Word: abbasid
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1950-1959
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...summary can suggest Toynbee's range. But his study of renaissances, those recurring attempts of civilizations to recapture their lost youth, is a good example. Charlemagne tried to snatch back features of Hellenism, and Timur Lenk tried to raise the ghost of the Cairene 'Abbasid Caliphate, neither with success. In literature, 15th century Humanism tried to revive the writing of Latin verse only to see the "vulgar" and more virile Western literature sweep Europe. Toynbee includes the Crusades among the "renaissances" that failed, a deplorable attempt to reach "religious goals by military short cuts." In effect, Toynbee...