The journey of Ilyās ibn al-qissīs Ḥannā l-Mawṣilī (Elias of Babylon or Saint John) to Europe and New Spain in the seventeenth century

Abstract

The travelogue (riḥla) of Ilyās ibn al-qissīs Ḥannā l-Mawṣilī (dec. circa 1699) is the first known description in the Arabic language of Hispanic America written in American lands in the seventeenth century, beginning in Peru and then in New Spain, and finally re-viewed in Seville, when the traveler returned to Spain. This article offers a biographical sketch of this Arab traveler; a summary of the beginning of his long journey; a translation from the Arabic to Spanish of outstanding fragments of his departure from the Middle East, passing through Europe, and the travel to America via Spain; a translation of important episodes of his journey to New Spain and the return to Spain, and a chronology that aims to clarify some ideas and errors about the life and travels of Elias of Babylon.