The Abbasids, the Islamic Golden Age & the House of Wisdom
This document is based on descriptions given in:
An Islamic World article on the Abbasids
A Wikipedia article on the House of Wisdom
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The Islamic Golden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the
8th century CE by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the
capital to Baghdad. The Abbasid Khilafah lasted from 750-1258 CE. Khalifah Abu
Jafar al-Mansur, the 2nd Abbasid Khalifah, moved the capital of the Islamic
Empire from Damascus in Syria to Baghdad in Mesopotamia. The reigns of the
infamous 5th Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786 – 809) and his successors
fostered an age of great intellectual achievement.
The Abbasids developed something very similar to the banking system. They did
not have bank buildings but business people invested in long distance trade and
goods were bought on credit. They also had a postal system. Muslim rule unified
the eastern world. They introduced a uniform coinage system that made commerce
easier. The Abbasids treated non-Muslims well. In their time, there were 11,000
Christian churches, and hundreds of synagogues and fire temples.
The Abbassids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith such as
"the ink of scientists is more holy than the blood of martyrs" stressing the
value of knowledge. During this period the Muslim world was a cauldron of
cultures which collected, synthesised and significantly advanced the knowledge
gained from the ancient Roman, Chinese, Indian, Persian, Egyptian, North
African, Greek and Byzantine civilizations. The great wealth made the Abbasids
able to support learning and arts. Muslims believed long before Columbus's time
that the earth was round. They invented algebra. They wrote the first accurate
descriptions of measles and smallpox. They had clean hospitals.
The Muslim world became the unrivalled intellectual centre for science,
philosophy, medicine and education. Caliph Harun al-Rashid established the House of Wisdom
(Bayt al-Hikmah) in Baghdad, where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars from
different lands sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge. Books
about mathematics, meteorology, optics, mechanics, astronomy, philosophy,
medicine, etc. were translated into Arabic from Hebrew, Greek, Persian, Syriac,
and other languages. Muslims collected writings of the schools of Alexandria and
the best philosophical works of ancient Greek. Many classic works of antiquity
that would otherwise have been lost were translated into Arabic and later in
turn translated into Turkish, Persian, Hebrew and Latin. Al-Razi, Ibn Sina, al-Biruni,
and al-Khwarizmi were some of the famous scholars of that time.
The House of Wisdom served as a museum, library, translation office, school, and
meeting centre. There were special departments under qualified professors for
promotion and prosecution of special branches of study. Astronomical
observations were made in the 7th Abbasid Caliph Mamun's reign. Among these
equinoxes, eclipses, the apparitions of comets and other celestial bodies was
most important. The size of the earth was calculated from the measurement of a
degree on the shores of the Red Sea. At this time, Europe was asserting the
flatness of the earth. Abul Hassan invented the telescope. The telescope was
improved and used in the observatories of Maragha and Cairo with great success.
The first observatory of Islam was made in Caliph Mamun's reign at Shamassia on
the plains of Tadmur.
Under the sponsorship of caliph al-Ma'mun (reigned 813 - 833), the House of
Wisdom took on new functions related to mathematics and astrology. The focus
also shifted from Persian to Greek science. At that time, the library was
directed by the poet and astrologer Sahl ibn Harun (d. 830); the other scholars
associated with the library are Mohammed ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (780 - 850), the
Banu Musa brothers (Mohammed Jafar ibn Musa, Ahmad ibn Musa, and al-Hasan ibn
Musa), and Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (801 - 873).
Hunayn ibn Ishaq (809 - 873) was placed in charge of the translation work by the
Caliph. The most renowned translator was the Sabian Thabit ibn Qurra (826 -
901). Translations of this era were superior to earlier ones, however, soon
after, the emphasis on translation work declined, as new ideas became more
important.
The House of Wisdom flourished under al-Ma'mun's successors the Caliphs al-Mu'tasim
(reign 833 - 842) and al-Wathiq (reign 842 - 847), but declined under the reign
of al-Mutawakkil (reign 847 - 861). Caliphs Ma'mun, Mu'tasim, and Wathiq
followed the sect of Mu'tazili, while al-Mutawakkil followed a more dogmatic
interpretation of Islam. He wanted to stop the spread of Greek philosophy which
was one of the main tools in Mu'tazili theology.
Along with all other libraries in Baghdad, the House of Wisdom was destroyed
during the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258. It was said that the waters of
the Tigris ran black for six months with ink from the enormous quantities of
books flung into the river.