The Golden Age of Islam

During the Golden Age, Muslim scholars, artists, engineers, poets, philosophers and merchants contributed to science, economics, literature, philosophy, maritime affairs, agriculture, both preserving the traditions of the past and using their own inventions. During the reign of the Umayyads, and then the Abbasids, scientists enjoyed great support from the rulers. The practical importance of medicine, military equipment, and mathematics helped the development of the Arab caliphate.

The universal language of science has become the Arabic language . Scientists from different countries from Cordoba to Baghdad and Samarkand had the opportunity to communicate in one language. In the 9th century, the rulers of Baghdad held regular meetings (intellectual majlises), during which theologians, philosophers and astronomers gathered to discuss their ideas.

In the Islamic world, mosques were opened at mosques, where they taught not only religious, but also secular sciences. Many madrassas eventually turned into universities. Muslim rulers organized research centers where scientists could accumulate, develop and share knowledge. The most famous of these scientific centers is the “ House of Wisdom ” (“Beit al-Hikma”), founded by caliph al-Mamun in the 1920s. In addition to Baghdad , the centers of scientific activity in the medieval East at different periods of its history were: Cairo , Damascus , Bukhara , Gazna , Samarkand , Khorezm , Isfahan , Nishapur , Balkh , Cordoba and other cities. In 859, Princess Fatima al-Fihri founded the first modern university in Fez (Morocco). The university, which hosted both men and women, had several faculties and taught many disciplines.

Geographer al-Mukaddasi wrote about the process of becoming Islamic centers of science: "In the East, scientists (ulamo) were valued, while in the West they were valued by scribes" .

Astronomy

Astronomy is one of the fields of science that interested Muslim scholars. In almost all major cities of Islamic states, observatories existed. In 1259, at-Tusi founded the largest at that time in the world Maragin Observatory near Tabriz . Islamic scholars Sharaf al-Din At-Tusi , Nasir ad-Din At-Tusi and Ibn al-Shatir first spoke about the possibility of the Earth's rotation around its axis. Muslims have improved the tool for determining the location of stars and measuring the distance between them (astrolabe). In the 9th-10th centuries , the Musa brothers calculated the length of the earth's circumference.

Khorezm scientist al-Biruni proved that the Earth rotates around its axis and around the Sun. Conducting research near the Indian city of Nandan, he was able to calculate the surface area of ​​the Earth. The method used in this case is referred to in Europe as the “Biruni rule”.

Al-Fergani, a Central Asian scientist, discovered the existence of sunspots, and his works in astronomy have been used in Europe as a teaching aid for 700 years. He became the first scientist to calculate the exact value of the ecliptic curvature.

The Central Asian scientist Ulugbek, in his observatory , whose main instrument was a wall quadrant with a radius of 40 meters and with a working part from 20 ° to 80 °, which had no equal in the world by 1437, compiled the Gurgan zij - a catalog of the starry sky in which 1018 stars. The stellar year length was also determined there : 365 days, 6 hours, 10 minutes, 8 seconds (with an error of + 58 seconds) and the inclination of the Earth's axis: 23.52 degrees (the most accurate measurement).

The main scientific work of Ulugbek is rightfully considered to be "Zigi Jadidi Guragani" or "New Guraganov Astronomical Tables". The author completed this work in 1444 after thirty years of painstaking work and astronomical observations. The astronomical handbook was soon translated into Latin and, along with the Almagest by Claudius Ptolemy and the astronomical tables of the Castilian king Alphonse X, was a manual on astronomy in all European observatories ^[3] .

The accuracy of these tables exceeded all previously achieved in the East and in Europe. Only in the XVII century. Tycho Brahe managed to achieve accuracy comparable to Samarkand observations, and then surpass it. It is not surprising that the Zij Ulugbek constantly attracted the attention of astronomers, both in the East and in Europe.

Calculations of Bettany's solar year almost coincide with modern ones (with an error of only 24 seconds).

Biology

• (1190-1248) in his book described about 1400 medicinal plants and herbs. His work was considered the main scientific source in this area.

Geography

• In the ninth section of his book “Kitab al-harakter as-samaviya wa javami ilm en-nujum” (“The book on celestial movements and the body of science of stars”), the famous medieval geographer al-Fergani describes the seven climates of the Earth.
• In one of the works of al-Battany contains a list of coordinates of 273 geographical objects. The sixth chapter of this book gives a description of the land as a whole, and the seas, including the Black, Azov, and Caspian, are particularly detailed.
• The Persian scholar Ibn Sarafiyyun , who called himself Suhrab (“the poorest of people”) at the beginning of the 10th century, he wrote the work “Kitab 'aja'ib al-aqalim al-sab'a” (“A book about the amazing seven climates”), consisting of tables in which the names of cities, seas, islands, mountains, lakes, rivers and their sources were given, distributed by climatic features and provided with digital data - longitude and latitude.
• The famous Arab traveler Muhammad Ibn Battuta traveled to all countries of the Islamic world - from Bulgaria to Mombasa, from Timbuktu to China. In total, according to some reports, Ibn Battuta covered 120,700 km, which even many modern researchers cannot do.

Math

• Muhammad al-Khwarizmi, an outstanding Central Asian Muslim mathematician, is associated with the introduction of a decimal system of counting, fractions, trigonometric functions, and many other great achievements, without which it is impossible to imagine modern mathematics. He studied the decimal system of calculus from the works of ancient Indian mathematicians in Sanskrit and then distributed among scientists to a huge Arabic-speaking multi-ethnic audience. He wrote the first book on algebra called “Kitab al-Jabr val-Mukabal” (“The Book of Replenishment and Opposition”). The word "al-Jabr" from the title of this book began to sound in the West as "Algebra." The name of the scientist himself has become a household name and denotes the order of actions that uniquely leads to the result - the algorithm ^[4] .

Medicine

The highest achievements of Muslim scholars can be noted in medicine. It was in the Arab Caliphate that hospitals and hospitals were first built, the first medical institutes arose. Muslim doctors have for centuries been at the forefront of science in the field of research on eye diseases. The first hospital in the Caliphate was established in 707 during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid ibn Abdul-Malik. The cost of maintaining this hospital and providing patients with food was borne by the state. In order to avoid the flight of leper patients, he was declared an arrest.

• According to some researchers, Abu Bakr Muhammad ar-Razi (865–925) was the first doctor to describe the pupil response and the first to identify and describe diseases such as chicken pox and fever .
• The famous scientist Ibn Sinah (980-1037), known in the West as Avicenna, is credited with discovering contagious diseases, anesthesia, the connection of psychological and physical conditions, and many other areas of medicine. His book “Canon of Medicine” from the 12th to the 17th century was used as a textbook in the best medical institutes in Europe.
• The Andalusian doctor Abul-Qasim al-Zahravi (936-1013), known as Albuquasis , was the first surgeon to introduce catgut stitches (sheep intestines) into everyday practice. Among his inventions, there are a number of complex surgical instruments, including scalpels, syringes, forceps, and surgical needles. In his work at-Tasrif, he illustrated and described the surgical instruments and surgical procedures performed with their help. In lectures 1 and 2, translated into Latin as “Liber Thoricae”, he classified 325 diseases and explained their symptomatology and treatment. The book includes the topic of dentistry, ophthalmic diseases, and diseases of the ear, nose and throat, head and neck diseases, obstetrics, gynecology, urology and other areas of surgery.
• Cambour Vesim (d. In 1761) systematized knowledge of tuberculosis and was the first to determine the infectious nature of this disease.
• Bakr ibn al-Qasim al-Mausiliy (X century) invented a cannula to remove cataracts by suction. The needle was inserted through the limb, where the cornea is connected to the conjunctiva.
• Ali ibn Isa (XI century) wrote the scientific work "Tazkir" containing a description of 130 eye diseases. For centuries, this book remained the most authoritative publication in ophthalmology until about the middle of the 19th century.
• Ali ibn Abbas (d. In 994) performed a surgical operation in oncology. The medical encyclopedia “Kitabul-Malikiy” written by him has not lost its relevance today.

Navigation

Muslims have shown interest in traveling and studying geography since ancient times. This was facilitated by the desire to spread Islam, trade, as well as the need for pilgrimage (Hajj). The well-known word Admiral came from the Arabian Amir al-Bahr ( Arabic. أمير البحر ).

Industry

Having borrowed production technology from China, the son of the vizier Harun ar-Rashid, Ibn Fazyl built the first paper mill in Baghdad in 794. After 6 years, a similar factory was built in Egypt, and in 950 in al-Andalus. The first paper to appear in Europe was called charta damascaena, that is, damask scrolls ^[5] , which were made from linen ^[6] .

Agriculture

In the era of the Golden Age, Muslims were able to create a developed irrigation system, as well as a clearly thought out crop rotation system, which allows to get a double crop per year on the same land.

Physics

• The Arab physicist ^[7] and mathematician ^[8] al- Khaysam (965-1051), known in Europe as Alkhazen (al-Khazin), the founder of optics, whose work The Book of Optics is put on a par with the works of I. Newton for revolutionary ideas in discovery of optical laws. He gave a description of the structure of the eye and the correct presentation of binocular vision. He suggested the finiteness of the speed of light and conducted experiments with a pinhole camera (the forerunner of modern cameras), experiments on the refraction of light, and experiments with various types of mirrors. The mechanism of reflection of light in spherical mirrors is named after him - "the problem of al-Khazin."
• Abul-Izz Ismail al-Jazari (d. 1206) in his work “Kitabul-Hiyal” (“Book of Dreams”) laid the foundations of cybernetics. He invented the crankshaft, designed valve pumps, water-lifting machines, water clocks, jukeboxes, etc. Al-Jazari owns technological innovations such as: wood lamination, combination locks, a compass hybrid with a universal sundial for any latitude, etc. d.

In 880, a scientist named Ibn Firnas first constructed an apparatus similar to an airplane. He managed to soar for quite a while in the air and land smoothly.

Philosophy

The works of scholars such as Ibn Rushd , al-Kindi and al-Ghazali had a great influence on philosophical thought. In the IX century, the Arabs became widely acquainted with the natural science and philosophical heritage of antiquity. The focus of their attention is Aristotle's philosophy with its predominant interest in the issues of natural science and logic. The assimilation of Aristotelian philosophy, however, was mediated by acquaintance with the work of its later commentators from neoplatonic schools in Athens and Alexandria .

Chemistry

• Jabir ibn Khayyan is considered the founder of chemistry. He described many acids and developed an early version of an experimental research method in chemistry. He first expressed the idea of ​​the enormous energy hidden inside the atom and the possibility of its splitting. According to Ibn Khayyan, when split, a force is formed that can destroy Baghdad .

Architecture

• The Golden Age of Jews in Spain
• Reconquista
• Encyclopedia of Brothers of Purity

in Russian

• Metz A. Muslim Renaissance. - M .: Nauka , 1973.- 473 p.

in other languages

• Bigliardi S. Snakes from Staves? Science, Scriptures and the Supernatural in Maurice Bucaille // Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science . - 2011. - Vol. 46, No. 4 . - P. 793–805. - DOI : 10.1111 / j.1467-9744.2011.01218.x .
• Josef W. Meri (ed.) (2005). Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia . Routledge ISBN 0-415-96690-6 . pp. 1088.
• Tamara Sonn Islam: A Brief History . Wiley 2011, ISBN 9781444358988 , pp. 39-79 ( online copy in Google Books )
• Maurice Lombard The Golden Age of Islam . American Elsevier 1975
• George Nicholas Atiyeh ; John Richard Hayes (1992). The Genius of Arab Civilization . New York University Press . ISBN 0814734855 , ISBN 9780814734858 . pp. 306.
• Falagas, ME; Zarkadoulia, Effie A .; Samonis, George. Arab science in the golden age (750-1258 CE) and today (English) // The FASEB Journal : journal. - Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology , 2006 .-- 1 August ( vol. 20 , no. 10 ). - P. 1581-1586 . - DOI : 10.1096 / fj.06-0803ufm . - PMID 16873881 .
• Thomas T. Allsen . Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia. - Cambridge University Press , 2004. - ISBN 978-0521602709 .