Ahmad ibn Majid

Ahmad ibn Mājid (Arabic: أحمد بن ماجد), was an Arab navigator and cartographer born in 1421 in Julphar, which is now known as Ras Al Khaimah. This city makes up one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates, but at that time it was classified as the coast of Oman. He was raised with a family famous for seafaring; at the age of 17 he was able to navigate ships. He was so famous that he was known as the first Arab seaman. The exact date is not known, but ibn Majid probably died in 1500. He became famous in the West as the navigator who has been associated with helping Vasco da Gama find his way from Africa to India. He was the author of nearly forty works of poetry and prose.

Works

His most important work was Kitab al-Fawa’id fi Usul ‘Ilm al-Bahr wa ’l-Qawa’id (Book of Useful Information on the Principles and Rules of Navigation), written in 1490. It is a navigation encyclopedia, describing the history and basic principles of navigation, lunar mansions, rhumb lines, the difference between coastal and open-sea sailing, the locations of ports from East Africa to Indonesia, star positions, accounts of the monsoon and other seasonal winds, typhoons and other topics for professional navigators. He drew from his own experience and that of his father, also a famous navigator, and the lore of generations of Indian Ocean sailors.

Bin Majid wrote several books on marine science and the movements of ships, which helped people of the Persian Gulf to reach the coasts of India, East Africa and other destinations. Among his many books on oceanography, the Fawa'dh fi-Usl Ilm al-Bahrwa-al-Qawaidah (The Book of the Benefits of the Principles of Seamanship) is considered as one of his best.

He grew very famous and was fondly called Shihab Al Dein (The Shooting Star) for his fearlessness, strength and experience as a sailor who excelled in the art of navigation.

Legacy

Ahmed bin Majid's efforts in the mid-15th century helped the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama in completing the first all water trade route between Europe and India by using an Arab map then unknown to European sailors.

Two of his famous hand-written books are now prominent exhibits in the National Library in Paris.

See also

• Islamic scholars
• List of Arab scientists and scholars

References

• Tibbetts, G.R. 1971. Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean Before the Coming of the Portuguese. Being a translation of Kitab al-Fawa'id fi usul al-bahr wa'l-qawa'id of Ahmad b. Majid al-Najid. London: The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
• Khal Torabully, The Maritime Memory of the Arabs, documentary film (52') showing Arab navigation in the Indian Ocean, with a special attention to Ahmad bin Majid, Chamarel Film/Productions La Lanterne, 2000.

External links

• Ahmad, S. Maqbul (2008) [1970-80]. "Ibn Mājid, Shihāb Al-Dīn Aḥmad Ibn Mājid". Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Encyclopedia.com. {{cite encyclopedia}}: External link in |title= (help)