Clifford Backman argued that what gave rise to the Medieval civilizations were Christianity, Germanic Tribes, and the legacy of Classical Rome. However, Backman focused on a European Medieval point of view. It can be argued that the reasons why Clifford Backman decided not include Islam as a fourth element is because he sees the other three elements being strong influences in Europe as a whole, and Islam did not have as much of an influence inside of mainland Europe. Islam played a huge role outside the borders of Europe and out into the South and East. Islam was as influential outside of Europe as Christianity was inside of Europe. What makes Islam such a contender for foundational elements is that Islam had a vast influential spread on a…show more content… The advances of Islamic society could be greatly seen with the expansion of new territories and change in leadership. As the Abbasid dynasty came into fruition, they were seen to greatly progress the culture and social environment of Islamic society. Backman explains that “they greatly liberalized the cultural and social atmosphere so that Persian traditions of science, art, and philosophy entered the mainstream of Islamic Life.” (Backman 146). This new introduction of cultural trends resulted in numerous amounts of Islamic art and thought. Professor Paul Freedman of Yale explains that Islam's relation to the Roman empire revolves around its ‘conquests on the Mediterranean, its architectural and artistic style, its administrative structure, and the translation and elaboration of Greek science and medicine. An example in which Islam was able to translate Greek sciences was when they translated Aristotle’s works, furthering the influences of the classical world to the rest of medieval society. (Freedman) According to Backman, intellectual life seemed to flourished as well. Different texts and ideas came to Islam from all over the Middle East, Europe, and even as far as India. Backman explained that “History, poetry, jurisprudence, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, medicine were all studied eagerly, and foreign works were quickly translated into Arabic.” (Backman 146). One of the first Muslim scientists that became known was al-Kindi, who made important advances in optics and pharmacology, and even began the struggle to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy. His contemporary was al-Khwarizmi, who was the leading mathematician of his age and introduced the decimal system, the concept of zero, the use of abacus, and the origins of algebra. According to Backman, all of these ideas derived from mathematical texts from both Persia and India. From the medicinal side of
