>> Greek texts were primarily preserved and transmitted in Greek-speaking regions of the empire, that is (initially) in Greece, Anatolia, greater Syria, and Egy

>> Greek texts were primarily preserved and transmitted in Greek-speaking regions of the empire, that is (initially) in Greece, Anatolia, greater Syria, and Egypt. > Okay, but Greater Syria and Egypt were lost to the Byzantine Empire during the Islamic expansion of the 7th century, And the whole "Muslim scholars preserved the ancient greek tradition" narrative is obviously about that later time period, so those don't seem relevant. That doesn't mean the Greeks in those areas disappeared or became Islamic.