What was the impact of the Arab world on Europe in the middle ages?

Answer 1

First off, the Arabs invaded and conquered much of the East Roman Empire, and took control of the Holy Land. This situation was tolerated for centuries by Christians, until new groups of people, who were Muslim but not Arab, took over and made pilgrimage impossible. After that, it lead to the Crusades, which was brutal and ultimately fruitless, except that the crusaders brought back with them a different understanding of culture.

The Arabs brought texts of ancient Greek philosophers, translated into Arabic, along with understanding science and mathematics, to Spain when they invaded in 710 AD. These texts were translated into Latin and distributed across Europe, profoundly influencing the science, mathematics, and philosophy of the Europeans. Among the things brought by Arabs was the Arabic number system (try multiplying CXLVII times XIX to see how that works, and you will appreciate the improvement).

Other important areas include astronomy, which is why most of our star names are Arabic, architecture, chemistry, and the theory of mathematics, especially the Arab invention of algebra. The list goes on and on.