Pope Sylvester II

Pope Sylvester II or Silvester II (c. 946 – 12 May 1003) was Pope from 2 April 999 to his death in 1003. Born Gerbert d'Aurillac (Gerbert of Aurillac), he was a prolific scholar and teacher. He endorsed and promoted study of Arab/Greco-Roman arithmetic, mathematics, and astronomy, reintroducing to Europe the abacus and armillary sphere, which had been lost to Europe since the end of the Greco-Roman era. He is said to be the first to introduce in Europe the decimal numeral system using the Arabic numerals after his studies at the University of al-Karaouine in Morocco. He was the first French Pope.