List of Iranian scientists and scholars

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Photo taken from medieval manuscript by Qotbeddin Shirazi. The image depicts an epicyclic planetary model.

Classical (pre-modern) Era

The following is a non-comprehensive list of Iranian scientists and engineers that lived from antiquity up until the beginning of the modern age.

By "Iranian", all the peoples of historic Persia are meant, i.e. what is today Iran, Afghanistan, and all the countries of Central Asia ("common modern definition") that were historically part of the Persian empire. In some cases, their exact ancestry is unclear. They may have emigrated or immigrated, and thus may appear in other "Lists of...", but nevertheless their names and work are somehow linked to the words "Iranian" and/or "Persian".

Classical (pre-modern) Era - A - B - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - Y - Z - Notes - Contemporary Era - See also

A

Abdol-Hamid, founder of Arabic prose along with the fellow Persian Ibn Muqaffa.
Abdolrahman, Sheikh Muhammad, physician.
Abhari, mathematician.
Abu Nasr e Mansur, mathematician.
Abu Wafa Buzjani, mathematician.
Azod al-Dowleh, prominent scientific patron
Ahmad ibn Farrokh, physician.
Ahmad Ibn Imad ul-din, physician and chemist.
Ala'eddin, constructed the Counterweight Trebuchet for Kubilai. He was thus honoured in the official history of China's Yuan Dynasty. [(p119)]
Alavi Shirazi, royal physician to India.
Al-Ghazali
Alhazen, or Ebne Heisam in Persian.
Al-Qumri, a Persian physician.
Amuli, Muhammad ibn Mahmud, physician.
An Shihkao
Aqa-Kermani, physician.
Aqsara'i, physician.
Arzani, Muqim, physician.
Astarabadi, physician.
Aufi, Muhammad, scientist and historian
Avicenna (Ibn Sina), physician, philosopher
Azophi, a.k.a. Abdorrahman Sufi, astronomer from Ray that invented the meridian ring.

B

Bahai, Sheikh
Bal'ami, Samanid era scholar
Balkhi, a.k.a. Albumasar, mathematician
Balkhi, Ibn Sahl, geographer and mathematician
Balkhi, Ibn, author of the 12th century book Fars Nama (فارس نامه)
Barmak, Khaled, Bhuddist from Khorasan in the court of al-Mansur, initiated the Greek translation movement of the Abbasid House of Wisdom
Bukhtishu, Persian Christian physicians of Academy of Gundishapur
Bukhtishu, Abdollah ibn, physician
Bukhtishu, Gabriel ibn, physician
Bukhtishu, Yuhanna, physician
Burzoe, a.k.a. Borzouyeh-i Tabib, physician of Academy of Gundishapur
Biruni, astronomer and mathematician

E

Esfarayeni, physician

F

Farabi, (Al-Farabi, Pharabius), chemist
Farghani, a.k.a. Alfraganus, astronomer
Farsi, mathematician
Fazari, Ibrahim
Fazari, Mohammad

G

Geber; Jaber ibn Hayan, chemist
Gardizi, Abu Saeed, geographer and historian
Ghazzali (Algazel), philosopher
Gilani, Hakim, royal physician
Gorgani, Zayn al-Din Isma‘il ibn, royal physician
Gorgani, Abu Saeed, astronomer and mathematician
Gorgani, Rustam, physician
Gorgani e Masihi, see Masihi Gorgani, Avicenn'a master

H

Hajji Zayn al-Attar, physician
Hakim Ghulam Imam, physician
Hakim Muhammad Mehdi Naqi, physician
Hakim Muhammad Sharif Khan, physician
Hallaj, Mystic-philosopher
Haly Abbas, prominent physician
Hamadani, Rashid al-Din, historian
Hamadani, Ali, physician
Harawi, Abolfadl, astronomer of Buyid dynasty
Harawi, Muwaffak: See Al-Muwaffak, pharmacologist
Harawi, Muhammad ibn Yusuf, physician
Hasani, Qavameddin, physician
Hayyan, Jabir ibn, one of the most notable islamis chemists

I

Ibn Abi Sadiq, "The Second Hippocrates", Avicenna's disciple
Ibn Haytham, physicist
Ibn Khaseb, physician
Ibn Khordadbeh, geographer
Ilaqi, Yusef, Avicenna's pupil
Ilyas, Yusef ibn, physician
Isfahani Abol-fath, mathematician
Ibn Sina, (Avicenna), Philosopher and Physician
Isfahani, Jalaleddin, physician
Isfahani, Husayn, physician
Istakhri, geographer, gives the earliest known account of windmills

J

Jaghmini, physician
Jaldaki, physician
Jarrah vizier from Khorasan
Juvayni, historian
Juzjani, Abu Ubaid, physician

K

Karaji, mathematician
Kashani (Kashi), mathematician
Kazerouni, Masoud, physician
Kermani, Iwad, physician
Khazeni, Abu Jafar, mathematician
Khazeni, Abolfath, physicist
Khayyám, Omar, poet, mathematician, and astronomer
Khorasani, Sultan Ali, physician
Khujandi, mathematician and astronomer
Khwarizmi (aka Al-Khwarazmi) creator of algorithm and algebra, mathematician and astronomer
Kushyar ibn Labban, mathematician, Nasavi's master
Kuhi, Rostam, mathematician
Kubra, Najmeddin

M

Mahani, mathematician
Majusi, Ibn Abbas, physician
Marvazi, astronomer and mathematician
Marvazi, Abu Taher, philosopher
Masawaiyh or Masuya
Mashallah, of Jewish origins, from Khorasan who designed the city of Baghdad based on Firouzabad
Masihi Gorgani, Avicenna's master
Mirza Ali Hakim, physician
Miskawayh, philosopher
Mostowfi Qazvini, geographer
Mozaffar ibn Ismail of Herat, physicist and original author of Khazeni's Balance of Wisdom
Mullasadra, philosopher
Muqaffa, Ibn, founder of Arabic prose along with Abdol-Hamid.
bin Musa, Hasan, astronomer
bin Musa, Ahmad, astronomer
bin Musa, Muhammad, astronomer
Muwaffaq, Abu mansur, pharmacologist

N

Nagawri, physician
Nahavandi, Benjamin, Jewish scholar
Nahavandi, Ahmad, astronomer
Nakhshabi, physician
Nasavi, mathematician
Natili Tabari, physician
Naubakht, Zoroastrian designer of the city of Baghdad
Naubakht, Fadhl ibn
Nayrizi, mathematician
Neishaburi, physician
Nurbakhshi, physician

O

Ostanes, physician

P

Paul the Persian, philosopher

Q

Qazi Zadeh, prominent Turkish born mathematician
Qazwini, Zakariya, physician.

R

Razi, Amin, geographer
Razi, Fakhreddin, philosopher
Razi, Zakariya (Rhazes), chemist and physicist, discoverer of Alcohol
Razi, Najmeddin

S

Saghani Ostorlabi, astronomer.
Sahl, Fadl ibn
Sahl, Shapur ibn, physician.
Samarqandi, Najibeddin, physician.
Samarqandi, Ashraf, mathematician, astronomer.
Sarakhsi, Ahmad tayyeb, Famous physician of Academy of Gundishapur d900.
Shahrazuri, philosopher and physician.
Shirazi, Imad al-Din Mas'ud, physician.
Shirazi, Muhammad Hadi Khorasani, physician.
Shirazi, Qutbeddin, astronomer.
Shirazi, Mahmud ibn Ilyas, physician.
Shirazi, Najm al-Din Mahmud ibn Ilyas, physician.
Shirazi, Qurayshi, physician.
Sijzi, mathematician.
Sijzi, Mas'ud, physician.
Soleiman ibn Hasan, physician.
Sufi, Abdol-rahman: see Azophi.
Suhrawardi, Shahab al-Din, philosopher

T

Tabari, prominent historian.
Tabari, Natili: See Al-Natili
Tabari, Abul Hasan, physician.
Tabari, Ibn Sahl, Jewish convert physician. Master of Rhazes.
Tabrizi, Maqsud Ali, physician.
Tahir, Abdollah ibn. A medieval governor of Khorasan. Wrote Kitab al-Quniy, discussing irrigation techniques.
Tāriq, Yaqub ibn
Tunakabuni, physician.
Tughra'i, physician.
Tusi, Nizam ol-Molk, the great vizier.
Tusi, Nasireddin, mathematician, philosopher.
Tusi, Muhammad ibn Mahmud ibn Ahmad, author of the famous 12th century ''Ajayib al-Makhluqat (عجایب المخلوقات).
Tusi, Sharafeddin, mathematician.

U

Ulugh Beg, Timurid era astronomer.
Urdi, Mo'ayyeduddin, astronomer who made modifications to Ptolemy's model to account for discrepancies in observations.

V

Vatvat, scholar and physician.

Y

Yazdad, Ibn was a learned Persian vizier from Merv, Khorasan, of the Abbasid dynasty.
Yumn, Nazif ibn

Z

Zaiyat, Ibn was a learned Persian vizier from Gilan, of the Abbasid dynasty.
Zamakhshari, scholar and geographer.
Zarrin dast, oculist.

Notes

Meyerhof, Casey Wood, and Hirschberg also have recorded the names of at least 80 oculists who contributed treatises on ophthalmic subjects from the beginning of 800 CE to the full flowering of Muslim medical literature in 1300 CE, and whose names have not all appeared here.
A better suiting word to attribute to this list would perhaps be "List of Iranian scholars" since many of the listed were not scientists per se in the modern sense of the word, but were philosophers instead. The list intends to be inclusive of all academics and practitioners.

Contemporary Era

See special page on contemporary Iranian scientists and engineers.