Connected Histories

Leo Africanus, a Man between Worlds (Video)

About This Resource

The BBC Arabic film Leo Africanus: A Man between Worlds by Moroccan journalist Badr Sayegh retraces key locations visited by Leo Africanus, the Muslim born as Hasan al-Wazzan in the 1480s. Captured by pirates, he was given as a slave to the Pope and converted to Christianity. Leo Africanus, as he came to be called, was a sixteenth century historian, diplomat, author and adventurer, having traveled in North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and sub-Saharan Africa as ambassador. While in Italy, he wrote The Description of Africa, which became the most important primary source on interior West Africa available to Europeans until the nineteenth century.

Source

Badr Sayegh, “Leo Africanus; A Man Between Worlds – British Broadcasting Corporation (Arabic), - YouTube”, n.d. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxMbTbndGrA. Uploaded by BBCArabicNews on Oct 27, 2011.

How to Cite This Page

"Muslim Journeys | Item #136: Leo Africanus, a Man between Worlds (Video)", April 26, 2024 http://bridgingcultures-muslimjourneys.org/items/show/136.

Tags

Africa, Christianity, conversion, exploration, Italy, Leo Africanus, Mali, Mediterranean, Morocco, Pope, Rome, slave narratives, slavery, Timbuktu, travel narratives