00:00:04
the Islamic Golden Age is a critical
00:00:07
moment in history which served as a
00:00:09
bright beacon of progress in the Middle
00:00:10
Ages and whose achievements greatly
00:00:13
advanced the frontiers of human
00:00:14
knowledge it's long reach still
00:00:16
manifests all around us in the form of
00:00:18
our numeral system our words like
00:00:20
algebra algorithm and Almanac and in the
00:00:23
names of the stars in the night sky
00:00:24
unfortunately much of this goes
00:00:26
unnoticed has modern perceptions of the
00:00:28
Islamic world have greatly stifled
00:00:30
interest in its rich history today I
00:00:32
wanted to offer viewers a different
00:00:34
perspective than the one depicted on
00:00:35
24-hour news broadcasts in order to do
00:00:38
so we shall provide context for the rise
00:00:40
of the Islamic empire before discussing
00:00:42
the Golden Age and its crown jewel the
00:00:44
House of Wisdom in Baghdad before we
00:00:47
start I wanted to thank the channel alma
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Mohammed had first begun to share the
00:01:48
revelation of the Quran in 610 ad in his
00:01:51
home town of Mecca before being forced
00:01:53
to flee to Medina in 622 from here the
00:01:56
Prophet played a significant hand in the
00:01:58
geopolitics of the region which helped
00:01:59
spread the reach of his message and his
00:02:01
followers with an attacker Muhammad's
00:02:03
forces to feed their local rivals in
00:02:05
Mecca and in short order were able to
00:02:07
consolidate their power in the Arabian
00:02:09
Peninsula upon Muhammad's death in 632
00:02:11
control of the emerging Empire
00:02:13
pass into the hands of various
00:02:15
successors who held the title of Caleb
00:02:17
the first four rulers formed the
00:02:19
rashidun caliphate they were deeply
00:02:20
impactful and led the charge of the
00:02:22
empire out of the Arabian Peninsula and
00:02:24
into the wider world of a Mediterranean
00:02:26
here they struck down the armies of the
00:02:28
exhausted Byzantines and sassanids to
00:02:30
take control of the Levant Egypt
00:02:32
Mesopotamia Persia and Anatolia the
00:02:34
Sassanid Empire collapsed completely
00:02:36
while the Byzantines managed to retreat
00:02:39
and barely held on the momentum of the
00:02:41
Islamic expansion slowed down in mid 7th
00:02:43
century but quickly resumed with the
00:02:45
rise of the Maya killers who pushed the
00:02:46
borders of the Empire all the way to the
00:02:48
Indus in the East and Iberia in the West
00:02:50
while the edges of the expanding Islamic
00:02:52
empire were as bloody and destructive as
00:02:54
one might expect from any other rising
00:02:57
power at the time the territory within
00:02:58
the Empire proved far more peaceful and
00:03:01
prosperous after all the area that was
00:03:03
coming under the control of the caliphs
00:03:05
had long been fertile economic cultural
00:03:07
and scientific ground for many previous
00:03:09
rulers by breaking down existing
00:03:11
fractured realms and reforming them
00:03:13
under one domain an incredible amount of
00:03:15
new opportunities opened up as dan
00:03:17
Carlin might put it this creative
00:03:19
destruction was clearing out the old
00:03:20
forests to make room for a new one to
00:03:23
rise from its ashes one of the important
00:03:27
features of the Islamic conquests was
00:03:29
that the rapid expansion had
00:03:31
necessitated a policy of leniency when
00:03:33
it came to incorporating the vast
00:03:35
domains of the Kiev's which were filled
00:03:37
with all kinds of people from varying
00:03:38
ethnicities and religions Islamic rule
00:03:41
was therefore not a case of convert or
00:03:42
die at sword point and instead resembled
00:03:45
something more along the lines of Roman
00:03:47
tolerance and fair governing Islam still
00:03:49
played a large role in the Empire but
00:03:51
was envisioned as something uniquely for
00:03:53
the Arabs who existed as a sort of
00:03:56
military caste above their subjects in
00:03:58
fact the ruling class would put in place
00:04:00
many measures to set Muslim Arabs apart
00:04:02
as their own preferred group yet even
00:04:05
this group did not isolate itself
00:04:07
entirely as Outsiders they were keenly
00:04:09
aware that they had much to learn and
00:04:11
adopted a surprising degree of openness
00:04:13
and flexibility one of the greatest
00:04:15
manifestations of this mindset was the
00:04:17
Arabic translation movement gaining real
00:04:19
momentum in the 7th century under the
00:04:21
Umayyads the movement was a white
00:04:23
attempt to translate greek roman persian
00:04:26
indian chinese and other written stores
00:04:28
of knowledge into arabic this frenzied
00:04:31
activity saw countless ancient texts
00:04:33
brought together for the first time in
00:04:35
history their contents not merely
00:04:37
translated but compared discussed
00:04:39
critiqued and disseminated these
00:04:42
scholarly efforts were critical in
00:04:43
protecting previous works that might
00:04:45
have been lost to the ages and produced
00:04:47
much that was new the alliance focus
00:04:49
their attention in many practical
00:04:50
subjects commissioning works on medicine
00:04:52
mathematics and astronomy however it
00:04:55
would be the succeeding of Bassets who
00:04:57
greatly increased the scope and scale of
00:04:59
these endeavors delving deeper into the
00:05:01
sciences whilst also exploring the
00:05:03
diverse fields of art and philosophy the
00:05:06
rule of his third Caliphate would bring
00:05:07
about the Golden Age of Islam and Birth
00:05:09
the House of Wisdom the opposites
00:05:13
emerged as victors from one of the many
00:05:15
revolts against the ruling minds in the
00:05:17
mid 80s in Cheree the unrest had many
00:05:19
contributing factors but was largely
00:05:20
driven by a desire to overthrow the
00:05:22
current system which almost exclusively
00:05:24
favored the minority group of Muslim
00:05:26
Arabs some examples of common grievances
00:05:29
included the monetization of both
00:05:31
government and military bureaucracies as
00:05:33
well as discriminatory regulations on
00:05:35
marriage housing and taxation where
00:05:37
other revolts were defeated the app
00:05:39
assets found
00:05:39
stunning success through careful
00:05:41
planning propaganda secrecy and decisive
00:05:43
action in fact theirs would prove to be
00:05:45
one of the most successful revolutions
00:05:47
of the era the impact of the uprising
00:05:49
was significant in that it restructured
00:05:52
the power balance of the Empire no
00:05:54
longer were the Muslim Arabs to soul
00:05:55
masters of the realm now the fruits of
00:05:57
the Caliphate were shared more equitably
00:05:59
across the empire by a broader coalition
00:06:01
of nearly enfranchised subjects
00:06:04
thanks to this easing of social
00:06:05
restrictions Islam was transformed from
00:06:07
an insular religion for the Arabs to a
00:06:09
universal world of religion this in turn
00:06:12
led to a new openness to ideas from
00:06:14
across the Empire regardless of their
00:06:16
geographic origin as had occurred
00:06:18
previously following the conquests of
00:06:19
Alexander the Great a huge cultural and
00:06:22
scientific exchange was unleashed across
00:06:24
the east and the West
00:06:25
this was the Islamic Golden Age to
00:06:28
commemorate their new world order the
00:06:29
abbasids founded the brand-new capital
00:06:31
of batad commissioned on 30th of July
00:06:34
762 by the key
00:06:35
al-mansour it was located just 30
00:06:38
kilometers from the ancient Persian
00:06:40
capital of Tessa fond and commanded
00:06:42
strategic control of both the
00:06:43
surrounding fertile river plain and
00:06:45
trade routes it's placement was a
00:06:47
reflection of the more Eastern focus of
00:06:50
the Ambassador who increasingly adopt
00:06:52
all things Persian built in just four
00:06:54
years but that was a marvel of
00:06:56
construction and surely deserves its
00:06:58
very own video suffice to say it proved
00:07:01
to be the beating heart of the Islamic
00:07:02
empire and one of the jewels of the
00:07:03
ancient world which rivaled the greatest
00:07:05
cities of Europe under elements whose
00:07:07
careful Direction Baghdad experienced a
00:07:10
meteoric rise and quickly became a
00:07:12
bustling cosmopolitan city this activity
00:07:14
attracted some of the brightest minds of
00:07:16
the Middle Ages and ignited the
00:07:18
translation movement which had
00:07:19
previously began under demise and was
00:07:21
just now adopting papermaking from the
00:07:23
Chinese to quote professor Ammann Garin
00:07:26
the talented Arabs Jews Christians and
00:07:29
other specialists from the Middle East
00:07:31
and beyond all contributing the quantity
00:07:33
and the variety of works translated
00:07:35
during this period or staggering this
00:07:38
included books on algebra geometry
00:07:40
metaphysics logic and endless treatises
00:07:43
on astronomy and astrology it said that
00:07:46
on one occasion when the caliph al
00:07:47
Mamoon sent a mission to bring text back
00:07:50
from rasa or northern Persia the camel
00:07:52
caravan that marched into Baghdad
00:07:54
consisted of a hundred animals just to
00:07:56
carry the manuscripts this must have
00:07:59
been a truly magnificent sight to behold
00:08:00
especially given the contrast in Europe
00:08:02
where centers of learning were being
00:08:04
abandoned or pillaged creative energy
00:08:06
soon bubbled up not just in Baghdad but
00:08:09
across the whole empire on the primary
00:08:11
focal point were the schools of higher
00:08:13
education known as madrasahs these had
00:08:15
first started as mosques that Tod
00:08:17
religious law and practical skills but
00:08:19
which were soon swept up in the
00:08:20
Enlightenment fervor of the era within a
00:08:23
century funding from private or public
00:08:25
sources such as Vox allowed them to
00:08:27
quickly grow in scope and scale in a
00:08:30
short matter of time virtually all major
00:08:32
towns had at least one madrasah while
00:08:34
larger cities might have had hundreds of
00:08:36
them alongside other educational centers
00:08:38
such as libraries functioning as early
00:08:40
proto universities these mattresses
00:08:42
taught religious subjects in addition to
00:08:44
the rash
00:08:45
Sciences which included subjects as
00:08:47
varied as mathematics astronomy
00:08:49
astrology geography alchemy philosophy
00:08:52
and occultism depending on the
00:08:54
curriculum of the specific institution
00:08:55
in question such was the demand for
00:08:57
these institutions that the scholars and
00:08:59
translators could now make a reliable
00:09:02
living and academic life was seen as a
00:09:04
symbol of status knowledge itself became
00:09:06
so highly prized that the acquisition of
00:09:09
ancient texts even came to be considered
00:09:11
a valuable wartime plunder comparable to
00:09:13
gold for instance one of the peace
00:09:15
treaties signed between the ambassadors
00:09:16
and the Byzantines stipulated the
00:09:18
ptolemies Almagest must be handed over
00:09:20
as a part of the exchange the greater
00:09:23
ramifications of this society wide
00:09:24
embrace of learning was that the
00:09:26
Caliphate of the Islamic Golden Age
00:09:27
boasted the highest literacy rate of the
00:09:30
Middle Ages while the model system did a
00:09:32
great job
00:09:32
educating the public the more serious
00:09:34
scientific advances were carried out by
00:09:36
scholars working within major urban
00:09:38
centres under the patronage of Abbasid
00:09:40
Nobles it is therefore in the capital of
00:09:42
behad under the direct sponsorship of
00:09:44
the caliphs that the greatest hub of
00:09:45
learning would emerge the speaking of
00:09:47
the Islamic Golden Age would be known as
00:09:49
battle hikmah the House of Wisdom the
00:09:53
House of Wisdom had its origins in the
00:09:55
founding of batad during construction
00:09:56
the caliph al-mansur
00:09:58
added a library to his palace providing
00:10:00
economic and political support to the
00:10:02
scholars who worked there
00:10:03
successive caliphs would maintain and
00:10:05
expand this institution for instance the
00:10:07
fifth Abbasid ruler Harun al-rashid
00:10:09
is noted for adding his own storehouse
00:10:11
of the books of wisdom however it would
00:10:13
be the seventh caliph al Mamoon
00:10:15
who truly left his mark he ordered the
00:10:17
construction of new wings dedicated to
00:10:19
each branch of science in addition to
00:10:21
building brand new study centers and
00:10:23
even a state-of-the-art observatory in
00:10:25
829 quite the scholar himself the Caliph
00:10:28
lavished such support and attention on
00:10:30
the center of learning that today he is
00:10:32
credited as the founder of the famed
00:10:34
house of wisdom so what was the house of
00:10:36
wisdom basically it was a well-funded
00:10:39
centralized hub for learning however I
00:10:42
know that the exact nature of that hub
00:10:44
is subject to debate very little
00:10:46
physical evidence remains today and we
00:10:48
are left guessing as to whether the
00:10:50
House of Wisdom was a single entity or a
00:10:52
web of institutions spread across
00:10:54
Baghdad regardless of the distinction
00:10:56
it is clear that the scholarly community
00:10:58
greatly benefited from the synergistic
00:10:59
environment which evolved into something
00:11:01
comparable to that of our own university
00:11:04
towns so who worked at the House of
00:11:07
Wisdom
00:11:08
well for starters there would have been
00:11:09
a large body of scholars made up of
00:11:11
various specialists and their students
00:11:13
this group would in turn have its own
00:11:15
administrators and support staff which
00:11:18
included its scribes translators
00:11:20
archivists guards chefs and sweepers
00:11:22
these positions would have been filled
00:11:24
by men and women of many ethnicities and
00:11:26
faiths from across the Empire and beyond
00:11:28
Persians featured prominently in their
00:11:30
ranks and even Christians occupied
00:11:32
important roles in the House of Wisdom
00:11:34
walking through the halls you would have
00:11:36
heard a huge number of different
00:11:37
languages including Arabic Farsi aramaic
00:11:40
hebrew syriac greek and latin it was
00:11:43
truly a remarkably inclusive endeavor
00:11:45
what did they accomplish one of the main
00:11:48
activities taking place in the House of
00:11:50
Wisdom was the translation of works into
00:11:52
Arabic such as writings of Greek
00:11:54
philosophers Roman doctors Persian
00:11:56
astronomers and indian mathematicians
00:11:58
this was no simple matter just
00:12:00
translating the text word for word
00:12:02
requires an expertise in the subject
00:12:05
matter to properly interpret the
00:12:06
material such was the value of this work
00:12:08
that under the Caliph al Mamoon it was
00:12:10
reported that experts could expect to
00:12:12
receive payment equivalent to their
00:12:14
books weight in gold however things did
00:12:17
not stop there once in Arabic countless
00:12:20
scholars would pour over the material
00:12:21
comparing it with other works debating
00:12:24
its merits amongst their peers and
00:12:26
injecting their own learned opinion in
00:12:28
this way hundreds of years of
00:12:29
commentaries and revisions would be
00:12:31
added to the translated text on top of
00:12:34
this new research and experimentation
00:12:35
was taking place in centers such as the
00:12:38
great observatory of ba Dada
00:12:39
the result was that wild light of
00:12:41
civilization may have dimmed in the West
00:12:43
with the fall of the Roman Empire it
00:12:45
roared with life in the East and led
00:12:47
mankind into the future now let's take a
00:12:50
closer look at some of those incredible
00:12:52
achievements coming out of the House of
00:12:53
Wisdom and the Islamic Golden Age the
00:12:57
first leader of the House of Wisdom was
00:12:59
the Christian who anonymous hawk dubbed
00:13:01
as the Sheikh of the translators he
00:13:03
reproduced 116 works including the
00:13:06
entire collection of Greek medical books
00:13:08
and great texts
00:13:09
Apollonius Archimedes Euclid and Ptolemy
00:13:12
as an excellent physician and surgeon he
00:13:14
also wrote some of his own material such
00:13:16
as the 10 treatises of Ophthalmology
00:13:18
which was the first textbook of its kind
00:13:20
to explain the anatomy of the I along
00:13:22
with its diseases symptoms and
00:13:24
treatments in a systemic and detailed
00:13:26
way well what is me another leader of
00:13:30
the House of Wisdom produced important
00:13:31
works in mathematics astronomy and
00:13:33
geography known as the father of algebra
00:13:35
his treatise entitled the compendious
00:13:38
book on calculations by completion and
00:13:40
balancing would be used as the principal
00:13:42
mathematics textbook in Europe until the
00:13:44
16th century his second most influential
00:13:47
work on arithmetic using hindu-arabic
00:13:49
numerals revolutionized the manipulation
00:13:51
of numbers and gave rise to the term
00:13:53
algorithm in addition he contributed
00:13:56
significantly to the development of
00:13:57
trigonometry and geography building upon
00:14:00
world maps by calculating the precise
00:14:01
latitudes of various cities al-kindi
00:14:05
remembered that the father of our
00:14:07
philosophy delved deep into the writings
00:14:09
of Hellenistic thinkers and successfully
00:14:11
incorporated Aristotelian and
00:14:13
neo-platonist thought into an Islamic
00:14:15
philosophical framework he is also noted
00:14:18
for his 230 works in many other subjects
00:14:21
such as astronomy optics medicine
00:14:23
chemistry and mathematics however one of
00:14:26
his most interesting and influential
00:14:27
books would be entitled the manuscript
00:14:30
on deciphering cryptographic messages
00:14:32
which earned him recognition as one of
00:14:35
the fathers of cryptography eben Cena
00:14:39
known to the West as Hasina was another
00:14:42
Titan of his time without 450 published
00:14:45
works covering topics such as astronomy
00:14:47
alchemy geography geology psychology
00:14:50
theology logic mathematics physics and
00:14:53
poetry his most famous book is the Canon
00:14:55
of Medicine a medical encyclopedia which
00:14:58
became a standard text at many medieval
00:15:00
universities for nearly seven hundred
00:15:01
years there are countless more such
00:15:04
figures we could list off Alda Harvey
00:15:06
the father surgery fab nagura the
00:15:09
founder of statistics is my eldest ari
00:15:12
who engineered intricate water pumps and
00:15:14
automated clocks al-biruni who
00:15:16
calculated the radius of the earth to
00:15:18
within several kilometers and many more
00:15:20
not
00:15:21
even mentioned the many fantastic
00:15:22
artists poets musicians and architects
00:15:25
of the period the end of the Islamic
00:15:26
Golden Age sadly after nearly 500 years
00:15:29
the Islamic Golden Age would draw to a
00:15:31
close many scholars placed the state in
00:15:34
1258 with the Mongol sack of behad which
00:15:36
destroyed the city along with the House
00:15:38
of Wisdom
00:15:39
while this undeniably traumatic event
00:15:41
greatly setback the Islamic world much
00:15:44
of the era's momentum continued to
00:15:45
propel it forward however in the long
00:15:47
run these sorts of attacks did begin to
00:15:50
take their toll Muslim leaders
00:15:52
increasingly found themselves in
00:15:53
troubled economic and political waters
00:15:55
which made it difficult to maintain the
00:15:57
thriving environment of the Golden Age
00:15:59
turning more to military matters and
00:16:01
warned us of the outside influence led
00:16:03
to a decline in the openness of sciences
00:16:05
and a turn inwards to more closed-minded
00:16:07
dogmatism I hope you've enjoyed this
00:16:11
video and the amazing history of the
00:16:13
Islamic world that so often goes
00:16:14
unappreciated in the modern media for
00:16:17
more great content definitely check out
00:16:19
the channel alma-tadema
00:16:20
which does an amazing job bringing this
00:16:22
history to life see you next time a huge
00:16:25
thanks is owed to our supporters on
00:16:27
patreon and the many talented
00:16:29
researchers writers and artists who made
00:16:31
this video possible please consider
00:16:33
contributing to fund future content if
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you found this topic interesting check
00:16:37
out these related videos about our
00:16:38
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00:16:40
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