N.O.R.F Posted February 17, 2005 Last night, flicking through the channels (as you do) i came across a programme called, what the Ancients did for us on BBC2, why not i thought to myself as i do a little history from time to time. It was probably the best programme i have seen for a long time. It focused on what the islamic world discovered/developed/though of/engineered while the west was lagging far behind. This is a what they concluded after an hour of great narration and toures through Andalucian walk ways/old mosques/ pharmacies in souks in Cairo and so. Just thought i would share, The Islamic World The rise of Islam is one of the most important events in world history. In the 7th century, Mohammed's (pbuh)intention was to unite the divided Arabs through a new religion. A century after his death, he'd succeeded in producing a medieval superpower. The Arabs and Moors had spread through Spain towards the Pyrenees. Cordoba became renowned as one of the greatest and wealthiest cities in Europe. Moorish cities such as Toledo and Seville were famed for their new culture and universities. The first What The Ancients Did For Us programme explores the Muslim contribution to the western world - in art, architecture, astronomy, medicine, science, and learning. The early Muslims are credited with inventing distillation and could distil just about anything - from alcohol to perfume. Hygiene is very important in the Muslim world so they invented and manufactured soap - centuries before the West - and hundreds of bathhouses were built throughout Muslim cities. They understood the fundamentals of light and how we see, and gave us the camera obscura. They invented algebra and worked out the angle of the tilt of the earth. They built the first windmill, pioneered the concept of the crank rod, and designed the first ever torpedo. Muslim creativity also led to the invention of a unique instrument called the astrolabe – it could find the direction of Mecca, tell the time and, with the help of the stars, navigate you across deserts and oceans. But perhaps most important of all they pursued the cause of knowledge, translating and preserving the works of the ancients and building the world's largest libraries – their 'houses of wisdom'. http://www.open2.net/whattheancients/islamicworld.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
