Al-Khwarizmi's "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing" is a foundational mathematical treatise. This work introduced systematic solutions for linear and quadratic equations, significantly influencing the development of algebra.
Continue through this collection
Reader guide
Written around 820 CE, Al-Khwarizmi’s treatise gives systematic procedures for solving linear and quadratic equations through operations translated as completion and balancing.
Why it matters
By separating recurring linear and quadratic cases and solving them through fully verbal steps, the treatise makes equation-solving systematic without relying on modern symbols.
What you will find
Worked verbal procedures and practical problems rather than modern symbolic notation.
Available edition: Read F. Rosen’s 1831 English translation in the Internet Archive.