Jarh L. Rodriguez’s Reviews > Lost Islamic History: Reclaiming Muslim Civilisation from the Past > Status Update

After the Crusades conquered Jerusalem, Italian states such as Genoa and Venice regularly sent fleets of merchants to the Holy Land.
The result was a huge influx of wealth and into the Italian peninsula. That wealth, coupled with knowledge gained from translations of Muslim scholarly works, would later help fuel the Renaissance, starting in the 14th century

The Seljuks established the Nizamiyyah school in Baghdad in the late 11th century. It was the largest university of the Middle Ages and charged no tuition

In contrast to the Abbasids and other Sunni dynasties, which were at least officially bound by Islamic laws, the Fatimid caliphs, as semi-divine beings, were allowed to exercise a much more personal form of authority. Thus each new caliph could radically change the character and direction of the empire, sometimes with disastrous results

Avicenna's greatest work was not simply a handbook on common ailments and cures. It was a complete medical encyclopedia. Descriptions can be found in it of anesthesia, breast cancer, rabies, toxins, ulcers, kidney disease, and tuberculosis. Beyond this, he wrote about the connection between mental and physical health and concluded that negative thoughts can cause illness just as much as other factors

In the 10th century Baghdad instituted a licensing exam that all doctors had to take before practicing as physicians

Common misperceptions about the history of medicine include the belief that it was mostly guesswork until the past few hundred years. However there exists a long medical tradition in the Muslim world based on earlier Greek knowledge that emphasized empirical study and clinical professionalism. Their work points to an era of medical enlightenment and advancement that forms the basis of modern medicine

There is mounting evidence of Muslim transatlantic voyages hundreds of years before Columbus. Al-Masudi's sailed from Muslim Iberia for months until he happened upon a very large previously unknown landmass. His account states that they traded with the locals and then returned home. Al-Masudi's world map even includes an unknown land across the Atlantic Ocean because of this account.

They also developed trigonometry and in astronomy they developed the astrolabe, an instrument first invented by the ancient Greeks. Its purpose was to determine one's latitude by using the stars. It combined the capabilities of the astrolabe with the more precise astronomical calculations of Muslim scientists and became a staple of navigation, particularly by ship.

Perhaps Al-Khwarizmi's greatest contribution was the development of algebra. In his monumental work: The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing, he explains how algebraic equations can be used to solve everyday problems ranging from dividing up inheritances to geography. The word algebra itself derives from the title of his book al-jabr, meaning "completion” referring to balancing equations

Complex math problems involving non-integer numbers were nearly impossible with the Roman system but the Indian system (1,2,3,4…) allowed large and negative numbers to be more easily expressed, easing complex problems. Al-Khwarizmi not only borrowed the system from the ancient Indians but also added to it an important missing link: the zero.