Salm, master of the House of Wisdom
سلم صاحب بيت الحكمة
Salm, master of the House of Wisdom under al-Ma'mun; Ibn al-Nadim names him among the embassy the caliph sent to the Byzantine emperor to fetch chosen ancient sciences — with al-Hajjaj ibn Matar, Ibn al-Bitriq and others — who brought back what they found and were ordered to translate it.
At a glance
- Roles
- Scholar
- Era
- Abbasid Fragmentation
- Region
- Levant & Iraq
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
Salm, head of the House of Wisdom in the time of al-Ma'mun. Ibn al-Nadim mentions him among those whom al-Ma'mun sent to the king of the Byzantines to seek whichever of the ancient sciences stored in Byzantine lands they might choose 1.
Al-Hajjaj ibn Matar and Ibn al-Bitriq were with him, and others. They carried what they found, and al-Ma'mun ordered them to transport it, and they transported it 1.
Ahmad Amin took the account from the Fihrist (p.243) and from Duha al-Islam (vol. 3, p.80).
Connections
People and things also explored
Bayt al-Hikma — the House of Wisdom· عبد الله المأمون بن هارون الرشيد· إحصاء أولاد العباس سنة مئتين· عهد المأمون إلى علي الرضا· وقعة طاهر بن الحسين مع علي بن عيسى· The Conquest of Crete· بيعة هارون الرشيد· قسمة الخلافة بين أبناء الرشيد
Sources
- Duha al-Islam — Ahmad Amin (Hindawi 2012)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Salm, master of the House of Wisdom”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/salm-sahib-bayt-al-hikma/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-16.