When Baghdad was centre of the scientific world History books
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From 1851 to 1852 and from 1861 to 1867, Baghdad was governed, under the Ottoman Empire by Mehmed Namık Pasha.[76] The Nuttall Encyclopedia reports the 1907 population of Baghdad as 185,000. The basic framework of the city consists of two large semicircles about 19 km (12 mi) in diameter. The inner city connecting them was designed as a circle about 2 km (1.2 mi) in diameter, leading it to be known as the "Round City". These baths increased public hygiene and served as a way for the religious to perform ablutions as prescribed by Islam. Moreover, entry fees were usually so low that almost everyone could afford them.[39] In the center of the city lay the mosque, as well as headquarters for guards. The circular design of the city was a direct reflection of the traditional Persian Sasanian urban design.
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It is likely that without the Muslim libraries, modern Europe's scientific and intellectual progress would have been remarkably inhibited. Mahmud Ahmad Derwich has found a suitable architectural planning for Bayt al-Hikmah through his studies on the golden castle constructed by Al-Mansur. The house of wisdom composed of a yard surrounded by halls of two floors from its four sides, it was headed by a penthouse on a row of pillars. In the middle of every side among the four sides of the yard there were halls topped by semi-cylindrical dome of 25 cubit. The main hall leads to a square shape room above it there was a big dome with 80 cubit high, the main hall also has a statue of knight holding a spear that spins with the spear. There have been many studies on history of Islamic libraries (Houses of Wisdom) that evolved thanks to Baghdad's house of wisdom.
Astronomical observatories
It was a tragic ending for one of the most advanced, diverse and progressive cities of the age, and an ending from which it would take Baghdad centuries to recover. Following his predecessors, al-Ma’mun would send expeditions of scholars from the House of Wisdom to collect texts from foreign lands. In fact, one of the directors of the House was sent to Constantinople with this purpose.
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The concept of a library catalog dates back to this period; books in these libraries were organized under specific genres and categories. Caliph al-Mamun was also himself adept in the branches of knowledge taught at the House of Wisdom, including medicine, philosophy and astrology, and often visited the scholars there to discuss their research. The stars and planets were perceived to influence events on earth and astrology was thus carried out with the greatest attention to detail. The heyday of Baghdad was 1,200 years ago when it was the thriving capital of the Muslim world. It was home to the House of Wisdom, an academy of knowledge that attracted brains from far and wide. Bayt al-Hikmah, like Baghdad itself, was greatly enriched under the reign of Hārūn al-Rashīd (786–809).
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Translations of this era were superior to earlier ones, since the new Abbasid scientific tradition required better and better translations, and the emphasis was many times put in incorporating new ideas to the ancient works being translated. By the second half of the ninth century al-Ma’mun’s Bayt al-Hikma was the greatest repository of books in the world and had become one of the greatest hubs of intellectual activity in the Middle Ages, attracting the most brilliant Arab and Persian minds. The House of Wisdom eventually acquired a reputation as a center of learning, although universities as we know them did not yet exist at this time — knowledge was transmitted directly from teacher to student, without any institutional surrounding.
It was the model for other libraries and similar institutions throughout the soils of Islamic civilization. A combination of heavy redevelopment during the second half of the 20th century, two decades of warfare and neglect has not been kind to Baghdad's architectural and cultural heritage. Generally, the eastern side contains the older districts while the western side is newer. The historic old quarter contains a myriad of alleys and small streets with buildings dating back to the Ottoman era or even older. The old quarter is also home to the heart and soul of Iraqi literacy and intellectual community, Mutanabbi Street. The street is lined with bookstores and outdoor book stalls as well as cafés to discuss matters of the day.
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Sphere of learning (8th to 9th centuries)
For example, he commissioned the mapping of the world, the confirmation of data from the Almagest and the deduction of the real size of the Earth (see section on the main activities of the House). He also promoted Egyptology and participated himself in excavations of the pyramids of Giza. Al-Ma’mun built the first astronomical observatories in Baghdad, and he was also the first ruler to fund and monitor the progress of major research projects involving a team of scholars and scientists. His greatest legacy to science is that he was the first ruler to fund “big science”. The first city in our tour of a “History of Christian-Muslim Relations” is Baghdad.
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Mohammad Musa might have been the first person in history to point to the universality of the laws of physics. In the 10th century, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) performed several physical experiments, mainly in optics, achievements still celebrated today. The House of Wisdom included a society of scientists and academics, a translation department and a library that preserved the knowledge acquired by the Abbasids over the centuries. They also researched and studied alchemy, which was later used to create the structure of modern chemistry. Furthermore, linked to it were also astronomical observatories and other major experimental endeavors. Institutionalized by Al-Ma’mun, the academy encouraged the transcription of Greek philosophical and scientific efforts.
The existence of the House of Wisdom is presently disputed, as is its form and function. Arabist Dimitri Gutas posits in his 1998 book that “House of Wisdom” is a translation error from Khizanat al-Hikma, which he asserts simply means a storehouse, and that there are few sources from the era during the Abbasid Era that mention the House of Wisdom by the name Bayt al-Hikma. This theory is debatable, owing to the destruction of the Round city of Baghdad and conflicting sources in both academic texts and poetry. It is likely, given the Abbasid Caliphs’ patronage of the arts and sciences, that an extensive library existed in Baghdad, and that scholars could have access to such texts, judging by the volume of work produced by scholars centered in Baghdad. Without consistent naming conventions, a physical ruin, or corroborating texts, the phrase “House of Wisdom” may just as well have been a metaphor for the larger Academic community in Baghdad rather than a physical academy specializing in translation work. The House of Wisdom grew rapidly with the acquisition of texts from Greece, Persia and India, swelling with the addition of the Arabic translations of these texts, a process that was already becoming an industry in Baghdad.
Precipitation is sparse (6 inches [150 mm] annually) and occurs mainly between December and April. In spring and early summer the prevailing northwesterly winds (shamāl) bring sandstorms that frequently bathe the city in a dusty mist. Baghdad was heavily damaged by aerial bombardment during the Persian Gulf War (1990–91) and again by air and ground operations during the Iraq War (2003–11). During the interwar period the city’s services and infrastructure deteriorated badly because of inattention and fiscal constraints resulting from economic sanctions imposed on Iraq by the United Nations (UN).
During this time, Sahl ibn Harun, a Persian poet and astrologer, was the chief librarian of the Bayt al-Hikma. Hunayn ibn Ishaq (809–873) an Arab Nestorian Christian physician and scientist, was the most productive translator producing 116 works for the Arabs. Al-Ma’mun established the House of Wisdom, putting Hunayn ibn Ishaq in charge, who then became the most celebrated translator of Greek texts. As “Sheikh of the translators” he was placed in charge of the translation work by the caliph. Hunayn ibn Ishaq translated the entire collection of Greek medical books, including famous pieces by Galen and Hippocrates. The Sabian Thābit ibn Qurra (826–901) also translated great works by Apollonius, Archimedes, Euclid and Ptolemy.
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