Studies in Medieval Islamic Technology: From Philo to al-Jazari – from Alexandria to Diyar Bakr (Variorum Collected Studies) - Hardcover

'For those interested in Islamic technology and engineering there is one person whose name is synonymous with research in this field...This volume not only gives due prominence to Hill's rich work, but will also serve as a useful tool for anybody interested in technology and engineering and facilitate access to an important aspect of the Islamic civilization.' Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences, Vol. 49, No. 2, No. 142 'Besides being a precious testimony ot the multifaceted work of a major historian of Islamic technology, these articles can be recommended to anybody interested in the history of medieval science and technology.' Mesa Bulletin '... this fine collection of articles should enrich the education of anyone who has the slightest interest in issues dealing with the history of technology from ancient times to the Renaissance.' Technology and Culture

These studies represent the major contributions to the history of Islamic technology during the second half of the 20th century beside Donald Hill’s separate publications on the mechanical devices of Pseudo-Apollonios, the Banu Musa and al-Jazari. A gifted linguist who was trained as a historian of Islamic civilisation, and also a professional engineer, Hill achieved his goal of setting his subject on a solid basis. The papers reprinted here include his early studies of the trebuchet and the camel and horse, several overviews of different aspects of Islamic technology, articles on specific topics such as the Cairo Nilometer and al-Biruni’s geared luni-solar device, and the first notice of an extremely important Andalusian treatise on mechanical devices discovered in 1975.