Sylvester II
Pope of the Catholic Church from 938 to 1003
d. 12 May 1003
139th Bishop of Rome (Pope) · 7 Apr 999–12 May 1003
Offices
- Bishop of Rome (Pope) № 139 · 7 Apr 999 – 12 May 1003
Pope Sylvester II, originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, was a scholar and teacher who served as the bishop of Rome and ruled the Papal States from 999 to his death. He endorsed and promoted study of Moorish and Greco-Roman arithmetic, mathematics and astronomy, reintroducing to Western Christendom the abacus, armillary sphere, and water organ, which had been lost to Latin Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. He is said to be the first in Christian Europe to introduce the decimal numeral system using the Hindu–Arabic numeral system.
Related people
- Atto disciple of · traditional
- Gregory V succeeded · traditional
- Astrik consecrator of · traditional
- Domonkos I, Archbishop of Esztergom consecrator of · traditional
- Otto III teacher of · traditional
- Bernelinus teacher of · traditional
- Robert II of France teacher of · traditional
- Guido of Arezzo teacher of · traditional
- Adalberon of Laon teacher of · traditional
- Dudo of Saint-Quentin teacher of · traditional
- Richerus teacher of · traditional
- John XVII preceded · traditional
Places
- Archbasilica of St. John Lateran burial
- Lateran Palace death
- Bobbio ministry
- Holy Roman Empire ministry
- Ravenna ministry
- Rome ministry
- Reims ministry
How we know
Recorded as a historical figure.