There are a great many gates to the House of Wisdom
Edward Counsel
A Golden City in a Golden Age
Baghdad, city of wonder!
The city was begun in 762AD as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. It was the only city in the known world that was circular in design, and its protective walls were 80ft (almost 25m) high.
Inside the city was a great library, which became known as the House of Wisdom. The library became a storehouse of books from all over the world, and people flocked there to learn, study and translate texts into Arabic. Books and manuscripts in Greek, Latin (Rome), Syriac (Syria), Chinese and Sanskrit (India) were all translated and made the House of Wisdom the greatest library in the world.
Unfortunately the House of Wisdom, along with the rest of the city, was destroyed in 1258 by the invading Mongols, lead by Ghengis Khan. The books were thrown into the river Tigris and it is said the water ran black with the ink from the books.
Thankfully, around 400,000 books were rescued by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and taken to a place in Iran called Marageheh, where a great observatory was created that continued to collect and store knowledge.
Now, how much of that knowledge is stored in your head? What do you know about Medieval Baghdad? Let’s find out!
The centre of the Universe
One reason that Baghdad was so successful is because of where it was located.
There was a great trade route known as the Silk Road. It was in fact a network of trade routes from China to southern Africa to the Middle East and Europe, and allowed traders to import and export silk, spices, ivory, precious stones, dyes, metals and all kinds of exotic goods across half the world.
Baghdad was on the silk road, and therefore trade was a very important part of its purpose.
Travelling to Baghdad
So you’ve decided to visit Medieval Baghdad! But how are you going to get there?
Today you could take a plane, but back then you were stuck with only a few options, all of which took rather longer than flying!
Let’s go shopping!
You’ve finally made it to Baghdad. But what are you going to trade? Can you work out what would be brought into Baghdad from Europe, and what would be taken back home?
Dressing well in Baghdad
Your European clothes might keep you warm and dry in the British winter, but they’re not going to do very much for you in hot, dry Baghdad. Time to get changed!
How much can you remember?
Can you remember how to dress for Baghdad? Drag and drop the clothes onto the people to test your knowledge.
A Centre for Science & Learning
Goods were not the only thing traded in Baghdad. Even more important was knowledge. So here are some skills you can learn on your visit to Baghdad, and then you can take them back to Europe and see if the ideas take off!
Astronomy
Baghdad was a leading centre for the study of the stars and planets. Click the pic to find out how to chart the stars yourself.
Quadrant
Lost in the desert at night? You need a quadrant to help you navigate by the stars!
Alquerque
Brain work isn’t all about studying, you can have fun too! Click the pic to learn the game of Alquerque and test your strategy skills.
How well do you know your stars?
Astronomers grouped stars into constellations so that they were easier to recognise. Remembering them is easier if you can learn the image each is supposed to represent. Can you match the constellations to their images?
Time for dinner!
You must be hungry after all that studying. It’s time for a well earned rest and some tasty treats!
In Baghdad the food was very different from what was eaten in Britain. The warm, fertile land produced food the like of which had never been seen in the cool, rainy north! Olive oil and figs, pomegranates and dates; all of these would have been very unfamiliar to a person travelling from medieval Britain, where the food was based mainly on grain, vegetables and meat.
We have hundreds of surviving recipes from medieval Baghdad as cookbooks were being written even back then. The earliest surviving cookbook is called Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens, and it was written by al-Muẓaffar Ibn Naṣr Ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq in the 10th Century (AD900s). The earliest British cookbook is not found until the 14th Century (AD1300s)!
Click the picture on the right to try some of those recipes yourself, and get a taste of ancient Baghdad.
