6 Ancient Muslim Advancements

Chess

An illustration shows a Muslim and Christian playing chess in a tent, from King Alfonso X's 13th-century Libros del Ajedrez.


Water Supply
Pages from a 13th-century manuscript depict two water-raising machines designed by Al-Jazari. Water-raising machines are driven by a water turbine through geared shafts, which turn a sindi wheel carrying a long belt of buckets. Al-Jazari made a wooden animal and placed it on the rotating disc on the machine so people would not think the automatic machine was driven by "magic"; they thought it was driven by an animal, operating multiple gears with partial teeth to produce a sequence of motion in four scoops that took water from the river one scoop at a time. This design included the first known appearance of a camshaft, which controlled the mechanism.


Paper Making
A 17th-century manuscript shows the paper making process.


Surgery
Physician Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu from Amasya, Turkey, showed various surgical procedures in his 15th-century Cerrahiyyet'ul Haniyye.


Tents
A 16th-century miniature from the Hunernâme, by Mehmed Bursevî, shows the ascension to the throne of Sultan Selim I. The various uniforms classify ranks in the government. A senior officer is leaning to kiss the hem of the sultan's cloak. Kissing the hemi is an Ottoman tradition to demonstrate loyalty and obedience.


Obervatories

Astronomers study the moon and the stars in this Ottoman-style painting.

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