in which the center of the world is the Ka'ba in Mecca.
Taken from : Mappae Arabicae by Miller Konrad
Al-Muqaddasi: Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim
(The best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions) (985)
from Jerusalem florished in Bust, Sijistan
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Taken from; Marcel Devic; Le pays des Zendj;
www.colorq.org and several other websites
The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions:(original translation)
Also called Al- Maqdisi, Al-Makdisi.
Indeed it may be urged further that you must, according to this interpretation, allow the existence of even more than ten seas, seeing that you have omitted the Sea of China, the Sea of India, and the Sea of al-Zanj
According to al-Jayhani it has (the Nile) its origin in the Mountain of the Moon, discharges into two lakes beyond the equator, thence makes its course through the land of the Nubians. Others have said that its origin is not known, and that no one knows where it comes from.
�..on the north and the countries of the Blacks to the south. The region of al-Sham extends from the border of Misr northwards to the p. country of the�.
You will find three kinds of black eunuchs: the first kind; which is the best one; is exported to Egypt; the second is from Berbera they are sent to Aden: they are the worst variety, the third resembles the Abyssinians.
Five doubling its capital is normal. It happens when you exchange an amount of incense for an equal amount of Camphor.
(about Yaman) The commerce of this province is important, for there are the two chief ports of the world, as well as the fair of Mina, and there is the sea which stretches as far as China. There are also Juddah and al-Jar, the two granaries of Egypt, and Wadi-Qura, the mart of both Syria and al-Iraq, and al-Yaman, the country of kerchiefs, cornelian, leather and slaves. To Uman the following articles are exported: apothecaries� drugs, all kinds of perfumery, musk even included, saffron, sappan wood, teak wood, the wood of the sasam tree, ivory, pearls, brocade, onynx, rubies, ebony, coconut, sugar, sandarach, aloes, iron, lead, canes, earthenware, sandalwood, glass, pepper, and other articles. Aden receives in addition ambergris, (fine linen cloth called) shurub, leather bucklers, Abyssinian slaves, eunuchs, tiger skins and other articles, which were we to mention them in detail, would unduly prolong the book. Chinese wares are proverbially famous. Once, as I had embarked on the sea of al-Yaman, it so happened that I encountered Abu Ali al-Hafidh al-Marwazi on board ship. When we had become well acquainted with each other he said to me, "In truth you have made me concerned about you. Said I, "In what way?" Said he, "I see in you a man who walks in the path of goodness. You love virtue and those who practice it, and you aspire after the acquisition of knowledge You are now bound for a country that has beguiled many people and diverted them from the way of piety and contentment. And I am afraid that when you will have entered�.. Said I, "I pray God that He preserve me!" However, when I did enter it, and heard even more than what he had told me, by heavens I hungered after the same thing as the others, and prepared to go to the lands of the Zanj (Negroes). So I brought whatever it was necessary for me to buy, and put it in the hands of shipping agents. But God�or me to buy, and put it in the hands of shipping agents. But God�exalted be His name�caused my interest in the venture to cool, with the death of my partner. I had made a contract with him, but my spirit was shattered at the remembrance of death, and what comes after that. And you may as well realize�may you be guided aright�that for every gain we have mentioned there is a hazard; profits are always attended with dangers;
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Kitab al bad wal-Tarikh (966) (book of the creation and of history).
Taken from ; Gabriel Ferrand; Relations des voyages et textes geographiques.. ..
Of the neighbors of the Bujja: There is no marriage among them, the child does not know his father, and they eat people- but God knows best. As for the Zanj, they are people of black color, flat noses, kinky hair, and little understanding or intelligence.
The land of the Zanj provides a lot of gold to the Arabs.
It is said that the eastern part of the Indian sea starts at Makran and ends in China and that its western part starts in Aden and ends in the land of the Zandj. Who are a different people of the Zandj that we know.. ..
East of India is China and Kashmir north is Sind, south the unknown lands burned by the sun and its seas, in the west the Zandjs the Djawaga and Yemen.
The Kark: This is a nation that descends from Sudan son of Kanaan, they live close to the people of Sind and Zandjs, who are their enemies. The Kark are strong people of high statue, long hair, a beautiful face, skilled in the art of war.....
The Kark have as neighbors on the side of the Zandjs more nations and tribes then can be written down. The Zandj and the Kark touch at the people of Sind and Hind and to the Band.....
Note; in this last paragraph the Zandj may well be the Negroid people in Indonesia
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