Islamic science and engineering

by Donald Routledge Hill

Muslim scientists and engineers contributed enormously to the technology of medieval Europe, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations. This introduction to the physical sciences and engineering of the Islamic world is the first to trace the full extent of that achievement in the period 750-1500. Using drawings and photographs, as well as iconographic and archaeological evidence to enhance material from Arabic sources, it gives careful explanations of the underlying principles of scientific formulae, machines and constructions, examining the historical background of Islamic technology and its subsequent effect upon European science and engineering. Covering mathematics, astronomy, physics and chemistry, as well as bridge and dam construction, irrigation systems, surveying and mining techniques, this is an ideal introduction to a subject which has received little attention in the past.