House of Wisdom

E49168

The House of Wisdom was a renowned intellectual center and library in Baghdad where scholars of the Islamic Golden Age translated, preserved, and advanced knowledge in fields such as science, philosophy, and medicine.


Statements (78)
Predicate Object
instanceOf cultural institution
intellectual center
library
research institution
translation institute
approximateFoundationDate late 8th century
associatedEvent Siege of Baghdad (1258)
associatedWithCaliph Harun al-Rashid
al-Ma'mun
associatedWithDynasty Abbasid dynasty
causeOfDestruction Mongol siege of Baghdad
city Baghdad
country Iraq (historical region of Mesopotamia)
destructionDate 1258
disciplineAdvanced algebra
medicine
optics
philosophy of Aristotle and Plato
trigonometry
era Islamic Golden Age
expandedUnderRuleOf al-Ma'mun
fieldOfWork alchemy
astronomy
geography
linguistics
logic
mathematics
medicine
pharmacology
philosophy
science
translation studies
floruit 9th century
foundedUnderRuleOf Harun al-Rashid
function astronomical observation and calculation
education of scholars
philosophical inquiry
preservation of manuscripts
scientific research
translation of foreign works into Arabic
hasPart library of manuscripts
observatory (associated under al-Ma'mun)
translation bureau
historicalSignificance contributed to preservation of classical Greek texts
key institution of the Islamic Golden Age
major center of translation movement into Arabic
served as model for later libraries and academies
influenced Latin translations movement
development of universities in Europe
medieval European science
influencedBy Greek philosophical tradition
Hellenistic science
Indian mathematics and astronomy
Persian scholarly traditions
languageOfSources Greek
Persian
Sanskrit
Syriac
languageOfWork Arabic
legacy bridge for transmission of knowledge from antiquity to medieval Europe
symbol of Islamic scholarship and learning
locatedIn Abbasid Caliphate
location Baghdad
name Bayt al-Hikma
nativeName بيت الحكمة
notableScholar Hunayn ibn Ishaq
Qusta ibn Luqa
Thabit ibn Qurra
Yahya ibn Abi Mansur
al-Khwarizmi
al-Kindi
patron Harun al-Rashid
al-Ma'mun
purpose to collect knowledge from different cultures
to support state administration with scientific expertise
to translate and systematize scientific and philosophical works
religiousContext Islam
status destroyed

Referenced by (16)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Abbasid Caliphate ("Bayt al-Hikma")
Islamic Golden Age
Islamic Golden Age ("Bayt al-Hikma (Baghdad)")
notableInstitution
Al-Kindi ("House of Wisdom in Baghdad")
Jabir ibn Hayyan
associatedWith
Al-Khwarizmi
Al-Khwarizmi ("Abbasid court in Baghdad")
employer
al-Ma'mun ("Bayt al-Hikma")
founded
Islamic world
hasHistoricInstitution
Islamic astronomy
hasKeyInstitution
Abbasid Caliphate
hasPart
Baghdad
historicallyKnownFor
House of Wisdom ("Bayt al-Hikma")
name
House of Wisdom ("بيت الحكمة")
nativeName
al-Ma'mun ("Bayt al-Hikma")
patronage
Islamic mathematics ("House of Wisdom in Baghdad")
relatedTo

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