Mesopotamian mathematics is known from a great number of cuneiform texts, most of them Old Babylonian, some Late Babylonian or pre-Old-Babylonian, and has been intensively studied during the last couple of decades. In contrast to this Egyptian mathematics is known from only a small number of papyrus texts, and the few books and papers that have been written about Egyptian mathematical papyri have mostly reiterated the same old presentations and interpretations of the texts. In this book, it is shown that the methods developed by the author for the close study of mathematical cuneiform texts can also be successfully applied to all kinds of Egyptian mathematical texts, hieratic, demotic, or Greek-Egyptian. At the same time, comparisons of a large number of individual Egyptian mathematical exercises with Babylonian parallels yield many new insights into the nature of Egyptian mathematics and show that Egyptian and Babylonian mathematics display greater similarities than expected.

Rudman explores the facisnating history of mathematics among the Babylonians and Egyptians. He formulates a Babylonian Theorem, which he shows was used to derive the Pythagorean Theorem about a millennium before its purported discovery by Pythagoras.

A comprehensive evolution of the history of mathematics that discusses how ancient civilizations understood numbers and used them.

Most westerners are unaware of the heritage of non-Western mathematics. This book suggests that humans everywhere have been capable of advanced and innovative mathematical thinking. The Greeks were influenced by the Egyptians and Babylonians; the Arabs made a major creative contribution; and the great civilizations of India and China have a range of successes to their credit.