Islamic Golden Age - Book Report/Review Example

Islamic Golden Age Introduction The rationale of this book report is to create an improved understanding of the Islamic golden era and the contribution to the world. The book report is from “Empire of the Islamic World” the work of Robin Doak. The reason for choosing this particular book is the fact that the resource explores the Islamic empire society. Its' daily life which includes art, architecture mythology and religious beliefs, industry, trade, military strategy and structure, mathematics and medicine, language and literature and astronomy among others is clearly depicted. The ‘Islamic Golden Age’ is dated from the 7th century to the mid 13th. This period is known to be an era where the Muslim rulers established the largest empires known. During this period the philosophers geographers, traders, engineers, scholars, poets among others made contribution in the arts, agriculture, industry, navigation, geography, technology, law, sociology, and other fields. The book gives the clear picture of the Muslim society at its peak having being the major intellectual center of civilization. The Islamic empire is portrayed as the first truly universal civilization since it brought together all the races and a major innovation at the time was paper. This was discovered in the 751ad after the battle of Talas spreading the art to the Islamic cities Baghdad and Samarkand. The book is about the tremendous aspect of civilization the Islamic empire introduced to the modern world. ‘Empire of the Islamic world’ addresses this and other connections that relate to the world. The paper will look into several points that make the book more suited in the explanation of the Islamic empire and the impacts it made at its peak era. Islamic Ethics In the book, Robin gives the audience the ethics that medieval Muslims pursued in their search for knowledge. The author depicts the Muslim thinkers as a humanistic, rational and scientific in their pursuit of knowledge shows that the Islamic thinkers were open to the humanistic ideas some bits of secularism, liberalism and skepticism. The author gives distinct features of the society that made it flourish at the time. One of the prominent features of the society that was intriguing was the emphasis on the freedom of speech. This was demonstrated in the method of conversion of religious opponents. Most of the religious clerics were not into compulsion of religious beliefs, but reason was commonly used as the main collection point of followers. Institutions As portrayed by the author, the Islamic empire forms some of the most important educational and scientific institutions previously unknown to the ancient world. They were the first empire to introduce the public hospitals replacing the sleep and healing temples, public library and lending library degree granting university astronomical observatory and research institutes replacing the private observation points in the old ages. During the era, the Bimaristan medical university hospitals were the first issue diplomas to students who could practice medicine as doctors. In the book, there is the depiction of the library of Tripoli having more than three million books before the crusaders destroyed it. The Islamic empire introduced the Islamic laws, charitable trusts (Waqf) and aval (Hawala) and the medical peer review. Robin depicts a society of organized institutions that assisted the empire grow into one of the largest empire in the world before the Mongols attacked. Trade and market economy The early forms of proto-capitalism and free markets were present in the empire were there at the time where the market economy and early structures of merchant capitalism were at the infancy between the 8th and 12th centuries. He refers this as the Islamic capitalism. It was a vigorous fiscal market created by the system, and the widely used currency was the dinar. The era is the backbone of the modern bills of exchange, partnerships, and the entire banking structure. Organizations as expressed by the author are the first free independent enterprises from the government at the time and these concepts were further advanced in the medieval Europe in the 13th century. Industrial growth The author gives a picture of the era as a time where the industrial mills were being employed. Establishment of the industries includes the astronomical gadgets, chemicals, distillation technologies, clocks, shipping and ship building, mosaics, pulp and paper, perfume and pharmaceuticals among other industrial advances. This knowledge was spread to the medieval Europe which in the end triggered the industrial revolution in the 19th century. The author also gives the depiction of the agricultural and handicraft industries growing during the era. Technology Some of the technology noted in the modern world was invented in the Islamic era. The author tries to give the audience the technological aspect of the golden age where inventions like the camera obscura, bar soap, toothpaste, shampoo, distilled HCL were part of the works of the Muslim inventors and engineers. Growth of urban cities In the book there is insight on how the urban cities were developing fir instance Baghdad was the center of learning. The growth of cities in the empire was featured with unregulated neighborhoods which mad the cities wind up in narrow streets separated by ethnic backgrounds and religious affiliations. The suburbs were located outside the walled city away from the wealthy resident communities while the working class and semi slums were also developed at the time. This era recorded the highest educational levels as compared to the ancient times. The written culture was nurtured in the Muslim community making the urbanization movement a growing trend. Medicine The author gives a clear genre of the medical inscriptions that was influenced by a number of medical systems before. The works of ancient Greek-Roman physicians like Soranus, Celsus, and Galen had a lasting impact on the Islamic medicine. However, the author shows that this era was not stagnant on making an impact on the medical field especially the fact where the era saw the discovery of contagious diseases and quarantine was developed. The earliest medical reviews were seen in the period. Competence was part of the medical faction where the notes of the physicians were reviewed by other physicians in order to make sure the correct standards were used during the visits. Conclusion This book is utterly one of the useful historical recordings of the world making it important for any interested scholar to read. The depiction of the Islamic empire era is interesting and motivating in terms of the detail employed by the author. It gives one the aptitude to understand different eras in the development of the world. More so, it gives one a different aspect in the revolution of the world as it is. In general, the book gives one the perception of the world being a collective effort in the building of civilizations. I would recommend that people read the book and make their opinions. Bibliography Doak, Robin S. 2005. Empire of the Islamic world. 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