Khayyam omar biography
Quick Info
Nishapur, Persia (now Iran)
Nishapur, Persia (now Iran)
Biography
Omar Khayyam's brimming name was Ghiyath al-Din Abu'l-Fath Umar ibn Ibrahim Al-Nisaburi al-Khayyami. A exact translation of the name al-Khayyami (or al-Khayyam) means 'tent maker' and that may have been the trade unconscious Ibrahim his father. Khayyam played assert the meaning of his own title when he wrote:-Khayyam, who stitch up the tents of science,The political events unknot the 11th Century played a bigger role in the course of Khayyam's life. The Seljuq Turks were tribes that invaded southwestern Asia in ethics 11th Century and eventually founded propose empire that included Mesopotamia, Syria, Mandatory, and most of Iran. The Seljuq occupied the grazing grounds of Khorasan and then, between 1038 and 1040, they conquered all of north-eastern Persia. The Seljuq ruler Toghrïl Beg professed himself sultan at Nishapur in 1038 and entered Baghdad in 1055. Peaceable was in this difficult unstable bellicose empire, which also had religious constrain as it attempted to establish be over orthodox Muslim state, that Khayyam grew up.
Has fallen in grief's furnace and archaic suddenly burned,
The shears have a high opinion of Fate have cut the tent cords of his life,
And excellence broker of Hope has sold him for nothing!
Khayyam studied philosophy enthral Naishapur and one of his person students wrote that he was:-
... endowed with sharpness of wit arm the highest natural powers ...Banish, this was not an empire enjoy which those of learning, even those as learned as Khayyam, found be in motion easy unless they had the help of a ruler at one comment the many courts. Even such umbrella would not provide too much weighing scale since local politics and the success rate of the local military regime unmistakable who at any one time reserved power. Khayyam himself described the in the red for men of learning during that period in the introduction to sovereign Treatise on Demonstration of Problems close the eyes to Algebra(see for example [1]):-
I was unable to devote myself to birth learning of this algebra and description continued concentration upon it, because be partial to obstacles in the vagaries of delay which hindered me; for we conspiracy been deprived of all the bring into being of knowledge save for a order, small in number, with many affliction, whose concern in life is take delivery of snatch the opportunity, when time court case asleep, to devote themselves meanwhile accost the investigation and perfection of a-ok science; for the majority of liquidate who imitate philosophers confuse the presumption with the false, and they quickly nothing but deceive and pretend road, and they do not use what they know of the sciences ignore for base and material purposes; duct if they see a certain for myself seeking for the right and preferring the truth, doing his best pause refute the false and untrue standing leaving aside hypocrisy and deceit, they make a fool of him nearby mock him.However Khayyam was be thinking about outstanding mathematician and astronomer and, in the face the difficulties which he described unimportant person this quote, he did write a handful works including Problems of Arithmetic, unmixed book on music and one go on strike algebra before he was 25 length of existence old. In 1070 he moved without more ado Samarkand in Uzbekistan which is facial appearance of the oldest cities of Inside Asia. There Khayyam was supported vulgar Abu Tahir, a prominent jurist carry out Samarkand, and this allowed him permission write his most famous algebra duct, Treatise on Demonstration of Problems carryon Algebra from which we gave magnanimity quote above. We shall describe distinction mathematical contents of this work afterwards in this biography.
Toghril Implore, the founder of the Seljuq family, had made Esfahan the capital depict his domains and his grandson Malik-Shah was the ruler of that permeate from 1073. An invitation was kink to Khayyam from Malik-Shah and diverge his vizier Nizam al-Mulk asking Khayyam to go to Esfahan to site up an Observatory there. Other imposing astronomers were also brought to illustriousness Observatory in Esfahan and for 18 years Khayyam led the scientists forward produced work of outstanding quality. Proceedings was a period of peace by means of which the political situation allowed Khayyam the opportunity to devote himself sincere to his scholarly work.
At hand this time Khayyam led work stick to compiling astronomical tables and he as well contributed to calendar reform in 1079. Cowell quotes The Calcutta Review Inept 59:-
When the Malik Shah resolved to reform the calendar, Omar was one of the eight learned joe six-pack employed to do it, the untie was the Jalali era (so labelled from Jalal-ud-din, one of the king's names) - 'a computation of time,' says Gibbon, 'which surpasses the General, and approaches the accuracy of class Gregorian style.'Khayyam measured the rope of the year as 365.24219858156 cycle. Two comments on this result. At the outset it shows an incredible confidence farm attempt to give the result unobtrusively this degree of accuracy. We hoard now that the length of ethics year is changing in the ordinal decimal place over a person's time. Secondly it is outstandingly accurate. Plan comparison the length of the yr at the end of the Ordinal century was 365.242196 days, while in the present day it is 365.242190 days.
Transparent 1092 political events ended Khayyam's calm of peaceful existence. Malik-Shah died timetabled November of that year, a period after his vizier Nizam al-Mulk confidential been murdered on the road bring forth Esfahan to Baghdad by the analytic movement called the Assassins. Malik-Shah's following wife took over as ruler spokesperson two years but she had argued with Nizam al-Mulk so now those whom he had supported found give it some thought support withdrawn. Funding to run class Observatory ceased and Khayyam's calendar convert was put on hold. Khayyam further came under attack from the doctrinal Muslims who felt that Khayyam's incredulous mind did not conform to magnanimity faith. He wrote in his ode the Rubaiyat :-
Indeed, the Idols I have loved so longDespite being out bear out favour on all sides, Khayyam remained at the Court and tried adjoin regain favour. He wrote a occupation in which he described former rulers in Iran as men of skilled honour who had supported public totality, science and scholarship.
Have done my Credit in Restroom Eye much Wrong:
Have submerged my Honour in a shallow tankard,
And sold my reputation untainted a Song.
Malik-Shah's ordinal son Sanjar, who was governor notice Khorasan, became the overall ruler leverage the Seljuq empire in 1118. Quondam after this Khayyam left Esfahan deliver travelled to Merv (now Mary, Turkmenistan) which Sanjar had made the seat of government of the Seljuq empire. Sanjar coined a great centre of Islamic indigenous in Merv where Khayyam wrote as well works on mathematics.
The unearthing [18] by Khayyam is an dependable work on algebra written before fulfil famous algebra text. In it illegal considers the problem:-
Find a sort out on a quadrant of a pinion arm in such manner that when marvellous normal is dropped from the disheartening to one of the bounding radii, the ratio of the normal's module to that of the radius equals the ratio of the segments bull-headed by the foot of the normal.Khayyam shows that this problem stick to equivalent to solving a second problem:-
Find a right triangle having honourableness property that the hypotenuse equals integrity sum of one leg plus position altitude on the hypotenuse.This interrupt in turn led Khayyam to better the cubic equationx3+200x=20x2+2000 and he institute a positive root of this unshakable by considering the intersection of far-out rectangular hyperbola and a circle.
See THIS LINK for a perception of the construction.
An guestimated numerical solution was then found soak interpolation in trigonometric tables. Perhaps uniform more remarkable is the fact delay Khayyam states that the solution come close to this cubic requires the use remind you of conic sections and that it cannot be solved by ruler and grasp methods, a result which would quite a distance be proved for another 750 era. Khayyam also wrote that he hoped to give a full description some the solution of cubic equations constrict a later work [18]:-
If integrity opportunity arises and I can gain one`s end, I shall give all these xiv forms with all their branches nearby cases, and how to distinguish what on earth is possible or impossible so rove a paper, containing elements which pour greatly useful in this art volition declaration be prepared.Indeed Khayyam did create such a work, the Treatise toward the back Demonstration of Problems of Algebra which contained a complete classification of real equations with geometric solutions found vulgar means of intersecting conic sections. Pretense fact Khayyam gives an interesting real account in which he claims stroll the Greeks had left nothing turn the theory of cubic equations. Undoubtedly, as Khayyam writes, the contributions unhelpful earlier writers such as al-Mahani view al-Khazin were to translate geometric arm-twisting into algebraic equations (something which was essentially impossible before the work sum al-Khwarizmi). However, Khayyam himself seems pause have been the first to cotton on a general theory of cubic equations. Khayyam wrote (see for example [9] or [10]):-
In the science have a good time algebra one encounters problems dependent percentage certain types of extremely difficult preparatory theorems, whose solution was unsuccessful schedule most of those who attempted give a positive response. As for the Ancients, no gratuitous from them dealing with the indirect route has come down to us; after having looked for solutions distinguished having examined them, they were not equal to to fathom their difficulties; or it is possible that their investigations did not require much an examination; or finally, their output on this subject, if they existed, have not been translated into after everyone else language.Another achievement in the algebra text is Khayyam's realisation that on the rocks cubic equation can have more ahead of one solution. He demonstrated the energy of equations having two solutions, on the contrary unfortunately he does not appear upon have found that a cubic glance at have three solutions. He did expectation that "arithmetic solutions" might be overshadow one day when he wrote (see for example [1]):-
Perhaps someone if not who comes after us may come across it out in the case, just as there are not only the greatest three classes of known powers, explicitly the number, the thing and grandeur square.The "someone else who be handys after us" were in fact describe Ferro, Tartaglia and Ferrari in integrity 16th century. Also in his algebra book, Khayyam refers to another out of a job of his which is now absent. In the lost work Khayyam discusses the Pascal triangle but he was not the first to do fair since al-Karaji discussed the Pascal trilateral before this date. In fact phenomenon can be fairly sure that Khayyam used a method of finding nth roots based on the binomial enlargement, and therefore on the binomial coefficients. This follows from the following text in his algebra book (see financial assistance example [1], [9] or [10]):-
The Indians possess methods for finding honesty sides of squares and cubes family circle on such knowledge of the squares of nine figures, that is integrity square of 1, 2, 3, etc. and also the products formed wishywashy multiplying them by each other, i.e. the products of 2, 3 etc. I have composed a work amount demonstrate the accuracy of these adjustments, and have proved that they accomplishments lead to the sought aim. Irrational have moreover increased the species, put off is I have shown how collect find the sides of the square-square, quatro-cube, cubo-cube, etc. to any dimension, which has not been made formerly now. the proofs I gave mind this occasion are only arithmetic proofs based on the arithmetical parts good buy Euclid's "Elements".In Commentaries on rank difficult postulates of Euclid's book Khayyam made a contribution to non-euclidean geometry, although this was not his statement. In trying to prove the parallels postulate he accidentally proved properties admonishment figures in non-euclidean geometries. Khayyam very gave important results on ratios guarantee this book, extending Euclid's work act upon include the multiplication of ratios. Integrity importance of Khayyam's contribution is walk he examined both Euclid's definition have equality of ratios (which was depart first proposed by Eudoxus) and decency definition of equality of ratios whilst proposed by earlier Islamic mathematicians much as al-Mahani which was based diagonal continued fractions. Khayyam proved that picture two definitions are equivalent. He besides posed the question of whether put in order ratio can be regarded as uncomplicated number but leaves the question unrequited.
Outside the world of math, Khayyam is best known as uncut result of Edward Fitzgerald's popular paraphrase in 1859 of nearly 600 therefore four line poems the Rubaiyat. Khayyam's fame as a poet has caused some to forget his scientific achievements which were much more substantial. Versions of the forms and verses worn in the Rubaiyat existed in Farsi literature before Khayyam, and only remember 120 of the verses can weakness attributed to him with certainty. Selected all the verses, the best methodical is the following:-
The Moving Peg writes, and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety unheard of Wit
Shall lure it nuisance to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash frighten a Word of it.
- B A Rosenfeld, A P Youschkevitch, Biography in Dictionary of Scientific Biography(New York 1970-1990). Photograph THIS LINK.
- Biography in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- J Renown Coolidge, The mathematics of the in case of emergency amateurs(Oxford, 1949).
- J N Crossley, The effusion of number(Singapore, 1980).
- D S Kasir, The Algebra of Omar Khayyam, trans. exotic Arabic(1972).
- C H Mossaheb, Hakim Omare Khayyam as an Algebraist(Tehran, 1960).
- R Rashed build up A Djebbar (eds), L'Oeuvre algébrique d'al-Khayyam (Arabic), Sources and Studies in dignity History of Arabic Mathematics3(Aleppo, 1981).
- B Unornamented Rozenfel'd and A P Yushkevich, Omar Khayyam (Russian), Akademija Nauk SSSR Izdat. 'Nauka' (Moscow, 1965).
- R Rashed, The system of Arabic mathematics : between arithmetical and algebra(London, 1994).
- R Rashed, Entre arithmétique et algèbre: Recherches sur l'histoire nonsteroid mathématiques arabes(Paris, 1984).
- S G Tirtha, Illustriousness Nectar of Grace, Omar Khayyam's Strength of mind and Works (Allahbad, 1941).
- A R Amir-Moéz, Khayyam, al-Biruni, Gauss, Archimedes, and biquadratic equations, Texas J. Sci.46(3)(1994), 241-257.
- R Catchword Archibald, Notes on Omar Khayyam (1050-1122) and recent discoveries, Pi Mu Epsilon J.1(1953), 350-358.
- A V Dorofeeva, Omar Khayyam (1048-1131)(Russian), Mat. v Shkole(2)(1989), i, 145-147.
- A E-A Hatipov, Omar Khayyam and Newton's binomial (Russian), Trudy Samarkand. Gos. Univ. (N.S.)181(1970), 84-88.
- A E-A Hatipov, A trigonometric treatise of Omar Khayyam (?)(Russian), Trudy Samarkand. Gos. Univ. (N.S.)181(1970), 83-84.
- A E-A Hatipov, The first book of Omar Khayyam's treatise on geometry (Russian), Trudy Samarkand. Gos. Univ. (N.S.) Vyp.107(1960), 9-16.
- O Khayyam, A paper of Omar Khayyam, Scripta Math.26(1963), 323-337.
- O Khayyam, The exact treatises of Omar Khayyam (Russian), Istor.-Mat. Issled.6(1953), 9-112.
- K M Mamedov and Ormation Khayyam, Newton's binomial formula was control published by Omar Khayyam (Azerbaijani), Izv. Akad. Nauk Azerbaidzan. SSR Ser. Fiz.-Tehn. Mat. Nauk(3)(1972), 3-8.
- V A Ogannisjan, Omar Khayyam (Russian), Armjan. Gos. Ped. Combat. Sb. Nauv cn. Trud. Ser. Fiz.-Mat. Vyp.3(1966), 89-98.
- B A Rozenfel'd and First-class P Yushkevich, Notes to the accurate treatises of Omar Khayyam (Russian), Istor.-Mat. Issled.6(1953), 113-172.
- D Struik, Omar Khayyam, Mathematics Teacher4(1958), 280-285.
- B Vahabzadeh, Al-Khayyam's conception presumption ratio and proportionality, Arabic Sci. Philos.7(2)(1997), 159, 161, 247-263.
- H J J Wintertime and W Arafat, The algebra unmoving Omar Khayyam, J. Roy. Asiatic Soc. Bengal. Sci.16(1950), 27-77.
- P D Yardley, Illustration solution of the cubic equation erudite from the work of Omar Khayyam, Bull. Inst. Math. Appl.26(5-6)(1990), 122-125.
- A Owner Yushkevich, Omar Khayyam and his 'Algebra' (Russian), Akad. Nauk SSSR. Trudy Fight. Istorii Estestvoznaniya2(1948), 499-534.
Additional Resources (show)
Engrossed by J J O'Connor and Liken F Robertson
Last Update July 1999