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Al-Biruni
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Al-Biruni worked at the Ghazni court in what is now Afghanistan, producing more than a hundred works across astronomy, mathematics, geography, geology and comparative religion. He calculated the radius of the Earth to within about one percent of its modern value using the angle of dip to the horizon measured from a mountain of known height, a method requiring only trigonometry and one careful observation rather than an expedition. He also wrote one of the first systematic comparative studies of religion, describing Indian belief and practice from direct study of Sanskrit texts rather than secondhand report.
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Birth YearSourced to the subject's own account FieldSourced to the subject's own accountAstronomy, mathematics and geodesy 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Divinity Atlas: Al-Biruni, the same subject.
Sources
1. Al-Biruni (Wikipedia)
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Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni, known as al-Biruni (c. 973 – c. 1050) was a Khwarazmian Iranic scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age.
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