"Al-Masālik wa-l-Mamālik": Precisions concerning the title of these treaties of geographical arabic literature and conclusions about its origin and structure

Abstract

The first objective of this study is to review what has been written about the treaties bearing the title of Kitāb al-masālik wa-l-mamālik to show how at the origin of this group of works (rather than ‘genre’) there is an expositive mode common to all, inherited from the Roman itineraries. A second objective is to present how the success of these works meant that, by using a common label such as al-Masālik wa-l-Mamālik, other treaties copied and reproduced this label in works that were no developments of the original itineraries, but authentic works of descriptive geography, with an important historical information load.

Keywords

• geografía árabe medieval
• kitāb al-masālik wa-l-mamālik
• itinerarios romanos