Where and what was the House of Wisdom? - Presentation

The House of Wisdom, known as Bayt al-Hikma in Arabic, was a renowned intellectual hub located in Baghdad, Iraq, and established in the 8th century by the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid. It served as a library, a research centre, and a meeting place for scholars of diverse backgrounds, including Muslims, Christians, and Jews. This institution was pivotal in translating significant historical documents into Arabic, which facilitated the sharing of knowledge across cultures and generations. Scholars at the House of Wisdom contributed to various fields such as astronomy, mathematics, science, medicine, and dentistry, and their work formed the foundation of much of our modern understanding in these disciplines.

The early Islamic civilisation is often referred to as the Golden Age due to its substantial contributions to education and learning. The House of Wisdom was at the heart of this era, symbolising the thirst for knowledge and the importance of intellectual pursuit. Scholars at the House of Wisdom were supported politically and economically, which allowed them to focus on their research and studies. They were instrumental in helping the general population to read and write, and they developed their own paper to document their findings. Baghdad, around 900 AD, thrived as a centre of learning and culture, largely thanks to the House of Wisdom and the scholars it attracted from around the world.