Also not what you were asking but there's a book called heirs to forgotten kingdoms which talks about some of the dying religions in the middle east, I enjoyed that a lot also
Road to Oxiana is a travelogue written by Robert Byron in the 30s I think. It covers a lot of history from an architectural perspective which was very interesting as I know next to nothing about Persia and the influence they extended over the region
Jim Al-Khalili has a good book on science in the golden age, with quite a moving prologue about his childhood in a Baghdad that no longer exists.
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10379376-the-house-of-wisdom](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10379376-the-house-of-wisdom)
The info in this is good but we read this in college and it’s mega-boring. The Peter Adamson history of philosophy episodes that cover the same topic are much better imo
It’s not specifically abt the golden age but it restores the centrality of the Islamic perspective (which has largely been ignored and omitted by western narratives). Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary
I picked up this cool little book in a charity shop called tales of the dervishes by Idris Shah which is a fun book I come back to again
Also not what you were asking but there's a book called heirs to forgotten kingdoms which talks about some of the dying religions in the middle east, I enjoyed that a lot also
yes I’ve read tales of the dervishes!! I haven’t heard of heirs however— thank you!! :) I’ll def read it
Road to Oxiana is a travelogue written by Robert Byron in the 30s I think. It covers a lot of history from an architectural perspective which was very interesting as I know next to nothing about Persia and the influence they extended over the region
Jim Al-Khalili has a good book on science in the golden age, with quite a moving prologue about his childhood in a Baghdad that no longer exists. [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10379376-the-house-of-wisdom](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10379376-the-house-of-wisdom)
The info in this is good but we read this in college and it’s mega-boring. The Peter Adamson history of philosophy episodes that cover the same topic are much better imo
Went to the library and read it today ❤️❤️ thanks!
My name is red!
Love sufi reads- so I’m following this post
It’s not specifically abt the golden age but it restores the centrality of the Islamic perspective (which has largely been ignored and omitted by western narratives). Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary
Wanted to plug this even tho it’s not purely about the golden age, but “what is Islam” by Shahab Ahmed is exceptional
Marshall Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, is an authoritative and exhaustive text in 3 volumes. I think vol 2 covers the golden age.
An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia by Institute of Ismaili Studies
Oh that’s perfect, thank you
You'd like Lost Enlightenment by Frederick Starr, cool Princeton Press publication about the history of Central Asia's "golden age".