Science and Technology
In the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries, there was a division in Central Asian societies between the theologians or mystics, and those who practiced ‘rational science’, which was perceived as a challenge to religious doctrine. Nonetheless, medical science, mathematics and astronomy all underwent significant developments in this period, nourished by the Persian and Indian scientific traditions. Moreover, technology flourished, with important advances being made in irrigation, water and wind power, craft technology, and artillery.