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ISLAMIC SCIENCE
Did the Muslims just copy and preserve ancient Greek
Science or did they add to it?
Abimbola Oyediran
ISLAMIC EMPIRE: BEGINNINGS
AL-MAMUN THE ‘CALIPH OF SCIENCE’
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The fourth Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty.
Reigned for twenty years
Encouraged men of science and scholars to come and work in
Bagdad
Sponsored the House of Wisdom. A library were translators
and experts did their work
Was seen as a dictator because of his desire for knowledge
and power
HUNAYN IBN-ISHAQ
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A Nestorian Christian
Trained a medical doctor
One of the more prominent
translators
Translated the medical text
of Galen
Made a valuable
contribution to medicine and
anatomy.
Work was continued by his
disciples & followers
OPTICS
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Ptolemy’s work on optics
was criticised by alHaytham
Intense light causes the eye
discomfort.
al-Haytham proposed that
vision was due light coming
into the eye
The first to use rules to
describe the differing angles
of refraction.
His the Latin version book
Optics was in use until
the1500s.
ASTRONOMY
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Less of a distinction between astronomy and astrology during
this period
Because of religious practices, a significant understand of the
motion of the stars were required
Many of the occupied regions had a been star-worshipers so
there was a lot of interest in astrology
ASTRONOMY
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Ptolemy mechanical model
of the solar system became
increasingly criticised.
Astronomers began asking
questions about observed
motion of planets
Al-Tusi was astronomer
during the 1200s, who
endevored to replace to
equants of Ptolemy modal
to more uniformed motion.
He also established
trigonometry as a separate
from of matematics.
Summary
The scientists of that period made considerable
advances in medicine, Physics, astronomy and
Mathematics.
 Many of such works came into Europe through
Muslim Spain then translated to Latin.
 The scholars of the Islamic Empire did not just
translate the Greek text. They applied the
knowledge and questioned the theories. They spent
years experimenting and making careful
observations.
 The advances were made in science during the
Islamic Empire that show that
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REFERENCES
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Benoit, P. and Micheau, F.1995. The Arab Intermediary.
IN: Serres, M. (ed.) A History of scientific thought :
elements of a history of science. Oxford, UK ;
Cambridge, Mass., USA: Blackwell Reference.
Mason, S.F. 1962. A history of the sciences. New rev ed.
Macmillan General Reference.
Masood, E. 2009. Science & Islam: a history. UK: Icon
Books.
Sabra, A.I. 2003. Ibn al-Haytham's Revolutionary Project
in Optics: The achievement and the obstacle. IN:
Hogendijk, J.P. and Sabra, A.I. (eds.) The enterprise of
science in Islam : new perspectives. Cambridge, Mass ;
London: MIT Press.
Saliba, G. 2007. Islamic Science and the making of the
European Renaissance. Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
REFERENCES
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http://www.beastfromtheeast.org/Arabmap.jpg
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http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/Earliest_description_of_eye
_Hunayn_ibn_Ishaq_Fig_1.jpg
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http://greatbooksblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/0820-20galen.jpg
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http://innergarden.org/images/baytalhikma.jpg
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http://muqchem.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/alhazen1.jpg
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/