Historical Figure
Pope Sylvester II (b. 946)
d. 1003
Head of the Catholic Church from 999 to 1003
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Biography
Pope Sylvester II, originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, was a scholar and teacher who served as the bishop of Rome and ruled the Papal States from 999 to his death. He endorsed and promoted study of Moorish and Greco-Roman arithmetic, mathematics and astronomy, reintroducing to Western Christendom the abacus, armillary sphere, and water organ, which had been lost to Latin Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. He is said to be the first in Christian Europe to introduce the decimal numeral system using the Hindu–Arabic numeral system.
Timeline
The story of Pope Sylvester II (b. 946), told in moments.
Born Gerbert d'Aurillac in Auvergne, France. A peasant's son. Monks at the local abbey noticed his intelligence and gave him an education.
Traveled to Catalonia and studied mathematics, astronomy, and Arabic numerals. He was among the first Europeans to use the Hindu-Arabic number system, including zero.
Elected Pope. He took the name Sylvester II. His scientific interests were so unusual for a pope that later legends claimed he'd made a deal with the devil.
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