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2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
1. House of Wisdom
The House of Wisdom was an educational institution founded
in Baghdad in present-day Iraq by the Abbasid caliph al-
Ma’mum, in 830 CE. At the time, Western Europe was going
through a “Dark Age,” when learning and literacy were lost.
The Catholic Church, the sole unifying force in Europe, did not
tolerate religious differences. In stark contrast, the Islamic
world was going through the “Pax Islamica,” or the “Islamic
Peace,” a time of religious tolerance and openness to
learning. As a result, scholars from all over Afro-Eurasia—Jews,
Christians, Hindus, Zoroastrians, and Muslims—flocked over to
the House of Wisdom, where they learned from one another
and collaborated on their collective pursuit of knowledge.
These “international” scholars worked together to translate,
preserve, and improve upon ancient Egyptian, Persian, Greek,
Roman, and Indian learning. In this way, they helped preserve
the Greek classics (such as the works of Plato, Aristotle, and
Euclid) that might otherwise have been lost or destroyed. And
the House of Wisdom’s
extensive library, which
contained religious texts
and all sorts of ancient
texts (on law, poetry,
history, geography,
philosophy, and the
sciences) and which
was open to the public,
became a model for
other large libraries
throughout Dar al-Islam.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
2. Library at Cordoba
In the 8th century, a new and independent Muslim emirate
was established by the Umayyads in Spain. Its capital city,
Cordoba, became a second center of learning and
intellectual life in Dar al-Islam (along with Baghdad’s House of
Wisdom). Known as a city of bibliophiles (book lovers), its most
celebrated library was run by the Spanish Umayyad Caliph Al-
Hakam Il al-Mustansir (961-976).
Al-Hakam, an accomplished scholar himself, sent bookbuyers
all over Dar al-Islam to find books for his library. Library clerks,
many of them women, carefully copied by hand the books
while calligraphers and bookbinders created beautiful text
and cover designs. Al-Hakam’s library was said to have
contained between 400,000 and 500,000 books, whose titles
filled a 44-volume catalogue. (In comparison, the largest
library in the rest of Europe, the library at the monastery of St.
Gall, boasted 36
books.) The
people of
Cordoba also
collected books
for their homes.
Those who owned
large, personal
libraries were
regarded as
important figures
in Cordovan
society.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
Scholars from all over Afro-Eurasia—Jews, Christians, Muslims,
Zoroastrians—flocked to Cordoba’s famous library to study
together. Great thinkers who studied in Cordoba included
Maimonides(1135—1204), the author of the Guide for the
Perplexed. A Jewish scholar, Maimonides explained Jewish
faith in terms of Aristotle’s logic. His philosophy deeply
influenced later European thinkers, including “Scholastics” like
Thomas Aquinas.
An even more famous scholar
from Cordoba was Ibn Rushd
(1126—1198), known to the
Western world as Averroes. Ibn
Rushd was the Islamic
equivalent of Leonardo da
Vinci. He was widely regarded
as the “Ideal Man” who
excelled in numerous fields. He
wrote copiously on philosophy,
politics, music, medicine,
astronomy, mathematics,
geography, and physics. His
commentaries on Aristotle’s
works became so influential in
later European thought that he
has been called “one of the
spiritual fathers of Europe.”
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
3. Paper and Bookmaking
In 751, the Abbasids defeated the Tang Chinese at the Battle of
Talas in Central Asia. Among the captured Chinese were artisans
skilled in paper making. These Chinese prisoners taught their
captors the technique of making paper out of tree barks. Paper
technology quickly spread throughout Dar al-Islam.
The first paper-manufacturing plant in Dar al-Islam opened in
Baghdad in 794 CE. By 891 CE, Baghdad had over a hundred
booksellers. Most mosques had libraries. Many cities also had
public libraries. Baghdad at the time of the Mongol invasion in
1258 had 36 libraries. According to historian Will Durant, Muslim
rulers "in the 10th century might own as many books as could be
found in all the libraries of Europe combined." Books became
easily accessible and contributed to interest in all kinds of
learning. In Dar al-Islam, a well-stocked library was a status
symbol!
Gradually, Europeans learned
paper and bookmaking
technology from the Islamic
world. Paper was first used in
Constantinople by 1100, in Italy by
1102, in Germany by 1228, and in
England by 1309. Previously, mass
production of books was not
possible in Europe, who used
parchment and silk to produce
hand-crafted manuscripts.
Introduction—by way of the Islamic world—of paper would
gradually re-introduce literacy and learning to the Western
Europeans and help them end centuries of the “Dark Age” which
had begun with the collapse of Rome in the 5th century.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
4. Calligraphy
Calligraphy, which means “beautiful writing,” is the art
of elegant handwriting. Calligraphy was first used by
Muslims when the Arabs began preparing copies of the
Qur’an. The words of the Qur’an were written in
calligraphy because only calligraphy was considered
worthy of the word of God. At the same time, the
Muslim belief that Allah should never be depicted in
human image spilled over to the practice of not using
visual images to depict important humans. As a result,
calligraphy was used not only to adorn the walls of
mosques but also as decorations for textiles, ceramics,
and metal works. In the Islamic world, the calligrapher
was honored above other artists, and calligraphy was
considered the highest form of art.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
5. Geometric and Floral Design
Muslim art was mostly abstract, which meant that the pictures
did not represent real subjects like humans or animals. Not
only was it forbidden to depict Allah in human image, it was
generally believed that visual images
of humans and animals would
distract worshippers from praying to
Allah. Consequently, floral patterns
and geometric designs became
favorite art subjects. The most
common was the “arabesque,” a
winding stem of leaves and flowers
that formed a spiraling design. The
arabesque decorated everything
from small objects—metal boxes, ceramic bowls, tiles—to
carpets and entire walls.
Muslim artists also used geometric patterns to express the idea
that unity and order exists everywhere and at all times.
Interlacement, which was another type of arabesque, was
made of geometric patterns drawn inside a circle and
repeated several times.
Despite the religious
guidelines, paintings of both
humans and animals did exist.
They could be found in
private places like
bathhouses, women’s
apartments, and the living
quarter of the ruling classes.
Persian artists particularly
excelled at making beautiful miniature portraits of people.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
6. Music of Muslim Spain
The music of Muslim Spain was one of the glorious
achievements of the Pax Islamica. Musical styles from all over
the world combined to create the distinct sound of the music
of Muslim Spain. Europe’s first music conservatory (school) was
established in Cordoba by an Arab named Ziryad, a freed
slave from Baghdad. Royal courts hired musicians from all
over Central Asia and Africa to entertain royalty and
important visitors, such as wealthy merchants. Musicians and
poets worked together to create songs that combined the
patterns and rhythms of poetry and musical styles from the
Arab, Spanish, African, and Central Asian cultures. By the 11th
century, this music was so popular that the courts of Islamic
rulers all over Dar al-Islam competed to see whose musicians
produced the most pleasing songs.
The instruments most often used in
this music included: the oud, a
short-necked string instrument that
is the ancestor of the guitar; the
rebab, an instrument brought to
Spain from the Middle East that
resembles a violin; the ney, a
simple wood flute; and the
darbuka, a goblet-shaped drum
made of pottery. The origins of
many instruments, including the
oboe, trumpet, violin, guitar, harp,
and percussion instruments can be
traced to this music of Muslim
Spain.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
7. Chess
The game of chess was introduced to Dar al-Islam by
the Persians, who had learned it from India. The game
became widely popular among men and women
because of its difficulty and intellectual challenge.
Caliphs and sultans and emirs (rulers) would invite
champions of the game to chess matches at their
palaces. The Muslims continued to adapt and improve
the game. It was the Muslims who introduced chess to
Europeans, who played it widely from the 13th century
onward.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
8. Polo
It is believed that the game of polo, arguably the oldest
recorded team sport in the world, was first invented by
pastoral nomadic tribes of Central Asia. The Persians
took up the sport over 2500 years ago, probably as a
training method for their famous cavalry, the Ten
Thousand Immortals. Polo matches, played on
horseback, could resemble a battle with up to 100 men
to a side.
The Muslim world learned the game of polo from the
Persians, and quickly, it became a great favorite among
the wealthy classes because of its use of horses. The
Abbasid caliphs loved the game, which became
known as “the game of kings.” The Arabian stallions,
famed for their beautiful looks and fast speed, were
used to improve the game. Eventually, the Muslim
world introduced the game of polo to Europeans, who
also fell in love with the game. Today, polo is played all
over the world.
. Adapted from http://www.argentinapolo.com/polohistory.html
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
9. Agricultural & Energy Technology
Because water was so scarce in the
desert regions of Dar al-Islam, Muslim
engineers developed ingenious irrigation
techniques using underground wells.
Muslims probably learned the idea of
underground pipes to irrigate farm fields
from the Persians, who first perfected the
technique, known as the Quanat. As
early as the 10th century, dams, reservoirs, and underground wells
were constructed throughout Dar al-Islam. Underground wells
were placed as much as 50 feet deep in order to tap
underground water sources and to minimize evaporation of the
precious water.
Muslim engineers also
perfected the water
wheel, a technique
that could be
operated by man,
animals, or the wind.
When an upright pole
connected to a series
of geared wheels
was turned, four
water scoops, rising
one after another, emptied their contents into a canal. Muslim
engineers also pioneered double-action pumps that could raise
water to a height of 12 meters and windmills with vertical blades.
They also built pigeon towers to gather fertilizer for the soil,
produced kerosene fuel by distilling crude oil,
(Adapted from: http://www.1001inventions.com/1001inventions/market)
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
10. Numbers, Banking, and Accounting
Like the Romans, Muslims excelled at learning from other people
and tweaking and improving on what they learned. From the
Indians, Muslims adapted the concept of zero and the decimals
to develop what Europeans later called the “Arabic Numerals.”
From the Indians, Muslims also adapted the concept of banking.
To end the confusion caused by the many currencies in use all
over Afro-Eurasia, Muslim merchants developed the concept of
“checks,” which derives from the Arabic word “sakk.” The
Abbasids had central banks with branch offices and an elaborate
system of checks and letters of credit. It became possible for a
check written on a bank in one part of Dar al-Islam to be cashed
in a distant city. This was crucial in expanding international trade,
which Muslim merchants dominated, both over land and by sea.
Double-entry accounting/bookkeeping method, which is used all
over the world today, was first used in Europe by Italian merchants
around the 13th century. Some scholars believe that Italian
merchants learned of this method from the Muslim world.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
11. Algebra
Muslim scholars were deeply interested in furthering the
developments of the ancient Greeks and Indians in
mathematics. They spent hours trying to stump one
another with difficult mathematical puzzles. For fun,
they made “magic boxes” that were grids containing
numbers that added up to the same sum horizontally,
vertically, and diagonally. Of the many Islamic scholars,
the most famous math scholar was Al-Khwarizmi, who
invented algebra. Algebra derives from the Arabic
word “al jabr,” which means “the bringing together of
separate parts.” In algebra, a mathematician
substitutes symbols (such as x, y, and z) for numbers in
order to solve mathematical problems.
Al-Khwarazmi,
the “Father of Al jabr”
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
12. The Scientific Method and Chemistry
Aristotle is often given credit for inventing the “Scientific
Method,” but it is actually the Muslim scholars who invented
the Scientific Method as we know it today. Will Durant, a
famous historian, gives Muslims credit for "introduc(ing) precise
observation, controlled experiment, and careful records.”
Briffault, in his book Making of Humanity, states that
“(I)nvestigation, accumulation of positive knowledge, minute
methods of science and prolonged observation were alien to
Greek temperament. These were introduced to Europe by the
Arabs. European science owes its existent to the Arabs.”
Muslim scientists set up the world’s first laboratories and
conducted painstaking research and experiments to test their
theories.
As the world’s first “true” scientists, Muslim scholars turned
alchemy, the ancient “art of transmuting metals,” into the
science of chemistry. They were the first people to separate
chemical compounds from one another. They invented
and/or perfected the processes of distillation, sublimation,
crystallization, oxidation, and precipitation. They discovered
the process of calcinations, which is used to reduce
substances to a powered form. They also discovered many
elements with their specific weights. They distinguished
between metals and alloys, noting that alloys were mixtures
and not true elements. They developed the acid-base
principal of chemistry as well as the pH scale. They also
studied the solubility/insolubility of substances. And Al-Razi’s
(d. 925) booklet, Secret of Secrets, is said to be the first known
example of a chemistry lab manual.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
Unlike the Greeks who loved knowledge for knowledge’s sake,
Muslim scientists were deeply interested in practical
applications of their theories. They oversaw the beginnings of
the chemical industry by using their labs for R&D (research and
development) purposes. Muslim chemists developed
techniques for extracting minerals and metals, invented crystal
making, distilled rose-water perfume, and developed new
ceramic glazes, hair dyes, and waterproof varnishes.
The Crusades (which began in the late 12th century) increased
Muslim-Christian contacts, which led to the spread of Muslim
knowledge and technology into Western Europe. Translations
of Muslim works on chemistry (especially Al-Razi’s chemistry lab
manual) were used in many European schools standard
textbooks for many centuries.
Source: http://www.albalagh.net/kids/science/chemistry.shtml
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
13. Zoology
Muslims scholars made great advances I zoology, the scientific
study of animals, during the Golden Age. Muslims were
deeply interested in animals, in part because they were so
dependent upon animals for their lifestyle, trade, and travels.
Al-Jahiz, born in 776 CE in Basra, present-day Iraq, made great
contributions to zoology. He composed some 200 works, the
most famous of which was the Book of Animals. In this book,
he collected a huge body of lore and knowledge about
animals from all kinds of sources, including the Qur’an, the
Hadith, pre-Islamic poetry, proverbs, and stories from
merchants and sailors, his own
personal observations, and his
studies of Greek texts. While
the book was full of
entertaining stories, it also
contained important scientific
theories and information. His
work deeply influenced the
11th century physician Ibn
Kakhtishu, who wrote The Uses
of Animals, an account of
medicines that could be
extracted from animals for
human use. In the 14th
century, Al-Damiri used Al-
Jahiz’s scientific information to
write The Lives of the Animals,
an encyclopedia of animals.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
14. Astronomy
Muslim scientists made great advances in astronomy, the science
of celestial (heavenly) objects/bodies. Muslim astronomers
perfected the astrolabe, a device first invented by the Greeks.
This was a small, flat, brass disc marked off in degrees. By lining up
the pointer with the sun, the user could measure latitude, tell the
time of day, and determine the position or movement of the stars
and planets. Using the astrolabe and their own observatories,
Muslim astronomers made many astronomical discoveries.
In Europe, the Catholic Church lionized the incorrect idea that the
world was geo-centric. The Hellenistic Greek astronomer Ptolemy
had proposed that the earth was the center of the universe.
Since the theory fit the Biblical accounts of the creation of the
world, the Ptolemaic theory of the universe became Church
dogma (doctrine held as indisputable truth) for centuries. To even
question the theory became heresy punishable by the Church.
Using the astrolabe and their observatories, Muslim scientists made
their own observations, which they compared to Ptolemy’s tables.
They gradually compiled enough data to prove Ptolemy’s idea
incorrect. Many Muslim astronomers also learned that the earth is
a sphere (globe), that it
rotates on its own axis,
and that the sun is the
center of the universe.
Centuries later,
scientists in Western
Europe made their own
discoveries and ended
up agreeing with the
Muslim astronomers.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
15. Geography and Cartography
Muslims were the best geographers and cartographers of the
Medieval period. Why? There were two (2) reasons:
Commerce and religion.
Long distance travel created a need for mapping, and
travelers often provided the information to achieve the task.
As hazardous as long-distance travel was in Medieval times,
Muslims undertook long journeys. One motive for these was
the 5th Pillar, or Hajj.
Annually, Muslim pilgrims
came to Mecca from all
parts of Afro-Eurasia.
Another motive for travels
was commerce. Muslim
merchants dominated both
maritime (Indian Ocean)
and overland (Silk Road)
routes by this time.
The following is excerpted from an article found at
http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1055354.html
Fuat Sezgin is one of the world's most prominent historians of science and technology in the Muslim
world. The 80-year-old Turkish professor is the director of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic
Science at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and a prodigiously
productive writer. He has compiled a 13-volume history of Islam's Golden Age of Science, including
three new books on the accomplishments of Arabic and Islamic cartographers. He says the
cartographers not only opened much of the world to Muslim traders but also paved the way for
European navigators, who later defined our modern view of geography.
"I have written in these three volumes the history of mathematical geography for the first time,
generally. Until now, it was impossible to write the [full] history of mathematical geography because
[scholars] did not know the mathematical geography in Islam," Sezgin says.
Sezgin says it has long been recognized that Muslim navigators undertook sea voyages over vast
distances, which gave them a more complete view of geography than the ancient Greeks and
Romans.
But he says he believes he is the first to compile a comprehensive collection of evidence showing how
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
Muslim cartographers combined the navigators' information with studies of astronomy and
mathematics to compile maps of astonishing precision for their day.
Sezgin says one of his greatest successes was tracking down a copy of a particularly famous map that
Western scholars knew existed from Arab histories but which was generally assumed to be lost. That is
the map of the world that Caliph al-Ma'mum, who reigned in Baghdad from 813 to 833 AD,
commissioned from a large group of astronomers and geographers.
"Many geographers, many astronomers, many mathematics scholars made this map. Historians of
geography knew of this map, but by its name only. I [finally] found this map in an encyclopedia in
Topkapi Sarai [Museum in Istanbul]," Sezgin says.
The map shows large parts of the Eurasian and African continents with recognizable coastlines and
major seas. It depicts the world as it was known to the captains of the Arab sailing dhows which, with
planks secured by palm-fiber ropes rather than nails, used the monsoon wind cycles to trade over vast
distances. Western historians recognize that by the 9th century, Arab sea traders had reached
Canton, in China.
Sezgin says the Caliph al-Ma'mum map illustrates how far the Muslim cartographers departed from
earlier world views. The maps of the Greeks and Romans reveal a good knowledge of closed seas like
the Mediterranean but little understanding of the vast ocean expanses beyond.
"This map [shows] the Muslims knew the continents are islands, not like the Greeks' thinking that the
seas are closed seas," Sezgin says.
But if Sezgin has devoted his life to understanding Islam's Golden Age of Science -- he has spent 55
years writing about it -- he is far from having chauvinistic views. He says Muslim scientists were able to
make such advances because they were ready to build on the work of earlier scholars -- Muslim or
otherwise. The professor says this "receptiveness" enabled Muslim science to become the world's
dominant scientific tradition within 200 years of the beginnings of the Arab conquests.
"The Arabs, the Muslims, had taken from Christians, from Jews, from [Persia] without complexes. The
Muslims were tolerant. The Muslims had accepted these Christians and Jews as teachers. That's very
important, because the period of the reception of science was [thus just] 200 years," Sezgin says.
Islam's Golden Age of Science finally ended as the stability and wealth of the Muslim world was
shaken by rival powers. European states controlled the Mediterranean trade routes by the 14th
century, and the Mongol invasions of the 13th to 15th centuries disrupted trade with China. State
patronage of science gave way to military affairs.
Still, Muslim science never disappeared. Instead, it reemerged as part of the new body of science
developing in Europe as scholars there -- in their turn -- borrowed liberally from Muslim scholars before
them.
Sezgin says Portuguese and Spanish navigators used the knowledge they gained from Muslim
cartographers while Iberia was under Arab domination to launch their own voyages of discovery.
Those great sea journeys, including the circumnavigation of the world and the discovery of the
Americas, helped lead to a modern view of Earth as a globe containing all of the major continents.
Sezgin, who mostly writes in German, says the first volume of his book on the Muslim cartographers has
just been translated into English and will be published next month. He hopes the translation will help his
work reach a broader audience, both in the West and the Muslim world.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
16. Medical Advances
Contacts with India and Egypt—civilizations with a long history of
medical advances—provided Muslim scholars with opportunities to
learn from the best. They learned from Indian and Egyptian doctors
and improved on their learning by making their own advances.
Muslim doctors experimented with herbal drugs, using them as
treatment and as anesthetic during surgery. They used plants like
coriander for their curative powers and hashish (a strong narcotic) as
sedatives during surgery. Muslim physicians had a great
understanding of the functions of parts of the body,. Ibn al-Nafis, a
13th century physician, thoroughly understood the blood circulation
system. He was the first to explicitly state that blood moves from the
heart, transits through the lungs to mix with air before returning to the
heart. Muslim physicians also pioneered the technique of using
needles to remove cataracts.
Al-Haytham (965—1040), Latinized as Alhacen or Alhazen, a Muslim
mathematician from Basra, Iraq, became known in Europe in the 13th
century as the author of a monumental book on optics—the
mathematical theory of vision. In his Kitâb al-Manâ zir, he offered a
new solution to the problem of vision, combining experimental
investigations of the behavior of light with inventive geometrical proofs
and constant forays into the psychology of visual perception—all
systematically tied together to form a coherent alternative to the
Euclidean and Ptolemaic theories of "visual rays" issuing from the eye .
(Source: http://harvardmagazine.com/2003/09/ibn-al-haytham.html#)
Al-Razi (865—925), a physician from Persia, wrote the Continence, a
24-volume medical encyclopedia, which became hugely influential
on European thinking on medicine. He
described clinical signs of many diseases,
wrote about diagnosing and treating
smallpox and measles, and the importance of
hygiene and clean air in treating illnesses.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
Ibn Sinna, Latinized as Avicenna (born 980),
another famous physician from Persia, wrote
the 14-volume Canon of Medicine, a huge
collection of his vast knowledge of Greek
and Arabic medical systems. He the Canon,
he described various diseases (including
smallpox and measles) and their causes,
symptoms, and cures. He emphasized the
need for hygiene and clean air, for
understanding the functions of parts of the
human body, and the contagious nature of
certain communicable diseases, such as
tuberculosis. He was also deeply interested
in human psychology and wrote a great
deal on the effects of the mind on the body
The Canon was translated into Latin and was used as a standard
reference book in European universities until the 17th century.
Al-Zahrawi (born 936) from Cordoba, Spain, was the most renowned
of all Muslim surgeons. Sometimes called “the pharmacist surgeon,”
he wrote Al-Tasrif, a famous manual on surgery that later became the
chief reference work for surgery in Italian and French universities for
centuries. The manual included sections on the preparation and
dosage of drugs, nutrition, public health, anatomical dissection, and
techniques for performing
various types of surgeries
(including amputation of
limbs and crushing bladder
stones). The sections on
surgery are illustrated with
drawings of about 100
surgical instruments, many of
which he invented himself,
including a pair of forceps used in child birth and catgut to stitch
internal incisions. He also used antiseptics to cleanse wounds, a
practice that Europeans would not learn of until centuries later.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
17. Public Healthcare: Hospitals & Pharmacies
Muhammad’s statement that Allah had provided a cure for every
illness inspired the Muslim world’s interest in treating diseases. This,
coupled with the 5 Pillars of Islam, led to the creation of the first
hospital in the world. An early hospital that became a model for
future hospitals was founded in Damascus, present-day Syria,
staffed with physicians paid by the government. Hospitals were
designed to promote health, cure diseases, and teach and
expand medical knowledge. By the 9th century, there were
hospitals in all large Muslim towns. The most advanced hospitals—
like the “Aduidi” hospital founded by the Abbasid Caliph Harun
al-Rashid in Baghdad—attracted outstanding medical scholars
and were housed in large buildings with lecture halls, libraries,
pharmacies, laboratories, and patient wards with beds. Patients
with communicable diseases, as well as those recovering from
surgery, were placed in a separate part of the hospital.
In addition to hospitals, pharmacies also developed in Baghdad
to provide medicine to treat diseases. Much like today’s
pharmacies, Muslim pharmacies filled prescriptions ordered by
physicians. Drugs
were considered so
important and
dangerous that they
were carefully
supervised, both
during preparation
and while in storage.
.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
18. Navigation and Shipbuilding
Along with the Indian merchants, Muslim merchants were
“masters of the Indian Ocean.” Their knowledge of
geography and technological advances in
navigation and shipbuilding allowed them to
dominate trade and travel in the Indian
Ocean. Two Muslim innovations of particular
importance were the astrolabe (see
“Astronomy”) and the dhow.
The Dhow, a sailing vessel still in use in the Indian ocean, used
both the square and the triangular sail. The triangular sail—
known as the “Lateen Sail”—allowed the dhows to sail both
into and against the wind, which made possible long-distance
ocean voyages!! In the Indian Ocean, the dhow used the
monsoons as “free fuel” to move across the Indian Ocean. In
the winter, the winds blew to the southwest, bringing the
dhows down the coast of
East Africa (which Muslims
called the “Zanj.”) In the
summer, the monsoons
reversed direction, and the
dhow would sail up to Arabia
and India. From the Zanj, the
Muslim traders picked up
wood, ivory, ostrich feathers,
and even slaves.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail on three small caravel
ships—which used the triangular “lateen sail” borrowed from
the Islamic world. He also set out with a Muslim navigator, an
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
Arab translator, and an astrolabe perfected by Muslim
astronomers. He also had with him a copy of Marco Polo’s
travelogue and a magnetic compass, a Chinese invention. As
you all know, he was looking for a direct sea route to India
and China in search of spices. Of course he had no idea that
a continent blocked his way, nor did he know the true size of
the earth, something that many Muslim astronomers and
geographers already knew with fair accuracy.
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
19. Muslim Travelers
Muhammad encouraged Muslims to travel “as far as China”
for learning. The wealth of the cities in Dar al-Islam depended
on trade. And the 5th Pillar of Islam asked Muslims to go on a
Hajj to Mecca at least once during their lifetime. These
reasons propelled Muslims to become the world’s greatest
cartographers and travelers of the time!
Ibn Battuta (1305—1369?) dreamed of visiting every major
city in Dar al-Islam. Sometimes called the Marco Polo of the
Islamic world, he managed to travel about 75,000 miles in 29
years! His written accounts, called the Rihla, are
tremendously valuable, as they are the only historical source
of information about many of the places he visited. Though
some scholars question
the accuracy of some
of his information (much
as they question Marco
Polo’s veracity), his
travels ranged from
Timbuktu, the famous
city of Mali in Wet
Africa, all the way to
Beijing, China. As a
Muslim, he took
advantage of the
generosity shown to pilgrims—he was often given gifts (of
horses, gold, ,and even slaves) and stayed for free in
dormitories, private homes, and even in the palaces of Muslim
rulers. For 7 years, he worked for the Sultan in Delhi, India. On
his travels he met several Sultans who welcomes him into their
2010—2011 Ms. Yi’s WCI Unit 4.1 Post-Classical Middle East: Dar al-Islam, Student Info for #7
company. His descriptions are filled with exciting adventures;
he almost died several times. He survived robbers, shipwrecks,
pirates, wars, and the Bubonic Plague/Black Death!
Mansa Musa (r.1312—1337) was a rich ruler of Mali, the
Western African kingdom that grew wealthy from its gold-salt
trade across the Sahara. (Mansa means “king,” and Musa
means “Moses” in Arabic.) In 1324, he began his famous Hajj
to Mecca. It was this pilgrimage that awakened European
interest in the incredible wealth of Mali. He traveled from the
upper Niger River in Mali across the Sahara to Cairo, Egypt.
Accounts vary, and some may be exaggerated, but
according to some, Mansa Musa’s caravan included 60,000
men, including 12,000 personal slaves finely dressed in silk.
Mansa Musa rose on horseback and was preceded by 500
slaves, each carrying a gold-decorated staff. 80 camels
tagged along, each carrying 300 pounds of gold! He
generously gave away so much gold that Cairo’s gold market
was staggered by a gargantuan inflation. It took Cairo several
decades to recover from the inflation. Mansa Musa impressed
the rest of Dar al-Islam with his incredible wealth and his
commitment to Islam. He brought back to Timbuktu a group
of Islamic scholars, who set out to turn Timbuktu into an
important center of Islamic learning.