Islamic Distillation Technology

Timeline

1. 800–900Baghdad · MesopotamiaScholars such as Jabir ibn Hayyan systematically described alembic distillation apparatus, separating volatile components with a retort and condenser tube, and Arabized and experimentalized Greek alchemical texts.
2. 900–1000Ray (near Tehran) · IranPhysicians such as al-Razi used distillation to extract rose water and medicinal alcohol (al-kuhl), shifting distillation from alchemy toward clinical pharmaceutical preparation; their writings spread to the Mediterranean world.
3. 1180–1189Cairo · EgyptAround the 1180s, pharmacies and spice merchants in Egypt, Syria, and al-Andalus commonly used alembic stills to produce aromatic waters and medicinal extracts; the technique reached Latin Europe through Mediterranean trade and the translation movement.
4. 1200Mediterranean world · MediterraneanArabic alchemical and medical texts were translated into Latin and entered European universities and monasteries; the alembic became the direct ancestor of early modern chemical distillation apparatus, and its name derives from the Arabic al-inbiq.