Al-Masʿudi
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: Middle Ages
- Categories: Education, Literature, Publishing, Discovery, Exploration, Geography
- Subcategories: Authors, Writers, Explorers, Historians
- Curriculum: Medieval History/Middle Ages, African History, Middle Eastern History
Article abstract: A pioneer Arab historian, geographer, and chronicler, al-Masʿudi traveled extensively, gathering enormous quantities of information on poorly known lands. His work helped set the tone for future Arabic scholarship; he has been called the Herodotus of the Arabs.
Early Life
Abū al-Husayn ʿAlī ibn al-Husayn al-Masʿūdī came from an Arab family in Baghdad which claimed descent from one of the early Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, though some sources erroneously describe him as of North African origin. His educational background is...
[The entire page is 1585 words long]