Description: (Bishop of Rome Who Ruled the Papal States From 999 to His Death)
Pope Sylvester II, or Gerbert of Aurillac, was a renowned scholar and teacher who served as the bishop of Rome and governed the Papal States from 999 until his passing. He advocated for the study of Moorish and Greco-Roman arithmetic, mathematics, and astronomy, reintroducing key instruments like the abacus, armillary sphere, and water organ to Western Christendom. He is recognized for being the first in Christian Europe to introduce the decimal numeral system using Hindu-Arabic numerals, a significant advancement in mathematical knowledge for the region.