Written by Paul Lunde Illustrated by Michael Grimsdale Additional illustrations courtesy of Bodleian Library Towards the end of the 10th century, Ibn al-Nadim, son of a Baghdad, bookseller and boon companion of Abbasid caliphs, compiled an annotated bibliography of books that had passed through his hands during the course of his long and active life. The sheer number of books that he lists, to say nothing of the range of their subject matter,...

The Islamic Golden Age is traditionally dated from the mid-7th century to the mid-13th century during which Muslim rulers established one of the largest empires in history. During this period, artists, engineers, scholars, poets, philosophers, geographers, and traders in the Islamic world contributed to agriculture, the arts, economics, industry, law, literature, navigation, philosophy, sciences, sociology, and technology, both by preserving...

The foundation of this legacy was the astonishing achievements of Muslim scholars, scientists, craftsmen, and traders during the few hundred years or so that are called the Golden Age. During this period, from 750 to 950, the territory of the Muslim Empire encompassed present-day Iran, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, North Africa, Spain, and parts of Turkey and drew to Baghdad peoples of all those lands in an unparalleled...