Al-Masudi
Topic: Medieval India through Travellers' Eyes · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Al-Masudi was an Arab historian and traveller of the 10th century. He visited western India and wrote about its kingdoms, trade and customs. His best-known work is the Muruj al-Dhahab ("Meadows of Gold"), a large history and geography of the known world. His writing belongs to the Arabic travel-writing tradition that Al-Biruni later built on. It helps historians study early medieval India from an outsider's point of view.
Example
In the Muruj al-Dhahab (c. 10th century), Al-Masudi described the Balhara, the Arab name for the Rashtrakuta king of the Deccan. He wrote of him as a powerful ruler who was friendly to Arab merchants on the western coast.
Don't confuse with
- Al-Biruni: he wrote the Kitab-ul-Hind in the 11th century after years of studying Sanskrit texts with Brahmana scholars. Al-Masudi came a century earlier and was a general world-historian and traveller, not a specialist on India.