Al-Jaldaki

Who was Al-Jaldaki?

Izz al-Din Aydamir al-Jaldaki, also written al-Jildaki. Persian Alchemist from Khorasan, he fled his native country due to the Mongol invasion.

Al-Jaldaki was one of the last and one of the greatest of medieval Islamic alchemists, he was the author of scientific works such as the al-Misbah fi Ilm al-Miftah and alchemical treatise The Proof Regarding Secrets of the Science of the Balance.

He was born in Jaldak, a district of Khorasan about 15 kilometers from Mashhad in Iran. In his writings he reveals that he spent seventeen years traveling through Iraq, Anatolia, Yemen, North Africa, and Syria, finally settling in Egypt where he composed many of his treatises.

He was a prolific author of alchemical writings, of which the United States National Library of Medicine has three. His treatises, which reflect interests much broader than simply alchemy, preserve extensive quotations from earlier authors.

He died in Cairo in 1342.