Year 1000
Alchemy was the term used to mean the study of chemistry in the Middle Ages as well as the Renaissance. It involved the belief that metals could be changed or transmuted into gold. This transmutation often involved magic. The word "alchemy" probably shares Arab and Greek origins, coming from the Arabic "al" and the Greek "khymeia" just as alchemical practice reached Europe from Greece by way of the Islamic empire. The period of time around the year 1000 was the end of the golden age of Islamic alchemy. This period produced alchemists whose efforts were based on experimentation and repetition. Their books on the theory of alchemy brought valuable scientific knowledge into Spain.