Philosophy, medicine, and poetry were all written in Arabic, although Persian remained an important literary language. And Baghdad became the world's center of scholarship, with its house of wisdom and immense library. Muslim scholars translated the works of Greek philosophers, including Aristotle and Plato, as well as scientific works by Hippocrates, Archimedes, and especially the physician Galen. And they translated and preserved Buddhist and Hindu manuscripts that might otherwise have been lost. Muslims made huge strides in medicine as well. One Muslim scholar, Ibn Sina, wrote the Canon of Medicine, which became the standard medical textbook for centuries in both Europe and the Middle East. And the Islamic Empire adopted mathematical concepts from India, such as the zero, a number so fascinating and beautiful that we could write an entire episode about it, but instead, I'm just gonna write it a little love poem.