Islamic Denominations and Sects in the Levant in the Works of Geographers Travelers untill the 6th Century AH/ 12 th AD

Abstract

This study examines Islamic denominations and sects in the Levant as portrayed in the works of Muslim geographers and travelers up to the sixth century AH / twelfth century AD. These works constitute valuable historical and geographical sources due to their reliance on direct observation and contemporary reports of events. The research aims to highlight the religious and sectarian diversity of the Levant and to analyze the political and social factors that influenced its formation and transformation over time.

The study is divided into two main sections. The first presents biographical accounts of prominent geographers and travelers—such as al-Yaʿqūbī, al-Masʿūdī, al-Muqaddasī, Nāṣir Khusraw, and al-Idrīsī—focusing on their methodologies in recording geographic and religious realities. The second section addresses the distribution of Islamic sects and schools of thought in the Levant, with particular emphasis on Shiʿi groups and their geographical presence in cities such as Aleppo, Tripoli, Tiberias, Tyre, and Damascus, as well as the impact of political authorities, including the Hamdanids, Seljuks, and Ayyubids, on the rise or decline of certain sectarian influences.