THE ARAB GEOGRAPHERS. 



The outstanding fact is that Dor (isyinjJa) 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 way 

 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'kubi, 

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

 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 Yakut (about 1200 A. D.), as well as in that of 

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



Yakut, in his article on LftA^ -*flj> , 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'''^ (/^r^ 



ibjLwwuij*. \jLf^ L^'fii)' ^t)viously Caesarea was the first town 

 south of the Carmel promontory known to this geographer's 

 sources. Yakut, it may be added, mentions 'Athlit (vi^ijLc) 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 Shad dad quoted by De Goeje, from a Leyden manu- 

 script, in his edition of Ya'kubi^ is instructive. Ibn Shaddad has 

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



1 Bibl. Oeogr. Arab. VI, Trans., pp. 57, 58. 

 ^ Ibid. VII, 327, 18 ff.; 329, 2 ff . 

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



