The pursuit of learning

UNESCO Courier, Dec, 1991 by Juan Vernet

Other, more technical knowledge was also propagated abroad. Maslama of Madrid, an astrologer at the Umayyad court, adapted the tables of al-Kharezmi, the great Baghdad mathematician, for the Cordoba meridian. He also wrote notes on the construction of astrolabes and carried out astronomical observations. His work soon became known in Europe, though not under his own name. Latin translations and digests also helped many Arabic words, such as al-sumt, azimuth, to enter other languages.

The new knowledge was also transmitted to Europe via Arab prisoners of war held on Christian territory. Ibn Hayyan, the greatest historian of al-Andalus, specifically refers to their influence. Some of these captives were men of great learning, and their captors knew how to profit from their knowledge.

JUAN VERNET, Spanish Arabist, is professor emeritus at the University of Barcelona and a member of the International Academy of the History of Sciences. A specialist in the field of Arab science and its transmission to medieval and modern Europe, he is the author of many articles and studies.