Бағдаттың Әббаси әдебиет үйі: Тарих және мифтер

Abbasid era library in Baghdad, modern day Iraq
the Abbasid library in Baghdad, Iraq

The House of Wisdom (بَيْت الْحِكْمَة Bayt al Ḥikmah), also known as the Grand Library of Baghdad, was believed to be a major Abbasid era public academy and intellectual center in Baghdad. In popular reference, it acted as one of the world's largest public libraries during the Islamic Golden Age, and was founded either as a library for the collections of the fifth Abbasid caliph Harun al Rashid in the late 8th century or as a private collection of the second Abbasid caliph al Mansur to house rare books and collections of poetry in the Arabic and Persian language. During the reign of the seventh Abbasid caliph al Ma'mun , it was turned into a public academy and a library. Finally, it was destroyed in 1258 during the Mongol siege of Baghdad. More recently, the narrative of the Abbasid House of Wisdom acting as a major intellectual center, university, and playing a sizable role during the translation movement has been understood by some historians to be a myth, constructed originally over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by Orientalists and, through their works, propagated its way into scholarship and nationally oriented works until more recent re investigations of the evidence.

The House of Wisdom existed as a part of the major Translation Movement taking place during the Abbasid Era, translating works from Greek and Syriac to Arabic, but it is unlikely that the House of Wisdom existed as the sole center of such work, as major translation efforts arose in Cairo and Damascus even earlier than the proposed establishment of the House of Wisdom. This translation movement lent momentum to a great deal of original research occurring in the Muslim world, which had access to texts from Greek, Persian, and Indian sources. The rise of advanced research into mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and medicine was the beginning of Arab science, and drove demand for more and updated translations.

The House of Wisdom was made possible by the consistent flow of Arab, Persian, and other scholars of the Islamic world to Baghdad, owing to the city's position as capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Numerous books and documents covering several scientific concepts and philosophical subjects in different languages were translated in this house.

Throughout the 4th to 7th centuries, scholarly work in the Arabic languages was either newly initiated or carried on from the Hellenistic period. Centers of learning and of transmission of classical wisdom included colleges such as the School of Nisibis and later the School of Edessa, and the renowned hospital and medical Academy of Gondishapur; libraries included the Library of Alexandria and the Imperial Library of Constantinople; and other centers of translation and learning functioned at Merv, Salonika, Nishapur and Ctesiphon, situated just south of what was later to become Baghdad. During the Umayyad era, Muawiyah I started to gather a collection of books in Damascus. He then formed a library that was referred to as "Bayt al Hikma". The Umayyads also appropriated paper making techniques from the Chinese and joined many ancient intellectual centers under their rule, and employed Christian and Persian scholars to both translate works into Arabic and to develop new knowledge. These were fundamental elements that contributed directly to the flourishing of scholarship in the Arab world. and adopted many practices from the Sasanian Empire—among those, that of translating foreign works, except that now texts were translated into Arabic. For this purpose, al Mansur founded a palace library modeled after the Sasanian Imperial Library, and provided economic and political support to the intellectuals working there. He also invited delegations of scholars from India and other places to share their knowledge of mathematics and astronomy with the new Abbasid court.

Under the sponsorship of Caliph al Ma'mun (r. 813–833), economic support of the House of Wisdom and scholarship in general was greatly increased. Al Ma'mun, under the tutelage of his father, Caliph Harun al Rashid, memorized the Quran word for word under the eyes of leading religious scholar of the court. Al Ma'mun's mistakes were instantly corrected. It was a common trait amongst Muslim poets, scientists, and authors to memorize their original texts for public lectures, which were typically done inside a mosque. This practice appeared to be ingrained inside al Ma'mun's intellectual capabilities. His love for science was so great that it was said that he preferred scientific texts as the spoils of war. The House of Wisdom was much more than an academic center removed from the broader society. Its experts served several functions in Baghdad. Scholars from the Bayt al Hikma usually doubled as engineers and architects in major construction projects, kept accurate official calendars, and were public servants. They were also frequently medics and consultants. Inspired by Aristotle, al Ma'mun regularly initiated discussion sessions and seminars among experts in Kalām; Kalām being an art of philosophical debate, which al Ma'mun carried on from his Persian tutor, Ja’far. During such debates, scholars would discuss their fundamental Islamic beliefs and doctrines in an open, intellectual atmosphere. 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 teams of scholars and scientists. In this way he was the first ruler to fund "big science". 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. 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. 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. 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 on 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 during the Medieval era, attracting the most brilliant Arab and Persian minds.

On February 13, 1258, the Mongols entered the city of the caliphs, starting a full week of pillage and destruction. Along with all other libraries in Baghdad, the House of Wisdom was destroyed by Hulagu's army during the Siege of Baghdad. The books from Baghdad's libraries were thrown into the Tigris River in such quantities that the river was said to have run black with the ink from their pages. According a16th century chronicle about the siege from Quṭb al Dīn al Nahrawālī, "So many books were thrown into the Eufrates River that they formed a bridge that would support a man on horseback." According to historian Michal Biran, this quote was a literary trope associated with the siege of Baghdad and magnifying Mongol barbarity. Nasir al Din al Tusi rescued about 400,000 manuscripts, which he took to Maragheh before the siege. Many of the books were also torn apart by pillagers so that the leather covers could be made into sandals.

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. The House of Wisdom was known for being a space for scholarly growth and contribution which during the time greatly contributed to the Translation Movement. The Translation Movement started in this House of Wisdom and lasted for over two centuries. Over a century and a half, primarily Middle Eastern Oriental Syriac Christian scholars translated all scientific and philosophic Greek texts into Arabic language in the House of Wisdom. The translation movement at the House of Wisdom was inaugurated with the translation of Aristotle's Topics. By the time of al Ma'mun, translators had moved beyond Greek astrological texts, and Greek works were already in their third translations. was also another historical figure that worked at the House of Wisdom. He studied cryptanalysis but he was also a great mathematician. Al Kindī is the most famous for being the first person to introduce Aristotle's philosophy to the Arabic people. 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. Al Jāḥiẓ was one of the few Muslim scholars who was deeply concerned with biology. He wrote Book of Animals, which discusses the way animals adapt to their surroundings, similarly to Aristotle's History of Animals. In his book, al Jāḥiẓ argued that animals like dogs, foxes, and wolves must have descended from a common ancestor because they shared similar characteristics and features such as four legs, fur, tail, and so on. Mūsā ibn Shākir was an astrologer and a friend of Caliph Harun al Rashid's son, al Ma'mun. His sons, collectively known as the Banū Mūsā (Sons of Moses), also contributed with their extensive knowledge of mathematics and astrology. When their father died, al Ma'mun became their guardian. Between 813 and 833, the three brothers were successful in their works in science, engineering, and patronage. Abū Jaʿfar, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (before 803 – February 873), Abū al‐Qāsim, Aḥmad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (d. 9th century) and al Ḥasan ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (d. 9th century) are widely known for their Book of Ingenious Devices, which describes about one hundred devices and how to use them. Among these was "The Instrument that Plays by Itself", the earliest example of a programmable machine, as well as the Book on Measurement of Plane and Spherical Figures. Mohammad Musa and his brothers Ahmad and Hasan contributed to Baghdad's astronomical observatories under the Abbasid Caliph al Ma'mun, in addition to House of Wisdom research. Having shown much potential, the brothers were enrolled in the library and translation center of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. They began translating ancient Greek into Arabic after quickly mastering the language, as well as paying large sums to obtain manuscripts from the Byzantine Empire for translation. They also made many original contributions to astronomy and physics. Mohammad Musa might have been the first person in history to point to the universality of the laws of physics. In medicine, Hunayn wrote an important treatise on ophthalmology. Other scholars also wrote on smallpox, infections and surgery. Note that these works would later become standard textbooks of medicine during the European Renaissance. Under al Ma'mun's leadership science saw for the first time wide ranging research projects involving large groups of scholars. In order to check Ptolemy's observations, the caliph ordered the construction of the first astronomical observatory in Baghdad (see Observatories section below). The data provided by Ptolemy was meticulously checked and revised by a highly capable group of geographers, mathematicians and astronomers.

The creation of the first astronomical observatory in the Islamic world was ordered by Caliph al Ma'mun in 828 in Baghdad. The construction was directed by scholars from the House of Wisdom: senior astronomer Yahya ibn abi Mansur and the younger Sanad ibn Ali al Alyahudi. It was located in al Shammasiyya and was called Maumtahan Observatory. After the first round of observations of Sun, Moon and the planets, a second observatory on Mount Qasioun, near Damascus, was constructed. The results of this endeavor were compiled in a work known as al Zij al Mumtahan, which translates as "The Verified Tables".