The name of al-Mas'udi (d. 956), the greatest Arab-Muslim historian, writer, geographer and traveler, is the pride of the Arab-Muslim civilization. Only two of his works have survived to this day - “The Book of Indications and Observations” and “Gold Mines and Placers of Gems”. A significant part of this historical and literary monument, written in a vivid fictional manner, is dedicated to the history of the Abbasid dynasty, of which al-Mas'udi was a contemporary of a number of caliphs. The story is presented in the form of a string of short stories, anecdotes and poems, allowing the modern reader to feel the flavor of that distant era. This part of the `Golden Mines...` is being published in its entirety in Russian for the first time. The book is intended for a wide range of readers.

The translation was made from a 4-volume edition of 1973 (Reprint of the edition: Cairo, 1958 .) Part of the text of the monument, which was translated directly, is contained in volumes 3-4. CONTENTS: D.V. Mikulsky. “Gold mines...” al-Mas'udi and their place in Arab-Muslim literature (6). Abu-l-Hasan 'Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Masudi. Gold mines and placers of gems. Translation from Arabic by D.V. Mikulsky (46). Notes (592). Commentary (601). Index of proper names (720). Index of geographical names (746). Index of names of ethnic groups, tribes, family-related and local groups (756 ).Index of terms and untranslatable words (759).Index of titles of essays (766).List of abbreviations (768).Gold mines and placers of gems. Bibliography (770).