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, Ballūr (il n’est pas établi que ce mot vienne du grec βήρυλλοζ, v. Dozy, I, 110), cristal de roche. D’après la Pétrologie d’Aristote, cette pierre est une espèce de verre, mais plus dure et plus compacte. C’est la plus belle, la plus pure, la plus translucide espèce de verre naturel, et elle se présente aussi avec les couleurs du yāḳūt; on doit entendre par cristal de roche «couleur poussière» la topaze fumée. Il peut être coloré artificiellement; il concentre les rayons solaires, de sorte qu’un chiffon noir, un flocon de coton ou de laine peut prendre…

(a.), mesurage, mesure, instrument de mesure quelconque; en Egypte, nom du Nilomètre, c’est-à-dire de la colonne graduée permettant de mesurer la crue annuelle du fleuve. A l’origine, la crue du Nil était mesurée au moyen de la sonde ( al-raṣāṣa). D’après Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam, al-Ḳuḍāʿī et d’autres, Joseph, le fils de Jacob, construisit le premier Nilomètre à Memphis; par la suite, «Dalūka la vieille» en construisit à Ak̲h̲mīm et à Anṣinā (Antinoë); ces Nilomètres restèrent en usage pendant toute la période hellénistique jusqu’à la conq…

(fréquemment considéré comme un nom déterminé par l’article: al-mās, mais correctement al-almās d’après Ibn al-At̲h̲īr dans LA, VIII, 97, al- appartenant à la racine comme dans Ilyās) est une corruption de la forme grecque άδάμαΣ (loc. cit.: « wa-laysat bi-ʿarabiyya») et désigne le diamant. D’après le pseudo-aristotélicien Kitāb al-Aḥd̲j̲ār, qui, sur la base de sources grecques apparentées, s’accorde pour le principal avec les données de Pline, le diamant coupe tout corps solide, excepté le plomb par lequel il est lui-même détruit. Sur la fro…

, également tilsm, tilisim, tilasm, du grec τέλεσμα talisman, c.-à-d. inscription pourvue de signes astrologiques et autres signes magiques ou objet recouvert d’inscriptions de ce genre, en particulier aussi la reproduction de figures du zodiaque, ou des planètes ou de figures d’animaux qui servent comme procédés magiques de préservation et de protection. La dénomination grecque de l’objet est une preuve de son origine, qui remonte à l’hellénisme tardif et ce sont visiblement des conceptions gnostiq…

(A.; du persan pīl), éléphant. Le mot apparaît dans le titre et le premier verset de la sourate CV qui fait allusion à l’expédition d’Abraha [ q.v.], mais les Arabes ne connaissaient guère cet animal qui vit dans l’Inde et en Afrique, au point que, vers la fin du IIe/début du VIIIe siècle, le passage à Baṣra d’une troupe d’éléphants est un objet de curiosité pour la population (voir al-Nawawī, Tahd̲h̲īb, 738). Il en est déjà question dans Kalīla wa-Dimna (trad. A. Miquel, Paris 1957, 53), mais le premier auteur arabe à s’y intéresser vraiment et à se livrer à une enquête p…

, turquoise, pierre précieuse renommée allant du vert clair ou «cendre verte» au bleu ciel, avec un lustre semblable à celui de la cire, et composée d’un phosphate — contenant une quantité minime, mais essentielle, de cuivre et de fer. La couleur n’est point persistante dans toutes les pierres, et elle serait particulièrement attaquée par la sueur. Elle est presque toujours taillée, comme ornement, en cabochon, c’est-à-dire avec une surface convexe; seules les pierres qui portent une inscription…

(a.) «serpent», nom générique des ophidiens s’appliquant à toutes sortes de reptiles ( mā yansāḥ) des plus venimeux aux plus inoffensifs, la vipère ( apʿā) paraissant en être l’espèce la mieux différenciée. Des termes tels que ḥanas̲h̲, aym, t̲h̲uʿbān, aswad, raḳs̲h̲āʾ, sill, etc. désignent en arabe ¶ classique des espèces qui De sont pas toujours aisément identifiables d’après les descriptions figurant dans les anciens ouvrages de zoologie, car une certaine confusion règne dans ce domaine; la terminologie actuelle est encore loin d’être pr…

(A.), âne (fém. atān et ḥimāra). Les Arabes distinguent l’âne domestique ( ahlī) et l’âne sauvage ( waḥs̲h̲ī, faraʾ, ʿayr al-ʿāna). Les ânes domestiques servent à faire tourner les moulins et sont utilisés comme bêtes de somme et montures, mais, bien que le Prophète en ait possédé un, nommé Yaʿfūr, et que des personnages célèbres aient apprécié son allure, les Arabes de qualité ne montent pas cet animal et emploient même une formule d’excuse ( ḥās̲h̲ā -kum, aʿazza-kum Allāh, etc.) quand ils prononcent son nom. Les ouvrages de zoologie fournissent des détails sur ses carac…

, Abū Bakr ibn Badr, surnommé al-Bayṭār al-Nāṣirī, fut grand maître et vétérinaire en chef des écuries du sultan mamlūk d’Égypte al-Nāṣir, Nāṣir al-dīn Muḥammad b. Ḳalāwūn (qui détint le pouvoir en 693/1294,698-708/1299-1309-10 et 709-41/1310-41). C’est sur la demande de ce prince qu’Ibn al-Mund̲h̲ir rédigea, vers 740/1339-40, son traité d’hippologie intitulé Kās̲h̲if hamm al-wayl fī maʿrifat amrāḍ al-k̲h̲ayl, somme compilée de sources antérieures et notamment du Kāmil al-ṣināʿatayn (al-bayṭara wa-l-zarṭafa) d’un certain Ibn Ak̲h̲ī Ḥizām ou Ibn Abī Ḵh̲azzām du IIIe/IXe ou d…

, perle. L’antique légende de son origine se trouve tout au long dans les auteurs arabes, d’abord dans le Lapidaire d’Aristote, puis, avec des variantes, chez les Ik̲h̲wān al-Ṣafāʾ et chez les cosmographes postérieurs. D’après cette légende, l’Aṣṭārūs (ὀστρεῖoν) s’élève des profondeurs de la mer sillonnée par les navires et va trouver Okeanos. Mais voilà que les vents soulèvent un embrun, et la coquille s’ouvre pour en recevoir quelques gouttes. Lorsqu’elle les a recueillies, elle se retire dans…

(a.), fer. D’après la Sūrat al-Ḥadīd (VII, 25), Dieu a envoyé le fer sur la terre pour le mal et le bien des hommes, car on en fait des armes et des outils. D’après la croyance des Sabéens [voir Ṣābiʾa], il est consacré à Mars. C’est le plus dur et le plus solide des métaux, et c’est le plus résistant à l’action du feu, mais c’est celui qui s’oxyde le plus facilement. Il est attaqué par les acides; en effet, avec l’écorce fraîche de la grenade, il donne un liquide noir (observation du fer attaqué par l’acide tannique); avec le vinaig…

, également nus̲h̲ādir, naws̲h̲ādir, sanscr. navasadara, chinois nao-s̲h̲a, le sel ammoniac. L’étymologie du mot est douteuse; peut-être y retrouve-t-on comme base le moyen persan anōs̲h̲-ādar «feu immortel», étant donné que la forme anūs̲h̲ād̲h̲ur est attestée en syriaque. Les plus anciens renseignements sur le sel ammoniac à l’état naturel se trouvent dans des rapports d’ambassades chinois du VI-VII siècle de J. C. qui ont été, à l’occasion d’un problème géologique, la question des volcans de l’Asie Centrale, l’objet des recherch…

, bézoard, remède contre toutes sortes de poisons, hautement apprécié et chèrement payé pendant tout le moyen âge, jusqu’au XVIIIe s. et même, en Orient, jusqu’à nos jours. Le vrai bézoard (oriental) provient de la chèvre aegagre ( Capra aegagrus Gm.) et, d’après les recherches du célèbre chimiste Friedrich Wöhler (1800-82) et d’autres, c’est un calcul biliaire. Le bézoard semble avoir été inconnu des anciens Arabes, car le mot n’est mentionné ni dans les lexiques, ni dans A. Siddiqi, Studien über die persischen Fremdwörter im klassischen Arabisch, 1919. L’étymologie généralement…

(a.), ambre gris ( ambra grisea, par opposition à l’ambre jaune), matière d’une douce odeur de musc, facilement fusible et brûlant avec une flamme brillante. Il est très estimé en Orient comme parfum et comme médicament. On le trouve flottant à la surface des eaux dans les mers tropicales (poids spécifique 0,78-0,93), ou déposé sur la côte, parfois en morceaux assez gros. L’ambre gris est probablement une sécrétion morbide de la vésicule biliaire du cachalot dans les entrailles duquel on le trouve. A…

, nom d’un très ancien temple du feu persan, d’une localité ou d’un district situé au Sud-est du lac Urmiya dans l’Ād̲h̲arbayd̲j̲ān, prétendument patrie de Zoroastre. D’après A. V. W. Jackson, ce nom serait dérivé du nom avestique du lac Urmiya, Čaečasta, d’après Yāḳūt, c’est une corruption arabe de d̲j̲azn ou gazn, c’est-à-dire kanzaka ou gazaca des écrivains classiques ou gand̲j̲ak des textes pahlavis. Les anciens géographes considèrent à juste titre que les deux places et les deux noms sont distincts. Le voyageur arabe Abū Dulaf [ q.v.] visita S̲h̲īz sur son chemin vers le Dayl…

(a.), beurre du lait de la vache, de la chèvre, de la brebis, chauffé pour en ôter les impuretés, et appelé «beurre clarifié» (différent de la zubda, ¶ beurre de baratte). Les textes de diététique médiévaux marquent leur préférence pour le beurre clarifié du lait de vache ou de chèvre. Ses bienfaits médicinaux en faisaient un antidote contre les poisons et les morsures de serpents, par ingestion à l’état pur ou mêlé de miel, et comme onguent contre les abcès et furoncles, sans oublier les hémorroïdes. Le samn était employé aussi en cuisine, et selon l’anonyme Kanz al-fawāʾid, d’usage exclus…

(a.), araignée. Al-Ḳazwῑnī et al-Damῑrῑ en nomment différentes espèces dont la venimeuse tarentule ( al-rutaylāʾ ou al-rut̲h̲aylāʾ) serait la plus dangereuse. Al-Damῑrῑ décrit aussi une araignée de campagne de couleur rougeâtre, couverte d’un poil fin, et dont la tête porte quatre crochets avec lesquels elle mord; elle se creuse un nid dans le sol et chasse la nuit. Les araignées tisseuses font leurs toile selon des règles mathématiques; d’après les uns, le mâle file la chaîne et la femelle file la trame; d’apr…

désigne la planète Mars, mais l’étymologie de ce nom est inconnue. La sphère de Mars est la cinquième sphère planétaire; elle est limitée à l’intérieur, par la sphère solaire, à l’extérieur par celle de Jupiter, et son épaisseur serait, d’après Ptolémée (XX, 376), de 998 milles. La durée de sa révolution est évaluée à 1 an, 10 mois et 22 jours. En 17 ans environ, après 9 révolutions, Mars se retrouve à la même place dans le ciel; il demeure dans chaque signe du Zodiaque environ 40 jours et parcourt chaque jour environ 40 minutes d’arc. Il doit être une fois et demie grand comme la terre. Les astrolog…

, the name of a very old Persian fire-temple, a place or district to the south-east of Lake Urmiya in Ād̲h̲arbāyd̲j̲ān, said to be the native place of Zoroaster. According to A.V.W. Jackson, the name is said to be derived from the Avestan name of Lake Urmiya, Čaēčasta; according to Yāḳūt, it is an Arabic corruption of Ḏj̲azn or Gazn , i.e. Kanzaka or Gazaca of the classical writers or Gand̲j̲ak of the Pahlavi texts. The older geographers correctly consider the two places and names to be distinct. The Arab traveller Abū Dulaf [ q.v.] visited S̲h̲īz en route for Daylam and then Ād̲h̲arbāyd…

the planet Mars. The etymology of the name is unknown. The sphere of Mars is the fifth sphere of the planets. It is bounded on the inner side by the sphere of the sun and on the outer side by the sphere of Jupiter, and its breadth is according to Ptolemy (xx, 376) 998 miles. Its period of revolution is estimated at 1 year, 10 months and 22 days. In about 17 years, after 9 revolutions, Mars comes back to the same spot in the heavens; it spends about 40 days in each sign of the zodiac and covers about 40 minutes each day. It is said to be one-and-ahalf times the size of the earth. Astrologers call Mars al-Naḥs al-a…

(Ar.; from Persian pīl ), elephant. The word appears in the title and first verse of Sūra CV, which alludes to the expedition of Abraha [ q.v.], but the Arabs were barely acquainted with this animal which is a native of India and Africa; consequently when, towards the end of the 2nd/beginning of the 8th century, a troop of elephants arrived in Baṣra, it was a matter of curiosity for the population (see al-Nawawī, Tahd̲h̲īb , 738). The subject had already come up in the Kalīla wa-Dimna (trans. A. Miquel, Paris 1957, 53), but the first Arab author truly to con…

, also nus̲h̲ādir , naws̲h̲ādir , Sanskrit navasadara , Chin, nao-s̲h̲a , sal-ammoniac. The etymology of the word is uncertain; perhaps it comes from the Pahlavi anōs̲h̲-ādar “immortal fire” as we find the form anūs̲h̲ād̲h̲ur in Syriac. The oldest references to the occurrence of salammoniac in a natural state are in the reports of ¶ Chinese embassies of the 6th-7th centuries, which were the subject of very full investigation in connection with a geological problem, the question of volcanoes in Central Asia, by H.J. von Klaprot…

, Bezoar, a remedy against all kinds of poisons, highly esteemed and paid for throughout the Middle Ages up to the 18th century, and in the Orient even up to this very day. The genuine (Oriental) Bezoar-stone is obtained from the bezoargoat ( Capra aegagrus Gm.) and, according to the investigations of Friedrich Wöhler, the famous chemist (1800-1882), and others, it is a gall-stone. The stone seems to have been unknown to ancient Arabs, for neither in the lexica nor in A. Siddiqi, Studien über die persischen Fremdwörter im klassischen Arabisch , 1919, is the word …

, ballūr —whether from the Greek βήρυλλος is a disputed point, cf. Dozy, Supplément , i, 110—rock-crystal. According to the Petrology of Aristotle the stone is a kind of glass but harder and more compact. It is the finest, purest and most translucent of natural glasses, and also occurs among the colours of the yāḳūt by the dust-coloured rock-crystal is meant the smoky topaz. It may also be artificially coloured; it concentrates the sun’s rays so that a black rag or piece of cotton or wool may be set on f ire by it; valuable ve…

(a.), the spider. Al-Ḳazwīnī and al-Damīrī mention several species, the most dangerous of which is the poisonous tarantula, al-Rutailāʾ or al-Rut̲h̲ailāʾ . Al-Damīrī also describes a fieldspider of reddish colour with fine hair on its body; at the head it has four claws with which it bites; it digs a nest in the ground, and seizes its prey by night. The weaving spiders make their webs according to mathematical rules; according to some the male spins the warp and the female the woof; according t…

—frequently regarded as a noun defined by the article ( al-mās ; correctly al-Almās according to Ibn al-At̲h̲īr, in LA, viii, 97: the ’l belongs to the root as in Ilyās ), a corrupt form from the Greek ἀδάμας (l.c.: " wa-laysat bi-ʿarabiyya "),—the diamond. According to the pseudo-Aristotelian Kitāb al-Aḥd̲j̲ār which, on the basis of cognate Greek sources, agrees in the main with the statements of Pliny, the diamond cuts every solid except lead, by which it is itself destroyed. On the frontier of Ḵh̲urāsān is a deep valley…

, the pearl. The ancient legend of its origin is found at great length in the Arabic authors, first in the Petrology ( Steinbuch , ed. Ruska) of Aristotle, then with variants in the Rasāʾil Ik̲h̲wān al-Ṣafāʾ and the later cosmographers. According to it, the aṣṭūrūs (’οστρεῖον) rises from the depths of the sea frequented by ships and goes out to the ocean. The winds there set up a shower of spray and the shells open to receive drops from This; when it has collected a few drops it goes to a secluded spot and exposes the…

(a.), the empty, translation of the Sanskrit śūnya in Hindu-Arabic arithmetic, the name for zero, and the origin of the western words cipher, cifra, Ziffcr, chiffre and zero with their derivatives ( decipher, etc.). The question of the introduction or invention of the figures and of the zero has in spite of all palaeographical ¶ research and study of the history of mathematics not yet been satisfactorily explained. In the oldest documents known to us, the Arabs, when they do not write out the numbers in full, use Greek numerals. Only at a later dat…

, the wolf, is described as extremely malignant, quarrelsome and cunning. When a large number of wolves are together, no one separates from the flock as they do not trust one another; when one becomes weak or is wounded it is eaten by the others. When asleep they keep the right and left eye open alternately to keep a watch on one another. When a wolf is not a match for an opponent, it howls till others come ¶ to its help; but when one becomes ill, it separates from the others, because it knows they will devour it when they see it is ill. When a wolf has designs on a flock…

, any simple instrument for measuring, e.g. the pointer on a sundial; in Egypt the name of the Nilometer, i.e. the gauge on which the regular rise and fall of the river can be read. To get an undisturbed surface, the water was led into a basin; in the centre of this stood the water gauge, a column on which ells and fingers were carefully measured off. The level of the water was ascertained by an official daily and proclaimed by criers. Originally the rising of the Nile was measured by the gauge ( al-raṣāṣa). According to Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥaḳam, al-Ḳuḍāʿī, and others, Joseph, the son of Jacob,…

, gold, is among metals as the sun among the planets. It is formed by the most perfect amalgamation of the purest sulphur and the finest quicksilver so that it is easily smelted by fire but is not consumed nor does it became rusty no matter how long it may lie in the ground. It is soft, yellow with a tinge of red, bright, sweet to taste, pleasant to smell and exceedingly heavy. It is the magnet of quicksilver and sinks in it; quicksilver deprives it of its colour. Gold may be cast or wrought wit…

, the name of a very old Persian fire-temple, a place or district S. E of Lake Urmiya in Ad̲j̲barbāid̲j̲ān, said to be the native place of Zoroaster. According to A. V. W. Jackson the name is said to be derived from the Avestan name of Lake Urmiya, Čaečasta; according to Yāḳūt it is an Arabic corruption of Ḏj̲azn or Gazn i. e. Kanzaka or Gazaca of the classical writers or Gand̲j̲ak of the Pehlevi texts. The older geographers consider the two names distinct. A comparison of the description given by Yāḳūt from Misʿar b. Muhalhil (about 940) with the ruins which are now called Tak̲h̲t-i Sulaimān shows …

, the elephant, also called al-Zanaabīl, which latter name is applied to the smaller animals or according to some writers the females. In spite of its bulk and heavy figure it is one of the swiftest and most mobile of animals. As its neck is very short it has a long trunk of cartilage, flesh and sinew, which is of the same use to it as hands to man. With it it carries food and water to its mouth; it can move it round its whole body and fights with it. Its two ears are like shields; it flaps them cons…

, Sandalwood. According to al-Nuwairī, numerous varieties are distinguished. The majority, especially the white, yellow and red kinds, are used for the manufacture of fragrant powders on account of their pleasant smell; they are also used in medicine, while other varieties again are used by turners and furniture-makers or for the manufacture of chessmen, etc. At the present day the pterocarpus imported from Southern Asia, the ¶ islands of the Malay Archipelago and Africa is used for fine furniture and the waste as dye-woods. (J. Ruska) Bibliography O. Warburg, Die Pflanzenwelt, ii. 2…

(Mod. Pers. dahna), Malachite, green copper ore. The description of this mineral in the Ik̲h̲wān al-Ṣafā may be traced to the Petrology of Aristotle. It is said to be formed in the copper mines from the sulphur dust which combines with the copper and forms stratified layers. It is a soft mineral and shows the greatest variety of all shades of green. Tīfās̲h̲ī, following Balīnās, says that dahnad̲j̲, lāzward and s̲h̲ād̲h̲anad̲j̲, i, e. malachite, copper lazuli [not lapis lazuli here] and red copper ore (not red iron ore, hematite) were originally copper, which firs…

, Kankiwar, Kangavar, a little district with a town of the same name and about 30 villages between Hamadān and Ḳarmīsīn. The town has about 2,500 inhabitants; in its vicinity is a famous castle, Ḳaṣr al-Luṣūṣ or Ḳaṣr Duzdān, the “robber castle”; it is said to take its name from the fact that several animals were stolen from the Muslims at the conquest; Ṭab. i. 2649. (J. Ruska) Bibliography B. G. A., i. 195; ii. 256; iii. 393 Barbier de Meynard, Dict. de la Perse, p. 450—451 Le Strange, Lands, p. 188 sq. Flaudin, Voyage, i. 408 sqq.

, the he - goat, more particularly a he-goat one year old. Ḳazwīnī gives only a few notes under the article maʿz (goat) on its natural history. Goats have thick skin and thin hair unlike sheep which have thin skin and are protected from cold by a thick covering of wool. When the he-goat sees a young lion, he approaches it slowly, but when he smells it, he falls into a stupor and lies as if dead till the lion departs. It eats tarantulas without harm and becomes fat on them. Its uses in medicine are numerous; Ḳazwīnī gives the Kitāb al-Ḵh̲awāṣṣ of Balīnās as his authority for them. In Astronomy, al-Ḏj̲ady …

(a.), pl. of al-manzil, more fully manāzil al-ḳamar, the stations of the moon. Just as for the sun the zodiacal circle is divided into 12 stations each of 30°, which it traverses in the course of a year, so the course of the moon is connected with 28 groups of stars, each of which corresponds to one day of its course, so that on an average each is an arc of 13° apart. The settings of the sun at these stations, Arabic nawʾ, pl. anwāʾ, are of decisive importance for the beginning and forecasting of the phenomena of the weather and the fertility or otherwise of a year which depend…

, the eagle, the king of birds. al-Ḳazwīnī and al-Damīrī tell remarkable things about his habits, some of which go back to Greek tradition. According to al-Damīrī, there are black, brown, greenish and white eagles. Some nest in the mountains, others in deserts, in thick woods or in the vicinity of towns. (Here there is of course a confusion with the vulture and also in the statement that they follow armies and devour the fallen). The eagle hunts small wild animals and birds and eats only the liv…

, from Pers. s̲h̲akar or s̲h̲akkar, from Sanskrit çarkarā, Prakrit sakkarā, the sap crushed from the sugar-cane ( ḳaṣab al-sukkar) and solid sugar. Vullers (ii. 439) gives the following from the Bh: s̲h̲akkar is in the technical language of the physicians the sap of a plant, similar to the reed ( nay) but not hollow between the nodes, which becomes solid on boiling. It is given different names in different stages of preparation. Thus for example, when not yet purified (simply solidified) it is called s̲h̲akkar surk̲h̲ (red sugar); when it is boiled a second time and purified by b…

(a.), the spider. Al-Ḳazwīnī and al-Damīrī mention several species, the most dangerous of which is the poisonous tarantula, al-Rutailāʾ or al-Rut̲h̲ailāʾ. Al-Damīrī also describes a fieldspider of reddish colour with fine hair on its body; at the head it has four claws with which it bites; it digs a nest in the ground, and seizes its prey by night. The weaving spiders make their ¶ webs according to mathematical rules; according to some the male spins the warp and the female the worf; according to others the female only is capable of making a web; as material…

— frequently regarded as a determined noun ( al-mās; correctly al-Almās according to Ibn al-At̲h̲īr, in Lisān viii. 97: the ’l belongs to the root as in Ilyās), a corrupt form from the Greek ἀδάμαΣ ( l. c. “ wa-laisat bi-ʿarabīya”), — the diamond. According to the pseudo-Aristotelian Kitāb al-aḥd̲j̲ār which — on the basis of cognate Greek sources, — agrees in the main with the statements of Pliny, the diamond cuts every solid except lead, by which it is itself destroyed. On the frontier of Ḵh̲orāsān is a deep valley in which the diamonds lie g…

, the revelation of secret alchemistic teaching ascribed to Hermes Trismegistos. Known in a later version in the west since the middle of the xiith century, the origin of the text was until recently an unsolved problem in the history of chemistry. Since R. Steele in his edition of Bacon (1920) showed that the text of the Tabula existed in Arabic and Latin in the Sirr al-Asrār of Pseudo-Aristotle, and E. J. Holmyard in 1923 discovered a more primitive form of the text in the Kitāb al-Uṣṭuḳuss al-t̲h̲ānī of Ḏj̲ābir b. Ḥaiyān, J. Ruska has been able to show that the original source o…

, the common name for the white and yellow-red lily and for the blue iris which is more precisely described by the addition of asmānd̲j̲ūnī and is also called īrisā by the physicians. The name is a general Semitic one, but whether from s̲h̲es̲h̲ (six), as Low suggests, seems to me doubtful on account of the ū or ō always found in it. The root of Iris ftorcntina L. is still used in medicine. (J. Ruska) Bibliography Ibn al-Baiṭār, transl. Leclerc, ii. 306 al-Ḳazwīnī, ʿAd̲j̲āʾib al-Mak̲h̲lūḳāt, ed. Wüstenfeld, i., p. 276 I. Löw, Die Flora der Juden, ii. I—4, 160—184.

, Bawraḳ, Būraḳ, borax. The description in Ḳazwīnī shows that the most different salts were confused under the general name of borax; he mentions natron as a kind of borax; i.e. the Armenian borax, the borax of the metal-founders, tinkār, which is brought from India, bakers’ borax, the borax of Zerāwand and of Kirmān. Even in the Petrology of Aristotle the peculiar property of borax is said to be that it melts all bodies, hastens smelting and facilitates casting. Natron is particularly mentioned in this connection as a kind of borax; tinkār is said to…

— Arab, fad̲h̲zuhr, from the Persian Pā(w)zahr, i. e. removing poison — a highly esteemed remedy against all kinds of poison for which high prices were paid throughout the middle ages down to the xviiith century and to the present day in the East. The real (Oriental) bezoarstone is obtained from the Persian bezoar-goat ( Capra aegagrus Gm.) and according to Wöhler’s researches is a gallstone. A description of its properties and supposed effects is to be found as early as in the Kitāb al-Aḥd̲j̲ār, which is ascribed to Aristotle. The effect of poisons is to make the blood coagula…

(a.), the crab; the name is applied to the fresh water crab as well as to the sea-crabs, saraṭān nahrī and baḥrī. Al-Damīrī describes the crab as follows: “it can run very quickly, has two jaws, claws and several teeth and a back as hard as stone; one might think that it had neither head nor tail. Its two eyes are placed on its shoulders, its mouth is in its chest and its jaws are sideways. It has eight legs and walks on one side. It breathes both air and water. It casts off its skin six times a year. It builds itse…

, the constellation of the Pleiades. According to al-Ḳazwīnī, the group is made up of two brighter stars between which are three others close together like grapes in a bunch. The group is also called simply al-Nad̲j̲m “the (group of) stars” and the principal star (η; Alkyone) is called Wasaṭ, Ḏj̲awz or Naiyir al-T̲h̲uraiyā i. e. middle, heart or bright star of the Pleiades. The word T̲h̲uraiyā is a diminutive of t̲h̲arwā which means “existing in plenty” and would correspond to the Greek πλειάΣ if this name could be connected with πλεόΣ and not with πλεῖν “to naviga…

(a.), the crown, the name of several constellations, namely: 1. al-Ikīl, is the name given to the stars β, δ, π, forming a blunt wedge close together on the brow of the Scorpion. These stars mark the seventeenth station of the moon. 2. al-Iklīl al-s̲h̲amālī, Greek στέφανοΣ Latin Corona, the northern crown, a constellation of eight stars which follows the staff of Bootes and is also called al-Fakka, the “breach”, and Ḳaṣʿat al-Masākīn, the “alms bowl”, Pers. Kāsa-i Darwīs̲h̲ān, the “beggar’s bowl” and Kasa s̲h̲ikasta, the “broken bowl”, because the ring of stars is broken at one spot. Al-Fakk…

, more precisely Banū Mūsā b. S̲h̲ākir, the usual name for the three brothers Abū Ḏj̲aʿfar Muḥammad, Abu ’l-Ḳāsim Aḥmad and al-Ḥasan b. Mūsā b. S̲h̲ākir, who made a reputation under the ʿAbbāsids from al-Maʾmūn to al-Mutawakkil as mathematicians, astronomers and technicians and also at times played a part in politics. The father is said ¶ to have begun life as a bandit in Ḵh̲urāsān, then to have become an astronomer and geometer. We have no means of testing such stories or learning how a bandit could become an astronomer. If we assume however that Mūsā b. S̲h̲ākir like Muḥammad b. Mūsā al-Ḵh̲wār…

(a.), a time, a period of time, especially the hour. Following the custom of the Greek astronomers, a distinction is made between the equal or astronomical (sidereal) hour, sāʿa falakīya, which corresponds to a revolution of the heavens of the fixed stars through 15° and is also ¶ called mustawiya (uniform), and the unequal, curved, muʿwad̲j̲d̲j̲a, also an hour of time, zamānīya, which is the result of dividing day and night each into 12 hours and therefore varies with latitude and season and in the higher latitudes becomes quite absurd. — In the language of religion sāʿa is also the hour …

, an old town between Mas̲h̲had and Marw, where the frontier between modern Persia and Russia turns from E. to S., on the lower course of the Harirūd, which is at this part filled with water for part of the year only and then disappears in the oasis of Tad̲j̲ān north of Sarak̲h̲s. Between the town and Marw lies a part of the desert of Karaḳūm [q. v.] which belongs to the area of the Teke-Turkomans. The Arab-Persian geographers ascribe the foundation of the town to Kai-Kāwūs, Afrāsiyāb or Ḏh̲u ’l…

, the constellation of the Dragon. According to al-Ḳazwīnī, it consists of 31 stars none of which lies outside of the constellation. Apart from the general figure of the constellation which comes from Greek (and probably earlier from Babylonian) astronomy the Arabs have names for smaller groups of stars within it. Thus the star μ is called the Dragon’s tongue, al-rāfiḍ, “the isolated grazing camel”, the four stars (β γ ν ξ in the head al-ʿawāʾid̲h̲, “the young dam-camels”, a not very bright star between them al-rubaʿ, “the camel-foal”; the bright stars ζ η are called al-d̲h̲iʾbain, “the tw…

, Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn Ibn al-Baiṭar al-Mālaḳī, the celebrated botanist and herbalist. He probably belonged to the Ibn al-Baiṭār family of Malaga (cf. Ibn al-Abbār, al-Muʿd̲j̲am, N°. 35, 165, 241) and was born in the last quarter of the vith (xiith) century. As his teacher of botanical subjects, special mention should be made ¶ of Abu ’l-ʿAbbās al-Nabātī, with whom he used to collect plants in the vicinity of Seville. When about 20 he set out to travel through North Africa, Morocco, Algiers and Tunis to study botany. Reaching E…

, S̲h̲ihāb al-Dīn Abu ’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. Yūsuf, d. 651 (1253), is the author of the Kitāb Azhār al-Afkār fī Ḏj̲awāhir al-Asd̲j̲ār, one of the best known works on jewels which he describes — in all 25 kinds — according to their origin, provenance, natural and magical properties, defects and merits, price and appreciation ¶ of particular varieties. An edition and translation of the book which exists in good manuscripts is a great desideratum, as that by Count Raineri Biscia of 1818 (new edition 1906) no longer suits modern requirements. — Nothing is …

, an astrological magic table common in Morocco, the making and use of which is fully described by Ibn Ḵh̲aldūn in the Muḳaddima. The word is connected with Zīd̲j̲ [q. v.]; its fuller name is Zāyird̲j̲at al-ʿĀlam. The inventor is said to have been the Ṣūfī Abū ’l-ʿAbbās al-Ṣibtī (i. e. of Ceuta) who lived in the time of the Almohad Yaʿḳūb al-Manṣūr, i. e. at the end of the vith (xiith) century. The table has on one side a system of concentric circles with divisions corresponding to the signs of the zodiac and others for telling fortunes and answering questions on i…

(a.), the Ram (Aries), the first constellation of the zodiac, after the Greek κριόΣ. It contains 13 stars which make up the figure and five others outside it. The ram is represented with its body facing the west but its head is turned back. The two bright stars on, the horn (β and γ) are called al-S̲h̲araṭān, “the two signs”, because they betoken the approach of the equinoxes; the bright star α outside the ram is called al-Nāṭiḥ, “the butter” sometimes it is included with α and β under the name al-As̲h̲rāṭ, “the signs”. The stars ε, δ in the tail, which form an equilateral triangle wi…

, also tilsim, tilism, tilasm etc. from the Greek τέλεσμα, a talisman, i.e. an inscription with astrological and other magic signs or an object covered with such inscriptions, especially also with figures from the zodiacal circle or the constellations and animals which were used as magic charms to protect and avert the evil eye. The Greek name is evidence of its origin in the late Hellenistic period and gnostic ideas are obviously reflected in the widespread use of such charms. The wise Balīnās is s…

or Ṣabir, the aloe, the dried juice from the leaves of a group of African aloes belonging to the Liliaceae; a bitter drug and strong purgative, described as early as by Dioscurides, which is highly esteemed in Arab medicine. At the present day the aloe of Sokoṭrā is considered the best quality. Al-Dimas̲h̲ḳī ( Nuk̲h̲bat al-Dahr, ed. Mehren, p. 81) gives a good description of the plant; and a description of how the sap is obtained is given by al-Nuwairī; see also the lexicons (Lane, Lexicon, ii. 1645) (J. Ruska) Bibliography O. Warburg, Die Pflanzenwelt, iii. 448 I. Löw, Die Flora der Juden, ii. …

, the domestic fowl. The chickens are covered with down when they come out of the egg, quick in their movements and able to take care of themselves (autophagous); they follow when called. After a time however they become stupid and ugly and ultimately are ¶ only useful for crowing, laying eggs and eating. They have no fear of beasts of prey; but if they see a jackal they run in front of its feet. They sleep very lightly and like best to perch on a high place such as a wall, a beam, etc. They combine the characters of birds of prey and gram…

, the Silkworm. Ḳazwīnī and Damīrī give accounts of its culture which supplement one another and may therefore be dealt with separately. According to Ḳazwīnī, the worm, when it has eaten enough, seeks a place on trees or thorns, draws thin threads out of its saliva, and weaves a ball around itself as a protection from wind and rain; it then sleeps its appointed time; all this is done through the instinct given it by God. In spring, when the leaves of the mulberry tree appear, the eggs ( bazr) are taken and placed in pieces of cloth; women carry them for a week under their breasts, s…

, the constellation of Taurus, the second in the zodiacal circle. The figure is the front half of a bull whose head is turned to one side so that the horns face east. The constellation consists of 32 stars in the figure and 11 outside it. On the sector ( ḳaṭʿ, ἀποτομή) are said to be four stars in a straight line; in reality the stars f s ξ o form a curve. The bright star of the north horn also belongs to the constellation of the Steersman. The eye of the bull, ʿAin al-T̲h̲awr, the star with a red light of the first magnitude α in the centre of a thick group of smaller stars, the Hyades …

(a.), a thing, anything, in Arab algebra the name for the unknown quantity in an equation. The expression is first used in the Algebra of Muḥammad b. Mūsā al-Ḵh̲wārizmī (about 820) and probably goes back to the Indian vāvat-tāvat. In the mediaeval Latin translations, it is translated by res, latterly causa, Ital. cosa, from which developed the name coss given to algebra. P. de Lagarde’s attempt to trace the x of algebra to S̲h̲aiʾ, which has found some credence among Orientalists, is untenable. (J. Ruska) Bibliography J. Ruska, Zur ält. arab. Algebra u. Rechenkunst, p. 56—60 J. Tropfke, Gesc…

, whose full name was Abū Zakarīyā Yaḥyā b. Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. al-ʿAwwām al-Is̲h̲bīlī, the author of a large work on agriculture, Kitāb al-Falāḥa. Practically nothing is known of the life of this author; we only know that he flourished towards to end of the xiith century and that he lived in Seville. Ibn Ḵh̲aldūn mentions him although not being acquainted with his book which he considers a recension of al-Falāḥa al-Nabaṭīya [see ibn al-waḥs̲h̲īya]; neither Ḥād̲j̲d̲j̲ī Ḵh̲alīfa non Ibn Ḵh̲allikān quote him. Casiri in his Catalogue was the first to call attention to the complete m…

Naṣīr al-Dīn, Abū Ḏj̲aʿfar Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan, astronomer, polychronicler and S̲h̲īʿa politician of the period of the Mongol invasion, born at Ṭūs on the 11th Ḏj̲umādā I 597 (Feb. 18, 1201), died at Bag̲h̲dād on the 18th Ḏh̲u’l-Ḥid̲j̲d̲j̲a 672 (June 26, 1274). Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī began his career as astrologer to the Ismāʿīlī governor Naṣīr al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm b. Abī Manṣūr at Sertak̲h̲t. After his attempt to transfer to the caliph’s court had been betrayed, he was kept under supervision in Sertak̲h̲t and later in Alamūt […

, the horse, whether stallion ( faḥl) or mare; as a collective al-k̲h̲ail. The horse is considered the most beautiful and noblest creature next to man. The fine proportions of its limbs, the purity of its colour, its swiftness, its obedience to the rider, whether in battle, in pursuit or in flight, its courage and strength, its intelligence and standard of good manners are renowned. A sign of the latter is the fact that a well-bred horse discharges neither urine or excrement while its rider is on its back. …

b. Isḥāḳ. His full name was Abū Zaid Ḥunain b. Isḥāḳ al-ʿIbādī; he was a member of a family belonging to the Christian Arab tribe of ʿIbād and was born at Ḥīra in 194 = 809-810, where his father was an apothecary; he was celebrated as a physician and as the translator of numerous Greek works into Syriac and Arabic. As a young man he came to Bag̲h̲dād where he became a pupil of the physician Yaḥyā b. Māsawaihi. He completed his education in Asia Minor and became particularly proficient in the Greek languag…

, plur. Awfāḳ, magic square, i.e. a square divided up like a chessboard, each square of which is inscribed with numerals, letters or words; it is worn as a talisman against illness and for all sorts of other purposes, or can be used for all kinds of magic. The simplest form of a magic square is the nine compartmented square with numbers as shown in fig. 1. Under the name lǒ-shū, it is mentioned in Chinese literature: The legendary Emperor Yü (2200 b. c.) is said to have seen it on the back of a turtle which arose out of the Hoang-Ho. In Arabic literature, the square is first f…

, the cock. He is the most sensual and self-satisfied of birds; of feeble intelligence, as he cannot find his way to his hen-house when he falls from a wall, he deserves praise for his impartial treatment of the hens. When he wishes one of them to come to him, he throws a grair of corn to her; but he only does this so long as he is young and lascivious. In the night he collect; his people around him in a safe place and keeps watch at the door against enemies. He lays one egg in his whole lifetime, the cock’s egg ( baiḍatu ’l-ʿaḳr). He proclaims the dawn and it is one of his most remarkable characte…

, the pearl. The ancient legend of its origin is found at great length in the Arab ¶ authors, first in the Petrology (Steinbuch ed. Ruska) of Aristotle, then with variants in the Ik̲h̲wān al-Ṣafā and the later cosmographers. According to it, the aṣṭūrūs (ὀστρεῖον) rises from the depths of the sea frequented by ships and goes out to the Ocean. The winds there set up a shower of spray and the shells open to receive drops from it; when it has collected a few drops, it goes to a secluded spot and exposes the drops morning…

(a.), the crocodile; in Arabie a loanword from the old Egyptian m-s-ḥ, or Coptic emsaḥ, with article temsaḥ, also found in Assyr.-Babyl. as timsāḫu (Bezold, Glossar, 294) and in Herodotos as χάμψαΣ. The earliest full description of the crocodile is given in Herodotos (ii. 68) and a good deal that is new is added by Aristotle. Pliny’s account is remarkable for his love of the marvellous. The views of the ancients are reflected in the Arabic sources. According to ʿAbd al-Laṭīf crocodiles are most numerous in al-Ṣaʿīd and at the cataracts: there they swarm like worms, large…

, the vulture. It gets its name from the fact that it tears the dead animals on which it feeds to pieces with its beak and devours them. It eats till it can no longer fly. It is said to attain the age of 1,000 years. Its eyes are so sharp that it can see its prey at a distance of 400 farsak̲h̲; its sense of smell is equally sharp but fragrant scents are so deadly to it that they destroy it. It shows great endurance in flying and follows armies and pilgrim caravans in order to fall upon the corps…

, the planet Mars. The etymology of the name is unknown. The sphere of Mars is the fifth sphere of the planets. It is bounded on the inner side by the sphere of the sun and on the outer side by the sphere of Jupiter, and its breadth is according to Ptolemy (xx. 376) 998 miles. Its period of revolution is estimated at 1 year, 10 months and 22 days. In about 17 years, after 9 revolutions, Mars comes back to the same spot in the heavens; it spends about 40 days in each sign of the zodiac and covers about 40 ¶ minutes each day. It is said to be one and half times the size of the earth. Astrologers call Mars al-Naḥs al-a…

, iron. According to the Sūrat al-Ḥadīd (lvii. 25) God sent iron down to earth for the detriment and advantage of man, for weapons and tools are alike made from it. According to the belief of the Ṣābians, it is allotted to Mars. It is the hardest and strongest of metals and the most capable of resisting the effects of fire, but it is the quickest to rust. It is corroded by acids; for example, with the fresh rind of a pomegranate it forms a black fluid, with vinegar a red fluid and with salt a yellow. Collyrium ( al-kuḥl) burns it and arsenic makes it smooth and white. Ḳazwīnī distinguishes th…

(a.), butter made from cows’, goats’ and ewes’ milk, more especially cooked or melted butter, cleansed from impurities and preserved by the addition of salt, for example. Fresh butter and cream are called zubda. These are used not only in the kitchen but also in medicine, externally and internally; — externally for wounds, abscesses and boils, internally as an antidote against snake-bite and poisons, against retention of the urine, etc. (J. Ruska) Bibliography Ibn al-Baiṭār, transl. Leclerc, ii. 290.

, also nus̲h̲ādir, naws̲h̲ādir, Sanskrit navasadara, Chin, nao-s̲h̲a, sal-ammoniac. The etymology of the word is uncertain; perhaps it comes from the Pahlavi anōs̲h̲-ādar “immortal fire” as we find the form anūs̲h̲ād̲h̲ur in Syriac. The oldest references to the occurrence of salammoniac in a natural state are in the reports of Chinese embassies of the vith—viith centuries, which were the subject of very full investigation in connection with a geological problem, the question of volcanoes in Central Asia by H. J. von Klaproth, A. von Humboldt and C. Ritter, in the first third of the xixth…

(a.), the dove, particularly the ring-dove. A distinction is made between tame doves which live in dove-cots and wild doves. The dove is one of the cleverest of birds, for it can find its way home from the most distant parts. To find its bearings, it flies upwards in spirals like a man climbing a minaret; when it finds the direction of its home, it darts off thither in a straight line and reaches its goal in the shortest possible time. Only clouds, which obscure its view, or birds of prey can cause it to lose its way. According to Mut̲h̲annā b. Zuhair, there are no tokens of love between man…

, Ballūr — whether from the Greek βήρυλλοΣ is a disputed point, cf. Dozy, Supplément, i. 110 — the rock-crystal. According to the Petrology of Aristotle the stone is a kind of glass but harder and more compact. It is the finest, purest and most translucent of natural glasses, and is mentioned as one of the “colours” of the Yāḳūt; by the dust coloured rock-crystal is meant the smoky topaz. It may also be artificially coloured; it concentrates the sun’s rays so that a black rag or piece of cotton or wool may be set on fire by it; valuable vessels for king…

(a.), from raṣada, “to wait on the road, to watch, to lie in wait”, originally any place where a watch was kept, for example, a custom-house, then (with or without al-kawākib) an observatory. Al-raṣad is also used in the latter sense. “To consult the stars for any one” is raṣada li-fulān in, to take astronomical measurements with instruments is ḳāsa (cf. ḳiyās = ascertaining latitude and longitude and miḳyās = gnomon). The Arab observatories had their models and predecessors in the Persian, Indian, Greek and Babylonian observatories. Very little is known about the …

(a.), the ass. Tame ( al-ahlī) and wild ( al-waḥs̲h̲ī, al-faraʿ) are distinguished. Some of the tame asses are beasts of burden, others are ridden; many of the latter are very swift. The ass can find its way again by a road even though it has only traversed it once before; its hearing is keen and it suffers little from disease. The ass is of special importance in Persia, Syria and Egypt. Many Arabs will not ride an ass out of pride, and it is not considered proper to mention the ass by its real name in go…

, the locust. According to Damīrī there are large and small, red, yellow and white varieties; the females of the yellow are black. Ḳazwīnī distinguishes flying ( al-fāris) and hopping ( al-rād̲j̲il). They have the head of a horse, the eyes of an elephant, the neck of a bull, the horns of a mountain antelope, the breast of a lion, the body of a scorpion, the pinions of an eagle, the legs of a camel, the feet of an ostrich and the tail of a scorpion. They have six ¶ legs, two in front, two in the middle and two behind, on the latter of which are saws. Locusts follow a leader and assem…

, the censer, from d̲j̲amra, “glowing coal”, the Arabic name for the constellation of the Altar which lies south of the Scorpion (θυτήριον in Aratus, ara in Cicero, Manilius etc.) or censer (θυμιατήριον in Ptolemy, turibulum in Geminus). (J. Ruska) Bibliography al-Ḳazwīnī, ed. Wüstenfeld, i. 41 L. Ideler, Untersuchungen über den Ursprung und die Bedeutung der Sternnamen, Berlin 1809, p. 280 A. Hauber, Planetenkinderbilder und Sternbilder, Strassburg 1916, p. 193-199.

, the two lucky stars, Jupiter and Venus in contrast to the two unlucky stars ( maḥsān), Saturn and Mars. Jupiter is called the great good fortune, al-Saʿd al-akbar; whoever is born under his rule will be among the happy ones in the future life and distinguished for devoutness, fear of God, uprightness and continence. Venus is called the little good fortune, al-Saʿd al-aṣg̲h̲ar; whoever is born under Venus may expect good fortune and success in this life, in all worldly pleasures, such as food and drink and especially in all love and matrimonial affairs. (J. Ruska) Bibliography for the Greek…

(a.), the snake. When God sent the serpent on the earth, it fell on the land of Sid̲j̲istān, so that to this day there are still most snakes there. The land would be uninhabitable if large numbers were not devoured by the ʿirbadd, a large snake. There are many kinds of snake. The most notable is al-aṣala or al-ṣill; it is exceedingly large and has a human face; it said to retain the same appearance for thousands of years and can slay a man by looking at him. The kind called al-mukallala by Damīrī and al-malik by Ḳazwīnī, which has a little crown on its head, is most deadly. It burns up al…

, the son of At̲h̲(a)rī or Sāriya, a celebrated astrologer, who along with Nawbak̲h̲t fixed the day and hour for the foundation of Bag̲h̲dād by order of al-Manṣūr. According to the Fihrist, he was a Jew whose original name was Mīs̲h̲ā (a corruption of Manas̲h̲s̲h̲ī, i. e. Manasse?); whether he later adopted Islām and for this reason took the name Mās̲h̲āʾallāh is not recorded. The date of his birth is unknown, but it can hardly be later than 112 (730). He is said to have died in 200 (815). In numerous works Mās̲h̲āʾallāh covered the whole field of astrology, and also the making and …

, silver. It is nearest to gold in composition and would have become gold, if it had not been affected by cold during its formation in the interior of the earth; it is cold and dry in equal proportions. It cannot be alloyed with copper and raṣāṣ (lead or tin) but is easily separated from them. It is consumed by fire if long exposed to its action and is also decomposed in the earth in course of time. If it is affected by quick-silver vapour, it becomes brittle and breaks under the hammer. Sulphur vapour blackens it and if sulphur is thrown o…

, the (water-)snake, Arabie name of the long constellation of the Hydra, which lies in the southern heavens near the ecliptic, between the constellations of the Scales, Virgin, Lion and Crab on the one side and runs from the Centaur to Prokyon on the other. According to al-Ḳazwīnī 25 stars belong to the figure and two lie outside it. The head of the water-snake is on the southern pincers of the Crab between Prokyon ( al-S̲h̲iʿrā al-d̲j̲umaisāʾ, “Sinus the blear-eyed”) and Regulus ( Ḳalb al-Asad, “heart of the Lion”). Tbe snake twists a little southwards from these two stars and…

, the henna shrub, Lawsonia inermis L., a tall slender shrub, reaching a height of 9—12 feet, occasionally becoming practically a tree, belonging to the family of Hythrariaceae, with white clustered flowers yielding a pleasant odour and smooth, entire leaves; it is grown in congenial soil all over North Africa, Persia and India. The flowers are used to prepare fragrant essences and oils. With the powder made from the dried leaves the nails, the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet are dyed orange yellow throughout the east, in Persia also …

, mathematician, physician and philosopher, one of the greatest figures among the promoters of Arab learning in the third (ninth) century. Born in 836 (826?) at Ḥarrān, the ancient seat of the worship of the planets, he belonged to a prominent family settled there, which produced a long series of scholars. The later names in his genealogy (T̲h̲ābit b. Ḳurra b. Zahrūn [Marwān?] b. T̲h̲ābit b. Karāyā b. Mārīnūs b. Mālāg̲h̲riyūs [ΜελέαγροΣ]) take us back to a time when the Greek character of the li…

(a.) is in the first place barley flour, then also wheat flour and flour made of dried fruits, then a soup made from flour with water or a paste to which honey, oil or pomegranate syrup etc. is added. The effects of such flour dishes are discussed by al-Rāzī in his work on diet. — To revenge the battle of Badr, Abū Sufyān in Ḏh̲u ’l-Ḥid̲j̲d̲j̲a, 2 a. h., rode with a body of horsemen towards Medīna. Near the town there was some trifling skirmishing and Abū Sufyān fled as soon as Muḥammad and his followers approached. The Mekkans in their flight threw away their provisions, mainly sawīḳ, which were pic…

, constellation of good fortune, a common name in Arab astronomy for small groups of stars. They are all in the three adjoining constellations of Pegasus, Aquarius and Capricorn and usually consist of two, sometimes of three or four stars of low magnitude. Four groups form four successive stations of the moon, namely 22. Saʿd al-d̲h̲ābih = αβ in Capricorn, 23. Saʿd bulaʿ = μ ν ε in Aquarius, 24. Saʿd al-suʿūd = β ξ in Aquarius and 25. Saʿd al-ak̲h̲biya = γ ζ π η in Aquarius. A farther four belong to Pegasus: saʿd ¶ al-bahāʾim (θ ν), saʿd al-humām (ζ ξ), saʿd al-nāziʿ (λ μ) and saʿd al-maṭar (η ο). Lastly s…

, fishes. There are numerous kinds, some so long that one cannot see both ends at the same time — a ship had once to wait four months till one of these monsters had passed — but others are so small that one can hardly see them. They breathe water through the covers of their gills and do not require air in order to live: air is injurious to them all except flying-fish They are very voracious on account of the coldness of their temperament and because in them the stomach is very near the mouih. Li…

, Pisces; the more accurate name for the last sign of the Zodiac which is usually called al-Ḥūt, the fish It consists of 38 stars of which 34 belong to the constellation and four lie outside of it ( k̲h̲ārid̲j̲uhā). The two fishes are, according to the usual view, connected by a band twisted between their tails, σύνδεσμοΣ ὑπουραĩοΣ. This is called al-Ras̲h̲āʾ or is described as a thread, k̲h̲aiṭ, which connects the two fishes in its windings ( alā taʿrīd̲j̲). (J. Ruska) Bibliography al-Ḳazwīnī, ʿAd̲j̲āʾb al-Mak̲h̲lūḳāt, ed. Wüstenfeld, i. 38 transl. H. Ethé, p. 79 L. Ideler, Untersuchungen ü…

, flies, gnats, etc. There are numerous kinds; they are produced in putrescent substances, particularly the dung of animals. They have no eyelids on account of the smallness of their eyes but in compensation they have two hands with which they may constantly be seen washing their eyes. They also have a proboscis, which they stretch out when they want to lick blood and withdraw when they have sucked it all up. They hum and buzz like a reed which is blown into. They are unable to run as they have …

(a.), ambergris ( ambre gris, ambra grisea to distinguish it from ambre jaune = amber), a substance of sweet musk-like smell, easily fusible ¶ and burning with a bright flame; highly valued in the East as a perfume and as a medecine. It is found floating on the water in tropical seas, (spec, gravity 0.78—0.93), or on the shore, some-times in large lumps. Ambergris probably is a morbid secretion of the gale-bladder of the sperm-whale in whose intestines it is found. Ḳazwinī mentions is together with sulphur, asphalt, m…

(a.), the blood-red Anemone hortensis or A. conoraria, which is a native of the Mediterranean lands and nearer Asia. According to al-Ḳazwīnī, al-ʿAd̲j̲āʾib al-Mak̲h̲lūḳāt, i. 288, it is also called Ḵh̲add al-ʿAd̲h̲rāʾ, “the virgin’s cheek”, and Persian Lālah (cf. Vuller’s, Lex., ii. 1074: “any wild flower and especially the tulip and anemone”). It opens by day and closes at night and turns towards the sun. Nuʿmān b. al-Mund̲h̲ir (reigned 482-489 a. d.) is said to have said as he passed a spot covered with anemones: “any one who pulls up one of these, will have his …

, Arab, al-iksīr, also iksīr al-falāsifa, the secret means by which the alchemists believed base metals could be transmuted into silver and gold; synonymous with “the philosopher’s stone”. Although it has not yet been found in the older Greek alchemical works, it can hardly be doubted that the word is derived from the Greek ξήριον “powder for wounds”. It is frequently mentioned in the writings of Ḏj̲ābir b. Ḥaiyān edited by Berthelot. It enters the metals and permeates them like poison in a body; a s…

, Abū Bakr, chief of the stables and chief veterinary surgeon to Sulṭān al-Nāṣir b. Ḳalāūn, died 741 (1340) author of the Kāmil al-Ṣināʿatain al-Baiṭara wal-Zarṭaḳa (or Kās̲h̲if al-Wail fī Maʿrifat Amrāḍ al-Ḵh̲ail), which is called al-Nāṣirī in honour of the Sulṭān and is usually quoted by this name. M. Perron has translated it with a full introduction in a volume entitled: Le Nāċéri: la perfection des deux arts ou traité complet d’hippologie et d’hippiatrie arabes, trad, de l’arabe d’Abou Bekr Ibn Bedr. The first volume appeared in 1852, it is introductory and contains a wea…

, a drug highly esteemed in the east, consisting of pebble-like accretions, which are formed in the nodes of Bambusa arundinaria Wild. The substance is obtained, according to Ḳazwīnī (ii. 82) or Ibn Muhalhil, by burning the reed and from ancient times it has always been a valuable article of commerce which the Greeks called τάβασιΣ. (J. Ruska) Bibliography E. O. von Lippmann, Geschichte des Zuckers, Leipzig 1890, p. 76—80 B. Laufer, Sino-Iranica, Chicago 1919, p. 350—352 E. Wiedemann, Beitr., xl., p. 187 Ibn al-Baiṭār, transl. Leclerc, N. E., xxv. 1, 399—401 Seligmann, Abu Mansur Mwwaff…

, Arab, al-fīrūzad̲j̲, the turquoise, a well-known precious stone of a bright green or “mountain green”. to skyblue colour with a gloss like wax; in composition it is a hydrated clay phosphate with a small but essential proportion of copper and iron. The colour is not permanent in all stones, and is said to be particularly affected by perspiration. It is almost always cut as an ornament en cabochon i. e. with a convex upper surface; only stones with an inscription are given a flat upper surface. T…