Rachel Parikh explains how this period of cultural, artistic and scientific advancements has impacted modern life
What were some of the foundational underpinnings of what we’ve come to call the Islamic Golden Age?
There are several factors and circumstances that led to the Golden Age. First, and perhaps most significantly, is the very nature of the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258). It was a vast empire; at its greatest extent, it stretched from modern-day Tunisia to modern-day Pakistan. The empire also experienced virtually no external attacks and no internal political turmoil. Their power and stability can be accredited to unifying people under a single faith, that of Islam; the use and standardisation of Arabic; and the creation of an inclusive society, with policies that supported both Muslims and non-Muslims, such as Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians.
Another factor was the establishment of the Abbasid’s capital of Baghdad. The second ruler of the Caliphate, Al-Mansur (r. 754-775), chose the location for its strategic position on the Tigris River and along the Silk Roads. Baghdad thus quickly became a major centre within this vast network of trade, commerce, and cultural exchange, and attracted merchants from all over, such as China, India, Ethiopia, and the Frankish lands.
Finally, the Abbasid Caliphate’s support of education and learning was a notable contributor. The Caliphate was essentially governed by the Prophet Muhammad’s famous assertion, “The ink of scholars is more precious than the blood of martyrs’’. Public education, as well as madrasas – institutions of secular and religious learning – spread rapidly across the kingdom. Public hospitals provided doctors with opportunities to teach, research, and observe. The government also supported scholars and translators, with the most notable earning salaries equivalent to what professional athletes make today.
But perhaps the most significant example of the Caliphate’s patronisation of learning and education is the House of Wisdom. This became a central institution of knowledge, where research was conducted; where foreign works were translated into Arabic from, where scholars stayed or visited, where debates occurred and where new works across disci
