Sifat Jazirat al-Arab
| Author | Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani |
|---|---|
| Original title | صفة جزيرة العرب |
| Language | Arabic |
| Genre | Geography, Travel |
| Publisher | Brill Publishers |
| Publication place | Leiden |
Ṣifāt Jazīrat al-'Arab (Arabic: صفة جزيرة العرب, Characteristics Of The Arabian Peninsula) is a book written by the 10th-century chemist, geographer and historian, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani. The book describes the state of the Arabian Peninsula during the life of al-Hamdani, including detailed descriptions of various flora and fauna and tribes present in the peninsula.
History
[edit]After the discovery of its manuscripts, the Ṣifāt Jazīrat al-'Arab was reprinted and then published in Leiden in the year 1884 by Brill Publishers with editing and annotations by orientalist scholar David Heinrich Müller.[1] It was later reprinted in Cairo in 1953 before the historian Ismail bin Ali al-Akwa further edited and annotated the work in 1974, publishing the revised version in 1990.[2] Dar Al Afaq Al Arabiya published another version of the 1990 edition in 2000.[3]
The Ṣifāt Jazīrat al-'Arab is also regarded as one of al-Hamdani's most referenced works.[4]
Content
[edit]The book provides detailed descriptions of the Arabian Peninsula in the 10th century.[5][a] In the book, al-Hamdani also quotes from prior geographers like Claudius Ptolemy as well as the Kitāb Hirmis al-ḥakīm (The Book of Hermes the Wise).[1][2] Flora and fauna of the Arabian Peninsula are described in great detail, while the tribes al-Hamdani interacted with are also listed down.[1][2] Towards the end of the book, there are poems as well as supplications (du'a).[1][2]
Sites described by al-Hamdani in the book include the historical and archeological site of Thaj, now in present-day Saudi Arabia.[6] He also describes where gold and silver can be found in the Arabian Peninsula.[7]
Discrepancies
[edit]According to al-Akwa, editor of the 1990 version, there were several discrepancies in the original forms of the manuscripts.[2] For example, al-Hamdani did not describe the Abyan Governorate despite explicitly saying that he had already described it.[2] He also did not describe Oman, instead giving a few lines of commentary on the country, which was unusual as his main aim of writing the book was to describe every country of the Arabian Peninsula with adequate detail.[2]
See also
[edit]- Al-Iklil, another book written by al-Hamdani about Yemeni history
Notes
[edit]- ^ al-Hamdani states that the book was written in the 4th century of the Islamic Hijri calendar, which can be calculated to the 10th century CE.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d al-Hamdani (1884). Müller, David H. (ed.). Ṣifāt Jazīrat al-'Arab. Leiden: Brill Publishers.
- ^ a b c d e f g al-Hamdani (1990). al-Akwa, Muhammad bin Ali (ed.). Ṣifāt Jazīrat al-'Arab. Yemen: Maktaba Al Arshad.
- ^ al-Hamdani (2000). Ṣifāt Jazīrat al-'Arab. Dar Al Afaq Al Arabiya. ISBN 977-572771-5.
- ^ Harley, J.B.; Woodward, David, eds. (1987). Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies. History of Cartography. Vol. 2. The University of Chicago Press.
- ^ Brandt, Marieke (2014-03-22). "The contemporary structures and historical formation of the Khawlan and Juma'ah Tribes in Sa'dah, Northwest Yemen". Anthropology of the Middle East. 9 (1): 59–83.
- ^ Mandaville, James P. (1963). "Thāj: A Pre-Islamic Site in Northeastern Arabia". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (172): 9–20. doi:10.2307/1355711. ISSN 0003-097X.
- ^ Dunlop, D. M. (1957). "Sources of Gold and Silver in Islam According to al-Hamdānī (10th Century A. D.)". Studia Islamica (8): 29–49. doi:10.2307/1595246. ISSN 0585-5292.