😉 Greetings to regular and new readers! In the article “Omar Khayyam: Brief Biography, Facts” about the life of the Persian philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet. Lived: 1048-1131.
Biography of Omar Khayyam
Until the end of the XIX century. the Europeans knew nothing at all about this scientist and poet. And they began to discover it only after the publication of an algebraic treatise in 1851. Then it became known that the rubais (quatrains, a form of lyric poetry) also belong to him.
“Khayyam” means “tent master”, perhaps it was the profession of a father or his grandfather. Very little information and memories of his contemporaries have survived about his life. We find some of them in the quatrains. However, they very sparingly reveal the biography of the famous poet, mathematician and philosopher.
Thanks to an extraordinary memory and a constant desire for education, at the age of seventeen, Omar received a deep knowledge of all areas of philosophy. Already at the beginning of his career, the young man went through difficult trials: during an epidemic, his parents died.
Fleeing from adversity, the young scientist leaves Khorasan and finds refuge in Samarkand. There he continues and completes most of his algebraic work “A Treatise on the Problems of Algebra and Almukabala.”
After completing his studies, he works as a teacher. The job was low-paying and temporary. Much depended on the location of the masters and rulers.
The scientist was supported first by the chief judge of Samarkand, then by the Bukhara khan. In 1074 he was invited to Isfahan to the court of Sultan Melik Shah himself. Here he supervised the construction and scientific work of the astronomical observatory, and developed a new calendar.
Rubai Khayyam
His relations with the successors of Melik Shah were unfavorable for the poet. The higher clergy did not forgive him, saturated with deep humor and great accusatory power, poetry. He boldly ridiculed and blamed all religions, spoke out against universal injustice.
For the ruby, which he wrote, one could pay with his life, so the scientist made a forced pilgrimage to the capital of Islam – Mecca.
The persecutors of the scientist and poet hardly believed in the sincerity of his repentance. In recent years, he lived in solitude. Omar avoided people, among whom there could always be a spy or an assassin sent.
Mathematics
There are two well-known algebraic treatises of the brilliant mathematician. He was the first to define algebra as the science of solving equations, which later came to be called algebraic.
The scientist systematizes some equations with the leading coefficient equal to 1. Determines 25 canonical types of equations, including 14 types of cubic ones.
The general method for solving equations is the graphical construction of positive roots using the abscissas of the intersection points of second-order curves – circles, parabolas, hyperbolas. Attempts to solve cubic equations in radicals were unsuccessful, but the scientist earnestly predicted that this would be done after him.
These discoverers really came, only 400 years later. They were Italian scientists Scipion del Ferro and Niccolo Tartaglia. Khayyam was the first to note that the cubic equation may have two roots in the end, although he did not see that there may be three of them.
He first presented a new concept of the concept of number, which includes irrational numbers. It was a real revolution in the teaching of number, when the lines between irrational quantities and numbers are erased.
Accurate calendar
Omar Khayyam headed a special commission set up by Melik Shah to streamline the calendar. The calendar developed under his leadership is the most accurate. It gives an error of one day in 5000 years.
In the modern, Gregorian calendar, an error of one day will run over 3333 years. Thus, the latest calendar is less accurate than the Khayyam calendar.
The great sage lived for 83 years, was born and died in Nishapur, Iran. His zodiac sign is Taurus.
Omar Khayyam: a short biography (video)
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