Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Habib ibn Sulayman ibn Samra ibn Jundab al-Fazari (died 796 or 806) was an Arab philosopher, mathematician and astronomer.

Biography

Al-Fazārī translated many scientific books into Arabic and Persian. He is credited to have built the first astrolabe in the Islamic world. He died in 796 or 806, possibly in Baghdad. At the end of the 8th century, whilst at the court of the Abbasid Caliphate, al-Fazārī mentioned Ghana, "the land of gold."

Works

Along with Yaʿqūb ibn Ṭāriq, al-Fazārī helped translate the 7th century Indian astronomical text by Brahmagupta, the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta, into Arabic as 'Zij as-Sindhind, or the. This translation was possibly the vehicle by means of which the mathematical methods of Indian astronomers were transmitted to Islam. The caliph ordered al-Fazārī to translate the Indian astronomical text, The Sindhind, along with Yaʿqūb ibn Ṭāriq, which was completed in Baghdad about 750, and entitled . This translation was possibly the vehicle by means of which the Hindu numeral system (the modern number notation) was transmitted from India to Iran. Al-Fazari composed various astronomical writings ("On the astrolabe", "On the armillary spheres", "on the calendar").

Sources