al-Dawla, first Emir of Aleppo, for more than two decades, from 944 to 967. Islamic world historians often hail her as one the most extraordinary women in the Islamic Golden age.
Other interesting facts about Al-ʻIjliyyah
- Her influence in astronomy was recognized when scientists named the main-belt asteroid 7060 Al-ʻIjliya after her. The asteriod was discovered by Henry E. Holt
- Al-ʻIjliyyah influenced one of the characters in the Africanfuturist science fiction horror novel called “Binti”, which was written by Nnedi Okorafor.
Just how long did the Islamic Golden Age last?
Scholars of the era, which spanned from the 8th century to the 14th century, desired nothing than to assimilate scientific knowledge from civilizations of the past and regions that had been conquered by the Islamic Empire.
However, some say that the end of the era coincided with the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate, which was caused by the Mongol invasions and the Siege of Baghdad in 1258. In that siege, it is said that the Great Library of Bagdad was razed to the ground. Other historians maintain that the age came to an end around the 1350, a period which coincided with the rise of the Timurid Empire in Central Asia.
Islamic Golden Age Facts
Between the years 790 and 1258, Muslims enjoyed a flourishing civilization known as the Islamic Golden Age. The era saw them chalked up many cultural, scientific, and military achievements. According to historians, the tolerant nature of the culture allowed for science and mathematics to flourish, as emphasis was placed on the acquisition of knowledge and interpretation of the knowledge.
Here a few more interesting facts about the Islamic Golden Age:
- The Islamic Golden Age witnessed the development of many scientific disciplines because the rulers of the Islamic Empire in this period invested a lot in the scholars of the day, including funding the translation of works into Arabic and Aramaic.
- It is even said that some of the scholars of the Islamic Golden Age received salaries/stipends the value that today’s mega celebrities and athletes receive. It is therefore safe to say those scholars were sort of the celebrities of their era.
- Caliph al-Mansur, the second Abbasid caliph, is credited with achieving many things, including the founding of the House of Wisdom, a grand library, in Baghdad, Iraq. Inspired by the Academy of Gondishapur in Iran, the House of Wisdom was founded around 825.
- Had it not been for the tireless works of these scholars, many works from Classical Greece, Persia, Syria, and India would most likely have been lost. The scholars translated from Greek, Persian, and even Sanskrit into Arabic and Aramaic. Those works were then translated to Hebrew and later Latin.
- The scholars of this era benefited a lot from the Assyrian Christians and physicians, most famous among them Hunayn ibn Ishaq.
- Physicians of the Islamic Golden Age were inspired by the works of Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle, Galen, and Claudius Ptolemy from Alexandria.
- A scholar known as Al-Biruni (973-1048) is said to have produced the best estimate of the radius of the earth at the time. The scientist proposed that the radius was 6339.6 km. To put into perspective, modern scientist put the figure at around 6371 km. therefore, Al-Biruni came pretty close.
- There were many cultural and intellectual hubs of the Golden Age; however, the city of Baghdad in Iraq was perhaps the world’s largest city by then. People from different parts of the known world trooped into Baghdad to bask in the cosmopolitan nature of the city.