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More than a millennium ago, the Bayt al-Ḥikma was built in Baghdad: the small private library of the great caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd became one of the cultural reference points of the Arab-Islamic world, if not the largest cultural center during the golden era of Islamic domination.
Its history was too short, lasting just over four centuries; however, the enormous cultural treasure contained in it has been, since then, an inspiration for the creation of further cultural centers, past and present, built in various Mediterranean countries. But, before discovering them, we need to take a step back, to the end of the eighth century, to the origins of a simple idea that would change the world.
The story of Bayt al-Hikma
The most important cultural center of the Arab-Islamic world was born as the simple personal library of a caliph destined to remain in history: Hārūn al-Rashīd. Man of great culture and great wisdom, many anecdotes are linked to his figure.
Main character of many of the stories told in The Thousand and One Nights, he entered history for his charitable and fearful soul of the afterlife. However, his reign, despite being the starting point for the Islamic golden age, is remembered for the numerous internal revolts that gave rise to the increasingly deep rifts that occurred from a political point of view throughout the remaining years of the Abbasid dynasty.
The caliph’s library was enlarged from 832 onwards, thanks to his son al-Ma’mun: like his father, he loved culture above all things, preferring it, according to the testimonies of the time, to the battles of conquest. He personally took care of the “house of wisdom”, promoting the studies of Egyptology; he was a great lover of astronomy, giving the order to build the first observatory in Baghdad.
In this moment of splendour, which also continued under the reign of al-Wathiq, nephew of Hārūn al-Rashīd, it was established the practice of translation: not only the texts of Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Hippocrates were thus released in Arabic , but also treatises on medicine, engineering, economics, as well as those relating to astronomy and agriculture.
The end of Bayt al-Ḥikma and the position of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
The Bayt al-Ḥikma met its end in 1258, during the capture of Baghdad by Hulagu, the great Mongol khan. There are numerous testimonies of the disastrous event, often fictionalized to emphasize the terrible loss suffered by the scholars of the time: the invaders threw thousands of texts into the waters of the Tigris, which according to legends turned black for all the lost ink. Other stories tell of such a quantity of volumes thrown into the water that they formed a bridge.
The famous scholar Nasir al-Din al-Tusi is often associated with this serious loss. According to the testimonies of the time, he managed to save at least 400,000 volumes; however, his position during the siege of Baghdad remains ambiguous.
He was in fact captured by the troops of the great Khan before the attack on the city; Hulagu treated al-Tusi with great respect, admiring his studies and making him part of his private council: for this reason, al-Tusi may have played a key role during the destruction of the city and its cultural heritage, siding with the invaders.
Thanks also to this advantageous position over the great Mongol Khan, al-Tusi became one of the most famous scholars of the medieval age of Islam: just think how he convinced Hulegu to build an astronomical observatory, which allowed him to calculate the planetary movements and the position of the stars, producing a script (Zij-i ilkhani) which was used until the creation of the heliocentric theory two centuries later.
The legacy of Bayt al-Ḥikma in the Mediterranean countries
Though the most important, the Bayt al-Ḥikma was not the only “house of wisdom” built; during its existence, and even after its destruction, many other great cultural centers were built in the Mediterranean countries, some of which still exist today.
Other points of reference for culture are present, in the contemporary age, in Fez, Morocco, but also in France; in Tunis, the Beït al-Hikma built in 1983 has been welcoming students from the humanities sector for some time; finally, it should not be forgotten the Bibliotheca Alexandrina which, although descending from another famous cultural center, collects the vast legacy left by the ancient study centers.
Among them, the Library of Alexandria must certainly be mentioned; but also the Dar al-Hikmah built by order of the caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah during the first years of his reign: before being destroyed, it extended so much that it was almost considered one of the wonders of the ancient world. The cultural heritage of the Bayt al-Ḥikma, therefore, has not been lost: it continues to inspire the construction of new, very important poles, to ensure that the great treasures of wisdom continue to live forever.
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