In this sweeping and richly illustrated history, S. Frederick Starr
tells the fascinating but largely unknown story of Central Asia's
medieval enlightenment through the eventful lives and astonishing
accomplishments of its greatest minds--remarkable figures who built
a bridge to the modern world. Because nearly all of these figures
wrote in Arabic, they were long assumed to have been Arabs. In
fact, they were from Central Asia--drawn from the Persianate and
Turkic peoples of a region that today extends from Kazakhstan
southward through Afghanistan, and from the easternmost province of
Iran through Xinjiang, China. Lost Enlightenment recounts how,
between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade
and economic development, the size and sophistication of its
cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the
advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved
signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine,
chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among
other subjects. They gave algebra its name, calculated the earth's
diameter with unprecedented precision, wrote the books that later
defined European medicine, and penned some of the world's greatest
poetry. One scholar, working in Afghanistan, even predicted the
existence of North and South America--five centuries before
Columbus. Rarely in history has a more impressive group of
polymaths appeared at one place and time. No wonder that their
writings influenced European culture from the time of St. Thomas
Aquinas down to the scientific revolution, and had a similarly deep
impact in India and much of Asia. Lost Enlightenment chronicles
this forgotten age of achievement, seeks to explain its rise, and
explores the competing theories about the cause of its eventual
demise. Informed by the latest scholarship yet written in a lively
and accessible style, this is a book that will surprise general
readers and specialists alike.
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