İbn Havkal

İbn Havkal en-Nasîbî (Ebü’l-Kâsım Muhammed; ö. h. 367 / m. 977), is a geographer originally from Nusaybin and known for his work Sûretü’l-arż. He was affiliated with the Belh school of geography and is considered one of the greatest representatives of classical geographical literature, along with Makdisî (Cilt 2, s. 22). There is no definitive information about his birth and death dates; his death year is given as approximately h. 367 / m. 977 (Cilt 2, s. 18).

His Life and Work

After staying in Nusaybin, Musul, and Bağdat, İbn Havkal embarked on extensive travels. Around h. 344 / m. 955, he traveled through Mısır, Bilad-ı Rum, and Azerbaycan; between h. 350-358 / m. 961-969, he visited Diyar-ı Fars, Horasan, and present-day Batı Türkistan; and in h. 362 / m. 973, he toured Sicilya. Towards h. 340 / m. 951, he met the geographer İstahrî, one of Ebû Zeyd el-Belhî’s students; at İstahrî’s request, he penned his book Sûretü’l-arż, based on his teacher Ebû Zeyd el-Belhî’s work titled Ṣuverü’l-eḳālîm (Cilt 2, s. 18).

Sûretü’l-arż is the product of extensive work and was authored three times, two of which were during the author's lifetime; according to the copies that have survived to the present day, the first of these was presented to Seyfüddevle el-Hamdânî. Following an introduction, the work successively covers the Arap yarımadası, Basra körfezi and its surroundings, Kuzey Afrika, Endülüs, Sicilya, Mısır, Suriye, Akdeniz, el-Cezîre, and Irak; the second section deals with İran, Azerbaycan, Sind, Horasan, Sicistan, the Hazar denizi region, and Batı Türkistan, with a map and explanation provided for each region. Among the works of Islamic geographers, his book provides the most extensive and reliable information on goods produced and traded in various regions (Cilt 2, s. 18).

His Records on Kurds

In his work, İbn Havkal provides rich information about the Kurds, stating that the number of Kurdish tribes is quite large. He focuses on Kurdish settlements in the Fars region, administrative units called “zumm,” and tribal names; he states that there are five zumms in Fars, and the largest is Cîleveyh Zummu, also known as Zummu Ramîcan. He identifies the Mazencânîler living on the border of İsfahan as a Kurdish tribe and notes that these Kurds are sheep owners, well-off, and live a prosperous life (Cilt 2, s. 18-19). When speaking of Huzistan, he describes a town named Lor, whose population is mostly composed of Kurds; he characterizes it as a fertile place with a mountainous climate (Cilt 2, s. 18).

The author also touches upon the role of the Fars Kurds in road blocking and security: he speaks of Kurdish leaders who ensured the safety of caravans and protected roads in some districts, while in other places, he mentions Kurdish communities that instilled fear in travelers, blocked roads despite receiving salaries from the Sultan, and whose power was eventually broken, leading to their dispersal across various parts of the country (Cilt 2, s. 19-20). He also records that Kurdish camel and sheep herders resided in the deserts between the cities and villages of Horasan, and that there were houses belonging to camel-owning Kurds in Kuhistan. He states that a large Kurdish country is located in the Kufs Dağları between Kirman and Fars, and he describes the borders of these mountains in detail (Cilt 2, s. 20, 69).

Source Value

İbn Havkal’s work is one of the most important sources on the Kurds after İstahrî’s work (Cilt 2, s. 20). It also became a fundamental reference for subsequent geographers and was among the authors utilized by İdrisî (Cilt 2, s. 25). The critical edition of Sûretü’l-arż was prepared by J. H. Kramers (Cilt 1, s. 215).