Claudius Ptolemy was born around 100 AD., probably in Alexandria but possibly in Hermiou in Upper Egypt. He was a mathematician, astronomer and geographer.
Ptolemy lived during a stable period of internal tranquility and good government, and his main work appears to have been done during the reign of the Emperor Titus Antonius Pius, which lasted from 138 to 161 AD.
Before his death in the late 170’s he had written a wide variety of works that included four major compendia: the Syntaxis Mathematike, the Geography, the Tetrabiblos and the Optics.
The Optics was probably written in the later years of his life. Translated into Arabic by the early tenth century at latest, this work has left no trace in either Greek or Arabic.
He presented his picture of the universe in his book Syntaxis Mathematike, in which he summed up ancient Greek thinking about the movements of the heavens. The book of Syntaxis Mathematike, is now almost universally known by the name ‘Almagest’ after the Arabic translation.
The earth according to Ptolemy was a sphere located at the centre of the universe.
The Almagest holds a prominent place in the history of mathematics and astronomy and was used as a primary resource for many hundreds of years.
Who is Claudius Ptolemy?
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