An illustrated Baghdad along the Tigris, with palm trees, blue domes and boats on the river.

Heart of the Golden Age

Baghdad

For five centuries, Baghdad stood at the centre of a Golden Age of learning. Follow the city from its founding on the Tigris to the hospitals, libraries, and scholars that made it one of the great centres of knowledge in history

Scroll

The story

A Golden Age in Three Periods

  • I · 762–833

    Foundations

    A capital rises on the Tigris and begins gathering knowledge

  • II · 833–945

    The Flourishing

    Scholars translate, test, and invent as power shifts.

  • III · 945–1258

    Enduring Brilliance

    Learning becomes institutions, and books travel far beyond the city.