Skip to main content

Tertiary sourceDocument1912

Quadrans Habitabilis according to Abu Rihan Birunensis

Ernest Rhys · 1912

A 1912 reconstructed map showing the inhabited world as scholars understood Al-Biruni's geographical scheme of 1030.

This 1912 map reconstructs Biruni's own 1030 geographical scheme of the inhabited world.

Ask Al-Biruni about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Antique map titled 'Quadrans Habitabilis according to Abu Rihan Birunensis, A.D. 1030'. It shows the known inhabited world on a curved grid with labels such as Mare Tenebrosum, Turk, Sin, Hindi, Sudan, Arabia, Sofala, and Mare Ambiens, in sepia and blue tones.
Ernest Rhys, Quadrans Habitabilis according to Abu Rihan Birunensis, A.D. 1030, 1912.

About this source

What it is

This is a map titled 'Quadrans Habitabilis according to Abu Rihan Birunensis, A.D. 1030', produced in 1912 by Ernest Rhys based on Al-Biruni's geographical work. It lays out the known inhabited world on a curved grid, with regions such as Mare Tenebrosum, Turk, Sin, Hindi, Sudan, Arabia, Sofala, and Mare Ambiens.

Why it matters

Al-Biruni was a leading geographer of his time who worked out detailed schemes of the inhabited quarter of the Earth. This map is a modern, early 20th-century reconstruction rather than Biruni's own drawing, but it shows how later scholars tried to visualize and understand his geographical ideas about the world as known in the 11th century.

Look closer

  • Why is it important to know this map was made centuries after Biruni, rather than by Biruni himself?
  • What do the names and divisions on the map suggest about how the world was understood in the 11th century?
  • How might a modern reconstruction differ from what Biruni actually produced?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Al-Biruni on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Al-Biruni sources

Meet the AI Al-Biruni →
Title page of 'Alberuni's India', an English edition by Dr. Edward C. Sachau, Vol. I, London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1910. Includes a line drawing of a seated multi-armed Hindu deity holding objects, with a subtitle about religion, philosophy, astrology and customs of India about A.D. 1030.Book

Primary source

Al-Biruni's India

Al-Biruni · c. 1030

Manuscript miniature painting of a scene with a central figure in white robes and a black cloak, a bearded man in a blue robe and white turban placing his hand on the central figure's arm, and other turbaned figures standing around in a landscape with stylized clouds and trees, with an Arabic inscription band below.Book

Primary source

The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries

Al-Biruni · c. 1000, illustrated copy 1307-1308

Hand-drawn diagram from a manuscript showing the Sun at right and the Moon at left orbiting Earth at center. Red lines show sunlight; eight small moon discs show phases, lit in red and dark in black. Arabic-script labels and text appear below and beside.Artifact

Primary source

Diagram of the Phases of the Moon

Al-Biruni

Circular hand-drawn map in Arabic script showing a ring-shaped ocean enclosing land masses, with the words Al-Muhit al-Shamali at the bottom and Janub at the top. Below the map is a block of Arabic handwritten text in several lines.Artifact

Primary source

Al-Biruni's World Map of the Distribution of Land and Sea

Al-Biruni · 1029

Two facing pages of an old Arabic manuscript in brown ink with red headings. The left page has a red and black diagram of concentric circles with labels. The right page is dense handwritten text in columns.Book

Primary source

Page from the Oldest Manuscript of the Tafhim

Al-Biruni

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Al-Biruni now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions