> Gary Denton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > Richard Baker wrote:
> > The Muslims may have contributed many worthwhile
> things to civilisation
> > but the invention of zero wasn't one of them. So
> far as I know, the idea
> > of "zero" in number systems was independently
> invented by the
> > Babylonians, the Mayans and the Indians (before
> Islam!); the Arabs
> > learned about zero from India, and then passed the
> idea on to Europe.
> Translations of Arabic works helped spark �the
> Renaissance but except
> for some paper, medicine, mathematics and drugs I am
> not sure what
> Europeans acquired that was original to the Islamic
> world.
Arabian horses, of course! ;)
I'm being a little over-the-top, but since at the time
horses were the best overland transport and military
assets, the impact of the introduction of Arabian and
Barb horses, along with style-of-riding, was huge. As
anyone who has worked with heavy/draft horses vs.
Arabs & their cousins can tell you, the responsiveness
of the light horse is remarkable; they changed cavalry
tactics -- perhaps not, in retrospect, a thing for the
better...
Debbi
A La Jineta And A La Breda* Maru
*spelling might be way off; refers to a more forward
seat with shorter stirrups vs. long stirruped 'hold
the rider in place' riding
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