T I M E L I N E O F D EV E L O P M E N T I N M U S L I M C I V I L I Z AT I O N

or more than a thousand years from the seventh century onward, the Muslim
F world stretched from southern Spain as far as China. During this period
scholars, male and female and of many beliefs, worked collaboratively to build
and improve upon ancient knowledge. They made breakthroughs that led to an
incredible expansion of knowledge and prosperity-a golden age of civilization.
Follow the time line below to trace the progress of mathematics, science,
architecture, exploration, education, and medicine during Muslim civilization.
And see how ideas and knowledge migrated from the East, paving the way for
the Renaissance-another great age of development.

637
Islam spreads to
Persia, Palestine, Syria,
Lebanon, and Iraq, and
later to Egypt.
• ·--····· ·· · · ·· ··· ·····
691
ca 635
Building begins of
Al-Shifa is appointed the
the Dome of the Rock
nrst female health and safety
Mosque in Jerusalem.
minister by Umar, second 654
caliph, in the city of Medinah Islam has spread to all of
Dome of the Rock Mosque
and then in Basrah. North Africa.

J I.I I I I ITI I I I I I.I I III u

632 661 711

Prophet Muhammad The Umayyad dynasty Islam reaches Spain.
dies and Abu Bakr rules the caliphate from
becomes nrst caliph, or Damascus.
Muslim ruler. 644
A windmill powering a
millstone is built in Persia.

((There can
be no education
without books.n
ARABIC PROVERB
Old street in Cordoba, Spain

A medieval windmill
 • M U S L I M EVENTS
• E U ROPEAN EVENTS
!i;,�_L"_;.J.;. i l::;li
���).i.J.i.)j.W.Ii.S)tljy_%
� t.�_.:v;�J�J...,;;.Jit�Y��
..

'41.:.'1f\ t"'-o:-,!li £&-Jl-

Gold Mancus
787
11!1
Building begins of the G reat
Mosque of Cordoba.

Distillation 786
Caliph Harun al-Rashid
�
l
establishes the House of
Wisdom in Baghdad.

785 . .... . ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... . . . .. �

. . .. . .

King Offa mints a Gold

Mancus coin, imitating the
gold dinar of Caliph
Astrolabe al-Mansur. 813
ca 722 Caliph Al-Ma'mun expands
Jabir ibn Hayyan is born. ca 777 the House of Wisdom;
He is considered the Astrolabe maker and the translation movement
"father of chemistry." astronomer Al-Fazari dies. intensif:tes.

1 1.1 1.1.1 T.l l l lli iJi li.I.I.LI.I.LI I I I I J IITI I I I II

750 795 828

Abbasids overthrow the First mention of a paper Abu Mansur opens
Umayyads and in 762 build a mill in Baghdad. Al-Shammasiyah
new capital in Baghdad. Spain
Boo Observatory, near Baghdad.
is ruled by an Umayyad
780 Caliph Harun al-Rashid
family descendant. Mathematician Al­ presents Charlemagne
Khwarizmi is born. His with a clock that strikes
book Algebr wal Muqabala the hour.
developed modern algebra.
801 ··· ...................................... .
Al-Kindi is born. He
was a mathematician,
philosopher, physicist,
chemist, and musician.

alf he {the teacher] is i ndeed

w ise he does not bid you ente r
the house o f h i s wisdo m, b u t
ra the r leads y o u t o the threshold
o fyour own mind.n
KHALIL GIBRAN I N HIS BOOK THE PROPHET

Al-Kindi
 Al-Razi, known as "Hippocrates of the Arabs"
•

Abbas ibn Firnas's flight

•

.................... 864
Al-Razi (Rhazes) is born.
A physician, chemist, and
medical teacher, he is
850 considered the "father of
Banu Musa brothers clinical and experimental
publish their Book of medicine." His writings were
Ingenious Devices. later translated into Latin.
88 7 ................ :
Abbas ibn Firnas, pioneer
of unpowered flight, dies in
Cordoba.
880
Physician and inspector of
Baghdad hospitals Sinan ibn
Thabit ibn Qurra is born. He
started mobile hospital services
for rural and Bedouin areas.
9 13
Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtader issues
the nrst licensing regulation for
medical practice. He established
the hospital of Al-Muqtadiri in Bab
al-Sham in Baghdad; his mother
established Al-Sayyida Hospital in
Souq Yehia in Baghdad.

858 895 936

Astronomer Al-Battani Ibn al-Jazzar al-Qayrawani Surgeon Al-Zahrawi (Albucasis)
is born. He determined (Aljizar) is born. He wrote the is born in Cordoba. He renned
astronomical measurements nrst independent book on the science of surgery, invented
with accuracy. 8 72 pediatrics and social pediatrics: dozens of surgical instruments,
Ahmad ibn Toloun, Abbasid Risalah fi Siyasat as-Sibyan wa and wrote the nrst illustrated
859 governor of Egypt, establishes a Tadbirihim (A Treatise on Infant surgical book.
Al-Qarawiyin University hospital in Cairo known to be the and Child Care and Treatment).
in Fez is completed nrst to include a department for
900
by Fatima al-Fihri. mental diseases.
Fatimids rule Egypt and
North Africa, then, nine
years later, Sicily.

.. . . ... . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .

Al-Zahrawi
 '" ,":"""' .� V

����.... �.:;_i.J) C{/j�

1..::.,fu • .lt.��.. ::..'e. ��;��;,
1
uThe World is a
book, and those
who do not travel
read only a page.''
ST. AUGUSTINE,

Al-Azhar University CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER

973
Al-Biruni is born. The
polymath, astronomer,
mathematician, and
geographer measured the
circumference of Earth 1009
Astronomer Ibn ......... ..... .
.......... ........ ....... .
972 Yunus dies in Cairo,
\ Al-Azhar University is leaving thousands
A mbabah, ancestor of the violin founded by the Fatimids of accurate records,
in Cairo. including 40 planetary
970 conjunctions and 30
950 Labna, a mathematician and lunar eclipses. Mapping the sun's position
Al-Farabi from Baghdad dies. A scientist, is appointed private
philosopher and musician, he secretary to the Umayyad
invented the ancestor of the violin. caliph Al-Hakim in Cordoba.

957 .. . . . . .. ................ 980 1050

Cartographer and writer Al­ Prince of physicians Constantine the African
Masudi describes his visit Ibn Sina (Avicenna) moves from Tunisia to
to the oil fields of Baku. is born. He wrote the Salerno, initiating the transfer
965 influential Canon of Islamic medicine to Europe.
Physicist Ibn al-Haytham of Medicine. ((Seek knowledge
is born. His discoveries and 987
theories revolutionized optics. Sutaita al-Mahamli, a from the cradle
mathematician and expert
to the grave." D E CO N S E R V A N D A
witness in courts, dies in B O N A V A L E T V D l N E,
Baghdad. Libcr Schob: Salcrnita no:.
MUSLIM PROVERB
999 ... .......... ........... ,
Building begins of Bab
Mardum Mosque in Toledo,
which uses a unique form
of rib vaulting.
.. .

DE ..t N JrN,,...., ,.+ T RE .U A T , .i T '' •

mtud;J quibufd.mJ gtntt4lib•.

C A P Y T /.
\·A a\orn�i fcribit fchola
.
tO•
�s�_;. ,
1 �in,olumcm , 1iri
srqeddctc{a- ,
QIIJI' . . .
�

3 �r�_,ir�I!I2f.a {
. .... � ·..

Ibn Sina's Canon Constantine the African

 Al-Khwarizmi

The Story of Hayy ibn Yaqzan �

1143
1085 1110 Robert of Chester translates
Christians take Toledo. A center at Ibn Tufa!, author the Quran and works of
Toledo is established, translating of Hayy ibn Yaqzan, Al-Khwarizmi.

1066 Arabic books into Latin. is born. 1140

The Norman Conquest of Daniel of Morley travels to
England begins a flow of Ibn Bassal's Book ofAgriculture Cordoba to learn mathematics
Muslim motifs and ideas revolutionizes farming. He is from and astronomy, returning to
into that country. Toledo, Spain. lecture at Oxford.

1065 1091 1126

The Nizamiyya madrasa,
the nrst school in Baghdad,
is established by Nizam
al-Mulk, the Seljuk
minister who appointed
distinguished philosopher
and theologian Al-Ghazali
as a professor.
Abu Marwan ibn Zuhr Ibn Rushd (Averroes) is born.
(Avenzoar) is born. He is He wrote an extensive corpus
a pioneer of experimental of philosophy in which he
surgery and co-author, with stated signifi.cant theories 1145
Ibn Rushd (Averroes), of in epistemology, natural Jabir ibn Aflah invents an
an original encyclopedic philosophy, and metaphysics. observational instrument
medical text. His two An accomplished physician, known as the torquetum, a
daughters became doctors. he wrote the famous treatise mechanical device to convert
Al-Kulliyat fi al-tib, known in between spherical
1096
Latin as the Colliget. coordinate systems.
The nrst Crusades begin.

1099 ......................................................... , 1154

Al-Idrisi is born. He il Nur al-Din Zangi establishes
produced a world map Al-Nuri Hospital in
for Norman king Roger Damascus, a large
II of Sicily. teaching hospital.

uwho so ever treats people (

�-

without knowledge of medicine)

becomes liable."
PROPHET MUHAMMAD, NARRATED
BY AL ·BUKHARI AND MUSLIM
 . .. . .. .. . . . . . . . .

1197
Botanist Ibn a!-Baytar
is born in Malaga.
He wrote a famous Botanical species
pharmacopeia. by Ibn al-Baytar
1187
Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi
(Saladin) regains Jerusalem. Traditional carpets
He established AI-Nasiri
�
Hospital in Cairo.

11 8 6
Queen Dhaifa Khatoon 1233 1255
is born in Aleppo, Syria. Ibn al-Quff is born. A Queen Eleanor, Castilian
She was the daughter-in- Christian surgeon and bride of King Edward I,
law to Saladin, author, he continued Al- brings Andalusian carpets
and a supporter of Zahrawi's efforts to develop to England in her dowry.
science and learning. surgery as a science and
1254
independent medical
11 8 5 specialty. He wrote Kitab
King Alfonso el Sabio 1260
Temple Church is built in establishes Latin and Roger Bacon publishes
al-Umda fi al-Jirahah (The
London by the Templars, Arabic colleges in Seville Secrets of Art and Nature
Main Pillars of Surgery).
imitating the Dome of and commissions the praising influences of
the Rock in Jerusalem. translation of Arabic texts. Muslim scholars.

1202 1256
Leonardo of Pisa, known Ibn abi al-Mahasin
as Fibonacci, introduces al-Halabi writes his
Arabic numerals and comprehensive scholarly
mathematics to Europe ...... .............................. 1250 and illustrated work on
in his book Liber Abaci. Mamluk dynasty rules Egypt eye diseases, Al-Kafi
after the Ayyubids and later fi al-Kuhl (The Book of
1206
defeats the Mongols. Sufficient Knowledge in
Al-Jazari completes
Ophthalmology).
his Book of Ingenious
Mechanical Devices. 125 8
1210 Mongols devastate
Ibn al-Naf:ts is born. He was and rule Baghdad and
a scholar of jurisprudence conquer Syria.
and doctor who was f:trst
to discover pulmonary
circulation. He wrote Al-
Seerah al-Kamiliyah refuting
the ideas of Ibn Tufayl's
novel Hayy ibn Yaqzan on
the oneness of existence.
((A nd the leaves o f the tree
1229 were for the healing and the
Robert Grosseteste, who
studied in Cordoba, restora tion of the nations.n
becomes f:trst chancellor
Mamluk lusterware
of Oxford University. He THE BIBLE, REVELATION 22:2
was elected bishop of
Lincoln in 1253-

Ibn Battuta
1293
The first paper mill
outside Islamic Spain in
Europe is established
in Bologna.
1267
Marco Polo starts his 24-
year journey
12 8 4
Arabic and Islamic studies
Al-Mansuri Hospital in
Cairo is completed after 11
months of construction.
................... 1325
Ibn Battuta leaves Tangier
on his 29-year journey.
1311
The Ecumenical Council
of Vienne decides to
establish schools of
at universities in Paris,
Oxford, Bologna, and
Salamanca.
Lion Fountain
({Beauty of style and
harmony and grace and
good rhythm depend on
simplici ty.n
PLATO, GREEK PHILOSOPHER
13 8 5
Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu is
born. An Ottoman surgeon,
he continued the work of
Al-Zahrawi and Ibn al-Quff
by writing an independent
surgical textbook.
13 83
Chemist Maryam
The Muqaddimah al-Zanatiyeh dies in
by Ibn Khaldun Qarawiyin, Tunisia.
1332
Ibn Khaldun, the "father
of sociology," is born.
1330 134 7 .......... . -....... 1405
Giotto's painting "Madonna The Black Death reaches Zheng He starts his seven
and Child" uses tiraz, bands Alexandria and Cairo epic sea voyages from China.
of Arabic inscriptions, from Europe. In the largest wooden boats
which mark royal garments the world had seen, he
1354
and other textiles from the established China as a leading
Emir Mohammed V builds
Muslim world. power in the Indian Ocean,
the Lion Fountain, a water­
brought back exotic species
powered clock, in the
like the giraffe, and drew
Alhambra.
tribute from many nations.
 Detail of Piri Reis's map
1!1

1437 1492
Ulugh Beg publishes his Christopher Columbus lands
star catalog. in the New World.

1432 14 8 9
Ibn Majid is born in Arabia. Koca Mimar Sinan is born.
He was a master navigator A renowned architect, he 1513
and is said to have guided built Turkey's Selimiye and Piri Reis constructs the
Vasco da Gama from South Suleymaniye mosques, as earliest known map
Africa to India. well as many others. showing America.

1452 ......................... . 1497 ...................... 1543

,
Leonardo da Vinci is born. Venice publishes a � Nicolaus Copernicus
'
He was a major contributor translation of Al-Tasrifby publishes De Revolutionibus,
to the foundation of Al-Zahrawi. Basel and drawing on the work of
the Renaissance. Oxford follow suit. Nasir al·Din al-Tusi and
Ibn al-Shatir.

((The earth is like

a beautifu l
bride who needs no
man-made
jewels to he ighten
her loveliness."
KHALIL GIBRAN, LEBANESE WRITER

Leonardo da Vinci
 ((If anyone trave ls
on a road in search
of knowledge) Allah w i ll
cause him to travel on one
of the roads of Paradise.))
PROPHET MUHAMMAD,
NARRATED BY ABU AL-DARDAH

1571
Johannes Kepler is born. He
drew on the work of
Ibn al-Haytham in his work
on optics.
1564
Galilee Galilei is born.
Latin translation of Canon
1593
The Canon of Ibn Sina is
printed in Rome and, along
with Al-Hawi by Al-Razi,
becomes a standard text
in the European medical
curriculum.
1611
Polish astronomer
Johannes Hevelius is born.
In the frontispiece of his
Selenographia (Gdansk,
1647), he depicted Ibn al­
Haytham as symbolizing
knowledge through reason,
and Galilee Galilei as
symbolizing knowledge
through the senses.

155 8 1577 1604

The first German, and Istanbul observatory of Taqi Edward Pococke is born.
probably European, al-Din is founded. It will close He spent five years in
observatory is built in Kassel. a few years later, in 1580. Aleppo learning Arabic;
he also translated Hayy ibn 1616
Yaqzan, a precursor to John Wallis is born.
Robinson Crusoe. A renowned mathematician
1606 and member of the Royal
Edmund Castell is born. Society in London, he
He lectured on the use of translated and lectured
Avicenna's medical work. on the work of Arabic
For more than 18 years, he mathematicians. He included
compiled a dictionary of Al-Tusi's work in his Opera
seven Asian languages. Mathematica.
1627
Robert Boyle, England's
most famous chemist, is
born. He sought Arabic
manuscripts and had
them translated.
 Lagari Hasan Celebi's rocket flight
• •
1634
King C harles I requests
that the Levant Company
send home Arabic
manuscripts on every ship
returning to England.
1633 ..................:
Lagari Hasan Celebi flies
the fust manned rocket
over the Bosporus.
1642
Isaac Newton is born. He
kept a copy of the Latin
translation of Ibn al­
Haytham's Book of Optics
in his library
- ···· ···· . . . .
Turkis��� �����
e c
bring coffee to the
United Kingdom.
• the Royal Society in London.
1664
At the request of Hevelius,
the Royal Society agrees to
translate the astronomical
manuscript of Ulugh Beg
from Persian to Latin
in its entirety.
1656
Scientist and astronomer
Edmund Halley is born. He
translated Arabic editions
of G reek mathematics and
researched observations Haddu is elected a fellow of
of Al-Battani. the Royal Society in London.
1678
John G reeves publishes
a paper in the Royal
Society Philosophical
Transactions on
Egyptians' use of
large ovens to hatch
: thousands of chicken
eggs at a time.
"The Cow-Pock" by James Gillray
1729
Tripoli ambassador
in England Cassem
Aga writes about the
widespread practice of
smallpox inoculation
in North Africa and
is elected a fellow
of Royal Society in
1682 London.
Moroccan ambassador to
London Muhammed Ibn 1796
Edward Jenner tests
inoculation with cowpox.
1721 ··························· •
Lady Mary Montagu tests
smallpox inoculation in
Britain, having witnessed the
practice in Turkey.
1725
Moroccan ambassador to
London Mohammed Ben Ali
Abgali is elected a fellow of
''Anyone who wants to
Lady Mary
be a good docto r must Wortley Montagu
be an Avicennist.n
OLD EUROPEAN COMMON SAYING