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c. 820 CEReputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Al-Khwarizmi Writes the Book That Gives Algebra Its Name

A scholar at the House of Wisdom systematizes the solving of equations

On the timeline · around c. 820 CE · The Abbasid Caliphate and the Islamic Golden AgeThe Umayyad CaliphateThe Abbasid Caliphate and the Islamic Golden AgeAl-Khwarizmi Writes the Book That Gives Algebra Its Name750 CE775 CE800 CE825 CE850 CE875 CE900 CE925 CE

Quick facts

Scholar
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi
Institution
House of Wisdom, Baghdad
Key work
Hisab al-jabr wa'l-muqabala
Legacy terms
"Algebra" and "algorithm" both derive from his name/work

What happened

Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi worked as a scholar at Baghdad's House of Wisdom under the patronage of Caliph al-Ma'mun, to whom he dedicated his two most influential works, a treatise on algebra and one on astronomy. His algebra treatise, Hisab al-jabr wa'l-muqabala, gives European languages the word algebra, from al-jabr, and presented the first systematic treatment of solving linear and quadratic equations using named categories of units, roots, and squares rather than modern symbolic notation. Al-Khwarizmi described the book's purpose as practical, intended to teach what people needed for inheritance division, legal disputes, trade, and land surveying.

Why it matters

Al-Khwarizmi's algebra treatise became the foundation of algebra as a distinct mathematical discipline in both the Islamic world and, through Latin translation, medieval Europe, and the Latinized form of his own name, algorithmus, gave the modern world the word algorithm. His work on Hindu-Arabic numerals also helped introduce that number system, the one still used worldwide today, into the Islamic world and eventually Europe.

How we know

Al-Khwarizmi's role at the House of Wisdom, his patron al-Ma'mun, and the content and stated purpose of his algebra treatise are documented in the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive maintained by the University of St Andrews, drawing on Frederic Rosen's 19th-century translation of the original Arabic text.

Sources

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Part of a timelineThe Rise of Islam30 events · From a trading town in the Arabian desert to a caliphate stretching from Iberia to Central Asia in under a centuryView all →
Al-Khwarizmi Writes the Book That Gives Algebra Its Name · The Rise of Islam · SourcedStory