The Foundations of Western Civilization – a video presentation at The Attic, 36, Regal Building, CP > 6:30pm on 21st January 2013

Time : 6:30 pm

Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)

Place : The Attic, 36, Regal Building, Connaught Place, New Delhi-110001 
Landmark : On Parliament Street close to 'The Shop' showroom & next to the 'Kwality' restaurant
Venue Info : Events | About | Parking and Location | Regal Building Map
Metro : Nearest Metro Station - 'Rajiv Chowk' (Yellow Line and Blue Line)

Event Details : The Foundations of Western Civilization – a video presentation. The next two lectures of the series are as follows :

Lecture 29 - Muhammad and Islam
 The world of late antiquity produced 3 heirs: the Islamic world, the Byzantine Empire and the Germanic West. This lecture examines the rise of Muhammad in a large and turbulent Arabia.
The Prophet (570-632) came from an old, wealthy and well connected Meccan family. He entered the caravan trade as a young man and married Khadijah, a widow some years older than he. As a young man, he began to retire to the hills and caves outside Mecca, where he received a revelation from Allah.
He was soon preaching a new monotheist, ethical and exclusive faith that galvanized his followers. The basic teachings of Muhammad are contained in the Quran (which constitute the scriptures of Islam), Hadith (collections of Muhammad’s own sayings) and Sunna (the “good practice”, the customs of Muhammad himself)
On Muhammad’s death his old associate Abu Bakr became caliph, or successor to the Prophet. He and his successors fought lightening campaigns that brought Muslim armies to Central Gaul in the West and to the frontiers of China in the East.
In 661 a new family of caliphs, soldiers from Syria emerged as the Umayyads who moved their capital to Damacus . They were followed in 750 by the Abbasids who moved the capital to a newly founded city, Baghdad. This was a period of brilliant cultural achievement. Muslim scholars began to tackle the massive Greek corpus of learning.
What had been achieved in a remarkably short time was a newly dominant people, a new universal faith, a new chosen people, a new holy book and a culture deeply rooted in antiquity.

Lecture 30- The Birth of Byzantium
The 2nd of Rome’s heirs is Byzantium. It was also called East Rome. The Western Roman Empire was collapsing in the 5th century but the Eastern empire persisted. Generally the Eastern rulers were more skilful and competent. The East was more prosperous, urbanized and intellectually cultivated.
The peoples of that time thought of themselves as Romans but on hindsight we can see that the two cultural realms were drifting apart. The East was going its own way in language (Greek), military and administrative matters and in matters of theology. In the Hagia Sophia Justinian created a church having characteristics of traditional Raman architecture but was on balance something new.
Distinctive religious customs now marked sharp differences between East and West and it was now possible to speak of Greek orthodox and Roma catholic (although as yet neither side admitted or desired a rupture).

Related Events : Talks | History