Spinning wheel of the Islamic world (al-Wasiti's Maqamat)
Rueca de rueda del mundo islámico (Maqamat de al-Wasiti)
- Date
- 1237 · confidence medium
- Place
- Baghdad, Iraq
- Credited to
- Spinners of the Islamic world (illustrated by Yahya al-Wasiti)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
The illustration of a spinning wheel in al-Hariri's Maqamat copied by al-Wasiti in Baghdad is the oldest unambiguous depiction of the device. It documents the spinning wheel's use in Abbasid Iraq before it appears in Europe.
The origin of the spinning wheel is debated among India, China and Iran between the 5th and 13th centuries; 1237 is the date of the first undoubted image, not of the invention. It complements the European Speyer entry (1280).
What it led to
- much faster spinning of cotton and flax in Persia and Mesopotamia
- spread of the spinning wheel into Europe via the Mediterranean
- mechanical basis of the medieval wool and linen textile industry