ALTHOUGH artifacts and monuments such as the Acropolis, Coliseum and Sphinx are often presented by historians as symbols of the achievement of many civilisations in the past, the structures are the result of much higher and refined dimensions of a civilisation which are knowledge, thought and intellectualism.

Hence, it is more sound to evaluate the success of a civilisation through knowledge-based criteria such as great ideas and books, scholars and sages, libraries and universities. These are the elements that continue to enlighten the soul and elevate people’s lives to a higher and meaningful level.