The History of 

Algebra
Algebra is a branch of mathematics concerning the study of structure, relation, and quantity.
Elementary algebra is the branch that deals with solving for the operands of arithmetic equations.
Modern or abstract algebra has its origins as an abstraction of elementary algebra. Some historians
believe that the earliest mathematical research was done by the priest classes of ancient civilizations,
such as the Babylonians, to go along with religious rituals.[1] The origins of algebra can thus be traced
back to ancient Babylonian mathematicians roughly four thousand years ago.X

Various derivations of the word "algebra," which is of Arabian origin, have been given by different
writers. The first mention of the word is to be found in the title of a work by Mahommed ben Musa al-
Khwarizmi (Hovarezmi), who flourished about the beginning of the 9th century. The full title is ilm al-
jebr wa'l-muqabala, which contains the ideas of restitution and comparison, or opposition and
comparison, or resolution and equation, jebr being derived from the verb jabara, to reunite, and
muqabala, from gabala, to make equal. (The root jabara is also met with in the word algebrista, which
means a "bone-setter," and is still in common use in Spain.) The same derivation is given by Lucas
Paciolus (Luca Pacioli), who reproduces the phrase in the transliterated form alghebra e almucabala,
and ascribes the invention of the art to the Arabians.