Al khwarizmi

 6. Al-Khwarizmi*  

*Name*: Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi  

*Born*: 780  

*Died*: 850  

*Era*: Medieval Era (Islamic Golden Age), Khwarazm  

*Notable Ideas*: Treatise on algebra and Indian numerals  

*Early Life*: Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and scholar in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. He was born in Persia at that time. Al-Khwarizmi was one of the scholarly people who worked in the House of Wisdom. Al-Khwarizmi flourished while working as a member of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad under the leadership of Caliph al-Ma’mun, son of Caliph Harun al-Rashid, who became famous in the Arabian Nights. The House of Wisdom was a scientific research and teaching center.

*Contributions and Achievements*: Al-Khwarizmi developed the concept of the algorithm in mathematics (which is one reason he is called by some the grandfather of computer science). Al-Khwarizmi’s algebra is considered the foundation and cornerstone of the science. We owe the world “algebra” to al-Khwarizmi, from the title of his greatest mathematical work, _Hisab al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabala_. The book, which was translated into Latin twice, both by Gerard of Cremona and Robert of Chester in the 12th century, worked on several hundred simple quadratic equations with analysis as well as geometric examples. It also has substantial sections on methods of dividing inheritances and surveying plots of land. It is primarily concerned with practical methods of solving computational problems rather than algebra as the term is now understood. Al-Khwarizmi limited his discussion to equations of the first and second degrees. 

He also wrote an important work on astronomy, covering calendars, calculating the true positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets, tables of sines and tangents, spherical astronomy, astrological tables, parallax and eclipse calculations, and the visibility of the Moon. His astronomical work, _Zij al-Sindhind_, was also based on the work of other scientists. Like algebra, its main interest is as the earliest Arab work still existing in Arabic. As mentioned above, his most recognized work and the one that gives its name to the mathematical concept is the algorithm.

Al-Khwarizmi was also responsible for introducing Arabic numerals to the West, a process that led to the use of nine Arabic numerals with the zero sign. Of great importance was also al-Khwarizmi’s contribution to medieval geography. He organized and corrected Ptolemy’s research in geography, using his own original findings entitled _Surat al-Ard_ (The Shape of the Earth). The text exists in one manuscript; the maps are unfortunately not preserved, although modern scholars have been able to reconstruct them from al-Khwarizmi’s description. He supervised the work of 70 geographers to map the then “known” world.

Al-Khwarizmi made many important improvements to the theory and construction of sundials, which he inherited from his Indian and Hellenistic predecessors. He created tables for these devices that significantly reduced the time required to make specific calculations. His sundial was universal and could be seen from anywhere on Earth. Since then, sundials were often installed in mosques to determine the time for prayer. The shadow square, an instrument used to determine the linear height of an object in conjunction with an alidade for angular observations, was also invented by al-Khwarizmi in ninth-c

entury Baghdad.