While Europe was experiencing the Dark Ages, Islam was experiencing a time of intense philosophical and scientific achievements. The Islamic empire in the eight century preserved and elaborated scientific tradition. They assimilated ancient wisdom and adapted it to their own needs and thinking. Islamic civilization expanded society as a whole and made great contributions in many fields, such as science, math, medicine, theology, and architecture. Without the contributions made by the Islamic culture, the Renaissance Era would not have been the same.
After the fall of the Roman Empire many classical texts had been thought to be lost forever to the Europeans. However, in the Middle East, the study of history was considered fascinating for Muslims and as a result they recorded their own history and the history of others (Bassiouni). As a result, many of the texts believed to have lost had been translated from Greek to Syriac during the sixth and seventh centuries by monks that lived in Palestine. These texts were translated and developed in centers of learning, such as in Baghdad where there existed a “House of Wisdom” in which thousands of texts were stored. All these texts were translated into European languages during the Middle Ages and managed to influence all of Europe (Shah). Through their translations, Muslims allowed the wisdom of great Greek writers like Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Euclid to be regained and rediscovered by future philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists.
Transmissions of this knowledge from the Islamic civilization into Italy happened mainly through Spain. From the eight century to the fifteenth century, Spain was the settling point for Muslims. After they settled in Spain, Muslims began to foc...
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...The impact that Islamic culture had on the West can be seen in literature, mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and many more subjects. For example, Islamic architecture and technique inspired many structures like the Capella Palatine in Palermo, the Palazza Vecchio of Florence, and San Marco in Venice. Islamic contributions helped Western society become more knowledgeable and influenced many new ideas and research, like the idea of college, the new mathematics, and medicine. This increased the Western cultures fascination with Islamic culture, which is shown through the works of Dante, Shakespeare, and Victor Hugo all presenting an Islamic subject. The Islamic urge to pursue knowledge from birth to death influenced the thinking of many in Western Europe. Due to the influence of the Muslim world, the birth of modern Europe, and hence the Renaissance was possible.
The Early Islamic Empire was a place with Muslims, Muhammad, Abu Bakr, and other very significant phenomenonical things
This also increased European interest in Asia, furthering the trends of globalization that had been seen with the development of the Silk Road. This can also be examined through the prominence of madrasas. These were religious colleges and centers of philosophical learning. They originated as a byproduct of Islamic presence in the Caliphates. These learning centers attracted Christian European scholars to much of Islamic Spain and Asia.
The modern world is linked through networks of communication and exchange between peoples. These exchanges between regions has changed cultures, economics, and politics. Through time the cultural influence between regions has consisted of many factors and elements but comes down to the spread of religion and religious teachings , movement of peoples, technological and cultural advancements affecting trade and commerce. Beginning with the Middle Ages in the years 1100-1500 , Africa, Asia, and Europe developed and influenced each other in several different ways. Starting with religion. The birth of Islam in the Middle East rapidly spread throughout Afro- Eurasia. Islam was attractive to people who were uninterested in the requirements of Christianity and the Church.
Spain, during the 8th century, under the rule of the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I, fell into the hands of the Muslims. Coming up from the Maghrib, the Muslims attacked and successfully claimed the Iberian Peninsular. Later, after the fall of the Umayyads to the Abbasids, this Iberian outpost simply became an attempt to continue that, which once was a great empire. Visigothic Spain, therefore, came under significant Islamic influence. This research essay intends to highlight how the Grand Mosque of Córdoba; the Mosque intended on being that of the Caliphate in Spain, illustrates these influences. To understand this better, herein will be discussed, quite simply, aspects of the mosque, which demonstrate that the building, although currently in the form of a cathedral, displays aspects of Moorish Architecture and Art. Whereby, the influence of Islam on Spain will be noticed. In addition to this it will be discussed whether the original design of the Mosque...
The Dark Ages was a depressing, disease-ridden time that the peasantry wanted to escape from. Religious fanaticism was widespread across Europe along with lack of education, social isolation, and more. With the Renaissance brought more advances in medicine, recognition of the arts, awareness of other cultures and religions, more education, and the awakening of curiosity. By learning from the writings and lifestyles of the Romans and Greeks, Europeans acquired the desire to be an individual and not focus on the better good of the church or the nobility. The importance of liberal arts, the change in social hierarchies, and the new thoughts of philosophers changed dramatically from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance
The Islamic Empire explored natural philosophy and employed these understandings in instrumentality. They accumulated the natural philosophy of other cultures and expanded on their ideas in accordance with practicality. The Islamic Empire was the most advanced scientific nation for 500 years but declined because there was not much need for improvement in functioning. Career scientist only existed amongst the rich. The Islamic Empire is focused on the instrumentality of science, but even with the pronounced focus of instrumentality, the Islamic Empire experienced a dynamic between the dichotomy of instrumentality and natural philosophy, each seemingly distinct branch of science ebbing and flowing with the support and advancement of one another.
Islamic civilization began in Arabia, but it spread to many areas in the proximity of the peninsula. It spread as far as Spain, as well as many areas between the two locations. The civilization reached the Eastern Roman Empire, Persia, Egypt, and Africa. The Muslim warriors were extremely courageous, and their religious zeal aided in the conquests of many empires surrounding Arabia. However, the weakn...
...ts and knowledge from other nations and made sometime improved it or added to it and passed it on to other nations, which strengthened the belief of Islam even more to people. All in all, the rise and spread of Islam was very significant during the Postclassical Era.
...or spreading Islam. Advancements in Science and Math helped Islam to move faster. Islam was uniquely successful to attract people towards it where bloodshed was rarely required.
There are many terms used to describe the period after the fall of Rome and before the Renaissance, three main terms being the Middle, Medieval, and Dark Ages. In general, these terms are used interchangeably, but are these fair substitutions? In recent years the term “Dark Ages” is becoming less and less acceptable as a phrase which describes the span of years it is meant to refer to. The use of the term “dark” implies a period of stagnation, which is becoming a questionable concept. In particular, the span of time referred to in this paper is 530-1452 BCE, with specific attention paid to the scientific discoveries and innovations rather than art or literature. These dates are significant because in 529 the Academy and Lyceum in Athens were shutdown by the Byzantine emperor, thus ending the Greek intellectual influence. The date of 1453 is chosen because many Greek texts arrived in Europe in 1453 after the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, thereby reviving the struggling European scientific fields (Bunch 93). This essay will show that the medieval period was not a so-called “dark age” because of scientific innovation in the Islamic world, and is only referred to as such because of the popular bias in the West of focusing on Europe. In order to make this clear, firstly, two objections to this proposition will be analyzed and clearly refuted. Following these counter arguments, the main weight of historical facts and events in the identification and explanation of Islamic scientific innovation will be presented, showing the inaccuracy of referring to the medieval period as dark. Finally, I will show that the misleading perception of the medieval era as stagnant is due to the modern bias for the superiority of Western...
The Renaissance was a time when people began to think and see things differently. It was a time for new innovations. People wanted to study the past and learn more about culture. People began to see important in human emotion, and they began to see that there was much more rather than just religion. Europe was facing many problems like the Black Death. But the problems caused a shift in the world view of people in 14th century Italy. During the early 1400’s, Europe witnessed a major rebirth of fine art painting, sculpture, drawing and architecture. Early Renaissance art had its birth of creativity and development in Florence, Italy, which eventually spread to Western Europe. Italy contained the status of being the richest trading nation with both Europe and the Orient, Italy was fortunate to be left with a huge repository of classical ruins and artifacts. In almost every town and city, examples of Roman architecture and sculpture, including copies of sculptures from Ancient Greece, had been familiar for centuries. The decline of Constantinople and the capital of the Byzantine Empire caused many Greek scholars to go to Italy, bringing knowl...
...xt, from Greek and Arabic into Latin and so it reinforces the idea that Al Andalus was really an empire built on thinkers and knowledge lovers.
The impact of the dark ages had a presumed profound negative impact on Western Europe. The primary cause for this was that the taxation system had fallen apart. It was a time when the emergence of new civilizations lead to conflict. “Invasions” of entire peoples and military expeditions were the largest contributors of these conflicts. Since there were no taxes it left no one to defend against this tyranny. The during this time the plague was breaking out in Constantinople as well. The fall of Rome was from constant conflict with barbarians, this during the migration period various groups of people moved across Europe . Byzantium was flourishing in the Eastern Roman Empire even through the Dark Ages. Depopulation, Deurbanisation, invasion, and movement of people, which began in late antiquity, proceeded in to the early middle ages. The Barbarians invaders, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East, once part of the Eastern Roman Empire came under the rule of the Caliphate, an Islamic empire, after conquest by Muhammad’s successors. Although there were substantial changes in society, and political structures, the break with Antiquity was not complete. The still- sizeable Byzantine empire survived in the east and remained a major power. The empire’s law code, the Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired...
Architects of the Italian renaissance were influenced by the classical roman architecture. This was also pushed by a revival of the classical literature that was seen in humanism.
Religion is an important factor in many lives in today’s society. A particular western religion that is taken very seriously by many is known as Islam. Essentially, Islam means “submission”, or in other words a person is to abide by God and peace will follow. In order to comprehend the Islamic religion, it is consequential to view the major themes associated with this religion. By going through the central themes of Islam it could help others comprehend what is involved with this specific religion.