Middle East: Development of Science and Technology

Rise, Contribution and Fall of Islamic Golden Age

Science, Technology and Society

Members:
Bautista, Jhoanna
Busmente, Joyce
Caminong, Arvin
De Guzman, Rae
Jimenez, Jarah
Novio, Cris
Pizon, Kyla
Villanueva, Kyle
I. The Rise of Islamic Golden Age

● In Baghdad, neutrally located between Europe and Asia, the heart of the Caliphate,
Christian and Jewish scholars were invited to join Muslim leaders to trade or share ideas
and information. These scholars were assigned to what amounts to state-sponsored
research projects, including the Islamic world's first astronomical observatory.
● This center of knowledge in the capital of the dynasty was known as the House of
Wisdom - a dedicated space for scholarship.
● Scholars living in Baghdad translated Greek texts (also known as “The Translation
Movement”) and made scientific discoveries—which is why this era, from the seventh to
thirteenth centuries CE, is named the Golden Age of Islam.
● The Islamic contribution to science is monumentally significant. The rise of Islamic science
had its acme between the 8th to 16th centuries, in a period nominally known as the
Islamic Golden Age.

● Arab scientists, writing in Arabic, made staggering breakthroughs which broadened

mankind’s comprehension of the natural world. Arabic scientific inquiry flourished into
major discoveries in the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy, chemistry, medicine
and optics.
● Arab scientists of the 12th century conducted experiments in their pursuit of scientific
inquiry. Using intuition, they made and tested hypotheses, and sought proof to verify their
theories. Such experiments were systematic, repeatable, and yielded quantitative
measurements. These processes would eventually become known as the modern
scientific method.
● Experiment is what differentiated Arabic science from Greek science (which used
theory and speculation, as opposed to prolonged experimentation). Today the modern
scientific method consists of gathering evidence by way of reasoning, formulating
hypotheses and conducting experiments.
II. Islamic Golden Age contribution to Science and Technology

● Ibrahim al-Fazari

○Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Habib ibn Sulaiman ibn Samura ibn Jundab al-Fazari

○The first astrolabe in the Muslim world is attributed to the 8th century Persian
mathematician Fazari.
■ Astrolabes, were astronomical instruments invented in either ancient Greece
or India.
■ Brass astrolabes were developed in Iran (Persia) for navigation and for
finding the quibla (the direction of Mecca). The astrolabe was also
important for navigating the seas and was used by Europeans to chart new
paths on the high seas.

● Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khawarzmi

○ Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi

○ Persian mathematician, considered as the “Father of Algebra” because his book

Algebra is the first treatise on the systematic solutions of linear and quadratic
equations.
■ The word “algebra” comes from the title of a Persian mathematician's famous
9th century treatise "Kitab al-Jabr Wa l-Mugabala" which roughly translates as
"The Book of Reasoning and Balancing."
■ The word “algorithm” is derived from the Latinization of his name, and the
word "al-jabr" is part of the title of his most famous book, one of the
operations used to solve quadratic equations in his book, in which he
introduced the fundamental algebraic methods and techniques for solving
equations.
■ Al-Khawarzmi also introduced the decimal positioning system in
mathematics.
● Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi

○ 9th century Persian doctor also known in Latin as Rhazes

○ Had a great influence on Western medicine and is considered one of the greatest
scientists of the Middle East.
○ Moved Islamic alchemy into another direction.
○ Authored an influential multi-volume encyclopedia of all known medical knowledge
at the time. His monograph on smallpox and measles was groundbreaking.

● Hasan ibn al-Haytham (965-1039)

o also known as “al-Hazen” is one of the most notable scientists of the Islamic

Golden Age. He was a polymath and engineer.

○ He is called the “Founder of Optics” because he first discovered the laws of
refraction. Among his inventions are the camera obscura and pinhole camera.
○ Because he insisted that theories had to be verified by practice, Ibn al-Haytham is
considered the founder of the modern scientific method.

■ He revolutionized optics, taking the subject from one being discussed

philosophically to an actual science based on experiments. He rejected the
Greek idea (Euclid and Ptolemy's theories) that an invisible light emitting
from the eye caused sight, and instead rightly stated that vision was caused
by light reflecting off an object and entering the eye.
■ Discovered the camera obscura phenomenon, which explains how the
eye sees images upright due to the connection between the optic nerve
and the brain.
■ By using a dark room with a pinhole on one side and a white sheet on the
other, he provided the evidence for his theory. Light came through the hole
and projected an inverted image of the objects outside the room on the
sheet opposite. He called this the “qamara”. It was the world’s first camera
obscura.
● Nasir al-Din al-Tusi of Baghdad

○ 13th century Persian astronomer famous for creating a more accurate, earth-
centered planetary model after finding flaws with Ptolemy’s model of planetary
motion. Later, Copernicus drew generously from al-Tusi’s model when
theorizing that the Earth revolves around the sun.
○ Rasad Kaneh is the name of the ancient 13th century Maragheh Observatory that
was built for al-Tusi. Today the site is culturally preserved in Iran.

● Ibn al-Nafis

○ Great Arab scientist in medicine, a 13th century doctor born in Damascus.

o In the 13th century, 300 years before William Harvey’s assertions, Ibn Nafis
charted the circulation of the blood.
○ He pioneered the study of the pulmonary circulation of blood because he was
the first to recognize that lungs purify blood.

● Abul Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbad al-Zahrawi

○ A 10th century cutting-edge surgeon,a man known in the West as Abulcasis.

○ He wrote al-Tadrif, his medical encyclopedia which included a treatise called “On
Surgery”. This held a staggering collection of over two hundred surgical tools.

■ Designed many of our modern surgical instruments still in use today:

scalpels, bone saws, forceps, and fine scissors for eye surgery.
■ This was the first treatise in the history of medicine to illustrate the use of
surgical instruments. In fact, their design was so accurate that they have
had only a few changes in a millennium. It was these illustrations that laid
reference the foundations for surgery in Europe for the next 500 years.
■ He discovered the use of dissolving catgut to stitch wounds -- beforehand a
second surgery had to be performed to remove sutures. He also reportedly
 performed the first caesarean operation and created the first pair of
forceps.
○ Using instruments for surgery was a revolutionary concept because it enabled
science to change from being speculative to something experimental.

● Ismail Al-Jazari (1136-1206)

○ A prolific inventor and a Turkish mechanical engineer during the Islamic Golden
Age. A pious Muslim and a highly skilled engineer who gave birth to the concept
of automatic machines.
○ Wrote “The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices” that presents a
whole range of devices and machines, with a multiplicity of purposes. From all the
presented machines, two are most remarkable: his famous elephant clock and the
crankshaft. He is also fondly referred to as one of the founding Father of
Robotics.
○ Invented the crankshaft in the 13th century, a water pump using a crank-slider-like
system, which was the first known machine to use a crank that put modern designs
like the combustion engine of cars and other mechanisms in motion.
○ Invented mechanical clocks. By 1206, al-Jazari made numerous mechanical
clocks of all shapes and sizes. Just as we need time today to structure our lives,
so did Muslims over seven hundred years ago. The most famous among all of his
mechanical clock is the Elephant Clock, which was by far the most sophisticated
clock at that time

● Abbas ibn Firnas

○ First person to make a real attempt to construct a flying machine and actually
fly. In the 9th century he designed a winged apparatus which roughly resembled
a bird costume.
 In his most famous trial, near Cordoba in Spain, at the age of 70, Firnas
flew upward for a few moments, before plummeting to the ground and
partially breaking his back. His designs would have been an inspiration for
the famous Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci some six hundred
years late.
 o Jabir Ibn Haiyan
o the alchemist Geber of the Middle Ages, is generally known as the “Father of

Chemistry”. Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan, sometimes called “al-Harrani” and “al-
Sufi”. He introduced experimental investigation into alchemy, which rapidly
changed its character into modern chemistry.
○ His contribution of fundamental importance to chemistry includes perfection of
scientific techniques such as crystallization, distillation, calcinations, sublimation
and evaporation and development of several instruments for the same.
○ Major discovery of mineral and others acids, which he prepared for the first
time in his alembic (Anbique). Apart from several contributions of basic nature to
alchemy, involving largely the preparation of new compounds and development
of chemical methods, he also developed a number of applied chemical
processes, thus becoming a pioneer in the field of applied science.
■ His achievements in this field include preparation of various metals,
development of steel, dyeing of cloth and tanning of leather, etc. The
alembic is his great invention, which made easy and systematic the
process of distillation. Jabir laid great stress on experimentation and
accuracy in his work.

III. OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS OF MIDDLE EAST CIVILIZATION

 Hindu-Arabic System
o Al-Khwarizmi helped establish widespread use of Hindu-Arabic numbers: 1, 2, 3,
which replaced Roman numerals (common throughout Europe and the Middle
East as a result of the spread of the Roman Empire),
o The Hindu numerals 1 - 9 and 0 - which have since become known as Hindu-
Arabic numerals - were soon adopted by the entire Islamic world. Later, with
translations of Al-Khwarizmi’s work into Latin by Adelard of Bath and others in the
12th Century, and with the influence of Fibonacci’s “Liber Abaci” they would be
adopted throughout Europe as well.
 Maps
o Maps have helped people find their way for about 3,500 years, the earliest ones
being on clay tablets. The introduction of paper was a huge leap forward in the
art of map making. Modern technology uses a system of satellites and other
receiving devices to compute positions on the earth. Back in history, maps were
made from travelers’ and pilgrims’ accounts.

 University
o The House of Wisdom in Baghdad was an important scientific center during the
Islamic Golden Age. As a library and translation institute, it translated many
important foreign works of science and philosophy into the Arabic and Persians
languages, thereby enriching Arab scientists and thinkers.

o Another notable intellectual institution was the University of Al-Karaouine (also

called Qarawiyyin), in Fes, Morocco. Founded in 859, the university is one of the
primary spiritual and educational centers of the Muslim world and the oldest
continuously operating institution of higher learning. According to the Guinness
Book of World Records the university is the "oldest existing educational
institution in the world." The university curriculum boasts science, math,
rhetoric, chemistry, medicine, and jurisprudence (among other areas of study) it
gradually extended its education to all subjects, particularly the natural sciences,
and so it earned its name as one of the first universities in history. It gradually
extended its education to all subjects, particularly the natural sciences, and so it
earned its name as one of the first universities in history.

o Apart from astronomy, there were studies of the Quran and theology, of law,
rhetoric, prose and verse writing, logic, arithmetic, geography and medicine.
There were also courses on grammar, Muslim history, and elements of chemistry
and mathematics. This variety of topics and the high quality of its teaching drew
scholars and students from all over. Still operating almost 1,200 years later,
Hassani says he hopes the center will remind people that learning is at the core
the Islamic tradition and that the story of the al-Firhi sisters will inspire young
Muslim women around the world today.
 Cuneiform
o Cuneiform is one of the oldest forms of writing known. It means "wedge-shaped,"
because people wrote it using a reed stylus cut to make a wedge-shaped mark
on a clay tablet. Letters enclosed in clay envelopes, as well as works of literature,
such as the Epic of Gilgamesh have been found. Historical accounts have also
come to light, as have huge libraries such as that belonging to the Assyrian king,
Ashurbanipal (668-627 B.C.E.).

 Coffee
o Now the Western world's drink du jour, coffee was first brewed in Yemen around
the 9th century. In its earliest days, coffee helped Sufis stay up during late nights
of devotion. Later brought to Cairo by a group of students, the coffee buzz soon
caught on around the empire. By the 13th century it reached Turkey, but not until
the 16th century did the beans start boiling in Europe, brought to Italy by a
Venetian trader.

 Written Laws
o This idea comes to us from such places as Hammurabi's Code and the written
laws of Rome.

 Medicine
o Before the message of the Prophet Muhammad spread beyond the Arabian
Peninsula, local medical attitudes were based on the words of the founder of
Islam: “Make use of medical treatment, for Allah has not made a disease without
appointing a remedy for it, with the exception of one disease: old age.”
IV. Fall of Islamic Golden Age

● As the Dark Ages ravaged Europe, Islam produced countess works of art, science,
literature, poetry and architecture.
● In 1206, Genghis Khan established a powerful dynasty among the Mongols of Central
Asia,
● In 1258, the Mongols sacked Baghdad and destroyed the House of Wisdom. Legend
holds that so many books were thrown into the Tigris River that it ran black with ink.
● During the 13th century, this Mongol Empire conquered most of the Eurasian land
mass, including China in the east and much of the old Islamic Caliphate in the west.
● The destruction of Baghdad and the house of Wisdom by Hulago Khan in 1258 has
been seen by some as the end of the Islamic Golden Age

SOURCE:
humanities/world-history/medieval-times/cross-cultural-diffusionof-knowledge/a/the-golden-
age-of-islam https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abu-Musa-Jabir-ibn-Hayyan
https://www.intmath.com/basic-algebra/al-khwarizmi-father-algebra.php
https://faithforum.wordpress.com/muslim-contributions-in-technology/
https://www.euronews.com/2019/07/05/what-are-some-middle-east-inventions-that-helped-shape-the-world

https://www.seeker.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-islams-golden-age-1997288472.html