Science and technology in Iran

Science in Persia evolved in two main phases separated by the arrival and widespread adoption of Islam in the region. References to scientific subjects such as natural science and mathematics occur in books written in the Pahlavi languages. Ancient technology in Iran The Qanat (a water management system used for irrigation) originated in pre-Achaemenid Iran. The oldest and largest known qanat is in the Iranian city of Gonabad, which, after 2,700 years, still provides drinking and agricultural water to nearly 40,000 people. Iranian philosophers and inventors may have created the first batteries (sometimes known as the Baghdad Battery) in the Parthian or Sasanian eras. Some have suggested that the batteries may have been used medicinally. Other scientists believe the batteries were used for electroplating—transferring a thin layer of metal to another metal surface—a technique still used today and the focus of a common classroom experiment. However, due to the absence of electrodes on the exterior of the pot, and the lack of records of electroplating at the time, most archaeologists believe it is not a battery, and is more likely a ritual or storage object. Windwheels were developed by the Babylonians to pump water for irrigation. The horizontal or panemone windmill first appeared in Greater Iran during the 9th century. Mathematics 's Depiction of Celestial Constellations \begin{matrix} &&&&&1\\ &&&&1&&1\\ &&&1&&2&&1\\ &&1&&3&&3&&1\\ &1&&4&&6&&4&&1 \end{matrix} The first five rows of Khayam-Pascal's triangle The 9th century mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi founded algebra and expanded upon Persian and Indian arithmetic systems. His writings were translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona under the title: De jebra et almucabola. Robert of Chester also translated it under the title Liber algebras et almucabala. The works of Kharazmi "exercised a profound influence on the development of mathematical thought in the medieval West". The Banū Mūsā brothers ("Sons of Moses"), namely Abū Jaʿfar, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (before 803 February 873), Abū al‐Qāsim, Aḥmad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (d. 9th century) and Al-Ḥasan ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (d. 9th century), were three 9th-century Persian scholars who lived and worked in Baghdad. They are known for their Book of Ingenious Devices on automata and mechanical devices and their Book on the Measurement of Plane and Spherical Figures. Other Iranian scientists included Abu Abbas Fazl Hatam, Farahani, Omar Ibn Farakhan, Abu Zeid Ahmad Ibn Soheil Balkhi (9th century AD), Abul Vafa Bouzjani, Abu Jaafar Khan, Bijan Ibn Rostam Kouhi, Ahmad Ibn Abdul Jalil Qomi, Bu Nasr Araghi, Abu Reyhan Birooni, the noted Iranian poet Hakim Omar Khayyam Neishaburi, Qatan Marvazi, Massoudi Ghaznavi (13th century AD), Khajeh Nassireddin Tusi, and Ghiasseddin Jamshidi Kashani. Medicine The hospital system was developed in Sassanian Iran; for example, the Academy of Gundishapur was influential on the ideals and traditions of hospitals in the Mohammedan period. '' by Avicenna Several documents still exist from which the definitions and treatments of the headache in medieval Persia can be ascertained. These documents give detailed and precise clinical information on the different types of headaches. The medieval physicians listed various signs and symptoms, apparent causes, and hygienic and dietary rules for prevention of headaches. The medieval writings are both accurate and vivid, and they provide long lists of substances used in the treatment of headaches. Many of the approaches of physicians in medieval Persia are accepted today; however, still more of them could be of use to modern medicine. During the 7th century the Achaemenian dynasty was the major advocate of science. Documents indicate that condemned criminals' bodies were dissected and used for medical research during this timeframe In due course, Persians' methods of gathering scientific information would undergo a major change. In the aftermath of the conquest of Islam, Muslim armies destroyed major libraries, and as a result, Persian scholars were deeply concerned as knowledge of the fields of science had been lost. Persians also prohibited the use of human anatomical dissection by Muslim medical practitioners for social and religious reasons. Although largely mythical in content, the passage illustrates working knowledge of anesthesia in ancient Persia. Later in the 10th century, Abu Bakr Muhammad Bin Zakaria Razi is considered the founder of practical physics and the inventor of the special or net weight of matter. His student, Abu Bakr Joveini, wrote the first comprehensive medical book in the Persian language. After the Islamic conquest of Iran, medicine continued to flourish with the rise of notables such as Rhazes and Haly Abbas, albeit Baghdad was the new cosmopolitan inheritor of Sassanid Jundishapur's medical academy. Rhaze noted that different diseases might have similar signs and symptoms, which highlights Rhazes' contribution to applied neuroanatomy. The differential diagnosis approach is still used in modern medicine. His music therapy was used as a means of promoting healing and he was one of the first people to realize that diet influences the function of the body and the predisposition to disease The website of Urmia University credits Cochran for "lowering the infant mortality rate in the region" and for founding one of Iran's first modern hospitals (Westminster Hospital) in Urmia. Iran started contributing to modern medical research late in 20th century. Most publications were from pharmacology and pharmacy labs located at a few top universities, most notably Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Ahmad Reza Dehpour and Abbas Shafiee were among the most prolific scientists in that era. Research programs in immunology, parasitology, pathology, medical genetics, and public health were also established in late 20th century. In 21st century, we witnessed a huge surge in the number of publications in medical journals by Iranian scientists on nearly all areas in basic and clinical medicine. Interdisciplinary research were introduced during 2000s and dual degree programs including Medicine/Science, Medicine/Engineering and Medicine/Public health programs were founded. Alireza Mashaghi was one of the main figures behind the development of interdisciplinary research and education in Iran. Astronomy In 1000 AD, Biruni wrote an astronomical encyclopaedia that discussed the possibility that the earth might revolve around the sun. This was before Tycho Brahe drew the first maps of the sky, using stylized animals to depict the constellations. In the tenth century, the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi recorded the first known reference to the Andromeda galaxy, which he called a "little cloud". In 830, the Persian mathematician al-Khwarizmi wrote the first major work of Muslim astronomy. In addition to presenting tables covering the movements of the Sun, Moon and the five planets, Ptolemaic concepts were introduced into Islamic science through this work. Biology Abu Hanifa Dinawari is considered the founder of Arabic botany for his Kitab al-Nabat (Book of Plants), which consisted of six volumes. Only the third and fifth volumes have survived, though the sixth volume has partly been reconstructed based on citations from later works. In the surviving portions of his works, 637 plants are described from the letters sin to ya. He describes the phases of plant growth and the production of flowers and fruit. Medieval Islamic agronomists including Ibn Bassal and Abū l-Khayr described agricultural and horticultural techniques including how to propagate the olive and the date palm, crop rotation of flax with wheat or barley, and companion planting of grape and olive. Chemistry The authors of the alchemical texts (c. 850−950) attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan pioneered the chemical use of vegetable and animal substances, which at the time represented an innovative shift towards organic chemistry. One of the innovations in Jabirian alchemy was the addition of sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride) to the category of chemical substances known as 'spirits' (i.e., strongly volatile substances). This included both naturally occurring sal ammoniac and synthetic ammonium chloride as produced from organic substances, and so the addition of sal ammoniac to the list of 'spirits' is likely a product of the new focus on organic chemistry. Since the word for sal ammoniac used in the Jabirian corpus (nūshādhir) is Iranian in origin, it has been suggested that the direct precursors of Jabirian alchemy may have been active in the Hellenizing and Syriacizing schools of the Sasanian Empire. The Persian alchemist and physician Abu Bakr al-Razi (c. 865–925) conducted experiments with the heating of sal ammoniac, vitriol, and other salts, which would eventually lead to the discovery of mineral acids by thirteenth century Latin alchemists such as pseudo-Geber. Physics 's autograph manuscript in Optics, Tanqih al-Manazir, 1309 A.D., Adilnor Collection Kamal al-Din Al-Farisi (1267–1318) born in Tabriz, Iran, is known for giving the first mathematically satisfactory (though incorrect) explanation of the rainbow, and an explication of the nature of colours that reformed the theory of Ibn al-Haytham. Al-Farisi also "proposed a model where the ray of light from the sun was refracted twice by a water droplet, one or more reflections occurring between the two refractions." He tested this through experimentation using a transparent sphere filled with water. Persian Philosophy Ancient Greek, Roman, and medieval European sources refer to the ancient Iranians during the Achaemenid period and earlier (even to Zoroaster himself) as teachers of astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, physics, and other sciences in their time (a similar connection between "knowledge" and "Persia" can be observed in the Christian story of the "Three Wise Men" and also in the famous prophetic hadith that "if knowledge is in the Pleiades, men from Persia will reach it"). Suhrawardi traces the antiquity of wisdom and philosophy, as well as the school of Illumination, back to the Kayanian era (Achaemenids). Henry Corbin believed that Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai and Ashtiyani continued the same divine wisdom that has remained unextinguished in Iran from ancient times to the present. According to Corbin, Iranian thought is the guardian and preserver of a heritage that transcends a limited national perspective, acting as a spiritual universe where guests and pilgrims from other places are welcomed and hosted. Corbin deeply believed that Iranian-Islamic wisdom is imperishable and often spoke of the "imperishable potential of the Iranian spirit". Governance Method and Science One of the earliest systematic censuses in world history was conducted during the early Achaemenid period, up until the reign of Darius The Great in Ancient Iran. This census, aimed at financial planning, military organization, bureaucratic needs and tax collection, spanned regions across three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. It included data on population numbers, the wealth of cities and provinces (Satrapies), precise assessments of agricultural lands, the resources of each region, and other factors critical to determining state finances and planning for governance and military operations. == Science policy ==