This Seems To Have Been Through Korasin, Thibet, And
A Country He Calls Ilestan.
With regard to the Arabian commerce with
Africa, the merchants settled at Omar traded to Sofala for gold, and to an
island, which is supposed to be Madagascar, where they had established
colonies.
Of the geographical knowledge displayed by the next Arabian traveller in
point of date, [Ebor->Ebn] Haukal, we shall at present take no notice, for
the reason already assigned; but confine ourselves to his notices regarding
commerce. According to him, the most wealthy merchants resided at Siraf,
where they traded very extensively and successfully in the commodities of
India and China. Hormus was the principal trading place in Karmania; Daibul
in Sind: the merchants here traded to all parts. The countries near the
Caspian were celebrated for their manufactures of silk, wool, hair, and
gold stuffs. In Armenia, hangings and carpets, dyed with a worm or insect a
beautiful colour, called _kermez_, were made. Samarcand was celebrated for
the excellency of its paper. Trebezond was the principal trading place on
the Black Sea. Alexandria is celebrated for the grandeur of its buildings;
but its trade is not mentioned.
About the beginning of the eleventh century we derive our earliest notice
of the commerce of Spain under its Arabian conquerors. The port of
Barcelona was at this period the principal station for commercial
intercourse with the eastern nations bordering on the Mediterranean; and as
a proof of the character which its merchants held, it may be noticed, that
their usages were collected into a code: by this code all vessels arriving
at, or sailing from, Barcelona, are assured of friendly treatment; and they
are declared to be under the protection of the prince, so long as they are
near the coast of Catalonia. How much Spain was indebted to the Arabians
for their early commerce may be judged of from the number of commercial and
maritime terms in the Spanish language, evidently derived from the Arabic.
In the middle of the twelfth century, Al Edrissi composed at the court of
Roger King of Sicily, whose subject he was, his Geographical Amusements. In
this work we find little that relates to commerce: its geographical details
will assist us when we give our sketch of the geographical knowledge of the
Arabians.
In the work of [Ebor->Ebn] Al Ouardi, which was drawn up in 1232, Africa,
Arabia, and Syria are minutely described; but comparatively little is said
on Europe, India, and the North of Asia.
The next Arabian geographer in point of time is Abulfeda: he wrote a very
particular description of the earth, the countries being arranged according
to climates, with the latitude and longitude of each place. In the
introduction to this work he enters on the subject of mathematical
geography, and describes the most celebrated mountains, rivers, and seas of
the world. Abulfeda was a native of Syria; and this and the adjacent
countries are described with most fullness and accuracy: the same remark
applies to his description of Egypt and the north coast of Africa. The
information contained in his work, respecting Tartary, China, &c., is not
nearly so full and minute as might have been expected, considering the
intercourse of the Arabians with those countries. Of Europe, and all other
parts of Africa except Egypt and the north coast, he gives little or no
information.
Within these very few years, some valuable notices have been received,
through M. Burckhardt, and Mr. Kosegarten of Jena, of Ibn Batouta, an
Arabian traveller of the fourteenth century. According to M. Burckhardt, he
is, perhaps, the greatest land traveller that ever wrote his travels. He
was a native of Tangier, and travelled for thirty years, from 1324 to 1354.
He traversed more than once Egypt, Syria, Arabia, Persia, the coast of the
Red Sea, and the eastern coast of Africa. Bochara, Balk, Samarcand, Caubul,
India, and China, were visited by him: he even ventured to explore several
of the Indian islands; crossed the mountains of Thibet, traversed India,
and then, taking shipping, went to Java. He again visited China, and
returned thence by Calicut, Yeman, Bagdad, and Damascus, to Cairo. After
having visited Spain, he directed his travels to Africa; reached the
capital of Morocco, and thence as far as Sodjalmasa. From this place he
crossed the Desert with the slave merchants to Taghary - twenty-five days
journey: he represents the houses here as built of rock salt, and covered
with camel skins. For twenty days more he crossed a desert without water or
trees, and the sand of which was so loose, that it left no traces of
footsteps. He now arrived at the frontier town of Soudan. After travelling
for some time longer, he reached the banks of the Niger, which, according
to the information he received, flowed into the Nile at the second
cataract. He visited Tombuctoo and other places in this part of Africa, and
finished his travels at Fez.
We shall now conclude our account of the Arabians, with a connected and
condensed view of their geographical knowledge.
It is natural to suppose that they would be best acquainted with those
countries which had embraced the faith of Mahomet; and that the prejudices
and contempt with which his disciples have always regarded Christians, and,
indeed, all who were of a different religion, would stand in the way of
their seeking or acquiring information respecting those portions of the
globe, the inhabitants of which were not of their faith. The exceptions to
this are to be found principally in those countries, from which they
derived the principal articles of their commerce; or which, though not
proselytized, were conquered by them.
Hence, Europe in general was scarcely known to them beyond their dominions
in Spain, and the adjacent parts of France. There are, however, exceptions
to this remark; for we find, scattered through their geographical works,
notices tolerably accurate and just respecting Ireland, Paris, Antharvat,
which seems to be England, the Duchy of Sleswig, the City of Kiov, and some
other places.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 119 of 268
Words from 120610 to 121619
of 273188
