The Role of Khalid ibn Yazid in Elixir Production during Omayyad's Era A Study of Manuscript of Khalid and Marianos Dialogue

(Mohanad Nayef Mustafa Aldajah)

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Abstract

Publicizing the bright side of Muslim Arab civilization did not receive full attention. Most examine roles of Muslims scientists' was focusing on humanitarian sciences development. This work aimed to shed light on the efforts of an Arabic scientist in developing natural sciences, Khalid ibn Yazid in chemistry, particularly in the manufacturing of gold (Elixir). The work mainly approaches the applied side of his efforts. Due to the importance of this subject and its relation and the relationship of political and scientific sides of the studied person, the study had two main sections; the first handeled the political-scientific change in Khalid's life when he was denied his right to be caliph (according to Omayyad system) and its consequences. The second section represented the applied scientific part of producing Elixir, where Khalid's true motivations to practice this science were presented. This includes his scientific methodology, his personal experience in acquiring knowledge, and his approach to establish relations with the monk Marianos to learn the work secrets. Based on his questions to Marianos, Khalid established a laboratory in his palace to transfer the theoretical science into applied science. By doing so, he shared in supporting Arabic Islamic civilization by examining a method to convert cheap raw materials to precious metals. Indeed, his work encouraged him to master many other areas such as arm manufacturing. Key Words: Gold, Precious metals, Transcripts.
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