Table Of Content
Many Muslims revere it as the seat of the last legitimate caliphate and others as the cosmopolitan centre of the Arab and Islamic worlds when they were at the height of their grandeur. Still others—including many in the West—know it primarily through print and film as the scene of many tales of The Thousand and One Nights adventures and other accounts found in a rich tradition of Middle Eastern storytelling. In more peaceful times, modern Baghdad has been a prosperous and sophisticated city whose rich cultural life can be measured by its many museums, universities, and institutes and by the myriad scholars and literati who traveled there and made it their home. Throughout the 4th to 7th centuries, scholarly work in the Arabic languages was either newly initiated, or carried on from the Hellenistic period.
Halls of Ancient Wisdom: 7 Remarkable Ancient Libraries
The community has been subject to kidnappings, death threats, vandalism, and house burnings by al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups. As of the end of 2014, only 1,500 Assyrians remained in Dora.[84] The Iraq War took place from 2003 to 2011, but an Islamist insurgency lasted until 2013. It was followed by another war from 2013 to 2017 and a low-level insurgency from 2017, which included suicide bombings in January 2018 and January 2021.[85] Priceless collection of artifacts in the National Museum of Iraq was looted by Iraqi citizens during the 2003 US-led invasion. Under the sponsorship of caliph al-Ma’mun (r. 813 – 833), economic support of the House of Wisdom and scholarship in general was greatly increased.
Twin towns – sister cities
1001 Inventions is an award-winning international science and cultural heritage organisation that raises awareness of the creative golden age of Arabic Science. Other cities in the eastern provinces of the Muslim civilisation also established House of Science (Dar al-‘Ilm), or more accurately Houses of Knowledge, in the 9th and 10th centuries to emulate that of Baghdad. Experts constantly worked to translate the old writings into Arabic to allow the scholars to understand, debate and build on them. Among the famous translators was Youhanna bin Al-Batriq Al-Turjuman (the Translator Jonah son of the Patriarch), who translated the Book of Animals (Kitab Al-Haywan) by Aristotle. Three decades later, the collection had grown so large that his son, Caliph Al-Ma’mun, built extensions to the original building turning it into a large academy named Bayt al-Hikma (the House of Wisdom) that housed different branches of knowledge.
Why the U.S. Should Care About Iraq
It should be pointed out that the Arabic term Khizanat Kutub, meaning literally a bookstore, is an old name meaning a present day library. At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there exist countless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts that have yet to be discovered and explained. Compared to its surroundings, Baghdad was a major center for the spreading knowledge in the areas of Arts, Science and Philosophy. This created a path to facilitate the sharing of ideas and wealth necessary in order to invest in the continuous expansion of this institution. Foreseeing the impending tragedy, the Persian astronomer Nasir al-Din al-Tusi ( ) saved several thousand manuscripts by moving them to the Maragheh Observatory in northwestern Iran, built by Mongol ruler Hulagu in 1259.
The caliph and his court were flush with wealth from tributes paid across the empire. The splendour of Baghdad at that time was immortalized in The Thousand and One Nights. Patronage of the arts and sciences—and, of course, luxury—poured in not only from the caliph but also from the viziers and the other courtiers. Bayt al-Hikmah served as an arm of the caliphal bureaucracy and appears to have been modeled on an earlier Sasanian practice. Persians in the early Islamic era, writing in Arabic, indicated that buyūt al-ḥikmah (literally “houses of wisdom”) followed in the fashion of Sasanian nobility. Middle Persian literature also refers directly to the storage of books pertaining to Zoroastrian religion, Sasanian dynastic history, and scientific knowledge for medical and administrative purposes.
Library of Secrets
The 9th-century Muslim mastermind behind algebraic function - The New Arab
The 9th-century Muslim mastermind behind algebraic function.
Posted: Tue, 15 Nov 2022 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Which means that libraries are not founded only in our modern time, but excavations of archaeologists have backed the idea that libraries as ancient as writing for it was a very crucial invention in human history and a factor in ancient civilizations' development. Baghdad is situated on the Tigris River at its closest point to the Euphrates, 25 miles (40 km) to the west. The Diyālā River joins the Tigris just southeast of the city and borders its eastern suburbs. (See Tigris-Euphrates river system.) The terrain surrounding Baghdad is a flat alluvial plain 112 feet (34 metres) above sea level.
Baghdad's House of Wisdom: Uniting East and West to pursue knowledge
Instruction at the House of Wisdom included rhetoric logic, metaphysics, theology, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, physics, biology, medicine, and surgery, as documented by Artz. By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. We’re the only Pop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. The goal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe. It should not come as a surprise the implementation of new technological developments since the House of Wisdom was open to a great diversity of cultures and ideas.
Al-Ma’mun was personally involved in the daily life of the House of Wisdom, regularly visiting its scholars and inquiring about their activities. Inspired by Aristotle, al-Mamun regularly initiated regular discussion sessions and seminars among experts in kalām. Kalām is the art of philosophical debate that al-Mamun carried on from his Persian tutor, Ja’far. During debate, scholars would discuss their fundamental Islamic beliefs and doctrines in an open intellectual atmosphere. Furthermore, he would often organize groups of sages from the Bayt al-Hikma into major research projects to satisfy his own intellectual needs.
One must also mention that in some of the cities of the Eastern Provinces of the Islamic World, several “Houses of Science” (Dour Al-‘Ilm, singular Dar Al-‘Ilm), or more accurately “Houses of Knowledge”, were established in the 9th and 10th Centuries to emulate that of Dar Al-Hikma in Baghdad. (MJ & AS, pp. 254 & 255; NM, p. 129) Such cities included Mosul, Basra, Shiraz, Rayy, etc. (Encycl. of Islam). The House of Wisdom also housed an observatory which facilitated astronomical advancements, leading to refinements of such scientific tools as the astrolabe.
As many as 30 movie theaters were reported to have been converted to live stages, producing a wide range of comedies and dramatic productions.[135] Institutions offering cultural education in Baghdad include The Music and Ballet School of Baghdad and the Institute of Fine Arts Baghdad. The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra is a government funded symphony orchestra in Baghdad. The INSO plays primarily classical European music, as well as original compositions based on Iraqi and Arab instruments and music.
Later, al-Mamun would appoint him head editor in charge of revising all translations at the House. Al-Mamun’s dedication to collecting texts and expanding the repository of classical knowledge earned him the nickname “the sage of Baghdad”. But Rashid’s eldest son, the seventh Abbasid caliph, al-Mamun ( ), had greater ambitions for the building. Therefore, the House of Wisdom at the time of Rashid was called Bayt al-Hikmah as it was comprised of a single building. What was now known as Bayt al-Hikmah (the House of Wisdom) soon attracted scholars from far and wide, and rapidly expanded to include a translation house, an observatory, and accommodations for visiting scholars.
Founded in 762 CE by caliph al-Mansur as the Round City, Baghdad became the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate and grew into one of the largest scientific centres in the Islamic world during the Golden Age of Islam. Five centuries of peace came to an end in 1258 when the city was destroyed by the Mongols who advanced westwards. After a period of Ottoman rule, Baghdad became the capital of Iraq under a British protectorate and as an independent state. Since then, Baghdad has been subject to war, terrorist attacks and attempts at reconstruction. Its location, on the Tigris River about 330 miles (530 km) from the headwaters of the Persian Gulf, is in the heart of ancient Mesopotamia.
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