The Book of Paths and the Kingdom of Al-Istakhr

Name: The Book of Paths and the Kingdom of Al-Istakhr
Author: Written by al-Istakhri

Title	The Book of Paths and the Kingdom of Al-Istakhr
Author	Written by al-Istakhri
Publication Date:	AH 706 / AD 1306–07
Publication Place	Iran, perhaps Isfahan -
Subject	Ilkhanids — ink, gold, silver and opaque watercolour on paper; contemporary leather binding
Type	kitap
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	Yes
Physical Dimensions	25cm x 15cm
Library:	Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID	MSS 972
Record ID	GalEx6_uk_Mus82_3
Library Location	Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art
Date	AH 706 / AD 1306–07
Notes	The AH 4th / AD 10th-century Persian geographer al-Istakhri was one of the most important figures in the evolution of Arab cartography. He travelled widely, but his account of Arabia (Hijaz, Yemen and the Gulf) is curiously sketchy, particularly given the importance of the Pilgrimage. This is partly because, as the title of this treatise,Kitabal-masalik wa’l-mamalik(‘the book of postal routes and kingdoms’), suggests, it is based on lists of stations on the postal routes of theAbbasidheartlands and in Iran, which were not available for Arabia and Egypt.In its present state the manuscript is incomplete. It opens with a splendid page of illumination in gold and silver, and on the penultimate page (folio 120a) is a colophon with the date AH 706 / AD 1307, possibly a later addition. It contains the following maps: Arabia (Hijaz, Yemen and the Gulf); Egypt; the Mediterranean (Bahr-i Rum); Iraq (central and upper Mesopotamia); Khuzistan; Fars;Kirman; Sind; lower Mesopotamia and western Iran (‘Iraq-i ‘Ajam); Tabaristan; the Caspian; the central Iranian desert between Fars andKhurasan;Khurasan; Central Asia, from Transcaspia to beyond Bukhara; Ceylon (Sarandib), with Adam’s Peak and the west coast of India. The map of Sind is a later replacement, and a number of maps announced in the text are now missing. They were obviously lost when the original manuscript was unbound, perhaps for repairs, and the remaining folios rebound in the wrong order.
Sample Text	dated AH 706 (AD 1306–7).
Bu sayfanın künyesi	Prepared by:Qaisra KHAN
Seçili bibliyografya	Rogers, J.M.,The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London: Thames & Hudson, 2010: cat.198, pp. 166-167.

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The Book of Paths and the Kingdom of Al-Istakhr

Author Written by al-Istakhri

Publication Date AH 706 / AD 1306–07

Publication Place Iran, perhaps Isfahan -

Subject Ilkhanids — ink, gold, silver and opaque watercolour on paper; contemporary leather binding

Type kitap

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript Yes

Physical Dimensions 25cm x 15cm

Library Museum With No Frontiers

Library Asset ID MSS 972

Record ID GalEx6_uk_Mus82_3

Library Location Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art

Date AH 706 / AD 1306–07

Notes The AH 4th / AD 10th-century Persian geographer al-Istakhri was one of the most important figures in the evolution of Arab cartography. He travelled widely, but his account of Arabia (Hijaz, Yemen and the Gulf) is curiously sketchy, particularly given the importance of the Pilgrimage. This is partly because, as the title of this treatise,Kitabal-masalik wa’l-mamalik(‘the book of postal routes and kingdoms’), suggests, it is based on lists of stations on the postal routes of theAbbasidheartlands and in Iran, which were not available for Arabia and Egypt.In its present state the manuscript is incomplete. It opens with a splendid page of illumination in gold and silver, and on the penultimate page (folio 120a) is a colophon with the date AH 706 / AD 1307, possibly a later addition. It contains the following maps: Arabia (Hijaz, Yemen and the Gulf); Egypt; the Mediterranean (Bahr-i Rum); Iraq (central and upper Mesopotamia); Khuzistan; Fars;Kirman; Sind; lower Mesopotamia and western Iran (‘Iraq-i ‘Ajam); Tabaristan; the Caspian; the central Iranian desert between Fars andKhurasan;Khurasan; Central Asia, from Transcaspia to beyond Bukhara; Ceylon (Sarandib), with Adam’s Peak and the west coast of India. The map of Sind is a later replacement, and a number of maps announced in the text are now missing. They were obviously lost when the original manuscript was unbound, perhaps for repairs, and the remaining folios rebound in the wrong order.

Sample Text dated AH 706 (AD 1306–7).

Bu sayfanın künyesi Prepared by:Qaisra KHAN

Seçili bibliyografya Rogers, J.M.,The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London: Thames & Hudson, 2010: cat.198, pp. 166-167.