English title preceded by title in Persian.
From a Persian version of the "Masālik al-mamālik." cf. Pref., p. iii.
Ascribed by Ouseley in his translation to Muḥammad ibn Ḥauḳal and by Sprenger in the catalogue of his manuscripts (no. 1) to Aḥmad ibn Sahl (Abü Zaid) al-Balkhī. In 921 al-Balkhī wrote a geographical work in which the maps were the important part. Ca. 951, al-Iṣṭakhrī wrote a revision of al-Balkhī's work, commonly known as the "Kitāb al-aḳāiīm," in which he extended the description of places. A second revision of al-Balkhī's work was made ca. 977 by Ibn Ḥauḳal. cf. M. J. de Goeje, Die Istakhrī-Balkhī frage (in Zeitschrift der Deutschen morgenländischen geselischaft, 25. bd., 1871, p. 42-58) and C. Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen litteratur, 1898, bd. 1, p. 229.