The geographer who, at the court of Norman Sicily, produced the medieval world's most advanced world map and geographical compendium — the Tabula Rogeriana.
Life
Al-Idrisi (1100–1165), an Andalusian-educated scholar, served King Roger II of Sicily, for whom he compiled the Nuzhat al-Mushtaq — the "Book of Roger" — with its celebrated world map. Drawing on Arab, Greek, and travelers' knowledge, it was the most accurate representation of the known world for centuries. Produced in a rare Christian-Muslim collaboration, his work is a landmark of medieval geography.