al-Khazl wa al-Dal bayn al-Dawr wa al-Darat wa al-Dayra
- Author died
- 626 AH
- Editions
- al-Khazl wa al-Dal bayn al-Dawr wa al-Darat wa al-Dayra
al-Khazl wa al-Dal bayn al-Dawr wa al-Darat wa al-Dayra (The Striding and Sauntering Among Houses, Plains, and Monasteries) is a specialized geographical and toponymical treatise composed by the geographer and scholar Yaqut al-Hamawi (574–626 AH / 1178–1229 CE) . The book focuses on toponyms associated with three distinct geographical and linguistic categories sharing a common linguistic origin: habitations and settlements (al-dūr), open plains and circular valleys surrounded by mountains (al-dārāt), and Christian monasteries (al-dayrah or al-diyārāt) .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into an introduction and three main chapters (abwāb):
- Introduction: Discusses the etymological roots and morphological derivations of dār, dārah, and dayr, noting that all trace back to the root d-w-r (signifying turning, encircling, or returning to a starting point) . Yaqut details the lexical meanings of dār (as a home, town, or tribe), dārah (as a wide depression encircled by mountains or open sand), and dayr (as an isolated monastic dwelling in deserts or mountains, distinct from urban churches and synagogues) .
- Chapter One (al-Bāb al-Awwal): Treats places named dār, both unannexed and compounded . It includes historical and topographical entries such as Dar al-Arqam in Mecca, Dar al-Istikhraj, Dar al-Bahr in al-Mansuriyya, and Dar Bishr in the Ghouta of Damascus, documenting their historical narratives, ownership, and poetic mentions .
- Chapter Two (al-Bāb al-Thānī): Enumerates the dārāt of the Arabian Peninsula . Yaqut notes that earlier scholars rarely recorded more than twenty such locations, while Ahmad ibn Faris counted forty; Yaqut expanded the inventory to over ninety distinct dārah sites, providing tribal associations, geographical markers, and poetic evidence (shawāhid) for each .
- Chapter Three (al-Bāb al-Thālith): Covers Christian monasteries (al-dayrah / al-diyārāt) scattered across Iraq, the Levant, and neighboring regions . Each entry provides the monastery's location, architectural traits, surrounding springs or vineyards, seasonal gatherings, associated anecdotes, and poetic verses composed about it .
Sources and Methodology
Yaqut synthesized his work from lexicographical authorities, earlier topographical treatises, and specialized monographs on monasteries (kutub al-diyārāt) . For the section on monasteries, he explicitly relied on the writings of Hisham ibn al-Kalbi, Abu al-Faraj al-Isbahani, the Khalidiyyan brothers, al-Sari al-Raffa', Ibn Ramadan, al-Shimshati, Abu 'Ubayd al-Bakri, and al-Shabushti . His method combines lexicographical definitions, geographic placement, historical background, and extensive citations of pre-Islamic and early Islamic poetry to substantiate toponyms .
Publication
The book was edited by Yahya Zakariyya 'Abbarah and Muhammad Adib Jamran and published by the Syrian Ministry of Culture in Damascus in 1998 .
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