Omar Khayyam and al-Jazari: Mathematics, Poetry, and the Machines That Preceded Modern Engineering
Omar Khayyam solved cubic equations and reformed the solar calendar with a precision not surpassed until the 20th century. Al-Jazari built programmable machines, water clocks, and mechanical devices described in a 13th-century book that is considered the foundation of mechanical engineering.
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Omar Khayyam: Mathematician and Poet
Ghiyath al-Din Abu al-Fath Umar ibn Ibrahim al-Khayyam (1048–1131 CE) was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet. In the West he is known primarily for his poetry, the Rubaiyat, translated by Edward FitzGerald in 1859. His scientific contributions are less well known but equally significant.
Cubic equations: Khayyam was the first to provide a systematic geometric method for solving all types of cubic equations, a problem that had not been solved before him. His Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra classified cubic equations by type and solved each using intersections of conic sections.
The solar calendar: Khayyam led the astronomical observations that produced the Jalali calendar, commissioned by the Seljuk Sultan Malik Shah in 1079. The Jalali calendar has a precision of one day in 3,770 years, more accurate than the Gregorian calendar, which has an error of one day in 3,330 years. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582, 500 years after Khayyam's calendar.
The binomial theorem: Khayyam described the binomial theorem and Pascal's triangle centuries before Pascal, who is credited with the discovery in European mathematics.
Al-Jazari: The Father of Robotics and Mechanical Engineering
Badi al-Zaman Abu al-Izz ibn Ismail ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari (1136–1206 CE) was a Kurdish mechanical engineer who worked for the Artuqid dynasty in Diyarbakır. His Kitab fi Marifat al-Hiyal al-Handasiyya (The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, 1206 CE) is one of the most important engineering texts in history.
Al-Jazari's machines include:
- Programmable automata: He built hand-washing automata, a boat with four mechanical musicians, and other programmable mechanical figures: the earliest documented programmable machines in history.
- Water clocks: His elephant clock and other water-driven clocks incorporated feedback mechanisms for maintaining accurate timekeeping: the same engineering principle as the thermostat.
- The crankshaft: Al-Jazari invented the crankshaft: the device that converts rotary motion to linear motion and is fundamental to the internal combustion engine. This was not known in Europe until centuries later.
- The camshaft: He described and used the camshaft: another foundational mechanical component.
- Pumps: He developed several water-raising devices including the double-action pump with suction pipes.
The crankshaft and camshaft are among the most important mechanical innovations in human history. Both are in modern internal combustion engines. Both were invented by a Muslim engineer in 12th-century Diyarbakır.
Common Misconceptions
"Pascal invented Pascal's triangle." Omar Khayyam described it centuries earlier. It is called Pascal's triangle because Pascal worked with it in a European context, the prior Islamic description is acknowledged in specialist mathematics history but not in general education.
"The Gregorian calendar is the most accurate pre-modern solar calendar." The Jalali calendar, developed by Khayyam in 1079, is more accurate than the Gregorian calendar introduced five centuries later.
Scholar References
- Omar Khayyam, Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra
- Al-Jazari, Kitab fi Marifat al-Hiyal al-Handasiyya (1206 CE)
- History of the Jalali calendar: standard astronomical references
- Islamic Golden Age: Wikipedia, on al-Jazari's mechanical contributions