as-Simawi
As-Simawi ( Arabic السماوي, DMG as-Simāwī , tooأبو القاسم محمد بن أحمد العراقي / Abū l-Qāsim Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-ʿIrāqī ) was an Islamic alchemist from the mid-13th century.
He is best known for his book on the alchemical conversion of metals (Kitāb al-ʿIlm al-muktasab fī zirāʿat adh-dhahab, Book of Knowledge on the Cultivation of Gold). In the 14th century al-Dschildakī wrote a comment about it (although he did not know the name of the author, but the name appears in one of the surviving manuscripts). Al-ʿIrāqī had considerable experimental experience (Holmyard). According to him, all metals are the same except for a few external, removable ingredients: their common core is gold. The theory was by no means accepted by all Arab scientists, for example, metals according to Avicenna were all different and not mutually convertible. Al-ʿIrāqī knew the literature and tried to give theoretical and experimental reasons for convertibility.
Three other works are known, in one of which he mentions the ruling sultan of Egypt and Syria al-Malik az-Zahir Rukn ad-Din ( Baibars I ).
literature
- Eric John Holmyard : Abu'l-Qāsim al-Irāqī, Isis, Volume 8, 1926, pp. 403-426
Fonts
- Abu l-Qasim Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Iraqi: Kitab al-'Ilm al-maktasab fi zira'at adh-dhahab: Book of knowledge acquired concerning the cultivation of gold by Abu 'l-Qasim Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-'Iraqi , Editor Eric John Holmyard , Paris 1923 (Arabic-English text)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | as-Simawi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Abū l-Qāsim Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-ʿIrāqī |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | arabic alchemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 13th Century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 13th Century |