For most westerners, and indeed for many Arabs, the spectacular achievements of Arabic language science from the eighth through the 16th centuries come as a startling discovery, as if an unknown continent had suddenly appeared on the horizon. In mathematics, astronomy, medicine, optics, cartography, evolutionary theory, physics, and chemistry, medieval Arab and Muslim scientists, scholars, doctors, and mapmakers were centuries ahead of Europe. Centers for scientific research and experimentation emerged across Muslim lands in Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus, Samarkand, Shiraz, Bukhara, Isfahan, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada, and Istanbul.