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In the year 900, by far the most robust and impressive philosophical tradition was found not in Europe, but in the Middle East. Islamic scholars there had embarked on a wholesale program to recover the traditions of Greek philosophy (particularly the works of Aristotle), translate them into Arabic, and rethink their message in light of the newly revealed teachings of the Qur’an.

Eventually, however, the center shifted—first to the western part of the Islamic world in northern Africa and southern Spain, and then north to Christian Europe. What we call the Middle Ages was, in Islam, the great classical era of philosophy and science. After several centuries of flourishing, however, the study of philosophy and science faded in Muslim countries, even while it was being pursued with increasing vigor in the Latin West.

Averroës devoted much of his scholarly efforts to a series of commentaries on Aristotle, producing both brief epitomes and exhaustive, line-by-line studies.

On January 16, the Ukrainian government, headed by President Yanukovych, tried to put an end to Ukrainian civil societ

But a maidan now means in Ukrainian what the Greek word agora means in English: not just a marketplace where people happen to meet, but a place where they deliberately meet, precisely in order to deliberate, to speak, and to create a political society

protests, until then entirely peaceful, became violent. Yanukovych lost support

most Chinese in the late imperial era (960-1911)--and all classically educated males--encountered him in the Confucius Temple. To understand why the court expended such great care in venerating the cultic Confucius, it is important to consider how this ceremony fits into the larger pantheon of gods and spirits venerated by court authorities in thousands of temples and shrines throughout the capital, across the empire and beyond. Civil officials in late imperial times drew upon the Classics to compose the rites celebrated at these temples.

Map: Tracing Hispanic population growth in U.S.

Rand McNally recently named this North Texas town America's Most Patriotic City, but that red, white and blue slogan has collided with a grisly episode from 150 years ago: the Great Hanging of 1862, when vigilantes hanged 40 Union sympathizers and shot two more who tried to escape.

Rand McNally recently named this North Texas town America's Most Patriotic City, but that red, white