Maps of the Caucasus, Armenia, and the Middle East are available on our
Maps page.
Chronologies are available on the Chronological Tables page.
Description of Mesopotamia and Baghdad, written about the year 900 A.D. by Ibn Serapion from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1895), pp. 1-76 and 255-316. This is the Arabic text and English translation of Ibn Serapion's important work on Mesopotamian geography, accompanied by the scholarly comments of the translator. Sections: 1. The Tigris; 2. The Euphrates; 3. Affluents of the Euphrates; 4. Streams flowing into these Affluents; 5. Canals between the Euphrates and the Tigris; 6. Canals of the Lower Euphrates; 7. Affluents of the Tigris; 8. Canals of the Tigris; 9. The Same Continued; 10. Canals of Eastern Baghdad; 11. Canals of Western Baghdad; 12. Canals of the Harbiyya Quater; 13. The Great Swamp; 14. The Blind Tigris; 15. Canals of Al-Basra; 16. Canals to the West of Al-Basra; 17. The River Dujayl; 18. Affluents of the Euphrates. Le Strange's extensive and detailed commentary transforms this work into an historical onomasticon, invaluable for the study of the cities along the Tigris, Euphrates, and their affluents including in historical western and southern Armenia, the Lake Van area, as well as in northern and southern Mesopotamia. Includes a detailed map. 144 pdf pages.
Al-Abrik, Tephrike, the Capital of the Paulicians from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1896) pp. 733-741. Le Strange translates passages from Arab writers such as Mas'udi, Kudama, and Ibn Serapion to demonstrate that Al-Abrik was the same as the Byzantine Tephrike, center of the dissident Paulician movement of western historical Armenia in the 9th century.
Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate from contemporary Arabic and Persian Sources (Oxford, 1900). This invaluable study covers the history of Baghdad during the 8-13th centuries. Chapters: 1. The Foundation of Baghdad; 2. The City of Mansur; 3. City of Mansur (Continued); 4. The Canals of Western Baghdad; 5. The Kufah Highroad and the Karkh Suburbs; 6. The Canals of Karkh; 7. The Quarters of the Lower Harbour; 8. The Quarter of the Basrah Gate; 9. The Shari Quarter and the Trench of Tahir; 10. The Harbiyah Quarter; 11. The Quarters of the Muhawwal Gate; 12. Baratha, Muhawwal, and the Kazimaynl; 13. Eastern Baghdad in General; 14. Rusafah; 15. The Shammasiyah Quarter; 16. The Mukharrim Quarter; 17. The Buyid Palaces; 18. The Palaces of the Caliphs; 19. The Palace Gates and the Adjoining Quarters; 20. The Quarters North of the Palaces; 21. The Quarters East and South of the Palaces; 22. Recapitulation and Authorities: Early Period; 23. Recapitulation and Authorities: Middle Period; 24. Recapitulation and Authorities: Final Period. Includes 8 maps and city plans. 463 pdf pages. File size: 8.2 MB.
Palestine under the Moslems. A description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500 Translated from the works of medieval Arab geographers (London, 1890). File size: 14.6 MB.
Mesopotamia and Persia under the Mongols in the Fourteenth Century A.D. from the Nuzhat-al-Kulub of Hamd-Allah Mustawfi (London, 1903). This is a study of relevant parts of a precious register made by the 14th century official Hamd-Allah Mustawfi of Qazvin (also known as Qazvini). Qazvini provides priceless information about Iran, Azerbaijan, Mughan and Arran, Shirvan, Gurjistan (Georgia), Rum, Armenia, and Mesopotamia. District by district, city by city, the author usually explains what revenue had accrued from a given area both in his own day, and in past times as well, providing a vivid picture of the general decline of the Mongol Il-Khanid state in the 14th century. In addition, Qazvini comments on the ruined condition of numerous cities and towns, the relative size and the trade of surviving cities, their noted religious sanctuaries, the types of crops grown in the countryside, and much more. 157 pdf pages. File size: 4.4 MB.
The Geographical Part Of The Nuzhat-Al-Qulub of Hamd-Allah Mustawfi (London, 1919). Le Strange's English translation of the Geographical Part of this important document studied and summarized in the previous entry. File size: 48.4 MB. Some pages are sideways.
Embassy to Tamerlane 1403-1406, Narrative of the Embassy of Ruy Gonzalves de Clavijo to the Court of Timur at Samarcand, translated by Guy Le Strange (London, 1928). File size: 5.3 MB.