Al-Bīrūnī (In Our Time, 10/6/10)
*** Discussion on the
Central Asian polymath al-Biruni and his eleventh-century book the
India.Born in around 973 in the central
Asian region of
Chorasmia, al-Biruni became an itinerant scholar of immense learning, a master of mathematics, medicine, astronomy and many languages. He corresponded with the age's greatest scientist,
Avicenna, and made significant contributions to many fields of knowledge.In 1017 al-Biruni became a member of the court of the ruler
Mahmud of Ghazna. Over the course of the next thirteen years he wrote the
India, a comprehensive account of
Hindu culture which was the first book about India by a Muslim scholar. It contains detailed information about
Hindu religion, science and everyday life which have caused some to call it the first work of anthropology. ***
GUE...