Baghdad and Isfahan

Renowned as great centres of learning the cities of Baghdad and Isfahan were at<br/>the heart of the Islamic civilization as rich capital cities and centres of intellectual<br/>thought. Their distinct cultural voices inspired a unique historical dialogue which<br/>finds new expression in Baghdad and Isfahan the story of how knowledge was<br/>transmitted and transformed within Islamic lands and then spread across Europe.<br/>Capturing the history of Baghdad and Isfahan from 750 to 1750 Elaheh Kheirandish<br/>draws on the voices of court astronomers mathematicians scientists mystics <br/>jurists statesmen and Arabic and Persian translators and scholars to document the<br/>extensive and lasting contribution of sciences from Islamic lands to the history of<br/>science. Kheirandish bases her narrative on a unique medieval manuscript and other<br/>historical sources and the result is more than a thousand-year 'tale of two cities' - it<br/>is a city by city and century by century look at what it took to change the world.<br/>In a feat of travelogue and time travel this unique book creates parallel stories<br/>with modern and historical characters crossing cities worldwide and capturing<br/>changes through time. Interweaving multiple narratives histories and futures she<br/>charts the possible paths - formalized and serendipitous lost and recovered - by<br/>which knowledge itself is translated and transmitted across time and cultures.