The River of Euclidean Geometry
Why did one language of proof keep returning in new languages and schools?
Euclid's Elements traveling from Hellenistic Alexandria via Arabic translation through Baghdad and Toledo to medieval European universities.
Read the current
What changed between the cities?
- 1
340 BCE–300 BCE
scholars and schools
AthensAlexandriaGeometry from Athens to Alexandria
The geometry of Plato and Eudoxus culminated in Euclid’s Elements at Alexandria.
The thirteen books of the ElementsPlace this segment on the map - 2
800–900
translation
AlexandriaBaghdadElements Translated to Arabic
Translations at Baghdad’s House of Wisdom made the Elements a standard text of Islamic geometry.
Arabic translations of the Elements by al-Hajjaj and Ishaq ibn HunaynPlace this segment on the map - 3
1120–1180
translation
BaghdadToledoElements Translated to Latin
Arabic versions of the Elements were translated into Latin at Toledo and became standard geometry texts in European universities.
Latin translations by Adelard of Bath and Gerard of CremonaPlace this segment on the map - 4
1200–1500
scholars and schools
ToledoOxfordInto European Universities
The Elements became a quadrivium textbook at Oxford, Paris, and other European universities.
Adoption as a university textbookPlace this segment on the map
How to read the lines
Each line is an editorial route through problems, texts, and practices. It does not imply one book moving in a straight line, a sole invention, or identical adoption everywhere.