The era of the Abbasid Caliphate (750- 1258 CE) is often described as a “Golden Age” of the Islamic World. Throughout the Caliphate, communities contributed to global advances in mathematics, science, medicine, literature, theology, art, and philosophy. The famous collection of stories 1001nights was compiled during this time and includes the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid as a protagonist. This course explores the political, economic, social, and cultural history of the Abbasids and their contributions to the Islamic World and beyond. We will also investigate how history of the Abbasids lives on in our present day in textual and material archives and in intangible heritage practices. There are no pre-requisites or expectations of prior knowledge of the Islamic World or the Arabic language for this course.
