Al-Nayrizi

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Abū’l-‘Abbās al-Faḍl ibn Ḥātim al-Nairīzī (أبو العباس الفضل بن حاتم النيريزي Latin name: Anaritius), was a 9-10th century Persian mathematician and astronomer from Nayriz, a town near Shiraz, Fars, Iran.

He flourished under al-Mu'tadid, Caliph from 892 to 902, and compiled astronomical tables, writing a book for al-Mu'tadid on atmospheric phenomena.

Nayrizi wrote commentaries on Ptolemy and Euclid. The latter were translated by Gerard of Cremona. Nairizi used the so-called umbra (versa), the equivalent to the tangent, as a genuine trigonometric line (but he was anticipated in this by al-Marwazi).

He wrote a treatise on the spherical astrolabe, which is very elaborate and seems to be the best Arabic work on the subject. It is divided into four books:

1. Historical and critical introduction.
2. Description of the spherical astrolabe; its superiority over plane astrolabes and all other astronomical instruments.
3. Applications.
4. Applications.

Ibn al-Nadim mentions Nayrizi as a distinguished astronomer with Eight works by him listed in his book al-Fihrist.

[edit] See also

• List of Iranian scientists

[edit] Sources

• H. Suter: Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber (45, 1900)
• Nachtrage (164, 1902).

[edit] External link

• Nayrizi's Bio from St Andrew's School of Mathematics website, Scotland.