Effects of Islamic conquests on the conquered land

Could you elaborate on your point by giving examples.

Originally posted by Sparten I am talking about the long term. Did Islam replace the old order completely? Or did it in your opinion, simply amalgamate itself. In Persia, many of the things that became "Islamic Cultrure" were originally Perisan, in fact the spread of Islam to India was the result of Persian monrachs rather than Arabs (who confined themselves to what is now Sindh and Seriakistan). On the other hand in the case of N Africa, well what was essentially a western civilisation became asn eastern one.   Your thoughts and other examples.

Well Carthage and the what is now the Meghreb were definatly more infleuenced by S Europeans than Arabs then. The conquests changed that forever.

The western part of North Africa was heavily latinized, the Roman Carthage was one of the greatest town of the Empire, lots of intellectuals (Saint Augustine just to name one) came from there. The islamic invasion put an end to this civilization so had a huge impact on this land.

I think that Islam joined with the local cultures and over time they merged with Islam to create a new civilization sometimes totally and that is why you see different Islamic cultures specifically in Morocco, West Africa, Egypt, Persia, Turkey, Chinese Islam, India, etc. Just look at the architecture of each area's mosques.

Originally posted by Leonardo The western part of North Africa was heavily latinized, the Roman Carthage was one of the greatest town of the Empire, lots of intellectuals (Saint Augustine just to name one) came from there. The islamic invasion put an end to this civilization so had a huge impact on this land. � �

It might have put an end to the Roman influence over Northern Africa. Don't forget that Northern Africa has created its own segment of Islamic Civlization. At least the Andalucian civilization was an offspring of Northern African scholars before it turned around and influenced most of NorthWestern Africa.

The science developed under Islam was indeed inherited from conquered peoples such as the Byzantines, Indians and Persians. I often hear the Arabs preserved the Greek classics but the Byzantines never lost them. I found this article that helps sum it up from: Apologetics Press :: Reason & Revelation


Christianity, Islam, and Science
by Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A.


http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/223

During this same period, Arabic-Islamic science had reached tremendous heights. It led the world in mathematics, physics, optics, astronomy, and medicine. The stability and wealth brought by the spread of Islamic power in the seventh and eighth centuries fostered patronage of higher learning. In 762, al-Mansur established Baghdad as his new capital, and �cultivated a religious climate that was relatively intellectual, secularized, and tolerant� (Lindberg, 1992, p. 168). Over the next few generations, Arab scholars enhanced their own knowledge with medicine from Persia, mathematics from India and China, and the classical Greek heritage preserved in Byzantium. Much emphasis was given to knowledge that had special utility for Islamic culture. For example, the Chinese abacus, and the Hindu system of numbers and place-valued decimal notation, were used to advance trigonometry and Ptolemy�s astronomy. These, in turn, could be used to determine the direction to Mecca and the times of prayer for any town in the Muslim world.

Crucial to the development of Arabic science was a massive translation program begun by Hunayn ibn Ishaq (808-73), a member of the Nestorian Christian sect. Arabs filled their numerous libraries with tens- or hundreds-of-thousands of books, whereas the Sorbonne in Paris could boast of a paltry two thousand as late as the fourteenth century (Huff, 1993, p. 74). Despite this clear superiority, why did modern science arise in Western Europe, and not in the Islamic world?

Some Muslim leaders, like some of their counterparts in early medieval Europe, had a low regard for the study of nature. Academic pursuits were tolerated, but learning was divided into traditional studies based on the Qur�an, and �foreign� studies based on knowledge obtained from the Greeks. Although there were Arabic rationalists, there were also those who saw in this rationalism a threat to the authority of the holy writings. A conservative reaction in the late tenth century, together with a decline in peace and prosperity, impeded further scientific advance in the Muslim world (Lindberg, 1992, pp. 180-181). According to the emerging Islamic orthodoxy, man was not a fully rational creature, and no room was allowed for a purely rational investigation of God�s creation (Huff, 1993, pp. 100,115).

It was in this very early period of decline that the baton of science began to pass gradually into the hands of the Europeans, especially those who came into contact with the wealth of Islamic knowledge in Spain. Perhaps the next most significant event was the fall of Muslim-held Toledo in 1085. Many important Arabic and classical works from its vast library were translated into Latin. Within a century, these had begun to filter into centers of learning all over Europe. They arrived at a time when scholars such as Anselm (1033-1109) already were reviving the role of reason in faith. Their arrival coincided also with the development of the university as a legal entity with political and intellectual autonomy (Huff, 1993, p. 335). No similar institution appeared in the Arabic world until the twentieth century due, in part, to the orthodox Muslim concept of nature and reason. Religious constraints also played a role in late medieval Europe, but an academic world committed to the biblical views of man�s rationality and freedom of choice provided a fertile ground for the rise of modern science.

Originally posted by Vigaez There is a long list. But what i can think atonce are : 1) Bloodshed 2) Demand for a separate Islamic Republic   3) Forceful coversion into Islam.

Originally posted by Vigaez There is a long list. But what i can think atonce are : 1) Bloodshed 2) Demand for a separate Islamic Republic   3) Forceful coversion into Islam.

Yes these are western civilisations features

Originally posted by eaglecap Originally posted by es_bih The science was preserved, the Romans did the same, the Greeks did the same; they inherited a lot from Egyptians, and in turn the Hellenistic world fused EAstern and Hellenic concepts into one civilzation that purpogated a lot of science. The Islamic Caliphate build upon that by learning from the past, and inventing new theories, etc... by building up on 3000 years of knowledge. It is very hypocritical to demote the Arabs by saying "oh well they just copied..." The did not just copy, Trigonometry was only perfected and placed out of theory to actual flawless practice by Arab scholars, Algebra, countless manuals on medicine, the first printed press came from Andalucia not from Gutenberg....Just like the West built upon Islamic science, most of the inventions and theories that some people like to credit to westerners came from the Islamic world, remember that many Islamic governments, and the religion itself especially in this period strived for betterment of humanity. Progress in Islam is a form of piety, to invent something that helps people, to understand the natual world, etc are musts for any complete individual to strive for. Yes. It would be very unscholarly to denote them as plaigarizers. All great civilizations have done that throughout history. It is a common feature of humanity, if this had not been so, farming techniques would not have spread out of Mesopotamia, nor would Egypt's intricate system of governance, and state ideology. Alongside other achievements. All civilizations build up on previous ones, however, that does not make them "thieves" nor "un-original," Islamic science clearly had a large chunk of originality, plus it created a enviroment where that could be used to better previous methods, and invet new ones. http://www.muslimheritage.com/ You are very correct in saying this!! Just like the Mycenaean Greeks barrowed much of their art and architecture from the pre-Greek Minoans, the list can go on and on. The Japanese have barrowed technology from the Americans but greatly improved it. The same could be said for the Arabs when they came in contact with more advanced civilizations.