Person

Ibn Hawqal

c. 977 CE · 10th century

Ibn Hawqal was a tenth-century Arab geographer and traveller. Writing around c. 977 CE, he described the king of Ghana as the wealthiest monarch on earth because of his gold. His account is an important early source for the Ghana Empire's economy.

Ibn Hawqal
Image: Extracted (scanned) by Zereshk · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Ghana EmpireSocioeconomy

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Emirate of SicilyHabbari dynasty

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ibn Hawqal. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ibn-hawqal
MLA
“Ibn Hawqal.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ibn-hawqal. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ibn Hawqal.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ibn-hawqal.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ibn Hawqal’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ibn-hawqal (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻