Al-Idrisi

Key Accomplishments

• Created the Tabula Rogeriana, the most advanced world map of the medieval era
• Authored the accompanying geographic encyclopedia covering the entire known world
• Engraved a silver planisphere for King Roger II of Sicily showing the seven climatic zones
• Integrated data from Greek, Islamic, and Norman sources with his own field research

The Full Story

Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi was born in 1100 CE in Ceuta, on the North African coast of the Strait of Gibraltar, into a family descended from the Hammudid dynasty. He studied in Cordoba and traveled extensively through North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, Anatolia, France, and England before settling at the cosmopolitan court of the Norman King Roger II of Sicily in Palermo around 1138.

Roger II commissioned al-Idrisi to create a comprehensive description of the world, a project that took fifteen years. The result, completed in 1154, was the "Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-Afaq" (The Pleasure Excursion of One Who Is Eager to Traverse the Regions of the World), also known as the "Tabula Rogeriana" (Book of Roger). This masterwork included a world map engraved on a large silver disc and seventy sectional maps, accompanied by detailed geographic and cultural descriptions of each region.

Al-Idrisi's maps were remarkably accurate by medieval standards, incorporating information from Greek, Islamic, and Norman sources as well as his own observations and interviews with travelers and merchants. He described the physical geography, climate, trade routes, flora, fauna, and customs of places spanning from Scandinavia to sub-Saharan Africa, and from Korea to the Atlantic. His work was notably objective, covering both Islamic and non-Islamic lands with equal care.

The Tabula Rogeriana remained the most accurate world map for approximately three centuries. Al-Idrisi returned to Ceuta after Roger's death and is believed to have died there around 1165. His cartographic and geographic legacy influenced both Islamic and European exploration and mapmaking.

Places

Connected Figures

Sources

• [1]S. Maqbul Ahmad, "Al-Sharif al-Idrisi," in The History of Cartography, Vol. 2 (University of Chicago Press, 1992)
• [2]Konrad Miller, "Mappae Arabicae" (Stuttgart, 1926-1927)
• [3]J.H. Kramers, "Geography and Commerce," in The Legacy of Islam (Oxford University Press, 1931)