The Scientific Movement in Al-Andalus during the Umayyad Caliphate Era (316–422 AH / 928–1030 CE)

Abstract

This research examines the scientific movement in al-Andalus during the period of the Umayyad Caliphate, extending from 316 AH/928 CE to 422 AH/1030 CE, a period that witnessed significant flourishing in various fields of science and knowledge.

The study aims to investigate the factors that contributed to the scientific renaissance and to identify the major fields of knowledge that flourished during this period, including Islamic jurisprudence, Hadith, Qur’anic exegesis, Qur’anic readings, literature, poetry, grammar, history, geography, philosophy, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, and alchemy. It also examines the role of the caliphs, particularly ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nāṣir and al-Ḥakam al-Mustanṣir, in encouraging scholars, collecting books, and establishing schools and libraries.

The research adopts both the historical and analytical approaches. It concludes that political stability, the caliphs’ patronage of scholarship and scholars, scholarly journeys in pursuit of knowledge, openness to the sciences of the Islamic East, and the spread of libraries and scholarly circles were among the most important factors contributing to the flourishing of intellectual and scientific life in al-Andalus.