Lost works of the great geometer: incredible find of scientists in the Arabic manuscript

07 February 2025, 22:02 | Technologies
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Apollonius of Pergsky, who lived between 262 and 190 BC, made a significant contribution to the geometry, in particular, thanks to his influential book “Connic section”, in which he introduced the terms of hyperbole, ellipse and parabola. His work originally consisted of eight volumes, but only four of them were available to a European scientist in the Renaissance era.

It is reported that the missing volumes - books 5 and 7 - acquired the Dutch orientalist and mathematician Jacob Golius in the 17th century. Golius, who traveled a lot to the Middle East, brought more than 200 manuscripts for the University of Leiden, among which were these lost texts. Scientists described the results of the study of these manuscripts in their work "

The work of researchers is deepening into the historical interaction of the Netherlands with Arab manuscripts, noting the role of scientists such as Thomas Erpenius and Jacobus Golius, in the convergence of the intellectual traditions of Europe and the Islamic world. One of the chapters examines the Arabic translation of the lost works of Apollonius of the XI century, shed light on thorough calligraphy and mathematical accuracy of the manuscript.

The Dutch mathematician and historian Jan Peter Hoheneek describes this document as a wonderful evidence of the skill and devotion of his scribes. He notes that modern researchers who rely on digital tools often lack patience and disciplines that were demonstrated by those who carefully copied these texts.

In addition to Apollonia, scientists cover the wide scientific contribution of the Islamic world, with sections on astronomy, mathematics and cosmography. The “miracles of the creations and rarity of existing creatures” Ibn Muhammad al-Kazvini, an encyclopedic work containing descriptions of both real and mythical creatures are considered here.

One of the passages, for example, describes a marine being with human features, which scientists now recognize the early description of the seal. Other chapters analyze the advanced mathematical methods used by Muslim scientists, in particular, the solution of the Greek geometric puzzle of the XI century, which in Europe was unraveled 500 years later.

Experts note the importance of further research on these manuscripts. Mostafa Zakhri, professor at the University of Sharji, draws attention to the huge, but poorly studied collections of Arab scientific texts in Western libraries. He notes that more cooperation and efforts to digitize can discover significant historical knowledge.

Wilfred de Grauf from the University of Utrekhti agrees with him, indicating that the limited possession of the Arabic, Persian and Turkish languages \u200b\u200bamong Western scientists inhibits progress in research.

This study not only deepens the understanding of historical mathematics, but also reveals the prolonged influence of Islamic science on world scientific traditions.

Studying and preserving these texts, modern scientists can continue to discover the knowledge that formed the centuries of intellectual progress.

Previously, Focus wrote where hanging gardens are actually hidden - one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Although it is traditionally believed that they are located in Babylon, but not all scientists agree with this.

And we also talked about unknown tombs of the Etruscans, which the researchers excavated in Italy.

Based on materials: degruyter.com



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