Mohammad Yazdi (Author)
Earth Sciences History: Journal of the History of the Earth Sciences Society
Volume: 40
Issue: 2
Pages: 566-580
Iran is home to some of the world’s earliest civilizations. The Ashkanian dynasty (550-330 BCE) unified Iran as a superpower empire. It was the largest empire yet seen and the first world empire where the Great Cyrus ruled from the Balkans to North Africa and Central Asia. Subsequently, Iran was invaded by the Macedonians, Arabs, Turks and the Mongolians over the course of its history. During those times, Iran lost much of its territory until a reduced Iran was formed in the nineteenth century CE. Despite the invasions, Iran did not lose its heritage from its previous civilizations, but rather incorporated aspects of the new civilizations into its cultural fabric. Iran has always played an effective role in the natural sciences, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, philosophy and also in mineralogy and gemology. At times, Iran was at the forefront of science and technology, including mineralogy and gemology, which went through stages of development. The first and second stages occurred before and after the introduction of Islam, respectively. More than 30 books were written about minerals and gems during the ancient and Islamic Iranian periods. Those books can be classified into three main groups where the first group included accounts of precious stones, minerals, gems and metals. The second group of books focused on natural history, chemistry and precious stones. The third group of books discussed medicine, pharma-chemistry and medical properties of minerals. The most famous texts were written by early Iranian scientists such as Avicenna, Biruni, Jabir Ibn Hayan, Kandi and Razi. Iran’s role at the forefront of science and technology (including mineralogy and gemology) declined after the collapse of the Safavid dynasty (1501–1736 CE). But recently, during the past 50 years, Iran has made considerable advances in science and technology through education, training and research. This will open a new age of development for Iran in the twentyfirst century in science and technology as well as in mineralogy and gemology
...MoreSimilar Citations
Book
Thomasset, Claude;
Ducos, Joëlle;
Chambon, Jean-Pierre;
(2010)
Aux origines de la géologie de l'Antiquité au Moyen Âge
(/isis/citation/CBB001023268/)
Article
Isabel Barton;
(2022)
Mining, alchemy, and the changing concept of minerals from antiquity to early modernity
(/isis/citation/CBB224295091/)
Book
Annibale Mottana;
(2023)
"Faville vive". Le pietre preziose e non preziose nella Commedia di Dante in rapporto ai testi medievali in prosa e poesia a lui vicini
(/isis/citation/CBB220665011/)
Chapter
Giuseppina Ferriello;
(2015)
La diffusione della meccanica di Erone in ambito iranico
(/isis/citation/CBB462889172/)
Book
Paolo Delaini;
(2013)
Medicina del corpo, medicina dell'anima: la circolazione delle conoscenze medico-filosofiche nell'Iran sasanide
(/isis/citation/CBB522422005/)
Chapter
Baffioni, Carmela;
(2010)
La science des pierres précieuses dans l'Épître des Ikhwān al Ṣafā': entre les catalogues encyclopédiques et le commentaire philosophique
(/isis/citation/CBB001023317/)
Article
Hejazi, Mehrdad;
(2009)
Sacred Geometry in Nature and Persian Architecture
(/isis/citation/CBB001510397/)
Book
Pingree, David;
(2009)
Eastern Astrolabes
(/isis/citation/CBB001021241/)
Chapter
Baffioni, Carmela;
(2008)
The Religious Approach to Natural Sciences: The Case of Mineralogy in the Ikhwān al-Ṣafa' and in Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Kirmānī
(/isis/citation/CBB000900195/)
Book
Paolo Vingo (de);
(2021)
Piemonte archeo-minerario: Miniere e opifici da risorsa strategica a patrimonio storico-ambientale
(/isis/citation/CBB915241407/)
Chapter
Paolo Vingo (de);
(2021)
Il programma «Piemonte archeo-minerario»: miniere e opifici da risorsa strategica a patrimonio storico-ambientale
(/isis/citation/CBB861242855/)
Chapter
Nobis, Heribert M.;
Fritscher, Bernhard;
(2002)
Mittelalterlich-scholastiche Wurzeln der Mineralogie Georgius Agricolas. Ein Beitrag zur Geistesgeschichte der Geowissenschaften der frühen Neuzeit
(/isis/citation/CBB000773742/)
Article
Díaz-Guerra, David Pasero;
(2017)
El Lapidario cristiano del códice &-II-16 de la Real Biblioteca de El Escorial: edición del texto
(/isis/citation/CBB656211094/)
Article
Black, Winston;
(2006)
Henry of Huntingdon's Lapidary Rediscovered and His Anglicanus Ortus Reassembled
(/isis/citation/CBB001021549/)
Book
Marco Ciardi;
Raffaele Cataldi;
(2005)
Il calore della Terra. Contributo alla Storia della Geotermia in Italia
(/isis/citation/CBB126003543/)
Book
Vito Rovigo;
(2016)
Il fiume, le terre, l’immaginario. L’Adige come fenomeno storiografico complesso
(/isis/citation/CBB661048611/)
Article
Vittorio Iammarino;
(2019)
I derivati degli scisti bituminosi nella pratica medica
(/isis/citation/CBB725460240/)
Chapter
Zakeri, Mohsen;
(2008)
The Reception of Aristotle's Meteorologia in the Persian World: Isfizārī's Meteorology
(/isis/citation/CBB001022269/)
Book
Carlos Fraenkel;
(2012)
Philosophical Religions from Plato to Spinoza: Reason, Religion, and Autonomy
(/isis/citation/CBB712280521/)
Book
Brummelen, Glen Van;
(2009)
The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth: The Early History of Trigonometry
(/isis/citation/CBB000950326/)
Be the first to comment!