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The Precursor of Braille
by Meam Wye
In the 14th century, Zain Din al Amidi, who had become blind in childhood, developed his own system for reading and writing by the sense of touch. He was a professor at the university 'Mustansiriya Madrasahin', Baghdad, established in 1227 by caliph Al-Mustansir. His area of interests were jurisprudence and foreign languages. Al-Amidi died in 1314.
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May 13, 2010 1:22 AM
Dear Meam, I just returned from Tiberias where we are excavating a mosque from the Early Islamic Period. And today by happy chance I found your wonderful blog! It must be a sign that it is time to learn more about your topic. Time to start reading here.
Thank you for all the loving work you have put into this.
May 13, 2010 3:59 AM
Warm welcome to the blog! Thank you so much for your lovely and friendly comment :)
May 13, 2010 11:30 AM
Fascinating! Is there more on this creative man? I quickly went to look him up but we in the West have so little on your history.
May 13, 2010 3:30 PM
Hey Meam Wye,
Nice to have you back! For a minute there I thought we had lost another amazing blog.
I am looking forward to visiting often for new and interesting information focused around the Islamic civilization.
Talk to you soon.
May 13, 2010 9:10 PM
Ciss B: I tried a lot but couldn't find more info. on this topic specially the details of his system. The interesting fact is that more info. (in English) on this period of history is available from western sources! Many western historians have done a lot of detailed research in this area. Amidi's contribution has also been mentioned in the USA's 1912 'Report of the Commissioner of Education made to the Secretary of the Interior' available on Google Books.
Nathan: so nice of you to remember this blog despite not being updated for quite sometime. Thanks :)
May 14, 2010 7:48 PM
Isn't it amazing that Zain managed his academic career at his Baghdad University, despite being blind from childhood. Even if he had a scribe, writing down all his lecture notes, he must have been a brilliant man. I know how much effort it takes to prepare notes for just one lecture.. I am full of admiration for Zain.
May 15, 2010 6:39 AM
Fascinating! Were his methods handed down through the culture or did they vanish with him?
May 16, 2010 8:58 PM
Hels: Indded, this is fascinating. Wish could find more details!
May 16, 2010 9:00 PM
nothingprofound: Probably his method vanished with him!
May 23, 2010 4:36 AM
Interesting post. Glad to see you back.
May 25, 2010 9:08 PM
Great to hear from you again :)