HIEU 201 B08
Science and Education in the ancient world, 476-1640 AD.
History of Western Civilization
Liberty University
HIEU 201 B08
Science and Education in the ancient world, 476-1640 AD.
Throughout history science and education has been the foundation of all prosperous
civilizations. The focusing on the Middle Ages from 476 AD through 1640 AD. History
has shown the rise and fall of empires and great thinkers. Civilizations have seen
population explosions because of the scholars that lived in a city.
The scientific advances in some cultures have saved civilizations from being over thrown
by stronger military force. For example, in 673 AD the city of Constantinople was attached by an
enemy with a fleet of ships far superior than their own. The Muslims has a fleet of better built
Arabian ships were sure to defeat the Byzantine fleet of smaller lighter built ships, but they had a
new weapon called “Greek fire”[ CITATION htt1 \l 1033 ]1. This powerful new weapon was
invented for Roman Emperors by a Syrian refugee named Callinicus[ CITATION Gre \l 1033 ]2.
Greek fire was such a closely guarded secret that even today no one knows with complete surety
what it was made of [ CITATION Gre \l 1033 ]. This liquid fire was shot from tubes and would
cling to the invading ships, burning intensely for long periods of time and even continued to burn
while floating on the surface of the water creating a fiery blockade[ CITATION htt1 \l 1033 ].
Not all advancements of the Byzantine civilization were destructive. The Byzantines also
preserved the philosophy, science, mathematics, and literature of ancient Greece[ CITATION
htt1 \l 1033 ]. The Eastern part of the Roman Empire which was know as the Byzantine Empire
, survived long after the fall of the Western territories in 476 AD[ CITATION htt2 \l 1033 ]3. The
Byzantines embraced their Roman foundation, buy taking on of tradition of studying legal
tradition. In Rome the law was a science, and the method of applying Greek philosophy to life by
Jurists (htt2) 4. Jurists were those who studied the law as it evolved and interpret it based on
experience (htt2)5.
The ancient Greeks not only had influence on the Byzantines but greatly impacted the
Muslim culture as well. Muslim advances in science, philosophy, and mathematics, can be
credited to the Greeks. One of the most recognized Muslim philosophers of that time was Al-
Farabi. He was born in the year 870 AD. Al-Farabi wrote commentaries on Aristotle about the
existence of God based on Aristotelian logic[ CITATION htt1 \l 1033 ]6. The history of science
has many paths throughout the ancient world. Al-Razil a Persian physician know for his writings
on over 230 subjects ranging from medicine and surgery to mathematics, chess, and
music[ CITATION AlR3 \l 1033 ]7. In the ninth century he wrote a medical encyclopedia that
discussed the measles, kidney stones, poisons, skin diseases, and ways of maintaining
health[ CITATION Min1 \l 1033 ]8.
In the ancient world many of the Muslim scholars were often thought of as being brilliant
in the areas of mathematics, medicine, astronomy, optics, and philosophy, the concept of zero
and Arabic numerals[ CITATION Min \l 1033 ]9. This opened the door for Muslim
mathematicians and work in algebra and trigonometry. One of the most significant contributions
of the ancient world was in the field of optics, by rejecting Euclid’s and Ptolemy’s theory that the
eye emits visual rays and recognized that vision is a consequence of rays of light[ CITATION
Min2 \l 1033 ]10. Other achievements of doctors were the humane treatment of the mentally ill,
the best trained doctors of the time became proficient surgeons that performed amputations,
removed cancerous tissue, and used anesthetics when performing operations[ CITATION Min \l
1033 ]11.
Science and Education in the ancient world, 476-1640 AD.
History of Western Civilization
Liberty University
HIEU 201 B08
Science and Education in the ancient world, 476-1640 AD.
Throughout history science and education has been the foundation of all prosperous
civilizations. The focusing on the Middle Ages from 476 AD through 1640 AD. History
has shown the rise and fall of empires and great thinkers. Civilizations have seen
population explosions because of the scholars that lived in a city.
The scientific advances in some cultures have saved civilizations from being over thrown
by stronger military force. For example, in 673 AD the city of Constantinople was attached by an
enemy with a fleet of ships far superior than their own. The Muslims has a fleet of better built
Arabian ships were sure to defeat the Byzantine fleet of smaller lighter built ships, but they had a
new weapon called “Greek fire”[ CITATION htt1 \l 1033 ]1. This powerful new weapon was
invented for Roman Emperors by a Syrian refugee named Callinicus[ CITATION Gre \l 1033 ]2.
Greek fire was such a closely guarded secret that even today no one knows with complete surety
what it was made of [ CITATION Gre \l 1033 ]. This liquid fire was shot from tubes and would
cling to the invading ships, burning intensely for long periods of time and even continued to burn
while floating on the surface of the water creating a fiery blockade[ CITATION htt1 \l 1033 ].
Not all advancements of the Byzantine civilization were destructive. The Byzantines also
preserved the philosophy, science, mathematics, and literature of ancient Greece[ CITATION
htt1 \l 1033 ]. The Eastern part of the Roman Empire which was know as the Byzantine Empire
, survived long after the fall of the Western territories in 476 AD[ CITATION htt2 \l 1033 ]3. The
Byzantines embraced their Roman foundation, buy taking on of tradition of studying legal
tradition. In Rome the law was a science, and the method of applying Greek philosophy to life by
Jurists (htt2) 4. Jurists were those who studied the law as it evolved and interpret it based on
experience (htt2)5.
The ancient Greeks not only had influence on the Byzantines but greatly impacted the
Muslim culture as well. Muslim advances in science, philosophy, and mathematics, can be
credited to the Greeks. One of the most recognized Muslim philosophers of that time was Al-
Farabi. He was born in the year 870 AD. Al-Farabi wrote commentaries on Aristotle about the
existence of God based on Aristotelian logic[ CITATION htt1 \l 1033 ]6. The history of science
has many paths throughout the ancient world. Al-Razil a Persian physician know for his writings
on over 230 subjects ranging from medicine and surgery to mathematics, chess, and
music[ CITATION AlR3 \l 1033 ]7. In the ninth century he wrote a medical encyclopedia that
discussed the measles, kidney stones, poisons, skin diseases, and ways of maintaining
health[ CITATION Min1 \l 1033 ]8.
In the ancient world many of the Muslim scholars were often thought of as being brilliant
in the areas of mathematics, medicine, astronomy, optics, and philosophy, the concept of zero
and Arabic numerals[ CITATION Min \l 1033 ]9. This opened the door for Muslim
mathematicians and work in algebra and trigonometry. One of the most significant contributions
of the ancient world was in the field of optics, by rejecting Euclid’s and Ptolemy’s theory that the
eye emits visual rays and recognized that vision is a consequence of rays of light[ CITATION
Min2 \l 1033 ]10. Other achievements of doctors were the humane treatment of the mentally ill,
the best trained doctors of the time became proficient surgeons that performed amputations,
removed cancerous tissue, and used anesthetics when performing operations[ CITATION Min \l
1033 ]11.
