Author: S. Frederick Starr
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691165858
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 694
Book Description
The forgotten story of Central Asia's enlightenment—its rise, fall, and enduring legacy In this sweeping and richly illustrated history, S. Frederick Starr tells the fascinating but largely unknown story of Central Asia's medieval enlightenment through the eventful lives and astonishing accomplishments of its greatest minds—remarkable figures who built a bridge to the modern world. Because nearly all of these figures wrote in Arabic, they were long assumed to have been Arabs. In fact, they were from Central Asia—drawn from the Persianate and Turkic peoples of a region that today extends from Kazakhstan southward through Afghanistan, and from the easternmost province of Iran through Xinjiang, China. Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects. They gave algebra its name, calculated the earth's diameter with unprecedented precision, wrote the books that later defined European medicine, and penned some of the world's greatest poetry. One scholar, working in Afghanistan, even predicted the existence of North and South America—five centuries before Columbus. Rarely in history has a more impressive group of polymaths appeared at one place and time. No wonder that their writings influenced European culture from the time of St. Thomas Aquinas down to the scientific revolution, and had a similarly deep impact in India and much of Asia. Lost Enlightenment chronicles this forgotten age of achievement, seeks to explain its rise, and explores the competing theories about the cause of its eventual demise. Informed by the latest scholarship yet written in a lively and accessible style, this is a book that will surprise general readers and specialists alike.
Lost Enlightenment
Author: S. Frederick Starr
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691165858
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 694
Book Description
The forgotten story of Central Asia's enlightenment—its rise, fall, and enduring legacy In this sweeping and richly illustrated history, S. Frederick Starr tells the fascinating but largely unknown story of Central Asia's medieval enlightenment through the eventful lives and astonishing accomplishments of its greatest minds—remarkable figures who built a bridge to the modern world. Because nearly all of these figures wrote in Arabic, they were long assumed to have been Arabs. In fact, they were from Central Asia—drawn from the Persianate and Turkic peoples of a region that today extends from Kazakhstan southward through Afghanistan, and from the easternmost province of Iran through Xinjiang, China. Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects. They gave algebra its name, calculated the earth's diameter with unprecedented precision, wrote the books that later defined European medicine, and penned some of the world's greatest poetry. One scholar, working in Afghanistan, even predicted the existence of North and South America—five centuries before Columbus. Rarely in history has a more impressive group of polymaths appeared at one place and time. No wonder that their writings influenced European culture from the time of St. Thomas Aquinas down to the scientific revolution, and had a similarly deep impact in India and much of Asia. Lost Enlightenment chronicles this forgotten age of achievement, seeks to explain its rise, and explores the competing theories about the cause of its eventual demise. Informed by the latest scholarship yet written in a lively and accessible style, this is a book that will surprise general readers and specialists alike.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691165858
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 694
Book Description
The forgotten story of Central Asia's enlightenment—its rise, fall, and enduring legacy In this sweeping and richly illustrated history, S. Frederick Starr tells the fascinating but largely unknown story of Central Asia's medieval enlightenment through the eventful lives and astonishing accomplishments of its greatest minds—remarkable figures who built a bridge to the modern world. Because nearly all of these figures wrote in Arabic, they were long assumed to have been Arabs. In fact, they were from Central Asia—drawn from the Persianate and Turkic peoples of a region that today extends from Kazakhstan southward through Afghanistan, and from the easternmost province of Iran through Xinjiang, China. Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects. They gave algebra its name, calculated the earth's diameter with unprecedented precision, wrote the books that later defined European medicine, and penned some of the world's greatest poetry. One scholar, working in Afghanistan, even predicted the existence of North and South America—five centuries before Columbus. Rarely in history has a more impressive group of polymaths appeared at one place and time. No wonder that their writings influenced European culture from the time of St. Thomas Aquinas down to the scientific revolution, and had a similarly deep impact in India and much of Asia. Lost Enlightenment chronicles this forgotten age of achievement, seeks to explain its rise, and explores the competing theories about the cause of its eventual demise. Informed by the latest scholarship yet written in a lively and accessible style, this is a book that will surprise general readers and specialists alike.
Edgar Allan Poe, the Man
Author: Mary Elizabeth Phillips
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Authors, American
Languages : en
Pages : 938
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Authors, American
Languages : en
Pages : 938
Book Description
Armenian Legends and Poems
Author: Zabelle C. Boyajian
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
ISBN: 1465517456
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 339
Book Description
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
ISBN: 1465517456
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 339
Book Description
History of Spanish Literature
Author: George Ticknor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Spanish literature
Languages : en
Pages : 560
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Spanish literature
Languages : en
Pages : 560
Book Description
Letters and Social Aims
Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 558
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 558
Book Description
Brief History of English and American Literature
Author: Henry Augustin Beers
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : American literature
Languages : en
Pages : 646
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : American literature
Languages : en
Pages : 646
Book Description
Marion Harland's Autobiography
Author: Marion Harland
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 3752344784
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 374
Book Description
Reproduction of the original: Marion Harland's Autobiography by Marion Harland
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 3752344784
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 374
Book Description
Reproduction of the original: Marion Harland's Autobiography by Marion Harland
The Poems of Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Author: Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : American poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : American poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
The Invention of Tradition
Author: Eric Hobsbawm
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521437738
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
This book explores examples of this process of invention and addresses the complex interaction of past and present in a fascinating study of ritual and symbolism.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521437738
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
This book explores examples of this process of invention and addresses the complex interaction of past and present in a fascinating study of ritual and symbolism.
William Shakespeare
Author: Victor Hugo
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dramatists, English
Languages : en
Pages : 472
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dramatists, English
Languages : en
Pages : 472
Book Description