The forerunner of scientific chemistry. In Arabic science, astronomy and alchemy were closely related. Jabir ibn Hayyan, who died c. 803 CE, devised distillation techniques that led to the discovery of new substances such as nitric acid and alcohol. Medieval European alchemy, as well as metallurgical chemistry, were built upon Arabic foundations. It was believed that the Sun, Moon and planets formed gold, silver and other metals in the Earth. Alchemists believed that they could speed up this process in their laboratories.