golden age

The Abbasid period ruled over the Islamic world and was the age of massive importance to the development of world knowledge and technology, known as the Golden Age, because of its scientific achievement. This knowledgeable efflorescence was largely the result of the Muslim world’s integration of the scientific legacies of other civilizations – an adjustment aided notably by the translation movement (chiefly from Greek into Arabic) initiated by the caliph al-Ma’mūn in ninth-century Baghdad. The golden age of Islam brought about wonders to the world which included the fields of medicine, math, astronomy, sciences, architectural etc. cite this first site

With the founding of the city of Baghdad by the fifth caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, Harun al- Rashid, who was also a patron of the arts and sciences, (first site) the Islam golden age began to emerge. Baghdad developed under Harun al-Rashids rule and it became what was the world’s most important center for science, philosophy, medicine, and education. Due to its massive, growing empire it made contact and shared borders with many empires which soon became neighbors. Baghdad broadened its knowledge based on what they adopted and learned from the other civilizations like the Indians, Chinese, Romans, Byzantines, and Greeks, Egyptians and Persians, through translation and the gathering of information via scholars. Following his father’s successful footsteps, Harun al-Rashids son, al-Ma’mun succeeded him by continuing his policies by supporting and giving aid to artists, scholars and scientists. Al-Ma’mum was also the one who founded the Bayt al-Hikma in Baghdad, which was placed under the directorship of Hunayn ibn Isḥāq. The Bayt al-Hikma is known as the House of Wisdom. It was consi...

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... well. They also developed crops and farming techniques from the neighboring cultures. They could trade and obtain goods like rice, cotton and sugar from India, oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits from China, as well as, sorghum from Africa.

Additionally, Islamic architects were exposed greatly to Byzantine Empire from which they learned how to use domes and arches broadly throughout their cities. The inspiration gained from the Byzantine Empire is shown on the Dome of the Rock, a famous mosque in Jerusalem. Likewise, Muslim alchemists were also inspired by ancient chemical formulas from China and India. Their aims ranged from a chemical elixir bestowing enhanced life, to the transformation of base metals to gold, they were very experimental in that sense. They made valuable discoveries, some of which were the purification of petroleum and the forging of steel.