From Arabic; lit. ‘house of wisdom’; best characterised as a research and teaching centre with a library and translation facilities. Located in Baghdad, it was a caliphal institution that reached its zenith under the Abbasid Caliph al-Maʾmūn (r. 813-833 CE). The institution’s chief functions were creating independent works and translating numerous works, including those from ancient Greece, into Arabic. The Bayt al-Ḥikma also housed a famous library and, thus, is sometimes referred to as Khizānat al-Ḥikma or storehouse of wisdom.
