The Arab Navigator Who Charted the Course for European Expansion

Ahmad ibn Majid al-Najdi was one of many Arab navigators plying the Indian Ocean during the age of exploration in the fifteenth century. Ibn Majid stands out from other navigators, thanks to the number of poems and books he contributed to perfecting the science and art of navigation. He and his fellow pilots expedited European incursions into Asia via the world's oceans.

Ahmad ibn Majid’s birth can best be dated as occurring in 1432-7 CE in Julfar, a city in what is today known as Ra's al-Khaimah, one of the seven emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates. Like his father and grandfather before him, ibn Majid was a navigator who composed navigational poems and wrote books. His works are compilations of navigational lore handed down to him, complete with improvements and clarifications of that knowledge. Ibn Majid is best known for a navigational poem tilted the Hawiyat al-ikhtisar fi usul ‘ilm al-bihar (the Gathering of the Summarizing Concerning the First Principles of the Knowledge of the Seas) and a detailed book replete with information containing useful navigational strategies regarding bodies of water from the eastern coast of Africa to the South China Sea. His book titled Kitab al-Fawaiid fi usul ‘ilm al-bahr wa'l-qawa'id (the Book of Profitable Things Concerning the First Principles and Rules of Navigation) was intended for sailors and navigators and not the general public due to the complexity of the information. Ibn Majid organized his book around topics such as the origins and art of navigation, lunar mansions, compass rhumbs, climatic phenomena such as typhoons and monsoons, topographical features of landmasses, and various coastal hazards, including shoals and reefs.

In addition to ibn Majid’s expert advice on navigating through the Eastern Hemisphere, he doled out a great deal of philosophical guidance. He admonished students to learn everything about the art of navigation in order to choose the best of all that was offered. He was a man assured of his knowledge and freely stated that he knew everything about the stars. Experience and knowledge were indispensable factors for an effective navigator, and ibn Majid believed that navigational expertise was attainable and could be mastered.

G. R. Tibbetts, translator of ibn Majid’s book, commented that the great navigator’s work might be well-known simply due to the number of extant manuscripts available. However, Tibbetts also discovered that in 1854 travelers reported that sailors still uttered a prayer in honor of Sheik Majid before setting out to sea, which speaks to the endurance of the skillful pilot’s works. Scholars are still debating if ibn Majid was the mu'allim (pilot) who steered Vasco da Gama from Malindi (in Kenya) to Calicut, India, making land in 1498 CE. Regardless of the name of the specific navigator, the exchange of information between Arab and European sailors enhanced the chances for successful ventures in Asia by Europeans. An account of Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe (1519-22 CE) notes that after Magellan died in the Philippines, his crew recruited three Moors to guide them to Borneo. Another Moor piloted the survivors to the Maluku Islands.

European explorers derived several advantages from their encounters with Arab sailors as they attempted to insinuate themselves into existing trade structures in Asia and master sea routes. Along with the other invaluable topographical and climatic information contained in ibn Majid’s treatise, Europeans learned to determine latitude by using Polaris instead of the sun. Arabs also served as translators for early explorers, facilitating exchanges between Europeans and local merchants.

Some scholars describe da Gama’s discovery of Arab sea routes as an irruption; others perceive European advances in Asia as an encounter between peers. Local elites were unimpressed with Portuguese wares offered in initial meetings. Aided by heavy artillery, the Portuguese and then later the English and the Dutch created trade centers in competition with established local enterprises. Arab navigators quickened those European expeditions. Ahmad ibn Majid’s passion for the art and science of navigation is still today representative of a centuries-old tradition of Arab mastery of the Indian Ocean region.

FURTHER READING: Thatcher, Oliver J., ed. Modern History Source Book. 1907. “Vasco da Gama: Round Africa to India, 1497-1498 CE” and “Ferdinand Magellan’s Voyage Round the World, 1519-1522 CE.” The Library of Original Sources. Milwaukee: University Extension co. Vol. V: 9th to 16th Centuries, 26-40, 41-57.
Tibbetts, G. R. 1981. Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean Before the Coming of the Portuguese. London: The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Wolff, Robert S. 1998. “da Gama's Blundering: Trade Encounters in Africa and Asia During the European ‘Age of Discovery,’ 1450-1520.” The History Teacher 31 (3): 297-318.