Al-Nayrizi
أبو العباس الفضل بن حاتم النيريزي
Bornc. 865
Diedc. 922
Academic work
EraIslamic Golden Age
Main interestsMathematics, astronomy

Abū’l-‘Abbās al-Faḍl ibn Ḥātim al-Nairīzī (Arabic: أبو العباس الفضل بن حاتم النيريزي; Persian: ابوالعباس فضل بن حاتم نیریزی; Latin: Anaritius, Nazirius, c. 865 – c. 922) was a Persian mathematician and astronomer from Nayriz, now in Fars Province, Iran.

Life

Little is known of al-Nairīzī, though his nisba refers to the town of Neyriz. He mentioned al-Mu'tadid, the Abbasid caliph, in his works, and so scholars have assumed that al-Nairīzī flourished in Baghdad during this period.[1] Al-Nairīzī wrote a book for al-Mu'tadid on atmospheric phenomena. He died in c. 922.[2]

Mathematics

Al-Nayrizi wrote a commentary to the translation in Arabic by Al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf ibn Maṭar of Euclid's Elements. Both the translation and the commentary have survived, as well as a 12th-century Latin translation by Gerard of Cremona. Al-Nayrizi's commentary contains unique extracts of two other commentaries on the Elements, produced by Hero of Alexandria and Simplicius of Cilicia.[1]

Al-Nairīzī used the umbra (versa), the equivalent to the tangent, as a genuine trigonometric line, as did the Persian astronomer al-Marwazi before him.[2] He gave a proof of the Pythagorean theorem using the Pythagorean tiling.[3]

Al-Nayrizi gave a mathematical proof of the parallel postulate based on the assumption that parallel lines are equidistant. He wrote a treatise on an exact method for the numerical determination of the kibla and a text about a device for measuring the heights, widths, and depths.[1]

Astronomy

Al-Nairīzī wrote a treatise on the spherical astrolabe, an elaborate work that seems to be the best Persian work on the subject. It is divided into four books:[2]

  1. An historical and critical introduction of the astrolabe;
  2. A description of the instrument; and a comparison with other astronomical instruments;
  3. Applications of the instrument;
  4. Applications of the instrument.

Ibn al-Nadim mentions Nayrizi as a distinguished astronomer with eight works by him listed in his book al-Fihrist.

Al-Nayrizi's most important astronomical works, his commentary on Ptolemy's Almagest and both his zijes, are lost. He produced treatises on the spherical astrolabe and astrological conjunctions, both of which are extant.[1]

References

Sources

  • Hogendijk, J.P. (1986). "Al-Nayrīzī". The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. 7. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 90-04-09419-9.
  • Nelsen, Roger B. (2003). "Paintings, plane tilings, and proofs" (PDF). Math Horizons. Mathematical Association of America. 11 (2): 5–8. doi:10.1080/10724117.2003.12021741. S2CID 126000048.
  • Sarton, George (1962). Introduction to the History of Science. Vol. 1. Baltimore, Maryland: Published for the Carnegie Institution of Washington, by the Williams & Wilkins Co. OCLC 1238437.

Texts and translations

Further reading

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