gems, Arabic mineralogy

This anthology brings together a selection of texts that vividly illustrate the profound impact of Greek civilization on Islamic culture, highlighting both the extent of Muslim engagement with classical antiquity and the diverse ways in which Greek ideas shaped subsequent Islamic thought. Curated by Professor Franz Rosenthal, a leading authority on Islamic studies, the collection includes literal translations of Greek works, paraphrases, commentaries, adaptations, and original Islamic elaborations on Greek concepts. Spanning various historical periods and covering a wide range of disciplines—such as scientific methodology, philosophy, physics, medicine, geography, astronomy, musicology, and the occult sciences—the anthology also explores Greek influence on the arts and belles lettres in the Islamic world. In his insightful introduction, Rosenthal underscores the significance of Islam’s encounter with the classical heritage, portraying it as the starting point of a new and remarkably productive chapter in the history of human civilization. First published in 1965 in German under the title “Das Fortleben der Antike im Islam.”