A Short History of Saracens:Chapter XXV

Retrospect(continued)

Bagdad— Its structures — Architecture— The Caliph's Court— Social life — Dress — Women— Their position — Music — Literature — Philosophy— Science and Arts — Rationalism — The Ikhwan us- Safa (the Brothers of Purity).

Bagdad was the centre of the great civil and mihtary organisation described in the preceding pages. It was "the capital of Islam, the eye of Irak, the seat of empire, the centre of beauty, culture, and arts". Yakut in his geographical encyclopaedia says that Mansur planned the city of a circular shape, surrounded by a strong wall and a deep meat, pierced by four gates with massive iron doors. Each gate was surmounted by a gilt cupola, and was of sufificient height to allow the passage of a horseman holding aloft his lance. Inside, and at some distance from the ceinsure of the city, came the inner walls, within which arose majestically the imperial palace of Khuld with its golden gate {Bab uz- zahab). Not far from the residence of the Caliph, and within the enclosure, stood the Cathedral Mosque, the mansions of the princes and nobles, the arsenal, the treasury, and other government offices. This enclosure, which formed a city in itself, was called the Medinat ul- Mansur. As a matter of fact, after the completion of the Mahdieh, the city formed two vast semi-circles on the right and left banks of the Tigris, twelve miles in diameter. The numerous suburbs, covered with parks, gardens, villas, and beautiful promenades, and plentifully supplied with rich bazaars and finely-built mosques and baths, stretched to a considerable distance on both sides of the river. In the days of its prosperity the population of Bagdad and its suburbs amounted to over two millions! The Mahdieh was, if possible, more magnificent than the city on the western bank. The palace of the Caliph (Kasr ul- Khilafat) stood in the midst of a vast park "several hours in circumference", which, besides a menagerie and aviary, comprised an enclosure for wild animals reserved for the chase. The palace grounds were laid out in gardens, and adorned in exquisite taste with plants, flowers, and trees, reservoirs and fountains, surrounded by sculptured figures. On this side stood the palaces of the Tahirides and other great nobles. Immense streets, none less than forty cubits wide, traversed the city on both sides of the river, from one end to the other, dividing it into blocks or quarters, each under the control of an overseer, or supervisor, who looked after the cleanliness, sanitation, and the comfort of its inhabitants. At the corner of each street were posted sentries (ashab ul-arbuu) to maintain order. One of the principal streets or quarters was called the Mamunieh. "It was of great breadth, and extended from the canal (al-Mualla) to the gate of al-Azaj"

Among the numerous gates which gave access The city to the western city, the most important were: (1) the Bab ush-Shamassia ; (2) the Bab ul-Kazz (the Gate of Silk); (3) the Bussorah Gate; (4) the Bab ud-Dair (the Convent Gate); (5) the Bab ush-Sham (the Gate of Syria); (6) the Bab ul-Bustan (the Garden Gate); (7) the Bab ut-Tak (the Gate of the Pavihon); (8) the Shiraz Gate; (9) the Khaizuran Gate; (10) the Bab us- Sibyan (the Gate of Boys); (11) the Bab ut-tin (the Gate of Figs) ; (12) the Bab ul-Azaj. On the Mahdieh side there were five, the names of which have been preserved : (1) the Bab ul-Gharabeh (the Gate of the Willow); (2) the Bab suk ut-tamar (Gate of the Date Market); (3) the Bab im-Nubi (Gate of the Nubians), where the threshold was which the ambassadors were expected to kiss; (4) the Bab ul-Aammah (the People's Gate); and (5) the Bab ul-Maratib (the Gate of Steps).

The water exits, both on the north and the south, were, like the city gates, guarded night and day by relays of soldiers stationed in the watch-towers on both sides of the river. Every household was plentifully supplied with water "at all seasons" by the numerous aqueducts which intersected the town; the streets, gardens, and parks were regularly swept and watered, and no refuse was allowed to remain within the walls. The hall (Aiwan) of the Kasr' ul-Khuld was surmounted by a green dome eighty cubits high, which was "the crown of Bagdad, the emblem of the city and a memorial of the house of Abbas." Over the cupola was the statue of a horseman with a spear in its hand.

An immense square in front of the imperial palace called the Murabbaa, was used for reviews, military inspections, tournaments, and races; at night the square and the streets were lighted by lamps. Mansur reviewed his troops in full military attire, either standing on a dais or seated on a throne, whilst Rashid, Mamun, and Mutasim always rode, and frequently took part in military tournaments. Horse-racing has always been a passion with the Arabs, and was so in Bagdad, as in Damascus. The Persian game of polo of which Rashid set the fashion, was also played on the Murabbaa.

On the Mahdieh side also there was a vast open space (Maidan) where the troops whose barracks lay on the left bank of the river were paraded daily. The long, wide estrades at the different gates of the city were used by the citizens for gossip and recreation, or for watching the flow of travellers and country folk into the capital. The different nationalities in the capital had each a head officer to represent their interests with the government, and to whom the stranger could appeal for counsel or help. These officers were also responsible for the good conduct of their compatriots.

Bagdad was a veritable City of Palaces, not made The of stucco and mortar, but of marble. The buildings although not different in structure or style from those in Damascus, were usually of several stories, and the influence of Persian taste was distinctly visible in the decorations. The palaces and mansions were lavishly gilt and decorated, and hung with beautiful tapestry and hangings of brocade or silk. The rooms were lightly and tastefully furnished with luxurious dewans, costly tables, unique Chinese vases, and gold and silver ornaments. The imperial Kasrs were resplendent with inlaid jewels; and the interminable halls bore distinctive names according to their ornamentation. The special feature of one was a tree made entirely of gold, with birds perched on its branches made also of gold and studded with gems. Another, the Hall of Paradise (Aiwan ul- Firdous), with its magnificent chandeliers, its inlaid jewels on the walls and ceiling, its colouring and adornments, was a perfect fairy sight. Both sides of the river were for miles fronted by the palaces, kiosks, gardens, and parks of the grandees and nobles; marble steps led down to the water's edge, and the scene on the river was animated by thousands of gondolas called zourak, decked with little flags dancing like sunbeams on the water, and carrying the pleasure-seeking Bagdadi from one part of the city to the other. All along the quays, which stretched for miles along the river-banks, lay whole fleets at anchor, sea and river craft of all sizes and kinds, from the Chinese junk to the old Assyrian raft resting on inflated skins. Among these towered the war-ships of the Caliph, interspersed with police boats (Shazawat). The cathedral mosques were magnificent structures, and in the beauty of their design, the immensity of their conception, and the excellence of their finish rivalled, if they did not surpass, the grand mosque of Walid at Damascus. Besides the Masjid- ul Jamaa, each quarter of the city had its own special place of worship, and every town throughout the empire had a finely-constructed cathedral mosque of its own.

In the capital as well as in the provincial towns were Colleges numerous richly-endow^ed colleges, hospitals, and infirmaries for both sexes. Each college had a separate principal; and the state hospitals were under the control of a prominent physician, called the Director (Dabir) of Hospitals. In the reign of Muktafi, the celebrated Abu Bakr ar-Razi (the Rhazes of European science) held this high and responsible office. A Kazi seems to have been attached to each infirmary, but it is difficult to say what his duties were.

The Nizamieh college, built by Nizam ul-Mulk in 1067 A.C., and the Mustansirieh, built by Mustansir b'Illah in 623 a.h. (1226 a.c), have become famous in the annals of Islam; but the older institutions were equally efficient, and students from all parts of the world flocked to them as well as to the newer colleges. The other cities of the empire vied with the capital in the magnificence of their colleges, established by the munificence of royal personages or private individuals.

The pomp and pageantry which surrounded the Abbasside sovereigns were on a much grander scale than what had been witnessed in Damascus. A body-guard in splendid uniform attended the Caliph whenever he issued from the Palace gates. Hadi introduced the practice for the guard to march with swords drawn, bows bent, and lance at rest; although Rashid and Mamun often rode or walked in the city with only one or two attendants. The Caliph's cortege especially on Fridays and festive occasions when they presided at the cathedral service in the great mosque, was unusually impressive. Troops marched in front with banners flying, drums beating, and trumpets sounding; then followed the princes of the royal blood on splendidly caparisoned horses, and behind them came the Caliph on a milk-white horse, followed by his principal dignitaries. The rest of the body-guard brought up the rear. On these occasions he was dressed in a black or violet- coloured kaba reaching below the knees, with a shawl- girdle or jewelled belt round the waist, a rich black mantle over the shoulder, and wearing a high-peaked hat called Kalansueh. The kalansueh was usually ornamented with a single diamond of great value. The signet and staff of the Prophet were indispensable accompaniments. Generally a gold chain studded with gems hung round the neck, and the shoes had jewelled buckles. The kaba which closely fitted the body, came below the knees and was worn slightly open at the neck, showing the embroidered khaftan underneath. The sleeves were worn buttoned till Mustain set the fashion of wearing them loose; and his kabas, we are told, had sleeves three cubits wide.

The receptions of the Caliphs, which served as models to the grandees, and were afterwards copied by Moslem rulers in every age and country, were held on a magnificent scale. As under the Ommeyades there were two receptions — one public (aam) and the other select (khas). Three big halls, one opening into the other, were thronged by courtiers and magnates of all ranks. The doors were hung with heavy embroidered curtains, which, on the entrance of a courtier, were raised by a page of the Hajib (Lord Chamberlain) stationed at the entrance. The Caliph was seated on a throne; a hundred men in splendid uniforms and with drawn swords stood round him, whilst the dignitaries of the empire and the princes were ranged on the right and left of the royal seat. As the last curtain was raised the Chamberlain called the name of the person who presented himself. He then made his obeisance and took his stand by the side of those already in the room.

The private receptions reserved for princes of the blood, the dignitaries of the empire and men of learning, talent, and note, were more or less informal, and were held without guards or armed men. On these occasions the heir-apparent occupied a seat next to the Caliph, whilst the courtiers sat in two rows along each side of the throne "according to the nobleness of their descent and the eminence of the offices they held." At these gatherings the Pontiff conversed unceremoniously with those present; physicians and astronomers dilated on the newest discoveries of science, poets recited their poems, and travellers told their tales of wonder. In the month of Ramazan it was customary for the Caliph to give an entertainment (simat) to the great officers of the empire, sometimes in his own palace, oftener in the official residence of the Vizier. This repast was called the tabak, at which seats were allotted according to the office held by the guests.

At the feast of the Id ul-Fitr, which is held on the conclusion of the Moslem Lent, the Caliph entertained the city notables. At the upper end of the saloon was placed the royal sofa, mostly occupied by some dignitary representing the sovereign. If he himself was present the Vizier and some princes of the blood attended him.

The dress of the magnates and nobles was of course modelled after that of the sovereign; but professors of theology or law wore a turban, over which was thrown a scarf called the tailasan, in imitation of the one worn by the Prophet. Sometimes the tailasan was worn over the shoulders. The laity wore the kalisueh by itself. Another light hat, made of white silk, was worn inside the thick black one, and was kept on indoors when the black one was put aside at informal gatherings. In the privacy of the house, this also was discarded for a violet skull-cap. In later times the kalansueh gave place to the modern tarbiish, or fez. Loose trousers, pantaloons, shirt (kamis), under-vest, jacket, khaftan, kaba, with the outer mantle (aba or jubba), and the kalansueh as head-gear, formed the ordinary costume of a gentleman in the Abbasside times. Occasionally a dust cloak was worn over the kaba instead of the aba. Socks or stockings were not unknown, and seem to have been worn by the rich. They were made either of silk or wool, or leather, and were called mozaj. There were marked differences, however, in the costumes of the different professions. As under the Ommeyades, for travelling or riding or military exercises men wore costumes different from those used indoors. Night garments were called kumash un-Nawm. Among the commonalty the usual dress consisted of the izar (pantaloons), shirt, a vest, and a long jacket — tied round the waist by a belt or kamarbund (mizar), with a rida over the shoulders. Boots as well as shoes were in use among men; the former particularly among soldiers. Sometimes two pairs were worn simultaneously, one drawn over the other. The outer pair called jurmuk was pulled off on entering a mosque or palace, whilst the inner was kept on.

The dress of the ladies had altered considerably since the Ommeyade times. Ladies of high rank or great wealth wore for head-dress a dome-shaped cap studded with jewels. At the bottom of this cap was a circlet of gold inlaid with jewels. This head-dress was introduced by Olaiyeh, a half-sister of Rashid. Some sort of charm, with ancient characters inscribed on it, was often worn as a chatelaine hanging from the girdle. Among the middle classes the women generally adorned their heads with flat ornaments of gold, a kind of fillet, often interspersed with pearls and emeralds. These were extremely tasteful in design and are worn even now. Anklets {khalakhal) and bracelets were also in common use. Adventitious aids to beauty were not unknown.

The art of tinting the cheeks and lips was evidently borrowed from the Persians, among whom it seems to have been in vogue from the earliest times, although artificial beauty-spots had always been in fashion among the Arabs. The Arab maiden, in order to be considered beautiful, had to be tall, of slender figure, well-proportioned, fair, with large, long, black eyes.

Under the early Abbassides the position of women was in no way different from that under the Ommeyades. In fact, the system of absolute seclusion and segregation of the sexes does not seem to have become general until the time of Kadir b’Illah, who did more to stop the progress of the Moslem world than any other sovereign. In the time of Mansur we hear of two royal princesses (his cousins) going to the Byzantine war clad in mail, in performance of a vow taken during the struggle with Merwan. In Rashid's time, too, we have seen how Arab maidens went to fight on horseback and commanded troops. The mother of Muktadir herself presided at the High Court of Appeal, listened to applications, gave audiences to dignitaries and foreign envoys. Reunions and conversaziones at the residence of cultured women of rank and position did not cease until the time of Mutawwakil. Under Rashid and Mamun we read of ladies holding their own against men in culture and wit, taking part in poetical recitations, and enlivening society by their grace and accomplishments. The empress Zubaida was a gifted woman and an accomplished poetess. She frequently sent poetical epistles to Rashid, and the letter she addressed to Mamun, after the death of her son Amin, displays high talent and feeling. Obaidah, the tambourinist (attamburia), who lived in the reign of Mamun and Mutasim, is described by the author of the Kitab-ul Aghani as a woman of great beauty, virtue, and talent.She played exquisitely on the instrument from which she derived her title, and also composed.

Fazl the poetess flourished under Mutawwakil, in whose palace she appears to have lived for a while. After her enfranchisement by Mutawwakil she married and lived in Bagdad. Her poetry is considered equal in merit to that of the foremost poets of the time.

The Shaikha Shuhda, who flourished in the sixth century of the Hegira, lectured in Bagdad on history and belles lettres, and was renowned for the excellence of her handwriting. One of the most famous lady-jurists was Zainab Umm ul-Muwayyid, who lived about the beginning of the twelfth century of the Christian era, and the middle of the sixth of the Hegira. She had received from some of the prominent doctors of the age diplomas of competency, and was licensed to teach law.

In the time of Saladin flourished Takieh, daughter of Abu'l Faraj, who lectured on the traditions; she also was a poetess of eminence.

The pages of Ameer Osama give a very vivid picture of the high position occupied by women among the Arabs. In the midst of the great turmoil of the eleventh century, when the social and political fabric of Western Asia was almost in a state of dissolution, woman was still, especially at Shaizar, the object of chivalrous adoration, and of delicate care and attention. Marriage was regarded as a solemn act, the domestic hearth a sanctuary, and the birth of children, especially of sons, a blessing from heaven. To the mother belonged the training of her sons and daughters; the sons were brought up by her until they passed into the hands of tutors; the daughters were trained to be virtuous, pure-souled women — the future " mothers of men." 

Music had not yet been placed under the ban by the legists of Islam, and people of the highest rank, both men and women, cultivated it. The Princess Olaiyeh, a devout and pious woman, was one of the most accomplished musicians of her time. She had an exquisite taste for music, and her compositions are mentioned with high eulogium by the author of the Book of Music (Kitab ul-Aghani) Her brother Ibrahim was equally talented, and the Caliph Wasik distinguished himself both as a composer and performer. Princesses and ladies of high rank often gave musical soire'es (Nouhat ul-Khatun), the orchestra being composed of as many as a hundred musicians, led by a conductor beating time with a stick.

Chairs (kursi) and raised seats had already come into fashion under the Ommeyades, but the dewan, or the sofa, placed along three sides of the apartment, was to be seen in almost every household under the later dynasty. People dined at tables placed by the side of the diwans. The tables were of wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl of ebony, or tortoise-shell. Wasik had a table made entirely gold. A large round tray of silver, tinned copper, or brass, covered with a white cloth, was placed on each of these tables with the dishes, which were either of silver or china (among the commonalty, of tinned copper). China or ebony spoons were placed by each plate, and flat cakes of bread on each tray. Two-pronged forks, called janjal were common in the houses of the grandees. For each person there was a napkin, and after the repast a servant poured water over his hands from an ewer into a bowl.

The usual beverage in the houses of the wealthy was sherbet served in covered glass cups, composed of water sweetened with sugar, and flavoured with a hard conserve of violets, roses, mulberries, or cherries.

The Nebiz, prepared from dates or raisins, and bal or hydromel, were also very common; but the use of wine was not unknown, and we hear of convivial gatherings in the houses of viziers in which Kazis and jurists indulged in the intoxicating drink. The profession of nadim or boon companion, is first heard of in the reign of Rashid. There was no opprobrium attached to the word. His duty was to amuse his patron by his wit, recite to him if he was a man of parts, and act generally as a convive.

Games. Among indoor games chess was the universal favourite. Introduced by Rashid into Western Asia it spread rapidly among the Saracenic people, and practically displaced cards and dice. Archery, and in later times shooting with the arquebus, polo (choukdn), hockey (sulajan) throwing of spears (Jerid), horse-racing, wrestling, and fencing on foot and on horseback, were the principal outdoor games. Tourneys and jousts were held periodically in the capital and other large towns, at which challenges (rihan) were given and received. Cricket was not unknown; and rackets and tennis (lub ul-kurah) were played by both sexes, and women also practised archery. At first dancing was not confined to the servile classes, and young ladies often engaged in it for their own amusement. But the large influx of professionals led to rapid national deterioration.

Hunting was the common pastime of sovereigns and chiefs. With very rare exceptions, the Abbassides were keenly devoted to this exhilarating exercise; and so late as the time of Mustanjid we read of regular hunting-parties. Saladin's passion for the chase, in which he was generally accompanied by his sons, once brought him to the verge of capture by the Crusaders. Lions, panthers, leopards, and deer of all kinds, besides the feathered tribe which each winter brought into Western Asia, were the usual objects of pursuit. Falconry was another favourite pastime.

Social reunions and conversaziones were frequent in Social the houses of the magnates, where people of divers talents reunions and accomplishments met and held discussions. Literary clubs, however, had sprung up since the time of Mamun, where scholars flocked and discussed philosophical subjects; and although several attempts were made for their suppression, notably in the time of Mutawwakil and Mutazid, they continued to flourish until the destruction of Bagdad. The booksellers occupied an important position in society in those days ; and their shops were the resort of students and the learned generally. Here, as it were on neutral ground, Mutazali and Ashaari debated together on predestination, on the corporeal vision of God, on corporeal resurrection, and so forth. The bookseller was not merely the disseminator of knowledge but often the producer of books. The art of writing had been carried to such perfection that they were able to place in the hands of the public some of the best books at the average price of one dinar.

It is impossible, within the space of a few pages, to adequate idea of the intellectual prosrress made of the by a nation in the course of five centuries. And yet this retrospect will hardly be complete without a brief sketch of the work done by the Arabs in promoting the development of the world. I have already referred in passing to the patronage of arts, letters and science under Rashid and Mamun. Here I shall confine myself to the principal features of the intellectual side of Saracenic history.

The Arabs invented the mariners' compass, and voyaged parts of the world in quest of knowledge or in the pursuit of commerce. They established colonies in Africa, far to the south in the Indian Archipelago, on the coasts of India, and on the Malayan Peninsula. Even China opened her barred gates to Moslem colonists and mercenaries, and Bussorah was an active port of commercial interchange with India and Cathay.

The commercial activity of the Arabs was not confined to the sea. One great caravan route extended along the countries of Northern Africa, another stretched southwards across the desert into the very heart of the Dark Continent. From the numerous ports in the Mediterranean this northern trade was carried into Spain, Sicily, Italy, and France. Trebizonde was the junction of a brisk trade with Byzantium. Other routes led into Central Asia and Northern India along the shores of the Persian Gulf; whilst a third, starting from Bagdad to the Caspian Sea, was connected by ships with the countries of the far north. This accounts for the Abbasside coins still found in Russia and Sweden, and seems to prove a lively intercourse with the Saracens in those early times.

Arabs discovered the Azores, and it is surmised that they even penetrated as far as America. Within the confines of the ancient continents they gave an unprecedented and almost unparalleled impulse in every direction to human industry. The Prophet had inculcated labour as a duty; he had given the impress of piety to industrial pursuits; he had recommended commerce and agriculture as meritorious in the sight of the Lord. These precepts had their natural result; the merchants, the traders, the industrial classes in general, were treated with respect; and governors, generals, and savants disdained not to call themselves by the title of their professions. The host of litterateurs and savants who flourished during this long period directed their minds to every branch of human study. They wrote on grammar, belles lettres rhetoric, philology, geography, the "traditions," and travels; they compiled lexicons and biographies, and enriched the world with thoughtful histories and beautiful poetry; they added to the sum total of human knowledge by their discoveries in science, and gave an impetus to the movement of thought bytheir philosophical discussions. When we consider the immense range over which the Arabs exercised their intellect from the eighth to the thirteenth century of the Christian era, the estimate of the thoughtful historian can scarcely be said to be exaggerated. "The vast literature" says Sedillot, "which existed during this period, the multifarious productions of genius, the precious inventions, all of which attest a marvellous activity of intellect, justify the opinion that the Arabs were our masters in everything. They furnished us on the one hand with inestimable materials for the history of the Middle Ages, with travels, with the happy idea of biographical dictionaries; on the other, an industry without equal, architecture magnificent in execution and thought, and important discoveries in art."

During the period under review the physical sciences were diligently cultivated, and chemistry, botany, geology, natural history, etc., occupied the attention and exercised the energies of the ablest men. Abu Musa Jaafar of Kufa (the Geber of Christian writers) is the father of modern chemistry. He was followed by others, whose originality and industry, profoundness of knowledge, and keenness of observation evoke the astonishment of modern students. The science of medicine and the art of surgery were developed to the highest degree. The Arabs invented chemical pharmacy, and were the founders of those institutions which are now called dispensaries. They established in every city public hospitals, called Dar ush-Shafa, "the house of cure," or Maristan (an abbreviation of bimaristan "the patient's house"), maintained at the expense of the state.

Regular gardens for the study of botany and herbalogy existed both in Bagdad and other places, for the education of pupils, where discourses were delivered by the most learned in the sciences. The same intellectual movement, which led at the beginning of the ninth century to the rapid development of science and art, gave birth to works on geography and travel. Muslim bin Humair, Jaafar bin Ahmed al-Marvazi (of Merv), Ibn Fuzlan, Ibn Khurdabeh, Jaihani, Masudi, al-Istakhri,Ibn Haukal, al-Beiruni, Yakut, al-Bakri, al-Mukaddasi, and Idrisi are the most famous of Arab geographers.

Al-Beiruni travelled into India, lived among the Hindoos, studied their language, their sciences, their philosophy and literature, their customs and manners, their law, their religion and their peculiar superstitions, the geographical and physical conditions of the country, and embodied his observations in a work diversified by quotations from Homer and Plato and other Greek writers and philosophers. Besides his great work on India, he wrote on astronomy, mathematics, and mathematical geography, chronology, physics, and chemistry. Shortly after Beiruni came that brilliant litterateur and traveller, Nasir Khusrti. He was born in a village called Kubadian, on the Jaxartes, and lived at Merv. He left this city in the year 1046 a.c, and travelling by Nishapur, Kum, Tabriz, Akhlat or Khilat, Mayafarikin, Aleppo, he came to Syria, visited Tyre, Sidon, Beyrut, Jerusalem, then went to Egypt; from Egypt to the Holy Cities, and then by al-Ahsa to Bussorah and back to Balkh. His Safarnameh is one of the most entertaining works of travel in any language.

Archaeology and ethnology were included in history, and great minds applied themselves to the pursuit of this captivating branch of study. Balazari, who died in 279 A.H. (a.c. 892), was born at Bagdad, where he lived and worked. His history of the Conquest {Futuh ul- Bulddn) is written in admirable style, and marks a distinct advance of the historical spirit.

Hamdani, who flourished towards the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth century of the Hegira, gave to the world a comprehensive history of Southern Arabia, with an account of its tribes, its numerous ruins of interest, with explanations of their inscriptions, as well as the ethnography and geography of Yemen. It is, however, in the monumental works of Masudi, of Tibri (Tabari), and of Ibn ul-Athir that we see the full activity of the Saracenic mind during this period. Like their successors, these men were encyclopaedists, philosophers, mathematicians, geographers, as well as historians. Masudi was a native of Bagdad, but by descent a northern Arab, who in his early youth travelled and saw the greater part of the Islamic world. He first went to India, visited Multan and Mansura, then travelled over Persia and Kerman, again went to India, remained for some time at Cambay (Kambaja) and in the Deccan, went to Ceylon, sailed from there to Kambalu (Madagascar), and went from there to Oman, and perhaps even reached the Indo-Chinese peninsula and China. He had travelled far in Central Asia, and reached the Caspian Sea. At the close of his travels he lived for some time in Tiberias and Antioch, and afterwards in Bussorah, where he first published his great work, called the Muruj uz-Zahab. Subsequently he went to reside at Fustat (old Cairo), where he published the Kitab ut- Tanbili and later the Mirat uz-Zaman or The Mirror of the Time a voluminous work, which is only partially preserved. In the Muruj uz-Zahab (the "Golden Meadows") he tells the rich experiences of his life in the amiable and cheerful manner of a man who had seen various lands, experienced life in all its phases, and who takes pleasure in amusing as well as instructing his reader. Without burdening us with the names of the authorities, without losing himself in long explanations, he delights in giving prominence to that which strikes him as wonderful, rare, and interesting, and to portray people and manners with conciseness and anecdotic skill.

Tibri, or Tabari (Abu Jaafar Mohammed ibn Jarir), surnamed the Livy of the Arabs, who died in Bagdad in 922 A.C., brought his work down to the year 302 of the Hegira (914 a.c). It was continued to the end of the twelfth century by al-Makin or Elmacin.

Ibn ul-Athir, surnamed Iz ud-din, "Glory of the Religion", was a native of Jazira bani-Omar, in Irak, but resided chiefly in the neighbourhood of Mosul, where his "beautiful house " was the resort of the most distinguished scholars and savants of the time. His universal history, known as the al-Kamil, which ends with the year 1231 a.c, may be compared with the best works of modern Europe. He also wrote a history of the Atabeks of Mosul.

The great work performed by the Arabs in the different branches of the exact sciences needs only a short mention. Masha Allah and Ahmed bin Mohammed al- Nehavendi, the most ancient of the Arab astronomers, lived in the reign of Mansur. Under Mamun flourished famous astronomers like Send bin Ali, Yehya bin Abi Mansur, and Khalid bin Abdul Malik. Their observations concerning the equinoxes, the eclipses, the apparitions of the comets, and other celestial phenomena, added greatly to human knowledge.

Mohammed bin Musa al-Khwarismi, under the orders of Mamun, translated the Siddhanta, or the Indian Tables, with notes and observations. Al-Kindi wrote two hundred works on various subjects — arithmetic, geometry, philosophy, meteorology, optics, and medicine. Abu Maashar (corrupted by the Europe of the Middle Ages into Albumazar) made the celestial phenomena his special study; and the Table of Abu Maashar has always remained one of the chief sources of astronomical knowledge. Musa bin Shakir was a great engineer in the time of Rashid. But his sons, who flourished under Mamun, Mutasim, and Wasik, made astronomy their special study, and made wonderful discoveries as to the movement of the sun and other astral bodies. They ascertained the size of the earth, the obliquity of the ecliptic, the variations in the lunar latitudes, the precession of the equinoxes, etc. Abu'l Hassan invented the telescope, of which he speaks as "a tube to the extremities of which were attached diopters." An-Naizeri and Mohammed bin Isa Abii Abdullah continued the great work of Musa bin Shakir's sons. Albatani (the Albategnius of mediaeval Europe) was another distinguished astronomer. His Astronomical Tables, translated into Latin, furnished the ground-work of astronomy in Europe for many centuries.

Among the numerous astronomers who lived and worked in Bagdad at the close of the tenth century, the names of two men, Ali ibn Amajur and Abu'l Hassan Ali ibn Amajur, generally known as Banu Amajur, stand prominently forward. They are noted for their calculation of the lunar movements.

Under the Buyides flourished a host of astronomers, physicists, and mathematicians, of whom the two most distinguished were, Alkohi and Abu'l Wafa. Alkohi studied the movements of the planets. His discoveries concerning the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox were extremely important. Abu'l Wafa was born in 939 a.c, at Buzjan in Khorasan. He established himself in Irak in 959, where he applied himself chiefly to mathematics and astronomy. He introduced the use of the secant and the tangent in trigonometry and astronomical observations.

Ibn Yunus, another great astronomer and mathematician, died in 1009; his discoveries were continued by Ibn un-Nabdi, who died in Cairo in 1040, and Hassan bin Haisem (Haithem), commonly called in Europe Alhazen, and famous for his discovery of atmospheric refraction. He flourished about the end of the eleventh century, and was a distinguished astronomer and optician. He was born in Spain, but resided chiefly in Egypt. He is best known in Europe by his works on optics, one of which has been translated. Ibn Shathir, who lived in the reign of Ibn Tulun, and Omar Khayyam, better known as a poet, were also distinguished mathematicians and astronomers.

Metaphysics and philosophy were cultivated with as much zeal as the exact sciences. Al-Kindi, al-Farabi, and Abu Ali ibn Sina (Avicenna), are the most noted of Arabian philosophers.

Al-Kindi, Yakub bin Ishak, usually called "the philosopher of the Arabs," and known in Europe as Alchendius, was a universalist. Abu Nasr Farabi (Alfarabius), called by the Arabs a second Aristotle, was the master and precursor of Avicenna. Ibn Sina(Avicenna) was undoubtedly one of the greatest thinkers and physicians the world has ever produced.

Among the innumerable poets of this period who wrote both in Arabic and Persian, it is difficult to make a selection. The names of those who composed in Arabic will be found in the glowing pages of Isphahani and Ibn Khallikan. Those given here are chosen at random only to show the fecundity of the Saracenic mind. Abu Nawas flourished under Amin, and is regarded as the equal of the famous Imr ul-Kais, the Pre-islamic poet. Otbi and Abu Tammam Habib  came immediately after him. Of the latter, Ibn Khallikan speaks as follows: "he surpassed all his contemporaries in the purity of his style, the merit of his poetry, and his excellent manner of treating a subject." Al-Buhtari flourished in the ninth century and, like Abu Tammam, is the author of a Hamasa. But the fame of Mutannabi has overshadowed that of most of his predecessors. He enjoyed the patronage of Saif ud-Dowlah, a prince of the Hamdanite dynasty of Mosul. An-Nami was another talented poet. He died in 1008 a.c, at Aleppo.

Among the Persian poets, the most distinguished are Dakiki and Firdousi under Sultan Mahmud, Unsuri under Sultan Masud, Anwari under Sultan Sanjar, Farid ud-din the druggist, who was murdered by the Tartars, Jalal ud-din under Sultan Aala ud-din of Iconium, and Sanai under Sultan Ibrahim the Ghaznevide. Abu’l Faraj Mohammed bin Ishak, surnamed an-Nadim, a native of Bagdad, first conceived the idea of a bibliographical dictionary. His Kitab ul-Fihrist deals with every branch of learning. It gives the names of many authors and their works which have ceased to exist, and proves the literary productiveness of the Arabs. Ibn Khallikan's great work is a biographical encyclopaedia replete with the most varied information. 

Saif ud-Dowlah was also the magnificent patron of Abu'l Faraj Ali bin Hussain al-Isphahani, the author of the famous Kitab ul-Aghani. This work is not a mere book of songs, as its name would imply, but contains biographical notices of all those whose songs are reproduced, discusses their grammatical constructions, and occasionally treats of history and science. 

The art of Arabic writing is stated to have been introduced among the Koraish shortly before the promulgation of Islam. It was invented first by one Muramir bin Marasa, a native of Anbar, near Hira. From Anbar it went to Hira; Harb, the father of Abu Sufian, acquired it on a visit to the capital of the Munzirs, and introduced it among his fellow-citizens at Mecca. After that it spread rapidly among the Koraish. 

The Himyarites of Yemen appear to have had a separate system of writing, probably phonetic. Ibn Khallikan says, "the Himyar had a sort of writing called al-Musnad, the letters of which were separate, not joined together; they prevented the common people from learning it, and none dared employ it without their permission. Then came the religion of Islam, and there was not, in all Yemen, a person who could read and write." 

At the close of the Ommeyade dynasty the archaic Kufic character had developed into several forms, the commonest being the Naskh or Naskhi. Towards the end of the tenth and the beginning of the eleventh century of the Christian era (the fourth and fifth centuries of the Hegira) the Naskh was still further improved by two great masters of Arabian penmanship, Abu Hassan, commonly known as Ibn Bawwab, and Abu Talib al-Mubarak. 

In the reign of Saladin we hear of a big, round writing called suls which seems to have been a development of the Naskhi approaching the nastalik of Persia. Sects, as was to be expected, had multiplied during this period; but the state religion was Hanafism, or, as it was in those days often called, Ashaarism. The Hanafi synods, however, were dominated over by the Hanbalites, who, as the most noisy and turbulent sectarians, possessed considerable authority among the rabble of Bagdad. Shafe'ism was also spreading among the learned. In the Syrian cities and the towns on the seacoast of Phoenicia, Shiahism found a large number of adherents, who doubtless exercised a certain dissolving influence on the rigid dogmatism of the Hanbalis. The most notable feature in the religio-philosophical history of the fourth century of the Hegira (which corresponded with the tenth century of the Christian era) is the extra-ordinary resuscitation of the Rationalistic movement. This was most probably due to the writings of thinkers like Masudi and Zamakhshri, and of philosophers like al-Kindi and al-Farabi. The Mutazalites endeavoured to conciliate faith with reason, religion with philosophy, and naturally attracted all minds not content to be driven in a common groove. Thus many Hanafis who adhered on ordinary doctrinal points to the tenets of their school, adopted the Mutazalite views on philosophical questions. In spite of all this, however, the general tendency was retrogressive, and towards the close of the century the prospects of development were decidedly reactionary. It was at this critical juncture that the first society for the diffusion of knowledge came into existence. 

The illiberal formalism of the theologians, the self-indulgent epicureanism of the rich, the ignorant fanaticism of the poor, led a small body of thinkers who were deeply interested in the renovation of Islam, to form themselves into a brotherhood to introduce a more healthy tone among the people, and to arrest the downward course of the Islamists towards ignorance and rigidity. They called themselves the "Brothers of Purity," Ikhwan us-Safa. The society of the "Pure Brethren" was established in Bussorah. To this "Brotherhood" none but men of unsullied character and the purest morals were admitted. The members met together quietly and unobtrusively at the residence of the head of the society, Zaid, the son of Rifaa, and discussed philosophical and ethical subjects with a catholicity of spirit and breadth of views which would be creditable even in modern times. They formed branches in every city of the Caliphate, wherever, in fact, they could find a body of thoughtful men, willing and qualified to work according to their scientific method. Their system was eclectic in the highest and truest sense of the word, and their views on social and political problems were highly practical and intensely humane. As the result of their labours they gave to the world a general resume of the knowledge of the time in separate treatises, which were collectively known as the Tracts of the Brother's of Purity. These tracts or risalas range over every subject of human study — mathematics, including astronomy, physical geography, music, and mechanics; physics, including chemistry, meteorology, and geology; biology, physiology, zoology, botany, logic, grammar, metaphysics, ethics, the doctrines of a future life, etc. They constituted, in fact, a popular encyclopaedia of all the sciences and philosophy then extant. 

Thus when the star of Avicenna rose on the horizon, ground was prepared for the reception of his advanced conceptions in the domains of sociology and the cognate sciences. And at the beginning of the eleventh century the outlook of a renaissance in the Saracenic world was decidedly hopeful. But the death-struggle in which the Moslems soon became involved with the Crusading forces of the West diverted all energies to one subject, that of self-preservation. And hardly had the successes of Zangi, Nur ud-din, and Saladin rescued them from the dangers of the Frankish onslaught, when came the Tartaric wave which swept away all the civilisation and culture of the East.