The Part of the Shiite in Development of the Geography Resources

Along with the scientific development of the Islamic world in the third Hijri century, especially the Translation Movement, relying on the specific Shiite Rationalism, and being committed to its ideological principles, the Shiite welcome the importing sciences and the applied sciences like geography. Utilising the Shiite and non-Shiite Rijali resources, and through the analytical-descriptive method, the present paper examines the biographies, geographical written works, the existing local histories, and the different geographical forms and fields studied by the Shiite scholars during the sixth Hijri Century. The findings of the present paper demonstrate that, although many of the Shiite written geographical have been lost during the time for some different reasons, they had a substantial part in writing the geographical works. Although mostly being centred in some specific cities and regions, and similar to the Sunni writers, in their own geographical studies and works the Shiite paid a special attention to the geography of the Arabian Peninsula and prepared some resources on the Arab tribes, their residence and the natural phenomena. The Shiite, in their works on introduction of the Shiite-resided cities and regions, specifically the Iraqi ones, the holy areas, the haven and burial sites of Sadat (descendants of the holy prophet), Alavids, and some fewer works on the natural, astronomical and human geography.