Al-Mas'udi on the Byzantines

from

Al-Mas'udi and his World: A Muslim Humanist and his Interest in Non-Muslims

By Ahmed MH Shboul

(London: Ithaca Press, 1979)

Known as the “Herodotus of the Arabs,” Abu Al-husayn 'ali Ibn Al-husayn Al-mas'udi (d. 957) was a prominent historian and traveler from the tenth century.  He was the first Arab to combine history and scientific geography in a large-scale work, Muruj adh-dhahab wa ma'adin al-jawahir (“The Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems”), part world history and part encyclopedia.  For more information about him, see this online biography.  Professor Shboul has written one of the most important works on al-Mas'udi, and he has given us permission to republish chapter 6 of his work, which deals with the Byzantine empire. 

Chapter 6: Al-Mas'udi on the Byzantines