Khālid b. Yazīd: The First Alchemist in Islamic Civilization

The scholarly character of Khālid b. Yazīd and his attempts in acquiring and spreading of knowledge has always been of doubt to researchers and, with the expansion in the field of research on roots of science, has taken a mythical form. In earlier centuries, Ibn Khaldūn, and in the modern age, such researchers as Ruska, Kraus, Ulman, Sarton, and Mieli have totally denied Khālid’s attempts in the formation of translation movement in the Muslim World, his scholarly activities, and ultimately, the writings attributed to him. In contrast, some researchers have shown by presenting some evidences that Khālid has been active in the field of acquisition and development of sciences. Also, according to the writings of the Iranian alchemists, he is regarded as one of the pioneers of this discipline. In case of the soundness of the documents denoting Khālid’s alchemy, some reasons can be enumerated for his practicing this discipline, among which is his attainment of financial affluence and, as a result, relative compensation of his lost power due to abandoning caliphate and mastery in medicine. In this article, the proximity of medicine to alchemy and the attempts of the Muslim physicians to attain the elixir of life are also addressed.