Editing Abbasid Caliphate (section)

===Technology===
{{Main |List of inventions in the medieval Islamic world|Arab Agricultural Revolution|Timeline of science and engineering in the Muslim world}}
[[File:Wasseruhr Harun al Raschid.jpg|thumb|Illustration showing a [[water clock]] given to [[Charlemagne]] by [[Harun al-Rashid]]]]
In technology, the Abbasids adopted [[papermaking]] from China.<ref name= Lucas/> The use of paper spread from China into the caliphate in the 8th century CE, arriving in [[al-Andalus]] (Islamic Spain) and then the rest of Europe in the 10th century. It was easier to manufacture than [[parchment]], less likely to crack than [[papyrus]], and could absorb ink, making it ideal for making records and copies of the Qur'an. "Islamic paper makers devised assembly-line methods of hand-copying manuscripts to turn out editions far larger than any available in Europe for centuries."<ref>{{harvnb|Cotter|2001}}</ref> It was from the Abbasids that the rest of the world learned to make paper from linen.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2003|p=166}}</ref> The knowledge of [[gunpowder]] was also transmitted from China via the caliphate, where the formulas for pure [[potassium nitrate]] and an [[explosive]] gunpowder effect were first developed.<ref>{{harvnb|al-Hassan|2002}}</ref>

Advances were made in [[irrigation]] and farming, using new technology such as the [[windmill]]. Crops such as [[almond]]s and [[citrus]] fruit were brought to Europe through [[al-Andalus]], and sugar cultivation was gradually adopted by the Europeans. Apart from the [[Nile]], [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]], navigable rivers were uncommon, so transport by sea was very important. Navigational sciences were highly developed, making use of a rudimentary [[sextant]] (known as a ''kamal''). When combined with detailed maps of the period, sailors were able to sail across oceans rather than skirt along the coast. Abbasid sailors were also responsible for reintroducing large three masted merchant vessels to the [[Mediterranean]]. The name ''[[caravel]]'' may derive from an earlier Arab ship known as the ''qārib''.<ref>{{harvnb|Schwarz|2013}}</ref> Arab merchants dominated trade in the Indian Ocean until the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century. [[Ormus|Hormuz]] was an important center for this trade. There was also a dense network of trade routes in the [[Mediterranean]], along which Muslim countries traded with each other and with European powers such as [[Venice]] or [[Genoa]]. The [[Silk Road]] crossing Central Asia passed through the Abbasid caliphate between China and Europe.

[[File:Bruges Belgium Windmill-Bonne-Chiere-01.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Windmills]] were among Abbasid inventions in technology.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UFhGW3MxgPMC&q=abbasid+windmill&pg=PA35|title=Syria|last1=Phillips|first1=Douglas A.|last2=Gritzner|first2=Charles F.|date=2010|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1438132389|language=en}}</ref>|left]]

Engineers in the Abbasid caliphate made a number of innovative industrial uses of [[hydropower]], and early industrial uses of [[tidal power]], [[wind power]], and petroleum (notably by distillation into [[kerosene]]). The industrial uses of [[watermill]]s in the Islamic world date back to the 7th century, while horizontal-[[Water wheel|wheeled]] and vertical-wheeled water mills were both in widespread use since at least the 9th century. By the time of the Crusades, every province throughout the Islamic world had mills in operation, from al-Andalus and North Africa to the Middle East and Central Asia. These mills performed a variety of agricultural and industrial tasks.<ref name=Lucas>{{harvnb|Lucas|2005|p=10}}</ref> Abbasid engineers also developed machines (such as pumps) incorporating [[crankshaft]]s, employed [[gear]]s in mills and water-raising machines, and used dams to provide additional power to watermills and water-raising machines.<ref name=Hassan>{{harvnb|al-Hassan|2002a}}</ref> Such advances made it possible for many industrial tasks that were previously driven by [[manual labour]] in [[ancient times]] to be [[Mechanization|mechanized]] and driven by machinery instead in the medieval Islamic world. It has been argued that the industrial use of waterpower had spread from Islamic to Christian Spain, where fulling mills, paper mills, and forge mills were recorded for the first time in [[Catalonia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Lucas|2005}}{{page needed|date=May 2015}}</ref>

A number of industries were generated during the [[Arab Agricultural Revolution]], including early industries for textiles, sugar, rope-making, matting, silk, and paper. [[Latin translations of the 12th century]] passed on knowledge of chemistry and instrument making in particular.<ref>{{harvnb|al-Hassan|2002b}}</ref> The agricultural and [[handicraft]] industries also experienced high levels of growth during this period.<ref name = Labib>{{harvnb|Labib|1969}}</ref>