Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi li Sezgin - al-Kimiya wa al-Nabat

Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi: al-Kimiya wa al-Nabat (History of Arabic Heritage: Chemistry and Botany) is the fourth volume of the bio-bibliographical encyclopedia Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums by the scholar Fuad Sezgin (d. 1439 AH / 2018 CE), dedicated to the history and manuscript heritage of alchemy, chemistry, botany, and agriculture in Arabic-Islamic civilization Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1.

Scope and Composition

The work was originally composed in German as part of Sezgin's multi-volume reference work on Arabic scientific literature Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1. While Sezgin initially planned to publish the third volume (covering medicine, pharmacy, zoology, and veterinary medicine) and the fourth volume as a single combined book, they were separated into two distinct volumes during the printing process Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…. The volume documents primary sources, bio-bibliographies of practitioners, extant manuscripts across world libraries, and the historical development of the chemical and botanical sciences in the Arabic tradition Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1.

Structure and Contents

The volume is divided into two primary parts:

• Alchemy and Chemistry (al-Simya wa-l-Kimiya): Surveys the history of Arabic alchemy and chemistry, cataloging early authors, translations, and theoretical treatises Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1. A substantial portion of this section is devoted to the works and corpus attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi….
• Botany and Agriculture (al-Nabat wa-l-Filahah): Traces the emergence of botanical and agricultural knowledge in Arabic Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1. Sezgin notes that early Arabic scholarship did not sharply separate botany from agriculture until later eras Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…. He examines early botanical references found in the writings of Jabir ibn Hayyan and contemporaneous medical and formulary texts, such as those of Masarjawyah, arguing against the view that early Arabic botanical writing was exclusively the product of philologists Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1.

Defense of Jabir ibn Hayyan

A central theme of the volume is the detailed defense of the historical authenticity of Jabir ibn Hayyan and his writings Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1. Sezgin systematically challenges the conclusions of earlier orientalists, particularly Paul Kraus, who published a two-volume study in 1942–1943 arguing that Jabir was a fictitious figure and that the Jabirian corpus was composed by a group of Shi'ite alchemists between the late ninth and mid-tenth centuries CE Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1. Drawing upon newly identified manuscript discoveries made while preparing his research, Sezgin argues that Jabir was undeniably an authentic historical scholar living in the second century AH (eighth century CE) who served as the central focal point of early Islamic chemistry Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1.

Translation and Reception

In 1978, an institutional agreement was reached between King Saud University (formerly the University of Riyadh) and Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University to translate Sezgin's encyclopedia into Arabic Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1. King Saud University took responsibility for translating the natural and mathematical science volumes, including this fourth volume on chemistry and botany Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1. Sezgin was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies in recognition of the scholarship embodied in the first six volumes of the series Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1.