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The research has dealt with funding sources and the budget that the state caliphs dedicated to the library. The study found out that, the house of wisdom has had a very organized administration and affair management system. In addition, new competing libraries have been influenced by the system of the house of wisdom in Baghdad which resulted in the emergence of newfound libraries in Egypt, Maghreb and Andalusia. The Abbasid library had preserved the knowledge and heritage of the ancient civilizations and it passed them to the west with a remarkable contributions, the latter has utilized some of the Abbasid period unprecedented discoveries to flourish and modernize.
This Magnificent Library Holds Treasured Irish History (Video)
After the invasion of Baghdad by the Mongols in (656 AH-1258 AD) they wrecked the library's private and public closets of books, manuscripts, maps, observatories...etc. They burned majority of the collections whilst others were thrown into the Tigris river, some say that the Mongols have built their barns using books instead of clay. The history of libraries is a history of human thought for libraries have been the stronghold of thoughts preserving them and passing them from generation to generation. We can say that among the first centers of human civilization intellect was the library of the Mesopotamian peninsula a saying that has been proved correct by different Cuneiform script writings. Which means that libraries are not founded only in our modern time, but excavations of archaeologists have backed the idea that libraries as ancient as writing for it was a very crucial invention in human history and a factor in ancient civilizations' development. Then in the the 12th century, Toledo in Andalucia (Muslim Spain) became the focus of another huge translation effort – this time from Arabic to latin.
Greek Mythology
For this purpose, al-Mansur founded a palace library, modeled after the Sassanian Imperial Library, and provided economic and political support to the intellectuals working there. He also invited delegations of scholars from India and other places to share their knowledge of mathematics and astronomy with the new Abbasid court. The House of Wisdom included a society of scientists and academics, a translation department and a library that preserved the knowledge acquired by the Abbasids over the centuries. They also researched and studied alchemy, which was later used to create the structure of modern chemistry. Furthermore, linked to it were also astronomical observatories and other major experimental endeavors. Institutionalized by Al-Ma’mun, the academy encouraged the transcription of Greek philosophical and scientific efforts.
Arabic in the Sky: Astronomy a thousand years ago
During this time, Sahl ibn Harun, a Persian poet and astrologer, was the chief librarian of the Bayt al-Hikma. Hunayn ibn Ishaq (809–873) an Arab Nestorian Christian physician and scientist, was the most productive translator producing 116 works for the Arabs. Al-Ma’mun established the House of Wisdom, putting Hunayn ibn Ishaq in charge, who then became the most celebrated translator of Greek texts. As “Sheikh of the translators” he was placed in charge of the translation work by the caliph. Hunayn ibn Ishaq translated the entire collection of Greek medical books, including famous pieces by Galen and Hippocrates.
How One Resident of the Ravaged City of Mosul Is Working to Rebuild its Once Lauded Library
The House of Wisdom flourished under al-Ma’mun’s successors al-Mu’tasim (r. 833 – 842) and his son al-Wathiq (r. 842 – 847), but considerably declined under the reign of al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861). Although al-Ma’mun, al-Mu’tasim, and al-Wathiq followed the sect of Mu’tazili, which supported mind-broadness and scientific inquiry, al-Mutawakkil endorsed a more literal interpretation of the Qur’an and Hadith. The caliph was not interested in science and moved away from rationalism, seeing the spread of Greek philosophy as anti-Islamic. By the eighth century, with western Europe languishing in its dark ages, the Islamic empire covered an area larger in expanse than either the Roman empire at its height or all the lands conquered and ruled by Alexander the Great. So powerful and influential was this empire that, for a period stretching over 700 years, the international language of science was Arabic.
The House of Wisdom: One of the Greatest Libraries in History - Ancient Origins
The House of Wisdom: One of the Greatest Libraries in History.
Posted: Sun, 01 Jan 2017 08:00:00 GMT [source]
It is likely that without the Muslim libraries, modern Europe's scientific and intellectual progress would have been remarkably inhibited. Employees in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad were people of higher intellectual abilities, the same was emulated in every public library across the Muslim world. They often had a staff list that reach sometimes hundreds of copyists, illuminators, binders, translators, and authors. Those whom we can consider librarians were not randomly chosen but they usually were scholars, poets, multilingual and writers who on the other side were well paid by caliphs, rulers or nobles.
Translation
The main means of public transportation are the red double-deck bus (introduced by the British) and the public taxi. Hundreds of thousands of citizens work for the government, directly or indirectly, in the civil service, in government-run educational institutions, and in government-owned industrial and commercial enterprises. However, the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s was a difficult time for the city, as money flowed into the army and thousands of residents were killed. Iran launched a number of missile attacks against Baghdad, although they caused relatively little damage and few casualties. Nevertheless, the city remained one of the cultural and commercial hubs of the Islamic world until February 10, 1258, when it was sacked by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. The Mongols killed most of the city's inhabitants, including the Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta'sim, and destroyed large sections of the city.
Many of the victim's bodies were then dragged through the streets of Baghdad.[citation needed]During the 1970s, Baghdad experienced a period of prosperity and growth because of a sharp increase in the price of petroleum, Iraq's main export. New infrastructure including modern sewerage, water, and highway facilities were built during this period. The masterplans of the city (1967, 1973) were delivered by the Polish planning office Miastoprojekt-Kraków, mediated by Polservice.[83] However, the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s was a difficult time for the city, as money was diverted by Saddam Hussein to the army and thousands of residents were killed.
How modern mathematics emerged from a lost Islamic library - BBC.com
How modern mathematics emerged from a lost Islamic library.
Posted: Mon, 07 Dec 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Ancient Egypt
Adept at the sciences since his early childhood, he had extensions built for each of the house’s different branches of knowledge, where scholars from around the world came to exchange knowledge. The eighth-century mathematician al-Khwarizmi (who introduced what later came to be known as Arabic numerals), the astronomer Yahya ibn Abi Mansurh, the philosopher al-Kindi, and the mystic al-Hallaj, were all regular patrons of the library. Stories like this make me understand just why the belief system of Islam is considered to be ‘ok’ & not a problem to so many Westerners. This shows that the people of that time – these at least- were not extremists & did not hold to the ferocious writings in the Koran that cause the violence of the likes of ISIS nowadays and in other times & places. The problem is always that of the few who take literally every word spelt out in their religious ‘book’ !!! It still gives us a problem in this age as we try to deal with the kooks who want to blow up everyone who won’t just follow their professed ‘God’ !
These helped in bringing people into the city, and around these entrances, markets allowed travelers to trade.[9] The link in trade routes provided goods to the city, which allowed markets to draw people from all over the Middle East. The four straight roads that ran towards the center of the city from the outer gates were lined with vaulted arcades containing merchants' shops and bazaars. Smaller streets ran off these four main arteries, giving access to a series of squares and houses; the limited space between the main wall and the inner wall was due to Mansur's desire to maintain the heart of the city as a royal preserve. There are numerous historic, scientific and artistic museums in Baghdad which include, Iraq Museum, Baghdadi Museum, Natural History Museum and several others. Baghdad has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh), featuring extremely hot, prolonged, dry summers and mild to cool, slightly wet, short winters.
Many of the Abbasid caliphs were patrons of learning and enjoyed collecting both ancient and contemporary literature. Although some of the princes of the previous Umayyad dynasty had begun to gather and translate Greek scientific literature, the Abbasids were the first to foster Greek learning on a large scale. Many of these libraries were private collections intended only for the use of the owners and their immediate friends, but the libraries of the caliphs and other officials soon took on a public or a semi-public character.[60] Four great libraries were established in Baghdad during this period. Another was established by Sabur ibn Ardashir in 991 or 993 for the literary men and scholars who frequented his academy.[60] This second library was plundered and burned by the Seljuks only seventy years after it was established. This was a good example of the sort of library built up out of the needs and interests of a literary society.[60] The last two were examples of madrasa or theological college libraries.
Often, al-Ma’mun would assign handpicked renowned scholars to perform specific translations of works. An example of such was the selection of the famous scholar Abu Yousuf Ya'qoub Al-Kindi, who had an impressive level of qualifications which included being a physician, philosopher, mathematician, geometer, logician, and astronomer, to be the one in charge of translating of the works of Aristotle. But it was also al-Maʾmūn’s reign that brought about a change in wind for Bayt al-Hikmah, which had hitherto specialized in Persian knowledge. In the final years of his reign, he undertook a dramatic shift in the imperial ideology. He endorsed an Islamic theology that stressed free will and dialectical reasoning (see kalām; Muʿtazilah). In an ironic show of force, al-Maʾmūn engaged in an inquisition (the miḥnah) and persecuted those who would not conform.
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