Ismail Al-Jazari was a Muslim polymath: a scholar, inventor, mechanical engineer, artisan, artist and mathematician from Artuqid Dynasty of Jazira in Mesopotamia . He is best known for writing The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.

He invented programmable machines, including programmable humanoid robots, and the castle clock, an astronomical clock considered the first programmable analog computer. He has been described as the “father of robotics” and modern day engineering.