work, which bears the
generally approved title of 'Highways and Countries,' is based on the
book of Istakhri.

But the greatest geographer and naturalist of this period is Abu
Raihan Al-Beruni (born about A.D. 971), who accompanied Mahmud the
Ghaznavide on his invasions to India. He was to Mahmud of Ghazni what
Aristotle was to Alexander, with the difference, however, that he
actually accompanied the conqueror on his Indian campaigns. He
travelled into different countries and to and from India for the space
of forty years, and during that time was much occupied with astronomy
and astronomical observations, as well as geography. His works are
said to have exceeded a camel-load, but the most valuable of all of
them is his description of India. It gives an account of the religion
of India, its philosophy, literature, geography, chronology,
astronomy, customs, law and astrology about a.d. 1030, and has been
edited by Edward Sachau, Professor in the Royal University of Berlin.
An English edition, containing a preface, the translation of the
Arabic text, notes and indices, has also been published. Al-Beruni
died at Ghurna A.D. 1038. He used to correspond with Avicenna, who was
his contemporary, and who gives in his works the answers to the
questions addressed to him by this famous geographer, astronomer,
geometrician, historian, scholar, and logician.

Some years later Abu O'beid Abd-Allah Al-Bekri distinguished himself
as one of the greatest geographers, with whose labours Quatremere and
Dozy and Gayangos have made us better acquainted. He was, by birth,
from Andalusia, whence also many others travelled to the East, either
for instruction or for trade or as pilgrims, and of whom about a
couple of dozen are mentioned by Makkari. Some of these gave
descriptions and topographies, to which class of literature also the
poetical laudations of celebrated towns belong. Not only Baghdad,
Damascus, Cairo, Fez, Morocco and Khairwan were praised or satirized,
but also Cordova, Seville, Granada, Malaga, Toledo, Valencia and Zohra
were described in Arabic poems. Al-Bekri died in A.D. 1094-1095, and
was followed by Idrisi, the author of a work on Arabian geography of
some celebrity, and which has been translated into Latin. He died A.D.
1164.

Of historians in Arab literature there are many, but only the most
celebrated will be noted. Muhammad bin Ishak, who died about A.D. 767,
produced the best and most trustworthy biography of the p