That is a fairly uninformed post for a reader of the Globe.  The number system you use is called the Western Numeral system, right?  Wrong - it's called the Arabic Numeric system introduced to the west by people from that part of the world.  Heard of Algebra?  Compiled by a Persian named Al-Khwarizmi in the 800's and it set the stage for others to follow.  Chemistry?  It was Jabir ibn Hayyan who was setting the stage for Lavoie and Boyle who came around a thousand years later.  Scientific method? Alhazen about a thousand years ago.  Medicine?  Ibn Sina (Avicena).  It was people in these countries who safeguarded the works of the ancient Greeks while the Catholic church was destroying knowledge and crucifying heretics who said the world was round.  It was thanks to them that knowledge survived the Dark Ages and was there to feed the Renaissance.