#alidrisi

[attentionspoilers]

Il Geografo

PlotIl racconto di un viaggio, attraverso la Sicilia medievale, compiuto da Al- Idrīsī, il geografo e viaggiatore arabo chiamato, nel 1138, alla corte normanna, da Ruggero II, con l’incarico di compilare un’opera geografica contenente anche la descrizione dei paesi del mondo allora conosciuti. Un viaggio in un regno caratterizzato dalla convivenza di tutte le fedi, razze e lingue, in cui il…

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[avetruth]

Кумеков Б. Е. Государство кимаков IX-X вв. по арабским источникам (1972)

Кумеков Б. Е. Государство кимаков IX-X вв. по арабским источникам (1972) https://www.avetruthbooks.com/2023/02/kumekov-b-e-gosudarstvo-kimakov-ix-x-vv-po-arabskim-istochnikam-1972.html?feed_id=12707

[lukas-andalus]

Arab American blog post #1

In honor of Arab American heritage month, I plan to share some thoughts throughout April. For this first one, let’s look further back further in history to when the Middle East and Europe crossed paths.

What do you see when you look at this map? It’s the world—turned ‘upside down’. On the right edge, you can discern the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). In the very middle and up, you can make out the Arabian Peninsula. The left half of the map is devoted to the Asian continent. Europe is the lower right quadrant with Africa in the upper right.

It was created by Abu Abdallah Muhammad al-Idrisi (known simply as al-Idrisi), a 12th century cartographer from Ceuta. Ceuta is a modern enclave of Spain, located on the northern edge of North Africa and is surrounded by Morocco. Al-Idrisi is from that time when Arab culture and language was part and parcel to Europe. It was spoken in Spain and Sicily. Arab-ness seeped into thoughts, artifacts, ideas, and European languages. Its impact and cultural sway were felt from Cordoba to Palermo, and even as far as the regal courts of France and England.

Although the Muslim dynasty of Sicily (modern day Southern Italy) later passed into the hands of the Normans, Arab culture remained intact for centuries.  King Roger II of Sicily was a patron of the arts and sciences—fields which Arab culture heavily influenced during this time. He continued the cultural legacy of Arab ideas and influences in Sicily. Commissioning al-Idrisi to write on world geography was something of the apex of Europe’s rendezvous with the Arab world. It was a way of affirming the cultural legacy that the Arabs had left in Europe.

I marvel that one of Europe’s first ever world maps was drawn by a Muslim, Arabic speaking cartographer whose roots and life stretched over and onto both sides of the Mediterranean. The interaction and relationship between King Roger II and al-Idrisi reminds me of the robust interaction that Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East had in the ‘Middle Ages’.

It also reminds me that sometimes, in order to see the world correctly, we need to turn our maps upside and view things from a fresh, new perspective.

[rociourium]

Buenos días desde el sur del sur #mapa #alidrisi #kitabruyar #mapamundi #seris