in full Yakub ibn Ishaq al-Sabah al-Kindi
died 0441; 870
First prominent Islamic philosopher.
He worked in Iraq under the caliphs al- Mamun and al-Mutasim. One of the first Arab students of the Greek philosophers, he translated important Greek works into Arabic and tried to combine the views of Plato and Aristotle into a new system. His short treatises considered the philosophical questions set forth by Neoplatonism . He also wrote over 270 scientific treatises on such subjects as astrology, Indian arithmetic, sword manufacturing, and cooking.