[wbarmy]

That “intellectual flowering” was the conquest of areas which and Greek and Roman libraries, which they translated and claimed as their own discoveries.

Nobody in the west knew better at that time because of the Catholic Church hoarding and hiding old manuscripts, so everybody just thought the Arabs were brilliant.

http://www.aina.org/books/hgsptta.htm

[rwilson99]

At the time the Catholic Church was the only Christian Church... and considering everything was a manuscript, we’re hundreds of years before the printing press after all... it shouldn’t be a surprise that research and literature was protected in order to be preserved.

Imagine... if you’re only copy of the bible was one you personally had to hand copy. How would you treat such a document?

[achilles2000]

The problem wasn’t “hoarding”, it was the collapse of the Western Empire because of statism of the late Empire. The Eastern Empire had the same books and active scholars. As you mentioned, the Arab Muslims simply claimed achievements that weren’t theirs or built on the achievements of the Christian societies that they destroyed. The fading out of the “Golden Age” was just the fading out of the underlying Christian culture of the conquered lands. Muslims create nothing and can make nothing. BTW, the Arab conquerors often burned libraries because, as either the first or second caliph said, if a book is consistent with the Koran it is unnecessary, and if it isn’t it contains nothing of value.

[Vigilanteman]

Lots of truth to that. Some years ago, my cousin was posted to an assignment in the DC area and invited all the family within a day's driving distance to come down and spend the night for Thanksgiving. We made the mistake of going into the Smithsonian the day after.

One of the few exhibits which wasn't packed was a travelling exhibit with Persian art and sculpture. Up until about 800 a.d. it was as good as or better than anything the Greeks or Romans produced. After that, it suddenly took a nosedive and looked worse than something a moderately talented elementary school kid would produce now.

One of the little guys in our group asked "What happened that their art went downhill so fast." I replied that Persia was conquered by Islamic Armies about that time. You could have heard a pin drop as murmurs and gasps went up not only among our group but anyone in the exhibit within earshot. Yes, it was that dramatic of a difference.

[ek_hornbeck]

That “intellectual flowering” was the conquest of areas which and Greek and Roman libraries, which they translated and claimed as their own discoveries.

True, but at least they weren't burning western texts and banning scientific inquiry then, as they do now. The irony is that the Muslim world was probably more secular and rational in the 10th and 11th centuries than it is today.

[fishtank]

Yep.