islam science throughout history

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Muslim Science

Author: Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhDChief Editor: Professor Salim Al-Hassani Production: Ahmed Salem BSc Release Date: January 2002 Publication ID: 4025 Copyright: FSTC Limited, 2002 2003

An Introduction to

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Introduction to Muslim Science January 2002

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INTRODUCTION TO

MUSLIM SCIENCE

The Greek, a brilliant civilisation, encompassed subjects such as philosophy, mathematics, geography, astronomy

and medicine. Archimedes, Aristotle, Euclid, Socrates, Galen, and Ptolemy are just a few of the great pioneers. When

the Romans took over, a large empire extended from the doors of Asia to England, that also included North Africa

and much of the Middle East. Christianity appeared in Roman times, the Roman civilisation thus straddling both sides

of the Christian calendar: BC and A.D.

The Roman Empire collapsed in the fifth century AD after the invasions of

`barbarian' people, the Vandals, Anglo-Saxons and Franks, who gave the

foundations to today's European nations (the Franks to France, the Anglo-

Saxons to England etc.) Following the fall of the Roman Empire began what

are generally known as the dark ages, which elapsed from roughly the late

fifth century to the late fifteen century.

Whilst the period of Antiquity, the time of Greco-Roman civilisation and the

Renaissance, receive high praise, the period in between (late fifth to the late

fifteenth) is highly obscured. Indeed, the amount of works of all sorts on the

Greek civilisation, for instance, is absolutely staggering, with millions of books,

articles, web sites, institutes, courses, conferences, seminars, films, documentaries, etc...

The Renaissance, needless to say, is even more publicised. The centuries termed as `the dark ages, however, are

the missing centuries in history. It is not as one would think that there is nothing about such centuries; as that is far

from the truth. There are actually millions of works on the dark ages with many departments and thousands of

scholars now dealing with this period. Such a focus, however, is mainly on the successive ruling dynasties, religion, warfare, the feudal system and the crusades.

Science and civilisation, until fairly recently, on the other hand, have received little attention. Somehow, the picture

that has dominated scholarship, and opinion, was that Europe went from the brilliance of antiquity straight into ten

centuries of darkness, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, into the Revival; that very Revival that gave the West the

power and lead it still keeps today. This means, basically, that Western civilisation owes all and everything to

Greece. In other words, Greek learning was dormant for ten centuries (during the dark ages), then, one day, it was recovered, for no reason, just like that, and Europe blossomed again. Somehow, the mathematics, the astronomy,

the optics, the medicine left by the Greeks being absolutely the same, untouched in ten centuries, just dusted off.

To explain this theory, however devoid of any sense or logic, or scientific or historical truth, thousands upon

thousands of `historians and opinion makers assembled spurious facts and fiction and concocted history. This

`history is reproduced in books, classes, films, magazines, on television, daily, all the time; the truth is unchallenged (except by the highly intellectual books, for the initiated). Just recently, thus, on the BBC1, was the programme `The

Greeks, narrated by an actor (Liam Neeson), turned historian for the occasion, pursuing on the same theme that all

modern civilisation owes to the Greeks.




Western history, as generally presented, contains big distortions. Daily, nowadays, everything about such a

history is questioned. No need to go into every single matter here. Just on the subject that matters here, as

Wickens puts it:

`In the broadest sense, the West's borrowings from the Middle East form practically the whole basic fabric of civilisation. Without such fundamental borrowings from the Middle East, he adds, `we should lack the following sorts of things among others (unless, of course, we had been quick and inventive enough to devise them all for ourselves): agriculture; the domestication of animals, for food, clothing and transportation; spinning and weaving; building; drainage and irrigation; road-making and the wheel; metal-working, and standard tools and weapons of all kinds; sailing ships; astronomical observation and the calendar; writing and the keeping of records; laws and civic life; coinage; abstract thought and mathematics; most of our religious ideas and symbols. He concludes that `there is virtually no evidence for any of these basic things and processes and ideas being actually invented in the West. 2

There is a major fallacy in the concept of the `Dark Ages. Haskins,3 followed by scores of others,

demonstrated that Europe experienced its revival in the twelfth century and not in that `magic period of the so called Renaissance (late 15th - early 17th). Sarton4, in his voluminous Introduction to the History of

Science shows both the continuity in scientific progress, the crucial importance of the middle ages and also

the decisive Muslim contribution. Lynn White JR (by no means a fervent admirer of Muslim science)

recognises that the traditional picture of the Middle Ages (5th to the 15th) has been one of historical

decline, particularly in early Middle Ages, the so called dark Ages. Yet such a view of the Middle Ages is

false when viewed from the standpoint of the history of technology.'5

He further adds that:

`the very creative new Islamic civilisation incorporated and perpetuated the technical achievements of Greece and Rome... The idea of so called dark Ages was only applicable to the western portion of the Roman Empire.'6

Whilst Whipple states:

`To many students of medical history and medical science the Middle Ages, or Dark Ages as they have been called, implies a period of regression, of endless controversy, of fruitless arguments of scholasticism and the mention of this period is met with disinterest if not antagonism.7

That period of the `Dark ages coincides exactly with the Muslim apogee. This alone explains very much the hostility

to it.8 Indeed, in the midst of Europe's darkness, almost immediately after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Muslim

civilisation came into being. It was in the year 622 that the Hijra took place and in the year 630, that the Prophet

(pbuh) entered Makkah. Following the death of the Prophet (pbuh), Islam spread to the neighbouring lands,

embraced rapidly by the various local populations. And by the year 750, the Muslim lands stretched from Spain to

the borders of China. Rising with the spread of Islam was a grandiose civilisation. Unlike Europe gripped by darkness, the Muslim scientific revolution took place exactly during the apogee of Islam, from roughly the late 8th

century (2 Hijra) to the thirteenth (7th H). Islam, according to Draper, `had all along been the patron of physical




science; paganising Christianity not only repudiated it, but exhibited towards it sentiments of contemptuous disdain

and hatred.'9 It was, indeed, between the 8th-13th centuries that most decisive scientific inventions were made, and

the foundations of modern civilisation were laid. Scientists and scientific discoveries in their thousands, artistic

creativity, great architecture, huge libraries, hospitals, universities, mapping of the world, the discovery of the sky

and its secrets and much more. It was the time when Al-Biruni, Al-Khwarizmi, Al-Idrissi, Al-Kindi, Ibn Sina, Al-Razi, Ibn Khaldun, Al-Khazin, Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Farabi, Al-Ghazali, Al-Jazari and hundreds more scientists shaped the

modern sciences in such a way that in the mind of Briffault, science `owes a great deal more to the Arab culture, it

owes its existence.'10 And had not it been for such Muslim upsurge, modern European civilisation, he pursues, would

never have arisen at all; and `would not have assumed that character which has enabled it to transcend all previous

phases of evolution.'11 George Sarton speaks of `The Miracle of Arabic science, using the word miracle as a symbol of our inability to explain achievements which were almost incredible... unparalleled in the history of the world.'12

Martin Levey points out to the crucial timing of the Muslim scientific upsurge (during the times of darkness

elsewhere), and also how it was conveyed to Europe.

In a time when the movement of ideas was at a relative standstill, he holds, `the Muslims came along with a new outlook, with a sense of enquiry into the old, and finally to a point where Western Europe could take over this thoroughly examined knowledge and endow its ripeness with a completely fresh approach of its own.13

With the Spanish re-conquest of former Muslim towns and cities, most particularly Toledo, (in 1085), the Christians

came across the vast Muslim learning. Adelard of Bath, Robert of Chester, Plato of Tivoli, Herman of Carinthia,

Gerard of Cremonna, and many others and, of course, the many Jewish intermediaries, translated vast amounts of

scientific works from Arabic into Latin, Hebrew and local dialects. These hundreds of works were to serve as the foundations of Western learning. The courts of Sicily and Muslim Spain also communicated more knowledge and

civilisation. And so did the Crusades, two centuries of warfare and mayhem, and also of cultural intercourse, during

which the Europeans acquired skills of various nature, in architecture, and others. Just as stated by Lowe:,

`The so called Dark Ages were lighter than we used to believe, and there was a constant interchange of knowledge and ideas between the supposedly hostile worlds of the Cross and the Crescent.'14

It is impossible for historians to explain the role of the Middle Ages in the advance of civilisation without referring to

the Islamic role. Some (Lynn White Jr, Duhem; Clagett) did try to rehabilitate the Middle Ages, whilst still lessening

the role of the Muslim. Their works ended up with gaps and contradictions of horrendous dimensions that any

person, however limited in skills could raise. Besides, amongst the Westerners are scholars in the many who keep

unearthing what others try hard to blot out. Sarton, Haskins, E.Kennedy, D. King, Wiedemann, Ribera, Hill, Mieli,

Myers, Suter, Leclerc, Millas Vallicrosa, Sedillot, just to cite a few amongst the many, have put at the disposal of scholarship and audiences so much that is impossible to hide. So the true place of Islamic science can be reclaimed.

Unlike their successors and some of todays `historians, the Muslims never denied the contribution of other races

and peoples to the rise and spread of science. Science and learning have been recognised in earnest by the Muslims

that they were not the God given gifts to one race or entity, and that instead all nations and creeds and colours

shared in genius and creativity. The prophet (PBUH) himself stated the crucial role of China when commanding Muslims to seek knowledge. Muslim scientific intercourse with other people, the Chinese, above all, but also the

Indians, the Africans, the local Europeans people, the Jews and all others dwelling on their lands never ceased.




Many of the scientists under Islam have nothing Muslim about them. Thus, some of Islam earliest and most

prominent scientists at the Abbasid court, Ishaq Ibn Hunayn and Hunayn Ibn Ishaq were Nestorian Christians.

Thabit Ibn Qurrah, the astronomer, was a Sabean. The Bakhishtu family who held most prominent positions in the

court in the ninth century were Christians, too. So were the historian-physician Abul Faraj; Ali Ibn Ridwan, the

Egyptian, who was the al-Hakems Doctor; Ibn Djazla of Baghdad and Isa Ibn Ali, another famed physicist; and so on. Yaqut al-Hamawi, one of Islams greatest geographer-historian, was of Greek antecedents, and so was Al-Khazin

(the champion author of the Balance of Wisdom). The Jews had the most glorious pages of their civilisation under

Islam, too. To name just a couple, Maimonides (philosopher-physicist) was Salah Eddin Al-Ayyubis doctor, and

Hasdai Ibn Shaprut, followed by his sons, held some of the most prominent positions in terms of learning and power

in Muslim Spain. The Ben-Tibbon family were the ones who played a most prominent role in scattering Islamic

learning in all provinces other than Spain (such as the South of France). Nearly all Muslim envoys to Christian

powers were Jews; and about all Muslim trade was in the hands of the Jews, too. Moreover, amongst the Muslims, only a number of such scientists were Arabs; most were instead Turks, Iranians, Spanish Muslims, Berbers, Kurds

thus a myriad of people and origins brought under the mantel of Islam, a religion open to all who sought to, and

excelled in learning. That was the first and by far the most multi-ethnic culture and civilisation that had ever existed,

not equalled in many respects, even today; not even in countries and institutions which keep advertising their equal

opportunity status. One is equally amazed by the general attitude of Muslim scholars in acknowledging who ever

preceded them and whatever theory they utilised; or refuted. Not one single Muslim scholar, as can be found by any reader consulting the works of the likes of Al-Zahrawi, Al-Biruni, Al-Bitruji, or any other, denied the paternity or

authorship of any of their predecessors whether it be Ptolemy, Galen, or Aristotle; or their Indian-Chinese

counterparts. Absolutely not a single instance exists of any of their successors (from Chaucer, to Bacon, to Acquinas,

to Harvey, or Copernicus, or any of such `giants of science acknowledging the real (Islamic) source of their science.

It has to be unearthed by those amongst the most able, inquisitive, fairest historians of our day (Sarton, Meyers,

Mieli, Briffault, Saliba, Hill; etc). Besides, whilst under Islam, Jews and Christians occupied the highest chairs in learning and high ministerial positions in Muslim governments, not a single Muslim occupies today any high learning

position (such as Vice chancellor, or chancellor.) In fact, most university departments in the social sciences (history,

in particular,) are completely Muslim free.

The fitting conclusion is that, in the crucial centuries of the Middle Ages, Europe acquired much knowledge from the

Muslims, and could begin its revival. This revival stretched from present day Italy to Germany, to Holland, an

outburst of creativity in all forms, from science to arts. It was the time of Da Vinci, Copernicus, Gallileo, Kepler, and many more... Muslim navigators had also passed on their skills and knowledge that opened the doors of ocean

navigation. Christopher Columbus, via his Jewish links, relied on Muslim charts, and possibly navigators. Magellans

success in the Indian Ocean owes nearly all to Ibn Majid's guidance and nautical legacy. Europe then built most of

its power on its new colonies.

References

1 BBC2, Saturdays, January 2001, 8pm.

2 G.M Wickens: `What the West borrowed from the Middle East, in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation,

edited by R.M. Savory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976. pp 120-5. At p.120. 3 C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance of the Twefth century, Cambridge, Mass, 1927.

4 G.Sarton: Introduction to the history of science, 3 Vols, Baltimore: The Williams and Wilkins Co., 1927-




1948. Published for the Carnegie Institute of Washington, D.C 5 Lynn White Jr: `Technology in the Middle Ages, in Technology in Western civilisation, Vol 1, edited by M.

Kranzberg and C.W. Pursell Jr, Oxford University Press, 1967, pp 66-79; p. 66.

6 Ibid.

7 A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by

University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977, p.1.

8 The origin of this hostile attitude to that period of history (not the object of this work) goes back to Petrarch, who, so much disgusted by the Muslim imprint on civilisation, decided to brush it off, do away

with the whole period altogether, and link straight Renaissance and Antiquity.

9 J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe. Two vols; revised edition, George Bell

and Sons, London, 1875. vol 2: p. 121.

10 R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, George Unwin and Allen, London, 1928, at p. 191.

11 Ibid p. 190.

12 G. Sarton, Introduction, op cit. 13 M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology, Leiden, E.J. Brill,, 1973, p. 71.

14 A. Lowe: The Barrier and the Bridge, Published by G. Bles, London, 1972. p. 81. Bibliography:

-R. Briffault: The Making of Humanity, George Unwin and Allen, London, 1928.

-J.W. Draper: A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe. Two vols; revised edition, George Bell and Sons, London, 1875. vol 2.

-C.H. Haskins: The Renaissance of the Twefth century, Cambridge, Mass, 1927.

-M. Levey: Early Arabic Pharmacology, Leiden, E.J. Brill,, 1973.

-A. Lowe: The Barrier and the Bridge, Published by G. Bles, London, 1972.

-G.Sarton: Introduction to the history of science, 3 Vols, Baltimore: The Williams and Wilkins Co., 1927-

1948. Published for the Carnegie Institute of Washington, D.C

-G.M Wickens: `What the West borrowed from the Middle East, in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976. pp 120-5.

-A.Whipple: The Role of the Nestorians and Muslims in the History of Medicine. Microfilm-xerography by

University Microfilms International Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1977.

-Lynn White Jr: `Technology in the Middle Ages, in Technology in Western civilisation, Vol 1, edited by M.

Kranzberg and C.W. Pursell Jr, Oxford University Press, 1967, pp 66-79.



Early Muslim Historians

A review on

Author: Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhDEditors: Professor Talip Alp Farooq Bajwa BA, MA, PhD Production: Ahmed Salem BSc Release Date: November 2001 Publication ID: 4016 Copyright: FSTC Limited 2002, 2003



Muslim Historians November 2001


MUSLIM HISTORIANS

The literature on Muslim writing on history is extensively varied and abundant. It is in the form of original manuscripts, possibly thousands of them, scores of treatises on individual historians, many secondary works in the form of articles, and other larger works, some very bulky in size and contents.

To form an idea of such richness, nothing better than starting with some useful references. As with much

else, or nearly everything else, works in German dominate, above all Wustenfelds Geschichtsschreiber der Araber und ihre Werke,1 and Carl Brockelmanns Geschichte der arabischen Literatur,2 both crucial to any avid seeker of knowledge of Muslim historiography. Also necessary to look into, and much more recent, but still in German, is Sezgins Geschichte des arabischen Schriftums3. There are some works by the French, but not as rich as in geography, a subject they master. In English, there is Rosenthals4 A History of Muslim Historiography, and Dunlops section on the subject in his Arab Civilization to AD 1500.5 Humphreys summary in the Dictionary of the Middle Ages covers well the bit of information on the Ottomans and Ibn Khaldun.6 There are

also scores of articles and entries on the subject left and right. The best source, in English, however, and by very

far, remains Sartons Intoduction to the History of Science, that is the appropriate sections in each volume. Sarton literally enlightens on each and every Muslim historian, East and West, and gives the bibliography related to each.

He passes little judgement as far as the ideology of the scholar is concerned, and, above all, keeps away from the

frequent Orientalist-Western practice of seeing good and excellence in every Islamic dissention, or source of

dissention, and its author, and expanding it non-end in their writing, thus turning the mediocre and obscure into

excellent, and obscuring the excellent.

History is the teacher of life'' reminds us De Somogyi.7 Everything that exists, he holds, can only be correctly

understood by its past. Therefore, history is no abstract study but provides the key to the right appreciation of

everything that is actual, that is part and parcel of our own present. Consequently the precise and true recording of

past events and conditions is of great significance for the conscious formation of the future. That is only historical

interest is one of `the oldest mental activities of mankind, which can be found even in the remotest periods of

religious, national, or any other type of human society.8 For Al-Jahiz, history is a `Royal science'. Ibn Khaldun was

to make it so centuries later, setting patterns for others to follow.

Amongst the earliest, or possibly the earliest historian of Islam, is Wahb Ibn Munabbih (d.728) a Yememnite author.

He reports on legends, and reflects on the people of the book, as well as on oral traditions.9 He is also well

acquainted with Biblical texts. His book al-Mubtada (The beginning) is lost, but fragments can be found with Ibn Qutayba and al-Tabari. Although Wahb cannot be considered as a reliable historian,10 he still exerted a big influence

on his followers. On the whole, early Muslim historical writing was primarily concerned with the biography of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (Sirat Rasul Allah) and the first wars of Islam (Al-maghazi) both of which started under the Ummayads. Muhammad Ibn Ishaq (d.768) relates the first biographie Sira known of the Prophet (PBUH), much of

which was incorporated by Ibn Hisham (d.833) in whose work can also be found much on the creation of the of the

world, Biblical prophets, and the advent of Islam. He corrects hadiths, and also rids his accounts of legends and

poetry that are not on the reliable side. The actions and deeds of the Prophet (PBUH) are scrupulously noted, and

his battles described in great detail.11 Ibn Hishams Sirat Muhammad rasul Allah is considered by Dunlop one of the best existing authorities on the life of the Prophet (PBUH).12 The Arabic text of Ibn Hisham, in three volumes, was published at Cottingen by Wustenfeld, whilst a German translation was made by Weil, and an English translation by




A. Guillaume. Al-Waqidi (d.823) the author of Maghazi (battles of the Prophet), is even more rigorous and methodical than Wahb. He indicates his sources clearly, and describes facts as accurately as possible, eliminating

legends.13 Other than Kitab al-maghazi, al-Waqidi produced many other works, twenty eight books listed by The Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim amongst which are Futuh al-Sham, Futuh al-Iraq, etc. With Ibn Sa'd (d.845), a pupil and secretary of Ibn al-Waqidi, begins the genre of biographies of Tabaqats (classes).

His treatise Kitab al-tabaqat al-Kabir (the great book of classes), first deals with the biographies of the Prophet (PBUH), and his companions and later dignitaries of Islam till 845. Ibn Saad elaborates on the qualities of the

prophet, and the main traits of his mission. Taking into account the works of his predecessors, Ibn Saad gives a

larger focus to the embassies sent to the Prophet or sent by him. It is the first major example of religious

biography, universal in scope, trying to include all the religiously relevant persons of Islamic history,

comprising 4,250 entries, 600 of them women.14 Ibn Saads work can be found in a Sachau edition and in others.15

A third type, between Sira and Maghazi literature, is noted by De Somogyi16 that is the historical monograph which

deals with general historical events, but confined to a certain event or period. The founder of this type Abu Mihnaf

(fl.7th century) to whom many works are ascribed.

Influenced very much by Ibn Saad and al-Waqidi is Al-Baladhuri (d.892). He covers Islamic history from its origins

until the Abbasids. His works includes Kitab Futuh al-Buldan and Kitab ansab al-ashraf, the first of these making his reputation,17and is considered indispensable reading in the matter of the Muslim Futuhats. It goes on from Arabia to

Syria, and Mesopotamia and progresses both in a geographical and chronological order. The author takes his

information from people, scholars and officials, relying on a vast correspondence, searching for accurate information.

All details matter to him: culture, economy, politics, social acts, but chooses very strictly, and observes a critical approach, seeking to remain objective as much as possible.18 Al-Baladhuri also gives a very interesting account on

the Muslim presence in southern Italy, a twenty or thirty year history, about which nothing else would be known if it

was not for al-Baladhuri.19 According to al-Masudi, `we know no better book on the conquests of the lands, than al-

Baladhuris.20 As for Kitab Ansab al-Ashraf (book of the Genealogies of the Nobles) is a work of at least twelve volumes, details of which are given by Brockelman.21 Various parts of the work were translated and edited in

multiple languages, such as in Italian by Olga Pinto and Levi della Vida.

Although al-Masudi and his Muruj al-Dahab ranks high in the field, it is Al-Tabari, who, by far, remains the greatest of all amongst Muslim pre-Ibn Khaldun historians. Al-Tabari (d.923) was born at Amul, north of the Elburz range in

the coastal lowlands of the Gaspian sea then called Tabaristan, and died in Baghdad. He is the author of a

monumental work in many volumes Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l Muluk, (History of the Apostles and the Kings), to which the Europeans refer as The Annals.22 In this work, Al-Tabbari looks at Antiquity and the Islamic period up to 915. Known as a commentator of the Kuran, he applies a critical methodology of hadith. He undertakes a series of travels through Iraq, Syria and Egypt, taking witnesses from his contemporaries. As an objective historian, he hardly

expresses any judgement, and keeps a global vision of history.23 His book is a major source of information for

scholars, which according to Ibn Khalliqan is the soundest and most reliable of its kind.24. For the history of Islam

the Annals is no doubt the best single narrative work,25 for its scope (fifteen volumes in the Leiden edition of De

Goeje).26 On the whole, according to Dunlop, with the exception of Ibn al-Athir, whose great history Al-kamil, has not been translated in its entirity (by the time Dunlop was writing, in the early 1970s) into any western language,27 the Annals of al-Tabari is the best work in Arabic for information about the historical development of Islam and the

Caliphate, the most characteristic institution to which the new religion gave rise, and which marks the zenith in world




history of the Arab race.28 For Rosenthal, Al-Tabari brought to his work the scrupulousness and indefatigable long-

windedness of the theologian, the accuracy and love of order of the scholarly jurist, and the insight into political

affairs of the practicing lawyer-politician.29 It was, thus, only natural that his work never ceased to exercise a

considerable influence upon future historians, serving as a model of how history ought to be written.30

Muslim Spain

Muslim Spain produced an excellent crop of historians. Abu bakr Al-Razi (no relation to the physicist and chemist)

flourished in Spain in the year 936-7. He is the earliest whose work has been transmitted to us, and is called by the

Spaniards `El cronista por excellencia (the Chronicler per excellence).31 His Arabic text is lost, but there exist a Castilian version, itself derived from a Portuguese translation.32 Ibn al-Qutiyya (d.977), son of the Gothic woman, a

member of the former ruling dynasty in Wisigothic Spain is the author of Tarikh Iftitah al-Andalus. Al-Andalusi (d.1034), a judge at Toledo, was the author of Tabaqat al-Umam. In it he gives a wide spectrum on civilization up to his time.33 He studies the people and nations that cultivate science and ranks amongst them the Arabs, Hindous,

Iraniens, Greecs, and Jews, showing their contribution to scientific progress. He was subsequently heavily relied

upon by Al-Qifty, Ibn abi Usaybi'a and others. Ibn Hayyan (d.1076) composed Kitab al-Muqtabis fi tarikh al-Andalus34 and Kitab al matin (the Solid Bok), describing the main events around him. He sought to remain objective in his writing throughout despite the upheavals affecting Muslim Spain, then, not disregarding even those events that pained him. Ibn Hayyans Kitab al-matin, which according to Ibn Said contained nearly sixty volumes,35 was believed at one time to be held at the Zaytuna in Tunisia.36 Whether still there remains to be clarified. Al-Humaydi

(d.1095), who came from the city of Majorqa, was a student of Ibn hazm. He emigrated to the Orient because of

troubles in Spain (the beginning of the Spanish Christian reconquest), and established himself in Baghdad. His work

Jawdat al-Muqtabis,37 is about the history of Spanish scholars. It includes many volumes, and gives in alphabetical order the biographies of the main traditionalists, jurists, political figures, army generals etc.. nearly a thousand entries. Al-Humaydi was to become a major source of reference for Al-Maqqari and Ibn Khalikan. Other than these

Spanish historians, more followed, with the main ones published in the series founded by Francisco Codera,

Bibiotheca Arabico-Hispana, from 1882 onwards.38

The Crusades

The history of the crusades, two centuries of warfare (1098-1291), although generally set aside by western writers when dealing with Muslim historians, is well documented by a large number of historians. Ibn al-Athir (d.1233) from

al-Jazira, Baghdad, is one such historians. He belongs to a family of learned brothers, and is the author of Kitab al-kamil fi'l tarikh (the perfect in history). This work has been edited by the Danish orientalist C.J. Tornberg,39 and is, according to Dunlop, with the Annals of al-Tabari, one of the most highly valued sources of Islamic history, highly

reliable and readable. It has been much studied by scholars of the West, Brocklemann making the relationship of the

Kamil and the Annals the subject of his doctoral thesis,40 whilst Sir William Muir uses him as his chief guide after al-Tabari.41 In the book, amongst others, is described the capture of Antioch by the crusaders in 1098, a crusade the

author sees as part of a three pronged attack by the Christian world against Islam: in Spain, in Sicily, and now in the

Holy land.42 Qadi al-fadil al-Baysani (d.1200), some time prior to Ibn al-Athir, was concerned with more events of

the Crusades, notably Salah-Eddins naval expeditions to Aylah and other military operations.43 Another historian of

great repute was Usama Ibn Munqidh (fl. 1138-1188); born in the castle of Shayzar in the Valley of the Orontes,

fifteen miles north of Hamma, but who spent his life mostly in Damascus. Usama lived in the times of Salah Eddin al-Ayyubi, witnessing the first decades of Crusader onslaught and settlement in the Muslim lands, and was himself

involved in fighting them. At an old age he composed Kitab al-Itibar (learning by example), a book which contains




many anecdotes on the customs of the Franks, their inhumanity at peace and at war, and deriding their inferior

medical practice. Editions and translations of Usamas work have been done by Derenbourg44 in French, Shuman45 in

German, Porter46 in English. And from an Escorial (Spain) manuscript,47 Philip Hitti48 delivered by far the best work

of the lot in English. Ibn al-Furat, unlike Usama, gave accounts of the later stages of Frankish presence, of the time

they were being finally driven out by Baybars (about a century after Salah Eddin). Ibn al-Furat was born in Cairo and lived beween the years 1334-1405. He wrote his book, Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk thus some time after the event itself, yet it is a work of great wonder in every sense. This treatise survives, incomplete, in the National Library of

Vienna, whilst a section from it, unknown, has long been preserved in the Vatican Library until discovered by the

French historian: Le Strange. It was he who described this part in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.49 Parts of

Ibn al-Furats work has been selected and translated by U and M.C. Lyons.50 They gave those extracts in two

volumes, the first of which being the Arabic text, the second its translation. From those extracts can be gleaned

some very interesting events of the later stages of the Crusades' presence in Muslim land such as the recovery of Jerusalem, Tiberias, Ascalon and other places from the crusaders. Most of all, Ibn al-Furat describes the rise of and

campaigns of Baybars and his crushing of Mongols, Crusaders, and Armenians.

Lives and Deeds Of Scholars

So many Muslim historians wrote on the lives and deeds of eminent personalities of Islam. Ibn Asakir51 (d.1176) distinguished himself with his great History of Damascus: Tarikh Dimashq. He Lived in Damascus, and taught tradition at the Ummayad Mosque, then in a college. Throughout, he maintained good relations with Ayyubid

sultans. The first two volumes of his treatise are devoted to Damascus and its monuments, and the two others, by

alphabetical order, give the entries on main figures of city: princes, governors, judges, poets, and so on. Ibn

Khalikan,52 born in 1211 at Irbil, Jazirah, east of the Tigris, received his first training from his father. He spent most

of his working life in Syria, though, where he excerted as Qadi and where he taught. His only work, Kitab wafayat al-ayan wa-anba abna al-zaman (the death of great personages and histories of the leading people of the time), is a dictionary of the great men of Islam, containing 865 biographies. In it, he takes considerable pains to give accurate

information, tracing genealogies, spelling names correctly, giving the main traits of each personality, adding

anecdotes, and fixing dates of birth and death; and when insure about a detail, he omits the entry altogether. The

holograph manuscript of the wafayat is deposed at the British Museum, and the manuscript itself has been repeatedly edited by Wustenfeld53 and De Slane,54 on top of the excellent translation by de Slane in English.55

Entries on Ibn Khalikan can also be gleaned in every sort of compendium or encyclopaedia. The rich value of such Islamic works is raised by De Somogyi,56 who points out that although many biographies of European rulers or

autographies from the Middle Ages exist, `we do not know of any such comprehensive and chronologically arranged

collections of biographies or such extensive and alphabetically arranged biographical dictionaries as have survived by

the score in Arabic literature. Such works constitute a rich repository of information from which precious data may

be drawn by Islamic scholars and students of general history alike. And such information can be used for

comparison with, or, and supplementation to the other pertinent sources of Arabic historiography.57

Works on the lives and deeds of Muslim scholars and scientists have also been considerable in numbers and size.

Those by Ibn Nadim, Yaqut al-Hamawi, and Hadji Khalifa will be the object of another work. Here, the ones to refer

to are Ibn al-Qifti and Ibn Abi usaybia, both of whom focussed on the physicians of Islam. Ibn al-Qifti was born in

Qift, in upper Egypt in 1172-1173. He flourished in Cairo, then Jerusalem, and finally Aleppo. 58 He was many times

wazir for the Ayyubid rulers, and was extremely well learned, his library valued after his death at 60000 dinars, which was considerable at the time. Much of al-Qiftis work is lost to us. It only survives in abbreviated form, but is

still being one of the most important sources on Muslim physicians, men of sciences and philosophers. Ibn




abiUsaibia, born in Damascus in 1203-4 in a medical family, studied in Damascus, and worked in the al-Nasiri

Hospital in Cairo. He compiled a collection of medical observations, now lost. His main historical work was Kitab uyun al-anba fi tabaqat al-atiba (sources of information on the classes of physicians), a series of bio-bibliographies of the most eminent physicians from the earliest times until his. It is and remains the main source for the history of

Muslim medicine, dealing with about 400 Muslim physicians. The work is divided in fifteen chapters, evolving from the origins of medicine, and its development, to the physicians of Islam in every country. Because Muslim physicians

also excelled in other sciences, the book informs on such scientific activities as well.59 Wustenfeld derives much of

his information from Ibn Abi Usaybia, but it is Mullers edition, in German, which is most informative including 162

additional pages, a preface, corrections, and a complete index.60 Ibn Abi Usaybia became the authority dealing with

Muslim scientists, Wustenfeld, of course, but above all Lucien Leclerc in his `Histoire de la Medicine Arabe (History of Arab medicine),61 a two volumes (over a thousand pages) unique source of reference on the subject.

Egypt

The history of Egypt, so important in many respects, is handled by Ibn Taghribidi (d.1469) who wrote an-Nujum az-Zahira fi Muluk Misr wal-Qahira (the Brilliant Stars in the Kings of Misr and cairo. It gives excellent accounts of events from the time of the Muslim arrival until 1468, that is to the eve of the authors death. It is divided into seven

volumes of annals; so extensive that. Juynboll, Matthes, and Popper all worked on the edition of parts of the work. Also considerable in length and importance is Al-Maqrizis (d.1442) work. A man of the law, and teacher in Cairo, he

collected his material, much of which absolutely unique, to compile his major work: Kitab al-Khitat.62 In it, all that happened in Egypt throughout the centuries preceding him is extensively described: places, towns, events, daily life,

culture, archaeology, economy and finance. Al-Maqrizi also compiled Kitab al-Suluk li Marifat Duwal al Muluk (book of Entrance to the knowledge of the dynasties of the Kings), which is a history of Egypt from the time of Salah Eddin

(1169) to 1440-1. It is thus a history of two dynasties, the Ayyubids and the Mamluks. The Frenchman Quatremere made a translation of a large portion of this work, and also an edition of the Arabic version up to 1354.63

North Africa

In North Africa, flourished at the end of the thirteenth century Ibn al-Idhari al-Marrakushi.64 He wrote a history of

Africa and Spain, Kitab al-bayan al-mughrib, which includes the most detailed account of the Ummayads of Cordova. Dozy turned the work into French,65 and a partial translation was made in Spanish by Francisco Fernandez Gonzalez.66 Also from North Africa, but belonging to a later era, was Al-Maqqari: (d.1632). Born in Tlemcen, Western

Algeria, he established himself in Cairo. He compiled a whole literary and historical encyclopaedia of Muslim Spain

entitled: Nafh al-Tib.67 The work is divided in two parts, one dealing with the history of Spain, and the other about the life of the historian, wazir, and contemporary of Ibn Khaldun: Ibn al-Khatib, or Lissan ad-din.

Unlike many who prefered to dwell on the romantic poetry side of Lissan ad-Din, De Gayangos went for the more stimulating and highly informative history of Muslim Spain.68 The edition by De Gayangos is over 2000 pages long,

divided into many books, evolving from the pre-Islamic Spain, to the conquest of that country, the description of life

and culture of the Muslims, their cities, Cordova, most of all, the wars between Muslims and Christian, the arrival of

the Berber armies (Almoravids and Almohads) to fight off the Christian onslaught, the divisions and conflicts

between the Muslims, the Christian re-conquest of the country, the fall of Grenada, and in the end, the final

expulsion of hundreds of thousands (or millions) of Muslims from the country. De Gayangos states in the preface, that he fixed his interest upon al-Maqqari because he was to his knowledge the one authority presenting a

continuous history of the Muslim presence in Spain from the beginning and through the centuries. It also offers a




vast store of knowledge derived from other historians, which helps form a critical history of the country.69 Al-Maqqari

transmits the extracts and fragments taken from other works, in most instances giving the titles as well as the

names of their authors, thus presenting the original text of ancient historians whose writings were most probably

lost.70

Ottoman Turks

The history of the Ottoman Turks is one of the richest, if not the richest of all histories, stretching from the Middle

Ages to our times (twentieth century) and over the largest stretch of land ever affected by any single power. It will

require a whole, voluminous encyclopaedia to give it justice. Yet, those centuries and immense vastness, so rich in

events of all sorts, most of which are crucial to our understanding of world history, battles and wars in their

thousands, movements of people, upheavals of gigantic proportions, and so on; all these are as if they had never existed as can be grasped from the works of those writing on Muslim historiography. These are also the very

`scholars who manage to turn obscure figures and events into major landmarks of history. Humphreys,71 a little

more than others, gave one or two glimpses of Turkish history, spelling out one or two comments and some names.

He observes that the earliest historical writing in Ottoman Turkish (mid fifteenth century) seems to represent

a distinct and independent tradition; that it is almost `folkloric in its narrative patterns, relying on a

colloquial style. One example of such is the chronicle of Ottoman history by Ashiq Pasha Zade (fl. 1485). With the Tevarih-i Al-i Osman of Kemalpasha-zade (fl. 1500), however, he adds, Ottoman historians began to adopt `the ornate courtly style used in contemporary Persian historiography.

From the mid sixteenth century on, Ottoman writers began to show some concern for the deeds of sultans

and viziers, and also for the principles which govern the rise and fall of states. This concern, he explains,

being the result of growing consciousness of decadence and decline, as seen in the writing of such imposing figures as Mustafa 'Ali (d. 1600), Katib Chelebi (d. 1657), and Na'ima (d. 1716). The latter two

were particularly impressed by Ibn Khaldun in this specific area, and sought to apply them to the

developments observed within the Ottoman polity. Obviously Humphreys short entry dismisses the matter

all too quickly. At this point it will be too difficult to expand on the whole variety of Ottoman historiography,

but a subsequent return to the subject is most needed. Here suffices it to add one or two other very useful

pointers in relation to Turkish history.

For a good description of Algeria in Turkish times, prior to the French arrival (1830), there is Ali Riza

Pashas Mirat al-Cezayir (a View of Algeria).72 Khayreddin Barbarossa, known in Western circles as a corsair, and who fought the Spanish onslaught on Algeria, also left first accounts of his military campaigns,

and overall description of the condition of the Muslims in Spain. His `Gazavat-I Hayreddin Pasa, British Museum, Or.Ms.no 2798, is the main source for such events. There are also other versions of this

manuscript, as in Italian by A. Gallota,73 or by the Spaniard Francisco Lopez de Gomara.74 Khayreddin was also directly involved in carrying Muslim exiles from Spain during their expulsion, to other Islamic lands. In

his work he particularly resents the loss of those exiles of their children who were kept behind to be raised

as Christians.75

Ibn Khaldun Nothing better to finish this summary than with Ibn Khaldun (d.1406), a figure, who, had he been named

Smith, Jacques or Lopez, would have been declared the greatest mind that ever lived. Despite the usual




dismissive attitudes towards anything Islamic, there is still enough recognition of the genius of such a

figure, from whose work sprang our modern sociology, history, political and economic theory. There are

literally thousands of works that have been devoted to Ibn Khaldun, long and short, as well as conferences,

classes and seminars, besides entries under his name in every encyclopaedia or dictionary, some of them

quite original as that in the universal biography published in French.76 Ibn Khaldoun major work: The Muqquadimma77 (The Introduction) is a gigantic endeavour, a discourse on universal history in six chapters. Chapter one deals with geography: physical and humane. Chapter two deals with urban and rural life.

Chapter three is on the state and its working. Chapter four describes cities, their prosperity and fall.

Chapter five deals with economics, whilst the final chapter covers sciences, their classifications and their

development. Ibn Khaldun also discusses the history of the Arabs, the Jews, the Khalifs, the passage from

family to tribe, their confederation, empires, their natural limits, duration and their fall... He expands on

administration, government, the law, religion, finance, taxes, war, trade, urban and rural life, arts, sciences, architecture, and music, too. In his work, Ibn Khaldun does not just describe events, but also looked at

their source, and elaborated upon them. He criticises some of his predecessors, arguing that information

has to be supported by facts, repeatedly, warning on the pitfalls that can induce historians into errors. He

rejects partiality, always making thoroughly certain of facts; thus giving a new scientific dimension to the

social sciences. In economic theory, four centuries before A.Smith, De Somogyi holds,78 Ibn Khaldun had already

concluded that labour was the source of prosperity. He had also distinguished between the direct source of income in agriculture, industry and commerce, and the indirect source of income of civil servants and private employees. In

respect to universal historiography he was the first to lay the foundation of the pragmatic method and make social

evolution the object of historical research.79 Humphrey explains that Ibn Khaldun was also the first to argue

that history was a true science based on philosophical principles.80 History involves speculation and an

attempt to get at the truth, `subtle explanation of the causes and origins of existing things, and a deep

knowledge of the how and why of events. Historical knowledge, thus, is not the same as factual data about the past, but consists `of the principles of human society' which are elicited from these data in a complex

process of induction and deduction.81 Mere piling up of facts is not the object of historical study if these

facts cannot be determined correctly, there is no basis for historical knowledge in the true sense. And,

following a long held Muslim tradition, and along with most Muslim historians, Ibn Khaldun agreed that

facts depended on the authorities who had transmitted stories about the past, and that these transmitters

should be men widely recognized for their erudition and probity.

Ibn Khaldun advises that historians rely on the past for understanding the present, that they use their own

experience to understand the underlying conditions of their society and the principles governing them. In

studying the past, they must discover the underlying conditions of those times and decide whether and how

far the apparent principles of their own age are applicable. The understanding of the past, thus, becoming

the tool by which to evaluate the present. Ultimately, once they fully understand the laws of human society,

they can apply them directly to any new body of historical information they confront,82 which exactly fits in with the opening statement made at the start of the essay by De Somogyi. With the latter it must be

concluded, that if the degree of evolution of any social type is to be measured by the development of its

historiography, `a prominent place is due to Islam among the cultures of mankind.83




References: 1 F.Wustenfelds Geschichtsschreiber der Araber und ihre Werke (GAW) (1882), 2 Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen (GAL) Literatur, rev. ed., 5 vols. (1937-1949). 3 F.Sezgins Geschichte des arabischen Schriftums (GAS) Vol I (1967) 4 Franz Rosenthal, A History of Muslim Historiography (1952, 2nd rev. ed. 1968), 5 D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilization to AD 1500, Longmann, London, 1971, pp 70-149. 6 R. S. Humphreys: Muslim Historiography, Dictionary of the Middle Ages, Charles Scribners and Sons, New

York, vol 6, pp 250-5. 7 J. De Somogyi: The Development of Arab Historiography, in The Journal of Semitic Studies, Vol 3; pp 373-

387; at p.373: 8 Ibid. 9 C. Bouamrane-L. Gardet: Panorama de la Pensee Islamique, Sindbad; 1-3 Rue Feutrier; Paris 18

(1984).Chapter 12: History. pp 252-66; at p. 253. 10 A.al-Duri: Baht fi nash'at al-tarikh, pp 25-7, quoted in Bouamrane-gardet: Panorama, op cit. 11 C. Bouamrane-L. Gardet: Panorama, op cit, at p.252. 12 D.M. Dunlop Arab Civilization, op cit, p.72. 13 C.Bouamrane-Louis Gardet: Panorama, op cit, at p.253. 14 R.S. Humphreys: Historiography, op cit, p. 253 15 Leiden, Brill, 9 vols, 1904-28. 16 J.De Somogyi: The Development, op cit, p. 376. 17 Edt de Goeje, Brill, edit du Caire; Trad english of P.K. Hitti; and German trans of O. Rescher, 2 vols. 18 S. Al-Munajjad, a'lam al-tarikh, Beyrouth, 2 vols, quoted in C. Bouamrane and L. Gardet: Panorama, op cit. 19 D.M. Dunlop, Arab Civilization, op cit, pp.85-6. 20 In D.M. Dunlop: Arab civilization, op cit, p.84. 21 C. Brockelman: (GAL), op cit, supl, I, p. 216. 22 Edit cairo, 10 Vols; Fr trsltn, reedited Sindbad, Paris, 1979-1984, 6 vols. 23 C. Bouamrane-L.Gardet: Panorama, op cit, p 255. 24 Ibn Khalliqan: Wafayat al-Ayan, ed. De Slane, I, 640. 25 D.M. Dunlop, Arab Civilization, op cit p.89. 26 Leiden, 1879-1901 (reprinted Leiden 1964), including two volumes of Introduction and notes. 27 By the time Dunlop was making such a statement, a UNESCO project was under way to produce a complete

English translation of the work. 28 D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilization, op cit, p.92. 29 F.Rosenthal: History, op cit, pp 134-135. 30 Ibid, p.135. 31 in G.Sarton: Introduction, op cit, vol 1, p.643. 32 Ibid, p.643. 33 Edit Beyrouth and Cairo; trsltn into French by R. Blachere, Paris, 1935. 34 Edit Cairo. 35 Quoted by al-Maqqari, in Nafh al-Tib, ed.Cairo, iv, 172 (ed.Leiden, ii, 122). 36 C.Brockelmann: GAL, i.338. 37 Edt cairo; Cf: A. Gonzales Palencia: Historia de la literatura arabiga-espanola, Madrid; tr. Arab of Husayn Mu'nis,

Cairo, 1955.




38 For details see Brockelmanns GAL. 39 Edit , J. Tornberg, Leiden, 1851-1876. 40 C. Brockelmann: GAL I, 346. 41 Sir William Muir, The Caliphate, Preface to 2nd edt. 42 Ibn al-Athir: kamil, X, p. 112 in F. Rosenthal: History, op cit, at P 147. 43 In F.Rosenthal: History, op cit, P. 175. 44 H.Derenbourg: Ousama ibn Mounkidh, 2 vols, publications de lEcole des Langues Orientales, Paris 1886-

1893.

H.Derenbourg: Anthologie de textes arabes inedits par Ousama et sur Ousama; Paris, 1893. H. Derenbourg: Souvenir historiques et recits de chasse, Paris 1895 (French version of Kitab al-Itibar.)

45 G. Shumann, translation of Kitab a-itibar, Innsbruck 1905. 46 George R. Porter: The Autobiography of Ousama ibn Munqidh, London, 1929. 47 G.Sarton: Introduction, op cit, vol ii, at pp 446-7. 48 Philip.K. Hitti: An Arab-Syrian gentleman and warrior in the period of the Crusades. Memoirs of Usamah

ibn Munqidh, Columbia University , New York, 1929; 49 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol 32, 1900, p.295. 50 U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, selection from the Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of

Ibn al-Furat; 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971. 51 In C. Bouamrane-L Gardet: Panorama, op cit, at p. 257. 52 An excellent summary of his life and work in George Sartons introduction, op cit, vol ii, pp 1120-1. 53 Gottingen 1835-1850. 54 Paris 1832-1842. 55 Baron Mac-Guckin de Slane: Ibn Khallikans Biographical Dictionary (4 vols, quarto, Paris, 1842-171. 56 J.De Somogyi: The Development, op cit, p.385. 57 Ibid. 58 From sarton, Introduction, vol ii, pp 684-5. 59 For more on Ibn abi Usaibia see Sarton: introduction, op cit, vol 2, pp 685-6; 60 A. Muller, 2 vols, Konigsberg, 1884. 61 L.Leclerc: Histoire de la Medicine Arabe, 2 vols, Burt Franklin, New York, reprint, 1971. 62 Al-Maqrizi, Ahmad Ibn Ali. Al-Mawaiz wa Alitibar fi dhikr al-Khitat wa-Al-athar. Edited by Ahmed Ali al-Mulaiji. 3

Vols. Beirut: Dar al Urfan. 1959.

Al-Maqrizi, Kitab al-Khitat, ed. Bulaq; partial French tr. by U. Bouriant and P. Casanova, Description topographique et Historique de l'Egypte, Paris, 1895-1900; Cairo, 1906-20.

63 Cairo, 1956-8, 6 vols, . 64 From G.Sarton: introduction, vol ii, pp 1118-9; 65 A. Dozy: Histoire de lAfrique du Nord et de lEspagne intitules al-bayanol Moghrib par ibn Adhari; 2 vols,

leyden, 1848-1851. 66 F.F. Gonzales: Historia de al-Andalus (vol 1, Granada 1860. 67 Al-Maqqari Nafh al-Tib, ed. Muhammad M. Abd al-hamid. 10 vols, Cairo, 1949. 68 P.De Gayangos: The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain (extracted from Nifh Al-Tib by al-

Maqqari); 2 vols; The Oriental Translation Fund; London, 1840-3. 69 Ibid, preface, p.xiii 70 Ibid, preface, p.xv. 71 R.Humphreys: Muslim Historiography, op cit, p. 251.




72 Trans Ali Sevki, Istambul, 1876. 73 A.Gallota: Le Gazawat di Hayreddin Barbarossa, Studi Magrebini 3 (1970): 79-160. 74 F.L. de Gomara: Cronica de los Barbarojas, in Memorial historico espanol, vol 6; Madrid 1853. 75 Ghazavat, op cit, fol 29b, 30b. For sources on this particular event, and other points on Turkish history,

see A.C. Hess: The Forgotten Frontier, The University of Chicago press, 1978; chapter seven: Islam expelled.

76 Biographie Universelle: New Edition, published under the direction of M. Michaud, Paris, 1857. Vol, XX, pp. 268-70.

77 Ibn Khaldun: The Muqqaddimah, tr. F. Rosenthal; 3 vols. New York, 1958. 78 J. de Somogyi: The Development, op cit, p. 385. 79 Ibid, at p. 387. 80 R. Humphreys: Muslim Historiography, op cit, p. 254. 81 Ibid. 82 Mostly derived from the summary by Humphreys: Muslim historiography, op cit, p. 254. 83 J.de Somogyi: The Development, op cit, at p. 373.

Bibliography

Al-Andalusi: Tabaqat al-Umam. Edit Beyrouth and Cairo; trsltn into French by R. Blachere, Paris, 1935.

Ibn al-Athir:Kitab al-kamil fi'l tarikh (the perfect in history).Edit , J. Tornberg, Leiden, 1851-1876. Ali Riza Pashas Mirat al-Cezayir (a View of Algeria)Trans Ali Sevki, Istambul, 1876. Al-Baladhuri: Kitab Futuh al-Buldan, Edt de Goeje, Brill, edit du Caire; Trad english of P.K. Hitti; and German

trans of O. Rescher, 2 vols.

Biographie Universelle: New Edition, published under the direction of M. Michaud, Paris, 1857. Vol, XX, pp. 268-70.

C. Bouamrane-L. Gardet: Panorama de la Pensee Islamique, Sindbad; 1-3 Rue Feutrier; Paris 18 (1984).Chapter 12: History. pp 252-66.

Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen (GAL) Literatur, rev. ed., 5 vols. (1937-1949). H.Derenbourg: Ousama ibn Mounkidh, 2 vols, publications de lEcole des Langues Orientales, Paris 1886-

1893.

H.Derenbourg: Anthologie de textes arabes inedits par Ousama et sur Ousama; Paris, 1893. H. Derenbourg: Souvenir historiques et recits de chasse, Paris 1895 (French version of Kitab al-Itibar.) Baron Mac-Guckin De Slane: Ibn Khallikans Biographical Dictionary (4 vols, quarto, Paris, 1842-171. A. Dozy: Histoire de lAfrique du Nord et de lEspagne intitules al-bayanol Moghrib par ibn Adhari; 2

vols, leyden, 1848-1851.

D.M. Dunlop: Arab Civilization to AD 1500, Longmann, London, 1971, pp 70-149. A.al-Duri: Baht fi nash'at al-tarikh, pp 25-7, quoted in Bouamrane-gardet: Panorama, op cit. A.Gallota: Le Gazawat di Hayreddin Barbarossa, Studi Magrebini 3 (1970): 79-160. P.De Gayangos: The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain (extracted from Nifh Al-Tib by al-

Maqqari); 2 vols; The Oriental Translation Fund; London, 1840-3.

F.L. de Gomara: Cronica de los Barbarojas, in Memorial historico espanol, vol 6; Madrid 1853. F.F. Gonzales: Historia de al-Andalus (vol 1, Granada 1860. A.C. Hess: The Forgotten Frontier, The University of Chicago press, 1978; chapter seven: Islam expelled. Philip.K. Hitti: An Arab-Syrian gentleman and warrior in the period of the Crusades. Memoirs of Usamah




ibn Munqidh, Columbia University , New York, 1929.

R. S. Humphreys: Muslim Historiography, Dictionary of the Middle Ages, Charles Scribners and Sons, New York, vol 6, pp 250-5.

Ibn Khaldun: The Muqqaddimah, tr. F. Rosenthal; 3 vols. New York, 1958. Ibn Khalliqan: Wafayat al-Ayan, ed. De Slane, I. L.Leclerc: Histoire de la Medicine Arabe, 2 vols, Burt Franklin, New York, reprint, 1971. U. and M.C. Lyons: Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders, selection from the Tarikh al-Duwal wal Muluk of

Ibn al-Furat; 2 vols, W. Heffer and Sons Ltd, Cambridge, 1971. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol 32, 1900. Al-Maqqari Nafh al-Tib, ed. Muhammad M. Abd al-hamid. 10 vols, Cairo, 1949. Al-Maqrizi, Ahmad Ibn Ali. Al-Mawaiz wa Alitibar fi dhikr al-Khitat wa-Al-athar. Edited by Ahmed Ali al-

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Al-Maqrizi, Kitab al-Khitat, ed. Bulaq; partial French tr. by U. Bouriant and P. Casanova, Description topographique et Historique de l'Egypte, Paris, 1895-1900; Cairo, 1906-20.

Sir W. Muir, The Caliphate, Preface to 2nd edt. S. Al-Munajjad, a'lam al-tarikh, Beyrouth, 2 vols. A. G. Palencia: Historia de la literatura arabiga-espanola, Madrid. George R. Porter: The Autobiography of Ousama ibn Munqidh, London, 1929. Franz Rosenthal, A History of Muslim Historiography (1952, 2nd rev. ed. 1968). Ibn Saad: Kitab al-tabaqat al-Kabir (the great book of classes),Leiden, Brill, 9 vols, 1904-28. G.Sarton: Introduction to the History of science, The Carmegie Institute; 1927-48.

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F.Wustenfelds Geschichtsschreiber der Araber und ihre Werke (GAW) (1882).



Dam Construction

Review of Muslim Contribution to Civil Engineering:

Author: Salah Zaimeche BA, MA, PhDChief Editor: Professor Salim Al-Hassani Editor: Professor Talip Alp Production: Ahmed Salem BSc Release Date: June 2002 Publication ID: 4021 Copyright: FSTC Limited 2002, 2003



Civil Engineering: Dam Construction June 2002


REVIEW OF MUSLIM CONTRIBUTION TO CIVIL ENGINEERING:

DAM CONSTRUCTION

Introduction

In his `History of Dams, Norman Smith, began his chapter devoted to Muslim dams,1 by stating that:

`Historians of civil engineering have almost totally ignored the Moslem period, and in particular historians of dam building, such as there have been, either make no reference to Moslem work at all or, even worse, claim that during Umayyad and Abbasid times dam building, irrigation and other engineering activities suffered sharp decline and eventual extinction. Such view is both unjust and untrue.2

Similar point is raised by Pacey, who notes that it is often said that hydraulic engineering `made little

progress under the Muslim, and that the latters achievements hardly evolved beyond the Greek or Romans. Pacey corrects this view, pointing out that the Islamic civilisation adapted ancient techniques `to

serve the needs of a new age, and that the Muslims extended the application of mechanical and hydraulic

technology enormously.3 To explain the reasons behind the belittling Muslim achievements as observed by

Smith, Pacey and others4 is a mammoth a task which requires people versed in political, religious, and

historical matters.

Dams and Construction Techniques

The Muslims built many dams in a rich variety of structures and forms. The majority of the earliest Muslim

dams were completed in Arabia itself; and full information on their height, length, and ratios between

height and length is given by Schnitter. He also specifies that with the exception of the Qusaybah dam near

Medina, a 30 m high-205 m long structure, which was slightly curved in plan, the alignment of all others were straight.5 About half such dams were provided with a flood overflow at one end, and often with a

downstream training wall to guide the spilled water to a safe distance from the dams foot. Schnitter also

observes that about a third of such very early dams (7th-8th century) are still intact.6 In Iraq, in the vicinity

of Baghdad, a considerable number of dams were built during the Abbasid Khalifate.7 Most such dams are

on the Tigris, but a few are on water diversions, further illustration of high engineering skills. In Iran can

be found the Kebar dam, dating from the 13th century, the oldest arched dam known to have survived.8 The

dam has a core of rubble masonry set in mortar, the mortar made from lime crushed with the ash of a local desert plant, the addition of ash making the lime hydraulic. This resulted in a strong, hard and impervious

mortar, ideal for dams, the very reason for such dam's long life, and the absence of cracks in it. Much

earlier than this dam, in todays Afghanistan, were three dams completed by King Mahmoud of Ghaznah

(998-1030) near his capital city. One named after him, was located 100 km SW of Kabul, and was 32m

high, and 220m long.9

Dam construction in Muslim Spain was prolific. In the city of Cordoba, on the river Guadalquivir, can be

found what is probably the oldest surviving Islamic dam in the country.10 According to the twelfth- century

geographer al-Idrisi it was built of Qibtiyya stone and incorporated marble pillars.11 The dam follows a zig-

zag course across the river, a shape which indicates that the builders were aiming at a long crest in order




to increase its overflow capacity. Remains of the dam can still be seen today, a few feet above the river

bed, although in its prime, it was probably about seven or eight feet above high- water level and eight feet

thick.12

Techniques used by Muslim masons and engineers reached great heights of ingenuity. On the river Turia, still in Spain, as an instance, modern measurements have shown that the eight canals have between them

a total capacity slightly less than that of the river, thus raising the possibility that the Muslims were able to

gauge a river and then design their dams and canals to match.13 Smith elaborates on such skills.14 Muslim

engineers used sophisticated land surveying methods to locate their dams in the most suitable sites, and

also to lay out very complex canal systems. For such, they used astrolabes and also trigonometric

calculations.15 Around Baghdad water was diverted into the Nahwran Canal which supplied water for

irrigation, whilst improvements were made to existing, old systems.16 Dams were built of carefully cut stone blocks, joined together by iron dowels, whilst the holes in which the dowels fitted were filled by pouring in

molten lead.17 An impressive structure of masonry is Hills impression of the dam at Marib in Yemen, with

its carefully cut and fitted blocks using lead dowels in their joints.18 It was also fourteen metres high and

600 metres long, with elaborate waterworks including sluices, spillways, a settling tank and distribution

tank. So strong a structure, it survived for about ten centuries until lack of financial and technical means

made it impossible to maintain.19 Back in Spain, according to Scott, the masonry of the reservoirs was of the finest description, and the cement used was harder than stone itself.20 Contingencies were provided for

in such manner that no overflow occurred, and no damage resulted even during the worst flooding.

Evidence of Muslim engineering `genius is the fact that these dams needed hardly any repair in a thousand

years.21 The eight dams on the Turia River at first sight seem to have an exaggerated amount of weight

placed on their foundations, the masonry of each dam going some fifteen feet into the river bed, and

further support provided by the addition of rows of wooden piles. Such solid foundations were justified by the rivers erratic behaviour, which in times of flooding reaches a flow that is a hundred time greater than

normal, the structure having to resist the battering of water, stones, rocks and trees.22 These dams, now

over ten century old, still continue to meet the irrigation needs of Valencia, requiring no addition to the

system.23 On the River Segura, the Muslims built a dam in order to irrigate vast lands in the Murcia region.24

Because of the nature of the terrain, not just the location, but the design and construction had to be

absolutely perfect, too. The height of the dam was only 25 feet, yet its base thickness was 150 and l25

feet, which may seem excessive. Such thickness was necessary to meet the softness and weakness of the rivers bed to prevent it from sliding along. The water flowing over the crest initially fell vertically through a

height of 13-17 feet on to a level platform, running the length of the dam. This served to dissipate the

energy of the water spilling over the crest. The over-flow then ran to the foot of the dam over flat or gently

sloping sections of the face. In this way the whole dam acted as a spillway and the energy gained by the

water in falling 25 feet was dissipated en route. Thus the risk of undermining the downstream foundations

was greatly reduced. Like with other dams, rubble masonry and mortar were used for the interior, and the whole was finished with large masonry blocks.25

By far, the most original Muslim reservoirs are to be found in the region of Qayrawan in Tunisia. A lengthy

(about 270 pages) account of such structures is offered by the French Solignac.26 These reservoirs, possibly

for their high aesthetics, and like many other Islamic achievements,27 were attributed, despite all

evidence,28 to both Phoenicians29 and Romans.30 Such erroneous views were adopted by a number of scholars until modern archaeological excavations and advanced studies proved the Islamic origin of such

structures. These reservoirs have two basins, one used for decantation, one as a reserve, and at times a




third one for drawing water out of it. Other than their impressive numbers, over two hundred and fifty in

the region, such reservoirs also offer a great attraction in their form and structure.

Water Management and Water Storage Water management in all its intricacies, from Andalusia to Afghanistan, Bolens reminds, was the basis of

agriculture, and source of all life. All the Kitab al-Filahat (books of agriculture), whatever their origin, Maghribian, Andalusian; Egyptian, Iraqi; Persian or Yemenite, insist, and meticulously, on the deployment

of equipment and on the control of water.31 The authorities of the time played a crucial role in that, too. In

Iraq, as a rule, hydraulic tasks of a vast nature were left to the state, while the local population focussed its

efforts on lesser ones.32 In Egypt, a more elaborate picture comes out.33 There, indeed, the management of

The Nile waters was most crucial to every single aspect of life, and dams responded to such necessity. Both al-Nuwayri34 and al-Makrizi35 stressed the role of maintenance of dams and waterways of the Nile for

maximum benefits. It was the responsibility for both sultans and holders of large holdings, under both

Ayyubids and Mamelouks, to dig and clean canals and maintain dams. As in Iraq the sultan took over the

larger structures, and the people the lesser ones. Most distinguished Amirs and officials were also made

chief supervisors of such works.36 Under the Mamluks there was even an officer for the inspection of dams

for each province of Egypt: the Kashif al-Djusur.37

Dams are used to store water, and this has major implications on economic and social life. Smith observes

that `not only do dams represent some of the most impressive achievements of engineers over the

centuries, but their vital role in supplying water to towns and cities, irrigating dry lands, providing a source

of power and controlling floods is more than sufficient to rank dam building amongst the most essential

aspects of mans attempt to harness, control and improve his environment.38 Effective storage and use of water for irrigation, for instance, can have dramatic repercussions, in cheapening the process and bringing

into use lands that were hitherto impossible or uneconomic to irrigate.39 Both Spain and Sicily offer good

illustrations of that. Water is also stored for the aim of providing power for milling. In Khuzistan, at the Pul-

I-Bulaiti dam on the Ab-i-Gargar, the mills were installed in tunnels cut through the rock at each side of the

channel, constituting one of the earliest examples of hydro-power dams, and not the only one in the Muslim

world.40 Another example is the bridge-dam at Dizful, which was used to provide power to operate a noria

that was fifty cubits in diameter, which supplied all the houses of the town.41 Many such hydraulic works can still be seen today.42

Transfer of Hydraulic Technology to Europe

The Islamic mastery of hydraulic technology is far more advanced than acknowledged by some of the

sources many are too keen to follow, and which hence distorts the exact role of Muslim engineering skills. Indeed, to the likes of Gimpel43 and White,44 the Muslims hardly made any contributions in such a field.

Reality, however, is far the opposite. First and foremost, the hydraulic works of the Ancients were found by

the Muslims in a terrible state of decay and ruin,45 and they did not just repair them, but also added

considerable skills of their own. To Spain, for instance, the Muslims brought irrigation techniques which not

only laid the foundations for the prosperity of the country, but also with nothing as elaborate and as

efficient seen before in Europe.46 After the country was retaken by Christian forces, the Muslims, masters of great skills then, were allowed to retain their functions and serve the new crown. Alongside builders, paper

and textile makers, manufacturers of iron and experts of all sorts, the Spaniards also retained and used




Muslim irrigation works, their attendant rules and even regulations.47 And as soon as the Muslims, who

refusing to be baptized as Christians were expelled, or massacred, economic ruin, and famine always

followed.48 And Spain never recovered its former prosperity and levels of advancement once the Muslims

had been eliminated from its land. Hill also notes that the introduction of desilting sluices, the arch dam,

and hydropower made their first appearances in the Islamic world, observing that it is `difficult to see how these can be other than Muslim inventions.49 Further illustration of Islamic impact in the field is not just

obvious through the works of Hill, Pacey, Smith and others, it is also visible via the works of Muslim

engineers themselves as can still be observed through the remains of old age storage structures all over the

Islamic land. Furthermore, Whites, Gimpels and their followers argument lacks historical backing, for the

major changes that took place in Europe, and not just in terms of hydraulic technology, but all others,50 did,

and without one single exception, at the time the Europeans came into contact with the flourishing Islamic

civilisation (twelfth-thirteenth centuries), and not the centuries before. Also, the fact that Western technology in nearly every respect is identical to the Islamic one offers further evidence of such impact.

The Destruction of Islamic Engineering Works

Like with much else regarding Islamic civilization, once the transfer was accomplished, destruction followed.

Muslim dams did not escape in their vast majority the onslaught against Islam. In 1220, the armies of Jenghis Khan devastated the whole eastern parts of the Muslim land. The destruction of al-Jurjaniyah dam

south of the Aral Sea diverted the River Oxus from its course and deprived the Aral Sea of water, causing it

to nearly dry out centuries later.51 A hundred and sixty three years later, in 1383, it was Timurs hordes,

which this time completed the work of their predecessors. The Tartars laid the land waste, Zaranj the

capital of the province of Seistan, suffering terrible fate; its dams and all its irrigation works completely laid

waste. A similar fate befell the Band-I-Rustam, and the region of Bust.52 Today, hardly anything survives in those lands once the seats of great civil engineering accomplishments.

References: 1 N. Smith: A History of Dams, The Chaucer Press, London,1971. 2 Ibid.; p. 75. 3 A.Pacey: Technology in World Civilization, a Thousand year History, The MIT Press, Cambridge, 1990, at p.8. 4See, for instance,

-E.J. Holmyard: Chemistry in Islam, in Toward Modern Science, Vol 1, R. Palter edition, The Noonday press, New York, 1961; pp 160-70.

-J.H. Harvey: the origins of Gothic Architecture, Antiquaries Journal, 48, pp 87-99. And anyone taking the bother to read any of the many books or articles devoted to Islamic science that are

still accessible, will find support for the opinion of neglect and cover up of the Muslim contribution to world civilization. 5 N.J. Schnitter: A History of dams; A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, 1994; pp-81-2. 6 Ibid, p. 82. 7 N.Smith: A History of Dams, op cit, p.78. 8 D.R. Hill: Islamic science and engineering, Edimburgh University Press, 1993, p. 168.




9 N.Schintter: A History, op cit, pp 88-9. 10 N.Smith: A History, op cit, p.90. 11 In D.R. Hill: Islamic Science, op cit, op cit, p.161. 12 Ibid. 13 Ibid, p.165. 14 N.Smith: a History, op cit, p. 88. 15 See forthcoming chapter on al-Battani. 16 A. Pacey, Technology, op cit, p.9. 17 Ibid, pp.9-10. 18 D.Hill: Islamic Science, op cit, at p. 159. 19 Ibid. 20 S.P. Scott, History of the Moorish Empire in Europe; J.B. Lippincott Company, London and Philadelphia, 3 Vols, Vol 3, 1904; at pp. 601-2. 21 Ibid, p. 602. 22 N.Smith: A history, op cit, p. 93. 23 Ibid. 24 N. Smith: A History, op cit, pp. 94-7; D. Hill: Islamic science, op cit, pp. 166-7. 25 Ibid. 26 A. Solignac: Recherches sur les installations hydrauliques de kairaouan et des Steppes Tunisiennes du VII

au Xiem siecle, in Annales de lInstitut

islam science throughout history

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