House of Wisdom

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The House of Wisdom (Arabic بيت الحكمة Bayt al-Hikma) was a library and translation institute in Abbassid-era Baghdad. It is considered to have been a major intellectual center of the Islamic Golden Age.

1 Origins
2 Under al-Ma'mun
3 Destruction
4 Legacy
5 Other Houses of Wisdom
6 External links

[edit] Origins

In the Sassanid Empire, scholars translated many foreign works into Persian and Arabic, built large libraries, and welcomed scholars persecuted by the Byzantine Empire. There was an imperial library in Ctesiphon, and works were also translated at the Academy of Gundishapur. During the Islamic conquest of Persia and the Fall of Sassanid dynasty in 651, many works were lost, burnt by the invaders.

In 750, the Abbasid dynasty replaced the Umayyad dynasty as head of the Islamic empire, and in 762, the caliph al-Mansur (reigned 754 - 775) built Baghdad and made it his capital (the previous capital being Damascus). The Abbasid dynasty had a strong Persian bent, and adopted many practices from the Sassanid empire - among those, that of translating foreign works, except that now works were translated into Arabic. For this purpose, al-Mansur founded a palace library, modeled after the Sassanid Imperial Library. (The name Bayt al-Hikma was a translation of the Persian name for the imperial library, which Arab historians also referred to in that name.)

The House of Wisdom was originally concerned with translating and preserving Persian works, first from Pahlavi (Middle Persian), then from Syriac and eventually Greek.

Works on astrology, mathematics, agriculture, medicine, and philosophy were thus translated.

The Barmakids were influential in the ensuing movement of restoring and preserving Persian culture. They are also credited with the founding of the first paper mill in Baghdad. The secret of papermaking had been obtained from Chinese prisoners taken at the Battle of Talas (751). Previously, copyists would used papyrus (which is fragile) or parchment (which is expensive). The introduction of paper thus facilitated the multiplication of books and libraries.

[edit] Under al-Ma'mun

Under the sponsorship of caliph al-Ma'mun (reigned 813 - 833), it seems that the House of Wisdom took on new functions related to mathematics and astrology. The focus also shifted from Persian to Greek science.

At that time, the library was directed by the poet and astrologer Sahl ibn-Harun (d. 830); the other scholars associated with the library are Mohammed ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (780 - 850), the Bana Musa brothers (Mohammed Jafar ibn Musa, Ahmad ibn Musa, and al-Hasan ibn Musa), and Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (801 - 873).

Hunayn ibn Ishaq (809 - 873) was placed in charge of the translation work by the caliph. The most renowned translator was the Sabian Thabit ibn Qurra (826 - 901). Translations of this era were superior to earlier ones, however, soon after, the emphasis on translation work declined, as new ideas became more important.

The House of Wisdom flourished under al-Ma'mun's successors al-Mu'tasim (reign 833 - 842) and al-Wathiq (reign 842 - 847), but declined under the reign of al-Mutawakkil (reign 847 - 861), mainly because Ma'mun, Mu'tasim, and Wathiq followed the sect of Mu'tazili, while al-Mutawakkil followed orthodox Islam. He wanted to stop the spread of Greek philosophy which was one of the main tools in Mu'tazili theology.

[edit] Destruction

Along with all other libraries in Baghdad, the House of Wisdom was destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258. It was said that the waters of the Tigris ran black with ink from the enormous quantities of books flung into the river.

[edit] Legacy

The House of Wisdom eventually acquired a reputation as a center of learning, although universities as we know them did not exist at that time — transmission of knowledge was done directly from teacher to student, without any institutional surrounding. Madrasahs only began to develop in Baghdad later on, when Nizam al-Mulk founded the Nizamiyyah.

So it is most likely that the House of Wisdom was only a palace library, but acquired a greater reputation afterwards.

[edit] Other Houses of Wisdom

Some other places have also been called House of Wisdom:

In Cairo, Dar al-Hikmah, the "House of Wisdom", was another name of the House of Knowledge, founded by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in 1004.

There is a research institute in Baghdad called Bayt al-Hikma after the Abbasid-era research center. While the complex includes a 13th century madrasa, it isn't the same building as the medieval Bayt al-Hikma. It was looted during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.