About the Book:During the Middle Ages, a thriving center for learning and research was Muslim Spain, where students gathered to consult Arabic manuscripts of earlier scientific works and study with famous teachers. One of these teachers was Sa’id al-Andalusi, who in 1068 wrote Kitab Tabaqat al-‘Umam, or “Book of the Categories of Nations,” which recorded the contributions to science of all known nations. Today, it is one of few surviving medieval Spanish Muslim texts, and this is its first English translation.Science (‘ulum), as used by Sa’id and other scholars of that period, is a broad term covering virtually all aspects of human knowledge. After initial discussions of the categories of nations that did or did not cultivate science, Sa’id details the specific contribution of nine nations or peoples-India, Persia, Chaldea, Greece, Rome, Egypt, the Arab Orient, al-Andalus, and the Hebrews. He includes the names of many individual scientists and scholars and describes their various contributions to knowledge, making his book a significant work of reference as well as history.Table of Contents: AcknowledgmentsSystem of TransliterationSa’id al-AndalusiIntroduction Tabaqat al-‘Umam Chapter 1. The Seven Original NationsChapter 2. The Two Categories of NationsChapter 3. Nations Having No Interest in ScienceChapter 4. Nations That Cultivated the SciencesChapter 5. Science in IndiaChapter 6. Science in PersiaChapter 7. Science of the ChaldeansChapter 8. Science in GreeceChapter 9. Science of the RomansChapter 10. Science in Egypt Chapter 11. The Arabs: General InformationChapter 12. Science in the Arab OrientChapter 13. Science in al-AndalusChapter 14. Science of Banu IsraelNotesBibliographyIndex