al-Maqdisi

This article is about the medieval Arab geographer. For other people named Al-Maqdisi or Al-Muqaddasi, seeMaqdisi.

Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Shams al-Dīn Al-Maqdisī مُحَمَّد ابْن أَحْمَد شَمْس ٱلدِّيْن ٱلْمَقْدِسِي
Born	c. 945/946 CE Jerusalem,Abbasid Caliphate
Died	991 CE Fatimid Caliphate
Academic background
Influences	Al-Balkhi
Academic work
Era	Islamic Golden Age
School or tradition	Balkhischool
Main interests	Islamic geography
Notable works	The Best Divisions in the Knowledge of the Regions

Shams al-Din Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Bakr,commonly known by thenisbaal-Maqdisioral-Muqaddasī,was a medievalPalestinianArabgeographer,author ofThe Best Divisions in the Knowledge of the RegionsandDescription of Syria (Including Palestine).

Al-Maqdisi is one of the earliest known historical figures to self-identify as aPalestinianduring his travels.

Biography

Sources

Outside of his own work, there is little biographical information available about al-Maqdisi.He is neither found in the voluminous biographies ofIbn Khallikan(d. 1282) nor were the aspects of his life mentioned in the works of his contemporaries.

Early life and education

Al-Maqdisi was fromJerusalem(Bayt al-Maqdisin Arabic), from which he received his name. He was particularly fond of the city and described it at length in his geographic work.

He was born inJerusaleminc. 946and belonged to a middle-class family whose roots in the city's environs dated from the period approximate to the7th-century Muslim conquest.According to historianAndré Miquel,al-Maqdisi was "very much attached to thePalestineof his birth and to the town whose name he bears ".Al-Maqdisīor alternativelyal-Muqaddasīwas anisbaindicating that he was from "Bayt al-Maqdis" or "Bayt al-Muqaddas", the Muslim names for Jerusalem.His paternal grandfather, Abu Bakr al-Banna, had been responsible for the construction ofAcre's maritime fortifications under orders fromAhmad ibn Tulun(r. 868–884), the autonomousAbbasidgovernor ofEgyptandSyria.Al-Maqdisi's maternal grandfather, Abu Tayyib al-Shawwa, moved to Jerusalem fromBiyarinKhurasanand was also an architect.

As can be inferred by his work and social background, al-Maqdisi was likely well-educated.Miquel asserts that al-Maqdisi's use of "rhymed prose, even poetry" is indicative of a strong knowledge inArabic grammarandliterature.Likewise, his writings show that he possessed an early interest inIslamic jurisprudence,history, philology andhadith.

Pursuits in geography

Al-Maqdisi made his firstHajj(pilgrimage toMecca) in 967.During this period, he became determined to devote himself to the study of geography.To acquire the necessary information, he undertook a series of journeys throughout the Islamic world,ultimately visiting all of its lands with the exception ofal-Andalus(Iberian Peninsula),SindhandSistan.The known dates or date ranges of al-Maqdisi's travels include his journey toAlepposometime between 965 and 974, his second pilgrimage to Mecca in 978, a visit to Khurasan in 984 and his stay inShirazin 985 when he decided to compose his material.The finished work was titledThe Best Divisions for the Knowledge of the Provinces.

Work

The regions of Islam in the tenth century, based on Al-Maqdisi's work

Though possibly influenced by predecessorsal-Jahiz(d. 869), who introduced the "science of countries", andIbn al-Faqih(fl. 902), al-Maqdisi "surpassed" both "all to the advantage of what certainly should be called a true geography", according to Miquel.Moreover, Miquel surmises that al-Maqdisi "was probably the first to have desired and conceived" true geography as an "original science", an assertion that al-Maqdisi himself makes in the preface ofAḥsan al-taqāsīm.He belonged to the school known as the "atlas of Islam", inaugurated byAbu Zayd al-Balkhi(d. 934) and developed byIstakhri(d. 957) and al-Maqdisi's contemporaryIbn Hawqal(d. 978).

Al-Balkhi's school almost exclusively dealt with the Islamic world, to which al-Maqdisi too devoted his studies.Al-Maqdisi refers to this world asal-mamlakaoral-Islām(the Domain of Islam), a unique concept in which all of the lands of Islam constituted a single domain.He subdivided this domain into two parts:mamlakat al-ʿArab(domain of the Arabs) andmamlakat al-ʿAjam(domain of the non-Arabs).The former consisted, from east to west, of the six provinces ofIraq,Aqur(Upper Mesopotamia),Arabia,Syria,Egyptand theMaghreb,while the latter consisted of the eight provinces of the Mashriq (Sistan,Afghanistan,KhurasanandTransoxiana), Sindh,Kirman,Fars,Khuzistan,Jibal,Daylamand Rihab (Armenia,AdharbayjanandAran).

Description of Palestine

Aḥsan al-taqāsīmgives a systematic account of all the places and regions al-Maqdisi had visited.He devoted a section of his book toBilad al-Sham(theLevant) with a particular focus on Palestine.In contrast to travelers to Palestine, such asArculf(c. 680s),Nasir Khusraw(c. 1040s) and others, who were pilgrims, al-Maqdisi gave detailed insights into the region's population, way of life, economy and climate.He paid special attention to Jerusalem, detailing its layout, walls, streets, markets, public structures and landmarks, particularly theHaram ash-Sharif(Temple Mount) and the latter'sDome of the RockandJami Al-Aqsa.He described the city's people and customs, focusing on its Muslims, but also its Christian and Jewish communities, whose significant presence he lamented.

Al-Maqdisi also gave extensive overviews ofRamlaandTiberias,the capitals of thePalestineandJordandistricts, respectively.To a lesser extent, he described Acre,Beisan,Bayt Jibrin,Caesarea,AmmanandAila.In his descriptions of the aforementioned cities, al-Maqdisi noted their prosperity and stability and gave a general impression of Palestine as densely populated and wealthy, with numerous localities.

Guy Le Strangecomments on al-Maqdisi's work:

His description of Palestine, and especially of Jerusalem, his native city, is one of the best parts of the work. All that he wrote is the fruit of his own observation, and his descriptions of the manners and customs of the various countries, bear the stamp of a shrewd and observant mind, fortified by profound knowledge of both books and men.

Description of Eastern Arabia

Hafit{Tuwwam} abounds inpalmtrees; it lies in the direction ofHajar{Al-Hasa}, and the mosque is in themarkets...DibbaandJulfar,both in the direction of the Hajar, are close to the sea... Tuwwam has been dominated by a branch of theQuraysh...

— Al-Muqaddasi, 985CE.

Al-Maqdisi mentioned regions inEastern Arabiawhich form parts of what are nowSaudi Arabia,theUAEandOman.Al-Hasa is an important oasis region in theeastern partof Saudi Arabia, whereasTuwwamis another oasis region split between the UAE and Oman, comprising the modern settlements ofAl AinandAl-Buraimion different sides of the Omani-UAE border.Dibbais another region split between the UAE and Oman, touching theMusandam Peninsula,which is partly ruled by the Emirate ofRas Al Khaimah,where the ancient settlement of Julfar is located.

See also

• List of Arab scientists and scholars
• Zedekiah's Cave

Bibliography

• Avni, Gideon (2014).The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach.Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-968433-5.
• Le Strange, G.(1890).Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500.Committee of thePalestine Exploration Fund.
• Gildemeister, J.(1884). "Mukaddasi".Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins.7:143–172,215–230.
• Miquel, A.(1993)."Al-Mukaddasi".InBosworth, C. E.;van Donzel, E.;Heinrichs, W. P.&Pellat, Ch.(eds.).The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition.Volume VII:Mif–Naz.Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 492–493.ISBN978-90-04-09419-2.
• Mukaddasi (1886).Le Strange, G.(ed.).Description of Syria, including Palestine.London:Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society.
• Scholten, Arnhild (1980)."Al-Muqaddasi, c. 945-c. 988".In Freeman, T. W.;Pinchemel, P.(eds.).Geographers: Biobibliographical Studies, Volume 4.Mansell Publishing.ISBN978-1-4742-3110-7.

Further reading

• Collins, Basil Anthony (1974).Al-Muqaddasi; the man and His Work.Michigan Geographical Publication.
• Al-Muqaddasi (1994).The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions. Ahsan al-Taqasim Fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim.Translated by Basil Anthony Collins. Reading: Garnet Publishing.ISBN1-873938-14-4.

External links

• Al-Muqaddasi
• Al-Muqaddasi: An Encyclopaedic Scholar