Al-Biruni - Revision history

Adam Simmons at 12:30, 21 February 2015

2015-02-21T12:30:50Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:30, 21 February 2015
Line 86:		Line 86:
	! Latitude		! Latitude
	\|-		\|-
	\| ''Sufāla'' of the Zanj,<ref>cf. note 1</ref> there		\| ''Sufāla'' of the Zanj,<ref>cf. note 1</ref>
	are opposite to Alexandria and Miṣr		there are opposite to Alexandria and Miṣr
	\| 55° 0’		\| 55° 0’
	\| 10° 0'		\| 10° 0'
Line 96:		Line 96:
	{\| class="wikitable"		{\| class="wikitable"
	\|-		\|-
	\| ''Qanbalū'' (Qanbalah) residence of the		!
	~~king~~ of the Zanj; on an island		! Longitude
			! Latitude
			\|-
			\| ''Qanbalū'' (Qanbalah) residence of the king
			of the Zanj; on an island
	\| 52° 0'		\| 52° 0'
	\| 8° 0'		\| 8° 0'
Line 106:		Line 110:
	\|}		\|}

			{\| class="wikitable"
	North of the Equator		\|-
			! North of the Equator
	First Climate: ~~''Long.'' ''Lat. N.''~~		!
			!
	''Jarmā'' (Jarmī), a town of the		\|-
	Ḥabasha; ~~41°~~ 40' 19° 40		! First Climate:
			! Longitude
	''Dunqula'', town of the Nūba. 53° 40' 14° 0		! Latitude
			\|-
	Second Climate:		\| ''Jarmā'' (Jarmī), a town of the
			Ḥabasha
	''Uswān'', frontier of the Sa'īd; 56° 0' 22° 30		\| 41° 40'
			\| 19° 40'
	''ʿAllāqī'' towards the Nūba; 55° 0' 27° 0		\|-
			\| ''Dunqula'', town of the Nūba
	'Aydhāb 58° 0' 21° 0		\| 53° 40'
			\| 14° 0'
			\|-
			! Second Climate:
			!
			!
			\|-
			\| ''Uswān'', frontier of the Ṣa'īd
			\| 56° 0'
			\| 22° 30'
			\|-
			\| ''ʿAllāqī'' towards the Nūba
			\| 55° 0'
			\| 27° 0'
			\|-
			\| 'Aydhāb
			\| 58° 0'
			\| 21° 0'
			\|}

	(MC 710 v : Berlin, Staatsbibliothek MS or. acc. 1927, nr. 213 fol. 92r.)		(MC 710 v : Berlin, Staatsbibliothek MS or. acc. 1927, nr. 213 fol. 92r.)

Adam Simmons at 12:22, 21 February 2015

2015-02-21T12:22:25Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:22, 21 February 2015
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	From ''Al-Qānūn al-Mas'ūdī'' (Book 5, Ch. 9)		From ''Al-Qānūn al-Mas'ūdī'' (Book 5, Ch. 9)

	South of the Equator ''~~Long.~~'' ~~''Lat~~.''		{\| class="wikitable"
			\|-
			! South of the Equator
			! Longitude
			! Latitude
			\|-
			\| ''Sufāla'' of the Zanj,<ref>cf. note 1</ref> there
			are opposite to Alexandria and Miṣr
			\| 55° 0’
			\| 10° 0'
			\|}

	''~~Sufāla~~'' ~~of the Zanj,<ref>cf. note 1</ref> there~~		'''[p. 232]'''
	~~are opposite to Alexandria and Miṣr; 55° 0’ 10° 0~~'

	~~'''[p. 232]'''~~ ''Qanbalū'' (Qanbalah) residence of the king of the Zanj; on an island; 0 ~~52°0~~' 8° 0		{\| class="wikitable"
			\|-
	''Zaghāwa'' one of their territories 56° 0' 1° 0		\| ''Qanbalū'' (Qanbalah) residence of the
			king of the Zanj; on an island
			\| 52° 0'
			\| 8° 0'
			\|-
			\| ''Zaghāwa'' one of their territories
			\| 56° 0'
			\| 1° 0'
			\|}


	North of the Equator		North of the Equator

Adam Simmons at 20:12, 18 February 2015

2015-02-18T20:12:24Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:12, 18 February 2015
Line 3:		Line 3:
	AL-BĪRŪNĪ		AL-BĪRŪNĪ

	(d. 1048 A.D.)		''(d. 1048 A.D.)''

	Abū-r-Rayḥān Muḥ. b. Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī. A Persian by origin; probably the most eminent Muslim scientist in the Middle Ages. Many of his 120 works still unpublished.		''Abū-r-Rayḥān Muḥ. b. Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī. A Persian by origin; probably the most eminent Muslim scientist in the Middle Ages. Many of his 120 works still unpublished.''

	Brockelmann 1, 475/6; El (s.v.)		''Brockelmann 1, 475/6; EI (s.v.)''

	''K. al-āthār al-bāqiya''		''K. al-āthār al-bāqiya''

	'''[p. 228]''' Ed.: C.E. Sachau, ''Alberuni's Chronology of ancient nations'', Leipzig 1876/8, 1923; Engl, transl.: id., London 1879.		'''[p. 228]''' ''Ed.: C.E. Sachau, ''Alberuni's Chronology of ancient nations'', Leipzig 1876/8, 1923; Engl, transl.: id., London 1879.''

	''K. fī taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind'' (Ar.)		''K. fī taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind (Ar.)''

	Ed.: C.E. Sachau, London 1887, Leizpig 1925 ; Engl, transl.: id., Alberuni's India. 2 vols., London 1888.		''Ed.: C.E. Sachau, London 1887, Leizpig 1925 ; Engl, transl.: id., Alberuni's India. 2 vols., London 1888.''

	''K. at-tafhīm''		''K. at-tafhīm''

	Ed.: R. Wright, London 1934.		''Ed.: R. Wright, London 1934.''

	''K. al-jamāhir fī ma'rifat al-jawāhir'' (Ar.)		''K. al-jamāhir fī ma'rifat al-jawāhir (Ar.)''

	Ed.: Krenkow (Arabic) Hyderabad 1936.		''Ed.: Krenkow (Arabic) Hyderabad 1936.''

	''al-Qānūn al-mas'ūdī'' (Canon Masudicus, on Astronomy)		''al-Qānūn al-mas'ūdī'' (Canon Masudicus, on Astronomy)''

	Ed.: Dayratu-l-ma'arifi l-Osmania, 3 Vols., Hyderabad 1954-1956.		''Ed.: Dayratu-l-ma'arifi l-Osmania, 3 Vols., Hyderabad 1954-1956.''

			''Exc. and French transl.: MC 710 v - 715 r.''

			''T.: MC and Ar.Ist.II, pp. 109 - 143 A:0''

	~~Exc. and French transl.: MC 710 v - 715 r.~~

	~~T.: MC and Ar.Ist.II, pp. 109 - 143 A:0~~

	From Alberuni's Chronology		From Alberuni's Chronology

Seignobos at 13:58, 18 February 2015

2015-02-18T13:58:03Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:58, 18 February 2015
Line 8:		Line 8:

	Brockelmann 1, 475/6; El (s.v.)		Brockelmann 1, 475/6; El (s.v.)
	K- al-āthār al-bāqiya
			''K. al-āthār al-bāqiya''

	'''[p. 228]''' Ed.: C.E. Sachau, ''Alberuni's Chronology of ancient nations'', Leipzig 1876/8, 1923; Engl, transl.: id., London 1879.		'''[p. 228]''' Ed.: C.E. Sachau, ''Alberuni's Chronology of ancient nations'', Leipzig 1876/8, 1923; Engl, transl.: id., London 1879.

	K. fī ~~tanqīq mi~~ li-l-Hind (Ar.)		''K. fī taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind'' (Ar.)

	Ed.: C.E. Sachau, London 1887, Leizpig 1925 ; Engl, transl.: id., Alberuni's India. 2 vols., London 1888.		Ed.: C.E. Sachau, London 1887, Leizpig 1925 ; Engl, transl.: id., Alberuni's India. 2 vols., London 1888.

	K. at-tafhīm		''K. at-tafhīm''

	Ed.: R. Wright, London 1934.		Ed.: R. Wright, London 1934.

	K. al-jamāhir fī ma'rifat al-jawāhir (Ar.)		''K. al-jamāhir fī ma'rifat al-jawāhir'' (Ar.)

	Ed.: Krenkow (Arabic) Hyderabad 1936.		Ed.: Krenkow (Arabic) Hyderabad 1936.

	al-Qānūn al-mas'ūdī (Canon Masudicus, on Astronomy)		''al-Qānūn al-mas'ūdī'' (Canon Masudicus, on Astronomy)

	Ed.: Dayratu-l-ma'arifi l-Osmania, 3 Vols., Hyderabad 1954-1956.		Ed.: Dayratu-l-ma'arifi l-Osmania, 3 Vols., Hyderabad 1954-1956.
Line 33:		Line 35:
	From Alberuni's Chronology		From Alberuni's Chronology

	Kings ~~and~~ their Titles		Kings their Titles

	…		…
Line 50:		Line 52:
	From Alberuni's India (Arabic text)		From Alberuni's India (Arabic text)

	Crocodiles are found in the rivers of ''al-Hind'' of the same kind as those which are in the Nile. This led al-Jahīz, in his simplicity of mind and his ignorance of the '''[p. 229]''' course of the rivers and of the configuration of the seas, to believe that the river ~~Mahran~~ was a branch of the Nile. (Sachau, K- fī taḥqīq, p. 101; MC 710).		Crocodiles are found in the rivers of ''al-Hind'' of the same kind as those which are in the Nile. This led al-Jahīz, in his simplicity of mind and his ignorance of the '''[p. 229]''' course of the rivers and of the configuration of the seas, to believe that the river ''Mahrān'' was a branch of the Nile. (Sachau, ""K. fī taḥqīq"", p. 101; MC 710).

	Those deserts (of the Sūdān and Maghrib) push the sea back and (rather) extend into it as far as certain places beyond the mountains of the Moon and the sources of the Nile: there are places which we have never seen, because, overland they are dry and impassable, and by way of the sea (they lie) beyond ''Sufāla''<ref>A town of this name (“Nova Sofala”) in the Gulf of Beira, Mozambique has preserved the name of the ancient Sufāla, to be located not far from the modern one.</ref> of the Zanj; they are also impassable. (ibid., p. 135).		Those deserts [of the Sūdān and Maghrib] push the sea back and [rather] extend into it as far as certain places beyond the mountains of the Moon and the sources of the Nile: there are places which we have never seen, because, overland they are dry and impassable, and by way of the sea [they lie] beyond ''Sufāla''<ref>A town of this name (“Nova Sofala”) in the Gulf of Beira, Mozambique has preserved the name of the ancient Sufāla, to be located not far from the modern one.</ref> of the Zanj; they are also impassable. (ibid., p. 135).

	From ''Kitāb at-tafhīm''		From ''Kitāb at-tafhīm''

	(In the First Climate ... there are) Dunqula the town of the Nūba, and Ghāna a town of the Sūdān of the Maghrib. (Quoted from: Ar.Ist.II, p. 113).		[In the First Climate ... there are] Dunqula the town of the Nūba, and Ghāna a town of the Sūdān of the Maghrib. (Quoted from: Ar.Ist.II, p. 113).

	From ''Kitāb al-Jamāhir''		From ''Kitāb al-Jamāhir''
Line 62:		Line 64:
	[On the Pseudo-Jacynth]		[On the Pseudo-Jacynth]

	Abdalla b. Marwān b. Muḥammad had a precious red stone valued at one thousand dīnārs ... He was going on foot during his flight from the country of the Nūba and said: "Oh! Had I here a mount to ride on!" Some of his relatives said to him: "In our flight we have nothing more precious than a small stone of little value, the price of which does not exceed five ~~dinars~~, if the servant were to take it out and sell it. But we cannot dare to take out the [other] stone, the more precious one, because it may be of no use to us. On the contrary, it may lead us into trouble, in the same way as happened to '''[p. 230]''' Yezdegerd<ref>Allusion is made to a story, told by several Arab writers, according to which Yezdegerd, while fleeing in disguise, was requested to pay a small coin in return for the hospitality he received in the house of a miller. As Yezdegerd had no coin, he offered a precious stone, and was thus discovered and killed.</ref> who could not make any use of all the precious stones he possessed in his own country at the moment when the miller asked him for a four-''dīrham'' piece. (ibid., p. 66).		Abdalla b. Marwān b. Muḥammad had a precious red stone valued at one thousand dīnārs ... He was going on foot during his flight from the country of the Nūba and said: "Oh! Had I here a mount to ride on!" Some of his relatives said to him: "In our flight we have nothing more precious than a small stone of little value, the price of which does not exceed five dīnārs, if the servant were to take it out and sell it. But we cannot dare to take out the [other] stone, the more precious one, because it may be of no use to us. On the contrary, it may lead us into trouble, in the same way as happened to '''[p. 230]''' Yezdegerd<ref>Allusion is made to a story, told by several Arab writers, according to which Yezdegerd, while fleeing in disguise, was requested to pay a small coin in return for the hospitality he received in the house of a miller. As Yezdegerd had no coin, he offered a precious stone, and was thus discovered and killed.</ref> who could not make any use of all the precious stones he possessed in his own country at the moment when the miller asked him for a four-dīrham piece. (ibid., p. 66).

	[On the Emerald]		[On the Emerald]

	Al-Kindī says that the (emerald) mine is found above Egypt ... in the country of the Blacks (''Sūdān'') behind which lies the territory of the Buja, near the gold mine between the Nile and the Red Sea, on the mountain situated in the land of the Nūba.		Al-Kindī says that the [emerald] mine is found above Egypt ... in the country of the Blacks (''Sūdān'') behind which lies the territory of the Buja, near the gold mine between the Nile and the Red Sea, on the mountain situated in the land of the Nūba.

	Now this location is faulty, because if one takes into account the complexion of the Buja, one would not say that their land is (part of) the land of the Blacks (''Sūdān''), from which slaves (''khadam'') are imported, and these possess both; the gold and emerald mines; yet, they are not situated on a mountain far inside the territory of the Nūba, but in the desert plains stretching between the Nile and the Red Sea. (Jamāhir, p. 162; Ar.lst.II, p. 129).		Now this location is faulty, because if one takes into account the complexion of the Buja, one would not say that their land is [part of] the land of the Blacks (''Sūdān''), from which slaves (''khadam'') are imported, and these possess both; the gold and emerald mines; yet, they are not situated on a mountain far inside the territory of the Nūba, but in the desert plains stretching between the Nile and the Red Sea. (Jamāhir, p. 162; Ar.lst.II, p. 129).

	In the land of those Blacks (''Sūdān'')<ref>Probably today’s Ghana.</ref> there are mines, richer in shining, pure gold than any gold-mine elsewhere, but the roads [leading there] are very uncomfortable because of the sand deserts. The people of those countries refrain from mixing with our own people; therefore, merchants from Sijilmāsa in the territory of Tahart, in the extreme Maghrib, make the journey taking '''[p. 231]''' enough provisions and water and bring to the ''Sūdān'' who live beyond those deserts, cloth from Basra (?) (''athwāb baṣriyyah'') called ''mubajbajāt''. since they know that the Blacks long for this kind of cloth, bordered with red and striped with different colours, marked (''mu'allama'') with gold. They sell them for gold and the whole transaction is made by signs (''ishārāt''), from afar, under the sight of watchmen (''mu’āyyanāt'') (who witness) the agreement, because of the ignorance (''ʿujma'') of each other's language and the great aversion they feel for the Whites, as much as the domestic animals have great aversion to lions. They do not desire anything other than those pieces of cloth (''athwāb''), and rush upon them.		In the land of those Blacks (''Sūdān'')<ref>Probably today’s Ghana.</ref> there are mines, richer in shining, pure gold than any gold-mine elsewhere, but the roads [leading there] are very uncomfortable because of the sand deserts. The people of those countries refrain from mixing with our own people; therefore, merchants from Sijilmāsa in the territory of Tahart, in the extreme Maghrib, make the journey taking '''[p. 231]''' enough provisions and water and bring to the ''Sūdān'' who live beyond those deserts, cloth from Basra (?) (''athwāb baṣriyyah'') called ''mubajbajāt''. since they know that the Blacks long for this kind of cloth, bordered with red and striped with different colours, marked (''mu'allama'') with gold. They sell them for gold and the whole transaction is made by signs (''ishārāt''), from afar, under the sight of watchmen (''mu’āyyanāt'') [who witness] the agreement, because of the ignorance (''ʿujma'') of each other's language and the great aversion they feel for the Whites, as much as the domestic animals have great aversion to lions. They do not desire anything other than those pieces of cloth (''athwāb''), and rush upon them.

	As for those mines (''maʿādin'') which are situated between the interior (''bawātin'') of the ''Sūdān'' and ''Zawīla'' in the Maghrib, certainly the land of the Buja is very similar to those churches (''Kanā'is'') (glowing with gold). The remotest (''awākhir'') (mines) between the Nile and the Red Sea were specially designated as the Gold Mines because of this; (these mines) are some ten days distant from Uswān, as mentioned in the book "The Features of the Climates" (''Ashkāl al-Aqālīm''). Their frontier is at a fortress called 'Aydhāb which belongs to the Ḥabasha. The meeting place of the men who go there to search for gold from the sand and the gravel (''radrād'') under a flat land without mountains is called 'Allāqī and it faces toward Egypt. (Jamāhir, pp. 241-242; Ar.Ist.II, pp. 131-132).		As for those mines (''maʿādin'') which are situated between the interior (''bawātin'') of the ''Sūdān'' and ''Zawīla'' in the Maghrib, certainly the land of the Buja is very similar to those churches (''Kanā'is'') [glowing with gold]. The remotest (''awākhir'') [mines] between the Nile and the Red Sea were specially designated as the Gold Mines because of this; [these mines] are some ten days distant from Uswān, as mentioned in the book "The Features of the Climates" (''Ashkāl al-Aqālīm''). Their frontier is at a fortress called 'Aydhāb which belongs to the Ḥabasha. The meeting place of the men who go there to search for gold from the sand and the gravel (''radrād'') under a flat land without mountains is called 'Allāqī and it faces toward Egypt. (Jamāhir, pp. 241-242; Ar.Ist.II, pp. 131-132).

	From Al-Qānūn al-Mas'ūdī (Book 5, Ch. 9)		From ''Al-Qānūn al-Mas'ūdī'' (Book 5, Ch. 9)

	South of the Equator ''Long.'' ''Lat.''		South of the Equator ''Long.'' ''Lat.''
Line 81:		Line 83:
	are opposite to Alexandria and Miṣr; 55° 0’ 10° 0'		are opposite to Alexandria and Miṣr; 55° 0’ 10° 0'

	''Qanbalū'' (Qanbalah) residence of the king of the Zanj; on an island; 0 52°0' 8° 0		'''[p. 232]''' ''Qanbalū'' (Qanbalah) residence of the king of the Zanj; on an island; 0 52°0' 8° 0

	''Zaghāwa'' one of their territories 56° 0' 1° 0		''Zaghāwa'' one of their territories 56° 0' 1° 0
Line 90:		Line 92:

	''Jarmā'' (Jarmī), a town of the		''Jarmā'' (Jarmī), a town of the
	Ḥabasha; 41° 40' 19° 40		Ḥabasha; 41° 40' 19° 40

	''Dunqula'', town of the Nūba. 53° 40' 14° 0		''Dunqula'', town of the Nūba. 53° 40' 14° 0
Line 101:		Line 103:

	'Aydhāb 58° 0' 21° 0		'Aydhāb 58° 0' 21° 0

			(MC 710 v : Berlin, Staatsbibliothek MS or. acc. 1927, nr. 213 fol. 92r.)

	<references/>		<references/>

	[[Category:Literary Sources]]		[[Category:Literary Sources]]

Adam Simmons at 15:31, 9 February 2015

2015-02-09T15:31:54Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:31, 9 February 2015
Line 1:		Line 1:
	'''[p. 227-232]'''		'''[pp. 227-232]'''

	AL-BĪRŪNĪ		AL-BĪRŪNĪ
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	[On the Pseudo-Jacynth]		[On the Pseudo-Jacynth]

	Abdalla b. Marwān b. Muḥammad had a precious red stone valued at one thousand dīnārs ... He was going on foot during his flight from the country of the Nūba and said: "Oh! Had I here a mount to ride on!" Some of his relatives said to him: "In our flight we have nothing more precious than a small stone of little value, the price of which does not exceed five dinars, if the servant were to take it out and sell it. But we cannot dare to take out the [other] stone, the more precious one, because it may be of no use to us. On the contrary, it may lead us into trouble, in the same way as happened to '''[p. ~~290~~]''' Yezdegerd<ref>Allusion is made to a story, told by several Arab writers, according to which Yezdegerd, while fleeing in disguise, was requested to pay a small coin in return for the hospitality he received in the house of a miller. As Yezdegerd had no coin, he offered a precious stone, and was thus discovered and killed.</ref> who could not make any use of all the precious stones he possessed in his own country at the moment when the miller asked him for a four-''dīrham'' piece. (ibid., p. 66).		Abdalla b. Marwān b. Muḥammad had a precious red stone valued at one thousand dīnārs ... He was going on foot during his flight from the country of the Nūba and said: "Oh! Had I here a mount to ride on!" Some of his relatives said to him: "In our flight we have nothing more precious than a small stone of little value, the price of which does not exceed five dinars, if the servant were to take it out and sell it. But we cannot dare to take out the [other] stone, the more precious one, because it may be of no use to us. On the contrary, it may lead us into trouble, in the same way as happened to '''[p. 230]''' Yezdegerd<ref>Allusion is made to a story, told by several Arab writers, according to which Yezdegerd, while fleeing in disguise, was requested to pay a small coin in return for the hospitality he received in the house of a miller. As Yezdegerd had no coin, he offered a precious stone, and was thus discovered and killed.</ref> who could not make any use of all the precious stones he possessed in his own country at the moment when the miller asked him for a four-''dīrham'' piece. (ibid., p. 66).

	[On the Emerald]		[On the Emerald]

Seignobos at 13:44, 8 February 2015

2015-02-08T13:44:07Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:44, 8 February 2015
Line 14:		Line 14:
	K. fī tanqīq mi li-l-Hind (Ar.)		K. fī tanqīq mi li-l-Hind (Ar.)

	Ed.: C.E. Sachau, London 1887, Leizpig 1925 ; Engl, transl.: id., Alberuni's India. 2 vols., London 1888.		Ed.: C.E. Sachau, London 1887, Leizpig 1925 ; Engl, transl.: id., Alberuni's India. 2 vols., London 1888.

	K. at-tafhīm		K. at-tafhīm
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	Ed.: Krenkow (Arabic) Hyderabad 1936.		Ed.: Krenkow (Arabic) Hyderabad 1936.

	al-Qānūn al-mas'ūdī (Canon .Masudicus, on Astronomy)		al-Qānūn al-mas'ūdī (Canon Masudicus, on Astronomy)

	Ed.: Dayratu-l-ma'arifi 1-Osmania, 3 Vols., Hyderabad 1954-1956.		Ed.: Dayratu-l-ma'arifi l-Osmania, 3 Vols., Hyderabad 1954-1956.

	Exc. and French transl.: MC 710 v — 715 r.		Exc. and French transl.: MC 710 v - 715 r.

	T.: MC and Ar.Ist.II, pp. 109 - 143 A:0		T.: MC and Ar.Ist.II, pp. 109 - 143 A:0
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	''Jarmā'' (Jarmī), a town of the		''Jarmā'' (Jarmī), a town of the
	Ḥabasha; 41° 40' 19° 40		Ḥabasha; 41° 40' 19° 40


	''Dunqula'', town of the Nūba. 53° 40' 14° 0		''Dunqula'', town of the Nūba. 53° 40' 14° 0

Seignobos at 20:01, 5 November 2014

2014-11-05T20:01:19Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:01, 5 November 2014
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	Ed.: C.E. Sachau, London 1887, Leizpig 1925 ; Engl, transl.: id., Alberuni's India. 2 vols., London 1888.		Ed.: C.E. Sachau, London 1887, Leizpig 1925 ; Engl, transl.: id., Alberuni's India. 2 vols., London 1888.

	K. at-~~tafhlm~~		K. at-tafhīm
	Ed.: R. Wright, London 1934.		Ed.: R. Wright, London 1934.

Seignobos at 21:20, 4 November 2014

2014-11-04T21:20:47Z

Show changes

Adam Simmons at 20:49, 2 November 2014

2014-11-02T20:49:58Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:49, 2 November 2014
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	'Aydhāb 58° 0' 21° 0		'Aydhāb 58° 0' 21° 0

			[[Category:Literary Sources]]

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2014-11-02T20:47:46Z

Created page with "AL-BIRUNI (d. 1048 A.D.) ''Abū-r-Rayḥān Muḥ. b. Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī. A Persian by origin; probably the most eminent Muslim scientist in the Middle Ages. Many of his 12..."

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AL-BIRUNI (d. 1048 A.D.)

''Abū-r-Rayḥān Muḥ. b. Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī. A Persian by origin; probably the most eminent Muslim scientist in the Middle Ages. Many of his 120 works still unpublished.

Brockelmann 1, 475/6; El (s.v.)
K- al-āthār al-bāqiya

Ed.: C.E. Sachau, Alberuni's Chronology of ancient nations. Leipzig 1876/8, 1923; Engl, transl.: id.,
London 1879.

K. fī tanqīq mi li-l-Hind (Ar.)
Ed.: C.E. Sachau, London 1887, Leizpig 1925 ; Engl, transl.: id., Alberuni's India. 2 vols., London 1888.

K. at-tafhlm
Ed.: R. Wright, London 1934.

K. al-jamāhir fī ma'rifat al-jawāhir (Ar.)
Ed.: Krenkow (Arabic) Hyderabad 1936. al-Qānūn al-mas'ūdī (Canon .Masudicus, on Astronomy)
Ed.: Dayratu-l-ma'arifi 1-Osmania, 3 Vols., Hyderabad 1954-1956.
Exc. and French transl.: MC 710 v — 715 r.

T.: MC and Ar.Ist.II, pp. 109 - 143 A:0
''
From Alberuni'a Chronology

…
Kings and their Titles

…

The kings of the Ḥabashah an-Najāshī

…

The kings of the Nūba kābīl

…

The Nile rises from the Jabal-al-Qamar, as it was said, behind Uswānja, a town of southern Ḥabashah.
(Sachau, K. al-āthār, p. 261).

From Alberuni's India (Arabic text)

Crocodiles are found in the rivers of al-Hind of the same kind as those which are in the Nile. This led al-Jahīz, in his simplicity of mind and his ignorance of the course of the rivers and of the configuration of the seas, to believe that the river Mahran was a branch of the Nile. (Sachau, K- fī taḥqīq, p. 101; MC 710).

Those deserts (of the Sūdān and Maghrib) push the sea back and (rather) extend into it as far as certain places beyond the mountains of the Moon and the sources of the Nile: there are places which we have never seen, because, overland they are dry and impassable, and by way of the sea (they lie) beyond Sufāla of the Zanj; they are also impassable. (ibid., p. 135).

From Kitāb at-tafhīm

(In the First Climate ... there are) Dunqula the town of the Nūba, and Ghāna a town of the Sūdān of the Maghrib. (Quoted from: Ar.Ist.II, p. 113).

From Kitāb al-Jamāhir

[On the Pseudo-Jacynth]

Abdalla b. Marwān b. Muḥammad had a precious red stone valued at one thousand dinars ... He was going on foot during his flight from the country of the Nūba and said: "Oh! Had I here a mount to ride on!" Some of his relatives said to him: "In our flight we have nothing more precious than a small stone of little value, the price of which does not exceed five dinars, if the servant were to take it out and sell it. But we cannot dare to take out the [other] stone, the more precious one, because it may be of no use to us. On the contrary, it may lead us into trouble, in the same way as happened to Yezdegerd who could not make any use of all the precious stones he possessed in his own country at the moment when the miller asked him for a four-dirham piece, (ibid., p. 66).

[On the Emerald]

Al-Kindī says that the (emerald) mine is found above Egypt ... in the country of the Blacks (Sūdān) behind which lies the territory of the Buja, near the gold mine between the Nile and the Red Sea, on the mountain situated in the land of the Nūba.

Now this location is faulty, because if one takes in¬to account- the complexion of the Buja, one would not say that their land is (part of) the land of the Blacks (Sūdān), from which slaves (khadam) are imported, and these possess both; the gold and emerald mines; yet, they are not situated on a mountain far inside the territory of the Nūba, but in the desert plains stretching between the Nile and the Red Sea. (Jamāhir, p. 162; Ar.lst.II, p. 129).

In the land of those Blacks (Sūdān) there are mines, richer in shining, pure gold than any gold-mine elsewhere, but the roads [leading there] are very uncomfortable because of the sand deserts. The people of those countries refrain from mixing with our own people; therefore, merchants from Sijilmāsa in the territory of Tahart, in the extreme Maghrib, make the journey taking enough provisions and water and bring to the Sūdān who live beyond those deserts, cloth from Basra (?) (athwāb baṣriyyah) called mubajbajāt. since they know that the Blacks long for this kind of cloth, bordered with red and striped with different colours, marked (mu'allama) with gold•. They sell them for gold and the whole transaction is made by signs (ishārāt), from afar, under the sight of watchmen (mu’āyyanāt) (who witness) the agreement, because of the ignorance (‘ujma) of each other's language and the great aversion they feel for the Whites, as much as the domestic animals have great aversion to lions. They do not desire anything other than those pieces of cloth (athwāb), and rush upon them.

As for those mines (ma’ādin) which are situated between the interior (bawātin) of the Sūdān and Zawīla in the Maghrib, certainly the land of the Buja is very similar to those churches (Kanā'is) (glowing with gold). The remotest (awākhir) (mines) between the Nile and the Red Sea were specially designated as the Gold Mines because of this; (these mines) are some ten days distant from Uswān, as mentioned in the book "The Features of the Climates" (Ashkāl al-Aqālīm). Their frontier is at a fortress called 'Aydhāb which belongs to the Ḥabasha. The meeting place of the men who go there to search for gold from the sand and the gravel (radrād) under a flat land without mountains is called 'Allāqī and it faces toward Egypt. (Jamāhir, pp. 241-242; Ar.Ist.II, pp. 131-132).

From Al-Qānūn al-Mas'ūdī (Book 5, Ch. 9)

South of the Equator Long. Lat.

Sufāla of the Zanj, there
are opposite to Alexandria and Miṣr; 55° 0’ 10° 0'

Qanbalū (Qanbalah) residence of the king of the Zanj; on an island; O 52°0' 8° 0

Zaqhāwa one of their territories 56° 0' 1° 0

North of the Equator

First Climate: Lone Lat. N,

Jarmā (Jarmī), a town of the
Ḥabasha; 41° 40' 19° 40

Dunqula, town of the Nūba. 53° 40' 14° 0
Second Climate:

Uswān. frontier of the Sa'īd: 56° 0' 22° 30

'Allāqī towards the Nūba: 55° 0' 27° 0

'Aydhāb 58° 0' 21° 0