Sicily one of the routes of Islamic civilization to Europe

Wednesday, 21 July 2010

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Written by Dr. Ragheb Elsergany

Islamic civilization in Sicily

Sicily together with southern Italy was also one of the most important routes of Islamic civilization to Europe. The Muslims conquered Palermo, the capital of Sicily in (216 A.H / 831 A.D), and continued to rule it until (485 A.H / 1092 A.D), approximately 260 years during which life in Sicily had an Arab, Islamic character.

During those years, the Muslims were interested in development and construction and were keen to introduce aspects of civilization, such as mosques, palaces, baths, hospitals, markets, castles, into Sicily. Important industries, such as that of paper, silk, and ships and mining were introduced.

Sciences and arts made headway in Sicily. Students came from Europe to Sicily in pursuit of knowledge. Sicily then turned into an important centre via which Islamic heritage moved to the Occident. Activities of translation from Arabic into Latin, similar to those done in Andalusia, began in Sicily.

Impact of Islamic civilization in Sicily

Although the Islamic rule of the island had ended in the late 11th century, Islamic civilization there continued under the care of their Norman successors under whose protection many Muslim scholars, such as geography expert Mohamed Idrissi, lived. Idrissi drew for Roger II (1130 -1154 A.D) the map of the world as it was known at his time on a flat silver circle. He also wrote for him the book Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (The journey of those aspiring to penetrate the horizons) which describes this map.

In his book Tarikh al-adab al-arabi al-jughurafi (The history of Arabic geographic literature), the Russian Orientalist Kratchkovski[1] commented on this book.

Speaking of Roger, he said:"…and his commissioning of an Arab scientist in particular to do a description of the world as it was known at the time is shining evidence of the excellence of Arab civilization in that era, and of the recognition by everyone of this excellence. Half, if not more, of the court of Normans in Sicily was Oriental.[2]"

The new Islamic culture attracted Europeans, and its impact continued during the rule of the Normans. Life in the court of Sicily - especially during the reign of Roger II and Frederick II – was prosperous and elegant which was intended to get closer to Cordova. The two kings adopted the Arab style of dress and way of life. The Norman rulers of Sicily had Arab and Muslim advisors and employees. They were joined by scholars from Baghdad and Syria.  Moreover, three Norman kings in Sicily had Arab titles.  Roger II carried the title of «Al-Mo'tazbillah», William I held the title of “Al-Hadi ba’mrallah", and William II "Almusta’izbillah,". These titles appeared in their inscriptions.[3] Frederick II (1194 - 1230 A.D) was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1220 A.D), but he preferred to live in Sicily and had a special interest in sciences. He encouraged scientific and philosophical discussions.

It was him who founded the University of Naples (1224 A.D) which had a large number of Arabic manuscripts. The Arab and Islamic culture spread in European universities, including that of Paris and Oxford. A number of books were translated from Arabic into Latin.  Translators included Stephen of Antioch (1127 A.D), English Adelard[4] (about 1133 A.D)[5], and Michael Scot[6], who translated books for King Frederick II, including Ibn Rushd’s.

  The King of Naples Charles I was interested in translating Arabic medical books into Latin and established an institution comprising the actual translators; such as Faraj Bin Salem, Musa of Salerno, as well as scribes and proofreaders. The books Al-Hawi by Al-Razi and Taqwim al-Abdan by Ibn Jizla were translated.

Sicily was prepared for the transfer of ancient and contemporary thought. Arabic and Greek speakers lived in Sicily together with some intellectuals who knew Latin. Sicily was affiliated to the Byzantine Empire and had some Greek cultural aspects. The existence of the three languages at the same time had greatly facilitated the transfer of knowledge. Before that, Salerno school was a centre for teaching medicine for nearly three hundred years (900-1200 A.D). It is located in southern Italy and was closely connected to Sicily. The most important thing in its history was Constantine, the African of Arab origin, who was born in Tunisia, and became famous from 1065 to 1085 A.D. He translated a large number of medical books from Arabic into Latin. He was credited with the translation of forty books, including Kamil al-Sina’ah al-Tibiyah (The entire medical industry), Al-Kitab al-Malaki (The royal book) by Ali Ibn Abbas (died in 1010 A.D), and other books by Ibn al-Jazzar, Isaac Ibn Imran, and Isaac bin Sulayman, all three from his home country Tunisia.

Constantine omitted to mention the names of the original authors of some Arabic books. There are different reasons for this, but that does not detract from his importance as the first translator who introduced Islamic science into Europe and was behind the flourishing of the school of Salerno. The Arabic language was one of the languages taught at the school. The great Arab Muslim doctors and authors, such as Al-Razi (died in 925 A.D), Ibn Al-Jazzar (died in 975 A.D) and Ali Ibn Abbas (died in 1010 A.D)[7],were contemporaneous to that school. Mr. Cowel Yong said about Sicily: “Sicily was a field for free competition between the languages of the Greeks, the Latins, and Arab Berbers and their acquaintances. The result was the birth of a different culture. Thanks to encouragement from Roger II and Frederick II, Sicily played a great role in the transfer of the best of the Islamic city to Europe through Italy. Palermo became in the 13th century, like Toledo in the 12th century, a great centre for the translation of Arabic books into Latin."[8] The Normans kept Muslim professionals as they had great trust in them[9]. The Normans also maintained the same administrative, financial systems used by Muslims starting from the financial management Divan, the treasury Divan to the land sale registration Divan. The registers of these departments were written in Arabic.[10] In the field of military arts, the Normans were keen to recruit many Muslims. That was a fertile ground for the transfer of fighting skills and even military industries, such as catapults and siege towers.[11]

As such, Sicily and southern Italy represented another important route of the routes of Islamic civilization to Europe.