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Ibn Khordadbeh (886) Al-Masalik wa'l-Mamalik (Book of Roads and Countries) Postmaster general of the Caliph from Baghdad.
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Taken from : Journal Asiatique 1865
Also called Ibn Khurdadhbih and Ibn Hordadbesh, Ibn Khurradadhbih
As postmaster general he traveled very far and wrote the above book about it. Both Ibn Hawqal and Istakhri would later write a book with the same title.
His description of the world ends in Aden, the furthest southern place were the postal service reaches. (This way he gives indirect evidence that no large scale immigration to Africa from Arabia had taken place. And that the Swahili civilization then starting was of African origin)
The biggest king of India is the Balhara or king of kings. The other kings of that country are those of Djabah, of Tafen, of Djouzr, of Ghanah, of Rahina and of Kamroun. The king of Zabedj (one has surely to read here of the Zendjes, according to the translator) is called Alfikhat, the king of the Nubiens, Kamil (or kabil), the king of the Abussins, Nedjachy (or najashi), the king of the isles in the eastern sea Maharadja, the king of the Slaves, Kobad.
Once more he talks about the Zendjes, when talking about the big snakes in their forests. Here however the translator thinks it must be Zabaj as it occurs in the middle of the description of that part of the world.
About Aden he says: Aden is one of the chief ports in that sea. There is no wheat nor cattle but it has lots of amber and musk. It is the place for goods from Sind, Hind and China, from Zendj, Habacha, Qoloum (Persia), Basra, Jidda and Egypt.
When talking about the influence of climate: He who goes to the land of the Zendjes gets leper (or elephantiasis) (Man dakhal bilad ez-Zendj, feld boudd an yadjrab) (more recent authors have translated this by scabies). This sentence gets repeated further by many authors still for centuries to come.
The Nile of Egypt comes out of the Mountains of the Moon, flows towards the regions on the northern side of the equator, passes by Nubie, and enters Egypt.
The Al-Bahr ash-Sharqi al-Kabir (The great Eastern Sea) flows round the Ethiopian shore and that of the Zanj country.
Taken from Islamic Culture 1927
(about Jiddah�s trade)� The commodities of Sind, Hindustan, Zanjibar, Abyssinia and Persia are to be found here.