Before 896 - 956
Historian

Education and Travels. Abu al-Husayn 'Ali al-Mas'udi was an unconventional Shi'i writer who is accounted one of the most important Muslim historians. Born in Baghdad of Arab origin, he heard and possibly studied with eminent teachers such as Waki' (died 918), al-Nawbakhti, and the well-known Mu'tazili al-Jubba'i (died 915), as well as perhaps al-Tabari (died 923), Ibn Durayd (died 934), and al-Ash'ari (died 935). Al-Mas'udi was also an associate of the well-known Abbasid historian and minister Abu Bakr al-Suli (died 946). These teachers gave him a solid background in the Muslim knowledge and intellectual currents available in the capital. Al-Mas'udi's great scholarly curiosity and drive propelled him to study foreign books and languages, converse with non-Muslims, including Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians, cultivate an interest in faraway places beyond the Muslim world in both space and time, and undertake extensive travels to research his interests. He was still in Baghdad in...