Depiction of Aras in the Classical Sources of Islamic History

Abstract

Aras River was significantly mentioned in the Islamic sources. Impression of Muslim conquerors was reflected in the historical sources, during the Islamic conquests, in the process of joining the settlements clustered around the river to the borders of the Islamic state. Especially the Great Ararat mountains have attracted their attention. In this context, the sources emphasized the political, cultural and economic conditions of the region, as well as some mythological narratives about the Aras river and the Ararat mountain. For example, Ibn Havkal, who counted the cities in the region one by one and talked about the conditions of that period in detail, says: “Farming is more common here, and the trade of animals and animal products is popular. Delicious fish are found in the Aras River, and therefore they are transported and sold as far as Iraq. Companions of the Rass, destroyed by God Almighty, lived here. As a matter of fact, when the cities on both sides of the river are examined carefully, it is understood that these were once turned upside down.” Yakut el-Hamavi who was talking about the legends about the mountains of Ararat, also mentioned the agricultural richness of the Aras River basin. He noted that wonderful pomegranates grew unlike any other around the river and his figs were astonishing. He explained that the grapes were dried in tandoor because the sun was not seen much due to the abundance of flies in the region. Ebü'l-Fidâ mentioned that the Aras (er-Rass) River flows from the Erzurum (Kalikala) mountains towards Debîl. He stated that there were three hundred and sixty ruined cities and villages around the river and pointed out that the Ashabu'r-Rass, mentioned in the Quran, lived there. In this study, works on history, geography, bulletin and the pier written by Islamic historians and Muslim travelers such as Ibn al-Faqih (d. 289/902), Ibn Hurdazbih (d.300/912), Kudâme b Cafer (d.337/948), Istahri (d.340/952), Ibn Havkal (d. 367/977), Makdisi (d. 390/1000), Herevî (d. 611/1215), Ibn Jubayr (d. 614/1217), Qazvinî (d. 682/1283), Abu'l-Fidâ (d. 732/1331), Ibn Fadlallah al-Umarî (d. 749/1349) and Ibn Battuta (d. 770/1368) will be taken as basis. First of all, the impressions of the relevant sources about the Aras River and its surroundings, then the stories about the Ashabu'r-Rass and some other mythological narratives will be examined.