Again, like all other Arabic historians, he was unclear on Greece before the Macedonian dynasty that produced Alexander the Great.
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He is, though, the earliest extant Arabic author to mention the Roman founding myth of Romulus and Remus.
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He was well read in philosophy, knowing the works of al-Kindi and al-Razi, the Aristotelian thought of al-Farabi and the Platonic writings.
Muslims had actually lived in the region for quite some time; the famous Arab historian and geographer, Al-Masudi, reported Muslims amongst Africans in the land of Sofa in 947 (modern day Mozambique, itself a derivative of the name of the Arab Shiekh who ruled the area at the time when the Portuguese arrived, Musa bin Ba'ik).
In almost all the Iranian provinces, according to Al Masudi, fire temples were to be found – the Madjus he says, venerate many fire temples in Iraq, Fars, Kirman, Sistan, Khurasan, Tabaristan, al Djibal, Azerbaijan and Arran.
Aliyev also mentions that the medieval Muslim historians like Baladhuri, Masudi, Ibn Hawqal and Yaqut have mentioned this language by name.
Philip Briggs speculates that this town may be identified with the mysterious Ku'bar, said by al-Ya'qubi and al-Masudi to have succeeded Axum as the capital of Ethiopia.