End of a Golden Age

September 21, 2007 RSS Feed Print
  • Comment

In "Islam vs. Science" [September 10], the "something mysterious" that happened "toward the end of the 13th century" that quelled the scientific spirit of the Islamic world was probably the sustained Mongol invasion.

Hulagu, grandson of Genghis Khan, and his troops entered Baghdad and began 40 days of pillage and massacre. Thousands of inhabitants were killed, including scholars, scientists, and poets. Libraries and treasures accumulated over centuries were plundered or destroyed.

Joe A. Tarabino
Trinidad, Colo.

Reader Comments

Add Your Thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

Letters and Comments

Welcome to the U.S. News Readers' Letters and Comments blog. Positive or negative, reader feedback provides added perspective to any story. New letters and comments will be posted here regularly. Thank you for your submission.

advertisement

advertisement