The Arabs - Inheritors of the Greek Sciences

Maroth, Miklos

When the Arabs conquered the Eastern and the North African territories of the Roman Empire, they also acquired classical culture and sciences. After 632 A.D. further inroads were made into the Roman Empire, taking over the inheritance of the peoples of the former Greek provinces, which was then passed on to us, primarily, by the Arabs.

While Europe was nurturing the Platonic tradition the Arabs cultivated the natural sciences. The scientific model of searching for causes and proof comes from Aristotle. Sciences in line with this model are known today as the axiomatic deductive sciences. Ibn Khaldoon's philosophy of history goes back to Aristotle, as do Bakhtishu's and Rabban's medical sciences. The Arabs passed on to us the study of humour and empirical observations by Galen as well as Dioscorides's tract on medical herbs. Ibn Sina's cosmology also combines Aristotelian traditions with Neo-Platonic teachings and the atomic theory of Maimonedes also goes back to Epicure. Educational institutions connected to mosques were the bases from which Arabic literature and linguistics were taught and exercised.

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