 Over the epoch of recorded history, a number of periods have been labeled as “golden ages,” a label that identifies them as the best of their kind. The term golden age implies in some sense a period of growth and progress within a society. Scholars generally date the “Islamic Golden Age” as beginning in 750 CE with the overthrow of the Damascus-based Umayyad dynasty and the rise of the Abbasid caliphate. The end is often seen as 1258 CE when the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan conquered and sacked Baghdad, the Abbasid capital. During this period, knowledge of and advances in math, science, arts and culture flourished throughout the vast Abbasid Empire and in the Umayyad shadow caliphate in Andalusia – in modern day Spain. Show Why did this golden age occur when and where it did? The answer to this question lies with a combination of factors that came together in a particular time and place. The term Islamic Golden Age is misleading in that it implies that there was something inherent in the religion of Islam that resulted in this specific period of growth and progress. In reality, this growth and progress had more to do with other societal factors that came together in a vast empire ruled by Sunni Muslim Caliphs. A critical impetus was the rise to power of a series of forward looking, progressive caliphs, beginning with Harun al-Rashid in 786 CE, who invested heavily in research and scholarship, created enormous libraries containing works of scholarship from around the world, and filled Baghdad with the world’s greatest intellects. At that time the military was strong and the empire was secure. Therefore, rather than spending more money on defense, the caliphs were able to devote more resources to scholarship and research. Another factor was the vast size of the empire, which stretched from Persia in the east, through the Middle East, and into North Africa. This vast empire brought economic prosperity which provided resources to the caliph. This empire also broke down tribal and national barriers, resulting in diversity of culture, philosophy, religion and knowledge. The breakdown of barriers also meant that people and knowledge could flow much more seamlessly across the empire. The caliphate was open to people of all cultures and religions, particularly people who brought intellectual prowess. Both internal and external factors also played a role in ending the Islamic Golden Age, even while the invasion of the Middle East by the Mongol armies was the defining event in the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate. As the Abbasid Empire began to get “long in the tooth,” various provinces and regions broke away, dissipating the advantages of a large contiguous land mass with no national or tribal borders. These breakaway entities engaged in almost continuous warfare; the resulting instability had a devastating effect on their economies. By the 12th century, Islamic orthodoxy began to negatively impact free-thinking philosophy; i.e. faith superseded reason which diminished rationalism and scientific inquiry. In all states and empires, governments change. In a number of cases, narrow minded, conservative and intolerant leaders succeeded the more open minded progressive caliphs who had ushered in the Islamic Golden Age. These new leaders did not value the multicultural, multiracial, interreligious environment of the caliphate and persecuted non-Muslims and intellectuals forcing them to flee. The hubris of these self-centered, corrupt new leaders led to political and financial mismanagement and resulted in accelerated decline. LESSONS FOR THE UNITED STATESThis tale of the rise and fall of a great empire offers pertinent lessons for the United States. These lessons deserve enumeration and examination if the United States is to continue to be seen as the “shining city on a hill”. First, leadership matters. The tone and direction of a state or empire is set by its leadership. Their language, statements and actions empower and enable the best and the worst qualities and instincts of the population. The political system needs to produce the best and most qualified people to lead. If this effort fails then it raises unsettling questions about the underlying political system. Second, priorities matter. Where and how societies invest their resources indicates a lot about where their priorities lie. When societies choose to invest an inordinate amount of resources in unnecessary and prolonged wars at the expense of investments that make the lives of their citizens better, these societies are setting themselves up for decline. Third, permitting the movement of people across borders matters. The day of large multi-cultural, multi-ethnic empires may have passed. Empires have been replaced by nation states based on a combination of ethnicity, religion, language and race. This system has resulted in the creation of national borders which impede the flow of migration. While globalization has, for the most part, facilitated the seamless movement of goods, services, knowledge and financial resources across national borders, human movement is restricted. We need a system that allows for the orderly migration of people to places where their skills and knowledge can be most productively utilized. Bernard Lewis, the noted British-American historian of the Middle East, once wrote that “[before the rise of Islam] virtually all civilizations…were limited to one region, one culture and usually one race. The Islamic culture of the Middle East was the first that was truly international, intercultural, interracial, in a sense, even intercontinental, and its contribution—both direct and indirect—to the modern world is immense.” The enlightened leadership of the Islamic Golden Age – with its openness to diversity, migration and scholarship – brought unparalleled achievements. The challenge for the United States is to learn from the strengths of this enormous empire and avoid the pitfalls that led to its downfall. America was built on the principles of an enlightened set of ideas. Once we lose sight of these principles, we become just another large country with a big military. Don Liebich is a native of New York and a graduate of the University of Rochester and the Harvard Business School PMD program. He has traveled to the Middle East numerous times and has been involved with economic development, citizen diplomacy and human rights projects in Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Syria, UAE and Iran. Mr. Liebich has conducted seminars and taught courses on Islam, US Middle East foreign policy and Iran and has written three books on US Middle East policy. Norah Nowarah | Toronto, Canada As a Muslim in North America, I have never faced trouble finding harmful news reporting on Islam, and how Muslims have brought nothing but trouble to the West. Growing up, especially during my early teenage years, I wanted to distance myself from my religion in order to ‘fit in’ and make friends. However, the more my family and I travel to our homeland of Palestine, the more I understand how fortunate I am to relate to another culture and religion across the globe. That is when I began to educate myself on the history of Islam and the Middle East. With this, I grew extremely proud of my identity, allowing me to express and share it with the world comfortably. But most importantly, I can point out the inaccuracy of the previously mentioned reports, as this article will highlight simply a fraction of what Islam has offered the world we know today. So, what is the Islamic Golden Age?The Islamic Golden Age was a historic time of fascinating scientific, cultural, and economic thriving within the history of Islam, which dated from the 8th to 13th century (“Islamic Golden Age”). This period initially began during the reign of Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786 to 809 A.D.),and Muslims were able to establish one of the largest empires in history ("Islamic Golden Age | Islamic History"). During the time, caliphs (Islamic successors and leaders) established the hub of the Abbasid caliphate (the third Islamic caliphate which succeeded Prophet Muhammed (phuh)) in Baghdad, Iraq ("The Golden Age Of Islam"). Within Baghdad, al-Rashid established the House of Wisdom; an intellectual center and public academy ("House Of Wisdom") which increased in use during the reign of al-Rashid’s son, Al-Ma’mun. This is due to Al-Ma’mun’s persistent effort in recruiting scholars of all faiths and backgrounds, greatly encouraging Specifically, Al-Ma’mun initiated the Translation Movement; where scholars would translate the works and findings of the world into the Arabic language. These findings originated from Ancient Mesopotamia, Rome, China, India, Persia, Egypt, Greece and Byzantine civilizations, making it to Baghdad through the sponsorship of Al-Ma’mun. Simultaneously, other Muslim dynasties, such as the Umayyads of Al-Andalusand the Fatimidsof Egypt, were rivalling Baghdad with their own major intellectual centers, such as Cairo and Cordoba. Those translations were kept in the House of Wisdom, including thousands of scholarly books of discoveries, inventions, philosophies, etc. That being said, the Islamic empire was named the first civilization, bringing people as diverse as the Chinese, the Indians, Europeans, Africans, and people of the Middle East and North Africa together for the mainpurpose of academic evolvement ("Islamic Golden Age | Islamic History"). What was discovered and invented during the Islamic Golden Age?For a glimpse into the many innovations which were discovered at the time, I have provided the names of some of the most significant Islamic scholars of the time (also mentioned in the video), as well as their contributions to which allowed us to reach the level of scientific, economic, culturaland religious knowledge we currently hold.
How did the Islamic Golden Age end?There are many factors which led to the decline of innovation at the time. After Genghis Khan established a powerful dynasty amongst Mongols in 1206, the Mongol Empire (13th- 4th century) conquered most Eurasian lands, including most of the Islamic caliphate. In 1258, Khan’s son, Hulagu Khan, seized and destroyed Baghdad, burning down the House of Wisdom alongside it. This is considered to have marked the end of the Islamic Golden Age by numerous historians (“Islamic Golden Age”). In addition, other invading forces and colonial powers played a role in the decline, such as the 11th century Crusades and the 15thcentury Reconquista. Other factors include political mismanagement (10th century onwards). Essentially, all stated political and economic factors to have caused the decline ("Islamic Golden Age | Islamic History"). Interested in learning more about the Islamic Golden Age?As previously mentioned, my interest in learning about my religion, culture, and their history led me to explore and utilizes resources to gain knowledge about this period of history. For instance, I purchased numerous books and watched various videos online. One book which I really enjoyed and strongly recommend reading was National Geographic’s, 1001 Inventions: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Civilization,which essentially “takes readers on a journey through years of forgotten Islamic history to discover one thousand fascinating scientific and technological inventions still being used throughout the world today” ("1001 Inventions: The Enduring Legacy Of Muslim Civilization"). I have added a link to the book on Amazon below. Furthermore, I have also linked a group of videos available on YouTube which touch on this remarkable era and the scientists mentioned in my article as well. Link to Book (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/1001-Inventions-Civilization-Companion-Exhibition/dp/1426209347 Works Cited "1001 Inventions: The Enduring Legacy Of Muslim Civilization". Amazon.Com, 2019, https://www.amazon.com/1001-Inventions-Civilization-Companion-Exhibition/dp/1426209347. Accessed 24 Mar 2019. "Al-Battani". En.Wikipedia.Org, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Battani. Accessed 24 Mar 2019. "Al-Zahrawi". En.Wikipedia.Org, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Zahrawi. Accessed 24 Mar 2019. "House Of Wisdom". En.Wikipedia.Org, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom. Accessed 22 Mar 2019. "Islamic Golden Age". En.Wikipedia.Org, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age. Accessed 24 Mar 2019. "Islamic Golden Age | Islamic History". Islamichistory.Org, http://islamichistory.org/islamic- golden-age/. Accessed 24 Mar 2019. "The Golden Age Of Islam". Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/.../a/the-golden- age-of-islam. Accessed 24 Mar 2019. "Top 20 Greatest Muslim Scientists and Their Inventions". Listographic, 2017, http://medayarc.com/top-muslim-scientists-and-their-inventions. Accessed 24 Mar 2019. |
What occurred during the golden age of islam?
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