Leo Africanus
c. 1494 – c. 1554
Leo Africanus (c. 1494 - c. 1554), born al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan in Granada, was an Andalusi diplomat, traveler and author. Captured by Christian corsairs and presented to Pope Leo X, he was baptized in Rome and wrote the 'Description of Africa', which for centuries was Europe's principal source of knowledge about the geography of North and West Africa.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Leo Africanus.
- Bartolomé de las Casas (1484–1566) Overlapped 60 years →
- Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) Overlapped 60 years →
- Titian (1488–1576) Overlapped 60 years →
- Mimar Sinan (1490–1588) Overlapped 60 years →
- Michelangelo (1475–1564) Overlapped 60 years →
- Suleiman the Magnificent (1494–1566) Overlapped 60 years →
Life events
He was born into a Muslim family in Granada around the time of the city's fall to the Catholic Monarchs.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLike many Andalusi Muslims after the fall of Granada, his family relocated to Fez, where he grew up.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe received an education in law and letters at al-Qarawiyyin, one of the oldest centers of learning in the Islamic world.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgIn the service of the Sultan of Fez he journeyed through the Maghreb and across the Sahara, visiting Timbuktu, Gao and other cities of the Songhai Empire.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgReturning from a mission, he was seized by Spanish corsairs near Djerba and, recognized as an educated man, was presented to Pope Leo X in Rome.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAfter instruction in the Catholic faith he was baptized in St. Peter's Basilica, taking the pope's names and becoming known as Leo Africanus.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgWriting in Italian, he finished his geographical account of Africa, drawing on his own travels; it became Europe's standard reference on the continent.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgGiovanni Battista Ramusio printed the work in his collection 'Navigationi et Viaggi', spreading Leo's account across Europe.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLeo Africanus is believed to have left Rome around the 1527 sack of the city and to have died in North Africa around 1554, possibly having returned to Islam; the details are uncertain.