Abstract

The research aims to demonstrate the extent of the contribution of the traveler Abu al-Baqa' al-Balawi through his famous work "Taj al-Mufriq" in enriching the knowledge of scholars in the East during the period represented by the 7th century AH / 13th century AD, which is the focus of the research. This period is characterized by his descriptions of geographical fields in both their natural and human aspects through his accounts of various parts of the world, or rather the countries he reached during a journey that lasted nearly five years, during which he traveled between different regions of the world, starting from his homeland Qutoria or Qantoria in Andalusia (present-day Spain) and returning to it. The primary purpose of his journey was for pilgrimage. The study concluded that the traveler Abu al-Baqa' al-Balawi made a significant contribution in his descriptions of the countries and states he visited. He mentioned most of the geographical aspects and their fields, and he contributed to enriching this aspect, even though his way of describing them had a rhythmic quality regarding the natural and human phenomena he referred to in his journey. At times, he had a broad perspective in describing these phenomena and a complete understanding and prior knowledge, either from his own experience or from trustworthy people, albeit in rare instances.