The Translation Movement
Fascinating discussion today on Radio 4’s In Our Time about the translation movement in medieval Baghdad. Between the 9th and 11th centuries, a wealth of Greek philosophy, medicine, engineering and maths was translated into Arabic. In many cases, our present-day knowledge of these Classical writers is entirely due to the Arabic versions.
One interesting fact we learned is the huge rates paid to these translators, such was the importance of the project They sound like the David Beckhams of their day, earning 500 gold dinars a month – the equivalent of $240000 or more. Either they worked hideously long hours, or they were getting considerably more than £100 per 1000 words!
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