Al Muqaddasi
Tuesday, 01 April 2008
Al-Muqaddasi originally from Al-Quds (Jerusalem), hence his name, is by far one of the most instructive of all early Islamic writers on the society of Islam.
He divides his work in two parts, first enumerating localities and providing adequate description of each, especially the main urban centres. He then proceeds to other subjects: population, its ethnic diversity, social groups... moves onto commerce, mineral resources, archaeological monuments, currencies, weights etc, and also to the political enviroment.
City and Urban Developments
The Islamic urban setting, its evolution, diversity, complexity, economy and politics is what attracts most of the attention of Al-Muqaddasi. It re-occurs in each chapter, for every region and place he visits. A. Miquel,(endnote 13) in French, though, offers an excellent summary of Al-Muqaddasi's interest in the subject. Al-Muqaddasi differentiates between town and city by the presence of the great mosque, and its minbar, symbols of Islamic authority.
Weights and Measures
For weights and measures, Al-Muqaddasi shows the same attention to specific detail. For each province, he names, measures, compares and explains fluctuations and variations each measure and weight applies to.
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