Yaqut al-Hamawi

Yaqut ibn Abd Allah al-Hamawi was of Greek Byzantine origin, purchased as an enslaved youth in Baghdad by an Arab merchant who provided him with a superb education and sent him on extensive trading expeditions across the Persian Gulf, Syria, and Khwarazm. After gaining his freedom, Yaqut dedicated his life to scholarship and extensive geographic research.

His crowning achievement, Mu'jam al-Buldan (Dictionary of Countries), is a massive alphabetical geographical encyclopedia that synthesizes historical, anthropological, archaeological, and topographical knowledge of every known town, mountain, river, and nation. His accompanying biographical dictionary Mu'jam al-Udaba is equally celebrated for preserving the literary history of the Islamic world.