At a glance
- Roles
- geographer · Scientist
- Counted among
- Sunni
- Era
- The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
- Region
- al-Andalus & Europe
- Review
- Completeness 3/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Geography and cartographyHistory-writing and social thought
Place in the story
- ScientistTradition
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Overview
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Idris, known as al-Idrisi, was a geographer who wrote the "Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq" for King Roger II of Sicily. 1
The book and the king
Al-Idrisi opens the book by praising the great king Roger, "the victorious by God's might", whom he calls king of "Sicily and Italy, Ankabarda and Calabria". He says that the king conquered lands to east and west. 1
The date of completion
Al-Idrisi says that the book was finished in the first ten days of the month that corresponds to Shawwal, in the year 548 AH. 2
Sicily in the book
After describing the islands, al-Idrisi says that he will describe "Upper Sicily", which he calls "unique in its age for excellence and virtues". 3
Connections
- Participated in
- Al-Idrisi at Roger II's court, Palermo· Nuzhat al-Mushtaq completed, 549 AH
- Born in
- Ceuta
- Authored
- Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq
People and things also explored
Palermo· Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq· The Frankish storming of Ceuta, 817· Al-Idrisi at Roger II's court, Palermo· Nuzhat al-Mushtaq completed, 549 AH· Al-Bakri, Abu Ubayd Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Aziz· Ibn Khurradadhbih, Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah· Ceuta
Sources
- Al-Idrisi, Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya, 2002), 2 vols. , p.4
- Al-Idrisi, Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya, 2002), 2 vols. , p.7
- Al-Idrisi, Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya, 2002), 2 vols. , p.588
- Mawsu'at A'lam al-Ulama' wa-l-Adaba' al-Arab wa-l-Muslimin — Dar al-Jil / ALECSO
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Al-Idrisi, Muhammad ibn Abd Allah”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/al-idrisi-muhammad-ibn-abd-allah/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-29.