Abu as-Salt

Abū al‐Ṣalt
Abū al‐Ṣalt
Born	c.1068; Dénia,al-Andalus
Died	October 23, 1134; Béjaïa,Algeria
Academic work
Era	Islamic Golden Age
Main interests	Quadrivium,Astronomy,Music
Influenced	Samuel of Marseilles,Profiat Duran

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 asAlbuzale,was anAndalusian-Arab^[1]^[2]polymathwho wrote aboutpharmacology,geometry,Aristotelian physics,andastronomy.^[3]His works onastronomicalinstruments were read both in the Islamic world and Europe. He also occasionally traveled toPalermoand worked in the court ofRoger I of Sicilyas a visitingphysician.^[4]He became well known in Europe through translations of his works made in the Iberian Peninsula and in southern France.^[4]He is also credited with introducingAndalusi musicto Tunis, which later led to the development of the Tunisianma'luf.^[4]

Life

Abu as-Salt was born inDénia,al-Andalus.After the death of his father while he was a child, he became a student of al‐Waqqashi (1017—1095) ofToledo(a colleague ofAbū Ishāq Ibrāhīm az-Zarqālī). Upon completing his mathematical education inSeville,and because of the continuing conflicts during thereconquista,he set out with his family toAlexandriaand thenCairoin 1096.

In Cairo, he entered the service of theFatimidrulerAbū Tamīm Ma'add al-Mustanṣir bi-llāhand theVizier Al-Afdal Shahanshah.His service continued until 1108, when, according toIbn Abī Uṣaybiʿa,his attempt to retrieve a very largeFeluccaladen with copper, that had capsized in theNile,ended in failure. Abu as-Salt had built a mechanical tool to retrieve the Felucca, and was close to success when the machine'ssilk ropesfractured. The Vizier Al-Afdal ordered Abu as-Salt's arrest, and he was imprisoned for more than three years, only to be released in 1112.

Abu al-Salt then leftEgyptforMahdiainTunisia,the capital of theZiridsinIfriqiyawhere he entered the service of kingYaḥyā ibn Tamīm as‐Ṣanhājīand where his son, ʿAbd al‐ʿAzīz was born.^[5]He also occasionally traveled toPalermoand worked in the court ofRoger I of Sicilyas a visitingphysician.^[4]He also sent poems to the Palermitan poetAbū ḍ-Ḍawʾ.He died, probably of dropsy, inBéjaïa,Algeria.He is buried in theRibat of Monastir,Tunisia.^[5]

Works

Abu as-Salt wrote^[6]an encyclopedic work of many treatises on the scientific disciplines known asquadrivium.This work was probably known in Arabic asKitāb al‐kāfī fī al‐ʿulūm.His poetry is preserved in the anthology ofImad al-Din al-Isfahani.^[7]His interests also includedalchemyas well as the study of medicinal plants. He was keen to discover anelixirable to transmutecopperintogoldand tin intosilver.

Astronomy

Risāla fī al-amal bi‐l‐astrulab( "On the construction and use of theastrolabe")
A description of the three instruments known as the Andalusian equatoria.
Ṣifat ʿamal ṣafīḥa jāmiʿa taqawwama bi‐hā jamīʿ al‐kawākib al‐sabʿa( "Description of the construction and Use of a Single Plate with which the totality of the motions of the seven planets" ),^[4]where the seven planets refer toMercury,Venus,earth,Moon,Mars,Jupiter,andSaturn.
Kitāb al‐wajīz fī ʿilm al‐hayʾa( "Brief treatise on cosmology" )
Ajwiba ʿan masāʾil suʾila ʿan‐ha fa‐ajāba or Ajwiba ʿan masāʾil fī al‐kawn wa‐ʾl‐ḥabīʿa wa‐ʾl‐ḥisāb( "Solution to questions on cosmology, physics, and arithmetic" ).
An introduction to astronomy.
A Summary ofPtolemy'sAlmagest.

Music

Risāla fī l-musiqa( "Epistle about music" ) - a manuscript translated in Hebrew is kept in Paris^[8]

Medicine (pharmacobotany)

Kitab al-adwiya al-mufrad- this book (known both by a 1311 Latin translation by Almado de Vilanova and a Hebrew translation by Yehuda Nathan) is unique in organizing drugs not by alphabetical order of the medicinal plants of which they are made, but by the part of the body they are used to cure.^[9]

Description of Egypt

Risāla al-misriyya(Epistle about Egypt) a report written for the Zirid prince Yahya, precious for its description of 13th century Egypt^[10]

Logic

Taqwim al-dhikr(assessing memory) a summary ofPorphyry'sIsagogeand the first four books ofAristotles'Organon.The manuscript has been translated in Spanish by C. Angel GONZALEZ PALENCIA.^[11]

Notes

Comes, Mercè (2007)."Abū al‐Ṣalt: Umayya ibn ʿAbd al‐ʿAzīz ibn Abī al‐Ṣalt al‐Dānī al‐Andalusī".In Thomas Hockey; et al. (eds.).The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers.New York: Springer. pp. 9–10.ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0.(PDF version)

References

^The Encyclopedia of Philosophy.1967.
^Marcorini, Edgardo (1988).Prehistory.Facts On File, Incorporated.ISBN 9780871964755.
^Selin, Helaine (2008). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 9.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eComes 2007.
^^a ^b"Abū al‐Ṣalt: Umayya ibn ʿAbd al‐ʿAzīz ibn Abī al‐Ṣalt al‐Dānī al‐Andalusī | ISMI".ismi.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de.Retrieved2022-06-23.
^Fontaine, Jean.Histoire de la littérature tunisienne, Tome 1(in French) (1988, 1999 ed.). Tunis: Cérès Editions. pp. 216–219.ISBN 9973-19-403-9.
^Umayya Abu L-Salt poetry, reported by Imad al-Din al-Isfahani (1974).edited by Muhammad al Marzouqi(in Arabic). Tunis: Librairie Orientale. pp. 172 p.
^Avenari, Hanoch, Vol 3 (1974)."The Hebrew version of Abul LSalt's treatise on Music, 80 p pdf document, English intro and Hebrew manuscript".Jewish Music Research Center.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Umayya Abu L-Salt (1979). Ibrahim Ben Mrad (ed.). "Kitab al-adwiya al-mufrada".al-Hayat al-Thaqafiyya.3:153–167.
^Umayya, Abu L-Salt (1951).al-Risala al-misriyya (manuscript edited by)(in Arabic) (Cairo ed.). Abdessalam HAROUN. pp. 50 pages.
^AbuSalt de Denia (1915).Rectificacion de la Mente - tratato de logica(PDF).Translated by C. Angel GONZALEZ PALENCIA. Madid.

[1] The Encyclopedia of Philosophy.1967.

[2] Marcorini, Edgardo (1988).Prehistory.Facts On File, Incorporated.ISBN 9780871964755.

[3] Selin, Helaine (2008). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 9.

[FOOTNOTEComes2007-4] Comes 2007.

[:0-5] "Abū al‐Ṣalt: Umayya ibn ʿAbd al‐ʿAzīz ibn Abī al‐Ṣalt al‐Dānī al‐Andalusī | ISMI".ismi.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de.Retrieved2022-06-23.

[6] Fontaine, Jean.Histoire de la littérature tunisienne, Tome 1(in French) (1988, 1999 ed.). Tunis: Cérès Editions. pp. 216–219.ISBN 9973-19-403-9.

[7] Umayya Abu L-Salt poetry, reported by Imad al-Din al-Isfahani (1974).edited by Muhammad al Marzouqi(in Arabic). Tunis: Librairie Orientale. pp. 172 p.

[8] Avenari, Hanoch, Vol 3 (1974)."The Hebrew version of Abul LSalt's treatise on Music, 80 p pdf document, English intro and Hebrew manuscript".Jewish Music Research Center.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[9] Umayya Abu L-Salt (1979). Ibrahim Ben Mrad (ed.). "Kitab al-adwiya al-mufrada".al-Hayat al-Thaqafiyya.3:153–167.

[10] Umayya, Abu L-Salt (1951).al-Risala al-misriyya (manuscript edited by)(in Arabic) (Cairo ed.). Abdessalam HAROUN. pp. 50 pages.

[11] AbuSalt de Denia (1915).Rectificacion de la Mente - tratato de logica(PDF).Translated by C. Angel GONZALEZ PALENCIA. Madid.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

Authority control databases
International	FAST ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	France BnF data Germany Israel United States Vatican
Other	IdRef