The Nest: Historical Study: Golden Age of Islam

The setting of Assassin's Creed Mirage takes place in the 860s in the capital city of Baghdad during the reign of the Abbasid Caliphate. I've often heard of this term, caliphate, but I know very little of it's historical or cultural significance. It's essentially a government, like a monarchy or democracy, that is ruled by religious law, in this case, Islamic Law. Following the emergence of the Prophet Muhammad (570-632 AD) the religion of Islam quickly spread all throughout the Middle East. First came the Rashidun Caliphate (from 632-661 AD), then the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 AD), and finally the most prominent that ushered in the golden age was the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 AD).

To better understand this cultural renaissance that occurred in the Middle East, one could look towards the state of the western world for more context. This period in history is often referred to as the dark ages, because the Roman Empire had collapsed and there really wasn't a driving civilization in the world for some time. Christianity was slowly beginning to spread throughout Europe, however most of civilization was run by warlords, barbarians, and Viking tribes. The Holy Roman Empire and The Byzantine Empire established some order, but nowhere near the structure that it's predecessor did.

Since the fall of the mighty Persian Empire to Alexander the Great (331 BC) the Middle East more-or-less took a passenger seat to western affairs. They became a puppet state of the Macedonians, Greeks, and the Romans. They eventually did establish some separation and self-governing in certain regions where the Selecuid, Parthian, and Sasanian Empires sought to restore their ancient heritage. Prior to the establishment of Islam in the 600s, most ancient Arabic religions comprised of polytheistic deity worship (on par with Egyptian or Greek Mythology). One of the more popular religions practiced was Zoroastrianism, based off the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster. This religion was practiced throughout the Persian Empire up into the Sasanian Empire, and was considered as a home-grown ideology as opposed to Christianity or Judaism.

The Rise of the Prophet Muhammad

I know very little of the Prophet Muhammad, only that he is considered the founder of Islam, and that his followers are very dedicated. The religion of Islam is the 2nd most popular religion in the world after Christianity. Surprisingly it was not established until 610 AD during the ministry of Muhammad. I for one thought the religion had a much more ancient history than this, but I believe it still pulls from the Jewish Old Testament as well. I've often heard that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all worship the same god with different teachings and practices. His work during this period would lead to a very significant historical and cultural renaissance.

Muhammad was born in Mecca, 570 AD (present day Saudi Arabia), the son of a tribal leader, who died very early. He was raised by his grandfather and little is known of his childhood only that he was filled with spirituality. At the age of 40 he began to seek a deeper meaning to life and philosophy and would spend days secluded in the nearby caves. It was in 610, in the cave of Hira, that he claimed to have been visited by the angel Gabriel who inspired him to establish these new teachings into a book known as the Quran. From 613-619 AD Muhammad began his ministry teaching and spreading the word of this new found religion of Islam. He quickly began to amass followers throughout the city of Mecca, which also brought upon political opposition.

In 622 AD Muhammad fled to the city of Medina to reorganize his growing base, away from his growing agitators in Mecca. This event is known as the Hijra, and the beginning of the Islamic Calendar. During his time in Medina, Muhammad was able to unite many of the local tribes and establish a much larger following. Soon his followers were doing open battle with the power elite of Mecca, known as the Quraysh. The Quraysh were pagan worshippers who sought to persecute what they considered as blasphemy. The Muslim-Quraysh war waged throughout the provinces of Saudi Arabia from 624-630 AD. In 631 AD Muhammad gathered an army of 10,000 and easily conquered the city of Mecca (without much bloodshed). All pagan religions were brought to an end and Islam became the main religion of Arabia. Muhammad died the following year but his religion would begin to spread throughout the middle east like a wildfire.

The Age of Caliphates

Following the death of Muhammad, his successor was disputed but eventually the role passed to his father in-law, Abu Bakr in 632 AD. This marked the beginning of the Rashidun Caliphate which quickly rose to prominence throughout the Middle East. Abu's reign only lasted two years, and passed over to Umar who began a military campaign which really put the Caliphate on the map. From 630-651 the Rashidun Caliphate began a successful military campaign conquering Levant (Israel/Syria), Egypt, and Persia (Iran). By this point they had become the new cultural, economic, and military power of the Middle East. And through this conquest came the vast spread of the growing religion of Islam. Their rise to power was driven and motivated by this new influence of Islam.

However with every great monarchy, comes internal disputes and that was the case for the Rashidun Caliphate. The First Fitna was a civil war that took place from 656-661, a dispute of power, it lead to the overthrew of the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate. The capital of the government moved from the Arabic city of Medina, to the Syrian city of Damascus. However Islam remained their driving force and thus the military conquest continued throughout the middle east. By 709 AD that had conquered the northwestern region of Africa known as the Maghreb. By 714 they had conquered most of India, Central Asia, and by the 720s under the leadership of Al-Walid they had conquered Spain. Stretching from Spain to India, the Caliphate had one of the largest empires in history. They were finally repelled by the Frankish Visigoths in southern Gaul (France).

The Umayyad Caliphate reigned for nearly 100 years and oversaw the continued growth of Islam (while still accepting Christians and Jews into their society). The Umayyad Mosque was built in Damascus in 715 AD and remains to this day the largest and oldest mosque in the world. Islamic art and architecture began to emerge during this era, however it would eventually boom during the succeeding Abbasid Caliphate. In 747 AD the Abbasid Revolution began to fight for multi-ethnic tolerance, from the majority of non-Arabic people (who were not persecuted but still felt discriminated). Regions from Persia, Central Asia, and Mesopotamia united against the Umayyad dynasty to have them overthrown in 750 to establish the Abbasid Caliphate. The Umayyad dynasty relocated to the city of Cordoba, Spain which would later thrive as a province of the Abbasid Caliphate.

The Abbasid Caliphate moved it's capital from Damascus to Kufa, Iraq but later founded it's iconic city of Baghdad in 762 as the new capital. Near the ancient grounds of Babylon, Baghdad would become the center of an Islamic cultural renaissance. In this age there was a focus on civilization over military conquest, that brought great discoveries in science, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, and the arts. The House of Wisdom was established in the late 8th century as a new center for learning. While Islam was the dominant religion at this point the government was very tolerant towards other religions and ethnicities. This Renaissance was no doubt brought on by a new cultural fusion between Persians and Arabs.

Throughout this Golden Age, there were still political and military engagements first with the Byzantine Empire, of which the Abbasid Caliphate was able to repel their invasion in 806. Then civil wars from within, such as the Great Civil War of Abbasid in 812-813 that brought upon a siege to Baghdad and the overthrow of the caliph. In 836 the capital was moved from Baghdad to Samara where it's iconic spiral minaret mosque was built in 848. From this point on the caliph dynasty was fractured among regions throughout Mesopotamia, which gave way to anarchy for a period in Samara (861-870), the control of the Iranian Buyids, and the Seljuk Turks. In 1258 the city of Baghdad was sieged by a Mongol Invasion which brought an end to the Abbasid Caliphate and the Islamic Golden Age.

The Round City of Baghdad

The video game AC Mirage, takes place in this unique round city of high walls deep in the desert, like something out of a movie. I never realized that this was the historical capital of Baghdad which was once the largest city in the world. The city was no doubt built as a statement piece to demonstrate booming wealth and culture. It was built near the iconic ancient city of Babylon, which served as the center of the neo-Babylonian and Persian Empires. At it's center was the Palace of the Golden Gate where the Abbasid caliph sat. Near the palace was the Great Mosque of al-Mansur and various other government buildings.

The city was built in a circle about 4 mile circumference, with it's high walls and four main gates. Aside from it's central palace and mosque one of it's most iconic buildings was the House of Wisdom. This began as a great library that expanded into an academy of learning and higher enlightenment. From here there was a great exchange and development of Islam art, poetry, music, and philosophy. There was also a boom of sciences in alchemy, astronomy, physics, medicine, biology, and mathematics. Scholars from all over the world came to Baghdad to learn, share, and develop breakthroughs in many different disciplines. Sadly much of the history and architecture of this age was later destroyed during the Mongol Siege in 1268.

Contributions from the Islamic Golden Age

Earliest establishment of public education and univerisities
Major developments in mathematics such as the foundation of Algebra by Al-Khwarizmi and analytic geometry by Omar Khayyan. As well as breakthroughs in trigonometry, calculus, and establishing the decimal fraction system.
Breakthroughs in scientific research from Alhazen who identified the theory of visual perception, optics, and reflection; and Avicenna who experimented with medical drugs and wrote the Book of Healing
Advances in astronomy that rejected the notion that everything revolved around the earth. They introduced new techniques, mathematical systems, and measurements such as the geocentric model and the Tusi-Couple. They also invented devices such as the astrolobe and the quadrant to better identify and navigate the stars.
They established the frameworks of alchemy and chemistry notably from Jabir ibn Hayyan. He defined the metallic compositions as well as the classification of chemical substances.
Ibn al-Nafis made breakthroughs in biology regarding the cardiovascular and nervous system. They also laid the groundwork to zoology and natural selection notably from al-Jahiz who described a theory of "struggle for existence" in his Book of Animals.
Ibn Khaldun is regarded as the founding father of modern economics, sociology, historiography, and demography.
Breakthroughs in medical treatment, healthcare, surgery, pharmacies, and medicine. The Canon of Medicine became the central source of medical practice during the age.
The poetry of Rumi (regarded as the greatest of all Persian poets) as well as other famous poets such as Hafez, Saadi, Ferdowsi, and Amir Khusrow.
Literature classics such as the famous One Thousand and One Nights of Middle Eastern folktales. This includes the stories of Sinbad the Sailor, Aladdin, and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
Islamic Art demonstrated an original blend of calligraphy and geometrical patterns as well as colorful displays. Quite often this art is absent of any real figures and more-so a demonstration of abstract shapes and colors. These patterns became very popular in their Persian carpets.
Contributions to musical theory from Al-Farabi pertaining to melody types. He was an admirer of the famous court flute musician Ziryab and Al-Kindi.