Historia Islamica

In the late-night deep dive, we explore how pristine Chinese porcelain from the Tang and Song dynasties traveled the Silk Road and Indian Ocean and sparked a ceramic revolution in Iraq and Europe. We dive into: The Belitung shipwreck treasure Samarra excavations full of Chinese shards How Islamic potters invented tin-glaze to copy that whiteness The massive scale of 9th-century trade Subscribe for...

In this late-night deep dive, we explore how the blue in your classic “Chinese” vase actually started in 9th-century Iraq. We examine into how Abbasid cobalt mastery traveled east via Mongol routes and birthed Yuan/Ming blue-and-white porcelain. We explore: Basra workshops and Persian cobalt mines Mongol Pax Mongolica trade explosion Reverse influence loop Modern cobalt ties Sources: Qatar Museums...

In this late-night deep dive, we explore how Abbasid potters in 9th-century Baghdad and Basra invented lusterware — pottery that gleams like real gold and silver through secret kiln alchemy. We cover: The metallic magic of reduction firing and nanoparticles Influences from Sassanian silver and Byzantine enamels Why Harun al-Rashid gifted these to Charlemagne Connections from the House of Wisdom to...