13. Al-Majriti
(338-398H / 950-1007AD)

"Al-Majriti was the leader of mathematicians in Andalusia and the most knowledgeable in astronomy and stars motion"(83). His full name is Abu al-Qasim Maslama Ibn Ahmed Ibn Qasim Ibn Abdullah al-Majriti.(84) He was born in Madrid, Spain in 338 H/950 AD and lived in Cordoba until his death in 398 H/1007 AD.

He traveled to the East, where he met with Arab and Muslim scholars and discussed with them the results of his researches in mathematics and astronomy. He built a school in Cordoba which was attended by several great scientists in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, philosophy, chemistry and zoology(85).

Scientific Contributions(86)

Al-Majriti was considered an authority of his time in chemistry. His made many contributions to the field by drawing a clear distinction between chemistry and semiology and freeing chemistry from myths and sorcery. He called for the scientific study of chemistry based on experimentation and investigation. He considered that mathematics is necessary for the study of chemistry. Al-Majriti was also interested in combustion and the resulting reactions. He earned fame for his preparation of oxide of mercury; nobody succeeded before him in transforming mercury into mercury oxide.

In the field of astronomy, he shortened al'Battani's ephemerides and his extract became a reference for astronomers. He was the first to have ever commented Ptolemy's astronomical map. Al-Majriti also gained fame by his commentary and correction of al-Khawarizmi's ephemerides and adopting a Hegira calendar instead of the Persian(87). He also developed the theories of numerals and Euclid's geometry.

Furthermore, al-Majriti had a great interest in zoology; he dealt with animal anatomy and the preference of some over the others and their benefits.

Major Works

Al-Majriti wrote in many scientific fields, including chemistry, astronomy, mathematics and zoology. Among these writings, those referred to by Sarton(88) and az-Zarkali(89) :

-"Rutbat al-Hakim" (The Steps of the Scholar). In this treatise, al-Majriti dealt with semiology and chemistry and drew a distinction between them. His experiments on mercury are included in the book;

-"Ghayat al-Hakim" (The Goals of the Scholar) relates the history of chemistry. In 1252 AD, a translation of this treatise was ordered by king Alfonso and given the title of Picatrix;

-"Rissala fi al-Usturlab" (Astrolabe Treatise) was translated into Latin;

-"Sharh Kitab al-Majesti li Batlimus" (Commentary of Ptolemy's Almagest);

-"Kitab Timar al-Adad fi al-Hissab".

It is worth nothing that al-Majriti's books continued to be taught in European universities for several years and that the Western scholars were the first to shed light on al-Majriti's and his works.