About Ibn Fallus
Lived 1194 – 1240 (aged 45–46). Ibn Fallus was a mathematician.
Shams ad-Dīn Abû’t-Tāhir Ismāʽīl ibn-Ibrāhīm ibn-Ġāzī ibn-ʽAlī ibn Muhammad al-Ḥanafī al-Māridīnī (1194–1252), often called Ismāʽīl ibn-Fullūs or Ibn Fallus, was an Arab Egyptian mathematician of the Islamic Golden Age. Whilst on pilgrimage to Mecca, he tells of an epitome he wrote on number theory (extant in manuscript), which building on the work of Nicomachus, added three new perfect numbers (33,550,336; 8,589,869,056; and 137,438,691,328) to the four already discovered by the Greeks.
His table also included seven other supposed perfect numbers which are now known to be incorrect. Roshdi Rashed believes the errors emerged from over-reliance on Nicomachus' method.
This work did not reach Europe, and these three perfect numbers were only rediscovered there during the Renaissance, including by Pietro Cataldi.
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Ibn Fallus's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Ibn Fallus?
Arab Egyptian mathematician
When was Ibn Fallus born?
Ibn Fallus was born in 1194 in Mardin.
When did Ibn Fallus die?
Ibn Fallus died in 1240.
What was Ibn Fallus's occupation?
Ibn Fallus was a mathematician.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ibn Fallus. https://biography.guide/ibn-fallus/
MLA: "Ibn Fallus." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ibn-fallus/.
Chicago: "Ibn Fallus." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ibn-fallus/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:29 UTC