Renaissance: Interactions Between The Muslim World And Christian Europe

Beginning in the 15th century, the Renaissance was a period in Europe that was centered around the idea of rebirth. This period was characterized by the reintroduction of ideas from the past, like art styles from Ancient Greece and Rome. The Renaissance was able to occur as a result of Europe being in a state of relative peace compared to previous centuries that were riddled with war and bloodshed. Interactions between the Muslim World and Christian Europe throughout history were typically hostile and resulted in animosity between the two groups. Consequently, said interactions also allowed for the Renaissance to occur because the interactions between the Muslim World and Christian Europe were so frequent that the two groups were able to share

In Eastern Europe, the Crusades caused the emergence of the Renaissance as a result of improved transportation and the unification of Christian Europe against the Muslim world.

In 750 C.E the Umayyad Caliphate, a Muslim empire, took control of the Iberian Peninsula. As a consequence of a Christian Kingdom being conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate in the Iberian Peninsula, the two groups interacted frequently. The Moors, North African Muslims, were vastly ahead in scientific research compared to Christian Europe and had an understanding of medical concepts that the Europeans still hadn’t even discovered. Most notably, the Moors had done research on germs and how they spread. Consequently, there were far less infections and death as a result of unsanitary medical practice in the Muslim World. When the Moors interacted with the Christians in the Iberian Peninsula, the Moors introduced Europe on how to prevent the spread of germs and disease. As a result, the death toll from infection in Europe was significantly diminished and surgeries were drastically safer. These safer conditions in which people weren’t dying off in large quantities from easily preventable disease helped pave the way for the

In total there were eight Crusade wars which evidently meant that the Christian Europeans and Muslim world interacted frequently which helped bring upon the Renaissance. As a result of the multiple violent battles, the Christian Europeans needed to unify to help preserve the land that the Muslims were attempting to conquer. This unification of multiple Christian European groups meant that while they did eventually lose the Crusades, their united front meant that Christian Europe was at relative peace with one another which ultimately aided in the emergence of the Renaissance. The lack of internal fighting within Christian Europe also meant that their control spread further than ever before. The invasion of the Muslims during the Crusades and the need for supplies to be transported to help support war efforts for the Christians meant that transportation in Europe was steadily improving. As transportation advanced and became safer and easier as a consequence of the Crusades, Europeans were able to travel across the continent more efficiently and therefore spread ideas at a faster pace. The Renaissance being a time period of knowledge and spreading new ideas came as a direct result of this improved transportation. The Renaissance likely wouldn’t have been possible if Christian Europe didn’t need to unify to fight against