Al-Karaji was a Persian mathematician and engineer active in Baghdad in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries, born around 953 and dying around 1029, best known in mathematics for advancing algebra as a discipline independent of geometry. In engineering he wrote a treatise on qanats and underground water systems that lays out the basic principles of hydrology and survives as the oldest extant text in that field, covering how underground channels were surveyed, dug and maintained to bring groundwater to the surface across arid terrain without powered pumps.
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Birth YearSourced to the subject's own account Death YearSourced to the subject's own account NationalitySourced to the subject's own account FAQs
Did al-Karaji work as an engineer as well as a mathematician?
He seems to have turned from mathematics to engineering topics such as drilling wells.
Yes. Al-Karaji lived in Baghdad for most of his life, and his chief mathematical works were written there. According to the MacTutor biography, he seems to have given up mathematics later and concentrated on engineering topics such as the drilling of wells.
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Source al-Karaji (Wikipedia)tier 3
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1. al-Karaji (Wikipedia)
Wikipedialead sentence, Wikipedia article "al-Karaji"
was a 10th-century Persian mathematician and engineer who flourished at Baghdad.
lead sentence, Wikipedia article "al-Karaji" (birth year, circa)
was a 10th-century Persian mathematician and engineer who flourished at Baghdad. He was born in Karaj, a city near Tehran.
lead sentence, Wikipedia article "al-Karaji" (death year, circa)
was a 10th-century Persian mathematician and engineer who flourished at Baghdad. He was born in Karaj, a city near Tehran.
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