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Who was Omar Khayam

Omar Khayam or Abu'l Fath Omar ibn Ibrahim al-Khayyam, the famous Persian mathematician Omar Khayyam was born in18 May 1048, Neyshabur, Iran. He was best known for his work on the classification and solution of cubic equations.

Apart from his maths skills, he was also a well-known astronomer and poet. Born in Nishapur in northeastern Iran, Khayyam spent most of his life near the court of the Karakhanid and Seljuq rulers in the period which witnessed the First Crusade.

His work on the classification and solution of cubic equations is phenomenal of those times as he had provided geometric solutions by the intersection of cones.

In simpler terms, he was the one who gave us a general idea of the ways a cubic equation could be solved.

Khayyam was first to give a general method for solving cubic equations. Although he didn’t consider negative roots, his methods were sufficient to find geometrically all real (positive or negative) roots of cubic equations.

He was the one who discovered about Pascal's triangle and triangular array of binomial coefficients

In 1077, he published a book on non-euclidean geometry 'Sharh ma ashkala min musadarat kitab Uqlidis' meaning 'Explanations of the Difficulties in the Postulates of Euclid'. This was later translated in English 'On the Difficulties of Euclid's Definitions'.

He also wrote 'Problems of Arithmetic', a book on music and algebra.

He was also as great a poet as he was a mathematician. His verse, "The Moving Finger writes, and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it," is very famous.The astronomer died on December 4, 1131, he was buried in the Khayyam Garden.

Education



  • Omar Khayyam was born on May 18 in the trading city of Nishapur in what today is known as Iran in the year 1048.



  • Khayyam's father was Ebrahim Khayyami, a wealthy physician, his mother's name remains unknown.

  • His origins are still unclear but some authors have argued that Omar's father earned a living by being a merchant and making tents, as his last name means tent-maker.

  • Khayyam's family were Muslims, but his father was perceived as non-strict, he soon employed mathematician Bahmanyar bin Marzban, a devotee of the ancient Persian religion or Zoroastrianism, to tutor Omar.

  • Khayyam's received a thorough education in science, philosophy and mathematics.

  • In 1066, when Khayyam celebrated his 18th birthday, his father Ebrahim died just a few months before his tutor's death.

  • These events marked the end of an era in the young pupil's life, and after putting his family's affairs in order, he moved on.


The rise of a scientist



  • Khayyam joined one of the regular caravans making a three-month journey from Nishapur to the city of Samarkand, which is now in Uzbekistan.



  • In Samakarn, he showed a remarkable interest in mathematics, by writing treatises on arithmetic, algebra, and music theory under the patronage of chief justice Abu Tahir, who was also his father's friend, and who noticed Khayyam's extraordinarily talent with numbers.



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  • It is presumed that due to his relationship with Tahir, ruler Shams al-Mulk distinctively regarded Omar with esteem.

  • According to reports the ruler used to show him the greatest honour, so much so that he would make Khayyam sit next to him on his divan.



  • Probably he was still at Shams al-Muk's court around 1073 when peace was concluded with Sultan Malik Shah, who had earlier invaded the territory.

  •  It was then at the age of 26 that Khayyam entered Malik Shah's service and when he was invited to go back to Iran to build an observatory at Isfahan and reform the Persian calendar.


Beyond the earth, beyond the farthest skies I try to find Heaven and Hell. Then I hear a solemn voice that says:  'Heaven and hell are inside.'

OMAR KHAYYAM, THE RUBAIYAT

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