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Ibn Bassal ( ar, ابن بصال) was an 11th-century Andalusian
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
and
agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...
in Toledo and
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
who wrote about
horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
and
arboriculture Arboriculture () is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. The science of arboriculture studies how these plants grow and respond to cultural practices and to their environmen ...
. He is best known for his book on
agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...
, the ''Dīwān al-filāha'' (An Anthology of Husbandry).


Life and work

Ibn Bassal worked at the
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...
court of
Al-Mutamid Abu’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد بن جعفر; – 14 October 892), better known by his regnal name Al-Muʿtamid ʿalā ’llāh (, "Dependent on God"), was the Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 870 t ...
, for whom he created the ''Hā’īṭ al-Sulṭān'' botanical
garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
. Originally from Toledo, Ibn Bassal moved to Seville after
Alfonso VI Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
conquered Toledo in 1085. Crop Protection in Medieval Agriculture: Studies in Pre-modern Organic Agriculture
/ref> He travelled (on pilgrimage) to the
Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Prov ...
, visiting Egypt, Sicily, Syria and seemingly also countries from Abyssinia and Yemen to Iraq, Persia and India. He returned with knowledge of the cultivation of cotton, and he may well have brought seeds and plants with him for the Toledo botanical garden. His book Kitāb al-Kasd wa 'l-bayān'' is primarily about
horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
. He is best known for his book on
agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...
, the ''Dīwān al-filāha''. He also wrote the treatise ''The Classification of Soils'' which divided soil fertility into ten classifications.


The ''Dīwān al-filāha''

Ibn Bassal's '' magnum opus'', his treatise on agronomy entitled ''Dīwān al-filāḥa'' (An Anthology of Husbandry), was originally a copious manuscript that had been dedicated to his botanical garden of Al-Ma’mūn at Toledo. His seminal work was subsequently abridged, during the author's lifetime, and made into a single volume, styled ''Kitāb al-qaṣd wa’l-bayān'' (The Book of Concision and Clarity). Although it had originally been compiled in Arabic, the work was later translated into Castilian in the 13th century, and many years later into
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
. Ibn Bassal's practical and systematic book ''Dīwān al-filāha'' lacks references to other agronomists, and appears to be a record of his own experience. In the book, he describes over 180 cultivated plants, including chickpeas, beans, rice, peas, flax, henbane, sesame, cotton, safflower, saffron, poppies, henna, artichoke; herbs and spices including cumin, caraway, fennel, anise, and coriander; vegetables requiring irrigation or plentiful watering such as cucumbers, melons, mandrake, watermelons, pumpkins and squash, eggplant, asparagus, caper, and colocynth; the root vegetables carrots, radish, garlic, onion, leek, parsnip, the Sudanese pepper, and the dye-yielding madder; leaf vegetables including cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, purslane, amaranth and chard. He also covers arboriculture, detailing the propagation of the palm, olive, pomegranate, quince, apple, fig, pear, cherry, apricot, plum, peach, almond, walnut, hazelnut, grape, citron, orange, pistachio, pine, cypress, chestnut, holm-oak, deciduous oak, tree of paradise, arbutus, elm and ash. He describes
manure Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the Soil fertility, fertility of soil by adding organic ma ...
with
straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...
or sweeping mixed in as ''mudaf'', implying that it is not composed of only one material (animal dung) but is a mixture. The sweepings from hot baths included
urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excreted from the body through the urethra. Cellul ...
and human wastes, which Ibn Bassal describes as dry and salty, unsuitable for use as
fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
unless mixed with other types of manure. Ibn Bassal gives two recipes for composting pigeon (''hamam'') and possibly donkey (''himar'') manure, though the translation is uncertain. Bassal says the excessive heat and moist qualities of pigeon dung works well for weaker and less hardy plants, especially those affected by cold temperatures. Human waste, on the other hand, Bassal advises to use in hot temperatures because there is no heat to it. Pig dung, he cautions, will destroy pastures and poison plants, a view also shared by non-Arab writers like
Columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...
and Cassianus Bassus.
Compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting ...
made without manure is considered less desirable; Ibn Bassal calls this type ''muwallid'', made with herbage, straw and grass, ashes from ovens, and water. Some of Bassal's text was copied by the Yemeni writers
Al-Malik al-Afḍal al-Malik ( ar, الملك), literally "''the King''", is a name that may refer to: *The title King of Kings *One of the 99 names of God in Islam * Imam Malik * Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, Umayyad caliph * Al-Malik al-Rahim, Buyid rulers *Al-Malik al- ...
.


Legacy

Ibn Bassal's works were studied several centuries later by Abu Jafar Ahmad Ibn Luyūn al-Tujjbi (d.1349) of Almeria who based his treatise ''Kitāb Ibdā' al-malāha wa-inhā' al-rajāha fī usūl sinā'at al-filāha'' on Bassal's work. "Agriculture in Muslim civilisation : A Green Revolution in Pre-Modern Times "], MuslimHeritage.com


See also

* Arab Agricultural Revolution


References


External links

*
The Filāḥa Texts Project: Ibn Baṣṣāl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassa, Ibn l Botanists of the medieval Islamic world 11th-century Al-Andalus people Spanish agronomists Agriculture in Spain 11th-century Arabs Agronomy 11th-century agronomists