#house of wisdom

[ophierian-vp]

[ahb-writes]

Hi! I am not sure if this is the right way to do an ask, and I am not sure if you are the right person to ask, but in my worldbuilding, I am primarily basing my world off of an extrapolation of medieval alchemy.

Medieval alchemy is highly based off of works of arabic alchemists, and so on the one hand, I would like to incorporate arabic into my naming convention for vehicles (I am not worrying about characters yet).

On the other hand, I am an american with very little if any connection to cultures which use arabic, and I don't want to unwittingly stumble into a situation where I misuse the language and it becomes a source of problems for me or other people later. I have felt comfortable using greek and latin in naming convention because of their well-known connections to scientific naming schemes and alchemy.

I don't want to inadvertently offend anyone with my setting's design, but the language looks cool, and seems like it would fit really well given my setting's ties, is this something where sufficient research can help me do it properly? Is it something I should avoid to make sure that I am not offending anyone?

Again, apologies if you aren't the right person to ask or this isn't the right way to do an ask.

For clarity and direction on how to model and shape your worldbuilding efforts from a perspective of cultural sensitivity, you may consider consulting the fine folks over at Writing With Color; @writingwithcolor; who have assembled a delightful "general topics" masterpost that includes sections on worldbuilding and character building (creation and culture).

As for borrowing and adjusting naming conventions of other languages, never apologize for curiosity. Sometimes, we simply don't know something is mistake until we ask ourselves, "Wait, is this a mistake?"

To start, Islamic researchers, scientists, academics, and thinkers formed the foundation of what much of the world considers to be "modern" mathematics, astronomy, geography, linguistic scholarship and language translation, medicine, poetry, and more. It's easy and tempting to segregate different historical cultures or regions as we go back in time, but the truth is that it's all intertwined and mixed up (fun fact: We all use Arabic. It's just that most of us don't know it.). Arabic contributions to the Spanish language in particular? That's a serious rabbit hole of research. Global influence of Islamic architecture? Highly fascinating, and research that fills several peer-reviewed journals, textbooks, and dictionaries. Old libraries? Check out the history surrounding the House of Wisdom, also known as the Grand Library of Baghdad (destroyed in 1258 CE), for one of many examples.

I begin with this exploration of cultural mesh because when building a fantasy world that includes glimpses, touches, or influences from known historical periods, you have to dig around to know from where (or what) you're starting. You can't create something new and firm if you don't first have a solid idea of where you're starting from.

In the case of a fantasy environment that focuses on alchemy, with elements from the Arabic language and ostensibly from historical Islamic scientists, consider narrowing your focus those areas of study that will most heavily influence your story.

Curious about intellectual movements? Science? Medicine? A deep-dive into the Arabic Enlightenment may help (The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance by Jim al-Khalili; The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization by Jonathan Lyons). Art and natural science? Search for resources that offer a passing glance on the origins of science in medieval Islam (Science in Medieval Islam: An Illustrated Introduction by Howard Turner).

The point is to take a few steps back, before you take a few steps forward. You can get around not knowing the language, and you can circumnavigate your lack of firsthand experience with a culture, by deepening your knowledge of the language's origin and of the culture's most essential inflection points.

But it's all connected (e.g., I've worked my way through dozens of sources of medieval combat and warfare, and the same is true of arms, armor, and fortifications). Ultimately, you have to find your starting point (and stick to it). It's a lot of work, I know. But you don't have to read whole books. For example, you can try snagging a .pdf, and then read only two or three chapters, since those areas are the most relevant to your research needs (e.g., al-Khalili's book has chapters called, "The Lonely Alchemist," "Big Science," and "The Physicist," and Turner's book has a chapter on alchemy, plus separate chapters on astronomy and non-scientific astrology).

By understanding the foundation for the disciplines you use and the foundational cultures from which you take inspiration and influence: your language choices will be more accurately-sourced; your worldbuilding choices will be more detailed and lived-in; and your framing and contextualizing of these terms and influences will be more realistic and consistent.

[ancientstuff]

These ancient Arab scientists have long deserved to be much more widely known. It's shameful how little we know about them in the Western world. Thank the Crusades, among other reasons.

[shakir2]

Baitul-Hikmah [House of Wisdom] of Baghdad  

The heyday of Baghdad was 1,200 years ago when it was the thriving capital of the Muslim civilization. For about 500 years, the city boasted the cream of intellectuals and culture, a reputation gained during the reigns of some of its most famous Caliphs (Al-Rashid, Al-Ma’mun, Al-Mu’tadhid, and Al-Muktafi).   As one of the world’s biggest and wealthiest cities at the time, Baghdad had amassed…

[rivage-seulm]

Islam as Progressive, Reformed Christianity: 10 Reasons We Don’t See That

Islam as Progressive, Reformed Christianity: 10 Reasons We Don’t See That

Living here in Spain, for the last few months has given me a new appreciation of Islam. As some might remember, my wife, Peggy, and I are here with our daughter, son-in-law, and their five children (ages 3-14). We plan to stay till the end of June.   Our rented apartment stands in Granada’s historic Albaicin district overlooking the 10th century Islamic walled city, the Alhambra. Right next to…

[the-railroad-earth]

13th-century Arabic translation of De Materia Medica.

The Translation Movement started in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad and lasted for over two centuries. Over a century and a half, primarily Middle Eastern Oriental Syriac Christian scholars translated all scientific and philosophic Greek texts into Arabic language in the House of Wisdom.

[thestuffedalligator]

They just. Never explained Hooty’s deal, huh.

He’s the Owl and the House of the Owl House. He has a pair of Baba Yaga hut legs. He can detach himself and fit in a backpack. The series finale revealed that God has a Hooty in their eye. His first word was hoot. His second word was hoot hoot. I know nothing else about him.

[triangular-eye]

astrology observations

🌟🪐🌘

- aquarius ascendants are the type of people you can never figure out. if you think you have, they are mirroring you. these people feel limited when being put in a box, they don’t like to be perceived in a specific way or have labels put upon them.

- libra moons tend to give out a lot of hot and cold behaviour, especially if they feel trapped or are in a period of indecision.

- pisces sun people are extremely emotionally stable and know how to handle an emotionally tense situation. they welcome all the feelings and recognise them one by one, then introduce logic. they like to problem solve emotionally tense situations.

- people with asteroid child (4580) on a close conjuct with their sun are people who always have the ‘childish joy for life’. they perceive life through the lens of fun and tend to have a natural tendency to detach from everything they’re faced with. they might carry some deep trauma from their childhood and tend to never ‘properly mature’.

- aries ascendants tend to always have a lot of energy in social situations, natural extroverts if you may.

- taurus moons feel loved when gifted money or food. i know someone with this placement that told me that they don’t care about the person they’re dating, as long as they are financially benefiting from this connection.

- those with asteroid wisdom (8402) landing in their 12th house hold a lot of answers in their subconscious. they feel as though their own memory blocks them from accessing the answers they need, and they may need to look into their past lives for answers.

- uranus retrograde natives tend to feel as though whenever something good is going on in their lives, it will crumble soon. they have a constant chronic uncertainty about the near future and the temperaments of the energies, may struggle with general anxiety.

- scorpio moon natives tend to take matters into their own hands whenever faced with tension in a connection, they ‘destruct’ the situation and try to get to the bottom of what created the uncertainty (the tower card). they want to make sure whatever is being built, is being built on a very strong foundation.

- natives with sun in opposition to the moon in their charts struggle to access their emotions when they are fully feeling like themselves. they feel as though their emotions are what hold them back from achieving their best self (unfortunately:’( u guys need a hug)

- taurus suns tend to have a larger belly or a larger appetite, might be very fertile (the empress card - her being pregnant)

- natives with pluto retrograde tend to have to take matters into their own hands in regards to fixing family dynamics. “the family fixer”, the “eldest daughter” stereotype, a lot of shadow work and trauma healing, feeling victimised in life and with circumstances.

[houseofheroesau]

A quick doodle dump as I recover from my illness and battle art block.

[jeemoluniverse]

Sharjah and the House of Wisdom

Sharjah and the House of Wisdom

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

This is the start of something new

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[ophierian-vp]

[rongzhi]

Waking up after anesthesia

English added by me :)

[thatratgo]

Nat 1 perception check.

[theascendedpath]

Make an attempt to connect with yourself every day. These times desperately call for it. They call for us to deepen our connection to our soul and body. Whether that be meditation, breathwork, yoga, journaling, or creating from the heart. Do whatever activity or practice that brings you back to the deeper parts of yourself, to the aspect of you that is divine, because that's where the true treasures lie. At first, it might seem like nothing is there or nothing is happening, but as the days go by, you'll start to see the gold and beautiful gift that you are. And when you divinely realize what you are, you'll begin to see the same in everything you come across on your path throughout existence.

[orlaite]

So meshed in nerves and hesitation, it could not be a thing to be afraid of; yet it was a real beast, and this book its mangy skin, dried, stuffed and set up squarely for men to stare at.

T.E Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom + David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia