Author Description

The greatest impact of Islam on history has been cultural; however this aspect of Islamic history has been neglected in comparison to political and judicial history. Russian historian V.V. Bartold, was one of the first scholars to project Muslim culture, and in his work gave primacy to clarity and the organization of knowledge. He posits the position of Islam in world history to the position of Christianity as a cultural force in both the Roman and the eastern worlds. Bartold's Russian vantage helped to make him a unique specialist on Islam in Central Asia, as he encouraged the Abbasid and post-Abbasid Mulsim cultures to fine their proper place in history. The Mongol invasion is not treated merely as destruction and disruption of Muslim culture, but also as a factor which affected late medieval culture. Most of the great exponents of Muslim culture such as Ibn Khaldun and Avicenna are covered. Bartold concludes with remarking on the effect the passing of cultural leadership from the East to the West had on his own native Russia. This monograph is remarkable for retaining its relevance and validity after almost a whole century and a host of intervening specialized works in the intervening period. This work was translated four years after the author's death by Shahid Suhrawardy, an eminent scholar in his own right, and the foreword has been written by Sir Hassan Suhrawady, then Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta University.