Ibn al-'Awwam
Encyclopedia
Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Al-Awwam Al-Ishbili, was a Hispano
-Muslim
agriculturist who flourished at Seville
about the end of the 12th century. He wrote the famous treatise on agriculture, Kitab al-fila-hah, one of the most important medieval works on the subject. It was published in Spanish and French translations.
In Al-Andalus
, Ibn al-'Awwam al-Ishbili wrote the Kitab al-Filaha which synthesized his own agricultural knowledge with that of the Nabatean Agriculture and his other Arabic predecessors
. This work was influential in Europe after it was translated into Spanish
by Banqueri in Madrid
in 1801 and into French
by Clement-Mullet in Paris
in 1864.
Ibn al'Awwam's treatise on agriculture, Kitab al-filaha, is considered by some to be the most important Muslim work in the field. The treatise divides into two main parts, the first dealing with soil
s, fertilizer
s, water
, garden
s, tree
s, fruit
s and their preservation, whilst the second deals with ploughing, the choice of seed
s, the season
s and their tasks, grain
farming, leguminous plants, small allotments, aromatic plants and industrial
plants, harvesting, farming engineering, livestock
breeding, poultry
, and the treatise ends with a section devoted to veterinary subjects.
The treatise is divided into thirty-four chapters, of which the first thirty deal with agriculture proper, and the last four with cattle
and poultry raising and apiculture. Ibn Al-Awwam's treatise covers 585 plants, and explains the cultivation of more than fifty different fruit trees, besides containing striking observations on the different kinds of soil and manure and their respective properties, on various methods of grafting, on sympathies and antipathies between plants. Ibn Al-Awwam also studies gardening, water variety, irrigation
, animal husbandry and bee keeping, the symptoms of many diseases of trees and vines are indicated, as are also methods of cure.
Hispano
Hispano may relate to:* Hispano, , the Spanish word for the inhabitants of Pre-Roman and Roman Hispania , ....
-Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
agriculturist who flourished at Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
about the end of the 12th century. He wrote the famous treatise on agriculture, Kitab al-fila-hah, one of the most important medieval works on the subject. It was published in Spanish and French translations.
Kitab al-Filaha
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
, Ibn al-'Awwam al-Ishbili wrote the Kitab al-Filaha which synthesized his own agricultural knowledge with that of the Nabatean Agriculture and his other Arabic predecessors
Muslim Agricultural Revolution
The Arab Agricultural Revolution is a term coined by the historian Andrew Watson in his influential 1974 paper postulating a fundamental transformation in agriculture from the 8th century to the 13th century in the Muslim...
. This work was influential in Europe after it was translated into Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
by Banqueri in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1801 and into French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
by Clement-Mullet in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1864.
Ibn al'Awwam's treatise on agriculture, Kitab al-filaha, is considered by some to be the most important Muslim work in the field. The treatise divides into two main parts, the first dealing with soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s, fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
s, water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s, tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s and their preservation, whilst the second deals with ploughing, the choice of seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, the season
Season
A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
s and their tasks, grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
farming, leguminous plants, small allotments, aromatic plants and industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
plants, harvesting, farming engineering, livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
breeding, poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
, and the treatise ends with a section devoted to veterinary subjects.
The treatise is divided into thirty-four chapters, of which the first thirty deal with agriculture proper, and the last four with cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
and poultry raising and apiculture. Ibn Al-Awwam's treatise covers 585 plants, and explains the cultivation of more than fifty different fruit trees, besides containing striking observations on the different kinds of soil and manure and their respective properties, on various methods of grafting, on sympathies and antipathies between plants. Ibn Al-Awwam also studies gardening, water variety, irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
, animal husbandry and bee keeping, the symptoms of many diseases of trees and vines are indicated, as are also methods of cure.