The Role of Translation in Forming Interdisciplinarity in Arab Medieval Times

Abstract

Medieval Arabic translation (MedAT) played a crucial role in the formulation of the Islamic and Arab civilization. For the first time in the history of medieval Arabs, materials related to an array of multidisciplinary fields were translated, allowing the Arabs to import and master disciplines they did not have or never bothered about, and to subsequently become exporters of knowledge and their language, Arabic, the global donor of such knowledge for centuries. The glorious history of Arabic translation at medieval times put translation at the heart of society, but there is little written about the role translation in forming an interdisciplinary unique Arab culture, bringing various disciplines together. This chapter investigates the role of translation in the formation of the interdisciplinary role of translation in the Arab culture during its medieval times, particularly the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. It examines the position medieval Arabic translation had in transferring and diffusing new disciplines and in creating an interdisciplinary environment which nurtured the production of native knowledge.