I must say, I really do enjoy the History Channel as it provides some great insight and new changes into ancient history. What fascinates me is how technology and science of Ancient Rome did not disappear, but moved towards the Middle East during the 8th to 13th Centuries (known as the Islamic Century) where all the knowledge moved into the House of Wisdom.

This House of Wisdom at end of 8th Century took and added upon Roman ideas focusing on automatons like the tea serving girl. What’s amazing is the man Al-Jazari (sp?) who designed water pumps that could draw water up 40 feet that would not be seen for another 500 years all by itself. He specifically used a crank system, which 500 years later played an integral part into the modern age (steam engines, diesel engines, etc.) a design thought to be first designed in 15th Century Europe, but was used by Al-Jazari two centuries earlier.

The technological advances continued through the rest of the Middle East beginning to expand further on those designs with hydraulic technology, even being able to regulated it in the 9th Century, showing amazing knowledge of differential pressures.

Furthermore, Hasan Al-rama was able to take the gunpowder from China and possibly make the first rocket and hand cannons used in warfare. With the knowledge that silk is fireproof (and chemical proof), they were able to create a proto-fireproof clothing that would also use incendiary charges to scare enemy horses.

But the icing on the cake has to be the possibility that they created the first kind of torpedo, one that would instead of going under the surface, would skim the surface of the water made in the 13/14th Century to destroy enemy ships (maybe against the Chinese themselves?)