Science in Medieval world

Islam

“Science & Technology in Medieval Islam”

Islam is a religion that began in the 7th century with the prophet Muhammad in Mecca.

In Arabic word “Islam” means ‘submission to God’.

Qur’an the name of their holy book.

Mecca is the centre for Islamic worship.

MUSLIM (ISLAM)

* During middle ages the centre for learning and research was Muslim Spain.

* The students were gathered to consult Arabic Manuscript of earlier scientific works and study with famous teachers.

* Manuscript means written by hand.

The Golden Age of Medieval Islam

Islam spreads rapidly with the conquests of the first Caliphs.

750-1050 A.D.(Anno Domini) was the golden age for the Islamic World.

The first dynasty of caliphs was the Umayyad who ruled from Damascus in Syria.

Arabia was at the crossroads between Asia, Africa, and Europe and the Arab people traded widely with merchants from places as diverse as China, India and southern Europe. Trade and conquest led to cultural exchange and the spread of knowledge. The practical problems of trade over long distances also led to the development of techniques for navigation by the stars and a greater understanding of time. Great centres of scholarship were established in cities such as Baghdad (in modern-day Iraq) and Alexandria.

The Caliphate

“Science and Learning in Medieval Islam”

Early Islamic teaching encourage the pursuit of all knowledge that helped to improve people’s live.

Science and technology were encouraged and welcomed, these includes practical things like Navigational Aids for traveller, Geographical Maps, Medical Knowledge, ways of Measuring and Calculating, and Tools for Agriculture.

Muslim learned how to make paper from Chinese papermakers, and paper mills was built in Baghdad.

Huge libraries were established in big cities like Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus.

Arabic became the international language for scholarship.

Astronomythe branch of science that deals with celestial

objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole.

Astronomy was important to Muslims for practical reason.

Astronomy contributed to Navigation.Observations of the sun, and moon were used to

determine prayer times and an accurate calendar.Large observatories were established and new

instruments such as the astrolabe were developed.Astrolabe a very ancient astronomical computer

for solving problems relating to time and the position of the Sun and stars in the sky.

Astrolabe

Islamic Observatory

Islam AstronomersAl-Tusi – he is a Muslim scholar considered Tusi to be

the greatest of the later Persian scholar. Made an original contributions to mathematics and astronomy.

His book is “Treasury of Astronomy”

He wrote approximately 150 books in Arabic and Persian and edited the definitive Arabic versions of the works of Euclid, Archimedes, Ptolemy, Autolycus, and Theodosius.

Al-Farghani - was one of the most distinguished astronomers in the service of al-Mamun and his successors. He wrote "Elements of Astronomy" (Kitab fi al-Harakat al-Samawiya wa Jawami Ilm al-Nujum i.e. the book on celestial motion and thorough science of the stars), which was translated into Latin in the 12th century and exerted great influence upon European astronomy before Regiomontanus. He accepted Ptolemy's theory and value of the precession, but thought that it affected not only the stars but also the planets. He determined the diameter of the earth to be 6,500 miles, and. found the greatest distances and also the diameters of the planets.

Al-FargahaniIranian Muslim Philosopher

Chemistry and Alchemy Chemistry is the branch of science that deals with the

identification of the substances of which matter is composed; the investigation of their properties and the ways in which they interact, combine, and change; and the use of these processes to form new substances.

Alchemy is a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life

:  a power or process of transforming something common into something special.

Chemistry was not seen as a separate science, but was an important part of other industries and crafts

Islamic scientists developed new experimental techniques and methods such as distillation

Alchemy was important as a science of the cosmos and the soul.

Muslim ScientistKhalid ibn Yazid – the first Muslim alchemist,

who is said to have studied alchemy under Christian Marianos of Alexandria.

Jabir ibn Hayyan – generally known as the father of Chemistry, he introduced experimental investigation into alchemy, which rapidly changed its character into modern chemistry.

Abu Bakr Al-Razi – most prominent physician in the Islamic World. His contribution to chemistry was his attempt to systematize laboratory practices, to which end he listed contemporary laboratory equipment and techniques used in chemical experiments. 

Ibn Umail – He was called al-Sadik, which supposedly become Zadith in Europe, while ibn-Umail was apparently translated as “son of Hamuel”. His most famed treatise was indeed the afore mentioned“ The Book of the Silvery Water and the Starry Earth”, or Kitab al-ma’ al-waraqi wal-ard an-najmyah (1), which was taken by later researchers as a commentary on “ the Letter of the Sun to the Crescent Moon”, or Risalah ash-shams ila ’l-hilal. To be  more precise “The Silvery Water” was known in Europe as “ The Book of Senior or Tabula Chimica”, while the poem “ Letter of the Sun” is found separately as “ Epistola Solis ad Lunam Crescentem”.

Al-Tughrai –He was a well-known and prolific writer on astrology and alchemy, and many of his poems (diwan) are preserved today as well. In the field of alchemy, al-Tughra'i is best known for his large compendium titled Mafatih al-rahmah wa-masabih al-hikmah, which incorporated extensive extracts from earlier Arabic alchemical writings, as well as Arabic translations fromZosimos of Panopolis old alchemy treatises written in Greek, which were until 1995 erroneously attributed to unknown alchemists by mistakes and inconsistencies in the transliteration and transcription of his name into Arabic.

Al-Jildaki - one of the last and one of the greatest of medieval Islamic alchemists, he was the author of scientific works such as the al-Misbah fi Ilm al-Miftah (Key of the Sciences of Lights) and alchemical treatise The Proof Regarding Secrets of the Science of the Balance (Kitab al-Burhan fi asrar 'ilm al-mizan).

Medicine & Surgery

Islamic medicine was based on the Greek model of the four elements and ‘humours’

Disease was thought of as an imbalance of ‘humours’

Pharmacy, combining herbal medicine and alchemy, was important

Islamic law forbade dissections

Illustration from anatomical work. A miniature painting from a seventeenth century manuscript of Tashrih bi al-Taswir, a treatise on human anatomy by Mansur bin Muhammad.

Technology

Arab lands were often dry and harsh environments.

Improvements in water technology were

important for agriculture .

Other industries included manufacture of paper, machinery and scientific instruments.

Water raising machine from Al-Jazari manuscript