Sifat Jazirat al-Andalus
- Author died
- 900 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Jīl
Sifat Jazirat al-Andalus (The Description of the Iberian Peninsula) is a geographical work excerpted from the larger gazetteer Kitab al-Rawd al-Mitar fi Khabar al-Aqtar by the Ceuta-born scholar Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abd al-Mun'im al-Himyari (d. ca. 900 AH / 1495 CE) .
Origin and Composition
The text constitutes the dedicated Iberian section selected from al-Himyari's comprehensive geographical dictionary, Kitab al-Rawd al-Mitar fi Khabar al-Aqtar (also cited as fi Akhbar al-Aqtar) . A surviving manuscript colophon records that al-Himyari completed the compilation of the second volume of the parent work on the morning of Friday, 17 Safar 866 AH, on the coast of Jeddah . The author compiled the geographical material systematically by selecting and abridging accounts from earlier historical and geographical sources without interjecting his own personal narrative or subjective commentary .
Scope and Content
Sifat Jazirat al-Andalus focuses specifically on the geography, topography, and history of Muslim Spain and Portugal . Arranged as an alphabetical gazetteer of Andalusian place names, the entries describe major cities, administrative districts (kuwar), castles, rivers, and coastal landmarks, detailing their historical conquests, rulers, architectural monuments, economic characteristics, and regional products .
Publication and Editions
The Andalusian section was first isolated and edited as an independent work by the French orientalist Évariste Lévi-Provençal under the title Sifat Jazirat al-Andalus: Muntakhabah min Kitab al-Rawd al-Mitar, accompanied by a French translation, annotations, and indexes (La Péninsule Ibérique au Moyen-Âge d'après le Kitāb ar-Rawḍ al-Miʿṭār) . This edition was issued in Cairo by the Translation and Publication Committee (Lajnat al-Ta'lif wa-l-Tarjamah wa-l-Nashr) in 1937 and published in Leiden in 1937–1938 . It was subsequently reprinted by Dar al-Jil in Beirut in 1408 AH / 1988 CE .
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