Palestine under the Moslems; a description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Translated from the works of the mediaeval Arab geographers

1890·33.8 MB·English

by  Le Strange, G. (Guy), 1854-1933

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PALESTINE UNDER THE
MOSLEMS.,,^.-,
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Description of Ssria ant) tbe 1bol Olanfc
FROM A.D. 650 TO 1500.
TRANSLATED FROM THE WORKS OF
THE MEDIEVAL ARAB GEOGRAPHERS
BY
G U Y LE STRANGE.
WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
PUBLISHED FOR THE
COMMITTEE OF THE PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND
ALEXANDEBRY
WATT,
P.
2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE.
1890. BY
pRES'cRVATlOH
SERVICES
DATE..

TO
Jlobelist,
AND FOR MANY YEARS SECRETARY TO THE PALESTINE
EXPLORATION FUND,
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED,
IN TOKEN OF FRIENDSHIP AND ESTEEM, AND IN APPRECIATION
OF THE IMPORTANT WORK DONE BY HIM IN
FORWARDING THE EXPLORATION OF
THE HOLY LAND.
05-
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PREFACE.
IT is the object of the present work to translate and thus render
available the mass of interesting information about Palestine
which lies buried in the Arabic texts of the Moslem geographers
and travellers of the Middle Ages. The materials, both printed
and manuscript,are ample, as will be seen from the list ofauthori-
ties set forth in the Introduction ; hardlyanyattempt,however, has
hitherto been made to render the contents of these Arabic texts
availableto the English reader. Some few of the works I quote
have, it is true, been translated either in whole or in part, into
Latin,French,or German ; but as far as I amaware,no Orientalist
has as yet undertaken to translate, systematize, and bring into
comparison and chronological order,all thevarious accounts given
by the Arab geographers ofthecities, Holy Places, and districts of
Palestine and Syria.
These provinces of the Byzantine Empire were conquered by
the Arab hordes within a few years of the death of Muhammad
and, except for the interruption caused by the occupation of the
Holy Land by the Crusaders, the country has remained under the
rule of the Moslems down to the present day. Before the close
ofthethird centuryafter the Flight correspondingwiththe ninth
ofthe Christian era the science of geography had already begun
to be studied among the learned of Islam. The science, besides
being theoretically expounded in their schools, was practically
treatedofinthe numerous Arab " Road Books," since thepilgrim-
age to Mecca made every Moslem perforce a traveller once at
leastduring thecourseofhis life. To thediaries ofsome ofthese
viii PREFACE.
pilgrims, whether coming from the western lands of Spain, or
the further east of Persia and beyond who visited Syria and
Jerusalem on the journey to or from the Hijjaz we owe the
detailed and graphic descriptions ofthe Holy Cityand Damascus,
and the Province of Syria, during the Middle Ages, which occur
in the travels of such men as Nasir-i-Khusrau the Persian, Ibn
Jubair the Spaniard, and Ibn Batutah the Berber.
It may be useful briefly to indicate the method I have adopted
in carrying through my work. In dealing with the Arab writers,
I have been careful to give in all cases an exact reference
to the text from which the translation has been made, in order
that those who might question my rendering should be able
without loss oftime to refer to the original. I may be allowed to
point out that all the information contained in the present volume
has been obtained at first hand, for though I have been careful
to consult the works of other Orientalists who have translated
some of the texts I quote, the translations now published I have
in every case made myself from the Arabic or Persian originals.
In dealing with disputed points relating to the position of the
Holy Places in Jerusalem, I have briefly stated the conclusions
which I thought were to be deduced from the accounts given by
the Moslem writers of the foundation and history of the various
edifices. Theories in respect to the position of the Holy Places,
however, form but a minor portion of my work, which has been
to translate in full, and, where needful, annotate, the texts I had
before me. I am in hopes that others may be able to build with
the bricks I have thus fashioned, and again that from other
printed texts and MSS., similar to those from which my materials
have been drawn, other workers will bring to light further in-
formation that will correct and enlarge what has been gathered
together in these pages.
Four years have now elapsed since I began my work with the
translation of Mukaddasi, during an autumn and winter spent at
Haifa, under Mount Carmel, in Palestine. The result of four
years' labour is perhaps scanty. Those, however, who have ex-
perience ofthe labour of searching and collating Arabic MSS.
or even the work with printed texts as the basis for translation