Al-Masʿudi, full name Abu al-Ḥasan ʿAli ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAli al-Masʿudi, (b. c. 896 CC [282-283 AH], Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate – d. September 956 [345 AH], Cairo, Egypt), was a historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus of the Arabs". A polymath and prolific author of over twenty works on theology, history (Islamic and universal), geography, natural science and philosophy, his celebrated magnum opus The Meadows of Gold (Muruj al-Dhahab) combines universal history with scientific geography, social commentary and biography.
Apart from what al-Mas'udi writes of himself little is known. Born in Baghdad, he was descended from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is believed that he was a member of the Banu Hudhayl tribe of Arabs. Al-Mas'udi mentions a number of associates he encountered during his journeys.
Al-Mas'udi's travels actually occupied most of his life from at least 903/915 CE to very near the end of his life. His journeys took him to most of the Persian provinces, Armenia, Georgia and other regions of the Caspian Sea; as well as to Arabia, Syria and Egypt. He also travelled to the Indus Valley, and other parts of India, especially the western coast; and he voyaged more than once to East Africa. He also sailed on the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean and the Caspian.
Al-Mas'udi may have reached Sri Lanka and China although he is known to have met Abu Zaid al-Sirafi on the coast of the Persian Gulf and received information on China from him. He presumably gathered information on Byzantium from the Byzantine admiral, Leo of Tripoli, a convert-to-Islam whom he met in Syria where his last years were divided between there and Egypt. In Egypt, he found a copy of a Frankish king list from Clovis to Louis IV that had been written by an Andalusian bishop.
Little is known of his means and funding of his extensive travels within and beyond the lands of Islam, and it has been speculated that like many travelers he was involved in trade.
Towards the end of The Meadows of Gold, al-Mas'udi wrote:
We know that al-Mas'udi wrote a revised edition of Muruj adh-dhahab in 956 CC; however, only a draft version from 947 is extant. Al-Mas'udi in his Tanbih states that the revised edition of Muruj adh-dhahab contained 365 chapters.
Al-Mas'udi lived at a time when books were available and cheap. Major towns like Baghdad had large public libraries and many individuals, such as as-Suli, a friend of Mas‘udi's, had private libraries, often containing thousands of volumes. Early in the Abbasid era the art of papermaking was brought to the Islamic world by Chinese prisoners after the Battle of Talas and most large towns and cities had paper mills. Available cheap writing material contributed to the lively intellectual life. Al-Mas'udi often refers readers to his other books, assuming their availability. The high literacy and vigor of the Islamic world with its rich cultural heritage of Greek philosophy, Persian literature, Indian mathematics, contrasted with that of Europe. The Islamic Abbasid society of al-Mas'udi's world manifested a knowledge seeking, perceptive analytical attitude and scholarly-minded people associated naturally in this highly civilized atmosphere. Al-Mas'udi was a pupil, or junior colleague, of prominent intellectuals, including the philologists al-Zajjaj, Ibn Duraid, Niftawayh and ibn Anbari. Al Mas'udi was acquainted with famous poets, including Kashajim, whom he probably met in Aleppo. He was well read in philosophy, the works of al-Kindi and al-Razi, the Aristotelian thought of al-Farabi and the Platonic writings. It is probable that al-Mas'udi met al-Razi and al-Farabi, but only a meeting with al-Farabi's pupil Yahya ibn Adi, of whom he spoke highly, is recorded. Al-Mas'udi was familiar with the medical work of Galen, with Ptolemaic astronomy, with the geographical work of Marinus and with the studies of Islamic geographers and astronomers.
In The Meadows of Gold, al-Mas'udi wrote his famous condemnation of revelation over reason:
Al-Mas'udi mentions meeting influential jurists and cites the work of others and indicates training in jurisprudence. According to al-Subki, al-Mas'udi was a student of Ibn Surayj, the leading scholar of the Shafi'ite school. Al-Subki claimed he found al-Mas'udi's notes of Ibn Surayj's lectures. Al-Mas'udi also met Shafi'ites during his stay in Egypt. He met Zahirites in Baghdad and Aleppo such as Ibn Jabir and Niftawayh; modern scholarship leans toward the view that al-Mas'udi was an adherent of the Zahirite school.
Al-Mas'udi knew leading Mu'tazilites, including al-Jubba, al-Nawbakhti, ibn Abdak al-Jurjani and Abu'l Qasim al-Balkhi al-Ka'bi. He was also well acquainted with previous Mu'tazilite literature.
Al-Mas'udi included the history of the ancient civilizations that had occupied the land upon which Islam later spread. He mentions the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians and Persians among others. He is also the only Arab historian to refer (albeit indirectly) to the kingdom of Urartu, when he speaks about the wars between the Assyrians (led by the legendary Queen Semiramis) and Armenians (led by Ara the Beautiful).
Al-Mas'udi was aware of the influence of ancient Babylon on Persia. He had access to a wealth of translations by scholars such as Ibn al-Muqaffa from Middle Persian into Arabic. In his travels, al-Mas'udi also personally consulted Persian scholars and Zoroastrian priests. He thus had access to much material, factual and mythical. Like other Arabic historians, he was unclear on the Achaemenid dynasty, though he knew of Kurush (Cyrus the Great). He was much clearer on the more recent dynasties and his estimation of the time between Alexander the Great and Ardashir is much more accurately depicted than it is in al-Tabari.
His wide-ranging interests included the Greeks and the Romans. Again, like other Arabic historians, he was unclear on Greece before the Macedonian dynasty that produced Alexander the Great. He is aware that there were kings before this but is unclear on their names and reigns. He also seems unfamiliar with such additional aspects of Greek political life as Athenian democratic institutions. The same holds for Rome prior to Caesar. However, he is the earliest extant Arabic author to mention the Roman founding myth of Romulus and Remus.
In al-Mas'udi's view the greatest contribution of the Greeks was philosophy. He was aware of the progression of Greek philosophy from the pre-Socratics onward.
He also was keenly interested in the earlier events of the Arabian Peninsula. He recognized that Arabia had a long and rich history. He also was well-aware of the mixture of interesting facts in pre-Islamic times, in myths and controversial details from competing tribes and even referred to the similarity between some of this material and the legendary and story-telling contributions of some Middle Persian and Indian books and Indian books to the Thousand and One Nights.
Al-Mas'udi is distinguished above his contemporaries for the extent of his interest in and coverage of the non-Islamic lands and peoples of his day. Other authors, even Christians writing in Arabic in the Caliphate, had less to say about the Byzantine Empire than al-Mas'udi. He also described the geography of many lands beyond the Abbasid Caliphate, as well as the customs and religious beliefs of many peoples.
Al-Mas'udi's normal inquiries of travelers and extensive reading of previous writers were supplemented in the case of India with his personal experiences in the western part of the subcontinent. He demonstrates a deep understanding of historical change, tracing current conditions to the unfolding of events over generations and centuries. He perceived the significance of interstate relations and of the interaction of Muslims and Hindus in the various states of the subcontinent.
Al-Mas'udi described previous rulers in China, underlined the importance of the revolt by Huang Chao in the late Tang dynasty, and mentioned, though less detailed than for India, Chinese beliefs. His brief portrayal of Southeast Asia stands out for its degree of accuracy and clarity. He surveyed the vast areas inhabited by Turkic peoples, commenting on what had been the extensive authority of the Khaqan, though this was no longer the case by al-Mas'udi's time. He conveyed the great diversity of Turkic peoples, including the distinction between sedentary and nomadic Turks. He spoke of the significance of the Khazars and provided much fresh material on them.
Al-Mas'udi's account of the Rus is an important early source for the study of Russian history and the history of Ukraine. Again, while he may have read such earlier Arabic authors as Ibn Khordadbeh, Ibn al-Faqih, Ibn Rustah and Ibn Fadlan, al-Mas'udi presented most of his material based on his personal observations and contacts made while traveling. He informed the Arabic reader that the Rus were more than just a few traders. They were a diverse and varied collection of peoples. He noted their independent attitude, the absence of a strong central authority among them and their paganism. He was very well informed on Rus trade with the Byzantines and on the competence of the Rus in sailing merchant vessels and warships. He was aware that the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea are two separate bodies of water.
Al-Mas'udi was also very well informed about Byzantine affairs, even internal political events and the unfolding of palace coups. He recorded the effect of the westward migration of various tribes upon the Byzantines, especially the invading Bulgars. He spoke of Byzantine relations with western Europe. And, of course, he was attentively interested in Byzantine-Islamic relations.
One example of al-Mas'udi's influence on Muslim knowledge of the Byzantine world is that the use of the name Istanbul (in place of Constantinople) can be traced to his writings during the year 947, centuries before the eventual Ottoman use of this term. He writes that the Greeks (i.e. the Byzantines of the tenth century) call it "the City" (bulin in the Arabic script, which lacks the letter p: so Greek polin); "and when they wish to express that it is the capital of the Empire because of its greatness they say Istan Bulin. They do not call it Constantinople. It is only Arabs who so designate it". A present-day analogy would be the use of the phrases "I am going Downtown" or "I am going into the City" by those who live near say Chicago or London respectively.
Al-Mas'udi has some knowledge of other peoples of eastern and western Europe, even far away Britain and Anglo-Saxon England. He names it, though he is sketchy about it. He knows Paris as the Frankish capital. He obtained a copy of a list of Frankish rulers from Clovis to his own time. Al-Mas'udi makes several references to people interpreted as Vikings, described by him as Majus, they came to Al-Andalus from the North.
Al-Mas'udi's global interest included Africa. He was well aware of peoples in the eastern portion of the continent (mentioning interesting details of the Zanj, for example). He mentioned that one of the most dangerous routes to travel is to the land of the Zanj, "I have sailed on many seas, but I do not know of one more dangerous than that of Zanj", also saying that several captains that he had sailed with drowned. He knows less of West Africa, though he names such contemporary states as Zagawa, Kawkaw and Ghana. He described the relations of African states with each other and with Islam. He provided material on the cultures and beliefs of non-Islamic Africans.
In general, Al-Mas'udi's surviving works reveal an intensely curious mind, a universalist eagerly acquiring as extensive a background of the entire world as possible.
Al-Masudi describes Sistan, Iran in 947 CC:
Lunde and Stone have provided the English reader with a fluent translation of some three-quarters of al-Mas'udi's material on the Abbasids from the Muruj al-dhahab. This is in the form of more than two hundred passages, many of these containing amusing and informative anecdotes. The very first one recounts the meeting of al-Mansur and a blind poet unaware of the identity of his distinguished interlocutor. The poet on two separate occasions recites praise poems for the defeated Umayyads to the Abbasid caliph; al-Mansur good naturedly rewards him.
There is the tale of the arrow that landed at al-Mansur's feet with verses inscribed in each of the three feathers and along the shaft causing him to investigate the unjust imprisonment of a distinguished notable from Hamadan. There is the story of the singer Harun al-Rashid asks to keep singing until the caliph falls asleep. Then a handsome young man arrives, snatches the lute from the singer's hand and shows him how it really should be done. On awakening Harun is told of this and suggests his singer had a supernatural visitation. Al-Mas'udi quotes the lines (five in English) of this remarkable song.
These anecdotes provide glimpses of other aspects of these prominent people, sharing, actually, greater realization of their humanity and the human concerns of their officials and ordinary subjects. One of the more interesting passages is the account of the symposium held at the home of Harun al-Rashid's famous vizier Yahya the Barmakid on the topic of love. A dozen leading thinkers provide their definition of love and then a thirteenth, a Magian judge, speaks at greater length on that theme.
Kitab at-Tanbih wa-l-'Ishraf, "Book of Admonition and Revision"; an abridged Muruj adh-Dhahab, about one-fifth its length, containing new material on the Byzantines, that al-Mas'udi wrote shortly before his death.
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Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems (Muruj aḏ-Ḏahab wa-Maʿadin al-Jawhar) is a 10th century history book by the Abbasid scholar al-Mas'udi. Written in Arabic and encompassing the period from the beginning of the world (starting with Adam and Eve) through to the late Abbasid era, the book contains historically documented facts, hadiths or sayings from reliable sources and stories, as well as poetry and anecdotes.
The Meadows of Gold is considered unique in medieval Islamic history. Due to its reliance on and references to Islam, the style of the book makes up an example of what constitutes Islamic historiography.
A first version of the book was completed in the year 947 CC and the author spent most of his life adding and editing the work.
The first European version of The Meadows of Gold was published in both French and Arabic between 1861 and 1877 by the Societe Asiatique of Paris by Barbier de Meynard and Payet de Courteille. For over 100 years, this version was the standard version used by Western scholars until Charles Pellat published a French revision between 1966 and 1974. This revision was published by the Université Libanaise in Beirut and consists of five volumes.
Versions of the source text by Mas'udi have been published in Arabic for hundreds of years, mainly from presses operating in Egypt and Lebanon.
One English version was published in 1989 and was translated and edited by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. According to this edition's introduction, their English translation is heavily edited and contains only a fragment of the original manuscript due to the editors' own personal research interests and focuses almost exclusively on the Abbasid history of Mas'udi. Their introduction also outlines how the editors relied mainly on the Pellat revision in French and are therefore mainly working from the French translation with the Arabic source text as a background guide.
One English version is the abridged The Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids, translated and edited by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone.
Another English version was published in 1841 by Aloys Sprenger, which includes a full translation of the first volume and extensive footnotes.
Historian Hugh N. Kennedy calls the book "Probably the best introduction to the Arabic historical tradition for the non-specialist."
Written in the "new style" of historical writing of al-Dinawari and al-Ya'qubi, Meadows of Gold is composed in a format that contains both historically documented facts, hadiths, or sayings from reliable sources and stories, anecdotes, poetry and jokes that the author had heard or had read elsewhere. Due to its reliance on and references to Islam this style of history writing makes up an example of what constitutes Islamic historiography in general.
Mas'udi also contributed an important role in this historicity by adding the importance of eye-witnessing a place or event in order to strengthen its veracity. Mas'udi's own observations form a valuable part of his work, and in contrast to Tabari, who provides little or no information on the lands and peoples of his own day, Mas'udi often corroborated or rejected geographical and other data acquired second-hand.
In addition, the book is unique in medieval Islamic history for its interest in other cultures and religions as scientific and cultural curiosities. This outlook is a major characteristic that distinguishes Mas'udi from other Muslim historians.
The contents of the Lunde & Stone version are broken into small vignettes which take up less than a full page of text in most cases. In addition, are several pages of poetry.
The Lunde & Stone edition focuses primarily on the Abbasid period in modern-day Iraq and begins with a story involving the Caliph al-Mansur (r. 754–775) and ends with the reign of al-Muti (r. 946–974).
Some notable sections include several stories involving the various Caliphs and their interactions with commoners like "Mahdi and the Bedouin" (37) in which the Caliph al-Mahdi (r. 775–785) is served a humble meal by a passing Bedouin who in turn is rewarded with a large monetary reward.
A large portion of the English text is dedicated to stories involving the Caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809) and his Barmakid advisors. These stories from Masudi are key elements in several English-language historical non-fiction books about Harun al-Rashid, including Hugh N. Kennedy's When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World, Andre Clot's Harun al-Rashid and the World of The Thousand and One Nights and H. St. John Philby's Harun Al-Rashid.
Another significant portion of the text involves the civil war between Caliph al-Amin (r. 809–813) at Baghdad and his half-brother al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833), who defeated Amin and became Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate. The text spends a considerable number of pages relaying several lengthy poems about the horrors of the siege of Baghdad (812-813 CC).
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