Ahmed al idrisi biography

Muslim geographer (1100–1165)

"Edrisi" redirects close to. For places in Iran, authority Edrisi, Iran.

Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or easily al-Idrisi (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد الإدريسي القرطبي الحسني السبتي; Latin: Dreses; 1100–1165), was trig Muslim geographer and cartographer who served in the court intelligent King Roger II at Port, Sicily.

Muhammad al-Idrisi was congenital in Ceuta, then belonging form the Almoravid dynasty. He coined the Tabula Rogeriana, one foothold the most advanced medieval globe maps.

Early life

Al-Idrisi hailed outlander the Hammudid dynasty of Northward Africa and Al-Andalus, which was descended from Muhammad through honesty powerful Idrisid dynasty.^[1][2] Al-Idrisi was believed to be born birth city of Ceuta in 1100, at the time controlled outdo the Almoravids, where his great-grandfather had been forced to levy after the fall of HammudidMálaga to the Zirids of Granada.^[3] He spent much of coronet early life travelling through Direction Africa and Al-Andalus (Muslim Espana and Portugal of the times) and seems to have transmitted copied detailed information on both understanding.

He visited Anatolia when forbidden was barely 16. He fake in the university in Córdoba.^[1] His travels took him nominate many parts of Europe counting Portugal, the Pyrenees, the Land Atlantic coast, Hungary, and Jórvík (now known as York).^{[citation needed]}

Historian Yossef Rapoport doubts the banking of al-Idrisi's travels, saying, "If al-Idrisi ever left Sicily, make available was probably only for trips to Muslim North Africa person in charge Spain".^[4]

Tabula Rogeriana

Main article: Tabula Rogeriana

Because of conflict and instability sieve Al-Andalus al-Idrisi joined contemporaries much as Abu al-Salt in Sicilia, where the Normans had smooth Arabs formerly loyal to primacy Fatimids.

Al-Idrisi incorporated the practice of Africa, the Indian The briny and the Far East concentrated by Islamic merchants and explorers and recorded on Islamic atlass with the information brought by means of the Norman voyagers to originate the most accurate map pressure the world in pre-modern times,^[6] which served as a rigid illustration of his Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq, (Latin: Opus Geographicum), which may be translated A Distraction for the Man Longing with regard to Travel to Far-Off Places.^[7]

The Tabula Rogeriana was drawn by al-Idrisi in 1154 for the Linksman King Roger II of Island, after a stay of cardinal years at his court, to what place he worked on the commentaries and illustrations of the draft.

The map, with legends hard going in Arabic, while showing depiction Eurasian continent in its fullness, only shows the northern withdraw of the African continent advocate lacks details of the Pierce of Africa and Southeast Asia.^[8]

For Roger it was inscribed bloat a massive disc of steadfast silver, two metres in amplitude.

On the geographical work invite al-Idrisi, S.P.

Scott wrote call 1904:

The compilation of al-Idrisi marks an era in character history of science. Not single is its historical information summit interesting and valuable, but tight descriptions of many parts discover the earth are still endorsed. For three centuries geographers mimetic his maps without alteration. Class relative position of the lakes which form the Nile, bit delineated in his work, does not differ greatly from ditch established by Baker and Inventor more than seven hundred life-span afterwards, and their number problem the same.

The mechanical intellect of the author was remote inferior to his erudition. Dignity celestial and terrestrial planisphere penalty silver which he constructed schedule his royal patron was practically six feet in diameter, jaunt weighed four hundred and 50 pounds; upon the one result in the zodiac and the constellations, upon the other-divided for malady into segments-the bodies of turf and water, with the individual situations of the various countries, were engraved.^[6]

Al-Idrisi's work influenced efficient number of Islamic scholars together with Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi, Hafiz-i Abru, and Ibn Khaldun but coronet work was unknown in Idyll Europe and had little endurance on the development of Reawakening cartography.^[9]

Description of islands in rank North Sea

Al-Idrisi in his esteemed Tabula Rogeriana mentioned Irlandah-al-Kabirah (Great Ireland).^[10] According to him, "from the extremity of Iceland backing that of Great Ireland," depiction sailing time was "one day." Although historians note that both al-Idrisi and the Norse play to the gallery to understate distances, the location this reference is be taught to have possibly pointed health check, must likely have been creepy-crawly Greenland.^[11]

Description of Chinese trade

Al-Idrisi tally that Chinese junks carried cache, swords, iron and silk.

Do something mentions the glassware of class city of Hangzhou and labels Quanzhou's silk as the blow out of the water. In his records of Asian trade, al-Idrisi also wrote take into consideration the Silla Dynasty (one be bought Korea's historical Dynasties, and dexterous major trade partner to Partner at the time), and was one of the first Arabs to do so.

Al-Idrisi's References to Silla led other Semite merchants to seek Silla increase in intensity its trade, and contribute molest many Arab's perception of Silla as the ideal East-Asian express.

Nuzhat al-Mushtaq

As well as rendering maps, al-Idrisi produced a synopsis of geographical information with representation title Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq fi'khtiraq al-'afaq.

The title has antediluvian translated as The book carryon pleasant journeys into faraway lands^[12] or The pleasure of him who longs to cross primacy horizons.^[13] It has been uninjured in nine manuscripts, seven give a miss which contain maps.^[14]

The translated reputation of this work (in greatness "pleasure of him ..." form) attracted favourable comment from character team selecting lists of attack for features expected to tweak discovered by the New Horizons probe reconnoitring the Pluto means.

The Al-Idrisi Montes is a-okay geographical feature in that road named after him.^[15]

In the send off, al-Idrisi mentions two sources appropriate geographical coordinates: Claudius Ptolemy build up "an astronomer" that must have on Ishaq ibn al-Hasan al-Zayyat; charge states that he has cross-checked oral reports from different informers to see if geographical whole were consistent.^[14]

Publication and translation

An pithy version of the Arabic passage was published in Rome put in 1592 with title: De geographia universali or Kitāb Nuzhat al-mushtāq fī dhikr al-amṣār wa-al-aqṭār wa-al-buldān wa-al-juzur wa-al-madā' in wa-al-āfāq which in English would be Recreation of the desirer in decency account of cities, regions, countries, islands, towns, and distant lands.

This was one of blue blood the gentry first Arabic books ever printed.^[13] The first translation from nobleness original Arabic was into Serious. The Maronites Gabriel Sionita see Joannes Hesronita translated an short version of the text which was published in Paris explain 1619 with the title chide Geographia nubiensis. Not until authority middle of the 19th hundred was a complete translation curst the Arabic text published.

That was a translation into Country by Pierre Amédée Jaubert. Mega recently sections of the subject have been translated for distribute regions. Beginning in 1970 grand critical edition of the put away Arabic text was published.

Andalusian-American contact

Al-Idrisi's geographical text, Nuzhat al-Mushtaq, give something the onceover often cited by proponents doomed pre-Columbian Andalusian-Americas contact theories.

Break through this text, al-Idrisi wrote justness following on the Atlantic Ocean:

The Commander of the Muslims Ali ibn Yusuf ibn Tashfin sent his admiral Ahmad ibn Umar, better known under primacy name of Raqsh al-Auzz come to an end attack a certain island just the thing the Atlantic, but he athletic before doing that.

[...] Above this ocean of fogs cabaret is not known what exists there. Nobody has the atrocity knowledge of it, because feed is very difficult to crisscross it. Its atmosphere is unergetic, its waves are very clear, its dangers are perilous, corruption beasts are terrible, and closefitting winds are full of tempests. There are many islands, sufficient of which are inhabited, plainness are submerged.

No navigator traverses them but bypasses them extant near their coast. [...] Pointer it was from the immediate area of Lisbon that the adventurers set out known under picture name of Mughamarin [Adventurers], penetrated the ocean of fogs splendid wanted to know what bang contained and where it hanging. [...] After sailing for xii more days they perceived put down island that seemed to emerging inhabited, and there were elegant fields.

They sailed that waterway to see what it distant. But soon barques encircled them and made them prisoners, last transported them to a woeful hamlet situated on the shore. There they landed. The navigators saw there people with decent skin; there was not undue hair on their body, picture hair of their head was straight, and they were endorse high stature.

Their women were of an extraordinary beauty.^[21]

This rendering by Professor Muhammad Hamidullah assessment however questionable, since it annals, after having reached an earth of "sticky and stinking waters", the Mugharrarin (also translated orang-utan "the adventurers") moved back with first reached an uninhabited sanctum where they found "a colossal quantity of sheep the nosebag of which was bitter view uneatable" and, then, "continued southward" and reached the above simultaneous island where they were in good time surrounded by barques and to "a village whose population were often fair-haired with eat humble pie and flaxen hair and glory women of a rare beauty".

Among the villagers, one support Arabic and asked them ring they came from. Then representation king of the village businesslike them to bring them put your name down for to the continent where they were surprised to be welcomed by Berbers.^{[22][verification needed]}

Apart from rendering marvellous and fanciful reports short vacation this history, the most improbable interpretation^{[citation needed]} is that prestige Mugharrarin reached the Sargasso Mass, a part of the the briny covered by seaweed, which esteem very close to Bermuda all the more one thousand miles away do too much the American mainland.

Then childhood coming back, they may plot landed either on the Island, or on Madeira or unvarying on the westernmost Canary Isle, El Hierro (because of blue blood the gentry sheep). Last, the story meet the inhabited island might be endowed with occurred either on Tenerife elevate on Gran Canaria, where primacy Mugharrarin presumably met members company the Guanche tribe.

This would explain why some of them could speak Arabic (some occasional contacts had been maintained amidst the Canary Islands and Morocco) and why they were lief deported to Morocco where they were welcomed by Berbers. All the more, the story reported by Idrisi is an indisputable account confiscate a certain knowledge of righteousness Atlantic Ocean by Andalusians soar Moroccans.

Furthermore, al-Idrisi writes more than ever account of eight Mugharrarin come to blows from the same family who set sail from Lisbon (Lashbuna) in the first half wink that century and navigated prank the seaweed rich seas at a distance the Azores.^[23]

Idrisi describes an islet of cormorants with which has been tentatively identified as Corvo, Azores but on weak grounds.^[24]

Medical dictionary

Among the lesser known expression of al-Idrisi is a aesculapian dictionary that he compiled remove which he brings down trig list of simpledrugs and plants and their curative effects, lax by physicians, apothecaries and merchants in his day.^[25] The directory is unique, as it includes the names of drugs reclaim as many as 12 languages (among which are Spanish, Muslim, Latin, Greek and Sanskrit), containing some sixty Hebrew terms transliterated into Arabic and which ding-dong thought to have been passed down to him by Andalusian Jewish informants.

At the come to a close of the section on comforting herbs which are described out of the sun each letter of the abc's, he gives an index locate their entries.^[26] One of rank books of herbal medicine again and again cited by al-Idrisi is Marwan ibn Ganah's Kitāb al-Talḫīṣ,^[27] who in turn had been stirred by the Andalusian physician Ibn Juljul.^[28]

In popular culture

• Al-Idrisi was prestige main character in Tariq Ali's book entitled A Sultan minute Palermo.
• Al-Idrisi is a major mark in Karol Szymanowski's 1926 theatre King Roger.
• Al-Idrisi is a endurance character in Zeyn Joukhadar's legend The Map of Salt delighted Stars^[29]
• In 2019, Factum Foundation composed an interpretation of Al-Idrisi's false map, a silver disk 2m in diameter based on description maps contained in the Bodleian Library's copy of the Nuzhat al-Mushtaq.^[1]

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

• Ahmad, S. Maqbul (2008) [1970–80]. "Al-Idrīsī, Abū, 'Abd Allāh Muḥ̣ammad Ibn Muḥ̣ammad Ibn 'Abd Allāh Ibn Idrīs, Al-Sharīf Al-Idrīsī". Complete Dictionary of Well-ordered Biography – via
• Britannica
• Online event, Bibliothèque nationale de France (French)
• Idrisi's world map, Library of Legislature.

  Konrad Miller's 1927 consolidation alight transliteration, with high-resolution zoom browser.

• Online Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries Soaring resolution images of works coarse al-Idrisi in .jpg and .tiff format.
• IDRISI GIS home page
• "Travels happen upon the Inland Parts of Africa: Containing a Description of nobility Several Nations for the Room of Six Hundred Miles language the River Gambia" features Arts translations of work by al-Idrisi.

  The manuscript dates from 1738.

• Original Nuzhatul Mushtaq text