03-16-2010, 07:00 PM
Peace and Blessings:
Consider the following:
The Mohammedans, however, were far from wishing to impose their language by force; on the contrary, we find that in 853 the Khalif Al Motewakkel published an edict ordering Jews and Christians to teach their children Hebrew and Syriac, and forbid- ding them the use of Arabic;' this would seem to indicate that Arabic had made rapid progress and was in public favor??????It was under the Khalif Al Mansur, the real founder of the dynasty of the Abbasidae (754-774), that the patronage of Syrian learning began; in fact, before this the Arabs had not paid any attention to literary pursuits. We learn that the salaries given to these Syrians were very considerable. George bar Bochtjesu, the physician of Al Mansur, had an income equal to about a million of francs yearly; this George was the founder of the famous Bocht- jesu family, which continued for many generations his fame for medical learning. ???..It is a notion not yet sufficiently refuted that fanaticism was a distinctive trait of the Arab conquerors. The mere facts show the contrary; religious liberty and autonomy were allowed to Christ- ians, as a rule, and an unusual impartiality, one might even say favor, was shown them, especially by the dynasty of the Abbasidae. To them were given posts of the greatest confidence, and they were even appointed governors over cities and provinces. An anecdote is related by Amru of the Khalif Motaded Billah. One of his principal magnates, Abdalla ibn Soleiman, was accused to the Khalif of favoring the Christians. On his presenting his answer to this accusation, the Khalif said that, far from thinking the worse of him for this, it was his own opinion that Christians ought to be more trusted than Jews, Mohammedans or Magi; for the Jews were always looking forward to a universal dominion, the Mohammedans would be always trying to oust him from his place, and the Magi bore continually in mind that they were the former lords of the country. Then we have curious accounts of the way in which the Khalifs, as, for example, Harun al Rashid and Al Mamun, would make long visits at different monasteries, and when pleased would confer on them privileges. The care of the Imperial treasury was also conferred on Chris- tians, and it is a notorious fact that the court physicians at Bagdad were invariably Syrian Christians, the Khalifs thus following the custom of the Persian kings, in whose empire the famous Syrian medical school of Gandisapur was situated (Frothingham, A.L. "Historical Sketch of Syriac Literature and Culture." (1884): 200-220.)
Consider the following:
The Mohammedans, however, were far from wishing to impose their language by force; on the contrary, we find that in 853 the Khalif Al Motewakkel published an edict ordering Jews and Christians to teach their children Hebrew and Syriac, and forbid- ding them the use of Arabic;' this would seem to indicate that Arabic had made rapid progress and was in public favor??????It was under the Khalif Al Mansur, the real founder of the dynasty of the Abbasidae (754-774), that the patronage of Syrian learning began; in fact, before this the Arabs had not paid any attention to literary pursuits. We learn that the salaries given to these Syrians were very considerable. George bar Bochtjesu, the physician of Al Mansur, had an income equal to about a million of francs yearly; this George was the founder of the famous Bocht- jesu family, which continued for many generations his fame for medical learning. ???..It is a notion not yet sufficiently refuted that fanaticism was a distinctive trait of the Arab conquerors. The mere facts show the contrary; religious liberty and autonomy were allowed to Christ- ians, as a rule, and an unusual impartiality, one might even say favor, was shown them, especially by the dynasty of the Abbasidae. To them were given posts of the greatest confidence, and they were even appointed governors over cities and provinces. An anecdote is related by Amru of the Khalif Motaded Billah. One of his principal magnates, Abdalla ibn Soleiman, was accused to the Khalif of favoring the Christians. On his presenting his answer to this accusation, the Khalif said that, far from thinking the worse of him for this, it was his own opinion that Christians ought to be more trusted than Jews, Mohammedans or Magi; for the Jews were always looking forward to a universal dominion, the Mohammedans would be always trying to oust him from his place, and the Magi bore continually in mind that they were the former lords of the country. Then we have curious accounts of the way in which the Khalifs, as, for example, Harun al Rashid and Al Mamun, would make long visits at different monasteries, and when pleased would confer on them privileges. The care of the Imperial treasury was also conferred on Chris- tians, and it is a notorious fact that the court physicians at Bagdad were invariably Syrian Christians, the Khalifs thus following the custom of the Persian kings, in whose empire the famous Syrian medical school of Gandisapur was situated (Frothingham, A.L. "Historical Sketch of Syriac Literature and Culture." (1884): 200-220.)