House of Wisdom
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The House of Wisdom (Arabic: بيت الحكمة; Bait al-Hikma) was a library and translation institute in Abbassid-era Baghdad, Iraq[1]. It is considered to have been a major intellectual center of the Islamic Golden Age. The House of Wisdom acted as a society founded by Abbasid Caliphs Harun al-Rashid and his son al-Ma'mun who reigned from 813-833 CE. Based in Baghdad from the 9th to 13th centuries, many of the most learned Muslim scholars were part of this excellent research and educational institute. In the reign of al-Ma'mun, observatories were set up under, and The House was an unrivalled centre for the study of humanities and for sciences, including mathematics, astronomy, medicine, chemistry, zoology and geography. Drawing on Persian, Indian and Greek texts - Aristotle, Plato, Hippocrates, Euclid, Pythagoras and others - the scholars accumulated a great collection of knowledge in the world, and built on it through their own discoveries. Baghdad was known as the world's richest city and centre for intellectual development of the time, and was second in size only to Constantinople. The great scholars of the House of Wisdom included Al-Khawarizmi, the "father" of algebra, which takes its name from his book "Kitab al-Jabr"
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[edit] Origins
In the Abbasid Empire, scholars translated many foreign works into Arabic and Persian , built large libraries, and welcomed scholars persecuted by the Byzantine Empire [2]. There was also an imperial library in Ctesiphon (now Al-Mada'in)[3][4], and works were also translated at the Academy of Gundishapur, during the Islamic conquest of Persia. In 750, the Abbasid dynasty replaced the Umayyad dynasty as head of the Islamic empire, and in 762, the caliph al-Mansur (reigned 754 - 775) built Baghdad and made it his capital (the previous capital being Damascus). The Abbasid dynasty had a strong Persian bent[5], and adopted many practices from the Sassanid empire - among those, that of translating foreign works, except that now works were translated into Arabic. For this purpose, al-Mansur founded a palace library, modeled after the Sassanid Imperial Library.
The House of Wisdom was originally concerned with translating and preserving Persian works, first from Pahlavi (Middle Persian), then from Syriac and eventually Greek.
Works on astrology, mathematics, agriculture, medicine, and philosophy were thus translated.
The Barmakids were influential in the ensuing movement of restoring and preserving Persian culture. They are also credited with the founding of the first paper mill in Baghdad. The secret of papermaking had been obtained from Chinese prisoners taken at the Battle of Talas (751). Previously, copyists would used papyrus (which is fragile) or parchment (which is expensive). The introduction of paper thus facilitated the multiplication of books and libraries.
The concept of the library catalog was also introduced in the House of Wisdom and other medieval Islamic libraries, where books were organized into specific genres and categories.[6]
[edit] Under Al-Ma'mun
Under the sponsorship of caliph al-Ma'mun (reigned 813 - 833), it seems that 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 al-Mu'tasim (reign 833 - 842) and al-Wathiq (reign 842 - 847), but declined under the reign of al-Mutawakkil (reign 847 - 861), mainly because Ma'mun, Mu'tasim, and Wathiq followed the sect of Mu'tazili, while al-Mutawakkil followed orthodox Islam. He wanted to stop the spread of Greek philosophy which was one of the main tools in Mu'tazili theology.
[edit] Destruction
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.
The House of Wisdom eventually acquired a reputation as a center of learning, although universities as we know them did not exist at that time — transmission of knowledge was done directly from teacher to student, without any institutional surrounding. Madrasahs only began to develop in the city later on, when Nizam al-Mulk founded the Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad.
[edit] Other Houses of Wisdom
Some other places have also been called House of Wisdom:
- In Cairo, Dar al-Hikmah, the "House of Wisdom", was another name of the House of Knowledge, founded by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in 1004.
- There is a research institute in Baghdad called Bayt al-Hikma after the Abbasid-era research center. While the complex includes a 13th century madrasa, it isn't the same building as the medieval Bayt al-Hikma. It was damaged during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Iraq :: The 'Abbasid Caliphate - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
- ^ Wiet. Baghdad
- ^ Ctesiphon
- ^ Ctesiphon
- ^ Wiet. Baghdad
- ^ Micheau, Francoise, “The Scientific Institutions in the Medieval Near East”, pp. 988-991 in (Morelon & Rashed 1996, pp. 985-1007)
[edit] References
- Morelon, Régis & Roshdi Rashed (1996), Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, vol. 3, Routledge, ISBN 0415124107
[edit] External links
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- Centuries in the House of Wisdom in The Guardian - overall history with particular focus on the House of Wisdom
- Legacy of the Islamic Golden Age, with details on the House of Wisdom
- Pictures of the modern Bayt al-Hikma and the damage it took during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- Iraq Manuscript Collections, Archives, - Libraries Situation Report, includes a description of the modern Bayt al-Hikma and it's looting.
- Jeff Oaks: The scholarly milieu of Abu'l-Wafa, with references to the House of Wisdom
- Was al-Khwarizmi an applied algebraist? - with discussion of the role of House of Wisdom (references George Makdisi and Dimitri Gutas)
- Translation Movements in Iran; Sassanian Era to Year 2000, Expansion, Preservation and Modernization
- The Transmission of Knowledge - A case study: the Arab acquisition of Greek science.
