Scant little Roman culture was original, or home grown. Much came from the Greeks who in their turn had derived much learning and culture from earlier civiilizations, such as the Sumerian and others.

Due to the unification of the many Christian and other monotheistic sects effected by the council of Nicea, and the persucution of all trappings of paganism, much culture in W. Europe was destroyed at the hands of these religious zealots.

One of many ironies here is that it was invading crusaders who returned to Europe with smatterings of Arab culture as these religious wars were extended into the middle east, with unforseen consequences.

Rather than European culture conquering Arab, as was the intention, Arab culture helped re-ignite scholarship in Europe, and we call this the Renaissance.

But the larger lesson here is that religion, whether Arab or Christian or Jew, has been used as a tool to control and manipulate the masses, sometimes with unforseen consequences, but almost always with a great deal of bloodshed.

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