ABSTRACT
The old story of Islam as a container for the transport of Greek science to a long-awaited European homecoming can only seems like a fiction embarrassingly suited to an imperial age. One can take more accurate stock of Islam's contribution. Beyond the many discoveries and innovations it yielded, Islamic scientific culture introduced decisive elements for a more advanced science. Islamic scholars were interested in the natural world for a number of reasons. Some were practical, related to such things as calendar-making, medicines and healing. Knowledge of the heavens began and remained a particular focus of early Islamic science. One's reason for this was the importance the stars and planets long held for the Arabs but also all the peoples who were eventually embraced by the empire. Astrology had a central place in Persian, Hindu and Greek society and government, as well as that of Egypt and Mesopotamia and in its Persian form, was adopted by much of Islamic society.
