3D Animation of Harun al Rashid’s Clock Gift to Charlemagne

The water clock that Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid (d. 809 CE), gifted to Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor (d. 814 CE) is investigated. Origins and transfer of the clock technology is reviewed. The water clock mechanism is envisaged based on various descriptions of water clocks including those by the Royal Frankish Annals, Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, Voltaire, Edward J. Wood and the clocks of Baghdad (such that of the Mustanṣiriya School), the clocks of Al-Andalus (Such as those by Al-Muradi and Al-Zarqali), the clocks of Tlemcen (Algeria), the clocks Fes (Morocco) and the clocks of Ridwan al-Saati and Al-Jazari. The most likely mechanism of the clock is constructed using modern engineering drawing from which a 3D animation is produced. Continue to read: