In 1983, the 1,200th anniversary of the death of Abu Abd Allah Mohammad ibn Musa al-Khwarazmi was celebrated in recognition of his profound impact on the history of human civilization.

Among his best-known achievements were major developments in the fields of arithmetic and algebra. Through his works the Indian decimal system was eventually transmitted to Europe. And the name “algebra” itself comes from the title of one of his books, Al-Jabr wa'l -muqābalah.

Besides his unparalleled contributions in the field of mathematics, al-Khwarazmi's life and works provide us with a broader insight into the aspects of the formation and progress of human civilization. The history of human civilization is marked by migratory processes, by the movements of peoples and ideas from region to region. For historical reasons, centers of civilization arose, flourished, and declined in various parts of the world; but although those centers themselves disappeared, their achievements did not. Instead, these contributions to human knowledge were adopted and developed in new centers under new conditions.