Math of the Moors

Math of the Moors

In 711 AD, barely 100 years after the establishment of Islam, the Moors crossed over from Northern Africa and conquered most of Spain. Many of the anti-Catholic Christians and Jews resident in Spain did not see the invasion as a totally Bad Thing, since the Moors showed religious tolerance – more than the Catholics did –and made many improvements.
The Moors brought with them a richness of culture and learning that was sorely missing from Medieval Christian society. Arriving with translations of the Greek masters (Archimedes, Pythagoras and the philosopher Ptolemy), the Moors established robust institutions of learning, including well-stocked libraries. They set about improving agriculture, astronomy, architecture, science and mathematics. They called their new land Al-Andalus.
The locals were still using the Roman numeral system (I, II, III, IV, …), but the Moors introduced a much better system of numbers (derived from India via the middle east and Alexandria), called the Hindu-Arabic number system.
Hindu Arabic numbers
The big deal about the new number system was that it was positional. This means that for a large number containing several digits, the further to the left you go, the larger the value of the digit. Each position to the left represents a multiple of 10.
For example, four thousand, three hundred and sixty five in the new system was written 4,365 and the value of the digits means:
1000 | 100 | 10 | 1
4 | 3 | 6
| 5
The same number in Roman numerals was written MMMMCCCLXV (4 × 1000 3 × 100 50 10 5). It was quite difficult to perform calculations with such a cumbersome system.
ere’s what Hindu-Arabic
numerals looked like by about 1000 AD. We can see that they resemble closely the numbers we use today.
A Violent End
The Moors were advanced technically and had established a very enlightened society for the time.
Unfortunately, they were too complacent about their enemies and they let their guard down. Eventually the Catholics attacked from the north and took over the whole of Spain by 1492. This was after they terrorised the Moors for hundreds of years by requiring conversion to Catholicism or face expulsion. The ones who were found to be not “Catholic enough” were sent off for torture in the
Inquisition. Eventually, the remaining few hundred thousand were ethnically cleansed and sent packing to North Africa or beyond. It was a tragic end to an inspiring flowering of learning and discovery.
In fact, the Moors had a large influence on the beginning of the Renaissance (around 1450) in other parts of Europe. The universities of Paris and Oxford were established as a result of visits by scholars to Al-Andalus.
Contributions of the Moors
We get many mathematical concepts (and words) from (or via) the Moors, including:

algebra
algorithm
zero
(from “zephirum”)

The article Leonard
of Pisa (Fibonacci) and Arabic Arithmetic is a very interesting outline of
how Fibonacci regarded Muslim mathematics.
End Bit
It is a tragedy that
these people who contributed so much were snuffed out. The Spanish have chosen
to ignore many of the details of this episode from their history. The winners
will always get to interpret history how they like.

The Moors deserve more
credit.

Update: The
invention of the antennae in this Fractal Tiling Arrays
article was inspired by the intricate tiling of the Alhambra mosque.

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Posted in Learning,
Mathematics
- February 7th, 2007.

27 Comments on “Math of the Moors”

Thomas Jones Says:
24 Mar 2008 at 7:18 am Link to this comment

In
regards to your website,I accept the idea of the Moor,s and the Spanish. But
what about the Portuguese involvement in and on the Iberian peninsula,as well
as their fight with the Spanish for their independence.

zac
Says:
24 Mar 2008 at 2:24 pm Link to this comment

Hi
Thomas and thanks for your clarification. Yes, the Portuguese were also
instrumental in the rout of the Moors from the Iberian region.

And
the Portuguese also benefited from the scholarship of the Moors, becoming a
great seafaring nation a few hundred years later.

Aldebaran Says:
4 Apr 2008 at 9:33 am Link to this comment

It is
clear you are not pro-Catholic. That you have a bias in favor of Moorish
invaders, possibly coming from a singular, narrow-minded and blinded
perspective of seeing those who “disseminate” mathematics as a major basis to
judge whether people are good/better or not. You are definitely NOT a Spaniard.
Do not cast aspersions on others of a period of time who sought freedom from
invaders. Who struggled for hundreds of years to regain the lands that were
taken from them by invaders. Consider Gandhi and his movement against British
imperialism. It is because people FAIL to see as well as FORGET the
overwhelming need that human beings have for freedom, that these lessons have to
be relearned over and over again. The Spaniards conquest of the indigenous
peoples of the Americas. They brought all kinds of technological and even
mathematical improvements to those they dominated. No doubt in this debate you
would take the side of the native Americans and not the Spaniards. Hypocrisy!
Open your eyes!

“The
victims of the past become the oppressors of the future.”

zac
Says:
4 Apr 2008 at 10:37 am Link to this comment

Thanks
for your comment Aldebaran.

I am
certainly not in favour of invaders of any colour or creed. You have
misconstrued what I wrote and added things that are not there.

My
bias is towards freedom and education – and one aspect of that freedom is
proper recognition and promotion of educational achievement. My interests are
far broader than the dissemination of mathematics.

Don’t
assume what my “side” would be in any historical situation.

Richard Coeur de Lion Says:
7 May 2008 at 10:31 pm Link to this comment

I
find your comments on the Maths of the Moors fair and appropriate.

It’s
a shame that some narrow-minded bigots blinded by hatred won’t digest the
historical facts. The irony is that one person fumes and rages and pretends to
defend freedom-fighters whilst two sentences later he praises the Spaniards for
having brought tech and math to the native Americans, conveniently turning a
blind eye to the massacre of the natives and the plundering of their gold. And
look who dares to accuse others of hypocrisy!

Jesus
was right in blasting the Pharisees and those who look for the straw in the eye
of their neighbour but forget the log in their own!!

By
the way, Aldebaran is Arabic for “The Follower”. Follower? Of Jesus or of the
Spanish Inquisition??
It is clear that bigots and racists cannot truly claim to follow Jesus.

zac
Says:
7 May 2008 at 10:43 pm Link to this comment

Thanks,
Richard. I was also rather taken aback by Aldebaran’s insinuation that the
Spanish invasion of the Americas was a ‘good thing’, but it was not very clear
what (s)he was getting at there.

I’m
sure the original inhabitants of the Americas felt they could do without the
European’s math and science at the time.

mariam Says:
31 Aug 2008 at 1:11 am Link to this comment

Hi,i
just wanted to say that “the moors” that you are talking about are actually
muslims whether you believe it or not(if you donot,then by looking at the
history of spain,you’ll realize that it was ruled by muslims for about 800
years),so “the moors” are muslims!

and,i
am not being bias…..i am just being factual!

please,correct
the word “moor” used for muslims….

zac
Says:
31 Aug 2008 at 11:00 am Link to this comment

Hi
Mariam. My first sentence says “barely 100 years after the establishment of
Islam” where I meant the Moors were Muslims.

But
it was not clear enough obviously. Thanks for the clarification.

Candice Says:
9 Sep 2008 at 12:38 pm Link to this comment

The
Moors were and are not the Muslims of today that we think of today or then. The
Moors had a rather RICH history i.e. Benjamin Bannaka (Banneker) was a Moor.
There were/are many so called “Native American” indigenous tribes that were of
Moorish heritage i.e. Washitaw, Cherokee, Yamasee, Seminole etc. The U.S.
before it was the “U.S.”, was owned by Moors (indigenous tribes) and acres have
been sold illegally violating many treaties that the U.S. signed with the Moors.
The Washitaw Moors were granted over 60K acres of land in Louisiana in the
1990’s due to the violation of the Treaty of Friendship and Peace signed
between Morroco and the U.S. This historical memory that was stripped from so
called “Black Native Americans” and this was the objective of slavery and why
if blacks were caught reading they were tortured. Sorry for the long story…but
it is just enough to get those interested into researching the the true history
of us all. These are facts and not intended to be racially biased in any way,
shape, form or fashion. Peace & Blessings. Hotep.

Fred Says:
10 Oct 2008 at 12:15 pm Link to this comment

Dear
readers,
My friend Candice has probably never looked at a history book before. The
Moors, never had anything to do with the Americans. The never even co-existed.
All that nonsense that she’s babling about is 100% fiction. Don’t believe me,
just and check it out for yourself. I can tell you a fact, the Moors were long
dead before the 20th century.

leon Says:
10 Nov 2008 at 2:22 pm Link to this comment

The
last comment pertaining to the end of the moors before the twentieth century.
You are misinfomed. You need to do some research about the Moors. Better still
research poverty point located in louisiana. You will find we are alive and
well, and have emperical proof of our existence over a 100,000 years. thats
right, right here in North America. Dont argue do the research. Washitaw
Dedugdahmoundyah.

Fred Says:
17 Nov 2008 at 10:00 pm Link to this comment

Leon,
one can connect himself with any nation as long as one has the genetic proof.
According to wikipedia, the Treaty of Friendship and Peace between Morroco and
the U.S. , was signed in 1786. If you know the history of the Moors in the
liberian penisula, the Moors were expelled in the Reconquista, which ended on
January 2, 1492 with the conquest of Granada. The original Moors had been wiped
out. If I was Turkish, I couldn’t connect myself to the great Ottoman empire,
it lasted to the 1920’s but its glory was deministed. It was because they had
given up their culture and heritage, just like the Moors. So you see you might
be Moorish but you are not connected in any way to the great empire of the
Moors because you do not practise their religion, and culture. If you have any
other comments please do reply.

Z Says:
3 Mar 2009 at 12:13 am Link to this comment

Prince
Charles gave a lecture at oxford university on the 27th of october 1993 and he
reminded the wise scholars of the debt that the west owed to the Moors. They
also introduced and expanded on astronomy, law, history, pharmacology,
architecture to name a few. Prince Charles stated that in the tenth century
moors had lending Libraries when the English King, Alfred was still eating
human flesh.

Win Says:
4 Mar 2009 at 6:11 pm Link to this comment

In
this Moors teaching Spain ( and Europe ) some culture, maths, astronomy,
pharmacology etc., it seems that Moors ( or Muslims or Arabs ) themselves
learnt all such subjects from India. All great Muslim scholars were aware of
Supreme richness of India ( in terms of depth of all above subjects and money
wise, both ) and they have themselves translated those vast books into Arabic
from Sanskrit.

Though
early Moors were pro towards knowledge and Muslim invaders in India razed down
university towns like Taxila and Nalanda. Indians very highly advanced even at
3000 BC period when they had constructed large planned towns. And that time
English people were definitely eating human flash and were savage ! Spain king
helped Columbous on his mission to find sea route to India ( and America wasn’t
known then ). It was such a lull of Indian richness. If Moors had not
transmitted Indian Maths, seafaring & astronomy would have been impossible
and Spain / Portugal would not have dared to plunge into deep ocean waters to
find Indian sea route.

I
feel pity of English people who misguided the world for two centuries about
India to show themselves as culturally superior to Indians !

Leon Says:
5 Mar 2009 at 1:49 am Link to this comment

Hotep
to all my Muur Brothers and Sisters. Fred do you know who the original man is?
Fred do you know what Asiatic, Mu, and the Earth have in common ? Fred have you
checked into Poverty Point located in Louisiana and researched anything about
the Mound Builders. Fred do you know anything about the Mounds that are still
in existence throughout the Americas. Americas is not a typo its meant to
entail all the Americas. If the History hadnt been destroyed by Marco Polo, and
Alexander The Greek by burning and destroying books the history of the world
wouldnt be in such a Historic quandary today. Also the Hieroglyphics in The
Grand Canyon area along with the discovery of an 9,000 year old Mummy dont lie
about our existence here in the Americas. Washitaw Dedugdahmoundyah. Fred in
case your wondering NO I AM NOT BLACK.

Leon Says:
5 Mar 2009 at 3:24 am Link to this comment

Fred
I was just a little curious as to what the Moors religion is according to your
source. Amexem is the name of the Muur Empire

Hotep,
My Texas

Shaluh Kufu EL Says:
7 Apr 2009 at 6:56 am Link to this comment

Hotep/Salaam/Shalum.
I came across this sight by accident and found it very interesting. It mind
boggles me on how superficial people are when it comes to History. It is just
that His Story, someone else’s interpretation of past events. The Moors were
definately inhabiting the Americas( Amir-Ri/Re-Ka) before any European even set
foot on this soil. The Native Americans(American Indians) that we know of are a
mixture of the Moorish/African nations of people that migrated here to America.
The word “Indi” means black and when Christopher Columbus arrived in the
Carribean and the Americas he said the indigenious people were “Indi’s” or
Indians, meaning Black peoples. We come in many shades of Brown regardless of
the ethnic make up. Moorish/Nubian/African empires were all over the planet.
The evidence does not lie, you can find ancient Moorish/African artifacts
throughout the Americas from Louisiana, Georgia, Carolinas, Mississippi,
Tennessee, Ohio, Canada, California, etc. The state of California was named
after a Moorish/African women name Queen Califia/Khalifia. This is a fact and
can be researched. Also when I say Moor or Moorish I am not just talking about
certain Moors that occupied Europe. The term Moor/Mauri/Moriscos/Morenos/Maure
all stem back to Khemet or Ancient Tamare. Can you see it TA MA RE . TA= Earth
MA= Water, RE= Sun. So MARE’s or MARE NU would translate as Water&Sun
People which the Ancient Kushites, Nubians, Khemites were known as. These are
also 3 of the five elements coming from Khemetic/Moorish Sciences. The Moors
are still alive and well, we did not go anywhere we are just known under
different names nowadays. The Sciences are still alive, everytime you do
Geometry, Algerbra, Calculus, tell time, check your calendar you are bearing
witness to sciences of the Moors/Mare’s.

The Facts Says:
28 Apr 2009 at 4:54 am Link to this comment

Shaluh
Kufu EL said, “The state of California was named after a Moorish/African women
name Queen Califia/Khalifia. This is a fact and can be researched.”

I did
some research and found that “Califia (aka Calafia) is the name of a legendary
Black Amazon warrior queen, associated with the mythical Island of California.
The US state of California is thought by some to be named after Queen Califia
(see Origin of the name California).”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Califia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_name_California

It
seems some people like to leave out key pieces of information in order to make
what they say more believable.

zac
Says:
28 Apr 2009 at 8:49 am Link to this comment

Thanks
for the input, however I would suggest not using Wikipedia for such
“proving” of facts. Those articles may be written (or edited) by people with an
agenda.

Shaluh Kufu EL Says:
16 Jun 2009 at 9:37 am Link to this comment

Peace.
The facts said “It seems some people like to leave out key pieces of
information in order to make what they say more believable.” You are absolutely
right, You have some researchers that have and still do leave key pieces of
information out especially if it doesnot comply with conventional information.
If certain information does not matchup with the popular mindset it will be
shelved or in some extreme situations destroyed. This has been going on for a
long period of time, it is a known fact that the history books need to be
rewritten due to the many facts that have proven a lot of things to be
outdated.

malbit Says:
17 Sep 2009 at 5:17 am Link to this comment

wow.
ppl in this site are intense.

Eliza Says:
11 Oct 2009 at 3:42 am Link to this comment

Zac
Is correct! You cannot rely on Wikipedia for accurate information. Anyone can,
at any time,change what is written there and input their own words. When I
heard of this I tried it and it worked. I reversed what I had fiddled with but
not everyone does. There is a lot of debateable information out there from
books written in the beginnings up to present time and everyone wants to be
correct…this is how wars begin! Consider your source, be guided by wisdom and
appreciate the voices of others even if you don’t happen to agree.

Alessandro Says:
15 Dec 2009 at 4:35 pm Link to this comment

I
think a mathematician should remain a mathematician. Such a biased view of the
Spain “reconquista” is only harming this website. The Muslim occupation of
Spain all Southern Mediterranean countries was through war and an
apartheid-like social system. It’s much debated whether the muslims, “Moors”
(the word comes from “black”,darker skin, being many African, obviously; “mori”
means dark, black in Italian) and “arabs” (actually mainly Iranians, not arabs)
did really contributed significantly more than taking Indian and Greek
knowledge and traditions and passing it on. That the Moors had great influence
in the Renaissance is a total non-sense. Renaissance occurred mainly in Italy
where music, architecture, banks and finance, arts, sciences were developed
taking from the past knowledge (re-birth of mainly Greek and Roman and some
Asian knowledge) and regiven new impetus with brand new discoveries and
invetions in all fields. It happened mainly in Italy because the two
superpowers (grossly France and Germany, in their contemporary look, were too
busy in their struggle for dominace of the continent). That the moors look like
victims is like saying that a country cannot defend itself from forced
occupation. I have no time to enter the Inquisition topic, but there as well
much is biased with the eye of an unscholarly person who looks at History with
our modern eyes and not with those who lived in that time.

zac
Says:
15 Dec 2009 at 9:47 pm Link to this comment

Now,
Allessandro, let me get this straight.

It
was OK for the Spanish to invade central and south America (and many other
places), plunder them of gold and other valuables, torture and kill those who
they couldn’t convert, destroy cultures and generally behave abominably – and
it was not OK for the Moors to invade southern Spain and bring with them a
thirst for knowledge (while the Christian Church violently suppressed
scientists) and a generally well-ordered society?

Don’t
get me wrong here – forced occupation is wrong in most instances and I
certainly don’t regard the Muslim conquests as a Good Thing by any means. But
the tolerance the Moors showed for other religions and other points of view was
arguably greater than the intolerance shown by the Europeans to anyone who got
in their way.

And
if, as you say, the Moors just took with them the knowledge of the Greeks and
the Indians, that was way better than the Dark Ages that Europe had descended
into.

Alan H Says:
1 Jan 2010 at 11:14 am Link to this comment

Hi I
to have just come across this site by accident
but was searching for more information on the Moors
and Moorish History I have watched several moor teachers
via utube clips one Moor lecturer mentioned that the Moon
goes around the earth 13 time a year and that the earth
goes around the Sun 12 times a year ok yes it sounds a little strange does any
one hear now or understand who
and why this moors teacher is teaching this and could it possibily be true Yes
I keep a open mind but this has go me stumped

Regards
Alan from Australia

zac
Says:
2 Jan 2010 at 10:26 am Link to this comment

Hello
Alan. Please tell us the YouTube link so we can evaluate this.

Hesed Says:
2 Feb 2010 at 12:14 am Link to this comment

As it
always was, the Albion can not bear to admit to the source of his establishment
amongst the family of Nations, why that would mean the reason for slavery would
be justified, the old wiping of the mind. Nowadays I smile, great article,
typical discussion. @ Shaluh Kufu EL, ever heard of casting jewels apon swine?
Lets no longer bother with the debatable.
Lets end it like this
WHITEHOUSE – CASA BLANCA Eastern government goes West Doh. \
Peace.

http://www.squarecirclez.com/blog/math-of-the-moors/535

الأحد	الإثنين	الثلاثاء	الأربعاء	الخميس	الجمعة	السبت
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30