Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi was born in Kufa in 801 CE into a distinguished Arab family, and grew up in Baghdad, studying language and jurisprudence before turning to philosophy, natural science, and mathematics.
He worked at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad under caliphs al-Ma'mun and al-Mu'tasim, overseeing translations of Aristotle, Plato, and their commentators, and wrote numerous treatises attempting to reconcile Greek philosophical inquiry with the principles of Islamic belief.
Legacy
Al-Kindi wrote some 270 treatises spanning philosophy, astronomy, medicine, music, and mathematics, earning him the title 'Philosopher of the Arabs' as the founder of the Islamic philosophical tradition later carried forward by al-Farabi and Ibn Sina.
