Museum of History: 3D Gallery

Omar Khayyam

Omar Khayyam was a well-known and respected Mathematician, Astronomer, Scientist, Philosopher, Poet. His poetry is better known in the West than any other non-Western poet. He was born in 1048 AD and died in 1131 AD.

Khayyam made scientific contributions to Algebra, as well as Astronomy. His contributions were needed for the science of algebra to advance. He also made theories on the importance of parallel lines in geometry. In astronomy, He made an incredibly accurate solar calendar, even more accurate than the Gregorian calendar presently used in most of the world. Khayyam measured the length of one year as 365.24219858156 days, which was incredibly accurate, with the modern calculation being around 365.2422 days, more commonly known as 365.25 days. It has since been discovered that the number changes in the 6th decimal place over a person's lifetime. His calendar was called the Jalali calendar and the project was cancelled, however, this calendar is still used in parts of Iran and Afghanistan today. Sadly, his deserved fame as a poet only sprouted in the 1830’s. In addition to this, when Edward Fitzgerald published an English translation of Khayyam’s poem Rubaiyat, in English known as Quatrains, it has since become a classic of English literature and boosted his fame in the Western world even more.

Omar Khayyam has greatly impacted the scientific modern world, astronomical modern world and the world of literature. He created one of the most accurate calendars of his time, which is astonishing, and wrote on of the most beloved classical English poems of all time.

Al-Khwarizmi

He was under the patronage of the Abbasid Calpih from 813 to 833. He lived from 780 AD to 850 AD. He was a mathematician at the time.

Al-Khwarizmi's biggest feat was introducing the concept of Algebra into mathematics. His most famous book, the book of Integration and Equation, is where the word ‘Algebra’ is said to have originated from. He also introduced Indo-Arabic numerals, which came to become algorithms. In addition to this, he also began using the zero as a placeholder therefore this leading to the use of decimal numbers.

n finality, the significance of his work is very high. My reasoning for this is the fact that Al-Khwarizmi's work with introducing and including algebra into mathematics is something we still do and use in the modern day and age. Along with this, his work with algorithms is still highly functioning and used today. For instance, we use algorithms to help find the best way to solve a problem and when it comes to programming, it can be used to help find anomalies and problems in the code, which can be used for something as simple as traffic lights.

Al-Biruni

He was born in 973 AD and died in 1050 AD. Al-Biruni was a Persian scholar and scientist, specifically astronomy, and a well-renowned polyglot.

When Al-Biruni was travelling in India, he wrote one of his most famous books named “Book of India” which was about the history and culture of India. In the field of astronomy, he was the first to discover that the speed of light was greater than the speed of sound. He also studied and pioneered solar and lunar eclipses and accepted the theory that Earth rotated on an axis prior to anyone else. In geography, he calculated the correct latitude and longitude of many places and disputed the European Ptolemaic view that Africa was stretched infinitely to the south, he insisted it was surrounded by water. In his work on India, he also advanced the controversial view, which is now proven to be true, that the Indus Valley was once a sea basin. He also developed a theory for calculating the qibla - the direction of Mecca from any place - which was necessary for Muslims to know in order to face Mecca when praying. In physics, he accurately determined the densities of 18 precious stones and metals; in botany, he observed that flowers have 3, 4, 5, 6, or 8 petals, but never 7 or 9; and he was the first to establish trigonometry as a distinct branch of mathematics.

With all the work that Al-Biruni has done, he is considered one of the greatest scientists of all time, and he has influenced many botanists, scientists with his work and it was one of the starting areas of science.

Ibn-Sina

He was born 980 AD and died 1037 AD. Ibn Sina was trained as a physician, Ibn Sina also made important contributions to philosophy, mathematics, chemistry, medical areas and astronomy.

His most important contribution to medical science was his famous book Al Qanun Fi Al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine). Within this book, Ibn-Sina introduced very advanced drug designing based on drug delivery, targeting the organ, deposition in the site of action, pain control, wound healing, clearance after action, and supporting the kidney for kidney calculi. In his book, in total, he wrote a complete section about kidney calculi containing 65 herbal medicines, 8 animal medicines and 4 mineral medicines, which future generations used.

Using Ibn-Sina's ideas help scientists to choose better drugs with a historical background to reduce the cost of therapies and research projects.

Al-Farabi

He was born in 872 AD and died in 950 AD. Al-Farabi was one of the greatest philosophers since Aristotle. He was also fluent in several language and translated many Greek works and books. He was also one of the earliest people to introduce Greek Philosophy to the Islamic world.

Al-Farabi wrote many books/tomes on many subjects such as logic, sociology, political science, medicine and music, but overall, he was known for his philosophies He, as mentioned, translated numerous Greek works and books. Al-Farabi also become the first Islamic philosopher to separate theology from philosophy, claiming that philosophy was based on an intellectual person, while theology/religion was based on one's imagination. With the work that he did during his time, it greatly impacted societies after him, even continuing into the modern world. To further develop on this, many people and scholars after Al-Farabi continued the research of philosophy after they were infatuated by his work.

Al-Ghazali

Al-Ghazali was born in 1058 AD and died in 1111 AD. Al-Ghazali was educated in Islamic theology/religion and taught at a renowned institute of the time in Nishapur before his faith in his religion took a turn and he left the university.

Al-Ghazali is one of the most important figures in Islamic history. Since his time, he has gained the honorific title of Hujjat al-Islām. After an inner turmoil with his faith, Al-Ghazali left the university he taught Islamic theology at and began to write. To back track, after his faith in Islam faltered, he joined Sufism, Sunni Islam. Sufism additionally known as Islamic mysticism. He wrote about philosophy and his religion, Sufism. Al-Ghazali contributed to an ongoing discussion in the Islamic world on how to reconcile the two fields – philosophy and religion.

In finality, Al-Ghazali is considered one of Islam’s greatest theologian and philosopher. He influenced many Christian and Jewish religious scholarships, and it is said that in the 13^th century Thomas Aquinas used many of his themes and arguments to strengthen the belief of Christianity

Ibn-Khaldun

Ibn Khaldun was born in 1332 and died in 1406. Ibn Khaldun is considered the founder of modern sociology and the philosophy of the world’s history. He was a philosopher on the side but is known for being a Historiographer.

He worked for many royal courts in Africa, leaning towards more of a political stance. Whilst working in the royal courts, he was able to analyse and view the social dynamic of people of authority. His most famous book “Muqaddimah”, also known as “Introduction”, he wrote about the philosophy of history and how he believed historical material should be analysed and presented. After all of this, Ibn Khaldun also concluded that civilizations rise and fall, socially and economically as a result of psychological, social, economic and political factors and causes. Ibn Khaldun wrote several histories of the Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Egyptians, and Berbers, as well as Muslim and European rulers, as well as writing his own autobiography, being crowned as a leader of autobiographical writing of his time.

His influence on the fields of sociology and history was tremendous, particularly because his emphasis on reason and rationalism in judging history resulted in a notably non-religious tone to his work.

Omar Khayyam

Image above is of Omar Khayyam

Al-Khwarizmi

Image above is of Al-Khwarizmi

Al-Biruni

A photo of Al-Biruni

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Museum of History

Omar Khayyam

Al-Khwarizmi

Al-Biruni

Ibn-Sina

Al-Farabi

Al-Ghazali

Ibn-Khaldun

Omar Khayyam

Al-Khwarizmi

Al-Biruni

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