INVENTOR

Ismail al-Jazari

1136 - 1206

Photo of Ismail al-Jazari

Icon of person Ismail al-Jazari

Badīʿ az-Zaman Abu l-ʿIzz ibn Ismāʿīl ibn ar-Razāz al-Jazarī (1136–1206, Arabic: بَدِيعُ الزَّمانِ أَبُو العِزِّ بْنُ إسْماعِيلَ بْنِ الرَّزَّازِ الجَزَرِيّ, IPA: [ældʒæzæriː]) was a Muslim polymath: a scholar, inventor, mechanical engineer, artisan and artist from the Artuqid Dynasty of Jazira in Mesopotamia. He is best known for writing The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (Arabic: كتاب في معرفة الحيل الهندسية, romanized: Kitab fi ma'rifat al-hiyal al-handasiya, lit. 'Book in knowledge of engineering tricks', also known as Automata) in 1206, where he described 50 mechanical devices, along with instructions on how to construct them. One of his more famous inventions is the elephant clock. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Ismail al-Jazari has received more than 891,680 page views. His biography is available in 42 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 41 in 2019). Ismail al-Jazari is the 25th most popular inventor (up from 37th in 2019), the 29th most popular biography from Iraq (up from 32nd in 2019) and the most popular Iraqi Inventor.

Ismail al-Jazari was a Muslim engineer and inventor who is most famous for his book, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.

Memorability Metrics

  • 890k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 70.44

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 42

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.73

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.87

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among INVENTORS

Among inventors, Ismail al-Jazari ranks 25 out of 426. Before him are Nicéphore Niépce, Abbas ibn Firnas, Werner von Siemens, Bartolomeo Cristofori, Samuel Colt, and Ernő Rubik. After him are Karl Ferdinand Braun, Antonio Meucci, Denis Papin, Steve Wozniak, Joseph Marie Jacquard, and Thomas Newcomen.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1136, Ismail al-Jazari ranks 1. After him are Amalric of Jerusalem, Petronilla of Aragon, Constance of Castile, Humbert III, Count of Savoy, Conrad II, Duke of Bohemia, Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Provence, and Marie I, Countess of Boulogne. Among people deceased in 1206, Ismail al-Jazari ranks 1. After him are Muhammad of Ghor, Adela of Champagne, Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, Amalric of Bena, and John X of Constantinople.

Others Born in 1136

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Others Deceased in 1206

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In Iraq

Among people born in Iraq, Ismail al-Jazari ranks 29 out of 384. Before him are Ahmad Sanjar (1100), Khosrow II (570), Fuzûlî (1494), Al-Ma'mun (786), Muhammad al-Mahdi (869), and Jalal Talabani (1933). After him are Belshazzar (-600), Al-Ash'ari (873), Gudea (-2200), Möngke Khan (1209), Al-Mu'tasim (796), and Ahmad ibn Fadlan (900).

Others born in Iraq

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Among INVENTORS In Iraq

Among inventors born in Iraq, Ismail al-Jazari ranks 1. 

Iraqi born Inventors

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