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Jabir ibn Hayyan

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For other people known as Jabir, seeJabir.

Jābir ibn Ḥayyān
Islamic alchemist
15th-century depiction of Jabir
Diedc.806−816
EraIslamic Golden Age
RegionKufa(Iraq) /Tus(Iran) / unknown
LanguageArabic
Main interests
Alchemy and chemistry,magic,Shi'itereligious philosophy
Notable ideas
Use oforganicsubstances in chemistry,sulfur-mercury theory of metals,science of the balance,science of artificial generation

Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Ḥayyān(Arabic:أَبو موسى جابِر بِن حَيّان,variously calledal-Ṣūfī,al-Azdī,al-Kūfī,oral-Ṭūsī), diedc.806−816, is the purported author of a large number of works in Arabic, often called the Jabirian corpus. Thec. 215treatises that survive today mainly deal withalchemyandchemistry,magic,andShi'itereligious philosophy. However, the original scope of the corpus was vast, covering a wide range of topics ranging fromcosmology,astronomyandastrology,overmedicine,pharmacology,zoologyandbotany,tometaphysics,logic,andgrammar.

The works attributed to Jabir, which are tentatively dated toc. 850– c. 950,[1]contain the oldest known systematic classification of chemical substances, and the oldest known instructions for deriving an inorganic compound (sal ammoniacorammonium chloride) fromorganic substances(such as plants, blood, and hair) by chemical means.[2]His works also contain one of the earliest known versions of the sulfur-mercury theory of metals, amineralogicaltheory that would remain dominant until the 18th century.[3]

A significant part of Jabir's writings deal with a philosophical theory known as "the science of the balance" (Arabic:ʿilm al-mīzān), which was aimed at reducing all phenomena (including material substances and their elements) to a system of measures and quantitative proportions. The Jabirian works also contain some of the earliest preserved Shi'iteimamologicaldoctrines, which Jabir presented as deriving from his teacher and master, the Shi'ite ImamJaʿfar al-Ṣādiq(died 765).

As early as the 10th century, the identity and exact corpus of works of Jabir was in dispute in Islamic scholarly circles. The authorship of all these works by a single figure, and even the existence of a historical Jabir, are also doubted by modern scholars. Instead, Jabir ibn Hayyan is generally thought to have been apseudonymused by an anonymous school of Shi'ite alchemists writing in the late 9th and early 10th centuries.

Some Arabic Jabirian works (e.g.,The Great Book of Mercy,andThe Book of Seventy) were translated into Latin under theLatinizednameGeber,and in 13th-century Europe an anonymous writer, usually referred to aspseudo-Geber,started to produce alchemical and metallurgical writings under this name.[4]

Biography

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Artistic impression of Jabir and his masterJaʿfar al-Ṣādiq.

Historicity

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It is not clear whether Jabir ibn Hayyan ever existed as a historical person. He is purported to have lived in the 8th century, and to have been a disciple of the Shi'ite ImamJaʿfar al-Ṣādiq(died 765).[5]However, he is not mentioned in any historical source before c. 900, and the first known author to write about Jabir from a biographical point of view was theBaghdadibibliographerIbn al-Nadīm(c. 932–995).[6]In hisFihrist( "The Book Catalogue", written in 987), Ibn al-Nadīm compiled a list of Jabir's works, adding a short notice on the various claims that were then circulating about Jabir.[7]Already in Ibn al-Nadīm's time, there were some people who explicitly asserted that Jabir had never existed, although Ibn al-Nadīm himself disagreed with this claim.[8]Jabir was often ignored by later medieval Islamic biographers and historians, but even early Shi'itebiographerssuch asAḥmad al-Barqī(died c. 893),Abū ʿAmr al-Kashshī(first half of the 10th century),Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Najāshī(983–1058), andAbū Jaʿfar al-Ṭūsī(995–1067), who wrote long volumes on the companions of the Shi'ite Imams (including the many companions of Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq), did not mention Jabir at all.[9]

Dating of the Jabirian corpus

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Apart from outright denying his existence, there were also some who, already in Ibn al-Nadīm's time, questioned whether the writings attributed to Jabir were really written by him.[10]The authenticity of these writings was expressly denied by the Baghdadi philosopherAbū Sulaymān al-Sijistānī(c. 912–985) and his pupilAbū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī(c. 932–1023), though this may have been related to the hostility of both these thinkers toalchemyin general.[11]Modern scholarly analysis has tended to confirm the inauthenticity of the writings attributed to Jabir. Much of the philosophical terminology used in the Jabirian treatises was only coined around the middle of the 9th century,[12]and some of theGreek philosophical textscited in the Jabirian writings are known to have beentranslated into Arabictowards the end of the 9th century.[13]Moreover, an important part of the corpus deals with early Shi'ite religious philosophy that is elsewhere only attested in late 9th-century and early 10th-century sources.[14]As a result, the dating of the Jabirian corpus to c. 850–950 has been widely accepted in modern scholarship.[1]However, it has also been noted that many Jabirian treatises show clear signs of having been redacted multiple times, and the writings as we now have them may well have been based on an earlier 8th-century core.[15]Despite the obscurity involved, it is not impossible that some of these writings, in their earliest form, were written by a real Jabir ibn Hayyan.[16]In any case, it is clear that Jabir's name was used as apseudonymby one or more anonymous Shi'ite alchemists writing in the late 9th and early 10th centuries, who also redacted the corpus as we now know it.[17]

Biographical clues and legend

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Jabir was generally known by thekunyaAbū Mūsā ( "Father of Mūsā" ), or sometimes Abū ʿAbd Allāh ( "Father of ʿAbd Allāh" ), and by thenisbas(attributive names) al-Ṣūfī,al-Azdī, al-Kūfī, or al-Ṭūsī.[18]His grandfather's name is mentioned by Ibn al-Nadim as ʿAbd Allāh.[19]If the attribution of the name al-Azdī to Jabir is authentic,[20]this would point to his affiliation with theSouthern-Arabian(Yemenite) tribe of theAzd.However, it is not clear whether Jabir was anArabbelonging to the Azd tribe, or a non-Arab Muslim client (mawlā) of the Azd.[21]If he was a non-Arab Muslim client of the Azd, he is most likely to have beenPersian,given his ties with eastern Iran (hisnisbaal-Ṭūsī also points toTus,a city in Khurasan).[22]According toIbn al-Nadīm,Jabir hailed fromKhurasan(easternIran), but spent most of his life inKufa(Iraq),[23]both regions where the Azd tribe was well-settled.[24]Various late reports put his date of death between 806 (190AH) and 816 (200 AH).[25]

Given the lack of independent biographical sources, most of the biographical information about Jabir can be traced back to the Jabirian writings themselves.[26]There are references throughout the Jabirian corpus to the Shi'ite Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (died 765), whom Jabir generally calls "my master" (Arabic:sayyidī), and whom he represents as the original source of all his knowledge.[27]In one work, Jabir is also represented as an associate of theBactrianvizier family of theBarmakids,whereas Ibn al-Nadīm reports that some claimed Jabir to have been especially devoted toJaʿfar ibn Yaḥyā al-Barmakī(767–803), theAbbasidvizier ofOne Thousand and One Nightsfame.[28]Jabir's links with the Abbasids were stressed even more by later tradition, which turned him into a favorite of the Abbasid caliphHārūn al-Rashīd(c. 763–809, also appearing inOne Thousand and One Nights), for whom Jabir would have composed a treatise on alchemy, and who is supposed to have commanded the translation of Greek works into Arabic on Jabir's instigation.[29]

Given Jabir's purported ties with both the Shi'ite Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and the Barmakid family (who served the Abbasids asviziers), or with the Abbasid caliphs themselves, it has sometimes been thought plausible that Ḥayyān al-ʿAṭṭār ( "Hayyan the Druggist" ), a proto-Shi'ite activist who was fighting for theAbbasid causein the early 8th century, may have been Jabir's father (Jabir's name "Ibn Hayyan" literally means "The Son of Hayyan" ).[30]Although there is no direct evidence supporting this hypothesis, it fits very well in the historical context, and it allows one to think of Jabir, however obscure, as a historical figure.[31]Because Ḥayyān al-ʿAṭṭār was supposedly executed not long after 721, the hypothesis even made it possible to estimate Jabir's date of birth atc. 721.[32]However, it has recently been argued that Ḥayyān al-ʿAṭṭār probably lived at least untilc. 744,[33]and that as a client (mawlā) of theNakhaʿtribe he is highly unlikely to have been the father of Jabir (who is supposed to have been a client/member of the Azd).[34]

The Jabirian corpus

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There are about 600 Arabic works attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan that are known by name,[35]approximately 215 of which are still extant today.[36]Though some of these are full-length works (e.g.,The Great Book on Specific Properties),[37]most of them are relatively short treatises and belong to larger collections (The One Hundred and Twelve Books,The Five Hundred Books,etc.) in which they function rather more like chapters.[38]When the individual chapters of some full-length works are counted as separate treatises too,[39]the total length of the corpus may be estimated at 3000 treatises/chapters.[40]

The overwhelming majority of Jabirian treatises that are still extant today deal withalchemyorchemistry(though these may also contain religious speculations, and discuss a wide range of other topics ranging fromcosmologytogrammar).[41]Nevertheless, there are also a few extant treatises which deal withmagic,i.e., "the science oftalismans"(ʿilm al-ṭilasmāt,a form oftheurgy) and "the science of specific properties" (ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ,the science dealing with the hidden powers of mineral, vegetable and animal substances, and with their practical applications in medical and various other pursuits).[42]Other writings dealing with a great variety of subjects were also attributed to Jabir (this includes such subjects asengineering,medicine,pharmacology,zoology,botany,logic,metaphysics,mathematics,astronomyandastrology), but almost all of these are lost today.[43]

Alchemical writings

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Part ofa serieson
Hermeticism
Hermes Trismegistus
Hermes Trismegistus
Hermetic writings
Historical figures
Ancient and medieval
Early modern
Modern offshoots

Note thatPaul Kraus,who firstcataloguedthe Jabirian writings and whose numbering is followed here, conceived of his division of Jabir's alchemical writings (Kr. nos. 5–1149) as roughly chronological in order.[44]

  • The Great Book of Mercy(Kitāb al-Raḥma al-kabīr,Kr. no. 5): This was considered by Kraus to be the oldest work in the corpus, from which it may have been relatively independent. Some 10th-century skeptics considered it to be the only authentic work written by Jabir himself.[45]The Persian physician, alchemist and philosopherAbū Bakr al-Rāzī(c. 865–925) appears to have written a (lost) commentary on it.[46]It wastranslated into Latinin the 13th century under the titleLiber Misericordiae.[47]
  • The One Hundred and Twelve Books(al-Kutub al-miʾa wa-l-ithnā ʿashar,Kr. nos. 6–122): This collection consists of relatively independent treatises dealing with different practical aspects of alchemy, often framed as an explanation of the symbolic allusions of the 'ancients'. An important role is played byorganicalchemy. Its theoretical foundations are similar to those ofThe Seventy Books(i.e., the reduction of bodies to the elements fire, air, water and earth, and of the elements to the 'natures' hot, cold, moist, and dry), though their exposition is less systematic. Just like inThe Seventy Books,the quantitative directions inThe One Hundred and Twelve Booksare still of a practical and 'experimental' rather than of a theoretical and speculative nature, such as will be the case inThe Books of the Balances.[48]The first four treatises in this collection, i.e., the three-partBook of the Element of the Foundation(Kitāb Usṭuqus al-uss,Kr. nos. 6–8, the second part of which contains an early version of the famousEmerald Tabletattributed toHermes Trismegistus)[49]and a commentary on it (Tafsīr kitāb al-usṭuqus,Kr. no. 9), have been translated into English.[50]
  • The Seventy Books(al-Kutub al-sabʿūn,Kr. nos. 123–192) (also calledThe Book of Seventy,Kitāb al-Sabʿīn): This contains a systematic exposition of Jabirian alchemy, in which the several treatises form a much more unified whole as compared toThe One Hundred and Twelve Books.[51]It is organized into seven parts, containing ten treatises each: three parts dealing with the preparation of the elixir from animal, vegetable, and mineral substances, respectively; two parts dealing with the four elements from a theoretical and practical point of view, respectively; one part focusing on the alchemical use of animal substances, and one part focusing on minerals and metals.[52]It was translated into Latin byGerard of Cremona(c. 1114–1187) under the titleLiber de Septuaginta.[53]
  • Ten books added to the Seventy(ʿasharat kutub muḍāfa ilā l-sabʿīn,Kr. nos. 193–202): The sole surviving treatise from this small collection (The Book of Clarification,Kitāb al-Īḍāḥ,Kr. no. 195) briefly discusses the different methods for preparing the elixir, criticizing the philosophers who have only expounded the method of preparing the elixir starting from mineral substances, to the exclusion of vegetable and animal substances.[54]
  • The Ten Books of Rectifications(al-Muṣaḥḥaḥāt al-ʿashara,Kr. nos. 203–212): Relates the successive improvements ( “rectifications”,muṣaḥḥaḥāt) brought to the art by such 'alchemists' as 'Pythagoras' (Kr. no. 203), 'Socrates' (Kr. no. 204), 'Plato' (Kr. no. 205), 'Aristotle' (Kr. no. 206), 'Archigenes' (Kr. nos. 207–208), 'Homer' (Kr. no. 209), 'Democritus' (Kr. no. 210),Ḥarbī al-Ḥimyarī(Kr. no. 211),[55]and Jabir himself (Kr. no. 212). The only surviving treatise from this small collection (The Book of the Rectifications of Plato,Kitāb Muṣaḥḥaḥāt Iflāṭūn,Kr. no. 205) is divided into 90 chapters: 20 chapters on processes using only mercury, 10 chapters on processes using mercury and one additional 'medicine' (dawāʾ), 30 chapters on processes using mercury and two additional 'medicines', and 30 chapters on processes using mercury and three additional 'medicines'. All of these are preceded by an introduction describing the laboratory equipment mentioned in the treatise.[56]
  • The Twenty Books(al-Kutub al-ʿishrūn,Kr. nos. 213–232): Only one treatise (The Book of the Crystal,Kitāb al-Billawra,Kr. no. 220) and a long extract from another one (The Book of the Inner Consciousness,Kitāb al-Ḍamīr,Kr. no. 230) survive.[57]The Book of the Inner Consciousnessappears to deal with the subject of specific properties (khawāṣṣ) and withtalismans(ṭilasmāt).[58]
  • The Seventeen Books(Kr. nos. 233–249);three treatises added to the Seventeen Books(Kr. nos. 250–252);thirty unnamed books(Kr. nos. 253–282);The Four Treatisesand some related treatises (Kr. nos. 283–286, 287–292);The Ten Books According to the Opinion of Balīnās, the Master of Talismans(Kr. nos. 293–302): Of these, only three treatises appear to be extant, i.e., theKitāb al-Mawāzīn(Kr. no. 242), theKitāb al-Istiqṣāʾ(Kr. no. 248), and theKitāb al-Kāmil(Kr. no. 291).[59]
  • The Books of the Balances(Kutub al-Mawāzīn,Kr. nos. 303–446): This collection appears to have consisted of 144 treatises of medium length, 79 of which are known by name and 44 of which are still extant. Though relatively independent from each other and devoted to a very wide range of topics (cosmology,grammar,music theory,medicine,logic,metaphysics,mathematics,astronomy,astrology,etc.), they all approach their subject matter from the perspective of "the science of the balance" (ʿilm al-mīzān,a theory which aims at reducing all phenomena to a system of measures and quantitative proportions).[60]The Books of the Balancesare also an important source for Jabir's speculations regarding the apparition of the "two brothers" (al-akhawān),[61]a doctrine which was later to become of great significance to the Egyptian alchemistIbn Umayl(c. 900–960).[62]
  • The Five Hundred Books(al-Kutub al-Khamsumiʾa,Kr. nos. 447–946): Only 29 treatises in this collection are known by name, 15 of which are extant. Its contents appear to have been mainly religious in nature, with moral exhortations and alchemical allegories occupying an important place.[63]Among the extant treatises,The Book of the Glorious(Kitāb al-Mājid,Kr. no. 706) andThe Book of Explication(Kitāb al-Bayān,Kr. no. 785) are notable for containing some of the earliest preservedShi'iteeschatological,soteriologicalandimamologicaldoctrines.[64]Intermittent extracts fromThe Book of Kingship(Kitāb al-Mulk,Kr. no. 454) exist in a Latin translation under the titleLiber regni.[65]
  • The Books on the Seven Metals(Kr. nos. 947–956): Seven treatises which are closely related toThe Books of the Balances,each one dealing with one of Jabir'sseven metals(respectively gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, andkhārṣīnīor "chinese metal" ). In one manuscript, these are followed by the related three-partBook of Concision(Kitāb al-Ījāz,Kr. nos. 954–956).[66]
  • Diverse alchemical treatises(Kr. nos. 957–1149): In this category, Kraus placed a large number of named treatises which he could not with any confidence attribute to one of the alchemical collections of the corpus. According to Kraus, some of them may actually have been part ofThe Five Hundred Books.[67]

Writings on magic (talismans, specific properties)

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Among the surviving Jabirian treatises, there are also a number of relatively independent treatises dealing with "the science oftalismans"(ʿilm al-ṭilasmāt,a form oftheurgy) and with "the science of specific properties" (ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ,i.e., the science dealing with the hidden powers of mineral, vegetable and animal substances, and with their practical applications in medical and various other pursuits).[68]These are:

  • The Book of the Search(Kitāb al-Baḥth,also known asThe Book of Extracts,Kitāb al-Nukhab,Kr. no. 1800): This long work deals with the philosophical foundations oftheurgyor "the science of talismans" (ʿilm al-ṭilasmāt). It is also notable for citing a significant number of Greek authors: there are references to (the works of)Plato,Aristotle,Archimedes,Galen,Alexander of Aphrodisias,Porphyry,Themistius,(pseudo-)Apollonius of Tyana,and others.[69]
  • The Book of Fifty(Kitāb al-Khamsīn,perhaps identical toThe Great Book on Talismans,Kitāb al-Ṭilasmāt al-kabīr,Kr. nos. 1825–1874): This work, only extracts of which are extant, deals with subjects such as the theoretical basis oftheurgy,specific properties,astrology,anddemonology.[70]
  • The Great Book on Specific Properties(Kitāb al-Khawāṣṣ al-kabīr,Kr. nos. 1900–1970): This is Jabir's main work on "the science of specific properties" (ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ), i.e., the science dealing with the hidden powers of mineral, vegetable and animal substances, and with their practical applications in medical and various other pursuits.[71]However, it also contains a number of chapters on "the science of the balance" (ʿilm al-mīzān,a theory which aims at reducing all phenomena to a system of measures and quantitative proportions).[72]
  • The Book of the King(Kitāb al-Malik,kr. no. 1985): Short treatise on the effectiveness oftalismans.[73]
  • The Book of Black Magic(Kitāb al-Jafr al-aswad,Kr. no. 1996): This treatise is not mentioned in any other Jabirian work.[74]

Other extant writings

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Writings on a wide variety of other topics were also attributed to Jabir. Most of these are lost (see below), except for:

  • The Book on Poisons and on the Repelling of their Harmful Effects(Kitāb al-Sumūm wa-dafʿ maḍārrihā,Kr. no. 2145): onpharmacology.[75]
  • The Book of Comprehensiveness(Kitāb al-Ishtimāl,Kr. no. 2715): a long extract of this philosophical treatise is preserved by the poet and alchemistal-Ṭughrāʾī(1061–c. 1121).[76]

Lost writings

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Although a significant number of the Jabirian treatises on alchemy and magic do survive, many of them are also lost. Apart from two surviving treatises (see immediately above), Jabir's many writings on other topics are all lost:

  • Catalogues(Kr. nos. 1–4): There are threecatalogueswhich Jabir is said to have written of his own works (Kr. nos. 1–3), and oneBook on the Order of Reading our Books(Kitāb Tartīb qirāʾat kutubinā,Kr. no. 4). They are all lost.[77]
  • The Books on Stratagems(Kutub al-Ḥiyal,Kr. nos. 1150–1449) andThe Books on Military Stratagems and Tricks(Kutub al-Ḥiyal al-ḥurūbiyya wa-l-makāyid,Kr. nos. 1450–1749): Two large collections on 'mechanical tricks' (the Arabic wordḥiyaltranslates Greek μηχαναί,mēchanai)[78]and militaryengineering,both lost.[79]
  • Medicalandpharmacologicalwritings(Kr. nos. 2000–2499): Seven treatises are known by name, the only one extant beingThe Book on Poisons and on the Repelling of their Harmful Effects(Kitāb al-Sumūm wa-dafʿ maḍārrihā,Kr. no. 2145). Kraus also included into this category a lost treatise onzoology(The Book of Animals,Kitāb al-Ḥayawān,Kr. no. 2458) and a lost treatise onbotany(The Book of PlantsorThe Book of Herbs,Kitāb al-NabātorKitāb al-Ḥashāʾish,Kr. no. 2459).[80]
  • Philosophical writings(Kutub al-falsafa,Kr. nos. 2500–2799): Under this heading, Kraus mentioned 23 works, most of which appear to deal withAristotelian philosophy(titles include, e.g.,The Books ofLogicAccording to the Opinion of Aristotle,Kr. no. 2580;The Book ofCategories,Kr. no. 2582;The Book onInterpretation,Kr. no. 2583;The Book ofMetaphysics,Kr. no. 2681;The Book of the Refutation of Aristotle in his BookOn the Soul,Kr. no. 2734). Of one treatise (The Book of Comprehensiveness,Kitāb al-Ishtimāl,Kr. no. 2715) a long extract is preserved by the poet and alchemistal-Ṭughrāʾī(1061–c. 1121), but all other treatises in this group are lost.[81]
  • Mathematical,astronomicalandastrologicalwritings(Kr. nos. 2800–2899): Thirteen treatises in this category are known by name, all of which are lost. Notable titles include aBook of Commentary onEuclid(Kitāb Sharḥ Uqlīdiyas,Kr. no. 2813), aCommentary on the Book of the Weight of the Crown byArchimedes(Sharḥ kitāb wazn al-tāj li-Arshamīdas,Kr. no. 2821), aBook of Commentary on theAlmagest(Kitāb Sharḥ al-Majisṭī,Kr. no. 2834), aSubtle Book onAstronomical Tables(Kitāb al-Zāj al-laṭīf,Kr. no. 2839), aCompendium on theAstrolabefrom a Theoretical and Practical Point of View(Kitāb al-jāmiʿ fī l-asṭurlāb ʿilman wa-ʿamalan,Kr. no. 2845), and aBook of the Explanation of the Figures of theZodiacand Their Activities(Kitāb Sharḥ ṣuwar al-burūj wa-afʿālihā,Kr. no. 2856).[82]
  • Religious writings(Kr. nos. 2900–3000): Apart from those known to belong toThe Five Hundred Books(see above), there are a number of religious treatises whose exact place in the corpus is uncertain, all of which are lost. Notable titles includeBooks on theShi'iteSchools of Thought(Kutub fīmadhāhibal-shīʿa,Kr. no. 2914),Our Books on theTransmigration of the Soul(Kutubunā fī l-tanāsukh,Kr. no. 2947),The Book of theImamate(Kitāb al-Imāma,Kr. no. 2958), andThe Book in Which I Explained theTorah(Kitābī alladhī fassartu fīhi al-tawrāt,Kr. no. 2982).[83]

Historical background

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Greco-Egyptian, Byzantine and Persian alchemy

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Artistic impression of Jabir.

The Jabirian writings contain a number of references to Greco-Egyptian alchemists such aspseudo-Democritus(fl. c. 60),Mary the Jewess(fl. c. 0–300),Agathodaemon(fl. c. 300), andZosimos of Panopolis(fl. c. 300), as well as to legendary figures such asHermes TrismegistusandOstanes,and to scriptural figures such asMosesand Jesus (to whom a number of alchemical writings were also ascribed).[84]However, these references may have been meant as an appeal to ancient authority rather than as an acknowledgement of any intellectual borrowing,[85]and in any case Jabirian alchemy was very different from what is found in the extant Greek alchemical treatises: it was much more systematic and coherent,[86]it made much less use of allegory and symbols,[87]and a much more important place was occupied by philosophical speculations and their application to laboratory experiments.[88]Furthermore, whereas Greek alchemical texts had been almost exclusively focused on the use of mineral substances (i.e., on 'inorganic chemistry'), Jabirian alchemy pioneered the use of vegetable and animal substances, and so represented an innovative shift towards 'organic chemistry'.[89]

Nevertheless, there are some important theoretical similarities between Jabirian alchemy and contemporaryByzantinealchemy,[90]and even though the Jabirian authors do not seem to have known Byzantine works that are extant today such as the alchemical works attributed to theNeoplatonicphilosophersOlympiodorus(c. 495–570) andStephanus of Alexandria(fl. c. 580–640),[91]it seems that they were at least partly drawing on a parallel tradition oftheoreticalandphilosophicalalchemy.[92]In any case, the writings actually used by the Jabirian authors appear to have mainly consisted of alchemical works falsely attributed to ancient philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Apollonius of Tyana,[89]only some of which are still extant today, and whose philosophical content still needs to be determined.[93]

One of the innovations in Jabirian alchemy was the addition ofsal ammoniac(ammonium chloride) to the category of chemical substances known as 'spirits' (i.e., strongly volatile substances). This included both naturally occurring sal ammoniac and synthetic ammonium chloride as produced fromorganic substances,and so the addition of sal ammoniac to the list of 'spirits' is likely a product of the new focus onorganic chemistry.Since the word for sal ammoniac used in the Jabirian corpus (nošāder) isIranianin origin, it has been suggested that the direct precursors of Jabirian alchemy may have been active in theHellenizingandSyriacizingschools of theSassanid Empire.[94]

Chemical philosophy

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Elements and natures

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According toAristotelian physics,eachelementis composed of two qualities:fireis hot and dry,earthis cold and dry,wateris cold and moist, andairis hot and moist. In the Jabirian corpus, these qualities came to be called "natures" (Arabic:ṭabāʾiʿ), and elements are said to be composed of these 'natures', plus an underlying "substance" (jawhar). In metals two of these 'natures' were interior and two were exterior. For example, lead was predominantly cold and dry and gold was predominantly hot and moist. Thus, Jabir theorized, by rearranging the natures of one metal, a different metal would result. LikeZosimos,Jabir believed this would require a catalyst, anal-iksir,the elusive elixir that would make this transformation possible – which in European alchemy became known as thephilosopher's stone.[95]

The sulfur-mercury theory of metals

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The sulfur-mercury theory of metals, though first attested inpseudo-Apollonius of Tyana'sThe Secret of Creation(Sirr al-khalīqa,late 8th or early 9th century, but largely based on older sources),[96]was also adopted by the Jabirian authors. According to the Jabirian version of this theory,metalsform in the earth through the mixing ofsulfurandmercury.Depending on the quality of the sulfur, different metals are formed, withgoldbeing formed by the most subtle and well-balanced sulfur.[97]This theory, which is ultimately based on ancientmeteorologicalspeculations such as those found inAristotle'sMeteorology,formed the basis of all theories of metallic composition until the 18th century.[98]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abThis is the dating put forward byKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. lxv. For its acceptance by other scholars, see the references inDelva 2017,p. 38, note 14. Notable critics of Kraus' dating areSezgin 1971andNomanul Haq 1994,pp. 3–47 (cf.Forster 2018).
  2. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 41–42 (referring toStapleton 1905;Ruska 1923a;Ruska 1928). See alsoStapleton, Azo & Hidayat Husain 1927,pp. 338–340.
  3. ^Norris 2006.
  4. ^Newman 1985;Newman 1991,pp. 57–103. It has been argued by Ahmad Y. Al-Hassan that the pseudo-Geber works were actually translated into Latin from the Arabic (see Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y. "The Arabic Origin of theSummaand Geber Latin Works: A Refutation of Berthelot, Ruska, and Newman Based on Arabic Sources ", in:al-Hassan 2009,pp. 53–104; also availableonline).
  5. ^References to Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq occur throughout the Jabirian corpus (seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. xxxvi–xxxvii). See also below.
  6. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. xvii, 189;Delva 2017,p. 38, note 15.
  7. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. xvii, xix–xxi, xliii–xlv;Fück 1951,p. 124. An annotated English translation of this notice and the list of Jabir's works may be found inFück 1951,pp. 95–104.
  8. ^Fück 1951,pp. 124–125.
  9. ^Delva 2017,p. 39. However, as also noted by Delva 2017, pp. 39–40, note 19, Jabir does occur in two possibly early Shi'itehadithcollections, which are in need of further investigation.
  10. ^Fück 1951,p. 124.
  11. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. lxiii–lxv;Delva 2017,p. 39, note 17.
  12. ^See alreadyKraus 1930andKraus 1931.This was denied bySezgin 1971.
  13. ^Nomanul Haq 1994,pp. 230–242 has argued that one of these translations of Greek philosophical texts cited by Jabir actually dates to the 8th century, but this was contradicted byGannagé 1998,pp. 427–449 (cf.Delva 2017,p. 38, note 14).
  14. ^Kraus regarded Jabirian Shi'ism as an early form ofIsma'ilism(seeKraus 1930,Kraus 1942;see alsoCorbin 1950), but it has since been shown that it significantly differs from Isma'ilism (seeLory 1989,pp. 47–125;Lory 2000), and may have been an independent sectarian Shi'ite current related to the late 9th-centuryghulāt(seeCapezzone 2020).
  15. ^Lory 1983,pp. 62–79. For other observations of the existence of different editorial layers in Jabirian treatises, seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. xxxxiii-xxxvi;Gannagé 1998,pp. 409–410.
  16. ^Delva 2017,p. 53, note 87.
  17. ^Capezzone 2020;cf.Lory 2008b.
  18. ^Nomanul Haq 1994,p. 33, note 1. ThekunyaAbū ʿAbd Allāh only occurs in Ibn al-Nadīm (seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. xliii, note 5).Ibn Khallikān(1211–1282) gives Jabir'snisbaas al-Ṭarsūsī,or in some manuscripts as al-Tarṭūsī,but these are most likely scribal errors for al-Ṭūsī (see Kraus 1942–1943, vol. I, p. xli, note 3).
  19. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. xli, note 9. Kraus adds that ʿAbd Allāh as the name of Jabir's grandfather is also mentioned in Jabir'sKitāb al-Najīb(Kr. no. 977).
  20. ^Ruska 1923b,p. 57 still thought the attribution to Jabir of the name al-Azdī to be false. Later sources assume its authenticity.
  21. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. xli, note 1;Delva 2017,p. 36. In the 8th century, it was still necessary for non-Arabs to secure an affiliation with an Arab tribe in order to be allowed to convert to Islam.
  22. ^Delva 2017,p. 36. According to a copyist of one of the manuscripts containing Jabir's works, he also died in Tus (see Delva 2017, p. 36, note 6). Jabir was held to be an Arab byHolmyard 1927,pp. 29–32, a view still taken byForster 2018.He was regarded as Persian byRuska 1923b,p. 57 (cf.Holmyard 1927,p. 29), who was echoed by such scholars asSarton 1927–1948,vol. II.2, p. 1044 andNewman 1996,p. 178.
  23. ^Delva 2017,pp. 36–37.
  24. ^Holmyard 1927,p. 29;Delva 2017,p. 49.
  25. ^Delva 2017,pp. 36−37, note 6.
  26. ^This even holds for most of what was written by Ibn al-Nadīm; seeDelva 2017,pp. 38–39.
  27. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. xxxvi-xxxvii. That the references are indeed to Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq is made clear by the Shi'ite context in which they occur, and by the fact that Jaʿfar'spatronymic"ibn Muḥammad" is sometimes included (seeHolmyard 1927,pp. 34–35;Ruska 1927,p. 42). Ibn al-Nadīm's isolated statement that some claimed "my master" to refer to Jaʿfar ibn Yaḥyā al-Barmakī was called "arbitrary" by Kraus 1942–1943, vol. I, p. xliv, note 2.
  28. ^Kraus 1931,pp. 28–29; cf.Delva 2017,p. 36, note 3. Kraus expressly compared the seemingly legendary tales about Jabir and the Barmakids with those of theOne Thousand and One Nights.
  29. ^This is first related by the 14th century alchemistal-Jildakī(seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. xli–xliii; cf.Delva 2017,p. 36, note 4).
  30. ^Holmyard 1927,pp. 29–32, 35.
  31. ^Delva 2017,pp. 41–42, 52.
  32. ^Delva 2017,p. 42; cf.Holmyard 1927,p. 32.
  33. ^Delva 2017,pp. 46–47.
  34. ^Delva 2017,p. 49, 52.
  35. ^These are listed inKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 203–210.
  36. ^Lory 1983,p. 51.
  37. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 148–152, 205 (counted as one of the c. 600 works there).
  38. ^Lory 1983,pp. 51–52;Delva 2017,p. 37, note n. 9.
  39. ^See, e.g.,The Great Book on Specific Properties,whose 71 chapters are counted byKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 148–152 as nos. 1900–1970. Note, however, that this procedure is not always followed: e.g., even thoughThe Book of the Rectifications of Platoconsists of 90 chapters, it is still counted as only one treatise (Kr. no. 205, seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 64–67).
  40. ^This is the number arrived at byKraus 1942–1943,vol. I. Kraus' method of counting has been criticized byNomanul Haq 1994,pp. 11–12, who warns that "we should view with a great deal of suspicion any arguments for a plurality of authors which is based on Kraus' inflated estimate of the volume of the Jabirian corpus".
  41. ^See the section 'Alchemical writings' below. Religious speculations occur throughout the corpus (see, e.g.,Lory 2016a), but are especially prominent inThe Five Hundred Books(see below).The Books of the Balancesdeal with alchemy from a philosophical and theoretical point of view, and contain treatises devoted to a wide range of topics (see below).
  42. ^See the section 'Writings on magic (talismans, specific properties)' below. Kraus refers toʿilm al-ṭilasmātas "théurgie" (theurgy) throughout; see, e.g.,Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 75, 143,et pass.On "the science of specific properties" (ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ), seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 61–95.
  43. ^Only one full work (The Book on Poisons and on the Repelling of their Harmful Effects,Kitāb al-Sumūm wa-dafʿ maḍārrihā,Kr. no. 2145, medical/pharmacological) and a long extract of another one (The Book of Comprehensiveness,Kitāb al-Ishtimāl,Kr. no. 2715, philosophical) are still extant today; see the section 'Other writings' below, withSezgin 1971,pp. 264–265.Sezgin 1971,pp. 268–269 also lists 30 extant works which were not known to Kraus, and whose subject matter and place in the corpus has not yet been determined.
  44. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I. Kraus based this order on an extensive analysis of the many internal references to other treatises in the corpus. A slightly different chronological order is postulated bySezgin 1971,pp. 231–258 (who placesThe Books of the BalancesafterThe Five Hundred Books,see pp. 252–253).
  45. ^All of the preceding inKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 5–9.
  46. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. lx–lxi.
  47. ^Edited byDarmstaedter 1925.
  48. ^All of the preceding inKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. 11.
  49. ^Zirnis 1979,pp. 64–65, 90. Jabir explicitly notes that the version of theEmerald Tabletquoted by him is taken from "Balīnās the Sage" (i.e.,pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana), although it differs slightly from the (probably even earlier) version preserved in pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana'sSirr al-khalīqa(The Secret of Creation): seeWeisser 1980,p. 46.
  50. ^Zirnis 1979.On someShi'iteaspects ofThe Book of the Element of the Foundation,seeLory 2016a.
  51. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 43–44.
  52. ^Forster 2018.
  53. ^Edited byBerthelot 1906,pp. 310–363; the Latin translation of one of the seventy treatises (The Book of the Thirty Words,Kitāb al-Thalāthīn kalima,Kr. no. 125, translated asLiber XXX verborum) was separately edited byColinet 2000,pp. 179–187. In the ms. used by Berthelot, the name of the translator appears as a certainRenaldus Cremonensis(Berthelot 1906,p. 310, cf.Forster 2018). However, a medieval list of the works translated by Gerard of Cremona (Latin:Gerardus Cremonensis) mentions theLiber de Septuagintaas one of the three alchemical works translated by themagister(seeBurnett 2001,p. 280, cf.Moureau 2020,pp. 106, 111).
  54. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. 63.
  55. ^Ḥarbī al-Ḥimyarī occurs several times in the Jabirian writings as one of Jabir's teachers. He supposedly was 463 years old when Jabir met him (seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. xxxvii). According toSezgin 1971,p. 127, the fact that Jabir dedicated a book to Ḥarbī's contributions to alchemy points to the existence in Jabir's time of a written work attributed to him.
  56. ^All of the preceding inKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 64–67. On the meaning here ofmuṣaḥḥaḥāt,see esp. p. 64 n. 1 and the accompanying text. See alsoSezgin 1971,pp. 160–162, 167–168, 246–247.
  57. ^Sezgin 1971,p. 248.
  58. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. 69. On "the science of specific properties" (ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ,i.e., the science dealing with the hidden powers of mineral, vegetable and animal substances, and with their practical applications in medical and various other pursuits), seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 61–95.
  59. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 70–74;Sezgin 1971,p. 248.
  60. ^All of the preceding inKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 75–76. The theory of the balance is extensively discussed byKraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 187–303; see alsoLory 1989,pp. 130–150.
  61. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. 76;Lory 1989,pp. 103–105.
  62. ^Starr 2009,pp. 74–75.
  63. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 100–101.
  64. ^Corbin 1950;Lory 2000.
  65. ^Edited and translated byNewman 1994,pp. 288–293.
  66. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 111–116. Onkhārṣīnī,seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 22–23. Excerpts from the first sixBooks on the Seven Metals(theBook of Gold,theBook of Silver,theBook of Copper,theBook of Iron,theBook of Tin,and theBook of Lead) and the full Arabic text of the seventh book (theBook of Khārṣīnī) have been edited byWatanabe 2023,pp. 236–334.
  67. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 117–140.
  68. ^A number of non-extant treatises (Kr. nos. 1750, 1778, 1795, 1981, 1987, 1992, 1994) are also discussed byKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 142–154. Kraus refers toʿilm al-ṭilasmātas "théurgie" (theurgy) throughout; see, e.g.,Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 75, 143,et pass.On "the science of specific properties" (ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ), seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 61–95.
  69. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 142–143.
  70. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 146–147.
  71. ^On "the science of specific properties" (ʿilm al-khawāṣṣ), seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 61–95.
  72. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 148–152. The theory of the balance, which is mainly expounded inThe Books of the Balances(Kr. nos. 303–446, see above), is extensively discussed byKraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 187–303; see alsoLory 1989,pp. 130–150.
  73. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. 153.
  74. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. 154.
  75. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 156–159;facsimileinSiggel 1958.
  76. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. 165.
  77. ^All of the preceding inKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 3–4.
  78. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, p. 141, note 1.
  79. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 141–142.
  80. ^All of the preceding inKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 155–160.
  81. ^All of the preceding inKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 161–166.
  82. ^All of the preceding inKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 167–169.
  83. ^All of the preceding inKraus 1942–1943,vol. I, pp. 170–171.
  84. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 42–45.
  85. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, p. 35.
  86. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 31–32.
  87. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 32–33.
  88. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, p. 40.
  89. ^abKraus 1942–1943,vol. II, p. 41.
  90. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 35–40.
  91. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, p. 40. Kraus also notes that this is rather remarkable given the existence of works attributed to Stephanus of Alexandria in the Arabic tradition.
  92. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 40–41.
  93. ^Manuscripts of extant works are listed bySezgin 1971andUllmann 1972.
  94. ^All of the preceding inKraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 41–42; cf.Lory 2008b.On the etymology of the wordnošāder,seeLaufer 1919,pp. 504–506 (arguing that it is aPersianword derived fromSogdian);Ruska 1923a,p. 7 (arguing for a Persian origin).
  95. ^Nomanul Haq 1994.
  96. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, p. 1, note 1;Weisser 1980,p. 199. On the dating and historical background of theSirr al-khalīqa,seeKraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 270–303;Weisser 1980,pp. 39–72.
  97. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, p. 1.
  98. ^Norris 2006.

Bibliography

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Tertiary sources

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  • De Smet, Daniel (2008–2012)."Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq iv. Esoteric Sciences".Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  • Forster, Regula (2018). "Jābir b. Ḥayyān". In Fleet, Kate;Krämer, Gudrun;Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John;Rowson, Everett(eds.).Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three.doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_32665.
  • Kraus, Paul;Plessner, Martin (1960–2007). "Djābir B. Ḥayyān". InBearman, P.;Bianquis, Th.;Bosworth, C.E.;van Donzel, E.;Heinrichs, W.P.(eds.).Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition.doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_1898.
  • Lory, Pierre(2008a). "Jābir Ibn Hayyān". In Koertge, Noretta (ed.).New Dictionary of Scientific Biography.Vol. 4. Detroit: Thomson Gale. pp. 19–20.ISBN978-0-684-31320-7.
  • Lory, Pierre(2008b)."Kimiā".Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  • Plessner, Martin (1981). "Jābir Ibn Hayyān". In Gillispie, Charles C. (ed.).Dictionary of Scientific Biography.Vol. 7. New York: Charles Scribners’s Sons. pp. 39–43.

Secondary sources

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Primary sources

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Editions of Arabic Jabirian texts

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  • Abū Rīda, Muḥammad A. (1984). "Thalāth rasāʾil falsafiyya li-Jābir b. Ḥayyān".Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften.1:50–67.
  • Abū Rīda, Muḥammad A. (1985). "Risālatān falsafiyyatān li-Jābir b. Ḥayyān".Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften.2:75–84.
  • Berthelot, Marcellin;Houdas, Octave V. (1893).La Chimie au Moyen Âge.Vol. III. Paris: Imprimerie nationale.
  • Gannagé, Emma (1998).Le commentaire d'Alexandre d'Aphrodise In de generatione et corruptione perdu en grec, retrouvé en arabe dans Ǧābir ibn Ḥayyān, Kitāb al-Taṣrīf(Unpublished PhD diss.). Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.(edition of theKitāb al-Taṣrīf)
  • Holmyard, E. John(1928).The Arabic Works of Jâbir ibn Hayyân.Paris: Paul Geuthner.
  • Kraus, Paul(1935).Essai sur l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam / Mukhtār Rasāʾil Jābir b. Ḥayyān.Paris/Cairo: G.P. Maisonneuve/Maktabat al-Khānjī.
  • Nomanul Haq, Syed(1994).Names, Natures and Things: The Alchemist Jābir ibn Ḥayyān and his Kitāb al-Aḥjār (Book of Stones).Dordrecht: Kluwer.ISBN9789401118989.(contains a new edition of parts of theKitāb al-Aḥjārwith English translation)
  • Lory, Pierre(1988).Tadbīr al-iksīr al-aʿẓam. Arbaʿ ʿashara risāla fī ṣanʿat al-kīmiyāʾ / L'élaboration de l'élixir suprême. Quatorze traités de Gâbir ibn Ḥayyân sur le grand oeuvre alchimique.Damascus: Institut français de Damas.
  • Ruska, Julius;Garbers, Karl (1939). "Vorschriften zur Herstellung von scharfen Wässern bei Gabir und Razi".Der Islam.25:1–34.doi:10.1515/islm.1938.25.1.1.S2CID161055255.
  • Sezgin, Fuat(1986).The Book of Seventy.Frankfurt am Main: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science.(facsimileof theKitāb al-Sabʿīn)
  • Siggel, Alfred (1958).Das Buch der Gifte des Ǧābir ibn Ḥayyān.Wiesbaden: Steiner.(facsimileof theKitāb al-Sumūm wa-dafʿ maḍārrihā)
  • Zirnis, Peter (1979).The Kitāb Usṭuqus al-uss of Jābir ibn Ḥayyān(Unpublished PhD diss.). New York University.(contains an annotated copy of theKitāb Usṭuqus al-usswith English translation)
  • Watanabe, Masayo (2023).Nature in the Books of Seven Metals – Ǧābirian Corpus in Dialogue with Ancient Greek Philosophy and Byzantine Alchemy(PhD thesis). University of Bologna.(edition of excerpts from the first sixBooks on the Seven Metals(Kitāb al-Dhahab,Kr. no. 947;Kitāb al-Fiḍḍa,Kr. no. 948;Kitāb al-Nuḥās,Kr. no. 949;Kitāb al-Ḥadīd,Kr. no. 950;Kitāb al-Raṣāṣ al-qalaʿī,Kr. no. 951;Kitāb al-Usrub,Kr. no. 952), the full text of theKitāb al-Khārṣīnī,Kr. no. 953, and an excerpt from theKitāb al-Ṭabīʿa al-khāmisa,Kr. no. 396)

Modern translations of Arabic Jabirian texts

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  • Berthelot, Marcellin;Houdas, Octave V. (1893).La Chimie au Moyen Âge.Vol. III. Paris: Imprimerie nationale.(French translations of the edited Arabic texts)
  • Corbin, Henry(1950). "Le livre du Glorieux de Jâbir ibn Hayyân".Eranos-Jahrbuch.18:48–114.(French translation of theKitāb al-Mājid)
  • Gannagé, Emma (1998).Le commentaire d'Alexandre d'Aphrodise In de generatione et corruptione perdu en grec, retrouvé en arabe dans Ǧābir ibn Ḥayyān, Kitāb al-Taṣrīf(Unpublished PhD diss.). Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.(French translation of theKitāb al-Taṣrīf)
  • Lory, Pierre(1983).Jâbir ibn Hayyân: Dix traités d'alchimie. Les dix premiers Traités du Livre des Soixante-dix.Paris: Sindbad.ISBN9782742710614.(French translations of the first ten books of theKitāb al-Sabʿīn)
  • Lory, Pierre(2000)."Eschatologie alchimique chez jâbir ibn Hayyân".Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée.91–94 (91–94): 73–92.doi:10.4000/remmm.249.(French translation of theKitāb al-Bayān)
  • Nomanul Haq, Syed(1994).Names, Natures and Things: The Alchemist Jābir ibn Ḥayyān and his Kitāb al-Aḥjār (Book of Stones).Dordrecht: Kluwer.ISBN9789401118989.(contains a new edition of parts of theKitāb al-Aḥjārwith English translation)
  • O’Connor, Kathleen M. (1994).The Alchemical Creation of Life (Takwīn) and Other Concepts of Genesis in Medieval Islam(PhD diss.). University of Pennsylvania.(contains translations of extensive passages from various Jabirian works, with discussion)
  • Rex, Friedemann (1975).Zur Theorie der Naturprozesse in der früharabischen Wissenschaft.Wiesbaden: Steiner.(German translation of theKitāb Ikhrāj mā fī al-quwwa ilā al-fiʿl)
  • Ruska, Julius;Garbers, Karl (1939). "Vorschriften zur Herstellung von scharfen Wässern bei Gabir und Razi".Der Islam.25:1–34.doi:10.1515/islm.1938.25.1.1.S2CID161055255.(German translations of edited Arabic fragments)
  • Siggel, Alfred (1958).Das Buch der Gifte des Ǧābir ibn Ḥayyān.Wiesbaden: Steiner.(German translation of thefacsimileofKitāb al-Sumūm wa-dafʿ maḍārrihā)
  • Zirnis, Peter (1979).The Kitāb Usṭuqus al-uss of Jābir ibn Ḥayyān(Unpublished PhD diss.). New York University.(contains an annotated copy of theKitāb Usṭuqus al-usswith English translation)

Medieval translations of Arabic Jabirian texts (Latin)

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  • Berthelot, Marcellin(1906). "Archéologie et Histoire des sciences".Mémoires de l'Académie des sciences de l'Institut de France.49.(pp. 310–363 contain an edition of the Latin translation of Jabir'sSeventy Booksunder the titleLiber de Septuaginta)
  • Colinet, Andrée (2000). "Le Travail des quatre éléments ou lorsqu'un alchimiste byzantin s'inspire de Jabir". In Draelants, Isabelle; Tihon, Anne; Van den Abeele, Baudouin (eds.).Occident et Proche-Orient: Contacts scientifiques au temps des Croisades. Actes du colloque de Louvain-la-Neuve, 24 et 25 mars 1997.Reminisciences. Vol. 5. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 165–190.doi:10.1484/M.REM-EB.6.09070802050003050101010600.ISBN978-2-503-51116-0.(pp. 179–187 contain an edition of the Latin translation of a separate treatise belonging to Jabir'sSeventy Books,i.e.,The Book of the Thirty Words,Kitāb al-Thalāthīn kalima,Kr. no. 125, translated asLiber XXX verborum)
  • Darmstaedter, Ernst (1925). "Liber Misericordiae Geber: Eine lateinische Übersetzung des gröβeren Kitâb l-raḥma".Archiv für Geschichte der Medizin.17(4): 181–197.(edition of the Latin translation of Jabir'sThe Great Book of Mercy,Kitāb al-Raḥma al-kabīr,Kr. no. 5, under the titleLiber Misericordiae)
  • Newman, William R.(1994). "Arabo-Latin Forgeries: The Case of the Summa Perfectionis (with the text of Jābir ibn Ḥayyān's Liber Regni)". In Russell, G. A. (ed.).The 'Arabick' Interest of the Natural Philosophers in Seventeenth-Century England.Leiden: Brill. pp. 278–296.ISBN978-90-04-09888-6.(pp. 288–291 contain a Latin translation of intermittent extracts of Jabir'sBook of Kingship,Kitāb al-Mulk,Kr. no. 454, under the titleLiber regni,with an English translation on pp. 291–293)

Note that some other Latin works attributed to Jabir/Geber (Summa perfectionis,De inventione veritatis,De investigatione perfectionis,Liber fornacum,Testamentum Geberi,andAlchemia Geberi) are widely considered to bepseudepigraphswhich, though largely drawing on Arabic sources, were originally written by Latin authors in the 13th–14th centuries (seepseudo-Geber); seeMoureau 2020,p. 112; cf.Forster 2018.

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