The World System in the 13th Century: Dead-End or Precursor? – JANET LIPPMAN ABU-LUGHOD
So I said I would try to post the article that I had in my presentation because I found it interesting and somewhat relevant to our class. Taken from my human geography class it focuses more on the social and economic aspect of the world; Although this article does not concentrate on Science and Islam, this article sheds some light as to why the Muslim Golden Ages are forgotten and not given credit. The author, Janet Lippman Abu-Lughod, points out that “most western scholars began their histories in about 1400 A.D., just when both east and west were at their lows…. and when the organizational systems that had existed prior to this time had broken down.” By selecting to start history here a similar plot was written in which the West “rose” apparently out of nowhere. So what would happen to the narrative if one started a little earlier? The century between 1250 – 1350 A.D. clearly seemed to constitute a crucial turning point in world history. Before that “the strongest centres and circuits were located in the Middle East and Asia.” Especially the Middle east which linked the east and the west (Europe at this time) with its proximity to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean. It’s true that much of Europe entered the period of the “dark ages” after the fall of the Roman Empire, but it wasn’t true for southern Europe, even parts of Italy prospered due to its proximity to the Mediterranean. Not to mention that the Iberian Peninsula was under Muslim rule and its economy was linked the Muslim world. The 9th century was a highpoint for the Middle East (under Abbasid rule) and in China (under the Tang Dynasty). I think it’s clear that the conception of the dark ages is wrong and there was a great Civilisation that existed outside European boundaries.
So why did the 13th century world system not simply persist and continue to grow? Why did the west rise when it did? Bank and System failures and recessions hit the economy hard. Not to mention Plagues, the well known Black Death and Bubonic plague broke out in the 1320s in a Mongol-patrolled area near the Himalayas. The plague moved to China, central Asia, Black Sea, Mediterranean and so on. As a result major centres of trade had experienced heavy die-offs and of course Political change started to occur. I guess you can say the dark ages hit us late. Although this explains a bit of reasons why the Islamic Civilisation collapsed I think that it’s played up a bit and probably the political change that occurred had more of an effect and also the invention, modernisation, capitalism, and colonialism that occurred by the European had more of an effect. I think that the Muslim world did not want to advance with the European methods and as a result Europe and the West started dominating.
Any thoughts on the reasons behind the decline?