Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Masudi (died 956) was an Arab historian and one of the most versatile and original authors in the age of efflorescence of Moslem civilization.

Al-Masudi was born in Baghdad, a descendant of Abd Allah ibn Masud, a prominent companion of Mohammed. Numerous notices in al-Masudi's extant works indicate that he traveled extensively, but they do not suffice to establish his itineraries. In 915/916 he visited Basra and Istakhr (Persepolis) and then traveled in India, where he saw the area of Bombay, the Gulf of Cambay, and the Moslem towns of Multan and Mansura in Sind. That he also saw Ceylon and the China Sea, as he claims, has been doubted.

Still, in 916/917 al-Masudi reached Zanzibar and sailed from there to Oman. In 921/922 he visited Aleppo. Probably after this trip he visited the area south of the Caspian Sea. He mentions visiting other provinces of Persia without specifying...