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Janissaries (Ottoman not Andalusian) weren't eunuchs by and large.
A Journey Through Spain’s Islamic History
71–80 of 94 posts
Re: A Journey Through Spain’s Islamic History
#72A podcaster I listen to said something that stuck with me. He doesn’t care who invented the light bulb. That would’ve happened anyway. What’s way more interesting is events that could’ve completely changed human history. Like if Julius Caesar lost in Gaul or the Persians had defeated the Greeks or the Mongols had invaded Europe. On that list had to be what if Islam had spread throughout Europe? It very much could’ve…
Is that podcaster Dan Carlin of Hardcore History? I recall him saying something similar, about the Great Man theory of history.
Re: A Journey Through Spain’s Islamic History
#73[flagged]
Religious flamewar is not ok here, and please don't post in the flamewar style to HN generally. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for.
We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37349887.
Re: A Journey Through Spain’s Islamic History
#74https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_age_of_Jewish_culture_i... I have to find the letter (possibly a Jewish reader can dig it out?) but I remember reading and being amused by a letter penned by Maimonides to iirc Jews in Arabian peninsula. Apparently they had written to him having heard of the paradise of tolerance in Muslim Spain and his letter poo pooing it, telling them it’s no better than their locale. I always…
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No religious or ideological flamewar on HN please, no matter how gullible others are or you feel they are. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for.
Re: A Journey Through Spain’s Islamic History
#75[flagged]
"Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity."
"Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents."
"Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."
Re: A Journey Through Spain’s Islamic History
#76[flagged]
"Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity."
"Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents."
"Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."
Re: A Journey Through Spain’s Islamic History
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
A part of the ancient Latin and Greek literature has been preserved by the Byzantine Empire and another part by the Arabs. The Arabs actually had much more interactions with the Western Europeans than the latter had with the Byzantines, so much more old books have reached Europe through the Arabs. Most Byzantine books have reached Europe only after the Fall of Constantinople and the invention of the movable-type prin…
Muslims, not Arabs. Also you are mistaken about Arabs passing Persian knowledge. Initially invading Arabs were given to destroying books. It was Muslim Persians who did most of the translation, and subsequently elaboration of the ancient world’s thinking into the Muslim civilization and from there to Europe. And yes, they wrote in Arabic just like Isaac Newton wrote Principia in Latin . And most of us now write in En…
Lot's of non-Muslim non-Arabs were part of this Islamic golden age as well.
Re: A Journey Through Spain’s Islamic History
#78[flagged]
Sucked that they did that. But they were there for centuries; their kids didn't do it. If Moorish descendents are bereft of virtue owing to the sins of their fathers, does the same apply to the descendents of the European invaders of America?
I read condemnation on this site every day against Europeans/Americans because of things done in the past that we were not a part of.
Yes, a social structure similar to Jim Crow in the USA should be condemned not celebrated as being tolerant or some mythical place. It was not a good culture, it was not kind. Islam only allowed enslavement on non-muslims. Nice 'tolerance'. You shouldn't enslave people, and my people we mean non-believers. As many as 1.25 million white Europeans were enslaved by Islamic slavers. Much tolerance, much beauty.
Re: A Journey Through Spain’s Islamic History
#79Re: A Journey Through Spain’s Islamic History
#80[flagged]
Janissaries were a uniquely Ottoman practice, and evoke something completely different than Muslim Andalucia. Also, I don’t believe that the Ottomans mutilated Janissaries in the way you described - that would be counterproductive, since strength is important in the military, especially with highly motivated elite soldiers. Look it up, that’s a popular myth, no more real than the Unsullied in Game of Thrones. In cont…
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