THE ARAB GEOGRAPHERS. 



The outstanding fact is that Dor (5v«.iaA.Jo) is not mentioned at 

 all by the classical Arab geographers (i. e. during the 9th to the 

 12th centuries A, D.). Moreover, in their various enumerations of 

 the cities and towns on the Syrian coast, or along the travelled 

 roads in that region, they habitually "skip over" Dor in a w^ay 

 that shows that they know of no town there worth mentioning. 



Thus, Ibn Khordadhbeh, in the first half of the 9th century, 

 describes the maritime district of central Syria with mention of 

 'Akka, Kadas, Tyre; Jaffa, Caesarea, Nabulus'. Similarly Ya'kilbl, 

 at the close of the 9th century, mentions Tyre and 'Akkfi, 

 and then proceeds inland with his description ; then returning to 

 the coast he names Caesarea, Jaffa, and Jamnia". 



Much more significant still is the fact that in the great geograph- 

 ical dictionary of Yakilt (about 1200 A. D.), as well as in that of 

 BekrI (latter part of the 11th century), Tanttira does not occur. 



Yakut, in his article on Laa^. -j^'s , a fortress in the Haifa region, 

 has occasion to speak of the coast south of the latter city. Kasr 

 Haifa, he says, is "a place between Haifa and Caesarea'''' ('•^yo 



xjvLwwxi'. LftAifc .v^-?)- Obviously Caesarea was the first town 

 south of the Carmel promontory known to this geographer's 

 sources. Yakut, it may be added, mentions 'Athlit ((o^a-Xaa) as a 

 fortress which had been taken by Saladin in 583 A. H. (1187 A. D.). 



The evidence gained from the Arab geographers, then, appears 

 to be this, that between the 7th and 12th or 13th centuries the coast 

 region between 'Akka and Caesarea was only sparsely inhabited. 

 The road along the shore was probably unsafe and little used. 



Haifa almost disappears from sight, from the 7th century down to 



.1100 A.D. , when the town was besieged and taken by Tancred. The 



remark of Ibn Shaddud quoted by De Goeje, from a Leyden manu- 



scrijjt, in his edition of Ya'kubl% is instructive. Ibn Shaddad has 



just noted the fact that both Ya'kubi and Ibn Haukal omit to men- 



1 Bihl. Geogr. Arab. VI, Trans., pp. 57, 58. 

 * lUd. VII, 327, 18 ff.; 339, 2 ff . 

 ^ Loc. cit., pp. 327 f., note e. 



