Knowledge from East and West', artistic impression

An artistic impression depicting the transfer of knowledge from East and West to the House of Wisdom in Baghdad.

Books and knowledge were a crucial aspect of early Muslim civilisation. The Caliphs and high-ranking court officials sponsored scholarship and collected books. Caliph Mohammad al-Mahdi (8th century) first began collecting manuscripts when he came across them during his war expeditions. His son, Caliph Al-Hadi, and his grandson, Harun al-Rashid (R. 786 - 809), carried on this work. Al-Ma'mun (786 - 833) continued this tradition and also extended the House of Wisdom designating a section or wing for each branch of science.