Abraham Bar Ḥiyya in the Long Travels of the Algorithm

Abstract The term algorithm derives from Al-Khwārizmī (813–833), a Persian polymath based in Baghdad. His contributions to mathematics left an enduring impact on subsequent centuries. While translations of his algebraic works reached Christian Europe during the medieval period, a deeper examination is necessary to understand how his concepts were transmitted. In the early 1970s, artists exploring computational art, Roman Verostko (1929–2024) and Jean-Pierre Hébert (1939–2021), revitalized the term algorist to define their ventures into visual art utilizing computational technologies. Despite temporal disparities, fascinating conceptual parallels emerge between the practices of these modern algorists and the intellectual life and discussions of the Middle Ages linking scholars such as Abraham Bar Ḥiyya of Barcelona (1065–1145) and Fibonacci (1170–1240).