Al-Biruni's Kitab al-Hind: a comparative study of India
Kitab al-Hind de al-Biruni: estudio comparado de la India
- Date
- c. 1030 · confidence medium
- Place
- Ghazni, Afghanistan
- Credited to
- Al-Biruni (a native of Kath, Khwarazm)
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
A work by al-Biruni, after learning Sanskrit and travelling northern India with Mahmud of Ghazni's army, on Hindu sciences, religion, customs and geography, compared with Greek ideas. It is regarded as a forerunner of comparative ethnography.
Completed c. 1030 in Ghazni. Regarding al-Biruni as the first anthropologist is a modern assessment and not a strict priority.
What it led to
- a method of comparing sources and distinguishing first-hand from second-hand accounts
- translation of Indian astronomical and mathematical texts into Arabic
- a cultural bridge between the Islamic world and India