Shams al-Din al-Maqdisi, the Great Traveler The Greatest Geographer in Human History
Date
2025-05
Authors
Ashraf Azab
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Al-Quds University
Abstract
The French Larousse encyclopedia, in its entry on Arab geography, states:
“If the reader seeks a marvel of geography in the eleventh century, they should not
look to Europe, which had descended into barbarism, but rather to the Arabs.”
When scholars—both Arab and Orientalist—unanimously recognize a particular
work as extraordinary, their consensus carries immense weight. And when
rigorous research affirms this consensus, the work in question becomes all the
more valuable and worthy of reverence. Among the rare works to have earned
such distinction is The Best Divisions for the Knowledge of the Regions (Aḥsan
al-Taqāsīm fī Maʿrifat al-Aqālīm) by al-Maqdisi. This book has commanded
admiration across generations, celebrated for its originality and insight.
The German scholar Sprenger hails al-Maqdisi as “the greatest geographer
humanity has ever known” and asserts that no one before him matched the
breadth of his travels, the depth of his observations, or the meticulous structure
he imposed upon his findings. The Dutch Orientalist Kramers regards him as
“the most original of Arab geographers” and deems his work “one of the most
valuable geographical compositions in Arabic literature.” The Russian scholar
Kratchkovsky acknowledges his “authenticity, ingenuity, and remarkable
powers of observation” and describes him as “a towering geographer and one of
the greatest Arab writers of all time.”
Lé Strange, a leading scholar of Islamic geography, considers The Best Divisions
“superior to all other works by Arab geographers and the most original among
them.” Dr. Shawqi Daif calls it “a true marvel”—akin to a cinematic reel that vividly portrays the inhabitants of the world in all their distinct traits. Meanwhile,
Dr. Nicola Ziadeh describes it as “a model of scientific writing—meticulously
structured, systematically organized, and scrupulously classified.”
The French Orientalist Régis Blachère, in his Excerpts from the Most Important
Arab Geographers of the Middle Ages, asserts that al-Maqdisi’s work is
indispensable for understanding the Islamic world of that era. He credits the
geographer’s “ever-alert curiosity, exceptional tolerance, and rare capacity for
comprehension” with making his book “a magnificent depiction of the world as
he saw it, in all its vibrant complexity.”
In 1906, the Dutch scholar De Goeje republished al-Maqdisi’s work in Leiden,
while the German geographer Walter Christaller later drew upon his studies when
formulating his Central Place Theory—a model of urban distribution in southern
Germany in the early twentieth century.
According to Ibrahim Said, in his book Al-Maqdisi’s Contributions to Geography
and Regional Studies, al-Maqdisi stands at the pinnacle of Islamic geographical
scholarship, alongside luminaries such as al-Istakhri, al-Balkhi, al-Hamdani, al-
Mas‘udi, and Ibn Hawqal al-Bagdadi. His meticulous depiction of the Islamic
world in the fourth century AH (tenth century CE) remains unparalleled in
precision and vibrancy. Said further asserts that “al-Maqdisi holds a unique status
in Arabic geography, unmatched by any Arab or non-Arab geographer, whether
medieval or modern—especially in his regional methodology and approach to the
study of territories.”