Historical geography

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Places rather than dates

Reading the sira or a chronicle without knowing where the places mentioned are is following a story without a map. This shelf gathers the works that deal with space: dictionaries of place names, descriptions of cities and provinces, routes, and atlases locating the expeditions and the conquests. It is a supporting shelf: it is read beside another book, rarely alone.

What you will find

Mu'jam al-buldan by Yaqut al-Hamawi: the standard geographical dictionary, in volumes, arranged alphabetically. You look up a place name met in a text.
The descriptions of cities: Medina, Mecca, Damascus, Baghdad, Cordoba, treated in dedicated works.
The travel accounts, the rihla, including Ibn Battuta's, describing places as the author saw them.
The historical atlases, with the routes of the sira, the battle plans and the maps of the conquests.
The studies on the topography of Medina and the places of the sira, useful for following an account precisely.

Dictionary or atlas: which to take

A dictionary answers "where is this place and what is said of it". An atlas answers "show me the route". If you are reading a chronicle, the dictionary serves more often. If you are working on the sira or the conquests, the atlas is more immediately useful and far cheaper. Both formats are stated on the product page.

What to check

The volume count and the editor on Mu'jam al-buldan. The print quality of the maps on the atlases, since a map printed at low resolution or in black and white loses most of its point. The format, atlases often being large. And the presence of indexes.

Related shelves

For the narrative these maps accompany, Sira: the classical sources and Sira: modern studies. For dated events, History of the caliphs and of Islam. For the people, Lives of the companions. Overview: History.

Order and shipping

Real stock displayed, dispatch within 24 to 48 working hours, delivery to France, Europe and the rest of the world. For an atlas, write to us: we describe the print quality of the maps before you order.

Geographical dictionary or atlas?

A dictionary like Mu'jam al-buldan answers "where is this place and what is said of it": useful if you are reading a chronicle and stumble on a place name. An atlas answers "show me the route": more immediately useful on the sira and the conquests, and far cheaper. The format is stated on the page.

Does the print quality of the maps really matter?

It is the first criterion on an atlas. A map printed at low resolution or in black and white loses most of its point: relief, routes and boundaries become illegible. Write to us before ordering and we will describe the print quality of the copy in stock.

Is this shelf read on its own?

Rarely. It is a supporting shelf: it is consulted beside another book, a sira, a chronicle or a biography. The travel accounts are the exception, since they read as narratives. Tell us what else you are reading and we will point to what usefully completes it.