Mathematics in Medieval Islamic Spain

Abstract

From the seventh to the eleventh century, a large part of present-day Spain and Portugal belonged to the Islamic world. I will use the term “Islamic Spain” to indicate the part of the Iberian peninsula that was under Muslim rule. The term Islamic Spain is not strictly correct, because Spain did not exist in the early Middle Ages, but the important medieval scientific centers (Cordoba, Zaragoza, Toledo) are all in present-day Spain. Until recently the general view has been that Islamic Spain was important in the history of mathematics only because of its role in the transmission of mathematics from Arabic to Latin. In the last 15 years this view has changed as a result of the investigation of unpublished manuscript sources. We now know that there were creative mathematicians in Islamic Spain in the eleventh century. In this paper I will try to give you an impression of their work. No previous acquaintance with the history of mathematics will be assumed, and I will begin with some general remarks on the historical context.