From the 700s to the 1200s, Baghdad was an Intellectual Center unrivaled in the world. It's House of Wisdom studied mathematics, astronomy, medicine, alchemy and chemistry, zoology, and geography.
@Radu You say that like I have time. Which I do, but it's not a whole lot of time. In my free time I check up on SATW, check up on my RTS's, and then watch youtube for the rest of it until I get back to work.