The world has undergone myriad transformations, which has ultimately changed this epoch into the knowledge era. Two major empires of the world that are considered to form the knowledge base of Christian and Muslim worlds are Roman Empire and Abbasid Caliphate. If a historical analysis is done on both the empires, various commonalities can be drawn from both – first being the significant spread of knowledge. Roman Empire lasted for over 1400 years and the Abbasid Empire lasted for over 500 years.
The first common factor that remains common in both the empires is marked by internal peace. For Romans, the golden period that contributed the most towards knowledge was during the time of Augustus that was considered the most peaceful period (Sands, Stella & Linda, 48). During this period, there was a major focus on transcribing history and knowledge that helped the transfer of knowledge to later generations. While the Abbasid Empire lasted for many centuries but the major spread of knowledge occurred during 775 – 861 AD. The aforementioned phase of history among both the empires is marked by internal stability and least conflicts.
The second most important element that contributed to the spread of knowledge among both the empires was due to the personal encouragement by the rulers. Both invested huge amounts of money to the scientific research and human development. During this period, the ruler of Abbasid formed Bayt Al-Hikmat known as House of Wisdom. Bayt Al-Hikmat was tasked with translating the entire knowledge of the world into Arabic and Persian (Bennison, 72). The same is true for the Roman, who placed immense importance to literacy; even slaves of that time were sometimes literate.
Works Cited
Bennison, Amira K. The Great Caliphs: The Golden Age of the 'Abbasid Empire. New Haven: Yale UP, 2009, 72. Print
Sands, Stella, and Linda Scher. Roman Empire. New York: Discover, 2009, 48. Print.
