Al-Bīrūnī, Abū Rayhān (973-1048?), was an important Muslim scholar. He was one of the greatest scientists of the Middle Ages, especially in the fields of mathematics and astronomy. He spent most of his career at the court of the Ghaznavid Empire in what is now Afghanistan.
Abū Rayhān Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Bīrūnī was born in September 973 in Khwārizm, a region of central Asia in what is now Uzbekistan. Al-Bīrūnī understood the importance of careful scientific observation. From a young age, he was an expert in the use of astronomical instruments. He wrote on the use of the astrolabe and quadrant, two early instruments used by astronomers and navigators. These instruments are used to measure the angle between a celestial body and the horizon. He was also an expert on calendars and chronologies (records of events in sequential order). Today, al-Bīrūnī’s text Chronology of the Ancient Nations, written around A.D.1000, is an important resource for historians.
Al-Bīrūnī was captured by the forces of Mahmud of Ghazni in 1017. Mahmud of Ghazni ruled the Ghaznavid Empire, which covered much of what is now Afghanistan. Al-Bīrūnī accompanied Mahmud on several military excursions into India. He recounted his observations on the culture, religion, and science of the region in his book India, which was completed around 1030. In the book, Al-Bīrūnī presents his information without much of the prejudice that people of the time often showed toward others who were unlike them, making India a surprisingly modern work of anthropology.
Al-Bīrūnī dedicated his most famous astronomical text, known as the The Mas’udic Canon, to Mahmud’s son, Mas’ud. This work is based on the Almagest, by the early astronomer Ptolemy, but it also includes elements of Indian, Persian, and Arabic astronomy. He also wrote the well-known Book of Instruction in the Art of Astrology, which combines Greek, Indian, and Arabic traditions and methods in astrology. He died in 1048 or shortly thereafter in Ghazni.
