Here's why:
* Preservation and Expansion: During the Middle Ages, while Europe was in the midst of the Dark Ages, Islamic scholars actively translated and preserved ancient Greek texts, including those on astronomy. They also expanded upon this knowledge, making significant contributions to the field themselves.
* Translation and Transmission: Islamic scholars translated Greek astronomical works into Arabic, making them accessible to a wider audience. These Arabic translations later became the basis for Latin translations in Europe, which helped reintroduce Greek astronomy to the West.
* Key Figures: Prominent Islamic astronomers like al-Battani, al-Khwarizmi, and Ibn al-Haytham made groundbreaking observations, calculations, and refinements to the Ptolemaic system, which formed the foundation of Western astronomy for centuries.
While other cultures, like Byzantine, also played a role in preserving Greek knowledge, the Islamic world played the most crucial role in transmitting it to Renaissance Europe, making it the primary conduit of this knowledge transfer.
