Real analysis is a field in mathematics that focuses on the set of real numbers, their properties, sequences and functions. Included in this branch of mathematics is concepts of limits and convergence, calculus, and properties of real-valued functions such as continuity.
The first serious consideration of the real numbers was by Archimedes and followed by other Greeks such as Euclid, Pappus, and Zeno. To honor Archimedes' contribution, real analysts have named a property of the real numbers the Archimedean property. Real analysis remained in geometry's shadow until the development of the subfield of calculus. This subject coordinatized all geometry known at the time, subsuming it into its scope.