al-Biruni (Dictionary of World Biography: The Middle Ages)
Early Life
Abu al-Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni was of Iranian descent and spent most of his childhood and young adult years in his homeland of Khwarezm, south of the Aral Sea. (His sobriquet derives from birun— “suburb”—in reference to his birth in an outlying neighborhood of Khiva.) Little is known of al-Biruni’s childhood except for the important matter of his education, which was directed by the best local mathematicians and other scholars; his exceptional intellectual powers must have become apparent very early. Al-Biruni’s religious background...
[The entire page is 1929 words long]
- Add al-Biruni to your favorites