Pope Sylvester II
Head of the Catholic Church from 999 to 1003 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Pope Sylvester II (c. 946 – 12 May 1003), originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac,[n 1] was a French-born 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 Europe the abacus and armillary sphere, which had been lost to Latin Europe since the end of the Greco-Roman era. He is said to be the first in Europe to introduce the decimal numeral system using the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. He is credited with the invention of the first mechanical clock in 996.
Head of the Catholic Church from 999 to 1003
Pope Sylvester II | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rome | |
.jpg) Sylvester, in blue, as depicted in the Gospels of Otto III | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Papacy began | 2 April 999 |
| Papacy ended | 12 May 1003 |
| Predecessor | Gregory V |
| Successor | John XVII |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 991 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gerbertus (Gerbert) c. 946 |
| Died | (1003-05-12)12 May 1003 (aged c. 57) Rome, Papal States |
| Other popes named Sylvester | |