Geography and cartography in the medieval Islamic world

The Tabula Rogeriana , drawn by Muhammad al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154. Geography and cartography in medieval Islam refers to the advancement of geography , cartography and the earth sciences in the medieval Islamic civilization . During the Middle Ages, Islamic geography was driven by a number of factors: the Islamic Golden Age , parallel development of Islamic astronomy and Islamic mathematics , translation of ancient texts (particularly Hellenistic ones ) into Arabic, increased travel due to commerce and Hajj (the Islamic pilgrimage), and the " Muslim age of discovery " and " Muslim Agricultural Revolution ". After its beginning in the 8th century, Islamic geography was patronized by the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad . Various Islamic scholars contributed to its development, and the most notable include Al-Khwārizmī , Abū Zayd al-Balkhī (founder of the 'Balkhī school'), Abu Rayhan Biruni and Avicenna . Muslim geography reached its apex with Muhammad al-Idrisi in the 12th century. Later developments took place under Turks , particularly under the Ottoman Empire , with notable scholars such as Mahmud al-Kashgari and Piri Reis .

Medieval Arabian and Persian geography was based on Hellenistic geography and reached its apex with Muhammad al-Idrisi in the 12th century.

Medieval Islamic geography and cartography refer to the study of geography and cartography in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age (variously dated between the 8th century and 16th century). Muslim scholars made advances to the map-making traditions of earlier cultures, particularly the Hellenistic geographers Ptolemy and Marinus of Tyre , combined with what explorers and merchants learned in their travels across the Old World ( Afro-Eurasia ). Islamic geography had three major fields: exploration and navigation, physical geography , and cartography and mathematical geography . Islamic geography reached its apex with Muhammad al-Idrisi in the 12th century. In Rashed, Roshdi; Morelon, Régis (eds.). Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science .

Medieval Islamic geography and cartography refer to the study of geography and cartography in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age (variously dated between the 8th century and 16th century). Muslim scholars made advances to the map-making traditions of earlier cultures, particularly the Hellenistic geographers Ptolemy and Marinus of Tyre , combined with what explorers and merchants learned in their travels across the Old World ( Afro-Eurasia ). Islamic geography had three major fields: exploration and navigation, physical geography , and cartography and mathematical geography . Islamic geography reached its apex with Muhammad al-Idrisi in the 12th century. In Rashed, Roshdi; Morelon, Régis (eds.). Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science .