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Translation of Biruni's map found in his book on
Astrology
Of the maps added:
Those in Arab, they give a rather schematic view on the
distribution of land and sea on the globe. These are his maps.
The one which resembles way
closer the actual world maps:
THIS IS NOT A REAL MAP OF BIRUNI; IT IS THE TRANSLATION OF THE ARAB MAP.
1-Caspian
18- Egypt
2-Turks
19-Sudan
3-China
20-Ras berbera
4-Java
21-Mounts of the Moon
5-India
22-Sofala al-Zanj
6-Makran
(1)
23-Morocco
7-Persia
24-Zuqaq (5)
8-Khurasan (2)
25-Andalusia
9-Persian
Gulf 26-Rum
(6)
10-Oman
27-Constantinople
11-Aden
28-Slavs
12-Qulzum
(3)
29-Khazars (7)
13-Syria
30-Baltic and Varangies
14-Iraq
31-Surrounding Ocean
15-Pontus
(4)
32-Dibacha Islands (8)
16-Mediterranean 33-Islands
of the Zanj Empire
17-Alexandria
(This translation I took from : The book of instruction in the elements of the art of astrology; translated by R. Ramsay Wright.)
Note: By now better translations are available and the translation: Islands of the Zanj Empire has been changed to Sea of Zabadj
Taken from: Ahmad, S. Maqbul: Al-Biruni’s contribution to Arab Geography, Proceedings XXVI International Congress of Orientalists, 1970
Collected out of the different works of Al-Biruni his view of South-East Africa is given:
The Great Sea (Indian Ocean) is situated to the south of the inhabited quarter and is connected with the Encircling Ocean of the East (Pacific). Its northern coasts are dry and inhabited and the southern ones unknown and unexplored, and none of the people sailing on this Sea have ever known anything about it, nor have the inhabitants of its Islands passed on any information concerning it. The farthest point that the navigators of the Great Sea reach in the west is Sofala and beyond this point they do not cross. The reason for this was that just as the Great Sea had pierced the northern continent (Asia) at many points towards the East thereby creating several Islands (the East Indies), similarly, as if to compensate, the land – mass (Africa) had pierced the Southern Sea (Indian Ocean) towards the West. It is inhabited by the ' Black people ' of the West whose dwellings stretch south of the Equator up to the Mountains of the Moon, (the traditional sources of the Nile) Here the Sea enters mountains, high and low valleys and there is continuous ebb and flow of water which is full of commotion. It destroys boats and as such prevents sailing through it. All this however does not prevent the Sea from communicating with the Encircling Ocean (Atlantic) through these channels. Again, towards the south and on the other side of those mountains, signs and evidence of the two seas (Indian and the Atlantic) being connected have also been discovered even though this fact has not been actually observed. Thus, the inhabited land – mass falls within the seas that encircle it on all sites being connected with each other (this is taken from Biruni’s Al - Qanun al - Mas'udi) . Al-Biruni further elaborates the point by saying that the equator does not form the dividing line between the land - mass and the seas. The former does protrude and enter into the Sea (Indian Ocean) crossing the Equator, e.g., at the waste-lands of the Black people of the West. It has pierced the Sea and reached south of the Mountains of the Moon, although this fact has not been ascertained through actual observation for from the direction of the land, it is a barren desert and not traversable, while from the sea - side (south of Sofala), no boat that has rushed into a headlong peril there, has ever returned (safely) to inform of what it had observed. (This was taken from Albiruni’s India book) It is obvious that the information about the boats being destroyed in this region must have been gathered from Arab mariners and navigators. Again, the sign, namely, the discovery of the (Asian ship) wreckage at the conjunction of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, was positive evidence of the connection between the two seas. Al - Biruni argues that the planks could not have sailed via the Pacific, the North Sea, etc., into the Atlantic nor was there any communication between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean for the two were separated by the Isthmus of Suez. The only possible route therefore was through these channels south of the Mountains of the Moon. (This comes out of his book on precious stones) 'Al - Biruni was therefore the first Muslim scientist to establish in very positive terms the possibility of the existence of a sea passage between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic to the south of the Mountains of the Moon. He points out that the sea coming out of the Encircling Ocean (Atlantic) from the western side of the land of the Zanj people actually originated at the Cape of al - Ra'sun (al - anf , meaning ' cape '). It then stretched (eastwards) south of the Equator and opposite to the land of the Black peoples and Sofala. Here, the Sun, Moon and the Planets are posed directly above the Sea and hence the air becomes light causing commotion in the Sea. (This comes out of his book on precious stones). According to his reckoning therefore the sea that connected the Atlantic with the Indian Ocean must have been fairly long, and the southern coast of Africa must have stretched from the Cape of al - Ra'sun up to Sofala in a crescent - like shape south of the Mountains of the Moon. Al - Ra'sun could be no other than the region of the Agulhas currents. A later historian, al - Nuwayri, says that according to some writers, between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic (al - Muḥit) there is another sea called the Sea of al - Zafti . It is so called because of its dark colour and its blackness and is 1500 miles long. What is significant about Al-Biruni’s Map of the Seas shows no traces of this ' unknown land ' and the proportion of the land - mass and water shown on it differs fundamentally from that shown on the maps of other Arab cartographers which are heavily influenced by Greek and Iranian concepts. Africa, in al - Biruni's Map is fairly shortened as compared to others and the usual tail stretching towards the East is chopped off, giving South Africa a pointed peninsular shape more in keeping with its actual shape. It is rather surprising that none of the later Arab geographers and cartographers paid due attention to al - Biruni's views, or may be their ideas were so deeply influenced by those of Ptolemy that al - Biruni's views did not impress them much. Abu 'l - Fida quotes the whole passage of al - Biruni relating to the Encircling Ocean, but when it comes to describing it, he gives the traditional classical description and says nothing about the channel connecting the two seas south of the Mountains of the Moon as described by al - Biruni.? Yet he considered al - Biruni a master of the subject.
(1) Makran: or Mecran and Mokran, is the coastal region of Baluchistan (Pakistan).
(2) Khurasan: Khorasan: Afghanistan + Eastern Iran.
(3) Qulzum: located at the head of the Gulf of Suez.
(4) Pontus: or Pontos is a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern-day Turkey
(5) Zuqaq: the Strait of Gibraltar
(6) Rum: Rome
(7) Khazars: Semi nomadic people from south Russia, south Ukraine, Crimea, Kazakhstan.
(8) Dibacha Islands: al-Dibadjad: Didadjat islands: Dibayat; =Maldives