Arabic sources from Quanzhou on Nisbas of Arabia in the 13th and 14th centuries

From the 9^th to the 15^th century AD, Quanzhou was China’s major seaport for international trade. China entertained extensive relations with the Muslim world, and many Islamic monuments can still be found in Quanzhou. Among the Arabic and Persian inscriptions which were excavated in the city, 28 “nisbâs” (adjectives indicating a person’s place of origin or ancestry) were found. Most of them referred to sites in Persia, and three “nisbâs” dating from the 13^th to the 14^th century refer to places in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.