Surat al-Ard
Surat al-Ard, also known as Al-Masalik wa-l-Mamalik, is a book on geography and travel written by the merchant traveler Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad Ibn Hawqal following his travels, which commenced in 331 AH. The work was influenced by Istakhri, who requested that he complete his Masalik and Mamalik. Nevertheless, he ultimately elected to compose a revised volume, drawing upon Istakhri's treatise and a compendium of other geographical works, in addition to his own empirical data and insights gleaned from his peregrinations. Consequently, the content of the book is meticulously presented. In addition to geographical information, the book contains a range of scientific and historical content, including biographical information. Some chapters are presented in the form of a tourist guide. Each region is discussed in detail, with a special map provided for each area.
The book exists in multiple versions, each exhibiting distinctive characteristics. The initial manuscript included a dedication to Sayf al-Dawla al-Hamdani, while a second copy from 367 presented a critical analysis of the Hamdanids. Other versions demonstrate a pronounced proclivity towards the Fatimids. In his study, the orientalist Rizzitano posits that the final version of the book was written in 378 AH, following two attempts: one in 356 AH and the other in 357 AH. Nevertheless, there are those who posit that the final copy was produced subsequent to Ibn Hawqal's demise. The multiplicity of versions has resulted in a degree of variation among the extant manuscripts of the book. Consequently, there are numerous manuscripts distributed among various libraries in Istanbul, Leiden, Paris, and elsewhere. Additionally, the book has been published in multiple editions in various countries and has been translated into a number of languages, including English, French, Turkish, and others. These translations have been produced either in their entirety or in part.
The author
was an Arab Muslim writer, geographer, historian, traveler, and merchant who lived during the 10th century AD. His writings on geography contained original information gained from his extensive travels, which spanned over three decades. This unique insight distinguished him from his contemporaries and predecessors, whether in his theoretical contributions or in his cartographic representations, which he created with his own hands. In the words of Ibn al-Adim, he was described as follows: "He was a virtuous individual hailing from the Nusaybin region". In addition to his book Surat al-Ard, he has another book entitled Kitab Saqalia, which is currently considered lost. He also published an article on the history of the Jews and their festivals in Hyderabad in 1947. The dearth of available sources has resulted in a number of discrepancies regarding his life and work. For instance, there is a lack of consensus on the date of his birth, with some sources indicating that he was born in the fourth century AH, while others provide no specific date. Additionally, there is a divergence of opinions regarding the span of his travels. Some sources limit these to a mere 26 years between 331 and 357, while others extend them to nearly 32 years. There was considerable divergence of opinion regarding his loyalties and ideological and political leanings. Some held the view that he was a political advocate, while others alleged that he was engaged in espionage on behalf of the Fatimids. These views may be attributed to his association with the Qarmatians of Bahrain, his condemnation of the inhabitants of Sicily, and his remarks concerning Andalusia, which could be interpreted as encouragement for the Fatimids or Abbasids to intervene in the region. Furthermore, he presented the initial manuscript of his book to Sayf al-Dawla al-Hamdani. The subsequent edition of the book evinces a pronounced inclination towards the Sunni Samanids. The discrepancy in historical accounts regarding his allegiance may be attributed to the reliance of some historians on the Leiden and Oxford versions of the Sourat al-Ard, which exhibit a pronounced and discernible Fatimid bias. This bias is absent in the Paris version and the other five Istanbul versions. The date of his death is also a point of contention. Haji Khalifa asserted that he died in 350 A.H. Al-Babani, in Hidayat al-'Arifin, proposed that he died in Andalusia, while Tehrani, in a different source, stated that he died in 380 A.H.Attribution of the book to Ibn Hawqal
There is consensus among researchers and other historians and bibliographers regarding the attribution of the book to Ibn Hawqal. However, some of them have differing opinions regarding the nomenclature of the book. Al-Babani, Elian Sarkis, and Haji Khalifa, as well as Ibn Khallikan, attributed it to him in multiple instances within the Wafayyat al-Ayyan. Additionally, numerous Orientalists who translated or otherwise engaged with the text, including William Uziel, Kramers, Weit, and De Goeje, concurred with this attribution.Naming
There is a discrepancy among sources regarding the specific title of Ibn Hawqal's book. This discrepancy is likely due to the varying starting points of the available copies of the book, as evidenced by the differing titles given by Ibn Khallikan the author of Kashf al-Zunun, who referenced it as "Al-Masalik wa-l-Mamalik". This is the title that was used for the first edition published in Leiden. The title of the second edition, which is primarily based on the Istanbul edition, is "Surat al-Ard." However, Ibn al-Adim referred to the book as "Goghraphia," stating that Ibn Hawqal, upon his departure from Baghdad in 331 AH, commenced the compilation of a geographical treatise, and made mention of the same in several instances, which is the name given to the work in the title of a copy held at the Egyptian Book House. In addition, Sibt ibn al-Jawzi cites Ibn Hawqal on more than one occasion in Mirat al-Zaman, referring to his book as "Al-Aqaleem". Furthermore, this information is also found in Al-Suyuti's Hosn al-Muhadhirah fi al-Tarikh Misr wa al-Qahira. A similar title is found in Copy 3012 in Topkapi, which begins with the words "Description of the Islamic regions and other provinces and the mountains and seas therein." Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi makes reference to it in another source as "Ajaeb al-Dunya wa Sefteha," which is also the title of Copy 2934 in Hagia Sophia.Ibn Hawqal's Methodology in ''Surat al-Ard''
Ibn Hawqal's account of the Earth is informed by a particular method of reporting information. When he encounters a piece of news that he questions, he prefaces it with one of three introductory phrases: "They claim," "it is said," or "it is narrated." In addition to providing descriptions of countries and kingdoms, Ibn Hawqal also offered insights into their economies, political systems, and natural environments. The text provides a detailed account of the city's infrastructure, including its roads, routes, economic resources, markets, and production. It also offers insights into the city's urbanization process, the prevailing political situation, and the characteristics and customs of its inhabitants. Additionally, he was interested in accurately describing cities, including their commercial activities and facilities, as well as the relationship between their locations and climatic conditions. Nevertheless, in a manner similar to that of the classical Arab geographical school, he confined himself to delineating the boundaries of the "Islamic Regions." The book's scope was not limited to geography; rather, it encompassed a diverse array of scientific disciplines. Additionally, the book encompasses historical, biographical, mineralogical, ethnographic, archaeological, and numismatic content, with select chapters structured in the format of a tourist guide. Ibn Hawqal appropriated from Istakhri both the structure of the book and a portion of its content. A comparative analysis of the two texts reveals that Ibn Hawqal incorporated entire chapters from Istikhari, including sections on the Arabian peninsula, the Arabian Gulf, Khuzestan, Persia, Kerman, the Indus basin, Dilm, and the Caspian Sea. Although he added important but brief additions to it, additionally, he drew the majority of his research on Egypt, the Levant, Iraq, and Mesopotamia from him. Ibn Hawqal's ingenuity is most evident in the chapters on the Islamic West, which account for approximately 61 pages of his book.Ibn Hawqal's work is distinguished by the incorporation of a dedicated map for each region he discussed. Moreover, his maps surpassed the precision of Istakhri's maps, exhibiting a distinctive and original approach that set them apart from the cartographic works of other geographers. However, he adopted the methodology of Muslim geographers, situating the south at the apex of the map. He commenced with the construction of a map entitled "The Picture of the Whole Earth," which depicted the known world of his era in a circular configuration, encompassed by the Ocean Sea on all sides. Additionally, he delineated the coastlines with linear and arc-shaped elements and depicted inland seas and islands with circular symbols.
Manuscripts and copies of the book
Manuscripts
book has a multitude of manuscripts dispersed among various libraries. In Istanbul, within the Topkapi Saray Museum, there is a manuscript dating back to 1086 AD and catalogued as 3346, which originated from the treasury of Sultan Ahmed. Another edition, No. 3347, and a third, No. 3012, copied in 867 AH/1463 AD, was attributed by Thomas Day Goodrich to Ibn Hawqal in an article in which he focused on the geographical maps contained in the Topkapi library. However, other scholars have attributed it to Istikhari because some of its chapters are similar to his work, especially the chapter on the Kerman region. Nevertheless, a number of other chapters lend support to the initial hypothesis. The author discusses the inhabitants of Upper Souss, their division into Maliki Sunnis and Shiites, the conflicts between the two enemies of Fez, and his description of his visit to Andalusia and Udagast. These topics are not addressed by Istikhari. Additionally, two manuscripts of the book are housed at the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul. Hagia Sophia 2934 contains meticulously positioned maps and a comprehensive dedication to Sayf al-Dawla, Emir of Aleppo and Hagia Sophia 2577M which was copied in 711 AH-1311 AD. The Museum of Antiquities possesses a copy of the manuscript, designated as No. 573, comprising 103 pages. A further manuscript, entitled Al-Masalik wa-l-Mamalik, is held at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. This manuscript also contains pages not included in the previous manuscript, No. 2216-FB.In the Leiden University Library in the Netherlands, there is a manuscript bearing the title Surat al-Ard and the catalog number Or. 314, copied on 23 Safar 926. A second copy, numbered 2214, is held by the National Library in Paris. This was created in 849 AH, and represents an abbreviation of the text of copy 3346 in Istanbul. It includes a number of additional sections covering the period from 534 AH to 580 AH. Additionally, a copy is housed in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University. A fragment of the book, No. 3/800, titled Kitab al-Baladan, is housed in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, Italy. It bears the computer number 12/14 and is written in Mashriqi script.
Additionally, there are other manuscripts that are primarily photocopies of previous manuscripts, including: A copy of the work, entitled The Book of Countries, is located in the Film Microfilm Library at the Department of Manuscripts at the Islamic University, catalogued as No. 800/3. The Doha Library in Qatar has two copies of the same item, one titled Description of the Islamic Regions and Others and the other titled Kingdoms and Tracts. The former is from manuscript No. 3012 in the library of Ahmed III, while the latter is from Ahmed III, 30 Geography. Additionally, the Egyptian National Library and Archives has a copy comprising 273 illustrated pages and the 258th volume of the Geography series. Another, No. 259, is entitled "The Forms of the Earth's Forms and Their Magnitude in Longitude and Latitude," which is more commonly known as "Geography." This field of study encompasses the form and description of the Earth's forms, their magnitude in longitude and latitude, and the drawing thereof. Additionally, it includes the examination of countries and their regions, as well as the urbanization of Muslim countries. The presentation of relevant images is also a crucial aspect of this field of study. It is an exemplar of the Topkapi manuscript. The National Library of France possesses a copy of the Leiden manuscript, catalogued as number 2215.