[svcw]

Nestorian Christians, would you expand?
We have a family friend who refers to himself as Aserian Christian, and he really gets up set about these claims.
He says they developed the concept of zero, which without there would be no math and all that followed.
So I am unclear as to whether he is correct or not.
But either because I just had a gin and tonic, I don’t remember or went swimming that day so I just do not recall Nestorian Christians.

[Girlene]

I did not know about this group under Muslim control. Interesting...thanks Rolf. Nestoria Christians

.............."Christians especially Nestorian contributed hugely to the Arab Islamic Civilization during the Ummayads and the Abbasids by translating works of Greek philosophers to Syriac and afterwards to Arabic.[20] They also excelled in philosophy, science ( such as Hunayn ibn Ishaq, Qusta ibn Luqa, Masawaiyh, Patriarch Eutychius, Jabril ibn Bukhtishu etc) and theology ( such as Tatian, Bar Daisan, Babai the Great, Nestorius, Toma bar Yacoub etc.) and the personal physicians of the Abbasid Caliphs were often Assyrian Christians such as the long serving Bukhtishu dynasty "..................

[ROLF of the HILL COUNTRY]

I tried to find a good, easy to quote, source to tell you more; I couldn't do it. The development of algebra, contrary to my earlier assertion, was not invented by any one person or group, but occurred over several centuries predating izlam.

The Hindus invented the numeral system; the Babylonians and others had invented the decimal system; the Greeks came up with what we would call algebraic equations for solving complex arithmetic problems, (but didn't they didn't call it that); the Nestorians translated much of the Greek works into arabic; etc.
The only thing I can tell you about true muslim involvement in math is: they coined the name for this branch of math “Algebra”, and one of their ilk experimented with making it a purely hypothetical exercise, as opposed to actual problem-solving.

[fishtank]

Please do a websearch on Nestorians.