İbn Hurdâzbih

İbn Hurdâzbih (d. 300/912-13) is considered one of the leading geographers of the early Islamic period and one of the founding figures of the descriptive geography tradition. His most renowned work, Kitâbü'l-Mesâlik ve'l-memâlik, holds special importance among Kurdish historical sources as it is one of the first geographical works to provide information about the settlement areas of the Kurds.

Life

Ibn Khurradadhbih, believed to have been born in Khorasan from Shiraz, originally belonged to a distinguished Iranian family. His Zoroastrian ancestors embraced Islam during the early Abbasid period. His father served as the governor of Tabaristan during the reign of Ma'mun (813-833); he himself received a good education in Baghdad and took music lessons from Ishaq al-Mawsili. He was first appointed as the director of post and intelligence for the province of Jibal, and later as the head of the same organization in Baghdad and Samarra. The author, who passed away in 912 or 913, authored many works, notably Kitâbü'l-Mesâlik ve'l-memâlik and Kitâbü'l-Lehv ve'l-melâhî (Volume 2, p. 12).

Iraq School of Geography

Ibn Khurradadhbih, considered one of the first Muslim geographers, is a leading representative of the Iraq school of geography; other important figures of this school include Ya'kūbî, Mas'ūdī, Ibn al-Faqīh, Ibn Rustah, and Qudāma b. Ja'far al-Kātib (Volume 2, p. 8). Ya'kūbî is considered the second most important representative of the Iraq school of geography after Ibn Khurradadhbih (Volume 1, p. 92).

Kitâbü'l-Mesâlik ve'l-memâlik

Kitâbü'l-Mesâlik ve'l-memâlik is a work written by Ibn Khurradadhbih around the year 232 (846-47), which he later summarized and rewrote before 272 (885). The work provides information about centers, distances between them, conquests, peoples, tax amounts, and geographical conditions. The work contains important records regarding the settlement areas (Zumm) of the Kurds in Fars. According to the author, the Kurds have four Zumms in the Fars region: The first of these is the region of Hasan b. Jilawayh, also called Bazanjan, which is fourteen farsakhs away from Shiraz; the second is the region of Ardam b. Jawanah, which is twenty-six farsakhs away from Shiraz. The Zumm also named Soran is the region of Hasan b. Salih. Kitâbü'l-Mesâlik ve'l-memâlik holds great importance as it is the first geographical work to provide information about the settlement areas (Zumms) of the Kurds (Volume 2, p. 12).