Contributions of Ancient Arabian and Egyptian Scientists on Chemistry

Contributions of Ancient Arabian and Egyptian				of the chemical treatment and the substance
Scientists on Chemistry				chosen for this purpose; the substance being
Md. Wasim Aktar* and M. Paramasivam				called the 'Noble Stone' or 'Philosopher's Stone'.
Deptt. of Agril. Chemicals, Bidhan Chandra Krishi				This may be excrements, or blood, or hair, or
Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal,				eggs, or anything else. After the substance has
India.				been specified, it is treated along certain lines
Abstracts				mentioned in their books. The result is an earthen
The modern chemistry is based on the findings				or fluid substance which is called Elixir. These
and thinking of the people of historical age. If no				chemists think that if Elixir is added to silver which
one knows the base and work of the previous on				has been heated in a fire, the silver turns into
a subject, he or she could mere develop a new				gold. If added to copper which had been heated in
thought or findings. For, a civilization must know				a fire, the copper turns into silver.
its past. Hence, the present work is a small effort				The question arises whether the metals are of
to find out the contribution of ancient Arabian and				specific differences, each constituting a distinct
Egyptian scientists in the field of Chemistry.				species, or whether they differ in certain
Different scientists of different school of thought,				properties and qualities and constitute different
correlating different streams of science being				kinds of one and the same species?
Chemistry as a main subject, are described in the				AbÃƒÂ¼ Nasr al-FÃƒÂ¤rabi and
present work.				his followers held the opinion that the difference in
Chemistry deals with the composition and				metals is caused by certain conditions such as
properties of substances and the changes of				humidity and dryness, softness and hardness, and
composition they undergo. It has been divided into				colours such as yellow, white and black. According
Inorganic and Organic. The conception of this in				to him the metals are different kinds of one and
modern Chemistry came from				the same species.
al-RÃƒÂ£zi's classification of chemical				On the other hand, Ibn Sina and his followers
substances into mineral, vegetable and animal.				believed that metals have specific differences and
Inorganic Chemistry, deals with the preparation				belong to different species, each of which has its
and properties of the elements, and their				own differential and genus, like all other species.
compounds, originally arose from the study of				According to AbÃƒÂ¼ Nasr
minerals and metals, whereas Organic Chemistry,				al-FÃƒÂ¤rÃƒÂ£bi, it is possible to
which deals with carbon compounds, developed				transform one metal into another, because it is
through the investigation of animal and plant				possible to change their conditions.
products.				"Ibn SinÃƒ thought that such transformation
Prior to 1828 it was not possible to synthesize				was impossible. His assumption is based on the
organic substances from their elements and,				fact that specific differences in metals cannot be
therefore, it was supposed that there existed				changed by artificial means. He believed that since
fundamental difference between Organic and				the metals are created by the Creator and
Inorganic Chemistry. In 1828 F. Wohler				Determiner of things, God Almighty, and the
synthetically prepared urea, an organic substance;				mystery of their real character was utterly
thereby revealing that there was no fundamental				unknown and could not be perceived, any
difference between these two branches of				attempt for transformation would be
Chemistry. Since carbon compounds were				meaningless". (18)
numerous, their study separately made under				Ancient Arabs' art of transformation of metals
Organic Chemistry, and study of elements and				was based upon Hellenistic and Iranian traditions,
non-carbon compounds included in Inorganic				but apparently the main principles and the main
Chemistry'. (1)				operations were already established long before
The earliest discoveries in Inorganic Chemistry				the 12th century. Before this century the Arabs
were made in metallurgy, Materia Medica, painting,				had not only made many experiments, and
enameling, glazing, glass-making, arts, etc. These				produced several works on this art, but they had
arts, and many metals, compounds and alloys				begun to doubt and criticise the most advanced
were known to the Arabs. Similarly, the				theories concerning it. This proves that the
discoveries in Organic Chemistry were made in				standard of their chemical thinking was advanced.
the arts of dyeing, tanning, the manufacture of				The 12th and 13th centuries added very little to
paper, in the study of fats, both of plant and				their knowledge about the transformation of
animal origin, in medicine, etc. Thus Chemistry had				metals, but their research continued in various
its sources in photo techniques, mineralogy,				fields. The main chemical writer of this age was
metallurgy, Materia Medica and decorative arts. It				Abu'l-QÃƒÂ£sim Muhammad al-Iraqi who
is the product of transmutation of baser metals				flourished in the second half of the 13th century.
into goldand philosophical thoughts of practical or				He was an experimenter and a theorist. His works
theoretical interest. Finally, it is the result of the				represent the full development of the Arabic
study of the properties of the substances.				doctrine. (19)
A Greek philosopher, Empedocles, held the view				The 14th century was an enlightened period when
that all the four elements, air, water, earth and				a group of intelligent writers began to reject the
fire, were the primal elements, and that the				idea of transformation of metals by chemical
various substances were made by their				means. One of such person was a historian,
intermixing. He regarded them to be distinct and				Rashid al-Din who described such chemical practice
unchangeable. Aristotle considered these elements				in Mongol Persia and expressed his distrust of
to be changeable i.e., one kind of matter could be				such chemists. The large encyclopaedic work
changed into another kind. (2)				Nukhbat al-Dahr of al-Dimashqi contains, in part
JÃƒÂ¡bir ibn HayyÃƒÂ£n				second, much information on metal, their
(Liatinized as Geber), a great Arabian Chemist of				properties, and influences. (19) As usual in Arabic
the 8th century A.C., modified the Aristotelian				treatises, chemistry is mixed up with mineralogy
doctrine of the four elements, and presented the				and geology. (20)
so-called sulphur-mercury theory of metals.				Even in their purely chemical researches on
According to this theory metals differ essentially				transformation of metals, the Arab chemists
because of different proportions of sulphur and				achieved by no means unimportant results. In
mercury in them. He also formulated the theory				their efforts to discover Elixir they often
of geologic formation of metals.				discovered new chemical processes, and hit upon
Unlike his Greek predecessors, he did not merely				the catalytic properties of various substances.
speculate, but performed experiments to reach				The pains, which they took in the search of gold,
certain conclusions. He recognized and stated the				ultimately resulted in their great contribution to the
importance of experimentation in Chemistry. He				development of modern chemistry.
combined the theoretical knowledge of the				The last important chemist of the 14th century
Greeks and practical knowledge of the craftsmen,				was 'Izz al-Din 'Ali Ibn al- Jildaki. Some twenty
and himself made noteworthy advance both in				treatises are ascribed to him. The list shows
the theory and practice of Chemistry.				al-Jildaki's great activity as a chemical writer. A
JÃƒÂ¢bir's contribution to Chemistry is				complete study of his vast writings is necessary
very great. He gave a scientific description of two				to know what he actually tried to establish. To
principle operations of Chemistry. One of them is				some extent, this study was made by Ruska,
calcinations which is employed in the extraction of				Stapleton, Holm yard, and their disciples.
metals from their ores. The other is reduction				One of al-Jildaki's important books entitled
which is employed in numerous chemical				NihÃƒÂ¢yat al-Talab fi Sharh al-Muktasab
treatments. He improved upon the methods of				contains many quotations from the earlier works,
evaporation, melting, distillation, sublimation and				and some novelties, as the use of nitric acid to
crystallization. These are the fundamental				extract silver out of the gold-silver alloy. Al- Jildaki
methods employed for the purification of chemical				remarked that the substances do not react
substances, enabling the chemist to study their				except by definite weights. (21) This is one of the
properties and uses, and to prepare them. The				four fundamental laws of modern chemistry.
process of distillation is particularly applied for				The ancient chemists applied their chemical
taking extract of plant material.				knowledge to a large number of industrial arts.
In the opinion of JÃƒ bir the cultivation of				Only three such arts are mentioned here, which
gold was not the only object of a chemist. The				will enable the readers to estimate the extent of
preparation of new chemical substances was also				their knowledge of Applied Chemistry.
regarded by him as the chief object of				Paper:
Chemistry. We owe to him for the first				Paper was invented by the Chinese who prepared
preparation of such substances as arsenic and				it from the cocoon of the silkworm. Some
antimony from their sulphides, and basic lead				specimens of Chinese paper extant date back to
carbonate. He also did important work in the				the second century A.C. The first manufacture of
preparation of steel, and the refinement of				the paper outside China occurred in Samarqand
metals. JÃƒ bir also deals with such				(757). When Samarqand was captured by Arabs
applications as the use of manganese dioxide in				the manufacture of paper spread over the whole
glass-making, varnishes to water-proof cloth and				Arab world including the Maghrib. (Tunis, Morocco,
protect iron use of iron pyrites for writing in gold				Algiers).
and distillation of vinegar to concentrate acetic				By the end of the 12th century there were four
acid.				hundred paper mills in Fasalone. In Spain the main
The most important discovery made by Jabir was				centre of manufacture of paper was Shatiba
the preparation of sulphuric acid. The importance				which remained a ancient Arab city until 1239.
of this discovery can be realized by the fact that				Cordova was the centre of the business of paper
in this modern age the extent of the industrial				in Spain.
progress of a country is mostly judged by the				The Arabs developed this art. They prepared
amount of. sulphuric acid consumed in that				paper not only from silk, but also from cotton,
country. Another important acid prepared by him				rags and wood.In the middle of the 10th century
was nitric acid which he obtained by distilling a				the paper industry was introduced in Spain. In
mixture of alum (of Yemen) and copper sulphate				Khurasan paper was made of linen.
(of Cyprus). Then by dissolving ammonium				There is an early treatise dealing with
chloride into this acid, he prepared aqua regia				paper-making, the Umdat al-Kuttab wa 'Uddatu
which, unlike acids, could dissolve gold in it.				dhawi'l-AlbÃƒÂ£b which is ascribed to the
Jabir classified chemical substances, on the basis				Amir al- Mu'izz' Ibn Badis, a ruler of the Zayri
of some distinctive features, into bodies (gold,				dynasty (1015-61) in Tunis. The 11th chapter of
silver, etc.) and souls (mercury, sulphur, etc.) to				this treatise, dealing with paper, has been edited,
make the study of their properties easier.				translated and elaborately discussed by the
JÃƒÂ£bir is the author of a large number				foremost student of Arabic paper, Josef
of books on chemistry and a book on astrolabe.				Karabacek. This work explains how to prepare
About one hundred chemical works ascribed to				the pulp, make the sheets, wash and clean them,
him are extant. His fame chiefly rests on his				colour, polish and paste them, and give them an
chemical books preserved in Arabic. (3)				antique appearance. No text comparable to this in
We find that the author recognized and stated				any other language of so early a date is known.
clearly the importance of experimentation more				The preparation of pulp involves a large number
clearly than any other early chemist. He				of complicated chemical processes, which shows
remarkably sound views on methods of chemical				the advancement of the chemical knowledge of
research. It is impossible to reach definite				the Arabs and Egyptians at that time.
conclusions regarding the extent of his				The manufacture of writing-paper in Spain is one
contributions until all the Arabic writings ascribed to				of the most beneficial contributions of Arabs to
him have been properly edited and studied. But on				Europe. Without paper the scale on which popular
the basis of our present knowledge, Jabir appears				education in Europe developed would have not
to be one of the greatest scientist whose				been possible. The preparation of paper from silk
influence can be traced throughout the whole				would have been impossible in Europe due to the
period of the historical development of the				lack of silk production there. The Arabs method
Arabian and European chemistry. In the light of				of producing paper from cotton could only be
these facts it would not be improper to call				useful for the Europeans. After Spain the art of
JÃƒÂ£bir as the father of Chemistry.				paper-making was established in Italy (1268-76).
Some of the chemical writings to which				France owed its first paper mills to ancient Spain.
JÃƒÂ£bir's name is attached were				From these countries the industry spread
translated into Latin. The first such version, the				throughout Europe.
Book of the Composition of Alchemy was made				Another type of paper; marbled paper, which was
by Robert of Chester in 1144. The Kitab al-Sab'in				common upon end-papers, paper covers and
(the book of the seventy) was translated by				edges of books, was prepared in the East, and
Gerard of Cremona in the 12th century'. The				exported to the West. About the preparation of
translation of the Sum of Perfection was made				marbled paper Roger Bacon tells us: "The Turks
by Richard Russell. One of his books has been				have a pretty art of chamoletting of paper, which
translated into French by Berthelot. (4)				is not with us in use. They take diverse oiled
Several technical terms have passed from				colours, and put them severally (in drops) upon
JÃƒÂ£bir's Arabic writings through Latin				water; and stirr the water lightly and then wet
into the European languages. Among these are				their paper (being of some thickness) with it, and
realgar (red sulphide of arsenic), tutia (zinc oxide),				the paper will be waved, and veined, like Chamolet
alkali, antimony, and alembic for distillation Vessel.				or Marble'.
The Arabic equivalents for the last three words				Books bound in the West towards the end of the
are alqali, ithmad, and al-'anbiq respectively. (5)				16th century are found with end-papers brought
Before JÃƒÂ£bir Ibn Hayyan, the				from the East, but it was not until about a
Umayyad prince Khalid Ibn Yazid, who was a				century later that European binders began to
philosopher, poet and chemist, encouraged Greek				make them themselves. Hand-made marbled
philosophers in Egypt to translate Greek scientific				papers are now rarely used, but more or less
works into Arabic. These were among the earliest				clumsily reproduced imitations still serve various
translations in Arabic from other languages. He				purposes.
was himself deeply interested in medicine,				There is an Arabic word 'rizma' meaning a bundle
astrology and chemistry. Many chemical works				of merchandise, which had been adopted in
are ascribed to him. One of them is entitled				almost every Western language with slight
Firdaus al-Hikmah fi'Ilm al-Kimiya. This work was in				variations to mean a bundle of paper (English:
verse, and contained 2,315 couplets. (6)				ream). This also testifies to the Arabic origin of
An encyclopaedic scientist, and philosopher, Abu				that business in the West. (22)
Yusuf Ya'qub al-Kindi considered the art of				Tiles :
transformation of one metal into the other as an				The industry of tile-making which involves a large
imposture. A few of 'his numerous works dealing				number of complex technical and chemical
with many sciences are extant. One of his works				processes, was highly developed by Arabs. The
is on pharmacy, a branch of applied chemistry. (7)				earliest treatise, a Persian text, dealing with the
Chemistry was usually mixed up with mineralogy				manufacture of faience, was unique of its kind in
and geology. The oldest Arabian lapidary which				world literature until the 16th century. It has been
may serve as an important source of chemistry				written by 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Ali KÃƒ shÃƒ
was written by 'UtÃƒÂ¤rid Ibn				ni in the 13th century. This book entitled Jawahir
Muhammad al-HÃƒÂ£sib who flourished in				al-'ArÃƒÂ£'is Wa Aja'ib
the ninth century. It deals with the properties of				al-NafÃƒÂ¤'is was written on precious
precious stones. (8)				stones and perfumes. It explains the manufacture
In the same century JÃƒÂ£bir's work				of Faience, the ingredients (as clay, borax,
was further advanced by al-RÃƒÂ¤zi who				feldspar, cobalt, lapis lazuli, lead, manganese, tin
wrote many chemical treatises, and described a				etc.), their mixtures, the kiln processes and
number of chemical instruments. One of his				implements, the methods of glazing and
treatises consists of 25 pieces of chemical				decorating. This treatise is similar to the various
apparatus. He made investigations on specific				other treatises on precious stones written in
gravity. One of his important works is on the art				Arabic and Persian. The final chapter deals with
of transformation of baser metals into the noble				the art of enamelled pottery. This account is
ones. He applied his chemical knowledge for				specially valuable because it is based on actual and
medical purposes, thus laying the foundation of				traditional practice. The maker of the beautiful
Iatrochemistry. (9)				lustre 'mihrab' (arch) of the tomb of Imam
Other important chemists of this century were				YahyÃƒÂ£ (now in the Hermitage,
Dhu'l-NÃƒÂ¼n and al-JÃƒ hiz. The				Leningrad), dated 1305 A.C., Yusuf Ibn 'Ali Ibn
former mostly dealt with the art of transmutation				Muhammad, was possibly a brother of the author.
of metals. (10) The latter prepared ammonia from				(23)
animal offals by dry distillation. (11)				Ceramics:
In the tenth century Ibn Wahshiyah wrote on				The early history of Arabian and Egyptian
chemistry, His work may help to understand				ceramics has not so far been written. Many
chemical symbolism. Maslamah Ibn Ahmad, an				interesting specimens have been discovered in
astronomer, mathematician and oculist of this				recent years which throw much light on the
century wrote two chemical works entitled,				development of this industry in the Arab world.
Rutbat al-Hakim and GhÃƒÂ£yat al-Hakim.				The centers of this industry were situated in
The second is well known in the Latin translation				Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt and Valencia
made in 1252 by the order of King Alfonso under				from where various types spread rapidly
the title Picatrix. (12)				throughout the Islamic Caliphate.
A Persian pharmacologist AbÃƒÂ¼				Under Arabian influence the potters in these
MansÃƒÂ¼r Muwaffaq Ibn 'Ali al-Harawi				Centers revived old technical processes,
who flourished in Herat in the tenth century, was				developed new ones and began to experiment
apparently the first to think of compiling a treatise				with decorative and ornamental schemes. The
on Materia Medica in Persian. He travelled				Arabian potters readily absorbed progressive
extensively in Persia and India to obtain necessary				ideas but atthe same time maintained great
information. He wrote, between 968 and 977, a				originality. Two types of pottery were in common
book entitled Kitab al-Abniyah 'an				use; enamelled and lustered. In enamelled pottery
HaqÃƒÂ£'iq al-Adwiyah. It contains Greek,				(the glazed earthenware) the Ancient s, from an
Syrian, Arabian, Persian, and Indian knowledge. It				early period, were expert masters. In lustered
deals with 585 remedies (of which 466 are				pottery also they made great progress. "In this
derived from plants, 75 from minerals, and 44				the design is painted in a metallic salt on a glazed
from animals). He classified them into four groups				surface and fixed by firing in smike in a way that
according to their action, and gave the outline of a				gives it a metallic gleam, which varies in different
general pharmacological theory.				specimens from a bright copper-red to a
Abu MansÃƒÂ¼r distinguished between				greenish- yellow tint, and in some cases throws
sodium carbonate (natrum) and potassium				off brilliant iridescent reflections. (24)
carbonate (qali). He had some knowledge of				In the last chapter of the Persian text Kitab
arsenious oxide, cupric oxide, silicic acid, antimony				al-JawÃƒÂ¤hir' al-'Ara'is Wa
and so on. He knew the toxicological effects of				'AjÃƒÂ£'ib al-Nafa'is, the author describes
copper and lead compounds, the depilatory virtue				the techniques of glazingwith two fires (lustres),
of quicklime, the composition of plaster of Paris				leaf building, over glaze decoration fired in a muffle
and its surgical use. (13)				kiln. (i.e.,separated from the flame, the source of
The greatest Arabian surgeon, Khalaf Ibn				heat being outside), haf't rang, a Persian
'AbbÃƒÂ¤s al-ZahrÃƒÂ£wi (d.				termreferring to the seven colours of the planets.
1013) wrote a great medical encyclopaedia,				There may be a reference to the polychrome
al-Tasrif in 30 sections, which contains interesting				over glaze technique, the so called minai ware
methods of preparing drugs by sublimation and				(another Persian term; mina-wash means lustre;
distillation, but its most important part is the				mina coloured). The author indicates differences
surgical one. (14)				between the art as practiced in Kashan, Baghdad
AbÃƒÂ¼ Rayhan Muhammad				and Tabriz. In Baghdad and Tabriz other kinds of
al-BirÃƒÂ¼ni (973-1048) took a great				firewood and potash were used.
interest in the determination of the specific				In the 15th century the Arabian ceramic art was
gravity of eighteen precious stones and metals. A				followed by Italian potters, who obtained much of
voluminous unedited lapidary by al- Biruni is extant				the mature technical knowledge from Arab
in unique manuscript in the Escorial Library. It				sources. This technical knowledge proved to be
contains a description of a great number of				helpful in the revival of ceramic art during the
stones and metals from the natural, commercial,				Renaissance. (25)
and medical point of view. Moreover, he				REFERENCES :-
composed a pharmacology (saydalah).Important				1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, chicago, 1951, p.360
information could certainly be obtained from his				2. Ibid., p. 355.
unedited works, on the origin of Indian and				3 Sarton George, Introduction to the History of
Chinese stones and drugs, which appeared in early				Science, Washington, 1950, Vol I. p. 532.
Arabic scientific works. (15)				4. Wasiti, Hakim Nayyar, Tibb al-'Arab (
Ibn SinÃƒ wrote a treatise on minerals, which				ÃƒÂ£n Urdu Translation of Arabian
was very important and one of the main sources				Medicine by Edward G. Browne), Lahore, 1954, p.
of geological knowledge, also a source of				26.
chemistry in Western Europe until the				5. Ibid.
Renaissance.				6. HÃƒÂ£ji Khalifah, Kashf
As mentioned before, mineralogy stood in close				al-ZunÃƒÂ¼n, Istanbul, 1943. Vol., I, p.
relation to chemistry. Nearly fifty Arabic lapidaries				1254.
have been named. The best known of them is.				Al-Zirakli, Khair al-Din, Al-'AlÃƒÂ£m vol. II
the 'Flowers of Knowledge of Stones', by				p. 342.
ShihÃƒ b al-Din al-TifÃƒÂ£shi (died in				7. Sarton, op. cit., p. 559.
Cairo in 1154). It gives in 25 chapters extensive				8. Ibid., p. 572. Al-Qifti, op. cit. p. 251.
information on the subject of the same number				9. Ibid., p. 271. Sarton, op. cit. p. 609.
of precious stones, their origin, geography,				10. lbid, p. 592.
examination, purity, price, application for medicinal				11. lbid, p. 597.
and magical purposes, and so on. Except for Pliny				12. Ibid., pp. 620, 668.
and the superior Aristotelian lapidary, he quotes				13. Ibid., p. 678.
only Arabic authors. (16)				14. Ibid., p. 681.
The output of the books on Chemistry was very				15 Ibid., p. 707.
great after the eleventh century. Thus, there are				16. Ibid, vol. II, part II, p. 650.
known books of about forty Arabic and Persian				17. Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah, English translation by
chemists. Ibn Khaldun, (d. 1406) the talented				Frenz Rosenthal, London, 1957, vol. 3, p. 267.
Arabian philosopher of history and the greatest				18. Ibid. p. 278
intellect of his century, was a violent opponent of				19. Haji. Khalifah, op. cit. p. 1936.
the idea of transmutation of metals by chemical				20. Sarton, op. cit vol. III, part I, p. 759.
means. (17)				21. Ibid. Vol. II, Part. II, p. 1045.
Some chemists thought that one metal can be				22. Sarton, op. cit., Vol. III, Part I, p. 321.
transformed into another by artificial methods. For				23. Sarton, op. cit vol. III , part I, p. 756.
such transformation they followed different				24 Arnold and Guillaume, op. cit. p. 125.
procedures depending on the character and form

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Contributions of Ancient Arabian and Egyptian Scientists on Chemistry