Omar Khayyam
Persian polymath and poet (1048–1131 CE) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī[1][3] (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam (Persian: عمر خیّام),[lower-alpha 1] was a Persian polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and poetry.[4]: 94 He was born in Nishapur, the initial capital of the Seljuk Empire. He lived during the rule of the Seljuk dynasty, around the time of the First Crusade.
Omar Khayyam | |
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عمر خیّام | |
Born | 18 May[1] 1048[2] |
Died | 4 December[1] 1131 (aged 83)[2] Nishapur, Khorasan, Persia |
Academic background | |
Influences | |
Academic work | |
Main interests | |
Influenced | |
As a mathematician, he is most notable for his work on the classification and solution of cubic equations, where he provided geometric solutions by the intersection of conics.[5] Khayyam also contributed to the understanding of the parallel axiom.[6]: 284 As an astronomer, he calculated the duration of the solar year with remarkable precision and accuracy, and designed the Jalali calendar, a solar calendar with a very precise 33-year intercalation cycle[7]: 659 [lower-alpha 2] which provided the basis for the Persian calendar that is still in use after nearly a millennium.
There is a tradition of attributing poetry to Omar Khayyam, written in the form of quatrains (rubāʿiyāt رباعیات). This poetry became widely known to the English-reading world in a translation by Edward FitzGerald (Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, 1859), which enjoyed great success in the Orientalism of the fin de siècle.