Geography & Navigation

Most educated people in medieval times believed that Earth was round, but they disagreed about Earth's size. Muslim scientists improved on calculations made by the ancient Greeks to reach a measure of Earth's circumference that was close to the correct value.

As with all scholarship, some Muslims studied geography simply out of curiosity, but it had practical uses, too. For example, Muslims were able to create extremely accurate maps due to the study of geography. A scholar in Muslim Spain even produced a world atlas, with dozens of maps of lands in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

A work called The Book of Roads and Provinces provided maps and descriptions of the major Muslim trade routes. The Book of Countries listed useful facts about the lands under Muslim rule. From this book, travelers could get information about a region's location, physical features, and natural resources.