TRACT 33.

HISTORY OP ALGEBRA.

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Several specimens of sugh works have been seen in thatcountry, both in the native language and in Persian trans-lations. Some of the latter are also now in the hands of S.Davis, Esq. of Hill-street, one of the Directors of the East-India Company, with a partial translation into English ; andsimilar translations of some others have been sent to Eng-land by Mr. Edward Strachey, before-mentioned. As I havebeen favoured with the perusal of these, I am enabled togive some account of them.

The first of these communications, by Mr. Strachey, ofthe Bengal civil establishment, is a printed account of someobservations on the originality, extent, and importance, ofthe mathematical science of the Hindoos ; with extracts fromPersian translations of the Leelawuttee and the Beej Gun-nit; or the Beja Ganita, as it is written by Mr. Davis.These two works, Mr. Strachey informs us, were both writ-ten by Bhasker Acharij, a famous Hindoo mathematicianand astronomer, who lived about the beginning of the 13thcentury of the Christian era; the latter of these two trea-tises being on algebra, with some of its applications; andthe former on arithmetic, and algebra, and mensuration orpractical geometry. The Beej Gunnit was translated intoPersian in 1634, by Utta Ulla Rusheedee, at Agra or Dehliprobably; and the Leelawuttee in 1587, by the celebratedFyzee.

It is well known, Mr. Strachey says, that the only Per-sian science is Arabian, and that the Arabs had much oftheir mathematical knowledge from the Greeks; it is cer-tain, however, that they had their arithmetic from the In-dians, and most likely their algebra was drawn from thesame source; but the time, and other circumstances re-specting the introduction of these sciences among theArabs, is unknown. It appears, however, that the first ac-count of any Indian mathematical science among the Arabs,was of their astronomy, which was known in the reign ofA1 Mamoon. In later times, many Mahommedans have hadaccess to the Hindoo books: accounts of several are in the