Abraham ben Jacob

Abraham ben Jacob, also known as Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, was a 10th-century Jewish traveler and merchant. He was native of Tortosa, Spain, and has remained remembered for his long journey to central Europe in the mid-tenth century.

Scholars are uncertain about the nature of his travels, it is possible that he undertook journey for commercial reasons, or because he was sent by the caliph al-Ḥakam II (r. 961 - 976) on an exploratory expedition. Whatever the reason, Abraham first visited territory of modern France, then traveled to Germany where he visited the towns of Mainz and Fulda, as well as the vicinity of Schleswig, and in 966 he arrived at the court of the Emperor Otto I (r. 962 – 973). From Germany he proceeded to Bohemia and stayed in Prague, where he met merchants from the countries of Eastern Europe. Abraham described the countries of Eastern Europe as the merchants described them to him, and is the first to speak of the Kingdom of Poland.

His account is saved only as fragments cited in the al-Masālik wa-al-Mamālik (Book of Roads and Kingdoms) of the Arab geographer al-Bakrī (d. 1074). Abraham brings the information about distances between towns, plants, the economic life, the people’s diet, the system of medicine, and religious customs.