Development of Sciences During the Abbasid Period
The Islamic prophet Muhammad can be credited for the unification of the
Arabian Peninsula around the seventh century, which led to a period of
expansion and development under the three subsequent caliphates governed by
his religious successors. These were known as the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661
AD), the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 AD), and the Abbasid Caliphate (750–
1258 AD). The scientific progress that started during the Umayyad period was
carried forward and reached new heights during the Abbasid Period, as the
Abbasids welcomed support from non-Arab Muslims, and no longer drew
legitimacy from the assertion of the superiority of Arab culture like the previous
caliphate.
The second Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, which
became a centre of science, culture, philosophy and invention during the Golden
Age of Islam. The Islamic Golden Age is the era traditionally dated from the 8th
century to the 14th century AD, associated with scientific, economic and cultural
development. This period began during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-
Rashid (786- 809 AD) with the inauguration of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad,
which culminated in prominence under his son al-Ma'mun. It was a library and a
major intellectual center where scholars from various parts of the world with
different cultural backgrounds, such as Christian scholars, gathered and
translated the world's classical knowledge into the Arabic language, and then
into other languages. During the reign of al-Ma'mun, astronomical observatories
were set up, and the House was an unparalleled center for the study of
humanities and for science, including mathematics, astronomy, medicine,
alchemy and chemistry, zoology, and geography and cartography. Drawing
primarily on Greek, but also Syriac, Indian and Persian texts, the scholars
amassed a large collection of world knowledge, and expanded on it through their
personal discoveries. By the middle of the ninth century, the House of Wisdom
had the largest selection of books in the world. The Golden Age ended with the
collapse of the Abbasid caliphate due to Mongol invasions and the Siege of
Baghdad in 1258 AD, during which the House was destroyed.
The immense development of science during this era can be credited to various
factors such as the religious influence of Quranic injunctions, which place value
on education and emphasize the importance of acquisition of knowledge, as well
as the heavy patronage given to scholars, especially the translators in this era.
The people of this time were also heavily focused on assimilating the
philosophical and scientific knowledge of conquered civilizations, and translated
classical works from Greek, Persian, Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, and Phoenician to
Arabic. The democratization of information due to the new and easier writing
system, and the introduction of paper also contributed to the advancement of the
sciences. Among all the nations conquered by the Islamic people, a remarkable
number of scientists originated from Persia, which contributed immensely to the
scientific flourishing of the Islamic Golden Age. Furthermore, the Christian
physicians played a major role in the development of medical sciences in the
Abbasid period. Thus the scientific advancements of this time were a result of a
conflation of various factors. However, the development of sciences was also
heavily dependent on the individual contributions of various polymaths, such as
the following figures.
In the field of chemistry and alchemy, the most notable name was that of Jabir-
ibn-Hayyan, who lived in the early Abbasid period. He was the father of early
chemistry, as well as an alchemist, astronomer, astrologer, engineer, geographer,
philosopher, physicist, pharmacist and physician. He was interested in the
practical applications of chemistry, described methods of metal refinement, cloth
dying, leather making etc., and discovered lead dioxide, nitric acid, silver nitrate
and so on. The origins of the idea of chemical equivalents can be traced back to
him. He also described laboratory techniques and experimental methods that
would continue to be used when alchemy had transformed into chemistry, and
even described processes such as sublimation, reduction and distillation.
In the field of mathematics, Al-Khwarizmi played a significant role in the
development of algebra, arithmetic and Hindu-Arabic numerals. He came to India
in the 9th century and was responsible for making the mathematical and
astronomical knowledge he acquired from India available to the rest of the
world. He combined the Babylonian and Indian numerals into simple and
feasible structures that everyone could use, explained the use of zero and
advanced the decimal system for practical reasons. He also authored the most
profound classical book on Algebra, “Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala.” He was a
pioneer in the fields of geography and astronomy, which were important fields of
interest for Muslim scholars due to their religion’s conditions of worship.
The "father of Arab philosophy", Al-Kindi, was also a mathematician and
physician. His study of Greek scientific and philosophical texts led to his
revolutionization of math, as well as the production of his treatises in astronomy,
astrology, meteorology, pharmacology. He also played an important role in
introducing Indian numerals to the Islamic and Christian world. His most
important work in the medical field was probably “De Gradibus”, where he
demonstrated the application of mathematics to medicine, particularly in the
field of pharmacology, as he had developed a mathematical scale based on lunar
phases that would allow a doctor to determine the most critical days of a
patient's illness in advance.
The famous physician Al-Razi was knowledgeable in most branches of science
such as alchemy and philosophy. He wrote a groundbreaking book about
smallpox and measles, providing clinical characterization of the diseases. He also
discovered many compounds and chemicals, and their medicinal uses such as the
antiseptic usage of alcohol and the purgative function of mercury. He also used
fine strings from animal intestines for stitches during surgery. He is considered
the father of pediatrics by some, as well as a pioneer of ophthalmology. He wrote
many books and treatises on medicine, mathematics, astronomy, and so on. His
greatest work was “Al-Hawi Fi-al-Tibb”, a detailed medical encyclopedia used
across the world until the 15th century. His study in gynecology and obstetrics
led to his development of contraceptive methods for women. He even wrote a
manual of home remedies for the general public. Thus he was one of the greatest
contributors to the medical developments of this era.
Al-Battani's work is considered instrumental to the field of astronomy. He was
an astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician. One of his best-known
achievements in astronomy was his almost accurate determination of duration of
the solar year. He was even able to correct some of Ptolemy's results. He
improved the exactness of measurements related to the Earth's axis and some of
his measurements were superior to those taken by Copernicus later. He also
introduced many trigonometric relations.
Another important figure in terms of scientific discoveries was Hasan Ibn al-
Haytham. He was a mathematician, astronomer, and physicist, who made major
contributions to the principles of optics and visual perception. In his magnum
opus, “Kitab-al-Manaẓir”(Book of Optics), he developed an early scientific
method involving the use of experiments to provide empirical proof that light
rays enter the eyes. In mathematics, he built on the mathematical works of
Euclid and Thabit ibn Qurra and worked on "the beginnings of the link between
algebra and geometry." He also developed a geometrically proven formula for
summing the first 100 natural numbers.
An important pioneer in in the field of astronomy was Al-Biruni, who wrote an
extensive commentary on Indian astronomy in the “Tahqiq ma li-l-hind,”
claiming to have resolved the matter of Earth's rotation in his “Miftah-ilm-
alhai'a” (Key to Astronomy), which has not survived the ravages of time. He even
measured the radius of the earth using a new method. Al-Biruni also contributed
to the introduction of the experimental scientific method to mechanics, unified
statics and dynamics into the science of mechanics, and combined the fields of
hydrostatics with dynamics to create hydrodynamics. He formulated various
methods for exploring densities, weight, and even gravity. One of Biruni's most
important works was a major pharmacopoeia, the "Kitab al-saydala fi al-tibb"
(Book on the Pharmacopoeia of Medicine), describing most of the medicines
known in his time.
Avisenna or Ibn Sina is regarded as a major physician, astronomer, thinker and
writer of the Islamic Golden Age. He wrote a five-volume medical encyclopedia-
“Al-Qanun fi't-Tibb” (The Canon of Medicine), which was used as the standard
medical textbook in the Islamic world and Europe up to the 18th century and
still plays an important role in Unani medicine. He also wrote “Kitab al-Sifa” (The
Book of Healing), a philosophical and scientific encyclopedia.
Finally, although the latter Abbasid period showed a relatively decreased
intellectual zeal for science, it still had some major figures like Omar Khayyam,
who was a Persian mathematician and astronomer. He is most noted for his
work on the classification and solution of cubic equations, where he provided
geometric solutions by the intersection of conics. He can also be considered the
precursor of Descartes in the invention of analytic geometry. As an astronomer,
he composed the Jalali calendar, which proved to be a more accurate
computation of time than the Christian calendar proposed five centuries later.
He also calculated the length of the year upto 5 decimal places.
Thus medicine, astronomy, mathematics and natural sciences flourished
significantly in the Arabic Peninsula during the Abbasid period. It is debatable
whether these developments can be considered a scientific revolution, or if the
medieval Islamic sciences’ only contribution to the world was passing on ancient
and classical knowledge, as well as the works of Indian men of science to
medieval Europe. In any case, the Abbasids witnessed important scientific
developments, and through their translation of classical texts in Latin and
Sanskrit, the Muslim scholars gave impetus to further research and thinking
related to the questions of science. Thus the various discoveries and
developments of this time period such as the introduction of the Indo-Arabic
numeral system and the beginning of the scientific method laid the foundations
for future scientific knowledge and advancements during the Renaissance in
Europe.
