Culture of the caliphate countries: features and history. Contribution of the Arab Caliphate to World Culture

The period when the Muslim world was under the authority of the Caliphate, is called the Golden Age of Islam. This era lasted from VIII to XIII century AD. It began with the inauguration of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. There scientists from different parts of the world sought to collect all available at that time knowledge and translate them into Arabic. The culture of the countries of the Caliphate during this period experienced an unprecedented flourishing. The Golden Age ended during the Mongol invasion and fall of Baghdad in 1258.

Causes of cultural recovery

In the 8th century, a new invention, paper, penetrated from China into the territories inhabited by Arabs. It was much cheaper and easier to manufacture than parchment, more convenient and durable than papyrus. It also absorbed ink better, which made it possible to make copies of manuscripts more quickly. Thanks to the appearance of paper books have become much cheaper and more affordable.

The ruling dynasty of the Caliphate, Abbasids, supported the accumulation and transfer of knowledge. She referred to the dictum of the Prophet Muhammad, which read: "Ink of a scientist is a more holy thing than the blood of a martyr."

The culture of the countries of the Arab Caliphate did not arise out of thin air. It was based on the achievements of earlier civilizations. Many classical works of antiquity were translated into Arabic and Persian, and later into Turkish, Hebrew and Latin. The Arabs assimilated, reinterpreted and expanded knowledge derived from ancient Greek, Roman, Persian, Indian, Chinese and other sources.

Science and Philosophy

The culture of the Caliphate combined Islamic traditions with the ideas of ancient thinkers, primarily Aristotle and Plato. Arabic philosophical literature was also translated into Latin, contributing to the development of European science.

Relying on Greek predecessors such as Euclid and Archimedes, the mathematicians of the Caliphate first systematized the study of algebra. The Arabs introduced the Europeans to Indian numbers, the system of decimal fractions.

In the Moroccan city of Fez in 859 the university was founded. Later such institutions were opened in Cairo and Baghdad. In the universities, theology, law and Islamic history were studied. The culture of the countries of the Caliphate was open to external influence. Among the teachers and students were not only Arabs, but also foreigners, including non-Muslims.

Medicine

In the IX century in the territory of the Caliphate began to develop a system of medicine, based on scientific analysis. The thinkers of this time, Ar-Razi and Ibn Sina (Avicenna) systematized modern knowledge about the treatment of diseases and presented them in books that later became widely known in medieval Europe. Thanks to the Arabs, the Christian world rediscovered the ancient Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen.

The culture of the countries of the Caliphate included the traditions of helping the poor based on the precepts of Islam. Therefore, in large cities, there were free hospitals that provided assistance to all patients who turned to them. They were financed by religious funds - vacufs. On the territory of the Caliphate appeared the world's first institutions for the care of the mentally ill.

art

Features of the culture of the Arab Caliphate were particularly evident in decorative art. Islamic ornaments can not be confused with samples of fine arts of other civilizations. Carpets, clothes, furniture, dishes, facades and interior rooms of buildings were decorated with characteristic patterns.

The use of ornamentation is associated with a religious ban on the image of animate creatures. But it was not always strictly followed. In the book illustrations, people's images were widely distributed. And in Persia, which was also part of the Caliphate, similar frescos were painted on the walls of buildings.

Articles made of glass

Egypt and Syria, even in ancient times, were the centers of glass production. In the territory of the Caliphate, this type of craft was preserved and improved. In the era of the early Middle Ages, the best glassware in the world was produced in the Middle East and Persia. The highest technical culture of the Caliphate was appreciated by the Italians. Later the Venetians, using the experience of Islamic masters, created their own glass industry.

Calligraphy

The culture of the Arab Caliphate is permeated with the striving for perfection and beauty of inscriptions. A briefly expressed religious instruction or an excerpt from the Quran was applied to a variety of subjects: coins, ceramic tiles, metal grills, walls of houses, etc. Masters who knew the art of calligraphy had a higher status in the Arab world than other artists.

Literature and poetry

At the initial stage, the culture of the countries of the Caliphate was characterized by concentration on religious subjects and the desire to supplant the regional languages with Arabic. But later there was a liberalization of many spheres of public life. This, in particular, led to the revival of Persian literature.

The poetry of that period is of the greatest interest. Verses are found in almost every Persian book. Even if it is work on philosophy, astronomy or mathematics. For example, almost half of the text of Avicenna's book on medicine is written in verse. Panegyrics became widespread. Epic poetry also developed. The top of this trend is the poem "Shahname".

Famous tales "A thousand and one nights" also have a Persian origin. But for the first time they were collected in one book and recorded in Arabic in the 13th century in Baghdad.

Architecture

The culture of the countries of the Caliphate was formed under the influence of both ancient pre-Islamic civilizations and the peoples neighboring with the Arabs. Most clearly this synthesis manifested itself in architecture. Buildings in Byzantine and Syrian style are characteristic of early Muslim architecture. Architects and decorators of many structures built on the territory of the Caliphate were immigrants from Christian countries.

The Great Mosque in Damascus was built on the site of the Basilica of John the Baptist and almost exactly repeated its form. But soon the Islamic architectural style appeared. The Grand Mosque of Queirovan in Tunis became a model for all subsequent Muslim religious buildings. It has a square shape and consists of a minaret, a large courtyard surrounded by porticos, and a huge prayer hall with two domes.

The culture of the countries of the Arab Caliphate had pronounced regional features. Thus, Persian architecture was characterized by arched and horseshoe-shaped arches, for the Ottoman architecture - buildings with a lot of domes, for the Maghrib - the use of columns.

The Caliphate had extensive trade and political ties with other countries. Therefore, his culture had a great influence on many peoples and civilizations.