(XII-XIII) Astronomer, mathematician, geographer

Biography

There is no accurate data on the date of birth of Mahmud al-Chagmini, though it is known that he was born in Chagmin, close to the capital of Khorezm-shahs (governors of Khorezm) – the city of Gurganj. In literature the date of his death is mentioned as 1221. He got primary education in Khorezm and later moved to Samarkand intending to sharpen his knowledge, where he was able to learn sciences at the highest level.

Main Scientific Works

Al-Chagmini is the author of the manuscripts as listed below:

Muhallas fi al-hay’a («Brief Reference Book on Astronomy»)

Muntahab («Collection») – the manuscript comprises sections devoted to different scientific fields.

An makon tis’a fi riyoza («the place of number 9 in mathematics»).

Sharh asolib riyozi fi taqsim miros («Comments on Mathematical Ways of Dividing Legacy») – the both manuscripts describe the basis of mathematical research of the scientist in this specific field of knowledge and its application in practice, at dividing legacies in particular.

Contribution to the World Science

Chagmini as the greatest scholar of the scientific school of Khorezm after Beruni wrote down his own encyclopedia which has comprised all achievements of the period covering XII-XIII centuries. Having continued scientific traditions of Ahmad al-Farghoni and Beruni he gained universal recognition, in all sciences and in astronomy first. What he did was a comprehensive review into the scientific works of the scholars of the ancient Greece and the East, including the astronomers of the Central Asia in particular, as well as he reached new scientific findings in this particular field of science. Paying a lot of his attention to geodesy and geography Chagmini looked into the problems of many other fields of science and exposed them for a discussion with other burning philosophical problems of the time and expressed his own standpoint.

Research Centres of the medieval East introduced a new subject to review the comments of Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Husain Jurjandi (1339-1413) and Qazy-zade Rumi (end of XIV – beginning of XV centuries) on the manuscripts by Chagmini on astronomy, viz – on «Brief Reference Book on Astronomy», which contained data both on astronomy and geography.

World Recognition

Early information about Chagmini and his works was encountered in the manuscripts by famous scholars, who lived and worked after his death – Ali ibn Muhammad Jurjandi and Qazy-zade Rumi. Later the works and manuscripts written by Chagmini became the subject for a research for many scholars who looked into the history of science and culture of the medieval East.

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