al Khwarizmi
The Persian Muhammad ibn Musa al Khwarizmi (ca 780 – ca 850) produced Arabic-language works in mathematics, astronomy, and geography.
He was the founder of algebra, a field of study that takes its name from Khwarizmi's famous book Hisab al-jabr wa al-muqabala. He demonstrated how to solve quadratic equations, and adopted the Indian decimal-based positional number system.
He produced a set of astronomical tables, and accurate sine and cosine tables.
He revised the 2nd-century Greek-language treatise of geography by Ptolemeus.
See also
Last modified:10 January 2026 1.08 p.m.