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He fused Aristotle's philosophy with Islamic theology, which created an intellectual platform for philosophers and theologians to debate over 400 years. A fellow expert on Aristotle was Abū ʿUthmān al-Jāḥiẓ, who was born in Basra around 776 but he spent most of his life in Baghdad. Al-Ma’mun employed al-Jāḥiẓ as a personal tutor for his children, but he had to dismiss him because al-Jāḥiẓ was "Goggled-Eyed", i.e., he had wide, staring eyes which made him frightening to look at.
The end of the center of knowledge
Some consider these efforts the first examples of large state-funded research projects. If this backward projection of our idea of a research institution works for the Library of Alexandria, then it is just as valid in the case of Baghdad's House of Wisdom. It became the seed from which sprouted all the subsequent achievements of this golden age of science, from Uzbekistan in the east to Spain in the west. Of course, we will never really know what life was like within the House of Wisdom.
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But whatever its function – and many of Baghdad's scholars may not have been based physically within it – there is no doubt that the House of Wisdom has acquired a mythical status symbolising this golden age, on a par with the Library of Alexandria, 1,000 years earlier. It was a time of great learning in the Muslim world, which stretched from Spain to China. Men and women of different faiths and cultures studied science and wisdom of ancient cultures adding to it and making breakthroughs that had a lasting impact on the European Renaissance.
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For example, the noted mathematician al-Khwarizmi worked in al-Ma’mun’s House of Wisdom and is famous for his contributions to the development of algebra. He was known as a mathematician and an astronomer in the House of Wisdom, and is also known for his book Kitab al-Jabr in which he develops a number of algorithms. The application of the word “algebra” to mathematics and the etymology of the word “algorithm” can be traced back to al-Khwarizmi — the actual concept of an algorithm dates back before the time of Euclid.
It became one of the greatest centers of medieval wisdom and contributed greatly to the scientific movement which had started in the earlier centuries. Then in the the 12th century, Toledo in Andalucia (Muslim Spain) became the focus of another huge translation effort – this time from Arabic to latin. Arabic works and translations of important ancient Greek texts came to light, and Christian, Jewish and Muslim scholars flocked to the city to translate ancient Greek and Arabic treaties to Latin and then into European languages. Some of Baghdad’s most famous Caliphs including Al-Rashid and Al-Ma’mun had taken a personal interest in collecting global, ground-breaking scientific works.
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Smaller streets ran off these four main arteries, giving access to a series of squares and houses; the limited space between the main wall and the inner wall was due to Mansur's desire to maintain the heart of the city as a royal preserve. It was designed by Caliph al-Mansur.[1] According to 11th-century scholar Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in his History of Baghdad,[2] each course of the city wall consisted of 162,000 bricks for the first third of the wall's height. Baghdad eclipsed Ctesiphon, the capital of the Sassanians, which was located some 30 km (19 mi) to the southeast.
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The most interesting thing about the naming of house of wisdom is that all labels signify the same meaning that Bayt al-Hikmah was the place of all knowledge and wisdom to be found. Libraries represented new reality for Muslims and new passion towards the human knowledge and education (Mohammad Ali, 1980). The House of Wisdom (Bayt Al-Hikmah) was seen as one of the leading libraries in Islamic history that appeared during the Golden age of Islam. The research historically analyses the civilizational role of Bayt Al-Hikmah that has remarkably adapted the intellectual richness to serve scholars, scientists and worldwide thinkers.
He has earned the respect of many Iraqis, foreign leaders and Iraq watchers as someone who is genuine and can lead the country forward. He has championed the Development Road — a plan to build a transportation network connecting Asia and Europe via Gulf-Iraq-Turkey — to tie domestic, regional and global economic interests together to spur jobs, investment and economic growth. Al-Sudani’s visit also comes amid regional turmoil that has expanded beyond the war in Gaza to Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Yemen and the Red Sea. Most if not all, crossed Iraq’s airspace, highlighting vulnerabilities to Iraq’s security and sovereignty that the country still needs significant progress on. Iran and Turkey have struck deep inside the Kurdistan Region of Iraq using drones and missiles while Iraq was unable to detect or respond due to lack of needed air-defense capabilities. On April 21, armed groups in Iraq attacked U.S. troops in Syria, one day after al-Sudani’s return.
The pursuit of knowledge became a dominant feature of Abbasid society, attracting scholars and scientists from all over Europe and the Middle East to take part in this cultural birthing, including Persians and Christians. Scholarly work, particularly translation, became a hugely lucrative career, and some scholars such as Hunayn ibn Ishaq were said to earn the weight in gold of each manuscript they completed. Renowned 9th century Arab mathematician Al Khwarizmi studied in the House of Wisdom. At this time astrology was held in the highest esteem as a science in Arab society. The stars and planets were perceived to influence events on earth and astrology was thus carried out with the greatest attention to detail.Al-Mamun had an astronomical observatory built with the intention of addressing the claims of one of the most dominant voices in the ancient world, Ptolemy. Better-known after its translation as the Almagest, the text initiated a flurry of research and commentary at the House of Wisdom which would last for centuries.
Rashīd Street in downtown Baghdad is the heart of this area and contains the city’s financial district, many government buildings, and the copper, textile, and gold bazaars. South of Rashīd Street a commercial area with shops, cinemas, and business offices has spread along Saʿdūn Street. Parallel to Saʿdūn, Abū Nuwās Street on the riverfront was once the city’s showpiece and—as befits a thoroughfare named for a poet known for his libidinous verse—its entertainment centre. During the 1990s the street lost much of its old glamour, and its cafes, restaurants, and luxury hotels either closed or suffered from a loss of business.
Immediately upon taking power, he commanded his vizier Yahya al-Baramika to transfer part of the palace’s private library into a public space.
There were rivalry and competitions between these three libraries in obtaining the most magnificent books and manuscripts as well as in attracting the best scholars to work there. Such competitions were very beneficial to the advancement of scientific research and publications in the Islamic World. Muslims learned how to make paper from the Chinese, and proceeded to transform this art into a major industry. This was a revolutionary development because the existing alternatives to paper were papyrus, which was fragile, and parchment, which was expensive; paper, on the other hand, was relatively cheap. This mass availability of paper enabled Muslims to commit vast amounts of translations and original research to paper; as a result, libraries and bookstores became a common sight in Baghdad, and soon spread to other Muslim cities. Some records stated that, in order to encourage translators and scholars to add works in Arabic to the library, al-Ma’mun would pay them the equivalent weight of each complete book in gold.
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