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 belongs to it. When he passes to the eastward of Al Rami, or Sumatra, he becomes involved in inextricable confusion.

An examination of these two charts will serve better than aught else to bring home to the reader the exceedingly rudimentary state of geographical knowledge even as late as the twelfth century, yet it must be remembered that at this period the geographers of Arab nationality were far in advance of Europeans, and that, notwithstanding their many errors, substantial progress is shown by their work if it be compared with the shadowy surmises and guesses of Marinus and Ptolemy, more especially with regard to southeastern Asia.