Athar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-Ibad
- Author died
- 682 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ṣādir
Athar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-Ibad (Traces of the Lands and Chronicles of the Inhabitants) is a historical geography treatise written by the cosmographer and jurist Zakariya al-Qazwini (d. 682 AH / 1283 CE) .
Composition and Versions
Al-Qazwini produced two distinct recensions of his geographical work . An earlier version, titled Aja'ib al-Buldan (Wonders of the Lands), was composed in 661 AH (1262–1263 CE) . The author subsequently revised and expanded the work in 664 AH (1265–1266 CE) under the title Athar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-Ibad . In addition to the original Arabic text, the work was preserved in Persian recensions and an abridged Ottoman Turkish version .
Scope, Structure, and Method
In the preface, al-Qazwini states that he compiled "everything that came to his knowledge, what he knew, heard of, and witnessed of the subtleties of God's craftsmanship and the wonders of His wisdom deposited across His lands and His servants" . He begins with a discussion of the practical necessity underlying the foundation of towns and villages, followed by descriptions of settlements known across the territories of the Arabs, Persians, Byzantines, and Franks, detailing their dates of founding when known alongside the historical occurrences connected with them . The introductory material also treats the division of the inhabited northern quadrant of the Earth into climes, drawing on the astronomical calculations of Abu al-Rayhan al-Biruni .
The core text divides the inhabited world into the seven Ptolemaic climes (al-aqalim al-sab'ah) . Within each clime, entries for cities, countries, mountains, and rivers are arranged in alphabetical order, effectively forming seven successive geographical gazetteers . Individual entries combine physical and historical geography with biographical sketches of notable figures associated with each locality . Portions of the descriptions, particularly concerning certain mountains and waterways, overlap in text and content with al-Qazwini's cosmographical work Aja'ib al-Makhluqat wa Ghara'ib al-Mawjudat .
Sources and Publications
The sources drawn upon by al-Qazwini span early Arabic literary and geographical literature, ranging from authors such as al-Jahiz and Ibn al-Faqih to later historians such as Ibn al-Athir and travelers such as Abu Hamid al-Gharnati .
The text was edited and printed in Europe by Ferdinand Wüstenfeld in Göttingen in 1848 CE, accompanied by an introduction in German . Modern Arabic editions have since appeared in Beirut, including printings by Dar Sadir and Dar Beirut .
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