* By Dr. Emad Mamdouh Abdel Halim
The emergence of Arab geographical thought dates back to the third century AH. Geographical information before this date was scattered in literary, linguistic, and historical books. Geographical authorship among the Arabs began influenced by Greek thought through those books translated into Arabic, which was the basis for the launch of scientific authorship in the field of geographical sciences. The fourth and fifth centuries AH witnessed a great development in descriptive geography represented in the books of (Routes and Realms) and map-making reached its peak. Such was the case in astronomical and mathematical geography, travel geography, and geographical dictionaries. This stage left a rich geographical heritage represented in those numerous works, maps, and geographical dictionaries. Great scholars emerged such as Al-Bakri, Al-Hamawi, Al-Istakhri, Al-Idrisi, Ibn Hawqal... and others. This activity in geographical authorship came as a result of many factors, including: the expansion of the Arab state and the resulting administrative, financial, and military tasks and relations between it and various countries at the time. All this led to the increasing need to collect geographical information about natural and human information and communication routes inside and outside the state. Scientific motives also played an important role, as this stage witnessed amazing progress in all fields of sciences and arts, and Arab and Muslim geographers had to keep pace with this flourishing scientific renaissance. Added to this is the passion of scholars and many authors for travels and discoveries, not to mention that the Arab state became the center of international trade, and through its lands all routes pass and intersect. This stage of scientific progress was followed by a stage of intellectual stagnation and inertia that lasted for long centuries, due to the weakness and collapse of the Arab state as a result of the invasions and wars it was exposed to, ending with the Ottoman era and finally by European colonialism.
1- Geographical Dictionaries:
If the appearance of geographical works in Arab heritage was delayed until the third century AH, then geographical dictionaries did not appear until the fifth century AH, which witnessed the appearance of the first Arabic geographical dictionary (Mu'jam Ma Ista'jam of the Names of Countries and Places) by Abu Ubayd Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Bakri (432 - 487 AH). Authors of ancient geographical dictionaries found themselves before a massive stock of literary, linguistic, and historical works containing rich geographical information about places and locations, their definition and description. Added to this are geographical works and travel books, because descriptive geography in this stage had reached a very advanced degree. All these sources with the geographical information they provide form the basic structure for authoring geographical dictionaries. This stage also witnessed a great development in the movement of authoring linguistic dictionaries which included, besides linguistic vocabulary, the names of persons, places, and countries in order to fix their pronunciation. Authors of geographical dictionaries benefited much from the industry of linguistic dictionaries, whether in terms of methods of organization and arrangement, or from the terms of geographical regions, their description, definition, and fixing their pronunciation. We can say that geographical dictionaries and biographical books were born from the womb of linguistic dictionaries. Examples of geographical dictionaries in Arab heritage include the following:

1- Mu'jam Ma Ista'jam of the Names of Countries and Places / by Abu Ubayd Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Bakri (432 - 478 AH / 1040 - 1094 AD):
It is the first Arabic geographical dictionary. Al-Bakri mentioned in the introduction of his book that he collected the names of places that were frequently mentioned in Arabic literature: cities, mountains, monuments, waters, and wells, to be a geographical dictionary. He arranged its materials alphabetically according to the Maghrebi alphabet and according to the first and second letters of the root word. The dictionary consists of (784) chapters and contains (3,590) entries, most of them in the Arabian Peninsula. The author does not stop at mentioning places and locations only, but follows the migration of Arab tribes from their homelands, and mentions their days, occurrences, lineages, and clans. The dictionary was published for the first time by the German Orientalist (Wüstenfeld) in (1877 AD) in two parts. In (1945 AD), the Cairo edition appeared edited by Mustafa al-Saqa, who changed its arrangement according to the usual alphabetical order, in four volumes, and provided it with an alphabetical index of place names, countries, waters, and mountains, another for figures, and a third for rhymes.
2- Al-Jibal wal-Amkina wal-Miyah (Mountains, Places, and Waters) / Abu al-Qasim Mahmoud bin Omar al-Zamakhshari (.... - 538 AH):
It resembles Al-Bakri's dictionary in its reliance on ancient books of places and in following the alphabetical arrangement of its dictionary materials. He focused on fixing the geographical flags mentioned in the Holy Quran and the Prophetic biography. It was published for the first time in Leiden in (1856 AD), and also printed in Najaf in (1962 AD). And in Baghdad in (1968 AD) edited by Dr. Ibrahim al-Samarrai.
3- Asma al-Buldan wal-Amkina wal-Jibal wal-Miyah (Names of Countries, Places, Mountains, and Waters) / Abu al-Fath Nasr bin Abdulrahman al-Ghazari al-Iskandari (- ... 560 AH):
The dictionary includes (2,938) locations. It was a matter of interest for many; Yaqut al-Hamawi, author of (Mu'jam al-Buldan), admired it and relied on it in preparing his dictionary, as did Abu Musa al-Asbahani who summarized it in a book he named (What differed and agreed of the names of places), and also Abu Bakr al-Hazimi al-Hamadhani (.... - 854 AH) who took it as a basis for his book (What agreed in wording and differed in named).
4- Mu'jam al-Buldan (Dictionary of Countries) / Abu Abdullah Yaqut al-Hamawi (574 - 627 AH / 1178 - 1229 AD):
This dictionary is considered one of the most important geographical dictionaries, distinguished by the accuracy, abundance, and breadth of its information and its od arrangement. It combines geography, history, and literature and frequently cites the words of geographers who preceded him. Al-Hamawi traveled across the Islamic world, knew its cities and regions, and wrote about them what he saw, read, or heard of information and news. The dictionary consists of an introduction on the geography of the world in five chapters, then the author divided the rest of the dictionary parts into (28) books according to the number of letters of the alphabet, and divided each book into (28) chapters, and adhered in arranging its materials to the alphabetical order. It was printed for the first time in (Leipzig) with the care of the German Orientalist (Wüstenfeld) in six volumes between (1866 - 1872 AD). It was printed in Cairo with the supplement in (10) parts in (5) volumes by Muhammad Amin al-Khanji between (1906 - 1907 AD). And it was issued in Beirut by Dar Sader between (1955 - 1957 AD). Safi al-Din bin Abdul Haq al-Baghdadi (..... 739 AH) summarized Mu'jam al-Buldan in a book he named (Marasid al-Ittila' on the names of places and spots) and it was printed in several editions in Leiden and Iran, and finally in Cairo edited by Ali Muhammad al-Bajawi in (1954 AD) in three parts.
5- Al-Mushtarak Wad'an wal-Muftaraq Saq'an / Abu Abdullah Yaqut al-Hamawi:
This dictionary is an abridgment of Mu'jam al-Buldan, arranged alphabetically. The author collected names of places that are similar in name and differ in geographical location with their definition and mentioning brief historical and geographical information about them. There are alphabetical indices for geographical names, tribes, poets, and commentators. The dictionary was edited by the Orientalist (Wüstenfeld) and printed in Leiden in (1846 AD) for the first time.
6- Athar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-Ibad / Zakariya bin Muhammad al-Qazwini (.... - 682 AH):
It is considered one of the important geographical dictionaries that appeared after Yaqut al-Hamawi's Mu'jam al-Buldan. The author divided the dictionary into seven sections, each section specializing in one of the seven climates. The section begins with a brief definition of the location and boundaries of the climate, then lists the names of regions, locations, and places existing in it in alphabetical order. It was issued by Dar Sader in Beirut in (1960 AD).
2- Cartographic Materials:
The Arab cartographic heritage is represented in hundreds of maps, shapes, and individual images, or those included in geographical works: because the industry of cartographic materials was associated with the development that took place in geographical sciences during Islamic eras. Modern geographers' opinions varied in determining the stages of the history of the development of ancient Arab maps, as some believe in dividing them into three stages: the first stage is represented by Al-Khwarizmi, which is the art attributed to Ptolemy's maps, the second is the independent art of maps represented by Al-Balkhi, Al-Istakhri, and Ibn Hawqal. And the third: from mathematical and astronomical maps represented by Al-Idrisi. Another team believes that the movement of the history of map development is divided into the pre-"Ma'muni Map" stage and after. A third team believes it is better to divide into two schools: the traditional geographical school which was influenced by maps transferred from other civilizations, specifically from Greek. And the original geographical school which includes the production of Muslim cartographers distinguished by creativity and innovation and not influenced by previous maps. Whatever the case, the map stage that preceded the era of Caliph al-Ma'mun witnessed the appearance of many maps, shapes, and images, but none of them arrived; they were hit by what hit the manuscripts of that era of loss and damage. All available information about them are those references mentioned in literary, geographical, and historical books. Perhaps the "Ma'muni Map" is the first Islamic map, on which a group of astronomers and mathematicians gathered by order of Caliph al-Ma'mun. The map divided the world into seven climates, and its preparers used colors, and replaced the old geographical names with Arabic names. Among the most important Muslim cartographers is Muhammad bin Musa al-Khwarizmi who died in (232 AH), author of the book (Image of the Earth) which included several maps. Abu Zaid Ahmed bin Sahl al-Balkhi who died in (322 AH) is considered the pioneer of the original cartographic school that was liberated from the influences of the Greek school; his book (Routes and Realms) included some shapes and images of regions. Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin Muhammad al-Istakhri followed al-Balkhi's method, and indicated in the introduction of his book (Routes and Realms) that he drew twenty-one maps, the first of which is a map of the world showing the regions in miniature, and the other twenty maps for twenty regions of the lands of Islam. His book also contains some maps attributed to al-Balkhi. Abu al-Qasim Muhammad bin Hawqal who died in (366 AH) was influenced by al-Istakhri and benefited from his maps clearly; his book (Routes and Realms) indicates wide knowledge of locations and geographical phenomena, and his maps number twenty-two. There is Shams al-Din Muhammad bin Ahmed al-Maqdisi who died in (390 AH) who represents the same trend, but he differed from them in determining the number of regions; in his book (The Best Divisions in the Knowledge of the Regions) he divides the Islamic countries into fourteen regions, and his maps numbered (18). The last link in the development of the ancient Arab maps movement is represented by Abu Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Idris known as Al-Idrisi. The maps he prepared are characterized by interest in the known world at the time, not just the Islamic world. He took care of astronomical information, and adhered to the scale of drawing and determining directions. In his book (The Excursion of One Who Yearns to Penetrate the Horizons), a map of the world drawn on seventy pieces is attached to it. He also has the book (Ginan al-Na'im) with an atlas consisting of seventy-three maps. Al-Idrisi's name was also associated with the globe he made and drew the world map on. After Al-Idrisi came many geographical authors such as Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi who died in (685 AH), Shams al-Din al-Dimashqi who died in (727 AH), Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari, and Zakariya al-Qazwini and others, all of whom followed Al-Idrisi's method in drawing their maps. Finally, ancient Arab cartographers kept pace with the movement of development in geographical sciences specifically, and the flourishing scientific movement in all sciences and arts generally. They left us hundreds of maps, so they placed world maps, and maps for the Islamic world, in addition to regional or local maps. They used colors, determined directions, and some of them adhered to the scale of drawing. They also placed military, commercial, and sea maps.

* Department of Libraries and Information. Damascus University