Cultural Diffusion In The Early Ages

Although people might not realize it, cultural diffusion has made a very important impact on everyday life for thousands of years. Cultural diffusion focuses on the spread of cultural expressions through a variety of mean across nations, regions, and even the world. In World History, the Early Ages, there are many example of cultural diffusion. For example, the spreading of Monastic laws and traditions. Also, the diffusion of Islam and its practices. Finally, Literature has played a big part in cultural diffusion. According to World History, the Early Ages, many aspects of civilizations such as the spreading of religious practices, entire religions, and literature were brought about by cultural diffusion.

Today, when people think of Monks, …show more content…
Every single one of those religions started in one area and where spread through nations, regions, and the world through cultural diffusion. An example of this from World History, the Early Ages is the spread of Islam. After the death of the Islamic leader, Muhammad, a new type of leaders, caliphs, were chosen. The first four were chosen for life, and came to be known as “the Rightly Guided Caliphs”. They sought to protect and spread Islam, and their military succeeded in carrying the religion beyond the Arabian Peninsula. However, the Arab armies not only on religious motives, but also the motive of acquiring the agricultural wealth of the Byzantine and Persian empires. The Arab armies saw these conquests as a jihad, or holy struggle to bring Islam to other lands, and eventually both empires accepted the new religion. The Umayyad Dynasty also played a role in the spread of Islam. After their capital was moved from Madinah to a more centrally located Damascus, Umayyad warriors carried Islam east and west through means of conquests. This diffusion was only halted in France, at the Battle of Tours by Charles Martel. Many religions were spread through cultural diffusion, creating ethnically diverse nations, regions, and …show more content…
It also has been used to pass thousands of years of knowledge and cultural expressions down from civilization to civilization. An example of this is an Islamic book called the Quran or Koran. According to Muslim tradition, all of the “divine messages” revealed to Muhammad over a 22-year period were eventually compiled into the Quran, whose name translates to “recital”. The book is the final authority in matters of faith and lifestyle. The Koran is written in Arabic and is believed to the message of God revealed only to Muhammad. This book states the basic moral values of Islam, which are similar to those of Judaism and Christianity. Also, based on the Quran and the Hadith (sayings of Muhammad), the shari’ah, the Islamic body of law, covers all aspects of Muslim private as well as public life. Finally, the Quran presents the five pillars of Islam, which are the confession of faith, prayer, alms, fasting, and the pilgrimage (hajj) to Makkah. The Koran and its teachings have been spread around the world for thousands of years. Literature has a ginormous impact on everyday life, and has helped in the diffusion of cultures to help make the world the place it is today.

As displayed throughout history, many feature of civilizations such as religious practices, religions, and literature were affected by cultural diffusion. Monks today would not act the way they do if it wasn’t for the Benedictine Rule, spread around