Al-Masudi

al-Masʿūdī (full name Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī al-Masʿūdī, أبو الحسن علي بن الحسين بن علي المسعودي), c. 896–956, was a historian, geographer and traveler sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus of the Arabs". A polymath and prolific author of over twenty works on theology, history (Islamic and universal), geography, natural science and philosophy, his celebrated magnum opus The Meadows of Gold (Murūj al-Dhahab) combines universal history with scientific geography, social commentary and biography.

Birth, travels and literary output

Apart from what al-Mas'udi writes of himself little is known. Born in Baghdad, he was descended from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, a companion of Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is believed that he was a member of Banu Hudhayl tribe of Arabs. Al-Mas'udi mentions a number of scholar associates he encountered during his journeys:

Al-Mas'udi's travels actually occupied most of his life from at least 903/915 CE to very near the end of his life. His journeys took him to most of the Persian provinces, Armenia, Georgia and other region of the Caspian Sea; as well as to Arabia, Syria and Egypt. He also travelled to the Indus Valley, and other parts of India, especially the western coast; and he voyaged more than once to East Africa. He also sailed on the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean and the Caspian. Al-Masʿudi may have reached Sri Lanka and China although he is known to have met Abu Zayd al-Sirafi on the coast of the Persian Gulf and received information on China from him. He presumably gathered information on Byzantium from the Byzantine admiral, Leo of Tripoli, a convert-to-Islam whom he met in Syria where his last years were divided between there and Egypt. In Egypt he found a copy of a Frankish king list from Clovis to Louis IV that had been written by an Andalusian bishop. Little is known of his means and funding of his extensive travels within and beyond the lands of Islam, and it has been speculated that like many travelers he was involved in trade. Towards the end of The Meadows of Gold, al-Masʿudi wrote:

The information we have gathered here is the fruit of long years of research and painful efforts of our voyages and journeys across the East and the West, and of the various nations that lie beyond the regions of Islam. The author of this work compares himself to a man who, having found pearls of all kinds and colours, gathers them together into a necklace and makes them into an ornament that its possessor guards with great care. My aim has been to trace the lands and the histories of many peoples, and I have no other. We know that al-Masʿudi wrote a revised edition of Murūj al-Dhahab in 956 CE; however, only a draft version from 947 is extant. Al-Masʿudi in his Tanbīh states that the revised edition of Murūj al-Dhahab contained 365 chapters.

al-Masʿudi's intellectual environment

Al-Masʿudi lived at a time when books were available and cheap. Major cities like Baghdad had large public libraries and many individuals, such as as-Suli, a friend of al-Mas‘udi's, had private libraries, often containing thousands of volumes. Early in the Abbasid era the art of papermaking was brought to the Islamic world by Chinese prisoners after the battle of Talas and most large towns and cities had paper mills. Available cheap writing material contributed to the lively intellectual life. Al-Mas'udi often refers readers to his other books, assuming their availability. The high literacy and vigor of the Islamic world with its rich cultural heritage of Greek philosophy, Persian literature, Indian mathematics, contrasted with that of Europe, when the author of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was writing. Islamic Abbasid society of al-Masʿudi's world manifested a knowledge seeking, perceptive analytical attitude and scholarly-minded people associated naturally in this highly civilized atmosphere. Al-Mas'udi was a pupil, or junior colleague, of prominent intellectuals, including the philologists al-Zajjaj, Ibn Duraid, Niftawayh and ibn Anbari. He was acquainted with famous poets, including Kashajim, whom he probably met in Aleppo. He was well read in philosophy, the works of al-Kindi and al-Razi, the Aristotelian thought of al-Farabi and the Platonic writings. It is probable that al-Masʿudi met al-Razi and al-Farabi, but only a meeting with al-Farabi's pupil Yahya ibn Adi, of whom he spoke highly, is recorded. He was familiar with the medical work of Galen, with Ptolemaic astronomy, with the geographical work of Marinus and with the studies of Islamic geographers and astronomers. In The Meadows of Gold, al-Mas'udi wrote his famous condemnation of revelation over reason:

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