Research topic: Jabir

Jabir or Geber , fl. 8th cent., Arab alchemist and physician, originally named Jabir ibn Hayyan. He is believed to have lived at Kufa and at Baghdad. A great number of works on alchemy, many of them unpublished, have been attributed to him, but scholars disagree as to their authenticity. Recent studies indicate that many of the extant works in Arabic were written in the 9th and 10th cent. by later Arab alchemists and issued under Jabir's name. The works influenced the development of medieval alchemy and indicate the use of laboratory experiments. They perpetuated the theory that metals are... Read more