
The History and Achievements of the Islamic Golden Age
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Narrated by:
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Eamonn Gearon
The study of Western Civilization traditionally follows a well-known but incomplete arc: the grand achievements of Greece and Rome, several hundred years of the Dark Ages, and then the bright emergence of the European Renaissance. But amid the "dark" Middle Ages, the Abbasid Empire, which ruled the Middle East as well as much of Northern Africa and Central Asia from 750 to 1258, serves as a vitally important but often overlooked bridge between the ancient and modern worlds.
The History and Achievements of the Islamic Golden Age is your opportunity to get to know the story and the accomplishments of this great period in human civilization. Taught by acclaimed lecturer Eamonn Gearon, these 24 remarkable lectures offer brilliant insights into an era too often overlooked by traditional history textbooks. You'll meet a wealth of scholars, scientists, poets, and philosophers who paved the way for the Renaissance and continue to affect our world in surprising ways.
For instance, gain insights into:
- The origins of the scientific method, along with the development of algebra, chemistry, physics, and astronomy as discrete fields of inquiry
- The invention of the modern "teaching hospital" and a medical encyclopedia that served Europe for the next 600 years
- The preservation and translation of the world's great literature, from the Hadith (or sayings of Muhammad) to the master works of Greece and Rome
- Ontological philosophy that served future Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theologians concerned with the nature of God and the relationship between faith and reason
It is nearly impossible to overstate the power and importance of this crucial 500-year history, headquartered in Baghdad but stretching around the world. While much of Europe was quietly passing the time, the Abbasid Empire was an international, multicultural hub of trade, travel, education, art, science, and much more.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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Any additional comments?
Mr. Gearon makes it clear that this course is not about "*Islamic* achievements" but about cultural, scientific and artistic - outstanding - accomplishments that fall in the *era* of the Islamic Golden Age (which he, openly somewhat arbitrarily, assigns to the mid 8th century to mid 13th).In that regard the course is both interesting and slightly disappointing. Most of the sampled achievements are more or less well known to anyone who some fundamental historic education. Some are described in a somewhat limited / isolated way, though Gearon at times hints at many culturues and peoples being involved.
It does help to have some (rough) understanding of the history of the Islamic "empire" (excuse the term, please), for that I highly recommend Reza Aslan's "No God but God" (which is way more neutral and objective than the title makes one think), to get an understanding of the who-and-where-and-what that you need to put achievements into their respective historical meaning. Since Mr. Gearon sets the end of the Golden Age in sync with the sacking of Bagdad by "the Mongols", it would also be a good idea to have an idea of who those might have been (Jack Weatherford's Dschinghis Khan / Genghis Khan biography is a good read/listen for that). The later is all the more interesting, because Weatherford puts quite some of the achievements credited to (Islamic) cultures to Mongol controlled or influenced peoples ...
What I did like and find interesting about this course was that it - again - underlined the openess, tolerance (to some degree, sure) and "modern, progressive way of thinking" that was not too uncommon in the beginnings of the Islamic "era" (if you want to call it that way). Don't get me wrong, I am not claiming that Islam is "the most open, cultural unbiased invention ever". I am just getting reminded that in its early days - and within its historical context! - it was way, way more open, modern, emancipated than what we see today (sadly) in terms of fundalism, inter-religious quarrels and close-mindness thanks to an also growing intolerance and aggression from other religious sides (also, sadly, from the two "sister" Abrahamic religions).
Even if the course does not talk about "ISLAMIC Golden Times", it does indeed show that there have been "better" times ...
If I am to give some critics, it would be about the - typical for the "Great Courses" - superficialness of most of the topics. It's really barely scratching surfaces and, again typical for this series, does not give you any hints for further reading/listening.
Mr. Gearon has a nice voice, easy to follow, with a sympathic "British touch" to it. His intonation (in terms of putting weight on too many words in a sentence) and some irritating pauses sometimes, seldomly, made following his thoughts a bit more difficult than necessary. On the other hand, he added some very welcome British humor to his narration, that more than compensated for whatever irritations I may have felt.
Mind you: It's not about "Islamic" Achievements ..
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Cheers
Wonderful narrator.
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Great content, delivered well.
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If Dr. Gearon taught me one thing, it’s that we truly stand on the shoulders of giants.
Sheer Brilliance!
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...Staggering...
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Best Great Courses
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Nothing short of wonderful!
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This work is “brain candy” for the curious!
A Magnificent Journey
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Beautiful listen
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I learned so much!
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