In the 9th–12th centuries scholars from Central Asia made a huge contribution to world science — the period is known as the “Eastern Renaissance”. Under the Timurids in the 15th century came a second flowering. Knowing this heritage matters not only for the exam but for understanding national identity: words such as “algorithm” and “algebra”, and textbooks of medicine and astronomy, spread to the world from here. Exams are full of matching tasks: scholar — work — field — city.
§1. Why the Renaissance happened
Science does not flourish overnight; it needs certain conditions.
Political stability: under the Samanids (9th–10th centuries) and then the Karakhanids, Ghaznavids and Khwarezmshahs there were large states whose rulers patronised scholars.
The Great Silk Road: along with trade it carried books, ideas and technologies (for example paper-making — Samarkand paper).
Arabic was the common language of science; Greek, Indian and Persian learning was translated into it.
Centres of learning: the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, the Samanid library in Bukhara and the Ma’mun Academy in Gurganj.
Eastern Renaissance — 9th–12th centuries; second flowering — 15th century, the Timurid era
§2. Baghdad’s House of Wisdom and the exact sciences
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (783–850) worked at the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma) in Baghdad. His treatise “Al-jabr wa’l-muqabala” founded algebra; through his work on Indian numerals Europe learned the decimal place-value system; the word “algorithm” comes from his name. He also compiled astronomical tables and a geography, “Surat al-Ard” (“The Image of the Earth”).
Ahmad al-Farghani was an astronomer; his “Elements of Astronomy” was translated into Latin and became famous in Europe (where he was known as Alfraganus). He built the Nilometer in Cairo.
Abu Nasr al-Farabi (873–950) was a philosopher called the “Second Teacher” (the first being Aristotle). His works include “The Virtuous City” (on the ideal society) and the “Great Book of Music”.
Khwarizmi — algebra and algorithm; Farghani — astronomy, the Nilometer; Farabi — the “Second Teacher”
§3. The Ma’mun Academy of Khwarezm: Biruni and Ibn Sina
Early 11th century — a society of scholars at the court of Khwarezmshah Ma’mun (the “Ma’mun Academy”), Gurganj
Abu Rayhan al-Biruni (973–1048) was an encyclopaedic scholar. Works: “The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries” (calendars and festivals of many peoples), “India” (Indian science, religion and customs), “The Mas’udic Canon” (astronomy), “Geodesy” and a treatise on mineralogy. He measured the Earth’s radius, built a globe and suggested that land lay beyond the Atlantic. In 1017, after Mahmud of Ghazni conquered Khwarezm, he was taken to Ghazni.
Abu Ali ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980–1037) was born in Afshana near Bukhara. “The Canon of Medicine” was a textbook in European universities for centuries; “The Book of Healing” is an encyclopaedia of philosophy and natural science. He worked at the Ma’mun Academy, then lived in Iran and died in Hamadan.
The physician Abu Sahl Masihi and the mathematician Abu Nasr ibn Iraq also worked at the academy.
Cause and effect: when Mahmud of Ghazni took Khwarezm in 1017 the academy broke up — some scholars were carried off to Ghazni, while Ibn Sina fled to Iran.
§4. Religious sciences, law and Sufism
Imam al-Bukhari (810–870) compiled “Al-Jami’ as-Sahih”, the most authoritative collection of hadith; he is buried at Khartang near Samarkand.
Imam at-Tirmidhi compiled the “Sunan”, another hadith collection; Hakim at-Tirmidhi was a Sufi scholar.
Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (10th century) founded the Maturidi school of theology (kalam) in Samarkand.
Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani (12th century) wrote “Al-Hidaya”, a famous manual of Hanafi law.
Mahmud al-Zamakhshari (12th century) worked on Arabic grammar and Qur’anic commentary (“Al-Kashshaf”).
Sufism: Ahmad Yasawi (12th century) — the “Hikmats”; Najm al-Din Kubra founded the Kubrawiya order and died in 1221 defending Urgench against the Mongols; Baha al-Din Naqshband (14th century) — the Naqshbandi order.
§5. Turkic language and literature (the Karakhanid era)
Yusuf Khass Hajib wrote “Kutadgu Bilig” (“Wisdom that Brings Happiness”) in the 11th century — the first major didactic poem in Turkic, advising a ruler how to govern.
Mahmud al-Kashgari compiled the “Diwan Lughat al-Turk” (11th century), a dictionary and encyclopaedia of the Turkic languages that includes a map of the Turkic lands.
Ahmad Yugnaki wrote “Hibat al-Haqayiq”, a moral poem.
These works show Turkic emerging as a language of learning and literature.
§6. Scholars and writers of the Timurid era
Mirzo Ulugbek (1394–1449) built an observatory in Samarkand; his “Zij-i Jadid-i Gurgani” gives the positions of more than a thousand stars. Around him worked Qadi-zada al-Rumi, Ghiyath al-Din Jamshid al-Kashi (who calculated π to high accuracy) and Ali Qushji (astronomy and mathematics).
Alisher Navoi (1441–1501) wrote the “Khamsa” (five poems) and “Muhakamat al-Lughatayn” (1499), arguing that Turkic was no poorer than Persian.
Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur (1483–1530) wrote the “Baburnama”.
Historians: Nizam al-Din Shami and Sharaf al-Din Ali Yazdi (both wrote a “Zafarnama”), Hafiz-i Abru, Mirkhond (“Rawdat as-Safa”) and Khondamir. The master of miniature painting was Kamal al-Din Behzad.
Worked example
“Match: 1) Khwarizmi; 2) Biruni; 3) Ibn Sina; 4) Farabi. a) The Canon of Medicine; b) Al-jabr wa’l-muqabala; c) India; d) The Virtuous City.”
Khwarizmi founded algebra, so “Al-jabr wa’l-muqabala”: 1–b.
Biruni wrote the book on India: 2–c.
Ibn Sina — medicine: 3–a.
Farabi — the philosophical work on the ideal society: 4–d.
Answer: 1–b, 2–c, 3–a, 4–d.
Worked example
Source analysis: “I shall quote their (the Indians’) words unchanged... for those who wish to know about them” — the author aims to describe the science, religion and customs of the Indian people impartially. Whose work is this?
The subject is the people of India, their learning and religion.
In the 11th century such a work was written by a scholar living in Ghazni who came to know India through Mahmud of Ghazni’s campaigns.
That scholar was Abu Rayhan al-Biruni and the work is “India” (around 1030).
Answer: Biruni.
Worked example
Chronology: “Order these scholars by year of birth: Navoi, Khwarizmi, Ibn Sina, Ulugbek.”
Khwarizmi — 783.
Ibn Sina — 980.
Ulugbek — 1394.
Navoi — 1441.
Answer: Khwarizmi → Ibn Sina → Ulugbek → Navoi.
Check yourself
Whose name gave us the word “algorithm”?
Who wrote “The Canon of Medicine”?
In which city did the Ma’mun Academy work?
Who was called the “Second Teacher”?
Who compiled “Al-Jami’ as-Sahih”?
Who wrote the “Diwan Lughat al-Turk”?
In what year was “Muhakamat al-Lughatayn” written?
Who built the Nilometer in Cairo?
Common mistakes
Attributing “The Canon of Medicine” to Biruni (its author is Ibn Sina).
Placing the Ma’mun Academy in Samarkand or Bukhara (it was in Gurganj).
Calling Khwarizmi a member of the Ma’mun Academy: he worked in Baghdad in the 9th century.
Swapping the authors of “Kutadgu Bilig” and the “Diwan Lughat al-Turk”.
Placing Ulugbek’s observatory in Bukhara (it was in Samarkand).