emphasized. During the previous two centuries maps or "portolan charts," had been made to help sailors cross the open seas of the Mediterranean, Aegean, Black seas, and even to navigate the east coast of the Atlantic. Most sailors, however, continued to use the safer routes along coasts and around islands. Pr Reis wrote to help those sailors, both naval and
8 In the Ptolemaic terms given by Lloyd A. Brown, Pr Reis was a geographer, a cartographer, and a chorographer. "Chorography does not require mathematics, according to Ptolemy... but it does need an artist." The Story of Maps (Boston, 1950), 61. 9 Specifically, twenty maps and world maps - "[the latter] are maps made at the time of Iskender Zulkarneyn [probably Alexander the Great, though there is also a supposed Muslim prophet with that name]; they show the inhabited part of the world, and the Arabs call them cafariyes, -eight such ca'fariyes, one Arab map of India, four maps recently made by the Portuguese that show Pakistan, India, and China drawn by means of mathematical projection, as well as a map of the Western Parts drawn by Columbus." Translation by Soucek, "Islamic Cartography," op. cit., p. 270. It is not clear whether Pr Reis meant a total of twenty maps or twenty maps plus world maps. Gregory C. McIntosh indicates that Pr Reis believed that Iskender Zulkarneyn (Dhu'l Karneyn) was Ptolemy. The Pr Reis Map 0/1513 (Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2000), p. 17. In his Kitab-i Bahriye, f. 136b, p. 593, Pr Reis mentions the name writing about the island of Istindin (Tenos) and more clearly is referring to a time long past, possibly even before the time of Alexander the Great. Kitab-i Bahriye, f. 136b, p. 593 10 Gregory C. Mclntosh, "A Tale of Two Admirals: Columbus and the Pr Reis Map of 1513," Mercator's World, vol. 5 #3, 18-23; and The Pr Reis Map 0/1513, op. cit., which has a large bibliography. 11 J. M. Rogers, op. cit., p. 231. 12 "[U]ntil the Kitab came on the scene no marine document described the entire range of coast, ports, and islands of the Mediterranean in such detail." Michelle Mollat du Jourdin and Monique de La Ronciere, etc., op. cit., p. 223. 13 Later copies emphasize this to the extent that they are no longer guides so much as miniatures in which the colour is magnificent but details are left out. They would in any case be too expensive to take out to sea. Examples are the seventeenth-century copies in the University of Istanbul, the Ataturk Library in Istanbul, the Naval Museum in Istanbul, the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore.
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commercial.
14
In the Kitab-i Bahriye he did not explain how to navigate the open seas across the
15
Mediterranean or even from island to island, nor did he consider the Black Sea, a sea that he did not know.
He tried to help the sailors in what they actually did in the Mediterranean and the Aegean, that is, sailing short distances around an island or a few miles along the coast, surviving the difficulties of winds, currents, soundings, climate, and finding water to drink.
16
As he explained in his introduction, maps of large areas (by

17
which he meant here the portolan charts) cannot provide the details that are necessary near the coasts.
Only through his extensive text, with supplementary information on the detail maps, was this possible. In his efforts to assist the sailor by providing even more information he developed his innovation of linking the maps directly to the text. While today we are captured by the maps, both by their beauty and because they are easier to comprehend than the Ottoman text, they are actually both an aid to understanding the text and a supplement to the text, the result being something no one had done before.
18
My first example is from the very first section of directions and its accompanying map, the one dealing with the area of Canakkale, where the Dardanelles enters the Aegean. Pr Reis writes:
20 19
It is not possible for large merchantmen [bargas] harbours near the fort.
21
to drop anchor on the European side (Rumeli) because
of its currents and because it is deep. It is only for small boats. But on the Asian (Anadolu) side are wide
On the map he indicated where to moor on both the European side and the Asian side, illustrating with drawings where the smaller and the larger ships moor. He then added to the map among other things an indication of where to get water (an extraordinarily vital aspect of sailing up until recently), by showing the streams and by writing the word "Cesme," that is, "a source of water." To the south, to the Aegean island of Chios (Sakiz) near Izmir, Pr Reis wrote:
22
(Figure1).
14
There is a study in Greek that argues that Pr Reis prepared the Kitab-i Bahriye as a manual for Ottoman naval invasions. It stimulated the four-volume publication on the Kitab-i Bahriye. Maria Pharantou, Kataktetike nausiploia sto Aigaio (Athens, c. 1990). Most of his ship terminology is commercial rather than military, though the corsairs in their galleys would have found the work useful. One value of her book is the great deal of material about the culture on the Aegean islands during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. 15 In some manuscript copies of the Kitab-i Bahriye there are small-scale maps of the Aegean, Mediterranean, and Black seas, and also of the world. In a few cases there are a number of segmental maps of the Black Sea coast. Pr Reis did not make any of these. They were added to the manuscripts after his death. See my "Supplemental Maps in the Kitab-i Bahriye of Pr Reis," Archivum Ottomanicum 13 (1993-94), 117-142. 16 An excellent short book that considers these nautical problems and more is John H. Pryor, Geography, Technology, and War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988). 17 Kitab-i Bahriye, 2b, p. 41. 18 It is possible that Pr Reis learned the idea from a Portuguese rutter, but no such e evidence exists. 19 See Figure 2. The examples that I use all come from a manuscript produced almost thirty years after Pr Reis completed the revised book, with the likelihood of some copiers' errors: Ayasofya 2612 (982/1574). The map is on f. 47a, p. 218. 20 Kitab-i Bahriye, f. 43b, p. 205. 21 See the essay by Svat Soucek, "Galleys and Galleons," Pr Reis & Turkish Mapmaking after Columbus, op. cit, 13-20; or his "Certain Types of Ships in Ottoman-Turkish Terminology," Turcica 7 (1975), 233-49. 22 Kitab-i Bahriye, f.86a, p. 370.
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Before the fort or town is an artificial harbour...to permit very large carracks [karakalar] to moor, they sank a cofferdam (or caisson).... Ships entering this harbour do so from the north.... A creek flows here ...among the pine trees and on southerly days it is possible to take on water.
Figure 1. Chios (Sakiz) island map, Kitab-i Bahriye, Suleymaniye Library, Ayasofya, 2612.
Depicted on the accompanying map
23
is the harbour with a breakwater forming the artificial harbour and a
large ship moored to the caisson, plus some other details not mentioned in the text I do not believe such a wedding of detailed text and map exists in any previous writings or until publication of L. J. Waghenaer' book fifty years later.
24
The map clearly indicates details of his verbal directions and also adds additional
information of place-names and watering spots. To show a passage that adds some personal and historical elements, here is a passage dealing with a small aspect of the Gulf of Corinth or Inebaht.
25
There is a harbour in this gulf called Asipre (Ispitiye) .... This harbor is where we [emphasis added; notice the first person] wintered our warships.... This is a fine haven, safe against all winds. During the conquest of the Gulf of Corinth (Inebaht) our victorious troops dug wells for their drinking water.... Of all these wells, the water of the one dug by the late Kemal Reis [uncle of Pr Reis] is the sweetest.
23 24
See Figure 3. Kitab-i Bahriye, f. 83a, p. 359. A topic for investigation would be whether anyone produced a marriage of text and map after the Kitab-i Bahriye and before Waghenaer's book. 25 Kitab-i Bahriye, f. 185b. p. 788.
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On
the
map
the
26
harbour
of
Aspire
is
indicated
along
with
the
spot
of
the well dug by Kemal Reis.
We could slowly go from map to map, but I encourage you to look at the facsimile edition of 1988 for yourselves to see what Pr Reis achieved in so many ways in over two hundred chapters and maps. There is much yet to be learned both from and about the Kitab-i Bahriye. It is possible, of course, that Pr Reis wrote only in the introduction how important the maps are as additions to the text, but did not actually directly link the maps and the text. But there are passages when his intension is clear. Here is a brief passage, for example, about a small island, the island of Kerpe, off the southern coast of Asia Minor.
27
If desired, places to get water on the island that is drawn are marked. They are marked on the supplemental [map]. (Murad olicak cezire-i mezburun seklinde ol kazilan yirlerun alameti kayd olunmusdur. Seklinde malum olunur.)
28
Another example is in the Adriatic Sea near the island of Corfu:
In short, across from Corfu on the shore of Rumeli there are all sorts of harbors. Whoever wishes, let him look at the maps, where each one is drawn. (Velhasil Korfuz Adasinun karsusunda, yani Rumeli kenarinda enva' durlu liman cokdur. Her birini murad olacak eskaline nazar oluna, ki her birini mesturdur.) So far I have found ten examples of Pr Reis telling the reader to look at the accompanying map, sometimes to see what he has written and at times to see additional information. Pr Reis meant for his text and his maps to go together: The poetic introduction to the Kitab-i Bahriye, probably by Muradi, has three sections that considers maps, their creation, and their uses. In these passages the word for maps is "harita." where it is once again harita."
29
In the main body of
the book the word is "sekil," its plural "eskal," and "resim," with the single exception found on folio 339b,
Zira bu zikr olan kaziyyeler harta icinde kayd olunmaga kabil ve muyesser deguldur.
(The matters mentioned here cannot be explained by what is on a map.) (f. 2/b; p. 41)
2 Amma bu fakir bir tarik uzerine asan eyledum ki bu fennun ehli olan kimesnelerden mezbur yirleri gormedin ve bilmedin bu kitabda yazilanin amele geturmegile be- inayetullah her isleri asan olup kilavuza ihtiyaclan kalmaz.
(But this unworthy one has made it easy this way so that those who know this skill by using what is in this book, with the grace of God, without seeing or knowing the places mentioned, will have no need of guides, i.e., pilots.) (f. 3a-3/b; pp. 43-45-)
26 27
Kitab-i Bahriye, f. 186b. p. 792. Kitab-i Bahriye, f. 98a, p. 418; the accompanying map is on f. 98b, p. 420. 28 Kitab-i Bahriye, f. 169a, p. 722. 29 Kitab-i Bahriye, ff. 12/a - 15/b, pp. 79-93.
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Figure 2. Canakkale area map, Ayasofya Kitab-i Bahriye, Suleymaniye Library, Ayasofya, 2612.
3 Ve eger mezkur adalarda icmege su murad olunursa, her birinde bulunur. Hin-i amelde eskaline nazar oluna.
(And if one desires water to drink on these islands, it exists on each of them. Just look at the maps where they are marked.) (f. 80b; p. 349)
Hin-i amelde eskale nazr oluna kim, her husunu ma' lum ola.
(When doing so look at the maps so that the matter may be known.) (f. 8ib; p. 353)
Murad olucak sekline nazar oluna....(When necessary look at the map.) (f. 100a; p. 427)
6 Bu zikr olan limandan ma'da mezkur korfezde cok liman var. Amma murad olicak eskaline nazar oluna.
(Besides the mentioned harbor there are many harbors in the gulf. But let those who wish look at the maps.) (f. 114b; p. 507) 7
Velhasil Korfuz Adasinun karsusinda, yani Rumeli kenarinda enva durlu liman cokdur. Her birini murad olicak eskaline nazar oluna, ki her birini masturdur.
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(In short, across from Corfu on the Rumelian shore there are all sorts of harbors. Whoever wants can look at the map, where each one is written.) (f. 168b; p. 721)
Figure 3. Sicily Island, Kitab-i Bahriye, Suleymaniye Library, Ayasofya, 2612.
8 Imdi mezkur Cicilye Adasi bir buyuk adadir. Ol adanun cem'i alyyimin kenr be-kenr resm idecek olursuz, mezkur ada degme kgidlar sigmaz.
(Now the said island of Sicily is a big island. If we were to map all the landmarks along its coast, there would not be enough paper to depict the island.) (f. 244a; p. 1043) (Figure 3). 9
0l sebebdendur ki, hartalarda Mutu-Barka cnibinde bir nev'a alem yazduklar...beyan eyleduk.
(For that reason we have noted on the maps that in the area of Mutu-Barka they make a sort of signal.) (f. 339b; p. 1441)
30
10 oldu.
Imdi mezkur Nil irmagin Misr'a gederken, pulula ile, makam ber-makam yazardim. Isbu eskl hsil
(Thus, while going to Egypt [Cairo] on the River Nile I took compass readings stage by stage. The maps resulted.) (f. 355b; p. 1503) (Figure 4).
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Pr Reis did not create the perspective or form for either of the world maps or the method for the detailed maps for the Kitab-i Bahriye, nor did he create all the information in the book from his own experiences. The forms he had learned from portolan charts such as those he used for his map of 1513, probably Portuguese, and for the Kitab-i Bahriye from the isolarios developed by the Italians, and possibly from a rutter or two, also probably Portuguese.
31
What he did in compiling the Kitab-i Bahriye was to put his own
extensive personal knowledge to use and expand upon the portolans, the isolarios, and the rutters. His portolan goes all around the Aegean, the Adriatic, and the Mediterranean and, in the second version, up the Nile to Cairo. (To go inland in a portolan at all was itself a novelty.
32
) In addition to the extensive text his
maps give a great deal of information not only depicting what the text indicates but also adding to it. While the maps such as the island of Andire (Andros, Kastro) and of others in the Aegean Sea clearly are copies of the earlier maps by Bartolemeo da li Sonetti, text and on his maps as well. I have tried to find examples of texts and maps earlier than 1520 that do what Pr Reis did and have been unsuccessful.
34 33
Pr Reis gave a great deal more information in his
Besides the library searches of studies of old maps and examples of old maps and portolans I
have asked experts in the field and posed the question on the web site that deals with old maps MAPHIST, which goes to hundreds of people interested in old maps. No one has yet suggested maps or cartographers that either indicated so much information on a map for sailors or that so wedded the text and the maps together. My final example is a passage that once again deals with an area south of Izmir, in this case, on the bay and mainland east of Chios:
35
30 This explanation for the appearance of tents in this area is a contrast to the decorations of tents on the portolan chart called the "Catalan World Map" of about 1450 and the later (1563) map by G. de Maggiolo. 31 Svat Soucek, "Pr Reis basically contented himself with following the general pattern of Portolan charts of the time, his main contribution being to enlarge them so as to give a better visualization of the broad features of what he was describing in the text," "Tunisia in the Kitab-i Bahriye by Pr Reis," op. cit, p. 138. On isolarios see P. D. A Harvey, "Local and Regional Cartography in Medieval Europe," History of Cartography I , pp. 482484; F-X Leduc, "Les insulaires [isolaru)," Couleurs de la Terre, edited by Monique Pelletier (Paris: Bibliotheque nationale de France, 1998), 56-61. Books of sailing directions had existed for over a century, whether the portolano (Italian), roteiro (Portuguese), leeskaart (Dutch), derrota (Spanish), Seebuch (German), routier (French), or rutter (English). It is possible that Pr Reis had seen one of these books, such as that by Pierre Garcie, and extended the ideas in the book in the Kitab-i Bahriye. (See D. W. Waters, The Rutters of the Sea: the sailing directions of Pierre Garcie, 1967. The materials used by Waters are now at Yale University.) 32 Soucek has an essay on the map of Cairo in his in Pr Reis and Turkish Mapmaking after Columbus, pp. 149-159. 33 The maps of Almagro and others by Pr Reis are clearly derived from the printed book by Bartolomeo da li Sonetti (also Bartolemeo Turco), Isolario (1485). In her article on his predecessor, Christopher Buondelmonte, Hilary Louise Turner writes on page 17: "The maps therefore ... do not present information contained in the text, either by the common device of written explanation or in symbols, of which very sparing use is made." "Christopher Buondelmonti and the Isolario," Terrse Incognitas, 19 (1987), pp. 11-28. An interesting map that was clearly copied from the Isolario of 1485 for the first version of the Kitab-i Bahriye is that of Istanpuliye or Caloiero. Both the text and the map were removed for the second version. See Soucek, Pr Reis, 122-23 and W. Sydney Allen, "Kaloyeros:* an Atlantis in microcosm," Imago Mundi, 29 (1977), 55-71. A colored copy of the Bartolomeo map is in the* chapter by Leduc, "Les insulaires (isolari)," op. cit. p. 14. A reproduction of the map in the late 16th-century copy of the first version is given in Claus-Peter Haase, "An early version of Pr Reis' naval charts," Scribes et manuscrits du Moyen Orient (1997), 272. 34 Works that I checked for examples: Herbert Ewe, Schone Schiffe aufdem alten Karten, Leipzig: Delius, Klasing & Co., 1978; Arvid Gottlicher, Die Schiffe im Alten Testament (Berlin, i992);Michael Leek, The Art of Nautical Illustration, London: Studio Vista, 1991; John Goss, Mapmakers' Art, London: Studio Editions, 1993; Gendre, F., "A propos des portulans: L'Art dans la Cartographie," Societe de Geographic du Maroc 3 (1937), 195-203. 35 See Figure 1. Kitab-i Bahriye, f. 82a, p. 354.
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If there is a desire for drinking water on these islands, it is found on all of them ... look at the map, [emphasis added] for the wells are marked on them.... Kara Ada is an uninhabited and ruined place...On the southern side; however, there is a cove.... Should one need drinking water, there is a fig tree at this cove and at its base there is a large well.... In sailing from Kara Ada to Toprak Adasi it is a mistake to sail directly because of a large rock in the way.... You should place this rock to your east. Proceed south on the western side of this rock. Cesme Harbor is a fine shelter for every type of ship.... A mile out to sea there are two lines of shoals. Attention must be paid to the map. [Emphasis added.] Pr Reis was an extraordinarily able cartographer, somehow absorbing two types of mapmaking created in the western Mediterranean and making them his own to the extent that he was able to improve upon them. It would be nice to say that he began a school of Ottoman cartography, but I do not know anyone anywhere who followed his path. His world maps were buried in the palace, and the portolan that he made for mariners, even though copied many times, like Gilbert and Sullivan admirals, seems never to have gone to sea.
36
It was not revised with the knowledge that later sailors acquired either in his text or in his maps.
38
37
This
lack of change in Ottoman mapmaking has a significance that we cannot explore here.
In general
historians do not function well in the absence of evidence. One reason for this absence may be that Pr was an Ottoman who as a cartographer was thoroughly westernized, and his maps were too different from the cartography of the Ottoman and Islamic World, therefore difficult to understand. The Western cartographers, on the other hand, never saw his work and so did not learn from his innovative coupling of text and maps.
Figure 4. Cairo map, Kitab-i Bahriye, Istanbul University Library, T 6605.

The book may have been not only too expensive but also simply too large. Other portolans and rutters are much smaller. The one exception is the Kiel manuscript, which seems to have gone to sea in some capacity, as there are notes and a little water damage. See Haase, op. cit., 266-79. 37 Some additional maps, often outdated, were added to some copies. See my "Supplemental Maps," op. cit. The Kiel manuscript has some notes that may be corrections. I have not seen this recently identified manuscript. 38 For two of many ideas about the issue see: Svat Soucek, "Pr Reis and Ottoman Discovery of the Great Discoveries, Studia Islamica 79
36
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Now in the 21st century, almost five hundred years after Pr Reis completed his magnum opus; we can recognize the novelty of what Pr Reis created in the Kitab-i Bahriye. By merging text and maps into one he tried to help sailors get where they want to go safely; he improved maritime directions. The Ottoman Turk Pr Reis is truly a great figure in the history of cartography.
REFERENCES
Ajami, Adonis in Fouad, The Dream Palace of the Arabs (1998), 114-16. Allen, P hillip, Mapmaker's Art: Five Centuries of Charting the World (2000). Buondelmonte, Christopher, Hilary Louise Turner, "Christopher Buondelmonti and the Isolario," Terrse
Incognitas, 19 (1987), pp. 11-28.

Campbell, Tony. "Portolan Charts from the Late Thirteenth Century to 1500," in The History of Cartography, volume one, Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean, edited by J. B. Harley and David Woodward (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987) pp. 371-463. D. W. Waters, The Rutters of the Sea: the sailing directions of Pierre Garcie, 1967. Gendre, F., "A propos des portulans: L'Art dans la Cartographie," Societe de Geographic du Maroc 3 (1937), 195203. Goodrich, Thomas D., "Supplemental Maps in the Kitab-i Bahriye of Pr Reis," Archivum Ottomanicum 13 (1993-94), 117-142. Gottlicher, Arvid, Die Schiffe im Alten Testament (Berlin, i992). Haase, Claus-Peter, "An early version of Pr Reis' naval charts," Scribes et manuscrits du Moyen Orient (1997), 272. Harvey, P. D. A, "Local and Regional Cartography in Medieval Europe," History of Cartography I , pp. 482484. Herbert Ewe, Schone Schiffe aufdem alten Karten, Leipzig: Delius, Klasing & Co., 1978. John Goss, Mapmakers' Art, London: Studio Editions, 1993.
Kitab-i Bahriye. Maria Pharantou, Kataktetike nausiploia sto Aigaio (Athens, c. 1990).
Leduc, F-X, "Les insulaires [isolaru)," Couleurs de la Terre, edited by Monique Pelletier (Paris: Bibliotheque nationale de France, 1998), 56-61.
(1994), 121-142; and the presentation of the views of Adonis in Fouad Ajami, The Dream Palace of the Arabs (1998), 114-16.
Publication ID: 638

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Loupis, Dimitris, Pr Reis: Ottoman Cartography and the Aegean Lake (in Greek), (2000). Mcintosh, Gregory C., "A Tale of Two Admirals: Columbus and the Pr Reis Map of 1513," Mercator's World, vol. 5 #3, 18-23. Michael Leek, The Art of Nautical Illustration, London: Studio Vista, 1991. Mollat Du Jourdin, Michel, and Monique de La Ronciere. Sea Charts of the Early Explorers: 13 th to 17th Century. Translated by L. Le R. Dethan (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1984). Ozen, M. E., Pr Reis and His Charts (Istanbul, 1998), 20-22; almost as complete with additional information is in Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies, pp. 290-292. Pr Reis, Kitab-i Bahriye. Edited by Ertugrul Zekai Okte, translators: Vahit Cabuk, Tulay Duran, and Robert Bragner, The Historical Research Foundation - Istanbul Research Centre (Ankara: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Turkish Republic, 1988). Pryor, John H., Geography, Technology, and War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988). Rogers, J. M., "Itineraries and Town Views in Ottoman Histories," 228-256, especially 231-35; and Svat Soucek, "A propos du livre destructions nautiques de Pr Reis," Revue des Etudes Islamiques 41 (1973), 241255. Soucek, Svat, "Galleys and Galleons," Pr Reis & Turkish Mapmaking after Columbus, op. cit, 13-20. Soucek, Svat, "Tunisia in the Kitab-i Bahriye by Pr Reis," Archivum Ottomanicum 5 (1973 [1976]), 129-296. Soucek, Svat, Kitab-i Bahriye, in "Islamic Charting in the Mediterranean," Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies, History of Cartography II/i, edited by J. B. Harley and David Woodward (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1987), 279-84, and in his Pr Reis & Turkish Mapmaking after Columbus (London: Nour Foundation, 1992), 84-101. Soucek, Svat,"Certain Types of Ships in Ottoman-Turkish Terminology," Turcica 7 (1975), 233-49. Svat Soucek, "Pr Reis and Ottoman Discovery of the Great Discoveries, Studia Islamica 79 (1994), 121-142. Whitfield, Peter. The Charting of the Oceans: Ten Centuries of Maritime Maps (Rohnert Park: Pomegranate Art books, 1996).
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Al-Zahrw (Albucasis) the Great Andalusian Surgeon
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Al-Zahrw (Albucasis) the Great Andalusian Surgeon April, 2007
AL-ZAHR W (ALBUCASIS) THE GREAT ANDALUSIAN SURGEON
"Without doubt Albucasis was the chief of all surgeons"

Pietro Argallata

Keywords: Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn 'Abbas al-Zahrawi, Zahrawi, Zahraoui, Albucasis, Islamic medicine, history of medicine, surgery, instruments of surgery, At-Tasrif, al-Tasrif.
Ab al-Qsim Khalaf ibn 'Abbs al-Zahrw (936-1013 CE), known to the West by his Latin name Albucasis, was born in al-Zahr', six miles northwest of Cordoba in Andalusia. He was simply the greatest Muslim surgeon. The European physicians and surgeons regarded him as a greater authority than even Galen, the ancient world's acknowledged master. It is clear from Al-Zahrw 's life history and from his writings that he devoted his entire life and genius to the advancement of medicine as a whole and surgery in particular. What is known about al-Zahrw is contained in his only written work: At-Tasr f liman 'ajiza 'an at-ta'lf (The Method of Medicine). At-Tasr f is a medical encyclopaedia compendium of 30 volumes compiled from medical data that al-Zahrw accumulated in a medical career that spanned five decades of teaching and medical practice. He apparently travelled very little but had wide experience in treating accident victims and war casualties.
* Consultant Plastic Surgeon, MD, MS, Plast Cert (RCS), DM, MA (Med Law). Consultant Plastic, Reconstructive & Hand Surgeon England. Founder and executive member of the International Society for History of Islamic Medicine (ISHIM): http://www.ishim.net.
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Figure 1. Manuscript of alal-Zahrw (Maghrib, 16th century). Source: http://www.bium.univparis5.fr/aspad/expo51.htm The last and largest volume of At-Tasrf named "On Surgery" was nothing less than the greatest achievement of medieval surgery. It was the first independent surgical treatise ever written in detail. It included many pictures of surgical instruments, most invented by al-Zahrw himself, and explanations of their use. Al-Zahrw was the first medical author to provide illustrations of instruments used in surgery. His treatise of surgery contains approximately 200 such drawings ranging from a tongue depressor and a tooth extractor to a catheter and an elaborate obstetric device. The variety of operations covered is amazing. Al-Zahrw discussed bloodletting, midwifery and obstetrics, the treatment of wounds, the extraction of arrows and the setting of bones in simple and compound fractures. He also promoted the use of antiseptics in wounds and skin injuries, and devised sutures from animal intestines, silk, wool and other substances. He described the exposure and division of the temporal artery to relieve certain types of headaches, diversion of urine into the rectum, reduction mammoplasty for excessively large breasts, dental surgery, and the extraction of cataracts. He wrote extensively about injuries to bones and joints, even mentioning fractures of the nasal bones and of the vertebrae, in fact 'Kocher's method' for reducing a dislocated shoulder was described in At-Tasr f long before Kocher was born.
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Al-Zahrw outlined the use of caustics in surgery, fully described tonsillectomy, tracheotomy and craniotomy operations, which he had performed on a dead foetus. He explained how to use a hook to extract a polyp from the nose, how to use a bulb syringe he had invented for giving enemas to children and how to use a metallic bladder syringe and speculum to extract bladder stones.
Figure 2. Latin translation of al Zahr w 's book. Source: http://www.konyvtar.elte.hu/kincseink/kezirat/kepek/n07.jpg Al-Zahrw was the first to describe the so-called "Walcher position" in obstetrics; the first to depict dental arches, tongue depressors and lead catheters and the first to describe clearly the hereditary circumstances surrounding haemophilia. He also described ligaturing of blood vessels long before Ambroise Par (ca 15101590). Al-Zahrw also had priority in detailing the classic operation for cancer of the breast, lithotrities for bladder stones, and techniques for removing thyroid cysts. Besides all these achievements, al-Zahr w was considered one of the early leading plastic surgeon as he performed many plastic surgery procedures. In the 11th chapter of volume 30 of his book, he put many principles in that surgical field. He used ink to mark the incisions in his patients preoperatively which became now as a routine standard procedure. In chapter 26, he explained the differences between primary and secondary wound closure and also the importance of wound debridement before closure. In chapter 47, he described the surgical options to treat Gynecomastia as he recommended removal of the glandular tissue by a C-shaped incision. For large breasts with excess skin that cannot be corrected with glandular excision alone, he recommended to make two incisions so that the edges join each other, then
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remove the skin and glandular tissue in between and suture the edges of the defect. This technique is still considered for such a condition nowadays. Al-Zahrw had a special interest in eyelid surgery. He gave sensible suggestions on the use of fine instruments, of which he had a wide variety. He described surgical management of different pathologies such as entropion, ectropion, trichiasis and symblepharon. In the treatment of entropion, al-Zahr w advised eversion of the eyelid with fingers or with a traction suture. An incision under the eyelashes from medial to lateral is then carried out so that the skin is separated from the lid margin. A leaf-shaped piece of eyelid skin is excised, and lash eversion is achieved as the defect is sutured primarily. He also classified ectropion as congenital and acquired; he advised eversion and resection of a base-down triangular segment from the inner layers for lower lid laxity to treat to cases of eye ectropion. His book At-Tasrf is also the first work in diagramming surgical instruments, detailing over two hundred of them, many of which al-Zahrw devised himself. Many of these instruments, with modifications, are still in use today. Once At-Tasrf was translated into Latin in the 12th century, al-Zahrw had a tremendous influence on surgery in the West. The French surgeon Guy de Chauliac in his Great Surgery, completed in about 1363, quoted At-Tasrf over 200 times. With the reawakening of European interest in medical science, al-Zahrw's treatise quickly became a standard reference and was translated into Latin five times. The arrangement of the work, its clear diction, and its lucid explanations all contributed to its popularity and great success. AlZahrw was described by Pietro Argallata (died 1423) as "without doubt the chief of all surgeons". Jaques Delechamps (1513-1588), another French surgeon, made extensive use of At-Tasrf in his elaborate commentary, confirming the great prestige of al-Zahrw throughout the Middle Ages and up to the Renaissance.
References
1. Abu al-Qasim Khalaf Ibn Abbas al-Zahrawi, Albucasis, On Surgery and Instruments. English translation and commentary by M.S. Spink and G.L. Lewis, London: Wellcome Institute of the History of Medicine, 1973. 2. Hamarneh, S.K., in The Genius of Arab Civilisation, edited by J.R. Hayes; 2nd edition. London: Eurabia Publishing, 1983, pp. 198-200. 3. Kaf al-Ghazal, Sharif, "Al-Zahrawi and Plastic Surgery". Arab Medical Journal 2(12): 2002, pp. 16-18 (in Arabic). 4. Monzur, Ahmed, "El Zahrawi (Albucasis) - Father of Surgery" History: Islamic Scholars (10/02/2001): http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/el_zahrawi/ 5. Tschanz, David, "Az-Zahrawi: The Great Surgeon" (23/04/2001):
http://www.islamonline.net/english/Science/2001/04/article5.shtml
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The Origin of Bimaristans (Hospitals) in Islamic Medical History
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The Origin of Bimaristans (Hospitals) in Islamic Medical History April, 2007
THE ORIGIN OF BIMARISTANS (HOSPITALS) IN ISLAMIC MEDICAL HISTORY

Keywords: Islamic medical history, history of hospital, bimaristan, Bimaristan al-adhudi, Baghdad, Bimaristan al-Nuri, Damascus, Bimaristan al-Mansuri, Cairo, Mental Disease Bimaristan, Leprosy Bimaristan, Road Bimaristan, Prison Bimaristan, Mobile Bimaristan.
The word Bimaristan which is of Persian origin has the same meaning as hospital, as Bimar in Persian means disease and stan is location or place, i.e. location or place of disease.1 Although it was known that the Prophet Muhammad was the first to order the establishment of small mobile military Bimaristan, and Rufaydah was the first female nurse to look after wounded Muslim followers in her mobile military tent2, Noushirawy 3 in his new book on Islamic Bimaristans in the Middle Ages mentioned that the first proper Bimaristan in Islam was built in Damascus by al-Wald bin Abd el-Malik in 86 Hijri (707 CE). The aim of its building was treating patients and the care of affected chronic patients (as lepers and blind people, etc.) The leprosy patients were treated freely and given money. There was more than one physician in the Bimaristan. It is obvious that Noushirawy adopted what was mentioned in al-Kmel f 'ltrkh of Ibn al-Athr 4 on this point specifically.
1. The Bimaristan system

The people who are interested in establishing any institution must set an administrative or technical system to be followed. Of course the physicians in the Islamic world put in mind to follow a precise system inside the hospitals so that it would be based upon academic graduation which fulfills two aims: First, the welfare of the patients to be dealt with their treatment according to the updated rules of medical treatment. Second, Bimaristans used for teaching medicine to the newly graduated physicians responsible to treat patients successfully. Therefore the Bimaristans in the Islamic world followed all the technical rules that fulfilled the two purposes together. 5,6,7,8
Consultant Plastic Surgeon England MD, MS, Plast Cert (RCS), DM, MA (Med Law). Consultant Plastic, Reconstructive & Hand Surgeon England. Founder and executive member of the International Society for History of Islamic Medicine (ISHIM): http://www.ishim.net.
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Figure 1. Madrasa (school) and Maristan (hospital) of Sultan Qalawn in Cairo, Egypt. Source: http://www.nmhschool.org/tthornton/mehistorydatabase/fatimid_mamluk_architecture_cairo.htm Concerning the technical choice of a bimaristanic site, they used to choose the best location with regard to the health conditions. They preferred to build the Bimaristans over hills or by rivers. Al-Adhud's Bimaristan is a good example of this; it was built by Adhud al-Dawla9 in Baghdad by the River Dejlah (Tigris) and the water of the river flowed through its courtyard and halls and returned to pour into Dejlah. Har n Al-Rashd asked al-Rz to build the first general hospital, so al-Rz selected the place after putting few pieces of meat in different places in Baghdad to check the least spoiled one with the best fresh air. Concerning organization, it was natural that the physicians comprehended the necessity of separating men and women: therefore they took into consideration as much as possible to divide the Bimaristan into two sections, one for men and the other for women. Each section was independent, each having large halls for the patients. Concerning the administrative organization of the Bimaristan, it was as follows: each section contained a hall for each type of disease, while each hall had one physician or more and each group of doctors in a section had a chief doctor. The halls were specialized: a hall for internal diseases, another for splinted
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patients (trauma and fractures), and another one for delivery, a special hall for each type of disease including communicable diseases. Ibn Ab Usaybi'a described in his book 'Uyn al-anb' fi tabaqt al-atibb' the halls of internal medicine which frequently included a section for the patients affected by fever and another one for patients having mania. All sections of the Bimaristan were equipped with all the medical instruments and apparatuses necessary for the physician. Ibn Ab Usaybi'a tells us10 that 'Adhud al Dawla set a test for a hundred physicians, when he decided to build the Adhud Bimaristan on the Western side of Baghdad, and he chose twenty four physicians out of the hundred to work in the Bimaristan. The chief of all physicians in the hospital was called Al-Sar . The administrative and medical system in the hospital was based upon using boys who worked as employees or health workers, assistants or dressers; some of them were servants and they cleaned the Bimaristan and cared after the patients when necessary. According to this order and system, the Bimaristan was performing its medical job from a diagnostic point of view, disease definition and prescription of treatment. Moreover, they understood the necessity of adjoining a pharmacy to the Bimaristan to give out the drugs, which were given according to the physician's prescription, and the pharmacy was called Al Sharabkhna. And as it is the case today, they used to inspect the Bimaristan. This was the responsibility of an employee assigned by the minister or the Caliph and given the authority to enter the hospital to be acquainted with the patients' status and the care offered to them, the food given to them and whether the boys were serving them or not, whether the physician is performing his duty perfectly or is he neglecting it. This system assured the stay and continuity of the Bimaristan in a serious way that allowed it to work with a high competence technically, scientifically and administratively. It is worth mentioning that each patient had his own card on which the physician recorded his observations while treating him or her. Also the physician had his own special register to record his observations on the diseases he was treating. The physician performed his experiments and tests according to his observations. If the physician faced any problem in any matter of diagnosis, he went to the head of his division or the chief physician. Frequently the physicians held meetings to discuss cases. Undoubtedly these discussions and consultations were considered as a small scientific conference of physicians. We do the same today! In 1248 the Al-Mansr hospital was built in Cairo (Egypt) as a large hospital (with 8000 beds) and many specialized wards (general medicine, surgery, fractures, fever, eye diseases) Al-Mansr hospital was provided a mosque for Muslim patients and a chapel for Christians. Admission was performed regardless of race, colour or religion. There was no limited time for in-patient treatment, and patients stayed till he/she was fully recovered (the sign of recovery was the ability to eat a full chicken). On discharge, the patient was given clothes and pocket money also. The same was done in Al-Nr Bimaristan in Damascus.
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Figure2. Al-Nr Hospital in Damascus, Syria. Source: http://www.thymos.com/monument/syria/syria412.jpg We notice that the historians of Arab medicine wrote special long pages on the medical personalities about whom discussions were held to set the work system in the hospital between the physicians. There were shifts for the doctors, some worked in the morning and others at night, some worked a certain time in the morning and another period at night, so that they cared for the patient. At the same time they could get enough rest to allow them to continue working in the Bimaristan, supervise the treatment system and medical care of the patients. Al-Maqrz mentioned in his Khitat (Plans)11 that the patients were registered at the admission in the
Bimaristan, their clothes were taken away and their money put in trust by the Bimaristan guardian. The
patients received clean clothes instead of those taken from them, and they were given drugs and food under the supervision of the physicians freely till they were cured. Ibn al-Ukhuwwa described in his book Ma'lim al-Qurba f Talab al-Hisba the entrance of the patient to the outpatient clinic to see the physician. He said in a very important text :
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"The physician asks the patient about the cause of his illness and the pain he feels. He prepares for the patient syrups and other drugs, then he writes a copy of the prescription to the parents attending with the patient. Next day he re-examines the patient and looks at the drugs and asks him if he feels better or not, he advises the patient according to his condition. This procedure is repeated on the third day and the fourth... till the patient is either cured or dies. If the patient is cured, the physician is paid. If the patient dies, his parents go to the chief doctor, they present the prescriptions written by the physician. If the chief doctor judges that the physician has performed his job perfectly without negligence, he tells the parents that the death was natural; if he judges otherwise, he tells them: take the blood money of your relative from the physician; he killed him by his bad performance and negligence. In this honorable way they were sure that medicine is practiced by experienced well trained persons." 12
2- Bimaristan Varieties according to Different Purposes

Each type of diseases might require a special Bimaristan for a group of patients. This can be noticed at least by specialization of Bimaristans for leprotics and mentally affected patients. a) Mental Disease Bimaristan Muslims realized the importance of the care for mentally affected patients. They frequently added to the big
Bimaristans special places isolated by iron bars, specially for patients with mental diseases13, to avoid the
aggression of these patients on the others. Muslim physicians knew that psychiatric and mental diseases required a special type of care and that the physician must be acquainted with the etiology of the disease from which the patient is suffering. It is worth mentioning that Ibn Ab Usaybi'a14 tells us in his book 'Uyn al-Anb' about some cases of this type of disease and how the skilled doctor Wahd al-Zamn could treat them. b) Leprosy Bimaristan This was built specially for patients with leprosy. At the start of our talk about Bimaristans we referred to what Noushirawy mentioned about al-Wald ibn Abd al-Malik saying that ''he was the first who was interested in establishing such types of Bimaristans''. According to Ibn al-Qifi15, the first who wrote a book on Leprosy was Yhana bin Msawayh. The cause of interest in such a disease arises from the Muslim's idea of isolating the patients who had communicable diseases from the rest of the society. We find the same behavior with the doctors of today towards such diseases.
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Figure 3. Northern faade of Marist n of Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh, in Cairo built in 1418-20 in the Mamluk period. Source: http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.tcl?site_id=2079 c) Road Bimaristan Arabs knew this type of Bimaristans and they realized its importance, because the pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy places or the commercial caravans that traveled for long distances required care for the travelers, such as treating wounded persons or saving a person asking for help. Ibn Kathr 16 pointed out in his book Al-Bidya wa 'l-nihya (The Beginning and the End) that road Bimaristans were conducted by a wise director who knew how to give treatment: The rich people, who had the ability to equip the caravans with medical missions supported those Bimaristans financially.
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Figure 4. Front view of Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh Hospital in Cairo, Egypt. Source: Abdelbaki Mohamed Ibrahim (ed.), "Bimaristn al-Mu'ayyad". In lam al-Bin'. Cairo: Center for Planning and Architectural Studies, n206(1998): pp. 32-33.
d) Prison Bimaristan The Muslims cared medically for the imprisoned the same way they did for people outside the prison. This is clear from the letter of 'ss ibn Al al-Garrh17, Minister of the Caliph al-Muqtadir, to Sinn bin Thbit (al-
Tabb Al-Natass) who was distinguished in Arab medicine and who embraced Islam at the hands of AlQhir. After 's ibn 'Al had visited the prisons, he found it was necessary to treat the patients and preserve their humanity; as a result, he sent his famous letter to Sinn in which he said:
''I thought of the imprisoned people and that they are exposed to diseases, due to their big number and their hard situation; they are incapable to deal with their excretions or to meet doctors to seek their advice about diseases. You have - May God grant you honor - to assign physicians to visit them daily and they should carry with them drugs and syrups and all they need to treat the patients and cure illnesses with God's will''.
Sinn followed this advice. Also according to what Ibn al-Qift mentioned, al Muqtadir asked Sinn bin Thabit to build a Bimaristan and give it his name, the Muqtadir Bimaristan. He ordered to build it at Bab AlSham and financed it with 200 dinars monthly. This was in 306 Hijri and Sinan ibn Thbit was assigned as chief doctor. When al-Muqtadir was told that one of his physicians had killed a man by mistake, he ordered Sinn to perform a test for the physicians. So, they were tested in Baghdad and their number became eight hundred physicians. e) The Mobile Bimaristan This type of Bimaristan visited villages, peripheries and cities caring for the health of people who lived away from the state capital and allowed the state services to reach anyone who needed treatment in the state.
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'Al ibn ' ss al-Garrh - al Muqtadir's minister - ordered the first state physician Sinn bin Thbit, in a written letter, to let doctors travel to the peripheries of the state. He said in his letter: '' I thought of people
who live in the peripheries and that among them are patients who do not receive any medical care because there are no doctors there. So, assign - May God prolong your life - some physicians to visit the peripheries; also a pharmacy containing drugs and syrups. They have to travel all through the peripheries and stay in each region enough time to perform treatment of patients, then they move to another one''.
It was the state's responsibility to care for the Bimaristans. The senior physicians were aware of establishing work rules and bases to teach the students who came to learn medicine from everywhere. Therefore, medicine schools were established in the Islamic world, in which teaching was performed by two methods: (1) The theoretical method in the medical schools, and (2) a practical method for training and practice where students gathered around the doctor in chief to see and examine the patients and the treatment he prescribed. When the students finished the studying period they applied for an exam, took an oath and got their certificates. When they started to practice medicine, they always worked under the state's supervision. This means of course that bimaristans were institutes for teaching medicine and to complete the study for junior doctors. 18 From a practical point of view, the professors prescribed the treatment for the patients, examined them in the presence of the students. They performed these instructions in an organized way and they did a follow up to the patients and hence they acquired the necessary practical experience for a medical student.
References
1. Ibn Ab Usaybi'a, 'Uyn al-anb' f tabaqt al-atibb', p. 45. 2. Isa, A., The History of Bimaristans in Islam, Damascus, 1939, p. 9. 3. Noushirawy, A.R., The Islamic Bimaristans in the Middle Ages, Arabic Translation by M. Kh. Badra, The Arab Legacy Bulletin, n 21, p. 202. 4. Ibn Al-Athr, Al-Kmel f al-Tr kh (The Perfect in History), Cairo, 1290 H, vol. 4, p. 219. 5. Ibn Joubayr, Rihlat Ibn Jubayr [The Journey of Ibn Jouber], Cairo, 1358 H. 6. Isa Bey, A., The History of the Bimaristans in Islam, pp. 20, 40. 7. Khayrallah, A., Outline of Arabic Contributions to Medicine and Allied Sciences, Beirut, 1946, pp. 63-68. 8. Noushirawy, A.R., The Islamic Bimaristan, p. 201. 9. Ibn Ab Usaybi'a, 'Uyn al-anb', p. 415. 10. Ibn Ab Usaibi'ah, 'Uyn al-Anb', p. 415. 11. Al-Maqrz, Kit b al-Maw'ez wa al-I'tibar, vol. 2, p. 405.
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12. Ibn al-Ukhuwwa, Ma' lim al-Qurba f Talab al-Hisba [The Features of relations in seeking al-Hisba], Cambridge, 1937, p. 167. 13. Noushirawy, A.R., The Islamic Bimaristans, p. 202. 14. Ibn Ab Usaybi'a, 'Uyn al-anb' , p. 337. 15. Ibn al-Qift, Trikh al-Hukam, p. 249. 16. Ibn Kathr, Al-Bidya wa al-Nihya (The beginning and the End), The Library of knowledge, Beirut, 1966, vol. 12, p. 188. 17. Ibn al-Qift, Trikh al-Hukam, p. 132. 18. Marhaba, A. R., The Course in the History of Arab Science, The Lebanese Publishing House, Beirut, 1970, p. 50
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The Influence of Islamic Philosophy and Ethics on the Development of Medicine in the Islamic Civilisation
FSTC Limited
The Influence of Islamic Philosophy and Ethics on the Development of Medicine in the Islamic Civilisation April, 2007
THE INFLUENCE OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY AND ETHICS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINE IN THE ISLAMIC CIVILISATION
Keywords: Islamic philosophy, Islamic medicine, medical ethics, medical ethics in Islam, Islamic physicians, al-Razi, Razes, Ibn Sina, Avicenna, al-Zahrawi, Albucasis, hospitals in Islam, oath of Muslim doctor.
Introduction
Although Islamic philosophy is of great diversity and richness, it is characterized by certain features that are of special significance for both an understanding of it and for an appraisal of its impact on the world at large. One must remember that this philosophy existed at a time in which strict obedience of the Islamic religion was customary. Islamic philosophy was also concerned with the basic issue of the harmony between human reasoning and the revelations provided to the Muslims in the holy Qur'an. As a result, all sorts of sciences were studied in order to determine that relation between the universe and the human being, on one hand, and the creature of that universe, Allah, on the other hand. The impact of Islamic philosophy on the scientific and medical activity in the lands of Islam was enormous. First and foremost, Islamic philosophy originates from a time when Islam had a great influence on everyday life. The mere fact that Islamic philosophy was able to operate in such a fundamentalist environment greatly effected the renaissance of intellectual activities, for it served as an example to the thinkers of that time how to present new, radical ideas without angering religious fundamentalists, who were the church at that time. Without Islam's example, the Renaissance thinkers may have presented their ideas in a much more provocative form, setting them back hundreds of years due to widespread hate, distrust and nonacceptance of what people would perceive to be overly radical ideas. Secondly, Islamic philosophy always leads to one main conclusion, that the power of Allah was supreme and that His words are the absolute Truth.
* Consultant Plastic Surgeon, MD, MS, Plast Cert (RCS), DM, MA (Med Law). Consultant Plastic, Reconstructive & Hand Surgeon England. Founder and executive member of the International Society for History of Islamic Medicine (ISHIM): http://www.ishim.net.
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Figure 1. Names and portraits of Greek physicians on the opening page of an Arabic medical manuscript written in the region of Mosul (Iraq) between 1220 and 1250. Medicine: Arab Roots of European Medicine" v4%20N2/9.htm). Thirdly, many of the ideas of the European Renaissance philosophy are based on ancient Greek, Persian and Indian texts, which the Muslims translated, as well as the philosophy of the Muslims themselves. The Muslims were responsible for creating the foundation for the "building" of philosophy that the Renaissance thinkers would later "construct." Finally, Islamic philosophy greatly encouraged science, particularly mathematics and medicine. Without philosophy's constant encouraging of scientific development, the large number of discoveries made by the Muslims may never have taken place. I will take Medicine as an example and I will highlight the reasons of such good success of those Muslims in the field of Medicine. As medical ethics is one of the hottest issues in medicine these days, and ethics can be described as a sub-branch of applied philosophy that seeks what are the right and the wrong, the good and the bad set of behaviours in a given circumstance, I will shed some light on the influence of Islamic medical ethics on the advancement of medicine during that Islamic Golden Age. So, what are the factors behind the success of the Muslim scientists and how Islamic philosophy encouraged them to be leaders in many branches of science, especially in the medical sciences? Source: David W. Tschanz, "History of (http://www.hmc.org.qa/hmc/heartviews/H-V-
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1. Islam and the Promotion of Science

As the Muslims challenged the civilized world at that time, they preserved the cultures of the conquered countries. On the other hand, when the Islamic Empire became weak, quite a lot of the Islamic contributions in art and science were destroyed. This was done by the Mongols who burnt Baghdad (1258 CE), and by the Spaniards in Spain. The teachings of Islam had played extensive roles in the promotion of science by: 1. Stressing the importance and respect of learning. For example, the first word revealed to Prophet Muhammad was "Read". In that time, a captured enemy was freed if he paid a ransom or taught ten Muslims writing and reading. In the Qur'an, the importance of knowledge has been repeatedly stressed. We read in it, for instance: "Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Are those who know equal with those who do not
know? (39-9). Prophet Muhammad stressed learning by saying: "One hour of teaching is better than a night of praying."
2. The general philosophy in Islamic medicine is that the Healer is Allah and the doctor is the instrument that Allah uses to heal the people. The doctor-patient relationship is stronger in Islam than it is in modern medicine as he has responsibilities which he will be asked about them by Allah on the Day of Judgment. The relationship now is medical/legal; the emphasis has become one that has slipped into more materialism. Because the relationship between doctor and patient has become one that is based more on money than before, the level of trust has been decimated between the doctor and his patients. 3. There was no censorship in Islam on scientific research, be it academic to reveal the signs of Allah in His creation, or applied aiming at the solution of a particular problem. Freedom of scientific research should not cause harm to any human being or even subject him to definite or probable harm, with holding his therapeutic needs, defrauding him or exploiting his material need. On the other hand, scientific research shall not entail cruelty to animals, or their torture. Suitable protocols should be laid upon for the non-cruel handling of experimental animals during experimentation.
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Figure 2. The On-line version of a brochure (by Emilie Savage-Smith, University of Oxford) that accompanied the exhibition in celebration of the 900th anniversary of the oldest Arabic medical manuscript in the Collections of the National Library of Medicine in 1994. Source: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/islamic_medical/islamic_00.html#toc 4. Islam provides a basis for the protection and safeguarding of the human body as well as the spirit and seeks to prevent any hindrance to either body or soul. The Qur'an says: "and whoever saves a life it would be as if he saved the life of all the people" (5-32). Perhaps there is no better way to implement this concept than in the area of saving lives by transplanting donated organs to replace failing vital ones. It is in this sense that the hadth of the Prophet states: "Whoever helps a brother in difficulty, God will help him
through his difficulties on the Day of Judgment."

5. Islam developed in Muslims the respect of authority and discipline. For example, realizing the scourges and terror of plague, the Prophet Muhammad decreed that "No man may enter or leave a town in which plague broke out." And to make this law all the more binding and effective, he promised the blessing of heaven to those who die of plague by stating that if a man died of plague he would be considered a martyr. 6. Islam tolerated other religions. The Islamic religion recognizes Christianity and Judaism and considers their followers to be people with holy books like Muslims. Moreover, they candidly treated the Jews at an era when the latter were persecuted in Europe. Dr. Jacob Minkin, a reputable Rabbi and scholar says: "It was Mohammadan Spain, the only land of freedom the Jews knew in nearly a thousand years of their dispersion. While during the Crusades, the armoured Knights of the Cross spread death and devastation in the Jewish communities of the countries through which they passed, Jews were safe under the sign of the Crescent." They were not only safe in life and possessions, but were given the opportunity to live their own
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lives and develop a culture. So, there were many Christian and Jewish physicians who contributed in the Islamic renaissance (e.g. Jibr'l Ibn Bakhtsh'e , Yhann Ibn Msawayh, Ishq Ibn Hunayn and Ishq Ibn Ms). They were part of that 'Golden Age'.
2. The Attitude and Contribution of the State

The Islamic empire in the early 8th century was the inheritor of the scientific tradition of late antiquity. It preserved it, elaborated it, and finally passed it to Europe. At this early date, the Umayyad dynasty showed an interest in science. It was the era of Dark Ages for Europe, but for the world of Islam the centuries from the 8th onwards were the time of intense philosophical and scientific discoveries and achievements. The Arab-Islamic civilisation at the time not only assimilated the ancient wisdom of Persia and the classical heritage of Greece, but adapted their own distinctive needs and ways of thinking. One of the early Umayyad princes, Khlid Ibn Yazd (end of the 7th century), gave up his treasure for the study of medicine and chemistry. It is reported that he studied medicine under John the Grammarian of Alexandria, and chemistry under Merrinos the Greek. He also encouraged several Greek and Coptic medical books to be translated into Arabic. During the 8th and 9th centuries, the Abbasid Caliphs encouraged the Christian and Muslim scholars to translate into Arabic the medical knowledge and built medical centres in Baghdad, the capital of their empire. With further expansion east, the Arabs through contacts with India and China, brought ideas and methods, not only in medicine, but also in mathematics, chemistry, philosophy, etc.
3. Characteristic Features of Hospitals in the Islamic Civilization

The Muslims developed what would become the world's first hospitals. They eventually constructed 34 of these hospitals throughout their empire. These hospitals had different wards for the treatment of various diseases, special quarters for the insane, outpatient departments for the treatment of minor injuries and dispensaries, which provided virtually every kind of remedy then known. These hospitals had specific characteristics:
a. Secular: Hospitals served all peoples irrespective of colour, religion, or background. They were run by the
government, and their Directors were commonly physicians assisted by persons who had no religious colour. In hospitals, physicians of all faiths worked together with one aim in common: the well-being of patients.
b. Separate wards and nurses: Patients of different sexes occupied separate wards. Also different diseases,
especially infectious ones, were allocated different wards. Male nurses were to take care of male patients, and female nurses were to take care of the female patients.
c. Proper records of patients: For the first time in history, these hospitals kept records of patients and their
medical care.
d. Baths and water supplies: Praying five times a day is an important pillar of Islam. Sick or healthy, it is an
Islamic obligation; of course physical performance depends on one's health, even he can pray while lying in
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bed. Therefore, these hospitals had to provide the patients and employees with plentiful of clean water supply and with bathing facilities.
e. Practicing physicians: Only qualified physicians were allowed by law to practice medicine. In 931 CE, the
Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir ordered the Chief Court-Physician Sinn Ibn-Thbit to screen the 860 physicians of Baghdad, and only those qualified were granted license to practice. It is worth mentioning also that the physicians in that era earned a high prestige. Although anyone, irrespective of his social status, can study medicine, yet the route was long and tedious. He had to finish religious studies, philosophy, astronomy, art, chemistry, etc. before being accepted as a medical student. Therefore, the physician was an educated person who had wisdom and knowledge. In fact, the Arabic translation of a physician is hakm, which means sage, wise. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the CourtPhysician was in the protocol ahead of the Chief-Justice. Many eminent physicians, as we will discuss later, showed enough talent, social knowledge, political capabilities, and wisdom to be appointed by the Caliphs as Prime Ministers. Owing to the high prestige and connections of physicians, generous funds for hospitals were easily obtained.
f. Medical Regulation: Before the Muslims, medicine had been an unregulated profession, where one could
easily fall into the hands of an unqualified doctor. However, the Muslims' introduction of regulation ensured that all doctors were qualified. Prophet Muhammad said: "He who practices medicine and is not therein versed is deemed like a guarantor". The regulations also ensured that doctors did not cheat their patients when it came to drug composition. The concept of medical regulation affected the Renaissance's physicians for it set an example for them, leading them to found various medical associations and guilds for the purpose of regulating their profession too. Hence, one could say that the Muslims' regulation of medicine lead to a safer and more professional medical institution during the Renaissance, which doubtlessly saved countless lives that would have been lost due to medical incompetence.
Figure 3. Miniaturised pages of a treatise of surgery that the Ottoman physician Sharaf Ed-Dn wrote around 1465. Source: http://www.bium.univ-paris5.fr/aspad/expo51.htm.
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g. Medical schools: The hospital was not only a place for treating patients, but also for educating medical students, interchanging medical knowledge, and developing medicine as a whole. To the main hospitals, there were attached expensive libraries containing the most up-to-date books, auditoria for meetings and lectures, and housing for students and house-staff. h. Rulers' involvement in building hospitals: The Caliphs of the Islamic empire built magnificent hospitals for
religious reasons, as Islam teaches that money spent on charity is a good investment for Judgment Day; and for political reasons when they showed their people that they cared, and were interested in them. Whatever the motive of the ruler, the population benefited and good hospitals were established.
i. Adequate financing to run the hospitals: The rulers set aside generous funds to run these hospitals. There was a special system called al-Waqf (charitable endowment). A person can donate part or all of his wealth to
charity. The government takes care of such a donation, and its revenues help to maintain and build mosques, hospitals, and schools. Another source of funds and an important pillar of Islam is al-Zakt (2.5% of property value).
Thus, the main hospitals of the Islamic civilisation were models for medieval hospitals built later in Europe. They were rather medical schools to which those seeking advanced medical knowledge, from the East or West, attended.
4. Muslim Physicians
Medicine in the Islamic civilisation passed through three stages: 1. The first stage is the stage of translation of foreign sources into Arabic. It extended mainly during the 7th and 8th centuries. 2. The second stage is the stage of excellence and genuine contribution in which the Islamic physicians were the leaders and the source of new chapters to medicine. This stage extended during the 9th through the 13th centuries. 3. The third stage, after the 13th century, is the stage of decline where medicine, as well as other branches of science, became stagnant and deteriorated. During the first stage, Syrian and Persian scholars did a marvellous job by translating honestly the ancient literature from Greek and old Syriac into Arabic. They translated different branches of science including philosophy astrology, and medicine. The works of Hippocrates, Aristototle and Galen were among those translated from Arabic, the classic Greek literature was later translated into Latin, after that some important Greek original sources were lost but preserved only in Arabic translation. If the Arabs did only one thing, namely, preserving the ancient literature and handing it honestly to Europe, that would have been a sufficient contribution in itself. The Muslim rulers encouraged translation, e.g. Caliph Al-Ma'mn Al-'Abbassi paid the translator the weight of his translation in gold. Among the eminent physicians who took part in the first stage were Jurjs lbn-Bakhtish', his grandson Jibrl, Yuhann Ibn-Msawaih, and Hunayn Ibn-Ishq. Most of them were Christians, yet they were respected and well treated by the Muslem rulers.
5. The impact of some Muslim physicians

- Al-Rz (Rhazes) was said to have written more than 200 books, with 100 books on medicine alone. AlRz's work had a significant impact on the Renaissance. Firstly, al-Rz's discovery of smallpox was the first
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differentiation of a specific disease from many eruptive fevers that assailed man. His methods of differentiation were to be utilized by the physicians of the Renaissance when they attempted to do the same with other diseases hundreds of years later. Additionally, his treatise of smallpox was used by Renaissance physicians to treat cases of this disease throughout the Renaissance, saving countless lives. His works on hygiene set an example that Renaissance physicians followed and attempted to improve on. The result was medical procedures that were much more hygienic, again saving countless lives that would have been lost through infection. Finally, his monumental book encyclopaedia Al-Hw offered striking insights for its time, and it had a huge impact shaping European medicine during the Renaissance and later on. - Ibn Sn (Avicenna) was honored in the West with the title of the Prince of Physicians. Ibn Sn's works also had a significant impact on the Renaissance. Firstly, his Canon of Medicine was the most widely studied work of medicine in Europe from the 12th to the 17th century. It also served as a chief guide to medical science in European universities. Needless to say, the impact of this book on Renaissance science was enormous, as it was a major source of medical information. Ibn Sn's discovery that certain diseases could be spread through water and soil affected the research of many Renaissance physicians. Since they knew how the disease was transmitted, it made their job of finding cures for diseases much easier. It also provided a base for their studies into how disease was spread.
Figure 4. Latin translation of Ibn Sn's al-Qnn fittibb: Liber Canonis (around 1320). Source: http://www.bium.univ-paris5.fr/aspad/expo51.htm
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- Ibn Al Nafs discovered the pulmonary circulation which was re-discovered by modern science after a lapse of three centuries. He was the first to correctly describe the constitution of the lungs and gave a description of the bronchi and the interaction between the human body's vessels for air and blood. Also, he elaborated the function of the coronary arteries as feeding the cardiac muscle. - Al-Zahrw (Abulcasis): The Spanish-born Muslim in the 10th century who wrote about the science of surgery. He was able to perform remarkably complex operations for his time, including cranial and vascular surgery, operations for cancer, delicate abdominal surgery involving the use of drainage tubes, and the amputation of diseased arms and legs. - Ibn Juljul of Cordoba in 943 became a leading physician at the age of 24. He compiled a book of special drugs found in al-Andalus. - Ibn-Msawayh wrote the oldest systematic treaties on ophthalmology. The book, titled al-'Ashr Maq lat fi al-'ayn (the Ten Treaties on the Eye), was the earliest existing text book of ophthalmology. In the curative use of drugs, some amazing advances were made by the Muslims.
They established the first apothecary shops, and founded the earliest school of pharmacy. The Muslims were also one of the first people to use anesthetics to render patients unconscious.
6. Medical Ethics in Islam

Specific works written by Muslim physicians on the subject of ethics and medicine include the substantive works written in the 9th and 10th centuries by 'Al al-Tabar and Ishq al-Ruhaw on medical ethics. The medical profession was a well respected specialty and its leaders kept it this way by laying down proper ethics. Ishq ibn Al al-Ruhaw (d. ca 940 CE) wrote a book entitled Adab al-tabb or The Ethics of the Physician. His predecessor 'Al ibn Rabbn at-Tabar (d. ca. 850s or early 860s), who was chief physician, described also the Islamic code of ethics in his book Fardous al-Hikma (The Paradise of Wisdom), stressing on good personal characters of the physician, the physicians obligations towards his patients, community and colleagues. He stated:
The physician should be modest, virtuous and merciful He should wear clean clothes, be dignified, and have well-groomed hair and beard. He should select his company to be persons of good reputation He should be careful of what he says and should not hesitate to ask forgiveness if he has made an error He should be forgiving and never seek revenge He should be friendly and a peacemaker. He should avoid predicting whether a patient will live or die, only Allah knows He ought not to loose his temper when his patient keeps asking questions, but should answer gently and compassionately He should treat alike the rich and the poor, the master and the servant . God will reward him if he helps the needy He should be punctual and reliable He should not wrangle about his fees. If the patient is very ill or in an emergency, he should be thankful, no matter how much he is paid He should not give drugs to a pregnant woman for an abortion unless necessary for the mother's health. He should be decent towards women and should not divulge the secrets of his patients He should speak no evil of reputable men of the
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community or be critical of any one's religious belief He should speak well of his colleagues He should not honour himself by shaming others
So, although bioethics took birth and developed in the western world, consequently most of the philosophical bases of bioethics are derived from concepts of eastern philosophies. In the last 25 years, the Islamic world has felt the need to introduce courses in Islamic bioethics in order to study the Islamic ethics in the medical field which has been established hundreds of years ago and also to appreciate what Islamic law (sharia) has to say about the predominant bioethical issues (informed consent, abortion, IVF, euthanasia, and organ transplantation, and many others). It is essential that one is introduced to the tenets of Islamic legal philosophies and theories. At the end of this article, it is worth mentioning that the First International Conference on Islamic Medicine held in Kuwait in January 1981 published the oath of Muslim doctor which says :
I swear by God... The Great To regard God in carrying out my profession To protect human life in all stages and under all circumstances, doing my utmost to rescue it from death, malady, pain and anxiety.. To keep peoples' dignity, cover their privacies and lock up their secrets ... To be, all the way, an instrument of God's mercy, extending my medical care to near and far, virtuous and sinner and friend and enemy To strive in the pursuit of knowledge and harnessing it for the benefit but not the harm of mankind To revere my teacher, teach my junior, and be brother to members of the Medical Profession... and to join in piety and charity To live my Faith in private and in public, avoiding whatever blemishes me in the eyes of God, His Apostle and my fellow Faithful And may God be witness to this Oath.
References:
- Aminuddin, Ahmad, "Islamic contributions to science" : http://web.umr.edu/~msaumr/reference/articles/science/contribution.html - Arafa, Hossam, "Ethics of the Medical Profession from the Islamic Viewpoint.": http://www.islamonline.net/iol-english/dowalia/techng-2000-August-22/techng7.asp - Butt, N., Science and Muslim Societies. London: Grey Seal, 1991, pp. 37-88. - Hamarneh, Sami, "The Physician and the Health Professions in Medieval Islam." New York Academy of Medicine 47.1088-1110, 1971. - Hitti, Philip K., History of the Arabs. London, Macmillan, 10th edit., 1970. - [Islamic Organization for Medical Science.] The Oath of Muslim Physician. Published on the web site of the Organization at: http://www.islamset.com/ethics/code/cont2.html - Kaf al-Ghazal, Sharif, "The Origin of Bimaristans (Hospitals) in Islamic Medical History." Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine, 1. 2002: pp. 41-44. --, "The Discovery of the Pulmonary Circulation -Who Should Get the Credit: Ibn Al-Nafis or William Harvey?" Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine, 2. 2002: pp. 46-48.
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--, "Al-Zahrawi (Albucasis) A Light in the Dark Middle Ages in Europe." Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine 1. 2003: pp. 37-38 (online : http://www.ishim.net/ishimj/3/08.pdf). --, "The valuable contributions of Al-Razi (Rhazes) in the History of Pharmacy during the Middle Ages."
Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine 2. 2003): pp. 9-11.
--, "Do Medical Ethics Need an Islamic Renovation?" Interview with Islam On-Line published on 27.06.2004:
http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Browse.asp?hGuestID=mIW3Gj
--, Islamic Medicine On-Line: http://www.islamicmedicine.org/ - Levy, M., Medical Ethics of Medieval Islam with Special Reference to Al-Ruhawi's Practical Ethics of the
Physician. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1967, vol. 57, Part-3.

- Martin, M.A, in The Genius of Arab Civilisation, Edited by J.R. Hayes, 2nd edit. London: Eurabia Puplishing, 1983. - Sayyad, al-, I. (translated by M. Madi), "Islamic Approach to Medicine": http://www.islamicmedicine.org/SayadBook2.htm - Sheikh, A., Gatrad, A.R., Dhami, S., "Culturally Sensitive Care for the Dying is a Basic Human Right." BMJ 1999;319:1073.
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Sleymaniye Medical Madrasa (Dr alTib) in the History of Ottoman Medicine
Dr. Salim Ayduz Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Prof. Mohammed Abattouy Dr. Salim Ayduz May, 2007 665 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
Sleymaniye Medical Madrasa (Dr al-Tib) in the History of Ottoman Medicine May, 2007
SLEYMANIYE MEDICAL MADRASA (D R AL-TIB) IN THE HISTORY OF OTTOMAN MEDICINE

Dr. Salim Ayduz*
This article is about the famous medical school, which consisted of a section of the Sleymaniye complex built by Sleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566); the school is described in the charter of its foundation as the good madrasa which will house the science of medicine. It was the first medical school (madrasa) built by the Ottomans. Although this medical madrasa resembled those encountered in certain earlier Islamic states, it differed in being part of a larger mosque complex and in providing education in a more systematic fashion for nearly three hundred years. It was established to train specialized physicians and occupied a very important place in the field of Ottoman medical education in terms of medical specialization. That is because medical education, which had previously taken place in hospitals, acquired an independent institutional structure with the founding of this school which most likely continued to train students until the middle of the nineteenth century; that is, until sometime after the new medical school Tbhne-i mire opened in Istanbul in 1827.
Introduction
The fact that the first Ottoman hospital, the Bursa Yildirim Byezd Dr al-Shif, recruited its chief physician Husnu from Iran in 1400 is an indication that there were few highly skilled physicians capable of performing that function in Ottoman cities at that time1. Those physicians who were available had come from the Seljuks or from other Muslim states like Egypt and Syria, i.e. the most populous cultural centres of that time.2 The Ottoman state had just been established and it did not have any institutions or doctors available for training physicians. In later years we also encounter many doctors who had come from other countries, as in the earlier period. For example, Mehmed the Conqueror (1451-1481) made the Iranian Qutb al-Dn AlAjam3 (d. 1497) and the Muslim convert Ya'qb Pasha4 (Maestro Jacopo b. Gaeta, died in Istanbul in 1481) his private physicians. Sleyman the Magnificent also employed the Jewish eye doctor Msa b. Hamn (d. 1554) as his private physician. There were also many other non-Muslims who worked as doctors in the Palace. The fact that there were also a number of converts or physicians who had come from abroad serving as chief palace physicians during later years, leads one to surmise that insufficient numbers of highly qualified physicians were being trained in Ottoman institutions, especially up until the time when the Sleymaniye Medical madrasa was founded. 5
* Senior Researcher at the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation, UK and Research Visitor at the School of Linguistics, Languages and Cultures, The University of Manchester, UK. 1 Aykut Kazancgil. Osmanllarda Bilim ve Teknoloji. Istanbul: Gazeteciler ve Yazarlar Vakf, 1999, pp. 45-46. 2 At the middle of the sixteenth century, some physicians were still coming from abroad to stanbul to work. See Prime Ministry Ottoman Archive. Muhimme Defteri. no. 4, 55/584, 25 Rajab 967/21 April 1560. Ali Haydar Bayat. Osmanl Devletinde Tp Eitimi. Osmanllarda Salk I (ed. C. Ylmaz-N. Ylmaz). stanbul: Biofarma, 2006, pp. 237245. 3 Salim Ayduz. Kutebeddin-i Acemi, Yaamlar ve Yaptlaryla Osmanllar Ansiklopedisi. Istanbul: Yap Kredi Yaynlar, 1999, II, 40. 4 Salim Ayduz. Yakup Paa (Hekim), Yaamlar ve Yaptlaryla Osmanllar Ansiklopedisi. Istanbul: Yap Kredi Yaynlar, 1999, II, 667. 5 For the general Ottoman educational activities see Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. Ottoman educational and scholarly-scientific institutions. History of the Ottoman state, society and civilisation (ed. E. Ihsanoglu). stanbul: IRCICA, 2002, pp. 361-512.
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The Sleymaniye Complex (kulliye), sponsored by Sleyman the Magnificent and built in Istanbul by the great architect Mimar Sinn (1489-1588) between 1550 and 1557, is the largest of the Ottoman building enterprises (see Figure 1-2). It is functionally designed as a socio-religious centre with geometrically organised dependencies in the Ottoman Empire.6 It follows the example of the Fatih Complex, but architect Sinn made its architectural qualities vastly superior. A large outer courtyard separates the Mosque from the outer buildings. The courtyard is surrounded by streets where there is a Qurn school, madrasas for different levels of education, a medical school, a large hospital, a public kitchen, a hospice and a caravanserai on a lower level, a hadth school, a bath, plus rooms for single people, and also shops were set up on the slopes of the terrain. As for the architectural characteristics of the Medical Madrasa, we can begin by saying that it was planned as a component of the Sleymaniye Complex.7 Ottoman medicine reached a formal teaching institution with the Sleymaniye Medical School. Thus, this should be examined within the system of a multi-functional building complex. The Medical Madrasa, with a perpendicular plan, is composed of twelve domed-cells lined up on the shops in the Tiryakiler Street which is located in the southwestern part of the Sleymaniye Mosque (see Figure 3).
Figure 1. General view of Sleymaniye Complex.
6 7
Glru Necipoglu-Kafadar. The Sleymaniye Complex in Istanbul: An Interpretation. Muqarnas. vol. 3. (1985), pp. 92117. Evliya elebi. Seyahatnme I (ed. O. . Gkyay). stanbul, 1996, p. 65; smail Hakk Uzunarl. Osmanl Devletinin lmiye Tekilt.
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A physical relation existed between the Medical Madrasa and other components of the complex such as Dr al-shifa (hospital), Dr al-akakir (drugstore), Tabhane (the place where patients stay during their convalescence period) and Imarethane (public kitchen). A kind of division of labour shows itself with respect to these components. The medical students depending on the Madrasa used the cells as a dormitory, had meals cooked in the kitchen of imaret without paying, used the hospital Dr al-shif for practicing the theoretical lessons they learned in the Medical Madrasa, received their medicine from the drugs house: Dr al-akakir , and after being cured in the hospital, they would stay in Tabhane for the period of convalescence.
Figure 2. Plan of Sleymaniye Complex.
The construction of this madrasa is considered to be a new stage in the history of Ottoman medical institutions. Unlike the previous traditional hospitals, which had medical education in their bodies, Sleymaniye was the first medical school in the Islamic civilisation to have a deed of trust (waqfiyya) (see figure 4) mentioning its character as an institution for medical learning8. The Medical school, which consisted of a section of the Sleymaniye complex and is described in the charter as the good madrasa which will house the science of medicine, was the first medical school built by the Ottoman Turks. This Medical Madrasa, which resembled those encountered in certain earlier Islamic states, differed from them in being part of a larger mosque complex and in providing education in a more systematic fashion over nearly three hundred years. The Medical Madrasa was established to train specialised physicians and occupied a very important place in the field of Ottoman medical education in terms of medical specialisation.9 Medical
Ankara 1988, p. 34-35. 8 For the charter of the Sleymaniye Medical Madrasa, see Sleymaniye Vakfiyesi (ed. Kemal Edib Krkcoglu). Ankara, 1962, 32-33. 9 Cevat zgi. Osmanl Medreselerinde lim: Tabii limler. stanbul: z Yaynclk, 1997, II, 24-26.
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education, which had previously taken place in hospitals, acquired an independent institutional structure with the founding of this school.10 The entrance to the medical school, which is located across from the hospital of which only the south-western wing has survived to this day, opens out onto Tirykiler Market. The north-eastern wing of the structure is located above the arches and shops of the market.
Figure 3. The corner domes of the Medical Madrasa.
Sleymaniye Medical Madrasa was the first institution which was built next to Dr al-Shif in Istanbul (see figure 5). Sleyman the Magnificent was known to exhibit a high regard and delicate sensitivity on the subject of medicine 11. This is reflected through his poems which he wrote with a Muhibbi pseudonym explaining how much attention he pays to health matters. Thus, he ordered the establishment of a medical
madrasa in his complex to educate highly skilled physicians for both the public and army needs.
10 11
N. Sar. Teaching Medical History. 36th International Congress on the History of Medicine (Tunis-Carthage, September 6th11th, l998). G. Veinstein. Suleyman. the Encyclopaedia of Islam. CD-ROM Edition v. 1.0, 1999 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Figure 4. First pages of the Sleymaniye Complex Deed (waqfiyya) 965/1557. The Medical Madrasa and the Dr al-shif buildings as a component of the complex were built side-by-side to provide both a medical education and a public health service (see figure 6). This is very similar to contemporary university hospitals. In the complex, which was based on a very large area, Sinn had planned at one corner for medical education and a health site and put them on a parallel axis by two rectangular courtyards with a separate block (see figure 7). The idea of two buildings together, a Medical Madrasa and the Dr al-shif, is considered superior in application and was ahead of its time. The medical student after having a theory lesson would go the Dr
al-shif straight away to put into practice what he had learned. Hence, the Sleymaniye Medical School and Dr al-shif had a very important place in the history of medical education and its application to a hospital.
Building process and architectural features

Construction of the Medical Madrasa
The Sultan Sleyman, who knew the importance of medical education, ordered the building of a medical school in 1552 or 1553. It was built at the south west of the complex, opposite the Dr al-shif and next to the Madrasa-i awwal and sn. But we do not know when the medical madrasa construction started. The construction of the mosque began in 1550 and finished in 1557, but the madrasas were built later. Some
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sources point out that the construction started in 1552. According to mer Ltfi Barkans book on the Sleymaniye Complex, the madrasas construction started later than the mosque and thus their construction was completed between 1553 and 1559. Through the Sleymaniye Complex Deed which was published in the year 1557, one understands that the Medical Madrasa was active at that time.12
Figure 5. Tiryakiler Carsisi Street between the Medical Madrasa and the Dr-Al-Shif buildings.
Architectural features of the Medical Madrasa

The Famous Ottoman painter Seyyid Lokman mentions the Medical Madrasa had ten cells.13 These cells were along with Tiryakiler ars as one line without a classroom. At both sides of the cell line, there were cells which connected to the line as vertical. Thus in the side which is towards the south west courtyard there were divided cells with an arcade between them. Due to some major and minor changes over the passing of centuries and thus the loss of its original form, it is very difficult to find the original structure of the building which today serves as a maternity hospital. As the maternity ward office block was built in the courtyard of the medical madrasa which has twelve cells, the appearance has changed from the original site. Therefore, only a few areas have remained, from the original building of the Medical Madrasa which remains on the other side of the Dr al-shif street. Sinn had developed the previous idea of a madrasa by adding new styles and features. In description, the Tiryakiler Carsisi side of the madrasa had been planned as two floors; one of the cells from the eleven domes which were at the right corner has two domes sideto-side and became rectangular. In front of these places there was a roof which had one slope and a long courtyard. Two side wings of the madrasa from the other three wings remained behind the arcades as cells which have fireplaces and windows.
12
A. Suheyl nver. Sleymaniye Klliyesinde Darifa, Tp Medresesi ve Darlakakire dair (15571555) 965963. Vakflar Dergisi. II. Ankara 1942, pp. 195196; Barkan. Sleymaniye. P. 4750; Tuncay. p. 81; Yasin Yilmaz. Sleymaniye Drifas ve Tp Medresesi. Osmanllarda Salk I (ed. C. Ylmaz-N. Ylmaz). stanbul: Biofarma, 2006, pp. 285-298. 13 Seyyid Lokman. Hnernme. Topkap Palace Museum Library, H. 1524, pp. 284b-286b; Unver. Sleymaniye Klliyesinde. op. cit., p. 199.
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Figure 6. The gate of Dr al-Shif.

Architect Sinn planned and interpreted the Sleymaniye Dr al-shif and Medical Madrasa like the other buildings of the complex, which show the most beautiful examples of classical Ottoman architecture. Thus, it can be said that Sinn planned one of the Sleymaniye complexes for medical education and as a health facility, building the Dr al-shif as a separate structure with, on parallel axes, two rectangular courtyards.
Staff of the Medical Madrasa

Muderris (Lecturer)
According to the deed of the complex the Medical Madrasa had a very basic and small staff. One Muderris (lecturer), eight danimends (student) and three auxiliary staff who are noktaci (assistant), bevvab (door keeper) and ferrash (cleaner) were assigned.14 There was a muderris as head of the madrasa, just as the other madrasas. However, there were some special conditions for a muderris of a medical madrasa, they had to be well educated on the medical sciences and be able to direct the students through the medical sciences. On the other hand, a muderris of a medical madrasa receives 20 akas per day, which is actually a very low salary compared to other
14
. L. Barkan. Sleymaniye Camii ve Imareti Tesislerine Ait Yllk Bir Muhasebe Bilancosu, 993994 (15851586), VD no. 9 (1971): pp.109161.
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madrasas. It was one fifth of the Dr al-hadth madrassas muderris and one third of the other ordinary madrasas muderris. In addition to the classical religious sciences, many documents point out that the Medical Madrasa also held information on the medical sciences.
Figure 7. The Medical Madrasa domes

The conditions of the muderris of the medical madrasa were explained in the deed15: 1. He will be intelligent, understanding, have very strong intuition, which is no excuse to use his five senses, 2. Well educated in medicine, and should be Plato of the time and Aristotle of the age, 3. He should have the reviving effect of Jesus, 4. He should understand the medical books which were written by early physicians on the subject of medicine, 5. Be careful about students who wish to learn medicine, and follow the rules of medicine. It is also worth mentioning that the head of the medical madrasa was not the head of the Dr al-Shif who is known as ra' s al-atibb'. It is indicated in the deed of the Medical Madrasa that the tasks, authority and responsibilities of the muderris and tabb-i awwal of the Dr al-shif are completely separate from each other. But we can see through the archival documents that later the head of the Dr al-shif could teach at the Medical Madrasa and also became a muderris in it in the meantime.
15
The deed of foundation explains the compulsory conditions for the instructor with this sentence: They should be intelligent, have strong senses, be logical, educated well on medicine, Plato of the time, Aristotle of age, he should have the reviving effect of Jesus, like Galen, selected between physicians, careful about students who wish to learn medicine, and follow the rules of medicine, who continue medical lessons and will be given 20 akas per day (Sleymaniye Vakfiyesi. Published by. K. E. Krkolu). Ankara 1962.
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The first teacher at the Sleymaniye Medical School was Tabib Ahmed elebi b. sa elebi who received sixty akas per day.16 Although the deed mentioned the daily wage of the muderris was twenty akas per day, he was receiving a higher salary due to his level of skills in medicine. Some of the Medical Madrasa
muderrisses were appointed to other medical institutions as a shagird.17 As we see from the documents, some famous physicians were appointed at the medical madrasas as muderris, such as chief physician
Byk Hayatizde Mustafa Feyzi, Ayal aban ifai, chief physician mer Efendi and chief physician Gevrekzde Hasan Efendi18
Figure 8. The Medical Madrasa today serving as a maternity hospital
Danishmand
The students of the medical madrasa were named as danishmand in the deed. They were studying medical sciences only and each one received two akas per day as a bursary. Whilst being educated, they were also
16 17
Peuylu. Tarih I. stanbul 1283, p. 462. Unver. Sleymaniye Klliyesinde. op. cit., pp. 200-203. 18 A. Adnan Advar. Osmanl Trklerinde lim. stanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 1970, p. 144. Tuncay Zorlu found 19 names who were the muderris at the Medical Madrasa from beginning till the end. Tuncay Zorlu. Sleymaniye Tp Medresesi I. Osmanl Bilimi Aratrmalar (ed. F. Gunergun). III/2, Istanbul, 2002, pp. 79-123.
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performing a sort of internship at the Medical Madrasa. When they had learnt enough medicine they were appointed to other institutions as physicians.19
Muid
Although the other madrasas had a muid as associated muderris, we cannot find more information about his tasks in the deed of the complex, but we know through the deed that the Medical Madrasa had a muid. The deed mentioning the lecturers task says noktaci olup mderrisn ve muid ve talebe ve mstaid
mabeyninde which indicates that besides a muderris, there was also a muid in the Medical Madrasa.
From this sentence, we understand that there was a muid in the madrasa to repeat the muderris lectures to the students. However, during the transcription of the deed, this detail was most probably omitted or forgotten. We also know of the existence of the muid as a physician through the later archival documents belonging to the madrasa. He was an associate muderris, and helped in giving lectures, also repeating and consulting the lectures on behalf of the students ( danishmands ). Muids were selected from amongst most successful students of the madrasa. They were appointed from the madrasa to the other medical institutions as physicians. Some of them were also promoted as palace physicians.20
Auxiliary staff
There were also service staff comprising of one noktaci, one bevvab and one ferrash. The door keeper and cleaner were each receiving two akas per day according to the deed. There were no specific conditions for them except they should be honest and virtuous men. Ferrash was responsible for cleaning and furnishing the Medical Madrasa. Salaries of the staff and other expenditures were met by the large waqf revenues of the Sleymaniye Complex.
Noktaci was, according to the deed, helping the muderris, monitoring the students and helping each
respectively with lectures and homework; he was also responsible for observing the orderly carrying out of education and teaching. He had to be present during the lectures and follow the structures of the madrasa, and never leave the madrasa without excuse. As far as we understand from the documents, the Noktaci was the manager of the madrasa. He was receiving 3 akas per day according to the deed. We understand from the above information that there was a staff of twelve people at the madrasa who were collectively paid 43 akas per day.
The Education at the Medical Madrasa

Although we have no sources available that fully explain the teaching and the educational methods followed in the Sleymaniye Medical Madrasa, it is understood from its deed that the constitutions for courts and
madrasas (ilmiye kanunnameleri) and primary sources belonging to the classical period (1300-1600) was
formerly taught and carried out in terms of the master-apprentice method. This practical method used also to be popular among other medical and social institutions such as the trade market system and ahl-i hiraf (artisans) organizations. This system was also common before the Ottomans in the Seljuk period. The textbooks used in the Sleymaniye Medical Madrasa are only generally mentioned in the deeds and other sources. They were teaching the famous medical text books at the Medical Madrasa. Although the deed does not mention the names of the textbooks, we do have a list of books which were given to the head physician to teach. In the list we find sixty-six famous medical books of which eighteen were written by Ibn
19
O. Nuri Ergin. Trk Maarif Tarihi. stanbul 1977, I-II, 145; Unver. Sleymaniye Klliyesinde. op. cit., p. 201.
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Sn21. Although there is no indication that these books were given for Medical Madrasa teaching purpose, we can say that at that time these books were circulating between physicians for educational purposes. On the other hand, according to the deeds, courses on logic (ilm-i mizan), medicine (ilm-i abdan) and rational sciences (fenn-i hikmet, ulum-i akliye) were also somehow taught at the School. In the deeds, there is no clear statement about the days and hours of the courses. In general, we know that that Sleyman the Magnificent stipulated the teaching of five courses a day on four weekdays. It is thought that pre-Ottoman practices were followed by taking Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday as holidays. Festival days were also holidays and the rest was for teaching. But these holidays could be decreased accordingly 22. The Medical Madrasa was under the administrative control of the Chief Physicians Office (Hekimba). 23 The Chief Physician had responsibilities in the first instance for the health of the sultan and that of the personnel of the palace as well as for managing all state health institutions. This office monitored all appointments and any other studies at the Medical Madrasa. All students with diplomas from medical
madrasas, medical schools (Mekteb-i Tbbiye) and hospitals would register with the chief physician upon
graduation and would then await appointment to a medical institution.24 The chief physician would appoint new doctors to vacant posts and would approve the promotion of those recommended for such. As a medical institution, the staff of the madrasa was under the aegis of the general Ottoman appointment system. The Sleymaniye Medical School was not the only madrasa teaching medical sciences in the Ottoman state. Medical education was also taught at the other medical institutions such as the Dr al-Shifs.25 For example, in Istanbul Fatih Dr al-Shifs lecturers were appointed through the Sleymaniye Medical School. Most of the muids of the Sleymaniye Medical Madrasa became shagird at the Dr al-Shif. The shagird in the Medical Madrasa performed as the assistant of the physician 26. We still have a shortage of information about the educational system or classes offered at the Sleymaniye Medical School, but it was claimed by Prof. Sheyl nver that instruction in anatomy was also offered.27 In addition, it is assumed that basic medical texts, such as Ibn Sn s al-Qanun (The Canon of Medicine), were also taught there. He mentions that most of the surgeons were taught at the School. Some of the Medical
Unver. Sleymaniye Klliyesinde. op. cit., pp. 200205. Topkapi Palace Museum Archive, D 8228. 22 H. Inalcik. The Ottoman Empire, The Classical Age, 1300-1600. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1973, p. 165-172; Mustafa Bilge. Ilk Osmanli Medreseleri [Early Ottoman Madrasas]. IstanbuI 1984. 23 Ali Haydar Bayat. Osmanl Devletinde hekimbalk kurumu ve hekimbalar. Ankara: Atatrk Kltr Merkezi, 1999; Unver. Sleymaniye Klliyesinde. op. cit., p. 199. 24 E. Ihsanoglu and M. Kacar. Ayni Mnasebetle Iki Nutuk: Sultan II Mahmudun Mekteb-i Tbbiye Ziyaretinde Irad Ettigi Nutkun Hangisi Dogrudur?. Tarih ve Toplum no. 83 (Kasim 1990): 4448; E. Ihsanoglu and F. Gnergun. Tip Egitimin Trkcelesmesi Meselesinde Bazi Tespitler. Trk Tip Tarihi Yilligi= Acta Turcica Histoirae Medicinae. I. Uluslararasi Tip Tarihi ve Deontoloji Kongresine Sunulan Tip Tarihi ile Ilgili Bildiriler (ed. Arslan Terzioglu). Istanbul, 1994, 127-134. 25 Ali Haydar Bayat. Osmanl Devletinde Tp Eitimi. pp. 237245; Nil Sar (Akdeniz). Osmanllarda Tphanenin kuruluuna kadar tp eitimi. IX. Trk Tarihi Kongresi (21-25 Eyll 1981). Ankara 1989; A. Altnta. Sheyl nver Haklyd. Fatih Daruifasnda Tp Eitimi Yaplyordu. IV. Trk Tp Tarihi Kongresi. Eyll 1996, stanbul. 26 Unver. Sleymaniye Klliyesinde. op. cit., pp. 198-207. 27 Sheyl Unver makes reference to the importance of the School and states that it has been indicated that some of our surgeons who wished to be appointed to positions elsewhere came here to learn anatomy so as to increase their desirability. He does not, however, indicate any source for the statement. S. Unver. Tip Tarihi, Tarihten nceki Zamandan Islm Tababetine ve Islm Tababetinden XX. Asra Kadar. parts 1 and 2. (Istanbul, 1943), 114, 118-119; Tuncay Zorlu. Sleymaniye Tp Medresesi II. Osmanl Bilimi Aratrmalar (ed. F. Gunergun). IV/1, Istanbul, 2002, pp. 65-97.
21
20
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Madrasa staff were appointed as army surgeons.28 The education given at the School differed from that offered at other madrasas in that it was associated with practical training. Accordingly, the theoretical part of the medical training was offered at the Madrasa and the practical part at the hospital.
The students of the medical madrasas came from the lower madrasas from which they had graduated on completing their basic education on the Islamic sciences and languages such as Islamic law, Arabic and Persian. A student who wished to study at the Sleymaniye Medical School would first have to complete his course of education at the primary exterior ( ibtid-yi hric) and interior (dhil) madrasas. Following that, the student wishing to study medicine would enrol in the Sleymaniye preparatory schools (tetimme). Students completing their education there would receive the title of fellow (mlzim). Classes there were held for four days a week. It is likely that one of the days not allocated for classes was a holiday, the other two devoted to work as an intern at the hospital. All practice required during the course of their training was undertaken at the hospital. Those who completed their internships at the hospital would receive a sealed document called a sealed title (memhr temessk) rather than a diploma. The students would be given diplomas (iczet) based on the classes they had taken and the work they produced; and depending on the rank they achieved upon graduation, they could become teachers or kadis. The teachers at Sleymaniye would be offered lower order judgeships (mahrec mevleviyeti) for periods of one year as a matter of course. They would leave those posts after having served for one year. Every year four people serving in that capacity would be given pyes (posts) in Egypt, Damascus, Bursa and Edirne, and one of them would be given the office of kadi of Istanbul. As it was also customary to give the chief judgeship of Anatolia (Anadolu kazaskerligi) to the former Istanbul kadi, many of the doctors who graduated from the School rose to high political positions within the government, to the position of Sheikh al-Islam and even to a grand viziership. Persons who were trained at the Sleymaniye Medical Madrasa or who had taught there might also have served as chief physicians at the palace or work at other medical institutions. In the final analysis, it can be said that with the opening of the Sleymaniye Medical Madrasa, a more systematic kind of medical education had begun in the country. Theoretical medicine had become institutionally separated from applied medicine. 29 There is no exact information how many years medical education lasted at this madrasa. Ahmed b. brahim, who is the author of Tashil al-tadbir, mentioned that he himself graduated at the Sleymaniye Medical School after fifteen years and then became a physician at the palace. From his case, we understand that the educational process was very long.30 Most of the physicians appointed to the palace as a palace physician were selected from amongst physicians who graduated at the Sleymaniye Medical School, and of course suitability was a very important point for appointments. Abb Toderini, who lived between 1781 and 1786 in Istanbul, provides information on the teaching method in the Medical Madrasa of Sleymaniye in a chapter of his famous book De La Littrature Des Turcs . According to Toderini, Turkish medical lecturers taught courses in general pathology and surgery in Sleymaniye for four days of the week. In addition to medical students, the courses were open to those who wished to attend. There was no barrier to francs (Europeans) attending these courses. Ubezio, a European physician, said that he followed the courses many times as a listener. The teaching method
28 29
Unver. Sleymaniye Klliyesinde. op. cit., p. 201. E. Ihsanolu. Ottoman Educational and scholarly scientific institutions. History of the Ottoman State, Society and Civilisation (ed. E. Ihsanoglu). stanbul: IRCICA, 2002, II/405-406. 30 Unver. Sleymaniye Klliyesinde. op. cit., pp. 200-202.
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consisted of reading medical books, studying diseases and medicines through clinical observations and benefiting from physicians' knowledge and advice.31 The Sleymaniye Medical School offered medical education for about three centuries and was the institution which provided doctors for almost all the Ottoman medical institutions, and mostly for the Fatih Hospital in Istanbul. The Sleymaniye Medical Madrasa's graduates or students such as Osman Saib Efendi, Abdlhak Molla and Mustafa Behet Efendi were among the founders and teachers of the modern medical school in 1827. Thus, they pioneered the modernising of medical education in Turkey. The School most likely continued to train students until the middle of the nineteenth century, until, that is, sometime after the new medical school (t bbiye) opened.32 The founders of the Tbbiye in Istanbul (1827) composed the staff of the Medical Madrasa. After the Second Constitutional Period (II. Merutiyet), the Sleymaniye Madrasa was included in the body of "Dru'l-hilafeti'l-aliyye Medresesi" which was planned to assemble all the madrasas of Istanbul under one roof. It is understood that the Medical Madrasa was out of use and needed restoration during the year 1914. It also seems that on 21 December 1918, this madrasa was used by people who had lost their homes during a fire. Since 1946, after a full restoration, the building was used as a Maternity Clinic (Sleymaniye Doum ve ocuk Bakmevi) (see figure 8).
Bibliography
A. Altnta. Sheyl nver Haklyd. Fatih Daruifasnda Tp Eitimi Yaplyordu. IV. Trk T p Tarihi Kongresi. Eyll 1996, stanbul. Advar, A. Adnan. Osmanl Trklerinde lim. stanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 1970. Ayduz, Salim, Kutebeddin-i Acemi, Yaamlar ve Yaptlar yla Osmanllar Ansiklopedisi, Istanbul: Yap Kredi Yaynlar , 1999, II, 40. , Yakup Paa (Hekim), Yaamlar ve Yaptlar yla Osmanllar Ansiklopedisi, Istanbul: Yap Kredi Yaynlar , 1999, II, 667. Barkan, . L., Sleymaniye Camii ve Imareti Tesislerine Ait Yllk Bir Muhasebe Bilancosu, 993-994 (15851586), VD no. 9 (1971): 109-161. Bayat, Ali Haydar, Osmanl Devletinde Tp Eitimi. Osmanllarda Salk I. Ed. C. Ylmaz-N. Ylmaz. stanbul: Biofarma, 2006, pp. 237245. , Osmanl Devletinde hekimbalk kurumu ve hekimbalar. Ankara: Atatrk Kltr Merkezi, 1999. Bilge, Mustafa, Ilk Osmanli Medreseleri [Early Ottoman Madrasas]. IstanbuI 1984. Ergin, O. Nuri. Trk Maarif Tarihi. stanbul, 1977.
31 32
A. Toderini. De La Littrature des Turcs. I, Paris 1789, pp. 119-129. Aykut Kazancgil. Osmanllarda Bilim ve Teknoloji. stanbul: Gazeteciler ve Yazarlar Vakf, 1999, p. 120122.
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Evliya elebi, Seyahatnme I, Ed. O. . Gkyay, stanbul, 1996. Ihsanoglu, E. and F. Gnergun. Tip Egitimin Trkcelesmesi Meselesinde Bazi Tespitler. Trk Tip Tarihi Yilligi= Acta Turcica Histoirae Medicinae. I. Uluslararasi Tip Tarihi ve Deontoloji Kongresine Sunulan Tip Tarihi ile Ilgili Bildiriler. Ed. Arslan Terzioglu. Istanbul, 1994, 127-134. Ihsanoglu, E., and M. Kacar. Ayni Mnasebetle Iki Nutuk: Sultan II Mahmudun Mekteb-i Tbbiye Ziyaretinde Irad Ettigi Nutkun Hangisi Dogrudur? Tarih ve Toplum no. 83 (Kasim 1990): 44-48. Ihsanoglu, Ekmeleddin, Ottoman educational and scholarly-scientific institutions. History of the Ottoman State, Society and Civilisation. Ed. E. Ihsanoglu. stanbul: IRCICA, 2002, pp. 361-512. H. Inalcik. The Ottoman Empire, The Classical Age, 1300-1600. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1973. zgi, Cevat. Osmanl Medreselerinde lim:Tabii limler. stanbul: z Yaynclk, 1997. Kazancgil, Aykut, Osmanl larda Bilim ve Teknoloji. stanbul: Gazeteciler ve Yazarlar Vakf, 1999, p. 120 122. Necipoglu-Kafadar, Glru. The Sleymaniye Complex in stanbul: An Interpretation. Muqarnas, vol. 3. (1985), pp. 92117. Nil Sar (Akdeniz). Osmanllarda Tphanenin kuruluuna kadar tp eitimi. IX. Trk Tarihi Kongresi (21-25 Eyll 1981). Ankara 1989. Peuylu, Tarih I. stanbul 1283. Prime Ministry Ottoman Archive, Muhimme Defteri, no. 4, 55/584, 25 Rajab 967/21 April 1560. Sar , Nil. Teaching Medical History. 36th International Congress on the History of Medicine (TunisCarthage, September 6th11th l998). Seyyid Lokman, Hnernme, Topkap Palace Museum Library, H. 1524. Sleymaniye Vakfiyesi, ed. Kemal Edib Krkcoglu (Ankara, 1962), 32-33. Toderini, Abbe, De La Littrature des Turcs, I, Paris 1789. Topkapi Palace Museum Archive. D. 8228.Tuncay Zorlu. Sleymaniye Tp Medresesi II. Osmanl Bilimi Aratrmalar (ed. F. Gunergun). IV/1, (Istanbul 2002), pp. 65-97. Unver, A. Suheyl, Sleymaniye Klliyesinde Darifa, Tp Medresesi ve Darlakakire dair (1557-1555) 965963, Vakflar Dergisi, II. Ankara 1942, pp. 195-196.
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, Tip Tarihi, Tarihten nceki Zamandan Islm Tababetine ve Islm Tababetinden XX. Asra Kadar. Parts 1 and 2. Istanbul 1943. 114, 118-119. Uzunarl, smail Hakk, Osmanl Devletinin lmiye Tekilt, Ankara 1988, p. 34-35. Yilmaz, Yasin. Sleymaniye Drifas ve T p Medresesi. Osmanllarda Salk I. Ed. C. Ylmaz-N. Ylmaz. stanbul: Biofarma, 2006, pp. 285-298. Zorlu, Tuncay. Sleymaniye Tp Medresesi I. Osmanl Bilimi Arat rmalar (ed. F. Gunergun). III/2, (Istanbul 2002), pp. 79-123.
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Ottoman Mining and Metal Working in the Balkans: Its Impact on Fire-Arms Technology of Southeast Europe (15th -17th centuries)
Prof. H.H. Gnhan Danisman Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Prof. Mohammed Abattouy Dr. Salim Ayduz May, 2007 701 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
Ottoman Mining and Metal Working in the Balkans May, 2007
OTTOMAN MINING AND METAL WORKING IN THE BALKANS: ITS IMPACT ON FIRE-ARMS TECHNOLOGY OF SOUTHEAST EUROPE (15TH -17TH CENTURIES)
Prof. H.H. Gnhan Danisman*
The article is originally a talk presented at the international conference 1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in our World held at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester on the 8th of March 2006, on the occasion of the launch of the exhibition 1001 inventions. The conference proceedings are edited by Dr. Salim Ayduz and Dr. Saleema Kauser.
Background
From the point of view of early history of metal technology, the Near East and particularly Anatolia had a unique role as the earliest centre for the discovery and utilization of copper ores. Increasingly available archaeo-metallurgical evidence from various sites in Turkey indicates that mining and metallurgy started here around 9,000 BCE.1 Geologically there is clear indication that Anatolia had an abundance of several metal ores, besides copper oxides, such as iron, arsenic, antimony, lead, silver, gold and zinc. A large number of archaeological excavation reports from the Balkans region also point towards the fact that the metal working spread to other regions from Anatolia, following the northward retreat of the glaciers from the Fourth Ice Age. The two straits between Asia Minor and Thrace, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles have acted as natural bridges or crossing points for the diffusion of knowledge of metallurgy into the Central and the Western Europe. There is abundant data revealing that firstly the copper smelting, later the arsenic and then tin-bronze alloying, and finally iron extraction had spread into the Eastern and the Central Europe during Bronze and Iron Ages. Field research by the Department of Archaeology of the Istanbul University since early 1980s has provided evidence for Demirky-Samakocuk and its vicinity in northwest region of the Turkish Thrace as an important mining and metal working centre in antiquity (Figure 1).2 In addition to this, archival sources indicate increased importance of the region during the rise of the Ottoman State receiving special privileges in line with similar strategic considerations.3 The Ottoman supremacy in the Balkans Region starting from
*
B.Arch., M.Phil.,Ph.D, Professor of History of Technology, Department of History, Boazii University, Bebek 34342, Istanbul.
The industrial archaeology surface surveys and excavations conducted under the auspices of the Society of History of Turkish Science at an Ottoman iron working area consisting of foundries, furnaces, mining galleries, and water power systems at Turkish Thrace, incorporate the participation of the Museum at Krklareli, six Turkish Universities, as well as the Metallurgy Museum at Bochum, Germany. The Project is being generously supported by grants from the Turkish Prime Ministrys Public Relations Fund, the Dssim Fund of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Social Sciences Fund of the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Society (TBTAK), as well as the Scientific Research Projects Fund of the Boazii University through Project N 04-B-904.
1
For a recent and most-up-to-date summary of Anatolian copper mining and copper working, see: Bilgi, ., zbal, H. & Yaln, ., Castings of Copper-Bronze, Anatolia: Cradle of Castings, ed. nder Bilgi, Grapho Printing (Dkta), Istanbul, 2004, pp. 2-44. 2 zdoan, M. & Yaln, ., Dereky-krpaa Yzey Aratrmas, Unpublished Survey, 2001 (verbal communication). 3 Uan, L., Trade Relations of Ottoman Krklareli with the Sublime Porte in the 19th Century, Unpublished M.A. Thesis, Boazii University,
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the early part of the 14th century onwards had been a simultaneous development with the introduction and development of the use of fire-arms technology in this region.
Figure 1. Map of Demirky iron working area.
The early Ottoman enthusiasm for fire-arms technology

Arab armies penetrated into Central Asia from the beginning of 8th century onwards, and the nomadic Turkish tribes began to accept the Islamic faith gradually. The Turks had a reputation as good soldiers, and from the second half of the 9th century, they began to replace the Persian soldiers serving under the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad. Within a short time, Turkish officers rose to be commanders of the Abbasid armies, and began to establish independent states, firstly in Egypt at the beginning of the 10th century under Ahmed bin Tulun, and then in the east up to the Indus Valley under the name of Gaznevid State by the first half of the 11th century. To the further north, the Karakhanids founded the first truly Turko-Islamic state by uniting the Turkoman tribes in Transoxiana, while the west of the Karakhanids territory were the Oghuz Turks, from whom the Great Seljuks in the 11th century and the Anatolian Seljuks in the 12th century were descended. 4 As the Seljuk power over Anatolia weakened under the Mongol invasions during the 13th century, and finally succumbed completely to the lkhanid Mongol rule, a new wave of Turkoman tribes began to penetrate into central Anatolia pushed out of their central Asian homelands by the onslaught of the Mongols. By the end of the century, one of these tribes, the people of the Kay Tribe belonging to the Oghuz Turks, as well, had settled into the territory between the towns of St and Bilecik on the borders of the contracting Byzantine State. Soon after, these people assumed the name of their first ruler who declared his independence from the Seljuk sovereignty, Osman Ghazi.
Istanbul, 2002. 4 Claude C., Pre-Ottoman Turkey, London, Dublin, New York, 1968, pp. 20f.
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Both the Seljuk and the Ottoman Turks had the advantage of acting as the intermediaries, together with the other nomadic peoples of the Central Asian plains, for the transmission of technology between China and the Western World, including the compass and the gunpowder. By the middle of the 1300s, when the Ottomans were able to control Asia Minor, and had crossed the Dardanelles and started to expand towards Europe, they were already familiar with numerous uses of the gunpowder and were now starting to get to know the first primitive fire-arms that the Europeans were experimenting with during the first half of the 14th century. Ottoman Turks reached the Marmara Sea shores in 1321, they crossed into Europe in 1349, and they were on the shores of the Adriatic Sea in 1371. The Ottoman rulers had a remarkable and persistent enthusiasm in developing more advanced fire-arms. Sultan Murat Is victory at the first Kosovo Battle was dated 1389, during which he used cannons against the Serbs,5 while his son Beyazit I (the Thunderbolt) entered Athens in 1397 with the unarguable assistance of his superior mobile artillery forces. The Ottoman historical sources mention that they had used bronze cannons in 1354 and 1358, and cast an iron cannon in Bursa in 1364, employing it against the Karamanid army the same year.6 The major breakthrough in fire-arms technology, however, came at the middle of the 15th century, when Sultan Mehmet II (the Conqueror) laid the city of Constantinople under siege and captured it on 29th May 1453. Having acquired on very generous terms the services of an otherwise very frustrated bronze cannon casting expert of Hungarian stock named Urban, whose knowledge of producing large bronze church bells was instrumental in producing for the Sultan the famous shahee cannons (Figure 2), which were also known by his name Muhammed and were longer than seven meters with a bore of 88 centimetres that could fire granite balls weighed in the range of 270 to 400 kilograms, causing pregnant women to have miscarriages when fired with huge booming noise. 7 Thus, the first impressive weapon of the age of gunpowder was realized. This achievement of the Ottoman Turks and the skill of the succeeding generations of the Turkish cannon founders spread the knowledge of heavy mobile artillery from one end of Europe through India of the Mogul Emperors to the Island of Sumatra by the end of the 16th century.
Aydz, S., Osmanl Devletinde Tophne-i Amirenin Faaliyetleri ve Top Dkm Teknolojisi (XIV-XVI. Asrlarda), Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, stanbul University, 1998, pp. 21f. 6 Ibid., p. 22. 7 Crosby, A.W., Throwing Fire, Projectile Technology Through History, Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 104 ff; al-Hassan, A.Y. & Hill, D.R., Islamic Technology, Cambridge University Press / UNESCO, 1986, p. 115.
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Figure 2. Sultan's Mehmet II's Shahee canon. The manner by which Urban was able to cast these huge bronze cannons has led to numerous speculations on the technology that lay behind their production, due to the jealously guarded trade secrets at the time. One recent and a more reliable account was suggested in a fictional reconstruction of Urbans efforts by a Turkish metallurgical engineer, whose proposal of a vertical casting technique into an initially prepared clay-earth mould within the ground that is later carved out in the shape of the shahee cannon with a steel auger, into which a specially prepared spade and porte head were lowered to create muzzle vent and then molten metal was poured from a highly advanced bronze furnace seems very close to reality,8 and needs to be further determined through archival and archaeological research.
Ottoman capacity for large scale industrial iron production

In 1991 the newly established Directorate of K rklareli Museum in Turkish Thrace identified and registered as an archaeological conservation area the remains of around 10,000 meter square of an Ottoman iron foundry situated 4 kilometres east of the town of Demirky (meaning Iron Village in Turkish) in the middle of a heavily forested region of the Istranca massifs (Figure 3).
racolu, V., Kara Byl Uyku, lhaki Yaynlar, Istanbul, 1999.
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Figure 3. Demirky-Samakovcuk iron foundry restitution (scale 1:500). Known as Samakocuk from the Ottoman archival documents, the town lies approximately 25 kilometres east of the Bulgarian border and about 20 kilometres south of the Black Sea shore. In June 2001 the Museum Directorate had carried out a preliminary salvage operation at the foundry involving surface cleaning from thick growth of bushes and trees, and the construction of a protective perimeter fence around the cleared site.9 Since May 2002, a multi-disciplinary and a multi-institutional project has been initiated under the auspices of the Society for the History of Turkish Science, for the purposes of conducting a comprehensive research on iron mining and iron working in the area, and starting from the summer season of 2003 surface surveys, excavations and archival investigations have been carried out (Figure 4).10
10 The Project Team for the summer season of 2005 field research was composed of the following members (Figure 6): Project Director: Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin hsanolu, President of the Society for the History of Turkish Science; Director of Excavations: Archaeologist Zlkf Ylmaz, M.A., Director of Krklareli Museum; Rescue Archaeology Team: Prof. Dr. Ali Osman Uysal and the faculty members and students of the Dept. of Art History at the 18th March University of anakkale (the Dardannels); Industrial Archaeology Team: Prof. Dr. Hadi zbal of the Chemistry Dept. of Boazii University, Prof. Dr. Gnhan Danman of the History Dept. of Boazii University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. nsal Yaln and Dr. Guntram Gussman of the Metallurgy Museum at Bochum, Germany, and the faculty members and students of the Dept. of Art History of the Anatolian University at Eskiehir; Geodesic Survey Team: Asst. Prof. Dr. Glsn Tanyeli, Dr. Kani Kuzucular and the graduate students of the Restoration Dept. of the Faculty of Architecture of the stanbul Technical University; Archival Research Team: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kaar of the Dept. of History of Science of stanbul University and Prof. Dr. Attila Bir of the Engineering Faculty of the stanbul Technical University.
Ylmaz, Z., Demirky (Fatih) Dkmhanesi (kaz, Temizlik ve evre Dzenlemeleri almalar), 13. Mze almalar ve Kurtarma Kazlar Sempozyumu, (22-26 Nisan 2002-Denizli), T.C. Kltr Bakanl, Antlar ve Mzeler Genel Mdrl Yayn, Ankara, 2003, pp. 29-42.
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Figure 4. Excavations at the fortified settlement and Masjid. The foundry site has been relatively well preserved due to its inaccessibility and its thick covering of vegetation, in spite of large amounts of stone masonry and tons of slag heaps removed by military units in the region and the Forestry Commission for construction and road building purposes during 1950s and 1960s. The foundry is composed of two separate terraces, an upper residential terrace within rectangular fortification walls and polygonal corner towers, and a lower terrace about 7 or 8 meters below containing the foundry itself. Senior citizens in the vicinity have testified in oral history interviews that the perimeter walls were approximately 4 meters high as recently as 1950s. During the first two seasons of excavations at the upper terrace, it was revealed that not only living quarters, but also barracks for a substantial military contingent was stationed here for the security of the site and its production within a hostile forest environment, particularly during the late 18th century and later in 19th century when banditry was rampant along the Istranca Mountains as the central authority of the Ottoman administration deteriorated. At the upper terrace there is also a mosque, the minaret of which is still standing. Remains of partially intact stone-built canals carrying water diverted from a nearby stream for the operation of at least two water wheels within the foundry have been discovered.
Figure 5. View of the iron furnace from east to west.
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At the lower terrace, in addition to two well preserved high furnaces (Figure 5), remains of water canals and supporting structures of the water wheels, probable location of cam operated bellows, a circular base for heavy hammer and anvil, as well as large heaps of slag and charcoal were recorded. The initial results of investigations within the fortified settlement following three seasons of excavations indicate that two large single storey residential type blocks rest against the fortification walls, and based on pottery and small finds evidence, the earliest remains in this portion date back to the 18th century. It is also clear that the site may have been enlarged towards the north sometime in the 19th century by moving the perimeter wall at least 6 to 7 meters. Furthermore, archival research done by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kaar of the Chair of History of Science at Istanbul University suggests that the foundry had undergone a major revival during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839), and it has sustained several severe fires, after which repair and restoration works were carried out in order to continue iron production until the end of the century.11
Figure 6. Members of the field research for the summer season of 2005 besides furnace remains in the forest. During the summer season of 2005, in addition to the excavations at the upper residential terrace which were continued for the third year, the industrial archaeology team carried out a sounding expedition at the location of two furnace mouths hidden under a thick forest cover, that were located about 250 meters west of the original foundry site, in order to investigate the type of furnace technology.12 The three weeks of excavation here surprisingly revealed a second foundry site. As the work progressed, a rectangular workshop measuring 20 meters by 50 meters and divided into two sections with a central entrance hall was unearthed. It also became clear that the same system of dikes and water canals serviced both foundries for the operation of the water wheels supplying energy for the bellows, as well as the trip hammers for the
Name of Document: Imperial Decree, No. 585-28759, dated Hicri 1245: cannon balls produced at Samakocuk factory and cast under the supervision of former Samakocuk superintendents contain flaws and are not to the standard; thus, they become useless in case of necessity, and also because the said factory has burnt down, from now on if the helon (cast iron ingots?) and charcoal shall be procured from Samakocuk and casting will be done in Istanbul 12 Under the coordination of the Directorate of Krklareli Museum, Prof. Dr. Hadi zbal and Prof. Dr. Gnhan Danman cooperated with Assoc. Prof. Dr. nsal Yaln and Dr. Guntram Gassman of the Metallurgy Museum at Bochum (Germany), during the month of August 2005, for this second stage of operations. The geodesy work was organized by the Chair of Restoration of the Faculty of Architecture at Istanbul Technical University, under the direction of Asst. Prof. Dr. Glsn Tanyeli. The excavation team of ten strong consisted of the young faculty members and students of the Department of Art history at Anatolia University in Eskiehir, led by Inst. Abdullah Deveci of the Universitys Department of Architecture.
11
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wrought iron production. One of the furnaces excavated within the eastern workshop of this new foundry turned out to be a shaft (or bloom) furnace for iron (Figure 7 a-b) production illustrating an advance 17th century technology. In the middle of the west wing of this new foundry was identified a copper smelting furnace. Archival documents related to the Ottoman financial records dated to the 19th century indicate that copper was the second important metal produced at Demirky-Samakocuk foundries besides iron production, and that the raw copper was used for making copper alloy moulds for cannon balls for the Ottoman artillery forces. 13
Figure 7-a. Plan drawings of the iron furnace.
13
Name of Document: Imperial Decree, No. 585-28771, dated Hicri 1250: One piece of formal letter from the accountant of the Royal mint; as would be understood from its contents, the cannon balls and shells which are arranged from Samakocuk foundry for the Royal Cannon Foundry and the Royal Arsenal and for the Bomb-shells Foundry to be cast from pure metal as clean and polished is part of the procedure and the regulation. Therefore, this circumstances require that the moulds should be renewed once every week, thus the required 10 thousand vakiyye raw copper be delivered from the Royal Mint has been communicated and favoured by His Excellency the Illustrious Damat Pasha
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Figure 7-b. Section drawings of the iron furnace. What is more spectacular is the evidence discovered for the Ottoman capacity for large scale industrial iron production at Samakocuk. Since the summer season of 2003, a team of experts from three Turkish Universities, i.e. Bo azii, Istanbul Technical and Anatolia universities, as well as Dr. nsal Yaln from the Metallurgy Museum at Bochum, Germany, have been conducting simultaneous archaeo-metallurgical surface surveys within the thickly forested area in the vicinity of the foundry. An area measuring approximately 30 kilometres square has been systematically researched revealing huge slag deposits, abandoned mine galleries, remains of high furnaces as well as a complex system of water canals, dams and sluices along the streams. The surface finds have been recorded on a map of the region of 1:25,000 scale using GPS instruments, and samples from slags, ores and metal scraps are being currently analyzed at the archaeometry laboratories of Bo azii University. The overwhelming richness of the available evidence indicates that the duration and the production amounts must have been extensive through various periods of this regions metal working history. A Bulgarian reference dated 1614 had listed over 180 shaft furnaces in working order around Malki Samakov (i.e. Demirky-Samakocuk).14 This number alone indicated a very substantial level of industrial organization and sophisticated technology for iron production for the 17 th century.
Preliminary conclusions
As Ottoman iron production developed into a major industry from the beginning of the 16th century onwards, two more foundries had become operational in addition to Demirky-Samakocuk foundry; one at Samako situated about 60 km southeast of Sofia and the other one at Pravite, probably located at the juncture of the present day borders of Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey.15 As more detailed information is being available from the Ottoman archives, it is becoming clear that the Ottoman authorities organized the
Grgiyev, G.K., Mining in Southwest Bulgaria and Southeast Macedonia, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 1953, p. 24. Name of Document: Imperial Decree, 586-28820, dated Hicri 1255: As your Highness remembers, the monthly salaries of the trainer summoned from England by written instruction in order to be employed at Samakocuk, Pravite and Samako factories, and of the engineer and the translator that accompany him shall be extracted from the said provinces as ordered by the Sultan
14 15
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subcontracting of iron mining and iron smelting to the local populations and individual entrepreneurs.16 The bloom iron thus produced was then being purchased by the local foundry administrators, who in turn either realized second stage iron production through various finery processes, or shipped the raw iron to Istanbul for the requirements of the Imperial Cannon Foundry, or Imperial Arsenal, or else the Imperial Bomb-Shells Factory. The archaeo-metallurgical analysis which is progressing at the laboratories of Boazii University and at Bochum Metallurgy Museum has started to indicate that almost all types of secondary processes were being employed at Demirky-Samakocuk foundries. C14 dating of charcoal pieces remaining within the slag samples is expected to give reliable chronological data for many of these processes, as well. It is, therefore, quite evident that at the height of the iron production during the 17th century prior to the introduction of modern methods of steel production in Europe, the Ottomans have put into practice a unique system of private-public partnership in industrial metallurgy in the Balkans, far in advance of other parts of the Continent. It is expected that the foundry will be restored and turned into an open-air industrial archaeology museum in working order, following the completion of the research project, probably soon after the year of 2010.
Name of Document: Imperial Decree, No. 585-28779, dated Hicri 1254: For the cannonballs and shells produced at Samakocuk Foundry, upon fixing of the price of one bushel of ore that is being purchased from the reaya (Christian) subjects who are miners (cevherke), the above-mentioned subjects have submitted petitions and requested favours, and consequently they have been granted 20 para (=1:40 kuru or piaster) additional for each scale
16
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Sinan: A Great Ottoman Architect and Urban Designer
Dr. Rabah Saoud Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Prof. Mohammed Abattouy Dr. Salim Ayduz June 2007 703 FSTC Limited, 2003-2007
FSTC Limited
Sinan: A Great Ottoman Architect and Urban Designer June 2007
SINAN: A GREAT OTTOMAN ARCHITECT AND URBAN DESIGNER

Rabah Saoud*
Background
Mimr Koca Sinn, the "Great Architect Sinn", was born in Anatolia, Turkey in 1489; he died in Istanbul in 1588. Generally considered the greatest of all Ottoman architects, Sinn's career spanned about fifty years since he was appointed chief royal architect to the Ottoman court by Sultan Suleyman I in 1539. His great mosques are the archetypal image of Turkish Ottoman architecture. During his long career Sinn built hundreds of buildings including mosques, palaces, harems, chapels, tombs, schools, almshouses, madrassahs, caravan serais, granaries, fountains, aqueducts and hospitals. Of this diverse group of works, his mosques have been most influential. In his mosques' design, Sinn exerted his inventive experimentation with centralized domed spaces, often compared with parallel developments in Renaissance Italy, produced monuments in which the central dome appearted weightless and the interior surfaces bathed in light. He often designed his mosques as part of a complex comprising schools, baths, guesthouses and hospitals. The life story of Sinn is somewhat complex and full of uncertainties. The successful career of this great architect and his genius have prompted great interest among historians of architecture and of Islamic civilisation in the Ottoman period. Some of these scholars constructed his life story linking it very much to his Christian origin. As narrated in these sources, the story consists of the following. Sinn was the son of Greek Orthodox Christian parents. His father was a stonemason and a carpenter from Greece, or Serbia, or may be Austria.1 His mother, according to Egli2, was imprisoned and then enslaved by Ibrahim Pasha. Sinn learnt his father's trade at his youth but he was snatched from his family and taken to work for the Caliph court. With the skills learnt at an early age, he quickly developed his career of architect from his military service at the Janissary Corps. Such a tale is repeated in several recent historical sources. 3 On one of these fabricated tales of Sinn's origin, put forward by Egli, Goodwin wrote:
"Egli, who has peered diligently into the stews of myth, and rendered a service by so doing, permits himself to fabricate a new account of Sinn's mother in captivity, the prisoner and slave of Candarli Ibrahim Pasha. This enables him to suggest that Sinn might have been of Greek, Serbian, Albanian or even Austrian, origin".4
* 1 2 3 4
Dr. Rabah Saoud is a Researcher in the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation FSTC, Manchester, UK. See E. Egli (1954), Sinan, der Baumeister osmanischer Glanzzeit, Zurich. Ibid. See for example Encyclopaedia of Islam (1997), Brill: Leiden, vol. 6, pp. 629-630 and "Sinan", Encyclopdia Britannica (2007). G. Goodwin (1987), A History of Ottoman Architecture, London, p. 197.
Publication ID: 703

COPYRIGHT FSTC Limited 2003-2007
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Figure 1. Sinn on an old Turkish banknote. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sinan.jpg. To bring a balanced approach to the real life of this astonishing personality, one has to dig into Turkish sources which consist mainly of his personal biography written by his friend of youth Sai Mustafa Celebi,
Tezkiret l Bnyan as well as Tezkiret l Ebniye. The third text Tuhfet l Mimarin was complied in 1590 and
all of them were published by Kuran5. However much of what is contained in these sources were inventories of Sinn's construction projects and therefore many aspects of his real life are still somewhat mysterious. A recent paper published by Dogan Kuban6 in the encyclopaedic work of a team of Turkish academics, sheds some light on this incredible personality. Sometimes in 15th century Ottoman Caliphate, a Greek Christian embraced Islam and became known as Abd al-Mannn7, the servant of the Bestower. According to Tezkiret l Bnyan8, Abd al-Mannn chose this name in praise of God who made him a Muslim. He was a stonemason and a carpenter9 living at Kaysari, central Anatolia. On April 15, 1489 Abd al-Mannn was granted a baby son whom he called Sinn.
A. Kuran (1987), Sinan: The Grand Old Master of Ottoman Architecture, Washington, D.C./Istanbul. D. Kuban (2000), "Sinan", Cicek Kemal, (ed.), The Great Ottoman Turkish Civilisation, Ankara, pp-450-463. Encyclopaedia of Islam (1934), Leiden: Brill, vol. 7, pp.428-432. 8 Reported by Godwin (1987), op.cit., p. 199. 9 "Sinan" in Encyclopdia Britannica (2007).
5 6 7
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Figure 2. Glru Necipoglu, The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire (Princeton University Press, 2005). An historical and sociological tour de force, an authority in the study of Sinn and of Islamic art and architecture. From an early age, Sinn followed his father footsteps and learnt the skills of his trade. When he reached twenty-one years of age, he was recruited by the Devshirme into the Janissary Corps within the reign of Sultan Selim I (1512-20). The Devshirme system relied on recruiting young people between the age of 12 and 22 to be trained to become the elite guard and civil servants of the Ottoman Caliphate. As part of the procedure of this tradition, these youths were carefully considered according to their capabilities. The best of them were selected to work in the Sultan's Palace in Istanbul or Edirne where they were given special training in various aspects of the Ottoman administration to become future military or political elite. Those who showed ability in the religious sciences were directed towards religious professions while those proficient in arts were prepared for a career in arts and literary professions. When he was a conscript (acemio lan ), Sinn mentioned that he was willing to learn carpentry.10 Kuban suggested that Sinn built ships, wooden bridges and probably all sorts of temporary wooden constructions. These skills were further developed during his military service as he participated in a number of Ottoman campaigns including Belgrade (1521), Vienna (1529) and as far as Baghdad (1535).11 He distinguished himself, particularly, in the campaigns of Belgrade and Rhodes (1522), showing bravery and steadfastness that he was promoted to "zenberekdji bashi", a chief firework operator.12
10 11 12
Kuban, D. (2000), op., cit., p.451. Encyclopaedia of Islam (1997), Brill, Leiden, vol. 6, p.629. Encyclopaedia of Islam (1934), op., cit., p. 428.
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In 1534, Sin n participated in the Persian war and showed great effective skills in the battle of Lake Van when he devised ferries for the crossing of the army through the lake. In another campaign, at Wallachia (now Romania), Sinn built a bridge across the Danube for the crossing of the army. This brought him fame and admiration, promoting him to the chief of military constructions and expanding his carpentry skills to masonry. He gained great experience from this having the opportunity to build or repair bridges, defences and castles. Since then, his talent attracted the Ottoman Sultans who took him as their chief architect for the construction of mosques, schools and other civic buildings. To sum up what we know about Sinn's origins, all the information gathered so far reveals that he had Christian relatives in the villages of the Kayseriye Sanjak that belonged to the Karaman province. It can be argued that the most frequently mentioned village Agirnas, could be the village of Sin n, where he built later a fountain. The exact date of Sinn's birth, who had been recruited from among the Christian villagers of Central Anatolia before 1520, is not known. Therefore, the common belief that he lived for more than a hundred years is not justified.13
The Legacy of Sinn

The training Sinn had in the Janissary Corps and the contact he made with a wide range of architectural experiences broadened his vision and developed his skills. His travels with the army through a vast geographical region extending along the Mediterranean Basin from Anatolia to Italy and the Adriatic coast to Central Europe, and from Azerbijan to Baghdad in Asia enriched his architectural knowledge and provided him with a wealth of ideas, resources and solutions. The synthesis of this knowledge was reflected in his famous constructions as seen in his chief work the Suleymaniyye Mosque (1550-1557). Sinn was first employed by Hurrem, the wife of Sultan Suleyman I, also known as Suleyman the Magnificient (reigned 1520-66), to construct a Kulliye (1539) and a public bath (1553). The Kulliye was a building complex consisting of a mosque, a hospital, a school (madrassa), and a public kitchen ('imarat ). Later, Mihrimah, Suleyman's daughter, commissioned him to build mosques with attached structures in the Uskudar (1548) and Edirnekapi (ca 1550) districts of Istanbul. Sinn's first commission by Suleyman I himself, was the construction of Sehzade Cami (1548) which was built in the memory of his first son (from Hurrem), Sehzade (Prince) Mehmed who died as a young man.14
See Dogan Kuban, Sinan, in The Great Ottoman-Turkish Civilization, vol. IV, ed. K. Cicek et al., Ankara: Yeni Turkiye, 2000, pp. 450463; Esin Atil, Art and Architecture, in History of the Ottoman State, Society and Civilization, ed. E. Ihsanoglu, Istanbul: IRCICA, 2002, pp. 607-644; Glru Necipoglu, The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire. London: Reaktion Books, 2005. 14 E. Atil, "Art and architecture", in E. Ihsanoglu (ed.), History of the Ottoman State, Society and Civilisation, Istanbul: IRCICA, 2002, vol. 2, chap. 10, pp. 607-642; p. 615.
13
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Figure 3. Sinn depicted preparing the grave of Suleyman the Magnificient. Source: Cicek Kemal et al., The
Great Ottoman Turkish Civilisation (Ankara, 2000, p. 450).

Sinn's biographer Sai Mustafa Celebi, who was his friend, counted some 343 buildings as shown in the table below. However, the three sources mentionned above (Tezkiret l Bnyan, Tezkiret l Ebniye, Tuhfet
l Mimarin) together listed a staggering total of 477 buildings15. During this long career, Sinn served three
Sultans: Suleyman I, Selim II and Murat III. In geographical terms his work stretched over most of the regions of the Ottoman Caliphate including, for example, the Mosque of Khorsaw Pasha in Aleppo, the Mosque of Sultan Suleyman in Damascus, the dome of the sanctuary of Al-Haram Al-Shareef in al-Quds and the school of Sultan Suleyman in Makkah, Mosque of Mehmed Pasha in Sofia and in Herzegovina, Mosque of Mustapha Pasha in Ofen (Budapest), and the Palace of Mehmed Pasha in Sarajevo.
15
Encyclopaedia of Islam (1997), op., cit., p. 629.
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Buildings Mosques (jami') Schools (madrassa) Small Mosques (masjid) Palaces Baths (hammams) Mausoleums Public kitchens ('imarat) Rest houses (caravansaries) Bridges Quranic schools Aqueducts Hospitals Store houses (makhzan)
Total 81 55 50 34 33 19 16 13 08 07 07 03 03
Figure 4. The legacy of Sinn. Source: Encyclopaedia of Islam (1934), op., cit., p. 428. In addition to his works, Sinn was also a school that produced a fascinating generation of architects whom he taught. Among his pupils one refers to Ahmed Agha, Kamal Al-Din, Da'ud Agha, Yatim Baba 'Ali, Yusuf and the younger Sinn, who were to carry his architectural legacy and experiments into a future age as seen in post-classical masterpieces. His favourite pupil, Yusuf, is known to have become the architect of the Sultan Akbar (1542-1605), the Great Mughal ruler of India, building most of the splendour of Lahore, Delhi and Agra.
Sinn's Architectural Contribution

The evaluation of Sinn's architectural merit cannot be, obviously, given justice in this short review. The reader is advised to consult the bibliography below and in particular the valuable publication of the Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre and the authoritative book published by Glru Necipoglu, The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire (fig. 2). In this brief, an attempt has been made to synthesise the major and key components of Sinn's architecture which had a lasting impact on the Ottoman and later Turkish architecture. Sinn has been compared to Michelangelo of the European Renaissance that was nicknamed Michelangelo of the Ottomans. His works in Suleymaniya Mosque (1550-56) for Suleyman I at Istanbul and Selimye Mosque (1551-74) for Selim II at Edirne (fig. 5) are the finest and often compared to Renaissance works of Florence, especially those of Alberti16 (1404- 1472). , Kostof extended this comparison to Renaissance Venice.17
16
His major works include St. Andrea (1470-1476), and San Sebastiano (1459), both at Mantua, and S. Maria Novella (1456-1470), at Florence, Italy. 17 Spiro Kostof (1995), A History of Architecture, Oxford University Press.
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There is a debate whether there has been some influence exchanged between the Italian Renaissance architects and Sinn. We could see many of Sinn's features in a number of Italian churches. The above two cities, in particular, had stronger relations with the Muslims of North Africa and the East more than any other European city. Works such as those of Cola da Caprarola (1508-1604) in Santa Maria della Consolazione at Toldi (16th century) and Adrea Palladio in Church of Il Redentore (Italy, 1577-92) greatly contributed to the evolution of large domed churches in Italy and Europe. Sinn's vision could be seen in the centrality of the dome and space proportions. In the latter building one finds even Sinn's slender cylindrical minarets being added to balance the structure. Such an issue needs further investigation beyond this brief account. It is worth emphasising, however, that while no Italian architect built more than a few domed structures, Sinn is credited with over four hundred as noted previously.
Figure 5. Selimiye Mosque or Mosque of Selim II at Edirne (Turkey) was considered by Sinn to be his masterpiece. Source: http://www.islamicarchitecture.org/architecture/selimiyemosque.html. Sinn carried the dome into new dimension in terms of size, height and perfection, although Turkey experienced domed architecture long time before Sinn, dating back to the 5th century CE when Hagia Sofia was built. With the arrival of Islam and after the fall of the Seljuk dynasty (Seljuk of Rum) the influence of Hagia Sofia started to take shape in a number of 15th century mosques, ie. the Great Mosque of Bursa (1399), the Serefeli Mosque (1437-47) at Edirne and the Fatih Mosque (1462-1470) in Istanbul, where the central dome gradually took over the courtyard of the traditional mosque (see our forthcoming article on Ottoman architecture).
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At Serefeli Mosque, for example, one can clearly see the transitional phase of this new architecture taking shape in the central dome, which was flanked by four smaller domes arranged in pairs at both ends of a long interior. Sinn employed the structural and functional properties of the dome to their limits contributing greatly to the metamorphosis of the Ottoman mosque while observing much of the Islamic principles. The creation of a more vertical and centralised space of the single domed Mosque revolutionised the form and character of the hypostile mosque, a feature which was to dominate Ottoman architecture. Sinn seemed to take his first hand lesson from Hagia Sophia, which gained his respect and admiration. From that, he set his intention on building something better and bigger to show the greatness of Islam.18 However, this devotion to the dome was also derived from his perception of its cosmic and symbolic conceptions, which were widely used in Muslim art and architecture before him. Muslims view the dome as a symbol of both God's domination and protection, which He bestowed on the universe. The association of the dome and blue decoration with the sky has a great spiritual significance that originated from the Seljuks (see Karatay Medressa for example). In terms of urban design Sinn's impact was crucial as he was in charge of the whole city of Istanbul, responsible for its administration such as the sewer, water supply, fire regulations and the repair of public buildings. His constructions created harmony between architecture and landscape, a concept, which did not surface in Europe until 16th century. His choice of site, magnitude, form, and material of his buildings were employed as ingredients enhancing the beauty of the overall image of the city (fig. 6). With their magnificent size, these domed building complexes were distributed in the city to occupy key areas where they could have physical and aesthetic dominance. The vision was to assimilate the old Byzantine capital into an Ottoman "Islamic" identity. This approach can be seen more clearly in the image Sinn built for the Galata waterfront. He planted in this old Latin quarter of Constantinople, which was mainly occupied by Genoese merchants, three major edifices dominating the whole waterfront. The Kurshunlu Han, also known as the Caravansaray of Rustem Pasha, was erected by Sinn between 1544 and 1550 not far from the centre of the sea front. The Azapkapi Cami (1577) was commissioned by Sokollu Mehmet Pasha in 1577 on the southern corner of the Golden Horn sea front. The Kilic Ali Pasha Kulliye was raised at the northern corner, completing the whole image that Sinn wanted to give the district.19
Kostof (1995), op. cit.; incorporates a quote from Sinan on this issue, but its authenticity is somewhat questionable; see p.460. It is also worth noting how these three patrons, who shared a common Latin and Christian origin and were all recruited by the Divsherme, have contributed to changing the Latin character of the district as if to emphasise their new allegiance. Rustem Pasha (1500-ca. 1561) is known to come from a Christian family from Sarajevo; he served as a Grand Vizier during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificient and married his daughter Mihrimah. Sokollu Pasha (1505-ca.1579) who was of a Bosnian origin too became Kapudan Pasha, the Great Admiral of the Ottoman fleet before Khireddine Barbarossa, and married Esmehan the daughter of Sultan Selim II. Kilic Ali Pasha (the Great Sword) was an Italian named Giovanni Dionigi Geleni, enrolled in the Devshirme to become the Famous Governor of North Africa (Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli). The success reached by these personalities is a reminder of those historians who attack the Devsherme as being a barbaric act of forcibly taking children from their Christian families to die in the service of the Sultan.
18 19
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Figure 6. The Sleymaniye Complex in Istanbul; distant view from Tahtakale, with residential neighborhood on hillside. The image built by the Sleymaniya Mosque greatly emphasised the Muslim identity. Source: http://archnet.org/library/images/oneimage.tcl?location_id=4395&image_id=136967&start=10&limit=9. On city level, the enormous size and height of these buildings as well as the combination of domes and minarets stretching into the sky in a majestic fashion offered the right means for Sinn's symbolism. The overall picture, therefore, as summarised by Petruccioli is that "Sinn demonstrates how it is possible to
'make urbanism' with architecture by marking out few nodal sites which exalt the 'genius loci'."20
The urban impact of these projects on the development of the city of Istanbul is also apparent in the social, political and physical scope of his constructions. These Kulliye, and Palace complexes, created new urban environments, known locally as mahalle or district. By making them functional centres
21
of
the
neighbourhoods, Sinn used these Kulliye as "the chief device of Ottoman city-making" . At first, they accommodated their own populations, administration and services, but later served as a nucleus for "sprawling" neighbourhoods. Another of Sinn's contribution to urban planning is his construction of three water supply systems; the length of each was 50 km. The first system fed the city of Edirne from the Taslimusellim water source, while the other two supplied Istanbul from Suleymaniya (1557) and Kirkesme (1564). Sinn constructed a network of aqueducts and tunnels, sometimes repairing or reusing the old Roman waterways, which supplied water to key public buildings and palaces as well as a large number of public fountains that were distributed on various parts of the city. Although constructed almost five hundred years ago such a system is still mostly in operation today, apart from the line feeding Istanbul from Suleymaniya, which became obsolete22.
Attilio Petruccioli (ed.) (1984), "Mimar Sinan, the Urban Vision", Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre, (Rome ), p. 9. 21 Spiro Kostof (1995), op.cit, p. 457. 22 Unal Ozis (1984), "Sinn's water supply systems for Istanbul", in Mimar Sinan, the Urban Vision, (ed.) A.. Petruccioli, op. cit., pp. 20620
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Figure 7. Drawing of Behram Pasha Mosque, Diyarbakir, Turkey; floor plan and elevation. Source: http://archnet.org/library/images/one-image.tcl?location_id=14164&image_id=170634&start=1&limit=9.
Special technical innovations

Among the special technical innovations incorporated by Sinn in his buildings, we mention: 1. Earth quake engineering and drainage systems Sinn's buildings and mosques stood major quakes. He used to leave the foundations of a structure for a couple of years before he built the rest on top. He did so after having made measurements of the earth movement and decided whether to include lead sheathing as a cushioning layer (this method is used by modern structural engineers). Sinn took all kinds of measures against the potential of strong earthquakes. First of all he used special floor cement in the base of the Sleymaniye Mosque. This cement would absorb earthquake waves. He also carefully checked the place where the monument was to be built, whether it would be or not as strong as to scale the building. If the place was safe, he put stakes to make stronger the earth underneath of the base and built walls to support the whole construction. In the case of the Sleymaniye mosque, he waited for a long time after he finished the base of the building to be sure that the base settled down safely. He spent a part of this time in carrying out calculations of mathematical measures connected to the project. Sinn used to think multidimensional; he planned, located and built. Suitability of the location of a building to the city typography was important for him. Consideration of the city silhouette from Golden Horn, the location of the buildings on a hilly land, placement of minarets in relatively low places in a courtyard show
209.
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his mastery in architecture. He calculated every single detail and his delicacy in workmanship was far beyond his age. He also established a sewer system, known as drainage, underneath his buildings. Setting this system, he aimed to protect the base of the building from the moistures, dampness and water. Moreover, he established some air circulation canals to remove the moisture and humidity from the interior of the building to provide the balance of hot and cold air circulation. In addition, he used the discharging canals to stop the water that may threaten the base and the walls of the structure, and when the soil warmed in the summer time he designed a system to evacuate the steam that was generated. All the steam discharge canals and humidity canals were connected to the drainage canals.23 2. Environmental design The oil lamps and candles, that were used in large numbers to lighten Sinn's huge buildings would generate smoke and burn oxygen, so he made use of aerodynamics to drive the smoke to a filter chamber. The soot was then collected and used for making ink. In turn, clean air was driven to the outside ensuring sustainability.
Figure 8. The oil lamps and candles used by Sinn respected environmental rules.
3. Acoustical design Due to the design of the domes, the acoustics within the mosque are exceptionally clear. The air circulation within the mosque is also exceptional and the space above the entrance is illuminated by 4000 candles. Soot obtained from the candles is one of the raw materials in the making of ink used for calligraphy adding
23 E. Atil, Art and Architecture, in History of the Ottoman State, Society and Civilization, op. cit.; Haim Sylemez, Sinan Depremi zmt, Aksiyon Dergisi, 15-21 Ocak 2000, pp. 10-25; Glru Necipolu, Challenging the Past: Sinan and the Competitive Discourse of Early Modern Islamic Architecture, Muqarnas: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture vol. 10 (1993): pp. 169-180; idem, The Sleymaniye Complex in Istanbul: An Interpretation, Muqarnas, vol. 3 (1985): pp. 92-117.
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with stirring. This ink protects the books from the book wolves. This system filters the air pollution inside the mosque from bad air that comes from candles and people breathing.24 4. The use of ostrich eggs Sinn used ostrich eggs in the centre of the chandeliers that dangled from the dome to chase away insects which were attracted by candles or oil lamps. Every huge Ottoman mosque has numerous ostrich eggs around the candles. The chemical structure of the eggs was aimed also to chase away spiders from mosques. Due to these eggs there are no spider webs in Ottoman mosques.25
Conclusion
The merits of Sinn cannot be better expressed than what his former friend Sa'i Mustapha Celebi wrote on his tomb:
"Even if of short spell, the palace of the world is wonderful. Wordly pleasures don't give us a moment of peace, yet this man- be him blessed- has built for Suleyman the Great and Powerful a mosque which has been called "Firdawsi". The same man has also built aqueducts. He is a paragon for mankind; but, now, he has come to his end. Who gave the Tsckelmedie Bridge its final arch? He did. In the course of his lifetime, like the stars, he too created many wonders. He built four hundred buildings, and worked on eighty mosques- like the creator playing with the world. And now he has died after only one hundred and some years of life! May Allah grant him peace in Paradise"26
This remarkable story resembles that of most Muslim medieval scholars and scientists who reached highest of the human achievement. Once again one finds the Muslim belief and devotion to improve the human quality of life and his environment to be the main driving forces behind the great successes of these pioneers, recalling the Quranic message:
"Those who believe [in the Qur'an], and those who follow the Jewish [scriptures], and the Christians and the Sabians, any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve" (2: 62).
24 See Mutbul Kayili, Acoustic Solutions in Classic Ottoman Architecture, published online at http://muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=514. 25 See R. Saoud, Muslim Architecture under the Ottoman Patronage (1326-1924), published online at: http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/OttomanArchitecture.pdf; and Nile Green. Ostrich Eggs and Peacock Feathers: Sacred Objects as Cultural Exchange between Christianity and Islam, Al-Masaq, vol. 18 (2006): pp. 2778. 26 Quoted in A. Petruccioli Attilio (ed., 1984) op. cit., p. 6.
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Figure 9. Behram Pasha Mosque, Diyarbakir, Turkey; interior view looking southwest towards qibla wall. Source: http://archnet.org/library/images/oneimage.tcl?location_id=14164&image_id=137051&start=1&limit=9.
Further reading and references

Babinger, Franz (1934), "Sinn Pasha," Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1st edition. Leiden: Brill, 1913-36, vol. 7, pp. 432-33. Blair, Sheila S. and Bloom, Jonathan M. (1996), The Art and Architecture of Islam, 1250-1800. (The Yale University Press Pelican History). New Haven/London: Yale University Press. Reprint edition (paperback). Cicek, Kemal et. al. (2000), The Great Ottoman Turkish Civilisation. Ankara: Yeni Turkiye Publishers. Egli, Ernst (1954), Sinan, der Baumeister osmanischer Glanzzeit. Zurich: Eugen Rentsch Verlag. [Encyclopdia Britannica , (2007)], "Sinan." Encyclopdia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. 21 Apr. 2007 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067893. Goodwin, Godfrey (1987), A History of Ottoman Architecture . London: Thames and Hudson. Goodwin, Godfrey (1993), Sinan: Ottoman Architecture And Its Values Today. London: Saqi Books. Ihsanoglu, E. (ed.) (2002), History of the Ottoman State, Society and Civilisation, vol. 2. Istanbul: IRCICA. Kostof Spiro (1995), A History of Architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Kuran, Apdullah (1987), Sinan The Grand Old Master of Ottoman Architecture. Washington, D.C.: Institute of Turkish Studies / Istanbul: Ada Press Publishing. Necipoglu, Glru (2005), The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire (1539-1588), Princeton NJ.: Princeton University Press. O'Kane, Bernard (1997), "Sinan, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition. Leiden: Brill, vol. 8, pp. 629-30. Petruccioli Attilio (1984), "Mimar Sinan, the Urban Vision", Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre. (Roma: Carucci). Rogers J.M. (2007), Sinan: Makers of Islamic Civilization. London/New York: I. B. Tauris. Stratton A. (1972), Sinan: The Biography of One of the World's Greatest Architects and a Portrait of the
Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire. London: Macmillan. Sinanasaygi: Turkish Website dedicated to Sinan containing extensive information on his works in Istanbul:
http://www.sinanasaygi.com [Sinan Master Builder] 2007: Mimar Sinan: Master Builder of the 16th Century Ottoman Mosque, Washington State University, School of Architecture, Archive Slide Library: http://mimoza.marmara.edu.tr/~avni/H62SANAT/mimarsinan.hayati.htm [The Sinan Collection] The Sinan Collection on ArchNet: features 226 photographs and 95 architectural drawings from Glru Necipoglu (2005), The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire. URL: http://archnet.org/lobby.tcl. To view all available materials on Sinn in the ArchNet Digital Library, including scholarly articles, CAD files and images of monuments, visit: http://archnet.org/library/parties/one-party.tcl?party_id=630.
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Nutaf min al-Hiyal:

An Arabic Partial Version of Pseudo-Aristotles Mechanical Problems
Prof. Mohammed Abattouy Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Prof. Mohammed Abattouy Dr. Salim Ayduz June 2007 706 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
An Arabic Partial Version of Pseudo-Aristotles Mechanical Problems June 2007
Nutaf Min Al-Hiyal:
NUTAF MIN AL-HIYAL:

AN ARABIC PARTIAL VE RSION OF PSEUDO-A RIST OTLE S MECHANICAL PROBLEMS
Prof. Mohammed Abattouy*

This article 1 investigates the Arabic tradition of the Problemata Mechanica , a Greek text of mechanics ascribed to Aristotle that has often been claimed to have been unknown in Arabic classical culture. Against this prevailed claim, it is shown that the Arabo-Muslim scholars had access to the text at least in the form of an abridged version entitled Nutaf min al-hiyal edited by al-Khzin (12th century) in Kitb mzn al-hikma (Book of the Balance of Wisdom). The article includes commentaries on the history of the text, the edition of the Arabic text, an English translation, and a short characterisation of the mechanical theory of the
Nutaf.
The Problemata Mechanica, a Greek text of mechanical questions ascribed to Aristotle, is claimed in some recent publications to have been unknown in the Arabic traditions. To challenge this claim, it will be shown in the present article that the Arabo-Muslim scholars had access to the text at least in the form of an abridged version entitled Nutaf min al-hiyal included by al-Khzin (12th century) in his Kitb mzn al-hikma (Book of the balance of wisdom). This short version seems to have been epitomized by al-Isfizr (11th -12th centuries), al-Khzin's immediate predecessor, who may have been responsible for the structuring of the
Nutaf in the form of an epitome, or at least for its insertion among materials relevant to the practical
description of the balance of wisdom. In order to reconstruct the Arabic tradition of the Problemata
Mechanica, the text of Nutaf min al-hiyal is edited and translated into English. Furthermore, various kinds of materials are used to describe the historical and textual contexts in which the Nutaf fragment was inserted by al-Khzin in Kit b mzn al-hikma.
1. Historical and textual context

The Problemata Mechanica is a Greek treatise ascribed to Aristotle, but composed very probably by one of his later disciples. It deals with simple machines and many concrete phenomena on the basis of a constant procedure: the attempt to reduce them to the balance, and hence to the marvelous properties of the circle. 2 It was long claimed that the Peripatetic Mechanica had not entered Arabic culture. It is possible now to affirm that this is not true, and that the scholars of the Islamic lands had access to it at least through a short text entitled Nutaf min al-hiyal (Elements/extracts of mechanics) 3 edited in the 5th Book of Kit b
mzn al-hikma, al-Khzins encyclopedia of ancient and medieval mechanics.4
Mohammed Vth University, Rabat, Morocco. Member of FSTC, Manchester; representative of the Foundation in Morocco; Deputy Chief Editor of www.muslimheritage.com. 1 Based on an earlier version published in Abattouy 2001a. 2 Apparently completely unknown during the European Middle Ages, the text was printed in Venice in 1497 on the basis of a manuscript brought from Byzantium; it exerted then a considerable influence on the mechanical debates in the 16th century. For the history of the Greek text, the debate about its authorship, and its influence in the Renaissance, see Rose and Drake 1971, Aristotele 1982, p. 17 ff., De Gandt 1986, Micheli 1995, pp. 23-35, 133-152. A fresh account on the mechanical theory in the Peripatetic treatise is presented now in Damerow et al., 2002 (published before in Berlin: Max Planck-Institut fr Wissenschaftsgescichte, Preprint 145, 2000, 28 pp). The auhors of this article argue in favour of a possible connection between the ancient practical knowledge on balances and the mechanical theory exposed by al-Khzin. 3 All the translations quoted in the article are mine, unless otherwise indicated. They are extracted from my edition and translation of a large corpus of Arabic mechanical writings due to be published in a near future: M. Abattouy, The Arabic Science of Weights and the
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Nutaf Min Al-Hiyal:
The text of the Nutaf min al hiyal represents indeed a significant partial Arabic version of the Mechanical Problems. Presented under a special title that indicates its character as an excerpt from a longer text, it is attributed directly to Aristotle; as we will see below, it begins by the sentence: "Aristotle said". It consists in a reliable abridged version of the preliminary two sections of the pseudo-Aristotelian text where the theoretical foundation of the treatise is disclosed. Thus it includes a methodically arranged compendium of the introduction giving a definition of mechanics and of Problem 1 on the reason of the accurateness in the larger balances to the detriment of smaller ones. As edited in Kit b mz n al-hikma, the Nutaf is preceded by a relatively long technical discussion on the balance equilibrium dealing with the different cases of incidence of the axis on the balance beam. In his analysis of this question, al-Khzin probably had in mind the Peripatetic Problem 2 which investigates the accidents that arise from the suspension of the balance beam from above or from below. Without our assuming the analysis of the balance equilibrium in Kit b
mzn al-hikma to be closely connected to Pseudo-Aristotle's second mechanical question, it is hardly possible to understand why the Nutaf fragment was inserted precisely at the place it occupies in the middle
of the first chapter of the fifth part of al-Khzin's large book.5
Al-Khzin 1940, pp. 98-100. As will be argued later on, this was done in order to provide a theoretical foundation for the discussion of the balance equilibrium problem. In the first and second books of Kitb mzn al-hikma, al-Khzin edited abridged versions of several mechanical texts of his Greek and Arab predecessors: al-Khzin 1940, pp. 15-45. In the order of their publication, these include a joint version of Ab Sahl al-Kh's and Ibn al-Haytham's works on centers of gravity, the texts of Euclid, Archimedes and Menelaus on heaviness and lightness, the work of Thbit ibn Qurra F sifat al-wazn (Properties of weight), a five-section text on the equal-armed balance, and a valuable version of al-Isfizr's Irshd which contains a very important section on the construction and use of the steelyard. The style adopted by the author in his editorial enterprise of all these texts consists in the reproduction of more or less brief digests of the original works and in discarding large parts of the reasoning, mainly the geometrical proofs. Accordingly, this general procedure guided probably the edition of the Nutaf fragment, which might have been extracted from a longer Arabic text of the Pseudo-Aristotelian treatise, of which the existence is attested by other pieces of evidence: see below pp.6-9 and note 41.
5
Transformation of Mechanics: 9th-12th Centuries, forthcoming.

4
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Figure 1. First page of Kit b mzn al-hikma. Saint Petersburg, Russian National Library, Khanikoff collection, MS 117. The existence of an Arabic version of the Mechanical Problems has been left unconsidered in recent historiographical debates. Surprisingly, however, the German scholar Thomas Ibel had identified the passage in Kit b mz n al-hikma as a partial Arabic version of the Peripatetic text, which he also translated into German.6 Nonetheless, this brilliant achievement remained unnoticed, and none of the scholars who investigated the field of Arabic mechanics since then referred to it nor happened to identify the corresponding passage in al-Khzin's book when the latter was published in 1940. Rather, recent works relied heavily on the claimed non-transmission of the Peripatetic treatise to Arabic culture, and drew from this fact general conclusions relevant to the reconstruction of its textual history and to the determination of its place in the history of mechanics. 7 In this regard, the passage preserved by al-Khzin provides a
Ibel 1908, pp. 123-125. This is Micheli's attitude: Micheli 1995, pp. 94-95, 117-119. The same point of view seems to inspire some of W. R. Knorr's conclusions: Knorr 1982, p. 116. For Khalil Jaouiche and Mariam M. Rozhanskaya, it is unknown whether the Mechanical Problems was translated into Arabic, although Jaouiche had the intuition that Thbit ibn Qurra's proof of the law of the lever relied on the initial chapters of the Peripatetic treatise, and that Rozhanskaya identified the fragment edited by al-Khzin as an extract from Pseudo-Aristotle's Mechanica: see Jaouiche 1976, p. 28 ff., Rozhanskaya 1983, pp. 299-300, and Rozhanskaya 1996, p. 615. In his informative Aristoteles Arabus, Francis E. Peters notes that the Aristotelian text appears in the Arabic pinakes deriving from a Greek catalogue of Aristotle's works by Ptolemy Chennus of Alexandria, known in the Arabic sources as Batlims al-Gharb, Ptolemy the Foreign
7 6
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decisive proof confirming the Graeco-Arabic transmission of the text and stands as an argument in favor of the possible existence of a complete Arabic version, longer than the short summary provided in the Nutaf.8 In its extant form, the Nutaf seems to have been compiled in the Khurasanian School of mechanics. This informal group of scholars, led by al-Isfizr and al-Khzin, maintained in the 11th -12th century Iran a lively debate on mechanical problems and brought the Arabic tradition of theoretical and practical works on the balance to a high level of sophistication. Ab Htim al-Muzaffar ibn Isml al-Isfizr flourished in Khursn (north-east Persia) around 440 H/1048510 H/1116, during the reign of the Saljuq dynasty over the Eastern part of the Islamic world.9 He was a contemporary of the celebrated mathematician and poet Umar al-Khayym (1048-1131). His work holds an eminent place in Kitb mz n al-hikma, the work of Abd al-al-Rahmn al-Khzin, his immediate successor. Al-Isfizr s life and career may be reconstructed with the help of the meager information gleaned from short notices in a very few historical sources, such as the paragraph dedicated to him in al-Bayhaq (d. 1170). According to the latter, al-Isfiz r exercised teaching, constructed an accurate balance and wrote treatises on mechanics, meteorology and mathematics.10 The historian Ibn al-Athr (1160-1233) mentions furthermore that al-Isfiz r was one of the scholars who carried on the program of astronomical observations in Isphahan from 1075 in the observatory founded and sponsored by Malikshh.11 But in spite of his multifaceted activities, al-Isfizrs oeuvre remained largely unknown up to now. In the field of mechanics, where he contributed his most significant works, two important texts by him are extant. First, a two-part treatise on the steelyard, Irshd dhaw al-irfn il sin at al-qaffn (Guiding the Learned Men in the Art of the Steelyard), undoubtedly al-Isfizr s most important writing, which has never been studied. In this treatise on the theory and the practice of the unequal-armed balance, different textual traditions from Greek and Arabic sources are merged together for the elaboration of a unified mechanical theory. 12 Secondly, a collection of summaries sometimes accompanied by comments extracted from the mechanical works of Heron, Apollonius and Ban Ms.13 Another eminent member of the Khurasanian School of mechanics is Abd ar-Rahmn al-Khzin (fl. ca. 1115-1130). He worked in the court of the Sultan Sanjar, third son of Malik-Shh (d. 485/1092), who after having been governor of Khursn, became the overall ruler of the Seljuk empire in 1118. It is to him that al-Khzin dedicated his astronomical work al-Zj al-mutabar al-sanjar and his encyclopedic work on the balance of wisdom, the famous Kitb mzn al-hikma, "the most important and comprehensive work on
(late first and early second centuries). Further, he adds some secondary references to the Peripatetic Mechanica in Arabic historical sources (those quoted below in note 18), and indicates the explicit reference to the text that occurred in the De arte venandi cum avibus of Frederick II (13th century). But he considers fundamentally that the text was only possibly used by al-Khzin and that "there is no distinct trace of a translation in either the Arabic or Arabic-Latin manuscript tradition": Peters 1968a, p. 61. 8 The main features of the Graeco-Arabic transmission of mechanical texts are surveyed in Abattouy 1999, Abattouy 2001b, pp. 184-186, Abattouy 2002b, and Abattouy 2006. 9 Al-Isfizr's bio-bibliography is reconstructed in Abattouy 2000a. 10 Al-Bayhaq 1988, p. 125. 11 Ibn al-Athr 1378 H [1967], p. 121. On this point, see Sayl 1960, pp. 162-163. 12 The Irshd of al-Isfizr is extant in a unicum copy preserved in Damascus (al-Asad National Library MS 4460, al-Zhiriyya Collection, folii 16a-24a) and in an abridged version reproduced by al-Khzin (1940, pp. 39-45). Its contents are surveyed and commented upon in Abattouy 2000a and Abattouy 2001b, pp. 226-238. 13 This collection is preserved in two manuscript copies: MS 351 in the John Ryland's Library in Manchester and MS QO 620 H-G in the Uthmniyya University Library in Hayderabad. Up till now, it has been mentioned only in the catalogues of Arabic manuscripts. It includes, in this order: a long reworked version of Ban Ms's Kitb al-hiyal (Book of machines), a commentary on selected parts of the first two books of Herons Mechanics, and a short text entitled Kitb f al-bakara (Book of the wheel) ascribed to Apollonius, probably an extract from the text on the screw ascribed to Apollonius of Perga by Proclus and Pappus. This text is to be published in M. Abattouy, "Kitb f albakara: An Arabic partial version of Apollonius On the Screw", forthcoming on www.muslimheritage.com.
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mechanics in the Middle Ages, from any cultural area".14 Completed in 515 H (1121/1122), it covers a wide range of topics related to statics, hydrostatics and practical mechanics, besides reproducing abridged editions of several mechanical texts by or ascribed to Greek and Arabic authors. As such, al-Khzins work is a real mine of information on mechanical knowledge up until the early 12th century. 15 Before we proceed to the discussion of the Nutaf min al-hiyal and its textual context in al-Khzin's encyclopedic book, let us present first some historical data on the main cases of occurrence of the Peripatetic text in Arabic historical sources. The investigation of these classical sources confirms that
Problemata Mechanica occurred indeed as a title of an Aristotelian work. The earliest reference of this kind
is reported in the chronicle composed in 1053/54 by al-Mubashshir Ibn Ftik who mentioned among Aristotle's books "Kit b hiyal al-handasa" (Book of geometrical mechanics). 16 Similar references are to be found also in the 13th-century bibliographical dictionaries of Ibn ab Usaybi a and Ibn al-Qift. The former mentions among the works of Aristotle "Kit b f 'l-masil al-hiyaliyya, maqlatn" (Book on mechanical problems, in two chapters), whereas the latter quotes the very Greek title of the text: "his book called Mechanical Problems (masil hiyaliyya) and entitled Mkhnq problemt."17 Furthermore, in Kitb al-Qdir (Book of the powerful), a text ascribed to Jbir ibn Hayyn (721-815), the well known Arab alchemist and philosopher who flourished mostly in Kfa (southern Iraq), familiar in the Latin world under the name of Geber, a short passage quotes in a peculiar way the Peripatetic Mechanica: "Aristotle said in the Book of Mechanical Balances (kitb al-mawzn al-mkhanqiyya): "as for the how of a thing it is a geometrical and mathematical matter, whereas the what of a thing is a natural matter. How prestigious and honorable is this discourse for him who understands it".18 The particular significance of this rather short reference to the Mechanica Problemata is that it might represent a very early occurrence of the Peripatetic text in the Arabic tradition. The archaic style in which the title of the Peripatetic text is mentioned indicates a paraphrase rather than a direct quotation. This is natural if it is supposed that the short passage in Jbir's Kitb draws probably on indirect Greek sources. 19 A second similar case comes from the other end of the Islamic medieval world. It seems indeed that Ab alWald ibn Rushd (Averroes, d. 1198), the famous Andalusian philosopher, knew the Mechanica Problemata as he made a critical reference to its quaestio 24: why two connected concentric circles, one of which rolls along a straight line, during one revolution, cover equally long straight lines in spite of their different circumferences. Ibn Rushd had maintained that geometry cannot prove that this is the case. For this reason he was criticized by Cardano, who exclaimed in his New Work on Proportions: "Why did he not solve the
14 15 16
Hill 1993, p. 60. On al-Khzins life and works, see Hall 1973 and Abattouy 2000b. See Ibn Ftik al-Amr 1958, p. 184. Originally from Damascus, this author lived in Egypt where he died around 489-90 H/ 1096. According to several sources (Ibn al-Qift, al-Safad) he studied with the famous physicist Ibn al-Haytham and wrote his book in 445 H. Ibn Ftik's book exerted a remarkable influence on the Latin historiography in the late Middle Ages after it was translated into Spanish (Los Bocados de Oro) and into Latin and other European languages. It might have been one of the earliest sources in which Latin scholars knew about the existence of a work on mechanics ascribed to Aristotle. On Ibn Ftik, see Peters 1968b, pp. 126-128. 17 See respectively Ibn ab Usaybia 1965, p. 104, and Ibn al-Qift 1903, p. 43. The Kitb al-hiyal which Hajj Khalfa ascribes to Aristotle may be derived from these early sources: Hajj Khalfa 1835-58, vol. 5, p. 78, vol. 7, p. 851. 18 Kitb al-qdir, Paris, Bibliothque Nationale, MS Arabe 5099, f. 66b, 8-10. Another copy of Jbir's Kitb al-qdir is preserved in Teheran, Danishgh Library, MS 491, ff. 141a-142a; see Sezgin 1971, pp. 101, 252. 19 As it is well known, the Corpus jabirianum is a very complex set of texts, some of which were written in later times and were only falsely attributed to Jbir ibn Hayyn. Hence it is difficult to decide about the date in which this reference to the Pseudo-Aristotle's Mechanica was made, although the peculiar title under which this work is designated inclines to decide for an early one. In his Jbir ibn Hayyn. Contribution l'histoire des ides scienifiques dans l'Islam. Jbir et la science grecque, Paul Kraus casts serious doubts on the authenticity of a large part of the Jbirian corpus but he does not say so when he quotes the passage of Kitb al-qdir where the Mechanical Problems is mentioned: Kraus 1986, pp. 323-324. Kraus' thesis concerning the genuiness of the Jabirian corpus is challenged in Nomanul Haq 1994,
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difficulty, which is exclusively mathematical and rests on evident principles?"20 Hence according to Cardano the Mechanical Problems was known to Ibn Rushd and therefore was probably available in Muslim Spain, to where it was plausibly brought from the Islamic East. This is instructive as indication of the wide diffusion of the text throughout the Islamic world.21 Besides the references we find in classical Arabic culture to the Peripatetic Mechanical Problems, this text was accessible in the Islamic area, as mentioned above, at least through the partial version Nutaf min al-
hiyal edited in the fifth part of al-Khzin's encyclopedic work on the balance of wisdom. The Book Five of Kitb mzn al-hikma is dedicated to the description and the trial of the balance of wisdom, a huge lever
balance with equal arms having five scale-pans and a running counterweight. Its first chapter consists of a very minute description of the balance, probably according to written specifications by al-Isfizr, whose name is mentioned three times in the chapter. The fragment Nutaf is introduced at the end of Section 4, following what might be considered the most important part of al-Isfiz r s description. The paternity of the latter is obviously valid for all the material enclosed in the limits of the chapter and naturally extends over the fragment extracted from the Peripatetic treatise. On this basis, al-Isfizr might be considered logically as responsible for the adaptation of this partial Arabic digest and also for its insertion as a digression appended to the description of the parts of the balance. We owe to al-Khzins predecessor indeed a whole body of recensions, reworkings and commentaries that comprise virtually all the corpus of theoretical mechanics to which he could have access, including Greek and Arabic works. Therefore, it would be quite natural that he would produce a digest of the Mechanica Problemata, one of the major ancient texts of mechanics.22
chap. 1. 20 Geronimo Cardano 1570, Prop. 196, p. 222. 21 According to Cardano, Ibn Rushd dealt with this problem of the wheels in his Commentarium magnum, to which he had access very probably in the edition of his commentaries on Aristotle's works: Opera omnia Aristotelis Stagiritae Averrois Cordubensis in ea opera omenes qui ad nos pervenere comentarii (Venice: apud Cominum de Tridino, 1560); reprinted Venetiis, apud Junctas, 1562-1574 (recent edition in Frankfurt: Minerva, 1962). The Peripatetic problem of the concentric circles has been made famous after Galileo discussed it in the First Day of his Discorsi published in 1638. In his history of the question, I. E. Drabkin (1958) did not mention Ibn Rushd in connection with it. 22 A supplementary confirmation of al-Isfizr's direct knowledge of the Pseudo-Aristotelian text is provided by a passage of his Irshd where he says that the art of the steelyard "is composed of both geometrical and natural arts, combining the two categories why and how" (Irshd, f. 17a). As will be shown below, this is a characteristic thesis of the Mechanical Problems.
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Figure 2. Page cover of Bernardino Baldi's, Mechanica Aristotelis Problemata (1621), a Latin commentary on the pseudo-Aristotelian Questions of Mechanics. Source: http://www.chlt.org/sandbox/lhl/Baldi/page.6.php
2. An ingenious solution to the balance equilibrium problem23

As said above, the Nutaf fragment is preceded in Kitb mz n al-hikma by a technical discussion on the balance equilibrium. Apparently, this discussion has no direct bearing on the contents of the Nutaf proper, but it might be easily shown that al-Khzin introduced it exactly there for a quite plausible reason: in order to provide a theoretical foundation for this practical discussion in which he was aware of having elaborated a solution going far beyond the Peripatetic version of this same problem. The following brief look on the structure of al-Khzin's treatise will be helpful for the reconstruction of the textual context in which the Nutaf fragment appears. Kitb mz n al-hikma is divided into eight books or
23
A summary of al-Khzins improvemenent of this problem is exposed in detail in Abattouy 2000c, pp. 9-19, 29-33 and in Abattouy 2001b, sect. II.1.
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maqlt that the author organised in two principal parts (al-Khzin 1940, p. 92): Books I-IV set the
theoretical foundations of the science of the balance in general, together with a summary description of the balances constructed by al-Khzin's predecessors, whereas Books V-VII are devoted to a minute description of the universal balance conceived by al-Isfizr and built and explained in detail by al-Khzin.24 The corner stone of this second part is undoubtedly the Fifth Book which is dedicated to the description of different technical aspects of the balance of wisdom. Entitled "Mechanism, construction, explanation and trial (f al-san a wa al-tarkb wa al-ta rf wa al-imtihn)" of the said balance, it occupies thus a crucial position in the structure of al-Khzins text as it is dedicated to elaborate upon the previous theoretical and practical considerations for the description of the parts of the balance of wisdom and how they are articulated together. It is in this context that the appeal is made to the Pseudo-Aristotelian mechanical theory. Indeed, the discussion of the balance equilibrium problem occurs in Book V, chapter 1, sect. 4, and the Nutaf fragment is introduced at the end of this section, to which it is appended. Four chapters compose Book Five of Kitb mzn al-hikma. The first, and most important for our concern, is made up of seven sections. It is entitled "On the construction (san a) of the limbs of the balance of wisdom according to the figure (haya) indicated by the eminent master (al-shaykh al-imm) al-Isfizr ." The first three sections describe, respectively, the beam ( amd), the needle or pointer (lisn) and the scissorsshaped forks (fiyyrn) between which the latter moves. The fourth section deals with "the universal and general science" of the axis, of the perforation of the beam for the fastening of the needle to it, and of the taking into account of the weight of the needle and of the scale-pans which are attached to the beam (f al-
ilm al-kull al-mutlaq f ahkm al-mihwar wa al-thaqb wa al-thiql).25 Thus it deals in theoretical and practical
fashions with the different cases of incidence of the needle on the beam and with the accidental circumstances due to the friction between the axis and the beam which may obstruct the rotation of the latter. The problem of the balance equilibrium in Kitb mzn al-hikma (Book 5, chapter 1, section 4) is formulated in statical terms and in a general way, producing thus an appropriate and suitable solution. Hence the equilibrium of the balance is said to include three cases to be considered, and all three depend on the position of the axis with respect to the centre of gravity of the beam. Therefore, the respective positions taken by the beam, whether it stays on the horizontal plane, comes back to it when inclined, or remains depressed to one side, correspond in turn to the coincidence of the axis with the centre of the balance, and to the cases when the former is situated above or below it. The balance referred to by al-Khzin is composed of a system of heavy bodies (beam, needle and scalepans) of which the conditions of equilibrium and stability are characterized on the basis of the theory of the centre of gravity developed earlier in Books I-II. The analysis starts by considering the case of a heavy cylindrical beam suspended in horizontal equilibrium. On disturbance of its equilibrium, the incidence of the axis on it takes three probable positions, depending on whether the axis of rotation passes through, above or below the centre of gravity of the beam. These positions are called respectively the axis of equilibrium (mihwar al-itidl), the axis of rotation (mihwar al-inqilb), and the axis of constraint (mihwar al-iltizm),
24 The Sixth Book is about the selection of appropriate counterpoises, the Seventh applies the balance of wisdom to exchange problems (conversion of gold and silver coins from and to dirhams and dinrs), and the Eighth Book describes two varieties of a balance clock for the determination of time. 25 The last three sections are devoted to the scale-pans, to the rings by which the balance is supported and to the bucket of water.
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corresponding to the cases called in modern terminology: indifferent, unstable and stable equilibrium (alKhzin 1940, pp. 96-98). Instead of just describing what happens when the balance beam is supported from above or from below, as in the Mechanical Problems, our author endeavors to find a complete explanation of the problem. For this purpose, he invents a special terminology and analyses the problem on an abstract level. His procedure covers three cases, two of which correspond to those mentioned in the Peripatetic Mechanica.26 Thus, when the axis is below the centre of the beam, the latter is said to remain inclined to one side; and when it is above the same centre it is constrained to return back to horizontal equilibrium. In the third case, wanting in Pseudo-Aristotle, when the axis coincides with the centre of gravity of the beam, the latter stays even. In the three cases, the Arabic text relies on a single principle: the change in the angle of incidence of the axis on the beam with respect to its centre of gravity. The beam is designed explicitly as being free from the needle or pointer and from any scale-pans or chains. At the end of this theoretical discussion of the incidence of the axis on the balance beam, al-Khzin turns to the examination of the accidental circumstances caused by the friction between the axis and the beam and which obstruct the rotation of the latter. This practical question is surveyed rapidly as a conclusion for the balance equilibrium problem. Its location at this place points out that al-Khzins investigation of the whole issue was aimed precisely at this practical end, namely the explanation of the way to fasten the needle to the beam. In this perspective, the needle and the crosspiece to which it is fixed represent the axis of rotation of the balance beam.
26
The second mechanical problem debated in the Peripatetic Mechanica asks why is it that when the cord is attached to the upper surface of the beam of a balance, if one takes away the weight when the balance is depressed on one side, the beam rises again and returns to horizontal equilibrium, whereas if the beam is supported from below, when the weight is removed, it remains in the inclined position (Aristotle 1952, 850a 3-6). The answer of the author is that this happens because when the support is from above and that a weight is placed in a scale-pan, the larger portion of the beam is above the perpendicular represented by the chord. In this case, the greater part of the beam must incline until the line dividing the beam into two equal parts coincides with the perpendicular. In the other case, when the balance is supported from below, the greater part of the beam is the inclining part so that the beam remains in this position for this reason.
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Figure 3. Two positions of the balance mentioned in Kitb mz n al-hikma: the normal situation in which the balance is suspended from above and the overturned balance. Source: al-Khzin 1940, pp. 103, 108. In regard to the above-mentioned evidence, it turns out that al-Khzin's solution to the balance equilibrium problem is an improvement of the earlier Peripatetic argument elaborated in the course of the answer to the second quaestio of the Mechanical Problems. This connection is established for the first time. Further, it represents a brilliant instance of the improvement in Arabic mechanics of a technical problem stemming from Greek sources. As such, it embodies indeed a case of creative transformation of a product of transmission. Moreover, the link between the balance equilibrium problem and the Nutaf in Kit b mz n al-hikma is incontestable, as the latter is physically appended to the former and as the passages corresponding to them in the Greek text come together (but in the inverse order). The interconnection between the two texts may
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be worked out by supposing that al-Isfizr and/or al-Khzin considered that, since they belong to the one and same mechanical theory in the Peripatetic Mechanica, then the properties of the balance equilibrium must be founded on the conception of mechanics provided by the two sections of the Nutaf. In this light, the solution elaborated for the balance equilibrium is referred to the same properties of mechanical devices (hiyal sin iyya) and of mechanical problems (masil hiyaliyya) in general as defined in the first part of the
Nutaf and thus circumscribed to the limits of the Peripatetic framework, rather than being reported to
another theoretical horizon, that of Archimedes' statics. This second possibility was, however, not available as a result of the non-transmission of any of Archimedes' statical works to the Arabic science.27
3. Edition and translation of Nutaf min al-hiyal

In Kit b mzn al-hikma the text of the Nutaf follows immediately after the discussion on the balance equilibrium, probably with the aim to supply a theoretical framework for it. In the following section, Nutaf min al-hiyal will be edited and translated into English, then, in a last section, it will be commented upon briefly.
3.1. Edition of the Arabic text

Three known complete manuscript copies of Kit b mzn al-hikma are conserved: - Al-Maktaba al-Muhammadiyy, al-Masjid al-Jmi in Mumbay (Bombay before), Codex 547. - Saint Petersburg, Russian National Library, Khanikoff collection, MS 117. - Andhra Pradesh Government Oriental Manuscripts Library and Research Institute in Hayderabad, Codex Riydh 125. 28 The first copy was written at the beginning of Rbi II 585 H / May 1189, some sixty-eight years only after the book was completed by its author (in 1121). Whence its extreme interest. Unfortunately, according to the present available information, it seems that this manuscript has been lost.29 Thankfully enough, it was used in the edition of Kitb mzn al-hikma in 1940, where some of its most significant variant readings were cited. The MS conserved now in Saint Petersburg seems to be very close to the lost Bombay copy, from which it most probably stems. It was discovered in Iran in the 19th century by the Russian consul in Tabriz, Nicholas Khanikoff, who used it for a partial publication and translation of al-Khzin s work.30 A xerox copy of this same MS was later collated with the two afore-mentioned Indian copies for the publication of the Arabic text by the Uthmniyya University in Hyderabad in 1940.31
The fate of Archimedes' mechanics in the Arabic tradition is discussed in Abattouy 2002, pp. 184-185. Few years ago, Sam Fogg, a London firm of medieval, Islamic and Indian art, exhibited on its website (www.samfogg.com) some pages of a manusscript copy of al-Khazini's Kitb mzn al-hikma including very beautiful illustrations of the drawings included in the book. This manuscript was for sale, and at present (May 2007), it is no more displayed on the website. 29 This is the official information I got from al-Maktaba al-Muhammadiyya in Mumbay. Fortunately, photographs of this manuscript seems to be conserved in the library of the Institute for the History of Arabic Sciences in Aleppo (Catalogue of the photographed manuscripts, n 79), as announced in a recent issue of the Newsletter of the Institute. 30 Khanikoff 1860. 31 Al-Khzin 1940, p. 169; see also pp. 165-66, where the colophons of the two Indian copies are quoted in full. As it is extant, MS
28
27
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The Codex Riydhi 125 contains a very faulty text, infested with flagrant errors and with blanks. Its shortcomings are so numerous and multifaceted that it is simply impossible to rely on it for the establishement of a consistent and intelligible text. The few instances of variant readings derived from it and given below in the critical apparatus show that such a severe judgment is amply justified. The followinng edited text of Nutaf min al-hiyal is based on the two manuscripts still extant (Codex Riyadhi 125, p. 82-line 10 p. 84-line 5 and Khanikoff MS 117, folio 66b-line 8 folio 67b-line 2), in addition to the variant readings supplied by the Hayderabed edition (al-Khzin 1940, p. 98 line 15 p. 100 line 14). For ease of reading, the punctuation has been modernized and some formatting of the paragraphs introduced.32
Figure 4. Kit b mzn al-hikma, MS Khanikoff 117, f. 66b. Source: the Russian National Library, Saint Petersburg, Khanikoff Collection.
Khanikoff coll. 117 has no colophon and few lines of the last eighth book are missing (MS 117, f. 107b). A fourth and apparently independent partial copy of Kitb mzn al-hikma was discovered in Jerusalem in the 1940s. It was transcribed and published by Fud Jamn in Cairo in 1947. I did not yet consult this edition. According to Hall 1973 (p. 349), it contains an incomplete text and gives the name of the author as "al-Khzin", a form encountered very often but which has the disadvantage of confusing al-Khzin with the 10thcentury astronomer and mathematician, Ab Jafar al-Khzin, author of Zj al-safih (Table of Planes). Finally, fragments from Kitb mzn al-hikma are inserted in MS 223 conserved in Beirut, Bibliothdhque Saint Joseph. These consist in nine pages without numbers put at the end of the volume and reproducing the last lines of Book II and almost the whole Book III of Kitb mzn al-hikma devoted to the edition of al-Brn's Risla f al-nisab allat bayna al-filizt wa al-jawhir f 'l-hajm (Treatise on the ratios existing between metals and jewels in volume). Another copy of al-Biruni's Risla written in a different handwriting is included in this same Beirut MS 223, pp. 20-55. In his description of the contents of this codex, Louis Cheikho did not mention the existence of any partial copy of Kitb mzn al-hikma: Cheikho 1973, pp. 287-289. 32 The variant readings that exist between the manuscript copies are documented in the original publication of this text in Abattouy 2001a, pp. 110-113.
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[Some elements/extracts of mechanics] Some elements/extracts of mechanics, Aristotle said (sic), which people find marvelous [and which occur] either in accordance with nature but of which one does not know the cause, or contrarily to nature, and these are produced by art for the benefit of mankind, because nature follows always the same direction whereas the needs of humans differ widely. And in every difficult action which happens contrary to nature mechanical artifices are needed, and for this reason the lesser [things] overcome the greater [things]. The mechanical problems are common to both the mathematical and the natural sciences, for the how in them belongs to the mathematical sciences, whereas the what belongs to the natural sciences, as in the action of the lever: if its weight is increased it moves the heavy object [more] rapidly. The circle is the cause of all this, and the like. The most marvellous is that in which contrary things are combined, and in the circle are combined motion and rest. In its circumference sinking and rising exist, and between them the tangency, just as the equal exists between the greater and the smaller and the straight between the concave and the convex. And in one and the same movement of the circle there exists contrariety between forward and backward, upward and downward. A [straight] line draws it by motion on one side and by rest on the other, ending where it started and proceeding to what it has left. The motions of the points assumed on it differ in speed, the one closer to the end at rest being slower. Therefore, the circle is undeniably the first and the origin of any and every marvel. The things that occur in the balances occur only because of the circle and are referred to it,
[] - - . .
. .
. . .
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whereas
those
which
occur
in
the
lever
are
referred to the balance. And since a single circle can move with two different motions, it is possible to produce circles that move with a single motion from which many motions come about. This is the origin of many contrary and marvellous motions. Only one of them is obvious but its cause is hidden. Problem It is also asked why the large balances are more accurate and of more precision than the small balances. The principle of the answer regarding this reason is to ask why, in the case of a line which departs from the centre of a circle and is long, and therefore the distance of its end from the centre is a greater distance, the motion of its end is faster when both ends are moved by the same force. The faster of two mobiles is the one that travels over a greater distance in the same time, whereas the farther from the centre travels over a greater distance along its circumference and the nearer a smaller distance. It is infered from this reasoning that the fulcrum of the balance is a centre, since it is fixed and that the two sides of the beam which are on either side of the fulcrum stand for the lines departing from the centre. If the beam is longer, the motion of its end, as it is caused by the same weight, will be stronger than the motion it would have if it was shorter. [Hence] when some weights are put in small balances, they do not produce inclination towards their side, because of their smallness and of the shortness of the beam. But if they are put in a large balance, an evident inclination results, because of the length of the needle and of the beam.
. .
. . .
. . .
4. The mechanical theory in the Nutaf: a short characterisation

The text of the Arabic partial epitome of the Mechanical Problems is inserted right after the aforementioned technical discussion on the balance equilibrium, probably with the aim to supply a theoretical
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framework for it. It is introduced under what seems to be a title: Nutaf min al-hiyal (Elements/Extracts of mechanics). That this group of words was intended as a title for the ensuing paragraph is suggested by the fact that the original Greek title Problemata Mechanica would have been correctly rendered by the expression masil hiyaliyya, which exists in Arabic historical literature as we saw before. Moreover, the term
nutaf evokes the notion of selection from a longer text and thus corresponds to the Arabic epitome as a partial version. 33 As for the other term, hiyal, it refers obviously to mechanical devices, and may even be a hint at the Aristotelian Mechanica.34
After this title, follows immediately the reference to Aristotle: "Qla Aristtls" (Aristotle said). 35 As shown in the figure below reproducing the beginning of the Nutaf fragment in MS Khanikoff Coll. 117 (Kitb mz n
al-hikma, St. Petersburg, Khanikoff Coll. MS 117, f. 66b), the bold line above the phrase "nutaf min al-hiyal" identifies it as a heading for the ensuing section. Further, in the Hyderabad copy of Kitb mzn al-hikma
(MS Riydhi 125, p. 82) these three words are written in a colored ink.
Figure 5. Title of Nutaf min al-hiyal. From the very beginning, the text of the Nutaf is deliberately placed under the authority of Aristotle to whom the authorship of the text is ascribed. Hence, the fragment is clearly affiliated to the sole author to whom it was ever attributed until the 19th century. As a result, the contents of the short fragment are viewed as part of a recognized and coherent theory from which it is expected to derive legitimacy and prestige. First, mechanics is defined as the art of using devices for performing difficult actions, like raising heavy weights by small forces. The Arabic text skips the quotation of the poet Antiphon given in the introduction of the Mechanical Problems, and manifestly intended to illustrate the intermediary status of mechanics between nature and art: "We by skill ( ) gain mastery over things in which we are conquered by nature."36 However, the spirit of this quotation is clearly reflected in the first sentences of the Nutaf, where mechanics is defined in terms of machines produced by art for the benefit of men. Opposing the constancy of nature and the inconstancy of human needs, the text proclaims the necessity of devices: what is against nature is produced by art and skill (bi-'l-sin a), with the intermediary of artificial devices (hiyal siniyya). Now, these may give rise to paradoxical effects so that small forces overcome great weights (wa li-dhlika
That al-Khzin intended the term nutaf in this sense is confirmed by his usage of it with the same signification in a more explicit context. The title of Book III-chap. 1 of Kitb mzn al-hikma reads indeed: "The ratios between the metals and jewels, and these are extracts (nutaf) from the book on the ratios between metals and jewels in volume [by al-Brn]": al-Khzin 1940, p. 55. 34 The correspondence hiyal-mechanics is studied in Abattouy 2000d. 35 This reference to Aristotle does not occur in one manuscript of Kitb mzn al-hikma, as it is indicated by the editors of the Arabic text of al-Khzin (1940, p. 99, footnote 2). 36 Aristotle 1952, Mechanica, 847a 20-21. The opposition art/nature is a classical Aristotelian thesis which is well documented: see for a summary and bibliographic references Whitney 1990, pp. 34-36, and G. Micheli 1995, pp. 23-35.
33
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srat al-asghir taqw al al-akbir). This theme corresponds to a major specialty of ancient and medieval
mechanics, namely the one concerned with different means of moving great weights with little force. As formulated in the Mechanical Problems, in its Greek as well as in its Arabic versions, such a thesis could afford a theoretical leitmotiv for the numerous writings devoted to this question.37 In the Arabic tradition, the problem of moving weights was conceived of as a particular branch of mechanics known as the science of weights. This classification emerged first in Ab Nasr al-F r b's (ca. 870-950) Ihs al-ulm (The Enumeration of sciences). Considering mechanics as a mathematical science, the Second Master (after Aristotle) distinguished the science of weights (ilm al-athql) from the mechanics proper (ilm al-hiyal). Hence ilm al-athql refers to the weights whether as they are measured or used for measuring (the practice of the balance), or as they are moved or used to move (the principle of the machines for raising and displacing heavy loads). En revanche, ilm al-hiyal encompasses the procedures by which all what is proved in mathematical sciences is applied to natural bodies and actualised in them.38 Al-Fr b's position had far-reaching consequences in the history of mechanics, as it afforded an adequate epistemological and philosophical background for the Arabic transformation of the ancient tradition of mechanics, which gave rise to a new science of balances and weights. This science constituted the basis of the Latin scientia de
ponderibus that developed in Europe since the 12th century, after the translation of a significant part of the Arabic corpus of mechanics and of al- Fr b's Ihs.39
The intermediary status of mechanics as a mixed science, namely that its object is physical whereas its method applies mathematics, is emphasized in the Nutaf. Being so, the mechanical problems have an intermediary epistemological status, in so far as they are common to the mathematical and the natural sciences. Their methods of resolution are mathematical whereas the application of their results is relevant to the field of physics. In other words, the study of the properties of machines requires mathematics as a tool of analysis and physics to account for the practical explanation. The typical example in this respect is the lever, whose weight moves the heavy load rapidly while the geometrical properties of the circle provide the reason of its action. In general, the circle is the reason of all what happens in mechanical instruments, because of its distinctive features. Therefore the properties of the balance are explainable by the circle whereas those of the lever are referred to the balance. The phrase about the action of the lever ( amal al-bayram) contains the substance of Problem 3 in
Mechanical Problems. Its occurrence here, followed by the principle of the close correspondence between
the lever and the circle, may account in part for the absence of this question from the Arabic Nutaf.40 In the third problem of the Problemata, this question is formulated differently: "Why is it that small forces can
37
For instance, Heron's Mechanics was translated into Arabic under the title F raf al-ashy al-thaqla (On lifting heavy objects); this title was coined already in Greek with reference to the Barulcos, a machine for raising heavy weights and described in the first chapter of the treatise: see Hron d'Alexandrie, 1988. Concerning the importance of raising weights in ancient mechanics, Pappus wrote: "They say that the crafts needed more than any others in human affairs, and which are related to the field of mechanics... are [firstly] what is called in Greek the craft of manjn, this being what the ancients also used to call the craft of mechanics. For the masters of this craft raise great weights aloft by means of their devices, contrary to the weight's natural motion, with very little power" (quoted in Jackson 1970, p. A3. Accordingly, the description of machines for raising heavy weights occupied a central part in Arabic works of mechanics, such as in alJazar's machines book, especially the fifth category: see Hill1974,. 38 Al-Frb, 1949), pp. 43, 88-89. The echoes of al-Frb's distinction extend over all Arabic culture, from Mafth al-ulm by Ab Abdallh b. Ysuf al-Khwrizm (10th century) (al-Khwrizm 1968, pp. 246-247), until the Kashshf istilht al-funn composed in the 18th century by Muhammad b. Al al-Tahnaw (al-Tahnaw 1980, vol. 1, p. 47). 39 For a first glance on this seminal thesis, see M. Abattouy, Jrgen Renn and Paul Weinig 2001. 40 The Nutaf fragment does not make any mention of the law of the lever. However, Thbit ibn Qurra constructed in Kitb f 'l-qarastn his proof of this same theorem along the model indicated in a sketchy proof contained in the Greek text of the Mechanical Problems. This could stand as an argument that he had presumably access to a longer text than the abridged one reproduced by al-Khzin. For a survey on the methodological and theoretical affinities between Thbit ibn Qurras proof of the law of the lever and the rough justification of this proposition in the third quaestio of the Mechanical Problems, see Abattouy 2001b, sect. III.
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move great weights by means of a lever?" The crucial importance of this question for theoretical mechanics in ancient and medieval times is well-known. In the original Greek text, the question is followed by a clause which seems as it is rendered in the current English translations of the Mechanical Problems to turn it into a rather foolish direction: "Why is it that small forces can move great weights by means of a lever, although the weight of the lever is added?" The formulation of the phrase in the Arabic text of the Nutaf which corresponds to a similar phrase in the introductory chapter of the Mechanical Problems does not to reproduce this riddle in full. It is limited to illustrate the case by the action of the lever. The mechanical problems are common to mathematics and physics as it is illustrated by the action of the lever, the increase of its weights i.e. of its strength and power adds to its capacity to move heavy objects rapidly (idh zda thiqluhu harraka al-shay al-thaql sar an). The reason of this "peculiar property" is the circle because of the special features which are then listed. The central mechanical problem is said to be the lever, the instrument for lifting heavy weights with small forces. However, the cause of such a peculiar phenomenon is not the law of the lever but the circle which is presented as the source of all other marvels, including those of the balance. The singular properties of the circle are presented first in rhetorical terms, as the combination of the contraries one in the other (the mobile and the immobile, the concave and the convex, motion and rest, forward and backward motions). Then a more rational reason is given, emphasizing the dynamic features of the circle: the more a point is further from the centre the quicker it is moved by the same force. The focus on the properties of the circle denotes that the epitomist of the Arabic text was aware that the problem at stake has the character of a theoretical principle. After this general and introductory part, the Nutaf fragment proceeds to the statement of a specific question corresponding to Problem 1 in the Peripatetic Mechanica. This question is presented under the heading of masala (question or problem): "It is also asked why the large balances are more accurate (ahadd) and of more precision (akthar istiqs ) than the small balances." This fact is accounted for on the basis of the same theoretical principle mentioned before: a point farther from the centre moves quickly than a closer one, even if both are animated by the same force. In the present case, the beam of the balance is considered as a line of which the centre is the fulcrum. In this context, it is thought that the rotation of a longer beam produces a motion faster than that of a shorter one, and thus a balance having a long beam should be of more precision. Therefore, the reason of accurateness in a large balance in comparison with a smaller one is reported to the length of the beam, and, consequently, to the alleged sensitiveness generated by the swiftness of the circular motion of its end, with regard to the short beam, even if they are both moved by the same force. In this analysis, the original problem about the accurateness in the balances is reformulated in terms of the difference of velocities according to the distance from the centre. But this problem itself is not accepted as a mere geometrical fact. It receives a dynamical explanation: the same force generates different effects. In the original Greek text, the difference of velocities according to the distance from the centre is said to be the result of the composite character of circular motion, which is treated in length as a compound motion.41 The long geometrical argument embodying this reasoning is skipped in the Arabic Nutaf, which emphasises instead the status of the motion of the balance beam. In particular, in the Arabic epitome, the fulcrum is considered as a centre and the focus is laid on the motions of the unequal arms describing different distances with different speeds, the end of the longer arm being moved with quicker motion, i.e. travels
41
This issue is surveyed in De Gandt, 1982, pp. 120-124.
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over a greater distance in the same time. Such an allusion to the centre and to the rotation of lines departing from it is an evident indication on the model of the circle which inspired the whole reasoning. The law of the lever in the third problem of the Peripatetic Mechanica will be justified exactly in terms of the circular motions of the lever arms. But the Nutaf fragment ends exactly after the discussion of the former mechanical problem. Another noteworthy element in this final paragraph of the Nutaf text is related to the use of the term mayl (inclination), which translates the Greek . This term is used here in a restricted sense for the downward inclination of heavy objects, and only in the context of the balance. This concept introduced the supplementary precision that while the mayl as an internal downward tendency is not perceptible in small balances, it is made evident when the same loads are put in great balances. However, the term remains essentially Aristotelian, in that is exclusively connected in the Mechanical Problems to (weight) and denotes an internal force of motion.42 This corresponds precisely to one of the main significations of mayl in the Arabic natural philosophy, such as in Ibn Sn's mayl tab (natural inclination).43 At the end of this discussion, the Nutaf text specifies the needle of the beam as a part of the balance. This specification does not appear in the Greek text, but, in turn, the Arabic version passes over other practical details that occur at the end of the discussion of Problem 1 in the Mechanical Problems, where PseudoAristotle describes how the merchants of purple arrange their balances so that they realise a greater benefit in their commercial transactions. On the other hand, in answering the mas ala formulated above concerning the reason of accurateness in certain balances, the Arabic text of the Nutaf, as well as the rest of Kit b mzn al-hikma, remains silent about the correctness of the answer furnished by the Peripatetic author, to whom no criticism is addressed on this issue.
44
As masters of the art of weighing, al-Khzin and al-Isfizr , the probable co-authors of the
Nutaf, evidently knew that the Peripatetic thesis was not correct in spite of the cleverness of the geometrical argument sustaining it, i.e. the farther point from the centre moves more freely. 45
On the other hand, in the Greek as well as in the Arabic versions of the Mechanical Problems, we are not told if what is meant by precision and accuracy regards small weights or large ones. Actually on the practical level it is exactly the contrary that happens: the small balances are more sensitive to little variations of weight than larger ones, as the weighers know well. This is why small balances are used for the determination of quantities of precious substances such as gold and silver. For instance, the jewellers do not use huge balances but tiny ones and they never lost a penny. This is how the Peripatetic Mechanica is structured: an incoherent patchwork of problems and answers some of which go against common sense. This fundamental character of the text is conserved in the Arabic epitome presented by the Nutaf fragment
See for example Aristotle 1952, Mechanica, 850 a 8-16, 851 b 26, 858 a 22. This was noted by G. Micheli 1995, p. 64n. For a summarized view on the Arabic tradition of , see Lettinck 1994, p. 666 ff. 44 In the Renaissance, several mechanicians contested that huge balances are more accurate than smaller ones, such as Tartaglia in the seventh book of his Quesiti. Seeking a similar criticism in the Arabic texts of mechanics, I checked more than two-dozens of Arabic texts on the balance dating from the 9th through the 16th century. This checking yielded a negative result, in that no trace of the pseudo-Aristotelian thesis was found. The result supplied by this survey still to be confirmed by further research could stand as an argument that such a reproachful silence is meaningful enough to be worth all possible criticism. 45 Al-Khzin must not have been indifferent to the argument of Pseudo-Aristotle defending the accurateness of large balances as his balance was a huge lever balance of which the beam made of iron or brass was 2 meters long and of which the cross-section was a square with sides of about 6-8 cm. For a description of this "universal balance" (al-mzn al-jmi), see al-Khzin 1940, pp. 93-108, Wiedemann 1913-36, and Hill 1993, pp. 68-69.
43
42
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Nutaf min al-hiyal is composed in a style strongly characterized by a remarkable conciseness, which makes
it brief but comprehensive. The variety of arguments displayed in the extant Greek text is absent from the
Nutaf. Skipping all the geometry that sustains the original reasoning in the Peripatetic text, the analysis
developed in the former is very dense and presents a rather reliable compendium of the corresponding parts of the latter. In this respect, the degree of agreement between the two texts is striking. The Arabic text does not contain any material absent from its Greek homologue and the main ideas of the latter are maintained and expressed in a straightforward style, without any diggressions. A close comparison of the two texts yields a significant result: almost all the material extant in the Greek text but missing from the
Nutaf be it large pieces of text and geometrical reasoning or simple sentences and words look like
comments and additions appended to specific parts of an original short and concentrated text. If this is how this additional material was produced, it might have been introduced progressively as a collection of scholia and marginal additions, in the frame of the long historical process of copying and editing that shaped the Greek text, since it was written in the antiquity until it was edited in pre-modern times.
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Hindiba: A Drug for Cancer Treatment in Muslim Heritage
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HINDIBA: A DRUG FOR CANCER TREATMENT IN MUSLIM HERITAGE
Prof. Nil Sari*

The following text is the theoretical background of the invivo and invitro experimentations with herbal extracts from Turkey. Starting from the philosophy of the Ottoman Turkish medicine, which has its roots in the Islamic medicine, the drugs Cichorium intybus L. and Crocus sativus L. were identified as identical substitute plants for each other in terms of their active components for cancer treatment. Dr. Hanzade Dogan and I planned to search for the compounds in C. intybus L. and saffron from Safranbolu, as it was claimed in old medical texts that there is a compound in saffron, which was said to act as a transporter for the active compounds for cancer treatment in itself and in C. intybus L. to cross the cell membrane. Crude extracts of both were tried in animal experiments in Turkey at DETAM (Center of Experimental Medical Research of Istanbul University) in 1989, ending up with promising and exciting activities. Since C. intybus L. was much cheaper and easily available, we continued our experiments with intybus. From 1990 to 1994, Dr. Dogan was sent by the Istanbul University to Boston University, where she took part in invivo and invitro experiments at the Departments of Immunology and Pathology. It was Professor John F. Snyder of the Department of Chemistry of Boston University, who carried out chemical analysis of the herbal extracts prepared and sent from our Department during the period. The first pure and novel compound isolated by J. Snyder was from C. intybus L. extract. Later, Snyder produced the drug's natural analogues and synthetic derivatives, while Dogan tested their bioactivity, some of which are included in the patent published in 1997. In accordance with an agreement between Boston and Istanbul Universities in 1992, claims of both parties were put down. These studies were composed and presented as a paper in the 212th American Chemical Society National Meeting in 1996, where the paper was granted the Fellowship Award. Two patents were produced on these subjects, an international one in 1995 and a United States patent in 1997. The following paper explores the process by which these and similar drugs were used in the past as medicaments for the treatment of cancer as well as several other diseases. I felt the need to raise this discussion because the rediscovery of this drug is a proof to the share of the historical background in the rediscovery of this drug.
The Wisdom of the Past and the Undiscovered Treasure of Nature

Medical literature of the past is a source of information which has the potentiality of suggestions to the contemporary scientist. This is a different approach to medicine in history from regarding it as an alternative to the contemporary medicine. This different view of medicine in the past and its philosophy on a wider perspective will enable us to evaluate old medical literature more objectively and utilize it. Above all, when we study old materia medica, we discover material that can be utilized and be conscious of the bridge between past ages and ours. This study attempts to convert the combination and welding of the past and contemporary medicine into one corporate whole. When we have a closer look at the old texts we see
*
Professor, Istanbul University, Cerrahpasha Medical School, Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine.
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the truth that we know far too little about the herbal remedies of the past. Contrary to our attitude, the physician in history paid the greatest importance to herbal medicine, not only because surgery had not progressed enough, but also because they believed that the secret through which the equilibrium of health was to be sustained and restored lied in herbal medicine. It is not in vain to believe that knowledge of the ancient usages of drugs can lead to the discovery of new drugs. Therefore, it is of great importance to identify the drugs used in history and carry out experiments with them in laboratories.
The Sources of Turkish Medicine

Turkish medicine may be said to have a relation with all great civilizations, for Turks had political and cultural relations for a long time with China, India, Persia and Islamic countries48,49. They were therefore also carriers of especially practical medical knowledge from one civilization to another over a large geographical area. One typical example is the book Tansukname written in Persian on the medicine of the Uighur Turks of Eastern Turkistan, which was related with Chinese medicine48. But the greatest problem in studying and evaluating old Turkish medical texts is due to the use of different alphabets in different times. A great many important works of Islamic medicine, especially of the Seljukian period, were written in Arabic and Persian49. These languages were accepted as scholarly or literary languages; but, some Seljukian scholars of Anatolia and the Ottoman scholars began to write in Turkish, and therefore, besides works in Arabic and Persian we have considerable Turkish medical literature available, especially in the field of materia medica. Islamic medical literature written in Arabic and Persian have been widely studied both by Muslim and Western researchers and there is ample publication on the subjects However, the use of the Arabic alphabet for reading and writing until 1928 involves several difficulties for researchers on old Turkish medical literature, which is almost a completely bare field of research. Other handicaps are the linguistic and vocabulary differences and the great difference between contemporary medicine and old medicine. The traditional medicine declined and finally passed away before the steady advance of the contemporary western medicine, the introduction of which into Turkey was accelerated in the 19th century and eventually replaced the traditional medicine almost completely, except in rural districts. However, the basis of traditional Turkish medicine is reserved in medical manuscripts in the Ottoman Turkish. When we look through the sources of Turkish medicine, in addition to mutual influences with Central Asian and Chinese medicine, we see that it is basically on the same lines as that of Islamic medical tradition which includes practically a great part of the medical knowledge of the civilizations preceding Islam. This is also true of the administration of drugs based on long experience and observation, which extends to the ancient civilizations, especially to the Indian, Greek and Persian sources. The main sources of Islamic medicine were the writings of Hippocrates and Galen, but the most important source which Islamic pharmacology utilized was Dioscorides's Materia Medica. Yet, the tradition of writing materia medicas reached its peak in Islamic medicine8,19,27,33. The Seljukian and Ottoman Turkish scholars followed the Islamic tradition. Simple drugs played a great role in Seljukian and Ottoman medicine and therefore the first aim of those interested in the healing art was to learn the medical properties of drugs. There is abundant material on simple and compound drugs in classical Turkish literature. In view of Turkish simple drugs, we see that the Canon of Ibn Sn served as one of the most important references for the simple drugs in respect of theory, as well as their therapeutic values. The work concerning simple drugs of Ibn Baytr also had a great influence on the works of Ottoman physicians, who
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often utilized from the works of the earlier masters. In addition to the fact that Ibn Baytr introduced about three hundred new drugs; his travel to Anatolia is of great importance in respect of Turkey's medicinal plants. Therefore, the translations of Ibn Sn and Ibn Baytr into Turkish have been a great help in solving questions in relation with simple drugs in this study; for, in composing of the works on simple drugs, analogical reasoning was considered very important. Authors gave credit to their predecessors for the experience they handed down.
A Short Look at the Design of Books on Simple Drugs

Simple drugs deal with drugs in their natural and simple state, or pharmacognosy in contemporary terms. Books on materia medica generally include the description, some physical properties of each of the plant's morphological parts, the Galenic nature and grade, botanical properties, therapeutic values of drugs, the preparation of drugs, substitute drugs and the opinions of other writers on remedies. Usually, the texts give synonyms of the drug terminology from other languages, generally Greek, Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, etc., which help greatly in identifying the drugs today24.
The Question of the Theory of the Nature of Drugs

The theory underlying pharmacology is inseparable from that of medicine. Each drug was believed to possess qualities called nature with various degrees of intensity and was prescribed for a particular malady in the light of the type of nature and the degree of intensity of that nature needed to re-establish the equilibrium of the four humors in the body blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile which meant a healthy state. The use of drugs is, therefore, related to the nature of the drug, as well as the temperament of the patient. This view based on Galenic medical theory continued to be effective for centuries27. Drugs with the heating property make the body hot, because their nature is hot, and drugs with the cooling property make it cold, because their nature is cold. When we speak of the influence of a drug with regard to its nature, such as cold and hot, it does not mean absolutely hot or absolutely cold by itself, but it is compared in relation to the body. For instance, the temperament of lettuce is colder than that of the human body. A substance which is taken into the body is not only hot or cold actually, but it is virtually hotter or colder than the body. So when we say that a drug is potentially hot or cold, we mean its potential benefit to the body16. The action of the nature of a medicament on the body changes from the first to the fourth degree and therefore the effect of the substances taken into the body changes in degrees from unperceivably slight to that of a poison16,37,38. The effect of substances is mainly classified as, pure nutriment, medicinal food, pure medicine and poisons. Medicinal food like lettuce which is feebly nutritious and attenuated, produces a change in the body, but the change is turned into the likeness of the body. Anything that is nutritious will eventually change the temperament of the body in a natural manner. It warms the body, because when it turns into blood that it has a natural effect; and the body becomes warmer. For instance, the temperaments of lettuce and gourds are colder than that of the human body, but since they turn into blood and consequently capable of being converted into tissue, they warm the body in this way16. Therefore it was believed that, whenever possible, treatment should be made by means of nutritive drugs or medicinal food and when they had to treat with pure drugs, they should be satisfied with simples if they could24,37,38.
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However, the philosophy of medicine and pharmacology reached beyond the rigid application of the humoral therapy, as hot, cold, moist and dry. As we will see in this study, there was a much broader theorization of the basic pragmatic value of drugs 24. It was also believed that many illnesses could be cured by nature itself, for there are natural reactions in the body through which the body heals itself. One of the purposes of drugs was then to aid nature to activate this healing reaction 24. This is why the idea of the inner heat was paid a great importance to, as we will see later. This is an extension of the great concern of Islamic and consequently Turkish medicine with the overall functioning of the body and the interrelation of the organs within the total unity of the body27. Therefore, therapy following this concern tended to try to cure the body as a whole, following a systematized medicine of its own.
The Relation between Theory and Practice

Without the equipment and methods of today, physicians in the past felt the need to find an explanation for their observations and clinical and practical experiences. As Levey put it, "although the ancient use of drugs was not based on a scientific system as we know it
today it was, nevertheless, founded on empiricism. It was the theoretical which issued from the practical experience, and not vice versa... The humoral theory was used postfactum as a scholastic kind of interpretation"24.
For centuries the humoral theory was used to explain empirical evidence. The writings ultimately rely upon empirical evidence rather than theory in the actual prescribing of drugs to the patients. This is why ancient and traditional medicine can lead us to certain implications and practical solutions.
Studying Ottoman Medical Literature

This study deals with Ottoman medical literature in Turkish before the 19th century, when ancient medicine began to be disfavored and western medicine was introduced and modern medicine and pharmacology took the place of the old. Henceforth, it is to be simply mentioned as old literature, which means mainly the Ottoman medicine with frequent references to the Islamic medicine. There is a confusion of terminology in defining drugs, because in old literature usually one term is used for describing various herbs. Another confusion is due to some of the dictionaries and contemporary books of pharmacology which provide us with the current meanings of the drug terminology traditionally used, which mislead the reader by identifying the old terminology for the herbs with different ones used today. The names of the herbs, like many other terms, have changed in the course of time. It is also very easy to make mistakes in taxonomic studies depending on ancient texts, because the old drug classifications are quite different and insufficient compared with that of today, which is based on the binomial classification founded by Linneus. Therefore, sometimes, even when you feel you are near the truth, you can never be sure of it. The best way of finding out the current synonyms for the terms described in Ottoman medical literature is to study originally compiled Turkish works and translations into Turkish, for they made use of the materia medica of the time themselves and therefore it was necessary they had to use the right terminology. The translations of works written in Arabic and Persian and later from western languages into
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Turkish also help us greatly in determining the Turkish terminology defining drugs and to identify the herb; for the Turkish synonyms of Greek, Latin, Arabic and Persian terminology are given in them. In advance it should be noted that, since the aim of this study is not to compose a classical historical essay to determine who influenced whom, but merely to try to interpret old literature as a means to lead us to make practical use of medical history. It is contended with noting the sources which were helpful in achieving this aim and comparing information found in them so as to solve the problem of identifying the herb and its therapeutic values. Since herbal therapy was very popular then, many people were used to note the name, the descriptions, properties and therapeutic values of herbs. Here was chosen the most reliable medical manuscripts, according to their contents, authors, linguistic styles and vocabulary. Although more samples of Turkish materia medica literature can be added, the examples given in this text are considered enough to satisfy the theory. It should also be noted that hindiba, the subject of this study, though dealt in most of the medical manuscripts, does not practically take place in all of the Turkish materia medica works studied. The majority of Turkish materia medica which provided useful material for the identification of the herb is mostly those of the 17th and 18th centuries. The dates or centuries of the compilations and translations of the manuscripts into Turkish used in this study are given in the bibliography. Another point is that I simply tried to translate the terminology used in the old texts to today's language. Contemporary scientific terminology has not been used to replace the old concepts and terms in order to avoid confusion and misunderstanding.
The Drug "Hindiba"*

The drug hindiba, the subject of the study, is a good example of the difficulty of identifying old drug names. For instance, in the beginning of this project it seemed that hindiba was referred to as only endive
or chicory; but the study of the materia medica in Turkish has proved that the Arabian term hindiba and the
Persian term kyasni (kasni) which have been so far used in Turkish terminology, besides the two species of Cichorium, C. endivia L. and C. intybus L., refer to other kinds of drugs, as well. Therefore, in this article the term hindiba is going to be used to avoid confusion. Now lets have a look at the names and the descriptions of the various kinds of hindiba, as noted in Turkish materia medica.
The spelling of the term hindiba is kept as it is in Turkish. Levey spells it as hundaba and Siggel as hindiba in Arabic and Redhouse scribes it as hindiba in Turkish.
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Figure 1: The cultivated and the uncultivated kinds of hindiba are illustrated in a schematic way.
(Dioscorides. Materia Medica. Translated by Abdullah el-Huseyin b. Ibrahim el-Natili. Kitabu'l-hasa'is. Topkapi Museum Library. Registered at section Ahmed III., No: 2127).
Many kinds of hindiba which were used as food and medicine are noted in old literature. It is agreed among authors that the herbs referred to as hindiba consist of two groups: one is the cultivated (bostani) and the other uncultivated (berri); and, rarely, a third kind classified as wild (yabani) is noted, which in some texts is identified with the uncultivated. Various drugs are named after both the cultivated and the uncultivated.
The Cultivated Hindiba

The cultivated hindiba or the hindiba grown in the garden drove its name from the fact that they were sown and grown in gardens. Some writers note that agriculturists used to grow different kinds of it57,68. While the cultivated hindiba is generally known as aci marul, meaning the bitter lettuce, in Ottoman Turkish, it is also known as the cultivated kyasni (kasni-i bostani), the lettuce kyasni or the hindiba of Damascus32,43,55,59,60,74. The cultivated hindiba was described as broad leafed, resembling the lettuce and edible2. It is usually noted that there are two kinds of the cultivated hindiba, one looks more like lettuce and it is broad leaved, the other is narrow leaved and tastes bitter 17,62,68. The two are said to be brought up in gardens. But it is very difficult to identify them by utilizing the descriptions given in Ottoman texts. From the Ottoman Turkish materia medica we learn that the bitter lettuce is the endive. For instance, Isa Efendi's materia medica, being one of the comprehensive works on simple drugs, gives detailed information on hindiba and notes that the cultivated hindiba is called bitter lettuce in Turkish 64. We also learn from him
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that what is meant from the cultivated hindiba called bitter lettuce is endive, for he gives the terms used to mean bitter lettuce in various other languages. When we look through the main materia medica translations, in that of Mehmet Mumin it is noted that the cultivated hindiba are two kinds and the one called the hindiba of Damascus has broad and rough leaves, it is high and inclined to bitterness, and its flower is blue and large70. In the translation of Matthioli's materia medica by Osman b. Abdurrahman, of the two cultivated kinds, one is said to be bigger, the other smaller68. The big one is said to have quite flat leaves, like those of lettuce, but that they are more curly, thick veined and rough and it is noted that it was called sweet lettuce and that the Europeans called it endive. We have not so far come across the term sweet lettuce used to mean hindiba in other Ottoman literature besides this text, which was translated by an official translator who was not a physician or a herbalist. Sir James W. Redhouse, who lived in Turkey for many years and studied Turkish language and literature, published his great work the Turkish and English Lexicon in 1890. He notes that the cultivated kyasni, or, in other words, the kyasni of Damascus means garden chicory, the C. endivia L.32. Isa Efendi, Fazlizade and Yirmisekizzade also use the same terminology for the cultivated hindiba55,64,74. The cultivated kind of
hindiba grown in Damascus was said to be of the next best quality following the one from Balkh55,64 . Kyasni, which was used synonymously with hindiba has changed to mean the species and products of
Ferula in the course of time. As we have seen, since one kind of the cultivated hindiba, called aci marul in Turkish, meaning the bitter
lettuce, is named the cultivated kyasni, or the hindiba of Damascus and Ottoman literature generally agrees
that it means C. endivia L., what may the other kind of the cultivated hindiba be? The texts we have studied do not provide us with sufficient information of it and besides, the information they provide is sometimes contradictory or different. When we search for the terms describing cultivated hindiba in dictionaries, we find different names in different dictionaries and even in the same dictionary. For instance, in Redhouse's Lexicon, aci marul is quoted as leontodon taraxacum, the dandelion, which is today known as the dark hindiba. On the other hand in the translation by Osman b. Abdurrahman it is claimed that the second kind of the cultivated hindiba, which is the smaller one with narrower and longer leaves, tastes bitter and therefore is called
kucuk marul, meaning the small lettuce or the bitter lettuce and that Europeans call it scariot68. Dioscorides quotes it as wild lettuce17 . In Darwault's L'officine we find La scarole given as cultivated chicory12.
The Illustrated Polyglottic Dictionary of Plant Names of Bedevian describes Cichorium endive L. as scariola in French and Italian and the Turkish term for it is given as hindiba; and aci marul is given as C. intybus L. which also does not confirm with Ottoman Turkish materia medica7. On the other hand, some contemporary work note that bitter lettuce in Turkish is L. scariola L., which means that it is not endive6. But since all Ottoman literature referred to, except that of the translation of Osman b. Abdurrahman, use the term bitter lettuce synonymous with endive68, it can be agreed that the
bitter lettuce meant endive in classical Turkish materia medica.

The answer to the question of what the second kind of cultivated hindiba may be is even more confusing, because there is another term, the buql hindiba meaning the vegetable hindiba, which was used to describe one kind of the cultivated hindiba. Probably this is the same kind which Ibn Sn and all the other authors mentioned below were used to mean when they called hindiba as buql, that is an edible kind of hindiba.
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It is really hard to identify the drugs, simply judging from the description of their leaves as narrow and broad. But, the buql cannot be scariola if we consider Mehmed Mumin70, who notes that the buql has blue flowers. Still the buql can not be taken as taraxacum, as further discussions will show that taraxacum which grows wild was taken as the uncultivated kind of hindiba in Ottoman Turkish materia medica. Mehmed Mumin70 stated that the other kind of the cultivated hindiba called buql had small and narrow leaves, as Ibn Sn noted, and that its flowers were small azure blue and it was dominantly bitter70. In the translation of Canon, the leaves of the cultivated kind are described as narrow, looking like lettuce, this description seems to contradict that of Dioscorides, who writes that "one is more like lettuce and broad
leaved"; but Dioscorides also mentioned the narrow leaved kind of the garden chicory17. Yet, the information found in the Materia Medica of Dioscorides does not help much in identifying hindiba and its different kinds definitely. Ibn S n notes that this kind is edible and it is regarded as buql that is vegetable62. Yirmisekizzade74 notes that the buql kind of the cultivated hindiba has broad leaves, which contradicts Ibn Sn. The mention of a kind of hindiba as the buql23, that is vegetable hindiba, continued to take place in Ottoman literature for many centuries57,74. It was also known as the hindiba for salad, in Turkish. Levey24 defines buql as C. endivia L.; but as several authors70,74 clearly divide cultivated hindiba into two kinds, one of Damascus, which is endive and the other, the buql, then we can not say for certain
that it is C. endivia L. As both kinds of them were said to be grown as vegetable, which kind of cultivated hindiba is meant to be buql? Ahmed Issa's dictionary leads the discussion to another herb when he defines the cultivated hindiba as tifaf and buql. These two terms lead us to another term that is the buql yahudiya. The buql yahudiya, meaning the Jewish vegetable, might then be in use because chicory is mentioned in the Old Testament19. Although the knowledge found in various literature about the buql yahudiya is quite confusing, we find its synonym as tifaf in Ahmed Issa's dictionary. Buql yahudiya is the sow thistle, that is Sonchus. In other words, Sonchus oleraceus L. is also called tifaf in Arabic. When we refer to Dioscorides, it provides us a historical background to help us explain this assumption, for he notes of Sonchus: "...Some call it Cichorium... and of this there are two kinds, the one is more wild and more prickly, the other more tender
and edible".
Isa Efendi 64 writes that the early shoots of Sonchus, when it was not yet quite bitter, was used to be eaten fresh; and, it was also used in making flasky pastry called borek. Its quality and activity was said to be similar to that of the uncultivated hindiba. It must also be noted that Sonchus oleraceus L . is eaten as salad and vegetable on the Aegian coast6. In the translation from Mehmet Mumin, the buql is noted to be a different kind introduced from India. According to this text, it resembles to the cultivated hindiba and its flowers, root and dish prepared from it taste bitter too; its leaves are hard and smooth and it is called buql yahudiya. When we refer to Siggel's dictionary we see that buql yahudiya means qirsaha, which is Eryngium, that is devedikeni in Turkish. This does not fit well with the description of Mehmed Mumin and other literature. Yirmisekizzade notes that buql yahudiya means guneyik (C. intybus L.) in Turkish and tarakhshaquq (Taraxacum) in Arabian. Some of these descriptions do not accord with one another. Moreover, Sonchus is mentioned amongst the uncultivated kind, as well as the substitutes.
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In the translation of Osman b. Abdurrahman68, it is interpreted as, "some make an error and take buql
yahudiya, that is tavsan otu (Panicum colonum) in Turkish for the small lettuce, the aci marul, called scariol". It is further explained that they might somewhat resemble each other, but there is great difference between them in their effect. It is also claimed that if herbalists administer the guneyik otu, that is the C.
intybus L., as hindiba, the treatment will fail to be effective, it may even be harmful. When we consider the warning in the translation of Mattioli's materia medica, we can comprehend the confusion about the bitter and sweet lettuce found in the text. The drug terminology in this translation does not fit those of classical Ottoman materia medica. Today Sonchus is called esek marulu in Turkish, literally meaning the donkey lettuce. The term marul is also traditionally used to define Lactuca scariola L, while the yahudi baklasi (buql yahudiya) is today used for
Lupinus albus L.6

We can assume that the endive was the most popular cultivated kind of hindiba in Ottoman materia medica; but, it is really difficult to identify the other kind of the cultivated hindiba mentioned in the texts, sometimes as Lactuca scariola L. and sometimes Sonchus oleraceus L., or less often as another kind.
The Uncultivated Hindiba

The terms used to define uncultivated hindiba are hindiba-i berri, sahra hindibasi, kasni-i berri, kasni-i
sahravi, yaban kisnisi and telh cekuk32,40,43,59,60. According to Steingass40, in Persian the term hindiba and its different spellings, hindab and hindbid, mean endive. The term kyasni, besides meaning endive, also means the sunflower, which is the C. intybus L. But hindiba is said to be generally known as kyasni in
Persian.
Figure 2: Hindiba as illustrated in Kitab min al tibb fi'l-ahkami'l-kulliyyat ve'l-edviyatu'l-mufredat.
Suleymaniye Library. Registered at section Ayasofya, No: 3748.
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Figure 3: Hindiba as illustrated in Kitab min el-tibb fi'l-ahkami'l-kulliyyat ve'l-edviyatu'l-mufredat.
Suleymaniye Library. Registered at section Ayasofya, No: 3748.

According to Ibn S n, the leaves of the uncultivated hindiba are broad and uneven62. In the translations of Ibn Baytr's book on simple drugs into Turkish59,60, the uncultivated hindiba is called wild kyasni; it is noted that it is also called tarakhshaquq. Its leaves are described as small and it is noted that it might be as high as two cubits, and that it has tiny blue flowers. Here, although it is called tarakhshaquq, its description resembles the C. intybus L.
Figure 3a
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The dictionary of the Ottoman Turkish, Lehce-i Osmani2, describes the uncultivated hindiba, called guneyik, as a long leafed herb with sky blue flowers. In the original Ottoman Turkish materia medica literature we always find the Turkish term gunegik, in different spellings such as guneyik and guvenik, to mean C. intybus L. Since the flowers open early in the day and close soon afternoon 10,64 it is called gunegik, which means that which is bent towards the sun. The synonyms are gunese tapici, hur-perest, or afitab-perest, all meaning that which worships the sun. C. intybus L. was called so because it means that its azure colored flower is the flower of the heaven, which always turns and worships the sun. As the flower of wild chicory always turns toward the sun, both in sunny and cloudy weather, and since when the sun sets it closes and opens again at sunrise, it was also called gunebin meaning that which faces the sun . Even the time of the day was said to be estimated with it; and it was also called gun cicegi, meaning the day flower2,43,68 . In Osman b. Abdurrahman's translation68, it is also noted that the wild hindiba grew in the countryside, meadows, fields, road sides and garden sides and was spread out in the world. According to the description in the text, its leaves are dentate, long, narrow, rough and it tastes bitter. Its root is acrid and it has a branched stem with sky blue flowers. In short, we can certainly say that the most popular kind of wild hindiba was the C. intybus L. in Ottoman Turkish materia medica. Various works of the Ottoman medical literature note that when guneyik is mentioned the uncultivated hindiba (hindiba-i berri) is meant
57,70
. But the more important point is that it is
clearly stated in the reliable works of the Ottoman Turkish materia medica that when referred to hindiba the uncultivated hindiba is meant. It is also cited recurrently that the real hindiba is the uncultivated kind55,64,74. In Turkish it is called guneyik22,54,55,64,70,74 and we learn from Isa Efendi64 that the most popular kind of uncultivated hindiba was the C. intybus L.. Emir Celebi54 and Siyahi72 gives hindiba as guneyik in Turkish and in his dictionary, Huseyin Kadri22 gives it only as intybus. Redhouse32 states that the term guneyik was used to mean leontodon taraxacum and even any cichoriaceous plant besides Cichorium intybus L.; he points out to the usage of both C. intybus L. and Taraxacum in Turkey as hindiba. This also shows that one term was used to mean various herbs, which leads to more confusion. Another term used to define a kind of uncultivated hindiba was, therefore, tarahsagun , meaning Taraxacum. All Ottoman Turkish literature cited in this study note that it is an uncultivated kind of hindiba. Isa Efendi 64 and Fazlizade55 describe it as a kind of the wild hindiba, as a third group, and the only difference they point to was that its root was long. Fazlizade also notes that it was even used with its root. Ahmet Issa1 and M. Levey also spell this word as talakshaquq. Both of them note that it is Cichorium, but Levey24 also remarks that the species is not certain. Yirmisekizzade74 also notes that the term tarakhshaquq is said to mean guneyik in Turkish. Yet, Ahmed Issa defines it as Taraxacum officinale, the dandelion and calls it seris-i berri, that is uncultivated hindiba1. Another kind of uncultivated hindiba is also mentioned in Isa Efendi's text64. It is described as very high and its flowers remain always open. It is said to be called arslan disi in Turkish, meaning lion's teeth. He also notes that there are also two other kinds of arslan disi. Their flowers are said to be round and they remain always open; their bud is tuberculate while their flower resembles a mill. Although Isa Efendi did not describe the colors of these flowers, this recalls us the varieties of Taraxacum. Some contemporary
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literature shows that arslan disi has hitherto been used for Taraxacum6. Today Taraxacum is generally known as the dark hindiba (kara hindiba) in Turkey6. This information supports the idea that Taraxacum was regarded as the other kind of the uncultivated
hindiba in the Ottoman literature.
A Kind of Hindiba Informed as Endemic to Istanbul

Hekim Isa Efendi64 writes that there is a kind of hindiba with a high stem and long branches with long petalled flowers on them, which is found only in Istanbul and not anywhere else. Fazlizade55 also notes that there is a big kind of hindiba endemic to Istanbul, which he calls hindiba-i kebir. He also claims that it is unique and found only in Istanbul and it did not exist anywhere else. He also states that its flowered stems are very high. We do not have detailed description here of this kind of hindiba to help us to identify it.
Figure 4: Hindiba of Europe (hindiba-i efrenc) as illustrated in a manuscript copy of Terceme-i cedide fi'l-
havassi'l-mufrede.69
We again come across a certain kind of berri that is an uncultivated hindiba called Istanbul hindibasi, or the
hindiba of Istanbul or Cichorium Constantinople in Havassi'l mufrede of Mehmed b. Ali and also in a materia medica manuscript of early 18th century69. In the manuscript of simples of Mehmed b. Ali, hindiba is quoted as chicory and named as the hindiba of Europe (hindiba-i efrenc) in Arabic and yemlik, that is edible in Turkish. Today yemlik is a common name used for the species of Scorzonera or Tragopogon6. But in the printed version of the same materia medica, it is said to be called chicory of Constantinople in French terminology; hindiba in Arabic, and hindiba of Istanbul in Turkish69. When we have a look at the drawing illustrating it, we see that it resembles Taraxacum and not Cichorium. When we study the Flora of Turkey by Davis, we again see the C. byzantinum mentioned in 1857, but as C. intybus L.10; and, indeed, we know from Davis's Flora of Turkey that there are species of Taraxacum endemic to Turkey. It was reported in
1968 that there were 43 species of Taraxacum found in Turkey, of which 11 were known from Turkey.
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Besides, the species T. aznavourii is reported as endemic to Istanbul; but we can hardly identify and distinquish the Taraxacum species mentioned in the Ottoman literature.
Figure 4a
The Substitutes of Hindiba

After having introduced the drug, usually the names of a few substitutes for it were given. A substitute is a drug that can be used in place of a certain drug, for having the same nature and therapeutic values. As we will see further in the text, saffron (Crocus sativus L.) was accepted as an identical substitute for hindiba and was noted as a drug from a different family with similar effects as that of hindiba47. The Arabian term hundrili (spelled in Turkish handerili) was given by some writers as a substitute drug for hindiba, while others classified it as an uncultivated hindiba. When it was taken as a substitute, this meant that it could be used instead of hindiba, that is, it had similar merits. Its leaves were said to be like those of the cultivated hindiba, but it was said to be the most bitter of all64. Fazlizade55, who wrote that handerili was a substitute for hindiba, noted it as yer sakizi, that is latex of the ground. It was probably named so because its latex was derived from its stem, which was cut at the level of the soil to get the latex6. Siggel39 gives hundrili as Chondrilla and Redhouse handerili, as spelled in Turkish, as Chondrilla juncea, which is Akhindiba in Turkish, meaning white hindiba. Ahmed Issa1 notes hunderili as a kind of uncultivated hindiba.
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Chondrilla has been related with hindiba since Dioscorides, who states: "Condrilla, which some also call
Cichorium or Seris, has leaves and a stalk and flowers like unto Cicorie, where upon some has said that it is a kind of wild Seris", meaning uncultivated hindiba17 .
Mustafa Ebu'l Feyz57 recorded that handerili was a kind of uncultivated hindiba. Redhouse gives it as a kind of wild chicory. Yirmisekizzade74 notes that it is different from guneyik (C. intybus L.) Isa Efendi 64 states that another drug called kavuk or karakavuk in Turkish, and named kyasni talkh-gune in Persian, has the same effects with the uncultivated hindiba. Fazlizade55 also noted that there was another drug called dasti talkh hindiba in Persian. We find the term dasti in Siggel's dictionary39 as Sonchus. The other term talkh (telh) describes its bitterness40 ; but in general talkh-shakkuk means wild succory18. Contemporary literature defines karakavuk as Chondrilla in Turkish6. As we have seen above, hindiba, besides referring to the two species of Cichorium, C. endivia L. and C. intybus L., also refers to Lactuca scariola L., Sonchus oleraceus L., Chondrilla juncea L. and to several species of Taraxacum, in Turkish. Among the cultivated hindiba we always find C. endivia L. and frequently L. scariola L. and sometimes S.oleraceus L; and among the uncultivated hindiba, C. intybus L. and several species of Taraxacum and sometimes S. oleraceus L. There were also two substitutes of hindiba, the most often mentioned being Chondrilla and the rarely mentioned one Sonchus, which were regarded as kinds of hindiba itself, by some authors*. As a conclusion, C. intybus L. was chosen for experimentation, because it was identified as the real hindiba in Turkish medical manuscripts. Since Crocus sativus L. was given as a substitute drug from another family, we decided to experiment on it too, to see whether there are similar active constituents in it, as assumed in the past. In addition, experiments with Taraxacum, which has endemic species in Turkey and as the other popular kind of uncultivated hindiba used widely, was decided to be carried on.
Inhibitors of Side Effects

In Ottoman literature some writers state one or two substances as inhibitors of side effects of hindiba which in fact was hardly mentioned at all. For instance, according to Fazlizade55, honey does away with adverse effects of hindiba. It is also noted that if celery (Apium graveolens L.) is taken with hindiba, it would prevent its side effects.
The Nature of the Drug

The theory of the nature of medicines in the Ottoman Turkish medical literature is mainly based on the Islamic medicine. When we deal with Ottoman Turkish medicine, we can not separate it from Islamic medicine, but it must be evaluated as a continuation of it with some new contributions from time to time.
Our studies showed that the species identified as hindiba produce compounds bearing the pharmacophore, which confirm that in old medicine the said species were considered to be hindiba from the point of view of their therapeutic effects, as well as their botanical properties: N. Sari, H. Dogan, J. K. Snyder, U.S. Patent n 5663196 Table 1.
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In the old medicine, drugs were selected according to their nature that is whether they were hot, cold, moist or dry and to the measure of the degree of hotness, coldness, etc. This property was an important determinant in therapy, as we are going to see in the following pages of this study, concerning the
therapeutic values of hindiba.

All ancient literature agrees that hindiba has a cold and moist nature. According to Ibn Sn62, hindiba is cold and moist in the highest level of the first degree. Although it was claimed that hindiba was cold and moist in the first degree, 54,55,59,60,64 some warned that hindiba, especially some kinds of it, were inclined to be dry in the second degree54,55,64,68 and some kinds are said to be inclined to be hot54. Ibn S n62 had explained this as such: "In summer time the bitterness of hindiba is higher and because of this bitterness the nature of it is inclined to be hot to a certain degree". The differences in the nature of cultivated and uncultivated hindiba, their seeds and roots are generally discussed, which give clues about the effectiveness of the different kinds of it. Usually, the uncultivated kind is noted as having a higher therapeutic effect then the cultivated 62,70. Yet, Isa Efendi notes that all the cultivated and uncultivated kinds of hindiba had a similar nature and that they should be mixed and taken together.
Theoretical Aspects of the Pharmacotherapy of Hindiba

When we look through the literature and compare the paragraphs dealing with hindiba, we see that Ibn Sn is the author who paid the greatest importance and gave the most interesting information about it47. He wrote a special treatise on it which has several copies in different libraries. Here we will study and see the importance of this treatise, which deals with the theoretical aspects of the pharmacotherapy of the drug and the rules to be observed while preparing it as a medicament. Hindiba is regarded as a compound drug because of its compounded attributes. This means that it is a compound in its nature. All composite bodies originate from elements. The substance of hindiba is composed of simple ingredients which have contrary effects to each other. These contrary effects are described as powers. Power means that the drug has potentialities of affecting the body by the therapeutic constituents existing in it, such as the strength of the power of the drug in heating and cooling24. The kind of composition of hindiba is like a mixture. In a mixture, when each of the two contraries acts upon the other, there may be an action and reaction between the two active constituents with contrary effects and as a result, the property of one may overweigh the other. In such herbal drugs, either one of the natural properties will be dominant, or when they act with nearly equal force a neutral matter with a single property intermediate between these two contraries, will ensue. This quality is the nature of the drug. In some drugs the composition is weakly stable and can be decomposed very easily. The composition of the drug with two active matters with contrary actions is so weak that it can be decomposed in the body. After the decomposition there will come forth constituents with two contrary effects. Hindiba is a drug of this kind. The primary constituents are so weakly composed that they bare nearly the character of a mixture. Therefore, the constituents contained in the drug are ready to be decomposed simply by squeezing or pressing. Washing or boiling such matter will easily decompose the compound.
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The
Medical
Effects
of
Drugs
in
Accordance
with
the
Nature
of
the
Constituents
The constituents resulting from decomposition will have effects called power. The potential hot and cold qualities contained in the nature of the drug will come forth as a result of the decomposition in the body. The active component which is hot in nature will act promptly. It will diffuse through tissues effectively. The hot constituent acts before the cold constituent and clears the barriers in the passages of the body and prepares the way for the passages so that the cold constituent can diffuse. Later, the cold constituent comes in and carries out its function.
The Treatment of Tumors

When a composed drug is administered for treating tumors with cold matter, the active principle which is hot in nature is assumed to open the passages, by resolving the concentrated morbid matter and the other principle, which is cold in nature, is expected to help the innate heat against foreign heat and therefore reduce fever. The hot constituent, which acts as a transporter by its nature, will resolve, destroy and portage the malignant matter which has settled in tissues. The role of the hot constituent suggests the diffusion of the drug into the cells through circulation, which brings into mind whether the hot constituent affects the cell metabolism and contributes to the permeability of the cell. Of course Ibn Sn and his contemporaries did not know anything of the cell and cell permeability. The human nature will lead the cold constituent to the passages in order to keep the morbid matter away from them. For instance, when chamomile (varieties of Matricaria chamomilla) is used for the treatment of tumors, the human nature leads the cold constituent (the active matter) to the passages in this way. The human nature also directs this therapeutic constituent to the morbid matter which is already produced and which threatens to grow in a tissue. This constituent inhibits the morbid matter, aggregates them, turns them into a still state, inactivates and prevents its spreading. The human nature also directs this therapeutic constituent to the core of the organ. (This calls to mind the smallest part, the cell.) This active constituent strengthens it and reinforces its power of resisting attacks. (This might mean acting upon the metabolism or the immunity of the cell.) Consequently, it will not be harmed by the malignant matter. Ancient physicians believed that drugs with cooling effects which were prescribed to treat hectic fever (in chronic diseases), could not diffuse into the circulation and penetrate the protective body barriers. Physicians searched for a transporter and clearer of passages called a leader drug, which would transport cooling drugs into the blood circulation and heart, which fevers were supposed to originate from. (The heart was assumed to be the center of the breath in relation with the innate heat, with which, as we will see later, the immunization process is meant). They decided to choose a drug from one of the hot drugs group, as a transporter and clearer of blockages. Saffron was found to be the most suitable one. They believed that if the human nature (that is the immunity system) was strong enough, it would let saffron keep its own strength, that is activity and while transporting, the drug would be administered as well. Saffron would transport them to the neighborhood of the heart. When they reach there, the human nature separates saffron from those drugs, and they by themselves will find their way into the heart.
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Usually, while saffron plays the role of a transporter drug, as clearer of obstructions also proves its other benefits: the unstable constituent of the drug administered together would be decomposed and diffused into different tissues.
The
Principle
in
Preparing
Medicine
from
Drug
with
Two
Contrary
Constituents (hot and cold)

The hot constituent is less stable and more easily evaporating and emerging out of the plant tissue of the compound drug and tends to decompose and part from the other constituent which it is originally together. Its nature would be more inclined to taste acrid and bitter. The bitterness and acridness originates from the hot component which is a clearer of obstructions, meaning medicine that removes the blockages and clears the passages. It was believed that bitterness would imply the property of the resolving action. Bitter and acrid things provide vigorous dispersion of particles. Acridness and astringency would help the transporting property present in the drug16.
Figure 5: A 16th century chemistry laboratory as illustrated by Prof. Suheyl Unver.
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Fig. 6: A chemistry laboratory of the 17th century as illustrated by Prof. Suheyl Unver according to information found in the head physician Ibn Sallum Salih b. Nasrullahs work Gayat al-Itqan.
One can judge primarily from the taste of hindiba that it is a compound drug; for different tastes are indicators of different activities. Hindiba is a compound drug, because it is without sweetness and tastes bitter, acrid and slightly astringent. The lack of sweetness is due to the water element. Astringency is due to the earth element. The words water and earth elements here are not intended to mean water and earth as we know. It rather means that hindiba is composed of two substances of which one dominates over the other, so that the said elements will help in producing the essence of hindiba. The bitterness of hindiba is due to the mixture of the earth element with the constituent which is dominantly hot. The hot component tends to come forth and to spread on the surface of hindiba. Such a thing which is found on the surface is apt to separate from hindiba's other component and join to and mix with the moisture which exists on hindiba. Therefore, when hindiba is washed, the acrid-ness which is the unstable component will loose its effectiveness and the essence of bitterness remains in the dense earth element. So, it should be concluded that the dense element in hindiba tends to taste bitter, is comparatively stable and will not decompose easily. When this substance is subjected to disturbance by heat, it will not diffuse, as it is dense and stable. As to the other active component in hindiba, since it is cool, it is lazier and heavier, that is more stable47. When hindiba is washed, the excellent quality that provides permeation and transportation through the passages will be destroyed. The superiority of hindiba to all other green herbs, or to most of them, is that there is an active matter in it which functions as a transporter and clearer of obstructions. This active constituent quickly flows and diffuses in the organs and clears the way, drives away the related humors,
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both hot and cold; and the cooling constituent existing in it is activated. It fills up the gaps and passages thoroughly. It even penetrates up to the end of the fibers of the vessels (that is up to the cell, as we know today). Being unstable, the hot constituent, rapidly decomposes and is destroyed and its activity disappears. The cold constituent is stable. It will not leave the place where it is, it won't move away and it is heavy. In a short time it changes the nature of the organ into enduring coolness. If it were not for the hot constituent, the passages would not have been cleared and the hot, flaming humors would not have been driven away. If the cooling component could not find a transporter, it would not have gone through to the terminal points of the organs, to the liver and to the heart. It would probably not leave the vicinity of the stomach and the mesentery, but act vainly on them, excessively, completely, continuously, but ineffectively, since it could not diffuse. Above all, it would never reach the heart, the main organ. Consequently those who wash hindiba will loose its valuable effect. The one who cooks hindiba commits a worse mistake, for boiling would destroy the effective quality, that is the active constituent of the substance of hindiba, by decomposing and evaporating it; but, when they asked Ibn Sn the reason why and requested him to write an essay on it, he wrote his famous dissertation on hindiba which was inspired by the following hadith: "Eat hindiba without washing it, for there are drops of dews of paradise on it". The Prophet Mohammed advising it, certainly physicians followed his advice strictly in extracting the juice of hindiba without washing it and using the juice without boiling it. Yet, they suggested letting the juice to settle down and clear, and then filter it carefully. Common physicians who pay too much importance to cleanliness, notes Ibn S n, do usually boil the hindiba juice and then filter it. Thus, concludes Ibn Sn "most of the words of the good physicians prove the truth of the words of the Prophet, which consist of symbols telling the truth"41. And thereafter through centuries many writers referred to the same hadith and gave the same advices in preparing medicine from hindiba, reminding the theory on what occurs in the mixing and solution process and to the fact that the application of heat to the substance which is being treated increases the solvent power of the menstruum. We come across similar views in Mehmed Mumin's text: "Hindiba has an unstable hot element that perishes
when washed. And because of its highly unstable nature, its taste, color and nature change according to the heat, time, season, district and its different kinds"70.
The said hadith is found in Osman Hayri's Kenzu's-Sihhat: "Eat hindiba, but don't wipe off its dust. For
there is not any day when drops of paradise will not drop on it, that is it always drops"28.
We find the same importance paid to the above mentioned warning in the dictionary of Firuzabadi of the 19th century: "The cooking of hindiba is a greater mistake than washing it. Those who can not understand the
importance of quality, quantity and the rules of preparing it as a whole will give harm rather than doing well. Referring to the hadith given above, it is noted that, when hindiba is washed and shaken, the property
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contained in it will perish. If it is cooked even no trace of it will endure; and even Ibn Sn said that if hindiba was washed or shaken all or most of the useful potential activity will be washed away"14.
This is probably why hindiba was called the sacred vegetable2; and that it was said to be favored with the secret of all the healing properties of bitterness58. A Look at the Wide Usage of Hindiba in the Ottoman Period Hindiba is included amongst potent drugs in prescriptions found in reliable medical texts and in those prescribed for the palace dignitary3,4. In the Topkapi Palace, drugs were prepared in a special kitchen called
Helvahane44 and hindiba syrup too was prepared as a medicament here. We find the prescription of it in the 17th century helvahane inventory as:
"65 dirhams of scraped hindiba root, 130 dirhams of hindiba seed, 130 dirhams of hindiba juice is mixed
with 130 dirhams of borage and 300 dirhams of sugar". Hindiba juice was also widely consumed amongst common people in Istanbul; for, in his book of travels
Evliya Celebi, the famous Turkish traveler of the 17th century, notes that there were juice producers from medical herbs called esnaf-i mesrubat-i deva, who were tradesmen dealing with the therapeutic drinks. They prepared and sold the juice of hindiba, as well as some other herbs13. Still, sometimes in some of the bazaars of Istanbul, especially women from villages in the neighborhood sell C. intibus L. and species of Taraxacum as green vegetable for salad and call both of them hindiba. As noted before, the uncultivated kind of hindiba was regarded as the real hindiba in classical Turkish materia medica, too. Hindiba sold in bazaars are usually collected from the fields and hills of Beykoz and
Sultanqiftligi regions of Istanbul and from towns and villages not far from the city on both sides of the
Bosphorus. T. aznavouru was also found in the same area as a species of Taraxacum endemic to Istanbul 10. Today, as in the past, herbalists called attar sell hindiba roots as a drug for the treatment of liver diseases11. Researches on folkloric medicine in Anatolia today show the usage of hindiba against similar illnesses as those in the past 41.
Methods
Used
in
the
Past
in
extracting
Hindiba
Juice
for
Preparing
Medicaments
Hindiba was used as a medicine in several ways, from merely eating59,60 to preparing inspissated plant juice, distillation, decoction and syrup, coating, cataplasm, dressing and poultice. Each part of the various kinds of hindiba, the leaves, flowers, root, seeds and latex, were used in preparing medicaments. The method of extracting hindiba juice was primarily advised as pounding its fresh leaves and then pressing or squeezing and filtering it. The maceration process was also favored. The syrup and the collected distillate of hindiba was used widely, too63. The least recommended was decoction, also for fear of putrefaction, though we sometimes find it advised in medical texts70. Juices to be preserved were usually extracted from fresh leaves and flowers collected in spring. The most favored method of extraction was that the plant was pounded in a mortar and pressed with a press and the extraction was preserved in this way, as pure juice. If putrefaction was feared, then the juice was heated or
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exposed to the sun until inspissated61. Sometimes, after heating, its foam was taken and filtered 59,60. It was also possible to preserve expressed juice like fruit syrups, keeping it in sugar. Another method was putting the expressed juice in a big bottle with a narrow mouth, adding some olive oil on it, as was practiced for preserving rose water. The activity of those in liquid form was believed to endure one year while those inspissated were expected to last longer than a year61.
Figure 7: An 18th century chemistry laboratory as illustrated by Prof. Suheyl Unver.

Maceration was said to be less injuries for the plant tissue than decoction. For, as the plant was not heated, the active principles in the drug would not be decomposed and the unstable constituents would not be destroyed. Maceration was used for extracting the unstable constituents in drugs. Those drugs which could not endure heating were soaked in water or in another menstruum. After having been steeped and after the active matter extracted, it was kept as it was for 12 to 24 hours in winter and 6 to 12 hours in summer in hot ash. Macerated drugs were also preserved as syrups61. The distillate of hindiba was also used, as the hot constituent in it was said to evaporate when heated, and it was collected as a distillate containing the active matter. The leaves, root, seeds or flowers were extracted in glass or earthenware balloon and stilled3. Usually the distillation was carried out in a water bath, for plants were believed not to be capable of enduring high heat as it would dissolve and even loose their strengths. Gentle heating was always advised. The distillate was kept in glassware whilst exposing them to the sun, with the bottle open, wrapped with a filter paper. It was said to maintain its strength for one year61.
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In decoctions, drugs were advised to be heated in a pot container. Decoctions were also preserved as syrup. When one third of it evaporated, some sugar or honey was added, its foam was taken and then filtered. The container with the decoction in it is advised to be kept at a cold place, in cold water or in snow, so that it would not decompose or contaminate quickly61. When mixtures were going to be prepared, the herb to be added was soaked in the juice of hindiba and exposed to the sun in a bottle. For instance, the scrapings of Cassia fistula L. were soaked in the juice of squeezed hindiba to treat the ailment of the liver or for eruptions in hot humors24. Sometimes the distillate or juice of the cultivated and the uncultivated kinds of hindiba were advised to be mixed and administered together64. The dose of the medicine prepared from hindiba would (assuming the same amount of herb is extracted) change according to the method of extraction used in preparing it. For instance, the dose of decoctions advised in prescriptions is more than its syrup 61. Mehmed Mumin claims that its distillate is the weakest compared to its inspissated juice, maceration and decoction70.
Discussions of Directions and Methods in Preparing Hindiba Extracts Described in Manuscripts

The information given above directs us to the following arguments. When preparing hindiba as medicine, its fresh leaves must be used. If washing is needed, care must be taken not to squeeze the leaves during the process and must be taken out of the water promptly. In studying old literature on the preparation of hindiba extract, some of the texts lead one to the idea that water quickly decomposes an active constituent in it. When we recall that among the methods of extracting there are maceration, decoction, and distillation prepared using water, besides the juice produced from squeezed leaves, it leads us to the conclusion that water was used as a solvent of the constituents in hindiba. There is no knowledge in the texts studied, except one in that of Mattioli, of maceration of hindiba in wine, which was used as extraction menstruum in the place of alcohol in the past, though there are some examples of maceration of other herbs with wine; but this does not mean that hindiba maceration should not be tried in alcohol to see how the active constituents will be affected by this process, on the contrary this process should also be tried. We must also keep in mind that the hindiba leaves or juice was sometimes mixed with vinegar, which was added to the preparation for its therapeutic value in old medicine, but in fact it was a menstruum as well. Also honey was added to hindiba, for its therapeutic value and for preserving the preparation 16. Since there was no idea of what kind of active matter were going to be obtained, and as being eager to follow similar processes to those found in manuscripts, it seemed safer to make use of both the water bath distillation and a modified way of maceration process so that the finished preparation would properly represent the drug used in the past.
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We can assume that application of gentle heating in a water bath would be much safer then boiling or cooking; but, as noted in old literature, besides the cold constituent, that is the water-soluble and heat stable constituent contained in the vegetable drug hindiba, as mentioned above, there was supposed to be a weakly stable hot constituent which was said to be decomposed when heated and that it even evaporates quickly. Following the example of the distillation of hindiba noted in manuscripts and the idea of Ibn Sn stating that the weakly stable therapeutic constituent which is hot in quality evaporates quickly, using a water bath to collect the volatiles seemed to be a convenient method. Therefore, while assuming to apply gentle heat in a water bath would be much safer then boiling, a fluid extract could be obtained soaking the drug in water and heating it gently and the volatiles could also be obtained at the same time through a distillation process, as it was assumed that besides maceration, gentle heating in a water bath might also serve to the purpose. So, steeping and applying gentle heating in a water bath distillation and then pressing the residue are methods to be used in extracting hindiba, as inspired from the practices in the past.
Preparing Juice and Distillate of C. Intybus L. for Experimentation Invitro and Invivo
The two different extractions from the leaves of hindiba were prepared in the following way: Inspired from the old Turkish texts which pointed out to the fact that the real hindiba were the uncultivated kinds, and that it was specifically the C. intybus L., it was collected from the fields in the vicinity of Istanbul, especially on the banks of the hills around Beykoz and Sultangiftligi. They were picked in spring before they flowered and in late autumn following rainfalls when they freshly shot and their leaves were tender. The leaves of C. intybus L. used were fresh, were never let to dry and used without harsh washing. Having cut them into small pieces, they were homogenized by pounding them in a ceramic mortar. 200 gr. of pounded C. intybus L. leaves all together were put into a balloon with a capacity of 1000 ml. and 400 ml. of distilled cold water was added to it. The apparatus used for the extraction process is a rotary evaporator. The balloon was placed slantly in water, half of it being in water and the neck was attached to a rotator, which rotated the balloon 30 times in one minute. The rota-evaporator is connected to a vacuum pump, Busch Baureihe R5 Plus. The power of the motor was 10, which is the weakest among Busch vacuum pumps. It drops the air pressure in the evaporator -which is a closed system- from 760 Torr to 10-25 Torr in 20 seconds. Under this low pressure the water in the water bath was heated to 40-50C at most, to collect the volatiles from the plant homogenate by the help of the cooler in the system, into the other balloon container attached to the cooler. If the pump is not available, the rota-evaporator can be simply connected to a tap vacuum. To reproduce the distillation, the water in the water bath should be heated up to 100C to be able to get the volatiles, which is a less convenient method. The whole process lasts 12 hours. The pounded homogenate of the plant in distilled water in the balloon container (the residue) was kept for three days in the refrigerator (+4C).
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Having collected the distillate and stored it in a sterile bottle, the remainder in the balloon containing the heated leaves and the remaining fluid (the residue) was squeezed to avoid loss, and then it was filtered first through a sterile gauze, then through a 0.45 n millipore filter paper into a sterile bottle, to prevent contamination during the storage. The fluid extracts were preserved in tight, light-resistant containers and stored in a deep freeze refrigerator. They were not kept longer than six months before using in experimentation.
Therapeutic Values of Hindiba

Before studying the therapeutic values of hindiba in detail, it would be proper to point out to the fact that either because of the lack of modern scientific approach, or the interrelatedness of medicine with philosophy, or because of the tendency to keep professional information as a secret, the following information is to be found in different works, usually not systematically organized enough to enable one to comprehend the relations between theory, diseases and therapy easily. Therefore, the following information presented here is a result of patient work to put the scattered pieces of information together and organize them as a systematic whole. The powerful therapeutic property of hindiba in the treatment of the diseases stated below was insistently emphasized. Its therapeutic value was considered as a specific characteristic of its substance.
Hindiba Clears Away Obstructions

The main effect of hindiba is that it clears the obstructions of the passages in the body, specially the digestive system. This is quoted as the basic and most important therapeutic effect of hindiba and it is emphasized recurrently in every text 28,54,55,63,64,65,68,70.
The Theory of the Conception of the Pathology of Obstructions of the Canalicular System
As the therapeutic value of hindiba as a medicament for curing the obstructions of the canalicular system is paid great importance, we must have a short look at the theory of the conception of its pathology in order to understand its importance more clearly. The body can be imagined as a complex of actual, as well as potential, tubes which vary in size. This is supposed to be a continuous system which includes the alimentary-canal, air passages, blood vessels, the cavernous tissues, the serous cavities and the intracellular channels. The metabolic, secretory and excretory products of ingested food materials may be traced through this system. So long as these channels are unobstructed throughout, and these various substances can flow freely through them, the body is in a state of health16. Therefore, the basic cause of disease is the obstruction of the canalicular system. This is the reason why Ibn Sn claims that hindiba is the king of herbal remedies, because it is believed to be the most effective obstruction clearer 47. Hindiba continued to be listed in medical works as a mufettih, that is an obstruction clearer until the beginning of the 19th century 73. All the other diseases which are said to be cured by hindiba are various manifestations of the blockages in the body. Although sometimes diseases are named according to the member affected, as arthritis and
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ophthalmia; and sometimes according to a symptom, as palpitation and nausea; and sometimes from the point of view of the illness as originating from the humors, such as bile or blood, diseases presumed to be healed by hindiba, to be discussed henceforth, are due to the obstruction of some of the channels somewhere in the body16,51,52,54,56,63,71. When we have a look at the causes of obstruction, we see that the most important one is the humoral
diseases, that is those in which matter (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile) are concerned.
According to the humoral pathology, the nature of food determines the kind of chyme, and that the kind of chyme determines the nature and amount of the four humors. Consequently, the nature and amount of humors determine the quality and quantity of the waste effete products, that is the superfluities. The presence of superfluities was considered as the most important cause of obstructions. Superfluities determine the amount of disease-substance, or in other words, the accumulation of morbid matter associated with obstruction. Superfluities affect the freedom of flow through the diffused canalicular system of the body16,51,52,54,56,63,71 . Gruner16 explains the result of superfluities blocking the system in the scope of contemporary medicine: "As they accumulate in the stagnating tissue-juices they come to exercise a noxious action; they come to
be beyond the capacity of tissue-digestion and with their stagnation the ever-circulating bacteria (taken up with the food) also settle and multiply and wandering cell infiltrations gather together. The beginnings of disease are laid down.
"There are the changes in the fluids of the body produced by bacterial or putrefactive breakdown, whether
this begins in intestinal stasis, or arises in the course of specific bacterial infections. There are then obstructions not only in the old sense, but in the form of the successive histological lesions consequentvascular, nutritional, and inflammatory. Materials are deposited more or less permanently (irreversible reactions), as eg. solid oedema, collagenous tissue, scar formation, fibrosis and hyalo-fibrosis, adipose tissue, hyper plastic formations".
Theoretical Aspects of the Treatment of Obstructions

The obstruction in a tissue prevents the flow of tissue fluids and is the forerunner of a disease. When an obstruction is due to the humors being simply over-abundant, their injurious effect can be removed by evacuating them by purgation; but thick or coarse humor requires attenuation by a resolvent. A resolvent is an agent which dissolves the accumulated matter which is the cause of obstruction. For instance an inflammatory mass can be dissolved in this way16.
The Role of the Hot Constituent of Hindiba

In the action of resolution hot medicaments are to be used to dissolve tumors. Then comes up the question of whether there is a therapeutic constituent in hindiba which acts as an agent that promotes resolution of tumors. The hot constituent of hindiba has such an effect. It mildly disperses the humors by attenuating the dense particles of the matter, causing them to flow and be removed. This is a description of the lysis process.
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As saffron is said to have such a hot constituent which has the property of infusing into the smallest part of the tissue, resolving pathologic matter and clearing obstructions, does this imply that saffron has a cytotoxic effect on tumor cells? And the question whether saffron changes the metabolism of the cell and that it is affective because of its capacity to diffuse into the smallest part of the tissues (that is the cell?), as stated in medical manuscripts, occurs; for saffron is called a transporter drug and prescribed in many compound drugs16,24,47. It is claimed that there is an active principle in saffron which acts as a transporter for the active compounds for cancer treatment in itself and in C. intybus L., to cross the cell membrane.
The Role of the Cold Constituent of Hindiba

While hindiba is prescribed for various diseases, as other drugs used in old medicine, we can approach to the systematic unity of the given therapeutic values of hindiba from another point of view, too. Here it should be noted further that hindiba is given as a drug against illnesses of the liver, the spleen55,69, inflammatory swellings, as well as tumors. This, as we will see later, is reminiscent of the relation between the therapeutic values of hindiba and the function of the bodily defense mechanism that is the reticuloendothelial system, as we call it today. If we recall the two constituents of hindiba, the one of the cold nature was assumed to act as an immunostimulator*. If we have a closer look at the conception of the pathology developed by Ibn Sn, which was followed by Turkish physicians along with some discussions and small differences, we can see that the concept of the inner heat is very important in fighting against diseases. According to the basic philosophy of Ibn Sn, that which protects the natural humors from being overruled by foreign heat, which refers to pathogenic agents, is called the innate heat. If the innate heat is feeble, the natural faculties will be unable to regulate the humors; the process of digestion will be spoiled; the humors will not move in accordance with their function; foreign heat will interfere with their activity and humors will be enfeebled; stagnation will occur and the channels will be obstructed; foreign heat will overcome them (humors) and will utilize them in its own way, will impart a different activity to them and they will undergo putrefactive decomposition. And the process which ends up with such a putrefaction is also a cause of cancer, as well as inflammations and swellings in general 16,37,38,47. Gruner16 explains the role of the innate heat as stated in Ibn Sn's Canon in terms of contemporary medicine, as: "Normally, the innate heat is the agent which separates normal effete matters from healthy humors. But in
disease injurious effete matter (acrid, corrosive etc.) appear as by-products of the abnormal humoral state; the latter being the result either of a change in the innate heat or of a conflict between this and foreign heat (bacterial products)... The material substance which is stated by Avicenna to be oxidized by innate heat is the bacterial substance, which, as we know, undergoes lysis in the course of the immunizing processes of the body. This is evidently an attempt to explain the nature of bacterial action and infection without the knowledge of the actual bacteria themselves".
* The results of invivo experiments showed that the active agent of the extract obtained from the leaves of C. intybus L., directly increased white blood cell counts, see: U.S. Patent n 5663196 Table 13.
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The concept of dispersing the foreign heat in old medicine means the destruction of the pathogenic agents (such as microorganisms) and of their products, as we understand today. According to the medical philosophy of Ibn Sn, recovery from the attack of foreign heat depends on the innate heat, that is a series of processes of immunization, as we infer. As saffron was the most famous drug added to compounds to help them reach the heart, the center of the inner heat, quickly, besides being a resolvent, it meant that saffron also opened the way for the innate heat, that is the immunity system to operate and so the other drugs can function better. The experimental results will prove whether the claims in the medical manuscripts are valid or not.
Hindiba Heals Tumors

All kinds of swellings, new-growths, lumps and nodosities etc. are classified under the general term waram (verem). Whether an inflammatory swelling or a mass is meant can only be comprehended in the context. Formation of new tissue and inflammatory swellings are agents causing obstruction of the channels. Cancer is described as a hard mass and is called seretan, because it was likened to a crab63,73. Identified as a hard swelling, cancer was said to be as small as a chickpea at the beginning, then it grew larger, along with increasing pain and the degree of pain increased with the amount of bile mixed. It is described as a fatal illness63,66,73. Ibn Sn notes that a cancerous tumor progressively increases in size, is destructive and spreads roots which insinuate themselves amongst the tissue elements 16. We find similar descriptions of it in Ottoman medical manuscripts, such as the kinds of tumors called cancer are those which spread all through the body, that is metastasizes, grows roots like trees and stick to the organs46,51,54,66,73. Tumors are mainly classified in two ways: According to the different kinds of matter of which they are made, for instance, as to the humors concerned52,54,66. 2-Tumors are also classified as hot and cold inflammatory tumors. Tumors which are coloured and feel warm when touched are usually called hot tumors, while a colourless tumor which does not feel warm is called a cold tumor16,73. Although it was discussed in old medicine whether cancer was a hot or cold tumor, Ibn Sina notes cancer among the cold tumors16,62. When viewed from the humors point of view, cancer is classified as an atrabilious tumor. Cancer appears in the Canon as a disease associated with change in the atrabilious humor (the black bile). Cold and dry in nature, the atrabilous humor, is normally formed as the sediment of good blood. After having arisen in the liver, one portion of it goes to the spleen and clears the body of the effete matter. The abnormal atrabilious humor is formed from an oxidation of the bilious humor mixed with putrefied blood. The natural yellow bile (bilious humor) is the foam of the blood, which is formed in the liver. But, cancer formation is admitted to be a result of blood mixing with bile and oxidation which causes it to turn into atrabilous humor. The factor underlying this is an excess of blood which can not flow and will collect and will be kept unused and putrefied. This corruption and putrefaction causes the formation of leafy matter with an acidic character
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which leads to obstruction in the channels. Obstruction prevents the flow of tissue fluids and is the forerunner of disease51,54,63,66,73. If a swelling is an atrabilious mass, hard to the touch, then, a hot drug which resolves and disperses matter and which opens blockages is advised 51 . When a physician of the old medicine comes across such a piece of theoretical information as mentioned above noted in relation with a drug as hindiba, he would assume that it is a drug advised for the treatment of cancer. Therefore, the main factor in the formation of cancer is the merging humors into the metabolic cycle in a pathological manner. When we look through this process and the relation of the yellow bile with the liver, black bile with the spleen and the pathologic changes in the humors and the obstruction of channels as a result of putrefaction and the relation of this process with the digestive system, we can see the therapeutic values of hindiba in the treatment of cancer from the perspective of the practitioners of the old medicine. The above said comment on the etiology of cancer according to the humoral pathology; and the assumed relation with the digestive system interestingly resembles the recent hypothesis developed that, "dietary fat
increases the excretion of bile acids, which can be converted to carcinogens or promoters."* Still more
interesting is the results of our laboratory researches which show that extracts of C. intybus L. were found to be most active on colon cancer. ** When we study the therapeutic values of hindiba in materia medicas, we see that it is rarely mentioned clearly as a drug for the treatment of cancer51,70; but hindiba is sometimes directly advised as a drug for the treatment of tumors. For example in the translation of Ibn Baytar 59,60 it is noted that if the juice of squeezed hindiba leaves are heated, its foam taken and filtered and the juice drunk it would be beneficial in treating tumors. Mehmed Mumin70 notes that hindiba removes tumors in the internal organs. Yet, it is often advised for the treatment of the tumor of the throat. Several authors note that if cassia is macerated in hindiba juice (specially the cultivated kind) used as a gargle would be beneficial for the treatment of the tumor, pain and inflammation of the throat17,54,55,59,60,62,64,70 Cassia fistula L. was used for its power of maturating and dispersing inflammations in the internal organs16 . There are few exceptions in the medical manuscripts on general medicine where hindiba is specifically advised as a drug for cancer54,70. A remarkable example is Salih b. Nasrullah61, who defines cancer as a terrible illness which is caused by matter born from burned blood and bile. Advising both operation and medical treatment, he warns that its nature is difficult. As it is surrounded by many vessels, it is called
seretan, meaning the crab. In its early phase it is a small tumor as a nut and even smaller. It becomes
manifest with pain. The pain increases along with its growth and its colour tends to be dark. When incised, a disgusting smell spreads. The diagnosis of cancer is difficult. At the beginning of the treatment, the body must be purgated from the hot humors. Here we see that pills prepared from Fumaria officinalis L. is used for purgating corrupt humors and its syrup is used to bring the temperament to equilibrium. Following this, the application of tender hindiba leaves on the tumor is advised. Usually a drug can be evaluated as a remedy for cancer if you know the theory of the process of the formation of cancer. Therefore, when one comes across such a phrase as, "hindiba calms the heat of blood
Devita, T. Vincent; Hellman Samuel; Rosenberg A. Steven. 1997. Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 5th edition, Philadelphia, New York. pp. 562 - 564. ** U.S. Patent, No:5,663,196; table no. 4, 10, 14-16.
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and bile"55,59,60,64,70, this means that hindiba was considered to be a drug against cancer, according to the
theory of humors. For instance, Isa Efendi 64 puts forth the fact that hindiba, together with common fumitory cures cancer, establishing a relation between the disease with its cause, without mentioning the disease: "If black bile is mixed and dark in colour, drink hindiba juice. If it is said to be very bitter, add sugar. It will also be beneficial to the spleen, removing the heat of blood and bile."55 (The role of the spleen in the immunological process can be noticed here). If the black bile was caused by burning of the bile, that is when there was a sign of atrabilious humor being mixed with putrid blood, this meant that it was cancerous. Then some suggest common fumitory to be added to hindiba juice24,55,64. Here we also find the activity expected of fumitory in the treatment of cancer. Though generally believed to be a fatal illness, there were several writers of the Ottoman period who believed that it was possible to dissolve the insidious matter and prevent its growth and extirpate the ulcerated cancerous matter, by using therapeutic drugs, that would help in the resolution and evacuation of the abnormal atrabilious humor
51,54,63,64,66
instead of or besides surgery, and cauterisation which was
practiced in treating external tumours easily demonstrated to the sense of sight 46,51,52,66.
A Short Look at the Other Therapeutic Effects of Hindiba on Swellings:

Besides cancer, some other diseases associated with the change in the atrabilious humor were also advised to be treated with hindiba. The most frequently treated disease among these was scrofula, a strumous swelling. This also shows the effect of hindiba on the immunity system. Cold swellings composed of watery fluid, such as dropsy and tumefaction resulting from liver disorder were also believed to be cured by hindiba. As hindiba was claimed to remove and clean the putrefactions of moist swellings55, its juice boiled with its roots and drunk with oxymel 70, would remove moist putrefaction. For instance, dropsy which was believed to be a result of moist and cold swelling in the liver54, was treated with hindiba juice or syrup
56,59,60,69,71
. The uncultivated kind of hindiba, specially Taraxacum is said to be
beneficial for the treatment of dropsy (ascites). Those with hot livers and patients who are heavy after a drunken sleep were to be given rose jam and hindiba juice55,59,60,64. The fact that it was used in the treatment of cirrhosis is another example of the therapeutic value of hindiba on the liver diseases.
The Treatment of Hot Inflammatory Swellings

In inflammatory swellings, humors had to be attenuated and evacuated and channels opened, so that purgation could take place. Therefore, hindiba was used in the treatment of the hot and moist inflammatory swellings, too. Its leaves or its juice mixed with flour and vinegar or merely vinegar was used to be applied on hot inflammatory swellings
59,60,70
. Hindiba, especially with violet oil, barley flour and vinegar was noted
to be a matchless medicine against hot swellings70. Hindiba was given with other drugs with different effects in treating inflammations. The aim in the treatment of internal inflammatory swellings was to purge morbid matter. In cases in which maturation was taking place attenuating drugs, such as Cassia fistula L., that have the power of resolving inflammations in
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the internal organs, was added to the prescription. If the matter causing disease was resolved, and channels opened, honey water was given to lave the alimentary tract. Then desiccants were used.
Arthiritis
When hindiba's therapeutic effects on inflammatory swellings is studied, it is seen that almost every old text claims that hindiba (usually the cultivated) heals arthiritis65, especially gout17 arthritis. It was applied as a dressing 62 on the joints either by itself64, or mixed with flour and applied as a plaster on the gouty joint59,60. Some authors advice adding ceruse to flour and hindiba mixture55,68 as a drug for the treatment of inflamed joints and limps. It is also noted that hindiba should be mixed with violet oil, barley flour and vinegar70, as an extremely effective prescription for the treatment of the painful joints, inflamed gout and hot inflammatory swellings. Pain is relieved due to dispersing the matter which produces it, that is, the cause is treated. Hindiba syrup and hindiba root were also advised to remove the pains in joints70. Here we see again the role of hindiba in resolving and purging the accumulated morbid matter and cleaning obstructions in one hand and on the other hand, its anti-inflammatory role.
Ophthalmia
Both kinds of hindiba are always claimed to be beneficial in treating the acute inflammation of the eye17,54,55,59,60,62,64,68,70 and both the juice of its leaves and its latex applied on the eye are assumed to remove the cataract55,59,60,62,64,68. Some writers advise the juice of the leaves and others of its flowers to be applied on the painful or the acutely inflamed eye54,68,70.
The Urinary Tract

When we have a short look at the other therapeutic values of hindiba, we see that it is said to be helpful in the maintenance of the function of the kidneys69,70 and the urinary passage, which is another factor in proving its effect in cleaning obstructions. For, other causes of obstructions are those which are non-
material, like cases of gross obstructions such as by obstruction with calculi or those in which there is a
functional disorder16. In the Canon hindiba is found in prescriptions used for the treatment of erosion or ulceration of the urinary bladder and urethra. The urinary bladder was advised to be washed through the urethra with hindiba juice, using a special syringe, called zerrake. A suppository prepared from hindiba put into the rectum was also used for the same purpose47. Gruner quotes the fluid extracts of Taraxacum as a drug used in the treatment of the cancer of the urinary bladder15. Hindiba juice was also used as a medicament for treating inflammatory swellings of the genital organs68,70.
Papular Swellings
Hindiba juice mixed with barley flour was said to be beneficial against carbuncle, erysipelas, and with cerusa and vinegar against burns46,69,70. The juice or dressing prepared from the leaves of hindiba were
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used to be applied on various inflamed boils, wounds and blisters, and this treatment was said to remove the pain and cool down the inflammation as well 23,56,68,69.
Hindiba: The Special Drug of the Liver

The fact that hindiba was supposed to be the best medicine against liver diseases all through the history of medicine can be explained as within the scope of the humoral theory, for the liver plays an important role in the nutritive cycle. This idea can be comprehended better in the light of the following explanation of Gruner16, who attempts to bring a contemporary medical understanding to it: "We trace the food-constituents through the columnar cells of the intestinal mucosa, across the areolar
tissue into the vascular roots of the portal and lacteal system; then into the liver unit itself (comprising phagocytic secretary cells, fundal cells, cubical excretory cells, and the hepatic arterioles and lymphatic clefts related to the sinusoids). Then into the general bloodstream, and finally out of the body through various organs, including the goblet cells of the intestinal mucosa, the bile-ducts, the pancreas etc. The extra-hepatic portion of the cycle is nearly co-terminus within the rest of the body".
In all medical manuscripts it is noted that hindiba clears out obstructions in the liver. While most of the writers of medical manuscripts do not explain in detail how to administer the drug, supposing that the reader already knows its preparation, usually eating it fresh or drinking the juice of the expressed leaves of it was advised. The methods of extraction are described in detail in this study. According to Ibn S n, what ever the characteristic of the liver might be, whether hot or cold, it is beneficial for all kinds of ailments of the liver as well as clearing the obstructions in the liver; yet it is more beneficial for the liver with hot characteristic. However, it is not harmful on the cold liver as the other green herbals. Ibn Sn prefers the uncultivated kind of hindiba, and notes that the more bitter and the more acrid it is, the more beneficial it will be on the liver62. The idea that the bitterness in its nature is beneficial for the liver in all respects is also found in the translation of Matthioli68. Ibn Baytar59,60, contrary to Ibn S n, advices the cultivated kind to be eaten, so that it will heal and strengthen the liver and clear the obstructions in it. The Ottoman materia medicas give similar information. For instance, Sakizli and Fazlizade note that if one coffee cup of the juice of hindiba leaves and root pressed and squeezed after having heated in water is drunk early in the morning, it will strengthen and repair the liver and heal all its illnesses. Sakizli also advises to make a salad of the remaining leaves with oxymel and take it after a meal55,64. Matthioli68, who studies hindiba's effect on the liver in the category of internal benefits, gives it as the mostly favored drug for the treatment of the hot liver. It is preferred in whatever way it is used. For instance, eating its leaves either fresh or cooked, or drinking its pressed juice or collected distillate or its decoction or taking its pounded dried leaves will cool it easily and maintain its natural state and purge and clear the obstructed vessels.
The Influence of Hindiba on the Secretion of Bile
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Depending on the relation of the liver with bile secretion and the small intestine, both actually and according to the humoral pathology, the therapeutic effect of hindiba on them can be noticed easily. Hindiba was believed to relieve excessive bilious secretion, by preventing the superfluity of bile. The juice of hindiba was believed to cool down the combustion of bile by easing its activity. It was also assumed to allow the bile to flow 24,55,59,60,62,64,65. The juice of its leaves with the juice of common fennel (Foeniculum vulgare M.) or its syrup prepared from the scrapings of its root was said to be the best medicine for jaundice and obstruction of the flow of bile56,70. Hindiba is also claimed to cool down the superfluity and heat of blood59,60,64. In short it would keep the humors in good balance and one's self in good health64. According to the humoral pathology, it is generally believed that the cause of cancer is the black bile, that is the atrabiliar humor, which is due to combustion of yellow bile as a result of its mixing with blood, the cause of which is the superfluity of the blood blocked, accumulated and putrefied. Inferring from the expressions such as "hindiba cools down the combustion of bile and calms down the dominance of blood", it was concluded that hindiba was a drug used in the treatment of cancer.
Hindiba Strengthens the Stomach and Relieves Nausea

In accordance with the humoral pathology and the effect of hindiba on bile activity, it is always noted that hindiba calms and relieves nausea and strengthens the stomach17,62,64,65,70. According to Ibn Sn62, hindiba strengthens the stomach and it is the best drug for the stomach with hot humor and the uncultivated kind is better then the cultivated for the stomach. Ibn Baytar 59,60 states that, if the cultivated or the uncultivated kind is eaten, or if its juice, obtained by pounding or by squeezing and then heating and its foam taken and refined is drunk, it would strengthen and heal the stomach and clear the obstructions in it and it would also heal the hot stomach due to a trouble in the liver. Another method of preparing hindiba for strengthening the stomach advised by Mehmed Mumin is to boil it with its root and then to drink it with oxymel70. Sakizli 64 and Fazlizade55 note that hindiba strengthens the stomach and calms the hot stomach if one coffee cup of its juice, extracted by pounding and squeezing, is drunk early in the morning. Fazlizade also claims that if it is mixed with ceruse and barley flour, it would strengthen the stomach, and if it is applied externally on the stomach, it would be beneficial, too. The leaves and seeds of cultivated hindiba were said to have an appetizing effect ll,47,70.
Hindiba is used in the Treatment of Fever

The basic idea in treating fevers is the opening of blockages which cause the putrefaction of humors. Therefore in fevers, a drug which opens blockages, such as hindiba, especially its root is included in prescriptions along with other drugs which purge the humors24 . As the obstruction is the cause, and fever the effect, the former must be treated first. Drugs composed of hot and cold active constituents were
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administered for the treatment of fever 47. Hindiba was accepted as the best drug with two contrary effects, treating gently, yet sufficiently effective. This means that it is not a toxic drug and does not harm the normal tissue16,24,65.
*
Although it is usually simply stated that drinking the juice of both kinds of hindiba or eating its leaves as salad69 would treat fever, its distillate, maceration or its decoction and the seed of hindiba and the rind of its root was also used to be given as a drug against acute, continuous and recurrent fevers, dropping them
gradually. It was specifically advised as beneficial against tertian and quartan fever of malaria, and was
also prescribed for the treatment of chronic malaria 55,59,60,62,64,70. Some writers note that the leaves and seeds of hindiba are useful against all kinds of fevers55,64. According to some writers the best way of preparing a medicine of hindiba against fevers is to heat it in water with its roots and then squeeze it to make a salad of it with oxymel and have it after meals55 or drink the juice with oxymel70. Another method is to beat its seeds and take them with oxymel or wine68, which will prevent the attack of fever and will gradually drop it down. If taken with rose jam it was said to be beneficial against the putrefactive processes associated with quartan fever, too 70. In the translation of Matthioli68 we find a different method of preparing hindiba as a medicament against fevers: "I found it effective when prepared in another way. The prescription is this: Take a handful of the herb with
its blue flowers, chop it into small bits like tobacco, afterwards wash it in white wine or honey water and add 200 dirhams of honey water twice, and heat it gradually, until 100 dirhams of it is left back; filter it through a cloth. In the morning take one cup of it before breakfast and don't eat anything for 4-5 hours. Go on taking it during the days following the normalization of the temperature. I have practiced it and found it useful".
Hindiba is an Antidote against Venomous Snake Bites, Insect Stings and Poisonous Drinks
Dressings with preparations from hindiba, specially the uncultivated kind is advised as a specific drug beneficial in treating those stung by scorpion, bee (hornet) or any other poisonous insect or those bitten by a poisonous snake or lizard (Lacerta gecko) and it is even said to be beneficial against all animal bites and insect stinks17,23,55,59,60,62,64,65,69,70. Hindiba is advised to be prepared as a dressing with its leaves or together with its root pounded and applied on the bitten or stung spot55,59,60,62,64,70. Another way of treatment is to have the affected drink hindiba juice and at the same time mix it with barley flour and apply the mixture on to the affected area 55. Hindiba is also said to be an antidote against all poisonous herbs and toxic drinks if its juice is drunk mixed with olive oil55,64,70.
*
The bioassay results illustrated both the selective and the non-cytotoxic nature of the active agent found in C. intybus L. Foremost was the little or no activity against the fibroblast cells (L929), which contrasts dramatically with the activity observed against the cancer cell lines tested. See U.S. Patent n 5663 96 Table 3, 4, 5a, 5b etc.
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White sandalwood (Santalum album L.) and common fennel (Foeniculum vulgare M.) macerated in hindiba juice is also advised as an effective medicament in treating against poisons70 . According to the old medical philosophy, in conditions of poisoning and intoxication, the body is also exposed to foreign heat, that is pathogenic agents, and it is the role of the innate heat to neutralize the substances, or toxic products of poisons.
The Effect of Hindiba on the Vegetative System

The breath is a very important concept in relation with health and disease in old medicine. The breath also was assumed to flow through the channels. The obstruction in a tissue by morbid matter prevents the flow of tissue-fluids and it is the forerunner of a disease. But it causes this trouble primarily because "the flow of
the breath is obstructed and its rhythm impaired"16,35. It is really hard to define this phenomenon which Ibn Sn introduces in detail. Gruner16 describes it as the aura, synonymous with the Ch' energy of the Chinese and the Prana of the Hindu. He also pictures it as complex chemical changes through the tissue spaces and
the juice canals. When we have a closer look at the theory, it reminds us of the function of the autonomic, that is the vegetative nervous system, concerned with the regulation of the activity of cardiac muscle, smooth muscles and glands. In the Ottoman medicine, as in the Islamic medicine, the breath was believed to circulate from place to place within the body. The passage of the breath from the liver to the brain and from the heart to tissues shows that the circulation has a relation with the anatomical centres of the body. The heart is the centre of life, the source of innate heat, the seat of the formation and the storehouse of the breath. "Breath is that which binds the vegetative and sensitive life into one connected whole"16,35. Disease, disturbing the rhythm of the breath, initiates a loss of immunity to pathogenic agents. As a clearer of obstructions, hindiba is also expected to open the ways to the flow of the breath, by removing the accumulated morbid matter blocking the canalicular system, in which the cardio-vascular system is included. Therefore, hindiba was advised for, the treatment of tachycardia and palpitation, specially those due to anxiety54,65. Some writers claimed that hindiba, specially the leaves of the cultivated alone, or its mixture with barley flour applied on the heart would calm the fluttering of the heart, heal anxiety and strengthen the heart17,
28,59, 60,62,69,70
. Others, who also note that hindiba is a cardiotonic, give a different prescription,
including the mixture of hindiba with ceruse and barley flour to be applied on the heart for the treatment of palpitation, heart aches and anxiety55,64.
Conclusion
Although the theory of medicine and the definitions of illnesses and their therapy in the old medicine are quite different from those of contemporary medicine, a system of its own which works out in itself can be discerned. As we have seen, the efforts of treatment are directed to the cause of illness, but the idea of the nature of the cause is approached from a philosophical point of view. Therefore, if we can establish a good relation between the philosophy of medicine and practical therapy and if we review the general principles of illness and treatment, we can find useful clues that can be used for research aiming the treatment of some cases
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which do not well respond well to todays methods. Experimentation of hindiba and saffron as drugs in the treatment of cancer and as immunostimulators are examples.
Bibliography and Footnotes*

1. Ahmet Issa Efendi 1930. Dictionnaire des Noms des Plantes en Latin, Franais, Anglais et Arabe. Le Caire: Ministre de LInstruction Publique dEgypte, Imprimerie Nationale. 2. Ahmed Vefik Paa 1306 (1889). Lehe-i Osman. 2 vol. 2nd edition. Istanbul: Mahmud Bey Matbaasi. 3. Baylav, Nasid 1953. Fatih Sultan Mehmed Devrinde Te'lif, Terceme ve stinsah Edilen Tib Eserleri ile laclar. Istanbul: "Turkiye Tibbi Mustahzarat Laboratuarlan Dernegi Yayinlarindan, n 1. 4. Baylav, Nasid 1968. Eczacilik Tarihi. Istanbul: Yrk Matbaas ve kitabevi. 5. Baytop, Asuman. 1977. Farmastik Botanik. Istanbul: I.U. Yay. N 2311, Eczacilik Fak. Yay., n 25. 6. Baytop, Turhan 1984. Turkiye'de Bitkiler ile Tedavi; Gecmiste ve Bugun. Istanbul: IU. Yay. No: 3255. Ezacilik Fak, n 40. Following this study, Baytop published a dictionary of Turkish herb terminology, where we find various local names for the drugs cited in this work, given below: Cichorium: Hindiba, Hindibag, Hindibahar, Cengel sakizi, Kara hindiba, Acigici, Acigici kulagi, Aci gunek, Acikici, Acikulak, Acimak, Acima, Ak gunek, Ak guneyik, Ak hindiba, Cakcak, Catlangac, Catlankoz, Catlanguc, Citlik, Gueseyik, Gugeyik, Gunegik, Gunek, Guneylik, Guneyik, Gunervik, Konik, Radika, Yabani hindiba. Ag ganak, Ak kanak (C. pumilum). Taraxacum : Kara Hindiba, Arslandisi, Gelingobegi, Keklik otu, Radika, Seytanarabasi. Crocus sativus L.: Safran, Aspir, Cehri, Cigdem, Yemen safrani; Safran cicegi, Safran cigdemi. Lactuca scariola L. (Lactuca serriola L.).: Marul (Yabani), Aci marul, Esek marulu, Tahlic. Sonchus oleraceus L. : Esek Marulu, Esek gevregi, Kundrul, Kuzu gevregi, Kuzukurku, Sut otu. Chondrilla juncea L. : Cengel sakizi, Hindiba, Citlik, Copkanak, Ezzezze, Garagavik, Gara gavlik, Gara gavuk, Kara kavak, Karavruk, Kara kavruk, Kara kavut, Kara kavik, Karagoz, Karaca kovuk, Karavlik, Karavluk, Karavruk, Sakizlik, Sakiz otu. See: Baytop, Turhan 1994. Turkce Bitki Adlari Sozlugu. Ankara: Turk Dil Kurumu Yayinlan: 578. 7. Bedevian, Armenag and Balls, W. Lawrence 1936. Illustrated Polyglottic Dictionary of Plant Names. Cairo: Argus, Papazia Presses. 8. Boussel, Patrice and Bonnemain, Henry and Bove, Frank J. 1982. History of Pharmacy and the
Pharmaceutical Industry. Paris/Lausanne: Asklepios Press.
* Following the printed matter, manuscripts are given serial numbers to avoid confusing in the enumeration in the text. Blanks in the bibliography mean that the writers are unknown.
Publication ID: 707

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9. Browne, E.G. 1962. Arabian Medicine. London: Cambridge University Press. 10. Davis, P.H. (editor) 1975. Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands. 5th vol. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 11. Demirhan, A. 1975. Msr Carsisi Droglari. Istanbul. 12. Dorvault. 1928. L'Officine; Ou Repertoire Gnral de Pharmacie Pratique. Paris: Vigot Frres Editeurs. 13. Evliya Celebi Seyahatnamesi. 1938. vol. 1. Istanbul: Devlet Matbaasi. 14. Firuzabadi, Ebu Tahir Muhammed b. Yakup 1304-1305 (1887-1888). El-Okyanusu'l-Basit fi Tercemeti'l-
Kamusu'l-Muhit (Mutercim Asim Kamusu). Translated by Ahmed Asim. Istanbul: Matbaa-i Bahriye.
15. Gruner, O. C. 1968. "A Selected Materia Therapeutica; In Regard to the Medical Management of Cases of Inoperable Cancer". Hamdard XI/10-12: 9-46. 16. Gruner, O. Cameron 1970. The Canon of Medicine of Avicenna; Incorporating a Translation of the First
Book. New York: Augustus M. Kelley Publishers.

17. Gunther, Robert T. 1959. The Greek Herbal of Dioscorides. New York: Hafner Publishing Co. 18. Hamarneh, Sami K. 1973. Al-Bruni's Book on Pharmacy and Materia Medica. Pakistan: Hamdard National Foundation. 19. Hamarneh, Sami K. 1973. Origins of Pharmacy and Therapy in the Near East. Tokyo: The Naito Foundation. 20. (Hayatizade) Mustafa Feyzi Efendi 1978. El-risletu'l-feyziyye fi lugati'l-mufredatu't-tibbiyye. Translated by Hadiye Tuncer. Yabani Bitkiler Sozlugu, 2 vol. Gida Tarim ve Hayvancilik Bakanligi. (See reference number 57 for the true name of the author, since Hayatizade has been found to be misdeciphered.) 21. Ibrahim Hakki Erzurumi Hasankaleli 1975. Marifet-name. Translated by Turgut Ulusoy. 3 vols. 2nd edition. Istanbul: Ahmed Said Matbaasi. 22. Kadri, Huseyin Kazim 1945. Turk Lugati. 4th vol. Istanbul: Turk Dil Kurumu Nesriyati. 23. Levey, Martin 1966. The Medical Formulary or Agrabadhin of al-Kindi; Translated With a Study of its Materia Medica. Madison, Milwaukee and London: The University of Wisconsin Press. 24. Levey, Martin and Al-Khaledy Noury 1967. The Medical Formulary of Al-Samargandi; and the Relation of
Early Arabic Simples to Those Found in the Indigenous Medicine of the Near East and India. Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press. 25. Meyerhof, M. and Bobhy Bey, G.P. 1937. The Abridged Version of "The Book of Simple Drugs" Ahmet
Ibn Muhammad Al-Ghafiqi by Gregorius Abu'l Farag (Barhebraeus). 2nd vol. Cairo: Government Press Bulag.
26. Muallim Naci. 1322 (1904). Lugat-i Naci. 2nd edition. Istanbul: Asir Matbaasi.
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27. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein 1976. Islamic Science; An Illustrated Study. England: World of Islam Festival Publishing Company Ltd. 28. Osman Hayri Mursid b. Halil Tarsus 1298/1881. Kenzu's-Sihhatul-Ebdaniye Eser-i Mursid-i Osmaniye. Istanbul: Matbaa-i Osmaniye. 29. Onler, Zafer 1990. Celaluddin Hizir (Haci Pasa) Muntahab-i Sifa I. Ankara: Turk Dil Kurumu Yayinlari: 559. 30. Ozden, Akil Muhtar 1937. Ibn Sina Tibbina Bir Bakis Buyuk Turk Filozof ve Tib Ustadi ibn Sina Sahsiyeti ve Eserleri Hakkinda Tetkikler. Istanbul: Turk Tarihi Kurumu Yayini VII. Seri. n 1. 31. [Philosophy of Medicine and Science] 1962. Philosophy of Medicine and Science; Problems and
Perspectives. New Delhi: Compiled by Department of Philosophy of Medicine and Science, Institute of
History of Medicine and Medical Research. 32. Redhouse, James W. 1978. Turkish and English Lexicon. New edition. Istanbul: Cagri Yayinlari. 33. Sadek, M. M. 1983. The Arabic Materia Medica of Dioscorides. Canada- Qubec: Mahmoud Sadek and Les Editions du Sphinx. 34. Said, Hakim Mohammed. Al-Biruni's Book on Pharmacy and Materia Medica. Pakistan: Hamdard National Foundation. 35. Sari, Nil 1984. "Osmanli Tibbinda Beden ve Nefis Terbiyesi". Yeni Symposium, 3-4: 76-95. 36. Sari, Nil 1986. "18. ve 19. Asirda Kimyager Hekimlerin Kullandiklari Aletler". Tip Tarihi Arastirmalari,, I. I. U. Cerrahpasa Tip Fakultesi Deontoloji Anabilim Dali ve Tip Tarihi Bilim Dali Yayinlari, Ozel Seri n 1: 5178. 37. Sari, Nil 1987. "Osmanlilarda Yeme Adetlerinin Klasik Devir Tip Anlayisi ile Iliskisi". Catering Gourmet, pp. 240. Istanbul: Ronesans Yayinlari. 38. Sari, Nil 1989. "Turk Tip Tarihinde Yemek ile Tip Arasindaki Iliskiye Ait Ornekler (The Relation Between Food and Medicine in Turkish Medical History)". II. Milletlerarasi Yemek Kongresi 3-10 Eylul 1988, pp. 392400. Ankara: Konya Kultur ve Turizm Vakfi Yayini. 39. Siggel, Alfred 1950. Arabisch-Deutsches Norbuch der Stoffe aus den drei Naturrichen die in Arabischen Alchemistisch Handschriften Vorkommen, Nebst Anham Verzeichnis Chemischer Gerate. Berlin: Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften Berlin Institut Fur Orientforschung veroffentlichung Nr. 1. 40. Steingass, F. 1977. Persian-English Dictionary. 6th edition. Great Britain: Lowe and Brydone Printers Ltd. 41. Sar, Sevgi and Suveren, Kenan 1992. "Ic Anadolu Bolgesinde Kullanilan Halk Ilaclarinin
Mucerrebname'deki Benzer Ilaclar ile Karsilastirilmasi". Pharmacia, 32(1): 17-49. 42. Semseddin, Sami 1317 (1901). Kamus-i Turki. Istanbul: Ikdam Matbaasi.
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43. [Tarama Sozlugu] 1971. Tarama Sozlugu. 8 vols. Ankara: Turk Dil Kurumu Yayinlari. 44. Terzioglu, Arslan 1992. Helvahane Defteri ve Topkapi Sarayinda Eczacilik; (Eine Bisher Unbekannte
Arzneien Im Topkapi-Schloss In Istanbul Und Ihre Bedeutung Fur Die Geschichte Der Pharmazie). Istanbul:
Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yay. 45. Ullmann, M. 1978. Islamic Surveys. II: Islamic Medicine. Edinburg: Edinburg University Press. 46. Uzel, Ilter 1992. Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu; Cerrahiyyetu'l Haniyye. 2 vols. Ankara: Ataturk Kultur Dil ve Tarih Yuksek Kurumu Turk Tarihi Kurumu Yayinlari, III. Dizi, Sa. 15. 47. Unver, A. Suheyl 1937. Hindiba Risalesi; Buharali Ibn Sina. Istanbul: Yeni Laboratuvar Yayinlarindan, No: 8. Unver, A. Suheyl 1939. Tansuknamei Ilhan Der Fununu Ulumu Hatai Mukaddimesi. Translated by Abdulbaki Golpinarli. Istanbul: T.C. Istanbul Universitesi Tip Tarihi Enstitusu Adet: 145. 48. Unver, A. Suheyl. 1936. Uygurlarda Tababet. Istanbul: I. U. Tip Tarihi Enstitusu Yayinlari Sayi: 3. 49. Unver, A. Suheyl 1940. Selcuk Tababeti. Ankara: Turk Tarih Kurumu Yayinlarindan VIII. Seri n 7. 50. Yaltkaya, M.S. 1935. "Ibni Sina'nin Tibdan Bir Urcuzesi". Turk Tib Tarihi Arkivi. 1: 127-142.
Manuscripts
51. Ali Efendi el-Burusevi (Ali et-Tabib el-Burusi el-med'u be-Mentesi). 18th Century (copy date: 1134/17212). El-fevaidu'l-cedide ve'l kava'idu't-tibbiyye es-sedide. Cerrahpasa Medical School, Medical History Department Library, n 138. 52. Cerrah Ibrahim b. Abdullah. 15th Century. Alaim-i cerrahin. Suleymaniye Library, registered at section Hekimoglu Ali Pasa, n 568. 53. Dioscorides. Materia Medica. Abdullah el-Huseyin b. Ibrahim el-Natili. Kitabu'l-Hasa'is. Topkapi Museum Library, registered at section Ahmed III, n 2127. 54. Emir Celebi (Seyyid Mehmed et-Tabib es-sehir bi-Emir Celebi) 1034/1625. Enmuzecu't-tibb. Cerrahpasa Medical School, Medical History Department Library, n 96. 55. Fazlizade Mehmed Celebi (El-hac Mehmed ibn el-hac Mehmed es-Sehir bi-Fazlizade). 1177/1763.
Mufredat-i tibb. Suleymaniye Library, registered at section Hamidiye, n 1017.

56. Haci Pasa, (Celaluddin Hizir b. Aliyu'l-Hattab. 14th/15th Centuries. Muntehab-i sifaul-eskam. Cerrahpasa Medical School, Medical History Department Library, n 186. 57. Mustafa Ebu'l Feyz (Mustafa b. Mehmed b. Ahmed et-Tabib). 18th Century; written after 1723; copy date: 1144/1731. Risale-i Feyziyye fi lugati'l-mufredati't-tibbiyye. Cerrahpasa Medical School, Medical History Department Library n 115/1; 149.
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58. Hayrullah Efendi (Nasuhi ibn Hayrullah). 1260/1844. Kamus-i tibb (Tip Lugati). Cerrahpasa Medical School, Medical History Department Library, n 581. 59. Ibn Baytar. (Ebu Mehmed Abdullah b. Ahmed Ziyaeddin.) Kitabu'l-camui'l-mufredatu 'l-edviye ve 'l-
agdiye. Translated by Abdurrahman b. Yusuf. Tercemetu'l-mufredat. Suleymaniye Library, registered at

section Kilic Ali Pasa, n 716/4. 60. Ibn Baytar, (Ebu Mehmed Abdullah b. Ahmed Ziyaeddin.) Kitabu'l-cmiu'l-mufredatu'l-edviye ve'l-
agdiye. Translated by Hezarfen Huseyin Efendi. 17th Century. Tercemetu'l-mufredat. Suleymaniye Library,
registered at sections Lala Ismail, n 389/9; Hamidiye, n 1016. 61. Ibn Sallum (Salih b. Nasrullah el-Halebi). 1664-5. Gayetu'l-itkan fi tedbir-i bedeni'l-insan. Translated by Mustafa Ebu'1-Feyz et tabibu'1-evvel-i Bimaristan-i Sultan Ahmed Han. 1141/1728-9. Nuzhetu'l-ebdan fi
tercume-i gayeti'l-itkan. Cerrahpasa Medical School, Medical History Department Library, n 539.
62. Ibn Sina (Ebu Ali el-Huseyin b. Abdullah). Kanun fi't-tibb. Translated by Mustafa b. Ahmed b. Huseyin el-Tokadi. 18th century. Tebhizul-mathun. Suleymaniye Library, registered at section Hamidiye, n 1015. 63. Ibn Serif (Ali Celebi). 14/15th Centuries. Yadigar fi't-tibb. (Yadigar-i ibn-i Serif) Cerrahpasa Medical School, Medical History Department Library, n 155. s. 60 64. Isa Efendi b. Ali el-Sakizi. 17th Century. Mufredat-i Isa Efendi fi't-tibb. Suleymaniye Library, registered at section Hekimoglu, n 567; Yeni Cami n 1174; Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Medical History Department Library, n 580. s. 141 65. Ishak b. Murad. 14th Century. Edviye-i Mufrede. Fatih Millet Library n 109. s. 16 66. 15th Century. Kitab-i esbab-i alamat Cerrahname. Suleymaniye Library, registered at section Yazma Bagislar, n 814/1 67. Kitab min el-tibb fi'l-ahkami'l-kulliyat ve'l-edviyatu'l-mufredat. Suleymaniye Library, registered at section Ayasofya, n 3748. 68. Matthioli, Pietro Andrea. 1544. Di Pedacio Dioscoride Anazarbeo della Materia Medicinale. Translated by Osman b. Abdurrahman. 1777. Kitabu'n-nebat (fi'l- mufredati't-tibbiyyeti'l-hekim Mattioli.) Cerrahpasa Medical School, Medical History Department Library, n 19/1. 69. Mehmed b. Ali. 1102/1690-91. Terceme-i cedide fi'l-havassi'l-mufrede. Istanbul Medical School, Medical History Department Library, n 4458. The pictures in a manuscript of simples, titled Nebatat, probably compiled at the beginning of the 20th century, were copied from Mehmed b. Ali's work. See: Cerrahpasa Medical School, Medical History Department Library, n 69. The pictures in the printed copy of Terceme-i cedide fi'l-havassi'l-mufrede and those in the manuscript are same; but the two texts, however, are quite different.
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70. Mehmed Mu'min et-Tankabuni. 1080/1669 Tuhfetu'l-muminin. Translated by Ahmed Sani b. Huseyin b. Hasan. Gunyetu'l-muhassilin fi tercemet-i tuhfeti'l-mu'minin. 1146/1733. Suleymaniye Library registered at section Fatih, n 3589; Cerrahpasa Medical School, Medical History Department Library, n 359, 562. 71. Nidai. 1566-7. Menafui'n-nas. Cerrahpasa Medical School, Medical History Department Library, n 65. 72. Siyahi (el-Karamani min beled-i Larend Dervis Siyahi.) 17th Century. Lugat-i muskilat-i ecza. Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Medical History Department Library, n 19/2. 73. Sanizade Ataullah. 1828. El-Kitabu'r-rabi min kutubi'l-Hamseti's-sanizade fi'l-a'mali'l-cerrahiye ve mayetecallaku bi-zalik (Kanunu'l-Cerrahin). 74. Yirmisekiz Celebizade Mehmed Said Pasa (Mehmed. Sa'id b. Mehmed b. Suleyman). 1166/1753.
Feraidu'l-mufredat. Suleymaniye Library, registered at section Esad Efendi, n 2489 s. 170
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The Arabic Sources of Jordanus de Nemore
Prof. Menso Folkerts and Prof. Richard Lorch Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Prof. Mohammed Abattouy Dr. Salim Ayduz July, 2007 710 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
The Arabic Sources of Jordanus de Nemore July, 2007
THE ARABIC SOURCES OF JORDANUS DE NEMORE

Prof. Menso Folkerts and Prof. Richard Lorch*
1. Jordanus de Nemore: Life and Works 1

1.1. Life
Historians of mediaeval mathematics agree that Jordanus de Nemore was one of the most important writers on mechanics and mathematics in the Latin West to be compared only with Leonardo Fibonacci and Nicole Oresme. But almost nothing is known about his life. He must have lived before the middle of the thirteenth century, because Jordanus' works are mentioned in Richard de Fournival's Biblionomia, a catalogue of books compiled towards 1250, and because Campanus cites Jordanus in his redaction of Euclid's Elements which must have been written before 1259.2 Dr. Busard assumes that there was a close relationship between Jordanus and Richard de Fournival, because Richard's Biblionomia contains not only most of the genuine works of Jordanus, but also most of the sources that Jordanus used for his treatises.3 It is also remarkable that nearly half of the manuscripts which transmit one of the most important writings of Jordanus, his Arithmetica, were written or are extant in Paris. Therefore it is possible that Jordanus lived and taught at Paris in the first half of the thirteenth century and it may be assumed, as Jens Hyrup has, that there existed in Paris until about 1250 a "Jordanian circle" which was influenced by Jordanus himself.4 Beginning with an article by Maximilian Curtze in 1887,5 Jordanus has sometimes been linked with the University of Toulouse, but Ron B. Thomson has given convincing arguments that there is no reason at all to associate Jordanus with that university.6 The question has been discussed whether Jordanus de Nemore might be identical with Jordanus of Saxony, the second Master-General of the Dominican order from 1222 to 1237, 7 since P. Treutlein drew attention (in 1879) to a statement by the fourteenth century chronicler Nicholas Trivet.8 Trivet wrote that the Master-General Jordanus was "by nationality a Teuton from the diocese of Mainz" and that "reputed to have been outstanding at Paris in the secular sciences, especially mathematics, he is said to have written two very useful books, one De ponderibus and another De lineis datis". While Treutlein, Curtze and Cantor agreed that the Master-General Jordanus of Saxony and Jordanus de Nemore were one person, the historian of the Dominican order, H. Denifle (in 1887) and in this century Marshall Clagett (in 1984) disagreed, mainly, because the name de Nemore never appears in the writings of Jordanus of Saxony nor in any source pertaining to him, and because the writings of Jordanus of Saxony show no special interest in mathematics. Two of the historians of mathematics who have done
* 1
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen. Published originally in Etudes d'histoire des sciences arabes, edited by Mohammed Abattouy, Casablanca, 2007, pp. 121-139. 2 In this year the earliest known manuscript (Florence, BN, Magliabecch. XI 112) was written. Campanus mentions Jordanus in his commentary to The Elements V. def. 16. 3 Busard 1992, pp. 121-122. 4 Hoyrup 1988, p. 351. 5 Curtze 1887, p. vi. 6 Thomson 1974. 7 E.g. in Grant 1973, pp. 171-172, and in Thomson 1978, pp. 10-17. 8 Treutlein 1879, p. 129.
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research on Jordanus de Nemore in modern times, Thomson (1978) and Busard (1991), agree that it is possible that the two men were identical, although this is neither probable nor improbable.
Figure1: Extract from Jordanus' De planisphaeri figurationei. Source: http://www.ub.unibas.ch/kadmos/gg/pic/gg0287_009_txt.htm
1.2. Writings
Ron B. Thomson has given an exhaustive list of all manuscripts which contain texts attributed to Jordanus de Nemore. 9 From this it is clear that there are six treatises genuinely ascribed to him (most of them existing in more than one version):
Thomson 1976.
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1.2.1. Liber philotegni This treatise, which has been edited by M. Clagett in 1984,10 appears to be a genuine work by Jordanus and to have been reworked under the name Liber de triangulis Iordani.11 It is an advanced textbook on geometry at a very high level. The Liber philotegni may be divided into the four parts that later appeared as separate books in the De triangulis. The principle contents are: Prop. 1-13: on triangles, and primarily their comparison in terms of angles and sides and lines drawn from angles to sides. Prop. 14-25: on the division of triangles, and lemmata for the propositions concerning divisions. Prop. 26-37: comparisons of arcal and circular segments cut off by chords, both those within a single circle and those within tangent circles, and extra-circular areas included between tangents and arcs. Prop. 38-63: on polygons that are irregular or regular, inscribed or circumscribed, inserted in one another, isoperimetric or not. With prop. 46 the "shortened version" ends, but the remaining propositions appear to be an integral part of the original Liber philotegni.12 Especially interesting additions in the De triangulis are solutions to the problems of trisecting an angle and of finding two mean proportionals between two given lines, and also a proof of Hero's theorem on the area of a triangle. 1.2.2. Elementa de ponderibus There are some Latin treatises on statics in the manuscripts attributed to Jordanus, in which the dynamical approach of Aristotelian physics is combined with the abstract mathematical physics of Archimedes, the proofs being presented in the Euclidean way. But only one treatise, the Elementa super demonstrationem ponderum or Elementa de ponderibus, may be definitely assigned to him.13 This treatise, which contains seven postulates and nine theorems, is significant, because it introduces component forces into statics and the idea of "positional gravity" (gravitas secundum situm), and also gives a new proof of the law of the lever. As in the case of the Liber philotegni, there is a reworking of the Elementa, the De ratione ponderis, in forty-five propositions; this might also be attributed to Jordanus. Inter alia, this reworking contains a discussion of weights on inclined planes for instance, the first known proof of the conditions of equilibrium of unequal weights on planes inclined at different angles.14 Both treatises are based upon Greek works that were mostly transmitted through the Arabic and on Arabic works for instance, the Liber karastonis attributed to Thbit ibn Qurra in the same tradition. It seems that the author (or authors) made use of intermediate Latin commentaries. 1.2.3. The algorismus treatises
10 11 12 13 14
Clagett 1984, pp. 196-257. Edited by Clagett 1984, pp. 346-429. Clagett 1984, p. 174. On the affiliation of the texts De ponderibus see Brown 1967. See Moody and Clagett 1952, p. 169. The text is edited on pp. 175-227.
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There are various algorismus treatises ascribed to Jordanus. Although they have not been edited in their entirety, several articles by G. Enestrm appeared in the Bibliotheca mathematica in 1906-14 on this topic.15 Enestrm published the introductions to these texts and their propositions. From Enestrm's research it seems to be clear that there were three different algorismi, each of them containing two parts, the first on integers and the second on fractions. While the first two sets16 might have been written by Jordanus, this is not likely to be true of the third, which is certainly related to the first two.17 The treatises that seem to have been written by Jordanus teach the six basic operations with integers (including duplation and mediation) and the extraction of the square root within the Arabic number system, but without examples and in a more formal way than in the common algorismus treatises of the thirteenth century (Johannes de Sacrobosco, Alexander de Villa Dei). All this is strongly reminiscent of Arabic texts (which begin with al-Khwrizm's Arithmetic). But there is no reason to assume that Jordanus had an Arabic text or a translation from the Arabic before him, because there were many algorismus treatises in the West at the end of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth centuries, some of which might have been the source for Jordanus. 18 1.2.4. De numeris datis In his De numeris datis, which has been edited by B. Hughes in 1981, 19 Jordanus solved algebraic problems in a way different from that found in Arabic texts. He formulated problems by saying what is known and what has to be found, and then transformed the initial equation into a canonical form by using letters to represent numbers. At the end of every problem he gives a numerical example. Although some bits and pieces can be found in other works, the whole is not a compilation, but a unique tract in advanced algebra as Busard puts it,20 it is the "first advanced algebra to be written in Europe after Diophantus". Hughes has indicated that there are two sets of manuscripts, one containing 95 propositions, the other 113. As for sources, the approach is too different from that of al-Khwrizm for the latter's Algebra to have been the decisive influence and in general, we have found no telling evidence of any Arabic source for this work.
15 16
Enestrm 1906-07, 1907-08, 1912-13, 1913-14a, 1913-14b. Set 1: Opus numerorum (incipit: Communis et consuetus rerum cursus virtusque) and the Tractatus minutiarum; set 2 (probably later than set 1): Demonstratio de algorismo and Demonstratio de minutiis. 17 Entitled: Algorismus demonstratus (sometimes divided into Algorismus de integris and Algorismus de minutiis). It was published by Johann Schner (Nuremberg, 1534). 18 Apart from al-Khwrizm's Arithmetic, which was translated into Latin in the twelfth century, the oldest treatises are the Liber ysagogarum and the Liber alchorismi, both from the twelfth century. See the editions by Allard 1992. 19 Hughes 1981. 20 Busard 1991, p. 10.
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Figure 2: Jordanus de Nemore, Liber de ratione ponderis in the edition of Nicolo Tartaglia (Venice, 1565). Source: http://archimedes.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de. 1.2.5. De plana spera This treatise, which was edited by Ron B. Thomson,21 may be compared with Ptolemy's Planisphaerium. It treats the principles of stereographic projection the central concept used in constructing the astrolabe, and gives inter alia a general demonstration of its fundamental property, i.e. that circles are projected as circles. There are three versions, versions 2 and 3 being different expansions of the original text (version 1), which is closest to Jordanus' original. 1.2.6. De elementis arismetice artis Although the De elementis arismetice artis was the most widely known mathematical work of Jordanus, it was not edited in its original form until 1991.22 It is divided into ten books and comprises more than 400 propositions. Similarly to Euclid's Elements and, as it seems, derived from it Jordanus starts with definitions and postulates and then proceeds to the enunciations. This treatise became the standard book
21 22
Thomson 1978. Busard 1991.
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on theoretical arithmetic in the Middle Ages, together with Boethius' Arithmetica, which is less formal and more philosophical.
1.2.7. Other writings

Under the treatises dubiously ascribed to Jordanus is the Liber de proportionibus. Busard, who edited it,23 was not able to say whether it is an original work or a translation from the Arabic (Thbit ibn Qurra). If the former, the Arabic influence is very clear.
2. Possible Arabic sources of the three principal mathematical works

2.1. Liber philotegni
It is not surprising that in the Liber philotegni Euclid's Elements are mentioned several times, mostly by giving citations as "per ultimam quinti Euclidis."24 At two places Jordanus gives the text of an enunciation by Euclid: in prop. 18 he cites Euclid V.19 literally,25 but in a way which differs from the best-known Latin Euclid text, the so-called Version II formerly attributed to Adelard,26 as well as from the other Euclid texts which originated in the twelfth century (Adelard I, Hermann of Carinthia, Gerard of Cremona). In prop. 28 Euclid III.7 is cited,27 but here, too, the wording differs somewhat from the common Euclid texts though it is more similar to Version II and to the Hermann texts than to the translation by Adelard and by Gerard.28 It seems that Jordanus did not intend to cite these propositions word-for-word. But it is evident that his source was a text that came from the Arabic, because he mentions twice the word mutekefia (= reciprocally proportional),29 which is also given, with the same meaning, in propositions VI.13 and 14 in three of the Arabic-based texts (Adelard I, Hermann, Version II). It should also be mentioned that one of the earliest manuscripts of the Liber philotegni30 cites (prop. 28) the Pythagorean theorem by per dulk31: the term
dulcarnon (= the two-horned) for this theorem came from Arabic texts, was first used in the West in some
manuscripts of Version II and became later very common.32 It seems that Jordanus also used another treatise by Euclid: the Liber divisionum. Today this text is available only in Arabic manuscripts. In the twelfth century it was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona, but his translation is lost. In propositions 21-23 of the Liber philotegni Jordanus presents problems on bisections of triangles, and it is very likely that he used Gerard's translation of Euclid's Liber
divisionum.33 The following proposition (24, trisection of a triangle by drawing lines from a point in the triangle to each of the three angles) is not in the extant Arabic text of the Liber divisionum of Euclid. But
23 24
Edited by Busard 1971. In props. 9, 19 and 27. Similarly in props. 7, 18, 34. 25 "Iuxta illam quinti Euclidis: si linea ad lineam ut pars ad partem, ergo ut residuum ad residuum": Clagett 1984, p. 212, lines 17-18. 26 It has: Si a duobus totis due porciones abscidantur fueritque totum ad totum quantum abscisum ad abscisum, erit reliquum ad reliquum quantum totum ad totum. 27 "Iuxta illud Euclidis in 3o: si a puncto in diametro preter centrum assignato etc.": Clagett 1984, p. 224, lines 10-11. 28 Version II and Hermann of Carinthia: Si in diametro circuli punctus preter (Hermann: super) centrum signetur; Adelard I: Si supra diametrum circuli punctus alius a centro assignatus fuerit...; Gerard of Cremona: Si super diametrum circuli punctum signetur quod sit extra
29 30 31 32 33
centrum...
Prop. 9: nam latera sunt mutekefia; prop. 13: nam sunt mutekefia. Florence, BN, cs. J. I. 32, from the end of the thirteenth century. Clagett 1984, p. 224, variant to lines 7-9. See Kunitzsch 1993. Clagett 1984, pp. 161-163.
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this proposition with a somewhat different proof could be found in Savasorda's Liber embadorum and in Leonardo Fibonacci's Practica geometria.34 Jordanus cites in his Liber philotegni three other treatises: the Liber de curvis superficiebus, the De similibus arcubus and the Liber de ysoperimetris. The first and second of these are mentioned in proposition 29, where Jordanus proves that the ratio of arcs cut off by unequal chords in a circle is greater than the ratio of the chords, and the ratio of the segments of the circle cut off by the chords will be greater than the square of the ratio of the chords. The Liber de curvis superficiebus attributed to Johannes de Tinemue, although probably translated from the Greek rather than from the Arabic, circulated with AraboLatin translations. This well-known treatise, dealing mostly with the surfaces and volumes of cones, cylinders, and spheres, gave the Latin West access to Archimedean methods and results.35 The author of the Liber de similibus arcubus was Ahmad b. Ysuf b. Ibrhm ibn al-Dya, who lived in the second half of the ninth century in Egypt and was the son of a well-known historian of medicine and man of letters. 36 Besides his work on ratios and proportions (in Latin: De proportione et proportionalitate ), the first part of which has a similar purpose to book V of Euclid's Elements and continues with a treatment of the transversal figure, he wrote a treatise on similar arcs, which was also translated into Latin in the twelfth century, probably by Gerard of Cremona, under the title Liber de similibus arcubus.37 In this treatise Ahmad tried to prove that the assertion "similar arcs are also equal arcs" was wrong. He starts with propositions III.20 and 21 of Euclid's Elements, and his short treatise could be seen as a commentary on book III of the
Elements. Jordanus mentions this treatise in his Liber philotegni not only in proposition 29, but also in prop.
3238 and in prop. 36.39 One of the more interesting propositions of the Liber philotegni is prop. 5: "If in a right triangle a line is drawn from one of the remaining angles to the base, the ratio of the angle farther from the right angle to the angle closer to the right angle is less than the ratio of its base to the base of the other." 40 Instead of giving a proof, Jordanus refers correctly to the demonstration in the Liber de ysoperimetris. This treatise, which was well-known in the Middle Ages, was not translated from the Arabic, but directly from the Greek.41 It should be noticed that the same proof was available in the Optics of Euclid (which was translated from the Arabic by Gerard of Cremona and also directly from the Greek) and in Gerard's translation of Ptolemy's
Almagest. Jordanus cites the Liber de ysoperimetris again in prop. 30, then referring to his prop. 5.42
Clagett suggested that at two other places Jordanus used sources from the Arabic which are not known to us. In prop. 37, the difference or distance from AC to DE is greater than the distance from DE to FG, for CE > EG, which lines he here calls the distances of the tangents43 (see fig. 3).
34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43
Clagett 1984, pp. 163f. Edited by Clagett 1964, pp. 450-507. See Sezgin 1974, pp. 288-290. Ed. Busard and van Koningsveld 1973. per librum de similibus arcubus. per librum de similibus arcubus. Translation from Clagett 1984. Edited by Busard 1980. Clagett 1984, p. 226, line 9. See Clagett 1984, p. 280.
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This curious term and the unnamed author (here: "he") have not been satisfactorily explained. Clagett suggests:
It perhaps refers rather to the author of some fragment translated from the Arabic which Jordanus used as his source for this proposition and in which the term distantia was used in this rather unusual sense.44
Figure 3. Also strange is the form of prop. 40 whose enunciation gives a reason (ratio) on which it is based, but whose proof contains no reference to this and proceeds normally. Clagett comments:
It seems obvious that Jordanus took this proposition (but not its proof) from some earlier work (perhaps a fragment translated from the Arabic).45
In both cases it seems that Jordanus is quoting a work not known to us. Clagett's supposition of some fragment (or fragments) translated from the Arabic seems the most plausible explanation. Though some sources of the Liber philotegni are known, we do not know in general which parts were taken over and which are original contributions. But we agree with Clagett who writes:
Regardless of how often Jordanus borrowed some proposition from treatises recently translated from the Arabic or the Greek, he put his own stamp on its demonstration, often producing an imaginative or ingenious proof. ...Jordanus... seemed to use the conventional theorems he inherited from his predecessors as an excuse for new ways of proving the old theorems or generating new ones. It is not surprising, then, that this work served as a magnet to attract other original and interesting propositions that circulated in translations from the Arabic but were not sufficiently
44 45
Clagett 1984, p. 280, note 2. Clagett 1984, p. 171.
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germane to Jordanus' objectives to have been included by him. The result of this attraction was the new version which we have called Liber de triangulis Iordani... "46
Clagett gives some arguments to prove that this Liber de triangulis Iordani was a revision of the Liber philotegni and was not written by Jordanus.47 The most important is that in De triangulis the last 17 propositions of the Liber philotegni were omitted, which "are some of Jordanus' best propositions and ones that seem to represent the principal objectives of the Liber philotegni."48 They were replaced by propositions IV.10, 12-28 of the De triangulis, most of which were parts of works translated from the Arabic, which were taken only with little changes, while Jordanus' skill lay in devising new proofs of his own. Two of Clagett's other arguments against the authorship of Jordanus are: in De triangulis Jordanus' name itself is cited, which would be unlikely if Jordanus himself were the author; and the mode of citing Euclid's Elements differs from that in the Liber philotegni. The De triangulis did not use Campanus' redaction of Euclid's Elements. Therefore if it was written after this redaction which was compiled at least no later than 1259 , then its author probably did not have access to this text. 49 Apart from the Liber de ysoperimetris, the same treatises are cited as in the Liber philotegni. In addition, there are citations of Jordanus' Arithmetica and Ibn al-Haytham's Perspectiva.50 The last work is mentioned in proposition IV.20, the classical problem of trisecting an angle. Other additions of Arabic origin are: construction of the regular heptagon and a proof of Hero's theorem. 51
2.2. De elementis arismetice artis

Until 1991, when Busard edited this text from the original manuscripts, only the reworking by the French humanist Jacques Lefvre d'Etaples (1496, reprinted 1514) was available. In this Jordanus' enunciations were given, but the demonstrations were not those of Jordanus, but by Lefvre d'Etaples himself. In his edition Busard treats the question of Jordanus' sources. The following is based on remarks that Busard makes in his edition.52 It is surprising that in his Arithmetica Jordanus does not cite Euclid's Elements explicitly, although nearly all propositions of the arithmetical books of the Elements, i.e. books VII-IX, can be found in some way in the
Arithmetica. Probably Jordanus used Version II of the Elements, because he arranged his book in a way
similar to that version. Most striking is that in nearly all manuscripts of the Arithmetica the proofs precede the enunciations, and this is also true of the earlier manuscripts of the so-called Version II of the Elements. Another common feature is that in both texts very often not the full proofs are given, but only indications which propositions are necessary to develop the proof. Therefore Version II seems to have been the model for Jordanus in writing his Arithmetica. Because Jordanus does not cite any author in his Arithmetica except Boethius' Arithmetica53 , we are only able to list the propositions of Jordanus that can also be found in earlier texts and therefore might
46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53
Clagett 1984, p. 185. Clagett 1984, pp. 297-303. Clagett 1984, p. 297. Clagett 1984, p. 301. Clagett 1984, p. 304. See Folkerts and Lorch 1992. Busard 1991, pp. 12-35. In VII.40: quod Boecius dicit in Ysagogis arismetice; see Busard 1991, p. 146.
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have been taken from them. Apart from Version II, the most important are:54 Al-Nayrz's commentary of Euclid and Ahmad b. Ysuf's De proportione et proportionalitate, which were translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona. Ahmad's treatise was the probable source for the definition of continued and discontinued proportion (II. def. 4, 5) and for several other passages. Unfortunately, we do not know the immediate source for Jordanus' very interesting treatment of the remainder problem (III.30, 31), but it is clear that it is ultimately based on Hindu mathematics. Nor is it known what sources, if any, Jordanus used for his solution of the indeterminate equation of the second degree: q2 v2 = v2 r2 (VI.12), though problems of this sort were proposed and solved by Diophantus, al-Karaj, Leonardo Fibonacci and others.
2.3. De plana spera

Once again we find a text that is probably by Jordanus and expanded versions which probably are not.55 In the text that the editor calls "Version 2", for instance, Euclid, or occasionally Theodosius, is frequently cited by proposition; and there are other signs of reworking. The text may be resolved into five propositions: 1. A demonstration that circles on the sphere become, when projected, circles on the plane; 2. and 3. On constructing parallels of given declination; 4. On the equal division of an oblique circle (although it is not so specified, we may consider this circle the ecliptic or the horizon); 5. On finding the position of a point whose coordinates with respect to a given oblique circle are known. Much of the material is clearly based on corresponding passages in Ptolemy's Planisphaerium, which was translated into Latin in 1143 by Hermann de Carinthia from the Arabic. For the proof that circles become circles, which unfortunately appears to be not quite sound, no sources have yet been found al-Farghn, for instance, supplied a different proof, based on a proposition in Apollonius' Conics.56 For Jordanus' fourth proposition, on the equal division of an oblique circle, three methods are given: by means of ascensions (if we may use the ordinary astronomical term), by declination circles, and by a special method involving the plane through the equinoxes which bisects the angle between the equator plane and the ecliptic plane. Circles perpendicular to this plane will cut off equal arcs from equator and ecliptic. Accordingly, such a circle is constructed for each division of the ecliptic (see fig. 4a) by constructing it through three points: the pole K of the circle, found as the intersection of the principal meridian BED and the line AH through one equinox A and through a point H on the equator circle distant from the other equinox by half the obliquity of the ecliptic, the point L on the equator whose distance from one of the equinoxes is equal to the desired arc of the ecliptic, and the point M opposite this point on the equator. The intersection of this circle with the ecliptic gives the desired division. The first two methods may be taken from Ptolemy's Planisphaerium . But all three methods are given in an extra chapter written by Maslama al-Majrt. The diagrams for the third are reproduced in fig. 4b. This chapter, which is extant in Arabic, was translated into Latin in the twelfth century and is almost certainly the ultimate source, if not the immediate source, of Jordanus' three methods.57
54 55 56 57
See the list in Busard 1991, pp. 36-43. The three forms of the text have been edited with translation and commentary in Thomson 1978. See Thomson 1978, Appendix 3, pp. 210-217. The Arabic is in MS Paris, BN, arab. 4821, fols. 76r-79r, and was printed by Vernet and Catal 1965. The Latin is in MS Vat. Reg. lat.
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Figure 4a.
Figure 4b.
3. Final remarks
Jordanus was one of the few mathematicians of the Latin Middle Ages who showed any originality. He had also a strong inclination to rework the material that came to hand. None the less, it is possible to trace many of the ideas in his works to his predecessors, in particular to the translations from the Arabic in the twelfth century. All his major works were reworked, often more than once. It is remarkable that in many cases yet more material derived from the Arabic finds its way into the reworked texts, and this material is often more easily recognized, because it is more often supplied with the name of the source or because the style is less transformed. In the works by, or attributed to, Jordanus, which formed a large part of mathematics in the West from the founding of the universities until the Renaissance, we find a wonderful repository of mathematical learning transmitted from the rich Arabic heritage.
1285, fols. 160va-162ra, and other manuscripts. The mathematical content is discussed in Anagnostakis 1984, chapter 11, pp. 171-178.
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Figure 5: Homepage of Jordanus: An International Catalogue of Mediaeval Scientific Manuscripts (Joint project of the Institute for the History of Science (Munich) and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (Berlin)). Source: http://jordanus.ign.uni-muenchen.de/cgi-bin/iccmsm.
References
Allard, Andr 1992. Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi. Le Calcul Indien (Algorismus). Histoire des textes, dition critique, traduction et commentaire des plus anciennes versions latines remanies du XIIe sicle. Paris: Albert Blanchard / Namur: Socit des tudes Classiques. Anagnostakis, Christopher 1984. The Arabic Version of Ptolemy's Planisphaerium. Ph.D. Thesis, Yale University. Brown, Joseph E. 1967. The Scientia de Ponderibus in the Later Middle Ages. Ph.D. Thesis, The University of Wisconsin. Busard, Hubert L. L. Busard 1967. "Die Traktate De Proportionibus von Jordanus Nemorarius und Campanus." Centaurus vol. 15: pp. 193-227. 1980. "Der Traktat De isoperimetris, der unmittelbar aus dem Griechischen ins Lateinische bersetzt worden ist." Mediaeval Studies vol. 42: pp. 61-88.
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1991. Jordanus de Nemore, De elementis arithmetice artis. A Medieval Treatise on Number Theory. Part I, II. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner. 1992. The Arithmetica of Jordanus Nemorarius. In Amphora. Festschrift fr Hans Wussing zu seinem 65. Geburtstag. Ed. S. S. Demidov, M. Folkerts, D. E. Rowe, and C. J. Scriba. Basel/Boston/Berlin: Birkhuser, pp. 121-132. Busard, H.L.L. and van Koningsveld, P. S. 1973. "Der Liber de arcubus similibus des Ahmed ibn Jusuf." Annals of Science vol. 30: pp. 381-406. Clagett, Marshall 1964. Archimedes in the Middle Ages. Vol. 1. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. 1984. Archimedes in the Middle Ages. Vol. 5. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society. Curtze, Maximilian 1887. Jordani Nemorarii Geometria vel de triangulis libri iv, zum ersten Male nach der Lesart der Handschrift Db. 86 der Koenigl. Oeffentlichen Bibliothek zu Dresden herausgegeben, in: Mitteilungen des Coppernicus-Vereins fr Wissenschaft und Kunst zu Thorn, 6 (1887). Enestrm, Gustaf 1906-07. "ber die Demonstratio Jordani de algorismo." Bibliotheca mathematica, 3rd ser., vol. 7: pp. 24-37. 1907-08. "ber eine dem Jordanus Nemorarius zugeschriebene kurze Algorismusschrift." Bibliotheca mathematica, 3rd ser., vol. 8: pp. 135-153. 1912-13. "Der Algorismus de integris des Meisters Gernardus." Bibliotheca mathematica, vol. 13: pp. 289-332. 1913-14a. "Das Bruchrechnen des Jordanus Nemorarius." Bibliotheca mathematica vol. 14: pp. 41-54. 1913-14b. "Der Algorismus de minutiis des Meisters Gernardus." Bibliotheca mathematica vol. 14: pp. 99-149. Folkerts, Menso, and Lorch, Richard 1992. "Some geometrical theorems attributed to Archimedes and their appearance in the West." In Archimede. Mito Tradizione Scienza. Edited by Corrado Dollo. Florence: Leo S. Olschki, pp. 61-79. Grant, Edward 1973. "Jordanus de Nemore." In Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Edited by Charles Gillispie. Vol. 7. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, pp. 171-179. Hyrup, Jens 1988. "Jordanus de Nemore, XIIIth -Century Mathematical Innovator: an Essay on Intellectual Context, Achievement, and Failure." Archive for History of Exact Sciences vol. 38: pp. 307-363. Hughes, Barnabas B. 1981. Jordanus de Nemore De numeris datis. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press.
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Kunitzsch, Paul 1993. "The Peacock's Tail: On the Names of some Theorems of Euclid's Elements." In Vestigia Mathematica. Studies in medieval and early modern mathematics in honour of H.L.L. Busard. Edited by M. Folkerts and J.P. Hogendijk. Amsterdam: Rodopi, pp. 205-214. Moody, Ernest A. and Clagett, Marshall, 1952. The Medieval Science of Weights. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. Sezgin, Fuat 1974. Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums. Vol. 5. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Thomson Ron B. 1974. "Jordanus de Nemore and the University of Toulouse." The British Journal for the History of Science vol. 7: pp. 163-165. 1976. Jordanus de Nemore: Opera. In Mediaeval Studies vol. 38: pp. 97-144. 1978. Jordanus de Nemore and the Mathematics of Astrolabes: De plana spera, Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. Treutlein P. 1879. Der Traktat des Jordanus Nemorarius "De numeris datis". Zeitschrift fr Mathematik und Physik vol. 24 [Supplement (= Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der Mathematik, 2)]: pp. 127-166. Vernet, J. and Catal, M.A. 1965. "Las obras matemticas de Maslama de Madrid." Al-Andalus vol. 30: pp. 15-45. Reprinted in: Juan Vernet: Estudios sobre historia de la ciencia medieval, Barcelona, 1979, pp. 241271.
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Islamic Automation: A Reading of al-Jazaris The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (1206)
Prof. Gunalan Nadarajan Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati Prof. Mohammed Abattouy Dr. Salim Ayduz August, 2007 803 FSTC Limited, 2007
FSTC Limited
The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (1206)
Islamic Automation: A Reading of al-Jazaris August, 2007
ISLAMIC AUTOMATION: A READING OF AL-JAZARIS THE BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE
OF INGENIOUS MECHANICAL DEVICES (1206) *

Prof. Gunalan Nadarajan**
Introduction
The Kitab fi ma rifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya (The Book of Ingenious Mechanical Devices) by Ibn al-Razzaz alJazari was completed in 1206. It was arguably the most comprehensive and methodical compilation of the most current knowledge about automated devices and mechanics. The work systematically charted out the technological development of a variety of devices and mechanisms that both exemplified and extended existing knowledge on automata and automation. Donald Hill, who translated and had done most to promulgate the importance of this text, claimed "it is impossible to over-emphasize the importance of Al-Jazari's work in the history of engineering. Until modern times there is no other document from any cultural area that provides a comparable wealth of instructions for the design, manufacture and assembly of machines Al-Jazari did not only assimilate the techniques of his non-Arab and Arab predecessors, he was also creative. He added several mechanical and hydraulic devices. The impact of these inventions can be seen in the later designing of steam engines and internal combustion engines, paving the way for automatic control and other modern machinery. The impact of AlJazari`s inventions is still felt in modern contemporary mechanical engineering".1 This essay presents al-Jazaris Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (1206) as a significant contribution to the history of robotics and automation insofar as it enables a critical re-evaluation of classical notions and the conventional history of automation and therefore of robotics. Al-Jazaris work is presented as exemplary of what is called here Islamic automation, where the notions of control that have informed the conventional history of automation and robotics are substituted by subordination and submission to the rhythms of the machines. Al-Jazari is in some ways the most articulate of what is a long tradition of Islamic automation in Arabic science and technology wherein automation is a manner of
submission rather than the means of control that it has come to represent in our times. It is proposed here
that Islamic automation also provides some interesting examples of what I call untoward automation, which involves deliberate and elaborate programming for untoward behaviour in automated devices. In addition to articulating the cultural specificities of technological development, this essay positions al-Jazaris work as a catalyst for critical readings of and new directions in robotic arts.
present publicaton is a newly copy edited version. All the illustrations were added by the editor. For the sake of clarity, words and phrases were added by the present editor between brackets in the text. ** Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, College of Arts and Architecture, Pennsylvania State University, USA. 1 Hill, 1998: II, p. 231-2.
This essay was published originally as: Nadarajan, Gunalan, "Islamic Automation: A Reading of Al-Jazari's The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (1206)", in MediaArtHistories, edited by Oliver Grau, Cambridge (Mass.): MIT Press, 2007, pp. 163-178. The
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Figure 1: Elephant clock of al-Jazari, from a MS copy of his treatise The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Device copied in Syria in 1315 by Farkh ibn 'Abd al-Latif (Ink, colors, and gold on paper; height. 30 cm width 19.7 cm). Source: Metropolitan Museum, New York: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/07/wae/hob_57.51.23.htm
Islamic Science and Technology

Before embarking on a presentation of al-Jazaris work, it is useful to contextualize Islamic science and technology that informed and substantiated his work. It is noteworthy that the Abbasid Caliphate that ruled over most of the Arab world between 758-1258 CE. emphasized and encouraged the systematic development of science and technology. With its new capital in Baghdad, the Abbasid caliphate, especially during the rule of al-Mamun (819-833), invested huge amounts of resources in cultural activities and scientific scholarship. Al-Ma'mun was a firm believer in the value of drawing from the intellectual traditions of Greek, Sanskrit and Chinese knowledge that thus infused Islamic science and technology. It is noteworthy that a substantial portion of Greek texts was translated into Arabic under the Abbasid Caliphate, especially between the mid 8th century till mid 11th century. The principal driving force behind these translation initiatives was the establishment of the library, Khizanat al-Hikma (The Treasury of Knowledge) and a research institute, Bayt-al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) in the early 9th century. This quest towards developing a comprehensive knowledge resource was so ambitiously pursued that by the middle of the 10th
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century, the caliphate had gathered close to 400,000 volumes and by 1050, all significant works of the Hellenistic period were available in Arabic.2 It is noteworthy though that our current notions of science and technology are significantly different from those that mediate the quest for knowledge in Islamic societies. The word, ilm that is most commonly used to denote knowledge in Arabic, Hill reminds us, included a wide range of fields as astronomy, mechanics, theology, philosophy, logic and metaphysics. This practice of not differentiating between seemingly separate fields is best understood in the context of the Islamic view of the interconnectedness of all things that exist and wherein the quest for knowledge is a contemplation on and discovery of this essential unity of things. It is this essential unity and coherence of all things in the world, referred to in Islamic philosophy as tawhid [oneness], which makes it almost impossible to articulate and maintain the distinctions between the sciences and other areas of inquiry and experience. According to Avicenna, a significant philosopher-scientist and an important Islamic proponent of this view, "there is a natural hierarchy of knowledge from the physics of matter to the metaphysics of cosmological speculation, yet all knowledge terminates in the Divine. All phenomena are creations of Allah, His theophanies [visible manifestations of divinity], and nature is a vast unity to be studied by believers as the
visible sign of the Godhead [divine nature or essence]. Nature is like an oasis in the bleak solitude of the
desert; the tiny blades of grass as well as the most magnificent flowers bespeak of the gardener's loving hand. All nature is such a garden, the cosmic garden of God. Its study is a sacred act".3 In Islam, Avicennas notion of visible sign is embodied in the term ayat (sign), where the scientific study of the natural world and its manifestations does not issue from an impassioned curiosity but a passionate quest to discover these signs and thus arrive at a better understanding and appreciation of Gods magnificence. The Qur'an has several instances where this invocation to Muslims to decipher the ayat is made. For example, in Surah 10: He it is who has made the sun a [source of] radiant light and the moon a light [reflected], and has determined for it phases so that you might know how to compute years and to measure [time]...in the alternative of night and day, and in all that God has created in the heavens and on earth, there are messages indeed for people who are conscious of Him. 4
2 3
See Hill, 1993: 10-14. Cited in Bakar, 1996: 114; emphasis by the author. Cited in Bakar, 1996: 70.
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Figure 2: Two photos of the fascinating reproduction of the 8.5 meter high elephant clock of al-Jazari in the Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai. This reproduction was designed by Muslim Heritage Consulting and FSTC. AlJazaris elephant clock was the first clock in which an automaton reacted after certain intervals of time. In the mechanism, a humanoid automata strikes the cymbal and a mechanical bird chirps after every hour. See: http://muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=466 and http://muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=188. Bakar argues that in thus deciphering the peculiar ways in which each thing manifests itself and exists in this world, one is arriving at an understanding of its specific islam (manner of submission), i.e., of how that thing submits to the will of God.5 This notion of islam as a manner of submission is a useful reference point to begin a discussion of the Islamic notion of technology. While, it is logical to assume that the Islamic notion of technology is related to and continuous with its notion of ilm, there are practically no scholarly studies that are dedicated to the exploration of the Islamic conceptualization of technology. While there are several works that exhaustively describe the various technologies developed by Islamic societies and scholars, these works rarely deliberate on their specific philosophical and cultural underpinnings. This paucity might be indicative of the refusal within Islamic thought to present technology as a material application of scientific knowledge, a practice that is common in many conventional histories of technology. It is suggested here that in the Islamic lifeworld, technology is yet another ayat but of a different sort. It is suggested that technological objects are signs that have been made to manifest as such by human design. And it is important here to clarify that this design itself is a sign of the submission of the person who makes the technological object as much as the objects functional operations reflect its own manner of
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submission. In Islamic aesthetics and technology alike, the notion of the human creator is philosophically subordinated to that of God the creator. The task of human creativity in Islamic thought is thus conceived as that of referring to and making manifest Gods creative work rather than showing off one's own ability to create. In this sense, then technological objects are also a yat that manifest the islam or manners of submission of those forces and processes that are implicated in them.6
Fine Technology as Genealogical Nexus

In this reading of al-Jazaris work I draw on Foucaults genealogical method. It is well beyond the scope of this essay, however, to engage in a full explication of the specific details and values of the genealogical method in reading histories of technology. Thus, what will be presented here is a very brief introduction to the principal elements of the genealogical method as formulated by Michel Foucault via his reading of Friedrich Nietzsche. According to Nietzsche, who first formulated the critical possibilities of genealogy as historical method, "whatever exists, having somehow come into being, is again and again reinterpreted to new ends, taken over, transformed, and redirected by some power superior to it; all events in the organic world are a subduing, a becoming master, and all subduing and becoming master involves a fresh interpretation, an adaptation through which any previous 'meaning' and 'purpose' are necessarily obscured or even obliterated". 7 Thus, the meaning of a thing in history is not fixed and unchanging as it is sometimes conveniently assumed in conventional historical methods. The conventional historiographical practice usually seeks out the Ursprung (origin), wherein there is, Foucault claims, "an attempt to capture the exact essence of things, their purest possibilities and their carefully protected identities because this search assumes the existence of immobile forms that precede the external world of accident and succession".8 The genealogical method in contrast is governed by the Herkunfts-Hypothesen (descent-hypothesis) that turns away from such metaphysical preconceptions and "listens to history"; leading the historian to the discovery that there is no eternal essence behind things; that things have no essence or that their essence was fabricated in a piecemeal fashion from alien forms".9 With his ears cocked up to detect the faintest of sounds made within the historical space, the genealogist finds "not the inviolable identity of their origin", but rather "the dissension of other things". "Genealogy, he thus claims, is gray, meticulous, and patiently documentary. It operates on a field of entangled and confused parchments, on documents that have been scratched over and recopied many times".10 Foucault also argues that genealogy is able and attempts to record events in their singularity without reference to some teleological design or purpose. He recognises the usefulness of the genealogical method in subverting the totalizing histories that drew from the Hegelian teleological versions of history where usually notions of purpose or utility tended to predetermine the specific ways in which a things history was always-already interpreted.
5 6
Bakar 1996: 71. It is important for me to here clarify that while I elaborate a notion of how Islamic technology was conceived within a particular historical context, it is impossible within this essay to extrapolate and extend the study into how such religiously framed notions of technology operate in contemporary Islamic societies. 7 Nietzsche, 1967: 77. 8 Foucault, 1980: 142. 9 Foucault, 1980: 142. 10 Foucault, 1980: 139.
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The primary value of the genealogical method in interpreting histories of technologies, it is proposed here, is in its suspension of utility or instrumental rationale of a technological object in its readings.11 The genealogical method forgoes the notion of original utility in predetermining interpretation but instead seeks out the specific discourses and practices that constitute a particular technological object/experience. In this essay, it is proposed that there is a genealogical nexus between what has been variously described and discussed as machines, automation and robotics. In formulating the link between them as genealogical, the conventional practice of identifying either one of them as preceding or proceeding from the other (i.e., the habit of origin-seeking) is problematized. It is suggested here that one develops a better appreciation of their complex historical interactions and contemporary constitution by working from this temporary suspension of their differences within this nexus. It is proposed here also that the notion of fine technology provides a useful reference point to instantiate and analyse this nexus between machines, automation and robotics. Fine technology, science and technology historian Donald Hill states, is the kind of engineering that is concerned with delicate mechanisms and sophisticated controls and that before modern times, comprised of clocks, trick vessels, automata, fountains and a few miscellaneous devices. Hill notes that the apparent triviality of these constructions should notbe allowed to obscure the fact that a number of the ideas, components and techniques embodied in them were to be of great significance in the development of machines technology. 12 Some of the earliest examples of fine technology are recorded in the works of an Egyptian engineer, Ctesibius from Alexandria (ca. 300 BCE). Vitruvius, the architect and theorist claims that Ctesibius invented the organ and monumental water clock. According to Devaux, Diodorus Siculus and Callixenes gave this description of animated statues of gods and goddesses that featured at the festivities organized in 280 BCE by Ptolemy Philadelphus in honour of Alexander and Bacchus: a four-wheeled chariot eight cubits broad, drawn by sixty men, and on which was a seated a statuette of Nysa measuring eight cubits, dressed in a yellow, gold-brocade tunic and a Spartan cloak. By means of a mechanism she would stand up unaided, pour out milk from a golden bottle, and sit down again.13 The works of Philo from Byzantium (230 BCE) whose text Pneumatics exists in a number of Arabic versions has also described a variety of automata and trick vessels that exemplify early fine technology. Another early text, that again only exists in Arabic versions, is On the Construction of Water Clocks by Archimedes. This work, though suspected to have been only partially written by him with later additions by Islamic scholars, was instrumental in introducing some of the principles of water-mediated control and power generation that was systematically developed by Islamic engineers. Hero from Alexandria (1st century CE) is probably one of the most well known and most widely read of the authors of fine technology. His primary texts are Pneumatica and Automata where he expounds on the fundamentals of pneumatics and plans for a variety of machines and automata that embody and are driven by such pneumatic forces. While there are several important and interesting exponents of fine technology exemplifying Islamic automation, for the purposes of this essay, we will restrict our discussion to the work of the Banu Musa.
Kitab Al-Hiyal (The Book of Ingenious Devices) by Banu Musa bin Shakir (9th century) is one of the
11 A more thorough analysis of the historiographical value of the genealogical method for the history of technology, though necessary, is well beyond the scope of this essay. 12 Hill, 1993: 122. 13 P. Devaux cited by Ifrah, 2001: 169.
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foundational texts for the development and systematic exploration of automated devices in the Islamic world. It is clear from the various references in their text that they knew of Herons work that had already been translated by Qusta Ibn Luqa during their time (ca. 864) and possibly with their support. In fact, of the slightly more than hundred devices that they describe in their book, Hill identified twenty five devices having similar features to and in some cases almost completely resembling Heros and Philos automata. However, it is crucial here that despite these similarities in the physical and operational features between these automata, the culturallyspecific ways in which these machines were conceived and used by the Banu Musa are significantly different enough for one to be cautious not to perceive their work as simply derivative. It is also noteworthy that the Banu Musa were inventors in their own right and there are several machines described in this book that are uniquely theirs and perhaps even invented by them. For example, their fountains are unique in their designs and mechanical features. Hill claims that the Banu Musa display an astonishing skill in the manipulation of small variations in aerostatic and hydrostatic pressures. This attention to and ability to harness minute variations required the use of several innovative mechanisms including the crankshaft (which Hill suggests might be the first recorded use of this historically significant technology); a variety of and differently arranged siphons; float valves that helped mediate and trigger the changes in water levels; throttling valves that helped maintain regular flow with minimal water pressure; and most importantly, the development of a sort of on-off control mechanism that responded to distinct and varying limits.
The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices

Al-Jazari was in the service of Nasir Al-Din, the Artuqid King of Diyar Bakr, and he spent twenty-five years with the family, having served the father and brother of Nasir Al-Din. Al-Jazari notes in his introduction to the book, that he never began to contruct a device of mine without his anticipating it [i.e. its purpose] by the subtlety of his (the kings) perceptions.14 While this patronage provided him with the financial means to continue his own research into and development of such devices, he felt obligated to not just make these machines for the benefit of the functional and aesthetic pleasures of the king but also to record it for future generations and more importantly to contextualise his own work in relation to those of his predecessors whose works he was well aware of. He explicitly and/or indirectly refers to the works of Hero, Philo, Archimedes, Banu Musa, al-Muradi and Ridwan drawing upon the technical achievements and mechanical peculiarities of their works even while noting very quickly how he has tried to further refine and more importantly, depart from their mechanisms. The book is presented in six categories (naw' ) 10 chapters on water clocks including one of his most dramatic and ambitious, Elephant Clock; ten chapters on what are called vessels and figures that are suitable for drinking sessions presenting a variety of trick automata vessels dispensing wine and water; ten chapters on water dispensers and phlebotomy (blood-letting) devices; ten chapters on fountains and musical automata, some of the devices explicitly seeking to improve on the rhythms and patterns expressed by the fountains of the Banu Musa; five chapters on water-raising machines one version of which still survives in Damascus, in the As-Salhieh district on the slopes of Mount Qassiyoun; and five chapters on a miscellaneous list of machines including geometrical designs for a latticed door, an instrument for measuring spheres and a couple of locks. These devices are presented as hiyal (ingenious devices) that are driven by two forms of motive power, water and air pressures. The motive power of these pressures are
14
Al-Jazari, 1206/1976: 15; words in parentheses added by the author.
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inherently unstable and capricious and had thus to be managed in complex and meticulous ways so as to create the desired effects.
Figure 3: A creative model of a device designed by al-Jazari (chapter 6 of category III) used for measuring blood lost during phlebotomy (bloodletting) sessions, a popular therapy in the medieval world. Taken from a MS of al-Jazari's treatise copied in Egypt in 1354. Source: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/images/I022/10284929.aspx Al-Jazaris descriptions are methodical and ordered in a form that he rarely veers away from. He typically begins with a general description of the machine and follows this with a number of separate sections that provide details on the specific ways in which the machines work along with a number of accompanying drawings that illustrate the structural aspects of the machine. It is useful to note that these illustrations are relatively static with little or no dynamic elements incorporated into them to suggest their potential movement the dynamics of the machines are only described through his exhaustive and point-to-point descriptions of how the mechanism works. In the following section, the descriptions of several automata is presented as in the original texts so as to enable a clear understanding of style, detail and specific mechanical outcomes of these machines.
Arbiter (Hakama) for a Drinking Session (Chapter 3 of Category II)

This is an elaborate three part automated hakama consisting of three distinct automata a servant girl on a dais, a castle with four servant girls and a dancer and finally an upper castle with a horse and rider. The highly ritualized session begins with a servant bringing the automata in three different sections and assembling them in the middle of a drinking party seated in a circle around it. It is then left in the middle
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of the assembly until a period of about 20 minutes has elapsed. Then it emits an audible musical sound and the horse and rider rotate slowly past the members of the assembly as if to stop opposite one of them. The dancer makes a half turn to his left and [then] a quarter turn to his right. His head moves, as do his hands, each holding a baton. At times, both his legs are on the ball. At times [only] one. The flautist plays with a sound audible to the assembly and the servant girls play their instruments with a continuous regular rhythm, with varied sounds and drumbeats. [This continues] for a while and then the rider comes to a halt, with his lance pointing to one of the party. The servant girls are silent and the dancer is still. Then the servant girl tilts the bottle until its mouth is near the rim of the goblet, and pours from the bottle clarified, blended, wine till the goblet is nearly full, whereupon the bottle returns to its previous position. The steward takes it [i.e., the goblet] and hands it to the person towards whom the lance is pointing. [After the goblet is drained] the steward puts it back in front of the servant girl. This is repeated about twenty times, at intervals of about twenty minutes. Then the door is left open in the upper castle and a man emerges from the door, his right hand indicating no more wine and the left hand indicating two more goblets.15
Figure 4: Automat arbiter for dispensing liquids (for drinking): al-Jazari 1974, category II, chapter 3, p. 103. Held at the Topkapi Palace Museum Library in Istanbul, al-Jazari, Al-Jami' bayn al-ilm wal-amal al-nafi
f sina'at al-hiyal, MS Ahmet III 3472. Boat of Automata (Chapter 4 of Category II)
The boat is placed on the surface of a large pool of water, and is seldom stationary but moves in the surface of the water. All the time it moves the sailors move, because they are on axles, and the oars move it (i.e. the boat) through the water until about half-an-hour has elapsed. Then, for a little while, the flute player blows the flute and the (other) servant girls play their instruments with that are heard by the assembly. Then they fall silent. The boat moves slowly on the surface of the water until about half-an-hour
15
Al-Jazari, 1206/1974: 100.
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has passed (again). Then the flute player blows the flute audibly and the servant girls play the instruments, as happened the first time. They do not desist until they have performed about fifteen times (al-Jazari, 1206/1974: 107).
Figure 5: An illustration by al-Jazari of the internal mechanics of an automated boat: al-Jazari 1974, category II, chapter 4, p. 107. Held at the Topkapi Palace Museum Library in Istanbul, al-Jazari, Al-Jami'
bayn al-ilm wal-amal al-nafi f sina'at al-hiyal, MS Ahmet III 3472. Perpetual Flute (Chapter 10 of Category IV)
Water flows from the supply channel and falls into funnel N and flows through end H of the pipe because it is tilted towards tank K and float E. It runs through hole P into tank A, driving the air from it, which streams into pipe J. The flute plays until the water rises to the level in the siphon S the hole P is narrower than end H (of the pipe). The water rises in the tank of float E, the float rises and lifts the extension H with its rod, pipe L tilts and discharges from end T into tank Z and float W. Water runs through hole Q into tank B, driving the air from it, which streams through pipe D into the flutes jar, which plays like a flute until tank B is filled. The water rises to the bend in siphon F, and in the tank of float W, which rises, lifting the extension of end T with its rod. The water in tank A has evacuated through siphon S. Then the water runs away from end T which comes away from tank B. And so on as long as the water flows.16
16
Al-Jazari, 1206/1974: 176.
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Figure 6: Diagram of the perpetual flute (al-Jazari, 1206/1974: 177)
Islamic Programming
Hill claims that one main distinguishing feature of the Arabs was a constant striving after control in order to construct machines which would work automatically for long periods without human intervention (emphasis is mine). He states, many types of control, most of which are thought of as quite modern, were employed to achieve these results: feed-back control and closed-loop systems, various types of automatic switching to close and open valves or change of direction of flow, and precursors of fail-safe devices.17 In relation to al-Jazaris machines, Hill is similarly puzzled that in some cases the techniques devised for given purposes were often more sophisticated than were strictly necessary. It is simpler, for example, to maintain a static head by fixing an overflow pipe, rather than using a valve-operated feedback control. 18 Ifrah claims that al-Jazari in his works, gives a description of true sequential automata, driven notably by a camshaft, which transforms the circular motion of a sort of crankshaft into an alternating motion of a distributor: such automata thus marks a break with the Greco-Roman concept of the simple device endowed with automatic movements.19 This, he argues, is a significant milestone in the sequential
17 18 19
Hill, 1998: IV, p. 30. Hill, 1998: II, p. 233. Ifrah, 2001: 171.
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programming of machines where he views it as having achieved a greater level of control achieved over the
movements. While this retrospective reading of al-Jazaris works provides yet another tendency in the greater teleology of the striving towards machines that achieve greater levels of control fits well into a cybernetic conceptualization of the history of automata, it fails to acknowledge the religious and cultural specificities that informed Islamic automation as that exemplified by al-Jazari. It is suggested here that the reasons for these elaborate mechanisms that Islamic engineers devised for their machines were informed by the religious world-views within which their works were conceptualized and made. As discussed earlier, since the notion of Islam requires the human creator to always subordinate his creative interventions to those of God as creator, these devices need to be understood not as means to show how effectively and efficiently one could control the natural forces of air and water but as conduits of allowing these forces to play out their capricious movements that were pleasurable because they were conceived as expressions of Gods will. It is not surprising therefore to note in several of the early texts on automata, specifically that of Banu Musa, the expression, if God wills accompanying their technical descriptions of several devices. The fact that this has become such a conventional expression in the everyday lives of Muslims, might make one doubt that these references are anything but conventionalized ways of speaking and writing in these societies and thus think it not worthy of serious attention. However, this notion of including divine will in mechanical treatises is peculiar to Islamic scholars of the medieval period and thus needs to be understood within the context of how religion mediates scientific and technological aspirations. One of the most conspicuous uses of this expression in mechanical treatises is that of the Banu Musa. In describing one of their trick vessels (Model 20) which dispenses a variety of coloured liquids through a complex series of siphons, they state: It is [also] possible for us to install floats and valves in this jar as we did in the pitcher that accepts [nothing], if God wills.20 While many of their trick vessels rely on the subtle sleights of hand of an accomplice servant who manages the flow or lack thereof through a hole that controls the aerostatic pressures in these vessels, some of them however are based on the motive power of hydrostatic and aerostatic pressures that are not easily subject to such artful manipulations. It is noteworthy that they begin using the expression if God wills in Model 20 in reference to a trick vessel of the latter kind. It is impossible within the scope of the present essay to systematically study other comparable texts of this period and make an assessment of the significance these Islamic engineers placed on divine will in mechanical devices and processes. However, based on the organic context within Islamic science and technology developed as an extension of religious enquiry in the medieval period coupled with such explicit articulations, as noted above, of the relationship between divine will and mechanical processes, it is useful to remain attentive to these interconnections. It is pertinent here that the creative programming of these devices issues not from an engineering intent to achieve greater levels of control but as a means to show the sophisticated ways in which divine will operates in/on the world. Thus the elaboration and sophistication of these machinic processes seem to be aimed at ensuring the most conspicuous and viscerally pleasing expression of the wonders of divine will.21
Banu Musa, 1979: 80. It has been suggested that conceptualizing these machines as being structured to express submission rather than achieve control does not represent a radical difference in interpretation insofar as submission is nothing more than the dialectical flip-side of control. While it is true that one could conceptualize control-submission as a dialectical relationship expressed within machinic processes, this does not problematize the fact that control-oriented discourses of cybernetics and the Industrial Revolution that have informed conventional histories
21 20
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Untoward Automation
Some aspects of Islamic automation support a useful model for rethinking programming for robotics and automation in terms of untoward automation one where predictable movement is substituted by programming for untoward behaviour. It should be emphasized here that programming for untoward behaviour is not the same as programming emergent behaviour as the former is unpredictable by structurally enabling difference without setting the parameters of such differential effects. According to Ifrah, one of the principal breakthroughs in programming that led to the development of the computers is to devise a machine whose functioning would be controlled by a modifiable control unit governed by a sequence of instructions recorded on a malleable input medium that was independent of the material structure of the internal mechanisms.22 Interestingly and conversely, one of the features that enable Islamic automation to sustain its untoward behaviour is the fact that there is no such separation. The material structure of these automata, the motive power that drives them and the material elements that support the sequential programming are intricately interconnected. In the concluding parts of this essay, some unique features of this untoward automation are presented through the discussion of three kinds of automata developed by al-Jazari. For the fountains (fawwara) that al-Jazari developed and describes in his book, he claims to have drawn some of his ideas from the Banu Musa. Al-Jazari had very specific ideas of how to improve on the designs of his predecessors, the Banu Musa. He claims that of the fountains that change shape (tabaddala), I did not follow the system of the Banu Musa, may God have mercy upon them, who in earlier times distinguished themselves in the matters covered by these subjects. They made the alternation with vanes turned by wind or by water do so that the fountains were changed at every rotation, but this is too short an interval for the change to appear (to full effect).23 Al-Jazari was obviously more concerned with creating an aesthetic experience one could dwell upon rather than present such fountains as mere distractions. This concern towards prolonging, intensifying and diversifying the experiences of those who encounter these devices is also found in an another discussion (Category IV, Chapter 7) where he notes this of a particular musical automata of a predecessor he had personally examined: even if the (water) wheel caused a number of rods to fall in succession it would not be slow enough to display the changes adequately. However, his designs were despite their attention to longer intervals between spurts, coordinated alternations and diverse shapes, only seemingly more programmed. The composite result of these programmes do not seem to be focused on creating more predictable fountains that had a regularized rhythm but to bring a greater level of variety and depth to the experience without compromising on the untowardness of the fountains' repertoire. In the different phlebotomy (blood-letting) devices he constructed, al-Jazari incorporates elements into its automated operations that show sensitivity to the psychological state of the patient who is being bled (al-
mafsud). He states clearly at the outset of the section where he discusses these devices that it is based
of automation are radically different from those that informed medieval Islamic engineering of automata. 22 Ifrah, 2001: 178. 23 Al-Jazari, 1974: 157.
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upon [the work of] a predecessor, that was simply a sphere for collecting the blood. I have excelled him with various designs.24 He describes how one of these devices incorporating two automated scribes is programmed to constantly switch between providing accurate information to the patient who is bled (al-mafsud) on the exact amount of blood that is filling the basin and distracting the patient from these indicators. He writes, I decided to use two scribes because the scribe in the circle rotates and then his pen becomes invisible to the patient, and the scribes back turns towards the patients face, while the board (that reveals the measurements) is not concealed from him at all.25 Al-Jazari also incorporates within this particular blood-letting device an elaborate mechanism for constantly distracting the patients even while reassuring them that the procedure is progressing smoothly. He has incorporated within the castle that forms the principal motif for this device, a series of twelve automated doors that open each time a specific quantity (in this case, 10 dirhams; an equivalent of 30grams) has been gathered in the basin, to reveal an automata (a young male servant) that carries a board indicating ten so as to reinforce the measurement indicated initially by the automated scribe. One can easily imagine how the constant distraction provided by the rotating scribes and the successive openings of the doors that result therefrom would have helped a patient get through this painful procedure. With regard to the Boat of Automata described above, Hill interestingly comments, no method is described for imparting movement to the sailors, which indeed could only have been done while water was being discharged, not throughout the entire session and also that the interval between successive discharges would lengthen as the static head in the reservoir fell.26 These comments indicate firstly, an inability on the part of Hill to fully appreciate the aesthetic appeal of the untoward automation that many of al-Jazaris automata seem to exemplify, where ones amusement derives not in the continuous and regular rhythms of automated performance but in the unpredictable and therefore necessarily surprising flurry of movements. For example, Hill has elsewhere noted that an important feature of Islamic machines is the frequent occurrence of delayed-action mechanisms, which delayed the opening or closing, until a set period had elapsed. 27 However, it is noteworthy that Hill does not seem to consider the possibility that these delays were not always seeking to effect control over the timing of these automated movements especially since the delays did not mediate the motive power so as to effect a controlled movement. Very often what resulted from these delays was a movement that had an order that was within certain predefined but not completely controlled parameters. So these delay mechanisms might have been more focused on an elegant management and languishing within the subtle caprices that resulted from them rather than their control.
Conclusion
This essay is a modest contribution to the displacement of al-Jazari from the linear and conventional histories of automata that view him as an early proponent of not so effective yet methods of controlling machinic movements through programming. It has been argued here that the task of what has been referred to here as Islamic automation reflected in al-Jazaris works was not to achieve effective control over an automata but to present through these automated processes, a vicarious expression of divine will
24 25 26
Al-Jazari, 1974: 136. Al-Jazari, 1974: 146; words in parentheses are mine. Hill, 1974: 256.
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and the peculiar manners of submission inherent to those forces that provide the motive power for these devices. It has also been suggested that al-Jazaris work provides a useful platform to rethink automation in terms of untoward automation a notion that might prove especially significant in developing new ways of working with robotic arts that are not informed by and therefore celebrate the departure from the instrumental logic of conventional robotic programming.
References
Al-Jazari, Ibn al-Razzaz, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (Kitab fi ma rifat al-hiyal
al-handasiyya). Trans. Donald R. Hill. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1974.

Banu Musa bin Shakir, The Book of Ingenious Devices (Kitab al-Hiyal). Trans. Donald R. Hill. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1979. Chapius, Alfred and Droz, Edmond, Automata: A Historical and Technological Study. Trans. Alec Reid. Neuchtel: ditions du Griffon, 1958. Foucault, Michel, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972- 1977 . Edited by Colin Gordon. New York: Pantheon Books, 1980. Hill, Donald R., Studies in Medieval Islamic Technology: From Philo to al-JazariFrom Alexandria to Diyar
Bakr. Edited by David A. King. (Variorum Collected Studies Series, 555). Aldershot, Eng./Brookfield, Vt.:
Ashgate, 1998. Ifrah, Georges, The Universal History of Computing: From the Abacus to the Quatum Computer. Trans. E.F. Harding. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Science and Civilization in Islam. New York: New American Library, 1968. Nietzsche, Friedrich, On the Genealogy of Morals. Translated by Walter Kaufman and Robert J. Holingdale. New York: Vintage Books, 1967.
27
Hill, 1976: 233.
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The Dialogue of Civilisations: Medieval Social Thought, Latin-European Renaissance, and Islamic Influences
Professor S.M. Ghazanfar Professor Salim Al-Hassani Sabena Surjan May 2004 4058 FSTC Limited, 2003 2004
FSTC Limited
The Dialogue of Civilisations: Islamic Influences on European Renaissance May 2004
THE DIALOGUE OF CIVILISATIONS: MEDIEVAL SOCIAL THOUGHT, LATIN-EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE, AND ISLAMIC INFLUENCES
S.M. Ghazanfar1 University of Idaho Moscow, Idaho (USA)
Reproduced with kind permission from ENCOUNTERS: Journal of inter-Cultural Perspectives [Vol.9, No.1, 2003, pp .21-36.]
"Civilizations no longer exist as separate entities in the way they once did. But modern societies still bear the strong stamp of history, and still identify with each other along cultural fault lines. Among these fault lines, the one that generates the most discussion today runs between Islamic and Western societies" (UN General-Secretary, Mr. Kofi Annan, June 28, 1999)2
INTRODUCTION
The above quote is taken from a 1999 speech by the United Nations General Secretary in which he called for a "Dialogue among Civilizations," as a counter to the "clash of civilizations" theme propounded by Harvard University's Samuel Huntington in 1993. His reference to the "stamp of history" and "cultural fault lines" provides some context for the present paper; about the most significant among those "stamps" and "fault lines" were, of course, the Crusades. Yet few problems in civilisational dialogue are as delicate as that of determining the extent of influence of one culture upon another. This is especially true with respect to the links between medieval Islam and Latin-Europe. As Durant puts it, "civilisations are units in a larger whole whose name is history" (Durant, 343-44); they do not disappear. The past always rolls into the present; indeed, "transplanted ideas, no less than transplanted plants, tend to develop new characteristics in their new environment" (Hitti, 221). The medieval Islamic civilisation absorbed Greek Hellenism, Judaism, Christianity, Hindu mathematics and Chinese alchemy, but developed its own intellectual edifice. This is true also for Western civilisation whose evolution was crucially impacted by the "intermediate" Islamic civilisation. 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). Presently, he is professor-emeritus (retired, 2002) 2 Quoted from his speech, "The Dialogue of Civilizations and the Need for a World Ethic," Oxford University Centre for Islamic Studies, June 28, 1999: see UN Press Release SG/SM/7049, June 29, 1999. On November 16, 1998, the UN General Assembly had adopted a resolution, proclaiming 2001 as the "UN Year of Dialogue among Civilizations." Also, for related discussion, see Civilization: The Magazine of the Library of Congress, June-July 1999, pp.73-87. Similar plea for an international dialogue was recently made in a speech by Mr. Amr Moussa, the Secretary General of the League of Arab States and former Foreign Minister of Egypt; see OCIS News, No.31, Spring 2002 (Oxford University Centre for Islamic Studies). Note: This is a revised version of a paper presented at the International Medieval Congress 2001,
1

Page 2 of 12
The mainstream literary-history paradigm, however, has tended to present the evolution of social thought as one straight line of events, moving almost entirely across the Western world, as if denying history to the rest of the world. Thus, one observes a "literature gap" in discussions of "medieval" history of the West. This gap encompasses just about every discipline (see Ghazanfar, 1991). A very large part of the period includes the multi-dimensional development of Arab-Islamic thought. During this period, Islamic scholarship not only absorbed and adapted the re-discovered Greek heritage but also transmitted that heritage, along with its own contributions, to Latin-Europe. Thus was provided the stimulus for developing the human intellect further, for conveying a mold for shaping Western scholasticism, for developing empirical sciences and the scientific method, for bringing about the forces of rationalism and humanism that led to the 12th century Medieval Renaissance, the 15th Century Italian Renaissance and, indeed, for sowing the seeds of European Reformation (see Dawson, Gilson, Haskins, Makdisi, Sarton, Southern and others). Having thus set the tone, my purpose here is two-fold. First, I briefly argue that the European Renaissance depended crucially upon the intellectual armory acquired through prolonged contacts with, and knowledgetransfer from, medieval Islamic civilization. Second, the paper will document the influence of several key Islamic scholastics, particularly Ibn Rushd, whose writings contributed to European Enlightenment.
EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE: A BRIEF PARADIGMATIC CRITIQUE

Charles Homer Haskins, on the very first page of his magnum opus, The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century (1927), anticipates criticism by those for whom the 15th century Italian Renaissance is more significant. He argues that the "Middle Ages (was) less dark and less static and the (Italian) Renaissance less bright and less sudden than was supposed" (Haskins, vi). Then he insists that such a view ignores "the influx of new learning of the East, the shifting currents in the stream of medieval life and thought" (Haskins, 4). Further, it was during the 12th century when Europe experienced "the revival of learning in After the reconquest, the broadest sense," armed with the "new knowledge of the Greeks and Arabs and its effects upon Western science and philosophy, and the new institutions of learning...." (Haskins, viii-ix). "Spains part was to serve as the chief link with the learning of the Mohammadan world..." (Haskins, 11). But, he says, "The story begins in Syria" (Haskins, 281). His reference is to the "first age of translations," from Greek to Arabic, that began in Syria and then flourished during the 9th century in Baghdad's House of Wisdom (Bait-al-Hikma). He goes on, "To their Greek inheritance, the Arabs added something of their own. The reception of this science in Western Europe marks a turning point in the history of Western intelligence" (Haskins, 282). Others have talked similarly. Thus, "medieval scholars crossing the Pyrenees found the quintessence of all preceding science distilled by the theorists and practitioners of Islam. Historically, by entering the arena of Islamic civilization they had indeed entered the whole vast vibrant world of antiquity as well" (Goldstein, 98). And, "What Islam had to offer them now was not only a spate of enlightening digests of the whole, long, rich evolution but an intelligent discussion of all its essential features, screened and refined through Islam's own intensive experience" (Goldstein, 102). While this "intensive experience" included Islamic world's own "philosophic battles between reason and revelation (thus originated the voluminous "scholastic" literature), similar battles were later ignited in Latin Europe through the transmission of that experience. Indeed, western scholasticism was inspired by
International Medieval Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds, U.K., July 2001.

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medieval Islamic scholasticism and takes shape beginning in the twelfth century, not by chance, in regions in contact with the Islamic world: Arab Andalusia and the Sicily of Frederick II (Amin, 56; see Makdisi, 1974). Now, while Haskins emphasizes "continuity and change" as the hallmark of Middle Ages, one typically observes "discontinuity" and an almost exclusive universalization of European Dark Ages in history pertaining to almost all branches of knowledge. primary emphasis. literary Much of the literature, unlike Haskins works,
reflects painstaking efforts to minimise the significance of Islamic linkages; the Greek heritage is the Such omissions in historiography has persuaded one eminent medievalist to argue that "the Arabic component of our paradigmatic view of the Middle Ages has always remained incidental; it has never been systemic" and the "myth of Westernness" is "too much shaped by cultural prejudices" that are "still quite powerful in the real world of literary historiography" (Menocal, 9, 13-14). Thus, Arab-Islamic scholarship is treated as nothing more than a holding operation .... as a giant storehouse for previously discovered scientific results, keeping them until they could be passed on for use in the West. But this is, of course, a travesty of the truth" (Ronan, 203; also see Amin, Daniel, Dawson, Crombie, Sarton, Southern, and others). Occasional references notwithstanding, what is almost endemic concerning Islamic heritage is the tone and style that is "other-oriented," exclusionary, remote, denigrating, or outright offensive. Further, we can readily agree on the more recent Western impact on the Islamic world, for we are our own witnesses. However, it becomes somewhat unsettling when we learn of the distant, far more significant Such posturing is "garbled impacts in reverse. The names of a few medieval Islamic scholars (whose names are often Latinised) are tolerated, but mainly as "transmitters" of the Greeks (see Makdisi, 1974). "worse than a lie" (Sarton, 1952, 27). Having stated a secondary theme of my paper, I now proceed to the main task: that is, to document some evidence as to the overall influence of some prominent early Islamic scholars' writings which contributed immeasurably to European Awakening. falsification" and "colossal misrepresentation" (Briffault, 189, 201), "a travesty of truth" (Ronan, 203), and
ISLAMIC SCHOLASTICS AND THEIR INFLUENCE: IBN RUSHD AND COMPANY

Our current task is to explore briefly the intellectual sources of medieval Islamic-European connections that gave rise to what Haskins has called the "vision of a profoundly secular renaissance" (quote from BensonConstable, xxiii). That vision was inspired through the scholarship of medieval Islamic "giants" (as Sarton referred to them), such as Al-Kindi (d. 256A.H.; 801-873 C. E.), Al-Razi (865-925), Al-Farabi (870-950), Ibn Sina (980-1037), Al-Ghazali (1058-1111), and, in particular, Ibn Rushd (1126-1198). The Europe of the late Dark Ages was receptive, but such a vision "had no roots in the earlier medieval culture of the West. It is neither Christian, nor Latin, nor German. It appears abruptly in Southern France about the time of the First Crusade, without any preparation and previous development ... The origins of the new style are to be found in the rich and brilliant society of Muslim Spain" (Dawson, 1950, 153). have been impossible" (Dawson, 1967, 230). The primacy of reason in pursuing human affairs was indeed the singularly unique and revolutionary attribute that the Islamic legacy bestowed upon the medieval West. And reason emerged as a force to counter the authority of the Church, for the popes, "judged all and could be judged by none" (Strayer, 8; Thus emerged the "confidence in the power of reason and that faith in rationality of the universe without which science will

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also see Durant, 954). It was these social environmental contacts with Islamic civilization that persuaded twelfth century English heretic, Adelard of Bath, "trained (as he says) by Arab scientists," to assert, "For I was taught by my Arab masters to be led only by reason, whereas you were taught to follow the halter of the captured image of authority" (Stiefel, 71 and 80). While Ibn Rushd's role in this "rational" evolution is acknowledged to be the most pronounced, there were others who not only influenced Ibn Rushd but also directly impacted on subsequent Latin-European discourses. The task of introducing the Greek philosophy into Islam and of underscoring its essential conformity with the Islamic worldview fell, first, to Abu Yusuf Al-Kindi. But there were also others.
(1) AL-KINDI (801-873)

He was the founder of the Islamic Peripatetic school of philosophy and the author of some 270 treaties ranging from logic and mathematics to physics and music, Abu Yusuf al-Kindi, in recognition of his tireless efforts to make philosophy acceptable to theologians, is known as the "philosopher of the Arabs." He is also the only great Muslim philosopher of antiquity. A thorough Mu'tazlite, he wrote that truth is universal and supreme, and that philosophy is but another form of the message which the prophets have carried. Despite his profound philhellenic sympathies, Al-Kindi remained thoroughly committed to the Islamic system of beliefs, as interpreted chiefly by the rationalist theologians of the eighth and ninth centuries, the Mu'tazilah. He was virtually alone in attempting to give philosophical support to the basic Islamic scriptural concepts. Al-Kindi's two treatises on geometrical and physiological optics were utilised by Roger Bacon His influence was so widely felt that the Italian physician and mathematician, Geromino (1214-1292).
Cardano (1501-1576) considered him, "one of the twelve giant minds of history" (Myers, 11).
(2) AL-RAZI (865-925)

Famed as the greatest physician of Islam, Muhammad Abu Bakr Zakariya Al-Razi earned the title of the "Arabic Galen" and "most brilliant genius of the Middle Ages" for his achievements in medicine, but also was known as the founder of philosophy of nature in Islam. He was a free thinker and an important philosophical figure who was even more radical than Al-Kindi in his attachment to Greek rationalism. Constantine the African translated into Latin two of Al-Razi's philosophical works and Gerard of Cremona translated his medical work, Tib al-Mansouri, under the title of Liber Almansorius. Al-Razi's greatest work, Kitab al-Hawi (Liber de Continens) was translated into Latin being published several times.
(3) AL-FARABI (870-950)

Muhammad abu-Nasr Al-Farabi wrote extensively in different fields. He wrote the Introduction to Logic and Abridgement of Logic; his interest in natural science led to his commentaries on Aristotle's Physics and on the movement of the celestial bodies. He also wrote The Power of the Soul, The Unity and the One, The Intelligence and the Intelligible, and a commentary on Alexander of Aphrodisias' De Animis. His The Model City continues to be of sociological interest even today. However, Al-Farabi is best known for The Encyclopedia, a definitive account of all branches of sciences and art, and The Political Regime, also known as The Book of Principles.

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The influence of Al-Farabi upon two of the thirteenth century's most prominent Latin scholastics, Albertus Magnus and his student, St. Thomas Aquinas, is profound. Hammond documents the similarities by placing Al-Farabi's arguments "side by side with those of St. Thomas in order to aid the reader in comparing them" (Hammond, 65). Thus, "we see without doubt the influence of the former [Al-Farabi] on the latter [St. Further, "Albertus Magnus and St. Thomas and others Thomas] but not vice versa" (Hammond, p.29).
borrowed from him a great amount of material hitherto regarded by many as a product of their speculation, while in reality it is not" (Hammond, ix; also see Sarton).
(4) IBN SINA (980-1037)

Abu Ali Al-Husain Ibn Sina was another precocious genius of Islams classical period vast areas of knowledge. Soon he had mastered the metaphysics of Aristotle. whose work spanned His magnum opus, The
Canon of Medicine (al-Qunan fil-Tibb), remained the standard text until the birth of modern medicine. He has been credited with at least 99 books on various topics. metaphysics. Ibn Sina's writings not only formed a bridge between the Greeks and Renaissance Europe, but also constituted a distinctive school known as Latin Avicennism in medieval Europe, led by William of Auvergne. Less well known than the Latin Averroism, it was an attempt to reconcile the ideas of St. Augustine with Aristotlenism. Ibn Sina's influence reached out to make its mark on two other great minds--Ibn Rushd and the eminent Jewish heretic, Maimonides (1135-1204)--and into Christendom to the various Latin-Scholastics (Albertus Magnus, St. Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, John of Seville, and others). Roger Bacon called him "the chief authority in philosophy after Aristotle," and Aquinas spoke with as much respect of him as of Plato (Myers, p.34). "Avicenna and Averroes were lights from the East for the Schoolmen, who cited them next to the Greeks in authority" (Durant, 342). His Kitab al-Shifa (The Book of Healing) covered practical knowledge on civic affairs as well as theoretical knowledge on physics, mathematics, and
(5) ABU HAMID AL-GHAZALI (1058-1111)

The most prominent of the medieval Islamic theologian-scholastics is Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, "acclaimed as the greatest ... certainly one of the greatest" (Watt, 1963, vii). He exerted great influence upon Jewish and Christian scholasticism and succeeded in reconciling his pragmatic tendencies with strict Moslem orthodoxy" (Myers, 35). The most significant of his writings is the four volume Ihya Ulum al Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), which "parallels" St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica (Sarton, I, 914, Durant, 950). Incidentally, Al-Ghazali's works, including the Ihya, were translated into Latin before 1150 (Myers, 39). Al-Ghazali's scholarship assumes its greatest significance in relation to the larger philosophical-theological controversies of the time. He challenged those other Islamic scholastics, whose Aristotelian rationalism threatened Islam itself. His attempt at reconciliation appeared in his Tahafat al-Falasifah (The Incoherence of Philosophers), which was later countered by Ibn Rushd, as we shall see. As the works of Islamic rationalists, chiefly Ibn Rushd, reached medieval Europe, they even threatened the "liquidation of Christian theology" (Durant, 954). Thus, relying heavily on Al-Ghazali's synthesis, "St. Thomas was led to write his Summas to overcome that threat" (Durant, 954). And, "since Ghazali placed

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science, philosophy and reason in a position inferior to religion and theology, the Scholastics accepted his views, which became characteristic of most medieval philosophy" (Myers, 39-40). Thus, "Europe as well as the Muslim East felt the impact of Al-Ghazali's teaching. Echoes of his voice are heard in the reflections of Blaise Pascal, and his work was paralleled by Thomas Aquinas in the discourse on Christian doctrine and in other portions of Summa Theologica" (Jurji, Collier's Encyclopedia, 1979, 13:312-13). His "teaching is quoted by St. Thomas and other scholastic writers" (O'Leary, 208); and it is generally known St. Thomas' Christian synthesis which "was deeply influenced by Muslim philosophers, chiefly al-Ghazali" (Sarton, 914; see also Copleston, 181; Myers, 42; Rescher, 156). Further, the Spanish Dominican monk, Raymond Martin directly benefited from Al-Ghazali's texts in his books entitled, Pigio Fidei and Explanation Symboli; and "the arguments have been taken exactly as they were in the originals" (Sharif, 1361). And, St. Thomas used some texts of Al-Ghazali's in Contra Gentiles, either directly or through the mediation of Raymund Martin. St. Thomas, who had received his education from the Dominican order in the University of Naples, had known al-Ghazali's philosophy well, using his arguments in attacks on Ibn Rushd and his Aristotelian commentaries. This university was established in 1224 by Frederick II (1194-1250), chiefly to assimilate Islamic philosophy and science.
(6) IBN RUSHD (1126-1198)

Having provided a glimpse of a few prominent Islamic scholastics, we now turn to the most famous intellectual of Cordoba, Ibn Rushd. Latin-Christendom. Abul Walid Mohammad Ibn Rushd (known as Averroes in Latin-West) was the ultimate rationalist, the Aristotelian heretic of the medieval Islam and Christianity. His singular influence in stimulating the Western Renaissance is acknowledged "as the landmark in the history of Western civilization" (Gilson, 1938, 30). Along with Ibn Sina, he is "the greatest name in Arabian [Islamic] philosophy .... whose influence spread, in many directions, through the duration of the middle ages, then in the epoch of the Renaissance up to the very threshold of modern times" (Gilson, 1955, 217). Indeed, "he was the greatest Muslim philosophers of the West, and one of the greatest of medieval times" (Sarton, II-1, 356). Roger Bacon ranked Ibn Rushd next to Aristotle and Ibn Sina (Durant, 338). Ibn Rushd came from a family of Cordoban scholars; his father was a local qadi, as was his grandfather (also the imam of the Cordoba mosque). Trained as a lawyer and a physician, his role as Caliph's advisor initiated him into philosophy. He wrote extensive commentaries on Aristotle, and others. He also wrote a 7-volume medical encyclopedia, Kitab al-Kulliyat fil-Tibb (hence the Latin name Colliget, a corruption of the word "kulliyat," meaning "generalities"), used at European universities until the eighteenth century. Though his scholarship in medicine has been eclipsed by his fame as a philosopher, he was "one of the greatest physicians of the time" (Sarton, II-1, 305). Ibn Rushd's philosophy was in the tradition of prevailing Islamic scholasticism, with attempts to synthesize Islamic faith and reason in light of the available Greek heritage. itself is a commentary on the extent of Ibrn Rushd's influence. His Commentaries on Aristotle were translated into Latin and Hebrew. There soon appeared super-commentaries on his commentaries--which The works of Aristotle and Ibn Rushd in their Latin translations were used not only in the curriculum at Naples (where St. Thomas studied), but The "heresies" of iconoclasts, such as Ibn Rushd, generated unprecedented intellectual turmoil which for ever transformed social thought in both medieval Islam and

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were also sent to the Universities of Paris and Bologna. Nowhere did Averroism strike deeper roots than in the Universities of Bologna and Padua, the latter became the "hot-bed" of Averroism (Sharif, 1381). Like others before him, Ibn Rushd was criticized for suggesting that revelation must be guided by reason. In his view, the noblest form of worship was to study God through His works, using the faculty of the mind. For his rebuttal (Tahafut al-Tahafut, or Incoherence of the Incoherence) of Al-Ghazali's arguments, Ibn Rushd is rather well known. His dispute with Al-Ghazali provides a fascinating view of the issues which But, for Ibn Rushd, while divine will may be the ultimate engaged medieval minds. In Al-Ghazali's scheme, everything is the result of continuous divine intervention, the divine will; any causal link is secondary. cause, "To deny the existence of efficient causes which are observed in sensible things is sophistry ... Denial of cause implies the denial of knowledge and denial of knowledge implies that nothing in the world can really be known" (quoted in Hoodbhoy, 114). Once the rediscovery of Aristotle through Ibn Rushd's writings was complete, the philosophers and theologians alike found themselves in possession of the greatest intellectual reservoir ever developed up to that time. Ibn Rushd "the Great Commentator." Influenced by his writings, philosophers and theologians split into two major groups: the "liberal," pro-Averroists, known as the Latin Averroists, with Siger of The issues were legionBrabant at their head, generally identified with the Franciscan Friars; and the "conservative," antiAverroists, with St. Thomas Aquinas of the Dominician Monks at their head. :metaphysical, philosophical, and practical. It may be noted, however, that even Ibn Rushd's critics,
including St. Thomas, did not escape his influence, and their understanding of Aristotle was conditioned by Averroes' interpretations. In 1852, Ernest Renan expressed this paradox very well, "St. Thomas is the most serious adversary that the Averroan doctrine has encountered, and yet one can go further to say, paradoxically, that he is the greatest disciple of the Great Commentator. Albert the Great owes everything to Avicenna, St. Thomas, as philosopher, but above all to Averroes" (quoted in Fakhri, 5). Etienne Gilson in his Reason and Revelation in the Middle Ages accords Ibn Rushd the distinction of having asserted the "primacy of reason", or a purely philosophical rationalism, long before the Italian Renaissance. Rationalism was "born in Spain, in the mind of an Arabian philosopher, as a conscious reaction against the theologism of the Arabian divines." (Fakhri, 6; Gilson, 1948, 37). Gilson adds that when Ibn Rushd died in 1198 "he bequeathed to his successors the ideal of a purely rational philosophy, an ideal whose influence was to be such that, by it, even the evolution of Christian philosophy was to be deeply modified" (Gilson, 1948, 38). Gilson attributes to Ibn Rushd the recognition, which became pivotal to St. Thomas' own However, unlike some of his adversarial Latin philosophy, "that nothing should enter the texture of metaphysical knowledge save only rational and necessary demonstrations" (Fakhri, 6; Gilson, 1948, 79). Averroists, St. Thomas was not willing to concede that either Aristotle or Ibn Rushd were infallible. Despite the enthusiasm in Paris during the thirteenth century for Ibn Rushd's Aristotelian Commentaries, serious questions arose as to the compatibility of Ibn Rushd's Aristotelianism with the Christian doctrine. And there were condemnations en masse--medieval "McCarthyism" and even a thirteenth century Papal Inquisition against the Christian "heretics." The focus was mainly on Latin Averroists, led by Siger of Brabant, who were suspected of subscribing to the "double-truth" doctrine: some truths philosophical, others theological; and reason was superior to faith. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) in his On the Unity of the Intellect against the Averroists confirms this suspicion but denies the doctrine. Ibn Rushd himself did not subscribe to such a thesis and it is doubtful, according to Gilson and other medievalists, that even Siger himself did so. This doctrine, however, was a godsend for the scientifically-minded people in the West,

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who were condemned and persecuted by the Church and the State. They found their best support in this and other "Averroisms." For this reason, de Wulf calls Ibn Rushd the "doctor of anti-Scholastics" (Sharif, 1380). For Ibn Rushd, the primacy of reason is unquestioned but compatible with faith, and for this Gilson regards him as the herald of rationalism long before the Renaissance (Fakhri, 34). In his Harmony of Philosophy and Religion (Fasl al-M'aqal), which was not available to St. Thomas, Siger of Brabant or their contemporaries in Latin, Ibn Rushd maintains a position which may be called the 'parity' or 'harmony' of truth, philosophical and theological. Thus, philosophical truth, although superior to religious truth, is not really incompatible with, or even different, from it. The only difference is the path to truth--philosophical and the theological. For any 'apparent' conflict between the religious texts and the philosophical texts, it is the duty of philosophers, whom the Qur'an calls "those who are confirmed in knowledge" (Qur'an, Sura 3:56), according to Ibn Rushd's reading, to resolve the conflict by recourse to the method of interpretation. Thus, in response to Al-Ghazali's charge of infidelity (kufr), Ibn Rushd argues that, if the inner meaning of the Qur'anic passages is understood, the position of the philosophers accords with that of the theologians (Fakhri, 33-34). However, Ibn Rushd's Aristotelian commentaries and his own contributions rapidly became the ruling mode of social thought in the West. Scholars of medieval Europe were provoked and inspired by Ibn Rushd's writings. Whereas some Muslim scholastics and their Latin successors tried to "Islamise" and "Christianise" Hellenism, Ibn Rushd's commentaries and rationalism seemed to excessively "Hellenise" Islam and Christianity. Thus, his Muslim contemporaries persecuted him while Muslim posterity almost ignored him, allowing his works to be lost. But Jews preserved many of them. In Latin Christianity, the commentaries were translated into Latin from the Hebrew, fed the heresies of Siger of Brabant and the rationalism of the Italian school of Padua, and threatened the foundations of Christianity. Relying on the more compatible AlGhazali, St. Thomas recognized that some dogmas of religion were beyond reason and must be accepted by faith alone. "The aim of his life was to reconcile Aristotelianism and Muslim knowledge with Christian theology" (Sarton, II-2, 914); and "Thomas Aquinas was led to write his Summas to halt the threatened liquidation of Christian theology by Arabic interpretations of Aristotle ... indeed, the industry of Aquinas was due not to the love of Aristotle but to the fear of Averroes" (Durant, 913, 954). Thus, driven by this fear, the Latin Scholastic constructed the medieval "synthesis;"so that the Aristotelian-Averroistic heresies were debunked with Ibn Rushd the "infidel" humbled, and St. Thomas' followers saw his academic glory in this synthesis. So perceived, this conclusion is reflected in a medieval sketch that one medieval scholar reproduced in his book; the sketch entitled "St. Thomas Aquinas overcoming Averroes," showing St. Thomas surrounded by angels and monks, displaying his "synthesis" to the vanquished Ibn Rushd lying at his feet; see Libby, 55. It was not to be so, however. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Latin orientated-Averroism had far-reaching consequences for medieval and modern social thought, hardly foreseeable by the medieval scholastics. It established "a tradition in which it became possible to question the status of religion" (Daniel, 107); and from the end of the twelfth century to the end of the sixteenth century Averroism remained the dominant school of thought, in spite of the orthodox reaction it created first among the Muslims in Spain and then among the Talmudists, and finally, among the Christian clergy. These were the centuries that witnessed revolutions in the evolution of social thought, with medieval Islamic sources always providing the background. As the Greek heritage "had aroused the great age of Arabic science and philosophy, so now it would excite the European mind and inquiry and speculation ... would crack stone

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after stone of that majestic edifice to bring this collapse of the medieval system in the fourteenth century, and the beginnings of modern philosophy in the ardor of the Renaissance" (Durant, 913). monumental in Western history. It is suggested that Harold Nebelsick puts it well. The results were He discusses the
achievements of the Arab-Islamic scholars and how they "appropriated, appreciated and preserved Greek classical learning and built upon it" (p. 5), and "thus, laid the foundations for a quite unprecedented revival

Islam Science Throughout History

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Islam Science Throughout History

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An Introduction to

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Introduction to Muslim Science January 2002

INT R ODUCT ION T O

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Introduction to Muslim Science January 2002

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Introduction to Muslim Science January 2002

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Introduction to Muslim Science January 2002

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Introduction to Muslim Science January 2002

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Early Muslim Historians

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Muslim Historians November 2001

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Muslim Historians November 2001

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Muslim Historians November 2001

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ibn Munqidh , Columbia University , New York, 1929.

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Vols, Vol 3, 1904; at pp. 601-2.

Byzacium, Paris, 1849.

Electricite, Casablanca, 1951.

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windmills, the use of the compass etc..

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42; Paris, 1853.

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Some Aspects of Mineralogy and Gemology in Muslim Civilisation

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Some Aspects of Mineralogy and Gemology in Muslim Civilisation August 2003

SOME ASPECTS OF MINERALOGY AND GEMOLOGY IN MUSLIM CIVILISATION