Al-Farabi
c. 872 – 950 · 78 years · Baghdad · Middle East
Joined the philosophy of Aristotle and Plato with Islamic thought; his Virtuous City describes an ideal state led by a philosopher-ruler. He was called the "Second Teacher", after Aristotle.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 9th century
Portrait: Iraninhk · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Contemporaries around the world
Europe
- Æthelstan — first king of all England, victor at Brunanburh, 22 years younger
- Otto the Great — founder of the Holy Roman Empire who crushed the Magyars at the Lech, 40 years younger
- Alfred the Great — King of Wessex who held off the Vikings, 23 years older
- Hugh Capet — founder of the Capetian dynasty, 68 years younger
- Edward the Elder — Alfred's son who won back East Anglia and Mercia from the Danes, 2 years younger
Eastern Europe & Russia
- Igor of Kiev — prince of Kiev killed by the Drevlians over a second tribute, 6 years younger
- Oleg the Wise — prince who united Novgorod and Kiev and campaigned against Constantinople, 27 years older
- Olga of Kiev — grand princess of Kiev, 48 years younger
Middle East
- Ferdowsi — Persian poet, 68 years younger
The world in their lifetime
- 882 Oleg takes Kiev — aged 10, Eastern Europe & Russia
- c. 895 Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin — aged 23, Eastern Europe & Russia
- c. 900 The bronzes of Igbo-Ukwu — aged 28, Africa
- c. 900 Rise of Chichen Itza — aged 28, Americas
- 909 Proclamation of the Fatimid Caliphate — aged 37, Africa
- 938 Battle of Bạch Đằng — aged 66, Asia
- c. 939 Eldgjá eruption — aged 67, Europe
- 946 Millennium Eruption of Mount Paektu — aged 74, Asia
- c. 950–1250 Medieval Warm Period — aged 78, Americas