Al-Idrisi

Al-Idrisi was a twelfth-century Arab geographer and cartographer who compiled geographical knowledge and created a world map for Roger II of Sicily.

Roger II of Sicily: Roger II ruled Sicily from 1130 to 1154 and fostered a multilingual royal court. He commissioned Al-Idrisi’s geographical work and supplied its Norman royal setting.
Tabula Rogeriana: The Tabula Rogeriana is Al-Idrisi’s map of the known world, completed for Roger II in 1154. It is the celebrated map at the center of Al-Idrisi’s cartographic work.
Ceuta: Ceuta is a port city on the North African coast at the Strait of Gibraltar. Al-Idrisi was born in Ceuta, a setting linked to Mediterranean travel and exchange.
Muhammad al-Idrisi: Muhammad al-Idrisi was the full name of the twelfth-century geographer known as Al-Idrisi. The name identifies the scholar behind the map and geographical compendium.
Rogerian geography: Rogerian geography is the body of geographical knowledge assembled under Roger II and presented by Al-Idrisi. The project gave the king’s name to a distinctive court-sponsored geographical synthesis.
Arabic geography: Arabic-language geographical scholarship developed across the medieval Islamic world, drawing on inherited texts, observation, and travel. Al-Idrisi synthesized a scholarly tradition that connected distant regions through Arabic texts.
Nuzhat al-mushtaq: Nuzhat al-mushtaq is Al-Idrisi’s geographical compendium describing regions and their peoples, routes, and resources. This book accompanies the map with extensive regional descriptions.
Palermo: Palermo is a city in Sicily that served as the Norman kingdom’s capital. Al-Idrisi worked at the royal court in Palermo under Roger II.
Roger II's court: Roger II’s court was the royal household and administrative center of Norman Sicily. Its patrons and informants supported the collection and organization of geographical knowledge.
Medieval Arabic manuscripts: Medieval Arabic manuscripts are handwritten books produced in Arabic-speaking societies before printing became widespread. Copies and preservation shaped which parts of Al-Idrisi’s work survived.

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