Science,+Mathematics,+and+Medicine

===Science and mathematics quickly became important to Muslims in the early centuries of Islamic civilization. During the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries, Islam became obsessed with the acquisition of knowledge:===

==="…science was practiced on a scale unprecedented in earlier or contemporary human history…thousands of scientists pursued careers in diverse scientific disciplines….Considerable resources were also devoted for the support of scientific activity in Muslim societies. Until the rise of modern science, no other civilization engaged as many scientists, produced as many scientific books, or provided as varied and sustained support for scientific activity." (From //The Oxford History of Islam// by John L. Esposito).===

===Of course, Islam did not suddenly produce thousands of erudite scientists and scholars. Initially, Islam assimilated vast amounts of knowledge from the various nations it subjugated. This assimilation included numerals and mathematics from India; science, medicine, and philosophy from Greece; and government, art, and architecture from Byzantium and Persia Unlike many conquerors, both before and after the Islamic Era, the Islamic Empire did not destroy the libraries and other storehouses of knowledge of the peoples it defeated. Instead, it used the amassed knowledge for the promotion of Islam.===

Please feel free to add pictures and explanations of Early Islamic scientific, mathematical, or medicinal drawings, tools, and gadgets:
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 * = [[image:Astrolabe.jpg align="center" caption="The astrolabe was originally invented by the Greeks for observing the position of the stars. Islamic scientists improved upon it so much it could be used to help determine the time and be used to help navigate ships at sea."]] ||=  ||   ||