Al-Jildaki

ʿIzz al-Dīn Aydamir al-Jildakī (Arabic: عز الدين الجلدكي), also written al-Jaldakī (d. 1342 CE / 743 AH) was an Egyptian[1] alchemist from the 14th century Mamluk Sultanate.

Al-Jildaki, Demonstration of secrets of the balance.

Life

Despite being one of the most important Islamic scholars of the 14th century, almost nothing is known about his early life.[2]

Al-Jildaki was probably born in Egypt into a family of Turkic Mamluk origin.[3] In his writings he reveals that he spent seventeen years traveling through Iraq, Anatolia, Yemen, North Africa, and Syria

Based on a speculative vocalization of his Nisba as "al-Jaldaki ", some 20th century writers like Henry Corbin suggested that he was originally from Jaldak, a town in Khorasan before emigrating to Egypt.[4][5] Nicholas G. Harris has criticized this theory noting that it was never mentioned in any pre-modern source before.[6] Instead, he notes that all the biographical information known about him –like his Turkic name "Aydamir", places of residence and native language – would make sense only when set against a Mamluk background.[7] Harris further notes that the name "Jildak" and its derivative Nisba "Al-Jildaki" are attested Turkic names, especially among Mamluk amirs.[8]

Al-Jildaki was one of the last and one of the greatest of medieval Islamic alchemists, he was the author of scientific works such as the al-Misbah fi Ilm al-Miftah (المصباح فی علم المفتاح, Key of the Sciences of Lights) and alchemical treatise Kitab al-Burhan fi asrar 'ilm al-mizan (کتاب البرهان فی اسرار علم المیزان, The Proof Regarding Secrets of the Science of the Balance).[9]

He was a prolific author of alchemical writings, of which the United States National Library of Medicine has three. His treatises, which reflect interests much broader than simply alchemy, preserve extensive quotations from earlier authors.

He died in Cairo in 1342.

References
  1. Harris, Nicholas G. (13 September 2017). "In Search of ʿIzz al-Dīn Aydamir al-Ǧildakī, Mamlūk Alchemist". Arabica. 64 (3–4): 531–556. doi:10.1163/15700585-12341460.
  2. Holmyard, Eric John (1937). "Aidamir al-Jildakī". Iraq. 4 (1): 47–53. doi:10.2307/4241604. ISSN 0021-0889. JSTOR 4241604. S2CID 163725755.
  3. Forster, Regula; Müller, Juliane (1 December 2019). "al-Jildakī". Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE.
  4. Corbin, Henry (2014). History of Islamic Philosophy. Routledge. p. 331. ISBN 9781135198893. Aydamur al-Jaldaki (the correct vocalization is not Jildaki) was an Iranian from Jaldak, a town about eighteen kilometres away from Mashhad in Khurāsān.
  5. Harris, Nicholas. "In Search of 'Izz al-Dīn Aydemir al-Ǧildakī, Mamlūk Alchemist". Arabica. "Lastly, answering the third question requires us to revisit the position of Henry Corbin who pegged al-Jildaki as an Iranian emigre to the Mamluk domains."
  6. Harris, Nicholas. "In Search of 'Izz al-Dīn Aydemir al-Ǧildakī, Mamlūk Alchemist". Arabica. "Otherwise, apart from this one putative instance, "al-Jaldaki as a name element denoting an origin from the village of Jaldak does not exist in any pre-modern source."
  7. Harris, Nicholas. "In Search of 'Izz al-Dīn Aydemir al-Ǧildakī, Mamlūk Alchemist". Arabica. "If al-Jildaki had been a native of a town outside of Mashad, born shortly after the turn of the 14th century, we would expect him to be a Persian speaker, born and raised in a village inside Ilkhanid controlled territory. Nowhere in his many works is there so much as a hint that al-Jildaki read or understood Persian (or Turkish, for that matter); his works are all in Arabic, and the works on which he commented were all in Arabic. His first name, Aydemir, is also a problem. Aydemir is an archly Turkic name."
  8. Harris, Nicholas. "In Search of 'Izz al-Dīn Aydemir al-Ǧildakī, Mamlūk Alchemist". Arabica. "Thus, the nisba al-Jildaki for a Mamluk means that he was purchased and/or manumitted by a master whose name was Jildak. Jildak is an uncommon but attested Turkic name, especially among Mamluk amirs."
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2010-05-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Sources

This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine (), which is in the public domain.

  • C. Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur, 1st edition, 2 vols. (Leiden: Brill, 1889–1936). Second edition, 2 vols. (Leiden: Brill, 1943–49). Page references will be to those of the first edition, with the 2nd edition page numbers given in parentheses, vol. 2, p. 138-9 (173-5)
  • Corbin, Henry (2014). History of Islamic Philosophy. Routledge. pp. 331–332. ISBN 9781135198893.


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