MHISMA 103 History of Mathematics
Unit 2
Lesson 2:
Mathematics in the Near
and Far East
(PART 4)
A. J. Abella I, PhD
College of Education
Carlos Hilado Memorial State University
Introduction
The history of mathematics is not a singular narrative confined to the Western
world; rather, it is a tapestry woven from diverse intellectual traditions across the globe.
Among the most profoundly influential are those developed in the Near and Far East,
regions that served as critical centers of innovation for millennia. From the ancient
Mesopotamian mastery of sexagesimal (base-60) arithmetic and sophisticated positional
notation, which profoundly influenced timekeeping and astronomy, to the rigorous
geometric and trigonometric developments in the Islamic Golden Age , and the
independent invention and advancement of the decimal system, negative numbers, and
calculus-like concepts in India and China, these civilizations laid foundational groundwork
that modern mathematics continues to build upon. Studying these traditions reveals not
only how mathematical thought developed in unique cultural contexts but also the vital
channels of intellectual exchange from the Silk Road to scholarly centers that connected
these diverse regions and propagated knowledge globally.
Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī (c.780-c.850
CE) was a Persian polymath who became one of the most
consequential scholars of the Islamic Golden Age. Working
primarily at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, he was an
astronomer, geographer, and mathematician whose innovations
fundamentally shaped both Eastern and Western scientific
thought. His name is the direct etymological source of the
modern term "algorithm" (from the Latinized form Algoritmi),
while the title of his most famous book is the source of the
word "algebra". He was instrumental in introducing the Indian
numeral system, including the concept of zero, to the wider
Islamic world and, subsequently, to Europe, replacing earlier
systems and paving the way for modern arithmetic.
The Algebra of al-Khwārizmī
Al-Khwārizmī’s seminal work, Al-Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar fī Ḥisāb al-Jabr
wal-Muqābalah (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and
Balancing), is widely regarded as the first true textbook on algebra,
establishing the discipline as an independent field of mathematics distinct
from arithmetic and geometry. The book's name explicitly defines the two
primary operations he systematized for solving equations: al-jabr (meaning
"restoration" or "completion," referring to the transposition of subtracted
terms to the other side of an equation to eliminate negative quantities, e.g.,
changing to ) and al-muqābalah (meaning "balancing" or "reduction,"
referring to the cancellation of identical positive terms on both sides of the
equation, e.g., simplifying to ).
Al-Khwārizmī systematically categorized all linear and quadratic
equations into six standard canonical forms (such as "squares and roots equal
to numbers," like ), and then provided both methodical numerical rules and
corresponding geometric proofs, often using the technique of "completing the
square" , to demonstrate the validity of his solutions. His approach, which
relied entirely on rhetorical descriptions rather than symbolic notation (the
modern and notation came much later), was geared towards practical
application, offering solutions for problems related to commerce, land
surveying, and the distribution of inheritances, thus moving mathematical
study from purely theoretical Greek geometry toward a powerful, universal
methodology for finding unknown quantities.
Abū Kāmil and Thābit ibn Qurra: Pioneers of
Islamic Mathematics
Abū Kāmil Shujāʿ ibn Aslam al-Miṣrī (Abū
Kāmil, late ninth century), often dubbed "The
Egyptian Reckoner," was a prominent medieval
algebraist and the most important successor to al-
Khwārizmī. He is classified by the encyclopedist Ibn
Khaldūn as the second greatest algebraist
chronologically after al-Khwārizmī, whose work he
sought to supersede and expand upon.
His major contribution lies in systematizing and extending algebra. In
his influential Book on Algebra (Kitāb fī l-Jabr wa-l-Muqābala), Abū Kāmil
addressed a more mathematically sophisticated audience, unlike al-
Khwārizmī’s book for the general public.
1) Acceptance of Irrational Numbers: He is considered the first
mathematician to systematically use and accept irrational numbers (in the
form of square roots and fourth roots) as both solutions and coefficients to
quadratic equations, a significant step beyond earlier traditions.
2) Expansion of Algebraic Scope: He was the first Islamic
mathematician to work easily with algebraic equations involving powers
higher than (up to ) and solved systems of non-linear simultaneous equations
with three unknowns.
3) Algebraic Rules and Techniques: Abū Kāmil provided systematic
rules for the signs of multiplication, such as , which are essential for
expanding algebraic expressions like . 4) Indeterminate Equations: In
his Book of Rare Things in the Art of Calculation, he described systematic
procedures for finding integral solutions for indeterminate equations, with
one problem noted for having 2,678 solutions.
5) Influence: Abū Kāmil's work was highly influential, especially on
the Italian mathematician Fibonacci, who adopted many of his examples and
techniques in his own works, playing a key role in the transmission of
algebraic knowledge to Europe
Thābit ibn Qurra al-Ḥarrānī (Thābit ibn Qurra, 836–
901) was a highly versatile scholar who worked in Baghdad and
made crucial contributions to translation, geometry, and number
theory, positioning him as a major figure in the history of
mathematics.
1) Translation and Preservation: Thābit was a prolific
translator and reviser of ancient Greek texts, including works by
Euclid, Archimedes, Apollonius, and Menelaus, helping to
preserve and make this fundamental knowledge accessible to the
Islamic world.
2) Generalization of the Pythagorean Theorem: He
provided a generalized proof of the Pythagorean Theorem that
applies to an arbitrary (non-right) triangle, extending the classic
result.
3) Number Theory and Amicable Numbers: Thābit derived a foundational
theorem for finding amicable numbers. Amicable numbers are pairs of integers
where the sum of the proper divisors of one number equals the other number (e.g.,
the proper divisors of 220 sum to 284, and the proper divisors of 284 sum to 220).
4) Steps Toward Calculus: His work on calculating the area of a parabola
segment using the method of exhaustion, though built on Archimedes' principles,
employed a different method involving the use of upper and lower integral sums,
which historians consider an important early step toward the eventual discovery of
integral calculus.
5) Geometry and Ratios: He worked on the theory of compound ratios, which
laid the foundation for applying arithmetical operations to geometrical quantities, an
important step in generalizing the concept of number beyond simple geometric lines
or areas
Omar Khayyám: Polymath of Persia
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm
al-Khayyām al-Nīshāpūrī (c. 1048–c. 1131), commonly
known as Omar Khayyám, was a Persian polymath who
lived during the Seljuk dynasty. While he gained global
fame in the West for his poetry (the Rubáiyát), he was first
and foremost a highly influential mathematician,
astronomer, and philosopher. Born in Nishapur, he received
a comprehensive education and worked in intellectual
centers like Samarqand and Eṣfahān, where he was
supported by patrons like the chief local magistrate and
Sultan Malik-Shāh. His surname, al-Khayyām, suggests
that his father or forebears may have been tentmakers.
Significant Mathematical Contributions
Omar Khayyám's most critical work was in mathematics and geometry,
where he made advances that bridged Greek and modern mathematical
thought:
1. Geometric Solution and Classification of Cubic Equations
Khayyám’s most important mathematical work is his Treatise on
Demonstration of Problems of Algebra. In this text, he provided the first
complete classification of cubic equations (equations containing ) into 14
distinct canonical forms, ensuring the coefficient of was positive. His major
achievement was providing a systematic, geometric method for finding the
positive real roots of these equations.
1) Method: Khayyám solved the cubic by translating the algebraic
problem into a geometrical one, finding the roots as the points of intersection
between two conic sections (such as a parabola and a circle, or a parabola and
a hyperbola).
2) Significance: This work was a landmark achievement. While
previous mathematicians used conics to solve individual problems, Khayyám
systematized the approach, demonstrating its applicability to all forms of
cubic equations that yield a positive solution. He noted that a cubic equation
could have more than one positive root (up to two). He explicitly stated his
hope that a purely algebraic solution for the cubic would be found by his
successors, a feat not accomplished until the 16th century in Europe.
2. Theory of Parallels (Non-Euclidean Geometry)
Khayyám wrote a Commentary on the Difficulties Concerning the Postulates
of Euclid's Elements, focusing on the problematic Parallel Postulate (Euclid’s Fifth
Postulate).
a) Khayyám-Saccheri Quadrilateral: He was the first to consider a specific
quadrilateral now known as the Khayyám-Saccheri quadrilateral (a quadrilateral
with two congruent sides perpendicular to the base).
b) The Three Hypotheses: Khayyám systematically examined the three
possibilities for the summit angles: being right, obtuse, or acute. He proved that the
right-angle case is equivalent to Euclid's Fifth Postulate. Although he incorrectly
rejected the acute and obtuse cases as self-contradictory, his work represented the
first systematic and non-circular investigation of the Parallel Postulate and provided
a foundational framework that led directly to the eventual discovery of non-
Euclidean geometries centuries later.
3. Binomial Expansion and th Roots
A lost treatise of Khayyám's is referenced in his Algebra, in which he is
believed to have discussed the Binomial Theorem and the numerical method for
extracting th roots (the th root of a number, ). This work is highly likely to have
used the array of binomial coefficients (often called Pascal's Triangle) to facilitate
the calculation of powers .
4. Calendar Reform (The Jalali Calendar)
As an astronomer working at the observatory in Eṣfahān, Khayyám led a
team that undertook a major reform of the Persian solar calendar. The resulting
Jalali Calendar (introduced in 1079) was exceptionally precise. He calculated the
length of the year to be 365.24219858156 days. This value is remarkably accurate,
exceeding the precision of the later Gregorian calendar, and forms the basis of the
Persian calendar still in use today.
Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī (al-Ṭūsī , 1201–1274), a
Persian polymath and the director of the Maragheh
observatory, is widely regarded as the creator of
trigonometry as a mathematical discipline in its own
right, independent of astronomy. His Treatise on the
Complete Quadrilateral (Kitāb al-Shakl al-qaṭṭāʿ)
provided the first extant, systematic exposition of both
plane and spherical trigonometry, including the
formulation of the famous Law of Sines for plane
triangles: .
Additionally, in astronomy, he invented the
Tusi-couple, a geometric construction consisting
of a small circle rolling inside a larger circle with
twice the diameter, which generates rectilinear
motion from two circular motions; this device
was crucial for reforming the Ptolemaic
planetary model to rely solely on uniform
circular motion, an innovation often cited as
influencing later European astronomy.
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Jamshīd al-Kāshī (al-
Kāshī, c. 1380–1429) was a Persian
mathematician and astronomer working at the
court of Ulugh Beg in Samarkand, celebrated for
his exceptional computational precision. He is
noted for his thorough systematization and
promotion of decimal fractions in his book, The
Key to Arithmetic, making them accessible for
general calculation, thus completing the Hindu-
Arabic decimal system for practical use.
In 1424, al-Kāshī calculated the value of
(pi) to an unprecedented accuracy of 9
sexagesimal places, which translates to 16
decimal places, a level of precision that was not
surpassed for nearly 200 years. Furthermore, he
developed an iterative method for solving cubic
equations and computed to a similar high
accuracy, cementing his reputation as a master
calculator and numerical analyst.
The Ancient Chinese Texts
The Arithmetic Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of
Heaven (Zhoubi Suanjing), one of the oldest known Chinese mathematical and
astronomical texts (dating between 500 and 200 BCE), centers on the use of the
gnomon (a vertical pole) and its shadow for astronomical measurements and
calendrical calculations. Its most famous contribution is its presentation of the
Chinese equivalent of the Pythagorean Theorem, known as the Gougu theorem
(literally "Hook" and "Thigh" for the two shorter sides of a right triangle), offering
an elegant visual, dissection proof, often cited in the case of the 3-4-5 right triangle.
The work also explores the geometric relationships derived from the ancient
Chinese cosmological view of a round heaven over a square earth, using properties
of right angles and circles to calculate celestial distances and solar movements.
The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art (Jiuzhang suanshu) the
most important mathematical classic in China, comparable in significance to
Euclid's Elements in the West, though focused more on systematic algorithms
than axiomatic proofs. This text contains 246 problems designed to address
practical, real-world issues in areas vital to the imperial administration, such
as land surveying, civil engineering, trade, and taxation. It is structured into
nine distinct chapters, each devoted to a specific field of application: Field
Measurement, Millet and Rice (proportions), Distribution by Proportion,
Short Width (square and cube roots), Civil Engineering, Fair Levies
(taxation), Excess and Deficit (linear equations), Rectangular Arrays (systems
of linear equations solved via the counting board, effectively using a matrix
method), and Right-angled Triangles (Gougu).
This comprehensive structure and its emphasis on providing
algorithms (formulas) for computation, rather than abstract
deductive proofs, made it the standard curriculum for mathematical
training in China for over a thousand years, with the 3rd-century
commentary by Liu Hui proving crucial by adding geometric
justifications and improving accuracy, such as his refinement of the
approximation for .