Challenging Project!
The history of Muslim empires is vast, spanning over a millennium and encompassing diverse geographies, cultures, and theological schools. Focusing on the “lost history” and the evolution of beliefs due to the decline of empires is a fascinating and crucial area of study which I am going to revisit using AI tools, with AGI system and parallel computing offline super computing.
Many historians and scholars have explored similar themes, such as the loss of intellectual and cultural centers (like the destruction of libraries in Baghdad and Spain), the impact of colonization, and the internal factors leading to decline.
Some established works and themes that relate to this project include:
- The Islamic Golden Age: While celebrated, the eventual decline of centers like the House of Wisdom and the subsequent shift in scholarly focus are key to understanding what was “lost.”
- Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain): The end of centuries of Muslim rule and the expulsion/forced conversion of Muslims and Jews represent a massive loss of a unique cultural and intellectual ecosystem.
- The Impact of Invasions: The Mongol conquests (especially the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258) and the Crusades caused immense disruption and loss of heritage.
- West African Empires (Mali, Songhai): Often overlooked in more Eurocentric narratives, these empires left a rich legacy of scholarship (e.g., Timbuktu manuscripts) whose history is still being fully uncovered.
- The Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid Empires: Understanding the decline of these major “Gunpowder Empires” in the face of European expansion is essential for charting the loss of political and military power, which in turn influenced social and religious life.
My focus on how the loss of empires affected beliefs is particularly intriguing, as it touches on the theological and philosophical responses to decline, change, and modernity.
If am open to hear more about lost empires and periods when Quran was written and what was the reason for humans to expel each other on this planet.
Books To Read.
The First Islamic Dilemma
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