Al-Khwarizmi
Mathematician, astronomer and geographer who laid the foundations of algebra as a discipline in its own right and introduced the decimal number system to the Islamic world.
- Occupation:
- Scientist, Mathematician, Astronomer, Geographer or geologist
- Born:
- c. 783 — c. 850
- Birthplace:
- Khorezm
- Father:
- Muso
Biography
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was born around 783 in Khwarazm, the historic oasis on the lower Amu Darya, in what is now Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. He received his early education from the scholars of Transoxiana and Khwarazm; no reliable details of his youth survive.
In the 810s he moved to Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, where he became one of the leading scholars of the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma), a research centre founded by the caliph al-Ma’mun to translate and develop the Greek, Indian and Persian scientific heritage.
His work “The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing” (“Al-Kitab al-mukhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wa-l-muqabala”) laid the foundations of algebra as a discipline in its own right; the word al-jabr from its title, Latinised as “algebra”, gave its name to the whole branch of mathematics.
Another work, “The Book of Indian Reckoning”, introduced the Islamic world, and later medieval Europe, to the decimal positional number system and the numeral zero; the Latinised form of his name, Algoritmi, gave rise to the word “algorithm”.
Al-Khwarizmi also compiled the astronomical tables “Zij al-Sindhind” and a work of geography, “Kitab surat al-ard” (“The Book of the Image of the Earth”), which corrected Ptolemy’s geographical coordinates. He died around 850, probably in Baghdad.
Career
- House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma) in BaghdadScholar · 813–…
Works
- “Al-Kitab al-mukhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wa-l-muqabala”Mathematical work
Laid the foundations of algebra as a discipline in its own right; its Latinised title gave the discipline of algebra its name.
- “Kitab al-jam‘ wa-l-tafriq bi-hisab al-Hind” (“The Book of Indian Reckoning”)Mathematical work
Introduced the Islamic world, and later medieval Europe, to the decimal positional number system; the word “algorithm” comes from the Latinised form of the author’s name.
- “Zij al-Sindhind”Astronomical work
A set of astronomical tables for calculating the positions of the heavenly bodies, based on Indian and Greek sources.
- “Kitab surat al-ard” (“The Book of the Image of the Earth”)Geographical work
Refined and corrected Ptolemy’s geographical coordinates — one of the first works of mathematical geography in the Islamic world.
Life path
- 783Birth
Born in Khorezm, the oasis in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya; no firm information about his childhood and family has survived.
- 813Move to Baghdad
When the caliph al-Ma'mun came to the throne he moved to the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate and joined the scholars of the «House of Wisdom» (Bayt al-Hikma).
- 820«Al-Jabr»
Completed and dedicated to al-Ma'mun the «Al-Kitab al-mukhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wa'l-muqabala», which established algebra as an independent science.
- 825«On the Calculation with Hindu Numerals»
Wrote the work that introduced the Islamic world to the decimal positional number system and the digit zero, which came from India.
- 828«Zij al-Sindhind»
Compiled a collection of astronomical tables based on Indian and Greek sources — one of the first works of this kind in Arabic.
- 830«The Image of the Earth»
Took part in al-Ma'mun's mapmaking project and wrote a work refining Ptolemy's geographical coordinates.
- 833Service under the next caliphs
After the death of al-Ma'mun he continued his work at the «House of Wisdom» under his successors al-Mu'tasim and al-Wathiq.
- 850Death
Died, probably in Baghdad; the exact circumstances of his death are unknown.
Legacy
The Latin title of al-Khwarizmi's work on algebra gave its name to the whole mathematical discipline, and the Latinised form of his own name, Algoritmi, gave rise to the word «algorithm». The decimal positional system with the digit zero that he introduced, which reached Europe through Arabic and Latin translations, became the basis of modern mathematics and computing. A crater on the Moon and the minor planet (asteroid) 11156 Al-Khwarizmi are named after the scholar.
Era: The flowering of science at the «House of Wisdom» in the Caliphate of Baghdad, 8th–9th centuries- The «Al-Jabr» translated into Latin by Robert of Chester — bringing the word «algebra» into European science (1145)
- The 1,200th anniversary of al-Khwarizmi's birth celebrated (1983)