Arabic Science in the Middle Ages: Advancements & Influence

Arabic Science in the Middle Ages: Advancements and Influence

Introduction

The Middle Ages began with the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 at the hands of the barbarians and lasted for 1000 years, from the 5th to the 15th century. It is often called the Dark Ages due to a perceived decline in scientific knowledge. However, this decline began earlier in Alexandria when the city became a Roman province and scientific pursuits were no longer prioritized. The decline of Alexandrian science was marked by four factors:

1. Scientific-Theoretical Cause: Science itself was limited by its methodology, requiring a new approach to enable further research.
2. Rome: The Roman Empire was preoccupied with practical interests of conquest and governance, showing little interest in the pursuit of scientific knowledge.
3. Christianity: The primary concern of early Christianity was spiritual salvation. Revelation, falling within the sphere of faith rather than reason, was considered the sole judge of truth and the primary source of knowledge.
4. Church: The Christian code was extremely binding and informed on other pagan societies.

The critical moment for science came when the Roman Empire was completely conquered by Christianity, and classical scientific thought was suppressed.

Science in Eastern Europe: Science in Islam

When the Muslim Empire expanded into areas previously held by the ancient cultures of Egypt and Persia, they encountered the remnants of past scientific achievements. The major libraries of the Greco-Roman world fell into their hands, sparking a renewed interest in science. This coincided with the arrival of the Nestorians, a Christian sect expelled from Constantinople for heresy due to their rejection of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. The Nestorians brought with them copies of Greek philosophical and scientific works, which they translated into various languages.

One hundred years after the death of Mohammed, the Muslim Empire stretched from the Pyrenees to the Indus. While the Arabs did not necessarily introduce groundbreaking new ideas, they meticulously developed and expanded upon the scientific knowledge inherited from the Greeks. Al-Mamun, who reigned from 813 to 833, is considered a model prince, a lover of literature and science. He sponsored astronomical work, and after him, caliphs, emirs, and sultans acted as protectors and promoters of Arabic science. Astronomers, doctors, mathematicians, and philosophers thrived in the courts of these rulers, and science flourished under their patronage.

In the Field of Astronomy

Arabic astronomers utilized decimal numbers and trigonometry, and they created astronomical tables with a precision surpassed only by Tycho Brahe in the 16th century. However, despite their advancements in calculations, Arabic astronomers adhered to Aristotle's concept of a supralunar world characterized by uniform circular movements. It wasn't until the 18th century that the Aristotelian view was fully abandoned. The astronomical measurements of the Arabs were driven by a profound respect for ancient science and the practical needs of Islamic society.

In the Field of Alchemy

The aim of Hebrew and Greek alchemy was to discover the philosopher's stone, a substance believed to be capable of transforming base metals into gold. The goal of Chinese alchemy was to find the elixir of life, a panacea for all diseases. Arab alchemists and their European successors pursued both goals. Their most notable contributions were the by-products of their experiments: through their investigations, they discovered important substances such as alcohols and mineral acids, which proved relevant to the development of industry and the gradual emergence of scientific chemistry. In the field of alchemy, it was Aristotle's model of the terrestrial world that provided the framework for interpretation. The sublunar world was considered corruptible and mutable, composed of fire, air, water, and earth, associated with the qualities of hot, cold, wet, and dry, respectively. The combination of these elements was believed to give rise to all the bodies found in nature.

In the Field of Geometry

In the 9th century, the Arabs focused their geometrical investigations primarily on the study of parallels.

In the Field of Calculation

The practical science of calculation flourished in the hands of the Arabs. They developed a new discipline, algebra, which, although initially limited, enabled systematic reasoning and the grouping of different equations into a number of rate equations. The solutions to these equations paved the way for a form of algebra significantly different from that of the Greeks.