Islamic world contributions to Medieval Europe

The Islamic world helped share many ideas with Europe during the High Middle Ages. This happened in places like Al-Andalus, Sicily, and the Crusader kingdoms in the Levant.

Important books from ancient Greece and new Arabic writings were translated into Latin. These translations changed many areas of learning in Europe. They helped people understand nature, ideas, and big questions.

The Islamic world also brought new inventions to Europe, often through the Silk Road. Some of these came from China, like paper, the compass, and gunpowder. These changed daily life and how people saw the world.

Many words in European languages, including English, came from Arabic. Examples include star names like Aldebaran, science words like alchemy, algebra, and algorithm, and words for things like sugar, camphor, cotton, and coffee. These show how connected the world was long ago.

Transmission routes

Further information: Latin translations of the 12th century, Norman–Arab–Byzantine culture, and Arab Agricultural Revolution

During the Middle Ages, Europe and the Islamic world shared ideas in important places. Two main places were Sicily and Spain, especially the city of Toledo. After Spanish Christians took Toledo in 1085, a scholar named Gerard of Cremone helped translate many books.

In Sicily, after Islamic rulers and later the Normans took control, different cultures mixed together. King Roger II invited Islamic poets, scientists, and soldiers to his court. A writer from Morocco, Muhammad al-Idrisi, wrote a famous book about the world for Roger called The Book of Pleasant Journeys into Faraway Lands or Tabula Rogeriana.

The Crusades also helped share ideas between Europe and the Levant, with Italian trading cities helping. In cities like Antioch, Arab and European cultures mixed.

Many Christian scholars traveled to learn from Muslim teachers in the 11th and 12th centuries. Famous examples include Leonardo Fibonacci, Adelard of Bath, and Constantine the African. European students went to Muslim schools to study medicine, philosophy, mathematics, cosmography, and other subjects.

Aristotelianism and other philosophies

Further information: Transmission of the Greek Classics, Aristotelianism, Corpus Aristotelicum, Early Islamic philosophy, Avicennism, and Averroism

During the Middle Ages, many important books from ancient Greece were saved by people in the Middle East. These books, especially the works of Aristotle, were first translated into Syriac. Later, they were studied in places like Baghdad, home to a famous library called the "House of Wisdom."

These books were then translated into Latin, a language used in Europe. Scholars like Michael Scot helped with these translations. Important cities for this work were Toledo in Spain and Sicily. Many wise people helped share these ideas, including Moses Maimonides and Averroes.

Avicennism and Averroism show how two Muslim thinkers, Avicenna and Averroes, influenced European learning. Avicenna added his own ideas to Aristotle’s works. Averroes had different views, and his ideas about Aristotle became very important in Europe. His thoughts were used by thinkers like Dante Aligheri.

Sciences

Further information: Latin translations of the 12th century and Science in the medieval Islamic world

During a special time called the Islamic Golden Age, many new ideas were discovered in science, especially in math and astronomy. These ideas were later shared with Europe.

European scholars searched for old Greek science books that were not available in their own language but existed in Arabic. They traveled to places like Spain and Sicily to learn Arabic and translate these important works into Latin. These translations helped European science grow a lot.

Alchemy

See also: Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam

Many important books about alchemy in Europe came from Arabic sources. These books taught Europeans new ways to mix and change materials. Some books were written by famous Arab scientists, while others were written by unknown authors but still shared Arab knowledge.

Astronomy, mathematics and physics

See also: Astronomy in Islam, Islamic mathematics, and Physics in the medieval Islamic world

The work of one Arab scientist, Al-Khwarizmi, greatly changed math in Europe. His book about algebra gave us the words we still use today, like "algorithm" and "algebra". Many other Arab scientists wrote about stars and math, and their books were translated into Latin, helping Europe learn more about the universe.

One famous Arab scientist, Ibn al-Haytham, wrote a book about how we see and how light works. This book helped many European scientists learn about light and sight. His ideas even influenced art and how maps were made much later.

Medicine

See also: Medicine in the medieval Islamic world

One of the most important medical books ever written was by Avicenna, called The Canon of Medicine. This book was translated into Latin and used in European medical schools for many years. It taught doctors about many diseases and how to test new medicines.

Another important book was written by Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi. He described two diseases, measles and smallpox, helping doctors understand them better. A third book by Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi included many new tools and methods for surgery, which European doctors used for centuries.

Technology and culture

Agriculture and textiles

Further information: Arab Agricultural Revolution

Many fruits and vegetables came to Europe from the Middle East and North Africa. Some foods, like the artichoke, spinach, and aubergine, came from far away places like China and India.

Arts

Main article: Islamic influences on Western art

Islamic decorative arts were very popular in Europe during the Middle Ages. Textiles were important and were used for church clothes, blankets, and rich people's outfits. Everyday Islamic pottery was liked more than European pottery. The designs were simple patterns or small scenes, and the writing was not understood, so these items did not upset Christian beliefs. Art in Sicily mixed Norman, Arab, and Byzantine styles in things like mosaics, sculpture, and metalwork.

Writing

Main article: Pseudo-Kufic

Artists in Europe often used the Arabic Kufic script for decoration during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. This style, called pseudo-Kufic, used straight and angular lines. It was used to make textiles, religious halos, and picture frames look fancy. Many examples are in paintings by Giotto. Artists may have thought the script looked like the writing from the time of Jesus, or they may have wanted to show different cultures in their art.

Carpets

Main article: Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting

Carpets from the Middle East, like those from the Ottoman Empire, the Levant, Egypt, or Northern Africa, were very valuable in Europe. These carpets showed wealth and often appeared in European paintings from the 1300s onward.

Music

Main articles: Arabic music and Andalusian classical music

Some musical instruments in Europe were inspired by Arabic musical instruments. For example, the rebec, an early violin, came from the rebab. The naker was similar to a drum called naqareh, and the oud helped shape the modern guitar.

Some think that European troubadours, who were poets and musicians, may have been influenced by Arab traditions. One theory is that a poet named William IX of Aquitaine may have been inspired by Moorish music and culture during his time in Spain with the Reconquista. But others think this idea may not be true.

Technology

See also: Timeline of Muslim scientists and engineers

Many technologies in the Islamic world came to Europe during the Middle Ages. These included new crops, tools for studying the stars like the astrolabe, and medical tools. The distillation process, used to make liquids like alcohol, came from the Arabs. The word alembic has Arabic roots. Complex water clocks and machines from the Islamic world helped create the first mechanical clocks in Europe.

The sharing of technology from the Middle East and Asia to Europe during the Renaissance was one of the biggest technology transfers ever.

Historian Andrew Watson said that between 700 and 1100, many new crops and farming methods spread from Spain into Europe. These included sorghum, citrus fruits, mangos, rice, cotton, and sugar cane. These changes helped the economy, changed where people lived, and improved farming. But some historians think the changes were not as big as Watson suggested.

The making of sugar from sugar cane, water clocks, pulp and paper, silk, and new ways to make perfume all came from the Islamic world to Europe. Advances in mill technology and machines like the suction pump, noria, and chain pumps also helped Europe.

The spinning wheel was invented in the Islamic world around 1030. It later spread to China and then to Europe and India. This invention was very important for making cotton cloth before the Industrial Revolution.

Coinage

While Europe had its own coins, Islamic coins also affected European money. In the 700s, an English king named Offa of Mercia made coins that looked like Abbasid coins but added "Offa Rex" in the middle.

In places like Sicily, Malta, and Southern Italy, rulers made gold coins called tarì that looked like Islamic coins. These coins had writing in both Arabic and Latin. They were very popular, and others made copies in places like Amalfi and Salerno, but these copies only had fake Arabic writing.

Literature

Further information: Islamic literature, Arabic literature, and Persian literature

Some people think the famous Italian story Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri might have been inspired by old Arabic books. One of these books, called Kitab al-Miraj, tells about Muhammad's journey to Heaven. This book was translated into Latin a long time ago. Dante knew about Muslim thinkers and wrote about some of them, but we do not know how much these stories influenced his work.