Academic Achievements of Abassids

 

Abu Jafar Al-Mansur, the second Abbasid Caliph, was a very learned person of his time who showed great interest in the development of scientific learning. The famous scholar of his age was Imam Abu Hanifa, Ibn Ishaq, Imam Malik, Abu Amr Abd Al-Rehman Ibn Amr, And Sufyan Al-Thawri. The most popular scholar of his time was Abdullah Ibn Muqaffa.

Under the Abbasids, higher education in science was carried out on an individual basis rather than the establishment of institutions of higher learning. Afterward, they Sponsered observatories and hospitals in different parts of the caliphate. Most of the scholars were celebrated for their standing in different disciplines and their achievements in more than one science. Within a short time Muslim philosophers, mathematicians, physicians, geographers, alchemists, botanists had worked throughout the caliphate and achieved the amazing accomplishment of uncovering the vast intellectual heritage received from the earlier civilizations.

The 5th caliph of the Abbasid Dynasty, Harun al-Rashid is remembered as one of history's greatest patrons of the arts and sciences. Under his rule, Baghdad became the world's most important center of science, philosophy, medicine, and education. The massive size of the caliphate meant that it had contact and shared borders with many distant empires, so scholars at Baghdad could collect, translate and expand upon the knowledge of the other civilizations, such as the Egyptians, Persians, Indians, Chinese, Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines.

The successors of Harun al- Rashid, especially his son al- Ma'mun continued his policies of supporting artists, scientists, and scholars. Al- Mamun founded the Bayt al Hikma, the house of wisdom in Baghdad. At the house of wisdom, important ideas from around the world came together. The introduction of Indian numerals, which have become standard in Islamic and Western worlds, greatly aided in mathematics and scientific discovery.

Scholars such as Al- Kindi revolutionized mathematics and synthesized Greek philosophy with Islamic thought. Al- Biruni and Abu Nasar Mansur among many other scholars made important contributions to geometry and astronomy. Ibn Musa, expanding upon Greek mathematical concepts, developed Algebra which is derived from his landmark textbook Kitab al Jabar wal Muqabala. Ibn al- Haytham made important contributions to the fields of optics.

Medicine:

Medicine in medieval Islam was an area of science that advanced particularly during the Abbasids region. During the 9th century, Baghdad contained over 800 doctors, and great discoveries in the understanding of anatomy and disease were made. Famous Persian scientists produced thesis and worked that summarized the vast amount of knowledge that scientists had accumulated, and was very influential through their encyclopedias. 

Astronomy :

Astronomy was advanced by Al- Battani, who improved the precision of the measurement of precession of the earth axis. The astrolabe, though originally developed by greeks, was developed further by  Islamic astronomers and engineers, and subsequently brought to medieval  Europe.

Al Chemist :

Muslim alchemists influenced medieval European alchemists, particularly the writings attributed to Jabir Ibn Haiyan. A number of chemical processes were developed in the Muslim world and then spread to Europe.

Agriculture :

A number of very practical innovations took place, especially in the field of agriculture. Improved methods of irrigation allowed more land to be cultivated. Crops and farming techniques were adopted from neighboring cultures. Rice, cotton, and sugar were taken from India, citrus food from China, and sorghum from Africa. 

Literature :

The best-known fiction from the Islamic world was The Book of Thousand and One Nights. The original concept is derived from pre-Islamic Iranian with reliance on Indian elements. It also includes stories from the rest of the Middle-Eastern and North African nations. 

Arabic poetry reached its greatest highest in the Abbasid era. A famous example of Arabic poetry on romance was Layla and Majnu. which further developed mainly by Iranians. Azerbaijan and other poets in Persian, Turkish, and other Turk languages dating back to the Umayyad era in the 7th century.