On the Eye of Goliath and other tales from long ago...

As always, I have to begin by saying that I'm no historian, but I wonder about the decline of Arabic or Islamic civilization centered in the Middle East and ponder about some of the ideas given sometimes. There seems to be this prevalent idea that somehow, the period saw a stagnation of ideas, the rise of religious fanaticism and an intolerance which eventually lead to the overtaking of the Islamic world by Europe. On closer investigation I've started to disagree. Apart from the plague, which ravaged the Middle East and North Africa a lot worse than Europe, there was another form of problem which ravaged the area. The sack of Baghdad in 1258 is one of the most shocking periods of Islamic history and accounts of the brutality and destruction are truly blood chilling. Can you imagine what impact such a region would have had with repeated invasions and wars, first by the Crusaders, then, once these had finally been weakened, the arrival of a much more powerful and brutal opponent? The sack of Baghdad and Damascus is probably the equivalent of someone sacking New York and London, slaughtering and enslaving the inhabitants and then burning libraries and city landmarks. The impact would truly be catastrophic and such a loss would have been extremely hard to recover from even if all circumstances were ideal afterwards, which they were not in the Middle East, to say the least.

Still, there was still a bit of oomph left in that the Mamlukes of Egypt managed to fight a battle at Ain Jalut (near Gaza) where the Mongols were decisively defeated for the first time ever since their phenomenal expansion. Some take it to be the beginning of the end for the Mongols, yet with their eventual decline, it allowed the Ottomans to eventually take over the region. Andalusia by this time was already close to fragmenting and in no position to help even if the political will was there. The dominance of the Ottomans temporarily brought stability, but with it stagnation and eventual decline as the Europeans, with the wealth of the pillaged "New World" managed to grow stronger and stronger. A series of devastating religious wars eventually bankrupted the Spanish Empire, ironically making it's enemies in the Netherlands much stronger and the hub of a powerful economic system and trade empire. Eventually the torch would move to Britain after the defeat of Napoleon and this torch would remain with her empire until her weakening and fragmentation in two world wars during the Twentieth Century. It was the United States which was able to rise to dominance by bailing out the nearly bankrupt British Empire, ensuring that it's leadership would be secured for the remainder of the Twentieth century, especially in the face of it's last greatest enemy, the Soviet Union. Anyhow, what was I saying? Ah yes, basically I think it's a load of tosh when people tell me that there is some magical wand of enlightenment or secularisation which is needed to bring the Arab world back to par, I doubt it, what we need is to kick out foreign armies and be strong enough to stop invasions. The people are resourceful enough to eventually build a new "civilization". Putting the donkey behind the cart is no solution.

Anyway, that concludes our history lesson from a Maysaloon perspective. I don't even know why I typed this, I've got coursework to do! Maybe I'm just procrastinating as usual. No more posts...