Abu-Rayhan Biruni

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A statue of Biruni adorns the southwest entrance of Laleh Park in Tehran, Iran.

Abū Rayhān Muhammad ibn Ahmad Bīrunī (Persian: ابوریحان محمد بن احمد بیرونی‎ ) (September 15, 973 – December 13, 1048), also Known as Beruni, was a Persian mathematician, physicist, scholar, encyclopedist, philosopher, astronomer, astrologer, traveller, historian, pharmacist, and teacher, who contributed greatly to the fields of mathematics, philosophy, medicine, and science. Al-Biruni crater, on the Moon, is named after him. He was the first muslim scholar to study India and Brahminical tradition.

He was born in Khwarazm (formerly north-eastern part of the Persian Samanid dynasty) presently in Khiva, Uzbekistan. He studied mathematics and astronomy under Abu Nasr Mansur.

He was a colleague of the fellow Persian Muslim philosopher and physician Ibn Sina, the historian, philosopher and ethicist Ibn Miskawayh, in a university and science center established by prince Abu al-Abbas Ma'mun Khawarazmshah. He also travelled to South Asia with Mahmud of Ghazni who also became his patron, and accompanied him on his campaigns in India (in 1030), learning Indian languages, and studying the religion and philosophy of its people. There, he also wrote his Ta'rikh al-Hind ("Chronicles of India"). Biruni wrote his books in Persian and Arabic, and also knew Greek, Sanskrit, and possibly Syriac and Berber, but his native language was Khwarezmian.

[edit] Achievements

Some of his notable achievements included:

• At the age of seventeen, he calculated the latitude of Kath, Khwarazm, using the maximum altitude of the sun.
• By the age of twenty-two, he had written several short works, including a study of map projections, "Cartography", which included a methodology for projecting a hemisphere on a plane.
• By the age of twenty-seven, he had written a book called "Chronology" which referred to other work he had completed (now lost) that included one book about the astrolabe, one about the decimal system, four about astrology, and two about history.
• He attempted to refine the calculations of Eratosthenes using his methods, but his calculations were off by approximately 400 miles.

[edit] Works

An illustration from Beruni's Persian book. It shows different phases of the moon.

Biruni's works number more than 120. His contributions to mathematics include:

• theoretical and practical arithmetic
• summation of series
• combinatorial analysis
• the rule of three
• irrational numbers
• ratio theory
• algebraic definitions
• method of solving algebraic equations
• geometry
• Archimedes' theorems

non-mathematical works include:

• Critical study of what India says, whether accepted by reason or refused (Arabic تحقيق ما للهند من مقولة معقولة في العقل أم مرذولة) - a compendium of India's religion and philosophy
• The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries (Arabic الآثار الباقية عن القرون الخالية) - a comparative study of calendars of different cultures and civilizations, interlaced with mathematical, astronomical, and historical information.
• The Mas'udi Canon (Persian قانون مسعودي) - a book about Astronomy, Geography and Engineering, named after Mas'ud, son of Mahmud of Ghazni, to whom he dedicated
• Understanding Astrology (Arabic التفهيم لصناعة التنجيم) - a question and answer style book about mathematics and astronomy, in Arabic and Persian
• Pharmacy - about drugs and medicines
• Gems (Arabic الجماهر في معرفة الجواهر) about geology, minerals, and gems, dedicated to Mawdud son of Mas'ud
• Astrolabe
• A historical summary book
• History of Mahmud of Ghazni and his father
• History of Khawarazm

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Muslim scholars
• List of Iranian scientists and scholars

[edit] External links

• O'Connor, John J., and Edmund F. Robertson. "Abu-Rayhan Biruni". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.
• Extensive biography on Biruni
• Did Al-Biruni discover evolution by natural selection 800 years before Darwin?