Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Sciences & Discovery

33

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Ali ibn Ridwan

علي بن رضوان

Egypt

0988 – 1061 (73 years old)

Self-taught Egyptian polymath and Chief Royal Physician of the Fatimid Caliphate, renowned for his detailed astronomical recording of the supernova SN 1006 and his commentary on Galen.

Cairo, Egypt

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Religious Figures & Theologians

25

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Abdallah ibn Yasin

عبد الله بن ياسين الجزولي

Morocco

c. 1010 CE – 1059 (~49 years old)

Spiritual founder, legal ideologue, and theological leader of the Almoravid movement whose monastic discipline, Maliki orthodoxy, and charismatic leadership forged a global empire.

Rommani (Khemisset), Morocco

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Politics

7

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Al-Mawardi

الماوردي

Iraq

972 – 27 May 1058 (86 years old)

Preeminent 11th-century Shafi'i jurist and diplomat whose 'Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya' formulated the foundational theory of Islamic constitutional law.

Baghdad, Iraq

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Literature & Poetry

36

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Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri

أبو العلاء المعري

Iraq

0973 – 1057 (83 years old)

Blind Arab philosopher-poet, rationalist, and vegan whose masterpiece Resalat Al-Ghufran (The Epistle of Forgiveness) foreshadowed Dante's Divine Comedy.

Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, Syria

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Politics

6

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Hilal al-Sabi

هلال الصابئ

Iraq

970 – 1056 (86 years old)

Prominent 11th-century Abbasid chancery historian who documented the etiquette, court rituals, and diplomatic protocols of Baghdad.

Baghdad, Iraq

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Military Leaders & Strategists

10

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Yahya ibn Umar al-Lamtuni

يحيى بن عمر اللمتوني

Morocco

c. 1015 – 1056 (~41 years old)

First supreme military commander of the Almoravid movement, chosen by spiritual founder Abdallah ibn Yasin, who conquered Sijilmasa and unified the Saharan tribes.

Sijilmasa / Saharan Marches, Morocco

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Religious Figures & Theologians

30

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Atisha Dipankara Srijnana

अतिश दीपङ्कर श्रीज्ञान

Bangladesh

0982 – c. 1054 (72 years old)

Bengali Buddhist master and abbot of Vikramashila University who journeyed to Tibet in 1042, sparking the Second Propagation of Tibetan Buddhism and authoring 'A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment'.

Lhasa, China

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Statesmanship & Statesmen

35

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Fan Zhongyan

范仲淹

China

0989 – 1052 (62 years old)

Song dynasty Chancellor, scholar, and general who instituted the Qingli Reforms and wrote the immortal motto: 'Be the first to grieve the cares of the realm, and the last to enjoy its pleasures'.

Luoyang, China

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Sciences & Discovery

41

🕯️ 930

Al-Biruni (Abu Rayhan al-Biruni)

أبو الريحان محمد بن أحمد البيروني

Uzbekistan

4 September 973 – 9 December 1048 (75 years old)

Universal polymath who calculated the Earth's radius to within 1% using mountain trigonometry, founded comparative Indology, and pioneered anthropology and mineral density tables.

Ghazni, Afghanistan

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Philosophy & Thought

8

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Al-Sharif al-Murtada

الشريف المرتضى

Iraq

966 – 25 October 1044 (78 years old)

Prominent 11th-century Baghdad jurist, theologian, and literary critic who led the Shia intellectual community and championed rationalism.

Baghdad, Iraq

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

32

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Rajendra Chola I (Gangaikonda Chola)

முதலாம் இராஜேந்திர சோழன்

India

c. 971 CE – c. 1044 (73 years old)

Chola emperor and thalassocrat who led expeditions to the Ganges River and dispatched a mighty naval armada conquering the Srivijaya Empire in Southeast Asia.

Jayankondam, India

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Politics

7

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Abu al-Qasim ibn Abi al-Hasan

أبو القاسم بن أبي الحسن كاتب الزيريين

Tunisia

c. 980 AD – 1040 AD (~60 years old)

Influential Grand Vizier under Zirid Sultan Al-Mu'izz ibn Badis, who fostered the golden literary age of Kairouan and patronized the Great Library of the Uqba Mosque.

Kairouan, Tunisia

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Sciences & Discovery

19

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Ibn al-Haytham

ابن الهيثم

Iraq

c. 965 CE – 1040 CE (75 years old)

Pioneering polymath revered as the 'father of modern optics' and architect of the modern scientific method, who composed his revolutionary Book of Optics near Al-Azhar in Fatimid Cairo.

Cairo, Egypt

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Religious Figures & Theologians

32

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Abu Imran al-Fasi

أبو عمران الفاسي

Morocco

c. 968 CE – 1039 (71 years old)

Eminent Zenata Berber Maliki scholar from Fez who taught in Kairouan and whose historic meeting with Saharan chieftain Yahya ibn Ibrahim inspired the founding of the Almoravid Empire.

Kairouan, Tunisia

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

29

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Stephen I of Hungary (Saint Stephen)

Szent István király (Vajk)

Hungary

c. 0975 CE – 1038 (~63 years old)

First King of Hungary who Christianized the Magyar tribes, established the Kingdom of Hungary, and received the Holy Crown from Pope Sylvester II.

Székesfehérvár, Hungary

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Philosophy & Thought

45

🕯️ 950

Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

أبو علي الحسين بن عبد الله بن سينا

Uzbekistan

23 August 980 – 21 June 1037 (56 years old)

'Prince of Physicians' and towering philosopher whose metaphysical encyclopedia The Book of Healing and Floating Man thought experiment shaped Islamic and European philosophy.

Hamadan, Iran

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Military Leaders & Strategists

35

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Gang Gam-chan

강감찬

South Korea

0948 – 1031 (82 years old)

Revered military commander and civil official of the Goryeo Kingdom of Korea who defeated the Khitan Liao Empire's massive invasion at the Battle of Guju in 1019 at age seventy-one.

Gwanak-gu (Seoul), South Korea

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Politics

2

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Mahmud of Ghazni

سلطان محمود غزنوی

Afghanistan

0971-11-02 – 1030-04-30 (58 years old)

First ruler in world history to bear the title Sultan, who transformed Ghazni into the splendid cultural and scientific capital of the Islamic world, patronizing Ferdowsi and Al-Biruni.

Ghazni, Afghanistan

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