To Explain the Types of Regional Divisions of the Muslim lands in the

Hoseinyzadeh, Saiedh; Mirnejad, Seyed Ali

doi:10.22103/jis.2025.24817.2700

To Explain the Types of Regional Divisions of the Muslim lands in the "Almasalk -Mamalk" by Istakhri

Document Type : Scientific

Authors

¹ department of art and architecture, Payame noor, iran

² Geography and urban planning

10.22103/jis.2025.24817.2700

Abstract

Purpose: The "Masālik wa Mamālik written by al-Istakhri, is an important historical geography text containing significant historical-geographical information about the regions encompassed in the 4th century AH. This treatise was translated from Arabic to Persian and the Persian Samples is currently available. Various studies have been published about that in various languages, but fewer studies have focused on introducing and explaining the regional divisions in the cultural regions of different lands. Accordingly, the research aimed to extract various regional classifications in the cultural regions of the Islamic lands during the era of Istakhri based on the text of his translated treatise to determine whether architecture had a place in this matter.
Method and Research: The research method is content analysis with an interpretive-historical approach, and data collection was conducted through library and documentary methods.
Findings and Conclusions: The results indicate that the regions encompassed by Islam during the time of Istakhri and the translator of the book included various states due to their vast expanse, each introduced in separate divisions such as Diyar, Wilayat, rub' (quarter), Nahiyah, city, part of a city, Qasbah, Diyyah, and Tasuj. These divisions influenced the regional classification of the regions based on cultural differences, and various indicators were effective in this type of regional classification, which were analytically extracted from the text of this treatise. Some architectural examples, including urban fortifications, Dar Al-Darb (mint), and palaces with specific characteristics, were also noted.

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