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‘Omar al-Khayyam
‘Omar al-Khayyam (‘Umar Khayyam) (Omar Khayyám) (b, May 18, 1048, Neyshapur, Iran — d. 1131, Neyshapur, Iran).  Mathematician and astronomer.  He was also well known as a poet, philosopher, and physician.  In the History of Western Philosophy, Bertrand Russell remarks that Omar Khayyam was the only man known to him who was both a noted poet and a noted mathematician.  Omar Khayyam reformed the solar calendar in 1079; his work on algebra was highly valued throughout Europe during the Middle Ages; and, in the West, he is best known for his poetic work Rubaiyat which was translated by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859.  His full name was Ghiyath al-Din Abul Fateh Omar ibn Ibrahim al-Khayyam.

Omar Khayyam was born in 1044 at Nishapur, the provincial capital of Khurasan.  He is generally known as a Persian.  However, it has been suggested that his ancestors (from the Arab Khayyami tribe) migrated and settled in Persia.  Omar Khayyam was educated at Nishapur.  He also traveled to several reputed institutions of learning, including those at Bukhara, Balkh, Samarkand and Isfahan. His fame as a mathematician prompted the Seljuq Sultan Malik Shah and his vizier Nizam al-Mulk to invite him in 1074 to undertake astronomical research at a new observatory and to serve on a commission for calendar reform.  He lived in Nishapur and Samarkand (Central Asia) for most of his life.  Omar Khayyam was a contemporary of Nizam al-Mulk Tusi.  He died in 1123 in Nishapur.

‘Omar Khayyam was a famous Persian scientist and poet from Nishapur.  His name means “’Omar the Tentmaker.”  As astronomer to the royal court, he was engaged with several other scientists to reform the calendar; their work resulted in the adoption of a new era, called the Jalalian or the Seljuk.  As a writer on algebra, geometry, and related subjects, ‘Omar was one of the most notable mathematicians of his time.  He is, however, most famous as the author of the Ruba‘iyat.  About 1000 of these epigrammatic four-line stanzas, which reflect upon nature and humanity, are ascribed to him.

‘Omar’s ruba‘is (quatrains) were composed perhaps as the outlet for a pessimistic and cynical rationalism which ‘Omar’s strictly orthodox day it was not politic to teach openly. The English poet and translator Edward Fitzgerald was the first to introduce ‘Omar to the West through an 1859 version of 100 of the quatrains.  This version is a paraphrase, often very close, that despite its flowery rhymed verse captures the spirit of the original.

‘Omar Khayyam was appreciated by the Great Saljuq Malik-Shah I but Sanjar had a grudge against him.  He met Abut Hamid al-Ghazali.  As a scientist, he worked on the reform of the calendar and wrote on algebra and physics.  As a poet, he became very popular in the west after Edward FitzGerald (d.1883) published his free translation of the Quatrains.  Of the 1,000 quatrains originally attributed to him, 102 are considered authentic, the rest being added in the manuscripts over the course of time. 

Omar Khayyam was a great mathematician.  He made major contributions in mathematics, particularly in algebra.  His book Maqalat fi al-Jabr wa al-Muqabila, a treatise on algebra, provided great advancement in the field.  He classified many algebraic equations based on their complexity and recognized thirteen different forms of cubic equation.  Omar Khayyam developed a geometrical approach to solving equations, which involved an ingenious selection of proper comics.  He solved cubic equations by intersecting a parabola with a circle.  Omar Khayyam was the first to develop the binomial theorem and determine binomial coefficients.  He developed the binomial expansion for the case when the exponent is a positive integer.  Omar Khayyam refers in his algebra book to another work on what we now know as Pascal’s triangle.  This work is now lost. 

Al-Khayyam extended Euclid’s work giving a new definition of rations and included the multiplication of ratios.  He contributed to the theory of parallel lines.

Omar al-Khayyam is famous for another work which he contributed when he worked for the Seljuk Sultan, Malik Shah Jalal al-Din.  He was asked to develop an accurate solar calendar to be used for revenue collections and various administrative matters.  To accomplish this task, Omar Khayyam began his work at the new observatory at Ray in 1074.  His calendar Al-Tarikh al-Jalali is superior to the Gregorian calendar and is accurate to within one day in 3770 years.  Specifically, he measured the length of the year as 365.24219858156 days.  It shows that he recognized the importance of accuracy by giving his result to eleven decimal places.  As a comparison, the length of the year in the twentieth century was calculated at 365.242190 days.  This number changes slightly each century in the sixth decimal place, e.g., in the nineteenth century it was 365.242196 days.

Al-Khayyam contributed also to other fields of science.  He developed for accurate determination of the specific gravity.  He wrote two books in metaphysics, Risala Dar Wujud and Nauruz Namah.  As a poet, Omar Khayyam is well known for his Rubaiyat.  His themes involved complex mystical and philosophical thoughts. 

Omar al-Khayyam’s ten books and thirty monographs have survived.  These include four books on mathematics, one on algebra, one on geometry, three on physics, and three books on metaphysics.  He made great contributions in the development of mathematics and analytical geometry, which benefited Europe several centuries later.


Khayyam, 'Omar al- see ‘Omar al-Khayyam
'Umar Khayyam see ‘Omar al-Khayyam
Khayyam, 'Umar see ‘Omar al-Khayyam
Omar Khayyam see ‘Omar al-Khayyam
Khayyam, Omar see ‘Omar al-Khayyam
Omar the Tentmaker see ‘Omar al-Khayyam