Accounts of China and India

The Book of the Wonders of India

Detail from the “Catalan Atlas.” Source: gallica.bnf.fr

Detail from the “Catalan Atlas.” Source: gallica.bnf.fr

Today's topic is the Kitāb ʻajāyib Al-Hind, or the Book of the Wonders of India, a 10th-century collection of wonders covering east Africa all the way to what might have been Japan. It's something of a sequel to the Abu Zayd episode. I mentioned there that the compiler avoided including the fanciful fables of the sea that sailors were so fond of spreading. This text, on the other hand, is full of them.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • The Book of the Marvels of India, translated by Peter Quennell. George Routledge And Sons, 1928.

  • Freeman-Grenville, G.S.P. "Some Thoughts on Buzurg ibn Shahriyar al-Ramhormuzi: 'The Book of the Wonders of India.'" Paideuma, vol. 28, 1982, pp. 63–70.

  • Manteghi, Haila. Alexander the Great in the Persian Tradition: History, Myth and Legend in Medieval Iran. I.B Tauris, 2018.

  • Ogden, Jack. Diamonds: An Early History of the King of Gems. Yale University Press, 2018.

  • Prioreschi, Plinio. A History of Medicine: Medieval Medicine. Horatius Press, 1996.

Abu Zayd and the Ways East

Al-Idrisi Map of the World

The Accounts of China and India, covering the trade between the Persian Gulf and points east in the 9th and 10th centuries, and the writings of Abu Zayd al-Sirafi. There are cultural customs, trading routes, and the calamitous events of the late 9th-century that shattered that trade and the Tang Dynasty.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, Paypal is here, and Redbubble is here.

Sources:

  • Accounts of China and India, translated by Tim Mackintosh-Smith. New York University Press, 2017.

  • Howard, Michael C. Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies: The Role of Cross-Border Trade and Travel. McFarland, 2014.

  • Krahl, Regina. Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds. Smithsonian Institution, 2010.

  • Park, Hyunhee. Mapping the Chinese and Islamic Worlds: Cross-Cultural Exchange in Pre-Modern Asia. Cambridge University Press, 2012.

  • Schafer, Edward H. The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: A Study of T'ang Exotics. Pickle Partners Publishing, 2016.