Abulfeda facts for kids

Ismāʿīl bin ʿAlī bin Maḥmūd bin Muḥammad bin ʿUmar bin Shāhanshāh bin Ayyūb bin Shādī bin Marwān (Arabic: إسماعيل بن علي بن محمود بن محمد بن عمر بن شاهنشاه بن أيوب بن شادي بن مروان), better known as Abū al-Fidāʾ or Abulfeda (Arabic: أبو الفداء; November 1273 – 27 October 1331), was a famous Kurdish scholar from the Mamluk Sultanate era. He was a skilled geographer, historian, and also an Ayyubid prince and governor of the city of Hama.

Life of Abulfeda: Scholar and Leader

Abulfeda was born in Damascus in November 1273. His father, Malik ul-Afdal, had moved there to escape from the Mongols. Abulfeda was part of the Ayyubid royal family, which had Kurdish roots.

Early Studies and Military Service

When he was young, Abulfeda spent his time studying the Qur'an and various sciences. However, from the age of twelve, he often joined military expeditions. Many of these were battles against the Crusaders.

In 1285, he was part of an attack on a castle belonging to the Knights of St. John. He also helped in the sieges of Tripoli, Acre, and Qal'at ar-Rum.

Rising Through the Ranks

In 1298, Abulfeda began working for the Mamluk sultan, Malik al-Nasir. After twelve years of service, the sultan made him the governor of Hama.

In 1312, he became a prince with the title Malik us-Salhn. Later, in 1320, he received the important hereditary rank of sultan, with the title Malik ul-Mu'ayyad. Abulfeda passed away in 1331.

Abulfeda's Important Works

Abulfeda was known for his significant contributions to geography and history. He built upon the knowledge of earlier scholars to create his own detailed works.

Geography: A Sketch of the Countries

One of his most famous works is Taqwim al-Buldan, which means "A Sketch of the Countries." This book was based on the writings of earlier geographers like Ptolemy and Muhammad al-Idrisi.

The book starts with an introduction about different geographical topics. Then, it lists the main cities of the world in tables. For each city, it provides its longitude, latitude, climate, and how its name is spelled. Abulfeda also added observations, often from older authors. Parts of this work were published and translated in Europe as early as 1650. In his book, Abulfeda correctly noted the location of Quanzhou in China.

The Circumnavigator's Paradox

Taqwim al-Buldan also contains the first known explanation of a curious problem called the circumnavigator's paradox. Abulfeda wrote that if someone sailed westward around the world, they would count one fewer day than someone who stayed in one place. This is because they would be traveling in the same direction as the sun's apparent movement. If someone traveled eastward, they would count one more day.

This idea was proven true about two centuries later. The Magellan–Elcano expedition (1519–1522) was the first to sail all the way around the world. When they stopped at Cape Verde after sailing westward, their ship's calendar showed Wednesday, July 9, 1522. However, the people living there told them it was actually Thursday, July 10, 1522.

History: Concise History of Humanity

Abulfeda's historical work is called Concise History of Humanity (Arabic: المختصر في أخبار البشر Tarikh al-Mukhtasar fi Akhbar al-Bashar). He wrote it between 1315 and 1329. It continues the history started by Ali ibn al-Athir in his book The Complete History.

Abulfeda's history is organized like a diary, covering events from the creation of the world up to the year 1329. It has two main parts: one about the history of pre-Islamic Arabia and another about the history of Islam until 1329. Other Arab historians, like Ibn al-Wardi and Ibn al-Shihna, later added to his work.

This history book was translated into Latin, French, and English. It became a very important source for European scholars who studied the Middle East in the 1700s.

See also

• List of Muslim historians
• Abulfeda, a crater on the Moon which was named after him