Abu Kamil

Abu Kamil Shuja ibn Aslam was an Egyptian mathematician active around the ninth and tenth centuries. His algebraic works extended techniques for solving equations and helped transmit algebraic knowledge to Fibonacci.

Al-Khwarizmi: A ninth-century mathematician whose treatise helped establish algebra as a systematic discipline. Abu Kamil developed methods associated with al-Khwarizmi’s algebra and carried them further.
Algebraic notation: A system of symbols and conventions for expressing mathematical quantities and operations. Abu Kamil often stated algebraic procedures in words rather than modern symbolic notation.
Fibonacci: An Italian mathematician whose writings helped introduce Hindu-Arabic numerals and algebraic methods to Latin Europe. Fibonacci drew on Abu Kamil’s algebra, including material transmitted through Arabic mathematical texts.
Inheritance mathematics: The use of arithmetic and algebra to divide estates according to legal rules. Inheritance questions formed part of the practical problem traditions addressed by medieval algebraists.
Latin translation movement: The medieval translation of Arabic and Greek scholarship into Latin, especially in twelfth-century Europe. Translation enabled Arabic mathematical works and their methods to circulate among Latin scholars.
Algebra: A branch of mathematics that studies symbols, equations, and general rules for quantities. Abu Kamil’s work belongs to the early development of algebra as a distinct mathematical discipline.
Completing the square: A method for rewriting a quadratic expression as a squared binomial plus a constant. This procedure underlies solutions to quadratic equations in the algebraic tradition he developed.
Gerard of Cremona: A twelfth-century translator who rendered many Arabic scientific works into Latin. Latin transmission of Arabic mathematics created routes through which Abu Kamil’s work became available in Europe.
Commercial arithmetic: Calculation methods used in trade, accounting, currency exchange, and related transactions. Abu Kamil’s algebraic problem-solving belonged to a mathematical culture attentive to practical computation.
Hindu-Arabic numeral system: The decimal positional numeral system using zero and the digits 0 through 9. The broader mathematical exchange surrounding Abu Kamil helped convey computational practices later used by Fibonacci.

Linked from 2 pages