Zosimos of Panopolis
Alchemist, Gnostic Mystic
(c.300 AD)
Provided one of the first definitions of alchemy as the study of "the composition of waters, movement, growth, embodying and disembodying, drawing the spirits from bodies and bonding the spirits within bodies. Wrote the oldest known books on alchemy, which he called "Cheirokmeta" - the Greek word for "things made by hand." Arabic translations of texts by Zosimos were discovered in 1995 in a copy of the book Keys of Mercy and Secrets of Wisdom by Ibn Al-Hassan Ibn Ali Al-Tughra'i', a Persian alchemist. Reflects the influence of Hermetic and Gnostic spiritualities. "The ancient and divine writings say that the angels became enamoured of women; and descending, taught them all the works of nature. From them, therefore, is the first tradition, "chema" concerning these arts. The external processes of metallic transmutation — transformations of lead & copper into silver & gold were said to always to mirror an inner process of purification & redemption. In his work "Concerning the true Book of Sophe, the Egyptian, and of the Divine Master of the Hebrews and the Sabaoth Powers", he wrote: "There are two sciences and two wisdoms, that of the Egyptians and that of the Hebrews, which latter is confirmed by divine justice. The science and wisdom of the most excellent dominate the one and the other. Both originate in olden times. Their origin is without a king, autonomous and immaterial; it is not concerned with material and corruptible bodies, it operates, without submitting to strange influences, supported by prayer and divine grace. The symbol of chemistry is drawn from the creation by its adepts, who cleanse and save the divine soul bound in the elements, and who free the divine spirit from its mixture with the flesh."
Golden Age of Islam
760-1258 CE
Cultural, Scientific and economic works thrived. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid (786 to 809) with the inauguration of the House of Wisdom, which saw scholars from all over the Muslim world flock to Baghdad, the world's largest city by then, to translate the known world's classical knowledge into Arabic and Persian. The period is traditionally said to have ended with the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate due to Mongol invasions and the Siege of Baghdad in 1258.
Jabir ibn Hayyan
Philosopher, Alchemist, Magi
(c.760-816)
Jabir's works contain the oldest known systematic classification of chemical substances including instructions for deriving inorganic compounds (ammonium chloride) from organic substances (plants, blood, hair) by chemical means. They also contain one of the earliest known versions of the sulfur-mercury theory of metals, remaining relevant until the 18th century. His writings were informed by a philosophical theory known as "the science of the balance" aimed at reducing all phenomena (incl. material substances & their elements) to a system of measures and quantitative proportions. The Jabirian works also contain some of the earliest preserved Shi'ite doctrines, which Jabir presented as deriving from his master, the Shi'ite Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq. Some Arabic Jabirian works (The Great Book of Mercy, The Book of Seventy) were translated into Latin under the Latinized name Geber, and in 13th-century Europe an anonymous writer, usually referred to as pseudo-Geber, started to produce alchemical and metallurgical writings under this name. The second part of his three-part "Book of the Element of the Foundation" contains an early version of the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus.
Al-Khwarizmi
Astronomer, Head of House of Wisdom
Father of Algebra
(780-850)
Persian polymath who produced vastly influential Arabic-language works in mathematics, astronomy, and geography. Hailing from Khwarazm, he was appointed as the astronomer and head of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad around 820 CE. His treatise on algebra (Al-Jabr, meaning "completion" or "rejoining") compiled between 813-33 presented the first systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations. The first person to treat algebra as an independent discipline and introduced the methods of "reduction" and "balancing" (the transposition of subtracted terms to the other side of an equation. His textbook on Indian arithmetic (Algorithmo de Numero Indorum) codified the various Indian numerals and introduced the decimal-based positional number system to the Western world. The Latin translation of "Al-Jabr" was used until the 16th century as the principal mathematical textbook of European universities. Al-Khwarizmi revised "Geography", the 2nd-century Greek-language treatise by the Roman polymath Claudius Ptolemy, listing the longitudes and latitudes of cities and localities. He further produced a set of astronomical tables and wrote about calendric works, as well as the astrolabe and the sundial. He made important contributions to trigonometry, producing accurate sine and cosine tables and the first table of tangents.
Dhul-Nun al-Misri
Egyptian Muslim Mystic & Ascetic
(796-862)
Of Nubian descent he studied alchemy, medicine, and Greek philosophy in his early life, before coming under the mentorship of the mystic Saʿdūn of Cairo, described as "his teacher and spiritual director." Celebrated for his legendary wisdom, he has been venerated in traditional Sunni Islam as one of the greatest saints of the early era of Sufism. A legendary alchemist and thaumaturge, he is supposed to have known the secret of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. His sayings and poems, which are extremely dense and rich in mystical imagery, emphasize knowledge or gnosis (marifah) more than fear (makhafah) or love (mahabbah), the other two major paths of spiritual realization in Sufism. None of his written works have survived, but a vast collection of poems, sayings, and aphorisms attributed to him continues to live on in oral tradition.
Al-Farghani
Astronomer, Engineer
(800-870)
One of the most famous astronomers in the 9th century, he composed several works on astronomy and astronomical equipment that were widely distributed in Arabic and Latin and were influential to many scientists. His best-known work, "Elements of astronomy on the celestial motions", was an extensive summary of Ptolemy's Almagest containing revised and more accurate experimental data. Christopher Columbus used Al Farghani’s calculations for his voyages to America. In addition to making substantial contributions to astronomy, al-Farghani also worked as an engineer, supervising construction projects on rivers in Cairo, Egypt. The lunar crater Alfraganus is named after him.
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