Omar Khayyam

Persian mathematician-astronomer whose quatrains and scientific breakthroughs bridged art and rationality

Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), born in Nishapur, revolutionized mathematics with his Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra, which classified cubic equations geometrically—a feat unmatched until the 16th century. As head astronomer under Sultan Malik-Shah, he reformed the Jalali calendar, achieving near-perfect solar year accuracy.

Paradoxically, Khayyam's Rubaiyat, popularized by Edward FitzGerald's 1859 translation, obscured his scientific genius. His poetry’s existential themes—questioning dogma and embracing uncertainty—clashed with orthodox Islam. Modern scholars recognize him as a polymath who harmonized empirical inquiry with lyrical philosophy, centuries before the European Enlightenment.