Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani

Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad ibn Ya‘qūb al-Hamdānī (279/280-333/334 A.H. / 893-945 A.D; Arabic: أبو محمد الحسن بن أحمد بن يعقوب الهمداني‎‎) was an Arab Muslim geographer, poet, grammarian, historian, and astronomer, from the tribe of Banu Hamadan, western 'Amran/Yemen. He was one of the best representatives of Islamic culture during the last period of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Biography

The biographic data of al-Hamdani is hardly well-known, despite his extensive scientific work. He was held in repute as a grammarian, wrote much poetry, compiled astronomical tables, devoted most of his life to the study of the ancient history and geography of Arabia.

Before he was born his family lived in al-Marashi (المراشي). Then they moved to Sanaa' (صنعاء), where al-Hamdani was born in the year 893. His father was a traveller and had been to Kufa, Baghdad, Basra, Oman and Egypt. At around the age of seven, he started to talk himself into voyaging. He left for Mecca, where he remained and studied for more than six years, after which he departed for Sa'dah (صعدة). There he gathered news on Khawlaan (خولان). Later, he went back to Sanaa and gathered news on Himyar (حمْير), but was imprisoned for two years due to his political views. When he got out of prison, he left for Rayda (ريدة) to be in the protection of his tribe, he compiled most of his books there and stayed there until he died, year 945.

His Geography of the Arabian Peninsula (Sifat Jazirat ul-Arab) is by far the most important work on the subject. After being used in manuscript by A. Sprenger in his Post- und Reiserouten des Orients (Leipzig, 1864) and further in his Alte Geographie Arabiens (Bern, 1875), it was edited by D.H. Müller (Leiden, 1884; cf. Sprenger's criticism in Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft, vol. 45, pp. 361–394).

Much has also been written on this work by E. Glaser in his various publications on ancient Arabia. The other great work of al-Hamdānī is the Iklil (Crown) concerning the genealogies of the Himyarites and the wars of their kings in ten volumes. Of this, part 8, on the citadels and castles of south Arabia, has been edited and annotated by Müller in Die Burgen und Schlösser Sudarabiens (Vienna, 1881).

For other works said to have been written by al-Hamdani see G. L. Flügel's Die grammatischen Schulen der Araber (Leipzig, 1862), pp. 220–221.

Works

• al-Jawharatayn al-ʻatīqatayn - A book describing metals known at that time, including their physical and chemical properties as well as treatment and processing (such as gold, silver, and steel). He is also considered one of the earliest Arabs who explained gravity of Earth in a way similar to magnetic field behavior.
• Sifat Jazirat ul-Arab
• Alaklel al-Hamdani
• History of Saba
• Language of Himyar and Najran
• صفة جزيرة العرب (Geography/Character of Arabic peninsula)

References

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• Britannica