In the western world we learn a lot about ancient geniuses like Socrates, Plato, and I’m sure you can add more names to that list. But have you heard of al-Biruni? He was the equal of any of them, but lived in a different part of the world, so he’s not included in our educational program. He was born in the year 973 in a place called Kath, which today is in Uzbekistan. Kath is still there, but now it’s called Beruniy.
He lived in his birthplace for his first 25 years, and was a brilliant student from the start. He studied law, theology, grammar, math, astronomy, medicine, philosophy, and all the other sciences that existed at the time. His native language was Khwarezmian. Today it’s an extinct language, and even in his day it was somewhat obscure. But never mind, he could also speak Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, Greek, Hebrew, and a language called Syriac that today is only used in a few liturgical contexts.
When al-Biruni wrote books — and he wrote 146 — he mostly wrote in Arabic. That’s probably because his career was supported by several Islamic rulers after he left Kath and joined the court of Qabus, who ruled a place called Tabaristan, which is on the Caspian seacoast of what is today Iran. A few years later he moved to the Ghaznavid Empire to join the court of Mahnud of Ghana, who was the Sultan. That’s in what is today India, and spurred al-Biruni’s extensive work in the history and culture of India. He also wanted to measure the elevation of the sun for his astronomical studies, so he invented a quadrant to do it. 95 of his books are about astronomy and math. He also measured the size of the earth, and came within 2% of the correct value (well it was probably within 2%; his measurement is in cubits, and there’s no precise standard for what a cubit was in those days.) The only mistake in his calculations was that he didn’t know about atmospheric refraction, so he didn’t allow for it in his distant observations. As part of his study of the earth, he predicted that North and South America would be there, on the basis that the geography of the unknown parts of the world probably resembled the known parts.
He lived and worked during what’s called the “golden age of Islam,” when science and scientists were respected and studied. Unfortunately, after his death (at age 77), the world changed and his work wasn’t built on, or even much referenced. But it was preserved, and began to be studied again centuries later. There’s a crater on the moon named after him, as is Biruni Island in Antarctica. And surveyors in Iran are today celebrating his birthday. He was portrayed in a documentary film in the Soviet Union, and was portrayed in a Turkish television series. But in the west, he’s not yet as well known as he should be.
