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Title details for The House of Wisdom by Jonathan Lyons - Available

The House of Wisdom

How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization

by Jonathan Lyons
ebook
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For centuries following the fall of Rome, western Europe was a
benighted backwater, a world of subsistence farming, minimal literacy,
and violent conflict. Meanwhile Arab culture was thriving, dazzling
those Europeans fortunate enough to catch even a glimpse of the
scientific advances coming from Baghdad, Antioch, or the cities of
Persia, Central Asia, and Muslim Spain. T here, philosophers,
mathematicians, and astronomers were steadily advancing the frontiers of
knowledge and revitalizing the works of Plato and Aristotle. I n the
royal library of Baghdad, known as the House of Wisdom, an army of
scholars worked at the behest of the Abbasid caliphs. At a time when the
best book collections in Europe held several dozen volumes, the House
of Wisdom boasted as many as four hundred thousand. Even
while their countrymen waged bloody Crusades against Muslims, a handful
of intrepid Christian scholars, thirsty for knowledge, traveled to Arab
lands and returned with priceless jewels of science, medicine, and
philosophy that laid the foundation for the Renaissance. I n this
brilliant, evocative book, Lyons shows just how much "Western" culture
owes to the glories of medieval Arab civilization, and reveals the
untold story of how Europe drank from the well of Muslim learning.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 5, 2011

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781608191901

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781608191901
      • File size: 2243 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      April 15, 2009
      During the medieval period (5001500 C.E.), much of Western Europe was a cultural backwater, characterized by ignorance, illiteracy, and violence. At the same time the Arabic world, including Antioch, Crdoba, and Baghdad (where the House of Wisdom, a library, book repository, and academy of scholars, was located) witnessed a flowering of scholars, libraries, scientific advances in medicine, mathematics, geography, astronomy, and agriculture, as well as the translation from Greek of Aristotle, Euclid, and Ptolemy, and other important works from Hindu and Persian scholars. Lyons (former editor, Reuters) shows us not only the Christian scholars, e.g., Adelard of Bath, in their quest for Arabic books and knowledge but also some of the great Muslim scholars like Albumazar and Averroes, as well as rulers and religious leadersboth Christian and Muslim. Lively and well researched, the book clarifies how Arabic books, ideas, and knowledge were found and brought back to Europe to help shape Western ideas. With a list of significant events and leading figures; highly recommended for general readers. (Bibliography, notes, and illustrations not seen.)Melissa Aho, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis

      Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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