The Role of Muslims in the Formation and Development of Sciences (Part 76)
Sicily (Italy)
In the previous discussions, we examined the routes and pathways through which Islamic culture and civilization reached Europe. The first of these was Qurtoba, and now we turn to the second route through which Islamic civilization made its way to Europe. Sicily was one of the most important gateways of Islamic civilization into Europe, and along with it, southern Italy was also part of this path.
In the year (216 A.H./831 A.D.), Muslims conquered the city of Palermo, the capital of Sicily, and ruled there until the year (485 A.H./1092 A.D.), a period of nearly 260 years. During this time, life in Sicily took on an Arabic-Islamic character, as Muslims engaged in development and urbanization, introducing various aspects of civilization, such as mosques, palaces, baths, hospitals, markets, and fortresses. Important industries also flourished there, such as papermaking, silk, shipbuilding, and metal extraction. As a result, sciences and knowledge thrived, and students from Europe came to Sicily for study. Consequently, the island became one of the key centers for transferring Islamic heritage to the West, and the movement of translation from Arabic into Latin began there—a movement which, similar to Andalusia, played a tremendous role in transmitting knowledge.[1]
Although Islamic rule in Sicily ended in the late eleventh century, Islamic civilization continued under the protection of the Norman rulers. With their support, many Muslim scholars lived there. Among them was the famous geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi, who, for Roger II (1130–1154 A.D.), drew a map of the known world of his time on a silver plate and wrote the book Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-Afaq as an explanation of that map. The Russian orientalist Krachkovsky, in his book Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi al-Jughrafi, states: “Assigning an Arab scholar to draw the map of the world at that time was clear evidence of the superiority of the Arabic-Islamic civilization and the universal recognition of this superiority. In reality, the Norman court in Sicily was Eastern, if not more than half Eastern.”[2]
This new Islamic culture attracted Europeans, and its influence continued throughout the Norman period. The Sicilian court, particularly during the reigns of Roger II and Frederick II, was full of prosperity and splendor, deliberately modeled after Qurtoba. The Norman kings adopted Arab clothing and lifestyle. Their advisors and officials were mostly Muslims, and even scholars from Baghdad and Damascus joined them. Interestingly, three Norman kings in Sicily took Arabic titles for themselves: Roger II took the title al-Mu‘taẓ bi-Allah, William I al-Hadi bi-Amr Allah, and William II al-Musta‘izz bi-Allah, and these titles were even inscribed in their epigraphs.[3]
Frederick II (1194–1230 A.D.) was crowned in (1220 A.D.) as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire but preferred to reside in Sicily. He had a particular interest in sciences and encouraged scientific and philosophical discussions. In (1224 A.D.), he founded the University of Naples, which housed a large number of Arabic manuscripts. Thus, Arabic-Islamic culture spread into European universities, including Paris and Oxford. Numerous books were translated from Arabic into Latin. Among the translators were Stephen of Antioch (1127 A.D.), Adelard of Bath (around 1133 A.D.), and later Michael Scot, who translated works such as those of Ibn Rushd for Frederick II.
The king of Naples, Charles I, gave special attention to translating Arabic medical books into Latin. He established an institution for translators, where figures such as Faraj ibn Salim and Moses of Salerno worked. Copyists and editors of texts also gathered there, and works like al-Hawi by al-Razi and Taqwim al-Abdan by Ibn Jazlah were translated into Latin.[4]
Sicily, due to its linguistic diversity (Arabic, Greek, and Latin), provided a suitable environment for transferring both ancient and contemporary ideas. The island had previously (before Islam) been under Byzantine rule, and Greek cultural heritage was present there. This coexistence of three languages made the transmission of Islamic knowledge easier. In this context, the School of Medicine of Salerno in southern Italy, close to Sicily, was an important medical center for nearly three centuries (900–1200 A.D.). The most prominent figure in the history of this school was Constantine the African, of Arab descent, who was born in Tunisia and flourished between (1065–1085 A.D.). He translated many works of Arabic medicine into Latin, reaching about 40 works. Among them were Kamil al-Sina‘a al-Tibbiyya (al-Kitab al-Maliki) by Ali ibn Abbas (d. 1010 A.D.), and works by Ibn al-Jazzar, Ishaq ibn Imran, and Ishaq ibn Sulayman—all of whom were from his native Tunisia.
Although Constantine sometimes did not mention the names of the original authors of the Arabic works, and there are differing views about the reasons for this, it does not lessen his importance, for he was the first translator to bring Islamic sciences into Europe and contributed to the flourishing of the Salerno School. The Arabic language itself was even one of the teaching languages in that school. This school operated at the same time as the great Islamic physicians such as al-Razi (d. 925 A.D.), Ibn al-Jazzar (d. 975 A.D.), and Ali ibn Abbas (d. 1010 A.D.).[5]
Coyle Young says about Sicily: “Sicily was a free meeting ground for the languages and sciences of the Greeks, Latins, and Berber Arabs, resulting in a blended culture. This culture, with the help of Roger II and Frederick II, played a major role in transmitting the best aspects of Islamic civilization to Europe through Italy. In the thirteenth century, Palermo gained the same status that Toledo had in the twelfth century: a great center for translating and transferring Arabic books into Latin.”[6]
The Normans even preserved Muslim guilds and artisans due to their great trust in them and adopted the same Islamic administrative and financial systems, from the Diwan al-Tahqiq and Diwan al-Ma‘mur to the Diwan al-Fawa’id. The records of these diwans were written in Arabic.
In the field of military techniques as well, the Normans recruited many Muslims, thus transferring combat skills and military industries such as catapults and siege towers to themselves.[7]
Therefore, Sicily and southern Italy were the second most important gateway for the transmission of Islamic civilization to Europe.
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