Muhammad al-Idrisi

c. 1100 – c. 1165

Muhammad al-Idrisi was an Arab geographer, cartographer, and traveler who worked at the Norman court of King Roger II of Sicily. His world map and geographical compendium, the Tabula Rogeriana (Kitab Ruyar), completed in 1154, was among the most accurate and influential world descriptions of the medieval period.

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Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Muhammad al-Idrisi.

Life events

Born in Ceuta
c. 1100

Al-Idrisi was born in Ceuta on the North African coast into the noble Hammudid family, which claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammad.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Studied in Cordoba
c. 1115

He was educated in Cordoba, the great intellectual center of al-Andalus, where he studied geography and other sciences.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Traveled widely as a young man
c. 1116 – c. 1130

In his youth al-Idrisi traveled through al-Andalus, North Africa, and Anatolia, journeys that later informed his geographical writing.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Joined the court of Roger II in Palermo
c. 1138

Al-Idrisi accepted the invitation of the Norman king Roger II of Sicily and settled at his cosmopolitan court in Palermo.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Directed a fifteen-year royal geographical survey
c. 1139 – 1154

Under Roger II's patronage he gathered and cross-checked reports from travelers, merchants, and envoys to compile a systematic description of the known world.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Constructed a silver planisphere for Roger II
c. 1154

Al-Idrisi is recorded to have engraved a large disc of silver with a map of the world for the Norman king.

Achievement ?
Completed the Tabula Rogeriana
1154

He finished the Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq (known as the Tabula Rogeriana), a world atlas and geography that remained authoritative in Europe for centuries.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Continued geographical work under William I of Sicily
c. 1154 – c. 1160

After Roger II's death in 1154, al-Idrisi remained for a time at the Sicilian court and is said to have prepared an expanded geographical work for King William I.

Career ?
Died, probably in Ceuta
c. 1165

Al-Idrisi is believed to have returned to North Africa late in life and died around 1165, most likely in his native Ceuta.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓