Brahmagupta, 7th century Indian astronomer and mathematician

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Brahmagupta is one of the most famous of the ancient Indian astronomers and mathematicians. He wrote his masterpiece Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta (“Correctly Established Doctrine of Brahma”) in 628 AD.

It was translated into Arabic in Baghdad about 771 and it became famous in the Arabic world as Sindhind. 

One of the most popular estimates of the size of the Earth was made by Brahmagupta who calculated that it has a circumference as 5000 yojanas. His yojana is equal to about 4.5 miles (7.2 km.). It was Brahmagupta who used zero as number for the first time. 


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