The Mathematician who Challenged Rome
The Mathematician who Challenged Rome

Author: Francesco Grasso

Publisher: Babelcube Inc.

Published: 2019-01-31

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1547568704

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The story of the long battle between Rome and Carthage (264 - 146 BCE) tends to neglect the role of a third city, a city that was at least as prosperous as Rome, and was possibly even superior in its heritage and culture. It was Syracuse, the pearl of Magna Graecia, a beacon of civilisation and military power that found itself - unfortunately for her - an ally of Hannibal at the wrong time. A course of action that Rome never forgave. Despite being overpowered by her enemy in terms of men and arms, Syracuse resisted the siege of the Roman fleet and legions for two years, from 214 to 212 BCE, thanks largely to the remarkable inventions of Archimedes, one of the most brilliant scientists of all time. If misfortune (and the Syracusans themselves) had not prevented Archimedes from taking full advantage of his brilliant inventions, that long siege might have had a different outcome. This novel recounts the world of the eminent mathematician, and describes his fascinating discoveries and how they were deployed during the historic face off.

Roman Warfare
Roman Warfare

Author: Adrian Goldsworthy

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2019-05-07

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 154169922X

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From an award-winning historian of ancient Rome, a concise and comprehensive history of the fighting forces that created the Roman Empire Roman warfare was relentless in its pursuit of victory. A ruthless approach to combat played a major part in Rome's history, creating an empire that eventually included much of Europe, the Near East and North Africa. What distinguished the Roman army from its opponents was the uncompromising and total destruction of its enemies. Yet this ferocity was combined with a genius for absorbing conquered peoples, creating one of the most enduring empires ever known. In Roman Warfare, celebrated historian Adrian Goldsworthy traces the history of Roman warfare from 753 BC, the traditional date of the founding of Rome by Romulus, to the eventual decline and fall of Roman Empire and attempts to recover Rome and Italy from the "barbarians" in the sixth century AD. It is the indispensable history of the most professional fighting force in ancient history, an army that created an Empire and changed the world.

Rome's Last Citizen
Rome's Last Citizen

Author: Rob Goodman

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2012-10-16

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 0312681232

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This biography of Marcus Cato the Younger -- Rome's bravest statesman, an aristocratic soldier, a Stoic philosopher, and staunch defender of sacred Roman tradition -- is rich with resonances for current politics and contemporary notions of freedom.

The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth
The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth

Author: Glen Van Brummelen

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2021-08-10

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1400833310

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The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth is the first major history in English of the origins and early development of trigonometry. Glen Van Brummelen identifies the earliest known trigonometric precursors in ancient Egypt, Babylon, and Greece, and he examines the revolutionary discoveries of Hipparchus, the Greek astronomer believed to have been the first to make systematic use of trigonometry in the second century BC while studying the motions of the stars. The book traces trigonometry's development into a full-fledged mathematical discipline in India and Islam; explores its applications to such areas as geography and seafaring navigation in the European Middle Ages and Renaissance; and shows how trigonometry retained its ancient roots at the same time that it became an important part of the foundation of modern mathematics. The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth looks at the controversies as well, including disputes over whether Hipparchus was indeed the father of trigonometry, whether Indian trigonometry is original or derived from the Greeks, and the extent to which Western science is indebted to Islamic trigonometry and astronomy. The book also features extended excerpts of translations of original texts, and detailed yet accessible explanations of the mathematics in them. No other book on trigonometry offers the historical breadth, analytical depth, and coverage of non-Western mathematics that readers will find in The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth.

The Poison King
The Poison King

Author: Adrienne Mayor

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2011-03-27

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 0691150265

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A new account of one of Rome's most relentless but least understood foes. Claiming Alexander the Great and Darius of Persia as ancestors, Mithradates inherited a wealthy Black Sea kingdom at age fourteen after his mother poisoned his father. He fled into exile and returned in triumph to become a ruler of superb intelligence and fierce ambition. Hailed as a savior by his followers and feared as a second Hannibal by his enemies, he envisioned a grand Eastern empire to rival Rome. After massacring eighty thousand Roman citizens in 88 BC, he seized Greece and modern-day Turkey. Fighting some of the most spectacular battles in ancient history, he dragged Rome into a long round of wars and threatened to invade Italy itself. His uncanny ability to elude capture and surge back after devastating losses unnerved the Romans, while his mastery of poisons allowed him to foil assassination attempts and eliminate rivals.--From publisher description.

The Man of Numbers
The Man of Numbers

Author: Keith Devlin

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2011-11-07

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1408824574

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In 1202, a 32-year old Italian finished one of the most influential books of all time, which introduced modern arithmetic to Western Europe. Devised in India in the seventh and eighth centuries and brought to North Africa by Muslim traders, the Hindu-Arabic system helped transform the West into the dominant force in science, technology, and commerce, leaving behind Muslim cultures which had long known it but had failed to see its potential. The young Italian, Leonardo of Pisa (better known today as Fibonacci), had learned the Hindu number system when he traveled to North Africa with his father, a customs agent. The book he created was Liber abbaci, the 'Book of Calculation', and the revolution that followed its publication was enormous. Arithmetic made it possible for ordinary people to buy and sell goods, convert currencies, and keep accurate records of possessions more readily than ever before. Liber abbaci's publication led directly to large-scale international commerce and the scientific revolution of the Renaissance. Yet despite the ubiquity of his discoveries, Leonardo of Pisa remains an enigma. His name is best known today in association with an exercise in Liber abbaci whose solution gives rise to a sequence of numbers - the Fibonacci sequence - used by some to predict the rise and fall of financial markets, and evident in myriad biological structures. In The Man of Numbers, Keith Devlin recreates the life and enduring legacy of an overlooked genius, and in the process makes clear how central numbers and mathematics are to our daily lives.

Mathematical Thought From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume 1
Mathematical Thought From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume 1

Author: Morris Kline

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1990-03-01

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 0199840415

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This comprehensive history traces the development of mathematical ideas and the careers of the mathematicians responsible for them. Volume 1 looks at the disciplines origins in Babylon and Egypt, the creation of geometry and trigonometry by the Greeks, and the role of mathematics in the medieval and early modern periods. Volume 2 focuses on calculus, the rise of analysis in the 19th century, and the number theories of Dedekind and Dirichlet. The concluding volume covers the revival of projective geometry, the emergence of abstract algebra, the beginnings of topology, and the influence of Godel on recent mathematical study.

A History of the Circle
A History of the Circle

Author: Ernest Zebrowski

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 9780813528984

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Ranging from ancient times to twentieth-century theories of time and space, looks at how exploring the circle has lead to increased knowledge about the physical universe.

The Scientist in the Early Roman Empire
The Scientist in the Early Roman Empire

Author: Richard Carrier

Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA)

Published: 2017-12-01

Total Pages: 771

ISBN-13: 1634311078

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In this extensive sequel to Science Education in the Early Roman Empire, Dr. Richard Carrier explores the social history of scientists in the Roman era. Was science in decline or experiencing a revival under the Romans? What was an ancient scientist thought to be and do? Who were they, and who funded their research? And how did pagans differ from their Christian peers in their views toward science and scientists? Some have claimed Christianity valued them more than their pagan forebears. In fact the reverse is the case. And this difference in values had a catastrophic effect on the future of humanity. The Romans may have been just a century or two away from experiencing a scientific revolution. But once in power, Christianity kept that progress on hold for a thousand years—while forgetting most of what the pagans had achieved and discovered, from an empirical anatomy, physiology, and brain science to an experimental physics of water, gravity, and air. Thoroughly referenced and painstakingly researched, this volume is a must for anyone who wants to learn how far we once got, and why we took so long to get to where we are today.

The School of Mathematics at Rome’s University Campus
The School of Mathematics at Rome’s University Campus

Author: Simona Salvo

Publisher: Sapienza Università Editrice

Published: 2022-09-28

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 8893772337

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The School of Mathematics is a masterpiece of the early 1930s by Gio Ponti, who is today regarded as a master of Italian Modernism. Although World War II bombings shattered the coloured stained-glass window that once adorned the balanced and harmonious white travertine façade, the building remains a striking and significant piece of architecture. Although it underwent a series of transformations over the years before its historical and artistic relevance was recognised, it can still be appreciated and admired for its magnificent expressivity. Its uniqueness derives from its complexity, such as is often found in Italian monuments of all ages: a rare synthesis of urban design, architecture, art, industrial design, historical archives and – perhaps the first of its kind – scientific production in the field of mathematics. This illustrated report is a synopsis of the extensive technical research documents produced by the research team for each step of the work. It is also a premise for the conservation management plan proposed at the end of the full report. As in any area of science, knowledge is at the basis of future action: we need to understand today how to take care of the historical buildings of our campus tomorrow – buildings recognised worldwide as architectural and historical monuments.