Leo Africanus

Leo Africanus
Portrait of a Humanist, c. 1520. The identity of the sitter is unknown but suggested to possibly be Leo Africanus
Born	al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan c. 1494
Died	c. 1554(?)
Occupation	Diplomat, geographer, traveler
Notable work	Description of Africa

Joannes Leo Africanus, (c. 1494 – c. 1554?) (born al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi, Arabic:حسن ابن محمد الوزان الفاسي) was a BerberAndalusi diplomat and author who is best known for his book Descrittione dell’Africa (Description of Africa) centered on the geography of the Maghreb and Nile Valley. The book was regarded among his scholarly peers in Europe as the most authoritative treatise on the subject until the modern exploration of Africa. For this work, Leo became a household name among European geographers.

Most of what is known about his life is gathered from autobiographical notes in his own work. Leo Africanus was born as al-Hasan, son of Muhammad in Granada, Islamic Spain, around the year 1494. The year of birth was estimated from his self-reported age at the time of various historical events. His family moved to Fez soon after his birth. In Fez he studied at the University of al-Qarawiyyin (also spelled al-Karaouine). As a young man he accompanied an uncle on a diplomatic mission, reaching as far as the city of Timbuktu (c. 1510), then part of the Songhai Empire. In 1517 when returning from a diplomatic mission to Constantinople on behalf of the Sultan of Fez Muhammad II he found himself in the port of Rosetta during the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. He continued with his journey through Cairo and Aswan and across the Red Sea to Arabia, where he probably performed a pilgrimage to Mecca.