Middle East And The West Of Asia History - Assignment Example

The Middle East And The West Of Asia History The Middle East and West of Asia history extends from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance. It takes on the classical inheritance of the West hence remaining as a representative of events that transpired and whose effects prompted other medieval happenings that have continued to be felt to the present day. The Crusades marked the major occurrence of conflicts between the West and the East during the Middle Ages. The impacts of the crusades, which explain historical forces shaping the modern culture of Islamic and Arab consciousness, form the basis of which the choice of the topic would be selected. The primary source of information in this research will be the book ‘The Crusades through Arab Eyes’ by Amin Maalouf. Amin Maalouf is the former Director of An-Nahar, Beirut's leading newspaper and remains the author of seven novels. This book contains a combination of contemporary workings of participants, eyewitnesses and Arab chronicles in the Crusades. Maalouf’s narration remains an essential literary resource for writing the focus paper and literature review is the research methodology to be utilized in the paper. Focus Paper, I Research Paper The Crusades The Crusades marked a period of intensive interaction between the medieval West and the Middle East. It involved politics and religion hence affecting culture and history in significant ways. For instance, the need to protect boundaries against external invasions arose because of the modeling of national identity. Consequently, the outcomes of the Crusades affected cultural aspects such as musical instruments, lyrics, and music. The introduction of spices, desire for fabrics, Latin translations, and Aristotle through Arab translations also constitutes the indirect impacts of the Crusades. This research paper presents an insight into the occurrences of the Crusades and the analysis of the significance of these occurrences in both the medieval period and modern society. Maalouf (1989) combined the contemporary works of participants, eyewitnesses, and Arab chronicles in the Crusades to narrate their stories as well as provide an understanding of the historical factors that modeled the Islamic and Arab awareness in the present day. The Crusades included expeditions to the Holy Land, Iberian Island, and North Eastern Europe, against Ottoman Turks, and the Hussite and Albigensian crusades. In addition, the jihad concept employed by the Muslim leaders became less significant during the last phase of the tenth century. However, the jihad concept regained force in the twelfth-century wars between Muslims and the Latin Christian Crusaders. Hence, the Crusades raised a conflict between Christians and Muslims who were believed to threaten the existence of the Christian faith. During this period, Latin Christians never gained victory in the wars but did slow down the propagation of the Islamic faith. In the Iberian Peninsula Crusade, Christian leaders replaced Muslim leaders. As a result, other Christians, Muslims, and the Jews were forced to convert to the Catholic faith. Most notably would be the Hussite Crusade of the 1420s in which the Hussite heretical doctrine remained not eliminated. On the contrary, the Albigensian Crusade eliminated the aristocratic clans who believed in the Cathar heretical doctrine. The wars and the plagues of incurable diseases that occurred during the Crusades period distressed the whole nation as well as killing vast portions of the world’s population thus destroying cities. The overtaxed and marginalized populations in the society protested against authoritative governments. It would be worth noting that, because of the Crusades, women began participating in high roles in both their cultures and the Western world. Despite the negative impacts of the wars marking the Crusades, positive impacts also emerged to mark the history of the Middle East and the West of Asia. The acquisition of an all-encompassing library in Toledo, Spain in 1085 contributed significantly to Arab learning in Western Europe. In addition, the holy wars stimulated literature works in Western Europe. The intensive interaction between the medieval West and the Middle East led to the creation of a positive image adopted by the Crusaders about the Muslim population. Moreover, the demand for various products encouraged trade between various populations. Crusades stimulated the introduction of spices to Europe such as saffron, coriander, and cinnamon as well as dried fruits such as figs and prunes. Aristotle through Arab translations was introduced at the European University thereby leading to significant changes in philosophy and sciences. A desire for fabrics, for instance, silk, in addition to Latin translations constituted the positive impacts of the Crusades. In effect, the emphasis of philosophy and science on the world material facilitated the destabilization of the monolithic institutionalization of the Catholic Church’s controls. Political and economic conflicts between cathedral clergy, kings, and bishops holding authority in medieval towns existed in relation to the architecture and maintenance of cathedrals. From the information gathered, the artists, patrons, and builders remained unsuccessful in their construction aspects of the cathedral. Consequently, the Catholic Church underwent reformation in its architecture by incorporating Gothic in place of Romanesque while fostering spiritual, political and community growth. The medieval period also marked the introduction of the liturgy with the dramatization of its symbolic events, morality, and mystery plays. The period also marked the emergence of universities as medieval institutions besides schools and the cathedral, which trained new priests. Towns as economic centers complementary to the middle-class development emerged in both Western and Eastern Europe. The development of towns raised the necessity for nomadic mendicancy that mainly begged for donations or charities in urban centers along with propagating the teachings of the Catholic Church. The effects of the Crusades also influenced cultural aspects such as musical instruments, lyrics, and music. These cultural changes could be attributed to the influences of individuals like Eleanor of Aquitaine, the wife of Henry of Anjou and the wife of King Louis VII. For instance, the vernacular lyrics of the wife of Henry of Anjou presented a zealous declaration of service towards women as well as personal expressions of feelings. The concept of courtly love also emerged encompassing subjects such as marriage, the pursuit of women and love in addition to the romantic literature. Additionally, commentaries and interpretations regarding the codes of belief of Christianity, feudalism, the position of women in the society formed the context of the twelfth-century events following the aftermath of Crusades. Furthermore, the revival of classical learning, Islamic influence, and reviews on philosophical and cultural backgrounds from the events of the twelfth century. In analyzing the outcomes of the Crusades, other developments took place in relation to health, welfare, and wealth in urban centers. The significance of cities relied on the necessity for trade; need to satisfy personal wants, the stability of social classes, wealth accumulation by individuals and the resultant economic influence and political control. The social role of medieval cities in the development of nationalism, education, and literacy also characterized the significance of these cities. Moreover, the emergence of the middle-class concept originates from the rise of cities. In a similar perspective, the evolution of modern civilization could have only occurred following the rise and growth of medieval cities along with their associated cultural and artistic influences. The developments in science and technology consequently transformed the modern world into an engine and commercial driven society in terms of agriculture, the invention of the horizontal loom in cloth and the iron works and water power. Technology also facilitated the concepts of defined methodology and mechanization. Moreover, people organize their activities using timetables because of the discovery of the mechanical clock thereby changing the modern life. In conclusion, the paper presented the occurrences of the Crusades to include wars between different religious associations, conflicts between civic and church leaders, territorial invasions, the rise, and fall of Christianity and Islam faiths with their associated effects, and reformation of the Catholic Church’s architecture. Following these occurrences, the aftermath of the Crusades led to both negative and positive impacts. Negative impacts may include the destruction of cities and loss of lives. On the contrary, positive impacts consist of advancement in science, technology, and growth of cities. The growth of cities facilitated growth on the trade that stabilized social classes. The development enhanced health and welfare, which are essential for existence. Therefore, the manner in which the various cultures that existed during the Crusades period coped with these historical occurrences remains an essential element of the research study in the history of the Middle East and the West of Asia. References Maalouf, A. (1989). The Crusades through Arab Eyes. New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Read More