Ibn Said al-Maghribi

Who was Ibn Said al-Maghribi?

Ali ibn Musa ibn Said al-Maghribi, also known as Ibn Said al-Andalusi, was a geographer, historian and the most important collector of poetry from al-Andalus in the 12th and 13th centuries. Ibn Said was born at Alcalá la Real near Granada, and grew up in Marrakesh. He subsequently studied in Seville and stayed in Tunis, Alexandria, Cairo, Jerusalem and Aleppo. He was also a close friend of the Muladi poet Ibn Mokond Al-Lishboni. He died in Tunis or Aleppo in 1275 or 1286.

Ibn Said al-Maghribi was an indefatigable traveller, profoundly interested in geography. In 1250 he wrote his Kitab bast al- ard fi 't -t ul wa-'l-'ard. His Kitab al-Jughrafiya embodies the experience of his extensive travels through the Muslim world and on the shores of the Indian Ocean. He also gives an account of parts of northern Europe including Ireland and Iceland. He visited Armenia and was at the Court of Hulagu Khan from 1256 to 1265.

He also wrote a history of the Maghreb, which at that time include Islamic Iberia, called Al-Mugrib fī ḥulā al-Magrib. This book is midway between an anthology of poetry and a geography, collecting information on the poets of Maghreb organized by geographical origin.