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Thebiographicalnotesonhimarerathermeagre,itcannotevenbe
statedwithcertaintywhereexactlyhewasbornandwhatthereal
circumstanceswerewhichledhimtoPalermo[96].Wecandescribe
himastheonlyMuslimgeographerwhospentagoodportionofhis
lifeoutsidedāral-islām,atthecourtofKingRogerinSicily.
TheKinginstructedhimtocomposeadescriptionoftheworldand
tomakeamapofaplannedsphereonagreatcircleboardmadeof
silver.AccordingtoAl-Idrīsī’saccount,KingRogerwastherulerof
averyvastkingdomincludingSicily,Italy,LombardiaandCapria.
Owingtothisthekingdesiredabookwhichwoulddescribehis
country,theworldaroundit,thesevenclimes,seas,thebordersand
roads[97].
Intheyear548/1154theauthorreportedthecompletionofhis
geograph-icalcompilationentitledNuzhatal-muštāqiẖtrāqal-āfāq
(Thedelightofhimwhodesirestotraversethehorizons)[98].His
workwasknownalsobythename“TheBookofRoger”,particularly
inthewest.
AttheverybeginningofhisworkAl-IdrīsīacceptstheGreek
systemofthesevenclimes.Hisownmodificationwhichwasaddedto
thistraditionalsystemisrestrictedtoverticaldivisionsforeachclime
whichhedividesintotenparts.Thesepartssystematicallystartfrom
thewest,usuallyfromBaḥraẓ-Ẓulumāt(theAtlanticOcean)andeach
partisexplainedseparately.
Al-Idrīsīundoubtedlyreliedlargelyonolderauthorities;herefers
toAl-Ǧayhānī,Al-Mas‘ūdī,Ibnurradāḏbih,Al-Ya‘qūbī,IbnḤawqal
andothers,buthealsoaddedhisownfreshdata.Itseemsthathis
knowledgeonWesternEuropewasmoreuptodateandbasedupon
originalreportsfromobserverswhohadbeensenttothevarious
regionstosecuredata.MostofhisinformationonEasternEuropeis
basedonthewritingsofIbnḤawqal.Otherinformationwasmadeup
ofalltheknowledgehehadacquiredfromtheaccountsobtainedfrom
travellersandmessengersappearingatthecourtofRoger[99].Itseems
likelythatourauthortravelledagreatdeal,particularlyinSpainand
NorthAfricaandmostprobablytoEngland,FranceandItaly[100].
ItispossibletosaythathisinformationonWesternandCentral