The House of Wisdom and the Legacy of Arabic Science

Synopsis: Video recording of the 2007 Michael Faraday Lecture given at the Royal Society by Professor Jim Al-Khalili. While Europe languished in the Dark Ages the spread of Islam heralded a remarkable period of scientific advances, particularly during the golden age of the Abbasids of Baghdad between the 8th and 11th centuries AD. Indeed, for 700 years, the international language of science was Arabic.

This lecture by Professor Jim Al-Khalil gives a snapshot of life in Baghdad’s House of Wisdom where so much of the work was carried out andreviews some of the incredible advances in philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and physics that not only made the European Renaissance possible but in fact brought about the birth of the modern scientific method itself. The lecture also touches upon what went wrong, what caused the decline and ask why so many Muslims today are themselves ignorant of this wonderful heritage. Al-Khalili, who was himself born in Baghdad, is currently writing a book on the subject. (30 minutes)
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Year of release: 2008
Year of production: 2007
Subjects: Science
Keywords: history of science; Arabic culture

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Notes: Royalsociety.tv offers live webcasts as well as podcasts and free, on-demand streaming of video and audio recordings of events held at the Royal Society. Lectures and discussions feature leading scientists and cover history of science as well as exploring cutting-edge science and culture.

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