JULFAR, OMAN, AH 1032/1623 AD, OR LATER

Ahmad ibn Majid was the most eminent of three generations of sailors and navigators, writing a number of works on navigation. He was particularly renowned for his expertise on the Indian Ocean and his descriptions of the Red Sea have never been surpassed by any writer of nautical guides for sailing boats. His most famous work is Kitab al-fawa'id fi usul 'ilm al-bahr wa'l-kawa'id, which covers the sea routes of the Indian Ocean and the coastal regions of Asia and Africa. The present work is unrecorded, and deals with navigation from Syria to China. It includes information on navigating with the aid of the moon and stars and the direction of the winds. Part of the text is in verse, as were other of his works. A note on the front flyleaf states that this is a compilation of excerpts from the author's works Kitab al-minhaj al fakhir fi 'ilm al-bahr al Zakhir and Arajiz fi 'ilm al bihar.
Ibn Majid used sea charts and several instruments of navigation, was familiar with the work of Nasir al-Din Tusi, and the astronomical tables of Ulugh Beg, Ptolomy and al-Battani and is credited with inventing the nautical compass.
Contemporary Arabic and Portuguese sources prove that he guided Vasco de Gama from Malindi to Calicut.
A note next to the colophon states that this manuscript was written in 1032 in the town of Julfar, Oman. Notes on the front flyleaf of this manuscript claim ownership by Sheikhs of Qatar from AH 1264 to 1281 (AD 1847-1865), of whom the last was Sheikh Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Salman b. Khalifah, ruler of Qatar until he was overthrown by Qasim b. Thani.