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Book/Printed Material The Essentials of Arithmetic.

About this Item

Title

  • The Essentials of Arithmetic.

Summary

  • Bahā' al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn al-'Āmilī, also known as Sheiykh Bahā'ī, was a famous polymath and intellectual luminary of Safavid Persia. He was born in 1547 (953 AH) near the Jabal 'Āmila in Syria. He migrated with his family to Persia (perhaps to escape the persecution of Shi'a Muslims at the hand of the Ottomans), where he eventually obtained an honored place at the court of Shāh 'Abbās. He died in Isfahan in 1621 (1030 AH). A prolific author of works on astronomy, mathematics, fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), and other subjects, al-'Āmilī was also a poet who wrote in both Persian and Arabic. His most popular literary work, Kashkul (Mendicant's bowl), includes accounts of his many travels in Persia and the Ottoman realms. The majority of al-'Āmilī's considerable scientific and mathematical output remains to be studied. The al-Khulasa fil hisab (The essentials of arithmetic) was an extremely popular work throughout the Middle East up to the 19th century. It has an introduction and ten chapters, with the tenth chapter including exercises and a conclusion, and is dedicated to Bahādur Khān, a member of the Safavid house. The colophon of the present manuscript indicates that it was copied near Saharanpur, in Mughal India. The manuscript is in Nasta'aliq script written in black and red ink, with geometric shapes in the margins between lines. The copyist states, in Persian, that it was completed on a Friday after the "first part" of the morning. In a couplet he also asks the Lord to forgive the "author, reader, and viewer." A translation of al-Khulasa fil hisab by the German linguist and ethnographer G.H.F. Nesselmann was published in Berlin in 1843. A French edition (based on the German) appeared in 1864.

Names

  • ʻĀmilī, Bahāʼ al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn, 1547-1621 Author.

Created / Published

  • Uttar Pradesh, India : [publisher not identified], [1547 to 1621]

Headings

  • -  1547 to 1621
  • -  Arabic manuscripts
  • -  Mathematics, Arab

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 55 pages ; 18 x 26 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Qatar National Library.
  • -  Content in Arabic and Persian.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021667238

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

ʻĀmilī, Bahāʼ Al-Dīn Muḥammad Ibn Ḥusayn, Author. The Essentials of Arithmetic. [Uttar Pradesh, India: publisher not identified, to 1621, 1547] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667238/.

APA citation style:

ʻāmilī, B. A. M. I. Ḥ. (1547) The Essentials of Arithmetic. [Uttar Pradesh, India: publisher not identified, to 1621] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667238/.

MLA citation style:

ʻĀmilī, Bahāʼ Al-Dīn Muḥammad Ibn Ḥusayn, Author. The Essentials of Arithmetic. [Uttar Pradesh, India: publisher not identified, to 1621, 1547] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667238/>.