Mario Livio Quote

In the Middle Ages, the Elements was translated into Arabic three times. The first of these translations was carried out by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn Matar, at the request of Caliph Harun ar-Rashid (ruled 786 - 809), who is familiar to us through the stories in The Arabian Nights. The Elements was first made known in Western Europe through Latin translations of Arabic versions. English Benedictine monk Adelard of Bath (ca. 1070 - 1145), who according to some stories was traveling in Spain disguised as a Muslim student, got hold of an Arabic text and completed the translation into Latin around 1120. This translation became the basis of all editions in Europe until the sixteenth century. Translations into modern languages followed.

Mario Livio

In the Middle Ages, the Elements was translated into Arabic three times. The first of these translations was carried out by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn Matar, at the request of Caliph Harun ar-Rashid (ruled 786 - 809), who is familiar to us through the stories in The Arabian Nights. The Elements was first made known in Western Europe through Latin translations of Arabic versions. English Benedictine monk Adelard of Bath (ca. 1070 - 1145), who according to some stories was traveling in Spain disguised as a Muslim student, got hold of an Arabic text and completed the translation into Latin around 1120. This translation became the basis of all editions in Europe until the sixteenth century. Translations into modern languages followed.

Related Quotes

About Mario Livio

Mario Livio (born June 19, 1945) is an astrophysicist and an author of works that popularize science and mathematics. For 24 years (1991–2015) he was an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which operates the Hubble Space Telescope. He has published more than 400 scientific articles on topics including cosmology, supernova explosions, black holes, extrasolar planets, and the emergence of life in the universe.[1] His book on the irrational number phi, The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number (2002), won the Peano Prize and the International Pythagoras Prize for popular books on mathematics.