Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science

The Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science is the first current effort to describe and analyze a broad range of disciplinary topics in Arabic writings, instruments, and occasionally practices. Surprisingly little effort has been invested in the layout of the book, however, so, with the exception of one chapter, there are no illustrations of consequence. Thirty chapters—varying widely in quality—written by thirty authors, a preface by the editor, and an epilogue by yet another colleague make up the three volumes. Together they permit the nonspecialist reader to glimpse the rich heritage of a substantial part of Arabic scholarly culture, a field almost completely ignored in the history of science and technology recently. This oversight seems to motivate a controversial thesis outlined by editor Roshdi Rashed in his preface.

Rashed proposes that “Arabic science” is an integral part of a universal and progressive “classical science” that generated “modern science.” Despite claims to the contrary in the preface (see vol. 1, pp. xii–xiv), this thesis has four analytical components. First, it implies that comparison with Renaissance, early modern, and later western European scientific concepts, methods, or disciplinary boundaries is the most important single instrument for evaluation. Second, it admits that contextualization within Muslim societies is a possible complement to this key comparison, but not a precondition for understanding and interpreting Arabic science. Third, it emphasizes transmissions from Arabic cultures to Andalusia, Jewish communities, and Latin universities while, fourth, neglecting science written in Persian, Turkish, or other languages used in Muslim societies.

The editor and most of the contributors intend to demonstrate that Arabic science contributed to classical science and, therefore, to their vision of cumulative progress towards the modern. They see the creators of this steady advancement as stars of the first degree of brilliance, who take their inspirations and insights from within clear-cut disciplinary domains. The stars surpass the achievements of ancient Greek and Hellenistic scholars, solving problems with reinvented or new methods, often anticipating developments from the Renaissance onward, explicitly and implicitly. Lesser spirits are occasionally mentioned, but remain marginal. Dates and locations, biographies and patronage are not regular ingredients here.

Several authors did not subscribe to the volume’s overall grand internalist narrative style and thesis. G. Saliba and D. A. King treat not only Arabic but also Persian and Turkish sources. They also ignore the time limit (fifteenth or sixteenth century) set by the thesis and its orientation toward “modern science.” E. Savage-Smith, H. Grosset-Grange, H. Rouquette, and D. A. King incorporate nonmathematical, popular, or religious methods, practitioners, and issues in their presentations of medicine, nautical science, or astronomy and Islamic society.

Only three chapters discuss instruments, machines, and other technological devices: D. A. King on “Astronomy and Islamic Society: Qibla, Gnomonics, and Timekeeping” in volume 1; H. Grosset-Grange, in collaboration with H. Rouquette, on Arabic nautical science in volume 1; and D. R. Hill, on engineering, in volume 3. King explains the description and construction of various astronomical instruments such as the astrolabe, the compendium, or vertical and horizontal sundials in Arabic texts, discusses their use for timekeeping and the determination of the prayer direction, the qibla, and summarizes the characteristics of several extant specimens of such instruments. Grosset-Grange and Rouquette discuss Arabic nautical knowledge and practice on the basis of the literary heritage of the two best-known Arabic maritime pilots and writers, Ibn al-Majid and Sulayman al-Mahri, who lived between 1450 and 1550. They include a survey of units of practical measurements at sea, the usage of charts, the composition and application of instruments such as the compass, the so-called woods, or the astrolabe to determine star altitudes and to plot the ship’s course, and several techniques employed for these purposes.

Hill surveys a variety of complex technological systems used, constructed, invented, or described by Muslim experts, practitioners, or theoreticians in three main domains: civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and “fine technology,” that is, automata, toys, and the...