Geography Taqwim al-Buldan ("Locating the Lands", written in 1321) is, like much of the history, founded on the works of his predecessors, including the works of
Ptolemy and
Muhammad al-Idrisi. A long introduction on various geographical matters is followed by twenty-eight sections dealing in tabular form with the chief towns of the world. After each name are given the longitude, latitude, climate, spelling, and then observations generally taken from earlier authors. Parts of the work were published and translated as early as 1650 in
Europe. The book also contains the first known explanation of the circumnavigator's paradox. Abu'l-Fida wrote that a person who completed a westward
circumnavigation of the world would count one fewer day than a stationary observer, since he was traveling in the same direction as the apparent motion of the sun in the sky. A person traveling eastward would count one more day than a stationary observer. This phenomenon was confirmed two centuries later, when the
Magellan–Elcano expedition (1519–1522) completed the first circumnavigation. After sailing westward around the world from Spain, the expedition called at
Cape Verde for supplies on Wednesday, 9 July 1522 (ship's time). However, the locals told them that it was actually Thursday, 10 July 1522.
History His
Concise History of Humanity (
Tarikh al-Mukhtasar fi Akhbar al-Bashar, also
An Abridgment of the History at the Human Race, or
History of Abu al-Fida تاريخ أبى الفداء) was written between 1315 and 1329 as a continuation of
The Complete History by
Ali ibn al-Athir (c. 1231). It is in the form of
annals extending from the creation of the world to the year 1329. It is divided into two parts, one covering the history of
pre-Islamic Arabia and the other the
history of Islam until 1329. It was kept up to date by other Arab historians, by
Ibn al-Wardi until 1348, and by
Ibn al-Shihna until 1403. It was translated into
Latin,
French and
English and was the main work of Muslim historiography used by 18th-century
orientalists including
Jean Gagnier (1670–1740) and
Johann Jakob Reiske (1754). == See also ==