Al-Tusi’s Euclid: The Foundation of Mathematical Tradition

Tusi, Nasir al-Din al-. Tahrir kitab usul al-Handasah li-Uqlidis [The Recension of Euclid's Elements].

€ 8,500.00

Al-Tusi's great "Recension of Euclid's Elements" is based on the ninth-century Arabic translations of Euclid's "Elements of Geometry" by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf and Thabit ibn Qurra. The commentary is considered one of the most important scientific treatises in the Arabic language and was honoured by Western scholarship with the first printed Arabic edition, published under the patronage of the Medicis in Rome in 1594 and hailed as the "oldest mathematical textbook in the world still in common use today" (PMM).

The distinguished Persian polymath Nasir al-Din Muhamad ibn Muhamad ibn al-Hasan at-Tusi (1201-74), posthumously honored as Al Mu'allim Al Thalith (the third teacher), is known for his extensive work across various intellectual domains, including theology, mysticism, logic, and mathematics. He is often credited with the invention and identification of trigonometry as an independent division of mathematics, and the lunar crater "Nasireddin" is named after him. In addition, al-Tusi produced recensions and commentaries on works by Autolycos, Aristarchus, Apollonius, Archimedes, Hypsicles, Theodosius, and Menelaus, often (as in this case) surpassing the original texts in popularity.

The manuscript includes an ownership inscription belonging to Ziya al Din al-Durri al Isfahani, marking the book's title as "Euclid", dated 1347 H (1928/29 CE).