Taken from: Mappae Arabicae by Konrad Miller.
The book has a World map with the oceans and the seven climes with Mecca in the middle (folio 2v) on folio 4r: the seas and folio 17r a map of the Indian Ocean with the whale and Jonas. (among many other maps)
The world map from this manuscript
Taken from: Global Lab by Salman Rushdie
Folio 2v Wheel map made in Istanbul, early 16th century on paper found in the Austrian National Library, Vienna, nr. Cod. Mixt. 344. This small, exquisitely executed Atlas copies a Persian source of the Book of Routes and Realms, written in Arabic in the 10th century. The copyist had little knowledge of geography. Thus the south-oriented wheel map surrounding the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf has more of a symbolic meaning. Mecca is represented in the centre as a circle, the Kaaba being the hub of the world. Cities are circular in form, countries are named in their approximate geographic order around Mecca.
The Indian Ocean from the Kitab Surat al Akilim of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi . And the translation of the East African part.
Nasir Al Din Al Tousi (1274)
Kitab Surat al Akalim (Book of the drawings of the Countries) Khorasan
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Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi (1201 – 1274) from Khorasan, known as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, was a Persian polymath, architect, philosopher, physician, scientist, and theologian. He was captured after the fall of Maymun-Diz to the Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan. Tusi convinced Hulegu Khan to construct an observatory for establishing accurate astronomical tables for better astrological predictions. There Tusi made very accurate tables of planetary movements as depicted in his book Zij-i ilkhani (Ilkhanic Tables). Most of what he says about East Africa is very general.
Taken from: Mappae Arabicae by Konrad Miller
The book has a World map with the oceans and the seven climes with Mecca in the middle (folio 2v) on folio 4r: the seas and folio 17r a map of the Indian Ocean with the whale and Jonas. (among many other maps)
Taken from: al-Istahri und seine Landkarten im Buch "Suwar al-akalim, "nach der pers. Handschrift Cod. mixt. 344 der Oesterreichischen Nationalbibliothek by Hans von Mzik
Sind and Kashmir and part of Tibet are considered part of India. The country of the Blacks in the west and Zangbar de Boga (1) and all areas in that zone…..
Zangbar is the remotest country of the black people and has no neighboring countries except for Habash, which is laying in front of Yaman.
Note: Hans von Mzik considers the manuscript a Persian translation of Istakhri. Konrad Miller from Nasir Al Din Tusi.
Al Tadhkira al-Nasiriya (The encyclopaedia of al-Nasir)
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Taken from: Youssuf Kamal Tome III Fasc 5
Note: a special map of his found in a copy of 1331 is found under
the year 1331AD.
The all encircling sea passes by the coasts of the part of the land indicated. This is known for the west, the North, most of the south and surely the east. As for the south east they say that
those traveling to the sources of the Nile of Egypt reach latitudes south of more then 10 deg and there they see towards the south mountains covered with snow; those are the mountains of al-Qoumr
the region where are the sources of the Nile. Those travelers do not reach the sea. We do not know anything either about the sea at the north east……
The all encircling sea ….. gives birth to four gulfs that penetrate the lands of the people; these are the Barbary Gulf who goes the furthest west, the Red gulf, the gulf of Faris (12) and the
green gulf (13) …….
It is said that the best region is the fourth climate….. This is proven by the extreme blackness of the Zandj and the Habash and the very curled hair they have. It is said this is due to the very
hot air…
...........the shadows at noon are not southerly in any part except that it has been reported that they are southerly in a few populated regions at the edge of al-Zanj, al-Habasha and some others.............
...............As for the southwest, it has been stated that persons travelling in the direction of he sources of Egypt's Nile have reached locations whose southern latitude is not more than 10deg to 20deg. They saw mountains at a distance to their south white with snow, which were named for the moon, from which (arise) the headwaters of the Nile. They did not reach a body of water.............
…….. If moderation means the uniformity of the weather throughout the year, there is no doubt that this meaning is more pronounced in the equator than anywhere else. As the sheikh said, if it means moderation between heat and cold, there is no doubt that the equator is not like that, and the reason is the black color of its people from Zangian and Abyssinian people, and their curly hair, and other signs are its severe heat. It is the opposite in the fourth climate, and the reason is that the climate is more moderate, but the increase in population and race in the seven climates is the reason that their climate is more moderate and more conducive to life than other places on earth, and the middle of the seven climates is moderate on both sides. It is wet and the effects of heat and cold are clear on both sides. According to what he (Quds Sareh) said: the inhabitants of the fourth region are more moderate in nature and morals than others and have more intelligence and understanding. Therefore, it is the mine of sages and scholars, and after them are the people of the third and fifth climates. But the people of other climates lack character and the reason is their ugly faces and bad temper. Because they were burnt by the sun's rays or were not cooked due to its lack, like the people of Abyssinia and Zanzibar in the first and second regions, and the people of Gog and Magog (14) and some of Saqqaliyah (15) in the sixth and seventh regions. …….
.
Taken from: Nasir al-Din Tusi; The paradise of Submission: A medieval Treatise on Ismaili thought (1201-1274)
P 61 man is superior to all animals on account of the powers of discursive reason and discrimination superadded to him. Now, if one starts at the beginning and follows the (various kinds) of human beings through, one by one, for example, from the negro of Zanzibar (Zangi dar Zangibar) in the extreme south who, apart from having his hands off the ground, does not differ from animals in any particular way – except for that which God wishes, and many have observed that an ape is easier to train and more receptive than a negro of Zanzibar –up through persons who have an upright comportment (ras surat) balanced temperament and physical condition, an even size and stature, and supreme beauty and grace, who have competence and shrewdness in the affairs of live…..
Taken from: Minoo Southgate: The negative Images of Blacks In some Medieval Iranian Writings. In : Iranian studies 1984
….the first of the degrees of man is contiguous therewith. Such are the peoples dwelling on the fringes of the inhabited world, like the negroes in the west and others, for the movements and actions of the likes of this type correspond to the actions on animals.
Slaves should be regarded as the pledges of Almighty God, and all manner of benevolence, affability, gentleness and encouragement should be used in their employment. He classifies slaves into: the freeman by nature, the slave by nature, and the slave by appetite. And recommends that the first group should be treated like children and encouraged to acquire a proper mode of conduct. The second should be used like beasts and cattle and kept in training. The third category should be allowed to indulge their appetite in accordance with need, and kept at work by scornful and slighting treatment.
As illustration a map of Sofala by Carneiro in 1639
Ilkhani Zij of Al-Tusi by Shihab al Din al Halabi:
Taken from: 'David A. King; Worldmaps for finding the direction and distance to Mecca
Locality : Sufalat al Zanj Longitude 50 deg 0 min, latitude 2 deg 05 min Direction towards Mecca 143 deg 0 min
Reconstructed from Nasir al din al Tusi on astrolabe of Jabal al Kirmani dated 1393 (gazetteer on astrolabe called Jabel)
Taken from: 'David A. King; Worldmaps for finding the direction and distance to Mecca
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Tansuh name I ilhani (On Precious Stones) (1259)
Taken from: http://download.ghbook.ir/download.php?id=14451&file=9917-f-13921203-tasukhnamh.htm
Chapter the knowledge of Emerald
Some have said, emerald and beryl are the same. And some have said better than rubies. Who are currently unavailable.
And surely a variety of emerald and beryl.
The Emerald has several types. The first Salqy, the second Zanjary (2), third Zabayy (3), basil, sleek, dark, owners, maritime, soap, ………….
After Salqy, after Rihani, after Zababy, so dark, so Zanjary (2).
Section of knowledge of amber and his property.
Amber has also a variety the best is yellow and transparent.
It can be burned. And some others used in candlestick, yellow or dark.
The good one is from the land of India.
Crushed stone magnet in the season and his character and his properties
…………..
And there is Kvhast magnet in the sea of Zanzibar. (4)
Since he iron in the ship that arrives around the ship is changing course. And it is near the (magnetic) mountain.
Therefore ships here are stitched with cord no nails in the ship……
Chapter attribute of ivory and its properties
And it is a bone part. And the substance extremely good, like paint, steel, micro and macro texture, and humble.
(And the best of these types of ivory, the bigger ones). Used for making combs and other decorative (make).
And some of it is yellow, like boiling cow's milk .
Others is extremely white.
Section in the knowledge of Ebony and her properties
Ebony wood is black Drya from the coast of Zanzibar. And her skin is white, extremely heavy, (and) the end of gravity
(should not float in the water). Rot is difficult, since the wood not reap any porosity.
(And that of his property) and from Trayfha formations, and their carved ivory.
And because Ebony burn, smell (phenomena) comes…
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Nasir al din al Tusi : Kitab al albab al bahiyya wa at tarakib as sultaniyyah.
(The Book of Choice Sexual Stimulants and the Sultan’s Mixtures) 1274
Taken from: A Taste of Honey: Sexuality and Erotology in Islam Door Habeeb Akande
Those with black colour, a clean skin and body, of lean and slight build, with small eyes and very red gums, have a hot temperament and a strong desire for sexual intercourse. As for those who are white-skinned, they come in two categories; either they have a clear colour and beautiful eyes, or the whiteness of the skin tends towards yellow, with yellow hair. The second group have a high libido. Those who have a white colour and a phlegmatic temperament have flaccid limbs and are not strong enough to have sexual intercourse. If they practise it to excess they will die, and so have to take great care when engaging in coitus.
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Nasir Al Din Al Tousi; al-Risala al-Muʿiniyya (The Specified Message) (1274)
Taken from: الرسالة المعینیة (الرسالة المغنیة) و حل مشکلات معینیه by: F. Jamil Ragep
P132
…. and two branches will come out of this sea, one of them will be called the Gulf of Constantinople. It was one hundred and
sixty miles long; And the second branch which is the western. It is seventy miles long. And the islands of the Greeks are in this sea. And the Nile of Egypt that comes from the south from Bilad
Qamar (5) in this area.
P135
So the first climate was the equator. And the equator starts from the south of the Maghreb Sudan. and pass over the mountains in the north, which are known as Jabal Qamar (5). And pass over the north of Zanj and the south of Aden. And also to the island of Sarbeza (6), which is in the Green Sea (16) and to Sarandib (7) Islands to the fort of Kank (8), which belongs to China. And the end of the equator is an island that Hindus call Jamkot (9). And the middle of the equator is called the cupola of the earth (10). And in the middle of the first climate, is where the latitude is 16.39 and the day is 13 hours. And from the cities of the first region are the Sudan in the Maghreb and some provinces of Berber, Yemen, Abyssinia, Zanj and the islands of India to the extent of China.
P138 (map)
Note: although many countries stretch far into the ocean; India is not among them. Hindustan is found inside the continent. This map has put together the map of Mustawfi, Hamd-Allah ibn Abi Bakr Qazvini (1340) which is here the lower half of the circle with the most common representation of Africa among Muslim scholars in the upper half of the circle. The Leiden ms Or. 2541 (1248) contains also such a map an might maybe include part of the text also(?).
P141
And it should not be a fraction more distant, but it was always closer than this. And we see that in the cities where the sun's final elevation is close to this amount, which is the lowest elevation for places on the equator. For example, Khwarezm (11), where the first elevation of Cancer is seventy-one degrees. This is five degrees of difference to the lowest elevations of the equator. So the places where the sun is always higher than this are much hotter. The winter heat of that place was higher than the summer heat in Khwarazm. And the example of this statement is that we see from the bodies and colour of the people of Zanj, that their dwellings are close to the equator. So the equator was the boundary (of the inhabited world).
Here added the map of the Leiden ms Or. 2541 (1248). As the accompanied text is not yet translated; I also preserve a separate webpage for the Leiden ms (1248).
The world map is on the last folio of the manuscript copied in 646/1248 and illustrates a fragmentary Persian geographical treatise, but the script also gives the astronomical treatise of Aḥmad al-Sigzi (d. 442/1050 ca), Tarkib al-Aflaq. The designer has tried to integrate the design of a communication between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic with the Ptolemaic model. We have a shortened Africa that is recognizable by the Nile, but also a land mass starting at Andalus (=Muslim Spain), runs along West Africa before curving eastward at the southern tip of the African continent here marked by the place name "Mountains of the Moon" and continue eastward.
And if we had doubts about the nature of this land, a place name indicates that it is the steppe of the Blacks (badi Sudan). In fact, Africa has been cut in half.
Dr Karen Pinto states that this map is part of al-risala al-Mu'iniyya, a Persian treatise by Nasir al-din Tusi (1201-1274CE).
(1) Boga: Buja: Beja in N Sudan. The Egyptians leaving from Aswan; the southern border town on the Nile; have to cross their territory to reach the harbours on the Red Sea.
(2) Zanjary: from Zanjan (city in Iran) or from Zanj (East Africa)
(3) Zabayy: from Indonesia
(4) Magnetic Mountain: Idrisi (1150) has mountain Adjoud which attracts ships: Marcel Devic p 76 prefers Adjarrad because that means in arab: screaming (because of the waves hitting the mountain). Other authors who have a magnetic mountain:
Ibn Said (1250) Alkerany mountain magnetic.
Nasir Al Din Al Tousi (1274) Kvhast (mountain) magnet in the sea of Zanzibar.
Alf layla wa layla (15th cent) the Magnet Mountain (where the Ruc bird lives).
Abulfida (1331) al-Kerany (magnetic mountain).
Some authors conclude from this: Nasir Al Din Al Tousi (1274): Therefore ships here are stitched with cord no nails in the ship.
(5) Bilad Qamar: This means the Country of the Moon. Mostly is mentioned: the Mountains of the Moon (=Jabal Qamar).
(6) Sarbeza: Sarbuza: To the Arabs, Sarbaza or Sarbuza (= Srivijaya) on the island of Sumatra.
(7) Sarandib: Sri Lanca.
(8) Kank: Qoutb al-Din al-Chirazi (1311) calls it Dizkank; it is part of China.
(9) Jamkot: Qoutb al-Din al-Chirazi (1311) calls it Gamkut island.
(10) Qubbat al-Ard (the Cupola of the Earth); = Djezir Arin derived from qubbat uzain; qubbat al ard: dome of the earth. Mythical island being the belly button of the earth. Found in Al-Dimashqi 1325; Ibn Said al Maghribi (1250); al-Zayyat (d1058); Al Garnati (1169).
(11) Khwarezm: Khwarizm: a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia.
(12) Faris = Fars
(13) green gulf = Persian Gulf.
(14) Gog and Magog: high North of the globe.
(15) Saqqalqah; Saqaliba: the Slaves from Eastern Europe.
(16) Green Sea: the surrounding ocean.