What do you think were the main features of the Arab Islamic civilisation of the Abbasid Period, and what made that civilisation so vibrant?

The 'Golden Age' of Arab Islamic civilisation was essentially a synthesis of diverse roots stemming from Greek, Indian, Iranian and pre-Islam Arabic sources. The advent of the Abbasids around 750 AD made this synthesis possible, and from peoples with varied origins and different religious affiliations was created one profound civilisation. A civilisation that allowed slaves to become rulers, Muslim, Jew and Christian to live side by side, and grew at a rapid rate, creating cities such …

…rule over and downfall of the Abbasid name. The main features of the Arab Islamic civilisation were, the manifold origins of peoples under one rule, urban expansion, a strengthening economy, intellectual growth and the legacy left to the progression and advancement of Western science, medicine and thought. As Lombard (1975:98) comments, "Islam's greatest achievement was to fuse all of these elements into one single civilisation." And it was this achievement that made that civilisation so vibrant.