Metal Refining, Alchemy and Alloy Production in a Selection of Old Technological Books in Iran

Since the old times, Iranians were familiar with metal production and refining. They could produce exceptionally pure gold and silver. Alloying techniques advanced enormously during alchemist’s experiments. Alloying and separation techniques, for combining the elements and removing the unwanted ones from alloys, are described accurately and in detail in technical books written 1000 years ago Lists of common and industrial alloys are also included in these books. In this article the main elements of such schemes were described and some key points were identified.