Alchemy (Arabic: al-kimia = "the art of transformation" ), as part of the ancient Occult Tradition, is both a philosophy and a practice with an aim of achieving ultimate wisdom as well as immortality, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties. The practical aspect of alchemy generated the basics of modern inorganic chemistry, namely concerning procedures, equipment and the identification and use of many current substances.
The fundamental ideas of alchemy arose in the ancient Persian Empire. Alchemy has been thus practiced in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Persia (Iran), India, Japan, Korea and China, in Classical Greece and Rome, in the Muslim civilizations, and then in Europe up to the 20th century—in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years.
The best-known goals of the alchemists were the transmutation of common metals into gold or silver. Less well known is plant alchemy, or "spagyric", the creation of a "panacea", or the elixir of life, a remedy that supposedly would cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely; and the discovery of a universal solvent.
Starting with the Middle Ages, Arabic and European alchemists invested much effort on the search for the "philosopher's stone", a legendary substance that was believed to be an essential ingredient for either or both of those goals. The philosopher's stone was believed to mystically amplify the user's knowledge of alchemy so much that anything was attainable.
