A page from De Materia Medica in Arabic.
After becoming the capital of the Abbasid caliphate in AD 762, Baghdad grew into a great and prosperous city. Literature, art and science all flourished thanks to the wealth of the city and patronage by its rulers. This object is an ideal starting point to explore this golden age of Islamic culture and the key role of Baghdad in the development of medicine and science.
From
Possibly Baghdad, present-day Iraq
Date
AD 1224 (AH 621)
Culture
Abbasid dynasty
Material
painted on paper
Dimensions
width: 24.3 cm
height: 32.8 cm
Museum
British Museum
(Please always check with the museum that the object is on display before travelling)