1844.] Commerce of the Arabs. 521 



" Abu-1-kasim Obaydullah Bin Ahmed (thus the name of our author's 

 father is written in the Fihrist) Bin Khordadbeh. Khordadbeh, (the 

 grandfather of our author) was a Magian, and was converted to the 

 Islam by the Barmakides. Abu-1-kasim (our author) was consequently 

 appointed over the post and intelligence (spy) department in the pro- 

 vinces belonging to the Jebal, subsequently he came to the court of the 

 Khalif Mo'tamed (who came to the throne in A. H. 256,) and became 

 one of his privy counsellors. He wrote, 



" 1. iEsthetical observations on Music ; (Mas'udy gives a very inter- 

 esting extract from this work in his life of Mo'tamed.) 2. On the most 

 celebrated Genealogies of the Persians. 3. On the Roads and King- 

 doms; (this is, the title of the Geographical work from which I derived 

 the following extract.) 4. On Drink. 5. On Playing and Amuse- 

 ments. 6. On the Stars.(?) 7. On Courtiers and Companions." 



The geography of Ibn Khordadbeh is the only work which we still 

 possess of this author, and of this there is only one copy in Europe. 

 The MS. in question is ancient, bearing the date of A. H. 630 (A. D. 

 1232,) but it wants in most instances the diacritical points. It is pre- 

 served in the Bodleyan Library at Oxford, (No. 993,) and has been 

 transcribed by the author of this Memoir for his own use in 1838, and 

 from this transcript, the following passage is derived : — 



iu^xjlj *~*jjttj *&»j\*^i &y*&H ^SJJ **">iyi *j4t)) j^^ 

 ^J\ l^jX^\^> &y*L».j *$jU JuUa^J^ Ju*JjJ5IIj * r sH>iJII^ 

 f *a?l *-#&#* e»W 1^1^ VrJ^V JA 1] VS C?>*U 



&" &*t?jb uJ^Jb y^b **^b g'**>Nj <J*M*b *Jjj ] y^b 

 ^.k^U p4flj\o? &yk+st* Lo^lJU yps+jos? is^j^J *-? j y 



^flJIj «^b «**"•*' Jl &y*H f> &*j ]fe* I Jl (V^CiT 

 ^J! fc^tae^! IjJm Uj^ ^AJ! ^s-^i J bj^jj ^ L^aJ! Ji 



