al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik lil-Istakhri aw Masalik al-Mamalik - Leiden

al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik (Routes and Realms, also known as Masalik al-Mamalik) is a 10th-century geographical treatise and atlas by the geographer Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Farisi al-Istakhri (d. after 340 AH / 951 CE), focusing on the cartographic and descriptive geography of the Islamic world al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …+1.

Background and Scope

Al-Istakhri composed his work during the first half of the fourth century Hijri, incorporating both extensive personal travels and prior geographical literature al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …+1. He explicitly departed from the Classical Greek division of the world into seven latitudinal climes (al-aqalim al-sab'ah), focusing instead on defining regions by natural, administrative, and political boundaries al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …+1. Al-Istakhri noted in his introduction that while textual accounts of cities, mountains, and itineraries could be gathered from various reports, his primary objective was to provide illustrative maps (taswir al-aqalim) that integrated these territories into a systematic visual framework al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …+1.

The work belongs to the "Balkhi school" of Islamic geography, initiated by Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (d. 322 AH / 934 CE) al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …+1. Scholars have debated the exact relationship between their works: Michael Jan de Goeje viewed al-Istakhri's book as an elaboration and revision of al-Balkhi's lost treatise, while Carl Brockelmann characterized it as an expanded version of al-Balkhi's text Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al…+1.

Structure and Content

The book opens with an introductory overview and a circular world map illustrating the inhabited earth, dividing the major world realms into four primary kingdoms—Persia, Byzantium, China, and India—before detailing how Islam emerged across parts of these territories al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …+1.

The treatise divides the Islamic realm into twenty distinct regional provinces, preceding each chapter with a dedicated colored map al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …+1:

1. Diyar al-'Arab (Arabian Peninsula), placed first as the home of the Ka'bah and Mecca al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
2. Bahr Faris (Persian Sea / Gulf) al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
3. al-Maghrib (North Africa and Islamic West) al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
4. Egypt al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
5. al-Sham (Syria and the Levant) al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
6. Bahr al-Rum (Mediterranean Sea) al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
7. al-Jazirah (Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates) al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
8. Iraq al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
9. Khuzistan al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
10. Faris (Fars) al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
11. Kirman al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
12. Sind and parts of India al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …+1
13. Armenia, Arran, and Azerbaijan al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …+1
14. al-Jibal al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
15. al-Daylam al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
16. Bahr al-Khazar (Caspian Sea) al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
17. The desert between Fars and Khurasan al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
18. Sijistan al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
19. Khurasan al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …
20. Transoxiana (Ma Wara' al-Nahr) al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …

The text accompanying each regional map systematically details boundaries, major subdistricts, topography, economic conditions, agricultural produce, currencies, urban centers, and major trade and travel routes with measured stages al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …. Coverage is notably uneven: the author's native region of Fars and the territory of Transoxiana receive the most extensive treatment (over thirty pages each), followed by Khurasan, while regions he did not personally inspect are summarized concisely al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik ….

Methodological Approach

Al-Istakhri relied heavily on direct observation, geographical rationalism, and economical reporting al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …+1. He intentionally excluded popular mythological lore, refusing to repeat fables claiming the Nile originated in Paradise, legends of Zahhak being imprisoned in Daylam, or local tales of ghouls in Yemen al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …. When delineating borders, he prioritized physical geography over administrative groupings; for example, he grouped Rayy with Daylam rather than al-Jibal or Khurasan due to topographical contiguity al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik ….

Reception and Influence

Around 340 AH (or 325 AH in another account), al-Istakhri met fellow geographer Ibn Hawqal in Baghdad Majallat al-Risala+1. According to Ibn Hawqal's account, al-Istakhri showed him his manuscript and maps; Ibn Hawqal praised al-Istakhri's map of Fars as expertly executed, but criticized his maps of Sind, Egypt, and al-Maghrib for inaccuracies al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik …+1. Ibn Hawqal subsequently used al-Istakhri's treatise as the primary framework for his own geographical work, Surat al-Ard Majallat al-Risala+1. Al-Istakhri's text was also translated into Persian, where it served as a foundational source for later regional geographies Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al….

Publication History

An abridged version of the work was edited under the title Liber Climatum (Kitab al-Aqalim) by J. H. Moeller in Gotha in 1839 Tarikh Wasit+1. The full Arabic text, titled Viae Regnorum: Descriptio Ditionis Moslemicae (Masalik al-Mamalik), was edited by Michael Jan de Goeje and published at Leiden by Brill in 1870 (reprinted in 1927) as the opening volume of the multivolume series Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum (Maktabat al-Jughrafiyyin al-'Arab) al-Mustashriqun li Najib …+1. A later Arabic critical edition was prepared by Muhammad Jabir 'Abd al-'Al al-Husayni and reviewed by Muhammad Shafiq Ghurbal, published in Cairo in 1961 Tarikh Wasit+1.