Covering his extraordinary life, his poetry and his neglected philosophical writings, this is a comprehensive biography of the legendary Omar Khayyam.

Author Mehdi Aminrazavi is Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Co-Director of the Center for Asian Studies at Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Virginia, US.

Acknowledgements vi
Introduction 1
1. Khayyam¿s Life and Works 18
2. Reconstructing a Tarnished Image: Omar Khayyam 40
According to his Contemporaries and Biographers
3. Khayyam within the Intellectual Context of his Time 67
4. The Ruba`iyyat 90
5. Khayyam and Sufism 134
6. Khayyam¿s Philosophical Thought 157
7. Khayyam the Scientist 188
8. Khayyam in the West 204
Epilogue 278
Appendix A: Translations of the Philosophical Treatises 283
Appendix B: The Ruba`iyyat ¿ Edward FitzGerald¿s 328
Translation
Appendix C: Arabic Poems of Omar Khayyam 347
Notes 349
Bibliography 378
Index 387