The National Museum of Iran has uploaded a digital edition of Masalik Va Mamalik (Traditions and Countries) written by Iranian geographer and traveler of the 10th century Abu Is’haq Istakhri on its website.
The digital copy has been made from a fine manuscript preserved in the museum’s treasury, Azad News Agency reported.
Visitors can watch and read each and every page of the manuscript on the website of the museum, Irannationalmuseum.ir/Persian-Gulf/masalek%20and%20mamalek.html.
Masalik Va Mamalik is said to be the oldest known geography book. In 2008, the book was inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World List.
Mountains, rivers, ancient land and sea routes, port cities, ethnic groups, animals and local myths of the Islamic world of the time are what one sees or reads about in the book. Distances between cities, mineral resources, agricultural products, crafts and industries are also mentioned.
The book includes descriptions of cultural traditions and social trends. Various editions of the work are available at libraries across the world.
Istakhri wrote the book in Arabic toward the end of the first half of the 10th century. The manuscript at the National Museum is a Persian translation handwritten by the 14th-century scribe Ibn Savoji.
The book divides the Islamic world into 20 “iqlims” (climates) and depicts the world in 20 color maps. Featuring a map of Persian Gulf, the manuscript’s page illuminations are highly attractive.
Masalik Va Mamalik describes climates that are not compatible with those described by Ptolemy.
