Book of the Date Palm

Abū Aflaḥ al-Saraqusṭī (attrib.)

Sefer ha-tamar

12th Century

Know that the spiritual science which the religious laws banned and whose masters were eliminated by kings in ancient times, as is known from the books ha-Barham and al-Yahud, and also from the books of the Indians that were translated into Arabic, was a false science taken from the experiences of times [past], from old women and lowly classes of…

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The Book of the Date Palm (Sefer ha-tamar) is ascribed to Abū Aflaḥ al-Saraqusṭī, an otherwise unknown figure. This work, apparently from Sicily, was a translation or reworking of a now-lost Arabic text on magic written sometime before 1100. It records astrological, alchemical, and associated traditions, many of which it connects to the biblical King Solomon.

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Intellectual Culture in the Early Medieval World

6th to 12th Century

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