Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Shams al-Dīn Al-Maqdisī مُحَمَّد ابْن أَحْمَد شَمْس ٱلدِّيْن ٱلْمَقْدِسِي | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 945/946 CE |
| Died | 991 CE |
| Academic background | |
| Influences | Al-Balkhi |
| Academic work | |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| School or tradition | Balkhi school |
| 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,[a] commonly known by thenisbaal-Maqdisi[b] oral-Muqaddasī,[c] was a medievalArab[1]geographer, author ofThe Best Divisions in the Knowledge of the Regions[d] andDescription of Syria (Including Palestine).
Al-Maqdisi is one of the earliest known historical figures to self-identify as aPalestinian, having done so during one of his travels inPersia.[2][3][4]
Outside of his own work, there is little biographical information available about al-Maqdisi.[5] 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.[6]
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He was born inJerusalem inc. 946 and belonged to a middle-class family whose roots in the city's environs dated from the period approximate to the7th-century Muslim conquest.[5][6][7] According to historianAndré Miquel, al-Maqdisi was "very much attached to thePalestine of his birth and to the town whose name he bears".[5]Al-Maqdisī or alternativelyal-Muqaddasī was anisba indicating that he was from "Bayt al-Maqdis" or "Bayt al-Muqaddas", the Muslim names for Jerusalem.[5] 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 autonomousAbbasid governor ofEgypt andSyria.[5] Al-Maqdisi's maternal grandfather, Abu Tayyib al-Shawwa, moved to Jerusalem fromBiyar inKhurasan and was also an architect.[5]
As can be inferred by his work and social background, al-Maqdisi was likely well-educated.[5] Miquel asserts that al-Maqdisi's use of "rhymed prose, even poetry" is indicative of a strong knowledge inArabic grammar andliterature.[5] Likewise, his writings show that he possessed an early interest inIslamic jurisprudence, history, philology andhadith.[5]
Al-Maqdisi made his firstHajj (pilgrimage toMecca) in 967.[5] During this period, he became determined to devote himself to the study of geography.[7] To acquire the necessary information, he undertook a series of journeys throughout the Islamic world,[7][8] ultimately visiting all of its lands with the exception ofal-Andalus (Iberian Peninsula),Sindh andSistan.[8] The known dates or date ranges of al-Maqdisi's travels include his journey toAleppo sometime between 965 and 974, his second pilgrimage to Mecca in 978, a visit to Khurasan in 984 and his stay inShiraz in 985 when he decided to compose his material.[5] The finished work was titledThe Best Divisions for the Knowledge of the Provinces.[e][9]
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.[9] 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.[9] 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).[9]
Al-Balkhi's school almost exclusively dealt with the Islamic world, to which al-Maqdisi too devoted his studies.[9] Al-Maqdisi refers to this world asal-mamlaka oral-Islām (the Domain of Islam), a unique concept in which all of the lands of Islam constituted a single domain.[9] He subdivided this domain into two parts:mamlakat al-ʿArab (domain of the Arabs) andmamlakat al-ʿAjam (domain of the non-Arabs).[9] The former consisted, from east to west, of the six provinces ofIraq,Aqur (Upper Mesopotamia),Arabia,Syria,Egypt and theMaghreb, while the latter consisted of the eight provinces of the Mashriq (Sistan,Afghanistan,Khurasan andTransoxiana), Sindh,Kirman,Fars,Khuzistan,Jibal,Daylam and Rihab (Armenia,Adharbayjan andAran).[9]
Aḥsan al-taqāsīm gives a systematic account of all the places and regions al-Maqdisi had visited.[7] He devoted a section of his book toBilad al-Sham (theLevant) with a particular focus on Palestine.[10] 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.[10] 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 Rock andJami Al-Aqsa.[10] He described the city's people and customs, focusing on its Muslims, but also its Christian and Jewish communities, whose significant presence he lamented.[10]
Al-Maqdisi also gave extensive overviews ofRamla andTiberias, the capitals of thePalestine andJordan districts, respectively.[10] To a lesser extent, he described Acre,Beisan,Bayt Jibrin,Caesarea,Amman andAila.[10] 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.[10]
Guy Le Strange comments 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.[7]
Hafit {Tuwwam} abounds inpalm trees; it lies in the direction ofHajar {Al-Hasa}, and the mosque is in themarkets ...Dibba andJulfar, both in the direction of the Hajar, are close to the sea ... Tuwwam has been dominated by a branch of theQuraysh ...
Al-Maqdisi mentioned regions inEastern Arabia which form parts of what are nowSaudi Arabia, theUAE andOman. Al-Hasa is an important oasis region in theeastern part of Saudi Arabia, whereasTuwwam is another oasis region split between the UAE and Oman, comprising the modern settlements ofAl Ain andAl-Buraimi on different sides of the Omani-UAE border.Dibba is 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.[11]
في البناء فقال لي الاستاذ انت مصري ؟. قلت لا بل فلسطيني . قال سمعت ان عندكم تخرم الاحجار كما يخرم الخشب. قلت اجل (And I told them of the architecture in Palestine , and asked them questions in the art of architecture. He {a Stone cutter} asked me 'Are you Egyptian ?' I said 'No , I am Palestinian'. He said : 'I heard you drill stone as you would drill wood ?'. I said 'Yes'.)
