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House Of Wisdom Tumbling Down

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Tyler Strunk Professor Hartzok History, MWF 1:00 pm December 1, 2014 The House of Wisdom, Tumbling Down In the foreword of his book When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World, Hugh Kennedy states that his intention was “to tell the story of the Abbasid caliphs and their court in the two centuries that constituted their golden age”(Kennedy, Foreword xix). His book is a narrative history written in the practice of discussing true history in a story-based form. Professor Kennedy focuses more on people and events than the historical timeline. He takes a subject that can be dull and tedious and gives it an “Arabian Nights” kind of style so that it moves along like one of our modern day soap operas. Kennedy is a Professor of Arabic in the Faculty of Languages …show more content…

That being said however, his storytelling prowess would appeal to readers of many different interests. Kennedy communicates a colorful story and does not hesitate to divert from historical fact and involve the reader in the daily drama that took place in the courts of the Abbasid dynasty. Along with the reader feeling they are part of the romance and intrigue, they feel as if some true historical fact is being imparted. The book is not a general history of the time but rather focuses on the caliphs, their court and daily court …show more content…

The readers find themselves wanting to know how a simple slave girl named Khayzuran was able to marry the caliph and was involved in a military coup. You want closure for the Barmakid family and so you continue to read. Kennedy has a way of making the caliphs and their dramatic events real and brings their families to life. He is very up front about the fact that he strays from his normal historical writing to this more narrative history. He admits this story is less about the royals as royalty and more about them as mere humans with frailties (Kennedy, Foreword xx). It is not the typical history book of a peoples golden age and their royal families but includes the stories of the common people of Baghdad, the thieves and merchants who fought back when their city was besieged, and the middle class who were most important in developing Islamic

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