The Islamic Golden Age

Brief HistoryIslamic Golden Age traditionally dated from the mid-7th

century to the mid 13th century

Many scholars tend to think that the Golden Age came to an end around the 16th to 17th century

Much of the Arabic-speaking world was under rule of various Caliphates

Caliphates (Arabic: “khilāfa)-- refers to a person or religious successor of the prophet

Muhammad that was a leader of the Muslim community

Credited for a variety of advancements in Western civilization

What did the Islamic Golden Age Have to Offer?➢ Advancements in:

○ Artistry

○ Engineering

○ Architecture

○ Poetry

○ Philosophy

○ Agriculture

○ Economics

○ Industry

○ Law

○ Literature○ Navigation○ Sciences○ Sociology○ Technology

The First “Truly Universal Civilization”

Brought together, for the first time, a diverse population consisting of people from China, India, people of the Middle-East and North Africa, and the Europeans

How the Islamic Golden Age Came About

● Islam began in the Arabian Peninsula in the early 7th century

● By the 13th century, Islam had spread across India and Southeast Asia

● Reasons for the success and expansion of Islam and its empire be attributed to:

○ Strong Arab Army

○ Use and development of common language

○ Reasonable treatment of conquered peoples

Religion

Emphasis on religion proved to be one of the biggest influences for the Islamic Golden Age

Various Quranic injunctions and Hadith placed values on education and emphasize the importance of acquiring knowledge

Islamic rulers welcomed conversion to the Islamic faith

All muslims must learn Arabic, so that they can read the Qur’an, the Islamic holy book

Cultural Influence

Being that the Islamic empire had such strong trade routes, the cultural influence could be considered a melting pot

Science, more specifically, medicine, was a central focus and one of the biggest influences left behind by the Islamic Golden Age

built on the legacies left behind by Greek and Roman physicians and scholars

Government- Very Openminded

- Allowed Jews and Christians to Advance in society

- Heavily Financed Scholars and Innovators

- Hunavn ibn Ishaq was a scholar during the Golden Age of Islam. He was paid a salary by the government that would make a pro football player pause.

- Established laws that favored scientific advancement

- Made it so that it was illegal to refuse to treat someone if they could not afford medical care.

Technologies- New Medical Technologies

- Vaccines

- New Farming Techniques

- Crop Rotation

- Incorporating foreign plants

- Hydropower/Wind power

- Used to power mills and factories

Advancements in Science- Scientific Method

- Astronomy

- Chemistry

- Medicine

- Many other areas of science including Biology, earth sciences, psychology, and social sciences.

- Public hospital

- Pyshiatric hospital

- Pubilc library

- Degree-granting universities

- Astronomical observatory

Institutions

Commerce and Trade- Contributed to globalization

- Extensive trade networks

- Monetary economy

- Industrial growth

- Labor

Architecture- Great Mosques

- Great Mosque of Uqba

- Great Mosque of Samarra

- Influence on other Spanish mosques

- The Great Mosque of Cordoba, Spain

- Alhambra Palace, Granada

Decline of the Golden Age- Several Wars took their toll on the Islamic people

- The Crusades

- Mongol Empire’s conquest Westward

- Loss of Academic material

- Schools destroyed

- Books lost

- Anti-Rational schools established (Ash’ari Schools)

- Very strict and literal interpretation of the Qur’an and Hadith used.

- Greek Philosophy and Science is outlawed. (It becomes heresy against Islam)

- Science is heresy as it contradicts god.

- ex: Water cycle is heretical because god wills it to rain.

Impact Today- Many Technologies that originated in Islamic Golden Age persist today

- Farming techniques

- Vaccinations

- Islamic architecture used globally

- Spain

- Africa

- Trade Influcences world

- Asia

- Europe

- Africa

- Causes of Golden Age decline continue

- Science is still rejected, or at least looked down on.

- Religious prosecution against non-islamic people