Every computer program operates on the basis of an “algorithm.” The word derives from the name of the Khwarazmian scholar, while “algebra” comes from the title of his book.

In the 9th century, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi worked at the scientific center known as the Bayt al-Hikma (“House of Wisdom”) in Baghdad. There, he studied algebra, geometry, and astronomy, as well as Greek and Indian scientific manuscripts.

Around the 820s–830s, he wrote “Al-Kitab al-Mukhtasar fi Hisab al-Jabr wal-Muqabala” (“The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing”). It is one of the earliest known Arabic treatises on algebra devoted to solving equations. The word “al-jabr” in the book’s title eventually gave rise to the term “algebra” through Latin translations.

Al-Khwarizmi’s work on arithmetic was translated into Latin under the title “Algoritmi de numero Indorum.” The word “Algoritmi” in the title is the Latinized form of the scholar’s name, from which the word “algorithm” originated. Through this work, Europe became acquainted with the decimal positional numeral system.

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