In a nutshell: The Islamic Golden Age was not a single period, but rather multiple distinct periods throughout history in specific fields. All those golden ages had also their own downsides. It’s important to study both sides to get a more nuanced and realistic view.
Introduction
The Islamic golden age is something that is discussed widely. First, we delve into the definition of the golden age, so it becomes clear what we’re discussing. After this we compare the golden ages during the Umayyads, Abbasids and Ottomans. We will examine which fields flourished during these golden ages. During the golden ages there were many important peaks, but all ages have their own downsides. That’s the reason why I will mention this, so that the readers get a more nuanced view instead of a very romanticized view. We finish this article with an analysis. The reader will grasp things from this article better if he has a basic background in history.
Definition
One of the earliest mentions of a golden age is from the Ancient Greek Time 8th BC. In that time, they saw a golden age as a period without war and labour. The definition of the golden age has developed through time; it is why we use a modified definition of golden age.
The definition of golden age according to the Cambridge dictionary is: ‘’a period when something or someone was particularly successful, good, or special’’. A golden age is not a period of time when everything was perfect, it was just a time when something particularly was successful or even at its peak. It can be even that a field peaked multiple times in history. In the next paragraphs we will discuss the golden age during the Umayyads, Abbasid and Ottomans. The areas that will be covered are military, scientific, cultural, economic and administrative.
The Umayyads
During the Umayyads the Islam expanded fast, this was especially the case during the reign of Walid I. Under the reign of Walid I the dynasty expanded further westward, Morocco was conquered and short after this Spain was conquered by the famous general Tariq Ibn Ziyad. Eastward the Umayyads expanded the dynasty till Sindh, this is nowadays a province a province in Pakistan at the border with India. Muhammad Ibn Qasim led this expansion, which significantly extended Umayyad rule into Sindh. The Umayyad golden age during this period was defined largely by military conquests, shaping the dynasty’s territorial and political dominance.
Besides the military expeditions there were also other major changes. During the reign of Walid I, Arabic replaced Greek and Persian as the administrative language in regions where non-Arabic languages had previously been used for governance. The famous Umayyad Mosque is also built under his reign. This was also the period were the Umayyads introduced their own coins so that they weren’t dependent on the Roman and Persian valuta.
One of the downsides of the Umayyad golden age is that Al Hajjaj played an important role, even in the reign of Abdulmalik I. Al Hajjaj killed ten thousands of people, some were even sahabah and tabi’in, like Abdullah Ibn Zubayr and Sa’id Ibn Jubayr. During his siege of Mecca, the ka’bah was even demolished.
After Walid I there were no big military expansions anymore. The siege of Constantinople under his successor Sulayman didn’t succeed, there were many military and financial losses. After a while there were many revolts, like the Berber revolt in 740. There were many tensions, because Arabs got privileges above non-Arabs. The Umayyad dynasty went downwards until it was taken over by the Abbasids in 750.
The Abbasids
The golden age of the Abbasids was not focused on military expeditions, although they won many important battles like the Battle of Talas against the Tan Dynasty, the golden age of the Abbasids was more focused on scientific development. In China they knew how to make paper, prisoners of war taught the Abbasids how to make paper. This made the production and copying of books easier.
During the reigns of Harun ar Rashid and especially from his son Al Ma’mun the scientific development peaked, Bayt al Hikmah was also on the peak. At Bayt al Hikmah books got deposited, copied and translated. The books were translated from languages like Greek, Sanskrit and Persian. By doing this the Abbasids preserved knowledge and built a foundation for developing new knowledge.
There were also many famous scholars that authored books in Bayt al Hikmah and discussed different things with each other. It attracted scholars from different regions. Scholars like Ibn Sina, Al Kindi and Al Farra worked here. It’s important to note that all those scholars were polyglots, they mastered multiple languages. Besides this they were polymaths who mastered multiple subjects instead of one. For example, Al Kindi is known for his contributions in philosophy, but he has also authored works on math’s, astronomy and medicine.
Another area that was well-developed in the Abbasid times was arts, especially poetry. There is even a timeframe in Arabic poetry that it’s called Abbasid poetry, even though not all poets lived in the Abbasid caliphate. Examples from those poets are Al Mutanabbi, Abu Tammam and Al Asma’i.
The Abbasids had also many impressive achievements, one of those examples is the mosque of Samarra in Baghdad. It was built during the reign of Al Mutawakkil, the height of the minaret is 52 meters. The mosque doesn’t exist anymore, but the minaret is still there.
The economy also grew, Baghdad became the economic capital of the world. At the markets goods from everywhere of the world were sold. Goods were imported from places like Russia, Europe, Africa and China. Baghdad was the first place outside of China were paper got produced and sold at massive scale.
The Abbasid golden age is known for its impressive scientific development. But during the same time, it was also the time when the Mu’tazilah spread and became intolerant. This ended in Al Mihna, the inquisition were Sunnites got hunted down by the state. This incident is usually written as a side note. It’s more discussed in the biography of Imam Ahmad, because he was against the Mu’tazilah.
After the death of Harun ar-Rashid the Abbasid caliphate got a fallback, because of the civil war between his sons al-Amin and al-Ma’mun. Al-Amin got killed during this war and al-Ma’mun became the caliph. The Abbasid caliphate was stable for now, but this changed when al-Mutawakkil got assassinated by one of his guards. This period is called the Anarchy at Samarra, there were 4 caliphs in a timeframe of 9 years, because of rivalry groups.
In 946 the Buyids captured Baghdad, the power of the Abbasid caliph became more symbolic. When the Seljuks took over the power of the Buyids the caliph had still only symbolic power. The Abbasid caliphate practically ended with the Mongol invasion in 1258. In 1261 the Mamluks established the Abbasid caliphate, the caliph was here more ceremonial.
The Ottomans
The Ottoman empire peaked at the reign of Sulayman I from 1520 till 1566. In the year 1517 the Ottomans conquered the Mamluk regions, this included Mecca and Madinah. The Abbasid caliph Mutawakkil III granted the Ottomans authority. Since 1517 the Ottoman empire became a caliphate. Under Sulayman I the Ottoman empire expanded further and became a world power. At the peak the Ottoman empire covered North Africa, except Morocco, the Middle East, except Iran and the biggest part of East Europe.
One of the important things Sulayman I did was that he promulgated the kanun. Besides the shariah there was also a law named the kanun, the shariah was used for religious rulings and the kanun was used for worldly rulings.
During this time the architecture peaked also, Mimar Sinan was the architect of many buildings. One of the most impressive masterpieces of this was the Selemiye Mosque in Edirne. It was completed in 1574.
The economy grew, because the Ottoman empire controlled important trade routes like the silk route and the route to India. Many products were imported to the Ottoman Empire and sold at the markets. Examples of products are spices, silk and gold. Many products were also exported to Europe.
Sulayman I also was very diplomatic, he supported French against Charles V and he signed the Treaty of Amasya with the Safavids. He also protected Algeria from European attacks, Algeria became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. Because of those reasons it became easier for the Ottoman Empire to grow military and economically.
During this time there were also scientific improvements. One of the most important scientists of this time is Taqi ad Din ibn al Maruf. In 1577 he founded the observatory in Istanbul. It produced one of the most accurate timetables of his time.
Like the previous dynasties, the Ottoman golden age had also some downsides. One of the examples of this is that Sulayman I executed his son Mustafa, because he accused him of being part of a Safavid plot.
One of the downfalls for the Ottoman golden age was the lose in Greece in the year 1571 at the battle of Lapento. At the end of the 16th century the Ottomans were also at war with the Safavids, from this moment the Ottoman empire had defensive wars in the east and the west. The Safavids were backed by multiple European countries. The economy went downwards, because products from the Safavid Empire were not imported anymore and some European countries imported products from the Safavid Empire instead of the Ottoman Empire. There were also internal problems with the Jelali revolts that started at the end of the 16ct century. After this the Ottoman Empire had ups and downs until it fell in 1922.
Conclusion
The Islamic Golden Age, spanning multiple dynasties and fields, was marked by remarkable achievements in military expansion, scientific discovery, cultural development, and economic prosperity. The Umayyads, Abbasids, and Ottomans each had their own periods of excellence, contributing significantly to human knowledge and civilization. However, these golden ages were not without their challenges—political conflicts, economic declines, and internal strife often followed their peaks. By studying both the triumphs and the shortcomings, we gain a more balanced and realistic understanding of these historical periods. Recognizing both the successes and the struggles allows us to appreciate the complexity of history and draw meaningful lessons for the present and future.
Important Side Notes
1. The golden age were specific times in specific dynasties in specific subjects.
2. During the golden ages there were always downsides in specific subjects.
3. There are many nuances in approaching the golden ages
References
Adel Abdul-Aziz Algeriani & Mawloud Mohadi, Baghdad: The House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikmah)
Archil Pitimashvili, Abbasids: Economy
As Suyuti, Tarikh al Khulafa
Halil Inalcik, The Ottoman Empire: The classical age 1300-1600
John Abdallah Nawas, Al-Ma’mun: Mihna and Caliphate
Kathryn Ludden, Five Ages of Man
The Cambridge Dictionary
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