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The Cosmography and Geography of Africa
The first new translation in over 400 years of one of the great works of the an African diplomat's guide to Africa
A Penguin Classic
In 1518, al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan, a Moroccan diplomat, was seized by pirates while travelling in the Mediterranean. Brought before Pope Leo X, he was persuaded to convert to Christianity, in the process taking the name Johannes Leo Africanus. Acclaimed in the papal court for his learning, Leo would in time write his masterpiece, The Cosmography and the Geography of Africa . The Cosmography was the first book about Africa, and the first book written by a modern African, to reach print. It would remain central to the European understanding of Africa for over 300 years, with its descriptions of lands, cities, and peoples giving a singular vision of the vast its urban bustle and rural expanse, its culture, commerce and warfare, its magical herbs and strange animals. Yet it is not a mere catalogue of the Leo also invited his readers to acknowledge the similarity and relevance of these lands to the time and place they knew. For this reason, The Cosmography and Geography of Africa remains significant to our understanding not only of Africa, but of the world and how we perceive it.
A Penguin Classic
In 1518, al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan, a Moroccan diplomat, was seized by pirates while travelling in the Mediterranean. Brought before Pope Leo X, he was persuaded to convert to Christianity, in the process taking the name Johannes Leo Africanus. Acclaimed in the papal court for his learning, Leo would in time write his masterpiece, The Cosmography and the Geography of Africa . The Cosmography was the first book about Africa, and the first book written by a modern African, to reach print. It would remain central to the European understanding of Africa for over 300 years, with its descriptions of lands, cities, and peoples giving a singular vision of the vast its urban bustle and rural expanse, its culture, commerce and warfare, its magical herbs and strange animals. Yet it is not a mere catalogue of the Leo also invited his readers to acknowledge the similarity and relevance of these lands to the time and place they knew. For this reason, The Cosmography and Geography of Africa remains significant to our understanding not only of Africa, but of the world and how we perceive it.
560 pages, Paperback
Published July 9, 2024
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About the author
Leo Africanus
33 books14 followersJoannes Leo Africanus, (c. 1494 – c. 1554?) (or al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi, Arabic:حسن ابن محمد الوزان الفاسي) was a Moorish diplomat and author who is best known for his book Descrittione dell’Africa (Description of Africa) describing the geography of North Africa. (Wiki)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 5, 2024
This book was a great travelogue of the Africa of the early 16th century with vividly detailed description of life from the economic to the religious. The author does not cover all of Africa because travelers had not been able to explore vast stretches of it back in those days. The book ranges from boring descriptions of the ways people made a living to fascinating facts about the historical sites that were to be seen by many travelers. North Africa at the time had lucrative trade routes that attracted Europeans as well as others that allowed for great cities to prosper. There was also invaders that ruined economics through constant warfare and the demand for tribute that impoverished many areas. What I found to be amazing was how there were fools that you can still find today seeking treasure that does not exist and consulting fortune tellers. What I found fault with this book was the author seems to be writing to please his Christian patrons by disrespecting Islam as the madness of Muhammad. I am sure he really did not mean what he said because as soon as he was able to escape he reconverted to Islam.
November 14, 2023
New medieval travelogue just dropped!!
Well, okay, this one is well into the renaissance but it complements my travel collection very well. In fact, I think this one might be my favourite.
Less of a dry travel guide than Marco Polo, and more engaging than Ibn Battuta, Leo is happy to sprinkle in interesting anecdotes and fun facts (or, sometimes, "facts"). Often his description of a certain town or city will sound like a negative yelp review.
I was also surprised by the mentions of LGBT people - didn't expect to see a lot of that in 16th Century Islamic Africa! My altogether favourite part was the psychic demon lesbians. Incredible stuff.
Well, okay, this one is well into the renaissance but it complements my travel collection very well. In fact, I think this one might be my favourite.
Less of a dry travel guide than Marco Polo, and more engaging than Ibn Battuta, Leo is happy to sprinkle in interesting anecdotes and fun facts (or, sometimes, "facts"). Often his description of a certain town or city will sound like a negative yelp review.
I was also surprised by the mentions of LGBT people - didn't expect to see a lot of that in 16th Century Islamic Africa! My altogether favourite part was the psychic demon lesbians. Incredible stuff.
May 14, 2024
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Group Penguin Classics for an advance copy of a book on Africa written in almost 500 years, recently reissued in a new translation.
There was a time when the what was behind the next mountain was as mysterious as what lay beyond the sea. People didn't really travel much, why should they. Merchants did, famous ones like Marco Polo who traveled to China. Diplomats of course, to keep peace, and of course armies when peace failed. For others, even scholars, travel was expensive, dangerous, and inconvenient. That famous line of where we go there are no roads, well that was true in many ways. The Cosmography and Geography of Africa written by Johannes Leo Africanus, was one of the first books to deal with the continent of Africa, written by a person whose life was almost as fascinating as the story he told, as are the many stories of its printing. This versions translated from as close to the original manuscript as possible, the first in 400 years by Anthony Ossa-Richardson and Richard Oosterhoff.
al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan was born in Granada who was working as a diplomat when he was seized by pirates and taken to the Island of Rhodes. A man of rare intelligence, and with a gift to make friends, al-Wazzan was presented to Pope Leo X, who kept him as a scholar in residence, where al-Wazzan soon took the Catholic fate and baptized as Johannes Leo Africanus. Seeing the interest in Africa that many in the papal court had, Leo began a book detailing his travels, with his uncle, or calling on many books and shared knowledge that he had picked up. Also Leo wasn't shy about printing the legend, as there are many doubts about some of the information he presented. Leo broke the continent up into four separate parts, detailing what he knew about them, Barbary, Numidia, Libya, and the Black Lands. Leo went into detail about the rites, the religions, the merchants, food and how many survived in wastes and deserts. Leo discussed the slave trade, and also a bit about LQBT people, which was surprising for the time.
Reading this was not as difficult as I thought this could be. Considering the age, and the amount of well feathering that Leo might have done to fill his story, I found myself quite riveted most of the way through. The translation might have a lot to do with this, just as a section starts to get a little long one is off to another part with new people to read. al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan was the real revelation. That man lived a life. Pirates, to meeting the Pope, converting, writing some books, and maybe even returning to his faith, no one is really sure. The introduction gives a better telling of his story, and the many steps this books has gone through in history. I enjoyed the Prester John reference, always have to play to the religious people on that one. A very interesting book, and that should be better known.
Recommended for history fans, and those who like their travel stories with a little bit of, hmm that sounds odd. Also this would be an interesting book for fantasy writers, or role players to read as the descriptions that Leo gives along with a lot of the lore, could make for some interesting stories and role playing adventures.
There was a time when the what was behind the next mountain was as mysterious as what lay beyond the sea. People didn't really travel much, why should they. Merchants did, famous ones like Marco Polo who traveled to China. Diplomats of course, to keep peace, and of course armies when peace failed. For others, even scholars, travel was expensive, dangerous, and inconvenient. That famous line of where we go there are no roads, well that was true in many ways. The Cosmography and Geography of Africa written by Johannes Leo Africanus, was one of the first books to deal with the continent of Africa, written by a person whose life was almost as fascinating as the story he told, as are the many stories of its printing. This versions translated from as close to the original manuscript as possible, the first in 400 years by Anthony Ossa-Richardson and Richard Oosterhoff.
al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan was born in Granada who was working as a diplomat when he was seized by pirates and taken to the Island of Rhodes. A man of rare intelligence, and with a gift to make friends, al-Wazzan was presented to Pope Leo X, who kept him as a scholar in residence, where al-Wazzan soon took the Catholic fate and baptized as Johannes Leo Africanus. Seeing the interest in Africa that many in the papal court had, Leo began a book detailing his travels, with his uncle, or calling on many books and shared knowledge that he had picked up. Also Leo wasn't shy about printing the legend, as there are many doubts about some of the information he presented. Leo broke the continent up into four separate parts, detailing what he knew about them, Barbary, Numidia, Libya, and the Black Lands. Leo went into detail about the rites, the religions, the merchants, food and how many survived in wastes and deserts. Leo discussed the slave trade, and also a bit about LQBT people, which was surprising for the time.
Reading this was not as difficult as I thought this could be. Considering the age, and the amount of well feathering that Leo might have done to fill his story, I found myself quite riveted most of the way through. The translation might have a lot to do with this, just as a section starts to get a little long one is off to another part with new people to read. al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan was the real revelation. That man lived a life. Pirates, to meeting the Pope, converting, writing some books, and maybe even returning to his faith, no one is really sure. The introduction gives a better telling of his story, and the many steps this books has gone through in history. I enjoyed the Prester John reference, always have to play to the religious people on that one. A very interesting book, and that should be better known.
Recommended for history fans, and those who like their travel stories with a little bit of, hmm that sounds odd. Also this would be an interesting book for fantasy writers, or role players to read as the descriptions that Leo gives along with a lot of the lore, could make for some interesting stories and role playing adventures.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews