formatting problems in the initial offering.//
//Ed. note: the following is a translation of an article by
Prof. Dr. Ural Akbulut in Milliyet Newspaper, 13
December 2019)//
Andalusian route of paper to Europe from China click
here for a TNT translation of another article by Prof.
Akbulut.
The works of philosophers like Aristotle, Plato and Socrates formed
the basis of antique Greek civilization. But during that time and
afterwards Europeans were unaware of these philosophers. When
Aristotle's student Alexander the Great seized Egypt, some works
of the Greek philosophers reached that country. Ptolemy, one of
Alexander's generals, became the administrator of Egypt and
his son Ptolemy II established the Alexandria Library. Aristotle
donated some of his books to Alexandria and the original works of
Greek philosophers, or copies of them, were brought to the
Alexandria Library, as well.
When the army of Amr bin As seized Egypt in 642 A.D., Moslems
became the owners of the books of Aristotle and the other
philosophers. Initially, the books were gathered up and translated in
Baghdad and, subsequently, by the Umayyads in Andalusia.
At the time that Aristotle wrote his books there were no schools in
Europe and the number of literate people there was quite small. No
one was interested in philosophy and science. When the Roman
Empire collapsed in 476 A.D., an authority vacuum resulted. This
vacuum was filled by churches and in the 600s schools began to be
opened in churches.
As literacy gradually increased in Europe, Aristotle's name could be
heard from time to time. As of the 900s, feudalism emerged and local
despotates were established. The people were essentially slaves under
the dominance of the landholders who lived in the chateaus. Because
of internecine wars and famines, the people could not shake off the
darkness of the Middle Ages.
As literacy began to spread in Europe the Umayyads were having
the works of the Greek philosophers translated into Arabic.
Meanwhile, in Baghdad, as of the year 754 A.D., the Abbasid Caliph
Al-Mansur had Greek, Egyptian, Assyrian and Indian books
translated into Arabic. The translators were Syriacs and others from
Harran, in today's Şanlıurfa province of Turkey.
In the Al-Mehdi period, Aristotle's book "Topics" and some Greek
works were translated into Arabic. During Harun al- Rashid's reign,
translation efforts that began in 786 A.D. increased with the transfer
of Greek-language works collected in Anatolia being brought to
Baghdad. These translation activities continued during the time of
Caliph Al-Ma'mun (813-833).
Al-Kindi was a philosopher who lived from 801 to 873. Translators
under him in Baghdad translated the works of Aristotle and most of
the Greek philosophers. And during the Al-Ma'mun and Mütevekkil
periods, Huneyn bin İshak translated Greek works into Arabic.
The Abbasids put an end to Umayyad rule in Baghdad in 750 and
Umayyad Caliph Hisham's grandson Abdurrahman went to Andalusia,
which was being administered by Moslems, becoming the Emir there
in 756 A.D. Andalusia became a knowledge center where Moslem
philosophers and scientists were brought together.
toledo translators click here for background on translations at Toledo.
The Toledo School of Translators
Moslems, Christians and Jews worked together in Andalusia to
translate the works of Aristotle and other philosophers that had been
translated into Arabic, into Latin. İbn-i Rüşt wrote a book that
detailed his own views on Aristotle's works. The translated works
and many worthy books written by Moslem scholars could be found
in the libraries of Toledo and Cordoba.
In 1085, Toledo passed from the Arab to the Christians, who
translated all of the works of the Greeks and the Moslems into Latin
in the Toledo Translation Schools. As a consequence, Europeans got
the opportunity to learn about Aristotle's works and those of the
Moslems scholars.
So, thanks to the Abbasids and the Umayyads, Aristotle's ideas
reached Europe, albeit with quite a delay. In a speech he gave at
Oxford University on 27 October 1993, England's Prince Charles
stated that "the Moslems of Spain not only gathered up and preserved
the works of the Greek and Roman civilizations, they commented on
them and spread them."
Prince Charles's speech click here to read the entire speech.
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