GOLDEN AGE FACTS: INVENTIONS AND FACTS FROM MUSLIM CIVILIZATION
The Islamic Golden Age is traditionally dated from the mid-7th century to the mid-13th century at which Muslim rulers established one of the largest empires in history.
During this period, artists, engineers, scholars, poets, philosophers, geographers and traders in the Islamic world contributed to agriculture, the arts, economics, industry, law, literature, navigation, philosophy, sciences, sociology, and technology, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding inventions and innovations of their own. Also at that time the Muslim world became a major intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education.
Abbasid Caliphs Harun al-Rashid and his son, al-Ma’mun, who followed him, established a House of Wisdom in Baghdad—a dedicated space for scholarship. The House of Wisdom increased in use and prestige under al-Ma’mun’s rule, from 813 to 833. He made a special effort to recruit famous scholars to come to the House of Wisdom. Muslims, Christians, and Jews all collaborated and worked peacefully there.
Rival Muslim dynasties such as the Fatimids of Egypt and the Umayyads of al-Andalus were also major intellectual center with cities such as Cairo and Córdoba rivaling Baghdad. The Islamic empire was the first “truly universal civilization,” which brought together for the first time “peoples as diverse as the Chinese, the Indians, the people of the Middle East and North Africa, black Africans, and white Europeans.”
PAPER: A major innovation of this period was paper – originally a secret tightly guarded by the Chinese. The art of paper-making was obtained from prisoners taken at the Battle of Talas (751), spreading to the Islamic cities of Samarkand and Baghdad. The Arabs improved upon the Chinese techniques of using mulberry bark by using starch to account for the Muslim preference for pens vs. the Chinese for brushes. By AD 900 there were hundreds of shops employing scribes and binders for books in Baghdad and public libraries began to become established. From here paper-making spread west to Morocco and then to Spain and from there to Europe in the 13th century.
UNIVERSITIES: The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes the University of Al Karaouine in Fez, Morocco as the oldest degree-granting university in the world with its founding in 859 CE. Al-Azhar University, founded in Cairo, Egypt in the 975 CE, offered a variety of academic degrees, including postgraduate degrees, and is often considered the first full-fledged university.
ARABESQUE: During the Golden Age, the people used a design called an arabesque. The consisted of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils", combining to make a beautiful design. Intricate vines and extravagant floral designs were found all over pottery, textiles, paper manuscripts and buildings. The use of patterns and plants as well as other things, if you were wondering, is due to Muhammad's teachings, that of which includes a restriction against using humans to represent faith.
HOSPITALS: The hospital was one of the greatest achievements of medieval Islamic society. The relation of the design and development of Islamic hospitals to the earlier and contemporaneous poor and sick relief facilities offered by some Christian monasteries has not been fully delineated. In Islam there was generally a moral imperative to treat all the ill regardless of their financial status. The hospitals were largely secular institutions, many of them open to all, male and female, civilian and military, adult and child, rich and poor, Muslims and non-Muslims. They tended to be large, urban structures. The earliest documented hospital established by an Islamic ruler was built in the 9th century in Baghdad probably by the vizier to the caliph Harun al-Rashid. In Egypt, the first hospital was built in the southwestern quarter of present day Cairo in 872 by Ahmad ibn Tulun, the Abbasid governor of Egypt.
MAPS: Al-Idrisi introduced the world map in the 12th century, which is regarded as the most elaborate and complete description of the world made at the time. It was greatly used by travelers for several centuries. Maps have helped people find their way for about 3,500 years in history maps were made from travelers’ and pilgrims’ accounts.
TOOTHBRUSH: Islam was one of the first global religions that emphasized on bodily hygiene. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) popularized the use of the first toothbrush in around the 7th Century, using a twig from the Miswak tree. The twig not only cleaned his teeth but also freshen breath.
FATIMA AL FIHRI: Founded the world's first university. She financed and supervised the building of the Al Qarawiyin Mosque, in Fez, Morocco about 1,150 years ago. It is now the world's oldest active university.
JABIR IBN HAYYAN: Perfected the distillation process which is still used in the creation of perfume, gasoline, and more. He is also famous for discovering Sulfuric acid and Hydrochloric acid.
MIMAR SINAN: Born in Turkey, he was a famous architect and designed and built more than 477 mosques, schools and structures throughout the Muslim world. He was the chief architect for the Ottoman Sultans. Two of his most famous mosques are Selimiye in Edirne, Turkey and Suleymaniye in Istanbul, Turkey.
AL KHWARIZMI: He was the "Father Of Algebra" who introduced new concepts in Math in Baghdad around 830. His book Al Jabr Wa l Muqabala introduced basics of Algebra, that we study today. Al khwarizmi in Latin is known as ALGORITMI, the source of the term, ALGORITHM.
AL IDRISI: In 1154, the Muslim geographer, Al Idrisi finished the first atlas, which showed most of North Africa, Asia and Europe.This was about 100 years before Marco Polo wrote about his travels to China and back.
MUHAMMAD AL KARAJI: An 11th century mathematician and engineer from Persia, he described a network of underground tunnels called QANATS, that could carry water over long distances without evaporation. QANATS are still used in some areas in Iran and other Middle East countries.
AL JAZARI: Made the first machine that combined a crank and connecting rod to convert circular motion to linear motion.
Today crank-rod system is used in everything from car engines to toys.
IBN BATTUTA: In 1324, a 21 year old Moroccan, named Ibn BATTUTA set out for Mecca on a journey that would last 29 years and take him to he four corners of the world. He travelled more than 75,000 miles and 44 countries. He called CHINA the safest and best country for travelers. He is often called the Muslim Marco Polo.
TURKISH KIOSKS OR KOSHKS: A domed hall with open, arched sides. In Muslim civilizations, KOSHKS were usually attached to a mosque and often over looked gardens. "Glass Rooms" or "Conservatories" evolved from koshks. One of the most famous Kiosk or koshk, CINILI KOSHK, was built in 1473 at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.
COFFEE: An Abyssinian goat herder, about 1200 years ago discovered coffee, when his goats got an energy boost after eating some red berries. People soon began boiling berries to make coffee. MOCHA is both the name of a kind of coffee bean and the name of the port in Yemen, that was the center of coffee trade from 15th to 17th centuries.
COTTON: From India was imported to Sicily and Spain by Muslims and became a major crop. The cotton plant is called ALGODON in Spanish, from the Arabic word AL QUTN.
SUGAR CANE: Found its way to Zanzibar, Ethiopia and Spain, thanks to Muslim traders. Today some of the best sugar comes from Zanzibar, now part of Tanzania in East Africa.
The word CHECK MATE comes from the Persian word "Shahmat" which means the king is dead.
9th century philosopher and scientist AL KINDI was the first to lay down the foundations of modern day optics, by questioning earlier theories of vision. He has been called one of the "12 GIANT MINDS of history."
During this period, artists, engineers, scholars, poets, philosophers, geographers and traders in the Islamic world contributed to agriculture, the arts, economics, industry, law, literature, navigation, philosophy, sciences, sociology, and technology, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding inventions and innovations of their own. Also at that time the Muslim world became a major intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education.
Abbasid Caliphs Harun al-Rashid and his son, al-Ma’mun, who followed him, established a House of Wisdom in Baghdad—a dedicated space for scholarship. The House of Wisdom increased in use and prestige under al-Ma’mun’s rule, from 813 to 833. He made a special effort to recruit famous scholars to come to the House of Wisdom. Muslims, Christians, and Jews all collaborated and worked peacefully there.
Rival Muslim dynasties such as the Fatimids of Egypt and the Umayyads of al-Andalus were also major intellectual center with cities such as Cairo and Córdoba rivaling Baghdad. The Islamic empire was the first “truly universal civilization,” which brought together for the first time “peoples as diverse as the Chinese, the Indians, the people of the Middle East and North Africa, black Africans, and white Europeans.”
PAPER: A major innovation of this period was paper – originally a secret tightly guarded by the Chinese. The art of paper-making was obtained from prisoners taken at the Battle of Talas (751), spreading to the Islamic cities of Samarkand and Baghdad. The Arabs improved upon the Chinese techniques of using mulberry bark by using starch to account for the Muslim preference for pens vs. the Chinese for brushes. By AD 900 there were hundreds of shops employing scribes and binders for books in Baghdad and public libraries began to become established. From here paper-making spread west to Morocco and then to Spain and from there to Europe in the 13th century.
UNIVERSITIES: The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes the University of Al Karaouine in Fez, Morocco as the oldest degree-granting university in the world with its founding in 859 CE. Al-Azhar University, founded in Cairo, Egypt in the 975 CE, offered a variety of academic degrees, including postgraduate degrees, and is often considered the first full-fledged university.
ARABESQUE: During the Golden Age, the people used a design called an arabesque. The consisted of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils", combining to make a beautiful design. Intricate vines and extravagant floral designs were found all over pottery, textiles, paper manuscripts and buildings. The use of patterns and plants as well as other things, if you were wondering, is due to Muhammad's teachings, that of which includes a restriction against using humans to represent faith.
HOSPITALS: The hospital was one of the greatest achievements of medieval Islamic society. The relation of the design and development of Islamic hospitals to the earlier and contemporaneous poor and sick relief facilities offered by some Christian monasteries has not been fully delineated. In Islam there was generally a moral imperative to treat all the ill regardless of their financial status. The hospitals were largely secular institutions, many of them open to all, male and female, civilian and military, adult and child, rich and poor, Muslims and non-Muslims. They tended to be large, urban structures. The earliest documented hospital established by an Islamic ruler was built in the 9th century in Baghdad probably by the vizier to the caliph Harun al-Rashid. In Egypt, the first hospital was built in the southwestern quarter of present day Cairo in 872 by Ahmad ibn Tulun, the Abbasid governor of Egypt.
MAPS: Al-Idrisi introduced the world map in the 12th century, which is regarded as the most elaborate and complete description of the world made at the time. It was greatly used by travelers for several centuries. Maps have helped people find their way for about 3,500 years in history maps were made from travelers’ and pilgrims’ accounts.
TOOTHBRUSH: Islam was one of the first global religions that emphasized on bodily hygiene. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) popularized the use of the first toothbrush in around the 7th Century, using a twig from the Miswak tree. The twig not only cleaned his teeth but also freshen breath.
FATIMA AL FIHRI: Founded the world's first university. She financed and supervised the building of the Al Qarawiyin Mosque, in Fez, Morocco about 1,150 years ago. It is now the world's oldest active university.
JABIR IBN HAYYAN: Perfected the distillation process which is still used in the creation of perfume, gasoline, and more. He is also famous for discovering Sulfuric acid and Hydrochloric acid.
MIMAR SINAN: Born in Turkey, he was a famous architect and designed and built more than 477 mosques, schools and structures throughout the Muslim world. He was the chief architect for the Ottoman Sultans. Two of his most famous mosques are Selimiye in Edirne, Turkey and Suleymaniye in Istanbul, Turkey.
AL KHWARIZMI: He was the "Father Of Algebra" who introduced new concepts in Math in Baghdad around 830. His book Al Jabr Wa l Muqabala introduced basics of Algebra, that we study today. Al khwarizmi in Latin is known as ALGORITMI, the source of the term, ALGORITHM.
AL IDRISI: In 1154, the Muslim geographer, Al Idrisi finished the first atlas, which showed most of North Africa, Asia and Europe.This was about 100 years before Marco Polo wrote about his travels to China and back.
MUHAMMAD AL KARAJI: An 11th century mathematician and engineer from Persia, he described a network of underground tunnels called QANATS, that could carry water over long distances without evaporation. QANATS are still used in some areas in Iran and other Middle East countries.
AL JAZARI: Made the first machine that combined a crank and connecting rod to convert circular motion to linear motion.
Today crank-rod system is used in everything from car engines to toys.
IBN BATTUTA: In 1324, a 21 year old Moroccan, named Ibn BATTUTA set out for Mecca on a journey that would last 29 years and take him to he four corners of the world. He travelled more than 75,000 miles and 44 countries. He called CHINA the safest and best country for travelers. He is often called the Muslim Marco Polo.
TURKISH KIOSKS OR KOSHKS: A domed hall with open, arched sides. In Muslim civilizations, KOSHKS were usually attached to a mosque and often over looked gardens. "Glass Rooms" or "Conservatories" evolved from koshks. One of the most famous Kiosk or koshk, CINILI KOSHK, was built in 1473 at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.
COFFEE: An Abyssinian goat herder, about 1200 years ago discovered coffee, when his goats got an energy boost after eating some red berries. People soon began boiling berries to make coffee. MOCHA is both the name of a kind of coffee bean and the name of the port in Yemen, that was the center of coffee trade from 15th to 17th centuries.
COTTON: From India was imported to Sicily and Spain by Muslims and became a major crop. The cotton plant is called ALGODON in Spanish, from the Arabic word AL QUTN.
SUGAR CANE: Found its way to Zanzibar, Ethiopia and Spain, thanks to Muslim traders. Today some of the best sugar comes from Zanzibar, now part of Tanzania in East Africa.
The word CHECK MATE comes from the Persian word "Shahmat" which means the king is dead.
9th century philosopher and scientist AL KINDI was the first to lay down the foundations of modern day optics, by questioning earlier theories of vision. He has been called one of the "12 GIANT MINDS of history."