Six constellations of the northern skies: Corona Borealis (al-fakkah, in Arabic), Cygnus (al-dajajah) shown here as a crested bird, and Lyra depicted as a green parrot, with Cassiopeia seated on a throne in the middle, and Perseus (bottom right) and Boates (bottom left). Abu Yahya Zakariya' ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (born 1203 - died 1283), was a Persian physician, astronomer, geographer and proto-science fiction writer. Born in the Persian town of Qazvin, he was descended from Anas ibn Malik, Zakariya' ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini served as legal expert and judge (qadhi) in several localities in Persia and at Baghdad. He travelled around in Mesopotamia and Syria, and finally entered the circle patronized by the governor of Baghdad, Ata-Malik Juwayni (d. 1283 CE). It was to the latter that al-Qazwini dedicated his famous Arabic-language cosmography titled 'Aja'ib al-makhluqat wa-ghara'ib al-mawjudat ('Marvels of Creatures and Strange Things Existing'). This treatise, frequently illustrated, w