Abū Manṣūr al-Ṯaʿālibī’s Ḫaṣāʾiṣ al-buldān: A Study of an adīb’s Geography, Stereotypes and Lists

Abstract

This article focuses on al-Ṯaʿālibī’s (d. 429/1038) works and excerpts of his works dealing with ḫaṣāʾiṣ al-buldān, i.e. specificities of lands and cities. In the first part, I present al-Ṯaʿālibī’s numerous excerpts on ḫaṣāʾiṣ, and discuss the work entitled Ḫaṣāʾiṣ al-buldān, its textual history and attribution to al-Ṯaʿālibī. I then sketch al-Ṯaʿālibī’s travels, firsthand and secondhand geographical knowledge, and sources in order to analyse the contents and form of his ḫaṣāʾiṣ. The textual investigation aims at showing al-Ṯaʿālibī’s usage of common adab features such as intertextuality, lexicographical items and lists to support specific claims of his writing and to reinforce a certain representation of the world based on adab stereotypes and clichés.