Badīʿ az-Zaman Abu l-ʿIzz ibn Ismāʿīl ibn ar-Razāz al-Jazarī was a person with knowledge in many areas, including science, invention, engineering, and art. He lived from 1136 to 1206 and was part of the Artuqid Dynasty in the region of Jazira, which is in Mesopotamia. He is most famous for writing a book called The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices in 1206. In this book, he described 50 mechanical devices and explained how to build them. One of his well-known inventions is the elephant clock. He is often called the "father of robotics" and is considered an important figure in modern engineering.

Biography

Al-Jazari was born in the region of Upper Mesopotamia in 1136. His exact birthplace is not known, but some believe he may have been born in Jazirat ibn Umar, a place that gave him his name, or in Al-Jazira, a term used to describe Upper Mesopotamia. The only information about his life comes from his book, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices. Like his father, he worked as a chief engineer at the Artuklu Palace, which was the home of the Mardin branch of the Artuqids. These rulers governed Upper Mesopotamia as subordinates to the Zengid dynasty of Mosul and later to Ayyubid general Saladin. His ethnic background is unclear, and he has been described by some as Arab, Kurdish, or Persian.

Al-Jazari was part of a tradition of skilled workers and focused more on building machines than on inventing new technologies. He often used trial and error to assemble his devices rather than relying on complex calculations. His book was widely copied in manuscripts and included only machines he had personally built. The book’s style is similar to modern "do-it-yourself" guides, as noted by historian Mayr.

Some of Al-Jazari’s inventions were based on earlier designs. For example, one of his large water clocks was inspired by a device created by Pseudo-Archimedes. He also credited the Banū Mūsā brothers for ideas about fountains, al-Saghani for a candle clock design, and Hibatullah ibn al-Husayn for musical automata. Al-Jazari explained how he improved upon these earlier works and described many original machines, tools, and methods that had not been used before.

1206 edition (Ahmet III 3472)

The Artuqid ruler Nasr al-Din Mahmud, who ruled from 1201 to 1222, ordered the creation of the first version of the book Al-Jāmi' fī ṣinā'at al-ḥiyal by Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari. This manuscript was made in April 1206 at the Artuqid court. It is known as Ahmet III 3472 and is now kept in the Topkapı Sarayı Library. The illustrations in the manuscript are believed to show different parts of the Artuqid court during that time. Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari worked at the Artuqid court in the last part of the 12th century, and this is the earliest known version of his book.

• Court scene. Location: Amid, modern-day Diyarbakır, Turkey. Date: 1206. Manuscript: Ahmet III 3472.
• Mechanical Turkic servant. Location: Amid, modern-day Diyarbakır, Turkey. Date: 1206. Manuscript: Ahmet III 3472.
• Female servant. Location: Amid, modern-day Diyarbakır, Turkey. Date: 1206. Manuscript: Ahmet III 3472.
• Mechanical Turkic servant. Location: Amid, modern-day Diyarbakır, Turkey. Date: 1206. Manuscript: Ahmet III 3472.

Mechanisms and methods

The most important part of al-Jazari's machines is the way they use parts, ideas, methods, and design details.

In 1206, al-Jazari described a camshaft, which is a rod with cams attached. He used this in his automata, water clocks (such as the candle clock), and water-raising machines.

A handle on a rotary quern-stone in fifth century BCE Spain, which spread to the Roman Empire, is an example of a crank. The earliest known crank and connecting rod mechanism was found in the 3rd century AD at a sawmill in Hierapolis, part of the Roman Empire. A crank also appears in the mid-9th century in hydraulic devices described by the Banū Mūsā brothers in their Book of Ingenious Devices.

In 1206, al-Jazari invented an early crankshaft. He used it with a crank-connecting rod mechanism in his twin-cylinder pump. Like modern crankshafts, his design had a wheel that moved several crankpins in a circular motion, causing the pins to move back-and-forth in a straight line. This mechanism changed continuous circular motion into back-and-forth movement and is important in modern machines like steam engines, internal combustion engines, and automatic controls.

He used the crankshaft with a connecting rod in two of his water-raising machines: the crank-driven saqiya chain pump and the double-action reciprocating piston suction pump. His water pump also used the first known crank-slider mechanism.

English technology historian Donald Hill wrote:

Al-Jazari created a method for controlling the speed of rotation of a wheel using an escapement mechanism.

According to Donald Hill, al-Jazari described several early mechanical controls, including "a large metal door, a combination lock, and a lock with four bolts."

A segmental gear is "a piece for receiving or communicating reciprocating motion from or to a cogwheel, consisting of a sector of a circular gear, or ring, having cogs on the periphery, or face." Lynn Townsend White wrote:

Water-raising machines

In the 12th and 13th centuries, Al-Jazari created five machines to lift water, as well as watermills and water wheels with special parts on their axles to move mechanical figures. He described these inventions in 1206. His most important ideas and parts were introduced in these water-lifting machines.

The first known use of a crankshaft in a chain pump was in one of Al-Jazari’s saqiya machines. His saqiya chain pump also showed an early idea to reduce stop-and-start motion, which helped make the pump more efficient. Al-Jazari built a saqiya chain pump powered by water instead of human labor, though the Chinese used water power for similar pumps before him. Saqiya machines like those he described have been used to provide water in Damascus since the 13th century until today. These machines were commonly used throughout the medieval Islamic world. The chain in Al-Jazari’s pump is shaped like a Möbius strip, a design that appeared long before the mathematical study of the Möbius strip.

Al-Jazari described suction pipes, suction pumps, and double-action pumps. He also used valves and a crankshaft-connected rod system when he created a twin-cylinder reciprocating piston suction pump. This pump was powered by a water wheel, which turned gears to move an oscillating slot-rod connected to two pistons. The pistons worked in opposite cylinders, each with suction and delivery pipes controlled by valves. The delivery pipes joined above the machine to form one outlet for irrigation. This invention had a major impact on modern engineering. It is notable for three reasons:

• The first known use of a true suction pipe (which draws fluid into a partial vacuum) in a pump.
• The first use of the double-acting principle (a pump that moves water both up and down).
• The first conversion of circular motion into back-and-forth motion using a crankshaft and rod.

Al-Jazari’s suction piston pump could lift water 13.6 meters using delivery pipes, but it was not more efficient than the noria, a common water-lifting device used in the Muslim world at the time.

Al-Jazari was inspired by a Byzantine siphon used to release Greek fire. According to Donald Hill, his pump is considered "a direct ancestor of the steam engine." According to Joseph Needham, his slot-rod force pump is one of "the two most important machines of the Middle Ages that directly influenced the development of the steam engine and the locomotive," along with a blowing engine made by Wang Zhen a century later.

Al-Jazari described single-bucket and four-bucket water-lifting machines. The single-bucket version used differentials, semi-circular gears, bucket elevators, and gearboxes. The four-bucket version added a mechanical timer.

In the 13th century, Al-Jazari built the earliest water supply system powered by gears and hydropower in Damascus. The system used water from a lake to turn a scoop-wheel and gears, which moved jars of water up to a channel that delivered water to mosques and hospitals in the city.

Automata

Al-Jazari created moving peacocks powered by water. He also designed automatic doors for one of his water clocks and invented water wheels with special parts on their axles that operated other machines. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian Renaissance inventor, may have been inspired by the machines made by al-Jazari.

Mark E. Rosheim explains the progress in robotics by Muslim engineers, especially al-Jazari, as follows:

One of al-Jazari’s humanoid machines was a waitress that could serve water, tea, or drinks. The drink was stored in a tank with a reservoir. The drink would drip into a bucket and, after seven minutes, into a cup. Then, the waitress would appear from an automatic door to serve the drink.

Al-Jazari invented a hand-washing machine with a flushing system similar to those in modern toilets. This machine was also a humanoid automaton. It was made of copper pieces connected like joints and had a pitcher shaped like a peacock in its right hand. The pitcher was made of brass and had a chamber divided by a metal plate. This helped water flow smoothly from the spout without splashing. A reservoir for the water was inside the right side of the figure. An axle in the right elbow allowed the water to pour from the reservoir through the pitcher’s spout. The left arm had a fixed weight that raised and lowered the arm, which held a towel, comb, and mirror.

This machine was designed to help a king during his ritual washing before prayers. A servant would carry the figure and place it near a basin. The servant would turn a knob on the figure’s back, opening a valve that let water pour from the right hand into the basin. When the reservoir was nearly empty, a mechanism would trigger the left hand to extend toward the king, offering the towel, comb, and mirror.

Water is very important in Islam. It is used in rituals like wudu and ghusl, which are washings before prayers, and in Islamic gardens, which often include fountains. These fountains are mentioned in the Quran as part of Paradise. In Mesopotamia, where there were often droughts, water-related machines had both practical and religious importance.

A section of Al-Jazari’s book, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, focused on fountain mechanisms. One chapter was titled On the construction in pools of fountains which change their shape, and of machines for the perpetual flute.

Al-Jazari’s "peacock fountain" was a more advanced hand-washing device with humanoid servants that offered soap and towels. Mark E. Rosheim describes it as follows:

The basin of the "peacock fountain" was used for washing hands and arms before prayers, called wudu. A servant would pull a plug and position the peacock’s beak, allowing water to flow into the basin for the user.

While water-powered machines like the peacock fountain had religious uses, some suggest they were also used for non-religious purposes. Ayhan Aytes notes that:

Al-Jazari’s work described fountains and musical machines where water moved between large tanks every hour or half-hour. This was achieved through his use of water switches.

Al-Jazari created a musical machine that was a boat with four automatic musicians floating on a lake to entertain guests at royal parties. Professor Noel Sharkey believes this might be one of the first programmable machines. He suggests it had a drum machine with pegs (cams) that hit levers to control the percussion. The drummer could play different rhythms by moving the pegs.

The water-clock of the drummers, which is different from the musical robot band because it has two trumpeters instead of a flute-playing doll, includes seven wooden figures. These figures include the trumpeters, two dolls playing cymbals, and others playing other instruments. This machine works as a clock by producing music every hour. It shows Al-Jazari’s ability to create machines that were both practical and entertaining. The machine starts at sunrise when a doll moves across a design until it reaches a point where a carved falcon drops a ball onto a cymbal. Water then flows from a main tank, tipping a bucket and turning a water wheel connected to the musicians. The automaton produces loud music that can be heard far away and can play different tunes. Like many of Al-Jazari’s machines, this was made to entertain guests at the royal palace.

Clocks

Al-Jazari made many types of water clocks and candle clocks. These included a portable water-powered scribe clock, which was 1 meter high and 0.5 meters wide. This clock was successfully rebuilt at the Science Museum in London in 1976. Al-Jazari also created large water-powered astronomical clocks that showed moving models of the Sun, Moon, and stars.

According to Donald Hill, Al-Jazari made the most advanced candle clocks known at that time. Hill explained that one of these clocks had a dial to show the time and used a bayonet fitting, a fastening method still used today.

The elephant clock, described by Al-Jazari in 1206, had several new features. It was the first clock with an automaton that moved after set time intervals, such as a humanoid robot striking a cymbal and a mechanical bird chirping. It was also the first water clock to accurately track the changing length of days throughout the year.

Al-Jazari’s largest astronomical clock was the "castle clock." It was a complex device about 11 feet (3.4 meters) tall and had many functions beyond telling time. It showed the zodiac, the paths of the Sun and Moon, and had a crescent-shaped pointer that moved across a gateway. This pointer, powered by a hidden cart, opened automatic doors every hour, revealing a mannequin.

Another feature of the castle clock was five automata musicians who played music automatically when moved by levers connected to a hidden camshaft powered by a water wheel.

Al-Jazari invented water clocks powered by both water and weights. These included geared clocks and the portable water-powered scribe clock, which was 1 meter high and 0.5 meters wide. The scribe with his pen represented the hour hand of a modern clock. The famous water-powered scribe clock was successfully rebuilt at the Science Museum in London in 1976.

Miniature paintings

Al-Jazari was not only a skilled inventor and engineer but also a talented artist. In his book, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, he described his inventions and included detailed drawings made with miniature paintings, a type of art used in the medieval Islamic world.

• A candle clock created by al-Jazari.
• A musical robot band designed by al-Jazari.
• A table automaton designed by al-Jazari.
• A hand-washing automaton with a flushing mechanism designed by al-Jazari.
• A water-powered pump device invented by al-Jazari.
• An illustration of a device from al-Jazari’s work.
• A sketch of a device from al-Jazari’s Kitab al-Hial manuscript, housed at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.