House of Wisdom

House of Wisdom, worth knowing: According to Ibn Khaldun, most of the books were thrown into the Tigris in 1258. Legend adds that the river ran black with ink for days.
Source: https://muslimheritage.com/fate-of-manuscripts-iraq-elsewhere/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-1suhsxi

House of Wisdom, worth knowing: Al-Ma'mun is said to have asked the Byzantine emperor for permission to send scholars to translate books held in the empire. The emperor agreed.
Source: https://muslimheritage.com/abbasids-house-wisdom-baghdad/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-1t1xehu

House of Wisdom, worth knowing: Baghdad lost a great library long before the Mongols. In 1059 the Seljuks burnt and pillaged the House of Knowledge founded by Sabur ibn Ardashir.
Source: https://muslimheritage.com/fate-of-manuscripts-iraq-elsewhere/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-12gmcx1

House of Wisdom, worth knowing: Hunayn ibn Ishaq is said to have chosen the thickest paper for his translations and told his scribes to use big letters and wide margins.
Source: https://muslimheritage.com/abbasids-house-wisdom-baghdad/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-1wa3tut

House of Wisdom, worth knowing: It is reported that the caliph paid the translator Hunayn the weight of his translated books in gold. This is a report, not a proven fact.
Source: https://muslimheritage.com/abbasids-house-wisdom-baghdad/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-0b85ioi

House of Wisdom, worth knowing: Not every Baghdad library fell in 1258. The Nizamiya and Mustansiriya libraries were not destroyed and stayed in use much later.
Source: https://muslimheritage.com/fate-of-manuscripts-iraq-elsewhere/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-1701wnj

House of Wisdom, location: A public academy and intellectual center of the Abbasid era, also called the Grand Library of Baghdad
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-146rma6

House of Wisdom, location: Wikipedia: founded either as a library for the collections of Harun al-Rashid; origin uncertain
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-0dxuzc0

House of Wisdom, location: Muslim Heritage Foundation: founded by Harun al-Rashid (786-809)
Source: https://muslimheritage.com/house-of-wisdom/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-1d22r83

House of Wisdom, location: Sahl ibn Harun was chief librarian
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-183r1s9

House of Wisdom, status today: Also called Khizanat al-Hikma, 'Storehouse of Wisdom'
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-0c9d2pj

House of Wisdom, status today: Hunayn ibn Ishaq was the most productive translator, producing 116 works for the Arabs
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-198fuco

House of Wisdom, status today: Wikipedia: considerably declined under al-Mutawakkil after flourishing under al-Mutasim and al-Wathiq.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-1vhk4jx

House of Wisdom, reconstruction: No physical ruin of the House of Wisdom is identified. Dimitri Gutas argues that without consistent naming, a physical ruin or corroborating texts, the name may be a metaphor for the scholarly community, not a building.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-13tesc0

House of Wisdom, reconstruction: Tradition says the Mongols destroyed the House of Wisdom when they attacked Baghdad in 1258.
Source: https://muslimheritage.com/house-of-wisdom/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-16ar8us

House of Wisdom, reconstruction: A popular account says al-Ma'mun built extensions to an original book collection and turned it into a large academy, adding an observatory in 829. Gutas disputes the institution.
Source: https://muslimheritage.com/house-of-wisdom/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-0mpteoh

House of Wisdom, reconstruction: A 13th-century manuscript painting by al-Wasiti (Maqamat of al-Hariri) shows a library in Baghdad. It depicts a library, not the House of Wisdom specifically.
Source: https://muslimheritage.com/house-of-wisdom/
Evidence tier: secondary
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-0hdq4cd

House of Wisdom, reconstruction: Gutas notes that none of the Graeco-Arabic translations, including those of Hunayn ibn Ishaq, mention the House of Wisdom.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom
Evidence tier: wikipedia
Last checked: 2026-11-11
WorldLibs: https://worldlibs.pages.dev/libraries/baghdad/#f-1qai094