Arabic+Mathematics+Heritage



The Baghdad scholars translated the works of the Greeks who loved mathematics and geometry, including Euclid's work on geometry. They borrowed from India a number system that had a zero and rewrote it as their own. They borrowed from the Babylonians whose number system was based on 60 (just like the minutes in an hour), and from the ancient Egyptians who had the math and geometry skills to build incredible pyramids. So from the beginning, "Arabic math" was a mixing of international knowledge. But the Muslims made additional contributions of their own, and through their study and written work, they preserved the knowledge of mathematics that otherwise might have been lost to the world. []