Gibbon, Muhammad (PBUH), and Islam A Review of the Fiftieth Chapter of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , by Edward Gibbon (1737–1794 CE)
Document Type : pajoohesh
Author
10.22081/jap.2024.76668
Abstract
During the rise of the European Enlightenment in the 18th century, a number of historians and enthusiasts of Oriental studies stood against the medieval biases of the Church and adopted a more balanced perspective towards Islam. They sought to free themselves from Europe's thousand-year-old prejudices by referring to Arabic sources and applying scientific methodologies. This movement resulted in the creation of works on Islam and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that provided a more realistic view of the events during and after his time. However, Enlightenment writers also critiqued Christianity, and some of these criticisms were occasionally applied to certain aspects of Islamic faith. Nonetheless, this shift introduced new insights that are worth examining. This article reviews the fiftieth chapter of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which is not included in the Persian translation of the book (Tehran, 1970).
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