Makdisî

Makdisî (Mukaddesî; full name Shams al-Din Abu Abd Allah Muhammad; d. around 390/1000) is a medieval geographer considered one of the greatest representatives of classical Islamic geographical literature. His most renowned work is Ahsenü't-Tekâsîm fî Ma'rifeti'l-ekâlîm, which describes the Islamic world of the period region by region (Vol. 2, p. 22).

Life and Education

Makdisî, considered one of the greatest representatives of classical geographical literature along with Ibn Hawqal, was born in Jerusalem (Beytülmakdis) around the year H. 335/M. 946-47. Not much information is available about his life. He began his primary education by memorizing the Qur'an, then took Arabic grammar lessons; he went to Baghdad and learned Hanafi fiqh from scholars such as Qadi Abu al-Husayn al-Qazwini (Vol. 2, p. 22).

Ahsenü't-Tekâsîm

Makdisî completed his masterpiece Ahsenü't-Tekâsîm around the year 991. In his book, he mentions geographers who preceded him and astronomical geography (el-cuğrafya el-felekîye). Makdisî, who belonged to the school of Belhî (d. M. 934), like İstahrî and Ibn Hawqal who were affiliated with the same school, described only Islamic countries; he began his work with a description of the Arabian Peninsula, particularly detailing Mekke and Medine. He divided the Islamic world into fourteen regions. He critically analyzed and included accounts of countries he could not visit, and criticized some information found in the works of previous authors. His work is considered the most original and important book of medieval Islamic geography and exists in two versions (Vol. 2, p. 22).

Information He Provided About the Kurds

In his valuable work, Makdisî provides some information about the Kurds; the primary source of the information he recorded is İstahrî. When discussing the cities of Fars, he mentions Zummu'l-Ekrâd after the city of Haşt, noting that it has districts and a river, and describes Zummu'l-Ekrâd as a place among the mountains. One of the cities he mentioned is Kurd. He also mentions thirty-three Kurdish tribes living in the Fars region and lists their names—such as Kirmâniyye, Râmâniyye, Müdser, the tribe of Muhammed b. Bişr, Sa'lebiyye, Bendâmehriyye, the tribe of Muhammed b. İshak, Sabbâhiyye, İshâkiyye, Ederkaniyye/Edrekaniyye, Sehrekiyye, Tahmâdehniyye, Zebâdiyye, Şehreviyye, Mehrekiyye, Bundâkiyye, Husreviyye, Zenciyye, Safriyye/Safer (Vol. 2, p. 22).

When describing the region of Debîl/Dubeyl, Makdisî portrays it as a large city with a strong fortress, an abundant river, numerous charitable endowments (hayrat), and robust markets; he notes that the city's mosque is located on a large hill (Vol. 2, p. 22). Regarding the same city, he also states that Dubeyl has a dense Christian and Kurdish population (Vol. 2, p. 94).