Baghdad - The Islamic Golden Age and Its Cultural Legacy
BAGHDAD
The Islamic Golden Age is traditionally
dated from the mid-7th century to the
mid-13th century at which Muslim rulers
established one of the largest empires in
history.
ORIGINS
•
The name Baghdad is pre-Islamic, related to
previous settlements on the site
•
Arab authors give different hypothetical
explanations: the most common of which is
“given by God” or “gift of God”
•
Others tend to give the name an Aramaic
origin meaning, “the home or enclosure of
sheep”
Abbasid Caliph Mansur;
•
Called his city “Madinat al-Salam” (city of peace).
This was the official name on documents, coins
etc. Yhe city was built mainly of sun-burnt bricks
•
The plan of Baghdad reflects social ideas. Each
quarter had a person in charge, and generally had
a homogeneous group, ethnically or by vocation.
•
Markets play a prominent part in the plan of
Baghdad.
•
Baghdad was a great centre of culture. It was
the home of the Hanafî and Hanbalî school of
law. It was the centre for translations, in the
Bayt al-Hikma and out side, and of some
scientific experimentation. Its mosques,
especially the Jami’ al-Mansur, were great
centres of learning. The large number of
bookshops which were sometimes literary
salons, indicates the extent of cultural
activities.
•
Its poets, historians, and scholars are too
numerous to mention. Not only caliphs, but
ministers and dignitaries gave every
encouragement to learning.
•
The creative period of Islamic culture is
associated with the city
•
During this period, artists, engineers, scholars,
poets, philosophers, geographers and traders
in the Islamic world contributed to agriculture,
the arts, economics, industry, law,
literature,navigation, philosophy, sciences,
sociology, and technology, both by preserving
earlier traditions and by adding inventions and
innovations of their own.
•
Also at that time the Muslim world became a
major intellectual centre for science, philosophy,
medicine and education. In Baghdad they
established the “
House of Wisdom
“, where
scholars, both Muslim and non-Muslim, sought to
gather and translate the world’s knowledge into
Arabic in the Translation Movement. Many classic
works of antiquity that would otherwise have
been forgotten were translated into Arabic and
later in turn translated into Turkish, Sindhi,
Persian, Hebrew and Latin.
A Center for Learning
•
As the city of Baghdad grew, it developed a
reputation for learning and research. Scholars
from all across the Islamic world were
attracted to Baghdad, quickly turning it into an
intellectual hub. This was no surprise because
Islam puts so much emphasis on acquiring
knowledge.
House of Wisdom
•
Caliph Haroon al-Rasheed is credited with expanding the
glory of Baghdad to its greatest height during his reign
from 786 to 809 C.E. He created an intellectual ambience
by encouraging mathematicians, astronomers, scientists,
and philosophers. His son, Caliph al-Mamoon went a step
further by establishing the House of Wisdom in, an
academic institute devoted to translations, research, and
education. It quickly became one of the most famous
centers of learning, attracting scholars from all over the
world, from many cultures and religions. Here, teachers
and students worked together to translate Greek, Persian,
Syriac and Indian manuscripts.
•
They studied the works of Aristotle, Plato,
Hippocrates, Euclid, Ptolemy, Pythagoras,
Brahmagupta and many others. Then, they
began building on and testing the knowledge
of the greatest ancient scholars, resulting in
the development of the scientific method of
observation and experimentation.
University
•
During the later part of the 11th century,
Baghdad introduced the precursor to the modern
university in the form of a chain of madrasahs
which housed students and a salaried faculty.
They were known as the Nizamiyah, after their
founder Nizam al-Mulk, a Seljuk vizier. The largest
and most splendid of these was located in
Baghdad; the great theologian al-Ghazali and the
celebrated historian of Saladin, Baha Eddin, were
lecturers there.
•
The al-Mustansiriyah college was established
in 1234 C.E. by Caliph al-Mustansir. It was a
large two-storied building, oblong in shape,
with a courtyard in the center. Housing and
food were provided for those students who
required it. The curriculum included religious
studies, mathematics, medicine, and history,
among other subjects.
The Scholars of Baghdad
•
It is impossible to list and deal with all the
scholars who lived and worked in Baghdad in
the centuries of Islamic scientific glory (7
th
-
13
th
centuries CE). Thus, here we concentrate
on some who represented diverse disciplines.
Al-Fazari Muhammad ibn Ibrahim
•
he
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, Masha'Allah and Umar ibn Al
Farrukhan Al-Tabari who were themselves
involved in the same task. The first work that Al-
Fazari completed was the
Zij Al-Sindhind Al-
kabir
which bore much Indian influence.
Yuhanna ibn Sarabiyun
•
known in Latin as Ibn Serapion (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.
Abu Al-Wafa Al-Buzjani
(940-998)
•
a
s his name indicates, he was born in Buzjan
(Quhistan) but he flourished in Baghdad where
he died. He was an astronomer and
mathematician. Abu Al-Wafa was the greatest
mathematician of the tenth century, according to
Kattani. He wrote commentaries on Euclid,
Diophantos and Al-Khwarizmi (all lost);
astronomical tables (
zij Al-wadih
) of which we
possibly have a later adaptation; a practical
arithmetic; "the complete book" (
Kitab Al-kamil
)
and a book of applied geometry (
Kitab al
handasa)
.
Al
Karaji
(sometimes spelt as Al-
Karkhi)
•
Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Husayn (Al-Hasan) (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."
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.
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.
'Ali ibn 'Isa
•
He
was a notable oculist (kahhal) of Baghdad
whose life falls in the first half of the 11
th
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. It is the oldest Muslim work on
ophthalmology that is complete and survives in
the original state.
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. He
made astronomical observations in Baghdad
in 1130.
Baghdad, during the Islamic Golden Age, was a center of culture, knowledge, and innovation. It was home to scholars, artists, poets, and philosophers who made significant contributions to various fields. The city's cultural richness and intellectual vibrancy played a crucial role in shaping the Islamic world's advancements in science, philosophy, medicine, and education.
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Presentation Transcript
BAGHDAD The Islamic Golden Age is traditionally dated from the mid-7th century to the mid-13th century at which Muslim rulers established one of the largest empires in history.
ORIGINS The name Baghdad is pre-Islamic, related to previous settlements on the site Arab authors give different hypothetical explanations: the most common of which is given by God or gift of God Others tend to give the name an Aramaic origin meaning, the home or enclosure of sheep
Abbasid Caliph Mansur; Called his city Madinat al-Salam (city of peace). This was the official name on documents, coins etc. Yhe city was built mainly of sun-burnt bricks The plan of Baghdad reflects social ideas. Each quarter had a person in charge, and generally had a homogeneous group, ethnically or by vocation. Markets play a prominent part in the plan of Baghdad.
Baghdad was a great centre of culture. It was the home of the Hanaf and Hanbal school of law. It was the centre for translations, in the Bayt al-Hikma and out side, and of some scientific experimentation. Its mosques, especially the Jami al-Mansur, were great centres of learning. The large number of bookshops which were sometimes literary salons, indicates the extent of cultural activities.
Its poets, historians, and scholars are too numerous to mention. Not only caliphs, but ministers and dignitaries gave every encouragement to learning. The creative period of Islamic culture is associated with the city
During this period, artists, engineers, scholars, poets, philosophers, geographers and traders in the Islamic world contributed to agriculture, the arts, economics, industry, law, literature,navigation, philosophy, sciences, sociology, and technology, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding inventions and innovations of their own.
Also at that time the Muslim world became a major intellectual centre for science, philosophy, medicine and education. In Baghdad they established the House of Wisdom , where scholars, both Muslim and non-Muslim, sought to gather and translate the world s knowledge into Arabic in the Translation Movement. Many classic works of antiquity that would otherwise have been forgotten were translated into Arabic and later in turn translated into Turkish, Sindhi, Persian, Hebrew and Latin.
A Center for Learning As the city of Baghdad grew, it developed a reputation for learning and research. Scholars from all across the Islamic world were attracted to Baghdad, quickly turning it into an intellectual hub. This was no surprise because Islam puts so much emphasis on acquiring knowledge.
House of Wisdom Caliph Haroon al-Rasheed is credited with expanding the glory of Baghdad to its greatest height during his reign from 786 to 809 C.E. He created an intellectual ambience by encouraging mathematicians, astronomers, scientists, and philosophers. His son, Caliph al-Mamoon went a step further by establishing the House of Wisdom in, an academic institute devoted to translations, research, and education. It quickly became one of the most famous centers of learning, attracting scholars from all over the world, from many cultures and religions. Here, teachers and students worked together to translate Greek, Persian, Syriac and Indian manuscripts.
They studied the works of Aristotle, Plato, Hippocrates, Euclid, Ptolemy, Pythagoras, Brahmagupta and many others. Then, they began building on and testing the knowledge of the greatest ancient scholars, resulting in the development of the scientific method of observation and experimentation.
University During the later part of the 11th century, Baghdad introduced the precursor to the modern university in the form of a chain of madrasahs which housed students and a salaried faculty. They were known as the Nizamiyah, after their founder Nizam al-Mulk, a Seljuk vizier. The largest and most splendid of these was located in Baghdad; the great theologian al-Ghazali and the celebrated historian of Saladin, Baha Eddin, were lecturers there.
The al-Mustansiriyah college was established in 1234 C.E. by Caliph al-Mustansir. It was a large two-storied building, oblong in shape, with a courtyard in the center. Housing and food were provided for those students who required it. The curriculum included religious studies, mathematics, medicine, and history, among other subjects.
The Scholars of Baghdad 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- 13thcenturies CE). Thus, here we concentrate on some who represented diverse disciplines.
Al-Fazari Muhammad ibn Ibrahim he was an astronomer that flourished around the second half of the 8thcentury 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, Masha'Allah and Umar ibn Al Farrukhan Al-Tabari who were themselves involved in the same task. The first work that Al- Fazari completed was the Zij Al-Sindhind Al- kabir which bore much Indian influence.
Yuhanna ibn Sarabiyun known in Latin as Ibn Serapion (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.
Abu Al-Wafa Al-Buzjani (940-998) as his name indicates, he was born in Buzjan (Quhistan) but he flourished in Baghdad where he died. He was an astronomer and mathematician. Abu Al-Wafa was the greatest mathematician of the tenth century, according to Kattani. He wrote commentaries on Euclid, Diophantos and Al-Khwarizmi (all lost); astronomical tables (zij Al-wadih) of which we possibly have a later adaptation; a practical arithmetic; "the complete book" (Kitab Al-kamil) and a book of applied geometry (Kitab al handasa).
Al Karaji (sometimes spelt as Al- Karkhi) Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Husayn (Al-Hasan) (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."
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. 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.
'Ali ibn 'Isa He was a notable oculist (kahhal) of Baghdad whose life falls in the first half of the 11thcentury. 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. It is the oldest Muslim work on ophthalmology that is complete and survives in the original state.
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. He made astronomical observations in Baghdad in 1130.
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