Lost Star of Myth and Time: The Rise and Fall of Civilizations

The idea of a worldwide Dark Age or universal decline in man’s knowledge may be difficult to accept because the broad deterioration of ancient civilizations didn’t happen at an even pace in all geographic regions, and records are very sketchy. The Arab and Chinese civilizations, for example, are believed to have held up relatively well while many European cities succumbed to the worst of the Dark Ages. Some of the ancient Greek and Roman knowledge that was lost after the burning of the Alexandria Library and in the subsequent Dark Ages did survive under Arab protection, and when combined with their own knowledge, helped these people move ahead of Europe in the early phase of the recovery or Renaissance period. One of the more advanced Emirates, Al-Andalus in Spain, was an oasis of religious tolerance at this time, credited by some with keeping civilization alive during the later Dark Ages.

A Cultural High Age?

But was this a cultural high age? Compared to much of the West, yes. Many parts of the Islamic world (as well as China and India) did seem to fare better than Europe. But the trend, compared to their own ancient ancestors, was the same: a very long period of decline. Starting with Sumer, Akkad, and Babylon, virtually all the cities along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers experienced a long, devastating cycle of lower and lower cultures. So too did the region of ancient Egypt and Northern Africa and the surrounding lands (the Arab world). It went from an almost fabled civilization of pyramids, huge ziggurats, hanging gardens, vast canal systems, art, agriculture, and towers and observatories for watching the stars – to one with crumbling ruins and an almost nomadic way of life.