During thehigh medieval period, theIslamic worldwas at itscultural peak,supplying information and ideastoEurope, viaAndalusia,Sicilyand theCrusader kingdomsin the Levant. These includedLatin translationsofthe Greek Classicsand of Arabic texts inastronomy,mathematics,science, andmedicine. Other contributions included technological and scientific innovations via theSilk Road, includingChinese inventionssuch aspaperandgunpowder.

The Islamic world also influenced other aspects of medieval European culture, partly byoriginal innovationsmade during theIslamic Golden Age, including various fields such as thearts,agriculture,alchemy,music,pottery, etc.

ManyArabic loanwordsin Western European languages, includingEnglish, mostly via Old French, date from this period.This includestraditional star namessuch asAldebaran, scientific terms likealchemy(whence alsochemistry),algebra,algorithm, etc. and names of commodities such assugar,camphor,cotton,coffee, etc.