How did al-Khwarizmi help spread Hindu-Arabic numerals?

The mathematician al-Khwarizmi played a pivotal role in introducing Hindu-Arabic numerals to the West through his written works.12

In the 9th century, he authored a book on arithmetic, often titled Book of Addition and Subtraction According to the Hindu Calculation, which explained the use of these numerals and their associated arithmetic. While the original Arabic text is lost, the work was translated into Latin in the 12th century as Algoritmi de numero Indorum ("Al-Khwarizmi Concerning the Hindu Art of Reckoning").31

This Latin translation was instrumental in disseminating the decimal system across Europe. The Latinized form of the author’s name, Algoritmi, eventually gave rise to the modern term algorithm. These texts allowed European scholars to adopt the Hindu-Arabic system, which eventually replaced older methods of calculation—such as the abacus—in universities and among merchants, fundamentally transforming mathematical practice.2134