Muhallabī and His Place in Islamic Geography

Since Strabo's work titled Geography, the content of such informative works has expanded and the contribution of the field of Geography to the field of History has increased. Western and Eastern sources provide geographical information and a wide range of information that will help us understand the period. The information in the works of Muslim Geographers also has rich content. In these works, it is possible to find a wide variety of information about both general world geography and Muslim geography. The information contained in the works of travelers is mostly based on their observations and therefore has historical value.[1] These geography books are regarded as first-hand sources, especially among historians. The main reason for this is that the authors themselves verify most of the information contained in these works. Apart from being a source, it is also important that their content is rich. Because, in addition to historical and geographical information, there is also economic, cultural, anthropological, and philological information. In this respect, it is possible to consider these works among the basic sources of cultural history. Muḥallabī's Kitāb al Azīzī-el-Masālik wa al Mamālik is one of the works written in the field of geography. It is a unique work on the geography of sub-Saharan Africa. It is a work written on the geographies traveled and seen by the author himself. In this respect, the information it provides is a first-hand source.