The mathematical treatises known as Ta?r?r al-mutawassi??t, “Revision of the Middle books”, are a collection of Greek and Arabic treatises which were re-edited by Na??r al-D?n al-??s?. This paper explores the nature of the editorial work ??s? did, showing that it is not a simple rendering of the original text but that it involves major revisions and in fact original additions. For the first time, a collated version of ??s?’s revision on the treatise on the measurement of the circle (by Archimedes) is provided. A translation of the Arabic text is put side by side with a rendition of the treatise as it was circulated before ??s?’s time. An in-depth analysis of the text elucidates the nature of ??s?’s contributions to the text. This article also provides modest corrections to earlier studies by W. R. Knorr and P. Luckey.
van Lit, L. (2011). Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s Version of The Measurement of the Circle
of Archimedes from his Revision of the Middle Books. Journal for the History of Science, 9(1), 1-42.
MLA
L.W.C van Lit. "Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s Version of The Measurement of the Circle
of Archimedes from his Revision of the Middle Books", Journal for the History of Science, 9, 1, 2011, 1-42.
HARVARD
van Lit, L. (2011). 'Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s Version of The Measurement of the Circle
of Archimedes from his Revision of the Middle Books', Journal for the History of Science, 9(1), pp. 1-42.
VANCOUVER
van Lit, L. Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s Version of The Measurement of the Circle
of Archimedes from his Revision of the Middle Books. Journal for the History of Science, 2011; 9(1): 1-42.
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