Greek Texts in Arabic Translations

Abstract

This chapter examines several challenging aspects of the Graeco–Arabic translations, which were undertaken from the eighth to the mid-eleventh century, when almost the entire corpus of Ancient Greek scientific and philosophical writings was translated into Arabic. Modern research offers different explanations of the emergence and success of this so-called translation movement. The translators were almost all Christians but of different denominations. Their competing for lucrative translation jobs caused, at times, animosity, and even outright hostility between them. This chapter argues that the patrons and readers of these scientific and philosophical translations were mainly Muslims, which could explain why these Christian translators made efforts to use Quranic language and Muslim concepts in rendering their source texts. It also highlights the consequences of parts of the Muslim audience not always being well disposed towards these translations, resulting in accusations against the translators of falsifying their sources.