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The Greek mathematician Diophantos of Alexandria lived during the third century CE. Apart from his age (he reached eighty-four), very little else is known about his life. Even the exact form of his name is uncertain, and only a few incomplete manuscripts of his greatest work, Arithmetica, have survived. In this impressive scholarly investigation, first published in 1885, Thomas Little Heath (1861-1940) meticulously presents what can be gleaned from Greek, Latin and Arabic sources, and guides the reader through the algebraist's idiosyncratic style of mathematics, discussing his notation and originality. This was the first thorough survey of Diophantos' work to appear in English. Also reissued in this series are Heath's two-volume History of Greek Mathematics, his treatment of Greek astronomy through the work of Aristarchus of Samos, and his edition in modern notation of the Treatise on Conic Sections by Apollonius of Perga.

Mathematics, Greek. --- Diophantus, --- Greek mathematics --- Geometry --- Alexandria, Diophantus of --- Diofant, --- Diophante, --- Diophantos, --- Diyūfanṭus, --- Διοφαντός, --- Diophantes Alexandrinus --- Diophantus --- Diophantos van Alexandrië

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Until recently, only six of thirteen books comprising Diophantus' Arithmetica were known to us. Four other books in an Arabic translation have been discovered recently. We can now understand the organization of this work and its long-lasting impact on mathematics. The present book offers the first historical and mathematical study of the work as it has survived in ten books.

Diophante, --- Mathematics, Ancient --- Mathematics, Greek --- Greek mathematics --- Geometry --- Ancient mathematics --- Diophantus, --- Alexandria, Diophantus of --- Diofant, --- Diophantos, --- Diyūfanṭus, --- Διοφαντός, --- Mathematics, Greek. --- Diophante --- Diophantes Alexandrinus --- Diophantus --- Diophantos van Alexandrië --- Ancient arithmetics. --- Diophantus of Alexandria. --- diophantine analysis. --- history of mathematics.

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In this book the author presents a comprehensive study of Diophantos’ monumental work known as Arithmetika, a highly acclaimed and unique set of books within the known Greek mathematical corpus. Its author, Diophantos, is an enigmatic figure of whom we know virtually nothing. Starting with Egyptian, Babylonian and early Greek mathematics the author paints a picture of the sources the Arithmetika may have had. Life in Alexandria, where Diophantos lived, is described and, on the basis of the limited available evidence, his biography is outlined. Of Arithmetika’s 13 books only 6 survive in Greek. It was not until 1971 that these were complemented by the discovery of 4 other books in an Arab translation. This allows the author to describe the structure, the contents and the mathematics of the Arithmetika in detail. Furthermore it is shown that Diophantos had a remarkable skill to solve higher degree equations. In the second part, the author draws our attention to the survival of Diophantos’ work in both Arab and European mathematical cultures. Once Xylander’s critical 1575 edition reached its European public, the fame of the Arithmetika grew. It was studied, translated and modified by such authors as Bombelli, Stevin and Viète. It reached its pinnacle of fame in 1621 with the publication of Bachet’s translation into Latin. The marginal notes by Fermat in his copy of Diophantos, including his famous “Last Theorem”, were the starting point of a whole new research subject: the theory of numbers.

Arithmetic. --- Diophantus, -- of Alexandria. -- Arithmetica. --- Diophantus, of Alexandria. --- Mathematics, Greek. --- Mathematics. --- Arithmetic --- Mathematics --- Physical Sciences & Mathematics --- Mathematics - General --- History --- Diophantus, --- Greek mathematics --- Alexandria, Diophantus of --- Diofant, --- Diophante, --- Diophantos, --- Diyūfanṭus, --- Διοφαντός, --- History. --- History of Mathematical Sciences. --- Geometry --- Annals --- Auxiliary sciences of history --- Math --- Science --- Influence. --- Diophantes Alexandrinus --- Diophantus --- Diophantos van Alexandrië