Du nouveau sur les Amazones dans les sources arabes et persanes médiévales

Abstract

In the Arab geographic Literature, since A l -Ww ā r i z m ī, the Amazons are generally located in two islands in the North of Europe, contrary to the Classical tradition. In this paper, we want to draw the attention on two classical sources translated into Arabic: the Galen’s commentary on the Hippocratic treatise on airs, waters, places, (Περὶ ἀέρων, υδάτων, τόπων) and the O r o r i u s Historiae adversus paganos, which placed the Amazons in a region bordering the Black sea. We analyze here their influence in the Arab literature.