20 Apr '06 14:59>
Originally posted by orfeoCertainly the most worthwhile post in this thread, I think. Just a point of clarification: The arabs in turn got most of their mathematical knowledge and philosophy from the persians whom they'd conquered. And Koroush was the first to declare a charter of human rights.* So, in a way, the persians kickstarted the Renaissance (and the modern western society) through the arabs.
For starters, it ignores the fact that Christianity itself is not native to Europe. It also ignores the fact that a great deal of the knowledge that kickstarted the Renaissance came from the Arabs.
But that's beside the point, isn't it? I have a nasty habit of failing to stick with the discussion at hand.
What were we supposed to talk about, again?
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_Cylinder