یاقوت الحموي وکتابه:معجم البلدان (دراسة خاصة) (YĀQŪT AL-HAMAWĪ AND HIS BOOK: MU’JAM AL-BULDĀN (A SPECIAL STUDY) Section Islamic Literature

Abstract

The article entitled: Yāqūt al-Hamawī and his book: Mu’jam al-Buldān (A Special Study), is about his life services, travels and his valuable books entitled: Mujam-al-Buldan. Yaqoot -al-Hamawî was a Syrian writer, biographer and geographer, he is known for his encyclopedia entitled Mujam al-Buldan, a geographical dictionary that includes much biographical, historical, and cultural data regarding various places, cities and countries. He has great contribution towards Muslim ,Islamic Literature. He travelled to various countries cities and places and collected a lot of information regarding these places. He wrote a book entitled above , the book is a primary source in Arabic scholarship, covering the history, ethnography, and myths related to various places, cities and markets of the world. Yaqoot-al-Hamawi was born in 575or 574 in Asia Minor. He was captured in war and was bought by the hand of a merchant named:Askar ,he gave him a good education. The merchant in fact engaged yaqoot as his secretary and sent him on commercial tours on Qeys island, which was one of the main storehouses between India and Europe. Yaqoot then, left the services of the merchant, to turn to scholarly activities, copying and selling manuscripts, whilst studying Arabic and grammar. He failed to make a living, and returned to the services of his former master and trading activities, until his ex-master’s death, following which, Yāqoot settled in Baghdad as a book seller. Yāqoot could not settle in one place though, he travelled much, first as a merchant, then as a geographer fascinated by places and their diverse populations, dress, and ways. He reached Merv, where he stayed for two years. What attracted him there, were the libraries; ten wealthy libraries, two in the chief mosque and the remainder in the madrassas.  He moved on to Khiva and Balkh; but it was the wrong time. He went back to Aleppo, where he remained under the patronage of Al-Qifti, until his death in 1229. During such stay, he still managed to make trips to Palestine, Egypt, Iraq and other parts. He worked as a book-seller, Yāqūt also worked as an author. Only four of his many works have survived time, though; best known being his Mu’ajam al-Udaba (Dictionary of the learned men); and Mu’ajam al-Buldan (Dictionary of countries). These two works, altogether, were 33 180 pages long.Mujam-ul-Buldan is a vast geographical encyclopaedia which summed up nearly all medieval knowledge of the globe. Yāqoot included almost everything from archaeology, ethnography, history, anthropology, natural sciences, geography, giving coordinates for every place, etc .The article explains his services and importance of his remarkable book entitled above in a comprehensively.