Particular attention is paid to the in-depth study and broad promotion at the international level of the scientific and enlightenment heritage of the great thinker and encyclopedist Abu Rayhon Beruni to enhance scientific and cultural ties between Uzbekistan and UNESCO.

By the resolution of the Head of state “On supporting the establishment of the UNESCO-Uzbekistan International Award named after Abu Rayhon Beruni, the prize was established to support scientific dialogue by promoting ethics in artificial intelligence. An international exhibition “Abu Rayhon Beruni. Geographical and Intellectual Journeys” was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. It presented copies of the scientist’s works “Monuments of Past Generations”, “Astronomical Monographs”, “Al-Qanun Al-Masudi” and “India”, prepared by specialists from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan using the Abu Rayhon Beruni Manuscript Fund of the National Library of France.

The UzA creative team talked about these unique works and the established award with the Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhrom Abdukhalimov.

– We are delighted and proud that the international exhibition dedicated to the 1050th Anniversary of the great scientist and encyclopedist Abu Rayhon Beruni’s birth was organized jointly with the Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan and UNESCO, – says Mr. Abdukhalimov. – The great thinker Beruni is one of the most outstanding scientists of the Middle Ages in exact, natural and human sciences. He was a talented mathematician, astronomer, geographer, pharmacologist, and doctor deeply interested in history. But above all, he was a devoted humanist, free from dogmatism.

Beruni began to study science very early. At 16, he became interested in astronomical observations and determined the geographic latitudes of the Sun on the days of the equinoxes. At age 21, the scientist determined the angle of inclination of the ecliptic plane to the celestial equator. Our great ancestor was the first in mineralogy to measure the specific gravity of solids and liquids, propose a classification of minerals, and develop a theory of their origin. Beruni criticized the theory of transforming base metals into precious ones in chemistry.

His extensive information about the eras and chronological systems of the ancient Greeks, Persians, pre-Islamic Arabs, Indians, Muslims, Christians, Jews, and other peoples, as well as the rules for transferring dates from one period to another, the information given in his works “Monuments of Past Generations”, “Al-Qanun Al-Masudi” show that Beruni was an expert in the history and theory of the calendar-chronological system of different nations.

For the last exhibition, a special catalog containing copies of Beruni’s manuscripts stored in libraries worldwide was published. We again express our respect by organizing such significant events, studying unique manuscripts, and sharing exciting stories about the great scientist.

Striving for knowledge is a universal human passion that can unite us across time and space.

Interviewed by Bekhruz Khudoyberdiyev, UzA