, a skilful geographer, born at Grenada, retired into Africa when
, a skilful geographer, born at Grenada,
retired into Africa when his native place was taken in 1492,
whence he had the surname of A fricanus. After having
travelled a considerable time in Europe, Asia, and Africa,
he was taken at sea by some pirates, and abjured the Mahometan religion under pope Leo X. He died about 1526.
He wrote a “Description of Africa,
” in Arabic, which he
afterwards translated into Italian. Marmol has translated
this work, almost entirely, without mentioning it. There
is a Latin translation by John Florian, not very accurate,
and a French one by John Temporal, Lyons, 1556, fol.
John Leo. also left the “Lives of the Arabian Philosophers,
” which was printed by Hottinger in Latin, at Zurich,
1664, and is in torn. 13 of the Bibliotheca of Fabricius,
from a copy which Cavalcanti sent from Florence.