Who is al jabr

Those who support Al-Khwarizmi point to the fact that he gave an exhaustive explanation for the algebraic solution of quadratic equations with positive roots, [9] introduced the fundamental methods of reduction and balancing, [2] and was the first to teach algebra in an elementary form and for its own sake, whereas Diophantus was primarily concerned with the theory of numbers.

Rashed and Angela Armstrong write:. Al-Khwarizmi, who died around CE, wrote more than half a dozen mathematical and astronomical works; some of which were based on the Indian Sindhind. This is the operation which Al-Khwarizmi originally described as al-jabr. Al-Jabr is divided into six chapters, each of which deals with a different type of formula.

In Al-Jabr , al-Khwarizmi uses geometric proofs. The book was a compilation and extension of known rules for solving quadratic equations and for some other problems, and considered to be the foundation of modern algebra , establishing it as an independent discipline. The book was introduced to the Western world by the Latin translation of Robert of Chester entitled Liber algebrae et almucabola [19] , hence "algebra". Since the book does not give any citations to previous authors, it is not clearly known what earlier works were used by al-Khwarizmi, and modern mathematical historians put forth opinions based on the textual analysis of the book and the overall body of knowledge of the contemporary Muslim world.

The book reduces arbitrary quadratic equations to one of the six basic types and provides algebraic and geometric methods to solve the basic ones. Lacking modern abstract notations, "the algebra of al-Khwarizmi is thoroughly rhetorical, with none of the syncopation see History of algebra found in the Greek Arithmetica or in Brahmagupta 's work. Even the numbers were written out in words rather than symbols! The six types, with modern notations, are:.

The birth place of the famous mathematician Al-Khawarizmi — CE. A prosperous centre of learning during the Golden Age of Muslim Civilisation. The famed Muslim scholar Al-Kwarazmi has long been known as the father of Algebra. In this article, Aydin Sayili presents an alternative view of the inception and development of Algebra in the works of of….

This article reviews some of the important works of these mathematicians. Algebra, algorithm, quadratic equation, sine function An astronomer, geographer and founder of several branches and basic concepts of mathematics. This Website MuslimHeritage. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. View three larger pictures. One unfortunate effect of this lack of knowledge seems to be the temptation to make guesses based on very little evidence.

In [ 1 ] Toomer suggests that the name al-Khwarizmi may indicate that he came from Khwarizm south of the Aral Sea in central Asia. He then writes:- But the historian al-Tabari gives him the additional epithet "al-Qutrubbulli", indicating that he came from Qutrubbull, a district between the Tigris and Euphrates not far from Baghdad, so perhaps his ancestors, rather than he himself, came from Khwarizm Another epithet given to him by al-Tabari, "al-Majusi", would seem to indicate that he was an adherent of the old Zoroastrian religion.

However, Rashed [ 7 ] , put a rather different interpretation on the same words by Al-Tabari This would not be worth mentioning if a series of conclusions about al-Khwarizmi's personality, occasionally even the origins of his knowledge, had not been drawn. In his article [ 1 ] G J Toomer, with naive confidence, constructed an entire fantasy on the error which cannot be denied the merit of making amusing reading. This is not the last disagreement that we shall meet in describing the life and work of al-Khwarizmi.

However before we look at the few facts about his life that are known for certain, we should take a moment to set the scene for the cultural and scientific background in which al-Khwarizmi worked.

Harun al-Rashid became the fifth Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty on 14 September , about the time that al-Khwarizmi was born. Harun ruled, from his court in the capital city of Baghdad, over the Islam empire which stretched from the Mediterranean to India.

He brought culture to his court and tried to establish the intellectual disciplines which at that time were not flourishing in the Arabic world. He had two sons, the eldest was al-Amin while the younger was al-Mamun. Harun died in and there was an armed conflict between the brothers. Al-Mamun won the armed struggle and al-Amin was defeated and killed in Following this, al-Mamun became Caliph and ruled the empire from Baghdad.

He continued the patronage of learning started by his father and founded an academy called the House of Wisdom where Greek philosophical and scientific works were translated. He also built up a library of manuscripts, the first major library to be set up since that at Alexandria, collecting important works from Byzantium. In addition to the House of Wisdom, al-Mamun set up observatories in which Muslim astronomers could build on the knowledge acquired by earlier peoples.

Their tasks there involved the translation of Greek scientific manuscripts and they also studied, and wrote on, algebra, geometry and astronomy.

Certainly al-Khwarizmi worked under the patronage of Al-Mamun and he dedicated two of his texts to the Caliph. These were his treatise on algebra and his treatise on astronomy.