Great Mathematicians · Foundations
Al-Khwarizmi & Algebra
The Baghdad scholar whose book gave us 'algebra' and whose name gave us 'algorithm': completing the square with geometry, the six equation types, Hindu-Arabic numerals, and how his work reached Europe.
Step 1 of 4 · Overview25 min read ·
Key idea
Prereqs: Linear equations. Next: Fibonacci; Descartes. Sources: al-Khwarizmi, *The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing* (c. 820), trans. Frederic Rosen (1831); Victor Katz, *A History of Mathematics* (3rd ed., 2009).Next: 1. The House of Wisdom