This loss of knowledge was perhaps the greatest risk Europe faced.
In the Islamic nations, however, learning was not only alive, but flourishing. Mathematics and chemistry benefited particularly from the Arabic preservation of ancient Greek manuscripts and treatises. Islam, the Muslim religion and the heart of Arabic culture, placed great importance on the works of scholars and artists. Islamic rulers endowed schools, and in doing so underwrote a body of knowledge that would flow readily westward as Europe, early in the next millennium, began to regain its strength and rebuild its culture. When European Crusaders ventured into Arab lands beginning in 1096, they returned with many of the Greek classics preserved by the Arabs. In addition, early Arabic explorers and traders were vital conduits for the transit of both preserved classical knowledge and imported Asian knowledge.
Asian cultures and civilizations grew greatly during this period, producing many technological and scientific accomplishments that would be copied by Western nations or discovered independently hundreds of years later. The Chinese discovered the magnetic compass, invented gunpowder, and invented printing. Indian mathematicians developed numeral system we use today, and gave the world the mathematical gift of the zero.
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