Most historians of science believe that the science of alchemy and
chemistry started and developed principally in the Nile Valley, and that it was
practised in Syria, Mesopotamia and Persia. Stapleton advanced the idea that
the origin of alchemy is to be traced to Syria (especially Harran), Mesopotamia
and Persia, rather than Egypt. He suggested that Syrian refugees from the
Persian invasion had carried their ideology and technique into Egypt and
practised alchemy there using the Greek language; and this is how Egyptian
alchemy had originated according to him.
Alchemy became a prominent science in Alexandria in the early year of
the CE. The language of culture in Egypt wa Greek and most alchemical treatises
that were translated into Arabic were from Greek, yet it was Egyptian alchemy
and it will be misleading to describe it otherwi e. The majority of the
inhabitants of Alexandria and the other citie in Egypt were Egyptians, with
small communitie of Syrian and Greek. The Egyptian industrial skills in
metallurgy, dying and gla -making 'VI ere combined with the Syrian, Babylonian
and Greek philo ophical contemplations in formulating the science of alchem .
It i of great significance to know that the most important Greek alchemical
treati e were found in Upper Egypt and that Zosimu wa a nati\'e of khmim in
that pan of Egypt. 4 During the fir t centurie C there exi led in Eg pt everal Gnostic
group, and philosophy degenerated unto I-lerm tic pirituali m and beliefs in
magic and hidden power .
We find in the writings of early Arabic alchemists many quotations attributed
to pre-Islamic persons and there are several Arabic alchemical treatises
attributed to them. These works were the subject of research by historians of
science who concluded that most of these works were attributed to pseudo
authors. These pseudo authors included Hermes, Iflatun (Plato), Aristo (Aristotle),
Pythagoras, Agathodaimon, Ostanes, Hiraql (Heraklius, Byzantine emperor,
610-41), Cleopatra, Mary, Zosimos, Isis, Krates, Markos, Jamasp, Furfuriyus and
many others. They came from Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, Greece and Asia
Minor. Sezgin gave a list of the Arabic treatises attributed to each of these pseudo
authors. It is probable that these works were written before Islam and were
translated into Arabic from Greek or Syriac. Stapleton,5 Sezgin and others are
of this opinion. Other historians are of the opinion that these works were
written by pseudo-Arabic authors after Islam. However, whether these
pseudo-alchemical works are pre-Islamic or Islamic, they are a chief source for
Arabic alchemy. Most of the Greek and Syriac originals of these works are lost
and very scanty fragments have survived. Of these fragments is a Greek text
attributed to the Hellenized Egyptian alchemist Bolos of Mende. (Mende is now
called Tall al-Rab'a in the Egyptian Delta.) The treatise is called Physica et
mystica ('Natural and Mystical Things'), a 1cind of recipe book for dyeing and colouring,
but principally for the making of gold and silver. Other alchemical texts, mostly
recipes written on papyrus and going back to 300 CE were found in a cemetery in
Luxor in Upper Egypt. 6 These papyri are distributed between Leiden and
Stockholm. However, the most important alchemical extant texts are those
attributed to the Egyptian alchemist Zosimus, a native of Akhmim in Upper Egypt
who probably lived between 350 and 420 CE. Zosimus had compiled the works
preceding him and he mentions the names of several pseudo authors such as
Hennes, Ostanes and Mary. Because of the scarcity of Greek texts and the
abundance of Arabic ones, the main sources for the study of pre-Islamic alchemy
are Arabic. Again, since most Western historians of science are not familiar
with Arabic, the serious study of pre-Islamic alchemy remains deficient.
The works attributed to Hermes are one important source for Arabic alchemy,
and his name became linked to it. His fame reached the Latin West after the
translation of the Arabic works attributed to him. Be is called in Arabic
"Hermes al-Muthallath bi al-Hikma" which means Bermes the thrice endowed
with Philosophy. Hikma or philosophy indicates here the great Art of alchemy.
Latin name Trismegistus is a translation from Arabic. One of the important
texts attributed to Hennes is the Tabula Smaragdina that was translated into Latin
from Arabic in the twelfth century. Apollonius of Tyana gave this very short
text of few sentences at the end of his book The Secret of Creation. Jabir Ibn
Hayyan cited this text also in one or more of his works. The short text of
Tabula Smaragdina occupied a prominent place in the alchemical literature of
the Latin West. About Bennes Trismegistus (of the Triple Wisdom) Arabic sources
say that the first Hermes was the Prophet Idris (the Biblical Enoch) who preceded
the Flood and built the pyramids of Egypt. Hennes the second was from Babylon,
he lived in Mesopotamia after the Flood, and he had given life to sciences.
Hermes the third lived in Egypt after the Flood and he developed several
sciences and crafts. These three personalities of Hennes combined are the
source of alchemy, astronomy, astrology, philosophy and the remaining sciences.
7 Balinas, or Apollonius of Tyana 8 helped in spreading the alchemy of Bermes
in his book Sirr al-Khaliqa (The Secret ofCreation). Most historians of science
and chemistry believe that the alchemy of India and China did not exert any
significant influence on the de elopement of alchemy and chemistry in the
western half of the ancient world. They believe that chemistry and alchemy,
like other ciences, started in ancient Babylonia and Egypt, and they continued
their historical development within the western half of the ancient world until
the rise of modern science. (Al-Hassan, 2009)
Bibliograpgy
Al-Hassan, A. Y. (2009). Studies
in al-Kimya': Critical Issues in Latin and Arabic Alchemy and Chemistry.
Hilde heim . Zurich, New York: Georg Olms Verlag.
