As the title states Im interested if there are any translations into English of complete texts from Arabic mathematicians in the middle ages. I cannot find any through the usual searching techniques. Apparently there were none of Omar Khayyám. Given their influence on Renaissance European mathematics Im surprised they are not more available.
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
2
New contributor
Rilem is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
-
4$\begingroup$ The earliest translation works are not into English. The United Kingdom was not even the United Kingdom until 1801; it was a major power, but not yet the global major power that it would later become. Important works that happened early in the Renaissance and earlier, would be into Latin, as that was the language suitable for spreading across Europe at the time. It took some time for the Renaissance to spread Northwards. By the time English translations became an important thing to have, European maths was way more advanced than Arabic, and so there was much less urgency. $\endgroup$naturallyInconsistent– naturallyInconsistent2025-10-31 17:34:04 +00:00Commented 20 hours ago
-
1$\begingroup$ Clarification: do you want (possibly modern) translations of Arabic mathematicians who were active in the middle ages, or is it rather works of Arabic mathematicians, the translations of which were available in the middle ages? As currently worded, it could be either. -- The current answers seem to assume modern translations are welcome. As edits which invalidate answers tend not to be appreciated, if you're specifically looking for historical translations, you may want to open a new question with a clearer scope. (Editing this one to be clear modern are welcome here.) $\endgroup$R.M.– R.M.2025-11-01 12:54:11 +00:00Commented 1 hour ago
Add a comment
|
3 Answers
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
0
(I'm assuming that by "Arabic" you mean "written in Arabic", since Omar Khayyam was Persian and seems to have written in both the Arabic and Persian languages.)
There is in fact an English translation of Omar Khayyam's treatise on algebra:
- al-Khayyam. Algebra wa Al-Muqabala. Translated by R. Khalil. Garnet Publishing, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-85964-180-4
Many of the works of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) have been translated into English, for example:
J.P. Hogendijk. Ibn al-Haytham's Completion of the Conics. Sources in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, no.7. Springer, 1985. ISBN: 978-1-4757-4061-5
D. Raynaud. A Critical Edition of Ibn al-Haytham's On the Shape of the Eclipse. Sources and Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Springer, 2016. ISBN: 978-3-319-47990-3
Roshdi Rashed's History of Arabic Sciences and Mathematics, although primarily a history, contains a number of translated shorter works. (Rashed's book was originally in French, but the English translations of the Arabic works have been checked against the original.)
- R. Rashed. A History of Arabic Sciences and Mathematics. Translated by R. Wareham, C. Allen, M.J. Barany, S. Glynn & J.V. Field. Culture and Civilization in the Middle East, no.29, 33, 36, 43, 55. London & New York: Routledge, 2012–2017. ISBNs: 978-0-415-58217-9 978-0-415-58218-6 978-0-415-58215-5 978-0-415-58216-2 978-0-415-58219-3
For example, volume 3 includes:
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
An English translation of the Al-Jabr (al-Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar fī Ḥisāb al-Jabr wal-Muqābalah; "The Concise Book of Calculation by Restoration and Balancing") of the Persian polymath Al-Khwarizmi can be found in
Louis Charles Karpinski, Robert of Chester's Latin Translation of the Algebra of Al-Khowarizmi. London: Macmillan 1915 (scan online at the Internet Archive).
The Medieval Latin translation dating to 1145 runs on the even-numbered pages, accompanied by a modern English translation (with annotations) on the facing odd-numbered pages. As I cannot read Arabic I cannot vouch for the accuracy of either translation.
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
This book appears to have mathematical works of Omar Khayyam in English translation.
