The Introduction to Geometry by Qustā ibn Lūqā: Translation and Commentary

The paper contains an English translation with commentary of the Introduction to Geometry by the Christian mathematician, astronomer and physician Qustā ibn Lūqā. This elementary work was written in Baghdad in the ninth century A.D. It consisted of circa 191 questions and answers, of which 186 are extant today. The Arabic text has been published in a previous volume of Suhayl by Youcef Guergour, on the basis of the two extant Arabic manuscripts. The Introduction to Geometry consists mainly of material which QusÐā collected from Greek sources, some of which are now lost. Most of chapter 2 of the Jumal al-Falsafa by Abu Abdallah al-Hindi (12th century) was directly copied from QusÐā’s Introduction.