Ibn al-Banna' al-Marrakushi

Ibn al‐Bannāʾ al‐Marrākushī
Born 29 or 30 December 1256
Marrakech, Morocco
Died 31 July 1321
Residence Islamic civilization
Academic background
Influences Al-Zarqali, Ibn Isḥāq al‐Tūnisī
Academic work
Era Islamic Golden Age
Main interests Mathematics, Astronomy

Ibn al‐Bannāʾ al‐Marrākushī al-Azdi, also known as Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Azdi (Arabic: ابن البنّاء) (29 December 1256 c. 1321), was a Moroccan mathematician, astronomer, Islamic scholar, Sufi, and a one-time astrologer.

The crater Al-Marrakushi on the Moon is named after him.

Biography

Ibn al-Banna' (lit. the son of an architect) was born in Marrakesh in 1256.[1] Having learned basic mathematical and geometrical skills he proceeded to translate Euclid's Elements into Arabic.[1]

Works

Ibn al-Banna' wrote between 51 to 74 treatises, encompassing such varied topics as Algebra, Astronomy, Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Logic. One of his works, called Talkhīṣ ʿamal al-ḥisāb (Arabic, تلخيص عمل الحساب ) (Summary of arithmetical operations), includes topics such as fractions, sums of squares and cubes etc. Another, called Tanbīh al-Albāb,[2] covers topics related to:

Yet another work by Ibn al-Banna' was Rafʿ al-Ḥijāb (Lifting the Veil) which included topics such as computing square roots of a number and theory of continued fractions.[1] This work was also the first mathematical work since Brahmagupta to use an algebraic notation, which was then further developed by his successor Abū al-Hasan ibn Alī al-Qalasādī two centuries later.[3]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institution; Washington; 1927; vol 2; p. 998.
  2. A Djebbar: Mathematics in medieval Maghreb; AMUCHMA-Newsletter 15; Universidade Pedagógico (UP), Maputo (Mozambique), 15.9.1995.
  3. O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "al-Marrakushi ibn Al-Banna", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.

References

Further reading

External links

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