Nasir-I Khusraw's Book of Travels: Safarnamah (Bibliotheca Iranica: Intellectual Traditions Series) (English, Persian and Persian Edition)

This is a really under rated book. It is a Medieval Islamic travelogue covering the years 1046 to 1052.Nasir-i Khusraw is well known as a philosopher but this work is strictly historical/sociological. He travelled around the Caspian Sea and then went into Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Mecca. He then went back to Iran. The book gives a vivid picture of life in the Islamic World in the 11th century.Nasir-i Khusraw's religious sympathies lay with the Ismailis and accounts for his extended stay in Egypt.There are a number of interesting passing references to the Byzantines. Nasir-i Khusraw mentions that the people of Tripoli lived in constant dread of Byzantine attacks (page 16), he mentions that Byzantine pilgrims visit Jerusalem (page 27) and Bethlehem (page 44). He gives a detailed description of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and even claims that Byzantine Emperors visit in disguise (page 47). He goes on to say that the Fatimids often raid or trade with Byzantium (page 54).