The development of the Soviet school of the history of Arabic mathematical science: From the 1940s through the 1960s
Before the mid-20th century, the main line of research in the Russian / Soviet orientalstudies was the studies of geographical, historical and philological works of themedieval Arabo-Islamic authors. With rare exceptions (B. A. Dorn's works devoted toastrolabes stored in the Russian museums (1838, 1842, 1844, 1865), N. V. Khanykov'sstudy of “The Book of the Balance of Wisdom” by al-Khazini (1859), V. V. Bartoldwork on Ulugh Beg (1918), the works devoted to physical and mathematical literaturewere very few. The paper by A. P. Yushkevich titled “Omar Khayyam and his‘Algebra'” published in Issue 2 of “Proceedings of the Institute for the History ofNatural Sciences” (Trudy Instituta istorii estestvoznaniia) in 1948 laid the foundationfor the new line of research in the Russian history of mathematics that eventually ledto the formation of the Soviet school of the history of physical and mathematicalsciences in the countries of the Medieval Middle East. Translations and studies of theArabic written scientific heritage began to appear in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistanapproximately at the same time. The collaboration with Yushkevich and the historiansof mathematics and astronomy from Baku determined B. A. Rozenfeld's researchinterests in the history of science (the first work on this topic was published in 1951).It is Yushkevich and Rozenfeld, the foremost historians of mathematics in the 20thcentury, to whom the Soviet school of the history of mathematical sciences in themedieval Middle East owes its emergence and development. The paper describes thehistory of creation of this scientific school and the biggest accomplishments of Soviethistorians of Arabic mathematical science during a little over the first two decades ofits existence.