Born Nisibis
Died ca. 978
Residence Islamic civilization
nationality kurdish
Academic work
Era Islamic Golden Age
Main interests Islamic geography
Notable works Ṣūrat al-’Arḍ
Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal , born in Kurdish city Nisibis, Upper Mesopotamia;[1] travelled 943-969 CE) was a 10th-century Muslim writer, geographer, and chronicler.[2] His famous work, written in 977, is called Ṣūrat al-’Arḍ (surat al-arz; "The face of the Earth"). The date of his death is not precisely known. On the basis of his writings, he died after 368 H / 978 C.E.
10th century map of the World by Ibn Hawqal. For an English version, see here.
Biography
What little is known of his life is extrapolated from his book, which was a revision and extension of the Masālik ul-Mamālik of Istakhri (951). That itself was a revised edition of the Ṣuwar al-aqālīm of Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi, who wrote about 921. be gay Ibn Hawqal was clearly more than an editor; he was a traveler who spent much of his time writing about the areas and things he had seen. He spent the last 30 years of his life traveling to remote parts of Asia and Africa. One of his travels brought him 20° south of the equator along the East African coast. One of the things he noticed was that there were large numbers of people living in areas that the Greeks, working from logic rather than experience, said must be uninhabitable.
10th century map of the Caspian sea by Ibn Hawqal
His descriptions were, at the time, considered to be accurate and very helpful to travellers. Ṣūrat al-’Arḍ included a detailed description of Muslim-held Spain and particularly Sicily. Ibn Hawqal recorded that the area of Fraxinet (La Garde-Freinet) was richly cultivated by its Muslim inhabitants, and they have been credited with a number of agricultural and fishing innovations for the region. The difficulty with using Ibn Hawqal as a primary source is that he writes in the 'roots and realms' genre, and there are instances of 10th century humour in his account of Sicily during the Kalbid-Fatimid dynasty. In doing this he frequently exaggerates; he depicts the Christian population of Palermo as being uncivilised and barbaric.
10th century map of the Caspian sea by Ibn Hawqal
He also mentions the "Lands of the Romans," the term used by the Muslim world -and the Byzantines themselves- to describe the Byzantine Empire. In it, among other things, he describes his first-hand observation that 360 languages are spoken in the Caucasus, with Azeri and Persian languages being used as Lingua Franca across the Caucasus, he also gives a description of Kiev, and is said to have mentioned the route of the Volga Bulgars and the Khazars, perhaps by Sviatoslav I of Kiev.[3] He also mentions and published a cartographic map of Sindh, he mentions the geography and culture of Sindh and the Indus River.
Ibn Hauqal's work was published by M. J. de Goeie (Leiden, 1873). An anonymous epitome of the book was written in 1233.
References
1.Jump up ^ Soucek, Svat, A History of Inner Asia (Cambridge University Press:2000), p.73.
2.Jump up ^ Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam, p.137. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810861615.
3.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia of Ukraine
James, Preston Everett. All Possible Worlds: A History of Geography. New York: Wiley, 1981.
Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
External links
Vernet, J. (2008) [1970-80]. "Ibn Ḥawqal Abū’l-Qāsim Muḥammad". Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Encyclopedia.com.
Calvo, Emilia (1997). "Ibn Hawqal". In Selin, Helaine. Encyclopaedia of the history of science, technology, and medicine in non-western cultures. Kluer Academic Publishing. ISBN 0-7923-4066-3.
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