Three Arab contributions to mathematics and science include the development of algebra, the invention of the astrolabe, and the preservation and translation of ancient Greek texts.
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Three Arab contributions to mathematics and science have had a monumental impact on human history. These include the developments of algebra, the invention of the astrolabe, and the preservation and translation of ancient Greek texts.
The word “algebra” itself is derived from the Arabic word “al-jabr,” which means “the reunion of broken parts.” The Arab mathematician Al-Khwarizmi is credited with creating the basic rules and ideas of algebra in his book “The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing,” written in 820 AD. Al-Khwarizmi’s work laid the foundation for the use of algebra in modern mathematics, science, and engineering.
The astrolabe, an astronomical instrument used to determine the positions of celestial bodies and time, was invented by Arab scientists in the early medieval period. It was the earliest known device used to solve navigation problems in the air or at sea, and it played a critical role in the Islamic Golden Age of science.
Lastly, the preservation and translation of ancient Greek texts into Arabic by Arab scholars during the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258 CE) was a crucial contribution to the advancement of science and knowledge. This period saw a tremendous translation effort, in which Abbasid scholars would translate and preserve ancient works, from disciplines ranging from astronomy and mathematics to philosophy and medicine. Many of these translations were later translated into Latin, making them accessible to a wider audience in Europe and becoming the foundation of the European Renaissance.
“During the 8th through the 15th centuries, scholars and translators in the Arab world worked tirelessly, translating ancient texts into Arabic and adding their own discoveries and inventions. Without their efforts, much of the knowledge of the past would have been lost, and many of their contributions paved the way for the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries.” – Science History Institute
Here is a table summarizing some key details on the three Arab contributions:
| Arab Contributions | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Algebra | Al-Khwarizmi created the basic rules and ideas in 820 |
| Astrolabe | Earliest device used to solve navigation problems |
| Preservation/Transl | Arab scholars translated ancient Greek texts |
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The city of Fes in Morocco, once the center of the Islamic world, was a world center of intellectual pursuit and creativity. Karaouine University, the oldest continuously operating university in the world, attracted scholars from both east and west 1,200 years ago. Islamic mathematicians developed algebra and trigonometry, brought the zero into modern civilization, and made extensive and highly accurate maps of the heavens while creating and refining astrolabes, sextants, water clocks, and timepieces. Two Muslim libraries held over 100,000 volumes each, while Europe’s largest library held only 5,000 books at that time.
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Even more than mechanics and engineering, breakthroughs in mathematics were one of the main Arab contributions to Western civilization. The Arabs developed the concept of irrational numbers, founded analytical geometry and established algebra and trigonometry as exact sciences.
The Arabs developed the concept of irrational numbers, founded analytical geometry and established algebra and trigonometry as exact sciences. Their development of computational mathematics surpassed all the achievements of the past.
In mathematics, the Arab cipher, or zero, made workable the solution of complicated mathematical problems. The Arab numeral, an improvement on the original Hindu invention, and the Arab decimal system made simpler and more flexible the course of science.
- 1. Al-Khwarizmi (770 – 840 C.E.) was one of the greatest mathematicians who ever lived and is called the "Father of Algebra".
- 2. Omar Khayyam (1044 – 1123 C.E.):
- 3. Al-Khashi was born in 1390 in Kashan, Iran and died in 1450 in Samarkand (now Uzbek).
During the Islamic Golden Age i.e. 8th century – 12th century, Baghdad was the city of Science. The contribution made towards various fields by Arabs during those times is immense. Some of the scientists are
1. Muhammad Al Khwarizmi: He is the person who is known as the creator of algebra.,
2. Al Zahrawi: He is considered the greatest medieval surgeon to have appeared from the Islamic World, and has been described as the father of surgery and modern surgical & medical instruments.
3. Abu Musa Jabir bin Hayyan: was a prominent polymath: a chemist and alchemist, astronomer and astrologer, engineer, geographer, philosopher, physicist, and pharmacist and physician.
4. al-Battani (850–922) was an astronomer who accurately determined the length of the solar year. He contributed to numeric tables, such as the Tables of Toledo, used by astronomers to predict the movements of the sun, moon and planets across the sky. Some of Battani’s astronomic tables were later used by Copernicus. Battani al…