Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS
The best known geographer of the eleventh century was alBakri, a Hispano-Arab, and the most brilliant geographical author and cartographer of the twelfth century, indeed of ail medieval time, was al-Idrisi, a descendant of a royal Spanish Arab family who got his education in Spain. Abu Ubayd Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz alBakri, the earliest of the Western Muslim geographers whose works have survived, flourished in Cordova, where he died at an advanced age in 1094. A belletrist, poet and philologist, he won his laurels through his voluminous geography al-Masalik wal-Mamalik (the book of roads and kingdoms), which, like most geographical works of the Middle Ages, was written in the form of an itinerary. The book has survived only in part.
Al-Idrisi, born at Ceuta in 1100, shed lustre on the reign of Roger II, Norman King of Sicily, and will be treated in that connection. After al-Idrisi Arab geographical literature can claim no great originality and is represented by travellers narratives, which then become especially numerous. The best known among these travellers was ibn-Jubayr, abu-al-Husayn Muhammad ibn-Ahmad, who was born in Valencia in 1145 and educated at Jativa. Between

1183 and 1185 ibn-Jubayr undertook a journey from Granada to Makkah and back, visiting Egypt, al-Iraq, Syria-parts of which were still in the hands of the Crusaders- and Sicily. He travelled in the East on two further occasions, 1189-1191 and 1217, but on the latter journey he only reached Alexandria, where he died. His Rihlah, the account of his first journey, is one of the most important works of its kind in Arabic literature. Another Hispano-Arab geographer and traveller was abu-Hamid Muhammad al-Mazini (1080/1-1169/70) of Granada, who visited Russia in 1136. While among the Bulgars in the Volga region he witnessed a commercial activity unreported in any other source, trade in fossil mammoth ivory, which was exported as far as Khwarizm to be made into combs and pyxides.

The travels of Ibn-Jubayr and al-Mazini were eclipsed by those of the Moroccan Arab Muhammad ibn-Abdullah ibn-Battutah, the Muslim globe-trotter of the Middle Ages. Ibn-Battutah was born
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Literary & Scientific Development in Muslim Spam 671
at Tanjah (Tangier) in 1304 and died in Marrakesh in 1377. In thei second quarter of that century he made four pilgrimages to Makkah in conjunction with which he journeyed all over the Muslim world. Eastward he reached Ceylon, Bengal, the Maldive Islands and China. He also visited Constantinople. His last travels in 1353 took him far into the interior of Africa. His alleged visit to the city of Bulghar, near Kazan and the Volga, seems to be the only serious fabrication in his whole account.20
The Muslims opened a brilliant chapter in the history of cartography (the science of map-making). They had vast knowledge of geography and their original contributions to it along with the translation of Greek works have been highly recognised by the civilized world In the field of cartography the Muslims icpresented the world on map when the Western scholars could not think of it. Al-Idrisi was unquestionably the last map-maker the world ever produced. He is said to have made 70 maps of his ’climatic’ divisions, a celestial sphere and globe of silver-on the globe he indicated his seven latitudinal ”Climatic” Divisions. He also made a map of the world on a silver plate. These maps of Idrisi indicate the western Islamic world better than eastern. The world maps of Qazwini and al-Wardi were made after the world maps of’Balkhi school.21 CALLIGRAPHY
Calligraphy is the art of fine writing, calligraphy became an art in Islam and worthy of serious study. Under Umayyad and Abbasids, this art made much progress. In North Africa the Maghrib script was very common. It was originally called Kairawan after the name of the town where a University had been established. An art of calligraphy was so highly appreciated by the Arabs that it was styled the ”Golden Profession”, and in this, the Spanish Muslims achieved remarkable proficiency. It was developed, under the caliphates of both the East and the West, and reached the climax of perfection. The skin they used had a ground of gold or silver or were dyed of various colours, scarlet, green, purple, blue and black: their luster was so great that they reflected light like the polished surface of a mirror. Their inks were of different types. They were brilliant and durable. The manuscripts were enriched with illuminations. They
’ Hitti. History of the Arabs, P 568
20
Hitti. History of the Arabs, P 570
M A Hanfi. A Sarvey of Muslim Institutions and Culture, P 193

672 Political and Cultural History of Islam
included medallion, portraits, representations of men and animals delineated with astonishing skill, surpassing all their predecessors,
A new force of-writing arose in Spain after the centre of the Maghrib script had been shifted from Kairawan to that country. It was called Andalusian or Cordovan and is distinguished from the still somewhat stiff and angular script of Kairawan by the remarkably round of forms of its letters. Timbuktoo became the intellectual centre of Africa in 1213. Its script is called the script of Timbuktoo or Sunani. Its letters are large and thick.
The practice of Arabic script and beautiful handwriting existed throughout the Islamic world. Numerous types of writing reflect the depth of devotion which attached to calligraphy. The causes of miraculous nobility and respectability of this art in Islamic culture may be traced in the writings of Mr. Arnold who writes in his work Painting in Islam: The art of writing is an honourable and soulnourishing accomplishment; as a manual attainment, it is always elegant and enjoys general approval.” Imagine its honour and importance when God Himself says in the Holy Quran (68 : 1): Nun (inkstand) : By the pen and by the (record) which men write. After Allah, Hazrat Muhammad always encouraged the Muslims saying ”Go in quest of knowledge even into China” (Ibn Majah). The word ’China’ implies ”that one can here seek other types of learning besides religious knowledge and even from non-Muslims.” A wise man has said, ”Fine utterances in elegant handwriting are a pleasure to the eye and a joy to the heart and fragrant to the sou!.’*22 Thus calligraphy became an important art in Islam and worthy of serious study. The calligraphists enjoyed a higher reputation and honour than painters in the society. THE PHILOSOPHY AND MUSIC
The Arab philosophers-and this includes all those whose were written in Arabic-have often been accused with having inextricably woven Platonic elements into the Aristotelian heritage, which they passed on to the Christian West, as if by so doing they were guilty of misrepresentation. In reality, this ”mingling” for which they are censured, represents a splendid work of adaptation, a synthesis in the true sense of the world without which the intellectual flowering of the Christian Middle Ages would have been inconceivable. The fertile union of intellectual discipline and