"The Marvelous Water Clock

I'll provide a translation of the Arabic text into English:

"Harun al-Rashid's Water Clock: A Guide to Cognitive Greatness in Mechanical Science"

The French historian Voltaire says, "The first clock known in Europe is the one that the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid gave to Charlemagne in the year 870 AD, a clock made by the Arabs more than 1200 years ago, according to foreign and Arabic sources.

In the late ninth century AD, in the year 870 AD, the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid sent to Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, King of France, and Emperor of the West, a water clock made of yellow brass with astonishing artistic skill. It was a marvel of industry at the time for its accuracy, magnificence, and beauty of its decorations.

It was the largest, rarest, and most peculiar clock in the world at the time, and it was unknown to Europeans. The clock was massive, with a wall height of about 4 meters, powered by water force and the force of gravity.

One of the marvels of this clock was that at the completion of each hour, a number of large metal balls would fall from it onto an empty brass base, creating a beautiful resonance throughout the imperial palace. At the same time, one of the twelve doors leading into the clock would open, representing the hours of the day and night. A knight would emerge, circling the clock, then returning from whence he came. When the twelfth hour arrived, twelve knights would emerge from the doors at once and circle the perimeter of the clock in a complete rotation before returning to their starting points, after which the doors would close behind them. Europeans considered it a wonder of that time.

Charlemagne described it as a captivating secret, saying, "It is made of red brass coated with gold, with several gears. It displays the time on a dial and strikes the hours on a bell when small iron balls fall equal in number to the hours it strikes. The indicator shows them, and there are twelve windows that open automatically at the chime. A knight emerges from each window, moving in a military motion around itself, then returns, disappearing inside the clock."

The clock astonished the Emperor and he admired it greatly, but it also frightened him, as well as his entourage. The king's entourage believed that there was a demon inside the clock controlling it. The Caliph Harun al-Rashid sent it as a gift to destroy him and seize his kingdom. They came to the clock at night, bringing with them axes, and smashed it.

The surprise turned into shock and dismay when these monks discovered that the clock contained nothing but its mechanisms, and the myth of demons and goblins was a big mistake on their part.

Emperor Charlemagne was deeply saddened and summoned a gathering of skilled scholars and craftsmen to try to repair and restart the clock. However, the attempt failed. Some of his advisors suggested that he should contact Caliph Harun al-Rashid to send an Arab team to repair it.

Charlemagne said, "I feel great shame for the Caliph of the Muslims in Baghdad to know that we have committed a disgrace in the name of all Franks."

Based on this, the study of researcher Ahlam al-Sayyid al-Shurbaji, a master's researcher in Islamic history at the Faculty of Arts, University of Damietta, was conducted.

Researcher Ahlam al-Sayyid al-Shurbaji points out that Harun al-Rashid is Abu Ja'far al-Mahdi Muhammad ibn al-Mansur Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah ibn al-Abbas, the fifth Abbasid caliph, one of the most famous Abbasid caliphs.

He ruled between 786 and 809 AD and is considered one of the best caliphs, as he performed Hajj every other year, engaged in military campaigns every other year, donated a thousand dinars, and wept when he heard sermons. Many stories have been narrated about Harun al-Rashid, mixing reality with imagination, as in the book "One Thousand and One Nights," claiming that he did nothing but indulge in pleasure, wine, and dancing with singers, which was picked up by dramatic works that distorted his history and historical books that vindicated him. His era was named "the Islamic Golden Age," characterized by civilization, cultural and religious prosperity, as well as flourishing foreign trade and political relations between the Caliphate and the kingdoms of Europe. Among these was his contact with Charlemagne, as Harun al-Rashid and Charlemagne were the most important men of their time, representing the Abbasid Empire and the Frankish Empire.

Historical references continue to affirm that the Arabs developed this type of machinery for measuring time. During the time of Caliph al-Ma'mun, he gifted a more advanced clock operated by mechanical force, using iron weights suspended in chains, instead of water force. Arab Muslim scholars excelled in this field