Jazirat al-Arab (the Arabian Peninsula)
جزيرة العرب
The Arabian Peninsula — bounded by al-Hamdani in his Sifa's preamble: Sharm Ayla, the coasts and the Qulzum to Fustat in the west; 'Uman, Bahrayn, Kazima and Basra in the east; Hijaz, Najd and the 'Arud at its head; Aden at 12° south latitude — named Jazirat al-Arab 'because the Arabic tongue is common throughout it', its length reckoned at 1,533 miles or 76⅓ stages 1 — its ancient monuments, in his register: Na'mit, Ghumdan, Hakar, Raydan, Baynun, Qayman, Bark al-'Imad and Iram Dhat al-'Imad 2.
At a glance
- Era
- Abbasid Fragmentation
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
The Arabian Peninsula. Al-Hamdani, in the introduction to "The Description of the Arabian Peninsula", sets its bounds: its west is the gulf of Aqaba and what the coasts drive to the Red Sea and Fustat in Egypt; its east is Oman to Bahrain, Kazima and Basra; its head is the Hijaz, Najd and al-Arud; and its south is Aden. 1
Al-Hamdani says it was named so because the Arabic tongue is common throughout it, though with differences. He estimated its length at one thousand five hundred and thirty-three miles, that is seventy-six and a third stages. 1
Among its old kingdoms and great monuments he counted Namat, Ghumdan, Hakar, Raydan, Baynun, Qayman, the Pool of the Pillars, and Iram of the Pillars. 3
Connections
- Mentioned in
- Muwatta 2606· Muwatta 2607
People and things also explored
Muwatta, Book of Miscellaneous (al-jami')· Malik ibn Anas· Muhammad ibn Shihab al-Zuhri· عمر بن عبد العزيز· Umar ibn al-Khattab· Khaybar· Muwatta 2606· Muwatta 2607
Sources
- Sifat Jazirat al-Arab of al-Hamdani (Müller ed.), pp. 4-5
- Sifat Jazirat al-Arab of al-Hamdani (Müller ed.), p. 6
- Sifat Jazirat al-Arab of al-Hamdani (Müller ed.), p.6
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Jazirat al-Arab (the Arabian Peninsula)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/jazirat-al-arab/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.