<P> Christians, especially the adherents of the Church of the East (Nestorians), contributed to Islamic civilization during the reign of the Ummayads and the Abbasids by translating works of Greek philosophers and ancient science to Syriac and afterwards to Arabic . They also excelled in many fields, in particular philosophy, science (such as Hunayn ibn Ishaq, Thabit Ibn Qurra, Yusuf Al - Khuri, Al Himsi, Qusta ibn Luqa, Masawaiyh, Patriarch Eutychius, and Jabril ibn Bukhtishu) and theology . For a long period of time the personal physicians of the Abbasid Caliphs were often Assyrian Christians . Among the most prominent Christian families to serve as physicians to the caliphs were the Bukhtishu dynasty . </P> <P> Throughout the 4th to 7th centuries, Christian scholarly work in the Greek and Syriac languages was either newly translated or had been preserved since the Hellenistic period . Among the prominent centers of learning and transmission of classical wisdom were Christian colleges such as the School of Nisibis and the School of Edessa, the pagan University of Harran and the renowned hospital and medical academy of Jundishapur, which was the intellectual, theological and scientific center of the Church of the East . The House of Wisdom was founded in Baghdad in 825, modelled after the Academy of Gondishapur . It was led by Christian physician Hunayn ibn Ishaq, with the support of Byzantine medicine . Many of the most important philosophical and scientific works of the ancient world were translated, including the work of Galen, Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle, Ptolemy and Archimedes . Many scholars of the House of Wisdom were of Christian background . </P> <P> With a new and easier writing system, and the introduction of paper, information was democratized to the extent that, for probably the first time in history, it became possible to make a living from simply writing and selling books . The use of paper spread from China into Muslim regions in the eighth century, arriving in Al - Andalus on the Iberian peninsula, present - day Spain in the 10th century . It was easier to manufacture than parchment, less likely to crack than papyrus, and could absorb ink, making it difficult to erase and ideal for keeping records . Islamic paper makers devised assembly - line methods of hand - copying manuscripts to turn out editions far larger than any available in Europe for centuries . It was from these countries that the rest of the world learned to make paper from linen . </P> <P> Among the various countries and cultures conquered through successive Islamic conquests, a remarkable number of scientists originated from Persia, who contributed immensely to the scientific flourishing of the Islamic Golden Age . According to Bernard Lewis: </P>

Who ruled during the golden age of islam