The Islamic Science, Technology and Cultural Exchanges that Helped to Spread Islam Beyond the Middle East.

The Battle at Talas - 751 CE - A First Reason of Significance: Papermaking Technology.

751

751 CE Cultural Exchange and Papermaking: The battle of Talas was a substantial fight between the Tang Dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate, because of two reasons. The first is the international transfer technology for papermaking from the Chinese prisoners of war to the administrators of the Abbasid Caliphate. Prior papermaking was almost exclusively a Chinese advantage and producing paper in the Caliphate allowed for low cost capture and storage of knowledge and the mass transmission of literature.

The Battle at Talas - The Second Reason: Du Huan - 752 to 762 CE

752

The Battle of Talas was also important because of a Chinese prisoner of war named Du Huan. He and his companions were paraded through the lands of the Islamic Empire. His importance is that he was scholarly and he was the first of Chinese individuals to have been taken into the central regions of the Islamic world itself. His writings of Islamic Culture, from a Chinese perspective, allowed the Chinese to better understand their neighbors to the west. Du Huan returned to China by ship in 762 CE.

777 CE Al-Fazari - Navigation Instrument: The Astrolabe.

777

Muhammad al-Fazari dies. He is credited with making the first Astrolabe in the Islamic world by innovating upon this Greek invention. Astrolabes are used to tell time during the day and at night and for calculating the times of sunrise and sunset. These were important for determining the accurate prayer times and the direction of Mecca to Muslims; however these instruments were also very sophisticated calculators for performing tasks useful in astronomy, astrology, navigation and surveying.

780 CE - The Birth of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi - Father of Modern Algebra

780

Al-Khwarizmi is credited with advancing Algebra in his book Kitab al-Jabr wa‘l-Muqabala. Prior to this period there were oral traditions for finding unknown values from known numbers. This opened a door to broad developments which allowed arithmetic to be applied in methods that were not possible earlier and hence setting the stage for later advancements in mathematics. His method of reducing and balancing equations are taught in schools today. Al-Jabr is the root word from which we get Algebra.

786 CE - The Library of Wisdom in Baghdad

786

Caliph Harun Al Rashid establishes the Library of Wisdom in Baghdad. The great focal point of intellectual endeavor during the Golden Age of Islam was called the House of Wisdom. When it was a single hall, it was known as Khizanat al-Hikmah or Library of Wisdom and later when it grew it was known as Bayt al-Hikmah or House of Wisdom. It was a thriving center of learning for subjects like astronomy, biology, chemistry, cartography, mathematics, medicine, metaphysics, music, optics and philosophy.

800 CE - Seafaring and Navigation - Ceramics Exports From China

800

Archaeologists have uncovered Tang Dynasty ceramics in West Asian port cities that date back to this time. They have connected and traced the routes from Guangzhou in China, Indonesia, Madras in India, Banbhore in Pakistan and Aden, Suhar, Siraf in the Persian Gulf and Zanzibar in East Africa. A Chinese text, compiled in 800 by Tang Minister and Scholar of Geography, Jia Dan (729–805): “The Route to the Foreign Countries across the Sea from Guangzhou” (Guangzhou tong haiyi dao) survives today.

851 CE - Travelogue Literature - Akhbar al-Sın wa-l-Hind (Accounts of China and India)

851

The compilation Akhbar al-Sın wa-l-Hind or Accounts of China and India is published. Although the author is unknown, a merchant named Sulayman and other merchants and sailors are thought to have contributed to this work. The several copies that have survived give light as to why this book was widely circulated among Muslims who were interested in India and China. Popular into the next century, it spurred Muslims from the Arab World to travel to Asia in search of their fortunes.

859 CE - The First University at Fez, Morocco.

859

Fatima al-Fihriya uses her inheritance to establish Al-Qarawiyin mosque in Fez, Morocco, the mosque later became the earliest university in existence. The curriculum was religious at first but later included the natural sciences. The university was replete with studies of the Quran, theology, law, rhetoric, grammar, Muslim history, elements of chemistry and mathematics, prose and verse writing, logic, geography, and medicine. Scholars and students came from a widespread area.

864 CE Chemistry and Medicine: Muhammad ibn Zakariya’ al-Razi is Born.

864

Muhammad ibn Zakariya’ al-Razi, also known to the west as Rhazes, is born. He is considered the inventor of clinical medicine and students came to him from as far away as China. Al-Razi excelled in documenting his experiments. From his manuscript, The Book of the Secret of the Secrets, we know he was performing distillation, calcination, and crystallization. His categorized substances as earthly, vegetable, and animal and also made compounds like lead oxide, caustic soda, and metal alloys.

936 CE Medicine and Surgery: Abul Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas al-Zahrawi is Born.

936

Al-Zahrawi modernized surgery by making new processes and over 200 surgical instruments, while systematically documenting detailed accounts of his trade. His book, Al-Tasrif, also established the procedures of medicine by stressing the do’s and don’ts in almost all medical conditions. His introduction of catgut for internal stitching is still used from the simplest to the most complicated surgery today. Catgut is the only natural substance capable of dissolving and being accepted by the body.

973 CE Indian Culture and Geology: Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni is Born.

973

A polymath by nature, al-Biruni studied a plethora of subjects. A large portion of his life was lived in India, where he learned the language and studied the culture and geography, which he wrote up in his book called “Chronicles of India”. He also studied the natural history and geology of India and correctly described the sedimentary nature of the Ganges Basin. His mineralogical work was called “Treatises on How to Recognize Gems”, and it made him a prominent expert in this field.

980 CE Advanced Medicine - Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Sina is born near Bukhara in Central Asia.

980

Ibn Sina is born. He is better known in Europe by the Latinized name Avicenna. According to European Physician De Poure: “Medicine was absent until Hippocrates created it, dead until Galen revived it, dispersed until Rhazes [Al-Razi] collected it, and deficient until Avicenna [Ibn Sina] completed it.”
At this time we see medicine, as it was in the Muslim world begin to spread with ibn Sina’s compilation Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb. It is recognized as the most famous medical textbook ever written.

1080 CE Translation of Arabic Texts: Adelard of Bath is born in Bath, England.

1080

As a traveling scholar and England’s first Scientist, he is best known for translating many important Arabic and Greek scientific works of astrology, astronomy, philosophy, and mathematics into Latin. He was one of the first to introduce Arabic numerals to Europe. It is said that he preferred Arabic learning to French learning because the Arabs based their ideas on reason. In 1085 CE, Christians capture Toledo in Spain, making it a center for the translation of Muslim books from Arabic to Latin.

1099 CE Cartography and Navigation: Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti is born in Morocco

1099

Cartographer Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti is born in Morocco. Known simply as al-Idrisi, he created the first map to show most of Europe, Asia and North Africa. Now almost 850 years old, al-Idrisi’s map was compiled centuries before Marco Polo or Columbus traveled the world. Al-Idrisi ranged widely, drawing on older knowledge and interviewing thousands of travelers to make his map the most accurate of its day.

1145 CE Stellar Navigation: Abu Muhammad Jabir ibn Aflah invents a navigational instrument called a Torquetum

1145

Ibn Aflah invents a navigational instrument called a Torquetum. It is a mechanical device that simplified the conversion between spherical and planar coordinates used in astronomical studies. For navigation it could be used somewhat like a modern GPS to triangulate a ships position on the sea using celestial coordinate measurements. The surviving examples today date from the 16th century. The picture is Holbein’s famous painting “The Ambassador” and the arrow points to a Torquetum.

1206 CE Mechanical Machines: Badi az-Zaman Abu l-Izz ibn Ismail ibn ar-Razaz al-Jazari publishes his Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.

1206

Al-Jazari publishes his Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices. Commissioned by King Nasir al-Din of Diyarbakir, the book became an invaluable resource for people of different engineering backgrounds; it described fifty mechanical devices in six categories. His most famous invention was the arrangement of the crank wheel, connecting rod, and piston system, which translates revolving motion into linear motion. This is crucial to pumps, engines, and many other machines.

1255 CE Muslim Carpets: Queen Eleanor, Spanish bride of England’s King Edward I, Brings Andalusian Carpets with Her in Her Dowry.

1255

Muslims developed both the design and weaving technique, so that their carpets came in wonderful colors. The 11th century Tunisian scientist, Ibn Badis, carried out pioneering work on inks and the coloring of dyes and mixtures to produce his book Staff of the Scribes. Muslim carpets were also renowned for their quality and rich geometric patterns of stars, octagons, triangles, and rosettes, all arranged around a large central medallion. Arabesque and floral patterns filled the areas around.

1258 CE The end of an Age: The Mongols Capture and Devastate Baghdad, Followed by Syria, Massacring Inhabitants and Razing Libraries.

1258

The Mongols capture and devastate Baghdad and Syria, massacring inhabitants and razing libraries. Although the later Pax Mongolica lasts for a century, allowing Muslim international trade to flourish, the Muslim world soon suffered the onslaught of Tamerlane in the late 14th through early 15th centuries. These devastations together began the decline and eventual fall of Islamic civilization. This was supplemented by the rise of the West after the 12th century and the discovery of the New World.