For sixty years after the birth of Jesus Christ, there were no prominent mathematicians.  During this era, a new religion that was based on the teachings of Jesus Christ experienced rapid growth.  Consequently, Christianity became the largest religion in the world today.  Ironically at the same time there was no major work done in mathematics.

With the birth of Nicomachus of Gerasa in this year, there was a break in this dark period of mathematics.  His work in mathematics was primarily in the area of arithmetic. In "Arithmetike eisagoge," or "Introduction to Arithmetic," Nicomachus severed the bond between arithmetic and geometry.  This was the first time in mathematical history that arithmetic was isolated from geometry.  One of the important features of this book is the inclusion of multiplication tables. Nichomachus used the Arabic numerals as opposed to Greek, which was also rare.  The theorems in this book were never proven, but rather stated with specific examples.  Nicomachus also wrote a two volume work entitled "Theologoumena arithmetikes" or  "The Theology of Numbers," which described interesting properties about numbers.  He died at the age of sixty, leaving a text that would be used in the area of arithmetic for about a thousand years, namely "Introduction to Arithmetic."

Author: Tim Lucas

References:
Nicomachus of Gerasa (fl.c. 100 A.D.) : Library of Congress Citations
 http://www.mala.bc.ca/~mcneil/cit/citlcnico.htm

Mac Tutor History of Mathematics Archive
 http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk:/history/Mathematicians/Nicomachus.html