For:
Dr. Said Ennahid
HUM 3302 \u2013 Islamic Civilization

Around 762 CE the Abbasids, after defeating the Persians, established the city of
Baghdad as the new capital for the empire and soon as the pinnacle for Sunni intellectual thought
and innovation. At the heart of this intellectual movement was the Bayt al-Hikma (House of
Wisdom) that was founded by the caliphate of al-Ma\u2019mun (813-833). This institutions\u2019 history
and greatness goes far beyond the Abbasid Dynasty and to a certain extent, it still effects us
today. Therefore this paper\u2019s aim is to introduce the Bayt al-Hikma\u2019s origins and foundations,
identify its prominent scholars and their respective innovations, and to recall its disbandment
under the reign of al-Mutawakkil.

Although the Bayt al-Hikma never existed until the reign of al-Ma\u2019mun, some institutes
that were established during the reign of caliph al-Rashid (786-809) served as precursors to its
formation and have been referred to as Khizanat al-Hikma, a general term also used when
referring to any library of science.1 Under the leadership and support of al-Rashid the Barmakids,
a group of Zoroastrian converts from Buddhism, were allowed to pursue their passion for
translating Greek and Syriac scientific works predominantly from areas of the former Sassanid
Empire as it is where they also trace their origins.2 Endorsed by al-Rashid, the Barmakids
collected and studied works predominantly from the Sassanid Academy ofDj undaysabur, also
known as Gundishapur, which is located in present day Iran. The Academy ofDj undaysabur was
known for its prestige in Greek medicine and the Barmakids endeavored to bring back and
translate any works they could. Soon Persian scholars and physicians fromDj undaysabur began
to travel to Baghdad and take up residence there.3 Recognizing that the study and translation of
foreign works would directly help to advance the empire, al-Rashid encouraged scholars to

1 (al-Hassan and Hill 1986, 11)
2 (\u201cBarmakids.\u201d Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica Online n.d.)
3 (\u201cbayt al-hikma.\u201d Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition 2009)

study, copy, and translate foreign works. While al-Rashid may have been a key facilitator in this
new intellectual movement it was his son, al-Ma\u2019mun who served as the catalyst for the
movement. Becoming caliph in 813, al-Ma\u2019mun soon involved the state completely in the
collection, translation, and study of foreign works. At the heart of this policy, that was in favor of
the intellectual movement, was the adoption of Mutazilite theology, which is viewed as a \u201chighly
rationalistic system of thought.\u201d4 However, some accounts attribute al-Ma\u2019mun\u2019s ambition
towards collecting Greek texts to a dream he had in which Aristotle appeared and discussed with
him the importance of reason.5 In either case to facilitate state expenditure for the movement the

thought. Official missions were sent to Byzantium to collect manuscripts in both Greek and
Syriac. Of these manuscripts, works of Aristotle, Galen and the Hippocrates, Plato, Eucid,
Pythagoras, and others were included. The institution also included a staff of leading scientists
and translators, who for the first time would receive a fixed income in return for scholarly work.
Finally, it incorporated an astronomical observatory in Baghdad and another separate
observatory in Damascus. All of this aided in the transformation of intellectual thought from the
reign of al-Rashid, where during his reign scholarly works had been limited to the translation and
studying of foreign works. Later, under al-Ma\u2019mun the institutional name, Bayt al-Hikma, was
personified as scholars were given ample money, time, and resources to no longer just translate
but interpret, modify, and innovate their own works, which allowed them to become a vanguard
in the scientific world. This achievement was originally made possible by the increase in literacy
and the import of paper from China, but was further enhanced in the eighth century by the