Ananiia Shirakatsi

Ananiia Shirakatsi 

Armenian philosopher, mathematician, cosmographer, and geographer of the mid-seventh century. He traveled throughout the countries of the East and studied at Trebizond. After returning to his home, he devoted himself to science. The ancient materialist doctrine of the four elements lay at the basis of Ananiia Shirakatsi’s understanding of nature. He was the author of works on mathematics, cosmography, and geography. His textbook on arithmetic (Questions and Answers . . . 1918; published in Russian with an introduction by Academician I. A. Orbeli), which includes materials on the art of computation in tabular form, is one of the most ancient works on arithmetic to be handed down to us. The natural science views of Ananiia Shirakatsi played a major role in the history of Armenian culture.

REFERENCE

Chaloian, V. K. “Estestvenno-nauchnye vozzreniia Ananiia Shirakatsi.” Vizantiiskii vremennik, vol. 12. Moscow, 1957.