Question

Which of the following are good examples of the impact of cultural diffusion between muslim and european religions?

Answer 1

A good example of the impact of cultural diffusion between Muslim and European religions is the improvements in physician training and the creation of hospitals. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 A.D,, most of the ancient Greek texts containing their development in medical knowledge and know-how were lost as a consequence of the constant conflict between the Germanic tribal warriors and the last remaining Roman troops and civilians. For centuries, the medical practice was as dangerous to the patients as were the wounds and diseases. Meanwhile, Arab scholars had not only been salvaging and translating the medical books of the ancient Greeks and Romans, but they were adding to this pre-existent knowledge and vastly improving the medical practice. Around the tenth century, a constant contraband of Arab texts, including on advanced medical knowledge and know-how, gradually helped Western doctors improve their treatments and procedures which resulted in more and more patients surviving wounds and diseases.

In the late Middle Ages, descriptions of the printing press used in China made it into Europe because of the Arabs. This Chinese printing press was rather expensive and complicated because every page of a book had to be individually carved on a wooden plate. However, a German printer, Johannes Gutenberg, came up with the idea of the "movable types": instead of carving one wooden plate per page, he would use a special plate with metal railings in such a way that he took letter by letter, mounting them between the railings, and thus complete a page that he would be able to print as many times as needed. Once the page was no longer needed, he would dismount the letter types and rearrange them to make the next page. Gutenberg's printing press of movable types turned book-making cheaper and knowledge easier to come by.