Under the Abbasid dynasty, Islam gained new momentum. The political capital was moved from Damascus in Syria to Baghdad in Iraq during the reign of the first caliph, 'Abu 'Abbas Al-Saffah (750 to 754 AD). Initially circular in shape, Baghdad contained the caliph's palace in the center and, around it, mosques, public buildings, hospitals and residences for officials.

​

                    During this time, trade intensified. It's worth remembering that, for the Arabs, trade had the paradigm of the honest merchant following the example of Muhammad, a symbol of ethics in transactions. According to tradition, the Prophet said: "Merchants are the messengers of the universe and the servants whom God has entrusted on earth".

​

                    The caliphate of Al-Ma'mun was the apogee of the Abbasid dynasty, a time when Baghdad had already developed to the point of being renowned for its intellectuals, with the caliph himself taking an interest in Greek works that were translated into Arabic by Christians and Jews.

​

                   During this period, the Arabic language was widely adopted throughout the empire and, with the foundation of the House of Wisdom, the cradle of the falsafa, Baghdad became the intellectual capital of the empire at a time when patrons supported writers and poets and where many Arab, Iranian, Indian, Greek, Christian and Jewish scholars gathered.

​

                   It was no surprise, then, that in this scenario there was an effervescence in all areas of knowledge: Mathematics, Astronomy, Philosophy and all the Sciences of the time were being translated and discussed by this new elite that was formed in Baghdad. 

​