← Explore on the interactive map

Islamic Water Clocks

Type Object Region West Asia Time 1231–1240

Islamic artisans used floats, gears, and cams to control water flow, achieving precise water clocks (clepsydras) with uniform timekeeping.…

Timeline

  1. 1206Diyarbakir · DiyarbakirIbn al-Jazari systematically recorded in his Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices a variety of water clocks and automata, using float valves to regulate constant flow and gears and cams to drive figurines and striking mechanisms, advancing the ancient Greek water-clock tradition to a new level of complex linked machinery.
  2. 1231–1240Damascus · DamascusIn Damascus and at the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, precise water clocks were still in use or being replicated to determine prayer times; artisans continued the techniques of float-regulated constant flow and cam-driven striking. Water clocks also served observatory timekeeping, making them important devices for public timekeeping and scientific activity in Islamic cities.

Sources