Alchemy

Alchemy flourished in the Islamic Arab caliphate of Baghdad in the eighth and ninth centuries, when court scientists, encouraged by their rulers, began studying and translating Syriac manuscripts of Greek philosophical and scientific works. The greatest representative of Arabic alchemy was ar-Razi (or Rhazes; c. 864-c.930), who worked in Baghdad. In their quest for gold, Arabic alchemists diligently studied and classified chemical elements and chemicals. Ar-Razi speculated about the possibility of using "strong waters," which were in reality corrosive salt solutions, as the critical ingredient for the creation of gold. Experimentation with salt solutions led to the discovery of mineral acids, but scholars are not sure if Islamic alchemy should be credited with this discovery.