The House of Wisdom was a renowned centre of learning in Baghdad during the Abbasid caliphate. It is associated with the caliphs Harun al-Rashid and especially al-Ma'mun, who supported a large movement to translate Greek, Persian, Syriac and Indian works on science, medicine, philosophy and mathematics into Arabic. Scholars connected with it include the mathematician al-Khwarizmi, whose name gave us the word algorithm, and the philosopher al-Kindi. Historians debate how formal an institution it was, since some of the sources use the term for a palace library more than for a university-style academy. It is traditionally said to have been destroyed when the Mongols under Hulagu sacked Baghdad in the mid-thirteenth century.
Before and after
- from 8th century to 9th centuryRise of Carolingian Renaissance
- 800 CEBook of Kells
- from 800 CE to 909 CEAghlabids
- from 800 CE to 887 CECarolingian Empire
- from 8th century to 13th centuryHouse of Wisdom
- 8th centuryConstruction of Borobudur Temple
- from 800 CE to 1540Muisca Confederations
- from 8th century to 10th centuryCarolingian art
- from 800 CE to 1258Islamic Golden Age
More in Art, literature & culture
- 803 CELeshan Giant Buddha
- 11th centuryBayeux Tapestry
- 12th centuryPublication of Primary Chronicle
- from 5 November 1414 to 22 April 1418Council of Constance
- 15 April 1452Birth of Leonardo da Vinci
- c. 1485Painting of The Birth of Venus
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes.