Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making a whole culture intelligible. This is especially true for the Arab World, which has a rich and diverse history of translation that spans centuries and civilizations. Here is an overview of some of the major milestones and achievements of translation in the Arab World, focusing on the cultural and scientific renaissance that occurred during the Abbasid period. The Arab World has a long and rich tradition of translation that dates back to the early centuries AD, when Syriac-speaking scholars translated works from Greek, Persian, and Indian sources into Syriac , and later into Arabic during the Abbasid era. The Abbasid period (750–1258 AD) was a golden age of intellectual and artistic flourishing in the Islamic world. It was also a time when translation reached its peak, as many works from Greek, Persian, Indian, and other languages were translated into Arabic. The Abbasids were keen to acquire and preserve the knowl...