Abul-Hasan Sa'id b. Ali ul- Jurjani; Masalik I Mamalik; (of Highways and Kingdoms). (1477)

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Taken from: Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum; by Charles Rieu Vol I

 Persian Literature, Volume 2, Part 1 By C. A. Storey.

 

I did not find a text of this work but the table of contents (given under) shows that East Africa might well be treated in this book.

The sections of this work (Fasl);

-The earth, its form and position, the inhabited quarter of the globe, and its zones, fol. 3 a.

-The seven climates, beginning respectively fol. 9b, 11a, 13b, 18 b, 26 a, 28 a, 29 b. Under each climate is a short statement of its dimensions, and of its course from East to West, followed by a table indicating the longitude and latitude of the principal places it contains from West to East.

-Stages on the road from Samarkand (1) to Khatai (China), extracted from the narrative of the ambassadors of Shahrukh (2), fol. 30 b.

-Areas of various countries, and distances from town to town, fol. 31 b.

-Some cities, the names of which, as found in books, differ from their current appellations, fol. 33 b. --On some migratory tribes, viz. the Barbar (3), Kata, Ghuz (4), Manghishlak (5), Khalaj (6), and Bukhara (7), fol. 35 b.

-Peculiarities of some countries, and of their inhabitants, fol. 36 b.

-Places in which special diseases prevail, fol. 38 b.

-The Arabs and some of their settlements, fol. 38 b.

-The men of the cave, or seven sleepers, fol. 39 b.

-The principal seas, fol. 40 a,

-lakes (the first of which is the Caspian Sea), fol. 48 b,

-islands, fol 51 b,

-rivers, fol. 55 b,

-mountains, fol. 60 a,

-and deserts, fol. 64 b.

-Wonders of the world, such as remarkable buildings, statues, talismans, and natural curiosities, fol. 66 b.

-Minerals, fol. 80 a.

-Proofs of the spherical shape of the earth ; conflicting opinions on its age, also on the origin and various races of mankind, f85a

(1) Samarkand: Samarqand, is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan.

(2) Shahrukh: Shah Rukh (1377 – 1447) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447.

(3) Barbar: Berber tribes.

(4) Ghuz: Oguz or Ghuzz Turks were a western Turkic people.

(5) Manghishlak: peninsula of the Caspian Sea (also the Turkic people there).

(6) Khalaj: Turkic tribe in Afghanistan and Iran.

(7) Bukhara: is the fifth-largest city in Uzbekistan.