Mahmoud Gijduvani

Mahmoud ibn Sheikh Ali ibn Imamiddin al-Gijduvan , better known as Mahmoud Gijduvan , a Central Asian scholar , historian , geographer and traveler of the XVI century .

Mahmoud Gijduvani
Persian. محمود غجدوانی
Birth name	Mahmoud ibn Sheikh Ali ibn Imamiddin al-Gijduvani
Date of Birth	XVI century
Place of Birth	Gijduvan , Bukhara Khanate
Date of death	XVI century
A place of death	there is no data
Nationality	Bukhara Khanate
Occupation	scientist - historian , geographer , traveler

Judging by the nisba , he was born in Gijduvan , near Bukhara . He studied at a madrasah , from a youth he was interested in history and geography . His teachers were Sheikh Kamaliddin Hussein Khorezmi and Sheikh Haji Muhammad al-Khabushani, who were also interested in geography, and several times took young Mahmud on their travels to the cities and districts of Maverannahr and Greater Khorasan .

A few years later, Mahmoud Gijduvani began to travel on his own. Over the course of his many years of travel, he wrote the book Mythaht ut-Talibin ( Key to Students of Science ), which was written according to some sources in 1543 . Mostly traveled to the cities, villages and districts of Maverannahr, Greater Khorasan and Iran. I visited Khujand , Bukhara , Khiva , Samarkand , Shakhrisabz , Nakhshab , Termez , Merv , Nisa , Mazar-i-Sharif , Balkh , Herat , Mashhad , Nishapur , Sabzevar , Tus , Astrabad , Rhea , Isfahan , Shiraz , Shiraz . He left manuscripts about the historical events of that period, about the traditions and customs of various cities and localities, about various famous personalities of that era. Often traveled to the port of the Mangyshlak Peninsula on the shores of the Caspian (Khazar) Sea , as travelers and merchants from the Caucasus , from the Russian Empire , from the Ottoman Empire , as well as from European countries constantly sailed from this part of the sea. From these travelers and merchants, he learned news and events about other countries, which he outlined in his manuscripts. He planned a big trip to the Russian kingdom and the Caucasus, but these plans were not implemented for unknown reasons.

He was fluent in several languages, and his manuscripts and works were mainly written in Persian , as well as partially in Arabic . His works have been translated into various languages ​​as a valuable source of information. In particular, in the 19th century, one of his works was translated by Muhammad Reza Agahi into the Old Uzbek language .