920-990

Arab Traveler

Over a series of journeys that lasted some 30 years, Ibn Hawkal saw almost the entire Muslim world, from Spain to Central Asia, from the cool mountains of Afghanistan to the hot sands of West Africa. He set down an account of his travels in On the Shape of the World, a text noted for its accuracy, its scientific approach, and the author's attention to detail.

Abu al-Kasim ibn Ali al-Nasibi ibn Hawkal was born in the city of Nisibis in upper Mesopotamia (now Iraq). As with many other premodern figures, virtually nothing is known about his life other than the circumstances surrounding his greatest achievement. In Ibn Hawkal's case, he was able to cite not only the date—7 Ramadan, A.H. 331. (May 15, 943, by the Christian calendar)—but even the day, Thursday, when he set out from Baghdad.

Baghdad was then the leading city...