Translation and Philosophy in Sassanid Persia

Origins of the Word "Chemistry"

• The Arabic word "al-kimiya" is composed of the article "al" (the) and "kmiya" (chemistry).
• This word reached the West during the 12th-century translation movement in Europe.
• The Arabic form "al-kimiya" is the origin of the word "alchemy".
• "Alchemy" refers to the science of alchemy that preceded modern chemistry.
• "Kimiya" (without the article "al") is the origin of the word "chemistry".

Alchemy

• Alchemy was a prominent science in Alexandria in the early years of the Christian Era.
• The inhabitants of Alexandria and other Egyptian cities were primarily Egyptians, with smaller communities of Syrians and Greeks.
• Egyptian metalworking, dyeing, and glassmaking skills were combined with Syrian, Babylonian, and Greek philosophical and scientific methods to formulate the methods of alchemy.
• Origins of alchemy are Egypt (Alexandria), Syria, and Harran in southeastern Anatolia.
• Babylonian refugees from the Achaemenid invasion by Cyrus the Great's army (539 BC) brought their ideology and techniques to Egypt, establishing Egyptian alchemy.

Early Chemical Work

• The earliest work on chemical processes and transformations was conducted in the ancient world, including Egypt, Mesopotamia (Assyria and Babylon), India, and China.
• Central Asia was also a significant center for metal procurement in the ancient world.
• The encounter of these various technologies (Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indian, Chinese, and Central Asian) helped to flourish the ancient sciences of alchemy and chemistry along the Silk Roads.

The Silk Road

• The Silk Road is a network of trade routes, and not a single road.
• The routes were used by traders for over 1500 years, from 130 BCE (when the Han Dynasty opened trade) until 1453 CE.
• This period ended when the Ottoman Empire closed off trade with the West.

Alchemy: Metallurgy and Glassmaking

• Alchemy involved metallurgy and glassmaking.
• It relied on irrefutable, factual knowledge as a basis for chemical preparations of remedies and medicinal concoctions.

Alchemists

• Alchemists were interested in converting one substance into another.
• Their work led to the discovery of many medicinal compounds and improvements in distillation and sublimation techniques.
• Khalid Ibn Yazid (died 704), an Umayyad prince, commissioned the translation of Greek alchemical texts into Arabic.
• He was the first in Islam to order the translation of works on astronomy, medicine, and alchemy.
• Khalid Ibn Yazid learned alchemy under Maryanus the Hermit, a follower of the Melkite Church.

Jabir ibn Hayyan

• Jabir ibn Hayyan (721-815), born in Tus, Khorasan, was a pharmacist's son.
• His interest in chemistry was likely influenced by his father's profession.
• He was a student of the celebrated Islamic teacher and sixth Imam Cafer al-Sadik.
• He also studied the work of the Umayyad prince Khalid Ibn Yazid.
• Jabir began his career practicing medicine under the patronage of Jafar Ibn Yahya, vizier of Caliph Haroun al-Rashid.
• He discovered hydrochloric acid (from salt) and nitric acid (from saltpeter) through distilling salts with sulfuric acid.
• He developed aqua regia, which can dissolve gold.
• He is also credited with discovering citric acid, acetic acid, and tartaric acid.
• He developed a chemical nomenclature with three categories—spirits, metals, and stones.
• He applied his chemical knowledge to improve many manufacturing processes, like making steel, preventing rust, engraving gold, dyeing and waterproofing fabrics, tanning leather, and the analysis of pigments and other substances. His work on manganese dioxide use in glassmaking is still used today.
• He noted the flammable vapor released from boiling wine, potentially paving the way to Al-Razi's discovery of ethanol.

Jabir's Works

• Jabir's works include the Kitab al-Kimya.
• Translated by Robert of Chester (1144).
• Gerard of Cremona translated the Kitab al-Sab'een (before 1187).
• His books were later translated into Latin and became standard texts for European alchemists, under fanciful titles like Book of the Kingdom, Book of the Balances, and Book of Eastern Mercury.

Abu Abd Allah al-Khwarazmi

• During the mid-10th century, he created the encyclopedia "Keys of the Sciences."
• It covered technical terms related to alchemy in three parts: apparatus, substances, and processing of substances.

Ibn Sina

• Ibn Sina (980-1037), a prolific writer from Bukhara, revisited Aristotelian principles of the terrestrial origins of metals and minerals in his book, Kitab al-Shifa (Book of Healing).
• He did not believe alchemy had the power to transform one metal into another, but alchemists could produce artful imitations.
• Eastern medicine's theoretical basis during his time centered around "mizaj" or mixed nature.

Abu Nasr Mohammad al-Farabi

• Abu Nasr Mohammad al-Farabi (d. 950) wrote a treatise titled, "On the Need for the Art of Chemistry."
• He believed it was necessary to develop the art or science of chemistry.
• Ibn Sina's al-Qanun fi 'l-tibb has played a crucial role in the development of European and Eastern medicine.
• Its translation into Latin during the 12th century made it easily accessible in Europe.

Early Islamic Medicine

• After the conflicts between Umayyads and Abbasids, the Islamic Caliphate moved from Damascus to Baghdad in 762, with conflicts between monotheistic religions (Christianity and Islam) and Manicheism flaring up again.
• Manicheism was prevalent in Iraq and Iran, based on the idea that the universe is a battleground between good and evil.

Greek Texts

• Greek texts previously translated into Syriac were first translated into Persian during the Sassanid period.
• During the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, texts related to logic, philosophy, medicine, law, and political theory were translated into Arabic.
• This marked the beginning of the dominance of Ancient Greek knowledge in Islamic medicine, commonly known as Greco-Islamic medicine.

The Role of Nestorians

• Greek science and culture were communicated through schools of Edessa and Gondi-Sapor, using translations from Greek into Syriac or Aramaic and later into Arabic by Nestorian Christians in Mesopotamian medical schools between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE.
• The Nestorian school played a crucial role as a bridge between Greek and Arabic medicine.

The Sassanid Empire

• The Sassanid Empire (approximately 224-651 CE) welcomed refugees, including Greek philosophers and Syriac-speaking Christians fleeing persecution by the Byzantine empire.
• Emperor Khosrau I specifically supported translations of Greek and Syriac texts into Pahlavi, impacting medical, astronomical, philosophical, and craft knowledge dissemination.
• The Sassanids encouraged translations of texts to the East, and brought in Indian and Chinese scholars to translate texts on astronomy, astrology, mathematics, medicine, and herbal medicine.

Gondishapur University

• The school in Gondishapur, Persia, became the greatest intellectual center of its time.
• It brought together Greek, Nestorian, Zoroastrian, and Hindu knowledge, facilitating the free exchange of knowledge and experience..
• This school prioritized patient care and training.
• Graduates were required to pass exams to become accredited physicians.
• A hospital known as a Bimaristan was established alongside the medical school.

Late Islamic Medicine

• The Mongol invasions (13th century), civil wars, and Christian military force (Crusades) contributed to the decline of the Islamic world's prominence in the East..
• Medical knowledge, like in Cordoba and Cairo, had reached peaks of sophistication.
• Constantinople played a role as a continuing center of traditional medicine while the Byzantine Empire shrank.

Important Physicians

• Several important physicians like Abu-Bakr Elrazi and Ibn Elhaytham played key roles in various fields.
• Others, like Ibn Sina (Avicenna), made significant contributions in various medical topics, including the description of light's finite speed or diseases in the body.
• Still others, like Ibn Rushd and Alzahrawi, made substantial contributions to surgical practices.

Medical Encyclopedias

• Like their Greek predecessors, Islamic physicians produced medical encyclopedias.
• These encyclopedias covered topics like anatomy, disease classification, causes, symptoms, urine, sputum, saliva, pulse analysis, hygiene, dietetics, cosmetics, and therapy using drugs and herbs to maintain patient health.

Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine

• Ibn Sina's magnum opus, "al-Qanun fi al-Tibb" (The Canon of Medicine), was a major medical textbook for both Western and Eastern schools, lasting until the modern era.
• It was organized into five books with topics including the principles of medicine, body constitution, anatomy, physiology, general disease causes, and symptoms; preventive medicine, treatments; and a materia medica covering various drugs.

This quiz explores the translation efforts during the Sassanid period, including the languages involved and relevant philosophical influences. It delves into how Muslim rulers interpreted evil through Aristotelian philosophy and the opposition to certain philosophical schools of thought. Test your knowledge on these historical and philosophical concepts.