Other Golden Age

During the Islamic Golden Age (fl. 700 - 1400), scholars and engineers of the Islamic world contributed enormously to philosophy, science and technology, both by preserving and building upon earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations. more...

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Scientific and intellectual achievements blossomed in the Golden age, and passed on to Europe to be expanded upon in the Renaissance.

Foundations

Islamic governments inherited "the knowledge and skills of the ancient Middle East, of Greece, of Persia and of India. They added new and important innovations from outside, such as positional numbering from Ancient India," as Bernard Lewis writes in What Went Wrong?.

Another innovation was paper - originally a secret tightly guarded by the Chinese. The art of papermaking was obtained from two prisoners at the Battle of Talas (751), resulting in paper mills being built in Samarkand and Baghdad. The Arabs improved upon the Chinese techniques using linen rags instead of mulberry bark.

Much of this learning and development can be linked to geography. Even prior to Islam's presence, the city of Mecca served as a center of trade in Arabia and Muhammad was a merchant. The tradition of the pilgrimage to Mecca became a center for exchanging ideas and goods. The influence held by Muslim merchants over African-Arabian and Arabian-Asian trade routes was tremendous. As a result, Islamic civilization grew and expanded on the basis of its merchant economy, in contrast to their Christian, Indian and Chinese peers who built societies from an agricultural landholding nobility. Merchants brought goods and their faith to China (resulting in a significant population of an estimated 37 million Chinese Muslims, mainly ethnic Turkic Uyghur whose territory was annexed to China), India (the Indian subcontinent now has over 450 million followers), Southeast Asia (which now has over 230 million followers), and the kingdoms of Western Africa and returned with new inventions. Merchants used their wealth to invest in textiles and plantations.

Aside from traders, Sufi missionaries also played a large role in the spread of Islam, by bringing their message to various regions around the world. The principal locations included: Ancient Mesopotamia (Iran and Iraq), Central Asia and North Africa. Although, the mystics also had a significant influence in parts of Eastern Africa, Ancient Anatolia (Turkey), South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia.

Islamic art

The golden age of Islamic (and/or Muslim) art lasted from 750 to the 16th century, when ceramics, glass, metalwork, textiles, illuminated manuscripts, and woodwork flourished. Lustered glass became the greatest Islamic contribution to ceramics. Manuscript illumination became an important and greatly respected art, and portrait miniature painting flourished in Persia. Calligraphy, an essential aspect of written Arabic, developed in manuscripts and architectural decoration.

Read more at Wikipedia.org