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{{Distinguish|Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī}}
{{Distinguish|Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī}}
'''Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās Abū Bakr al-Khwārazmī''', better simply known as '''Abu Bakr al-Khwarazmi''' was a 10th-century [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] poet and secretary, who throughout his long career served in the court of the [[Hamdanids]], [[Samanids]], [[Saffarids]] and [[Buyids]].{{sfn|Sadeghi|Tehrani|2015}} He is best known as the author of the early encyclopedia ''[[Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm]]'' (“Key to the Sciences”) in the [[Arabic language]].
'''Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās Abū Bakr al-Khwārazmī''', better simply known as '''Abu Bakr al-Khwarazmi''' was a 10th century Persian poet born in Khwarazm (region in Central Asia conquered by Achaemenids in the 6th century BC), who throughout his long career served in the court of the [[Hamdanids]], [[Samanids]], [[Saffarids]] and [[Buyids]].{{sfn|Sadeghi|Tehrani|2015}} He is best known as the author of the early encyclopedia ''[[Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm]]'' (“Key to the Sciences”) in the [[Arabic language]].


==Life==
==Life==
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While at the Samanid court, he compiled his best-known work, Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm [''The Keys of the Sciences''], an early Islamic encyclopedia of the sciences, intended as a reference work for court officials. It was produced at the request of [[Abu'l-Husain Utbi|Abū l-Ḥasan al-ʿUtbī]] a vizier in the court of Amir, [[Nuh II]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abdi |first1=W. H |title=Interaction between Indian and central Asian science and technology in medieval times |date=1990 |publisher=Indian National Science Academy |page=2 |oclc=555654275 }}</ref><ref>Jam, H.K., ''The Translation of Mafatih al-'Ulum'' (ترجمهٔ مفاتیح العلوم), Bonyad-e Farhang-e Iran, 1968, reprinted by Sherkat-e Entesharat-e Elmi o Farhangi, c. 2004</ref> and the work is dedicated to al-Utbi which establishes a date for its completion of around 977.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Edmund |chapter=Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm |title=Christian-Muslim Relations 600 - 1500 |editor=David Thomas |date=2010 |edition=Online|doi=10.1163/1877-8054_cmri_COM_22577}}</ref>{{sfn|Bosworth|1977|p=85}}
While at the Samanid court, he compiled his best-known work, Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm [''The Keys of the Sciences''], an early Islamic encyclopedia of the sciences, intended as a reference work for court officials. It was produced at the request of [[Abu'l-Husain Utbi|Abū l-Ḥasan al-ʿUtbī]] a vizier in the court of Amir, [[Nuh II]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abdi |first1=W. H |title=Interaction between Indian and central Asian science and technology in medieval times |date=1990 |publisher=Indian National Science Academy |page=2 |oclc=555654275 }}</ref><ref>Jam, H.K., ''The Translation of Mafatih al-'Ulum'' (ترجمهٔ مفاتیح العلوم), Bonyad-e Farhang-e Iran, 1968, reprinted by Sherkat-e Entesharat-e Elmi o Farhangi, c. 2004</ref> and the work is dedicated to al-Utbi which establishes a date for its completion of around 977.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Edmund |chapter=Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm |title=Christian-Muslim Relations 600 - 1500 |editor=David Thomas |date=2010 |edition=Online|doi=10.1163/1877-8054_cmri_COM_22577}}</ref>{{sfn|Bosworth|1977|p=85}}
In Nishapur, Al-Khwarizmi wrote a number of [[rihla]] (short, humorous accounts of a journey; partly written in verse and partly in literary prose), of which only fragments survive.{{sfn|Hämeen-Anttila|2002|p=147}} Locally, he achieved great fame as a leading scholar and writer. However, his reputation was eclipsed following the arrival of an aspiring young scholar and writer, [[Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani]] in 383/992. Hamadani composed a new form of prose that gained enormous popularity firstly in Nishapur and later across the Arabic speaking world. This innovative genre that became known as [[maqama]]. Al-Khwārizmīand Hamadani fell into competition with each other, exchanged insults and they eventually fell out.{{sfn|Hämeen-Anttila|2002|pp=21–24}}
In Nishapur, Al-Khwarizmi wrote a number of [[rihla]] (short, humorous accounts of a journey; partly written in verse and partly in literary prose), of which only fragments survive.{{sfn|Hämeen-Anttila|2002|p=147}} Locally, he achieved great fame as a leading scholar and writer. However, his reputation was eclipsed following the arrival of an aspiring young scholar and writer, [[Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani]] in 383/992. Hamadani composed a new form of prose that gained enormous popularity firstly in Nishapur and later across the Arabic speaking world; this innovative genre became known as [[maqama]]. Al-Khwārizmī and Hamadani fell into competition with each other, exchanged insults and they eventually fell out.{{sfn|Hämeen-Anttila|2002|pp=21–24}}


==Work==
==Work==
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* {{cite journal |last1=Bosworth |first1=C.E. |title=AL-ḪWĀRAZMĪ ON THEOLOGY AND SECTS: THE CHAPTER ON KALAM IN THE MAFĀTĪḤ AL-ʿULŪM |journal=Bulletin d'études orientales |date=1977 |volume=29 |pages=85–95 |jstor=41604610 |oclc=12768086 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bosworth |first1=C.E. |title=AL-ḪWĀRAZMĪ ON THEOLOGY AND SECTS: THE CHAPTER ON KALAM IN THE MAFĀTĪḤ AL-ʿULŪM |journal=Bulletin d'études orientales |date=1977 |volume=29 |pages=85–95 |jstor=41604610 |oclc=12768086 }}
* Hajudan, H., ''A Persian Translation of Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm'', Tehran, 1928 (in Persian)
* Hajudan, H., ''A Persian Translation of Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm'', Tehran, 1928 (in Persian)
* Farmer, H.G.,”The Science of Music in the Mafatih Alulum” in: ''Transactions of the Glasgow University Oriental Society, vol. 17, 1957/8, pp 1-9translation of Section 7, Part 2 (English)
* Farmer, H.G.,”The Science of Music in the Mafatih Alulum” in: ''Transactions of the Glasgow University Oriental Society'', vol. 17, 1957/8, pp 1-9translation of Section 7, Part 2 (English)
* Unvala, J.M., "The Translation of an Extract from Mafatih aI-Ulum of al-Khwarazmi," ''The Journal of the K.R. Cama Institute'', vol. XI,1928 (English)
* Unvala, J.M., "The Translation of an Extract from Mafatih aI-Ulum of al-Khwarazmi," ''The Journal of the K.R. Cama Institute'', vol. XI,1928 (English)
* Seidel, E., "Die Medizin im Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm", ''SBPMSE'', vol. XLVII, 1915, pp 1–79 (in German, with extensive commentary)
* Seidel, E., "Die Medizin im Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm", ''SBPMSE'', vol. XLVII, 1915, pp 1–79 (in German, with extensive commentary)
* Weidemann, B., “Über die Geometrie und Arithematik nach den Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm, ”SBPMSE'', vol, 40, 1908, pp 1-64 (German)
* Weidemann, B., “Über die Geometrie und Arithematik nach den Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm, ”SBPMSE, vol, 40, 1908, pp 1-64 (German)


== References==
== References==
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== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
* J. Vernet, "[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830902299.html Al-Khuwārizmī, Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad Ibn Aḥmad Ibn Yūsuf]", ''[[Dictionary of Scientific Biography]]''.
* J. Vernet, "[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830902299.html Al-Khuwārizmī, Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad Ibn Aḥmad Ibn Yūsuf]", ''[[Dictionary of Scientific Biography]]''.
* Hossein Khadiv Jam, ''The Translation of Mafatih al-'Ulum'' ({{lang-fa|ترجمهٔ مفاتیح‌ العلوم}}), Bonyad-e Farhang-e Iran, 1347 AP (1968), reprinted by Sherkat-e Entesharat-e Elmi-o Farhangi, 1383 AP (c. 2004 CE).
* Hossein Khadiv Jam, ''The Translation of Mafatih al-'Ulum'' ({{langx|fa|ترجمهٔ مفاتیح‌ العلوم}}), Bonyad-e Farhang-e Iran, 1347 AP (1968), reprinted by Sherkat-e Entesharat-e Elmi-o Farhangi, 1383 AP (c. 2004 CE).
* {{cite journal |last1=Bosworth |first1=C. E. |last2=Clauson |first2=Gerard |title=Al-Xwārazmī on the Peoples of Central Asia |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=1965 |volume=97 |issue=1/2 |pages=2–12 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00123597 |jstor=25202803 |s2cid=163762307 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bosworth |first1=C. E. |last2=Clauson |first2=Gerard |title=Al-Xwārazmī on the Peoples of Central Asia |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=1965 |volume=97 |issue=1/2 |pages=2–12 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00123597 |jstor=25202803 |s2cid=163762307 }}
* [[Gerlof van Vloten]], the editor of ''Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm'' 1895 publication in [[Leiden]], mentions in a preface to ''Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm'' that nothing is known about al-Khwārizmī except his name and that he is also known as al-Balkhi, but [[Hossein Khadiv Jam]], the Persian translator of ''Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm'' mentions that after a lot of searches he has found that al-Khwārizmī "was born in [[Balkh]], lived in [[Nishapur]], worked as a clerk in the [[Samanid]] court for a while, and has authored the book ''Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm'', one of the oldest Islamic encyclopedias, at the request of [[Abu'l-Husain Utbi]], a vizier of [[Nuh II of Samanid|Nuh II]], in the Arabic language."
* [[Gerlof van Vloten]], the editor of ''Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm'' 1895 publication in [[Leiden]], mentions in a preface to ''Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm'' that nothing is known about al-Khwārizmī except his name and that he is also known as al-Balkhi, but [[Hossein Khadiv Jam]], the Persian translator of ''Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm'' mentions that after a lot of searches he has found that al-Khwārizmī "was born in [[Balkh]], lived in [[Nishapur]], worked as a clerk in the [[Samanid]] court for a while, and has authored the book ''Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm'', one of the oldest Islamic encyclopedias, at the request of [[Abu'l-Husain Utbi]], a vizier of [[Nuh II of Samanid|Nuh II]], in the Arabic language."
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Khwarizmi, Muhammad Ahmad Yusuf Katib}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khwarizmi, Muhammad Ahmad Yusuf Katib}}
[[Category:10th-century Iranian people]]
[[Category:10th-century Iranian people]]
[[Category:10th-century non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:10th-century poets]]
[[Category:10th-century writers]]
[[Category:Encyclopedists of the medieval Islamic world]]
[[Category:Encyclopedists of the medieval Islamic world]]
[[Category:Persian-language writers]]
[[Category:10th-century Persian-language writers]]
[[Category:Science writers]]
[[Category:Science writers of the medieval Islamic world]]
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]

Latest revision as of 11:39, 30 November 2024

Not to be confused with Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī.

Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās Abū Bakr al-Khwārazmī, better simply known as Abu Bakr al-Khwarazmi was a 10th century Persian poet born in Khwarazm (region in Central Asia conquered by Achaemenids in the 6th century BC), who throughout his long career served in the court of the Hamdanids, Samanids, Saffarids and Buyids.[1] He is best known as the author of the early encyclopedia Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm (“Key to the Sciences”) in the Arabic language.

Life

[edit]

Al-Khwarazmi is a somewhat obscure figure.[2] He was born in 935 in Khwarazm, the birthplace of his father. His mother was a native of Amol in Tabaristan.[1] He periodically refers to himself as al-Khwarazmi or al-Tabari, while other sources refer to him as al-Tabarkhazmi or al-Tabarkhazi.[1] Al-Khwarizmi may have been a nephew of al-Tabari, the prominent Persian historian.[1] For a time, al-Khwarizmi worked as a clerk in the Samanid court at Bukhara in Transoxania,[2][3] where he acquired his nickname, “al-Katib’’ which literally means “the secretary” or “the scribe”.[4]

While at the Samanid court, he compiled his best-known work, Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm [The Keys of the Sciences], an early Islamic encyclopedia of the sciences, intended as a reference work for court officials. It was produced at the request of Abū l-Ḥasan al-ʿUtbī a vizier in the court of Amir, Nuh II.[5][6] and the work is dedicated to al-Utbi which establishes a date for its completion of around 977.[7][2] In Nishapur, Al-Khwarizmi wrote a number of rihla (short, humorous accounts of a journey; partly written in verse and partly in literary prose), of which only fragments survive.[8] Locally, he achieved great fame as a leading scholar and writer. However, his reputation was eclipsed following the arrival of an aspiring young scholar and writer, Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani in 383/992. Hamadani composed a new form of prose that gained enormous popularity firstly in Nishapur and later across the Arabic speaking world; this innovative genre became known as maqama. Al-Khwārizmī and Hamadani fell into competition with each other, exchanged insults and they eventually fell out.[9]

Work

[edit]

Al-Khwārizmī authored a work on Arabic grammar, Kitāb kifāyat al-Mutaḥaffiẓ [A Classified Vocabulary of Rare of Difficult Arabic words]. However, he is best known as the author of Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm (The Keys to the Sciences), an early Islamic Encyclopedia of the Sciences.[10] A monumental work, Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm is part lexicography and part encyclopedia.[11] Scholars regard it as the first attempt to document the Islamic sciences.[12] The work includes sections on mathematics, alchemy, medicine and meteorology.[13]

Editions and Translations

[edit]

Only limited selections of Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm have been translated into English. Notable editions and translations include:

  • Gerlog van Volten (ed), Kitāb Liber Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm, Leiden, Brill, 1895 (in Arabic, with an introduction in Latin)- many reprints.
  • Al-Khashshāb, Y. and al-ʻArīnī, B., ‏ضبط وتحقيق الالفاظ الإستلهية التنخية الواردة فى كتاب مفاتبح العلوم للخورزم / /ليحيى الخشاب، الباز العريني. [Ḍabṭ wa-taḥqīq al-alfāẓ al-istilahiyah al-tankhiyah al-wāridah fī kitāb Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm lil-Khuwarizmi] Controlling and realizing the developmental vocabulary contained in the book of Mufatih, Cairo, 1958 (Arabic)
  • Khadivjam, H., Tarjumah-ʼi Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm, Tehran, Markaz-i Intishārāt-i ʻIlmī va Farhangī, 1983 (in Persian and Arabic).
  • Al-Ibyari, I., Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm, Beirut, 1984
  • Bosworth, C.E.,“Abū ʿAbdallāh al-Khwārizmīon the Technical Terms of the Secretary’s Art”, Journal of the Social and Economic History of the Orient, vol. 12, pp 112–164 (reprinted in Medieval Arabic Culture, no. 15, London, 1983. - annotated translation of the 4th chapter of Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm (English)
  • Bosworth, C.E. (1977). "AL-ḪWĀRAZMĪ ON THEOLOGY AND SECTS: THE CHAPTER ON KALAM IN THE MAFĀTĪḤ AL-ʿULŪM". Bulletin d'études orientales. 29: 85–95. JSTOR 41604610. OCLC 12768086.
  • Hajudan, H., A Persian Translation of Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm, Tehran, 1928 (in Persian)
  • Farmer, H.G.,”The Science of Music in the Mafatih Alulum” in: Transactions of the Glasgow University Oriental Society, vol. 17, 1957/8, pp 1-9translation of Section 7, Part 2 (English)
  • Unvala, J.M., "The Translation of an Extract from Mafatih aI-Ulum of al-Khwarazmi," The Journal of the K.R. Cama Institute, vol. XI,1928 (English)
  • Seidel, E., "Die Medizin im Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm", SBPMSE, vol. XLVII, 1915, pp 1–79 (in German, with extensive commentary)
  • Weidemann, B., “Über die Geometrie und Arithematik nach den Mafātīḥ al-ʻulūm, ”SBPMSE, vol, 40, 1908, pp 1-64 (German)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Sadeghi & Tehrani 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Bosworth 1977, p. 85.
  3. ^ Bosworth, Edmund (2010). "Abū ʿAbdallāh al-Khwārazmī". In David Thomas (ed.). Christian-Muslim Relations 600 - 1500 (Online ed.). doi:10.1163/1877-8054_cmri_COM_22576.
  4. ^ Willy Hartner, Yasukatsu Maeyama, Walter Gabriel Saltzer, Prismata:Naturwissenschaftsgeschichtl. Studien: Festschrift für Willy Hartner, Steiner, 1977, p. 264
  5. ^ Abdi, W. H (1990). Interaction between Indian and central Asian science and technology in medieval times. Indian National Science Academy. p. 2. OCLC 555654275.
  6. ^ Jam, H.K., The Translation of Mafatih al-'Ulum (ترجمهٔ مفاتیح العلوم), Bonyad-e Farhang-e Iran, 1968, reprinted by Sherkat-e Entesharat-e Elmi o Farhangi, c. 2004
  7. ^ Bosworth, Edmund (2010). "Mafātīḥ al-ʿulūm". In David Thomas (ed.). Christian-Muslim Relations 600 - 1500 (Online ed.). doi:10.1163/1877-8054_cmri_COM_22577.
  8. ^ Hämeen-Anttila 2002, p. 147.
  9. ^ Hämeen-Anttila 2002, pp. 21–24.
  10. ^ Bosworth 1963, p. 100.
  11. ^ Thomann, J. (1 January 2015). "On the Natural Sciences: An Arabic Critical Edition and English Translation of EPISTLES 15-21 Edited and translated by C. BAFFIONI". Journal of Islamic Studies. 26 (1): 67–69. doi:10.1093/jis/etu080.
  12. ^ Jabbar Beg, M.A., The Origin of Islamic Science, Religion, p. 17 https://archive.org/details/the_origins_of_islamic_science
  13. ^ Kalin, I. and Ayduz, S. (eds), The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam, Volume 1, Oxford University Press, 2014, p. 100; Jabbar Beg, M.A., The Origin of Islamic Science, https://archive.org/details/the_origins_of_islamic_sciencep. 50.

Sources

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
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