Humanism In The Dark Ages

After the fall of the western Roman Empire in the year 476 A.D., Europe fell into a period of backwards economic, cultural, and academic progress now commonly known as the Dark Ages. Over the next eight hundred years, living conditions across Europe deteriorated, the populations of the former Roman Empire reverted to barter system economies, and progress of all kinds across the continent slowed to a crawl – or so the popular view of history tells us. In the year 711 A.D., a Muslim army of seven thousand men under a North African general named Tariq bin Ziyad landed at a place that came to be known as Jabal At-Tariq, or “Rock of Tariq” after the invading general. Over the next seven years, the Muslims drove the Visigoths out of Spain and killed their ruler, Roderick. The Muslims, known by the
Encouraging advancements in academics, mathematics and science allowed people to reach for the full human potential in these fields. Moorish intellectuals and polymaths were the leaders in the pursuit of knowledge and the advancement of society through an “approach to life based on our common humanity, recognizing that moral values are properly founded on human nature and experience alone.” The value of humanism can also be seen, because although the Moors were predominantly Muslim, they still did not try to suppress advances and achievements by non-Muslims, which represents the humanist ideal that humanity should work to improve as a whole, not just benefit from one single group of people, or in this example people of one religion or another. Lastly, humanism shows it’s face with the progressive nature of many techniques and procedures that would be considered very progressive for the middle ages, such as the use of antiseptic in the hospitals of Cordoba since Al-Andalus’ early years, the value of which would not be recognized throughout the rest of Europe until the 13th