THE RISE OF ISLAM 257

and the like who encouraged the arts. literature, philosophy, and
poetry as the mood took them, building palace^ for themselves,
vying with each other in the luxury of their entertainment5. sub-
orning poets to sound their praises, dabbling in philosophy, sup-
porting various schools of thought, endowing charities, and, in
fact, behaving as the wealthy have always behaved in all ages."1

The above description indicates a great change in the Arabs
brought about by their successes. In the first place, the wild
but simple Bedouins of the desert were now pampered with
soul-destroying luxury. Secondly, the democratic spirit of
the earlier days of Islam had given place to an insupport-
able autocracy. And thirdly, the Empire of the Crescent
having grown to unwieldy proportions split up into several
regional and dynastic kingdoms. The last blow to the totter-
ing Caliphate of Bagdad came from the Turko-Mcngolian
invasions. The glorious capital of the Commander of the
Faithful, proudly described by an Arab historian as "the
eye of Iraq, the seat of Empire, the centre of beauty, culture
and arts/' was destroyed by the Mongols in 1258 A.D. Before
that catastrophe Bagdad had been the cultural capital of
the Middle East where flocked the great savants of all coun-
tries from East and West alike. Not the least important
of these were from India, and in the opinion of Mr. E. B.
Havell, " It was India, not Greece, that taught Islam in the
impressionable years of its youth, formed its philosophy and
-esoteric religious ideals, and inspired its most characteristic
expression in literature, art, and architecture." Without
being so partisan we might believe that the Arabs built up
an eclectic civilisation drawing the best from the various parts
of their far-flung dominions, and fusing everything in the fire
of their new born zeal.

1. Cited by H. G. Wells in The Outline of History.