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Saeedzade Z, Ghiasian M R. (2026). Infographics in the Images of Islamic Manuscripts on Mechanical Science (12th – 17th Centuries). , JIC. 10(1), 1-28. doi:10.66224/jic.10.1.437
URL: http://jih-tabriziau.ir/article-1-437-en.html

A group of illustrated Islamic manuscripts comprises scientific treatises, among which ʿIlm al-Ḥiyal (the science of mechanical devices or mechanics) holds a prominent place. Beyond Ḥiyal manuscripts, significant illustrations of mechanical instruments and apparatuses also appear in diverse manuscripts related to agriculture, military science, architecture, and other fields. These images typically depict the overall form of devices, present their components and parts, and illustrate the mechanical relationships among them, often employing visual markers or textual labels to identify each element. This article examines sixteen illustrations of tools and machines from Islamic manuscripts related to mechanics, dating from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries, aiming to analyze these images and assess their alignment with the defining characteristics of infographics. The selected images are categorized into four groups: (1) timekeeping devices, (2) weapons, (3) cranes and lifting devices, and (4) water-lifting and irrigation machines. The findings indicate that a considerable number of these images correspond to the core principles of modern infographics—namely, the concise and comprehensible presentation of information, the clarification of causal relationships among data, and the visual depiction of changes and processes in conveying concepts. In this regard, they may be regarded as precursors to contemporary infographics. Technically, these illustrations also closely resemble today’s schematic or technical diagrams used to visually represent devices and operational processes. Among the tools used in modern infographic design, it seems that the symbolic use of colors and the separate presentation of details were not employed in the illustrations of Islamic mechanical manuscripts up to the seventeenth century.