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Mohammed and Charlemagne Revisited: The History of a Controversy Paperback – Illustrated, January 15, 2012
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During the 1920s Belgian historian Henri Pirenne came to an astonishing conclusion: the ancient classical civilization, which Rome had established throughout Europe and the Mediterranean world, was not destroyed by the Barbarians who invaded the western provinces in the fifth century, it was destroyed by the Arabs, whose conquest of the Middle East and North Africa terminated Roman civilization in those regions and cut off Europe from any further trading and cultural contact with the East. According to Pirenne, it was only in the mid-seventh century that the characteristic features of classical life disappeared from Europe, after which time the continent began to develop its own distinctive and somewhat primitive medieval culture.
Pirenne’s findings, published posthumously in his Mohammed et Charlemagne (1937), were even then highly controversial, for by the late nineteenth century many historians were moving towards a quite different conclusion: namely that the Arabs were actually a civilizing force who rekindled the light of classical learning in Europe after it had been extinguished by the Goths, Vandals and Huns in the fifth century. And because Pirenne went so diametrically against the grain of this thinking, the reception of his new thesis tended to be hostile. Paper after paper published during the 1940s and ‘50s strove to refute him. The most definitive rebuttal however appeared in the early 1980s. This was Mohammed, Charlemagne and the Origins of Europe, by English archaeologists Richard Hodges and David Whitehouse. These, in common with Pirenne’s earlier critics, argued that classical civilization was already dead in Europe by the time of the Arab conquests, and that the Arabs arrived on the scene as civilizers rather than destroyers. Hodges and Whitehouse claimed that the latest findings of archaeology fully supported this view, and their work was highly influential. So influential indeed that over the next three decades Pirenne and his thesis was progressively sidelined, so that recent years have seen the publication of dozens of titles in the English language alone which fail even to mention his name.
In Mohammed and Charlemagne Revisited historian Emmet Scott reviews the evidence put forward by Hodges and Whitehouse, as well as the more recent findings of archaeology, and comes to a rather different conclusion. For him, the evidence shows that classical civilization was not dead in Europe at the start of the seventh century, but was actually experiencing something of a revival. Populations and towns were beginning to grow again for the first time since this second century – a development apparently attributable largely to the spread of Christianity. In addition, the real centres of classical civilization, in the Middle East, were experiencing an unprecedented Golden Age at the time, with cities larger and more prosperous than ever before. Excavation has shown that these were destroyed thoroughly and completely by the Arab conquests, with many never again reoccupied. And it was precisely then, says Scott, that Europe’s classical culture also disappeared, with the abandonment of the undefended lowland villas and farms of the Roman period and a retreat to fortified hilltop settlements; the first medieval castles.
For Scott, archaeology demonstrated that the Arabs did indeed blockade the Mediterranean through piracy and slave-raiding, precisely as Pirenne had claimed, and he argues that the disappearance of papyrus from Europe was an infallible proof of this. Whatever classical learning survived after this time, says Scott, was due almost entirely to the efforts of Christian monks.
The Pirenne thesis has taken on a new significance in the post 9/11 world. Scott’s take on the theory will certainly ignite further and perhaps heated debate.
- Print length272 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherNew English Review Press
- Publication dateJanuary 15, 2012
- Dimensions6 x 0.61 x 9 inches
- ISBN-100578094185
- ISBN-13978-0578094182
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Emmet Scott’s Mohammed and Charlemagne Revisited: The History of a Controversy is not only a fascinating study but an important book, which, I believe, will eventually lead to a paradigm shift - a change in the way we look at the history of Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval Period, and how we answer the question, “What ended Roman civilization and brought about the Dark Ages?”
It is a riveting tale - a history of ideas that does much to illuminate current concerns. Scott takes as his starting point the thesis of the Belgian historian Henri Pirenne [1862-1935] that the real destroyers of classical civilization were the Muslims. Scott refines, corrects and augments Pirenne’s insight, and he does so by taking into account two essential disciplines often neglected in studies of this period - archaeology and Islamology. As Scott points out, very few historians paid any attention to the nature of Islam or its beliefs - they simply assumed that Islam was and is a faith no different from others. As for the former element: Scott argues correctly that the written records cannot be taken at their face value, and must be supported by archaeology.
I shall not spoil the fun by revealing what his conclusions are, but they are arrived at after an exhilarating intellectual ride through the history and archaeology of Byzantium, the Roman presence in the West, Middle East, North Africa, the Mediterranean, and much, much more.
-- IBN WARRAQ author of Why the West is Best: A Muslim Apostate's Defense of Liberal Democracy
Conventional scholarly wisdom has held that German conquest ended Roman civilization and brought on the Dark Ages. Henri Pirenne strongly disagreed. Almost a hundred years ago, he argued that starting in the seventh century, Islam was a destructive, indeed a catastrophic, force that caused Europe’s Dark Ages. Most European historians have disagreed, claiming that Islam was a tolerant, enlightened force that began to raise Europe out of its darkness. The myth of a so-called Islamic “Golden Age” in Spain is an expression of that view. Scott defends and enlarges upon Pirenne’s thesis, arguing that these historians have paid scant “attention to the nature of Islam or its beliefs.” Like much of our media and government officials, they assume that Islam is a religion like any other. Scott argues that, with its doctrine of never-ending “holy war” against all non-believers, Islam was “an unprecedentedly destabilizing influence.”
As with all good history, by reading Scott’s well-written, richly-detailed account of the perils that almost destroyed Western civilization in an earlier age, we are informed of the danger that confronts our civilization in our time. This book is a must-read for any person concerned with the future of Western civilization in our times.
-- Richard L. Rubenstein, author of Jihad and Genocide
--New English ReviewA number of books published in recent years have demolished the myth of an allegedly tolerant Islamic culture that preserved the Greco-Roman heritage. Ibn Warraq s book Why the West Is Best is among the better and more accessible titles in this field. As I concluded in one of my earlier essays, the only part of the ancient Greek heritage that proved to be more compatible with Muslim than with Christian European culture was slavery, and possibly anal sex with young boys in certain parts of the Islamic world.
In early 2012 the historian Emmet Scott published Mohammed and Charlemagne Revisited: The History of a Controversy --Front Page Magazine
If you are on a limited budget or have limited time and can only read one book this year, Mohammed and Charlemagne Revisited is the one to buy. And a purchase will most likely be necessary, since it will be unavailable in most libraries, what with the hot breath of CAIR and MCB and all the other surrogates of the Muslim Brotherhood breathing down librarians’ necks.
For more than a thousand years Europe and the European diaspora have struggled to cope with the enormity of the devastation inflicted on us by the Islamic invasions. Our collective memory has attempted — and failed — to retain an accurate idea of what actually happened to us.
In earlier centuries our ability to understand was limited by the inadequacy of communication over vast distances and times. Later, during the European ascendancy, it was difficult to comprehend how much damage could be inflicted by such a primitive and barbaric culture.
By the time the European colossus stood astride the globe in the nineteenth century, Islam was a trivial retrograde rabble that deserved no respect and even less attention. How could it have come within a hair’s breadth of smothering European civilization in its cradle?
The truth of what Islam did — and continues to do — to Western Civilization has finally been reconstructed. Like an accomplished forensic detective, Emmet Scott has assembled all the pieces of evidence and built an airtight case against Islam.
The only verdict possible is “Guilty!”
In the days and months to come the airwaves and the internet will be flooded with ads for books about Barack Hussein Obama, or Mitt Romney, or the meltdown of the euro. Resist their blandishments. Forego just one of those transient and evanescent books.
Instead, read Emmet Scott’s magnum opus. This one is for the ages.
After you finish >Mohammed and Charlemagne Revisited, your understanding of and reverence for our precious civilization will be fundamentally reorganized. This book is truly artful because it changes the way you see.
---Baron Bodissey --Gates of Vienna
About the Author
Emmet Scott is a historian specializing in the ancient history of the Near East. Over the past ten years he has turned his attention to Late Antiquity and the declining phase of classical civilization, which he sees as one of the most crucial episodes in the history of western civilization.
Product details
- Publisher : New English Review Press; First Edition (January 15, 2012)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 272 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0578094185
- ISBN-13 : 978-0578094182
- Item Weight : 14.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.61 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,506,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,419 in History of Civilization & Culture
- #6,761 in History of Christianity (Books)
- #22,492 in European History (Books)
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Customers find the history content informative, insightful, and fascinating. They say it helps with understanding the history of Islam in the region. Readers also mention the book is well-documented and one of the best revisionist histories they have ever read.
"A interesting and very informative book. This book addresses the controversy of what ended Roman civilization and brought on the Dark Ages in Europe...." Read more
"...He does it all for 250 pages. He has extensive knowledge of all cultures of the ancient world of through Renaissance bank in Italy...." Read more
"...An inevitable result of Islamic conquests.4- This book has many informations, about Islamic piracy making Europeans slaves, for more than a..." Read more
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Henri Pirenne was a Belgium historian who maintained that the real destroyers of classical civilization were the Muslims. When he advanced this new theory it was not well received. He was attacked by many others in the community. This book revisits the controversy, and presents evidence to support Mr. Pirenne's argument that the Muslims were the cause of ending Roman civilization and the start of the Dark Ages in Europe.
When Rome was over run by the different tribes from up in Germany, the tribes really were not out to destroy Rome and its civilization, rather, they wanted to take over Rome and its Civilization, and to become the top dog. The cities of Europe did not really show an immediate decline when the Roman empire fell.
In the 600s, after the Moslems emerged from Arabia, and took over northern Africa, and in essence controlled the Med Sea, is when Mr. Pirenne and Mr. Scott trace the decline of Europe. Mr. Pirenne identified one of the factors as cutting off of a lot of the Med trade, as shown by the lack of papyrus in Europe where it had been used as paper. As there was no paper making in Europe at the time, the only other things to use were slates for temporary records or vellum from animal hides for books or longer lasting records. Pirenne traced the decline in European education, and her cities to the cut off of Med trade by the Muslims. Scott believes that the evidence which he addresses supports Mr. Pirenne's theory as to what caused the Dark Ages in Europe.
I found this a very interesting and persuasive book. If you are interested in European history of the period of the Dark Ages, it should be of interest to you.
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2019
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This volume is essential reading for anyone seeking explanations beyond the politically approved for what happened to Europe, and the rest of the Roman lands, after the fall of the Western Empire.
Though the topic of dark age essentially pertains to Europe,it's import is far reaching.Certainly the topic is of relevance to India.Strangely there is a parallel in India with respect to barbarian invasion and destruction.Here also the mainstream declaration is:a highly advanced native civilization was destroyed by the barbarian Aryans,and thereafterwards what remained was,a socially,politically,religiously abominable polity which was eventually attacked by the forces of Islam due to which the Indian polity was redeemed,at least to a certain extent.The barbarian Aryan invasion of India was just a colonial British fabrication but how did a similar story find acceptance in Europe?As a rule,barbarians would only try to emulate sophisticated people unless if it can be proved that the barbarians had a very strong motivation to destroy the civilized.Isn't it bizarre that the Germans who are regarded to be the foremost of the barbarians who had destroyed the Roman empire and had brought about the dark age,were the people who had emerged as one of the most advanced nations of Europe?
The disciplines of knowledge and learning cannot appear amongst a nation like a bolt out of the blue and similarly vanish without a trace like the Will-o'-the-wisp.There should be a strong tradition of knowledge and learning within a nation or a group for it to thrive.The nation nestling such disciplines may have it's highs and lows but the tradition of learning and knowledge is not uprooted lock,stock and barrel,when the nation in question is in adversity.Non-Muslim India was under the heavy yoke of Islamic rule for over a millenium and then it was under British rule for about 2 centuries.Similarly China was in a bad shape in the 19th century and in the early 20th century.Likewise Mexico and other meso American lands were under the savage occupation of the Spaniards.But the tradition of knowledge and learning has not vanished without a trace in all these cultures.Nor has the scientific and cultural achievements of these peoples been effaced by external aggression and enslavement.The Jews are most probably the most persecuted and also the most widely persecuted group of people since time immemorial,and yet the Jews are synonymous with knowledge,learning and brilliance.The list of Nobel prize recipients will tell that all.If the Arabs had been connoisseurs of knowledge and learning,do the original lands of the Arabs have anything to show of it?Pirenne,John J O'Neil and Emmet Scott have clearly established that the tradition of learning was already well rooted in pre-Islamic Europe.And that was why even in the age of Churchianity and inquisition the Catholic countries witnessed the rise of scientists of renown,namely in Italy,Poland etc.
Those who still insist that Islam was the forerunner of renaissance in Europe,should ponder over what Wafa Sultan has to say in her book,'A God Who Hates'.Wafa studied medicine in her native Syria and then emigrated to U.S.A,where she did her higher studies in medicine.Wafa Sultan has written that she and other medical students from Muslim countries were acquainted with certain topics for the first time during their course of study in the U.S.A.Whereas their colleagues from non-Muslim countries were already familiar with those topics while they had done their undergraduate courses in their respective countries.This disparity was because those topics were expressly proscribed in all Muslim countries,not just in fundamentalist Muslim countries.If Islam is interfering even in the study of utilitarian sciences in the late 20th century and in the 21st century,then,could Islam have played a conducive role for science and learning at any point of time?This is a question that begs an answer not only from European enthusiasts of Islam but also from Gopal Singh and other Sikh separatists who denigrate the Hindus but glorify the elusive contributions of Islam.
Thank you Emmet Scott.May your tribe multiply.
Comme son collègue Gunnar Heinsohn, Emmet Scott allie à ses travaux de chronologie des articles dans des revues néoconservatrices. Elles paient sans doute mieux que les universités d'Allemagne (de l'est) et de Roumanie.
In the 1930s, Belgian historian Henri Perrine published a book called Mohammed and Charlemagne in which he put forward the argument that the barbarian invasions of the Roman Empire didn't cause the Dark Ages in Europe, as most historians claimed. Instead Perrine argued that Islam, with its doctrine of jihad, and the Muslim invasions, conquests, piracy in the Mediterranean and constant raiding of European territory, were responsible for bringing about the Dark Ages in Europe.
Perrine's thesis has been energetically and repeatedly attacked by historians, and others, ever since and is still considered an unorthodox historical viewpoint by most historians.
In this book, Emmett Scott examines the evidence for and against Perrine's thesis, using modern archaeological discoveries, early literary references and other surviving textual records from the period and many other sources to examine the arguments made by Henri Perrine and the counter-arguments made by Perrine's many detractors.
Scott's examination of the available evidence is fascinating and well worth reading for anyone interested in European and Middle Eastern history.
It's also very relevant to current events like Muslim migration into Europe and the worldwide conflicts between jihadists and virtually all non-jihadists.
Hint: Scott's analysis concludes that Perrine was right. His arguments in favour of Perrine's position are very persuasive and have serious implication for present day events as well as the historical record.
Bottom line: this book is well worth reading for both its historical analysis and its relevance to present day events.





