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Enquiry Question 2: How did Muslims collate, develop, and share knowledge…

- - - - How different forms of knowledge were collated, developed and spread.
  - - - Maths
        
        Advances in mathematics in Muslim lands have long been recognized. The high degree of skill in mathematics led to advancements in many other fields, such as astronomy, cartography, surveying and engineering, commerce, art, and architecture. The best-known contribution by early Muslim mathematicians was the transfer of Indian numerals, the concept of zero, and its notation.
        
        As with other works of scholarship, works were collected and translated mathematical knowledge from the Greeks, Persians, Indian and other sources.
        
        Persian mathematician and astronomer Muhammad Ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (780-850 CE), was appointed court astronomer at Baghdad by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Ma’mun. He is known in Latin as Algoritimi
        
        The induction of Hindi numerals meant that any number can be expressed
        
        He was also the first to construct mathematical equations that include unknown quantities.
        
        Al-Uqlidisi adapted the Indian system for pen and paper. Mathematicians could now “show their work,” sharing problems, equations, and methods for solving them across time and space. Mathematics advanced rapidly as a result of recording and publication.
        
        Major Arabic mathematical works were brought to Al-Andalus by the 9th century, along with important Greek translations and commentaries.
        
        Today, al-Khwarizmi’s work exists only as a Latin translation made in Toledo, Spain, by Gerard of Cremona (d. 1187 CE). Europeans did not gain access to the mathematical knowledge found in Spain and North Africa until the 12th and 13th centuries CE. It entered Europe both through scholarly and commercial means. Fibonacci (d. 1250 CE), an Italian mathematician who traveled between Europe and North Africa, transmitted mathematical knowledge from Muslim lands to Europe and made his own discoveries.
        
        No branch of mathematics is more visible in Muslim culture than geometry.
      - Pharmacology
        
        As medical science developed, knowledge about pharmacology was systematically collected in written form. Chinese, Indian, Persian, Greek, and Roman collections of knowledge exist, and information was traded among them. In the Mediterranean and western Asia, several important collections had been passed down, and became part of the legacy of knowledge on which physicians in Muslim lands could draw.
        
        The tradition of medicine in Islam was founded on both good habits of healthful living practiced by Prophet Muhammad, and the tradition attributed to him, “God created a cure for every disease.” Taking up this challenge, Muslims and others working in the Islamic tradition traveled to seek knowledge, collected information and specimens, translated important works, and experimented with clinical practice in hospitals.
        
        The most valuable and popular work on pharmacology in Al-Andalus, and later in other parts of Europe, was by Granadian botanist Ibn al-Baytar (died in 1248 CE), the Collection of Simple Drugs and Food, an encyclopedia of about 1500 medicinal substances that he collected over his lifetime.
        
        The earliest medical colleges grew up in Sicily, southern France, and other places where knowledge from Muslim lands was available. Through translation into Latin, direct teaching, and knowledge of Arabic, Europeans learned this valuable knowledge and founded medical science in the West.
      - Surgery
        
        The most famous surgeon in Al-Andalus was the 10th century physician and author, Abul Qasim Khalaf Ibn Al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi (936-1013 CE). Al-Zahrawi was known to Europeans in Latin as Albucasis, and his surgical work was translated and widely used, being printed and used in medical schools even centuries later.
        
        Al-Zahrawi described many surgical cures for diseases, designed instruments, and wrote about techniques surgeons should use. He discussed cauterization (cleaning and sealing wounds by burning), closing wounds with sutures (stitches), bloodletting and bone-setting, and the proper way to conduct amputations when necessary.
        
        He was a pioneer in surgery for the eye, ear, and throat, including a device for cutting out infected tonsils that caught the tonsil in a basket so that it would not fall down the throat of the patient.
        
        His instruments were designed to be efficient, specialized for particular types of surgery, and helpful in preventing patients from being frightened. For example, he designed a hidden knife for opening infected wounds so that frightened patients would not see it.
        
        There is evidence that Muslim surgeons used anesthetics, both in the form of pain-killers given by mouth, and a sponge soaked with substances that were placed under the nose of the patient to make him or her less sensitive to pain.
      - Medicine
        
        In Muslim cities, hospitals were founded and became centers of learning — the teaching hospitals of today.
        
        Among the sciences that flourished in Muslim civilization, medicine is one that perhaps most represented a multi-religious, multi-ethnic effort. The number of physicians of different religions working in the institutions of learning and serving as court physicians includes Jewish, Christian, and Indian physicians and researchers. This is true in the eastern Muslim lands as well as the western.
        
        the first head of the House of Wisdom in the 8th century, and a physician who contributed knowledge about the anatomy of the eye, was al-Hunayn, a Nestorian Christian mathematician and physician.
        
        Translations of Greek, Indian, and Persian medical works were available in Al-Andalus
        
        European medicine benefited from the knowledge and experience of Muslim and Jewish physicians in Spain and Sicily in many ways. Muslim medical science contributed knowledge of sedatives, the use of antiseptics to clean wounds, and use of sutures made a gut and silk thread to close wounds. Techniques for curing disease with drugs, for assisting childbirth, setting bones and curing eye and skin diseases, as well as knowledge of contagious diseases, were just a few contributions.
        
        A famous Andalusian physician was Hasdai Ibn Shaprut (915-970 CE), a Jewish physician who served Abdul Rahman III (912-961 CE) at Córdoba, and translated an important work on pharmacy, using his knowledge of Arabic, Hebrew and Latin.
        
        Ibn Juljul (Córdoba, b. 943 CE) wrote a commentary on Dioscorides’ work of pharmacology De Materia Medica, and wrote Categories of Physicians, a history of medicine from the Greeks to his time
        
        Al-Zahrawi wrote about other diseases and treatments in his Tasrif — a leading medical text in European universities after its translation into Latin in Toledo
        
        Physician Ibn Zuhr (d. 1162 CE in Seville), known as Avenzoar in Latin, was the first to describe pericardial abscesses (of the heart) and to recommend tracheotomy when necessary. Ibn Zuhr’s Taysir was a standard medical work in Europe, translated into Latin in 1280 CE
        
        With the invention of the printing press in Europe, these books became widespread. The famous English writer Chaucer shows how well known this medical knwledge from the Arabs was in Europe. In the beginning of the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer names physicians from the Medieval Islamic Tradition -
    - - Aqueducts built by the Romans were maintained in Al Andalus
      - Norias, built by the Romans, were also maintained. Used to raise water from its source to the canal system and maintain this level. This increased height was essential to the maintenance of the system.
      - Irrigation was carried out through a system of dicthes and gates called 'acequia' - this technology was taken to the New World during colonisation and is still used in the American southwest today.
      - Power generation - used to power grinding wheels or potters' wheels. The direction of motion could be changed to pound wood pulp for paper, sugar cane stalks to extract juice or rice to break the hulls. This use of wheels to power technology came from eastern Muslim lands, from Persia, and potentially even China. This use of the wheel developed into the windmill.
      - Windmills were used to pump water out of wells or mines.
    - - All mosques are based upon the Prophet's Mosque in Madinat al Nabi (a city near Mecca) but beyond this they show great variety of design. Some are simplistic whilst others are incredibly ornate. They do not present any depiction of human or animal in the danger that they could be worshiping anything other than God. Instead they are decorated with Calligraphy of the Qur'an.
      - The Great Mosque of Cordoba designed under Abd al-Rahman I. The building was innovative. The double horseshoe-shaped arches added height and drama to the prayer space, especially with their red-and-white striped decoration on top of simple columns.
      - Using colour in architecture was a design element that travelled widely under Andalusian influence. The architectural features of the Cordoba mosque spread and became visual symbols of al-Andalus. The ribbed vault design became a familiar feature in gothic cathedrals of norther Europe.
      - The minarets have also inspired many other tall building styles including skyscrappers today and bell towers.
      - Palaces of Andalusian rulers were legendary for their influence in the West for centuries to come. Madinat al-Zahra was the first palace to be built.
        
        The Nasrid rulers of Granda built the Alhambra in the 13th century. They brought ideas of North African dynasties that ruled in Spain, and brought ideas of architecture with them. One of these ideas is the decorative muqarnas, plaster stalactites that break up the solidity of domes and arches, placed in geometric patterns and surrounded by carved plaster, calligraphy and tilework. The Alhambra is also a couple of indoor and outdoor spaces that flow into one another, with pools and gardens. The Alhambra has been celebrated by poets, travellers and artists since it was built.
    - - Navigation was essential for the expanding Islamic Empire - a system of waterways and intercontinental land routes connected Europe to the rest of the known world.
      - Geographic surveys were compiled from pre-Islamic texts and translated in Arabic. - from the works of the Arabs of Yemen, Oman, and the Persian Gulf lands and early Muslim geographers such as Yaqut, al-Mas'udi and others picked up the thread with their own, wider exploration.
      - Navigation based upon longitude and latitude came from the Greeks and other ancient peoples. Arabs relied upon astronomical reckoning to travel the deserts.
        
        fingers held up to the horizon to a simple card and string, could determine latitude with fair accuracy, combined with other knowledge of currents and landmarks.
        
        Quadrant - quarter circles with graduations and a dial used to triangulate one's position based on the sun, stars, and horizon. Invented by the Greeks by perfected by the Arabs.
      - The use of Hindi numbers to represent digits, trigonometry and formulas were essential for navigation.
      - The compass - probably came from China (magentized metal floating in water) whilst the dry compass probably developed in Europe, maybe Spain or Italy.
      - Astrolabes - a handheld model of the universe, used for navigating the seas. This technology entered Europe through Islamic Spain in the 12th Century.
      - The need for Mosques to be oriented towards Mecca also led to great accuracy in determining direction on land. Books containing the precise locations of cities
      - Verbal knowledge passed down by pilots on how to navigate from one location to another. The writings of famous navigators remain as evidence for this.
      - Ship design and sailing technology was another important aspect of navigation. This included the design of the hull, the masts and rigging, and the steering devices. Among the earliest innovations to reach the Mediterranean Sea from the Indian Ocean was the lateen, or triangular sail. Before its introduction to Europe,, ships on the Atlantic and Mediterranean used square sails that needed wind directly behind the ship. Lateen sails allowed tacking, or sailing back and forth with the wind at an angle to the ship.
      - Another innovation that came from China by way of Muslim mariners was the stern rudder, a hinged steering board at the stern of a ship, which replaced an awkward oar lashed to the ship. The system is still used on ships today. Hull design was another innovation introduced through the Muslims' connection with hemispheric waterways. It may have been modeled on the Arab 'dhow' a word of Swahili origin that lumps together many different types of seagoing Arab and Indian ships of the Medieval Indian Ocean.
    - - Historians can sometimes trace the movement, or dissemination, of technology by noting where and when it appears in use or manufacture, or is mentioned in literature or artwork. The map in this section traces the dissemination of paper use and manufacture from East to West, showing the place, the date and evidence of its spread.
      - Each advancement in the production of knowledge itself influenced the developed of further knowledge. From the stylus to make impressions in clay, to the calligrapher's brush, the reed or quill pen to the printing press.
      - The best writing surface proved to be paper, invented by the Chinese sometime between the 3rd century BCE and 105 CE, and used by mankind ever since. Paper has many advantages.
        
        paper was cheap and simple to manufacture
        
        paper can be made from many varieties of plant fibers suited to various climates, some of which are cheaper grades of textile fibers, like cotton, linen and silk.
        
        Paper can be manufactured in large quantities
        
        Paper is light and durable; can be made in many weights, strengths and colors.
      - Suggested resource - the mapping of the journey of paper development as part of the transition of knowledge
        
        Speech bubbles showing the development of technology along key points of the silk roads from East to West that travel through the Islamic world.
        
        Possible mirror of activity - tracing the journey and development of different types of knowledge collated, developed and transmitted by al-Andalus
      - Two Essays by al-Jahiz on Paper and Books
        
        al-Jahiz, an African/Arabic writer from 9th Century Iraq, was born in the city of Basra. His essay 'The Disadvantages of Parchment' it is easy to see why paper use and manufacture spread so quickly. In is essay 'In praise of books' there is evidence of the growing importance of libraries and the art of the book, as many scholars shared his love.
        
        The Disadvantages of Parchment
        
        'What is it to you that all my books are written on China paper or Khurasan paper?'
        
        'Parchment has only to get moist, let alone left out in the rain or dipped in water, for it to bulge and stretch; and then it does not return to its original state, but dires noticeably srhunk and badly wrinkled. What is more, it smells worse, is more expensie, and lends itself more readily to fraud: waist skins are passed off as Kufa ones, and bars ones as waist ones.
        
        'If a scholar wished to take with him enough parchment for his journey, a camel-load would not suffice, whereas the equivolent of qutni (cotton-fiber paper) could be carried with his provisions.'
        
        'Writing-books of qutni are of little value on the market, even if they contain the most original texts, the choicest rarities and the most priceless learning. If you went to sell books of an equivolent number of parchment pages containing nothing but the feeble poetry and the idlest gossip, they would be in much greater demand.'
        
        In Praise of Books
        
        'A book ... can if you wish ... amuse you with anecdotes, inform you on all manner of astonishing marvels, entertain you with jokes or move you with homilies, just as you please. You are free to find in it an entertaining adviser, an encouraging critic, an villainous ascetic, a silent talker or hot coldness.'
        
        'have you ever seen a garden that will go into a man's sleeve, an orchard you can take on your lap, a speaker who can speak of the dead, and yet be the interpreter of the living? Where else will you find a companion who sleeps only when you are asleep, and speaks only when you wish him to? ... You denigrate books, whereas to my mind there is no pleasanter neighbour, no more fair-minded friend, no more amenable companion, no more dutiful teacher, no comrade more perfect and less prone to error, less annoying or importunate, of a sweeter disposition, less niclined to contradiction or accusation, less disposed to slander or backbiting, more marvelous, cleverer, less given to flattery or affection, less demanding or quarrelsome, less prone to argument or more opposed to strife, than a book.'
        
        'For its smallness and lightness, a book is the medium through which men receive the Scriptures, and also government accounts. Silent when silence is called for, it is eloquent when asked to speak. It is a bedside companion that does not interrupt when you are busy but welcomes you when you have a mind to it, and does not demand forced politeness or compel you to avoid its company. It is a visitor whose visits may be rare, or frequent, or so continual that it follows you like your shadow and becomes a part of you...'