Major Intellectual Advances and Developments in Knowledge That Essay

Major Intellectual Advances and Developments in Knowledge That Occurred in the Islamic World Under Abbasid Rule - Essay Example According to Bennison (2009, pp43-56) Historians, aptly refer Abbasid era as the â€Å"Golden Age† mainly because of the great scientific and cultural transformations that occurred during the period. Western countries such as ancient Greece and Rome in addition to eastern countries especially China had initiated the path for scientific and intellectual development in the Arab empire. These early advancements converged in the Muslim world partly because of Abbasid rule, which established favourable environment for scientific and intellectual development. Various factors contributed to the desire for knowledge in Muslim world. Firstly, the expansive Abbasid Empire demanded new technologies and improvement to address the existing social, economic and political problems (Akabar, 1992). The vastness of the empire from North Africa to Iran comprised of diverse people with different cultural backgrounds. Interaction between these diverse cultures contributed to the spread of ideas an d creativity in the region. Another reason was that during the period, the Arabic became the language of learning and hence Muslims from the Abbasids Empire had valuable opportunity for engaging in diverse scientific and intellectual pursuits (LeStrange, 2004). ... This was intended to educate the Arab scholars and encourage their contributions in expansion and creation of new knowledge. Astronomy is one of the disciplines that Muslim scholars made tremendous contribution during the Abbasid era. The initial contribution of the Abbasid rule in the field of astronomy commenced with translation of texts from earlier advanced civilisations in the discipline such as the Greek. (Ofek, 2011). Original contribution of Abbasids in astronomy without foreign input was in the formulation of moon and sun spatial motions into comprehensible tables. The discovery was done by Al-Khawarizimi and he later formulated tables denoting planetary motions of other several other planets (Hasan, 2005). Several equipments in astronomy discovered during this time included the astrolabe and the armillary sphere. The armillary sphere was used to calculate the time of the day or year, which assisted the Muslims in setting their sacred schedule. Astrolabe was the precursor of the modern magnetic compass, and was applied in calculating time and establishing position. Astrolabe was particular useful for Muslims because it enabled them establish their position relative to Mecca, where they face during prayers (Bennison, 2009, pp57-65). Astronomy was of particular interests for the Muslims because of the necessity to establish times of prayer and lunar patterns. In addition, the vastness of the Abbasid Empire necessitated the need of being knowledgeable about directions and locations (LeStrange, 2004). Muslims during the Abbasid rule made important contributions in mathematics and their influence is still felt today in that field. Muslims made valuable contribution in algebra and the term â€Å"algebra†