This description of the province of Fars, was written around the beginning of the 12th century A.D. The author cites his qualifications for it "I was well acquainted with the present condition of the people of Fars ... being well versed also in the events of their history and exactly acquainted with the story of their kings and rulers.

Guy Le Strange (1854-1933) pioneered the study of the historical geography of the Middle East, and especially Persia, notably in his Lands of the Eastern Caliphate (Cambridge, 1905) and the present work which contains an English translation of Mustaufī's Nuzhat al-qulūb.