Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadani

Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadani (ca. 903) was a 10th century Persian historian and geographer, native of Hamadan (ancient Ecbatana), who wrote Mukhtasar Kitab al-Buldan  (Concise Book of Lands).
Al-Faqih wrote a testimony on the Khazar conversion.

Religion, Learning and Science in the 'Abbasid Period, edited by M. J. L. Young, J. D. Latham, R. B. Serjeant, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press

"It seems to be well established that Ibn al-Faqih was a Persian, a native of Hamadan, who was writing about 290/903 AH/CE, and that the Kitab al-Buldan which we possess is an abridgement by one al-Shayzari of an original some four or five times the length. As an adib, not a dry geographer, Ibn al-Faqih is under no obligation to deal with his geographical material in a systematic way. His order of treatment does not seem to follow any plan. It begins with Mecca and Medina and continues with Bahrayn, then Yemen, then Egypt. The Maghrib comes next, then Syria. The Islamic world is then left for a time for an excursion into the lands of Byzantium. After that come Iraq and Persia. Another excursion outside Islam to Armenia follows, and the discourse ends with Khurasan. His geographical material is copiously enlivened with legendary or traditional matter, such as the long account of the city of al-Baht or the embassy to the Rum. He loves numbers, especially when occurring in apothegms: "Abdullah b.'Amr b. al-'As said: 'There are ten blessings. In Egypt there are nine, in the rest of the earth, one. Evil is in ten portions. In Egypt there is one portion, and in all the rest of the earth nine portions.'[13]'. In addition to these remotely "geographical" chapters representative of "la litterarisation de themese jusque la reserves aux specialistes"[14], there is a substantial section that has no connection with geography whatsoever: "The Conversion of Humour to Solemnity and Solemnity to Humour" as well as numerous shorter, irrelevant passages. Characteristic of the adib is the interest in linguistic matters. Ibn Al-Faqih offers etymologies for many toponyms. At one place he takes the opportunity to parade almost a whole page of nisbah-adjectives derived from names of places or peoples: sughdi daggers, sini saddles, farisi cuirasses, turki bowstrings, etc.

[13] Mukhtasar Kitab al-Buldan, 57 [14] Miquel, La Geographie humaine de monde muselman, 66