Windmills

Invention/Contribution:

• The first windmills were built in the Muslim world (Persia, 9th century).

• Unlike European vertical windmills, they had horizontal sails made of reed or wood, turned by prevailing desert winds.

• Used mainly for grinding grain and pumping water.

• Spread westward into North Africa and Spain, then later influenced European windmill designs.

Why it matters:

• Provided renewable energy centuries before the modern era.

• Helped sustain communities in arid lands with food production and irrigation.

• Early example of Muslims harnessing nature for sustainable technology.

“The Muslims developed the first practical windmills, a thousand years before Europe.” 

Ahmad Y. al-Hassan, historian of Islamic science (Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History, 1986)

Long before wind turbines dotted modern skylines, Muslims were using the power of the wind. In 9th-century Persia, they built the world’s first windmills, with horizontal sails turning desert breezes into energy. These mills ground grain and pumped water, sustaining communities in dry lands. From there, the idea spread west into Spain and beyond, inspiring the windmills of medieval Europe. Muslim windmills were an early step toward the renewable energy we celebrate today.