S. Frederick Starr's book about CA history in Kazakh and Kyrgyz languages presented in Bishkek
A presentation of the book Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane in Kazakh and Kyrgyz languages, authored by Stephen Frederick Starr, American historian, founding Chairman of the Central Asia -Caucasus Institute, was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazinform News Agency reports.
President of the Qazaq Tili Foundation Rauan Kenzhekhanuly, Chairman of the Central Asia -Caucasus Institute S. Frederick Starr, member of the Board of Directors of Freedom Holding Corp. Kairat Kelimbetov, Advisor to the President of Kyrgyzstan Arslan Koichiev took the floor at the event.
The book was translated into Kazakh by the Qazaq Tili Foundation.
“This book is of huge importance for strengthening pride of the people living in the Central Asian region for their great past, intellectual and spiritual heritage inherited from their ancestors. The works of great minds, natives of Central Asia, who lived in the 9th-12th centuries, laid the foundation for the well-known Renaissance or Renaissance in Europe. Scholars like Al-Farabi, Al-Biruni, Ibn Sina and others, contributed to the development of philosophy, medicine, astronomy, geometry, geology and other sciences,” Rauan Kenzhekhanuly said.
He noted that the book describes interesting facts, biographical data, stories from the lives of our ancestors, who made an invaluable contribution to the development of human history.
“It is very important that our younger generation realizes whom they represent and where they come from, so that there is no feeling that great and good things happened somewhere other than here. In order to unite the Central Asian countries, it is important to restore the understanding of a common cultural, intellectual, spiritual area,” he added.
S. Frederick Starr, the author of the book, also shared his thoughts about his work.
In his words, the message of the book is that Central Asian region was the center of a great culture and one should be proud of world-level geniuses who lived in this region in the Golden Age period.
He emphasized that to regain the lost greatness left by the great ancestors of Central Asia, people need to constantly study and read a lot. The most difficult part of the book for the reader and author is the question "Why the Age of Enlightenment ended?".
In his opinion, the division between different Muslim groups and religious conflicts contributed to this decline.
Advisor to the President of Kyrgyzstan Arslan Koichiev emphasized the painstaking, enormous work carried out by Frederick Starr in writing his book. Its main idea is that Central Asia Age played a leading role in world politics, trade, and in development of science in the Middle Ages.
"The author studied the biographies and achievements of great minds of Central Asia. The book features the coexistence of nomads and sedentary people, which led to the prosperity of the region’s economy in the Middle Ages," he noted.
