Al-Mas'udi (المسعودي) — Page 11

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

وُلِدَ الرَّحَّالَةُ، الْجُغْرَافِيُّ وَالْمُؤَرِّخُ الْعَرَبِيُّ الشَّهِيرُ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ الْمَسْعُودِيُّ فِي عَاصِمَةِ الْعَبَّاسِيِّينَ بَغْدَادَ فِي الرُّبْعِ الْأَخِيرِ مِنَ الْقَرْنِ الثَّالِثِ الْهِجْرِيِّ.

The famous Arab traveler, geographer, and historian Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Mas'udi was born in the Abbasid capital, Baghdad, in the last quarter of the third Hijri century.

وَلَئِنْ كَانَ الْمُؤَرِّخُونَ وَالْبَاحِثُونَ يُؤَكِّدُونَ أَنَّ وَفَاتَهُ كَانَتْ سَنَةَ (٣٤٥-٣٤٦هـ/٩٥٦م)، فَلَيْسَ هُنَاكَ أَيُّ إِجْمَاعٍ عَلَى سَنَةِ مِيلَادِهِ.

Although historians and researchers confirm he died in 345–346 AH (956 AD), there is no consensus on his birth year.

بَلْ إِنَّ الْإِشَارَةَ إِلَى سَنَةِ مِيلَادِهِ تَصِلُ بِبَعْضِهِمْ أَحْيَانًا إِلَى دَرَجَةٍ مِنَ التَّنَاقُضِ وَالْعَجَبِ.

In fact, references to his birth year sometimes reach a point of contradiction and absurdity among scholars.

قَدْ يَكُونُ خَطَأً مَطْبَعِيًّا قَوْلُ د. حُسَيْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ فَهْمِي فِي كِتَابِهِ أَنَّ الْمَسْعُودِيَّ تُوُفِّيَ عَامَ ١٣٤٦هـ / ٩٠٧م بَدَلًا مِنَ التَّارِيخِ الصَّحِيحِ ٩٥٦م.

Dr. Hussein Muhammad Fahmi likely made a typographical error in his book by stating that al-Mas'udi died in 1346 AH / 907 AD instead of the correct date, 956 AD.

يَتَّضِحُ مِنْ كُتُبِ الْمَسْعُودِيِّ بِجَلَاءٍ، كَمَا سَنَرَى أَنَّهُ بَدَأَ رِحْلَاتِهِ سَنَةَ ٣٠٠ أَوْ ٣٠١هـ.

Al-Mas'udi's books make it clear, as we shall see, that he began his travels in 300 or 301 AH.

أَيْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ فِي الْعِشْرِينَ مِنْ عُمْرِهِ أَوْ حَوَالَيْ ذَلِكَ.

This means he was in his twenties or thereabouts.

وَهَذَا يَعْنِي أَنَّهُ وُلِدَ قُبَيْلَ وُصُولِ الْمُعْتَضِدِ بِاللَّهِ إِلَى الْحُكْمِ، أَوْ فِي أَوَّلِ سَنَتَيْنِ مِنْ حُكْمِهِ، عَلَى أَبْعَدِ تَقْدِيرٍ.

This implies he was born shortly before al-Mu'tadid Billah came to power, or within the first two years of his reign at the latest.

يَجْعَلُ عَلِيُّ حُسْنِي الْخَرْبُوطْلِيُّ سَنَةَ مِيلَادِهِ حَوَالَيْ عَامَ ٢٨٧هـ / ٨٩٨م.

Ali Husni al-Kharbutli places his birth around 287 AH / 898 AD.

وَرُبَّمَا لِهَذَا السَّبَبِ يَقُولُ إِنَّ أَوَّلَ رِحْلَةٍ لَهُ خَارِجَ بَغْدَادَ كَانَتْ سَنَةَ ٣٠٩هـ.

Perhaps for this reason, he claims his first trip outside Baghdad took place in 309 AH.

إِذْ هَيْهَاتَ أَنْ يَكُونَ بَدَأَ رِحْلَاتِهِ وَهُوَ بَعْدُ وُلِدَ فِي الرَّابِعَةَ عَشْرَةَ مِنْ عُمْرِهِ.

It is highly unlikely he began his travels at only fourteen years of age.

وَلَا سَنَدَ لِقَوْلِ كَاتِبِ مَادَّةِ الْمَسْعُودِيُّ فِي الْمَوْسُوعَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ بِأَنَّ الْمَسْعُودِيَّ بَدَأَ رِحْلَاتِهِ سَنَةَ ٣٠٣هـ / ٩١٥م.

There is no evidence to support the claim by the author of the 'al-Mas'udi' entry in the Arab Encyclopedia that he began his travels in 303 AH / 915 AD.

وَقَامَ بِرِحْلَتَيْنِ فَقَطْ، زَارَ فِي الْأُولَى فَارِسَ وَالْهِنْدَ وَالصِّينَ وَعُمَانَ وَجَزِيرَتَيْ مَدَغَشْقَرَ وَزَنْجِبَارَ، وَفِي الثَّانِيَةِ أَذْرَبِيجَانَ وَالشَّامَ.

He supposedly undertook only two journeys: the first to Persia, India, China, Oman, Madagascar, and Zanzibar, and the second to Azerbaijan and the Levant.

وَتُوُفِّيَ عَنْ خَمْسَةٍ وَثَمَانِينَ عَامًا.

He died at the age of eighty-five.

وَبَلَغَتْ مُؤَلَّفَاتُهُ سَبْعَةَ عَشَرَ كِتَابًا.

His works supposedly totaled seventeen books.

فَالْثَّابِتُ، كَمَا سَنَرَى لَاحِقًا، هُوَ أَنَّ عَدَدَ مُؤَلَّفَاتِهِ الْمَفْقُودَةِ يَزِيدُ عَلَى ثَلَاثِينَ.

The established fact, as we shall see later, is that the number of his lost works exceeds thirty.

وَإِذَا كَانَ كَرَاتِشْكُوفْسْكِي يَذْكُرُ فِي كِتَابِهِ أَنَّ الْمَسْعُودِيَّ وُلِدَ فِي بَغْدَادَ فِي بِدَايَةِ الْقَرْنِ الْعَاشِرِ الْمِيلَادِيِّ.

Kratchkovsky mentions in his book that al-Mas'udi was born in Baghdad at the beginning of the tenth century AD.

Vocabulary · المفردات (18 verbs · 61 nouns)

• وَلَدَ — to be born
• أَكَّدَ — to confirm
• كَانَ — to be
• وَصَلَ — to arrive
• تَوَفَّى — to die
• اِتَّضَحَ — to become clear
• رَأَى — to see
• بَدَأَ — to begin
• عَنَى — to mean
• جَعَلَ — to make
• قَالَ — to say
• قَامَ — to stand/undertake
• زَارَ — to visit
• بَلَغَ — to reach
• زَادَ — to increase
• ذَكَرَ — to mention
• قَدَّرَ — to estimate
• تَرْجَمَ — to translate
• سَطْر — line
• رَحَّالَة — traveler
• جُغْرَافِيٌّ — geographer
• مُؤَرِّخ — historian
• عَرَبِيٌّ — Arab
• شَهِير — famous person
• عَاصِمَة — capital
• رُبْع — quarter
• أَخِير — last
• قَرْن — century
• ثَالِث — third
• هِجْرِيٌّ — Hijri
• تَاسِع — ninth
• مِيلَادِيٌّ — Gregorian
• وَفَاة — death
• سَنَة — year
• إِجْمَاع — consensus
• مِيلَاد — birth
• إِشَارَة — indication
• دَرَجَة — degree
• تَنَاقُض — contradiction
• عَجَب — wonder
• خَطَأ — error
• مَطْبَعِيٌّ — typographical
• قَوْل — saying
• كِتَاب — book
• أَدَب — literature
• رِحْلَة — journey
• عَالَم — world
• مَعْرِفَة — knowledge
• رَقْم — number
• تَارِيخ — history
• صَحِيح — correct
• كِتَاب — books
• جَلَاء — clarity
• عُمْر — age
• وُصُول — arrival
• حُكْم — rule
• أَوَّل — first
• تَقْدِير — estimation
• سِلْسِلَة — series
• نَابِغَة — genius
• فِكْر — thought
• سَبَب — reason
• خَارِج — outside
• رَابِع — fourth
• عَشْر — ten
• سَنَد — evidence
• كَاتِب — writer
• مَادَّة — subject
• مَوْسُوعَة — encyclopedia
• مُجَلَّد — volume
• مُؤَلَّف — work
• ثَابِت — fixed fact
• لَاحِق — subsequent
• عَدَد — number
• مَفْقُود — lost
• بِدَايَة — beginning
• أَبْعَد — farther
• أُولَى — first (feminine)
• بَاحِثٌ — researcher