Cambridge library collection books of enduring scholarly value. In the book of the roads and the kingdoms, ibn khordadbeh tells of jewish merchants called radanites, fluent in several languages, who journey from west to east, from east to west. Kitab alrawd almitar, the book of the fragrant garden, is a fifteenthcentury arabic geography by muhammad bin abd almunim alhimyari that is a primary source for the history of muslim spain in the middle ages, though it is based in part on the earlier account by muhammad alidrisi. In this capacity ibn khordadbeh served as both postmaster general and the caliphs personal spymaster in that vital province. He was the writer of a notable work, kitab aljaghrafiyya book of geography. He was among the well respected and well traveled muslim scholars at the court of mughal emperor akbar. Around 870 ibn khordadbeh wrote kitgb al masglik wal mamglik the book of roads and kingdoms.
Along with maps, the book also includes descriptions of the land. Geography and alandalus website of a documentary on the rise, reign, and fall of islamic spain. This paper discusses a 9th century arabic source, ibn khordadhbehs kitabal. Wikizero book of roads and kingdoms ibn khordadbeh. The book of roads and kingdoms exists today only in fragmentary form.
Islamic geographystateexpanded to show the template expanded, i. Sulaiman al mahri ibn ahmad ibn sulayman was born in shihr in 1480. Among the extant works of descriptive geography, the work of ibn khordadbeh book of roads and kingdoms is the earliest composition. Ibn khordadbeh s ninthcentury book of roads and kingdoms and tenthcentury works by estakhri and ibn hawqal. Nova publishers, 2008, mentions a different muslim scholar who was convinced by the abovementioned idea. How the radanite traders spiced up life in darkages. He was a student of the philosopher and scientist ibn majid and lived during the reign of. Working as a postmaster general, he got to know the roads and caravanserai like a back of his hands. Ibn khordadbeh was a persian geographer in 9th century. It maps and describes the major trade routes of the time within the muslim world, and discusses distant.
It maps and describes the major trade routes of the time within the muslim world, and discusses distant trading regions such as japan, korea, and china. A description of the peoples and provinces of the abbasid caliphate. Book of roads and kingdoms ibn khordadbeh wikipedia. Alramhormuzi project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Sulaiman al mahri project gutenberg selfpublishing.
It is sometimes confused with a work by the same name written in the ninth century by ibn khordadbeh. Alzuhri was able to use the writings of the geographers of the reign of caliph almamun of baghdad d. He was called almahri because he was a descendant of the arabic tribe of mahara. Book of the roads and kingdoms 97899535458 by abu alqasim ibn khordadbeh and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. In this work, ibn khordadbeh described the various peoples and provinces of the abbasid caliphate. Around 846847ce ibn khordadbeh wrote kitab al masalik wal mamalik the book of roads and kingdoms with the second edition of the book being published in 885ce. Book of roads and kingdoms ibn khordadbeh, written in the late.
For the purpose of acquiring the necessary information he undertook a series of journeys which lasted over a score of years, and carried him in turn through. Persian geographic and technological knowledge and trade relations with the east 11th ce ibn khordadbeh author, book of roads and kingdoms, 1067. Abul abbas alhijazi, was a 12thcentury arab muslim traveler, merchant and sailor and is known to have spent forty years in china. Book of roads and kingdoms ibn khordadbeh wikivisually. Book of roads and kingdoms or book of highways and kingdoms ar. Book of roads and kingdoms or book of highways and kingdoms arabic. Ibn khordadbeh was the son of a governor and general of the abbasids the abdallah referred to above. Book of roads and kingdoms or book of highways and kingdoms is the name of an. On a controversial passage in ibn khordahbehs book of itineraries and kingdoms by jan romgard romgard, j. Book of roads and kingdoms ibn khordadbeh the book of roads and kingdoms arabic. Ibn alfaqih project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Book of roads and kingdoms ibn khordadbeh rediff pages. The book includes an excerpt from kitab alkharaj by abu aljafar.
On a controversial passage in ibn khordadhbehs book of itineraries and kingdoms. Almuqaddasi, the hierosolomite was born in jerusalem in 946 ad. His father was the ruler of tabarestan, modern mazandaran, nut he himself was a director of posts and intelligence. Domiyat, was an egyptian muslim admiral and explorer in 1008, the fatimid egyptian sea captain domiyat travels to the buddhist pilgrimage site in shandong, china, to seek out the chinese emperor zhenzong of song with gifts from his ruling alhakim biamr allah, successfully reopening diplomatic relations between egypt and china that had been lost since the collapse of the tang dynasty. Book of roads and kingdoms ibn khordadbeh, written in the late 9th century by ibn khordadbeh, an abbasid civil servant in the province of jibal. The same book reveals that 9th century persian geographer ibn khordadbeh mentioned in his book book of roads and kingdoms.
Almost three centuries before the publicationmost likely by a canon of st. Having few, if any, prototypes with which to work, ibn khurradadhbih drew heavily on foreign sources in his description of the world. He had the advantage of an excellent education and after having made the pilgrimage to mecca in his twentieth year, determined to devote himself to the study of geography. Book of roads and kingdoms ibn khordadbeh infogalactic. The author focuses on a ninthcentury tradition of maps known collectively as the kitab almasalik wa almamalik, or book of roads and kingdoms, by the persian geographer ibn khordadbeh, and greek history notably ptolemy from the perspectives of iconography, context, and patronage. Islamic geographystatecollapsed to show the template collapsed, i. Here we complete the slavic excerpts from his book of roads and countries or the book of roads and provinces or, as it is also known, kitab almasalik wa lmamalik. The author stated that the book is the property of the earth, the creation and the tribe of each country, the kingdoms, and the roads to all sides of the earth. This is a short summary of ibn khordadbeh s the book of routes and kingdoms. Parts of the book date at different time periods after fall of rome, book disappears rediscovered by the arabic revival about 8000ad ibn khordadbeh c. A book entitled nature science and sustainable technology research progress. His seven sons whom he positioned in seven different commercial centers from his base in yemen, enhanced his trading business by sending goods from foreign markets. The activities of the radhanites are documented by abu lqasim ubaid allah ibn khordadbeh, the director of posts and police spymaster and postman for the province of jibal under the abbasid caliph almutamid ruled 869885 ce, when he wrote kitab almasalik walmamalik the book of roads and kingdoms, probably around 870. Around 846847ce ibn khordadbeh wrote kitab al masalik w al mamalik the book of roads and kingdoms with the second edition of the book being published in 885ce.
The book of roads and kingdoms, kitab almasalik wal mamalik is a 9thcentury geography text by the persian geographer ibn khordadbeh. Ibn khordadbeh described the radhanites as sophisticated and. Almasaalik wa almamaalik iran blog fotros travel agency. During his early life he was in a devoted pursuit of higher education and spiritual improvement, he traveled as a young man both to important centers of learning, particularly. Ancient accounts of india and china, by two mohammedan travelers.
According to the narrative of abu muhammad alhassan hammawiyah alnajiramy, a raja of india named mahruk son of raiq of ra lived in a country between upper and lower kashmir requested a copy of the quran from the muslim amir of mansura brahmanabad, abdullah ibn umar ibn abd alaziz. The slavs of ibn khurradadhbih or ibn khordadbeh in. The book of roads and kingdoms is a 9thcentury geography text by the persian geographer ibn khordadbeh. He had lost 11 ships in the indian ocean but recovered his fortunes when his 12th ship safely. It was written in 10678 in cordoba, alandalus present day spain. But we did not include all the slavic references made by this author. It mostly consists of travel guides with varying degrees of details, 31 and gives a variety of information of official nature. Map of eurasia showing the trade network of the radhanites in blue, c.