Abu as-Salt facts for kids

Abū aṣ‐Ṣalt Umayya ibn ʿAbd al‐ʿAzīz ibn Abī aṣ‐Ṣalt ad‐Dānī al‐Andalusī (Arabic: أبو الصلت) (c. 1068—October 23, 1134), known in Latin as Albuzale, was a very smart person from al-Andalus (which is now Spain and Portugal). He was an Arab polymath, meaning he knew a lot about many different subjects. He wrote about pharmacology (how medicines work), geometry (the study of shapes), Aristotelian physics (the study of how things move), and astronomy (the study of stars and planets).

His books about astronomical tools were popular in both the Islamic world and Europe. He also visited Palermo in Italy and worked for Roger I of Sicily as a doctor. People in Europe learned about him through translations of his works. He is also known for bringing Andalusi music to Tunis, which helped create the Tunisian ma'luf music style.

Life

Abu as-Salt was born in Dénia, a city in al-Andalus. When he was a child, his father passed away. He then became a student of a famous teacher named al-Waqqashi in Toledo.

After finishing his math studies in Seville, he moved with his family to Alexandria and then Cairo in 1096. This was because of the ongoing wars in Spain at the time.

In Cairo, he started working for the Fatimid ruler, Abū Tamīm Ma'add al-Mustanṣir bi-llāh, and his chief minister, Al-Afdal Shahanshah. He worked for them until 1108. At that time, he tried to pull up a very big boat full of copper that had sunk in the Nile River.

Abu as-Salt built a special machine to lift the boat. He was almost successful, but the machine's silk ropes broke. Because of this, the chief minister Al-Afdal ordered Abu as-Salt's arrest. He was put in jail for over three years and was finally released in 1112.

After leaving Egypt, Abu al-Salt went to Mahdia in Tunisia. This was the capital of the Zirid kingdom. There, he worked for King Yaḥyā ibn Tamīm as‐Ṣanhājī, and his son, ʿAbd al‐ʿAzīz, was born.

He also sometimes traveled to Palermo and worked for Roger I of Sicily as a visiting doctor. He even sent poems to a poet in Palermo. Abu al-Salt died in Béjaïa, Algeria, possibly from a sickness called dropsy. He is buried in the Ribat of Monastir, Tunisia.

Works

Abu as-Salt wrote a big book that covered many scientific subjects. These subjects were known as the quadrivium, which included arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. This work was likely called Kitāb al‐kāfī fī al‐ʿulūm in Arabic.

His poems are kept in a collection by Imad al-Din al-Isfahani. He was also interested in alchemy, which was an old practice of trying to turn common metals into valuable ones. He really wanted to find a special potion that could change copper into gold and tin into silver. He also studied medicinal plants.

Astronomy

• Risāla fī al-amal bi‐l‐astrulab: This book was about how to build and use an astrolabe, a tool used to measure the positions of stars and planets.
• A description of three special tools called Andalusian equatoria.
• Ṣifat ʿamal ṣafīḥa jāmiʿa taqawwama bi‐hā jamīʿ al‐kawākib al‐sabʿa: This explained how to build and use a single plate to track the movements of the seven known planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn).
• Kitāb al‐wajīz fī ʿilm al‐hayʾa: A short book about cosmology, which is the study of the universe.
• Ajwiba ʿan masāʾil suʾila ʿan‐ha fa‐ajāba or Ajwiba ʿan masāʾil fī al‐kawn wa‐ʾl‐ḥabīʿa wa‐ʾl‐ḥisāb: This book answered questions about the universe, physics, and math.
• An introduction to astronomy.
• A summary of Ptolemy's famous book, Almagest, which was about astronomy.

Music

• Risāla fī l-musiqa: This was a letter or essay about music. A copy of it, translated into Hebrew, is kept in Paris.

Medicine (pharmacobotany)

• Kitab al-adwiya al-mufrad: This book was special because it didn't list medicines in alphabetical order. Instead, it organized them by which part of the body they were used to treat. It was translated into Latin and Hebrew.

Description of Egypt

• Risāla al-misriyya: This was a report written for the Zirid prince Yahya. It is valuable because it describes Egypt in the 13th century.

Logic

• Taqwim al-dhikr: This book was a summary of two important ancient Greek works: Porphyry's Isagoge and the first four books of Aristotle's Organon. These books are about logic and how to think clearly. This manuscript has been translated into Spanish.

See Also

In Spanish: Abu Salt de Denia para niños

• Roger I of Sicily
• Ibn Jubayr
• Muhammad al-Idrisi
• Ibn al-Saffar

Images for kids

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  A robot, representing technology and innovation, areas Abu as-Salt was interested in.