Kraemer, Joel. Philosophy in the Renaissance of Islam. Leiden: E.J. Brill. 1986.
Overview: This important work of intellectual history provides outstanding historical background to Alfarabi.
Excerpt:
“In Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam, I portrayed the cultural revival that took place in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Baghdad and provincial centers under the enlightened rule of the Buyid dynasty during the height of the period dubbed by Adam Mez ‘the Renaissance of Islam.’ I attempted to depict the milieu of this splendid exfoliation, to trace profiles of individuals who fashioned it, and to draw the contours of the cenacles, schools, and societies which domiciled it. The circle of the philosopher Abu Sulayman al-Sijistani was cited as illustrative of the kind of voluntary association that fostered cultural diffusion along scientific and philosophic lines.”