Brahmagupta and the rules of zero
Zero becomes a number, the root of modern arithmetic
The Indian mathematician Brahmagupta, in his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, first set out rules for calculating with zero and negative numbers. The Indian decimal place-value system with zero passed through the Arabs to Europe and underpins modern arithmetic.
Wikipedia (English) · 7th century
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Middle East
- 622 Hijra: Muhammad's migration to Medina — 6 years earlier
- 636 Battle of the Yarmuk — 8 years later
Africa
- 652 The Baqt treaty with Nubia — 24 years later
Alive at the time
- Muhammad (aged 58)
- Ali ibn Abi Talib (aged 28)
- Pakal the Great (aged 25)
- Wu Zetian (aged 4)
- Emperor Taizong of Tang (aged 30)
- Xuanzang (aged 26)