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Article: A Flowering of Arts and Wisdom.(golden age of Islamic scholarship Abbasid dynasty)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- February 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The five centuries of the Abbasid era (A.D. 750-1258) saw the flowering of the arts and sciences. Unlike the Umayyads, the Abbasids sought to assimilate all Muslims -- both Arabs and non-Arabs -- into one Muslim community with equal rights for every member. To be sure, the Abbasid interpretation of Islam was more universal than the only-Arab position held by the Umayyads. It was this interpretation that brought the Abbasids into contact with nations of diverse backgrounds and cultural ideas.
Special emphasis was placed on studying scientific books and papers that were written in the Greek, Indian, and Syriac languages. Since not all scholars or students spoke ...