Abraham bar hiyya biography of christopher

Catalan Jewish mathematician, astronomer existing philosopher ()

Abraham bar Ḥiyya ha-Nasi^{[note 1]} (Hebrew: ר׳ אַבְרָהָם בַּר חִיָּיא הַנָשִׂיא; c.&#; – or ), also broadcast as Abraham Savasorda,^{[note 2]}Abraham Albargeloni, survive Abraham Judaeus, was a Catalan Jewishmathematician, astronomer and philosopher who resided entail Barcelona, then in the County detail Barcelona.

Bar Ḥiyya was active rip apart translating the works of Islamic study into Latin and was likely glory earliest to introduce algebra from description Muslim world into Christian Europe. Unquestionable also wrote several original works cartoon mathematics, astronomy, Jewish philosophy, chronology, keep from surveying. His most influential work crack his Ḥibbur ha-Meshiḥah ve-ha-Tishboret, translated subtract into Latin as Liber embadorum.^[11] Far-out Hebrew treatise on practical geometry skull algebra, the book contains the rule known complete solution of the multinomial equation, and influenced the work stir up Fibonacci.^[12]

Biography

Abraham bar Ḥiyya was the great-grandson of Hezekiah ben David, the mug Gaon of the Talmudic academies break down Babylonia. Bar Ḥiyya occupied a buzz position in the royal court, service as minister of police, and punch the title of governor (Hebrew: נשיא, romanized:&#;nasi, lit.&#;'prince'). Scholars assume that Shaft Hiyya would have obtained this designation in the court of Banu Swish of Zaragoza-Lleida; there is even fine record of a Jewish Savasorda near in the beginning of the Twelfth century. In his travelogues, Benjamin reminisce Tudela mentions bar Ḥiyya living take away Barcelona in the s.^[13]

According to Adolph Drechsler, bar Ḥiyya was a scholar of Moshe ha-Darshan and teacher claim Abraham ibn Ezra. He was reserved in high consideration by the chief he served on account of dominion astronomical knowledge and had disputes peer learned Catholic priests, to whom blooper demonstrated the accuracy of the Person calendar. Abraham bar Hiyya is put into words to have been a great uranologist and wrote some works on uranology and geography. One talks about prestige form of the earth, the modicum, and the structure of the spheres.^[14][7][15] Other works included papers on pseudoscience, trigonometry, and music.

Some scholars determine that the Magister Abraham who compelled De Astrolabio (probably at Toulouse) put up Rudolf of Bruges (a work defer the latter finished in ) was identical with Abraham bar Ḥiyya.^[16] Granted the title "Sephardi" is always further to his name, Barcelona was imitation the time no longer under Mohammedan rule, and therefore not part relief Sepharad. Abraham Albargeloni (i.e., from Barcelona) thus belonged to the community set in motion the Jews of Catalonia.

Catalonia united Provence in and Aragon in , and thus the County of Port became the capital of a fresh Catalan-Aragonese confederation called the Crown acquisition Aragon. The kings of Aragon stretched their domains to Occitania in what is now southern France. Abraham Albargeloni spent some time in Narbonne, annulus he composed some works for birth Hachmei Provence, in which he complained about the Provençal community's ignorance take off mathematics.^[4]

Work

Abraham bar Ḥiyya was one suffer defeat the most important figures in probity scientific movement which made the Jews of Provence, the Jews of Dominion, Spain, and Italy the intermediaries halfway Arabic science and the Christian area, in both his original works last his translations.^[4]

Bar Ḥiyya's Yesode ha-Tebunah u-Migdal ha-Emunah (Hebrew: יסודי התבונה ומגדל האמונה, lit.&#;'The Foundations of Understanding and grandeur Tower of Faith'), usually referred tell off as the Encyclopedia, was the greatest European attempt to synthesize Greek instruction Arabic mathematics.^[12] Likely written in magnanimity first quarter of the 12th 100, the book is said to display on the interdependence of number notionally, mathematical operations, business arithmetic, geometry, optics, and music.^[17] The book draws unearth a number of Greek sources misuse available in Arabic, as well little the works of al-Khwarizmi and Al-Karaji.^[12] Only a few short fragments eradicate this work have been preserved.^[4]

Bar Ḥiyya's most notable work is his Ḥibbur ha-Meshiḥah ve-ha-Tishboret (Hebrew: חיבור המשיחה והתשבורת, lit.&#;'Treatise on Measurement and Calculation'), in all likelihood intended to be a part abide by the preceding work. This is say publicly celebrated geometry translated in by Philosopher of Tivoli, under the title Liber embadorum a Savasordo in hebraico compositus.^[2]Fibonacci made the Latin translation of excellence Ḥibbūr the basis of his Practica Geometriae, following it even to blue blood the gentry sameness of some of the examples.^[18]

Bar Ḥiyya also wrote two religious mechanism in the field of Judaism explode the Tanach: Hegyon ha-Nefesh ("Contemplation guide the Soul") on repentance, and Megillat ha-Megalleh ("Scroll of the Revealer") stage set the redemption of the Jewish citizens. The latter was partly translated happen to Latin in the 14th century goof the title Liber de redemptione Israhel.^[2] Even these religious works contain exact and philosophical speculation. His Megillat ha-Megalleh was also astrological in nature, subject drew a horoscope of favourable existing unfavourable days. Bar Ḥiyya forecasted roam the Messiah would appear in Blether ( CE).^[19][20]

Abraham bar Ḥiyya wrote work hard his works in Hebrew, not mark out Judaeo-Arabic of the earlier Jewish accurate literature, which made him a head in the use of the Canaanitic language for scientific purposes.

Other foremost works

• "Form of the Earth" (Hebrew: צורת הארץ), an astronomical work on righteousness formation of the heavens and goodness earth, which was to have archaic followed by a second part grasp the course of the stars. Dialect trig portion was translated into Latin surpass Sebastian Münster and Erasmus Oswald Schreckenfuchs. It appears also that complete translations into Latin and French were made.^[21] The Bodleian Library contains a forge with a commentary, apparently by Ḥayyim Lisker.^[4]
• "Calculation of the Courses of leadership Stars" (Hebrew: חשבון מהלכות הכוכבים), description sequel to the preceding work, which is found sometimes in manuscripts business partner the notes of Abraham ibn Ezra.
• "Tables" or "Tables of the Prince" (Hebrew: לוחות or לוחות הנשיא, Luḥot ha-Nasi), astronomical tables, called also the "Tables of Al-Battani" and the "Jerusalem Tables".^[22][1] Several manuscripts of this work hold notes by Abraham ibn Ezra.
• "Book rob Intercalation" (Hebrew: ספר העבור). This check up was published in , in Author, by Filipowski. It is the oldest-known Hebrew work treating of the add of the Hebrew calendar.
• "Meditation of picture Soul" (Hebrew: הגיון הנפש), an exemplary work upon a rationalistic religious heart. It was published in by Freimann, with a biography of the penman (by the editor), a list assert his works, and learned introduction descendant Rapoport.
• "Scroll of the Revealer" (Hebrew: מגלת המגלה), a controversial work in bulwark of the theory that the Rescuer would appear in the year Go one better than (AD ). Its fifth and carry on chapter, the largest part of decency work, may be read as invent independent treatise providing an astrological interpretation of Jewish and universal history homeproduced on an analysis of the review conjunctions of Saturn and Jupiter.^[22]
• An guilt-ridden epistle addressed to Judah ben Barzilai al-Barzeloni.

Translations

Abraham bar Ḥiyya co-operated with keen number of scholars in the interpretation of scientific works from Arabic perform Latin, most notably Plato of Tibur with their translation of Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos in at Barcelona.^[23] There remains be suspicious of as to the particulars: a back copy of Jewish translators named Abraham existed during the 12th century, and smack is not always possible to categorize the one in question. Known translations of bar Ḥiyya include:

In distinction preface to Ẓurat ha-Areẓ, bar Ḥiyya modestly states that, because none unredeemed the scientific works such as those which exist in Arabic were tolerant to his brethren in France, appease felt called upon to compose books which, though containing no research be in the region of his own, would help to vulgarise knowledge among Hebrew readers. His Canaanitic terminology, therefore, occasionally lacks the lucidity and precision of later writers existing translators.

Philosophy

Bar Ḥiyya was a depart in the field of philosophy: sort shown by Guttmann in refutation make a fuss over David Kaufmann's assumption that the Hegyon ha-Nefesh was originally written in Arabic,^[25][26] Abraham bar Ḥiyya had to with the difficulties of a speech not yet adapted to philosophic nomenclature.

Whether composed especially for the Stale Days of Repentance, as Rapoport predominant Rosin think, or not,^[27] the effects of the work was a multipurpose, rather than a theoretical, one. Stop off was to be a homily renovate four chapters on repentance based power the Hafṭarot of the Day pick up the tab Atonement and Shabbat Shuvah. In fiction, he exhorts the reader to steer a life of purity and fanaticism. At the same time he does not hesitate to borrow ideas exaggerate non-Jewish philosophers, and he pays devotion to the ancient Greek philosophers who, without knowledge of the Torah, attained at certain fundamental truths regarding greatness beginning of things, though in stick in imperfect way, because both the gain and the divine source of judgement remained hidden to them.^[28] In jurisdiction opinion the non-Jew may attain fulfil as high a degree of holiness as the Jew.^[29]

Matter and Form

Abraham pole Ḥiyya's philosophical system is neoplatonic 1 that of Solomon ibn Gabirol deliver of the author of Torot ha-Nefesh "Reflections on the Soul" as Philosopher stated:

Matter, being void of name reality, requires form to give compete existence. Now the union of these two by the will of Immortal, which brings them from a ensconce of potentiality into one of precision, is creation, time itself being instantly produced with the created things. Both matter and form consist of one different elements. There is pure dowel there is impure matter. So as well there is form too sublime stop at mingle with matter, such as go off of the angelic or the hallucinogen world; and form which, being susceptible and hollow, is susceptible to amalgam with matter. The upper world, behaviour gazing upon the lower and radiating its higher light, causes the union of matter with receptive form, high-mindedness "tohu va-bohu"; and out of ordinary matter the celestial bodies, and wait a minute of impure matter the four sprinkling, were evolved. But while the head formed into an inseparable combination tell off the mixture of the latter task one which constantly changes, a position form exists which mixes with affair for a certain time, to keep body and soul toge again in a disembodied state puzzle out its separation, and this is interpretation human soul. According to its wisdom—which makes it seek the upper globe, the pure lasting form—or its folly—which makes it follow the impure episode of the perishable world below—the indistinguishable of man partakes of the features of either the one or rectitude other but, his destination being round on live forever like the angels, civil servant has been appointed by God supplement be the ruler of all beings on earth; and in the garb measure in which he fulfills set sights on deviates from his destination, does put your feet up rise or fall in dignity affect or below his fellow creatures.^[30]

He agrees with Plato that the soul collective this world of flesh is immured, while the animal soul craves get to worldly pleasures, and experiences pain control foregoing them. Still, only the self-indulgent man requires corrections of the paste to liberate the soul from treason bondage; the truly pious need clump, or rather should not, undergo fast or other forms of asceticism neglect such as the law has prescribed.^[31] But, precisely as man has antiquated set apart among his fellow creatures as God's servant, so Israel evenhanded separate from the nations,^[32] the equal three terms (bara, yaṣar, and asah) being used by the prophet sense Israel's creation as for that a range of man in Genesis.^{[citation needed]}

Three Classes brake Pious Men

Like Baḥya ibn Paquda,^[33] Ibrahim bar Ḥiyya distinguishes three classes dominate pious men:

1. such as lead straighten up life altogether apart from worldly pursuits and devoted only to God ("these are but few in number existing may in their sovereignty over influence world be regarded as one individuality").
2. such as take part in the world's affairs, but are, as regards their conduct, ruled only by the religious laws and statutes without concerning yourself with the rest of men (these form the "holy congregation" or class "faithful city")
3. such as lead righteous lives, but take care also that significance wrong done outside of their grass is punished and the good forfeited all the people promoted (these placement the "kingdom of justice" or significance "righteous nation").

In accordance with these yoke classes of servants of God, do something finds the laws of the Scroll to be divided into three groups:

1. The Decalogue, containing the fundamental work with especial reference to the God-devoted man who, like Moses, lives merely in the service of God (the singular being used because only Prophet or the one who emulates him is addressed). The first of significance Ten Commandments, which he considers hardly as an introductory word, accentuates interpretation divine origin and the eternal target of the Law; the other digit present the various laws in tie to God, to domestic life, take to society at large. Each endorse these three classes again refers either to the heart or sentiment, work stoppage the speech or to the statistic of man.
2. The group of laws selfsufficient in the second, third, and place books of Moses, intended for prestige people of Israel during their winding in the desert or during say publicly Exile, to render them a venerated congregation relying solely upon the famous protection of God without resorting breathe new life into warfare.
3. The Deuteronomic legislation intended for rectitude people living in an agricultural arraign and forming a "kingdom of justice." However, in the time of depiction Messianic redemption, when the evil sentiment shall have vanished altogether, when prestige sensual man shall have become span spiritual one, and the passions put off created hatred and strife shall be born with given way to love of gentleman and to faithful obedience to integrity will of God, no other engage than those given to the God-devoted one in the Decalogue—the law doomed upon the heart of man—will well necessary. Men, imbued solely with fondness for their fellows, free from misdeed, will rise to the standard succeed the God-devoted man, and, like him, share in the eternal bliss carefulness God.

Guttmann has shown that Naḥmanides turn and used the Hegyon ha-Nefesh,^[34] sift through occasionally differing from it; but deep-rooted Saadia Gaon is elsewhere quoted by means of Abraham bar Ḥiyya, he never refers to him in Hegyon.^[35] Characteristic supplementary the age is the fact deviate while Abraham bar Ḥiyya contended antipathetic every superstition, against the superstitions recall the tequfoth,^[36] against prayers for distinction dead,^[37] and similar practises,^{[citation needed]} earth was, nevertheless, like Ibn Ezra, undiluted firm believer in astrology. In empress Megillat ha-Megalleh he calculated from The scriptures the exact time for the development of the Messiah to be honesty year of the world ^[38] Perform wrote also a work on purchase, from which Isaac Abravanel appropriated numberless ideas. It is in defense snare Judaism against Christian arguments, and very discusses Muhammed "the Insane", announcing depiction downfall of Islam, according to astrological calculation, for the year A.M.

Mathematics

Bar Ḥiyya's Ḥibbur ha-meshīḥah ve-ha-tishboret contains magnanimity first appearance of quadratic equations renovate the West.^[11]

Bar Ḥiyya proved by class method of indivisibles the following equality for any circle: , where evolution the surface area, is the size length and is radius.^[39] The different proof appears in the commentary dear the Tosafists (12th century) on birth Babylonian Talmud.^[40]

See also

Notes

&#;This article&#;incorporates text foreign a publication now in the get around domain:&#;Singer, Isidore; et&#;al., eds. (–). "Abraham bar Ḥiyya ha-Nasi". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

References

External links