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Zakariyya' al-Qazwini (full name:Abū Yaḥyā Zakariyyāʾ ibn Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd al-Qazwīnī,Arabic:أبو يحيى زكرياء بن محمد بن محمود القزويني), also known asQazvini (Persian:قزوینی), (bornc. 1203 inQazvin, Iran, and died 1283), was a professor,jurist,cosmographer andgeographer.[1]
Qazwini’s most famous work is his cosmography titledʿAjāʾib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharāʾib al-mawjūdāt orWonders of the Creation and Unique [phenomena] of the Existence.[2] This treatise, frequently illustrated, was immensely popular and has been preserved today in many copies.[3] Al-Qazwini was also well known for his geographical dictionaryĀthār al-bilād wa-akhbār al-ʿibād orMonuments of the Lands and Historical Traditions about Their Peoples. Both of these treatises reflect extensive knowledge in a wide range of disciplines.[1][2]
Qazwini was born inQazvin, Iran to a family ofMuslim jurists who descended fromAnas bin Malik, a companion of theprophetMuhammad.[2][4] In 1220, at the age of 16 or 17, Qazwini fled toMosul after an earlyMongol campaign led byGenghis Khan reached Qazvin.[2] Sometime before Qazwini relocated to Mosul, he received a legal education.[2]
While in Mosul, Qazwini studied mathematics, astronomy, religion philosophy, and geography at amadrasa.[3] Qazwini also interacted with numerous scholars in Mosul, such as the philosopherAl-Abharī, the geographerYaqut al-Hamawi, and the historianIbn al-Athir.[2] InSyria, Qazwini also visitedIbn Arabi, aSufi scholar.[2]
After spending twenty years studying in Mosul, Qazwini relocated toWasit, a city nearBaghdad.[1][2] In Wasit, Qazwini served as a professor at al-Madrasa al-Sharabiyya, a legal college, and was the chiefqadi under the lastAbbasidCaliphAl-Musta'sim.[1][2] In 1258, the Mongols, led byHulegu Khan, invaded Wasit during theSiege of Baghdad.[1] Despite the subsequent fall of the Abbasid Caliphate and the formation of theIlkhanate, Qazwini continued to serve as a qadi and professor.[1][2][5]
Qazwini published most of his work during this period, includingTheWonders of Creation andTheMonuments of the Lands.[1][5][6]Wonders of Creation, his most famous work, is a seminal work incosmography, whileMonuments of the Lands is ageographical dictionary.[4][1] Despite the challenges posed by the Mongol invasion, Qazwini's works compiled a majority of the knowledge that was available to 13th century Islamic scholars, which many modern scholars perceive as a significant achievement.[5][6] It is likely that Qazwini's works were also revered by his contemporaries, as his work was reproduced in multiple languages, includingArabic,Persian, andOttoman Turkish, and was commissioned by the prominent Ilkhanid patronAta-Malik Juvayni.[1][2]
Between 1219-1258, Qazwini wroteThe Wonders of Creation, which attempted to explain the entire existence of the universe by exploring science and art through the lens of 13th century Islamic visual culture.[2] The structure of the work includes two cosmographies, with the first focusing oncelestial forms and the second focusing onterrestrial forms.[1][2][6] The celestial cosmography describes the heavens, angels and astrological houses, with the greatest emphasis placed upon the role of angels as a stabilizing force on earth.[1][2][6] Next, the terrestrial cosmography discusses elements of the physical earth, like plants and living creatures.[6] Living creatures are further categorized into three hierarchical categories: man, beasts, andlapids, with each successive category denoting a lesser classification.[6] SinceThe Wonders of Creation was among the most readmanuscripts of its time, it heavily influenced the style and language of later encyclopedic and geographical works.[1][2][6]
Qazwini’s other well-known work,The Monuments of the Lands, was written between 1262-1263 and edited in either 1275 or 1276.[1][2][6] This encyclopedic work focuses on 13th century moral and literary geographies in the Islamic world and includes the work of notable Islamic geographers likeYa’qūbī andIbn al-Faqīh.[1][2]The Monuments of the Lands begins with threeprologues: the first examining population growth, the second focusing on the special characteristics of towns and cities, and the third dividing earth into climate zones.[2] The remaining portion of the encyclopedia is organized by longitude and latitude, which creates anethnographic record of the towns, lands, and trading systems of the 13th century Islamic world.[4]
Qazwini’s work was in dialogue with the philosophic tradition ofIbn Sina, an 11th century Islamic thinker who closely followed theNeoplatonic philosophy ofemanationism.[1][6] This philosophy was developed by the Greek philosopherPlotinus in the third century and holds that every single thing in the universe comes from a single source, which Ibn Sina defined as God.[6] The beings that first emanated from this source are considered to be closest to perfect singularity, whereas entities that emerged later are the most imperfect and distant from God, creating a “hierarchy of creation.”[1] Sina also emphasized that any object could inspire aesthetic appreciation or delight by evoking a sense of wonder, a belief that is directly referenced in Qazwini’s work.[3]
His most well-known book,Wonders of Creation, aligns its structure with Sina’semanationism, with the description of the celestial anddivine spheres located at the beginning and latter half of the book concerning earthly entities.[1] By adopting this structure, Qazwini places the most “perfect” entities (ie., the beings closest to God) first and the before the least divinely “perfect” entities last.[6]Wonders of Creation also includes elements of Sina’s beliefs regarding wonder, as the work opens with an essay where Qazwini argues that the mysterious objects and “rarities” in his book should evoke a feeling of awe and wonder rather than fear or horror, no matter their aesthetic appearance, simply on the basis of their novelty.[3]
Beyond the philosophy of Ibn Sina, Qazwini’s works were also written in response to the upheaval caused by the 13th centuryMongol conquest of Asia.[6][1] The turbulent state of the Islamic world influenced his cosmographical works, most notablyWonders of Creation, which attempted to organize the world based on an assumption of a preexisting and divinely arranged order.[1][6] This likely served as a means of comfort for theintellectuals of his day and for Qazwini himself, who was personally displaced during this time period.[1][6][3]
Qazwini died in Wasit at age of 79 or 80 in 1283.[2] Not much is known about the end of Qazwini's life, but it is clear that he was working as a qadi, professor, and scholar at the time of his death.[2][1][5] In fact, one of the earliest surviving copies ofWonders of Creation is believed to have been created by Qazwini just three years before his death.[1]
