Page from a Scientific Treatise

This miniature painting is probably a leaf from an Egyptian copy of the Materia Medica originally commissioned for a Mamluk library. The medieval Islamic world made invaluable contributions to astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. Control of the trade links to India and China gave Middle Eastern kingdoms access to Far Eastern and southern Asian technology and knowledge. This, combined with their citizens' respect for literature, including that of the classical world, helped make many Islamic capitals centers of intellectual achievement. This text indicates the interest that Mamluk aristocracy had in scientific, as well as in literary and religious, manuscripts.