106S 



tellectual freedom, historically a prime cause for the migration of 

 scholars, provided a unique recruiting opportunity. A number of schol- 

 ars emigrated at the King's invitation when in 529 A.D. Justinian, 

 attempting to protect Christianity, forbade the teaching of non- 

 Christian pa^an philosophies at the Academy of Athens, closed its 

 doors, and dispersed the staff. Best known among the emigrating 

 scholars and scientists were Damasius and Simplicius.^^ 



Science historians have also recorded instances of foreign recruit- 

 ment by the great Caliphs from the Abbasid dynasty during the eighth 

 and ninth centuries. As in so many cases before and since, the opening 

 of a new center of learning provided the motivation for migration. 

 The Caliphs, along with lesser royalty and other wealthy Arabs, vigor- 

 ously supported the development of Arab science. In 766 A.D., Caliph 

 Al-Mansur made Baghdad a center of Arab learning, immediately 

 attracting Jewish, Syrian, and Persian scholars with his princely 

 stipends. Mathematicians from Tashkent in Central Asia, astronomers 

 from the Ganges valley in India; pliilosophers, architects, and physi- 

 cians from Rome, Athens, and Alexandria were attracted by the offer 

 of high honors and high salaries to work in the new city. Tabit ben 

 Qurra and Al-Battani, two of the greatest Arab astronomers and 

 mathematicians, left their star- worshipping sect of Sabians to join the 

 Arab scholars at Baghdad. Hardly 10 years after the founding of 

 Baghdad, a Hindu presented the Caliph an astronomical treatise 

 entitled "A. Siddhanta" which was immediately translated into 

 Arabic."^ 



IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE 



Scattered evidence exists showing that the 8th to 11th century 

 European scholars migrated and governing authorities established 

 policies to attract them. A considerable literature is available to illus- 

 trate Charlemagne's interest in science and scholarship, his policies in 

 education, and his efforts to attract scholars to his schools and court. 

 The Benedictine Age, when the center of gravity in learning was shift- 

 ing from the Arab countries to Southern Europe, is similarly rich in 

 evidences of the mobility of intellectuals. Not until the rise of the great 

 European universities, however, is there an abundance of direct evi- 

 dence to be found in original state documents, contemporary writings 

 and biographical data showing state policies either to encourage or 

 frustrate talent migration.^* 



The universities were the principal centers for producing and trans- 

 mitting science and scholarship between the end of the Benedictine 

 Age and the scientific revolution of the I7th century. Newly formed 

 scientific societies carried the major burden thereafter. 



European universities flourished during the 12th to the 16th centur- 

 ies. By mid-13th century there were nine in Italy, five in France, two 

 in England, and four in Spain. By the end of the 15th century there 

 were 80 major universities throughout Europe. Student bodies were 

 drawn from Europe as a whole, and the best universities ranged in 



•« Dedijer, op. clt., p. 17. 



*" Ibid., pp. 17-18, and Eren, op. clt., p. 12. 



>•« Dedijer, op. clt., p. 18. 



