Dark Age in Europe and Contributions of

Arab Geographers
(A) DARK AGE IN EUROPE
Among the Greeks and Romans, the period of Ptolemy definitely marked the
highest point to which geographical science ever reached. With the death of Marcus
Aurelius in 180 A.D. the period of beneficent imperial rule came to an end. The
Roman Empire declined after 180 A.D., but it did not collapse. The transition from
the ancient to the medieval world was gradual and many medieval ideas and ways
more slowly emerged in the west as early as the third century A.D. The period from
third to seventh century, although transitional had certain themes of its own and is
perhaps best described as neither Roman nor medieval but as the age of late
antiquity. The major cultural trend of this period was the spread and triumph of
Christianity throughout the Roman world. While Christianity was spreading, the
Roman Empire was undoubtedly declining.
The historical period from 350 to 1350 A.D. is treated as Dark Age in
because it was dark period for the development of science and Europe
During this period scholars made accurate but sterile copies ofgeographical
ideas.
the works of the
ancients, rejecting anything which did not conform with the dogmas of the
Such an intellectual environment stifled any Church.
development of critical scientific
analysis. Concepts of the world which had been developed in Greek and
times were reshaped to conform to the teachings of the Church. Thus, the Roman
disintegration of the Roman Empire led to the decline in literature, science, decay and
explorations in the Europe. The period of about 500 years which followed and the
publication of Ptolemy's Geographia was an age of turmoil, complication and
abridgement. During this period not even a single work of originality in any scientific
feld was written. This period was characterized by continuous deterioration, both in
the geographical thought and the practice of
Greek and Roman periods. exploration from the glories of the
The early period of the Dark Age was the
time of
during which the Romans could not contribute anythingdecadence of Roman power
new. During this period,
Christianity had dominated the mind of people and they were
Church to raise scientific questions. "Apart from the political not allowed by the
of theoretical study of geography was largely due to instability, the decline
the wrong thinking of the
 Dark Age in Europe and Contributions of Arab Geographers 107

Church. The attitude of most Christian writers at that time was not calculated to
promote any form of scientific inquiry"(Husian, M., 2002, 86).
The Church treated cosmography less valuable because Moses, the servant of
God, had said nothing concerning the shape and circumference of the carth. Some
Fathers also described the earth as a flat surface. Thus, the earth was showed a flat
disc with Jerusalem at its centre.
1. GEOGRAPHERS OF DARK AGE
Some significant contributors to geography during Dark Age include Solinus,
Firmianus, Pomponius Mela and Cosmas of Alexandria.
(1) Solinus
Solinus flourished in the third century A.D. and provide a general geographical
account of the world. He compiled a volume namely Cullective Rerum
Memorabilun' (the collection of the wonderful matters). It cannot be treated as
valuable geographical description of the world because the matters of this book was
collected from various sources and not were original. In fact Solinus collected a
number of wonderful things and attempted to set them in the geographical frame
work in which they were set. For this reason, Solinus is considered as a plagiarist of
Plini.
(2) Firmianus
Firmianus (260-340A.D.) was a leading protagonist of Christianity in fourth
neither
century A.D. He denied the idea of the earth's spherical shape. He argued that
earth. To him the
earth was a sphere nor a spherical sky could necessitate a spherical
accepted an
idea of the possibility of antipodes was completely absurd. Firmianus
ideal pattern in his mind and concentrated on artistic and symbolic expression.
(3) Pomoponius Mela
Pomponius Mela (335-39lA.D.) was the last important historian and
geographer of Roman tradition. Having military training and experience, Mela was
also the last among the scholars who recognized the value of geography in relation to
is
history and defence. He followed Ptolemy's ideas and tradition but his work
places
considered as an abridgement of Ptolemy's work. Mela travelled a number of
Greece, Spain,
of various countries adjacent to Mediterranean Sea including Italy,
Gaul (France), Seria etc.
which three
Pomponius Mela wrote many books in Spanish (Latin) language, of
Skylax.
have much importance, e.g. Cosmography, Dechorographia, and
described the universe in detail. It is
() Cosmography : In Cosmography, Mela He accepted the
mainly related to the description of the earth's planetary relations.
earth in the centre of the universe.
major zones: 1. The torid
(i) Dechorographia : This book is divided into 5
zone, 4. Northern cold zone.
zone, 2. Northern temperale zone, 3. Southern temperate
and 5. Southern cold zone. The special emphasis is given on the northern temperate
tours of Mela.
zone. The book also includes the geographical
 108 History of Geographical Though
(ii) Skylax : It includes the brief geographical description of the
In this book he described that the earth had two poles : North polde andknown world.
Soud.
He also described that out of 5 major zones of the earth, only twO :
temperate zone and southern temperate zone are habitable for human Northern
(4) Cosmas population.
Cosmas of Alexandria in sixth century A.D. wrote his book
Topography" (about 550 A.D.) in which he refuted about all the
pro-ChrChrstiaisnitiatny
i
Views on geography. In early life Cosmas was a merchant and travelled fairly awY
area. He visited Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, Socotra, Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Ethiopia. This book includes many absurd ideas. He presented the earth flat, bound
on all sides by strong high walls. According to him the semi-spherical sky ie
supported on these strong and high walls. Because of these erroneous concepts of
Cosmas, his book 'Christian Topography' could not influence any how latter scholare
in the field of geography.
2. MAP-MAKING IN DARK AGE
During Dark Age, the period of Christian Europe there was a continuous
deterioration in the art of map-making. Completely dominated by Christian
supernaturalism the cartographers of this age made no
actual position of the world. "As early as the 4th centuryserious attempt to show the
the world map of Romans
had been Christianized by the great church
father, St. Jerome, who made a map in
which he exaggerated the Holy Land beyond all real proportions". (Husain, M.,
89). 2002.
St. Beatus, a Spanish monk in 8th century
map. Later persons who copied it paid not much prepared a version of the old Roman
respect to its geographical contents.
The oval shape of the map was
also frequently distorted to the ORIENs

form of arectangle or a circle.

During the Dark ages
cartography or map making Paradise
languished as old geography.
Maps of that periodwere S A

prepared with the literal Jerusalem

interpolation of the Bible which
refers to the four corners of the Red Sea
earth. This was the period ofT in
Þ maps designed with the
Mediterranean at the top and EURoPE AFRICA
Jerusalem at the centre and the
whole inside a circular ocean. In
such maps the inhabited world
was represented by a circular
figure, surrounded by the ocean.
Fig. 7.!. T in O Map of Dark Age.
 Dark Age in Europe and Contributions of Arab
Geographers 109
"T in O' map was known as 'Orbis
east. The inhabited land area was dividedTerrarun' which was oriented towards the
into
Africa. Water bodies (seas) were arranged in three majorin parts: Asia, Europe and
T-shaped
areas. The top of the "T represented Aegean and Black
the middle of the land
Red Sea on the right hand while the stem of the T' Seas on the left hand and the
Sea. Just above the centre of the "T (at the centre represented
of the
the Mediterranean
occupied by Jerusalem, the holy place of Christians. At the Far inhabited
East
world) was
beyond the limit
of inhabited world, was Paradise (James and
Martin, 1981). More over, in all such
maps many mythical places, beasts and dragons were also inserted which were non
believing menaces to the Christian world.
Oriens:
Caspian Sea
India
Asia Minor Ganges
R. Tigris

Greece R.Euphrafes
A

erusalem\
a

Italy
Rome R. Nile
Rhine
R spaln AFRICA

Britan
Fig. 7.2. World Map constructed by St. Beatus.
In Dark Age, the Christian monks tried to prove the concepts of Greeks and
Romans as pseudo-scientific and about the habitable world many wrong ideas were
put forward. The east-west and north-south extent of the world was not clear. The
sphericity and nearly correct distance of place, latitudes and longitudes presented by
Greek and Roman scholars were completely ignored in Dark Age. New theories were
postulated and raised on the basis of less understood Christian scriptural texts which
had nothing definite on the subject.
(B) CONTRIBUTIONS OF ARAB GEOGRAPHERS
Many Arab scholars in late medieval period from 8" to 13h century made
significant contributions to the field of geography. The preceding period of the Arabs
has been known as the 'Dark Age' in the European and Christian parts of the world.
In this period the achievement made by Greek and Roman scholars which had
reached their zenith were ignored, forgotten and reshaped with a view to make them
conform with the 'truth' preached by the Church. In Christian world, the idea of
spherical earth was abandoned and the earth had considered as a flat dise with
Jerusalem at its centre.
 History of Geographical Thoughi
110 scientific
of
and the decline Muslim world learning
in Europe
The fall of the Roman empire,
in the which, under
great ascendancytransformed from a multitude of
the
period of
was followed by
influence of Prophet
a
Mohammed, had been all-inclusive
components of a larger
tribes
(Dikshit,identity
into internal practices
divided by inter-tribal feuds
common set of religious beliefs and 2006,
based on adherence to a world outside the Arabja. During a short
of the
32). Arabs embarked on a conquest (between 640-740A.D.), Arabs conquered Perei
period of about a hundred years across the Sahara desert. In eastward, the Muslim rule
Egypt and Swept westward Asia, northern China, India and eastern coast of AC:
was also extended to central
East Asia.
and even some islands of south
Baghdad was founded by Muslims in 762 which remaiped
The new city of
intellectual world for more than 100 years. An academy called 'Baitl
centre of the scholars from all over the world e
Hikma' was established at Baghdad where
also to help them in translation at
invited to teach and assist the Arab scholars and Sanskrit into Arabic.
the books writen in the Greek, Latin, Persian and
The Arabs took help of many scholars of the world including Jacobites
Nestorians, Jews, Christians, Greeks, Persians, Indians and Chinese in the translation
of forgotten literature produced by Greek and Roman scholars. Arabs invited many
Indian scholars to Baghdad to learn Indian mathematics and numerals. The Arabie
translation of Surya Sidhanta', the Indian Sanskrit treatise containing the principles
of trigonometry was proved a landmark in the history of Arab astronomy. "Thus,
Arabs collected geographical ideas from Greek, Romans, Iranians, Chinese and
Indians. On the basis of their observation, explorations and studies, they developed
their own concepts and theories with great vigour and speed. They produced
innumerable books on various aspects of geography and allied sciences and carried
their knowledge to far-off lands from the shores of the Atlantic to the Pacific and
Indian Ocean "(James and Martin, 1981, 50).
The Arab geographers not only carefully preserved the ancient geographical
knowledge developed by Greek and Roman scholars but also made many outstanding
original contributions to the fields of astronomical (mathematical), physical and
regional geography. Their achievements in physical
shape and movement of the earth, determinationgeography, linear measurements,
of cardinal points, limits of
habitable world, distribution of continents and oceans are highly
1. ARAB GEOGRAPHERS
commendable.
A number of Arab writers and scholars have made significant contributions in
the field of geography. The contributions of
discussed here in brief. some prominent Arab geographers are
(1) Mohammad Abdul
Qasim
Born probably at Nasibin in Upper
was a resident of Baghdad. He was Mesopotamia, Mohammad Abdul Qas
Mohammad Qasim. From his early age hepopularly had
known as Ibn-Haqal-Abua
voyages, travelogues and itineraries and the modes interest in book of
of life of distant tribalexploratiob
people
 Dark Age in Europe and Contributions of Arab Geographers
nations. He started his travels in May 943 and visited on foot different countries of
the world, within the orbit of the authority of Holy Quran. Ibn-Haqal visited North
Africa, southern belt of Sahara, Egypt, Syria, Armenia, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Al
Jazira, Fars (Iran), Khuzistan, Transoxania, Sicily etc. As a result of lbn-Haqal's
vOyage to the south of the equator (made between 943-973 A.D.), the wrong notion
regarding the inhabitability of the tropical zone was abandoned.
The collection of lbn-Hagal's writings is entitled 'A Book of Routes and
Realms:
In the preface of this book he writes, "I have described the earth in length and
breadth and I have written about the Muslim countries. Ihave indicated the limits of
each region, the cities and the districts included therein, the rivers which irrigate it,
the bodies of water which modify the surface, the resources which are available, the
various kinds of taxes which are imposed there, the routes which traverse it, the
distances which separate it from the adjacent countries, the types of commerce which
is successfully carried on there and I have reassemble all the information which has
made geography an interesting science for prices and persons of all classes" (Ali,
S.M., 1976).
Besides the Arab countries of North Africa and South-West Asia, Ibn-Haqal had
also described many countries of Europe and pointed out that the Caspian Sea did not
had any connection with Northern Ocean. He considered Europe as an island. He
also described countries and people adjacent to the Islamic world. He was the only
Arab geographer of his time who sketched clear picture of agricultural production
and described the major crops and agricultural techniques of different parts of the
Arab world.
(2) Al-Masudi
A-Masudi was born in Baghdad in late 9 century and died in 956 at Fustat in
Egypt. He was noted geographer and historian of that time. He travelled long
journeys far and wide in the countries of Africa and Asia and wrote many valuable
books on geography and history. He traveled to Persia, Syria, Armenia, Central
Asia, southern parts of Arabia, Oman, India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in Asia, and Egypt
Madagascar (Qanbalu), and castern countries of Africa ; Caspian Sea, Volga region,
Grek empire and Spain etc. in Europe.
Al-Masudi was a good writer who not only enriched the spheres of geography
and history but he made valuable contributions in the field of cosmology,
meteorology, oceanography, astronomy, Islamic law and the Arabic folklore. In
course of his travels down the east coast of Africa upto the Mozambique, he had
reported the phenomenon of Mansoon winds. A-Masudi attempted to solve the
problem regarding the exact source of the Nile River and described the source of Nile
in the Mountains of Abyssinia. Thus, he rejected the idea of Polemy that the Indus
river was connected with the Nile river.
A-Masudi wrote many valuable books of diverse interests. His famous books
are: (1) Kitab-Muraj-al-Dhahab, (2)Kitab-Akhbar-al-Zaman (in 30 volumes), (3)
Kitab-al-Ausat, and (4) Kitab-al-Tanbhwal-ishraf. It is noteworthy that most of
Masudi's works except Kitab-Muraj-al-Dhahab (Golden Madows) are lost.
 History of Geographical 1
112

Al-Masudi made vigorous study of the Greek and Romarn sources and
Thought
collected
valuable information through travels. He tried to describe the geographical reality
he observed it. He had a clear conception of the sphericity of the earth. According to
him the surface of the sea is curved. Al-Masudi contributed much in the field of
physical geography. He appreciated the role of cycie of erosion and adjustment of
1953, 68).
rivers to structure in the evolution of land forms (Ahmad, S.M.,
Al-Masudi was a famous climatologist of his time who provided a good acee
of the Mansoon (Periodic winds) of the Bay of Bengal (Herkend). After hic
observations in the desert of Sajistan on the western frontier of India, he mada
interesting remarks about the use of winds as a source of energy. For this he g
example of wind mills found in that area. He sailed in several seas and observed an
described the weather conditions faced on a voyager while sailing. Al-Masudi
pointed out that the Indian Ocean was connected with the Atlantic Ocean and salt in
the seas and oceans came from the land areas. Thus, regarding the Indian Ocean the
idea of A-Masudi was better than Ptolemy.
A-Masudicontributed appreciably to the field of human geography. He tried to
describe the relationship between man and environment. Describing the influence of
physical phenomena on the mode of life and attitudes of people, he writes, "The
powers of the earth vary in their influence on man on account of three causes:
topography, water and natural vegetation." In the selection of sites of human
habitation, Al-Masudi emphasized the importance of the characteristics of the
surrounding areas, elevations and depressions, nearness to mountains and seas, and
the nature.of the soil.
In the field of regional geography also, contribution of Al-Masudi is very
appreciable. He provided a reliable account of Persia, Mesopotamia, Al-Sham(Syria),
Georgia, Central Asia and other countries he travelled. On the basis of dominating
language, he classified the inhabited world into seven regions : (1) Persians, (2)
Chaldacans (Arabs), (3) Greek, (4) Egyptians and Libyans, (5) Turks, (6) Hindus,
and (7) Chinese.
(3) A-Biruni
Al-Biruni (973-1039A.D.) also known as Abu-Rayhan-Mohammad was bo
a suburb of Khwarizm (Khiva) city situated in the Republic of Uzbekistan in 973. He
passed his early life in his home town. At that time ruler of Khwarizm experien
ardent zeal for arts and science and encouraged scholars to study the numero
branches of knowledge and inspired people to travel different parts of habitable
world. Al-Biruni through his dedication and efforts achieved high level scholarship
in mathematics, humanities, religion, medicine and many languages and literalu
Al-Biruni was one of those briliant scholars in the medieval world whose
creative, scientific and international outlook associated with universality O
amaze the developed modern world. He wella6as
remained free from prejudices as
dogmatic conservatism and emotional bondages. Al-Biruni was a Tajik by raceand
Persian by culture. He spent 30 years of his early life in beinga
Khwarizm. Al-Biruni Indian
great scholar was liberal and profoundly interested in study of
science. For the
 Dark Age in Europe and Contributions of Arab Geographers 113

sciences, he travelled, visited and used all the means at his disposal to have access to
the scattered sources in the western parts of India. He was learned in Persian,
Turkish, Syriac and Sanskrit. He studied the Greek books through Arbic translation.
He was also acquainted with the Arabic translation of Indian literatures.
A-Biruni was a great writer who wrote a number of books upon a variety of
subjects. His main works include () Kitab-al-Hind, (2) Al-Qanun-al-Masudi (The
Canon of King Masud), (3) Vestige of the Past Athar-al-Bagiya, (4) Tarikhul-Hind,
(5) Kitab-al-Jamakir, and (6) Kitab-al-Saydna. He translated the original text namely
'Patanjali from Sanskrit into Arabic. This book contains valuable information on
India and China. Al-Biruni wrote 27 books on various fields of geography: four each
on cartography, geodesy, and climatology, and remaining on mathematical
(astronomical) geography and surveying. Al-Biruni made appreciable contributions
in astronomy, mathematical geography, physical geography and regional geography.
() Contribution in Astronomy : Al-Biruni's Qanun-al-Masudi is a
monumental book on astronomy. In this book he presented a masterly exposition of
the lunar eclipse and solar eclipse. He found that the obliquity of the eclipse was the
angle formed by the intersection of the celestial equator and the ecliptic. He
calculated the figure to be 23° 35' which is very close to the actual obliquity.
Studying the reasons and timings of twilights, he found that twilight occurs when the
sun is 18° below the horizon. Al-Biruni also pointed out that moon does not move in
a perfect circle, but there is found considerable difference between its maximum and
minimum distances from the earth. He also discussed the lunar month on a synodic
basis. According to him, the increase and decrease in the height of tides and ebbs
occur on the basis of changes in the phases of moon. He also adopted the Greek
nomenclature of 48 figures and 12 constellations called signs arranged in a belt
known as zodiac.
(ii) Contribution in Mathematics: Al-Biruni excelled in arithmetic and
geometry, but he had also considerable knowledge of algebra too. He was an adept of
Indian arithmetic and was expert of spherical trigonometry.
(iil) Contribution in Physical Geography : A-Biruni has special interest in
physical geography particularly in geomorphology. He pointed out that the Indo
Gangetic plain was formed by the deposition of silt brought by the rivers. He
described the reasons of occurrence of floods and springs. He had about accurate idea
of various bays, gulfs and small seas.
(iv) Contribution in Regional Geography : A-Biruni has described the
characteristics of many countries and regions of Africa, Asia and Europe. He wrote
in detail about the geography of India. He provided an accurate account of the
seasons of India. Regarding Asia, he was convinced that the great central mountain
(the Himalayas) was sources of most of the perennial rivers of Asia. In his opinion.
the 'Mountain of Moon' situated near the equator was the source of the Nile River.
 114
History of Geographical Thouoh
(4) ALdrisi
Al-ldrisi (1099-1 1s0) was one of the leading Arab geographerS of the 12t
century. He belonged to the family of Caliph ldris, the ruler of Cardova (Spain
Actually, Al-ldrisi was his sumame while real name was Abu-abd-Allah
Muhammad. He was born at Ceuta in 1099 but very little is known about his earl,
e. He got education at Cardova in Spain. He went Palermo at the invitation of
Koger 1, the ruler of Sicily where he lived for a long time and completed his book in
TIS4 namely, 'Amusement for Him Who Describe to Travel Around the World'
Al-ldrisi's book was based on the new information collected by Arab explorers
and alsO collected from other sources. In this book the Greek idea about the Indian
Ocean as a closed sea Was corrected. He also corrected the courses of many rivers
including those of Danube and Niger. Regarding the southern hemisphere, he pointed
out that due to intense heat, the torrid zone was not habitable. He also pointed
out
that the Greek division of the world into five climatic zone did
not correspond the
reality and suggested a more sophisticated climatic system of the world (Hol-Jensen.
1981, 11).
South

AF R C

A S

EUR OPE

Fig. 7.3.Al-ldrisi's World Map.

Al-Idrisi's world map was the most important
the basis of then available the Islamic and the contribution of to geography. On
Christian
various geographical features on the world map. His worldsources,map was
he plotted the
rough, rectangular projection. The map was oriented with the south on thedrawntop
on a
which
was a common features of Islamic maps. Idrisi was the
first who
correctly the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea in West Asia which were represented
by earlier scholars. Al-ldrisi had also prepared an misrepresented
known areas of that time.
Atlas comprising small maps ot
(5) Ibn-Batuta
Ibn-Batuta (1304-1368) was a great Arab explorer.
his real name was Abdullah Muhammad. He was born Ibn-Batuta
is a surname and
in 1304 in Tangier town of
North Africa at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea. He
belonged to a family that
Dark Age in Europe and Contributions of Arab Geographers

produced several Muslim Judges (Qazis). He received his earty education in his
home towm Tangier. In search of higher education he travelled and stayed at
educational centres of various countries including Egypt. Syia and Heja where he
met with leading scholars, sufis and saints of that time. He had great desire to see
new countries. At the age of 21 in 1325 he moved from his home town to make the
usual pilgrimage to Mecca. "After performing Haj. he visited successively Egypt.
Syria, Iraq, Persia. Arabia. Zanzibar, Asia Minor, Qipchaq land (Steppes beyond the
Caspian). Constantinople, Khwarizm, Bukhara, India, the Maldives, Ceylon, Sumatra
and China (Ibn Batuta, 1958). Besides these, he also travelled many parts of Arabia,
Yemen, Aden. Oman, Zalya. Mogadishu and Ethiopia. Ibn Bututa also sailed along
the eastem coast of Africa as far as at Kilwa, situated 10 degrees south of equator.
At Kilwa, Tbn-Batuta received solid information about the Arab trading port at
Sofala in Mozambique situated more than 20 degree south of the equator. Ibn-Batuta
confirmed what Ibn-Haqal had implied that the torrid zone in East Africa was not
torrid, and that it was inhabited by the numerous native tribes. Thus, he rejected the
Aristotle's belief that the torrid zone was too hot to human habitation.
Ibn-Batuta returned to Mecca from Mozambique and started again to visit
Baghdad, Persia and the countries around the Black Sea. He travelled various places
in Asia Minor, Russian steppes and then eventually to Bukhara and Sumarkand in
Central Asia. He reached India after crossing the mountains through Afghanistan. In
India he stayed several years and served at the court of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq
(1325-1351 A.D.) and travelled the country widely. During that period he was
appointed the ambassador to China by the Sultan of Delhi. After the completion of
his duration in China, he returned to India and finally moved for Faiz, the capital of
Marocco through Alexandria and Tunis in 1350, but his travel was continued. From
Faiz (Fez) he travelled across the Shara to Timbuktu, situated on the Niger, gathering
valuable information about Black Muslims on the way. He settled down in Faiz in
1353. In all, Ibn-Batuta travelled for about 28 years and covered more than 120
thousand kilometers (75,000 miles) during this period.
Ibn-Batuta wrote a book entitled 'Rihlah' which throws light on the soil,
M.
agriculture, economy and political history of the Muslim world of his own time.
Husain (2002) rightly observed: "In fact, he was man of restless energy and curiosity,
a devout
clear sightedness and determination to enjoy life; at the same time he was
saints".
observer of the practices of his religion, with a particular devotion for the
(6) Ibn-Khaldun
scholar who
Ibn-Khaldun (1342-1405 A.D.) was perhaps the last great Arab
contributed significantly to the development of geography. He was born at the place
He spent most of the
situated on the Mediterranean Sea coast of North-West Africa.
Egypt. At the age of 35 in
time of his life in the cities of Algeria, Tunisia, Spain and
the little 'Muqaddimah' which
1377 he presented his monumental work under introduction to the book, lbn
contained a detail introduction to world history. In his human society: one, the
Khaldum described two sets of influences on the progress of
 116 History of Geographical Thought
physical environment, and other, the cultural environment derived from culture and
belief rather than the physical environment.
Muqaddimah is a master piece which deals with description of human society in
its social, economic, cultural and political aspects. The book is divided into six parts:
(i) Civitization , geograplhy and anthropology, (ii) Description of nomadic culture.
and causes and consequences of the conflicts arising continually from the
fundamental opposition between the two cultures, (ii) Dynasties, kingdoms, etc.
(iv) Life in village and cities, (v) Professions and means of livelihood, and (vi)
Classification of sciences.
Discussing Arab geographical thought, S.M. Ali (1976) observed : "The
Mugaddimah begins with the discussion of man's physical environment and its
influence on the living styles of people. He has discussed the various stages of social
organization, identifying the desert nomads as the most primitive and the purest. He
has suggested that the sedentary city dweller is dependent on luxuries and becomes
morally soft. He has also disussed forms of government, describing a sequence of
stages that mark the rise of a dynasty to power, followed by its decline through
corruption to its fall,"
Muqaddima having a cyclic view of world history provides a considerable
overview of the status of Arbic thinking regarding geography in the 14" century.
Although the main focus of the writer was on the discussion of process of formation
and decline of the state, Ibn-Khaldun developed his idea considering the elements of
physical environment which he considered as forcing people to live together in social
and political groups.
Ibn-Khaldun pointed out that the northern hemisphere is more densely
populated than the southern hemisphere. According to him, the population along the
equator was thin, but away from the equator there was greater concentration of
population up to the latitude of 64 degree. To him, intense heat of the equatorial belt
and the excessive cold of the polar areas both were strong deterrent to human growth
and habitation.
Ibn-Khaldun identified the tribe and the city as two different stages in the
evolution of social organization in a desert environment. According to him, the
nomads represented the earlier (primitive) stage of social organization, the inhabitants
of the city represented the last stage in the development of social life. "Many credit
Ibn-Khaldin with having presented in this way one of the earliest concepts of the life
cycle of the states. Surprisingly, however, Ibn-Khaldun had clung to the Aristotelian
idea about the inhabitability of the equatorial regions. To the great credit of lbn
Khaldun is the fact that he was the first great scholar to direct attention specifically to
the study of the man-environment relationship" (Dikshit, 2006, 24). In this regard,
Ibn-khaldin may be considered as first environmental determinist of the world.
(7) Other Significant Arab Geographers
Besides the Arab Geographers described above, there were atleast one dozen
other scholars who made their valuable contributions to the field of geography in the
medieval period. They are mentioned here:
Dark Age in Europe and Contributions of Arab Geographers 117

1. Ibn-Sina is considered the founder (father) of Arab geography. He studied

the process of mountain formation and agents of erosion and wrote a geographical
encyclopaedia in Arbic.
2. Suleman and Abuzaid had described the geographical account of India,
China and islands of Indian Ocean.
3. Ibn-Khurdadbeh had presented the geographical description of Arabia,
Persia, Malaya, islands of East Indies (Indonesia), Japan, Korea etc.
4. A-Yakubi wrote description of cities of Mediterranean Africa, Egypt,
Arabia, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
5. AI-Istakhari had written two books. One contained the description of
climates of different countries and the second was devoted for the discussion of
relief, economy and towns and routes of various countries.
6. Al Magdizi had writtena book concerned with the world climate and general
geography in two volumes. The first volume was devoted to general geography of the
world while second volume contained the geographic description of major regions of
fourteen countries of the world. He offered a new division of the world into fourteen
climatic regions (James and Martin, 1981).
7. Ibne-Yunus pointed out the defects of Hipparchus and Ptolemy in the
determination of latitude and longitude of a place and suggested his new method. He
also wrote a book on astronomy.
8. A-Zarqali was a resident of Spain. He produced three books on astronomy
that contained tables of stars and astronomical concepts and theories.
9. A-Bakri was the writer of geography of North Africa and Spain.
10. Tkhwan-al-Sefa had prepared an encyclopaedia of science including
astronomy, geology and geography.
1:. Rumhur Muzi was the writer of three geographical books on India, China
and Japan.
12. Al-Jahani described the routes of Arab countries and Central Asia.
13. Abu- Zaid- Balkhari described the climate of Khurasan with the help of
maps and charts.
14. A-Balakhi was the first Arab geographer who prepared the first climatic
atlas of the world in 921 A.D. entitled, Kitabul-Ashkal. It was mostly based on
gathered data and information from Arab travellers.
2. MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS OF ARAB GEOGRAPHERS
In late medieval period, from 8th to 13th century, a number of Arab scholars
made significant contributions to the field of geography. The preceding period of the
Arabs has been rightly called as the Dark Age in the European and Christian parts of
the world. The fields of main contributions made by
Arab geographers are given
below.
(1) Astronomical and Mathematical Geography
The Arab scholars made outstanding contributions in the
field of mathematical
geography. The early Arab scholars were largely influenced by the Greek traditions
 18
History of Geographical Though
They considered the earth in the centre of the
universe round which
seven planets which in order of their distance from the earth were revolved a
Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (Jamesand Moon,
each of these planets occupied a Martin, (1981). They
particular sky (a separate sphere) whichimagined
Mercury,
that
the authority of the planet to which it had been was under
latitudes, the Arabs following assigned. For the determination of
sun's shadow when it happenedEratosthenes
to be on
and other Greek scholars made use of
astronomical tables that showed latitudes andthe longitudes
meridian. Ibn-Yunus prepared his
of various places of the
Muslim world. In his monumental work,
of the Solar and Lunar eclipses. Al-Biruni presented a masterly exposition
(2) Physical Geography
The contribution of
Their achievements in Arab scholars in physical geography has much significance.
continents and oceans aregeomorphology, climatology, oceanography and sprawl of
highly commendable. They offered important
regarding the process shaping the world's observations
Hind recognized the landforms. Al-Biruni in his book Kitab-al
significance
deposits the south of the Himalayas.
in
of the rounded stones he
found in the alluvial
as they were rolled along According to him the stones became rounded
the torrential mountain streams.
interest in geomorphology. He pointed Al-Biruni had
out that the Indo-Gangetic plain was special
by the silt brought and formed
deposited by the rivers. AI-Masudi
cycle of erosion and adjustment of stream to structure in the appreciated the role of
Al-Balakhi in 921 A.D. gathered climatic data and evolution of landforms.
travellers and prepared the first climatic atlas of the information from Arab
presented a new division of the world into fourteen world. Al-Magdisi in 985
the first who pointed out the idea of the climatic regions. The Arabs were
periodic nature cf the monsoon.
The phenomena of tides was also observed by the
They proved that the tides were caused by the Arab navigators and scholars.
the sun. gravitational forces of the moon and
(3) Human Geography
Some Arab geographers particularly Al-Masudi tried to
environment. Al-Masudi pointed out: The powers of the earth varycorrelate man with
in their influence
on man on account of three main causes, viz. water,
natural
vegetation and
topography. He also described the character of the nomads of Arabia. The Arab
historical geographers including Al-Biruni, Al-Masudi and Ibn-Khaldun described
the influence of climate on the style of life of the
people. According to them the
people of the warmer climates are known for their
concluded that the Negroes were black because they livedpassionate nature. They also
in the warm and humid
climatic zones while the people of temperate and cold regions were whitish in colour.
(4) Regional Geography
The contribution of Arabs in regional geography is also important. Ibn-Haqal,
Al-Masudi, Al-Biruni, lbn-Batuta etc. contributed much in the field of regional
geography. Ibn Hagal visited a number of countries and regions of Arab world and
Dark Age in Europe and Contributions of Arab Geographers 119

presented their descriptions in his book : A Book of Routes and Realms Besides the
Arab world he has given an account of some European countries also
Al-Masudi travelled far and wide in the countries of Asia and Africa. He
provided a fairly reliable account of Persia, Syria, Georgia, Mesopotarnia, Cernitral
Asia and the countries he travelled. On the basis of language he divided the habitable
world into seven groups : (i) Persians, (i) Chaldacans (Arabs) (ii) Greeks, (iv)
Egyptians and Libyans, (v) Turks, (vi) Hindus, and (vi) Chinese. Al-Biruni described
extensively and much accurately about the geography of India.
(5) Cartography
Some Arab scholars tried to develop the cartographic methods adopted by
Greck and Roman scholars. They adopted the Greek ideas about the shape and size
of the carth. Arab geographers also adopted the prime meridian plotted by Ptoiemy
for the calculation of time and longitudes. This prime meridian passed through the
Fortunate Islands. The most valuable contribution of AI-Idrisi to geography was his
world map. He constructed a world map which was based on a rough, rectangular
projection. On this map he plotted the various geographical features based on the
Islamic and the Christian sources. Like other Islamic maps, Idrisi's worid rmap was
oriented with the south on top.
REFERENCES
Ahmad, S.M. (1953): A1-Masudi's Contribution to Medieval Geography Islarmic
Culture, 27/2.
Ali, S.M. (1976) : rab Geographical Thought, Aligrah.
Dikshit, R.D. (2006): Geographical Thought : 1 Contextual History of Ideas, Prentice -
Hall of India. Private Ltd., New Delhi.
Holt-Jensen, A. (1981) : Geography: Its History and Concepts - AStudent's Guide.
Harper and Row, London.
Jaipur and
Husain, M. (2002) : Evolution of Geographical Thought, Rawat Publications,
New Delhi.
by C.
Ibn-Batuta (1958): The Travels of lbn-Batta, A.D. 1325-1354 (Translated
Defremery and B.R. Sanguinetti). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
James, P.E. and Martin, G.L. (1981) : All Possible World : A History of Geographical
ldeas, Odessey Press, Indiana Polis.