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Document Details : Title: Greek Manuscripts in the Early Abbasid Empire Subtitle: Fiction and Facts about their Origin, Translation and Destruction Author(s): VAN KONINGSVELD, P.S. Journal: Bibliotheca Orientalis Volume: 55 Issue: 3-4 Date: mei - augustus 1998 Pages: 345-372 DOI: 10.2143/BIOR.55.3.2015860 Abstract : The Abbasid Caliph Al-Ma'mûn (who reigned in Baghdad from 813-833) emerges from ancient sources and modern studies as the key-figure in the translation process from Greek into Arabic which played such an essential role in the history of Islamic civilization, especially during its formative period. Arab and non-Arab authors alike tend to describe the achievements of this caliph with admiration and euphoria. According to Sourdel the reign of Al-Ma'mûn gained fame “by the immense number of translations of foreign scientific works which took place at the instigation of the sovereign”. |
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