MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

FEDERAL FISHERIES AGENCY

FEDERAL STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

"MURMANSK STATE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY"

FACULTY OF CORRESPONDENCE SOCIO-ECONOMIC EDUCATION

Test

by discipline

cultural studies

Scientific knowledge of the medieval Arab world

Student: 1 course of extramural-accelerated form of study

Specialty: Accounting, analysis and audit

Shelekh Anastasia Vladimirovna

Murmansk, 2007

Introduction

The reasons for the high development of Arab culture

Arabic language and writing

Mathematics

Geography

The medicine

Philosophy

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

arabic world science

The medieval culture of the Arab East (V-XVI centuries) means the culture of Arabia and those countries that underwent Arabization and in which the Arab people developed - Iran, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and other countries North Africa... Later, the Arabs subordinated the Volga Bulgaria and the countries of Central Asia to their influence.

Throughout the vast territory of the Caliphate, whose powerful uniting force was Islam, a new culture arose, which reached an unprecedented flowering in the 9th-11th centuries. Guided by the call of the Quran to seek new knowledge and study nature for the sake of discovering the signs of the Creator, inspired by the found treasure ancient greek wisdom, Muslims created a society that in the Middle Ages was the scientific center of the world.

Medieval Islamic culture was a very complex phenomenon, which included a revised heritage of antiquity, the work of Arab inventors, scientists, philosophers, artists, and the huge contribution of representatives of various peoples of the Front and Central Asia and the Mediterranean.

From the very first steps of the new religion, the caliphs made the acquisition of secular knowledge, the development of science, technology, art one of the requirements of Islam. The flourishing period of Islamic culture is characterized by a rapid rise in all areas of science accessible to the human mind of that era. In Muslim countries, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, historiography, linguistics, chemistry, pharmacology, the art of healing and the art of speech flourished. The language and alphabet of the Arabs and Persians gave the world unforgettable monuments of prose and poetry. This was the era when brilliant philosophical treatises and works in the field of exact and humanitarian sciences were created.

The reasons for the high development of Arab culture

One of the important features of the Muslim civilization is that the rulers, fighting against gentiles and pagans, nevertheless, did not forbid scientists to use the knowledge obtained from the books of Greek, Indian, Chinese authors.

As a result of the wide spread of Islam across the planet - from India to Spain - Muslims acquired more and more new knowledge. Persian and Indian scholars played a large role in the scientific and linguistic deciphering of ancient Greek manuscripts. The knowledge of scientists was very important, since it not only served to increase the intellectual potential of the empire, but also brought practical benefits in various fields: from monumental architecture and urban planning to medical care and transportation.

Wide trade provided rich material for mathematical problems, long travels stimulated the development of astronomical and geographic knowledge, the development of the craft contributed to the development of experimental art. Therefore, new mathematics, convenient for solving computational problems, originates in the East. In the VII-X centuries. there was a rapid development of the natural and exact sciences among the peoples that were part of the Arab Caliphate. The centers of medieval Arab science were the cities of Baghdad, Kufa, Basra, Charon. Under the caliphs Harun ar-Rashid and Al-Mamun, scientific activity experienced a period of upsurge: astronomical observatories were built (in which observations of heavenly bodies were carried out), buildings for scientific and translation work, and libraries. By the X century. in many cities there were middle and higher Muslim schools- madrasah. In some cases, teachers were well paid. Even special travels were undertaken for educational purposes.

Arabic language and writing

Already in the Early Middle Ages, the Arabs had rich folklore traditions, they appreciated the spoken word, a beautiful phrase, a good comparison, a proverb uttered to the place. Each tribe of Arabia had its own poet, praising their fellow tribesmen and denouncing their enemies. The poet used rhythmic prose, there were many rhythms. In the first centuries of Islam, the art of rhyming became a court craft in large cities. Poets also acted as literary critics. The first Arabic alphabet (South Arabic) dates back to 800 BC. e. Since then, writing in the South Arabian language has continuously developed up to the 6th century. n. e. The earliest inscription in the Arabic alphabet is dated 328 AD. e. The final Arabic letter took shape in the 8th century. in connection with the formation of the Arab Caliphate and the development of the culture of the peoples that made it up. Northern Arabs used the written language Aramaic, akin to Arabic. Arabic writing became the only type of writing throughout the vast territory of the Caliphate. In all countries of Islam, the Arabic language played the same role as the language of official correspondence, religion and literature as Latin language v Western Europe... At the court of Caliph Abu al-Abbas al-Mamun at the end of the 7th century. in Baghdad, a special institution was founded, a kind of association of the academy, observatory, library - the House of Wisdom, in which he gathered scientists who spoke different languages, headed by the famous mathematician al-Khwarizmi. For two centuries - from 750 to 950, the works of ancient authors on philosophy, mathematics, medicine, alchemy, astronomy were translated into Arabic. Also, works were translated on the geometry of Euclid, on medicine - Galen and Hippocrates and on the pharmacopoeia - Dioscorides, on astronomy - Ptolemy.

Mathematics

The main scientific achievements of Arab scholars date back to the Early Middle Ages. The contribution of the Arabs to mathematics was significant. In the VIII century. - and especially in the 9th-10th centuries. - Arab scholars have done important discoveries in the field of geometry, trigonometry. Living in the X century. Abu-l-Wafa deduced the theorem of sines of spherical trigonometry, calculated a table of sines with an interval of 15 °, introduced the segments corresponding to the secant and cosecant. The poet and scientist Omar Khayyam wrote "Algebra" - an outstanding work, which contained a systematic study of equations of the third degree. He also successfully dealt with the problem of irrational and real numbers. He owns the philosophical treatise "On the universality of being." In 1079 he introduced a calendar more accurate than the modern Gregorian. The Baghdad Caliphate learned about the mathematical discoveries of the Indians in the 8th century. The digital system, immediately taken up by the Arabs, became known in Western Europe under the name Arab by the 12th century. (across Arab possessions in Spain) .

A well-known treatise "The Book of Mechanics" belongs to the famous astronomers and mathematicians of the Baghdad school - the three brothers of Banu Musa (IX-X centuries). Among the Central Asian scientists, one should name, first of all, the mathematician of the 9th century. Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Musa al-Khwarizmi (787 - c. 850), who worked during the era of the enlightened Caliph al-Mamun. It was thanks to his writings that the Indian positional system and digital symbols with zero, which were subsequently perceived by European mathematics, spread in the Arab world. Also in Khorezmi he describes arithmetic operations with integers and fractions. In his revised "Arithmetic" of Diophantus - "The Book of Restoration and Opposition" ("Kitab al-Jabr al-Mukaballah"), two basic rules for solving linear and quadratic equations were given, and the term "al-Jabr" ("Al -Jabar ") to denote the whole science of solving equations (algebra). Scientists who followed Khorezmi developed new ideas, borrowing them, in turn, from Indian mathematicians, and in the XII century. The great Khorezmian scientist-encyclopedist Abu-r-Reikhan al-Biruni (973 - c. 1050) created major works in mathematics, astronomy, botany, geography, general geology, mineralogy and other sciences. The scientist widely used mathematical analysis. In the field of mathematics, he solved the problems of dividing an angle into three parts, doubling a cube, etc. Famous armenian scientist began VII century Anania Shirakatsi traveled to Byzantium, studied mathematics and philosophy and, returning to his homeland, founded a school in which he taught mathematics, astronomy, and geography. He compiled an Armenian textbook of arithmetic.

Biruni consecrated to Mahmud Masud a large work on astronomy and spherical trigonometry, known as the Canon of Masud.

Astronomy I

The translated main work of Claudius Ptolemy, The Great Astronomical Construction, called Al-Majisti in Arabic (translated from Arabic into Latin as Almagest), became the basis of cosmology for Arab scientists, which was applied over the next 500 years. In the IX-X centuries. Arab scientists al-Battani and Abu al-Wafa carried out the most accurate astronomical measurements for that time, which allowed them to compile astronomical tables, tables of cotangents. Astronomical research was carried out by the Central Asian scientist, statesman and educator Ulugbek (1394-1449). In the years 1428-1429. he built one of the most significant observatories of the Middle Ages in Samarkand and equipped it with first-class instruments for that time - a unique 40-meter marble sextant set in the plane of the meridian. In his main work "New Astronomical Tables" Ulugbek gave information about the position of 1018 stars, tables of planetary motion, which were highly accurate (up to fractions of a degree), and also outlined the theoretical foundations of astronomy at that time. The results of the observations made by Ulugbek characterize the high level of Arab astronomy.

The Arabs created a lunar calendar that included 28 "lunar stations", each of which had meteorological characteristics. Shirakatsi scientists published a treatise on cosmography. This treatise testifies to Shirakatsi's deep knowledge of the works of the Greek scientist Aristotle. In his essay, Shirakatsi also considers purely astronomical questions: he tries to estimate the distance to the Sun and the Moon, draws up a calendar testifying to his thorough knowledge of the movements of the Sun and Moon and the works of ancient scientists on this issue. Shirakatsi was a versatile scientist who linked the young Armenian science with the ancient heritage.

Muhammad ibn Ahmed al-Biruni also made precise astronomical measurements. Biruni observed and described the change in the color of the moon during lunar eclipses, the phenomenon of the solar corona during total eclipses of the sun. He expressed the idea of ​​the movement of the Earth around the Sun and considered the geocentric theory to be very vulnerable. He wrote an extensive essay on India and translated into Sanskrit Euclid's Beginnings and Ptolemy's Almagest. The astronomical studies of medieval Arab scientists, along with other achievements of Arab science and technology, later became known in Europe and stimulated the development of European astronomy.

Geography

Geography was of great practical importance. Arab travelers and geographers expanded their understanding of Iran, India, Ceylon and Central Asia. With their help, Europe first got acquainted with China, Indonesia and other countries of Indochina. Notable works of travel geographers:

- "Book of Ways and States" by Ibn Khordadbek, IX century.

- "Expensive Values" - Geographical Encyclopedia of Ibn Rust (beginning of the 10th century)

- "Note" by Ahmed Ibn Fadlan describing the trip to the Volga region, Trans-Volga region and Central Asia

20 treatises by Masudi (X century)

- "Book of Ways and Kingdoms" Istakhri

2 world maps of Abu Abdallah al-Idris

Multivolume "Dictionary of Countries" by al-Kindi Yakut

- "Travel" by Ibn Battuta.

Ibn Battuta traveled about 130 thousand km by land and sea in 25 years of his travels. He visited all Muslim possessions in Europe, Asia and Byzantium, North and East Africa, Western and Central Asia, India, Ceylon and China, bypassed the shores of the Indian Ocean. He crossed Black Sea and from the southern coast of the Crimea drove to the lower reaches of the Volga and the mouth of the Kama. Biruni made geographic measurements. He determined the angle of inclination of the ecliptic to the equator and established its secular changes. For 1020, his measurements gave the value 23 ° 34 "0". Modern calculations give for 1020 a value of 23 ° 34 "45". During a trip to India, Biruni developed a method for determining the radius of the Earth. According to his measurements, the radius of the Earth turned out to be equal to 1081.66 farsakh, that is, about 6490 km. Al-Khwarizmi took part in the measurements. Under al-Mamun, an attempt was made to measure the circumference of the earth. To this end, scientists measured the degree of latitude near the Red Sea, which is 56 Arab miles, or 113.0 km, hence the circumference of the Earth was 40,680 km.

Physics

An outstanding scientist of Egypt was Ibn al-Haytham (965-1039), known in Europe under the name of Alhazen, mathematician and physicist, author of famous works on optics.

Alhazen develops the scientific heritage of the ancients, making his own experiments and designing devices for them. He developed a theory of vision, described the anatomical structure of the eye and suggested that the lens is the receiver of the image. Alhazen's point of view prevailed until the 17th century, when it was found that the image appears on the retina. Note that Alhazen was the first scientist who knew the action of the camera obscura, which he used as an astronomical device to obtain images of the Sun and the Moon. Alhazen considered the action of flat, spherical, cylindrical and conical mirrors. He posed the problem of determining the position of the reflecting point of a cylindrical mirror according to the given positions of the light source and the eye. corners with a radius drawn to the desired point. The problem is reduced to an equation of the fourth degree. Alhazen solved it geometrically.

Alhazen studied the refraction of light. He developed a method for measuring the angles of refraction and showed experimentally that the angle of refraction is not proportional to the angle of incidence. Although Alhazen did not find an exact formulation of the law of refraction, he significantly supplemented the results of Ptolemy, showing that the incident and refracted rays lie in the same plane with the perpendicular restored from the point of incidence of the ray. Alhazen knew the increasing effect of a plano-convex lens, the concept of the angle of view, its dependence on the distance to the object.

By the duration of twilight, he determined the height of the atmosphere, considering it homogeneous. Under these assumptions, the result is inaccurate (up to Alhazen, the height of the atmosphere is 52,000 steps), but the very principle of determination is a great achievement of medieval optics.

Alhazen's Book of Optics was translated into Latin in the 12th century. The fact that Alhazen is none other than the Arab scholar Ibn al-Haytham became clear only in the 19th century.

The mathematician, astronomer and geographer al-Biruni, who was born on the territory of modern Uzbekistan in 973, wrote 146 works with a total volume of 13 thousand pages, including a lengthy sociological and geographic research India. Muhammad ibn Ahmed al-Biruni made precise measurements of the density of metals and other substances using a "conical instrument" he made. Biruni's "conical device" was a vessel tapering upward and ending in a cylindrical neck. A small round hole was made in the middle of the neck, to which an appropriately sized curved tube was soldered. Water was poured into the vessel. Pieces of metal, the density of which was determined, was lowered into a vessel, from which water was poured through a curved tube in a volume equal to the volume of the metal under study. The neck was narrow enough ("the width of a little finger") that "the rise of water was noticeable even when lowering that which is equal in volume to a grain of millet." The tube itself, after a series of experiments, was replaced with a groove so that water would flow through it without delay. According to Biruni's measurements, the density of gold, translated into modern units of measurement, is 19.5, mercury -13.56. Of particular importance for the development of mineralogy was Biruni's extensive work "Collection of information on the knowledge of precious minerals", in which he described in detail more than 50 minerals, ores, metals, alloys. He also wrote the book "Mineralogy".

Biruni's practical guidance on water used in density determinations is remarkable. He points to the need to use water from the same source, under the same conditions "in connection with the impact on its properties of the four seasons and its dependence on the state of the air." Thus, Biruni knew that the density of water depends on the content of impurities in it and on temperature.

When compared with modern data, Biruni's results are very accurate. The Russian consul in America N. Khanykov in 1857 found al-Khazini's manuscript entitled "The Book of the Scales of Wisdom." This book contains extracts from Biruni's book "On the relationship between metals and precious stones in volume ", containing a description of the Biruni device and the results obtained by him. Al-Hazini continued the research begun by Biruni with the help of a specially designed balance, which he called "the balance of wisdom."

Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Razi, a famous Baghdad surgeon, gave a classic description of smallpox and measles, and used smallpox vaccination. The Syrian Bakhtisho family has produced seven generations of famous doctors.

In 975, the Persian scientist Abu Mansur al-Haravi Muwffat published his "Treatise on the Fundamentals of Pharmacology", in which he outlined medicinal properties various natural and chemical substances.

Biruni also wrote "The Book of Medicinal Substances."

Fuad Sezgind, professor of the history of science at the University of Frankfurt, says that "morphine-based general anesthesia was known in the ancient Arab world."

Philosophy

Arab philosophy developed largely on the basis of the ancient heritage. Scientists-philosophers were Ibn-Sina, the author of the philosophical treatise “The Book of Healing. Scholars actively translated the works of ancient authors.

Famous philosophers were Al-Kindi, who lived in the 9th century, and al-Farabi (870-950), called the "second teacher", i.e. after Aristotle, whom Farabi commented on. Scientists, united in the "Brothers of Purity" philosophical circle in the city of Basra, compiled an encyclopedia of philosophical scientific achievements of their time.

Story

Historical thought also developed. If in the VII-VIII centuries. in the Arabic language proper historical writings had not yet been written and there were simply many legends about Muhammad, the campaigns and conquests of the Arabs, then in the 9th century. Major works on history are being compiled. The leading representatives of historical science were al-Belazuri, who wrote about Arab conquests, al-Nakubi, at-Tabari and al-Masoudi, authors of works on world history. It is history that will remain that virtually the only branch of scientific knowledge that will develop in the XIII-XV centuries. under the rule of a fanatical Muslim clergy, when neither exact sciences nor mathematics developed in the Arab East. The most famous historians of the XIV-XV centuries. there were the Egyptian Makrizi, who compiled the history of the Copts, and Ibn Khaldun, the first of the Arab historians who tried to create a theory of history. As the main factor determining the historical process, he identified natural conditions country.

Conclusion

The East of the 7th-10th centuries left a huge legacy for subsequent generations. Ibn Sina, al-Farabi, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Bajja, Ibn Tufayl and other great thinkers of the past made an exorbitant contribution to theoretical knowledge, not only of the Arab East, but also of Europe, which is philosophy and only it. The significance of the activities of Muslim scholars for world culture was invaluable. Suffice it to say that medieval Europe discovered Greek philosophers for itself, translating their works into Latin from Arabic. In the XII-XIII centuries, thanks to the spread in Europe of paper brought by the Arabs, the main works of Arab mathematicians, opticians, physicians, musicologists were translated into Latin and became the basis of the European spider and technology of the Middle Ages. The West did not wake up without cultural influences the ancient world generalized in advanced Muslim culture.

Together with such inventions as the mechanical clock, compass, gunpowder, paper, brought to Europe by the Arabs, and the ancient heritage, it played a huge role in the development of European civilization.

The development of psychology in the teachings of the thinkers of the Arab East

The system of psychological ideas of the medieval Arab world. In its design, an outstanding role was played by a galaxy of thinkers, the results of scientific ...
One of the essential features of the medieval period of the evolution of psychological knowledge is precisely ...

Theoretical knowledge of the Arab East

Progressive role in the development of scientific knowledge. Especially detailed was given by Abu Nasr al-Farabi. All subsequent classifications of sciences on ...
... in the eastern part of the Arab world - in the X-XI centuries in Lower Mesopotamia with its merchant cities and sea ...

Lecture 4. Science and technology in the Middle Ages

Scientific and technical knowledge of the Arab-Muslim world (VII-XII centuries)

The development of science and technology in early medieval Europe and Byzantium

Science and technology of the Renaissance (XIV-XVI centuries)

Scientific and technical knowledge of the Arab-Muslim world

(VII-XII centuries)

In the earlier Middle Ages, the center of cultural development and scientific knowledge shifted to the East. Here, by the 9th century. formed Arab Caliphate, the largest Islamic state of the Middle Ages, which occupied lands that previously belonged to the Roman Empire. These are the territories of the Arabian Peninsula, modern Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, part of the Caucasus, Central Asia, North Africa, the Pyrenees. The only elements that united the peoples of the Caliphate were Islam and the Arabic language. Extensive trade ties, the borrowing of advanced technologies from the conquered peoples, the interest of the rulers in the development of the state, the tolerance of the new religion to scientific knowledge gave rise to the rise of creative thought.

Technical advances in the Arab East... The Arabs conquered the areas of traditional irrigation agriculture, so the rational use of water has become one of the main government tasks. Civil servants were supposed to observe and control the health of dams, dams and other irrigation structures. At the same time, in low-water areas, a system is being created to collect all possible natural moisture - kanats in the form of long underground tunnels that bring the accumulated water to the surface. When needed, the Arabs built irrigation machines, such as water-powered water-scoop wheels, as well as pipelines.

The use of a water scoop wheel determined the development of water mills, which were built on rivers, including floating and suspended ones, which were suspended on iron chains in the middle of the river. In the VIII century. the first windmills appeared on the territory of Persia and Iraq. They had a horizontal wind wheel, and a vertical shaft rotated the millstone.

Prosperous cities speak of the state of the art in the Arab East. The conquerors adopted most of the achievements of the conquered peoples and were able to master new branches of crafts and technologies. In construction and architecture, they used not only the experience and traditions of previous eras, but were able to develop them, reworking some ideas for their own purposes.

The "Dome of the Rock" in Jerusalem, the main mosque of the Arabs, is still a masterpiece of architecture. Several new types of buildings appeared in Arab architecture: mosques and minarets, madrasahs, caravanserais, etc. The so-called Arab vault appeared - the pointed arch. The Arabs mastered sphero-conical domes. Minarets have become a characteristic part of the landscape of the areas where Islam is spread. Some Arab cities have absorbed all the advanced achievements of urban beautification of the era. Thus, in Cordoba, all city streets were paved and illuminated by lanterns. In the Arab East, the main handicraft and shopping centers there were Damascus, Baghdad, Mecca, Medina, Cairo, Cordova, Basra. Their markets, bazaars were famous throughout the medieval world. It is natural that being international centers trade, eastern cities became the source of many technical innovations for Europeans.

Among technical advances the Arab East was rag paper. In Samarkand in the IX century. the production of such paper was established. On the territory of Spain, a significant part of which was captured by the Arabs, the first paper mill appeared around 1150 in the city of Jativa. Soon this innovation was picked up in Italy, then in France and Germany. Other inventions of the Arabs are associated with the development of their sciences and practical knowledge: paints, glass, chemicals, cosmetics, perfumes. The Arabs paid particular attention to the art of making weapons. Arabs had no equal in aiming patterns on a steel blade (damask), this technology increased the cost of weapons many times over. The Arabs brought gunpowder and firearms to Europe.

Development of scientific knowledge in the medieval East. Distinctive feature The Middle Ages was the heyday of science in the Arab East. Islam had a peaceful attitude towards scientific research. Therefore, it was in the East that many scientific discoveries and observations were made, and the Arab-Muslim medieval culture was many times superior to its contemporary European culture. Exact sciences, mathematics and astronomy, medicine and pharmacology were useful for the development of civilization, they raised the standard of living of the population and did not threaten the ideology of Islam.

Among characteristic features Arabic science, it can be noted that books were treated with great respect, and many caliph rulers collected entire libraries, sometimes reaching 150-200 thousand volumes. Imitations of the Alexandrian Moses also appeared: the scientist Ibn Hamadan created the “House of Wisdom” in the city of Mosul, at which there was an accessible library. Following his example in Baghdad, a similar "House of Wisdom" was established by the vizier Ardashir Ibn-Sabur in 994. In addition to libraries in such scientific centers, observatories were located, poets, scientists and translators who translated Greek books worked here. The need for educated people led to the creation of a university in Egypt at the al-Azhar mosque (983), which still exists today. An educational institution of a new type, a madrasah, appeared.

The sources of the culture and science of the Arabs were the works of ancient and Byzantine scientists, the achievements of the conquered countries. In the East, the works of Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Archimedes and other ancient scientists were preserved and applied. There was a demand for translations of scientific works, since the formation of Arab science proper caused the need for the development of accumulated knowledge by other peoples. This primarily concerned practical mechanics (for the construction of water-lifting machines and irrigation facilities). The works of Aristotle, Heron of Alexandria, Philo of Byzantine were in demand. Often, comments on translations turned into independent essays. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) in the "Book of Knowledge", based on the works of Heron and Philo, examines five simple machines and their combinations for lifting water and moving loads. Translations of the works of Archimedes. "A book on the knowledge of practical mechanics" by Ismail al-Jazari and "On water wheels and the rise of water and the employees of this mechanical device" by Muhammad al-Khorasani are independent treatises on this topic.

From the book of Claudius Ptolemy, Muslims learned about the sphericity of the earth, learned how to determine latitude and longitude and draw maps. The works of Hippocrates became the basis for the "Canon of Medicine" of the famous physician and philosopher Ibn Sina, and Ibn Hayan laid the foundation for Arab alchemy and astrology. In the period from VIII to XII centuries. in the Arab world such sciences as trigonometry, algebra, later optics and psychology, then astronomy, chemistry, geography, zoology, botany, and medicine are developing. The worldview of the Arabs was manifested in the spread of sciences, combining experimental knowledge with mysticism and superstition: astronomy was accompanied by astrology, chemistry was supplemented by alchemy.

The contribution of Arab scientists to exact natural science was manifested in the development of algebra and arithmetic. Even the word "algorithm" is a Latinized version of the name of the mathematician and astronomer from Khorezm, Mohammed Ibn-Musa al-Khorezmi. He revised the mathematical works of the Indian scientist Bramagupta, and the title of his work "Algebra" gave the name to the whole science. Al-Khwarizmi emphasized the practical benefits of mathematics, in particular for the measurement of the earth. The scientist borrowed decimal digits from the Indians, which later came from the Arabs to Europe and which Europeans now call Arab. Al-Khwarizmi was also the most famous Arab astronomer.

Astronomy was an honorable trend in the East, since the main task was to learn how to determine where Mecca is - the faithful had to lean in that direction when praying. Alchemy and related chemistry became specific areas of Arab science. The main occupation of alchemists was the search for the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone, which made it possible to turn mercury into gold. Chemistry has reached high level development and had practical applications: steel smelting, dyeing fabrics and leather, glass production. Arab alchemists invented devices and equipment for conducting experiments: beakers, flasks, crucibles, burners.

Most often, some scientists were engaged in many branches of scientific knowledge at once, they were real encyclopedists. Among them, the most notable figures are al-Biruni, Ibn Sina, Jabir Ibn Khayan and others.

Al-Biruni created treatises on mathematics, astronomy, physics, botany, geography, general geology, mineralogy, ethnography, history. He considered the experiment to be the basis of research, described the water cycle in nature, human feelings, admitted the possibility of the movement of planets around the Sun.

Ibn Sina (Avicenna) left about 450 scientific works on 29 branches of science. Ibn-Sina was an encyclopedic scientist, in the sphere of his interests were philosophy, logic, psychology, mathematics, geology, physics and other sciences. The most important direction of Ibn-Sina's activity was medicine, his treatise "Canon of Medicine" for 500 years was a guide for doctors.

Medicine reached a very high level among the Arabs and was much ahead of Europe. The largest surgeon in the Arab world, az-Zahrawi, raised surgery to the rank of an independent science, and his treatise "Tashrif" laid the foundation for illustrated works on surgery. He first began to use antiseptic agents in the treatment of wounds, invented threads for surgical sutures, about 200 surgical instruments, which were used for a long time by surgeons of all nations. Arab scientists created pharmaceuticals as an independent branch of science, independent of medicine.

Scientist at the turn of the VIII-IX centuries. Jabir-Ibn-Hayyan (Geber) became the founder of alchemy. He admitted the possibility of mutual transformation of metals. This theory gave rise to one of the main goals of European alchemists - the transformation of mercury into gold. Jabir-Ibn-Hayyan paid more attention to practical actions when setting up an experiment, which are described in detail in his treatises: distillation, sublimation, dissolution, crystallization, distillation. He managed to outline the methods of obtaining a number of chemical preparations: nitric acid, nitric silver, ammonia, the method of smelting metals, etc.

Arab geographers and naturalists enriched zoology and botany by studying the flora and fauna of many countries. Affected areas and the humanities. Here the most notable scientist was Abu'an-Nasr al-Farabi (870-950). His teachings, set forth in the treatises "On the views of the inhabitants of a virtuous city", "Aphorisms of a statesman" and "Civic politics", consider issues of politics, state and power. Another famous Arab thinker of the XI century. there was al-Mawardi (974-1058), who in his writings tried to reveal the essence of the Caliphate and understand its nature.

Total:

The needs of agriculture, crafts and trade in the East pushed the development of all areas of practical knowledge, as it gave a good economic effect.

The European heritage in science and technology did not remain without the attention of the Arabs, it was modernized according to the time and new requirements.

World significance science of the Arab East consists in the fact that it preserved and creatively developed the science of Greece and the Hellenistic states, and also introduced the results of the work of Indian scientists into scientific circulation.

Much of the legacy of previous eras was not only preserved in the East, but also passed on to Europeans. The Arabs did not prevent the Europeans from borrowing new knowledge from themselves.

From the Arabs, the Europeans got acquainted with the compass, gunpowder, paper, windmills, sericulture.