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chaptersontheSlavs,Rūs,Bulḡārs,Khazarsandotherpeoples
inhabitingthesoutheasternpartofEurope[70].
Muchotherinterestingdatacanbefoundscatteredintheother
chaptersconcerningEuropeingeneralandcommerceinparticular.
Al-Muqaddasī
NexttobementionedhereisAl-Muqaddasī,Šamsad-DīnAbū
‘AbdAllàhMuḥammadIbnAḥmadIbnAbīBakr,whowasbornin
Jerusalemintheyear335/946-7andprobablydiedintheyear
390/1000.Fromthenameofhisbirth-place(inArabicBaytal-
Maqdis)comeshisnisba,i.e.Al-Muqaddasī.Hewasalsoknownby
anothernisba:Al-Baššārī[71].
His
workAḥsanat-taqāsīmfīma‘rifatal-aqālīm
(Thebest
classificationfortheknowledgeofclimes)isregardedasoneofthe
bestgeographicalworkseverwrittenbyanArabicwriter[72].Most
probablythisrevisedversiondatesbacktotheyears375-378/985-
988;itsfirstcopy,ashereported,waswrittenthreeyearsbeforethe
second[73].Inhispreface,Al-Muqaddasīdisplayedacertaindegreeof
criticismdirectedagainstallMuslimgeographerswhowrotebefore
him.Insomeinstancesitisthelackofinformationintheirworks,as
thoseofIbnH̱urradāḏbihandAl-Ǧaḥiẓ,inothersitisthefactthat
someofthesewritersmixedgeography,astronomyandanecdotes,as
forinstanceAl-ǦayhānīandIbnal-Faqīh[74].Accordingtotheauthor,
thematerialsforhisworkderivedfromthreesources:thefirstbeing
whatheobservedhimselfduringhistravels,thesecondwhathe
gatheredfromtheformerwrittentestimoniesandthethirdwhathe
heardfromtrustworthypeoplesuchasmerchantsandtravellers[75].
The
workAḥsanat-taqāsīmisextremelyimportantforthe
economichistoryofthistime.Thisbookcomestheclosesttodealing
withmostaspectsofgeography.Ineverychapteroneachregion,the
authorsystematicallyfurnishedsolidinformationongeographical
location,peoples,products,commerce,monetarysystems,itineraries
anddistancestoandfromtheregionshepresented.
Herelates:“IhaveclearlydescribedtheregionasIhavewitnessed