Al-Muqaddasī, Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions 34-35
created: This entry is taken from Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions 34-35 writt
edition published: 2023-06-30-05:00
language: ar; ar
availability: Except for materials quoted from other sources, this entry is copyright 2023 by the contributors (Taryn Marashi, et al.) and the Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project. It is licensed under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Some texts quoted in this entry may be in the public domain in the United States. No copyright is asserted for these quotations. Some texts quoted in this entry may have copyright restrictions and are reused under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/393

and

قيساريَّة

is directly attested at Al-Muqaddasī, Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions 34-35. This passage was written ca. 985 C.E. possibly in Syria-Palestine. Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Muqaddasī (334-390 A.H./945-1000 C.E.) was an Arab geographer and traveler during the mid- to late 10th century. Born in Jerusalem, al-Muqaddasī began studying history, jurisprudence, and matters of religion at a young age. As a member of the Balkhī school founded by Abū Zayd al-Balkhī (d. 322/934), al-Muqaddasī researched and wrote only on the lands under the authority of Islam. His major geographical work Aḥsan al-Taqāsīm fī l-Maʿrifat al-Aqālīm (Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions) draws upon a robust literary genre that emerged in the 9th century, al-masālik wa-l-mamālik ("routes and realms"), but also incorporates scientific and religious principles. Best Divisions includes Al-Muqaddasī’s own experiences and observations after 20 years of traveling across the Abbasid Empire and beyond. This passage from early in the treatise includes Caesarea among those cities he considers the best for living.

فان سأل سائل اىّ البلدان أطيب نُظر فان كان ممَّن يطلب الدارين قيل له بيت المقدس وان كان مخلصَّا آمنا من الطمع قيل مكّة وان كان ممّن يطلب النعمة والحيازة والرخص والفواكه قيل له كلُّ بلد أجزاك والّا فعليك بخمسة أمصار دمشق والبصرة والرىّ وبخارا وبلخ أو بخمس مدائن قيساريَّة وباعيناثا وخجندة والدينور ونوقان أو بخمس نواح الصغد والصغانيان ونهاوند وجزيرة ابن عمر وسابور فاختر ما شئتَ منها فإنها مَنَازِه الإسلام، وامَّا الأندلس فيقال انها جنّات ومستفاض جنَّات الدنيا اربع غوطة دمشق ونهر الأبلَّة وروضة الصغد وشعب بوَّان.

[ed. de Goeje 1906]

If someone asked, which land is the best? One responds, if he seeks two homes, then he should say Bayt al-Maqdis. If he is more virtuous than greedy, then he should say Makka. If he is one seeking blessings and possessions, cheapness and fruits, then he should respond that any land can reward you. And yet you can choose five garrison towns—Dimashq, Baṣra, Rayy, Bukhārā, and Balkh—or five cities—Qaysāriyya, Bāʿaynāthā, Khujanda, Dīnawar, and Nūqān—or five districts—Ṣughd, Ṣaghāniyān, Nahāwand, Jazīrat Ibn ʿUmar, and Sābūr. Choose any of these places, for they are beautiful lands of Islam. As for al-Andalus, one says that it is a paradise. But the abundant paradises of the world are four: the Ghūṭa of Dimashq, the river of Ubulla, the meadows of Ṣughd, and the valley of Bawwān.

[Trans. T. Marashi with ref. to Ranking and Azoo 1906 and Collins 1994]

Works Cited

[...] 34-35
[...] 50

Additional Bibliography

[...] 31-32

[Balkh

Bawwān (valley)

Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem)

Baṣra

Bukhārā

Bāʿaynāthā (city on Tigris which may reference the Syrian town Aynatha)

Dimashq (Damascus)

Dīnawar

Jazīrat Ibn ʿUmar (town north of Mosul which may reference Ibn ʿAmru)

Khujanda (Khujand)

Makka (Mecca)

Nahāwand (in Persian Nahāvand; a city in Hamadan Iran)

Nūqān (city in western Iran later conquered by the Mongols)

Rayy

Sābūr (village in Khorramabad)

Ubulla (river)

Ṣaghāniyān (Chaghaniyan province)

Ṣughd]

[Geography

Government

Islam

Islamic History

Military

Natural Environment

Natural Resources

Society and Culture]