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Darrera modificació: 2020-08-04
Bases de dades: Sciència.cat
Rius, Mònica, "Science in Western Islam: circulation of knowledge in the Mediterranean", Contributions to Science, 5/2 (2009), 141-146.
- Resum
- Since thousands of years ago, the Mediterranean Sea has been a melting pot for the circulation of ideas and, indeed, of people. However, during the Middle Ages, the most notable of these movements was surely that between the Islamic East (Mashriq) and West (Maghreb). In expeditions taken to study abroad, Muslims scientists became especially active participants in the diffusion of knowledge as well as the advances that were being amassed in the capital of the empire, Baghdad. Moreover, these journeys were intimately linked to religious precepts. Far from being mere “carriers” of science, the cultural achievements of Muslim scientists during the Abbasid Golden Age would mark them as members of history's intellectual elite. Although initially discretely out of the limelight, the scientists of North Africa–and especially those of Al-Andalus– played an essential role in the transmission of Eastern science to Europe, where the torch would be taken up. For this reason, it is impossible to understand the further development of science without recognizing the stepping-stone that was the Arab-Islamic contribution. Diverse disciplines were cultivated, including medicine, agronomy, and optics, but undoubtedly the reigning field was astronomy (related, in turn, to mathematics and geography). The most relevant names in astronomy (from al-Khwarizmi to Ibn al-Zarqalluh) and the milestones their bearers achieved should be reason enough to have guaranteed their lasting fame. And yet, they remain largely unheard of.
- Matèries
- Astronomia i astrologia
Arabisme
- URL
- http://revistes.iec.cat/index.php/contributions/art ...
http://hdl.handle.net/2445/20531
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