Briefly describe the life sketch of Al-Biruni.
Al-Biruni was born in 973 C.E., in Khwarizm in present-day Uzbekistan. Khwarizm was an important centre of education. Al-Biruni received the best available education over there and was well versed in many languages including Syrian, Persian, Hebrew and Sanskrit. Although he was not aware of the Greek language he was completely familiar with the works of Plato and other Greek philosophers. He read their works through their Arabic translations. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Khwarizm in 101 C.E. and took back many scholars and poets to his capital. Al-Biruni was one of them. He came over there as a hostage but gradually developed a liking for the city. He spent the rest of his life over there and died at the age of 70.
