Jacques Sesiano, An Ancient Greek Treatise on Magic Squares

Abstract

The two earliest Arabic treatises explaining the construction of magic squares date from the 10th century ad. One is found in the Commentary on the Arithmetical [Introduction] (Kitāb tafsīr al-Arithmāṭīqī) by ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Anṭākī (d. 376 H/ad 987). Only book 3 of the original three books is extant, and that in a single manuscript. This book is divided into three chapters: the first is a collection of arithmetical definitions, statements of propositions, and identities assembled from Greek and Arabic sources; the second is on magic squares; and the third deals with “hidden numbers”, in which a person thinks of a number and another discovers it after operations are performed on it. Curiously, none of these chapters have anything to do with Nicomachus’ Arithmetical Introduction, on which the book is supposed to be a commentary. Reviewed by: Jeffrey A. Oaks Published Online (2022-07-31)Copyright © 2022 by Jeffrey A. Oaks Article PDF Link: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/aestimatio/article/view/39089/29778 Corresponding Author: Jeffrey A. Oaks,University of IndianapolisE-Mail: oaks@uindy.edu