At the height of Moorish Spain's prosperity 5000 water wheels straddled
The Christian states
of the north viewed the opulence of Cordoba as a biblical 'Babylon'
and when they conquered Al Andalus they destroyed
The province never recovered.
Debt to Arab scientists
"Trained by Arab
scientists ... I was taught by my Arab masters to be led only by
reason, whereas you were taught to follow the halter
of the captured image of ancient authority."
– Adelard of Bath ('Dodi Ve-Nechdi,' 1137), an
early populariser of Muslim science in the West.
The textile industry flourished in almost all Muslim countries and was the driving force
of the medieval Islamic economy.
Hot climates favoured the
use of light material.
Damask, 'cloth from Damascus,' Syria, a rich silk cloth of
splendid patterns, sometimes with gold or silver thread.
Muslin, so-named from Mosul, the Iraqi city where it was first
Gauze, so-named from from Gaza, the Palestinian city which in
the Middle Ages was the major centre of production.
cottons and silken fabrics – including satin, brocade and muslin – were matchless in quality and were in great demand
in the imperial palaces of both East and the West.
The State robes of medieval Holy Roman Emperors bore Arabic inscriptions!
Cotton (from Arabic 'quton').
The cotton plant is indigenous to most parts of the world – but
not Europe. It was introduced into Spain by the Moors in the 9th century
and was cultivated
In northern Europe at this time, wool was the only fibre used to
make clothing, and a bizarre belief began to circulate that, 'in the
East', tiny animals
called 'Scythian lambs', grew on the stalks of a plant.
Initial imports of cotton from Spain were small and mainly used for
doubt for the candles of Christian churches!
After the expulsion of the Moors Spain's textile industry went into serious
The tabby cat, so-named
because Prince Attãb gave his name
to a district of Baghdad – Al'attabiya – which manufactured
a rich, striped taffeta.
Taffeta itself takes
its name from the Persian 'taftan' ('to shine').
Mohair a fine yarn from
the Angora goat, is so named from the Arabic 'mukhayyir' meaning 'choice')
Nomadic peoples developed woven coverings for the floor of their
tents many centuries BC. By the time of Islam's arrival carpet making
had reached a high artistic standard.
So prized were carpets from the east that Queen Eleanor, the Castilian
bride of King Edward I, brought Andalusian carpets to England as part
of her dowry in 1255. Persian carpets are still considered the best in
In contrast in Europe, during the dark Christian centuries, earth
floors were covered with vermin-ridden straw or rush, woven into mats
for the better off.
a Card ...
Mamluk playing cards
"In the year
1379 there was brought to Viterbo the game of cards, which in
the Saracen language is called 'nayb'"
15th century Chronicles of Viterbo attests to Arab introduction
into Europe of playing cards.
Arabic calligraphy, and other geometric ornamentation,
stimulated by the Islamic prohibition on depictions of
human or animal
the darkest of Christian centuries – the 9th and
10th – a confident, expansive Islamic empire
preserved and extended
much of classical knowledge. 'Enlightened'
caliphs patronized art and science and encouraged
the translation of classical
literature. For the most part Muslim intellectuals were
free to explore wide horizons and made inventions and
discoveries unimagined in Christendom. Without the contribution
of the Islamic world there would have been no European
Renaissance; without Islamic science and technology the
New World would not have been discovered.
the 8th century Iranian Jabir ibn-Hayyan of Kufa (c
721-815) ('Geber' in Europe) transformed alchemy
from an occultist art into a scientific discipline – thus
earning his reputation as the 'father of chemistry'.
Jabir was active both at the royal
court in Baghdad and at his laboratory in Damascus. He wrote
over a hundred treatises (notably, 'Summa Perfectionis')
describing distillation, crystallization, calcination, sublimation and evaporation.
He also wrote works on medicine and astronomy.
Among his many achievements was the distillation of
vinegar into acetic acid, followed by nitric,
hydrochloric, citric and tartaric acids. He went on to combine
hydrochloric and nitric acid to produce aqua
regia – a highly corrosive acid used
to extract and purify gold (a much-valued skill). His insights
led to improvements in rust prevention, tanning, water-proofing,
and the manufacture of steel and glass.
Jabir's pioneering methods in the study of chemical reactions
anticipating by almost a thousand years the principles of
quantitative chemistry and the law of constant proportions.
His work provided the standard texts for European alchemists
As early as the 10th century,
Muslim physicians and surgeons were applying purified
alcohol to wounds as an antiseptic agent. Five hundred years after Jabir's death, the
Spanish alchemist Arnau de Villanova used his distillation
process to produce brandy and whisky. In 1310 sulphuric
Arabs went on to identify a new class of chemicals derived initially
from ashes – the alkalis – and from wine and aluminium sulphate
from the Sahara, Arab chemists
produced alum, used to render dyes more brilliant.
The Arab legacy
al kuhul (hence, alcohol; kohl – eye
<< al'embic (a retort for distillation)
al iksir (hence, elixir – the
fabled 'philosopher's stone'
al kimiya(hence, alchemy, chemistry)
al qaliy (hence, alkalis)
973 -1048 Abu Rayhan al-Biruni speculated
that the Indus valley was an ancient sea basin filled up with alluvials.
He explained artesian wells and natural springs
by the principles of hydrostatics. He also calculated to within
10 miles the radius of the earth.
c. 1253 Egyptian al Ahmad Ibn Yusuf Tifashi wrote
the work 'Flowers of Knowledge of Precious Stones' on
the medicinal and magical uses of gems and minerals.
Talc (from the Arabic 'talq'). Long before talc
was used as a cosmetic it was mixed with mud and other materials
to create a marble-like look for walls in the new cities
Zircon, from Arabic/ Persian 'zarqun',
a hard mineral containing square prismatic crystals. Arab
craftsmen used them as a diamond-like gemstone for hundreds
Borax (from Arabic 'bauraq'), a mineral found
in arid regions. The Egyptians used borax in mummification.
The Romans in Syria used it in glass making. In the 8th century
Arab artisans found a use for borax in gold and silver work.
Antimony (from Arabic 'ithmid') a bluish-white
metallic substance, known to the Romans as 'stibium'. Re-entered
use in Europe as cosmetic and medicine as a result of Latin
translation of Geber.
Medicine, Pharmacology, Botany
Cooking up medicine
than half the remedies and healing aids used by the west
came from Islam, including senna, rhubarb, tamarind, nux vomica, kermes, camphor, syrups, juleps, plasters, pomades, unguents and distilled water."
750 First public pharmacy opens
800 Al Batriq translates the works of the
2nd century Greek Galen into Arabic.
10th century Ar-Razi used mercurial compounds
as topical antiseptics, described the function of the veins
and their valves. Writes critique of Galen.
Muslim chemists, pharmacists and physicians produced thousands
of drugs and/or crude herbal extracts. In the 14th century Ibn
Baytar writes a monumental pharmacopeia listing
some 1400 different drugs.
'Drug' – from
Ibn Zuhr correctly described the nature
of pleurisy, tuberculosis and pericarditis. Az-Zahrawi (d.
1013), accurately documented the pathology of hydrocephalus
(water on the brain) and other congenital diseases and performed
hundreds of surgeries under inhalation anaesthesia with the
use of narcotic-soaked sponges.
Ibn al-Quff and Ibn an-Nafs describe
the diseases of circulation.
973 -1048 Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, the Persian
polymath, in the train of Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi, the conqueror
of India, writes the Kitab-al-Saidana, an extensive
compendium of Arab and Indian medicine. He
describes various 'monstrosities', including 'Siamese' twins.
He also writes the first scientific work of comparative religion Kitab
From the 9th - 15th century, the Medical
School of Salernum (Salerno), Italy, reestablishes
in Europe the medical science of antiquity that had
been preserved and refined by the Moslems after the
fall of Alexandria.
In 1220 all of Aristotle's work was made available in a Latin translation from Arabic by Michael Scotus in Toledo. It was called De Historia Animalium. It was popularised by Albertus Magnus.
By the end of the 13th century there are flourishing
medical schools at Montpellier, Paris, Bologna and
Padua and, as a result of contact with the Arab world,
the first apothecary in Europe in Florence.
Muslim surgical instruments
979-1037 The Persian/Turkish Ibn
Sina (aka 'Avicenna') produces
a compilation of Hippocrates and Galen.
His major work is an encyclopedic compilation of ancient
medical wisdom which forms the curriculum of European medical
schools until the 17th century.
As an alchemist Ibn-Sina improves the distillation process
and 'essential oils' are used extensively
in his practice.
'Saint' Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
Benedictine nun and 'visionary' writes 'Causae
et Curae', an early compendium on herbalism. She
records that cannabis relieves headache.
The 13th-century Arab physician al Samarqandi writes
on aromatic baths, aromatic salves and powders. For sinus
or ear congestion he suggests steams, vapours, and incenses
of marjoram, thyme, wormwood, chamomile, fennel, mint, hyssop
and dill and the burning of herbs in a gourd.
the end of the 9th century, Abbasid administrators had amassed
a great deal of information
on their the vast empire. Official reports were
mixed with geographies,
travellers' journals and tales of natural
interpretation became possible.
Historical writing began with
accounts of the life of the Prophet. Regard
for 'authoritative' sources ('isnad' ) rather
than creative embellishment provided a measure of accuracy.
Idrisi, in 12th century Sicily, was
commissioned to compile the 'Book of Roger' for
the Norman King of Palermo, with accompanying maps. 13th
century Yaqut wrote
a large geographical dictionary,
compiled from many sources.
15th century Ibn
Khaldun, a Tunisian
government official, who served at Arab courts all the way
from Granada to Egypt, established a new standard of
historiography with his great
work 'Muqaddimah,' in which he noted
sociological and natural influences – climate,
social customs, food, superstitions – as well as
rulers and battles.
Architecture – Garden
of columns, capitals, different shaped arches, ribbed cupolas
and mosaics characterised a very distinctive Islamic
combined buildings, plants and fountains with great finesse.
In a style echoing a Roman villa or town house, living areas
were grouped around and opened onto a central courtyard;
high walls shut out the outside.
Gardens to Islam were a mirror of Paradise.
'Patio' entered English from the Spanish,
the concept of an inner court open to the sky developed by
al qobbah 'Arch or Vault', hence, alcove.
Azure (from Persian/Arabic 'al 'lazward').
Hence 'lapis lazuli' – blue stone – much favoured
on Islamic buildings.
Oddly, also echoed in the word dilapidate (which
originally had the meaning 'squander' – i.e. the exuberance
of Islamic design).
860 Brothers Muhammad, Ahmad and Hasan
ibn Shakir write 'Book of Artifices', earliest
extant treatise on mechanics.
1095 -1138 ibn Bajja (aka 'Avempace'),
a native of Saragossa, Spain, writes commentary on Aristotle's
concepts of Motion.
During the 9th century, Ibn Firnas in Spain,
invented a watch-like device which kept accurate time.
pendulum was discovered by Ibn Yunus al-Masri during
the 10th century. He was the first to study and document
of weight-driven, mechanical clocks were produced in
Moorish Spain, both large and small. Designs
included epicyclical and segmental gears, and even a mercury
Latin translations of Islamic
books on mechanics during the
Glass mirrors were in use in Islamic Spain as early as the
11th century. The Venetians, also proficient in fine glass
production, learned the art from
Syrian artisans during
Hanifa and Malik ibn Anas establish
the first Islamic law schools ('Hanafi', 'Malaki').
the 9th century a
more liberal 'Shafii' law school is established
by Idris ash-Shafi and
a more severe 'Hanbali 'school founded
by Ahmad ibn Hanbal follows.
Islam draws no distinction between religious and secular
Sharia law covers both the observance
of religious practice and day-to-day life. As Sharia is
held to be divine it can never be altered but only obeyed.
contrast, not until the 12th century did Europe have Law
at all, when Roman Law (preserved in a fashion
at Constantinople) was rediscovered and
used to establish a harsh jurisprudence.
Sources: W. Cook & R. Herzman, The Medieval World View (OUP, 1983) Fernand Braudel, A History of Civilizations (Allen
William Dalrymple, From the Holy Mountain (Flamingo, 1998)
N. H. H. Sitwell, Outside the Empire-The World the Romans Knew (Paladin,
Edward Gibbon, Decline & Fall, Chapters 50-52 The Coming of Islam,
M. Brett, W. Forman, The Moors, Islam in the West (Orbis, 1980)
Justin Wintle, History of Islam (Rough Guides, 2003)
J. Bloom, S. Blair, Islam - Empire of Faith (BBC Books, 2001)
J. J. Norwich, Byzantium, The Early Centuries (Viking, 1988)
C. McEvedy, The Penguin Atlas of Medieval History (Penguin, 1987)
Robert Marshall, Storm from the East (BBC Books, 1993)
organisation, authority and membership preceded
rather than followed the justifying doctrine. As
the organisation and its needs changed so has the ‘Testament
of God’ adapted accordingly. Dogma – The
Word in all its Savage Glory