Background
Ibn Jubayr was born on September 1, 1145 in Valencia, Spain. He was a descendant of 'Abdal-Salam ibn Jabayr who in 740 had accompanied an army sent by the Caliph of Damascus to put down a Berber uprising in his Spanish provinces.
(Written more than eight hundred years ago and now transla...)
Written more than eight hundred years ago and now translated into English, this is the first-hand account of a wise and scholarly Spanish Muslim's pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah, the holy cities of Islam, and of his travel to Baghdad, the city of the Caliphs, to the first onslaught of Saladin, and to the island of Sicily at its most splendid Norman-Saracen period under the dynasty of Norse brigands. The reader is kept closely en rapport with the original author, the translation being as exact as English syntax and style will permit, abiding faithfully by the words, arrangement and imagery, and following the rigorous canons of oriental scholarship. Ronald Broadhurst has worked under the guidance of Professor Arberry, Professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge. The book is provided with full notes that include not only those of a specialist character that a scholarly work of this type requires but also those that will help and even entertain the general reader. A glossary explains the Arabic words that most appear in the text, and a comprehensive introduction sets the scene and describes the dramatis personae.
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(This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.
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geographer author traveller poet
Ibn Jubayr was born on September 1, 1145 in Valencia, Spain. He was a descendant of 'Abdal-Salam ibn Jabayr who in 740 had accompanied an army sent by the Caliph of Damascus to put down a Berber uprising in his Spanish provinces.
Ibn Jubayr studied the Koran, tradition, law and literature in the town of Játiva where his father worked as a civil servant.
Ibn Jubayr became secretary to the Almohad governor of Granada. He left Granada on 3 February 1183 accompanied by a physician from the city. He boarded a Genoese ship on February 24, 1183 and set sail for Alexandria. He arrived in there on March 26. Upon arrival, Ibn Jubayr was angered by the customs officials who insisted on taking zakat from the pilgrims, regardless of whether they were obliged to pay it or not. In the city he visited the Lighthouse of Alexandria, which at that time was still standing, and he was amazed by its size and splendour. After a stay of eight days he set off for Cairo. He reached it three days later. In the city he visited the cemetery at al-Qarafah, which contained the graves of many important figures in the history of Islam. In Sicily, at the very late stages of his travels (Dec 1184 - Jan 1185), Ibn Jubayr recounts other experiences. Ibn Jubayr also travelled to Medina, Mecca Damascus, Mosul, Acre and Baghdad at Basra he saw how Indian timber was carefully used to make Lateen sail ships, returning in 1185 by way of Sicily. His path was not without troubles, including a shipwreck. On both occasions he travelled on Genoese ships. Jubayr travelled to the East on two further occasions (1189-1191 and 1217), without leaving any account. He died on the 29 November 1217 in Alexandria during the second of these trips.
(Written more than eight hundred years ago and now transla...)
(This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)