al-Abbas ibn Said al-Jawhari
Al-Abbas ibn Said al-Jawhari ( Arabic العباس بن سعيد الجوهري, DMG al-ʿAbbās b. Saʿīd al-Ǧawharī ; English transcription al-Jawhari ) was an astronomer, astrologer and mathematician at the court of the caliph al-Ma'mūn (ruled 813 to 833) in the 9th century. He was in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad .
Al-Jawhari is possibly of Persian origin. Little is known about him. He was a court astronomer and astrologer and was commissioned by the caliph to build astronomical instruments . He was involved in important sky observations 829/830 in Baghdad and 832/833 in Damascus . At his home in Baghdad he met with other scholars to discuss the works of Euclid and Claudius Ptolemy .
An astronomical manual (Zij) came from him, but it has not survived and something is only known indirectly about its content.
He is best known for his Euclid Commentary, parts of which have been preserved in handwriting. They contain additions to the fifth book of Euclid's elements. In a manuscript by Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi there are also fragments from his additions to the first book of Euclid's Elements, in which he tries to prove Euclid's postulate of parallels . It is inspired by Simplikios' attempt to prove it , but is independent of it. Nasir at-Tusi already recognized the error in al-Jawhari's proof, which is the first known attempt to prove the parallel postulate in the Arab world.
He is also said to have translated a - possibly originally Indian - book on poisons from Persian into Arabic.
literature
- A .I. Sabra, Article Al-Jawhari in Dictionary of Scientific Biography
- Gregg de Young Al-Jawhari's additions to Book V of Euclid's Elements , Journal for the History of Islamic-Arabic Science, Volume 11, 1997, pp. 153-178
- Sonja Brentjes Al-Jawhari , in Helaine Selin Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures , Kluwer 2008
Web links
- John J. O'Connor, Edmund F. Robertson : Al-Abbas ibn Said al-Jschauhari. In: MacTutor History of Mathematics archive .
- Article in Thomas Hockey (Ed.) The biographical encyclopedia of astronomers
Individual evidence
- ↑ Also Kitab az-Zidsch, possibly a compilation with other astronomers in Baghdad, Mumtaḥan zīǧ
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jawhari, al-Abbas ibn Said al- |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jawhari, al-Abbas ibn Said al-; al-ʿAbbās b. Saʿīd al-Ǧawharī; العباس بن سعيد الجوهري (Arabic) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Mathematician and astronomer in Baghdad |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 8th century or 9th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 9th century |