Al-Bīrūnī

Al-Bīrūnī
An imaginary rendition of Al Biruni on a 1973 Soviet post stamp
Native name	Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Birunī
Born	4/5 September 973 Kath, Khwarezm, Samanid Empire (modern-day Uzbekistan)
Died	13 December 1048(1048-12-13) (aged 75) Ghazni, Ghaznavid Empire (modern-day Afghanistan)
Residence	Khwarezm, Central Asia Ziyarid dynasty (Rey) Ghaznavid dynasty (Ghazni)
Academic background
Influences	Muhammad, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, Abū Ḥanīfa Dīnawarī, Rhazes, al-Sijzi, Iranshahri, Abu Nasr Mansur, Avicenna, al-Battani, Al-Tamimi
Academic work
Era	Islamic Golden Age
Main interests	Geology, physics, anthropology, comparative sociology, astronomy, astrology, chemistry, history, geography, mathematics, medicine, psychology, philosophy, theology
Notable works	The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries, Gems, Indica, The Mas'udi Canon, Understanding Astrology
Notable ideas	Founder of Indology, geodesy
Influenced	Al-Sijzi, Avicenna, Omar Khayyam, al-Khazini, Zakariya al-Qazwini, Maragha observatory, Islamic science, Islamic philosophy

Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Bīrūnī (Chorasmian/Persian: ابوریحان بیرونی‎‎ Abū Rayḥān Bērōnī;New Persian: Abū Rayḥān Bīrūnī) (4/5 September 973 – 13 December 1048), known as Al-Biruni (Arabic: البيروني‎‎) in English, was a Khwarezmian Iranian scholar and polymath.

Al-Biruni is regarded as one of the greatest scholars of the medieval Islamic era and was well versed in physics, mathematics, astronomy, and natural sciences, and also distinguished himself as a historian, chronologist and linguist. He studied almost all fields of science and was compensated for his research and strenuous work. Royalty and powerful members of society sought out Al-Biruni to conduct research and study in order to uncover certain findings. He lived during the Islamic Golden Age, in which scholarly thought went hand in hand with the thinking and methodology of the Islamic religion. In addition to this type of influence, Al-Biruni was also influenced by other nations, such as the Greek, who he took inspiration from when he turned to studies of philosophy. He was conversant in Khwarezmian, Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, and also knew Greek, Hebrew and Syriac. He spent a large part of his life in Ghazni in modern-day Afghanistan, capital of the Ghaznavid dynasty which was based in what is now central-eastern Afghanistan. In 1017 he traveled to the Indian subcontinent and authored Tarikh Al-Hind (History of India) after exploring the Hindu faith practised in India. He was given the title "founder of Indology". He was an impartial writer on customs and creeds of various nations, and was given the title al-Ustadh ("The Master") for his remarkable description of early 11th-century India. He also made contributions to Earth sciences, and is regarded as the "father of geodesy" for his important contributions to that field, along with his significant contributions to geography.